by Sharon Joss
I gazed into the frozen scream of Andrea Gregson. I stifled a yell, slapping both my hands over my mouth. The walk-in freezer was full of bodies. They were stacked on top of one another like TV dinners. Even their clothes were covered in hoarfrost. I reached into my pocket for my cell phone, but something massive big hit me from behind, throwing me off Rhys, pinning me to the floor beneath a heavy, kerosene-soaked rug. I couldn’t breathe. I tried to call for help, but couldn’t. As I struggled to get clear, the beating began in earnest.
CHAPTER 33
I awoke to the sound of metal scraping against stone and found myself lying spread-eagled on the metal butcher’s table, my wrists and ankles duct-taped to the edges. Accompanying the sound came the off-key whistling of someone approaching. The familiar melody grated on my memory, but I couldn’t place the tune. Overhead fluorescent lights exposed me to the pale yellow room, exploiting my solitary fear and vulnerable position. I strained against the tape without success.
I saw no sign of Rhys. I called to Blix, and he appeared right away, staring at me with a worried expression.
“Hey Blix. Come here and get me loose.”
Blix crawled up on my chest and stared down at me. He licked his eyes and gave me a mournful squeak. I took a deep breath and tried again.
“Blix. I command you to chew the tape on my arm loose. No, not my arm, the tape. Yeah, good boy. Chew through the tape, Blix. Ow, try not to bite me, ow. Okay, never mind.” The needle sharp teeth bit to my wrist, but I didn’t care. “Keep chewing, that’s right.” Hurry.
The sound of boots reverberated on stone floors, getting closer, along with sounds of metal being scraped against the walls. Fingers on a blackboard. He’d be here any minute.
Fear welled up inside me. “Hurry up.” I wriggled my left hand, trying to loosen the tape, as Blix’s teeth weren’t a good match for the job. The tape began to give a little. If I could get my cell phone out of my pocket, I’d be able to call for help.
The whistling became louder as the demon master approached. A sharp clatter of metal sounded on the distant stone floor, as he dropped whatever he was coming to kill me with.
“Come on, Blix. You can do it.” I twisted my wrist again, sweating and straining against my bondage. I felt a definite give this time. Duct tape didn’t stick so good over bloody, sweaty skin. Blix was making progress. My left wrist swiveled a scooch.
Trapped like a rat in a sack, the approaching whistle made me want to scream. I tried to think about what to do. I wondered if Rhys could still be alive. I wished I’d told Porter about Rhys being kidnapped when I left that message. Man oh man, this guy was coming to kill me. No one would be looking for me.
A shriek of laughter escaped me as I remembered what tune the demon master was whistling. The one we sang as kids. About the worms crawling around in your brains and playing pinochle in your snout. Panicking now, I squirmed against the tape around my wrist. I twisted and pulled with all my strength and my bloody hand came free.
Adrenaline surged. I jammed my hand into my pocket, pulled out my cell phone and turned it on. I told Blix to work on my left ankle, and scrabbled at the tape on my right hand. As soon as the phone powered up, I saw I had a signal and dialed Porter’s number. He answered on the second ring, just as Blix got my left ankle free.
“What the hell is going on,” was all I heard before Garlan Russ came at me with a machete. I grunted and kicked out hard with my foot. I nailed him right in the center of his chest and knocked him back. The phone flew out my hand, and Garr kept coming.
The machete bit into my arm with a sickening thunk. I marveled that I didn’t feel a thing even as the blade lodged itself into the bone. He wrenched the weapon free and hit me again. My blood flew, splattering against the walls. Another chop bit deeply into my shin. Hit by hit, Garr was hacking me to pieces. I thrashed and kicked, trying to keep him off me.
“Blix! Larry! Stop him!” Stupid, but the only thing that came to me. Larry popped into view and the two of them jumped at Garr. Two guinea pigs against a grown man in his physical prime with a machete. He batted them away like flies, but they kept coming back, distracting him from chopping at me. In a lucky grab, Larry jumped up and bit Garr right in the crotch and held on.
Garr roared and dropped the machete and clutched at Larry while I worked frantically to free my other hand.
“Rex, get in here.”
The huge head pushed through the door.
I shrieked and struggled to pull free, but the duct tape on my right wrist and ankle held. The creature’s head alone had to be big as a Lay-z-boy recliner, and a great white would have envied that mouthful of teeth, each as long as a pencil. Rex targeted me with predatory glare and bellowed.
His bloody breath blasted over me and I screamed bloody murder. Fontaigne was right; the massive djemon looked like a dinosaur, but the unmistakable intelligence in his amber eyes made him all the more terrifying. The monster had to be four or five times bigger than Oneiri, maybe half a ton of heavy bones and slabs of muscle.
Larry let go of Garr and slithered across the floor to attack Rex.
“How did you find me,” Garr demanded, raising the machete.
“Where’s Rhys?” I screamed, my mind racing to think of something, anything to keep him off me. “Why did you release the djinn?”
He laughed and lowered the machete a little. “You think I did that? My father showed me that cavern when I was in junior high. Rex here has been with me ever since.”
“You’re a demon master.” I had to keep him talking. I cocked my left leg in front of me and kept working at the tape on my right hand. I couldn’t find the edge of the tape with my numb fingers, but knew I couldn’t break eye contact with Garr.
“Look who’s talking. Although yours aren’t much more than fish food.” His face was stone and I wondered how I’d ever thought him attractive. “Rex is as strong as I am, now.” He glanced at the monstrous demon beside him. “He has his own reasons for doing what he does. I can’t control him anymore. So yes, I’ve resorted to using the small ones.”
He hefted the machete in his hand and took a stance like a pitcher at bat.
I sobbed. “Please. I’m begging you. Don’t do this. Please let me go, I won’t tell anyone.” We had to be somewhere inside the Sand Castle.
“Tell me who you tried to call or I’m going to have Rex here bite you. Believe me, you do not want him to bite you. He likes it entirely too much.”
“You’re the Night Shark. You and him together. That’s it, isn’t it? Djemons don’t leave DNA behind.”
“Rex, I command you to bite her.” The thing snaked its head around Garr and made a grab for me.
“Rex, NO!” I held up my free hand in a futile attempt to fend the monster off. Its intelligent eyes focused on the now glowing crescent mark in the palm of my hand. The djemon hesitated; I knew I was on the right track.
“You’re so stupid. They only obey their master. I said bite--.”
In an instant, Rex chomped Garr’s shoulder with a ghastly crunch. Garr screamed and the demon turned and fled through the doorway. The bite was quick, but the wound no less devastating for it.
Garr dropped the machete and fell to the floor, clutching the remains of his arm. The bite had gone all the way through the shoulder, and his shredded limb dangled as useless as spaghetti. Blood pumped in thick spurts across the tile floor. I heard myself screaming and forced myself to calm down. I didn’t know if Rex was coming back or not. I had to get out now.
I had Blix work on my ankle while I struggled with the tape around my wrist. Larry’s teeth weren’t made for gnawing, but they’d done a great job on Garr’s nuts, so who was I to complain? I scraped futilely at the tape, scratching for an edge; my numb hand too sweaty and bloody to be useful.
Garr began to moan. “Not my fault,” he said, over and over. There was something wrong with his aura. Clotted and gray, it appeared to be eroding in some areas, the gaps held together by only a transparent fil
m of slime. He looked as if he were rotting from the inside out.
“Help!” I desperately hoped someone heard me. The duct tape at my wrist wasn’t cooperating. Nothing was working. To my horror, Garr scooted himself across the bloody floor toward the machete.
“You don’t know what it’s like,” he grunted. A sea of blood pooled across the floor and spatter dripped down the walls. I couldn’t believe he still had the strength to move. He inched closer to the machete. “My father is crazy. Richer than Midas.” Garr grabbed for the weapon, which skittered just out of his reach.
Blix finally gnawed through the silver tape wrapped around my ankle. I yelled and kicked my foot free. Sirens sounded in the distance and my emotions soared, but I couldn’t be sure they were heading this way. I twisted myself around and landed on my feet, my right wrist still taped to the table. I began to bite at it.
Garr reached the machete. He held it with his good hand as he struggled to his knees.
“When I turned thirteen, my old man gave me a deadline. If I made a million on my own by my thirtieth birthday, I’d inherit everything.” He grunted as he got one foot beneath him, and rested, panting. “Otherwise, he would give everything to charity. Can you believe that,” he panted. “That’s my money.” He put the point of the machete on the floor and steadied himself as he attempted to stand.
“He told me his father had made him the same deal. But my crazy old man used his demon to help him.” He coughed, and fell to his knees.
I couldn’t make any progress biting through the tape. I scratched at the edge in desperation until I got a corner unstuck. My hands shook as I feverishly began to unwind my constraint.
Garr was just babbling now. “Rex and I started in Germantown. It was so easy. We took jewelry, coins, and cash, anything I could sell. There’s a lot of money in Germantown, you know.” Garr slumped over, and was quiet.
I wrenched myself free from the last of the tape and tried to run but slipped in the blood and sprawled flat on the slick tile floor. I struggled to my feet and looked around for my cell phone, but couldn’t find it. I slipped over to check the walk-in, but Rhys wasn’t inside. I slammed the door shut and frantically looked for a way out, but Garr lay between me and the doorway.
I edged my way around Garr. He reached out with surprising quickness and grabbed me by my ankle. I slipped and fell. I fought and bit and squirmed, but somehow, he managed to pull himself on top of me and use his bloody weight to hold me down. My right arm was trapped beneath him, but my other hand was free. I fought to get him off me.
The pounding of footsteps rumbled above us. Lots of footsteps.
“Down here!” I pounded at Garr’s mangled shoulder, but he didn’t seem to feel a thing. It was like pounding clay. He wrapped his powerful hand around my throat and tightened his grip.
I froze, not daring to move a muscle. My heart pounded in a panic.
“My own father lied to me. He lied to me. Every time I did what he asked. Every time, he told me I had to do more. To prove myself.” Garr gazed into my eyes as if noticing me for the first time. His expression changed.
“I would never lie to my kids. I would never lie to you.” He was strong and heavy as granite. With each word, his grip on my throat squeezed tighter.
“You have to understand. Building the new marina was my father’s idea. A couple of key property owners didn’t share my father’s vision. They didn’t want to sell. I used Rex to persuade them differently. I thought my father would respect me. Thank me. My father is crazy. I got nothing.”
My hand fluttered uselessly at his face, my strength nearly gone.
“Rex liked the killing part. I never told him to kill. I made him bring the bodies here, but after a while he wouldn’t listen to me anymore. He started killing on his own. What could I do? I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t go to the cops. When I ran out of freezer space, he started leaving them for the police to find.” Garr coughed and closed his eyes. “No respect.” His voice only a whisper now, as his life ebbed away.
“No.” His eyes opened. His sweat and drool dripped on my face. “Listen.” I heard bangs overhead, as if someone was battering down a door. Garr squeezed my neck tighter. Everything sounded so far away.
“Rex has his own reasons for killing now. I can’t stop him, it’s not my fault. I have nothing to do with it.”
I scrabbled to peel his fingers off my throat, but he was unyielding as stone. The floor felt cool and comforting. “They’re coming,” I gasped.
“Listen to me, you little freak, nobody’s going to believe a word you say. My father owns this town. You are nothing. Less than nothing. Your mother was nothing but a psycho whore.”
In the fading distance, I heard a door shatter. Shouting.
“Here.” My voice would not rise above a whisper. Black spots swirled before me. I felt myself slipping away. I’m going to die.
“Oh yeah, I knew her. She was my first. I bet you didn’t know that.” He grunted, shifting his position. “You look a lot like her.”
To my horror, his erection grew rigid between us. He grunted and paused to shift his grip on my throat.
“You know, you’re about the right age. You could even be my daughter.” He began to squeeze in earnest.
I floated. The darkness threatened to overwhelm me, as my range of vision narrowed to a glowing pinpoint. Something broke open inside me and flooded my veins with cool soothing blackness. Death. Chilled fingers caressed my inner eye and called my name. Madame Coumlie was right. A thrill rushed through me, as I accepted the truth of her words. I am death incarnate.
I shivered and smiled as I opened my eyes and focused on the glowing thread before me. With my free hand, I slipped my index finger around Garr’s lifeline. His pulse skittered, an irregular thrum across the strand.
“What are you doing,” he said. “Stop it.” The pressure on my neck increased. There was no choice.
“Time to die,” I whispered, and snapped the brittle thread between my fingers.
CHAPTER 34
Garr’s eyes closed and he collapsed on top of me. I gasped and sobbed as I inhaled my first ragged breath of air. I fought to shove his bloody corpse off of me.
The thunder of boots sounded on stairs, accompanied by shouts and another crash. I sent Blix and Larry to hide as Frank Porter called out my name and the cavalry crossed the outer basement. They couldn’t hear my hoarsely whispered answers. I finally managed to roll Garr off me, just as they boiled into the room, in full SWAT regalia. Frank pulled me free and helped me up. I got blood all over his suit.
“Mattie!” He motioned the paramedic over. “Where are you hurt?” I stared at the body on the floor. The guy checking Garr’s pulse shook his head.
“Where is Rhys?” Porter pointed me back toward the stairs. I tottered over to where the paramedics hovered over Rhys and collapsed beside him.
“Here Mattie, I’m here.” Rhys reached out to me. I grabbed his icy cold hand and held on tight. “Okay, we’re fine, I’m fine, and you’re fine.”
I slobbered and blubbered over him and made a big fuss, not giving a lick what anyone thought. By the time the paramedics finished checking us, both of us had recovered enough to convince everyone we did not need or want medical assistance. Thanks to my new recuperative powers, my arm had already stopped bleeding, and neither Rhys nor I would agree to go with the paramedics, so Frank let us sit in the back of his car until they got the mess in the Sand Castle straightened out.
The night air was balmy, but Rhys and I lay huddled in blankets with the heater running full blast. We wrapped ourselves around each other, taking comfort in the gradual build up of heat between us.
I felt safe, but I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to close my eyes and relive finding the pool of blood on the floor of Mystic Properties, or the sensation of Garr’s sweat dripping into my eyes, or the bite of the machete into my bones. Or worst of all, the memory of those cool fingers of joy and death as they called my name and the e
ager voice in my blood as I answered the call.
Rhys had a nasty bruise to his temple, but the bloody cut over his eyebrow had already closed.
“Tell me what happened, Rhys. I thought you were dead.”
“I waited upstairs for the translator, and thought I heard him at the back door. I went down to let him in, and a huge demon attacked me. I woke up to see Garlan Russ stomping the hell out of someone. I didn’t know it was you.”
“Why did Rex come for you? Is he dead now?”
“You’re tensing up again.” Rhys pulled me closer and shifted himself on the cramped bench seat so that I sprawled on top of him. “Relax.” His strong hands massaged my back, kneading away knots of tension.
“That’s not an answer. And you’re not exactly relaxed either.” I said. Some parts of Rhys were much less relaxed than others, I noticed.
“Sure I am. I am completely present and in the moment. Quiet your mind. Focus on your breath, and you won’t have room to think of anything else.”
“Is this some kind of Zen thing or a mage thing?” I cracked an eye and he smiled. Outside, car doors slammed and engines started up, and vehicles departed the lot. Things were wrapping up.
A few minutes later, a grim Agent Porter returned to the car.
“Hey you two sure you’re all right?”
“No worries, Frank. We’re fine.”
“How did you find us,” I asked.
“When you guys ran out on me, I tried to track you through your cell phone, but you didn’t have it turned on. When I got your message, I realized you’d probably gone to the caves. We found Rhys’ truck at the trailhead, and had a couple guys ready to go in and bring you out, but then I got your call. This time we were able to triangulate a signal on the Sand Castle. Without that signal, we never would have found you, or the Night Shark either, for that matter. I owe you one, Mattie.”
“You saved our lives.” I wondered if it was true. “Does this mean my brother is off the hook?”
