Hell's Belle

by Marie Castle

  Nicodemus’s vampires took to the air, their tuxedo-tails flapping behind them like a swarm of black crows. The security lights flickered then popped, one after another, ever getting closer to Nicodemus’s end of the stage. The last thing I saw was Nicodemus and Artus staring at me with those empty black eyes, their smiles growing, sharp teeth seeming to elongate. I knew that look. Growing up, I’d often seen a similar, less twisted one on my Nana’s face whenever I’d broken something my allowance wouldn’t cover, and payment would be taken out of my hide.

  Just then, the last light popped, and I was once again blinking into the dark. At least I wouldn’t have to see my death coming. Yep, you could say that I was a cup-half-full kinda girl…except my cups always seemed to be half-full of shit…when they weren’t completely overflowing, that is. I dropped to my knees, bracing for the blast that I knew was coming. The last thing I did was open my mind, reaching for Jacq. I owed her an apology. I’d promised her one night, and it looked like we wouldn’t even get that.

  The expected blast never came. Maybe my fairy godmother was looking out for me, because the moon peeked out from behind the clouds. Full and bright, it provided enough light to see Nicodemus and his brother holding council, obviously distracted by whatever was happening behind us, earning me a temporary reprieve. And I had a good idea of what that distraction might be.

  I’d connected to Jacq’s mind long enough to know she was in the middle of her own fight. Between pushing their way through the raptors, avoiding the gas-fueled inferno that was drawing the humans’ attention, and protecting themselves from a group of dive-bombing vampires, the Weres and Immortals had their hands full—even with the last-minute assistance of three of Fera’s most trusted Council operatives. I’d pulled back before Jacq became aware of my presence. Her mind was already divided between the battle and worrying about me. She didn’t need reason to add to the latter.

  Though we couldn’t see it directly, the blazing fire reflected off the few remaining clouds, making the sky a strange dark purple. While the sorcerers were otherwise engaged, I allowed my magic to do a brief tentative search. Funny, I specifically told Rom not to blow anything up. But there it was, a fire raging out of control in the empty area a few lots back.

  We all heard the high-pitched shriek of dying animals at the same time. For a moment, I worried that it was the Weres. Then Artus flinched as his hold over the raptors fed him their pain. Nicodemus jerked Brittan up from where she’d propped herself against a heavy throne. The IV pulled from her arm, splashing bright blood across the wooden planking. Nicodemus disregarded her collar, breaking the chain with one strong yank. He pulled Brit forward roughly, and she whimpered, biting her lip to stifle a cry of pain. Nicodemus took a step then stopped.

  He held Brittan in front of him. “Cate, be a dear and get the door.” His tone was demanding. Gone was the cajoling charm. He gestured to the movie screen. The explosions had undone the tacking covering it, revealing the smooth black stone that comprised the massive screen.

  Only a select few knew that a darkmirror was built into the brick that held up the screen. According to my Nana, it was once a private joke amongst the guardians. So much of the area was extremely religious, thinking movies and TV would steal or corrupt your soul, and so the guardians put a gate to hell right where one was expected to be…just not how it was expected to be. The GPS had clued me into Nicodemus’s general location. The presence of the gate had given me the specifics. They might not need a gate to do this, but they’d wanted one.

  I’d suspected as much when I’d seen how carefully they’d tried to cover their tracks, blocking any attempts to search for Isabella. Why go to so much trouble when they could create a focal point anywhere? Obviously, they didn’t want to waste power creating a portal without a gate. But what was the power for, if not that?

  Nicodemus continued, “One way or another, the gate will be opened. Then our lord will come through and with him his army. And they’ll keep coming until we’ve overrun this world. Then we’ll take the other worlds…one…by…”

  I stopped listening to the cliché diatribe. Movement flickered in the darkness behind the stage. I couldn’t determine if it was Nicodemus’s people or my own, but his next words brought my attention back to him fully. “And you shall mark this history as being brought about by your own kind.”

  I held my hands out. “Just hold up there a minute, mister. No offense, but I don’t need the credit for this.” There it was again. With Brit in his hands, I didn’t dare look past Nicodemus. But this time, I was certain. There had been a flash of gold, and a vampire had fallen from the sky.

  Artus had his eyes closed, still trying to mentally coordinate the raptors. More and more nesreterka left to join a fight I still couldn’t see, but the sounds of the approaching battle—the growls, the clash of steel, the buzz of spent magic—could already faintly be heard. Oh yeah, my friends had definitely put a bee in these guys’ bonnet and were currently in the process of shoving said bonnet up their asses. My internal smile quickly turned to a frown. Of course that didn’t mean Brit and I couldn’t get killed before the slowpokes got here.

  Nicodemus barked out, “Not you, witch whelp.” He shook Brittan roughly.

  I grimaced as blood began to stain her torn sleeves.

  “And not this one.” He caressed the shivering Brit’s neck with one long, sharp nail, not quite breaking the surface. “Mortals are so fragile…so weak…not worthy of the power we give them.” He turned back to me. “Fragile and young…and likely not to live long enough to change that.” Nicodemus’s look was pointed. Artus gave an evil chuckle, opening one eye briefly, rolling it in my direction. “This was begun by a half-blood…” Nicodemus snarled the last word, spat, then continued more loudly, “long before your time. But it will be finished, tonight by us, the full-blooded children of Crius.”

  What a surprise, another –us name. Must’ve been popular in the Stone Ages.

  I moved subtly closer, waiting for my chance and heard Artus murmur angrily as he exited his stupor and turned to his brother. “No doubt the master will want her, his child by that bitch, by his side. A pity.”

  Who—or what—was the half-blood? And where did the guardians come into this? My mind was running in circles faster than ever, but I’d have to worry about it later. Right now we had bigger fish to fry…like the two who’d finished their conversation and were looking at me like I was the bait on one really large hook.

  Nicodemus pulled Brit close, lowering his fangs until they barely grazed her neck before snapping, “Now, Cate, be a good little girl and open the gate.” His tongue slowly traced his nail’s red mark before smiling back at me with all those broken teeth. “Or your friend will suffer a fate worse than you can possibly imagine.” He licked his lips. Neither man hid his excitement. So much for the plumbing being out of whack.

  Masking my disgust, I stared into Nicodemus’s empty eyes. I could feel the others drawing closer. But not close enough. The stress of the moment almost made me laugh and say, “Oh, I don’t know. I have a pretty good imagination.” But I bit my tongue, forcing the words down. Swallowing my sarcasm left a bitter taste in my mouth, but not as bitter as what I was about to do. If I opened the gate, we were all dead. If I said no, Brit was dead. And I couldn’t not answer. I silently apologized to Brit for the dangerous game I was about to play.

  “Again with the demands. I thought I was here for posterity. Now you spring this? How typical.”

  Nicodemus and Artus wore identical confused expressions. I’d seen my Nana’s steamroller approach a million times. It couldn’t be that hard. I picked up speed, getting louder and waving my hands as I continued. “You can’t just invite a girl to a party and expect her to walk out the door thirty seconds later. We need time to beautify…to accessorize. This outfit will not do for meeting a demon lord. Why, I didn’t even bring your medallion, the one that Sarkoph dropped, which I’m sure you’ll need.”

  At the word “medallion
,” their faces turned dark.

  Artus growled, “That damn spirit was holding out on us.”

  I tucked Artus’s barely discernable words away to mull over later and continued on, not wanting the new nearly fanatical anger shining in their eyes directed at Brit. “And surely men as powerful as yourselves don’t need a little girl like me for something as simple as this.” I smiled sweetly and pretended to wipe something off my shirt, but really I was turning off my guns’ safety. I could tell from the dark magic swirling in the air and being drawn into the two sorcerers’ bodies that they were out of patience. That was fine with me. I’d given up on playing dumb anyway. It was time to settle for absolute insanity. “Besides,” I said, tone suddenly serious, eyes steely, “I don’t work for free.”

  Artus released another wheezing barking laugh. Nicodemus fumed and took a large step forward, jerking Brit along. Pain flashed across her face as Nicodemus’s nails sank deeper. Eyes wide, unblinking, holding in sympathetic tears, I flippantly said, “Hey, a girl has to eat.” I snapped my fingers. “Cash up front.” I held my hand out in the universal “gimme” gesture.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Nicodemus said coldly, looking at my hand. “I could make you.” He smiled, his voice soft and slow, then shook his head. “But I won’t…since I don’t have time to do it properly.” His lust-filled look made me shudder. “For your disobedience, you’ll become my master’s new pet. He has a real taste for guardians.” Artus snickered. “And when he’s done, we’ll all have a nip.” Nicodemus playfully snapped his teeth before shoving Brit into Artus’s arms.

  I felt the gate’s call as Nicodemus pulled more power from the boys. The three from earlier were still behind and between the thrones. Nicodemus turned to his brother. “Finish the ceremony.” He gestured to Brit. “Make sure this one survives.”

  Well, that was pointless. The power they wanted to force into Brittan would eventually be her death. Or was there a way around that? I didn’t think so. But if that was their goal, then there was more going on here than your typical kill-the-girl-open-the-gate-demon-hoarde-invasion-world-domination scenario.

  Artus dragged Brittan to Becca’s cage, shoved her roughly against the silver bars, and bound her and Isabella side by side with magic. I took a quick step forward, pulling up short when the last group of raptors moved into my path. “Ah, ah, ah.” Nicodemus wagged his index finger. “Not just yet, Cate. We have big plans for the pretty blond one. You wouldn’t want to spoil our surprise.”

  “Oh, but I would. I really would.” Out of options, I took another step and pulled magic into my hands, readying to force a steady stream toward Artus who had begun to chant. “I’m not a fan of surprises. I shot the last person who jumped out of a cake at me.” I took a step to the side. The raptors mimicked me, all shuffling sideways. I sighed in frustration. Though gratifying, shooting through the damn things would be ineffective. I’d been practicing the maneuver I’d used on the hellhound that had attacked Jacq. I was confident that I could duplicate it without a sword’s conduit…but only once or twice.

  No longer caring about appearances, I pulled in more magic, drawing what I could from the blaze still burning far away. It wasn’t much, but it might be enough, assuming I got a clear shot.

  Artus raised a ceremonial dagger high above Isabella’s heart. His chant continued, growing louder. Both bound women thrashed against the cage, crying, but it did no good. Black-magic fairly crackled in the air. My hands began to burn as I concentrated my fire between my palms. Nicodemus joined in the chant. Like a many-armed Indian god, black tendrils of magic sprouted from the possessed vampire’s sides, whipping from his body and into the gate. I could almost distinguish similar, smaller black chains linking the boys to Nicodemus and Brit.

  Artus’s arm tensed. I readied to rush forward, straight into the raptors. Dodging was impossible, but the unexpected headlong approach might buy me enough time for one shot. I’d die, but I’d take Artus with me, saving Isabella and Brit long enough for the others to arrive.

  Just as my legs tensed to lunge forward, white flashed in the corner of my eye. It rushed from the shadows, taking my earlier path straight toward the stage.

  It seems that while we were all focusing on the battle taking place behind the sorcerers, no one was watching the front door (or rather the wooden gate that I’d smashed to the ground). The white flash coalesced into a wolf, its coat bloody from a series of deep bites and scratches. In one fresh burst of speed, it leapt, hurdling over the few raptors left at the stage’s base. The boards under my feet shook as it landed, skidding to a halt mere feet behind me. I heard its snarled growl and felt its overwhelming heat as it moved to my right side.

  Easily four times my size, this wolf had enough power to someday be an Alpha. It snarled again, saliva dripping from its jaws as they snapped shut. It stared at Artus with hatred in its eyes, and I was suddenly very glad that the Weres were on our side.

  Distracted, Nicodemus turned to the wolf. Artus stayed his hand, glancing back at his brother. I didn’t know who this wolf was, but he’d just saved our bacon. If we were alive when this was over, I might kiss him…right before I chewed him out. Mynx had assured me that Grey’s people would leave the sorcerers to those of us who could defend against them. The white wolf didn’t even have the protection of wards like the ones hidden under my clothes, drawn by my grandmother’s hand directly on my skin. I let the fire leave my hands. If I started slinging magic, Nicodemus would too. And I could see it in his eyes: The wolf would be the first to die.

  From behind Nicodemus, I saw two white tigers rush forward. I pulled my stun guns.

  Nicodemus laughed. “Those puny human weapons cannot hurt me.” The wolf took a step forward, growling again. “And you?” He turned to the wolf with derision in his voice. “You’re not even worth wasting my magic on. Kill him.” He waved at the raptors.

  Though the raptors were under their masters’ control, they approached the wolf with hesitation. One predator recognizes another, and this wolf was definitely one hell of a predator. I smiled grimly. But sometimes the big bad also came in small packages.

  As the raptors stepped sideways, more power flowed into the gate. A little more, and it would open. With five sources, the power was flowing quickly, and there was still enough left in the boys to hold the gate open for days. I sighed internally, sighting down the barrels. At least the raptors were no longer in my line of sight. But why must everyone be in such a hurry? Didn’t they know this was the Land of Cotton? Life moved here at a snail’s pace, and death lingered for Sunday dinner. I’d had enough of people rushing to the end. If they were in such a goddamn hurry to get there, they’d get there my way.

  With a voice full of resignation, I said, “I’m sorry. You didn’t leave me any choice.” And I was sorry. I really didn’t want to do this. Nicodemus only laughed and formed a ball of black-magic. I wasn’t sure who it was for and couldn’t afford to wait and find out. I checked my aim once more. Without warning, the wolf jumped forward, hurling into the raptors, and I fired both guns. Then I moved to the side nearest the screen in a half-run, half-crouch to reload as the silent tigers bowled into the raptors guarding the ground at Nicodemus’s back.

  A tiger cleared the fracas, launching itself onto the wooden platform. With another quick bound, it landed atop Becca’s cage. The metal bars bent outward with a groan but held. Dagger in hand, Artus looked up. The tiger leaned down and roared, its muzzle only inches from Artus’s nose. Artus released Brit’s throat, and she slumped to the ground. The dark power in the air moved as Artus drew on it. Before I could shout a warning, the tiger swatted Artus with one massive paw, knocking him end over end off the stage.

  Raptors scattered, tipping over the ostentatious thrones. Growls ensued as Artus landed in the midst of a Were pack that had moved around, crouching below our line of sight. Another tiger, led by a brown wolf, landed among the raptors remaining to guard Isabella and Becca. The Weres moved between the women an
d raptors, while other Weres swatted raptors off the stage into the waiting sword-clad hands of Fera’s operatives.

  Even with all this, Nicodemus was unfazed, simply laughing harder as my shots whizzed past him. I’d have thought him insane, but I knew why he was laughing. It wouldn’t matter how many we set against him, because once the gate opened, demons would pour through. Then we’d be in a whole mess of trouble.

  But Nicodemus’s laugh died in his throat, turning into a shriek as my stunners hit the two boys standing on either side behind him. My aim was true, and the little propelled batteries landed square in their chests. I didn’t need to feel the black-magic dissipating from their bodies to know that the boys’ shocked hearts had stopped beating before they’d even crumpled to the ground.

  Finished with my reload, I fired once into the confusion. Nicodemus shrieked again, blocking my path seconds too late. My third shot hit the boy who’d given blood to Brit. The power level dropped again, the black arcs of magic shooting from Nicodemus into the gate nearly disappearing. But Nicodemus wasn’t finished. There were still two more boys somewhere. And I could feel—nearly see—him pulling magic from them. A rush of fighting Weres and raptors moved between me and Nicodemus. Using magic and brute force, he began to make his way through them toward me.

  I looked for Jacq and saw her silver sword flash as she, Mynx and Fera fought their way to the stage. Too bad they couldn’t levitate like the vampires currently swooping down upon us. Backlit against the large full moon, Nicodemus’s vamps were engaged in an all-out gravity-defying sword fight with Serena’s people. Gold flashed, and another corrupt vampire plummeted to the ground. The vampires dove closer, and I shouted, “Serena!” quickly sending a mental image of the downed boys. Then I was again focusing on the fight closer at hand.