Evil is... (Once a Demon Book 2)

by P. S. Power

  Then, since the work was done, she found Judy Swan behind a table, along with her two slaves, Don Holmstrum and Steve Moore. They all looked good, being dressed for a meal out. The spots of blood on them from the bullets detracted a bit. Especially on Steve, who was laying half over Judy, having tried to protect her from the bullets with his body. It hadn’t worked at all, of course. Still, he was alive, so Keeley returned to normal time, the screaming and residual bangs from the weapons assaulting her ears as she altered the man in front of her.

  Changing him, not from Steve into someone or something else, just from injured Steven to a healthy version. It was the same basic trick that she’d been using with everyone. A faster version of what Shifters did when they were hurt. It took her about fifteen seconds, with Don going next.

  Judy was hurt, though for all she whimpered, the Alede didn't suggest that Keeley help her before doing anyone else. Really, her gasped and pain filled words were the opposite.

  “I’ll change… Help the others.”

  Keeley nodded, moving off, as the Alede altered her shape, from Judy the popular actress who was nice looking, in a rather expected way, to her hot form. Joe Swanson, the Incubus. As she did it, the bullet wounds faded, perfectly.

  Rather than move from person to person, helping each of them, she only considered the living at the moment. Saving the already dead would take too much energy, since it would mean unwinding time itself. A thing she still wasn’t that efficient at. She could either help eight more people survive right then, or one person come back from the dead.

  So she took the worst of them, and made changes then, feeling a bit tapped, though not totally drained of life, yet. Then, being careful, Keeley managed something similar to first aid for the rest of them. Other people went around providing direct pressure and making tourniquets for those who needed them. At least one woman was a doctor, so had a clue what she was doing that way.

  Most of the people either tried to run out of the place or just froze, sobbing or gasping, not knowing what to do at all. She would have rolled her eyes at the hapless idiots just standing there, if they’d had any way of knowing that Ravi was outside, ready to get people to a hospital. A thing she set up by pointing at the lady doctor.

  “Do you know the closest hospital to here?”

  There was a pause in her work, binding a wound, though only for a moment.

  “Yes.”

  Keeley nodded.

  “Okay, we have transport outside. A line walker. We’ll need to take the wounded that can be moved to the emergency room. I know it’s strange to you… Do it anyway. Think about that place and go outside. Touch the man there on the hand and tell him to take you there. Ravi is the one you want. Then get the staff on the other side ready. We have incoming.”

  It was a rushed job and scrambled, making sense to almost no one. On the good side, they had most of the people there that still needed help gone by the time the cops finally arrived. Joe, who was in a shot up and revealing gown, still managing to make it look hot, in a weird way, helped care for people, along with Steve and Don. They didn’t really manage much, but spoke to people constantly. Telling them to hang in there. To live.

  A thing that made it seem like they were doing something at least.

  Two of the gunmen were still alive, though the one that had been nearest the door had a broken back. That one hadn’t been her doing, either. Cormack had moved in and done it instantly, working out that they might need to question people. It was about fifty times more control than she would have counted on from the Vampire. Which was her mistake, obviously. In the heat of battle, he’d made the right decision, even if it had to be hard for him, due to his nature.

  Keeley actually had the story down, having taken it from the attackers directly like a responsible Wise One. She moved in by Harland, changing his appearance, even if it was taking too much energy from her reserves at the moment. The man looked at her, seeming baffled, as he shrank, becoming about six-six, a good bit less thin and ending up with blue eyes, blond hair and a friendly face that had the normal amount of teeth in it, instead of a hundred and eight. He seemed to be about thirty and was average in looks.

  He glanced at his hands, then smiled.

  “An illusion, so the police officers won’t be as afraid of me?”

  She didn’t get to speak, as the police ran in, screaming, as if it was going to help anything, being ten minutes too late to be of help.

  They were all ordered outside, with their hands up, to show they were unarmed and helpless. A thing that wasn’t true at all. No one stopped Joe, Steve or Harland, though a black man behind them was pulled to the side by the cops.

  “Get down! Now!” The man, clearly a waiter there, was tossed to the sidewalk rather roughly. It wasn’t only about race though. Anyone that seemed to be working class got the same treatment. They tried it with Ravi, when he came back through the node. The move on him by armed men got a step back through the invisible hole in space, so he vanished, freaking the police that saw it out.

  One of them yelled.

  “Fucking crap. Supernatural shit… Call the Coalition! We aren’t ready for this.” He was older and seemed in charge, so Keeley waved to him, her delicate and pale paws still up in the air.

  “The shooters are Human. That man who disappeared works for the Coalition and has been evacing people to the local emergency room. We disarmed and subdued the aggressors, who are all inside still. Two are alive.”

  Her words weren’t believed at all, which pissed her off. Even if they were stressed, the cops should have understood that her words matched the facts of the matter at hand. On the good side, once they were patted down and asked to move to the side, no one pointed weapons at them any longer. She was standing by Harland, who was busily touching his mouth with his left hand.

  “I have to admit, it feels a bit strange. The quality of this seeming is amazing, Mistress of Souls.”

  Cormack nodded at the words, though she shook her head.

  “It’s shape changing, so real, not an illusion. Also, call me Keeley. I’m not the Mistress of Souls any longer.”

  What she was, naturally, was hungry. Not that she was going to get to go anyplace any time soon. It wasn’t taking a lot of power to hold the rift open, but after a few moments, when Ravi didn't come back through, she understood that he probably wouldn’t be. Not that day.

  Joe moved over to her and gave her a hug, then moved to hold Don Holmstrum, like the producer was his date for the evening. A thing that might have been possible, before the magical sex change had taken place. Even then, if Don was feeling adventurous. It would take some time for the Alede to collect enough energy to change back. Keeley could do it for her, of course, but didn’t, since holding back more of her own power for future use was the better plan.

  The one that would allow her to survive if another attack came. Not that the terrorists had anything like that planned out.

  “They’d seen the thing in D.C. earlier and thought that the White House was being attacked by Djin, so were striking in the name of Allah while the iron was hot. They’d had plans, anyway. It was just taken as a sign by them that God wanted them to murder the rich and famous, as soon as possible.”

  Meaning that the shooting was just a continuation of the same event, even if regular people wouldn’t be able to understand it that way. When the camera crews showed up, Keeley nodded a bit, collected some energy from the world around her, and then touched Joe on the shoulder, altering him back into Judy Swan, the recognizably famous actress.

  “So you can talk to the press for us. After all, this was your operation.” She’d been the one to call them in, anyway.

  All of them were pulled along with her, over to the news vans, where several people tried to jump on her at once. Two of them did it physically, as if they wanted to capture the actress, to lock her in their tiny love shack in the woods. When they backed off a step, one of the reporters managed to speak understandably enough.

&
nbsp; “Judy! Judy Swan! Did you see what happened here tonight?”

  The woman was smart enough and had calmed down a bit, so managed to nod and not scream at the idiots that she’d been shot, which explained her ruined and bloody clothing.

  “I managed to get a call off, to a friend of mine that works with the Coalition of Nations. She got us help, from the Vampire Council and they all stopped the shooting then helped those that they could. It was awful. It would have been even worse without them coming for us.”

  A microphone was stuck in Judy’s face, as three cameras crowded in to get shots of her. One of the people in a news seven windbreaker actually grabbed Keeley and pulled her out of the way, more than a bit rudely. The man that did it apologized at least, nearly instantly.

  “Sorry there, we can’t block the shots. Were you in there tonight?”

  She nodded, her face bland.

  “Judy got a call off to me. I happened to be standing next to Harland of the Vampire Council and Ambassador Cormack Gillhall as well as Ravi Pendar, the Human line walker at the time. We all came to try and help. Mr. Pendar is off at the hospital, having taken those we could move there directly.” She made a speech of it, since one of the cameras was pointed her way, complete with a mic that had a parabolic reflector set up.

  After a moment an annoyed looking blonde woman turned to her, the voice in her ear moving her away from the interesting actress that had been involved in the terror event, over to the bland woman with big lips and murky gray eyes. A thing that clearly wasn’t making her happy at the moment.

  Using a bit more power, she touched Harland on the arm, changing him back to himself, since he was a recognizable figure. Judy saw the action, went wide eyed and waved in that direction. She was used to people changing form, after all, so recovered almost instantly when it happened in front of her.

  “The Vampires came to help us, along with… Keeley.” She froze a bit then, only to have Harland nod.

  “Yes. Keeley the Wise One. She is the real hero of the evening. It was her effort that subdued the malcontents who wished to harm our friends here tonight. Ambassador Gillhall and myself are pleased to have been of aid in that effort.”

  There was a full description of what went on and finally, after six iterations, the police managed to work out that they needed to talk to them as well. Ravi, too, though they had to have a call put in first, since the man had wisely opted not to be shot that evening.

  It took a bit of coordinating with Will Dern on the phone, to get him to come back, which was caught on at least two cameras, going out live. When the grilling was over, with more than a bit of accusation being leveled at them for going in without the police, even if most of the sixty-eight people inside wouldn’t have died, instead of seven of them, Ravi moved over to her and took her hand.

  It had blood on it. Dried and crusty. Then, so did his.

  Rather cutely, he grinned at her.

  “See, now when I invite you to hang out at your house tomorrow night, after I get off work, it’s going to seem like a brilliant idea, don’t you think? We could watch a movie and eat popcorn. You do like popcorn, don’t you? I can bring a bag of it from work, so we won’t even have to go out at all. No restraints, hospitals or anything. Different, right?” There was a cute grin to go with the words.

  She did like a nice bowl of fluffy white, so nodded.

  “I can make a few different types? Anyway, right now, we need to make sure that our people get home safe, then…” She stopped talking. While she knew what was going to be needed next, for her own safety, she didn't know what the right thing to do would really be. The good thing that should have been easily understood by anyone who wasn’t evil.

  Not without thinking about it first.

  Really, she sort of wanted to torture the people that had shot her slaves and her new pal Judy, for a while. Then, nodding, she spoke.

  “I have a plan, I think. It isn’t the good thing to do, but it’s the right idea. We’ll need some cameras.”

  Things that they had from work. Not that they should use those, in particular. The news crews were right there after all and going out live. The two remaining terrorists were there as well, in the background. Being treated for their wounds and injuries.

  Waving, to collect attention, she moved toward the killers, each of whom moaned softly. Not yet understanding how good they really had it, being nearly pain free like they were at the moment. Holding Ravi’s hand, with Judy, Don and Steve right behind her, she waved to the cameras. When they were in place, closer to the bodies on their rolling emergency beds than was probably a good idea, she spoke.

  “One last thing, in case anyone gets the idea that terrorism is a good idea, or thinks that the Coalition allows such things…” She turned a bit. She made her voice mean sounding. “You’re both my slaves now. You will suffer in eternal torment, the worst you can imagine and you will not die without my permission. There will be no relief, no way to escape the torment of it. There is no hope, only pain, everlasting.”

  Both the man and the woman, crippled for life already, screamed then.

  She smiled and kept speaking, loudly. Mainly for the cameras, so the people at home would understand what was happening.

  “There will be no rest, no relief from pain. No medication will help you. You will suffer and keep suffering until the end of time. Anyone that attacks my people will have the same fate. I will find you and any who aid you. If you aided in this tonight, you need to run to the police and Human government now, since only they can and will protect you. Thank you and have a good night.”

  She walked away then, knowing that evil was simply more her way than being good was. Though even in the moment, as the horrible screaming took place, people in the background cheered and clapped their hands. At first she wondered if it was for someone else, or if something good had taken place. The applause was for her though.

  Even if the actions she’d just taken were pretty rotten.

  Not that it was about the man and woman who bellowed in agony in the background. No, it was about those like them, who would strike against her people in the future. Those who might have, at any rate. This, the pain and screaming of her torture, would help them think twice about it.

  Judy, Don and Steve had a car with them. The Vampires needed to be taken back to their places, with Ambassador Gillhall being removed to his own home and Harland being taken back to the Council House. Neither of them suggested they be paid for their work that evening, though it made sense to her that they should be given some small recompense for their efforts. A gift perhaps, that could come from the Coalition, later. If she wasn’t fired, first.

  It was nearly midnight by the time that she and Ravi got back to Deep Six. Will Dern was still there, in his office. Sitting with Ambassador Fellows. The Shifter woman got up on seeing them in the doorway and gave them both hugs. That was incredibly cuddly for a Dragon.

  Most of that kind actually avoided close contact with other people as a rule. The special one that way was normally Avery Rome. Not that Keeley refused to touch the woman at the moment.

  Morisy beamed at them like they were made of magic or something good. Candy, perhaps. Possibly meat. Which was true, on all counts except the sweets, so Keeley decided to allow it.

  “That was brilliant. You both saved lives, then showed the world that the Coalition watches out for everyone. Right on the heels of helping to broker a peaceful treaty, too. So you all look wise and also strong, instead of just one or the other.”

  It was nice of her to say, if a bit forced. Will just looked at her through hooded eyes.

  “It might have been a bit over the top with the torture. How long is that going to last for, do you think?”

  She shrugged.

  “As long as we want. We can set it up so that they confess to everything and then return to the pain, if you want. Or even just that they scream in agony any time they’re on camera. That way it will make it seem like I’m keeping my word. They do
n’t really deserve compassion and I can’t see any real benefit in being too gentle with terrorists. There are too many of that kind in the world not to take them seriously. Still, I can make any needed changes from here, if you want. The big point was to show others what will happen if they mess with us again.”

  The words got a nod, and then a small smile from Will.

  “I’ll ask Tyler what he thinks should be done. We can put it to a vote with the Ambassadors here or something. That way it won’t seem like Division Six is already off the rails. Anyway, you should all go home and get some sleep. I’ll hold things down here for a while.”

  That made no sense at all, since she was the only one there that didn't need sleep. Morisy could go for a long time without, if she was eating enough. Will on the other hand was just a regular Human.

  Also the man in charge. Rather than insult his abilities to do his job, she nodded.

  “I’ll be back in the morning. Ravi still has a shift left at the store, if you can believe that. For now…”

  She walked out of the room, since going home and getting some food wasn’t a bad idea at all.

  As she moved down the hallway, toward the place she tried to leave and come in at, to prevent too many ripples in the area, she thought. Ravi took her hand, which was sweet of him. They both still needed to scrub up. It didn’t bother her though.

  She had blood on her hands. Again. It certainly wasn’t the first time in her life. Then, she always did and would, to a lot of people.

  Hally could see that. Even her own mother could. A phrase came to mind then, which got her to smile. Evil is, as evil does. The problem she was having there was simply that she couldn’t really understand evil in the same way that everyone else did.

  Her very nature told her what to do and fighting against it, while possible, didn’t really mean she was going to be able to be good at all.