Page 23 of Hell Gate

Darting a look over my shoulder, I’m relieved to find Matthias on his feet again, swiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His playful boyish features take on a brutal edge to match the callous glint in Valerian’s eye as they circle the shopkeeper. An icy chill arrows through me when the shopkeeper gives them a hideous smile in anticipation.

Flames spread down Valerian’s arm in a coil almost like a whip. His gaze flicks to Matthias. Signaling him with a nod, they both move together, Valerian using his fire to encircle the demon and hold him in place. He fights against the binding while Matthias forges the fire springing from his palms into a pointed tip, using it like a dagger. The demon throws up his arms to block, then grabs hold of Valerian’s coil.

A niggling sense bolts down my spine out of nowhere with some kind of recognition of what’s about to happen when he yanks Valerian closer with it.

“Watch out!” I shout.

They both fall back from the burst of hot hair the shopkeeper puts off with another screech that pierces me to the bone. I drop to a knee, slapping my hands over my ears.

By the time my head stops pounding and I scramble to my feet, the fighting seems dire.

None of the guys can get an edge over the shopkeeper or the other remaining demon. Blow for blow, they’re matched and overpowered. Matthias takes a hit to the side that slows him down, pain written across his contorted face. Alder can’t catch the smaller, quick demon keeping out of his reach before darting in when he can’t block to carve his claws into his skin. Valerian is backed against a wall, glaring at the shopkeeper pining him with a rush of fire shooting from his hands.

No, no, no.

Oh god. It’s not enough. They’re all going to die because of me.

As the harrowing thought enters my mind, I gasp from the sensation of being squeezed by an invisible force.

The pressure becomes unbearable. I reach for Alder, gasping for air. My vision blurs. Shit, I can’t breathe. Panic trickles over me, my senses bombarded by smoke and heat. I feel as though I’m being compressed from all sides. Is the shopkeeper doing this?

Sparks prick along my nerves, racing down my arms. The energy builds in my palms, growing hotter. Static blocks out my hearing, then a sharppopmakes me wince as the sensation ceases, flowing away in a rush. It leaves my hands tingling with the aftereffects.

Bright electric sparks rain over the open door to the parking lot, followed by a loud explosion that shakes the building from outside. It distracts the attackers. I think a transformer blew because the lights outside cut out, leaving the room lit by the orange glow of the fire.

Everyone freezes, glancing suspiciously at each other. Valerian uses this to his advantage, recovering while the shopkeeper isn’t paying attention. His merciless uppercut snaps the shopkeeper’s head back and he grabs him by his horns.

“Now,” he barks.

Matthias crosses his hands in front of him, gold eyes flashing bright. He tears the demon’s throat with his claws while Valerian traps him. The shopkeeper’s black eyes bulge and he gurgles. Dark, tar-like blood seeps from his ravaged neck, staining his chest.

“Oh my god,” I choke.

Alder finally grabs the smaller demon and releases a chilling growl. With one forceful yank, he rips the demon’s body in half like it’s made of paper. Blood and other gross innards spill from each severed half, coating Alder and the bed. My pulse thunders and inexplicably I think of beefy lumberjacks who rip tree logs in half with their bare hands.

When the shopkeeper’s body slumps to the floor, the blaze engulfing the room sputters out, leaving it stinking of sulfur. Part of the drywall has burned away, the beds are destroyed, and the TV is cracked in half, toppled to the floor.

“I don’t think you’re getting your security deposit back.” The mumbled words are the first to jump in my head.

Matthias smirks, rubbing his side. “Not our problem.” He winces. “Damn, we’re out of shape. Alder, you good?”

He grunts in response, dumping the demon remains on the trashed mattress before shredding the scraps of his shirt clinging to his glistening muscles. I swallow thickly, unable to move from the center of the room.

We won. My demons beat the other demons, each of them reveling in their violent triumph. Valerian slowly wipes away the shopkeeper’s blood, lips curling into a ruthless smirk. Matthias releases a laugh that’s more than a little unhinged, grabbing the shopkeeper’s slack face and shaking it. Alder’s chest heaves with rumbling breaths, more beast than man at the moment.

My heartbeat thrums with relief, fear, and something warm and fluttering I don’t want to name as my gaze moves between the three of them.

When I move, my limbs feel stiff. My hands skitter over Matthias’ side first. “Are you guys okay?”

“I’m better now,” he murmurs.

I ignore the brash smirk he gives me before I move to Alder, hovering my fingers over the fresh welts covering his existing scars. Valerian clenches his jaw and gives me his back.

“Not now.” Alder takes my wrist and tugs me with him. “We need to move before more come.”

Outside, I spot the smoking transformer that blew, the plume of smoke rising high into the night sky. My palms tingle with the phantom sensation I felt before. Rolling my lips between my teeth, I curl my hands into fists to dispel the tingles.

Valerian is the last to leave the destroyed motel room as we circle the long strip of rooms to the edge of the building. A sleek, black muscle car is parked there. Matthias pulls out a set of car keys. Before I learned the truth, I wouldn’t blink twice. Knowing he’s a demon, it trips me up.

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