Kobal
“That was my servant!” Lilitu spat.
“You have others,” I replied calmly, though I was tempted to engulf this place in flames, grab River, and drag her from here. I wanted to kiss her as badly as I wanted to throttle her. She’d walked herself straight into the hands of our enemies.
Lilitu had broken off from some of the other canagh demons over a thousand years ago. She’d enslaved some of them with her powerful, ancient blood before aligning herself with Lucifer after I’d climbed from her bed, never to return. Now all I could hope was to get River out of here without Lilitu poisoning her with her words and actions, but I knew she wouldn’t leave her friends without a fight.
“I’ll have you begging at my feet!” Lilitu yelled.
“Let’s not become delusional about this. Simply give us the men and woman you took earlier and no one else has to die.”
“I’ll tear her to pieces,” Lilitu vowed.
I bared my fangs at her as beneath my flesh the hounds surged toward my fingers. They also recognized River as theirs, and any threat toward her was one they’d gladly take down. Lilitu’s eyes darted toward my arms as the marks pulsed with life and fire danced over my fingers. As soon as we were out of this building, I would destroy everything within it.
I gave a pointed look at the hounds before focusing on her again. “Who will tear whom to pieces?”
Lilitu smiled seductively as she pushed aside her fury to fall back on who she innately was, a seductress.
“Come now, Kobal, we had a lot of fun before. We can have it again.” She moved forward, gliding across the floor so smoothly it seemed her feet didn’t touch the boards. River stiffened behind me. “You would like to watch me with the girl, no?”
“No. Bring our people to us or I am going to start torching every one of your servants. I’m out of patience, Lilitu.”
“You harm another one of my servants, and I will feast on her until she’s nothing but a shriveled husk.”
“Lilitu,” I growled.
She stopped five feet away from me and thrust out her hip. “We were good once—”
“Once!” I barked. “And I never returned. Your lure is not as powerful as you believe it to be.”
Shocked murmurs from the canaghs followed my statement. To this group, she was their queen, their most powerful, and the words I’d uttered were the ultimate insult to her. All returned once they were satisfied by a canagh demon; once was never enough. It was believed their drugging kiss would forever ensnare someone, making them out of their mind with lust and unable to think of anything else as their bodies fed the canaghs need for sexual energy while they wasted away to nothing.
I’d made sure not to kiss Lilitu the night we were together. It had been playing with fire to risk lying with her, but after all the talk of the canagh, and especially Lilitu herself, I’d been determined to try my hand at her. I’d been younger and dumber then, fresh off a lost battle to Lucifer and determined to conquer something. It had been a rash decision and a forgettable experience.
“Bring them to me, especially her,” Lilitu commanded the other canaghs as she pointed a finger at River. “Now!”
Around me, the canaghs shifted and shuffled their feet as they glanced between me and Lilitu. They were lovers not fighters, but this group of canaghs were also caught up by their need for her blood and the power she held over them. Lilitu was exceptionally strong due to the sexual energy she’d drained from countless demons and humans over her many years, but she was no match for me. If she came at me, she would die. Her followers knew this, but they would do as she commanded and their numbers far outweighed ours.
“This does not have to be a battle,” Corson said from the doorway.
“You are trying to take our prizes from us,” Lilitu replied. “I will not allow it.” Then her gaze latched onto River, blazing with animosity as she poked the tip of a fang with her tongue. “She will also not be leaving. They both came to us. They are ours now.”
“You have no chance against me,” I told her.
“We outnumber you.”
“You are the first one I’m coming for.” No fear showed in her eyes, but her hands slid back to her side and the seductive pose she’d taken vanished. “Your servants may outnumber us, but they will have no queen to follow by the time I’m done with you.”
Her fangs sliced one of her ruby lips. The trickle of blood flowing forth caused all the other canagh demons to undulate as their hands trailed lasciviously over their bodies. They all fed like she did on one’s sexuality, but each of her servants also received a single drop of her blood a year. A drop that imbued them with the same amount of energy as feasting on the sexuality of five demons. A drop that kept them hooked on her for another year and eager to do her every bidding.
Behind her, I saw Hawk begin to stir. He lifted his head to look around before grabbing Erin and shaking her arm. She blinked up at him, and he rested his finger against his lips in a shushing gesture. He pointed to the two other men with them. Erin nodded and turned to wake one of the men as Hawk pulled his gun free and aimed it at Lilitu. He met my eyes over Lilitu’s shoulder and I gave a small nod.
“Can you stop my servants?” Lilitu murmured. “When they’re so hungry.”
“River, stay behind me,” I commanded her.
Reaching my hand behind me, I seized River’s forearm and jerked her to the side as Hawk fired his weapon. Lilitu screamed when the bullet pierced her back and tore through her chest. I felt the breeze of the bullet against my cheek but didn’t move as it embedded in the beam beside me. The canaghs cried out in ecstasy at the scent of her blood before leaping forward to defend their queen.
I dodged slicing talons before hitting three in the chest with a ball of fire that sent them spiraling away into the gauzy material covering the room. Sparks and flames shot up around the humans and demons sprawled out on the pillows beyond. They were so ensnared by the canagh’s spell that they barely moved as the flames spread around them.
I took a step to the side and pinned River to the beam behind me when she tried to move around me. “You disobeyed me once; you’ll do as I say now! Stay behind me!” I snapped at her.
Her eyes widened, the violet of them shimmered and danced in the flames. Turning away, flames wrapped around my wrists as I threw my arm out and set the hounds free. River’s hands landed on my shoulders. Her touch sent tingles of power over my skin, causing it to become electrified as the hounds barreled across the floor. Between her touch and the swell of her power mingling with mine, my flames leapt higher over my arms.
The hounds trampled half a dozen canaghs under their massive paws as they raced around the room. Screams resonated from the canaghs as bones and cartilage gave way beneath the jaws clamping down on them. By the doorway, Corson and Bale worked on carving their way through those closest to them. Hawk and Erin had risen from the stage with the other soldiers and were firing their weapons as they approached us. Vargas stood near my side, shooting at any of the canaghs who tried to come at us.
All of Lilitu’s composure vanished as her murderous gaze landed on River. I couldn’t let her live. It wouldn’t matter to her if Lucifer wanted to keep River alive; Lilitu would do everything she could to see River’s life ended.
I kept River pinned against the beam when Lilitu leapt at me, her claws whistling through the air. I grabbed her wrist, snapping it back before driving my fist into her nose. Blood exploded from her once perfect face, causing the canaghs to cry out again as the flames continued to eat at the wood.
Lilitu’s free hand sliced across my arm, digging into the bone. I felt the crackle of River’s power against my shoulder before her other hand shot out from behind my back and a burst of golden-white light erupted from her. Like I’d seen her do with Azote, this blast of energy and life streamed from her hand. It slammed into the center of Lilitu’s chest, sending her spiraling head over heels into Hawk. The coppery scent of Hawk’s blood filled the air when Lilitu’s claws carved down his side before she fell on top of him.
Lilitu’s motionless body lay sprawled across Hawk’s immobile form. Through the smoking hole in her chest, I could see Hawk’s abdomen and the blood seeping across his shirt. The other canaghs froze as Lilitu’s heart stopped and the last of her powerful blood spilled around her. The wail the canaghs released drowned out the roaring sounds of the growing fire. They fell around their queen; her blood slicked their faces and hands as they eagerly lapped up the last of her lifeblood.
“Hawk!” River cried.
Vargas and Erin pushed at the demons kneeling around their dead queen, trying to clear a path to their friend, but the canaghs wouldn’t move away from her. River squirmed against my back as the hounds prowled through the remains, consuming their dinner. Corson and Bale killed the few straggling canaghs who had yet to fall upon their queen and came to stand beside us.
I grasped River’s wrist on my shoulder and stepped aside to pull her away from the beam. “Keep hold of her,” I commanded Corson and thrust River’s hand at him.
His fingers enclosed her wrist; his eyes were wary as he held her hand before him and surveyed River’s fingertips with unease. The hounds bounded to my side, shoving through the canaghs as I pushed them ruthlessly out of my way to get to Hawk. The canaghs snapped at and swiped their claws at me when I grasped Lilitu’s shoulder and thrust her way.
The gaping wound River had torn into Lilitu’s chest drew the canagh’s attention away from me and they fell on their dead queen once more. Hawk blinked up at me before his eyes closed and his head lulled to the side. Unable to take the time to assess the damage done to him, I grabbed his arm, hauled him up from the floor and flung him over my shoulder.
Stalking back through the flames and cloying smoke filling the building, I held out my hand for River’s wrist. Corson shoved it eagerly into my grasp. River stumbled beside me when I pulled her forward, but I quickly righted her as I hurried her through the growing inferno.
“Is he alive?” she breathed.
“Yes.”
She’s human. Her humanity and love for others is one of her greatest strengths, I reminded myself as I tried to rein in my remaining rage and fear. That strength had caused her to destroy Lilitu with a single blast because she’d hurt me.
Her humanity was also one of her greatest weaknesses. A weakness that had driven her to rescue her friends and nearly gotten her killed.
“Wait!” River cried. “There are more people and demons in the shadows! We have to get them out of the fire!”
My hand squeezed her wrist when she tried to dig her feet in. “It’s too late for them,” I told her and pulled her forward.
“You can’t know that!”
Turning, I wrapped my arm around her waist and lifted her from the ground. Whatever she saw on my face caused her to lean away from me. “I can know that,” I snarled. “There is no saving anyone else in this building. They are too wasted and too far gone to the canagh demons to try.”
Her struggles ceased as I carried her out to the porch and down the steps. I didn’t dare release her until we were free of the carrou vines surrounding and shading the burning canagh nest. I set her on her feet but kept hold of her wrist as I bent to set Hawk on the dirt road. I didn’t trust her for a second not to try to rescue some of the others still inside.
Kneeling, I examined Hawk’s wounds. Blood continue to spill form his body to pool on the dirt road beneath him. His side had been sliced open deep enough to reveal the gleam of his ribs and some of the muscle of his abdomen. His breathing came in shallow gasps and his skin was white, but I was fairly certain he would survive.
The heat of the growing fire beat against my back as I glanced over my shoulder at the engulfed building. The flames shot all the way up to the thick carrou vines, causing them to spark and wither. The stench of the vines, burning wood, and flesh filled my nose. None of the canaghs attempted to escape; they were all too consumed by the bliss of their queen’s blood.
Taking a deep breath, I finally felt steady enough to look at River again without saying or doing something I might regret. The shadows lining her amethyst eyes made them stand out starkly against her tanned complexion. I didn’t get a chance to decide what I would do with her before she threw her arms around my shoulders and buried her head against my neck.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know it was stupid. I know I put us all in danger, but I couldn’t leave them, not to that.” She trembled so hard, her body vibrated mine. “Not to that.”
Some of my anger faded as I pulled her closer. “You can’t do this again, River,” I told her as I kissed her temple. “You have no idea what these demons are capable of. One kiss, and you could have been trapped by them. You would have willingly let yourself burn like the other humans and demons in there because they were too far gone to think to save themselves. They’re not even screaming.”
Her teeth rattled, and her spine quaked beneath my fingers. Rising, I stepped away from Hawk’s body as Erin and Corson knelt beside him. The other two humans rescued from the building moved away from us as I walked River a few feet away.
“Shh, Mah Kush-la, it’s over now.” I stroked her raven hair back from her face before grasping her chin and tilting her head up. “Your friends are alive.”
She nodded before dropping her head to my neck once more. I embraced her as the hounds rubbed against her legs, seeking to give her comfort. Lowering my head, I rested my lips against her temple. If I had my way, I’d never release her again.
Taking a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders. “I’m okay.”
Reluctantly, I lowered her to her feet and slid my arms away from her. One of her hands absently fell to Crux’s head before she focused on Hawk. “Is he going to make it?” she asked Corson.
“There’s a lot of blood.” He pulled back the ruined remains of Hawk’s shirt to survey more of the blood seeping from the claw marks slicing through his skin. “A lot of his and a lot of Lilitu’s too.” He shot me a look at this realization. I shook my head at him and he returned to exploring the edges of Hawk’s injuries. “Some stitches will close it. He may require blood though.”
Vargas tugged his shirt over his head. Kneeling at Corson’s side, he tore the shirt into strips before binding it around Hawk’s chest. “We have to get him back to the supplies. We can stitch him there,” Vargas said.
Corson grabbed Hawk’s arm and swung him easily over his shoulder. Bale and Corson glanced at River before looking to me. “Did she just do what I think she did?” Bale inquired.
“Take down Lilitu? Yes, she did,” I replied as I slid my arm around River’s waist and pulled her close. Her eyes remained steady and unwavering as they all stared curiously at her.
“Were those all of the canagh demons in there?” Erin asked.
“No,” I replied. “There are more out there, but not all of them are like Lilitu and her followers. Some are on our side, others refuse to choose a side, and still others follow Lucifer. It is the same amongst all of the demons.”
River turned her head toward the fire. The flames reflected in her eyes as they danced across her face. Turning her away, I led her down the road back toward where we’d left the others.