And covered in winged devils.
13
They tore at my flesh, their greedy mouths lapping at my blood. My limbs felt heavy and I was so tired. I shook myself, but none of them dislodged. My wolf snarled and barked, trying to force me to move. I know. I know. Adrenaline hit my system in a rush, exiting my nerve endings, and I managed to stand.
I was still in my Lycan from, and surprisingly I didn’t feel much pain from their bites. From what Danny and Naomi had gone through, I’d thought there’d be more agony. Why doesn’t it hurt?
One of the devils feasting on my arm suddenly fell to the ground.
In the next moment it disintegrated, leaving a thick smear in its place.
Did you see that?
A few more dropped. They each made sizzling sounds as they died.
“Jessica!” Tyler screamed. “If you don’t get out of there right now, I’m coming to get you.”
I looked up, startled. He took a step into the clearing. I was happy to see he was up, but I didn’t want him coming after me. “No!” I yelled. “Tyler, stop! Look what’s happening. They’re dying.” I pointed to the ground as another one fell. This one rolled a few times and gave a little primal shriek before it died. “My blood must be toxic to them. I have to let them keep feeding. If I can kill them all, we can move forward. If not, we’re trapped here.” Another one took a nosedive off my shoulder. Once it was on the ground it stumbled in a circle before falling over with a high-pitched squeal. It sounded like a mini pterodactyl.
Tyler stopped advancing, his eyes blazing amber. “Holy shit,” he said. “You’re right. It’s working.” The side of his face was caked with dried blood, his hair matted with it. The boulder the Mahrac had thrown had hit him hard, and because of that trauma he might not survive a venom attack from these things. I had to make sure he didn’t come near me.
“Don’t come any closer,” I ordered. “You either, Daniel Walker.”
Danny grinned from where he stood next to my brother. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re doing a bang-up job all on your own.” He waved his hand in the air so I could see what he was holding. “Just in case you need it, I have a spell dart loaded, at the ready.” He flipped the dart in his hands. “If you’re in too much pain, I’ll stab you with it and put you out of your misery for a few hours.”
“Save it. We’ll need it later,” I ordered as I took a slow step forward. My body fought the venom from the beasties efficiently, but all the effort it took made me stiff and drowsy. “I have to make sure they all get their fill, but it’s exhausting me. I’m going to walk toward the boundary, but if I lose consciousness, don’t you dare come out here until they’re all dead and gone. My body will heal from this. I can feel it.” I took another step closer and my wolf flooded me with more endorphins. Power tingled through me in a delicious current.
I took another step.
With each movement, more of the devils dropped, shrieking their high-pitched squeals as they died. The ground was littered with thick, black smears.
My brother growled from the trees, “They’re not dropping fast enough.”
“Don’t you dare come out here, Tyler. This is working,” I answered. The strum of my brother’s anxiety hit me in waves. He was on the verge of charging out here.
“Yeah, it looks like it’s working perfectly,” Tyler said, his voice laced with bitter undertones. “They’re gobbling you up, and when they’re done there’s going to be nothing left.”
“I’m going to be fine,” I replied as a group of them plummeted to their deaths, leaving a patch of my arm free for the first time. I glanced down. For the first time I understood why their bites weren’t hurting me. “Look at my arm!” I waved it around and more beasties flew off me, leaving it completely clear. “I’m healing instantly from their bites.” My blood seared the poison as my body closed the wounds the moment their teeth left my skin. I was fixing myself as fast as I could.
But it was taking too much energy.
Some of the devils started disintegrating on me, leaving black goo stuck to my body. That was lovely. I can’t really complain, because gone is gone. My wolf barked in agreement and sent more adrenaline racing through my system, but I was sleepy even with the extra dose. It’s taking too much from us. I’m tapped out, especially after the Mahrac. I feel like I could sleep for a week. My wolf laid down in my mind. She was tired too. When was the last time we slept?
“Jess, wake up! Your eyes just slid shut,” Tyler yelled. “You need to come closer. It’s almost over.” I heard him moving. “Fuck it. I’m coming to get you.”
“No,” I mumbled as I snapped my eyes back open and took a few more steps. “I got this. I’m just sleepy. I don’t want you to be hurt—” The motion of falling downward jolted my senses awake and my eyes opened. But I didn’t hit the ground. Instead I was being lifted.
“I have you.” Tyler smiled down on me, his dimples showing in earnest. “It’s all over, Jess. Those bastards are all dead.”
“Good,” I said. “Now we can get moving.” I rested my head on my brother’s shoulder and everything went dark.
I woke with a start, running my hands over my body before I was fully awake. “Wha?” I shot up and glanced around. But there was no danger. The air was calm and stable. It was twilight, the sun gone, black creeping along the sky. My gaze landed on the only person around. “How long have I been asleep?”
Ray sat on the metal cooler staring at me. “I thought you might be dead,” he retorted. “Even though they told me you were alive, I didn’t believe them. You haven’t moved a muscle all day. You’ve been out maybe fifteen hours.”
“My body must have been in healing mode,” I answered. At least I think that was the reason I’d been out. “All my available energy went to fixing the damage.” I hadn’t even dreamed.
I checked down the length of my body just to make sure I was, in fact, healed, and this wasn’t some cruel joke and Ray and I were actually having this particular chat in hell and I just didn’t know it yet. I lifted my hands in front of me and wiggled my fingers. Very pale, slim pink scars covered my skin everywhere and I was wearing a new outfit. I was glad they’d picked spandex again. I looked around. “Where is everyone?” Danny and Tyler wouldn’t leave me unguarded unless we’d been attacked again and they had no choice. “Did the Mahrac come back?” I dusted myself off and strode forward.