There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6) (33 page)

She brought up
her knees and heaved the body of the dying demon away, jumping to
her feet while doing her best to ignore her protesting ribs. The
butterfly sword was a write-off; it wasn’t protected from the
effects of demon blood and was already beginning to corrode. She
wiped demon drool from the side of her face with disgust and swung
to track a dark shape moving in her peripheral vision. Fire roared
into existence to her right; Lance was doing his thing. Kyle
grunted to her left while the sharp zing of crossbow bolts could be
heard through the mayhem as another demon fell to the ground,
writhing. Drawing Nex, Gabi briskly dispatched the small, elvish
demon that had tried to sneak past her into the darkness, and then
she took a moment to search for the crossbow she’d dropped when the
bear took her down.

A wail rent the
air. A scream of surprise, pain and horror. A female scream.
Against the backdrop of a lightning-filled sky, a trio of demons
surrounded the Dark Magus. She struggled; lightning crackled
overhead, the wind a gale, bending the sycamore almost double. As
Gabi started forward, her foot knocked against something, the
crossbow. She scooped it up, clenching her teeth against the pain
in her side, and checked the bolt. She straightened, dropping Nex
to take aim, but she knew it was too late. The tallest of the
demons raised a huge spiked cudgel high in the air and brought it
down onto Mariska’s head just as the bolt took him in the cheek.
Dark liquid spurted and the Magus’s screams cut off. The wind and
lightning died with her, leaving the graveyard startlingly quiet.
The other two demons continued to pound her body with an assortment
of vicious weapons as the one with a bolt in its cheek fell to the
ground, its comrades not appearing to notice its untimely
demise.

A loud pained
grunt drew her attention. Kyle fell backward, tripped up by a
broken headstone. A demon with tusks like a boar and huge leathery
wings tipped with savage claws lunged for him. Gabi’s next bolt
took it in the jaw.

Two bolts
left.

She dared a
glance at the portal. Another demon emerged. At least seven or
eight were moving through the graveyard, nearly double that number
lay in steaming heaps, rapidly decomposing into putrid black
goo.

A roar from the
other side of the hill drew her attention, and as the clouds
cleared enough to allow moonlight to bathe the scene, a huge black
wolf rose from the ground, fangs bared as Butch’s human eyes
surveyed the battleground. Two demons rushed him and he charged
forward to meet them with a vicious snarl.

“
Here,” Kyle shouted, and she glanced sideways to see him hurl
something small and dark her way. She caught the pack of bolts with
one hand. Green. As she glanced back to Kyle, he was divesting
himself of his weapons belt. “Cover me,” he yelled as his body
began to convulse. She reloaded and fired, reloaded and fired, and
then a wolf the size of a pony got to its feet and shook
himself.

Things were bad
when Kyle went wolf. Werewolves had the advantage of demon-killing
saliva, but to deliver it they had to get up close and personal. It
was far safer to deliver it via a dart or bolt, so they always
stayed in human form if they had any choice in the matter. Pushing
her sense of impending doom to one side, she rechecked the grounds,
sighting her next target.

Two packs of
crossbow bolts down, she flung the crossbow aside and pulled the
dart gun. The darts weren’t as effective at penetrating demon hide,
but they were a good backup weapon, and she had no right to be
picky at the moment. Fireballs flashed to her left. Lance had to be
tiring by now, she didn’t know how long he could keep it up, but
she knew it wouldn’t be forever. He could fight with a sword, but
if he was already exhausted…she dragged her attention back to the
monstrosity that flailed at her with three cudgels and a mace.
She’d darted it, but the Werewolf venom was taking longer than
usual to bring it down. The muscles in her arms burned, her ribs
throbbed with every movement she made, and her left wrist was numb
from blocking a lucky swipe by one of those cudgels.

Growls and
snarls told her that Kyle and Butch were holding their own, but the
portal just kept disgorging more demons.

And then the
most welcome sensation in the world flooded her mind.

Julius.

He was close,
rushing towards her, concern, regret and fury mingling inside
him.

She was too
exhausted to assuage his fears.

“
Lea.” His voice reached her ears as the demon she was fighting
tipped its head curiously and fell to the ground, its head rolling
away from its body. Julius emerged from behind it, a dark, avenging
angel with a broad sword in each hand.

“
The portal.” Gabi pointed with Nex, struggling for breath.
“She opened a portal. They…” She dragged in more oxygen. “They just
keep coming.”

“
Where is she?” Julius demanded.

Gabi pointed to
the mound of what had once been a human form, under the
sycamore.

“
Lance?” Julius asked the same question she had, but his eyes
told her he already knew the answer.

“
Julius,” the man in question shouted, his voice ragged, “you
might be strong enough to do it. To close the portal.” He launched
another fireball at a zombie-like demon stalking toward him. A
demon lumbering down the hill stopped and raised its head, as
though sniffing. It turned towards Gabi and Julius and its eyes lit
up. Three smaller forms flew out of the mist, aiming straight for
them. Julius’s eyes narrowed and his jaw set. He raised his hands,
watched the demons for a moment, and then splayed his fingers
outward. The three winged demons simply exploded. There was no
other word for it; one moment they were flapping their bat-like
wings and the next they flew into a hundred pieces.

“
Whoa.” Gabi’s eyes went round even as she rushed forward to
meet the wingless one.

“
Get back,” Julius snapped, and she stopped just in time to
avoid being hit by chunks of flying demon as the larger one burst
apart as well.

“
Lance, do you know the mechanics of closing a portal?” Julius
shouted across the graveyard. “Can you talk me through
it?”

“
I can try,” the Magus shouted back. “Must get closer to
it.”

“
We’ll cover you,” Gabi told Julius, hope suddenly blooming
inside her. If anyone could do it, Julius could. She didn’t fancy
their chances of holding this many demons back until Athena or
another senior Magus could fly in.

“
Butch,” Julius called out, “Big Dog will be at the gates. Get
more ammo and get him up to speed. He’s on border patrol.” The
huge, black wolf finished tearing apart a small, thickset demon and
then charged off in the direction they’d come in.

“
There aren’t enough of us,” Gabi whispered, looking at the
mist, which unceremoniously disgorged another winged
demon.

“
Fergus is going for reinforcements,” Julius said, pausing
briefly as he concentrated on another demon, causing it to
spontaneously burst into pieces. “He will bring Vampires from the
local Clan.”

“
Won’t the Master be pissed?” Gabi didn’t want to get her hopes
up. “We’re in his territory without permission.”

Julius frowned
slightly and another two demons disintegrated.

“
We’re SID, remember.” Julius smiled without humour. “We can go
where we like, and they can’t turn down a request for help. And
he’d be an utter idiot to refuse in this instance.”

“
Let’s get the portal closed,” Lance said, jogging up to them
as the immediate area around them grew quiet from a sudden lack of
demons. “We can round up the stragglers later. There may be
casualties, but if the portal stays open, it could be
catastrophic.”

“
Agreed,” Julius growled even as Gabi mentally railed against
the idea. One death by demon was one too many, but the men had a
sound argument. A few deaths to save an entire city…she hated it,
but she had no choice. “I know,” Julius whispered in her ear,
giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“
To the portal,” she called, getting Kyle’s
attention.

Butch arrived
back just as the three of them made it to the top of the hill; he
was still in wolf form and carried a large satchel. Razor was at
his heels. Gabi groaned, she’d so hoped Razor would stay at the
cars, but she’d known it was a vain hope.

“
Well done,” she told him instead as he rushed to her. He’d
done it, he’d found a way to get the others here. He was amazing in
so many ways.

Four more
demons flew and lumbered out of the stinking mist, barely pausing
to look around before rushing down the hillside. Kyle and Butch
gave chase as Gabi rifled through the satchel Butch had dropped
next to her. Another crossbow and several packs of green bolts. She
re-sheathed Nex and grabbed the crossbow as Razor growled up at the
branches of the sycamore.

“
Can you feel the presence of the portal?” Lance asked Julius
as Gabi dispatched a small bat demon sitting in the tree. It hit
the ground with a wet squelch. “It should feel like a strong
vibration.” A harsh yelp from one of the Werewolves had Gabi
spinning to check the dark graveyard. Both wolves still fought, but
the darker one seemed to be limping slightly. Gabi prayed it wasn’t
serious. Three more shapes emerged, and two rushed away into the
dark while the third turned towards them.

“
I think I understand,” Julius said to Lance, but his voice
sounded strained.

“
You need to actually grab hold of the edges with your mind and
bring them together,” Lance explained, but he sounded unsure of
himself. This was like a blind man helping another blind man drive
a car, she realised. “And once they’re close enough, you have to
seal it with a binding.”

“
Is this something any strong Magus can do, or is it a specific
ability?” Gabi asked, her hope fading fast even as she sighted down
the crossbow and fired a bolt into the oncoming demon’s eye. It
fell, but continued to crawl towards them.

“
Most of the older Magi can do it, but some younger ones have
the specific ability,” Lance replied, “so it’s a bit of
both.”

Gabi spared a
glance at Julius, to find his brows knitted together in
concentration. Well, that was better than complete befuddlement.
She rushed down the hill to finish off the crawling demon when the
warning bell in the back of her mind clanged to life so loudly she
almost lost her footing.

“
What the?” She spun back to the portal, her eyes wide as her
breath cut off. Cold ate its way up her spine and goosebumps
erupted down her arms. “No,” she whispered, but it had no effect.
The ghostly form of a Seeker appeared from the roiling mist,
glowing red orbs hanging in the depths of its black cowl, no hands
or feet visible at the ends of the tattered sleeves and hem of its
black robe. Seekers, the Magi called them, wraith-like beings that
could fry you with elemental energy and had the power to find
anything they were looking for. She couldn’t believe she’d
entertained the idea of calling one to look for her mother. The
memory of flying through the air after she’d attacked one froze
her, and Razor let out an eerie yowl. Gabi’s chest burned and she
sucked in a gasping breath. She couldn’t even call out to Julius,
but their sudden silence told her they already knew.

“
You think you can ssstop ussss, Baron?” it hissed; dry leaves
over sandpaper. Gabi couldn’t tear her eyes from it to read
Julius’s face, but fierce determination emanated from him. “The
Dark one did her job well, thisss portal isss large and the veil
issss weak. Ssshe will be remembered for her role in the
prophesssy.” The Magi had been able to banish the one from the
City, but only in a concerted effort by a group of them. This thing
was powerful and not to be trifled with.

“
Go back to your own world,” Julius ordered in a low warning
voice. “I won’t just banish you, I’ll obliterate you.”

“
You have grown in power, Baron,” it rasped, “but you are young
and untrained. You are no match for ussss.” As it drew out the last
word, the mist boiled again and two more Seekers emerged to flank
the first. They wore grey robes, but their eyes burned just as
menacingly. Holy Lord and…Gabi had once again run out of swear
words. She sent an order to Razor to keep him behind her and coaxed
her muscles into motion, inching slowly back towards Julius. “The
Dark one we have waited for hassss finally arrived,” the
black-robed Seeker continued. “You have all played your part. Now
there issss only one threat. We will track thissss threat and
eliminate it. This light one cannot be allowed to live and you will
try to sssstand in our way. The nexxxt coming will not be assss
powerful.”

The three
Seekers attacked in unison. Gabi couldn’t explain what made her
drop the crossbow and draw Nex, but it saved her life. Arcs of red
light leapt from the empty sleeves of the Seekers directly for
their faces. Instinctively Gabi swung Nex up and the red fingers of
energy struck the jewelled hilt of the sword, exploding in sparks
like an overloaded transformer, throwing her backwards and leaving
her arm and fingers numb and her mind foggy.

A roar broke
her stupor as Razor’s cold nose touched her cheek. She rolled to
her knees, Nex sliding from her useless right hand.

The moon had
sunk low in the sky as the dark hours passed, and now it
silhouetted Julius’s form as he stood facing the Seekers, arms
outstretched, face contorted with strain, the tendons in his neck
bowing outward. A crumpled form lay to one side of him. Lance. Gabi
hissed in a breath.