by Jen Pretty
As we neared the far end of the room, I saw the one that made my heart sink. My gargoyle, the one that contained the demon who had possessed me so long ago, sat broken in two among the rubble. I would know that scowling face and the jagged smile anywhere.
When I got home, I would have a chat with Lincoln about making the gargoyles a little less scary. He could make them into puppies and kittens. Why did they have to be ghoulish?
Back into a small tunnel, Rory was right behind me. The smell of copper pennies and charcoal reached my nose and grew stronger as we continued.
Finally, we reached a sharp bend in the dim tunnel, and I halted. I wasn't sure how, but I knew that beyond the curve was a demon — a big ass scary one.
I pressed my back into the wall of the tunnel and rubbed the scar on my neck from the last demon I met. Rory crowded me, but he didn't speak. He raised an eyebrow and pointed.
I nodded, assuming his gestures were a question about the bad guys.
This was why I was here. I had the power to stop the demon. I had to get my hands on him… or let him get his hands on me. That was the thought that scared me the most.
Rory held my eye contact, his hand smoothing up and down my arm silently. I took one more deep breath and pushed at the heat in my belly that would spring to life and fry the demon, sending him back to hell. Sparks jumped and spat like butterflies on crack in my stomach. I was ready.
I nodded once more, and that was all Rory needed. His face split into a crazy grin and he stepped around the corner.
“Hey, demon asshole. Come here often?” Of course, he would use a bar pickup line.
There was a deafening roar, undercut with the sound of screaming that I recognized as a demonic sound. A massive razor-nail tipped hand reached out and grabbed Rory, dragging him down the tunnel.
I sprinted forward and around the corner in time to see the demon with Rory in a death grip about to twist his neck. I launched myself off the floor and landed with my arms around the demons scaled back. The smell of blood and fire was pungent, burning my nostrils and making me wonder if I would ever smell again after this. The foul smell would certainly linger like when I bleached the floor in the pizza parlour. All I would smell for hours was bleach.
I pulled my fire forward, stoking the flames as the demon roared and tried to shake me loose. I wrapped my legs around his middle, so I clung to him like a baby koala. He shuddered and dropped Rory to the ground. Once the demon's hands were free, he reached over his shoulder and tried to latch onto me, but it was too late. That moment was enough, and my superpowers came pouring down my arms and through my hands into the evil demon.
He screamed, the sound echoing through the tunnel, but they cut off abruptly as he froze solid as statue.
A wave of dizziness washed over me, but I clung to the demon statue hoping the feeling would pass. My stomach churned, but I willed it to settle. I would not puke on the demon.
“You coming down?” Rory asked from behind me.
“Not just yet,” I said. The tunnel was still spinning.
“I’ll catch you, Harlow, just let go of the gross demon before his smell gets stuck to you.”
Eww, he had a point. I slowly let my arms release the rapidly cooling demon statue and Rory, true to his word, caught me before I collapsed to the ground.
“Easy does it,” he whispered, leaning me up against the wall of the tunnel and pressing his body into mine to keep me upright. His warm hands cradled my face and brushed the hair from my eyes.
My breath was still coming in panting little gasps, but I worked to slow it. One demon down. Hopefully, there weren’t anymore, and I could zap Collin and go home. Yeah, right. My luck didn't run that way.
I patted Rory on the shoulder, and he stepped away from me but kept a hand on my elbow in case I toppled over. It was close a few times, but I kept my feet on the floor and moved farther down the tunnel.
It was darker and silent now, but there was no turning back. The rest of the team had hopefully taken care of the possessed half-demons, and I had to do my part.
A deep chuckle floated down the tunnel from somewhere too far away to see. The sound of it was familiar somehow. It tickled the back of my mind like some old forgotten sound that once haunted me. I grasped at the memory, but it swept away. Terrific.
I shuffled on with Rory at my side. Deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the city. I had no idea how far we went, but eventually, the narrow tunnel opened into a subway track line. It wasn't one that was in use as the dirt and decay could attest. Something had disturbed the dust down the centre of the rusted old tracks, proving someone was down here. More than one someone, by the looks.
Rory’s hand landed on my shoulder, stopping me. I glanced back at him and he pointed to the left. There was another narrow tunnel beyond a door that hung from its hinges. The tracks went down into the complete darkness. A flashlight flicked on as I stepped through the doorway. Thankfully, someone came prepared. Rory stepped past me and led the way, keeping the flashlight pointed ahead.
Another deep laugh echoed from beyond the capability of the flashlight, sending a chill up my spine. I stopped dead, but Rory kept ambling towards our probable death. Idiot. I didn't want to be alone in the dark, so I hustled and caught up to him, walking so close I stepped on his heel a few times.
It wasn't Collin. I knew that. But who? Oh shit. That’s when I remembered where I had heard the chuckling before. The first time a demon had possessed me, laughing as I burned, and my flesh flayed from my bones. It was Shit-face.
I grabbed Rory’s arm and tried to pull him back. He glanced back at me and I shook my head. My hands shook. Shit-face was much worse than any other demon or half demon. He was psychotic and deranged.
Rory stepped in so close I felt the heat from his body, but it did little to warm my suddenly freezing skin.
“You can do this, darlin’. I’ll help you.” He brushed the hair back from my face and gave me a tight smile.
I tried to shake my head again, but he turned and continued down the tunnel.
“Shit,” I whispered. I pulled at that heat in my stomach and felt it spring to life. It was ready to fry another demon, but was I ready?
No. I was not.
My legs moved as if they had a mind of their own, carrying me along behind Rory.
Just as the tunnel opened to a shaft that led up to the city streets, Rory came to a halt.
“There she is. Step forward my lovely,” the mocking tone of the demon raised goosebumps on my skin.
I stepped beside Rory and got a look at the poor half-demon currently possessed by Shit-face.
“Go to hell,” I said, with way more bravado than I felt.
He laughed… a deep belly laugh. The half-demon he possessed now was black as night with scales, horns and wings. I would have thought it was an actual demon, except he wasn't even six feet tall. Much too short for a demon.
I reached up slowly to pull my sculptor stone out from under my shirt.
“Ah ah ah… None of that, daughter.”
“I’m not your daughter,” I hissed. “And it’s time for you to go back where you belong.”
I took a step forward, intending to run forward and zap the monster, but he rose on a giant flap of his wings, and he was suddenly fifteen feet above me.
“You are most certainly my daughter. You should ask your mother about it.” A wicked grin flashed over his face before he flapped again and slipped out an open manhole above our heads.
“I’ve got him, love,” Rory said, dropping the flashlight and disappearing up through the manhole, too, leaving me alone in the blackness.
Scrambling for the flashlight, I spun around to check for anyone else, but I was alone.
I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
The sound of boots slapping on the cement came from behind me. I shifted to the wall and flicked off the light. The small amount of light funneling down from above was enough to see by, and if it was
a demon, I might get the drop on him. I called my superpowers, and heat poured into my arms and down to my fingertips. Ready to roll out some hurt.
A tall figure appeared through the door, and I leapt realizing at the last second it was freaking Julian.
He let out a shout at the same time I cursed and apologized. I pulled back my powers before I sent him back to hell, but only just barely. He collapsed to the ground, and I landed hard on top of him.
“Shit, Harlow. I thought I was too late,” he said.
“Too late for what?” I asked, pushing up so I could see his face. He had splattered blood on him again and a huge gash that split his shirt and the flesh of his chest. The blood still oozed, but I could tell his body was already healing.
“Never mind. Let’s go. Collin is in the tunnels, and it would be helpful to have you there to stop him.” Julian rose, holding me to his chest. It was one of the least human things he had done around me. His muscles didn't strain at all as he got to his feet. He set my boots on the ground and moved back down the tunnel the way we had come.
“Wait, Rory went after Shit-face,” I pointed up.
“Shit-face?” Julian looked perplexed.
“Yeah, the demon who possessed me. He’s possessed a half-demon.”
Julian grunted and tried to herd me down the tunnel. “I hope you weren’t attached to your first lieutenant.”
I dug my heels in. “What is that supposed to mean?” I was attached to Rory. He was fun and easygoing.
“They had a plan to kill you when you went after ‘shit-face,’ as you call him.”
“Who had a plan?” I asked.
“Collin and the demon. That’s why I came rushing in here. To save you.” His face was so serious.
“Crap.” I was torn. Did I go chasing after Rory or go stop Collin? I would have to trust Rory could handle himself. If Collin got away, all of this was for nothing. “All right.”
We bolted back down the tunnel. I ran as fast as I could, Julian right behind me. When I got back to the place where Ann’s husband had been lying, I slammed on the brakes. Stepping lightly around his body, I said a little prayer for him before continuing. Julian pulled in front of me and led the way through the tunnels.
He stopped at the ragged hole into the new construction. It wasn't abandoned now, and all the workers stopped to stare at us.
A burly construction worker in a fluorescent vest and hard hat yelled down to us from some scaffolding. “Hey, you shouldn’t be in here!”
I waved and picked up the pace until we were away from the workers and back in the dark tunnels again. Luckily, I’d kept Rory’s flashlight and I flicked it on, scanning the shadows.
“You are no leader,” a voice spoke from the darkness. “You betray your own for this human?”
Collin stepped out from behind a pillar. His wings spread and his eyes as dark as night. His teeth shone in the flashlight beam, long and sharp.
He looked like the grim reaper, and he had come to drag me to hell.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I turned the flashlight to Collin's feet, so he didn't look quite so spooky and took a shuttering breath. My power flared, the heat rising to the boiling point.
“I don't know how you are still alive. I have a feeling your father has a soft spot for you,” Collin's voice was mocking. We both knew he had no fatherly affection for me. A small part of me that should have died a long time ago was still a lonely little girl and wanted to know about Shit-face. His name, for one. However, the real part of me that had spent time at his tender mercies didn't give two flying fucks about the demon asshole.
It was during this inner battle that Collin launched himself at Julian. He was so fast. I didn't have time to react before they were rolling around on the ground a mass of limbs and violence.
“Holy crap!” I screamed as I tried to find the right time to jump in and freeze the bastard. The grunts of pain and scent of blood filled the stagnant area. Julian had already been injured; it wasn't a fair fight. But then, demons never fought fair. They taunted and destroyed the weaker humans and Collin was no better than a full demon.
There was a loud groan, and a thick grunt and the men came to a stop. Collin had Julian pinned to the floor, his clawed hands wrist-deep in Julian's abdomen.
I took my opportunity and launched myself onto Collin’s back. My hands came around his neck, and I wrapped my legs around his waist like a baby gorilla. My power surged and sprung like lightening down my arms and through my fingers into Collin.
He screamed and thrashed. His fingers came whipping out of Julian with a spray of blood to rake at my arms.
Pain seared, but I didn't let go.
Collin's wings flapped hard, whipping me in the face, but I knew this was my only chance. Collin’s hatred for Julian is what would be his real downfall. If he had fled instead of fighting, he would be gone by now.
The heat flowed until sweat beaded my forehead and it felt like I was hugging a pizza oven, but in my mind, I replayed the vision of Julian strung up and shredded in that tunnel. What Collin had done to him was unforgivable, and I wouldn't let my temporary pain stop me from dealing out the justice Collin deserved.
“Rot in hell,” I whispered as I felt his body turn solid.
I slid off the statue of Collin, his wing outspread as he knelt above Julian. Collin’s face was contorted in anger, reminding me of a gargoyle. It was terrifying.
A few deep breaths later, I crawled to Julian who wasn't much more than pulp at this point. His torso was a mess, and Collin had slashed his face, too. One eye was clouded and leaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked, kneeling over him but unsure if I should touch him. Every inch of him was gross.
He coughed hard several times before sliding out from under Collin and pushing to his feet. He wobbled but stayed upright. I rose to my feet, too, feeling a bit like puking would be a good idea.
I had seen way too much of Julian's insides lately. That could stop at any time.
Julian took out his phone, which still worked despite his fight with Collin.
“He is taken care of,” Julian said before hanging up and dialing another number. Julian had no expression on his face when his call was answered again. “Send pick-up,” he said and hung up again.
“What happens now?” I asked. I was bone tired and needed to sleep for the next two years or so.
Julian crossed to where I had dropped the flashlight. He picked it up and put it in my hand. “I have to wait here for the Demon Division to pick up Collin. Go find Nick.”
I scoffed. “How am I supposed to find my way around down here?” I was terrible with directions. I would end up lost.
Julian grabbed my shoulders and spun me. “Keep heading straight down this tunnel, Harlow. You need to go. Now.” Julian was angry.
“Fine, God.” I spun on my heel and ran straight out of the small cavern and down the narrow tunnel. My legs shook, and I slowed to a walk once I was far enough away from Julian. He was such a fucking mystery. I didn't need this crap right now.
Several minutes later, the sound of footsteps approaching rang through the tunnel. I stopped behind a pillar and waited to see who it was, but it was Nick and a few half-demons I hoped were on our side.
I stepped out from my terrible hiding place and Nick’s whole body visibly relaxed. “Thank fuck, Harlow.” He stepped forward and scooped me up in his arms, spinning me around.
“Quit that. I'm close to puking as is.”
He laughed and set my feet on the ground. “Did you get Collin?”
“Yeah. I froze him. Julian is waiting for someone to pick him up, I guess. I need to find Rory.”
“I thought he would be with you. Isn’t he your first lieutenant?”
Great, this whole leader thing wouldn’t die easily if everyone knew about Rory’s declaration of loyalty. Freaking weird half-demons.
“He went off after Shit-face.”
Nick's eyes widened. “So your demon is here?”
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“He was. Then he flew out a manhole and Rory flapped off after him.”
I started walking again, playing the demon's words over in my mind. If I was his daughter, that made me a three-quarter demon. How come I looked human and had no special skills? Didn't seem legit.
Demons were assholes, though. I was sure they could lie like a cat in a sunbeam. This was a question for dear old mom when I saw her.
“You should be able to tell where Rory is if you are his leader,” Nick said.
I stopped and spun to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“Leaders know where all their pledged half-demons are. Don't you know anything about half-demons?”
I gave him the finger and turned to keep walking. No. I knew nothing about half-demons. Who would have told me anything about them? Lincoln? I snorted a laugh and it echoed through the tunnels.
Attempting to find Rory through whatever superpower I might have but didn't know about, I thought about Rory, tracing his tattoos in my mind. I felt a pull. It was like a string attached to my feet turning them as I moved down the dark tunnels. I chased my flashlight beam, following the weird pull. My speed picked up until the sound of wind whipping past my ears drowned out the sound of my boots on the cement floor.
I ran for a few minutes and skidded to a halt at the bottom of the ladder.
Nick slid to a stop behind me. “So I guess that answers that question,” he muttered.
Yup, I was a bigger freak than the kids from my high school even imagined. Whatever. I would embrace this new weirdness and maybe take up meditation. I could become a Zen master and never worry about anything again because I’d be Zen twenty-four seven.
At the top of the ladder, the manhole cover proved to be heavier than I expected. I pressed up on the bloody thing and tried to wedge my body into it from the precarious perch of the steel rungs. It moved, but not enough that I could actually shove it over.
