Page 34 of Death Wish

Fainting, yes. But I figured that was just from the shock of it all.

From Cole’s thoughtful expression, he was considering the same thing.

“There has to be some way to know for sure without waiting,” he said. “Some kind of test.”

“A demonic pregnancy doesn’t show up on a typical piss-on-a-stick pregnancy test,” Wyatt shot back. “Since the gestation is only three months compared to the normal nine, we should know for sure within a couple of weeks. She should be showing by then. You’ll just have to hope she survives even that long.”

I let out a slew of curses. Only three months? Kay was in some serious shit.

And I had to help her.

The sound of a car pulling up grabbed everyone’s attention. Especially Angel’s who leapt up and raced to the door, knocking into Cole and almost sending him toppling over. She didn’t bark, though.

“That must be Sean,” Wyatt said. “She knows the sound of his truck.”

A door slammed. I walked over to one of the boarded windows and peered between the two-by-fours. A young man, probably in his early twenties, was looking over Cole’s Jeep with brown paper bags in his hands. He must have recognized it because he shook his head.

As he dug into his pocket for his keys, my eye caught movement behind him. A dark ghostly figure stretched across the ground, out of the shadows of the surrounding woods, and my heartbeat sped up. It was as if it grew from the darkness. Then another emerged from the right part of the forest, moving toward the trailer. Toward Sean, who appeared oblivious to their presence.

Slowly, the moving shadows grew and solidified, pulling themselves off the ground and taking shape. Like I had seen on Laurence with his possession, their faces were twisted and mangled, with protruding brows, glowing red eyes, and lipless mouths, but unlike the full-demon, these creatures had no distinct shape to their bodies. They were constantly changing forms and shifting as they moved.

“Uh, Cole. We have a problem,” I said, my throat tight.

In the next second, he was at my side, peering through the small space of the window, too. His body tensed.

After yanking one of the guns from his belt, he started loading it.

“What? What is it?” Wyatt’s panicked voice came from behind us, followed by the distinct click of his shotgun being loaded again.

Angel barked furiously at the closed door. Every hair stood up on my bare arms.

“Sean’s here.” Cole gripped the door’s handle. There wasn’t a hint of fear on his face. Instead, I saw determination and a bit of excitement. This was his area of expertise after all. “But he’s not the only one.”

“What are those things?” My voice rose with my fear. Whatever the answer was, I knew it couldn’t be good. “More demons?”

Clicking the safety off his gun, Cole turned to me, and for a second, I could have sworn his blue eyes flashed red. Like Xaver’s.

I jumped back, unsure of what I really saw. My insides froze over.

When he spoke again, his voice was deeper, more ominous. Almost like an animalistic rumble.

He only said one word.

“Halflings.”

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