Secondhand Garagyre

Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six

PAISLEY

The recoil of my rifle keeps me centered and I’m filled with satisfaction with each bullet’s impact into Rulziks loathsome body. The look of surprise on his face is gratifying. He didn’t expect me to do anything, let alone attack him.

Dumbass .

He obviously doesn’t know me that well. What lackluster stalking skills. Laithog is much better at it than Rulzik is, and he was a fucking statue for the first six months he knew me.

I don’t know how many bullets it takes to incapacitate a demon, but I know how many I’m going to use.

All of them.

So , I empty a full twenty rounds into Rulzik . I’d just put a fresh magazine in when Laithog dispatched the last demon, so I don’t stop aiming and pulling the trigger until I hear it click.

“ You pathetic little bitch, you think bullets are going to kill me?” Rulzik wheezes out, his mutilated body oozing ichor, making it look like an eldritch horror as he takes a staggering step towards me.

Shooting a quick look over, I see Laithog’s fallen face first to the ground, and he’s not moving. I’m too scared to check our soulbond. He’s not dead because I’m not dead, but we just found each other and I’ll be damned if this piece of shit takes that away from either of us.

Not after everything he’s done.

Murdering Patrick and robbing Laithog of Ilayahan are only two transgressions in the eons this vile piece of shit has been alive. I have to keep my composure until the threat to us is neutralized.

Or die trying.

Laithog’s body collapsed half across the warded barrier. If Rulzik gets any closer, he can grab Laithog and finish what he started with that spear thing. Pushing the magazine release, I drop the empty mag, grab my last full one and pop it into the mag well, and pull the charging handle back, racking another round in the chamber.

“ Nope . I sure don’t, but I bet it hurts like a bitch.” Aiming at center mass, as I look through the thermal scope, I start shooting like my life depends on it.

Because it does.

I can’t allow Rulzik to recover or regenerate or whatever the fuck it is that demons can do. Rulzik must be in more pain or weaker than he lets on because he lurches to the side a bit to try to escape the barrage of bullets raining down on him. But that half ass attempt is the only one he makes. I watch in disbelief as Rulzik takes three drunken steps and then collapses in a heap, his chest rising with each rasping breath.

He’s down, but not out. Forty rounds of ammo knocked him down but didn’t kill him. I need something else, something capable of killing that rat bastard for good. Glancing over at Laithog , my eyes land on the black blade shining in the moonlight.

His sword. Of course!

I know it’ll kill a demon.

I watched him use it to behead more than one of our adversaries. Dropping my gun, I sprint over to Laithog’s fallen form and gently pry his clawed hand from the grip. Lifting its impressive weight takes every bit of upper body strength I’ve got. Proves how strong Laithog is because I saw him wielding this thing like it was light as a feather.

It’s a sobering realization. He could have taken me by force…but he chose to seduce me instead.

He wooed me with kindness, and I love him for it.

Hefting the sword, I walk over to Rulzik’s fallen form and smirk at what I see when I get there. “ Damn . You’re fucked up, ain’t ya? Guess demons aren’t bullet proof at all.”

Each breath rasping from his chest is a struggle, his words broken and grating. “ You …stupid…cunt. I …would…have…made…you…a… Queen !”

“ Yeah , that’s just it, Rulzik . I never wanted money, power, or control. I just wanted a peaceful life full of peace, joy, and love. You stole that from me, so now I’m going to take the only thing you truly care for from you. Your life.”

Panic flashes in his crimson eyes when I heft Laithog’s sword over my head and let the weight fall, aiming for his vulnerable throat. His squawk of alarm is cut short when the razor-sharp edge of the sword slices through his pitch-black hide.

Wincing at the wet sound removing the sword makes, I watch as his body slowly disintegrates and turns to ash. To my surprise, the particles of ash sink into the ground and disappear.

Assured that Rulzik is truly dead and gone, I drop the sword and sprint back over to Laithog . Skidding to a halt, the caliche tearing at my knees, I grab Laithog gently by the shoulder, being careful to avoid the various wounds littering his massive body. “ Laithog , sugar. You gotta help me. You’re too heavy for me to move when you’re in your everyday version of you. There’s no way I can shift you like this.”

Worry fills me when I get no response. Biting my lip, I start trying to figure out how to get him back to the house. A hundred yards has never been so far. A subtle silver glow surrounds Laithog and his body drifts into the air, raising until he’s eyeball level with me.

“ No way…” I whisper. Somehow , someway, he heard me and his subconscious tapped into whatever magick he has left. Getting to my feet, I take a couple of steps and, to my pleasant surprise, his prone body follows me. Reaching out, I tenderly turn his body over so his face is up and his wings are facing towards the ground. I won’t be able to carry my rifle and his sword at the same time, and I don’t want to lay his sword across his back.

Jogging over to where I dropped Laithog’s , I bend down and pick it up, carefully laying it lengthwise down his body. Crossing his arms over the hilt, I make sure the sword is secured before grabbing my rifle and starting a ground eating jog back to the house.

My mate’s unconscious body floating alongside me the entire way.