Jimmy and Summer used spears against the Iyas. Whenever they pierced one, sunlight seemed to pour from the wound, incinerating the monster-man in seconds. But there were hundreds, and all too soon Jimmy and Summer would be overrun.
Even without discernible eyes within the swirling fog of their faces, the Iyas had no problem seeing. They headed straight for the demon killers in their midst, and when Jimmy and Summer attacked, every Iya countered.
I’d known that upon their release the Grigori had immediately begun to have sex with humans and re-populate the world with their half-demon seed. As a result, the Nephilim had increased—a lot.
But I hadn’t really understood what a lot meant until I saw the Iyas pouring over the opposite ridge, running across the tabletop mesa toward Jimmy and Summer, trailing snow and ice in their wake. There were so many of them, they nearly blotted out the horizon. The more that appeared, the darker the sky became, and the more furious the coming of the storm.
“Sheesh,” I muttered, “talk about a last stand.” I guessed we were in the right place for one.
Luther leaped out of his seat, popping the trunk on the Impala to reveal an impressive cache of weapons, including spears. I had a feeling they weren’t going to be enough.
“Hold on,” I called.
Faith was upset, mewing at the glass, pawing at it, trying to get to Luther.
“Sorry, honey, but you can’t go.” I opened each window a fraction of an inch, then got out and quickly shut the door. Her face slammed against it as she tried to escape, and she sneezed, shook her head, then glared at me.
I ignored her. What else could I do? She couldn’t wander around out here. I didn’t want to see her head swinging from a belt.
Luther tossed me a spear, which I caught with one hand. He took a step toward the melee, and I lowered the weapon in front of him like a gate. “Wait.”
“Liz, they’re going to die out there.”
“Ruthie sent us here for a reason.”
“To dump the kid on Sanducci and talk to a skin-walker in the Black Hills.”
I shook my head. “It’s more than that. I could have taken the baby to New Mexico, or had Jimmy come to me. That would have made more sense, been safer for everyone.”
“So?” Luther bounced on his toes, so pumped with adrenaline, so ready for the battle he could scarcely contain himself. “Are you going to fight or aren’t you?”
“They have to have done something to their weapons,” I said, watching Jimmy and Summer work.
“What?” Luther had one hand around my spear, probably in preparation for wresting it from my grip.
“Either coated them in . . . I don’t know. What mimics sunlight?” Luther’s answer was a blink. “Or maybe a spell, a blessing on the weapons?”
Luther frowned and glanced at the roiling thunderclouds. Not a single ray of sun pressed through them.
“So if I stick them with this—” He tugged on my spear, and this time I let him have it. He seemed to be catching a clue as to our dilemma.
“You’ll probably do nothing more than piss them off.”
“Let’s see,” he said, and launched the weapon at the nearest half demon.
I was quick, but not quick enough to grab the spear before it sailed out of reach. The nearest Iya stood a good hundred yards away, but Luther managed to hit him. The boy had skills.
The monster-man roared. The sky above him opened and poured down rain. He turned, and the gray swirl of his face had deepened to black. A slash of lightning cut across the oval. An instant later lightning struck the ground two feet away from us. My toenails sizzled.
“Uh-oh,” Luther said.
I cast him an annoyed glance as the Iya yanked the spear free, tossing it aside as if it were nothing more than a toothpick, and ran toward us.
“Luther.” The kid had tensed, prepared for a fight, gaze on the approaching threat. The clack of the skulls at the Iya’s waist was so loud I had to raise my voice. “Luther!”
His eyes flicked to mine. They’d gone amber. “I need you to do something.” I lifted my hands to my collar.
Luther began to shake his head. “Liz, you shouldn’t—”
“I have to. Ruthie sent me because I could help in a way no one else could.”
“If that was the way, Sanducci wouldn’t need you.”
Jimmy had a demon, too. His was just a bit harder to release than mine.
“He would,” I corrected. “Better if only one of us releases the beast, so the other can . . .” I took a deep breath. “You know.”
Once I became a vampire, I was evil incarnate. Because we’d contained the demon, when we released it . . .
Well, hell hath no fury like a vampire in a box. I’d decimate every Iya, and then I’d start in on whoever was left. The only one who’d be strong enough to contain me again would be another just like me.
“Get out of the way, kid.”
I fumbled with the catch on my collar, fingers thick and unruly. They did not want to follow the dictates of my brain. Becoming an evil thing always left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Usually blood.