| |
Leviathan leaped over us, charging toward the advancing demons. Ben and Danny glanced at me and I knew they were thinking about our last visit to Purgatory. But this time, Leviathan wasn’t just going after a few stragglers, now he barreled into the thick crowd.
His teeth, claws and tail aided his fight against the equally sharp claws of the demons, but they got a few swipes in, too. The four of us followed Leviathan in, Ben and Danny covering each other and Julia covering my back.
She and I worked flawlessly together, like we had engaged in sword play all our lives, our movements were in concert, like those of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the big gunfight scene in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Demon blood flowed each time I swung my blade, and I know at least one reached me before I took him down. My arm still stung where the claws tore flesh.
I didn’t have a chance to breathe, never mind check on Julia, but I knew she was still striking attackers down as diligently as I was. My arms burned with the exertion, the muscles weakening with each swing. My huffs matched Julia’s, growing more pronounced with every demon we struck down. We matched swings, and I had a chance to glimpse Ben and Danny beyond the wall surrounding us. They were dispatching demons as fast as we were, and a body soared by; one of Leviathan’s decapitated victims landed on a couple of charging demons.
I think he was laughing but I couldn’t tell; I was too busy trying to stay alive.
Julia let out a scream of pain and I sliced the demon coming at me and spun, grabbing hold of Julia and pulling her to my chest away from the demon attacking her. Anger flared and I swung my blade, neatly decapitating the bastard before I wished us away from the battle.
The familiar stone ledge appeared in a blink and Julia let out a ragged breath. Her blade clanged on the rock and she slumped in my grasp. The decapitated body of the demon was still attached to her, his razor like fingers embedded in her side. The chainmail may have saved her from biting the dust, but she was hurt beyond just the scratch on her face. I laid her down on the cool stone and yanked the demon cadaver away from her, tossing it as far from us as possible. Gingerly, I removed the armor and lifted the chainmail undershirt to inspect the wound.
One of the bastard’s nails was still embedded in her flesh, and the four remaining puncture wounds oozed a slow stream of blood, marring her perfect abdomen.
“Damn it,” I whispered and grasped the nail. I closed my eyes for a moment and then yanked. Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped.
“Ouch,” she whined and pushed herself into a sitting position, leaning against one of the large boulders lining the ledge. Wincing, she pulled up her shirt and stared at the blood flow. “I didn’t think dead people bled,” she said with a shaky laugh, which immediately turned to a grimace.
I reached out and cupped her cheek, swiping my thumb across the shallow cut on her face. Anger bloomed in my soul and I wanted to tear into the demon army for harming my girl. I tore my gaze from the slow blood trail on her face, to her soft eyes.
“I’ll be fine,” Julia said. “I didn’t think I’d feel pain,” she added and shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position.
“Yeah, well, live and learn,” I said and peeled off my armor along with my shirt, using the soft fabric as a compress. She bit her lip against the cry of pain and I met her gaze, the anger increased and I ground my teeth, trying not to let her see just how furious I was. I needed to get back and dole out a little well earned justice.
“Lazarus!” I yelled and an audible pop brought him into the reaper world. “I need you to take care of her until I get back.”
“Yes, sir,” Lazarus said and immediately tended to Julia’s wounds.
I slipped the armor back on and kissed the top of her head. “You’re in good hands.”
She raised her pale face, giving me a grimace of a smile. “Take my sword.” She nodded her chin to the discarded weapon. My dagger lay next to it and I swiped both off the ground, giving her one last look.
“Be careful,” she said.
“Always,” I said, although this time I wanted blood and careful wasn’t part of it. Reckless was probably a better description. My dagger grew into the magical blade I willed, and I gripped both her sword and mine, my blood pumping through me at a rate that gave me strength.
I set my feet and bowed my head, closing my eyes. I knew what I wanted to portray when I popped back into the melee. I wanted the demons to feel mortal fear. I wanted them to know they were going to die.
When I opened my eyes I stood in the center of the fighting and for a moment, my return stilled the masses. When silence blanketed the field, I slowly raised my head, leveling a hard glare at the surrounding horde.
Whatever possessed me that night at the fireworks seemed to fill every pore and I let out a battle cry, compelling the demons to attack. I sliced, parried, punched, and then sliced some more, until I stood in the middle of a pile of the dead.
Leviathan stood with a decapitated demon hanging out of his mouth, his awed stare brought me out of my fighting trance and I glanced at the bodies surrounding me as well as the straggling survivors trying to crawl away. Ben and Danny finished them off and then turned in my direction. Their gazes held the same awed expression that was in Leviathan’s eyes.
“What?” I said and my sword shrank back into the magical dagger. I wiped the blood on my pant leg and sheathed the knife. The circle of reapers lowered to their knee, bowing their heads to me and I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
When Ben and Danny followed suit, I met Leviathan’s gaze, exasperated by the display. He dropped the body and bowed. I didn’t understand the reverence. I was a reckless kid who didn’t have a clue of what I was doing and they were treating me like royalty.