I didn’t look back at her as I ran down the stairs and into the growing chaos. As bloodlust pulsed through me, the markings on my arms danced in preparation for the battle to come. The lanavours had dared to come near her; it was a decision I would make them regret.
“Humans into the bar!” I shouted as Erin, Vargas, Hawk, and Corson burst out of the woods.
Behind them, I spotted the shadows of the lanavours moving through the trees. The skelleins released a bone-chattering screech that caused the humans closest to them to throw their hands over their ears and stagger away.
The first lanavour emerged from the woods, moving like a ghost over the earth. The demon floated more than walked across the ground toward its first target, a young woman who had no chance of evading the creature’s grasp. The lanavour’s hands clasped both sides of her face and angled her head back. The girl’s struggles ceased and her eyes went blank before she started to scream.
***
River
Standing on the porch of the bar, I watched as the creatures entered the clearing. The lanavours had legs and, unlike ghosts, they were corporeal, but their feet didn’t appear to touch the ground as they moved. Out of all the creatures and demons I’d seen, they didn’t look all that ominous, yet they’d caused more unease among Kobal and the other demons than any other creature we’d encountered so far.
Completely hairless, they almost looked as if they were wearing some kind of bodysuit instead of their actual skin. No wrinkles marred their smooth flesh; they were completely unblemished, except for the stitching. I shuddered as one of them moved close enough for me to see that its mouth and eyes had been sewed closed with what looked like thick red thread. The threading stood out sharply against the blue-gray coloring of the rest of its body. It had no ears, just more smooth flesh over where the ears should have been.
I didn’t see them doing anything to the people they seized, yet the humans and demons unfortunate enough to be snatched up by one of them began screaming within seconds of having been caught. Blood seeped from their eyes and ears as their screams echoed through the clearing.
The sights and sounds around me caused my mouth to go dry as my stomach turned over. My body shook with the need to plunge into the fray, to help those going down beneath the disgusting creatures, but I knew I would be more of a distraction than a help right now.
Gunshots exploded around the clearing; swords sliced through the air and reflected the sun as the skelleins dove into the fray. People ran toward the bar, but many of them fell beneath the lanavours closing in on them. There were too many humans and demons around for me to risk unleashing a wave of fire on them. I could try using my ability to wield life, but I’d knocked Azote and Kobal on their asses with it before. It would destroy a human if I accidentally hit them with it, and it might destroy one of the demons too.
Facing the same situation as me, Kobal was unable to release his fire, but I watched as he grabbed one of the lanavours by the throat. He lifted it into the air before driving it into the earth. Without breaking a sweat, he tore its head from its neck and tossed it aside.
People raced up the steps and past me into the bar. Across the way, Vargas lifted his gun and shot one of the lanavours in the head as he battled his way across the clearing with Erin and Hawk at his side. Pulling my gun from its holster, I took aim at the one closing in on Hawk and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the lanavour in the shoulder, knocking it back. More rose to fill its place.
Kobal’s head spun in my direction, but I remained on the porch. If I went down those stairs, he would come after me, and someone could die because of that. No matter how badly I wanted to run across the clearing to my friends, I would keep my word and stay where I was. However, I hadn’t said I wouldn’t help in some way.
More people fled past me as one of those creatures made a grab for Erin. I was about to pull the trigger when Hawk leapt up and smashed his elbow into the side of its face. The overwhelming strength of the blow caused the lanavour’s cheekbone to cave in. Before I could process what I’d seen Hawk do, someone staggered into me and knocked me into the wall of the bar.
I shoved the girl away from me as Erin, Vargas, and Hawk made it to the steps. “Hurry!” I yelled to them when one of those floating freaks closed in on them. I fired a hasty shot that dug into the ground before its feet, causing it to drift back.
I took hold of Erin’s arm and dragged her toward the door when she stumbled on the steps. “Are you okay?” I demanded.
“Yes,” she replied. “They’re everywhere!”
I lifted my head to take in the clearing again. Blood pooled around the bodies littering the ground. Kobal stood on the opposite side, having battled his way through the crush of lanavours to the demons gathered there. Flames slithered over his body, lighting his dark hair and causing his amber eyes to glow hotter than the fire encompassing him. He hadn’t unleashed the hounds, yet.
Corson stood beside him, carving his way through the crowd with his talons while Verin and Morax worked beside them. Morax swung his tail, knocking over three of the lanavours hovering close by. Bale and Shax were on the opposite side of the clearing, trying to keep a group of humans protected as the lanavours circled them.
Bale moved so fast with her sword that I barely saw it flashing through the air before she sliced four of them in half. Shax beat and pummeled the lanavours into bloody stumps with an eagerness I’d never seen from the normally reserved demon.
Bones of the skelleins littered the ground along with the human, demon, and lanavour remains. The skelleins who were still standing upright were thoroughly enjoying themselves as they swung their swords back and forth enthusiastically.
“We have to get inside!” Erin shouted as a couple of lanavours reached the first step. We raised our guns and fired at them, but it did little to slow down those that came after.
“They’re like ants!” Hawk yelled and fell back as the lanavours pushed further up the porch.
They were like ants as more continued to emerge from the woods to descend on the encampment. There had to be at least two hundred of them, if not more.
“Come on!” Vargas shouted.
I turned to find him holding one of the doors open and waving for us. I cast one more frantic look at Kobal to discover him slicing his way toward us with his black claws extended and a murderous look on his face. Erin and I stumbled into the building with Hawk close behind.
I spun as Kobal released one of the hounds from his body. An eerie howl tore from its open mouth as it raced across the clearing toward the lanavours climbing the steps. My gaze landed on the first lanavour to step onto the porch. It had no eyes, but I had no doubt it was looking at me as excitement poured off it.
A set of massive jaws clamped around its waist, tearing it away from the door and flinging it off the porch. The hound’s golden eyes briefly met mine, and I was pretty sure it was the male hound, Crux. It spun away and launched itself at the other lanavours closing in on the doorway.
One of the lanavours managed to slip past the hound and beeline toward us. Vargas slammed the door closed just as Kobal released the second hound. “Throw us the barstools and tables!” Hawk shouted up the stairs to the people gathered there with their guns at the ready. “Anything we can use to block the doors!”
More people rushed down the stairs to help us build the makeshift barricade. Working together swiftly, we piled the furniture before the doors. The screams echoing outside, the incessant clash of steel against bone, and the ongoing sounds of the battle made me cringe.
“Kobal,” I whispered.
“He’ll be fine,” Erin said and wrapped her hand around my forearm. “Come on, let’s get away from the doors.”
I allowed her to tug me away as the ferocious roar of one of the hounds bounced off the walls of the bar. My hands rubbed over the goose bumps dotting my flesh as I walked up the stairs. Halfway up, I recalled the windows on the other side of the dilapidated looking building. Breaking away
from Erin, I took the steps two at a time to the landing and ran around the corner to look out the front windows.
Chaos reigned outside, but more than that, Kobal was a sight to behold as one of the hounds circled around him, cutting down anyone in its path. The hound’s head came up to the middle of his stomach. Its glossy black coat glistened in the flames enveloping Kobal. The hound’s head was easily the size of a lion’s, and its fangs were something that would have made a sabre-tooth tiger turn tail and run. Despite its massive size, I realized it was Phenex, the female hound and the slightly smaller of the two.
The number of lanavours was thinning, but many from our side were also falling. The reflection of the fire in the glass panes danced over my face as it engulfed Kobal in an inferno. He was ruthless in his intent, tearing a head from this one and the heart from that one as he burnt their bodies away with his flames. He didn’t hesitate as the lanavours retreated toward the woods, drawing Kobal and the other demons with them as they looked to slaughter what remained of the threat.
The skelleins stayed in the clearing, patrolling back and forth like marching soldiers. My shoulders slumped in resignation as I turned to face Erin, Hawk, and Vargas who stood beside me. “There may be survivors out there. We have to help them.”
“We’ll wait until Kobal and the others come back first,” Vargas said, his jaw set as his brown eyes unwaveringly held mine. He’d gone with me to help rescue Erin and Hawk from the canagh nest, but he would not let me out those doors without Kobal’s permission. Glancing at Hawk and Erin, I saw the same resolve on their faces.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the crack of splintering wood had me forgetting what I was about to say. At least a hundred people rushed toward the stairwell as a loud crash followed the sound. I didn’t understand what was happening until I saw the dozen or so lanavours floating up from the downstairs area of the bar.
I’d never gone down the stairs before as the area had always been dark, but I assumed it was where the skelleins went to sleep, if they slept at all. I didn’t know if there had always been another entrance to the bar down there or if the lanavours had created one, but either way, it didn’t matter. They were inside, and we’d built a wall blocking our only escape.
Outside, the skelleins must have heard the noise as they released a new battle cry.
CHAPTER 10
River
“River, get back!” Hawk grabbed my arm, pulling me back as gunfire erupted from the people gathered at the top of the stairs. Bullets pummeled the creatures below. Blood splattered the walls, tables, and chairs, but as the lanavours fell, more took their place.
I resisted Hawk’s insistent tug on my arm as he attempted to pull me further away from the creatures flowing up the stairs. I had to protect these people somehow. Another roar sounded outside, but I knew this one hadn’t come from one of the hounds but rather the enraged demon who controlled them. Most of the people remained at the top of the landing, firing at the creatures coming up the stairs. Some turned and fled toward the hall and the gateway beyond.
Hawk’s stalker, Sarah, launched herself at him. She threw her arms around his waist, hindering him as he continued to try to pull me away. “Son of a bitch!” Hawk shouted and released me to pry her off his waist.
I spun away from him and shoved my way back toward the front of the crowd. Fear fuels the fire, and there was plenty of fear rolling around in me right now. Fire leapt across my fingers; it danced over my flesh as I shoved past the last of the people. Flames burst from me in a rolling inferno that turned the faded red carpet to black. The lanavours at the top of the stairs recoiled as it engulfed them.
Fire danced over the top of the doorway, across the tables and chairs. More of the lanavours pushed aside their burning brethren to make their way up the stairs as flames consumed the furniture piled by the door. Gunfire continued around me, but it was more sporadic than it had been as the ammo began to run out. The wall of people around me moved back from the monsters coming at us and the growing fire consuming the front of the building.
“Run!” I screamed at those still trying to stand their ground when the flames lashed out at us, snapping only feet away from my face. The old, dried wood was going up far faster than I’d thought possible. The lanavours drifted back, staying low to avoid the flames while remaining out of reach of my fire.
Driven back by the heat of the blaze, I extinguished the flames on my hands before placing them on the back of a woman who stood frozen beside me. I urged her forward before someone behind me pushed me into the crush of people. Their bodies encompassed me as they shoved against each other to get away from the stairs. Their loud breaths echoed in my ears. Someone shoved ruthlessly against my back, nearly knocking me off my feet.
A hand snaked out of the crowd and wrapped around my bicep. Hawk dragged me through the horde and hauled me up against his chest as the rest of the people by the stairs turned to flee.
“Erin? Vargas?” I choked out.
“By the bar, waiting for us. We have to get out of here.”
The fire had spread over the doors and was flaring toward the ceiling. I had the insane notion the skelleins were going to be pissed as the first flames rolled over the top of the piano. Heat blasted against my face, blowing my hair back and causing sweat to bead on my forehead. Hawk stiff-armed people out of his way as he shoved through the fleeing crowd toward the bar.
Erin pulled me forward as a man fell to the ground before us. Vargas seized his arm and yanked the man back to his feet. “Where do we go?” Erin shouted.
“Just go!” Hawk bellowed over the increasing snap of the flames and wood.
Something fell against the backs of my heels, dragging me down beneath the weight of it. Screams echoed in my head. Hawk jerked on my arm, trying to pull me to my feet again. My eyes landed on a young woman lying on the ground. I grabbed for her arm as a set of blue-gray hands clamped on the sides of her face. The woman’s mouth parted on a breath when the lanavour leaned over the top of her.
“Ahhh.” It had no mouth, but I knew the lanavour had spoken the raspy murmur as a strange, clicking-sucking noise came from it. “What did your father do to you?” It didn’t speak the words, but I somehow managed to hear them clearly.
Tears streamed down the woman’s face. Her eyes glazed over as she became enthralled by something I couldn’t see or comprehend.
“River!” Hawk shouted and tugged at my arm. Suffused with rage, I leapt to my feet and tore my arm free of Hawk’s grasp. “River!”
I lowered my shoulder and charged at the monster torturing the woman. Slamming into it, I knocked its grasp free of her as the first rivulet of blood trickled from her eyes. The lanavour and I tumbled on top of one another, rolling in a ball until we crashed against the wall.
“Just what I was hoping for.”
Are they telepathic? I wondered as its words echoed in my head. It didn’t matter; all that mattered was I wanted it dead.
Its clammy hands clasped my cheeks. Throwing my arms up, I tried to break its grip on me, but it felt as if its palms suction cupped to the sides of my head. An icy sensation crept over my face and spread rapidly through my body. I sought out my ability for fire, but my hands were frozen as the chill encased my wrists before flowing over my arms and out through my chest. I tried to struggle against it, tried to lift my hands, but they felt as if they were frozen in blocks of ice now, too heavy to lift and impossible to move.
The lanavour pushed me backward until its weight settled on my chest and my katana dug into my back. Though it was completely smooth, its palms felt like sandpaper against my cheeks as it leaned closer to me.
“He wants you alive,” it murmured near my ear, or was it into my head? “But that doesn’t mean I can’t take a small piece. There’s so much power in you. Ahh, just a little taste.”
My skin crawled as it sighed in pleasure and made that strange clicking sound again.
“You’re right,” it continued. “You are the one, but
you will fail and everyone you love will die because of it. So many deaths. Millions more will be lost because you will fail. The varcolac will turn against you, World Walker.”
Everything within me wanted to rage against his words as icy tears slid down my cheeks.
“When you become a failure, the warrior will turn against you and leave you.” Images of Kobal turning his back on me flooded my mind. “Your brothers will die. All of your friends.”
How does it know such things about me?
It leaned closer while in my mind I cradled my two-year-old brother, Bailey’s, lifeless body against my chest. I could smell his blood, feel the warmth of it as it oozed between my fingers and dripped onto the ground. My other brother, Gage, lay beside us, nothing but a bloody mess, and all because I’d failed to do what so many needed me to do. All because I could not do what I’d been brought here to do, close the gateway.
Beside Gage lay one of the hounds, its eyes open and unseeing, its tongue lolling from its mouth. I couldn’t look beyond it, but I knew Kobal was there too, unmoving and as dead as my brothers were. The tears streaking my face were warm now instead of frozen.
“That’s right, World Walker, they’re dead because of you. Weak, you are too weak to do what must be done. When you fail and all those you love are dead, you will become like him.”
Lucifer, as I’d seen him in my dream, appeared before me. His lethal bat-like wings enfolded me, drawing me against his chest and holding me there. “You’ve come home,” he whispered in my mind.
“Home,” I agreed.
“He is your father after all. He is where you belong,” the lanavour whispered into my mind.
He is my ancestor, not my father! I wanted to protest the lanavours words, but my lips felt as sewn shut as the monster’s above me were.
A fist shot out to crash against the lanavour’s cheek. Pain briefly flared around my neck as something tore away from me when the lanavour was flung to the side. Hawk’s face appeared above me; he flexed his fingers as he gazed worriedly down at me.
The Road (The Road to Hell Series, Book 3) Page 8
