Page 95 of Demon Demands

Jumping up to wrap his arms around his father's neck, Jack tugged the elder hellsteed down, knocking him off balance and onto his side.

He dropped to his knees on Hannibal’s throat, squeezing his muzzle with both hands as he jerked his father's head backward until his neck snapped.

Jack shifted into his hellsteed form again, his mane, tail, and hooves on fire, smoke pouring from his nose as his eyes glowed with hellfire. He stomped on Hannibal’s head and chest until Sloane and Grim pulled him back. The blood coating his black fur made him look metallic in the afternoon light of the Underworld.

Once Satan and Hannibal were dead, I thought the battle would end, but it continued to rage on. I had a moment where I seriously considered what would happen if we lost. There were just too many demons in the horde, all surrounding and separating us with no one to lead them or give them direction.

Sloane wasn’t having it, though. Her ire ramped up with the sudden chaos, and I observed the change in her eyes as the gears started spinning in her mind.

I dropped the barrier around me just as the vampire whizzed by. Novak didn’t stop moving as he snatched me by my wrist and rushed toward Sloane. I’d never get used to vampiric speed. My feet didn’t even touch the ground. The motion made me dizzy, but I recovered quickly enough to stop the blow coming at Sloane’s back with a bolt of lightning.

“Thanks, Love,” she commented, not bothering to look my way. She was in her zone. A trained killer, she’d studied her entire life for moments like this, and it showed. She wasn’t winded like most of us. No new injuries adorned her body.

We’d already seen her and Jack practice with a wide variety of weapons, but it still blew my mind to study her form while she was in action.

Everyone started pulling together around Novak and me, and I could only assume that Sloane had called them in. Before long, we’d formed some semblance of a circle with our backs all facing each other.

It felt like we were blowing through demons, but Sloane and Jack cut down three for every one we killed. It was insane watching them move together. They were like running water over stones, nothing stopped them from their goal.

On my left, I saw a dark demon strike at Briggs’ wolf with a sword, the blade slicing deep into the flank. He released a sharp yelp as his leg gave out, unable to support his weight until it healed. Vaughn rushed over to help him heal, but the demon swung before the fae was ready, cutting his arm from shoulder to elbow.

Stone grabbed the demon by one horn, stabbing his katana through the male’s chin with so much force that his blade popped out of the top of his head.

“Did someone light a fire? It’s getting really hot around here...” Novak trailed off, and we all swung around to gaze at Stone. He shrugged his shoulders and started to reply, but he glanced behind me and widened his eyes.

I turned, following his line of vision. “Sloane? What’re ye doin’?”

Gone was the living dress, and in its place were flames racing over her arms and legs. A homicidal expression rolled across her beautiful face, lightning flashing violently in her black eyes.

She arched a delicate eyebrow, her raspy tone amplified by how many voices came from her plush lips. “You can shield them all, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Everyone was moving closer to Briggs as Vaughn worked his cold healing magic on the wolf’s leg. I stepped closer to them as I started drawing my energy, pooling power into my hands to form a protective dome.

“Tell me when,” I shouted over the clashing of metal.

She tossed her sword to Stone, the steel so hot it was bending under the heat. I hoped that it wouldn’t burn him as he caught it.

I observed her as the flames grew out of control on her body, and she began backing away from us.

One step.

Twenty steps.

Sixty steps.

“Now,” she shouted, and I threw up the most powerful shield I could make. Grim placed his hand on my shoulder, funneling his magic into me. Together we were able to make the dome strong enough to withstand her heat, but it wasn’t long before we felt the waves of her power crashing into us.

“What’s going on? Shouldn’t the shield be holding the heat back?” Grim panicked, tightening his grip on my shoulder as he pushed more power into me.

He thought our shield was failing.

But I knew it wasn’t.

“She’s just to fucking hot. She’s never been this hot before.” Jack stated with a bit of awe in his voice.

“She’s done this before?” Stone questioned.