Chapter Forty

 

There was still enough light to see by, even when the wind snuffed out the candles. But the smoke and storm clouds that bathed the surrounding land in shadow lent an eerie gloom to the interior of the farmhouse. And the irregular strobe of the lightning casting monstrous shadows across the walls only magnified that ominous feeling.

Looking around, Eric found himself in the middle of one of the most surreal scenes he’d ever witnessed.

People were shouting.

Gunshots boomed.

Another window shattered.

Doug swapped his rifle for the post mallet and ran to the nearest broken window, swinging it with all his might at the dark shapes that were trying to climb over the sill. To Eric, it looked like he was playing the most intense game of Whack-A-Mole he’d ever seen.

The front door took another hit and Eric heard the frame crack even over the chaos that was breaking out around him. Another impact like that and whatever monster stood on the other side would be through.

Cierra pushed him aside. “Get out of the way,” she demanded. She stepped closer to the door, then closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, as he’d seen her do in Rob’s fraternity house. Then she thrust her hands out and pressed them against the painted wood with the tips of her thumbs and forefingers touching. Another gust of warm air passed through the room and she blew a basketball-sized hole through the center of the door.

A horrible, wailing howl erupted from the other side.

She leaned over and shouted through the hole, “No soliciting, asshole!”

But her gloating was cut short when the wounded monster rammed its huge arm through the hole and snatched at her face. She stumbled backward, cursing.

Eric lunged forward and plunged the dagger deep into the monster’s muscular forearm.

The creature let out another howl and tried to withdraw its arm, but Eric held onto the weapon’s handle, trapping the beast.

“Quit playing with that thing and kill it!” Cierra shouted at him.

“Don’t rush me!” he shouted back.

“I thought that thing was supposed to kill anything it cut!”

“It takes a minute!”

“Well hurry up!”

“Do you want to do this?”

This thing was no ogre, he realized. It was a little bigger, its skin was the wrong color, a sickly, mottled gray, more like the giant’s. This thing’s hand was leaner than an ogre, its fingers longer, with short claws that curled outward in wicked-looking hooks from the pads of its finger tips.

This thing was something new.

Eric held onto the handle with all his strength as the monster jerked its arm back, slamming his knuckles into the door, mashing them. Smoke was already boiling from the bleeding wound. If he could hold on just a little longer…

With its other hand, the monster beat against the outside of the door, trying to break it down. It wouldn’t last much longer.

“Get out of there!” begged Holly.

“Just another second…” he groaned.

Finally, he gave the dagger a hard twist, turning the edge of the blade away from the door. This time, when the monster jerked its arm back, the weapon slid toward the thing’s hand, opening a deep gash that gushed black, smoking blood all over his hands.

The monster howled again. Eric thought it was more in pain than in rage this time.

He jerked out the dagger and stepped quickly backward, wincing at the pain in his bloodied knuckles.

The monster arm vanished, leaving only an empty hole behind.

Holly rushed to his side. “Are you okay?

“I’m fine.” He turned and surveyed the room. Margarita and the rude brunette opened fire on a super imp that was trying to force its way through the living room window. Doug was holding his own with the post mallet, but he didn’t look like he’d last much longer. Sweat was dripping off his face. His shirt was half-soaked.

Meanwhile, Delphinium hadn’t taken her eyes off the water. She and the others were working hard to get the blanket back up.

More shouting and gunfire erupted from the back of the house.

“Somebody check on them!” Eric ordered.

Cierra ran for the hallway. The blonde with the axe followed her. But as soon as Cierra entered the darkened corridor, she was knocked back and off her feet by something large and monstrous. Then it turned and hurled itself at the blonde, knocking her to the ground and perching on top of her. A super imp, its claws spread and ready to slash her to shreds.

She screamed.

“Helen!” shrieked Holly.

Eric ran, his dagger raised, but he was too late. Before he could reach the monster, its claws slashed downward. At the same instant, a steel pipe sliced through the air and collided with the creature’s long teeth, shattering them like glass and knocking the monster off the girl and onto the floor.

Emily stood before him, staring at him, her blue eyes huge in the gloom. “Please tell me that was a bad guy!”

He recalled what Holly had told him about the girl being partially blind and realized that in this light, she must barely be capable of distinguishing friend from foe. “You did great,” he told her.

Bernie appeared from the hallway and finished off the super imp with a swift shot to its head as it tried to regain its feet. “Is everyone okay?” he asked.

Holly knelt at the blonde’s side. She’d called her Helen. Eric didn’t think it was nearly as good a stripper name as “Margarita” but it was better than “Limber Lucy.”

“Are you okay?” asked Holly.

Helen nodded and sat up, rubbing at the back of her head. “I’m good.”

There was more shouting from the back of the house. Bernie turned and ran back into the hallway to check on it. Cierra regained her feet and disappeared after him, determined to prevent any more enemy breaches.

Eric scanned the room again. Margarita and the brunette seemed to have the windows on that side of the room covered, so he turned to check on Doug and Norval.

As soon as he approached, Norval turned suddenly and grabbed him by the shoulder. “It has to be you!” he said.

“What?”

“It’s why you’re here!”

He was confused. What the hell was he talking about? “What’s why I’m here?”

“The truth is too painful for her! It has to be you!”

“Who? What truth? What has to be me?”

Norval blinked. “What?”

“What has to be me?” repeated Eric.

But Norval had no idea what he was talking about. “What has to be you? What are you talking about?” He realized that his hand was on Eric’s shoulder and snatched it back. He looked completely puzzled.

“Never mind,” said Eric. “Sorry.”

Suddenly, the air changed again. It grew warmer. His ears popped.

“Got it!” shouted Poppy.

“It’s much smaller now,” fretted Delphinium. “It barely covers the house. But the blanket’s back up.”

“So why are they still coming?” shouted Doug as he swung the mallet again, crushing the life out of another imp.

“Some were already inside the perimeter,” replied Charlotte as she ran over and joined him at the window. “Get back.”

Doug stepped aside obediently as she lifted her hand and fired another thrust through the window, obliterating everything that was gathered outside it.

“Nice,” he said.

Charlotte gave him a smile and then hurried away to check on the girls at the other windows.

Someone was screaming at the back of the house. Eric turned to help, but the voice grew louder. A moment later, the bald bouncer burst from the hallway. “Get it off me!” he screamed as he tried to shield his face from an imp that had perched itself on top of his shoulders and was slashing at his shiny scalp with its claws.

Ponytail ran in behind him, his machete raised, screaming, “Hold still, damn it!”

But the distressed brute didn’t hold still (and Eric didn’t blame him one bit). He turned instead and stumbled toward Emily, who cried out in alarm and swung the pipe again.

Unfortunately, her aim wasn’t so good a second time.

“Ow!” cried the bald man as he staggered backward and fell to his knees, clutching his forehead in his hands.

“Oh, God! Richie! I’m so sorry!”

Of course his name was Richie.

Eric ran to Richie’s side, the dagger raised, his eyes fixed on one of the monster’s ears. If he could get a grip on that, like he’d done with most of the imps he’d fought during the night, he could hold it safely while sliding the blade in for a kill.

It occurred to him suddenly that those alligator hunters on television were not likely to ever impress him again after today. He’d like to see one of them take on a pissed-off imp, much less any of the other freakish things he’d seen.

But as he knelt down and reached out his hand, the monster leapt off Richie’s shoulders and perched itself atop the back of an empty kitchen chair, where it fixed its huge eyes on Shondra.

Shondra screamed and stumbled backward.

The imp leapt at her.

That’s when Siena rose to her feet and shouted, “Stay away from my mom!”

A stiff gust of warm air rushed through the room and an invisible force passed over the chair, sweeping away the unfortunate imp, propelling it across the room and smashing it into oblivion against the wall.

The ruined, smoking corpse hung there, half-embedded in the wall in the center of a perfect, four-foot circle of crumbling, indented plaster.

Everyone turned and looked at Siena. She shrank back into her seat, embarrassed.

“Crushing thrust,” observed Jude. “Nice.”

“I’ve never seen anyone use one without being taught,” said Poppy. She frowned. “I still haven’t even learned to use mine yet…”

“I told you she might surprise us,” said Delphinium. She hadn’t even taken her eyes off the water. If she hadn’t spoken, one might have thought she hadn’t even noticed what was going on around her.

Eric stared at the girl. She really was one of them. A little witch, with her own awesome powers.

In fact, she might be the most powerful of them all.

She didn’t even look drained.

He recalled the first time he saw the girl, sitting there at the bedside, silent, looking deeply troubled, clinging to her dying mother’s hand. It had seemed perfectly natural at the time, not at all unusual. But now he realized how intently she’d been sitting there, her eyes fixed on her mother, hardly even acknowledging them. Suddenly he understood that some part of her had been working hard to fight back the monster in the basement. She’d been keeping her mother alive. Although he and Charlotte had actually slain the beast and saved Shondra’s life, without Siena’s power, she wouldn’t have lived long enough for him to arrive.

“There!” said Delphinium, dragging him from his thoughts.

A great pulse shot outward from the bowl. Outside, the swarming monsters exploded into smoke and dust.

Doug lowered his hammer and stuck his head out the window, taking a look around.

Delphinium stood up. “That’ll buy us some more time. Poppy, take over. Keep feeding the blanket.”

“Where are you going?” asked Jude.

“It’s time.” She looked at Eric. “He’s out there. I can feel him.”

He nodded. “What’s the plan?”

“I need you to keep everyone safe in here.”

Eric frowned. “And you?”

“I have to face him.”

Holly and Poppy both gasped. Jude stood up and shouted, “No!”

But she put out her hand and hushed them.

“I’m going with you, then,” insisted Charlotte.

She shook her head. “I need you all in here, with the water. If the blanket falters again, everyone in this house will die.”

But Charlotte shook her head. “We won’t let you. We need you.”

“I’m the only one who can do this.”

“No!” snapped Holly.

“I won’t let you!” agreed Jude.

“Enough.” Delphinium’s voice was firm and final. Everyone fell silent. “I’m sorry, but it’s time.”

It has to be you! Eric thought. Norval’s voice, only a moment ago, but not his words. It’s why you’re here! It was the same message he heard through Mr. Hamblin at the hospital. It has to be you. The only way. “No…” he said. “You can’t.”

“I have no choice.”

“You can’t beat him.”

She put her hands on his shoulder and said, “I need you to trust me.” She looked into his eyes and suddenly Eric realized what she intended to do. The pain and heartache she’d seen in her spells… The sacrifice… She intended to be that sacrifice. She intended to give her life to save her family.

“No,” he said firmly. “I need you to trust me.”

She frowned. Her confident eyes narrowed.

“It won’t work.”

“How—”

But Eric cut her off. “I can’t explain it now. It’s complicated. But you have to trust me. You told me that I was going to save you. You said you saw it.”

“I saw that you’d save us. I also saw that there would be a sacrifice.”

“You said you believed in me.”

Her expression twisted suddenly into hurt. “Of course I believe in you. You’re our savior.”

“Then trust me now.”

She wanted to protest, but he could tell she saw the truth in his eyes.

“It has to be me.”

“No…” said Holly.

But Eric ignored her. “This part right here,” he told Delphinium, “is the part where I save you so you can save everyone else.”

“But…”

“No. You have to stay with your family. It’s what you’re meant to do.”

Now her eyes began to shimmer with tears. “Always standing between us and him…” she recalled. “Like a shield…”

He nodded. “Believe in me.”

Holly reached out and took his hand. “I’m going with you,” she said. “We’re a team.”

Eric shook his head. It has to be you. “Not this time. I need you to stay with your sisters. Look after them. They need you.”

A fat tear streaked down her pretty face.

“Besides, I’m going to need all of you.” He turned toward the table. “Those pulse things you keep sending out… I’m going to need a big one, something to clear a path for me.”

Poppy wiped at her eye. “I think we can whip something up.”

“It might drain us all,” warned Cierra, who had appeared from the hallway. “But we’ll do it.”

“Everything we have,” promised Marissa.

“Without giving up the blanket,” added Eric.

“And we’ll take it from there,” promised Norval.

Eric withdrew his phone. “Can you tell where he is?”

HE’S HEADING YOUR WAY. MOVING TOWARD THE BACK YARD. DUE NORTH

He nodded. “Let’s get this over with.” He turned toward the hallway, but Holly surprised him with a fierce hug.

“Please come back!” she begged.

It was awkward as hell, but he didn’t pull away. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll do my best,” he promised.

Finally, she let go of him.

He met Delphinium’s eyes one final time and saw the sadness in them.

Sacrifice.

Then she turned and walked over to the table. “Let’s get to work.”

Eric looked around the room once more. The women he’d come to know in the past few hours. The men and women of The Dirty Bunny. All of them counting on him.

He looked last and longest at Holly.

He turned away and walked out of the room. As he approached the back door, his cell phone chimed at him.

I HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING

“Me too.”