Page 19 of Give a Devil his Due
Eric curls his thumb and pinky over his lower lip, releasing a high-pitched whistle that rings in my ears. With the signal sent to the others—something they are hopefully close enough to hear—he jumps at the nearest troll. Claws lengthen on his fingertips, which he uses to instantly slash the creature’s torso. If it was anything other than a troll, I’m sure his chest cavity would’ve been cracked like a walnut from it, but instead, the attack only leaves four deep slices, though at least he made the nasty bugger bleed..
A roar makes the walls around us shudder, and everyone moves at once while pebbles and dust rain over our heads. I try not to imagine the roof falling over us and burying us alive, but the imagine flutters through my mind nonetheless. With a dry mouth, I follow Eric, pouncing over him and landing on the first troll behind him, slashing my dagger at him. Lucky for us, these jerks are too big to crowd us all at once. They can only fit in the tunnel one at a time, and even then they have to twist their necks to the side to fit their heads.
Runes glowing bright, I filet the troll’s chest to the bone, and the creature screams, the shrill force of it threatening to burst my eardrums. Dazed, I blink fast to clear my wavering vision when someone grabs my upper arm and plucks me away from my victim.
I shriek, but not in fear. In anger.
Without missing a beat, Raphael takes my place. Cocking his arm, he sinks it to his elbow inside the troll before he rips it out, his hand squeezing what looks like a palm-sized heart. The troll topples over then, knocking over the one behind him in the process. I’d call that a strike.
“Are you serious, Raphael?” Pissed, I scream at the Archangel’s back. “I weakened him, just so you know. It was my fucking kill.”
Ignoring me, he descends on the next creature stomping our way.
“Fuck you both,” I huff in indignation, throwing both my hands in the air for added effect with so much strength the dagger nearly slips from my blood-covered hand.
Eric stands to the side of me, pummeling his troll into a bloody pulp. The creature's skull is as flat as a pancake, but he keeps at it like he wants to make sure it’sdead, dead. Not just dead like a regular living being.
My tail curls tightly before it snaps out in rage.
With no intention of just standing there like a lump, I lean sideways to peer around Raphael and his troll, checking to see if I can possibly squeeze between them. All I need is the sliver of an opening, and I know I can wiggle my ass through to attack the next one lined up down the tunnel. How dumb are they to pick this tight, underground spot to crawl through, especially since they can barely fit in them? That thought gives me a pause. Even as stupid as they are, I’m pretty sure they don’t want to be hunkered down in a place like this. I remember the two idiots I first saw dragging Narsi through Hell. Stupid, yes. Suicidal, not so much.
All wondering leaves my mind when I hear the chattering from behind me. With my heart lodged at the roof of my mouth, I spin on my heel, choking on empty air when I freeze in place. Dozens of rogue demons are crawling toward us like cockroaches, many of them climbing the walls and the roof. Double rows of razor-sharp teeth are open wide, and dread pools in my stomach. If they are here, does that mean the others are dead or badly injured somewhere behind them?
“Eric.” Hunching down so I’m ready to intercept them, I throw a warning. “Incoming.”
He is next to me before I’m finished talking, forgetting all about the troll tartar sauce he worked so hard to prepare. His horns circle his head like a crown that juts up for his temples. My breath hitches in my throat at how magnificent he looks with his glistening ebony skin and the wild hair tousled around his handsome face.
“Stop.” This is no longer my Eric standing next to me. That voice, like rocks grinding while they slide over one another, belongs to Shadow—the Prince of Hell. “You must obey me.”
The rogues freeze for a second, confused expressions marring their faces before they continue forward, inching this time. My mouth drops open, and I turn my glare on Eric.
“You have got to be shitting me.” His head turns slightly my way and a line bunches up his forehead. “Are you serious right now?”
“I don’t understand.” His deep voice vibrates in my belly and chest.
Raphael grunts and huffs as he fights trolls behind us. I feel a dull ache sprouting from a couple of different places on my body, but it’s nothing worrisome. No one has punched his light out, yet. How unfortunate.
“First, the two of you block me from fighting the trolls, and now you’re sending them”—My finger stabs in the direction of the rogues—“away?”
If anything, the said rogues flinch back a few steps from my frustrated snarl.
Eric pins me with those otherworldly eyes of his, and his penetrating gaze smacks me all the way in my soul. When he is in his human form, my mate is a growly pain in the ass who’s too stubborn when it comes to my safety. Shifted into his true form, he is a predator, and mate or not, he recognizes strength more than anything else. Aware that this is a monumental moment and I will either screw it up or actually win the battle of wills, I stiffen my spine.
“I need to fight, Shadow.” Calling him that feels strange, and I stutter, my tongue tripping on it. “I need to win. For me.”
My skin feels too tight as he pulls the darkness around us, and like tendrils, he uses it to poke at me. Half of me wants to jump out of my body and run screaming, but the other part groans in delight and perks its head up. The dark side of who I am drinks in his shadows, and needs more, tugging at him to feed it. His gaze bores into me.
I don’t dare look away.
The edges of his lips quirk.
This magnificent creature I call my mate gives me a barely there nod and steps away. My heart is hammering hard enough to bruise my ribcage, and I pant like I just ran a marathon. He turns to the rogues, giving them an unimpressed once over. “Fight.”
My heart skips a beat.
The rogues chatter louder as they rush me, and I have no more time to think about what had just happened. With my dagger raised in front of me, I brace for the attack, my blood boiling from the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
“Playtime, motherfuckers.” I pounce just as the first wave reaches me.
