He was still yelling when I got rid of my wings and slipped into the passenger seat. "I'm not fucking going, Kara."
"Yes. You are. You don't understand, Daniel. That thing is a literal killing, fucking, and eating machine. The other demon gave your scent to it and told it to kill you. It won't stop until you're kibble. You have to go someplace where it can't smell you. Do you have any relatives in California or anything?"
The lieutenant got in the driver's seat and put the still running car into drive, pulling away from the mall with a squeal of tires.
"No."
"Then go to my place in Florida. I'll buy your ticket. Texting you my address, now." I pulled out my phone and did just that. Then I texted him the door code to get in. "Go there and hide. I'll call you when it's safe to come back."
"I don't see why you can't keep me safe."
I turned around and looked at him through the sheet of plexiglass. Putting my hand on it, I met his eyes. "Because I can't. I just got lucky and bought us a little bit of time. Get on the first plane. You need to stay alive."
"Why?"
"Because I'd take a bullet for you." I let my hand slide slowly down the glass. Just before I pulled it away, he reached out and pressed his hand against mine.
"Fine. Because I'd take a bullet for you, too, I'll do it."
"Thank you." A real tear formed in the corner of my eye and he smiled.
"Straight to Logan?" Grendel swerved around a corner.
"And no stopping for donuts."
Chapter 26
One nice thing about travelling by cop car was the good parking. Grendel stopped at the curb right outside the ticket counter and slammed the car into park, leaving the lights flashing.
"Come on," he said impatiently, heading for the automatic glass double doors.
"Are you sure about this?" Daniel looked utterly dejected.
"Positive. If you're not safe, I won't be able to fight, think, or anything."
That made him smile. "Fine." He sighed and headed for the doors, reaching behind him to take my hand. "I'd just love to know how the son of a bitch got my scent to begin with."
"What did you say?"
"The bandit. I'd love to know how he got my scent."
"That's a good fucking question, Daniel." I stopped and stared at him. "Did you see anybody today? I don't mean just see, interact. If it didn't happen today, the scent probably wouldn't be strong enough to track."
"Samantha came by to pick up a check. She might be the devil, but she's no demon." He paused to think while I thought about the possibilities of Samantha actually being a demon. It was possible, but highly unlikely. She wasn't aging well, and demons didn't do that. It had to be somebody youthful in appearance and very healthy. Plus, if she were a demon, she wouldn't have run off with her personal trainer. And as far as I knew, succubae were the only demons remotely interested in long term relationships, and even then, very seldom. "Oh, and the Donaldsons stopped by to bitch about the grass."
"Definitely not them. Nobody else?"
"Oh! And Marissa stopped by this morning to pick up some camping gear I'd been promising to lend her for her trip next weekend."
"Marissa. Stopped by your house?"
He nodded.
"The Bitch of Bickering?"
He nodded again, chuckling.
Everything clicked into place. Unfortunately, it was in the pit of my stomach.
"Daniel?"
"Yes?"
"Where do you keep your camping gear?"
"In the garage."
"Do you keep…say laundry out there?"
"Yes. The utility rooms are kind of small with those massive washer and dryers. I have bins for sorting just inside the door to the garage…" He finally understood where my line of questioning was going. And what it meant. Marissa was the bandit… She had gotten Daniel's scent from his laundry basket.
"What?" Grendel was still a little bit concerned over what we were worrying about.
"She's not sure she can kill me, so she's going after everyone I care about. She already tried to kill my kids. Now Daniel. Oh, shit…"
"What?"
"Brady and Alana… My kids… The soccer game!"
The three of us ran back to the police car, got in, and Josh punched it. "Where are we going?"
"Soccer field in Salem!"
"Can you narrow it down a bit?" He hit the siren and started weaving through the exiting traffic. Luckily it was Sunday, and the airport was kind of slow. The highway, too. Otherwise, it would have been bumper to bumper for thirty miles.
"No, but I can find out. Karen is there."
I started frantically texting her on my phone, asking which field they were at, and if everything was okay.
Fine. We're at McGrath Park? Why?
Just wondering. On my way. Stay away from Marissa. Tell the kids and the coaches, too. She's wacko and has a gun. Cops on the way so don't call them, either. Don't want her to get spooked and start shooting.
I probably should have just texted her the truth.
I spoke too soon about the traffic. At the edge of the city proper, there was an accident and it was bumper to bumper. Grendel drove off the shoulder, lights flashing and siren wailing until we were past the overturned semi. The rest of the ride, people actually got out of the way, and he had to have hit the one-thirty mile-an-hour mark.
There was nobody in the parking lot. A shit ton of cars, but no people, which probably was a good thing, or Grendel might have mowed them down with as fast as he was going when he stopped in front of the concession stand. Shutting off the lights and siren, we piled out of the car and headed toward the field.
"You want the gun?"
I blinked in surprise. "Uh, you hang on to it. If moms start shooting people at soccer games, things can only go downhill from there."
"Your call. This is your show."
Again, he surprised me.
"I'll take the gun," Daniel said eagerly.
"You're staying in the car."
"What if she's in the parking lot?"
"Good point. Lock yourself in the men's restroom." I implored him with my eyes.
"Well, I guess it's better than Florida." He chuckled and headed toward the stone restrooms.
"Or a porta potty!"
"That was you?" Grendel just shook his head.
"Heard about that one, huh?"
"She filed a police report."
"Surprised she didn't say my name."
"She did. I just didn't think you'd stoop that low."
"Uh…demon? Hello."
"I didn't know at the time."
"Come on. Let's get this over with."
He put his hand on the weapon in his holster but didn't draw it. Probably a good idea. Panicked parents would be a hassle to deal with at the same time as a demon. Hopefully, she was waiting until after the game to try and eat my boyfriend and girlfriend. Possibly my kids. "I get that she needed the laundry for Daniel's scent, but if she's here, why did she need Brady and Alana's?"
"The truth is she doesn't if she attacks outright. But I'm willing to bet Fido was supposed to make quick work of Daniel, put a hurting on me, and then meet her here to eat the coaches. Then she could stand there, enjoy the show, and act all heartbroken after the fact."
"So, we have to watch out for Fido, too?"
"Yep. Hopefully, we can kill her quick enough that Fido goes back to Hell without much fuss. No master, no ties to the human realm."
We emerged between the concession stand and the aluminum bleachers. I was kind of pissed. Their field was way nicer than ours, and we had the better neighborhood. "How come we don't get bleachers?"
"You think the people in Bickering want to put their asses on cold metal bleachers when they can use squishy lawn chairs?"
"Good point."
"There's Karen." Grendel pointed to the closest set of bleachers, halfway up. She was glancing around nervously and finally spotted us before whispering something to Rick and pushing her wa
y through the row of spectators and bouncing down the stairs.
"What took you so long?"
"Traffic. Have you seen her?"
"No."
"Is the game almost over?"
"They both are. The girls are playing on the back field."
"Did you see her over there?"
"No."
I narrowed my eyes at Karen. "Did you go over there and look?"
"Yes!"
"Then where the hell is she?"
The ref blew the whistle, and just like that, half the parents stood and started cheering. "That's it. The game's over. We won." Karen started clapping excitedly.
"Good. Get your kids and go home." I leaned in closer to Karen and whispered, "She's not a crazy with a gun, she's a demon. The bad kind."
"Oh. Oooh." Her eyes widened, and her already pale flesh whitened even more.
"Keep it together. Go. I'll come see you when it's over."
"Rick! It's time to go. Get the kids." Her shrill voice probably could have been heard over the crowd in the back field.
Shaking my head and rubbing my ears, I smiled and nodded at her.
"Mom?"
Ryn was standing behind me, confused. "Hey, sweetie. Is your game over already?"
"Yeah. We finished first. I was just coming to find Karen, since she's our ride home."
I wanted to send her home with Karen. But I also wanted her to be safe. With the bitch on the loose, the safest place was with me. For all I knew, Marissa was waiting back at Daniel's. None of them were leaving my sight until she was dead. Or back in Hell. Or both.
"You haven't seen Marissa? Or Jason and Mandy?"
"Jason's right there," she answered, and pointed to the boy standing next to Karl as Brady gave them all a kudos speech. "Mandy never comes to the games, but their mom should be around here somewhere." She glanced around the bleachers. "There she is," she said, and pointed at the very end of the last row.
Marissa was sitting calmly, watching us as she filed her nails nonchalantly. I'd almost have thought we were barking up the wrong tree, until her eyes flashed red and the woods around the field cracked as two more hell hounds stepped out under the lights over the field.
"Fuck me."
"No thanks," Marissa answered from the end of the bleachers, clear enough that I could hear her.
"Change of plans," I whispered. "Gimme the gun, you get the kids, the Drakes, and Daniel out of here."
"Where?"
"Anywhere but here. Drive. Don't stop. Get on the highway."
He turned, drew his weapon, and pressed it against my stomach as he calmly walked away. As soon as my hand was on it, he let go and stopped. Out of his pocket, he pulled two more magazines of silver ammo and slipped them into my hand.
"Coaches? A word, please?"
"What's going on, Mom?"
I knelt down in front of her. "Keep everybody safe, okay?"
"That's not an answer."
"No, but I'll fill you in later, okay? I love you." I kissed her forehead and pushed her toward the exit.
Grendel caressed my arm as he walked past me, two confused looking soccer coaches in his wake. They both shot me questioning looks, but I was watching the hell hounds. With every step Brady and Alana took, they took one to match.
"Mom?" Karl followed my gaze and stopped in front of me. "What the fuck are those?"
"Grab your sister. I told her to go with the lieutenant and the Drakes, but go home with Karen. Go inside and lock the door. Don't answer it for anybody but me or Lieutenant Grindel. Go now before Karen leaves, please."
"No, Mom. I'll help!"
"Go!" My voice echoed off the bleachers. He blinked, nodded, and did as I asked.
He left, and the hell hounds slowly crossed the field while Marissa filed her nails. Her son was nowhere to be found. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I had two texts.
One from Ryn. Go with Karen?
Yes.
And one from Grendel. On our way.
I stood there watching Marissa and the hell hounds until the last human left the area. The hounds took off running and leaped over the fence by Marissa, chasing the speeding police car I assumed. I loved everybody in that car, but I didn't trust my chances against Marissa enough to send my children with them. If I didn't kill her, they were all dead.
Sighing, I started walking toward her.
"I'm assuming Daniel is still alive and kicking since my third pet never came back."
"Yep. He's on a plane to Hawaii. Put him on there myself, then I figured out you wanted all my lovers dead."
"Well, I wouldn't have had to kill them if they had chosen me. So, it is technically your fault. Not that they stood a chance against a literal fuck demon. Your pussy is all they can probably think of, stupid humans."
"Well, we know I'm a succubus. What flavor are you?"
"Ifrit."
"Well, that explains the fire."
"You saw my handiwork on the Ferris wheel." She laughed and let flames dance over her hand.
"You did it to kill my children?"
"Yes. I can't have that little whore of your loins constantly tempting my son. He is weak. He is only human, after all."
"Cambion?"
She nodded and continued filing her nails, flames dancing over her flesh. "Unfortunately, my son didn't inherit any demonic traits. Just a normal boy. Not even of remarkable intelligence. But I do love him so, and I would do anything to protect him. I was going to live and let live, until your daughter sank her fangs into him. Now he's quite madly enraptured with her below average beauty. So, I figured I would kill everyone around you, and then you."
"Because your son likes my daughter?" I stared at her incredulously.
"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds kind of silly!" She put her nail file back in her purse and set it on the ground before standing as I got closer. "But no. It's because she's a whore, you're a whore, and the sight of the both of you makes me sick." The walkway between us erupted in white hot flame as she used her ifrit magic. They were literal fire demons, basking in the hottest flames of hell.
I screamed as they erupted around me, my flesh charring on my bones. I shed my human flesh and withstood their heat, but my skin still sizzled and crackled, unable to deal with the intensity of the flames. Me, a demon, burning in fire. That was not how I was expecting to end my earthly existence.
Pulling the gun from the waistband of my leggings, I fired rapidly at her until the gun clicked empty, hoping to end my anguish.
She laughed as the silver melted before it got close enough to touch her, let alone pierce her. The aluminum benches around her melted into slag and dripped to the ground below.
"You can't kill me, bitch. I am fire."
Launching myself into the air, I finally spread the wings I didn't dare open in the flames. The tender membrane would have crisped immediately and turned to ash. The heat below propelled me even higher as she rose into the air before me. She didn't have wings, but stood atop a billowing square of pure power. It was where the legends of flying carpets were born.
"Don't think you can run. I'm going to burn you to ash right here and now." She pushed her hands together in front of her and pulled them apart. A shimmering ball of fire appeared between them and grew in size the farther she pulled them apart.
I had nothing. Like any demon, I could call fire, but it was no match for hers. It might even feel cool to her touch. The gun was useless, the bullets evaporating before they could pierce her aura of flame. My knife, not that it would have fared any better, was lying on the ground on my street somewhere.
It was official.
I was fucked.
And not in the good way.
It was my own damn fault, too. I'd been so sure of my power and my abilities, I hadn't even assumed I couldn't best her in a fight. That was the biggest problem with being the toughest kid on the block. Every once in a while, you came across somebody bigger and badder than you, and you got your clock cleaned.
Except, she had no intention of cleaning my clock. She wanted to recycle that shit. Melt it down. "Fuck me."
"As I said. No thanks." She laughed and launched the fireball at me.
I'd had every intention of dodging it. Unfortunately, when she released it, it doubled and then tripled in size. There was no way in Hell to dodge it. Folding my wings, I crossed my arms in front of my face and chest and took it.
It fucking hurt and blasted me across the park. When I hit the trees, they burst into flames that scorched my back as I slid slowly down and fell to a heap at the base.
She extinguished her flames and dropped to the ground, laughing maniacally as she walked slowly toward me, enjoying my screams of agony. "And now, you die, bitch."
She stood over me and gloated.
And she was as surprised as me when the nine-millimeter silver bullet burst through her chest, the report of the gunshot sounding a moment later. It was her turn to scream as pain laced through her. There would be no second shot though, her body burst into flames as she spun around. Through her legs, I saw Ryn standing where I had dropped the weapon, shaking badly.
"I told you to run," I said disappointedly.
"Oh, good. I get to kill both whores in one night." She clutched her hand over the gaping hole in her chest. Unfortunately, she would heal, it would just take a while. We'd both be dead before it happened, though. Might as well go out fighting.
"What did you call my daughter?" I coughed and gagged at the soot and smoke that filled my lungs. Or maybe they were just charred.
She stopped walking and smirked at me over her shoulder. "A whore. Just like her whoring mother. You think you're so beautiful? Guess what. While you're a charred corpse, I'm going to fuck all your boyfriends before I turn them to ash."
"Then kill me. At least I can get laid. You might want to turn them to ash before you fuck them. You might have a shot that way."
My taunt worked. She was so focused on me, she had completely forgotten Ryn.
"Run," I yelled and stood up, charred flesh making the smallest of movements pure agony.
"No."
Well, if I wanted my daughter to live, I was going to have to take the bitch down with me. I steeled my nerves and charged just as she brought her hands together to make another ball of fire. I got to her just as she pulled them apart. The flame hit my chest and exploded between us just as I got my claws around her neck. That did more damage to her than anything else, and I felt a few of the bones in her neck snap as we were blown apart.
Succubus Soccer Mom: A Reverse Harem Tale Page 25