Conner and Harper walked in, hand in hand. Alec turned and looked at them. He knew it shouldn't bother him to see them together and, for the most part, it didn't, but for some reason tonight it was just getting under his skin.
"What are you two doing here?" he asked.
"What a way to greet your friends," Conner said. "You're grouchy. What's going on, Alec?"
"You mean you haven't noticed that it's still raining?" Alec said. "People are dying, Conner. How can you be so cavalier?"
"I'm not cavalier," Conner said. "I just don't know what you want us to do. If you don't want us to fight for Akain, what is there to do about the rain except wait for someone else to kill Bartholomew?"
"What?" Alec demanded. "You want to cave in to blackmail? You want to negotiate with terrorists?"
"He's not a terrorist," Harper said. "He's a demon. There's a difference. What if he doesn't find another way to kill whoever it is he wants dead? What if it has to be us, and not someone else? We can't let the rain continue forever."
Alec shrugged. "He's acting like one, and you know what? We're not caving. He can cave. It's not our job to run after demon's enemies to kill for them. We have more important things to do. Like help the police."
"We couldn't turn him down," Harper said. "His case is genuine. He actually needs our help, and he's not a demon or a terrorist. And yeah, he threatened us, but we made it clear that's not why we're helping him. He got the message."
"I hope so," Alec said. "Because otherwise we're going to be playing clean-up crew for every detective who has to deal with something supernatural, and that's not our job either. Our job is taking jobs that are given to us."
Conner rolled his eyes. "So, my son found out he's an incubus."
Alec was briefly distracted from his annoyance. "Oh? How did that go? Did he take it well?"
"He just agreed with everything I said about not using his powers to get his way with things, and then said he wanted to play on his computer," Conner admitted. "But I think I made some progress. He knows he's not alone now and that's the important thing."
"And Conner stayed the night there," Harper said.
"What?" Alec looked curiously between the two.
He wondered why Harper was being so easy about it. If his significant other had been staying the night over at an ex-lover's house, he definitely wouldn't be handling it with such grace. Then again, Harper did tend to handle things with grace.
Conner shrugged a shoulder. "It was late at night, the roads were bad, and she offered me beer and a guest room. How could I say no?"
"Just remember that the closer you get to him, the more danger that puts him in," Alec said. "I don't have to remind you that a demon took him to get at us once before and that was before you even knew he was your son."
"Then we're going to have to work hard to protect him," Conner said.
"You know that Afterlife will do whatever it takes to keep your son safe," Alec said. "I promise you that. We will never let anything happen to him. I'm just warning you that he'll have more of a target on him now."
Conner nodded. "I know. I'm prepared to defend him."
Alec forced a smile. Even though he was happy for Conner, he was also jealous of him. Having a son was something he'd never experience. He would never raise a child, never impart upon offspring things of importance. He would never get the opportunity to sculpt their mind and shape their personality. It was something that had been taken from him, along with his mortality.
"You never did say what you were doing here," he said.
"We're here to meet Sarah and Brittney," Harper said. "They're supposed to help us with this fire-starter demon case. Apparently the woman is claiming to be possessed. Or at least she was, before she went to prison. We don't know if she still is, but fires are starting around her again, so it could very well be that the same demon is possessing her."
Alec nodded. "Well, you have our full resources at your disposal. That includes me. I'll help however I can."
Really, anything to distract himself would be something worth doing. He didn't mention that though. He thought if the others knew his recent train of thought that they'd feel sorry for him, and he didn't want that. He was their fearless leader, after all. He was the one to lead them into battle. Knowing that he was doubting himself and his life would only make them question him as well, and he couldn't stand that. He needed them -- they were his family.
Sarah and Brittney came in a few minutes later. They had apparently drove together because they were both carrying drinks from a coffee shop. Alec glanced at their orders. It looked the same as always. Brittney had a blended mocha, and Sarah had a hot drink, probably coffee with two creams and a sugar. For someone who was as obsessed with health as she was, Alec was always surprised when she added sugar to her coffee.
"Hey, guys," Harper said.
"Hey," Brittney and Sarah said together. They grinned at each other, clicked coffee cups, and then came to sit down.
"How is it out there?" Alec asked.
"It's a nightmare," Sarah said. "I wouldn't let Brittney drive. She's a mad woman behind the wheel. We'd be dead right now."
"That's an exaggeration," Brittney said. "Just because I yelled at one other driver..."
"Road rage will get you killed," Sarah admonished. Brittney rolled her eyes.
Alec lit up a cigarette and took a drag. Sarah gave the cigarette a dirty look, but Alec just shrugged at her. It wasn't like smoking could kill him. The thought brought a small smile to his lips. He winked at her and she glared at him in return.
"You know those things are bad for you, right? And for the rest of us, Alec. Secondhand smoke kills."
"You worry too much," Alec told her. "Of all the things that can kill us, it's not going to be my cigarette smoke. Right, guys?"
"He's got a point," Harper said. She went to the mini fridge and got herself a ginger ale. "I mean, we fight demons every day. What's a little thing like a cigarette in comparison to that?"
"It's a silent killer," Brittney said in a stern tone.
She held an equally stern face for a second, then laughed. The rest of them joined in. They were still laughing when the back door to the club flew open and Chloe came rushing in. There were tears pouring down her cheeks, and she was completely drenched.
"Chloe?" Brittney was on her feet in an instant. The laughter in the room stopped, as though cut with a guillotine blade. "What is it? What's happened?"
"Are you hurt?" Alec demanded. She said nothing, just stared at them all as though a little lost and confused. He jumped up to her, grabbed her by both arms, and gave her a small shake. "Chloe, what happened? Are you hurt?"
"No," Chloe gasped out.
She slid into Alec's arms, and he caught her. She weighed nothing. He held her as she sobbed against his chest. When she ran out of cries, she backed up and wiped at her face. Her nose was running.
"There was a little girl," she said. "Her name was Allie. I was teaching her self-defense."
"Okay..."
The group looked on as one as Chloe made her way over to a chair and sat down. She combed her fingers through her hair, letting the water pool up on the floor beneath her.
"She was so young, and so small. I thought I could help her, because boys were picking on her because of her size. So I was teaching her self-defense. But the demons got her, I don't know if she thought she could fight because of what I taught her... I told her if she saw them to run, run and hide, but she didn't, and one of them got her. They took her, Alec... and right in front of me they..."
She couldn't continue. Brittney snatched her out of Alec's arms and put her own around her. She drew her tight as her sobs renewed.
"That's it," Harper said, looking at Alec.
"What?"
"We're going to stop him," Harper said.
"Who? Akain?" Alec shook his head. "He's too powerful for us. He'll kill us all if we try to go up against him. Trust me, I've thought about it before. We just don't
have the strength. Not now. Maybe if Harper's powers were more developed, and Chloe could cast stronger spells..."
Harper shook her head, grabbing Conner's hand idly. "Not Akain. I know he's too powerful. The demon he wants us to kill for him. Bartholomew. We're going to kill Bartholomew."
Alec opened his mouth -- whether to argue or to agree, he didn't know -- but before he could speak, Sarah spoke up.
"She's right. We're going to take him down and make this rain stop. Enough people have died because we don't want to give in to Akain's demands. But I don't care about giving into demands anymore. Screw our pride."
Conner nodded. "I agree. Bartholomew has to go down so Akain will stop this. People are dying, and not just from demons. They're dying from car crashes, and live wires in the streets, and flooded houses. I've heard of buildings literally coming apart at the seams because the foundations aren't holding."
"I'm with you guys," Brittney said, still stroking Chloe's hair. "We're going to kill the jerk, and when we're done, we're going to get more powerful. And when we are--"
"--Then it's time for Akain to go!" Chloe said, her voice trembling but strong. "He's done enough damage. We're not going to let him do something like this again."
"We're going to have to be strong," Alec said. "A lot stronger than we are now."
"Then we'll be strong," Harper said. "Right, guys?"
"Right."
Everyone seemed in agreement, so Alec went to his laptop and opened it. "Well, if we're going to kill Bartholomew, we better start researching him. I've never heard of him. Have you?"
He looked over at Conner and then at Sarah. Both of them shook their heads.
"Akain said he was a large player in the lower circles," Chloe said. "That's something to go on, right?"
"Right," Alec said. "Conner, I want you to try and find anyone you might know from the San Fransisco. See what you can find out about Bartholomew. Sarah, hit up the gym again. See what you can find out. Even if you don't hear his name exactly, you might hear something that gives us a clue."
"Will do," Sarah said. "I'll go now."
"Take Chloe with you," Alec reminded her. "Conner... you should take someone with you. I can't go, they know me too well."
"I'll be fine on my own," Conner said. "Actually, come to think of it, maybe I can ask Janice to go with me. She's a witch. Not all witches are good, and she's an unknown."
Alec glanced over to see Harper's reaction. She simply nodded.
"Brittney and Harper, you're still working the case of the fire-girl," Alec said. "See if you can get that wrapped up and out of the way quickly. We want our attention all on the same thing."
"Will do," Brittney said. Harper nodded her agreement again.
"Okay," Alec said. "I'll do my own research and we'll meet up again. Everyone, be careful out there. We don't want a repeat of Phoenix."
Everyone nodded this time.
Alec turned his attention to his laptop and began researching. Conner excused himself to go get to Janice. Brittney and Harper pulled out their own laptops, and Sarah and Chloe went together to get their gym clothes.
It was going to be a long few days, Alec thought. But they could handle it. His crew could handle anything.
TWELVE
Brittney and Harper spent the entire afternoon delving into the old cases the woman had been convicted of setting. Her name was Hannah Baker. She had first told the arresting officers that it wasn't her fault; that a demon had possessed her. She had repeated this all the way up to trial, where her lawyer had pushed for a psych evaluation. His motion had been denied by the judge and the jury sentenced her to five years in prison.
She had been released after two years for good behavior and fires had started again around her. They came to the same conclusion as George: they were set by the same person as before. Hannah Baker was guilty. It wouldn't be long before someone else made the connection and she ended up back behind bars.
Brittney felt bad for the woman; if she had truly been possessed by a demon, then the fires weren't her fault. Yet she'd spent two years in prison for it. Now the demon was using her again, and there was nothing she could do to prove it.
"The first thing we need to do is find her," Brittney said. "It shouldn't be too hard, should it? I mean, she's not allowed to leave Las Vegas and we know her address. As long as she still lives there."
Harper nodded. "It's a little late to do that tonight, though. We'll go out tomorrow morning. Let's head back to the house for the night."
"Let's take Peter with us to interview the firemen who put out the fires," Brittney suggested. "We can introduce him as our assistant, or as an intern or something. He really wants to be involved somehow."
"Alright," Harper said. "We can do that."
They drove home, and started to get out of the car when Brittney realized their front door was open. She frowned and nudged Harper. "Peter left the door open again. I hope Ash didn't get out."
"Like she'd go running in this rain," Harper said. "We're going to find her cuddled up on the couch again, looking terrified of the thunder. Poor pup. We need to talk to Peter about this, though. He needs to lock the door so it doesn't blow open. Besides, even though this is a nice neighborhood, I still don't fancy getting robbed."
Brittney nodded. "Come on. Let's get inside before we get soaked."
They hurried inside, their hands over their heads, and both came to a complete stop as they stepped over the threshold. The house was trashed -- the second time since they'd moved there. Stands were pushed over, couches were flipped, everything was off the walls. This time, their artwork was slashed and ripped up.
"Peter!" Brittney called, running past the mess to his bedroom in the back. The door was closed and the door locked. She kicked it open. Peter was on the bed, bleeding from a giant hole in his stomach. His hands were covered in blood as he tried to stop the flow.
Brittney rushed up to him, hardly noticing Harper following. She knelt down beside him and put her hands over his, trying to stop the flow. "Harper! Call 911!"
"No," Peter whispered. "Get Sarah."
Brittney ignored him. "Harper! Now!'
Harper already had her phone out. She was about to dial when Peter screamed out, "No! Get Sarah, damn it!"
Her finger hesitated over the keypad and then she called Sarah.
"Get over here," she said with no preamble. "Peter's been attacked. It's bad. Emergency bad."
"I'm on my way," Sarah said.
Brittney grabbed a pillow, ripped off the pillowcase, and used it to stop the flowing of the blood. "What happened, Peter?"
"It was the councilwoman," Peter said. "She said this was a warning. The rain stops or we all end up like this. If I go the hospital, she'll know."
"I don't care," Brittney said. She was aware, dimly, that she was crying. "You're dying, Peter."
"I'm not dying," he said harshly. "I'm just hurt. Badly hurt, but just hurt. She brought demons with her. One of them took a chunk out of me. They'll question me at the hospital. The police will get involved. Is that what you want? Brittney, look at me. Is that what you want?"
"No," Brittney whispered. "Harper, get some water for him."
Harper disappeared into the kitchen. All of their dishes had been flung and broken all over the place. She located a plastic cup and filled it with ice water. Their junk drawer had been dumped out so she looked around the floor for a straw. She found one quickly, stuck it in, and brought it back to the room. She knelt down beside Peter's head and stuck the straw in his mouth. He sucked softly, then coughed. There was blood on his lips.
Sarah didn't knock when she arrived, just brought her medical kit straight back to the bedroom. She quickly went to work on patching Peter up. In a few minutes, she had him sitting up, his wound bandaged, and his body cleaned up.
"I'm going to kill her," Brittney said. "Where's my gun?"
Harper grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side. "Don't be stupid. You said it yourself; she has at lea
st dozens of demons protecting her. You go after her like this, she's going to eat you alive. If she doesn't kill you, her demons will, or they'll turn you. We have to be smart about this."
"And what's being smart?" Brittney asked. "They destroyed our place and they attacked Peter. They need to pay."
"And they will," Harper said. "But not now. The best thing we can do now is what we're already doing. We kill Bartholomew, we stop the rain. That'll satisfy the councilwoman. Then, after we take out Akain, we can focus on her. We need more power first."
Brittney looked like she wanted to argue, but Harper shook her head.
"We need to do this right," Harper said. "We don't want to end up dead or have our family members end up dead. Let's get Alec over here, just in case."
"Alright," Brittney said. She quickly grabbed her phone and called Alec. "Our place is trashed and my brother was attacked by a demon. Rebecca Stanley did it. Sarah patched him up but it's bad. He won't go to the hospital and Harper won't let me go kill the woman. We need you to make sure he's not going to turn into a demon or something."
"I'll be right there," Alec said. "Give me a few minutes."
Brittney hung up and looked around. She found Ash hiding under a bed and cuddled her, stroking her fur. She had been afraid of finding her dead but apparently they had decided that would go too far. Attacking her brother? Sure. Killing a dog, that was not cool.
Alec arrived a few minutes later. He had sped all the way over and gave little care to getting pulled over for speeding. He walked in, looked around, and winced. The place was a mess. He was just glad that nobody was dead. Though Peter could have easily been killed. That was it; nobody was going to be anywhere alone, not even at home.
He went to the back bedroom and looked over the wound. "Describe the demon that attacked you."
"It looked like a dog," Peter said. "Except it listened to commands and it was red an scaly."
Make it Rain (Afterlife Book 10) Page 6
