His glance showed Loki standing a few feet away, his back to Jake, his legs tensed and his belly slung low to the ground, snarling. It didn’t appear as if the Nightshade was afraid of the dog in any way, though Loki must have hurt it since the creature stood with its right side forward, favoring its left. From where he stood Jake could see that the beast’s left wing hung limply at its side, and he wondered if that was what he had heard snap when the creature had been forced against the wall. Was it really that fragile?
As he watched, Loki dashed in at the beast, keeping low, snapping at its legs the way a wolf will worry the legs of a deer. Every time he would rush in, the creature’s claw would lash out in a vicious strike. Jake knew that if the beast managed to connect with one of those blows, Loki would die.
Jake had to find a weapon before that happened.
Had to.
But where?
The only objects in view where those few things he had brought with him, along with several rotting beams that had broken away from the room’s walls. The gun had proved useless and the short pocketknife he always carried would be as effective as throwing stones.
A sharp squeal sounded from behind him, and Jake knew he was about run out of time. The beast had scored a blow, and it was just a matter of time before Loki jinked when he should have jagged and ended up a bloody ball of fur on the floor.
Jake’s gaze fell on the Coleman lantern and he knew he’d found what he needed.
Swerving into the drive, Damon slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid smashing into the back of Jake’s Jeep. Before the car had even come to a full stop Sam was out the door, running over to his friend’s vehicle. Katelynn and Damon joined him there a second later.
A great, gaping hole could be seen in the Jeep’s windshield. Shattered glass covered the hood as if something had burst free from the inside.
Some of the shards were edged with drying blood.
Without a word Damon walked back to the Bronco and opened the back, removing the rifle from the rack he kept there. He chambered a round, and the sound was strangely loud in the still morning air.
He smiled grimly.
'Let’s go,' he said.
The lantern stood alone on the other side of the room near the doorway through which he’d entered. Jake dragged himself across the room, scooping up the pistol as he went by, ignoring the searing flash of pain that radiated out from his injured leg. With the gun in hand, he reached the opposite wall and picked up the lantern.
A glance across the room told him he didn’t have much time. Loki was still harrying the beast, barking up a storm to confuse it, but his motions were slower, weaker, and with each attack he came that much closer to the beast’s claws. It would only be a matter of time before another blow connected. Jake could see a wide wound in Loki’s flank where the first blow had struck, and the brilliant red of the dog’s blood was shocking against the pure white of his fur. He would need extensive care at the hands of a good vet if they got out of this alive.
When they got out of this alive, Jake corrected himself.
With his right hand he twisted the fuel knob on the lantern, turning the gas up as high as it would go, then yelled to get the Nightshade’s attention.
'Hey asshole! Over here!'
For just an instant, the creature took its eyes off of Loki and looked at Jake.
That was all the two of them needed.
With a snarl, Loki dashed in under the reach of the beast’s deadly claws and sank his teeth into the soft underside of the creature’s knee, severing the muscles there as neatly as if it had been done with a knife, pulling the beast down and off of its feet. It crashed to the floor. At the same time, Jake hurled the lantern at its head as hard as he could.
The Coleman smashed into Moloch’s shoulder just as its arm came up and around to brace its fall, trapping the flaming lantern between wing and chest.
The Nightshade let out a howl of pain and anger.
Damon, Sam and Katelynn dashed up the stairs and into the house. From high above, the sounds of the conflict drifted down to greet them, and Damon wasted no time rushing up the stairs in hot pursuit.
'Come on!' Damon called to the others as he reached the final staircase, but there had been no need, for Katelynn and Sam were right on his heels.
At that moment, a shot rang out from above.
Once the beast collapsed onto the lantern, Jake called out to Loki to heel. At once the dog stopped his attack and backed away, snarling all the while, clearly unhappy but obeying his master, as always.
Jake loved him for it.
Moloch used his good wing to push himself partially off the floor, his injured arm and leg hanging limply at his side. As he rose, Jake could see the lantern on the floor beneath him, the beast’s weight had smashed the glass but hadn’t smothered the flame.
As Moloch roared out his challenge, he called on his power, ordering his tissues to begin healing the ravaged bone and muscle.
In that moment of hesitation, Jake saw his chance and took it.
Raising the pistol in his right hand, he took aim on the cylinder of gas that fed the lantern and fired.
The Sheriff entered the garret ahead of the others and what he saw there froze him in his tracks.
A great hulking beast was slowly dragging itself to its feet on the other side of the room, and as Damon stopped in the entryway, it turned its yellow eyes on him and snarled in rage. The intelligence and hatred in those eyes caused the blood to freeze in Damon’s veins. It was clear the thing was injured, yet even as he watched, it seemed to be gathering strength, using one of its long, winged arms to push itself up off the floor and into a semi- erect position.
Off to Damon’s right, Jake Caruso lay on the floor with his arm outstretched and pointing a pistol at the beast. Jake was slumped against the wall, one leg twisted at a peculiar angle. Between him and the beast crouched a dog, torn and bloody from the fight but still in the game.
The sudden sound of the Jake’s second shot as Jake fired made Damon jump.
Jake stared in dismay as the shot went wide, the recoil pulling the gun to the left so that the bullet slammed into the wood floor, barely audible over Moloch’s snarls of anger.
The beast was slowly getting up, moving away from the lantern.
Jake couldn’t let that happen!
He fired again, peripherally aware of movement on his left but ignoring it, concentrating on getting the shot where he wanted it, praying for it to connect before the beast got too far away. He gripped the butt of the gun as tightly as he could to prevent as much drift as possible; praying, praying, needing the shot to be true, knowing if it wasn’t he might not get another chance.
His second shot went wild as well.
Oh, Jesus! he thought, watching in horror as the beast climbed to its feet, the damage Loki had done to its hamstring now completely healed so it could support itself on both legs, its wing slowly knitting itself back together as well.
Jake realized that in less than a minute it would be completely healed.
Suddenly other shots rang out in the room, and Jake watched in awe as the power of the impact drove the beast right back down to its knees, huge chunks of flesh ripping out of the side of its head and shoulder, the gun obviously in the hands of someone who knew how to use it, the sound of the shots echoing around the walls of the small chamber.
Jake twisted to see the Sheriff, Katelynn, and Sam framed in the doorway, the former pointing a very large
