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Cameron Jack cursed as Captain Bane was forced to reveal his powers before the humans in the pub. Something strictly forbidden to them by Thorn. The Hellchasers and Deadmen were to never let a mortal know they’d been brought back to life under any circumstances. Nor were they to put their preternatural abilities on display for the public.
Never mind the laws that governed her own breed of Necrodemians, or Hell-Hunters as they were more commonly known. The Sarim Council thatshe and her brother answered to had an even stricter code of conduct they were required to follow.
The worst rule being that Hell-Hunters couldn’t fight dirty.
For any reason.
Or endanger a human life, or reveal their powers to mundanes.
Yet had the captain failed to reveal his powers, Vine would have consumed them with her unholy fire that she launched behind the daggers.
But by unleashing his fire, the captain deflected hers with his own. The humans ran, screaming, for cover.
Wiser ones, for the door.
Sad to say, Cameron wasn’t so smart. She chose to stay and fight, as was her nature. But then that was all she’d ever known. Fighting ran thick within her Celtic blood. And twice as deep in her Necrodemian bloodline. So she unsheathed her sword and made ready to cover the good captain’s back with William as more of Vine’s allies moved in for them.
“Well,” William said to her. “Makes me so glad I volunteered for this, eh? Could have stayed onboard the ship with Bart, Kat, and Simon and the rest. But, nay. Had to stick me foot in the fodder. ‘Got your back, Captain,’ had to say. Aye, a fool I be for sure, and then some. Next time I speak up, Miss Jack, feel free to run me through and save these devils the trouble of it.”
Laughing at his surly tone that belied the fact he was loyal to the bone and meant none of it, she parried against the first demon to reach her and twisted away from the beast. “If there is a next time, Mr. Death. Not so sure we’ll make it out.” She barely caught the next demon as he tried to sink his fangs into her shoulder. Luckily, shebeheaded the beast before he drew her blood and turned her into who knew what.
Then, kicking up the abandoned heads the peddler had left behind, she let them sink their fangs into the wanker, who screeched mightily from the pain of their bites.
“Anyone have a good idea on how to survive this?” she asked while Captain Bane continued to fight with his ex-wife. And if they’d fought like that while married, it was easy to see how their marriage had ended in murder.
Multiple times.
William knocked his opponent into the fire. The demon shrieked then burst into flames. Cinders rained down all over them and threatened to set fire to the pub. “I vote we join a new crew. Preferably a human one that hell itself isn’t trying to kill at every turn. That should increase our chances of survival exponentially.”
She snorted, knowing he was japing. “Aye, but it won’t redeem your soul, now, will it?”
And unlike her and the captain, Will wasn’t free to leave theSea Witch’s crew. The Deadman’s mark on his wrist bound him tight to their enchanted band and prevented him from seeking new company until he’d regained his freedom from Thorn’s bargain. Not that it mattered.
When it came to the Deadmen who sailed onboard theSea Witch,they weren’t about to abandon each other, no matter what. Through thick and thin, and demons galore, they were one united insane family.
At least that was her thought until the demon in front of her burst apart with a stench so foul it caused her to choke and gasp.Ugh! Never had she smelled anything more putrid, and given some of the hovels where she and her brother had taken refuge after their parents had orphaned them, that said a lot.
“You were saying, Miss Jack?” Will taunted her as he rested his sword on his shoulder. Pressing his hand to his nose, he made a face she was sure mirrored her own distaste of the stench. “I’m really not seeing much difference between here and hell lately.”
Honestly? Neither was she.
And it was indeed getting harder and harder to tell the demons from the humans at times, too. Which made her wonder at their mission. Why were they bothering to save a world that seemed hell-bent on remaking itself into the very visage of what they were trying to save it from?
Don’t forget, you’re not fighting for the world right now.…
True. Right now, she was fighting for the man who’d traded his life for hers. And that one decent, selfless act needed to be repaid in kindness, not treachery.
Kalder deserved to be rescued and not abandoned. She would not do to him what everyone else had done.
I will keep me word to you, Kalder. We will find you.
If she had to break hell itself open and battle Lucifer to bring Kalder home, she would.
And so Cameron renewed her fight against their enemies so that they could quickly behead the last three demons before they claimed another innocent human life or soul.
Or even one of their not-so-innocent ones.
