Blood Sacrifice (The Blood Sisters Book 3) (18 page)

Beasts.
They knew she was coming. Hellhounds burst through the underbrush and charged
directly for them. “Mike!” Gwen screamed.

“I
see them,” Mike bent to one knee and laid down cover fire. Gwen grabbed
Archibald by the back of his collar and pushed him toward a tree.

“Get
down!” She screamed and fired her gun, but the hounds reached their location.
Their mouths wide they hurried on muscular hind legs and leaped through the
air. With a quick motion, Gwen threw her hands down at her sides and brought a
storm of wind and
lightning
to strike
them down.

The
lightening hit its mark and the hellhounds were thrown wide. They whined like
injured dogs, but that was too close a call. Gwen would need to be more
careful. Less talking and more focus.

“Gwen!”
Archibald screamed through slotted teeth.

“Quick,
get up!” Gwen grabbed his meaty arm and they ran for Mike as he made his way
deeper into the forest. The first thing Gwen noticed was the trees. They had
gone from a dark green to a light brown. Further they ran, the more Gwen
noticed the
rot
of the forest. First, it
was subtle, but as she ran her foot crunched against dead branches and the
leaves were dried out.

The
power of the blessed forest was supposed to be protected from Lanon’s magic of
decay. So what had happened?

“Crater
must have opened…” Archibald’s voice was labored. He could barely talk as he
hypothesized.

“Save
your breath,” Gwen ordered him. Their feet pounded the fallen leaves and twigs.
With her peripheral vision, she saw a woman, all in black, step out from behind
the trees. Beautiful purple hair and a smile that would melt your heart, she
had a scaly green tail whipping out from behind her regal dress. Black
feathered wings folded behind her giant torso. Taller than any human, she slunk
out from her hiding spot.

It
was Lanon. Somehow she made it out of the pit Archibald sealed her in and she
was most cross. The lake must have no longer held her spellbound.

“Down!”
Gwen grabbed Archibald’s shoulder to toss him back. When he hit the tree, the
demon raised a
crossbow
.

No!
Gwen threw her hands to the side, but wasn’t fast enough. The demon let off a
shot and it hit Archibald center chest.

Archie!
He groaned as he grabbed at the arrow piercing his body. Gwen flicked her hands
to bring up a wind storm. The demon moved fast. Grabbing Gwen beneath the
underside of her jaw, she slammed her against the tree.

Lanon’s
mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth. “You were fools to come back here.
With Hell opening up, nothing will stop me now. Our Master is rising and I will
join him, at his side.”

Lucifer.
Gwen was chilled at the mere thought. “We’re here seeking answers. Answers
about the Ruby Heart. We can bargain in your favor. Just a few questions.”

The
demon warrior laughed. “Oh, you brought a snack all right.” She pushed Gwen
through a clearing in the trees.

Gwen
glanced back at Archibald. He wasn’t moving. And this she-demon wasn’t going to
let her go to him. “My friend…”

“Keep
walking,” Lanon ordered.

Gwen
couldn’t just leave him. She couldn’t. She elbowed the she-beast across the jaw
and ran back for Archibald. “Archie!” She screamed as the demon snapped at her
heels, but Gwen powered on.

“Gwen!”
Mike screamed and charged back toward her. He had his gun out and Gwen knew
what was about to happen.

She
coasted through the dirt on her knees, to take refuge behind a tree. Lanon was
pelted with bullets. Gwen grabbed beneath Archibald’s arms to drag him out of
the way and he moaned in pain. Blood was trailing out of his mouth and Gwen
cursed herself. She wasn’t fast enough. Wasn’t good enough to save her friend.

“Don’t
talk,” Gwen ordered and placed her hand against his cheek. He was growing cold.
Pale. Archibald shivered against the leaves and fallen twigs.

“Don’t
let her…get the Ruby Heart fragments…” Archibald cringed as he talked and his
arms quivered.

“She’s
dead now. Archie, she’s dead.” Gwen wished to ease her old friend’s suffering.
So what if it was a
well-placed
lie? “If
I could heal you, I would. Archie…”

His
teeth chattered as he shook his head. Going pale now, Gwen begged with her
heart that he’d hang on. “You need to get her blood. Bathe the Ruby Heart
fragment in the blood, Gwen.”

“Shut
up and stop talking. I know what we need to do. Just rest.”

Archibald
nodded. “Time’s run out for me, I’m afraid. But not you yet.” His eyes rolled
back into his head.

“Archie!”
Gwen screamed as Mike knelt on the other side of their dear friend. His eyes
were as hollow as her own.

He
struggled with a final breath, taking Gwen and Mike’s hands in his own. Then,
he interlocked Gwen’s hand over Mike. “You two….” But whatever Archibald meant
to say, he didn’t finish. His hands fell to his side and Gwen saw him take his
last breath.

Leaning
forward she kissed his forehead. “Thank you, old friend,” she whispered, but
she never let go of Mike’s hand.

Mike
wrapped both his arms around her, their fingers squeezed together tight like it
was a lifeline. As if it was the only thing keeping them from falling deep into
despair. He kissed Gwen’s temple and she leaned back against him, fighting the
sob lodged in her throat.

“We
should grab her blood before it drains out on the ground.” Mike said his voice
a rumbling whisper.

Her
grief was still so fresh, so raw. Gwen didn’t know if she could bury it back
down. Instead she gazed at Mike with vulnerable eyes. “Now isn’t the time for
us to talk, I know that, but…” Gwen gazed away.

Mike
studied her with an intensity that ripped her wide open. He touched her cheek
with the soft stroke of his fingers. “You don’t need to say anything. I know
what you feel, Gwen. It’s never been about that. I had a mission.”

“A
mission that didn’t include me. Maybe our son, once, but….”

“I
was weak. I shouldn’t have given in…. A priest’s oath is more than word. You
know that. Doesn’t change what my heart knows.”

“What
does it know, Mike?”

“That
it loves you,” Mike admitted. He kissed her hand. “That it loves you and it
shouldn’t have let you go. Before our son died, after, all of it. It should’ve
stuck by you. Fool that I was…the church never stuck by me. My mission doesn’t
change, even if I don’t wear the cloth.”

It
was weird, callous and strange, to hear him talk like that. Gwen wasn’t used to
it. He rarely ever said it, even in those moments—few as they were—when they
were together. It was hard to love a man like him, but it was even harder to
hear him admit his feelings.

“If
we can save Amanda, maybe we can…talk about this more,” Gwen said because her
heart couldn’t stand to say anything else.

Mike
nodded and let her hand go. “Talking, I think, is something we can both agree
on.”

Finally,
they pulled away from Archibald’s body. The earth sank around him and slowly it
sucked him down. When done, the earth rose back up as if nothing had happened.
Covered in lush, green grass and fresh moss clung to the tree where his body
had fallen. In a brief moment, a flower appeared and its pink petals open up
toward the sun.

Mike
made the sign of a cross and Gwen expelled a breath. “It’s always been strange
here, but that…”

“This
place is blessed. It’s why we brought Lanon here in the first place. It’s why
she never should’ve escaped,” Mike said.

Perhaps,
but with the caverns of Hell opening up, it seemed the rules were changing.

They
found Lanon’s tattered body lying on the grass. Her long tongue stuck out from
her mouth and she writhed back and forth in pain. “The Ruby Heart…” she hissed.
“Sacrifice…”

Gwen
stabbed Lanon with the sword that had slain Lourdes. The she-beast groaned in
pain. “It’ll never work,” her voice laughed. “You need a blood sacrifice.” It
was her last word. Lanon groaned and her tongue licked at her lips. Eyes
rolling back, it was clear she was gone.

Dead.

Gwen
stabbed her again, just to make sure.

Bathing
the Ruby Heart fragment in blood, Gwen would see about that. She truly would.
The
shard
absorbed the blood and it
shined brighter than before, but nothing else happened. She’d have to go on
faith and a prayer, once she got back with Jessica and Amanda, she could figure
out a way for it to work.

God
help them all.

****

Back
at the car, Gwen wrapped the Ruby Heart fragment in a piece of cloth before
stowing
it in her inner jacket pocket. As she
slid behind the wheel of the family car, her phone rang. A quick glance at the
call display said it was Jessica.

“Jess,
we have what we need—.” Gwen was interrupted and Mike slid into the car beside
her.

“The
angels were here. Amanda is gone.” Panic rose in Jessica’s voice. It was
heightened to a level Gwen had never heard before.

“Gone?”
No, God, not gone. Amanda had gone to the underworld? If it was true, how would
Gwen ever live with herself? How would she ever help Jessica recover from that
kind of loss?

“She
flew off like a damn bird, Aunt Gwen. I have a demon and we’re tracking her. I
think I know where she’s headed. Can you meet us there?”

“Of
course we can. Where is she going?”

“Home.”
Jessica’s voice cracked as she said it. “The house we grew up in. The house
where…”

Gwen
shook her head, tears shining in her eyes. She hadn’t been to the Blood family
estate in years, but it seemed that now, no matter what she wanted, there was
no avoiding it. The house was still owned by her family and Gwen paid for it to
be maintained, but the idea of stepping back in there…. Some family bonds
couldn’t be denied and her guilt was one of those things. “We’re on our way. I
promise you, Jessica, we’ll save her.”

“The
angels may have something to say about that. We might be heading into a fight
we shouldn’t even start,” Jessica’s voice was soft and uncertain in a way Gwen
had never heard before.

“Pull
yourself together,” Gwen ordered. She didn’t want to be so cruel, but she
didn’t have a choice. Mike cast her a look as she talked, but he didn’t
interrupt. She knew what he was thinking, but Gwen didn’t need to hear it. She
had to say what was necessary to motivate Jessica.

And
God help her, Gwen always knew how to motivate that girl. “You need to be
strong. A little while longer. Just get there and we’ll worry about what we
should or should not do later. All that matters is that you’re there for your
sister.”

She
ended the call mostly so Jessica wouldn’t argue with her anymore and partially
so she wouldn’t have to hear Jessica call her names. Now wasn’t the time and
Gwen couldn’t stomach it. Not this night.

“What?”
Gwen couldn’t keep the attitude out of her voice as Mike continued to stare at
her.

“Nothing,”
he shrugged and stared out the window. “Nothing at all.” His lips smacked
together, and his tongue licked his teeth in what could be considered a
priestly fit of rage.

At
least he knew when it was best to be quiet, but even that upset her. Gwen
didn’t want to lash out at those she cared about, but to stay alive—to survive
the path they were on, she didn’t have a choice.

“If
Jessica losses Amanda, I don’t know if she’ll survive.” For that matter, Gwen
didn’t know if she’d survive that either. “She has to do what is necessary and
for that to happen—.”

I
have to be strong. Tough on Jessica. Maybe I can’t even show her how I really
feel about her. Ever. Gwen could barely think those things to herself and she
sure as hell didn’t want to say them out loud.

Mike
just nodded. “Guess you better get us to Nebraska again. Wonder if Jacob
stashed any of that aged bourbon he liked so much? Think we’ll find some under
a loose floorboard?”

Gwen
gave him a tearful smile. She doubted anything was left of her dear old brother
that hadn’t been picked over years ago. But if fate was on their side, maybe
they’d find a little bit of Jacob’s luck. Once upon a time, he’d had it in
spades.

Until
Gwen flushed it all down the toilet, and cursed them all.

Jessica
couldn’t find a part to fix her aunt’s Jeep in a reasonable amount of time. She
wasn’t willing to hike it all over town, so the only other option was to steal
a car.

No
problem. That was something she could do easily. She walked down the street
surveying her options—it was a lot like window shopping.

“Can
we pick something that won’t paint a target on our backs?” Duncan asked.

She
wasn’t going to argue about that. “Right now I just want something that’s
close. We’ve wasted enough time.”

Spotting
a black sedan a block over, Jessica trotted across the street. As she got
closer, she saw it was a BMW. Well…baby stepson the whole not attracting
attention thing. Duncan grabbed her arm as she went for it.

“Too
new. It might have GPS tracking and remote engine shutdown.” He tossed his head
to the side. “What about that one?”

She
gazed across the way at the array of boutiques and colorful canopies strewn
along the sidewalk. There was a cupcake delivery van parked by the door and
behind it, a white sedan. If Jessica didn’t miss her guess it was an
Oldsmobile. God, when did they stop making those?

Her
nose scrunched in disgust. “In that jalopy?”

Duncan
shrugged. “It’ll be new to you.”

Jessica
resisted an eye roll. “Let’s just hope I don’t get pulled over. I don’t want to
get arrested in that piece of junk. That’s not the headline a mass murderer
deserves.”

“Jess,”
Duncan said quietly, his hand resting on her shoulder. His eyes smoldered with
grief and despair for her and Jessica needed to get away from that. She’d take
love. She’d even take condolences, but pity? That wasn’t her style.

She
started across the street and Duncan pulled their demon captive along with
them. The other demons hadn’t tried physical violence yet, but they were
following—staying hidden in the shadows, but just barely.

Jessica
picked the lock of the trunk and found nothing remarkable. Windshield washer
fluid, an old blanket, a screwdriver and a crowbar. Nice. Jessica traded her
gun for the
screwdriver
and headed toward
the front of the car. Already Duncan was in the back with their demon friend.
He kept the barrel of a gun pressed against the demon’s head. Surprisingly, the
demon was agreeable and didn’t even argue. He sat with his back perfectly still
and didn’t speak a word.

Opening
the front door, Jessica reached down low to pop the hood. “You got a name
anyway?”

The
demon’s head moved as if to glance at her from beneath his sunglasses. “Karl.”

“Is
that with a C or a K?” Jessica asked.

“K.”
The demon answered.

Jessica
shook her head and muttered. “Typical. Duncan, take off his sunglasses. I don’t
like not seeing his eyes.”

“Got
it.”

Jessica
opened the hood and pulled the ignition wire out of its socket on the firewall.
She secured it to the positive battery terminal before jamming the screwdriver
across the starter relay’s connectors.

The
engine turned over and roared to life.

“Now
that’s how you hotwire a car, Hollywood,” she muttered before she slid behind
the wheel Maybe someone did favor them—the car had a full tank of gas.

“Which
way has she gone?” Jessica asked and she fixed her eyes on the rearview mirror
to peer at the demon.

He
pointed on the glass. “Northwest. She’s moving fast.”

Jessica
shifted the car into drive, but didn’t bother to flick the headlights on yet.
She didn’t want to alert to anyone that this car was about to be stolen. As she
rolled the vehicle forward, Karl’s demon friends stepped out from behind the
shadows.

“We
can’t let you go to the queen. You must let her descend to the throne.” They
linked arms in a fence that stretched across the road.

“They
can’t be serious,” Duncan said.

Jessica
shook her head and punched the gas. The car ripped through the demons and the
fence they had made with their bodies. Scattering like ants, most of them fell
to the ground, but a few of them grabbed hold. One swayed back and forth on the
windshield and another clung to her partially open window.

“You
won’t get away with this,” the one on the windshield hissed through the glass.
“We will stop you. The legion is coming. He is awakening from his crypt.”

Jessica
fishtailed the car to get the demons to lose their grip. When the one on the
window maintained his grip, and she rolled it up so he wouldn’t have anything
to hold onto anymore. He fell with a thump-thump. The tires bounced as they ran
over his body and Jessica was jostled in her seat.

“What
do you think he meant by that?” Duncan asked.

She
was too afraid of the answer, so Jessica just gripped the steering wheel. The
stupid hula girl dangling from the rearview mirror annoyed her. It swayed side
to side and Jessica ripped it off and tossed it into the passenger seat beside
her.

Felt
better. A little. If only she had a spare demon to kick the snot out of.

“Lucifer,”
Karl answered quietly. “He’s coming up. Without Lourdes, there’s nothing to
keep him in place. His rising darkness will challenge the new queen unless she
can get to her throne before he gets his hands on her.”

Jessica
exhaled long and slow. That was the answer she was afraid of.

“Jess—.”
Duncan said softly and through the mirror she saw the tender look in his eye.
The grief, the sympathy.

What
he was thinking was already in her heart. How can we save Amanda if it means
the destruction of everything else? But Jessica couldn’t think like that. She
needed to see Amanda. Needed to hug her and tell her how much she was loved.
Jessica didn’t care what happened after. All she needed to do was find her
sister.

Even
if it was for the last time.

****

Aunt
Gwen wasn’t answering her cell phone. Typical as that was, Jessica told herself
it was because they were on a lead. They knew how to activate the Ruby Heart,
and soon they’d call. Soon they’d have what was needed to save Amanda.

Bringing
all of their trials to a close and the Blood sisters could finally be happy.
Jessica had her man, would have her car, and everything would be fine. Maybe
even Amanda would get to find love, to find something that completed her rather
than just saving people all the time.

That
was Jessica’s bright burning hope, but behind that, was something sinister. It
lurked behind, in the quiet of her mind. Haunting her with visions of suffering
and defeat. Amanda lost and locked away for an eternity, becoming what they
spent their whole lives fighting.

“What
are you stewing about up there?” Duncan asked.

Jessica
shook her head. “Me? I’m fine.”

“Like
hell you are. Can’t blame you a bit, darling, but since we’re stuck in this car
and I can’t touch you from back here,” Duncan’s voice dropped softly, “why
don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?”

“All
the fighting we did. All the protecting Amanda. I spent my whole life,” Jessica
took a moment and planted her tongue firmly against the inside of her cheek.
Drawing a breath kept the emotion at bay—at least for a little while longer.
“And now, if there’s no way for me to save her? If I have to say good-bye.”

Jessica
gazed down at her hand and a tear fell from her eye. “That would mean it was
all for nothing. Why bother suffering? Breaking out of hospitals and everything
else we did? Lost our parents…none of it will mean anything.”

“Tell
that to the countless people you saved. Tell that to Nancy and her two little
girls.”

“Nancy?”
Jessica’s eyebrows furrowed. The name rang a bell….

“That’s
right,” Duncan leaned forward and stroked her shoulder. “Hooked on drugs, she
was putting her daughters at risk. I’ve never met anyone so close to death,
thanks to demon
drugs, then
her, but you
saved her. Scared her straight. I only saw her in the hospital for a short
time, but I think she was going to pull herself together. Pretty sure you
changed the course of those young girls’ lives in the process. So you tell them
it was all for nothing.”

She
remembered them now. Jessica remembered how the little girls held hands so
tight that nothing could separate them. That kind of love wasn’t learned, it
was born. Just like the love she had for Amanda. Now, Jessica was conflicted
beyond belief.

For
all those children, Jessica had to save the world. She couldn’t let Lucifer
rise, but if saving the world meant letting Amanda seal herself in the
underworld, Jessica didn’t know if she could do it.

“What
if she never forgives me for letting her go?”

Duncan
stroked the side of Jessica’s neck. It was the only part of her he could reach.
Jessica reached over and squeezed his hand. Thick tears marred her vision.
“From what I saw, Amanda is ready to sacrifice herself. She left that cage
willingly, Jess. Even if she didn’t, she has always forgiven you. There isn’t a
thing you can do that Amanda can’t forgive.”

A
sob lodged in her throat and Jessica thought she might choke on it.

“Get
us to her,” Duncan whispered, “the race isn’t over yet. We don’t know what
might happen. All I know is when you and Amanda are together, magic happens.
Maybe you have a little bit of that magic left.”

Jessica
hoped so. She hoped so, but part of her already felt like she was saying
good-bye.

“Take
the next exit,” Karl said with a clear of his throat. “She’s heading east. You
need to switch over to the I-495.”

Jessica
did as he suggested and as she hopped onto the I-495, a green highway sign
stated they were headed toward Nebraska.

Nebraska

That’s
where they grew up with Mom and Dad. That was where—oh God; Jessica knew where
Amanda was going. She was headed home—to their real home. They hadn’t been to
Nebraska in years. Did everything they could to avoid it.

Hang
in there, Amanda. I’m coming.

“She’s
going to our family home. Maple Street—Sweetwater, Nebraska. I know where she
is.” Jessica rested her elbow on the window and leaned on her hand. She pinned
the gas pedal, watching the speedometer climb toward one hundred miles per
hour.

“What’s
it like?” Karl asked.

“What
like?” Jessica turned her head to answer.

“Love,”
Karl said, “I’ve never heard anyone talk about it. But from the way you fight
for the queen, I’m guessing that’s love. It seems…confusing.”

“Shut
up,” Duncan shoved Karl. “She doesn’t need this from you.”

No,
Jessica didn’t, but it didn’t mean Karl was wrong. Love was confusing. “It’s
what makes us human. If we lose that, God help us all.”

The
highway was surprisingly empty. Maybe it was because of the time of night—3
A.M. the witching hour, but something about it set Jessica’s belly on fire.

Karl
sat up straighter in the backseat. “Demons.”

Jessica
gripped the steering wheel as her senses came alive. Up ahead was a blockade of
blinking lights.

Police.

She
accelerated the car and hoped they could break through the wooden barricade
without too much trouble. “Hold on—.” Her voice ripped to a complete stop. The
wheels of the Oldsmobile hit a nail strip and the front tires were blown out.

Shit.

Jessica
wrestled with the wheel and slammed on the brakes as the car spun wildly. Doing
at least three full rotations, the car headed toward the steel guardrail.
Jessica’s vision couldn’t right itself and she gripped the handle of the door.
Her head flung forward and the seatbelt tightened, digging against the soft
flesh of her neck.

“Duncan—.”
Was he okay back there?

The
car slammed into the guardrail and flipped over into the ditch. Jessica’s hands
braced against the ceiling, as the car slid down the embankment on its roof,
before slamming into a tree. A branch smashed through the passenger side of the
car, tearing through the window, the seat, everything.

No.
Duncan…Duncan…. Jessica’s vision spun and her mind slipped from her. She was
nearly unconscious, but that couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t.

Nebraska.
She needed to get there…. She grabbed for her shotgun as she undid her
seatbelt. Someone opened the door and Jessica spilled out. Rolling on the
ground, the sky swiveled as if she was on an amusement park ride.

Her
view of the stars and the shifting branches, against the reigning darkness, was
interrupted by the silhouette of a large rim hat. “Well, well…looks like I
caught the infamous Jessica Blood. Didn’t exactly go as planned.” The demon
leaned down into her face. Jessica saw her reflection in his mirrored
sunglasses. Wasn’t good. Her cheeks were cut up and her eyes were more confused
than angry.