by Lily Luchesi
When she was stressed, instead of alcohol, she wanted fresh blood to calm her nerves. She found herself wishing Danny was there. No, not Danny. She wanted Jonathan Price back. Her husband who had loved her no matter what species she was. The husband who hadn’t even batted an eye when she’d asked to drink from him, and only him, forsaking any other form of vampiric nourishment.
She looked at the framed photo from their wedding and sighed. How had her life gone from that bliss to Hell?
****
Miranda thought nothing. As day broke, she fell into the unnatural slumber of the Undead.
Chapter Seven
Fiona was hidden beyond human and even vampire eyes. They’d never find her where she was now, and she smiled to herself thinking about how, by killing her, Angelica had set her free.
She stood up in the lavish room she’d created and went to her mirror. Psychics were believed to use a crystal ball to see things, but that was complete rubbish. Mirrors were what you were supposed to use. Many mediums used scrying mirrors, and those were effective, but her mirror was special, infused with dark magic. She couldn’t find Angelica because Angelica’s blood prevented her from being seen by any form of dark magic. She also couldn’t see where the PID offices were because they had their own team of white witches who had enchanted it to be invisible to evil eyes.
She could search for Jonathan Price. Not well, because Angelica’s scent was all over him, but she could get a sense of his emotions. She knew he was awake, and lo and behold, thinking of her. Of course, he was thinking about killing her. Still … any attention is good attention, right?
She went over to her altar, where she kept her potions and charms. It was amazing to think that she didn’t really need those things anymore. Just like she didn’t need sleep, water or food. It was wonderful and freeing. Her new powers were worth her deal all those decades before.
She was so close to getting her true prize—the man now known as Daniel Mancini. And she had a plan, a way to get him on her side all on his own. Actually, she had more than one. Everyone knew that you always needed a backup, and Fiona had three backups.
The first plan had gone awry. She had thought the werewolves would be successful in their attempts to muscle their way into the PID and bring Danny to her after slaughtering Angelica. Two had died, and one had been captured and interrogated, so she’d activated her fail-safe inside their new witchery and killed it before it could become more of a liability.
Now, she had a plan that she couldn’t take all the credit for. Her one human enjoyment was movies, and one of them she had seen over a decade before had given her an idea. She could make her own werewolves, loyal only to her and not to any pack leader. It cut out the middleman and automatically made her their leader. They would have no ties to anyone, not even each other. Just her.
It required a lot of magic, but she didn’t need the rest. She just needed some time. A week, at most. Four days, at the least. Then everyone would know that she was the queen, and she would have her revenge and her love.
****
“There’s only one reason Fiona wouldn’t keep attacking us,” Angelica said at sunset the next day. “And that’s because she’s planning something worse than what she has already tried.”
“What’s worse than werewolf hybrids?” Danny asked, and almost immediately regretted it. He didn’t want to know.
“Vampires. She could hire rogues, promising them power, just like she promised the werewolves,” Angelica said. “There are demons, with whom I don’t even like to tangle if I don’t have to. There are humans, whom I am loathe to kill. And humans, even more than demons, could be ruthless and stop at nothing for power and money.”
Danny nodded. He had seen so many lives lost for money or sex. As a detective, he had seen the lowest of human depravity. He knew humans could be her best weapon against them, and he was afraid he’d also have to kill again. Killing on the job had haunted him. He still had nightmares about the two people whose lives he’d ended, playing God. They mingled into his nightmares, just as recent events did. Evil didn’t have a class definition. Evil was everywhere, in everyone. And if Fiona was calling the shots, any creature could be a terrible threat.
“Well, at least I know how to kill vampires, but what do we do with demons?” Miranda asked.
Angelica sighed. “Apparently, you didn’t pay attention when I talked to you about the different monsters you’d encounter. Demons need to be exorcised or stabbed with blessed blades. Don’t worry. We have those in the armory.”
“I didn’t need this,” Miranda huffed.
“None of us did,” Danny said, “but we all fell into this Hellhole trap of hers and the only way to make sure we all stay alive is to fight.”
“You’re not in this, Miranda,” Angelica said, and Danny could tell she was forcing her voice to sound conciliatory. “You can get out. No one is forcing you to fight our battles.”
“Leave the fight? And let my fiancé get killed or captured by that psycho witch? Not a chance.” she said.
Danny couldn’t help himself as he said, “Ex-fiancé.”
He stood up and went to the big picture window. “What can I do to find her? I can’t be idle like a sitting duck until she sees fit to come and attack with her troops. Don’t you have some sort of tracking device for black magic?”
“Not that simple,” Angelica said. “We have tracking devices from our white magic witches, and I also have an agent in London who makes devices that are able to sense spikes in black magic and infernal energy, but she’s not ordinary. We can track black magic, especially hers, but her powers are so strong that she distorts them. We can come within miles of her, but that means nothing in a city this big.”
“Can you modify the devices you have?” Miranda wondered.
“They’re working on it as we speak. I sent the order down earlier today. I also sent an email to London. I don’t know how long it will take or if it will work. I have never faced a foe like this, unless you count Vincent. She’s the epitome of evil. L. Frank Baum must’ve known her when he wrote his book.” She nervously drummed her long black nails on the dark-stained redwood table. “Even with Vincent, he never targeted me or anyone I knew personally after my mother. This is personal.”
“And that’s why Danny is right. We can’t sit around like this. We can’t stay here waiting. We need to make a…what do you call it…?” Miranda was stuck.
“Preemptive strike,” Angelica said. “First we need to get new weapons, universal weapons. We have no idea what we’re facing.”
They stepped into the elevator and went to the armory. Bart, the Friendly Werewolf, was there, standing guard as always. Three other guards were there as well. Angelica had ramped up security all around the PID offices and every agent had to have a partner. She used to be okay with agents going on solo investigations, but now she was too paranoid and made having a partner or team mandatory for everyone. There were five guards outside of the director’s office. Despite the old wives tale of vampires and shifters not getting along, Angelica had told Danny that she knew that werewolves made the best guards one could hire.
“Bart, we need some heavy artillery,” Angelica said.
His wolfish, yellow eyes widened in shock. “What the fuck has happened, Boss? You’ve got guards everywhere, even on me, and no one has told me shit about it.”
“A witch has set Mancini and me in her sights. We have no idea what she’ll attempt, even with the wards on this building. We’re doing our best to eradicate her, and we need new weapons.”
“To use on what, exactly?” he asked.
“The universal ones. With demon wards, silver, and doused in holy water. I know the old ones are still here and just need sharpening. Give us each four knives and two swords.” She followed him to the back of the room and unlocked a large, warded chest. Inside were at least thirty sharp weapons, all with demon-killing symbols.
“That holy water smell is strong,” Miranda said. “Do you
have gas masks or Pepto Bismol?”
Angelica laughed. It sounded out of place in the dark room filled with werewolves and weapons that belonged in Supernatural. “Plug your nose with Kleenex if you have to. It’s use these or die.”
“I don’t smell anything but a little rusted metal,” Danny said, confused.
“You wouldn’t,” Bart grumbled. His voice sounded like a small earthquake. “It’s the old holy water. It’s been sitting here for decades, so it’s strong to their noses and makes them feel sick, like a human smelling shit.”
“How eloquent.” Angelica picked swords and knives of different sizes for each of them, knowing what would fit whom the best. They needed to be sharpened and Bart, again, took that job, using his teeth to make the points shine like the weapons do in the movies.
A guard took the three serrated blades and sharpened them on a machine. It was too dangerous to use his teeth when the silver could slip and injure him.
“We’ll need to train with these, to get familiarized with how they feel.” Angelica took the weapons and handed them out.
The additional weapons meant they’d be carrying a lot of hardware because it included the guns they already carried. For Danny, that would be two guns. One for human perps and the other for paranormal ones.
“How about dinner first?” Danny asked. “I’m starving.”
“That makes two of us,” Angelica said, sheathing her swords. “Crowley’s?”
The bar was within walking distance from the PID offices and they were hoping that, along with some food, beer and blood, they could gather some information on any black magic activities. The bar was over half-full, and with vampiric hearing, they could glean more information than they would sitting at the PID offices eating Chinese delivery.
“Hey, all. What can I get ya?” a young waitress asked. She had pointed ears and Danny swore her skin was a bit bluish. She also seemed to sparkle. He blinked to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him..
“The biggest warm mug of B negative you have,” Miranda said.
“One of those and a double cheeseburger with the hottest hot sauce you have,” Angelica said.
“How do you want that cooked, miss?”
“Bloody enough to still be mooing.”
Danny, who was probably picturing a mooing slab of dead cow on the plate, said, “Beer and what she’s having, but so well done it’s burnt.” He felt sick and was glad he still had an appetite.
Angelica commented that they looked like the most fucked up family in the world. A full vamp, a vamplet and a human, sitting in a bar. They were the start of a bad joke.
Miranda watched them eat, and Danny wondered if she missed eating like a mortal. Not that she’d ever eaten a lot. Danny knew that she was a constant dieter, always wanting to maintain her perfect figure. A double cheeseburger and steak fries? She’d once told him that she hadn’t eaten one of those since she had been about twelve.
****
Angelica wasn’t a psychic, but she easily could tell what was on Miranda’s mind. The inability to eat was one of the reasons she was loathe to turn into a full vampire. She loved food, and her ample bottom showed it. While only 5‘8, she had a naturally curvy build and had never really gone on a diet. She worked out and her metabolism was good enough that she could eat and not worry about her jeans fitting too tightly the next day.
Were she to turn, she’d miss cooking and eating. She’d miss coffee, too, and even chewing gum. She’d hate to be with Danny and be unable to go on a proper date. If they ever made it back to the dating stage again. She couldn’t go to dinner with him unless it was at Crowley’s, which served blood to hungry vampires.
Angelica gazed around the room. There were the usual mix of a precious few brave humans, shifters and vampires, but she saw quite a few of the fey-folk there as well. Even their waitress had been an elf. Had there been a magic convention, and she hadn’t been told? They were supposed to go through the PID for permission and security.
She tuned her ears to the conversation they were having at the table across from hers, but heard nothing out of the ordinary. Apparently, the convention had been in Green Bay, and they were just passing through. One of the Grand Coven witches had approved it.
“Did you feel it?” a pink-tinged fairy asked a blue-tinged elf.
“The dark magic? Yes. It’s hovering over this city but especially this neighborhood,” the elf responded, his voice low and apprehensive. “I can’t obtain its source, but it’s a hybrid, crossed between demonic spells and witchcraft.”
“Why is it here? Why hasn’t the PID done anything about it?” the fairy asked, her eyes darting from person to person, as if someone in the bar was the source of the evil aura.
“They are. I went for a walk and saw the white magic protecting as many places as it could. That woman, the Cross vampire, she runs her company with an iron fist. If anyone can save this city, she can.”
Angelica hid a smug grin. It was nice to know her reputation was so good. The fey folk rarely came into cities, preferring to be in woodland realms with thick forests. They didn’t look like the Elves of Tolkien lore, though Angelica wished they did. They did like to live in places like the fictional Mirkwood, and they did really keep to themselves, far away from the real world. For them to know of her so well was a good thing. To have such a heavy evil aura over her city was bad. She didn’t know how strong Fiona was, but she needed to stop her. It wasn’t just her and Danny in danger now—everyone was.
As they left the bar, Angelica recounted the conversation she had overheard and added, “She’s working with demons. We need to stop this now. Come sunset, we need to go on an active search for her. Danny and I will start earlier, of course, but you can join us as soon as you wake, Miranda.”
“This is worse than a TV show,” Danny muttered. “Demons now. And what were all of those creatures in there, anyway?”
Angelica explained about the fey folk and how they were the nicest and most helpful of all paranormal creatures. “For them to be alarmed at the state of this city…it’s bad. They’re complacent creatures. Nothing alarms them.”
“So…not only do we have vampires and werewolves, but there are also fairies and elves out in the world?” Danny shook his head. “Have you ever needed to persecute them?”
“Once,” she replied. “There were these young fairies living in rural Dartmoor. They were experimenting with new potions, and the potions they made drove them all crazy. Can you imagine what it was like trying to subdue these flighty, glittering creatures? It took hours, and two of my team members had to go into the ground because the sun had risen. They went from fun-loving little creatures to murderous imps in a matter of ten minutes. I was glad I was there visiting at the time, or it could’ve been much worse than it was.”
“‘Fight the fairies, Sammy’,” Miranda said with a smirk.
Angelica swiped her ID card, and they entered the PID offices again. Her office was tightly locked with shades over the windows. Even with the magical wards protecting the building from evil eyes, she couldn’t be too careful.
She made a call, “Bart, could you prepare the gym for us please? Thank you.” They made their way to the main floor gym, which had mats placed on the floors and an entire other room filled with various workout equipment.
“Why are there real weapons?” he asked. “Usually, when you train, there aren’t real weapons, in case you kill yourself.”
“Not here.” Angelica removed her jacket and rolled up her sleeves. “Here we need to be sure you can handle your weapons. If you take your eye out, then we know you’re not the fighter we need.”
“Didn’t we already go through training?” Miranda asked, confused.
“Not with these. They weigh more than the weapons made now and work differently for each disparate individual. You need to relearn balance, to know which creature to hit where and so on.” Angelica took a few practice swings as workers lined up dummies for each of them—demons, va
mpires, and werewolves.
“Vampires, obviously, can only be killed permanently by decapitation or burning to death. There is garlic poisoning, but like I’ve said, that would take too long.” She swung her sword from her hip, going upwards and outwards until she sliced clean through the dummy’s neck, sending stuffing flying all over the area. “The best way to decapitate is on the run, as I just did. You need to do that when we’re fighting a group of angry rogues. Just swing up and out as quickly as you can. It needs to be quick and clean, or else you run the risk of it being alive still and killing you.”
She stepped up to the werewolf dummy. “Werewolves are easy to catch and kill if you’re fast enough. It’s just a hard thrust straight through the heart. Make sure you pull your sword back out to bring the decimated heart with it. The organ doesn’t have to be removed to kill it, but removal of the heart is preferable. Or use silver bullets, which will shred the heart.”
“And demons?” Danny asked.
“Demons are a rare case. The vessels, the humans they possess, have hearts, but the hearts’ condition does not matter to them. They could possess a dead body if they had to, but prefer live vessels because those are stronger. That’s why we have these knives and swords with demonic dispelling symbols. When we stab them with these, the demon doesn’t get sent back to Hell. Instead, it is obliterated. You have to find where the demonic essence is sitting in the host. It does, unfortunately, kill the host, but after possession, that poor soul will be better off dead than living. You might have to do some hacking to find where inside the flesh the demon is, but once you do, one stab with the knife or sword will destroy it.” Angelica showed them where she had placed black smoke bombs inside the dummies marked with the word DEMON. Some had them in the arms, legs, groins, etc.
