Stacey, still in panther form, roared and attacked. Ryland went in alongside her. But hellhounds dodged into their path, forcing a fight. I grabbed the sword I'd dropped and sped for Vadaemos, no real plan in my head except to bring him down any way possible. A black form smashed into my chest and black teeth drooled inches from my throat. The hellhound snapped at my exposed neck. I gripped it by its muzzle just in time, my hands wrapping around the dark disgusting flesh, and squeezed it shut. A blue streak flew past me and slammed into Thomas Borathen. He flew backward, rolling gracefully and landing on his feet. I saw Elyssa fighting two more dark shapes behind him.
The hellhound's muzzle pressed hard against my hands, slick from drool and sweat. I wouldn't be able to hold this monster back for long. I twisted its head, trying to break the neck, but on my back, I didn't have the leverage necessary. My attacker tried another tactic, twisting and turning its head to wrench it free. The moment that happened, it was bye-bye Justin. The venom in its bite alone might be enough to kill me unless demon spawn had built-in immunity.
Its head snapped back. My hands slipped free. It lunged. I threw up my arms in desperation the way I'd seen attack dog trainers do. Except they'd been wearing protective gear and I had nothing. My arms butted against the hound's neck. Teeth snapped shut less than an inch from my nose.
I was really wishing I'd watched The Dog Whisperer a few times because any inside knowledge would come in handy right about now. Desperation fueled my adrenalin rush, surging through my blood. The hound snapped again and a tooth nicked my nose. It felt like someone had injected acid into my flesh. I'd been through serious pain before, ironically, while donating my blood to save Stacey from a hellhound bite. Otherwise, the pain in my nose might have overwhelmed me. Instead, it made me angry. Furious.
A hot red tide swelled in my chest. My survival instinct roared into high gear. And I felt the change struggling to overcome me. I turned my head to the right to avoid another snap of the jaws in time to see Vadaemos grab Thomas Borathen by the sword arm and slam him to the ground. Elyssa screamed. But the two hellhounds attacking her were relentless and she couldn't break free to help.
More hellhounds appeared behind her. I shouted her name, barely paying attention to the attacker on my chest. The new hellhounds charged—right past her and tore into the ones she was fighting. Flaming red hair blurred past and smacked into Vadaemos before he could pound Thomas into the ground again.
Kassallandra?
Vadaemos hardly flinched, though it was clear the fierce redhead had put everything into her attack. His backhand caught her solidly in the face, tossing her like a limp doll through the air, hair blazing like a meteorite behind her until she tumbled to the ground, rolled, and lay still.
My shout of anger turned into a roar—deep, guttural, and animalistic. My muscles pressed hard against my clothes, tearing and shredding, unable to contain the beast any longer. Agony stabbed through my forehead. The hellhound whimpered. Tried to back away, but my big blue hands flashed to its throat, clenched it and held it fast. Pain burned through my mouth as my teeth sharpened and extended. My clothes stretched and tore as the demon came out to play.
Xhe jakini! I shouted. Or at least it sounded like that. My voice was deep, guttural. It reminded me eerily of the time I'd somehow spoken to the green demon that had killed Meghan's mother.
I leapt to my feet, hellhound dangling from my hand, and squeezed its neck. Bones cracked and the creature went limp. I threw the body at the group of hellhounds still attacking Stacey and Ryland. It slammed into one and sent it yelping and skidding across the asphalt.
Kill. Devour.
The imperative of the monster I'd become was clear. Just like the last time I'd manifested into demon form, my intellect rode in the back seat, unable to steer the baser instincts of this hellish vessel. I could see everything perfectly. Feel everything. But my mind seemed detached, unable to enforce anything I tried to impose on it.
I lumbered toward Stacey and Ryland, the bloodlust making no distinction between friend and enemy. All were fair game. All would be devoured. This hunger knew no limits. My clawed fingers snatched at the black panther, but Stacey blurred to the side. Instead, my hand connected with one of the hellhounds.
Kill.
The hound yelped and bit my arm. Bluish blood welled from the puncture. I roared and slammed the hound to the ground. Picked it up and smashed it again. It was dead. But rage controlled the beast I'd become. It kicked the body, sending it flying into Ryland's flank. He flipped end over end, unable to dodge thanks to the other hellhounds attacking him.
"Justin!" someone shouted. "Justin, look at me!"
My body paused. Sniffed the air. Looked around for the commanding voice. A familiar voice. And spotted Elyssa.
Devour.
Her soul spiraled like a shimmering halo around her body, dark wisps mixed with creamy strands of white. My demonic stomach growled. I wanted to consume her soul and fill the bottomless void of my hunger. My lumbering stride turned to an agile gait. I flashed toward her. She made no move to get away. My hand closed around her frame. Lifted her. Electricity surged through my body. I shuddered. Roared. The wall between my intellect and control of this body weakened.
Stop! I commanded myself. She's the one you love!
Elyssa's hands touched my monstrous face and gazed into my soul with glowing violet eyes. "Justin, you have to stop Vadaemos. You have to, before he kills everyone."
I looked to the side. Templars lay scattered like black-clad dolls while the blue form of Vadaemos fought a small group of them. There was no doubt as to who would win the fight. A Templar slashed Vadaemos's leg open. The brute hardly slowed, snatching up his attacker and opening his jaws wider than looked possible. The Templar screamed as the whitish gray mist of his life force was torn from his body in a vortex and drawn into the gaping maw.
I felt warm lips press against my cheek and looked back into the eyes of the girl I loved. The creature inhaled deeply through its nose, drawing in the familiar scent of spring flowers mingled with oil and leather. It burned through my lungs and buried itself in my heart. The hunger subsided. I pressed hard against the barrier separating me from control of this monster. Something snapped. My vision blurred and righted itself. And suddenly, my body responded.
"I love you," I said in a deep voice so alien it frightened me.
Elyssa's eyes widened in shock. I set her down and fixed my eyes on Vadaemos. Already, I felt my control slipping. For some reason, contact with her made me stronger. I didn't have time to figure out why. I was on a timer before my body resumed its mindless rampage. If I threw myself against the real enemy, maybe I would continue to fight him even if I lost control once more.
Vadaemos knocked aside his remaining attackers and reached for a struggling form on the ground: Thomas Borathen. I slammed into the other demon spawn's back as he reared to deliver a deathblow to Elyssa's father. With a grunt, Thomas fell to the ground. Vadaemos bellowed and tumbled forward, smashing into a sapling at the edge of the parking lot and splintering it into a thousand toothpicks.
He sprang to his feet with a roar, ripping the broken pine tree free and hurling it at me. It speared through my thigh, branches and all. I screamed in agony. A blue streak slammed into me. I hit one of the Templar cars in the side, crushing it like an aluminum can. Vadaemos punched me in the face. His spiked fist deflected off one of my horns. I threw up my hands as he rained relentless blows down on me, hammering so hard, I felt bones cracking and stabs of pain from the black spines on his fists.
A hellhound's corpse nailed him in the back. He staggered. Pressing my shoulders back against the crushed ruin of the car, I swung my good leg up hard as I could and connected. I honestly hadn't had time to find out if I had a monstrous pair of incubus gonads dangling between my legs or not, but I figured there was a pretty good chance I had something there. And if I did, so did Vadaemos.
He howled and the flames in his black orbs seemed to go cross-eyed. I snapped off the bit of pine tree protruding from the back of my leg and pulled the rest from the front of my thigh, thundering in agony as I did.
Whatever pause I'd bought myself with the cheap shot to Vadaemos's daddy bags expired before I could stagger back to my feet. I rolled to the side, blue blood from my thigh wound dripping and steaming on the ground.
A fist slammed into my back. Breath whooshed out in a gale. Another blow connected to the back of my head. The ground rushed to meet me. Only my horns saved me from the knockout blow, slamming so hard into the pavement they left cracks. I rolled left out of pure instinct. His fist crushed the asphalt where my head had been. Elyssa appeared, sword in hand, and slashed his hamstrings. He dropped to his knees. She dodged away, but his backhand delivered her a glancing blow and sent her skidding across the pavement.
Vadaemos lunged. His huge black-clawed hand caught my huge throat and squeezed. He lowered his face to mine, a smile lighting his demonic features and showing his pearly black rows of sharpened teeth.
" Xhe nevudi budo ceanas dahna. Xhe budi jakinis," he rumbled in that alien tongue. Somehow, I knew what he meant. No one will help you now. You will die.
He squeezed. My throat muscles went taut. I clawed at his face, at his eyes. We both had long arms, but his were a little longer. He was stronger. Older. And he had experience with his demon form. The light faded from the world. Screams echoed in my ears from a million miles away. My struggles grew weaker. Slower.
"Justin!" a female voice screamed. Was it Elyssa? Mom?
Darkness fell like a curtain of silk but it wasn't because I'd passed out or died. If anything, I felt oxygen wheezing through my throat where before there had been none. Jagged sparks of black lightning speared into Vadaemos, blistering his chest and blasting him off me. Before him stood a petite form made larger by ultraviolet wings unfurling wide behind her. Jagged bolts of furious energy raced along the seemingly insubstantial appendages. I rolled to my knees as my body shifted and shrank, gasping greedily for air through a throat still tight from injury.
Somehow, I staggered to my feet. Fell to a knee. Pushed myself back up. Vadaemos lay unconscious, his mass shrinking and retreating back into his human form. Nightliss spun to face me. The anger in her eyes softened and her unfurled wings of dark energy dissipated into the ether like puffs of smoke. She took a step forward, but another pair of hands reached me first. I stumbled back into that warm embrace and looked into familiar eyes. Elyssa.