Drop Dead Demons (45 page)

We rode up Lizzy’s elevator and rushed out into the tunnel, racing through the cave behind the falls. Jayden parted the water of the falls, and as we started to follow the stone pathway to the beach, we skidded to a halt. The demon armies had congregated all around, in the sky, above the lake or on the lake, converging on the entrance.

But there was something far worse than demons.

Matthias shoved me into the shadows, out of sight, and uttered a panicked, “Dad?!”

Sheriff Payne pumped a shotgun one-handed and blew three demons out of the sky. Then he lowered a steely gaze upon his son. “We are not having a ‘friendly conversation’ when we get home.”

The sheriff wasn’t alone. I remained hidden as Ayden smacked his brother.

“You called Mom and Dad?”

Jayden shook his head, equally horrified.

“No,” Mrs. Ishida said calmly then ducked gracefully as Mr. Ishida unsheathed a sword, swung it over his wife, and sliced off the head of a hound prowling out of the water. “But you should have.”

No one so much as flinched when a demon burst from the lake and pounced on Mrs. Ishida in a deadly bear hug.

I started to…to — I don’t know, do
something
! — but silver spikes suddenly exploded
out
of Mrs. Ishida and skewered the demon.

Then with a high-pitched
whirrrr
of a blender—or chainsaw—the barbed spikes started to spin. Fast. Basically turning the monster’s insides into a gore-a-licous smoothie. It barely had time to squeal in agony before it disappeared into a black mist.

The silver blades remained protruding from all over Mrs. Ishida’s body. She sighed. They retracted. But her skintight, black outfit was slashed and torn.

“Darling.” She reached out to her husband. “Be a love.”

Mr. Ishida tossed his sword at Ayden who caught it easily, then took his wife’s hand. In seconds the fabric mended back together, and…

Wow. Now,
she
knew how to rock a leather cat suit.

Why did I date the guy with assassin parents? Only explanation? Death wish.

With an unearthly screech, a giant, dragony-looking demon which literally breathed fire, tumbled down through the sky. Riding it like a bucking bronco was a petite brunette. As the beast dove toward us with its fang-filled jaws yawning wide, the woman stabbed her hand deep into the beast’s neck, and in one vicious move…

Yanked out the spine.

My trips to the Waiting World were the only reason I wasn’t vomiting.

The ground shuddered as the dragony demon splashed into the shallows of the beach. The woman who had brought it down jabbed a finger at the boys, the bloody vertebra she’d just wrenched free waggling in her grip, dripping…fluids and stuff.

Logan winced. “Grounded?”

His mom glared. “
So
grounded.”

She front-flipped off the motionless demon and stalked toward us, smoothing her hair into the ballerina bun while behind her, the “spineless” beast — I couldn’t help it — burst into black dust and disappeared.

I ducked lower as a flippin’
giant
lumbered out of the forest, an axe the size of a tractor tire casually resting on his shoulder.

“Uncle Reece?!” Blake cowered behind Logan.

When the elderly couple strolled out behind Uncle Reece, Tristan yelled, “You’re alive!”

Mrs. Ishida muttered to no one, “Why does he think anything can kill them?”

Tristan ran forward for a body-slam of a group hug with his grandparents.

“Of course we’re alive,” said his grandpa. “It’s the demon hoards that go down, not us. Grandma was at her finest. And we didn’t forget your present. Show him, sugar.”

Tristan grinned at his gift, pulling on the colorful beanie hat complete with earflaps, tassels, and pom-poms. “I love it!”

“It’s yak wool,” his grandma said. “And our Sherpa said he blessed it with a protection spell. Now, what’s this we hear about some shenanigans you’ve been up to?”

“Sorry,” Tristan said sheepishly. “I know I messed up.”

“Are you kidding?” his grandma broke out a huge smile. “This is the first dangerous thing you’ve done!”

“We’re so proud of you!” His grandpa clapped him on the back.

“What?” Logan’s mom snapped.

Tristan’s grandma shot her a look. “Don’t question our parenting style.”

Matthias waved a jerking hand over his dad’s chest. “You have Jenny’s vest?”

The sheriff had ditched his megawatt smile and actually looked menacing. The lethal aura was helped by the fact that he was covered in all kinds of weapons and using Jenny’s arsenal of a vest.

“No. Jenny has
my
vest,” he snapped. “It was my design! He stole it!”

“Merciful heaven.” Rolling his eyes, Jenny emerged from the cave as he fired a shot over his shoulder and took down the hound that had snarled out after him. “You’re still on about that?”

“You!” Matthias growled. Light flickered. “You dragged my dad into this?!”

Jenny snorted. “’Course.”

Sadie, the Payne’s demon dog, bolted from the forest carrying in her mouth the bloody, ripped remains of some hellion’s clawed appendage, which she quickly dropped so she could leap at the sky and bark furiously. Not bothering to look up, Sheriff Payne casually cocked the double-barreled weapon and blasted several demons diving from above. His other hand pulled out some huge handgun and brought down a few more.

Smiling, he rubbed the top of Sadie’s head and said, “That’s my girl,” with genuine affection. Tail wagging, she wandered off, nose to the ground, sniffing voraciously while the sheriff turned a scowl on Matthias. “Did you really think you could handle one Greek god, let alone three?”

Mrs. Ishida muttered, “Typical teenagers.”

“Think they can take on the world,” Mr. Ishida agreed.

“
We
did.” Tristan’s grandparents high fived. “And we won.”

“You blew up the entire—”

“Mom, let it go.” Logan shuffled his feet.

Blake’s uncle laughed. “She’s just still mad about—” He caught the pint-sized brunette’s scathing look, “—the thing that I agreed to never talk about. Ever.”

“The gods aren’t at the portal yet.” Jenny glanced back at me and winked.

“Good. Gives us time to set a trap,” Logan’s mom said.

Mr. Ishida snatched back his sword and flicked black goo off of it. “Boys, hold them off out here. We’ll deal with the Olympians.”

The Hex Boys started yelling, their parents yelling right back. There was a definite “Hell no!” vibe from both sides. They all knew the chances of survival were slim. Nonexistent, if you asked Tristan.

I eyed the dark tunnel at the back of the cave, wondering if maybe I should try tackling this alone. Definitely not a good idea, but I didn’t like the thought of being responsible for a body count.

Jenny raised his hands. “I’m the expert here!”

The sheriff waved at him. “You tell ‘em!”

Jenny nodded like an all-knowing sage. “The boys go against the Olympians.”

“Ha!” Matthias jabbed a finger at his dad just before all the parents started yelling again.

Jenny fired three shots in the air to silence them, cutting down some demons too. “They already know more or less how to work with Aurora’s power, and she’s the best shot we’ve got at taking them down.”

Tristan’s grandma scrunched her face. “The scaredy-cat neighbor girl too terrified to leave the house?”

I slapped a hand over my face. So much for low-profile. But if I could just stay hidden…

“
Woof! Woof, woof ! Woof!
” Happily wagging her tail like she’d just won a game of hide-and-seek, Sadie jumped in front of me and wouldn’t shut up.

Dogs. I hated them.

“I’m not too scared to leave the house.” I stepped out of the cave. “Okay, maybe sometimes, but can you blame me with all this?”

Mrs. Ishida smirked at the other parents. “Told you she could see demons.”

Ayden gaped. “You knew?”

“Duh,” Mr. Ishida snorted.

“Why does no one say anything?” I said.

“Plausible deniability,” they all chorused.

“Oh.”

Jenny thumped my back. “I just need to get Aurora here riled up enough to activate her powers so I can amplify them. I’ll boost the boys’ too, but the fastest way to get Aurora started is to put your boys in a near-death experience.”

I gripped Ayden’s hand. “That is a freaking failure of a plan if I ever heard one!”

Logan’s mom folded her arms. “Makes perfect sense.”

“Used something similar in Venice with that pack of haptogian mols,” Uncle Reece nodded.

“It was Istanbul.” Sheriff Payne changed the clip on his gun and slammed it into place.

Uncle Reece twirled the axe. “No, I’m pretty sure—”

“Either way,” Mrs. Ishida cut in, “it worked like a charm.”

Mr. Ishida said, “Have at it boys, and stay sharp. We’ll take care of things out here.” He turned to his wife. “Darling, you have a little…” He wiped some black gunk from her cheek.

“Make sure to bleed a lot.”

“Grandma!” Tristan paled.

“What? I said bleed a
lot
, not bleed
out
.”

The Hex Boys hustled me down the tunnels to the portal.

“Still not liking this plan,” I grumbled.

“You’ll be fine.” Jenny was full of confidence. But what can you expect from a lunatic? “Once the gods show up, you do all you can to help them get the portal open using—” He paused. “Where’s that bloody stone they want?”

“In my bra.”

“Nice, babe.”

“Interesting choice,” Jenny shrugged. “Anyway, you stay close to the gods.”

Ayden stopped me with a protective arm. “We didn’t agree to that.”

Oh sure,
now
he was on my side.

Matthias gave me a shove forward. “The less chance she survives, the better it sounds to me.”

Jenny reloaded his guns. “When I boost her powers, the closer she is to the gods the better chance she has to help us blast them back through the open portal. Without more training, she’s better at short range. It’ll be easy.”

“We have very different definitions of
easy
.” I took a shaky breath. “And what about that demon army waiting for Aphrodite? You’re sure the gate will hold them if any get through?”

“It’s at full strength and ready to go,” said Tristan, looking ridiculously adorable in his brightly colored yak wool hat, pom-poms bobbing as he tapped with concentration on his computer tablet. “I can control it all from right here. I’ll lower the gate but hold it open the last few feet until we’re all on this side. Safe.”

“Trust me, lass, you can do this,” Jenny said. “We’re the best backup there is. With us all working together we’ll take down this lot and—”

Jenny stopped. The blood drained from his face, guns slipping from his fingers and clattering to the earth.

Artemis stood before the portal, hounds crouched and slobbering around her. In her arms, she held a trembling little girl, maybe nine years old, with a shock of ruby red hair brighter than mine, and pale green eyes shining with tears and terror. 

I flinched as the guys all powered up.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Artemis’s fingernails, long shards of black obsidian, curled around the little girl’s throat.

“Jen?” Matthias’s voice shook. “Is that…?”

“My girl?” Jenny could barely catch his breath. “Chloe?”

Artemis studied me with either a smile or a snarl. “I want to trade. One girl for another.”

Definitely a snarl.

Jenny settled a hand on my shoulder. “I’m listening.”

Ayden yanked me away from the power-sucking hunter’s dark look. “We don’t even know if it’s really her.”

Jenny blinked slowly, the Golem look fading from his eyes. “Too right.”

He bent to pick up his guns.

Artemis tilted her head. “It is simple. Give Aurora and my stone to me, along with your vow to never hunt me again, and I’ll give you your precious daughter.”

Jenny shook his head and bit his lip so hard it bled. “I accept.”

“What?!” I said.

The boys joined in a collective protest and generating of their powers.

But Jenny was ready.

He slammed a foot into Blake’s chest, the big guy’s fall taking down Tristan and Logan. Jayden hurtled an ice blade, but it lost its shape and splashed harmlessly onto Jenny’s shoulder at the same time Ayden’s flames snuffed out and Matthias’s shadow whips faded to non-existence.

The Ishida twins froze when Jenny sighted them down the barrels of his two guns. “Easy, boys. You have no powers. I’m the only one with weapons.”

“Jen.” Matthias stepped toward the crazed man, but Jenny shot the ground at his feet and the Aussie jumped back. “They never found her body, but that doesn’t mean Artemis kept Chloe alive all this time. You can’t trust a god.”

Jenny’s lips curved in a cruel smile. “Even the lass said the demon goddess wouldn’t kill a young girl.”

“I didn’t say that…exactly.” Kinda did. Nice big mouth, Aurora. “And even if I am right, she won’t just hand her over.”

“Artemis!” Jenny said without taking his eyes off the boys. “Send Chloe. I’ll send Aurora.” Jenny waved the gun at me. “Get going. And give Artemis a hug. From me.”

Hug? Sure, because that makes sense. I stared at him. Hard. Tried to read his face. Did he have some brilliant plan? But his expression gave away nothing. 

I threw him a dirty look.

“Aurora, no.” Ayden was furious. “Jenny, you can’t!”

“You’d do the same, lad. Go on Aurora. Showtime.”

“It’ll be okay,” I told Ayden. Didn’t look like he believed me. That made two of us. But even if it wasn’t Chloe, what choice did I have? A child was in trouble.

Once Artemis gave the girl a push, I glared at the goddess and walked forward. She pulled out her bow and kept it trained on Chloe. I clung to the terror building inside, trying to spark it into energy I could shoot. As I got closer, I realized the umbra stone must be working because the portal wall behind Artemis was shifting. Parts of it blurred. It was starting to open.

Something clicked deep in my chest and stole my breath as warmth burned. I glanced back at Jenny, his eyes already glowed yellow from dousing the boys powers, but he stared directly at me, and…nodded. I think. It was so slight.

Then energy coursed through me. A power surge. Had to be from him. I hung onto it, fanning the flames, feeling the force of it grow.

Chloe and I passed each other by the pool with the stalactites dropping a steady
drip-drip
onto to the bubbling surface. I gave the wide-eyed girl what I hoped was a reassuring smile. Didn’t look like it worked. Her lip trembled, breath coming in clumps, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Chloe, it’s okay. You’ll be safe.” I reached out and squeezed her shaking hand. So small yet her fingers gripped hard with desperation. “I promise.”

“Keep moving,” Artemis ordered.

Heartless wench.

Anger flashed through me in a seething mass. The kid was petrified. I had to peel her hand off mine. She gave me a look of anguish, like I was abandoning her. The wrath I felt for the goddess fueled my power.

Heat. Pressure. Energy building within me. I wasn’t glowing yet, but it was coming, and when it did, I’d bring Artemis down.

I wrenched my eyes from the little girl and forced myself to move away. That’s when Chloe lunged. With a wretched whimper, her arms latched onto me from behind, face buried in my back, her little form shaking uncontrollably.

“Help me!” she cried in a ragged whisper, before her body wracked with harrowing sobs.

“Stop!” I screamed, meaning it on several levels. At myself and Jenny, so I didn’t power up and burn the little girl. At Artemis who pointed an arrow at my chest. At the world to slow down so I could figure out what to do.

“Move her along!” Artemis commanded. 

Chloe hugged tighter, blubbering, shaking her head
no.
Jenny was yelling something.

I pulled out the necklace and dangled it over the bubbling, steaming water of the pool. “Relax, or I’ll drop it, and no one will have it.”

“No!” Artemis cringed with fright and lowered the bow. “I cannot lose it again.” The hounds backed off.

Okay, good. I hadn’t been sure what reaction I would get, but this was working in my favor.

Eros
poofed
into existence beside Artemis and gasped at her, horrified. “You dare to double cross my double-cross? I told you I’d get you your precious stone. Once we rescue Psyche, Aphrodite is all yours.”

Artemis had been staring hard at the stone, but as I watched, her initial fear faded into fury.

“And I knew I could not trust you, Eros,” the huntress growled. “I should have known when you insisted on kidnapping a Hex Boy instead of letting me kill one. I thought perhaps you had simply gone soft, but now I see you played me for a fool. Biding time with your lies to lure me here under false pretenses.”

“I did not,” Eros said. “I negotiated in good faith.”

“Hardly.” Artemis pointed at the necklace I held. “Because that is not my stone.” She raised the bow and arrow.

“No it is not,” a beautiful voice whispered in my ear as the necklace was snatched from my hand. “It is mine.”