“Wait,” I shouted to Daniel. “Can’t you call the boys, like psychically? They always knew what you wanted when you were the white wolf. And you knew I needed you here.”
Daniel kicked a demon, sending him flying into the dummy of Dr. Jekyll. “I don’t really remember how I did it.”
“I don’t know. Maybe just think real hard about what you need them to do.”
“I’ll try.” Daniel pointed behind me. “Watch out—”
I felt a sharp stab as a Gelal raked its claws into my back. Screaming in pain, I used my own weight to flip the beast over my shoulder. It scrambled away from me, and my stake sank into the soft ground instead of flesh as I tried to stab it. “Ahh!” I yelled, trying to regain my balance.
Daniel went after the Gelal and wrestled it to the ground.
The sound of rustling cornstalks made me look up just in time to see the ten more beasts come through the corn barrier into the clearing.
“Now would be a great time for that backup,” I yelled, as an Akh came at me with vicious swings of his taloned hands.
“I’m working on it,” Daniel answered. I heard him grunt, but I wasn’t sure if it was in response to the force of taking out another demon, or a cry of pain.
I staked the Akh, and then tried to turn toward Daniel to check on him, but another Gelal must have noticed my distraction. I caught the sight of it out of the corner of my eye, launching in my direction. I flinched, knowing I wouldn’t have time to block its blow, but its body suddenly lurched backward like a dog caught at the end of its lead.
I saw the glint of metal protruding from his chest, and I realized it’d been skewered on the end of a sword. Talbot’s sword, I saw, as he came bursting through the wall of cornstalks. He swung his arm with a forceful movement, flinging the dead Gelal off the end of his sword and onto the ground.
I jumped back to avoid the acid spray. “I told you to go home.”
“Good thing I didn’t listen,” he said, seeming far more sober than just a few minutes ago. “I thought I heard someone asking for backup.” He stepped out of the way, and Brent, Ryan, Zach, and Slade pushed their way through the cornstalks, all with weapons ready. They rushed right into the clearing and joined Daniel in the fight against the fourteen beasts that remained. Talbot followed, taking off the head of an Akh with the swing of his sword.
Not to be left out, I charged into the mix, sending another Akh I recognized from Caleb’s warehouse into Ryan’s outstretched stake with a roundhouse kick.
“Now that was awesome,” Ryan said, as the Akh burst into dust in front of him. “I always hated that guy.” He spun around and went charging after a Gelal that had Brent backed into a corner. I felt like a proud mama for a moment, watching my boys sticking up for each other.
I heard a female shriek from the other side of the clearing, near the exit.
“Look what I found,” screeched an Akh.
He stood over Katie Summers, clacking his taloned nails together. Katie screamed again, throwing her arms in front of her face as she lay on the ground.
“Looks like a tasty treat,” said the Akh.
“Stop him!” I shouted at Slade, who was closest to them.
Slade jumped into action, knocking the Akh away from Katie with the swing of one of his tattooed arms. He reached out to help Katie up, but then a Gelal jumped on his back and knocked him to the ground. Slade tried to roll away. Before he could, the Gelal pinned Slade down by sitting on his chest, and the Akh who’d tried to attack Katie grabbed him by the face with his long talons.
“Don’t look him in the eyes!” I shouted.
But it was too late, the beast had locked eyes with Slade, trapping him in a motionless trance. The Gelal, teeth bared, went for Slade’s neck. Before the beast could bite, I threw my stake like a javelin across the clearing, and it skewered the Gelal in the back. It burst to acid on top of the Akh.