Page 27 of Give a Devil his Due
My brain still can’t register what’s happening.
One second, Eric is trying to tell us something while his brother pokes jokes at him, and the next, we are all standing like statues spread around the tracks in some twisted circle, wide-eyed and terrified. My stomach protests when Eric’s shoulder lodges itself in my gut, and I clench my teeth so I don’t yell at him to put me down. My hair sways across his ass and thighs, and I grunt like a pig when it starts running.
Unable to get enough air in my lungs, I clutch his lower back, grinding my teeth. Thank fuck I’m doing that because when the horn of a train screams in my ears, I would’ve bitten my tongue. Horror numbs me, a bone-deep chill that not even Raphael’s hand splayed between my shoulders can thaw.
“George.” Lifting my head as much I can, I shriek for my friend. He is not as fast as the rest of them, and there is no way I’ll keep my mouth shut and let them leave him behind. “George.” The desperation in my screams raises goosebumps all over my skin.
“Colt has the human,” Raphael huffs, practically shoving us in front of him.
The tunnel is deafening from the thundering of the incoming train.
Eric dumps me on my feet out of nowhere, and I flail my arms so I don’t flop on my back. I didn’t need to worry because my tailbone smacks the railing hard enough to bend my tail into a horrible angle, eliciting another squeal. The pain makes me run in place like I need to pee, but it’s either that or start crying like an idiot in front of everyone.
My heart is thudding in sync with the oncoming monstrosity that is about to turn all of us into pancakes.
My mate wraps his large hand around the chain on the doorknob and yanks on it with everything in him. The metal links groan and snap, tinkling as they hit the ground around his feet, but the door doesn’t budge. All of us crowd around him, so close that I’m pretty sure I just shoved my boob into Satanael’s upper arm. The more I prance in one spot, the more hands brush against different parts of my body. Beelzebub almost trips over the railing when, in my attempt to avoid boobing my father again, I poke my ass into his groin.
“Sorry.” My murmured apology passes through numb, frozen-solid, lips. The place where the tail grows from my body hurts like a bitch still.
My teeth are chattering.
Eric’s hand slips off the brass knob a couple of times, though he continues to desperately try to open it. Sincde that isn’t working, he pulls his arm back, missing my face by an inch as he smashes his fist on the metal plate around it. The wall around us vibrates, but I’m pretty sure that’s from the freaking train and not the punch.
“No more than thirty seconds.” As cool as a cucumber, my father announces the time like a damn conductor.
Trembling in my boots, I will Eric’s hand to split the metal so he can wrench the door open. The metal chain and the lock keep clinking when he shuffles his feet to get a better stance, then he puts more power behind the hammering he is doing on it. Cold sweat trickles down my spine, not for myself, though. If worse comes to worst, I can plaster my back on the wall, close my eyes, and wait it out. Even George will fit, which he showcases by hugging the wall, and I imagine his lips are moving in prayers.
The others, however …
None of them will survive.
Grunting and snarling sounds fade with the thundering of the incoming train. I latch onto Raphael’s hand, squeezing his fingers like that will somehow open the cursed door because, no matter what Eric does to it, it doesn’t budge. I bump into the Archangel when Colt shoulders behind him and takes Eric’s place. Shivering in Raphael’s arms, I watch him unblinking when he steps back and rams his shoulder at the slab of metal.
What is this damn thing made of?
The image of a tight, low tunnel on the other side of it, or maybe even stairs, mocks me in my mind’s eye. The twins take turns, driving into it together when one proves not enough.
“Fifteen seconds.” My father, the conductor, chirps, and I can’t help it.
I kick at him, the tip of my boot connecting with his shin.
He shrugs.
“You’ll be the first to be pulverized under the tracks.” My voice is cracking, but I don’t give a shit. “I’ll push you before it takes any of the others, especially if you don’t stop telling me the time of impact.”
“Hel.” My anger at Satanael forgotten, I lift my gaze to Raphael. Very rarely he calls me anything but Helena, so it comes as a shock. “Step aside.”
Scrambling back to give him space, I don’t waste time. Instead, I do what he asks. My heart in my throat, I watch as he joins the twins, but not even his added strength helps. Now that my hands are pressed close to the door, my pinky almost brushing the frame, I feel it. My hammering organ drops from my throat to my feet.
“Wards.” It comes out as a whisper that they shouldn’t be able to hear, but they do. “It’s warded.”
Satanael wraps his hand over Beelzebub’s shoulder and nods. The other male latches onto Eric and so on until Colt grabs hold of Raphael. Power blooms around us, while tendons on their necks tighten, more visible because of the light coming from the train.
It’ll pass us in less than ten seconds.
The door opens.
The twins step inside and roar in fury.
