Rodán snapped his attention to me. “Nyx,” he said in Drow. “Enough.”
Under the intensity of his gaze I felt chastised enough that I would have slid down in my chair if I were still a youngling.
I cleared my throat. “You haven’t told me about that third liaison attack, and whether or not you found any clues.”
“The liaison lived a couple of blocks from your location,” Olivia said. “Seventy-ninth and Riverside. It was like a friggin’ train wreck had happened inside the house.”
What was going on? “They’re obviously tied together.” I tapped my fingers on the top of the conference table. “But how? Why?” I looked from Olivia to Torin and back again. “Did you find any more clues at the site?”
“Detective Boyd found splatters of blue blood,” Olivia said, and delicious sensations twirled in my belly at the mention of Adam’s name. What I would give to be back in bed with him. Olivia continued, knocking me back to reality. “And I found the image of a locust that looked like it had been lasered into the kitchen’s tile floor.”
I furrowed my brow. “A locust? Is this the most bizarre Demon or what?”
“We’re more concerned with how powerful this Demon is,” Rodán said. “And exactly what its plans are.”
“No other developments?” I asked.
Rodán shook his head. “What I need you three to do now is find the Demon lair, so that we can go after them before the Demons can complete what is most likely a devastating ritual.”
I saluted him as we all stood. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
He smiled, but then his smile was replaced by a more serious expression. “I want you three to be careful tonight. I have a feeling this is all leading to something big, something beyond disastrous.”
CHAPTER 26
“Holy crap.” Olivia flopped her hair out of her eyes and rubbed her face on the outside of her sweat jacket as T did his incinerating thing with the dead Demons. Smelled like hell. “That last motherfucker was a tough one.”
“Good shot at that Demon sac.” I looked at my partner. It was after midnight and Olivia had exceeded my expectations. I should never have held back. She could kick major Demon ass.
Olivia pushed more hair out of her face. Her hair was completely soaked blue with the last Demon’s blood, and her face was splattered with it, too. The demon sac had ruptured on impact from her dead-center shot with the Sig Sauer.
Olivia held up a chunk of her blue-soaked hair. “Now I look like you. All I need is purple skin.”
“Amethyst.” I brushed blue blood off my cheek with the back of my hand. “And watch it, or I won’t include you in the cleansing spell.”
Olivia held up her Sig, the barrel pointed up. The handgun was also coated in blue. “Pretty please.”
“Avanna,” I said, and blood and filth vanished from our bodies, hair, and weapons.
“I really need to take you home.” Olivia examined her hands. “You’d come in handy in the mornings, so I wouldn’t have to take showers.”
“No way.” I sheathed my daggers. “Your snores are like the sound of a metro bus when you fall asleep in the office.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I do not snore.”
“All I have to do is record you.”
Olivia casually looked at her Sig. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“You don’t scare me,” I said. “You should be afraid . . .” She gave me a wicked look. “Very afraid.”
“As if,” I said.
T came toward us, passing under a streetlight as he strode closer with his slow yet powerful gait.
“We’ve covered almost my entire territory,” I said.
“And still no idea where the damned Demon lair is.” Olivia’s now clean dark hair swung around her cheeks as she scanned the Manhattan skyline.
I frowned as I looked at the location where we’d just taken out nine Demons. Earlier, seven Demons had come after us. “Things sure are busy tonight.” My thoughts tried to wrap around this whole, giant mess. “I’ve never seen so many Demons out in one night.”
Olivia frowned, too. “Maybe it’s to serve as a distraction?”
“From what?” I thought out loud.
T and Olivia had as much of an answer as I did— which meant they had nothing.
Olivia shoved a new magazine into her Sig with a solid click. “What now?”
“Why don’t we go to Fort Tryon?” I stepped away from the two of them and headed for the ‘Vette.
We took my car tonight, since Olivia didn’t have the ability to run as fast as me, or to get to point B from point A as fast as T could—however he did what he did. He always managed to arrive ahead of me, but 1 never saw him running.
All night, after giving her the location when we had sensed a disturbance, T and I left Olivia to follow in the ‘Vette. I can race faster across town than a car— unless the car had wings. Something I’d yet to see.
Because T and I didn’t sense any disturbances right now, I rode in the ‘Vette with Olivia while T did his thing to get to the park. He couldn’t be running like I can. T had to have a similar ability to my father’s—able to move from one location to another by some kind of transference.
It would be a few years yet before I’d have the Drow version of that ability. Father said I’d grow into that power when I was a century old. I’m impatient, tenacious, and driven. I wasn’t planning on waiting that long. I’d figure it out and I’d be doing it by the time I was twenty-eight, next year. That was my goal.
“Sucks that we haven’t been able to turn up anything with that symbol,” Olivia said as she drove us to Fort Tryon. “At least no other Tracker was murdered last night. Or any liaisons.”
The pain of Caprice and my other friends’ deaths slammed into my chest and I had to take a deep breath. In the same moment my insides were twisting for them, I felt additional pain for the liaisons’
families, and for whatever had happened to the liaisons.
“Get your butt going,” Olivia said, and I looked up to see we’d reached Fort Tryon. “Where were you?” she added before we climbed out. “What’s churning in that little brain of yours?”
I shrugged. “Just trying to figure out this puzzle.”
Olivia and I made our way to the highest point in Manhattan, an incredible lookout over the city.
“This view never ceases to amaze me.” Olivia put her hands in the pockets of her sweat jacket. “I need to come here more often.”
She was right. It was amazing. From this vantage point we could see the glittering lights along the Hudson River, as well as the George Washington Bridge and the Harlem River.
An eerie vibration stirred in the air. T came up to stand beside Olivia. I moved away from them, toward the center of the lookout point, trying to figure out where the bizarre vibes were coming from. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
A raking sensation clawed at my back. My spine started to ache so much my eyes would have watered if I had tear ducts.
Olivia’s voice sounded off, almost far away. “... like something’s crawling all over my back.”
The sensation grabbed me harder. Fiercer.
Olivia cried out. I wanted to turn and go to her, but I was immobilized with pain. It spread throughout my body, and my skull felt as if it would split.
What was happening to me? I couldn’t have shouted to T and Olivia if I tried. I couldn’t use my elements to reach out to see what was doing this to me.
The pain vanished. 1 dropped to my hands and knees, and pebbles dug into my palms. Sweat coated my face and my head swam as if I’d spent a week of nonstop fighting.
A powerful presence.
An evil presence.
Behind me.
An agonizing shudder arrowed along my back like ice picks driving into my spine. Vibrations renewed and grew stronger around me.
I tried to grasp my elements, and drew one of my dragon-claw daggers. At the same time, I scrambled to my feet and turned.
“Oh, shit
” were the first words that came to mind.
A massive Demon. A male, at least seven feet tall and five times my size. Its clawed hands and sharp teeth glinted in the moonlight like steel blades.
I needed bigger daggers.
My heart pounded like Drow ritual drums. The sensation of ice picks attacking my body increased and I fought to keep from stumbling.
The Demon opened its mouth wide and roared.
My heart dropped.
The ground trembled. Birds screeched and flew out of their resting places in the trees. The Demon’s roar drowned out the sounds of traffic, sirens, and every other city noise.
Pain stabbed me again and I almost cried out.
I blinked hard as I judged the distance between me and the Demon, and focused on the location of its sac of blue fluid.
It started toward me. The ground shook with every step.
I swallowed. Bring it on.
Yeah, right.
Where was T? Olivia?
The Demon lunged. Automatically I performed a double backflip, despite pain that was becoming excruciating. I barely avoided its claws as it reached for me.
What was causing that vibration? Everything vibrated, from the air to the ground.
A more powerful sensation of ice picks plunging into my flesh caused me to cry out.
Pain exploded down my spine.
I lost hold of my dagger.
Dear Goddess. My spine was going to snap.
It couldn’t possibly hold me up much longer.
The Demon rushed me.
All of my senses screamed with pain as I whirled away from the Demon. I jumped and twisted sideways in midair, just above its outstretched arms.
When my feet hit a rock outcropping I fell to the side. Pain burst through my elbow when I landed on the rock, hard.
The vibrations—I swore it felt like ice picks really were driving through me, about to pin me to the ground.
Through my dimmed vision I saw the Demon’s massive body facing me. More vibrations.
More screaming pain.
The Demon roared.
I tried to get to my feet. Fell.
The vibrations. The pain. Somehow connected.
Block the pain. Block the pain.
Remember your warrior training, Nyx.
Vibrations. Pain.
As I looked up at the Demon, I gritted my teeth. I unsheathed the second dagger and focused on my air power. I used so much of the element that I staggered as it exploded around me and formed an air pocket between me and the Demon.
The Demon—it was more monster than humanoid in appearance. It roared as it tried to grab me, but its claws rebounded off of my air pocket.
Vibrations started shaking my body, but the air power I’d built up shielded me enough that I could tolerate the pain. Now to use more of my element. I was pushing it, but I didn’t have a choice.
Around and around, my air element began circling the demon. Twisting around it like a spider cocooning her prey.
I used my magic to yank the thread of air binding the Demon. It stumbled backward and shrieked.
I raised my dagger and dropped my air shield. With all my strength, I flung the blade at the Demon’s life sac.
The demon vanished. My dagger landed on the ground and skidded several feet away.
It had vanished. Before my dagger could touch it.
The vibrations and pain stopped.
My heart beat like crazy. I’d been so close. I would have nailed the Demon but... it... disappeared.
None of the Demons had done that before.
“Nyx!” Olivia’s voice made it through the sound of blood rushing in my ears. “Are you all right?”
I swayed. She caught me by the shoulders as I listed to the side.
“We couldn’t get to you.” Olivia squeezed my shoulders. “We were surrounded by fucking invisible walls.” Her words were rushed, panicked, something I’d never heard from Olivia before—panic.
“Torin did everything he could,” she continued, “but we couldn’t get past it. All we could do was watch you battle that thing while we tried to get out.”
My gaze met T’s as my breathing began to steady.
I’m not sure why thoughts started churning through my mind, questioning T.
Had he? Had he done everything he could to try to get to me?
Or not?
CHAPTER 27
My XPhone’s muffled ringtone came from inside my purse as I scooted my chair up to my desk.
Olivia was already settled in her seat, focused intently on her screen. Must be something important because she hadn’t said anything to me since I walked into the office thirty seconds ago.
My body still ached from last night’s fight with the gargantuan Demon. The vibrations affected me more than any actual injury.
I dug in my handbag for the XPhone. “Back in Black” was louder when I withdrew it. “Unknown”
came up on the caller screen. I pushed the on button and brought the XPhone to my ear. “Nyx Ciar.”
“This scene’s worse than the other three combined.” The tension in Rodán’s voice caused my heart to pound faster.
“Where?” I checked my holster to make sure my Kahr was secure.
“Seventy-seventh and Central Park West.”
I stopped moving, my hand resting on my Kahr. “My territory?”
Rodán gave me the address of an apartment building only thirty blocks from my own apartment.
“Had to have happened during your patrol.” Rodán said as I slung my purse over my shoulder.
My territory? My patrol? The mere thoughts had my ears burning deep inside, and a hot flush made my skin feel as if it might burn off. T, Olivia, and I had been everywhere, and I never once had the feeling something big was going down. Unless it happened during my fight with the Demon?
The Demon. It could have been a deliberate distraction by the major or master Demons.
Olivia already had her Mets sweat jacket on as I headed for the front door. She was right behind me when 1 pushed the door open against a strong breeze. The cool air didn’t lessen the burn of my skin one bit.
“The massacre is contained within the apartment building, so it wasn’t discovered until the building supervisor came in for the day,” Rodán said as I continued listening to him while hurrying toward the rear garage. “The scene was almost out of control before we had a chance to freeze it.”
The word massacre echoed in my head, but I didn’t have time to ask questions. I had to get hold of Adam.
“Two minutes. We’ll be there.” I was already in my car and. as soon as I disconnected, I pressed the speed dial number for Adam’s cell phone. Olivia climbed in the passenger seat as I pressed the XPhone to my ear.
“Boyd.” he answered as I spun my car out of the garage and onto the street.
“This one’s supposed to be really bad.” My ‘Vette’s engine revved as I punched the gas and pulled onto Central Park West. As I dodged a taxi, I gave Adam the address.
“I’m close,” he said as I neared the street the apartment building was on. “I’ll be there in five.”
My territory kept pounding in my head. The Demon must have been meant as a distraction.
Emergency vehicles, barricades, yellow crime scene tape . . . NYPD officers, SWAT team members, paramedics, and other crime-related personnel had been at work.
Bodies. A dozen or more had been pulled from the building, most being put into body bags. Men, women, children, of all races, were sprawled on the sidewalks. Dead. Definitely dead.
I’d never seen anything so bad in my two years as a PI or a Tracker, and I wanted to throw up. Only the Draw half of me kept the acid from climbing up my throat. The stench of burned sugar and seared flesh almost made me puke anyway.
I didn’t realize I’d been standing motionless and staring until the familiar scent of coffee and leather reached me. An arm rested on my shoulder and I looked up to see the concern in Adam Boyd’s warm brown eyes
as he squeezed me close to him.
“You okay?” Tension radiated from him and was obvious in the tautness of his features.
I nodded. “Lulu must have sensed you’re here since you’re among the currently warm.”
He gave a grim look toward the building. “Let’s do it.”
From the outside it was obvious why the apartment building hadn’t been suspect before the building supervisor made a discovery of nightmares.
T wasn’t there—maybe Rodán hadn’t gotten hold of him. I didn’t say anything to Lulu, who actually looked like she was going to vomit. Lulu’s skin was too pale, her hand clamped over her mouth. I felt bad for her.
Adam, Olivia, and I made it through the front door, and we paused in the middle of what once had been the lobby. The security desk was in front of us, an elevator to the right, a stairwell to the left.
The twisted metal staircase was now visible thanks to the door having been ripped off.
Evil clung to broken beams, shattered doors, the destroyed staircase. The smell and feel even seemed to come from the water dripping from crumpled pipes.
Then I saw it.
My stomach clenched even though I didn’t know what it was.
Another symbol burned into the floor, in front of the security desk.
Seven circles, with the largest circle on the top and the smallest on the bottom, like an inverted cone.
“Oh, my God,” Olivia said from beside me. “All of the symbols we’ve found are for the Destroyer.”
I’d come across that Demon in my research, but hadn’t made any connections to him. “How do you know that?”
“When you walked in I was on the Internet.” She continued to stare at the symbol. “I was searching with all the info we’ve accumulated up through the scorpion shell.”
“Fill me in,” Adam said.
“Abaddon.” T was at my other side before I even knew he was in the building. “The Black Mage, a mighty Great Earl of the human version of Hell. The rutting Demon of the abyss.”
When T said the name out loud even the Drow half of me wanted to shudder, and I rubbed my arms with my hands.
“And . . .” Adam said, the tone of his voice telling Olivia and T to get to the point.
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