Obsidian Wings (19 page)

Perhaps catching sight of Fin circling high above the pit
with Rune in his talons, Cree screamed.

A golden eagle bird shifter screaming was a sound like none
Rune had ever heard—the sound itself was a weapon, assaulting the ears of those
who heard it, scrambling thoughts, battering hearts.

It was a battle cry, a cry of death.

Cree had recognized Fin’s betrayal, and she was pissed.

Fin’s entire body shook beneath the rage in that scream, and
he returned the cry, his talons opening to release Rune.

She was too high and her fall would not be gentle. She’d
survive it, because she was just that sort of monster, but she would be unable
to function until her body knitted the broken bones and crushed organs.

And while her body was busy trying to heal, COS would take
her head.
That,
she wouldn’t come
back from.

But Cree caught her.

Rune gave her own scream when the sharp talons pierced her
flesh like giant needles, but those wounds she could heal.

That pain she could use.

Cree dropped her, dropped her back into the circle almost on
top of fucking Horner, but her attention was no longer on Rune. It was all for
Fin.

She screamed again and Rune’s insides trembled and loosened.
If she’d been anyone else she might have fallen to her knees and covered her
ears like a child.

Her sensitive vampire hearing must have made it worse,
because none of the humans on the ground seemed to be having trouble with the
eagles’ cries.

She spotted Simon Kelic shaking his head, hard, before he
became a blur of movement as he ran to destroy a slayer.

The birds’ cries weren’t just affecting
her,
and for
some reason that helped her relax.

“Rune,” Lex yelled, grabbing her arm. “You sent for me.”

The slayers not occupied with vampires converged on Rune and
Lex and there was no time to talk, no time to tell Lex that yes, she’d sent for
her because Kelic had convinced her that Lex was a demon and their only chance
of defeating the monster Horner was calling.

She had a feeling Lex was not going to deal well.

But Lex surprised her.

“I don’t know how to be the demon,” she said, twirling
around to drop kick a knife-wielding slayer.

“We have to get to Horner,” Rune said. “But if he calls the
monster, you need to figure it out fast.”

The fucking slayers were trying to delay and distract them,
and they were doing a damn good job of it.

And where were the birds? Rune didn’t expect them to join
the fight, but surely one or two of them would have been curious enough to drift
overhead to watch.

But the sky, except for the moon, Cree, and Fin, was empty.

It appeared that the birds were going to do what they always
did when the fight wouldn’t benefit them. Take off until it was over.

She felt them before she saw them—her crew—coming to help.
They’d likely followed Cree and Lex, and she’d never been so happy to see them
in her life.

They threw themselves into the thick of the battle, even as
more slayers poured into the area like BBs from an open box.

Horner’s voice drifted to her over the shouts, grunts, and
screams as he continued to chant in a deep monotone.

The air changed. It grew heavy and dim, and a breeze began
to blow. On that dark, spring night the air was cool, but the breeze was hot.

Lex stumbled, her usual grace giving way to an
uncharacteristic clumsiness. Rune shot her claws into a man’s chest and then
yanked Lex off the ground. “You okay?” she shouted.

Someone hit her from behind, a blow to the head that sent
her crashing away from Lex and into a knot of slayers trying to stand between
her and Horner—and that was the first time that night she heard the berserker’s
familiar roar.

Blood, hot and sticky, oozed down her neck and over her
back, but she shook off the pain and fought her way through that last line of
defense.

And finally, she stood at the stone altar, staring across it
at Bach Horner.

Behind him rose the fire, shooting angry blue sparks into
the sky. The man on the bench was long dead, his mouth gaping hideously, his
arms and legs restrained.

They stared at each other, frozen, as the fight raged around
them. It was time. Before that night was over, the church would stand
victorious, or the crew would.

It all came down to that moment.

And COS had to lose. They
had
to.

Overhead the two birds screamed and battled while she and
Horner stood wrapped in their own invisible, smoky circle, and the vampires
fought side by side with the crew.

Rune’s silver claws undulated before her, reaching,
reaching…

But then something came out of the fire, a hulking, alien
body, huge and shadowy and burning, and it grew taller and bigger as she
watched.

Horner gave a shout of triumph, and the demon stepped
through its fiery gateway.

COS had fucked up. They would never be able to control the
demon. They could never find a living, breathing vessel that could contain it.
And they could never, ever transport it to Karin Love.

The idiots had simply opened a portal and welcomed the demon
into their world, and it would destroy them all.

The fighting stopped as the humans and Others forgot they’d
been trying to kill each other and stood frozen in terror.

It wasn’t the sight of the demon that caused such fear, it
was the
feel
of the demon.

It cast horror and numbing despair like heavy shadows,
covering them all with a sort of bleak hopelessness that even Rune had never
imagined.

Although pain was coming—she was sure of it—the monster
wouldn’t need to physically hurt them. It attacked their minds, crushed their
will, and made their souls shrivel and crawl away to die.

Just by its presence.

Horner had stumbled back until he stood side by side with a
vampire. “You fucking idiot,” she murmured.

He turned his head slowly to meet her gaze, his eyes wide,
and he did not disagree.

The demon seemed to affect people in different ways—a deep,
lethal depression smothered Rune. It sucked the meaning out of everything. Out
of life, out of reason, out of caring. It made her realize that despite
humanity’s coping skills, despite the survival instinct kicking in and hiding
the truth, nothing really mattered.

A slayer beside her cut his own throat. The others glanced
at him as he lay on the ground bleeding out, then went back to gaping at the
demon.

Another slayer giggled, then covered his mouth as his
giggles became full out laughter. In the same way Rune couldn’t control the
bleakness that had overtaken her, the slayer couldn’t control his amusement.

“Shut up,” another slayer said, and shot him in the head.

And the demon looked at Rune.

“It knows your blood,” Horner said, his voice breathless and
soft. Excited. “It’s a tracker demon.” He smiled. “It’ll go for you and the
twins first.”

Rune forced away the demon-induced apathy. “Lex,” she
screamed.

And as though her scream woke them up, everyone started
moving again. Regaining control of their minds. In seconds, her crew surrounded
her, and Lex was at her side.

“I’m fucking terrified,” Lex said. “I’m so fucking
terrified.”

“We can’t kill it,” Rune told her. “You’re the only one who
can.”

“How do you know?” Lex asked.

“Because
I
know,” Simon Kelic said, slipping up
behind her, still careful not to touch her. The revulsion in his eyes was
impossible to mistake. “I know what you are, kid. I’ve faced down one of yours.
You can send that one—”

“Fin,” Horner screamed. “Get down here.”

But Cree wasn’t done with the traitor yet, and Fin did not
come.

Fin wasn’t attacking Cree—he was trying to escape her, as
though he didn’t want to hurt her.

If Horner had figured out some way of getting the demon
inside Fin, of using Fin as a vessel, he was out of luck.

Fin wasn’t coming.

Thick red droplets of blood rained from the sky, splattering
slayers and COS alike as the birds’ brutal fight continued.

The demon roared and went for Rune, then turned at the last
minute toward the twins. The crew scattered, shivs in hand, but there was
nothing they could do with mere blades.

“Lex,” the new master yelled.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice calm and
breathless at the same time.

Rune charged the twins, knocking them out of the demon’s
path. She was fast, but so was the demon.

He came at them again like a rabid dog, his flaming arms
outstretched as though he wanted to take them into his burning embrace.

At his core was something black, something the fire didn’t touch.
As it—
he
—moved, the fire around him swayed and leaped, trying to stay
attached to that black, rotten core.

“Rune,” Strad yelled, and threw his spear. The spear that
had been with him for as long as Rune had known him stuck the demon like metal
hitting electricity. It shook and buzzed and finally, it disappeared somewhere
in the depths of the demon.

But it bought them enough time to dodge out of the demon’s
way. And just as they moved, a bloody and battered Fin fell from the sky to
land with a sickening thump right at the demon’s feet, crushing two motionless
slayers beneath his huge, heavy body.

Horner leaped at Fin and yanked a vial from his pocket.
Then, throwing fearful glances at the demon, he poured blood into Fin’s mouth.
Chanting gibberish, he gained the demon’s attention.

The berserker grabbed Rune’s arm. “I’m getting you out of
here.”

“We’re not leaving until we take care of the demon.”

“And Horner,” Levi said, his voice grim. “Don’t kill him. I
need to.”

“Yes,” Rune agreed, but they didn’t move toward the COS
leader. The demon’s power was making them indecisive and full of self-doubt.

They watched Horner as his words reeled the demon in, and
Rune started to believe that maybe he really could control it. If the demon was
inside a man, the crew had a better chance at defeating it.

But then it roared, shook its huge, misshapen head, and
grabbed Fin off the ground.

“Not yet,” Horner said. “He’s not ready.”

Horner was so calm, so sure of himself. He knew what he was
doing. And he truly thought he could handle the demon.

Smoke poured from Fin’s body as the demon held him, and the
sharp scent of singed feathers mingled with the copper scent of fresh blood.

Fin awakened with a howl, a sound so full of shock and agony
that gooseflesh arose on Rune’s skin.

“Shit,” she whispered.

She ran at the beast before she was even aware she was going
to. The berserker yelled and grabbed the back of her shirt, but he was too
slow. She slipped free of his grasp and leaped for the demon, her claws
slashing.

Honestly, she had no idea what she was doing. She didn’t
want to save the traitorous Fin—she just wanted to stop his pain.

She dimly heard the shouts of her crew as she flew at the
demon. She was intent on one thing—piercing the monster’s heart.

It had worked with Damascus. Sort of.

Fin started flopping in the demon’s hot grip like a frantic
fish, his screams becoming weak and wheezing.

Her claws entered the demon, slipping easily through the
fiery crust, but then she hit the black core and it stopped her with a force
that bent her claws.

She yelped in pain as the shock of the impact traveled up
her arms and shook her entire body. Her brain quivered, hitting her skull with
a jolt that made the world tilt.

The demon’s core repelled her like a force field and she
fell hard, sure her spine was crushed.

Lex knelt beside her, her face stark with terror. “Rune.
Rune?”

“I’m okay.”

Then Strad reached down and helped her up, his stare on the
demon. “What can we do?”

“Nothing.” She was aware most of the vampires had melted
away and the only COS members remaining were Horner and a few pale guards with
terror-filled eyes and slack jaws.

Even the crew might have split then, had not the demon
reached out with his free hand and plucked Raze off the ground.

Raze dropped his blade and grabbed automatically for the
demon’s hand, grunting in pain. For Raze, that was a scream of pure agony.

“Oh God, Oh God,” Lex chanted. “No. No way.”

There was time for the terrible thought to flash through
Rune’s mind—if any of her crew died, she could not feed them to bring them
back.
Would
not.

They would just be gone.

“No,” she screamed, and sprang once more for the demon. She
ran, then jumped—flying, almost—to where the demon held Raze high above the
ground. The demon was growing taller. Bigger.

She wrapped one burning arm around Raze’s neck and held on
with everything she had, using her free hand to hack at the demon. She tried to
cut through the monster’s arm, screaming the entire time, barely hearing
herself. She had to free Raze. Had to.

The demon contemplated her, his scorched face holding black
eyes that looked like cigarette burns in vinyl.

And then, her earlier overwhelming black despair came back,
bigger than ever. She ground her teeth as Rune the monster fought with Rune the
girl, the girl who was predisposed to depression with a fucked up brain that
had tried its hardest to destroy her.

But it hadn’t succeeded then and it wasn’t going to succeed
now.

A bird screeched, but it wasn’t Fin. He continued to
struggle silently in the demon’s grip, his glossy eyes showing no clues to the
particular thoughts or fears the demon might have been calling forth in him.

Cree appeared in the dark sky, then dive-bombed the demon
like a living torpedo. Why she continued to fight, Rune could not imagine. The
Cree she knew would have fled long ago.

So she fought her personal demons and hacked at the
monster’s arm, desperate to save Raze.

But it was as though the demon had no real flesh—just a sort
of dense liquid fire that bathed her bent claws in heat, a fire that could not
be smothered.

Raze stared at her with a quiet resignation, the flesh of
his arm bubbling and blackening as she watched.

“Fuck no,” she said. “Raze…”

Then she understood why Cree continued to fight. It wasn’t
to destroy the demon or help the crew or save the world, it was to punish Fin.
She was raging, scorned because of Fin’s deceit, and she was going to kill him.
The demon was intensifying those feelings.

Horner’s voice drifted to her as he continued to chant,
hardly taking a breath. Her crew should have killed him, but maybe they feared,
as she did, that he was the only one who knew for sure how to defeat the
fucking demon.

Fin jerked and his eyes widened. He opened his sharp, curved
beak and screamed, and that scream knocked Rune from her tentative perch. Her
entire body went numb and her arm slid away from Raze’s neck, and once again,
she fell.

“Damn you, Rune,” the berserker said, bending over her
singed, aching body.

Rune opened her mouth and screamed the name of the one
person who had a chance in hell at conquering the demon. “Lex!”

Jack hauled her to her feet. “Lex can’t help, Rune. She’s…”
He hesitated, then tapped his head. “She’s not in there anymore.”

“The fuck she’s not. Bring her to me.”

Strad shook his head. “The demon is fucking with our minds.”

“I know,” she snapped. “I am aware of that. Now go fetch Lex
from whatever fucking corner she’s hiding in and bring her to me.”

Jack was back quickly, Lex slung over his shoulder. He
hadn’t been exaggerating. Lex’s eyes were empty, her body still. She’d fled the
demon and whatever hell he dragged her into.

“Lex,” Rune said, her voice gentle. But there was no time
for gentle. High above, the demon moved. He took a step, like a nightmare
giant, and began to…solidify.

To become something other than licking flames and black
core.

Horner’s voice deepened, his drone becoming one long,
uninterrupted vocalization. He didn’t breathe, or change inflections, and it
was one of the scariest, strangest sounds Rune had ever heard. It compared to
the horror of Lex’s continuous scream when she’d seen the twins brutalized.

Rune shivered as her flesh shrank against her bones, trying
to retreat from the demon, from Horner.

From death, from terror.

She looked around, dazed, and saw that the twins were lying
side by side on the ground, completely still and bone-white. Their skin gleamed
like pearls in the moonlight, bloodless and plastic.

“Look,” Strad said, his stare on the demon.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Fin hadn’t stopped screeching, but his beak opened, opened
impossibly wide, and he started to suck in the demon.

The vessel was doing exactly what he was meant to do.

If he succeeded, he’d carry that demon straight to Karin
Love.

And then the
real
nightmare would begin.