Chapter 6 #2
I growled, the sound one I was sure the beasts around us would know what it meant.
My demon, unhappy our Chosen had been threatened, pushed forward, skin stretching, uncaring that my woman’s brothers would see my other form completely.
“Follow me. If you can’t keep up, you will die.
She is with my Halfling, who may or may not die by my hand.
No one is to touch her but me.” Knowing exactly how I sounded and appeared to them, I walked away before I saw the fear or revulsion in their eyes.
“Dude, our brother-in-law is fucking awesome.”
“Lucas, you really need to turn your stupid meter down.” Kellen’s voice sounded exasperated.
I held my hand up. Several things became evident. One, the brothers were funny as shit, and I would probably like them after I got over the urge to kill them. Two, Kellen was a deadly adversary, and I was glad the wolf was on my side. Three, we were surrounded by Gallo demons.
“Guys, I hate to break it to you, but we are surrounded by at least ten of some of the nastiest demons on this level of Hell. Now, I don’t have to tell you how to fight, I’m hoping, but just for shits and giggles, don’t get dead, and don’t let them rip your head off. They enjoy the brains first.”
“Lucas is in the clear.” Damien dodged his brother’s fist, then each man became focused on the fight.
The first wave hit, streams of creatures I was sure none of the men with me had ever thought of seeing. I took out two, my claws ripping their stomachs open, then taking off their heads in two swipes each.
Kellen watched, then did the same to the one who attacked him.
I spun, looking for my next victim. The Cordell twins fought like two extensions of the same being.
My distraction allowed a horde of smaller Gallo demons to launch themselves at me.
The pain of their teeth sinking into my arms and legs had me yelling in both agony and anger.
Razor-sharp teeth ripped into my flesh, tearing into me while sucking on my lifeblood.
I growled, knocking the ones on my arms off, then slicing the heads off the two on my legs.
Luckily, their poisoned saliva didn’t affect me, yet I stumbled as I tossed another Gallo away.
They were like cockroaches, breeding without a worry for population control.
“Die, you fucking prick,” Kellen growled, lobbing a head in the air, then made a show of hitting it with his fist like a baseball.
“He shoots, he scores,” Lucas called out.
I watched as the trio used a Gallo demon as a bat, knocking into another.
The blood and other matter were flying everywhere.
I shook my head, arms flying out to the side as I felt two more trying to sneak up on me, and I kicked out as one jumped.
The sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh went on for another ten minutes.
Ten minutes, which allowed my rage to build as I thought of what Raina could be going through.
In all my thousands of years, I’d never felt nearly as much as I did at that moment. The need to decimate everyone and everything that stood between my woman and me flooded me. Power raced through my veins like the hottest place in Hell I’d ever been.
“Ah, shit. Someone has unleashed the power.”
I turned to see who’d spoken, the beings behind me looking smaller than before.
Kellen raised his arms. “We’re on your side, big guy. Let’s find Raina. Remember, your Chosen?”
I stepped on the remains of a Gallo, then over a rock, the scent of Raina everywhere. “This way,” I growled.
At the edge of the cliff, I stopped. “You coming or what?”
“Dude, you wanna slow your roll. We ain’t twelve feet tall like you.” Kellen stopped next to me.
I pointed down. “We go down.”
“Can we, like, hitch a ride with you?” asked Damien. I looked at the speaker and was sure it was the older of the two.
I grabbed the three men, then stepped off the edge. The fact that none of the men squealed as little girls got them some brownie points. Landing on the edge of my Halfling’s cave, the ground fell apart, making me scramble forward with my three burdens.
“Motherfuckinghellsomebitch,” Kellen cursed, rolling to his feet.
“As I said, nobody kills my Halfling.”
Lucas looked a little green but stood straight. “Let’s do that again, like never.”
His brother slapped him on the back. “Buck up. It could’ve been worse. We could’ve kept falling or got eaten.”
“What’s the plan? We stand out here and yell till someone comes and lets us in, or something else tries to kill us?” Kellen’s words echoed around us.
I ignored them, walking up to the wall, pounding my fist with a singular purpose. “Kyrene, open the fuck up, or I’ll tear this entire mountain apart.”
I raised my fist, prepared to do just that, as the veil lifted. Kyrene stood with her ash-blond hair all around her, in drab grey clothes, soot covering her from head to toe. She looked frail, but I knew she was anything but. “Where is she, Halfling?”
“I’ve missed you, too. Oh, and I am great. Thanks so much for asking.”
The scent of my Chosen’s fear hit me. Without missing a beat, I lifted Kyrene, sat her down behind me, and entered the home. “Raina,” I breathed.
“Creed, how are you here?” She was up and in my arms.
“So, yeah, we are with Big Red. I’m Lucas, and this is my brother Damien. As long as you haven’t hurt our sister Raina, we won’t hurt you.”
“How have you survived without strangling them all these years?” I lifted Raina into my arms, cradling her like the precious thing she was.
“Probably the same way you haven’t Kyrene.”