Page 96 of Laid Bare

“Fuck,cor meum,” my vamp growls, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I groan, flooding my healing rune to offset the hurt in my bones.

“I’m going to kill the bastard god doing this the second I get my hands on him,” Luka rumbles dangerously, helping me and Axel up off the floor.

“We need to get to the main floor,” Thaddeus chimes in, icing over the window. “We’re too bottle-necked here. And if we stay, they’ll surely get Bailey and kill us in the process.”

“Alright.” Luka adopts commander mode, taking charge. “Bailey, stay in the middle of us, and don’t use your magic unless absolutely necessary. You’ll need to portal out the second you’re able to, and you can’t if you’re exhausted.”

I already don’t like the sound of this plan, but I don’t voice it.

“I can only use my shield if we’re standing in one spot, so we’re at a bit of a disadvantage. You can thank my sperm donor for that one.”

What the hell.

“Let’s move.”

We follow Luka’s orders, myself positioned right behind him, with Axel guarding my back, and Thaddeus taking up the rear.

The lower level of the house is silent for the time being as we make for the stairs, but that could change at any time.

Step by step, my anxiety heightens until I’m vibrating with tension.

Luka pauses right before the landing and holds his hand up, signaling for us to freeze. He listens closely for anything amiss, and I do too, but without the aid of my amplifier rune, my hearing is as good as a human’s.

His fingers flick in the low light of the moon shining through the window of the open guest bedroom door, and we trudge on, taking the stairs one at a time, keeping our eyes peeled.

My vision is useless, I know that. So I have to rely on the three that have preternatural sight all the time to see if there are any incoming threats I may be blind to.

I start to think we’re home free the closer we get to the bottom of the stairs. There still isn’t a sound or movement from anywhere nearby, and I silently thank my demon mates for that.

They must have come back from wherever they were and dispatched the bad guys before we got down here.

But I’m proven wrong when Luka’s foot hits the main floor.

It’s like his very arrival triggered the start of the assault.

A shining beacon flies into the air, embedding itself in the ceiling. The light emanating from it flares brighter, shedding light on what we just walked into. Or shedding darkness because there’s no way the guys missed this many people lined up.

“Fuck,” Luka grits out, grinding his teeth so loud, I’m surprised his molars haven’t cracked. “They have a shadow fiend.”

A what?

I really want to ask, but I realize now isn’t a time to ask for a lesson on creatures I know nothing about.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a lightning bolt heading straight for my vampire mate behind me.

Oh hell no. You don’t attack my mate unprovoked and get away with it.

I call upon my air rune and slam a little strength behind it to spin it around and send it right back in the jerk’s direction.

His scream is akin to a war cry, sending everyone bursting into action.

Enemies come from left, right, and center, but we stick together.

One dies, and two more take their place.

At this rate, we’ll never make it out of here alive. Not with whatever voodoo god shit they’re using to keep us confined inside the house. And not without a miracle.

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