Howl of the Wolf (23 page)

It was the adult, the spiritually evolved thing to do.

Who was she trying to kid? She’d hurt and be heartbroken for years to come, but she was tough and would get through it. Somehow.

A demon head bounced onto the porch beside her. The nasty thing sprayed blood across the wood but thankfully didn’t hit her. But it pulled her attention back to the battle at hand. Plenty of time to think things through if she were still alive when this was over.

Right now, Hades and the Lady were simply watching one another, letting their warriors fight for them. Sabrina didn’t think that was really fair. In truth, she thought the god and goddess should fight one another and leave the rest of them out of it. It wasn’t fair to have others fight their battles, but then again, no one ever said life was fair, especially not when it involved the gods.

Several loud roars filled the air, coming from all around them. Hades froze and his demons stopped fighting. Both Arand and Mordecai turned toward the sounds.

The Lady of the Beasts smiled. The sight was so beautiful it almost made Sabrina weep. She looked away, wondering who or what was coming now.

Arand threw back his head and howled. Seconds later, Mordecai joined him, making a raucous roaring sound.

A massive bear, a huge white tiger and an enormous lion stalked into her backyard. These had to be the other warriors, the ones who had been freed. Somehow they’d found out about Arand and come to help.

Her spirits lightened. Maybe there was hope. There were far too many hours left in the day to defeat the curse by allowing the time to just run out. But maybe they could actually defeat Hades himself and drive him back to Hell. If not, maybe they actually could keep the fight going long enough to run the clock out on the curse. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing.

She shifted her position, ignoring the burning pain in her chest. She wanted to keep an eye on Hades. If he made a move toward Arand, god or no god, she was shooting his designer-clad ass.

A brilliant light flashed in the clearing, practically blinding her. Sabrina blinked, seeing spots dancing before her. “What the hell?” She rubbed her eyes and still wasn’t certain she was seeing what she thought she was. A seven-foot tall reddish bird, its wings tipped with gold, perched beside the Lady.

Sabrina might not know much about mythology, but she knew enough to know this was the mighty Phoenix. Somehow, he’d arisen from the ashes of his death.

On the Lady’s other side, a sleek black jaguar appeared, slinking out of the swamp. Sabrina was stunned by his appearance. This had to be Stavros.

But she’d thought the jaguar and the phoenix were dead. How were they here? Not that it mattered. They were here and they could fight. It was the miracle they needed. All the immoral warriors of the Lady of the Beasts were assembled.

In the blink of an eye, the animals disappeared and they were all men, all tall and strong, all ruggedly handsome. As one, they stepped into formation behind their goddess, as though they’d done it many, many times before. All except for one. Mordecai placed himself in front of the goddess and cocked an eyebrow at Hades.

The god tipped back his head and roared, “Attack!”

Demons continued to stream out of the portal, practically falling on one another in their haste to follow Hades’ order. It seemed the god was holding nothing back this time around.

Sabrina felt her heart sink. There were so many of them. She wiped one sweaty palm on the leg of her jeans and aimed her rifle. Every time one got close to her, she fired. And every time that happened, Arand appeared like magic from the fighting horde and chopped off the demon’s head before disappearing back into the fray.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and made her clothing stick to her body. Roars and growls, howls and screams, grunts of pain and yells of triumph filled the air. Metal clashed and the ground ran red with blood.

Sabrina didn’t know if the fighting lasted for minutes or hours. There were moments when time seemed to slow to a crawl and others when it sped by at the speed of light. The swirling, noxious black hole spit out more demons as soon as the ones fighting were killed. It was a never-ending supply.

A thump sounded next to her and Sabrina whipped her shotgun around, ready to fire. So far she’d been lucky and no demons had gotten onto the porch. She didn’t expect that to last much longer. The warriors were fighting machines, fast and brutal, but the sheer number of demons would eventually wear them down.

But it wasn’t a demon on the porch with her. At least she didn’t think so. The woman was blonde with blue eyes and a ton of curves. She was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt and she was holding a three-foot sword in one hand.

Sabrina blinked, but the woman remained the same. She also looked vaguely familiar, as if Sabrina had seen her somewhere before.

“I’m Kellsie.” The woman glanced toward the fighting and scooted closer.

Sabrina kept her shotgun leveled at the woman, not willing to trust her. Hades could be a tricky SOB.

Kellsie frowned at her. “We got your message.”

She was totally confused. “What message?” Was this some kind of trick?

“That the wolf was running loose in New Orleans. I’m with Marko,” she continued. “The bear.”

Sabrina took a deep breath, trying not to hyperventilate. “You’re one of the women.” Of course she was a woman. She felt stupid but her thoughts were a totally jumble.

Kellsie shot her a grin. “And so are you, I take it.”

Sabrina nodded and turned her attention back to the fight, taking a chance and trusting that Kellsie was who she said she was. Agmar had retreated from his battle with Arand to protect Hades. Her warrior was currently engaging two humongous demons at once. Demon blood flew and hacked limbs littered the ground. She swallowed hard and looked away, praying she didn’t lose the contents of her stomach along with her dignity.

“I don’t know if Arand told you or not, but go for the necks,” Kellsie instructed. “It’s the only way to kill those suckers.” She glanced off to her right. “Araminta and Aimee are around the perimeter and will help where they can.”

Sabrina was no longer listening. For some reason, the demons were doing their best to avoid five of the warriors. They were defending as the warriors attacked, but it didn’t seem as though the demons were actually trying to kill them. It hit her with the same force as Hades’ lightning bolt had earlier. Those were the three warriors who’d evaded Hades for twenty-four hours, the warriors who’d broken the curse. The curse had also expired on the jaguar and Phoenix as well. That meant Hades and his minions couldn’t touch them.

The warriors, on the other hand, were showing no reticence and were hacking their way through the demons as fast as they could. Mordecai and Arand were fair game though and the demons were hitting them hard.

A demon with blue leathery skin, claw-like fingers and two horns protruding from the side of his head jumped onto the porch, his sword held in front of him. Sabrina didn’t hesitate. The sound of her shotgun echoed as the demon clutched his throat and fell backward.

Kellsie was off like a flash. The other woman stood over the downed demon, raised her arms and brought the blade down on the creature’s neck, severing it from the body. Kellsie was back beside her before she could blink. “That’s the way to do it. You incapacitate the suckers and I’ll finish them off.”

Sabrina didn’t have the heart to tell her new ally that she only had a half dozen or so shells left, if that. She’d fight until she was out of ammunition and then use the shotgun like a club.

She sought out Arand once again and her heart jumped into her throat as a huge demon swiped long, sharp claws toward him. Arand jumped back, barely avoiding being gutted. Why wasn’t the goddess doing anything to help? Both god and goddess stood on the perimeter of the fight, watching and waiting. But for what?

As though he could hear her thoughts, Hades suddenly made a move. The god raised his hands and aimed them toward Arand. She was very afraid Hades was going to fling two of those lightning bolts at Arand. She could almost hear the god’s thoughts, feel his anger and determination to destroy the warrior before Arand could break the curse.

Sabrina was off like a shot, feet pounding across the porch. She was down the steps and across the yard in a flash. She heard Kellsie calling her name, saw Arand whip his head around toward her. It all happened so fast, but yet time seemed to slow down and stretch.

Hades released two of those deadly lightning bolts toward Arand, and Sabrina knew she had only one chance. She jumped, extending her body as far as she could, flinging herself in front of him. Arand’s expression turned from one of worry to one of complete horror, and she knew he understood what she was doing.

He might have yelled her name, but she couldn’t be sure, couldn’t hear anything above the thundering of her heart. She was going to make it. Satisfaction filled her. Arand would be safe. She stretched out her hands, willing her body to fly faster though the air.

She didn’t quite make it.

One bolt of Hades’ lightning struck her smack in the middle of her chest, jerking her several feet backward. She slammed into Arand and his arms came around her a split second after the other bolt found its way to him. He flew back, taking her with him.

They landed hard, but Arand kept his arms wrapped around her, cushioning her from the worst of the fall. She could have told him it no longer mattered. She couldn’t feel much anyway.

The sounds around her dimmed. Arand was leaning over her, his mouth moving, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“Love you,” she whispered. She wasn’t afraid to die. She’d much rather prefer to live, but if Arand stayed alive and the world was saved then her death had some meaning.

“Don’t leave me.” His tortured yell penetrated the black fog threatening to swamp her.

She licked her lips and forced the words past the pain in her chest. “You live.” She wanted to say so much more but it felt as though an elephant had taken up residence on top of her. This was so much worse than the first time she’d been hit. She knew now that the god had simply been toying with her earlier.

She blinked, wanting to capture the image of her wolf one final time. Concern filled his dark eyes and his shaggy hair fell around his shoulders. She loved his hair, so soft. As she watched, a lone tear slid from one of his eyes, rolled down his cheek and splattered on her face.

Sabrina wanted to tell him not to cry for her, that she didn’t regret one single moment of their time together or what had happened between them. It was fate. Her fate. She thought she heard a woman chanting in the distance. No, many women, their voices rising together on the wind to protect the small band of warriors and their women.

Keeping her eyes open grew much too difficult and Sabrina closed her eyes and released a long breath. The world faded away until there was nothing at all.

Arand threw back his head and howled. How had it come to this? He was supposed to protect Sabrina, not the other way around. “I love you,” he whispered. “Come back to me.”

She lay there, still and unmoving, his words unheard. He’d been a coward, not telling her he loved her when he’d had the chance. Now it was too late.

But it wasn’t too late to avenge her.

Arand dropped his sword and let the change overtake him. His wolf burst forward, ready to fight. His chest ached, but it would take more than one powerful bolt from Hades to kill him. With the return of the Lady and his fellow warriors, his power had increased tenfold.

He hated to leave Sabrina lying in the dirt surrounded by dead and dying demons. The bushes beside him rustled and he stood over Sabrina’s still form and growled, daring anyone to try to take her body from him. He sniffed, instantly recognizing the scent even over the stench of death and demons.

Tilly crept forward, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Go. I’ll take care of her.” She moved to kneel beside Sabrina’s side and placed her hands on her chest. “Go.”

Arand threw back his head and howled again, the sorrowful sound rising above the grunts of the demons and the battle cries of the warriors. Letting the animal inside him have full rein, he sought out his greatest enemy, the one who’d killed his mate.

Hades saw him coming and snickered. “It’s too late. You can’t stop me now.”

Arand threw himself at the god, not caring that the action would probably result in his death. Without Sabrina to bring him hope and fill his heart, he no longer cared. All he wanted was Hades’ death. And if he couldn’t kill him, he wanted the god to at least hurt.

Hades flung his hands outward and discharged two more bolts. They hit him like lightning and flung him back. They should have killed him, but for some unknown reason, he was still alive. He shook them off and charged again. He knew he couldn’t keep this up for long. One or two more strikes would probably incapacitate him enough for the god to finish him off.

Around him, his friends were still fighting. Would they win this time or would it be like last time? Arand couldn’t bear the thought of his comrades, even the traitorous Mordecai, being imprisoned or worse, tortured by Hades.

The god walked toward him, confidence in his every step. Several members of his elite guard, headed by Agmar, followed him. “When will you warriors learn you can’t beat me? Better if you’d joined me.”

Arand growled. He’d never join Hades.

“Hades.” The Lady’s voice carried easily, the purity of it causing even the Dark Lord to pause. “You can walk away now and still save yourself.”

Hades threw back his head, his sinister laughter spilling around them all. Arand shivered with dread and wondered if he had enough strength left to protect the Lady. He struggled to his feet and loped slowly toward her.

“You are nothing.” Hades faced the Lady, scorn in every word. “Weak.”

She tilted her head to one side. “Am I? Your demons are dying while my warriors all live.” Her entire body was glowing as bright as the sun, making it difficult to look at her. “The world has changed, Hades. Yes, there is greed and dark deeds in the world, but it is also filled with groups of people who want to save the planet and the animals. They have made me strong once again.”