Love and Demons by J.L. Oiler

demons from the inworld. That in itself was bad, but the
rumor centered on the fact it came from the ground ashes of other demons. Thinking
on that bit of information for a moment, Barak grumbled in realization. Without
a miracle, their clan never stood a chance, even with him finding his Zi mate.
    What seemed like several
hours passed with Barak pacing about their cage, wallowing in self- blame. "Rest and save your strength," Adrik said,
placing his hand on his commander and friend's shoulder. "Outerplane has a
saying that it is not over until the bat woman springs. I do not see springing."
    Barak had to chuckle at
his friend's mistake, but rather than correct him, he sat down against the
heavy bars to rest.
    A loud crash and shouting
echoed from the floor above, just before a blood-curdling roar split the air.
The door at the top of the stairs bust apart, showering the floor with wooden
splinters, as a large Obsidian demon was propelled through it and crashed to
the ground at the foot of their prison. The fallen male attempted to struggle
back to his feet, only to have a female dressed in the military uniform of this
plane jumped from the top stair and landed on his chest, driving the blade of a
large knife through his heart.
    Using the leg of her pants,
she wiped the dark blood from her blade and placed it into a sheath at her side
before standing and giving them a slow, ponderous look. "Hey, Kat, I think
I found your friends. If you're done playing patty cake with that psycho-bitch,
we should probably get them out of this cage!" the female yelled before she
stared for a long moment at Adrik, who had moved to the front and stared back
at her.
    ****
    Katrina held the witch by
the hair, her knees against her chest pinning the hissing woman to the floor.
When they arrived at the run-down building, she had the feeling they were in
for a fight. However, she never imagined they would find not only a crazed and
angry witch, but also three large, black demons with bad attitudes, none of
which intended to give up the captives they held.
    It had been a tense few
minutes when the demons sprang at them, swiping and snapping with razor sharp claws
and teeth. Luckily for them, male demons, like human men, tended to
underestimate a woman. In the end, a few well-placed roundhouses, a strike or
two with a cast iron skillet, and the sharp-edged blade Sara had on her side,
vanquished the bastards in short order. Which left only one person to deal with
— the witch. The woman made a dash for the back door once she realized they
were going to lose, and ran headlong into Herron, who sent her sprawling across
the floor with a hard push. She understood the Zironet rule about hitting
women, though she was certain if one was attempting to kill you, all bets
should be off. Either way, when the witch tried to spring back up, Kat had been
there to make certain she didn't get far.
    Staring at the spitting
female who struggled beneath her, Katrina weighed her options. If she killed
the witch and embodied her powers, she would make certain the Zironet could
remain in the outer plane to search for their mates, thus saving the clan. However,
if she did so, that would mean giving up not only her job as an officer, but
also losing Barak when she could not journey across the portal with him. In the
end, there could be only one real choice.
    Grabbing a decorative
dagger nearby on the floor, Kat yelled back to Sara who'd called that she found
Barak and the others. "I'll be there in a second. There's something I have
to do first."

Chapter Eleven
     
    Slicing through the chest
of the witch, she pierced her heart and felt the rush of white-hot energy
surround her. The small hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge and goose
bumps covered her clammy flesh.
    "Do you accept me into thee and invoke thy power?" The whisper echoed in her mind, soft
like the flutter of butterfly wings.
    "I accept you into
me as part of what I will become. I, as your host, granted the