Page 47 of Cold Curses
Not now,I told it.Fight with me or stay down. There’s no way to let you out right now.
It wasn’t convinced, but it had only so many cards to play.
Kind of like our current scenario.
“I could probably manage to get everyone on the roof, but then you’re stuck on the roof instead of an alley and hoping the building doesn’t fall down in the meantime.”
Squealer squealed until Lulu put a hand over her mouth.
“She does that,” I said at Theo’s blink.
“I’ll be the distraction,” I told Theo. “You take the humans out to the north. Message Gwen, so she’s ready for you.” I looked at Lulu. “You go with him.”
She nodded. She didn’t look thrilled about the idea of sending me into the fight, but like monster, knew her options were limited.
“Cover me with a couple of fireballs on your way out,” I said. “But go with your people. They need you.”
“CPD will be ready,” Theo said, putting his screen away. Gwen had clearly been waiting for a message.
“What are you going to do?” he asked me.
“Play to my strengths,” I said, and let my fangs descend.
I went to the edge of the alley, waited as Theo and Lulu corralled the humans and gave instructions. It looked like three of the demons were down, at least from what I could see in the strobe of magic. The others were still fighting, apparently to the death. And for no discernible reason.
“When I give the signal,” I said, “fireball.”
“What’s the signal?” Lulu asked.
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
“Because you don’t know?”
“Not yet. But I will in a minute,” I said. And like I was joining a game of double Dutch, I jumped into the fray.
* * *
The thing about swords? They were both offensive and defensive weapons. I ran forward with the blade raised and swung at a fireball like a batter at the plate with bases loaded. The magic split and bounced off the gleaming steel, then flew toward the demons. One sliver missed, but the other put a demon on the ground. And in case that wasn’t enough to attract their attention, I put fingers in my lips, whistled. The sound echoed off the building fronts and had the demons looking my way.
“Elisa Sullivan,” I said with all the bravado I could muster. “Ombudsman and Chicagoan who is concerned that you assholes are breaching the peace and destroying property. If you want to beat the shit out of each other, do it somewhere else. I hear Indianapolis is nice,” I said, naming the first city that came to mind. Apologies, Indiana.
I spun my sword. “Who’s leaving first?”
They rounded on me together as if suddenly united by their hatred of vampires, Ombuds, or intruders in their fight. I moved as they moved, putting as much space as possible between me and the alley, and rotating my body, so any fireballs sent my way would be aimed away from the rescue route.
Feel free to join in,I told monster as the first demon leapt forward.
I swung hard, a blow that aimed the katana’s tip at the demon’s belly.
He jumped back just in time to avoid full dissection, but the blade still left a crimson stripe across his shirt. His eyes flashed yellow, and he bared his teeth, then punched magic into the air.
I took an instinctive step backward and nearly moved into the path of another demon’s vermillion fireball. I dropped to the ground, felt the needle sting of glass against my palms. The fireball hit the first demon square in the chest and had him flying through the air. He hit the curb with an ominous crunch and went still.
I turned back. The demon who’d thrown the fireball looked satisfied with his shot; they must have been opponents. He was also the most stereotypically demonic demon I’d seen. Cheekbones high and sharp, teeth yellow and pointed, small black whirls of horn at his temples, and skin of burnished gold.
Not of this world. And given his apparent violent tendencies, not welcome in it.
“Human,” he said.
