Daemon Uprising

by Mariah Ankenman

  “Does the council know about her?” Kiernan asked, breaking into her reminiscing.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Sel likes to keep a low profile.”

  Kiernan snorted.

  “From the supernatural world at least.”

  Most people who came into Selena’s shop were wannabes. Kids who thought Harry Potter was real or Goths who believed looking like death and chasing after it made you cool. The woman worked mostly in herbal magic, using the powers of plants to heal. Just basic homeopathy, but call it magic and people swarmed.

  “Smart move, I guess,” Kiernan muttered. “Being a Psy, she would not want to draw too much attention to herself.”

  Many supernatural beings populated the world. All stories came from somewhere, so chances were, if there was a story about something, that creature probably existed. Maybe not as big, bad, or awesome as in the story, but it lived nonetheless. Many things did not have enough power to spit at, but others had an abundance of it. Beings with power of the mind—Psys and Teles—possessed a wealth of strength.

  Psys were highly sought after for their ability. Usually, they were taken by force and used to predict whatever their captor wanted until they either escaped or died. As bad as Psys had it, Teles had it worse.

  Teles had three levels, telekinesis, telepathy, and teleportation. Most people with the gift of Tele had only telekinesis, but a few level twos had telepathy as well. There’d only ever been one record of a third level Tele. Teles, unlike Psys, could pass on their gift to another being. The tricky part came in acquiring the gift of Tele. Other than by birth, one had to kill the Tele and eat their heart. Bad news for the Tele. Hence, why most people with powers of the mind kept quiet. The council could only offer so much protection.

  “Interesting friends you have, Tabby Cat.”

  She ignored the bait, and his repeated use of the accursed nickname. He wanted information. Why, she had no idea. Probably to use against her at some point, but she wasn’t falling for it. The less Kiernan knew about her life the better. The less he was in her life the better.

  Stupid, irritating, sexy Daemon.

  She silently cursed herself for that last adjective. He was not sexy. Okay, he was, but she did not want him…much.

  “How did the two of you meet?”

  The man could not keep his mouth shut. “We should call it a night. Regroup tomorrow when the club is up and running again.”

  “What are you going to do until then?”

  Cool blue eyes said he knew damn well she wouldn’t wait until tomorrow night to take action. Once assigned a case, she didn’t rest until completed. No way would she sit around doing nothing until tomorrow night. Whatever she planned on doing, Kiernan looked like he wanted to be there for it. Couldn’t blame him. This was his case too, and he took his job as an Enforcer just as seriously as she did.

  She looked him dead in the eye, muttering one word. “Research.”

  That changed his attitude. Poring over books, not Kiernan’s forte. Research was Racine’s scene. Still, Kiernan looked as though he’d willingly follow her home and help out. Which was the last thing she wanted; her brain already fried enough from this crazy night. Spending this much time in close proximity to Kiernan messed with her head and her body. The last thing she needed was to have him in all his sexy annoyingness in her tiny studio apartment where the only seating was a small couch and her bed. Her bed that she would not think about in the same thought as Kiernan. Although…no, bad idea. For too many reasons to count.

  “It’s okay, Kiernan. I can do the research myself. I’ll show it to you first thing tomorrow. I promise.”

  Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he nodded. “I’ll walk you home.”

  She should have said no, but a small part of her was excited to have a few more minutes with this sexy infuriating Euadaemon.

  The stupid part.

  Chapter 7

  A knock at her door woke Tabitha out of a restless sleep. She never slept well when on assignment. Her mind never fully shut off until her target was ascertained. Rolling over, she glanced at the bedside clock. The unsightly red numbers read ten a.m.

  Ten in the morning? Everyone knew she kept night hours. Most thought her a night owl, but as an Enforcer she had to run on Kako time, nighttime. The cover of darkness was their prime striking time. And with their superior night vision, most Daemons preferred the night to the daylight.

  Who the hell had woken her up this early? She hadn’t even gotten to bed until six. Only four hours of sleep. She barely ran on six. She liked sleep, a lot.

  Growling at her unknown visitor, she rolled out of bed ready to take someone’s head off. She stormed to her front door, poised to kill.

  “Who the hell is out there and what do you want?” she shouted as she crossed the room.

  “It’s me.”

  Tabitha stopped cold at the deep masculine voice coming from behind the door. Kiernan? What was he doing here this early? Damn stupid Daemon.

  “I have coffee.”

  His chipper voice was far too annoying for this early in the morning, but the smell of the coffee already wafted under the door straight into her nostrils. Damn if it didn’t wake her up and make her crave it. Grimacing at her dependence on the caffeinated brew—and the stupid man who discovered her weakness—she unbolted the door and threw it open.

  “It better be a big cup.”

  Kiernan smiled when she opened the door. His smile disappeared when his gaze landed on her. The cheerful expression replaced with something else entirely, something hot and dangerous. Never had she seen a man look at her with such intensity, such wanting, such…lust. Sure, she was attractive. Men made passes at her before, but no one had ever looked as though he wanted to devour her. The way Kiernan looked at her now made her skin tingle and her body burn.

  He seemed to see her wearing a black lacy thong with matching bra instead of her regular sleep wear, boxer briefs and a thin tank top. She probably had a bad case of bed head to boot. Her hair always got in the way so she tied it back before heading out, but now it hung loose around her shoulders. She had to look frightful, but he stared at her like a dying man gazing upon the last drop of water on earth.

  Her mind started to get fuzzy, and she had the urge to lean into him. As he gazed down, she felt her nipples tighten and press against her thin shirt. She thought she heard him growl, very low and very sexy, deep in his throat. All she had to do was lean forward a little and—

  A siren went off in the distance breaking the spell. Saved by the siren. She stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Give me my coffee or get out.”

  Kiernan’s gaze shot back to her face, the lust leaving his eyes. Smirk back in place, he stepped into her apartment, handing her a very large cup of steaming coffee.

  “Nice PJs,” he said with a chuckle, closing the door behind him as he entered.

  Tabitha’s studio had five hundred square feet, just enough room for a small kitchen, living area, and a tiny bathroom, the only room with a door. Her full size bed rested against the wall in one corner. A thin veil of material served as a separation of her bedroom from the rest of the living area. Since she didn’t entertain much, the small size suited her. Plus, in the heart of the city, she couldn’t afford much else.

  Grabbing the coffee out of his hand, Tabitha headed toward her “bedroom.” Throwing back the thin material hanging from the wire she hung on the ceiling, she grabbed a pair of jeans from her dresser. Clothing was required for dealing with this man. Slipping them on, she quickly threw on a sweater as well, thanking the heavens she was small enough to go comfortably without a bra. No way she could slip off her shirt to put on a bra with Kiernan in her apartment. Not even if she went in the bathroom. She had a feeling closed doors wouldn’t help anything if she started taking her clothes off. She wondered who would pounce first.

  Probably her.

  Dammit.

  She’d fought her attraction t
o Kiernan for far too long. To him it was a game, a way to annoy her and get under her skin. At least she thought so. The look he gave her when she opened the door…no, she just surprised him that was all. What man wouldn’t be turned on by a half-naked woman? Even if the man wasn’t particularly interested in said woman.

  Walking back into the living room, she threw a glare at Kiernan, who had taken the liberty of making himself at home. Sitting on her tiny love seat inspecting the array of books spread out on her coffee table.

  “Interesting reading.” He lifted the cover of a book, reading the table of contents.

  All historical texts from Racine’s personal library, books on Daemons, Vampires, Ghosts, and other supernatural beings. Kiernan glanced up at her.

  “Do you ever just kick back and relax?”

  “Not when there’s evil still out there waiting to die.”

  Kiernan chuckled, leaning back against the couch, his arms spreading against the back in a position that showed off his very well-defined muscles under his black t-shirt. She didn’t think he did it unconsciously.

  “Tabby Cat, there are always gonna be bad guys out there to kill. Yin and yang, no good without the bad, baby.” He gave her his trademark smirk, lifting his legs to place his feet on her coffee table. “You need to learn to relax, read a comic book every now and then.”

  “I’m not a ten-year-old boy. I’m an Enforcer for the council. Hunting bad guys is my job, and I like to know everything about them so I can kill them before they kill me.” She kicked his legs off the coffee table scattering a few books in the process. “And stop calling me Tabby Cat.”

  He ignored her demand, once again and just smiled.

  “What are you doing here so early anyway? The club doesn’t open for at least another twelve hours.”

  He sat up, his arms falling to his sides, cheerfulness demeanor gone. “I thought about something your friend said last night. It’s been bugging me.”

  “Something Sel said?” Her breath caught in her throat.

  He nodded. “She mentioned the only place she heard of Stryden going was The Basement.”

  A sigh of relief left her. She was afraid Kiernan wanted to talk about Selena’s Psy abilities. A subject Tabitha never wanted to discuss with anybody. She wanted to talk about Selena as little as possible. If she talked about her friend, then she would have to talk about how they met and why they remained friends when Tabitha cut every other person out of her life completely. Talking about herself was something she never did, ever. Too much pain to remember and too many secrets to hide.

  “Don’t you think it’s a little odd we keep hearing about Stryden being connected to this new club?” Kiernan continued on, oblivious to her relief.

  “What are you thinking?”

  Since Kiernan occupied the loveseat, the only place to sit in her living room, she remained standing while she sipped coffee and listened. She refused to sit on that tiny couch with him. Just being across the room from him already had her body heating and her head fuzzy. She really had to do something about these ridiculous thoughts this man provoked in her. If she sat on the couch with him, all those X-rated fantasies in her mind might come true. So she remained standing. Control, all about controlling the urges.

  “I don’t think it’s a coincidence these two things showed up at the same time,” he continued, interrupting her inner struggle with her desires.

  “You think Stryden has something to do with The Basement?”

  He nodded. “I think he owns it.”

  Her jaw went slack. “Owns it? As in owns the club?”

  Kakodaemons usually went insane after the first human soul disintegrated in their body. After the third soul, they were usually stark raving mad. Most couldn’t formulate complete sentences, let alone function enough to run a business.

  “Hear me out,” Kiernan said at her disbelieving look. “The club is new, busy, dark, a perfect Kako hunting ground. It just happens to open when a pack of Kakos target the city. This Stryden guy just came onto the scene, but he already has Kakos following him, something no other Kako has done before. He found a way to get other Kakos to follow him; he must have found a way to function with the madness, open this club, and keep bringing in victims. It’s perfect. He doesn’t have to hunt anymore, they come right to him.”

  “But then why does he need followers? Why share with other Kakos?”

  “Running a business, even a cover business, is hard. He needs people he can confide in, creatures like him to help him cover up the missing and dead.”

  “What is he trying to do, start a Kako mafia?” She finished the coffee and threw the empty cup in the kitchen trash. The delicious brew now churned in her gut.

  “Maybe,” Kiernan said from his seat at the couch. “But he’s definitely starting something, and I think the answers are at that club.”

  “So you want to what? Go to the club and ask if Stryden ‘The Dark One’ owns it and turned the club into a Kako free-for-all?”

  Ice-blue eyes scowled from across the room. He stood and walked over to where she stood in the kitchen. “No. I thought of being a little more discreet.”

  She waved a hand in the air for him to continue.

  “We go to the club, now. Deliveries are usually in the early mornings. We talk to the guy signing for them. Play the interested tourists, ask him about the place—when did it open, who owns it.”

  “And you think he’ll just open his mouth and tell us everything we want to know?”

  He shrugged slightly. “Worth a shot.”

  She doubted it. “And what if he’s a Kako? What if he’s working for Stryden?”

  He shook his head. “They’ll all be sleeping.”

  Of course, they would. Like she wanted to be. Daemons kept nocturnal hours. Working for them for so many years, she’d gotten used to the nighttime shift as well.

  “Lucky them,” she muttered under her breath.

  Kiernan smiled that annoying little smirk. “You ready to go, or do you want to eat breakfast first?”

  “Coffee is all I need. Let’s go.”

  She grabbed a hair tie from the kitchen counter. As a habit, she strategically placed them in various areas around her apartment because she used them so much. She loved her long hair. It made her feel feminine and pretty, but it really got in the way sometimes. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. As she took the hair tie from between her teeth to secure her ponytail, Kiernan’s large hand reached out, covering hers. She stilled. Blood rushed to her face, her entire body tingled from the point of contact.

  “Leave it down.” His voice was deep and rough. His gaze held the same look he had when he first saw her that morning in her underwear, lustful, sexy.

  Not used to doing anything just because someone asked, she surprised herself when she dropped the hair tie. Her other hand fell to her side letting soft dark hair cascade once more around her shoulders. Gaze locked on his, icy blue depths captivating, refusing to let her look elsewhere. He reached out, grasping a lock of hair in his fingers. She stood perfectly still as he rolled the strands between his fingers. Her scalp tingled from the contact, sending shivers down her spine. He took a step closer, head lowering slightly. She knew where this was going. As much as she wanted it, it couldn’t happen. Stepping away, she finally found her voice.

  “We should get going.”

  He paused, his fingers still wrapped in her hair. The lust slowly left his eyes, replaced with humor. “All work and no play makes Tabitha a dull girl.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out of his reach. He opened his fingers as her hair slid out of them. “It’s too early for this crap, Kiernan, and that coffee wasn’t nearly big enough. Let’s go to this club and get it over with, so I can come back home and take a nap.”

  His tempting lips curled into a smile. “After you, Tabby Cat.”

  The nickname almost sounded endearing. She really needed to get out more if Kiernan’s irritation tactics started to sound sweet.

&
nbsp; Chapter 8

  They made it to the club in less than ten minutes. Perks of living in the city. Easy walking distance to everything, a good thing since parking didn’t exist or cost as much as a month’s rent. The Basement was closed, as expected from a nightclub in the daytime. She turned to give Kiernan a triumphant smirk.

  He pointedly ignored her and motioned to the back of the building. “Let’s go around. Maybe they get their deliveries in the back.”

  “And how does this work with your cover story? Tourists usually don’t go around back to check out a club unless they’re casing it. I don’t think we’ll get much information if the guy thinks we’ll come back to rob the place.” Typical Kiernan, never thinking things through. Thank the gods she was here.

  Ice-blue eyes narrowed. Oh, didn’t like that observation did he? Nice to see she could return what she got.

  “Let’s just go take a look.”

  “And what?”

  Broad shoulders shrugged, already taking steps to the back of the building. “Improvise.”

  She shuffled along after him, allowing him to run the show, for now. “I hate improvising.”

  A deep chuckle rumbled out of his chest. Jerk, she wanted to kick his fine tight butt. No. Not fine, not tight, and they had more important things to do at the moment.

  Focus, Tabitha.

  They moved around back to see a short, stocky man exiting a large truck, pushing a handcart full of boxes with liquor labels emblazoned on the sides. Well, crap. On the one hand, they found someone to pump for information. On the other hand, it pissed her off Kiernan was right. Thankfully, he did not gloat about it. Staying hidden behind a large dumpster, he gave her an I-told-you-so smile. So much for not gloating. If only she was a Fire-starter and could incinerate him with her gaze.

  They stayed in position behind the dumpster for several moments. The deliveryman wore his ball cap backwards and had sweat stains on his shirt by the neck and armpits. From his physique alone, he was not a Daemon. Kako or Eua. That made beating the information out of him a non-option. Too bad. They had to find some way to talk to him without appearing crazy or suspicious. An idea popped into her head.