Page 131 of White Hot Kiss
Tiny strands of hair rose all around my head. Pain exploded along my back, but it was the good kind of pain—the kind that brought sweet relief as my wings unfurled, arcing high in the air above me.
As I lifted my hands, shock fluttered through me. My skin was black and gray, marbleized in a shifting blend of both species. A beautiful mixture of the Warden and the demon long since buried deep inside me.
“Get her!” screamed Paimon.
The Rack demons that had been holding Zayne shot toward me just as Roth reared back, breaking free of the demons holding him.
On autopilot, controlled by something innate and binding, I didn’t even think. Raising my head, I bared my teeth and hissed.
I caught the first Rack demon by the throat, digging my claws in. There was a satisfying crack and I dropped it. The second Rack demon I toyed with, catching it by the neck and lifting it into the air. The hoarse, piglike squealing brought a toothy smile to my face. Wheeling around, I tossed it through the wall above the bleachers.
Stepping out over the candles, I stretched out my wings.
Bloodied and beat up like no tomorrow, Roth grinned at me as he dropped one of the Rack demons. “You’re still hot as a stone freak.” His gaze dropped. “Maybe even hotter. Damn.”
“Get them!” Paimon roared. “Kill them! Do something!”
My head swung toward where he stood beside Zayne. Launching off the floor, I landed in front of the demon. Swinging my arm around, I backhanded him, throwing him into the air and spinning him around.
I knelt beside Zayne, gingerly rolling him onto his back. “Zayne?”
His eyes were open, blinking furiously. “I’m okay. The cut’s not deep at all.” He folded his hand around mine—his human hand over mine. The contrast was all the more startling because of our role reversal. His gaze traveled up my arm, where the sleeves of my sweater had split at the seams. His lips parted as he got a good eyeful. “You’re...”
“Layla!” Roth yelled.
Twisting at the waist, I swiped out at the Rack demon gunning for me. The thing went down, but there were dozens, if not hundreds, more. The whole gymnasium was full of them. And behind them, bigger and hairier creatures roared.
Hellions.
“I’m okay.” Zayne staggered to his feet. “I can fight.”
“I sure hope so.” Roth lifted his arm and Bambi came off his skin, coiling on the floor between us. “Because if you’re just going to lay there and bleed, you suck.”
Then Roth shifted. His skin turned the color of obsidian, sleek and shiny. He was bigger than both Zayne, who was now in full gargoyle mode, and me. The skin tone was different and he wasn’t rocking any horns, but the resemblance between us was still uncanny.
The three of us turned as one.
Beyond Paimon and Naberius, a whole horde of demons waited.
They charged forward. A chaotic mess of bodies, and there was no time to think as bodies crashed into one another. Taking down a Rack demon, I ducked out of the way of a Hellion, clearing a path for Bambi, who shot through the air and sank its fangs into the beast’s neck. The snake coiled itself around the Hellion, squeezing until the Hellion arched its back and roared. Black smoke poured out of its gaping mouth and then the Hellion imploded.
Roth went after Paimon, while Zayne had an obvious bone to pick with Naberius after the whole knifing-of-the-throat incident. Which sucked, because I would’ve really liked to knock that jerk around instead of picking off Rack demons.
“You have been such a pain in my ass,” Roth said, circling Paimon. “The Boss is going to have so much fun shoving hot pokers where the sun never shines.”
“Well, if it isn’t the harmless puppy of the family,” Paimon seethed. “The favorite Prince and the Boss’s little pet.”
“Don’t be a hater.” Roth lowered himself to the floor. It trembled under his weight. “You’re just jealous because you haven’t been granted permission to return topside since the Inquisition. You always make such a mess of things.”
“While you’re just a good little boy.” Paimon shook out his shoulders. Material ripped. Dark, gnarled wings protruded from his back. The fire spread over Paimon’s skin until he was nothing more than a flame in an Armani suit. “I’m going to enjoy breaking her. Burn her from the inside out. You’ll hear her screams from the bowels of Hell.”
Roth roared, charging Paimon. He met Roth halfway, their collision a burst of flames and then darkness. I scrambled back as Paimon launched Roth through the air and slammed him into a row of Hellions. Roth flew back, reaching into the flames and grabbing ahold of Paimon. Roth spun around, tossing the King at a cluster of Rack demons.
The doors to the gymnasium burst open.
Wardens swarmed the room, tearing through Rack demons like they were nothing more than paper. I recognized Abbot and Nicolai leading the attack. They headed straight to where Bambi had a Hellion cornered. The massive monster lurched forward, grabbing Bambi before she could wrap her powerful body around the beast.
Bambi was flung back into the bleachers, crashing through them.