Page 45 of Another Damned Storm
I swiped my blade at a massive monster with two heads and arms the size of tree trunks. It knocked me out of the way like I was nothing, sending me tumbling across the ground as it swept back and snatched up Hook in its deadly grip.
A jolt of anticipation shot through the link, then it went dead.
“No!” I screamed, dragging myself to my feet and barreling toward the beast. In the back of my mind, I knew Hook would be fine. A broken back or neck, or whatever the fuck was wrong with him, wasn’t enough to take him out permanently, but feeling that abrupt loss shook me.
Only he wasn’t lying limp on the ground. He was fighting to break free of the creature’s hold.
Had he cut me off on purpose?
I bolted forward, ducking when its tail whipped around. It smashed into another demon, and in the space of a few seconds, the fight turned from an us against them situation to an all-out brawl. Demons fighting demons worked to our advantage, but it didn’t make sense.
Confusion and chaos slipped through me like a ghost, coupled with a powerful desire to return.
But to return where?
On instinct, I pulled myself to my full height. “Stop!” I let every ounce of power I could muster infuse the command, and sure as shit, the demons responded. It was just for a second, mind you, but it got their attention.
Hook shot me a shocked look, until a growl and snap set the whole demonic brawl back in action.
The sky opened up again a minute later, dumping cool rain down on us. A few of the demons took that as a sign to dash back into the park, but one or two tried to make a run for it down the street.
I gave chase, using my fancy new powers to run faster than I ever had before. It was like I was flying across the ground before I collided with a green slime-colored demon.
Another whisper of emotion had me pausing before I brought my blade down across the creature’s neck. It wasn’t coming from Hook. He’d cut me off cold. But it also wasn’t coming from me.
With my blade to the demon’s neck, I looked it square in the eyes, and what I saw sent a shiver through me. It was lost and confused.
And afraid?
I got the very real sense that this demon, and possibly some of the others, didn’t know where they were.
What if they didn’t come to our world willingly?
Pulling back, I eased off him and pointed to the park. “Go,” I ordered.
The thing blinked at me, two sets of eyelids closing and opening twice. Then it was scrambling to its clawed feet and racing for the opening in the fence.
The other demon doubled back, and I braced for an attack, but it too gave me a wide berth.
When I turned to see Hook, he was watching intently, his blade slick with demon blood. If either looked like it was going to make a move for him, I would have zero mercy, but they both slipped through the fence and disappeared back into the dead trees.
Hook made his way to me, using the rain to rinse his blade before slipping it back in the sheath on his hip. I thought for sure he would ask me what the hell I was doing letting two demons get away, but he just cupped my face in his hands and kissed me until I forgot all about the demons and the rain and everything except the taste of his lips.
16
HOOK
I didn’t know what to make of the demons Never let escape, but once they were out of sight, all that mattered was that she was safe.
It certainly didn’t hurt that she responded to my kiss in a way that soothed my ego even as it riled my passion. Tongues and teeth clashing. Paying no mind to the street around us that was littered with demon bodies, their blood streaming down the gutters with the falling rain.
I pulled back, admiring the amber glow in her eyes when she blinked up at me. The woman was breathtaking all on her own, but knowing my power coursed through her veins, seeing the evidence of it right there in front of me, was a pleasure unlike any other.
With a reluctant sigh, her vision cleared and she straightened. I released my hold, letting her put space between us when it was the last thing I wanted.
“We need to talk.” She ran the pad of her index finger over her bottom lip. “Somewhere private.”
That touch suggested she wanted privacy for sensual reasons, and while her desire was like liquid heat comingthrough our connection, there was a sense of apprehension beneath it.
