The Fractured Few by Elizabeth J. Brown

Author:Elizabeth J. Brown [Brown, Elizabeth J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

THE DOOR TO THE crate slammed into the ground.

Mundy’s men braced.

Heimerich’s breath caught.

Banning’s adrenaline spiked.

This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. The moment I get my life back.

Blinding white light blazed along the length of the grappling poles. Banning blinked away the imprint of the runes on his sight and watched as the creature took a measured step forward.

Beneath thick black fur, its claws flexed and gave a penetrating screech as they scraped on the crate door. But that was not what held Banning’s attention. It was the beast’s white head. A marvel of evolution, so stark in contrast to its dark pelt, it could easily be mistaken for exposed skull. Only a trained eye would be able to distinguish the contour of muscle, the ridge of tendons beneath the taut flesh, but that close, it would be the last thing they ever saw.

‘Delightful.’ Banning moved forward.

The slits of the creature’s nostrils flared, inhaling his scent. It blinked, its eyelids folding back languidly over molten halos. Banning wasn’t fooled. There was intelligence there. Alert. Calculating. It was watching him. Tracking his every movement. Gauging the distance between them.

The slight flex of its claws was the only warning before the creature pounced, but it was warning enough.

Banning threw up a shield, drawing energy from the earth around him. Green light flared bright as the demon ploughed into it, dragging Mundy’s two men along for the ride.

Banning grunted, the impact knocking him back a good few inches. The beast snapped its jaws at him, thick strands of drool flying from its mouth. The barrier held, but did little to mask the foetid stench of the creature’s breath or the musky smell of its fur. Flashes of light sparked from the collar around its neck, the wards doing little to subdue it. What would it be capable of if they weren’t there at all?

Realising that it was getting nowhere, the creature stopped its assault, lowering its head to stare at Banning through the translucent shield. The breath from its nostrils swirled in thin white wisps. Mundy’s men rose to their feet, looking pale.

With a taunting smirk, Banning let the shield drop.

The beast lunged. Before its teeth could get a purchase around his neck, Banning jabbed his fist into its jaw. His green blade of energy sprang into life. The creature roared, making a deafening explosion of sound that sent shockwaves across Banning’s body. It reeled back, and the sudden change in direction wrenched Mundy’s men violently from their feet once more.

Sweat trickled down Banning’s face. He stood, chest heaving, his eyes locked on the beast, as it pushed itself back up. A wide circle of glistening frost spread out from his feet.

The beast turned its head to regard him. A low growl rumbled through its chest. Molten hatred glowed from the hollows of its skull-like head, but it did not attack.

Banning adjusted his stance. Frozen mud cracked away from his shoes. He waited. Ignoring the pounding of his heart. Ignoring

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