by A and E Kirk
There was a rip in my dress—my new dress—exposing a shallow cut in the skin underneath.
“My, my, Grandma,” I said. “What a sharp beak you have.”
Too overwhelmed by my quick wit to reply, he charged like a bull, shoulder battering into my gut and slamming me back against a wall. Air grunted from my lungs.
I rammed a knee again and again into his ribs while I pummeled my elbows into his back. The fabric of his valet shirt burnt through, and my hits sizzled his skin, but instead of letting go, he hammered a fist into my stomach.
Now I really wasn’t hungry. Yesterday’s lunch was about to launch up my throat, but I had no time to lament because Razor-Beak Rick, or just Razor Rick for short since we were such good buds, lifted his beady eyes to mine and pecked rapidly at my face.
I dodged my head sideways in time so the point repeatedly poked into the wall next to my ear. Then the demon reared his head back and stabbed his horrid beak at me with all the force he could conjure. I felt the vile appendage whiz past my forehead as it buried into the wall.
Where it stuck.
As the creature struggled to free his face, I grabbed his ears, and feeling skin peel off under my fingers, kneed him in the stomach twice in rapid succession, then twisted my body out from under him. I yanked on his shoulders and freed the beak from the wall, then shoved his head down as hard as I could.
As his body curled over at the waist, I took aim and stabbed his long, pointy beak into his thigh, pushing it all the way through until it stuck out the other side. He screeched, hunched over, swiping a claw at me as he struggled to pull himself free. It was almost comical. I kicked him square in the chest and sent him flying.
Turns out these boots were made for strutting, stomping, and kicking demon butt.
He landed next to the body. The tumble had freed his beak from his bleeding leg, but after offering me a snarl, he grabbed the dead demon’s arm and rolled away, dragging the body with him a few feet before letting go.
That was…weird.
Then Razor Rick sprang to his feet, leaving the body on the floor. He glared at me as he lifted his wrist to his mouth and said, “Mission compromised. Team needs an immediate extraction.”
Then he ran away.
Coward.
I started to give chase, but noticed something on the ground and picked it up. A plastic card of some sort. The writing was small and it was hard to focus because my eyes still stung from whatever goo the monster waiter had flung at me. I shoved the plastic in my bra and started my pursuit.
Just as I passed the should-be-gone-to-Hell corpse of Snouty Schnozz, the body suddenly scattered into a black mist and swirled up around me. I closed my eyes and swatted at the horrible smelling stuff.
As it vortexed into the ground, I was pulled down with it.
CHAPTER 4
“I’m telling you,” Matthias said as we jogged down the hallway toward the lobby. “The body I saw on the floor when I first came out was a human female, Latina, mid-twenties, medium build, dark hair, wearing a waiter’s uniform.”
I frowned. “So why could I see it as a demon and why did it take so long to disappear?”
“No idea, but right now we have to get rid of this demonic team that needs extracting before they hurt someone.” As we ran faster down the hall, Matthias shoved his long waves of mahogany hair off his face and touched a shallow scratch on his cheek.
“Sorry,” I said. “I really thought you were the demon mist dragging me down into Hell.”
He laughed. “So dramatic.”
“How could I have known?”
“Exactly,” he said with smug satisfaction.
Jerk. “What’s with the alarms? Did the demons start a fire?”
“We think so,” he said. “Dumped a pitcher of some flammable liquid in the trashcan in the lobby that set it on fire. Ayden took care of it. Nothing serious. Probably a distraction technique.”
Fantastic.
“No, that was me.” I explained what happened.
He shook his head and laughed again. “I should’ve known. Well, at least you saved Coach without blowing the place up. That’s an improvement on your usual disasters.”
“Was that a compliment?”
“Don’t let it go to your head. I know it’s pretty empty in there, and you like to fill it up with fantasies of your own greatness.”
“You mean fantasies like where I’ve foiled demon invasions, opened the portal and took Aphrodite with me, saved a little girl everyone thought was dead,” okay, technically Gloria saved Chloe, but…, “then left the evil goddess in Hell while bringing a former Mandatum hunter back to Earth, and thereby solidifying a demon god of love as our new BFF? Those fantasies?”
“Yeah,” Matthias said. “Those fantasies. And if you think having Eros as a BFF is a good thing, you really are off your bloody rocker.”
He might’ve had a point there.
When we turned into a corridor packed with people, Matthias tried to push through then doubled back, and we exited outside.
I smelled chlorine as we neared the pool, which was strategically placed on a hill so as to take advantage of the striking view overlooking the golf course down below and the lake beyond. On the lakeshore, the large boathouse with the restaurant on the second floor was dark, but enough lights on the docks of the “yacht club” illuminated the sail boats, motor boats, jet skis, and kayaks moored and bobbing lazily in the lapping current.
“Speaking of Eros, what’s with the umbra stone?” Matthias said, indicating my necklace. “I thought we agreed you’d keep it hidden until we know more about its powers.”
“I know,” I said. “And we shouldn’t trust anything freely given by a demon god, but I found it once too often around Selena’s neck after she unearthed it from every hiding spot in my room, so now I usually keep it in my bra, but sometimes it pokes through and makes me look lopsided and lumpy. And actually, Selena figured out that if you click this part on the setting, the silver closes over like an eyelid so I can wear it without the stone touching my skin and lighting up, which is why I decided to wear it normally tonight. Looks nice, right?
He grimaced. “Oh, for the love of God.”
“Of course,” I said tiredly. “You think it’s stupid. Ayden’s not happy about it either, but I don’t want Selena anywhere near it.”
“No, keeping it close is smart. Anything to keep Selena safe. It’s the…” His lip curled as he swallowed hard. “Didn’t need to know about the…where you keep it.”
“Another compliment? Wow, aren't you dishing them out like candy, you sugar puff. And all because of my bra.”
Even in the dark I could see his cheeks redden. “Shut up.”
Heh, heh, heh.
“What’s the big deal? You’ve had your hands in my underwear drawer before, Aussie man, touching my undergarments, which if I remember correctly, included one of my bras. I wonder if I’m wearing the same one now."
“I think I might hurl.”
He looked like he wasn't kidding…so I continued. "Want me to check?”
“You should check yourself into an insane asylum.”
“Yeah, well…uh…” My snappy comebacks stalled. The mention of me in an insane asylum always had a sobering effect. “Shouldn’t we have found the guys by now?”
We approached the back of the dining room with its long wall of French doors. It looked empty. Almost.
Ayden flew out to meet us, glaring at Matthias. “Took you long enough.”
He was looking different from his norm, but definitely delicious. With the best of a Euro-Hawaiian-Asia mix in his blood, he’d had me sighing at first sight, and for our date tonight he’d upped the hot-hot-hottie factor to downright steaming.
He’d ditched the leather jacket and jeans for a suit and tie, the coat tailored to his broad shoulders and tapering down to a trim waist. Instead of the usual artful mess of spikes, he’d used the gel to slick back his blue-black hair from that gorgeous face. A fre
sh shave on his smooth skin showed off those chiseled-from-marble cheekbones, so sharp I’d swear one of these days, I’d cut a finger. I looked forward to that day.
He looked older and manly, and more handsome than ever. And more worried than ever.
His rich brown eyes raked over every inch of me before he wrapped me in a hug. When I cringed, he reeled back and checked me over.
“What’s wrong? Other than, you know, this.” He motioned over my body.
“What do you mean?” I caught my reflection in one of the French door’s many window panes. “Oh.”
The chic up-do Mom had worked so hard on had definitely gone down for the count. My hair was loose and looked like it’d been caught in a jet engine. Makeup-wise, it was really only my lipstick that was smudged, and other than the slice through the fabric, the slinky, silk dress suffered only mild wrinkles. I could salvage this.
Ayden pulled out the neatly folded silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and pressed it to the cut on my side.
“Hold it there. Where else are you hurt?” He kept patting me down, very thoroughly, because he—whoa!—pulled out the plastic card from my bra and demanded, “What’s this? And keep that cloth pressed to your side!”
I finished readjusting my boobs, winked at Matthias who responded by sticking an index finger in his mouth and miming an upchuck, then I pressed the cloth on my wound as Ayden had ordered.
“I got it off a demon,” I said. “What is it?”
Matthias grabbed the card and pulled me out of Ayden’s reach. “We’ll figure it out later. She’s fine. We need her to identify any demons we can’t see. We’re running out of time.” Sirens wailed in the distance.
Jayden’s flip-flops flapped noisily as he entered through one of the French doors and offered me a computer tablet. “I infiltrated the security feeds. Aurora, see what you can detect.”
“Right,” I told Ayden. “We’ll get this taken care of and get back to our normal date.”
Matthias made a rude sound. “Don’t you get it?” He pointed to the computer’s split screen that flashed on the many events of chaos happening all over the country club. “This is your normal.”
CHAPTER 5
I gave Ayden his bloodstained handkerchief back, then set the tablet on a patio table while I watched the screen. My unruly tresses kept falling in my face, so I stole Jayden’s hair tie from his ponytail, letting his perfectly smooth curtain of shimmering black mane fall to his shoulders, and used it to secure my mess of curls into some semblance of containment.
“Hey, babe.” Blake joined us, his massive, body-builder frame towering over me. He wore a tank top and sweat pants. Did he constantly work out? “It was short notice, and my tux is at the drycleaners, so I’m a tad underdressed.”
“You don’t have a tux,” Logan said, rolling up behind him. I bet Logan had a tux. Probably more than one.
But at the moment, he sported one of his usual three-piece suits. This one had subtle pinstripes that matched the brilliant banana yellow of his tie, pocket square, and high-top sneakers. But nothing was brighter than his neon-white hair. Perfectly coiffed, as usual, but what was up with the glow-in-the-dark color? It’d been brown when we were kids. I’d never asked. Hex Boys were notoriously closed lipped about the past.
“I should have a tux,” Blake said. “Because look how babe got dressed up just for me. I approve. Except for that hair.”
Logan whacked Blake. “Not now.”
I shushed them while continuing to watch the screen where I saw Tristan moving through the grounds. He was keeping everyone calm and the crowds clustered around outside. Even on the security feed, I could tell his eyes glowed. He must have been injecting some story, a new version of what had actually happened, into the patrons’ heads.
“There!” I pointed out three demons in different locations around the country club. “But I don’t see Razor Rick. His valet shirt should have burn holes on the back.”
“Those people look normal to me,” Logan said referring to the demons I'd pointed out. The other guys nodded in agreement.
“Well they aren’t,” I said with conviction. “They’re demons, and they’re not possessed. Trust me. I’m the Divinicus Nex, aren’t I? This is what I do.”
“Weak, at best,” Matthias said. “But on this I believe her. I saw the waitress’s body turn into mist and go to ground in the usual demon dispatch. Let’s get on it, mates.” Matthias started ordering the guys in different directions to go after the demons.
“What about me?” I said.
Matthias pointed at the computer. “Stay and watch. If you see any other demons, or if you happen to get a vision like a real Divinicus, call me on this.” He slung a cell phone on the table.
“We can’t leave her alone,” Ayden said.
“She already dealt with two demons on her own,” Matthias said. “She’ll be fine.”
“I hate this,” Ayden growled.
“Get over it and go,” I told him. “This is what you do. Besides, the sooner you go—”
“The sooner I’m back.” He kissed me quick before running into the darkness, his arms lighting on fire.
I sounded so confident, but when they’d left, I was literally shaking in my boots. Could this night get any worse? Oh, shut up, Aurora. Don’t jinx yourself.
“Help!” a woman screamed.
Too late.
CHAPTER 6
In the empty dining room a grey-haired woman knelt over an elderly man lying on the floor. I remembered them. Old Man Cyrus and his wife.
“Help!” she cried again.
I ran to them and immediately checked his vitals. No pulse. He wasn’t breathing. “What happened? Did someone hurt him?”
She was near tears, but fighting hard to hold it together. “No, it must be his heart. Between the champagne, the fire, and all this excitement. I gave him a pill but…” She sucked back a sob. “Then he tried to stop some crazy valet from stealing a car, and it was all too much.”
Valet? Was it Razor Rick?
Okay, first things first. “Call nine-one-one while I start CPR and when my count gets to thirty, you tilt his head back, pinch his nose, and blow two breaths into his mouth. Do you know how?”
“Of course.” To her credit, she pulled herself together and made the call while I started compressions on her husband’s chest just like Dad had taught me.
It seemed like it went on forever. I was literally dripping sweat on Old Man Cyrus who wasn’t springing back to life. In fact, his skin was starting to turn the same grey as his hair. A coldness invaded my chest and spread through my body. My first patient, and he was going to die.
Panic mounted, pressure bore down on me from all directions. Great. The last thing I needed was my blasty power to activate and tear a hole through him just like I’d done to the demon. The thought only doubled my panic. I gritted my teeth and kept pumping—
“Eighteen, nineteen, twenty…”
—concentrating on the task and forcing myself to calm down.
I thought I had it handled so was completely caught off-guard when the cold terror I’d felt suddenly surged again and a white light flared with shocking brilliance, sending me and Cyrus’s wife reeling back.
Had I killed him? Or re-killed him? Was there a gaping hole where his heart should be? I was scared to look, but better me than his poor wife who was struggling to right herself.
As I crawled toward him, Old Man Cyrus jerked and gasped. I yelped and fell back on my butt.
His wife squealed with joy, scrambled to her knobby knees, and grabbed her husband’s face. “Cyrus, my love! I’m here! I’m right here!”
He gulped in a few more breaths as his eyes fluttered. Then he focused and smiled at his wife. “Honey, why’d you let me drink the damn champagne?”
She laughed and kissed him repeatedly, bringing his color flushing back. Chills of relief rippled over my body.
Through a nearby window I saw a flash of red-orange lightning. I squinte
d, angling for a better look. In the forest edging the club’s golf course there was a faint flickering glow. A loud crack was followed by some of the shadowy tree-line in the distance falling out of sight. Not a good sign.
Screams erupted from the direction of the lobby. I left the happy couple and made it to the club’s entrance where Coach Slader stood in front of an SUV yelling at Razor Rick, who still wore his burnt uniform, the front of his pant leg a bloody mess.
“You may not have my keys!” Coach snapped as his wife began to put Seth in his car seat.
When the demon saw me, his throat rumbled a fierce noise. “Abort! Abort!” he yelled into his wrist, then he brought his hands together and flung them apart.
Coach stopped, then spun in confusion. “Where’d he go?”
Suddenly invisible to the humans for some reason, the demon shoved Coach’s wife aside, grabbed their son, and took off running. And, in an odd twist, I could suddenly feel the demon in my Divinicus vision sort of way.
I swayed for a moment, because I could also now see the Hex Boys in their various battles with the other three demons.
“I see it!” Blake shouted.
“Oh, good!” Logan said. “Do you think now you could actually try to kill it?”
“Sorry, but this is so weird. I wasn’t sure this dude was a demon.”
“He just threw you one-handed!”
“Maybe he works out!”
“Blake, get your game on!”
My vision rushed back as Coach’s wife started spinning around in confusion. “Where’s Seth?” she said, her voice rising in horror. “Honey, where’s Seth? He was right here!”
As she continued to search frantically through the car, under the car, around the car, even on the roof, the demon had her son in his clutches and was racing away into the night. Hoping these boots were also made for running, I bolted after them.
