by Krista Walsh
Better to focus on getting out safely than assume something might go wrong.
After all, from this point forward, hope and a shaky plan were all they had going for them.
22
Vera’s head ached as she stretched her thoughts toward her connection with Molly. The last time she’d tried to check in, the girl had been asleep. This time, she couldn’t seem to find her. The connection was still there, but instead of a clear orange light guiding her through the darkness, the path was obscured by a silver fog.
Had someone detected the link and severed it?
Anxiety wormed its way into her stomach, curling her nerves in on each other until they strained.
Zach had already left with Daphne and the Collegiate to try their hand at the ferry. While she was sure he would have wanted the update about Molly, part of her was glad he didn’t know the circumstances had changed. If he’d believed she was in some new danger, Vera couldn’t be certain he wouldn’t leave their plan in the dust to get to her.
Molly needed him to have a clear head. Hopefully Daphne would be enough of a grounding force to keep him that way.
Vera slipped back into her body to find herself wavering on her feet.
“Is everything all right?” Gabe asked.
“We should hurry,” she said. “I don’t know what’s happened, but I can’t reach Molly.” She ignored the look Emmett cast her, not needing his concern added to hers.
Percy’s fingers moved faster over his computer keyboard.
After the others had left, they’d returned to the RV so he could set up his communications systems. Currently, he was tapping into the satellites to help them find the underground tunnel.
“There,” he said, pointing at a blurred-out patch on the screen. “I’m pretty sure this is us. Which means…” He leaned in closer and scanned the houses nearby.
Vera’s gaze followed the same path as his, and the muscles between her shoulders tensed when she saw nothing but darker blobs — empty houses lining empty streets. So much damage had already been caused by Mayes’s plans, even if the rest of the world wasn’t aware of it yet. From what Percy had seen on the camera, some of the people living here had moved closer to the coast, but what had happened to the rest of the families? She’d stumbled over a broken toy when they’d come into the house where they’d parked the RV, lying forgotten on the floor. It was possible the people had left by choice, she supposed, but considering who they were dealing with, she didn’t feel it was right to hope for the best.
In all of that emptiness, she didn’t see any sign of another heat signature.
“Is it possible your source could have been lying?” she asked Allegra.
Vera expected the woman to snap at her for doubting, but the succubus’s eyes had turned gold as her gaze searched the screen over Percy’s shoulder, and a crease was forming between her brows.
“If he managed to lie in that state, then I will need to accept that I’ve lost whatever power I believed I held.”
Matthew rested his hands over her waist and bowed his head against hers. She closed her eyes and appeared to sink into him, though her weight remained steady on her heels. Vera reached for Gabe’s hand and squeezed his fingers. She couldn’t imagine the pain she would feel if she lost him now that she’d found him, or if she could never truly hold him again. She was amazed that Allegra hadn’t lost her mind with the grief of it.
“There,” Emmett said, and at the word, all of them stood up straight and leaned in. Allegra placed her hands on the edge of the computer desk and sagged against it in obvious relief, nearly knocking over the foggy gray cube Percy kept on his desk. “It looks like a few of them are heading towards this street here. It’s about…five blocks west?”
“I say we go and wish these bastards a good evening,” Gabe said.
“I will accompany you,” said Allegra. “At the very least I can assist in clearing the way for you before I take up my position here.”
“I’ll go as look-out,” Matthew said.
Vera nodded her agreement. It wouldn’t be the worst idea to have some extra sets of eyes on the house.
Gabe adjusted his sunglasses, then grabbed the cookie tin from the corner of Percy’s desk and slipped it into his trench coat pocket.
“What are you planning to do with that?” Vera asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Zach would throttle you if he found out,” Emmett said, his tone wary.
“He’s not here, is he?” Gabe’s tone came out harsh, and Vera raised an eyebrow until a look of shame passed over his face. “I know he wouldn’t like it, but I’d rather keep it close by, just in case. They don’t know I have it, and I don’t intend to wield it like a beacon. But we’re going up against some demons who think they have the advantage. It might be smart to have something on hand that proves they don’t.”
She eyed him warily, not trusting what effects that orb might have on him, with or without the tin. They couldn’t afford him to lose his strength when they needed it most. On the other hand, he could be right about its usefulness in the prison. Stripping Lozak of his power would certainly make it easier to kill him.
“If I see any sign that the enemy might get it, or that it’s having any effect on you, I won’t hesitate to destroy it,” she said.
“Deal.”
As they readied themselves to leave, Percy clapped Gabe on the shoulder and stared at him through his sunglasses. He didn’t say anything, but Gabe returned the gesture and offered a subtle nod. Percy looked to Vera, and she nodded as well, a silent promise that she would do whatever was necessary to make sure they both got back safely.
Emmett stood behind him, his long face grave. She wished she could offer him some final reassurance that they would bring Molly back, but she didn’t have it in her to promise something she couldn’t guarantee.
Squaring her shoulders to give the illusion of confidence in spite of her shaking legs, she followed Allegra through the house and out the front door. Gabe took point and guided them down the street, turning right when they hit the corner.
They didn’t speak, for which Vera was grateful. Her mind was too full of the various ways these next steps could play out to be able to carry on a conversation, and by the expressions on the others’ faces, they felt the same.
Allegra’s stilettos clicked against the ground, each tap driving home to Vera how alone they were in this neighborhood. No other sound except the wind through the dying trees cut through the silence. The brush of a few wet flurries touched on her cheeks.
A few blocks down, Gabe turned left. She guessed Percy was in his head, directing him on where to go.
“Daphne and Zach just got on the ferry,” Emmett’s voice said in her ear.
Excellent. So far, everything was going well, but Vera knew enough not to be too optimistic. Every step was a gamble.
Gabe slowed down as they reached the next corner, then waved them toward the side of the house. Vera pressed her back against the mud-spattered siding — Allegra keeping her distance from the mess by a good couple of inches — drawing in deep, slow breaths to keep her heart rate steady.
Gabe peered around the corner of the house. His fingers beat a rhythm against his thigh, and she couldn’t guess whether it was nerves or impatience.
A minute or so later, he raised his hand and gestured for them to follow. As Vera rounded the corner, she spotted the door of one of the houses closing. It seemed Gabe had been waiting for yet more friends to arrive at the party.
“How many are we looking at?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
“We don’t know,” Gabe said, frowning. “At least the two that just went in, but it’s not clear how many others are waiting inside. If any of them spot us and then make it down the tunnel, we’re in trouble. We’ll need to make sure none of them have a chance to get word back to the prison.”
A hiss slipped between Allegra’s teeth. Vera glanced toward her and lurched away on finding the woman half-transformed. Her e
yes were pure gold and her teeth had sharpened into points, her canines extending over her curled lips. She’d raised her hands in front of her, and her fingernails, always so perfectly manicured, had stretched out into long, hooked talons. The monster beneath the perfection was coming out to play. Vera didn’t know how she felt about the fact that she found Allegra even more captivating in this form than her human one.
“I dislike creatures who upset the order of my life,” Allegra said when she caught Vera staring at her.
Vera shrugged. It was a sentiment they shared.
They approached the house from the side, skirting the boarded windows. They paused outside the front door, and Gabe pushed it open. “Honey,” he called. “I’m home.”
Vera counted six demons standing inside. All but one had dropped the human glamors they obviously wore when in town, revealing an eclectic mob of horned, scaled, and oozing beasts.
As one, they turned toward the trespassers, but Gabe didn’t give them time to attack first. He threw himself at the one nearest the door, a hairy monster with a muzzle the length of Vera’s forearm. It bared its teeth and widened its arms to embrace Gabe as he barreled into it.
The only remaining human-shaped figure retreated into the corner, a blue aura surrounding his fingers. Warlock. Vera stepped in front of him, blocking his aim at Gabe. His spell struck her chest, pushing her back a step with the force of it, and the magic scattered against her like water droplets splashing against a metal sheet. Her shirt burned where the brunt of the spell had hit, but she ignored the searing heat and caught the man’s eye, reaching her mental fingers into his brain.
His eyes widened as she forced him to see her rising up to her full goddess form, her red wings stretching out between her shoulders, her pale skin taking on a silvery luster. She said nothing, not wanting to mar the illusion by giving him a chance to think rationally. Raising her hand, she struck him a back-handed blow across the face that sent him flying across the room and into one of the other demons who had headed after Allegra.
The succubus had jumped into the fight as though she’d been craving it all day, leaping onto the back of a Lingor demon. The demon’s smooth black flesh and stark white face caught the light through the open doorway as she moved to fling Allegra off, but Allegra held on tight, either ignoring or not noticing the twig-like fingers that ended in nails as sharp as needles. A spry Valorin demon had taken a lesson from the succubus and leaped onto Allegra’s back, keeping her trapped. Even as the Lingor demon was trying to gouge out Allegra’s eyes over her shoulder, the Valorin demon’s stringy hair was wrapping around the succubus’s throat, drawing her head back so the Lingor demon could reach her face.
The floor trembled as another demon stormed toward Vera. She spun around just in time to stop the Ghurgzic demon from striking her. She caught its wrist and twisted its arm backward. It shifted with the move, but swept its thick leg toward her knee. She jumped over it just as its other fist swung down on her shoulder.
A burning agony took hold of her as her arm popped out of its socket. Red flashed in Vera’s vision, but she refused to let it stop her. With her other hand she delivered a punch into the demon’s stomach. It doubled over, and she lodged her knee into its face. The fangs protruding from its lower jaw drove upward, tearing into its cheeks.
Before it had time to straighten up, she brought the corner of her elbow down on the back of its neck. It collapsed to the floor and grabbed her ankle, yanking her feet out from under her. She landed on her back with an excruciating thud and rolled out of the way just in time as a second Lingor demon pounced at her. Pain lanced up her neck into her skull at the fresh pressure on her shoulder.
The first of the Lingor pair flew overhead, landing against the wall and sliding to the floor in a monochrome heap. The second one jolted back when she saw her sister hit the wall, but the shock didn’t last long. When she turned back to Vera, her eyeless face was screwed into an expression of rage. She opened her mouth in a shriek, exposing the rows of pointed teeth within.
By then, the Ghurgzic demon had found its breath. Its grip around Vera’s ankle tightened, and it dragged her forward. Drawing her free leg close to her chest, she lashed out to catch it in the face, snapping the bone of its nose beneath the sole of her boot. The demon snarled and grabbed her other ankle, pressing both her legs against the floor. Vera lurched up to try to throw another punch at its face, her injured arm curled against her chest, but the Lingor demon leapt on top of her and took hold of her chin, forcing their gazes to meet.
Meeting the eyeless gaze of a Lingor demon ran the risk of boiling your brain in your skull, but Vera trusted her immunity. Her brain tingled as the magic worked through the electrical impulses, but when she didn’t collapse into a seizure, the Lingor demon released a cry that pierced through the sounds of the skirmish in the room.
Vera pushed her away, but the speed with which the demon wrapped her long fingers around Vera’s throat prevented her from throwing the monster off of her. The twig-like fingers tightened, and spots burst in her vision. Her face took on the puffy sensation she was becoming far too familiar with, and no matter how hard she tried to swing her body back and forth to dislodge the demon, the Lingor’s grip held fast. Each jerk tugged on her shoulder and sent new waves of pain down her spine, stirring up a nausea she struggled to hold back.
Above her, a translucent arm darted out, disappearing into the Lingor demon’s chest. For a second, the demon seemed to laugh, the noise even more grating than her scream, but when the arm retracted, the hand held a bright silver glow in its grip. Without a noise, the Lingor demon collapsed on top of Vera, lifeless.
Vera sucked in a breath, unable to thank Matthew for whatever he had just done. She turned her attention back to the Ghurgzic demon, but saw that Gabe had already engaged it. The two were grappling on the floor, with Gabe on top. He swung blow after blow into the demon’s face, leaving its black blood spewed across the hardwood.
When the Ghurgzic demon seemed braced to shove Gabe away, he pulled the tin out of his pocket. Vera opened her mouth to shout at him to stop, but the orb was already in his hand, wrapped in the cloth to prevent contact with his skin. He pressed the glass against the demon’s forehead, and Vera watched, amazed, as its movements slowed and its blood thinned, pooling beneath it. It raised its arms to block Gabe’s final blow, but it couldn’t move fast enough. Gabe’s fist landed with a thick wallop, and the Ghurgzic demon fell limp. Gabe, sweating, sat back on his haunches and returned the orb to its tin and his pocket.
Across the room, the Valorin demon shrieked, her twisted face sweating blood. Ignoring Allegra, who had finally shaken her off, she darted toward Gabe, and Gabe set off in her direction, gaining speed. Vera, clutching her injured arm, couldn’t tear her eyes away as he skidded across the floor, drawing a rift in front of the Valorin demon as she leapt into the air toward him. She fell through the portal and appeared again near the ceiling. Unable to catch herself, she screeched as she plummeted the ten feet to the ground. Gabe was there to grab her head after she fell, snapping her neck before she could recover.
Vera’s heart pounded and her shoulder ached as she eased to her feet and stared around to survey the damage. Allegra’s throat was lined with deep, bleeding gouges from the Valorin’s hair, and there were scratches around her eye sockets from where the Lingor demon had tried to put her eyes out.
“They broke one of my heels,” Allegra rasped, holding up her broken shoe. “I liked this pair.” She sat on the corpse of the Valorin, flung both shoes into the corner, and crossed her arms, spitting.
Matthew chuckled and floated over to her side.
“Thank you,” Vera said, finally having enough breath to say the words.
“My pleasure,” he replied. “It’s good to know I’m not completely useless in this fight.” He seemed to waver in the light, causing Allegra’s eyes to widen. “Seems to take a lot out of me, though.”
“What exactly did you do?” Gabe asked, coming
up beside Vera.
“I grabbed the source of her energy,” Matthew said, his brow furrowed. “I’m not exactly sure of the how of it, but it’s the one thing I’m still able to make contact with.”
A shudder ran through Vera at the idea of someone reaching into her to draw out the source of her power. It sounded like a painful way to go.
Gabe placed his hand on her injured shoulder, giving her a pointed look. She groaned, turning her head toward him to meet his gaze through his sunglasses. He offered a sympathetic smile. “You ready?”
She clenched her teeth and nodded, closing her eyes as he took hold of her arm and gave it a sharp tug. Pain surged through her neck and twisted her stomach as her shoulder settled back in its socket, and she sucked in a breath to settle the nausea.
“Will your injury hinder your defenses?” Allegra asked.
Vera circled her shoulder, wincing at the twinges and pops. “It shouldn’t. It’s already healing. Give me fifteen minutes and I should be fine.”
“Let us hope you have fifteen minutes before another pack sets on you.” Allegra scowled at the corpses on the ground.
Vera glanced at the bashed-in face of the Ghurgzic demon and the unmoving forms of the two Lingor demons and the warlock. Near the door was the hairy demon Gabe had fought.
Silence had resumed its reigning presence in the neighborhood, and Vera turned her attention to the open trapdoor in the living room floor.
“If there was anyone down there, they would have come up at the sound of the fight, right?” she asked.
“One would think,” Gabe said. “But who knows what concept of loyalty Mayes instills in his minions.”
