Page 94 of Demons & Damnation

As three more wolves hurtled past Balthazar and his temporary captor, the squealing of car tires and dirt being scuffed filled the air.

“Dylan, no!”

That sweet, honey laden voice caught Balthazar’s attention immediately. He fought with the oversized dog to see if what his ears told him were true—Sam was here. Sure enough, like an angel in the midst of darkness, there she was.

She ran towards him, her golden hair streaming behind her like a ray of sunshine. The wolf jumped off Balthazar and put itself between Sam and the demon. Not caring for the family ties, Balthazar could think of nothing but eliminating the threat that could keep him from his demi-soul. He would die a thousand times before losing his one shot of happiness.

Leaping onto the beast’s back, Balthazar held onto its wild bucks, twists and turns like a cowboy, all the while shouting at Sam to get away.

Azazel, still recovering from his belt to the head from the damn wolf, sat up and looked around him, dumbfounded. When he saw Sam, stood a few feet away from him, smiling, he frowned, and said, “Well that escalated quickly.”

“Get your ass up,” she hissed. “I knew something wasn’t right with you two. Do you have any idea how complicated you’ve just made all of this?”

“Me?” Azazel said, struggling to believe he was being blamed. “I’m the good guy here.”

“You should have told us from the outset what you were, dammit. Could have avoided all of this.”

Azazel snorted. “I doubt that, sweetheart. You lot might have the roles of peacekeepers, but you’re just as dirty as the rest of us. The only difference is you have a righteous mask to hide behind.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Actually, for the first time ever, I’m quite offended. By rights, I don’t have to do anything. Heck, I don’t even know why the fuck me and him are getting involved anyway. The only motivation for me right now is being on the good side of your best friend so I don’t get zapped to hell for the rest of eternity. Aside from that, you can keep your stupid politics.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open. Her emerald eyes looked past Azazel, trying to focus on what had happened in the room. Anna-Rose lay on the floor, her chest cavity wide open, her heart missing, but her piercing blue eyes roving with a wild glare only a possessed person could muster. Blood was sprinkled everywhere, like Tinkerbell had been in here and sprayed glitter dust for decoration.

She saw the bundle of thick, brown vines in the corner, two sets of fear filled eyes watching everything happen in front of them.

Tony, held by vines, blood streaming from between his legs where the glint of metal reflected back at her, blinked furiously at her, as if trying to communicate something to her. The stench of burnt flesh and urine singed the hairs in her nose, making her want to vomit.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “You almost killed her scraping your baby from her but then you go and have two kids with her mum? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Tony stared back at her, not a flicker of regret or remorse.

“You’re a piece of shit. I can’t wait until we’re in hell together for all eternity.”

A loud crash followed by a deathly snarl caught her attention. She whirled around to see Dylan holding off Balthazar and Azazel as the other three pack members Dylan had called in had their jaws locked around Kyla’s body—one on each wrist and one around the throat. Blood dripped from the wounds already and judging from the growls vibrating each of their bodies, whatever the hell was going on with Kyla was life threatening.

Sam gasped, covering her hands with her mouth as she watched her friend’s vibrant red hair turn darker by the second, streaks of black lining her hair like tiger stripes.

“She’s being inhabited,” Sam said, desperation flooding her in an instant.

“I know,” Azazel replied. “That’s why we’re here. We were going to stop it.”

Sam folded her arms over her chest and glanced down at Kyla. “Cracking job.”

“I don’t see you doing much.”

Sam quirked an eyebrow up. “My pack members are stopping it from happening. If you two back off and let Dylan help as well, this would all be over with much sooner.”

“MOVE.”

The deep bellow froze everyone, even the wolves who were wrestling with Kyla’s unconscious body.

Azazel turned around to see his brother stood behind him, ash white, like he’d seen a ghost. When he looked at the gigantic figure blocking the doorway, and heard that voice, Azazel resisted the urge to run in fear.

“Malpass?” Balthazar said, his voice trembling.

Two steely-grey eyes settled on the mild-mannered demon. A twisted, unnerving smile flashed across the old man’s face.

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