Reaper (Dark in You 8)

Watching the spectacle up ahead, she could make out hellfire orbs and balls of bright light sailing through the air. She could feel the slight shift of telekinetic power. She could hear curses and grunts, though the sounds were tinny and far-away.

She needed to help Levi and Armand. Needed to do something. Needed to not be a fucking weakness right now.

Equally eager to join the fight, her demon egged her on. Managing to force herself to her knees, Piper shakily raised her hand, palm out. These bastards weren’t leaving this parking lot alive. No fucking way.

Levi almost jerked to the side as a hail of hellfire bullets zoomed between his body and Armand’s, spraying the upended van up ahead wherein its driver and passengers were taking cover. The bullets tunneled through the metal, and some must have thudded into skin, because grunts of shock and pain rang through the air.

A spike of relief reached Levi through the anger and adrenaline—if Piper was able to hurl hellfire bullets, her state was better than simply conscious. He hadn’t dared take his eyes off the bastards in front of him, so he hadn’t known if she’d passed out or not.

Boxing away every thought other than to kill these sons of bitches, Levi kept on attacking them. Heads and arms peeked out of the van as they launched balls of hellfire. Levi blasted the orbs with telekinetic power, sending them right back at the demons. They ducked, but one didn’t drop fast enough—an orb clipped his skull, sending his head snapping to the side.

It wouldn’t be long before the shitheads needed to leave their cover. Hellfire was rapidly spreading over the van, so it was lucky for them that it didn’t operate like regular fire or the vehicle might have exploded by now.

Again and again, they peeked out to attack. Levi dodged and weaved, but some orbs connected, slamming into his chest or arms. Even as hellfire ate at his flesh, he retaliated with hellfire, telekinesis, and grim waves of pure despair that struck a person’s soul and could reduce them to tears.

Meanwhile, Piper kept on shooting them with hellfire bullets, and Armand threw balls of white-hot light that lit the air like torches and melted both metal and flesh.

Muffled shouts were soon exchanged, and then three demons crawled out of the melting vehicle and tried making a run for it.

Not happening.

Levi struck with a lashing of telekinetic power that crashed into their backs like a giant cane. They hit the ground hard, agonized grunts all but gusting out of them. One rolled onto his side, a hellfire orb in hand … but then Larkin dropped from the sky, her large black wings outstretched. She flapped them hard, sending out a cold blast of air. The hellfire orb winked out, cries got lost in the wind, and fallen bodies skidded along the pavement.

Levi wasted no time in advancing on the three demons. Close enough now to hit them harder, he telekinetically lifted the trio and slammed them to the ground. Bones snapped. Skulls cracked. Broken screams rang out.

Larkin pounced on one. Armand singled out another. Levi hovered his hand over the chest of the third little fucker and got a psychic grip on the organ beating there. Then he squeezed, putting more and more pressure on the heart. The demon on the ground arched and gasped and slapped his hand over his chest.

Shooting him a cold smile, Levi snapped his fist shut. And the heart burst like a bubble. He kept watching the demon until the life faded from his eyes. A deep breath left Levi, and he dropped his arm to his side.

“Motherfuckers,” snarled Larkin, glowering at the corpses.

Levi clicked his fingers, and the dead bodies burst into cinders that quickly disintegrated. “Yeah. Motherfuckers all the way.”

Hearing the scuff of shoes, he spun and found Piper staggering toward them, her body weak and uncooperative like she hadn’t slept in years. He gave her a quick head-to-toe scan. She had some blisters and burns. He felt his mouth tighten. He’d tried blocking any orbs that sailed her way but clearly hadn’t managed it every time.

Crossing to her, Levi curled his arms around her and took her weight, mindful of her wounds. “I got you, baby. I got you.”

“Bastard teleporter hit me with some kind of drugging power,” she virtually slurred.

Closing his eyes, Levi breathed her in. Only then did he really let himself feel. Only then did he lift the lid on the emotions he’d boxed up.

Shock. Fury. Panic. Terror. All of it pumped through his veins and iced his blood, just as the emotions had almost done when Larkin telepathically yelled out to him in warning.

Three words. Three words had almost shattered his world.

Piper’s been taken.

Rage had swamped his demon in a blinding, scorching hot rush that hadn’t yet left its system, even as it now had Piper right there with it.