Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [13]
Cara scanned the room for a weapon of her own, anything at all. She lunged for a heavy glass jar of cotton balls but reeled back at an explosive, blinding flash of light. A beautiful blond man appeared in the middle of the room. Flames erupted from his fingertips as a ball of fire flipped into the air, bursting into a gold net that fell on Hal, who went down in a tangle beneath it.
“No!” She dove for the dog, but someone grabbed her from behind. Hal went crazy, a mass of teeth and claws as he struggled to get out of the net.
Curses flew, and someone fired a shot at the newcomer, who took the bullet in the chest with no more reaction than if he’d been stung by a bee. He scooped up the net, Hal with it, and in another flare of light, he was gone.
The man tightened his arms around Cara, and one of the men limped toward her, his left arm dangling, his face mottled with rage. “What are you?”
She blinked. “W-what?”
“I said,” he snarled, “what are you?”
“I don’t understand.”
His hand lashed out so fast she didn’t see it until her cheek stung from the blow. “What kind of demon are you?” he screamed, his spittle spraying her face.
Oh, God, these men were crazy. This whole situation was crazy. This was Crazyland, and she was the queen.
“Why…” She sucked in a ragged breath and tried to stay calm. It wasn’t easy when the man holding her in a vise grip against him was squeezing the air out of her lungs. “Why would you think I’m a demon?” Maybe they were religious fanatics, like the ones who had accused her of practicing witchcraft before she learned to hide her healing gift.
Her theory was blown out of the water when the third guy, the one who had been kneeling next to the dead man on the floor, stood and picked up the bullet that had been lodged in the dog. He held it out to her. “Because,” he said, in an eerily calm voice, “only a demon would heal a hellhound.”
Two
Hellhound?
These people were insane. “It was just a dog.”
“Really?” The red-haired, freckled one with the bullet, who reminded her vaguely of Carrot Top, spoke in a deceptively soft voice. “And was the guy who flashed into the room and took the dog just a man?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but what could she say? The guy had disappeared into thin air. “I… what else would he be?”
“Oh, maybe a demon. Like you.”
Keep them talking. And calm. Excellent plan in theory, but who was going to keep her calm? False courage gave her a voice, at least. “Who are you people?”
The one who had struck her whipped a strange, S-shaped, double-bladed weapon from a harness on his chest, and held the gold end to her neck. “Are you that stupid, or are you just playing that way?”
“Garcia.” Carrot Top put his hand on the weapon-wielder’s shoulder. “Look at her, man. She’s terrified. She doesn’t know who we are.”
“Stupid then.” Garcia dragged the tip of the blade down her throat, and she felt a sting and a warm drip. “I know you’ve heard of Guardians.”
“Guardians?”
He spun the weapon around and scraped the silver end down the other side of her throat, eliciting another sting, another drip. “The Aegis? You know, demon slayers?”
Seriously? These guys had issues. Maybe they’d played too many role-playing games. Or they were on drugs.
“I’m not—” She broke off to clear her throat of the hoarseness. Didn’t clear away the terror, though. “I’m not a demon. I’m human. The dog was hit by a car. And shot…” She trailed off when Carrot Top peeled back his jacket, revealing a pistol in a holster.
“We know.” The guy holding her spoke into her ear, his hot breath and cold voice sending a chill down her spine. “We’re the ones who shot the fucker and then tracked the hick who brought it here.”
“Then why would you think I was a demon? I didn’t do anything but take the dog from the man who brought him to me.”
“I already told you. Hellhounds heal quickly, but not that quickly.” Garcia frowned at his odd gold and silver weapon. “Neither of these metals affect you. We can try something else.”
Not affect her? She had two streams of blood