by N. P. Martin
I would have to be careful. No doubt the cops would be looking for me, probably have APB’s or something out for me and Josh both. I continued to drive nowhere in particular, just moving through the city streets, looking out the window, searching for Josh. Ridiculous, I know, but I was half-hoping to see him walking the streets, completely fine like nothing had happened. Instead what I saw were more demon faces, but in a new light. I knew exactly what they were now and I kept wondering if any of them had something to do with Diane’s murder or Josh’s abduction. Some of the demons stared back at me, like they knew what I was; which was more than I could say for myself.
It was for that reason that I found myself driving towards the storage facility where I’d been the day before with Kasey. The creepy old guy was there behind the reception counter, leering at me. “Back to show me those titties, I hope,” he said.
“Go fuck yourself, old man,” I said and strode right past him, heading down the corridor to my mom’s lockup. When I got there I opened the shutter, turned on the light, and pulled the shutter back down again. I started to look around, more carefully than I did the first time now that I was alone.
Anything to do with her ‘job,’ my mom seemed to keep in that place. It was understandable that she didn’t store any of it at the house, lest one of her children stumble across it. Not only that, the cops and the media would have had a field day if they’d found all this stuff at the house eleven years ago. Mom would have been branded a Satanist or Occultist as well as a potential murderer.
I looked at the weapons on the back wall first. I counted about eight different guns, none of which I knew anything about. The larger ones seemed like automatic weapons, military grade probably. Who the hell knew where she got those from? The smaller guns were handguns, two semi-automatic and one large chrome six-shooter that looked like a damned hand cannon. I picked it up and gasped at the weight of it. I thought if I fired the thing I would go flying back because of the massive recoil.
What I was more interested in were the swords and knifes. Something about the gleaming blades drew me to them. There were two swords in particular attached to the wall, crossing one another, with blades of about three feet in length, slightly smaller than a normal Katana—which I only knew because Josh owned a Japanese Katana. I took the two swords off the wall and started playing around with them, feeling their weight, swinging them around. Even though I hadn’t much of a clue as to how to use them, the two swords felt good in my hands, almost like they belonged there. I remembered what Frank and my mom had said, that ingrained fighting ability was a part of the Watcher awakening process. My fighting ability didn’t seem to have manifested just yet. I put the swords down on the bench that ran along the wall.
There were two other swords there that I tried out, both longer and broader and heavier, but they didn’t feel as good as the two smaller ones. I put them back and checked out the knives; I was drawn to one of them immediately. The handle seemed like it was made from bone—not human I hoped—with symbols carved into it. The deadly looking blade was serrated on one side and more symbols were carved into the steel. As I held the blade, I wondered how many monsters and demons my mom had killed with it. A lot, I guessed, if her journal was anything to go by. My mom was a regular killing machine in her day.
Was that to be my future as well? Spending my life spilling the blood of monsters? At that moment I couldn’t see it, but time would tell. If it meant getting Josh back, I would spill as much demon blood as I had to, no questions asked.
Besides the weapons, there were all the glass jars and bottles containing some really weird stuff, like strange plants, slivers of bone, things preserved in formaldehyde that I could only guess at. I figured all that stuff was used for spells. I had similar items back in Diane’s house, stuff I’d bought from back alley occult stores when I was dabbling in witchcraft, trying to summon demons so I could ask them about my parents. None of my spells worked, probably because the spells I was working on weren’t even real, nor the ingredients I bought for them. I figured the stuff my mom had collected was as real as it got. She mentioned a few times in her journal about doing spells. I would have to look into that further.
I started by looking through some of the books that were scattered about the room. Old books, musty smelling, covered in dust were they hadn’t been disturbed in over a decade. Many of the books were written in a different language—maybe Latin—I wasn’t sure. In the texts written in English, I read about various demons and how to summon them, about exorcism spells, banishing spells, tracking spells and all sorts of others, along with lists of ingredients for each one.
Also in the lockup was a small locker like the ones we had in high school. It wasn’t locked so I opened it up and found about half a dozen different outfits hanging in there, nearly all black—leather pants with a short leather jacket, some dark jeans with more jackets, and another pair of leather pants with a leather body armor thing as well. “Jeez, Mom, dress up much…” I remembered her as always being dressed like a soccer mom: in jogging suits and casual clothes, but never in anything like the outfits I was looking at. I pulled out a black pantsuit with a white blouse, searched the pockets and found some kind of ID wallet. It was an FBI badge with my mom’s picture on it, under the name ‘Special Agent Stephanie Green.’ “Holy shit…” I stood shaking my head. So my mom went around impersonating an FBI agent as well.
Why, though? To get onto crime scenes maybe? To investigate people in their homes?
I hung the pantsuit back up.
At the bottom of the locker there was a small metal box, like a cash box. I took it out and brought it to the bench. Inside I found a passport which wasn’t in my mom’s name but had her picture on it, as well as various ID’s, all with her picture but under different names. They stated she was a health inspector, an IRS employee, a doctor at Mercy City General and the best one, a CIA agent. “What the hell, Mom?” I shook my head and looked into the box again. There was cash. A lot of cash. Maybe ten thousand dollars or more. I was astounded. My mom had this whole other life and I never even had a clue. When was she planning on filling me and Josh in about it all?
There were two photographs in the box, one of me and Josh, taken behind the house when we were about five years old, just two happy little kids with not a care in the world. The other picture was of my mom and dad. It was one of those photo booth pictures, the two of them squashing their heads together, laughing, young and happy and in love. A lump formed in my throat as I stared at the picture. Looking at them, no one would ever guess what horrible things their futures held or what secrets they were hiding behind their smiles.
I still didn’t know the extent of my dad’s involvement in the whole Watcher thing. He was around pretty much all the time when we were growing up. He practically raised us by himself with my mom being away a lot. If he was a Watcher he must have had a different role that he fulfilled from home, or else he wasn’t involved at all. My dad, being the honorable man that I remembered him being, would probably have elected to look after his children first, forgetting about his Watcher duties. That thought made me love and miss him even more and a tear rolled down my cheek and splashed onto the photograph. I wiped the picture and put it back in the box.
There was a large army green traveling bag under the bench. I pulled it out, checked to see if it was empty, which it was. I needed clothes, having left all my stuff behind at Diane’s. Since my Mom was a size twelve like me, I took some outfits from the locker and put them into the bag, along with the box containing the cash and ID’s. On top of that stuff I put two handguns, a few boxes of bullets, the knife with the bone handle and the two short swords. I also threw in a few of the old books—the ones in English anyway—before I zipped up the bag.
My plan was to check into a hotel somewhere using the cash and one of the fake ID’s. From there I would figure out a plan of some sort. I knew next to nothing about demons and all that Watcher stuff so I was hoping to learn from my mom’s journ
al and the books she had. I could also teach myself to fight, maybe find a quiet spot in the woods somewhere outside the city where I could practice with the guns and swords. I felt ridiculous even considering such things, but I didn’t see what choice I had. I was on my own and that was something I would just have to deal with. I wasn’t about to drag Kasey into my nightmare either, even though she would probably lap it all up. I couldn’t risk her getting killed by some demon who was after me.
I couldn’t go back to Frank’s either. The temper tantrum I pulled on him was probably uncalled for and I felt like an idiot for having done it. Frank was the only family I had at that point, so you’d think I’d be more nurturing of that relationship, especially since he had so much to offer me in terms of teaching me how to be a Watcher and getting my brother back. Call me stubborn, but I didn’t feel like I could go back to Frank’s after the way I treated him. I guessed I took after my mom in that respect. I also doubted he even wanted me back. He was probably glad to be rid of me so he could go back to his life of solitude and whiskey in the mountains. For the time being at least I was on my own.
Outside the lockup, I set the bag on the floor while I bent down to lock the shutter. When I stood up again there was a man standing right beside me. I cried out in shock and jumped back. “Jesus Christ!” I yelled. The man was bald headed, heavily built and past middle age. He wore dark jeans and a black polo shirt, reminding me of a nightclub bouncer. I was about to ask what the hell he thought he was doing sneaking up on a girl like that when I saw his face flicker and immediately I thought, Oh shit, because I knew what that flicker meant.
Sure enough the man smiled and his face took on a muddy red color with bony thorns all over it and two small horns jutting from his forehead. His eyes glowed yellow at me and I felt adrenaline surge through my system like I’d just been given an epinephrine shot to the heart. “What do you want?” I said, backing away from him, the bag on the ground the only thing between us.
“You, of course,” the demon said in a very deep voice, a sinister smile still on his red face, showing me pointed teeth.
Fuck this.
I went to run, but as I turned the demon was somehow right in front of me, blocking my path.
What the hell?
I turned the other way to run, but he appeared again right in front of me.
How was he doing that?
“You can’t run from me, girl,” he said in a voice that any death metal singer would be proud off. “I have orders to take you with me.”
“Orders from who?” I asked, the tremor in my voice giving away my fear. “Did you take my brother?”
“You mean Josh? He’s with us now, as you will be also.”
Oh my god.
“Where is he?” My desperation made me sound more confident than I felt.
“He’s safe, don’t worry.” His face changed back to human, though his human face didn’t look any less evil and his eyes still glowed yellow. He held out his hand and softened his voice. “Come with me and I will take you to him.”
I almost accepted his invitation, but something in me was screaming no, no, no and all at once I felt the same warm energy that I had felt the day before at Diane’s house, only this time it felt much stronger, pulsing through all of my muscles until I felt like a coiled snake, poised to strike.
So that’s exactly what I did. I leapt forward and hit him with a right cross as hard as I could, stunned when I felt his nose crumple under my fist, the power of the strike sending him reeling back.
Did I just do that? Holy shit. He’s going to kill me now for sure.
The demon wiped his hand across his face, blood gushing out of his broken nose. “You shouldn’t have done that.” He showed me his demon face again.
Oh shit, here we go.
I stood ready, my guard up. If I had time I would have grabbed the two short swords from the sports bag, but he would be on me by the time I did. It would have to be a fist fight.
The demon came running at me and I didn’t know what to do. I was frozen to the spot. When he hit me it was like a truck had run into me and I thought his shoulder had caved in my chest.
This isn’t good.
He picked me up and slammed me into the wall between two lockups. My head hit the concrete with a sickening thud and I fell to the floor in a heap when he let me drop. “I told you, you shouldn’t have done that,” he said. “My orders are to bring you back alive, which I will—but just barely.” His boot went into my stomach. I would have screamed if I had the breath.
So this is it. My mission to save Josh ended already. If Mom where here she’d be disgusted.
Fight!
But he’s too strong…
I tried to get up and as I did, he reached down and wrapped a large hand around my throat, lifting me up of my feet and pinning me to the wall. All I could smell was his rancid demon breath, like rotten meat mixed with sulfur. His yellow eyes had glee in them as he squeezed my throat.
Do something…
I punched him on the side of the head, but it wasn’t enough for him to let go. His smile just broadened.
Just when I thought I was going to pass out I heard two loud bangs. The demon’s hand let go of my throat and I fell to the floor again. I looked up, gasping for air to see the demon staggering back, clearly hurt, crying out in pain as more loud bangs—that I realized were gun shots—resounded loudly in the hallway, making my ears ring.
Who’s doing the shooting?
I could hardly believe it when I looked down the corridor to see the creepy old man from reception standing with a gun in his hand. He fired three more shots at the demon, causing it to cry out again and stagger back further. The demon’s fierce yellow eyes lit upon me. “This isn’t over, Watcher,” he snarled and then he disappeared as if he was never there.
The old man was standing down the hallway like an aged Dirty Harry, a smoking gun in his hand. “You definitely owe me a look at them titties now,” he said as casual as ever, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that he had just shot a demon.
“Jesus Christ,” was all I could say.
“It was that mother of yours,” the old man said to me after I’d lifted the bag and walked back to the reception desk, my throat sore and my neck aching. “I had me a problem in here one time. Load of vampires started nesting in the lockups. That mother of yours, she killed them all. Messy business, I tell you. Took me days to clean the filth up in this place.” He held up the gun he used to shoot the demon. “Gave me this gun, she did, and some kind of special bullets. Never had to use it till now. In return I gave her a unit, free of charge. That’s the only reason I haven’t cleared it out.”
“Thank you,” I said, inwardly thanking my mom at he same time.
“You just be careful, girly. Seems to me whatever your mother was into you’re into as well. Dangerous business, no doubt.”
“Tell me about it.” I lifted the heavy sports bag. “Well, thanks again.” I went to walk out the front doors.
“No titties?” he called after me.
I shook my head and couldn’t help but smile. The old man was persistent, I’d give him that.
Chapter 7
I took one of the knives out of the bag before closing the trunk and sitting in the car. I figured I’d need some protection in case I ran into any more demons, which according to the demon who just attacked me, was highly likely. I put the knife inside my coat and sat for a bit, wondering how to make my next move.
I had been lucky in there with that demon. Even though it said it needed me alive to take me to its boss—whoever that was—it still could have hurt me, not to mention taken me away with it. I was half angry with myself for not just going with it. At least then I would have known where Josh was.
I had to face up to the fact that I was too inexperienced at all this Watcher/demon fighting business. I could have continued on alone, learning as I went, possibly stumbling across leads as to Josh’s whereabouts, but how long would that take?
Bane came running out of the cabin, barking excitedly as I got out of the car, jumping up and placing his big paws on my chest a he tried to lick my face. “Down, boy,” I said, actually glad to see the dog. Frank stood by the front door, his arms crossed as he watched me get the bag from the trunk and carry it towards the cabin.
“You planning on staying a while?” he asked, allowing me to pass into the cabin.
I dropped the heavy bag on the floor with a thud. “Okay, Frank, it’s like this,” I said. “You’re my Uncle, but I hardly know you. I’m not even sure I trust you. But my mom trusted you, so I’m just going to give you the benefit of the doubt. My brother has been kidnapped, I’ve got demons after me, I’m totally new to all this Watcher stuff and you’re about the only one in this world who can help me. ”
Frank seemed to consider what I said, then he went to the kitchen and got two bottles of beer from the fridge, came back and handed me one. “I don’t drink beer,” I said.
“Well you do now.” He opened both bottles. Frank took a long swig from his beer then waited on me to do the same. I took a small sip, wincing at the taste.
