The Dummy's Finale

18

In Which Amy Kramer Finds A Girl

Slappy became aware of a certain presence, the stench of decay and musty dampness, and snarled, his body dropping into a defensive crouch automatically as he maneuvered himself in front of Amy. How dare he so blatantly waltz into the house that was so clearly another predator's? He knew the boy was stupid but suicidal had never crossed his mind.

"Ah, you smell that?" Wally asked with a laugh, resetting his broke noise with a wet crunch and scrunching up his face.

Amy frowned. "Smell what? I don't—" she started, confused and annoyed, but Wally interrupted her.

"Ray Thurston. He's downstairs, searching for the girl who can help him find his Amanda, the only person to escape him." Wally grinned maliciously, licking away the blood from his teeth and making a big theatrics about it. Amy shuddered, stepping closer to Slappy.

The Thurston boy must have had a death wish. The warning growl that had rumbled through Slappy's chest got louder, loud enough that he knew Thurston could hear him. Amy's hand on his back, steadying herself, trembled against his skin but he couldn't pull his eyes away from the door.

It creaked open slowly, and in spilled first the smoke, low and heavy and hot against his ankles, and then Ray. His eyes, normally so pale it looked like arctic waters, were blood-red as he crept close, his body lined with tension. "Just allow me to use her, and I'll be on my way," he said in a slow voice, even as his eyes never left Amy.

Amy shuddered.

"Don't—touch—her. If you think I'll let you walk out with her, you're sadly mistaken," Slappy hissed, his voice coming between his lips in a throaty, vicious growl.

Ray glanced at him, raised a blond brow, and that was all it took.

Slappy lunged, forgetting about Wally and Amy, forgetting about how his body protested and screamed with the severity of his wounds; all he focused on was destroying the threat to Amy.

While the succubus certainly had the height advantage and succubus powers to help him, Slappy was older and therefor more versed in demon fights. He wasn't above underhanded tactics. He'd lived with Wally for far too long.

But he couldn't concentrate. All he could think of was Amy, hovering on the outskirts of his peripheral, glued to wall, and he could see Wally, crawling on broken arms and a shattered leg easily, and advancing towards her.

"No!" The scream wasn't his but Ray's, piercing the noise of the fight, and both demons turned to see Wally lunging at Amy.

Amy's yelp dissipated into a harsh ringing as light flooded the room, throwing all three demons backwards but only Slappy remained on his feet, falling on all fours to crawl to her. It felt like a gust of wind ripped across his skin, tearing lines of lacerations that bled profusely, stinging his eyes, making it hard to breathe but he pushed past the burning agony to get to her.

The minute he closed a trembling hand around her ankle, the noise vanished with a barely discernible pop of pressure in his ears and the light was sucked back into her like a vortex of water. Ignoring his wounds that throbbed and the overwhelming urge to vomit all of his major organs, he forced himself to his feet, sliding bloodied hands up her legs, settling at the dip of her waist.

Her wild, bloodshot eyes met his; her blood vessels in them had burst. A smear of red blood streaked from her nose and down her lip but, from as far as he could tell, she wasn't actively bleeding (and believe him, he'd been around Amy and her sister, and he had a keen sense of smell, and things got awkward).

A low moan made him tense, shielding her with his body, and his keen eyes scanned for more threats.

"Oh," Amy gasped in a breathless voice, her fingers digging in before she shoved unceremoniously past him, bringing his attention to the curled-up figure lying on the floor. Long, dark curls spilled around the figure as Amy knelt at their side, shaking them gently.

Slappy growled to himself, stalking forward to grab Amy only to be stopped by Ray's astonished croak.

"Amanda."

The figure seemed to jolt awake, pushing away Amy and looking around wildly. The girl was a bit stocky with choppy dark hair and smudged glasses perched precariously on her nose. "What happened? Where the hell am I? Josh, if this is a joke—"

"It's not a joke, Amanda," Ray whispered, gliding closer, completely oblivious to his tattered clothes and bleeding ears. "You're here. You're here. How did you do that?" He addressed Amy directly, even as he kept his eyes on Amanda.

Amy didn't reply, only shook her head sharply, and Slappy came to stand at her side.

"I believe it's the life bond that is the culprit. You focus so hard on one person and, since you have both his blood and magic in you, voila! The object of your thoughts is there with you, in the flesh," Wally said calmly.

Ray spoke up. "A life bond is the strongest type of ritual a demon can perform."

And now we're bound together forever, Slappy thought, taking in the sight of his brother, the succubus, the human he was obsessed with, and his life-bound mate.

Amy who was fifteen and still had baby-fat and her entire life ahead of her; Amy who would never have her first kiss, would never fall in love with another human; Amy whose life he ruined.

Because of a little exchange of blood to keep her from dying.