Blood of the Demon (36 page)

The sounds of outside battle grew closer to the tent. Someone—one of his brothers—yelled, and the tent shook as the melee flowed inside. Mammon directed a momentary glance outside the bedroom entrance, then swung at Keegan with renewed vigor. He leapt back to block it.

“Keegan, we’re getting creamed out here,” Taeg called, his voice anxious.

Keegan stole a glance out at the great room and found Taeg, Ronin, and Dagan in there, fighting back the flood of zombies flowing into the tent. The creatures ripped and tore their way inside, and the entire canvas began falling down around them.

Shit. They were fucked.

Mammon laughed as he aimed his sword at Keegan. Although Keegan stopped it, his collarbone broke from the impact, buffeting his body with pain. He gritted his teeth as a hoarse yell tore from his mouth, and his sword clattered to the ground as he fell to his knees.

“Oops.” Mammon’s eyes lit up. He lifted the sword above his head and readied for a decapitating swing.

Oh shit.
Shit!

Keegan fumbled around the back of his jeans for the dagger he’d hidden there, knowing all the while that by the time he got it out, it would be too late.

Brynn uttered a muffled scream. “Stop!”

Mammon hesitated, lobbing Brynn a surprised glance.

Yes.
Keegan’s fingers closed around the dagger. He yanked it out of its scabbard and slammed it upward, through his father’s belly. A loud
crack
sounded as the blade broke through Mammon’s ribcage and lodged itself into his heart.

“Ugh... ” Eyes widening, Mammon glared at the dagger embedded deep inside his chest. Keegan kept a tight hold of it as Mammon’s sword dropped from his limp fingers and he slowly slumped to his knees in front of him.

Mammon’s glazed eyes met his, echoing his shock at what had just happened. A thin line of blood dribbled from the corner of his lips.

After a moment of complete silence, Taeg uttered, “Uh... what just happened?”

Keegan tore his gaze from Mammon, and his mouth dropped open.

The canvas separating Mammon’s bedroom from the great room had all but disintegrated in the melee. Taeg, Ronin, and Dagan stood with their backs to each other, with zombies surrounding them.

Motionless zombies, who stood there staring at him. No, wait...

At Brynn.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Brynn, although still manacled to the bed, struggled to sit up. She spat out the rest of her gag and threw them a dirty look. “That’s what I was trying to tell you the whole time. The zombies are mine.”

Keegan choked on a cough. “Yours?”

“They were never meant to obey the holder of the
Book
,” she continued in a disgruntled tone. “It’s
me
they obey. They were only fighting you to protect themselves. You attacked them first.”

Keegan stared at Brynn in stunned silence. Taeg laughed behind him.

“They obey you?” he repeated dumbly.

“Yes. Now someone please get me free.”

Ronin slowly backed away, his sword pointed at the zombies. When he seemed sure they wouldn’t attack, he dropped his weapon and moved to Brynn. He rummaged inside the drawer on the end table and pulled out a key, then unlocked the manacles.

She let out a pained cry.

“What’s wrong?” Keegan said.

“My wrist.”

Ronin grasped her wrist in his hands. “I’ll heal it. I don’t think Keegan has any blood to spare right now.”

Mammon made a choking sound, drawing Keegan’s attention to him. “Kill me.”

Keegan looked at Mammon.
Really
looked at him. He’d actually never been this close to his father before. At least, not when he wasn’t busy defending himself from attack. Funny how weak he appeared now. Weak and old. Pathetic.

He barely noticed Taeg and Dagan move next to him. He slowly rose to his feet, pulling Mammon up with him.

“I’ll bet that hurts like a son-of-a-bitch,” Taeg said coldly.

Dagan laughed. “Won’t kill him, but more than enough to make him damn near paralyzed. Yeah, it’s got to sting a little.”

“Kill me,” Mammon repeated, his eyes bright with pain. “Better dead now than a prisoner to the Council. Give me the honor of death, as I would have done for you.”

Keegan turned to Taeg, who simply shrugged, then to Ronin and Dagan.

“It’s up to you,” Ronin said.

“He deserves to die,” Dagan added, pure hatred etched on his face.

“You know I would do the same to you,” Mammon gasped.

He was right. Mammon would have easily done the same to him, and he would have laughed while he died. No doubt, he would have raped Brynn right in front of his still-warm corpse. For that alone, he deserved to die.

Keegan gave him a cold, hard laugh. “No.”

“What?” Mammon panted. His fingers dug into Keegan’s shoulder.

“I said no.”

He swore he’d never be like his father, and he wasn’t about to start now. As much as he wanted to see the man dead, he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Keegan shoved him backward. Taeg caught him and wrapped his fingers around the blade, twisting until Mammon screamed, eliciting a ragged chuckle from Taeg. “Can’t have you breaking free, can we?”

“Keegan.” Brynn threw herself into his arms. Staggering, he pulled her tight and closed his eyes. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again.”

He laughed, despite himself. “I was going to say the same thing to you.”

Brynn kissed him deeply, her tears scalding him where they landed on his cheeks. When she pulled away, her eyes glowed with emotion. “I was scared. So scared for you. Damn it Keegan, I love you.”

“I... ” He trailed off without saying the three little words he so desperately longed to. What was the use? Break her heart now, or break it even worse later? Because now that Mammon was captured, he’d have to return home.

She seemed to realize he wasn’t going to, and her hurt and disappointment punched him in the gut. Composing herself, she stepped out of his arms and turned to face his brothers. “What now?”

“Can you get rid of the zombies?” Ronin asked.

Brynn nodded. “I think so.”

“We need to get Dad here back to the Council for punishment,” Taeg said.

“And once we do, we’ll be sent back to Infernum,” Keegan added gently.

Her eyes widened and a myriad of expressions crossed her face as comprehension dawned.

“Oh.
Oh.
” She carefully studied each of Keegan’s brothers.
“
But none of you want to go back there, do you?”

“Fuck no,” Dagan said. “That place is a shithole.”

“Don’t you think you might be able to petition the Council to let you stay here, now that you’ve caught Mammon?”

“Yeah right. If only.” Taeg snorted, tightening his grip around the dagger.

Mammon groaned.

“Well... ” Her brow crinkled as if she was considering something. “Can you get me in front of the Council?”

“The Council ordered your death. I’m not letting you anywhere near them,” Keegan said, surprised she’d brought it up.

“What are they going to do, kill me?” she countered. “They can’t. They need me to get rid of the zombies.”

“Still, only a fool would throw that in their faces, especially since it protects you only until the zombies are gone.”

“I’m not a fool,” she said. “And I’ve got an idea.”

“No. No way.” He crossed his arms, wincing at the residual trace of pain in his shoulder. With his low blood volume, damn thing was taking longer than normal to heal. “I’m not putting you in danger.”

Taeg shifted, uncomfortable. “Um, I’m gonna take Daddy Dearest outside.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ronin muttered, echoed by Dagan. The three of them hightailed it out of the tent, Mammon in tow.

Brynn shook her head as she watched them leave, then turned back to Keegan, her expression a cross between pleading and exasperation. “Can’t you trust me?”

Her words twisted in his heart. “I trust you, Brynn, but... ”

She took his hand in hers, her grip sure and tight. “For once, why don’t we work together?”

Brynn’s honest words wore down his defenses. The bottom line was that Keegan had never trusted anyone enough to help him, not even his brothers. In a way, that was what had gotten him here to begin with.

“Please, Keegan,” she persisted. “I know what I’m doing. I promise.”

He believed her. More than that, he believed
in
her. She was worthy of his trust, and he owed it to her to give her that. “Okay.”

“Good.” Brynn took a shaky breath. “Now, help me find that damned
Book
.”

§

Leviathos watched from his spot hidden in the cliff side as Keegan loaded Mammon into the trunk of their rental car. The girl folded herself into the car, the
Book
held tight in her grasp.

He harbored no pity for Mammon. The man was a fool. He’d let his delusions of grandeur consume him, until in the end he’d been weak. So weak.

Leviathos wasn’t about to make that mistake.

He watched Keegan drive away. Now was not the time for the
Book
, but that time would come. He would find a way to retrieve it. To use it. Now, thanks to Mammon, he knew it didn’t work as they’d expected. But it was still invaluable. The heir could control the army, and he would find a way to control her. But unlike Mammon, he’d do it slowly, take his time, and make no mistakes.

His attention shifted to Taeg, who stood guard at the entrance to one of the pyramids. His mouth tightened. Taeg was no doubt strutting around like a rooster, thinking he’d won. He’d always thought he was the shit. And true, for many years, he was. Winning at sports. Winning Ana’s heart. But Leviathos had learned to not desire those things anymore. Not until he was in a position to make them his by right.

Good riddance to Mammon. Without him, Leviathos was free to act as he wished. He’d use what he learned from him to his advantage, leaving all of his old master’s weaknesses behind.

One thing was certain: Taeg and his brothers hadn’t seen the last of him. Not yet.

§

“You dare seek our council?” the Councilman’s monotone voice echoed inside the chamber.

Brynn held her ground, doing her best to ignore the creepiness of the Councilman’s eyes, which was all she could see of him. “Yes, I dare.”

“Don’t forget that she’s the reason you have Mammon
and
the
Book
,” Keegan said beside her.

Taeg and Ronin had stayed behind, guarding the zombies she’d ordered into one of the pyramids while she and Keegan stood before the Council with Mammon and the
Book
. The whole trip had been worth it, especially when she got to see the look on Mammon’s face as one of the Council’s prison guards carted him away with the dagger still embedded deep in his chest.

“She’s a danger to us all,” the Councilman said to Keegan. “And you were ordered to kill her.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t.”

A creepy chorus of indecipherable whispers echoed all around the Councilman. “You deserve to be tried for this—”

“Save it,” Brynn snapped. The indrawn breaths from the black space told her she treaded on thin ground, but she really didn’t care. She already hated these beings for what they’d allowed Mammon to do to Keegan and his brothers, and to the women who had birthed them. She wasn’t about to treat them like gods. Not even close. “You have a shitload of zombies packed into a pyramid. They’re dying to get a bite of human flesh and I’m the only one who can stop them.”