Brady's Hellion (8 page)

He fought their restraining hands until a blow to the
head had him seeing stars. Through the haze he saw Raven creating
her share of damage with a few well-placed kicks and punches until
one of the creatures grabbed her from behind and hauled her over
its shoulder.

“Don’t resist, Rae,” he called out. “Don’t give them
a reason to hurt you.” Fear built up like acid in his belly at the
idea of what they might do to her.

“They don’t dare harm me,” she sneered, biting the
creature’s shoulder and spitting out the chunk she took out. He
screamed a curse and dug his claws down her bare legs. “I am sister
to Shar, second-in-command and next to ascend to the Dark Throne.
By the time my brother finishes with you there will be nothing even
for the maggots to feast on.” Her shriek could have shattered glass
as she continued raining curses on them.

One of the creatures roughly shoved its claws against
Brady’s shoulder blades forcing him forward. Brady hissed at the
acid dripping from the nails. “Something tells me she was serious
with that last threat,” he muttered. “And I’m included with that do
no harm bit.” A ringing slam to the back of his head forced him to
his knees. “Damn!” He ignored the cackling chuckles as he slowly
got up then found himself the creamy filling in a creature sandwich
as one walked on either side of him as he and Raven were herded
down the trail.

As they grew closer to the resort, they saw Pahso
ordering his demon gang around and feasting on the koi that had
been swimming in the small pond by the reception desk.

Brady looked over at Raven who had been dumped onto
the ground. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders, a faint
bruise marred her cheek-he’d get the asshole that did that to
her-and she looked as if she’d been pulled backwards through a
rabbit hole not to mention pissed as hell. She never looked more
beautiful.

He cursed and fought the creatures that dragged him
onto the patio dining area and received more than his share of
punches to the abdomen and face for his trouble.

“Leave him alone!” Raven ordered, delivering a few
kicks to her captors with little success. One delivered a stinging
slap to her face that left her looking dazed. She quickly recovered
and swore at them.

“If you hurt her, I will tear you apart with my
teeth!” Brady yelled at the two creatures pulling Raven beside
him.

Their dark chortles sounded like cackles as they
pushed him down to the ground. Raven was pushed to one side. As she
stumbled, a circle suddenly appeared on the ground and she was
effectively trapped within its invisible confines.

“The females are used to pain. It is their lot. You
took what was mine. I claim it back.”

Brady lifted his head and faced the creature that
tried to look human., He could tell there was nothing human about
the thing even if it was dressed like a clichéd thug in jeans,
black t-shirt and shit kickers. Its shoulder-length hair hung down
its back in a mass of oily black curls. A stench of sulpher
permeated from its skin and stung Brady’s nostrils.

“I smell your cum on the female,” the creature
hissed, swinging what Brady could only call a bad-ass sword
guaranteed to slice him in half as easily as if he was soft butter.
“The female is mine and you have desecrated her. She will be
punished for that and so will you.”

“I am not yours, Pahso!” Raven shouted from the
sidelines. “I told Shar. He will be angry if you dare harm me.”

“Raven, shut the fuck up,” Brady ordered, not taking
his eyes off what might look human but sure as hell didn’t sound or
smell human. Man, this thing stunk worse than a landfill under a
hot sun. “Like the lady said, she doesn’t belong to you.”

A hint of a black forked tongue appeared past the
creature’s lips as it circled Brady who turned in a tight circle so
he wouldn’t end up with a surprise attack.

“What did you do to all the guests and staff?” he
asked. He didn’t want to think of the number of causalities
involved if the creature had his way.

It smiled, if the stretching of what must be its lips
could be called anything remotely like that.

It flicked its fingers as if they held no importance.
“They are all asleep.”

“He must have used a slumber spell. It would be an
easy matter to use one that would affect everyone but us,” Raven
called out. “Since this is considered purely a family matter he
would be barred from harming everyone here. They won’t awaken until
this is finished.”

Brady did not want to think what finished meant. He
had an idea it involved blood and pain. Namely, his.

Pahso’s slitted eyes momentarily slid over her in a
caress that was like black pitch. He turned his head and smirked at
Brady.

Just seeing his action had Brady wishing for a long
hot shower with plenty of soap. He hated to think what Raven felt
like. Judging by the look on her face, she wanted to tear the
creature’s head off.

“Shar spoiled you shamefully. He allowed you to run
free when you should have been properly trained to stand by my side
as my mate and perform your duties in a proper manner,” it hissed.
“It appears I will have to train you myself.” The lust glittering
in its eyes sent a wave of disgust through Brady’s body. He didn’t
want to contemplate this thing touching Raven with even the tip of
its finger.

“Shar doesn’t control me! I told you before, Pahso,
that there will be no mating ceremony.” Raven started to lunge at
it, but the edge of the invisible circle bounced her back hard
enough that she almost fell on her ass. She settled for pounding
her fists against the invisible barrier and screaming threats at
Pahso that curled Brady’s hair and had him grateful she was on his
side.

Shit! Brady had no idea what insanity he was caught
up in, but it was definitely not good. If he wasn’t careful he had
a bad feeling he could end up being dragged off to some dank hole
populated by things that were pals of the psychopath facing him.
Not to mention it was waving around a sword with the intent of
cutting off his head and possibly his dick and not necessarily in
that order. Brady was determined to not be dragged off to any
hellish dungeon minus any body parts he considered important.

What kind of brother was Shar that he allowed this
thing to come up here and just take Raven as if she was nothing
more than chattel Were politics that important to him that he would
honestly want her to be with something this revolting?

He jumped backwards when the sword came too close for
comfort. What he wouldn’t give for his Glock right now, but one of
his captors had crumpled it up like it was a toy made of tin. Maybe
it wouldn’t have killed the thing, but he figured he could do a lot
of damage to it. All he knew right now was that he had to do
whatever was necessary to keep it away from Raven.

The creature laughed as it lunged at Brady again
forcing him to jump backwards. He windmilled his arms as he
narrowly missed falling into the pool. He jumped to one side and
moved until he didn’t risk a dunking he knew he wouldn’t
survive.

Damn, he really hated being on the defensive! He was
good at hand-to-hand combat, but this kind of fighting was new to
him. Give him a crazed terrorist any day. Them he could handle. He
yelped when a line of blood appeared across his chest.

“You son of a bitch, this is my favorite shirt!” he
shouted.

Pahso smirked. “After I have cut you into tiny pieces
and feed you to my pet, your shirt will not matter.” A flick of the
blade caught Brady’s cheek leaving behind another stinging line of
blood.

“Sword!” Raven shouted, throwing out both hands in
Brady’s direction.

He almost fell over when a flash of fiery light
revealed a sword in his right hand. He shot her a quick mental
thank you before grinning at Pahso.

“The female cannot do that!” the creature screamed,
stamping its foot in fury. “This is our battle.”

“If he is to fight for me, he will fight by our
rules!” Raven argued. “I can provide him with comparable weapons.
This will be a fair fight, Pahso!”

“I don’t think shit for brains knows what a fair
fight is.” Brady threw a smirk at the creature.

Brady swung the heavy sword in a wide arc, hearing a
faint singing in the blade. There was no doubt there was a dark
magic embedded in the metal and the last time he hefted anything
close to a sword was when he was eight and pretended to be a Jedi
Knight with his light saber. But he’d been in trickier situations
and gotten out of them in one piece. Of course, then it didn’t have
to do with his soul or a demon lizard. He felt Raven’s eyes on him,
sensed her fear and something warmer that he was afraid to put a
name to. “Hey, shit for brains, you don’t look so brave now that
we’re on even footing,” he taunted.

Big mistake. This time when the creature lunged, he
didn’t stop. It was pure reflex that had Brady lift his heavy sword
to use as a shield. The force of the blade striking his sent a
vibration through his body. It was sheer force of will that kept
his hands wrapped around the hilt and not dropping it. He pushed
back, wielding the sword, managing to slice the creature’s arm.
Black blood streamed downward in a thick mass.

Rage shot through its gold eyes and it lunged again,
swinging wildly but with the purpose of hacking Brady to bits.
Brady ignored the aches and pains and fought to keep the deadly
blade away from any part of his body.

Raven fought the circle holding her, but Pahso knew
what he was doing. As long as the circle was invoked, she couldn’t
move outside of it and was effectively in his power. She had hated
him Below and up here her feelings toward him tipped into
revulsion. All Pahso wanted was her family connections, so he could
move up the ladder and eventually destroy Shar. That was the piece
of knowledge she’d used to gain her vacation along with his promise
he’d hold off any betrothal announcement between her and Pahso.
Shar hadn’t wanted to believe her, but he agreed to investigate the
matter. She thought once she made it up here, she would have the
chance to fully escape. Instead, it appeared all she did was
endanger the lives of the people here. No matter that Pahso claimed
they weren’t harmed, but Brady was definitely in danger of losing
his life. Because of the circle she couldn’t fight by his side, but
she was able to provide him with a proper weapon. She felt dampness
on her cheeks and lifted her fingers to touch the tears trickling
from her eyes. It had happened before when she explained everything
to him. Tears were unknown to her and now she had cried twice. If
only Brady knew what a gift he’d given her.

She remained quiet because she feared words would
distract Brady. She knew Pahso was lethal with a sword. She just
hoped that Brady would survive, but if he didn’t, she did know that
she would do everything in her power to ensure Pahso paid for her
lover’s death.

Brady felt his strength slipping. A severe beating
tended to do that. So far he’d managed to protect himself from
major damage although that last cut burned like a son of a bitch.
He hated to think what coated that blade.

As he backed up, looking for any kind of advantage,
he caught a glance of Raven, trapped in her hellish circle. She
looked scared to death and not at all like someone who might see
this kind of combat on a regular basis. But what did it to him were
the tears tracking her cheeks.

No way he would allow that thing to touch her. He dug
down deep for strength and somehow managed to find it. Cuts and
bruises didn’t seem to hurt as much as he lifted the sword higher
and roared a battle cry as he surged forward. There was no
hesitation as he swung the sword in an arc that connected with
Pahso’s neck, the sound like a knife slicing through a juicy melon.
The creature’s eyes momentarily widened then turned a flat black
color before his head tipped to one side and his body to the other.
Black blood bubbled out of his body in a steaming mass just before
it burst into flames.

Brady looked at the other creatures. He hefted the
blade, broadening his legs in a battle-ready stance as he waited
for them to rush him and finish the job their boss had started.
Instead they disappeared in a puff of red smoke.

“Brady!” Freed from her circle, Raven toward him but
before she could reach him, another creature appeared and kept its
arms around her waist. “No!” She hit it with her fist.

“Get your paws off her!” Brady roared, advancing on
it.

“Brady, don’t.”

He spun around, his sword ready. Shar, attired in
another immaculate suit, faced him.

“He’s one of mine,” the dark lord assured him.

“Then tell it to let her go,” Brady snarled, refusing
to back down.

“Don’t hurt him!” Raven yelled, struggling to get
free but having no success.

Shar faced his stepsister. “You cannot stay here,
Raven.”

“Yes, I can!”

He shook his head. If Brady didn’t know better, he’d
even think regret was written on the creature’s face, but what dark
lord knows the meaning of regret? The kind of regret Brady sensed
he was going to feel for a very long time if he couldn’t find a way
out of this for the both of them.

“I killed your choice of mate for her,” he stated,
hoping he was thinking like they would. “That makes her mine.”

“In your world, perhaps, but not in ours. Raven comes
from a very strong lineage,” Shar explained. “One that doesn’t
include a human in any form except as a pet. And I am afraid you
would not make an acceptable playtoy.”

Raven pushed against her captor’s arms. “I mean it,
Shar, do not hurt him!”

“Silly female, I don’t intend to harm Brady. He kept
watch over you while you were here and he has been suitably
compensated for that task.”

“Take the fucking money. I don’t want it.” Brady had
a very sick feeling about this. That he just might lose this
particular battle. He’d fought for his life many times, but he’d
never fought for someone who mattered to him as much as Raven did.
And now he would lose her because of a damn political battle. He
cleared the emotion clogging his throat as he prepared to do
something he’d never done before. Beg. “Please, leave her here with
me. I will do anything. Give up anything. Everything.”