An unholy roar filled the air as Jessica grabbed a low branch, pulled herself up into a rather large cypress tree and climbed until she found a spot with an unobstructed view.
“Holy crap.” She dug her fingers into the branch and tightened her thighs around it so she didn’t fall. Mordecai had fully shifted. The serpent really was exactly like the winged dragon tattoo on his back. About twenty feet long, he was more than a little intimidating. He opened his mouth and fire whipped out and engulfed several demons, setting them aflame. The demons’ cries pierced her eardrums, but she couldn’t look away from the fight. She pulled up the collar of her shirt and buried her nose in the cotton fabric when the nasty stench of burning demon flesh reached her.
The swamp suddenly came alive. A loud roar ripped through the air, quickly followed by another and another, all of them different. Jessica tried to sort out the sounds. Was one of them a tiger or was it a lion? And she was almost certain she heard a bear.
Hades froze where he stood and his demons ceased to fight. Both Mordecai and Arand looked toward the howls and roars. Sabrina was watching the woods too. The goddess seemed to be giving off a glow, which grew brighter with each passing second. The smile on her face was the most beautiful thing Jessica had ever seen.
It seemed, in that moment, the entire world held its breath and waited.
Chapter Fifteen
Sabrina tensed, her finger tightening on the trigger until she forced herself to relax. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally fire the shotgun. She didn’t have much ammunition.
What was going on? She’d seen Jessica sneaking out to tend to Mordecai, and moments later the warrior had revived and shifted into a giant dragon straight out of some fantasy novel. And he seemed to be on their side, frying demons with his fiery breath. Very cool.
Arand fought the ugly-looking demon Hades had called Agmar, keeping him away from her. He had a sword in one hand and had morphed his other hand into a paw tipped with long claws, using it to rip at the demon’s vulnerable points.
But it was the Lady of the Beasts who drew her attention. She wasn’t overly tall, but she was stunning with her long brown hair that touched the ground and her clear sky-blue eyes. They were old, those eyes, and filled with the wisdom of the ages. She wore a simple leather sheath and her feet were bare.
Sabrina would never forget the look of sheer love in Arand’s gaze as he’d dropped to one knee and called his goddess by name. Envy was an ugly emotion, but Sabrina felt it. She wanted that look turned toward her. She’d told Arand she loved him and he’d said nothing in return.
That hurt. A lot. But her love for him was what it was and she wouldn’t change it. She’d help him fight Hades and then she’d set him free to return to his Lady. Being alive and knowing she’d played a small part in helping Arand be free and alive was more than enough for her.
It was the adult, the spiritually evolved thing to do.
Who was she trying to kid? She’d hurt and be heartbroken for years to come, but she was tough and would get through it. Somehow.
A demon head bounced onto the porch beside her. The nasty thing sprayed blood across the wood but thankfully didn’t hit her. But it pulled her attention back to the battle at hand. Plenty of time to think things through if she were still alive when this was over.
Right now, Hades and the Lady were simply watching one another, letting their warriors fight for them. Sabrina didn’t think that was really fair. In truth, she thought the god and goddess should fight one another and leave the rest of them out of it. It wasn’t fair to have others fight their battles, but then again, no one ever said life was fair, especially not when it involved the gods.
Several loud roars filled the air, coming from all around them. Hades froze and his demons stopped fighting. Both Arand and Mordecai turned toward the sounds.
The Lady of the Beasts smiled. The sight was so beautiful it almost made Sabrina weep. She looked away, wondering who or what was coming now.
Arand threw back his head and howled. Seconds later, Mordecai joined him, making a raucous roaring sound.
A massive bear, a huge white tiger and an enormous lion stalked into her backyard. These had to be the other warriors, the ones who had been freed. Somehow they’d found out about Arand and come to help.
Her spirits lightened. Maybe there was hope. There were far too many hours left in the day to defeat the curse by allowing the time to just run out. But maybe they could actually defeat Hades himself and drive him back to Hell. If not, maybe they actually could keep the fight going long enough to run the clock out on the curse. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing.
She shifted her position, ignoring the burning pain in her chest. She wanted to keep an eye on Hades. If he made a move toward Arand, god or no god, she was shooting his designer-clad ass.
A brilliant light flashed in the clearing, practically blinding her. Sabrina blinked, seeing spots dancing before her. “What the hell?” She rubbed her eyes and still wasn’t certain she was seeing what she thought she was. A seven-foot tall reddish bird, its wings tipped with gold, perched beside the Lady.
Sabrina might not know much about mythology, but she knew enough to know this was the mighty Phoenix. Somehow, he’d arisen from the ashes of his death.
On the Lady’s other side, a sleek black jaguar appeared, slinking out of the swamp. Sabrina was stunned by his appearance. This had to be Stavros.
But she’d thought the jaguar and the phoenix were dead. How were they here? Not that it mattered. They were here and they could fight. It was the miracle they needed. All the immoral warriors of the Lady of the Beasts were assembled.
In the blink of an eye, the animals disappeared and they were all men, all tall and strong, all ruggedly handsome. As one, they stepped into formation behind their goddess, as though they’d done it many, many times before. All except for one. Mordecai placed himself in front of the goddess and cocked an eyebrow at Hades.
The god tipped back his head and roared, “Attack!”
Demons continued to stream out of the portal, practically falling on one another in their haste to follow Hades’ order. It seemed the god was holding nothing back this time around.
Sabrina felt her heart sink. There were so many of them. She wiped one sweaty palm on the leg of her jeans and aimed her rifle. Every time one got close to her, she fired. And every time that happened, Arand appeared like magic from the fighting horde and chopped off the demon’s head before disappearing back into the fray.
Sweat beaded on her forehead and made her clothing stick to her body. Roars and growls, howls and screams, grunts of pain and yells of triumph filled the air. Metal clashed and the ground ran red with blood.
Sabrina didn’t know if the fighting lasted for minutes or hours. There were moments when time seemed to slow to a crawl and others when it sped by at the speed of light. The swirling, noxious black hole spit out more demons as soon as the ones fighting were killed. It was a never-ending supply.
A thump sounded next to her and Sabrina whipped her shotgun around, ready to fire. So far she’d been lucky and no demons had gotten onto the porch. She didn’t expect that to last much longer. The warriors were fighting machines, fast and brutal, but the sheer number of demons would eventually wear them down.
But it wasn’t a demon on the porch with her. At least she didn’t think so. The woman was blonde with blue eyes and a ton of curves. She was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt and she was holding a three-foot sword in one hand.
Sabrina blinked, but the woman remained the same. She also looked vaguely familiar, as if Sabrina had seen her somewhere before.