by Devin Hanson
I made my way back to the overlook and my heart sank. My captive’s absence had been noticed. Several groups of men were walking in pairs, sweeping the brush with flashlights. I caught the glint of metallic shine on at least one belt. Some of these guys were armed.
What the hell was I supposed to do? I was still crouching in the scrub when a commotion broke out at the overlook. A door slammed and I heard a high-pitched male voice cry out, “What the fuck is this? This is a photography book! You got the wrong book! Where is Alfonso?”
I grinned. Score one for the sybil. I had left the real journal down the hill in the compartment beneath my scooter’s seat. The pair of guards closest to me turned and headed back to the overlook. Without giving myself a chance to dwell on how stupid I was being, I followed after them, crouching low and trying not to make too much noise.
I made it to the cluster of buildings and stopped at a corner to listen. The high-pitched voice was giving his minions a dressing down.
“I told you to grab the white-haired girl and the book she carried. Didn’t you do that?”
“Of course, boss!” It was Alfonso, the guy who had hit me outside the bookstore. “We took out the brunette like you said, and grabbed the bitch and her book!”
“Did either of you,” the boss snarled, “think to check if the other one had a book too?”
“She had a bag, but the sybil had the paper-wrapped book. Exactly as you described it!”
“You idiots.”
I peeked around the corner and saw a thin guy around my age rubbing at his face in frustration. He had black hair and pale skin, and looked to be an inch shorter than I was. He had a heavy gold chain around his neck that had to weigh as much as an anchor cable, and jewel-studded rings flashed on his fingers. The two men I had seen coming down the hill were standing in front of him, shifting their weight and generally looking like two kids caught with chocolate on their faces.
“She’s a sybil,” the boss snarled and I caught the glint of gold in his mouth. The guy had a full-on grill, the kind of mouth decoration particularly fashion-blind rappers wore. “She saw us coming a mile away and switched the books on us!”
“Uh, you want us to go back?” Alfonso asked doubtfully.
I could see the urge to pummel the thug sweep over the blinged-out man and he wrestled it under control. “She’s not going to be hanging around waiting, you fool. No, we’ll have to do the ritual without the book. My mother should be waiting for our call. We won’t need the exact phrases.”
“Um. Okay.”
“Get back out there. Make yourself useful and find Samuel.”
“He’s probably taking a leak or something,” Alfonso said rebelliously.
“Am I paying you?”
Alfonso nodded.
“Then do what I fucking tell you to!”
I pulled back around the corner as the two thugs started shuffling away. For a moment I thought they were going to walk by me, then they turned and walked downhill into the garden. I peeked back around the corner and saw a hulking figure, what could only be a marid, walk up behind the boss.
“Mr. Raveth, the ritual elements are in place. The sacrifice is prepared.” The marid’s voice was deep and rumbling.
Raveth jerked his gold-thread coat straight and ran a beringed hand through his hair. “Good. At least something’s going right.”
The marid and Raveth walked back into the overlook. “Make sure I am not disturbed, once the ritual starts, the—”
The door shut behind them, cutting off the rest of his words. I left my corner and crept to the edge of the overlook building. The front was all floor-to-ceiling plexiglass panels, but the rest of the structure was constructed from the same poured-concrete as the other buildings.
Flickering candlelight reflected off the plexiglass, giving dim illumination to the inside of the building. The displays had been shoved aside, making room for a wide circle of candles. Ilyena was tied to a concrete pillar in the center of the room, adjacent to the circle. Her head lolled and dried blood stained the front of her flannel.
The marid stood with his back to the door, his massive arms folded across his chest. Raveth was walking around the circle, finishing lighting each candle, spilling a bit of wax onto the floor and settling the candle back into it.
Elaida’s skull sat in the middle of the circle. In the flickering light of the candles, the traceries carved into it seemed to writhe and shift.
As much as I hate to admit it, I almost walked away. Black magic, demon summoning, living human (or djinn) sacrifices, all of it was way out of my league. I found missing car keys and chased off troublesome sprites for a living. I didn’t throw down with marid and interrupt demonic rituals.
Or, at least, before today I didn’t.
Before I really knew what I was doing, I had hauled open the door and stepped through.
Chapter Eighteen
I had expected the overlook to stink of body odor and urine, but instead I was hit with an almost palpable smell of sandalwood.
“Scented candles?” I demanded loudly. “Seriously?”
The marid whipped around, lightning fast. Having been on the business end of Savit’s fists, I knew what to expect and I was ready for it. The marid’s fist blurred toward my head, but I was already moving, ducking down and to the side. Then, before he could recover from the blow, I punch the marid as hard as I could, using my legs and back to put as much force as I could behind it.
He grunted and folded over my fist as he lurched sideways. I felt a flash of jubilant cheer, then he backhanded me and I flew back into a plexiglass panel. It bonged like a drum and I dropped to the ground, barely keeping my balance.
Before I could do anything, the marid was on me. He grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the window with my feet dangling six inches off the ground. I clawed at his wrist, but it was as big around as my thigh and as unyielding as iron. His fist tightened around my throat and my air cut off like someone had dropped a plastic bag over my head.
“Mr. Raveth,” the marid growled, “I caught an intruder.”
My chest burned as I struggled for air. Seriously? This was how I was going to die? What happened to being a super hero? Wasn’t I supposed to be strong enough to fight? Ability was, I realized belatedly, a relative comparison. I kicked and struggled, but the marid just stood back like a schoolyard bully pinning me at arm’s length and ignored my efforts.
Darkness pulsed around the edges of my vision as Raveth stepped into view at the marid’s shoulder.
“Let her breathe, Viktor.”
I gasped in air as Viktor’s grip around my throat relaxed. He still held me by the neck, but his sausage-like fingers weren’t choking me anymore.
“You’re the hinn’s companion,” Raveth nodded to himself. “Convenient of you to come to me. Where’s the journal, girl?”
“Eat a dick,” I rasped.
Raveth sighed and put his hands on his hips. Up close I could see the spotting on his face. Too much sugar, not enough sun. He seemed stunted, scrawny, his lips bulged around the gems glued to his teeth. Saliva glistened around his mouth where, even with his jaw closed, there was a gap between his lips. I had thought the jewelry might be fake, but it was real gold he was wearing, solid all the way through. I could tell by the swing of the chain that it weighed close to fifty pounds. The chain around his neck alone was probably worth more than my entire old apartment building. A medallion hung from the chain, glittering diamonds spelling out the word “greed” in all caps. Classy.
“I’m not the one who’s gay,” he chided me. “You and your carpet buddy over there got involved in something bigger than either of you. The only reason I’m not having Viktor here squeeze you like a tube of toothpaste is because you have something I need. Give me the book, and you both can go free.”
I looked over at Ilyena. Her head was up and her blue eyes glittered at me in the candlelight. She shook her head. Resistance to the end was noble, but I’d rather live to see t
omorrow. “Sure,” I said. “Tell your thug to let me go and I’ll hand it over.”
“What do you think I am, an idiot?” Raveth demanded.
“Now that you mention it,” I choked. I managed to hook my hands around Viktor’s fingers and by executing a pullup I could relieve enough pressure around my jaw to get a deep breath.
Raveth’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Viktor, choke her a bit.”
The marid’s hand closed about my neck like a vise and stars danced in my vision. Deep breath or not, he was cutting off the flow of blood through my carotids. I tapped Viktor’s wrist, trying to signal my submission, but either he was too dense to understand the gesture or he was enjoying himself.
I was getting desperate. If I blacked out, then my heroic rescue would be over. I hinged up at the waist and kicked out at Viktor. My shoes skidded across his jacket without effect. Well, not entirely. The new angle my body was at let a surge of blood push past the marid’s grip and fresh clarity returned. Before Viktor could adjust his grip and resume choking me out, I got one ankle hooked around his swollen deltoid, pulled myself up parallel to his arm and, with my other leg, stamped down as hard as I could on his face.
Through the sole of my shoe I felt the crunch of his nose breaking, as if I had stepped on a lightbulb. I kicked out again, putting every ounce of strength I had into it and distantly felt more damage happen. Viktor’s grip on my throat suddenly pulled away and I dropped to the floor.
Viktor was turning away, a low burbling keen rising from his throat. I caught a glimpse of his face and was horrified to see the whole right side of his face was caved in. I rolled to my feet as Raveth charged at me, howling wordlessly.
I didn’t expect the scrawny guy to be so eager to tussle, especially after the damage I had done to his pet marid, and his aggression caught me off balance. We tumbled back to the concrete with Raveth on top. He shrieked and swung blow after blow at my head. This was the kind of fighting I was used to: back-alley brawling without skill or forethought, just the raw need to do harm.
Instinct kicked in and I got my arms up in time to catch the bulk of his blows. For such a skinny guy, he hit like a truck. I felt the blows bruise my arms bone deep and pain spiked up to my shoulders. The armor in my jacket caught most of the damage, but the impacts still came through like he was hitting me with a sledgehammer. I got my feet planted and bucked my hips, twisting to the side and spilling Raveth to the ground.
I rolled as he lunged after me and got to my knees. The weight of his chain must have slowed him down because I got my weight set before he crashed into me. I caught his charge and twisted my shoulders, turning his rush to the side.
Raveth tumbled into a bench and landed on his stomach. Before he could get up, I grabbed his big dumb chain, planted my knee between his shoulders, and hauled back.
“Gack!” Raveth choked, his arms pinwheeling as he tried to find leverage. His rings clacked as they banged against the concrete and clicked against the chain as he scrabbled at his throat.
“Not so fun, is it?” I gasped. I pulled the chain, using my back to get as much force as I could. What little I could see of Raveth’s face was red and deepening toward purple.
“Alex,” Ilyena called. Her voice was weak, and suddenly my rage puddled out of me.
I kept the chain taut until Raveth’s arms dropped to his sides then I let him fall forward onto his face. Maybe those bulky mouth jewels would knock some of his teeth out for him. I hurried over to Ilyena’s side, kicking over a few of the sandalwood candles on the way.
“Ilyena, I’m here.” I fumbled at the knots holding her to the post and got them undone. She sagged forward and I caught her before she hit the ground.
“The skull,” she groaned.
“Fuck the skull. Let’s get out of here!”
“No.” Ilyena struggled weakly, twisting around to look at me. “You need it!”
Damn it. I set Ilyena down and grabbed the skull. I handed it over to her and picked her up again. She held onto it and wrapped her free hand around my neck. That didn’t thrill me, as my neck was still sore from Viktor’s attentions, but there wasn’t time to adjust anything.
I kicked open the door of the overlook and ran through the scrub, heading straight downhill. Ilyena clung to me as I skidded down the steep slope to the first switchback. Through some miracle, I managed to keep my balance and Ilyena kept her grip on the skull. I hit the road and turned my downward momentum into a staggering run.
On the crown of the hill, I heard the first shouts as the guards discovered what had happened.
“Stay on the road, we have time,” Ilyena said.
Easy for her to be calm about it. I ran down the road as fast as I could, begrudging every curve that took me away from my scooter. My lungs were starting to burn with the effort of carrying Ilyena and her weight was growing in my arms with every step.
I had to slow to a walk. Ilyena’s weight bore down on me as the last of my taxed strength gave out. On top of the hill, I heard an engine roar to life. “Ilyena,” I gasped, “I can’t carry you. You’re going to have to run!”
She swung her legs down and kept one arm around my shoulders. Together we limped downhill. Headlights swept by overhead as the vehicle took the first turn. I tried to picture the road and realized there was no way we would reach the street before the vehicle caught up with us.
Suddenly Ilyena pulled me to the side and dragged me off the road. We stumbled to a halt and Ilyena grabbed my hand, pulling me down behind the cover of a desiccated shrub. This would never work. They would have to be completely blind to miss us.
Ilyena cupped my face with her hands and made me look at her. Her eyes were wide, and her white hair gleamed in the moonlight. Headlights swept down the road and an SUV tore by, its tires squealing as it took a turn too sharp.
As it passed, I saw the scrub illuminated on either side of us by the headlights. The bright light made the loosely clumped stems and sparse leaves stand out in sharp contrast with the darkness around it. With us crouched behind our little shrub, my black jacket and dark hair had made us look like just another shadow as they had raced by.
“It is safe now,” Ilyena said and stood up. She smiled at me and threw her arms around my neck. “I’m so glad you came,” she whispered. I could feel her tremble in my arms. Her cheek was wet as it pressed against mine.
I hugged her back then gently pried her arms away. “Let’s get out of here.”
With David footing the bill, I wasn’t picky about finding a hotel. I searched on my phone for the closest place to spend the night and landed on what was probably the most expensive hotel around unless I drove back to Beverly Hills. That the Culver Hotel was only five minutes away only made it more appealing.
We got to the hotel without Ilyena falling off the back of my scooter. I dug the journal out of the seat compartment, handed the keys off to the confused-looking valet, and helped Ilyena limp inside. We claimed the last suite available, paid almost a grand for a single night, and made it to the elevator without collapsing.
I was exhausted. Ilyena looked like she was about to pass out. I could only imagine what the concierge had thought of us.
Once we made it to the suite, I got the door open, helped Ilyena through, and locked the door behind us with the deadbolt and safety chain. Ilyena set the skull on the coffee table and I dropped the journal next to it. Together we stared down at the two items, silent with our thoughts.
I was wondering how hard I’d have to hit the skull to crush it when Ilyena spoke.
“I’m sorry I put you though that,” she said softly.
I sat on the sofa and pulled her down next to me. “You’re sorry?” I shook my head. “You’re the one they were going to kill!”
Her lips twitched in a smile and she leaned into me. “I knew what was going to happen. If you came for me, then we would have made it out all right.”
“Wait, if?” I demanded.
She grabbed my wrist and wrapped my a
rm around her shoulders. She snuggled into me and I felt the rumble of her purring. “I trusted you to come.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I wasn’t used to people blindly trusting me. Oh, sure, my clients would pay me to handle the weird and the strange, but that was different than someone placing their life in my hands.
“So, who was that guy anyway? He was really strong. Didn’t look like it, but he hit nearly as hard as the marid.”
“His name is John Raveth. He is an incubus of Mammet, the Succubus of Greed.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the couch. “Jesus Christ.”
Ilyena giggled.
“What?”
“I have never heard a demon use the name of God or his Son in vain.”
I opened my eyes and scowled up at the ceiling. “What are you on about?”
“It shows you have not accepted the bargain. Otherwise the words would burn you to speak them.”
“Well, god damn. That’s just one more reason not to.”
She laughed. “Thank you for not killing Raveth.”
“Why would you care? It probably was a mistake letting him live.” My words came out harsh, but my stomach turned at the thought of killing him. It would have been so easy, too. A little more force on the chain, or if I had held the pressure for a few seconds longer, and he would have died. For that matter, Viktor was probably going to have a rough time of it with half his face broken. I felt a little guilty about that. I hadn’t meant to hurt him so badly.
“You are better than that,” Ilyena said softly. “It would have hurt you to kill him.”
“Is that the kind of hero I’m supposed to be? Like Batman?” I rolled my eyes. Batman would have made his own life a whole lot easier if he had been willing to permanently end some of his enemies.
“No,” Ilyena said, and her breath on my neck made goose bumps race down my arms. “Like Alex Ascher.”
