by Dora Blume
“When have you ever known our father to do that?” Erik asked.
“I don’t know, like every battle we’ve faced since I’ve come back.” She waved her hand in the air as she spoke.
Erik shook his head. “So, the one time, then. Besides, that’s not true he was with us in Minneapolis.”
“Ah, no, he was sneaking out the back door when all the fighting began. Then, he was there at the end of it all. I’m sure we’ll see him when everything is over.” She rolled her eyes again.
“There’s no reasoning with you,” Erik said.
“We’re here; game faces people, game faces,” Mike smirked at Erik. Erik watched as he reached for Sloane’s hand. Erik looked down to reach for Jessie’s hand, but she already moved closer to the door. He sighed. He wasn’t ready to go in without her, but he didn’t have much of choice.
✭✭✭
Sloane met Mike’s eyes for a split second. He gripped her hand tighter before turning to the door. They waited patiently for Carlos, who was supposed to meet them to open the door. The truck had backed into the dock two minutes ago. Sloane looked over, Caroline and Jessie were standing by the door, huddled in a quiet conversation. Nick stood a little ways behind them, his thumbs through the loops of his jeans. He was poised like he was relaxed, but Sloane could see in the tightness of his features, he was ready for anything.
Mike pulled her toward him and bent next to her ear. “You think it’s strange the door hasn’t opened, yet?” he asked.
She bent closer to him. “I don’t know. We have coms so that we can communicate to the world outside. I don’t like this.” She scanned the room and noticed the same unease spreading. Erik stood clenching his hands in fists at his sides. Suddenly, there was a click near the door, and it slid open. A tall, dark-skinned young man stood at the door; his hand raised over his head.
“Sorry, my manager was asking a lot of questions about why I needed to open the door alone. It took me a bit to convince him.” He spoke with a tinge of a Spanish accent. Sloane released her breath slowly. This was it. They filed out of the truck and broke into teams. She noticed her brother split off with two other girls and Ely. She didn’t like being separated from him. She took comfort that he could contact them if he needed to through their coms. She met Mike’s eyes and wondered if he was thinking the same thing. She sighed, probably not.
Caroline made a motion for them to move forward. She drew her dagger out. She chose to bring knives for this fight instead of a gun. They were fighting against their warriors. She didn’t want to kill anyone in this battle. She would only do enough damage to give them time to dispossess them. The thought of killing Shikari members made her cringe. She relished killing demons, not hunters.
Caroline led them through the first floor, past the kitchens, and to a back staircase. They crept up the stairs. Caroline reached a hand out to stay Jessie a moment, then turned and nodded toward her. Sloane strained to hear what was going on beyond the stairwell. Caroline touched her hand to her ear.
“There are six in the first set of offices. There is a workroom around the corner to the right. Three are in there. We need to move swiftly.” She nodded toward Jessie. They both whipped around the corner. Jessie reached her hands up and froze the one man walking down the hall. Nick stood next to him, whispering the incantation. Jessie followed Caroline to the right. She swung the door and held her hands up again. The people in the room froze. She walked in and said the incantation next to the lady standing in front of the copier. She glanced over; Mike had moved next to a man in a gray pinstripe suit.
Caroline and Jessie were waiting next to the open doorway. Caroline’s forehead was furrowed in concentration, and Jessie was watching her. Sloane stole a glance around the room. She was feeling pretty useless. Jessie looked back, and the others had moved behind her and Caroline. Caroline moved to whisper to them.
“I can’t hear anyone in Mr. Hall’s office, so we have to be ready for anything.” She looked into their eyes individually. They followed them out of the room. The offices seemed empty for a school. Sloane figured the teachers were in classes. Caroline stopped in front what must’ve been Mr. Hall’s door. She reached her hand to turn the knob slowly. Jessie was perched on the balls of her feet.
When the door opened, Caroline’s mouth dropped. Her daughter, Nicole was sitting atop the desk, arms crossed, grinning. Jessie raised her arms, but she didn’t freeze. She smirked in Jessie’s direction. Suddenly, Jessie turned and walked out of the room.
“What the hell?” She stopped Jessie before she got too far.
“Mom, it’s so nice of you to bring some friends to play with me. I always wanted more friends.” She smirked toward Mike and Sloane. Mike sat on the floor and began acting like he was playing with cars. Even adding, “vroom.” Sloane stared down at him horrified. He had just been reduced to a child. She looked up at the girl. She didn’t care if she was Caroline’s daughter. She was going to kill her.
She cocked her head to the side and stared at Sloane. “Huh, it doesn’t seem to work on you. Too bad, I thought you’d like to play with your little boyfriend there. Maybe, I’ll have him play in other ways.”
Sloane glared at the girl. Mike stood next to her and started dancing. When he lifted his shirt and began undressing, Sloane’s eyes widened. “Oh, hell no.” She pushed him out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Jessie and Mike in the hallway.
Caroline regained her composure. “Nicole, stop this.” She attempted to be commanding, but her voice cracked at the end.
Nick took a step toward her. “Nicky, baby, this isn’t you. You need to fight the demon. I know you’re stronger than this.” He said in a soothing voice.
Her eyes shifted to him. “Oh, am I daddy? Am I? I don’t think so.” She threw her head back and let out a villainous cackle. She narrowed her eyes, and he dropped to his knees.
“Nicole, stop!” he cried out. He tumbled to the floor, clutching at his chest.
“Nicole, I am your mother stop this nonsense, right now!” She took a step forward.
Nicole laughed. “Caroline, you think I’m going to listen to you? Nicole is gone. I have to tell you; she feels freer with me than she has in her whole life. That’s why she’s not fighting me. She doesn’t want to be a boring student anymore. She wants to have fun. You both have stopped her from living her life. I set her free to be able to do whatever she wanted. You’ve kept her sheltered, caged. I set her free. There’s nothing you can do about it.” Nicole grinned as Nick gasped in breaths on the floor.
Sloane had crept around to the side of the room while Nicole had been focused on the other two. So, far she hadn’t noticed. Sloane gave Caroline a knowing look, hoping she would keep her busy.
Caroline’s eyes narrowed. “You are not my daughter. You don’t know my baby. She’d fight. She’d never let a demon win against her. She’s too strong for that. You’re weak. The only reason she hasn’t dispelled you is because of the amulet you wear around your neck.”
Sloane had reached to stand behind the desk. She leaned forward, extending her hand. Trying to carefully grab the necklace before Nicole could realize she was there.
“Weak?” Nicole cackled. “I’m in your daughter, right now. I’m far from weak.”
Sloane decided to just go for it. She reached her hand out to her neck. She gripped the necklace as well as her collar and yanked on them both. Her collar ripped, and the chain broke into pieces. Nicole whirled on her. Sloane ducked her first blow and landed one of her own to Nicole’s gut. Her arms instinctively clutched her stomach. Sloane grabbed a paperweight from the desk and hit her in the side of the head with it. Her eyes went wide before she slumped to the side of the desk.
Sloane looked up, “Sorry Caroline, it had to be done.” She shrugged. Sloane pulled the amulet the rest of the way off of her and slid it into her pocket. She strode to the hall to check on Mike and Jessie. They stood blinking on the other side of the doorway. Mike’s clothes were nex
t to him on the floor. He bent to retrieve them, holding the pile in front of him.
“What the hell just happened?” he asked, still blinking confusedly.
“Nicole thought it would be funny if you stripped for her.” Sloane slid her gaze hungrily down his body. “I mean, I didn’t mind except for all the other people around.” She grinned wide at him. He rolled his eyes.
Sloane looked to Jessie, who looked stunned. Her eyes were wide, and she kept darting glances around the hallway. “That bitch could’ve gotten us killed,” she said.
“I think that’s what she was going for.” Sloane looked back over her shoulder. Caroline was standing over her daughter. Sloane watched as she brushed a piece of hair back from over her eyes. She took a few steps and knelt next to Nick on the floor. He lay motionless. Sloane walked back in.
“Are there any other demons in the building?” she asked Caroline.
“I don’t hear any, but that doesn’t mean they’re not here.” She looked from Nick to her daughter. “Where the hell is Mr. Hall. I’d like to get my hands on him.”
Sloane looked down to Nick. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I don’t know what she did, exactly. He’s breathing, but his pulse is faint. We need to get him to a hospital.” She looked to Mike. “Do you think you can get him back down the stairs?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think I can carry him. What about Nicole?” he nodded toward Nicole who was still slumped on the desk.
“I’ll take her,” Caroline said.
“I’m going to check on the others.” She reached her hand up to the Com in her ear. “Erik, you guys okay? We’ve got Nicole, but no Mr. Hall.” She waited and listened. They didn’t hear any response. “I thought we would be in communication with them?” She asked looking to Caroline.
“We’re supposed to be. Let’s get back down there to see what’s going on.” She lifted Nicole in her arms, and Mike took Nick. Jessie walked out front, and Sloane took up the rear. None of them wanted to be surprised by another demon. They’d dispossessed everyone they could find in the building, but Sloane wasn’t sure how many of those damn amulets were out there.
Chapter 23
Erik had listened to thoughts as he led the group through the West building. The first floor was filled with classrooms. Erik frowned as they moved down the hall. It was the middle of the afternoon; classes should be going on. Many of the rooms they passed were shut and locked. They’d already walked by four rooms that were closed up.
Rachel walked up beside him. “Many of the students have gone home for break.” She peered up at him.
He looked at her questioningly. “Reading thoughts isn’t your gift. How did you know what I was thinking?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It was written all over your face. I’d love to play poker with you sometime. Your face is very transparent in your expressions. I could get a couple hundred off you easy.” She raised a brow at him. He wasn’t sure what it was about Rachel, but he liked her. Even though, when he’d first seen her, she’d sent him the worst image he could ever imagine.
“Sorry about earlier. I don’t like my mind being intruded on.” She kept following him. The first floor had been devoid of people so far.
“Yeah, I usually don’t listen in on other Shikari members unless I have to. I don’t like to invade others privacy. I only use my ability to hunt demons.” He stopped as they approached the end of the hall. One room on the right had a light on. The hairs on the back of Erik’s neck stood up. He knew there were demons nearby. He focused on listening for them. He held a hand out to stop Rachel from moving forward. He couldn’t hear any thoughts which had him concerned. He knew there were demons, but he had no idea how many were in there.
He moved against the wall and bent to speak low to Rachel. “There are demons in the next room. I can’t read their thoughts. They must be wearing amulets. With those on, our powers will be useless against them.”
Ely took a step forward. “Not my power. I can astral project from here and distract them. You guys can then go through the door. Let’s try not to hurt our own too badly though, aye?”
The others nodded. “Speaking of abilities, what can you guys do?” Erik looked from Peyton to Mya.
Mya bit the side of her lip. “Nothing much, just this.” The knife Erik had drawn flew out of his hand and into Mya’s.
“What the hell?” he’d blurted.
“Why didn’t you say anything? You can just get the amulets off them.” His eyes were alighted with anticipation. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten so lucky.
“Well, I don’t know if it will work on the amulets since they’re meant to block our powers. I sure will try my darndest though.” She smiled slightly.
“Okay, so Ely you go in and distract them. While you have them looking away from the door, we’ll file in. Mya, you try to get the amulets off their neck. If you can’t, we fight them. Only use knives though, we don’t want to hurt any of them.”
“Sounds like a plan. You ready?” Ely asked. They nodded. Ely closed his eyes and Erik watched as he seemed to shimmer momentarily, then he was utterly still. Erik sprang into the room, followed by Rachel and Mya. They were looking toward Ely. One had charged forward. His arms outstretched, ready to slam into him. A moment before the demon reached him; he shimmered and disappeared. The guy stumbled through where Ely had once been. Ely re-appeared next to one of the other demons. Erik was surprised; he didn’t expect there to be four guys in here. All are wearing amulets around their necks.
Erik glanced to Mya, she had one finger pointed toward one of the men, and she flicked her finger. Erik whipped his head in the direction of her finger. The guy she was pointing at still had the chain fastened around his neck. Mya shook her head as he looked at her. He knew her power didn’t work as long as they wore those chains. Erik rushed forward, his dagger in hand. He didn’t want to injure them too badly, but he needed to stop them. They were Shikari, but they were also demons who would do whatever they could to try to kill him.
He rushed toward the brute before him. Erik knew his bulkiness would be to Erik’s advantage as long as he didn’t get any jabs in. He had a feeling one jab from this guy, and he’d be on his knees. The man charged. Erik ducked the blow and swung his knife out, grazing the man’s abdomen. He sprung lightly around him, pivoting quickly before the man could grab at his clothes. The man lunged for Erik again, and he somersaulted over the beast sweeping his blade across the man’s shoulder. He heard Rachel behind him say, “Man, now you’re just showing off.”
Erik’s grin grew wide as he turned to kick out at the man. He stumbled forward, and Erik reached to yank the chain from his neck. It gave easily, and Erik clutched the chain in his hand. The amulet had skidded across the floor. Mya saw the man was free of the chain, and she flung him against the wall. He hit with such force that he slumped to the floor. Erik whirled ready to take on the next attacker.
Rachel stood over one of the men. He was on his knees, his head in his hands, weeping. “Do you think you could just dispossess him instead of prolonging his suffering?” Erik shook his head at her.
“What? You were showing off your acrobatics. I think I can do the same.” She smirked at him.
Erik rolled his eyes. “Come on, I know you don’t know how traumatizing your power is, but I can say it’s pretty traumatizing. Take care of the demon, already.” Erik looked to Ely, Peyton and Mya had already taken care of the other two guys. They lay on the floor, unconscious. “Well, that wasn’t too bad,” Erik said, nodding as he assessed the four guys. “Have you dispossessed them?” Erik asked.
“Peyton just took care of one of them. We’ll do the other guy next. You want to go take care of the guy Mya flew into the wall.” Ely pointed to the guy Erik had been fighting.
“Yeah, I’ll take care of him.” Erik strode over to the brute. He said the incantation quickly and watched as the black smoke of the demon rose from the man, then dissipated into dust. “I love when they do that.�
� He muttered, satisfied.
“Okay,” Rachel sashayed up to Erik, one hand on her hip. “Where to next? I know those weren’t the only demons in this building. We still have four more floors to go.” She clapped her hands together once.
“Weren’t you the one just saying that people were gone for a break? I’d prefer fewer demons, not more.” He straightened his mouth into a hard line as he assessed her. She was standing on the balls of her feet, almost bouncing. He took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s go to the second floor.” He huffed. He scanned the others and trudged toward the door. He didn’t mind fighting, but the way Rachel had hackled him about his fighting, he wasn’t sure he wanted her around for their next fight. She relied on her abilities too much, and they may be useless if the demons all have amulets.
He took the lead again and motioned for them to follow him up the steps. He could hear more thoughts up here than before. He stopped before reaching the next room. There were two girls inside, neither of them was demons. He moved his finger to his lips to motion for them to be silent. He crept by their room without either girl noticing. It looked like a counselor’s office or something. They made it past without being noticed. Erik concentrated as he moved forward.
Suddenly, Erik heard a thump. He turned, and Peyton had been struck. He was lying on the floor. Erik’s eyes widened. “Look out,” he said as a red-headed man lunged for Mya. She whirled and threw him down the hall. Erik smirked, damn that’s an awesome power. Ely went to the guy who Mya flung. A moment later black smoke was evaporating into dust. He glanced to Rachel, her eyes widened. Erik spun, ducking as he swept a foot out. The tall, bearded man fell backward, screaming. He looked back to Rachel.
She lifted her hands out, “What? He was coming after you.” She stepped over him as he writhed on the floor, clutching his head.
Erik quickly said the incantation. He visibly relaxed when he was done. “At least you stop when they’re no longer demons,” he said catching up to Rachel as she continued down the hall.
