The Savage Grace

“What?” I asked. As far as I knew, Pete should have thought I was your average mild-mannered pastor’s daughter. Not a demon hunter.

  I jumped out of the way as Pete sent another clawed swipe at my face.

  Daniel grabbed him from behind.

  Pete struggled in his grasp. “They said you’d come for me!” he snarled. “They were waiting for me outside the hospital when I was reborn. They told me that all I had to do was kill that nurse and you’d eventually come looking for me. And they’d be waiting.”

  “Who?” Daniel asked.

  “My new family.” Pete broke free from Daniel’s grasp and tried to flip Daniel over his shoulder. Daniel was too quick and sent several punches into Pete’s side.

  Pete grunted in pain. He stumbled away to the corner near the Frankenstein monster, holding his rib cage. At that moment he looked just like the old Pete Bradshaw. Not like some monster we’d come here to kill. For a second I wondered if I could still do it.

  “Who are you talking about?” I asked, afraid I might already know.

  Pete took in a deep, ragged breath through his nose. “Can’t you smell them coming? The people who want you dead.” Pete let out a sharp scream and ran at me. He looked like a rabid bat, claws extended, fangs bared. He was going for the kill.

  As much as I hated to do it before getting a real answer, I thrust my stake deep into Pete’s chest. I let go, and he fell into the wall of brittle cornstalks. He clawed at the stake with his talonlike nails, scratching sparkly jewels from the hilt. He got purchase on the handle and pulled it out of his chest. It made a sound like something ripping through a paper bag. He looked at it with disdain and then threw it at my feet. A wicked smile curled on Pete’s lips, and he laughed.

  “They’re gonna kill you,” he said, as his body burst into dust.

  I clamped my hands over my face, not only so I wouldn’t inhale little Pete particles, but also because I couldn’t believe I’d actually killed Pete Bradshaw.

  “What did he mean by … ?” Daniel started to ask, but a loud growling noise cut him off. Both our heads snapped toward the origin of the sound. It came from somewhere behind the Grim Reaper.

  Another growl followed—from the opposite side of the clearing, beyond the tall cornstalks. Then more growling from outside all four walls of the square-shaped clearing.

  “What the … ?”

  The brittle cornstalks rustled and swayed and the growling grew closer.

  “They’re coming through the corn,” I said.

  And we were literally boxed in.

  Pete had said that I should have smelled them coming, and now I did. Rotten meat and sour milk. Ahks and gelals, I thought, as dark figures burst through the cornstalks into the clearing. I recognized a few of them right away from my time imprisoned at the warehouse.

  Shadow Kings. At least ten of them. Surrounding us

  from every direction. “Guess what?” I said to Daniel. “This was a trap.” “I see that,” Daniel said. The circle of monsters slowly closed in on us, their

  growls melting together into a collective noise that made my eardrums rattle. I snatched up my dusty stake, and Daniel and I stood back to back, our weapons raised.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  AMBUSH

  TEN NOT-QUITE-BUT-ALMOST-HYPERVENTILATING BREATHS LATER

  The beasts closed in on us, slowly, as if savoring the drama of it all.

  “Now would be a good time to pull out some of your true alpha mojo,” I said to Daniel. “Maybe convert some of these guys to our team?”

  “Good idea. Except none of these guys are Urbat. My mojo doesn’t work on Akhs and Gelals. Caleb is certifiable, but he isn’t stupid. He’s not going to risk losing any more of his followers to our side.”

  “Dang. So what do we do now?”

  “Fight like hell,” Daniel said, and lunged out with his stake at a Gelal who’d broken from the circle and come barreling at us. I was amazed at how fast Daniel moved. The Gelal went flying, clutching at the gaping wound in his chest.

  “Watch out for the acid!” I yelled, just as the dead Gelal exploded into acrid green ooze that could melt through just about anything. Daniel moved quickly again, shielding both of us from the rain of burning acid with his long black jacket.

  “Oh man, I really liked this coat,” he said as the green slime ate holes through the leather.

  “Me, too. But better that than your face,” I said.

  “Good point.”

  The growl of the demons shifted into a loud screeching, like a chorus of vultures. They chomped their teeth and clacked their claws in our direction. Daniel and I stood, ready for the next one who’d dare break away from the circle.

  “I’m just glad you got my text,” I said. “Or else I’d be facing these guys alone.”

  “Yeah. Nine against two isn’t the worst odds ever,” Daniel said. “Wait, what text? I didn’t get a text from you.”

  “But then how did you know to come to the maze?”

  Daniel shrugged. “I just knew.”

  “Huh. Gabriel says you and I are connected … Oh crap. How do you feel about the odds of nineteen against two?” I asked, as I noticed a second wave of ten more demons waiting in the stalks of corn. Ready to join the fray when needed.

  Daniel swore. “Caleb’s been busy.”

  The high-pitched screech of the monsters reached a deafening crescendo, and I had to clamp my hands over my ears to keep my eardrums from bursting.

  And then, as if someone sucked all the sound out of the clearing with a vacuum, it fell completely silent—every beast cutting off its cry at the exact same moment.

  One of the beasts pointed a long claw at us, a Gelal from the smell of him. “First we kill you two, and then we kill every last human at this party,” it said. “And then this city will know that the Shadow Kings rule.”

  “Can you say ‘overdramatic’?” I asked.

  Daniel snorted. “Yeah, but I don’t think he’s kidding.”

  “Kind of wishing we hadn’t told the boys to stay inside. A little backup would be nice.” Even if we shouted at the top of our lungs, they’d never hear us over the noise of the party. “Well, ready or not,” I said as the first wave of nine beasts came rushing at us in a flurry of claws and teeth.

  Daniel sprang into action immediately, pulling his coat off and using it to entrap two of the monsters at once, and then flung them into the wall of cornstalks in a move he must have picked up from a Jackie Chan movie or something. He staked both of them before they even knew what had happened. I realized he’d been holding back with Pete.

  Daniel went after another one, and I had two demons of my own to deal with. I kicked one away and staked the other.

  “Wait,” I shouted to Daniel. “Can’t you call the boys, like psychically? They always knew what you wanted when you were the white wolf. And you knew I needed you here.”

  Daniel kicked a demon, sending him flying into the dummy of Dr. Jekyll. “I don’t really remember how I did it.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe just think real hard about what you need them to do.”

  “I’ll try.” Daniel pointed behind me. “Watch out—”

  I felt a sharp stab as a Gelal raked its claws into my back. Screaming in pain, I used my own weight to flip the beast over my shoulder. It scrambled away from me, and my stake sank into the soft ground instead of flesh as I tried to stab it. “Ahh!” I yelled, trying to regain my balance.

  Daniel went after the Gelal and wrestled it to the ground.

  The sound of rustling cornstalks made me look up just in time to see the ten more beasts come through the corn barrier into the clearing.

  “Now would be a great time for that backup,” I yelled, as an Akh came at me with vicious swings of his taloned hands.

  “I’m working on it,” Daniel answered. I heard him grunt, but I wasn’t sure if it was in response to the force of taking out another demon, or a cry of pain.

  I staked the Akh, and then tried to turn
toward Daniel to check on him, but another Gelal must have noticed my distraction. I caught the sight of it out of the corner of my eye, launching in my direction. I flinched, knowing I wouldn’t have time to block its blow, but its body suddenly lurched backward like a dog caught at the end of its lead.

  I saw the glint of metal protruding from his chest, and I realized it’d been skewered on the end of a sword. Talbot’s sword, I saw, as he came bursting through the wall of cornstalks. He swung his arm with a forceful movement, flinging the dead Gelal off the end of his sword and onto the ground.

  I jumped back to avoid the acid spray. “I told you to go home.”

  “Good thing I didn’t listen,” he said, seeming far more sober than just a few minutes ago. “I thought I heard someone asking for backup.” He stepped out of the way, and Brent, Ryan, Zach, and Slade pushed their way through the cornstalks, all with weapons ready. They rushed right into the clearing and joined Daniel in the fight against the fourteen beasts that remained. Talbot followed, taking off the head of an Akh with the swing of his sword.

  Not to be left out, I charged into the mix, sending another Akh I recognized from Caleb’s warehouse into Ryan’s outstretched stake with a roundhouse kick.

  “Now that was awesome,” Ryan said, as the Akh burst into dust in front of him. “I always hated that guy.” He spun around and went charging after a Gelal that had Brent backed into a corner. I felt like a proud mama for a moment, watching my boys sticking up for each other.

  I heard a female shriek from the other side of the clearing, near the exit.

  “Look what I found,” screeched an Akh.

  He stood over Katie Summers, clacking his taloned nails together. Katie screamed again, throwing her arms in front of her face as she lay on the ground.

  “Looks like a tasty treat,” said the Akh.

  “Stop him!” I shouted at Slade, who was closest to them.

  Slade jumped into action, knocking the Akh away from Katie with the swing of one of his tattooed arms. He reached out to help Katie up, but then a Gelal jumped on his back and knocked him to the ground. Slade tried to roll away. Before he could, the Gelal pinned Slade down by sitting on his chest, and the Akh who’d tried to attack Katie grabbed him by the face with his long talons.

  “Don’t look him in the eyes!” I shouted.

  But it was too late, the beast had locked eyes with Slade, trapping him in a motionless trance. The Gelal, teeth bared, went for Slade’s neck. Before the beast could bite, I threw my stake like a javelin across the clearing, and it skewered the Gelal in the back. It burst to acid on top of the Akh.

  The Akh scrambled off of Slade. It screeched like an injured bat as it scurried away into the cornstalks and disappeared into the maze.

  I ran to Slade and pulled off my jacket. I used it to wipe the Gelal acid from his arms. He blinked at me, moaning as he came out of the trance. I was about to ask him if he was okay when I heard another shout from Daniel. This time I knew it was from pain.

  I spun in Daniel’s direction and watched as his stake fell from his hand. He clutched at his right shoulder, where his silver-bullet wound was exposed by a gash in his shirt. A Gelal stood in front of Daniel with blood dripping from its claws. The demon had raked its claws over Daniel’s already-tender wound.

  Daniel tried to crouch to snatch up his stake, but he was too slow, and the Gelal kicked it away. The stake went flying into the depths of the cornstalks. The beast lunged at Daniel, and Daniel dropped his hand from his bleeding shoulder to grab the Gelal by its shoulders. I could see the pain on Daniel’s face as the two grappled in hand-to-claw combat. For the first time in this fight, Daniel, weaponless and injured, actually seemed vulnerable.

  I reached for my own stake with the intention of throwing it to Daniel, but found that it had almost completely disintegrated, lying in a pool of Gelal acid.

  “Heads up!” Talbot shouted. He elbowed an Akh in the face and then flung his sword at Daniel with all his might. It sailed through the air, spinning point over hilt, toward Daniel’s face.

  I was about to shriek, but Daniel whipped out his left hand and caught the sword in midair by its handle. In a move just as quick, he brought the blade down on the neck of the Gelal and lopped off its head. He spun away from the spray of green acid, and I felt my jaw drop as I watched Daniel, with moves fluid yet forceful, slice through three more demons before they even had time to react.

  “Wow,” I said, my heart beating quickly in my chest.

  “That was killer,” said Ryan, watching with just as much awe as Daniel finished off a forth demon.

  The other monsters in the clearing hadn’t failed to notice Daniel’s prowess with the sword, and I watched as the four remaining Akhs and two Gelals backed away. They clawed their way into the wall of cornstalks and disappeared. I could hear their footfalls as they ran at top speed through the stretches of the maze.

  “Should we go after them?” Zach asked. Ryan and Brent looked just as eager to pursue their old gang mates. Slade, looking a bit dizzy himself, sat on the ground next to Katie, his hand on her back as she held her head between her knees like she was trying not to pass out again.

  “No,” I said. “I don’t want you getting separated in that maze with them.”

  “Aw, come on,” Ryan said, practicing swinging his stake the way Daniel had handled the sword.

  “My guess is that they’re already gone by now.” Talbot lifted his cowboy hat and wiped his forehead.

  “All the same,” Ryan said. “If we chase them, they’ll be less likely to regroup and come back.”

  “Fine then,” I said. “Zach and Ryan, you two can go. Stick together and be safe, all right?”

  Ryan and Zach went after the probably-already-long-gone demons, whooping and hollering like a couple of lost boys chasing pirates. Brent groaned about being left behind.

  “I should go with them.” Slade stood, but he didn’t seem the most stable on his feet. But maybe that’s because Katie was clinging to his legs for support.

  “You can stay,” I told Slade. “Looks like Katie isn’t letting go any time soon.”

  She looked at me then with eyes that still made her seem a bit dazed and confused. Her mascara smeared in long streaks down her face. “Grace? Is that you? I thought you weren’t coming to the party.”

  I sighed, relieved that she obviously still wasn’t quite with it if that was her biggest question. Maybe she wouldn’t actually process anything that had just happened. “I changed my mind. Can’t pass up a good party.” I shrugged.

  “This was some party,” she said slowly, bobbing her head up and down. She seemed positively high. “Wait, why did you follow me out here? Did you … kill … that guy who was trying to make out with me?”

  Uh-oh.

  Daniel stepped forward. He tucked the sword behind his back, but he couldn’t cover up the bloody tear in his shoulder. “I think someone may have slipped something in your drink, Katie. We followed you to make sure no one took advantage of you.”

  “Daniel?” She leaned forward, squinting at his eyes behind his mask. “You came, too? I thought you had pneumonia?” She tapped her fingers against her forehead like she was trying to think really hard. “Did you just chop off some guy’s head?”

  Brent busted up laughing. I gave him a quick glare.

  “Okay,” I said. “I think Katie’s had enough partying for one night.” I motioned for Slade to pick her up. “Take care of her, will you?” I asked him.

  Slade looked down at Katie, still clinging to his legs, and then back at me. A stricken look crossed his face. He leaned toward me and whispered, “Um. To be clear, are you asking me to kill her and dump her body?”

  “What? no! Why on earth would you think that?”

  Brent cleared his throat. “To a Shadow King, ‘taking care of someone’ has a very different connotation.”

  “Oh … oh!” I was going to have to be more careful with my vocabulary choices in the future. “No, I mean, ma
ke sure she gets back home okay. Keep trying to convince her that everything she saw was the result of special party Kool-Aid so she doesn’t go spilling all of our secrets. You know, that kind of taking care of someone. Take Brent with you.”

  Slade nodded. He and Brent pulled Katie up and hitched their arms around her back to help her walk.

  “You saved me, didn’t you?” Katie asked, patting her hand limply against Slade’s cheek. She giggled and waved her hands like someone who’d enjoyed a good joint. “Did you see all the pretty green ooze?”

  “Yeah, it was pretty,” Slade said. Brent snorted. Slade glanced back at me with the look of someone being punished.

  I watched them walk away, leaving me with Daniel and Talbot. Not the three best people to be left alone together.

  Especially with weapons.

  We were all quiet for a moment, tension building thick between us. Finally, Daniel approached Talbot with the sword in his hand. Daniel stood in front of him, their eyes locked, like they were trying to read each other’s thoughts. I was reminded as to how much bigger Daniel’s stature was now than before. Talbot, who had never seemed small to me, suddenly did, compared to Daniel. Or maybe it was just the way Daniel carried himself now—like an alpha. One whose pack had just defeated a rival’s attack.

  Daniel extended the blade of the sword toward Talbot, and then he flipped it upside down and offered him the handle. “Thanks,” Daniel said. “You really saved us back there. We might not have gotten out of that without you.”

  Talbot blinked. “You’re welcome,” he said slowly, cautiously. “So … truce?”

  Daniel glanced at me, as if looking for my verdict. I didn’t know what to say. Talbot had helped us, but he’d also done so much to destroy my trust, I didn’t know how I could just forgive him and call it good.

  “I just want to help,” Talbot said. “What happened here tonight was just a test. Caleb is eventually going to come at you with everything he’s got. You need all the help you can get.”

  “He has a point,” Daniel said. “Talbot knows Caleb’s operations better than anyone. And he’s a good fighter.”