Page 24 of Bite Me

The next demon Ninsy touched with her blade went up in a puff of smoke.

“The filling kills them,” Jada shouted.

Ninsy nodded, slid her blade through the red smear on the floor, and redoubled her attack.

Now to help Ky. Jada refilled her own bag and climbed up on the counter. Fire and smoke filled the air around her. Water and ice covered the floor.

She put the tied ends of each bag in the crook of her arm, pointed the spout at the demon dragons, and squeezed. Red goo flew through the air, coating everything in a thin stream of tart jam.

The cry of the demon dragons filled the air like a thousand dying seagulls. Her plan worked to even out the numbers. Finally, she could see Ky’s face again.

He was torn to shreds. Bloody and burned. The sight of his injuries hurt her heart.

She’d destroy whoever created these creatures.

Funny, because their creator decided to show up right then.

The entire front wall of the café blew off in a fireball explosion. Through the debris and destruction, an enormous black dragon walked in as if he were strolling down the boardwalk, not the middle of a paranormal war zone.

His eyes burned a deep red, and billows of smoke plumed from his mouth. He spread his wings and took off the roof of the building, including her lone apartment, making room to fit inside.

Holy donut holes. There went the neighborhood.

The demon dragons who hadn’t yet succumbed to the power of the strawberry rhubarb gathered around the black dragon.

A darkness within Jada recognized this specter from hell. The Black Dragon. He was the king of the underworld come to drag them all to his dark domain.

Hell.

Fear wrapped itself around her chest and squeezed. That darkness could easily draw Jada down. She couldn’t let it take Ky.

Ninsy was nowhere to be found. Please let her be okay. No way could Jada handle another death because of some price on her head by the ruler of the underworld.

She crawled off the counter and over to Ky. His great chest heaved, and his cuts and lashes seeped blood.

She’d done this to him, and now because of her, they were all going to die at the hands of the black dragon.

For the first time in weeks, sugar wasn’t the answer to all her problems.

The sun sank in the sky behind the black dragon. Night was falling. More demons would come out to play.

Her kind.

The inkling of a very scary and sad idea formed in her mind. She hated everything about it, because she’d vowed she wouldn’t go back.

It wasn’t like she’d ever kept a promise to herself before. No use starting now.

She knew what to do. There was no other choice.

Jada leaned back against Ky, drawing strength from his weakness. He’d fought a losing battle to protect her. Now she would do the same.

She raised her hands into the air, palms facing the sky, eyes closed, heart and mind open. “Great Lilith, I seek your blessing. I ask a favor of you if it please you, bring forth the one who lies upon sleepers, the incubus Leonard, with whom I share the pact of blood and lust.”

She picked up a broken piece of glass and sliced her hand, letting the blood drip to the ground. “Lilith, please receive this offering. I give it truthfully and willingly.”

The ash and smoke from the battle swirled in a man-sized whirlwind. The form of Leonard emerged, half-naked and pissed as hell.

He hated being summoned. Well, tough. She hated needing him to save her. She’d suck it up, buttercup, if it would save Ky too.

---