The Hunt (17 page)

‘It doesn’t matter. I can kill demons,’ Eve said.

‘But you need help. We need the sword,’ Luke burst out. ‘We have to go get it.’

Eve shook her head. ‘I’m going straight to Helena’s.’

‘Me too,’ Jess said. ‘Those dogs are at her house!’

‘I wish you’d wait,’ Luke began, then seemed to realize he wouldn’t change their minds. ‘I’ll be there as fast as I can.’

‘Good.’ Eve felt a rush of relief at the thought. She
might be the Deepdene Witch, but that didn’t mean a guy with a demon-killing sword wouldn’t come in handy. Especially if that guy was Luke.

‘Jess, will you please just go back home?’ Eve pleaded as they raced towards Helena’s.

Jess didn’t answer, but she kept running alongside Eve.

‘Luke will have the sword,’ Eve continued breathlessly. ‘I have my witch powers. You won’t have anything to protect you.’

Jess didn’t answer that one either.

‘OK, OK.’ There was no way she could force Jess back to her house. It was pretty much impossible to force Jess to do anything. ‘But be careful. Please, please be careful.’

They rounded the corner onto Helena’s street. Actually it was a private drive. Helena’s place was the only house on it, with the woods butting up against one side.

A hideous bellow sounded, turning Eve’s blood to
ice-water.
Inspiring terror – check
, Eve thought, remembering what Luke had read to them at the library about the wargs’ howls.

She reached out and grabbed Jess’s arm. ‘We can’t just charge up the front walk. We have to figure out where exactly the wargs are.’

Jess nodded. ‘Once we do, if there’s a way to get to one of the doors, I’ll go straight in and find Helena,’ she said. ‘She has to be scared out of her mind.’

‘Perfect.’ Jess was right about Helena. And Eve was relieved Jess had a plan that involved getting herself at least partially out of danger.

Slowly Eve and Jess crept down the street. Dusk had slipped into darkness, which would make the black dogs almost impossible to spot. Almost. Eve caught sight of a pair of flame-filled eyes. Then another. And another. Three hellhounds were circling Helena’s perfectly manicured front yard. A snake of loathing writhed through Eve as she tracked the glowing orbs, imagining the gruesome demon faces that she couldn’t clearly see.

‘Maybe the side gate?’ Jess suggested.

‘Probably as good a way as we’re going to find,’ Eve agreed. The front gate wasn’t an option. A hellhound was positioned in front of it.

‘Slow or fast?’ Jess asked.

‘Let’s keep going slow,’ Eve answered. ‘They probably know we’re here. But if we charge the gate they’ll absolutely know, and they’ll probably get there before we do.’

Head down, crouching low, Eve led the way to the side gate. As she opened it, it gave a metallic screech.
So much for stealth
, Eve thought as all three hellhounds began baying in a soul-searing chorus.

Even worse was the sound of the demons rushing towards her and Jess. Eve pushed Jess towards the porch, then braced her legs apart and thrust her hands out at the first of the hellhounds hurtling towards her.

Her power had completely replenished itself, and it felt eager to spring free. Flame-licked lightning bolts rammed into the chest of the nearest hound. The demon hissed, then shrieked as it turned to smoke that twisted off into the night.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw another hellhound leaping at her from the left. She whirled towards it. She felt the polish on her nails melt as she hurled her power towards the beast. It turned to smoke in mid-air. She caught sight of Helena and Jess on the porch. Helena’s mouth was open as she stared
in shock. Seeing demons was a lot different to hearing about them.

Eve felt as if her body were made of power. Her bones were lightning bolts. She wouldn’t be surprised if her own eyes were glowing. As the third demon flung itself at her, her power shot into it naturally. She was acting on pure instinct, without thought or strain, and it felt awesome.

She checked the yard for more hellhounds, but she had vanquished them all. She pulled in a deep breath, feeling completely, wonderfully, extremely alive. Then she laughed. She could tell Luke that she didn’t need him and the sword after all. She had kicked ass.

Eve pulled out her cell and dialled as she started towards Jess and Helena. ‘All done,’ she announced, giddy with her accomplishment, when Luke picked up. ‘There were three of them, and I got them all. Bam, bam, bam! You should have seen me!’

She paused, one foot on the bottom step leading to the porch. ‘The Sword of Demon Death isn’t needed.’ Then she frowned as she felt the ground tremble under her feet. A horrible clicking sound was coming from the direction of the woods.

Eve jerked towards the sound. ‘Oh, God, no!’ she exclaimed as a pack of wargs exploded from between
the thick trees. Their viciously sharp claws sent up sparks as hundreds of the demon dogs raced down the street.

‘What? What’s happening, Eve?’ Luke demanded. The cell slipped from Eve’s fingers. They’d gone numb.

‘Eve!’ Jess was beside her. ‘Come on!’ She grabbed Eve by the arm and pulled her up the porch stairs to the safety of Helena’s house. Helena watched them from the open doorway. When Eve and Jess reached her, she didn’t step aside to let them in.

Instead she looked Eve in the eye – and slowly closed the thick oak door right in her face … Leaving Eve and Jess exposed as the hundreds of hellhounds approached.

‘Helena!’ Jess screeched, pounding on the door with both fists. ‘Let us in!’

Eve stared at the closed door, unable to believe what had just happened. A chorus of long bellows jerked her out of her momentary stupor. She spun towards the sound just in time to see the first hellhound in the pack leap over the front fence.

‘Helena!’ Jess cried again.

‘She’s not coming,’ Eve stated. She positioned her body between Jess and the huge black demon dogs. She could feel her power coiling inside her, ready. But would she have the force to destroy the entire pack? How could she?

A different bellow sounded. Not terror inducing,
hope
inducing. Luke. He let out another war cry as he charged through the side gate, sword drawn and ready. He reached the porch as the first wargs arrived at the centre of the yard.

Eve and Luke exchanged a terrified look. Even together, with the sword and her powers, they were no match for the pack of slavering hellhounds. ‘Up!’ Luke ordered, sheathing his sword. ‘The roof!’

He grabbed Jess and gave her a boost. ‘Now you,’ he told Eve. He laced his fingers together, and she put her foot in the stirrup he’d formed. As he lifted she threw up both her hands and managed to grab the rain gutter. From somewhere above, Jess took her by the wrists and helped her haul herself the rest of the way onto the roof.

‘You may be the Deepdene Witch, but I have the strength and endurance of a cheerleader,’ Jess managed to joke.

A few seconds later Luke had joined them. They all stared down at the pack, which had formed a ragged ring around the front of the house. The hundreds of glowing red eyes made Eve feel as if she were looking down into the embers of a bonfire.

‘OK, at least now we have time to make a plan,’ Luke said. ‘Where’s Helena? Is she all right?’

‘She’s fine.’ Disgust edged Jess’s voice. ‘When the hellhounds appeared in the street, she closed the door in our faces. I couldn’t believe it!’

Luke frowned. ‘Did she know you were out here?’

‘Yes! We were about two inches away from her! Maybe she freaked,’ Jess cried. ‘Maybe she completely freaked and panicked and lost control of herself,’ she added, softening.

‘She saw you deal with the first wargs, right?’ Luke asked Eve. She nodded. ‘Maybe she figured that you could handle the pack on your own.’

‘No. The way she looked at me …’ Eve shuddered, remembering the cold fury of Helena’s eyes. ‘It was like she hated me, like she wanted me to get killed.’

‘Why would she hate you?’ Jess protested. ‘You never did anything to her.’

‘I don’t know.’ Suddenly Eve felt as if someone with an iron fist had punched her in the gut. ‘But I know why she would hate Kyle – and Vic!’

‘Oh my God, yeah!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘Vic took her spot as head cheerleader. Getting that spot meant so much to Helena.’

‘And Kyle asked me out right before he died. He was always flirting with other girls even though he and Helena were together,’ Eve added. ‘Maybe that’s why she hates me.’

‘Kyle asked you out?’ Luke said sharply, then he shook his head. ‘Never mind. What about Ms Taylor though? How does her death fit?’ Eve concentrated on
his eyes, looking only at them. Looking down, into the hideous faces of the demons with their maws gaping, made her feel as if the roof were pitching and rolling under her feet.

‘You know, Ms Taylor’s kind of the one who got Helena kicked off the squad in the first place,’ Jess said slowly. ‘She refused to pass Helena in algebra. If Helena hadn’t been getting a D in Ms Taylor’s class, she’d still be head cheerleader.’

‘That’s not exactly Ms Taylor’s fault,’ Luke said.

‘Helena could feel like it was though,’ Jess answered.

Eve’s brain kept trying to reject the conclusion she was coming to. It was too evil. But it also made a horrible kind of sense. ‘Could Helena be controlling them somehow?’ she asked, flicking her eyes towards the hellhounds. ‘Could she have
used
them to kill Kyle and the others?’

‘On purpose?’ Jess cried. ‘But … but it’s Helena.’

‘The Medways have this long history with demons,’ Luke said. ‘We don’t know most of it. Like why did Lord Medway ever agree to open the portal and let demons in? Maybe they—’

‘Listen,’ Jess whispered.

For a moment Eve didn’t know what she was supposed to be listening to. Then she realized the
hellhounds had fallen completely silent. Her ears still ringing from the bellowing, Eve took another look down at the demon dogs.

Her heart skittered. Helena had joined them out on the front lawn. Every demon’s eyes were turned towards her, the red-orange fires burning bright as they focused on the slim pretty girl who wasn’t much taller than they were.

Helena gave Luke, Jess and Eve a friendly wave. ‘You’ll have to come down sometime,’ she said in a singsong. Then her eyes narrowed on Eve. ‘Is there something you want to tell me, Eve Evergold?’ Her voice had lost all its playfulness. Now it was coated with malice and cold anger.

‘
I’ve
got something to tell you,’ Jess shouted. ‘You’re a complete psycho! I mean, look at your little pets. Look at them! They’re monsters.’

‘They’re wonderful. So loyal.’ Helena stroked the black cheek of the warg that sat closest to her. It grinned up at her. The sight started acid churning in Eve’s stomach.

‘I was expecting Malphas at the portal on All Hallow’s Eve,’ Helena continued. ‘That’s when he had to go back, and I was supposed to shut the portal behind him.’

She played us perfectly that day we came to visit her, acting like she hardly knew anything about demons
, Eve thought.

‘I was planning to renegotiate the pact,’ Helena said. ‘Maybe let Malphas stay a little longer if he agreed to do me a few favours. He didn’t show.’ Helena raised one eyebrow. ‘I suspect the reason has something to do with Miss Zappy Fingers up there.’

‘Oh my God, you lied to us!’ Jess exclaimed. ‘You never shut the portal, did you? You let those things out on purpose! They’ve been going back and forth whenever they want. That’s why the police and all those animal people never found them.’

‘Good to see you’ve caught up,’ Helena answered. ‘Why would I close it? I wouldn’t have my beauties if I did.’ She smiled at the hellhounds.

‘Malphas is a demon. And so are those fiends you like so much,’ Luke shouted down. ‘Don’t you have any concept of what that means?’

Helena laughed. ‘Typical minister’s son,’ she scoffed. ‘So worried about right and wrong. But you also have to know the power demons possess. And I can have that power, because I control the portal. The demons need me.’

One of the hellhounds gave a sharp bark as if it
agreed. ‘As it turns out, it didn’t really matter that I couldn’t make a new arrangement with Malphas,’ Helena continued. ‘These lovelies were on the other side of the portal – they’re guardians between the worlds, you know – and we made a deal of our own. I agreed to leave it open so they could come in and feed. And in return they agreed to let me choose who they fed on.’

‘That’s disgusting!’ Jess exclaimed.

‘Only because you care about being a good girl.’ Helena smiled. ‘You should try being a bad one. It’s a lot more fun.’

‘What you’re doing isn’t bad. It’s evil,’ Luke told her.

‘I’m bored,’ Helena said, ‘and the wind is messing up my hair. I’m going inside.’

A few of the wargs whined. ‘They’re hungry,’ Helena said. She locked eyes with Eve. ‘And you’re dinner.’

‘No!’ Jess cried.

‘She deserves it,’ Helena said. ‘Just like the others. She was trying to steal Kyle away from me.’

Before Eve could protest, Helena turned her attention to the demon dogs. ‘OK, babies, time to eat,’ she crooned. She pointed up at Eve. ‘Kill her!’

‘Helena was right about one thing,’ Luke said. ‘We can’t stay up here for ever.’

One of the hellhounds gave an experimental swipe at the side of the house. Its claws grabbed hold briefly, sending out a spray of sparks. ‘Even if we could, it looks like
they
might not stay down
there
,’ Jess replied. ‘They’re already trying to figure out how to come and get us.’

‘I’m still pretty juiced up,’ Eve told them. ‘But there are at least a hundred demons down there. I don’t think I’ll be able to kill them all.’ She turned to Luke. ‘Even with you backing me up with the sword.’ Panic rose inside her, and she struggled to keep it in check. There had to be a way out of this. She just needed to stay calm and think.

She forced herself to look down at the wargs, even though the sight of them repulsed her. They stared
back at her avidly, drool dripping down their chins. ‘They must have a weakness we can use,’ she murmured. She concentrated on remembering every detail of the night in the clearing. There had to be something …