style="font-size:15px;"> Iâd just rounded a corner that brought me briefly back onto the beach when something slammed into my legs, knocking me over. I rolled at once, making sure not to stab myself in the process, and was back up when a loud, trumpeting snarl sounded overhead.
Brutus, my pet gargoyle, flew toward me, the dawnâs rays highlighting his large, beastly form in different shades of pink. I wouldâve been relieved to see him, but I was too shocked by the man riding on Brutusâs back.
The minions and demon saw them, too, and at their confused expressions, I remembered that they didnât see a large man on the back of a hulking, grayish-blue gargoyle. Due to Archon glamour, all they saw was an angrily squawking seagull somehow carrying his muscular male passenger, and from the way they cocked their heads, they didnât know what to make of the sight.
âIvy, duck!â the man yelled.
I hit the sand even as I reeled with shock. Only one person in the world could treat the deadly gargoyle like a winged pony, and that was the same person whoâd broken my heart months ago, and then disappeared.
Adrian.
BRUTUS SOARED OVER ME, and Adrian almost grazed my back from how close he came. Seconds later, I heard multiple thumps and a scream. I rolled over in time to see the minions fall to the ground. Only bloody holes remained where their heads had been, and when Brutus whirled back around, his leathery wings were spattered with red.
Then Adrian jumped off Brutus and torpedoed himself onto the snake-armed demon. Two-hundred-plus pounds of pissed-off male slamming into the demon caused him to plow back into the sand. Adrianâs bulk pinned him down, but those coiling serpents surged toward him, gleaming fangs extended to strike.
âWatch out!â I screamed.
Before the first syllable left my lips, Adrian had already grabbed the serpents below their snapping jaws. With a brutal jerk, he ripped their heads off. The demon let out an ear-splitting howl and black blood spurted from where the snakesâ headless bodies still protruded from his wrists.
âAdrian,â the demon spat. âDonât do this! Your fatherââ
âIs dead,â Adrian cut him off, then ripped the demonâs throat out. I caught a glimpse of something pulpy before I turned away, my stomach clenching with disgusted relief. Demon physiology was different, so what Adrian had just torn out was the equivalent of the demonâs heart.
Unfortunately, it wouldnât kill him. Only three weapons in the world could kill demons, and one of them had melded into a tattoo on my arm that now hurt as though it had caught fire.
Adrian climbed off the demon. I stared at the snake heads, which, like the demon, werenât turning to ash because the demon wasnât really dead. He was just unconscious, so he wouldnât disintegrate and neither would his severed serpentine arms, apparently.
âWere they poisonous?â I asked, still trying to recover from everything that had just happened.
Adrian glanced at the heads. âOh yeah,â he said, sounding oddly amused. âDemon poison is the deadliest there is.â
âThen why did you grab the snakes with your bare hands?â
Fear for him sharpened my voice. It took all the self-control I had not to run over and check to make sure that he hadnât been nicked by one of those lethal fangs. I wasnât about to do that, of course. I might be thrilled that he hadnât been killed, but I was still furious with him over other things.
Adrian let out a contemptuous snort. âI know that demon. Vritra is used to everyone running from his snakes, so he never expected me to go right for them. Sometimes, a personâs most powerful weapon is also their greatest weakness.â
My mind flashed to how close those snakes had come to biting Adrian. âHowâs that?â I muttered, trying to ignore the roughly lyrical cadence of his accent that was as unusual as he was.
Adrianâs gaze raked over me as he came closer. âPeople count on their most powerful weapon too much, so when itâs gone, they donât know what to do. The moments before they figure that out is your best chance to kill them.â
A cold-blooded assessment, but his ruthlessness didnât surprise me. It was to be expected since Adrian had been raised by demons, hence the snake-armed demonâs comment about Adrianâs âfather.â Foster father would be a more accurate way to describe Demetrius, the demon whoâd snatched Adrian up when he was only a child. Demetrius wouldnât be snatching up any more children. Iâd seen to that when I killed him.
âWhatâs that?â he asked, suddenly lunging toward me. I jumped back, but Adrian had already grabbed me. His large hands slid along the cardigan covering my arms, and I yanked back, refusing to let him touch me. âThereâs blood on your clothes,â he said, sounding concerned. âDid one of them hurt you?â
âNope,â I lied. Yes, I was still hurt, and that counted for more than my physical injuries. âItâs from the other guy, whoâs probably blown away by now.â
His dark blue gaze narrowed. âAnother minion attacked you?â
Brutus didnât like that idea, either. He stalked over to the ashes of the other two minions, snarling as he clawed them, as if that would make them any more dead. I went over and patted his wing, grateful for the excuse to turn my attention away from Adrian.
âDonât worry, boy,â I crooned. âYou got them.â
His gorilla-like head dipped as he slimed the side of my face with a lick. I hid my wince. If Brutus saw it, his feelings would be hurt. The fearsome two-ton gargoyle could be as sensitive as a golden retriever at times.
âWhere were you, anyway?â I asked, not expecting an answer. Brutus could grunt, chuff, snarl and roar, and while I was getting better at picking up his mood from those, he couldnât speak a single intelligible word.
âWith me,â Adrian replied. âSorry, we ran late today.â
Today? I stared at him, piecing together the subtext. Adrian couldnât be bothered to even send me a text message these past couple months, but heâd been hanging out with my gargoyle on a regular basis? I glared at Brutus. Just you wait until we get home, I silently promised the gargoyle. Somebody wasnât getting any raw chuck roast for breakfast after this!
The snake-armed demonâs skin was starting to blacken and burn under the dawnâs brightening rays. After everything demons had taken from me, Iâll admit that the sight pleased me. If I was just a tad more vindictive, I wouldâve videoed it so that my sister, Jasmine, could enjoy it, too.
âWhat are we going to do with him?â I said, nodding at the demon. âThe beach is empty now, but it wonât be for long.â
Adrianâs reply was to say something to Brutus in what I referred to as Demonish.
