Warrior Fae Princess

by Breene, K. F.

  Charity’s sword glowed from her magic. She wasn’t sure if she should slash and run, light up the parking lot and run, or go after the demons…

  Steve answered the question for her. He loped forward, each movement telegraphing the incredible strength and power of his massive body. He slammed into the closest demon, crunching his teeth into its neck before shaking his head. He ripped the neck right out of the creature. The head tore off and flew away. The body slumped to the ground.

  Cole was right behind him, running with an arm-swinging lumber that was no less powerful for its awkwardness. When he reached the next demon, he batted it in the face with one great arm. The blow threw it to the ground, its head flopping loosely.

  “Holy—” Charity danced after them, light on her feet and fueled with adrenaline. The song of battle blazed through her blood, quickening her heart and bringing a smile to her face. She’d almost forgotten her magic could feel good. That using it could feel as joyful as playing with fuzzy puppies.

  She slashed into a spindly sort of demon, opening up a gaping hole in its chest. Fire danced down its arms and fumed from its mouth.

  Charity rolled away, sliding her magic across its front. Her magic electrified the air and the demon’s body, counteracting the fire spewing from its mouth, but not totally stopping it.

  Pain kissed her skin and raced along her arm as the demon howled out his agony. She stepped back, brought up her sword, and then slashed down, severing its right arm. The left swung around, and she dodged before thrusting her blade up into its armpit.

  “Head,” grunted Cole as he lumbered by. “Head.”

  Charity stepped, spun, and swung, all in one clean, graceful movement that felt so incredibly right that she couldn’t help laughing as she lopped off his head. Probably a bad sign, her taking joy in this kind of carnage.

  We have the blood of warriors.

  Oh good, and now she was quoting her hallucination back to herself. When it rained, it poured.

  The vans screeched out from the corner behind the demons, the leader mowing one demon down. The demon flew up into the air, flame dancing along its limbs. An orange-red burst flew after the vans, but the fire didn’t last, fading into the night.

  The vans skidded near Charity, the back ends whipping around before stopping, the movements almost in sync, as if they were wolves. The sliding doors opened, and Rod leaned out of the leading van with Yasmine looking out from the one behind. Rod motioned Charity toward him.

  A wolf yelped, drawing Charity’s attention to the opposite end of the parking lot. Wetness sparkled in the parking lot lights, four gashes in its gray coat. The vampire that had wounded it darted in for another attack, faster than thought.

  Devon, who’d been dashing toward her, wheeled around to go back for his pack mate. Another vampire, pasty white in its monster form, cut him off. More of them rushed in from the sides, trapping the wolves in a widespread circle.

  The vampires didn’t seem to be interested in Charity at all, however, apparently satisfied to leave her to the demons. What sense was there in that?

  Steve’s roar boomed through the parking lot, pain threading through the sound of a challenge. Flame flickered on his thick fur even as he ripped into another demon. An explosion of flame rose behind the vans. She glanced in that direction and saw Cole’s thick, furry arm swing down at the thing attacking him.

  A demon reached for her. She ducked under its charred limb and thrust upward, cutting a thick slice deep into the demon’s stomach. Black blood dribbled out, down its legs. The creature bellowed, and smoke came from its maw of a mouth. It swung at her again, anger making it forget it wasn’t supposed to harm her. Vlad wouldn’t want her spoiled. She slashed and danced away, finishing off the thing’s leg with her blade. The demon dropped to the ground, but when she looked up, she saw another set of claws slicing toward her. She twisted, avoiding the blow, and a burst of power from her hand had the creature flying skyward and back before its body exploded, flinging wet globs everywhere.

  “Gross.”

  Sirens sounded in the distance. The vampires charged toward the snarling wolves, and the demons slashed their way toward Rod and Yasmine in the vans.

  Time to go.

  Charity thrust her left palm skyward.

  The sun lit up the sky, pulsing in wattage, sounding like a bug zapper. Vampires screeched and twisted, throwing their hands in front of their faces to ward off the attack.

  “Run!” Charity shouted, feeling her energy drain the longer she held that magical sunlight in the sky. She released it as she turned, slashing through a roaring demon and sprinting as fast as she could for the lead van.

  “How the hell did they organize so many so quickly?” Rod asked as she stopped just beside the open door, looking through the far window. Cole’s white fur was patchy black and red from being burned. Two demons advanced on him, one nearly as big as he was, its arms and legs as thick as tree trunks.

  “Vlad’s an elder vampire—he probably has this many on call,” Charity said.

  “I meant the demons,” Rod yelled over the din. “I’ve always heard demons are hard to control, but he has them moving around pretty handily.”

  The first wolf reached the van and dove in, changing shape as it did so. Andy. He pulled a duffel out from under the seat, hauled it onto his lap, and started digging through it. He was probably looking for weapons.

  Charity ran to the back of the van as another wolf jumped into it behind them, changing as she did so. Barbara. The shifter twisted toward the back window to check on Cole, but Charity was already on it. She sent a pulse of power at the were-yeti’s larger attacker, blasting it in half.

  Cole roared and slashed at his other attacker, tearing out the demon’s stomach with his sharp claws, and then turned and lumbered toward the vans.

  He might be powerful, but he was not fast.

  “Hurry up, you bastard,” Andy yelled, clearly seeing the problem.

  A lesser-looking demon moved to intercept Cole, and Charity hit it with another pulse of power. The spark blew the thing sky-high. Nothing was left. The creatures behind it weren’t dead, having enough juice left to keep going.

  “Charity, behind you!” Andy yelled, pushing out of the first van, gun in hand.

  Vampires zipped toward the wolves, Devon and someone else flanking a limping gray wolf that was moving at half speed. Charity gritted her teeth and turned on the sun. The loud buzzing competed with the wailing of the approaching sirens. The vampires shrieked, the whole scene suddenly overpowered by Cole’s pained bellow.

  “Load up,” Andy said, falling in at Charity’s side and squeezing out a handful of bullets. They fell true, tearing into the side of the demon who’d just slashed at Cole’s back. The creature barely bumped backward.

  “Damn it,” Andy swore as the other shifters piled into the vans. Cole was the only one left.

  “Leave him,” Barbara shouted. “He knew the risks. Protect the fae. Leave him!” She slung the van door shut. Something hit the vehicle from the other side, shattering the window. The van lurched forward, Yasmine doing as Barbara had said.

  Dread spread through Charity. “Like hell I’m leaving him!”

  Gunshots blew up the night. The moving van’s wheel rolled over a demon’s arm.

  Charity sprinted around, straight for the nearest demon. She slashed with her sword before slapping a palm into the center of its chest, the feeling of its sludgy skin making her grimace. A shock of power and the creature flew backward, but two more were already coming, blocking Cole from sight.

  “Crap, there are too many—”

  Steve lunged in front of her, ramming into the two demons and sending them flying. His mane lit on fire, but he didn’t stop. He chomped down on the nearest before shaking his mighty head, ending its movement. Another came at her from the side. Charity spun, her sword up and ready, but it belched fire before it got to her. This would require her magic, not her sword. The flame kissed her face before she
could switch gears, the pain searing, and the demon kept on coming. She swallowed down fear and braced for the blistering impact.

  The fire dried up, like it had been sucked away.

  Charity had barely drawn in a surprised breath before the demon went flying, but not from her doing.

  “Why the hell does no one ever invite me to their parties?”

  Reagan, the fierce and possibly insane woman Charity had met after the attack at Devon’s house, ran into the scene with her sword flashing.

  “Is it because I’m screwing a vampire?” She slashed down at a demon flailing on the ground. “Go home, Harry, you’re drunk.”

  Reagan reached out her hand in Cole’s direction, her eyes raging with the fire of battle despite her flippant comments, and squeezed her fingers into a fist.

  Amid shrieks and howls of surprise, the demons froze. Every last one of them.

  If not for the wailing of sirens and Devon’s shouts to give Dillon space, Charity would’ve thought this was another hallucination.

  “Hey, guys,” Reagan said, her body language nonchalant but her tone wary. Something she saw here disturbed her, and Charity didn’t want to know what would discomfit someone like her. “Looks like this neighborhood has gone to hell— Nope, you don’t get to turn around, Fred.” Reagan’s eyes narrowed. One of the demons squished, as though from an invisible vise squeezing it. “You chose your side. You all did. Surprise! It was the wrong side.”

  “You know their names?” Charity asked stupidly.

  Reagan cracked a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No, and to keep them from telling me themselves, I’ll just assign them. Oops. The yeti seems to have wandered away from his snow.”

  Cole emerged from behind the frozen demons, a loud growl in his throat. His furious gaze locked on Reagan, his fur a mess of black and red. He’d taken some serious hits, but they didn’t seem to matter as much to him as his clear dislike of Reagan.

  “This has got to be awkward,” Reagan said as Cole passed her, his growl deepening. The demons still hadn’t moved. “You said you were going to kill me when next you saw me, and instead, you got saved by me. How embarrassing.”

  “The vampires took off. Get back to the van—let’s go,” Devon yelled, striding toward them quickly. “Steve, change.”

  The lion, who’d been rolling on the ground, trying to put out the last of the flames, shifted form before patting his head and chest profusely. He pushed himself up to standing, burn marks over half of his body.

  Devon nodded hello at Reagan as he reached them. “Thanks for coming.” He spared a glance at the frozen demons as he slipped his arm around Charity. “What magic is that?”

  “The icy kind. Smells weird, right?” Reagan waggled her eyebrows, and it was clear from the crease between Devon’s brow he didn’t understand her either.

  “You have those demons under your control?” he asked, his hand resting on the small of Charity’s back.

  “Yup. I was just communicating with one or two before squeezing them into nothing.”

  It wasn’t nothing. It was a squish of goop and globs that erupted from the tops and bottoms of those invisible grips.

  Charity didn’t get a chance to ask Reagan how she communicated with demons without speaking, let alone why Roger or Devon would trust someone who could communicate with demons without speaking, because Steve was making his way over. The sirens blared louder.

  “Reagan, good to see you.” Steve’s nude saunter was, amazingly, not ruined by his pronounced limp. “Did you dump that vampire yet? I want to show you what real passion feels like.”

  “Let’s talk and walk, Steve,” Reagan said. “You can still walk, right?”

  “I’d rather be lying down and letting you do all the work.”

  “Of course you would. You’re a shifter.” She smirked at him and jerked her head toward the vans. “I’m still with him, yes. Sex is always amazing, thanks for asking. He’s rich as hell, too. Good observation. Don’t you worry, though—just as soon as things fizzle out, I’ll go for a ride on that big dong of yours.”

  Despite the urgency of the situation, Steve’s smile pulled a chuckle from Charity’s lips.

  “So you noticed,” Steve said, his eyes twinkling.

  “Hard not to. It swings when you walk.” Reagan got into the van.

  Steve winked at Charity before he followed her.

  “I’m not sure what’s worse,” Charity said, looking in at the sea of skin. “My magic, which I can’t control, or your magic, which forces you to brave seatbelts when you’re naked.”

  “You better not buckle those seatbelts,” Rod hollered back as Devon pushed in after Charity and shut the door. “I don’t want your junk all over everything.”

  “This is why you’re single,” Andy said, fatigue lining his words.

  Charity knew how he felt. With the adrenaline from the battle wearing away, she had nothing left. Her eyes drooped as she sat there, barely able to hold up her head.

  “Don’t fall asleep yet, fae.” Reagan’s tone was laced with warning, more serious than Charity had ever heard from the woman. “Your journey has just begun, and from here on out, it’s only going to get harder.”

  Chapter Ten

  Steve wanted to lean his head back and get a little shut-eye himself. He’d taken some serious hits from those demons, which hadn’t acted like the demons he was used to battling. These were sturdier, somehow. And what was with all the fire? One or two usually had some sort of smoke or fire, sure—it came with the territory—but not a whole fleet of the assholes. It had made for some very annoying and frustratingly painful burns. One of those things had nearly singed his balls off! That was foul play.

  “What kind of read are you getting on this situation?” Devon asked. Steve had to admit that the kid was really coming into his own. Protecting that fae was bringing out the true alpha in him, something Roger had apparently seen from the beginning. And strangely, Steve was cool with following the kid’s lead. He hadn’t once wanted to push back. Imagine that.

  Reagan shook her head while staring out the window, strangely quiet.

  “I don’t know,” she said, and if Steve wasn’t mistaken, he heard a little worry in her tone. “Something about those demons seemed…ancient. Different. Their burned skin, for one thing— I’ve never seen that before, and I’ve seen a good few demons in the last year or so.”

  “I concur,” Steve said, his voice gruffer than usual. Pain had a way of doing that to a person.

  “It made them…hardier, somehow. Tougher in battle than they should have been.” She shook her head.

  “I concur,” Steve repeated, leaning his head back on the headrest and closing his eyes. “It’s like we’re sharing the same brain.”

  “Better than the same bed.”

  “I do not concur.”

  “I’m sure the effect of those demons can be achieved through a circle and blood offering,” Reagan went on, “but I’ve never heard of it or seen it written. They were bound to their maker. I couldn’t easily will them to give up information, which is abnormal. I need to capture one and spend a little more…effort on it.”

  Fabric rustled, and Steve’s eyes drifted open to see her sitting forward, a crease between her shapely brows and a worried expression on her beautiful face. The woman was a looker, that was for sure. She was a permanent resident in his spank bank.

  He let his eyes droop again. She was also intelligent, highly competent, and delightfully brutal. Steve could afford a reprieve while she did the heavy lifting in this annoying situation.

  “Just up here… What’s your name again?” Reagan asked the linebacker kid behind the wheel.

  “It’s Rod,” Devon answered, “and this portal is blocked. Even if we can get through the demons—which might be easier than expected with you around—your buddy Emery says there’s an elf on the other side.”

  “I know.” Her voice was flat. “I spoke to Roger more times today than a non-shifter really wants
to.”

  Steve chuckled, and spears of agony drilled into his left side. The chuckles turned to coughs, creating more spears of pain.

  “Are you okay?” The voice was light. Musical. Extremely pleasing.

  He opened his eyes to see Charity in the seat in front of him, exhaustion dragging at her features and dark circles under her eyes. Something within him snapped to attention, and a protectiveness he hadn’t expected stole over him. He struggled to sit up a little straighter within her kind eyes. A leader’s eyes, looking after her people.

  Royalty.

  The thought came out of nowhere, and nothing in him rebelled against it. Another first. What was the world coming to?

  “Yeah. I’ll heal up right quick. It’s just shitty in the meantime,” he said, much softer than he’d intended.

  She analyzed him for another moment before facing front again. The pressure of her notice gone, he melted back down into the seat. Eyes beat into the side of his face.

  Reagan was looking at him with a smirk.

  “What?” he asked.

  A knowing gleam lit her eyes. She’d caught that little show, just then, of him accepting someone else’s dominance. Someone who wasn’t pack, no less.

  He shrugged, and the movement made him wince. “Sometimes you just gotta ride the waves and see what happens.”

  “I mean…you know what’ll happen. You’ll hit the beach or drown,” Andy muttered.

  “Exactly,” Steve replied.

  “So if the way is blocked, why are we heading there?” Devon asked. “We don’t have time for you to play capture the demon.”

  Reagan huffed out a laugh. “You’re much more fun than Roger, I’ll give you that. And I’ll play that game once you’re in the Realm, don’t you worry. But the elf won’t be a problem by the time you get through the portal. Penny is on the job.”

  “Ah. The little witch.” Steve grinned. “She still with the Rogue Natural?”

  “You need to get laid, bud,” Reagan murmured.

  “Always.”