Demonfire (19 page)

He grabbed his sword out of
its scabbard and focused on the blade. Focused on the fact it hadn’t spoken to
him even now, after he’d vanquished the bear.

This was important—the battle,
the sword, destroying demons. Not the woman.

What was the point? Lemurians
were immortal. Humans had a life span that barely registered on his own
personal calendar.

So why did he care? Would she
wonder what had happened tonight? How she’d gotten home?

Would she remember him?

He hoped not. She had to
forget, just as he would.

Ed walked out a few minutes
later. “She’ll be okay,” he said. “Ginny’s tough. She and Eddy have been
friends for years. She’s a nine-one-one dispatcher so she’s perfectly aware
there’s some strange stuff going on, but she doesn’t have a clue what it is.
Hopefully we can keep this under wraps for a few more days, but with things
like that bear…” He glanced up at Alton. “What do you make of that? There were
four demons inside that thing.”

“Nothing good,” Alton said. He
put thoughts of Ginny behind him and focused on the here and now. “It means our
enemies are learning to work as a single unit. They’re cooperating, as if
there’s actual intelligence behind them. That’s something demons just don’t
do—at least they haven’t in the past. It makes them a lot harder to fight.”

They walked faster now. Both
Dax and Eddy could be in danger. Alton didn’t like being so far from them. Even
so, no matter how he tried, Alton couldn’t get the image of Eddy’s friend out
of his head.

“You’re sure she’s okay?”

“Who? Ginny?” Ed nodded.
“Yeah. Ginny’s tough. She’s going to be fine.”

“Did she seem to remember
anything?”

“She remembered a brawl in
front of the minimart. I let her think she’d gotten pushed around a little.
Told her I recognized her and grabbed her before she could get hurt. I think
she bought that.” He laughed. “I have to admit, whatever you did when you
kissed her left her really scrambled.”

Alton laughed, but he didn’t
answer Ed. He couldn’t. He had no idea what he’d done or why he’d done it.
Stupid. What a stupid move.

Except his kiss had worked
when his usual method hadn’t. He’d done what he had to do. No more, no less.
He’d always been a man of focus—why must he remind himself of his purpose? He had
a battle to fight, not a woman to woo.

Alton paused and listened as a
sound came to him on the evening breeze, a fierce whisper on the wind that sent
shivers along his spine. He recognized the distant howls and shrieks of
demonkind, blending almost innocently with the steady hum of traffic passing by
on the freeway beneath the overpass.

“We need to hurry. There’s
something building—I hear the cries of demons. That way.” He pointed to the
west, beyond the freeway.

“That’s where the cemetery is.
Where Eddy and Dax were headed. Lordy, I hope they’re okay. C’mon!” Ed took off
at a slow, awkward trot down the quiet street. It was well past midnight, and
they’d already fought many battles. Ed was older, a human male past his prime.
It was obvious his strength was waning, though his love for Eddy, his fear for
her safety, kept him going.

It was so easy to forget how
fragile humans were. Their passion and their bravery made them seem more
powerful, as if nothing could ever slow them down or defeat them.

Yet the power of their passion
could carry them just so far. They were hampered, always, by their frail human
bodies. Not only a finite life span, but the physical limitations that were
part of their humanity.

Limitations they must somehow
overcome if they were to win this fight against demonkind. There was no room
for defeat. No time for failure. Ed would have to find the strength to fight,
just as Alton must. He whipped his sword out once again and held it high. He
stared at it a moment, waiting for the voice.

Why wasn’t it speaking to him?
Where had he failed as a warrior? He was doing exactly what he’d feared all
along: going into battle beside Dax before he could converse with the sword.

Until he could order the sword
not to attack Dax, it would see the demon in his borrowed human body as the
enemy. They’d have to fight far from one another.

Dax had more than enough on
his plate. He certainly didn’t need to fear Alton and a sword that, so far,
denied communication. What in all the nine hells did he need to do to prove
himself worthy?

The crystal blade glowed
brighter than ever, almost as if it mocked him, even as it lit their path along
the dark country road.

Dax raised his head from the
low berm where he and Eddy waited near the cemetery. There was no wind. The
waning moon cast a silver glow across the stone monuments and statues, though
much of what he wished he could see lay in darkness. It was difficult to define
what was shape and what was shadow, what moved and what merely appeared to
shift in and out of the bands of light that stretched between the trees.

Still, the constant screams
and howls of demons fighting amongst themselves hinted at the vast numbers
gathered here tonight. Demons were not known for cooperation, but it appeared
one among them was attempting to organize the ungodly host.

Eddy’s heat bled through Dax’s
jeans and flannel shirt. He felt the soft rise and fall of her body with each
breath she took, sensed the curiosity that overpowered her fear. She’d not
hesitated tonight to stand beside Dax when they’d run across demons during
their patrol of the city streets. She’d found a crowbar alongside the road,
something that must have fallen off a workman’s truck, and while it wasn’t her
requested baseball bat, she’d swung it with enough power to crush any number of
demon-powered avatars.

His own powers had returned.
As long as he used them sparingly, he’d had enough to destroy all the demons
Eddy had set free. They’d left a trail of shattered stone and cracked ceramic
from the center of town to the cemetery. Eddy had the clawed weapon in her hand
right now, ready to use it against their enemies. Dax leaned close and kissed
her cheek. He wasn’t sure why, only that he knew he had to touch her.

She turned, smiled at him, and
whispered, “What was that for?”

He shook his head. “I’m not
sure, but I know I want to do it again, when we’re someplace a little more
private.”

“Your timing sucks. You know
that, don’t you?” She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her laugh and
bumped him with her shoulder. Dax bumped her back; then he raised up on one
elbow, turned his head, and looked down the dark road leading to town. A pale
glow shimmered in the distance.

Alton’s
sword.
“I see your dad and Alton,” he said, lying back down beside Eddy.
A stone angel circled nearby, screaming in an unholy voice. Another joined in,
circling beside the first. They might have been placed beside graves
representing holy messengers, but now they flew with powerful beats of marble
wings and their eyes glowed either yellow or red in the night.

Dax and Eddy both ducked their
heads. Bumper whimpered and shivered beside him. Even her tail had quit wagging.
Willow hadn’t left Dax’s pocket since they’d nestled down into their hiding
place.

“We’re awfully close, here,”
Dax said. “I suggest we go back up the road to meet your dad and Alton. I think
I’d rather decide our next move a bit farther from the action.”

“Agreed.” Eddy slithered
backward on her belly until she was below the top of the berm, out of sight of
the demons massing in the cemetery and the hellish angels flying overhead.

Dax was right beside her. He
stood first and grabbed her hand, pulling Eddy to her feet. She stumbled when
Bumper nudged her leg. Dax held even tighter to her hand and tugged her along
beside him.

Willow popped out of Dax’s
pocket and flew toward Alton and Ed. They all met at a point a few hundred
yards from the cemetery, under the protection of a huge cedar. Alton sheathed
his sword as they drew close. He and Ed remained clearly visible in the pale
moonlight.

Eddy gave her father a quick
hug and got a kiss on the cheek, but Dax noticed how quickly she returned to
his side. He wrapped an arm over her shoulders.

“What’s going on? We could
hear the noise all the way from town.” Alton held his palm out for Willow. Once
she landed, he set her on his shoulder. “Any idea how many there are?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Dax said.
“Have you noticed the demons teaming up? We’ve destroyed a number of large
avatars powered by two demons working together.”

Ed nodded. “Alton had quite a
fight with the bear statue from the nursery. That big grizzly? It put up one
hell of a fight, but when Alton finally beheaded the damned thing, it had four
demons inside. It almost got Ginny Jones over near the minimart on North Mount
Lassen.”

“Is Ginny okay?” Eddy’s
fingers tightened on Dax’s. “What happened?”

Alton shrugged. “We’re not
sure, but we heard a scream and found her trapped behind a Dumpster, putting up
a good fight with a wooden slat. The bear had his shoulders wedged between the
Dumpster and the wall, trying to shove the container aside using brute
strength. We stopped it before it got to her, so she’s okay. Shaken, but I made
her forget the attack. As far as she and the people who saw it know, she got
too close to some people fighting.”

“How’d you manage that?” Dax
pulled Eddy close and wrapped his arm around her.

Ed laughed. “Alton used his
power of suggestion to start a street brawl. When the police arrived, there
were at least twenty men and women fighting in the middle of the street.”

Alton shrugged again. He
actually looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry. It was the best I could come up with
in a hurry.”

“As long as it worked…” Dax
paused. “Get back. Quick” He grabbed Eddy and dragged her and the dog close to
the thick tree trunk. Alton and Ed moved with them, until they were all pressed
up against the rough bark.

“Listen.” Dax held a finger to
his lips. “Do you hear that?”

Bumper whined. Eddy wrapped
her fingers around Bumper’s muzzle and gazed up at Dax. “What’s that noise?”

“More demons. It’s too dark to
see them, but I can hear them. I sense them, too, moving along the road.
They’re coming this way.”

Alton rested his fingers on
Dax’s shoulder. “Look toward the freeway. Where the glow from the overhead
light hits the frontage road. There are hundreds more of them.”

“I see them now.” Ed wrapped
his fingers around his iron pry bar. “Eddy, when they get close, why don’t you
turn Bumper loose? That way she can get away if she has to.”

Eddy glanced at Dax. He
nodded. Ed’s suggestion was a good one. As far as they knew, no humans had
actually been harmed by the demon-powered avatars, but a number of pets had fallen
victim. The demons appeared to be gaining strength and mobility within their
chosen creatures. Dax hated to think of harm coming to any of his little band,
including Bumper. She’d proven to be a loyal beast.

“She’s a good fighter with the
little ones,” he said, running his fingers through Bumper’s curly blond
topknot.

“That’s because she thinks
they’re chew toys.” Eddy smiled when she said it, but she quickly released the
snap on the leash and held on to the dog’s collar.

Willow zipped off Alton’s
shoulder, shimmering in a whirlwind of blue sparkles. Dax inhaled the energy
she pulled out of the air for him. He felt it pulse along his spine and the
length of the snake tattoo, which had remained somewhat quiet for the past hour
or so. He wondered if it was merely biding its time, preparing to attack.

It was definitely affecting
his powers. The first time, when he’d called on the fire and flame in Eddy’s
little house, he’d felt as if he could throw bolts of either for as long as he
needed to fight. This evening, though, he’d discovered there was a limit to his
strength. It appeared the cursed serpent had the ability to siphon off the
energy Willow sent him. After killing just a handful of demons, he’d had to
stop and allow Eddy to use her healing powers to control the pain.

The last time, he was certain
she’d felt the snake’s fangs beneath her palm. The thing was growing stronger.
He feared it was becoming sentient, that soon it would turn on him. Would he
have the strength to fight a battle against a creature that was literally part
of his own flesh and blood?

The demons coming up the road
drew closer. Alton was right—there must be hundreds of statues. Moonlight
illuminated all kinds of garden critters: pot-bellied gnomes and concrete
benches that looked like pigs and cows, metallic hummingbirds flittering
overhead, and stone cats, squirrels, and antlered deer creeping along the
ground. They all moved with obvious intent and purpose, somehow drawn to the
cemetery.

The screaming and banshee
howls seemed to have settled a bit. Then a loud, familiar wail split the night.
Eddy grabbed Dax’s hand. “The gargoyle. Look!” She pointed at the creature
flying low over the berm where they’d been lying. It followed the road and swooped
over the advancing horde of stone and ceramic creatures.

Dax raised his hands as the
gargoyle drew close and shot a bitter-cold blast of icy wind at the creature.
It encased the gargoyle in solid ice. The creature dropped to the ground,
bounced once, and lay still. Bumper tore loose from Eddy’s grasp and raced
toward it. The crowd of demons marching closer paused in the middle of the
road.

Then they began to mill about
in confusion. Dax thought of the way an anthill looked if you disturbed it. The
demons seemed to lose their focus, to wander without leadership now that the
gargoyle was down.

A banshee wail cut through the
clattering and banging of stone creatures in turmoil, and the gargoyle raised
its head. It swung one huge, clawed paw at Bumper and sent the dog tumbling and
yelping. Dax hit the gargoyle with a blast of freezing air.

The stone should have
shattered, but instead the creature rose slowly on awkwardly shaped hind legs
and stared directly at the little band of warriors hiding beneath the branches
of the cedar. It hissed what sounded like a curse between long, curved teeth
and mimicked Dax—holding its clawed hands out toward him as it called out in an
unknown language.

An invisible blade slammed
into him. Dax felt hot steel pierce his chest. Crying out, he slapped his hand
over the snake tattoo and stumbled to his knees. Blinded by pain, he raised his
hands and sent another blast of ice in the gargoyle’s direction.

The creature hissed, but the
sound died in the frozen air, and it toppled over on its back. Dax ran his hand
across his chest, searching for the blade that struck him, but there was
nothing there. The tattoo burned as if acid had been poured along its length,
writhing from his knee, across his groin to his heart. He bit back a cry as
agony seared his body. The strength went out of his legs. Shaking
uncontrollably, Dax fell, collapsing face-first into the dirt as his world went
dark.

Eddy screamed. She leaned
over, grabbed Dax’s shoulders, and somehow found the strength to roll him over
to his back. His eyes were closed, his lips twisted in agony. He gasped for air
through slightly parted lips. Her hands shook as she ripped his shirt open. The
snake tattoo hissed and undulated across his chest. The eyes sparkled with
life, and its long tongue flickered away from Dax’s flesh.

Eddy slammed her hands down on
the tattoo and sent every good, healing thought she could muster straight from
her heart and down through her palms. The tongue flickered between her fingers,
a living entity empowered with whatever curse the demon had fired at Dax.

Eddy’s arms quivered with the
strength it took to hold the snake in place. It shuddered and pulsed beneath
her hands, burning her flesh with its hot scales and hotter tongue. Once again
the forked tongue flickered between her fingers, and she felt the slick length
of curved fangs beneath her palm. When the broad head pushed against her hands,
Eddy pushed back.

She refused to think of the
fangs, whether they were venomous or not. Refused to consider the fact she
might not be strong enough, her questionable abilities not powerful enough to
hold the filthy thing at bay. She wondered if the tail of the serpent moved
with the same alacrity as the head, but she couldn’t worry about that, not now.
She had to hold it back. Had to keep it from growing any stronger.

Dax shivered, and his body
jerked as convulsions wracked his powerful frame. Eddy wasn’t sure if it was
from the pain or her touch or the internal battle he was having with the curse.
His breath still huffed in and out in short, sharp bursts, and Eddy felt the
pain rising through her hands, up her wrists to her forearms as the snake
fought her.

As she fought the curse.

“Go!” she screamed, glancing
over her shoulder at Alton and Ed. “Don’t let them get away!”

Ed touched her shoulder. “Is
he…?”

“Just go. He’s alive. There’s
nothing you can do for Dax, but you have to stop them.”

Cursing furiously, Alton took
off running, pulling his sword from the scabbard as soon as he was out of
striking distance from Dax. Ed ran with him, swinging his metal bar like a long
golf club, crushing the stone and ceramic creatures.

Alton’s sword flashed,
destroying demon after demon in bright bursts of sulfuric flame. Eddy heard
Bumper barking with a sense of relief. If she could make that kind of noise,
she couldn’t be too badly hurt. Eddy glanced up to see where the dog was and
realized Bumper had begun working the huge group of avatars like a herd of
sheep, circling from the rear and herding them toward Ed and Alton.

Her dad marched through the
middle of the throng of avatars, swinging his big iron bar and leaving
shattered stone and pottery in his wake.

Alton fought like a berserker.
His sword flashed overhead, striking the demons as Ed destroyed their avatars.
The snap and pop of demon mist bursting into flame filled the night.

The scent of sulfur drifted
their way. It made Eddy’s eyes burn, but she took it as a good sign. Alton’s
sword must be killing the demons, not just sending them back to Abyss. The
sparking fires, the stink of burnt demon—it was exactly what happened when Dax
struck them with his fire.

Willow stayed close to Eddy,
hovering overhead and sending energy through her. Eddy felt it racing along her
arms, through her fingertips, and into Dax, dulling the pain in her arms,
strengthening her sense of control over the cursed serpent.