by Michael Todd
The demon turned to ash beneath him. Juntto watched as Katie and Calvin sliced and stabbed demons, one after the other. He looked at his bloodied fist, then at their blades. “I really need Juntto-sized weapons. Then I won’t be stuck human-sized during fights.”
Katie kicked a demon in the nuts and yelled, “Right, but how many times do you actually get bigger?”
Juntto shrugged his shoulders. “Not often.”
Katie slid her knives into their sheaths and spun, kicking four demons in the chest as she whirled. When her foot came to a stop, she pulled her guns and fired until there was nothing left except a circle of ash. She let out a deep breath and put her guns down, looking across the courtyard. “We got them all, I think, or at least those that didn’t flee back into the portal…which is still open.”
Juntto and Calvin stood beside her and stared at the swirling portal. “Maybe they forgot. You know, like leaving the front door open or something.”
Katie raised an eyebrow. “Or this is just the beginning.”
As if caused by her words, the portal vibrated slightly and split open wider. A blast of heat and energy hit the three of them like a wall and threw them back. They slid across the ground and came to a stop, dirt and grass all around them. Katie shook her head, her ears ringing. Pandora sniffed. Oh hell, not again.
Juntto, Katie, and Calvin looked up as Moloch stepped through the portal, growling as he came. He was healed except for the slight limp. He put both clawed feet on the ground and clenched his fists, his body growing until it towered over them.
Moloch looked around and began to laugh. Muscles twitched violently in his arms and thighs as he came to a stop. “Pathetic humans. You can’t even stop a small incursion. Look at this mess. And what did you think—pointing guns at my other gate was going to stop me from coming here? Pathetic!”
He bellowed louder, showing his sharp, pointed teeth. Saliva dripped from his fangs and splashed on the ground. He spotted Juntto and Calvin scrambling to their feet. Katie was already up, and this time she wasn’t fucking around. She pulled in her energy and lifted her arms, and a bright flash of light stopped Moloch’s laughter in its tracks.
Her golden armor snapped to her body. A heavenly sword appeared in one hand, a shield in the other. She took off across the lawn, screaming the pain and grief that had been consuming her. Before Moloch could move, she was in the air slicing her sword across his stomach. She flew past him and rolled forward, hitting the ground and tumbling a few feet before finding her legs.
Moloch put his hand on the cut and licked the blood off his fingers. An eerily calm smile spread across his lips. “Bitch, you don’t scare me anymore. You aren’t even fully an angel. You were only able to kill T’Chezz because he was weak!”
Juntto lumbered toward them, his gaze locked on Katie’s. She nodded, and Juntto began to grow. Channing Tatum disappeared and in his place was the original blue badass frost giant, pumped and ready for a fight. He slammed a fist hard into Moloch, and the two faced off. They grappled like massive wrestlers as Juntto attempted to push him back through the portal. Calvin sprinted to Katie and looked at her shield. “That’s a nice touch.”
“You know me—go big or fucking go home. I’m tired of this sonofabitch ruining my plans. Come on, let’s give him a little leg action.”
Katie wiggled her eyebrows and Calvin laughed, pulling out his sword. “I go right, you go left?”
Katie opened her mouth to agree when the portal flashed again. Another demon stepped through, this one larger and even stronger than Moloch. Katie stopped in her tracks, wrinkling her nose and staring at the crooked beast. Who the fuck is that?
Pandora snarled. Fucking Beelzebub. I should have known. I bet he’s the one behind this lava bullshit.
As soon as Katie heard the word “lava” she saw red. The metal of her sword hilt warmed in her hand, and she gripped it tighter. Staring at the beast, she snarled, “Okay, Calvin. Plan’s changed. Let’s take both of them down.”
Calvin whooped and ran toward Moloch, slicing his sword across the demon’s large ankles.
Katie ran toward Beelzebub, her shield held high in front of her. She slammed into the demon, expecting the force to knock him back. Instead, she bounced off of his scales, falling backward onto her ass. Beelzebub looked down at Katie and began to laugh. “This is the human you were so terrified of? She’s pathetic.”
Pandora was fuming mad. What the fuck is he doing here? He was exiled to the outer rings decades ago. Now he’s fighting alongside Moloch. Oh, girl, I think something crazy is going on. We may have just entered a whole new level of the War of the Damned.
Katie stood and shook the dirt from her hair, backing up. What does that mean?
Pandora sighed. I don’t fucking know. I need more information. What the piss is happening here?
Katie couldn’t just stand still. Calvin and Juntto were still fighting Moloch. Katie spun back around to face Beelzebub and found his face was level with hers, huge and crooked. Katie gasped and slammed her shield into his nose. He winced and backed up, rubbing his face.
Katie shouted, “What the fuck do you have to do with this fight? If you’re looking for glory, you came to the wrong damn place. We own this planet, and neither you nor your lackeys are going to take it from us.”
Beelzebub laughed loudly, putting his hand on his stomach. “You stupid bitch, I will take what I want whenever I want to take it. It so happens that today I’m here for you.”
Pandora screamed, Shit. Get out of there!
Before Katie could react, Beelzebub’s hands were swinging toward the ground. As they made thunderous contact, bolts of electricity shot in every direction. Katie put up her shield, and the electricity slammed against the metal, then dissipated. She slowly picked her head up and narrowed her eyes. Her teeth ground against each other, and she bolted forward, swinging her sword as hard as she could. The blade cut through Beelzebub’s massive leg and he wailed, tumbling to the ground.
Katie’s eyes grew wide as she watched him trip over his feet and smash into Moloch. Juntto backed up as they rolled across the marshland. Katie pumped her fists but slowly stopped. Lying on the ground where the demon had stood was Calvin, his head bleeding and his body twitching. “Calvin!”
She ran to his side and knelt beside him. He blinked his eyes until Katie came into focus. “What the hell happened?”
Katie wiped the blood away from his forehead. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he would fall into Moloch like that. This is all my fault. You never should have been in harm’s way.”
Calvin reached up and batted at her long dark hair. “You know, this is probably the fourth time I’ve seen you with your hair down. Looks good.”
Calvin was lying half-dead in the marsh, and he still couldn’t help thinking about other people. Tears sprang to Katie’s eyes. “Oh, God. Just hold on, okay? I’ll get you out of this fight. You just have to hold on. Don’t give in to whatever pain you feel.”
Pandora yelled. Drag him to the sidelines. I’ve got an idea. Just get him out of harm’s way. Those two fools will kill him faster than they can say my name.
Katie swallowed hard and carefully picked him up. She groaned as she tossed him over her shoulder and ran him to safety far from the snarling demons. His blood ran over her shoulder with every step she took.
When she reached the edge of the courtyard, she laid him gently on the ground. He coughed. Blood splattered through his teeth and down his chin. Katie didn’t know what to do, and panic was taking over. Pandora, you have to do something. What is this? He’s fucking dying.
Pandora hushed her. Calm your fucking tits, woman. I’m working on it. I need it to be fucking quiet.
Katie looked back over her shoulder. Juntto was taking on both of the huge demons at once. He was strong, but she wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep that up. She was strong as hell, and fighting only one of them had exhausted her. The demons were powerful—more so than ever, it seemed. At
that moment, she missed Brock and the team. If they had been there, things would have been different. They would have been fighting their asses off. But that wasn’t the way that it had turned out.
Pandora took a ragged breath. Okay, here’s what we are going to do.
Pandora whispered in Katie’s head, letting her know every aspect of the plan. Katie wasn’t sure it would work, but they couldn’t sit around waiting for something to happen. Okay. If you think it’ll work, let’s fucking do this.
Katie scooted on her knees back to Calvin’s side and took his hand in hers. “Do you trust me?”
Calvin chuckled. “With whatever is left of my life. Why?”
Katie shook her head. “I just need to know you’re open to me.”
Pandora barged in using Katie’s voice. “Hey, big man. Pandora here.”
Calvin smiled his bloody smile. “Well, look who the cat drug in. I was starting to wonder if you were real, but I remember seeing you across the table from me. I watched you fight those assholes for our freedom.”
Pandora smiled. “You’re keeping tabs on me, are you? I thought you had a girlfriend.”
Calvin laughed, then winced as the muscles on the left side of his body cramped up. “Hey, Pandora, you got any magic up that sleeve that can help me heal? I don’t think my demon can handle this level of injury.”
Pandora leaned close to his ear and whispered the plan to him. His eyes immediately darted to hers. “Are you sure?”
Pandora nodded, then gave their body back to Katie. Calvin saw the change in her eyes. “Katie? Are you sure?”
Katie gave him a grin. “Hell, yeah, I’m sure. Let’s get this shit over with, shall we? Those sneaky motherfuckers aren’t going to take one more thing from our lives. Not our friends, not our family, nothing.”
Calvin reached up and grabbed Katie’s hand, his arm shaking. “Fuck, yes!”
Katie nodded. Okay, Pandora, you’re on. I hope you know what you’re doing. This guy’s important to me.
Pandora drew energy around her and turned Katie’s body toward Calvin. He lay on the ground staring at her, then gasped. His body twitched and was still. For a moment Katie thought Calvin had died, but when his eyes began to glow, it was obvious Pandora was up to her old tricks.
Katie leaned forward and whispered into Calvin’s ear, “Stay down there like you’re injured. Wait until this plays out before giving them any inkling of what’s going on. Understand?”
Calvin nodded slightly and relaxed to the ground. He faked several coughs as Katie clenched her fists and stood up, her back to the two demons. She mustered her angelic powers, her jaw clenched and her eyes blazing blue. The anger and angst of the loss of Brock and his team gave her the extra fuel she needed.
Moloch stepped aside as Beelzebub was fighting Juntto. He could see Katie standing over Calvin. “Hey, human meatsack. You just gonna stand there or you gonna join the fight? Or hell, are you sending in Juntto because you don’t care if he lives?”
Katie spun, her eyes shimmering blue before dimming to a dull red. She clapped her hands, and her armor and weapons disappeared. She grabbed the front zipper of her shirt and slowly pulled it down to reveal her heaving cleavage. Because Pandora had created them, her massive breasts stood up on their own, violating the laws of gravity—and morality laws in several states.
Katie bit her lip and began walking toward Moloch. She used every bit of seduction she could conjure. Her hips swayed from side to side, and her ass jiggled in time with her steps. Her lips curled into a feral grin. Moloch stumbled over his words for a second as he watched her. Katie laughed loudly. “Oh, poor Moloch. Never seen a pair of these before? Doesn’t surprise me, since you are a straight-up cocksucker.”
Moloch snarled and then roared as Katie lunged toward him at full speed. She put her arm up and summoned her shield and sword again. The gold on the shield reflected the overhead light, blinding Moloch for a moment. He put his arm up to block the light as she barreled forward and she went low, jamming her sword into the top of his foot.
Moloch screamed and began jumping up and down holding his bloody foot, Katie’s sword was still protruding from it. After a couple of seconds he slammed it down, the rage on his face growing more intense by the second. Katie put her hand out, flipping her wrist. The sword flew from his flesh and landed firmly back in her hand. “You want some more?”
Moloch swiped at Katie, but she dropped to the ground and rolled to the right. His deadly claws grazed the top of her head. Behind Moloch, Beelzebub grabbed Juntto by the neck and threw him. The frost giant landed with a crash, sliding in the dirt beside Calvin and groaning as he came to a stop.
Beelzebub turned, watching Moloch fighting Katie. He smiled and slashed his hands through the air, creating a new gate. The heat rays quivered at the edges of the portal. Katie pushed herself back to her feet and looked at Korbin and the others. She really hoped this was going to work. Otherwise, she was going to be completely screwed.
Beelzebub called to Moloch, “Now! Don’t waste time. Do it now!”
Moloch growled, swiping his hand and grabbing Katie. She didn’t even attempt to fight him. They were playing along with her plan perfectly. Beelzebub stepped through the gate and went back to hell, with Moloch hot on his heels. Juntto jumped to his feet and started to run toward the gate, but before he could reach it the gate snapped shut.
Katie was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The blinding heat hit Katie like a freight train, and she gasped for air as Moloch dropped her on the molten ground. He laughed, pacing around her. His body shrank to seven feet tall, but his chest was still twice the girth of a normal person. He flexed the muscles in his arms, on a high he hadn’t felt before. “I didn’t think he could pull it off, but fuck me running, he did! Not sure where that bastard got off to. I guess it doesn’t matter, does it, Katie and Lilith?”
Katie looked at him with narrowed angry eyes. She struggled to her feet, pushing through the unbearable heat, ready to beat the hell out of the demon. She was sorry Beelzebub had already vanished. She gripped her sword tightly and lifted it as she charged him. He easily swatted her, knocking the sword from her grasp. She watched it bounce across the ground and slide to a stop on a ledge of volcanic rock.
She growled loudly and rammed her shield hard into his face. He fell back, grabbing a boulder to catch himself. She staggered right and left, a look of determination on her face. Katie adjusted her grip on her shield as Moloch slowly stood back up, holding his bleeding nose. His eyes flashed bright red, and he chugged forward. She raised her shield, and he grabbed the edge before she could hit him again.
Moloch reared back and punched Katie hard in the stomach. “You fucking bitch. I’m so tired of this. That will be the last time you ever hurt me.”
Katie gritted her teeth, her legs shaking. “No wonder Lucifer blamed this all on you. You’re weak and pathetic.”
Moloch yelled and punched Katie in the face. She flew back, losing her grip on her shield. She covered her face with her hands and groaned. Her face began swelling almost immediately. Moloch was pacing in circles around her writhing body, furious. “How dare you come to my home and think you can hurt me?”
He kicked her in the side. Katie could only lie there, stunned. She moaned and rolled over, grabbing her stomach. “Bitches like you deserve every bit of the torture you have coming. You and Lilith both. I wish I could be there when Lucifer breaks your precious demon.”
He kicked her in the stomach, and his laughter was like thunder. Moloch was enjoying beating the hell out of Katie more than anyone he’d ever tortured. He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked over, trying to judge how much damage a fall would do to the human body. Katie winced and spat blood as she pushed herself to her feet. She took a deep breath, letting her angelic powers wash some of the pain away.
She pulled Tom from his holster and pointed it at Moloch. “The problem with you is that you don’t understand what real power mean
s. You’re a pawn in the game like everyone else.”
Moloch whirled as she pulled the trigger. The bullet seemed to move in slow motion as it exited the gun and flew toward him. Moloch was much stronger in hell. He put up his hand before the bullet reached him and waved it to his side. The bullet whizzed past his hand and his head and shot into the open space behind him.
Katie shoved the gun back in the holster, and the two of them circled each other like prizefighters. Her face was bloody and swollen, and she held her stomach tightly with one arm. “You are so pathetic. You’ve never been able to hold up your end of the bargain. You mocked T’Chezz relentlessly, yet you haven’t been able to do any better than he did. We’re still on Earth, we’re still running it, and your little incursions only bring us all closer together. You wanted chaos, but that will never happen. Humans are smarter than you think.”
Moloch snorted. “Please. You’re the people of a penniless world. You fight with each other over fake religions. You couldn’t even get the bible right, and the damn thing was written just for you. You starve and kill each other. You commit sin after sin, yet you have the audacity to stand here and degrade me. I think not. You’re all demons, you just don’t have the scales yet.”
Katie ran toward him, throwing her body into his. He easily knocked her aside. She stumbled over rocks and caught herself on the wall behind her. She could feel the heat of the lava, and in a moment her hand was bright red. “How can you be so proud? You couldn’t even do this right. I know you’re being watched. I know you’re being scolded. Why the hell else would they send another demon to do your job for you? Do you think I missed that? Other demons are fighting us now, which can only lead me to believe you got demoted.”
Moloch’s eyes flashed again, but he held steady. Her torture would come soon enough. “You have it all twisted, you fool. I’m the only one capable of doing something on this grand a scale. I’m the only one with the balls to get it done.
