by Jen Pretty
“Wait, Rory went after Shit-face,” I pointed up.
“Shit-face?” Julian looked perplexed.
“Yeah, the demon who possessed me. He’s possessed a half-demon.”
Julian grunted and tried to herd me down the tunnel. “I hope you weren’t attached to your first lieutenant.”
I dug my heels in. “What is that supposed to mean?” I was attached to Rory. He was fun and easygoing.
“They had a plan to kill you when you went after ‘shit-face,’ as you call him.”
“Who had a plan?” I asked.
“Collin and the demon. That’s why I came rushing in here. To save you.” His face was so serious.
“Crap.” I was torn. Did I go chasing after Rory or go stop Collin? I would have to trust Rory could handle himself. If Collin got away, all of this was for nothing. “All right.”
We bolted back down the tunnel. I ran as fast as I could, Julian right behind me. When I got back to the place where Ann’s husband had been lying, I slammed on the brakes. Stepping lightly around his body, I said a little prayer for him before continuing. Julian pulled in front of me and led the way through the tunnels.
He stopped at the ragged hole into the new construction. It wasn't abandoned now, and all the workers stopped to stare at us.
A burly construction worker in a fluorescent vest and hard hat yelled down to us from some scaffolding. “Hey, you shouldn’t be in here!”
I waved and picked up the pace until we were away from the workers and back in the dark tunnels again. Luckily, I’d kept Rory’s flashlight and I flicked it on, scanning the shadows.
“You are no leader,” a voice spoke from the darkness. “You betray your own for this human?”
Collin stepped out from behind a pillar. His wings spread and his eyes as dark as night. His teeth shone in the flashlight beam, long and sharp.
He looked like the grim reaper, and he had come to drag me to hell.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I turned the flashlight to Collin's feet, so he didn't look quite so spooky and took a shuttering breath. My power flared, the heat rising to the boiling point.
“I don't know how you are still alive. I have a feeling your father has a soft spot for you,” Collin's voice was mocking. We both knew he had no fatherly affection for me. A small part of me that should have died a long time ago was still a lonely little girl and wanted to know about Shit-face. His name, for one. However, the real part of me that had spent time at his tender mercies didn't give two flying fucks about the demon asshole.
It was during this inner battle that Collin launched himself at Julian. He was so fast. I didn't have time to react before they were rolling around on the ground a mass of limbs and violence.
“Holy crap!” I screamed as I tried to find the right time to jump in and freeze the bastard. The grunts of pain and scent of blood filled the stagnant area. Julian had already been injured; it wasn't a fair fight. But then, demons never fought fair. They taunted and destroyed the weaker humans and Collin was no better than a full demon.
There was a loud groan, and a thick grunt and the men came to a stop. Collin had Julian pinned to the floor, his clawed hands wrist-deep in Julian's abdomen.
I took my opportunity and launched myself onto Collin’s back. My hands came around his neck, and I wrapped my legs around his waist like a baby gorilla. My power surged and sprung like lightening down my arms and through my fingers into Collin.
He screamed and thrashed. His fingers came whipping out of Julian with a spray of blood to rake at my arms.
Pain seared, but I didn't let go.
Collin's wings flapped hard, whipping me in the face, but I knew this was my only chance. Collin’s hatred for Julian is what would be his real downfall. If he had fled instead of fighting, he would be gone by now.
The heat flowed until sweat beaded my forehead and it felt like I was hugging a pizza oven, but in my mind, I replayed the vision of Julian strung up and shredded in that tunnel. What Collin had done to him was unforgivable, and I wouldn't let my temporary pain stop me from dealing out the justice Collin deserved.
“Rot in hell,” I whispered as I felt his body turn solid.
I slid off the statue of Collin, his wing outspread as he knelt above Julian. Collin’s face was contorted in anger, reminding me of a gargoyle. It was terrifying.
A few deep breaths later, I crawled to Julian who wasn't much more than pulp at this point. His torso was a mess, and Collin had slashed his face, too. One eye was clouded and leaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked, kneeling over him but unsure if I should touch him. Every inch of him was gross.
He coughed hard several times before sliding out from under Collin and pushing to his feet. He wobbled but stayed upright. I rose to my feet, too, feeling a bit like puking would be a good idea.
I had seen way too much of Julian's insides lately. That could stop at any time.
Julian took out his phone, which still worked despite his fight with Collin.
“He is taken care of,” Julian said before hanging up and dialing another number. Julian had no expression on his face when his call was answered again. “Send pick-up,” he said and hung up again.
“What happens now?” I asked. I was bone tired and needed to sleep for the next two years or so.
Julian crossed to where I had dropped the flashlight. He picked it up and put it in my hand. “I have to wait here for the Demon Division to pick up Collin. Go find Nick.”
I scoffed. “How am I supposed to find my way around down here?” I was terrible with directions. I would end up lost.
Julian grabbed my shoulders and spun me. “Keep heading straight down this tunnel, Harlow. You need to go. Now.” Julian was angry.
“Fine, God.” I spun on my heel and ran straight out of the small cavern and down the narrow tunnel. My legs shook, and I slowed to a walk once I was far enough away from Julian. He was such a fucking mystery. I didn't need this crap right now.
Several minutes later, the sound of footsteps approaching rang through the tunnel. I stopped behind a pillar and waited to see who it was, but it was Nick and a few half-demons I hoped were on our side.
I stepped out from my terrible hiding place and Nick’s whole body visibly relaxed. “Thank fuck, Harlow.” He stepped forward and scooped me up in his arms, spinning me around.
“Quit that. I'm close to puking as is.”
He laughed and set my feet on the ground. “Did you get Collin?”
“Yeah. I froze him. Julian is waiting for someone to pick him up, I guess. I need to find Rory.”
“I thought he would be with you. Isn’t he your first lieutenant?”
Great, this whole leader thing wouldn’t die easily if everyone knew about Rory’s declaration of loyalty. Freaking weird half-demons.
“He went off after Shit-face.”
Nick's eyes widened. “So your demon is here?”
“He was. Then he flew out a manhole and Rory flapped off after him.”
I started walking again, playing the demon's words over in my mind. If I was his daughter, that made me a three-quarter demon. How come I looked human and had no special skills? Didn't seem legit.
Demons were assholes, though. I was sure they could lie like a cat in a sunbeam. This was a question for dear old mom when I saw her.
“You should be able to tell where Rory is if you are his leader,” Nick said.
I stopped and spun to look at him. “What do you mean?”
“Leaders know where all their pledged half-demons are. Don't you know anything about half-demons?”
I gave him the finger and turned to keep walking. No. I knew nothing about half-demons. Who would have told me anything about them? Lincoln? I snorted a laugh and it echoed through the tunnels.
Attempting to find Rory through whatever superpower I might have but didn't know about, I thought about Rory, tracing his tattoos in my mind. I felt a pull. It was like a string attached to my feet turn
ing them as I moved down the dark tunnels. I chased my flashlight beam, following the weird pull. My speed picked up until the sound of wind whipping past my ears drowned out the sound of my boots on the cement floor.
I ran for a few minutes and skidded to a halt at the bottom of the ladder.
Nick slid to a stop behind me. “So I guess that answers that question,” he muttered.
Yup, I was a bigger freak than the kids from my high school even imagined. Whatever. I would embrace this new weirdness and maybe take up meditation. I could become a Zen master and never worry about anything again because I’d be Zen twenty-four seven.
At the top of the ladder, the manhole cover proved to be heavier than I expected. I pressed up on the bloody thing and tried to wedge my body into it from the precarious perch of the steel rungs. It moved, but not enough that I could actually shove it over.
“I will help you,” Al said, appearing at the bottom of the ladder. He spread his wings and flapped up, sending my clothes and hair into a wild windstorm, but he easily shoved the manhole cover off the top.
“Thanks, Al. How did you find us?” I asked, and I climbed the last couple rungs to crawl out on to the dark street.
“You ran past me about a mile back in the tunnel,” he said, folding his wings into his back and glancing around.
“Huh, I didn’t notice you,” I said absentmindedly as I scanned the alley. The pull was coming from the far end, and I crept forward. There were overflowing dumpsters lined up against the wall, and I had a bad creepy feeling about them. I reminded myself I didn't have Spidey-senses and pushed my legs to move me forward.
Something crinkled in one of the big bins and I screamed, but anyone would have. It could have been a rat. It wasn’t. A rat, I mean. A tattooed hand slid out from under the lid of one bin followed by a bleeding Rory. His face was a mess. His eyes swollen shut and bruised beyond recognition.
“Holy crap!” I reached up to help him out, but he was a mess and smelled so bad.
Al took flight and lifted the garbage lid, then lifted Rory out and set him on his feet in the alley in front of me.
He collapsed, but Al grabbed him, and Nick, who had followed us up from the tunnel, stepped forward to help.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Your-”
“Shit-face!” I interrupted. I didn't want everyone to hear about shit-face potentially being my parental unit.
“—Shit-face beat the shit out of me. He is a powerful demon,” Rory continued thankfully taking my cue not to call the monster my father. Rory’s voice was strained, and I could see the bruising on his neck. I knew what that felt like.
“Okay, let's get you back to the hotel and you can relax,” I said, leading the way out of the alley. I had no idea where we were and Rory’s head tipped back. I thought he might be dead, but his broken nose was whistling with each breath. Al knew the city and got us to a corner with parked taxi cabs.
The three of them slid into the back seat, and I climbed in beside the cabbie who looked like a cowboy. His western shirt was tucked into denim jeans, and a large belt buckle glistened in the streetlights. On top of his head sat a cowboy hat and little curls of blond hair peeked out beneath it. I was pretty sure if I could see his feet, he wore cowboy boots. Country music spilled from the speakers.
Some song about a guy losing his girl, his job and his dog was playing. I rolled my eyes.
Al gave the address of the hotel, and we cruised through the city in our steel horse like we were out to win the west. I never understood country music. It was oddly depressing.
We made it up to the apartment, but Nick and Al took off for places unknown to me. Rory came around enough to have a quick shower before he collapsed in the bed, naked. I had suggested pants as he stumbled past the open bedroom door, but it was not to be.
I clicked on the TV but couldn't focus on the drama on the screen when my life had enough excitement for a talk show. What would that TV psychiatrist think of my family situation? Estranged mother. Demon father. Fuck it.
I clicked the TV off and curled up on the couch. I had lost my phone somewhere in the mayhem so couldn't even text Julian to see what was going on. If I could remember his number I could call, but my memory had gotten lazy since I got my cell phone. There was one number I knew by heart though.
I pushed myself up to standing and crossed the room to the office area where there was a landline phone. I picked it up and dialed the number I knew by heart.
“Len’s Pizza,” a young male voice chimed from my hometown. My eyes burned as tears pricked. I hadn't been away from home this long ever.
I swallowed hard and said, “Can I talk to Len?”
“Yup, just a sec.” The sound from the receiver went muffled and crinkly like the kid was holding it to his shirt.
A moment later the raspy old voice came through, and those tears spilled over the edges of my eyelids, cutting trails down my cheeks.
“Yeah,” Len said in a clipped voice. I wasn't sure what time it was; he was probably in the middle of chopping vegetables or something.
It took a minute for my voice to catch up with my brain. “It’s me.” My voice came out strained and awkward with a hiccup at the end.
“Harlow? What's happened?”
I explained everything that had happened since the last time I had talked to him, but it was overwhelming.
Len listened quietly, adding in the occasional grunt, so I knew he was still listening.
“Sounds like youse been through a lot,” he summed up when I stopped talking. “You come to the shop when you get home, and we can talk.”
I sighed. I had a goal. Go home to the pizza shop. I couldn't handle anything else, but I could handle that task. “Okay,” I whispered.
“You be good. See you soon.” Len hung up the phone, leaving the dial tone ringing in my ear.
I packed up my things, carefully avoiding the eyeful of naked half-demon spread-eagle on the bed. He didn’t believe in sheets or blankets either.
Once I had everything packed, I grabbed several tiny bottles from the bar fridge, not caring what time of day it was, and turned, suitcase in hand, to leave.
At that moment the suite door swung open and a tall, dark figure stepped through the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Julian asked, his face cold and serious.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Julian’s face was blank. I needed some clue about what he was feeling. Was he angry? How the hell should I know?
“I’m going home. I took care of Collin. I want to go home.”
Julian didn't speak. He didn't even move for a long moment reminding me of a gargoyle. Then he stepped forward and let the suite door slide shut behind him, closing with a click that broke the silence.
I dropped my suitcase and threw my hands in the air. “I did what everyone wanted me to do, Julian.”
For a flash of a second, his face betrayed him. Sadness. I caught it. Why would he be sad? Because I was leaving? Argh, the stupid half-demon was driving me crazy.
“What do you want from me?” I yelled, spinning away to stare out the giant window overlooking the city of Jackson.
The silence was overwhelming, but before I could turn back and look at him, he whispered, “Everything,” from right behind me. The heat of his body warmed my back, and I was tempted to lean back into him. I took a steadying breath and turned to look up at him. His eyes were black as night, his dark brows lowered.
I opened my mouth to ask him some dumb question that was forgotten immediately when his lips crashed into mine. He pressed me back into the cold glass of the floor to ceiling window, and I had a passing vision of it breaking and me falling to my death, but I figured it was a good way to go.
His hot lips parted mine and his tongue danced in my mouth, making all my nerves come alive. I ran my fingers through his soft black hair and let his warmth heat me nearly to boiling. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his hips, clinging to him with
abandon.
He broke the kiss long enough to whisper, “I need you,” then he turned and carried me across the suite to the bedroom.
“Wait,” I said. But it was too late. He threw the door open and stopped dead at the sight before him. I kept my face buried in Julian's chest to stop the laughter that wanted to bubble out.
Julian took a step backwards, closing the bedroom door with a sharp click.
“Why is he naked?” he asked. I pushed away, and Julian set my feet on the ground.
“It's a long story.”
Julian's eyes burned into mine with a ferocity I didn't understand for a second.
“Okay, it's not that long,” I said realizing it didn't look great that there was a naked man in my hotel room. “He got beat up by Shit-face and passed out.”
Julian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry.” He looked away from me, but his face was so full of emotion, I reached up and turned it back so I could see it.
He stood there wearing everything on his face. His regret, sadness, and something I wanted to believe was honesty and openness. I didn't know how to trust that, but I wanted to.
“Come home with me,” he said in a low, pleading voice.
I swallowed hard. Len said to meet him at the shop. I needed answers about Shit-face and my mother. I needed to know what Len knew.
I shook my head, but he stopped my words with another searing kiss. My knees went weak, and I wanted to stay in that moment with him and forget all the rest of the junk. I didn't need a mother or father. I had been doing fine on my own most of my life. But I needed Julian.
I pushed him back again and took a deep breath. “I can't go home with you. I have to see Len and get my life straightened out.
“How long?” he asked.
I turned away. “I don't know. A couple of weeks, anyway. Let me do this, and then I’ll visit you. I can't make promises, Julian.”
He nodded and then studied the closed bedroom door. “Take him with you. He will be some help if the demon shows up. Not a lot, but some.” Then Julian turned and headed for the door of the suite.