Sacrifice (Gryphon Series) (5 page)

I
pressed my lips together and nodded.

“Whatever blows your
skirt up, Poppet.” He shrugged. “As for me, I need to get this little hero mission over with and go find myself some fun form of debauchery to revel in. I hang around you all too long and I may catch morals.” He faked a shiver. Then, with a smile that bordered on villainous, he added, “Now let’s go snuggle your big, nasty beastie.”



“
Liberty Island?!
You got us as far as Liberty Island?” A hooked claw swished over my head. I ducked before it could skewer my brain.

“
There’s no one here and I couldn’t hold him any longer!” Rowan hollered from under the shield of his arms. “Even in smoke form he managed to bite me.
What is that thing
?”

With his l
ip curled to reveal razor sharp teeth, Gabe-lion galloped toward the beast. The creature swung its horns and hooked Gabe under his front legs. It stomped through the snow, then flung him at the water’s edge. Gabe dug his claws into the frozen ground as he skidded. Inches were all that prevented him from plunging into the icy Upper Bay.

“My best guess is that a
t some point a bat and a water buffalo got together and had a love child that could miraculously walk on two legs.” With one arm still defensively raised, I pointed with the opposite hand. “That would be their love spawn.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s
cranky we interrupted its tirade and brought it here.” Rowan scooted around to position me between the Bat-bull and himself. Nobility was obviously not a personality trait he bothered with. “Did I mention what a monumentally bad idea this was?”

“It came up!” I shrieked as
the Bat-bull pivoted around and thundered at us on heavy hooved feet. “Kendall! Little help here!”

Kendall sat huddled
in her winged cocoon by Lady Liberty’s big toe. Feathers parted and one blue eye peeked out. “You can come in here. I’ll scoot, but I’m not coming out!”

“Oh, that’s nice.
Shield
!” I hollered and leapt in the air. Pulling into a tight tuck I spun over the head of the incoming Bat-bull. Rowan disappeared in a puff of smoke a second before the beast plowed into him.

Our lion—slightly disheveled from his fall—trotted up at the same moment
Rowan reappeared behind me. “Now that you got him here, oh-wise Conduit, what are you going to do with him?”

Snow kicked up
when the Bat-bull screeched to a halt and spun back in our direction. A white cloud of hot air puffed from his wide, smooshed nose. Red eyes glared from big bovine sockets. He tossed his head to intimidate us with the massiveness of glossy black horns. I couldn’t speak for the others, but that intimidation tactic worked wonders on me. Every time it charged I forgot how to use my abilities and my feeble mind only manage one thought—
run!

“
I suggest we figure out how to kill him before he kills us!” I squealed in an octave only dogs could hear.

One
back hoof pawed at the ground, yet this time the beast didn’t charge. Instead it raised its two-fingered hands high in the air. Coal-black flesh gave way to ridged and curved talons. In one swift motion it arched back then slammed its hands to the ground. Those claws sliced through the frozen earth like it was softened butter.

Beside me
Gabe tensed and sniffed deeply at the air. Whatever his Spidey Sense detected caused his muzzle to curl up in a threatening growl.

Before I could form the words, “
Golly, Gabe, what’s the matter?” the ground began to shake. Our lion locked his legs to steady himself. Both Rowan and I fell to our knees. Bone-chillingly cold water sloshed up in protest of the quaking ground. It rained down on us in a shower that cut like knives. I glanced over at Lady Liberty, deeply hoping she was sturdy enough to withstand the tremors. So far the big broad was holding up, but I needed to make this stop before she reached her limit.

On my hands and knees
, I crawled to Rowan and latched onto his wrist. “Drop me off right in front of it.”

G
olden hair bounced over his forehead and into his eyes. “I can’t tell if you’re insanely brave or suicidal.”

I peered back at the Bat-bull
and pondered the same thing. “Right now, let’s go with brave. But make it quick before I change my mind and make Keni fly me out of here.”

“Keni wou
ld be totally okay with that!” her muffled voice interjected from behind down covered “walls”.

Rowan
hooked an arm around my waist and poofed us to the foot of the beast. I
thought
I’d have a few seconds to initiate an offensive attack. I did not. Turns out the Bat-bull had surprisingly quick reflexes for such a big fella. Before I could get my bearings, it retracted its claws and attacked. My hands caught its horns a second before it gored me. Momentum knocked me to the ground, and I took the Bat-bull with me. I held firm as the beast tossed and turned to free its head. Up close its squished bat-face was even more grotesque. Plus, this dude smelled foul. Like soured milk left in the sun to bake. Judging by the eardrum splitting squeak it was making, I guessed it was enjoying our close encounter about as much as I was. If my hands weren’t busy pushing its chin to its chest so it couldn’t see to shred me with its wildly flailing claws I would’ve covered my ears. Battle can be downright inconvenient at times.

Gabe danc
ed around the perimeter of the battle, anxiously anticipating his opportunity to jump in; preferably one that wouldn’t lead to him accidentally chomping his sister. Rowan, on the other hand, stood so close he could’ve poked the Bat-bull with his borrowed boot. Yet there he stood, texting away with a rather bored, disconnected look on his face.  

“Little help here?” I
grunted.

The pirate
sucked air through his teeth. “Sorry, doll. I’m like your demonic cab driver. Here to give ya a lift, but not getting involved in your goings on. By the way, the meter is
definitely
running. Aren’t I supposed to scurry off to save your beau?”

“Th
is is why people don’t like you.” A goober of foamy Bat-bull spittle dripped down onto my jacket, prompting an immediate dry-heave.

I needed out from under this guy
now
, if not sooner. Wriggling and straining, I maneuvered my knees up to my chest.

“We will save Caleb—
oof
—together.” I managed to get my feet positioned just right and used a little extra oomph to kick the monstrous dude off of me, “Right after I kill this thing.”

One of its horns snapped off in my hand and the creature went airborne … for a second. It landed on its feet. Red eyes burned with rage as it pawed at the earth and snorted.

I sprang off the ground and landed in a
defensive stance, the horn grasped firmly in my hand. The creature flipped his head and charged. Padded feet thumped up beside me and a slow smile of renewed confidence spread across my face. My feline sentry finally found his in.

“I’ll go high, you go low!” Together
we sprinted at the incoming beast.

We had fought side by side
enough to know each other’s battle strategies. Not a sound or syllable had to be uttered. Instinct led us to jump at exactly the same moment. I put my shoulder in and hit the Bat-bull square in the chest. Gabe took out its legs.

The creature hit the ground with a loud, “
Huuuunnnhhh!
”

Our combined force was enough to bring
it down, but barely enough to keep it there. The thrashing creature bucked violently beneath us. In a move that would’ve gotten us kicked out of any superhero league—if there was such a thing—we sprawled on top of it. A suave and cool move? No. But effective.

Knowing it was more Gabe’s weight than mine keeping the beast down, I turned my body and wedged the flat side of its broken horn against its windpipe.
Its thrashing grew spastic and reckless. It didn’t take long for lack of oxygen to win out. Glowing red eyes dimmed and rolled back into its bovine head.

“I’d stop short
of killing him if I were you,” a silky, sultry voice suggested.

Rowan
snapped up, ramrod straight. His hands balled into fists and his arms pulled away from his body, ready to strike. “
Countess
.”

Despite the awkward angle
, I craned my head around. There she stood. The evil villainess that turned an entire army of mortals into her own band of demonic minions programmed to create carnage and destruction as she saw fit. She possessed an incomprehensible amount of power, yet chose to dress like a skank. Skintight black leather pants disappeared into matching thigh-high boots. A satin ivory corset drew her tiny waist in and hugged her hourglass shape. Her leather fetish continued with a plum jacket that covered her arms, but stopped just below her full breasts. Many cows died so she could look like a high- priced call girl from Hell.

Her complexion held the same flawless luminescence of polished marble. Thick crimson hair waved down her back like a velvet curtain. The glowing red of her eyes made her a kind of beautiful that could only be described as demented.

“R
owan,” she cooed and licked her wine-painted lips. “Always a pleasure.”

His body jerked in response
, as if hearing his name spew from her lips caused a physical reaction.

Th
e Countess ignored his discomfort and swung her gaze my way. “
Bestiarequiesce
!”

Beneath me the B
at-bull went limp. All the fight left his body… and he seemed to be snoring.

S
he gave me a smile reminiscent of a snake eyeing a field mouse. “You can let him go. He’s no longer a threat to you.”

I peered down at the drooling B
at-bull, then pulled the horn away from his throat and rose to my feet. Fur brushed the back of my hand as Gabe took his place beside me.

“I take it he’s your toy.
” I jerked my chin at the sleeping demon. Its hands and feet kicked at the air as if it was dreaming about chasing a rabbit.

“He is,” s
he confirmed, her hands resting on her ample hips. “But not just
any
toy. One of great value. To me…” she savored the remaining words before she revealed them, “…
and
to you.”

The flap of feathers, a gust of wind
, and Keni landed beside me. A big enough danger was all it took for my Protector to grow a spine and return. “We don’t value demons. At least not ones that look and smell like that …‘cause
ick
.”

“That’s only because you haven’t been properly introduced to him.”
The Countess paced in front of us, her stiletto boots crunching across the snow covered ground. “This is Cronus. Celeste has had the pleasure of meeting a couple of his brothers tonight. Namely Lapetes and the dearly departed Menoetius.” She turned my way and stared straight into my eyes, “They happen to be…Titans.”

My chest tightened
. The drumming thud of my heart pounded in my ears. It took everything I had to keep my face at neutral. “Caleb.”

“Correct!”
Eerily white teeth flashed with her smile. “The
exact
kind of demon your hunky boyfriend has in him. Isn’t that a fun coincidence!” Her nose crinkled like we were two girlfriends gossiping.

Keni
’s blonde head lobbed back and forth from the Countess, to me, and back again. “Wait … what does that mean?”

“It means that one of them is linked to Caleb
. Its blood is in his veins. If the demon he’s linked to dies, it’s buh-bye to your fine Irish lad.” The Countess pressed one deadly sharp fingernail to her lip and pretended to mull it over. “You know, for the life of me I can’t remember which one it was. We branded
a lot
of young boys with demon blood that day.” She threw her hands in the air and chuckled. “After all this time, how could I be expected to keep them all straight? Anyhow, it’d be a real pity for you to kill the wrong one. You got lucky when you slaughtered Menoetius. But next time a Titan dies Caleb might just tag along with them.”

At that
very moment Caleb was on the beach fighting with the Shadow dude … another Titan. If he killed it …
No.
I couldn’t even think it. Urgency left no time for words. Empathically I slapped Rowan with a deep-seeded need to get Caleb
now
. Concern shadowed his face and he disappeared in a puff of smoke as the message penetrated his thoughts.

“I do hope he hurries
,” she purred with an over dramatic sigh. “It’d be such a waste of a fine specimen of manhood. But really, girl, did you think I was just going to let him walk away from my army? From
me
?”

Unable to contain it a moment longer, m
y anger boiled to the surface and erupted. “
Why?!
Why are you doing this? How is hurting him going to help you harness the Gryphon’s powers? This is between you, me, and the Gryphon. Let Caleb
go
!”