by Jill Cooper
The back slap greetings and the chortle of laughter made Jessica’s skin crawl. Monsters acting like humans always gave her that reaction., Maybe they’d head inside. Maybe; —Nope.
Her hopes were dashed. Instead they moved to the rear of the van to inspect their merchandise. Although Jessica had an obscured view, she was able to make out wooden crates. One of the demons gripped a crowbar so he could rip the tops. Had to be drugs. Had to be.
Silently, Jessica cursed and returned to the safety of the trees before taking out her phone. “Aunt Gwen? Are you almost here? Amanda’s inside and more demons just showed up.” Anxiety, resentment, all looped together.
“I’m trying.” she replied in a tight voice. Can you hold on a little longer?”
Longer? The longer Amanda was surrounded by demons; the worse things could get. When had anything ever been easy?
Never, not when you’re a Blood.
Jessica glanced back at her car, hidden among the trees. Regret thickened on her tongue. It wouldn’t be hidden much longer, not if the demons got much closer.
“Just hurry.” Ending the call, Jessica broke cover, and headed for the car.
4: Amanda Blood
Amanda was all heart, that’s what everyone always said.
Right then, tied to a chair with no hopes of escape, Amanda would have given anything for a little of her sister’s brawn. Jessica was tough, a fighter, and a born protector. Amanda on the other hand, was born a lover and a healer.
Someone to be coddled and protected.
Unless it was snowing, Amanda rarely wore shoes. The soil between her toes grounded her gifts. No one told her how or why, but maybe it had something to do with the Earth; to being connected to the universe. The idea was romantic, and Amanda was all about romance.
Her wide green eyes were usually innocent and trusting, despite all that she had faced, but now they were wide with fear. The type of terror only a demon could inflict. Being this close to them for so long, caused a strong headache behind her eyes. Throbbing that would continue until she got out of this wretched place.
The demons’ clubhouse wasn’t her favorite place to be. Demon stench was vile; a stench her soul could smell. It was like a sickness in the air she breathed, spreading through her blood. Even though they had her locked in another room, Amanda felt its effect.
Sitting in a wooden chair, Amanda’s hands were tied behind her back. The small room, in addition to demon stench, smelled musty, like an old bedroom where the carpets and sheets desperately needed laundering. The air hung wet with mildew and dust clung to the floor and windowsills like decay.
Her mind spun everywhere at once, but was still nowhere at all. Amanda couldn’t keep herself calm no matter how many deep breaths she took. Aunt Gwen’s words echoed in her mind, a distant memory.
Focus, child. You must focus.
I can’t, Aunt Gwen! Amanda’s voice was pitched high, her breath too rapid. She might have been sixteen at the time, but she was terrified of the pet demon Gwen had chained to the wall.
Enough! Eighteen-year-old Jessica’s voice was strong. If she can’t control it, she can’t. I’ll protect her. I always do.
And she always had, but Amanda shouldn’t have depended on her so much. Now Amanda wished she could control it as the walls closed in with the stench of infection seeping into her pores. It extended outward from this place, creeping toward the town; skulking into homes where people slept.
It would corrupt couples causing them to do worse than just cheat. So much worse. Drugs would destroy the town; the demons would see to it, until there was nothing left. Amanda had seen it before and wanted to stop it. Needed to stop it.
She and Jessica wanted to find the source, but being kidnapped was never on Amanda’s agenda. That didn’t keep it from happening, though.
The music blaring through the walls of the clubhouse blocked the rest of Amanda’s senses. Without her senses, well she was useless. Overburdened and far too stimulated, pain blossomed on the side of her head and grew up the top, resting behind her eyes.
The door crashed open, banging into the wall. Amanda forced herself to look up. Her head felt weighted, like a stone and her eyes blinked as someone approached. His skin wasn’t gray; but was pink, like a human. He wore a leather blazer with chains dangling around his neck. A pair of sunglasses protected his eyes.
His jaw was tense as he cut Amanda’s restraints and grabbed her by the arm. “You try anything funny, and we’ll gut you like a fish. Bet you couldn’t heal that, could you?”
Amanda thought maybe she could, but it was best not to brag in these situations. She nodded, which only made her head hurt worse. Whoever this man was, there was no doubt he was in charge, which meant he was the one the Bloods sought.
Amanda thought to touch him, read him, but if he was a demon in any way, that’d be bad. She might as well forfeit her life now.
He hoisted her up and Amanda bristled at the sight of the demon guards at the door their appearance changing as they waited for her. It was like flipping the pages of book, for a moment they looked normal and a second later, they had holes in their faces, with maggots burrowing into their eyes and mouth. These creatures were death.
“Make them stand somewhere else.” She resisted when he tugged her forward, but she stumbled and nearly grabbed one of the guards to steady herself. Pain like a crash of loud cymbals assaulted her brain and her vision flashed with bright colors.
Amanda moaned and squeezed her eyes shut to protect herself, but as an empath, hiding from emotion was impossible. As they guided her into the club, Amanda’s senses were attacked on all sides by what she took in.
Rustic brown walls and the smell of fresh pizza coming from the back came first, which really wasn’t so bad, except for the screams coming from the walls—from the human slave labor that had been used to build this place. A demon empire built on the backs of humanity.
Every brick cried in agony. If Amanda touched them, she would see them and feel their pain. She was desperate not to touch even a single brick, yet at the same time she was desperate to know. Her heart ached to feel what they felt.
It was always the same. Always.
Over by the bar, demons of all sorts grumbled over drinks and Amanda’s second sight showed their hands dripping with the blood of their victims. It punched her in the gut and her stomach felt torn apart from the outside in. Hunching over, the man grabbed Amanda’s hand and then it happened, she read him.
His name was Branger. A high-level demon, he controlled the lowly, the ones filled with maggots and decay. He had existed for so long, he’d lost his body. He was essence and had taken a human host. It wasn’t easy to take the strong minded, but the weak? They were easily possessed.
Her vision flashed; images of Branger rounding up women and putting them into vans. Women from all over the state, forced to work in strip clubs, bars, anything that was undesirable. They screamed for help, their faces twisted in terror.
As Amanda gasped for breath, she looked up at the stage. Women dressed in black bikinis with chains fastened to collars around their necks, were tethered to poles like animals, undulating to the music. Their bodies slithered and bucked like women in the throes of ecstasy. The demons were callously banging on the stage, and whistling as if the women weren’t slaves
But it was the women’s eyes that terrified Amanda more than anything else.
Green smoke wafted out of their pupils and their eyes were glazed over from drug use. These women weren’t even women anymore, their souls were being torn apart.
Amanda’s insides recoiled. She wanted to help these women. Restore them. Her fingers stretched toward them as the women’s essences moaned in torment. The taste like bitter apple and acid.
“Come,” Branger yanked on her shoulder dragging her away. “No one is going to miss them, you know. They weren’t model citizens.” The look on Amanda’s face must have given her feelings away.
“It shouldn’t matter.” Amanda’
s voice was soft, as it always was. She held her breath as Branger pushed her into the kitchen. Behind her, guards watched the door. Why did they bring her here? Then Amanda’s vision fell on him and her mouth fell open.
The man lying on a counter top was writhing in pain. His hand cupped his stomach, but he couldn’t lay still. His legs kicked out like a man drowning at sea and his neck strained with every other scream.
“Took us awhile to get him here. Can you help him? This is what you do, right?”
Whatever reason they had to save this man, it couldn’t be good. Amanda stepped closer peering into the man’s eyes, trying to see right into his soul, but there was nothing. Where his soul should’ve been, was a dried up pit. It was as if his spirit had been ripped straight from his body’s cavity.
“I can’t.” Amanda shook her head and lowered her arms to her side. “There’s nothing left to heal.” She couldn’t heal someone with no soul.
“Like hell, you can’t! I’ve heard about you. I heard stories!”
Her eyes widened and she pleaded with him. “Even I have limits.”
Branger ripped off his sunglasses and his eyes swirled with a green mist for a fraction of a second. To see another human possessed not only saddened Amanda, but it also made her angry. The anger grew and rose up from her gut. She grabbed Branger’s arm. “Leave this man’s body before I don’t give you any choice.”
Branger threw his head back and laughed. “You’re a healer. What are you going to do?”
Amanda raised her hand as a bright red light crackled between her fingers. It formed a net joined in her palm and it coalesced into a sphere. Although it was hot against her skin, it never hurt. Instead, it was like warming by the fire.
“Heal.” Amanda rested her hand right above Branger’s chest and the light shot out, encompassing him.
Branger’s head reared back and he screamed. The demon guards charged forward and grabbed Amanda by the arms. Searing hot pain touched her soul, but she resisted the decay of swirling death. She gritted her teeth and worked on Branger until the demon guard pinned her arms behind her back.
Banger collapsed. The man, whose body had been possessed, fell unconscious. The demon, now a green mist of smoke, drifted through the room. Finding no suitable host, it thinned then wafted to the unconscious man on the counter.
Amanda’s jaw clenched tight. She hadn’t gotten to finish the job. She hadn’t gotten to destroy the demon like she wanted. Demons; always getting in her way.
The man on the floor sat up, confusion in his eyes. Panic welled high as his lip curled. “Who are you? Where am I?”
The demon guards grabbed Amanda’s hair and wrenched her head back. One of them held a cold, curved dagger to her neck. “If you’re not going to be helpful….”
Amanda’s heart pounded. A sudden crash shook the clubhouse walls, and the sound of gunfire tore through the air. The demons released her as they charged out through door they had entered.
Relieved, Amanda took a deep breath. She knelt next to the man on the floor with a half-smile on her lips and a happy heart. “You’re going to want to take cover.”
+
The rescue party had finally arrived. Jessica never let her down.
5: Jessica
Amanda had been inside for too long. With no sign of Aunt Gwen and Jessica’s calls going unanswered, it was time to strike—an act of desperation.
Jessica turned the car ignition and the Chrysler 300 sprang to life, growling like a tiger. Headlights engaged, lighting up the side of the demon clubhouse. Jessica gripped the wheel and tapped the gas pedal so it roared a battle call, a warning that the demons would rue the day they kidnapped Amanda Blood.
They’d pay. With their slimy, corrupt, little lives and Jessica would sleep better knowing she sent a few dozens more to hell.
Demon heads snapped her direction and although Jessica knew they couldn’t see her face, she smirked with satisfaction. She slammed her foot down hard on the gas pedal, gripping the steering wheel tight, raced straight toward the entrance.
Her heart pounded unrelentingly. Jessica kept her head down and gritted her teeth, raising her eyes just enough to steer the car. A few seconds in, the demons drew their guns and fired just before Jessica plowed into them, their bodies landing on the car hood. They careened through the open front door and stopped just short of slamming into the bar.
Jessica loved her dad’s old car, but once she made up her mind that the car might have to be sacrificed to save Amanda’s life, she stuck with it. Amanda’s life came first.
Jessica’s head was thrown back and forth like a bobble head doll then slammed into the steering wheel. She shook it off, despite the waves of dizziness. Through the haze of smoke and debris, the demons in the bar gathered their weapons.
She only had a few seconds to react. Time to get moving.
Her humanity put her at a disadvantage and the longer it took to get to Amanda, the better the chance they’d overpower and kill her out of spite.
Grabbing her shotgun, Jessica kicked the door open. The car was still running, its headlights shining on the patrons and on the shattered bar. Jessica wobbled as she stood among the splintered remains. There were demons on the ground, unconscious or hopefully dead. Those behind the bar were alive and drew guns stowed behind the counter.
It took a headshot to kill a full-fledged demon. The thugs were easy to kill, as long as you used a large bullet—like a shotgun slug—or something blessed with holy water or salt. It was from the earth, biblical. Jessica didn’t really know the reasons. She just knew it worked.
That was all that really mattered anyway.
Jessica pumped her shotgun and got a round off into the bartender and quickly put another round into his buddy on the floor as he was reaching for his gun. Jessica slid ass first across the hood of her car, and squatted behind it to prevent the hailstorm of bullets from nailing her. But her poor car…it was an antique!
One of the few things she had left from her Dad.
Jessica fumed and stood to return fire. Behind her, was the grunting and growling of demons regaining consciousness. Now she was surrounded. on both sides. Perfect. Where the hell was Aunt Gwen? She was supposed to be here. Said this time, she’d help with their little Amanda situation.
She couldn’t depend on anyone. Jessica only had herself.
No time to reach for the cell phone in her pocket. She grabbed the round table in front of her and flipped it over to use it as cover. While quickly peering over the top, the overhead lights flashed as if the power was drained.
So there was a top level demon, and he was low on energy. That, at least, brought Jessica satisfaction.
The demon needed to draw on something to survive. Jessica had a view of the back and could clearly see Amanda’s dress.
She was alive.
Adrenaline surged right through her heart. Jessica returned fire when she felt a demon creeping behind her. She didn’t even bother to look before grabbing him by the neck and flipping him onto his back. He clipped the corner and several bowls of peanuts flew through the air.
Jessica snarled, then let out a long huff. With a quick movement, she grabbed the knife attached to her thigh and plunged it into the beast’s throat. He gurgled, eyes wide, as maggots burrowed from his face. Gross, even maggots knew when it was time to leave the party.
His mouth opened and his long pasty tongue found its way out as he tried to speak, but it was too encrusted with beetles and thick yellow mucus.
He’d drown in his own blood. Bad way to go, but Jessica wasn’t choked up about it.
Scurrying along and using the stage for cover, Jessica peered up. The female dancers were cowering behind their poles, crying with their faces in their hands. “Please help us!” They begged.
Jessica’s voice was gruff. “Don’t move.” Still squating, she hurried toward the back door where her sister was being held.
“We’re chained here! We can’t move!”
Precis
ely.
They weren’t the mission, they weren’t Amanda. Jessica could only handle one thing at a time. Sure, they were handed a shitty deal, but who hadn’t been?
“If you stay low, you’ll be fine. The police will get you out of here. No worries.” Jessica moved on ignoring their squeals for help, but inside she winced. Inside she kind of hated herself.
In the kitchen, Amanda stood tall with no signs of injury or blood. One hand pinned a man down and the other, was glowing. The man’s face distorted like a Picasso painting and the brighter Amanda’s hand grew, the worse the man looked.
She wasn’t healing this man. She was exorcising him. Jessica couldn’t believe it. Here she was terrified for her little sister and she was what? Working?
“Amanda, we have to go.” Jessica stormed in and grabbed her arm.
Her sister’s face flashed to her for a second and Jessica could see the tired lines around her eyes and that her skin had already lost its glorious luster. “It’s not dead yet. I need one more second.”
Exasperated, Jessica threw her arms out to the side. Arguing with her never helped, but Jessica couldn’t help herself. “Amanda—” Jessica’s words were drowned out by a new sea of bullets headed right their way. Jessica threw herself against the door to slam it shut.
It was metal, so they had some time, except they were cut off from their escape route. Where the hell was their Aunt Gwen anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be riding shotgun?
“One more second, I promise!” Amanda gritted her teeth but Jessica saw blood on her sister’s blue paisley sleeve. She had been hit in the hailstorm.
It was time to go, before she really got hurt. “Amanda!” Jessica’s face grew red from anger, and a moment later she was blinded as the glow from her sister’s work became too bright.
