Teeth gritted, he walked out, leaving Doran behind. It was all he could ask now, to make sure those around Rylee would be with her when the time came. Because if there was anything Liam knew, it was that Rylee wouldn’t let him go without a fight.
Next, he went to find Pamela, scenting her out and finding her in the kitchen. She was baking, something he’d learned she did when feeling uncertain. The smells filling the kitchen told him she was indeed feeling out of sorts. Alex sat awkwardly on a stool next to her, his gangly legs hanging off the edge, like some sort of unhinged puppet. Just Alex’s eyes followed him and in them was a worry that Liam felt.
To ask Pamela what he’d asked of her was brutal. “Pamela.”
Her head came around slowly, but she didn’t lift her eyes.
He tried again. “Pamela, I’m sorry I have to ask you to do this.”
She bit her lower lip as if to stop the tremble that reverberated there. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she lifted her eyes to his. “I don’t think I can. Anything but that. You’re a part of my family.”
His heart and gut clenched into a knot he wasn’t sure would ever release, and he pulled her into his arms. She was covered in flour and grease, but none of that mattered.
He kept his voice low. “It’s the only way to save Rylee. And she’s more important than me. You know that.”
Her words were hiccupped out between sobs. “But it will kill her, and she’ll hate me.”
“She won’t hate you. I promise.”
There was no choice. Orion had backed them into a corner, and Liam had to give Rylee time, time to deal with the newest twist in her life. The only thing he could do now was pray it would be enough.
And that Rylee would forgive them all.
Chapter 20
THE NEXT NIGHT didn’t roll around, it fucking well erupted into chaos that we should have seen coming. Erik and I had taken turns calling out the demon packs with no apparent success. Until the sun set.
Erik and I were on the rooftop after dinner. Alex was with us this time, his head in my lap as he mumbled obscenities at the demons. Not that he was adding to the actual call out, but it was funny as hell.
Maybe the elementals also found it funny because there was a sudden break in the air. The tension that had been building around us for the last twenty-four hours snapped.
The harpies roosting launched into the sky with a chorus of screeching and squawking that made me clap my hands over my ears. Erik stumbled to his feet, and looked over the edge of the roof.
A woman, floating on the air rose in front of us. Gauzy and surreal, she gave us a soft smile. The wind picked up, swirling her soft pink skirts out around her. Eyes the color of storm clouds pinned me to the roof. “You have called the demons, and I will take your request to them. Do you wish for the giant demon to be called as well?”
I shook my head at the same time as Erik. It seemed that both of us were a bit star struck. An elemental was the thing of legends. And we were staring at one.
Her smile was soft and full of sadness. “It will be done. They will come with a roll of thunder. Be ready, Slayers.”
She clapped her hands and then was gone. I turned to stare at Erik. “Holy fucking shit, was that an elemental?”
“I believe so.” He passed a hand over his face.
We sent Alex to warn everyone to be ready. My hands tightened on my crossbow, nerves jangling and adrenaline pumping. We waited, my uncle and me, side by side. Facing the east. The air around us grew heavy, and a boom of thunder shattered the stillness. I felt it in my chest, the reverberation of what I knew was a turning point in my life.
Erik took a few steps closer to the edge of the roof. He pointed to a spot in the distance. “They’re here.”
I ran to his side and felt the world spin out from under me. Not only had we called the last of the demon packs, but we’d also managed to call out a bunch of demons who’d escaped me at the police station in London. The ones who bred like rabbits. Also known as the ones that, currently, completely outnumbered us a hundred to one.
So the whole thing should have been easy from then on out.
Yeah, right.
“Time to run.” Erik pushed at me and I let him as we ran for the stairs. Everyone in the house was ready to rumble. Doran, Pamela, Frank, and Liam waited impatiently at the front door. Coyote was absent. When I questioned that, Liam grunted.
“He has another job tonight.” Nothing more, though, and I wondered what Coyote’s other job could possibly be.
A unicorn, dark brown like milk chocolate, stood there, stomping his foot. He was the new leader of the crush, since they’d lost Nikko—at least until Calliope grew up.
Let us see if these demons can keep up.