Page 20 of Coerced (Tainted #2)

20. Into the Trap

Kerry

The next morning, I heard the others talking and moving around before I opened my eyes. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but at some point my exhausted body called it quits and shut my mind down for a while. Scrubbing my hands over my face, I told myself to suck it up and get out there and lead the hunt for the enemy.

It was a hard sell, but I wasn’t a coward. I’d never hid from anything in my life - wasn’t smart enough for that, I guess - and I wasn’t gonna start now just because I was embarrassed by my own stupidity.

And I had to pee.

So I crawled out of my tent, pulled on my boots, glanced at the fire ring, and saw the snow-melt pot still sitting in the middle of the ashes. No one was around, but all the tents were still up, so I knew they hadn’t ditched me.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had, and wasn’t sure how I felt that they hadn’t.

It wasn’t their fault. Not really. They’d said sorry, maybe even meant it, but the one who shoulda apologized was me. I didn’t deserve the friendship they offered me and I knew it and I took it anyway. The blame for this disaster was all mine.

I took care of business behind a few trees, then went back to the campsite to find Rome crouched by the fire pit, staring at the red coals. He didn’t speak as I hunkered down across from him and used the dipper to get enough warm water to rinse my hands and face.

“Where’s G—” I clamped my jaw shut.

It wasn’t my business.

Not anymore.

“Spin took Maddy for a lesson on detecting Diabolical trails.” He motioned to the metal pot. “You done with this?”

“Yeah.”

“Gemma and the others went with them.” He dumped the rest of the water on the embers. “Just you and me to take down the tents.”

“Huh.” The good side of my mouth quirked up. “They left you alone with the monster? They must not like you very much.”

Instead of answering, he stood and went to work and, after a second, I followed. My mind emptied as I concentrated on making sure the tents were packed up right, and it was only much, much later I realized what Rome had done for me that morning. At the time, though, I was only conscious of being almost calm by the time we finished.

At least, I was until Gigi ’ported in.

“We walked into the trap!” she shouted. “Hurry!”

#

Rome

Kerry took off in a storm of blue sparks, and I rolled my eyes. He had a watcher right here to teleport him, and he ran? Didn’t he have any common sense?

It wouldn’t have been a good idea to touch him right now, replied my own common sense .

“Let’s go.” I held out my hand.

“But what about K—”

“Powered up like he was, he might beat us there. Especially if we stand here talking instead of—”

Gigi grabbed my hand and we popped into a clearing of yellowed grass and shrubby weeds where our group stood in a loose triangle with Spin at the apex. The logical part of me noted it was not the best formation, but possibly the only alternative when no warrior was present.

The rest of my attention was riveted on the woman across the field.

From her silky black hair to her dusky skin, she had the kind of allure that would have started wars in ancient days. Her long gray coat was belted tight around her small waist and its huge fur collar should have made her look ridiculous, but it only enhanced the delicate bones of her face. She was every poets’ vision of loveliness, and the Diabolical stench that rolled off of her nearly made me gag.

Out of sheer instinct, I avoided her eyes and looked at the two monstrosities flanking her. One had been a hyena and the other a male mandrill that had to weigh sixty or seventy pounds. Both pawed at the ground with crazed eyes and, for some reason, I found them far less dangerous than the woman holding their leashes.

Right then, Kerry pounded up to me. Wow. He really had almost beaten us there.

“Why aren’t the others doing anything?” Gigi gestured at our friends.

“She’s a succubus,” Kerry explained. “They probably looked into her eyes. Once the fight starts, she’ll be distracted enough to release them.”

“Looks like we found what killed that human hiker,” I muttered.

“Yeah. I’d bet on the monkey thing,” he said.

“It’s a mandrill. I think you’re right.”

“What are they?” Gigi’s upper lip curled as she watched them.

“Monstrosities.” I called up my blades, then rolled my shoulders to loosen up. “Lesser demons and devils fused with animals. They follow no orders and are of little use other than as chaos soldiers and distractions.”

“I hate when they use animals.” Kerry spat on the ground. “At least they ain’t dogs.”

“At least they’re not bears ,” I retorted. “Or lions .”

“It isn’t about size, dummy. I can kill a bear or a lion, but I like dogs.” He manifested his katana. “You wanna take her and I’ll get the animals, or the other way around?”

“Which of you is the miracle worker?” the woman demanded in a throaty voice.

The monstrosities strained against their leashes and made loud noises. She wrapped their leashes double around her wrist and pulled them back with a quick jerk.

“Stronger than she looks, huh?” Gigi tilted her head.

“Yeah.” Kerry nodded. “But a succubus’s real talent is luring you in close enough to cut off your head. Or worse, your balls.”

I barked out a laugh, and his reciprocal grin had nothing to do with humor.

“Give her to me and I’ll call off my pets!” The succubus was getting impatient.

“Gigi, you stay here,” Kerry said, and the two of us stepped forward.

At the same moment, a dull ripping sound came from behind us. I spun around. A long oval of utter darkness hung in the air about a hundred feet from our backs.

They opened a portal here ? Portals take massive amounts of energy and sacrifice. I can’t believe they were wasting one on us.

Right then, I heard Spin laugh, Jax curse, and Chance shout for Gemma and Travis to follow him. The succubus’ control must have broken with the distraction, as Kerry had predicted.

An enormous creature thundered out of the portal. It shook its huge head and snorted, then pinned its tiny eyes on Chance as he led Gemma and Travis toward a stand of fir trees.

“You take the succubus,” I hollered as I ran past Kerry. “I’ll take whatever that is.”

“Behemoth!” he called back. “Soft in the belly!”

The ground shook as it ran, and I grinned in anticipation. This would be a good fight.

“Finally something your size, Rome!” I heard Spin shout. “Have fun!”

#

Kerry

“Shut up, Spin, and sink some arrows into it!” I snarled. “Maddy, the same with the monstrosities in front of us. I’ll take the succubus. John and Maddy with me, Jax and Tara with Rome. Gigi, go with Gemma.”

I didn’t look to see if they would follow my orders. If they did, they did. If they didn’t, I would die that much sooner. It was as simple as that.

And I was good with it.

Yeah, life really sucks when an eternity in Hell seems like it might be an improvement.

The succubus dropped the leashes and the monstrosities rushed into the fight, then she crooked her finger and motioned me closer. I knew better and stayed back. She tried to snare me in her gaze, and I avoided that trick, too. Then a flaming whip appeared in her hand and she snapped it at me, close enough to my face to feel the heat.

“Your friend is about to die.” She giggled and looked past my shoulder.

I took the dare and glanced around. Jax was working on the hyena, which had a dozen arrows sticking outta it, while the monkey thing charged at Maddy. Its fangs were bared and it was screaming. She screamed, too, but kept firing arrow after arrow into it. The demon inside had probably been banished already, but the monstrosity would attack anything now.

Just before it could slam into her, John tackled it from the side and they rolled across the grass. Maddy ran after them, an arrow ready to fly.

That was all I had time to watch. The succubus snapped her fire whip again and it wrapped around my arm. She yanked and spun me around to face her, only it wasn’t her. Tara grinned at me and tossed her hair.

“Wrong girl.” I shook my head and patted my sleeve to put out the fire.

I lunged for her, but she caught me in a hip toss and threw me to the ground. She lost her fire whip with the move, but was on me in a heartbeat, her hips astraddle mine and her hands pinning my wrists to the ground. Her features blurred until they morphed in Gigi.

“Nope.” I half-smiled. “Not her, either.”

Spiking up let me gain enough ground to twist my wrists out of her hold. I grabbed two handfuls of her blue-black ringlets and yanked her head back. Before I could snap her neck, though, she changed into Gemma. I paused for half a second and that was all she needed. Her emerald eyes snagged mine - and I was trapped.

“Ahh,” she purred and my hands slid into her hair for a different reason. “ This is the one.”

From far away, I heard Spin shout, “Incoming!” and the succubus’s control lapsed as she focused on what was going on behind us.

“What is this?” she murmured. “Who dares steal my prisoners?”

I had enough of my own mind back to look over my shoulder. Seven or eight small demons came from the portal with what looked like blankets. They scattered and seemed to be trying to throw the blankets over the rest of my team. Then a man in a gray suit came through, followed by about twenty larger demons. They headed for Rome, who was still fighting the behemoth.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” the succubus hissed, then raised her voice to a screech. “Back off, Hubler! I’m claiming this bounty!”

She pulled my head closer and her breath was warm on my neck. I tried to remember what I was doing, but I never could think straight when I was this close to Gemma. And my brain definitely wasn’t going to work when she was sucking on my earlobe like that.

There was something, though. Something nagging in the back of my mind…

“I’ll have to finish you quickly,” she whispered in my ear. “More’s the pity, sweet angel.”

Angel? Me ? No. That’s wrong. Gemma’s the angel.

Gemma…

All at once, Chance’s apathy shattered. I caught her head in my hands and pulled her face away. She tried to catch my eyes in a last-ditch effort to trap me again, but now I shed her power like it was water. Roaring, I crushed her skull until she gasped and collapsed against me.

Shoving her off, I got to my feet and called up my katana. One smooth stroke and her head rolled across the grass.

“Gigi! John!” I shouted orders as I ran. “Get them outta here!”

Convinced that they would be safe - that she would be safe - I headed for Rome. The larger demons had him surrounded and hurled spears of darkness that bounced off his shield for now, but he couldn’t afford to fend them off for much longer. He would need all his power to take down the behemoth.

Where’s Spin? He should be shooting those sons of whores!

I couldn’t afford the time to find out. The behemoth had crashed into Rome’s side and tossed him like a dog with a toy. He landed hard, but had the sense to snag the creature’s thick ankle with one hand. Bellowing, he hung on as the behemoth dragged him along at a fast gallop, which had to hurt, but it also kept him alive.

Almost there! I ran hard, my arms and legs pumping like pistons. A few more yards…

Then Rome let loose a missile that sank into the behemoth’s gut. With a loud boom! , it exploded in a shower of blue sparks, and Rome curled onto his side and lay still. Swearing, I slashed my way inside the circle of demons.

“Can you move?” I yelled.

“Can you … buy me … a minute?”

“No! Clem said you can shift, so do it!”

There was a blue flash, then a giant snake slithered its way up my leg. Leaving a trail of blood on my clothes, Rome wrapped himself around my waist and shoulders and propped his head on my neck.

I hacked away and tried to keep one eye on what was happening at the portal, but the demons pressed tighter and blocked my view. There seemed to be no end to them and I was getting impatient, so I lit my katana up. Now, each swing of the blade spat fire into the horde, and the demons dissolved as it hit them.

Rome’s forked tongue tickled in my left ear and I resisted the urge to swat at it. I got the idea he was trying to tell me something, so I did a quick scan of our position.

Demons were everywhere. I couldn’t see any of our people and hoped it meant Gigi or John had ’ported them away, but Gemma’s scream killed that thought. She sounded terrified and ice formed in my gut. Even as upset as I still was at her, I never, ever wanted her to get hurt.

My fault. It’s all my fault if she gets hurt. I asked her to come.

In a hurry now, I hurled fire everywhere and the demons went up like dry wood. I dodged their burning corpses as I ran, half-blinded by the smoke and ash filling the air. All I could do was plow forward in the direction I remembered seeing the portal.

“ KERRY! ”

“Hold on, angel!” I yelled. “I’m on my way!”

I never in my life moved as fast as I did then. The smoke cleared enough for me to make out the portal, where Gray Suit stood with a few of the lesser demons. He looked over his shoulder, saw me, and flicked his fingers. I juked, expected to see a curse whiz by me, and was confused when it didn’t.

Then power slammed into my side.

Idiot! He isn’t alone!

I groaned as my body slowed down, exactly like the gargoyle had that day in the Repository. Frozen in place as I fought, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between Gray Suit and the one who held me.

“Is that all of them, Castle?”

I found a flaw in the binding and slammed power into it. No way was I going through that portal as a prisoner.

“I think there were two or three more, but they bolted. Hurry up, Hubler.”

“This is a good haul. I’ve never taken so many nephilim at once. And these new blankets work just as you promised, Castle.” Gray Suit - Hubler - rubbed his hands together. “Hold that one until I’ve gone through, then bring him, too.”

Castle. Must be a name, not a place.

“Are you insane? He’s tearing through my strongest binding like it’s a paper towel! We don’t have a facility that would hold him at the blood farm.”

“Could we hold him at the lab?” Hubler called.

“Doubt it.”

“Kill him then.”

Yeah. Good luck with that.

Hubler stepped through the portal and the last of the demons followed. From my right, a black-haired man ran into my line of sight. He slowed, turned his head, and looked at me.

The air whooshed out of my lungs. I knew those flat, black eyes. They haunted my oldest nightmare.

“ YOU! ”

“Well, well, well. Little Kerry Harker all grown up. I always wondered if you would survive the Great Experiment.”

“I’m gonna kill you!”

“You’ll need to catch me first.” Castle ran for the portal.

I hammered the binding and it shattered with an explosion that hurt my ears. Power, mine and his, sloshed everywhere and scorched the ground in a three-foot circle.

Soon as I was free, I raced after him, but he had a good head start on me. Rome’s weight slowed me down, too, and I wanted to drop him, but to untangle myself now would take too much time.

Castle dove in the portal and it began to close. My smoked-up lungs were on fire, but I ran on and tried to ignore Rome’s head as it bounced on my shoulder.

If he wasn’t concussed before, he probably is now . ’S okay. Gemma or Chance can fix him.

The portal shrunk to the size of a manhole, but I could still fit. Straining every muscle, I launched myself forward - and the portal winked out.

Mid-air, I twisted so Rome wouldn’t be killed by me landing on him. I hit the ground on my forearms and knees and tore up a good three or four feet of grass. My chest heaved as I sucked in air and reared up on my knees.

Tipping my head back, I howled at the uncaring sky until everything went black.