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SILENT AND STEALTHY, hellhounds stalked the halls. They leapt at us from dark doorways that had been closed when we’d passed them before. Blessed bullets couldn’t kill these things, but they were enough to wound them. Gargoyles infested the air by the dozens, shrieking shrilly and throwing themselves against my shield. They were nimble enough to dodge most of our shots, but we managed to hit some of them. Stone splattered the walls and floor, but they just kept on coming.
“Why aren’t these things dying?” Blair asked in frustration as he sent another hound back to wherever it had come from.
“They’re linked to Von Hades,” Jake said, somehow knowing this without needing to be told. “As long as he’s in this dimension, they’ll just keep healing and coming after us.”
“Are we lost?” Mirra asked when Quin let out a curse. We’d turned a corner and were now standing outside the room where the heart had been kept.
“This damn house is messing with us,” our boss grated. Enchanted by druidic magic, the mansions only obeyed Harrow even though he’d been forbidden to cast magic hundreds of years ago. Without him here, the rooms and hallways were free to shift and change at will.
Hearing gunshots on the floor below us, I realized the Alpha Team hadn’t made it out before I’d sprung the trap. They were caught inside the mansion and were being harassed by the demonic guardians as well.
“So, that Harley guy was the one you were flirting with when you went on the mission with Spencer?” Connor said as we trotted after Quin.
I cut a look at him to see his mouth was pressed into a thin line. “I didn’t flirt with him,” I denied.
Jonah made a sound of disagreement, then tried to look innocent when I glared at him. He’d filled the team in on the secret mission I’d been forced to undergo with Von Hades.
“The boy is cute,” Mirra said with a hint of a grin. “I can see why Ari would have been interested in him.”
Connor’s jaw clenched as his shifter instincts tried to kick in. I had a feeling his panther wanted to charge downstairs and tear Harley apart for daring to trespass on his territory.
“I’m not interested in anyone but my mate,” I said. “Harley never had a chance with me. My heart already belonged to Connor.”
Letting out the enraged breath he’d been holding, Connor gave me a sexy smile that made my heart speed up a little.
“Now really isn’t the time, children,” Quin said in an unamused tone, sensing our rising desire for each other. We rounded the corner and she let out another curse to find we’d somehow circled back to the same room again.
“Why don’t you let me go first?” Jake suggested. She made a sweeping motion with her hand and allowed him to step past her. Mirra shivered and we exchanged a look when we both felt magic emanating from the hunter. Rudy was struggling to keep up with his much shorter legs. He flicked Jake a look, but was too out of breath to comment about the magic he was using.
Picking up the pace, Jake led us down the same corridor we’d already traversed. When we reached the corner, I was relieved to see the stairs leading down just ahead. He was using his fae glamor to counteract the enchantment on the mansion.
We took the stairs down to the second level just as more hellhounds shimmered into view. Harley came around the corner and raced towards us, shooting frantically over his shoulder. He’d been wounded and blood dripped from his hand. Four more hunters were on his heels, eyes wide with terror. Seeing us blocking their way, they skidded to a halt. They were caught between a bunch of supernatural creatures and a horde of hell spawn.
“Move,” Jake ordered, aiming at a hound that was silently galloping towards the humans.
Flattening themselves against the walls, what was left of the Alpha Team took the time to reload while we blasted the demonic dogs back to their lair. Gargoyles flocked towards us, intent on causing havoc. Our hail of gunfire convinced them to retreat, leaving us momentarily in the clear.
“Do you want to get out of this house alive?” Jake asked the raggedy bunch of hunters.
Harley ran his gaze over us, lingering on me mistrustfully. Connor put his arm around my shoulder, claiming me as his. “Yeah,” Harley said at last. “But I doubt any of us are going to get out of here. This place is like a maze.”
“We think we know a way out,” Quin said. “Stay close to us. Ari will be using her shield to keep the hellhounds and gargoyles away.”
Muttering to themselves unhappily, the humans reluctantly joined our ranks. I didn’t trust any of them at my back, but I knew Greg would be keeping his hollow eye sockets pinned on them. I was his mistress and he had no choice but to keep me safe.
Jake’s glamor shorted out the usually confusing maze and the hallways became normal and fixed in place. Passing the bodies of the fallen Alpha Team members, he found the grand staircase and we rapidly descended to the foyer. Once we reached the bottom, we turned towards the main hallway and skidded to a stop. A dozen six-foot-tall stone gargoyles blocked our way. Their silver eyes were locked on us in unblinking stares. They usually guarded the roof, but had been unleashed inside the mansion.
At an unseen signal, the stone guardians sprinted towards us with their wings flared. The first two statues hit my shield hard enough to make it reverberate around us. I lost my balance and Connor had to catch me. Feet planted firmly on the marble floor, Quin and Jake unloaded their guns on the gargoyles. Harley and the other four hunters opened fire as well.
Shrieking in pain and rage, the gargoyles clawed at the invisible barrier, using their wings to guard their faces. Moving to surround us, the monsters rammed my shield with their muscular shoulders, rattling us around like marbles in a glass. I almost lost my grip on the green bag that held the relic and wrapped it firmly around my wrist. Backing away, the gargoyles moved in precision and all rammed the barrier together. The resulting reverberation was enough to make me lose my concentration. The shield went down and we were flung all over the foyer.
“Brandi, attack the gargoyles!” Quin ordered as two of the stone creatures advanced on her. Our bullets weren’t enough to send these things running. We needed help if we wanted to get out of here alive.
As ordered, Brandi flipped a switch and the pink bled out of her hair until it became as black as her clothes. With a laugh of glee, she zoomed towards one of the statues. Becoming solid, she rammed into it and it was sent flying into a wall. One of its wings shattered and it screeched in rage.
“Ari!” Jonah said, almost dancing from foot to foot in agitation. “Use me!” he urged. Alakay dangled between him and Winston, totally unaware of the danger. They weren’t targeting him and his life wasn’t at stake.
“Jonah, attack the gargoyles,” I said.
“Winston, you know what to do,” Connor added. Both phantoms dropped the vampire like a sack of potatoes and transformed into their darker halves. The shadows were thick around Jonah, which I was pretty sure was a reflection of his link to me. Winston’s and Brandi’s shadows were much thinner.
Hellhounds and smaller gargoyles spilled into the foyer, adding to the chaos. The human hunters fired their guns, but they were loaded with normal bullets and didn’t do much damage. One of the humans was dragged away by a hellhound. His screams of terror cut off with a pained gurgle as his throat was torn out. Another was snatched up by a gargoyle and was crushed to death when it stomped on him with a clawed foot.
“Jake, get us out of here!” Quin shouted over the noise.
With a grim nod, my foster father raced towards the main hallway, dodging a huge gargoyle as it was tossed to the floor by Winston. The ghosts were gleefully attacking the statues, chipping away at their stone bodies and distracting them so we could get away.
“What about Alakay?” Connor asked as we sped after Jake and Quin.
“Leave him,” our boss called over her shoulder. I glanced back to see one of the six-foot gargoyles hunched over the prone vampire. A heavy foot rested on his unmoving chest, pinning him down so he wouldn’t be able to escape if he woke up.
Jake unerringly led the way to the dining room and we burst through the door. My stone nemesis came out of nowhere and flew at my face, claws extended and aiming for my eyes. Greg’s scythe flashed in front of me and knocked the horrible little statue away just in the nick of time. It vanished before he could smash it to pieces.
Reaching the door to the kitchen, Jake grabbed hold of the door handle and pushed. It resisted him and the cords in his neck stood out with effort. Quin reached out and put her hand on the door as well. Together, they forced it open. “Hurry!” Jake urged. “We can’t hold this for long!”
The gargoyle reappeared and came at me again, but Connor blasted it in the face with his gun. With a shrill screech, it turned tail and disappeared.
We rushed inside the kitchen, pushing the three remaining human hunters inside first. Nothing came flying at us and the dim room was empty. I spared a look at the black and white tiled floor, stainless steel appliances and black granite counters that had specks of white mixed in. Nothing had changed at all since I’d been here last, except Viper was missing.
Quin slipped inside and held the door open, muscles in her biceps bulging as Jake squeezed through the door. It slammed shut just as one of the huge gargoyles crashed into it. Claws scratched at the wood, but it couldn’t get in. We were safe, for now, yet that probably wouldn’t last long.
