He ran hard, leaping ancient stone carvings and dodging spears and knives thrown by Silas warriors. Serena’s charm now seemed to keep her safe; twice, demons tripped and fell on their own weapons as they tried to impale her with blades, and once, two spears collided in mid-air and clattered harmlessly to the ground.
Ahead, the Harrowgate shimmered between two stone pillars of the Temple of Isis. Three demons, one Silas and two Cruenti, guarded the entrance. Behind Wraith, Byzamoth’s shouts and threats grew louder. Shit.
He was going to have to plow straight through the sentries.
This was going to hurt.
Sucking in a deep breath, he held Serena tight to his chest and shot across the expanse of land. Head down, he rammed the Silas with his shoulder, knocking the male into a huge figure of Horus carved deep into a column. Wraith threw out one arm and jammed the heel of his hand into a Cruentus’s nose. The thing howled in pain. The other one slashed at Wraith with his long claws, catching him across the back of the neck. Wraith stumbled and nearly fell.
The Harrowgate flashed, the shimmering curtain peeling back as another Silas emerged. Wraith punched it in the gut and dove into the Harrowgate. He tapped the map of the United States, which activated the gate and wouldn’t allow anything else inside. For now, they were safe.
But as the blood trickled down his neck and back, he knew that their safety was only as good as the moment, because whatever Byzamoth was, he was powerful enough to not only negate the power of Serena’s charm and command an army of demons, but to risk the wrath of both Heaven and Hell.
Wraith stepped through UG’s Harrowgate with Serena still unconscious in his arms. Relief that she had remained out for the journey was tempered by worry that she was, in fact, still out
“Get E and Shade,” he snapped to the nurse at the triage desk, and without slowing, he strode to the nearest exam room. Gently, he lay Serena on the bed. She didn’t even stir. For a moment he stood there, petting her hair, wincing when his hand came away bloody. Dammit, where were his brothers?
The curtain swept open and Dr. Shakvhan entered. “She’s human?”
“Last time I checked. Where’s E?”
“I’m on duty today.”
“I didn’t ask if you were on duty,” Wraith said. “I want my brothers.”
The curvy succubus sniffed haughtily, ignoring him as she began a vitals check. Even if it wasn’t physically impossible for succubi and incubi to screw, he wouldn’t touch her. In the dictionary, the word “bitch” ran and hid from her.
“How long has she been unconscious?”
“Five minutes, maybe.”
“Her name?”
“Serena.”
Shakvhan peered into Serena’s face. “Serena? Can you hear me?”
Serena’s lids fluttered, and she moaned. Not the greatest sign, but better than nothing.
“Wraith.” E moved inside, dressed in khakis and a black button-down shirt, which meant he’d been working in his office today. “What happened?” He frowned and reached for Wraith’s neck. “You’re bleeding.”
Wraith pushed E’s hand away. “We’ll deal with me later. Serena needs help.”
“You know I don’t like having humans here,” E said, moving to her.
“I don’t give a fuck. Where’s Shade?”
“On his way. The ambulance was just pulling into the parking garage when I got the triage nurse’s page.”
The succubus rattled off vitals, ending with “GCS of eight.”
Eight. Wraith had been on enough ambulance runs to know that eight and below on the Glasgow Coma Scale indicated a severe brain injury. His gut knotted with helplessness.
Eidolon started an IV. “Thanks, I got it.”
Shakvhan shrugged and sauntered away, and Wraith yanked the curtain closed. “We were attacked by demons on Philae. While I was fighting, she took a hit.”
E looked up from inspecting Serena’s head wound, his expression one of relief. “You slept with her.”
“No. That’s the thing. Nothing should have been able to touch her, right?”
“Dammit,” E breathed. “Someone else got to her.”
“That’s impossible.”
“There’s no other explanation, Wraith.”
The heavy strike of boots on the stone floor announced Shade’s arrival, and the curtain swished open. “What’s going on?”
E’s dark brows drew together. “Head injury. I need you to do a system check and see how bad.”
“This is Wraith’s charmed human?”
“Except for the charmed part.”
Wraith snarled. “She’s still charmed.”
E gave him a look edged with doubt and called out to the triage nurse to find Gem. He turned back to Shade, who had palmed Serena’s forehead and closed his eyes. His dermoire glowed as his gift flowed from him to Serena, and it took every ounce of patience Wraith had to keep from interrupting with questions.
Finally, Shade opened his eyes. “No skull fracture, but she’s got a substantial subdural hematoma. I’m slowing the bleeding, but E, you’re going to have to fix it.”