PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “He’s the best option we have with his,” Adrian paused, “ability.”

  “They still make you uncomfortable.”

  “They are unnatural.”

  I bit my tongue. He barely tolerated the fact of his brothers’ emissary status and was still in denial of being one himself. “They’re both still your brothers.”

  “Are they?”

  “You really need to reconnect with them.”

  “What would you know?”

  “I know someone blessed enough to have a family shouldn’t squander it.”

  He stopped at the car and stared up at the moon. “Too many years have gone by. I doubt it will ever be the same.”

  “How did you end up in prison?” I asked.

  “You don’t know. I thought you’d know everything about us.”

  I bit my lip. “I seem like a stalker?”

  “Suspicious. No one ever spoke of you.”

  “Like I’m the dirty little secret.” I chuckled. “Well, your grandmother hated me. I’m not surprised she buried my name.”

  “You have competition now.” He offered a bemused smile. The first bit of emotion I had seen in a while. “Arms dealing.”

  I tried to imagine Adrian selling guns to street thugs. The images didn’t match. “Really?”

  “I made the weapons.”

  “Is that what you have shut yourself up in the garage doing?”

  “Holy water grenades, actually,” he said. “You and I need to deal with these demons soon. I don’t want Esais staying longer than a few days.”

  “What about Tres?”

  “Tres isn’t sure what he wants. He jumps from one extreme to another.”

  “I’ll get to work on tracking down the hellhound. It seems to be guarding the asylum. I think it spends most of the time in the forest between that and the carnival.”

  “That’s a lot of ground to cover.”

  “It should leave trace energies I’ll be able to see.”

  We rode in silence as he came to terms with what needed to be done.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Tres slammed the trunk of the car as I stepped out of the house. He ran a hand through his hair, mumbling to himself.

  “Esais is all packed?” I asked.

  “Ready to go to the funny farm.” Raw emotions rumbled beneath the control of his voice.

  “You two seem close. Closer than Adrian,” I said.

  “Yeah, after our parents died, Adam went off to hunt their killer and Adrian was in America for school. Esais raised me.”

  I didn’t say anything, just let him continue.

  “Of course, Adrian ended up in prison for arms dealing, and well Adam . . . ” He took a deep breath. “Adam is the reason why we’re here.”

  “We won’t lose Esais, like Adam,” I told him.

  He turned to me with his lip quivering. His gaze bored into mine. “Can you promise me that?”

  My heart raced for a moment. I remembered making a promise to protect the Van Helsing line to the best of my ability when Dimitri died. This proved difficult since Dracula had cursed the bloodline. I tried protecting Dimitri’s son Alexander, but I found no way to break the curse, and he’d died at the hand of the vampire his grandfather defeated. After his death, I’d been told by his widow to stay out of her son Andrei’s life. She blamed me for her husband’s death, which I could understand. They’d only been married for two years. So I stayed away, though in my heart I felt I’d betrayed my promise. In the end, Andrei and his oldest son Adam died not to the curse but to demons. Something I could have helped with. I wouldn’t fail again.

  I stood up and took his hands in mine, rubbing my thumbs across his knuckles. “I promise to try my damndest to make sure all of you leave this town sound of mind and body.”

  He laid his forehead on my shoulder and trembled. We stood in that position for some time. If this was the comfort he wanted, then I would give it to him. I couldn’t see Adrian as the type to give comfort to another. Poor child. He was born into a family that couldn’t allow for a normal life. For now, a promise to save his brother and a shoulder to lean on would have to be enough. He pulled away and straightened his shoulders with a deep breath.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  Esais and Adrian stepped out of the house. I stepped away from Tres and walked around to the passenger side. Esais walked to his youngest brother and squeezed his shoulder.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said.

  I twisted the hem of my shirt in my hands. The jet necklace remained intact despite the tiny cracks. So far Esais’s mental fortitude had held up. We had to trust it would continue. The radio filled in for the words we didn’t have during the drive. We passed streets, nearly empty after the morning work rush. The carnival was closed, resting in preparation for the final weekend. The forest separated the carnival and the asylum. It was the perfect place for the hellhound to roam.

  The yellow funnel had shrunk over the carnival but the one over the asylum had grown. In the light, the building still looked like something from a gothic novel, but maybe I was biased. A new coat of paint had been applied to the bricks. Artful bushes lined the well-manicured lawn along the driveway. We passed an unmanned guard station and traveled up the driveway to visitor parking. One of the nurses at the greeting station took us on a tour of the facility, at least for the first and second floor.

  “The third floor is for our more critical patients,” she said.

  “That’s where Charlotte said the experiments are,” I thought to Esais.

  He nodded his head to the door marked “fire escape” as the nurse led us outside. He already had a plan forming. Several patients were enjoying the morning sun with orderlies watching over them. I paused as we passed the fat man Marge had argued with at the fair. He sat on the bench, rocking back and forth and staring at nothing. His daughter clutched the hand of a tired looking woman a few feet away. The little girl’s lip trembled as she stared at her father. The yellow on the man’s aura blocked out other colors. I winced and moved on.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I waved the rest forward and stopped near the place we fought the hellhound. Its trail had faded to almost nothing. What little I could pick up led to the woods.

  “Ciao,” I answered.

  “You love me,” John said. “I have your stuff.”

  “Good. Meet me outside the asylum in half an hour.”

  Tres opened the car for me so I could get my backpack carrying my sundang as well as a few other items. I walked down to the gate to wait for John. It didn’t take long. He handed me a large paper sack as I slid into the car. I sorted through the items before putting them in my bag. The only thing I needed today was the small canister of silvered salve to put on my sword.

  “You look worried,” John said.

  “Esais is checking into the asylum.”

  “And?”

  I frowned, staring out the window as we passed the yard. “He might be caught by Ose.”

  “He’s a hunter, part of the great lineage. He can take care of himself.”

  “But . . . ”

  “I wish you’d show this much concern for me.” He kept his eyes on the road and his voice neutral.

  “You don’t put yourself in danger like that.”

  “You barely know them and you moved into their house.”

  “I didn’t have a place to stay.”

  “You could have stayed with me.”

  “Stop the car.”

  He pulled to the side and killed the engine. We were back to the point I’d been trying to avoid since he came to town. Before Hampton I could laugh these comments off, but something about the Van Helsings caused him to push our relationship beyond the friendship wall.

  “I don’t want to have sex with you,” I said.

  “Liar.”

  “It will lead to something more. I can’t deal with another Dimitri.”

  “But you’re willing to risk that with his family.”

  I t
hrew my hands up in the air. “Where are you getting that?”

  “I can see the signs. You’ve only known them for a few days, but you’re worried.”

  “They’re his family.”

  “But not yours. Don’t expect Christmas cards.”

  I nudged him with my elbow. “You don’t send me Christmas cards.”

  He laughed. “That’s because you don’t have a permanent address.”

  I opened the door. “Thanks for the order.”

  “I’ll let you know when I get any information on the drug.”

  He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. His lips brushed against mine. I pressed my thighs together as heat spread from them to my entire body. My legs trembled, and I was grateful I was sitting down. His tongue trailed across my cheek to my jawline and down my neck. What was one night? No, it would never be enough for John. I pushed him away.

  “Liar,” he said.

  I gripped the handle of the car door, not looking at him. “Just because I want you, doesn’t mean I will go through with it.”

  I headed into the woods. I hoped I would be fortunate enough to find a hellhound. I needed to relieve some stress.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  I drained the bottle of water and crushed the bottle, savoring the crinkling plastic sound it made. The last rays of sun turned the sky a pinkish orange. I swatted the mosquito buzzing around my face. Sweat ran down my chest, soaking my tank top even further. The hellhound had been all through these trees. Fading trails crisscrossed newer ones. I had to come to terms with the fact I was lost. Now I had to trudge back and face Adrian. He’d probably take his bad day with committing his brother out on me.

  “Don’t worry about that. Marge has found her demon,” Esais said.

  “Has she? Good for her. Shouldn’t you be settling in?”

  “No reason I can’t do both at the same time. I’m going to give you a hand with this?”

  “Where is she?” I asked.

  “About half a mile from you. I’m sending Adrian and Tres as well. They need the experience.”

  “How are things since you told Adrian?”

  His thoughts filled my head with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “This does not seem like the time.”

  “When is it ever?” I asked. “I doubt we’re going to get another chance for coffee anytime soon. We need to take what we can get.”

  He laughed. “It’s strained, but that’s normal. Actually, I feel relieved. I’ve been hoarding that load for about ten years.”

  “That was around the time your parents . . . ”

  “When they died, yes,” he said.

  He blocked any images, but I could still feel the sadness that permeated his mind. Losing someone always left a void in you. I wanted to tell him the pain faded with time, but it would be a lie.

  “And it would be demeaning to lie to a telepath while he is mentally connected to you,” Esais added.

  “I’m hoping finding the bastard that killed them will help.”

  Esais guided me to Marge. She and the brothers were already among the trees at the edge of a clearing. A one-story cabin stood in the middle. Rounded wooden logs made up the outside and the roof. Steps led up to a porch where three rocking chairs sat in front of a window. A row of motorcycles was parked in front on the gravel driveway that disappeared into the woods.

  “Glad you could join us,” Tres said.

  “What do we have?” I asked.

  “The demon and his friends decided to squat in the cabin.” Marge nodded to the wooden house in front of us.

  “Do you have a plan?”

  Marge lit a match. In the flare of the light, her grin split across her face and she resembled the demons she preyed upon. “We lock them in and burn it down.”

  “That could spread across the forest. And people may come. Then your demon won’t be killed.”

  “I don’t expect him to get killed.”

  “What about the humans with him?” Esais’s voice reverberated through our minds.

  She sneered. “They chose to follow the demons.”

  “I’m sensing frightened minds in there. Did you check to see if they had hostages?”

  I waited for Marge to answer. Her open mouth skewed, the upper lip moved to the left while the lower went right. She threw her hands up in defeat.

  “No,” she said.

  “Then we’re not burning the place down until we can get the bystanders out.” Esais’s words drifted.

  “Can you see them?” I asked.

  “There’s a family of three, mother, father, daughter. They’re unconscious.”

  We looked at each other, silently drawing lots to see who would go. Soon I found all gazes turned in my direction. I had won. Damn, ganging up on me. I think I liked it better when they weren’t united, at least against me. But, they had a point. Out of the four of us, I would be best suited to get a closer look. I had my vision, while the others didn’t really have anything to detect demons. We needed to work on that when danger wasn’t so imminent.

  “Fine,” I said, trying to sound more annoyed than I was. “I’ll make a sweep of the place. Stay out of sight if anyone comes out.”

  The gravel crunched beneath me as I moved in a half crouch to the building. As I drew closer, the base from the music pounded in the ground below, sending little shivers up my legs. I pressed against the wall just below the window closest to the door. A cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air; permeated with the stench of booze. I slid up and peeked in, gazing with my second sight at those inside.

  A sea of leather and ugly cracked faces filled the living room. They sat on the couches, laughing as they slurped down liquor from their bottles. Tattoo sat at a table with three others playing a card game. This was ridiculous. They’d come all this way to play cards.

  Slow, quiet steps took me around the side. I paused to glance around the back, to ensure no one waited outside. All clear. I moved to a window near the back door and peeked through the crack in the curtain. A full-sized bed sat in the gloom. Shadowed figures stood together in the middle of the room. They were all tall, with their arms stretched above them. Wait, they weren’t standing, they were hanging from the ceiling.

  “I think I found them. Three, right?” I asked.

  “Correct. How do you plan to get them out?”

  “Working on it.” I snuck back around the house to the others.

  “So, can we burn the damn thing down?” Marge asked.

  I shook my head. “Esais is right.”

  Her shoulders slumped, and the perpetual scowl deepened. She crossed her arms in a huff. This woman only seemed to be pleased when she was hurting someone. Her home life must have been twisted.

  “Don’t look so sad, you’ll still have your chance to fight,” I told her. “We need a distraction to get most of the bikers out of the house. Then we can sneak the people out the back.”

  “Okay, and how do we go about doing this?” Tres asked in a doubtful voice.

  “What have we got?” I asked.

  “Kicks. But this would still be easier if we burned the house down,” Marge said.

  “Besides Marge. I know what she can do.”

  Tres held his right hand out. “I can hurt like I heal.”

  Adrian shifted his eyes to his brother with a frown. I shook my head at him, and the ice mask slipped over his face. I let out a breath of relief. We didn’t need an argument now.

  “I have developed a grenade that disperses holy water,” Adrian said.

  “How does that work?” I asked.

  “The water is converted into mist.”

  “There’s only one demon. Do you have anything else?”

  I laid out the plan I’d been forming. Adrian rose from his sulk and helped tweak the plan so it became workable. Despite his attitude, the man was a genius. I could fight and argue with him all I wanted, but I couldn’t deny his logic.

  I said, “Let’s be quick and quiet.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY />
  “We in position?” I asked through our link with Esais.

  Time to begin the show. I covered my ears and counted to ten, waiting for Adrian to make the first move. With a roar, a fiery ball consumed the first bike, turning the black sky orange. Tongues of flame devoured the next cycle with mere licks. Its hot breath blew against my face, fluttering my hair even from this distance.

  It took less than a minute before five bikers busted out of the house. They ran toward the blazing wreckage in alarm. Tres pulled the pin on the gas canister Adrian had given him. He threw it in the window, shattering the glass. There were shouts and three more piled out the door. Tattoo pushed through them. He held his face in his hands which were red and covered in blisters and still sizzling.

  Marge charged out from behind a tree and ducked behind the motorcycles as the bikers opened fire on her. Adrian returned fire from his hiding spot in the trees. He'd positioned himself at an angle to the house so he would have a clear shot at anyone coming out. Tattoo removed his hands from his face, which was red as a lobster.

  Marge moved straight for him, cracking her knuckles with a grin. Three of the bikers impeded her, so she played with them first. She was beautiful in motion. She spun out of the first two attackers’ reach and let her leg fly up to kick the third back.

  The bikers were well distracted. Time for me to get the people out. I hurried to the back and busted the lock on the door with a kick. I slipped through the hall and into the bedroom, flipping the light switch. The three hung from ropes attached to the beams of the ceiling.

  I pulled my knife out and cut the girl down first. I caught her before she fell to the floor. She groaned and stiffened at my touch. Her T-shirt was ripped at the collar and her shorts so shredded they looked more like a loin cloth. I gritted my teeth at the bruises covering her arms and legs. Part of me wanted to run outside and make those men feel what they had done to this girl. I counted to ten, taking a deep breath. I needed to get these people out first. Then, I’d take out their pain in the bikers’ flesh. I removed the man’s gag. He was thick with muscle, not fat. His nose hung at an odd angle with blood dripping from it. His left eye was swollen and purple, barely opening when I touched his shoulder. He blinked several times, trying to focus on me.