I couldn’t think of anything else to ask, and he stopped feeling the need to blurt out stuff that might help me figure out a plan for the slippery demon I needed to catch. We fell into a semi-comfortable silence.
He got me to deal with the handful of customers that came to the desk, which wasn’t as big of a pain in the arse as I’d assumed it might be.
Turns out, the job itself was easy. So, at least there’s that. Other than being keen to avoid locking eyes with the customers for fear of catching sight of any demons that might be haunting them, this front desk thing was a doddle. The waitressing wasn’t too hard either. Time went quickly once I started on the lunch rush. It was busier than yesterday. The chef told me to take off the waistcoat, though. It was far too big and looked ridiculous, but worse than that it got in my way every time I had to pick up or put down plates. I put it back on reluctantly when I was done with my waitressing duties.
A couple of hours and I’d get the chance to ditch it, and speak to Mason in private. My stomach was already filling with butterflies at the thought of that. The last time we’d been alone together was that night at the school. Right before everything had fallen apart.
No matter what happened, I couldn’t run away again. This was it. I had to stand my ground and deal with whatever came at me. Demons included.
The last hour is when it happened. I saw the demon’s host outside while I was walking back from taking a room service order to the kitchen. The glass fronted doors revealed him walking towards the building, but not towards the front doors. I rushed to the doors and peered out. He was gone from sight. Shit. Where did he go?
I took a couple of steps out and looked around. I almost missed it, he’s fast, but I caught sight of his leg disappearing into a second floor window. I gasped in a breath and made sure I had the room number figured out before I stepped back inside, working it out from where I knew my own bedroom window was.
Darting to the reception desk, I ignored Mason’s surprise as I headed straight for the computer and brought up the reservations list. The room he went into was empty. The uneasy feeling in my stomach didn’t fade. I didn’t know what the hell the killer was up to, but I had to find out.
“What’s going on?” Mason asked as I was looking at the key rack.
I smiled tightly, picking a key off the rack and throwing him an apologetic glance. “Rain check on the talk.”
The killer’s disappearance into that empty room had thrown out my first thought, that he was opportunistically going after the nearest lone woman in the hotel. It didn’t mean he wasn’t up to something sketchy. I considered my options for two seconds and then dashed towards the back stairwell.
“Hey...” Mason’s wounded voice faded behind me as I rushed up the stairs to the second floor.
I was sweating and breathless from my harried rush to get up there, when I saw the demon’s host leave the room. He had his back to me, heading in the direction of the elevator and the main stairwell. I could either follow him and try to knock him out, or I could check the room. Considering there was nothing nearby I could use as a weapon, I went for the room. Maybe I could grab one of those metal ornaments in there...
I was just opening the door when I saw Mason rushing towards me from the stairwell I’d just come up. Groaning inwardly, I tried to come up with an explanation that would make some kind of sense. My mind went blank. There’s nothing. I couldn’t explain what I was doing. Not without telling the truth and sounding like a complete and utter lunatic. I seriously needed to learn how to lie. You’d think it would come naturally by now.
“Tina, what is it? What’s...” He frowned as I pushed the door open and stepped in to the dark room.
My eyes were just beginning to adjust and I was trying to figure out where the light switch was, when I heard the floorboards creak behind me. Mason had followed me inside. Damn it.
I sighed, only feeling my anger rise when his hand closed tightly on my wrist as the door shut behind him, cutting out the only light from the hallway and plunging us into darkness.
“Don’t move,” he whispered, setting the hairs on the back of my neck on end.
I tried to pull my arm away and his other arm closed around my waist, hugging me to him. What the hell? This was some kind of possessive bullshit. Shock stalled me as I tried to reconcile the way he was acting with the guy I’d known since we were kids. This wasn’t like him. Not one bit.
Was it wrong that I would have liked it if I didn’t have other things to worry about right now? I laughed and he loosened his grip slightly.
“Someone died in here,” he said, his tone clipped. “Her spirit’s still in the room.”
His words triggered a memory of the night we’d slept together. Earlier that night I’d caught him talking to himself, but we were drunk so I’d written it off as nothing. Now I wasn’t so sure drinking had anything to do with it. He’d acted as if he didn’t remember after, which seemed to confirm my assumption. Lucy had always warned me that something was wrong with him. I’d shrugged it off as rumour at the time because the same could be said about me. But now?
I gasped in a breath. “You see ghosts.”
Did I believe in spirits? I’d never seen one, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t exist. I’d have to be a complete hypocrite to be sceptical considering my own secret abilities. Ghosts were real? Holy shit.
I reigned in my shock as I remembered I had a killer to catch. I pulled away, expecting him to let go without much resistance, but he refused. He was trying to walk me back to the door, to get me out of the room.
“I need to know what happened.” I reached out for the walls to pull away, and my fingers hit the switch.
Light flooded the room. The woman on the bed was gazing blankly at the wall, her throat and chest a bright scarlet mess. She looked like the killer’s first victim. The one from the night club. Pale white skin, black hair, and striking blue eyes. He has a definite victim type.
Mason let me go with a sigh, his face a mask of misery. This was what he’d tried to protect me from. As much as I understood that now, I didn’t have time to stand around and talk about it.
I moved forward quickly and picked up the bust of The Kelpies that sat on the desk across from the bed. There apparently was one of these things in every room. Good news to me. It was definitely heavy enough to knock a grown man out. I turned and found my path still blocked by the well-meaning brooding red-head whose special talent is apparently talking to ghosts.
I sighed. I did not have time for this. “Get out of my way, Mason.”
He frowned at me. I knew that expression. He’s confused as hell. “What are you doing?”
“The guy who did this just left. I’m going after him.” Like I said, no time for lies.
“We need to call the police.” His protest was predictable, but I couldn’t let him stop me.
I pushed past him, hoping again for little resistance. “The police can’t stop this.”
He let me pass but grabbed my arm before I could open the door. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Let me go.” I was starting to panic. How far could he have gotten by now? Too far to catch, was the likeliest answer. I cursed inwardly and pinged Mason’s wrist to get him to let go. It was enough to loosen his grip.
I broke away, rushing out of the room. Minutes had passed. It was probably already too late. I rushed out in the direction he’d left the room. The familiar dinging noise made me gasp in a breath. The elevator was just opening! Please let him still be waiting for it. I heard the second ding and push forward, smiling at the sight of his back, happy my prayer had been answered.
What were the chances? My luck was finally in. He’s just standing there in his black shirt and trousers, waiting for the doors to open, oblivious to the metal twin horses’ heads coming towards his skull. The crack was loud enough to make me worry. It wasn’t my intention to kill him, no matter how much of a scumbag the human host was, and he’s certainly no innocent. He had to hav
e evil in him to attract the demon to him in the first place, he had to have killed to attract a Wrath.
A stifled gasp brought my attention to the elevator. Lucy pushed a room service cart off the lift and fell to her knees in front of the killer, who was crumpled on the carpet, not moving. She touched his pulse and narrowed her eyes as she looked up at me. Aw hell. She just saw me brain him.
I dropped the statue as Mason arrived behind me, his mobile in his hand.
“What the hell, Tina?” Lucy shook her head as she looked up at me, and then him, narrowing her bright blue eyes at both of us. Shit. She looked angry. “You could have killed him.”
“So, I didn’t?” I really wasn’t sure. That was some crack when the statue connected. That damn thing had been heavy.
She blinked at me, her pale skin seeming to turn even whiter. “What’s going on, Tina? Have you been drinking again?”
She sounded pissed and I really don’t blame her, though Mason snorts loudly at the second question. If any one person had any clue that my problems were fuck all to do with alcohol, he’s the likeliest suspect.
“This guy just killed someone,” he told her, bringing his phone to his ear.
Lucy gasped. I couldn’t take my gaze off of Mason. I tried to think of a reason to stop him, something that would make sense to both of them. It was useless. There’s nothing. Everything was happening too fast and with too many spectators. I had to focus, to figure out what to do about this mess.
All I could think was, Shit! He’s calling the cops. My stomach squirmed. My one and only chance to take the demon down was to sleep. I couldn’t reach him, I couldn’t force him out of this body unless I could get to the dreamscape. The clock was ticking down every second this guy was knocked out. A few days and I hadn’t dreamt of his demon. The guy hadn’t been sleeping. This might be my only opportunity to take him down. Why was I not feeling the pull? Was he about to wake back up?
“What the...” Lucy stared at Mason as she got back on to her feet, leaning on the wheeled cart’s handle as she dusted off her skirt. “How?”
“I saw him climb into a room from outside. It was weird, so I came to check it out. I saw him leave the room. I went inside and Mason came to find me. There’s a dead girl in the room.” I could barely hear the words as they left my lips. Panic was setting in. I had to get to the dreamscape, and I didn’t know why it wasn’t happening. It only got worse when I realised there was a problem either way. If I didn’t get to the dreamscape I’d lost my chance. If I did, the killer might wake up before me and then Lucy and Mason would be at risk. Lucy, especially. She looked just like his victims. Why the hell did she have to look like them?
Lucy shuddered. “I...” She took a couple of deep breaths and pulled on a tight smile as she glanced from Mason to me and back again. “Have you closed the door? To the room? I need to deliver these, and I need to call the manager.” She turned to Mason. “Have the police come in around back, and tell them to park down the street.”
Mason had already hung up the phone. He glanced at me and then back at our decidedly more freaked out friend. “Lucy, can you go downstairs and ask someone else to look for the cops on the street and re-direct them? I don’t want to risk this guy taking off when he gains consciousness.”
Lucy nodded slowly. “Phyllis is going to be so mad about this.” She walked off down the hall with her cart, muttering to herself.
“I feel sick,” I said, feeling the pull of the dreamscape. Finally! Relief and worry filled me at the same time. My plan had worked. Knocking this fucker out had taken care of it. My friends were at risk if I didn’t get this done fast. Time was running out. I had to motor.
I only needed to half-fake my collapse, exhaustion hitting me as I surrendered to the dreamscape. Darkness encompassed the world before the glowing vortex showed its brightly flickering colours. I got up and dove into it. That damned demon is going to be sorry he ever crossed me.
Chapter Fourteen
The room was slow to take form around me. The red light was so bright it hurt my eyes to keep them open. I closed them, intending to wait a few seconds before I opened them again. The killer hadn’t arrived yet. The intent was here, hence the light, but the demon wouldn’t show up until his host did whatever heinous thing he did to draw the demon to him in the first place.
“You fucking bitch!” He roared, causing me to jump and open my eyes.
It took a second to realise he wasn’t yelling at me. Yeah, this whole case of possession had been weird. So it took me a moment to adjust, to remember. This wasn’t my nightmare. It was his memory, and it was only just beginning.
The girl in the silky blouse and tight skirt rushed past me, gasping in a tearful sob as she crawled under a desk. The details of the room seemed to sharpen in an instant. The giant open office was dark with the lights out. Only the red tint of the impending demon brought enough light to let me see what was happening.
The guy was in a suit, four ragged bloody scratches on his cheek. He entered the room, slamming the door hard enough to shatter the glass. He grinned as the sound made the girl shiver uncontrollably. She was shaking under the desk, her hand over her mouth as she cried all of her mascara off.
My weapon hadn’t made itself known yet so the demon wasn’t here yet either. The guy couldn’t see me, because this was a memory. I had to get ready. The Wrath would show up as soon as he did something violent enough to invite him in. I tried not to think about what that thing was going to be. Looking at the girl, I was pretty sure how this whole thing was going to go down. I waited and watched. If I could get in a lucky strike, I’d take out the demon before he saw it coming. The waiting was starting to drive me crazy. The demon knew I was on his trail. It was going to make things dicey. Missing my shot when I got my weapon was not an option.
“Please, don’t wake up,” I whispered, praying that the host would be knocked out for a decent amount of time. I’d know if it happened, because this memory would stop like a paused movie. It occurred to me he might try to kill me in the real world if he woke up first, but Mason was waiting to stop him if that happened. My stomach twisted. Mason. He’d be in danger if this creep woke up.
The killer pulled the crying girl out from under the desk, first by her leg, and then by her hair. She thrashed, trying to hurt him but too upset to focus her attack. Every second I had to witness of this memory turned my anger up another notch. He laughed as he threw her over his shoulder and left the room. I chased them down a dark corridor, hearing her sobs and screams as she tried vainly to attract help. This place was empty besides the three of us, and I was only an uninvited observer.
I couldn’t save her. This had already happened. He took her towards an elevator and some twinge of recognition hit me that I couldn’t quite place. He moved to the stairwell after a moment’s hesitation and I followed them, watching and waiting for my chance. It would likely come once he killed her. An unfortunate pattern had emerged that I knew better than to question, when it came to dispatching demons. They were at their weakest when they were glorying in the derailment of humanity.
Four flights of stairs later, we were walking into a dank basement room with one main feature that stood out. The heat from the furnace seemed to burn the surface of my skin from across the room. Its flames crackled loudly as the man walked the kicking and screaming woman towards it.
“No,” I whispered, looking away as he picked up a leather glove and opened the furnace grate. The spark of heat that reddened the skin on my palms is sudden and unexpected. I guessed that the demon was near, my weapon was coming. I moved closer and got ready.
The instant he threw the woman shrieking into the flames, my hands ignited. The balls of fire made my skin prickle. This was definitely a new one on me. I lifted my hands and ordered the fire to, well, fire. Nothing happened. Shit. What was this? This weapon didn’t make sense and my instincts were not kicking in. I met his eyes as he turned around. They were glowing red. Shit. His grin widened as he laid his
gaze on me.
“Dream walker. You came.”
“Fun’s over, creep.” I tried again to blast the fire at him but all it did was glow in fiery orbs in my hands. What the hell kind of weapon was this anyway? Give me a machete or a chainsaw, any day.
“No. The fun is only just beginning.”
He blinked out of existence and the flames in my hands burned out to ashes. The room grew cold. The tint of red disappeared from the dreamscape. Damn it. I’d ruined my chance to kill the demon. Worse, the man he was possessing had woken up, and I was stuck here trying to find an exit to get out of the dream.
Mason could be in trouble if I didn’t wake up quickly. I ran out of the basement, back up the stairs and into the office with the shattered glass door. There wasn’t an obvious escape route. I ran from the room and stopped at the elevator. Sometimes there’s a reason when a dreamscape has a place that resembles the familiar. I pressed the button for the elevator. It lit up with the familiar blue glow of an exit and the doors opened.
The glow of reality through those doors was bright enough to make me wince. I studied the static vision before me. I knew it didn’t mean anything. It was just how things had been when I’d entered the dreamscape. It wasn’t how they were now. I stepped into the elevator and started to freefall through the image of reality. It was an odd, weightless feeling, but it’s one I was kind of used to. The seconds it took to move through this and get back to my body were excruciatingly long.
I prayed that Mason was okay. I prayed that Lucy was already out of the hallway when the creep woke up. Mostly, I prayed that I was going to have time to deal with the killer before the cops arrived. You might think I’d want them to capture him. There’s evidence he killed someone. They’d lock him away, right?
Wrong. This demon did not want to be caged. He’d find a bloody path to get out of their custody. More people would suffer. I had to get the demon out of his host and I had to do it before the police arrived. Please don’t let me be too late.
Sinners Never Sleep (Seven Deadly Demons Book 1) Page 9
