Something about the chapel’s acoustics was all wrong — sounds echoed in directions that shouldn’t exist, and Caleb hoped he could use that disorientation against his enemies.His boots scraped against stone as he feinted right, then pivoted left, drawing the demons’ attention away from Delia.
The first demon he’d hit was already regenerating, its burned robe mending itself with threads of darkness.It hissed something in syllables that made Caleb’s hair want to stand on end, and in the next moment, all three figures moved in perfect synchronization, as if they shared a single malevolent consciousness.
Definitely not good.
Caleb dropped into a crouch, wishing he’d been more of a brawler when he was back in school so he’d have a better idea of just what the hell he should be doing.But the demon blood within him was a whisper telling him to stop thinking and allow instinct to take over.
Time seemed to slow as his enhanced reflexes kicked in.The leftmost demon’s claws whistled over his head while he spun, sweeping the legs of the one coming from his right.As it stumbled, he drove an uppercut wreathed in hellfire into its solar plexus, feeling oversized ribs crack under the impact.
But the third demon was already on him, its needle teeth snapping at his throat.Caleb jerked backward, feeling the wind from those jaws brush his skin.His back hit one of the impossibly angled pews, and for a split second, he was trapped.
Out of nowhere, Delia swooped in low and fast, a heavy brass candlestick brandished in both hands like a club.The demon, focused entirely on Caleb, never saw her coming.The candlestick connected with a wet crunch that echoed horribly in the warped space, sending the creature sprawling across the altar.
The portable altar rocked, and several of the writhing symbols flickered and dimmed.
“The altar!”Caleb shouted, realization flooding through him.“It’s the focal point!”
He rolled away from the pew as shadow-fire erupted from the spot where he’d been standing.The stone floor cracked and hissed, releasing sulfurous steam.His demon blood responded to the hellish energy, making him faster, stronger…but also harder to remain himself.He could feel his human side struggling to maintain focus as primal fury tried to take over.
The demon Delia had struck was already rising, yellow eyes blazing with rage.It backhanded her almost casually, sending her flying into a cluster of pews with a sickening crash.
Something cold and furious exploded in Caleb’s chest.His fire flared white-hot, surrounding him with the angry energy of a supernova.He closed the distance to the demon in two bounds, grabbed it by the throat, and drove his knee into its midsection with enough force to crater the floor beneath them.
The creature doubled over, gasping with something that might have been surprise.But Caleb couldn’t give it time to recover.He spun it around and hurled it straight at the altar, putting every ounce of his supernatural strength behind the throw.
The demon hit the altar dead center.The impact sent symbols scattering, some of them winking out entirely as they separated from the ritual circle.The tear above them shuddered, its edges becoming less stable, and the whispers from beyond grew more frantic.
But the other two demons were adapting, learning from his tactics.They split apart, forcing him to divide his attention.One began making complex movements in the air, rebuilding the ritual pattern that had been damaged a moment earlier.The other circled toward the scattered pews where Delia was struggling to get back on her feet, her breath coming in short gasps.
Caleb’s mind raced, measuring angles and distances with a cold calculation that felt utterly unlike him.The chapel’s twisted geometry created blind spots and unexpected sight lines.If he could use that, maybe —
The circling demon lunged at Delia.
All calculation fled.Caleb simply moved, crossing the space between them faster than should have been possible.He caught the demon mid-leap, his fists pounding into its chest as they both crashed into the wall.
Stone cracked.The demon’s yellow eyes went wide with something that might have been fear.
“Bad choice,” Caleb growled, his voice rougher than it should have been.He could feel his human control slipping, his demon blood rising to make sure the creature would never have a chance to hurt the woman he loved.
And for the first time since the fight began, he didn’t try to hold it back.
Fists pounded again and again, and he could feel the thing beginning to dissolve beneath the pummeling.No, he couldn’t kill it, but he could make sure it never wanted to return to this plane again.
Oily black blood spattered everywhere.Agonized yellow eyes met his…and then the thing winked out of existence.
Behind him, Caleb heard an unearthly howl and whirled.A white-faced Delia stood there, an empty vial of holy water clutched in either hand, while the demon she’d just splattered was doing a pretty good imitation of the Wicked Witch fromThe Wizard of Oz,melting into the stone floor in a puddle of gooey black liquid.
As it dissolved, the portal above the altar began to collapse in on itself.The wrongness in the air faded, replaced by the normal atmosphere of an ordinary — if horribly saccharine-sweet — wedding chapel.
Delia shot him a lopsided smile as she patted the purse slung across her body.“You know I never leave home without it.”
And thank God for that.Caleb had also had a few bottles stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, but his demon rage had opted for a more primitive solution to their problem.
He’d have to watch that in the future.While he didn’t regret using violence to dispel their foes, he also didn’t want to Hulk out to the point where he didn’t even know what he was doing.
Ty’s voice came through his earpiece, sounding slightly winded.“Is everyone all right?”
“We’re good here,” Caleb replied, surveying the destruction inside the chapel.It would take weeks to fix the damage, which meant there was no way it could be back online in time for whatever the demonic masterminds behind the Styx Group were plotting.“How about you?”
