His biceps and forearms were heavily muscled. His pecs and abs were as hard as steel, but he wasn’t muscle-bound and was incredibly quick. The familiar leather pants covered him and fitted leather moccasins protected his feet. A pulsing energy surrounded him, a restlessness just waiting to explode.
Sabrina could only wonder what it would be like to be imprisoned for thousands of years. How did you keep from going crazy?
“Arand?” she began, not quite sure what she wanted to ask him.
He started to turn toward her and stopped, whipping his head around to stare at the corner of the yard. “Go inside.”
A black hole appeared in front of a willow tree, swirling faster and growing larger with each passing second.
“Holy shit.” Sabrina jumped up and ran toward the kitchen door. Arand didn’t even glance in her direction, but her heart skipped a beat as two huge swords appeared in his hands. He was ready to fight.
She raced through the living space and into Granny’s bedroom. The shotgun was on the top shelf where it had always been kept. She grabbed it, went to the nightstand beside the bed and ripped open the top drawer. A box of shells sat there. There were only a few left and Sabrina desperately wished there were more. They would have to do.
Quickly, she loaded the shotgun, all the while cursing herself for not doing it earlier. She stuffed the remaining ammo into her jeans’ pocket. Armed, she hurried out of the room, determined to stand by Arand no matter what.
She yanked her phone out of her back pocket and thumbed her speed dial again, hoping, praying to reach Jessica. Once again, her call went to voice mail. “Listen, you guys stay away. The shit’s about to hit the fan.” She ended the call and shoved her phone into her ass pocket as she burst through the backdoor into a scene straight from hell.
A shiver raced down Mordecai’s spine. The final battle in the curse had begun. He was so attuned to Hades now that he knew the god had opened a portal to this world. Arand, the warrior he’d been closest to, his best friend, was under siege from Hades’ demons.
Mordecai hardened his heart, or what was left of it. No time for regrets or second thoughts. He’d made his decision a long time ago and there was no changing it now.
He straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. There was no way he’d reach New Orleans in time to fight. Not unless he got some help. His powers were still too weak to teleport.
The trees rustled behind him and he slowly turned.
Arand was relieved when Sabrina hurried inside on his command. It would give him less to worry about while he was fighting. The black hole grew until it blocked one entire side of the yard. He knew there were demons and possibly even Hades himself on the other side. The hilts of his swords fit into his hands like old friends. He hadn’t wielded them in many, many years, but he hadn’t forgotten how.
It felt good to fight rather than to wait. He’d spent far too many years waiting.
The first demon stepped out, quickly followed by a second one. They were both large, about six-four, their dark skin tough as leather. They wore thick armor made from the flesh of other demons and short horns protruded from their foreheads. He was familiar with them. They were more brawn than brain, foot soldiers sent in to tire him before Hades attacked. The god was nothing if not predictable. He never put himself in the direct line of fire.
Still, they were not to be discounted. Their blood and spit was acidic and their sharp teeth could rip the flesh from a man’s body. Thankfully, their muscular bodies, and the armor that covered it, slowed them down.
As he stepped off the back step, the back door burst open. He jerked his head around and fear clenched his heart. Had demons snuck in from the other side? How had he not smelled them? Heard them?
But it was no demon, it was Sabrina, face pale, eyes wide, with what he recognized as a shotgun held in her arms. She raised the barrel of the weapon toward him and fired. He instinctively ducked, but it wasn’t him she was aiming at. A demonic howl echoed all around them.
“Take that, you bastard,” she yelled as she pumped in another shell and fired.
Arand whirled back around, raised his swords and attacked, praying Sabrina wouldn’t get trigger-happy and accidentally shoot him. He’d heard of such weapons, intellectually knew what they were, but even he’d had no idea just how loud or deadly they would be. The stench of spent gunpowder burned his nostrils, but he savored the scent of demon blood that went along with it. The gun couldn’t kill the demons, but it would slow them down.
He should have told Sabrina how to kill the demons, but he hadn’t figured on allowing her close enough to them for it to matter. “Their necks. Shoot at their necks. They have to be beheaded in order to die,” he yelled over the growing din, not sure if she could hear him or not.
There were four demons in the yard now, all of them angry and all carrying swords as long as his, but none were nearly as skilled. He was a warrior of the Lady of the Beasts, a fighter of renown, not a lowly demon.
Arand went in low and hacked at the backs of the demons’ legs, cutting their hamstrings. Two of them toppled and fell, blood spraying all over the ground. The other two danced out of the way at the last second, avoiding his blade.
Arand whirled around, ever conscious of the black hole swirling just off to his left. He didn’t want the portal at his back as he had no idea what would come out of it.
Why hadn’t the line of salt held them off? The portal had opened inside the circle. Maybe an animal had scuffed the salt away, opening a breach in their protective circle. More likely was that Hades was more powerful than Sabrina’s witch friend. Not that Arand was surprised, but he’d hoped the salt boundary would offer Sabrina some protection.
The two upright demons attacked and he met them both at once. Metal clashed and sparks flew as the demons hacked and he countered. The two on the ground were dragging themselves toward him. He growled and went on the offensive, driving the two standing demons backward. They didn’t watch where they were going and fell over their comrades, falling into a tangled heap.
Arand went in for the kill.
“Holy shit. Holy shit,” Sabrina chanted under her breath. There were actual living, breathing demons in her granny’s backyard. Her shoulder ached from the kickback of the shotgun, but she fired again when one of the demons sprawled on the ground started to crawl toward Arand.
The man was a fighting machine. It was like watching an action movie, only this was chillingly real. Arand’s swords were an extension of his hands and he used them with lethal force. He’d cut the backs of two demons’ legs in the blink of an eye, whirling into position to face the remaining two.
Their heads. He’d said they needed to be beheaded. And here she was without an axe or a handy machete. She didn’t think any of Granny’s carving knives would be big enough to do the job either.
Stepping down off the porch, Sabrina cautiously moved toward one of the downed demons. She’d already filled his chest with buckshot but wasn’t sure how much of an effect it had had on him since Arand had slit his hamstrings so soon after. The hideous creature still had a nasty-looking sword in his hands. And the demon’s fingernails were like something out of a horror movie—sharp and long.
Its skin was mottled a dark black and blue color. Not attractive. And those teeth. The creature hissed at her, exposing two rows of sharp, dark teeth. Obviously, there were no dentists in Hell.