The majority of the men—with the exception of Maddox, the incubus he’d befriended over the past few days who he knew despised the things Belpheg had done in the name of justice—sprung into action. They raised their hands, sending ribbons of energy toward the several dozen zombies that had now ambled from the forest. But most of their magic bounced off the corpses harmlessly. A few of the skeletons rattled from the vibrations of the magic and fell to pieces, but they immediately began to reform, barely slowing their forward progress.
Muttering a curse, Belpheg motioned to the chief sentinel Emry. “Get the rest of the ishtari out there.”
“They’ve already taken most of them down,” Emry yelled back, his eyes wild with fright. “They’re no match for zombies. Why don’t you use your magic? You’re the most powerful one here!”
Belpheg let out a loud curse, and Rage thought he’d strike Emry down. But in the end, he refocused his attention on the corpses and lifted his shaking hands in the air.
Time to go.
While everyone was still distracted.
After securing the now eerily quiet infant in his arms, Rage stepped past the threshold and raced toward the stone balustrade to the left of the staircase. He leaped on it and dropped the twenty or so feet to the ground, landing with minimal impact. The baby let out a soft hiccup but made no other noise, simply holding tighter to his shirt with his tiny fists.
As if trusting Rage to keep him safe.
Hold on tight, little buddy. I’ll get you out of here.
Though he had no clue what the fuck he’d do with the kid then.
Using his preternatural speed, he raced toward a spot on the left edge of the forest that appeared to be free of zombies. Part of him expected Belpheg to notice and strike him down as he ran, but to his surprise, he made it past the first copse of trees without incident. The frantic sounds of Belpheg’s battling men receded just a fraction as he sped deeper into the woods.
A wave of power rolled through the forest, momentarily knocking him to his knees. He squeezed the baby tight to his chest and absorbed the force of the energy. The feel of it was familiar.
Belpheg got the barrier back up.
Lucky for him and the kid, he had safely made it to the other side first.
Rage started to rise, but before he could stumble to his feet ,something struck him from the side, almost causing him to lose his grip on the bundle in his arms.
“Shit,” he cried out, righting himself. But when he looked for the source, his heart all but stopped. It was a zombie, a fleshless skeleton who lunged at him with its fierce jaws snapping. The zombie latched onto his elbow and tore off a chunk of flesh. Almost immediately, it began to build sinew, causing its bones to drip with gore.
“Ow!” Pain tore down his arm, seizing his muscles with blinding heat.
Motherfucker, that hurt!
And so, so gross, up close and personal.
Keeping his other grip firm on the baby, he shook the zombie off when it advanced again. Flesh wounds would heal, but nothing would bring him back if the damn thing managed to tear him to pieces.
Not to mention what those powerful jaws could do to a defenseless little baby…
He scrambled to his feet just in time to send the zombie flying when it lunged for him again, but his relief was short-lived. Something else knocked into him from behind, and he barely managed to avoid crushing the infant or knocking his tiny head into the ground when he fell forward onto his elbows and knees. A second later, a jagged ache tore through his back, forcing a cry from his throat. Though he couldn’t see the creature behind him, the rancid smell and dripping gore told him it was another zombie.
Instinctively, Rage squatted over the infant, protecting it from the zombie at his back and the other zombie who even now scuttled back toward him. “Get the fuck away. You can’t have him!”
Bony fingers closed over his neck, and he flinched, preparing for the worst, when a woman’s cry unexpectedly rent the air. “Stop! Stop!”
The anguished sound of the woman’s voice caused his hair to stand on end. Somehow he knew, to the depths of his soul, that its shrill tenor would haunt him to the very end of his days…
However much longer that might be.
Rage froze and, much to his amazement, so did the zombies. Then, they surprised him even more by scampering backward, freeing him from their clutches. They remained crowded around him though, panting and dripping fluids from their jaws, as if simply awaiting the order to attack.
His mouth dropped open in shock. Rage lifted his gaze toward the source of the sound.
A beautiful woman stood several feet away, just beside a tree. Her thin form was encased in dark jeans and a black sweater, and her long, brown hair had been pulled back from a face that had blanched at the sight of him. Beside her stood a muscular, shirtless man with flashing turquoise eyes and dark hair that hung in ragged layers past his chin. The man was frozen in place, his hawk-like stare taking in every minute detail of the scene before him.