Daemon Uprising

by Mariah Ankenman

  Gathering all her mental focus, she stared at the cold cement block. Using the skills she inherited—the skills her mother helped her hone before she left her small vulnerable child in the hands of a man who resented her for what she was—Tabitha concentrated on moving the stone.

  Sweat broke out on her brow, trickling down the side of her face. She pushed harder, focusing on opening the floor. The cement block remained unmoved. No opening appeared. Could she be wrong? No, she was right, she knew it. Tabitha tried harder, using all her strength. The effort would drain her, but the Kakos would be sleeping. It wouldn’t take much strength to take their heads from their bodies.

  She focused harder, bringing all her strength into this one task, using her mind to will the cement to move. Finally, it did. The slab slowly opened. Cement particles pushed to the sides as the block opened downward revealing a small stone stairwell.

  Exhausted, but elated, she allowed herself a small victorious smile. Now she just needed to go down there and take the heads of those Kako bastards. They would never hurt another human being again. Anticipation filled her, renewing her strength as she reached for her sword on the floor.

  But it wasn’t there.

  “Looking for this, sugar?”

  Tabitha whipped around at the familiar southern accent.

  Shit!

  Shanna stood in the doorway of the storage room, Tabitha’s sword in her hand. “Nice weapon, but tell me something, honey, why do you need a weapon when you can just use your mind…Tele?”

  Double shit!

  “Now!”

  Shanna shouted the command to someone behind her, but before Tabitha could turn to look, she felt a sharp prick in her neck. The next thing she saw was Shanna’s smiling face above her, and then…darkness.

  ****

  As soon as he found her, Kiernan would make sure Tabitha was unharmed. Then he planned to beat the tar out of her. What the hell had she been thinking leaving on her own like that? And if she was where he thought she had gone, he would really let her have it.

  He had quietly snuck himself and Hyde out of council headquarters, explaining the situation to his fellow Enforcer on their way out. He decided against alerting Racine until he knew where Tabitha had gone. No sense in upsetting the ole boss man—known to have quite the temper from time to time—unless she really was stupid enough to do what he thought she was doing.

  Usually, he did the stupid stuff. It felt weird being the responsible one. He wasn’t sure he liked it.

  Kiernan and Hyde flew through the overcast, midday sky, keeping to the cloud cover as they headed for the city. Headed for The Basement. No doubt that’s where Tabitha snuck off to. He prayed to be wrong, but after that unusual display of back talk in Racine’s office—which by-the-books Tabitha never did—he was worried she’d taken matters into her own hands. Maybe he was a bad influence on her.

  Hazy dark clouds filled the sky as they flew toward their destination. Noises of the city filtered up to them as they drew closer. Sirens, traffic, music. The city was alive with the sounds of humanity. The sun tried valiantly to shine behind the cloud cover. Too early for Daemons to be out and about. Kiernan hoped Stryden and his gang were in true Daemon fashion and still asleep. Stupid Tabitha! He wanted to strangle her. As soon as he made sure she was safe.

  Thanks to the cloud cover, they made it to The Basement without being seen. Another reason they tended to stay indoors until nightfall. Shadows in the night sky could be explained away, large men with wings flying through the sky, not so much.

  They dropped to the roof of The Basement and then, after making sure they were not noticed, shimmied down the fire escape to the ground below. The back of the club was silent as the grave. Not even Hal, the day stocker, in sight. Of course, he might be inside. It didn’t look like Stryden had added any more security since Tabitha and Kiernan’s surprise visit the other night. One could never be too careful, however, when dealing with a Kako, especially one who retained his sanity.

  Silently, Kiernan crept up to the back door, motioning for Hyde to check out the window. After a nod indicating “all clear” from Hyde, Kiernan slowly turned the knob, locked. A quick flick of his wrist and Daemon super strength took care of that. The door opened easily, and they made their way into the club.

  Only the sunlight streaming in through the small window lit the club. As their eyes adjusted, he noticed a light emanating from the hallway. He motioned for Hyde to follow. Slowly, they made their way down the hallway to the door illuminated by the light. Kiernan pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing. Ready for anything, he gently eased the door open and stepped into the room.

  An empty storage room. That was strange. He remembered the room from the plans he and Tabitha studied. She suspected this was where Stryden and the other Kakos bedded down for the day. But no Kakos occupied this room, nothing occupied this room. Why an empty room? Wouldn’t it look suspicious to any human employees? Hell, it looked suspicious to Kiernan.

  A quick jab from Hyde’s elbow brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to the Euadaemon. Hyde subtly jerked his head to the left. Kiernan turned but saw nothing. A sound of impatience escaped the other man’s lips. He rolled his eyes and pointed down. Kiernan’s gaze followed the direction and fell upon the source of the soft light.

  He didn’t know why he didn’t see it when he first came in. Maybe in addition to being a bad influence, he had lost his touch. There in the floor, a small crack in the stone. Not really a crack, but a slightly open trap door.

  The two Enforcers made their way over to the light escaping the slit in the floor and hunkered down to get a better look. A set of stairs appeared just behind the door, or whatever the thing was. The only question was how to open it without alerting the occupants below because clearly they had found the Kakos’ hiding spot. He hoped Tabitha hadn’t. His hopes were in vain as his blood turned cold from the ear-piercing scream shattering the silent air.

  Tabitha!

  Chapter 22

  Tabitha tried in vain to suppress her screams as Shanna dragged the sword across her skin once again. The Kako had knocked her out with something. Felt like a freaking baseball bat. When she woke up, she couldn’t see. A blindfold covered her eyes, but by the musty smell, she knew Shanna had taken her down to wherever the trap door led.

  Smart move blindfolding her, a Tele with telekinesis needed vision in order to move things. Tabitha assumed that as the reason for the blindfold and not because the Kakos wanted to keep this place a secret. She didn’t harbor any illusions they ever planned to let her leave.

  The sword sliced her flesh once more. Her sword. The bitch used Tabitha’s own sword on her. It hurt like hell. A sharpening stone was built inside the hilt. Every time the blade detracted, it sharpened. Great for slicing off Kako heads, also for torturing someone. At least she could tell Celia her device worked as well as designed. If she got out of here alive.

  “Damn, somebody shut that bitch up,” came a voice from the far right, which she identified as Brone. “Why can’t we just kill her?”

  The slicing stopped. She sucked in a deep pain-filled breath, her body shaking as Shanna addressed her fellow Kakos. “Because, you moron, like I told you before, we have to wait for The Dark One. She’s not only an Enforcer, but also a Tele. If we kill her without harvesting her heart, her powers are useless to us.”

  “So let’s harvest the damn thing,” Brone replied, though it sounded more like a whine.

  “We can’t. The power dies with the last heartbeat, imbecile. If you don’t eat it right away, the power is lost. Do you want to be the one to explain to The Dark One why we ate the heart of a Tele without him?”

  General snuffling sounded from Brone followed by a derisive snort from Shanna.

  “Well, at least shut her up. It’s getting on my nerves.”

  Pardon me if my agonizing pain bothers you, Tabitha thought glumly.

  The next moment, a sticky piece of tape sealed her mouth. She
had given up struggling some time ago. Her hands had been bound with a thick rope and hoisted above her head on some kind of hook, she guessed. Her feet strapped together and chained tightly to the floor. Her mobility little more than a hooked fish, a little wiggle was all she managed before fated to die.

  If only Shanna had not discovered she was a Tele, she could have used her power against the Kakos. Although, if not for her power, Shanna might have killed her sooner. At least now she had some time while Alec fetched Stryden—wherever he was—to plan an escape.

  So far the escape plan hadn’t taken shape.

  “After we’re finished with you, we’re going to find your partner and pay him back by slicing his fucking wings off,” Shanna growled in her ear.

  Kiernan.

  Why hadn’t she told him where she was going? He probably would have gone with her. Then maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess.

  Thinking of Kiernan, how comforting he had been with her at the hospital, how helpful he had been over the past few days, how…damn infuriatingly tempting. Even with the tape secure on her mouth, she swore she still felt his strong hard lips against her own. He was right about there being something between them. Something for longer than she wanted to admit, probably the reason he annoyed her so much. Now that she was on the verge of her life ending, regret sank in.

  What if she had let Kiernan in? Would they have lasted? They would have had a hot time no matter what. Of that, she was sure. She wondered if she would ever have felt secure enough to tell Kiernan about her true self, her powers. Would he have protected her? Of course, he would have. Kiernan always protected her. He would never let any harm come to her. Too bad he wasn’t here to protect her now.

  She gave herself a mental shake. Never needed anyone to protect her before. No reason to start now. Somehow, someway she would find a way to get out of this. And when she did, she’d enjoy taking Shanna’s pretty little Kako head clean off.

  The sound of stone sliding against stone hit Tabitha’s ears.

  “They’re here,” Shanna said, cheer filling her voice.

  “About time,” Brone said in complaint with an exasperated sigh. “Can we kill her now?”

  “Well, we’re certainly going to kill someone.”

  Tabitha knew that voice. Even with a blindfold covering her eyes no mistaking the deep, sexy growl. Kiernan had arrived, and he sounded very pissed off. Relief welled deep inside her. The Kakos were in deep shit now.

  “Oh goody, the Enforcer’s back,” Shanna sneered. “And look he brought a friend.”

  A friend? She wondered who came with Kiernan. Please not Racine. It would help to have her boss here—he was the most powerful Daemon she had ever met—but he would have her ass for this once he found out. She preferred to recoup before she fell out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  “Let her go,” Kiernan growled.

  The darkness in his voice sent chills down her spine. These Kakos didn’t stand a chance

  “I’m gonna go with no, sugar. But I’d love to see you try to come and get her.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  All Tabitha heard was the sound of grunts and metal clanging. She had no idea who had the upper hand in the battle. She cursed the blindfold keeping her in the dark, literally and figuratively. Then came a sound like crates falling on top of someone. She hoped the stack had fallen on Shanna’s stupid head.

  “Brone, quickly, go warn The Dark One.”

  The sound of footsteps pounding up the stone stairs was followed by someone struggling in the fallen crates.

  “Hyde?” Kiernan’s voice called out in the darkness.

  So he brought Hyde with him. Good choice.

  “I’m fine,” Hyde replied before the sounds of his footsteps followed Brone’s.

  That left Kiernan, Shanna, and herself in the dank room. Not that she would be much help, all tied up. Her ears strained to listen in the dank underground room. Heavy labored breathing and scuffling feet.

  “Give it up, Shanna,” Kiernan’s dark tone warned. “The council knows where you are hiding. This place will be surrounded by Enforcers in a matter of hours.”

  Shanna scoffed. “What Enforcers? The ones all tied up out west?”

  So they were right thinking the massive rising in Kakos was connected. Things just went from bad to total shit storm.

  “Give it up, Euadaemon. You can’t fight our power any longer. We are stronger, smarter, and superior to you in every way.”

  “Maybe, but I’m still prettier.”

  Leave it to Kiernan to joke at a time like this. The man couldn’t resist being a smartass.

  “The Dark One will destroy you all, and then we will take our rightful place in this world.”

  “Let me guess, ruling the world?” Kiernan’s voice laced with dark humor. “Oh come on, at least try to be a little original. Everybody wants to rule the world. Didn’t you ever listen to music in the eighties?”

  Shanna let out a screech, and the sound of metal on metal rang out again, accompanied by a fair amount of swearing this time. Shanna shouted curses at Kiernan, plotting his and every other Euadaemon’s downfall. At one point, Tabitha heard Kiernan groan. A low chuckle came from Shanna.

  “You don’t stand a chance against us. With the power of a Drone, we are invincible.”

  Shanna let out a blood-curdling screech. The Kako went in for the kill. Even blindfolded, Tabitha knew that. Frustrated by her helplessness, she did the only thing she could think of. With her eyes still covered, she couldn’t move objects, but Shanna still wielded her sword. A sword Tabitha knew well, one she held and worked with for countless years. Not knowing exactly what she was doing, but determined to do something to help Kiernan, Tabitha focused all her energy in her mind. She concentrated on an image of her sword, an image of it retracting back into the hilt. She concentrated so hard she thought her head would explode. So focused, she almost didn’t hear the sound of metal chinking.

  “What the—”

  Shanna’s last words were cut off by the sound of a sword slicing through flesh and bone. Then silence reigned, followed by Kiernan’s softly muttered words.

  “Nothing is invincible.”

  In the next second, Tabitha felt a presence beside her and the blindfold fell away. She blinked to focus. A chiseled, handsome face filled her field of vision. Fear, concern, relief, and more than a bit of anger passed through those ice-blue eyes. Kiernan’s fury at her for the stunt she just pulled radiated off him, but she was just so glad to see him right now. There’d be time to deal with everything else later.

  Words of gratitude poured out, but the muffled noises coming from her reminded her she still had tape covering her mouth. Kiernan grabbed the edge of the tape. She winced in anticipation of the pain.

  Once when they were children, Krista and she had played kidnappers. Krista tied Tabitha to a chair and covered her mouth with tape. When they finished their game, Krista ripped the tape off—along with a few good chunks of her hair—her mouth had been red and sore for three days.

  “Shhhhhh.” Kiernan leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her brow. His cheek rubbed hers as his hot breath whispered in her ear. “I’ll try not to let it hurt too much, Tabby Cat. And I promise to make it feel all better after.”

  His lips trailed down her throat and latched onto the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder, sufficiently distracting her, as he gently peeled off the tape. She didn’t even have a moment to breathe as his lips replaced the tape, kissing, soothing, healing. He placed gentle kisses around her lips where the tape’s adhesive had pulled the skin. His warm breath healed and stimulated as he went. Finally, he pulled back.

  Bending over, he grasped the chains attached to her feet. Clutching the lock in his palm, he made a tight fist. The lock broke under his strong grip, and he released her from the chains. Next, he reached up to free her arms. She was, in fact, tied on a hook. Kiernan tore the rope, and her arms fell to her sides, numb and tingling as the feelin
g rushed back.

  “Tabitha, what in the hell—” he said, but she held a still tingling hand up to silence him.

  “I know. I’m an idiot. Yell at me later, Kiernan.” Because ten minutes ago she was sure to die or maybe she was still hyped up on adrenaline, she didn’t know which, but she threw her arms around Kiernan and sobbed like a baby.

  ****

  Kiernan wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. Tabitha rarely showed any emotion, except for annoyance, so he knew she had to be pretty shaken up. Hell, he was shaken up. From the moment he heard her scream, he felt as though his heart would pound right out of his chest. Not caring if he alerted anyone, he had stormed down those stone steps with Hyde hot on his heels. His only concern reaching her, making sure she was all right. She had just started to admit there was something between them, damned if he would lose her now.

  As Tabitha cried, he rubbed her back in a soothing gesture. Whispering comforting words in her ear. Almost a shame he had to kill Shanna so quickly. He wished he could have made the Kako suffer a little more for what she had done to Tabitha and the dozens of innocent humans she had most likely killed.

  The sound of footsteps descending the steps made his body tense. He turned his head to see Hyde at the entrance of the underground room. Alone.

  “Did you get him?”

  Hyde shook his head. “No. Bastard took to the skies, and I lost him in the clouds.”

  Not good.

  “Go give a full report to Racine.”

  Hyde nodded, his gaze moving to Tabitha still clinging to him. “What about her? Racine will want talk to her.”

  He meant rip her a new one for the stunt she pulled, but Hyde had the decency not to say it at the moment. Protectively, Kiernan’s arms tightened around Tabitha.

  “I’ll bring her in later. She needs a few hours to…decompress.” And if Racine had a problem with that, Kiernan would give him a piece of his mind, boss or no boss.

  Hyde nodded again. Kiernan thought he detected a bit of sympathy in the Daemon’s eyes but dismissed it. If there were anyone devoid of emotions altogether, it was Hyde. The Euadaemon was older than Kiernan by a century or two. Over all the years he had known Hyde, Kiernan never saw the Enforcer show anything more than a small smile or frown to indicate any mood. The Daemon was good at his job, pleasant to be around; Hyde just didn’t get emotionally involved with anyone. A bit strange, but at the moment Kiernan’s mind was on other things. Like the crying, bleeding woman in his arms.