Raven, Red

by Connie Suttle

  Holding out both arms, twin blades appeared in Mac's hands as he prepared to defend Nico. The demon shrieked as it approached, as if affronted that someone was foolish enough to oppose him with mere blades.

  Leaping up, Mac whirled his body in midair as the demon came into range, slashing off the head with his first strike, then slicing through the abdomen with the second.

  Ari turned swiftly to blast another demon following the first, while Nico continued to save as many humans as he could.

  Sirens filled the air, their shrill warnings echoing off buildings as first responders arrived amid the pandemonium. Mac hoped desperately that they were armed with something larger and more serious than guns or rifles as he waited for another demon to make an attempt on Nico's life. If their only weapons were rifles or guns, the police could become additional targets for the demons swirling around the street below.

  "I am here," Renault appeared, before leaping off the building and removing a demon's head in mid-flight, only to twist his body and return to the rooftop.

  Mac blinked—there were half-formed, leathery wings on Renault's back; he'd used those to help him return to the safety of the building before launching himself after another demon flying too close. Except this one bore a screaming woman in its arms.

  Mac blinked again as Renault removed the demon's head, then pulled the woman away while the monster's body dropped toward the street below.

  "Here," Renault shouted at Mac, before tossing the woman toward him. Nico, rather than Mac, managed to catch the woman with his power and drop her gently onto the roof.

  Meanwhile, Ari shouted in rage as the remaining demons, many still carrying humans, abruptly disappeared.

  "We have to leave," Nico shouted.

  "Not yet," Renault dropped onto the rooftop and approached the woman, who'd fallen to her knees and wept.

  "You will remember none of this," Renault told her, holding her face gently in his hands.

  "Let's go," Ari snapped and transported the four of them back to the ranch.

  "Why couldn't we see them?" Darnell shouted at Belhar, who bared his teeth at the presumptuous human.

  "Our vision was blocked," Belhar hissed. "They always hide themselves behind the light. We have retrieved many slaves for you; be satisfied with that." Belhar disappeared in a huff, leaving Darnell to find his own way back to the capitol.

  "I woke and knew you needed help," Renault said. "I'd been dreaming before my waking, and in the dream, I stood in daylight. Vampires do not dream in the rejuvenating sleep," he added.

  "Things are changing," Nico told him. "I believe that the stone had restrictions where it was before, as did the Adversary and his minions. Once it was away from those bindings long enough," Nico shrugged.

  "So the gloves are off? Is that what you're saying?" Mac asked Nico.

  "I suppose you could put it that way. We must believe that the stone knows what it's doing, and who to choose for its army to combat an unbound Adversary."

  "None of this sounds comforting," Ari said.

  "Very true," Renault agreed. "May I have some water? I feel—thirsty."

  "I'll get it," Ari rose from her seat at the kitchen island. "Want ice?"

  "I will try it," Renault said.

  Ari set a glass of ice water in front of the vampire, who lifted the glass carefully before taking a sip. In moments, when there was no adverse reaction, he drank the entire glass before setting it down with a rattling of ice cubes.

  "The stone has never been capable of anything like this before," Mac breathed. "And, for now, I believe we should keep Renault's transformation secret."

  "I must tell Claudio," Renault countered.

  "Of course. Only those of us currently fighting this battle will know," Mac agreed. "We need your help. We don't need the Council hauling you away to poke, prod and test. I fear what it could lead to."

  "We will consult Claudio. He will know how to proceed," Renault argued.

  "All right, but we need you until this is over. The stone has decreed it," Mac said.

  "Where do your wings go? When you don't need them?" Ari asked, pulling the conversation to a safer topic.

  "They become a part of me, I suppose. I wasn't thinking about it while I was fighting those creatures."

  "It troubles me that the demons can just disappear, leaving no trace or trail behind," Nico grumbled. "I hope Del's Department can give us information on how many were taken. It will give us an idea of how many demons the Adversary will create."

  "You're acting as if they're already dead," Janie walked in, wearing a troubled expression.

  "Janie, except for the ones Nico was able to save, they are pretty much dead," Ari rubbed her forehead. "Those things—I can't begin to explain the hate rolling off them, along with that evil scent they carry."

  "That is an apt description," Renault dipped his head in agreement. "The stench alone convinces me they are evil."

  "How can normal humans become something like that?" Janie asked. "That is what they were—before they became zombies and then turned into demons. Or did I misunderstand?"

  "You didn't misunderstand," Nico explained. "It appears that in addition to the disease that turns these people into zombies, they're getting a good dose of hate to go with it. This sort of hate is like a virus; it spreads rapidly among those who aren't immune. Eventually, it's the only emotion they're capable of expressing. There's nothing human left of them—it's all hate."

  "Their goal is to infect the entire state, and then the whole country, before spreading it around the globe," Mac said. "Again, like a virus that has no cure."

  "This is more terrifying than I could imagine," Janie shook her head.

  "We got the dozer crew filling in the crater," Val strode in before stopping abruptly and staring in wonder at Renault, a vampire, not only awake but sitting in the light shining through a nearby kitchen window.

  "Something's different," he drawled after a moment's silence.

  "Renault helped us fight our first battle with the enemy's vermin," Ari turned in her seat to face Val. "Think of it as a kind of miracle."

  "Kind of? It's a flat-out miracle," Val shook his head in amazement. "Welcome to sunlight, Renault."

  "Thank you," Renault dipped his head to Val. "Perhaps I will try food later. Who can tell?"

  "He has wings if he needs them," Ari grinned at Val. "So it's an even bigger miracle. He needed them in Austin, because we were fighting from the top of a building."

  "I see I'm behind on current events," Val said. "Mom, is there anything to drink?"

  "Lemonade in the fridge," Janie replied. "Or do you want coffee?"

  "Lemonade first," Val said, taking the barstool next to Ari's. "Where are our human compatriots?"

  "On their way here," Nico replied. "Should arrive in half an hour or so."

  "Where are Erly and Hunter?" Ari asked.

  "Patching the roof of the calf barn," Val said. "Erly's doing a really good job. Hunter's learning the ropes."

  "Erly was one of the first black engineers in a desegregated army during the Korean war," Renault said. "He won't tell you this himself, you understand."

  "How do you know?"

  "I asked him."

  "Simple. Straightforward. I like it," Ari bumped her shoulder against Renault's and smiled at him.

  Mac suddenly looked as if something he'd eaten disagreed with him. Nico nudged Mac's elbow, forcing him to sit straighter and school his features.

  "They took a bunch of others somewhere else. I have no idea why I'm down here," the newcomer hissed at Teresa Moore's pointed question. "What the hell are those things, anyway?"

  "Whatever they are, and as ugly as they are, what's pulling their strings is worse, or so I've been told," Jeff's words conveyed defeat. "We're never getting out of here alive. Trust me."

  "Your name?" Teresa asked the stranger.

  "Friends call me Big John."

  "Your real name?" Teresa pressed.

  "Will rem
ain a secret," Big John huffed. "I have no idea who you are, or where we are. Not ready to give out personal facts, you understand."

  "He's just another biker motorhead," Jeff snapped at Teresa. "Look at his outfit, for Pete's sake."

  "Just because I'm dressed in my leathers doesn't mean I fit that description," Big John argued. "Shut the hell up. I don't belong in here."

  "Yet here we are," Jeff tossed out a hand. "In separate cages, waiting for somebody to come feed and water us, like animals."

  "Animals in a lab experiment, you mean," Teresa said. "Shut up, Jeff. I've had enough negativity today."

  "You got me into this, remember?" he accused.

  "Right. If I recall correctly, you volunteered."

  "Shut up, both of you. I need to think," Big John snapped.

  "Like thinking will help," Jeff sneered. All three froze when they heard the lock on the outer door pop open. Sudden light streaming into the shelter temporarily blinded them. When their vision cleared, they didn't recognize the man who'd come down the steps, brandishing a Glock pistol in his right hand and dangling a ring of keys in his left.

  "Boss wants to see you," he pointed at Big John. "He thinks you're special. Come along peaceful-like, and I won't shoot you."

  "Who are you?" Teresa demanded. "We haven't seen you before."

  "Oh, they call me witch-killer," he grinned. "I kill other things, too. Like people who piss me off." He pointed the gun at Teresa's head.

  "This is connected to those murders in Swindall?" Teresa searched her memory for the information she'd heard on the subject.

  "Say that town's name again, and you're dead," Bobby Ray said, then laughed. "All I gotta say to the boss is that you were uppity. An uppity woman around here is dead meat."

  "Come on, you," Bobby Ray turned to unlock Big John's cage. "come out of there with your hands up, or I'll shoot." The gun was now pointed at Big John as he made his way through the narrow door of the cage.

  "Go on up the steps," Bobby Ray motioned with the pistol.

  "Huh?" Big John turned as if he hadn't understood. Bobby Ray started to repeat himself when suddenly a furious eagle was in his face, flapping wings making him close his eyes in defense as the eagle began clawing and biting the hand with the gun.

  The gun dropped to the concrete floor as Bobby Ray cried out in pain. A naked Big John rematerialized, grabbed the gun and shot Bobby Ray as he attempted to rise.

  Two more bullets broke the locks of Jeff's and Teresa's cages, before Big John dropped the gun, became an eagle again and flew out of the shelter, heading for open sky.

  "Help me," Bobby Ray's voice was barely a whisper as he reached toward Teresa's cage.

  "You're asking the uppity woman for help?" Teresa emerged from her cage, lifted the gun and fired two bullets into Bobby Ray's head before running up the steps toward the open door.

  Wait for me," Jeff shouted and ran after her.

  A terrible shriek and a horrible vision stopped Jeff in his tracks the moment he exited the storm shelter. Teresa's bloody remains were being gobbled up by one of those—creatures—they'd seen rising from the wildlife refuge.

  "Get back inside," Phyllis grabbed Jeff's arm and shoved him toward the shelter door. "Before they eat you, too."

  Once inside, Jeff didn't argue as Phyllis locked him inside Big John's cage, since it held the only working lock. She'd stepped over Bobby Ray's body as if she barely noticed it. "Where did the other man go?" Phyllis asked. "The one in this cage?"

  "He went out first—I guess he didn't last long," Jeff whimpered.

  "Who killed Bobby Ray?"

  "Teresa—out there," Jeff's voice shook. "She managed to get the gun."

  "I'll have to let Benny know. He won't be happy," Phyllis muttered. "I'm sorry about your friend."

  "Yeah." Jeff slumped into a corner of his cage before dropping his head in trembling hands.

  Big John stepped out of the shower, after an attempt to remove the feel of the creature carrying him away from Austin. The whole thing was sick—in the extreme. He still didn't know what they were or where they'd come from. Besides, he needed to get back to the business; stolen bikes and other vehicles would be coming in. And, as he had a criminal record, there was a warrant out for his arrest. He'd be stuck in a human jail the minute he approached the authorities to tell them where he'd been; therefore, he had no plans to tell anyone anything.

  "You're a lucky fuck," Big John stared at his image in the mirror before moving out of the bathroom to grab some clothes to wear. He had work to do, and maybe it would help clear his mind.

  "Images were recorded of the rooftop in question, but only a bright light can be seen from any of three separate camera angles," a national news journalist reported. Del, Lance, Mona and Laronda had finally arrived at the ranch, and had chosen to turn on the news in the game room upstairs.

  Ari, Nico, Renault and Mac joined them.

  "Huh?" Del squinted at the screen as one camera angle was displayed. Yes, it was brightly lit, but he could see Ari, Nico, Mac and eventually Renault, or their outlines, at least, as they fought invading demons.

  "Most people can't see what you're seeing," Nico told Del. "They only see what looks like sunlight—similar to looking straight into the sun. They have to look away after a while, because it's too bright for them."

  "I can see it, too," Mona said.

  "How the hell did you grow wings?" Lance turned from the screen to ask Renault. "It's shocking enough to see you here in daylight."

  "Mac, where did those swords come from?" Laronda queried, unable to take her eyes off the television.

  "Those swords are a part of me," Mac sighed. "I use them to protect the one who holds the stone. Unless they refuse my help."

  "Has that happened?" Ari frowned at Mac.

  "Yes. On several occasions. They thought I was of the devil. They lost their lives believing that, rather than understanding that the ones who tortured or sentenced them to death were agents of the Adversary."

  "Those times were difficult enough and were made even more difficult by the search for another to hold the stone and attempt to force back the Adversary," Renault explained. "Once the evil gets a firm foothold, it can take centuries to eradicate it."

  "You know there was a series of weak vessels during that time, because the strongest were located and killed by the Adversary. He went unchecked for a very long time."

  "It's like plugging the big holes in a dike, but the smaller ones still leak enough water to create a flood," Nico said. "I saw it in my dreams," he added. "The Adversary whispers in the ears of many of his servants that they are right to believe as they do, and, by extension, are doing the right thing and the best thing by torturing, mistreating and killing swaths of people."

  "And then there are the Adversary's servants who enjoy the pain, death and madness they create," Mac added.

  "What about the people who can see what we saw?" Mona asked.

  "Some will understand what they are seeing. Others will seek answers. Only a few will be called to openly act against the Adversary. Of those few, not all will answer the call. Some will believe that their efforts will be fruitless—or cause their demise or ruin their reputation. They will allow their fears to hold them back," Nico replied.

  "Some won't be wrong in that way," Mac said. "This isn't a safe or friendly undertaking, by any means. We've already seen those they've killed, some of whom were resurrected as demons. More will surely die. Those taken from Austin today will most certainly become a part of their army."

  "At least we kept some from their clutches," Ari said.

  "Half, maybe," Nico nodded at Ari. "Renault's help made things much better."

  "Will we get more vampire helpers? For days?" Del asked. "I know some in the Department will be very interested in this."

  "And that's exactly why you shouldn't tell them," Nico said. "Unless you find some who can see us through those images of light."

  "Maybe it's time we paid a visit to
the home office," Laronda turned toward Del.

  "I would like to come," Nico volunteered. "I will know which ones are right to join with us."

  "Renault, what miracle is this?" Claudio floated into the room.

  "I am more surprised than anyone," Renault rose to his feet and dipped his head to Claudio. "Nico says the stone chose me."

  "As it had already left its mark on you," Claudio breathed in wonder. "Please, tell me of this day's events, and how this miracle transpired."

  "Master Scholar, the Adversary sent his flying demons to attack a festival in Austin. We only managed to save half the intended victims."

  "You saved half. Do not think it a failure or only half a victory. Those saved owe you and your comrades their lives. All could have been taken. You prevented that."

  "Master Scholar, I have bad news," Alejandro rushed into the room. "Everette's nightclub was attacked and many were killed. The attackers were shouting death to fags and witches."

  "Is Everette among the victims?" Claudio demanded quickly.

  "She has been harmed, but still alive when I received the phone call."

  "Where is she?" Ari was on her feet in a blink.

  "Can you get us there?" Del turned to Ari.

  "I can get us there. Can you get us through the police at the scene?" Ari asked him.

  "Yes."

  Alejandro rattled off an address not far from Ari's gallery in Deep Ellum. "I know where that is," Ari said. "Anybody here who doesn't want to go?" When there was no reply, Ari transported everyone to a nearby alley, and when Del began to run toward the chaotic scene on the street, the others followed.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ari, Everette is locked in a room in the basement. She can't afford to let the EMTs examine her, Nico informed her. Del and Laronda had gotten them past the tape and barricades, now they had to find Everette. I can get us to her, Nico added.