Demons in My Driveway

by R. L. Naquin

  “You’d better get in the house,” Kam said. “I don’t know how much longer they can hold it off when it smells you.”

  I nodded and opened the door. “You guys, stay safe, okay? If you’re staying out here, stay within the fairy ring. The last one did a lot of damage.” I cringed, thinking of the dwarf lying dead in my yard with his leg yanked out of the socket.

  “We promise.” Stacy shoved me into the house and shut the door.

  I could hear the two women talking, but couldn’t make out their words. I hoped they didn’t have any crazy ideas about going after the creature. Even without me there, those things were dangerous.

  Back in the house, I banged on Mom’s door and waited. Darius stuck his head out. His deep voice rumbled from the void of his face. “More trouble?”

  “Portal.” I stared back into his saucer-sized red eyes, refusing the flinch. “I think it’s vamp flavored. And the aswang that came out of it is trying to beat its way in.”

  “I’ll get my shirt.” He closed the door, then reappeared a minute later with my mother in tow. He’d added a black shirt with slits in the back, and his dusty wings folded neatly against the outside of the fabric.

  Mom yawned, shrugging into her bathrobe. “I’d rather not be in there by myself if this thing is trying to get in.”

  I nodded in approval. “We need to stay away from the windows until this is sorted out.”

  Darius kissed her on the forehead, then turned toward me. “Kam’s still out there?”

  “Yeah. Lionel’s team is on the way.”

  Maurice appeared behind me seemingly out of nowhere. “Is Pansy out there too?”

  “She’s out there.” I touched his hand. “But stay inside the ring, at least until the O.G.R.E.s are here, okay? Let the fairies keep the aswang busy. Hopefully Talia will get my message.”

  Maurice and Darius went outside before it occurred to me that Stacy was already there. I wanted to do what I could to make things easier on Stacy, but I couldn’t exactly keep them apart. I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. I couldn’t be expected to think of everything. Stacy would have to work it out for herself.

  I followed Mom into the kitchen and put some water on to boil while she got us a couple of mugs and some tea.

  She set the cups on the table then hugged me from behind. “Thanks for coming inside. I know you wanted to stay out there.”

  I put a hand over one of hers. “Sometimes I do the smart thing, you know.”

  She led me to the table and we sat together to wait for the water to boil. “You’re so much braver than I ever was.” She rubbed a finger over a smudge on the tabletop. “I sometimes wonder if it’s because I wasn’t here to stop you when you were growing up. If I’d been here, I might have held you back.”

  Was that it? Was my thoughtless rushing into danger a side effect of growing up without a mom to tell me to be careful?

  “Maybe.” My voice was soft as I imagined what it might’ve been like to have a mother telling me not to climb on the roof. Not to stay up late watching horror movies. Not to date guys who stole money from me and cheated.

  My life would have been a lot different. Easier. Would I have learned the hard lessons without the dubious benefit of screwing up? Or would I have gone through life naïve and coddled?

  The kettle started to boil, and I leaped to my feet to keep it from making that terrible whistling screech. “Or maybe we’re just different.” I poured hot water into each cup. “We’ll never know what could have been. I’m just glad I get a second chance with you now.” I smiled, passing a cup to her and marveling at how much I looked like her. I might not have known for certain how things would’ve turned out if she hadn’t left, but I’d have given everything I had for a time machine to go back and relive our lives—together this time.

  We sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the quiet chanting of a large group of cultists spreading their creepy religion across my front yard. Each time their chant reached a crescendo, goosebumps broke out on my arms. I clamped my teeth together and shut my eyes, as if that would keep the sound from getting worse.

  Mom set her cup down, frowning. “Did I hear you say Kam called Lionel?”

  I blew on my tea. “Yeah. She did that before I went outside.”

  Her gaze drifted toward the front door as a car pulled into the driveway. “Good. I know we’ve got a lot of protection, but I’ll feel better when someone official gets here.” She shivered. “That chanting is driving me crazy.”

  I nodded. “I’m not sure how much longer the fairies can hold out. I’m not feeling too comfortable, either.” On the other hand, I wasn’t so sure Lionel and his skin mask would bring me much comfort.

  Shouting erupted in the yard. We both shoved our chairs away and made for the living room window. A lot more folks were out there than there had been when I’d come inside.

  Talia must’ve gotten my message, because Papa Dino was there with the aswang gripped between his hands. Lionel stood to the side with an ogre and a troll, clutching a cult member in each hand. The rest seemed to have fled, and Darius and Kam must’ve followed, because I didn’t see them, either.

  Except for Pansy. I almost felt sorry for her. Maurice had her facing the house with her arms pinned behind her. She struggled, and he sort of shook her to make her behave. I didn’t think he got any pleasure out of it, but the look on his face said he didn’t exactly hate it.

  “I think it’s safe for us to go out,” I said.

  Mom nodded. “The cavalry’s here, for whatever that’s worth.”

  It did seem odd that, despite all the muscle we had at our disposal—magical and physical—we’d become dependent on a police force that hadn’t existed six months ago. I could have used the help then, too, but I did without them because I had to. Now, they were constantly in our business.

  The moment we stepped outside, the aswang in Papa Dino’s care spit and hissed like a cobra coiled in its decorative basket. Papa Dino’s grip didn’t slip in the slightest. The aswang was going nowhere.

  Mom flinched. “Would you like us to stay inside?” She cast a worried glance at the aswang, then gave Papa Dino a polite smile. “It might be easier for you.”

  “Not at all.” Dino smiled and shifted the aswang away from us. “My apologies for taking so long. I was in the Himalayas tracking another one of these.”

  I leaned against the railing. “Did you find it?”

  His face sobered. “I found it. I was too late. I’m sorry.”

  Mom and I exchanged a frantic look. Her face paled in the thin porch light. “Six of us left.”

  “I’m sorry.” Papa said again, his face filled with both regret and condolences. “I truly am.”

  “We still don’t know who’s doing this.” Mom made a hiccupping sound and dropped into one of the rockers.

  My eyes narrowed on Pansy. “Are we sure about that?”

  Maurice shook her again. “I bet we can find out.”

  “Anchovy sauce for presidential conduct.” Pansy grinned up at him, but her eyes held no humor.

  “I think you’ll find you’re wrong, Pansy.” Maurice looked at me, then glanced at the detached garage and back again.

  I knew what he was asking. We’d conducted an interrogation in my garage once before. It hadn’t ended well for the guy we were questioning, but that hadn’t been our fault. Unfortunately, the garage was inside the fairy ring. We couldn’t keep her outside the ring for questioning—that left my people exposed. But we couldn’t bring her inside the ring without endangering everybody.

  By herself, Pansy wasn’t a threat. I really didn’t think she or her little group were the ones opening the portals. None of them had that kind of power. Hell, the only one of us who did was Kam, and she wasn’t fully charged. But Pansy was part of what was going on, and I was sure she and her people were responsible for the aswang problem we were having.

  So, the question was, who was opening the portals to allow Pansy and her b
uddies to call the aswangs to come out with their chanting?

  “Where’d Darius go?” I squinted into the darkness, hoping to hear him. As if by wish fulfillment, he dropped from the sky, his moth wings whooshing.

  I frowned, thinking of the weird dream I’d had and the rainbow-colored feather it left behind. In comparison to his wings, that feather belonged to something much bigger than a man.

  As he landed, he dropped a satyr and two imps to the ground. “I caught these running down the road.”

  “We’ve got two more!” Kam and Stacy panted up the driveway, dragging a harpy and a woman with gill slits along the sides of her face.

  I did a quick headcount. A dozen. “I think you got them all.” Their number had grown a bit since the first time I’d seen them in my driveway.

  “Impressive,” Dino said. “You have good people.”

  “Yes, I do.” I waved at Kam and Stacy. “Bring them over here to Darius.”

  Lionel hefted what I suspected was a leprechaun to his feet. “Aegis, if you’ll allow me, we’ll take them all in my van. I’ve got a cell in Petaluma large enough to keep them locked up until we can sort all this out.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip while I thought about it. I still didn’t trust him, though I didn’t really have a reason not to. I had no place to keep them here. And I sure as hell couldn’t let them go.

  “Fine.” I flicked my gaze to Maurice and then to Darius. I pointed at Pansy. “You can leave that one, though.”

  Lionel frowned. “Why?”

  I smiled. “She’s family. Aren’t you, Pansy?”

  “Uvula.” She spit the word at me, leaving me no question whatsoever that it wasn’t a pleasant word.

  “See?” I said. “We’re practically sisters.”

  Papa Dino chuckled. “Family is family.” He patted the aswang on the shoulder. “Isn’t it, my friend?” He winked at me. “And family is the most important thing.” He guided the aswang toward the portal. “I’ll lock up behind me. Stay safe, ladies.”

  The Vampfather straightened his shoulders, cracked his neck, and stepped through the portal with his now docile companion. The doorway folded in on itself and blinked out.

  With the absence of the aswang, the tightness in my shoulders loosened.

  “Don’t you think we should keep all of them together?” Lionel asked.

  He shoved a couple of prisoners toward his vehicle. His two silent team members followed with theirs. I considered several logical answers, then decided I didn’t need them. “No. I don’t.”

  The longer I did this Aegis thing, the more I realized these things were my call. People kept trying to pull rank on me, and I kept ignoring them. Either my system of stubborn ignorance worked, or I really did outrank them.

  Personally, I didn’t care. Riley worked for the Board. Lionel worked for the Board. Mom worked for the Board. Darius, though only on a freelance basis, worked for the Board.

  I worked with the Board. And only when it suited me.

  So far, my attitude had kept me alive. And my mother. The other Aegises out there weren’t faring so well.

  I thought that said something.

  Mom and I stayed on the porch while Lionel’s people loaded eleven cultists into the back of his van. He had a good supply of those weird plastic cuffs that look like soda can holders and managed to get everyone secure before shutting them in with his ogre and troll.

  “Make sure you cut those tie thingies up when you’re done,” I said. “Birds and fish can get stuck in them.”

  He frowned, not knowing whether to take me seriously. I folded my arms and refused to smile. Better to keep him wondering. Let him think I was off-balance. I didn’t like him.

  Having unloaded their prisoners, Kam and Stacy joined me on the porch and the three of us stood with our arms folded, our faces serious. Mom stood to the side, trying not to laugh.

  Lionel turned to go, then stopped. “Have I done something to piss you off?”

  I tilted my head. “Nope. You’re fine. I appreciate your coming out here.”

  He looked doubtful. “Well, okay, then. I guess I’ll get going.”

  He opened his door.

  “Hey Lionel.” I took a few steps off the porch.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for coming so quickly.”

  “Sure. It’s my job.”

  “Yeah, but Petaluma’s not exactly around the corner. So, thanks for answering Kam’s phone call and getting out here so quick.”

  I watched his face for guilty twitches, but with his ill-fitting skin, his expressions were hard to read. He wasn’t giving off any guilt energy, either. Maybe I was wrong about him.

  “It’s my pleasure, Aegis. Call me if anything new comes up.” His glanced at Pansy, then started the engine and drove off. Mom and Stacy disappeared into the house.

  Kam made a disgusted face. “You know, he’s not nearly as good-looking with that new skin on. Guess there weren’t any better looking dead guys in the morgue that night.”

  “That’s so disgusting,” I said.

  She shrugged. “I’ll try anything once.” She leaned her head toward me and dropped her voice. “Except a mothman. I don’t know how your mom does it.”

  My face felt hot. “I’d really rather not think about it.”

  “Prude. I’m amazed you and Riley ever managed to get naked together.”

  I smacked myself in the forehead. “Shit. I forgot about Riley. He’s going to be pissed that he missed this. Will you call him?”

  She gave me a weak stink-eye. She’d been working on it, but hadn’t yet perfected it. “I’ll call him. Wimp.”

  I hugged her with one arm. “Thanks. I’ve got to deal with Pansy. And I think he’ll want to be here for that part, at least, so tell him to hurry.”

  “He’d hurry faster if you called, you know.” I didn’t need to be an empath to sense her disapproval whacking me over the head with a metaphysical wiffle bat.

  I ignored her and walked toward Maurice and Darius. “Garage?”

  Darius nodded. “Garage.”

  Previously, the cultists who had been captured managed to poison themselves before reaching their destination. Knowing this, Lionel had his guys in the back of his van with the prisoners, and we kept Pansy’s arms tied behind her back so she couldn’t do anything.

  I found it highly unlikely whoever was running this cult had provided cyanide tooth caps to its members in case of emergency. They didn’t seem like that sophisticated an operation. Whatever they were doing to open the portals and hypnotize aswangs, they didn’t have MI6 or the CIA backing them up with gadgets and deadly poisons. As long as someone stayed with Pansy at all times and her hands were incapacitated, she should be fine.

  Darius took the squat little stone woman from Maurice and tied her to a chair at the back of the garage. I shuddered. I’d hoped we’d never have to do this again. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure doing it now was a good idea.

  Maurice was obviously compromised. He was too close to the situation to interrogate her without bias. Unfortunately, he was the only one who could understand her nonsense speech.

  Darius was good at this, but also terrifying. In his mothman guise, he could terrify her, then literally suck the fear out of her through a proboscis tongue I hadn’t known he had until he started to do it on the last guy we had in here.

  And for some reason, the bitch hated me. I wasn’t a big fan of hers, either.

  Okay, maybe that was the reason she hated me.

  “We need to wait for Riley,” I said.

  “I agree.” Riley strode in behind me. For him to get here that fast, mom must’ve called him a while ago. Judging by the hard look on his face, he knew I hadn’t asked her to do it.

  “Riley, I...” I didn’t know what I was going to say, but I didn’t want him angry with me. Even broken up, it seemed I wasn’t giving him enough thought. I should have called him the minute I saw the portal open.

  He ignored me, which hurt w
orse than if he’d yelled at me. “So, Pansy. How do you want to do this? The easy way?” He gave her a charming smile that would have melted my underwear a few months ago.

  She spit on his shoe in response.

  “Fine.” His eyes sparked, and his voice took on the terrifying, echoey quality of his reaper persona. “We do it the hard way.”

  Chapter Eleven

  One of Darius’s inborn talents as a mothman was to induce fear in people. I don’t mean he was scary—though he was. I mean a deep, soul-vomiting fear that defied rationality and wasn’t contingent on actually looking at him. I’d experienced it by mistake, and it had shaken me hard.

  Yet, Riley, a human, could be far more frightening using the power of the soul-stone in the ring he wore for reaping souls.

  Part of that power came from years of mommy monsters threatening their kiddy monsters with a visit from a reaper if they didn’t behave. I wasn’t sure what the Big Bad Reaper was supposed to do to the kid if he showed up—steal her soul or consume her spirit with his ghastly, flat, human teeth, maybe.

  Whatever the story was, I’d seen that fear before when people met Riley. They were preconditioned before he ever ran his finger over the stone in his ring and went all deep-voiced and spazzy-eyed on them.

  Pansy was no different. In fact, I’d be willing to bet my favorite yellow beret that Pansy’s mother had been especially prolific with scary reaper stories. Pansy took one look at Riley as he came toward the back of the garage, screamed, then fainted.

  Maurice threw his arms in the air and glared at Riley. “What the hell did you do?”

  Riley looked stricken. “Nothing. I didn’t even say anything yet.”

  Darius laughed, and his wings shook a layer of moth dust on the cardboard boxes next to him. His laughter had a hollow quality to it, coming out of the emptiness of his face. “I’ll get some water.”

  I folded my arms and examined the gargoyle woman hunched over in the chair. The ugly polyester pantsuit accentuated her otherness, rather than hiding it. I curled my lip in distaste. I understood loving someone so much, looks didn’t matter. A person could see past the pig nose, the carved helmet hair, the buckteeth and the stubby body. Love comes in all shapes and sizes. But, unattractive as I found Pansy to be on the outside, the ugliness inside her far outmatched it. I felt that ugliness sweating from her pores as if her small body could no longer contain so much hatred and viciousness. I couldn’t find a single redeeming quality to justify Maurice having fallen in love with this bitch.