She was suddenly able to see … inside it!
Precisely how she could do that, she wasn’t sure. But she could see the faint frame of the demon’s skeleton. And she could see its slowly beating heart. It was a huge thing, larger than a catcher’s mitt and jet black. And it was not where you’d imagine it to be. No, it was right down low, practically level with the ground. They’d been shooting higher, and their slugs had not gone near it.
What is this? I don’t have X-ray eyes!
But then she guessed it might be May again, using her special powers.
Although it didn’t last for too much longer. Tavanah’s outer hide solidified again, the rows of coppery scales returning. It had only been the briefest glimpse. But in that time, Cass had burned the heart’s location deep into her memory. She started getting up.
She was still wobbly, and got no further than her knees. Sat back on her arched heels for support. Her Mossberg was lying on the ground beside her, easily within arm’s reach, so she retrieved it.
Raised it. Tried to pump a fresh round into the chamber.
Except the previous shell did not eject. Her head reeled dizzily. Was this thing stuck?
She pumped several more times, but was rewarded only with a hollow clacking. So this gun was empty too. And she could feel her temples pounding.
The creature up ahead of her was rearing above Ross. But then it heard the clattering that she was making. Swung toward her with a startled grunt. And when it saw that she’d returned to consciousness, its purple eyes narrowed, its expression screwing up.
Tavanah’s mouth stretched very wide, displaying its array of fangs. She seemed to forget about Ross, remembering who’d started this, and she came bearing down on Cass like an express train.
Cassie didn’t even blink. She dropped the Mossberg, reached into her boot and yanked out the big butterfly knife that she always kept taped there. Flipped it open, revealing its blade, and swung it back across her shoulder.
Hurled it, aiming low.
It went straight through the creature’s scales, embedding itself fully, and the demon slowed down before stopping dead.
Tavanah turned her gaze down to the hilt protruding from her belly, astonishment writ large across her features. The tips of her three tails were twitching furiously, but the rest of her long body was completely frozen.
“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Cassie shrugged. “I had my other weapons sanctified as well.”
Which got her a dismayed stare. The purple glow was bleeding from the devil’s eyes, and they were going back to being Becky’s color.
“And this is how a fight gets won,” Cass added. “I would have thought a thug like you would know about this kind of stuff. Maybe you should take some notes?”
You couldn’t really kill these things – Ross had brought her up to speed on that. But the entire enormous serpentine form started to lose its shape and begin swirling round. And then it started dwindling and contracting. It was being forced out of this world and back to its true home.
That was the thing about creatures like this. They thought that they were so damned tough when it was them who had the upper hand. But it wasn’t strength in victory that worked for you – it was sticking to a hard job in adversity.
Why didn’t they even know that? Cassie smiled.
The creature’s outline was still shrinking, getting far smaller and less distinct. One final, desperate wail, and then it vanished altogether. And – the rumbling of the molten rock apart – the hillside went entirely silent.
Cassie got pretty light-headed, after that. She let herself tip over on one side.
And then she stayed there, breathing gently.
Glad to still be breathing too.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
I was stunned for a while, and couldn’t think how to react. Who wouldn’t be that way, after what we’d been through? So I stood and watched while Lauren went across to Cass, knelt down by her and clutched her gently.
“You okay?” I heard her croaking.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I mean, like, most things hurt, but otherwise I’m good.”
“And your baby?”
“May’s in way better shape than I am. You can take my word on that.”
My lungs had started working fairly normally, which hadn’t been the case in quite a while. Maybe I’d even stop shaking by the time that summer came around. Everything around me looked like it was being viewed through smeary glass. This had been as close a call as any I had ever known. I blinked several times, peering about in a rather vacant fashion.
Now that the devil was gone, the fissures were all closing up. There was still plenty of lava on the hillside, but it wasn’t being added to, and so wouldn’t engulf us. Its edges were already darkening, its progress slowing down. It still looked good and hot, and would doubtless stay that way for hours. But we were simply going to end up as the only town in Massachusetts that had several tons of fresh volcanic rock inside its borders. I could live with that.
I took a few more deep, slow breaths. And, when I was sure that I could walk straight, I headed across.
“I don’t understand,” I could hear Lauren asking. “How did you make those bullets so effective?”
“I’ll explain later.”
But I thought that I could guess. My palm was still damp from where it had been clutching Cassie’s Glock. It wasn’t gun-oil, and it wasn’t perspiration. I sniffed at it, and got no odor. But it couldn’t possibly be ordinary water.
When I reached her, Cass peered up at me. And I stared down.
“Is this what you call following doctor’s orders?” I asked her sternly. “This is your idea of taking things easy?”
Her face, which had been slack till now, scowled back.
“A ‘thank you’ would be nice.”
But I wasn’t taking any backchat from her.
“Didn’t you listen to a thing I told you?”
“Protecting the future?” And she rolled her eyes. “Yeah. But to protect the future, Ross, there has to be a present in the first place.”
And she had a point, but I was still annoyed. I clenched my jaw and wiped my palm against my coat.
“Neat trick with the Holy Water,” I said. “How’d you figure that one out?”
“It just came to me. Kind of … a hunch.”
But why that particular one? Maybe she was keeping something from me, but I saw no point in trying to push it any further.
So I nodded, struggling to keep any hint of a smile from showing on my face. I didn’t want her thinking I was pleased with her, not when she’d risked May’s safety that way.
“Those were a couple of hefty knocks you took. And so it’s back to the hospital with you, and right away.”
“Like hell.” She was levering herself to her feet with Lauren’s help, but paused. “I’m perfectly okay.”
“But you don’t know how your child is.”
“Yes, Ross! But I do!”
I studied her expression, wondering what was really going on here. She was definitely hiding something, since there was a calm, almost serene, certainty to her gaze.
Only I couldn’t see how this made any sense. How could she possibly know what condition her unborn child was in? But then I reminded myself who the father was. She was carrying an adept’s baby. And I wasn’t certain what that meant, but if she reckoned that her kid was healthy, well, I wasn’t going to argue with her any longer.
“Okay, then,” I agreed. “But at the very least you’re going straight back home. Get in that truck, and not the driver’s seat. Take it slow. Let Lauren help you.”
“Oh, terrific,” Cass was muttering as she turned away. “Mr. Mom is back, and fussier than ever.”
It was only when she was hobbling off that I finally allowed myself to grin. The smoke was thinning on the air. The lava was still cooling. And the people down below were getting the last fires beat. All wasn’t well in our little world, but it was a whole lot better than it sho
uld have been.
Then I noticed where Cassie had seated herself, and I yelled, “You’re not driving! Slide over!”
“But it’s mine!”
“That thing?”
“It’s on loan!”
With one of its windows busted out like that? God, she never changed, not really.
By the time that we arrived on Rowan Street, a strong wind had sprung up. The smoke had been entirely blown away, and the few remaining dark clouds overhead had been replaced by larger white ones, pale against a stark, bleached sky. It was only when we got out that we really felt it, though. A biting chill had crept back in, replacing the milder weather. So the opening to Hell had closed.
We went into Cassie’s home, leading her over to the couch and making her sit down. Lauren disappeared into the kitchen to make coffee for the pair of us and fruit tea for our host.
And she was bringing the three mugs through on a tray, when a few white flakes went sailing past the window, followed shortly by a whole bunch more.
“Hey!” Cassie grinned, springing to her feet.
“Where d’you think you’re going?”
“It’s snowing again,” she blurted. “And I want to feel it on my face.”
“No way.”
I set her back down on the couch. And then I went around the room gathering every cushion I could find, and plumped them up behind her back. Lauren went through into the bedroom and returned with a blanket, which she draped carefully over Cassie’s knees.
“This is bull!” Cass objected, trying to struggle out from under. “I don’t need this stuff!”
But Lauren froze her with a look.
“Stay still. Be quiet.” And she wagged a finger. “Shush!”
Cassie stared back at the pair of us with open disbelief.
“The two of you are ganging up on me? And how’s that fair?”
But then she gave the matter some more thought, smiled resignedly and settled back, pulling the blanket up around her throat.
Me and Lauren sat down on the couch as well – one on either side of her – and we watched the falling snow together as it made the town look clean again.
From Simon & Schuster/Pocket Star in ebook form:
TROPIC OF DARKNESS
Enter a dim-lit, sultry world full of the darkest secrets, where age-old legends come to life, dreams get mixed up with reality, and nothing save for death is truly as it seems.
Jack Gilliard is a man with a dark past, and he hasn’t been back to the United States for more than a decade. But when he washes up in Havana, Cuba, he finds himself being drawn into a business darker than he ever dared think. Ancient passions, ancient treacheries, an age-old curse, and the evils of his past are now consuming the present—and Jack is caught in the midst of it all. To survive, all he has to do is leave the country—a prospect much more difficult than anticipated. But the real question is: can Jack escape before the darkness claims him altogether?
“The tension built well as the story progressed and kept me turning pages. All in all, Tropic of Darkness is a well-crafted tale, and well worth reading. I rate this work as Highly Recommended for adult readers” – The Monster Librarian.
And from Samhain Publishing:
UNDER THE ICE
Be careful what you wish for.
What started out as fun turned to tragedy. Bobby was enjoying a day with his girlfriend, Krista, and his brother, David. Until the ferry ride home, when Bobby fell overboard and disappeared into the ice water. His body was never found. Now, two years later, David has taken Bobby’s place with Krista, but they still miss Bobby every day. So when a strange woman gives them a cross that she says can grant them one wish, David wishes his brother would come back. After all, wishes can’t come true. Or can they?
“Under the Ice is a stellar tale … brilliant, well thought out, and perfectly delivered” – Horror Novel Reviews.
“The story powers along and is told with great style by an author at the height of his artistic powers. He's every bit as good as the best you'd care to mention. Download Under the Ice now. It absolutely cannot be missed!” – Amazon reviews.
More Raine’s Landing on Kindle:
DEADLY VIOLET
It’s late December now. People are getting ready for the holidays, scarcely guessing what is coming their way next. Because a psychic beggar girl in the town’s Victorian past has gotten hold of a magical jewel that massively expands her powers – she has reached out with her mind through time itself, making contact with Raine’s Landing in the present day.
The only problem is, she’s warped the fabric of reality by doing that. Rows of houses begin vanishing, with their occupants still inside. Bizarre creatures, some of them extremely dangerous, start to roam the streets. And if Ross, Cassie, and Doc Willets are going to stop their hometown from disappearing altogether, then they’re going to need an awful lot of help.
“Deadly Violet just hums along, taking you at high speed to places of which you have never dreamed. In fact, I think (it) is the best Raine’s Landing novel to date. Be sure to pick up a copy of this superb fantasy” – The Deepening Review Site.
“This is what modern Dark Fantasy OUGHT to be” – Goodreads.
Other ebooks by Tony Richards include:
THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE 21ST CENTURY
DARK FUTURES: SF MEETS HORROR
ALSISO – short thrillers.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE – erotic horror tales.
A NIGHT IN TUNISIA – long supernatural tale.
NO MAN – sf/fantasy novel.
TOUCHED BY MAGIC: HUMAN DRAMAS IN THE PARANORMAL WORLD
REAL LIFE – humorous fantasy.
THE BOOKS OF SHADOW: VOLUMES I-III – horror stories.
THE VERY EDGE OF NEW HARARE – futuristic murder mystery.
And, writing as A.G. Richards:
THE ROSE COTTAGE
BALANCING ACT
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