“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she interrupted with an annoyed sigh. “I get the short one.” The shortest one of the bunch was around Gabi’s height or a little shorter. It was squat and heavily muscled with huge hairy feet and long coarse fur sprouting out all over its body and head, including its face. It flashed a macabre grin baring rows of needle sharp teeth from its overly large mouth. It carried an odd assortment of weapons, all medieval in nature; maces, clubs, spears and battle axes. Gabi knew it made sense that she took on the one closest to her in size, the men would have to change their fighting style to accommodate the difference in height, and there was no room for egos in a fight like this one. “But once I’m finished with Shorty I get to go after the Wraith!” she declared triumphantly.
“I think we’ll all have to go after the Wraith,” Doug declared, but didn’t bother warning Gabi off. “Keep it busy until we can help you finish it off.”
“Well, I guess that leaves me with the brick shithouse,” Kyle said. The only unclaimed Demon was a hugely built, seven foot tall creature with an extra pair of arms and several eyes spaced a few inches apart in a ring around its head. It had no lips covering its shark-like teeth and a wide, flat nose which flared as it sniffed the air. Metal armour covered its torso and legs and it was holding two wooden war clubs and a spiked flail. It was definitely built like the proverbial brick shithouse.
“Don’t worry Wolf,” Gabi teased, “I’ll rescue you if he gets too much for you to handle.”
Kyle gave her a withering look.
“They’re advancing,” a voice called from behind them, dragging their attention back to the horde. The Demons had spread out into a rough line and begun moving towards them. The Hunters also spread out, angling closer to their assigned targets, giving each other room to fight. The Magi moved back slightly and clustered together, touching each other lightly. Alone, they each had formidable powers. Connected, they could combine powers and become an astronomical force, which could withstand the strongest offensive magic and overcome the most stubborn defensive magic. They would watch closely and render assistance to the Hunters when needed. Their magic couldn’t kill Demons, but could banish them back to the Etherworld. Unfortunately, at times when the Veil was thin, a banished Demon could always return to the place it had been cast back from. It was best to kill them on this plane, so there was no chance of a revisit.
Savage screams rent the air as the Demon onslaught began. Gabi streaked towards her target, quicker than any of the others. Nex tasted Demon blood before any of the other Hunters had even engaged their targets. She’d drawn a butterfly sword as she ran, she knew she would be sacrificing this sword; Demon blood ate through any metal it came in contact with, unless the metal was magically protected by a complex spell. Each Hunter carried one protected sword or knife. Nex was protected; the Kris had met with Demon blood many times before and was impervious to its corrosiveness. The other sword would only draw blood once on a Demon, but it would be enough if she could get it into the heart of the beast. As she darted in to take another chunk out of Shorty’s upper arm and sidestepped to avoid the spurt of blood she heard the others clash with their targets and smelt the distinct, acrid stench of burning Demon flesh. She ducked, narrowly avoiding a spear hurled with immense force straight towards her head, pivoted around in a semi-crouch and sprang forwards driving Nex directly into the Demon’s right eye. She danced backward, hissing as a drop of blood splattered the side of her face. It burnt like molten lava and she quickly wiped it off with the back of her gloved hand, and then bent to wipe her glove on the grass before the blood ate a hole through the toughened leather. She dropped the butterfly sword that had started to disintegrate, and grabbed another one out of a thigh sheath while the Demon bellowed, lurching around uselessly with Nex protruding from its eye. She darted back towards the Demon, and, using every ounce of her considerable strength, drove the butterfly sword directly into the Demon’s chest, cutting downward to open its chest cavity and expose its internal organs. It started to collapse to the ground, grabbing at her with huge, hairy hands as it did so, but she was as quick as lightning. She ripped Nex from its eye, kicked the Demon onto its back, dropped the other sword and, using both hands, plunged Nex straight into its black pulsating heart. She leapt back as black gunge spewed from its chest cavity, and stood watching as the body of the repulsive creature begin to liquefy. Soon it would only be a puddle of foul smelling, acidic jelly. The Clean-up crew would deal with the remnants of the Demon later. She snatched Nex out of the rancid mess, cursing as the Demon blood seared her exposed fingers. She quickly wiped the blood off with a strip of cloth from a pocket and threw it into the jellified remains. It was a hard-learnt trick of the trade to include scraps of tough cloth in your battle gear for exactly that purpose.
She did a quick scan of the four other fights; her blood was boiling with adrenaline, her breathing was quick and deep, her eyes bright and her face flushed with excitement, she revelled in the thrill of the fight. Lance had Godzilla careening around in agony, though his thrashing tail was posing a danger to anyone in the vicinity, the reptilian Demon was too overcome with the internal fire to really try and cause Lance any damage. Demons typically didn’t react in pain, they didn’t seem to feel any, the exception to this rule was pain caused by fire, and Lance’s fire in particular seemed to cause them agony.
Doug had shifted into the form of an enormous eagle and had ripped huge holes in the hide and wings of the Birdman Demon; they were now circling each other warily. The crossbow was lying blackened and smoking on the ground. Zippo was living up to his reputation today. Matt was still in human form facing off against the thin green Demon, so he obviously didn’t feel too overpowered. Matt had the rare Werewolf ability to change to his wolf form in seconds. If he found himself outclassed as a human fighter he simply retreated, ripped into his wolf form, and hurtled back at the, usually astounded, attacker in a blur of teeth and claws. Kyle was the only one looking like he could do with some help, the four-armed Demon was swinging the cruel looking flail at an alarming speed, making it almost impossible for Kyle to get anywhere near it. The Demon’s extra eyes made it difficult to rush it from any side, and even if he did get past the flail there were the three foot long war clubs to contend with. She knew he would be pissed at her later for intervening, but it was going to take more than one Hunter to take that Demon down.
She was just heading in Kyle’s direction when she heard the Magi cry out in alarm. “Shit,” she thought. “The Wraith.” She skidded to a halt and cast about seeking the ghostly Demon when an icy chill suddenly passed over her, freezing her in place. She knew instinctively that the Wraith was directly behind her. With a huge mental wrench she freed her immobilized muscles, and spun around to face the new threat. Now, standing only a few feet from the Demon she could see that it had no substantial form. It seemed to be made up of smoke and fog. As though air particles had been condensed and moulded into a vaguely human shape. Spectral hands protruded from the ends of its ragged sleeves, but no feet or face was visible, only glowing orbs suspended in the dark space of its cowl. It radiated pure, undiluted malevolence.
Gabi didn’t hesitate; she lunged directly at the creature, aiming Nex at the glowing orbs. As Nex pierced the air inside the dark cowl she felt a sharp jolt, like an electrical current. She felt herself picked up off the ground and flung backwards like a ragdoll, landing in a crumpled heap several metres away. She lay on the ground stunned; gasping for air, her limbs refusing to move.
“Holy Shit. Gabi!” Kyle yelled, taking his eyes off the four-armed Demon momentarily to assess Gabi’s situation. It was a mistake. The spiked flail caught him across his left side, pounding into his ribs and gouging strips of flesh and muscle as it tore free. Agony ripped through him, and he stumbled backwards falling on his backside. The fall saved his head from being concaved by the huge war club that hurtled through the air, directly where his head had been only a millisecond before. He’d lost his main sword, and reachin
g desperately for another weapon, his hand closed around the dartgun. The Demon rushed him, drawing back the flail once more. Kyle drew a gasping breath, steadied himself and fired the dartgun three times into the beast’s face.
The Demon tossed its head in annoyance at the bite of the darts, sending the flail down slightly off target, Kyle managed to wrench his body aside but the cruel, spiked head of the weapon caught a glancing blow off his upper thigh, tearing through the leather and lacerating the flesh beneath. The wolf inside him howled in fury, it wasn’t going to lie quietly and let him be flayed alive. The power of the wolf brought him to his feet, forcing him to move his agonised body away from the crazed Demon. It was floundering around, swiping at mid-air and roaring madly at unseen attackers. The Werewolf saliva was working through the Demon’s body; it would be incapacitated in seconds. Matt and Lance both streaked in towards it and plunged knives and swords into it, finishing it off quickly and efficiently.
“Gabi,” Kyle yelled again, clamping his left arm down over the bloody gashes in his side to try and staunch the flow of blood. She was slowly picking herself up off the ground, but she seemed unsteady and confused. She was blinking her eyes wildly, rubbing at them with her hands as the Wraith moved menacingly towards her.
“Shit, something’s wrong with Gabi,” he yelled to Matt and Lance. He started staggering painfully towards her, but then he felt Matt’s steely hand suddenly grip his shoulder.
“We’ve got her Wolf, get yourself to the medics,” Matt ordered and then sprinted after Lance towards Gabi and the Wraith. Kyle knew he wasn’t going to be any help in a fight, but the wolf wouldn’t let him just curl up and wait for the medics, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about the way Gabi was reacting. Lance and Matt placed themselves between Gabi and the Wraith and Lance began tossing fire balls at it, aiming for the eyes inside the cowl. The Magi had moved closer to the fight as well and were gesturing wildly to the other Hunters. Doug flew into the middle of the melee and changed back to human form, shouting at the Magi to start the Banishment spell. Kyle had managed to drag himself close enough to call to Gabi.
“Gabi, are you alright?” he shouted anxiously. “Gabs, you need to get back from there,” “The others have got it under control.” “I hope,” he added under his breath.
“Tell them not to touch it,” Gabi yelled frantically. “They mustn’t touch it!” There was an edge of hysteria in her voice.
She put her arm out towards him as though feeling for him, stumbling in his direction. It was in that instant he realised she was blind.
Gabi felt the air whoosh out of her lungs as her back hit the ground with a bone jarring crunch. The force had felt like huge electrical charge exploding through her body. She lost track of time while her lungs remembered how to breathe. She groggily opened her eyes, but the darkness still clouded her vision. She shook her head trying to clear the black fog from her eyes. Her limbs were shaking and she didn’t seem to have any control over them.
“Holy cow!” she muttered to herself, “what the hell is that thing?” In the distance she heard Kyle yell her name. She knew she had to get to her feet, had to clear the blackness from her eyes and prepare to face the Wraith again. She could smell the dry, musty odour of it, it was coming for round two and she wasn’t sure she had another round in her. How was she supposed to fight this thing? “Distract it until helps arrives,” she told herself sternly. “Get up!” She fumbled around until her hand closed around Nex’s hilt, then managed to get her feet and legs into some kind of order and dragged herself upright; swaying as she tried to lock her legs in place and take a confident stand. She wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to be drunk or stoned; her metabolism burned through alcohol and drugs so fast that she’d never experienced either. Maybe she was blind drunk she suddenly thought inanely, almost letting out a hysterical giggle. She started rubbing furiously at her weeping eyes, they were burning and itchy. Nothing she did seemed to clear the black fog. She couldn’t see anything, and she knew the Wraith was edging around to her other side, hoping to take her unawares. But she had other senses to rely on; she would concentrate on those and try not to think too hard about the blindness. She took in a steadying breath and was about to turn and face the creature when she heard Kyle call out to her again; asking if she was alright, telling her to move away, that the others were close enough to take over the fight. A surge of panic shot through her. They didn’t know what the Demon was capable of. She shouted at him to tell them not to touch it, but she wasn’t sure they’d listen in the heat of battle. She reached out blindly towards Kyle’s voice, and took a few steps in his direction. She could smell blood, Kyle’s blood.
“They’ve got it under control,’ he repeated, “the Magi are almost done with the spell.” At that moment she felt his hand take her outstretched arm and guide her into a warm, reassuring hug. She collapsed into his chest, not saying anything as she took an unsteady breath and put her arms around his waist. He flinched involuntarily, grunting softly; she could feel warm, sticky wetness under her arm where it touched him.
“Shit, Wolf,” she exclaimed. “You’re badly hurt. I could smell the blood, but I didn’t realise it was this bad. We need to get you to the medics.” She quickly sheathed Nex and began pushing him in a direction, but then realised she didn’t actually know which direction they needed to head in. The stench of Demon blood and burnt Demon flesh obscured the other odours around them, so she couldn’t even smell where the Clean-up teams were parked.
Kyle pulled her back to face him, put a finger under her chin and brought her face up towards his. “You can’t see me can you?” he asked softly. He was trying to keep the horror out of his voice, but it leaked through, and its presence sent a wave of icy cold fear cascading through her veins.
She shook her head quickly, not trusting her own voice.
He ran his thumbs over her eyelids and took her face in his hands. “We’ll sort this out, don’t worry. It’s probably something magic related, the Magi will know what to do.” He sounded like he was babbling, trying to mask his fear for her.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah, of course they will,” she agreed in a cheery, business-like voice. “It’s just a temporary thing, my body is still feeling the effects of the zap too, it’ll probably just wear off.” She wasn’t sure if it was him or herself that she was trying to convince, but bravado was better than collapsing in hysterics. She tried not to think too deeply about what the permanent loss of her eyesight would mean. What she would do if she couldn’t be a Hunter anymore.
“Now,” she continued with her false air of cheeriness, “point me in the right direction and we can get you to the medics.” She turned her body so that she was supporting him on the uninjured side. “Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?” she asked snidely.
He chuckled lightly then groaned, grabbing his torn side. “Don’t make me laugh Hellcat, I think I cracked some ribs,” he complained.
“That’ll teach you to take your eyes off a Demon with four arms,”
They had just begun their slow painful hobble back towards the parking area, when an enormous wave of elemental power crashed into them sending them both to their knees. A deafening roar, followed by a gale-like rushing of air signalled the end of the spell and the return of the Wraith to the Etherworld.
There was an excited hum as everyone gathered in the parking lot, mostly standing in small groups near the medical van. Gabi was sitting on the rear tailgate of one of the Clean-up vans while Melinda, a Healer Magus, applied a salve to the burns on her face and hands. She could hear Kyle a short distance away hissing as they patched him up. She could tell by the sharp intake of Harry’s breath that whatever injury Kyle had sustained, it was not a pretty sight. Harry, even though a pure human, was a seasoned vet at patching up Hunters after a fight. If Harry thought it was bad, then it was really unpleasant. It was a good thing that Kyle healed quickly; so quickly in fact, that it was a constant sore point
between him and Gabi.
Melinda told her calmly that she had already patched up some cuts, scrapes and burns on Doug; nothing too serious, and the other two Hunters had come out unscathed. Kyle was by far the worst off, but with his speedy healing he’d be good as new in a few days. She didn’t say anything about Gabi’s blindness; it was hanging over all of them like an oppressive cloud. Some of the Clean-up crew had been sent off for coffee and food from a near-by gas station, and the rest were disposing of the Demon remains using the specialized equipment Byron and the Tech Geeks had developed for such situations. She could hear Doug and the Magi discussing the assortment of Demons that had come through the veil. The Wraith was the hot topic of the night, and there was some heated debate as to what kind of Demon it was, and why it seemed so powerful.
“It must be some kind of mix between a Cheitan and a Shalbriri,” one of the male Magi theorised.
“You could be right, Christian,” a female voice answered. “The Cheitan is the traditional Wraith-type: born of smoke and air, but I’ve never heard of one with the power to cause an electric shock and blindness. The Shalbriri has the ability to cause blindness, but they are traditionally a solid-form Demon. This is something we’ve never encountered before. A combination of powers,” she drifted off thoughtfully.
“The researchers are going to have their work cut out for them tomorrow, trying to make sense of this attack,” came Christian’s voice again.
“Nothing was normal about this attack,” a different male voice chimed in. “We need to start liaising with other groups around the world to see if anyone else has experienced this kind of deviation from the norm.”
“And what about the Birdman?” This was the female again.” Do you think it was a Lanithro or an Arachula?”
A Cat's Chance in Hell Page 4
