River
The flames licking over Kobal’s skin warmed my body as the grotesque gargoyles launched themselves into the sky. Their wings whistled as they cut through the air and dove toward us. The flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz had frightened me as a child. These monsters made them look cute.
Gunfire erupted around us. I lifted my Glock and took aim at the one honing in on Kobal. What was inside of me was far more lethal than any bullet, and I’d been getting better at using my abilities, but there was no guarantee I’d be able to control them. I couldn’t take the chance that I might mess up somehow and take out one of the buildings, or worse, one of the demons or humans.
I fired, hitting the gargoyle in one of its gnarled wings. All that succeeded in doing was causing black goo to shoot into the air and pissing it off. Its roar vibrated the earth beneath my feet as it continued to swoop toward us.
Kobal released a stream of fire from his hand that knocked it off its course. He wrapped his arm around my waist, jerking me against him and spinning toward the side as one I hadn’t seen dove at us. It folded its wings against its back as it came at us with the speed and accuracy of a missile.
Kobal dragged me beneath him, pressing me into the ground and rolling with me. His body covered mine, keeping it completely shielded as another gargoyle swept by us. Somehow, he managed to turn over and release another wave of fire. The flames smashed into the creature and licked over its skin. The gargoyle screeched as it flew backward, its body a spiraling ball of fire tumbling through the air before crashing against a stone fountain.
Gunfire continued to erupt around us, but the hideous creatures dove in and out, dodging the bullets with preternatural grace. Those that were hit showed no sign of slowing down as they continued their attack.
The flames licking over Kobal increased until his entire upper body was consumed by the fire. I didn’t know why they didn’t sear my skin from my body, but I could feel their growing heat.
Surrounded by screams of terror and panic, I focused on bringing the fire within me to life. Fear was the biggest motivator for my fire, and right now, my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. I had enough adrenaline coursing through me to fuel the fire for a day.
Flames spread over my fingers and up to my wrist. Leaping to his feet, Kobal spun as gunshots burst through the air and more people screamed. Lifting my flaming hand in front of me, I slid under the truck and rolled to the other side, keeping it away from my clothes.
Kobal could protect the people on that side, but there were others over here who needed help. I stuck my hands and head out on the other side just as piranha-like fangs snapped in my face. The motion blew my hair straight back and covered me in a blanket of hot, rancid breath.
I ducked back beneath the vehicle, trying not to vomit as the strips of flesh caught between the creature’s teeth waved back and forth. The gargoyle shoved its snout beneath the truck. Its talons clicked over the broken asphalt as it hunted beneath the truck for me.
I glanced at the gas tank behind me then the fire encircling my hand as one of those claws came within a centimeter of my arm. It was only a matter of time before it got me. I could go back, retreat to Kobal’s side, but I wasn’t ready to give into this monster, not yet.
Timing its snapping jaws, I waited until its mouth was closed before grasping its snout. Bits of flaky skin broke off beneath my hand, and scales abraded my palms from its sandpaper-like flesh. Before it could open its mouth again, fire flared hotter from my hand and seared across its snout.
The creature released a howl before recoiling from beneath the truck. A breeze drifted over my cheeks when its wings fanned the air. It launched itself backward into the sky and out of view. My gaze lifted to the undercarriage above me; thankfully, it wasn’t on fire.
I remained still for a minute, trying to get control of my galloping heart before rolling out from beneath the truck. Fire crackled over my palms as I released a blast into the air. It was nowhere near the inferno of flames Kobal could emit, but it caught one gargoyle in the belly and sent it screeching backward.
Leaping to my feet, I braced my legs apart as the fire swirled up to my elbows. Another gargoyle turned and dove toward me as more of them flew out of the building across the way. They were everywhere at once, filling the air with their compact bodies. Shadows danced over the asphalt from the creatures circling above before diving at us again. The screams from the people surrounding me grew as the gargoyles continued to attack them.
Hawk leaned out the passenger side window beside me and fired his gun at one of the ones diving toward me. Black goo burst from its wings, but it kept coming with its lethal talons extended.
I waited until the creature was only five feet away from me before releasing a fresh blast of fire. The creature howled but continued its forward momentum. Ducking down, I threw my hands over my head and rolled out of the way as it flew over the top of me. Its scaly, solid wings scraped against my shoulder before it hit the bed of the truck with a twisting wrench of metal. Two of the truck’s wheels lifted off the ground before the vehicle crashed to the earth again. I hadn’t realized there were a few people in the back of the truck until the force of the gargoyle’s impact knocked them over.
Panic shot through me at the possibility of it going after them, but its yellowish eyes focused on me. It opened its mouth to reveal all of its flesh-eating teeth and the blackness beyond before launching itself off the truck. The gargoyle flew overhead before turning back once again to swoop low across the ground toward me.
Hawk pulled out another gun and opened fire as flames danced across my fingers once more. The gargoyle’s wings flapped loudly as it sliced through the air before it closed them against its back to hone in on me. I didn’t think there was anything that could throw off its deadly trajectory.
Another thud of metal sounded behind me and then Kobal leapt down from the back of the truck to land in front of me. Instead of throwing fire, he ran toward the creature and darted to the side at the last second. Grabbing hold of the tip of one of its wings, he snatched the gargoyle back. The pavement dented and cracked when he drove it into the asphalt hard enough to rattle the ground beneath my feet.
Lifting his foot, he smashed it into the gargoyle’s back, breaking its spine. The creature screeched as Kobal twisted its wing over its back until the wing flapped brokenly in the air. Kobal seized its head and yanking backward, he tore it from the gargoyle’s shoulders. The creature’s non-broken wing beat lazily against the ground before going still.
Kobal tossed the head aside and jumped over its body. He raced toward me, grasped my arm, and threw his hand in front of Hawk’s gun. “Stop shooting!” he shouted at Hawk a second after Hawk fired another shot.
“No!” I screamed when a bullet pierced through his palm and blood welled forth, but Kobal never missed a step as he propelled me toward the truck. His amber eyes were bright, his body thrummed with barely contained ferocity. “Kobal—”
“I’m fine,” he interrupted tersely.
Hawk was pale as we approached. His gaze focused on the bullet wound in Kobal’s hand. He had to be thinking Kobal was about to kill him, and though I knew it had been an accident, a part of me wanted to kill him for it.
“Move over!” Kobal barked at him.
Hawk scrambled away from the door when Kobal opened it and thrust me inside. “What are you doing?” I demanded.
“Get her out of here!” he commanded Hawk.
“Kobal… no… I can’t—I won’t leave you,” I stuttered in protest.
“You promised, whatever I said,” he reminded me before focusing on Hawk. “Get her out of here and don’t look back. Protect her life with yours. If something happens to her, or if she gets away from you, I’ll kill you myself.”
“Kobal!” I lurched for his arm before he could close the door on me. “No! I’m supposed to help with things like this!”
“No, you’re supposed to be protected from things like this until we reach the gateway.”
I opened my mouth to shout more protests at him, but I knew he wouldn’t be swayed. I had promised, and more people were dying while we sat here fighting. “How will we find you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.” He cupped my cheeks in his large palms and kissed my forehead before pulling away. “Go!” he ordered Hawk. “And don’t look back.”
Kobal slammed the door on me before I could leap out of it, and Hawk stomped on the gas. “Hold on!” Hawk yelled out the driver’s side window.
The tires spun on the pavement, squealing as they tried to gain purchase on the battered road. My hands fumbled for the handle above my head when the truck caught on the asphalt and leapt forward. A scream from the back caused me to whip around as I realized who Hawk had been shouting out the window at.
A man standing in the back tumbled over the side of the truck and bounced across the pavement. I hadn’t realized there were still people in the back of the truck, and Hawk seemed not to care about their safety as he didn’t ease on the gas.
The woman and man still in the truck fell back, bouncing over the supplies before crashing into the tailgate. The man flipped over the back of the truck, but somehow managed to grasp hold of the tailgate at the last second. Only his knuckles and fingers gripping over the edge were visible. I feared his legs and feet bounced over the ground behind us.
The woman lurched toward him and grabbed his wrist. I heaved a breath of relief when his head popped up over the back of the truck. Then a leg swung over the tailgate and the woman managed to help pull him back into the truck bed.
“Don’t do it!” Hawk snapped when my hand fell on the door handle.
“They need our help against those things!”
“I don’t know what you are, but I do know you shoot fire, came from where humans reside, not demons, and this mission wasn’t organized until you arrived. It’s been made clear to us throughout our training for this journey that your life is the most vital part of this mission, and I will do whatever it takes to fulfill my duty.”
Gone was the hunched-over man who’d spent most of yesterday trying to avoid touching the two of us. In his place was a soldier. He glanced at me, his indigo eyes remorseless. “He’ll kill me if you get out of this truck, and personally, I like my head where it is. It’s a pretty good-looking head.”
My hand fell off the handle. I couldn’t argue with his statement, and I couldn’t live with myself if Kobal killed him because of me. I spun in my seat to take in the carnage behind us. I bit back the bile rising in my throat when I saw the arms and legs scattered across the road. Intestines and blood splattered the earth, torn from the bellies of humans and gargoyles alike. The blood was almost technicolor against the burnt-out gray and black city.
As I watched, more fire erupted into the air, lighting the creatures diving toward Kobal and the others who had grouped together to present a united front against their attackers. I had no idea how many humans were still alive, but I didn’t hear gunshots peppering the air with the same frequency they had in the beginning.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted something coming down the road. My eyes widened on Corson, with his head bent and his arms and legs pumping as he raced toward us far faster than I’d ever considered possible. He easily closed the distance between us to run beside the truck. Over his shoulder, I spotted two gargoyles breaking away from the others in pursuit of the truck.
“Don’t slow down!” Corson shouted when Hawk eased on the gas.
Hawk pushed back down on the accelerator as Corson ran beside us for a good fifteen feet before grabbing the side of the truck and vaulting into the back. I fumbled with the window in the middle of the glass behind me as the two gargoyles dove for Corson. The demon with the blue feathers dangling from his ears let out a roar of fury. I gawked at the claws that burst from the backs of his hands. Over a foot long, white talons shone as Corson ducked low and slashed upward at a gargoyle soaring above him.
I shoved the window open just as black goo and intestines splashed over Corson and into my face. Recoiling, I frantically wiped at the warm splatters coating my lips and lashes. The gutted gargoyle crashed into the road before us. It bounced over the pavement before coming to a stop ten feet directly in front of us.
Hawk swerved the truck to avoid hitting the easily hundred-pound creature, which was the size of a German Shepherd. Unprepared for the motion, I fell against his side as the tires squealed in protest on the pavement. The three in the back cried out when they were thrust against the side. The woman almost toppled out, but Corson grasped her wrist and jerked her back. Somehow, he managed to avoid slicing her flesh open with his lethal claws. Corson shoved her against the cab of the truck before turning to face the remaining gargoyle coming at us.
I pushed myself off of Hawk and turned back to the window as the city vanished from view. The sides of the road narrowed in on us; boulders crowded against the sides of the vehicle as we steadily climbed higher.
“What are you doing?” Hawk demanded when my fingers curled around the edge of the sliding window.
“Helping,” I replied.
I shoved myself through the window, kicking my feet as I squirmed to pull myself into the bed of the truck. I fell into the back, landing on a pack of bottled water that bit into my ribs. The woman ducked and came up firing her gun when the gargoyle dove at her, not making the mistake of going at Corson as the other one had.
Shoving myself up, I held onto the window to brace myself before rising to my feet. Corson glanced over at me as the gargoyle turned and came back at us. The creature opened its awful black pit of a mouth and shrieked. Fire slid across my fingertips. It wasn’t as powerful as it had been before, and I realized my demon ability to throw fire tired out far faster than my angelic ability to harvest and wield life did, but flames still danced over my flesh.
Corson stepped to the side as the gargoyle dove at us. It meant to take out the truck, I realized when it shifted course and aimed for the back tires. It would flip us completely if it succeeded in hitting us.
The flames blazed across my flesh as I raised my hands and let the fire have its way. It erupted from me in a short burst, but it was enough to hit the creature and knock it off course. The gargoyle screamed as fire licked over its body and it plowed into the rock walls lining the sides of the road. The rock walls exploded from the impact. I threw my arms over my head to shield myself as bits of debris pelted the truck and us. Shards of broken rock sliced across my arms, spilling my blood.
I dared to chance a glance when a sound like thunder erupted through the air. Even with our growing distance from where the gargoyle had hit, I could feel the earth quaking beneath the truck as the gargoyle’s impact caused some of the surrounding rocks and boulders to break free of the mountain. It appeared as though they slid toward the earth in slow motion at first, before tumbling faster and crashing against each other in an immense cloud of rolling dust.
I could only stand and gawk at the rockslide as more and more fell. My heart sank when some of the dust cleared to reveal the pile of boulders blocking the roadway behind us. “No!” I shouted.
Lifting my head to the sky, my knees wobbled when I spotted the flames and smoke rising high on the horizon from the city we’d left behind. “Kobal,” I whispered.
“He’ll be fine. They’ll find a way around the rocks,” Corson said. Kneeling down, he leaned through the window to speak with Hawk. “Keep driving and don’t stop for anything.”