“I do.” My mind whirls. Melinda wouldn’t ask for help unless she had no other option. I shouldn’t be talking with hunters, and she’s risking it all by asking me for help.
“Hey, your friend just walked away to help someone,” Melinda says, letting me know she can talk freely. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” She’s talking fast, needing to get me all the details before Betty comes back over and hears. “This demon…we have no idea what it is. It’s been moving from one abandoned building to the next, and anytime someone gets near, they’ve been found dead by the next day. There have been ten deaths we’ve connected to this demon, but there could be as many as twenty-seven.”
“You couldn’t confirm the other seventeen?”
“No. The bodies were chewed to bits by rats.”
“Rats?”
“Yeah. Like hundreds of rats, according to the coroner’s reports.”
“Fuck.” I slap my hand against my forehead. “Do you remember where that big white house was in the woods?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“There’s another old house on the same street. All brick with a white Jeep parked out front. Come here and we’ll go over everything.”
“Thank you.” The call ends and I throw my head back.
“Who was that?”
“Melinda, the hunter who got her leg slashed by a demon in the woods.”
“And you invited her here?” Lucas asks incredulously. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“Oh, I know it’s a terrible idea. It’s not a trap or anything, at least I don’t think so. I’m already breaking witch law by having you here. Why not throw in witch hunters into the mix?”
“Callie,” Lucas starts but I stop him.
“She said this demon is hiding in abandoned buildings and some of the bodies found were consumed by rats. Sound familiar?”
Chapter 23
Shielding the sun from my eyes with my hand, I watch a gray Jeep Wrangler bump down my gravel driveway. Melinda is alone and on crutches. She waves as she gets out, hobbling toward the house.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” she says as I help her up the stairs and into the house. She’s not lying about wanting to come here to talk about a case. The warding wouldn’t have let her pass if she had ill-intent to be here.
“Of course. What do you need? A vanquishing potion?”
“I wish, but I have a feeling this is going to take more than that.”
I open the front door and let her in first. All of my familiars are sitting on the stops, growling at Melinda.
“Guys, be nice.”
“It’s okay. It’s smart of them not to trust me or anyone they don’t know.” Melinda rests her crutches against the wall and takes off her shoes. Leaving the crutches, she limps into the living room and almost screams when she sees Lucas. “What? H-how? I thought he was a vampire!”
“I am.” Lucas draws his fangs and zooms to us, towering over Melinda.
“Put your fangs away and sit down,” I scold. “She’s not even armed.”
“I am. I have a gun in my backpack. And three knives. And vesta powder.”
“See?” Lucas retracts his fangs.
“It’s habit.” Melinda tries to hold her ground and not look scared, but anyone with half a brain would be terrified of Lucas. He could kill you before you even knew what was happening.
“Let’s all sit down, okay?” I hold out hand and Lucas lets out a growl but comes with me and sits on the couch.
“How are you out during the day?” Melinda takes her backpack off and puts it on the coffee table, not taking her eyes off Lucas.
“Magic,” he says simply.
Melinda shifts her eyes to me and nods. “That’s, um…”
“Incredible?” Lucas supplies for her, knowing that was not at all the word she was going to use.
“Sure.”
“Tell me about this demon,” I say, and she takes files out of her backpack. They’re stolen police reports, and she lays them out on the coffee table.
“We don’t know much, just that it seems to be hiding, waiting for victims to come to it rather than seeking them out and hunting.”
“Are these all hunters?” Lucas picks up three of the files and flips through them.
“No, but three hunters have been killed trying to take the demon out.”
“How were they killed? The same way as the nons—sorry, as the victims?”
Melinda sorts through her files until she gets to the hunter’s reports. “One had his stomach chewed open—” she grimaces “—by rats. While he was alive. The other was from blunt force trauma to the head and the last was filed as having a heart attack, much like the other victims. I know anyone can drop dead from a heart attack with no warning, but it was unlikely everyone did.”
“Maybe the demon feeds from the fourth chakra. It would cause heart attacks. And the others were killed before they could kill the demon.”
“It’s a good theory, and one we thought of too.”
Lucas closes a file and tosses it back on the coffee table. “Why are you here?”
“Because we need help. I don’t want to watch anyone else die, and we have no idea what we’re up against.”
If it’s the same thing that was in the building next to the bar, then we don’t either.
“It’s more than that.” Lucas leans in and catches Melinda’s eye. He has her spellbound in an instant. “Tell me the truth. Why are you here?”
“Easton is going after the demon tonight. I don’t want my brother to die.”
Lucas breaks his hold. “Fucking knew it.”
Melinda shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Callie. I would have told you but…but I know you guys have had your differences and I’m scared.” Her face falls. “He’s the only family I have left, and you know how stubborn he is. He won’t listen to me and it’s not like I can go along and help.”
“If you’re dealing with what I think you are, then you’re all as good as dead.” And if it’s the same thing from before…maybe…just maybe the man with the blue eyes will be there again. I don’t care how small of a chance it is that I’ll see him again, but I’m taking it. “Do you know where Easton was going tonight?” I look at Lucas. “We fought it off before, and it requires a lot of strength and magic.”
“Yeah.” She digs another paper out of her bag. “We think it’s here. The hunter who was tracking it hasn’t been heard from. I’m sure he’s…um…”
“Dead and being eaten bit by bit by rats?” Lucas fills in and I elbow him. “I know where this is,” I say, looking at the address Melinda has scribbled on a piece of paper. “It’s near the lake.”
“Callie, can we talk in the kitchen?” Lucas is already standing, reaching for my hand. “You think this is a good idea?” he asks as soon as we’re out of the living room.
“It sounds like the same thing we fought off.”
“Exactly. We barely made it out of there alive. If I hadn’t shown up—”
“But you did, and this time I’ll have you with me.”
“Why not let them deal with it?” He motions toward Melinda.
“Because they’ll die. This is what I do, Lucas,” I remind him. “I have the power to stop these things.” I know he doesn’t really get why I continue to put myself at risk, but who else can fight demons? “And maybe it’s crazy to think it’s my destiny or whatever, but I can’t just keep on living my life like everything is okay, well, far from okay given the shit that’s going on, but you know what I mean. Innocent people will die. And that thing…not even Evander had heard of anything like that. One was bad enough. If there are more…”
“It could be bad for business,” he finally relents. “I won’t make money if people are dying.”
“Good attitude.” I stand on my toes and hook my hands on his shoulders. His hesitation for me to hunt demons comes from a place of concern and worry. Demon hunting is dangerous, there’s no way around it. Lower-level demons usually
aren’t an issue for me, but then again, an unsuspecting woman can pepper-spray me in the face which resulted in me being kidnapped.
“We’ll go in there with firepower and will be much more prepared than the last time.”
He plants his hands firmly on my hips and bends his head down to mine.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you,” I start, thinking of the feather and the man with blue eyes.
“Yeah?”
My mouth opens but I can’t bring myself to say it. I know how crazy it sounds, and if Lucas knew part of the reason I want to take on a demon that almost killed me was to maybe see some guy who looked at me like I wasn’t supposed to see him, he’d refuse to let me go. Not that it would matter in the end since I’d ultimately do what I want, but we have enough relationship drama right now.
We don’t need to be fighting on top of everything else.
“I had the feeling those dog-rat hellhound things were guarding something, and I think whatever it is guarding is biding it’s time for a reason. Maybe it’s weak and has to grow strong before it can attack. It makes sense if you think about it. Why glamour the building? If it needs to feed off human energy, having people either be lured in or wander in on their own is kind of necessary.”
Lucas thinks for a moment. “That does make sense. Hiding the building from humans seems counterproductive.”
“Exactly. And if it moved from empty building to empty building, maybe the glamour was a last-ditch effort at keeping itself hidden. And then I found it and now it’s pissed. But that means if that thing was guarding something then it’s still out there.”
Lucas rests his forehead against mine. “Then we’ll find it.”
* * *
I double-knot the ties of my combat boots and slide the knife into a sheath on my belt.
“Something dead is inside,” Lucas tells me, smelling the air. “The blood smells human.”
“Great.” I look at the building looming ahead. We’re right along Lake Michigan on the outskirts of Chicago. “At least we can assume we found the missing hunter.”
Binx winds around my feet and the sounds of the lake echo against the large empty warehouse.
“Ready?” Lucas holds out his hand.
“I am.” I link my fingers through his, heart fluttering. “Thanks for coming with.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Callie. You know I enjoy ripping things apart second only to as much I enjoy being with you.”
“The couple that slays demons together…” I start and laugh, trying to cover up my nerves. I downplayed this the entire way here. Rats turning into demonic dogs from Hell? We can handle that. Demonic dogs from Hell merging into one giant hellhound?
Been there, done that.
We got this.
Right?
Right…
The building is boarded up, and the smell of rotted wood and animal droppings is strong before Lucas yanks the plywood off the door, letting us in. I bring my hand to my face, covering my nose. Binx shadows in ahead of us and Lucas steps in first, holding out his hand and helping me over the rubble.
This place was most recently a restaurant that closed five years ago when the owner got in trouble with the IRS. It’s been empty since then and if it weren’t for the steel mill run off in the background, I’m sure this place would have been snatched up quickly.
“Can you tell where the smell of blood is coming from?”
“Yes,” Lucas says. “We’re getting close.”
Binx checks out the hall ahead of us and comes back, not wanting to leave me in case a demon dog attacks. Lucas and I carefully pick our way down the main hall, which splits the first floor down the middle. The restaurant portion is on the side that faces the water, and the other side is full of storage.
“It’s so quiet in here,” I whisper. “And yes, I know I’m jinxing us. I’m doing it on purpose.”
“You know I don’t believe in jinxes.” Lucas tears another boarded door off the wall as if it was nothing at all. He drops it to the ground and dust flies up in the air. I wave my hand in my face and cough.
Stepping through the doorway, we find a staircase. We’re halfway up when something clatters above us.
“Still don’t believe in jinxes?” I whisper to Lucas. He reaches behind him for my hand. I slip my left hand into his, conjuring an energy ball with my other hand. Binx goes ahead of us, shadowing over broken floorboards. Lucas stops, turning to scoop me up so he can jump over the last three steps, which are warped and water-damaged, and look like they will cave away if we were to step on them.
I put out the energy ball so I don’t burn his flesh as we move up the rest of the stairs. Lucas puts me down and I conjure up a string of magic, twisting it between my fingers. It’s dark up here, with no light coming in from outside.
“Wait.” I reach for Lucas, hooking my fingers around his. I hold up my other hand, energy ball glowing bright above us. “Do you feel that?”
Lucas slowly shakes his head. “I smell blood, though. It’s fresh.”
“Shit.” Bad energy presses into me, surrounding me like humidity and making it hard to breathe. Where is the man with the blue eyes? If that demon-creature-thing is here, why isn’t he? A chill runs down my spine and I suddenly get an overwhelming feeling that we shouldn’t be here, and it was a mistake to hunt this demon.
I push my fears away and give Lucas’s hand a squeeze. If there is a demon out there killing people, it has to be stopped. And there’s no one I’d rather go into battle with than Lucas.
“There’s something in the next room,” Lucas tells me, voice barely audible. “I can hear it moving.”
“Does it sound human?”
Lucas waits a beat. “Maybe. It’s shuffling, like it’s dragging a foot.”
“Binx, go check it out,” I tell my familiar. His dark shadow disappears, slipping through a crack in the wall. No sooner does he vanish from sight, something else moves behind us. Lucas whirls around and dashes in front of me, protecting me from whatever is lurking in the dark.
Whatever it is lunges at him. I hold up my hand and the blue string of magic I’m holding turns bright white. The creature lets out a shriek of pain, and Lucas shoves it away. It hits the wall and falls apart into a dozen wriggling pieces.
“Fucking rats again!” I throw the energy ball at them and they go up in flames. Lucas hurries over to me, fangs bared. “If this demon wants to confuse the hell out of me, he’s succeeding.”
Lucas looks at the smoldering pile of dead rats. “Something about this is familiar.”
“Deranged creatures turning into rats?”
His brow furrows. “No…the smell of the blood and the rats.” He shakes his head and takes my hand again. My heart is racing and adrenaline floods through me.
“Do you hear anything else?” I flick my eyes to Lucas’s face. “There’s no way this is over yet.”
“No,” he agrees. “It was too easy. Almost like it was testing us.”
“And now that it knows it’s up against a vampire and a witch, they’re going to pull out all the big guns.” I close my eyes and shake my head. “Let’s just hope it’s not hellhounds again.”
The floorboards creak and Lucas turns, looking at something I can’t see in the dark.
“I was wrong,” he starts. “You did jinx us.”
Chapter 24
A low growl rumbles through the dark. Lucas, growling back, pulls his lips up over his fangs and sprints forward. I conjure an energy ball, lighting up the room. Long shadows are cast on the walls, and that thing is only yards from us. It looks just like the other hellhounds, and blood-tinged saliva drips from its yellowed fangs.
“Lucas, duck!” I yell, bringing my hands together, feeding the energy ball. It glows bigger and brighter. I throw the energy ball at the creature, aiming for its shoulder on purpose. It hits right where I wanted and burns through the creature’s skin and down to the muscle.
I don’t waste any time. Planting my foot
down, I thrust my hand forward and throw it against the wall behind it. It cracks against the drywall, splintering the frame, and then slumps to the ground.
Lucas moves so fast I can’t tell what he’s doing until a sickening crack of bones rings out, twisting the creature’s head around. As soon as he drops it, the thing explodes into rats, all dead expect one.
“Wait,” I yell as Lucas goes to stomp on it. The thing writhes around on the ground, trying to get off its back. “It might go back to—I don’t know—a home base or something.”
Lucas nods. “A pied piper, so to speak.”
“Binx,” I call, thinking we might need him to shadow through small spaces. “Where are you?” The rat struggles to get to its feet and starts to limp away, jumping over the bodies of other rats.
My familiar shadows down the hall.
“Follow it,” I tell him, and he takes off, slipping through another crack in the wall.
“Can you sense him?” Lucas asks and I nod, raising a finger and pointing to the wall.
“They’re in there. Binx says they’re moving down.”
Lucas picks me up and jumps down the stairs in one leap. We’re back in the restaurant portion of the building, in the main dining hall. White sheets cover the tables, and chairs are stacked against the wall. I mentally call out to Binx, getting a feel for him.
“The kitchen.”
Lucas takes my hand and starts forward. We’re in the middle of the large room when something jumps down from the ceiling, landing on Lucas’s back. He falls to the ground and I jerk back, bumping into a table. I throw out my hand at the last second, sending a wave of energy at whatever the hell is on Lucas.
The creature has a strong hold on him, and instead of being blown off Lucas’s back, it pulls him with as the magic shoves it back. They tumble through a glass window and fall several feet onto a warped and broken deck.
“Lucas!” Strings of magic sizzle around my fingers and I take off, running after them. I skid to a stop at the broken window. The glass is jagged and sharp. Heart in my throat, I freeze for a second, taken over with panic.
Call of Night: The Thorne Hill Series Book Three Page 19