“Three?” Cia asked, horrified.
The shape shifter dropped from the limb overhead and danced closer to the demon. Jane was holding two silver-plated vamp-killer blades. There were silver crosses around her neck, hanging from her belt, all glowing bright. Her half-form body was wearing a set of black armor that glowed in aseeingworking, proving that it had been spelled against magical attacks. She dashed across to the demon. With one vamp-killer, she cut ten inches off one of its limbs.
The demon roared, a sound like a mudslide, rock grinding and groaning. It bent over and picked up its severed part. The muddy dollop was instantly reabsorbed. Jane’s crosses all glowed brighter. Her yellow eyes were glowing. At the sight of Jane fighting a demon, one freed by her family, again, a hazy memory became crystal clear. She had touched the copper ax. She had freed this demon. Fear and shame slithered through Liz, freezing solid between her ribs. This was her fault. Just like her sister, she had freed a demon into the world.
Then she processed what Eli and Cia had said. “Threewerewolves are attacking?”
“That’s whatourwerewolf said.”
Liz tilted her head to her sister. She tried for a snarl and didn’t manage it. What came out was more desultory than angry. “Why did you come here? What are you doing here with a demon and werewolves? Cia...”
Cia activated a third amulet and the noise in the clearing decreased. “You didn’t think I’d notice when a demon touched your blood-curse taint? Ray and I were in the middle of a lovely dinner at Shadows and Lace when my skin flashed sooty. Even Ray could see it.”
She repositioned the dirty and burned bedroll to the side and placed a clean blanket on the ground to keep from damaging her designer jeans and her fancy boots. Liz caught a glimpse of her own sooty clothes and figured that the blanket was a good idea. As the oft-photographed main squeeze of Ray Conyers, a famous country singer, Cia dressed the part. “No way was I leaving my twin in danger. I tried your cell and it went to voice mail.” While she talked, Cia was laying out her amulets from her hot-pink backpack. “So I called the inn, and when they had a useful GPS, we drove up and joined the rescue party.”
In the midst of the calm commentary, the werewolves were howling.The demon, burned with holy water, was howling too. It flung seven arms around and stomped its three legs. It was changing shape to adapt to its current needs.
Eli was holding his shotgun, aimed at the wolf fight. Silver shot. The moment he had a clear line of fire, he fired at a gray werewolf, a boom that took all the sound in the clearing away, even with thesound-deadeningworking going. The werewolf howled. The reddish wolf whirled from Brute and leaped at Eli. Liz closed her eyes. The shotgun boomed. Boomed.Boomed.
Eli
Finally.The Glock and bladed weapons in one hand, he sprang from the firepit. Grabbed his shotgun and the day pack of ammo. Rolled away, into the dark. Shoulder and back absorbing the brunt of the roll, shoving up to his knees. In a single instant, he was on his feet. Checking his weapons and ammo. Trading out the shotgun’s extended mag for one with silver shot fléchette rounds. Taking in the battle. Hands moving on muscle memory in the dark.
Jane had the demon busy. Dancing like a dervish. Cutting off bits and pieces. She yanked a cross off her waist, cut off a demon part, and tossed the cross on the mud pie. The demon howled again. Jane stopped to catch her breath and watched to see if that had worked. The demon bent over the muddy bit.
Brute and the grindylow were in trouble. Three wolves in wolf form were slavering and darting at them. The grindy was a juvenile. One on one, the adorable kitten-sized killer could take on a were. Three on one... Eli wasn’t sure about that. And Brute’s white coat showed dark at his haunches.Blood.He’d been injured.
Eli downed a bottle of water. Moved slowly through the darkness, shadow to shadow. Shotgun at ready. Waiting for a clear line of fire. A silver-gray wolf leaped. Fangs exposed, growling. Eli fired. Solid hit, midchest. Silver shot. The gray wolf stumbled and met Eli’s eyes in the night, the blue like a summer sky. It mewled like a kitten.
The red-coated wolf whirled from Brute at the sound. His reddish eyes locked on Eli. Everything slowed down. The wolf leaped directly at him. Eli adjusted for aim. Calm. Calm. Eyes on the exact spot between the wolf’s front legs, midcenter chest, three inches below the neck. Fired. Fired. Stepped to the side. Adjusted aim again. The gray wolf was no longer on the ground. Spotted it in the dark. Fired once more. The gray wolf dodged. Werewolf fast. Missed.
Eli sidestepped left. The red wolf landed where he’d been standing with a vibration he felt through his boots but couldn’t hear—deaf from the shots fired.
Four rounds. Six left in the extended mag. Wished he had brought more silver fléchette rounds. Decided he needed to save the last ones. Slung the rig over his shoulder out of the way.
Pulled his Glock. Checked on Jane. Still playing with the demon. Crazy woman.
Checked on Lizzie. Her eyes were on him. He grinned at her. Saw her eyes open wide in surprise and something else. Not sure what. That was for later. He circled away from the firepit.
Liz
Her eyes flashed open to see Eli dodging the flying carcass of a very dead wolf. It landed on the ground with awhoomphLiz felt through her butt. Eli aimed at the gray wolf again. Fired. It dodged behind Brute and attacked the big white wolf’s flank. Eli slung the shotgun aside and pulled his handgun. His eyes landed on hers. He grinned. Like a maniac. As if he was... having fun. Idiot man circled away from the firepit. Liz blinked. Stared. Tried to figure out what had just happened. Her gaze moved from Eli to the fighting werewolves and the killer grindy, to Jane and the demon. Exhaustion weighed her down. She tried to get a deep enough breath. Tried to think what to do next.
“Liz?”
Liz looked away from the warrior to see her sister, concern in her eyes. “Cia? When did we get two more attacking weres?” Liz asked.
Cia thumbed on a glow stone. Reached over and lifted Liz’s arms, exposing that they were bandaged and bloody, with crusty red and fresh wet scarlet. Cia shifted her gaze around the rock circle. The stones were bloody too. Liz hadn’t realized how much blood she had given. It looked like a battleground. Which it was.
“Well, that’s one way to keep a circle going,” Cia said. “You want to explain?”
Outside the circle, Yellowrock cut off another demon limb and tossed a cross on it. The demon sucked up the mud, leaving the cross. It took longer than the uncrossed reabsorption. It was like watching animated Play-Doh. In a mad dash, Jane swept up the silver cross on the ground, cut off another demon limb, and tossed the cross on top. Like a game of tag the demon. Yellowrock made a sound like a cat: coughing/hissing/growling. It might have been laughter. She and Eli were having fun.
“Liz?”
“There’s a ley line beneath a pool up that way.” She lifted a single finger to point in the general direction of the pool and the cave. “The demon was contained in a cave behind a small waterfall. I accidentally set it free.” The memory came back to her again, the memory of touching the ax head. Or her foot touching the mud puddle. Maybe both. She had been so stupid. And now she was so tired. “I got back here and opened ahedgeto protect us, but I didn’t have enough power in the battery stone.” She stared around the campground, confusion pulling at her. “To power it, I tried to reach through the rocks to the ley line, but...”
“But you ran out ofblood?” Cia sounded mad. She passed Liz a bottle of water. “Drink, you brave, idiot woman.”
