Page 33 of Brave Spirit (Bound Spirit #6)

Donovan

W aves of demons continue to pour into the auditorium.

Some have supernatural host bodies, others are humans from Twin Cedar Pass, and then there are demons who haven’t bothered with hosts at all.

Apparently, they don’t fucking care if they go back to hell as long as they can take me with them.

It’s like every page of my books on demons have come to life in some bizarre final test—except it isn’t just my life on the line.

Nolan does his best to keep the undead vampires off my back.

He doesn’t have the ability to kill them unless he tries to saw off their heads with the dagger I gave him, but he can be a pest. As the only one of us who can keep up with their super speed, he slashes their hands, arms, legs, backs, and bellies anytime they attempt to attack.

With blood splattered all over his expensive suit and dripping down the dagger in his hand, he looks every bit the dark predator that’s part of his nature.

The veneer of civility is shattered, and in its place is the reason why vampires are a power to be reckoned with all on their own.

Despite Nolan being the one with super speed, Connor moves like the wind.

Multiple demons try to attack him at once, but their swipes meet air right before they are round housed onto the ground and disemboweled by his sharp claws.

There’s a detached sense of calmness to his movements as he systematically flows through each enemy, his alpha powers radiating with each of his practiced strikes.

He’s been a wielder of death since adolescence, and this is just another battle for survival.

The members of Connor’s pack who attended the dance are fully shifted, and they have surrounded the remaining survivors in a tight, protective circle in the middle of the auditorium.

There are yelps of pain and furious growls as they bite and claw at any demons who try to get through them.

The humans are terrified, just as fearful of their protectors as the demons trying to kill them.

Rand half shifts to his human form, and what’s left of his formal clothes falls off his body.

He tries to reassure the humans that the shifters are here to protect them, not to eat them, but that only leads to more screaming.

Wincing, he shifts back to his wolf and launches at another demon.

Flashes of offensive and defensive magic come in surges as young witches do what they can.

Individual demons burst into flames under the chants of fire witches standing on top of half closed bleachers.

Air witches weave between the wolves, throwing out their arms and catapulting attackers out windows or slamming them into walls.

Sharp icicles of frozen punch fly from the snack table with moderate accuracy as water witches try to chant and dodge incoming attacks.

The ground trembles as fissures crack the lacquered wood floors. Whips of tree roots climb up through the gaps, wrapping around various demons’ legs and dragging them back into the earth. Each time one tries to crawl back out, the dirt turns to quicksand, and they sink like stones in water.

“Eat dirt, asshole!” Mei shouts from her position near the main entrance, burying another demon under a mountain of mud.

Clearly not trained for combat, the witches are both the strongest and weakest allies on the battlefield.

I spent so many years not giving a damn about a single one of them.

As far as I was concerned, every fucking member of that coven was an uncaring asshole who was complicit in Gina’s bullshit.

Now every cry of pain from the still living or the empty-eyed stare of the dead feels like a personal failure to protect them.

In the midst of assessing the battlefield and trying not to die, I notice the distinct lack of a particular warrior witch.

I’m sure Callie was right behind us, but she’s nowhere to be seen.

The night sky, which is visible through the broken skylight, is clear and bright under the full moon, without even a hint of approaching storm clouds or hurricane-grade winds.

Not only is Callie not here in the auditorium, but she’s also nowhere near the school.

She would never abandon innocent people who need her help, and she damn well wouldn’t abandon us when we’re fighting for our lives, unless…

“Felix!” I shout his name like a curse as I sidestep the taloned strike of a fury demon, quickly dismissing my wings before he can slice through them. Using the blade in my left hand to hook his arm, I drive the enchanted dagger up underneath his ribcage.

Shock, followed by a moment of terror, fills the demon’s burning red eyes.

Pure white light shines through hairline cracks in his tough skin, radiating from the puncture of the dagger.

As I draw the blade from his gut, the light consumes him until the corrupted soul is wisps of unearthly smoke, leaving nothing left to send back to hell. That makes cleanup much easier.

“What about Felix?” Kaleb shouts from his position behind me, cutting an incubus in half with his broadsword. Both sides burst into blue flames, and like the fury demon, there’s nothing left.

I leap on top of a distracted undead vampire, slamming it into the ground before driving the magic dagger into her heart. “Callie is missing. So is Felix.”

Kaleb grunts as a demon possessing the school coach runs headfirst at him, only to be skewered on his sword. “You think Felix is in trouble, and Callie went to save him?”

Ducking under a flying table that shoves a bunch of demons into a trap of roots and dirt, I spin to slice the Achilles tendons of a kitchen knife-wielding possessed human. “It’s the only reason Callie wouldn’t be here.”

A grim expression pulls at Kaleb’s features as he stabs the wounded demon in the back. Unlike the undead vampires or pure demons, there’s a scream of agony as the possessed soul burns, leaving an empty corpse. Well, that’s going to be harder to cover up.

His blood splatter wings disappear, and he uses the back of his wrist to wipe away more blood from his face before it can drip into his eyes. “Then we’ll keep fighting to save as many people as we can and trust Callie to help Felix.”

“The question is…” I hiss with pain as a clawed demon hand slashes across my ribs, cutting through my suit jacket, dress shirt, and undershirt.

Blood slowly drips from the cuts, but I have no time to worry about it.

Stabbing in a sideways arc with the non-magical blade, I catch the demon in the lower back.

It roars in pain, taking a step back as it tries to pull the blade free.

The moment of distraction is all I need to plunge the magical dagger into its grotesque, sinewy chest. I rip the dagger out before it falls to the ground.

This way, I’m at least still armed until I can retrieve the non-magical dagger from the demon’s ashes.

“The question is?” Kaleb prompts, throwing a dagger at one of the human host demons who managed to get the drop on me by coming up on my blind spot while I was dodging a punch to the face.

Quickly dropping low, I rip Kaleb’s dagger out and stab the demon with the magic blade. Tossing Kaleb his dagger, I continue, “The question is, was Felix abducted to keep Callie from helping us, or are the demons here to keep us from Callie?”

An undead vampire breaks through Nolan’s strikes and catches me by the throat after speeding through the burning remains of another fury demon I just stabbed.

“The witch didn’t lie.” She grins, her razor-sharp fangs dripping with blood while her eyes gleam with crazed excitement. “There’s no mistaking those eyes. The last of the Morningstars is playing human in this middle-of-nowhere town. Clever little hiding spot, but…”

Before she can finish her little speech, Kaleb slices through her neck with his broadsword. Blood sprays onto my face as her decapitated head falls to the ground. I jump back before I’m caught in the magical burning flames that engulf the body.

I use my sleeve to wipe the blood from my eyes. “I never fucking understand the demons who want to monologue first. It’s like they are asking to be attacked while they go through their bullshit speech.”

“It’s certainly not the best tactic in the middle of a battlefield.

” Kaleb’s breath is labored as he grabs my abandoned dagger from the floor and hands it to me.

“As far as motives for separating us from Callie, unfortunately, whatever it is, we can’t stop fighting here.

We have to trust Callie can take care of herself, and so can we. ”

After rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck, I drop back into a defensive stance. “I have to admit, of all the ways I expected to go out, I didn’t think there would be party streamers and a Top 40s soundtrack.”

“You aren’t dying tonight,” Kaleb insists, positioning himself to defend my back. “I won’t let you.”

As a snarky response hits my tongue, both Nolan and Connor freeze, their hands clutching their chests. In unison, they yell Callie’s name and bolt for the door, mowing through anything that dares to get in their way.

“That seems foreboding,” Kaleb comments, watching Connor disappear through the front entrance, Nolan already long gone with his super speed.

“Shit!” I curse, taking my frustration out on one of the wounded demons on the ground by stabbing them with the magical dagger. There are plenty of ways to incapacitate demons, but so far, Callie’s enchanted weapons are the easiest way to kill them.

Looking around, I take in the state of what feels like a never-ending battle.

The wolf shifters appear anxious, not knowing whether they should stay and fight or follow their alpha to wherever his next battle will be.

The witches are clearly exhausted and are likely reaching the limits of what’s left of their magic.

There’s so much fucking death everywhere, while demons get back up from what would normally be mortal wounds for any other creature.

I’m tired, sore, and bleeding from all the injuries that come with close combat fighting, but this is my battle.

They are here for me. If it’s my time, then I’m going to take as many of these bastards with me as I can.

My only regret is that Kaleb will go down alongside me, because he’s too fucking determined to save my life for him to save his own.

I admire his loyalty as much as I want to strangle him for it.

Running toward the sound system at the back of the auditorium—Kaleb cursing as he runs after me—I tuck the non-magical dagger into my belt at the base of my spine to free one of my hands.

I stab and slash with the single magical dagger, cutting my way through any resistance.

When I make it to the sound system, I immediately reach for the mic stand.

While I shore up my resolve for what is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, I call my black wings forth so there’s no doubt about what I am. Turning the mic on, I announce loudly, “Hey, dipshits. You want the last Morningstar? I’m right fucking here.”

All the demons freeze mid-action and look at the back, where I’m standing with a fuck you grin.

With my wings spread wide, making me an impossible target to miss, I let go of the mic and take a few steps forward.

Pulling my second dagger out, I prepare to kill as many of these assholes as I can before they take me down.

Kaleb groans, brings out his even more fucking obvious white wings, and drops into a battle stance beside me. “Why must you make everything harder?”

As the horde of demons abandon their other victims to fight for the honor of ending Satan’s bloodline, I shrug. “What can I say? I’m an asshole.”