Page 105 of Warrior Unraveled

The vampires charged into the fray: Amaury came up behind one of his twin sons and ripped a demon’s head clear off, dowsing himself in green demon blood in the process. Zane, the bald vampire, and the meanest fighting machine among them, took it a step farther. He barreled into a demon and slammed his claws into his chest, cutting through sinew and muscle. With a ferocious growl, he ripped the demon’s heart right out of his chest cavity. Unsurprisingly, several of the demons nearest to him panicked and started running, but Zane, Gabriel and Samson by his side, gave chase. Meanwhile, Haven, John, and Amaury charged through the battle, heading straight for the demons surrounding Wesley.

“Need help, little brother?” Haven called to him.

He’d never been so happy to see his brother. Or the rest of Scanguards. “Took your bloody time!”

Wes continued to use all the powers at his disposal to hold off his attackers.

The sound of another car engine roared into the scene. With a whoop, Wes saw Thomas, Eddie, Blake, and Quinn jump out and swoop into the fight. With the sudden arrival of four more vampires, more demons turned tail and ran.

With Haven, Amaury, and John fighting off the demons surrounding Wesley, he was finally free to come to Virginia’s aid. He spun on his heel, but when his gaze found the spot he’d last seen Deirdre and the demon cop, they were gone.

“Virginia?” he called out, but he got no answer.

Oh God, had the demons gotten to her before the vampires had arrived? He whirled around on his own axis, searching, hoping, praying. The battle raged on, and the vampires took full advantage of their superior speed, disarming the demons and using their own weapons against them. More demons were fleeing, and in the distance Wesley saw them casting their vortexes and disappearing.

For the first time since the fight started, Wesley started to panic. Terrified that something bad had happened to Virginia, Wes ran through the fighting adversaries, dodging accidental blows and jumping over dead bodies.

Then a familiar scream made him spin to the left. There, on the other side of the Toyota, Virginia was fighting two demons, one of them the demon cop. She was trying to shield Deirdre from them, but was close to losing the fight.

“Zane! Amaury! Anybody! Virginia needs help. Behind the white Toyota!” Wes cried out for help, already charging toward the scene. Before he reached it, another demon hit him from the side, and he slammed onto the wet asphalt. He lost his dagger on impact and snapped his head to the side. Frantic, he reached for it, managing to grip the handle, but the demon was already upon him, his dagger aimed at Wesley’s chest.

“Fuck!”

Before the dagger could reach its mark, two hands with razor-sharp claws wrapped around the demons neck, slicing through it and ripping the head clear off. Green blood rained down on Wesley, blinding him for an instant.

“You’re welcome,” Zane said with an almost smile and helped him up.

Knowing Zane, this kind of fight was right up his alley.

“Virginia?” Wes managed to say, still out of breath, and turned his head in the direction of the Toyota.

Amaury and John were charging toward the two women. But two more demons had joined the fight, and now the faux cop was backing away from the vampires, dragging Deirdre with him, while leaving his demons to fight off Virginia and the vampires. Virginia tried to follow, but the demons were preventing her from going after Deirdre. She couldn’t get past them.

“Fuck!” Wesley hissed.

He couldn’t let Deirdre fall into the demons’ hands. She knew everything about the Stealth Guardians, and eventually torture would make her spill her secrets.

Wesley raced around the other side of the car and chased after the demon cop and the struggling Deirdre. He reached them just as the demon cast a vortex. Desperately, Wesley jumped toward them and managed to push Deirdre to the side. The demon lost his grip on her, and she tumbled to the ground.

The demon cast a quick look past Wesley, and judging by the expression on his face, he knew he’d lost the battle. He jumped into the vortex.

“Not so fast, buddy!” Wes lunged after him, and the vortex engulfed him.

Darkness surrounded him, but his hands found purchase: he’d caught the demon’s leg and ripped him backward, making him stumble.

Together they fell, fighting, punching, kicking.

Wes concentrated on his witch powers and pushed against the demon, kicking him off. But the demon wouldn’t give up, wouldn’t relent.

“Fucking witch! I’ll teach you to mind your own fucking business!”

Suddenly pain like piercing shards of glass assaulted his head. Wes pressed his hands against his head to prevent it from exploding, as the demon’s thoughts penetrated his mind like daggers. The pain was blinding, excruciating.

Images and words swirled together in a vicious mental attack as the demon sought to overpower him. As the pain grew, he sensed a dagger coming closer, knew it was the end. But instead of feeling the blade pierce his flesh, he heard an explosive clattering sound as it hit something hard. The weapon shattered, splitting into two parts, the blade and the hilt.

Everything was turning around Wesley. He was tumbling, grasping blindly at thin air. Trying to hold on to something.

“Wesley, don’t leave me!”

The voice wasn’t the demon’s.

“Virginia…”

A hand gripped his shoulder, then another one hooked under his armpit. Suddenly and forcefully, he was yanked backward. For an instant, there was a flash of light.

Then everything went dark. Silent.