Blood of the Demon (The Silver Legacy Book 3) (26 page)

“I can feel them,” Annalee said in her Hanta voice.

“There they are! Okay, Silver, show me whatcha got!”

Denny’s two weapons crackled to life, but she kept Saugen in her waistband until she needed it.

The first “wave” was a handful of mid-level demons who came through a tunnel. Like monkeys on the loose, they crawled along the sides and the ceiling as they ran toward them, more animal than spirit, more creature than human. They were everywhere, sprouting their Latin gibberish.

Denny felt Peyton ease in behind her to avoid being hit by Epée or Fouet.

“Five bogeys to your right,” Annalee called out.

Denny snapped Fouet, which bit off three legs on the first pass and an arm and head on the return.

“Shit,” Annalee muttered as she watched Denny work. “Why does she keep calling you
Rookie
? You’re a natural.”

“Three more coming your way, Annalee.”

Fiocina was humming like an electrical line when Annalee twirled it over her head like a baton. She caved in the skull of the first demon, cut the head off the second and buried the staff half way into the chest of the third—all in under ten seconds.

“Rookies,” Annalee growled, her Hanta in full bloom. “Amateurs, Silver. Don’t be fooled. They are merely trying to tire us.”

The second wave ended much like the first, with demons being beheaded, torn apart, cut in two and rendered limb from limb. It was a blood bath inside that tunnel.

For her part, Peyton stayed back, acting as eyes and ears for Denny and Annalee by calling out numbers and positions.

The threesome worked like a well-oiled demon hunting machine, and the third wave saw the first of the higher level demons with their own weapons. Still, nothing Annalee and Denny couldn’t handle.

Annalee took a throwing knife to her side. She yanked it out, looked at it and drove it into the chest of the thrower.

“You okay?”

“Merely a flesh wound.”

Denny stared at her. “Monty Python? Really?”

Annalee smiled the grin of a demon. “What can I say? He likes British humor.”

And then they felt it.

The ground rumbled. The walls of the tunnel began to shake.

Coming through the tunnel, larger than life, was Peyton’s Hanta, and it was everything mythical Denny had ever read about demons.

At first, Denny couldn’t believe her eyes. It was huge, nearly seven feet tall, with cloven hooves, the head of a minotaur and a ripped body. Various tattoos ran the length of its arms.

“Holy crap, that’s one ugly mother.”

“Here it comes. Ready to rock?”

“More than ready. You know the drill. Be on your toes, Peyton.”

“Hideous fellow,” Annalee remarked. “Simply disgusting.”

The Hanta crashed through the small tunnel opening, breaking it wide open. Rocks and debris flew everywhere. Denny and Annalee stood side by side, weapons at the ready, waiting for the inevitable attack.

“Stay alive, Annalee.”

“You do the same, Golden Silver.”

“Its size is meant to intimidate us,” Peyton said. “They are neither that big nor do they really look like that.”

“I’m intimidated,” Denny said, raising Saugen over her head. “Ready for this?”

Before Annalee could answer, the Hanta took a swipe at Denny who ducked. Annalee was not so lucky. She was lifted off the ground and slammed against the wall, Fiocina clattering to the ground and disappearing into the cylinder.

The Hanta made a move toward Annalee so Denny jumped in between them, Saugen, held over her head. “Uh-uh, motherfucker. That’s so not how this is going down.”

Her demon was all business now. Survival being its main objective, it was not about to allow another Hanta the privilege of ending its life.

The Hanta swung a backhand at Denny, who dropped to the ground to perform a leg sweep, knocking it back on its ass with a thud.

Whirling around, Denny reached down and jerked Annalee to her feet.

As she landed, she grabbed Fiocina and held her weapon in front of her, at the ready. “Come on, dick-licker,” Annalee growled. “Come to mama.”

As the Hanta snarled at Annalee and leapt toward her, Denny reached out as far as she could to touch Saugen to the Hanta. In midair, it swiped at her and knocked Saugen out of her hands before landing back on its feet.

It was fifteen feet from Peyton now, its eyes fixed upon its target.

“Fucking A,” Denny said, her right hand bearing four claw marks bleeding profusely. She eyed the distance between Saugen and her, and the Hanta and Peyton, and knew she had but one choice.

Denny dove for Saugen.

The Hanta was upon Peyton in two long strides. It towered over her, glaring its red eyes. Peyton lowered her weapon to her side. “Come home, Hanta, I was wrong to—”

The demon picked her up by the throat and would have likely killed her had Annalee not struck it with Fiocina on the back of its hamstring, slicing it wide open.

The Hanta went down on one knee, Peyton still in its grasp.

“Let her go motherfucker,” Denny commanded. As she reached Saugen, a dozen other demons started through the vortex.

“Silver, behind you!”

Denny pulled Epée out as she turned, and cut down the first three demons trying to exit the tunnel.

“Get the Hanta, Silver!  I’ll take care of these!” Annalee leapt into the fray, Fiocina whirling over her head like a propeller, demon guts flying everywhere. “Do it!”

With Epée in one hand and Saugen in the other, Denny returned her attention to Peyton’s Hanta, who was squeezing the life out of the defenseless hunter.

Retracting Epée, she grabbed Saugen with both hands. “That’s enough, asshole,” Denny said in the voice of
her
demon. “Let her go.” Denny pressed Saugen to the Hanta’s back, and then held onto the handle with all her might as Saugen began sucking the demon into it.

The Hanta looked stunned as it released Peyton, and took a swipe at Denny, Latin flowing at breakneck speed.

It missed.

Three seconds later, it was completely sucked into Saugen.

“Hurry!” Peyton cried, holding her hand to her bruised throat. “I...Annalee!”

Denny whirled around to see Annalee impaled in her shoulder by a pike much like hers. The demon lifted her off the ground and she screamed as it prepared to fling her back into the tunnel and into the path of the oncoming horde.

“Save her, Rookie. Please. I’m not worth it.”

Snapping Epée open, Denny started counting in her head as she leapt upon the back of Annalee’s attacker and slit his throat.

Twenty-six seconds.

Annalee was still impaled by the pike and there were more higher-level demons running toward them, claws slicing through the air, Latin mixed with growling and grunting like something from a slasher flick.

Twenty-three.

Grabbing Denny by the front of her vest, Annalee muttered, “The needs of the many, Silver.  Get the fuck out of here.”

Twenty.

Denny put her foot on Annalee and started pulling out the pike. The first demon reached her just before it was all the way out, and Denny sliced it in half with her sword.

Sixteen.

“God damn you, Silver!” Annalee yelled out in a deep Hanta voice. “Don’t...do...this!”

When the pike was completely free from her, Denny used it to kill the next demon that was in mid-air when the pike was rammed through his chest. Guts went everywhere.

Twelve.

“I fucking told you to stay alive,” Denny said, whirling around to make her way back to Peyton. “So fight, God damn you.”

Nine.

Denny did not look back. She was ten feet from Peyton when a demon tackled her from behind, causing her to fall well short of where Peyton lay.

Five.

Rolling on her back, she cleaved the demon’s head in two before making one final, desperate lunge for Peyton.

Three.

Two.

Ramming Saugen into Peyton’s mouth, Denny held on with both hands as it shook.

“Come on you motherfucking piece of shit! Get back where you belong!” Denny felt Saugen become lighter, emptier. She glanced over her shoulder at the sounds of someone being beaten to death.

Annalee was being overrun by demons.

“Shit. Hang on, Annalee!”

When Saugen emptied, Denny quickly pulled it away, grabbed Peyton by the belt and leather collar, and chucked her through the opening, back into reality.

“Run, Silver! There are...too...many.” Annalee disappeared in a throng of demons hovering over her.

Denny whipped Fouet out and snapped it to life like a pro, cutting into demon after demon until she could reach a hand into the growing mob surrounding Annalee. The remaining demons turned toward Denny, claws in the air, teeth bared.

She ignored them as she reached down and grabbed Annalee’s hand. The moment Denny touched her, she knew Annalee was in serious trouble.

Dropping Fouet, Denny pulled Epée out and with one giant sweep, she cut out the legs of the three largest demons. With all the might she and her Hanta possessed, Denny gripped Annalee by the ankle and flung her free of the mob before swinging Epée and clearing a path to the exit.

Annalee’s face was bloody; she was bleeding out of her shoulder, and since she was now unconscious, Denny pitched her through the opening just as she had Peyton.

Denny would have followed her out, but she saw Fiocina’s cylinder. She hesitated a moment too long before running back toward the snarling embrace of the demons to retrieve Annalee’s weapon—a decision she knew would cost her an easy exit from this mess.

As her left hand slashed at the horde of demons, her right hand reached down and clutched Fiocina, but not before she felt the pressure of the mob closing in around her. There were so many, she could no longer use Epée.

“Jesus H,” she muttered, punching, kicking and feeling claws reaching for her.

There were too many. Three claws slashed at her shoulder. One nicked her forehead.

They would kill her.

And then she let go completely and allowed her demon free rein. With a guttural roar, the Hanta flung off demon after demon until Epée was free once more to swing its mighty arc.

And it was more than mighty. It was utterly ruinous.

Limbs fell, heads rolled, bodies imploded as the Hanta gorged itself on the dead souls it was killing with a precision Denny had never experienced before.

Her Hanta refused to die in here, and might have continued its feast if a familiar voice hadn’t reached through the chamber.

“Run, DH!”

Denny saw the open path to the exit and dove through it just as three demons gave chase.

Up on her feet, Denny turned back toward the rift to attack, when she saw the demons clawing at an invisible barrier like dogs scratching to be let out.

Slowly turning, Denny saw Iris and a half dozen other witches with their hands up toward the rift. They had constructed a barrier to keep the demons from following her out.

“
Fomen bar. Sa a kote mo yo ye a move lespxl sou li ak tout bagay ap le sa a dwe byen
.”

Hélène’s chant sounded from behind Denny. She repeated it as she gazed up at the night sky with her arms outstretched like a Haitian on the cross. Her lips never stopped moving as the chant came faster and faster.

For a moment, Denny wasn’t at sure what she was hearing. These were not the words Enobaria had planted in her subconscious during the hallucination. These were...very different.

“Hélène...”

“It is done, Hunter.”

Facing the rift, Denny watched as it slowly closed, the yellow and orange light fading like a sunset setting into clouds.

When the tree trunk was once again only a tree trunk, the circle of witches lowered their arms.

“You did it DH!” Iris said, hugging Denny tightly. “You saved her!”

Denny dropped to one knee. Her shoulder throbbed and her hand ached from the scratches that were already healing. “How are they?”

“Peyton is pretty beaten up. Valeria is tending to her wounds. They’re over there.” Iris pointed to a huge boulder.

“And Annalee?”

Iris’s voice fell. “She’s pretty jacked up. Whatever went through her shoulder...” Iris shook her head slowly. “It doesn’t look good, DH. She’s with Peyton and a couple of the witches who are healers. They’re doing everything they can.”

Denny started for the rock, but Iris stopped her. “Give them some space. Seriously. They don’t need you hovering. Her Hanta will help heal her. Right now, you need to stay focused. There are still demons out here. You need to protect everyone here.”

Denny kept her gaze on the huge boulder. “Focused. Right. Keep me posted about them, Iris. I want to know the moment there is a change.”

“Of course. The witches will see to it that Iris gets proper medical treatment. Don’t you worry.”

“You’ve done well,” Denny said, her eyes scanning the darkness for possible adversaries.

“Not as well as you. You did it. You managed to save Peyton and close the rift.”

“Not without help. I won’t lie. It was fucking scary in there, Iris.”

“I can only imagine. We all need to get the hell out of here.”

Denny nodded as she walked up to the witches and Hélène. “Thank you so much for coming tonight.”

The coven leader, a tall red head, lowered her hood. “Your witch was quite convincing Hunter, but the truth is, had she led with Valeria’s name, we would have been here sooner. As it is, we were almost too late.”

“Well, I appreciate the assist.”

Denny walked over to where Hélène sat with her four women. “Brilliant work, Hélène. Thank you.”

“Where is my son, Hunter?”

“Honestly, I thought for sure the Vodouisants youth would be here with him in tow, but they are probably combing through the city looking for Peyton.”

“How it is the demons would not have simply followed you here?”

“Without a Hanta inside her, there is no connection to the demons.”

Hélène rose, assisted by two of the women. “Then he is still out there. Find him, Hunter. Find him before he does something he will not be able to live with.”

“First thing in the morning, Hélène. Right now, my team needs medical assistance. Once everyone is safe, I swear I will find your boy and bring him home. Thank you. And again, thank you for your assistance.”