by Martha Carr
She glanced around to make sure no one heard them, leaned toward him, and lowered her voice. “Are you seriously telling me you want to break in and go…demon-hunting with a flashlight?”
“Aw, you make it sound so cute.”
“Johnny, we can’t—”
“Lisa, we can. And we will. ’Cause I ain’t droppin’ this until we find the asshole attackin’ humans and ruinin’ their lives. Whatever’s goin’ on, it’s happenin’ down there. And I aim to flush it out.” He opened his hand and grunted. “After I get these damn laces in my boots.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Portland wasn’t necessarily dead-asleep at almost three o’clock in the morning, but it was certainly easier to navigate without being seen. And there ain’t no one to tell me to leash the hounds either.
Johnny poked his head around the corner of the Shanghai Tunnel Tours’ main building and glanced up and down the street. “All right. We’re clear.”
Lisa made a hasty check in each direction before she followed him toward the tunnel entrance. She looked at the black canvas case strapped over his head and shoulder that bounced against his thigh with every step. “I still think you went way overboard with the gear.”
“Oh, yeah? What makes you think that?” They stopped at the large storm-cellar doors closed and padlocked over the stairs leading underground. He knelt and unzipped the case. “’Cause I could have opted to bring my pieced-apart rifle in this here case.”
“And instead, you filled it with explosives and…I don’t even know what else.” Despite the hounds keeping a careful watch on the street, she turned her back to the tunnel entrance and scanned the area herself. “And I’m not sure explosives in tunnels that are hundreds of years old are the smartest way to go here.”
“You’re worryin’ too much, darlin’.”
“When there’s a chance that you’d bring half of Portland down on our heads by playing with bombs? I don’t think so.”
The dwarf removed a handful of the small black explosive beads he’d stashed in the case and crushed two of them between his fingers. “Come on, now. Have I ever put us in danger with my gear?”
Lisa turned slowly to stare at him. “Was that a rhetorical question?”
“The correct answer is no. At least not anythin’ we couldn’t get ourselves out of.” He pressed the detonating beads against the padlock, reached into the bag again, and pulled out a black bowl, which he turned quickly to cup around the padlock. A soft pop was followed by a clink of breaking metal as the lock burst open.
She frowned at the black bowl as he returned it to the case. “What’s that?”
“It’s for sound-proofin’ a break-in.” He grinned at her as he removed the padlock and tossed it aside. “A little somethin’ I put together about…oh, twenty-five years ago. Of course, the explosions have only become louder since then but it does fine for the little guys.”
“You know, it wouldn’t surprise me if you were a bank robber in another life.”
“I’ve been one in this life too.”
“What?”
The bounty hunter lifted one of the cellar doors, then the other, and dusted his hands off. “It’s a long story. Would you like to head into the darkness first, or shall I take the—”
“Come on.” She yanked her phone out to turn the flashlight app on and moved down the wooden steps.
“Yes, ma’am.” With a smirk, Johnny nodded at the hounds and followed. “Y’all stay sharp, now. I reckon there’s much more to find down here the second time around.”
“You got it, Johnny.” Rex’s back end wiggled as he passed his master down the stairs and gained on Lisa. “We’ll sniff ʼem out.”
“And we won’t even stop to lick the walls—hey… Look at this.” Luther stopped to sniff at the wall and Johnny snapped his fingers.
“Focus.”
The smaller hound snorted and ran down the stairs after his brother.
The dwarf slid his hand to the case strapped across his shoulder, withdrew a three-inch rectangular LED light, and slipped it onto the strap over his shoulder before he punched the top. A bright white glow spilled through the tunnels around them.
Lisa turned quickly and blinked against the sudden light. “What is that?”
“Hands-free.” He raised both hands and wiggled his fingers. “You can put your phone away. It won’t work this far underground anyway.”
“That’s only the cell service. Or lack thereof.” She turned the flashlight off and slid her phone into her back pocket. “Which might be an issue if we need to make any calls.”
“Naw. We’re good.” He sniffed and rummaged in his case again before he found the tiny metal spider newly fitted with reinforced armor along the body.
Her eyes widened. “Didn’t you throw one of those at Lemonhead’s face in New York?”
“Hey, you remembered.”
“Yeah, because it was weird and didn’t seem like the most effective use of your skills.”
He slipped the headset he’d synced with the metal critter over his ear, turned it on, and tapped the top of the spider. “I ain’t always sure what I’ll use these little fellas for. It’s different every time, I suppose, but this is what I made ʼem for.”
Carefully, he set the metal spider on the tunnel floor and flicked its back. Lisa jumped when it came alive and skittered down the tunnel to vanish quickly in the darkness at the edge of his portable shoulder lamp. “Is it supposed to be that quiet?” she whispered.
“It wouldn’t be a very good spy-bug otherwise.”
“Spy-bug.”
“Yeah, it’s a simple name and easy to remember.” Johnny gestured toward the tunnel. “Shall we?”
With a sigh, she drew her service pistol and held it with both hands. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Don’t worry, Johnny.” Rex padded softly down the tunnel in front of them. “We’ll scope it out.”
“Nothin’ gets past us.” Luther leapt away from his master’s shadow that bounced along the wall, uttered a high-pitched dog-like giggle, and hurried after his brother.
“Did you have anywhere in particular in mind?” the agent whispered. “Or are we making this up as we go?”
“That half-standin’ hotel was all kinds of blocked off. I think it’s a good place to start.”
“Right.”
They moved silently through the tunnels while they listened warily and peered into every dark corner they passed. Many of the branching tunnels were covered by grates or otherwise sectioned off, as well as rough cells carved into the walls.
“Coming up on that hotel soon, Johnny,” Rex said.
“Yeah, maybe you should turn that light off. We can see it all the way from here.”
The dwarf slapped the LED light strapped to his shoulder and plunged the tunnel into darkness again.
“Johnny?” Lisa whispered.
He tilted his head and hushed her softly. “I think I hear somethin’.”
They waited for a minute that felt like an hour, but not even the hounds made a sound wherever they were up ahead in the tunnels.
“Oh, shit, Johnny,” Rex muttered.
The bounty hunter squinted into the darkness. It still sounds like they’re here next to me.
“There’s totally someone down there,” Luther added.
“Yeah, yeah. In the hotel like you said.”
He felt furtively in the black case at his side for a pair of night-vision goggles he’d modified to fit in small spaces like that. His movements slow and smooth, he raised them to his face, hooked one loop over his ear followed by the other, and blinked to adjust his focus as the outline of the tunnel took form again. When he caught Lisa’s hand, she jumped and tried to pull away. “What are you doing?”
“Being both our eyes for now, darlin’.” He said it so softly, he could barely hear his voice. “I think we found ʼem.”
They edged down the tunnel and stepped carefully to avoid the more uneven parts of the worn stone.
The agent followed him blindly. His headset hummed with a low mutter, followed by a crackle of static. Finally, his spy-bug sent the voices through loud and clear.
“I don’t care about what you have now,” a woman snapped in a low, menacing voice. “What I want to know is how you ran out of it three days ahead of schedule.”
“Well, it’s not like every shot is a direct hit,” a man muttered. “Sometimes, they miss.”
“It’s magic, you idiot. It was crafted to not miss!”
“I…I wouldn’t say that’s entirely true—”
“Shut up! Just shut up. You’ve wasted so much time already. I couldn’t be here today because you failed to tell me you’d run out of the only thing you’re responsible for keeping fully stocked. No, don’t try to distract me with excuses, Val. Open the damn crate.”
“Ooh, Johnny…” Luther spoke in a low whisper in the bounty hunter’s mind. “That’s one pissed-off witch.”
Witch? That’s who’s behind all this? It’s a little disappointin’.
“She’s got a gnome down there with her,” Rex added. “And…I think another wizard. Maybe two. Hard to tell, Johnny. They all smell like some weird kinda magic.”
“Yeah, not in the good way.”
Johnny tapped Lisa’s shoulder and leaned toward her ear to whisper, “At least four. In the hotel.”
She nodded and they moved around the bend in the tunnel. Once they rounded the steep curve, pale yellow light spilled through the slats in the rotting wooden planks that served as the old hotel’s walls. Rex and Luther poked their heads slowly out of the shadows surrounding the entrance.
“That’s gotta be them. Right, Johnny?”
“Has to be. Who else would think it was a good idea to come here in the middle of the night? Want us to go in after ʼem, Johnny?”
The dwarf raised an open hand toward the hounds, then stripped the headset and the night-vision goggles off before he stowed them in his pocket. In the pale light, he glanced at Lisa and held up five fingers. She nodded and he counted down slowly with his fingers, taking one slow, silent step after another toward the door of the hotel that was little more than a slanted piece of flimsy wood.
Three… Two…
“Boss, you hear something?” the nervous gnome asked.
“Go check it out,” the woman hissed.
One.
Johnny thrust his boot through the rotting wooden door. Splinters exploded in all directions, and the gnome on the other side shrieked and flinched instinctively. The bounty hunter yanked an exploding disk off his belt with one hand and drew his knife with the other. Lisa and the hounds hurried through after him. “It sounds like a bad night just got worse for you, huh?”
The room on the other side was small, lit by lanterns hanging from hooks on the ceiling, and filled with magical light. The witch wore a dark-purple dress with her red hair pulled into a tight bun. She stepped away from the destroyed door and the dwarf and slid her fingers along the surface of the wood table beside her. A slow, calculating smile graced her lips. “And who might you be?”
“FBI,” Lisa said and stepped forward with her gun leveled unflinchingly. “What’s in the crate?”
The woman chuckled softly and pointed at the wooden crate beside her. One long, manicured fingernail glistened in the light. “You mean this crate?”
“Don’t play dumb,” Johnny growled. “Are you the magical attackin’ all the humans in these tunnels?”
“Well, in this century, yes.” She flashed them a mad grin and darted a commanding glance at the cowering gnome. He nodded and tried to skitter away, but Luther bounded in front of him and growled. Val the gnome squeaked, leapt away, and flung his hands up in immediate surrender. His boss rolled her eyes. “You’re so useless.”
“He’s not going anywhere, Johnny. I got him.”
The bounty hunter nodded at the crate beside the witch. “Step away from the table.”
“Oh, no. I can’t do that.” The grinning woman gestured expansively. “I plan to use these very soon…whoever you are.” Her smile vanished and one dark eye twitched. “And I’ve put far too much into this to let a few idiots stand in my way. I’m sorry, did you say you were federal agents?”
Lisa stepped forward. “Hands up.”
“No.”
“Uh…Johnny?” Rex glanced around the small room. “We’re missing the two wizards, at least.”
He gritted his teeth. “What’s in the crate?”
The witch reached slowly inside it with one hand while her gaze darted around the edges of the rotting room to scan the shadows. She withdrew a small vial filled with slightly glowing purple liquid. “My answer.”
“That ain’t an answer at all.” He growled his annoyance. “Put it down.”
“No, I think I’ll hang onto this one and maybe use the full dose with the casting. I’m not exactly sure what the right ratio is for a dwarf and a disappointingly skinny half-Light Elf, but so much of this has been trial and error.”
Rex sniffed at the dusty, dank air. “Johnny, something’s wrong—”
The far wall of the hotel shattered and flung pieces of splintered wood and centuries of dust all over the room. A huge shifter barreled through and his eyes flashed before he transformed and bounded toward Johnny.
Lisa squeezed a shot off that nicked the massive gray wolf in the shoulder, and he snarled and landed awkwardly before he lunged toward her instead of her partner. At least a dozen other magicals streamed through the hole in the wall and another five emerged from the shadows. A Crystal woman’s blast of frigid air peppered with shards of ice blew through the underground hotel like a blizzard.
The bounty hunter raised his forearm to shield his eyes, still holding the knife. Shit.
“Johnny!” Luther shouted and snarled as he leapt at the shifter who showed no signs of slowing even after he’d been shot. “They’ve got something else in the crate!”
Lisa squeezed off another round at what she thought was a magical storming toward her, but the bullet streaked through the shadows that danced along the Crystal’s blizzard spell and cracked deafeningly against the stone wall of the tunnels beyond the hotel.
“Double it on these assholes, Val,” the witch shouted. “I want to see how far they fall.”
“Shit, Johnny. Look out! They’ve got something else in that crate” Rex shouted and jerked his head with his jaws clamped around a wizard’s ankle.
A sharp pinch nicked the back of Johnny’s neck. His inactive disk fell from his hand and clattered to the ground as he slapped the sting on his neck. He couldn’t see his fingers through the haze of Crystal magic when he lowered them in front of his face. “What the—”
The dwarf staggered forward, his eyes suddenly heavy, and tried to shake off the dizziness that washed over him with unbelievable speed. Goddamnit. The bitch fucking drugged me.
The Crystal’s spell cleared and he saw four versions of all the magicals in the abandoned underground hotel staring at him. Or at least he thought they were. He couldn’t be sure. Where are the hounds? Where’s—
“Johnny?” Lisa’s voice came from somewhere very far away.
He tried to call her but he couldn’t make his lips move. His vision darkened and his hearing faded into a dull, indecipherable drone before a dark-purple light flared in front of him.
A female figure stood within the strange illumination, which burst away from her like dark sun flares. When she spread her arms, two massive wings of black smoke unfolded to overshadow everything else. Horns emerged from her head, and two glowing red eyes burned within the shadowy, featureless face. A dark, reverberating chuckle blasted into his head and made his eyes water. “Oh, this will be fun.”
The ground trembled beneath him and the bounty hunter groaned heavily as he tried to keep his balance. Oh, that demon. Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Johnny tried to shake the dizziness off as he trudged toward what he thought was only a hallucination. It has to be. There
’s no way this shit is real.
But before he could manage more than two steps, everything changed around him. The darkness faded, the glowing demon-lady was gone, and he stood in his living room. What the hell?
A choking sound rose behind him, and he whirled with his utility knife in hand to see Amanda sprawled on the floor, her hand stretched toward him. Her blood spread in a crimson pool around her as her wide eyes shimmered. The girl’s mouth gaped open and closed, and she raised a hand in a plea. “Help me. Johnny, I can’t—”
More blood gurgled from her mouth.
“Jesus Christ.” He leapt toward her and another wave of vertigo wracked him. The living room disappeared, replaced by the scattered lawn and gravel drive in front of his cabin. “Amanda!”
He spun wildly, searching for her in the darkness beneath the starry sky hanging over the Everglades. A crackling roar made him turn again, and he froze.
His cabin was on fire and the flames surged ten feet into the air. The screen door on the front porch cracked, fell from its hinges, and was engulfed in seconds by the flames. “No, no, no. What the fuck is this? My fucking home!”
The second he pushed toward the blaze of heat he could feel on his skin and the plumes of smoke stinging his nostrils, his world tilted upside down. When it righted again, he stood in a dark alley lit by a blazing neon-red sign shaped like the Red Boar. A gunshot cracked through the narrow space between buildings, followed by a scream. “Papa!”
“Dawn!” He didn’t even care that it was impossible. That’s my daughter. She fuckin’ needs me.
“Johnny!” Rex’s shout in his mind was so intense, it stopped him in his tracks. “Don’t believe any of it!”
A canine snarl and the snapping of jaws came from somewhere very far away, and he shook his head. “Where are you, boy?”
“Right here next to you, Johnny,” Luther said. “These assholes aren’t gonna know what hit ʼem.”
“Where…” The dwarf glanced around the alley.
“Trust us.”
