course, maybe the Kurjans did have a presence in the desert. She turned toward the front. “Are you two armed?”
“Of course,” the pilot yelled. “Get ready to hit.”
Outside the window, the red of the desert grew larger and closer.
“I’m going to put down as close to the rock formations as possible,” the pilot yelled over the alarm. “Head for shelter.” He slammed the door shut.
“If we survive,” Janie muttered, her face devoid of color. She reached out to hold Brenna’s hand. “Is the safety on the gun?”
“Yes.” Brenna tightened her hold.
The plane tilted, and she bit back a scream.
The refrigerator opened, and drinks spilled out. A beer bottle shattered, sending liquid spraying.
Brenna eyed Janie, her stomach tightening. The woman was human and wouldn’t survive most injuries a witch could heal from. “Janie, press your cheek against your knees.” Maybe there was some way Brenna could shield Janie from injury. At least she could block her niece from any projectiles.
Janie nodded and dropped into the crash position.
The alarm suddenly cut off. Instant silence filled the cabin. The first bump was gentle, and Brenna began to relax.
Then the plane slid sideways, spinning around. She screamed, dropping her face to her legs. Janie’s hand tightened on hers. Momentum slapped her cheek against the armrest.
Something exploded outside, and heat flared through the cabin.
Metal cracked, thundering in protest. The plane rocked, lifting up and slamming back down. A bottle hit Brenna in the arm, slicing her skin. Unfastening her seat belt, she moved to cover Janie from harm.
The plane pitched, and she flew into the woman. The chair ripped from the floor, sending them flying into the door of the cockpit. They hit the ground with a loud thump.
Then everything stopped. No sound, no movement . . . only the smell of smoke. Brenna lifted herself off Janie, running her hands along her niece’s limbs. “Are you all right?”
“No.” Janie shoved hair off her face. “Shit, no. You?”
“No.” At least they weren’t dead. Brenna unbuckled Janie’s belt. “We have to move fast.”
Gunfire echoed, and a cry of pain filtered under the cockpit door. Panic heated Brenna’s lungs. Her eyes met Janie’s wide ones. She tilted her head toward the knife, and Janie nodded.
Brenna released the safety on the gun and stood to face the door. Inching forward, she unhinged the lock. “Stay behind me.” Taking up a firing stance, she slowly toed the door open.
A full contingent of demon soldiers faced the doorway, guns out. Crap. “Hide in the bedroom, Janie.” Brenna grabbed for the door and slammed it shut. The metal was instantly ripped out of her hands to go spiraling into a series of red rocks.
The closest demon smiled. Power cascaded around him, but he held it in check. “Come out of the plane, please.”
Janie inched behind Brenna toward the bedroom.
“Both of you,” the demon said. “I’d rather not rip into your brains, but I will if you don’t move. Now.”
Brenna took a deep breath, eyeing the squad of five. She couldn’t take all of them. So her hands rose. “I’m the only one in here.”
Images of dead animals shot into her head followed by a slash of agony. She bit her lip. Janie hissed in pain behind her, the knife clattering to the ground. The images and pain dissipated.
The demon shook his head. “That was a warning. Come out, both of you, now.”
“Fine.” Brenna paused long enough for Janie to reclaim the knife and hide it. “We’re coming out.” She allowed the gun to rotate on her finger harmlessly, and the first demon took it.
The guy in charge quickly bound her hands along with Janie’s, leading them through a series of rock formations. Brenna yanked back. “Our pilots.”
The demon shoved her back into motion. “Your pilots didn’t make it.”
Nausea rose from her belly. She hadn’t even asked the names of the two witch pilots. Her people were dead because of her. “I’m going to cut off your head myself.”
The demon chuckled. “I’ve heard good things about witches in bed . . . that you’re hotter than feline tigresses.”
Yeah, but she’d been mated. If any other male touched her besides Jase, he’d blow up with a fierce allergic reaction. “Sounds like a date, handsome. Why don’t we get to it right now?”
He leaned in and smelled her. “Oh my. Mated a vampire, did we?” He tsked his tongue. “Now why would I keep you alive?”
“You tell me. You brought down my plane.” She glanced behind her to see Janie doggedly moving along.
“I’m following orders, witch. You mean less to me than the dirt over there.” The demon led them around another group of rocks to waiting helicopters. Brenna stopped short. The demon laughed. “You didn’t think we brought your plane down where we planned to keep you, right?” He grabbed her hair and dragged her to the closest bird, tossing her in.
Brenna scrambled over to the edge as Janie landed next to her. How in the hell were they going to get out of this one?
She eyed Janie, who glanced down at her boot. Okay. Their hands were tied, but they had a knife.
She nodded. Time to plan.
Jase winced as his rib snapped back into place. He sat, leaning against the wall of his training building, trying to heal.
Dage groaned as his nose re-formed. “Not the face.”
Jase grinned. “Your nose looks like a pancake.”
The cartilage slowly slid back into alignment. “Not now.”
Jase sucked air into his healing lungs. “I’m sorry about everything.”
“Me, too.” The king rolled his neck. “I fully plan on taking out the demons, just so you know. But when we go in, we go in fast and smart. No more losses.”
Jase nodded. His brother was right. “I understand.”
A bone cracked, and Dage winced. “Does Kane think he got the trigger in your brain?”
“Yes.” Well, Kane said he’d hoped—but hope was all they had.
“At least now I understand why they let me live.”
Dage nodded. “Yeah. Though there’s a lot of chatter that Willa wants you back. Sounds like a psycho bitch.”
“She is.” Jase grimaced as blood slid down his throat. “She killed humans to give me blood—making me think we were allies. I didn’t know about the human women until I’d been drinking for weeks.”
Dage shook his head. “That’s twisted.”
“Yeah. She tried to convince me that mating her would save us both.” He shivered and fought down nausea. “I considered it.” The confession almost made him puke.
“But you didn’t go through with it. Thank God.” Dage curled his lip. “I’d hate to have to kill one of my brothers’ mates.”
“She won’t stop coming.” Jase sent healing cells to the back of his left eyeball. “The woman is obsessed and pure evil. If Suri hadn’t nearly cut off my head and buried me, she would’ve hidden me forever.” And the woman had a very loyal set of guards. Maybe someday she’d take down her brother and lead the demons.
“The fact that the demons attacked the Kurjan boat the other night pleases me.” Dage cracked his knuckles. “I’m not pleased Garrett was the prize, but I like our enemies turning on each other.”
“That beats them becoming allies,” Jase said.
“The demons will never ally with the Kurjans.” Dage shook his head. “But they usually leave each other alone. Now, Kalin will retaliate against the demons—he has to.”
“So we sit it out and let them fight?” Jase frowned.
