by T. F. Walsh
In front of her, vomit slid down the mirror’s surface, which reflected her body encased in a glowing yellow aura.
Damn. Just her luck. She was definitely marked.
She heard voices from the front of the store. She looked out past a bookshelf toward the front window and spotted an elderly man outside fiddling with the lock.
The hound was by her side, licking her fingers and nudging her thigh.
“Yep, we need to get out of here,” she admitted. The alarms were deafening and the cops would be here any second. Surveying the store, she spotted a bronze candelabrum and threw it into the mirror. Web-like tentacles spread across the onyx surface, shattering into a thousand tiny fragments. “C’mon, dog.” She sprinted out the back door and down the alley with the hellhound on her heels.
Now everything would change, she knew.
“You need a name,” she croaked out as she ran away from the store. “I'm going to call you Blinkie, on account of that fucked-up eye you have. That okay with you?”
The dog didn't answer her, but he didn't disappear either, and that was good enough for Cary.
Chapter 12
A sudden, short ding pierced through Levi’s head, ripping him out of sleep. He groaned and turned onto his side, plastering his hand over an ear. Except the annoying ding returned. Go away. He opened his eyes and found his cell vibrating across the coffee table with a message. It better be urgent.
He pushed into a sitting position as a splitting ache settled at the base of his skull. Get a longer sofa. Or don’t fall asleep on one. As he reached for the phone, he looked over at his empty bed. Where was his minx?
Dear Mr. Walker,
This notice is to advise you that your recent request for payment of demonic stones was rejected. Argos will only issue payment for bounty hits we issued directly to you.
Thank you for your services.
Argos, Incorporated.
Levi leapt to his feet and paced in a small circle, curling his hands into fists. So much for a calm, new day.
Argos still hadn’t paid him for the last few hits he’d done weeks ago. And now this bullshit. The other consultant hunters were being paid even when they brought in stones they weren't specifically assigned. He had confirmation of that from his freelancer buddies, so he knew he was being singled out and refused to accept it. This had to end now.
He rubbed a hand down his face. Brent wasn’t going to let him work off his debt, thereby releasing him from their grubby grasp.
He’d throttle every last Argos executive until they paid him what they owed, starting with Brent Moore. Considering they only took a measly ten percent toward his debt from each job, he counted on every hit to free himself from them. Fury surged through his veins.
“Fuck! I’m going to kill Brent.”
The phone trilled in his fist. “Hello,” he said with a croaky voice.
“Walker, you’ve gotten slack. You just woke up?” Laughter rolled through the earpiece.
Levi smirked. “Saxon. Good to hear from you. Had a late one.”
“Girl or demon?”
“Both.”
“I’ll only excuse you for the girl.” Sarcasm threaded Saxon’s words.
“What’s going on?” Levi dragged himself toward the bathroom, noting Cary’s clothes were gone. She’d done a runner on him. Again. Heat curled in his gut.
“Got your email from last night, plus got some news to share.” Saxon’s voice sliced his thoughts. “Figured you already owe me for that time I took a hit for Brent’s car being destroyed. The guy’s hated me ever since.”
“Since when does the owner of Argos park his car in a back alley? I was chasing down a demon. But yeah, I owe you one.” He ran a hand through his hair, hating the idea of owing anyone, but friends stood up for each other. “So, what’s going on?”
“I got info, but first I need you to do something for me.”
Here it comes. “Sure, what is it?”
“Need you to visit Argos and pick up new gear for me. It’s already packaged, but the bastards won’t deliver it. They say a hunter’s gotta get it. Then, you have to come to Louisiana and bring it to me.”
“What? No way. I’ll mail it to you.”
“Nah, man, the gear includes knives and other weapons with protective runes. I’m trying to keep low key here. Besides, you owe me a big one. Remember?”
“Shit, Saxon.” Levi released a long breath.
He’d planned on visiting Argos anyway, so he could grab the parcel, but how the hell was he supposed to get it to Louisiana? He'd have to drive it down, to avoid TSA and Homeland Security snooping through his luggage at an airport.
“Okay,” Levi said, “look, I’ll get your parcel, but I have a few things to fix up here before I can visit you. Won’t promise it will be this week.”
“Within a month is fine.”
“Can’t believe you’re making me drive to Louisiana again… Hate that tourist trap.”
Saxon burst into a deep laugh. “Ain’t that bad.”
“Yeah. Anyway. Your info better be worth it.”
“Another hunter was found dead here, last night here.”
Levi flinched. “What the fuck’s going on there? That’s the third one this past year. Do I know him?”
“Nah, you don’t.” Saxon huffed and released a long breath across the phone piece. “But that’s not the half of it. The poor sucker called another hunter as it went down, and apparently the same inked demon is at it again. But this ain’t no normal possession. The possessed man’s body is covered in rune tattoos, the kind used to contain demons in prison objects. Why the shit is it being used on humans?”
“Fuck that, man. Are we talking rogue hunter, magician, some kind of curse?” Levi’s muscles tensed. Hunters did the hunting, not the other way around. “If they didn’t get this sucker, other demons might start playing with runes and targeting all hunters.”
“Don’t know, but we’re all on high alert here. Someone’s playing God in Louisiana and we're are on the menu. Anyway, thought I’d let you know something’s going down. Argos are sending us extra hunters, though of course they're charging.”
“Fucking Argos.” Levi shook his head. “Shit. Take extra care of yourself.”
“Oh, and there's more,” Saxon continued, though Levi’s head still reeled from the terrible news of losing a fellow hunter. “There was a bounty hit issued this morning near my place, and the jumper was a talker. Wouldn’t shut up.”
“What’d it say?” A knock at the door had Levi flinching. “Hold on a sec.”
Another knock, louder this time.
Levi opened the door.
A young man stood in the hallway. He was maybe twenty-years-old, wore green tribal earrings, and a silvery aura. The guy’s hands were behind his back.
“I’ll call you back.” Levi hung up just as the man lunged forward, swinging a piece of wood right at Levi’s head.
Reeling backward, Levi stumbled for balance. He dropped his phone, reaching wildly for anything to break his fall, and grabbed onto a chair. He pulled it down with him. A loud thud echoed around him. Pain webbed across his cheek and blurred his vision but he staggered up, just as a shape charged toward him.
Levi threw himself into a side roll, ending up in the kitchen. He was on his feet, but his vision wavered, and he rubbed his head, finding blood.
Bastard.
He yanked open the pantry door and seized the salt canister, ripped the lid off, and tossed the contents onto the attacking man.
Shrieking, Levi’s attacker retreated, and the wooden mallet dropped from his grip. His hands frantically scratched his cheeks.
“Feel good?” Levi hopped over the counter and seized Noose from where he’d left it the previous night. With one flick, the weapon extended and the loop sprung to its full length, rope lasso hanging off the end. He spun around and threw the lasso forward, but the young man ducked sideways, Noose barely missing its target.
Tiny red marks f
rom the salt scattered the guy’s cheeks and brow, but they were already starting to heal.
“You want to make this hard?” Levi yelled. “I have no issues with causing some serious hurt on the host to destroy the demon inside.” Well, minimal damage, anyway.
“You’re mine now.” The demon’s tone deepened. He cracked his neck and hissed with lips peeled back. “I bet you taste juicy.”
Levi ignored the quiver slithering down his spine. The demon spat on the floor.
“You’re mopping that up with your face.” Levi said.
“Don’t play hard to get, hunter,” the demon snarled back. It licked his lips and took a side step, staring Levi up and down.
Levi grunted. “Creatures from Hell aren’t my type.”
It closed the distance in a flash, slamming open palms into Levi’s chest. He stumbled back; Noose slipped from his grip. Frozen hands grabbed at Levi’s neck.
Levi punched the man's stomach, but it didn't slow him down. The fiend head-butted Levi, then kicked his legs out from under him. They both tumbled to the floor.
Stinging pain thumped behind Levi's eyes. Several figures danced in his vision as the demon-possessed man climbed on top of him. Straddling Levi’s torso, the man's knees pinned Levi's arms in place, and the constriction on his chest cut off Levi's oxygen.
“Now, where were we?” The demon drooled, releasing its grip before driving a fist into Levi’s face.
He tasted blood. Glancing on either side, he spotted Noose within reach—if he could just free his arm.
“Give yourself willingly, and I promise to not break every bone in your body.”
For fuck’s sake. Levi bucked his pelvis upward with a sudden jerk. Demon guy lurched forward but caught himself. Still, the move gave Levi enough leverage to wrench an arm free. He snatched Noose’s handle, and in one swift move, smashed the weapon into the demon’s face. The possessed man released an all-too-human shriek and rolled off Levi, hands clutching the raw wounds on his head.
Levi stood, gulping air to fill his lungs. He roped Noose around the man’s neck, pulling tight. Fumes sizzled off the man’s flesh. Levi dragged the kicking and screaming beast across the floorboards toward the bookshelf.
What? Where's that vial with the holy water? He could have sworn he left it there. So much for torturing this demon further.
On hands and knees, the man trembled as black tendrils coiled out from the edge of its mouth.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Levi rubbed the bump on his cheek. “Before I let you go, I need some answers. I’m looking for an ugly demon with a mouth for a face. What’s its name? Where can I find it?”
The man scratched at the lasso, whining in pain.
“Three seconds and I’ll release you, if you tell me what you know.” Levi pulled back on the loop, and waited.
The silvery aura quivered and faded. It was coming out whether Levi wanted to prolong this moment or not.
“Quickly!” Levi yelled. “What do you know?”
Its head snapped up, eyes buggy, lips pale. “L … Let me go first.” Words were hoarse and barely a whisper. “Then, I’ll tell you.”
“First rule: Never trust a demon. You've got two seconds.”
A black mist suddenly gushed from the man’s mouth and nose, shriveling up the instant it hit the air. The man convulsed, once, and collapsed.
Well, that hadn’t gone to plan. Levi unlatched Noose from around the man’s neck and checked his pulse. Still breathing. Yep, all normal. The guy would have a few scars on his face, but it kind of matched his jewelry.
Now, Levi had to call the paramedics. How could he talk himself out of trouble if the cops found this unconscious guy inside his loft, though? He decided to move the victim to a back alley and then call.
He picked up the black stone lying next to the victim and realized his front door was wide open. He stormed across the room and slammed it shut.
“Now I have to hope none of the neighbors posted a video of this online,” he said to the unconscious man. “And I have to open the windows in case any of your damn moths are still in here,” he added.
Perhaps a demon had seen Levi fighting last night and followed him. “Hey, were you the shadowy figure I spotted from my window in the middle of the night?” he asked. The man didn't even twitch. “Well, you're no help.” He saw his phone against the foot of the couch, and Saxon’s last words came to mind.
He called his buddy back, and told him what had happened.
“You all right, Levi?”
“Yeah. Anyway, tell me what the other demon said.”
“Apparently, there’s a hit from Hell on a rogue demon hiding amongst humans, and every filthy piece of scum wants a piece. Whoever snags the prize first gains permission to live in our world. Crazy, right?”
“That's too tame a word for it. If Hell's put out a hit, the rogue fucker must be a real piece of work to gain that kind of attention,” Levi said. “Would be great to find the jumper ourselves, use it to lure others for the slaughter, and then destroy it,” he added. “Don’t need more of them coming into our world.” Especially if they’re going to start turning up on his doorstep.
Saxon’s chuckle rattled through the phone. “Problem is, my demon said none of them have any idea where the rogue is. Word is, it’s been marked, making it easy prey if anyone gets close enough to sense it, but they won't know until they're close, so they're swarming anything that comes close.” Saxon sighed, sounding tired. “Might explain the influx of demon activity you mentioned in your email. I’m doing double-shifts to bag it in case it’s here in Louisiana, not to mention being vigilant about the fucker with the prison runes as well.”
“I'm wondering: Could the jumper I encountered last night from the nightclub be the marked one?” Levi asked. “That would explain why it behaved strangely and didn’t disappear in a black vapor like it normally would have. Except, it didn’t have ink, or any kind of mark that I saw.”
Saxon didn't reply at first, then said, “Don’t know, but I’ll bag the sucker myself if it’s here, whatever it takes. And Levi, just remember, you don’t need to prove anything to anyone, so stay alive or ask for help if you need it. You’re not alone up there.”
“You mean Argos? Yeah, fuck their help.” The beast was Levi’s. “Thanks, though. You be careful out there. Later.” Levi hung up but stared at his phone for a minute, letting the news sink in. What could a demon have done to get slapped with a hit from Hell? He’d never heard of anything like this before. But then again, he’d never heard of a demon with rune magic tracking down hunters, either.
But, if Levi could nab the nightclub jumper, he could finally get a chance to serve his long-coming justice. And if the demons were talking about this hit, he could track himself a chatty one and get the lowdown on where their target was last spotted. Two birds, one very big payday, and Argos was out of his life forever.
He looked over at the overturned chair, the salt scattered across his floorboards, and the unconscious guy sprawled where he'd left him. Never had a demon showed up at his home before. If one followed him here, maybe one tracked Cary when she left his apartment.
He had to find her.
Chapter 13
Cary slammed on the brakes on her small SUV. The tires screeched in desperation, burning rubber to keep her car from smacking into the back of a white hatchback stopped at a yellow light. She gripped the steering wheel. Her car shook but stopped inches before crashing into the hatchback’s bumper.
Cary slumped back onto her seat. “Son of a demon’s balls.”
Blinkie snarled. The seatbelt she'd had wrapped around him was pulled tight, threatening to snap.
She checked the side mirror; nothing there. She drove into the right lane to get around the white car, but the light had already turned red. Stopped next to the slowpoke, she resisted the urge to flip him a bird. “Some people just can’t drive,” Cary muttered.
Blinkie groaned. Tendrils of smoke floated from the corners of his
mouth and nose, heating the car and steaming the windows. Thank goodness he was invisible to everyone but her, or the people driving alongside her would freak out.
“Eww.” She rolled down his window, deciding an air freshener was a must buy next chance she got. “You’re making the car smell like rotten eggs. Stop breathing smoke.” He sat there, staring at her, his tail wagging, the smell getting worse. A whole handful of air fresheners were needed.
“Don’t look at me that way,” she told him.
She looked away and saw the slowpoke driver staring her way, probably thinking she was talking to herself. Great.
Her life had come down to this: A cambion, demon hunter, marked for death by her kind. And for the cherry on top, now a proud hellhound owner. Not to mention, she’d skipped out on Levi again. Yep, her life was going to hell in a hand basket.
She ought to call Tasha, then Levi, and tell him an emergency had come up and she had to leave. She pulled her phone from her bag. Four missed calls. Wonderful. Two from Tasha. Two from Levi. Too late to avoid the drama. Her stomach turned at the thought of Levi being disappointed in her.
Because who was she kidding with her no-strings stance? She’d fallen for him big time. With the way her body trembled and tightened each time they moved close, her willpower around him vanished like second chances in Hell. But until she discovered a way to remove the mark, Levi would have to remain out of bounds. She refused to risk his life.
She thought about Levi lying naked on the couch when she left and groaned. That image reinforced exactly why she had to keep her distance—he was irresistible.
Blinkie yelped and cocked his head, staring at her while his scratched eye blinked quicker than the healthy one.
“Don’t judge me. You’d be the same if you came across a female poodle.”
The traffic light switched to green.
Cary’s foot hit the gas. She passed the hatchback and steered the SUV onto the ramp marked for Detroit. Hot air rushed inside, and sweat rolled down her spine. She’d head home first, shower away the several layers of perspiration she’d gained since leaving Levi’s, pack a bag, and drop in on Argos to tell them she’d be taking a few weeks off.
