There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6) (32 page)

“
Now.” He felt the smile spread across his face as the headache
eased.

********************

Fergus
reinforced the chains holding his own beast, whipped to a frenzy by
the presence of Julius’s own viciousness released to run free. He
knew Julius would be relying on him to keep his head, to pull his
Sire back and help him chain the beast once the mission was
complete. His Sire didn’t allow himself the luxury often, only
twice that Fergus had seen. The beast got things done that Julius
found difficult. And so Fergus followed, but not too closely, as
the traitor continued to run through the dark streets. He was
content to keep his distance, but not prepared to leave Julius
completely unprotected.

And then
something caught his ears and froze his feet to the ground. A
baby’s cry. How long had it been since he’d heard a baby cry? Since
he’d heard his own daughter’s tiny voice. The familiar hurt, the
deep down one that never left him but mostly lay quiet inside him,
flared to life, once more ripping through his heart with a nigh-on
physical pain. Even the beast cowered back from the weight of that
pain.

And then he
realised what the traitor was up to. He hadn’t been carrying
anything when he fled. He was trying to lead Julius away from the
babies, the things he’d been hiding and protecting for months. The
things he valued above all else. He would be circling back to get
them.

Fergus turned
and raced back the way he’d come, almost running a small group of
tourists over; they shouted at his back. He barely heard them. He
smashed through the rear entrance of the clinic, ignoring the
biting pain as the shattered glass sliced his hands and face.

There was no
sound of the bairns now, so he paused to sniff and listen. The
clinic wasn’t very big; they couldn’t be far. If he found a nurse
or the doctor, he could roll them and find the bairns quickly, but
the place seemed deserted. Had Caspian already found a way to
spirit them away? And then he smelled blood. Human blood. Following
his nose, he found the nurse behind the admin desk, a pretty young
thing with her hair neatly plaited and her uniform spotless, except
for the blood. Fergus didn’t pause; she was clearly dead, though
very recently. Unsettled, he rushed to the doors labelled Staff and
Patients Only. The instant he opened the door, he smelled the
smoke. And then he heard the cry. It wasn’t the plaintiff cry of a
hungry newborn, it sounded more…demanding…angry…alone?

He rushed down
the narrow corridor, already able to feel the heat of naked flames.
Flames. His beast stood up and roared. Fire. Run. He ignored it and
concentrated on the sound of the bairn. An image of his bairn swam
into his mind. She hadn’t been a bairn at the end, his Emelia;
she’d been a beautiful young girl, full of life and mischief and as
stubborn and strong-willed as her mother.

Thick smoke
oozed from a door to his left. He shouldered it open, and the heat
hit him like something solid. A wall of unstoppable death.

The vision of
his beautiful Emelia’s eyes as she took her dying breath spurred
him forward. Into the flames and the smoke. Everything was burning;
the curtains were ablaze, the bedding on the tiny cribs, surgical
equipment sparking and exploding, ceiling boards collapsing onto
the floor. Beside the door a body lay slumped on the ground. A
male, probably the doctor, but there was no time to check. There
was only one heartbeat in the room, a tiny, rapid one, too fast for
an adult. He pushed forward. The bairn lay in a small plastic crib,
everything around it burning, but the crib with the tiny human
lying inside was completely untouched by the fire. The bairn was
looking directly at him, its gaze clear and bright, tiny fists
waving in the air, but deep intelligence in it…no, her…he knew the
bairn was a girl…in her eyes. She knew him, and she knew he was
coming to save her.

Pain seared him
as the fire grew hot enough to singe the hairs from the backs of
his hands, burning his eyebrows and blistering the skin on his
face. Pushing thoughts aside, he ducked a falling roof beam and
lifted the tiny girl from the crib. She was so, so small. He
unzipped his jacket and tucked her inside, re-zipping it and
hunching his shoulders in a further effort to protect her, and then
he began to fight his way out of the death trap. He cleared the
first door, turning into the corridor. A window burst to his right,
and the flames doubled in heat and size. He dropped to the ground
and crawled in the general direction of the exit, unable to see
more than a few inches in front of himself.

Vampires and
fire did not mix happily. He pushed the thought away; he would make
it out of this inferno. He would save the bairn. Save this bairn to
try to begin to make up for not being able to save his own Emelia.
The scar across his face burned as the fire bit at his skin.

And then the
door was in sight, and the agonising heat was losing its intensity.
He made it out of the rear door into the cool night air and was
trying to clear the grit and smoke from his eyes and lungs when he
remembered. Twins. The Maleficus had been carrying twins, yet he
was sure he’d only heard the one heartbeat. He spun back to the
building, but he had run out of time. The entire roof collapsed
inward, flames billowing upward, lighting up the night sky, setting
off car alarms. The place would be crawling with emergency crews
and terrified residents soon. The bairn inside his jacket squirmed
and cooed. He placed one hand protectively over her, ducked his
burned face, and strode from the scene without another backward
glance.

********************

There were no
words. They had the baby. They held the key to the Dark Prophesy
and they’d destroyed the powerful key to the Light, left it to
burn. The man in the stolen coat paused for a brief moment and
looked down into cool, intelligent blue eyes. Against all the odds,
they had done it. A smile spread across his face, and he hugged the
tiny, warm body close to his own as he walked quickly away from the
burning building, keeping to shadows and the darkest alleyways.

“
Well done, brother,” the voice in his head whispered. “Well
done.”

********************

Fergus was
undecided. Catch up with Julius or unload the bairn first? The girl
would need milk and clothing and what did they call those things
that covered their wee bottoms? So much had changed since he’d last
cared for a bairn. The humans would know more than he did. He
switched directions and ran for the cars. A small dark shadow
lunging out of the darkness had him reaching for his sword, but in
an instant he recognised Gabrielle’s cat. He paused, glancing
around, expecting the Consort and the others to be close behind,
but the streets were empty. It had grown late, and even the
revellers were few and far between. In the distance sirens blared.
Razor was clearly agitated, weaving around his legs, hissing and
growling, his thick fur standing to attention. Fergus knew
something was wrong.

“
Sasha, Big Dog,” he called, quickly activating the commlink.
“I need ye here noo.”

“
We’re on the way,” Sasha’s voice replied quickly. “Where are
you?”

He gave her
directions and then knelt to look into the big cat’s yellow eyes.
The bairn was strangely quiet and peaceful against his chest.

“
We’ll go soon,” he reassured Razor. “Dae we need tae get
Julius?” He had no idea if the cat would understand him. He knew
that Gabrielle and the cat could communicate very effectively, but
how much English Razor understood, he hadn’t thought to ask before.
The cat purred like an engine for a moment and rubbed his face
against Fergus’s, then continued to pace back and forth across the
sidewalk, watching the direction Fergus had told the humans to
approach from.

The Hummers
screeched around a corner and slammed to a halt, both drivers
jumping from the vehicles. Sasha reached him first. He unzipped his
jacket and carefully extracted the tiny baby; she was swaddled in a
hospital sheet and Fergus doubted much more.

“
Oh,” Sasha gasped, seeing the tiny girl. Then immediately
reached to take her. Fergus handed her over, surprised when the
young woman handled the baby with obvious experience. She didn’t
have children that he knew of. Sasha glanced up at him and grinned.
“Two nieces and a nephew,” she explained with pride.

Relief swamped
Fergus. “Great. Find an all-night shop, gie what she needs. There’s
cash in th’ vehicle. Then get back tae th’ parking area and wait
fur us. If we’re nae back by mid-morning, tak’ her tae th’ airport
and get back tae th’ City as quickly as possible. Take care ay her
like ye life depends on it.”

Sasha’s eyes
went wide, but instead of bombarding him with questions, she gave a
sharp nod, cuddled the baby close to her and hurried back to the
lead Hummer.

“
Tak’ th’ cat. Call Murphy fur directions tae th’ graveyard,”
Fergus told Big Dog, opening the passenger door of the other Hummer
for Razor. “Get there an’ wait for instructions. Try nae tae get
yerself killed.” The large man saluted and jumped back behind the
wheel just as Sasha pulled away with one last look at
Fergus.

“
Alrecht.” Fergus looked to the cat. “I’ll find Julius an’ then
we’ll see what trooble yer Hellcat has gotten intae this
time.”

The cat blinked
slowly up at him and then hopped into the car.

CHAPTER
18

Fergus could
sense his Sire still moving through the city. He obviously wasn’t
inclined to end his chase anytime soon; he was enjoying the game of
cat and mouse. Fergus had been right, they were beginning to circle
back, and he was able to cut across several streets, twice leaping
to rooftops to shorten his travel. They were on the outskirts of
the old part of the city now, the buildings growing taller and more
modern, glass and metal replacing faded brick and aged wood. As he
closed in on Julius, he knew his Sire was aware of his proximity. A
low growl warned him off once again, but this time he couldn’t back
down.

“
Sire,” he called. “Finish heem ur I will.”

Julius stopped
his chase and spun to watch Fergus approach. His eyes were feral
and hooded. “He’s mine,” Julius snarled. “I’ll finish him when I’m
good and ready.”

“
There is nae time.” Fergus stopped several feet away. “I saved
one ay th’ bairns, and Gabrielle is in trooble.”

Julius’s lips
curled in anger. “He’s mine,” he roared again, but Fergus could
sense the internal struggle. Julius was fighting to cage the
beast.

“
Yer Consort needs ye,” he said. “She needs ye noo.”

Julius closed
his eyes and rolled his head across his shoulders, the muscles in
his arms rippling. “If she needed me, she would call me.” Julius
still hadn’t opened his eyes as he fought for control.

“
Our phones ur off an’ there’s somethin’ wrong with th’
commlink. Razor cam tae find me,” Fergus explained. “There’s a
storm ower th’ auld city. An unnatural one. Th’ Magus has ’er
powers back.”

Julius opened
his eyes then, and Fergus knew his Sire was back in control.

“
Finish Caspian and then get to the graveyard,” Julius growled
and was gone.

********************

Demons spilled
from the portal.

Five.

Six.

Then more, and
Gabi stopped counting. She rechecked her packs of crossbow bolts.
They were colour-coded for ease of use in combat, six in a pack,
and she’d brought a pack of each: silver for Werewolves, red for
Vampires, non-lethal blue for Shifters, Magi and humans, vivid
green for demons. What she’d give for four packs of greens right
now. She still had Nex and the dart gun, she reminded herself.
Drawing a breath, she welcomed the adrenalin like a long-lost
lover, allowing it to touch every part of her, honing her reflexes
and overriding her nerves. She sensed Kyle prepare himself to her
left.

Breathe.

Aim.

Fire.

Her first bolt
took the lead demon in the eye, burying deep in the overly large
socket. Black liquid spurted as the demon fell, and she smoothly
reloaded. A dart took the next demon in the fleshy part of its
right ear as a crossbow bolt struck its nose. Lance and Kyle had
fired in stereo.

“
Don’t double up,” she yelled. “We don’t have enough ammo.
Spread out.” She didn’t need to look to know they were following
orders. Keeping the crossbow trained on the hulking shapes, she
began to make her way towards the spot where Mariska knelt on the
grass, cackling like a woman possessed. A troll-like demon broke
from the pack and lumbered down the hill in Mariska’s
direction.

“
Mariska, they’ll kill you,” Gabi yelled, aiming for the
one-centimetre gap between the creature’s leather jerkin and its
horned helmet. It held a cudgel raised in one hand, and a spiked
club hung from its waistband. “They’ll kill everyone. They’ll
overrun the city. Shut the portal.” Unsurprisingly the woman
ignored her. Gabi drew breath and fired. The bolt found its mark
but didn’t penetrate the demon’s tough skin, glancing off and
falling to the ground unheeded. It continued its lumbering stride
towards the Dark Magus, who appeared unperturbed by what she’d just
released.

Cursing, Gabi
loaded another bolt.

“
Gabi.” Kyle’s shout brought her head around just as something
huge and solid barrelled into her. The breath left her in a harsh
cough and she hit the hard-packed ground with a bone-jarring
crunch, skidding into a grave curb. Pain exploded in her side and
elbow, and the crossbow bounced out of her hand. The shaggy
bear-like creature lying half on top of her stank so badly it made
her retch as she gasped for breath. It lifted its head and roared
before swinging its grotesque maw, rimmed with shark-like teeth,
down to rip out her throat. A butterfly sword slid inside its
gaping mouth and momentum did the rest. The demon’s raging red eyes
flared wide as it impaled itself so deep on the keen blade that the
tip protruded from the back of its head. Dark demon blood splatted
onto the front of her combat jacket and sizzled as it met the
protective coating.