Demon Tracker (Divine Justice, 2)

by Mary Abshire

  “There are always casualties in war,” Gordon said. “No one wants to kill an innocent, including vampires. I’m sure they have plenty of guilt for their actions weighing on their consciences.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m certain they don’t want to take life from anyone. You should ask one sometime if you don’t believe me.”

  “I respect your opinion. You’ve seen and lived through more than I have. But it’s difficult to find anything good about them when I’m constantly hunting down those who have killed humans.”

  “Trust my words, the majority of vampires are moral and they are here to defend us from evil. If demons wipe them off the face of the Earth, we will be doomed. Demons will come for us and the rest of the non-human population. Humanity will have lost.”

  A world filled with evil, hate, and murder was not one Zale cared to live in. He’d seen enough death and chaos from the last outbreak and never wanted to see another.

  “We can’t let that happen.” Zale gave a single shake of his head. “I won’t let that happen.”

  Gordon leaned forward and put one arm on Zale’s desk. “Then you must keep an open mind. Do not let your prejudices interfere with your decisions.”

  Zale nodded as he stared into his boss’s brown eyes. He had the utmost admiration for Gordon. The old man had never steered him on the wrong path. There was no reason to think he would now.

  “The DS agent told you about the vampires who have gone missing. You’ve seen with your own eyes the destruction of some,” Gordon said. “What do you truly believe happened to the ones you found?”

  He inhaled a long breath. “I found multiple scents at the majority of spots I visited. The scents can’t prove if those involved were possessed or not. We’d have to track down the individuals and interrogate them to learn if they are possessed or non-human.”

  “Do you think demons could be working in groups to destroy vampires?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t believe vampires are killing their own. And I haven’t heard of any witches, shifters, or necromancers wanting to annihilate the vamps.”

  “Demons and vampires have been at war since the beginning of time because demons want to rule everyone and everything.”

  “So it makes sense the demons are extinguishing vampires. But I can’t confirm that’s what is going on. I haven’t seen any demons kidnapping vampires and there hasn’t been any evidence that I am aware of to prove demons are the ones responsible.”

  Gordon straightened. “It’s not our job to investigate the bodies that have been destroyed, but someone needs to. I spoke with Aziel, the leader of the Midwest Divine Syndicate, and the DS is tied up trying to control the demon population. For now, I want you to work with Ray to find out more about the dead vamps. Try to find out if humans, non-humans, or demons are responsible. We need to know for certain if demons are going after vampires.” He rose and then pressed his fingertips on the desk. “I know this isn’t typical work for you, but I need you to think big picture.”

  Zale nodded. “I understand. Believe me, I don’t want to see another outbreak. If this is the start of one, I’ll do my best to stop it.”

  Gordon smiled. “I know you will. Report back to me every night.” Saying nothing more, he walked out of Zale’s office.

  Zale tilted his head back until it rested on his chair. Staring at the tiled ceiling, he blew out a puff of air. He didn’t look forward to investigating more dead vamps, but the sooner he could get answers, the quicker he could return to his regular duties. And if the demons were plotting another outbreak, he wanted to put a swift end to their plans.

  Chapter Three

  Ray knocked on the door as he strode into Zale’s office. He stopped short when Zale held up his forefinger. Holding the phone receiver to his ear, Zale listened to Victor.

  “I’ll check into the matter for you,” the DS agent said.

  “Thanks, Victor. I’d appreciate it if you could send the information when you get it,” Zale said as Ray took a seat in front of his desk.

  “Sure, you should have it in a day or two,” Victor said.

  “Sounds good. Thanks again,” Zale said before he returned the receiver to the base on his desk.

  “Chatting with your new vampire friend already?” Ray’s brows furrowed.

  “Not exactly. I asked him if there was a way for him to know for certain if the bodies we found in Merrillville belong to vampires. He said the only way he would know for sure is when the morgue runs their prints or DNA through the database. Then, the DS can cross check the names with their records to confirm if the deceased was a vampire.”

  “Sounds like a lot of work. Why do you care if the corpses are vampires?”

  “Because Gordon has given us a new assignment for the time being. He wants us to investigate the bodies with severed heads or anything that appears to be a destroyed vampire.” Zale leaned back in his chair.

  “Why? It’s not our job—“

  “It is now.” Zale cut Ray off to avoid hearing Ray’s rant. “We are to investigate and confirm if in fact the bodies belong to vampires. If so, we need to try and find out who is killing them.”

  “Wait, we have all these cases”—he smacked his hand on the three files sitting on the corner of Zale’s desk—“with vampires who broke the AoA law and we have to ignore them?”

  “For now, yes.”

  Ray shook his head. “I think that’s a bad idea. We are letting murderers go free.”

  “Technically, they are potential murderers. We haven’t brought them in for questioning. You know as well as I do if they’d already been sentenced to die, the folder would be red.”

  Whenever a report came to into the UoJ of an offender, Gordon and other agents took turns reviewing it. The reviewer would decide if the vamp should be brought in for questions first or not. And if the latter, Gordon had to give his stamp of approval to destroy the vamp. The majority of cases were first time offenders. The ones who lied during questioning were dealt with severely or terminated. Werewolves were the best lie detectors aside from witches and wizards who used spells and trinkets. Since none of the files on his desk were colored, Gordon hadn’t sealed the fate of the accused vamps.

  “Still, who’s going to bring these offenders in for questioning?” Ray asked in an aggravated tone.

  “Gordon is aware of the situation. For now, we have other orders.”

  “And you’re okay with this?”

  “I would prefer to do my job. However, if there is a problem, we should check it out. If we can confirm demons are destroying vampires, then it’s possible we could be looking at a potential outbreak. I personally do not want to go through another one.” He straightened and threaded his fingers together on his desk. “I understand your disapproval of our new assignment, but we need to do this. If there’s the slightest chance of an outbreak, we have to stop it.”

  Ray exhaled a heavy breath. “Yeah, fine. Did Gordon say we’d have to work with any vamps?”

  “No.”

  “Is that why he came in here earlier? He wanted to give you new instructions? I missed your conversation since Henry was busy blabbing his mouth about a woman he met online.”

  “Pretty much.” Zale didn’t see the need to inform him about the compliment Victor had given. Bringing up the topic might instigate trouble. Ray’s preconceptions toward vampires surpassed Zale’s. Maybe the young wolf needed a break from hunting the criminals.

  “Say we learn humans discovered vampires exist and they’re destroying the bloodsuckers. Then what?”

  Zale shrugged. “I don’t know. Gordon will inform the other agencies and the AoA. They get to decide the next steps.”

  “What if necromancers have decided to get rid of the vamps?”

  “Again, Gordon will inform the others and the AoA.”

  “Let me guess, you don’t think it’s humans or non-humans who are responsible. Am I right?”


  “Yep.”

  “If it is demons causing the trouble, then what?”

  “The agencies have to decide if an alert for a possible outbreak should be issued.”

  Ray moved closer to the desk. “You survived the last one. What was it like?”

  Zale lowered his gaze. “Horrific.”

  “How so? Were demons running around with pitchforks or knives? Did they break into homes and kill everyone? How did the DS get rid of them besides killing? I always hear from you and others how bad it was and how many died, but I can’t picture what it was like.”

  Zale looked up at his friend. Ray had been born after the Depression in the late 1930s. He had his first change in the 1950s. He looked like your average twenty-year-old man even though he’d been working in the UoJ since the 1960s. The pack he grew up in had protected him since the day he’d been born, so he’d never seen extreme violence, pure chaos, and innocent people dying. He’d never had to decide who to defend, who to kill, or who to leave to fend for themselves.

  “The Depression was hard on everyone. As you know, humans are the most susceptible to possession. So many were starving and poor. The demons multiplied quickly. They started stealing, causing riots, beating others… The DS agents went out in groups exorcising the demons, but they couldn’t keep up. At the same time, werewolves started disappearing. They’d return days later, but they were different. The women were the first ones possessed. They were vicious and angry all the time. My mother and one of my sisters, Kathy, started acting violent toward everyone.”

  Zale swallowed hard as he fought the memories from surfacing. Him, his father, and his other two brothers and sister had to monitor Kathy and his mother. There had been times when they had to knock out both women and bind them so the two wouldn’t harm others.

  “Were they possessed?” Ray asked.

  “Yes. I hadn’t seen a possessed werewolf before, so I didn’t know at first. Female werewolves would disappear for a day and then return with bruises on their arms and faces. They told us they were in a fight. In my mom’s case, she said she was in an accident in the woods. We believed the stories. We had no reason to suspect otherwise. Some of the younger ones started acting strange too. They also had marks on them as if they’d been beaten. Within a few days, the older werewolves spread the word through the packs about how to confirm possession. I confronted my father and he refused to believe my mother had been possessed. Sadly, many others ignored the signs too.”

  “Doesn’t it take a lot for a demon to possess a werewolf?” Ray asked.

  “We’re most vulnerable in human form and we have to be at our weakest.”

  “So, what happened next?”

  “The number of possessed increased quickly. The UoJ ceased operations so we could guard our packs. Demons started killing. The young saw it as werewolves killing werewolves. Our Alpha ordered us to kill those who murdered others. Many refused because no one wanted to end the life of a family member. I had to kill members of our own kind to shield women and children.”

  “Wow.”

  “On top of that, I had to help keep my mother and Kathy away from others so they wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  Trying to protect his family and the non-possessed had been challenging and exhausting, mentally and physically. So many werewolves had been in the same situation.

  “Werewolves killing each other sounds crazy,” Ray said.

  “That’s only the beginning of it.” Zale sighed. He didn’t like to discuss details of his family, but Ray needed to know about the horrors they could face in an outbreak. “A group of vampires arrived in our area one night. They went door to door, looking for demons. They showed up at my family home with their daggers and swords. My father, younger brother Gabe, and I tried to protect my mother and Kathy. We fought the vamps, but there were too many of them. They killed my parents, Kathy, and Gabe. I had been outraged, of course. If it weren’t for my sister, Michelle, and my brother, William, the vamps could’ve killed me too.”

  “They killed your father and Gabe even though they weren’t possessed?”

  “After they left, Michelle and William told me my father and Gabe had destroyed a vamp while I had been fighting to guard Kathy.”

  “Oh, man. I’m sorry. That still doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Times were so chaotic. The demon population was growing. Vampires were trying to stop the evil monsters from taking over everyone. Had my father and Gabe not interfered, they might have survived the outbreak.”

  Ray shook his head. “Still… It’s fucked up.”

  “What happened in my family also occurred with others. Vamps wiped out many. Our Alpha decided to move the remaining members of the pack. We relocated to different areas of town, but eventually it wasn’t safe anywhere. Food became scarce and the demons started picking off werewolves when they went hunting. Some would be gone for days and then show up again.”

  “Possessed?”

  Zale nodded. “Our Alpha instructed us to get rid of them. We did, but it didn’t stop others from going out to get food and coming back a week later as a demon.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “It gets worse.”

  Ray stared at him with a curious gaze.

  “I remember the time Michelle, William, and I went to church one night. Demons interrupted the service. I recognized many from the north side pack. They wanted to possess or kill us. We fought, but…” Zale paused and closed his eyes briefly. “They killed William and Michelle and others before vampires arrived. The vamps slaughtered those who couldn’t get away quick enough. There was so much blood and confusion that night.”

  Zale tried to keep the memory buried. Bringing it up stirred so many emotions.

  Ray’s eyes enlarged. “Demons murdered your brother and sister?”

  “Yes. They murdered at least twenty werewolves.”

  “And vampires killed innocent werewolves too?” Ray asked.

  “A few, yes. It was total pandemonium. The worst I’d ever seen.”

  “My God…”

  “After that night, we moved around more. When our numbers had dropped below half of what they were, we located outside the city for a while. That had helped. Our Alpha tried to keep everyone safe and get food for the women and children, but when he disappeared for three days we feared the worst.”

  “Did he come back?”

  “He did,” Zale said with a heavy sigh. “As a demon. A couple of us got together and decided what to do with him. I didn’t want the job as Alpha, so Brian agreed to take him down. It was a tough battle for us to watch.”

  “I always wondered why Brian seemed young to be an Alpha.”

  “What happened in our pack also occurred in the others. As you know, Brian is the Alpha for the north side. Ken from the east and James from the west became Alphas for the same reason. Demons had managed to claim Alphas in other cities too.”

  “The DS exorcises demons, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Couldn’t they—”

  Zale shook his head. “They were too busy trying to control the demon population. There wasn’t time to go around and exorcise everyone possessed at that point. We let our Alpha live for one day and he raped two women. He tried to strangle one too. We had to act fast. If we had let him live another day, he would’ve murdered someone.”

  “Wow. I had no idea things could get that bad. You lost your entire family.”

  “Vamps took away part of my family, but the reality is I lost all of them because of demons.”

  “That is beyond fucked up. I hope I don’t have to live through an outbreak.”

  “Times were different before you were born. We couldn’t call for help. We couldn’t move as quickly from one place to the next since very few owned an automobile. We didn’t have many guns and Tasers didn’t exist. The DS had few resources to prevent an outbreak.”

  “How many werewolves died?”

 
“I heard each pack dropped by over sixty percent. I know many families were wiped out. That’s what happens. I’m lucky I survived.”

  Zale counted his blessings. After he lost his family and the outbreak ended, he returned to the UoJ and vowed to save lives and prevent such madness from happening again. Vampires had reduced the demon population and restored peace, but he still held animosity toward them for killing innocent people. In a sense, he claimed retribution every time he served justice upon an immoral vamp.

  “Were any werewolves ever exorcised?” Ray asked.

  “A few, but they didn’t live long.”

  “Why?”

  “Do you know Derek? He’s an older field agent.”

  “Never met him.”

  “He’s from the east side pack. A DS agent exorcised one of the werewolves in his pack, a close friend he grew up with. Derek said his friend retained the memories of the demon. His friend started to act differently. He became abusive and violent. Derek said he found his friend talking to himself a lot too.”

  “Did he go insane?”

  “Yep, pretty much. I heard similar stories from other agents too. I even heard a UoJ agent had to kill a witch because she’d gone crazy and murdered a few people after she was exorcised.”

  “I heard that story too. I thought it was made up.”

  Zale shook his head. “It’s true. For whatever reason, supernaturals retain the memories of the demon and it drives them crazy.”

  “Demons are evil little fuckers.”

  “I never, ever want to go through an outbreak again. I never want to see the madness and loss of lives. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stop one.”

  “Count me in too, even if it means we let a few bloodsuckers run free for a while,” Ray said in a disappointed tone.

  “First thing we need to do is confirm we’re looking at vampire corpses. We believe we are, but we need someone to confirm our suspicions. I have Victor working on it up north, but that doesn’t help us much here in Indy.”

  “I can go through the tip-off reports we received in the last month and see if any of the bodies have been identified.”