Page 5 of Demon Hunger
Adrenaline bursting into my system, I drew my Queller, held it in front of me, and shuffled a few steps back. Desperately, I batted at the smoke, until not one but three shapes materialized in front of our group.
My heart dropped straight to my feet when I beheld Eisheth’s true shape. But what really shook me to the bone were the two figures standing behind her.
Jophiel, the angel. And Josephine LeBeau, the former director of the LDH.
2
WhatwereJophielandLeBeau doing with Drevan’s demon? It didn’t make any sense.
The entire tableau was hard to process. Eisheth’s true form was horrifying. She had grown to almost seven feet in height. Her forearms had thickened and grown fur. Two new sets of arms grew from her torso, also fur-covered. All four hands had sharp, pointed claws. A large, lumpy hunchback protruded behind her head. Her skimpy outfit broke into pieces and fell to the ground, revealing veined skin and breasts that ended in sharp spikes. Her legs were obscenely muscled, sinew bulging and webbed with bloated veins.
But the most hideous thing of all was her face. Four new eyes appeared below her original pair, replacing her nose. Thick hairs sprouted from her forehead and cheeks. They looked stiff and sharp, like porcupine quills. And worst of all, a pair of huge pincers had replaced her mouth. She looked as if a gorilla had bread with a tarantula.
Benjamin shrieked at the sight of the monster, wrapped an arm around Jenna’s shoulder, and pulled her away. She protested and tried to get free, but he was intent on dragging her to safety. For which I was grateful.
Most of my other classmates followed suit after Benjamin, Regina included. Only Sage and Zach remained, their Quellers at the ready.
“Sage, get the hell out of here and take Zach with you,” I snapped. I doubted Zach had ever faced a demon outside of class. He might get killed.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Sage twirled his sword once, then held it with both hands, his eyes never flinching away from Eisheth’s multifaceted ones.
Zach dropped his Queller, and it clattered to the ground. I thought he would turn tail and run, heeding my advice, but instead, he echoed Sage’s sentiment.
“I’m not going anywhere either,” he growled, then proceeded to morph into a massive grizzly bear, his clothes ripping as brown fur replaced them.
Holy shit!I had no idea he was a shifter. Dropping his sword hadn’t been an optimal decision, but the bear looked as if it could take a demon or two. I had to trust he knew what he was doing.
Holding my Queller, I stepped forward to form a line with Sage and Zach.
Eisheth made a strange sound that made me think of an army of chittering crabs. Her arms moved in unison as she stalked toward us.
My gaze bounced from the beast to Drevan, then to Jophiel and LeBeau.
Drevan, for his part, seemed completely focused on the angel.
“Drevan Veneres!” Jophiel exclaimed as if he were surprised to see Drevan there.
What the heck?Why would he call him by that name? Why care about the professor’s charade? Was that part of the rules? Grand time to decide to follow them.
The angel was dressed in regular clothes, forsaking the light blue pleated skirt and gladiator-looking sandals he normally wore. His blond hair shone in the moonlight, giving the impression of spun silk. He was very handsome and radiated as if he were full of goodness, which I knew very well he was not.
“We are so fortunate you’re here,” Jophiel continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I would trust no one other than you to keep us safe from this horrific hell dweller.”
Huh?
Jophiel smirked, reached behind him, and unsheathed Swiftglory—that infernal dagger that had almost killed Drevan before. It had also been forged in heavenly fire.
Oh, so the angel was just mocking Drevan. The asshole.
LeBeau’s sharp blue eyes lasered in my direction as she also reached behind her back and unsheathed her Queller. She wore a leather uniform very similar to that of an LDH Demon Hunter, except it was entirely black. I sneered. She had no business trying to look like she was still on our side. She betrayed us, betrayed humanity. She joined our enemies.
Sidestepping around Eisheth, she made her way toward me, her intention to fight me and shred me to pieces spelled on her features. She was clearly holding a grudge.
“You’re a traitor,” I spat. “How can you do this?”
She brandished her sword, slicing it through the air and making it sing. “What are you talking about, little hunter? I’m on therightside of this fight. It is you who has aligned herself with the wrong people.”
I flinched at that, wondering what my classmates would make of her words and the fact that I was fighting the former league director, the woman who had once made me her protégé. But I couldn’t worry about that right now, not when her eyes were sparkling with murderous intent.
