A Darker Past (The Darker Agency #2)(79)

The demonic Fido wasn’t happy. Black lips pulled back, it opened its mouth wider and—howled in pain. Dad stepped from the shadows behind it, driving a blade into the back of the creature’s neck. The thing screamed and gagged, and the slimy yellow ooze dripping from its mouth turned red.

With a hard shove of his boot, the hound fell sideways, and Dad extended his hand to help me up. He was a mess. Covered in blood, his clothing was shredded, and he was missing a shoe. “You okay?”

I nodded, then remembered Kendra. She was backing away from Gressil as a hound approached. It crept low to the ground, slinking along with bared teeth and a wicked snarl. Dad and I sprang into action, but Lukas, who stepped from the shadows right behind the beast, got there first. He dove at the thing, tackling and rolling with it for several feet. Massive jaws chomped hard, and I was sure they’d latch on to something vital. His neck, just inches from the hound’s deadly teeth, would be nothing more than Swiss cheese when the beast was finished with him.

But Lukas, always surprising me, had it under control. As I watched in awe, he made a fist and punched through the demon’s chest. No… He’d shadowed through. “How the hell—” When he brought his hand back, it was covered in black blood, and in his hand was a roundish mass. The creature’s heart. Its eyes rolled back and body went still.

“In one piece?” I said, finally reaching Kendra.

She was staring at Gressil. “I can do this, but I need some time.”

“Not sure how much you’ll get,” Dad said. He turned and faced the clearing as another round of hounds stepped from the shadows. With a grin, and a wink at me, he called over his shoulder, “But we’ll see what we can do to cover you.”

And with that, he lunged forward to meet the next wave, Lukas on his left, and me on the right. Mom was charging toward us from the other side, where she’d just downed two of her own. With one last look over my shoulder to check on Kendra—she was in front of a still struggling Gressil with her eyes closed and lips moving furiously—I charged into the battle.

We fought them back, but they just kept coming. One after another, groups of snarling, drooling demonic dogs with a hankering for people parts. Dad crashed into one as it leaped at Mom. She didn’t notice. She was too busy gutting the duo that had just tried to take her out.

Lukas was fierce. He attacked the beasts with demonic vigor, the spark of excitement in his eyes reminding me of Dad.

For the moment, the coast was clear, so I rushed to check on Kendra.

Sweat beaded across her brow, and her breathing was slightly labored. “I can—I can feel the pull of the magic, but it’s—” She opened her eyes. “Mom’s right. I can’t do it. I’m not strong enough.”

“You are,” I said, taking her free hand.

Cassidy, who’d been watching silently from the sidelines, laughed. The sound of it sent chills down my spine and made me want to punch her all the more. “You’ve killed us all, Kendra. That demon will be free soon, and it will rip us all to shreds.”

“Then help her,” I demanded. “You’re willing to risk your own life because you’re pissed about the glass?”

She didn’t respond.

In that moment I had a new kind of loathing for the woman. I turned back to Kendra. “Just close your eyes and focus. Think of Lorna. Her strength and determination. Here, take my hand. Ma?”

Mom ran up beside me, brushing chunks of hound from the front of her pants. I didn’t want to know. Okay, well, I did, but now wasn’t the time. I nodded to my hand in Kendra’s. Mom placed hers over top of it.

“Lorna and Charles had a son, Ken. Samuel Darker. We’re not witches, but Belfair magic is in our blood. Pull the strength you need from us.”

There was a moment of shock, and then her hand tightened around mine. What started as a barely there whisper steadily increased to a power-filled chant. My stomach churned, and a warm feeling erupted, then spread to all of my limbs. With each breath I took, I found it harder to stay upright. It felt like I’d just gone ten rounds with a demon, then launched into a sprinting match with a pack of werewolves.

My breath became ragged, and when I glanced over at Mom, she looked like she was in the same boat as me. Not Kendra, though. There was a pale light surrounding her, and her eyes were golden.

Gressil roared, then doubled over. The last spirit popped out of existence, but instead of coming forward and ripping our heads off, purple ribbons of light shot from the ground by the demon’s feet. They twined around, wrapping him like a loose cocoon. In a matter of seconds, they had him completely covered, and Kendra’s iron grip on my hand was the only thing keeping me on my feet. The purple ribbons pulsated, then turned a sparkling gold, looking more like rope. They tightened around the demon, and he dissolved into smoke.

For a second I thought we’d failed and Gressil had escaped, but the smoke danced in the air, then dove into the box.

I collapsed to the ground, vaguely aware that Mom had followed me down. The box lay in front of us, smoking, but it looked as though we’d won.

I took a deep breath and geared up to congratulate Kendra, when the ground rumbled. “Seriously? Can we ever catch a damn break?”

Mom was climbing to her feet with Dad’s help, and suddenly Lukas was behind me, dragging me off the grass.

Kendra took a step back. She still hadn’t taken her eyes off the box, and Cassidy, in turn, hadn’t stopped staring at her. It was like she was seeing her daughter for the first time. And if the expression on her face was anything to go by, she didn’t like what she saw.