by AE Jones
After a few more seconds, I attempted to sit up, but Dalton put a steadying hand on my shoulder.
“Does anything else hurt?”
“No. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Where the hell are we?”
He finally helped me sit up. “If I was a betting woman, I would say we went through the demon portal.”
Dalton’s eyes widened. “Are we in the demon realm? Or maybe the in-between?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. So now what?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
He scowled at me. “I thought you’ve been doing this for ten years.”
“I’ve been dealing with supernatural cover-ups on earth. I wasn’t trained in Demon Realm 101. Although I think we might be in for a crash course.”
I looked around. We were in a cave the size of a large room, with walls made of some sort of crystal. Light shone through the stones, bathing everything in a reddish hue.
Dalton examined the ground. “Do you have your gun?”
I frowned. “No. I must have dropped it when we came through the portal.”
“I don’t have mine either.”
“I’m not sure it would have worked here anyway. Objects from earth might behave differently, if they work at all, in other dimensions.”
Dalton held out his hand, and I grabbed it, pulling myself up. I took out my cell and clicked it. Nothing worked.
“I guess my calling plan doesn’t extend to the demon realm.”
Dalton rolled his eyes and brushed his hands on his pants.
“What? We could use some levity right now. Don’t you laugh anymore?”
“Anymore?”
Crap. “I mean I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh, or smile for that matter.”
“How about once we get to earth we talk about smiling? God, I can’t believe I just said that. We’re not on earth anymore.”
I blew out a hard breath. “Don’t freak out on me, Dalton, or I’ll lose it, too. We need to scope out this place first and make sure we’re the only ones in here. Jean Luc, Misha, and Talia will have us out of here in no time.”
At least I hoped they would.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Dalton and I picked our way through a narrow tunnel. It was barely wide enough for Dalton to get through without having to shift his shoulders sideways. I sucked in a breath through my nose and let it out of my mouth to keep the walls from closing in on me. I was too busy breathing and reminding myself claustrophobia would not defeat me that I didn’t notice when Dalton stopped. I ran into his back and grabbed his arms so I wouldn’t fall on my butt.
“Sorry.”
He looked over his shoulder at me and said in a low voice, “This opens into a larger cavern. Hold on.” He took a couple of steps and peeked out. “It’s empty.”
He walked into the cavern, and I scrambled behind him to get out of that damn tunnel. The space was bigger than the cavern we had landed in, and the opposite end had an opening to the outside. Wherever outside was.
Dalton spoke. “So the question is, do we stay here or go outside the cave?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but he plowed on.
“Basic survival training says stay put. If they open the portal again, odds are it will open here, and we probably won’t have much time to get through it.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe the portal will open up wherever we are. Plus, I’m not liking the idea of us being in this cave with only one way out. Kind of makes us sitting humans for some demon to stumble across.”
“Where the portal reactivates again might have been a helpful question to ask Eli earlier.”
“It never occurred to me we’d need that bit of info. We didn’t exactly plan to end up here by ourselves. We weren’t going to let them open up a portal at all. As you stated in our planning session,” I said as my fingers formed air quotes, “we were supposed to engage the perps, extract the data, and capture them for further questioning.”
“You’re right.”
I shut my mouth against the responses I had been preparing to fling back at him. “Huh?” Not smooth at all, but my tongue was still in scathing mode, and I hadn’t had time to readjust.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I said you’re right. This wasn’t part of the plan.”
“It’s the way life works. Someone or something will always find a way to muck up the plan.”
“Don’t I know it,” he replied, pain flashing in his turquoise eyes.
Finally, some type of emotion from him. If only it hadn’t been pain. “It must have been hard last summer for you.”
He flinched slightly, and it was my turn to plow on.
“You were splashed all over the news. Decorated cop almost dies stopping serial killer. You were a hero. But people forget there’s more cleanup to do after the headline fades, isn’t there?”
“Yes.”
“But you have to move on.” I swallowed hard. “You have to—”
He slammed his hand over my mouth, and I gasped. Or at least I tried to, but was stopped by his palm. He leaned close, his breath tickling my ear. My heart thumped. What the hell?
“Someone’s coming,” he whispered.
My heart’s thumping exploded into full-blown gymnastics. Someone or something? I nodded, and he let me go. He leaned over and picked up two sturdy-looking rocks, handed one to me, and motioned toward the cave wall next to the entrance. I walked as quietly as I could to the wall, and he moved to the other side of the entrance.
We were going to take on a demon with rocks as weapons. The only other thing I brought to the equation were rusty self-defense moves Jean Luc taught me eons ago. That and my sarcastic wit.
We were so screwed.
Chapter 20
I took a shallow breath so I wouldn’t give us away and gripped the stone so hard it bit into my fingers. Dalton’s gaze latched onto mine from across the entrance, as if to encourage me. This was the Dalton I remembered. Why did it take a crisis to make us band together?
The demon who’d sent us here came through the entrance, his orange skin taking on a reddish cast from the crystal walls. He circled Dalton slowly, shooting a sideways glance at me.
“Here you are.” He tsked his tongue at us like a kindergarten teacher. “You slipped away during the transfer.”
“Send us back to earth, right now,” Dalton demanded.
“I don’t think so.”
“What are you planning to do with us?” Dalton asked.
“I’m not planning to do anything to you unless you try to stop us.” He smiled. “She’s coming with me.”
The hell I am.
“The hell she is,” Dalton said, and I would have cheered at his word choice if I hadn’t been so damn freaked out.
The demon lunged. Dalton sidestepped and used the demon’s momentum to push him away. The demon spun and kicked out, almost making contact with Dalton’s legs, but he backed away in time.
Dalton swung the stone in a powerful arc, but the demon blocked his punch and knocked him to the ground. He leaned over Dalton and grabbed him by the shirt. I bit my lip to keep silent and ran forward, slamming the rock against the back of the demon’s head. He staggered, cursing in demon tongue.
He looked over his shoulder at me and growled.
“Don’t hurt her!” Dalton yelled, jumping up.
The demon swung his fist, connecting with Dalton’s face. A sickening thud echoed in the cave, and Dalton stumbled. I kicked out, hammering into the demon’s knee, and then crashed the rock down on his head again. He howled and fell to his knees. Dalton knocked him out with another blow of his rock, and then grabbed my hand. As we ran out of the cave, I gave thanks again for steel-toed work boots.
Outside seemed normal…if you were on a mission to Mars. Lots of dirt and rocks mixed with red crystals from the cave, and the sky had a washed-out blue cast to it. It seemed to be daytime here, even though we had dropped through the portal after dar
k our time.
After a few minutes, we stopped running. Dalton let go of my hand and turned in a circle, slowly casing the landscape. “I don’t think we should stay out in the open like this, in case our friend comes after us again.” He pointed to a cluster of trees, and we jogged in their direction. We finally slowed once we were several feet into the forest, far enough that the trunks and branches hid us.
We maneuvered farther into the trees, and I slowed and deepened my breathing to calm my heart. The air was stale and a bit dusty, like the inside of an old attic. I switched to shallow breaths instead.
Dalton picked up a large branch and tested its strength. Apparently satisfied, he carried it while we walked between the trees.
I did a double-take when I looked at Dalton again. “You’re going to have a heck of a shiner. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Thanks for protecting me back there.”
“You’re welcome. But you were the one who returned the favor by getting us out of there.” He stopped. “Why do you think that demon was after you in particular?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was pissed that I set him up.”
Dalton scowled. “What happened in the warehouse to set them off?”
“Nothing. They came in and looked at me, and then all hell broke loose.”
“Do you think they recognized you as BSR?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know how. I’ve never seen them before.”
We continued on in silence for a while, my thoughts hopping around in my brain. Why were they so damn interested in me? Could they sense my power? I stopped. Or maybe they could sense the Key? Shit. Who knew what beings from the demon realm could sense?
“You okay, McKinley?”
I nodded, not wanting to open that supernatural can of worms. A couple of seconds later, Dalton raised his fist in the air. I stopped immediately and waited quietly. Good thing I had seen enough military movies with Misha to know what the heck he was doing. He cocked his head and listened. I held my breath, hoping my heartbeat couldn’t be heard. It sounded like a bongo drum in my ears.
Rustling sounds reached us, and Dalton motioned for me to get behind a giant tree. He held his branch like a baseball bat and waited.
I saw a sharp-looking staff first, and then my eyes tracked back to the demon holding it. He was covered in some sort of black armor from head to toe, which was bad enough. But then another, even bigger demon came up behind him.
Dalton swung the branch and knocked the staff away. The second demon lunged for Dalton, and the branch shattered in a dozen pieces when it connected with the second demon’s armor. The demon grabbed Dalton and held his arms behind him.
The first demon pulled out a sword from the sheath on his back and pointed the sword at Dalton’s chest.
“Stop! Don’t hurt him!” I screamed as I ran up.
The demon jerked around when he heard me and pointed his sword at my chest, stopping me in my tracks. He spoke in some unintelligible demon language, but his voice was strangely…feminine.
“I don’t understand you,” I said.
The demon waved his sword, and I backed further away from the blade. When I was far enough away, the demon yanked off his helmet and hair cascaded down his—no, definitely her—back.
Even though she was a female demon, it didn’t make her any less intimidating. She reminded me of an Amazon. She was very tall, with long, black hair and violet skin, like a purple Xena: Warrior Princess brought to life. Misha would be rocking this reality.
She glared at both of us for a moment before she spoke in perfect English. “I am Naya of the Demon Patrol.” She pointed to a symbol engraved in her chest armor. Was it some sort of badge?
“What are you two doing here?” she asked.
“Where’s here?” I blurted, ridiculously relieved to be talking to a demon version of the police. Maybe we weren’t screwed after all.
She frowned. “You do not know where you are?”
“We have an idea,” I responded. “Either the demon realm or the in-between?”
“You are in the realm. How did you get here?”
“We were chasing a demon on earth, and he sent us here,” Dalton replied. “We left him back in the caves.”
“Why would you be chasing a demon?”
Dalton said, “Because we work for law enforcement on earth. We’re working a case, trying to stop demons from crossing from the realm to earth.”
“And the demon who sent you here. What did he look like?”
I jumped in. “From his orange skin and yellow eyes, I think he was a Kelmar demon, which is one of the clans in your realm. There were two demons. Twins, I think.”
Naya scowled. “Did you see their human form?”
“Yeah. They’re scary big as humans. Their heads are shaved, and they have dark brown eyes and tattoos that wrap around their arms.”
“Tattoos?” Naya asked.
“Permanent ink markings on their skin. They looked like demon symbols.”
“These markings are used to hide the demons from our kind. And these tattoos are permanent?”
“Most are. Some are temporary, and they can either be washed off or fade away over time.”
“I know the two you speak of. We suspected they were participating in crossings, but we have not been able to catch them.”
Naya spoke to her partner in demon tongue, and he took off in the direction we had come from. “Marrick will track the demon.”
“Well, we might have the other twin in custody on earth,” I said.
“How? You are here?”
“Our team includes a Shamat demon and two vampires. They probably captured some of the demons involved.”
“Let us hope so, or you will have a difficult time getting home.”
“Can you help us?”
“I cannot send you back to earth, but I can take you to the in-between until we find a way for you to get home.”
Dalton frowned. “Shouldn’t we stay here so our team can track us?”
Naya shook her head, sheathed her sword, and then knelt down to pick up her staff. “No, it is not safe for you here. In fact, we have already spent too much time in this location. We need to move on so others cannot find you.”
“Thank you for helping us,” I said.
“Luckily you spoke in English instead of demon-tongue so I realized what you are. Otherwise, I would have killed you.”
I gulped. “So now what?”
“Now you follow me and do as I say. I will take us to a jump point where we can transport to the in-between.”
I looked at Dalton, who nodded. “I’m Kyle and he’s Dalton. Thanks for um…not killing us earlier.”
She smiled. “You are welcome.”
Naya put her helmet back on and led us further into the forest, through dark trees towering above us and blocking out the light. It appeared similar to a forest on earth, same colors, same kinds of trees, but for some reason it gave me the creeps. After a few minutes, I realized why. There were no sounds. No birds singing, no animals running or rustling through the forest. Only the sound of our footsteps, which echoed loudly in my ears, so loudly I cringed, thinking we were going to summon every nasty demon in the realm.
Dalton stumbled next to me, and I reached out and grabbed his arm. We stopped for a moment, and he braced his hands on his knees and took some shallow breaths.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’m just having a hard time catching my breath since it’s so hot.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. It was not hot. It was cold. So cold that I had been wishing for a heavier coat. I studied him and noticed a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. Something was wrong. Was he getting sick?
Naya walked back to us. She held up a metal bottle to Dalton. “Drink this. It is safe.” She pointed to a tree that had been cracked off at its roots and was lying on its side. “Rest for a moment.”
Dal
ton didn’t protest, just accepted the bottle and sat on the felled tree. If he was listening to orders and not complaining—for sure he felt even crappier than he was letting on. Naya moved away and watched the forest. I followed her.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked quietly.
“From the signs he is showing, the demon realm is toxic to his system.”
“How can we help him?”
“We need to get him to the in-between, but it will not cure him. He needs to be returned to earth quickly.”
“How sick is he going to get?”
“Fever, sweats, horrible thirst. How long were you in the realm before I found you?”
“Less than an hour.”
Naya frowned. “He is getting sick faster than I would expect for a human.”
“Why am I not getting sick?”
Naya’s eyes practically pierced me. “What do you think?”
I looked over my shoulder quickly to see if Dalton was listening, but he was leaning forward, his head in his hands. “Maybe my powers protect me?”
Her eyebrow lifted in surprise. “He does not know about your powers?”
“No, and I would like to keep it that way for now.”
She nodded. “Let us move on. The gate to the in-between is half an hour from here. Hopefully moving him there will slow his symptoms, but it will not stop them.”
I swallowed hard, and Naya grabbed my arm. “Try to hide your concern. Undue stress will exacerbate his illness.”
“You mean like falling into a demon realm with no way out didn’t stress him out enough? How exactly am I going to top that one?” I scrubbed my hand over my tangled hair. I could do this. I had been hiding my feelings since he came back into my life. I could do this.
“You must school your features. Your feelings for him show on your face.”
Crap. So much for hiding my emotions. I closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath and relaxed my face.
“Better. We should travel now while he is still able.”
And while I could still keep it together.
Chapter 21
I felt like a walking tube of toothpaste, one that had been squeezed in the middle and then folded on the ends. Or that was the closest I could come to describing it.
