by Sara Snow
Shit. I had an online exam scheduled today with only ninety minutes left to take it.
How could I have forgotten about an exam? Missing a case study or a quiz now and then was one thing, but those exams were worth seventy-five percent of my grade. In a panic, I opened the exam and dove into it without bothering to review the content that it covered.
As it turned out, I would have been better off spending some time on a quick review. My score, after I clicked “Submit” on the exam, was 59 out of 100.
I failed.
Staring at the 59 displayed in red to remind me what a loser I was, I wrapped a strand of hair around my finger and wound it tight.
There was no way I could come back from this. There were three exams in the course, and I had passed the first one by the skin of my teeth. With this score, I would have to ace the third test, or I would fail the whole class.
How was that possible? I had never flunked out of a class in my life, not even close. Even with all the stress, the abuse, and the bullying that I grew up with, I had always made decent grades in school.
I had to face the truth: I’d been neglecting my goals. My dreams.
My guitar sat abandoned in a corner. I hadn’t even had time to play music, much less write any songs, since I got involved with the Venandi. There was no way for me to be part of their team, stalking demons and practicing my freakish superpowers, while going to school and working full-time.
The problem was that I was stubborn. I didn’t want to give up on school or quit my job, as Carter seemed to expect me to do. I wanted the independence that came with having an income and at least a semi-permanent address.
But I also didn’t want to give up being one of the Venandi, or the thrill it gave me to know that I was taking part in a battle of supernatural beings.
That 59 was a big red sign telling me that I had to make a choice.
My boss had asked me to work a swing shift today to make up for the hours I’d missed when I was recovering from the accident. Stupidly, I had agreed, thinking that I’d feel like my old self again once I left the warehouse, ready to bounce back to the call center and listen to irate customers for eight straight hours. I would have to hurry if I wanted to clock in when the shift started.
Yes, I was going to have to choose between two lives. No, I didn’t have the energy to make that choice today. Rent was due next week, and so was the electric bill. The hospital was still breathing down my neck, and I knew I’d be receiving a new bill for my ER visit the other night.
Feeling mentally drained from the practice session with Olympia and that disaster of an exam, I gritted my teeth, locked up my apartment, and left for work.
21
Georgia
With the help of the vile coffee that they served employees at the call center, I was able to stay awake through the swing shift. The late-night callers were especially grouchy, and it was all I could do to keep from snapping back at a few of them. When the shift finally ended, I grabbed “dinner” from the snack machine—a package of cheese crackers and a candy bar—and headed for my car.
I couldn’t help thinking about the evening meal that Carter had described. The Venandi would have polished off the prime rib by now, and would be gathering upstairs to play pool or heading to the library to read.
Had I made the right choice by returning to my low-wage job? I could have been enjoying prime rib tonight instead of gnawing on stale crackers. But hey, at least these crackers were made with “real cheese” according to the package.
My trusty old car was waiting for me in the parking lot. I put my key in the ignition. The key turned, but the engine didn’t respond.
I turned the key again but only got a useless click. Had I forgotten to fill the gas tank? Was my battery dead? Or was this a sign that my car was finally giving up on me?
I leaned back against the driver’s seat. At this point, I could easily have fallen asleep in the car. At least then I wouldn’t have to worry about how I’d get to work in the morning.
My phone rang. My heart jumped when I saw a familiar number pop up on the screen.
“Georgia? It’s Carter. I know you haven’t had much time to recover from our last debacle, but I’ve got a new mission for you.”
Sweet adrenaline rushed through my veins. Instantly awake, I straightened up in the seat. “What is it?”
“Eli and I have been tracking a group of changelings here in the city. You know what a changeling is, don’t you?”
I thought back to the books from Kingston’s library. Changelings were the offspring of demons who were left as replacements for human infants that had been stolen from their cribs.
“A changeling is a junior demon,” I said. “They look just like humans, so the parents never know their children have been abducted. They just wonder why their sweet babies turned into evil brats overnight.”
“That about sums it up,” Carter said. “But we’re dealing with the grown-up version here. These changelings are continuing their work of abducting children and replacing them with their own spawn. They started an operation here in the city that fronts as an assistance program for low-income families. That’s how they get into the humans’ homes. They pretend to offer counseling and support, but as soon as Mom turns her back on the kid, the changelings swap it out with one of their own.”
“Where do the human children end up?”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to find out. Tonight, Eli made a break in the case. He tracked one of these demon do-gooders to a family’s house in the projects, then followed it to an abandoned apartment building on the outskirts of town.”
“What happens to the human children?”
“The changelings sell them to high-level demons. Innocent souls are worth a pretty penny in the demon realm. Our mission is to destroy the changelings and get those kids out of there.”
A cold ribbon of fear trailed down my spine.
“How are we going to do that?”
“You’ll soon find out. Do you think this is something you can handle?”
Stolen from their parents and taken to some cold, vacant apartment building, those kids must be utterly terrified. In my mind’s eye, I saw them huddled together, clinging to each other for comfort as they waited for a fate that they couldn’t begin to imagine. I remembered how scared I had been as a child, facing a future that seemed to hold nothing but violence and abuse.
“I don’t think I have a choice,” I said. “Where do I start?”
“That’s my girl. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you,” Carter said. The satisfaction in his voice filled me with pride. “First, you need to meet up with Eli. He’ll be waiting for you at a construction site about a block from the vacant apartments. He’ll fill you in on his strategy for invading the building and destroying the demon who’s holding the kids captive.”
“Are you going to be part of this, too?”
“Yes, but I’ll be on the other side of town going after the adult changelings while you and Eli attack the demon who’s watching the stolen kids. Where are you now?”
“In the parking lot at work.”
Carter started to give me directions, but I interrupted him. “There’s one problem. My car won’t start. I think the battery’s gone dead.”
Carter paused for a moment. “Try to start it again.”
I turned the key in the ignition and got that fatal click. Panic rose in my chest.
“Nothing. I can’t go anywhere in this piece of crap!”
“Calm down,” Carter said. “Forget about using the key. Use your mind. Remember what Olympia taught you.”
I took a deep breath and thought back to my session with Olympia. I closed my eyes, grasped the steering wheel with both hands, and willed my frantic brain to focus on the car’s engine. I turned my thoughts into a river of energy flowing from my mind into the dead battery. I imagined the battery being charged by my power and coming to life again.
I turned the key.
The
engine sputtered, then turned over. My car started.
“I love you, you piece of crap!” I cried into the phone.
“Excuse me?” Carter laughed.
“Not you, Carter. My car! It’s running again!”
“Of course it is. Now, let me tell you how to find Eli.”
Eli was waiting for me in his own vehicle, a black Jeep parked outside the construction site. The beams of the half-finished structure rose like skeletal ghosts in the moonlight. Long sheets of plastic hung from the beams, flapping in the night breeze. I sat in my car and flashed the headlights, reluctant to get out by myself in this neighborhood. After the events of the past few weeks, I saw demons lurking behind every street corner.
Eli must have sensed my hesitation. He jumped out of the Jeep and strode quickly to my car. I pushed open the door on the passenger side and he slid into the seat.
“No comments about my car, please,” I said. “I know it’s a piece of junk, but it got me here.”
Eli raised his hands in self-defense. “Hey, that’s all that matters. How are you feeling tonight? Up to slaying a demon?”
“If that’s what it takes. I just want to save those kids.”
“And that’s our goal. I assume Carter filled you in on their story?”
“He told me that these children were abducted by changelings through some fake public service agency. They’re being held by a demon who’s got plans to sell them to other supernatural beings in exchange for their souls.”
“You got it. But I assume he didn’t give you much information about the demon himself.”
“No, he didn’t.”
“That’s good, because you probably wouldn’t be here if you knew.”
Eli eyed me, waiting for my reaction. I steeled myself for what he was about to tell me.
“Go ahead,” I said.
“His name is Mammon. He’s known in the demon realm for being a real son-of-a-bitch who profits off the most vulnerable members of society: kids, the elderly, homeless people. He’ll stoop to any level to earn a buck, even abducting children and selling them off to the highest bidder among his demon friends. He’s also known to be a ruthless killer who’s willing to go to any lengths to protect his source of income.”
Play it cool, Georgia. Just play it cool.
“I had the impression that he was some skanky, lower-level demon. You make it sound like he’s a genuine bad-ass.”
“I hate to say it, but Carter played him down. Mammon is a bad-ass. He’s been known to flay his human opponents alive and sell their skins. I have to warn you: he’s got a thing for pretty, young females. He’ll be trading you out to his friends for cash if we don’t play this right.”
“That’s reassuring,” I said. I tried to keep my voice from shaking, but I wasn’t very successful. What kind of shit was Carter trying to drag me into this time?
“You sound scared,” Eli said. “And you should be. But I’ll be right by your side.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Sounds to me like Carter is using those kids as bait to lure me into Mammon’s lair. Does he think this demon is going to help him pay off a gambling debt or something?”
Eli stared at me for a second. Then he took my hand.
“I know where you’re coming from, Georgia—I come from the same hometown. It’s a place where kids are betrayed by the adults they’re supposed to trust the most. Parents, teachers, coaches. You learn to suspect every act of kindness because you’ve been taught that you don’t deserve any better. You get to feel comfortable with being hurt because it’s safer than taking the risk of being loved.”
“How is this an act of kindness? Carter’s setting me up for another major injury, maybe one that I won’t recover from.”
Eli squeezed my hand hard. “We’re giving you the opportunity to practice your power with someone who can protect you by your side. Believe me, Carter wouldn’t be sending you into this nightmare if he didn’t think you could handle it.”
I looked out across the street at the spooky shadows that haunted the construction site. Could I ever expect to be normal again? Would I ever be the kind of person who was scared of everyday things like catching the flu, instead of getting slaughtered by a demon?
“I don’t know, Eli. I want to help those kids, but I don’t know if I can. Could I drive the getaway car instead?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Georgia. There’s no safety net when you’re slaying demons. But I will be there with you, fighting this monster. I will do everything in my power to make sure you don’t get seriously hurt. Will you come with me?”
I wasn’t too reassured by the “seriously hurt” part, but I nodded.
“Are we going to have weapons?”
Eli handed me a hard object that was becoming all too familiar: a long, narrow rod with a sharpened tip. That’s when I knew he was serious about not just harming this monster or saving its captives, but eliminating it completely.
“I’ve got one, too,” he said. “Now, let’s go kick some demon ass.”
The apartment building was a cavern of empty rooms. The doors of those cells gaped open, having released their human inhabitants long ago. As we crept down the filthy hallway, unseen creatures skittered in our wake. I would have liked to think they were rats—that would have been more comforting than the thought of being watched by rodent-sized demons.
Before we had even reached the floor where the children were being held, I heard their thin, plaintive cries seeping through the floor above our heads. The sound made me gasp. My heart clenched with the need to hold one those small, shivering bodies in my arms.
Eli raised a finger to his lips in warning. He pointed straight ahead to a stairwell at the end of the hallway, then straight up at the ceiling. I clamped my lips shut and nodded to show him that I understood.
Along with those small cries, I heard the thudding footsteps of a much larger, heavier being. Those thundering footfalls reminded me of a fairytale ogre who ate children alive. I wondered if Mammon had cannibalistic tendencies, too.
I trailed Eli into the dark, dusty stairwell. The space still smelled of ancient cigarette smoke, dried urine, and despair. Holes had been gouged into the walls, as if someone had punched the drywall in a drunken rage. Following Eli’s example, I lifted each foot carefully before setting it down on the stairs. We were definitely not rushing this fortress—we were creeping in like night stalkers.
Maybe it was because we were moving in slow motion, but the staircase seemed to go on forever. The highest stairs disappeared into the shadows above us, so I had no idea how many were left and my thighs were burning from our slow ascent. Did Eli rock a stair-master in his spare time?
As we approached the top, the children’s cries grew louder. I had no idea how many kids we were supposed to be releasing or how old they were, but from the sounds they were making, I assumed they were all under ten. A door creaked above our heads. The cries turned into screams.
I flashed back to a memory from childhood. Nine-years-old, I was living with my second foster family. The dad’s name was Bob. I never actually saw his face, only the enormous, jagged shadow that he threw against the walls when he came home in the evenings. Then, the outline of his open palm raised to slap me for whatever sin I’d committed that day. Sneaking an extra glass of milk from the fridge. Forgetting to flush the toilet. Breathing too loud.
Wait till Bob gets home. Then you’ll catch hell, his wife used to say. And catch hell I did.
Upstairs, the door thudded shut.
Eli and I both froze. I couldn’t see him clearly in the shadows, but I could feel the tension in his muscles. He was ready to spring.
So was I.
We ran up the rest of the stairs. I almost tripped over my own feet a couple of times, but somehow, I kept up with Eli. At the top, he didn’t pause to check the hallway for a demonic ambush—he just raced down the hall with me on his tail. I caught the number 696 on the apartment door a second before Eli body-slammed it.<
br />
No safety net, I reminded myself. Just another day at the office, I guess. Then, I threw myself in after him.
My heart was pounding so hard that I thought it might knock me to the floor. I expected to see a hideous horned giant towering over us, ready to rip us apart.
But the room was empty. A foul odor, like the stench of decomposing flesh, almost choked me. A sagging couch sat against the far wall next to a low table. On that table sat a half-empty glass and a plate of rotting matter. I didn’t want to know what it was. Scraps of food and other debris littered the matted carpet.
That loud thud we’d heard earlier had been terrifying. But this silence was a thousand times worse. Eli’s weapon was poised to strike, but with nothing to strike at, his hold on the stake relaxed.
Why weren’t the children crying anymore?
Wind rattled the glass in the dirty windows. That was hardly anything unusual in Chicago, but something about this wind filled me with dread. It was a steady howl that grew in volume until it reached a deafening pitch. I clamped my hands over my ears. The iron stake fell out of my hands and clattered to the floor.
Suddenly, the wind was no longer outside the apartment. It was inside, swirling around Eli and me, forming a vortex of wild chaos. My hair whipped across my face, and in the middle of that centrifuge, I couldn’t reach up to pull it out of my eyes.
I tried to scream Eli’s name, but the wind sucked my voice away. I tried to focus my mind on stopping the whirling tunnel, but my power was no match for this cyclone.
The vortex of the cyclone shifted, and it took on a new shape. A hunched form with massive shoulders and a hideous mask of a face stood in front of me. If I hadn’t been paralyzed by fear, I would have been looking around for my backup. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the demon.
The demon was staring back. With his fiery eyes, he scanned me up and down. His gaze burned holes in my clothes and scorched my skin. I could feel the dark energy of his desire, his greed for my body.