Chapter 25
“Hello, boys,” I say confidently, as I stride forward. “You don’t happen to be the welcoming committee, do you?”
Their vicious laughter fills the air as their faces contort. Razor-sharp teeth slowly emerge, and the red in their eyes deepens. They all step forward: one with a gun, another with long black claws, and the last with a twisted smile on his face that shows no kindness.
“This town kind of sucks,” I say. “Beer is warm, too.”
“What a mouthy bitch you are,” one hisses. “Out here all alone in a town you know nothing about?”
“Why are you here, little angel?” the other with the gun barks.
“Watch it,” I snap. “I only allow one person to call me that.”
They laugh.
“Here on official business,” I continue. “Your pea-sized brains wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.”
The sun continues to fade, and they step forward, letting the darkness emphasize their glowing eyes.
“Do you happen to know a guy named Cris? I owe him something.”
I feel the words drop from my lips, and I realize I probably should have had one less beer.
“Hmm, Cris. That sounds familiar.” The horned one purrs. “You’ve got a mouth on you, sweetheart.”
The unarmed one steps ahead. “I can think of a few things we could do with that.”
I steady my breath and focus. This isn’t the first time I’ve faced creatures of the Void. I’m not nervous, just outnumbered and tipsy.
“You can try,” I respond.
I step to the side, calculating what moves they might make. I need to disarm the one with the gun first. That strengthens my chances of making this hand-to-hand combat. I can fight with my fists, but dodging bullets is challenging, even with my speed.
“Where are your wings, pretty thing?” The one with horns asks. “You should fly away now. It would make things much more fun for us. We like a chase.”
I don’t move. I stare at them, letting my anger bubble inside me, ready to explode.
One smells the air, and I tense as I wait for them to realize my current weakness.
“She’s injured,” he laughs. “She can’t fly. Pretty little angel has lost her wings.”
Oh, shit.
Another licks his lips, showing off a long black tongue. “Oh, this just got more interesting.”
They creep forward, their snarls echoing around me. I step back, revealing the gun in my hands. I click off the safety and narrow my eyes.
“Oh, look at her,” The unarmed one mocks. “Locked and loaded.”
“Always,” I smirk.
“Oh, you have no idea what’s coming,” the largest one holding the gun hums. “Why don’t you run back to your Order and let them know the end is near?”
I smile, allowing them to feel confident, even though I’m about to kill them all. “Nah, I’d much rather hang out with you guys.”
“I seriously doubt that,” the one with the jagged claws snarls.
I roll my eyes. “C’mon, I’m getting bored.”
The unarmed one reveals a knife and lunges.
I step to the side, dodging his incredibly slow swipe, and aim directly at the demon with the gun.
Without hesitation, I fire, hitting him squarely in the hand.
A demonic scream erupts from his mouth, and the gun clatters to the ground.
He doubles over, clutching his mangled hand, and I grin as I focus on the others.
“Bitch,” I hear him grumble through the pain, and I laugh, feeling a bit of a buzz from the murderous high and the beers.
“That was fun,” I laugh. “Let’s keep going.”
The knife-wielding demon approaches, snarling as he hurls the knife through the air. I spin, barely dodging the long blade. My shoulder crashes into the building next to me, and a wave of pain surges through my sore body.
The other demon with the long black claws lunges forward, drooling as anger propels him like a creature of the night.
I raise my gun again, pushing myself from the wall, and fire a bullet directly at his head.
The bullet strikes exactly where I intended, and black blood sprays into the alleyway, coating the walls with a thick, steaming tar.
I pause for a moment, and fear hits me, wondering if this will bring the Grim forward—but nothing comes in the chaos.
“Another down,” I mock the others, watching as their eyes set ablaze with fury. “Who’s next?”
The knife wielder swipes the air furiously with the blade, and with each strike, I calculate and dodge with ease, taunting him.
The fading sun casts shadows around us, and the flickering of the few streetlamps shields us from passersby.
However, I suspect it won’t be long before the sound of my gun draws unwanted attention from others.
I glance at the demon still clutching his hand and refocus on the one before me.
We continue this chaotic dance, and I watch as the Voids begin to grow tired and impatient from my mocking ease in the situation.
A loud scream escapes one of their throats, and I freeze, feeling the intense reverberations of the deathly toll float through me.
I position my back against a wall with two exits—should I need them—and wait for what comes next.
Just as I thought, three more men step around the corner and glance to see the damage I’ve caused—one friend with a hole in his head, another missing multiple fingers, and the third exhausted from the fight he’s losing.
I let the alcohol spike my confidence and burrow down, ready to enjoy killing these Voids for messing with me.
“Welcome. Are you here to join in on the fun I’m having?” I glance at the Voids on the ground and grimace. “But they may not be having fun.”
The newcomers sprint forward, angrier than the others, and I fight back, twisting and dodging each blow they send my way.
A burn begins to settle into my back and lungs, and I make the decision that it’s time to end this.
I raise my gun, firing again, hitting another directly between the eyes.
His large body falls to the ground, still twitching, and I watch as the life slowly leaves him. And again, the Reaper doesn’t come.
His friends scream in rage as I aim my gun to shoot again, when a familiar black shadow forms above me.
Oh, look who it is.
I fire my gun, taking another one down in a hurry to finish this before another intruder messes things up for me.
That demon falls to the ground with a bullet in his head, and I smile, feeling nearly victorious.
With three left, I decide whose turn it is next, and I sprint forward, ready to take out the remaining men.
Before I can reach them, darkness forms around me, and black wings flap in the sky above like a brewing storm.
Crew slams into the earth, cracking the concrete before me as smoke ripples off his wings. He slowly stands, stacking one vertebra at a time, and a shiver runs up my spine.
“Hey, buddy boy,” I mock. “Where have you been?”
His silver eyes have vanished, and a darkness creeps up his body as he cranes his neck in my direction. The Voids freeze, their red eyes wide as they reach for anything nearby to protect themselves from the heir of the Jade Order. He steps forward, leaking fury into the alleyway.
I pause, unable to get around Crew. “I had this.”
He glances over his shoulder at me once more, snarling in annoyance at the mess I’ve made. Crew sprints forward, and before I can blink, I see the heads of the two demons hit the ground with a wet slap. I watch as their bodies crumble, turning to ash before me in the wind.
“Goddamnit, Crew,” I groan. “Those were mine.”
He slowly turns, and blood splatters across his face. The sight is jarring, and I step back as he bounds toward me, his eyes still blacker than the night around us. Nothing about his expression or body is relaxed, and I grimace as his hands flex into tight fists.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I furrow my brow. “I came to town for food. You left me all day.”
“I told you I was scouting. Don’t you know this city is crawling with Voids? They think this is where they are forming their own Order.”
I cross my arms. “Well, I do now.”
His hands rub his temples. “Are you hurt? Because if you aren’t, I’m going to fucking hurt you myself.”
“No, I’m not,” I snap. “A heads-up would have been nice. I’ve had one named Cris stalking me. Unfortunately, these dickheads got the brunt.”
“I told you not to leave,” he says, leaning closer and wrapping his hand around my bicep. “Do you know the mess you just created for me?”
“What does this have to do with you?” I respond, tensing my brow. “There wasn’t any food in the apartment. Did you want me to starve?”
“I didn’t think about that.” He straightens.
I sigh, unfolding my arms. “Clearly.”
“I went to scout, alright? That’s it.”
“You can do things on your own? I didn’t think little Bannermin ever left his daddy’s side?” I poke out my bottom lip.
“Are you serious?” Crew mumbles.
“Wait.” I stop him, raising both arms. “Carver is a dad. Your dad. A daddy. Daddyyyy.” I laugh to myself as the words stumble out, and he narrows his brow, leaning closer to me.
“Are you fucking drunk?”
“I mean,” I chuckle. “I’ve had less alcohol before.”
Crew steps to the side, placing his hands over his eyes. “Goddamnit. You are infuriating. I can smell the booze on you.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t put it on your tab this time,” I say, brushing him away with my hand. “I couldn’t find your credit card.”
“Oh, for fucks sake.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You are going to drive me insane.”
“Are you still mad at me?”
Crew glares at me, his jaw tensing only for a second, and sighs. “No. I’m not.”
“Oh, yeah, you are,” I huff. “And you clearly aren’t looking out for anyone but yourself, or you wouldn’t have left me.”
“Watch your fucking mouth.” Crew snaps his finger toward me. “You have no idea what my intentions are, and I’m sorry I thought you were mature enough to do what I say.”
“Well, that’s on you, babe.” I pat his shoulder and push past him.
“Christ,” he mumbles. “Let’s go. Right now.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
“I will throw you over my fucking shoulder, kicking and screaming,” Crew says, attempting to grab my arm. “We are leaving.”