by Kat Cotton
I put on a song, but I had no music in my heart. I just went through the motions, jumpy as hell, waiting for the right time to strike.
Then Kisho picked up the controller.
“You’re going to sing?”
He nodded. “Of course.”
When the two of us had gone together, there had been no “of course”. There’d just been him trying to shut me up. Ha, payback time. I’d mock him as much as he’d mocked me.
But then he started singing. God. He could actually sing. He sang so well that there was nothing I could say. Bastard. How dare he be so talented? It took all my ammo away from me.
Hana leaned over to get the controller. She made sure she leaned across Kisho’s body, her arm resting on his leg. My heart clenched up tight, but then I remembered I was going to kill her, and that cheered me up.
“How about we order some food instead?”
She screwed up her face. “The food here will be terrible. Let’s wait and get something decent when we’re done.”
Kisho shook his head. “I’m starving. I don’t think I’ll last the hour without eating.”
Good on him. Nice backup, there. I picked up the oversized, laminated menu from the table.
“Fries would be good. You guys check if you want anything else, though.”
I handed the menu to them and got out my phone. I had to queue up the dog barking noise. I could only do that while we had this break because, obviously, you couldn’t hear it while we were singing.
“I’ll put in the order.”
Kisho stood up. You used the phone near the door to put in your orders, then someone brought them to the room, a system I thought would be awesome for every situation in life.
He blocked the doorway. Hana was stuck. Perfect. Couldn’t have planned it better.
It only took one tap to get that dog barking noise. It filled the room and sounded way more realistic than I’d thought it would. The dog noise was the weakest part of my plan.
Hana squealed and jumped up on the table.
Voila, fox time!
Kisho squealed too. I probably should’ve told him about the dog thing. I guessed, even if you know someone has the ability to transform into a fox, actually seeing them do it still could be a bit shocking.
I had to get that star ball before she became human. I could see it, sparkling under the disco lights. So close. I just needed to grab it.
I pounced.
She sprang at me. Her teeth latched onto my arm.
“Owww!”
I punched her with my free hand.
Oh, man, I’d just punched a fox. An evil, paranormal fox, but still cute and fluffy. Fighting demons was one thing, but hurting an animal went against all my principles.
I tried to draw back, but her teeth sank in further. Scraping-the-bone deep. My eyes watered, and I suppressed a scream.
Rage fired up inside me. Screw not punching animals.
That star ball balanced there, iridescent and beautiful. But I couldn’t reach it. Not with her teeth still clamped around my arm.
I grabbed the fur at the back of her neck, trying to pry my arm free. Stupid move.
I couldn’t grab the ball while I was holding her. Kisho needed to do it.
“Kisho!”
He dropped the phone and sprang at her. Not fast enough. She shifted back into her human form, still biting into my arm.
Damn. We’d failed, and she’d never fall for that trick again.
“That wasn’t smart,” she said with a sly smile.
So, I punched her. My fist connected with her jaw, and she recoiled.
The stupidest part of an already stupid plan. But, hell, it was satisfying. Hitting her as a fox had screwed with me, but when she was human, I had no regrets.
“Bitch.”
“Slut,” she replied.
“I’m not a slut!” I yelled. “But you’re a light-fingered slag. A horrible, mean, nasty slag.”
This would descend into hair-pulling soon.
“You’re the worst demon fighter I’ve ever met,” she said.
I’d have punched her again, but she jumped off the table, knocking Kisho out of the way, and fled from the room.
My arm throbbed and I hoped I was up to date on tetanus shots, but I took off after her. There is no way that fox would escape us when we were so close to ending this case.
We raced down the hallway of the karaoke place. She ran down the stairs, and I followed. Kisho’s footfalls thudded down the metal stairs behind me. Surely, we’d catch her. She wore high heels. How fast can you run in them?
Then she shifted again. Okay. Running as a fox made it much easier.
She scurried through the foyer. I tried to follow, but one of the staff yelled at us.
“You have to pay!”
I think Kisho threw some notes at him, but I couldn’t stop to check. Hana rushed down the street, through the throb of people. I ran behind, dodging pedestrians and trying not to run into people.
Kisho ran beside me now.
We kept her in sight but couldn’t gain any ground on her.
She turned down a small alleyway. Signs on each side advertised weird-sounding bars, but they were all shut during the daytime. I nearly skidded on the slippery stone footpath but righted myself.
Where had she gone?
We’d lost her.
Kisho stopped beside me, searching for her.
I saw a flicker of red tail disappear down a flight of stairs.
“This way!” I shouted to Kisho.
Maybe we could corner her and actually succeed this time. No matter what, we had to destroy her.
We pounded down the stairs into the darkness below. I hoped there’d be a light switch somewhere.
As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I knew it was a trap. Even in the darkness, I could sense them. They were breathing loud enough that they had to be human.
The place smelled like a musty and abandoned storeroom, but a storeroom filled with people.
I yelled for Kisho to turn back, but it was too late. He’d reached the bottom of the stairs too, and they’d cornered us. No way of escape.
As a few dim lights flicked on, Hana shifted back to human form.
Around her, those stupid friends of hers looked ready to kill us.
Fuck!
Chapter 30 Clem: Zap
Someone rushed at me: the bass player from the other night. At least he was a demon, and I could kill him with no qualms. It’d be a public service to ensure that no one had to listen to his shitty band ever again.
I could almost hear Nic’s voice in my head saying “use the sexual thrall”, and, to be honest, I thought sometimes he just liked saying it because he got a kick out of it. I’d never really understood how my sex thrall thing worked. I just had it.
Now, it had disappeared. Maybe it’d been a temporary lapse, but I had no time to test things now. I had to count on it working.
I smiled at him, throwing all my sexual power into that smile. I had no hope that it’d work. Maybe I’d lost it all, but the demon stopped in his tracks.
“Huh? What are you doing? Get her!” Hana’s screeching voice bounced around the room.
He ignored her, a slow smile spreading over his face as his gaze locked with mine. Oh, yeah, it was back. Those glazed-over eyes and that bulge in the pants, all the signs I needed.
I stepped forward and plunged my knife into his neck.
Bam, no more demon.
I still had it.
That got the rest of the minions moving into action. I could take on Hana, but I couldn’t take on her and her minions, not even with Kisho’s help. We were screwed.
They rushed at us from all directions. I couldn’t use my aura on all of them at once, especially since a lot of them were human, but I fought them as best I could. Kisho fought beside me.
“Keep them back. I’ll get Hana,” I said to him.
He nodded.
Getting to Hana wasn’t that easy, th
ough. She made sure she was protected. Most of these minions were humans she’d bewitched in some way. That made fighting them harder, because I couldn’t just slice and dice them. That meant they weren’t that good at fighting, either.
One of the biggest guys came toward me. I couldn’t use my sexual thrall on him, but most human men didn’t need the thrall part. Any indication that they might get it, and all common sense left them. I tried making eye contact but that didn’t work. He didn’t look at me.
“Hey, buddy,” I called.
That should get him looking up.
Without thinking, I held my hand up.
A power surged through me. Where the hell had that come from? The core of my being shook. A rush of euphoria. The buzz overwhelmed me.
It built up to a crescendo. Had someone drugged me?
All that power concentrated in my outstretched hand. I flicked my fingers. A huge ball of light exploded from my hand, all blue and glowing.
I jumped back in shock.
The glowy light hit the guy and exploded into a million pieces. Blue sparks flew around the room, shattering and glowing before they died.
What the fuck had that been? It’d been beautiful but freaky as hell. Was it the Vampire King’s energy? Had that been inside me?
It knocked the guy off his feet and twisted him up in pain. I’d seen that look somewhere before, but it wasn’t time to reminisce.
Another guy rushed me.
I tried the same thing. My hand crackled with the energy surging from it. My whole body vibrated. Another blue explosion lit up the room.
Hell, I had a super-power! I’d become my own best weapon. The magic beam had him writhing in pain, too.
Two of them came at me at once. I had those suckers on the ground with just a flick of my hand.
The other minions ran off. Hana’s mind tricks weren’t strong enough to withstand my zappy power.
I expected Hana to run, but she stood her ground.
“So, what are you going to do?” she said, one hand on her hip.
Okay, this was the point of no return. I had to defeat her now, or this case would be a wipe-out. I didn’t fail. Ever. And now I had my super-power. I’d have that bitch talking in an instant.
I couldn’t kill Hana until I had the number of the locker, but I could take her star ball. Without that, she’d be powerless. Of course, first I had to make sure Kisho and I got out of here alive.
I held out my hand, willing all the energy in me to come out. I inhaled and drew deep down within myself.
The power surging through me almost knocked me out. That was some top-level strength.
The power flew across the room, all blue and glowy again.
Problem was, Hana had some kind of super-energy herself. A red glow, elemental, like lightning. She threw it back at me. The air around us crackled and ignited.
Then something detonated in the air.
Her power hit mine.
Sparks blasted like fireworks. Blue and red embers danced through the air, crackling and then dying out.
Whoa. That looked so pretty.
As the sparks cleared, I realized she’d shifted again.
I just needed to grab that fox and steal the star ball. I lunged for her, throwing myself to the floor to hold her.
This time, I made sure I was clear of the teeth.
I had her. I really had her. My hands entangled in that thick fur. I grabbed her tail.
The star ball rolled to the floor.
I’d almost had it.
I reached for it, but it was just beyond my grasp.
I scrambled to my feet. I’d get that ball.
Before I could scoop it up, something barreled into me, knocking me back to the floor. I struck my chin, and pain flooded through me. I tried to shake them off, but they were heavier than I’d expected.
The ball.
Just out of my grasp.
I struggled and fought. I needed to get this thing off me. I couldn’t get this far and lose.
That weight on my back immobilized me. I squirmed and struck out, wanting to hit it but not able to reach. All I did was graze my skin on the rough floor.
Before I could get loose, Kisho grabbed the ball off the floor.
“You need to use it,” I gasped.
God, I hoped he’d have common sense and not stick with this hippy bullshit. Being nice had gotten us nowhere.
“What’s the locker number?” he asked her.
Yes!
As she shifted back into human form, she snarled at him. “Give it back.”
“I’ll give it back when you tell us. We get the potion, you get your ball.”
She didn’t have the same strength as before. She could barely stand, and she doubled up in pain.
A few of her minions stood up, looking around them as though they had no idea where they were.
She snarled again.
“You promise?” she asked Kisho.
“No, Kisho, no!” I screamed.
I wouldn’t promise. She’d tried to kill us. I wouldn’t forgive that in a hurry. Or ever. He had all the power now. She had to do what he asked while he held that ball.
I struggled to get up again but that dead weight on my back ground me into the concrete floor. With my arms pinned down, I couldn’t even zap him. Bastard. When I got up, I’d kill him.
“I promise.”
I screamed again. The idiot! As soon as he gave the ball back to her, she’d kill us. There’d be no chance of escape. He could’ve at least promised to mail it back once we were out of the country.
“Shinjuku station,” she said. “Locker number A2016, near the West Exit.”
“You’re not lying to us?” I asked.
“She can’t,” Kisho said. “She has to tell the truth.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not giving the ball back until she returns everything she stole.”
“The potion is enough,” Kisho said.
He could toughen up. I wanted more than just the potion. She’d stolen from people, and I wanted her to give back all the things that didn’t belong to her. Even if we weren’t getting paid for that, Hana had hurt people with her stealing. That stuff was no use to her, anyway.
“Give it back now,” she said. She’d straightened up. Even without the star ball, her strength seemed to return.
“No, Kisho,” I said. “Not until we’re safe.”
When I got up, I’d kill this thing pinning me down.
“You’re safe, I promise you. Give it back, and I’ll let you leave safely. I’m not vengeful.”
Kisho wouldn’t actually believe that, would he? She’d say anything now that we had the power, but the minute she got it back, she’d be all about the revenge and the evil.
“No, Kisho.”
But I spoke too late. He handed the ball back to her. She scooped it up and laughed.
“Leave now,” she said.
The dead weight got off my back. When I stood, I realized he wasn’t even a demon, just a really big man. I couldn’t kill him, but I kicked him hard in the shins.
We needed to get to the station and get that potion.
I shivered. This basement had become extremely cold. Too cold for me to deal with.
Kisho walked toward the exit. I followed him with my arms wrapped around me. All my instincts said to stay and annihilate her, but I didn’t want Kisho leaving on his own, either. I had to trust that he knew more about this situation than I did. Only, I didn’t trust that easily.
I turned, making sure Hana wouldn’t double-cross us.
She’d shifted back into fox form.
As he reached the foot of the stairs, she lunged for him. She landed on his back, claws burrowing into his skin. He twisted, trying to get her off, but the fox snapped at him, snarling and wild.
Kisho screamed. The fox didn’t just want to bite or scratch. It wanted to rip his throat out. The bloodlust shone in her eyes.
I grabbed my knife and rushed to help. I knew what needed to
be done. I needed Kisho to stay still so I could get her.
When she saw my knife, she turned her anger from Kisho to me. She snarled at me and struggled to detangle herself from Kisho, but she’d trapped herself. She couldn’t remove her claws that quickly.
I lunged in and cut off that fox’s tail.
The fox fell from Kisho’s back, dissolving into particles. I’d killed it. No more kitsune.
As the dust hit the floor, it reformed into the girl. At first, her edges were blurred and out of focus, but gradually she became solid.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“It’s a long, long story,” I told her.
“Eh?”
Kisho said something to her in Japanese. Apparently, now that she was no longer possessed, she couldn’t understand English.
One of the minions who hadn’t run off came over and picked her up.
“She doesn’t need to know the whole story,” I told him. “Just the basics.”
We ran from the building. When we hit the street, I reached for Kisho’s hand, but he pulled it away from me. Back to this again. Coldness seeped into my bones even though the sun was shining.
We got to the station and searched for the locker. Crowds of people flooded around us but kept themselves distant from us even in that crush.
How many damn lockers were in this station?
Finally, we found it.
When the locker opened, I expected the potion to be something amazing. It might sparkle or shimmer. It’d obviously be in an ornate bottle. But nope, it was just an old jar with some murky, muddy liquid in it.
“Let’s take this to Yamaguchi right now,” I said.
“Let’s go back to the hotel and discuss it.”
His voice froze me. That distance had returned.
I walked at a brisk pace back to our hotel suite, but nothing warmed me up. I had no Kisho, nothing. I need warmth. What the hell was wrong with him?
Then I remembered. The pain on my victims’ faces. I had seen it before.
I had no fucking idea what had gone on there, but that pain was exactly the same as when the Vampire King had attacked Nic.
His energy had seeped back inside me. The cleansing at the waterfall really had done nothing.
Bloody hell, I’d have to find a way to cleanse myself. Or did I?
