Wrath of the Demon Girl

by Eddie R. Hicks

  He was all silent after that, maybe even flushing. Couldn’t tell as he began to move away, keeping his hands in his pockets, mumbling at me to follow. I guessed that was his plan, make it look to the masses around us he had a woman at his side. Had he been alone, yeah, that would have put up a red flag or two by the people around him thanks to the way he was dressed and keeping his face hidden.

  “Wayne is dead by the way,” he said softly.

  A curve ball from nowhere, the arms dealer Jim recommended to me, Wayne, was dead. Guess that explains why he didn’t reply to my angry text messages. “When did this happen?”

  “Yesterday, cops think he leaped out from the hotel he was staying at.”

  I thought about the traffic I was stuck in, and the body that seemingly had leaped to their death, and the ongoing news reports I heard about it. There’s no fucking way it could have been him. “Where was he saying?”

  “Some place near Wall Street and Water Street.”

  Wall Street and Water Street, that’s exactly where I was stuck in traffic. “Now I understand your paranoia.”

  “Wayne wouldn’t do something like that; especially when you two had plans to do business beforehand.”

  “So, you arranged to meet your new client in a public place,” I said, smirking. “Just in case.”

  Jim had the right idea though. When your weapons dealer suddenly decides to take a dive out from their hotel room, an hour or so before you were to meet up with them, was a cause for concern. What if I had showed up before going to the church to collect my enchanted weapons? Would I be dead too? Who knows? I guess going to church does have its benefits.

  We made it topside and stepped out into the open area. The sunlight overhead was overpowering, as groups of families sat and got entertained by a poolside show with a bunch of glistening dancing seals.

  “Speaking of dating,” Jim said, giving a hard look at all the people in attendance. “Such a waste.”

  “What is?”

  Jim pointed at the families. Happy parents keeping their kids close by, watching the water dancing show below. “People having kids and families ‘n’ shit, that’s what,” Jim said. “They do nothing but hold you back. And you know where it all starts? Dating.”

  “If that’s the case, then why are there so many successful people out there with a family?”

  “Are they really successful? When you have to put work on hold to be with your family, you’re not advancing, you’re staying where you are. You wanna make it to the top in life? You got to stay focused on the task.”

  I gave him a half smile, for he was half right about that statement. “Rules to live by, by Jim.”

  “Not just me, look at the Russian mob,” he continued. “They don’t have women in their lives, a fling here and there, that’s it. They can’t settle down and aren’t allowed to. Why? Because it’s gonna hold them back.”

  I leaned against the railing with snickering laughter. “You’re jealous.”

  Jim did the same. “Of what?”

  “You spent so much time doing this underground criminal shit that you walked away from the perfect woman to settle with. Or she walked away from you.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Admit it, you got burned, Jimmy. The perfect gal came in and out of your life. And now you put on this tough guy that doesn’t need a relationship act to justify it, by raging on all these motherfuckers out here.”

  His lowered cap, shades, and trench coat might have hidden it, but the twist of his lips and his pause said it all, I was right. I ain’t half bad at this whole PI stuff, eh?

  “Oh, Reika.” Even his tone of voice changed. “How little you know of me after all this time.”

  “I can read you like a book.”

  “Really now?”

  I snatched the baseball cap off his head, placing it on mine. God that felt good, the sunshine was starting to irritate the fuck out of me. “Something’s on your mind other than the paranoid thoughts, Jim. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to take this.”

  “Oh, fuck off,” Jim spat as his hands sprung forward to take back what was his. My quick steps backward denied him. “Yo, seriously.”

  “It’s fucking hot out, I need this.”

  “That’s because I’m around!” And then my head went numb, my face probably turned a shade red in the process. Sudden emotional reactions, shit, I hated them at times. Jim took his hat back during my distracted stance. “Well, what I meant was, uh.” He stuttered trying to find the right words when his face met mine. “I’m here in heat—”

  “What the fuck?”

  “I mean! I’m here in the heat, with a black coat on and don’t have my hat on.”

  The ringtone on Jim’s phone chimed, he was saved by the bell. “Hey, Vladimir, where you at?” Jim said, speaking into his phone. “All right, sounds good, I’ll be right there.” The call ended as he put his phone away. “My client is here, gotta go.”

  “Gonna leave, just like that?”

  Jim went to take his leave. “Yep, try not to fall off while I’m gone, wet T-shirts are pretty hot this time of the year.”

  “I can’t swim.”

  He looked back at me shrugging. “Then you really shouldn’t fall off then, I’d still like to get paid.”

  He faded away after that, into the hallways and back out to the parking lot, or so I assumed. I stood watching the show and the people around it, giving more thought to what Jim said. He wasn’t wrong about it. In some way the human race had evolved into an ant-colony-like society. The families around me? Those were the breeders, people in the military? Soldiers, and those that didn’t have offspring and just busted their ass day after day at their jobs, were the workers. And the world leaders receiving tribute from all? The queens of the colony.

  Then there were people like me who just didn’t fit in. Marauding around aimlessly through life, not knowing what the fuck we’re here for, unable, unwilling, or incapable of filling the role of worker, breeder, soldier, or queen.

  Depressing? Hell, yeah it was, until I get my hands on some booze and good music. Then I just didn’t give a flying fuck.

  Chapter Eight

  I made it back home as the evening sunset blanketed New York with darkness and bright city lights. I tried to keep my head clear, hoping that it would correct the problem I’d been having since I woke up, hearing Lexi’s voice talk to me.

  I half expected Emily to pounce on me as I entered, I did, after all, leave her alone with no food. I saw an empty pizza box on the floor next to the couch, where Emily sat with our laptop on. It provided all the answers I needed as to why the pounce never came to be. I didn’t leave Emily with any money however. I stopped myself right then and there from pondering how she got the pizza. Thieves will be thieves, let’s leave it at that.

  I went for the pizza box, hoping there was an extra slice or two inside. It’d save me the hassle of making dinner. Score, there were three slices. Looking up, I saw Emily type an email message, written in Russian. It made my eyebrow rise as I held onto the long, stale, and cold slice of pizza.

  “Didn’t know you spoke Russian.”

  “I was born in Europe and spent the first hundred years of my life there,” Emily explained. “Naturally, languages like that I learned how to speak first.”

  “Why didn’t you translate for Ms. Nikolayev then? It would have been easier for her to speak.”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “I didn’t know you could fucking speak other languages.”

  “And let’s keep it that way; I got some skeletons in my old place in Moscow.”

  “Whatever. Just let me know when you’re done writing your love letter, there’s something I want to look up.”

  “I’ll have you know this isn’t a love letter!”

  “Relax, I’m just fucking with you.” I bit into my cold and tough slice. “But hurry up.” Fuck yeah, I spoke with my mouth full.

  “I’m fishing for information; I need to get t
his right.”

  “Planning a big heist in Moscow?”

  “Please, the only things of major value in Russia are Cold War weapons. I grew tired of stealing and selling those. I’m hoping some contacts of mine came across Brianna.”

  Emily waved for me to take the laptop as she finished her message. Sitting down on the couch forced my joints to reward me with a nice tingling sensation throughout my body. I fired up Google to conduct a search in regard to my case, not that I had much to go on.

  “So how was the date with Jim?” That’s when Emily distracted me.

  I faced her with a frown as she perched her body up top of the couch like a cat. “We weren’t on a fucking date . . .”

  “You two were out all day.”

  “It was a visit to the aquarium and a lunch break—”

  “Lunch?” Her tail wagged back and forth as she lowered herself to rest on the couch, keeping her eyes on me. “Oh please, do tell.”

  “He had business to take care of in the area, and I took the time to look into the disappearance of Belyana since her home is close by. What’s the big deal about that?”

  I heard Lexi’s voice laugh and heckle. Naturally, I looked about, only to stop and remember that it was probably a futile attempt. Emily continued her prying. “So, what pulled you away from your hot date?”

  “It wasn’t a date. And he had to see a client.”

  “Jim’s an asshole, and you’re a bitch. You two are a perfect match, spend more time with him.” The tone of her voice changed. “Wait, a client, in that area?”

  “Some guy named Vladimir, ain’t none of my business.”

  I grimaced when I noticed her facial expression change at the drop of the name. She rolled back into the couch. “You know the Russian Mafia operates a lot in those parts.”

  “Yeah and? Jim works for the highest bidder.”

  “And you said the name was Vladimir?”

  “You know something—” I paused midway through that sentence, realizing the laptop’s screen remained exactly where it was. I came here to search, but all I did was yap with her.

  “Reika, do you hear what I hear?”

  “Yeah.” My fist smashed against the side of the laptop ending the weird sound the fan was making. “This laptop is a piece of shit.”

  “I hear something else, something that can buy you a better laptop.” Emily’s face invaded my personal space. “Let me send another email to my contact.”

  “Get fucked.” It was my turn to use the laptop God damn it!

  “If this Vladimir is the one I’m thinking of, then he’s worth a lot of money.”

  “I don’t do bounty hunts.”

  “Neither do I, but there’s a secondary reward that’s important to me.”

  “Let me guess, intel on Brianna?” Emily’s lips sealed with silence and eyed the idle laptop in an impatient manner. One day I’ll have to use my PI skills and get to the bottom of why she was so obsessed with finding that demon hunter. Somehow, I felt there was more to Emily’s plans with her than just robbing her clean.

  “You’re crazy for Brianna, like how I was crazy for Lexi—”

  “Oh, no, no. You need to forget about Lexi.”

  “Hard to forget about someone that wanted to rule the world.”

  “She’s done, gone, dead and hasn’t been seen in months.” Emily’s hands clasped my forehead as if she was some all-seeing seer. “And I think her charm magic is still lingering in your head.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Then why are you bringing her up again?”

  “You’re un-fucking believable.” Though, I couldn’t ignore the fact that Lexi did guide me during our search of that creepy ass bedroom.

  And then Lexi’s voice put in her two cents. “Aww, that’s adorable how you still think about her every day.” Confirming that there might be some truth to Emily’s words.

  I remained still and began to control my breathing, hoping to prevent the agitation that was about to bleed away from my body language. Emily took notice. “You okay?”

  Smile and nod, it was all I could think of doing. “I’m Fan-fucking-tastic.” I got up, excusing myself to the washroom, while I still had my sanity. Or was I too late?

  I locked the door behind me and peered at my reflection in the mirror, nothing out of the ordinary. Cold water from the faucet poured into my cupped hands. I splashed my face with it, hoping to knock some sanity into me. Why was I hearing things? Why did I feel as though Lexi had been with me the whole day? As much as I continued to deny it for months . . . maybe Emily was right. I had been placed under a strong and complex love spell, one that prevented me from seeing the truth even when it was shoved into my face.

  That’s when Lexi’s likeness manifested out from the shadows. I saw her reflection in the mirror, her shadow on the floor and felt her finger press against my lips, silencing me until she removed them.

  She looked exactly how I remembered her, youthful, playful, flawless, silky red hair, and alluring eyes that I couldn’t look away from. Her demonic wings grew from her back and embraced me as she neared me.

  It couldn’t be her, not really. I locked the door, I know I did. There was nobody else in here when I entered. “Okay,” I said, then took three long and hard deep breaths. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “It’s me, Reika, don’t you recognize me? We can finally communicate now.”

  “No, fucking way . . . I must be losing it.”

  “I assure you, it’s me. I never left your side.”

  “Reika?” Emily spoke from beyond the bathroom door, knocking. “Everything all right?”

  I called out to my Bakeneko roommate. “Like I said, fan-fucking-tastic.”

  “I hear you talking . . . so . . .”

  Lexi had vanished into a plume of indigo miasma that vaporized as it lifted into the air. “Just thinking out loud to myself . . .” I said, turning back to face the mirror, and stare worryingly at the woman that looked back, hoping she wasn’t going insane.

  After an insane trip like that, I needed a shower. Maybe that would get my head straight. Yeah right. I shed my attire, though it still looked as though I wore clothing thanks in part to my full-body Yakuza tattoos. There were fire-breathing dragons on my arms, and a half naked Yuki-Onna, the snow woman from hell, walking through a snow storm with a katana on my back. The irony of it all, it was like my tattoos were a glimpse into my future.

  Relaxing water splashed across my skin. Long gone were the days when I needed to cast a coat of flames around my body to heat up cold shower water. The managers of this place actually cared for their tenants. Though, I won’t lie, I kind of missed my old place. It was my last memories of a life when things made sense, and when I didn’t have the visage of the first woman I slept with appearing out of nowhere, watching me.

  Fuck. That was a thought I could have done without.

  I periodically looked out from the shower curtains, expecting to see Lexi’s likeness appear, only to see the rising mist from my shower cloud the bathroom. Every sound had to be examined, every one of my senses telling me that there was someone else in here, watching me, and could appear at will, maybe even join me in the shower. It was an enticing thought at first, a little playful fun in the shower. Then I remembered Emily’s words and everything that went down seven months ago. Succubus love spells, shit was worse than a drug addiction. My shower ended twenty minutes later than usual, paranoia mixed with confusion between love and lust, the biggest killer of time ever.

  With the roaring noise of the shower off and my body patted dry with a towel, I exited, marching to my room. The cold air generated by our A/C unit smacked against my skin that wasn’t covered in my bath towel. Emily’s clothes were left on the floor next to the couch in a random pile, a sign she used her shifter skills to revert back to her cat form to sleep. Sleep, that’s something I should be getting ready to do myself given the early day I had. Too bad I wasn’t up for it as the trippy experience in the washroom had m
e going nuts. There was no way I would be able to get any sleep tonight.

  I sat at the foot of my bed, and Lexi appeared behind. Her hands held onto my shoulders, almost like she was trying to keep me in place. “Maybe you are right, you are still infatuated,” she whispered into my ear.

  I ignored her, hoping that would make everything better, it was all I had to work with. Lexi pressed her curves against my back while her hands began to massage me. Tilting my head to my closet door mirror, I saw Lexi too wore nothing except a towel as her miles long, dripping wet hair stuck to her shoulders and back.

  “Why don’t you just follow Emily’s advice?”

  “I just . . . uh.”

  “Can’t bring yourself to get close to Jim?”

  “I keep thinking about Ryan, and how his life was wasted because we got close.”

  Playful laughter left her lips as she rested her head upon my shoulders. “He still has the contaminated blood in storage, right?”

  “Yeah, well not as of tonight.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’m going to do something I should have done a long time ago. I’m going to have him destroy it.”

  “After all that effort you went to save it for me?”

  “I’m not under your control.”

  Lexi’s seductive voice laughed. “Prove it.”

  My phone was held out before my face, thanks to Lexi’s slender hands and perfectly manicured black finger nails. “Give her a call then, Miroslava that is.”

  I winced at my phone and the randomness of her request. “Our business is done.”

  “You showed that demon no mercy, the demon that took the body of her dead husband. Aren’t you at least concerned that your actions might be causing her unnecessary stress?”

  “She asked me to get the ring back no matter what. She knew her real husband was dead thanks to the possession.”

  “And now the lonely widow has to suffer alone.” Lexi’s free hand from behind held onto my right one and forced my phone to slap into it. “So call her, ask her out for a night of drinks just to see how she’s doing. Oh, and don’t forget, her possessed husband was stalking your missing girl Belyana. Don’t you find that interesting? Something to follow-up on?”