Daemon Uprising

by Mariah Ankenman

  It was a good plan. Ticked her off she didn’t think of it, but something didn’t feel right. Why only one of them? And why would he be in plain sight? Sure, the trees provided cover, but Kiernan found him quickly. Most Kakos were crazy with madness, but these Kakos were smart. They wouldn’t make a move as obvious as this. Suddenly, the reason hit her.

  “Trap,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Well, aren’t you the smart one.” A cold voice chuckled from behind her.

  She whirled around. An ordinary-looking man stood behind her. A long square face with short dirty blond hair and narrow beady eyes.

  “Stryden.”

  “You will address The Dark One with his proper name,” a voice shouted from behind her.

  She spared a glance over her shoulder. Brone. Which meant Alec had been in the trees, the one Kiernan went after. Where were they anyway?

  “Oh, don’t worry about your partner,” Stryden replied to her upturned glance. “He’ll be dead soon, as will you, but not before I get that heart. Tele.”

  His eyes turned murderous as the sinister words left his lips.

  “Tell me, exactly what level are you?”

  Tabitha kept her lips tightly sealed. No way would she give this monster anything.

  Stryden chuckled. “What’s the matter…cat got your tongue?” Brone laughed along with his master at the idiotic joke.

  Two against one. Even with her Tele abilities, she doubted she’d escape with her heart still intact. The thought of never seeing anyone ever again brought tears to her eyes. Racine, Bucky, Krista, Kiernan…

  Where was Kiernan?

  Chapter 27

  The bastard tried to cut his wings. In all fairness, Kiernan had done the same to him just a few days ago, but still.

  Kiernan flew into the trees straight at the Kako and met a sophisticated trap meant to slice his wings clean off. He managed to dodge the practically invisible, but very sharp, metal blade strung up right in front of the waiting Kako. The Kako, whom Kiernan identified as Alec, had taken to the skies the moment he realized his trap failed. Kiernan followed in hot pursuit.

  The asshole was fast. Alec zigzagged, flying up and down, toying with him instead of running from him. Something felt off about this whole situation. Suddenly, Kiernan realized what was going on. Alec was a distraction, keeping him in the air and away from…Tabitha. Shit!

  In a swift jerking motion he knew was going to hurt later, Kiernan stopped midair and turned. He had to get back to Tabitha. They had been set up. Getting his bearings, he flew as fast as his wings would carry him back to the spot in the woods where he left her. Stupid, stupid move! He shouldn’t have left her. He should have paid more attention.

  Once Alec realized he was no longer following, the Kako would be hot on his tail, but Kiernan didn’t care. All that mattered was Tabitha. Why the hell did they want her anyway? He’d killed Shanna. If Stryden was after revenge, why not set the trap for him? Unless, they discovered Tabitha was his Tira. Best way to hurt a man was to kill the woman he loved. Shit. How did they find out? And how did they know Kiernan and Tabitha would search this part of the pass? Where did these Kakos get their intel? He smelled a rat, but he didn’t have time to think about that right now. Right now he had to get back to the woman he loved.

  ****

  Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!

  What was she going to do? Tabitha held her sword out and extended it, but she faced two Kakos. She doubted even Racine could take two Kakos. She pressed the homing beacon on her watch, a device Celia had invented. It sent a direct link of the location of the watch wearer to the other comm watches, currently on Kiernan, Hyde, Saint, Barrett, and Cade. It would take them a few minutes to get to her though.

  Shit.

  It looked like she had to find a way out of this one herself. She moved sideways, trying to keep both Kakos in sight. Brone shifted behind her, sneering.

  “Give it up, Enforcer. You’re not going to get out of this. It’s two against one.”

  “Then how about we even those odds?”

  She turned at the familiar and very welcome voice. Kiernan hovered about three feet off the ground right behind Brone. His sword already in motion, coming down toward the Kako’s neck. Brone was quick, though. He dropped and rolled out of Kiernan’s swing, rising with his own sword out and at the ready.

  “I killed Shanna. I’m the one you want,” Kiernan shouted to Stryden, his eyes still on Brone. “Let her go.”

  “You think this is about Shanna?” Stryden laughed. “I couldn’t care less about that bitch. There are dozens more just waiting to take her place.”

  That had to be comforting for Brone to hear.

  Stryden’s gaze went from Kiernan to her. A sinister smile curled his lips. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

  Fear clutched her. If Kiernan discovered she was a Tele, he would hate her. Or at the very least be angry she didn’t tell him. Tira or not, he would lock her up. One of her biggest fears. The best way to protect her. But she didn’t want to live locked away for the rest of her life, which at the moment did not look very long. She wanted to live her life and accept the risks.

  Letting out a fierce scream, she rushed Stryden. A stupid move, he was faster and stronger than her, but luck was on her side. She caught the Kako leader off guard. Apparently, he didn’t think she was stupid enough to attack him outright. Never underestimate the stupidity of people in desperate situations.

  She managed to slice deep into the tissue of his shoulder. His last minute shift caused her to miss her target, his neck, preventing his head from coming off, but she still hurt him.

  Stryden swore. In a flash, a sword appeared in his hand. He swung, but she was high on adrenaline now. Quickly, she tucked into a roll. Stryden’s blade slammed into the soft packed snow. Tabitha jumped up again, sword at the ready.

  From the grunting and clanging of steel on steel, she knew Brone and Kiernan had taken their cue and also battled. She wanted to see how Kiernan was faring but didn’t dare take her eyes off Stryden.

  He laughed manically before lunging. She quickly sidestepped the move, countering with a swipe of her own. This time Stryden was ready. He blocked her sword with a hefty blow. The force was so strong Tabitha lost her grip. Her sword went flying into the snow a few feet away.

  “Tabitha!”

  She turned at Kiernan’s roar. Brone’s head was firmly locked in the crook of Kiernan’s arm. The Kako had lost any weapon he had on him. His arms flailed about, trying to find any purchase on Kiernan’s body, to no avail. Brone’s eyes bugged out of his head as his oxygen was cut off. Both men were bloody and ragged, but at least Kiernan looked as though he was winning. For the moment.

  “Here.”

  Kiernan tossed his sword into the air. Not wanting to deprive the man she probably loved of his weapon—but with no way to argue when a two-foot-long steel blade was headed her way—she stretched out her hand to catch the sword. Because she was in a hurry, and because Kiernan most likely would not notice, she used her powers to help the sword reach her hand faster.

  Good thing too, because she didn’t have a moment to breathe before Stryden fell upon her. The few seconds it took to clutch Kiernan’s sword cost her. A sharp sting sliced across her arm. Quickly, she pivoted out of the way. She’d been hit. She’d had sword wounds before, so she was quite familiar with the pain. She didn’t dare inspect it. Her eyes were fixed on Stryden.

  “Give it up. You can’t defeat me,” Stryden growled.

  “Did you go to bad-gimmick-lines school?” she retorted. “That is exactly what every villain says right before the good guy takes him down.”

  “You really think you can take me down on your own?”

  “She’s not on her own,” Kiernan shouted. A snap of bone sounded, then the falling of a body. A moment later, Kiernan stood beside her with her sword in his hand. “Sorry about Brone. I just can’t seem to help myself from killing all your followers. Just exactly how did you get
them to follow you again?”

  Stryden glared at Kiernan with pure loathing. He opened his mouth and spewed hateful words. She didn’t understand them because they were spoken in that strange Kako language, but she recognized them as the exact phrase Kiernan repeated earlier. The one his father used to say.

  Kiernan’s gaze went dark. His lips pulled back in a snarl, knuckles white from the grip he held on her sword.

  “Not in this lifetime, buddy.” A growl escaped from clenched teeth.

  Oh, now she really wanted to know what was in that note.

  Tabitha pushed her curiosity aside to deal with the life and death situation in front of her. Currently, they stood two against one, but Stryden was strong and Alec could return any moment.

  “Of course, you do have a secret weapon in your arsenal…” Stryden’s eyes lit up with humor, mocking her.

  “Just shut up and die, scum bag,” she shouted before Stryden could finish his revelation. If Kiernan knew, it would change everything. He’d tell Racine and then they’d lock her away. For her own protection, of course, but no one was going to lock her away, no one.

  She charged Stryden, sword out. He blocked her easily, sending her tumbling to the ground again. Kiernan was right behind her with an attack of his own. Stryden blocked it as well, but the swiftness of their double attack caused the Kako to lose his footing. The men went down in a mass of arms and legs. Each man’s sword flew from their hands, skidding across the frozen ground, buried by the snow.

  Tabitha clutched Kiernan’s sword tightly. She rose to her feet only to stumble back down as sharp pain shot up her right leg. Shit! She’d twisted her ankle on the last dive she took.

  Kiernan and Stryden continued rolling around in the snow, swords abandoned for fists. The sound of flesh smacking into bone echoed loudly in the quiet forest. Too hard to tell who had the upper hand at the moment. Kiernan was a good fighter, one of the best, but Stryden had Kako strength on his side. Damn, she had to do something.

  Her eyes scanned the night sky. Where was the rest of the team? She pressed her locator button at least five minutes ago. How far away could they be? Stupid question. They were in a national forest covering hundreds of miles. Even flying, would take ten minutes at least.

  There was something she could do to help, even with her injured status, but she hesitated. If she used her powers to help, Kiernan would discover she was a Tele. Would he keep her secret? They were Tiras, soul mates. The proof stared her in the face every time she looked in the mirror. Truthfully, her feelings for Kiernan were harder to deny, but even being his Tira, Tabitha didn’t think Kiernan would keep information that important away from Racine. Plus, he would probably agree with locking her up. For her own good, of course.

  Another series of grunts came from the two men rolling in the snow. She had to do something, now. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she stood. Wincing with each step, but determined to make it, she raced over to the pile of flailing Daemon arms and legs. She got only a few feet before her feet were swept under her once again. Pain radiated up her leg. She hadn’t fallen; something caused her to fall. Her ankle hurt worse, stinging now. When she looked down, she saw blood seeping through the bottom right leg of her pants. Protruding from her right calf was a large arrow.

  Swearing profusely, she scanned the trees. There in the tops stood Alec, bow in hand, ready with another arrow. An arrow now heading straight for her. Spewing out another terse four-letter word, she rolled quickly out of the arrow’s path. It pierced the ground where she had just been lying. They were so screwed.

  “Alec, now!”

  She turned her head at Stryden’s shout to see a sight that made her blood turn cold. Stryden had Kiernan in a headlock. Both Daemons were bloody and exhausted, but Kiernan still struggled against the hold, in vain, Stryden clearly stronger.

  “Do it! Do it now!”

  Alec pulled out a chakram. The sharp blade of the weapon glistened in the moonlight. The throwing weapon was very sharp and very deadly. It could definitely take off the head off any creature it came in contact with.

  Alec hurled the weapon through the air. The path of the blade headed straight for Kiernan and Stryden. The Kako leader’s eyes never left the chakram’s path. She saw the plan in the twisted man’s eyes. He would move at the last second and let it slice Kiernan’s head off. Her heart stopped beating. She couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t lose Kiernan. Not when she just realized how much he meant to her.

  All thoughts of herself and her secrets gone, Tabitha flung her hands out with a scream.

  “NO!”

  The chakram flew from its path, deflected by her mental push, and stuck deeply into the bark of a large pine tree. Stryden’s grip on Kiernan loosened at the abrupt change of trajectory. The tiny slip all she needed. Concentrating once again, she used her mind to pull Kiernan from the Kako leader’s grasp. He slid across the snow landing in a heap in front of her. Not finished and definitely still angry, Tabitha pulled all three swords from the snow where they had been lost and launched them directly at Stryden. The Kako took to the sky, laughing as each blade whizzed past him.

  “Boss, we got company.”

  Tabitha didn’t take her eyes off Stryden, but she heard the faint sound of wings in the air. Reinforcements. Took them long enough.

  Stryden looked down at them. His eyes locked with hers as a wicked grin split his face.

  “See you soon.”

  With that they were gone. And so was life as she knew it.

  Chapter 28

  Kiernan rubbed his neck. Bastard damned near cut off his oxygen supply. Of course, it could have been worse. He could have had his head taken off by a chakram. But it flew into a tree instead, something chakrams didn’t do. And then, somehow, he skidded across the ground to Tabitha, something he didn’t do. And the swords…what the hell? He sat up. Tabitha breathed heavily, her eyes still staring at the spot Stryden had been. His foggy brain cleared. Oh shit, Kiernan knew what was going on now.

  “You’re a Tele.”

  Her gaze jerked back to him as the words left his mouth, harsher than he intended due to the recent strangulation. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Soft brown eyes held so much fear. Why was she afraid? True, Teles were much sought after in the supernatural world. The heart of a Tele transferred their powers, but surely Tabitha knew she had nothing to fear from him?

  “Tabitha…” He reached for her, but she scooted away. His heart broke. She didn’t trust him. Didn’t she know he would rather die than ever hurt her? “It’s all right; I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “I know that.” She shook her head “But you’ll tell Racine, and he’ll lock me away.”

  He stared at her, confused. “What?”

  “He’s going to lock me away. For my own good, to protect me, but it won’t protect me.”

  She tried to stand but immediately fell down, grasping her right leg. He glanced down to see an arrow sticking out of her calf.

  “Shit. Tabitha, hold still.” He leaned forward to grasp the arrow, but she shifted away again. He didn’t let her get far. Coming to his knees, he grabbed her gently by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. “Tabitha, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to let anyone lock you away. We’ll deal with what we tell Racine later, but right now I need to get this arrow out of your leg.”

  Her eyes glistened as tears threatened to spill over. “You’re not afraid of me? Of what I can do?”

  He cupped her cheeks with his hands. “The only thing I’m afraid of is losing you. Now let me take this arrow out.”

  A hesitant smile plucked at the corner of her lips. She stopped resisting and nodded.

  “It’s going to hurt, baby. I’m sorry.” He wished he could heal it for her afterwards, but a deep puncture wound required more healing than even Daemon breath could handle.

  “Just do it.” She shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away.

  Wishing he had taken the arrow instead of her, h
e took a deep breath. He braced one hand on her leg, holding it down. With the other hand, he gripped the arrow firmly. He didn’t count, didn’t give her any warning, warning only made people tense up. In one swift move, he pulled. The arrow tore from her leg as a scream ripped from her throat. He hated that it hurt, but they had to get it out. Flinging the bloody arrow into the snow, he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her head, face, lips as he whispered to her everything would be all right. It wouldn’t, but right now he didn’t know what else to say.

  “What the hell happened here?”

  Kiernan turned his head at the sound of Hyde’s voice. Tabitha must have pushed her homing beacon. He’d been so concerned about getting back to her, he hadn’t even thought to push his. The entire team stood in the middle of the clearing. Barrett and Cade surveyed the once pure white snow now packed down and red with blood, a lot of it his own. Saint scanned the night sky, no doubt looking for the Kakos. Good luck, they were long gone. Hyde rushed over to Kiernan and Tabitha, kneeling down beside them.

  “Hell, man, you guys okay?”

  He nodded, even as blood from a cut on his forehead dripped into his eyes. He wiped at the red liquid with the back of his hand. “We need to get back to headquarters. Tabitha’s hurt.”

  Concern etched deep in his eyes, Hyde spoke to Tabitha. “Tabitha? You okay?”

  She pulled her head from his chest. Tears streaked down her face. “It was an ambush. They were waiting for us.”

  “How did they know you’d be here?”

  Only one way the Kakos could have known about the search party. A mole. It burned Kiernan’s blood to think one of their own had deceived them. They had to find whoever betrayed the council and take them out. But first they had to get back to headquarters. Tabitha needed medical care.

  “They’re long gone,” Saint stated from the middle of the clearing.

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  Saint’s gaze snapped to him. “They masked their scent, but not fully. I can still track them.”

  “Hyde.” Kiernan eyed his fellow Enforcer. They had worked together for so many years they didn’t need words. Hyde understood a mole existed for this operation to get so screwed up. Not that they didn’t trust Saint and his teammates, but everyone was a suspect until proven otherwise. Especially new people.