Released (The Eternal Balance #3)(4)

He was right. Azi’s memories swirled, and I knew that carnivi, like most other creatures that inhabited hell, were unable to cross to this plane. At least, not on their own. “How did it come to be here?”

“You can thank Zenak,” Heckle said. He flicked a finger at the beast, frowning. “And there’s plenty more where that came from. I’ve gotten reports from all over Harlow. These things have been running rampant around town for the last few days.”

Sam snorted. “I call bullshit. If that’s true, how did we not know? I work in a bar for crap’s sake. If there are rabid dog-beasts the size of Toyotas running around, people are gonna talk.”

Heckle rolled his eyes and fixed his gaze on me. “You’ve been a bit preoccupied lately…”

Asshole has a point…

Azi ignored me. “And you believe this is Zenak’s doing?” My muscles tensed, my body’s natural reaction to the apprehension the demon felt. I still hadn’t gotten used to it, the way my body betrayed me by reacting to the whims and desires of another. “That my enemy has stolen the stone and is using it to call forth an army?”

“I’m afraid it is, indeed, now in Zenak’s possession. While one half of the stone doesn’t give the demon access to all of his inherent abilities, it does give a dangerous edge. It can’t travel home, but it appears that it can call reinforcements.”

“Wait—half?” Tendrils of worry rose from Sam’s shoulders, polluting the red. Her pulse increased, heartbeat racing. “He doesn’t have the whole thing?”

Heckle shook his head. “Sadie only had half the stone in her possession. I don’t know what became of the remaining part. You’ll have to find it, though. It’s far too dangerous to leave it floating around.”

She frowned. “But if Zenak has an advantage with just half the stone, why hasn’t it come for us yet?”

“It’s not immediately clear what Zenak’s plans are. But knowing what we do—that it wants to destroy Azirak and control Sam—I believe getting to the other half of the stone before it does will benefit us all.”

Azi bristled, and I felt a mix of anger and concern from the demon. “And the half of the stone that Zenak already possesses? What of that?”

Heckle stepped back and folded his arms. With a confident nod he said, “Once you retrieve the stone—both halves—I will dispose of them.”

That wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t know why, but the stone was important to the demon. Azi had no intention of handing either half over to Heckle.

“Zenak has brought over the carnivi—and I assure you, there are more roaming the streets of Harlow as we speak. It is feasible that it has brought others as well. The Tracker, perhaps?”

The shift in Azi’s mood was violent. My body tensed, limbs itching to tear into something—anything. “I see,” came the demon’s deceptively calm response. “I suppose that escalates things.”

Heckle, seemingly satisfied, gave a short nod. “In the meantime, I suggest you deal with this.” He took two steps backward, melding into the darkness. A moment later, the previously frozen carnivus leaped from the shadows.





Chapter Two


Sam


Azirak struck out, knocking me sideways as hell’s twisted version of Lassie crashed into Jax’s body. I hit the building and the breath was expelled from my lungs in a single violent whoosh. The racket that followed was unlike anything I’d ever heard—an otherworldly, scratchy howl mixed with the frenzied snapping of a deadly jaw.

The beast had Jax pinned. Well, it had Jax’s body pinned. The demon was in control, and though I hated the idea of the guy I loved being trapped, in a sick way I was glad. Azirak was better equipped to deal with this threat. Stronger and far more knowledgeable, it had ruled in hell for eons, a demon royal with a massive army under its command.

Several times the monster’s teeth chomped a little too close to home, once grabbing a mouthful of Jax’s T-shirt. Azirak shimmied to the left to avoid a more fatal outcome. Demon or not, it was limited by Jax’s humanity. While sturdier than most humans, a mortal wound still would kill them both.

That was not something I could live with.

I climbed to my feet, searching the alley for something—anything—I could use as a weapon. It was no use. Other than bits of unrecognizable trash and some discarded coffee cups from the joint a few blocks down, there was nothing in sight that might help fend the beast off.

Fine, then. I’d work with what I had.

“Hey!” I kicked the metal dumpster to my left, hard. The sound echoed off the buildings and the carnivus’ head swiveled, a la The Exorcist, in my direction. “Come munch on me.”

One might argue that what I was doing was insanity—or, worse, suicidal. I mean, obviously I hadn’t learned my lesson after throwing something at the thing. But if Heckle was right, and it was Chase and his demon pulling this puppet’s strings, then it would never kill me. I was far too valuable. The power I had inside me, power I was now the master of—regardless of the fact that I had no idea how to use it—was one of the most coveted things in heaven and hell.

I kicked the dumpster again, hoping the distraction would give Azirak the edge it needed—preferably before I became a hell-beast chew toy. I banked on it not being able to kill me, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t maim me just a little bit.