Demon Hunt (37 page)

As she made her way through clouds of snow, she wondered if NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain would pick up the thing on radar. With a snort of disgust, her dragon avoided the periodic blasts of fire from their pursuer. At the top of the peak and without prompting, the green dragon did an about face in mid air. Pam let loose with barrage of bullets into the black dragon’s face. Surprised, the other dragon did not throw up a shield against the attack.

Roaring and blinded, the beast plummeted to the rocks below them, tearing at its steaming face.

The smaller green dragon alighted nearby and Pam leaped to the ground, sword in hand. Fire erupted from the wounded dragon’s mouth and scattered around them, lighting up the side of the mountain. Pam scampered between the claws of the beast and under its flailing head, as close to its serpentine neck as she dared. The gigantic claws stuck home twice, ripping through the leg and arm of her battle fatigues. Bloody and weak, she thrust the sword upwards with all of the force she could muster into the softer looking scales under its neck. Blue fire exploded out of the sword when the metal came into contact with the weaker scales. She sawed frantically, finally severing the head of the dragon from its neck, something Pearl had not been able to do in the air above the Duncan Farm, probably because she couldn’t get to the creature’s underside. Pam managed to leap out of the reach of the dragon’s death throes, landing in a pile of eroded granite rocks that resembled a large pile of marbles.

She gingerly pulled herself to her feet and limped to where her own dragon sat waiting. She sagged against the wall of green scales to scratch the dragon’s head. “I think I’ll call you Jethro.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Rhi could hear the brothers battling behind her, over the riot of noise at the gate. Blocking the clanging of the swords from her mind, she kicked and beat her way in between the damned and their more skittish keepers, all of whom were vigorously fleeing their incarceration.

“
This is worse than a white sale at the mall!” A huge, scaled claw raked across Rhi’s thigh. She was covered with cuts and vicious rips in her clothes and skin. If she had been human, she would have already bled out. But she was getting weaker by the minute.

Use the skull, dummy! A soft voice spoke in her head.

Raven? Are you in there? Rhi asked in surprise.

Of course I’m in here! I’m you! Use the skull; it will control the demons and the damned.

A sudden realization shook her. Manius wanted her to open the gate. Not to let the forces of Hell loose, but to activate the skull! He had no problem raising the forces of darkness. He just had a problem controlling them! And he was arrogant enough to think he’d be able to take the skull from her and get her to graciously close the gate behind him while he made his escape.

She yanked the skull out of the pack and held it high.

“
Burn, baby, burn!”

A flare of white light exploded from the skull, frying every demon within ten-feet.

“
Freeze! Don’t move!” she shouted the command to the demons in and around the pit. Unbeknownst to her, her voice carried for miles, borne on the power of the skull. The battle in downtown Cripple Creek, in the graveyard and in the pit screeched to a halt as every demon stopped, frozen in its tracks. The Cripple Creek militia and the knights continued to hack at the frozen creatures, beheading them and gunning them down where they stood.

The sudden stillness was horrific for Rhi. She could still hear the clang of steel behind her.

“
Rhi, stop!” Blackthorne’s voice was weak. She could hear him above the sudden roar of the flames on the other side of the gate. Not looking back, she shielded herself in the white light of the skull and stepped into the depths of Hell.

The huge grotto on the other side of the gate was a nightmare of unending fire and despair. She stood on a ledge on the edge of an endless pit of lava, fire and the writhing bodies of the damned. She couldn’t see the other side, but lining the walls she could see were a series of bridges and ledges, supporting a bizarre variety of buildings. Castles mixed with modern skyscrapers and suburban strip malls. In the open spaces, the fiends of Hell could be glimpsed going about the business of tormenting the wicked. Other gates could be glimpsed scattered over the wall, like bright windows with a view into the realm of the living.

The few remaining demons on the ledge were frozen in the light of the skull, which extended to surround the ledge and the wall with its protective light. But beyond the border of the protective glow of the skull, masses of the damned could be seen crawling up the wall and climbing in from the side, waiting for her to drop her guard.

“
Hell looks like California,” she muttered and turned back to the gate. The other niche for the skull was five feet away. She stuffed the skull into it and dropped the backpack to the molten ground. Protected by the light the skull still emitted from its niche, she flipped open the pack and set the timer on the homemade backpack nuke Bobby Wayne had dug up. Rising, she turned to face the gate with a sigh. The blast from the nuke would not penetrate the closed gate. Manius stood before the gate, smiling, sword in hand.

“
I knew you could do it, princess!”

Rhi stared at him and then at the skull. “That’s why you let Pam and Pearl come. You had to put up a bit of a fight before letting me open the gate and empower the skull.”

“
Of course,” he replied with a swish of his sword. “I don’t actually like Pearl, you know. I’ve never liked whores. Now why don’t you hand me the skull and close the gate for me?”

“
Why don’t you kill me for it?” She took the skull from the niche and tossed it from one hand to another, goading him.

“
Oh no, you’re too noble, sweetie. You know I’d never be courageous enough to close myself in here. All of the hordes of Hell will be unleashed upon the earth. But I’m willing to take the skull and be on my way.” He lunged for her and she scampered out of the way.

“
So, how long does the skull stay juiced up after it is used like this?” She crouched before him, the saber in one hand and the skull in the other. She had to make him wait.

“
For a lifetime, about 50 years from what I’ve figured out. And in those various lifetimes, the pyramids were built, the temple in Jerusalem, you name it,” he replied and rose up into the air to pounce upon her. “And each of its users had a nice girl like you to close the gate behind them. Sacrifice is such a cliché, don’t you think?”

In a second, he was on top of her and trying to wrestle the skull out of her hands. His fetid breath hit her, the smell of road kill after a few days in the sun. She channeled bolts of blue lightning out of her fingertips into his body but his hands were on the skull, which now held the power of Hell. Red sparks blinded her and Rhi was thrown back several feet. She teetered at the edge of the abyss for a breathtaking moment before righting herself.

Manius ran for the door, his hands filled with his sword and the skull. The protective light blinked out the moment he took the artifact and the triumphant howls of the damned arose behind her. She could hear claws scampering over the rock but didn’t dare glance back. Rhi took to the air, for the first time using her demon blood powers. She plowed into Manius, a direct hit between the shoulder blades, with all of the force she could muster. The pair hit the floor with a hard smack, peeling skin from their arms. Rhi could feel her clothes and flesh burn as she jerked the skull out of his hands and flew to the niche once more to jam the piece of crystal in.

She made a beeline for the gate, slashing at the demons on the ledge with her saber. Wedging a shoulder against the opened gate, she painfully tried to push it closed. She tried not to look at her shoulder, the clothing burned away and the skin sizzling from the touch of the gate’s metal. She could almost see her shoulder bone through the burnt skin. The blood gave her the strength to bear the pain – almost.

“
No!” Manius jerked her from the gate and kicked the sword away. He put a large hand around her throat, placing his face close to hers. “You will close this gate, Rhiannon.”

Rhi fought for words and air in the steel vise of his hand. “Why are you worried about being trapped in Hell? You’re on your way there anyways …” She began to see black spots.

“
I’m Catholic. I’ll do what I want to for as long as it amuses me and then I’ll ask for forgiveness.” He leaned forward and licked her face. His tongue was as sharp as a blade and as gritty as sandpaper. “Yummy. You’ve always tasted so sticky sweet. It’s such a shame we don’t have much time together.”

“
I think you have to be sorry for your actions for a confession to work properly.” Bile rose in her throat as he forced her towards the niche, mowing down the growing number of demons surrounding them with his sword.

“
I’ll take my chances.” He smirked. “I have faith.”

A distinctive howl rose in the air behind the pair.

Rhi’s half-closed eyes popped open as a golden comet ran over the knight holding her throat in a deadlock. Ellie Mae, surrounded by a glowing blue nimbus, dove in between Manius and the skull. Darting in and out of the reach of the sword, the dog forced him back from the skull and partially fried every demon she came into close contact with.

“
That damned dog!” Manius released his hold on Rhi near the gate to turn and raise his sword in both hands over the bloodhound.

“
No!” Rhi screeched and reached for him.

The demons had worked their way around the fighting dog and knight and began to force her through the gate. Desperately she tried to scratch and kick her way back in, blasting the demons around her with blue fire.

Twenty demons took the place of the ten she destroyed. Rhi could see Ellie Mae dart in and out of the strokes of Manius Black’s sword through the red crystal windows of the gate. The huge dog leaped at him, forcing him back hard against the opened gate. The golden entrance to Hell swung shut and clicked, trapping Manius, the skull and Ellie Mae behind it. For a split second, Rhi could hear Manius’ shriek of horror and one last howl from the dog. Then nothing.

Rhi fell to her knees in front of the gate, sobbing. She ignored the remaining demons that swarmed around her, Molay and his men. The knights who had survived the initial fight made their way to the steps of the gate, battling through the ranks of the damned. One of the largest men carried Blackthorne’s limp body tossed over one shoulder. He deposited him beside Rhi in front of the closed gate, where Blackthorne lay motionless. The six knights continued to fight the demons in the pit, guarding the small weeping woman and the hideously wounded man.

Rhi glanced up the precise second the glow through the panels of the gate flared to blinding brilliance, temporarily blinding her and everyone who looked at the gate that moment. Then the gate was gone, replaced by a blank wall. The thirteenth Gate of Hell no longer existed.

She crouched beside Blackthorne to examine the wound on his shoulder. Pulling the torn uniform aside, she could see bone. He was almost cut in half, shoulder to abdomen. The huge slice glowed with an ominous red light.

“
Oh, my God,” she gasped as she staunched the blood. “Jack - Jack, listen to me. You have to drink my essence. You’re going to die if you don’t. Please …” She felt that she would crumble at any moment.

His eyes opened briefly and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. “No, baby. It’s my turn to turn you down. I can’t take any more from you.”

Blue light poured from her body as she pressed her lips against him, forcing her soul into his. “I can give whatever I have to.”

In a few moments, Rhi raised her head and looked at the wound. The red glow had faded and the wound appeared to be slowly closing. With a sigh, she lay her head down on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. Blackthorne pulled up an arm to put around her shoulders. It fell back to the ground, useless.

“
I love you, Rhiannon Brennan Blackthorne,” he whispered. “I’ll love you forever, however long that is.”

Rhi could not work up a response. Behind them, the knights mopped up the remnants of the damned in the cavern.

“
Rhi.” He gently reached out a gloved hand. “I’m sorry about Ellie Mae.”

Rhi took his hand for a moment and then leaned over to kiss his forehead. She forced herself to her feet, swaying. As weak as a newborn, she staggered to the now blank wall, placing her face and clenched fists against smooth surface for a moment as she stared down at her filthy pants. The black fabric was ripped to shreds by demon claws and teeth. Her body was covered in large burns, bites and scratches. The wounds were unbearably familiar.

“
What in the name of all that is holy was that flash?” Molay demanded incredulously from behind her.

Rhi took a deep breath. “It was a small, personal, made-from-scratch backpack nuke. Bobby Wayne probably picked it up at Wal Mart.”

She turned from the wall to face the group of men. The floor of the pit was littered with smoking demon corpses on top of the older bones. There were also the headless bodies of two of the knights. “I counted on the gate to protect everyone. It almost worked, except for my dog and your two men. I guess you guys don’t think that was too great a sacrifice. After all, the Brotherhood got what they wanted. Your knights volunteered for this. What’s the big deal about a dog? The gate’s destroyed. She was just a dog.”