“Tobias!” I scream the first word that comes to mind, scrambling backward again, trying to get to my feet.
I don’t know if he’s close by, or if he can even hear me, but fear hijacks my overloaded brain and I scream for him again. His name echoes off the brick walls around me, and my pulse lurches.
The beast roars, the sound so loud it shakes dust from the buildings on either side of us, and it lunges for me. I don’t even have time to get off the ground.
Instinctively, I throw my hands up over my face in a feeble attempt to protect myself. The roar turns into anear-piercing shriek that makes my ears ache, and I clap my hands over them to stifle the noise.
Thankfully, a collision never comes, and when I open my eyes, the beast is standing several feet away with a sleek black sword sticking out of its face.
“Get down.” I barely hear the words as a form barrels over me, charging at the monster. I make out a flash of blue, and my heart nearly slams to a stop.
I expect him to slow down, to pause and work out a plan. Instead, Tobias slams straight into the massive beast and they both go toppling over.
Chapter 20
Tobias
Of course, that fucking brat didn’t listen.
Why did I expect anything different?
She has to be the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met, but there’s nothing I can do about it at the moment. She’s just lucky I made it here before the hellbeast tore her in half.
I was almost too late.
When all this is over, we’re either going to have a very stern conversation about rules, or I’m just going to bend her over my knee and redden her ass for disobeying. Maybe both.
What the fuck was she thinking?
Shadows swirl around me, materializing into another sword in my hand, but before I can spear the hellbeast’shide, I’m bucked off. I fly through the air a short way before landing on my feet, whipping around to square off with it again. At least its attention has shifted from Joseline. Now it’s staring at me like I’m lunch.
“Get out of here!” I yell, hoping Joseline can hear me over the hellbeast’s steady stream of growls and squeals.
The sword I threw is still impaled deep in the thing’s face, perfectly between its eyes, but it hardly seems fazed. Pretty sure they don’t have brains, or they’re located somewhere besides their head.
A third sword materializes in my other hand in a wisp of black smoke, and my fingers tighten around the handle. I take a cautious step to the side as the hellbeast prowls forward, like a stupid, ugly predator trying to catch its prey.
Luckily, this thing is nowhere near the top of the demon food chain. It’s just a pawn. A pathetic peon under the orders of a stronger demon. Hellbeasts can’t really think for themselves, but they can fight and they can be difficult to kill.
“Come on roadkill,” I growl, taking another step to the side. I want to see if Joseline did as told and ran, but my hopes aren’t high. She listens about as well as one of these creatures.
Before I can get far enough to peer around the hellbeast’s massive hide, it lunges, arms and claws outstretched, aiming for my throat. I dodge at the last second, swinging one of my swords down to slice into its arm. Its howl splits the night, and my heart jumps into my throat.
All this noise is sure to attract onlookers. Someone is going to come running and find two monsters going at one another. That, or it’ll attract more beasts; I can’t risk being outnumbered.
This needs to end.Fast.
It swipes with the other arm, claws outstretched and ready to slice me to ribbons, and I take off a few of its fingers with a swing of my sword. They fall to the ground, followed by a spill of inky black blood. Rather than wasting time processing its missing digits, the thing leaps forward again, ferociously swinging its limbs at me over and over. It’s like a mindless killing machine, only focused on one thing: my demise.
I jump and dodge another blow, the sword in my right hand transforming into a throwing knife. Rearing back, I throw the blade, and it pierces straight into the monster’s shoulder. It screeches again but doesn’t slow.
I throw another blade, then another, each sinking hilt-deep into the monster’s hide to no avail. The thing just keeps coming, unbothered by the weapons protruding from its body.
“Fuck!”
I conjure yet another sword, wishing I had time to check on Joseline, but I can’t afford to take my eyes off this thing for a second. I can feel her nervous energy spiking nearby, which tells me she didn’t run like I told her to.
Of course, she fucking didn’t.
