The Death Skull: Relic Defender, Book 2 (10 page)

Foolish mortal females.

Filled with the sudden urge to move, Mari got out of the cramped vehicle and stretched. Not wanting to watch the giggling girls, she turned to look out at the busy main road into and out of town. Vehicles of all sizes and shapes rushed past. Pedestrians crossed at lights—braver ones darted into the road at a traffic break. Humans running like rats, scurrying along their merry way, unmindful at just how dangerous their lives really were. Clueless as to the creatures that populated the world they claimed as their own.

Movement out of the corner of her eye turned her head toward the direction they’d just come from. Mari frowned. Dark clouds filled the horizon, moving fast toward the town. She removed her sunglasses and squinted. No, not clouds. At least, not normal clouds. The huge mass of darkness combined into one jumble that writhed and pulsed, clots of darker spots moving within.

Fires of Hell. She whirled and faced the door. Jackson had just walked back through the door, a smile wreathing his face. He winked at the girls then looked up at her. He gave her a little wave that froze as he saw her expression. With a fast pace just short of actually running, he returned.

“What’s up?”

Mari jerked her head toward the cloud and waited until he looked. His eyes widened. “What the holy hell is that?”

“Exactly. Let’s go.”

She climbed back into the car as he finished with the nozzle, screwed on the cap and snapped closed the lid over the hole. Once inside the car, without speaking or questioning, Jackson sped through the town, weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring red lights, screaming brakes and shouts of other humans. A couple of times, Mari grabbed at the car door’s armrest. Under her tight grip, the plastic split. The rental car people would not be pleased.

After they’d left the town behind, Jackson shot a quick glance at her before returning his attention to the road. “Okay, what the hell is going on? What is that cloud?”

“Hell spawn.”

“In the cloud?”

She nodded.

He choked. “Here? Out in the open? Is he stupid?”

“No, he’s not. Don’t underestimate Beliel.”

Using the rearview mirror, she watched the moving cloud as it grew nearer, even as they sped down the road. “Most humans won’t recognize the cloud for anything more than a nasty storm front,” she continued.

“Are they in danger? Humans, I mean.”

Something in his tone caught her attention. She focused on him. A small muscle at his jawline twitched. “The demons are not after the humans in the town. They will be safe.”

She noted the flash of relief in his expression, then his eyes narrowed. “The skull. Can you feel it?”

“No.”

He shook his head. “Michael didn’t give you that little side benefit to your up-close-and-personal experience?”

“No, he did not.” She frowned. “Go faster.”

“Can we beat it?” Then, as if to answer his own question, his booted foot stomped on the pedal. The car seemed to leap forward, the engine coughing with the stress, then smoothing into a roar.

“I suggest we try,” she said.

A few mind-numbing turns later, Jackson brought the vehicle to a gravel-spitting halt in front of a picturesque, two-story colonial with a porch covered in potted plants. The riotous colors of the flowers were a pleasurable assault on the senses—the fiery reds, sunny yellows, royal purples and sky blues mixing with dainty white flowers and rich green foliage. A beautiful place. She hoped it stayed that way. Feared it wouldn’t.

They got out of the vehicle. Mari turned. The cloud’s leading edge crept into the driveway, turning the bright sunlight into graphite. Low hums, like that of mumbled voices, came from the cloud. The cloud descended upon the house, swallowing the pretty white-and-blue structure.

“We have to hurry,” she said, pivoting, then heading for the house. She heard Jackson swear as he hurried to follow her.

Mari’s senses flared. She halted in midstride. Jackson, unaware that she’d stopped, continued to advance toward the house.

“Jackson,” she hissed. “Stop.”

He turned his head and took another step. A
whoosh
as a fireball the size of a bowling ball streaked toward him. Shrubs and grass in its path burst into crackling flames. His eyes widened. Even as Mari moved to intercept the blazing globe, Jackson threw himself to the side onto the grass. The fire bomb crashed into the ground where he had stood. Flames licked outward, reaching eagerly for his legs.

Mari darted into the inferno. She tossed back her head and extended her arms, beckoning the fire, which came to her eagerly. Flames caressed her skin, a lover’s touch—gentle yet demanding. Scalding heat rushed through her, her skin prickling with tiny shivers of delight. She kept pulling the fire into herself until the flames dissipated. She sucked in a deep breath. After the fury of the fire, the coolness of the air coated her insides with ice.

She smiled. Stupid flunkies. They tossed fire at a fire demon? Beliel must be pulling his minions from the bottom of Hell.

“Jesus, Mari, are you okay?” Jackson had climbed to his feet, his tanned face a bit pale, his green eyes focused on her face.

She flicked her fingers in the direction of the house. “Bah. That is nothing.”

Nothing? The woman took a fireball and sucked it into her body as if she sucked in air, and it was nothing? Damn, she was tough. And as sexy as hell.

The look on her face as the fire wrapped around her had his jeans tightening over his crotch. Christ, if he didn’t know any different, he’d have thought she was in the middle of having the best orgasm of her life. For a brief moment, he had to struggle to keep from going to her side. Everything itched to take hold of her, pull her close and fuck her until neither could stand.

He’d never have thought the bloodthirsty type would be appealing.

He opened his mouth to reply, and a woman screamed. The terror-filled cry doused his rampant libido like he’d just dived into a freezing lake. Shit. While he stood drooling over a walking wet dream, those damn demons were attacking the woman, Lisa, who was supposed to give them the skull.

Side by side, he and Mari raced for the house. No more fireballs were thrown. Maybe the demons realized those things had no effect on Mari and hadn’t managed to do anything other than give her a thrill. Still, he could tell by the way her eyes roved over the house and lawn she was in full-battle mode.

At the bottom of the porch, they halted. Mari held up a hand. “Human, let me enter the house first. I have protection. You do not.”

No shit. “By all means, Marisol.” He stepped away and waved his arm in a sweeping gesture at the house. “Go right ahead.

Despite the fact it chapped his hide to let her be first, she was correct. He didn’t have the same protection. Besides, he’d learned not to stand before her and the opportunity to kick ass. The battle light in her eyes grew, swamping her amethyst depths with flame. All pretense of her being anything but a demon had disappeared. The color of her pupils shifted from purple jewels to blood red. The long canines, usually invisible, were clearly showing.

She cautiously climbed the steps, her tight ass flexing under the black leather.
Get ahold of yourself, hoss.
Tamping down the desire, he followed. From under his long coat, he drew out the sword he’d taken from the car. Demons couldn’t be killed by conventional weapons like guns. Or cannons. Or nuclear weapons. Yep, he’d asked. Sure, he’d meant it as a joke, but Marisol had been quite serious when she replied. Hence the sword.

Learning to use one had been one of the most challenging things he’d done in a long time, and he was under no illusion he was any good. Shoot, he’d rather hog-tie himself a bull than go up against a demon with one of these pig stickers, but he had no choice.

Good thing he’d learned the art of down-and-dirty street brawling. Gave him a fighting chance against demons.

Another scream ripped from the house, accompanied by furniture breaking and glass shattering. A chair crashed through the porch window, then landed in a heap of splintered wood. Mari didn’t hesitate. She kicked down the door and rushed through. Keeping his sword in front of him, Jackson followed.

Pulling her sword out as she went, she moved through the house quickly, down the long hallway, unerringly heading toward the back of the structure. Broken glass from picture frames and lamps crunched under their feet. With a swipe of her blade, Mari moved aside an upended chair, sending it crashing into the opposite wall. Guess silence wasn’t necessary by this time. Under the open arch leading into the kitchen, she stopped and her eyes narrowed.

“I should have known he’d send his favorite ass kisser, Jahi.”

The tall woman, surrounded by two bearlike demons, leaning over a downed woman who must be Lisa, couldn’t possibly be evil. Not with the innocent schoolgirl look shining from the sky-blue eyes and sunlit gold hair. A white-satin, two-piece pantsuit completed the picture of an angel descended from Heaven.

She straightened and smiled. Perfect white teeth peeked from behind full pink lips. “Ah, Marisol.” The luscious lips moved. “I see you made it back from Indanii. How was your visit? Hope it brought back many memories.”

At the low sound coming from Mari, Jackson whipped his head around. Growling? Was the woman actually growling? He’d heard her snarl and seen her grit her teeth, but wasn’t sure he’d ever heard the rumbling coming from deep within her throat. Sounded predatory. And hungry.

The woman, Jahi, turned her brilliant gaze on him. The full force of her look hit him dead in the face. His head jerked back and he stiffened, locked within her sight like a deer frozen in fear of oncoming headlights.

Without taking her gaze off him, she nodded her head at the two goons at her side. They lifted Lisa between them, her head falling forward limply. He couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive. Did he care? He didn’t think so. Not with the eyes of the most gorgeous woman in the world focused on him.

Jahi moved toward him, sinuously winding around the debris, her footsteps light and sure. His breathing quickened. The front of his jeans squeezed, pushing against his crotch as his balls tightened. Christ almighty.

“Well, what do we have here?” She touched a finger to his chest. He sucked in a deep breath. “Consorting with humans now? I never thought I’d see the day. Although, this particular human is very delicious, isn’t he?”

A warm scent enveloped him—the aroma of honeysuckle, roses and vanilla curling around him like a blanket. Muscles quivered as he fought to control his body’s reaction to the woman. A battle he was quickly losing. He wanted this woman with a desire that bordered on insanity.

Shorter by about five inches, she lifted on her toes and ran her nose up his neck, tracing his jawline, her lips dancing on his before she continued her explorations. His cock spasmed. Holy hell, any more and he’d come right in his jeans.

“Get away from him, succubus.”

A part of him heard a harsh sound he’d never heard before in Mari’s voice. The other part of him wondered how fast he could get his pants off and his dick into the woman curling around him like a vine.

Mari squeezed the hilt of her sword, her rings rasping against the metal. She gritted her teeth against the urge to attack the evil bitch. But she wouldn’t. Not yet and not with Jackson so close to her. Lexi would probably consider it a problem to lose a part of her team.

Jahi was Queen of the Succubi and Incubi and a key player in Beliel’s bid to take over Hell. Pure demon, impossibly evil, she took great delight in her job. While Mari was not afraid of Jahi, she didn’t make it a habit—conscious or not—of being in the same place as the demon. And she owed the bitch for sending her to Indanii, a godforsaken place worse than the darkest corners of Hell.

“Ah-ah.” Jahi wagged a finger at Mari but kept her focus on Jackson. “Make a move toward me and my boys will kill the human female,” she continued. “I don’t think Michael would appreciate your failure in getting the information you need.”

“I can find the skull without the female.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” A slight pause. “She doesn’t have it, you know. But I know where it is.”

“I don’t believe you.” Mari slowly edged her way around Jackson.

The glint in the blue eyes told Mari the demon was well aware of what Mari was doing. And didn’t care. “Why would I lie?”

“Because that’s what demons do,” Mari said.

Following the path her nose had just taken, Jahi trailed a long-nailed finger along Jackson’s jawline, down his neck, into the open collar of his shirt. The human leaned toward her, his fingers curled into fists at his side. He resisted but he’d fail. Mari knew the potent power of succubi was no match for even the strongest of humans, but she didn’t like seeing Jackson so bound by another.

“True.” Jahi acknowledged. “We do have an aversion to the truth. Except our truths. Like the truth that we will find the skull first and Beliel will use it to destroy the world’s leaders and set up Hell on Earth.”

“Come now, Jahi.” Mari pressed the point of her sword into the floor and leaned on the hilt. “You sound like every other villain talking about their plan just before their plan blows up in their face. It’s rather ridiculous.”