CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
I HEARD SCREAMS behind me and gunshots ahead of me, yet I didn’t slow down and I didn’t look back. I wouldn’t be able to keep going if I did either, and I had to go on. The demons were here; my tats lighting up and sending new agony through me were proof of that, as if there had been any doubt as to who was behind the sounds of attack. No, they were here, and so was the spearhead. Either I or they would wield it soon, and I had to make sure that it was me.
I ducked when the wide green leaves of whatever vegetation populated this jungle suddenly exploded next to me. More gunfire strafed the brush around me, this time coming from the opposite direction. Great, I was caught in the cross fire between armed bad guys and armed good guys, yet I couldn’t leave the path. The brush was too thick, so I ducked as low as I could and hoped that somehow the power of the pilum would make me bulletproof.
It didn’t. I knew that when I suddenly stumbled after the next volley of shots even though I hadn’t tripped. I hit the hard earth of the well-worn path like a sack of potatoes, although I managed to keep my grip on the pilum. In that dazed moment when I first hit the ground, I decided it was a good thing that the pilum had burned my hands even through the towel. They were probably welded to it now.
I felt blood spill out of me when I stood up, but I didn’t look down to see where I’d been shot. I couldn’t stop to treat my wound and seeing it would only upset me. Either it was bad enough to kill me, or it wasn’t. I was already in so much pain that a little more wouldn’t make a difference.
When I was able to run again, I smiled. Those trapped people still had a chance. Come on, I urged the pilum. Give me a little of your energy so I can move faster.
Whether it did or a new surge of adrenaline hit me, I didn’t know. But soon, I was able to move easier. I ran up to a small building with a red roof that must have had monks holed up in it, because gunfire erupted from the windows as I approached. Thankfully, none of it hit me this time. Maybe being the only woman on the island was now an advantage. If the monks could see me, they must be able to figure out not to shoot me.
A horrible vibration shook the ground, and the building began to collapse far too quickly to be structural deficiency. By the time I was thirty yards away, it had crushed onto itself in a way that was all too familiar.
Demetrius. Of course he was here, and he couldn’t be far behind me if he was doing that. I quickened my pace, ignoring the new tiny, bright specks in my gaze that meant I was in danger of passing out. I couldn’t do that. I had to hang on a little longer. The sun was completely blocked by the moon’s shadow now, but in a few minutes, the eclipse would be over and the sun would be shining again.
I ran past what looked like a primitive courtyard, yelling, “Stop the demons behind me!” at the orange-robed monks who looked like they’d taken up tactical positions around it. They couldn’t kill Demetrius, of course, but maybe they could slow him down and whoever he’d brought with him. It pained me to realize that even if they did, those monks were as good as dead. So was I, but although none of us could save our own lives, if we fought hard enough, we could save other peoples’ lives. All I had to do was make it to the spearhead in time.
The pilum suddenly flared with so much power, the force of it caused me to stumble again. This time, I caught myself and didn’t face-plant. Instead, I half staggered, half ran toward a small wood-and-stone structure that I glimpsed through the palm fronds ahead. As if confirming that this was where I needed to go, the pilum shot forward, until it felt less like I was running and more like it was dragging me.
The draw was so potent, I ran right into the door as if I were a cartoon character. Then, head ringing from the impact, I forced the mind-numbing pull of the pilum aside enough to try to turn the small metal doorknob.
It didn’t budge. It was locked, and none of the orange-robed monks were inside to let me in, or around it to open the door. Maddened, I kicked the door with all the seething need that the pilum filled me with to reach what was inside. The wooden door flew inward and landed with a thud, but a new rush of liquid made my sweater stick to my stomach and the top of my jeans feel soaked.
I still didn’t look down. This time, it wasn’t because I knew that seeing the severity of the wound would upset me. It was because whatever warding had been blocking my hallowed sensors from detecting the spearhead was now broken along with the door.
Power slammed into me with the force of an oncoming train. It would have thrown me backward if not for the pilum yanking me forward with equal intensity. Between the two incredible forces, my feet left the ground, and I found myself flying into the small hut much like the door had when I kicked it in.
I landed on the door and immediately shoved it aside. I also shoved aside the brightly colored woven rug that covered most of the floor. The spearhead was beneath the hut’s wooden floor. I could feel it, and that wasn’t only from all my hallowed sensors exploding within me. Now that it had been released from the muting effect of the wards, the power of the freed spearhead briefly caused the entire hut to shake.
It also filled me with a near-demented need to touch it. I dropped the pilum and started to tear at the floorboards with my bare hands until I realized I needed something stronger. These were thick wood planks at least two layers deep, and I was now bleeding too heavily to be able to smash through them with nothing but my fists.
Shelves filled with various items lined the walls of the hut. Most of the objects on them were useless for my needs, like all the pottery pieces and the strange metal globes hanging from chains in the corner nearest me. But in the other corner, I saw a very large thick metal platter. That wouldn’t break easily.
I grabbed it and began slamming it against the floorboards. Wooden shards flew in every direction and the planks dented. Encouraged, I started hammering at the boards with even more fervor. After a minute, the first layer broke. I kept slamming the metal platter down, using all my strength, until the area where I knelt became stained red with my blood.
A deafening bang suddenly filled the room, and I was knocked over. I didn’t understand what had happened until I looked up and saw Demetrius in the open doorway holding a smoking gun. Either my brain was starved of oxygen due to blood loss, or the parts that were still working were being driven by an insane need to get to the spearhead, because I wasn’t at all afraid. Instead, I was furious.
“You shot me? That’s low even for you!”
Demetrius laughed, a cruelly pleased sound that only pissed me off more. “Are those really what you’re choosing for your last words, Davidian?”
He blocked a lot of the doorway and it was still dark from the eclipse, so I didn’t see him behind Demetrius at first. I might not have seen him at all, except those twin red orbs stood out against the midnight-blue backdrop of the sky. But those eyes glowed with the same tapetum lucidum that caused most animal’s eyes to shine, and I knew of only one large, flying creature with eyes that big and red.
Brutus! I had no idea how he’d gotten here, but I couldn’t be happier to see him. I also couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw Brutus pull back his lips in a vengeful grin as he soared right toward Demetrius’s unsuspecting back. Never let it be said that a gargoyle couldn’t hold a grudge with the best of them.
“Why are you smiling?” Demetrius demanded, the smirk wiping from his features.
“You’ll see,” I said, and flattened myself onto the floor.
Demetrius turned—and Brutus slammed right into him. The momentum from his aerial assault took out most of the small hut, too, as demon and gargoyle plowed right through it. Stone, wood and countless pieces of pottery rained down on me, yet I stayed flattened on the floor until the worst of it stopped.
Even those few seconds felt like too long. The spearhead had me in its thrall, demanding that I free it. I began digging through the debris, heedless that I spilled more of my own blood with every strenuous movement. I found the pilum and tucked it next to me, then shoved enough of the hut’s ruined remains aside to find the partial hole I’d dug into the floor. Once I did, I grabbed the heavy metal platter and began slamming it into the floorboards again.
“Ivy!”
I was so engrossed in my task, I barely looked up even though I was surprised to hear Costa’s voice. “Good, you can help,” I told him. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
I caught Costa’s grin out of the corner of my eye. “I came with the gargoyle, of course.” Then Costa’s smile faded as he got a good look at me. “You have blood all over you.”
“I know. Grab something heavy and help me bash into this floor. It’s under here. Only one more layer.”
He touched my back. “I think you need to—”
“I don’t,” I interrupted, knowing what he was about to say. “Any second, one of the other demons could come. Demetrius isn’t alone—you had to have seen that when Brutus flew you over the island. Stop arguing and help me, or find Adrian and help him.”
Costa sifted through the debris until he found a thick metal rod that could have been one of the hut’s former support beams. Then he began slamming it into the wood floor harder than I’d been able to for the past couple minutes. Between both our efforts, we soon broke through the last layer of floorboards. My breath caught as the platter I was using clunked against something long and hard wrapped inside cloths of crimson, purple and gold.
At last, the spearhead! I dropped the platter and reached for it, but Costa grabbed both my hands.
Startled, I looked at him, and a beautiful smile wreathed his features. “Thank you, Davidian.”
My last thought before everything went dark was Demetrius...