She turned red so fast I could feel the heatcoming off her flesh. The look she shot me would have made most mencover their balls, but I also heard the increased beat of her heartand the hitch in her breath.
Brushing back a loose strand of her hair thathad slipped from the knot on her head, my fingers lingered on hercheek before I stepped away. She was still staring at me as if shecouldn’t decide if she wanted to punch me or jump me, when the pureamethyst of her eyes faded to a lighter violet color. She stoppedabruptly, and her head tilted back to study the surface of thebuilding behind me. I realized in that second she was having avision.
I’d learned there was no rousing her when avision took her over; I despised how vulnerable she became duringthem. Gripping her arm, I focused on her in the hopes she woulddrag me into her vision as she had before, so I could see what shewas seeing. It didn’t work; her eyes were already returning totheir normal hue as she came around seconds later.
“There is something up there,” she breathed.“Hideous, awful.” She pulled her guns from their holsters. “Andthey’re coming.”
“Stop,” I commanded, slapping my hand on theside of the pickup.
Hawk hit the brakes so forcefully the trucklurched and the tires squeaked. I turned to search the burnt-outbuilding River was focused on as the other vehicles halted on theroad. There was no movement from inside the twisted steel beams andpiles of broken glass, but I didn’t doubt River’s visions. If she’dseen it, it was coming.
“Get out of the trucks and get your weaponsready!” I called to the others. Hawk pushed the door of the pickupopen an inch before I shoved it closed again. “Not you. You have tobe ready to get her out of here if I need you to,” I told him.River shot me a look. “You agreed to do what I told you,” Ireminded her.
Her jaw clenched, but she gave me a briefnod. My attention returned to the building as I scanned the floorslooming high above us. Doors closed around me as the humans exitedtheir trucks and moved in closer. In the stillness following, Iheard something flapping in the breeze and spotted the tatteredremains of a curtain hitting the side of the building as it blewout of one of the windows.
Corson and Bale moved to flank River. Theseconds turned into a full minute before a single ticking sounddrew my attention to a broken window higher up. A single, gray clawhad appeared to curve around the edge of the steel frame of thewindow. My gaze fixated on it as the claw tapped against the frame.It was impossible to tell exactly what kind of demon or Hellcreature we were facing without seeing its whole body.
Then a head poked over the top of the window.My lips skimmed back, and my fangs lengthened as flames eruptedfrom my fingers and licked toward my shoulders.
“Gargoyles,” Corson growled.
“Are you serious?” a human blurted.
“Yes,” Corson replied.
I watched the creature crawl out from overthe top of the broken window. It’s scaled, slate-colored skincracked and flaked off as it leisurely climbed down the building onall fours. The sticky, glue-like substance on its palms gave ittraction as it moved. Its three-foot-long tail flicked back andforth like a bored cat on the hunt, and there was no doubt thismonstrosity was on the hunt.
There were few things in life I found trulyugly, gargoyles were one of them. They had pushed in snouts,mustard-colored eyes, and razor-sharp teeth that clacked togetherwhen they closed in on their prey. That clacking sound increased inintensity as it continued its descent and its tail twitchedfaster.
Gray wings unfurled from its back and flappedonce. They crashed against a remaining pane of glass, causingjagged fissures across the surface. Startled cries escaped a few ofthe humans. They had to keep it together, or they would all beslaughtered, and we couldn’t afford to lose them so early in thejourney. I needed their extra protection for River.
“Guns ready!” I commanded. “And whatever youdo, don’t let them scratch you with their claws!”
“Them?” a soldier asked.
As if on cue, at least fifteen more gargoylesemerged from inside to perch on the broken edges of the building.They sat as still as their stone counterparts in the human realm.Humans had come so close to recreating things they’d glimpsedthrough the veil that had once separated our worlds; gargoyles mayhave been one of the closest.
The gargoyle’s stillness and their ability toremain unmoving for years on end was well known by the demon world.They often entered a hibernation state when they were unable tokill and feed. Kept separate from all demons in Hell, behind thesecond seal, gargoyles were often reserved to punish demons whotried to launch an uprising and failed, or for the worst souls whoentered Hell. Their claws contained a paralyzing agent they used ontheir prey. When their victim was paralyzed, the gargoyles wouldpeel the skin from their victims, one strip at a time, andleisurely eat it in front of them.
Once there was nothing but muscle and boneleft, the creatures would wait until the skin regenerated beforestarting the whole process all over again. I’d witnessed it once,and though I’d appreciated the brutality and torment of the act,I’d never gone back to watch it again.
They all fluttered their three-foot-widewings at once, causing a breeze to blow down the building and overall those gathered below. A wailing cry escaped them before theylaunched simultaneously into flight. Gunfire exploded in the air asthey swooped down on us.
CHAPTER 10
River
The flames licking over Kobal’s skin warmedmy body as the grotesque gargoyles launched themselves into thesky. Their wings whistled as they cut through the air and dovetoward us. The flying monkeys inThe Wizard ofOzhad frightened me as a child. These monsters madethem look cute.
Gunfire erupted around us. I lifted my Glockand took aim at the one honing in on Kobal. What was inside of mewas far more lethal than any bullet, and I’d been getting better atusing my abilities, but there was no guarantee I’d be able tocontrol them. I couldn’t take the chance that I might mess upsomehow and take out one of the buildings, or worse, one of thedemons or humans.
I fired, hitting the gargoyle in one of itsgnarled wings. All that succeeded in doing was causing black goo toshoot into the air and pissing it off. Its roar vibrated the earthbeneath my feet as it continued to swoop toward us.
Kobal released a stream of fire from his handthat knocked it off its course. He wrapped his arm around my waist,jerking me against him and spinning toward the side as one I hadn’tseen dove at us. It folded its wings against its back as it came atus with the speed and accuracy of a missile.
Kobal dragged me beneath him, pressing meinto the ground and rolling with me. His body covered mine, keepingit completely shielded as another gargoyle swept by us. Somehow, hemanaged to turn over and release another wave of fire. The flamessmashed into the creature and licked over its skin. The gargoylescreeched as it flew backward, its body a spiraling ball of firetumbling through the air before crashing against a stonefountain.
Gunfire continued to erupt around us, but thehideous creatures dove in and out, dodging the bullets withpreternatural grace. Those that were hit showed no sign of slowingdown as they continued their attack.
