by T. G. Ayer
She soaked in the steam of the bathroom as it bathed her cheeks, eager to drown her fatigue in the warmth of a hot shower. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, she was dressed in much the same way as her aunt, although she preferred her sneakers, teeshirts to those silky creations Claudia loved.
As she headed for her sofa to fold her sheets Claudia sighed and put her tablet onto the table. "So you know how we were supposed to be heading out for a second recon? Well, I just got an email from the Budapest police."
Maya raised her eyebrows, but Claudia's attention remained on her tablet. "A strange discovery at a cemetery that the priests and the police want to deal with quick-fast."
"Our demon?" asked Maya as she zipped up her backpack, and heaved it over her shoulder, annoyed that the right strap had chosen this morning to start fraying, silently cursing about unhelpful pooches who don't have luggage to worry about.
Claudia nodded, her expression dark. "Now, let's hope we find more than just a little piece of this demon." The she proceeded to juggle her tablet, keys, cellphone and backpack, her expression serene as if managing a dozen things at the same time was totally no sweat.
Maya prayed the next case could be solved, no sweat.
Chapter 12
The 7.20 am flight from Prague to Budapest had lasted just under one and a half hours so Maya had barely gotten the chance to relax before they had to prepare to disembark again. Add to the fact that she'd spent the majority of her time worrying about Sabala who'd remained glamored and hidden at the back of the plane. She'd left him to do his thing. Given he was a few hundred years old with a lot more experience in blending into modern society, Maya trusted that he knew what he was doing.
She just didn't like not being able to see him during the flight.
Thankfully, he rejoined her as she descended the stairs from the plane onto the tarmac, his nails clacking on the steel risers of the stairs as her cellphone vibrated in her jeans pocket.
Thanks to KALIMA, she'd had international roaming switched on, a perk she'd been very pleased with when Claudia had told her. When Nik had disappeared so soon after dropping them off, Maya's mood had certainly needed lightening and Claudia had found just the thing. At least Maya had been able to keep in touch with Joss who was bound to be incredible nosy about the investigation.
She scanned the screen to read the message, a grin curving at her mouth.
Where the hell are you? What's happening? Have you found the demon yet?
Maya laughed softly and stuck the phone back into her pocket. Now was not the time to be answering that particular message. She followed Claudia into the airport building and through customs, holding doors open that bit longer so the hell-hound didn't get squished. The airport was busy for its small size, and with its curving split-leveled design and floor-to-ceiling windows, it was a marked change from the more staid Prague building.
Thankfully, they were processed smoothly and were soon hailed by a dour-looking driver, eyes dark and eyebrows even darker.
Claudia gave the man a curt, familiar nod, then followed him to the car, where he stowed their luggage in the trunk. He'd appeared unassuming at first, but on closer inspection, Maya noted the muscles bulging beneath his old and frayed gray suit-jacket, the way he scanned the area around them, as if on high alert. He had to be a KALIMA man.
Once inside the vehicle, with Sabala occupying the space between Maya and her aunt, the serious driver gunned the engine and they moved smoothly into the curving road heading toward the city.
Claudia made a strange sound; surprised and a little confused. Maya leaned past Sabala to check up on her and hid a grin. Claudia was holding her tablet in the air, pressing it lightly against Sabala's shoulder.
She couldn't see the hell-hound, but he was solid enough.
With a hand at the back of Sabala's neck she guided him off the seat to take up a more cramped position at her feet. He gave her a dark look but she ignored him.
"Sorry," she said to Claudia who still looked a little off balance. "I forget sometimes that you can't see him."
Claudia raised a piqued eyebrow, then handed her the tablet. Maya raised her eyebrows at the language, probably Czech. "We can't read that," she muttered, wondering what the point was of having documents you can't read.
Claudia reached across, swiped and opened the next page. "Full English translation here, with copies of the original police reports as a backup. Now read."
Pays not to speak too soon.
Impressed, Maya nodded and began to scan the documents. She read through the police reports with Claudia, and missed most of the journey, barely catching sight of the tree-lined expressway bordered by train tracks. She hid her disappointment, reminding herself that she hadn't come to Budapest as a tourist. That, in fact, beneath the romance of the sprawling silvery waters of the Danube and the domed spires and beautiful buildings of the city, a killer was on the loose. One that the police preferred to keep out of the press.
She glanced up to see they were making their way onto the famous Chain Bridge, with its ferocious lion statues and beautiful archway that led them straight into the heart of the city.
"I'm amazed the press hasn't caught wind of this yet," said Maya as she laid the tablet on the seat between them. She was feeling decidedly empty, as if just reading the documents had sucked the very blood from her veins.
Claudia nodded then gazed out of the window at the sidewalks, filled with people going about their daily business, tourists, backpackers, workers. "Things are a little different around here. Back home, freedom of speech and the public's right to know takes precedence. Here, nobody wants to be accused of scaremongering. And I think the people actually care what the cops have to say."
Maya sighed as her cellphone beeped again and she withdrew the device from her pocket. Joss again. "I'd better respond or she's going to nag me until I do." Sabala peered at the phone but Claudia was already back to studying the reports when Maya tapped her message out on the screen, telling Joss they had little to go on, and that she'd message her back when they got into their hotel.
The driver pulled up outside a small cafe, and Maya scanned the street. They'd left the busy city centre and the area looked more residential with colored roofs peeking at her from around the corner.
"We need to grab something to eat. The drive is a couple of hours." Claudia rolled down the window as the driver alighted and headed inside. Maya raised her eyebrows. She certainly hadn't expected first class service.
The early afternoon sunshine shone through the open window and provided little warmth. Maya pulled her leather jacket closer, wishing she'd worn an extra layer. Claudia seemed oblivious to the weather as she swiped and scanned images of the mausoleum outside of Budapest in a small town called Debrecen.
She glanced up at Maya. "It's a hundred-and-forty-year-old mausoleum, give or take a few years."
Maya nodded, giving the screen a glance. "Yup. Discovery made outside the crypt by the grounds-keeper." Maya repeated what she'd read feeling Claudia needed to be satisfied she'd paid attention.
Only two things indicated someone had been to the crypt recently. A pair of black HiDunk sneakers and the crumpled stub of a plane ticket. The KALIMA team had tracked down the identity of the ticket-holder; a Deb McGowan from New Mexico. Whether the shoe belonged to her would take a little longer to identify, but the team was working on it.
No sign of the girls body was found.
She suppressed a shudder. "The report said the place was well-fenced, so how did she take the victim there?"
Claudia paused as the driver brought their order, coffee and burgers, not a surprise since she knew what Maya's favorite food was. Soon he pulled into the traffic and headed out of the city.
"Hopefully we can find some kind of evidence that will point at the answer."
"Are the cops going to join us?" Maya asked, before starting in on her meal, finding she was hungrier than she'd expected.
"Nope. This little visit
is on the DL."
Maya nodded. "Ah, I see. Covert like."
"Yes. And that's why we'll be heading there on our own," said Claudia. "We need to find whatever there is to find before the police decide to deepen their investigation. They think it's a bunch of unrelated kidnappings, and we'd like to leave it that way. No sense in endangering any more humans than necessary. They say ignorance is bliss."
Maya nodded mostly to herself. She knew that the cops were allowing KALIMA access only because they had a higher security clearance. Seems KALIMA was as respected as Interpol. Impressive.
She was also impressed by the breadth of investigation where the KALIMA hunters were concerned. They certainly considered every possibility, no matter how insignificant. Right now, they would be analyzing the piece of nail and skin in some fancy lab, and Maya crossed her fingers, hoping they would get something concrete from their tests.
True to Claudia's words, the journey took a little more than two hours, and Maya had to repeatedly suppress the urge to wriggle.
But, she didn't suppress the sigh of relief when the driver finally drew to a stop outside the gates of a small cemetery.
An ancient, rusted chain held two metal gates closed, but swung far enough to allow both Maya and Claudia to shimmy through. Sabala walked through without a hassle, giving the driver one last glance before coming to Maya's side.
"So much for security." Maya lifted an eyebrow.
"The priests don't care too much as long as the church is left alone." Claudia was already leading the way up the bank and across a grassy area. A bridge rose on the left, the bare modern concrete a stark contrast to the almost classical style stone mausoleum standing above them on a small grassy knoll, the entrance half hidden by the trunk of a huge tree.
They drew closer, taking in the graffiti and the burglar bars that had been installed to prevent entry. The pungent odor emanating from the inside of the crypt proclaimed those measures had failed.
Maya wrinkled her nose as Sabala let out a soft whine, his ears popping to attention. "Good thing we don't have to go look in there," she said as they both headed to the side of the crypt, the area hidden from the overpass, so steeped in shadow that an observer would have to be within five yards to see anything that happened there, even in broad daylight.
As they grew closer, Maya slowed her steps, taking deep breaths to calm the wave of nausea that threatened to engulf her. Rotten meat and that spicy chili powder smell again.
Crap.
"Got something?" asked Claudia as she watched Maya over her shoulder, her eyes hooded, spine tense.
Maya nodded, and kept swallowing. Someday she was going to beat this urge to throw up. But she had to remind herself that high-level demon's blood would very likely cause this strong a reaction.
And it wasn't every day she came across a first-class Rakshasi.
Chapter 13
"Something stinks. Maya took a tentative step toward the odor, despite her brain yelling at her to turn around. She was really trying hard to deny the presence of the demon's odor.
Her heels sank into the soft soil, as if even the ground wanted her to stop her investigation. From the potent strength of the blood she wasn't sure what she was going to find.
"This is so strange. Why is the smell so strong?" Her voice was low, almost a whisper as she talked mostly to herself, and Claudia seemed to understand. She walked with Maya in silence.
They reached the sheltered side of the crypt, moving carefully into the steeping shadows as Maya followed her nose. The section toward the back end of the wall matched the pictures in the file. Overgrown grass grew beside the wall, so high it had begun to bend and curl back onto the ground. A small patch of blades had been smashed down by some kind of weight, while streaks of reddish-brown tainted the edges of the blades, marring the rich green.
Maya wondered about the whole DNA and gene research KALIMA was doing. From her first-hand experience she knew that most of the DNA they find would be that of the human host, but in such minute quantities that even then it would be assumed someone had come into contact with the body rather than it inherently belonging to those chromosomes. Considering these demons were mostly parasites, it was understandable.
Maya hunched down beside the flattened grass and did a bit of analyzing of her own. She drew in a slow breath, concentrating on the nuances of the substance, subtle or not.
Yup. Definitely Rakshasi.
But she needed more to figure out what the demon had done. Had she killed the girl, or just abducted her, spiriting her away to a secluded hideaway in order to partake of her victim in private?
Or had she needed Deb McGowan for something else entirely?
Maya shifted her attention to the splatter of blood on the crypt wall, clearly visible, even in the shadowed gloom. This too had been part of the police report, which had led the cops to believe the girl was dead. Which had also led them to happily hand over the case to KALIMA.
Maya wrinkled her nose.
Now, wouldn't that open up a new field of modern forensics? Demonic genetics included in the human population. What would the world be then?
Maya put her nose closer to the stain, inhaled slowly then nodded.
"Is it hers?" asked Claudia, stepping closer to inspect the streak.
Maya looked at her aunt, unsure which 'her' she was referring to. "It's the demon's blood. Looks like there may have been a bit of a struggle." Maya scoffed. "For a Rakshasi she's allowing herself to be hurt one too many times." Maya wondered if it was possible that the demon was weakened for some reason. Maybe she was old? Or she could be badly injured.
She had to force herself to pay attention as Claudia said, "The kid's been doing MMA since she was thirteen. Mum said that was the sole reason she allowed her to travel on her own."
"Yeah. Looks like she defended herself. Or at least she tried. Caused enough damage to injure and draw blood." In this girl's case, her mixed martial arts background had helped, but it still hadn't been enough to save her.
"Mortal wound?"
Maya shrugged. "Could be. And I'm still smelling demon blood. Strong, so I'm guessing we keep looking. We'll find more blood. Or more demon."
"Or both." Claudia began to search, skirting the crypt and making a circuit of the building before returning with a resigned shake of her head. "Nada."
Maya took a step back and set her hands on her hips. "It's strong." She squinted at the crypt and made a face. "Looks like we have to go inside. So much for assumptions."
Claudia chuckled before swinging a bag around from her shoulder. "Where did you get that?" asked Maya, puzzled. She knew for a fact the bag wasn't Claudia's.
"The driver," she said, her raised eyebrows saying Maya should have known that.
"Ah."
Claudia extracted a bolt-cutter. "These would have been hard to get through customs."
"Yeah. I'm positive you'd need a license for that." Maya grinned as Claudia snapped the chain holding the steel gate shut.
It squealed, nails scraping on Maya's eardrums as Claudia pulled it open. Maya winced, looking around her in case they'd drawn attention. But the place remained deserted.
Claudia pulled a small black box from the bag, flipping the lid open to reveal a blob of gooey-looking gloop that glowed with a sickly green fluorescence. She ripped off a small piece, then stuffed it into the rusted keyhole.
Turning to Maya, she said, "Fire away."
Maya raised her eyebrows at the KALIMA version of C4. "The priests being cooperative, I see," she said dryly.
Claude grunted. "They want the whole thing over and done with, but they aren't being helpful. They even gave the police a hard time when they wanted the crypt opened."
Maya didn't answer. Most likely the priests knew, or had a sense that the killing wasn't of the usual human to human variety. She gave Claudia a short nod, Sabala a warning frown, then lifted her palm and threw a burst of fire into the lock, making sure it connected to the piece of gloop sticking out o
f the keyhole.
As soon as the flame hit the substance it exploded with a dull pop, letting off a burst of green-gray smoke that stank of copper and sulfur. The door shifted slightly, confirming the lock no longer held it shut.
Mission accomplished.
Maya groaned as she pushed open the metal door a couple of inches, wincing again as it grated on the stone floor. Another unnaturally loud sound in the still afternoon.
Claudia gave the door a shove. She'd been expecting it to move, but ended up being pushed away by the momentum when it refused to budge. She swore softly before glancing at Maya. "It must be stuck."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Maya rolled her eyes. Claudia just narrowed her gaze and said nothing."Is that the only way in? No skylight or back door? No secret underground tunnel?" Maya glared at the unhelpful door, already suspecting that the grate was the way in.
She didn't like it.
She liked it even less when Claudia moved away from the door and went around to the grate. "This is the only way in." She glanced at Maya.
"No way," Maya responded, shaking her head a little too hard. Sabala moved toward the door, putting his nose into the gap and sniffing the interior of the mausoleum. The dog whined, then backed away from the crypt, his liquid gaze moving to Maya's face. It looked like he was telling her that this was a very bad idea.
She couldn't agree more.
Maya looked at Claudia and nodded at the grate. "Maybe you should go. I'm sure you'd fit."
Claudia laughed and pointed at her generous hips and then at her equally rounded butt. "Have you seen these? No way I'm getting inside there. Sorry, kiddo. This one's all yours." Maya growled, the sound receiving a snort from her aunt. "Now, now. No reason to go all rabid on me. Job's a job, kid."
This time Maya snorted. "I can see you're enjoying this far too much."
"Not at all. What kind of aunt will I be if I took enjoyment from your discomfort?" She sounded so innocent. Not.
