“I did say that, didn’t I? Hop down, and we’ll get one.”
“Can’t I eat it here?”
Harvester sighed. Of her five grandchildren, Scotty was the most precocious. Fiercely independent, strong-willed, and mischievous, she kept everyone on their toes. Aleka was the curious, studious one. Leilani was the outgoing, social girly-girl who loved fashion and cameras. Loganwas easygoing, steady, and reliable. Amber was contemplative and observant, wise beyond her years and, frankly, a little unsettling. You never knew what would come out of her mouth.
You never knew what would come out of Scotty’s mouth, either, but for entirely different reasons. Harvester loved the spontaneity of the child’s unpredictable behavior. Harvester figured that if she ever had a daughter, she’d be like Scotty.
“Fine. I’ll get you one.” She gestured at the two hellhounds lurking nearby. “You two mutts keep an eye on Scotty for a second.”
Scotty giggled. “Grams, I don’t need protection.”
No, she didn’t. This island was as safe as anywhere in all the realms. Besides belonging to the Horseman known as War, it was defended by hellhounds, Ramreels, and hundreds of earthbound angels known as Memitim. Scotty was as safe as she could be.
Harvester headed toward the house, and to her surprise, Scotty gathered her toy bow and leaped out of the tree.
“Are you coming inside?” Harvester asked.
“Nuh-uh,” Scotty said, chin up in defiance. “I’m going to the beach.”
“Not alone, you’re not,” Harvester told her with a stern wag of her finger. “You wait here, and I’ll be right back.” She hurried inside the mansion, found the freshly baked cookies Lilliana had set out, and grabbed a couple. She paused at the refrigerator, wondering if she should take drinks to the beach as well. Scotty loved orange soda—
A bloodcurdling scream shattered her thoughts.
Scotty.
Harvester flashed outside. Her granddaughter wasn’t there. Neither were the hellhounds.
“Scotty?”
Fear made her voice shrill as she called out again. “Scotty!”
In the distance, snarls and pained yelps mingled with the crash of ocean waves. The beach! Terror ripped through Harvester as she darted to the edge of the rugged cliffside, where Scotty’s little footprints ended.
Harvester’s heart stopped. A swarm of ghastbats blackened the view of the sandy shore below, the gaps between their leathery bodies revealing a couple of hellhounds, their snapping jaws and massive claws violently snatching the leathery demons out of the air.
Ghastbats? Here?
Didn’t matter. The mystery of how they’d accessed the island would have to wait. All that mattered right now was finding her granddaughter.
“Scotty!”she screamed again.
Frustrated by the churning horde obscuring her view, she popped her wings and lifted into the air, desperately scanning the water, the cliffs, the sand.
To her left, a hellhound roared in agony as some hideous creature lit into it in a flurry of claws and teeth. Whatwasthat thing?
Wait. No. It couldn’t be.
But it was.
Amordaemon. A monster that stole immortality with a single bite, they were one of only a handful of creatures that struck terror into the hearts of every immortal. Including Harvester. But why was it here? And how had it accessed the island?
It hurled itself away from the fallen hound, its sickly pale, spiky wings creating whirlwinds of sand. A chunk of hellhound flesh hung from its gaping maw.
Sensing weakness, a hundred ghastbats descended upon the injured, newly mortal hellhound, their claws and razor-sharp fangs tearing it apart as it shrieked in the kind of soul-deep agony few understood.
Poor bastard.
Reaching for one of her most powerful weapons, she blasted themordaemonwith a stream of molten Heavenly lightning. The air went still and heavy with electricity as the demon lit up from the inside, its skin sizzling, its eyes smoking. The thing’s body swelled, vibrating the atmosphere so violently that stones broke free from the cliffs and tumbled to the shore. Then, in a whoosh of flame, it winked out of the human realm and back to Hell, where it belonged.
