“I keep my promises, kid.” Dani stepped into the house, taking in the warm lived-in feel of the place. The furniture looked old, but it was all there. A couch and loveseat in the living room, complete with a TV on an honest-to-god entertainment center. Pictures lined the walls, most of them of Cassie and Lana, plus some of an older couple. It was immediately clear they were Cassie’s parents, sharing the same bright blonde curls.
“Would you like the tour?” Cassie asked, standing awkwardly in the hallway.
“That would be great. Could we end in your sister’s room?” Dani figured that’s where she’d find the most clues to Lana’s odd behavior.
Cassie brightened. “Definitely.” She led Dani through the kitchen, which was immaculate and stocked full of food. Dani longed to grab one of the apples on the counter, but she didn’t dare ask.
On the fridge, someone had posted a calendar full of hand-scribbled notes. Appointments, Dani realized. Chemo dates. Doctor’s visits. Nutritionists. On the counter, there was a giant pill case, organized for daily morning, noon, and evening meds.
“Why are these all crossed out?” Someone had taken a red marker and drawn an X through all the up-coming appointments on the calendar.
Cassie folded her thin arms against her chest. “I decided not to go anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” Dani said, and she truly was. Cassie was so young, and there was so much life in her eyes. So much vibrancy in her skin. She didn’t look like a girl on death’s door, though if the calendar was any indication, she clearly was. “Do you mind if I ask what’s wrong?”
“Cancer,” Cassie said with a shrug, not bothering to clarify. “It’s Stage IV and basically everywhere now. The chemo wasn’t doing anything except make me feel awful. If this is the end, I want to go out having fun, not so tired I can’t do anything.” She grinned, a small, fleeting thing. “Lana’s been helping me apply for that wish making thing. We want to visit Disney before I go.”
“That’ll be really fun.” Not that Dani had ever been to any kind of amusement park. Her mom hated them. She always joked that even demons knew better than to brave those kinds of hideous crowds, especially in the Florida heat.
Cassie dove into an explanation of all the amazing attractions she wanted to see and the rides she wanted to experience, but Dani started to question her earlier instincts. Maybe this wasn’t a demonic possession at all. Maybe Lana’s erratic behavior was simply grief over the impending loss of her sister. A ticking clock could lead people to do strange things.
“Can I see her bedroom?” Dani prompted, cutting Cassie off in the middle of a macabre story of people illegally sneaking the ashes of loved ones in Disney parks in order to spread their remains. Cassie wanted Lana to do that for her, but Lana refused since it was something the park expressly forbid.
“Right! Sorry. This way.” Cassie led Dani down the hall and stopped before a closed room. “I haven’t been in there. I’m not supposed to . . . ”
“I won’t make a mess. Promise.”
Dani rested her hand on the doorknob, a tremble of unease fluttering across her skin. She blew out a breath, rolled out her shoulders, and stepped inside.
The room was nothing like Dani expected. Unlike the rest of the house—which was clean and neatly organized—Lana’s bedroom looked like a sexy tornado had blown through.
Skimpy lingerie littered the floor, many of the pieces still with tags on them. Handcuffs hung from each side of the headboard, and there was even a strap-on peeking out from underneath the bed. Dani scanned the rest of the room and tried to ignore the rest of Lana’s . . . toys. Suit jackets and slacks were balled up in the corner of the room, almost like they were shoved out of sight, while dresses with low plunging necklines draped prominently over the backs of chairs.
“Does your sister party a lot?” she called to Cassie, who was still hiding out in the hallway.
“She never used to.”
“What about dates? Does she have a boyfriend or girlfriend or anything?”
An awkward silence stretched between them. Then finally, Cassie’s small voice called from the hallway. “She’s been going out a lot recently. She always tells me not to wait up for her.”
“Hmm . . . ” Dani continued her search, looking for something that would point her in the direction of Cassie’s missing sister. “What does your sister do for work?” Dani went through the discarded suit jackets, checking the pockets for any clues.
“She was an assistant at an accounting firm.”
“Was?”
“They fired her a few days ago.” The awkward pause came again. “She didn’t say why exactly, just that they were too stuffy and didn’t know how to have fun.”
“Does your sister have any problems with drugs or alcohol?” Dani came up empty with the pockets, finding nothing more than a few stray receipts and sticky notes with grocery reminders on them.
“No, nothing like that.”
Dani reached for the last pair of slacks, and something sharp poked into her thumb. She withdrew a sturdy black card and flipped it over, silver glinting in the light. She ran her thumb over the raised letters. The Ink stirred against her skin. Dani grinned.
They had hunting to do.
7
Obsidian.
Dani leaned against a stone building down the street from the nightclub and glanced from the silver lettering on the card to the neon sign above the entrance. There was a wrongness in the air, and the Ink stirred anxiously against her skin. They wanted out, which usually meant demons were close by.
Even from half a block away, music pulsed loud enough to penetrate Obsidian’s heavy black doors. The tall windows were all covered with thick curtains, blocking all view of whatever debauchery happened within. Though Dani had never been inside before, she knew the club’s reputation.
Owned by one of the five necromancer families that ruled Blackthorn, Obsidian was a place where desperate humans could get anything they wanted—for a price. Fame. Fortune. Beauty. Love. Power. There were no limits at places like Obsidian, so long as you were willing to pay in blood.
Dani adjusted the waistband of her skin-tight black jeans and smoothed the front of her shirt. She’d sacrificed one of her favorite soft tees, slicing through the collar to lower the neckline, and paired the entire ensemble with her leather jacket. She approached the front door, worried for a moment they’d ask for ID, but the bouncer waved her inside. I guess necromancers aren’t worried about underage drinking.
The pounding bass shook through Dani’s bones, making it hard to think. The place was packed with bodies, and she bristled when she realized not all of them were human. She spotted the first demon behind the bar. He looked normal enough at first, a handsome Black man mixing drinks and dancing to the music. But when he turned to grab a straw, Dani spotted the long tail curling up toward his shoulders.
Instinctively, Dani reached for the sword she kept strapped to her waist when she went hunting, but her fingers came up empty. She’d left her more conspicuous weapons at home. Dani scanned the club, the Ink itching terribly at her skin, but she couldn’t bring them out here. To her growing horror, the longer she looked, the more demons she spotted among the crowd. Though normal humans wouldn’t see the imperfections, Dani catalogued them all.
A young white woman with a forked tongue.
A pale man with flame-red hair and cat eyes.
On one of the raised dancing platforms, a Latina woman danced with abandon, spreading her near-translucent wings.
Everything inside Dani told her to run. To get the hell out of there and regroup. She should call the Ink, wait in the alleys outside the club and pick off the demons one-by-one as they left. But Dani had a missing woman to find, so she forced her racing heart to calm the hell down. She needed to act natural.
She scanned the club again, letting her body move in time with the music. Of the people who looked human, there was no telling how many were necromancers. She’d never actually met one before, but s
he’d heard enough from Poe to keep her distance. She and the Ink had sent hordes of demons back to the underworld since they’d arrived in Blackthorn, which made them terribly unpopular with both demons and the necromancers who raised them.
The song ended, and for a moment, the club was plunged into darkness. A few excited screams echoed around her, but then the beat of a new song pulsed through the space and spinning lights lit up the room.
Dani shook her head, disgusted by the humans who came to this place, trading their souls for short-term gains. Who willingly pressed their fragile, mortal bodies against demon-possessed corpses.
A violent shudder worked up Dani’s spine, and she headed for the end of the bar, as far away as she could get from the tailed-demon she first spotted. At least at the bar she could sit and observe in peace while she searched for Lana.
One of the dancers jostled Dani’s shoulder as she tried to slip past, and her Ink burned against her skin, desperate to attack. Dani glanced back at the retreating form. The man turned, his eyes flashing an inhuman shade of purple. Not a man, Dani corrected herself, scowling at him, a demon. The creature must have been inside the dead body for a few weeks, maybe even several months. His movements were calm and sure, and he didn’t seem to have a problem keeping composed around so many potential victims.
Poe’s righteous anger burned against Dani’s chest, and for once, she fully agreed with the raven’s pushy emotions. He wanted to peck out the demon’s violet eyes, and Dani longed to let him. Now wasn’t the time, but soon each and every demon in attendance would taste her blade.
When Dani finally reached the bar, she ordered a simple water with lemon. She couldn’t afford to have booze altering her reactions. And, frankly, she couldn’t afford to pay for the alcohol anyway. As she sipped her drink, she ran through what Poe had told her about the five families that ran this city. They were politicians, business executives, crime lords, and even religious leaders. The Dasari family managed the city’s nightlife. Most of their clubs catered to humans, but a few—like Obsidian—specialized in arranging deals between willing humans and the demons eager for a way into the human realm.
“What’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?” Hot breath accompanied the soft words in Dani’s ear, and webbed fingers trailed along her neck as the intruder brushed her hair over one shoulder.
She turned, and the demon behind her smiled, exposing pointed, fish-like teeth. Her hands curled into fists, but before she could break the creature’s nose, a new figure blocked her view, coming to stand between them.
“What did I say about touching patrons without their permission?” The man’s voice resonated in his chest, commanding authority. Dani hated him immediately. Only a necromancer would speak so firmly with a demon.
The demon shrank back from the reproach. He raised his hands, those slimy webbed fingers waggling in surrender. “Fine, fine,” the demon whined, “I’ll find someone who wants to play.”
Once the demon had stalked off, the man turned to Dani, a very human smile lighting his features. His long dark hair was pulled into a low bun; a few shorter pieces had fallen out to frame his face. He had beautiful brown skin and the warmest brown eyes Dani had ever seen.
The man, who seemed to be of Indian descent, looked Dani up and down. The polite grin on his face turned genuine, and far too cocky for Dani’s tastes. “Sorry about him. We have very strict policies about consensual . . . dealings in this club.”
“I’m sure you do,” Dani replied, turning back to her glass to hide the sarcasm in her eyes. Necromancers only played at fairness, but their business relied on humans not understanding the full weight of what they were bargaining away.
“You know, a ‘thank you’ is customary in these sorts of situations.”
“I didn’t ask for your help, nor do I need it.” Dani glanced at the man, assessing him in much the same way he’d assessed her. He was at least half a foot taller than her and probably a few years older, too. His body was trim, the shape and curve of his muscles evident in his tailored suit.
“Huh. True enough.” One of his thick, well-manicured eyebrows raised up his forehead. “Well then, can I buy you a drink to make up for ruining whatever riveting conversation you were about to have?”
Heat burned Dani’s cheeks as the man leaned closer and gestured for the bartender. He wore some kind of crisp cologne that probably cost more than two months of her rent, but she couldn’t deny that it was an intoxicating scent. It reminded her of first snow and sunset leaves. She wanted to get lost in it.
“I’m Raj, by the way.”
“Danika.” She responded without thinking, Raj’s closeness muddling her usual caution.
“Well, Danika, what brings you to Obsidian?”
The bartender arrived, giving Dani a reprieve from Raj’s attention. She turned back to the crowd, scanning the dance floor. And there, in the middle of it all, was the reason she’d come to the damned club in the first place.
Lana.
8
The woman dancing at the center of the club had all of Lana’s features but none of the reserved, cautious personality that radiated off the photographs in Cassie house. This Lana was wild and carefree, her blonde hair in loose curls down her back. She wore a short skirt and skimpy top, dancing with a man who had one arm wrapped around her bare waist while he pressed kisses down her neck.
Lana glanced up, as if she could feel Dani’s gaze trained upon her, and smiled. Long canines pressed into Lana’s lower lip, but she returned her attention quickly to her dance partner, turning around to kiss the man. When she finally pulled away, Dani noticed the faintest shimmer to the air, as the demon fed on the man’s sexual energy.
Dani stifled a groan.
Cassie’s sister was possessed by a succubus.
Though she’d never faced one herself, she’d overheard her mom and Poe complaining about succubi a few times. They weren’t uncommon demons, but they were damn irritating. Succubi were rarely satisfied with merely sucking the sexual energy from their victims. They liked to toy with humans like a cat might taunt a mouse before eating it.
On the plus side, they often left their victim’s alive . . . which boded well for the man currently grinding his crotch into Lana’s ass, but if he was currently in a monogamous relationship, he could kiss that goodbye. There was nothing a succubus liked more than watching relationships implode around them. They loved chaos, and had a habit of causing it wherever they went.
Dani accepted the drink Raj had bought her and slammed it down in one gulp. Alcohol burned against the back of her throat, but the liquid courage should make her night suck a little less. She stood from the barstool and stalked toward the dance floor.
“You’re welcome!” Raj called after her, but she simply flipped him off without turning around. He may be hot, but he was still a necromancer. She didn’t owe him anything.
The music of the club pulsed over her, and Dani let the thud of the bass work into her bones. It rattled up her spine, bouncing from rib to rib as she let her body sink into the rhythm. Soon, she was no longer a demon hunter, her limbs no longer made for chasing monsters or gripping ancient swords. She was an extension of the thud, thud, thud of the dance music, her hips swaying to the beat.
Keeping Lana in her sights, Dani moved from one dance partner to the next, letting the most human-looking men hold her close, their bodies moving as one in the cramped nightclub. She shut off her brain, letting her body do whatever felt good, pretending the men beside her actually gave a shit about who she was. Dani let herself become lost in desires she normally kept locked away, pent-up feelings the succubus inside Lana wouldn’t be able to pass up.
Lana glanced up from her dance partner, scanning the room until her gaze locked on Danika. A wicked grin split the monster’s face, her canines even longer than before. The wrongness of her expression, the proof of her demonic insides, was invisible to the human in her arms. Only those touched by the paranormal—other demons,
necromancers, and hunters like Danika—could see the creeping evil, the cracking of humanity.
Dani pretended not to notice. She stumbled forward, acting clumsy with alcohol and entranced by Lana, who subsequently abandoned her current partner and met Dani on the dance floor.
“I haven’t seen you around here before,” Lana purred, her voice husky and seductive.
Dani’s cheeks grew warm despite herself. She fluttered her lashes and glanced up at Lana, faking a nervousness she did not feel. “It’s my first time.”
Her words seemed to please the succubus. “Care to dance?”
A simple nod from Dani was all it took to reel Lana in. The succubus tugged Dani close, and soon the pair were dancing, the crowd parting around them. Even though she’d mentally prepared for the demon’s tricks, Dani felt herself falling under Lana’s spell. A hand at her waist. A brush of lips against her neck. And always moving, moving, moving as the music enveloped around them. But then Lana’s fingers brushed over the Ink on Dani’s skin, and a cold shiver brought her back to her senses.
She leaned in close to Lana, her lips brushing the other woman’s neck. “I know what you are.”
Lana laughed. “And what is that? A delight? A fabulous lover? A—”
“A monster,” Dani finished instead, pulling back to watch Lana’s reaction.
Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Dani loved this part. The confusion on the demon’s face. The moment they calculate their odds of turning the situation around, of convincing a simple human they couldn’t possibly be right.
But Danika was far from simple.
Confusion creased Lana’s brow. She stopped dancing. Her irises flickered between demonic red and human blue. “Are you looking to make a deal?” she asked, a new kind of excitement brightening her tone.
“The only deal I’m interested in,” Dani said, reaching for the small knife hidden at her back, “is one that ends with you banished back to hell.”
Chosen Page 5
