Liam’s plan was simple. Lead the demons on foot to the castle, have Pamela blow the gates once they were all inside and then pull the castle down around them. That was where Blaz came in. He was going to keep any wayward giants at bay, and the rest of us were just bait. India and Kyle would stay behind, with Eve and the harpies watching out for them. Frank was coming with us, seeing as he really wasn’t a kid anymore. At least, as far as he was concerned.
I didn’t wait, just leapt onto my ride’s back. The unicorn reared up and screamed a challenge at the demons, swinging his head and baring his teeth. They responded in kind with snarls and deep-throated roars as they raced across the property.
Those of us who couldn’t shift had a unicorn to ride; Liam and Alex were in wolf form and ran ahead, leading the way. My heart pounded with adrenaline as we leapt forward, hooves tearing up the soft ground. The wind whipped around us, drawing the unicorn’s mane into a frenzy of tangles. I gripped hard with my legs and hands. Around me were the sounds of drumming hooves and the screech of demons in the midst of mania that came from blood lust.
The demons thought they had us on the run, and maybe if they’d been smarter they would have realized we were drawing them into a trap.
The full speed gallop over the countryside whipped by, and the demons never got close enough to do anything but snarl and snap, and hurl a few rocks and shit at us. Literal shit.
Alex took to yelling insults back at them, and that was the most entertaining part of the whole gambit.
“Shit throwers.”
“Rabbit fuckers.”
“Stinker heads.” That last was followed by Alex sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry at the demons.
I glanced at Pamela who rode next to me, expecting to see at least a small smile. Nope, her eyes were focused ahead of us, her body tense like a rubber band pulled taut. I swallowed my own smile. I shouldn’t be thinking this was fun at all; it was serious business. But I couldn’t help it, if you couldn’t look at the world when it fell apart around you and see the funny shit, you would end up hating everyone and everything. Even I knew that.
I turned in my seat and fired a few bolts from my crossbow, taking out the early runners. At least it would slow them down a little. Not to mention it pissed them off and made them even blinder to what we were doing.
We galloped through the forest preceding the open plain to the castle, branches swatting at us, but everyone kept their seats.
Three minutes and we were on the wide open space, the unicorns jumping over the downed legs of what was left of the original giant. The smell of rotting flesh and seriously bad feces rose up. Everyone except the unicorns gagged as the wind shifted, smacking us directly in the face.
Ahead of us, the castle still burned with its freaky blood-red flames and in front of it stood a new giant. This new guy wasn’t any bigger than the last. But he was infinitely more deadly. He held a massive club with spikes and his eyes glowed red, the mark of possession clearly on him. He snarled as he started to run our way.
“Okay, Blaz, you’re up.”
About damn time.
Blaz dropped from the sky where he’d followed us above the clouds. Fire rained down on the running oversized monster that let out a roar as flames wrapped around him. The unicorns turned on a burst of speed as we raced across the open plain, stealing my breath. From my position, I got a clear look at Blaz clamping his mouth around the giant’s hand—the one that held the club—and tearing it off. Previous experience told me the arm would grow back, but it would slow the big-ass bastard a little.
“You got him?” I called over my shoulder.
Blaz reared back in the air, his wings fanning the flames he’d started on the giant, his eyes wide and full of rage. This bitch is mine.
Good enough. Pamela lifted one hand and the gate to the castle exploded inward, a perfect opening for our party.
That was when the confusion started. My ride spun on his heels, skidding to a stop as the demons swarmed in behind us. I clung to his back as we dodged and ducked through the swarming mass and back out the gate. Erik was on one side of me, and Doran the other. Alex was ahead and I realized something was wrong.
Pamela and Liam had stayed behind.
I didn’t think about the consequences, or why they might have stayed, only that I couldn’t leave them there.
I swung my legs to the side to slide off the unicorn’s back, but Erik’s mount slammed up against us. “You can’t save them.”
My eyes shot to his as the horror of what he was saying overwhelmed me. “No!”
I twisted to the other side only to find Doran there, blocking me. This was not happening. Behind us the castle exploded, sending blocks of granite and stone flying through the air. Our mounts were forced to scatter and I took my chance, sliding off the unicorn. I hit the ground, rolled to take the edge off the fall and was up and running toward the castle. This was not happening.