Dead After Dark (Companion #6.5)(105)

Lucien crossed his arms, grinning. “You two go ahead. I just came to watch.”

Which goddess of fate had it in for Trey to stick him with Lucien and his twisted sense of humor? And Rowan who could go airborne and out of control at any minute?

“Bring in a legion of warriors, Belador,” Vyan said, waving the stone. “Nothing can stop me with this. When I am done with this one,” he called out, pointing at Trey, “I will call forth Ravana who will dispense with the rest of you next.”

“Bring it on,” Tzader shot back.

Sasha couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. She swiped a clump of wet hair from her face and turned to Rowan. “Can you do anything to help Trey?”

Rowan shook her head, water flicking from the hood of her slicker. “I could make it worse.”

Sasha didn’t think that was possible. Her heart raced at every move Trey and Vyan made. She had to help Trey somehow. Vyan had warned her not to, but how could he know who sent Trey help with this group present? And where had all these beings come from?

Metal clanged as Vyan attacked and Trey battled back. Trey fought with both hands on his sword, but Vyan didn’t even seem winded . . . because of that stone, Sasha realized. He could be beat without the rock. She felt sure of it.

Trey battled Vyan to the edge of the pond that ran beneath the footbridge in the south end of the park. Vyan stumbled once, but bounced up on the balls of his feet as if he just hadn’t been paying attention. Trey and Vyan’s strikes echoed through the air until Trey missed his step and Vyan’s blade sliced so close to his neck Sasha felt light-headed with fear.

Trey roared and shoved up, swinging that sword like a major leaguer with an aluminum baseball bat, driving Vyan backward to the pond.

Sasha saw her chance and began to chant, “Earth, wind, and rain, hear me well. . . .”

Vyan’s coat lengthened, dragging the ground as he backed toward a quickly forming mud hole. He stepped on the tail of the coat, arms flailing to keep his balance, but his momentum threw him backward. The stone flew from his hand to the pond, boiling the water as it sank. Within seconds the glow from beneath the surface extinguished.

Five bolts of lightning struck the ground between her and Trey, exploding dirt from the hole it created. Howling preceded a wispy form that rose from the earth and hovered until the smoke cleared, leaving a dark man with Middle Eastern facial structure similar to Vyan’s. But this male’s eyes were a molten gold with red irises. He bared pointed teeth that dripped blood from the tips. His short hair started growing into lengths that thickened and took the form of serpents, hissing and striking the air around his head.

“Ravana, I have lost the stone,” Vyan cried out, scrambling to his feet.

“Do not despair.” Ravana pointed his hands at empty spots, and everywhere he directed, a mangle of arms, legs, and battered heads took shape as creatures Sasha had never seen. “They come from Fene and fear nothing since they live in hell’s armpit.”

Twenty creatures shrieked to life, their heads scabbed and rotting, their skin as dark as roasted meat. Sasha tried not to breathe in the wave of noxious stench clogging the air. Rags hung from the creatures’ bodies, but that’s where the disparity stopped. Muscles wrapped their torsos and limbs with sinewy tissue that gleamed like bands of woven metals. They crouched, pawing the ground as if waiting to be released.

A beautiful auburn-haired woman appeared next as a hologram with eyes so green they’d compete with an emerald struck by the sun. Her translucent skin was covered with a mint-green robe that sparkled when she moved, but she never completely took shape.

“Hi, Brina,” Evalle said to the hologram, then muttered, “It’s definitely on, now.” The gleam in her smile that curved below the dark shades on the Amazon raised the hair on Sasha’s arms, which was saying something at this point tonight. She wouldn’t want to face this woman in a dark alley. The tall female stomped her boots and silver razor-sharp tips shot from around the soles. She shook her hands once, the water slinging away, and sharp points erupted from the smooth skin of her palm. Spiked cartilage raised along the back of her hands and up her arms to her shoulders.

“Beladors, unite and defend,” Brina shouted in a voice so strong Sasha wondered if the woman was truly just an image.

“ ’Bout time.” Tzader spun the knives in his hands as fast as a fan blade on high.

“I should say so,” Quinn drawled, clearly tired of inactivity. He reached both hands inside his jacket and withdrew four triangular discs with daggers at each corner and a woven Celtic design in the center.

Sasha’s ears were burning. What witch besides Rowan was present? This burning was hotter than anything she’d experienced before. She glanced at Rowan who rubbed her ear and searched the crowd with narrowed eyes.

“Destroy the Beladors, demons.” Ravana waved his hands, which must have been the sign to attack.

“Why aren’t you helping Trey?” Sasha demanded of Lucien.

“I gave him a sword.” Lucien shrugged.

Sasha dismissed him and her burning ear. At this point, what did it matter if another witch was present?

The shrieking demons leaped into action. Tzader dove headfirst into the fray, taking out two with knives he wielded with blinding speed. Sasha never saw the cuts, but arms and heads rolled away, turning her stomach.

Trey and Vyan were back at it, but now it was a fair fight with no help from that blasted stone. Shouts, screams, and unearthly howls carpeted the air. Bodies hitting the ground and each other, splashing blood-soaked mud everywhere. The stench of death permeated each suffocating breath Sasha drew. Her ears felt as though they were on fire.