Rapture Untamed (Feral Warriors #4)(21)

The Daemon screamed, a terrible, high-pitched sound.

Olivia marveled at the speed and ease with which she'd just moved - faster than she'd ever moved before. Was it adrenaline? Or the Daemon's energy? The latter. She could feel it inside her, swirling, strengthening. The stuff might taste foul, but it was powerful. Opening herself, she took more.

The Daemon hissed and struck, raking one of his claws down her left arm, shredding her jacket and her flesh. Pain screamed through her body, the pain of the wound, and more. As if he'd not only cut her open, but poured acid inside. She clamped down on the scream that roared up her throat and spun away, feeding harder, faster.

But the acid raced through her blood, counteracting the strength of the Daemon energy itself. Slowing her down.

The Daemon struck a second time. She spun and ducked beneath the wicked claws aiming for her face. And felt the sharp piercing of the flesh of her back.

The scream ripped from her throat, even as she rose, stabbing the Daemon through what should have been his gut. But her knife met only air. What in the hell was beneath that robe? She stabbed high into his chest, and this time her blade found purchase close to where his right shoulder blade met his clavicle. Something wet and sticky splattered over her hand.

The Daemon made a horrible, furious sound, like nails on a chalkboard, and flew back.

As he rose into the sky, the acid burned through her body until she could barely breathe through the pain.

She sank to her knees, no longer able to stand. Would he be back to finish her off?

Or, goddess help her, was she already as good as dead?

Chapter Seven

The first scream tore through the night, raking his jaguar's eardrums - an unearthly screech of pain that sent razors flaying his nervous system and terror clawing at his heart even as he cheered at the sound. A sound that had to be the Daemon's.

Go,Red!

But the second scream tore at his insides in an entirely different way. Because this one hadn't come from the creature. It was Olivia's.

On four legs, Jag tore through the woods, racing through the trees until he came upon a sight that chilled him to the depths of his soul - the Daemon hovering over Olivia.

But even as he watched, the thing flew up into the air as Olivia sank to her knees.

The warrior inside him demanded he go after the escaping Daemon and kill it, but the man in him had other priorities. He ran to Olivia, shifting into his human form, and fell to his knees beside her. As she listed forward, her eyes glassy, he grabbed her.

"Red." He gripped her tight. "Olivia."

"Catch him." Her voice was breathless, tight with pain.

Pamela Palmer Rapture Untamed

"He's gone."

"Follow...him." Her back had been opened, a thin strip of flesh hanging loose, her ribs shining in the moonlight through a river of blood.

"Goddess, what did he do to you? You're not healing."

"Poison. Feels like...poison."

"From what?"

"His claws."

"Venom. They must have venom in their claws." His fingers spasmed on her upper arms. "Dammit, Olivia. Why didn't you wait in the Hummer like I told you to?"

"I'm a warrior. Not a...thumb-twiddler. Would you have waited?"

"Hell no, but I rarely do what I'm supposed to."

"Catch him, Jag."

Pamela Palmer Rapture Untamed

"Later." Shit, she looked like hell. Her clothes were half-torn from her. Her creamy skin looked pale as sand, and he feared if he let her go, she'd fall over onto the ground and never get up again. "You need help, Red. We've got to get you back to Feral House."

Her small hand tried to lift, but fell to her side. "I'll heal. Catch him before he kills again."

"And leave you out here for the draden to finish off? Not. Bloody. Likely." He pulled her against him, then lifted her, one arm under her hips, the other across her shoulders as he avoided the destruction of her back. She continued to bleed fiercely.

Her body would continue to make new blood for hours, but eventually, even a Therian body would shut down. And goddess knew what the Daemon venom was doing to her.

She wrapped her good arm around his neck, hanging on, clinging to him with quaking muscles, her body taut as a bowstring. Her other arm hung loose and ragged.

Dammit,he should have been the one to take on that thing. He'd have killed it.

She pressed her face against the curve of his shoulder, her body trembling, but she made no sound. Her silent suffering only bolstered his admiration for her.

He should have known she wouldn't stay behind. Everything about her criedwarrior.

Both the way she stood and the way she carried herself spoke of a strength and self-confidence of the body as well as the spirit. The confidence of someone used to fighting. Used to winning.

That confidence had a lot to do with why he was attracted to her, if he were honest.

"What did you do to it to make it fly away, Red? I need to know."

"Knifed him." Her voice sounded a little stronger, her trembling felt less violent than a moment ago.

He prayed that meant she was beginning to heal. The knot of fear he hadn't even realized he'd been feeling began to ease.

"I stabbed it where its gut should have been, but I hit air."

Jag grunted, frowning. "Just like a draden. Next time go for the heart."