Bite Marks

by Jennifer Rardin

  But I could. The rowdy crowd that gave faces to all the facets of my personality had gone into hiding, driven out by its overbearing, I’m-the-king—wait a second. I know that attitude. I know that voice! No wonder everybody left except Granny May, and she’s afraid to move. Aw shit, I’m in big trouble.

  “I’m listening,” I said.

  She gripped her hands together so tightly I could see her rings digging into the skin of her fingers. “I know how hard this will be for you. In your mind, trust has to do with money rich people put away for their grandchildren. Or maybe it’s the name of our new community. But now you will have to learn the best meaning of the word.”

  I felt myself nod. But already half of me had stopped listening.

  Cassandra clapped her hands once, the way she usually does when she’s delighted. I jumped, because this time her eyes were blazing.

  “Onkheinem!” she shouted.

  “What the f—!”

  “Stay with me, Jaz!” she interrupted. “Don’t let it play on your resistance.”

  “What are you saying?”

  She leaned forward, gazing earnestly into my eyes. “If any of us tell you something you wouldn’t have wanted to hear in the first place, your possessor uses your natural response to influence your choices, thus gaining it the behavior it wants to see out of you. You must teach yourself to listen, even though you wouldn’t normally wish to. You have to consider what you would once have dismissed.” She took a breath. “Eventually you may have to open your mind and let one of us in.”

  No! Never!

  Like it had been in the beginning, I couldn’t tell if that inner voice was mine or his. But I could tell he wanted me to shove Cassandra out the door, out of my life. Busybody, bitch! he shrilled. Get rid of her! Now!

  I pressed my lips together, the way I sometimes had to so I wouldn’t puke in the bed or the hallway. Just keep it in until you reach a flushable appliance, I’d tell myself. Only this time what I had couldn’t be flushed. I had an awful feeling it would require something a lot more painful. Like a burning. And what would be left afterward? Would it matter if he’d already eaten the best part of me, the same way I’d seen his ghost-subjects cannibalize each other?

  I said, “Brude.”

  “Who?”

  “His name’s King Brude.” I sighed, feeling major muscle groups loosen as I shared the news with somebody who might be able to help. “I ran into him during my last mission. In life he ruled a big patch of Scotland, probably with a bloody sword and a full dungeon. Now he’s a Domytr.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not familiar—”

  “Yeah, I wasn’t either. I’m not sure what all his duties are, but I do know that he chases down stray souls for Lucifer. When I met him he was moonlighting, building his own army of ghosts and his own version of hell in the Thin. One without the rules that make Satan’s place so warm and cozy.”

  She held up her hand, like I was talking too fast. But it was so hard for me to get the words out I was surprised she wasn’t pounding me on the back to make them come faster. She said, “But the Thin is just a wisp of a place. When I first learned of it I was surprised lost souls ever found themselves caught there it seemed so holey.”

  When my eyebrows shot up she added, “Not holy like paradise. You know, like a pair of net stockings. Really easy to slide a pencil, or a spirit, through.”

  “O-kay. Never heard it described that way, though I guess you have a point. Personally, I think they stay because they’re addicted to chaos. And Brude’s a steady supplier.”

  “So how did he get stuck on, I mean in, you?”

  I shook my head. “Both really apply. He became obsessed pretty much the second we met. As for the ‘in’ part, I’m not so sure.” I dredged up the memories of our confrontations. So few, and yet all of them laced with the greenish red memory of unuttered screams. Which led me to realize that if I ever did lose it, I mean hurtle off the deep end, I would probably never stop howling.

  I said, “He brought me over to his territory once. Maybe I got infested with something while I was there.”

  “Just walking in his world wouldn’t be enough,” Cassandra said. “Think of the Domytr, himself, like a virus. He can’t get inside you unless—”

  “I bit him!” I said, my mind suddenly clearing of everything except the end of that bone-shattering fight between him and Raoul, when I’d finally become desperate enough to stoop to beasty means if that was what it took to get me and my Spirit Guide the hell out of Dodge. Damn! How could I have forgotten?

  The big prick with the impenetrable accent, grumbled Granny May. She’d abandoned the porch and now seemed to be sending messages from the mail slot on her front door. Not good. That meant he was making headway again.

  Cassandra grasped my sleeve and tugged it. “Pay attention, Jaz, or so help me I’ll shake you, and then you know my visions will make us both sorry.”

  I glued my eyes to hers.

  “What happened when you bit him?” she asked.

  Brude, yanking me away from Raoul’s side, his tattoos writhing against me like living things as our bodies clashed. My seduction, brazen enough to cause him to cast aside the shadow-cape that had been protecting him. And when his armor had cracked, my teeth tearing into his carotid.

  “His blood went down my throat. But we were in the Thin. I mean the whole episode started as a dream and ended in Raoul’s penthouse. Although…”

  “Tell me.”

  “I did come back to myself with a really bad taste in my mouth. And it didn’t go away until I brushed my teeth.”

  Cassandra sat back, shook her head like I was some misbehaving child. “You had to bite him.”

  “He’d already kicked Raoul’s ass, and you know what a terrific fighter he is.”

  “You’re kidding. Raoul?” She said his name with the reverence we all reserved for it. He’d been a ranger in life. And instead of choosing to spend his after life in well-deserved peace he’d decided to go on fighting. Was it any wonder I had to defend him?

  I said, “Brude made himself invincible in that time and place.” I thought about it. “Yeah, Raoul could never have slipped under that armor. No guy could’ve. But a girl with a friendly face and sharp teeth was a different story.”

  Cassandra dropped her hands to her chin. “All right, we know how he got in. So all we have to figure is how to get him out.”

  My lips went dry. “Are we talking… like an exorcism?”

  “I don’t know. We should discuss this with the others.”

  I began to scratch my forearm. Hard and fast. If I’d had a balloon in my hand it would’ve stuck to the wall by the time I was done. “I don’t—”

  “Neither does Brude.”

  I sighed. “Okay. Just tell me one thing before this all goes down.”

  “Anything,” she promised.

  “What’s a bustier?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Cassandra did everything but check the corners of the dank little bathroom for Candid Cameras. “Bustiers? Are you joking?”

  “You know, if you want to pull off this trust deal, you can’t be making fun of me the first time I try it out!”

  “Okay, okay! I just thought, you know, since you were engaged once…”

  I shrugged. “Matt and I sort of skipped the costumes. I can’t remember if we never had the time or if we were just always in that big of a hurry. Maybe if we’d been together longer we’d have gotten around to it.” Stab of regret. Even now, with Vayl such a presence in my life that all I had to do was think of him to make the ragged edges smooth again, sometimes I missed Matt so sharply it was a struggle not to clutch my stomach and double over.

  I forced my mind back to the subject, said, “So I’m getting the feeling Vayl likes the dressing up. And I don’t have much in the way of variety. What was he hinting at before?”

  While Cassandra explained, I wished I’d brought a notebook and a pen. Because she didn’t stop at that item. Oh,
no. Somewhere along the line my girlfriend had amassed vast experience in the world of undergarmentry. And when she realized I particularly liked the types that would transform my up-top look from average to let’s-do-video! she really got on a roll. By the time she was done we were giggling like a couple of co-eds planning our first road trip.

  A rap at the door shut us down.

  “Yes?” said Cassandra.

  “If you ladies are finished, we are ready to discuss our strategy regarding the demon,” said Vayl.

  She shot off the toilet like someone had pulled the fire alarm. Throwing open the door, she said, “Is she back?”

  His eyes, a troubled shade of blue, cut to mine. “No. Raoul feels that we have time to plan. Perhaps you and he should discuss…” He stepped forward, his cane clicking on the tile as he closed on me.

  “All right, then,” she said. “Come on, Jasmine.”

  I hesitated, my way blocked not just by Vayl’s physical presence, but by the intensity in his expression.

  “She needs me,” he told Cassandra, though he kept his eyes on mine. “I feel it more deeply than this wound in my side. And yet you are the one huddled here with her.”

  “Jaz needs all of us.” When she caught his expression, hers softened. “But you most of all. Remember that, because how you handle the next few minutes could make the difference in her soul’s salvation.”

  “Oh geez, Cassandra, let’s not put any pressure on him or anything,” I said as I twisted Cirilai on my finger. His eyes shot to it, alarm widening them, making me drop my hands to reassure him that I wasn’t about to take it off. I had once, and the wall that had dropped between us had nearly destroyed us both. Trust. Maybe I could work on that.

  “What is Cassandra talking about?” he asked me.

  I tried to pull in one of those bracing breaths that get you through tough situations, but my lungs wouldn’t cooperate. Too busy considering a full collapse. “I think you’ve sensed that something was wrong with me ever since we hit Canberra. I’m—”

  I tried. The word wouldn’t move past my frozen tongue. Brude had put a block on communications, and while I struggled against him, Cassandra watched me with a sympathy that made me fight all the harder, because it was a reflection of how far I’d fallen.

  She turned to Vayl. “Jaz has been possessed.”

  He looked deep into my eyes. I fought to keep mine open against the sudden pain that pierced them.

  Brude, you son of a bitch! Now that I know you’ve been the one torturing me, you gotta know how bad you’re going to bleed when I finally beat you!

  I’d have piled on more ire, but Vayl was checking Cassandra for confirmation of what he’d seen moving behind my pupils. By the time he turned back to me his irises were already darkening to the black with red flecks that reflected his most disturbing emotions.

  “Possessed by what?” he murmured, still talking to me like he thought I could respond.

  Cassandra answered. “She says it’s one of Lucifer’s minions. A Domytr she encountered on your last assignment that goes by the name of Brude.”

  “Why is she not talking?”

  Our psychic considered me. “May I touch you?”

  I tilted my head sideways, then nodded. She leaned forward and took my free hand. Just a brief clasp was enough to make her look like she’d eaten something rancid. “His strength increases when she is feeling some extreme emotion. Right now she’s deeply”—Cassandra smiled at me—“nervous. About how you’ll react to this.”

  I wanted to snap off a witty comment. Hey, let’s all discuss Jaz like she’s not even here, why don’t we? But now my throat had closed so tight I’d begun to feel dizzy. A lot of good can be said for honesty. But too big of a dose can kill you.

  From a distance, like the wail of a train horn, I heard Cassandra tell Vayl, “She believes you’ll be furious when you find that Cole and I both accidentally discovered her secret before she could tell you. She’s worried that you’ll see her as weak now, or perhaps mentally unfit like Liliana and, in either case, undeserving of your affections. She wanted to handle this on her own, so that your new romance could have time to cement itself before it was rocked by such an event.”

  Cassandra went on, but her words disappeared in the hum my ears put out as they tried to cope with my narrowing vision. Brude, I swear to Jesus if you let me pass out I’ll make it a personal goal to pry every one of those tattoos off your skin with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

  Vayl emptied his hands, just like that, dropping the cane on the floor as if it mattered less to him than a flyer you’d crumple up the moment after some poor schmuck handed it to you on the street. He came close and tipped up my chin, a gesture so familiar it nearly made me smile.

  “Jasmine,” he whispered. “My pretera.”

  Geez, I didn’t much feel like a wildcat. But if he insisted—

  “I am not your father, your mother, nor your grandmother. I am not one of your Helsingers, and definitely not Matt. Listen to me. Look into my eyes. I will not leave you. Not ever—”

  “You can’t promise—”

  I stopped. More out of surprise that I’d gotten my voice back than that Vayl had held up his hand to prevent my argument. His smile had vanished. “I can make any vow I like. I am your sverhamin, which means what I promise you, I follow through upon.”

  “So… you’re not leaving me?”

  “Ridiculous.”

  “And you’re not pissed?”

  “Of course.”

  My shoulders dropped. Once I wouldn’t have cared. I’d have said, “F-you. I’m too busy to worry about your petty little problems.” But that was when I was one of the walking wounded and my own issues outweighed everyone else’s. Plus, it had been so long since anyone gave a crap how Vayl felt about anything. He really appreciated it when I paid attention. His kiss, light as a raindrop on my forehead, made me look up.

  “Later for that,” he said. “Now is the time to give Brude the boot before he paralyzes more than your vocal cords.”

  “Do you know how to do that?” Cassandra asked.

  He shook his head. “Raoul might. And I think we should ask Pete as well.”

  “NO!” I didn’t realize I’d shouted until I saw Cassandra back up. But I still couldn’t help the panic that kept me babbling. “For shit’s sake, you guys, the last thing I need is for you to call headquarters and inform them that their black sheep just put another blotch on her record. And Raoul… what if he decides I’m damaged goods? Not fit to do Eldhayr work around here anymore? Maybe he’ll reverse everything he’s done and just…”

  Cassandra hugged Astral like she were a real, live kitty. “Surely Raoul wouldn’t kill you? He’s one of the good guys!”

  “But they look at death differently, don’t they? It’s not such a bad thing to them, because they’re still fighting. They don’t have anybody left down here to hold them.”

  Vayl rested his chin on his knuckles. “All right, then. Do you have any ideas, Cassandra?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I have her.” She held up Bergman’s invention, reminding us of all the information they’d downloaded into her. Centuries’ worth. “I suspect it’ll take some time to unearth information on a creature so rare. But if anyone has ever discovered the Domytr’s weakness, it would be a Sister.”

  I said, “Okay, and for a backup plan, what about that guy Ruvin?” I asked. “The seinji have a couple of famous demon fighters in their history. Maybe he knows something we—”

  Vayl’s shaking head stopped me. “He is laboring under the assumption that we are part of a Hollywood film company scouting production locations for our next blockbuster.”

  “And that we brought along Gerard Butler, why, to carry our cameras?”

  Vayl’s brows lowered. “Cole’s fabrication seems to have stuck because Ruvin is, ah, easily deceived. I am reluctant to follow suit. The man has agreed to drive us around for the next couple of days, not to locate an exorcist.”<
br />
  I held up my hand. “Okay, I want to go on the record in stating that I refuse to puke green shit and float up to the ceiling while channeling Naomi Campbell before she’s assaulted at least one employee for the day.”

  “Then it’s settled,” said Cassandra. “I’ll start researching immediately. And you”—she pointed at me with one perfectly manicured orange-painted nail—“will stay positive. Astral may have all the information we need right in here.” She tapped the cat’s head. The metallic clicking sound that resulted reminded me to keep robokitty in the shadows if any of the neighbors decided to pay us a visit. She’d even begun to fool me, but as soon as someone touched her, our cover would be blown.

  Cassandra whispered in Astral’s ear, probably using the very same words she’d said to mobilize her traditional Enkyklios the last time she’d used it to help me. Then it had conjured up an image of a soul-eating monster called a reaver, whose buddies had hounded me for weeks. Somehow I had a feeling whatever Astral dug up would be just as threatening.

  “This may take a while,” said Cassandra as we watched the cat’s ears twitch in a regular circuit from left to right and back again, stopping every few centimeters almost like they’d become parts of a clock face. “When she does come up with helpful information, she’ll relay it to you by video feed, possibly without warning. So, ah, don’t drive off a cliff or anything like that when it happens.”

  “O-kay.” I suddenly felt as grumpy as a kid who’s just realized she still has to wait two more weeks to open her Christmas presents. “Now can we get back to the guys? Cole’s probably convinced Raoul to set up a whole petting zoo for him by now.”

  “We still need to talk,” Vayl murmured as he picked up his cane.

  I scratched at a particularly annoying itch on my left shoulder as I said, “Don’t we always?”

  Usually smoothing Jack’s soft gray fur into place calms me down. He gives me that tongue-drooping grin while I bury my fingers in his coat and we both just—chill. He’s even tall enough that I can give his head a scratch on the go, as I was now, moving through the dining room with its plain wooden table, four ancient chairs, and its wall full of family portraits, all of which I avoided viewing by keeping my eyes on the white linoleum floor beneath my feet.