Inching nearer, Malachi suddenly relaxed as he realized who was waving at him. Rising to normal height, he trotted closer.Rikael, you ass. What the hell are you doing? Damn, I haven’t seen you in at least a decade! What’s with the stunt with that kid?
“Malachi, sorry, but no time for small talk. Look, you gotta be careful. Hyacinth has it out for you. Bad,” Rikael whispered furiously.
Yeah, no shit. I’m a fucking dog, Rik.He rolled his eyes. Although the closest thing to a friend he’d had, Rikael was not known for being the brightest crayon in the carton.
The demon shook his head quickly. “No, it’s more than that. He’s sabotaging you! He already knew about the angel cop, that’s why he put you in the dog body in the first place. He wanted you to get close to her so he could have you corrupt her and take her grace. He’s got no intention of giving her to Lucifer; he’s making a power play.”
Squinting his eyes and staring at him in concern, Malachi slowly shook his head side to side.Rik, he’s always doing that. Power plays are part of our makeup. We’re demons. I don’t understand what you’re so worried about.
Grabbing his hair and pulling hard, Rikael groaned in exasperation. “No, Malachi, it’s not just that. He has to sacrifice a demonandan angel together. He’s going to kill you! He sent Bakeeron to snatch the kid so he could get you two out here. I distracted him so he’d leave her in that building, then gave her a message to warn you. But he’ll be back any second! You need to watch your…” A wet gurgle interrupted his speech as a razor-sharp talon erupted from his throat with a spray of blood.
Malachi leapt back in surprise as demon ichor arced towards him.What the…His thoughts scrambled into a jumbled mess, bouncing around his skull like ping pong balls as a large form rose in front of him, grinning with sadistic glee.Fuck! CHUCK! RUN! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!
Hitting Trees Hurts
Laughing evilly, the demon—Malachi presumed this was Bakeeron—launched itself towards his smaller canine form and tried to grab his head between its massive paws. Quickly, Malachi twisted away, his lithe body slipping through the demon’s claws. Roaring in frustration, the large, ungainly beast lunged again. It towered at least eight feet in height and sported talons nearly six inches long. Fangs that would be at home on a sabertoothed tiger hung from its heavy muzzle. Yellow eyes with slit pupils like a snake narrowed on him as the demon growled, missing its prey yet again. Its large size was a detriment as it kept trying to grab the much smaller dog’s body, and Malachi planned to keep using it to his advantage.
Snarling, Malachi spun and latched his teeth onto the demon’s calf, biting as hard as he could. He shook his head, worrying his fangs deeper into muscle, and yanked the demon to the ground. It flailed at him but howled in anger when it couldn’t reach. It started to get up again, then froze as it whipped its head towards the tree line.
“Malachi!” yelled Chuck, her voice strained with worry over the sounds of the demons fighting.
Lucifer’s saggy tits!Malachi groaned.Stubborn-ass woman.
The demon used his moment of distraction to fling him off its leg and into a tree. The impact shook the giant pine, raining needles all over him and forcing a pained moan from his throat.
“Malachi!” Chuck screamed at the sound.
He heard her charging forward recklessly. Trying to stand, his legs wobbled and gave out, sending him crashing back to the ground. His vision wavered, and he had a very real fear that something was broken inside of him. A whine hissed through his teeth as he tried again to stand.
The other demon had shifted into human form and smiled menacingly before it turned towards Chuck, hands up. “Help!” Bakeeron called, “Someone attacked that dog! Help!” Now in man form, his tone was frantic and pleading, his face scrunched up in innocent worry.
Chuck paused, taking in the scene, the scuff marks, Malachi, the blood on the ground.
“What did you do to Malachi?” she demanded.
The demon reeled back in shock. “Me? I didn’t do anything! I heard the fight and came running. I found him like that.” He gestured at Malachi’s limp form. “The guy went that way!” He pointed behind him with a feigned smile.
Staring at the man with uncertainty, Chuck kept her eyes trained on her suspect while speaking to her partner. “Mal?” she called softly.
Don’t trust him! He’s the one who took the little girl!
“Yeah, nice try, asshole, but there’s a dead body behind you. Funny you missed that part,” Chuck drawled casually, as she kept her gun trained on him. She smirked, “Turn around with your hands behind your head.”
“What?” Bakeeron shrieked, “I didn’t do anything! I saw the body, but it was obvious he was dead. I was trying to help Malachi!” His eyes were wide with forced innocence.
“And yet, you knew Malachi was the dog? Not the dead guy?” Chuck declared with clear disbelief in her tone. “Look, I don’t know who you are, or rather what you are, but I do know if you don’t turn around right now with your hands up, it’s going to get a lot messier.”
Snarling, the demon clenched his fists and snapped his elongating fangs at Chuck. Then he took one step towards her, and she fired her weapon. The bullet struck his arm, spinning him to the side as the echo of the shot rang through the stillness in the trees. Birds that had been silently watching startled and flew off, scrambling to get away from the mayhem. Pausing as the air filled with the smell of cordite, Bakeeron glanced at the wound and watched sluggish black blood trickle from the hole with an amused expression. Rolling his eyes, he turned back to her. “What a naughty little girl.” His mouth stretched in a mocking rictus of insanity, fangs lengthening further before lurching towards her again as he roared.
Head shot!Malachi sent her, before shifting to human form. Curled on the ground, naked except for his collar, he croaked out, “Between the eyes, Chuck!” He groaned, clutching his ribs and wheezing, “It’s the only way to take him down!”
Without hesitation, Chuck squeezed the trigger, putting a round right between the demon’s surprised wide eyes. A small gasp escaped his lips before he dropped to the ground. His human body simply collapsed in on itself and fell into an ungainly heap, looking for all the world like he’d fallen asleep, except for the neatly placed hole in the middle of his forehead of course.
Running to Malachi, Chuck dropped to her knees and gently pulled him to her. “Oh shit, Malachi, talk to me, how bad is it? Do I need to call an ambulance?” She grabbed her radio and was ready to signal for help. Already, they could hear the shouts as the other officers on scene responded to the sound of shots fired.
“No, no ambulance. Gotta stay with you. Just need ice,” he wheezed, shaking his head frantically, his dark hair floating around his face.
“Malachi, you’re hurt!” she cried. “You need help!”
