Bale moved so fast with her sword that Ibarely saw it flashing through the air before she sliced four ofthem in half. Shax beat and pummeled the lanavours into bloodystumps with an eagerness I’d never seen from the normally reserveddemon.
Bones of the skelleins littered the groundalong with the human, demon, and lanavour remains. The skelleinswho were still standing upright were thoroughly enjoying themselvesas they swung their swords back and forth enthusiastically.
“We have to get inside!” Erin shouted as acouple of lanavours reached the first step. We raised our guns andfired at them, but it did little to slow down those that cameafter.
“They’re like ants!” Hawk yelled and fellback as the lanavours pushed further up the porch.
Theywerelike ants as more continuedto emerge from the woods to descend on the encampment. There had tobe at least two hundred of them, if not more.
“Come on!” Vargas shouted.
I turned to find him holding one of thedoors open and waving for us. I cast one more frantic look at Kobalto discover him slicing his way toward us with his black clawsextended and a murderous look on his face. Erin and I stumbled intothe building with Hawk close behind.
I spun as Kobal released one of the houndsfrom his body. An eerie howl tore from its open mouth as it racedacross the clearing toward the lanavours climbing the steps. Mygaze landed on the first lanavour to step onto the porch. It had noeyes, but I had no doubt it was looking at me as excitement pouredoff it.
A set of massive jaws clamped around itswaist, tearing it away from the door and flinging it off the porch.The hound’s golden eyes briefly met mine, and I was pretty sure itwas the male hound, Crux. It spun away and launched itself at theother lanavours closing in on the doorway.
One of the lanavours managed to slip pastthe hound and beeline toward us. Vargas slammed the door closedjust as Kobal released the second hound. “Throw us the barstoolsand tables!” Hawk shouted up the stairs to the people gatheredthere with their guns at the ready. “Anything we can use to blockthe doors!”
More people rushed down the stairs to helpus build the makeshift barricade. Working together swiftly, wepiled the furniture before the doors. The screams echoing outside,the incessant clash of steel against bone, and the ongoing soundsof the battle made me cringe.
“Kobal,” I whispered.
“He’ll be fine,” Erin said and wrapped herhand around my forearm. “Come on, let’s get away from thedoors.”
I allowed her to tug me away as theferocious roar of one of the hounds bounced off the walls of thebar. My hands rubbed over the goose bumps dotting my flesh as Iwalked up the stairs. Halfway up, I recalled the windows on theother side of the dilapidated looking building. Breaking away fromErin, I took the steps two at a time to the landing and ran aroundthe corner to look out the front windows.
Chaos reigned outside, but more than that,Kobal was a sight to behold as one of the hounds circled aroundhim, cutting down anyone in its path. The hound’s head came up tothe middle of his stomach. Its glossy black coat glistened in theflames enveloping Kobal. The hound’s head was easily the size of alion’s, and its fangs were something that would have made asabre-tooth tiger turn tail and run. Despite its massive size, Irealized it was Phenex, the female hound and the slightly smallerof the two.
The number of lanavours was thinning, butmany from our side were also falling. The reflection of the fire inthe glass panes danced over my face as it engulfed Kobal in aninferno. He was ruthless in his intent, tearing a head from thisone and the heart from that one as he burnt their bodies away withhis flames. He didn’t hesitate as the lanavours retreated towardthe woods, drawing Kobal and the other demons with them as theylooked to slaughter what remained of the threat.
The skelleins stayed in the clearing,patrolling back and forth like marching soldiers. My shouldersslumped in resignation as I turned to face Erin, Hawk, and Vargaswho stood beside me. “There may be survivors out there. We have tohelp them.”
“We’ll wait until Kobal and the others comeback first,” Vargas said, his jaw set as his brown eyesunwaveringly held mine. He’d gone with me to help rescue Erin andHawk from the canagh nest, but he would not let me out those doorswithout Kobal’s permission. Glancing at Hawk and Erin, I saw thesame resolve on their faces.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the crack ofsplintering wood had me forgetting what I was about to say. Atleast a hundred people rushed toward the stairwell as a loud crashfollowed the sound. I didn’t understand what was happening until Isaw the dozen or so lanavours floating up from the downstairs areaof the bar.
I’d never gone down the stairs before as thearea had always been dark, but I assumed it was where the skelleinswent to sleep, if they slept at all. I didn’t know if there hadalways been another entrance to the bar down there or if thelanavours had created one, but either way, it didn’t matter. Theywere inside, and we’d built a wall blocking our only escape.
Outside, the skelleins must have heard thenoise as they released a new battle cry.
CHAPTER 10
River
“River, get back!” Hawk grabbed my arm,pulling me back as gunfire erupted from the people gathered at thetop of the stairs. Bullets pummeled the creatures below. Bloodsplattered the walls, tables, and chairs, but as the lanavoursfell, more took their place.
I resisted Hawk’s insistent tug on my arm ashe attempted to pull me further away from the creatures flowing upthe stairs. I had to protect these people somehow. Another roarsounded outside, but I knew this one hadn’t come from one of thehounds but rather the enraged demon who controlled them. Most ofthe people remained at the top of the landing, firing at thecreatures coming up the stairs. Some turned and fled toward thehall and the gateway beyond.
Hawk’s stalker, Sarah, launched herself athim. She threw her arms around his waist, hindering him as hecontinued to try to pull me away. “Son of a bitch!” Hawk shoutedand released me to pry her off his waist.
I spun away from him and shoved my way backtoward the front of the crowd.Fear fuels the fire, andthere was plenty of fear rolling around in me right now. Fire leaptacross my fingers; it danced over my flesh as I shoved past thelast of the people. Flames burst from me in a rolling inferno thatturned the faded red carpet to black. The lanavours at the top ofthe stairs recoiled as it engulfed them.
Fire danced over the top of the doorway,across the tables and chairs. More of the lanavours pushed asidetheir burning brethren to make their way up the stairs as flamesconsumed the furniture piled by the door. Gunfire continued aroundme, but it was more sporadic than it had been as the ammo began torun out. The wall of people around me moved back from the monsterscoming at us and the growing fire consuming the front of thebuilding.
“Run!” I screamed at those still trying tostand their ground when the flames lashed out at us, snapping onlyfeet away from my face. The old, dried wood was going up far fasterthan I’d thought possible. The lanavours drifted back, staying lowto avoid the flames while remaining out of reach of my fire.
Driven back by the heat of the blaze, Iextinguished the flames on my hands before placing them on the backof a woman who stood frozen beside me. I urged her forward beforesomeone behind me pushed me into the crush of people. Their bodiesencompassed me as they shoved against each other to get away fromthe stairs. Their loud breaths echoed in my ears. Someone shovedruthlessly against my back, nearly knocking me off my feet.
