by K. F. Breene
“What the—” Oscar half fell over himself in his eagerness to back up.
“Do you feel the suction on your…” I let the words trail away as I realized his eyes were glued to my exposed skin. He’d seen the fire. “Ah. Yeah, that. That was a spell. An experimental one that my cousin created. The Canadian cousin. Haven’t I told you about him? Anyway, don’t worry about it. It’s illegal.”
I grimaced and walked by him. I would need to disappear for a while after this. I was getting careless where my power was concerned. Also, there were too many demons and vampires in my life. That needed to stop.
Oscar yelled something after me, but I didn’t catch it. I turned toward him and made my way back to the mouth of the alleyway. When I reached it, the cold power started throbbing in my middle again, increasing in potency, pushing my useable power even more.
“Not good,” I mumbled, ducking out from under the tape. I put my hand on the sentinel cop, who jerked but didn’t entirely move away. I’d startled him. “Keep your wits about you. Things aren’t as they seem.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Reagan,” Oscar said, catching up. “Where are you going?”
“I was lured here for a reason, detective,” I said. “I best find out what that reason is.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The crowd had increased as the day turned old. Shadows stretched across the street and made countless puddles of black. Someone to my right, an older woman with a canvas bag slowed her already slow pace. Her head swung toward me, and even from the distance, I noticed the inhuman glitter of her eyes.
The canvas bag fell to the ground.
A male teenager stepped out of the crowd and into the street, right in front of a car. Brakes squealed. The car careened. The teen didn’t notice; he only had eyes for me.
As the old woman and teen both started my way, two more people in the crowd shifted in a creepy way, their shoulders suddenly straightening as they turned toward me and started moving steadily, though at half speed. They pushed their way forward, knocking people out of their way like tanks. Down the street, someone screamed. I could barely see a person fall to the ground. Someone else descended on the fallen, fists lashing at the person.
The sentinel cop jerked, having seen it too. His hand went to his gun, but he didn’t start forward. I wasn’t sure why.
The teen started to run at me, a strange glint in his eyes, a wide smile on his face. He swooped down next to one of the cop cars and picked a hammer up off the ground, barely breaking stride.
“What the hell is a hammer doing just willy-nilly behind the cop car?” I demanded.
The sentinel cop didn’t have time to answer me.
“Freeze,” he shouted, taking out his gun. “Put down the hammer. Freeze!”
I stepped into the path of the gun, ran forward, and ducked under the swing of the hammer. The kid’s speed hadn’t increased as a result of whatever spell or magic had infused him. I rammed a punch into his stomach, brought that elbow across his jaw, and then grabbed his hammer arm and knocked his wrist with the hilt of my sword. His fist relaxed, dropping the hammer. I had probably cracked his bone, but he didn’t cry out. I gave him a solid punch to the nose, knocking him out cold.
The old woman finally reached me, as slow as she was, but no way was I going to punch her. That was just wrong.
“Do something about her,” I said, dodging a really weak and slow slap-punch, and gently pushing her toward the cop. I didn’t want to make her fall and be responsible for a broken hip. It wasn’t her fault she was suddenly evil.
Someone screamed down the way. “You need to grab whoever is terrorizing people down there,” I yelled as the two crowd pushers came at me, a woman in yoga pants and a portly guy.
“What the hell is happening?” the sentinel cop shouted.
“Hang with the bull and you’ll eventually get the horns, my man.” I did a jump kick and got the portly man in the face. He went down like a sack of bricks. The woman had stopped to pick up a stick with two nails protruding out of the end. “Someone is leaving candy for the trick-or-treaters.”
I bounced on my toes, waiting for her to surge forward. I met her as I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye running around the corner with a gun in hand.
“Gun!” I shouted, blocking her downward swing. The center of the stick cracked against my forearm. I jerked my head away so the nails on the end didn’t pierce my eyeball. “Get that guy with the gun!”
I punched the woman in the stomach, and she exhaled noisily. I tore the wood out of her hand and broke it over my knee. She came at me with both hands, probably trying to grab my hair like in some female playground fight. I slapped one of her hands away, resisting the urge to run my sword through her middle, and punched her in the face. Her head jerked back, but she didn’t go down.
A roundhouse kick solved that problem.
The crack of a gunshot went off from behind me—Oscar. Then another from the possessed gunman who’d turned a corner. People screamed. The man sank to his knees, his gun still held out.
Another explosion of gunfire, this time from the cop next to me. I flinched away from the noise, my ear ringing. The slug hit the possessed dude center mass. He fell backward and the gun skittered across the ground. No one stopped to pick it up, thank God. No one else ran our way.
I breathed heavily, waiting for more action.
“What the—” Oscar said in a hasty release of breath. “What just happened?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say dimensional demons are responsible for this.” I walked out onto the street, seeing another weapon on the curb that hadn’t been picked up. “These had a purpose, though. This wasn’t just a slip of power—the demon possessed these people intentionally. It’s gotten personal. Unless, maybe, this ability is one he can impart to a disciple?” I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen. “I need to ask my friends. I’m not an expert on this stuff.”
“A demon?” the sentinel cop said, still braced for a war.
“I need to get a move on,” I said. “Call your cop friends. Get officers in the streets. If that demon can’t control its power, or worse, it wants to create a playground of violence, you’re going to get a nasty turn of events in this town.”
Oscar said something in an incredulous tone, but I didn’t stick around to learn what. If something was gunning for me, I wanted it to show itself, and that would happen faster if I forced its hand.
I put in a quick call to Callie, getting her voicemail. I got Dizzy’s as well, so I shot off a text. They were either still sleeping or weren’t paying attention to their phones, a terrible habit they both had. A text was easier to access than a voicemail, so hopefully I’d get a response sooner. Finally, I sent a text to Darius. With the sun nearly dipping behind the horizon, he’d be out soon, and I could use the extra pair of fists if a bunch of citizens was about to come my way. I didn’t want to kill these people, not if what had happened in that Northern Californian town was also happening here. It wasn’t the civilians’ fault some demon had decided to use them as puppets.
First, I needed to stop whoever else had been turned. I headed in the direction from which the civilians had come. Around the corner and down the street, I found someone who hadn’t fared so well in the mini-apocalypse. It was too late to help them, so I continued on, seeing a broken shop window and a few people standing next to it, looking down the street with bewilderment on their faces.
I continued in that direction, but only saw a couple more examples of violence. It looked like I was only following one, max two people. That meant the demon had gone another way, or had started to control the power it radiated.
Selfishly, I half hoped it was the former. If it was controlling its power, that meant it was purposely trying to enter in a cat-and-mouse game with me. I hated cat-and-mouse games. I was no good at them. Either way, the person, or people, I was following would be taken down. That was step one.
Twilight fell as I finally caught sight of the wrongdoer. Only one. He was running into a shop with a baseball bat in hand.
I sped up, following him in. Shouting and crashes came from the back. A woman screamed. A man cursed. Above the din, a beastly yowl rose, not quite human.
I found him at the back of the store, the crazed man with the bat, battering the glass of the freezer section. An employee stood at the end of the aisle with a phone to his ear. A woman with rounded eyes stood behind him, wringing her hands.
As I moved forward, a little kid ran out from around the corner, frightened.
“Nope.” I sprinted as the man with the bat caught sight of the newcomer. He turned as the kid skidded to a stop. The bat lifted.
“Nope,” I said again, and launched through the air.
My shoulder hit the center of Bat Guy’s back. We crashed to the ground. He writhed under me like a wild thing.
“Get that kid out of here!” I screamed, trying not to show extreme violence in front of the kid. “Get him out!”
The woman sprang into action as another female frantically came around the corner. Bat Guy tried to bite me.
“You don’t have fangs, idiot. Your teeth won’t do much to me.” I punched him in the side, trying to do it all subtle-like as the ladies dragged the stunned kid away. I did it again.
The man growled, a demonic sound.
“Are you actually possessed, or how does this work?” I muttered, letting loose with the punches. I landed one on his head, then a second, slowing him. Using that to my advantage, I yanked him over and shifted him onto his stomach.
He still writhed, but more weakly.
“The foundation of you is still human, at least,” I said, out of breath. I pinned his arms behind his back and sat on him. “Be still, or I’ll knock you out entirely. You’re going to hurt when you come to, believe me.”
He bucked, trying to get me off. Clearly he didn’t believe me.
“Get some rope to tie him up,” I shouted at the employee, punching the man again. This guy just would not settle down. “C’mon, let’s go. I need to get on the move again.”
Twenty minutes later, time spent tying the guy up and herding the employees like cats to calm everyone down, I finally walked out of the store. The sound of sirens crowded the air, reinforcements called in to deal with all the crazy that had recently gone down. Night had fallen, punctuated by a message from Darius asking my current location.
I glanced around for any other signs of violence. When I didn’t see anything new, I walked to a corner so I could see the street signs. After sending Darius the info, I kept going, wanting to see if anything drifted my way. I had to assume the demon and/or his fan club were keeping tabs on me. You don’t just lure someone to a location and then let them wander away randomly. They were probably coming up with another plan to attack. Or at least annoy, since the last attack had been paltry, at best.
Deep shadow fell over me as I passed under the cover of bushy trees, blocking the glow of streetlights. The rustling of fabric caught my ears. Shoes scuffing against the cement.
I spun, my hand reaching for my sword. Too late.
Two shapes, moving entirely too fast, zoomed at me. My hand closed around my sword hilt, but they were already there, grabbing my arms and yanking me with them.
Two middle-level vamps. Fast and strong, but not fast and strong enough. Boy, had they picked on the wrong girl.
I twisted, jerking an arm free, and crashed my elbow down on a shoulder. The vamp staggered, clutching at me. I hooked two fingers in his mouth and ripped, employing the fish hook. That was a nasty one.
He thought so, too.
He howled and clutched at his face, still keeping pace but flinching away from me. I used the few seconds of his shock to whip my legs around, throwing the other vamp off balance. I tore my arm out of her grasp but didn’t drop away. Oh no. They had gotten themselves into this mess, and I was going to make sure they regretted it.
Sword forgotten for now, I wrapped an arm around her neck and swung my legs a second time, throwing myself onto her back. My feet thudded as they hit the ground, forcing her to bend over backward. She struggled to stay upright, clutching at my neck.
I swept her legs out from under her again as the guy vampire got his wits about him and his face started to stitch back together. I kicked out, clipping his chin with my boot. Bone cracked and he went whirling, back to clutching at his face.
The girl vamp writhed, but I had a swift punch with her name on it, breaking her nose. “Who sent you?” I demanded, punching again.
“I did.”
That voice. I knew that musical, pleasantly pitched voice.
I kicked the guy vampire again, sending him wheeling out of the way, before turning.
My stomach curdled.
Vlad, elder of elders, stood five feet away with a pleasant smile on his face.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The vampire was so handsome that it went beyond lust inducing and straight into just plain annoying. A small smile curled his lips, and he held his hands behind his back.
I wasn’t fooled. He was older, even, than Darius, and could move so fast that his fist would hit my face before I’d registered his intent to fight. The gesture was meaningless.
“Why?” I asked, monitoring the middle-level vampires as they slowly rose to their feet. They made no move to capture me again. “And where were they trying to take me?”
“You impress me, Miss Somerset. May I call you Reagan?”
“Sure, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“Two middle-level vampires and you were completely undaunted. That takes great skill and prowess.”
“It wasn’t my first rodeo. Where were they trying to take me?”
Vlad half turned, and pointed at a cafe just down the street. “I wanted to speak with you, but first, I wanted to test your reaction speed. I have heard great things, but seeing is believing, as they say.”
“You thought kidnapping me, then dumping me at a cafe, would be a good start to a pleasant dialogue, did you?”
His laugh was silky and delightful. Still annoying, though. That level of perfection so often was. “I confess, I thought I could mollify you merely with my presence. But my first impression, when I met you in our lair, holds true. You aren’t afraid of much.”
“I’m afraid of things, but no, you aren’t one of them.” It was a small lie.
“Please, will you do me the honor of having a coffee or tea?”
I blew out a breath and looked at my empty hands. I patted my pouch. “I’d really love to, but your clowns made me drop my phone somewhere along the way, and I need to find it.”
“I will have it collected.” Vlad barely nodded, and one of the vampires took off.
If Darius wouldn’t take no for an answer, how could I assume his creator would?
“Right, okay.” I glanced around, just making sure nothing else was liable to pop out at me. “It has to be quick, though. I have things to do.”
“Yes. You are trying to track down a mage who is murdering people.”
“A couple of mages, yes. I think I’ve got two in my sights. Now I just need to introduce myself.”
“I won’t take much of your time. Please.” Vlad held out his arm to escort me.
I didn’t want to touch him. “I’m good, thanks. I don’t need help.”
He clasped his hands behind his back again and started walking. I fell in beside him.
“I think our interests are converging,” Vlad said, ever so pleasantly.
“Our interests? I suppose this has something to do with the really powerful demon that was in Northern California—and now here?” Pure guesswork based on the dimensional demons and his presence, but it fit. Horribly so.
“The very same. I’ve been tracking its movements, starting with a small town in—”
“Forgive my interruption.” The man kicked my politeness up a notch, what can I say? “But I heard about the demon’s
origins in the Brink.”
“Of course. And you’ve no doubt heard of my confusion regarding its sudden appearance?”
“I did, yes, as well as your extracurricular activities in the underworld.”
“And here I thought I was keeping a low profile.” His voice was colored with humor, and he followed up the statement with a chuckle. “At first, the demon seemed to be joyriding, in a way.” He opened the cafe door for me. “But murmurings in the Dark Kingdom hinted that it was sent up for a purpose. That it stood to gain an elevation in power if it found what it was seeking. What would you like?”
Vlad gestured toward the counter as fear washed through me. What did he know?
“Coffee is fine,” I muttered. The remaining vampire, the girl, had trailed us into the shop, and she went to the counter to get it.
“What is the demon looking for?” I asked with an even voice.
Vlad pulled out a chair at a small table and waited for me to sit. “I thought maybe you could tell me.”
I lowered into the seat as nervous flutters filled my stomach. There was no way to know if he was playing dumb or honestly didn’t know. I’d heard this man made politics and manipulation seem like an art, and I was horribly unprepared for a face-to-face grilling.
My thoughts drifted to Darius. I should’ve waited for him on that street corner. He would have known how to deal with Vlad. This was one time I was totally fine with being saved. Actually, hoping for it.
“I came here expecting the level-four demon that had been summoned,” I said. “I have no idea why a stronger demon showed up instead.”
“From what we surmise, this demon intruded on the summons. It had an agenda, and by taking the summons, it had willing participants to aid it in its pursuit.”
“I didn’t know that was possible.”
“If the demon is powerful enough to travel independently in the Brink, it certainly is. So tell me…” His smile wasn’t as disarming as he’d probably meant it to be. “What is Agnon searching for?”
