Home: Hidden Book Three

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  I dreamed that I murdered everyone who’d ever hurt me, and, worse, everyone who'd ever loved me, that I bathed in their blood and was reborn. And even though I cried, I could feel something inside me exalting in the violence, and that thing, whatever it was, was in control just then. It showed me Brennan dead, broken, and I couldn't even scream.

  "Mistress," someone said near my ear. Then louder; "Mistress!"

  I jumped up. My forehead was soaked with sweat, and I felt like I could barely breathe. "Huh? What?" I asked hoarsely. Bash and Dahael stood next to my bed.

  "Found your demons." Dahael said. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was a little after three-thirty. I'd lost a couple of hours again, and didn't feel rested. It hadn't been sleep as much as me and that thing inside me battling for control. And I'd lost. I knew that for a fact, and it was just lucky that the imps had stirred me when they had.

  I wiped my face. "Anything else?"

  "Got four women, two men captive. In rough shape, all. Probably getting ready to move again. Hurry." Bash said.

  "Okay. Where?"

  They told me, and I went into my backyard, figuring I’d fly there. Artemis was there, just outside of the gateway. My heart felt like it was bleeding in my chest. Was everything going to remind me of him now?

  "How are you, dear girl?" she asked. "Surprised to see you here."

  I forced my face into a mask of emotionless distance. "You have another descendant. Brennan has a son."

  She stared at me.

  "And I can’t be with him anymore. It's not safe. You love them? You care for your descendants so much? Watch over them. Keep them safe."

  She watched me a moment, then she reached forward and pulled me into a hug, and I forced down the sob that rose to my chest, bit my lip hard to keep from crying. When she pulled away, I took a deep breath, determined to pull myself back together again.

  "I will keep them safe. I promise you that, Fury," she said. She studied me. "I would have loved to have had you in my family, my dear."

  I nodded, because I couldn't trust my voice. And then Artemis shifted before me, turning into a big black cat. I ignored the stab to my heart, gestured to an imp. "Show Artemis where the loft is, please," I said to him, and he nodded, thumped his chest.

  I took a few breaths, tried to make myself focus. I had people to save, asses to kick. I took another deep breath and kicked into the air, flying into the night. I headed east. There were a bunch of duplexes on Kelly Road, straddling the border between Detroit and Harper Woods. The imps told me they were in one of them, at least for the moment. I flew over the area, getting an idea of the layout. At least four demons. Maybe the witch, if I was lucky. There was definitely a mist over the area, the same kind Ada used when she was trying to shield us from the eyes of Normals. Demons couldn't do that.

  I hoped they'd put up a fight. I had all kinds of rage to work off.

  I found the duplex they were hiding in. It was boarded up in front, but I could see from my flyover that the back door was open. It was brick, two story, like two little colonials side-by-side. My rogue demons were in the right-hand side of the duplex.

  I landed in the back yard, sensed the area. Yeah. Four demons, a few Normals. I wasn't picking up the witch, but she could have been shielding herself. Some of the stronger ones knew how to do that, and if she was working with Strife, there was a decent chance she could do it. If she wasn't there, one of them would spill their guts about her. I'd make sure of that.

  No powers, I reminded myself. The pain would distract me, and if I was facing four demons, I couldn't weaken myself for the quick hit. I remembered the things Athena had taught me, reminded myself to thank her for all those times she kicked my ass, shouted at me to use my head once in a while.

  I held my hand out and my flamesword appeared at my side.

  I could feel them inside. They knew I was there, and a mixture of fear and rage roared over me, from them.

  I walked up the crumbling concrete steps and into what used to be a kitchen. The counters and cabinets were still intact, and aging yellow paint adorned the walls.

  "Don't you want to play, my demons?" I asked the empty room. "All this running, you'd think you were a bunch of cowards."

  They were in the next room. I smiled, my adrenaline pumping, my bloodlust full on. I walked through the doorway, and they charged me, as I figured they would. I swung out with the sword and caught the first unfortunate (and stupid) demon, slashing through his throat as if it was made of tissue paper. His blood washed over me, and I remembered my dreams.

  They'd pay.

  The remaining three demons circled me. One had a knife, and one had two cruel-looking daggers. The final one, the female, pointed a gun at my head.

  "Oh, please, bitch," I muttered. "I've been taking out thugs with guns since I was seventeen. You aren't shit." And I brought my sword arm up and knocked her arm aside, just as she pulled the trigger. Then I brought the blade down again, and her hand, still holding the gun, hit the floor. I kicked the gun back into the kitchen as I dodged the demon with the daggers. He lunged for me, but I can move a hell of a lot faster than any demon. All that muscle tends to slow them down. That, and the fact that they rarely ever have to actually fight, since they usually rely on cheap tricks to surprise their prey.

  But me? I learned how to fight on the streets when I had nothing but the conviction that I was needed. I was taught by the most hardass demon I'd ever known, then by one of the best pure fighters I've ever met.

  I've sparred with Athena. I've fought my way back from death. Demons? Please.

  While the female demon tried to pull herself up and together, I fought the remaining two, the one with the knife and the one with the daggers. I parried, slashed out at them when they tried to stab at me. Soon, they were both bleeding, angry. And it started to be accompanied by just a little bit of fear, and it fed me. I grinned and slashed out at Daggers, taking his left arm off at the elbow, and he howled, and I ended the noise with a quick slash to his throat.

  The floor was slick with blood. Their pain and fear fed me, that inner part of me that is of the Nether, my demon. If we're talking demons, I'm the most demonic bitch in this realm or any other. Born of the Lord of the Dead Himself. I drew on that, let myself forget everything else, just for a while, and felt the joy of battle, the screams and agony of my enemies.

  The demon with the knife kept coming at me. He managed to stab me in the shoulder when I tripped over Daggers' body, and I growled in pain. The female demon was trying to rise, and I jabbed behind me with the sword, heard her flesh sizzle as the blade entered her stomach. She gave a final gurgle and fell over. She wouldn't be getting up again.

  Knives charged me again, and I ducked him, placed a hard kick to the side of his knee, and he screamed and crumpled to the ground. He tried to grab me on his way down, and I brought my knee up and broke his nose.

  After that, he just tried to get away from me.

  "Where are you going?" I growled. He whimpered, still trying to put distance between the two of us. I kicked him, hard, and he fell over. I kicked him onto his back, put the point of my sword at his throat. He looked up at me, fear rolling of of him. He put his hands up; a gesture of defeat. I knew better. I'd been lied to too often to take anything at face value.

  "Where's the witch?" I asked him, and the power filling me hurt. I was full, and there was no way in hell I'd be able to release it now. Not if I wanted to stay conscious and in control.

  He shook his head wildly, and I kicked him in the stomach. He grunted. "Where is the witch?" I repeated, my voice starting to turn into a snarl as my power thundered through me.

  "Don't know. Haven't seen her. She stays with Strife. They only find us when they want us. Please. It was Strife."

  He was lying. Not about Strife, though.

  "Do not make excuses," I roared. "You betrayed me. Me. It's not a mistake you'll live to repeat."

  I broke into his mind, then. I'd have to risk usin
g my powers. I had to find out where she was. It was absolute agony. He squirmed, and panicked, and I tried to focus on sifting through his thoughts.

  Ah. There.

  She was supposed to meet them at our current location at four. Make Strife's mark (each body had had a weird little design cut into it; now I knew what it was) and then mist everything again so they could go into hiding. I smirked.

  Something else would be greeting her instead.

  I bored the rest of the way into his mind, took his will to live away from him. I watched the light in his eyes fade; the last of my rogue demons. As he died, crows flooded into the house, started claiming the souls of the demons. I'd forgotten. These were the Guardians' replacements, and now that the gateway was back, they could do their work, bringing the souls to my family to face their eternal judgment. There was no chanting, no ceremony. The crows came in, claimed their treasures, and left.

  Once they were gone, I went into the back bedroom, found the humans the demons had been keeping captive. I could see what the demons had done to them, both the men and the women, and I wished I could kill each of the demons a few more times.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Chief Jones. I told him what was going on, where to find the captives. And then I went to work trying to comfort them. I'd have to use my powers on them, after Jones and his shifters got here. They'd heard and seen too much, and it would only traumatize them if they were able to remember it all.

  I untied each of them, offered them bottles of water I'd found on the kitchen counter. A couple of the women drank gratefully, but the rest sat there. In shock. They were all afraid of me, but grateful at the same time.

  "You're one of them. You're not human," one of the women said.

  "I'm not human. But I sure the hell am not one of them," I told her.

  "You saved us. We didn't think anyone was coming… no one knew we were gone, all this time," another of the women said.

  "Why not?"

  "None of us have anybody. While we've been stuck here, we've been talking. Realized nobody was ever going to bother looking for us."

  One of the men nodded. "We were pretty sure we were dead, as soon as they got tired of us. And no one would know or care, either way."

  I looked them over. Four women, two men. Varying ages, shapes, some black, some white. One of the women was Middle Eastern. Lost.

  "Well. I care," I said. "I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. They did a good job of staying on the run."

  "Thank you," one of the women said, and she was crying. She buried her face in her hands, and one of the other women comforted her.

  I heard a couple of car doors slam outside, and the humans all tensed. I held my hands out, letting them know to stay calm. "I'm pretty sure that's my police officer friend," I said, soothing them. They relaxed, a little.

  Within a few seconds, Jones walked in the house. "In here," I called, and he made his way into the bedroom where we were all standing. He'd seen the carnage in the living room, and now he looked over the humans who had been captive.

  "Chief," I said quietly.

  "Angel," he said, holding his hand out.

  "It is you!" one of the women said. "I prayed to you. You answered." And then she started bawling, and two of the other women put their arms around her.

  I turned to the chief, met his eyes. "I'm going to have to use some of my powers on them. They saw way too much," I said in a low voice.

  He nodded. "You're going to let them remember you, though. I think they need that, after this."

  I gave a short nod. "I need you guys to all clear out ASAP. I'm expecting the witch that was working with them."

  "Not a problem. It's good to have you back, Angel. We'll be back after sunrise to handle clean-up."

  I turned to the humans. "Guys," I said softly, and they all looked at me. I felt my power rising, let it lace my voice. "You were held captive by four sick individuals. They were humans, but they were deranged, and they hurt you. You were rescued by the Angel and the Detroit Police, who were forced to kill your captors when they wouldn't surrender. You won't remember much about tonight, but you will remember me." Oh, damn. Everything hurt. I could feel blood dripping from my nose, and I brought my hand up to staunch the bleeding. "Remember me. I care about you. Someone cares." I gritted my teeth against the pain. "It will be so."

  My power snapped, took hold in the humans, who had the tell-tale glazed look in their eyes. I turned away, not wanting them to see my glowing eyes or the blood all over my body, both mine and the demons'.

  "Thank you, Angel," Chief Jones said softly. Then he looked at me. "Hey. You okay?"

  "I'll survive," I said. And then I walked out into the backyard, putting a little distance between them and me while the chief and his men got the humans out. I went to a far corner of the backyard, stumbling, in agony after using my powers again. I could barely breathe around it, and I tried to pull myself together. I breathed, thought un-painful thoughts, threw up a couple of times. I listened to car doors slamming, low voices as Jones got the humans away from the house.

  I should have kept one of the demons alive, I thought to myself. I could have used a little pain and anger to feed my power while I waited for the witch.

  I wiped my sleeve across my mouth, trying to clean myself up a little. Then I walked back through the yard, up the back stairs, and into the yellow kitchen. I went into the living room (cleared now of demon bodies; the chief and his crew didn't leave anything to chance) and leaned up against one of the walls. I closed my eyes, waited for my body to return to more manageable levels of pain.

  I was really going to have to figure something out regarding my powers. Either I needed to stop using them, or I needed to figure out how to make this crap stop happening every time I tried to use them. I could only guess that this was some way of the Nether punishing me for breaking away, somehow. The Nether had taught me plenty of ways to punish my enemies; undoubtedly, it had a few tricks it hadn't shared with me. Such as how to completely screw with someone who broke an oath to it.

  I was just starting to think that maybe the darkness in me, the urge to seriously hurt, even kill, Brennan, had to be related to that. I mean, he was the main thing I thought of in my grave. He was the one thing I couldn't wait to get back to. I'd have to ask Persephone. Maybe it was nothing more than a curse of some kind, and I'd have my life back.

  Well, sorta. My life with my mate who had a kid that wasn't mine. Right.

  Almost as if on cue, I felt a presence nearby. Witch.

  Time to meet the murdering, lying, evil-ass baby mama.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I stayed still in the living room, though I did draw my flamesword. I knew already that she was a powerful witch; the miasma she'd placed on Brennan's son hadn't been the work of an amateur. Which held with what my mom and Athena had told me about Strife. She was more likely to pick the strongest witches, because they could cause the most chaos.

  I listened as the back door opened, soft footsteps treading on the linoleum kitchen floor.

  "Are you worthless shitheads sleeping again?" I heard a voice call. It was a husky voice. The woman who walked into the room was not entirely what I'd expected. She was tall, willowy. A shock of purple hair was cut into a severe bob, and the second her eyes found me, she lifted her hands, readying a spell.

  "Stop," I ordered, trying to force the thought into her mind. She laughed at me.

  "Oh, please." And she lifted her hands again, and I charged her before she could get her spell off. I knocked her back into the wall, and she let out a grunt of pain.

  I felt the air kind of tingle around me, and within seconds it felt like my skin was being pricked by millions of needles. It was like being attacked by a swarm of hornets, and it distracted me just enough, and she danced out of my grasp.

  The attack, whatever she'd done, kept going, and I forced myself to try to ignore it. After all the things I've been though, it shouldn't have messed with me as much as it
did. She was readying another spell, and I shot fire at her, igniting the black leather jacket she wore. She let out a scream and started thrashing around, trying to put the flames out. The hornet-thing stopped, and I tackled her again, knocked her to the ground.

  Her jacket was still on fire. I let it burn, and she panicked.

  Oh. It was good. Exactly what I needed. Fear. It strengthened me, and I felt my body repairing itself from the trauma of using my powers against her. I put my hand on her throat and squeezed, hard. She still thrashed, trying to put the flames out. I sent a strong blast of power at them, and they stopped burning.

  I kind of regretted doing that. But, I was currently holding her down, and it's not like I especially wanted to catch fire. It had done what I wanted it to do: distracted her.

  I looked down at her, and felt complete hatred course through me. This time, it had nothing to do with the thing living inside me. It had everything to do with the fact that she'd participated in the deaths of twenty-seven innocent people. She'd worked with the demons. Helped them.

  She started laughing at me, even as I still grasped her throat.

  "He was good. But you already know that, don't you?" she taunted.

  Christ. She thought I was mad about Brennan. Shallow, delusional bitch.

  I punched her, hard, in the face. She stopped laughing then.

  My skin prickled as she started preparing another spell, and I punched her again. To my surprise, she raised her knee and caught me in the gut, and it was just enough to distract me enough so that she was able to roll out of my grip on her throat.

  I charged her again before she could get the spell off, and she met me with a kick to my knee. She missed, but caught my thigh, which threw me off-balance. Then she did manage to get a quick spell off, and I found myself totally unable to move.

  "Yes!" she shouted when she realized I was immobile. "Oh, hell yes!"

  I rolled my eyes, trying to show her that I was clearly unimpressed. Fucking newbies.

  "You can't even talk, can you?" she taunted, laughing. Then she clapped her hands in her glee. She wiped at her nose, which was still bleeding. "Oh, she is going to be so happy with me," she said, watching me.