A Despair of Demons (Travelers, Book 1) (5 page)

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Jordan’s mind
couldn’t quite process the demons’ speed. Things that big didn’t move that
fast.

He fired on the
demons, each gun aimed at a separate target, but his attention split as Liv
dived away from a razor-tipped swipe. She rolled in the sand and gained her
feet again, unharmed and still shooting. The rest of his teammates were
scrambling for cover, so he assumed none of those butcher-knife talons had
found a mark.

A demon spun
his way, and Jordan threw himself backward to avoid evisceration. Ben was just
to his right, and he leapt the other way just a second too slow. The demon
swatted him across the back with six-inch razors. Jordan’s stomach dropped, but
Ben rolled with the blow. He came up with his Beretta M9 in his hand, shooting
the instant he could aim. The sharp smell of cordite joined the stink of
rotting flesh on the breeze.

Jordan fired
both guns on the demon still advancing on Ben. His gunfire combined with Ben’s
drove the demon back into the central huddle, squealing like a pig being
butchered.

Connor and Gin
fired from a stand of palm trees partly unburned, and Liv and Trent had
stationed themselves behind low sand dunes and opened fire as well. Jordan
watched their bullets rip holes in the demons’ chests and arms, throwing drops
of blood and clots of flesh, but the demons didn’t even slow. One of them
roared and a stream of fire shot from its mouth. Gin and Connor’s palm trees
blazed up like candles. They ran for the nearby dunes and dived for cover
beside Liv.

Jordan threw
Ben a surprised look and Ben smiled wryly. “I guess that explains the fire in
Ganja.”

The demon
turned its flames downward, aiming for the top of the dune where Liv, Gin, and
Connor lay. The yellow flames burned bright blue when they struck the blue
sand. The dunes melted under the heat and ran downhill to form molten pools at
the demons’ feet. The air suddenly reeked of sulfur.

Liv stared as
rivers of molten rock ran toward her. Connor said, “Time to go.”

They retreated
toward the next dune.

The
fire-breathing demon aimed at Connor and Gin as they came over the crest of the
dune. Liv retreated last, and when she came into sight, one of the other demons
launched itself at her with that horror-movie speed, shrieking as it flew
through the air.

Jordan’s heart
stuttered. “No!”

He leveled his
two Nighthawk 10-8’s on the demon. He aimed at its head with one gun and its
heart with the other, and both shots hit their targets. Connor had originally
balked at the idea of a member of his team double-fisting guns like Laura
Croft, but when Jordan had beaten him in a shooting competition, he’d changed
his mind. Jordan had never been more grateful for that than now, as the demon
belly-flopped into the molten sand and Liv escaped over the dune. Blue lava
spattered as the demon splashed down, coating it liberally as it shrieked what
Jordan savagely hoped was a death scream. Jordan held a gun on each of the
others, firing whenever he had a clean target.

Dismay welled
up as the demon rose from the molten puddle. Liv’s added gunfire turned it back
to its comrades, but it showed no trace of injury, and the molten rock ran off
its skin like water.

It probably lives in molten rock for all we
know. It’s a demon from Hell.

Jordan focused
his attention again as his bullets tore into the neck of the second demon.
Blood jetted from the wound, and the demon sputtered and spat blood as it tried
to speak.

Trent fired on
the third demon, punching holes through its wings and into its back. His last
shot hit the main wing bone, breaking it and causing the wing to droop suddenly
like a flag with no wind. The demon howled a pig-dog scream of pain.

Ben aimed for
the uninjured demon and took out an eye with his backup P238—he hadn’t
had time to reload his Beretta. Unfortunately, the P238 didn’t pack enough
punch to break through the demon’s skull. Losing an eye didn’t distract it for
long, and as Jordan watched, the hole began to close. Moments later, the
bleeding from its companion’s ripped neck first slowed and then stopped.

Jordan listened
closely as One-Eye growled a stream of guttural words interspersed with whines
and grunts.

Jordan
whispered to Ben, “How do we know if they’re Singular?”

Ben stared at
him as if he’d gone crazy.

“Raul said to
bring Travelers,” Jordan continued as Severed-Jugular answered in the same
language.

“You speak
demon?” Ben gasped. “How?”

Jordan waved a
hand: not important. He cocked his head to listen.

Broken-Wing
spat a response that sounded like a two-year-old gargling through a temper
tantrum.

“I don’t think
this is right,” Jordan translated. “These aren’t coming. He said it would be
easy, unarmed, alone.”

They didn’t
really have facial expressions, but Severed-Jugular roared in unmistakable
rage.

“Fine, you tell
him!” Jordan said.

Broken-Wing
growled and dissolved in a red whirlwind. The others followed immediately and
they all vanished.

As Ben and
Jordan held their guns at the ready and swept the area for any sign of
returning demons, Ben said, “You speak demon. Cool.”

Jordan shrugged.
“It’s similar to Latin. The Romance languages are my specialty.”

“I didn’t even
hear any words, just a lot of grunting and squealing.”

“That’s why I’m
the linguist.”

Jordan watched
as Connor stood and surveyed the scene along the muzzle of his Beretta, swinging
it back and forth as he swept the beach. “Anyone see anything?” he shouted.

The others rose
to their feet. Shouts of “Clear” sounded unnaturally loud in the deathly
silence after the firefight. They made their way back down to the beach and
regrouped in a defensive circle, careful to avoid the still-molten sand.

Jordan watched
Liv, looking for signs of injury, and a knot in his chest loosened when he saw
that she was fine.

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Liv eyed Jordan
as she walked up, assuring herself that he was okay. She bobbed her head as his
eyes met hers. “Thanks for the save.”

He smiled,
sending warmth through her. “Don’t mention it.”

“Everyone
okay?” Connor asked.

Everybody
replied in the affirmative.

Connor’s gaze
fixed on Ben. “Flyboy, you took a hit.”

Liv hadn’t seen
that. She whipped her eyes to Ben.

“I’m fine,” Ben
said. “Jordan understood what they said.”

Connor
inspected him a moment longer, then raised his eyebrows at Jordan, accepting
the change of topic.

Jordan said,
“The demons were sent here to recover a Singularity.”

“By whom?”
Connor asked.

“Raul. He told
them it would be easy to take the Singularity because he would be unarmed and
alone. They decided we didn’t meet the criteria.”

“Maybe that’s
why they took some of the townspeople,” Trent said. “Maybe they’re not going to
kill them. Right away.”

Liv hadn’t
really considered Elachai being singular as a possibility. But she hadn’t
thought demons were real either. “How do they know he’s Singular? What do they
want with him?”

“They didn’t
say,” Jordan said.

Connor, still
watching Jordan, asked, “Anything else?”

“No.”

Gin sighed.
“Does it bother anyone else that a demon fell into a puddle of molten sand and
shook it off like water?”

Ben forced a grin
that looked more like a grimace. “What doesn’t bother me about what just
happened?”

Jordan said,
“Well, they
are
from Hell. Some of
those reports of priests seeing visions of Hell as a burning lake of fire must
have been true.”

Liv swallowed
hard. “What must Hell be like if that’s what lives there?”

Jordan’s eyes
lit up. “I’ve been thinking about that. From an evolutionary standpoint—”

Connor cleared
his throat. “I hate to interrupt what promises to be a fascinating exposition,
but we’re clear. Home World on mark. One—”

Liv
interrupted, “Do you think the people are safe here?”

Connor paused.
“Do you?”

Liv didn’t
know. She looked at Jordan, who thought for a moment. “The demons were hunting
the Singularity. Twice now, they haven’t found him here. I don’t think they’ll
be back.”

Connor raised
his eyebrows at Liv. “I agree.”

“Good enough. One,
two, three, mark.”

Liv blinked and
opened her eyes on the sand surrounding the hidden entrance of the DEPOT. Connor
appeared and turned silently for the entrance.

General Mace
was already seated at the head of the briefing room’s table. “Commander Bryant,
report,” he said as Connor strode in, Liv and Jordan at his heels.

“Blue Beach was
attacked yesterday, sir. And we were attacked just now. Demons.”

If General Mace
was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Everyone okay?”

Before Connor could
answer, Gin, who followed Ben through the door, said, “Ben, my God, you’ve got
blood everywhere!”

“Apparently
not,” Connor said as he turned to Ben.

“I’m fine,” Ben
growled.

Connor turned
him by the shoulders and inspected his back. “You’re not.”

Liv’s heart
jumped. She’d believed Ben when he said he was fine. Liar.

General Mace
stood up. “Commander, call Medical.”

“Yes, sir.”

Ben turned to
the general, and Liv finally saw his wounds. She breathed easier. The slashes
were vicious but didn’t go through to bone, and although his shirt was bloody,
he wasn’t actively bleeding so no arteries had been hit.

General Mace
asked, “What happened?”

Ben sighed. “It’s
just a couple of demon scratches. I’m fine, sir.”

“You’ll be
patched up by Medical before you debrief.”

“Sir, it’s just
a couple of scratch—”

“That’s an
order, Lieutenant Farthing!”

Ben nodded.
“Yes, sir.”

The general
continued, “I trust there’s nothing urgent?”

“Other than a
demon attack?” Gin’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

Connor’s mouth
twitched, but he shook his head. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

General Mace
said, “The rest of you get cleaned up. We’ll meet back here in one hour.” He
strode out the door.

A medical
trotted into the room laden with bandages and immediately pounced on Ben. He
quickly wound a tight wrap around Ben’s chest, over his clothes, and led him
away, asking questions as they went.

The rest of the
team stared aimlessly for a moment. Then Gin said, “Fancy a sparring session,
Ninja?”

“You think you
can take me, Virgin?” Trent answered.

“Bring it on,
Nagano.”

Gin’s curly
blonde hair, pulled into a bouncy ponytail, formed angelic ringlets around big
innocent-looking sapphire eyes, and though she was curvaceous, she was also
pixie-petite. Looks could be deceiving, Liv thought as a fierce grin spread
across Gin’s face. Gin was tough as nails and had a vicious competitive streak.
She was the smallest on the team at five-foot-three, but Trent’s slim
five-foot-nine had always made him look like an easy target too.

Jordan turned
to Liv. “Care for a match ourselves?”

“Sure, I can
take you,” Liv said with a smile.

Jordan gave her
a look she couldn’t interpret, but nodded and strode away.

When she got to
the gym, Gin and Trent were already feinting around each other on one mat, each
trying to land the first blow. Connor watched from a weight machine in the
corner and shouted advice to both opponents.

Jordan
stretched on another mat while he waited for her, and Liv was struck by how
formidable he looked. Muscles rippled in his arms and back, and he appeared
limber and ready. She hadn’t fought him since they’d taken jujutsu and karate
lessons from Trent a year ago. She knew Jordan had already studied karate
before Trent had started their training, and wondered if this was a fight she
could win. Too late now.

As she
stretched, Connor shouted, “Get beneath him, Gin! Make him move his feet. Break
his track. Nagano, are you gonna let a girl knock you back like that? Balance!”

Jordan stood
and smiled as Liv stepped onto the mat. “Ready?”

Liv nodded, and
he came at her without warning. She blocked and struck but landed nothing. One
skirmish and she was already panting. Jordan was fast.

“Glad you’re
okay after that demon attack.”

She wasn’t
about to fall for that trick. “I’m fine,” she said, waiting for his next move.

He tried a
hold, but she slipped through his grasp and squared off again.

“I thought you
were going to be roasted for sure,” he said lightly. He wasn’t even breathing
hard, the bastard.

“Well,” she
said between pants, “that’s the thing about having a team. Backup and all.” She
dipped her head to him, and he smiled.

“Glad I could
help. I’m glad you’re okay, Liv.”

She furrowed
her brows at his sincere expression. “This isn’t a very good distraction
technique.”

He dropped his
ready stance. “It wasn’t meant to be. My distraction technique would be more
like, ‘Do you believe in demons now? Why do you think they attacked Necropolis
if they don’t have weaponry?’”

“Of course I
believe in demons. I’ve seen them haven’t I? And who says they don’t have—hey!”
She jumped his sudden leg sweep, landing a glancing blow on his shoulder as he
rose. They skirmished for a couple of minutes, and then he kicked out to drive
her back.

She dodged and
captured his leg in her hands. She spun his ankle. His own momentum took him
down, but he somehow hooked his other leg behind her back and took her with
him.

They landed on
the mat in a panting tangle of arms and legs, Liv half on top of Jordan. She
looked up at his face to gauge his next move and the scent of him hit her: warm
clean man and spicy cologne. She felt him panting under her, felt his heart
pounding in his chest, felt the heat of him against her belly and legs, felt
his muscles tense as he prepared for her next move. His eyes were the wild blue
of burning selenium, and Lord, he was sexy. How had she never noticed before?

Then he smiled,
warming her from the inside out. “Do you yield?”

She abruptly realized
she was practically lying on top of him, staring into his flame-blue eyes like
a fawning puppy.
What the hell is this?
Mortified, she leapt to her feet and mumbled some excuse about showers.

She fled the
room and didn’t look back.

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Back in the
briefing room, Jordan acted as if nothing unusual had happened, and Liv
breathed a sigh of relief.

She was chatting
with Gin about a techno Beethoven mix she wanted Liv to hear when Ben walked in
and announced, “I’m fine, just like I said.”

Jordan asked,
“Do you have bandages?”

Liv grinned at
him. “Or antibiotics?”

Gin said, “Did
they slather something on the wounds?”

Trent’s black
eyes creased. “Did they stitch anything?”

“How about pain
meds?” Connor’s glacial green eyes warmed when he smiled.

Ben scowled.
“Okay, yes, they did all of that, but I’m fine. I didn’t need all of that
crap.”

Liv said, “Bet
it feels better now, though, doesn’t it?”

Ben mumbled
something incoherent as General Mace arrived and strode to his chair.
“Lieutenant?”

“I’m good, sir.
All patched up.”

The general
turned to Connor as everyone else took their seats. “Commander?”

Connor began
the report. “We arrived in Blue Beach and, with no immediate danger in the
vicinity, proceeded to Ganja.”

As Connor
continued, the others added details when necessary. Trent brought up the damage
to the buildings. “It looked like frag grenades, sir.”

General Mace
turned to Jordan. “Is that possible?”

“I don’t know.
I haven’t run across stories of demons blowing things up, but I admittedly only
started studying demon culture three days ago. Trent?”

“I’ve never
heard of them carrying weapons at all.”

“They hardly
need them with their claws and fire breath.”

“Fire breath?”
General Mace stared at Jordan.

Connor said,
“I’m getting to that.”

He finished the
report, and General Mace said, “We need to find out if they’ve got weapons.”

Connor nodded. “We
shouldn’t have any problem testing the wreckage. There were plenty of powder
burns.”

Liv grinned. She’d
been wanting to test the new portable mass spectrometer in the field, but
nothing had come up yet.

General Mace nodded.
“We’ll have to postpone your trip to L-634S today. The five of you go back to
Blue Beach with whatever equipment you think you’ll need.”

Connor said,
“Yes, sir,” but Ben reared back in his chair. “‘The five of you?’ What exactly
does that mean?”

“Sorry,
Lieutenant, you won’t be joining them today,” the general said.

“General. I’ve
been cleared. I’m perfectly—”

“Not today.”
General Mace repeated himself without raising his voice but with an air of
finality. Ben’s ingrained military obedience froze any further protests in his
throat. He slumped back in his chair.

Liv privately
sighed in relief. She knew Ben had to be hurting, and they’d already been
attacked by demons once today on that beach.

General Mace
turned back to Connor. “So, were you the target or just in the wrong place at
the wrong time?”

Jordan
answered. “They’d been ordered to that specific place to look for the
Singularity.”

Liv turned her
mind from Ben to Elachai. If she could find him again, find out what he’d done
to her, maybe she could find some way to stop him, make herself immune. Or
correct the damage. She wanted her memory back.

General Mace
said, “But nobody saw Elachai in Ganja.”