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“Out the window,” I snapped over my shoulder. “Tiens, Japh, you first, clear the alley for the rest of us.”
“You should go with Va
I half-turned, grabbed his shoulders, and shoved him toward the window. He moved, shaking my hands away. “I’m safer up here until you clear that goddamn alley. I’ll be right behind you—just go!”
Japhrimel made a slight movement, tipping his head, Tiens nodded. For all the world as if I hadn’t just told them what to do.
Goddammit, if there’ s one thing I hate, it’s being ignored in a situation like this. Why even have me along if he’s not going to listen to what I say? That was an interesting thought, but one I had no time for.
Va
Think about it later, Dante. Cover their retreat now. You’ll have plenty of time to ask questions later. I whirled back toward the door, shoving my sword into the loop on my belt. My hands curled around the projectile guns. “Tiens, how many?”
“Four that I saw, belle morte,” he said over his shoulder, ducking out the window. Bella followed, and Ogami.
Leander actually blew me a kiss before he ducked out, a knife glittering along his left forearm. His sword was thrust through his belt, and he looked fey. I promptly shoved Lucas and the Magi out of my thoughts—if they couldn’t make it through with that kind of protection there was nothing I could do now. My job was to stop whoever came through the door and give them time to get to cover.
Japhrimel’s eyes met mine, glowing green and suddenly much more frightening. “This is dangerous,” he said softly. “Stay with me.”
“Why aren’t you listening to me? I told you to clear the alley.” I ghosted across the room and put my back to the wall on the other side of the door, right where Tiens had been leaning. The hammers of the projectile guns clicked easily as I pulled them back, I settled against the wall and made it a point to breathe deeply, calmly. My heart pounded. A net, Lucas said, an encirclement. Expensive, and meant for capture or elimination, most likely the latter. And they’d managed to hurt the Deathless.
Lovely.
“Va
I shrugged. Listened.
Demon-acute senses are useful most of the time. Since Japhrimel had finally taught me how to control them, they had become even more so. I heard slight shuffling sounds—human feet. Two sets of soft padding footsteps that weren’t quite human; the back of my neck wasn’t just prickling now. It was flat-out crawling.
What the hell is that? I looked at Japhrimel, my eyebrows raising.
He clasped his hands behind his back, watching the door. I almost pitied the sad sonsabitches coming through, human or not.
Wood snapped, groaning, and something slammed into the wall at my back.
Of course. Imps don’t need to use doors, Da
Japhrimel made a short sharp sound of a
Two humans—no, three. Four. And two imps.
Why didn’t I hear the other humans? Why didn’t Tiens tell me there were imps? Goddammit. Made it to my feet, wood cracking again as I leapt up, boots slamming down hard on the groaning floor. Right hand moving, holstering gun and closing around swordhilt. Japhrimel moved, blurring between me and the two imps. They looked just like the other ones—babyfaces, sharp snarling teeth, black teardrops over their glittering eyes. I promptly forgot about them—Japh could take care of it.
I had other problems. The humans were just crawling with illegal augments, twitched out on neurospeeders and muscle spa
Great. Time to dance.
My sword left the sheath with a long sliding metallic sound. Half-step forward, blade moving in a complicated whirling pattern; one man went to one knee by the door, raising his assault rifle. My left hand came up, gun roaring; he dropped. Smell of cordite, of blood, the man I’d clipped leapt for me, rifle reversed to use as a battering weapon. Fast for a human, goddamn neurospeeders. I ducked, my blade whooshing down in a half-circle. Where’s the other one, don’t see him, where is he? Sword flickering, slicing through Kevlar as my kia split the air, intestines falling in a shimmering wet slither, a human sound of pain. More movement boiling into the room, slippery padding demon movement; I ignored it. I had enough to deal with.
Whirling, feet slipping in bloody mess. Two other men, both moving in, one lifting the rifle to his shoulder. Shot him, recoil jolting up my left arm; moved forward so quickly I collided with the last one as I ran him through, twisting the katana to break the suction of muscle against metal, tearing it free from between his ribs as the smell of death assaulted me. Blood exploded as I jammed the gun under his chin for good measure, saw blond stubble on his cheeks, smelled human sweat and effort.
Anubis, receive them kindly. I squeezed the trigger.
Blood steamed in the air. I turned in a tight half-circle, sword whirling up as something streaked for me—clashing as an imp’s claws rang off the blade, an impact jolting all the way up my arm. Holy fuck! Where’s Japh?
No time. Backing up along the wall, sword a streak of blue flame as the imp lunged for me again, soft cheeks smeared with gleaming saliva as it champed and foamed, its claws clanging off the sword with a grating shock, its breath hot against my cheek as it drove forward. I smashed my back foot down and lunged, shoving it back from the corps-a-corps. That gained me a few moments and freed my sword. I gulped down air, almost backed into the corner next to the fireplace. If it came for me again what was I going to—
The imp chittered at me—and squealed, black blood exploding as Japhrimel’s claws tore through its belly from the back, twisting up through its chest. He carved through demon flesh as if it was water, finishing with a single swipe that opened the thing’s throat. Its squeal died on a burbling rush of black blood. Japhrimel flicked his fingers and the imp turned into ash, white flame flickering through it in a strange veined pattern before it exploded in a cloud of grit. “Dante?”
He sounded furiously, coldly calm. I’d never seen such a casual use of Power from him before. The grit sifted to the floor in with a soft pattering sound.
“I’m good.” My breath came harsh and tearing in my throat. The humans had been tricked out for serious night work—the nightvision goggles alone were worth a fortune. Not to mention the augments. “Any more?”
“Downstairs.” He straightened, impeccable, hands clasped behind his back again. His eyes glowed, not an inky hair out of place. I swallowed. I could never be prepared for how spookily fast he moved; my own speed was scary enough, but his was flat-out terrifying.
I was suddenly, appallingly, completely glad he was on my side.