A Demon Made Me Do It

Chapter 18. Lucky


“We have done nothing to provoke unwarranted trespassers on our lands,” the beauty continues. “But, we demand a sacrifice for your transgressions. A penalty of sorts.” She appraises Kieron thoughtfully, a sly smirk crossing her lips. The hounds yap again.

I raise my dagger to my face and catch her eye. She smiles at me menacingly. “Oh, what have we here? You claim to come in peace, yet this lovely young creature possesses a weapon of death. How interesting.”

“I have a right to defend myself,” I say.

She laughs. “Yes, my love, of course you do. Just as we have a right to defend ourselves.”

“We want to know who killed our friends,” Jax shouts, startling me. “They were found here, on your land. You’ve broken the treaty. That gives us a right to investigate.”

The four hounds circle us like sharks. Bones, Jax, Kieron and I press our backs closer. The blonde creature floats over to Jax and puts her face mere inches from his. “We have broken nothing,” she hisses. “It is you who have violated the law. And for that, one of you must pay.”

My heart races even faster, and I steal a quick glance at Bones. His face is hard, his jaw set. I peek at Kieron, who appears to be struggling internally, but his expression is impossible to read. “I believe you,” he says. “I don’t think that one of yours is responsible. I think it was a different—”

But his words are cut off, and we are all knocked forward by Jax’s massive body as he suddenly transforms into a hellhound. I feel like I’ve been hit in the back by a bus, and fall to my knees. Kieron and Bones stagger forward, but then regain their balance. A ferocious growl is followed by loud barks as Jax lunges at the woman, pinning her down.

Instantly the other hounds pounce, and before I can even blink, Bones shifts form. Kieron grabs my arm and yanks me away from the bloody fracas. “Stop it!” I scream, but it’s too late. Bones and Jax are both embroiled in the vicious fight; fur is flying, and it’s impossible to tell who is who.

The blonde beauty lies motionless on the ground, her eyes staring vacantly, her throat ripped out. “Bones!” I scream again, and watch in horror as two hounds jump him at once. I hear his painful yelp as he twists and turns, fending off the duel attack.

“Kieron, help him!” I plead desperately.

“Do you know which one is which?” he asks, a terrified look on his face.

“That one is Bones…” I say pointing. “I think Jax is the one with the grey tail…I don’t know!”

“You just have the one dagger?”

I nod, my eyes wide as my fingers grasp the smooth hilt. But I can’t use it. If I get anywhere near the brawling hounds, I’ll be torn to shreds in seconds. And my powers are of no use; using demonic fire against a hellhound is only slightly more effective than punching an ocean’s waves.

“You’ll have to throw it,” he says. “Aim right between the eyes. It won’t kill it, but it will stun it long enough to give Bones a fighting chance.”

“Impossible! They’re moving too fast…there’s no way…”

“It’s our only chance right now. You have to try…!”

I take several long, deep breaths and steady myself. A few more moments of this one-sided fighting and Bones and Jax will both be dead.

I grip my dagger tight, cocking it behind my ear, waiting…I need one of them to turn and face me, if only for a second.

My heart pounds. I narrow my eyes and focus my attention on the one who keeps attacking Bones from behind. It’s almost looking my way…almost…

Swish! The emerald blade flies out of my hand and lands squarely between the glowing red eyes. There is an ear-piercing squeal as the hound falls back, legs twitching in the air. For a brief moment Bones and the other hound seem distracted, but Bones for a fraction of a second less than his opponent. He spins and clenches his razor-sharp jaw on the animal’s jugular, and shakes his head back and forth mercilessly.

The other two hounds continue lunging at Jax, apparently unaware of what has happened. Kieron races over to the fallen beast and retrieves my dagger. He hands it back to me. “Kill the other ones…” He sprints back to pick up the fallen Otium torch, using its bright flame to set fire to the stunned animal.

My eyes shift from Bones to Jax. One of Jax’s attackers turns and spots Bones pinning its comrade, and instantly guns for him. “No!” I scream, before letting the dagger fly again. It hits the charging beast mid-air squarely in the forehead, knocking it back. Kieron races over with the torch, yanks out my dagger, and engulfs the hound in flames.

Bones drops the wounded dog from his deadly grip, and leaps over to where Jax lies squirming and bloody beneath the last remaining hound. He jumps on its back and sinks his teeth in the animal’s neck. The hound lets out an anguished cry and crumples to its side. Bones furiously paws, claws and bites, ripping the flesh to shreds until there is nothing left but bloodied fur.

After Kieron finishes setting fire to the remaining creatures—including the blonde leader—he jogs to where Bones and I are standing over Jax’s body. In death, he has shifted back to the form of a man.

“Stupid fool,” I mutter. Kieron comes to stand beside me, and Bones, still in hound form, lies at my feet. I reach down to pet him and he whimpers. I pull back, surprised by the dampness in my hands.

Blood…Bones is soaked with it. But how much is his? And how much came from the other creatures?

I wait for Bones to shift back, but he doesn’t. Instead, he stands on four wobbly legs and limps away.

“Kieron look, he’s hurt.” Kieron leans down to set the torch to Jax’s quiet form. His body will take longer to decompose, and it’s essential we clear our tracks and wipe away any evidence of what has transpired. The Hlbafa will soon realize they are missing five hellhounds, but without any clues as to what happened, we should be able to minimize our danger. We have enough to worry about as it is.


“I imagine he is,” Kieron replies, rising. “That was a serious battle, and he’s lucky to have survived it. You saved his life.”

“No, you did…I was paralyzed just watching…I didn’t even think to throw my dagger.” I shake my head and tighten my grip around its handle. No way am I putting it away until we’re safely back in Dryndara.

“Suppose that’s why he’s not shifting back?” he muses. “Perhaps his injuries are too severe—”

“No,” I quickly reply. “I’m sure he’s fine. He’s just staying on guard until he knows we’re safe.”

“Then why isn’t he running?”

I lower my eyes. It’s clear that Bones is badly wounded, dripping with blood. “We just need to get back to Dryndara,” I say, as I run up to walk alongside him.

******





“Lucky, look at him. Something is definitely wrong.”

I chew my lip nervously and stare down at Bones. He’s curled up on the ground, somewhere between asleep and awake. He still hasn’t shifted back, even though we’ve made it safely back to Dryndara. The three of us are camped out at a small meadow by the ice-river Valkis.

“Maybe he’s just tired,” I say, kneeling beside him. I gently stroke him, and in his sleepy state he flinches. My hand is covered with blood from several deep gouges in his side. “This is bad…very bad,” I whisper. “I’ve never seen him hurt like this before.”

“It’s because he was attacked by his own kind. Their powers are stronger against each other. Naturally he’s never fought with one of his own here…”

“I just wish he’d talk to me…tell me what to do!” I whisper frantically. I can’t help but notice how dangerously close Illyria’s moons are. My time is already running out. But even scarier, so is Bones’.

“Perhaps he’s too weak to shift…”

I pat his head gently. “Bones…Bones, can you hear me?”

He lazily opens an eye and lets out a small whimper.

“Bones, you have to tell me what to do…where are you hurt? Is there someone I should get?” I feel my eyes grow damp. He looks at me groggily and lifts his head a few inches before dropping it back down again.

“Bones?” This time it’s more of a plea. I feel his life force fading, and a panic rises deep inside me, threatening to consume me entirely. I rest his head in my lap and pet the side of his face. His breathing is shallow and labored.

“It might help him heal if he could replenish,” Kieron says. “If you want I can run to the Bar and get him something…”

“Yes! And hurry!” I don’t know who has less time left—me or Bones. I give Kieron a pleading look as he jumps on his bike and shoots off into the woods.

“You’re fine,” I whisper to Bones, though I’m not sure I believe the words myself. “You’re gonna be okay. Kieron went to get you something to drink. You’ll be tip-top in no time.”

Bones rests his head on my lap and I gently stroke his cheek. Please, Bones, please don’t die, I plead silently. He’s not supposed to die—ever. It’s not supposed to be like this. But we were able to finish off the other hellhounds, and neither Kieron nor I are pure demon. They must have had mixed blood, even the leader. Although she was clearly part succubus, she must have had some Sapie blood in there somewhere since Jax was able to kill her. But maybe the one Bones fought with and killed was pure…

Bones lets out another soft whimper and nuzzles his head into my lap. I softly stroke his massive body, not caring that my hand is covered in blood. I have to squelch the frustrated rage threatening to boil over inside me. First Kayla and Michael. Then Ivy and Cody. Now Bones.

Why do the ones I care about keep dying?

I ignore the tears that stream down my face, but cannot ignore the ominous disks in the sky merging as one. It’s almost morning in the Sapie world. Soon I will fall asleep. Liora might not wake up right away, but she will be in control. I need Kieron to hurry. I need him to get back here so Bones can drink and grow strong again. I need to be far away from them when Liora wakes up.

But I know it’s already too late. Even running as fast as I could, if I left right this moment—and there’s no way I’m doing that—I’d only make it about halfway to the cabin.

I can only hope that when Liora awakens, she’ll have an ounce of compassion for our fallen friend. After all, she was friends with Bones too, before our split. She has the same memories of our times together that I have. She knows every detail of our shared life up until the point the Amazèa cracked us in half. Although she claims to despise us now, there was a time when she cared for Bones just as much as I do now.

I can only hope she does the right thing.

******





The roar of the approaching engine sounds just as the first cool waves of weakness flutter through my body. “Kieron, hurry!”

He leaps off his bike and rushes to my side, a large flask of green liquid in his hand. “How’s he doing?” he asks, uncorking the lid.

“The same, but look…” I motion with my chin to the sky, my voice faint.

He looks at me with horror as understanding registers on his face. “Oh, no…Liora…she’s coming…”

I nod. “You must stay here, Kieron. You have to help her. She’ll be afraid, and very upset. You must take care of her and get her home safely. And Bones…please…save him…don’t let him die…”

My words fade away as the blackness seeps in all around me.