Yannis swung out with his blade. The tip of it sliced across Lucien’s nose, spilling his blood as he positioned himself protectively in front of Callie and Simone. Logan and Asher circled them as Killean dispatched two Savages.
Lucien lunged forward and tackled Yannis around the waist. He threw his brother onto the ground while Yannis’s hands came down. The blade embedded in the flesh and muscle of Lucien’s lower back before Yannis twisted it.
Lucien wrapped his fingers around his brother’s throat and squeezed. Yannis battered the side of his face as Lucien shoved his thumbs up and under his brother’s chin. His thumbs, pushing into the flesh, drew blood as he dug deeper.
Yannis squirmed beneath him while his punches battered Lucien’s head and shoulders. Lucien heard the crack of his cheekbone when it gave way beneath the fierce onslaught, but he didn’t feel it.
The putrid scent of his brother’s blood filled his nostrils as it spilled from his chin and poured down Lucien’s hands. Yannis’s fingers hooked into claws, and he raked them down Lucien’s face. He nearly took out an eyeball as he ripped away flesh.
Lucien only clutched harder and dug deeper. With a wet, tearing sound, muscle gave way, and blood slicked his hands to the point where he could barely hold on. However, he didn’t let go as he succeeded in tearing his brother’s head away.
A shout of triumph tore from him as he lifted the decapitated head and smacked it off the ground. Feeling more monster than man, he turned his attention toward the demon and remaining Savages who were closing in on Willow, Declan, and Saber.
He glanced back to make sure Callie was protected. He discovered that Killean had joined Simone; Killean now held Callie in his arms. Asher had the back door of one of the SUVs open while he gestured for Killean to hurry.
Killean slid Callie into the back of the SUV. Simone scrambled in behind her, and Killean closed the door. He, Logan, and Asher encircled the vehicle. Lucien wanted to join them, but there weren’t many Savages around them, and the others were in trouble.
Keeping hold of his brother’s head, Lucien pulled the sword from his back. He used it to carve his way through the Savages and toward the demon. The creature had to know he was coming; Lucien didn’t kid himself into thinking that because it couldn’t see him, it wasn’t aware of his presence.
Five years had passed since he battled the demon in the tunnel with Saxon and Declan, but he recalled the speed with which the creature moved. That creature had seemed to be everywhere at once, and though it was dead, he doubted its brethren were any slower or less aware.
This was a demon. The Alliance had no idea what they were up against when it came to these monsters. They didn’t know what they were truly capable of or what kind of power they possessed. The abilities of the vampires and hunters had come from them, and they were magnified in these creatures.
Yes, it was aware he was coming, even if it hadn’t looked at him yet.
He was almost to it when the demon turned toward him. Lifting his brother’s head, Lucien threw it at the creature. The monster moved so fast Lucien barely saw it before it caught the head and sent it flying back at him.
He didn’t feel the blow of the head hitting him in the chest as he went low and attempted to tackle the demon around its waist. However, one second it was there, and the next, it was darting away with the agility of a spirit dancing across the earth.
Lucien missed it, but his attack opened the way for Declan, Saber, and Willow to close in on the creature. They battled their way through more Savages while Lucien feigned a move to the left before going to the right.
The demon stalked his movement, and under normal circumstances, it probably would have caught him by now, but Callie’s blood and the power flooding his system gave him a strength the likes of which he’d never experienced before. It made him more volatile, yet it also propelled him forward so fast that the demon had difficulty getting out of the way again.
Then Declan broke free and charged at the creature from the other side. Distracted by Declan, the demon turned, and Lucien crashed into the beast. His impact threw it into Declan’s path. Declan hammered a fist into the side of the demon’s face.
The hood fell back to reveal a pale, ugly creature with eyes that burned more white than white blue now. Its ears were so close to its head they seemed not to exist. It was a little taller than the one they battled in the tunnels, but not as tall as the one Killean described encountering during his search for Simone.
Its features were humanish, but something about it reminded Lucien of a reptile. Perhaps it was the hooked, rattlesnake-like fangs protruding from its mouth. Whatever it was, this monstrosity was as hideous as the last one.
The demon staggered, and when it did, Lucien crashed into its back. Wrapping his arms around its waist, he lifted it and slammed it into the ground. He wanted to let his fists fly until it was nothing more than mush beneath his hands, but if they could take it alive, they might be able to learn something more about it and its brethren.
Even as he thought it, the demon backhanded him across the face. The blow split his cheek open, and blood flooded his mouth.
The demon punched him again, and this time, his nose cracked and gave way. It moved so fast Lucien could barely keep up with it, but he managed to dodge the next punch before delivering one to the demon’s face.
In return, one of its punches connected with his ribs, and one of them gave way with a crack. The broken rib shifted inside him, and the jagged edge of it pierced his flesh. As the demon was about to deliver another blow, a hand seized its fist and yanked it back, pulling it off him and smashing it into the ground.
An eerie, awful shrieking erupted from it. Lucien had heard the same sound in the tunnels when the one they battled there released a similar sound. Then, he believed it was alerting the others to its death. Now, he couldn’t help but speculate if it was calling for help.
Needing to silence it, Lucien hammered his fist into its face. The demon’s head shot back, and the tip of Willow’s sword thrust between them to rest against its throat. The demon ceased its struggles as it realized that so much as a centimeter in the wrong direction could end its life.
Its thin lips skimmed back, and its white eyes illuminated the night as it glowered at Willow. Hatred oozed from its pores, but it didn’t move.
Declan snarled at the look on the creature’s face and unleashed a series of blows that battered its revolting face before knocking it out. Though its head lulled to the side and its eyes closed, Lucien didn’t dare ease his weight off it. He didn’t trust it not to be faking, and he refused to lose it.
Lifting his head, he gazed at the bodies littering the ground as what remained of the Savages fled into the woods as the sun began to lighten the sky.