Speak of the Demon by Stacia Stark

Danica

The beast’s drool dripped onto my face from fangs the size of my fingers. It roared at me, and I had a glimpse of leathery red skin, and then it was gone. I attempted to suck in a breath as Agaliarept leapt on its back. He pulled out a long knife he’d had stashed somewhere, and stabbed into its side.

The creature was the size of a minivan and it stunk like decomposition. It rolled its shoulder, throwing Agaliarept off and slashing out with its claws.

I sat up and swiped a throwing knife, nailing it in the forehead. The blade sunk deep in its crimson skin and the beast snarled at me. But I hadn’t slowed it down.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Agaliarept got to his feet, his knife in his hand as he crouched in a low fighting stance.

“What is it?” I gasped out.

“A hellhound.”

I stared at it. The beast looked like a ‘hound’ like I looked like a fucking pixie.

“Run,” Agaliarept ordered me, his eyes still on the beast.

I ignored that and threw another knife. The beast was too slow to dodge, and the knife got stuck in its neck. It bled, but the hellhound didn’t seem to care.

Fine. I reached into my utility belt and rooted around until my fingers hit a cool stone. Just because I didn’t like using my own magic didn’t mean I was opposed to buying witch spells. I muttered the incantation and the spell lit up as I threw it, hitting the creature in its left flank. It exploded like a grenade on contact, and red flesh flew through the air.

The hellhound roared, turning on me, and Agaliarept took the opportunity to leap at it once more, plunging his knife deep in its side.

I pulled my Nim Cub and circled behind the beast. Distantly, I could hear people screaming. Hopefully, they were also running, instead of becoming standing targets.

The beast knew I was behind it. It turned and lashed out with a huge, clawed paw. Fuck it was fast.

I said a mental goodbye to the skin on my back and took a running leap, sliding beneath the hellhound’s paw and under its belly.

“You idiot!” Agaliarept roared.

“Heckling isn’t helping.”

I stabbed up into its soft underbelly, sliding my knife down. Intestines slid out in wet ropes, falling onto my legs, the ground, and the hellhound’s feet. My ears rang as the beast’s howl shook the ground.

“Move,” Agaliarept growled, leaping forward onto its back again. The hellhound was already healing the damage I’d inflicted.

I couldn’t die yet. I hadn’t killed whoever murdered my mom. I hadn’t repaired things with my sister. This couldn’t be it.

The beast lowered its head, readying to tear me in two. I rolled, narrowly missing being crushed again. I could feel Agaliarept gathering demon magic. I just had to hold on.

I couldn’t dodge the next slash of its claws, and dots appeared in front of my eyes as they ripped into my side. Vicious pain bit into me and time warped, slowing to a crawl. Everything turned sharp. If I was going to die here, I was taking the hellhound with me.

I cracked my shields, hoping for anything I could use. My magic took its sweet time, likely because I was already weakened. I snarled and reached for it, forcing it into me as I rolled free.

Agaliarept lit up with a red glow. Demon fire. I was lucky he was here, because my magic felt like a tiny ember that could be blown out at any second. I got to my knees as a lesser demon appeared behind Agaliarept— obviously summoned. Horror ripped through me like the beast’s claws and I screamed a warning. Too late. The demon slammed into Agaliarept, its claws ripping at him as he moved to attack the beast.

Agaliarept turned his demon fire on the lesser demon and it howled as it burned. I hurled another throwing knife at the hellhound, following with an explosive spell, but Agaliarept’s distraction cost him. The hellhound disemboweled him with one slash of its claws.

I choked back bile as Agaliarept fell, blood instantly pooling around his body. The creature roared in victory, moving in for the kill, and I charged it, stabbing desperately at its throat. My blade dug deep and the hellhound’s blood spurted, but I was only pissing it off.

I threw my last spell, but it had gotten smarter, and it dodged, ducking the worst of the damage. One of its paws exploded and it shrieked, but I had no doubt it would regrow in the next few minutes.

Not that we were likely to live long enough to see it. The hellhound snarled at me and crouched, its muscles trembling as it readied itself to leap. Time froze.

There. On its back. The creature was covered in a thick, leathery skin that healed almost instantly. But there was a patch on the back of its neck where that skin appeared much thinner, allowing it to move its head almost a hundred and eighty degrees. If I could get to that vulnerable area, I might have a shot at taking it down.

The beast lowered its head, readying itself to charge. Behind it, Agaliarept’s entire body lit up red once more. It was a shadow of what it had been just a few minutes ago, but the hellhound yelped as demon fire hit its back legs. It turned and snarled at Agaliarept and I launched myself forward, sprinting for the dented, blackened SUV parked a few feet away.

I scrambled up onto the hood and leapt at the hellhound just as it turned toward me. I hit its back with a thump and it went crazy, bucking and tossing its head. I slammed the Nim Cub between its shoulder blades, and it wailed.

I was right. it had a vulnerability after all. I desperately held on with my left hand, but the hellhound bucked again and I slipped, barely clutching to the beast as I lost my hold on the knife. It slipped to the ground.

I reached for the Mark II in my spine sheath. The knife was wickedly sharp, but it was designed more for up-close fighting— stabbing into an opponent. Cutting the beast’s head off would take time, and the hellhound wasn’t likely to go quietly.

I shoved the knife deep into its neck and carved downwards. The hellhound bucked, frantically attempting to shake me off, but I held on with everything I had, my thighs clamped around its neck.

I sawed at the beast, but my blade was losing its sharp edge. Frustration roared through me. The hellhound was already healing the damage. I mentally counted my knives but I had nothing left. Nothing except the Mistilteinn Dagger.

The hellhound dropped its shoulder and ran in a circle, attempting to roll me off. My hold on the knife stuck deep in its neck helped me stay on its back, but the blood covering my hand was slippery as oil.

I had no choice. I left the Mark II in its neck and pulled the Mistilteinn Dagger from my belt sheath.

“Sorry,” I told it. The dagger hummed.

I stabbed the blade into the other side of the beast’s neck and the hellhound squealed, dropping to its knees as blood gushed. Had I hit an artery?

More lesser demons appeared, their bat-like wings flapping. I was going to find whoever summoned them and make them wish they’d never been born. The lesser demons bared their teeth, one of them attacking Agaliarept while the rest seemed to be gathering, ready to charge me.

Even as wounded as he was, Agaliarept could defend himself against lesser demons. I focused on my grizzly task, distantly noting that the Mistilteinn Dagger never lost its sharp edge.

Its hum intensified and I got the feeling it was enjoying its taste of blood. Feeding ancient fae artifacts with demon blood wasn’t my smartest move, but desperate times and all that.

I ground my teeth as the lesser demons approached. One of them jumped toward my leg in an attempt to pull me off the hellhound, and Agaliarept’s demon fire burned through it. I snarled at the other demons and shoved the dagger harder into the hellhound’s neck as the lesser demon screamed and burned.

Shit. Agaliarept was attempting to get up. The attempt might kill him if the blood loss didn’t.

The hellhound shuddered and my knuckles turned white as I desperately fought to keep my balance.

It collapsed. If it wasn’t dead, it was at least unconscious. For now, that was enough for me. The world swam around me and my side burned as I panted. The air lit up with green sparks as I ripped the dagger free, shoved it back in its sheath, and slid off the hellhound. My hand shook as I swiped my Nim Cub from the ground next to its body.

A lesser demon lunged toward me and screamed as it was engulfed in demon fire. I dropped to my knees next to Agaliarept.

He cracked open his eyes as I ripped off my t-shirt and attempted to pack his wound. “Run.”

I’d maybe pay attention to what he had to say if he wasn’t bleeding out. “Why aren’t you healing?”

“Claws. Poison.”

Well that didn’t bode well for me. And it explained why my side felt like it was engulfed in acid.

A peal of laughter reached my ears as I attempted to push Agaliarept’s guts back into his body.

Whoever had let out that creepy laugh was approaching. I could feel them stalking closer.

“Hand over the knife, witch, and we’ll let you live.”

What were they talking about? Were they planning to steal the Dagger of Truth?

“Mine,” I slurred as my vision dimmed. “Dead body.”

“We will take it from your dead body, thank you.” That menacing chuckle again. “But it’s not yours, is it?”

I frowned. How did they know I had the Mistilteinn Dagger? Then it finally clicked. They wanted the knife from the apartment. I’d shoved it in the sheath in my boot and forgotten about it.

“Go fuck yourself.” If they wanted the knife, it was because they were the ones who’d killed those poor demon women. And it could help lead back to them.

The voice laughed again and I realized it was a woman. “Kill them both,” she ordered.

The world was getting soft around the edges. Distantly, I knew the lesser demons were gathering to charge us, and I fought to get to my feet.

I made it as far as my knees, barely staying conscious. Enemies surrounded us– I could see their bodies in the edge of my vision, blurred as it was. This was it.

The night sky suddenly lit up with an opalescent, purple-gold light. It shimmered and danced, trapping us inside, protecting us from the demons.

I gaped at its beauty, even as my hands shook with relief. Help was here. The lesser demons began to run into the ward, screaming in frustration as their prey was stolen from them. I crouched over Agaliarept, facing the demons, my knife clutched in my hand.

If he could set this ward, the least I could do was keep his body safe while it attempted to heal.

The lesser demons exploded, turning to mist. In a split second, there was nothing but puddles of blood and goo where they’d stood. The beast was gone too, and the world went eerily silent. Footsteps approached as I slumped over Agaliarept’s body.

“Little witch,” a voice crooned. When had I closed my eyes? I managed to crack them open, and Samael’s face danced in front of me. He was frowning, and his silver eyes were so dark they appeared black. “Lower your ward, Danica.”

“Not mine,” I slurred. “Agaliarept’s.”

His face hardened. “If I have to break it, it’ll hurt,” he warned, and I frowned in an attempt to understand.

“Can’t set wards,” I explained, hating that my discussion with him was using the last of my precious energy. “I can only break them.”

“Very well then.”

A look of what might’ve been regret crossed his face as he slammed his hand against the shimmering golden purple glow, and the ground rose up to meet me.

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