Midnights Master

by Lauren DeStefano

Page 16

 

  The first time she'd come face-to-face with Emily, the knowledge of that dark night had been in the Monster Doctor's eyes.

  Emily had agreed to take her on as a patient. She'd started teaching her how to visualize shields for her mind-and to actually make those damn things work through a focused concentration that sometimes left Holly's head aching and her heart racing.

  And…more had developed in the sessions. Holly had found herself talking about Zack. Her parents.

  Her brother.

  Christ, the first time she'd talked about Peter, she'd bawled for an hour.

  "You can ask me anything," Emily said as she picked up her pen. "But keep in mind I'll have my turn to ask questions, too. "

  She always did. Sneaky questions that seemed easy enough to answer on the surface but were really designed to rip the scabs off all the old wounds Holly had locked inside.

  She pulled in a deep breath of air. "Why-why did you originally agree to see me? You knew that I was a reporter, I could have just been scamming you-trying to get a story-"

  "You're not like that. " Instant response.

  Those empathic powers? "You sure of that?"

  A nod.

  " Why did you see me?" Holly repeated. The answer was very, very important.

  "You need me. " One shoulder lifted, then fell. "I don't make a habit of turning away people who need me. "

  Hell, yes, she'd needed the doctor's help-so she would never be helpless again. But…"I'm not like the other patients you treat. " She'd only seen a few of them, passed them briefly in the hallway.

  Not the chatting type.

  All of the others were paranormals, while she was-was-

  Emily's eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "I'm not sure I'm following you, Holly. "

  "You treat Other, okay? And I'm not. I'm just-" Human.

  Right?

  Silence.

  Then Emily put her pen down and licked her lips. "I think I'm a bit confused. "

  Join the club.

  "Holly, despite what you may have heard, I do treat some human patients. "

  Freaking relief. Her hand pushed against her chest. "Right, right, of course-"

  A slow shake of Dr. Drake's dark head. "But, um, you know you're not human, don't you?"

  Good thing she was sitting down. Emily had the distinct feeling her knees would have done a Jell-O routine and she would have wound up on the floor. "Run that by me again?" A squeak that wasn't her normal voice.

  Emily snatched up her pen and scribbled a quick note. "You didn't know…"

  "I still don't know. " Okay, so Niol had told her. Dr. Drake was telling her, but-but-

  Christ.

  But how the hell could she have gone through her entire life without knowing she was Other ?

  "You don't have much power, I'd probably label you as a one or two on the demon scale…"

  Demon scale.

  "But I knew from the first moment I met you, Holly, that you were Other . "

  That hard thump-it wasn't her heart. It was her world falling off its axis.

  CHAPTER 9

  Holly walked down the hallway in Mistro Tower, putting one foot doggedly in front of the other as Dr. Drake's words rang in her head.

  Haven't you ever noticed that you heal faster than normal?

  Okay, yeah, she had-but she'd chalked it up to being a fast healer. All of the bruises and most of the cuts from the hit-and-run were almost gone now, and, yeah, in hindsight, she could see that was a bit, uh, too fast.

  Haven't you ever been aware of a thickening in the air around you? As if pressure is pushing on you?

  Just when she'd been around Niol. But she'd thought that was his power.

  Not hers.

  Certain powerful instances or stressful situations may trigger the latent powers in you. An adrenaline surge-that could ratchet up the strength you have…

  Maybe Niol brought out the inner demon in her.

  Your parents-surely they knew. Didn't they say anything to you?

  Not a word about being a demon. Just the stay out of trouble and God, whatever you do, don't take Peter's path.

  Peter. Her steps faltered. Had he been-

  Her cell phone chimed. Fumbling, she yanked it out of her purse. "Storm-"

  "Get down to the warehouse district. " Niol's voice. Hard. Furious. "The bastard's killed again. "

  No. Not another slaughtered victim. "How do you know? Niol-"

  "Sources, love. I've got 'em, too. "

  The call ended with a click.

  Another dead demon.

  Swallowing, she punched in the speed-dial button she'd assigned for her cameraman.

  Ben met her at the scene. It would have been hard to miss the place-it was the only building in the old warehouse sector that was surrounded by cops, swirling blue lights, and yellow police tape.

  Strangely, though, no other reporters were on scene. Yet, anyway.

  A long whistle from her side. "What the hell did you find, Holly?" Ben asked.

  Death.

  She caught sight of Gyth's dark head as he stalked toward one of the cruisers. Her eyes narrowed. "Ben, start filming the scene. " Straightening her shoulders, she headed for that parked car.

  "Where you goin'?"

  She glanced back.

  The brim of his cap shielded his eyes. "Oh, no, Holly, that guy is not gonna talk to you. Hell, even I know he hates you. "

  "Hate is a very strong word," she muttered. Her palms were sweating. Her back itching. Gyth looked up right then and instantly his gaze zeroed in on her.

  Maybe it wasn't too strong.

  "Get the scene," she repeated. "I'll get the cop. " Or try.

  Or maybe just get her ass escorted off the property.

  But what did she have to lose?

  This was her story. Would be, until the freak was locked away…or dead.

  Gyth changed course and headed for her.

  She kept moving slowly but determinedly toward him.

  "Holly Storm. " The setting sun darkened his hair even more. "Why the hell am I not surprised to see you here?"

  She lifted an eyebrow. "'Cause I'm good at my job?"

  "Oh, I'll give you that. " His lips twisted. "But I think maybe you've just got one fine connection to this killer. "

  She pounced and ignored the suspicion. "So this scene is related. " Niol had been right. Cagey demon.

  No response from Gyth.

  "Come on, detective. Give me something. This makes kill number three. " She had no proof, but he didn't know that.

  "Actually, it's number one. " He exhaled and shook his head. "Looks like she was the first. "

  What?

  It took her a minute to process the fact that the guy was actually talking to her about the case.

  "You're saying the woman in there was the guy's first victim?" If she'd been the first, then she would have been in that place for days, her body slowly decaying…

  Holly swallowed.

  "Looks that way. " He cast her a speculative glance. "You're gonna have to be the one to tell me for sure. "

  "I don't follow-"

  He caught her arm. "I need you to see the victim. "

  Oh, hell, not again.

  She dug in her heels. "I'm here to cover the story, not to-to-"

  "He wants to know if she's one of us, Holly," Niol said, his voice like rough silk as he walked from the covering of a nearby building.

  Holly didn't jump at his approach-not this time-because she'd known he was there. From the minute she'd climbed out of her car, she'd known.

  Because he wouldn't have sent her to this scene alone.

  Am I starting to trust the guy?

  Sure looked that way.

  Talk about twisted-she had to be the only person in the state who trusted Niol Lapen.

  Gyth swore. "I'm
guessing it's not a fucking coincidence you're both here?"

  Niol caught Holly's hand. Kissed the back of her palm. "Where she goes, I go. "

  His tongue swiped over her flesh and her heart jumped.

  "Bullshit. " Gyth looked disgusted as his mouth curled into a sneer. "And I'm not buying this whole lover crap-Wait!" His gaze flew between them. "One of us ?"

  Holly decided the best course of action right then was to keep her mouth shut. She was too new at the whole being-a-demon thing.

  "Shit. " He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

  Two guys in blue uniforms wheeled out a gurney. On top of it, a black body bag was zipped up tight.

  Her mouth dried up. A woman. Looked like the killer wasn't being choosy about gender. Odd, that.

  Did she know her, too?

  "Hold it. " Gyth's words were directed at the attendants pushing the gurney. Then, softer, for her ears only, he said, "Tell the jerkoff with the camera to cut or he's gonna be losing his precious equipment. "

  She believed him. Holly raised her hand and motioned toward Ben. "That's enough. Cut for now. "

  He lowered the camera with a scowl.

  Gyth took her elbow and urged her toward the body bag. Since Niol still had her other hand, he followed right along, too.

  "Open it," Gyth's snarled command.

  The attendant's fingers jerked as he hurried to unzip the bag.

  The smell hit her first. Thick, cloying, clogging up her nostrils.

  "Gyth, what the hell, this isn't protocol-"

  Her eyes darted to the left. Found a scowling uniformed cop she'd never seen before.

  "Take it up with the captain," Gyth said, never looking away from the body.

  Her gaze snaked back down.

  She saw the blond hair first. Tangled, matted with blood. Then the face. Bloated. Blackened in spots.

  And she caught sight of the yawning second grin that tore across the woman's throat.

  Holly turned away. "I-I don't know her. " Not another source. Just a poor woman who'd been slaughtered.

  "I do. "

  She glanced at Niol.

  "Name's Julia Powers. She worked in Paradise for a while last year. Stopped waitressing right around the time she hooked up with her boyfriend. "

  "And her boyfriend would be?" Gyth pressed.

  "He was Carl Bronx. " Niol's lips thinned. "And she was one of mine, too. "

  Demon.

  Gyth's jaw clenched and he motioned to the attendant. The zipper was hauled back up with a hiss.

  "Tell me, detective…" A long pause from Niol as he waited for the attendants to move past.

  That woman-God, what had she endured?

  The gurney's wheels squeaked as they loaded her up.

  Niol cocked his head and studied the detective. "Did he take something from her, too?"

  Take something? From the body? Holly's palm pressed against her stomach. Oh, hell. She didn't know where Niol had gotten his information, but the look on Gyth's face told her that he was dead-

  on.

  "How the hell do you know about that?"

  Sources. The answer whispered through her mind.

  "I told your partner once, there is something you guys don't realize. Your police force has more demons than you can count. "

  She could believe that.

  "Someone in my department is coming to you with information?" Gyth's eyes glittered with fury, way too bright.

  "Someone in your department is scared shitless because he…or she…knows there's a sick fuck slicing up demons and taking bits away. "

  Holly didn't even want to think about what "bits" the killer was removing. "Why did it take so long to find her?" Holly asked, her voice coming out way more controlled than she expected. "You guys were spot on the scene with the other victims-"

  "Because we got a tip-off with them. " Gyth's voice wasn't controlled, not one bit. "Bastard called nine-one-one. Told us where to find the bodies. "

  He'd wanted discovery.

  Holly glanced at the black bag. But not for her. "Something's different about her. " The possibilities had her heart racing. Maybe the killer had been sloppy-she'd learned long ago from an FBI operative she'd interviewed that killers were often damn sloppy with their first kills. Too nervous, too excited, too wired.

  The wild thrill led to mistakes.

  Mistakes that weren't found later, when the killer struck again.

  Gyth grunted. "She's a woman, the other two vics were men. " He shook his head. "Wasn't expecting a woman. "

  But he had been expecting to find another demon.

  He huffed out a breath. "Vagrant found her. First, the uniforms thought he was crazy or high when he ran to 'em, talking about a smiling dead woman. "

  Throat, slashed, from ear to ear .

  Holly shoved the image away and turned to Niol. "Still think we're dealing with a human killer?"

  A nod.

  A grunt from Gyth. "The crime scene guys are gonna be scraping over the scene all night. Maybe they'll find something-"

  "You don't think we're suspects anymore," Holly blurted, because he was sharing too much and not looking at her and Niol with that heavy stare of suspicion.

  Holly drew in a deep breath, and caught the rancid scent of decay that still lingered in the air.

  That woman-

  Carl's girlfriend. Julia.

  The name clicked.

  She remembered a day in the park, eating a stale sandwich and watching Carl toss some bread to the birds. " Gotta leave soon. Meeting my girlfriend for dinner. "

  They'd never meet again.

  "Are you serious about her?" She'd asked him, smiling.

  "Don't know," he'd told her. "How do you tell if it's love? Or just really good sex?"