Page 10 of Snowed in with the Demon Lord
“It shouldn’t have burned itself out in the first place, so I have no idea if it will repeat the performance. Ah!” This time he kept whatever component he’d found, bringing it to the workbench. I kept on disassembling the broken machine while he found the parts—that was the only way we could divide our labor, since I wouldn’t know what to look for.
“I’ll put more effort into the limiters this time,” he said after a few more minutes of work. “Keep the top speed down, just in case. That’s the best I can do without knowing what I’m fighting.”
Pulling the generator apart and rebuilding it took us hours of work, but I found myself enjoying it. Not so much the work, which was hard, tiring, and dirty, but working so close to Abaddon. Together, we pulled his invention apart.
Then I put it back together, under his direction. He didn’t like the fact that I had nimbler fingers than he did, but his claws got in the way of holding a screwdriver, so it ended up being up to me to do the fiddly bits.
“Cheer up,” I said as I slid under the generator. Abaddon stood over me, pushing the drive shaft into place and holding it still. “You’re still helping. Without your brute strength, I’d never manage this.”
He growled, sending a shiver through me. I was almost sure that was his ‘teasing’ growl, but the hint of danger was still there, adding a little thrill.
“My strength, and my intellect to design this thing, and my power to make it run,” he said. “Your dexterous fingers are the least important part of our collaboration. I did, after all, manage without you when I built the first of these.”
“Yeah?” I grinned, tightening a bolt as far as I could. “Look how well that worked out. Okay, I’m set, time for your brawn again.”
Theharrumphwas definitely a humorous sound, and he reached under the machine, red hand groping blindly for the wrench. I took pity on him, gripping his wrist and guiding him with one hand, the other keeping the wrench steady. Once he had it, he gave it another twist, fixing it in place.
Feeling the muscles in his forearm work wasn’t the main reason I held his arm, but I’d be lying if I claimed it wasn’t part of why I kept my hand on him. The otherworldly texture of his skin, the muscles like corded steel underneath it, the heat that felt like it should burn me but didn’t.Steady, Holly. Don’t get any ideas. This is a demon lord, remember?
It wasn’t easy to keep that in mind, especially when he pulled me out from under the generator and lifted me to my feet. The gentle way he touched me, when his body was made for war, made me wonder how far his self-control extended.
I shook off the urge to test that control. “I guess this is the big moment.”
Abaddon nodded, turning to the circle of purple flames and scratching the palm of his left hand with a claw. A single drop of blood fell into the pentagram, and the flames roared, shooting up in a terrifying column.
I shrieked and leaped backward, tripping over the discarded, warped drive shaft. Abaddon jumped back too, faster than I’d have thought possible, his tail catching me around the legs and his right hand holding my head. He didn’t stop me from hitting the workbench, but he slowed and cushioned the impact. Instead of braining myself, I got the air knocked out of me.
Probably for the best, because if I’d had the breath to scream, I would have. The hellfire column spread out where it hit the shed’s roof, and I felt an absolute certainty that we’d burn alive.
“Angelfeathers.” Abaddon’s curse was quiet, emphatic, and filled with such a deep anger that I wanted to run and hide. Hewasn’t even angry at me, his focus was entirely on the pillar of hellfire.
I don’t know what I’d have done if he’d given me time to react. Fear and shock kept me frozen as Abaddon turned and threw me, hard. I sailed through the air, hitting the shed door with enough force to break it off its hinges. A moment later, I hit the ground with a softthump, the snow taking most of the impact. Through the storm, I saw the hellish flames bursting out of the shed.
“Abaddon.” I tried to shout, but didn’t have breath to do more than gasp his name. He was still inside.
7
ABADDON
Holly’s presence was a distraction I couldn’t afford. Getting her out of the way was instinct as much as anything, and I hoped my reflexive throw hadn’t hurt her. Mortals can be so fragile.
Stepping into the raging inferno, I roared defiance back at the destructive flames and forced myself to focus on the danger. Had Baal found me? Was this an attack? An accident?
Doesn’t matter. If I can’t get it under control, we’re dead either way.The circle powered everything, and I didn’t have the strength to replace it. Worse, if the hellfire burned uncontained, it would reach the cabin. Its infernal malevolence would make sure of that; as I’d told Holly, hellfire is vicious.
With each step, I got closer to the circle, and the heat intensified. I breathed air so hot it burned my lungs, flames licked my skin with agonizing intensity, and the raw force pushed back against me. I gritted my teeth and leaned in, pressing forward inch by torturous inch. The pain wouldn’t stop me.
I refused to let Holly freeze to death, even if saving her burned me alive.
That thought gave me strength. Not just moral strength, my next step was literally easier. Impossibly, the pain receded. It wasn’t much, but enough to stagger to the edge of the circle. I collapsed to my knees and stared at it. Nothing had changed. No one had altered the sigils, reworked the pentagram, changed the bindings. No scuff marks marred the surface. More power poured through the sigil than ever, far more, but I couldn’t seewhy.
And without that, I had no way to fix the problem.
Which left only one way to stop the inferno. Perhaps I could have worked out something clever, but even with my unexplained boost of strength, there was no time. The hellfire would consume me, and the blast would spread it to the cabin, stranding Holly in a blizzard to die.
I struck down, my claws chipping the concrete and opening the circle, breaking the sigil. The remaining power shot into the flames, a white-hot light right in front of me burning up to the sky.
Then it was gone, its sudden disappearance leaving me blind and falling forward. Everything hurt, and hitting the rough concrete face-first only made that worse. I didn’t mind; I’d achieved my goal. The shelter of my cabin would protect Holly until the storm passed, and she’d be able to get back to her own kind after that.
