Jaz Parks 5 - One More Bite

had what he wanted.

“Brude, call off your men!” I yelled.

He stood on the opposite side of the glade, having found a stump from which to survey his troops. He eyed me like I’d just been led to the sales block. What a nice piece of horseflesh she is, said his expression. So shiny and full of spunk. “This creature must die as well,” he said. “Unless you would like to enter into another agreement with me.”

“Jasmine!” Vayl didn’t even glance my way. How could he while working with Albert to fend off twelve of the most bulletproof fighters in the multiverse? But his tone made it clear I’d better damn well listen up. “If you make one deal with this scum, you and I are through!”

“What the hell kind of ultimatum is that?” I demanded. Tightening my grip on the hybrid blade I’d borrowed, I mowed into the back of the line, hacking heads and torsos like they were nothing more than jungle overgrowth, blocking my path to the real showdown.

In retrospect, it’s probably good that Iona borrowed a Scidairan blade and came along for the ride, because I was so furious I paid no attention to anything or anyone beside me. I did hear her panting, her weapon clanging on the misses and hissing on the hits, so I’m sure she saved my life numerous times. But my mind was on that goddamned vampire.

I swung the blade and beheaded a bald shade dressed like a Nazi, clearing my view so I could see Vayl’s pale, frost-rimmed face. I stuck the axe in the spine of my next victim, who went to his knees. When he didn’t move out of my way fast enough, I planted my foot in his back, finding myself mildly amazed when I met actual resistance, and pushed. He fell over and I moved forward again, yelling, “Since we hooked up, I’ve been a stellar girlfriend! Hell, I haven’t even had impure thoughts about my neighbor who looks just like Jason Statham. So where do you get off threatening to dump me? Especially when this whole deal was your idea!”

By now only a couple of fighters stood between Vayl and me. But the battleground had become no less dangerous, because I’d totally lost my temper and little fireballs had begun to fall from the sky. “Now look what you made me do!”

“To me!” Brude called. His remaining forces, some frostbitten, some burning, ran to his side. He glared at me. “This is not over!” he bellowed. “I am not conceding. I only leave the field because I am called by a master I cannot refuse. Do not forget—you owe me a boon!”

“Bullshit!” I yelled. “You killed, like, eight Scidairans. If I know anything about the rules of interplaner battle, and I do, that gives you leave to recruit them. Count that as your payment and get the fuck outta here!”

With a final cry of outrage he snapped out of sight, taking his entourage with him.

Vayl looked into my eyes. “Your language is quite shocking. But I love the way you fight.”

“I’m still pissed at you!”

“I know. And I find it incredibly titillating.”

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I snorted and laughed at the same time. “Vayl, really, you can’t say that word and believe people will take you seriously.”

Vayl shrugged his indifference to people’s opinions as he asked, “Any guesses as to where Brude has run off to?”

“I think he’s supposed to be Enforcing for Lucifer, whatever that entails. This other gig”—I gestured to the clearing, now littered with Scidairan corpses—“is just a part-time thing.”

“Jasmine?” Albert had dropped Vayl’s cane to his side. He was looking around the battlefield, his eyes skating past the bodies to the flaming balls of muck that had dropped in our general area. “Did you really do that?”

“I  .  .  .  uh  .  .  .”

“And, Vayl? How is it that you can control the weather? Did Bergman make you some sort of portable snow machine?”

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s it. Snow. Sleet. Fire. It’s all right here.” I patted Vayl’s breast pocket, which remained agonizingly flat.

Iona stepped up, supporting a weeping Viv. “Samos is probably at Clava Cairns by now,” she reminded us. “I’ve been called by my circle to prevent Floraidh from resurrecting him. And it seems like you’re of the same mind. I suspected as much when you cleared our room yesterday, but of course I couldn’t reveal myself to you in case I was wrong. So what do you say? Shall we join forces?”

My reaction really pissed Viv off. She began signing like she’d much rather hit me. Iona said, “Viv wants to know how you could possibly smile at a time like this.”

“Because Floraidh all but told us we couldn’t beat her without a spell caster.” I nodded at her. “And now we have one.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

My guess is that when confronting your newly risen nemesis who is now trying to cement his remains into a stolen body, your best approach should probably involve some form of stealth. Unfortunately our crew included an untrained civilian, a distracted witch, a rickety old man, and an excited malamute.

Jack hardly ever barked. Strangers remarked on his polite behavior. In the park he refused to woof at bikers, other dogs, or even little kids chasing bright red balls. But now I couldn’t get the mutt to shut up!

He sounded a little like a sinus-infected bear as he vocalized. Along the lines of, “Roo-roo, we’re coming after you-poo!”

I wiggled his lead. “Jack! What the hell? Where were you when that wild-eyed Bible thumper came to the door trying to save my soul?” He threw a furry grin over his shoulder and launched into a second verse.

I said, “Swear to God, dog, if this doesn’t turn out well I’m buying you generic food for the next month!”

We stood at the edge of the woods, staring out at Clava Cairns. The Scidairans’ fire had sputtered out, but the