White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)(46)
Author: J. Lynn

“Layla!” Roth yelled.

Twisting at the waist, I swiped out at the Rack demon gunning for me. The thing went down, but there were dozens, if not hundreds, more. The whole gymnasium was full of them. And behind them, bigger and hairier creatures roared.

Hellions.

“I’m okay.” Zayne staggered to his feet. “I can fight.”

“I sure hope so.” Roth lifted his arm and Bambi came off his skin, coiling on the floor between us. “Because if you’re just going to lay there and bleed, you suck.”

Then Roth shifted. His skin turned the color of obsidian, sleek and shiny. He was bigger than both Zayne, who was now in full gargoyle mode, and me. The skin tone was different and he wasn’t rocking any horns, but the resemblance between us was still uncanny.

The three of us turned as one.

Beyond Paimon and Naberius, a whole horde of demons waited.

They charged forward. A chaotic mess of bodies, and there was no time to think as bodies crashed into one another. Taking down a Rack demon, I ducked out of the way of a Hellion, clearing a path for Bambi, who shot through the air and sank its fangs into the beast’s neck. The snake coiled itself around the Hellion, squeezing until the Hellion arched its back and roared. Black smoke poured out of its gaping mouth and then the Hellion imploded.

Roth went after Paimon, while Zayne had an obvious bone to pick with Naberius after the whole knifing-of-the-throat incident. Which sucked, because I would’ve really liked to knock that jerk around instead of picking off Rack demons.

“You have been such a pain in my ass,” Roth said, circling Paimon. “The Boss is going to have so much fun shoving hot pokers where the sun never shines.”

“Well, if it isn’t the harmless puppy of the family,” Paimon seethed. “The favorite Prince and the Boss’s little pet.”

“Don’t be a hater.” Roth lowered himself to the floor. It trembled under his weight. “You’re just jealous because you haven’t been granted permission to return topside since the Inquisition. You always make such a mess of things.”

“While you’re just a good little boy.” Paimon shook out his shoulders. Material ripped. Dark, gnarled wings protruded from his back. The fire spread over Paimon’s skin until he was nothing more than a flame in an Armani suit. “I’m going to enjoy breaking her. Burn her from the inside out. You’ll hear her screams from the bowels of Hell.”

Roth roared, charging Paimon. He met Roth halfway, their collision a burst of flames and then darkness. I scrambled back as Paimon launched Roth through the air and slammed him into a row of Hellions. Roth flew back, reaching into the flames and grabbing ahold of Paimon. Roth spun around, tossing the King at a cluster of Rack demons.

The doors to the gymnasium burst open.

Wardens swarmed the room, tearing through Rack demons like they were nothing more than paper. I recognized Abbot and Nicolai leading the attack. They headed straight to where Bambi had a Hellion cornered. The massive monster lurched forward, grabbing Bambi before she could wrap her powerful body around the beast.

Bambi was flung back into the bleachers, crashing through them.

Concern for the snake powered through me as I punted a Rack into the basketball pole and started forward.

“Layla?” Abbot’s voice rang loudly through the room.

I stopped and turned to him. The shock in his voice, mirrored in his expression, would’ve been funny any other time. “I guess I’m not a mule—not really.”

He might’ve responded but there were tons of demons to kill, and for the first time in my life, I threw myself into battle. The strength of a Warden coursed through me, as heady and powerful as tasting a soul was. The Rack demon’s claws didn’t even break my skin. I was stronger and faster than I could ever have imagined.

I caught up with Zayne, grabbing Naberius from behind. The demon fought wildly, but I held him in place as Zayne swung out, taking the head right off the demon.

There was no time to celebrate the victory. Roth struggled with Paimon, who no doubt had seen his dreams crash and burn by now and was trying to make an escape. I started toward them, but Zayne stopped me.

“No. I owe him this.”

It went against my instincts but I held myself back as Zayne dipped under Paimon’s arm and grabbed him from behind. The three of them staggered backward. I realized they were dragging him back toward the pentagram.

“Father,” Zayne shouted, and Abbot spun.

They were going to trap Paimon!

As the Wardens finished off the rest of the demons, Zayne and Roth pinned Paimon in the pentagram, holding him down face-first. Together, they tied Paimon down just as I’d been minutes before.

“Tell the Boss I said hi,” Roth said, forcing his knee into Paimon’s back as he tightened the last of the rope. “Oh, wait. You won’t be doing much talking. More like a whole lot of screaming.”

Roth stood and both he and Zayne turned to leave the trap as Abbot neared the pentagram. It was over, I realized. It was all finally over. My eyes moved from Zayne to Roth. Both of them in their real forms, which were as frightening as they were oddly beautiful.

In his demon form, Roth winked.

My lips twitched into a smile. I let out a breath and it was like shedding a skin. Muscles unclenched and shrunk. A few seconds later, I was me again, standing in shredded, stretched-out clothing and barefoot.

And then everything went to Hell.

Paimon let out an inhuman roar and his body contracted. Ropes burst and whipped out. The demon rose high and grabbed the closest target, dragging Zayne back into the circle. My heart plummeted and a scream got stuck in my throat.

“Do it,” Zayne yelled, his eyes widening on his father. “Do it now!”

Ice drenched my veins. Anything in the devil’s trap was trapped—human, Warden or demon. Zayne would go to the pits along with Paimon.

Horror seized me. “No!”

Roth whirled around, and in a flurry of motion, he grabbed Zayne and tore him free from Paimon’s clutches. Pushing him outside the circle, Roth then wrapped his arms around Paimon.

A new understanding sank in. There was no way Paimon would just sit docilely and stay in the trap. Ropes wouldn’t hold him. Someone had to, and Roth had just made that choice.

“Get her down!” Roth yelled, holding Paimon in the trap. “Zayne, do it!”

“No! No!” I raced forward, bare feet slipping across blood and gunk, just as Abbot tossed the black salt toward the trap. “Roth! No!”

In that tiny moment of time, just a flicker of a second, his golden eyes met mine. “Free will, huh? Damn. It is a bitch.” And then he smiled—he smiled—at me, a real smile, revealing those deep dimples. “I lost myself the moment I found you.”

My voice broke, and my heart…

Zayne’s arms wrapped around me and he turned, forcing me down onto my knees. His wings stretched out and then curled around me as his body bent, sheltering me.

Red light flashed, so brilliant and intense that it blinded me from underneath Zayne. A howling wind roared through the gymnasium. I screamed. I screamed because I knew Roth would make no sound as the fiery pits welcomed him. And I didn’t stop screaming. Not when the smell of sulfur choked me. Not when the blistering heat hit us, causing tiny dots of sweat to break out across my skin. Not until the wind, the heat and the smell of sulfur receded.

Then there was silence.

“I’m sorry,” Zayne whispered, and then he loosened his grip.

I tore free, taking a few steps toward the burned-out circle before my legs gave out. I fell to my knees. The space where Roth had stood with Paimon was scorched, the floor charred through.

Someone said something to me. Maybe Abbot or Nicolai. It didn’t matter. There was nothing they could say right now. Roth had sacrificed himself for me—for Zayne. A demon had chosen an eternity of suffering for someone else.

I couldn’t bear it.

Tears tracked down my cheeks, mixing with blood and soot. I lowered my head until my forehead rested against the floor and I did something I hadn’t done in forever.

I prayed.

I prayed for Roth. I prayed for the Alphas to step in. What he had done should’ve earned him a divine intervention. I prayed that the angels would descend into Hell and lift him up. I prayed until I wanted to scream again.

But prayers like this weren’t answered.

Something cool and slick nudged my hand, and I slowly lifted my head. Blinked once and then twice before I believed what I was seeing. “Bambi?”

The large snake coiled around my arm, raising her head until she rested it on my shoulder. A fresh wave of tears clouded my eyes, but not enough to prevent me from seeing a Warden coming toward us with a murderous look in his eyes as they landed on Bambi.

“Do it and it’ll be the last thing you do,” I warned in a voice I barely recognized.

The Warden stopped and then backed off. No one else came near us.

My gaze swiveled back to the circle. Near the stake on the right, a tiny hole had burned through the floor. Most likely a blowback from Hell and nothing like that charred spot in the center, on which Astaroth, the Crown Prince of Hell, had made a very un-demonlike stand.

I lost myself the moment I found you.

I stared at that spot.

Roth was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Tucking the icy blond strands of hair back into a messy bun at the nape of my neck, I picked up my tank top. The material felt weightless in my fingers. Sometimes I felt weightless.

In a few days I’d be going back to school, making a miraculous recovery from mono, much to Stacey and Sam’s delight. Classes had been canceled for three days after a little piece of Hell had visited the school. Abbot and the police commissioner had convinced school officials that they’d thwarted some kind of domestic terrorist attempt.

The general populace remained unaware that demons walked among them and of the Wardens’ true purpose. The threat of the Lilin was over—sort of. At least as long as there weren’t any more demons who were in love with Lilith or wanted to kick-start the end of the world. Things were about to go back to normal. As if October and November never happened. So all was good, at least for the Alphas and the Wardens.

I hadn’t shifted since that night not too long ago.

Maybe I’d never do it again, and Abbot hadn’t pushed the issue. I wasn’t a mule anymore, but I wasn’t like other Wardens, either. If anything, now that I knew what I looked like, I felt more different than I had before.

I also tried not to think of Petr and my father, knowing that Elijah was still out there and most likely plotting my untimely demise. None of that really mattered right now. I’d deal with him when the day came.

But for the time being, there were more important things to deal with.

My eyes moved to the mirror, and like every day since the showdown in the old gymnasium, I was surprised. Years would probably pass before I got used to what I saw.

I twisted in front of the mirror, oddly relieved and comforted by what I saw in my reflection. My new and unexpected tattoo served as a bittersweet reminder.

Lowering my gaze, I let out an unsteady breath as tears pricked my eyes. Bambi had fused to the only demon left standing. Me. She was much too big for my body, but we were trying to make it work. Right now her lower body was wrapped around my torso; her thick, shiny onyx neck stretched between my br**sts and sloped over my neck. The diamond-shaped head rested on the back of my shoulder. Somehow the detail still amazed me. Each scale perfectly replicated; the darker line running down the center of her body and the softer underbelly.

I ran my hand over my tummy and her tail twitched. The movement startled me, even tickled a little.

“You’ve got to stop that,” I told her.

Bambi shifted her head and I shuddered, the feeling giving me the willies. The snake shared some of Roth’s personality. In the short time she’d been with me, I truly thought Bambi lived to find new ways to torment me. Like in the middle of the night when she wanted to come off and go hunt. What she was hunting I was afraid to even find out.

I just hoped it wasn’t small animals…or children.

Or when she shifted on my skin so she’d be visible when Zayne was around, just like I imagined Roth would’ve done if he…

Tugging my tank top on, I cut that thought off, but the back of my throat burned. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, refocusing back on Bambi.

Yesterday she had made her way to the side of my face when Zayne had been watching a movie with me, and she wouldn’t leave no matter what I did.

Zayne tried to ignore her, but all that did was provoke Bambi into coming off my skin and flopping her head right on his upper thigh.

So, yeah, the snake was like Roth.

There was a knock on my door, drawing my attention. “Yeah?”

Zayne came in, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail. I was expecting him today, and not just because he’d been spending a lot of time with me. We really didn’t talk about what had gone down or what Roth had done for him—for us. But I knew it bothered him that he didn’t know the right thing to say.