A Demon Made Me Do It (30 page)

“
I’ll go!” Jax shouts out.
Bones nods at him.

“
So will I,” my voice rings
loudly over the chaos.

“
And I!” Kieron follows
up.

Bones glares in our direction for a
brief moment before nodding tersely. “Okay. I have my trio. We’ll
travel to the Hlbafa council tonight and meet with their tribe
leaders. Then we’ll know if they are now our enemies, and if their
blood shall be spilled.”

Kieron and I exchange a quick glance.
I close my eyes and make a silent wish it doesn’t come to
that.

******

We approach the border, and Bones and
Jax shift back to their human shapes. I dismount Diablo, and Kieron
parks his motorcycle. My heart hasn’t stopped pounding since we
took off from the Bar, and I find myself continually glancing down
at my Boumeaux to see if it’s starting to shine yet.

The four of us gather in a circle. “We
walk from here,” Bones says. “And stay together. It shouldn’t be
long before one of their scouts spots us. When they do, let me do
all the talking.”

I light the Otium Torch I’d brought
with us with a controlled stream of fire from my fingers and hand
it to Bones. The flame glows green before changing to a sparkling
white…a show of peace for our neighbors as we cross their
lands.

“
What if they don’t want to
just
talk
?” asks
Jax. “For all we know, they’re waiting for us and we’re walking
right into a trap.”

Kieron and I exchange a
private glance. “We need to be on guard,” I say, pulling my dagger
from my boot. “But even they know the penalties against attacking
when we carry the White Otium Torch. If they do anything at all,
then
they
are in
violation of the treaty.”

“
I’d say it was nice and
violated when they decided to slaughter Cody and Ivy,” Jax
growls.

Bones stiffens. “We need to be sure it
was them before we act. It’s more than possible it was demons from
another tribe. They could easily have placed their bodies
there.”

Jax persists. “But still,
what if it
was
them? What do we do if we are attacked? Do we fight back? What
if there are too many of them?”

I understand his concerns are valid,
but Jax’s questions are getting on my nerves. Of course he doesn’t
know what Kieron and I know—that it was most likely Light-angels
behind the killings, and the Hlbafa had nothing to do with it.
Still, I wish Bones had chosen someone else to accompany
us.

Kieron, silent up until now, steps
forward. “I, for one, feel that if we encounter any hostility, our
best option is an immediate and rapid retreat. There are only four
of us. We’ll be outnumbered easily. We only have the barest of
weapons. If anything should happen, we flee back to
Dryndara.”

Bones smirks. “I’m not
surprised you’d be the first one to suggest running away. If
there’s a fight, then it’s each demon for him—” he looks at me,
“or
her
self. If
you want to fight, go ahead. If you want to run away,” he glances
at Kieron pointedly, “be my guest.” Pivoting on one foot, he heads
toward the border.

Kieron glares at Bones, but says
nothing. He falls in behind me as we form a single line. Bones in
front, with me following. Jax takes up the rear.

We soon arrive near the spot where we
found Cody and Ivy. I look at my Boumeaux to make sure it’s still
black. Kieron paces the area, a puzzled look on his face as he
examines some of the surrounding earth. “What is it?” I whisper. He
just shakes his head.

I can’t bring myself to revisit the
scene of the crime, so I stand guard while the other three
investigate. I keep one wary eye on the terrain, the other on my
Boumeaux. Fortunately the ground here is flat and mostly
barren—with the exception of occasional patches of trees—so there’s
little chance of an ambush. But if these aren’t some ordinary
Light-angels, who knows how they can attack us? Anything powerful
enough to take out Ivy is a frightening force to be reckoned
with.

After they’re done examining the
wooded groves, Bones, Kieron and Jax come back to where I am. “Ivy
is already ash and Cody soon will be,” Bones says, his voice flat.
He doesn’t know that I’m the one responsible for Ivy’s accelerated
decomposition.

“
Did you see anything new?
Any clues?” I ask, looking at Bones. But my question is really
meant for Kieron.

Bones shakes his head. “No. It’s just
like it was last night.”

But it’s Kieron’s eyes that
have my attention.
He saw
something...
I can tell.

I
know
he knows something.

But what?

******

The four of us march on
through the valley, and I’m beginning to wonder if we’re
ever
going to see anyone
from Hlbafa. We’ve been walking for a few hours now and haven’t
seen a soul. Even if they don’t have sentries stationed at lookout
points, like we do in Dryndara, we should’ve come across
some
form of life by now.
I’m also starting to get concerned about my time. I still have
several hours left, and I can always run if necessary. But still, I
didn’t think this was going to be such a bust.

Just when I’m ready to say something,
there’s a howling in the distance, quickly followed by another…and
another.

We’ve been spotted.

I take a deep breath, and Bones holds
the torch up higher. I know he wishes he could shift into hellhound
mode right now. But he can’t, as it would surely be perceived as a
sign of aggression. But Bones doesn’t do passive very
well.

“
We stay here,” he says,
tensing up. “Let them come to us.”

My heart races and I take several more
deep breaths. Even though I know they’re not the ones who killed
Ivy and Cody, a rush of adrenaline shoots through my veins. We are
trespassing on forbidden lands. This is reason enough to kill us.
Even though we carry with us the recognizable peace torch, it’s not
exactly unheard of for demons to disregard it, slay the
trespassers, and claim no such torch was present.

The hairs on the back of my
neck rise, and Kieron shifts closer to me. Both of us are focused
on the figures racing toward us. Three…no, four…
five
hellhounds, each the size of a
Sapie automobile, are charging at us from every
direction.

We stand in a small circle with our
backs pressed together, as the growling beasts surround us. Their
eyes are glowing red, and venomous saliva drips from their
razor-sharp fangs.

“
We come in peace,” Bones
says holding out the torch. “We respectfully ask for passing to
speak with your leaders.”

The largest hound inches closer,
growling and sniffing. Then it shakes and convulses, revealing an
Amazonian beauty with blonde hair tumbling in waves down past her
hips. She is easily the most exquisite creature I’ve ever laid eyes
on, with a face too perfect to be imagined. Half of her body is
covered in strange, bright-blue markings, reminiscent of ancient
tribal tattoos. I’m more stunned, however, by the fact that the
hellhound revealed itself to be a female; I’ve always assumed they
were all males. At least, they are in Dryndara.

“
Why are you here?” the
goddess asks. Even her voice sounds like sublime harmonic
perfection. Another large hellhound hovers right behind her
possessively, while the other three form a triangle around
us.

Bones clears his throat. “We come from
Dryndara. Two of ours were murdered recently and found on your side
of the border.”

“
I see,” the woman says,
gliding closer to Bones. She reaches out and graces a long, shapely
finger along the side of his cheek. Bones doesn’t react, and she
laughs. “Ah, an incubus. Too bad. You would have been fun.” The
other hounds make small yapping noises, almost as if they
are…
laughing
?

“
Did you or yours sanction
the attack on us? Can you account for how they were killed?” Bones
demands.

“
Can
you
account for how you found them
on
our
side of the
border?” she retorts, her large, lapis-colored eyes now menacing
slits.

“
That was my fault,” Kieron
says, stepping forward. “I’m a Latros. I was tracking the victims’
scents and crossed onto your lands unintentionally. I was unaware
of the boundaries, as I am only temporarily visiting Dryndara as
part of another job. Please forgive me.” He bows his head slightly
toward the woman.

The beauty laughs, a tinkling sound
that makes chills race down my spine. “Ah…such a handsome young
man. And not an incubus. Yes, you will do quite nicely.”

My eyes narrow.

Do what?

Chapter 18.
Lucky

“
We have done nothing to
provoke unwarranted trespassers on our lands,” the beauty
continues. “But, we demand a sacrifice for your transgressions. A
penalty of sorts.” She appraises Kieron thoughtfully, a sly smirk
crossing her lips. The hounds yap again.

I raise my dagger to my face and catch
her eye. She smiles at me menacingly. “Oh, what have we here? You
claim to come in peace, yet this lovely young creature possesses a
weapon of death. How interesting.”

“
I have a right to defend
myself,” I say.

She laughs. “Yes, my love,
of course you do. Just as
we
have a right to defend
ourselves
.”

“
We want to know who killed
our friends,” Jax shouts, startling me. “They were found here, on
your land. You’ve broken the treaty. That gives
us
a right to
investigate.”

The four hounds circle us
like sharks. Bones, Jax, Kieron and I press our backs closer. The
blonde creature floats over to Jax and puts her face mere inches
from his. “We have broken
nothing
,” she hisses. “It is
you
who have violated the
law. And for that, one of you must pay.”

My heart races even faster, and I
steal a quick glance at Bones. His face is hard, his jaw set. I
peek at Kieron, who appears to be struggling internally, but his
expression is impossible to read. “I believe you,” he says. “I
don’t think that one of yours is responsible. I think it was a
different—”

But his words are cut off, and we are
all knocked forward by Jax’s massive body as he suddenly transforms
into a hellhound. I feel like I’ve been hit in the back by a bus,
and fall to my knees. Kieron and Bones stagger forward, but then
regain their balance. A ferocious growl is followed by loud barks
as Jax lunges at the woman, pinning her down.

Instantly the other hounds pounce, and
before I can even blink, Bones shifts form. Kieron grabs my arm and
yanks me away from the bloody fracas. “Stop it!” I scream, but it’s
too late. Bones and Jax are both embroiled in the vicious fight;
fur is flying, and it’s impossible to tell who is who.

The blonde beauty lies motionless on
the ground, her eyes staring vacantly, her throat ripped out.
“Bones!” I scream again, and watch in horror as two hounds jump him
at once. I hear his painful yelp as he twists and turns, fending
off the duel attack.

“
Kieron, help him!” I plead
desperately.

“
Do you know which one is
which?” he asks, a terrified look on his face.

“
That one is Bones…” I say
pointing. “I think Jax is the one with the grey tail…I don’t
know!”

“
You just have the one
dagger?”

I nod, my eyes wide as my fingers
grasp the smooth hilt. But I can’t use it. If I get anywhere near
the brawling hounds, I’ll be torn to shreds in seconds. And my
powers are of no use; using demonic fire against a hellhound is
only slightly more effective than punching an ocean’s
waves.

“
You’ll have to throw it,”
he says. “Aim right between the eyes. It won’t kill it, but it will
stun it long enough to give Bones a fighting chance.”

“
Impossible! They’re moving
too fast…there’s no way…”

“
It’s our only chance right
now. You have to try…!”

I take several long, deep breaths and
steady myself. A few more moments of this one-sided fighting and
Bones and Jax will both be dead.

I grip my dagger tight, cocking it
behind my ear, waiting…I need one of them to turn and face me, if
only for a second.

My heart pounds. I narrow my eyes and
focus my attention on the one who keeps attacking Bones from
behind. It’s almost looking my way…almost…

Swish!
The emerald blade flies out of my hand and lands squarely
between the glowing red eyes. There is an ear-piercing squeal as
the hound falls back, legs twitching in the air. For a brief moment
Bones and the other hound seem distracted, but Bones for a fraction
of a second less than his opponent. He spins and clenches his
razor-sharp jaw on the animal’s jugular, and shakes his head back
and forth mercilessly.