by John Corwin
Not that Elyssa hadn't done so plenty of times before.
An entirely different crazed woman ran screaming from the dark, blood smeared all over her face. The ninja did a roundhouse, slamming the mental patient hard in the side of the head. The woman's body flipped sideways from the impact. Before her body hit the floor, the ninja raised a foot and slammed her in the ribs, pile-driving the body into the stone surface. The woman groaned but stayed put.
The unexpected pause before my imminent ass beating gave me much needed seconds to recover from the tranquilizer still clouding my control. Warmth flooded into my limbs. I felt strength roar through my blood. This chick was in for a surprise if she attacked again. I held out a hand and motioned her with my fingers. "Come get some."
Her foot flashed out. Instinct took over. I dodged back and felt air whoosh past my nose. Her fist blurred for my head. I juked right to avoid the thrust, but she blindsided me with her other fist and nailed me in the temple. I staggered backwards, regained my feet and took a swing at her. She jumped back from my clumsy retaliation. This time, the ninja held out a hand mimicked my "come get me" taunt.
I touched my aching head and glared at my assailant. Experience overrode my initial desire to charge in, fists blazing. I'd trained with Elyssa, but still wasn't anywhere close to her level of proficiency. This person obviously had similar training, not to mention supernatural speed and strength along with it. I needed to level up before contending with this threat. Unfortunately, I couldn't just run away. David might be an ass, but he was still my father and I had to save him.
The whistle of a projectile narrowly warned me in time to duck as a dart flew past my personal airspace. The ninja attacked. With a flurry of blows, each one seemingly quicker than the last, she drove me back down the aisle toward the front of the church. I felt static tickle the hairs on my skin as I crossed the silver circle. The attacker paused. Backed off and regarded me, her mask concealing whatever smug expression lay behind it.
I decided to exploit her hesitation and blurred forward. I ducked beneath her swinging arm. Shot up from a crouch, and delivered a crushing uppercut to—thin air.
My gaze flicked around. The ninja was nowhere to be seen. Where did she go? I looked back at the circle. David lay prone in the center, unmoving. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Spun, and saw the ninja. A foot crushed into my chest. I flew backward, hit the ground skidding and rolling until I came to a rest against my unconscious father.
For a brief second, I felt the aether in the air dissipate as the ninja woman broke the circle. Just as quickly, she drew another circle and two slashes across it in the air with her finger before jamming a thumb to the silver. The air crackled and snapped as the new circle formed. She waved like a beauty pageant contestant, crossed her arms, and regarded me from behind her black mask. I grabbed David, and ran for the opposite edge of the circle. When I pressed a hand to the air, it confirmed my worst fears. She'd put up a physical barrier.
I reached for my pocket. My phone was gone along with my wallet. The Exorcists must have taken our belongings earlier. I felt David's pockets and came up empty. Setting him down for the moment, I walked to the edge of the circle near the woman.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, straining to keep my voice calm.
She didn't answer, but remained standing and watching.
"Who are you?" I asked. "Show me your face."
Her head tilted slightly, as if considering my request. A chubby figure rose from behind the pulpit. Blood trailed from Montjoy's nose. He panted as if he'd just sprinted a mile—or more likely ten feet—considering how much energy it probably took to move his considerable bulk.
"Subdue the others," he told the fighter. "Quickly, now."
"You like that word," I said. "Maybe you should subdue with all the subduing."
Montjoy's lip curled into a sneer. "I will never rest until I cleanse your ilk from the mortal realm."
"You want to get rid of all Daemos?" I said, more surprised by his ambition than by the actual admission.
He wiped at the trickle of blood as it ran down his lips, and looked away, apparently choosing to ignore my question. Another Exorcist appeared from the shadows, walking with a slight limp.
"Set the candles back up," Montjoy snapped, obviously not a bit concerned with the injuries sustained by his comrade.
The Exorcist complied without comment.
The scattered screams and shouts of crazy people and their victims diminished to silence over the next several minutes. The mysterious fighter appeared from time to time, hauling incapacitated people to another cage and tossing them inside like sacks of garbage.
"What's wrong with those people?" I asked.
Montjoy spun to me, an amused expression partially hidden behind a tissue pressed to his nose. "Why, surely you know, young Slade."
"No, I don't, old Montjoy."
He walked right up to the edge of the circle, as if taunting me with the thin invisible barrier that kept me from backhanding him across the room. "They're possessed."
I raised an eyebrow. "Possessed?" I'd seen and fought summoned demons, but hadn't realized demon possession was actually a real thing and not something fabricated for entertainment. That said, I wasn't terribly surprised.
A smirk appeared on his face. "It seems your relatives haven't done a very good job informing you, boy." He looked at the tissue. Snapped his fingers, and an Exorcist produced another for him, taking the blood-soaked swab. "Demons crave our world. They love taking bodies on joy rides, much like teenage boys with fast cars or loose women. They wear out the bodies. Strain them and drive the physical shell insane."
"Like that old man?"
Montjoy pinched his nose shut in an attempt to stanch the blood flow. "That 'old man' is in his twenties." His voice sounded funny, but surprise overwhelmed my desire to laugh.
"Twenties?" I couldn't believe he was less than fifty.
"Some demons wear out bodies faster than others. It all boils down to what kind of demon inhabits the person."
"Purging them is an exorcism," I said, addled brain finally making a connection. "Does that kill the body?"
"No, not generally. It drives the demon back to their plane, and restores the human's soul back to full control." He sneered, displaying blood-stained teeth. "If only demon spawn were so simple to handle."
"We're not possessed," I said. "Why are you trying to purge my father?"
"Don't listen to his lies, Justin," my father said in a weak voice.
"Slade." Hatred added a rough edge to Montjoy's voice.
"You finally caught me after how many years?" David pushed himself off the floor, and made a show of counting his fingers. "Gee, I've lost count."
"You're mine now," Montjoy said. "Perhaps I underestimated what it would take—"
"You're a little old to be making rookie mistakes," David said. He rolled his shoulders and jerked his head side-to-side, cracking his neck. "I think you should let me go before someone gets hurt."
"Never!" Montjoy shouted.
"How do you two know each other?" I asked, eyeing them both.
"Poker night," David said, cracking his knuckles one at a time.
Montjoy pressed his hands to ears. "Stop cracking your knuckles, you infernal creature!"
"Or was it band camp?" my father said, holding up his pinky finger and twisting it to the side with a loud snap. Malice glimmered in his eyes.
"Your kind killed my family," Montjoy growled. "The Templars gave me a new mission in life, and I intend to fulfill it. You will be my crowning glory, Slade."
"Do the Templars still associate with you and your crazy cult?" David said. "I thought they kicked you out a long time ago."
"The Synod reached out to us after the Borathen infidels broke ranks," Montjoy said. "The Divinity herself has given us her blessing. She is the one who helped me find you, beast. She will show me how to destroy you."
"Just because demon spawn killed your family doesn't mean my
father did it." I didn't think logic would work with this man, but at this point we had nothing to lose. "You're unfairly targeting him for the actions of others."
"You do not know him, boy." An unholy light shone in Montjoy's eyes. "You do not know his origin."
"Invite me over for tea sometime, Montjoy, and I'll tell you all about my childhood," David said, making a show of inspecting his fingernails.
I felt my eyebrows rise as I looked at David. I'd never heard him talk like this. He'd always been a lazy goof-off with few cares. His work as an artist rarely panned out to much, leaving Mom with the bulk of responsibility for keeping the household financially afloat. During my incubus puberty, I'd discovered his secret bank account with over a million dollars in it.
I looked at the stranger in my father's skin. "Who the hell are you?"
"That is a very good question," David said. "I planned on explaining myself to you, but my dear friend, Mr. Montjoy, rather rudely interrupted."
"I will return you to the eternal lake of fire, Slade." Foam flecked Montjoy's lips. "I relish the thought of you burning in perpetuity."
"Here's some advice," I said, poking a finger toward the angry fat man. "First of all, never get involved in a land war in Asia. Second, relishing the thought of anyone being tortured for all eternity is not gonna win you any friends."
"Especially when it's a nice guy like me," David said with a hurt look on his face. "Do you need a hug, Montjoy?"
"I don't need a hug!" the big man shouted, face beet red. The trickle of blood from his nose grew to a steady stream.
"Sir, your nose," the Exorcist with the tissue box said, and held out another tissue.
"Fix it!" Montjoy snapped.
The man dabbed at the blood for a moment to no effect and resorted to stuffing a wad in the Montjoy's nose.
David snickered.
The front doors to the church opened. Sunlight flooded in. Candles sputtered in the sudden breeze. A lone figure dressed in a silky white dress glided down the center aisle. She made a motion with her hand. A black tarp fell from where it had covered a circular stained window above the doors. Sunlight painted the hidden nooks of the Gothic church. It shimmered from the woman's Pantene-perfect golden hair. My breath caught in my throat. I backed away from the edge of the circle even as David's back straightened.
Exorcists fell prostrate, bowing in the presence of royalty. The man with the tissue box fainted. Montjoy narrowed his eyes, offering a curt bow to the one the Synod Templars called Divinity.
Fair skin and blonde hair aside, the woman looked identical to Nightliss. She was, in fact, her evil twin sister.
Daelissa.
Chapter 4
Elyssa
Police opened their car doors, aimed pistols over the sills, and shouted, "Raise your hands and get on the ground!"
"Give a guy a break!" Shelton shouted back at the police. "I just went out to get some milk and bread!"
"On the ground, now!" a cop screamed.
Shelton turned his head to Bella. "I am not getting arrested."
"I found Ivy's number," Elyssa said. She'd gone through her texts with Justin and finally found it. She dialed. The voice of a young girl answered after a few rings.
"Bigdaddy, calling from other numbers won't help," she said. "I told you I'm not coming back."
"It's Elyssa, not Jeremiah Conroy."
"Oh." She giggled. "I was just playing with Justin's hellhound puppy. He's so cute, even if his breath stinks."
"Ivy, we don't have much time. You know the omniarch in the cellar?"
"Yes."
Elyssa breathed a sigh of relief. "I need you to go down there right away. I'm going to send you a picture, and I want you to open a portal to the exact spot, okay?"
"You got it!"
Elyssa took a picture of the space behind a large green dumpster, and sent the image.
The sound of squealing tires heralded the arrival of a SWAT team. Police in bulletproof armor poured down the alley from the direction of the bank. Shelton looked at the police barring the other exit and growled. "You've got to be kidding me. I swear if they come at me, I'll use magic to stop them. Ain't no way in hell I'm letting noms take me in."
Bella gripped his arm. "No, Harry. We can't let noms see us using magic."
"She's right," Elyssa said. "Just give Ivy a minute."
"They'll see the portal open," Shelton said. "What's the difference?"
"The dumpster will screen them from seeing the portal," she replied.
"Down on the ground, or we'll open fire," said one of the men on the SWAT team. They aimed their assault rifles across the twenty yards separating them from Elyssa and the others.
"Hey, everyone!" said Ivy in a bright voice. She stepped from behind the dumpster, blonde hair bouncing and blue eyes alight with excitement. "What's all the excitement about?"
"Back through the portal," Elyssa said. "Hurry!"
"I said halt!" someone shouted and a gun exploded.
Ivy threw up a hand. A bullet flattened against a rippling shield inches from Shelton's chest. He staggered back, eyes wide with surprise. Ivy's lips peeled back into a snarl. "You tried to hurt my friends!" She threw her hands forward and a shimmering force threw the assault team back down the alley, guns clattering along the ground after them.
The police behind the cars at the end of the bank alley fired, but their bullets failed to penetrate the shield. Ivy squeezed her hand, and the police cars crumpled like tin foil. Someone shouted orders and the police went into a full retreat, voices filled with panic.
Bella looked horrified. Shelton barked a laugh. Ivy brushed her hands and smiled at Elyssa. "Are you guys ready to go?"
Elyssa nodded. "Yes."
They stepped back through the portal and into the cellar of the mansion. Elyssa deactivated the portal and gave Ivy a stern look. "You can't just go blasting noms with your powers. Didn't Jeremiah teach you any better?"
Ivy looked down and toed the floor. "Well, yeah. Bigdaddy—um, Jeremiah—he said I needed to be top secret with my abilities." She looked up. "But Daelissa told me I shouldn't worry so much, because taking over the world means you have to strike fear into the hearts of mere mortals."
Shelton and Bella exchanged looks of horror.
Elyssa decided it was time to have a much-needed talk with Justin's little sister. She looked at the other two. "Will you excuse us for a moment?"
"Take all the time you need," Shelton said. He took Bella's hand and fled up the stairs.
It had been a huge surprise when Ivy had shown up at the mansion the day after Justin's Christmas party. She'd apparently sneaked away from Jeremiah Conroy, as she'd done on several previous occasions, and come to live with Justin and Alysea, her mother. Justin had been overjoyed and immediately put plans in motion to meet with his father, arranging a meeting through his Aunt Vallaena. He'd hoped to surprise his mother with a family reunion when she returned from Colombia.
Despite the Ivy's tremendous abilities, she hadn't gotten out much. The Conroys had kept her close and mostly isolated. She'd attended Arcane University, but according to Justin, most other students shunned her. As if the Conroys weren't bad enough, the poor girl had grown up with Daelissa pretending to be her aunt. Kids were supposed to learn about world domination from television cartoons, not insane Seraphim posing as relatives.
This is not going to be easy.
Elyssa smiled. "Do you like Daelissa?"
Ivy wrinkled her forehead. "I used to love her a lot. Lately, she's gotten really creepy, and Justin says she's just plain crazy."
"Justin is right." Elyssa kept her tone sweet, trying to avoid an adversarial approach. "As Jeremiah has probably told you, normal people—noms—don't react well to magic. In fact, it's against Overworld law to use magic where noms can see it."
"Why should we care? I mean, I could just incinerate the ones who don't like it."
Elyssa held back a grimace. "How many of you are there, Ivy?"
Ivy giggled. "Just one."
"That's right." Elyssa smiled. "There are billions of noms. If they all tried to kill you, do you think you could incinerate them all?"
Ivy pursed her lips and looked up, as if really calculating the odds. "I suppose I could blast a couple hundred before I got tired."
"In other words, they'd probably kill you long before you killed all of them."
The girl nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. They might be inferior, but there's so many of them that it's not a good idea to rile them up." She shrugged. "I mean, killing isn't that much fun anyway. When Bigdaddy—"
"He's not your grandfather, Ivy." Elyssa and Justin had to constantly remind the girl Jeremiah and Eliza had taken her when she was a baby, but they weren't related.
"Okay, fine. When Jeremiah wanted me to kill every vampire in Maximus's compound, I figured it was okay, because he told me they were all evil bloodsuckers." A frown crossed her pretty face. "But after meeting a few vampires, I realized that some of them are pretty nice. Felicia is really sweet."
Felicia Nosti hadn't started out as the sweetest vampire in the world, but Justin had somehow won her over to his side. Elyssa had to admit the former druggie had come a long way since the first time they'd met. "See? Just because someone is a vampire or a nom doesn't mean they're evil or inferior."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She shrugged. "I mean, noms can become Templars, so even they have some potential."
"So, no more blasting noms?" Elyssa said.
Ivy nodded. "I promise not to, unless they're really evil." She tilted her head. "Why were you in that alley anyway?"
Elyssa wasn't sure she wanted to inform Ivy about the current crisis, but knew it would be a mistake to conceal it. "Justin was kidnapped."
The girl gasped. "Oh no. Who got him?"
"We're trying to figure that out right now." She motioned up the stairs. "Let's go meet the others and go over the clues."
"Elyssa?" Ivy said.
She looked at Justin's sister. "Yes?"
"Can I blast his kidnappers?"
Elyssa managed an uneasy smile. "Let's talk about that after we figure out who did it, okay?"
