by Kim Faulks
He pushed through the nightclub doors. The evening had only just started, so the bar was only a quarter full. Hoping he would get lucky, he scanned through the faces, but she wasn't here. Gerry manned the bar and nodded towards him as he took a seat.
"Kellah coming in tonight?"
"I'd expect so. Business or personal, Detective?"
He let the question hang in the air while he considered answering. It really had nothing to do with the old mafia runner. The fact that he knew wouldn't change the course of his actions anyway, so he answered. "Both."
"Personal business is often the nastiest, Detective."
He met the barman's gaze, and nodded. "That it is."
He left Gerry then, moving through the growing crowd with a sense of cold detachment bearing down on him. So, this is what it felt like to be her, stalking her prey and waiting for the opportunity to snatch their life away.
This isn't you, Hunter. This is only the person you think you should be. It was more than a gut instinct this time. It was as though he could hear the voice inside his head, the one that told him he was wrong on so many levels, and his stomach pained. Stop it! He growled, clenching his jaw and reaching for the antacid tablets. This was him. This was who she had made him become. There was no sense of right or wrong anymore, there was only relief for his tortured damned soul.
He kept Gerry's gaze as he walked from the club, the bartender now knowing more than he needed to. Personal business was a nasty game. Yes, it was, but it was one that he was about to finish.
Chapter 27
He saw me, Kellah. Lucy's eyes widened and her steps faltered as panic took hold. Kellah tried to push them down the stairs, but Lucy was unable to keep up, and in the end, she picked up the human and ran, the sound of doors slamming above her rebounded down the stairwell behind her. And as fast as he ran, she ran faster.
Not human. The thought came back to haunt her at this moment, and as her mind tried to piece together all of the events that led her here, it was as though she teetered on the edge of knowing and all.
"Fucking bitch!" screamed all around her, and in her arms, Lucy whimpered. She could hear him swear, his obscenities flowing fast as he raced after her. She wanted to slow down and collect her thoughts, but he was quick, and for Lucy's sake she had to be quicker.
"Give me your keys," she said, holding out a hand as she bounded down the last of the stairs and smashed through the bottom stairwell door. Lucy didn't move, it was as though she was frozen, and she had to shake her gently as she repeated, "Lucy, give me your keys."
She made for Lucy's car as the keys were pushed into her palm, and she opened the door and threw the human in. The ignition cracked and she eased off, hoping that she hadn't broken it completely before the engine roared to life and she tramped the accelerator.
The wheels spun long black tread marks against the asphalt as the car raced past the apartment building. In the rear vision mirror, she saw him as he pushed through the doors to stand in the middle of the road and watch them. He was fast, she would give him that. But, not human? Well, she couldn't tell for sure. And if not human, then what the fuck was he?
Lucy hugged the passenger-side door. Curled into a ball, she cried over and over Oh fuck, he saw me, and he killed my sister. She didn't know if Lucy was trying to psych herself out or up into doing something she didn't yet have the balls to do. She pushed the little car harder than what it was used to, and by the time they got back to Killer Place the engine was steaming. She gripped the book tightly in her hands and walked around the passenger-side door, opening it, and standing back as Lucy spilled out onto the ground.
Lucy looked up at her. "What am I going to do?" She wasn't sure of the question, so she remained silent. "Well? What should I do?"
"About what?"
"About the fact that my sister's murderer has seen me breaking into his apartment, and now will probably be after me?"
"It seemed a bit far-fetched. He didn't actually see you break-in, and for that matter, we don't actually know that he killed your sister, do we? All we have is this book."
Lucy jumped up and held out her hand. "Give it to me."
She growled, and held the book tighter. "I don't think so, human. Back off!"
"Kellah, you don't frighten me, and I think that I need it more than you. When this murderer comes for me, and that isn't an if it's a when, I'll need something to bargain with."
Kellah looked at the human as if she lost her mind. This seemed to be getting way out of hand. It figures, that happens when you get tied up with human problems. "Fine," she said. "We'll arm wrestle for it over dinner. I'm hungry."
She walked off, leaving Lucy to trail after her, and made her way up to her apartment. Her mind was on the book in her hand, and she was sure she had enough time she could work it all out from the newspaper cuttings. There had to be a way that she could fix all of this and still get out of Red Valley. She opened the door to her apartment and walked in.
"It's good you came home. I've been waiting for this moment for ten long years."
Darrion Hunter lifted the muzzle of the gun and aimed right at her head. His eyes were cold and emotionless, a killer’s eyes. Lucy muttered behind her, cursing her, not knowing that the Detective took aim to shoot her, and walked straight into her back. Even though Lucy was only small, she jolted her forward, and Hunter's gaze moved from her to the human.
"She’s got nothing to do with this, Hunter," she said quietly. She knew that any sudden movement would not only get her shot, but would probably get Lucy killed.
She wasn't too concerned about getting shot, as long as it was through and through she didn't mind so much. But what she did mind was having this human die in her arms. "Let her go, Hunter. This is just between you and me, right?"
He swung the muzzle of the gun to the side. "Get out of here."
She whispered a thank you.
She spun around and pushed at Lucy, moving her from the line of fire and out of the apartment. "Who is that, Kellah, and why does he have a gun pointed at you?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just a misunderstanding is all."
"It looks like a lot more than a misunderstanding to me. Does this have something to do with the police officer?"
She shoved Lucy into her apartment with a shake of her head. Damn stubborn human, doesn't she know I'm trying to save her fucking life? She slammed the door shut on Lucy, her irritated expression puckered and dark as she fired another question at her, and turned back towards her apartment.
Hunter stood on the opposite wall of her apartment, the gun still aimed at her as she walked in. Smart, she thought. The more distance, the quicker he could get a shot off. It was as though he was expecting a prison yard rush, and she guessed that could be an option if she wanted Hunter's blood all over her.
He motioned her inside and she closed the door. The lock still hung open. She hadn't had time to fix it and probably never would. "What did your friend mean about the police officer?"
"Nothing, she's just confused. Took a blow to the head, and you know..." she said, twirling her finger around the side of her head as though Lucy was somehow damaged. "So ... as usual I'm fucking thrilled to see you, Hunter. But what's with the gun?"
He shook his head, his words growing deeper, more controlled as though he was readying himself for something. "We'll get to that in a moment. What's in your hand?"
Her phone took that opportunity to beep loudly, scaring the shit out of both her and the Detective. She closed her eyes and shied away, expecting the bang and the flash of pain that was sure to come, and felt nothing. She grabbed the phone from her pocket, the message displayed on the screen, Get out, girly. Hunter is on the way.
Typical geriatric old fart, the text would have been more helpful ten fucking minutes ago. She put the phone back in her pocket and lifted her gaze. Hunter seemed pleased with himself, as though he was one up on her in the scheme of things. She didn't understand what this scheme was, and wanted to rip
it to fucking pieces.
"The book, what's in it?"
She held it tighter. There was no way he was going to get his hands on the articles until she figured out what they all meant. Lucy's life depended on it. "Nothing."
"It doesn't look like nothing to me. Every time I say something about it, your hand tightens. Looks like an awful lot of something to me. Now hand it over."
He held out his hand, and she stood her ground. The only way he was going to get it out of her hand was if he shot the fucking thing off. And as she thought this, he took aim as though he had the exact same thought. Fuck.
"Okay, okay. Here," she said, throwing the book at him. It landed on the floor at his feet, the binding holding it together tightly. He bent down, pulling at the end of the ribbon until it fell open. He opened the first page and intrigue kept him turning until he flicked through every clipping slowly.
His hand shook and the gun wobbled in his grip, it seemed that it was all he needed to finish what he came here to do.
Chapter 28
"Wait," she said, moving quicker than he expected. "It is not what it looks like."
Darrion swiveled around, not knowing where the bitch stood. He had known it was her all along, and this cruel timeline in front of him proved it.
His gut churned as his rage boiled inside of him, expelling out of his mouth in a scream. "Get out here!"
He heard movement towards the bathroom, so he walked slowly towards the doorway and aimed the gun down the hall. The walls closed in on him, his whole life closed in on him. This was the moment it was going to end. All of his work, his heart ache, his loneliness, was about to come to an abrupt halt.
"Just don't get excited, Detective," she called out to him. "The book isn't mine."
He didn't believe her. Lies, lies, lies. That was all she spoke.
"Come out and we'll talk about it," he said without even a waiver in his voice.
"How about you throw the gun towards me?"
She was not dealing with a rookie. How stupid did she think he was? "How about I just walk in there and kill you now?"
"Now, that could be a little harder than expected, Detective. And, believe it or not, I don't want to hurt you."
"Hurt me?!" he screamed. "HURT ME?! All you have ever done is hurt me!"
He felt as though he was going to explode, and the fire in his stomach ruptured something inside. He cried out and doubled over, so wrapped up in his pain and anger that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him.
"I know I have," said the deep voice behind his ear, as if cold death was ripped from his past and into the present. "And it has been so much fun."
Pain burned like a hot poker through his head and tore along his spine, his bladder clenched, desperate to let go. He hit the ground with a thud, his head rebounding on the floor, and the feeling of deja vu gripped him with steel claws, dragging him back into the past in pieces, until everything went black.
Chapter 29
A voice echoed along the hallway before a crack was heard. It wasn't Hunters voice that she knew for sure, and she stepped out of the bathroom holding her hands high, and walked towards them.
The face that had been in her rear vision mirror looked back at her, piercing cold blue eyes that looked familiar. It was the killer cop, and around his feet lay the still body of Detective Hunter.
"Let me go," growled Lucy, trying her best to tear her hair from his grasp as she stared up at her from her sideways position. "I'm sorry, Kellah."
"So, you're the bitch who broke into my apartment," he said, glaring at her.
"Yup, that's me." She said, taking a step closer. "Now, why don't you let my friend go?"
"Cocky little bitch, aren't you? I wonder how brave you'll feel when I strip the skin from your bones."
She blanched, and it was what he was expecting as his laughter filled the room around her. "I thought so."
Her mind rewound the events of the past, piecing them together. Hunter, the killings, the newspaper articles ... and these same evil blue eyes that were hidden behind a uniform while she waited outside the station. Strip the skin from your bones ... spoken like a demon.
She looked at him differently now as the glass remnants of her world became whole again. This killer cop was no human ... he was a demon, just like her. The how's and why's threatened to take her focus away from the issue at hand.
Here was a demon, and by the way he now felt to her demonic senses, he was not just a demon, he was a Superior. All of a sudden she felt so small, so pathetically inferior, until she realized something that was monumentally important.
She knew what he was ... but, he had no idea that she was a demon as well.
It was time to play the pathetic human card.
She fell into a heap, throwing her hands back over her forehead, her voice high pitched and hysterical. "Oh, please don't hurt me. I'll do anything ... anything you want. Just whatever you do, don't gut me like a pig and leave me to die!"
The chorus of what the fuck echoed back, and in her shame she realized that not only was it the killer demon cop that said it, it was her friend Lucy as well. She lifted her hand and stared up at them from the floor. They were frozen. Lucy's hand clasped around the demon's hand, not moving, her hair pulled taught as she looked at her with concern and confusion. The demon cop just looked at her with disgust. Well, at least for him she got it right.
"You humans disgust me," he spat, and Kellah smiled up at Lucy, Ha! See, he called me a human! She wanted to gloat more, but the snap of a switchblade drew her attention away from her celebrations. He threw Lucy hard to the floor, and it was only that her outstretched arms softened the impact of the floor that she survived.
"Give me back my book," he said, pointing to the open pages. It seemed as though he was more concerned about the detailed trauma than the flesh and blood that now began to moan at his feet. As he pulled back his foot to lash out at Hunter, the sense of possessiveness overwhelmed her once again.
He's mine! She pushed herself up from the ground and rushed at him. She lowered her head and tensed her shoulder, ready to ram it into his stomach as she reached for his hand with the switchblade. The rush wouldn't hurt him. It would only take him off guard while she stabbed him ferociously with his own blade.
The knife sunk deep into the soft flesh of his stomach, and she pulled as hard as she could, trying her best to disembowel him, and give her the upper hand. The first three thrusts were quick, and the Superior was already bleeding by the time he realized she had even moved.
"What the ...?" he said in the moment before he started to fight back. His shirt was bloody, and when she pushed against him it made soft squelching sounds as his human body repaired itself. She fought as hard as she could, but he was a Superior, one that was made to overpower her.
It didn't take long before the tables were turned, and it was her human body that took the stabbing blows of the knife. His human face slipped as he pushed deeper into her body, and the demon he truly was shone through.
Her amber stone flamed hot against her skin, the hot, sickly stench of burning flesh and pain felt so familiar, it was a shame that it came to an end.
"You're a ..." the Superior stuttered, "You are her? The one Father pushed through the veil. The one he cast out?"
Shame and humiliation were not the reason the Superior said this to her, but it was what she felt as she stood there and bled. In their fight, they had stabbed their way across her apartment and she could hear Lucy and Hunter behind her, both alive, and to her disappointment, both very conscious. If she lost this fight, not only would she be condemned to exist in No Man's Land, neither Heaven nor Hell, but the two humans behind her would be quickly snuffed out, unless this demon still wanted to play.
Either way, the Detective deserved to know the truth, didn't he? I mean, that's all that humans searched for ... the truth to their thoughts and feelings, their existence, and every fucking thing that came with it? It was the reason he came here tonight, to find
the answers he so desperately needed ... and to kill her.
It wasn't so much of a shock. She had read it on his face when she walked through the door. She could at least give him peace, "The Detective's wife and daughter. That was you?"
He looked to Hunter. His pitiless, soulless eyes sparkled in their intensity. It even made her shiver, and she needed to play the best hand she could at this moment. "I have to say, it takes stamina to keep something like that going for as long as you did. I mean, I can learn a great deal from you."
He flicked his eyes back to her. Pride may have been one of the seven deadly sins, but to a demon there was no greater acknowledgement. She bowed low, her head hanging to the ground with her hand outstretched. There was no greater declaration than the one that she was about to give. The steel blade was placed in her palm, and she carefully rose.
Blood and flesh were taken on a regular basis in her home, but one that was given to another was a treat to behold. She tore at her shirt, leaving the flesh of her breasts bare under his gaze, and she gripped the hilt of the knife and sliced her chest lengthways from shoulder to rib. Her flesh trembled as her human body went into shock, and at first her blood blossomed, then flowed like visible veins on the outside of her flesh. Her hand shook uncontrollably as she handed the knife back and asked again, this time her words were forced like air through her teeth.
"You're the one that had killed Hunter's family, aren't you Superior?"
He stepped closer to her, intoxicated by the scent of blood so freely given and by his rightful title.
"Yes," he whispered, his eyes searching her body, trailing along the tiny rivers of blood that ran along her breast and dropped from her nipple to splash against the floor. "I had no idea Earth would be like this, and when Father pushed you through, he left the veil weak. It was so easy for me to slip by unnoticed. Everyone else was so blown away by your crime and the punishment. It all seemed a little too easy.
