I realised then I hadn't had any wildly irrational thoughts since I'd been here. What, if anything, did that mean? Was it possible Haigwood had nothing to do with the whammy? I wanted a closer look at that stone, but had no idea how, short of decapitating Haigwood. That would make this the shortest job I ever had. As short as my life would be, once Clive and Smith retaliated.
The sudden sound of Beethoven echoed through the room, along with the noise a phone made when it vibrated.
"Oh, that's me." Haigwood pulled out a phone from his pocket—an oversized phablet and pressed it to his ear. "Yes? You're speaking to him. Hmmm, that's troubling. Very well, I'll be right there."
He replaced the phone and gave an apologetic bow. "I must go. Work beckons. I expect to see you both tomorrow at one. In the afternoon. Feel free to enjoy the lair amenities in the meantime. Smith will arrange drinks for the rest of your evening. He's quite amenable." He gave Smith a wink and ducked out the door.
"Well, he's certainly interesting," Kannen mused.
"You heard the boss," Smith said, waving them toward the exit. "Drinks are on him."
"You know what they call an employer who pays for all the drinks?" Kannen asked.
"What?" I asked.
"Awesome." Kannen grinned. He looked to be enjoying this far more than he should be.
I chuckled, only partly faked. Behind Smith's back, I shot Kannen a more serious look, silently reminding him to watch his back.
17
The crowd cheered.
"No one's arm should bend at that angle," Kannen observed.
I murmured my agreement. I tilted my head to the side and tried to figure out how it was possible. "It doesn't even look broken. Maybe she doesn't have any bones."
"Some demons are like rubber," Kannen replied. "Nothing hurts them. Unless you cut off their heads."
"That sounds like cheating to me. Being impervious to pain, I mean."
The rubbery demon had long blonde hair, tied back in a plait. Her face was an expressionless mask. Even with one arm restrained as it was, she brought up her opposite fist and drove it into the face of her opponent. They released her arm and staggered back, blood pouring from their shattered nose.
"Handy though," Kannen said. "It would be useful in a fight. I mean a real one, not like this."
"You saying this ain't real?" Smith asked. Even after an hour of drinking, he still spoke clearly.
"Yes I am." Kannen raised his cola toward Smith in a toast.
They continued their banter while I only half listened. My gaze scanned the room, taking in the crowd. I was sure several people were human, while the rest were a mixture of obviously demon or some other sort of paranormal.
A man sitting at the next table had longer than normal earlobes and almost square ears. He was sitting with a woman with small eyes and a prominent chin. None of these factors alone would have marked them as demons if they were out in the real world. Here, however, it was a safer bet.
The pair talked intently, their heads close together. They didn't need to bother, no one would have heard over the noise in the lair anyway.
"Fuck you!" The shout was loud enough to draw my attention, even without the profanity. One of the humans in the lair now stood toe to toe with another, a broken glass in his hand.
"Bar fight or whammy?" Kannen asked in my ear.
I shook my head. The familiar sensation of anger began to rise inside me. I pushed it down and forced my breath in and out slowly.
"Whammy," I said from between clenched teeth.
Kannen got up from his stool and moved closer. "Is it stronger than before?"
My tongue darted over my lips and made myself focus. "A little bit. It's…it's different."
"Different how? Juliet, look at me, concentrate on my voice."
I locked eyes with Kannen. The soft blue glow of his eyes steadied me somewhat.
"How is it different?" Kannen pressed.
Before I could respond, someone shouted, "Put 'em in the ring! Let 'em fight it out."
Calls of agreement followed the suggestion.
"Please tell me this isn't the reason behind all of this," Kannen growled. "To drum up combatants."
"Where's Smith?" I asked. While I was distracted, the man disappeared.
"Maybe he went to pee." Kannen didn't look like he believed it.
"Maybe he went to avoid the effect of this." I bit my lip so hard I broke the skin.
Meanwhile the two antagonistic humans were herded toward the recently vacated ring. I hadn't seen who won the last fight, but figured it was probably the rubber woman.
"The fake fight," I said. "That wasn't real. But this will be."
"Shit, you might be right."
"Here." Smith appeared in front of me. Before I could stop him, he slid something around my neck. The anger abated immediately. My body cooled, then turned cold. I looked down toward the black stone which hung at my chest.
"You knew about this," I said accusingly.
He shrugged. He wore an identical black stone. "Ensorcelled obsidian. It counteracts all magic. I couldn't be sure you would be affected until you were."
I touched my stone with my fingertips. It was warm and throbbed slightly. "You know about the whammy," I stated. "What's causing it?"
He chuckled. "Whammy? More like a curse." He held up a finger. "And I don't know. That's what I'm here to find out. You too, I assume?”
I nodded. "We need to stop it. And this. Those men in there are going to kill each other." I pointed toward the ring.
"They might, and you're not going to do a bloody thing about it." Smith leaned against the side of the table and fixed me with a firm look. "And neither am I."
"We can't just let them die."
"We can. More's the point, we have to. We're willing employees of Haigwood, remember? Now, tuck your stone away before someone notices." He did the same with his.
"What are you?" Kannen looked him up and down, a savage scowl on his face. "You're either in league with him or you're—"
"Not," Smith finished for him. "I'm here for the same reason you are. Someone is fucking with magic and I want to know who it is and why." He glanced around. "We can talk about this later. We've looked suspicious for long enough." He gave Kannen a meaningful look, picked up his drink and took a gulp.
"We can't let people die just to satisfy our curiosity," I hissed. In spite of that, I took a sip of my own drink and turned toward the ring.
To my relief, neither man carried a broken glass, or anything which might pass as a weapon. Nothing, that was, but their own bodies and unnatural fury. I knew from experience how deadly the former could be on its own. With the latter added, this could get ugly, fast.
The men came together with a sickening crunch which made me wince. One man took the other in the throat with his shoulder.
The man staggered back and gurgled, a hand to his neck. He struck out with his foot in his opponent's groin.
The demon audience laughed and jeered as the man collapsed, his hands cupping his tender areas. Evidently recovered from the blow to his throat, the other man stomped hard on his ankle. The crack was loud enough to resonate across the room, in spite of the cheering.
I looked away.
"I thought a Demon Hunter would have more stomach for violence," Smith remarked.
I glanced up at him in surprise. "I can handle it, but not like this. This is twisted."
"It's nothing humans haven't done to demons and animals since the dawn of time."
"Is that what this is about? Because if it is, there are innocent people who don't deserve to have things—"
He interrupted. "I don't know what this is about. I do know if we try to stop it, they could turn on us. The odds wouldn't be good. And then we'd never get to the bottom of any of it."
"And if we insist Haigwood explain himself?" I looked toward Kannen, who grimaced at the sound of another bone snapping.
I sensed him behind me just before Haigwood spoke. "What do you want to know?"
I plastered a smile on my lips and turned slowly. "Why didn't you just fire Stefan? If you knew he was going to kill you, then why wait?"
"I wanted to be sure," he replied. Nothing suggested he suspected I'd been talking about the curse a moment ago. "He could have sued me for wrongful dismissal at best. At worst, I would have had to pay someone to have him killed. All of that gets terribly ugly." He dusted something off his sleeve, as though assassination was a minor, but uncouth, affair.
"Are you enjoying yourselves?" he asked.
"It's been…fun, but it's getting late," I replied. "You wouldn't want us too tired to work tomorrow."
He slid into the chair beside me. The leather necklace was visible above his collar, but the stone was obscured. "You can start tomorrow night. That will leave you plenty of time for sleeping in." He smiled congenially.
One of the men in the ring squealed. Haigwood showed no sign of having heard. The other demons, however, gave a rousing cheer.
"Finish him off!"
"Stomp on his head!"
The whistle sounded and was followed by groaning.
"It was over too quick!"
"Ripped off!"
My eyes flicked toward the ring. Each man was covered in blood. One walked, or at least staggered, out between the ropes. He made his way back to their chairs before a woman handed him a towel.
Several demons helped to drag the other man out of the ring. He grunted in pain, but at least he was still alive.
"I prefer no one die in here." Haigwood apparently followed my line of sight. "The insurance on this place is already horrendous."
I snorted. "I'm surprised you can get insurance at all." As relieved as I was that no one else died—yet—I hated feeling helpless. I wanted to draw a sword and take on anyone who would bay for blood for their own entertainment. Smith was right though, we would never get to the bottom of this if I did. I silently thanked him for the obsidian. Without it, I probably would have acted. With it, Haigwood and his goons might assume I was also a demon.
"I know, right?" He grimaced. "It helps to know people."
"I guess it does."
"So, it's agreed, you'll stay a little longer." He patted the tabletop as though the matter was settled. "I have to circulate, but I'm sure I'll see you all later." He gave me a wink and walked to another table.
I slumped on my stool. "A bit longer." At least until we could take a look around and figure out what was going on here.
"Why should we trust you?" I asked.
The ring was empty now, as was most of the bar section of the lair. I watched for an opportunity to sneak back into Haigwood's office, but he kept an eye on us all night. Every so often, he would appear nearby, hover, talk to various demons and play the cordial host.
I hadn't seen him for at least half an hour. With the place quiet, they could talk without being overheard, or having to shout.
Smith returned my firm look with one of his own. Beside him, Kannen regarded him speculatively.
"Juliet asks a very good question," Kannen drawled. "Maybe Haigwood told you to get us to trust you."
"Do you?" Smith asked. He sipped on a glass of water, having switched an hour or two ago.
"Not as far as we can throw you," Kannen replied cheerfully.
"I guess I'll have to try harder," he said, unruffled. "I can't go into details as to why you should. The walls," he gestured around him, "have ears."
"Right. So, are you going to show us around the offices?"
"You won't find anything," Smith replied.
"Because you've made sure of that?" Kannen asked.
"Because I've looked," he replied evenly. "You think that wasn't the first thing I did?"
"You could have missed something," I suggested.
Smith sighed. He rose and gestured toward the room where they'd first met Haigwood. "By all means, let's sneak about. But if you get me killed, I'm going to be pissed off."
"We'll take the chance," Kannen said.
"I thought you might," he replied. "You're merciless, I can see that about you."
"I try," Kannen replied with a smile.
"Come on, let's do this." I gestured for them to hurry up.
Smith led the way, his posture relaxed. "Rule number one of sneaking around," he said, "never look as though you're sneaking around. Skulking looks suspicious. We work here, remember? Pretend we got lost, or something."
I shrugged. I'd done plenty of moving about with stealth in my day. So far I hadn't gotten killed. I intended to keep that record for another sixty years or so.
"You did what?" Haigwood's voice came from the office where they'd first seen him. When I didn't hear a reply, I assumed he was speaking on the phone.
I put up a hand for the others to stop. After a moment, I walked a few steps forward. My skin tingled. Against my chest, the obsidian became warmer.
"How many times did I tell you—" Haigwood paused. "Yes, yes, make excuses. That's what you're best at. No, I don't care that you told her that. You still let her…"
I chanced a glance into the office. Haigwood stood with the phone pressed to his ear, his face side on. His skin was pink, bordering on red, fury palpable even from here.
I started to pull my head back when he turned and looked right at me.
His face was bathed in the overhead light, but where it should have reflected off his eyes, was nothing but darkness.
His eyes were entirely black.
Like a shade.
Haigwood turned away as though he hadn't seen me at all.
What the fuck?
I ducked back out of sight.
"I want you to deal with it, all right? Tell me when it's sorted."
The bang of him kicking or hitting something echoed through the room.
"We should go," Kannen said in my ear.
I nodded. The obsidian was almost hot enough to burn. I might have to find some for the rest of the team. I followed Kannen and Smith toward the exit from the lair. The air in Sydney might not always be fresh, but it would be a refreshing change from the smell of spilled beer and blood in this place.
A demon stepped out of another doorway a few metres from the exit. He pointed at me. "Hey, I know you. You're a Demon Hunter."
18
Tall, with reddish skin and an enormous forehead, he wouldn't pass for human unless someone had terrible eyesight. He was, however, stronger than average. Of course with such an obvious target, it was easy to know where to aim a knife.
"I think you have me confused with someone else," I replied easily. "We work here. Security. I assume you work on the door?" He had the look of someone who liked to toss out unwanted patrons.
He blinked at me and looked uncertain. "Yeah, I do, but I know who you are." He jabbed a meaty finger at me. "I met you once. With my brothers."
"Juliet," Kannen drawled, "did you kill his siblings?"
"Um. Of course not." I gave Kannen a warning look. "He's clearly mistaken."
"Am not," the demon replied. "Gus never forgets a face."
"Are too," I insisted. "Now, if you'll excuse us, it's late."
I ducked as he swung his arm toward my head.
"Am not," he growled.
"Aren't there rules against employees fighting each other?" I stepped back and eyed Smith sidelong.
"Not really, no," Smith replied helpfully, "as long as you don't make too much mess."
I sighed. "Hey, Gus. You are Gus, right? You realise it's three against one, right?"
"Smith is my friend," Gus declared. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me.
"Smith is staying the fuck out of this." Smith raised his hands and took a step toward the door.
"Not yet you don't, we have questions—" I found myself talking to Gus' chest. "You're in my way. Please excuse me."
He stepped forward, which pushed me back a few paces. "You ain't leavin'. Not alive anyway." He chuckled.
"Yeah, hilarious," I said sarcastically. "Assuming I'm th
e person you think I am, you know you're about to get your ass kicked, right? And if you've got the wrong person, then the boss will be pissed." I cocked my head. If he possessed an iota of sense, he'd let us walk away.
Gus frowned. Evidently the prospect of either of those things warranted some thought. Finally he said, "But my brothers would—"
"Not want you getting hurt or fired," Kannen finished for him. His eyes glowed, drawing a surprised look from Gus.
"You're a demon."
"Now you're listening," Kannen said approvingly. "If you'd be so kind as to step aside and let us pass, that'd be great."
"You can, but she can't." He waved in my direction and almost hit me in the face.
'Hey!" I ducked back out of the way.
"Um, sorry," Gus grunted.
"You want to kill me, but you're sorry for that?" I stared at him.
"It's good manners to say sorry if you do stuff by accident." He pouted.
"What if you kill me by accident?"
Petulance turned to confusion. "Why would I do that?"
"I don't know. Because shit happens?"
"Killing my friend here would be very rude," Kannen said. "As is standing in her way. I bet your mother wouldn't approve."
He flinched at the mention of his mother. "No, but—"
"Well then, if you can step aside, that would be great."
"All right, all right." Smith reappeared from the corridor. "Gus, back off, mate. Do you really think they'd let a Demon Hunter into this place?"
"Well—" Gus dithered.
"Exactly. Come on you two, you've wasted enough time as it is."
I snorted. "We have?" I muttered under my breath. I hadn't been delayed by choice.
Smith gave me a look and I closed my mouth before it could get me into trouble. I shot Gus a plastic smile and stalked past him. Kannen followed a few steps behind.
"Took you long enough," Kannen said once we rounded a corner.
"Pfft, I'm sure you can handle yourselves. I was just getting bored is all." He smiled. "Gus has a good heart, more or less, but he's easily led. His brothers were the wild ones. Always leading him into shit he shouldn't have been involved in."
Hunting Darkness (City of Darkness Book 1) Page 11
