The Savage Grace: A Dark Divine Novel(58)

“Who are you talking about?” I asked, afraid I might already know.

Pete took in a deep, ragged breath through his nose. “Can’t you smell them coming? The people who want you dead.” Pete let out a sharp scream and ran at me. He looked like a rabid bat, claws extended, fangs bared. He was going for the kill.

As much as I hated to do it before getting a real answer, I thrust my stake deep into Pete’s chest. I let go, and he fell into the wall of brittle cornstalks. He clawed at the stake with his talonlike nails, scratching sparkly jewels from the hilt. He got purchase on the handle and pulled it out of his chest. It made a sound like something ripping through a paper bag. He looked at it with disdain and then threw it at my feet. A wicked smile curled on Pete’s lips, and he laughed.

“They’re gonna kill you,” he said, as his body burst into dust.

I clamped my hands over my face, not only so I wouldn’t inhale little Pete particles, but also because I couldn’t believe I’d actually killed Pete Bradshaw.

“What did he mean by … ?” Daniel started to ask, but a loud growling noise cut him off. Both our heads snapped toward the origin of the sound. It came from somewhere behind the Grim Reaper.

Another growl followed—from the opposite side of the clearing, beyond the tall cornstalks. Then more growling from outside all four walls of the square-shaped clearing.

“What the … ?”

The brittle cornstalks rustled and swayed and the growling grew closer.

“They’re coming through the corn,” I said.

And we were literally boxed in.

Pete had said that I should have smelled them coming, and now I did. Rotten meat and sour milk. Ahks and gelals, I thought, as dark figures burst through the cornstalks into the clearing. I recognized a few of them right away from my time imprisoned at the warehouse.

Shadow Kings. At least ten of them. Surrounding us

from every direction. “Guess what?” I said to Daniel. “This was a trap.” “I see that,” Daniel said. The circle of monsters slowly closed in on us, their

growls melting together into a collective noise that made my eardrums rattle. I snatched up my dusty stake, and Daniel and I stood back to back, our weapons raised.





Chapter Twenty-three


AMBUSH


TEN NOT-QUITE-BUT-ALMOST-HYPERVENTILATING BREATHS LATER

The beasts closed in on us, slowly, as if savoring the drama of it all.

“Now would be a good time to pull out some of your true alpha mojo,” I said to Daniel. “Maybe convert some of these guys to our team?”

“Good idea. Except none of these guys are Urbat. My mojo doesn’t work on Akhs and Gelals. Caleb is certifiable, but he isn’t stupid. He’s not going to risk losing any more of his followers to our side.”

“Dang. So what do we do now?”

“Fight like hell,” Daniel said, and lunged out with his stake at a Gelal who’d broken from the circle and come barreling at us. I was amazed at how fast Daniel moved. The Gelal went flying, clutching at the gaping wound in his chest.

“Watch out for the acid!” I yelled, just as the dead Gelal exploded into acrid green ooze that could melt through just about anything. Daniel moved quickly again, shielding both of us from the rain of burning acid with his long black jacket.

“Oh man, I really liked this coat,” he said as the green slime ate holes through the leather.

“Me, too. But better that than your face,” I said.

“Good point.”

The growl of the demons shifted into a loud screeching, like a chorus of vultures. They chomped their teeth and clacked their claws in our direction. Daniel and I stood, ready for the next one who’d dare break away from the circle.

“I’m just glad you got my text,” I said. “Or else I’d be facing these guys alone.”

“Yeah. Nine against two isn’t the worst odds ever,” Daniel said. “Wait, what text? I didn’t get a text from you.”

“But then how did you know to come to the maze?”

Daniel shrugged. “I just knew.”

“Huh. Gabriel says you and I are connected … Oh crap. How do you feel about the odds of nineteen against two?” I asked, as I noticed a second wave of ten more demons waiting in the stalks of corn. Ready to join the fray when needed.

Daniel swore. “Caleb’s been busy.”

The high-pitched screech of the monsters reached a deafening crescendo, and I had to clamp my hands over my ears to keep my eardrums from bursting.

And then, as if someone sucked all the sound out of the clearing with a vacuum, it fell completely silent—every beast cutting off its cry at the exact same moment.

One of the beasts pointed a long claw at us, a Gelal from the smell of him. “First we kill you two, and then we kill every last human at this party,” it said. “And then this city will know that the Shadow Kings rule.”

“Can you say ‘overdramatic’?” I asked.

Daniel snorted. “Yeah, but I don’t think he’s kidding.”

“Kind of wishing we hadn’t told the boys to stay inside. A little backup would be nice.” Even if we shouted at the top of our lungs, they’d never hear us over the noise of the party. “Well, ready or not,” I said as the first wave of nine beasts came rushing at us in a flurry of claws and teeth.