Sin & Salvation (Demigod of San Francisco #3)(4)

The sound stuck my tongue to the top of my mouth and fear rooted my feet to the ground.

Thane thrashed in the air, ripping and tearing at the invisible hold. Glowing red whips of magic lashed out, crackling through Donovan’s magic.

“Never mind. It’s not fine.” Jack took a step back. The panic I felt laced his words. “Call Demigod Kieran.”

“I got him,” Donovan insisted. He backed up, distancing himself from that lashing magic.

A glowing red whip glided delicately through the air before savagely cracking Donovan across the face. He jerked back and Thane lowered dramatically.

“We have to stop him.” My voice was no more than a whisper. I could barely feel my shaking legs. “The kids are in danger.”

My heart, already galloping, kicked up its pace. I ripped my foot from the ground and struggled it forward, toward the enormous man-beast. Then the other foot. A strange primal fear gripped me, and I fought through it with gritted teeth.

Thane pointed his toes in the air and stuck his fists out to the sides before a roar-scream erupted from his mouth. Magic shimmied around him. The ripped remains of his shirt fell away, revealing a torso so lumpy with muscle it looked unnatural. His skin shone, almost metallic, and flares of magic whipped out in all directions, electrifying the air.

Those whips merged into one thick line, sizzling like a live wire. It rose, almost lazily, before snapping out at lightning speed. The end sliced across Donovan’s right arm, opening a large gash. Blood oozed out a moment later.

Donovan screamed and staggered backward, his right arm dropping. Thane’s body jolted downward. One foot touched the ground. His huge band of magic whipped again. The air crackled as it struck, but Donovan dove away, barely escaping the attack.

Thane’s second foot touched the ground. He staggered forward.

Bria dashed in with her knife, raking it across Thane’s wide chest. It didn’t leave a mark. Steel couldn’t damage a Berserker once they shifted.

“Shit, I forgot about that,” she said before throwing herself to the side, away from one of Thane’s huge fists.

Donovan grabbed the air with both hands, one of them trembling. Thane roared and shook, magic sizzling around him, and threw off the hold. Jack dodged in, ducking under a fast-moving fist. He grabbed Thane around the middle and tried to rip him to the side.

Thane barely budged.

He clapped his enormous hands on Jack’s back before grabbing and flinging. Jack flew ass over end, like a doll, into my fence.

“Holy…” I struggled with my foot, trying to override the intense desire to step backward again.

The back door swung open and a confused Daisy stuck her head out. “What in the hell is—” She caught sight of Thane at the exact moment he caught sight of her. “Is that Thane?”

“Did the beard give it away?” Bria said, gesturing wildly. “Get out of here. Close the door. Run!”

A huge wolf, larger than its natural counterparts, slipped out from between Daisy’s leg and the door frame. It loped into the scene before stopping near Jack with its lips pulled back from its teeth in a silent snarl, Mordecai’s signature.

“No!” I yelled, and sucked in the power of the Line. “Kids, get back in the house!”

A manic laugh rose from Thane before morphing into a ghastly roar. Jack and Mordecai flinched together—the primal response of shifters whose instincts knew something bigger and badder was in the vicinity. Thane braced, and I knew one moment of sheer panic.

He was going to charge my kid.

The colors in the backyard shifted to the surreal palette of the spiritual plane, turning the space into a sort of comforting nightmare. The Line pulsed, high and off to the left, out of the way. Shadows swirled around us, the shapes of people floating behind the veil, which was more translucent than I’d ever seen it.

Calling up the wind of the spirit world, I lifted my hands and yanked it down in a way I didn’t totally understand, ready to direct it solely at Thane.

He ran, faster than a blink, straight for Daisy standing in the doorway of the house. To get there, he’d have to go through Jack and Mordecai.

Oh, hell no.

I harnessed a huge swell of magic before slashing through his middle. The force of the spirit world hit Thane dead center, blasting through him in a way that would surely freeze him up. My magic cut down deep, clanging when it hit his soul’s casing. His soul flapped wildly, pinging around the inside of its casing, pulling at the bindings that held it in place.

He tried to push through it. Tried to fight the effects of the Line. But his feet dragged. His head bowed.

Still, he kept moving.

He needed a bigger push or he’d reach my furry kid.

This time, I braided the power from the Line together with spirit magic before wrapping them around the impregnable casing of his soul. I might not be able to break in, but the pressure would sure suck. I squeezed as hard as I could before sending another slash of magic through him. Then I slashed once more for good measure.

The human-beast howled in agony. He gripped his massive chest before his ghastly body crashed down onto the ground, its size reducing before my eyes. He clawed at dirt before flipping over and hugging his middle.

“Uncle,” I heard, his voice a raspy wheeze. He rolled from side to side. “Uncle!”





3