Page 94 of Incubus
“Hn. So be it.”
There was silence, leaving only the faint shuffle of feet on concrete. Nathan waited. He knew Gabriel could see him clear enough, even with the car mostly blocking him. He waited, one moment, another, until he was certain Gabriel had to be about ready to pounce on him from one side or the other.
“Nathan, now!” Walter called.
Kicking up off the ground, Nathan hoisted his backside up onto the top of the car's hood, flattened himself, rolled off onto the other side, and came down again on his feet, ready to run. But when Nathan turned to bolt, he saw that Gabriel was faster than he had given him credit, standing there to block his escape and readying a shot.
“Nathan!”
The gun fired, a bullet disappearing somewhere into the sky as the blur of a figure knocked Gabriel to the ground. For a moment Nathan thought it was somehow Walter, but then he saw a flash of red hair.
Nathan stood frozen at first watching as Gabriel and Sasha grappled on the ground. Gabriel ended up on top of the incubus, and although his gun had been dropped, Nathan could see something glinting in Gabriel’s other hand.
Ready to dash forward and offer whatever assistance he could, Nathan saw that Sasha was already ahead of him, kicking his knees up into Gabriel’s chest and lifting until he flipped Gabriel over and slammed him to the ground almost at Nathan's feet.
It seemed to take forever for Sasha to get up after that and rush to join Nathan. Gabriel wasn’t fazed enough to be out of commission, and even as Sasha reached Nathan, it was clear they didn’t have enough time, breath, or weapons to defend themselves in the parking lot.
Sasha grabbed Nathan’s arm, both of them turning and sprinting for the motel.
Jim, Nathan thought with sudden panic. Jim was in their room probably passed out on the bed, dead drunk.
“How did he find us again!?” Sasha yelled, but his voice echoed distantly in the foreground as they burst through the doors into the motel, and Nathan ran over possible escape plans in his head. “This neighborhood is quiet enough, but we have to get away from the motel."
Gabriel was gaining on them; Nathan was certain of that without having to glance over his shoulder. Reaching Jim was most important. If they lost this fight, Jim would be completely vulnerable, left up there for Gabriel to gut like an animal.
Barreling ahead, Nathan saw the elevator and pushed forward that much harder. Their room was on the fourth floor. They had to make it.
Sasha was faster than Nathan, reaching the elevator and pushing the button before Nathan even got inside. The doors started to close and Nathan dove forward, his chest aching from sprinting. He looked back just as the doors shut completely to see Gabriel’s furious face.
“Never a dull moment, is there?” Nathan gasped, trying to grin as the elevator moved slowly upward.
Sasha smiled weakly. “I was coming to get you. So much for a happy birthday.” He tried to laugh but fell suddenly against the side of the elevator and almost dropped to the floor.
“Whoa, you okay?” Nathan asked, grabbing hold of Sasha by the arms to steady him. That was when he noticed the cut on Sasha’s arm, just below the cuff of his T-shirt.
Sasha turned over his hands, both of which had long jagged cuts in the palms from fending off the knife Nathan had seen Gabriel wielding.
Iron.
Chapter 37
“Iron,”Nathansaidthroughclenched teeth. The poison worked fast enough when Sashawasn’tfighting for his life and running a marathon.
“Jim,” Sasha said firmly, shaking his head when the elevator doors opened. “We have to…wake him.”
“And we will. After we get—”
“He has…some of the antidote in the room,” Sasha insisted. “He said it would be smart if…he carried some too, in case…” Sasha lifted his bleeding hands again.
“Okay, come on,” Nathan said, guiding Sasha down the hallway with one hand around the incubus' waist for support.
The room was dark when they entered, but they hadn’t yet heard any sounds of galloping feet or the elevator returning.
“Jim, wake up!” Nathan called to the figure planted face-first into a pillow. He helped Sasha sit on the unoccupied bed and then went over to rummage through Jim’s duffle. “Wake up!” hecalled again, glancing back briefly at Sasha. “Any idea where he keeps the stuff?”
Sasha shook his head.
Nathan spent all of thirty seconds looking through the bag before he gave up. “Jim!” he yelled right in Jim’s ear.
