Wide-eyed, Cass screeched to a halt on his board. “That would explain how she’s so powerful.”
I stroked the hilt of the katana, lost in thought. “If she’s tied to a witch, it’d explain how she had enough power to kill Gran, and make it look like an accident.”
Cass’ brows knit together. “Any witches on Gran’s shit list?”
I shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
Then a deep howl rang out, one filled with pain and anguish. It made the hairs on my arms stand up, because somehow I knew it was Brock.
“Brock!” I shouted, breaking into a full-on run. Pushing over turbulent water, I passed through a thicket of trees that opened into a meadow. Or what used to be a meadow. It was now a pond, and in its center was the biggest beast I’d ever seen—a demon giant from the looks of it. He stood over twenty feet tall, with thick, black velvet horns protruding from his forehead.
‘What the hell is that?’I asked my partner through our mind link.
‘A sulfur giant from the sulfur mines of the underworld,”Cass informed me.“They mostly eat sulfur, but have also been known to snack on small children.’
My heart nearly stopped at his declaration.
‘Let’s kill it.’I lurched forward, wading into the center of the pond.
The giant had gored Brock, who lay on his side, half in and half out of the water. A few of his pack members appeared to be dead or unconscious, and about half a dozen other ones were biting at the giant’s legs, to no avail.
For a pack to take down a beast in animal form, they needed to be able to reach its jugular. My guess was that they’d arrived as werewolves to investigate the water, and when they’d found the giant demon, wished they’d all come in human form carrying shotguns.
‘I have a plan,’I told Cass, then quickly rattled it off.
He cursed but accepted it as our only real shot. We couldn’t let this thing reach town; too many children to snack on down there.
I had no idea where the siren was, but I’d deal with her when I could. First, I needed to save my baby daddy.
Cass flew straight at the giant, flapping his wings while he zipped by him on his magical skateboard. The giant’s attention immediately fell to my bestie, as he swiped the air like he was trying to bat at a mosquito. As soon as I confirmed the distraction was working, I waded toward Brock, moving as fast as the water allowed.
The giant demon roared at Cass, shooting red sparks from his mouth.
Holy crap!
Picking up the pace, I holstered my gun in order to grab hold of Brock’s neck scruff. I needed to get him out of the water so he could rest, and his werewolf healing could get to work. The gash on his ribcage was nasty, bleeding freely, coloring the water around him in dark, inky pools.
With a groan, I heaved him back and away from the beast as two of his wolves flanked me, snarling ferociously. I hoped they recognized me, or understood that I was helping their alpha. I couldn’t deal with an attack on both Brock and me. He was heavier than a bag of bricks, but I pushed through it, tugging his body with everything I had. With a final grunt, I pulled him off to the side and collapsed.
‘Stun spell didn’t work. It only pissed him off more!’Cass barked through our mind link.
Shit.
I stood, still panting and ready for plan B, when Brock’s muzzle clamped down on my pant leg, keeping me from leaving. My gaze met his and I shook my head. “Let me go. We can’t let that thing get into town. It’ll kill innocents. Lots of them.”
He growled and only held onto my pant leg tighter. From his position lying on his side, his grip shouldn’t have been this strong, but he didn’t let go. Even half dying he wanted to protect his baby. Only when Cass yelped did his eyes become conflicted.
Crouching down low I met Brock’s gaze directly. Something dangerous to do to an alpha, when he was in his wolf form, and injured to boot. “Let me go or I’ll never forgive you,” I warned.
I recognized the moment he gave up. A defeated look crossed his face as he relaxed his jaw, collapsing heavily onto the saturated forest ground. Already too much blood surrounded him.
Wasting no time, I charged forward, pulling my Glock out again as I went. The moment I had a clear shot, I popped off three rapid bursts into the beast’s belly.
“Alright, motherfucker, time to go night-night!” I shouted as Cass flew by me on his board. He hopped off, and a second later I hopped on it. I’d ridden the thing before, but it was better suited to Cass’ small stature. It wobbled beneath me—nearly out of the magic Cass had powered it with back at the truck. The charge only lasted so long. I just hoped it would last long enough for me to lop the giant’s head off.
My bullets only served to enrage him further. The giant beast reached out big meaty paws, swiping at me furiously. While trying to remain steady on the board, I crouched and used my ankles to roll left or right and direct it. When I got behind him, I pulled my katana from the sheath looped over my belt. Its faint purple glow was now a shocking fuchsia.
Please cut the shit out of this thing.
