Vesik 3 Winter's Demon (29 page)

“Children,” Zola said as she patted my leg. “Save it for the people trying to kill us.” Zola turned to Ashley. “Priestess.”

“How can I help?”

“You are the act they’ll never see coming.” Zola’s face lifted into the twisted grin she reserved for special occasions. Like killing the shit out of something.

***

“You know she didn’t mean that,” Frank said as we made our way through the brittle underbrush.

“That she’d tear my head off if you got hurt out here?” I said with a quiet chuckle. “Trust me, Sam meant every word of it. That’s why I love her.”

“Me too,” he said.

“Yes, but I love her in entirely normal, non-disgusting ways.”

“She’s changed my life, Damian. You know what I used to be.”

“You mean a scheistering con man arms dealer?”

“Well, yeah.” Frank shook his head. “Why did you even give me a chance?”

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” I said. “Besides, it was a
fantastic
way to get under Cara’s skin. And Sam’s, actually. That part kind of backfired though.”

“I hope you see it is as a good thing,” Frank said.

“Fuck yes, and don’t you ever doubt it,” I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. “I haven’t seen Sam this happy since she was turned. I shit you not. I am very grateful to you for that.”

“Thanks, D.”

I nodded and started down a slippery slope of dead leaves. I held up my hand and Frank stopped beside me. We looked down the steep edge of the creek and then turned to the north while I looked for a gentler bank.

“So, you want me to deliver any messages if you don’t make it?” Frank asked.

“Don’t make it?” I said.

“I wrote a letter and left it in Sam’s nightstand. Just in case.”

“No, seriously Frank. You’re not dying. Sam would kill me. Besides, you’ve got enough firepower strapped to you right now to take us all out.”

“Sure, as long as no one uses a shield, or has faster reflexes, or brings a demon down on our heads.”

I nodded and swung beneath the bent trunk of an ancient tree. “I can’t say you’re wrong on any particular point there.”

A thick wall stepped out from the shadow of the tree beside us, silhouetted in the silver moonlight. “Will you two keep it down?” Alan asked. “I could hear you a mile from here.”

“That’s ‘cause you hear good,” I said in the best southern drawl I could manage, which wasn’t good.

The wolf’s shoulders shook as he hid his laughter. “Alright, just keep it down.”

“Any word from Cassie?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Let’s setup here,” I said as I pointed to the old tree stand above our heads.

Alan looked up for a moment. “I think not.”

“Scared of heights?” Frank asked.

Alan glanced at Frank. “No, I don’t like the idea of being treed by an army of necromancers. The only direction you can maneuver is straight down.”

“Nonsense,” I said. “You could get a decent arc off that thing. Probably land in the creek on a bunch of sharp rocks.”

“Indeed,” Alan said in what I suspected was not sincere appreciation.

A few minutes later I was snug in the rickety tree stand, with Frank and Alan camped out in the curve of the old tree below me.

“I heard you volunteer at a boys’ home,” Frank said.

“Yes,” Alan said.

“That’s, it’s really good of you.”

“I don’t do it for the approval of other people,” Alan said.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” Frank said. “I spent a lot of time in a boys’ home growing up. Dysfunctional family and all that. You hear people say their families are dysfunctional, but they don’t have a fucking clue what dysfunctional is.”

“You seem to be doing well now.”

Frank nodded. “I just needed a kick in the ass. Like Sam. God, I never dreamed I’d get to date someone like Sam. She’s just amazing. Brilliant, beautiful, kind.”

“Not so much that last one,” I said.

“I’m impressed you survived your childhood, Damian,” Alan said.

“We all have our talents,” I said.

“Look at me now though, D,” Frank said. “I’ve lost like fifty pounds. I have a freaking waist now.”

“Frank, most people would say you’re ripped,” I said. “Maybe not Alan, since he’s a brick wall, but most people.”

“You’ve overcome a great deal in your life,” Alan said. “Is that what you are saying?”

Frank nodded. “It was a struggle, but it was worth every minute.”

Alan reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “My friend, you speak my language. Hard work, good friends, and persistence verging on the insane. Those three things will drag you out of any pit you find yourself in.”

“I can’t believe I’m sitting here with a werewolf,” Frank said.

“You’ll believe it when the fighting starts,” I said. “You may need a lint roller when we get home.”

Our quiet laughter trailed off and silence settled into the shadows around us. It wasn’t long before the woods fell eerily silent. Three deer sprinted by, followed by a veritable army of squirrels and wildlife.

“Sit, Ubu,” I hissed down the tree.

Alan looked up and I could see his teeth gleaming in the moonlight. He raised his arm. “There. She comes.”

It took me a moment, scanning the darkness across the creek. Cassie soared on fragile wings, gliding and lifting and diving around the branches, finally settling on the far end of the branch beside me. Her armor sounded like a distant wind chime as she shifted her scabbard.

“Hugh was right,” Cassie said. “They split up. Looks like three groups, one coming in from the south, one north, one west.”

“Why not surround us?” Alan said.

“They did,” I said with a frown. “Philip knows the land. We can’t retreat to the east. You’ll hit some very steep hills and ponds. If you tried to run over that, they’d pick you off in an instant.”

“This is still
our
trap,” Cassie said. “They do not know what is coming.”

“You don’t think Philip will suspect?” Alan asked.

“I have known him a long time,” Cassie said as she turned and looked back to the east. “He is cautious, paranoid even. He will suspect something, but he will not know what.”

“They were friends,” I said to Alan. “Back in the Civil War, Zola and Philip and Cassie fought demons together.”

Alan looked up at the fairy. He was quiet for a moment. “I am sorry.”

She glanced down at the wolf and smiled. “Thank you.”

“How much time do we have?” I asked.

“The western group should be here in ten minutes. They are headed straight for the steepest part of the creek.”

“They’ll come this way,” I said.

“What makes you so sure?” Alan said.

“They won’t want to climb down into the creek. They’ll aim to go around the sheerest parts. That means north or south. South is a steep hill. They’ll try to cross here.”

“Is Philip coming here?” Frank asked. There was a slight tremor in his voice, but I had to admire how normal he sounded.

“No,” Cassie said. “He is with the northern group. Zachariah is in the south.”

“Zachariah gets Sam, Foster, Dell, and the Old Man,” I said.

“Yes,” Cassie said. “It leaves Cara with the Watchers and the Ghost Pack in the north. Zola and Ashley at the cabin.”

“Zola’s plan,” I said. “You think it will work?”

“If you are up to it,” Cassie said.

“They’re coming,” Alan said. “Remember, strike, run, bait them.”

“I’m ready,” I said as I bent forward and stared the fairy in the eye.

Shining green gemstones met my gaze as she drew her sword.

“Tonight we finish this,” she said as she shot into the sky.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

P
awns and cannon fodder. Philip always sends them in first. It’s what he’s doing while you slaughter the first wave that you have to watch out for.

“It’s too steep,” the first cloak said as he looked over the edge of the creek.

The two men behind him started downhill. The rest of the group followed like lemmings. Alan waited below me, Frank behind us. Cassie would be in the trees somewhere, coming up behind Philip’s men.

More hoods came into view. And then more. And then my buzz of adrenaline wrenched itself into a surge of anxiety. The wood split below me and I glanced down to see Alan, claws out, fastened to the tree just beneath me.

“There were not this many before,” he said. “I only heard a few, now there are at least twenty men.”

“Not good,” I said. “I’m going to take down one in the front, one in the back.” I drew the pepperbox from its holster and felt the reassuring bulge of a dozen speed loaders across my chest.

“If that rope breaks, you’re screwed.”

“I know it,” I said. “It’ll hold.”

Alan nodded and slid back down into the leaves below. The first necromancer tapped his foot on the frozen creek bed twenty-five yards out.

“Come on, Cassie,” I said under my breath.

There was a quiet gurgling sound in the distance. My eyes trailed to the back of our enemy’s ranks.

“Fairy!” a man screamed. “Fair—” His voice cut off a second before his head plopped down between his feet.

The entire platoon of cloaks turned toward the man’s scream. A couple of them were smart enough to raise a shield. I took aim at the closest who wasn’t.

The pepperbox flashed with the light of a phoenix in the dark woods. The man crumpled to the ground. A few more raised shields, half turning in my direction. I took aim at the back, where Cassie had been, and fired again. This one screamed when the bullet hit him. He writhed on the ground.

I grabbed the rope and swung out of the tree stand. These idiots weren’t seasoned. They fired off incantations in my general direction. I saw the tree stand burn from the corner of my eye as a spiral of flame hit it. A stuttering beam of white light cut through a tree branch above me. I was almost behind the tree when another flash severed the rope.

I cursed, still a good six feet off the ground, as the rope swung wildly and I overbalanced, crashing into the leaves. I didn’t stop to consider how lucky I was I hadn’t hit another tree, or a rock, I just got up and ran. My shoulder and thigh were sore from the impact, but everything seemed to be working.

I was at Frank’s side in seconds. “Ready?” I said between quick breaths.

“Yes,” he said as he handed me my staff.

“Good.” I grabbed the shield rune and its glassy surface sprang to life around us. None of these fools would be able to get through.

We could see the burning tree stand now, the unnatural fire already dying to embers. The front half of the necromancers started to surge around it, throwing caution out the door as they tried to run me down. Alan waited until they passed him before he reached out and tore a man’s arms off. The werewolf was a nightmare of shadows and blood as he began to dance through their ranks, swinging those fleshy maces so fast and hard men didn’t get back up after he struck.

Alan grunted as a man clipped him with a staff and another managed to singe the fur off a patch of his shoulder.

“Alan!” I said. “Now!”

“No,” he said as he reached out a clawed hand. It was a quick and brutal strike, and another necromancer’s guts spilled out onto the ground. The man fell to his knees as Alan tossed his arm and entrails to fall among the other necromancers.

Alan made a break for us while they watched the gore. “Now,” he growled as he ran by, sprinting on all fours.

Frank raised the Uzis.

I dropped the shield.

Five men died in an unrelenting hail of gunfire.

Or so I thought. One of the dying men brought his hand up. His lips began to move as I started to slide my hand up to the shield rune. I didn’t have time. No time. My hand was in the wrong damn place.

Cassie exploded above him. Her sword was drawn and angled beneath her as she landed on his back, knees first. The sword slid through his head like butter, smashing the back of his skull with the hilt as Cassie drove the blade into the frozen ground. I’d seen Fae steel cut through pavement. The icy earth offered little resistance.

“Cabin, now!” I said in the lull.

We ran a few steps and then took a severe left, dodging behind a thick tangle of dried out briars. Anything they fired at us now would be a blind shot. Alan settled in beside us. We didn’t run too fast. A twisted ankle wouldn’t help anyone. I hung back a little, with my hand primed to bring up a shield if necessary.

Frank kept glancing at Alan. As a wolf-man, he was hulking and coated in midnight black fur. I had once told Carter his arms looked like furry bowling balls, and Alan was a hell of a lot bulkier than Carter. Alan peeled his lips back and exposed a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. His run was awkward while he tried to slow down for us, half upright, half crouched, as he bounced along beside Frank.

“Christ,” Frank said between shallow breaths. “I thought Cara was scary.”

“She is,” Alan said in that deep, wolfish growl.

We cut our way through the trees, Cassie leading us back in a slightly roundabout path. The necromancers would follow, and we’d lead them right into the backyard.

“We’re close,” she said as she hovered over a large shelf of rock on one of the hills. “Next hill and we’re there.”

I felt the lines bend all around us and stumbled as the power in the ley lines began to fluctuate.

“Zola raised the shield,” Cassie said. “I’m going to check on the others.”

“Do it,” I said as she bent her wings and powered through the treetops.

A shadow moved at the top of the hill. Carter’s face emerged from the murk as we closed in. He matched our pace.

“Philip is following Vicky,” he said. “I don’t think he knows what she is.”

“He’s not the only one,” I said.

“Ghost Pack,” Carter said. “She is light. She fights with us. Does anything else truly matter?”

“Not tonight,” I said.

“Who are you speaking with?” Alan growled as he barreled through a low branch with a loud crack.

“Carter,” I said. “You can’t see him?”

“I can’t either,” Frank said.

“Zola either started the spell or we’re too far away from Vicky,” I said. “Carter, get the Ghost Pack. Get them to the front of the cabin. Be ready for Zachariah.”