by R. L. Naquin
Kam touched my sleeve. “Hey. Shouldn’t you be over there?” She jerked her chin toward the porch.
“If I’m not safe while Talia is here, I’m doomed,” I said. I squinted in the direction of the end of the driveway and frowned. “Is somebody down there?” Without thinking, I charged past everyone, churning up gravel in my wake. From the end of driveway, I saw her.
Pansy stood on the neighbor’s roof across the street, motionless.
Someone needed to give her a lesson in architecture. While she might have blended well enough on a French provincial design, the neighbor’s house was a two-story fisherman’s cottage with driftwood repurposed to create the porch. She stuck out like—well—like a gargoyle on the roof of a fisherman’s cottage.
“Hey,” I shouted across the street. “I thought Maurice told you to get your gravelly ass out of here.”
Her body remained motionless, but her lips quivered then pulled into a sly smile. Reaching out with my empath powers, I connected with her. Her smugness puffed around her in filthy clouds, and her glee sprayed in citrusy spurts.
Bitch. You want to play? Let’s see how sassy you are with an angry mothman tossing your ass off the roof.
As I turned to go, the mail truck came around the bend in the street and stopped right in front of me. I shifted from foot to foot, a fake smile pasted across my face. My gaze flicked to the roof across the street to the grinning gargoyle, then back to the mailman as he leaned from his truck to hand me the bills and flyers.
“Hey, thanks, Rick.” I took the mail, feeling my facial muscles objecting to the extreme pressure I was putting them under.
He gave me an uneasy smile in return, as if my nerves were freaking him out a little. “Haven’t seen you around in awhile. You okay, Zoey?”
“Sure. Sure. Just been really busy lately.” It took everything in my power to maintain eye contact with him. I detected movement behind him and was sure Pansy was flapping her arms to get his attention just to mess with me.
Somehow sensing my aversion to looking at the house across the street, Rick turned his head to look. “Something going on at the Millers?”
In desperation, I twitched my arm and sent my mail flying into the air. “Oh, no!” I dropped to my knees, cringing at the tiny rock indentations pressing into my skin. “I’m such an idiot.”
Rick came to my aid, jumping out of his truck and gathering the junk mail scattered on the ground.
Once he got the clumsy girl situated, Rick climbed back in his truck.
“Thanks a lot, Rick. Have a great day!” My face hurt from grinning. He had to think I was a complete moron.
“Back at ya!” He waved and drove off to the next house. I watched as he made his delivery into their mailbox, then moved on down the street far enough away that he couldn’t see me anymore.
Poor guy probably thinks I’ve got a crush on him, now. Awesome.
To be fair, I could do a lot worse—if, of course, I hadn’t been nursing a broken heart. The guy was charming as hell, always helpful and had a steady job. He’d taken over about a year ago when old Stan retired. Stan had not been charming as hell. In fact, I made him brownies for Christmas once and he yelled at me for being inconsiderate because he was diabetic. The old bastard always left my boxes in the bushes where I’d get all scratched up when I retrieved them.
Rick always brought my boxes to the door.
So far, he hadn’t seen any of the shenanigans going on at my house in the past year, but it was only a matter of time before he walked into something I couldn’t explain away or distract him from.
I glared at Pansy, who still sat atop the neighbor’s house, flapping her arms and being obnoxious.
I turned on my heel and marched toward the house. Darius might not be around, but Maurice would love to know what that bitch was up to now.
I made it two steps before a snarling, snapping something rushed out of the bushes behind me. When I whirled around, all I saw was a blur as something bigger darted after it, then tackled the first figure across the path and into the bushes on the opposite side.
The bushes churned, and terrifying grunts and muffled words drifted out. Shouts rang out from the top of the driveway, and Riley appeared at my elbow, pulling me toward the house.
“Wait,” I said, “what was that?”
Kam dove into the shrubbery, her voice joining with the other two. Riley didn’t release me until he’d tugged me over the line into the safety of the fairy ring.
Kam popped out first, twigs caught in her hair and her bobby socks. Right behind her, Darius emerged, unfolding his tall frame and revealing a tight grip on a man-sized, hairy creature that nipped and struggled to break loose. Darius held the creature’s arms behind its back in a position that looked painful. He half walked, half dragged it toward us, while Kam followed as backup.
The closer they drew to me, the more agitated the creature became. Its eyes rolled, and foamy spittle flew from its mouth. Darius’s brow drew into a scowl as he shoved his prey to stand in front of Talia.
“This belong to you?” he asked, shaking the shaggy, manlike creature.
Talia blinked all fourteen of her eyes. “This isn’t right,” she said in a murmur. She placed a taloned hand across the thing’s forehead, as if checking the temperature of a sick child. “He’s cool to the touch. He should be hot.”
The creature calmed beneath her hand. His panting slowed, and he closed his eyes. I took a step and his eyes flew open. He snarled and struggled to lunge in my direction.
I stepped back, and he calmed. Experimenting, I took a step forward, then back, getting the same frenzied results from the creature. “It’s me. He’s trying to get to me.”
The front door opened behind me, and Mom’s voice interrupted. “Zoey, how many people should we expect for dinner?”
Again, the creature’s eyes flew open, and he fought Darius’s.
“Go back inside, Clara,” Darius said in a quiet, cool voice.
It was probably best that he was the one who said it. If I’d told her to go back in the house, she’d have argued. But Darius told her to go in, so it must be dangerous for her to stay there. Without a word, she retreated and closed the door.
Darius glanced at me and shrugged. He didn’t bother telling me to go in the house.
We understood each other, Darius and I.
As long as he worked with me and didn’t try to manage me, we’d be fine.
“So what exactly is an aswang?” I peered at the creature’s matted hair and hunched shoulders, trying to find clues to what the creature was. In a lot of ways, he looked very much like the old-school description of a werewolf. He stood nearly straight on two legs and had pointed ears and hair covering nearly every inch of him. But his face was humanlike, despite the way it was drawn into a snarl. He snapped his sharp teeth in my direction every time I moved or spoke.
Talia stroked the side of the aswang’s face, comforting him. “They’re a strange breed that dances the lines between demon, vampire and werewolf. Many aswang families settled in the demon world when given the choice all those years ago, back when the Covenant was created. Others chose the lands they thought they’d be most comfortable with. The ones who settled in the demon world became more demonic and wild, while those in the vampire world thirsted for blood, and the aswangs living with the were-folk became linked to the cycles of the moon.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So, aswangs exist in all of the other worlds?”
At the sound of my voice, the creature tensed, but Talia’s calming hand continued to keep him soothed.
“Only the outer three,” Talia said. “Demon, Vampire, Were. But these worlds house simple creatures. Their needs are met in their home worlds. They do not venture out, and wouldn’t have the ability even if they wished it.”
“We don’t have any,” Kam said. “Aswangs are a lot of things, but they aren’t djinn. Only djinn are djinn.” She smiled and patted the creature’s arm. It didn’t react.
Fan-freaking-tastic. Demonic were-vampires are after me. I’m the luckiest girl alive. I should totally play the lottery today and take advantage of so much astounding luck.
I stepped away from the aswang and sank to the top step of the porch. “So, portals to the demon world open near an Aegis, and an aswang comes out with an urge to kill the Aegis.” I lowered my head in my hands. “How the hell can we fight someone who can achieve something so huge and impossible?”
Talia made a sound of disgust, and I lifted my head to meet her gaze.
“Pull yourself together, Aegis.” Most of her eyes had disappeared into her face, but four remained, blinking and giving me the stink-eye. Stink-eyes. “Weakness gets people killed. I’d think you’d know that by now.” She pulled a cell phone from a hidden pocket in the scraps of her tiny outfit, then tossed it to me. In a display of uncharacteristic coordination, I didn’t shame myself by dropping it.
I quirked an eyebrow and examined the phone. It didn’t look like anything special—a recent model smartphone with a purple cover. “Thanks?”
“That’ll cross worlds.” She put an arm around her charge and guided him toward the portal. “I’m going to close this portal behind me like I did with the other five, but if another one shows up, you send me a text. Understand?”
I nodded. “Thanks. Will you let me know if there are other portals besides those six? I’d like to keep track and figure out what’s going on.”
She gave me a long, steady look. “I’ll let you know everything I know, as long as you do the same. Someone is hurting my people and threatening the peace of the Covenant. That’s unacceptable.”
“I’ll keep you posted.” I moved toward her, meaning to shake her hand, walk with her—something. I hadn’t thought that far. The aswang tensed and I returned to my spot.
She lifted her foot to step through the portal with the aswang, then hesitated and turned her head toward me. “Zoey, I’ll be back, I promise. Your friend Sara and I have business with one another.”
Talia, Queen of the Demons, walked through the portal with her brainwashed lesser demon, and they both disappeared. A moment later, the portal folded in on itself and was gone.
A scream erupted at the far end of the driveway, and in the distance, a winged figure in a blue pantsuit leaped into the air and flew away.
Apparently, Pansy was pissed.
Chapter Six
Two days passed before the next portal opened, spitting out a snarling aswang.
The Gathering was still in session, and Bernice called me from England the minute she and Marcus heard the news.
Her voice was shaky, and fear leaked through the phone in tight spirals. “Paula Camden was the only Aegis left in Canada.” Bernice took a deep breath to calm herself. “She was standing three feet from the portal when it appeared and the creature hurtled itself through, straight at her throat.”
I paced the kitchen, running a free hand through my hair. This wasn’t happening. So many had already died. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “I thought Marcus said he’d sent his people take her into protective custody.”
Bernice sighed. “They were on their way to a safe house and stopped to stretch their legs. Paula was only a few feet away from the group. She barely had time to scream. By the time Marcus’s people got to her, it was over. The aswang was already running toward the portal.” A sob escaped her. “Its jaws were covered in her blood.”
I halted in the middle of the room and swallowed hard. I couldn’t shake the vivid picture in my head of the blood-spattered aswang. “Bernice, who’s doing this? Who’s sending aswangs to kill us?”
“We’re still not sure. Five members of the Church of Hidden Wisdom were chanting less than a mile away. The Canadian Committee for Hidden Concerns arrested them and took them to headquarters to get some answers.” Her voice went quiet. “All five cult members poisoned themselves while being transported.”
I gasped. “How the hell can that happen?”
She hesitated. “I don’t know, Zoey. I really don’t know.”
As soon as I hung up, I texted Talia, but she’d already found the portal herself and closed it.
A lot of damn use I was.
Of course, if I’d tried to walk outside the fairy ring perimeter—let alone run to town for groceries—any one of half a dozen humans and monsters would have tackled me to the ground and then locked me in my room in a timeout without television. Because, you know, I’m the Aegis, so everybody does what I say.
That left me working from home, though Sara and I had been scaling back the business lately, turning away hopeful brides looking for assistance in creating their dream wedding. Sara’s lack of sleep for the better part of half a year coupled with my constant need to take off at unexpected moments to care for a legion of monsters and urban legends often left an exhausted Sara on her own. Neither of us were giving it our all, because neither of us had our all to give.
We sat at my kitchen table stringing silk orchids into leis for a luau-themed wedding in December. We’d both been unable to talk the bride out of it.
Sara sorted through the box of flowers, setting aside the duds. “Maybe we should consider shutting the business down for good.” She didn’t sound happy about the idea.
I shrugged. “Maybe. But we do have a Hidden wedding coming up. Maybe we should just switch our focus.”
She fixed me with a serious stare. “They’re paying us in fresh produce and antique trinkets. I can’t pay my electric bill with apples and silver thimbles.”
“Those antique trinkets could be worth something.” I pulled my lips into a half smile. “We might end up millionaires.”
Sara snorted. “Maybe you’re right. All we need is to book a dragon wedding and we’ll be rolling in it.”
“It’s worth thinking about.” I chose another flower from the box. “Trying to live two separate lives is wearing me down. At least with the Hidden, we don’t have to hide anything from them.”
“No.” Sara sighed. “But we still have to hide stuff from the caterers. We can’t use half the vendors we’ve been using for years. It would be like starting over.” She rubbed her eyes, drawing my attention to the purplish-brown puffiness under them.
I nodded. “You’re right. Maybe we should close up shop entirely.” We worked in silence for a while, each absorbed in thought. I lifted my head and watched her. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”
Her hands stopped working, and she looked at me as if I were an idiot. “You didn’t drag me into it. If anything, you tried to shield me from it. We’re a team.”
“I nearly got you killed.” Sebastian had been my fault. He’d gone through Sara to get to me.
Sara placed an unfinished lei on the table without looking away from me. “Listen to me carefully, Zoey. You did not invite any of this. You did not cause any of this. And you did not drag me into it. You saved my life. And when I became part of the fight, it was because I jumped into it, fully conscious of the consequences.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “The business had a good run. But it’s just a business. We’re still a team, and you’re still my best friend.”
I squeezed her hand back and smiled. “Still best friends.” I let go and resumed threading fake flowers for a December luau. “So, can we talk about your impending meeting with the queen of the demons?”
“Way to kill the warm fuzzy mood, Zo.” She scowled.
“She seems pretty reasonable. And she’s not happy about what happened to you. I think you should give her a chance.”
Sara’s hands shook. “I’d rather forget about the whole thing.”
“You tried that already. It’s not working anymore.”
“I don’t like demons.”
Sorrow fluttered in my chest. I understood how afraid Sara was—hell, I could feel her fear rattling across the table like tiny pebbles—but I wanted better for her than sleepless nights and the lack of confidence she was living with now. I wanted my old Sara back. “
I know. But I think this one wants to help.”
She dropped a finished lei in a box with the others. “I’ll think about it.”
* * *
By the third day of lockdown, I was about ready to punch someone in the throat if they so much as looked at me wrong.
Mom seemed underfoot, no matter where I went. Kam’s perkiness was intolerable. Darius didn’t say much, but he skulked in the corners and we glared at each other a lot. He probably wasn’t dealing well with sticking around the house all the time, either.
I yelled at Maurice once for whistling.
Riley tried to stay out of my way, but it was a small house, and he couldn’t sit outside all day. We were still trying to be adults about the whole breakup thing, but he was there nearly all the time now.
When people are dating and they bump into each other coming and going into the bathroom, it’s cute. They laugh. Maybe exchange a quick kiss before the one coming out gets out of the way. Things were never like that for us. More than once I opened the bathroom door and startled because he was coming toward the door to go in. We did the awkward dance to get around each other without touching, making only minimum eye contact.
As soon as he closed the door, I’d bolt for the kitchen or outside for air. I’d thought being around each other after the breakup was supposed to get easier, but it wasn’t.
Coping was getting more difficult, not less.
In the meantime, nothing new had happened in my yard since Talia had closed the portal. We were all in a holding pattern, and I had to get away.
After a particularly rough moment when I knocked my coffee cup off the table because so many people were sitting in the kitchen, I snapped. Too many people shared the air supply in the tiny, tiny room. How was a person supposed to breathe? I didn’t bother to pick up the pieces of the shattered cup.
It wasn’t my fault it was so damn crowded that a person couldn’t twitch her elbow without sending a cup flying.
I shoved my chair away and stomped into the living room, grabbing my coat. “I’m going out.”
