Path of the Horseman (32 page)

I raised my head, looking for the next
attack. But none of the Soulless seemed to care about me anymore.
They had turned their attention to Logan.

He moved with a fluidity and grace that every
warrior would envy. He kicked to get distance and punched to kill.
Grey smoke twisted around him like a thin, deadly snake. If I
hadn’t known better, I’d say he never stopped training.

Logan truly was untouchable.

But my human brain reminded me that I was a
brother. It wouldn’t let me stand back and let Logan fight alone,
even if he could handle himself.

Placing the machete on my back, I ran for the
crowd of Soulless surrounding my brother, filling my hands with
inky black smoke. I should have held back on my powers, knowing
that I was losing them every time I used my smoke, but with a dozen
savage Soulless closing in on him, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
All it would take was one bite to subdue Logan. His blood could
probably cause instant death to any Soulless that drank it, but a
dozen bites could still cause massive bleeding for him.

Death was human now, and no human lived
forever.

I was on Logan’s right, and none of the
Soulless appeared to notice me. I slid to a stop about ten feet
away from the fight and flipped up both my hands.

The smoke rose from my skin like a sudden,
dark fog, and I focused all the energy into forming the locusts.
Doing this was a huge pull on my strength and powers, but it would
work. Logan would know to get away from it.

The locusts buzzed and hissed, hungry and
eager, veiled in thick black smoke. I turned them into a wall, and
sent them at the Soulless attacking Logan.

If I hadn’t chosen the subtler Plague, I
would have used the locusts to end the world. They devoured
everything they touched, as caustic as any cancer or ulcer I could
create. The locusts were the manifestation of the very worst part
of me. The locusts didn’t care what was in front of them, as long
as it was consumed.

They crashed into the Soulless in an
unforgiving wave, drowning the monsters in smoke and reducing them
to bones and blood. The Soulless screamed horrifically as the
locusts skinned them alive, bit by bit, piece by piece. They were
piranhas in blood-soaked water, working together to whittle their
prey down to nothing. I could see the Soulless thrashing, swatting
uselessly at my little school of monsters with clawed fingers
stripped of skin. They turned their heads wildly, blood pouring
from the gaping holes where their eyes used to be. Every time they
opened their mouths to scream, a swarm of locusts raced in, eating
the Soulless from the inside out.

I really was a monster.

I saw Logan back away from the swarm of
corroding Soulless. He moved until he was far from my smoke and out
of harm’s way, shooting me a look that held something of a warning.
He was trying to tell me I was using too much power. If I kept
going like this, I would lose it all. Or I would drain myself to
death.

So I started pulling back. I couldn’t tell if
all the Soulless were dead, but I had backup. I called the locusts
over to my body, breaking them down into smaller pieces so I could
absorb them easier. They flowed into me in a steady rush, settling
back into my human chest. I exhaled, taking a second to compose
myself.

A lot happened in that split second of
relaxation I gave myself.

First, I heard the shouts. Warnings from
Maddy and Simon in my direction. Then I felt the heat coming toward
my back.

I ducked and threw myself down, but wasn’t
fast enough to miss the entirety of the blaze. My left arm burst
with searing pain, black fire swelling along my arm and torching
the upper cuff of my t-shirt. I landed on the dirt and rolled, not
caring how badly I hurt my arm as I smacked it on the ground. A
little extra pain was better than having my arm melt off.

The demonfire wasn’t on me long enough to do
the
really
serious damage, but it still felt like I’d gotten
nicked by a blow torch. And the fire-throwing demon hadn’t gone
anywhere.

He stood over me, a thick-necked,
thick-shouldered, thick-headed beast-man with orange fires dancing
in his sickly black eyes. The dark-haired demon had a good foot and
seventy pounds on me, and his hands were so big it looked like he
could break bricks with them. He could probably give Kade a good
run for his money.

They even shared the same smile, all menace
and ill intent, the look of eager cannibals before they started
their barbecue.

“You cheated, Horseman,” he said, eyes wild
and smiling.

I was hoping he was all talk and no action,
but then he ducked, completely missing the arrow that had been
coming for his head. Bulky the demon spun on his heel, filling both
hands with black and red demonfire and sending them out in a
terrifying explosion.

My heart stuttered in my chest when I heard
someone shout. Soon a straight line of bruised fire stood behind
Bulky, completely blocking any view I had of the others. I barely
had time to get to my feet before the demon turned around, smiling
with insanity.

“Cheating is for cowards,” he finished.

I could have told him that I honestly didn’t
care, that I’d cheat day in and day out if it kept me alive, but
Bulky had other ideas. He rushed me with a truly amazing speed and
punched me in the chest. It had the same impact a sledgehammer
would, and pushed me just as far. I stumbled five feet toward the
bonfire, nearly losing my balance on something behind me. I made
the stupid mistake of seeing what I’d tripped on. A pair of female
legs were sticking out of the bonfire, like disgusting, blackened
tree logs. The top half of her body was frying in the flames, the
smells of burning pork and scorched hair filling my nose.

It was horrible, and I shouldn’t have stared.
I barely had time to turn around and concentrate on the much bigger
problem in front of me.

Bulky swung a wide roundhouse at my head. I
stepped back to miss it and reached around my head to grab my
machete. Bulky hooked my arm with his free one and pulled down,
stopping me from getting the weapon. His initial arm flew back, his
sharp elbow catching me along the jaw. The world blurred for a
minute, and I got a hard knee in the stomach. I couldn’t break the
hold yet, so I reached for a knife on my belt and twisted into
Bulky. The blade sank home, right under his ribs. Bulky grunted and
stiffened. I twisted the blade and looked up. Then he laughed.

Bulky slammed his head into mine, confirming
that he had a skull made of concrete. I was released and stumbled
back, hardly able to see straight. Bulky laughed again, making
anger surge through me. He didn’t want me to cheat? Fine. He
thought I was a coward? Fine.

I’d be happy to show him how very wrong he
was.

Bulky’s leg shot out, trying to catch me in
the head. I raised my arm and caught his foot. He finally frowned.
I moved with the block, reaching for his foot with my other hand.
When he realized I was trying to break his ankle, he jerked it out
of my grasp. He had to step back to regain balance, so I rushed
forward. I snapped a kick out to his chin, which he blocked. Then I
swung a wide punch at him. Also blocked.

But the fight was far from over. I wasn’t
easy prey, and there was nothing I liked more than punching demons
down a few pegs.

Bulky and I exchanged some really good hits
behind the wall of fire. He wasn’t the tricky, dirty fighter Vance
was, and definitely not the powerhouse Ciaran was, but he had speed
and strength. If I didn’t end the fight soon, my human body would
wear out and he’d stomp me into the sand.

The heat at my back warned me I was close to
the bonfire. While I was getting some shots into Bulky, each hit he
gave me pushed me closer to the flames. Demons were creatures of
fire, so the flames wouldn’t hurt Bulky. I was trapped in a human
body, and would be far less fortunate.

Yet a plan was starting to form in my head.
It was crazy, risky, and would get me hurt, but it was better than
becoming a well-cooked piece of meat.

When Bulky’s fist crashed into my temple, I
exaggerated the impact it had. Oh, it still felt like a wrecking
ball had greeted my cranium, but I was able to turn in front of
Bulky. Now it was his back to the bonfire. Not mine.

I kicked him in the chest when he still
thought I was weak, and sent him into the flames.

Bulky howled, not out of pain, but of
surprise. His clothes began to melt off as he tried to worm his way
out. I grabbed the machete from my back and held it in both hands,
like a samurai waiting patiently for the chance to strike.

I didn’t have to wait long.

When Bulky lurched out of the orange bonfire,
I swung the machete. All he was able to do was widen his eyes
before the blade struck his neck, knocking him onto the ground. It
didn’t take his head off in the first blow. His damn neck was too
thick. But I pulled the weapon free and let his body drop. Thick
blood spilled into the sand, and Bulky tried to heal himself.

Nope. None of that, pal.

I stalked to Bulky, raised the machete, and
brought it down in one swing. The blade crunched through skin,
muscle, and bone, then
clink
ed against the sand. I heaved,
every breath hurting as I took it in. I stepped back from Bulky’s
headless corpse, hoping I wouldn’t drop where I stood.

“Avery!”

I turned around, seeing the others coming
around the diminishing wall of demonfire, which had begun dying out
shortly after Bulky did. Maddy was in a full on sprint, crashing
into me so hard I thought she’d knock me off my feet. I staggered,
but she refused to let go.

“Ow, ow, ow,” I complained.

“Oh, shit,” she said quickly, unwrapping her
arms from me and stepping back. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” Her
denim blue eyes glittered from the fires. “I couldn’t see you and I
was so worried…”

“It’s okay,” I told her, fighting the urge to
fall on my ass and sleep in a fetal position. “I’m fine.”

“You look like shit,” Simon countered, having
finally caught up with Maddy. His words were harsh, but there was
no missing the worried tone in his voice or the concern in his
eyes.

“Bruises make character, right?” I said with
a grin, which made all said bruises ache.

Neither Maddy not Simon were amused. I looked
past them to where Logan was standing. Not a lock of his straight
black hair was out of place. It didn’t even look like he had blood
on him. My older brother stared at me without emotion. I honestly
couldn’t tell if he were feeling worried, judgmental, or annoyed. I
was too sore to care.

Simon moved up to my side and held out his
hand, letting white smoke drift out from his fingertips and into my
skin. Maddy watched it nervously. “Wait, isn’t that going to hurt
him?” she asked.

My brother shook his head. “It can only hurt
our kind if we want it to,” he explained, looking at her. “This is
how Avery healed me when I was stabbed.”

Maddy’s eyes were filled with wonder and a
little fear as she watched the bruises fade from my skin, but since
she wasn’t screaming like a banshee or throwing herself in the
fire, I figured she’d be okay. The human girl’s eyes turned back to
mine.

“You shouldn’t have used the locusts,
Avery.”

Maddy jumped at Logan’s deep voice over her
shoulder, but he didn’t notice. He didn’t even blink when she
backed away from him nervously.

“If you keep using your power like that,
you’re going to drain yourself.” His pitch black eyes narrowed.
“You know what will happen next if that occurs.”

Simon, now finished healing me, glanced
nervously between us.

Yeah, I knew. If I drained all my powers, I’d
eventually become totally human. For about ten minutes. Then the
strain I put on my body would make itself known, and my heart would
fail. My organs would stop working and my brain would shut down.
I’d die from exhaustion, assuming I didn’t get any massive injuries
beforehand. Given who and what we were dealing with, my money was
on the bleeding-out scenario.

“Well, gee, brother. You’re welcome for
saving your life. You’re so sweet.”

Logan’s jaw twitched. A sign of rage,
something he rarely ever showed. “Do not joke about your life with
me, Avery.”

This was when Logan reminded me of Kade. When
he made threats, even subtle ones like this, he only had to make
them once. If it had been Kade, I would have argued or brooded. But
since this was Logan, someone whose opinions and thoughts mattered
to me, I let it go. I mumbled Simon a thanks, put the machete on my
back, and rolled my shoulders.

“Did the humans get away?”

Simon nodded. “Maddy got them out and told
them to run to the main road and follow it. I don’t know where
they’ll go or how far they’ll get, but it was all we could do for
them.”

I frowned, but didn’t protest about that
either. We saved a dozen humans from demons and their Soulless
minions. It was a fucking hard world to live in, but they’d either
adapt, or give up and wait for Logan to pay a visit. I looked at my
older brother.