Chapter 7
Ren braced himself as he felt the steel claws of Kyatel rip across his body. As the wind-demon had intended, it stung his flesh like a thousand scorpions. Tears of vicious pain welled in his eyes while he struggled to remain on his feet. If he went down, the demon would have the woman and the fight would end here and now. She would die and all the gates would open.
I will not be defeated....
Never again.
Angry for getting them into this situation and for failing to teleport her to his intended haven, he forced himself to stand strong in spite of the physical agony as he mentally reached deep inside and summoned every piece of power he could. This was so not where he wanted to be. Why ... why had his powers screwed them over like this? For once, couldn't something work the way it was supposed to? His fury rising, he bared his fangs and threw his arm outward. As hard as he could, he drove a fireball straight into the demon's chest.
Screaming, Kyatel fell back, through the doorway. The winds stopped howling long enough for Ren to grab Kateri's hand and pull her forward. They needed to get deeper into the first realm if they were to survive. He would try to teleport them again, but after this misstep, he didn't dare. His powers were waning and with two of them ...
Better to be locked here than to fall into the second realm.
As he tried to lead her, she shook her head in denial and literally dragged her feet, slowing them down. "What are you?"
"The only one in this realm on your side. Come with me or they will kill you."
He saw the hesitation in her eyes an instant before she nodded. His only thought to put as much distance between him and his former ally as he could, he ran toward a door and threw it open.
Kateri slowed again as she saw the burning room they needed to cross. Giving him a look that said she thought he was insane, she refused to go into it.
Ren fought down his irritation. Unlike him, she wasn't used to demon tricks and traps. "It's an illusion."
This time her gaze called him a liar.
"Trust me."
"Why should I?"
He deserved her doubt. After his past, he wasn't entitled to anything except contempt and disdain. Still, it stung on numerous levels. "You want to live?"
Her gaze scorched him with a trust he'd never seen in any woman's eyes before. "Yes, I do. So please, don't be lying to me. I don't have much to live for, but I definitely don't want to die tonight." Those words were whispered as she stepped forward and retook his hand.
Hoping, praying he was right about it being an illusion, Ren pulled her into the flames. For the merest instant, he thought he'd misjudged the situation. But as they crossed the burning room and he recognized the stench of this hell, he knew what had happened.
Coyote had breached this first gate and sucked them into it. Somehow his brother had opened the doorway to Hi'hinya and released Kyatel. Or worse, Coyote had broken Choo Co La Tah and Choo had done it for him.
Either way, the gate for Hi'hinya was open and it was bad for all of them.
Not wanting to consider what it would take to force Choo's hand to do this, Ren used his telekinesis to slam the door shut and seal it behind them before Kyatel came through. They wouldn't have long and he wasn't exactly the fiend of the month around here. No doubt there were wanted posters for him everywhere. Ones that held a huge bounty. If a demon could capture him and take him to the Grizzly, they would be rewarded beyond measure. There was nothing in the universe the Grizzly Spirit wanted more than to have Ren back in his custody.
For that reason, Ren was as much a threat to her as the demons were.
Maybe he ought to let her go it alone.
But he knew better. She wouldn't last long in this first realm of the dead. She had no idea how to fight or avoid them. And at least the demons here weren't that strong as a rule. Many were nothing more than shadow walkers-demons that straddled the two worlds. The biggest problem with them was that they had no loyalty whatsoever. Ambiguous and capricious in the purest sense of those words, they were as likely to kill someone as to help them.
If they were really lucky, the shadow walkers wouldn't care about their presence at all.
Of course, luck was always one fickle bitch.
And tonight she seemed to have it in for them.
Suddenly, the wall to his left exploded, showering them with sheetrock. However, that wasn't the bad part. The bad came in the form of a herd of demons who were hell-bent to claim his heart, and her life as a bonus.
Ren let go of the woman so that he could face them.
Kateri fell away with a gasp as Ren manifested the club she'd seen him use a thousand times in her dreams. And he made use of it like a champion. With the flat end, he swatted them back before slicing them open with the obsidian glass.
The twisted demons screamed as they went down. Many retreated, but others persisted, climbing over the bodies of the fallen so that they could pursue him.
Kateri glanced around, seeking some way to help. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what exactly they were fighting and she didn't have a super weapon to combat them with. Going up against them with her bare hands didn't seem like the smartest thing to do. Rather, she decided not to be a distraction to the one who knew how to fight them. Better to guard the wall and make sure Ren didn't accidentally hit her with that club than to run forward and get them both hurt.
It was actually quite impressive to watch Ren wield his club. He treated it like an extension of his arm. He held a fluid grace to his movements that said he'd spent his life training for battle.
And as he fought, more images filled her head.
"Why do you fight me, Makah'Alay? I am not your true enemy. He lives much closer to home. We could be allies, you and I. Fight with me for those who can't fight for themselves. Let go your anger and, for once, embrace something good." She didn't know who the old man was who fought against Ren, but something about him seemed so familiar....
Ren didn't respond as the two of them went at each other like primordial gods fighting for supremacy.
"Is this really what you want?" the old man tried again. "Is it all you want?"
Ren glared at him. "What I want is for you to die already, old man! And shut up while you do it!"
"That's not you talking. It's Grizzly. He fears the truth because he knows that will send him back to where he belongs. Let your hatred go and purge him from your body. Whether you believe it or not, you're better than this, Makah'Alay. You do deserve to be happy and valued."
"Fuck you!" Ren had renewed his fight with greater vigor.
Both of them were sweaty and grimy from their battle. They looked like they'd been fighting for months....
For ...