“You can try,” he answered, moving forward. “Not that either of us wants that.”
“Oh, I’m getting pretty okay with the idea,” I replied. The demon in me was raging, begging me to let him out and really let loose on this SOB. Feeling around in my pocket, my fingers grazed against a loose Gummi Worm. It was very likely old and probably covered in pocket lint, but the sugar would help me keep myself in check. I really didn’t want a bloodbath on the courthouse floor. Especially not before I had convinced Ian to let Renee rejoin the land of the time affected. So I popped the Gummi into my mouth and said, “I’m listening.”
“Smart move,” Ian grinned cockily.
“Don’t press your luck, ginger,” I said, my hands tightening at my sides. “Now tell me what you want to talk about.”
“What else?” he answered. “Fulton. The man of the hour.”
He might as well have yelled out bingo for the bells and whistles I’d heard. Fulton was exactly what I needed to know about, but why would Ian want to give me intel on him? Didn’t he work for Fulton?
So I decided to play coy and see how far it got me.
“Never heard of the guy,” I answered, folding my arms over my chest.
“Bullshit,” Ian answered, shaking his head. “I call bullshit. You expect me to believe you just popped into town, put the hammer down on one of Fulton’s top lieutenants?” He motioned to a frozen Charles Whitmore. “And then found yourself protecting the girl Fulton tasked me with bringing in all by coincidence?”
Well, seeing as how that’s exactly what happened, I guess I did. Ever since I had been a kid, I’d always had a way with falling ass backwards into trouble. Seemed fitting it continued on.
“Then you killed Antoine,” Ian continued, his mouth twisting up disgustedly.
“I didn’t kill Antoine,” I said instinctively.
“Right. The person you’ve never heard of did it,” Ian said, twisting his mouth downward distastefully.
“Let me kill him,” Gary said from beside me. He didn’t have to whisper. Not being able to see an imp meant not being able to hear him either. You also couldn’t smell him, something I envied Ian for, given the pickle breath Gary was still rocking.
I shook my head fractionally, enough for Gary to see I wasn’t down with it. At least not yet.
“Fine,” Gary answered, glaring at the demon and leaning forward on my shoulder. “Then just let me rip his eyelids off. Just one eyelid. I’ll settle for one eyelid.”
“No!” I said reflexively. Then, gaining my composure again, I tried to cover my tracks. “No. Okay. I’m not going to let you lecture me about watching your boss kill somebody.”
“Fulton’s not my boss!” Ian spit back, pointing his finger right into my chest.
“I’m going to straight up murder you,” Gary sneered, unheard, at the red-haired demon.
“Antoine is my boss,” Ian finished, swallowing hard and blinking the same way. “Was my boss,” he clarified. “He was my boss.”
“Antoine?” I asked, pushing his filthy finger out of my chest, and considering the nearly unheard of relationship he had just outlined... “What kind of self-respecting demon works for a vampire? You do understand they’re half breeds, right? Underlings in the whole ‘grand scheme of Hell’ thing?”
“I got my reasons!” he answered so loudly, there was no denying I’d hit a nerve. “We all did. He saved every one of us at one time or another. All those kids, even the two you mowed down the other night, he saved us all. Treated us like a family. Now he’s dead.”
“That’s not my fault,” I answered evenly.
“Of course it is,” Ian said, his face getting red enough to match his hair. “You go snooping around, trying to fix everything, trying to change something you don’t understand. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think Fulton was just going to stand there and take it?”
“I have no idea what Fulton will or won’t do,” I answered flatly. “Mostly because I don’t know Fulton. So why don’t you do us both a favor and tell me who the hell I’m dealing with here?” I grabbed his shirt with both my hands and pulled him close enough for him to smell what I had for breakfast. “Who is Fulton?”
He stared at me for a long time before pushing away.
“Is that the question you asked Antoine?” he asked. “Is that what got him killed?”
“Maybe,” I answered. “Doesn’t change the fact I’m not the one who killed him or that he’s a pile of dust on that idiot’s carpet right now.” I pointed to Charles Whitmore. “You want him back. You can’t have him. You want revenge? That’s something I might be able to offer. But you’ve gotta give me what I need first. First, you keep your grimy paws off of Renee, then you gotta hand me my goddamned necklace and then you have to tell me who Fulton is and where I can find him.”
“Fuck if I know!” he said, throwing the necklace at me. I caught it against my chest. “He’s a monster hiding in the dark. I’ve never even heard him speak, let alone seen the cocksucker. He runs this entire city, and he does it from somewhere else. All supernatural business runs through Fulton. He sees everything. He hears everything.”
“Aren’t you afraid he’s going to hear this then?” I answered, stuffing the necklace into my pocket. I might have had it back, but I was still pissed off. “Don’t want to end up like your mentor now, do you?”
He sneered at me, like I had just walked all over somebody’s grave.
“I have friends,” he answered. “One of them is strong enough to make a pocket. That’s what we’re inside of now. It’s maybe the one place in this damned city Fulton can’t see inside of. But it won’t last long.”
“So let’s get this going,” I said, glaring at him. “What does Fulton want with Renee and what did he do with her brother?”
“I told you I don’t work for him,” Ian balked. “You want answers about motive, ask that scary motherfucker,” he said, motioning to a still frozen Charlie. “I went after Renee because Antoine told me to. He owed Fulton a favor. This was supposed to make them even, and we could get out of here. Then you came along and screwed up everything.”
“You,” I said, pushing him backward, disgusted and in a hurry. “You’re useless to me then. Have your friend turn this spell off and get the hell out of town. That’s my advice for you and it’s the best you’re going to get.”
“Really?” Ian asked, and it looked like he was holding back tears. “So I’m just supposed to let it stand? Let me and mine get fucked over and then run away like scared little bitch babies?”
“That’s about the size of it,” I answered, setting my jaw. Looking at him, I couldn’t get past that night in the alley. Maybe I should have been more sympathetic. Maybe I should have looked at him and saw myself or whatever Oprah bullshit you’re told to employ to feel compassion for other people. But all I saw was a demon who didn’t know enough to keep his nose clean. And I didn’t want him anywhere near me.
“Okay then,” he said. “But, if I do that, I won’t be able to tell you how to find him. Unless, of course, finding Fulton isn’t something you want to do.”
It felt as though a noose had been slung over my neck. He had me and he knew it. But before I could ask him anything, I heard the creaking of wood from behind me.
Turning, I saw Charles Whitmore standing from his seat on the stand.
He wasn’t frozen. He had never really been frozen. I had been played this whole time. God, I was an idiot.
“Oh no, children,” Charles Whitmore said, a scary smile. “I don’t think I can let that happen.”
15
Charles Whitmore stood up from the witness stand, his eyes trained on Ian and I, but those peepers slid right past Gary. Imps must not have been as prevalent down here as I thought.
The first thing I noticed about him was his uncomfortable proximity to Renee. She had been frozen while questioning him obviously. Which wasn’t a problem when I thought neither of them could move. But evidentl
y he wasn’t effected by the spell covering the rest of this place, the fact he was close enough to touch her irked me.
Of course, that wasn’t my most pressing problem.
Charlie Boy looked different than he had back at the convenience store. He was no longer the two-bit thug with scared eyes and a murderous streak that stretched out over the entire county. It seemed like he had never been that person. The real Charles Whitmore (if that was even his real name) looked at us with cunning and knowing eyes. Even his voice had changed, now free of the confused inflection and lilting questions.
He had always been sure of everything.
He had always been in the know. He was just playing me, playing the entire Atlanta police department to get close enough to Renee to snatch her. Now he was that close, and I had to make sure he didn’t get it done.
“Your witch missed one,” I said, staring at Charlie but speaking to Ian. My body had tensed up and my mind was scanning the room, looking not only for possible weapons I might be able to use, but also at the placement of the defenseless frozen mortals all around the courtroom.
They were sitting ducks, and every last one of them could be used as a shield or worse.
“Don’t blame the witch. She probably wasn’t expecting something like me,” Charlie said, hopping over the stand and landing right in front of Renee. She stood there, unblinking and very likely unseeing.
My heart sped up like a jackhammer, treating my ribcage every bit like concrete as it pounded hard against it.
“Trust me, dirt bag. You don’t want to hurt her,” I said, brandishing my gun and pointing it at him.
“What I want to do and what I will do are two different things, you jacked up half-breed,” Charlie answered, eyeing Renee up and down and purposely letting his gaze linger on her breasts. “She’s not bad for a piece of shit prosecutor, is she?” he asked. “I bet I could have some real fun with those tits. Maybe I will. Given the spell, I bet she wouldn’t even notice.”
He reached toward her chest. Something primal and territorial sprung up inside of me. Fuck that. He wasn’t going to touch her. Instinctively, I fired. The bullet hit his hand, blowing a hole in it. Pulling it back, Charlie glared at me, though he didn’t scream or even whimper.
“The next one goes in your head,” I warned. “Now get away from her.”
Without taking his eyes off me, Charlie lifted his hand. I watched in horror as the hole I’d just put there healed. Within the span of a few heartbeats, he was whole again. Like he had never been hurt at all.
Okay. So that was going to make things interesting.
“Did you really think that was going to stop me?” he asked, standing stalwart beside Renee. “I’ve got the protection of Fulton himself.” He waved at me, showcasing his newly-healed hand. “That means you’re fucked.”
“I’m thinking we need to get out of here,” Ian said from beside me. His voice sounded very young just then, like he was newer to all of this than I would have previously imagined. Somehow, that made sense.
“If we leave now, he’ll kill everyone in this room,” I warned. “Including Renee. I’m not having that on my conscience.”
“Better on your conscience than your tombstone,” he answered and turned, bolting for the door.
“Stick around, traitor,” Charles Whitmore said loudly. He threw his hand out. I sensed a wave of energy that was just familiar enough for me not to be able to pinpoint exactly where I knew it from.
The wave wrapped itself around Ian. He flew off his feet and slammed onto the ground hard enough to make my stomach clench from the sound of the impact. Charles jerked his hand back, dragging the redhead across the room like a rag doll. Charles took a casual step forward and placed one shoe upon the demon’s chest. ”We have plans for you.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I said, moving toward them with the useless gun still in my hand. I shrugged my shoulders just slightly, signaling Gary to hop off. From what I could tell, neither Charlie nor Ian could see him. If this went south, and I went down, I was going to need him to protect Renee. Hopefully, he’d understand that.
Gary hopped from my shoulder and landed on the floor below. Not able to turn my eyes or my head for fear I’d give him away, I could only listen as his footsteps padded across the marble floor. Hopefully, he’d settle by Renee.
“You don’t know what I have to do, half-breed.” He looked down at Ian. “Or what I want to do. Fulton doesn’t like traitors. Especially mouthy traitors. You know the rules, Red. Snitches get stitches.”
Charlie lifted his hand and a ball of red energy appeared in it.
That magic was strange. It pressed against me in the way all magic did, like it wanted to instinctively exorcise my demonic half. But something about it felt off. This wasn’t traditional warlock energy. It was spiked with something else. That meant that there was an entire other level at play here. I was in way over my head.
“Ester!” Ian yelled, twisting his head backward. “Now! Do it now!”
A woman dressed in a long black dress that flowed all Stevie Nicks style against the marble floor jumped up from the crowd of onlookers, frozen in their benches. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She twisted her hands over her ample chest and threw them forward.
Offensive magic.
A flurry of tiny explosions lit up all around Charlie. They were bright, loud, and instant. And from the look of things, probably hurt like hell.
Charlie stumbled backward, the energy ball dissipating from his palm.
“Take it down!” I yelled at the witch who was obviously powering the spell that had time stopped in here. “Take it down now!”
She looked at me, narrowing her eyes like she didn’t know whether to acquiesce or not.
My eyes flashed red as I darted toward Renee, bridging the gap between us. “Take it down or I’ll make a meal out of you. I swear!”
“I’m not blowing my cover,” Ester shouted, twisting her hands and causing time to restart for Renee. “The ADA is all you’re getting.”
It was more than enough. Renee came back to me with a start, her eyes blinking hard and her body jerking. I wanted to comfort her, to tell her what had happened, and that she’d be alright. That was a promise I wasn’t sure I could keep.
I focused myself, throwing Renee behind me and deciding to try the spell that had worked so well with Antoine…
“Disp--”
Charlie threw his hand out. An unseen fist punched me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me. I doubled over in pain as breath exploded from my lips. I tried to recover, to shake it off like a badass, but before I could, unseen force grabbed me by the throat and hurled me over Renee’s head.
Stars flashed across my eyes as I smashed against the back wall and fell to the marble below. As I slumped to the ground, trying to remember how to breathe, Gary started toward me.
“No!” I cried while trying to glare my next sentence at him. ”Get Renee!”
“Don’t worry,” Charles Whitmore said, thinking I was talking to him. “I’m not going to kill her. Fulton needs her alive. At least for the moment.”
Renee was shaking, her green eyes sliding over to me, looking for salvation I couldn’t provide. I had never felt more impotent in my entire life.
“You touch her, and I’ll end your life,” I swore, stumbling to my feet. It was harder to do than it should have been.
“You’re a little late to that particular party, Detective Morgan,” Charlie answered and reached out for Renee.
Maybe she could have done something, but fear had her frozen in place. And though I was rushing toward them as fast as my worn-out shoes would take me, I knew I wouldn’t be fast enough.
Gary leapt atop Charlie, sinking his teeth into the man’s throat. Charlie reared backward
, grabbing my imp and snapping his little green arm like a twig.
I cringed as he tossed Gary aside like so much trash, but I didn’t break stride. Gary could take care of himself. I had seen more than enough proof of it in the past, but Renee was a different story.
Charlie grabbed her by the throat and his hand started to glow. He said he wasn’t going to kill her, and I believed that. Whatever he was going to do though, I needed to stop.
I lunged toward the pair, but before I could reach them, Ian slammed shoulder first into Charlie, knocking him down.
Renee fell from his grip. She caught herself as she dropped. Her eyes were wide and full of anger, and I watched as she gripped the pen in her left hand. Was she going to use it to stab him or something?
“No!” I screamed. “Stay back! Leave it to the monsters!”
“You sonofabitch!” Ian said, punching Charlie with the same fervor I had felt back in the alley that night. Part of me wished I was the one beating this bastard’s ass. “You tell your boss I’m coming for him! You tell him he’s going to pay for what he did to Antoine! You--”
“Tell Fulton yourself,” Charlie said and threw a pressed palm into Ian’s chest. Instantly, I knew what was about to happen.
As a warlock, you’re taught about exorcism from a young age. It’s what you’re supposed to do, what you were built for. But, growing up half-demon, it had been a source of nightmares for me. I used to listen to stories of warlocks doing their duty, and I would picture the horrible act in my mind, knowing that if any of them ever found out what I was, they wouldn’t hesitate in doing the same to me.
I saw my first exorcism when I was eleven and nearly pissed myself. After that, I watched as many as I could, vowing to desensitize myself to the process, promising the feat wouldn’t have any more control over me.
As I watched it happen to Ian, I realized just how stupid that idea was. You never get used to seeing it. Not ever.
Ian’s body went limp as the magic burst through him in a flurry of red sparks. It seared into his skin and lit him up from the inside. I watched helplessly as the red light from Charlie’s hand filled Ian’s body and lit up his mouth, nose, eyes, and hair like he was a Jack-o’-lantern.
Pound of Flesh_An Urban Fantasy Novel Page 10
