Usha looked at the motley crew and grinned. “Good, that’s more of you than I was expecting.” She flipped back her long yellow skirts and pulled a dagger off her thigh. “Does anyone else have anything to use as a weapon? And give your names, so I can stop waving blindly at the lot of you.”
“Do…do you just keep that on hand?” Serena asked.
Usha cast a deadpan glance at the brunette. “Every woman should carry a weapon.”
A dark skinned, statuesque woman pulled the hairpin from her bun. “This might work.” The clasp was that of a raven’s skull and the pin was sharp and long. No doubt capable of doing some damage if she aimed correctly. “I’m Lyric, this is my sister, Harmony.” She gestured to an identical-looking woman slumped against the wall. Harmony gave us a thumbs up and pulled out a matching hairpin.
Usha nodded in approval and a few more women came forward with knitting needles, another sharp looking hairpin and an ax. I couldn’t help but eye the burly woman who just pulled a full ax out of her skirt. She locked eyes with me and shrugged. “It’s my good luck charm. I’m Becca, by the way.”
“Never get on her bad side.” Alexis whispered.
“Agreed.” I replied.
“Alright ladies,” Usha began. “We don’t have the luxury of knowing what we’re up against or, well, any luxuries really. So I say our best approach is to move quietly and kill anyone we come across before the lot of them realizes we’ve been cut loose. If we follow the vines on the wall, they may just lead us to where the magic is being stored. Once we find it, we smash it to bits. That will give our demon rescue party the best chance at success. Anyone who doesn’t have the tits for murder should stay towards the back.”
My knees shook with the weight of her words.I do not know if my tits were built for murder. I don’t even think they were built with my back in mind.The sweat from my palms caused me to lose grip on Alexis, and I struggled to catch the sword before she fell from my hands.
“Deep breaths, Brie.” Alexis whispered. “Try picturing them as giant red peppers. We’re just dicing them into a salad. That’s all.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “Giant red hot chili peppers. Sure, why not.”
Lyric’s head snapped towards the door. “Someone’s coming.”
Usha slinked towards the door and held her knife at the ready. She held a hand up and motioned for the rest of us to line the wall behind her. I steady my breathing and got into position with the rest of the women. Time slowed to a crawl as the door began to open. A red cloaked man emerged from the doorway. Before he could even pass the threshold, Usha’s dagger was in his neck. His cry was smothered by her hand, and she led the dying man slowly to the floor.
With a grunt, she pulled the blade loose and wiped it off on his cloak. “Let’s move.”
Numbly, I followed close behind as she led us out the door. The much needed panic spiral creeping at the edge of my sanity would have to wait. I just hoped Felix and Cin were faring better than us.
Chapter 12
Cinnamon
“Grab his legs!” I shouted, holding onto Felix’s neck for dear life. The werewolf thrashed harder. I lost my grip and tumbled straight into a bush. Ignoring the stab of twigs, I hopped up and lunged for him again.
Balabash and Ambrose tried cornering the crazed demon against a large tree. The yellow menace lashed out, damn near gutting Ambrose with sharp claws. “Get out of my way!” He roared.
“You are ruining the sneak attack, you dickhead!” I went to grab at him again, but was foiled by an extremely worn out looking Fallon.
My demon took a fistful of my shirt and hoisted me away from the thrashing werewolf. “Rabbit, there’s no talking to him like this. Keep your distance.” His words came out in tired slurs. No doubt the consequence of his excessive use of magic. His normally proud features were darkened by rings of purple under his eyes. The hands holding me captive were sluggish, but still immovable for a mere human.
I let out a growl of frustration. Even before we landed, the effects of the love potion had begun to send my friend into a spiraled frenzy. When Felix learned of Brie’s capture, he damn near collapsed on the spot. I tried to convince him to stay home. As panicked as he was, I doubted he would be much help in a covert operation. From the looks of his meltdown, I was right.
In order to keep a low profile, the two dragons flew slowly under the cover of a storm cloud. The original plan was to dismount in the forest and have Fallon shroud the area in shadow magic. Most demons had a much better sense of smell and hearing than humans, so picking off the mages would have been a lot easier if they were fighting blind. However, as soon as we landed in the forest outside Doncaster, Felix’s eyes glazed over to a hazy red and he tried to run off before anyone else. With the threat of powerful magic users, we had no idea how dangerous the stronghold would be. Not that any of that mattered to a drug-induced love tirade.
With a roar, Felix broke free of Ambrose’s hold and darted off towards the fortress in the distance. Three men in red cloaks turned to stare at him, but one met an ill-timed fate beneath the raging claws and desperate fangs. Blood sprayed from the werewolf maw as he took down every red figure he could find. Cursing under my breath, I gathered my skirts up and grabbed my bow. “Looks like the surprise attack is over and done with.” I hollered to the crew.
Fallon sighed, then pulled himself upright. “I knew we should have knocked him out.”
Behind him, Dante lowered himself to the ground and allowed the rest of the demons off his back. When the last passenger jumped off, he shook himself off and leaped back into the air. The silver dragon roared and dark angry clouds spilled into the sky. In seconds, the dragon was engulfed in a raging storm. He shot lightning down below, frying the unfortunate men in red Felix had yet to pick off.
When the angry clouds reached the fortress, they slammed against a lime green force-field. Dante whipped his tail at the barrier, forming a crack in the dome. Cultists rushed along the walls of the keep and began chanting incantations. Immediately, the crack sealed up.
Fallon put a hand on my shoulder and nodded to the other dragon. “Tell the crew to fan out in groups and attack the barrier from as many sections as we can. The more cracks we can form, the faster it comes down. I’m going to support Dante from the air.”
“Are you going to be alright if you shift again?” I asked.
He smirked. “It’ll take more than this to kill me, Rabbit.” Black eyes faded away to warm gold, and my demon stepped away in a shroud of smoke. It swirled upward until a second dragon joined the raging storm.
