Demon Squad 7: Exit Wounds Read Online Free Page B

resounding in the cramped quarters.
    “Frank!”
    I heard Karra’s warning just before I felt jagged teeth sink into my forearm. There was a dull, resonating thump as the creature’s mouth closed, and I didn’t have to see the knots welling alongside its jawline to know it had locked onto the bone. I cursed and stumbled backward as the other monkeys pushed for the hole. Another seized on my thigh, but Karra killed it before it even noticed it was dead. Her blade flashed past me, silver on the way down, crimson on the way out. The mini-monkey’s eyes burst wide and rolled back, gold obscuring the tiny dots of black that had swum inside just seconds before.
    Karra stabbed the one locked on my arm. It bit down harder as the blade slid into its temple, and I heard a cruel snap just before she withdrew the sword from its sagging head. I had an instant to wonder what the sound was when pain steamrolled its way up my captured limb and into my shoulder, stinging my eyes. Just my luck, it had been my arm breaking and not the bastard’s not-so-midget teeth.
    I hissed and dropped to my knees, tugging at the dead monkey head with my free hand, ripping it loose of my arm with a shout. Karra cleared some space between me and the simian onslaught, forcing the rest to slow or be cut down. Katon and Veronica closed ranks right then to maintain the integrity of our makeshift barrier. I clenched my teeth and let Karra help me to my feet, her eyes never leaving the enemy. She growled at them, brandishing her steel. A reedy, short squee , from the forest above, seemed to reinforce her sentiment.
    “What the fuck was that?” I asked, and no one seemed in a rush to answer, but there concerned faces all around.
    The monkeys’ momentum stalled at the sound, and I could almost see the morale break across their faces, torn between us and whatever had made the noise up top. Whatever it was, they didn’t seem pleased to hear it. Their guttural grunts and barks metamorphosed into excited hoots, and then the ranks broke, a scattering of marbles from a spilled bag. They scrambled over one another, showing us their puckered little monkey asses while they made for the exit. A few seconds later they were gone with only the serenade of their fleeing voices echoing in the distance.
    Katon scrambled across the bodies and peered over the crevice edge, surveying the trees.
    “You see anything?”
    He dropped down after a long moment of intense silence, waving the all clear.
    I slumped to the ground as soon as he did. Last thing we needed was something else crawling up our butts. “That was some serious—”
    “Whatever you do, Frank,” Katon interrupted, “do not make a monkey business joke.” He waggled a finger at me.
    “Are barrels off limits? What about Yahoos?”
    He growled.
    “Monnnkkkkeeeeyyy peeeeeee, monnnnkkkeeeeyyy doooooo doooo.”
    Katon’s glare went full darkness, and I pointed at Chatterbox. “How come he gets to make jokes and I don’t?”
    The enforcer shook his head and marched off, dragging broken monkey bits behind him.
    “He’s going to kill you one day,” Veronica said as she stepped past me, going to help Katon.
    “Probably.” After giving Karra a once over to make sure she was okay, I looked back to Rala, Rahim still hovering at her side. “You all right, short stuff?” She was a good kid, and I really didn’t want to hurt her any more than I already had.
    She nodded, following my example by popping a squat. “I’m okay.” She glanced at Chatterbox to see how he was, and he did his best to nod. It was a sad attempt, but comforting in its simplicity. After she propped him in her lap so he could see what all was going on without blowing out an eyeball, she glanced back over to me. “You don’t look so hot.”
    I bit back on my Michael Jackson comment and just nodded instead. If I looked anything like I felt, I could understand her concern. My arm burned as if I’d fisted the sun. Pain ran the length of it,