Secret Worlds (343 page)

“Put the knife down,” all three of us commanded, one voice, three wills and the knives tumbled from the demons hands.

The minute the immediate threat neutralized, Tom flipped the bastard holding him and Raven slammed her heel into the demon’s foot but he tightened his grip around her neck.

A white blur shot through the air, hitting the demon holding Raven, peeling him off her and leaving her shaking. Naomi’s snarl drowned out the demon’s dying screams. Tom grabbed Raven, pulling her to where we stood. I didn’t wait for the second demon to react, instead, I tried to do exactly what CJ had willed to happen to me and I blinked in shock as the bastard flew into the wall, cracking the drywall and pulling Naomi’s attention away from her dead catch.

“How did you find me?” I asked and the bastard smiled, his gaze dropping to the cut on my leg. The cut made by a hellhound’s teeth.

“You’re marked,” he said and laughed.

I roared with the anger filling my soul, willing the unthinkable.

Blood mist filled the room and I blinked, staggering back a step before dropping to the couch. I didn’t understand what just happened and Steve waved his hand in front of my gaze, pulling my attention away from the spot the demon had been. My ears buzzed and my gaze dropped to the massive tiger nuzzling my lap. Naomi’s tongue ran a warm path across my cheek and she pushed into me again. I scanned her blood soaked fur and looked up at Steve. He wore the same gory mess that the rest of us did.

“What happened?” I asked, looking from Steve to CJ and then beyond to Tom holding Raven in his arms. My gaze transitioned from the people to the actual room and my mouth dropped open. Blood even dripped from the ceiling.

“You made him explode.”

I turned toward CJ, meeting his horrified gaze and then I looked beyond him at the pristine angel behind him.

“I did that to someone once,” he said glancing around the room and then back at me. “It’s pretty fucking messy.”

I let out a bark of a laugh.

“It happens when the juice gets away from you, and I’d say that’s exactly what happened here.”

Instead of dignifying his comment with an answer, I ran my fingers behind Naomi’s ears, glancing up at Tom and Raven. “Where did they ambush you?”

“In the garage, after we got out of the car,” Raven said.

“And you didn’t warn us?” CJ glared at Tom.

“No time,” he signed.

Naomi’s ears flattened and she hissed at the back door.

I turned and stared at the pack of hellhounds keeping watch.

“Fuck,” I whispered and chanced a glance in Steve’s direction.

He bolted for the training room, his fear hanging on the air and agitating the dogs outdoors. Jennifer argued with him until he pulled her into the family room and then she dropped silent, letting him move her beyond Naomi and me to where the rest of their family stood together.

It wasn’t until the air outside shifted and the pack parted that I felt the first threads of fear.

“Do you have salt?” I asked. A moment later, a container of Morton’s salt appeared. I pulled my gaze away from the man standing in the midst of the hellhounds and looked up at Steve. “Pour a line in front of the doors and on the window sills. Now.”

Steve crossed and laid a patch of salt across the floor in front of the sliders and then the garage door. He disappeared and did the same to the front door and the windowsills, coming back with a near empty container that he set on the counter.

I knew it wouldn’t stop Lucifer, but it would stop demons.

The tap on the back window pulled all of our gazes and I stared into Lucifer’s angry glare. He scanned the room and his expression turned to disgust, but it wasn’t his face that had my attention. It was the wings. Lucifer came calling in his deadliest form.

Wings next to me fluttered into view and Ty Ryan chose to appear in full glory.

Lucifer bared his teeth at the angel next to me. “Uriel,” he growled loud enough to hear through the glass and Ty laughed shaking his head.

“Try again, asshole,” he said.

Lucifer focused on Ty, his gaze narrowing

I took the opportunity to meet Steve’s wide gaze. “Go,” I whispered and nodded toward the stairs. “He can’t get in and neither can anymore demons.”

I wasn’t so sure about the hellhounds but they seemed to be held at bay for the time being. I grabbed the salt and lined the bottom stair, creating a buffer to the rest of the family.

Naomi hissed, pacing in the small space.

Lucifer snapped his fingers and Ty’s smile disappeared. Standing next to the devil was a bloodied and beaten man, his haunted eyes matching that of the angel standing next to me.

“Chris,” he whispered stepping forward.

I reached out and grabbed his arm, my fingers gripping solid flesh and not air like I expected. Ty looked down at my grip and then into my eyes. The window to his soul opened and I saw even more than what I gleaned from Steve.

The hellhounds surrounded Chris, toying with him. The first rip of flesh brought forth a soul-crushing scream and Ty struggled against my grip.

“That’s my brother,” he said.

“He’s already dead,” I said.

“So am I.” He tried to yank from my grip.

“You can’t save him.” I met his irritated gaze and I knew where his heart was, but he wasn’t thinking straight, not with the brutal spectacle outside the glass. “You cannot open that door.”

“I have to try,” he said, tears filling his bright blue eyes.

“If he gets into this house, who do you think he’ll kill first?”

Ty glared at me. “You.”

I shook my head and suddenly the truth hit him and he dropped to his knees, remembering the dark period when he hung between life and death. He glanced up, pain filling his features as the hellhounds tore Chris apart in front of us.

“You can’t kill a ghost,” I whispered.

“No, but you can torture a soul for eternity,” he replied, his voice filled with anguish.

I kept hold of his arm, watching the blood spill, the anger building, agitating Naomi and she charged at the glass, stopping short and putting her claws on the window.

It was a stupid move that exposed her belly and I saw the hellhound lunge. It hit, cracking the glass into a spider-web fracture. Naomi leapt back, retreating to the spot in front of Ty and me.

“Naomi, go upstairs,” I said and she turned her head, baring her feral teeth. “Go,” I whispered and pointed, ignoring her angry stare. I finally dropped my gaze. “I will be fine. I need you to protect our family.” I didn’t need to expand anymore and she turned, heading upstairs like I requested.

The second dog hit the glass, sending shards our way. I still had a grip on Ty’s arm and we traded a glance. “It’s your house,” I said, dropping my hand.

He looked around the room and then back at me.

“Vaporize the fuckers,” he said and the power surged in my chest.

His brother’s screams bled through the glass and when another dog launched, I let loose.

Lucifer stepped back, shock filling his features and his gaze locked to the spot the hellhound had launched from. All that remained was a back paw; Lucifer was wearing the rest of the creature in a spray of blood and guts.

Lucifer wiped the blood off his face and looked at his hand before leveling a glare at Ty. He wrongly assumed the angel had killed his hound. Neither of us corrected him, either.

Chris’s screams had subsided but the sound of flesh tearing still permeated the glass. Lucifer pointed to the decimated form. “This is now your brother’s fate. He will suffer an eternity of being ripped to shreds by my dogs,” he growled and then his gaze turned to me.

“When I return, there will be nothing you can do to stop me and my army from getting to your precious wife.”

In a blink, he was gone, and so were Chris and the dogs.

Ty hung his head. “That should have been me,” he whispered.

I stood transfixed, my body trembling. The expenditure of energy didn’t diminish the magic flowing in my blood stream, instead, it magnified.

“Damian?” Naomi’s voice cut through the waves of thought and I glanced at my surroundings until my gaze landed on her at the base of the stairwell.

“He’s coming back, and he’s bringing... things with him.” I didn’t know if it would be demon or vampire or something else entirely, but no one in the house was safe. Not even the angel beside me kneeling in defeat.

“How much time do we have,” Steve asked, swiping his clean face with a towel.

“I have no idea, but whatever he’s bringing back...” I stopped and closed my eyes for a minute, thinking on some of the things I knew about Lucifer and the monsters he commanded. “If he brings vampires back, Naomi and I are safe, but you aren’t.” I met his gaze. “They can get through the symbols and salt and once even one symbol is compromised, Lucifer can get in.”

“I thought you said there were no more vampires,” he said.

I opened my mouth to speak and then just sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I thought Eve was the last, but who the hell knows.”

“He said there were things far worse than vampires,” Naomi said, meeting my gaze.

I bit my lip, thinking about what could be worse. “The only thing as deadly as a demon that can break through our defenses, is a vampire.” I stopped and spun, staring out the window at my car before digging into my pockets. I clasped the key, yanking it out.

“I trust you have a nine millimeter?” I asked Steve.

His eyebrows arched and he nodded.

“Get the gun out of my jacket,” I ordered and headed to the front door.

“Why?”

“Platinum rounds. Heart shot or head shot will kill a vampire.”

I grabbed the salt as I passed and poured an arch wide enough for the door to swing open without compromising the integrity of the demon defense.

“What are you doing?” Naomi grabbed my arm as I reached for the door.

“Getting the ammunition from the trunk. Did you want me to grab my bag while I’m out there?” I hadn’t brought anything in and we were all in need of changing out of the blood-soaked clothing.

She glanced down at her sodden outfit and nodded. Her stomach had grown enough to stretch the wet fabric. I wondered if my sweats would be enough and then swept the thought aside and swung the door open, stepping out into the quiet night.

I didn’t mosey. In fact, I sprinted and popped the trunk when I was still a couple of paces away. Sweeping my hand through handles, I hauled the duffel bags over my shoulder and reached for the boxes of ammunition, sweeping them into one of the smaller environmental-friendly shopping bags. I reached for the top of the trunk and a low growl froze me in place. The feral sound rumbled from behind me and I held my breath, closing the trunk slowly before turning to face whatever was in the driveway.

“Fuck,” I whispered as I stared at a beast that looked like a cross between a hellhound and a grizzly. I couldn’t back up, so I took a step in the direction of the house. The thing bared its teeth, snarling. A gunshot rang out and the thing yelped. I didn’t wait for it to react; I turned and sprinted toward the open door.

Steve stood on the front step aiming at the thing behind me. I scanned the front of the house making sure there wasn’t another one of these creatures waiting to pounce. The ground shook, followed by another gunshot. My heart pounded in my chest and I wished for my vampire speed.

Inside. The thought ripped from my mind and Steve took another shot, before retreating and holding the door wide. I dove the last few feet, flipping myself into a break-fall and the door slammed closed before I rolled to my feet. I dropped everything and grabbed the salt as the beast hit the other side of the door. It held and I drew a shaky line of salt across the entryway and took a step back before the tremors reduced me to a hyperventilating pile on the floor.

“What the hell was that?”

I glanced up at him, trying to catch my breath and shook my head. Instead of trying to guess, I reached into the bag and tossed him a box of ammunition. “Nice shooting,” I breathed.

Naomi stepped into view.

“I guess there are some things that are worse,” I said and sat back on my ass, leaning my forearms on my knees, still huffing. I glanced at the gun in Steve’s hand and then up at him. “That’s not mine.” I pointed my chin at the Sig Sauer in his hand.

“Tom has yours.”

Steve put his hand out and I took it, allowing him to help me to my feet. We stepped into the kitchen and I crossed to the refrigerator. I didn’t ask like I should have, instead, I opened the door and pulled the first beer within reach. I could have used scotch, but something cold that would stop my hands from shaking without clouding my mind was more appropriate for the situation.

I guzzled half the beer before turning around. A layer of shock bit at my skin. It looked like Mr. Clean had visited the family room with the exception of a two-foot diameter of blood on the floor and a few tendrils stretching across the room. CJ’s head was bent in concentration as the last of the tendrils pooled together. He exhaled and opened his eyes.

“Now all we need are showers,” he said.

I handed Naomi the duffel bags. “Women first,” I said and got no argument from anyone. Naomi hesitated, her gaze bouncing between the window behind us and me.

“Go clean up.” I didn’t leave any leeway in my command and she nodded, following Jennifer and Raven up the stairs.

Tom still held the gun aimed at the sliders, even as I approached.

“Why don’t you and CJ go clean up, as well. I think Steve and I can handle it for a few minutes.”

He turned, glancing at me, and then Steve, waiting for the okay. I glanced over my shoulder, but Steve wasn’t looking at us, he was busy loading his gun with the new bullets, his gaze jumping from the front entry to the window.

Tom brought his gaze to me. “oo o,” he said and his mind echoed the proper enunciation of “You go.”

I glanced at CJ and he gave me a nod. “We’ve got this.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes,” I said and took the opportunity.

The guest room had a private bathroom and I stepped into it, peeling off my clothing and dropping them on Naomi’s pile. She spun when I opened the door and I paused.