Daemon Uprising

by Mariah Ankenman

  “Would you like for me to wait out here for you?” he asked in a gentle voice.

  Relief filled her. She nodded with a smile. She started to turn to go into the room, then stopped. Lifting onto her toes, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. When she pulled away, her cheeks burned.

  “Thank you, Kiernan.” She turned and walked into the room.

  Pale green. Probably to create a calming effect, but she hated the color. Her sister’s private room at the hospital never changed color in all the years she’d been here. Pale green made her think of being sick rather than being calm. How could her sister get better in a room reminiscent of regurgitation?

  She sighed wearily, the physical and emotional stress of the past week catching up to her. She walked over to the bed where her sister lay motionless. Taking a seat in the chair beside the bed, Tabitha reached out and grasped Krista’s hand. She squeezed, knowing her sister would not squeeze back, wondering if Krista even knew she was there. She had to believe her baby sister knew on some level. Krista was not gone. Tabitha couldn’t deal with that. She had lost her mother when she was a child, lost her father after the incident, and she refused to lose her sister too.

  Reaching out a gentle hand, she softly stroked her sister’s pale blonde hair. They looked almost nothing alike. Passing on the street, no one would peg them as sisters. True, Krista was her half-sister, a product of his father’s second love after Tabitha’s mother left them, but she never saw Krista as anything less than her sister, whole and wonderful.

  Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she gazed at her sister’s blank stare. “Krista? Sweetie, can you hear me?”

  She always asked the same question and always got the same answer, silence.

  “I wish I knew how to help you, honey. I would do anything…” A tear ran down her cheek. Tabitha wiped at it and strengthened her grasp on her sister’s hand. “You’ll never believe who Racine paired me with on my latest assignment. Kiernan.”

  She often told her sister about the things going on in her life. Even though she couldn’t respond, Tabitha knew Krista heard her. Plus there was no one else for her to talk to. She didn’t have any close friends. Just coworker and acquaintances. What a depressing realization.

  “Believe it or not, he’s actually pretty decent.” She looked over her shoulder at the closed door. “I invited him here tonight. Why did I do that?” She asked the question into the air, knowing there could only be one real reason. A sardonic smile curved her lips. “I’m losing it, baby sister. Maybe I should be in here with you.”

  Krista lay motionless on the bed. Unresponsive. Sometimes she tried to reach her sister a little harder. Tonight, she decided, was one of those nights. Grasping Krista’s hand tighter, Tabitha focused on her sister’s face and concentrated. They were alone in the room, so she ran no risk of getting caught. She didn’t try this every visit, it drained her too much to do so every time, but she tried as often as she could. And since Kiernan waited just outside, she could always make him drive.

  Focusing all her energy, Tabitha tried to reach Krista as she had when they were kids. A secret only she and her family knew, a secret that if anyone else knew could get Tabitha killed.

  Using all the strength she had, she reached out and tried to tap into her sister’s mind using telepathy.

  Chapter 18

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  The shout came from across the room. Startled at being caught unaware—which rarely ever happen to her—Tabitha bolted from her chair and swung around. Standing in the doorway was the man who hated her more than anyone on the planet. Her father.

  Stanley Culver was a large man, in many ways. He towered over his daughters at six foot five, and his hulking frame provided evidence of his many years working construction. He now owned his own construction company. A modest-size business, but it did well enough so the Culvers never had to want for anything. Except, perhaps, family bonding.

  Stanley—Stan to everyone who knew him—stormed into the room, stopping right in front of her. His dark brown eyes, eyes many people said he gave to his eldest daughter, burned with anger.

  “I said what the hell are you doing here?” Stan repeated when she didn’t respond.

  “I’m visiting my sister,” she replied, finding her voice. Her father tended to do that to her. Scared her into silence. His voice matched his body in size. When he was upset, the whole neighborhood knew.

  He glared, gaze narrowing. “I told you I didn’t want you coming here.”

  She lifted her chin in defiance. The days of being afraid of this big bullying man ended the moment he threw her out of the house. “And I told you she’s my sister, and I’ll see her if I want.”

  “She’s your half-sister.”

  “Well, I fully don’t care.”

  Stan took a deep breath, obviously trying to gain control. “I don’t want you messing anything up further. Haven’t you done enough?”

  His gaze shifted to Krista and then back to her, incrimination glaring at her from their brown depths. Guilt ate a hole in her stomach. She knew to what he referred. Her powers had been inherited from her mother, not her father. Stan knew his wife and first child were Teles, but he never really knew what that meant.

  Julie—her mother—was only a first level Tele so while she helped Tabitha with her telekinesis, she was no help when it came to anything else. Tabitha was a second level Tele. She had to learn how to harness her powers of telepathy on her own. There had been a few mistakes along the way, one involving erasing her mother’s memory for an entire week. Her mother had not minded, but her father was furious. After that, he deemed no more “hocus pocus” training. Tabitha continued to work on her skills, but she hid it from her father.

  “I know what I’m doing. I’m not going to hurt her.”

  “You already did.”

  The jab went straight to her heart. Her father knew exactly where to strike. He blamed her for the Kako attack. Hell, she blamed herself for it every day. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the tears from falling. She would not give this bastard the satisfaction.

  “Everything okay in here?”

  They turned to see Kiernan filling the doorway. The expression on his face a mixture of concern and anger.

  “Tabitha?”

  “I’m fine. Kiernan, I’d like you to meet Stanley Culver. My father.”

  Kiernan’s eyebrow rose at the introduction. He entered the room, coming to stand beside her, facing Stan. Even though he was an inch or so shorter than her father, Kiernan seemed to tower over the man as he stretched out a hand in greeting.

  “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  She saw her father grimace as Kiernan gripped his hand a little too firmly than required. Judging by the firm set of the Euadaemon’s jaw, he was upset. The way he put a possessive arm around her waist, she realized he was upset for her. Now didn’t that make her stupid heart go pitter-patter?

  “And you are?” her father asked with as much aversion as he could muster, which was a fair bit.

  “Kiernan.”

  “What are you doing here? In my daughter’s room?”

  “Tabitha asked me to come.”

  “And what do you have to do with Tabitha?”

  Did he really care or did he just want to control the situation?

  Kiernan leaned forward getting right in Stan’s face. She swore the old man cowered slightly.

  “I have everything to do with Tabitha. And anyone who hurts her will have to answer to me.” The harsh tone of his voice sent chills down her spine. Right now, he looked every bit the deadly Enforcer. “Anyone.”

  That one word reinforced the statement. He turned to her, his eyes softening. “You want more time with your sister, Tabby Cat?”

  New tears welled in the corner of her eyes at the thoughtfulness of his gesture. What was wrong with her? She never cried. She needed to take a sick day and get her wits back, soon.

  “No. I’m done here,” she sa
id, softly shaking her head. Bending down, she placed a gentle kiss on her sister’s forehead. Straightening, she looked her father in the eyes which resembled her own so much. “For now.”

  Her father tensed. Kiernan tightened his grip on her waist.

  “I’ll bring you back next week.”

  “Thanks.”

  Kiernan gave her father another deadly glare before tugging her to his side and escorting her out the door. They remained silent as they exited the hospital. He took the keys from her and helped her into the passenger seat. She didn’t argue. At the moment, she could barely process her next thought, let alone drive.

  The car started with a gentle purr, and they pulled out of the hospital parking garage onto the street. Several minutes passed before she spoke.

  “Sorry about Stan. He’s kind of a jerk.”

  “I noticed, but I would use a stronger descriptive.”

  She smiled, emotions about her father warring inside like always. “Yeah, but he’s still my dad so I guess I have to be nice.”

  Kiernan grunted. “Why? He doesn’t seem to.”

  She couldn’t argue. Stan was openly hostile whenever he saw her, no matter who witnessed it. It left much to be desired for family get-togethers. Of course, she rarely saw her family anymore. Her mom ran off when she was only seven; her stepmother passed away years ago; her father refused to speak to her, civilly anyway. The only family time she had was the Monday nights she visited her sister.

  “Does your mother treat you that way, too?” Kiernan asked.

  “My mother left when I was seven.” She stared out the window at the darkening sky. “I haven’t seen her since.”

  Kiernan swore under his breath, but she heard it. If anyone understood a crappy childhood, it would be Kiernan.

  “Krista is my half-sister, but I’ve never seen her that way. My father got Janet pregnant about six months after my mom left. She moved in right away, and they got married seven years later.”

  “Why did they wait so long?”

  “They had to wait until my dad could officially declare my mother dead since he was technically still married.”

  Kiernan’s gaze left the road for a moment to settle on her. Yeah, not a fact people liked to hear. Kind of messed up and shitty. Like everything that happened in her family.

  “I’m sorry. When you said she left you, I assumed divorce.”

  She laughed, the sound more deprecating than humorous. “No, I mean she left. In the middle of the night, no goodbye, no note, just one missing suitcase.” And one missing mother.

  “Did your father try to find her?”

  “Oh yeah, he tried.” Sarcasm laced heavily in her voice. “For two whole months, he tried before giving up and finding someone new.”

  The bitterness in her voice could fill an entire orchard of lemons, but she couldn’t keep it out. She was bitter, for so many reasons. Her mother left her, her father hated her, and her sister was lost to her. She threw herself into work because without work what did she have? Nothing. No one.

  Kiernan reached over grasping her hand in his own.

  You have him.

  The little voice in her mind whispered. But she ignored it. She didn’t have Kiernan. She couldn’t have Kiernan. If he ever found out she was a Tele…she didn’t know what would happen, but it wouldn’t be good. Nothing in her life ever ended well when it came to any kind of relationship. Still, the realization didn’t stop her from curling her hand around his and letting his strength seep into her, comfort her, for just one moment.

  A moment was all it could ever be.

  Chapter 19

  As they pulled into the driveway, Tabitha finally broke the silence.

  “I hope Celia and Hyde were able to figure something out.”

  Kiernan grunted his agreement. They needed a break on this situation, by yesterday. He parked the car and climbed out. The sun disappeared behind the towering mountains in the west, end of the day for humans, the beginning for Daemons, especially Kakos. Kiernan was exhausted from being up all day, but he knew they had more work to do that night. Hopefully, Bucky had some of her famous coffee brewing. Bucky’s coffee could wake a Vampire at dawn.

  Tabitha was out and up the front steps before he closed the car door. Back to business. Not that he blamed her. He too was anxious to hear if the Witch had any news for them.

  As soon as they entered the house, he knew something was up. The house was unusually quiet this time of night. Most evenings the kitchen buzzed with people having their first meal of the day, or last if they were lab workers. He debated whether to go to Racine’s office or the basement when Bucky appeared from around the corner.

  “There you two are,” she exclaimed, hurrying forward to meet them. “We’ve been waiting for you to get back. Come on, let’s go.”

  “Where?” he asked as he followed the short, round woman down the hallway.

  Bucky ignored the question, continuing down the hall to Racine’s library. Guess that answered the question of where everyone had gathered.

  When they entered the library, a dozen people were scattered about the room. Celia sat in one of the large chairs across from the desk. Her assistant Cory stood behind her, holding a pile of thin folders in her arms. Hyde stood by the bar pouring a tall drink.

  That couldn’t be a good sign.

  A few Witches and various other lab people gathered near the back shelves discussing something in low whispers. Racine sat in the large chair at his desk. An imposing force even while seated, he commanded the attention of everyone in the room with a simple clearing of his throat.

  “Now that everyone is here, we can begin.”

  People shuffled over to gather closer, set down drinks, and focused on the head of council. Racine waited till everyone settled, then motioned to Celia. The concentration in the room shifted to the Witch as she stood, clutching a large binder in her hands.

  “I translated the Kako language.”

  Every breath held as they waited for Celia to continue.

  “It’s a rough translation. There are aspects we can’t figure out, so a direct translation is still unattainable, but it’s good enough to decipher the gist of what is said.” She placed the black three-ring binder on Racine’s desk and addressed the group’s leader. “It’s a mixture of ancient Greek, Latin, and early Demon languages. Hyde gave me a transcript of some of the Kakos out west.”

  She didn’t mention the phrases Kiernan had given her via his father. Most people at council headquarters skirted the issue of his past out of respect for a fellow Enforcer.

  Racine picked up the binder and thumbed through it while Celia motioned to Cory. The other Witch quickly moved about the room, passing out thin folders to everyone. The folders contained the translation of Hyde’s Kako recording.

  Gibberish, really. A word or two followed by blank space. In some spots, he could figure out what was being said by the few translated words, but in others, it was anyone’s guess. The words Celia translated made his blood run cold.

  Kill…Power of the soul…Rivers of blood…Rule all.

  The transcript read like mad libs for demented psychopaths.

  Kiernan flipped the last page in his folder and noticed an orange slip of paper tucked in the back pocket. Glancing around, he noticed no one else with an extra translation. Most likely the phrase he’d given to Celia. Short, only a few words. Had she been able to translate the whole thing?

  He palmed the paper and shoved it into his pocket without looking. He didn’t want to read it now. Not in a room full of people. He needed to process it in private. Whatever his father spewed while he terrorized Kiernan and his mother could not have been pleasant.

  The note burned a hole in his pocket, but he refused to take it out and read it. He hoped no one noticed when he shoved it into his pocket, but a quick look at Tabitha revealed she had. Damn. Now her curiosity piqued. A curious Tabitha was never a good thing. She gave new meaning to “dog with a bone.”

  He smil
ed as the phrase ran through his head. He had a bone to give her all right, but it probably wasn’t the one she wanted…yet.

  “This is excellent, Celia. Great job.”

  Kiernan brought his head back in the game as the Witch nodded in Racine’s direction, no pride or arrogance on her face. She knew her job and did it well. Celia never needed or wanted praise. He respected that about her.

  “Now that we have this, I think we can go forward with Tabitha’s plan. Tabitha.” Racine motioned for Tabitha to take the floor.

  So she did have a plan. He knew it. She always had a plan. Kind of irked him she didn’t share it with him first, since they were partners on this assignment, but then again she had just let him in on a part of her life few people got to witness. He let the hurt feelings slide off. Standing, Tabitha walked to the front of Racine’s desk and turned to face the group.

  “As you know, Kiernan and I cased Stryden and his group for the past few days. We discovered they operate out of a new club downtown called The Basement. It’s dark, secluded, and the perfect place to pick off humans without anyone seeing. We infiltrated the club the other night but were discovered by two of the Kakos.” She paused, obviously remembering how the situation had gotten out of control. “They’re strong, but not invincible. We managed to distract them and get away. Kiernan clipped them, so they couldn’t follow.”

  A low whistle came from Hyde. No Daemon liked to think of wings getting clipped, even if on a Kako. Kind of like a male being kicked where it counted. Effective, but still painful to think about.

  “Now that they know we’re on to them, they’ll be expecting us. Since we no longer have a chance to use undercover scouting, I suggest we use the element of surprise.” She paused again as everyone in the room leaned forward slightly. “I suggest we attack them when they are least prepared for it, during the day. Based on the plans Kiernan obtained from city hall, there appear to be a number of rooms below the club. I believe they live in these rooms and if we attack during the day, they’ll be weaker.”