by J E McDonald
Somewhere in the back of her mind, the self-defense class she’d taken surfaced. Without thinking, she threw her body weight toward the weak part of his hold, his thumb, then twisted away. The movement made him gasp and release her. Aubrey scrambled toward the door. In the next instant, her hair was yanked so hard she shouted, tears springing to her eyes.
He brought her face to face with him, his other hand gripping her arm. His fingernails bit into her skin, and she whimpered. He had the same face she remembered from her visit to the estate sale, but this time his eyes, the same brown color as hers, were filled with loathing.
“There’s no need to be rough,” Jude said, his tone terse. “Let her go.”
After one last squeeze, Shawn pushed her away from him. Stumbling, Aubrey stayed on her feet, rubbing the sting away on her arms and scalp, trying to get her bearings. Her eyes scanned the walls. She stayed away from the shadows and the beings climbing around them. There had to be at least thirty, and they covered the door, her one escape route. She reached for her back pocket, but it was empty. Either Jude or Shawn had taken her phone. She couldn’t call for help.
The table in the center of the room reminded her of an altar with its dramatic lighting. The vessel sat in the middle, illuminated in a circle of light that highlighted every ridge and groove inscribed on its surface. Jude stood opposite, his hands braced against the edge of the table, his eyes apologetic behind the black frames of his glasses.
Her gaze bounced between the two men. They were working together, and she didn’t understand why. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice hoarse. She met Jude’s gaze, and his scar stood prominent against his pale skin.
The man shook his head briefly, like he didn’t want to answer.
She wiped sweaty palms along her thighs. “He killed someone,” she said, jerking her head toward Shawn. “Why are you working together?”
A shadow of regret passed over Jude’s features. “I made…promises before I knew Roman cared for you.”
“Shut it,” Shawn spat, his face a mask of hate.
She jumped at the sound, her heart racing in her chest, then refocused on Jude. “Why did you bring me here?”
He inclined his head toward the vessel. “We need you to open this.”
She licked her dry lips. “You said you knew how to open it.”
“All I know is that you need to be the one to do it.”
She straightened. “Why me?”
“Because your name is on it.”
“What?” Her eyes skimmed the surface. The writing on it was both foreign and unnerving. “That doesn’t make sense. You said it was thousands of years old.”
He turned the vessel around. “It says it right here. The Orphan.” He pointed to the middle row of words, the one he said was Sumerian.
“That could mean anyone.” Her fingers were icy cold.
“It could,” he agreed with a nod. “Except that Roman’s prophecy confirmed it was you. It took a while for Aym’s minions to pry the truth out Gusion before he died.”
She shook her head, not wanting to believe any of it.
“And I said shut it,” Shawn growled, taking a step toward him.
Aubrey lifted her chin and stared him in the eyes. “If you need me, why did run me off the road and try to kill me?”
A flush scorched its way up Shawn’s face, turning it a deep crimson. “I wasn’t trying to kill you but you ruined all my plans when you brought that man. You were supposed to be alone!” The last bit turned into a growl that sounded as manic as he looked.
A tantrum. The man had almost killed them because things hadn’t gone perfectly his way, and he’d acted like a spoiled little boy. A puff of air escaped her lips in disbelief, the volatile expression contorting his face making her heart race.
The demons shifted nervously, the skittering noises increasing around them.
That’s when she noticed one demon not moving at all, his little form squat, his knees in his armpits and his skin mauve instead of red.
“Moe?” She took a step toward him.
The other demons swarmed in front of her, separating them. They brushed up against Moe, making him sway, but he just sat there, his eyes big and round, his lips parted.
Anger speared through her hot and fast. She wanted to lash out. “What have you done to him?” Then, she noticed it, the little vibrations the demons closest to Moe gave off. They were doing the same thing to him that he’d done to her cat.
“They’ve entranced the little traitor.” Her brother’s voice came right from behind her, so close she could feel his breath on her ear. “And when our master arrives, I’ll make sure they get to feast on his itty bitty soul. How does that sound, sister?”
Every time he called her that, he sounded like a snake choking on its meal. She cringed away from him, her limbs trembling with revulsion. “Let him go.” Teeth clenched and hands fisted, she faced off with him, Moe and the other demons at her back.
Shawn laughed. “I never remembered you being this spunky. You were always such a whining, crying little shit. You cried so much our mother abandoned us.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it’s true. The junkie couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t look at you without retching.”
Aubrey shook her head in disbelief, backing away to round the table with Jude’s eyes on both of them.
Shawn sneered. “Years ago, I hired a private investigator to find out the truth. They called our mother schizophrenic, and she hated you so much she dropped us off at her sister’s house, a meth dealer who ended up blowing herself up after the cops took us from her, and we were put in the system. But I found out what happened to our mother. She overdosed on purpose.”
“You’re lying.” Her words came out a tortured whisper. “My parents died in a car accident.”
“That’s what they wanted us to think. They always lied to us. That bitch at social services knew I wanted to kill you for making mom crazy and hid you away. Hid away the sniveling, slobbering crybaby.”
She backed away from his lies, crossing the large space in the middle of the room. It was then she noticed the black symbol on the floor beneath her feet. A large triangle with a swooping circle inside, then smaller circles around it, similar to the symbols she’d seen in that shack.
Gasping, she jumped away so she no longer stood in the center of it and kept circling away from Shawn until she stood on Jude’s side of the table. But when she looked at him imploringly, she found the other man’s eyes had turned impassive.
“You’re making shit up,” Aubrey said to Shawn. “Trying to scare me. It’s not going to work. Our parents died in a car accident.”
“Nope.” Shawn smiled. “We don’t have the same father. My daddy’s still alive. I reconnected with him a few years ago, a white trash owner of a junk yard. He even put me in his will, despite the fact he only fucked mom because she needed her dinner paid for. Me and his other kids are all one big happy family. It’s amazing what people will do for you when you offer them a smile and a kind word, isn’t it?”
Her mind raced. Could any of this be true? She knew so little about her past. And what would have been the point in searching when she had been convinced she was an orphan?
The deranged look in his eyes didn’t impart trust. She kept backing away from him, returning to where they’d started. “You’re insane.”
The smile left his face, his features becoming hard. “People who call me that don’t live to see their next birthday.”
“Leave her alone,” Jude said, loud enough to make Shawn stop his advance on her. “We really don’t have time for this. We need to have her ready to open this by the time Aym returns, or he’ll have our heads.”
Shawn scoffed, moving away from her, his focus shifting to Jude. “Just because you’re on the outs with our master, doesn’t mean I am.”
“From what I heard, he wasn’t pleased at you for having summoned him too early.”
Her brother’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve done all he asked and more. When he returns, he’ll finally give me all he’s promised.” His impassioned eyes returned to Aubrey, making her skin crawl. “Everything.”
“Don’t count on it,” Jude muttered beneath his breath. Then meeting her eyes, said, “Come. Let’s figure out how to open this thing, then we can all get on with our lives. Okay?”
Wrapping her arms around her middle, she moved toward him. Not because she wanted to do as he asked—she couldn’t believe a word coming out of either of their mouths—but because she needed more space between her and Shawn. “I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Unfortunately, this thing doesn’t come with an instruction manual, but we’ll figure it out together.” Jude sent her a smile she didn’t return.
She glanced at Moe in the corner, but the demon hadn’t moved. Licking her lips, she saw no other options but to cooperate until she figured out how to escape.
Her eyes on the vessel, she stopped beside Jude and ignored Shawn’s unsettling gaze.
“All right.” Jude pulled the vessel closer to her. “Let’s see what you can do.”
She shook her head. “I’ve already touched it. Nothing happened.” And they’d already talked about summoning someone named Aym. She didn’t want to be any part of it.
“Pick the damn thing up,” Shawn growled, advancing toward them.
“Hey,” Jude shouted. “Back off.”
The stained glass windows shook, startling them all. It was like someone was hitting them in anger. It took her a second before realization dawned. Finn! He was here with her. Relief made her limbs rubbery. She didn’t know how her ghost could help her, but at least she wasn’t alone. The thought created a core of resolve within her.
“You’re not helping,” Jude told Shawn after the window panels settled, his frown fierce. Then he turned toward her, giving her a small smile. “Ignore him. Now, how about you put your hands on it?”
She hesitated. Would cooperating make her situation worse or better? Maybe if she dragged things out, Roman would discover where she was and come help her. Except, he was out of town on a job and said he wouldn’t be back until dinner. Stella knew where she was, but she didn’t want her best friend anywhere near either of these two.
With no other options, she kept Shawn in her periphery and put her hands on the middle bulge of the vessel. “Like this?” She knew nothing was going to happen. She’d touched it like that before. But at least if it looked like she was cooperating, then Shawn would leave her alone.
After a minute, Jude said, “How about sliding your hands back and forth on the symbols?”
She did as he asked, but still nothing happened. The stained glass windows shook, distracting Shawn’s attention from her.
“How about touching the part with your name?” Jude asked gently, pointing to the symbol that looked nothing like her name.
She touched it, rubbed it like it was a genie in a bottle, and nothing happened.
“How about you put your hand on the top like you’re about to take off a lid?”
Apprehension made her hesitate. She’d never touched it that way before. What if this thing did what they wanted it to? She curled her fingers into her palms.
“Get on with it,” Shawn said, turning toward them, and this time he had a knife gripped in his hand.
Her throat went dry. She tried to swallow around the tightness. Tearing her gaze away from the knife, she did as he asked. The vessel remained as quiet and closed as it had always been.
“How about we stop with this bullshit,” Shawn spat, taking a step toward her.
The stained glass window teetered behind him.
He jumped out of the way at the movement, and the window crashed to the floor. Large pieces of the glass broke between the metal strips. The resulting clang-crack echoed in the silence of the room. Shawn kicked the edge of the window frame.
“Let’s focus here,” Jude said beneath his breath so only she could hear.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she whispered back, frustration bubbling up her throat. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“I know. I know. We’ll figure it out,” Jude replied, but he swiped sweat off his forehead.
Aubrey swallowed, the knot in her stomach an icy mass that made even that small action difficult. A strange energy crackled through the room, different than the wind from earlier. This was hotter and more oppressive.
“It’s time,” Shawn said with a laugh. “You’re out of options, Jude.”
“Time for what?” she asked but realized she probably didn’t want to know.
“Time for the big finale,” Shawn said with a flourish, spreading his arms wide to the room in general. “Time for the big kahuna to finally make good on all his promises. Right, Jude?”
The other man’s face was an emotionless mask. “We haven’t figured out how to open it yet.”
“We’ll have to live with Aym’s disappointment, then, won’t we?” He moved back until he was in the center of the symbols on the floor. “Which one of you fools wants to offer themselves up for the greater good?”
The demons nearest him scrambled forward, skittering along the ceiling and walls. Most left the doorway, and Aubrey stared at it, wondering if she could run fast enough to escape. But she couldn’t leave Moe. It didn’t matter. As soon as she had the idea, Jude’s hand clasped on her wrist. She gasped and looked up into his face.
His expression hard, he shook his head at her. She tried to wrench free, but he wouldn’t let her go. “You can’t leave yet,” he said under his breath.
Her wrist ached beneath his tight grip. She tried to ignore it, returning her attention to the center of the room. One of the small demons cowered in front of Shawn. He yanked it up by its ear and placed his knife on the side of its neck. “Always need a sacrifice to seal the deal,” he said mildly, then keeping her gaze, slit the demon’s throat.
She gasped and turned away from the sight. Unintentionally, she’d turned into Jude’s shoulder, and he let go of her wrist to pat her back awkwardly. She shuddered.
Repetitive chanting reclaimed her focus. Shawn said the same words over and over again, some sounding like names. The air around them shifted, incredibly hot, then freezing cold. She turned around, her hands rubbing the chill from her arms. With a bang, a purple black vortex appeared in the center of the symbols. She stared at it, dazed and unbelieving. It looked the same as the vortex created by the portal device, the one Stella’s father had sold her a few short weeks ago.
But this time, instead of something going in, a large, winged form covered in bright red scales and blazing armor stepped out. The horrific sight only stayed for a moment, then it shifted. The wings disappeared as the creature’s face and body took on a human appearance. His armor turned from red to black, a sword strapped to his back.
Except for one missing hand, he looked like a knight from a fairy tale story.
“Hello, my dear,” he said, his red eyes meeting hers. His voice was accented and polished. Stepping forward, he gave her a formal bow. “My name is Aym, and it’s a pleasure to meet you at last.”
38
Roman’s truck squealed to a stop in front of Our Lady of Sacrifice. Two black SUVs and a cop car were already there. Four people stood to one side of the parking lot, another two at the front door of the church. He hadn’t even jumped out of his truck and already his scar burned like it had the day it had been seared into his skin.
Aym was nearby. And he had Aubrey.
Panic shot through him hard and fast, then his front window fogged up. Catacoooms.
“Got it kid, thanks.” He threw open his door and ran right to the church’s main doors.
“Whoa,” the professor, Wiley, muttered, stepping out of his way. Stone, the giant, stood on his other side. Both were armed and wearing bullet proof FBI vests.
Roman yanked on the handle, but the doors stayed tightly closed. No matter how much of his weight
he put behind the pull, it wouldn’t budge.
“Help me with this,” he said to Stone over his shoulder.
The big man shrugged and stepped up beside him to add his weight. Though they grunted with exertion, they couldn’t even get it open a crack.
“You’re going to rupture something if you keep it up,” Stone said, stepping away.
Roman glanced around for something to use to force his way in. He saw the lock picks in the professor’s hand. “Unlock it.”
“It’s already unlocked. It just won’t open.”
“Milone!”
He turned his head to see the group at the far part of the parking lot, a man and a woman standing, and two more sitting on the ground. As he got closer, he realized the man on the ground was Lucas in his police uniform, Stella in his arms. Agent Martinez and the woman on his team, Ridon, stood beside them.
He headed straight toward Agent Martinez. “Where’s Aubrey? Have you gotten her out?”
Martinez ran his hand through his hair, his frustration evident in the jerkiness of his limbs. “As you can see, we haven’t been able to get in. The place has been sealed with…magic or something else. We haven’t made any leeway in all the time we’ve been here. Stone hasn’t even had luck with it.” A look crossed his features that revealed he’d said too much, then he shook his head. “We’ve called for some special reinforcements, a strike team of sorts, but they’re going to be a while.”
Roman couldn’t sit around and do nothing, not when Aubrey was in danger. Scanning Stella’s features, he noted her pale face, bluish tinted lips. “What’s your read on the place?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. It’s too negative. Hard to even breathe. Light-headed.”
He’d seen how demon energy impacted her when they’d first met. She’d been no help at all when demons had been alive on that property. “You need to get her out of here,” he said to Lucas.
She shook her head. “Not leaving…Aubrey in this.”
