by Michael Todd
The soldiers nodded their understanding.
Brock put his helmet on and fastened the strap under his chin, then checked his rifle one last time and followed the guys toward the perimeter. Beside the barn was the large portal the demons had used to come to Earth. The military had surrounded the barn, and had been able to position their men around the portal as well. Bullets flew everywhere as they killed the last few demons coming out.
It didn’t look like any more would emerge from the portal, but they couldn’t know for sure.
Grim determination painted the faces of the soldiers surrounding the barn. Brock’s brothers were the relief team, there to swap out with the primary team so the others could back off for a rest. They had been at it for hours at that point, and most of them needed a reload, a bite to eat, and a drink of water at the very least.
Brock lined up with his boys and waited for the nod from their team leader. When the doors of the barn creaked apart they opened fire, spraying the doors with bullets. The leader raised his arm and pointed forward, and the team advanced one synchronized step at a time toward the barn, continuing to fire as they approached.
Suddenly, the doors flew open and a demon headed straight toward Brock. Brock dropped his weapon and threw his arms out as the demon landed, pushing the hell spawn to the ground. More demons were charging out of the barn, so the team had to focus on stopping them while trying to keep one eye on the wrestling match beside them.
Brock growled as he rolled across the grass, scrambling frantically to keep the demon’s claws as far from his face as possible. He was able to free one hand and he punched the demon hard in the face, stunning it for a second. In that small open window, he grabbed his knife and thrust it upward into the demon’s throat. The beast snarled and growled, but then its eyes rolled back and it burst into dust.
One of Brock’s teammates clapped as he walked over, then helped Brock to his feet. Brock chuckled, picked up his gun, and slid his knife back into its sheath. When he looked up at the guy, there was a demon running straight for his teammate’s back. Brock raised his gun and aimed over the guy’s shoulder. “Watch out!”
His teammate spun and opened fire on the demon. Chunks of the demon’s body flew as the bullets blasted it and the demon turned to dust mid-stride, and the guy wiped his forehead. He nodded his thanks to Brock before turning back toward the field.
The last demon ran in zigzags to evade the bullets, its only objective to get back to the portal. The boys raked him with bullets, and he screamed in pain and turned to dust. There were no signs of any more demons close by. Brock held a hand over his mouth and nose when the portal slammed shut and blew the usual cloud of foul-smelling wind over the field.
Everything went quiet. The only sound Brock could hear was the lowing of the surviving cows.
8
Katie lay motionless in the cocoon of blankets and pillows. The soft mattress almost swallowed her, and the layers of blankets she had wrapped herself in rendered her invisible to the naked eye. She was dreaming of donuts and pizza—something obviously conjured up by Pandora—when a loud siren sounded from the street far below, startling her awake.
She grumbled, keeping her eyes clenched shut in an attempt to go back to sleep. She didn’t want to get up yet. It had been a long night, and she hadn’t even fully fallen asleep until the sun was starting to peek over the buildings.
“So much noise,” she griped. “Can’t a girl ever fucking sleep in?”
Don’t get shitty with me, princess of the angels. I am not the one creeping into the room being an unexpected pain in the ass.
What are you babbling about now? Katie snapped. I promise you that you will get your damn donuts as soon as I can function. Just let me sleep!
Look, woman! This isn’t about donuts.
Then why are you throwing a fit?
Didn’t you hear what I just said? There’s a stranger lurking in the shadows of your room.
Katie contemplated the words for a moment, still a bit groggy. When she finally realized what Pandora was bitching about, she sat straight up in the bed and pulled her gun out from under the pillow. She stared hard at the shadowy spot behind the bedroom door. Standing there was a figure she couldn’t quite make out.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
The angel who had come to her before, Gabriel, stepped into the light, his silver hair shining softly in the morning sun. Katie narrowed her eyes and dropped the gun, feeling irritation bloom in her chest.
“Look, I know you’re like a messenger from God, or whatever, but that doesn’t preclude you from having manners. You can’t just come barging into a woman’s room while she’s asleep. Creep factor aside, it’s rude. Besides, you could get an eyeful of something that would shock you.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I have been all over the world and to other worlds, and I can promise you there is nothing in this room that could shock me. Besides, I could sense you were dressed and alone, so I waited here for you to wake.”
“Waited there? How long have you been staring at me?”
“Long enough,” he told her. He walked over to the window. “Although, I was worried you were going to sleep the whole day away.”
“Great.” Katie sighed. “Another being who thinks eight in the morning is sleeping too late. I guess I need to come to terms with never getting a good night’s sleep again.”
“From the looks of the donut sugar all over your mouth, you weren’t expecting any company.”
Katie narrowed her eyes and brushed a hand over her mouth, finding the grains of sugar. Visions of the feast Pandora had put her through ran through her mind. She had fixed three donuts, but that hadn’t been enough for Pandora. They had eaten all of the donuts left in the boxes. Katie felt nauseous just thinking about it.
You bitch. I said three donuts, and you made me eat like a dozen after I gave in and drank the full-sugar Coke!
Hey, you picked them up and put them in your mouth. I wasn’t controlling your movements.
You think you’re so smooth, and now look! There’s an angel in our room, I’m a mess, and you have no donuts. Guess who the only person who can rectify your donut deficit is?
Oh, come off it. It’s not like you’ll make me miserable. You know I can do the same right back to you, so just suck it up. I told you I’d take care of the calories. You just get this white-glowy silver-haired freak out of our room. He’s starting to get creepy with his constant patient smile.
Katie returned her focus to Gabriel; she’d almost forgotten for a moment that he was there. “Since you’re here, there were a couple of things I wanted to ask you. Like, how do I work on my abilities? What kind of powers do I have, beyond taking demons from people? And what the hell is up with the white glow? It makes no sense.”
Gabriel gazed impassively out the window with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Katie guessed that he was going to pull the same mysterious act he had the last time he had visited her, which irritated the hell out of her. She wanted to know more about what she was and why she had angels popping up in her hotel room and watching her while she slept. However, she could tell that anger and intimidation would do nothing for her case.
Gabriel remained facing the window when he finally spoke. “I am here to tell you one thing.”
“What’s that?” Katie asked, crossing her arms and pouting.
That he dyes his hair and goes to raves. Pandora snorted.
Gabriel turned around and smiled at Katie as if he could hear what Pandora was saying. He gave her a look that made Katie sure he was reading her very soul, which made her slightly uncomfortable. Katie lifted an eyebrow and looked around to avoid his intense eye contact.
“Okay, the secretiveness is killing me. What do you have to tell me?”
“There are entities in New York City who are planning to use demons as terrorist devices.”
Katie’s eyes grew bigger. “In the city?”
Gabriel nodded solemnly.
&nb
sp; “And where are they? What are they planning?”
“Find them,” Gabriel told her softly, his body becoming transparent.
“No, no, no.” Katie moaned, climbing quickly out of bed.
By the time she got to where he’d been standing, Gabriel was gone. “Wait, wait! What do they look like? Who’s funding them? Come on! You can’t be just the evil-puzzle-giver.”
She sighed, finding herself alone again in the room. So, there were terrorist demons, who were obviously planning something, somewhere in a city with millions of people, none of whom Katie really knew. She was supposed to find the demons and—she assumed—dispose of them.
Great.
Pandora snarked, Just like an angel, giving you a sixteenth of the puzzle and then buggering off. I told you angels were assholes.
Oh, kind of like demons who con their humans into eating a dozen donuts and then bitch and moan about those who want to help us?
You enjoyed scarfing down all that creamy white filling, don’t lie.
Katie did her best to sound innocent. I’m saying nothing.
You don’t have to say anything, sister. Your shirt says it all, loud and clear.
Katie looked down at her shirt. Sure enough, she was covered in small white flakes of sugar, the remains of the small pebbles that had been stuck to her face. Apparently, she couldn’t even eat like a civilized human being. She brushed at the remnants, leaving the tips of her fingers sticky. Katie walked into the bathroom and leaned over to brush the sugar off the front of her shirt. She sighed and pulled the shirt over her head, banging her elbow against the tiled wall. She tossed her shirt on the floor and washed her hands, staring at the sparkling flecks of icing in her hair with something like shame as she dried her hands.
She turned, banging her knee against the cabinet. “Dammit! This bathroom is so small I need to step out of it to change my mind.”
Did we read that somewhere recently? What’s got you so wound up? Maybe I shouldn’t have made you eat that last donut.
Katie leaned her head back against the bathroom doorway and closed her eyes. She was pissed, for so many reasons. Between the lack of sleep and the creepy-ass angel with his half-assed clues, a demon-induced sleep feast wasn’t that big a deal—especially since said demon was going to take care of the consequences of all her actions. She sighed and banged her hand on the doorframe. How are they going to use demons in terror attacks, and how am I supposed to stop it when I don’t even know where to start?
Tell the cops.
Oh, sure... I’ll just march right up to the captain’s office and let him know that after falling into a diabetic coma, I woke up to an angel in the corner of my hotel room. He told me demons are using other demons as terrorist devices, but that’s the only information I have.
What’s the worst that could happen?
They might lock me up in a mental institution, regardless of my being Damned. It’s not like the soaps where I can claim insanity and get out if I’ve committed a crime. They’ll chain us to the bed—and not in the fun way you’re thinking.
Oh, I’m sure it’s not that bad. Humans like to help. They wouldn’t leave you there long.
You obviously haven’t heard of electroshock therapy.
No, but it sounds sexy.
Katie rolled her eyes and headed toward the living room, hesitant to see what kind of major damage Pandora had done while Katie was asleep. The donut boxes were strewn about, and there was sugar all over the counter and crumbs on the floor. Katie growled and stacked the boxes angrily.
Seriously, you had me sit there and eat that many donuts but not pick up the trash afterward It’s so fucking embarrassing I can’t even have housekeeping clean this up. Not to mention that with all the sugar on the floor, we’re going to wake up to roaches and ants in the damn room.
Really? Can ants and roaches go up to the nineteenth floor to find food? How do they get there? Do they tip the doorman and ride the teeny-tiny elevator, or do they take the Mission Impossible route and use tiny little suction cups to climb up the building? And how do they get in? Tiny little glass cutters to open up a hole to the inside? Personally, if an ant or roach goes through that kind of trouble, I’m going to say they deserve all the sugar they find.
Katie grabbed a roll of paper towels from the kitchenette and rummaged around under the sink, knowing that housekeepers always kept spare cleaning supplies in the rooms. She went for the toppling pile of donut boxes with her hand as she stood, and watched the top box land, open and upside down, on the floor.
Seriously, if you were outside of my body, I would give you such a fucking ass-kicking right now. I’m supposed to be here to slay demons! I’m not here to wipe mounds of sugar off the floors and table like some kind of maid for you, Pandora. You need to learn how to eat with a little more grace. For fuck’s sake, get a napkin or a plate or something. It looks like I danced around and threw the sugar like confetti.
Pandora just listened, finding Katie’s temper tantrum amusing.
Katie flung the paper towels into the trash. What about Gabriel? He shows up out of nowhere with no warning and then gives me only a tidbit of information to go on. Obviously, it’s important. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have shown up, so it’s something I need to focus on.
Katie stalked back to the bathroom and turned on the shower. She undressed, tossing her clothes into a pile as she thought about what Gabriel had told her, which was a big bunch of fuck-all. She climbed in and let the hot water rush over her. It stilled her mind, but only for a moment. She opened her eyes and pushed her hair back from her face, then grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squirted a bit into her hand. She knew she probably shouldn’t be so frustrated with the angel, but hell, he was being mysterious, and it wasn’t cool. In fact, it was downright frustrating.
How in the hell am I supposed to find a group of terrorist demons in a city this size?
The waves crashed against the shore on the beach a short way from Calvin’s room. The waves were wild but the weather was perfect, with bright sunshine and blue skies as far as the eye could see. Birds flew overhead, swooping down over the waves every now and then, and those not hungover from the night before began to creep out of their beds and head for the sandy stretches and beautiful views.
Calvin, on the other hand, lay face down in his bed wearing nothing but the sheet draped over his ass. He took his time waking up, not moving a muscle as he lay there and listened to the ocean. It was one of his favorite sounds, and he’d been longing for it during his time in the sands of Vegas. To him, the desert was nothing more than a tease. It had all the things he disliked about the beach—the sand, the boiling-hot sun, the weird insects—but nothing of what made the whole day at a beach worthwhile. It was just grainy grit that liked to get lodged in every crevice of his body.
Eventually, he opened his eyes and peered out the low window opposite his bed. The whitecaps of the crystal-clear waters lapped against the shore. Calvin saw a woman in a polka dot bikini trailing through the edge of the surf, and he recalled that he had not gone to bed alone the night before. He reached behind himself, finding an empty spot in the bed. Patricia was no longer there, but on the pillow was a folded piece of paper.
He opened it and smiled as he read her short note.
Calvin, didn’t want to wake you since you looked so comfortable. I had a fabulous night, something I love so much about this place. I very much enjoyed myself, and I wanted to assure you that I’m damned glad I ran into you. Enjoy your time in Cabo,
P.
xoxo
He chuckled and lay back, staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being a one-night stand. He had grown up in a household with a momma who had explicitly ground into his head that women were to be treated like the queens they were. Even here in Cabo her words stuck with him, and not just because he feared her wrath. The woman last night had made him into a one-night stand, not the other way around. He decided it wasn’t such a bad thing.
; He rolled over and pushed his face into the other pillow, which still held the floral scent of her perfume. He took a deep breath and turned his head to the side, his mouth quirking at the memories she’d gifted him with. He pulled the covers up and shut his eyes, thinking about all the tourists who flocked to Vegas to get away from reality. That was what he was doing—getting away from reality—and it had started out really well.
“Well, when in Cabo, do as those who come to Cabo do.”
Katie bit her bottom lip as she stared at all the donuts. The woman from the night before was still there, or had come in again for a new shift. Either way, she knew exactly who Katie was. The other two stood by, waiting for her to finish her order of three dozen donuts.
“Two chocolate crème filled—”
The woman smiled as she placed two of them in the box. “Please tell me you have a bunch of friends eating these?”
Katie shrugged. “I wish. These hips don’t lie.”
The two other women looked her up and down. One put her hands on their hips and raised her eyebrow at Katie. “I just want to point out that your hips are to die for. There is nothing about your body that screams three dozen donuts, especially not your hips.”
Yessss, Pandora hissed. I am sculpting you into the ultimate female specimen! Men want to do you, and women want to be you. I told you—you’re fucking hot, not just when you don the spandex suit but all the time. Even the other night in your broken-down hoodie, men were stopping and staring as you walked by. You’re a h-o-double-t-i-e, and you are welcome for that.
Calm down, Gillian Anderson. It’s not like I was morbidly obese to begin with.
No, more like pathetically weak; all skinny and ironing board-like. You could have been knocked over by a strong breeze. Now you have ballast. Again, you’re welcome.
Katie sighed and tried not to roll her eyes. She spotted the refrigerated case next to the counter and let out a squeak of happiness when she saw the milk there. She grabbed four of them before she forgot to buy any again. The girls bagged up her three dozen donuts and milk and handed them to Katie. She dropped a twenty in their tip jar and waved as she walked toward the door.
