There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6)

by Sharon Hannaford

  The sizzle of energy in the air raised the hairs on Gabi’s exposed arms as she neared the main gate. She opened her extra sense, searching as she ran.

  “Shit,” she breathed once she zoned in on the dark, roiling energy of four separate demons. That wasn’t good. She pulled Nex from the sheath down her back and changed direction for the western entrance.

  Four demons. She hadn’t seen that many demons since Dantè and Mariska had been summoning them to the City. She burst through the stadium gates onto the dusty, disused field, and her eyes locked onto the four grotesque creatures emerging from an unnatural haze of thick fog boiling up from the centre of the field. She’d seen one of the lizardy ones once before; it looked like the lovechild of Godzilla and Killer Croc. Lance had taken the previous one down, roasting it alive inside its tough leather hide. The two troll-like ones were the more common variety. She’d seen several of them in various shapes and sizes over the years, sometimes sporting extra pairs of limbs and eyes, but she’d never seen anything like the fourth one. It was reminiscent of Ghostbusters’ Slimer, only nowhere near as cute: dark green and slick, with no identifiable head or limbs, just multiple tentacle-like appendages erupting from the undulating mass of its body.

  For just a millisecond the scene froze in time; the smoke from the portal still hung heavy in the air in front of the small group forming a living barrier between true evil and the rest of the world. Kyle was at the forefront of the group of Magi and Werewolves. Lance to his right and Butch to his left, four other Werewolves spread out slightly behind them. Athena stood in the sunlight, several feet back from the rest of the group. She was in a dark pants suit and practical, dark pumps; her long pale blonde hair was twisted up in a severe bun. The only thing unusual about her was the dark cape neatly draped down her back. Her attention was firmly fixed on the thickest area of the foul-smelling fog.

  And then the scene exploded in a frenzy of dart guns and crossbow bolts, grunts and shouts, the zing of steel through the air and the sizzle of demon blood hitting the hard-packed ground. Gabi held back from the fray for a moment, checking for weak spots in the line of defenders. There were none. Kyle’s team was well trained and operated with smooth, calculated efficiency. The new weapons made it possible to take down multiple demons without getting up close and personal. Werewolf saliva was known to be fatally poisonous to demons, with the exception of the ethereal Seekers. Now that they had high-powered crossbows and darts filled with concentrated doses of the Lycanthropy antigen, killing demons was a lot less hazardous to one’s health.

  Gabi had almost decided to stand back and watch the show when, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Athena jerk and sway slightly. Gabi’s legs were carrying her towards the Magus before she fully processed the scene. Athena squawked and threw her arms up in a swift defensive manoeuver as a demon the size and shape of an overly large bat swooped, screaming, out of the smog, aiming lethally sharp talons at her face. Gabi heard Kyle’s warning shout as Nex intercepted the dark leathery beast, slicing it completely in half.

  “Back,” she yelled at Athena as oily, black innards and goo rained down on them. They both shied away, but as the head and half the torso hit the ground, demon blood splattered upward, globules hitting Gabi on the shoulder and unprotected neck. A sizzling sound accompanied the instant burning pain on her skin.

  “Here, let me,” Athena gasped, spinning around and grabbing the hem of the cloak to swipe away the acidic gunk.

  “Gabs,” Kyle shouted, leaping over the swiftly dissolving hunks of dead demon, “are you two okay?”

  “Ouch,” Gabi said, pressing the back of her gloved hand to her blistered skin and holding Nex a safe distance away as the sword dripped demon blood into the dust. “I’d forgotten how much demon blood fucking stings. Great moves and instincts, High Magus.” She nodded appreciatively at Athena. “Looks like you’ve been practicing.” The Magus had been taking self-defence classes, and the speed and confidence she’d shown defending herself were proof of her commitment to her training.

  Athena gave her a small relieved smile. “Thanks for the save. Now I must finish closing that portal.” She dropped the cloak back into place and turned back to the swirling haze. Gabi was fascinated to see that the material of the cloak hadn’t been affected by the smear of demon blood. Magically protected, she guessed. Smart woman.

  Kyle put his hand to her face and turned her head to get a look at her blistered skin. He grimaced. “Butch will have some burn stuff in the medical kit.”

  “The rest under control?” Gabi asked him, squinting through the sunlight and fog towards the scene of the main fight.

  “Yep, just clean-up to go now.” Kyle nodded. “Ben is going to fetch the crew for that. Lance and the others are watching for any other surprise arrivals. Let’s get out of here; it stinks.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait for Athena?” Gabi checked. “What is she doing here anyway?”

  “Nah, she’ll be a while,” he said, turning towards the exit gates. “She’s been coming along to these raids more often lately. She’s trying to permanently seal as many of the portals as we can find. She can’t seal them unless she’s here when they’re open.” He grunted; Gabi guessed it was in frustration. “It’s easier to kill them now. We have the experience and the weapons on our side, but they just keep making new portals. The Veil just isn’t strong enough to keep them back anymore. At the moment they’re concentrating on the natural weak spots in the Veil, which makes it easier to monitor, but we’re concerned about what happens if they manage to break through elsewhere. Athena says it will be a few months until the Magi are back up to full strength, but I think it could be more like years.”

  Gabi was silent as she mentally added this to her long list of things to worry about. How long could they keep this up without norms finding out? Something needed to be done urgently, and they needed the cooperation of the Magi to do it.

  CHAPTER 9

  “You’re sure?” Julius asked, fastening the buttons on his cuffs. He’d showered and changed into dark pants and a pale green shirt after Gabi woke him a little past midday. Either she was getting better at estimating how much blood was needed, or Julius was getting used to being woken during the day, because he’d snapped fully awake before he even sat upright this time.

  “Yes,” Gabi assured him. She’d just finished summarising the contents of the forum messages between hungry mouthfuls of the steak sandwich she was sharing with Razor. “Some of the references were a bit obscure, but the gist of the exchange came across loud and clear. They want to overthrow Number One. They believe he’s become soft, less committed to the cause, more comfortable with the status quo. They’re baying for his blood.”

  “There’s no way for him to step down and walk away?” Julius asked, but this time he wasn’t talking to her.

  “No.” Benedict’s voice came over the speakerphone on the desk. “If he stepped down, it would be showing the ultimate weakness. Akin to an old lion lying down and offering his throat to a pack of young upstarts. The only way he’ll go down is if he is taken down. And that means a true death.” It struck Gabi that, although Benedict professed to know little about the secretive Decuria, he spoke with surety now. If she could just figure out what that meant…

  “This is good news,” Julius said with a grim smile. “Now we know he’s desperate. Desperate men do desperate things. It gives us the high ground, strength to negotiate. We just have to play the game without showing our hand too soon.”

  “It’ll be tricky,” Benedict warned.

  “Of course,” Julius agreed, “but an ace up our sleeve might just tip the odds in our favour.”

  “Agreed,” Benedict said. “I’ll be in touch if I get anything more for you to work with. Keep me in the loop.” A faint click signalled the end of the call.

  Julius came to the other side of the desk and reached over to grasp Gabi’s chin and tilt her head to one side. The large blister on her neck was already mostly healed, it hard
ly even hurt, and she’d removed Butch’s sticky bandage when she got back to the mansion and cleaned up. Still, she allowed Julius to inspect it, to see for himself that it was fine. She knew it eased something inside him to fuss over her, and that in turn eased something inside of her.

  “Do you feel better about allowing Kyle to do his job now?” he asked, no censure in his voice, pure curiosity.

  “Yes.” Gabi sighed. She hadn’t realised until they were finally packing up after the fight that it had been one of the worries weighing her down. In her defence, Kyle had managed to get beaten up by demons several times in the recent past. But now he was efficient and professional at it. The team worked together seamlessly. She would definitely worry less about him handling situations like that. “But I’m still worried about the increase in the number of crossings.”

  “You spoke to Athena about it?” he asked.

  “No, she was busy closing the portal,” she replied. “Kyle says that the Veil is weakened, making it easy for demons to find places they can cross over. Athena assured him it would all be fine once Magi numbers were back up and injured Magi were back to full strength, but that feels like an excuse to me. I think they’re covering for something or someone.”

  “What do you mean?” Julius let her chin go and stepped back to study her expression.

  “Argh, I don’t really know.” Gabi was finding it hard to put her impressions into words. “I think it’s something we’ll have to address more aggressively in the near future.” She shook her head to clear it; that was another day’s problem. “But first we get my mom back.”

  “Absolutely,” Julius agreed, “but even before that, you get some rest. No…” he interrupted her protest. “You know you need it. I will be on the phone putting the pilot and the plane on standby and making business calls. There’s nothing else you can do right now. I promise to wake you if anything comes up.” In the past Gabi would’ve argued on principle, but she liked to think she’d grown up a bit in the last few months, so she capitulated without too much fight. She finished the last bite of sandwich and the rest of the mineral water in the bottle and made her way upstairs to their bedroom. She removed Nex and stripped down to her underwear, turned up the air-conditioning, and collapsed into the huge bed with a large, fuzzy ball of purring Razor.

  Razor’s growl woke her from a deep sleep. Her hand was searching for Nex even before her eyes were open.

  “Hellcat, it’s just me.” Alexander’s voice broke through the haze of sleep and adrenaline. “Razor, give it up. I don’t feel like healing lacerations tonight.”

  Gabi fully cracked one eye and sat up, stretching. “What’s going on? Is there news? What’s the time?” she demanded, pulling the sheet over herself, even though Alexander had seen it all before.

  “It’s almost six p.m., and yes, there’s news, just not the kind you were hoping for.” He was clearly regretful. “We have a guest who wants to speak to us.”

  “Stop beating around the bush,” she grumbled. “You know I hate that at the best of times.”

  “Athena,” he said. “The High Magus wants to speak to you and Julius. I get the feeling she’s not supposed to be here, so whatever she has to say, it’s important.”

  Gabi sighed. If anyone knew Athena, it was Alexander. If he thought the Magus had something that needed to be said, she probably did.

  “I’ll be down in two minutes,” she told him, dropping any pretence at modesty and jumping out of bed.

  “Julius is just finishing up a meeting with Liam; he won’t be long. We’re convening in the bar; coffee will be waiting,” he told her before vanishing from the room. Speed freak, she thought uncharitably as she went to splash cold water over her face.

  Athena had changed out of the dark suit and cape that she’d worn to the stadium into cream yoga pants, a loose-fitting top and trainers. Gym or dojo, Gabi wondered, knowing there was no other reason Athena would be dressed so casually.

  “Twice in one day,” she said to the Magus, “we’re honoured.”

  Athena’s eyes narrowed on her for a moment, assessing, trying to decide if she was being facetious. It was borderline. Alexander was behind the bar counter, and Gabi could smell tea brewing; there’d better be coffee as well.

  “I’m here to tell you what’s happening with the Source,” Athena said, folding her arms and lifting her chin, “but I’m not here in any official capacity.”

  “You’re going against the wishes of the rest of the council?” Julius asked, striding into the room and closing the door behind him.

  “You could say that,” the Magus hedged.

  “She’s going against direct orders,” Alexander filled them in, placing a steaming cup of tea and a larger mug of coffee on the counter.

  Athena walked to get her cup of tea but didn’t take a seat. She was clearly restless and on edge. Gabi could empathize. “I come here as a friend, one concerned for the City and its inhabitants. I come to you because you understand the delicate balance that keeps us all relatively safe. The High Council feel that filling you in would be akin to laying ourselves open to the enemy, showing our weakness when we are at our most vulnerable. It goes without saying that what is said here needs to be kept private.” She took a sip of her tea and then placed the cup on a low table.

  “Of course,” Julius agreed, “you know your secrets are safe with us.” Those few words said so much: Athena had been through a lot with them; she knew more than her fair share of their secrets.

  “You might want to sit down,” she said, smoothing her hands down the front of her pants as though her palms were clammy.

  Alexander and Julius took her advice; Gabi chose to pace.

  “The Source is the problem, not the Veil, and not the Magi.” She paused, her eyes lowered. “It’s true that the magic within the Source was severely depleted during the battle, but in all previous records of depletion, the Source has refilled itself within days or weeks. There are two possibilities. One, that there is some kind of unusual leak or drain on the power. A large and constant one. Or two, that the Source has simply reached the end of its natural lifespan, and in essence it is dying. We’re focusing on the first possibility. Stewart, the Tracker who found you,” she looked over to Gabi, “is trying to trace an unknown energy pull that seems to be tied to the Source. It may be what we’re looking for. If we can find where this pull originates, we should be able to cut off the leak and the Source should return to normal.”

  “And if this leak isn’t what you think it is?” Julius was keeping calm while Gabi’s mind was spinning too fast to form a reasonable question.

  “That is a much more dire scenario and the main reason I’m here,” she said. “If the Source is dying, the entire Magi race will be left vulnerable. Our only hope would be to wait for the birth of a new Source. That could happen in weeks of the original’s demise, or months or years or centuries. We have no way of knowing for sure.”

  “What would that mean for the Veil?” Gabi asked, and even she could hear the horror in her voice.

  Athena just shook her head, as though she couldn’t bear to put the idea into words. She picked up the teacup and downed the contents before setting the cup on the bar counter.

  “I have to go. If I stay here any longer, my…minders will become suspicious enough of my absence to investigate where I’ve been. I know this is terrible timing, but I’m due to leave for a conclave tomorrow and I want you to know what may be coming. You should make contingency plans. We have at least a couple of months, but beyond that I can make no guarantee.” With a final nod to Alexander and a look that said a thousand things, she hurried from the room. The coffee in Gabi’s mug had cooled and any hint of an appetite she might have had was long gone.

  “Sire, there is a human at the gate who says they have a message for you.” Gabi recognised Ben’s voice over the phone. “They won’t hand it to anyone besides you personally. Under other circumstances—” It felt like they’d spent days arguing over what to do abou
t Athena’s warning, so the ringing of Julius’s phone had come as a sort of relief.

  “Thank you, Ben,” Julius interrupted the guard’s attempted apology. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

  Gabi glanced at the time on her own phone, two minutes to midnight. “Right on time,” she noted. Adrenalin and anticipation exploded through her. The troubled Source was forgotten; she wanted to face her mother’s kidnapper. Very soon they would have this out, one way or another. No one else would dare to touch one of her loved ones ever again.

  “Gabrielle, Fergus and I will go,” Julius announced, standing and holding out his hand to her. Alexander, Mac, and Patrick bristled a little, but none voiced their dissent.

  “You’ll need me as well.” The assassin known as Sicarius stood up from his seat on the far side of the room. He had yet to divulge any other name, so Sicarius it was. “I am the go-between; I can confirm the identity of both sides.” He was moving a little stiffly, but the large bruises mottling the side of his face were fading. By the slow rate of his healing, he hadn’t had any Vampire blood for some time. He was still in the same clothes he’d been in the previous night, but the dried blood had been cleaned away from his face and hair. His hands were once again fastened behind his back with black zip ties. He was probably just as anxious to finalise this meeting as Gabi was.

  Julius nodded agreement and Fergus moved to one side, allowing the stocky, muscled man to shoulder his way to the front.

  “Dornt forget, assassin,” Fergus said quietly into his ear, “paralysed frae th’ neck doon is still alive, an’ he willnae be able te Turn ye quickly enough tae heal th’ damage.”

  The human male said nothing, staring straight ahead; a jaw muscle twitched beneath the bruises though. Gabi had to hand it to him, he handled the terror Fergus could inspire with admirable composure.