Skin Deep

by Lily Luchesi

  Danny put his hand on her shoulder and said, “I can’t imagine having the weight of those lives on your soul, but they all knew what they were doing. This is a high-risk job, and don’t forget you didn’t get Brighton killed. That was some psycho vamp you never even met.”

  Damn him. Why was he right so often?

  “Daniel’s got a good idea, and you know it. So swallow your pride and let people help.”

  Angelica let out a sigh and said, “Okay, compromise. We investigate first, see what we’re up against. If it truly looks like she’s got some sort of paranormal army behind her, I’ll enlist some help. But not at the PID.”

  Both men gave her identical looks that said, “Oh, what now?”

  “The PID doesn’t owe fealty to me. Sean’s been their director, and he’s the one they follow. But the vampires are under my rule, and I will enlist as many of them as I can to assist me...if Dakota hasn’t gotten them all on her side already.” She looked between both men, noticing at once their strange similarities and disparate natures. “Is that good for you both?”

  They nodded.

  “Good, then we can get started to search for her or Jade or their so-called army,” Angelica said. “How much Dark magic do you think Jade uses?”

  “If she’s smart, none,” Danny replied. “She’s gotta know you have sensors that track Dark energy, be it from a magician or demon.”

  “Still, I’ll tell the Coven to monitor the maps closely, and check out places Dakota used to frequent. I’m betting old habits die hard.”

  “Just like certain vampiresses, wouldn’t you say?” Danny asked with a small smile.

  “Screw you.”

  “If that’s the direction this is going, I’m out of here,” Daniel commented.

  Just like that, order was restored and Angelica’s heart felt a bit lighter. She slid her hand into Danny’s and said to Daniel, “Calm down and don’t go anywhere. We need you.”

  Daniel smiled and said, “I can’t remember the last time someone said that to me.”

  Angelica pulled up a map of the city on her computer and put it on a projection. She began marking spots she had once known Dakota and Jade to frequent together. It looked like birds of a feather always did flock together, especially disease-carriers like them.

  “Hang on…” Danny said, going around to her side of the desk to get the files on each victim with the exception of the guard Dakota had just killed. “We kept looking for ways to connect each vic, but what if she wasn’t targeting them because of who they were, but where they were?”

  “I thought you guys ruled out any connection between them all?” Daniel asked.

  “No, no, no,” Danny said. “The vics had no connection except for the fact that they worked here. I think Dakota chose how to kill each one based on their location. Look at this.”

  He marked every location in red on the map, so it wasn’t confused with Angelica’s green markings. “She might have stalked the first victim randomly, knowing he’d be at the Halloween Masquerade, but look at where she killed him. She didn’t do it in an alleyway near the hotel. She took him home. Why? That confused me at first. Wouldn’t it be easier to avoid detection to have killed him in the alley near the hotel?”

  Angelica nodded, enjoying this. Something she’d always loved about Danny — even way back when he was still Jonathan Price — was his intellect. Sure, his bravado and tendency to rush into danger head-on could be overwhelming, but he was one of the smartest people she’d ever met. He could piece together a mystery like a puzzle...it just took him some time to get past his own mental barriers. And she had to admit, watching him be the detective he was born to be was a little bit of a turn on.

  “She killed vic number one here.” He pointed to a street near an elementary school. “She then killed vic number two here.” He pointed to just a few streets away, to an apartment complex in Norridge. “Vic number three was found here, at their second job at a catering company.” That was in Melrose Park. “Vic four was last, here.” He pointed to Oak Park. “And then there’s the guard she killed. Here.” He pointed to the abandoned building in Garfield Park. “She’s making a semicircle.”

  Angelica felt her blood run cold...if her blood could get any colder, that is. “She’s headed right toward us.” She gave herself a mental shake and asked, “Give me the dates of all the victims, see if we can predict when she might kill again.”

  Danny read those out to her and she checked a calendar. “She killed one a week — probably to be noticed — and then stopped till she killed the guard. I don’t think we can even try to make an educated guess as to when she might strike again,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “Or know why she stopped to begin with.”

  “I think she stopped to gather allies,” Daniel said. “It’s what I’d do, anyway, if I wanted to overthrow not just a governmental institution but also an empire. She needed people on her side. So she probably found Jade, and then worked on getting vamps against you, too.”

  “Like those four we fought at the baseball field,” Angelica said, nodding. “She won’t attack again until she’s got enough powerful people on her side.”

  Danny smiled. “So if we find her first…”

  “We can take her,” Angelica said, nodding. “So let’s go back to my marks, where she or Jade might be hiding out.”

  Daniel started to write the list down on pen and paper for them when Angelica felt her ears almost perk as the distinct sound of high heels on tile could be heard down the hall.

  “You hear that?” she whispered.

  Daniel shook his head no, but Danny nodded.

  “Getting closer. And I have a funny feeling it’s not the Avon lady calling,” he said, automatically reaching for his weapon.

  Angelica sent off a text to Sean to get the iron bullets from the armory and get up there ASAP. It was all she could do before there was a knock on her door.

  Danny held up his gun, silently asking if he should shoot.

  She shook her head no. All it would do was ruin a door. A witch wouldn’t be hurt by silver bullets, and a skin changer would only be mildly inconvenienced. If it was anyone or anything else, they’d deal with them once they found out what was happening.

  She didn’t know why the knock and the person wearing the heels made them both so nervous, but she knew that she trusted her gut, and Danny’s too.

  “Enter,” she called, gripping her blade inside her jacket pocket. She saw Daniel grab his gun as well, holding it out before him. He didn’t tremble or waver, and that was good.

  The door opened and in walked Jade, standing in the threshold like she belonged there. “Oh. It looks like you’ve been expecting me,” she said with a smile, not even fazed by the weapons being pointed at her.

  “How the Hell did you get in?” Angelica asked.

  “Your charms work to dispel incantations only until you’re inside the front doors. A Stiffening Spell on the guy at the front desk and a Concealment Charm on myself after worked wonders,” she replied.

  “You can’t think you’re going to win against this whole building, can you?” Danny asked. “Even if you did kill us, there’s a hundred other people who will destroy you in a moment.”

  Jade kept smiling. Angelica wondered if maybe she was suicidal. “What do you want, then?”

  “I want you to concede. Give in. Don’t let the slaughter continue. Because we won’t stop, and I’d hate to murder potential allies,” she said.

  “Well, lucky for me, I love murdering potential threats,” Angelica replied.

  Jade took a step back, losing her smile just a little. “If you had the right bullets to kill me, Tweedledee and Tweedledum over there would’ve already fired. You can’t kill me.”

  Angelica smirked.

  “What are you smiling at?” Jade asked.

  “I can’t kill you...but he can.” She nodded her head to the doorway, where she had just seen a familiar silhouette sneak up and hide behind a fairly large potted plant.


  Jade turned sharply, her hair whipping out behind her, only to be shot twice in the chest. Blood splattered on the wall and the floor and Jade fell back onto her ass half in and half out of Angelica’s office.

  Sean ran up to her, gun still smoking.

  “Wait, don’t kill her. Do you have iron cuffs?” Angelica asked.

  Sean nodded and quickly cuffed Jade before she could recover. She wouldn’t die because her inner magic kept her alive unless Sean hit her with three more bullets.

  “Take her down to one of the interrogation rooms,” Angelica said to him.

  Sean hauled her up and Jade groaned in pain, blood slowly leaking from her wounds. “You got it, boss.”

  “Um, why aren’t you killing her?” Daniel asked. “She’s the enemy!”

  “Sometimes you have to take them alive, Daniel,” Angelica replied. “We need to know what Dakota is planning, when she’ll strike, et cetera. And now we have all that information just sitting there, inside her head. Looks like Santa Claus dropped our Christmas present off early, gentlemen.”

  “What are you going to do?” Daniel asked.

  “What I do best — interrogate her.”

  * * *

  Jade didn’t look quite so imposing now that she was tied up and covered in blood in an interrogation room. Her dark eyes glared at everyone around her, but there was nothing she could do. She was bound, both physically and magically, and helpless. She was at the mercy of Angelica, a woman not known for her benevolence toward paranormal criminals.

  “What did you think coming here would get you?” Angelica asked her. “Did you think that we wouldn’t have every precaution possible in place, including iron bullets?”

  “I thought we could end you without having to kill anyone else,” she replied.

  Danny snorted with derisive laughter. “Seriously? You thought you’d walk up, knock on the door, and she’d give herself up to you? I don’t know what you’re smoking, but I want some.”

  “What Dakota thought was that she wouldn’t want anyone else hurt because of her.”

  Angelica and Danny glanced at each other, knowing how close she had come to diving into this alone for that very reason. It was scary how well Dakota seemed to know her personality. Had she really been that transparent all those decades ago?

  “I told her she was crazy, that you were too drunk with power to give it up for anybody,” Jade added.

  “I’m drunk with power? In case you’ve forgotten, I’m not the one trying to overthrow a secret government organization,” Angelica commented.

  “You’ve monopolized this place for decades!” Jade cried.

  “And I left, long ago. I govern vampires, which is my birthright. Dakota’s always been power-hungry and disliked the PID’s hunting laws, which is why she worked freelance. Because if she joined, she’d just be another face in the crowd. She was afraid to get too close to us and not stand out. I wish she’d never dragged you into this, Jade. You’re better than this,” Angelica said, and she meant it. Jade wasn’t a bad person, not really.

  “Oh, please. Anyone who claims they don’t want a position in power is a lying asshole. I’m not better than this; this is a war to end your reign, and it’s about time,” Jade commented. “You’re gonna die either way, Cross. You should’ve taken my offer and saved your friends.”

  Angelica backhanded Jade across the face, and the witch’s head whipped back, blood dripping from her mouth. The sound resounded like a gunshot across the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Daniel flinch.

  “Let’s start with the easy question, shall we? When did you make yourself immortal?”

  Jade shook her head. “I didn’t, exactly. During the new Coven Master’s ceremony not long after you killed Scarlette, I fell ill. He touched me, tried to see what was wrong, and the spell that was still fresh on him transferred to me. So don’t blame me for that, it was an accident.”

  That was interesting. She turned to Daniel and asked, “Is she telling the truth?”

  “What?” Jade asked. “How would this little twerp know if I was lying or not?”

  Daniel paused, glancing at Jade, and then said, “Yeah, she’s telling the truth. You might want to inform the Covens to be careful when they cast that spell.”

  “I’ll tell Sean.” The siren wasn’t in the room, as he was making sure the building was secure and asking the Coven to put up new wards.

  “Now, how long has Dakota been planning this?” she asked.

  “Longer than even I knew. There’s no real value in this information, but she sent Scarlette here because she thought that another vamplet would look good as the new leader, someone she could manipulate,” Jade explained.

  “And why did she disappear after I killed her little lackey?” Angelica asked.

  “Regrouping. And then you faked your death and then you were travelling and under the radar. It took her some time to realize that if she wanted to kill you, she’d need to lure you out of hiding.”

  This was far too easy. Angelica wondered why Jade was telling her all of this so readily? Her interrogations never went this smooth. “And where is she now?”

  Jade spat out laughter. “How stupid do you think I am?”

  “Stupid enough to walk in here unprotected,” Daniel commented under his breath.

  “You’re gonna kill me anyway. Why reveal anything?” Jade asked.

  “Because what you reveal and how quickly you do it determines whether I kill you quickly, or take my time,” Angelica replied. “Trust me, you don’t want me to take my time.”

  Jade scoffed. “And you say you’re not a dictator.”

  Angelica allowed her claws to come forth on her left hand, while in her right she still held the gun with the iron bullets loaded inside. “Where is Dakota?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Go to Hell.”

  “After you,” Angelica replied, slicing at Jade’s face with her claws, creating four long, thin cuts in her skin. Blood began to drip down her cheek like wet paint. The skin shredded easily under Angelica’s claws, sounding like wet paper being torn.

  She repeated the question, and Jade didn’t say a thing.

  “Oh, come on. I want to bring her your heart after I cut it out as a present for all you and she have done to me and to the PID,” Angelica said, now cutting a deep “X” in the center of Jade’s chest. “Where the Hell is she? How can we draw her out?”

  “You can’t,” Jade replied, breathing hard as she tried to control the pain. “You have to sit here, knowing your time is coming to an end.”

  Angelica took a few steps back from the chair Jade was bound to and then took aim with the gun, firing and embedding the iron bullet into Jade’s midsection.

  Blood spurted out, dripping down her white tank top and onto her jeans as she coughed up yet more blood.

  “With every bullet you grow weaker. And there are still two more shots to go, as well as performing an impromptu heart transplant. Are you sure you want that dragged on any longer than necessary?” Angelica asked.

  “Sadistic bitch,” Jade gasped out, spitting another gob of blood onto the floor.

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” Angelica turned to the two men and said, “Anyone else wanna have a crack at her? I’m starting to get bored.”

  Danny shook his head, and she wasn’t surprised. He had never liked this part of the job, and had always found a way to stop her before an interrogation went on for too long. His already pale face looked almost green with disgust.

  “Do we have time for this to go on any longer? Dakota knows she was coming here, after all,” Daniel said.

  “Not really, so if you think you can speed it up...you are a psychology major, after all,” Angelica reminded him.

  “And Pops here told me that one of your degrees is in psychology, too. What’s the difference?”

  “She won’t expect a mortal to read her mind. I’m not telling you to hurt her, just...fuck with her head a l
ittle. Pain weakens the psyche, and if you can read her mind while I hurt her a bit more, perhaps we can get the information we need,” Angelica whispered.

  Daniel shrugged. “I can try. Her barrier is pretty weak as it is.”

  Danny placed a hand on Angelica’s arm and whispered, “If it’s all the same to you, I’m going to step outside where I can’t hear her screams.”

  “Not a fan of this, are you?” Daniel asked him.

  “Nope. Never was. Guess I’m not a great vampire in that respect,” Danny said with a weak smile.

  Angelica kissed his cheek. “Go get Sean, tell him she’ll be cracking soon and we’ll need ghouls to bury her heart and send her body to the incinerator.”

  He nodded and slipped out of the room quickly. Good. She’d feel much better about having to do this without his disapproving gaze on her. She didn’t like the actual pain part, but she loved the threats. And there was a big difference between the two.

  “Touching her will help,” Angelica said to Daniel, who nodded.

  He reached down and put a hand on her shoulder, and she tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

  “What the fuck is this?” she asked.

  “Calm down,” Angelica said, standing behind Jade’s chair. “He’s not the one who’s going to hurt you.” She grabbed a handful of Jade’s dark hair and yanked her head back, so she could still look at Angelica. “I’m gonna ask you again, where is Dakota? How can we find her before she finds us?”

  Jade glared up at her and said nothing.

  “A little more pressure might be nice for me, Angelica,” Daniel said.

  She nodded, pressing the blade of a knife against Jade’s throat. She pressed ever so slightly, barely breaking the skin and Jade shivered. “Where is she hiding?”

  “What’s this guy doing to me?” Jade asked, looking a bit panicked.

  “Never mind him. Answer me!” Angelica swung the knife blade up, filleting the skin of Jade’s already abused cheek and cutting off part of her earlobe. A crystal earring fell to the floor with a clinking sound and Jade shrieked with the pain. Blood splattered onto Angelica’s hand and sleeve as it dripped steadily down, soaking Jade’s neck and shirt.