Aeron laughed. “Nae, boyo. Just these two of me old mates and yours. Try not to kill them.”
“Noted.” Nick grimaced at the foul demons chasing them. “How many hell-monkeys did you invite over this time? No offense, we’re going to have to go to Winn-Dixie and make some groceries. ’Cause the one thing hanging around Simi has taught me—demons all got tapeworms and hollow legs, and I don’t think Menyara can cover it. They don’t look like a sugared grapefruit will satisfy their cravings and I’m not about to give them sugar-coated Nick.”
Caleb eyed the demons then Nick before he grinned at Xev. “Remember the story of Medea and Jason?”
“Yeah, what of it?”
“I’m thinking we start cutting up the Malachai and chucking pieces of him at them ’til they go away.”
“I’m good with that. But you have to tell Cherise what you did to her boy. Because honestly? I’d rather face the hell-monkeys.”
“You’re right. Anyone else got a bad idea?”
“Yeah,” Nick said with a laugh. “I got lots of bad ones, but I’m trying to hold out for a good one for once.”
Kody gulped at the giant demon that was leading the hell-monkey pack. “I’m terrified past all rational thought.” She manifested her bow.
The other girl was stopped at the door by Menyara’s protection. She literally slammed into the invisible force field and cursed.
Menyara narrowed her gaze on Aeron. “What is she?”
“He is a cyhyraeth … a bean-sidhe.”
She gave Aeron an irritated smirk. “I know what a cyhyraeth is, Aeron.”
“Sorry, love. Most just stare at me blankly whenever I use the term. Didn’t mean to judge you by their ignorance of me culture.”
She dropped the shield to allow the cyhyraeth in.
Aeron inclined his head. “Everyone, meet Vawn. Now, me lovely, shall we light them up?”
A slow insidious smile spread across Vawn’s face. “Aye, like it’s Nos Galan Gaeaf.” And with that, he manifested a blue spectral ball of light while Aeron conjured his own short Welsh war bow.
“Is that a god-bolt?” Nick asked Vawn.
“Much better, like. It be a corpse-light. Care to see why we call it that?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Vawn let it fly out the door, toward their enemies. The moment it neared them, Aeron dipped his arrow down for Kaziel to set on fire with his breath, then released it to ignite the corpse-light.
The instant those three things came together, they formed what had to be the equivalent of demon napalm. It let loose a wave of energy that backlashed and knocked everyone except Aeron, Kaziel, and Vawn off their feet. It shattered glass across the entire neighborhood, overturned cars, and set off every alarm within a two-mile radius.
It also wrapped around the demonic mountain and his friends like an inescapable, spectral webbed hand that plucked them up, slammed them down, and sucked them into some kind of vortex.
Along with a few other nearby objects the neighbors were bound to be pissed off about losing. But hey, that was what happened when you shared your zip code with an ancient goddess and lived too close to a hell-gate.
Sighing, Xev passed an I-told-you-so stare to Nick and Caleb. “Remember what I said about letting them get together? And that was without their new friend in the mix.”
Nick crossed himself. “Keep them away from liquor, right?”
“Yeah. I’d even lock up the cough syrup. Just to be safe.”
“Duly noted.”
Proud and smug, the three Celts turned around to face them. With his hip cocked, Aeron held his bow against his thigh while Vawn crossed his arms over his chest and stood with his spine parallel to Aeron’s. Still in his wolf form, Kaziel moved to sit between them, at their feet.
Nick shook his head at the frightening sight they made.
Caleb snorted. “And that is why on ancient battlefields they were known as arswyd gan drindod.”
“What’s that mean?” Nick asked.
“Terror by a trinity.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Nick pushed himself up. “Don’t get cocky, guys,” he said to Aeron and crew. “Or else we’ll make you explain this to the neighbors.”
He went to help Menyara. “Speaking of, how do you explain these things to your neighborhood, anyway?”
“Hurricanes. Tornados. Gas explosions work sometimes, too. When that fails, government conspiracy. You’d be amazed how quickly they seize onto that one.”
“Not really. I’d much rather believe the government is out to get me than a pack of fire-breathing hell-monkeys.” Nick approached Vawn respectfully. “So … talk to me about the corpse-light.”
“What about it?”
“Do all Legolas banshees have them as weapons?”