you could harm me, mortal.”
Kwon let his rage fill him. “I won’t die easily.”
“But you will die.” It moved then, so fast, that Kwon barely had a chance to register it. A single misshapen claw reached out across the darkness and found his left forearm. Thick-yellowed nails scored his flesh, drawing blood. Kwon could smell the abrupt snap of copper tang in the air.
My blood, he thought.
He ducked and came inside, lashing out with a front kick at the juncture of the demon’s legs. Did demons have balls, he wondered as the kick sank into the crotch.
Apparently not. It did little to affect him.
A throaty laugh filled the air. “Pitiful.”
Kwon redoubled his attack, launching a roundhouse kick that he used to wind momentum up and then arc a back spinning hook kick that landed his heel flush on the side of the demon’s mouth. A sharp crack sounded and a bit of gore shot out of the demon’s mouth.
A tooth?
Kwon grinned. There! He’d managed to score a hit.
But the demon merely moved closer, arms dragging on the ground until they shot out straight at Kwon.
Too many, he thought. He blocked the right but the left landed hard in his solar plexus. Wind rushed out of him. He gasped.
Retched as the foul smell swept over him.
Felt one of the demon’s hands lift him up into the air. Branches above him scraped at his head. Kwon struggled to kick and punch his way free as the demon’s fingers closed around his midsection.
Kwon’s thoughts came at him fast now. How big were his fingers that they could wrap around his midsection? He couldn’t fathom it.
The demon laughed.
And brought Kwon’s face close to its own. Kwon tried to pull away. He could see the grimy teeth that looked like they were rotting out of their bloody stumps. The mouth suddenly seemed enormous.
The demon brought him eye level and considered him. “Your time is now at an end, mortal.”
Kwon kicked out again, catching him in the mouth. He felt a tooth bite through the fabric of his jeans and into the soft flesh of his foot. He screamed.
Prayed it would be enough to wake someone — anyone up.
“They will not awaken.” The demon pulled him closer. “And neither will you. Ever again.”
Kwon felt himself hoisted skyward again. There was a rush and then his stomach exploded as the demon’s claws bore their way into his intestines, shredding and disemboweling him in an awful rush of blood, feces, and organs.
Kwon screamed once more.
But only for a moment.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Curran watched the sunlight filter through the white lace curtains in the small bedroom where he and Lauren had shared a blissful few hours of passion. Outside the window, the winds had died down. The branches had stopped beating against the glass.
And nestled in the crook of his arm, Lauren slept. She breathed easily, the warmth of her body radiating out from her. Each time she breathed, Curran could feel the hairs along his arms lift and fall in time to the rise and fall of her chest.
He sighed.
Content at last.
He risked a look down at the beauty next to him. Everything about her seemed so incredibly perfect. Curran squeezed her into him a bit more. What have I don to be this lucky?
He grinned. If Kwon could see me now. I owe that guy a drink. Hell, I’ll buy a round for everyone.
Curran’s eyes felt drawn to the sun dawning outside. It seemed like this was the first morning in over a week that he’d woken up to something besides rain and wind. It wasn’t, of course, but the abundance of wind and cold and rain had almost drowned out his memories of warm weather.
Not today. The sunlight spoke of promise. A new beginning.
Curran nodded, mostly to himself. It was a new day. And it was time to make sure that the beauty of the sun had a chance to shine on earth for a long time to come.
That meant dealing with the Soul Eater.
His jaw hardened.
His muscles flexed a bit.
Time to take care of Darius.
Lauren shifted, feeling his small motions. She turned over, her breasts brushing against his skin. Curran’s nerves responded by firing off a volley of impulses. Not all of them went to his brain.
She smiled. Aware. “Good morning.”
He kissed her on the lips. “Hi.”
She came up on his chest, burying her face in his neck. He felt her hair and the warmth of her hands. He hugged her.
“Some night.”
Curran nodded. “That might be the biggest understatement of the century.”
“The century just started. There’s still time to find a new winner.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s past seven?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to relieve Kwon at seven?”
“I did. But I’m not concerned about the time.”
She lifted herself up, breasts draped over him. “No?”
Curran stared. “It was his idea that I come over here last night. I asked him if he minded me getting over there a little later today. He didn’t.”
Lauren’s hands found their way around his neck. She pulled his chin up so their eyes met. “I like a man who looks at me when he’s talking.”
Curran smiled. “You didn’t exactly make it easy to choose.”
Her hands snaked down his chest, tracing useless patterns in his hair. A few inches lower and she smiled. “I guess I did make it hard on you.”
Curran closed his eyes. “This is the best morning of my life.”
She kissed him on his neck, fingers still busy elsewhere. “Compliments at such an early hour?”
“It seemed appropriate.”
She moved off to his side, suddenly breaking the physicality of the moment. He glanced at her. “What’s wrong?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Did I do something?”
She shook her head. “No.” She turned toward the windows. “Sun. At last.”
“Nice to see it again, huh?”
She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. “This isn’t exactly how I pictured spending my time in the house of a priest.”
“Well, I certainly feel reborn.” Curran eased out of bed and began sliding into his clothes.
Lauren glanced at him. “Don’t make light of the situation, Steve.”
“I’m not.” He sat down next to her. “Lauren, I had an absolutely incredible time with you. If it was up to me, I’d spend every moment of my life with you like that.”
She tried to smile but it didn’t take. “I suppose we can’t live our lives that selfishly, huh?”
