Dark and Stormy Knights (P.N. Elrod) (Kitty Norville 0.80)

The Terraphage lumbered closer. Ryder fired again, only this time it didn’t back away. “Get back. I’ll see if it works.”

Jordan scurried back behind the counter. She grabbed a towel and tied it over the wound to slow the bleeding. She couldn’t see what was going on, but she could hear the gunshots and Ryder’s vile curses rising up every few seconds.

At least he was still alive to curse.

She pushed herself to her feet, hoping to take a peek, and a few feet away spied Ryder’s rifle lying on a pile of spilled coffee beans.

Jordan snatched it up. She was no marksman, but she knew the basics. Point and shoot. Just like a camera.

Ryder tossed the bloody tank at the monster. A snakelike tongue shot out and grabbed it, drawing it into the thing’s mouth.

Victory coursed through her. It had worked. The monster had taken the bait.

“Die, fucker,” growled Ryder as he fired his handgun at the tank.

The bullet pinged off harmlessly, not even denting it. There was no explosion, not even any flames.

Their plan had failed.

They were all going to die.

Shit! Now what was he going to do? That propane tank was supposed to explode like in the movies. Hell, if Hollywood was to be believed, all he should have had to do was throw a rock at the thing to get it to burst into flames.

But no. He couldn’t get that lucky.

The bloody tank rolled around in the Terraphage’s mouth as if it were sucking on a piece of candy. Its blistered tongue flickered over it, cleaning away every trace of blood. As distracted as it was by its treat, it wouldn’t be that way long.

It would either spit out the tank or swallow it, rendering it invulnerable inside the belly of the beast. Either way, Ryder was still screwed.

A huge boom exploded behind him. He turned around to see Jordan wielding the rifle.

“I can’t get a clear shot,” she shouted.

Most of the blood was gone. They had only a few seconds left. “Toss it here.”

She did. Ryder caught it and charged the Terraphage. The pale tank was barely visible now. It was going down the thing’s throat. He had time for only one shot. He stopped, aimed, and fired.

And missed.

The bullet tore into the soft pallet of the Terraphage’s mouth. It roared in pain. As its mouth opened, the tank fell to the floor, landing in a puddle of saliva.

His plan had failed. Anne was going to die despite his best efforts.

“Get out!” he yelled over his shoulder. “I’ll try to keep it distracted.”

Jordan didn’t ask questions. She sprinted for the kitchen.

Ryder reloaded the rifle, grabbed the propane tank, and propelled himself into the Terraphage’s open jaws.

Jordan raced back through the room with Anne just in time to see Ryder dive into the monster’s mouth. She had no idea what he was doing, but there wasn’t time to stop and figure it out.

All she cared about was that the door was clear, Anne was firmly in her arms, and they were getting the hell out of here.

She hurried outside, barely feeling the cold. She pushed Anne through the open door of the truck, scurried up onto the wet seat, and gunned the engine. It purred like a cat as she slid over the streets, heading out of town as fast as the tires could carry them.

Ryder was dead. All she could do now was make his sacrifice mean something by getting her baby out alive.

The Terraphage’s jaws clamped down hard, crushing Ryder. Something in his leg cracked and pain screamed up his spine, setting his brain on fire. For several precious seconds, all he could do was let the pain wash over him, consume him. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe, which was likely a blessing. The stench of decaying meat clinging between the thing’s teeth was overwhelming.