Page 19 of Metatron
“I don’t like this,” Joey murmured as he stared at the lake, a crease between his brows. He’d eschewed the headlamp and instead carried a flashlight, which he holstered on his utility belt.
“Ominous place,” Kyra agreed, her rifle up and out, aimed. Given she never missed, I appreciated it, especially since I’d like her to be watching my back as I went down to the shoreline.
“Metatron came this way.” I pointed to a single feather caught on the stony arch before the ledge and ramp. “I’m going to look for him. Kyra, you wanna stay and cover while Joey and I check out the bottom?”
“That’s a long walk back up,” Joey lamented.
“Bah, I used to do more stairs when I was living off campus during college,” I boasted. He did have a point though. My thighs would be screaming.
“Not sure why we’re doing this. Pretty sure the big angel can handle himself,” Joey’s complaint as he led the way, his sure steps heading down the steep incline that showed no recent signs of use. No shit or skid marks from the imps or anything else for that matter. It seemed kind of odd nothing used the cavern as a lair. Perhaps the strange illumination most likely kept creatures away, or was there something we’d yet to see, something dangerous?
Had Tron encountered it? I saw no sign of a fight as we neared the bottom. No scattering of feathers on the gray and beige mixed sand. No splotches of blood or bodies of any kind. Just a smooth beach.
I didn’t like it. Foreboding chilled me to the marrow. Poor Joey wanted to leave. I could see it in how he kept looking behind us when he wasn’t intent on the lake. He truly thought the threat would come from the water. It seemed most likely. The question being, would I be better off handling it with my rifle or my revolver?
Guess it depended on how fast an aquatic monster could hump itself onto the sand to attack.
The smooth beach stretched around the circumference of the lake without a single ripple or water line left from any waves. The surface of it remained utterly still, and yet it didn’t reflect the ceiling.
“Don’t touch the water,” I advised.
“You couldn’t pay me to get close to it,” Joey swore. “That’s got nasty written all over it.” He’d chosen to pull his sword. He was one of the few who’d already known how to wield one before the whole thing with the angels happened.
Joey and I kept a space between us, while remaining close. Hopefully, Kyra, our sniper, would handle anything before it reached us. Our heads constantly swiveled as we scuffed across the sand.
I was primed for attack, yet I still jumped when a very low voice said, “What a lucky day for me. Who should I eat first?”
Whirling, I beheld a man, of sorts. Sinfully beautiful, with the chiseled features seen on the covers of magazines, his hair a dark tousled mop. His upper body muscled and sexy. His bottom half that of a hairy beast with hind quarters ending in hooves. His forehead pierced by two curling horns. It could be only one thing.
“Demon!” I exclaimed.
“You don’t say,” a dry reply. The demon cocked his head. “How curious you can move. Your friends had no problem obeying me.”
A glance showed Joey frozen in place, his eyes unblinking but looking utterly terrified. Given Kyra didn’t shoot, I could only assume she’d been affected as well. “You can’t fool me with your tricks, demon.”
“How modern of you to judge me by my appearance. You know, I used to be able to live in the world until my heritage became too pronounced to hide.” He stamped a hoof. “My prince and father, Astaroth, commanded I hide until the coming. But it’s been years since my exile. Years of only rare companionship. My children aren’t very good at bringing me live specimens.”
“Your children?”
“Don’t act so surprised. You met my chaos-filled progeny before you took their lives. A good thing I’m fertile and they grow so fast.”
“Your monster-making days are over, demon,” I swore.
“Really? And who is going to kill me? You?” His lips curled, and his pupils suddenly went vertical.
When he blinked sideways, I took a step back and aimed my revolver, which, for some reason, made him smile much too widely for my liking.
“Go ahead. Shoot.” He held out his arms. “I dare you.”
Despite dreading the reason why he gave me permission, I pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
Click. Click. My dry firing ended up drowned by booming laughter. “Humans never learn. Which is why I don’t understand how you can all be so dumb and yet, somehow, you always manage to win. But not for much longer.” The demon paused to glance overhead. “Hell is coming at last.”
“And you think they’ll want someone defective like you?” Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that aloud.
His expression turned stormy. “I am not broken.”
“Says the demon whose daddy banished him to a cave. I’ll wager you barely rank above an imp.”