by T. G. Ayer
"You're you. That is all," Maya said dryly, giving Claudia a dark glare before sinking to her knees. She grabbed the grate and gave it a light tug. May as well get it over with.
The movement proved sufficient to shift the grate, and Maya lifted it away easily. Proof the small space had been used as an access point on a regular basis.
Maya dropped her rucksack on the grass and took a deep breath before poking her head into the opening.
"Ugh," she groaned, snatching her head out of the hole in the wall and gasping for air.
"What is it?" Claudia asked, hunkering down beside her and attempting to peer inside by tilting her head at an unnatural angle. Then she winced and straightened, her injuries curtailing her gymnastics.
Maya groaned. "Why didn't we bring gas masks? It stinks in there."
"Stinks like what?"
"What do you think? These days human stink is by far the more acceptable odor of preference," Maya grumbled as she sucked in a breath and maneuvered her way into the crypt. Usually she hated being so small, but this topped all previous experiences. Even Sabala gave a whoof, as if his nostrils couldn't bear the stench either.
And he was still outside.
"How the hell did the cops not get a whiff of this and break the crypt open?" asked Claudia, her voice pitched not a scale of high annoyance.
Maya tilted her head to the side and studied the crypt. She'd been wondering the same thing. "Do you believe in magic?"
"Quoting lyrics now?"
Maya huffed. "The building, its walls, feels strange. Like it's resonating a power. I'm wondering if the demon could have glamored the place. I know they use glamor to hide themselves from humans, so why can't they hide buildings, especially ones as small as this?"
"A-plus for observation kid. I think we'll keep you."
Maya snorted. Then she crouched and shimmied through the square opening, then got to her knees and peered around the small dark space. She lifted her palm and called up her fire. With a spurt of flickering light, a flame appeared in her palm, brightening the furthest corners of the small crypt.
Maya grunted.
Claudia poked her face into the space, trying to see what had happened. "What's wrong? You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Demon BO is usually rotten, but this takes it to a whole other level," said Maya, staring at the putrid remains of a body.
She turned her attention to the small room. Whatever remains this mausoleum had been built to store, were now long gone. Not a coffin or a jar of ashes remained. The rotting body currently occupied the space all on its own.
Unless you counted the stacks of paper, the ripped filthy sleeping bag, an ancient lantern, a pile of unopened tinned food, and a stack of yellowed novels. Whoever had lived here had kept the place clean. Probably to ensure they didn't end up sleeping with rats or snakes.
Did Hungary have snakes?
Maya glanced at the entrance and said, "I see why you couldn't open the door."
"Locked from the inside?"
"Yeah. It's got an old drop bar lock thing. It's a bit too wide which explains why the door opened a little. Whoever built this thing had a reason to want to lock themselves up inside it." Maya shoved the metal bar up and out of the brackets, then leaned it against the wall before pulling the iron door open. "Man, I don't know if I've ever been this happy to see the light of day."
Claudia chuckled as she peered into the shadowy interior of the crypt. "Says the girl who has spent time in the Underworld."
"That was different. There weren't any rotting corpses that I could see." Maya moved aside to allow Claudia to get a better look at the remains. The hell-hound drew closer, probably so he'd look like he was doing his job. He was clearly not into rotting remains that smelled like demon barbecue either.
"The Underworld without rotting corpses? That's a new one," Claudia muttered as she tugged a camera from her rucksack. After taking a few photographs she stowed the camera, then tugged out a piece of black plastic.
As she dusted it, Maya grumbled. "You have got to be kidding me." She glared as Claudia lay the body bag on the concrete floor and unzipped it.
"What?" Claudia glanced up, her eyebrows raised in innocent question. "It's just a pile of skin and bones, Maya. The lab will want to examine it."
Maya just made a face and watched as Claudia snapped on a pair of gloves, then threw a second pair straight at her. She caught the flying latex and slipped them on before silently helping her aunt to pack up the remains. It didn't take long before Claudia was zipping up the bag then rolling it into a bundle.
"Watch the evidence," said Maya as her aunt stuffed the package in her rucksack.
Claudia just shrugged. "Makes little difference. The demon's obviously found herself another host. This isn't going to give us much to go on except for confirmation of identity."
"It does give me something to go on," said Maya softly, feeling a strange sensation curl in the pit of her stomach. Claudia zipped up the rucksack and glanced at Maya, her brows scrunched. "The more I use this power, the more I can identify smells. I think I'm beginning to differentiate the blood from different people when I smell this demon's blood. Could even be blood types."
Claude pursed her lips and gave a short nod. "That's good, right? Means we can track the different people this demon has taken so far." She headed out of the crypt and Maya followed closely, not keen on being left behind in the cold room.
She raised an eyebrow. "If you say so."
Sabala kept close to her side, his great black eyes scanning the lengthening shadows around them as they headed back to the car.
Claudia glanced over her shoulder. "What's bugging you, kid?"
Maya shrugged. "I dunno. I'm not sure I like being able to track demons using their blood and the blood of their victims. I'm not much more than a hound-dog right now."
Sabala sneezed, clearly understanding the insult.
"And where would we be without that nose of yours?" Maya glanced at her aunt, a question in her eyes. Claudia shook her head, impatiently. "We'd be back where we were last year, solving only thirty percent of our cases. That damned schnoz of yours is bound to help a lot of people, either to achieve closure or to find a killer. Or to kill the demons responsible for death and mayhem. Pretty important stuff, even if it isn't super glam. Besides, that fire power of yours is freaking awesome."
Maya remained silent as they slipped through the gates and headed for the car. The trunk rose and Claudia dropped the rucksack inside before slamming the lid closed.
Her fire was awesome, but with its recent unexpected fluctuations she had to be careful. Awesome could turn into deadly very quickly.
Soon they were heading back to Budapest, while Maya remained deeply ensconced in her thoughts. Claudia had made a few good points. So why was she still feeling dissatisfied? Was it really her power that was bugging her? What Claude said was true. As nasty as her demon-seeking ability was, it had helped them, especially over the last few days.
Seems she had a nose for the job.
Chapter 14
During the two hour drive, with Sabala's head in her lap, she stared out of the window at the blur of green and brown that sped past.
Maya's phone buzzed and she grinned as she scanned the screen to see a text from Joss.
She tapped off a text. Did you find a cult?
A few seconds later, Joss's reply came through.
Waste of time. Turned out to be a group of kids who thought Satan worship was boring and decided that sacrificing to Kali would bring them blessings, or some shit like that.
Bet Kali would love that.
Maya responded with a grin as she wondered what the goddess would think.
Yeah. They've all been arrested. Runaways, and a couple foster kids and juvies. Great way to prey on the weak. Cult leaders suck.
You back home? Maya asked.
Yup. Just walked in the door. I'm crashing in your bed. How you doing with your demon hunting?
On the
trail. Just checked out a body outside Budapest. On our way back. Have to catch this bitch soon before she kills more innocent kids.
Wow, Maya. Language much.
Maya laughed silently. Shocker right? Losing patience here. High-level Rakshasi going Hannibal on Eastern Europe.
You'll figure it out. Use that nose of yours.
Maya sent her a little emoticon flipping her off.
You in a good mood.
Just a little tired. And grossed out. Dead bodies aren't my idea of a good time.
You be careful, okay?
Joss was being her usual bossy protective self.
I will. Claude will make sure of that.
Maya said her goodbyes and settled into filling her mind with something other than dead bodies.
Darkness began to claim the horizon as they headed back into the city and the tightness in Maya's gut told her it was far from over.
Over or not, this demon was going down.
Chapter 15
The car pulled up in front of a two-storied terra cotta building, Opera Garden Hotel from the looks of the gleaming silver plaque on the right hand wall beside the entrance.
Claudia scooted out of the car. "We have a long-term rental here. Let's get our luggage upstairs. I have a feeling this may be more than an overnighter."
Sabala scurried out, landing on all fours just as Maya alighted. They hurried inside, Claudia leading the way with the sure confidence of having been there before. The rooms were beautiful and totally not what Maya had expected. Light wood floors, feature walls in pale colors speckled with gold patterned leaves and flower prints.
It was very modern and thoroughly lovely, yet she wasn't able to enjoy it much more than to drop her rucksack onto her bed and stare longingly at the gorgeous pale blue and brown throw before Claudia's phone began to ring.
Maya left her room and hurried into the living area as Claudia held a stilted conversation with someone, probably from KALIMA considering the sobriety of her tone, mostly made up of 'Crap', 'this is not good' and 'we are on our way'.
As soon as she hung up, Maya asked, "What was that about?"
Claudia made a face and tucked her phone into her pocket as she got to her feet. She grabbed her backpack and was halfway to the door as she spoke. "Another possible abduction. Get your butt moving, kid."
Maya hurried after her, with Sabala's claws scrabbling on the wood floor as he sprang up to follow them.
Leaving the warm hotel room, and entering the brisk afternoon weather would have been a shock to Maya's system had she been paying attention, but her mind was focused on what could possibly be another victim, while her stomach rebelled by vigorously churning her long-eaten burger and threatening to expel it.
Their KALIMA issue car waited downstairs, this time with a different driver, hair, eyebrows and cheeks all a similar shade of red. And he appeared to be not much older than Maya herself, which she found strange. Younger people tended to be life-focused, as opposed to concentrating on the saving of lives. Unless he comes from a family of hunters.
They climbed into the vehicle and as the driver navigated the streets, Maya found him glancing back at her in the rear view mirror every so often. Technically he wasn't staring, just looking. A lot. And every time she caught his eye, he blushed and glanced away.
She wasn't sure about the almost-casual observation. Curious or pervy, she couldn't decide.
They flitted through the busy afternoon traffic, speeding along the city streets, just slow enough so as not to kill anyone on the way, but fast enough that they got to their destination in under fifteen minutes. Soon enough that the trail wouldn't go cold for Maya. The fresher the scent, the stronger her ability to identify it.
At last, they screeched to a whiplash-inducing stop outside a building that looked like it had jumped straight out of the pages of a fairytale. All white, with thin spire-topped towers, it shone in the sunlight, so glaring Maya wished she'd brought her shades.
"What is this place?" she asked as she got out of the car and left the door open for Sabala for a few discreet seconds.
The hell-hound jumped out of the back seat, his four eyes scanning the street and the building they were about to enter. With a bob of his head he rounded the vehicle before her, as if checking the place out before she entered.
Maya shaded her eyes with her hand as she craned her neck to stare up at the highest points of the building. "Pretty."
"It's called the Fisherman's Bastion," said the driver, a nervous ripple in his voice as he looked at her, then up at the building, then back at her face, his cheeks ripe with a blush. "It was built in the 19th century, originally a lookout tower."
"Thanks, Stefan. If you could wait here for us?" Claudia gave him a curt look and Maya had to suppress a laugh at the stern reprimand in her voice. Seemed she hadn't missed Stefan's scrutiny throughout the ride, either.
Stefan now blushed all the way to his red roots and jerked his head up and down so violently that Maya could almost imagine it popping off his shoulders and rolling away down the street. When she glanced over at him again, he'd leaned against the hood of the car, folded his arms and appeared to settle in to wait.
Although the sun was warm, a chill on the air managed to steal its way down Maya's collar and up her sleeves. Seemed she was beginning to dislike feeling cold these days.
As she followed Claudia up the incline she pulled her jacket closer, then let out a soft laugh. How silly of her.
She had the perfect way to keep herself warm that didn't entail additional clothing. She drew her fire up from her solar plexus and directed the heat to the surface of her skin where she left it to pulse, warm and comforting.
As Maya reached Claudia's side, she said, "You were a little hard on him." A glance behind them revealed that Stefan was still watching them intently as they walked across the large courtyard, past a statue; a man on a horse from the brief glance Maya gave it.
Claude turned and looked at her. "That boy has a hard time keeping his head in the game. One day it's going to get him killed." Claudia made a face. "At least he's gotten over his curiosity. Hopefully now he'll concentrate better."
"Curiosity?" Maya asked as they entered the building and headed for the stairs, Sabala's nails clattering on the floor just behind them.
Maya didn't need anyone to direct her to the scene. The spicy rotten scent of demon blood did well enough to lead Maya toward the scene all on its own
She had to concentrate on Claudia's words as she answered Maya's question. "Yeah. You're somewhat of a celebrity over on this side of the ocean."
Maya stopped in her tracks. "Celebrity?" She didn't like the sound of it one bit.
Claudia nodded. "KALIMA has been waiting for you to come into your power for a while now. Of course, your identity was always on a need to know level but most of the hunters knew the Hand of Kali was going to come soon. So laying eyes on her is a special privilege. Stefan will be a popular guy for a while once he tells his story."
Maya turned on her heel and ducked under a ribbon of police tape that blocked the next stairwell. She headed up the stairs, gritting her teeth. "Too bad he didn't ask for an autograph," she mumbled as she took the risers two at a time, inexplicably angry all of a sudden.
Claudia snorted as she hurried behind Maya. "Hey, don't go thinking you can carve your name in fire on his naked chest or anything."
Maya merely gave a cold laugh, unable to find a good enough response to that.
She didn't have much time to give it any thought either as they rounded the corner and the scent of demon blood filled the air, like the fumes of putrid garbage, or the ripe odor of fresh manure.
Maya tried not to gag.
Chapter 16
Maya slowed to a stop, trying to figure out where the odor was the strongest. It didn't help that Sabala was growling, hackles high, teeth bared. Ironic that the demon dog didn't have a soft spot for demons.
They were near a ledge that looked out over the city. Bl
ood pooled on the floor and stained the wall in irregular streaks that suggested an accidental smear as opposed to blood-spatter caused by stabbing or shooting.
Maya hunched down over the crimson puddle, finding what the police had considered a clue to another disappeared tourist. A key-chain with a picture of a little boy holding a Cookie Monster toy. The picture had survived the mess courtesy of its cheap plastic frame. The ring held a single key, which Maya assumed would be nearly impossible to identify. It could be a small luggage lock, or a train station locker or even a key to an apartment door.
Too many possibilities. The key was a dead end.
But the blood was not.
Maya inhaled slowly, trying not to give a full impression of a sniffer dog. The real dog, or as real as a demonic pooch could be, stood stiffly at the sidelines, his ears on end, his lips pulled back. Seems he couldn't stand the smell.
At the end of the hall stood a stiff-spined policeman whose severe expression simply darkened as he watched Maya study the scene. When he took a step toward them, looking like he was about to come over, Claudia hurried around Maya and strode over toward him, her bearing a little more officious than a kid like Maya.
Good thinking, Claude. Keep him busy while I do my thing.
Maya left Claudia to pacify the policeman and concentrated on the scene. She leaned closer and studied the blood, observing all its characteristics including its particular odor. She soon stiffened, her own blood cooling beneath her fire-generated warmth. Claudia wasn't gone long, but Maya was distracted by the tapping of her heels on the floor. She glanced up, her face now as severe as the cop's. Claude's expression went from annoyed to curious in a fraction of a second.
"What? It's another girl, isn't it?"
She looked like she wanted Maya to say no.
"No," said Maya, giving the blood a second glance. "The blood is a combination of both Deb McGowan's and the Rakshasi's." Maya made a face as the odor churned her stomach to boiling point.
