Read Online Demon Squad 6 The Best of Enemies by Tim Marquitz - Free Book Online
Authors: Tim Marquitz
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I’m telling Jesus.” I chuckled. “Look, I’m not—”
“Uh, Frank…”
“Not now, Rala.” I wiggled a finger. The last thing I wanted to do was turn my back on Scarlett when she was that pissed. The best I could hope for a pointed boot up my backside. “Tell the choir I’m not my father’s son. His bullshit beef with Heaven isn’t—”
“Frank!” Rala called out.
“God damn it, girl. What? ”
Scarlett hissed, and I realized I had used her Lord’s name in vain. I almost apologized—force of habit—when I caught the strange expression on her face. It wasn’t anger, it was...awe? Concern, maybe? Her eyes were locked on something behind me. I craned my head around to look and saw two of the most brilliant purple eyeballs I’d ever seen staring back at me through the portal.
“Holy…” I willed my power back to life, noticing I’d let it slip when Scarlett arrived, and pushed against the seeping portal. The eyes hovered a moment, and then slid out of sight.
A collective sigh filled the room when I turned to look at Rala. “Why didn’t you tell me some critter was eyeballing me?”
“Really?” she huffed, dropping the book to the floor.
“It’s a good thing I’m paying attention or we might—”
“What is that?” Scarlett asked, her head bent to the side like a dog listening to something only she could hear.
The room went silent. Just above the quiet hum of the portal, there was a whistling sound growing louder and louder.
“ Innncccooommmmmmiiinnngggg! ” Chatterbox shouted and flopped onto his side in the basket, using his tongue to pull him to the far corner.
I glanced through the ruin of the wall and spied a silver blur streaking our direction.
“Ah crap.”
Then the world exploded.
Six
Dust clung to my lungs as I hunkered over Rala, her furry little butt tucked up underneath me while the last of the roof rained down in annoying thumps across my back. There’d only been time to grab the alien before the RPG hit, my shield fluttering up too late to do much more than blunt the impact of the explosion and disperse some of the flying debris.
I rose up, shrugging the wreckage off to make sure none of it hit Rala. My body ached and my brain felt as if it was waking up from a drunken one night stand with an inconsiderate elephant, but I wasn’t seriously hurt.
“You okay?” I asked Rala as she curled tight against the floor. She half-ass nodded, and I saw the tome clutched beneath her, glad to see it looked in one piece, as well. “Stay low, and I’ll get you out of here in a second.”
Gray and black smoke whirled in the shattered remnants of Baalth’s safe house, its thickness blocking the view of the outside world. The only benefit to that was that it probably also blocked what was going on inside, giving me a few seconds to get my head straight. I surveyed the mess quickly. Unless I was being attacked by the US Air Force, it was pretty much a guarantee the RPG was only the opening salvo to soften us up.
I spied Scarlett’s arm pushing aside debris and ran over to check on her. A few seconds later and she popped free of the detritus and coughed out a lungful of dust. Like me, she was a little battered but didn’t look too bad. She was tough, but I felt sorry for whoever had bombed us, though, because she was livid.
Her fury poured from her lungs as she scrambled to her feet, curses flying out of her that would have made Jesus blush. I shushed her but there was no stopping her from venting, her sword already out and ready for blood. And then the gunfire began. Bullets ripped through the smoke and pocked the concrete walls around us. This time, however, I was ready. My shield glistened in the gloom, its protection cast wide enough to ensure none of us would catch a bullet unless it was a lucky ricochet.
“Who’d you piss off?” Scarlett asked, the question a razor blade that went for my throat.
I shrugged as I ran over to Rala and helped her to her
“Uh, Frank…”
“Not now, Rala.” I wiggled a finger. The last thing I wanted to do was turn my back on Scarlett when she was that pissed. The best I could hope for a pointed boot up my backside. “Tell the choir I’m not my father’s son. His bullshit beef with Heaven isn’t—”
“Frank!” Rala called out.
“God damn it, girl. What? ”
Scarlett hissed, and I realized I had used her Lord’s name in vain. I almost apologized—force of habit—when I caught the strange expression on her face. It wasn’t anger, it was...awe? Concern, maybe? Her eyes were locked on something behind me. I craned my head around to look and saw two of the most brilliant purple eyeballs I’d ever seen staring back at me through the portal.
“Holy…” I willed my power back to life, noticing I’d let it slip when Scarlett arrived, and pushed against the seeping portal. The eyes hovered a moment, and then slid out of sight.
A collective sigh filled the room when I turned to look at Rala. “Why didn’t you tell me some critter was eyeballing me?”
“Really?” she huffed, dropping the book to the floor.
“It’s a good thing I’m paying attention or we might—”
“What is that?” Scarlett asked, her head bent to the side like a dog listening to something only she could hear.
The room went silent. Just above the quiet hum of the portal, there was a whistling sound growing louder and louder.
“ Innncccooommmmmmiiinnngggg! ” Chatterbox shouted and flopped onto his side in the basket, using his tongue to pull him to the far corner.
I glanced through the ruin of the wall and spied a silver blur streaking our direction.
“Ah crap.”
Then the world exploded.
Six
Dust clung to my lungs as I hunkered over Rala, her furry little butt tucked up underneath me while the last of the roof rained down in annoying thumps across my back. There’d only been time to grab the alien before the RPG hit, my shield fluttering up too late to do much more than blunt the impact of the explosion and disperse some of the flying debris.
I rose up, shrugging the wreckage off to make sure none of it hit Rala. My body ached and my brain felt as if it was waking up from a drunken one night stand with an inconsiderate elephant, but I wasn’t seriously hurt.
“You okay?” I asked Rala as she curled tight against the floor. She half-ass nodded, and I saw the tome clutched beneath her, glad to see it looked in one piece, as well. “Stay low, and I’ll get you out of here in a second.”
Gray and black smoke whirled in the shattered remnants of Baalth’s safe house, its thickness blocking the view of the outside world. The only benefit to that was that it probably also blocked what was going on inside, giving me a few seconds to get my head straight. I surveyed the mess quickly. Unless I was being attacked by the US Air Force, it was pretty much a guarantee the RPG was only the opening salvo to soften us up.
I spied Scarlett’s arm pushing aside debris and ran over to check on her. A few seconds later and she popped free of the detritus and coughed out a lungful of dust. Like me, she was a little battered but didn’t look too bad. She was tough, but I felt sorry for whoever had bombed us, though, because she was livid.
Her fury poured from her lungs as she scrambled to her feet, curses flying out of her that would have made Jesus blush. I shushed her but there was no stopping her from venting, her sword already out and ready for blood. And then the gunfire began. Bullets ripped through the smoke and pocked the concrete walls around us. This time, however, I was ready. My shield glistened in the gloom, its protection cast wide enough to ensure none of us would catch a bullet unless it was a lucky ricochet.
“Who’d you piss off?” Scarlett asked, the question a razor blade that went for my throat.
I shrugged as I ran over to Rala and helped her to her
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