AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Riley shrugged. “No need. That one was free.” She raised her hands in typical fighting fashion. Her training came back to her in a rush of memory. Every move, every lesson on balance and resistance, flooded her mind. Her demon had an eidetic memory and provided her a Rolodex of moves in which to fight. She wasn’t sure if this was true of all shadows or unique to her, but she would take it.
Breck rushed at her, but she spun on her feet, and the round kick caught him in the jaw. The audible crack echoed before he growled.
She admired his persistence, as he placed his fingers on his chin, resetting his jaw. The bones ground together as they were forced back into place. She was his goal and he meant to take her.
Breck glanced toward Colton and Deruthel. “You may want to watch this.”
Riley turned as Deruthel bit down on Colton’s neck. Black blood spurted in an arc across the white car beside them. He grabbed at Deruthel’s horns, attempting to gain purchase and dislodge the Demon general; but his attempts were futile. His eyes wavered, the black turning to a dull grey before he slid to the ground.
CHAPTER7
“No.” Riley screamed as several more pathways opened and wolf clan members arrived, joining the melee. Time stopped as she struggled to take the next breath.
She glanced between Breck and Colton, calculating the distance between her and her mate, knowing she wouldn’t make it to his side before the reaper was on her.
“Your fate is sealed, Riley. Come with me before I hurt you.” Breck said, his eyes alight with excitement.
Before she could answer, three women exited the exterior door of the mall, designated for employees. The three wore tailored suits and expensive jewelry. They stopped in stunned silence as they surveyed the parking lot battlefield. One screamed and turned back to the door that had locked behind them. She slapped the metal, shouting for someone to open it. The other two dropped their purses and sprinted toward the cars. Their dark hair trailed like ribbons in the air as they ran.
Breck hissed when Ferguson coalesced beside Riley. The reaper traitor disappeared into a pathway.
She grabbed his shirt. “Help Colton,” she said, looking up at the deadly reaper.
“His wound is not mortal; he was not beheaded. Deruthel fled when we arrived. Despite his strength, he was too badly outnumbered. Colton is helping Raine restrain the human women who witnessed the attack.”
Riley scanned the parking lot until she spotted Raine and Colton with the three women. They stood huddled together, their faces devoid of emotion as Raine spoke to them. “What is he doing?”
“Raine possesses the power of suggestion. He will replace memories with that of a human fight. The woman will go home and tell the authorities there is an adversarial man, picking fights with random people at the mall. We must dispose of the demon victims. This imaginary adversary will become the prime suspect in the dead women’s disappearance.”
Riley blinked rapidly. “He can make anyone, do anything?”
Ferguson cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with the turn of conversation. “He would never use that power on a fellow shadow, especially his mate’s sister. It does come in handy when we need to hide our activities from the humans.”
Colton nodded to Raine, then approached her and Ferguson.
She smiled at the ancient reaper. “Thank you for coming to my aid.”
“We need you, Riley. You are yet to understand what you represent for us. Besides, your death would cause Dannika much pain. I would never allow such an event to pass.” He nodded to Colton before joining his brethren to remove the dead. She wondered what Dannika had done to instill such loyalty in the reaper. When he talked about her it was almost with love, yet she detected no emotion. Pride maybe. The ancient reaper remained an enigma to everyone except the queen. There was a bond there that defied explanation. She blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as Colton stopped beside her.
Colton put his arm around her. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Don’t hey beautiful me. You almost made my heart stop. I thought you were dead.”
Colton touched the jagged wound around his neck. “I admit, Deruthel packs one hell of a punch, but my head is still attached, so I’ll heal.”
Black oil seeped from the serrated flesh as the smell of rotting meat wafted in the air. “Is that normal? It smells like moldy hamburger.”
Colton cleared his throat. “I believe the healing process has stalled. I may need Karam to take a look.”
“I thought you healed from everything,” she said.
“We haven’t dealt with demon wounds until recently. We are unsure of the effects their venom has on us.”
“Okay. Let’s go now. It looks terribly painful.”
Colton’s shadow enveloped her before they were racing along the pathway. The transition between streams was clumsy compared to their previous trips. As soon as they coalesced in their tree house, she knew something was wrong. Colton swayed on his feet, grabbing the couch to halt his descent to the floor.
Riley touched his skin, only to find it was hot against her fingertips. “You’re burning up.”
