Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
Elijah
K ainda and Devanna went into all out warfare in the span of thirty seconds. One minute, Devanna stood in human form, then Kainda lit up her blade and launched it at the other woman. No sooner had the blade left the witch’s hand than Devanna shifted, turning into her cougar form. Powerful hind legs bunched and Devanna sprang at Kainda. Breath stealing, horror described it best. I got the sense that the cougar woman pulled her punches and didn’t intend to harm Kainda.
A tawny streak hit Kainda in the gut, taking them to the hard packed dirt of the path. The cat came out on top, pinning Kainda in place with dinner plate sized paws. My demon hunter raged and withered beneath her, trying everything to dislodge the heavier female. Snarls rent the air, but they didn’t come from the mouth of the animal, but from the little warrior witch.
Kainda drew her knees up, so her feet flatted on the ground, and shoved her legs between the two. Her palms smacked the dirt, and then she bucked, throwing all of her weight into it. For a split second, Devanna was caught off guard, but too late. The demon hunting witch flipped the feline ass over tea kettle over her shoulders. Kainda jumped to her feet, scrabbling in one of her pockets for something. She came up a second later as Devanna charged her again, with a taser. This time, when Devanna pounced, Kainda was ready, and she shocked the cougar as painful volts of electricity whipped through her system.
“Grab the bags, E, and let’s get outta here like Black Hounds are after us!” Kainda shoved the large cat off of her and scrambled to her feet even as she ran for me.
Instead of continuing up the path, she pulled me into the woods. My skin began to crawl, and a fifty pound weight took up residence on my chest. These woods belonged to her. The thought had bile rushing up my throat. Panic gripped me and I lost it. I couldn’t do this. Let the cougar shifter eat me, at least then Uttu could never take me again.
My knees gave out, and I fell into the leaf litter. Frantically I looked around searching for those damned cobwebs that I knew had to be here somewhere. These woods were infested with her little soldiers. I couldn’t breathe, and the world started going gray on the edge of my vision. All I could hear, my heart beating in my ears loud enough to rupture my eardrums.
“E! E, look at me. Elijah!” Kainda crouched down in front of me when my gaze swung back around. Her hands ran up and down my arms, eyes filled with worry. She hadn’t raised her voice, but her tone meant business. “Remember the key. Feel it in your pocket, remember it's all locked away in that box. It can’t hurt you. We need to get out of here. The sooner we get to where we’re going, the sooner you can fall apart for a moment. I can’t cast a protection spell out here in the open, not with that crazy shifter after us. Please, E, get up.”
Teeth chattering, I couldn’t answer her, but I reached into my pocket. My hand shaking like a leaf, I ran my fingers over the smooth metal. The panic eased back and I could take a deeper breath. Kainda held her hand out to me and when I reached for it, my hand no longer shook.
She pulled me to my feet, keeping hold of my hand, she took off running again. How she knew where we were or how to get where we were going in this forest was a mystery to me. The thought crossed my mind, maybe I should’ve let her ditch me back at the coven.
An old tin roof structure loomed ahead. It had dust coated windows and a garage type door. Wanting to be out of the open, I put on a burst of speed with Kainda. We hit the door and a strange symbol lit up green, shining brightly. Kainda pulled a blade from her boot and traced the symbol, as she whispered words in a language I didn’t understand nor could I place. A shower of sparks rained down, and she shoved the door open, pulling me inside.
A blood-curdling scream stopped what little breath still sawed from my lungs. Kainda cursed, slamming the door shut. She drew the same symbol on the inside door and chanted something similar sounding to the previous spell. Gold and green illuminated this symbol before it sank into the wood, sparks popping as it disappeared. She tucked the knife back into her boot and dropped to the floor.
“So you’re with the old crone, Hida.” A deep, growling female voice called through the door. Kainda jumped up from the floor, peeking out of a broken window. Devanna stood there in her nude human form. “When you get ready to kill the demon, I’ll be here. Until then, keep the human safe. I’ll be patrolling the area. You’ll know if I find anything.”
Without another word, her human form melted into the big cat, and she bounded away. A cougar scream tore through the night. An awful sound between a warring alley cat and a screaming child. Kainda turned looking at me and completely serious asked. “What in Tartarus just happened?”
“If you don’t know, then I sure as fuck don’t have a clue.” I said, bending at the waist, propping my hands on my knees to catch my breath. My sides burned with the ache in my ribs from that run.
Looking up at Kainda she also panted to catch her breath, though not nearly to the same extent as me. She was in amazing shape. Her lips curled into a smirk as she put her blade away. “I like it when you say dirty words.”
Easing to my full height, I flipped her the bird, which caused her to burst into laughter. Looking around, not what I expected, but it made sense for a hide-out. Deep in the woods in the middle of nowhere in what appeared to be an abandoned building. The air thick with dust and smelled stale despite the broken windows letting in fresh air.
“Welcome to our base of operations for this mission and our temporary home. Let’s get settled, my team will be checking in with us shortly.” She tossed her backpack on a rickety workbench, which groaned with the sudden weight and force.