Cold Blooded (36 page)

Her witches had no need of a second warning. They were already gone. I glanced around me as I raced along the wall. Rourke was too far the other way. “I’m going through a hole in the stone,” I called.

“I’ll follow you when I can. Go now before that thing explodes,” he yelled.

The thing started to gurgle.

“Go!” he shouted.

I dove through a small opening right as the beast exploded, raining a curse around the yard. It sounded juicy, like a gigantic water balloon splattering. I rolled twice without looking and crashed into something solid.

My head smacked it cleanly.

I sprawled on the ground, my arms at my sides. My wolf yipped at me to get up.
I’m going, I’m going. I think I just cracked my skull open. Give me a second.
Adrenaline coursed through me, trying to heal me quickly, but I was still fuzzy. I brought a hand up to my forehead.

“Hiya,” the most welcome voice ever said from above me. “Whatcha doing on the ground? Don’t you know there are demons running around all over the place? Didn’t you learn a single thing while I was gone? Safety first.”

I rolled over and stumbled to my feet, crushing her in a big hug. “Marcy! You’re here and you’re alive! I knew you would be, but I’m so incredibly happy to see you.”

“I can see that, because you’re squeezing the ever-loving life out of me. Time to ease up before your superstrong wolf power breaks me in half.” She chuckled and I let her go reluctantly. “Seriously, though, what are you doing out here? You were much safer back in there.” She gestured over the wall. “Once they find you’re out here, they’ll swarm us.”

“I had to come out so I didn’t get cursed. It was either hightail it through the wall or die a horrid, painful death. And the ward just crumbled anyway, so I imagine the demons will be everywhere soon.”

“Come on, then.” She waved me to follow. “James has all the wolves worked up into a frenzy back here. They’re barking and jumping all over the place. No demons or sorcerers have messed with us yet, but that’s because Nick—”

“Nick!” I yelled as I ran ahead and embraced him. After a big hug, I brought him back at arm’s length. I had so many questions. “Great work out here. When did the wolves arrive? And how in the world did you coax the witches here?”

“They came on their own,” he said. “I had nothing to do with that. But Marcy and James are the ones to be thanked. They arrived shortly after I jumped the wall. James shifted and finally contacted Callum. He’s been rallying the Pack out here since they started showing up. We have a good contingency assembled now.”

I turned to Marcy. “How did you guys find us?”

“We were trailing the sorcerers who kidnapped me. We knew they were going after you, because I’d overhead them scheming, so when they abruptly headed south, we followed. We ended up here, and once we saw Nick, we knew there was big trouble—which was no surprise, since trouble follows you like a horde of angry bees to honey.” She grinned. “So we adopted a new, sparkly agenda that included saving you from the bad sorcerers and the evil demons.”

I glanced around me for the first time. “What is this place?” We stood in the middle of a large barricade made up of what appeared to be car parts. “Marcy, did you make a fort?”

“Yes, and it’s spelled,” Marcy said proudly. “James ripped the cars apart to protect me and I spelled it. That’s why it hurt your head. It’s meant to stun anyone who touches it. But when I saw it was you, I snapped my fingers and, voilà, you were cured. No more massive head injury.”

“We’ve secured the perimeter around this entire area,” Nick said, gesturing to a wider arc. I didn’t see any Pack wolves. I could only hear them, so the contained area had to be a lot bigger. “The Pack has managed to keep the fracture wolves back, except the one who just snuck through. I also found I can use my persuasion to some degree on the younger sorcerers and the low-level imps. I’ve managed to convince a few to abandon their plans, but it won’t hold for long. The High Priests are starting to show up and that means they will call up Demon Lords. Things are about to get heavy.”

We heard some commotion to the left and James came into view. He strode up. “Hello, Jessica, it’s good to see you are well.”

I reached out to give him a hug.

“Don’t even think about it, missy.” Marcy’s voice held an order. “He’s mine. A simple handshake will do. No touching anymore. Like ever.”

I stifled a laugh and reached out to shake his hand. “James, it’s such a relief to see you here. My father will be happy to hear you’ve coordinated things on this side.”

“I don’t know if ‘happy’ is the correct word,” James said. “But we have spoken and he has been … amiable. It was by chance I shifted when I did and called out to him. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, but I told him you were here and he changed his course.”

“If you hadn’t done that, he would’ve died,” I said firmly. “We owe you and I’m certain he will welcome you back when he understands the scope of what went on. And I can see I was right in thinking you’d gone after your mate.” I addressed Marcy. “Congrats, by the way. He’s quite a catch.”

“Thank you. I’m keeping him.” She preened as she glanced at him with adoration and genuine happiness.

James nodded once.

As always, he was a man of few words.

For the first time I noted their appearances. They were both dirty, clothes ripped. Marcy’s stellar red hair, which always looked impeccably styled, hung loosely around her shoulders. It was clear whatever they’d been through had been rough.

“The feral wolves in the fracture pack are cursed. We need to warn the Pack to stay away from them. One bite and they’re deadly to us,” I said. “My father said they’d been made.”

“What?” Nick exclaimed. “That can’t be right. Shifters can’t be
made
.”

“That’s what he believes,” I cautioned. “And now that I’ve seen one, I have to agree. They’re not normal wolves and if we engage them, it could be fatal.”

“Then it’s time for me to shift,” James said. “We’ll have to change our focus from the demons to the wolves if that’s the case. The demons want you, but the wolves will fight us to the death no matter what.”

I peered out into the night. “Speaking of shifting, Rourke should’ve been here by now,” I said. “I wonder what happened?” A shiver ran through me at the thought the curse had touched him. But I would’ve known, or felt something, so I tried to relax.

“I haven’t seen anyone else come over the wall,” Marcy said. “But if he’s anything like mine, they growl a lot when you’re not around.”

I made a move to leave the junkyard fort, but Nick caught my arm. “Jess, you can’t go back out there. It’s better if you stay in here. Once the demons know you’re here, they’ll come soon enough.” He shook his head. “What’s happening here shouldn’t even be possible. Sorcerers don’t have the power to summon Lords. No one can. So it’s clear they’ve made a prior agreement with each other, which makes the entire thing unprecedented on the biggest level.”

I shivered, remembering the Demon Lord in the cave.

“The sorcerers want my life force,” I said, “but the demons think I’m an outlaw, powerful enough to rule their race if I were given the opportunity. They want to stop me at all costs. I have a court date in the Underworld already, and once the date arrives, the Lord said I would pop to that plane automatically. But if that’s the case, why are they here now?” None of it made much sense.

“I have no idea, Jess,” Nick said. “All the information I have about the Underworld is strictly from books. They are intensely powerful and their magic feels strange and foreign.”

He was right. “Foreign” was a good word. It tasted strange, more than just sulfur. It had an odd undertone.

Something flew over the wall in front of us.

It howled on the way down, crashing into a nearby Dumpster. It was an imp. There was a ferocious roar and another one flew over, greasy hair flying. Then Rourke’s entire body smashed through a hole in the wall.

He was livid, his arms braced.

I crossed my arms. “There’s my guy now.” I smiled at Marcy. “He must’ve come across some more trouble. The ward has completely fallen, because the imps must be coming in from the other side. Can he see us?”

“Holy caveman. He can see us, but we look like human bag ladies watching the show from behind a heap of scrap metal.” Marcy chuckled.

I glanced at her sideways. “You know, you never cease to amaze me.” Marcy had definitely found her groove. There was a time when she’d suffered from a lack of confidence, which had kept her out of her aunt’s Coven, but the world wasn’t dealing with the same girl any longer. Her recent adventures had changed her in a big way. “Did I mention I’m glad you’re alive? Not only do I love seeing your smiling face but if you’d have turned up dead, I would’ve followed you shortly if Tally had anything to say about it.”

“Yeah, she’s a cranky old bitty. She would zap you into never-never land just because she can. But can you believe she showed up here?” she exclaimed. “She never does anything for anyone. So consider yourself part of the elite. But, honestly, do you know how much this is going to cost you? Witches never do anything for free. You’ll never make another dime. All your future paychecks are going straight to the Coven.”

“Not this time,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s fighting for you, not me. I’m pretty sure she’s here because Maggie told her to come. That child probably had another vision and said, ‘If the wolf lady gets killed, Auntie Marcy will die.’ So Tally felt compelled to come to save her favorite niece.”

“Isn’t Maggie a little charmer? Spooky as hell, but you can’t help wanting to give those cheeks a squeeze. I love her up every time I see her. But I also plug my ears whenever she starts chanting. Some things are better left unknown.”

“You got that right,” I said.

“Jessica, where are you?” Rourke’s bellow was just short of manic. “The low-level demons have broken through the wall. If they have you, I’m going to tear this place apart.”

“I’m right in front of you,” I called, waving. “But you have to come inside the barricade to see it’s me.”

He paced closer, growling fiercely. “The vamps have disappeared. They were there one second and gone the next. The witches seem to know what’s going on, however, and are prepared to fight. Whatever’s stocked in their ammo is working on the imps.” He lifted his nose to scent the area. “I can smell you, but I can’t see you.”

“Keep walking. Marcy has spelled a small area. Once you get closer, you should see a couple of old ladies. Did the curse get on anyone?”

“Yes, one of the witches who was coming around the yard got sprayed, but Ray is on it.” He made his way over to us. “Tally has him by the neck, even though he’s cooperating. She doesn’t trust him not to drink her witch dry.”

“What about my dad?” He had taken off like the rest of us.

“I haven’t seen him,” he said, coming closer. “I see three old ladies, one who smells like you.”

“Three?” Nick said. “He thinks I’m an old lady?” He turned to Marcy with a questioning glance.

Marcy pressed her lips together and replied, “Gender bending is hard, so you get lumped in, my friend. My spell reads lady, so lady it is.”

Just before Rourke reached us, flames erupted in a single circle around Marcy’s blockade, separating us.

“Jess!” Nick yelled, grabbing my arm. “We have to get out. This is a demon circle!” He leapt around a car door, pulling me along.

I didn’t need any urging. I was right behind him. “Go, go! I’m following you.”

“Jessica,” Rourke yelled. “The flames won’t kill you. Get the hell out!”

“I’m going as fast as I can—” There was a popping noise and something grabbed me by the neck.

“Going someplace?” it hissed in my ear.

“In fact she is, asshole demon guy,” Marcy said. “Let go of her.”

I twisted in its grasp right as Marcy hit him with a spell. I’d never seen her spells manifest physically. This information was new and very welcome. Her signature was pink.

So very Marcy.

The demon let go and howled in pain. He wasn’t a Lord, so his power signature was much lower. We were lucky. But that meant the sorcerers were hiding somewhere close and they’d discovered our location and cover.

Things were about to get even uglier.

“Come on, Jess,” Nick urged from the other side. “You have to get out before the wall of flames grows.”

“I’ve got this demon businessman. Go while you can,” Marcy ordered. She glanced down at the demon that was sprawled on the ground. “Where’s your briefcase? Huh? Who comes to a fight in a three-piece suit? Take that for being such a dumbass.” She shot him with another spell and he went limp.

I took a running leap through the flames.

They weren’t hot like normal fire, but they still licked along my skin, stinging me like burning sandpaper scraping along every nerve ending.

I landed in a crouch next to Nick. His hair was singed, but other than that he appeared to be fine. “We need to find your father,” he said. “I may be able to use my persuasion and I want to find the source. The imps fell easily, but I’ve never met a Demon Lord. It’s worth a try.”

“How do you find the source?” I asked, glancing to the right, noting that Rourke was engaged with what looked to be a group of sorcerers. They were all wearing robes, but he had it handled.

“From what I understand, there are six Lords, but there is only one Prince of Hell. If he’s here, he’s in charge. If I can convince him to leave, maybe they’ll all leave.”

“I’ve met a Demon Lord and it was incredibly powerful, but I’m willing to try anything,” I said. “But we don’t need my father—we need Naomi. She can fly you closer. Scale the wall in front of us and we’ll go from there.”

I made a move to help Rourke. Most of the sorcerers were already down. “Go!” he yelled. “I’ll be right behind you. These guys are useless.”

Nick leapt easily to the top of the wall and I followed. The scene below was ridiculous. Wolves were fighting wolves, witches were shooting demons, and the vamps had formed a ring around Eudoxia in the corner.

“What are the vamps doing?” I asked.

“It’s a circle of some kind. I think she’s generating power. See her hair billowing out?” he said. Orbs crashed into the wall below us and footfalls were coming fast. We’d been spotted. Nick sprang off the ledge.