Blood Winter (9 page)

She dropped silently to the ground. In a quick move, she snatched him around the neck, yanking away his helmet and headphones and catching him in a sleeper hold. He stiffened and twisted, but she had supernatural strength. In a matter of half a minute, he slumped. She picked him up and hoisted him over a branch to get him out of the mist. Then she felt around on the ground for the helmet. She pulled the headpiece off and pulled it down over her own ears.

Instant relief. The wailing cut off abruptly, and her ears were filled instead with the crackle and hiss of the radio and the sounds of breathing and sputtering voices from whoever else was online.

It took a minute for her vision to clear completely, and when it did, she sucked in a soft breath. She was looking out over a rocky basin with a handful of scrawny birch trees. A fast-running creek snaked through the bottom. Fangs of rock thrust up from the frothing water. Just on the near side was a collection of creatures that looked as if they came out of some sort of apocalyptic disease movie.

Their stooping forms were more than seven feet tall, and their gray-green skin was ulcerated and weeping with something that looked like bloody pus. Long black hair hung in greasy, lank hanks. Their faces were long, with pointed snouts and curving teeth. Round yellow eyes bulged from beneath heavy brow bones. Long, sticklike arms ended in enormous spidery hands. They looked like they could grasp a man’s head in one fist and pop it like a tick.

They circled around a bloated white sac that sat ten feet from the creek bank. It billowed and stretched like something was struggling to get out. The mist rolled off it like dry ice in water, and whatever it contained was making the ear-ripping noise.

Max counted fourteen of the creatures, and they were Divine. That meant they had the ability to cast magic, which didn’t necessarily mean much. It could just be that their toenails could grow into instant trees if they were torn out and planted. On the other hand, maybe they could cast wards and other nasty spells.

Either way, they didn’t belong in Horngate territory. She rolled her head on her neck to crack it and loosen her muscles. Max had a feeling they weren’t going to move easily. First things first: she had to shut that damned noise up so her Blades could get their sight back.

“And they say crying babies will drive you insane,” she murmured, forgetting her headphones. “Babies could learn a thing or two from these beasties.”

Silence filled her ears, and a flat, cold voice spoke. “Who the hell are you?”

“We, my friend, are your friendly local nine-one-one responders,” answered Tyler, much to Max’s surprise. “We’ve come to pull your asses out of the fire. You can stop shooting anytime, by the way. You’re wasting bullets. Lead doesn’t bother them.”

“It does when it blows off their heads,” someone said.

Max scanned the clearing, looking for Tyler. “Where are you?”

“North and west in the trees.”

In fact, he was halfway up a tree, crouching on a branch and wearing a set of headphones.

“What have you done with my men?” demanded the first voice.

“Nothing they can’t recover from,” Max said. “You didn’t kill yours, did you, Tyler?”

“He’ll live. But my Blades are up the hill. Blind as bats.”

“Same here. We have to shut down the noise,” she said. “Think you and I can get in there and kill that thing?”

“Do we have a choice?” came Tyler’s reply.

“Just one fucking second. Who the hell are you?”

“We own this land. You’re trespassers,” Max said.

“Kiss my ass. This is Frank Bryce’s land,” someone said.

“Seal those lips, Foster,” snapped the leader. Then, “He’s right. This land doesn’t belong to you.”

“By the laws of magic, it does. Which means you need to cease fire. If you shoot me, I’m going to be seriously annoyed,” Max warned.

“Laws of magic?” Max could almost hear his lip curl, and she did hear him spit.

“That’s right. It’s a new world. Get used to it. Now, Tyler and I are going in. Don’t get in our way, and quit shooting, and you just might survive the day.”

She glanced over her shoulder. The soldier was starting to twitch and moan. Oak was edging down the slope behind her. Farther up, she could see the others trailing down, arms outstretched as they moved toward her voice.

“Did you hear?” she asked Oak. His eyes were now glassy white.

“Yep. You can see?” At least, that’s what she thought he said. She wasn’t exactly a lip reader.

“Earphones,” she said by way of explanation. “Wait here. Once the noise stops, your eyes should heal up.”

He lifted two fingers to his brow in a casual salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Bite me,” she said with a grin, and focused back on the clearing.

“How do you want to handle this?” Tyler asked. “Ask them politely to leave?”

“Think they’ll listen?”

“It’s possible.”

“But not likely. Still, should let us get close enough to attack. I don’t think the snow is thick enough to give us cover. And there’s no sneaking in on our stomachs below the mist. It will probably eat our faces off. As it is, my boots are half gone,” Max said. “But watch out—they are Divine.”

“Bullshit. There ain’t nothing holy about them but maybe what we shot through them,” a man’s voice growled into her ears.

It irritated her. “I didn’t say
holy,
Ace. I said Divine. Better learn the difference, or you’re going to end up dead. I might even kill you myself.”

The demons—Max was sure they were demons, though of what variety she had no idea—turned to watch her as she strode across the clearing. They could see her perfectly, since as soon as she set foot on the floor of the canyon, the snow drew back to the tree line, clearing the entire bottom of the canyon. Definitely not natural.

She drew her sword with her right hand and kept her left on the shotgun. This was likely to go south quickly.

Tyler slunk through the mist on the other side of the creek. A few demons eyed him but didn’t seem to think he was a threat. They didn’t like running water—most demon kind didn’t. Most couldn’t cross it without a bridge or transportation, and even then, it was horrifically painful, if not fatal. Maybe they thought he couldn’t cross, either, and therefore wasn’t all that threatening.

Max stopped just out of reach of the three that came to meet her. They stank like a landfill on a hot and humid day. It was enough to make her eyes water and her throat burn.

“You’re trespassing,” she said. She held the sword casually, but she could chop through all three of them before they’d be able to grab her.

“Puny human. We eat you.” The creature’s voice was like boulders grinding together. It didn’t wait for Max to answer but darted its long arms out at her.

It moved faster than she expected. She jerked her sword up and around, chopping through its wrists. She whirled in a circle, ducking low to avoid the swiping hands of the other two. Hands? They were more like rakes with hooked talons.

She slammed into one, knocking it sideways, then hacked through the neck of the other. Purplish blood fountained, and her skin erupted in blisters and burns wherever it splashed. She felt poison leaching into her flesh and veins. Claws ripped down her thigh, shredding her pants and cutting deep. She kicked and wove in a desperate dance as the full company of demons descended on her. She blasted them with the shotgun, but even though the blasts tore holes in them and took off one demon’s head, they kept coming.

“Destroy that thing fast,” she gritted through the radio to Tyler. “I won’t hold out long.”

But instead of going after the giant Hefty bag of bloodcurdling screams, he was suddenly at her side. He had knives in both fists and moved with liquid grace as he sliced and cut, ducking and lunging.

“What are you doing?” Max demanded. She dropped her shotgun. It was empty, and she had no time to reload. Now it was just getting in the way.

“What does it look like?”

He grunted and doubled over as a demon leg smashed into his ribs. He jammed a knife deep into the leg and jerked away before the gout of blood could drench him. Jaws snapped next to Max’s ear. One of them grabbed her ankle and yanked, dangling her in the air.

Twisting, she levered up from the waist and chopped through its arm with her sword. The limb separated, and she fell hard on her back. She rolled away, grunting as the creature’s tail lashed across her back. Her headphones twisted, and the screaming wail instantly drilled into her skull. Max’s eyes glazed gray. She wrenched away from an eviscerating slash at her gut and leaped to her feet, hooking her headphones back into place.

Voices crackled through the radio, offering a storm of advice. She ignored them. Suddenly, the leader’s voice blasted through.

“Cut the jaw-jacking!”

Instant silence. Max could have kissed him.

She dove back into the fray, standing back-to-back with Tyler. Bit by bit, they chipped away at their enemies. Literally. A few fingers here, a hand there, a head, a leg, a foot, a tail. Blood and gore slicked the ground beneath them. The falling temperature was swiftly turning the wet to ice, making footing that much more difficult.

Suddenly, Tyler went down, falling beneath the level of the mist. Two demons dove on top of him, their jaws snapping. Without thinking, Max abandoned her own battle. She snatched one of the beasts by the shoulder and pulled it up, smashing her knee into its face. Its blood spurted, and it grabbed her thigh with both claws. Its bony fingers skewered her flesh. Talons scraped bone. Max clenched her teeth, biting back a yelp of pain. She clubbed the creature in the head with the hilt of the sword before it could strip the meat from her leg.

Its skull caved in, and the demon fell backward. Its fingers gouged through Max’s thigh, turning it to hamburger. She kicked it away as best she could, but her leg was next to useless.

Something struck her from behind, knocking her flying. She flew over Tyler and bounced on the ground. Her forehead banged against a sharp rock. She rolled onto her back just as a demon closed on her. She managed to get her good leg up between them and kicked it off. She’d lost her sword. She yanked a knife from the sheath on her arm and slashed at the demon’s throat as it launched itself at her again.

Hot blood splashed over her face, filling her eyes and spurting into her nose and mouth. It burned, and Max gagged and gasped. She twisted as the creature fell across her, knuckling at her eyes to clear them. She squirmed out from under it and staggered to her feet.

She turned just as another demon lunged for her. Before it could connect, two shots rang out, and its skull exploded. It dropped like a sack of onions. It twitched and convulsed and then went limp.

“Thanks,” Max said into the microphone.

“Oorah,” came the leader’s gravelly voice in reply.

All of the demons were dead or incapacitated. For now. She wasn’t sure if they were going to stay dead. Demons didn’t die easy.

Tyler was on his hands and knees. He slowly clambered to his feet. Demon blood and gore drenched him from head to foot. It mixed with bright crimson ribbons that ran from his own flesh. His clothing hung in tattered shreds, and his entire body was a patchwork quilt of clawed skin.

He grinned at her raggedly. “That was fun.”

“I thought I told you to go after that thing,” she said, jerking her chin at the billowing sack. She kicked through the mist-covered debris on the ground, trying to find her sword.

He shrugged. “You couldn’t take them alone. Besides, Alexander would’ve had my ass if I let anything happen to you,” Tyler added. “He’s almost as scary as you are.”

“Right,” Max said. “If that’s what you think, I’ve been seriously slacking. So what do you want to do about the giant Hefty bag?”

“It’s probably a birthing sac.”

“Two points for Mr. Obvious.”

He ignored her. “It’s big enough to hold a couple of dozen of the bastards. The way they’re kicking around, it looks like they’re in a hurry to get out and get acquainted,” Tyler said. “They’ll be hungry. Babies always are. They’re going to think we look pretty tasty.”

She ran her fingers through her sticky, matted hair and made a face. Disgusting. “We could cut a hole in it and see if that forces them to come out one at a time.”

“Might work.” He stretched and cracked his back. “Only one way to find out.”

“Would a grenade help?” came the rasping voice of the leader of the soldiers through the headphones.

“You’ve got grenades, Chief?” Max asked. “Any reason you didn’t mention that ten or fifteen minutes ago?”

“I’ve got one left,” he corrected. “We tried the others a little north of here, but they didn’t take.”

“Which means they aren’t going to stay down,” Max said to Tyler. “How long before they resurrect, Chief?”

“Maybe ten minutes, give or take.”

Max grimaced and reached for her cell. She had to push the headphones aside, and her head instantly vibrated with the wailing cry. It was louder, if anything, and sharper. She lost her vision, and blood started to run out of her nose.

She punched in the speed dial, and Giselle answered on the first ring. “How bad is it?” she asked without preamble.

“Better get out here quick. We’ve got a demon infestation.”

One thing about Giselle was that she didn’t waste time asking a lot of stupid questions. “On my way.”

The phone went dead. Max tucked it back into her vest and readjusted her headphones. It took longer for her vision to clear this time.

“It’ll take her a little bit to get here. Couldn’t hurt to blow them to bits before that. It would stop that noise, anyhow. Give our Blades a chance to recover and help once the demons start pulling themselves back together.”

Max turned to scan the canyon behind them. The team of human hunters began sifting out of the trees. They were all wearing fatigues and carrying submachine guns slung over their shoulders. They wore camo paints and helmets, and they looked the worse for wear. Most were bandaged, and all had torn and bloody clothes.

Their leader marched out in front. He looked to be around thirty years old and was a bit more than six feet tall. Fox-colored stubble covered a stubborn jaw, and his eyes were blue, like glacier ice, and just as ruthless and cold. His skin was tanned, and he had white crow’s feet around his eyes. He came to stand a few feet away from Max. His men hung back in a loose semicircle, the barrels of their guns pointing downward, but it would only take a flick of the wrist to raise them.