A lesser-looking demon moved to intercept Cole, and Charity hit it with another pulse of power. The spark blew the thing sky-high. Nothing was left. The creatures behind it weren’t dead, having enough juice left to keep going.
“Charity, behind you!” Andy yelled, pushing out of the first van, gun in hand.
Vampires zipped toward the wolves, Devon and someone else flanking a limping gray wolf that was moving at half speed. Charity gritted her teeth and turned on the sun. The loud buzzing competed with the wailing of the approaching sirens. The vampires shrieked, the whole scene suddenly overpowered by Cole’s pained bellow.
“Load up,” Andy said, falling in at Charity’s side and squeezing out a handful of bullets. They fell true, tearing into the side of the demon who’d just slashed at Cole’s back. The creature barely bumped backward.
“Damn it,” Andy swore as the other shifters piled into the vans. Cole was the only one left.
“Leave him,” Barbara shouted. “He knew the risks. Protect the fae. Leave him!” She slung the van door shut. Something hit the vehicle from the other side, shattering the window. The van lurched forward, Yasmine doing as Barbara had said.
Dread spread through Charity. “Like hell I’m leaving him!”
Gunshots blew up the night. The moving van’s wheel rolled over a demon’s arm.
Charity sprinted around, straight for the nearest demon. She slashed with her sword before slapping a palm into the center of its chest, the feeling of its sludgy skin making her grimace. A shock of power and the creature flew backward, but two more were already coming, blocking Cole from sight.
“Crap, there are too many—”
Steve lunged in front of her, ramming into the two demons and sending them flying. His mane lit on fire, but he didn’t stop. He chomped down on the nearest before shaking his mighty head, ending its movement. Another came at her from the side. Charity spun, her sword up and ready, but it belched fire before it got to her. This would require her magic, not her sword. The flame kissed her face before she could switch gears, the pain searing, and the demon kept on coming. She swallowed down fear and braced for the blistering impact.
The fire dried up, like it had been sucked away.
Charity had barely drawn in a surprised breath before the demon went flying, but not from her doing.
“Why the hell does no one ever invite me to their parties?”
Reagan, the fierce and possibly insane woman Charity had met after the attack at Devon’s house, ran into the scene with her sword flashing.
“Is it because I’m screwing a vampire?” She slashed down at a demon flailing on the ground. “Go home, Harry, you’re drunk.”
Reagan reached out her hand in Cole’s direction, her eyes raging with the fire of battle despite her flippant comments, and squeezed her fingers into a fist.
Amid shrieks and howls of surprise, the demons froze. Every last one of them.
If not for the wailing of sirens and Devon’s shouts to give Dillon space, Charity would’ve thought this was another hallucination.
“Hey, guys,” Reagan said, her body language nonchalant but her tone wary. Something she saw here disturbed her, and Charity didn’t want to know what would discomfit someone like her. “Looks like this neighborhood has gone to hell— Nope, you don’t get to turn around, Fred.” Reagan’s eyes narrowed. One of the demons squished, as though from an invisible vise squeezing it. “You chose your side. You all did. Surprise! It was the wrong side.”
“You know their names?” Charity asked stupidly.
Reagan cracked a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “No, and to keep them from telling me themselves, I’ll just assign them. Oops. The yeti seems to have wandered away from his snow.”
Cole emerged from behind the frozen demons, a loud growl in his throat. His furious gaze locked on Reagan, his fur a mess of black and red. He’d taken some serious hits, but they didn’t seem to matter as much to him as his clear dislike of Reagan.
“This has got to be awkward,” Reagan said as Cole passed her, his growl deepening. The demons still hadn’t moved. “You said you were going to kill me when next you saw me, and instead, you got saved by me. How embarrassing.”
“The vampires took off. Get back to the van—let’s go,” Devon yelled, striding toward them quickly. “Steve, change.”
The lion, who’d been rolling on the ground, trying to put out the last of the flames, shifted form before patting his head and chest profusely. He pushed himself up to standing, burn marks over half of his body.
Devon nodded hello at Reagan as he reached them. “Thanks for coming.” He spared a glance at the frozen demons as he slipped his arm around Charity. “What magic is that?”
“The icy kind. Smells weird, right?” Reagan waggled her eyebrows, and it was clear from the crease between Devon’s brow he didn’t understand her either.