Dare Me

by Parker Blue

  I glanced at Shade and Sharra. “Should they stay or go with us?” I asked Austin.

  “I think we can decide that for ourselves,” Sharra said.

  “It might be safer here,” Austin suggested.

  Shade snorted. “Or not. After all, you were attacked downstairs. They might try again, and if you’re not here to stop them, they might be more successful this time.”

  “I doubt it,” Austin said drily. “Alejandro amped security to the max after this incident. You’ll be safe here.”

  “Maybe,” Shade said reluctantly, “but I think we should be there to answer questions. After all, we’re the primary reason for the trouble that has been brought to San Antonio.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Sharra said.

  “I’m sure,” Shade said with a tone of finality. “We’re going.”

  Austin shrugged as if he didn’t care. “We’re taking one of the town cars,” he said, staring at me to make a point. “Safer that way.”

  Probably true. This time I decided to concede.

  There was enough room for Austin, Fang, and the three of us demons in one car, so Austin drove us to Club Purgatory. Micah had closed one section for the night, marking it as a “private party,” and the demons all filed in there.

  Word must have traveled fast, ’cause a gut-load of people had showed up. A few minutes after the appointed time, Micah got everyone’s attention. “I wanted to inform you of something that is happening in our midst. In the interest of keeping everyone safe, which I promised when you did me the honor of choosing me as leader again, I want to tell you of a serious threat to each and every one of you.”

  Mutters and surprised looks exchanged in the crowd.

  Micah continued. “But first, I need to introduce someone. Shade’s sister, Sharra, has come to visit.”

  “Sister?” people murmured in surprise. Like me, no one else knew he had a twin either. Heck, Shade didn’t know, so how could they?

  Sharra waved, and when people looked doubtful, she took her hand off the teacup Chihuahua and revealed herself in all her swirly glory.

  “That’s nice,” someone said. “But what does it have to do with us?”

  Micah raised his arms to quiet the crowd. “Someone—we don’t know who—is trying to capture and kill shadow demons. They’ve made three attempts on Shade’s life already.”

  “Why?” Ludwig, the mountain-sized water demon asked.

  “We don’t know that either.”

  “What do you know?” some brave soul called from his hidden position in the back.

  “We know they will stop at nothing to kill him,” Micah said sternly.

  “So you’ve put us in danger by bringing him here,” someone accused.

  “I hope not,” Micah said, “but there’s another danger you need to be aware of.” He paused for quiet, then said, “Tonight, things have changed. We had an attack here at the club, and there was one at a blood bank as well. The targets were both demons and vamps.”

  “Who’s doing this?” Ludwig asked. “The same guys who are trying to kill Shade?”

  “We don’t know that either,” Micah said. “But what we do know is that they are controlling our own people to use them against us, and we are being attacked by vampire and human. They probably won’t hesitate at using demons either.” He waited for the uproar to subside, then added, “To solve this as quickly as possible, we have joined forces with the New Blood Movement.” He nodded at Austin who was just finishing a phone conversation. “Tell them what you learned.”

  Austin tugged the brim of his Stetson as if saying hello to everyone in the room. “Val Shapiro and I were attacked this evening at one of our blood banks. The perpetrators were crazed, stronger and faster than normal, and completely devoid of any sort of free will, so we neutralized them and inspected them.”

  Neutralized . . . an interesting word choice.

  BETTER THAN MURDERED.

  No kidding.

  “I just learned what they found,” Austin continued. “A puncture on both—an injection site. We believe they were given a drug and commanded to attack us.”

  Interesting. They’d been busy.

  “Why?” someone asked.

  Another person shouted, “What drug?”

  Austin raised his hands for quiet. “We don’t know why, and we’re in the process of trying to find out what drug they used. We’ll—”

  “Wait,” Tessa said, interrupting him, which was unusual for her. “How do you know who is controlled and who isn’t?”

  “We don’t,” Micah said.

  “So, anyone in this room could be an assassin, and we wouldn’t know it,” Tessa continued, glancing nervously around at the crowd.

  Oh, crap.

  I’M ON IT, Fang said.

  He whirled, his eyes darting to everyone in the place. THERE, he said to the room at large, his nose pointing past Micah. ANDREW. I CAN’T READ HIS MIND.

  Andrew tried to make a run for it, but two of the brawny bartenders caught him.

  “Don’t hurt him,” Micah said. “He’s doing this against his will.”

  “Yeah, but what is he doing?” I asked.

  It was a rhetorical question, but Tessa answered. “Maybe I can find out.” The soothsayer demon darted forward and laid a hand on his arm. For once, her prophecy was crystal clear.

  “The bomb under the bar will kill everyone present if not defused within sixty seconds.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Val

  SEVERAL PEOPLE screamed, like that would do any good. “Where is it?” I demanded. I didn’t know what I could do about it, but I had to try something.

  It was chaos as most people ran away from the bar, and others of us ran toward it, including Micah, Austin, Shade, and, of all people, Sharra.

  Austin, with his superior vision, saw it first. “There.” He pointed urgently. “Next to the beer tap.”

  I leaned forward, but Micah pulled me back. “Don’t. You might set it off.”

  “So what? It’s going to go off in less than a minute. We might be able to figure out how to disarm it.” Rapidly, I mentally ran through the demon powers of the people in the room. What would help defuse this thing?

  “Don’t need to,” Sharra said urgently and pushed me aside. “Let me.”

  She held out her hands, and a green sphere sparking with interdimensional energies coalesced between her palms. “Shawn, help me guide it,” she said.

  “I don’t know how,” Shade said.

  “Like this.”

  I don’t know what the two of them did or how they did it, but they floated that green sphere until it completely encompassed the crudely-made bomb. Then, as we all held our breaths, the bomb exploded. Or at least, that’s what I assumed happened, because the green cloud seemed to implode, then expanded rapidly outward to about five feet and dissipated.

  Some of the people who had been stampeding for the exit stopped and slowed. I suspected Mood had something to do with that, but I wasn’t complaining.

  “Where’d it go?” Ludwig asked in awe.

  “Into another dimension,” I said. Then louder, so other people could hear, “The shadow demons saved our lives.”

  “I didn’t know a portal could be that small and compact,” Shade said thoughtfully. “How’d you do it?”

  Sharra shrugged. “Practice. Remember, we learned—” She broke off. “No, I guess you don’t.”

  “No, but I’m glad you did,” Shade said. “More is coming back to me every day. You’ll have to remind me.”

  Sharra, who was trying to avoid being hugged to death by Ludwig, grinned. “Glad to.” Most people were long gone by now, fled to safety. I glanced at Andrew, the fire demon who had caused me so much trouble before. H
e was still being restrained by the bartenders, but he looked a little more with it now, shaking and jerking, as if he were reasserting control over himself.

  “We need to get his blood tested for drugs too,” I said.

  Austin strolled over to the bartenders. “We have a lab that’s processing the other samples. It’ll be good to have a fresh one. I called Vincent to come pick him up.”

  Andrew blinked up at him, shrinking back. “Wha—?” he said, sounding dopey. “What’d I do now?”

  Austin shook his head at the fire demon who’d stolen the encyclopedia, come under the influence of a rogue mage demon, and damned near burned down Austin’s home. He’d worked off his debt to the vamps, but who could blame Austin for still being a bit miffed? The cowboy vamp’s smile was a little evil. “I’ll tell you when we have you under our control.”

  Bad Austin. I stifled a chuckle.

  Andrew’s eyes widened, and he tried to push Austin away.

  I took pity on Andrew. “It’s okay,” I said. “You weren’t responsible for your actions—this time. Vincent is just taking you to see what kind of drug you were given. And, if I were you, I’d think long and hard about exactly how that drug got into your system.”

  “I—I don’t remember.”

  “You’d better start remembering. Val’s right,” Micah said sternly. “We need all the information you can give us. Do you understand?”

  Andrew nodded, but looked like he was about to crap his pants at any moment.

  Fang chuckled in my mind. YEAH, I IMAGINE AUSTIN HAS PUT THE FEAR OF . . . AUSTIN INTO HIM.

  “Maybe we should get a sample of our ‘guest’s’ blood as well,” Micah suggested with a raised eyebrow at me.

  Huh?

  YOU KNOW, Fang reminded me. THE GUY DOWNSTAIRS.

  Oh yeah, his guest. In the cell. Micah called Gwen and asked her to bring the necessary medical stuff—she was doing a good job of putting her skills to work in the vampire lab.

  “The drug might have worn off already,” Austin said.

  “True,” I said. “And there’s a good way to test that. Shall we go downstairs?”

  Tessa nodded. “I’ll watch over Andrew until Vincent arrives.”

  Though more people knew about the cells in the basement of the club now, Micah still kept them as secret as he could. I think he was embarrassed that he had such a thing in his cellar, even if his father had built it. Since Austin already knew about it, he accompanied us.

  We approached the cell, but Jorge didn’t look as if he’d moved much. He still knelt beside the cot, his hands together, and his head bowed in prayer.

  Lola was stronger now, but was she stronger than the drug? Or maybe it had been absorbed into his bloodstream now. Well, there was one way to find out.

  I moved as close as I could to the bars of the cell. “Jorge Ortiz?” I said softly.

  He ignored me.

  Well, he wouldn’t be able to ignore Lola. Slowly, I unfurled the energy tendrils from my chakras and let her reach for him. Thanks to Austin, Lola was at about forty percent power, so I didn’t have to push quite as hard as I would’ve earlier. When the tendrils touched him, he stiffened. Oh yeah, he felt that all right. And I know it felt pretty darned good.

  I intensified her hold on him. “Jorge,” I crooned. “You’re going to be a good little boy and tell us everything we want to know, aren’t you?”

  He stood and faced us, his face slack with desire. “Si.”

  Yay, Lola finally worked on someone. I wanted to do a fist pump, but restrained myself, given the audience.

  WELL, HERE’S A WOO FROM ME, Fang said. AND A HOO, TOO. WOO HOO, VAL.

  Sarcasm or truth? Either way, I was taking it as a compliment.

  “Can you read him now?” I asked Fang.

  NOPE. DEFINITELY HUMAN, AS I SAID BEFORE.

  I wondered if Jorge was an innocent victim, too, then realized I could ask him. “Were you forced to hunt down the shadow demon and kill him? Answer in English.”

  “No,” Jorge answered.

  “Then why did you do it?” I asked in exasperation.

  “I am a soldier of the Lord,” he said.

  Uh-huh. “And who told you to do this? The Lord?”

  “It is Emmanuel’s will.”

  “Who is Emmanuel?”

  “Our Lord’s right hand.”

  “And he told you to kill shadow demons?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  His answers were short, but not sweet. “Elaborate on your answers as necessary,” I said, annoyed. “Why were you told to kill shadow demons?”

  “Because Emmanuel wanted it so.”

  I rolled my eyes, and Austin stepped forward. “Let me question him?”

  Fine with me—this guy was doing nothing but ticking me off. I made a “be my guest” gesture and told Jorge, “Answer this man’s questions thoroughly and completely.”

  Austin peered at him. “Explain why Emmanuel wants shadow demons dead.”

  “They are evil.”

  “Evil?” Austin repeated. “How do you know they are evil?”

  “Emmanuel said so.”

  “And how does Emmanuel know?”

  “Emmanuel knows all things.”

  My eyebrows rose. Seriously?

  Austin continued, “What drug did he use on you?”

  “He didn’t use any drug.”

  Yeah, right.

  “What did he use to make you stronger and faster than normal humans?” Austin persisted.

  Jorge hesitated for a moment, and I realized I’d let Lola slip because I was too interested in the answers. I reinforced my control over his body. “Answer the question,” I told him.

  “He used his blood,” Jorge answered.

  Really? Ick.

  “How?” Austin asked.

  “The sacrament of Emmanuel’s blood is given to the brotherhood by injection or drinking.”

  Again, ick. Sounded like a vampire to me. “So how did he control Andrew, the fire demon?”

  “He used his blood.”

  I didn’t get it. “Why would he give this ‘sacrament’ to people outside the brotherhood?”

  “To convince them to do as they should.”

  Compel was more like it. “What does that mean?” I asked him.

  “Demons, vampires, and other unnatural creatures must be purged from this Earth. It is our holy duty.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Doesn’t the Bible say ‘thou shalt not kill’?”

  “Yes, but Emmanuel explained that refers to humans only.”

  Convenient, if you planned on genocide. Exasperated, I asked, “Why do you believe anything this guy says? He beats you and tattoos you, and you just act like his own little kamikaze demon hunters?”

  “No.”

  Baffled, I looked at Austin. Jorge didn’t exactly answer the question.

  “What do you mean, no?” Austin asked.

  “He does not beat us or force us to get tattoos.”

  “Who does?” I asked.

  “No one.”

  Ooookay. Confused, I asked, “Then who whipped you?”

  “I did.”

  “What?” I looked at Austin, unable to believe my ears.

  “That’s why the scars looked different,” he murmured. “They were all concentrated over his shoulders. The whipping was self-inflicted.”

  “But why?” I asked the hunter. “Why would you do such a thing?”

  “As penance.”

  “Did Emmanuel tell you to?”

  “No.”

  Austin looked as though a light bulb dawned over his head. “Do you belong to the Penitentes, Los Hermanos?”

  “Yes.”
r />   “What’s that?” I asked Austin.

  “A Hispanic religious sect in New Mexico who believe in self-flagellation to do penance for their sins.”

  “Why have I never heard of them?”

  “They are low-key, secretive. Especially since they reenact the crucifixion at Easter with a volunteer. They consider it a great honor to be chosen, even though the volunteer sometimes dies.”

  Yikes. It all fit. The scars, the religious tattoos, the fact that all the fanatics were Hispanic. Going back to an earlier question, I asked, “So, if you are one of the chosen few of the brotherhood, why did he inject others?”

  “It makes nonbelievers compliant and renders them subject to Emmanuel’s will.”

  “And what is Emmanuel’s will?”

  “To kill all demons, vampires, and unnatural creatures. Especially shadow demons.”

  Humph. If you asked me, this slavish adoration was unnatural. And we were talking in circles here.

  “What can you tell us about Emmanuel?” Micah asked.

  “Answer him, too,” I ordered Jorge.

  “Nothing.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Tell us everything you know about him,” I ordered. Then, seeing that it sent him into a tailspin of confusion, I said, “Never mind. Austin, you ask him.”

  “Where did Emmanuel come from?” he asked.

  “Heaven.”

  I snorted. Highly unlikely.

  “What does he look like?” Austin asked.

  “Like Jesus.”

  Huh? “Describe him,” I ordered.

  “Tall, long brown hair, bearded, with intense eyes and stigmata.”

  “What?” I turned to Austin.

  “Describe the stigmata.”

  “Blood flows from the palms of his hands, just like our Lord.”

  Oh, crap. This Emmanuel guy must have studied old pictures of Jesus to play on their superstitions.

  “You realize this man is not Jesus, don’t you?” I asked.

  “He is Emmanuel,” Jorge answered.

  Like that was any help at all.

  “Has Emmanuel given you a reason to kill these creatures besides the fact that they’re evil?” Austin asked.

  Jorge said, “No. It is enough.”

  Yeah, that and mind control.