Destroyer (The Elemental Series #7)(46)

"That one helped her, gave her a way to break open the Veil." The demon's body shimmered and shifted, and for just a moment, it looked like its skin was made of overlapping stones.

Could it be made of earth?

The demon dog stalked toward me. "You would keep the Veil open?"

A sure-fire way to keep him coming at me presented itself.

"Yes." I moved sideways and the beast followed. On all fours, its hunched, spine-covered back was above my head. Each foot had three large claws like a raptor, and the mouth, well, I'd already seen all the wicked tongues protruding between the jagged teeth.

It tipped its head to one side, seemingly tasting the air. "You have killed demons."

"Yup."

I had no idea exactly how I was going to do it without my spear. Damn, Talan, I would blame him for that too. Then again, I was a weapon unto myself. I just had to fully put my faith in my own abilities.

The demon dog opened its mouth, dug its claws into the metal deck of the ship and let out a roar. The tongues snaked toward me, and I threw myself to the side, rolling across the ship, then leapt to my feet once more, only this time as a snow leopard. The shift between one form and another for me was smooth, seamless. I crouched where I was, tail lashing. The power to take down a demon was no small thing. What I didn't understand was why Raven hadn't been able to send the demon back to where it belonged. Spirit was the key and Raven had killed demons before.

What was different about this one?

The demon dog barked a laugh. "My friends will join me and then we will see who wins this match, cat." It shook its large head, and rolled its wide shoulders.

The sudden rat-a-tat-tat of a gun going off sent me to the deck of the ship, my belly flat to the ground. The demon bucked and shuddered and then blew the few bullets out of its body with a grunt. "Nice try, humans. I'll deal with you next."

I pushed myself to my feet and circled the demon. That was the problem with humans. They thought they could handle the supernatural, and the reality was, they couldn't. Not unless they wanted to break out their big bombs which would just end up killing us all.

The big bombs …  those were coming next. Truth slid through me as Spirit helped me make yet another connection, putting pieces of a complex puzzle together.

The demon didn't give me a chance to get very far into my musing. The creature leapt, its wide body blocking the sun for a brief flash. The wings that had carried it across the sky were sealed to its sides now. I shot a paw out, and sent a pulse of Spirit through my claws as I slashed them across its wings. The demon's wings were not fine in their makeup at all, but hard beyond belief and acted like an extra layer of armor. My power slid off it.



       
         
       
        

That was how it kept Raven away. Its armor was too thick, which meant I needed to find a weak spot.

Worm shit …  I dodged the tongues as they reached for me, and spun to the side. The demon slashed through the air where I'd been only a moment before. Irritation flickered over its features. "Damn elementals, always interfering." It slammed its front foot into the decking of the ship. I stared at the imprint its foot made. That was some serious power to dent the solid steel.

I was going to have to watch that it didn't get a solid hold on me.

Demon dog stepped out of the hole and leapt at me again. I shot out of the way, but it twisted in midair, following me with its three-pronged talons outstretched. This time I couldn't dodge it, the thing was too damn fast.

Its claws caught my left leg near my hip. I roared as I twisted and blocked its gaping mouth by shoving my right paw against the bottom of its mouth, slamming its jaw shut.

The power in its body, though, was like wrestling with a literal force of nature. Inch by inch, its bared teeth drew closer and I knew it was only a matter of time before it bit down on me and chewed my face off. This was what I got for helping Raven. Damn it, I was an idiot. I rolled to the side as I scrabbled at its belly with my back feet.

Connected with Spirit-the only way to disperse a demon properly-I tried to force it back through the Veil again.

"Ah, that won't work with me." It spat the words through the bared teeth. "I ain't that kind of demon."

With a screech, I used the demon's body weight against it and jerked us to one side. We slammed into the deck and the blow shuddered around us, rippling the steel in a wave.

The claws dug in harder to my arm and my bone snapped, sudden and loud under the pressure.

"Someone help her! She's just a girl!"

Just a girl?

Rage lit me up at the way they dismissed me because I was a woman. A girl, in their eyes, and therefore unable to protect myself. There was no way I was going down under a demon. I called on the power of the earth hard, yanked it up around the ship and spilled it over the deck so wet sand spread out in a wave.