Breed of Envy (The Breed Chronicles, #02) (27 page)

Bad news: I was out of weapons.

Good news: the demon couldn’t use my weapons against me.

More bad news: it had its own form of a weapon so it didn’t need mine.

It trampled over my blade as it ran at me. I barreled down the alley, to the end, with the demon right at my back. I jumped up and kicked away from the wall. Twisting in the air, I extended my leg in a kick that caught the demon’s head, and then landed on my feet barely a second later. I had no idea how the hell I’d done that, or why I even thought I could, but at least it’d worked.

The demon made a sound, so I kicked it in the back of its knee and then kicked it in the head again. It crashed into the wall.

Linc muttered a vicious curse under his breath. I glanced over to him. He rubbed his lower back and blinked, probably because he couldn’t see. “Jade?”

“I’m okay. You?”

“Yeah, mostly. But I can’t see.”

“One second,” I said, running over to him. I tapped his arm. “Just follow my lead.”

The demon was at the back of the alley still and Linc and I were near the entrance. Running would’ve been good, except the damn thing had our scents and would only follow us to the ends of the Earth if we tried going there.

“You like baseball, right?” I asked Linc, keeping my tone low.

He blinked furiously, like he hoped it would help clear the smoke. “Yeah.”

“Get your knife out, and when I tell you to, run and slide home.”

“What?”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, Stone. You can’t see. I can. This damn thing has our scents,” I said, though it seemed completely focused on
my
scent. “Even with the smoke, it keeps following me. We need to get it off its feet and keep it away from people.”

“Alright. Fine.”

“Okay, it’s turning around,” I said, relaying the demon’s position to Linc, and moving to stand in front of him. I remembered the lipstick knife in my pocket and pulled it out, then twisted the jewel to release the blade.

The smoke started to clear, but I still took Linc’s hand and started running toward the demon. Linc stayed with me, doing his best to match my speed. When we were five feet from the demon, I released his hand, swerved to the right, and yelled, “Slide home!”

Linc and I both lurched back, dropped down to our sides, and slid along the pavement. The concrete scraped against my arms and legs and I had to bite back a curse. As we neared the demon, I said, “Now!” and Linc and I both stabbed it in the legs with our knives. It let out a pained sound and fell to the ground as we rolled out of the way.

Linc jumped to his feet first and pulled the knife from the demon’s leg. He tried stabbing it again, but the demon was ready and knocked him to the side, sending him crashing into the wall with a sickening smack.

I barely made it to my hands and knees before the demon came for me and slashed out. One of its arms came down over my back hard enough to have me eating pavement. Rocks and dirt dug into my cheeks, knees, and elbows, and grated against my skin until I scented my own blood in the air. The demon hit again and again with sledgehammer force, knocking the breath from my lungs. I managed to tuck my arms underneath me to keep them covered. My back was protected from the thorns on its arms, but it did little to lessen the strength of the blows. Each hit felt like a board of nails being slammed into my back. Tears stung my eyes. I tried moving, shifting, and rolling away, but I couldn’t even make it an inch before the Sawthorn was hitting me again.

“Linc!” I tried to scream his name, but my voice was barely a rough whisper and I didn’t know if he heard me.

The demon delivered another blow, further up my back, closer to my head, which had my forehead slamming into the ground. And then the weight on my back was gone.

I heard Linc grunt and the sound of fists against flesh. It was a sickening sound and made my already-queasy stomach feel even queasier. I managed to shift enough to look toward Linc. He was on top of the demon, slamming his fist into its face, over and over, without pause. It seemed like minutes went by before the blows were spaced further apart, until finally, they stopped altogether.

Breathing harshly, Linc dropped his arms to his sides. They hung limply, like he was too tired to even move them. He just sat there for a minute, then two. Then his eyes darkened and his face contorted in pain. Slowly, he reached down for the knife. He clutched the hilt in both hands.

“Linc?”

His arms shook as he raised the knife over his head.

“Don’t do it, Linc,” I said, wincing as I pushed up to my knees.

The knife was still raised, but he didn’t move. He just stared down at the demon.

“It’s out cold, Linc. It can’t hurt anyone now.” At least I didn’t think so. I didn’t mention the damage it’d already done or the fact that I was sure I had a cracked rib. I pushed up more, tried getting to my feet. I just fell back down.
Make that two cracked ribs, maybe
.

Peter and Adam ran into the alley a second later. Peter lowered his gun while Adam kept his trained on the demon.

“Don’t,” Peter said, stepping forward slowly. “I know you want to, but you gave me your word. You gave Director Greene your word.”

Linc never took his eyes off the demon. “What’s he going to do?” he asked, his tone harsh and bitter. “Kick me out?”

“No, probably not. But he won’t trust you or your word. That means something to you, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Linc’s arms shook more now, like he was fighting opposing forces for control. He probably was, I guessed. Fighting the urge to ignore everyone else and fighting the urge to listen. I’d envied him before, because he’d gotten this opportunity where I was sure many hadn’t or didn’t. But now, watching him and his struggle, I wasn’t sure which of us actually had the easier time. Maybe neither of us.

Pushing through the pain, I got to my feet. “Put the knife down, Linc.”

Linc shot me a quick glance. “Look at you. You can barely stand!”

Peter gave me a quick once over but I ignored him. “Maybe, but I’m on my feet. This isn’t about me, anyway.”

“It is. It’s about you and my sister and everyone this thing has attacked or killed.”

I didn’t know how to argue with that. “Maybe it is then.” I sighed. “I don’t have the answers. I’m not even sure what to tell you,” I replied honestly. “But Peter’s right. You’ve always kept your word before and I think you should now.” I walked over to Linc and stood by his side. “Maybe you need to ask yourself which person you are. Are you the one who keeps his word, or are you the one breaks it?”

“That’s not fair.”

Linc’s tone was so quiet, so misery filled that it had my eyes heating with tears. No matter what he’d said, or what I’d said, this wasn’t about me. “No, no it’s not.” Sighing, I walked over to him and stood by his side. “Whatever you decide then, you know I’ve got your back.”

“Jade.”

I spun around to face Peter, immediately regretting the move and letting out a hiss of pain. “What? Should I tell him I won’t be his friend anymore because he wants to do something he said he wouldn’t? Should I tell him I won’t be his friend if he kills a demon that’s responsible for a lot of deaths, including possibly his sister’s? Can you say that? Honestly? Because I can’t. I won’t. He’s always been there for me, and I’ll be there for him. If he kills it, I won’t like it, but I’m not going to damn him for it, either.”

Peter’s expression softened. He looked as torn about it as Linc, though for different reasons. “You’re right. I can’t either. So do what you need to do, Linc. Just make it snappy. I want to get this over with and think of a way to explain it to the director, because he’s not going to be happy.” Peter turned away. “Neither will I be,” he said over his shoulder.

Linc’s eyes were a blaze of emotion. His whole body trembled now, and not just his arms. He raised his hands a little higher, let out a rough, guttural sound, and plunged the knife down. It hit the concrete and went flying over the ground, coming to a stop when it hit the wall.

Linc started to push up, then sent his fist flying into the demons face one last time before jumping up and moving away from it.

Peter kept his gaze locked on Linc as he tapped the com in his ear. He shifted to the side a little but still kept Linc in his line of sight. “Harry, you and Dale meet us over here when you’re finished so we can load this demon up.” Slowly, he walked over to Linc and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, “Good decision, Linc.” He pulled a pair of metal shackle-looking things from his pockets. He raised his eyebrows. “Want the honors?”

Linc glanced down at the restraints, nodded. Without a word, he took them from Peter, flipped the demon to its stomach, and yanked its arms back. He wasn’t necessarily that rough, but neither could it’ve been called gentle. When he was done, he walked away without another glance.

It took Harry and Dale less than ten minutes to get the vans and get back to us. Dale backed his van into the alley, blocking anyone on the sidewalks from being able to see what was going on. Peter opened the back. The vans were all the same, or so I’d thought, but this one had a metal cage built inside. Dale gave the Sawthorn a shot—something to keep it knocked out, I assumed—and then he and the others put it in the cage, next to the other (seemingly unconscious) demon.

“Lesson learned, huh?” I asked quietly, remembering the Sharphinx demon that had nearly escaped from the back of one of the vans.

Peter only nodded, his face set in grim lines.

Within twenty minutes, we were on the road again, headed back to the CGE. The trip back was worse than the trip there. Every bump was like getting poked in the ribs and slapped in the back. Peter kept eyeing me like he wanted to say something, but I just gritted my teeth and smiled.

We pulled up to the side of the South Tower two hours later. Linc was the first to jump out. He held out his hand and helped me out before Adam and Peter followed. Dale met them at the back and the three men walked away. Linc and I trailed behind. We went over to the other van, the one that held the demons. Harry got out of the driver’s seat, walked to the back, and opened the doors. Adam and Peter stood a few feet away, their guns out and trained on the demons, while Dale and Harry pulled the Sawthorn out. Once they were clear, Adam relocked the cage.

They were halfway to the side door of the South Tower when the Sawthorn started to come to. Before anyone could do anything, it shouldered both men aside and spun around. One look at me (or one sniff, maybe), and it charged for me again. I had my knife out before Linc even went for his, but I hesitated for a split second. Just long enough for Linc to get out his own and throw it at the demon. It hit dead center in the demon’s chest. With its arms still restrained behind its back, the demon stumbled back and fell.

Quickly, I slid my knife back into my pocket as Linc and the others rushed forward. I followed behind slowly.

Peter knelt down beside it, put his fingers at its neck to check for a pulse. “Heart shot. It’s gone.”

“I had to,” Linc said quickly. “It went straight for Jade in the alley, and it was going for her again.”

Greene studied the demon on the ground, then his gaze flicked to me. “So I saw,” he said, his tone mild. He turned, motioned to the scientists. “Get it inside before anyone else sees.”

“I’m sorry. I know you wanted it alive.”

“It may still prove useful in death, Mr. Stone. I’d much prefer a dead demon to a dead Prospect or hunter.”

Linc nodded. His eyes were kind of dark and hallow. They narrowed slightly as he watched the demon get carried away. He nodded again, but this time it had to be to himself because everyone else was busy and I was standing behind so he couldn’t see me. One of the scientists had pulled the knife from the demon and set it on the ground. Linc walked over, picked it up.

“You hesitated,” Peter said, speaking close to my ear.

I kept my face expressionless. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You hesitated,” he said again. “I saw it, Jade. You could’ve had it before anyone of us got our weapons out. Don’t lie.”

He was right. I could have done it. But it wasn’t my demon and it hadn’t been my shot to take. It was Linc’s. He’d struggled with
not
killing it back in the alley. He hadn’t done it then and I knew it had cost him.

After a minute, I pulled my gaze from Linc, met Peter’s stare. “He deserved the shot,” I said simply and walked away.

I couldn’t have taken that away from him.

*~*~*

Somehow, I lost track of Linc. He’d disappeared after the demon attack and I’d ended up wandering around for thirty minutes until I heard Greene say, “Do you not have somewhere to be, Miss Hall?” from behind me.

Closing my eyes briefly, I sighed internally, and then turned around. “The Weapons room, to return my vest?”

His head tilted to the side and he gave me a stern look, one that clearly said I was either dreaming or insane.

“Doc?”

He nodded once, pointed to the North Tower.

I gave a not-so-internal sigh. “For someone who usually talks a lot, your looks are just as chatty.” Before I turned and walked away, I saw his lips twitch, despite the rest of his face carrying the same expression.

As I walked across the lot, I searched for Linc, but he was nowhere in sight. “On my own then,” I muttered to myself.

Pulling the front doors open turned out to be more painful than I’d expected, so I crossed one arm over my chest to hold my ribs. I spotted Rachel and her gang over by the café court. Most of them had their backs to me, except Amber and Leslie. Amber gave me an uncertain look. Leslie grinned and tapped Rachel and Kristina on their shoulders to get their attention, and then she pointed at me.

Just what I needed. Another encounter with them. I could’ve gone the long way up to the second floor, or even taken the stairs, but I didn’t want them to think I was trying to avoid them, even though that’s exactly what I wanted to do. In hindsight, since they all made a beeline for me, I realized I should’ve just sucked it up and done that, regardless of what they would have thought about it.