The Goddess Durga Series: (Urban Fantasy box set)

by Jen Pretty

  “I’m leaving, Arnie,” he replied. Then he glared at me and walked out the door, bottle in hand.

  Shit. I finished my drink in one gulp and left some money on the bar before I chased after the drunk warlock.

  Outside I didn’t see Frankie anywhere so turned towards our old apartment building and walked up the street. It was strange to be here during the day. Everything seemed clean and safe. There weren’t any men in dark shadows, and there were even children out playing; it was a different world.

  I walked past my old apartment building and continued to Frankie's warehouse. I knocked on the unmarked door and waited.

  A minute passed and no one answered. I knocked louder and, finally, someone opened the door. The man looked down the alley past me and then back at me again.

  “What do you want?”

  “Is Frankie here?” I asked.

  The man shut the door and I waited. When the door swung open again, it was Frankie standing there. He leaned against one side of the door frame and put his arm across, barring my entrance.

  “What is the matter with you?” I asked.

  “Why are you following me?” he said in a cold voice.

  “Because we are friends?”

  “I can’t do this right now. I have to find my father and kill him before he ruins everything for everyone.”

  “And I want to help you, Frankie. I’m sorry that I couldn’t help when Vincent was laying on the ground burned, but I’ll help you. We can get him.”

  Frankie dropped his arm and then turned on his heel and I followed him through the dim warehouse to the stairs that led up to the apartments.

  Upstairs, I found Singh still sleeping on Frankie’s couch in lion form, his head hanging over the armrest.

  “Why are you still here?” I asked, but the lion only opened his eyes for a second and then went back to his nap.

  Frankie poured two drinks in the kitchen. His eyes locked on mine as he set the bottle on the counter. I crossed the room and slid onto a stool. He watched me while I took one drink and sipped it, then he took his and downed it quickly, pursing his lips at the burn of the alcohol.

  “I don’t know how to catch him,” he said looking down at the glass in his hand

  “I don’t either, but there must be a way. I could ask Shiva.”

  “How did you find me, Lark?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “How did you know I would be at Arnie's?”

  “I used my senses.”

  The glass in Frankie’s hand shattered, sending shards across the counter and onto the floor. The silence that followed was deafening. Frankie’s eyes didn’t meet mine, though I knew he could hear the thoughts in my head. Confusion finally gave way to clarity. I laughed. He thought I could find him because he was evil and Durga wanted to destroy him. It was ridiculous. Even Durga seemed to find it funny. She pushed at me till I let her out. The room turned red.

  “You think I can only track evil, warlock?” she said using my voice.

  He looked up finally, but his face still betrayed his dark thoughts.

  “That is how it works, is it not, Durga? You hunt the darkness and wipe it from the earth.”

  “I keep the balance between good and evil. My power finds that which I desire. Your father’s magic will not allow me to find him for now, but it will not keep him safe much longer. My power will not abide his destruction of the helpless mortals. He will pay for his sins.”

  “That which you desire?” he asked.

  Durga lurched back into me, leaving me to deal with what she had just said.

  “That was weird. So, how about I talk to Shiva? Ok, I’ll go do that.” I rambled as I hopped off the stool. I downed the rest of my drink and hightailed it to the bedroom I had been staying in.

  I shut the door and turned off the light. I climbed onto the bed and sat in the middle. If I decided to do some sleeping after meditating, I would be in a perfect location.

  I got into position and closed my eyes. I counted to slow my heart and felt the air passing through my lungs. I focused inward, Durga was there. I could see her like an image superimposed over the blackness behind my eyelids. Her arms fanned up until all eight were visible and in each hand, she had an item. Her black hair, a wild mass that seemed to move of its own will, was held down by an ornate golden crown. She smiled and winked at me and then she was gone.

  ***

  “You have returned?” Shiva said, startling me out of my thoughts of Durga.

  “Yes, I need help finding a warlock,” I said.

  “Why do you want to find this warlock?” His snake slid out from beneath Shiva's dreadlocks. I was starting to appreciate being able to see the snake, so I at least knew where it was.

  “He has gone dark and is killing humans.”

  “Perhaps that is a problem for the warlocks to handle.” He slid his hand down the back of the snake, its tongue darting in and out of its mouth. Did snakes have a back? It was more like its whole body. Gross.

  “I want to help.”

  “You sound more like Durga every day, young Lark. Ready to jump headlong into the fray to right the injustice?”

  “It’s my friend Frankie’s father. Frankie shouldn’t have to do this alone. He’s a good friend.”

  Shiva sighed, and the snake wrapped itself up in his dreadlocks. Hissing and biting at them as if they were rivals for their owner’s attention.

  “Very well, I will tell you this. If you can get close enough to touch this warlock, you will be able to track him whenever you choose.”

  That little tramp. Durga made Frankie think that she could only track him because she ‘desired’ him. I prayed for strength.

  “Thank you, Shiva,” I said.

  “You are welcome little Skylark. Now, off you go. I have work to do.”

  I laughed. “OK, goodbye.”

  “Goodbye.”

  I let the darkness cover me and floated for a while. Coming back to the room, I lay down on the bed next to Singh then slept the rest of the day away.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Something heavy was on my face. It smelled vaguely of popcorn. As my mind cleared of sleep and I remembered where I was, I shoved the giant lion paw off my face and slid out of bed. His soft lion snores never even interrupted. He was a terrible guard lion. I walked across the room into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I flicked on the shower and washed my hair. Halfway through, I heard a lapping sound and peeked out the shower curtain to find a massive lion drinking out of the toilet.

  Barf.

  “Singh, that is disgusting! Use your hands and get a glass. And get the heck out of here while I’m in the shower!”

  The lion turned and huffed at me, then sauntered out of the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him. Jerk.

  I finished my shower and wrapped a towel around me before I got out of the shower stall.

  I muttered about stupid unhouse-broken lions as I walked across the bedroom to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. I went back in and brushed my hair into a high ponytail and got dressed. Ready to face another night, this time armed with information that will hopefully help us get ahold of poppa warlock.

  I found the kitchen and living room empty, but the window was open to the fire escape, so I climbed up to the roof and found Frankie and Singh standing at the far edge, looking out at the city. I cleared my throat so they didn’t startle and fall off, but neither of them turned around. That’s when I noticed the sounds of the city were absent. It was like time was standing still. I called out to Frankie, but he still didn’t turn. I could smell Singh, like he was right beside me, when I turned around, though, it was Bennet who faced me,

  “You need to leave this city,” He said. His hair was a tangled mass on his head, and his beard was patchy and half grown.

  I took a step towards him and called my knife. I raised my arm to throw it at the dark warlock, but my hand was empty.

  He laughed. A long belly laugh, like a lunatic.

&
nbsp; “You have no idea, do you?”

  He appeared in front of me, I put my arm up to ward him off, but his fist slammed into me like a flash of lightning, colliding with my chest so hard, I was launched half way across the roof top. He was right in front of me again when I looked up, and I tried to block his booted foot as it came towards me. The impact sent me tumbling again, this time with no breath left in my lungs. I gasped for air, fighting the spasm that sent a throb of pain through me. I was right on the edge of the building. Below, the lights of the city twinkled and cars passed. I scrambled to get back from the edge. My lungs burned and my body spasmed.

  “You can’t stop me!” he yelled as he approached again, swinging his leg back, this time aiming for my head.

  My eyes flashed open, and I sat up in the bed, breathing harshly.

  “Lark!” Frankie was kneeling beside the bed, his face worried.

  It was just a dream.

  “It wasn’t a dream, Lark. He caught you in between,” Frankie said, hearing my unspoken thought.

  “What do you mean, he caught me in between? Who?” I asked, finally taking some slow breaths.

  “It’s dark magic. In the moment between sleep and wakefulness, a warlock or witch can take over anyone's mind and make them think what they want.”

  “It was so real. Singh drank out of the toilet.”

  At that, Singh rolled over and shifted back to a human. “I represent power, will and determination. I wouldn’t drink out of the toilet, Lark,” He scowled before shifting again. Singh lion stepped down off the bed gracefully, as if it was a low branch in the Serengeti, then swaggered into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

  I shook my head. He had a point. I remembered thinking that was weird, even for Singh.

  “Can he hurt me in the dream?”

  “No, it’s just a dream.”

  That was small comfort when I believed he was killing me. Durga rolled inside me and flashed a picture of our knife in the side of Bennet’s head again. She liked that image. I had to admit, between his killing sprees and now this, I wanted him dead more than ever.

  “Look, I talked to Shiva, and he said if I touch Bennet, I can track him anywhere. So, I need to get a hand on him.”

  Frankie looked at me for a second, and I watched as the pieces clicked into place. He snorted a laugh and nodded. “All right, well, hopefully, he does some magic. I can get you pretty close to him, but not right beside him. If I could do that, he would be dead already. Tracking him would be a bonus if we can’t kill him, but killing him should be priority one.”

  “Durga agrees with you,” I said.

  “Alright. I’ll start dinner, and we can get to work.”

  Frankie stood and walked out of the room. I lay back and wiped my hair off my forehead. I had a film of cold sweat from the dream. I reached up and felt my chest where he had punched me. There was no trace of pain. It had seemed so real. My need for sleep was dwindling. I assumed that Durga had something to do with that, but it was for the best if that bastard could make me think I was about to die in my sleep.

  I sat up and took a deep breath. What if him touching me in my dream was enough? I focused on that instant his fist contacted me and sent out my senses.

  My senses flowed through the city like flood waters, pinging on vampires all over. The bright shining north star that I knew was Vincent, lit up. He was at the mansion still. No trace of the warlock though. Too bad. That could have saved us time and probably saved lives.

  This was our city, Durga’s and mine. We wouldn’t leave a monster on the prowl. I came back to the room and threw off the blankets. I wouldn’t wait around for him to cause problems. The last two times he killed was in the dark part of the city, where no street lights lit the shadows. I walked across the room and took my phone off the table, sent a text to Clive, and asked him to meet me.

  Bennet had to be staying somewhere in that part of town. The more of us out looking, the higher the chances of finding him.

  I sent another text telling Clive not to engage the warlock if they found him. I didn’t need any of them to be lit on fire like Vincent was. He replied a moment later saying they were on their way.

  I sent a text to Vincent too. Checking to make sure he was ok. I waited for a reply, but didn’t get one.

  Singh appeared from the bathroom in human form. He was freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes. His spicy scent reached my nose as I passed him to have my shower.

  “Want to go hunting?” I asked him.

  He smiled and then shifted, letting out a roar that vibrated through my chest and my head. I laughed at his ferocious sound and continued to the bathroom. A night out doing something was definitely in order. The last twenty-four hours hadn’t yielded anything but a burnt vampire, a nightmare, and some boring TV.

  Walking back out to the kitchen after my shower, I found Singh in lion form pacing the living room and Frankie frying something delicious on the stove in the kitchen. I walked around the island and sidled up beside him. Steak with onions and mushrooms fried in a pan.

  Frankie gave me a crooked smile. “Your lion isn’t pleased that I’m taking so long to cook this. He says rare is fine.”

  I glanced back at the pacing lion. “I told him we would go hunting.”

  “Ah, that explains it. That’s a good idea, sitting around here is making me anxious too.”

  Frankie got out three plates and slid the meat and some salad onto each. Then set them down on the island counter in front of the stools.

  “Come on, lion man. Dinner’s ready,” he said.

  Singh huffed and shifted, then took his seat and started eating with a fork and knife like a civilized human.

  “So, I think that we should start at the dock and take each block in a grid. That will at least keep us busy, but I have a feeling he is staying in that area. My team is going to be out too, just checking empty buildings. I told them not to approach him.”

  “Good plan, now less talking and more eating,” Singh said around a mouthful of steak.

  I sighed and ate my dinner. It was delicious. The steak was perfectly tender. Frankie missed his calling as a chef.

  He laughed at my unspoken thought. I bumped his shoulder with mine and kept eating.

  When we finished, we walked out the door and headed for the dark part of town. It wasn’t that far, really, and the crisp night air filled me with anticipation. Durga perked up and started paying attention too. The night was full of energy that I couldn’t explain. Like an overfilled balloon on the edge of busting. As we got closer to the docks, the city grew still and dark. The fragile silence seemed about to shatter, and our boots on the pavement were the metronome of the jack in the box.

  The docks had the usual homeless people camped out, but the hush was noticeable even here.

  As we stepped down on to the small path that wound around the girders, there was a slick sound, followed by gurgles and then a moan. I swung around in time to see Bennet leaning over a homeless man, his eyes trained on me. A flash of steel and then another slick sound and I realized he had just slit the man’s throat with a knife.

  I bolted in his direction, calling my blade. Thankful when its comforting weight appeared in my hand as I made a last leap towards the dark warlock. Before I was within striking range, he vanished, leaving behind his knife and the dying man. Frankie made a desperate appearance beside where his father had stood, one moment too late. I slid down to the ground beside the homeless man and wrapped my hand around his divided neck, but it was no use. The gurgling noises and his violent thrashing slowed to a stop as he bled out before me. I took my bloodied hands away from his neck and wiped them on the scrubby weeds beneath my boots.

  Bennet could kill hundreds of people a night this way. If he didn’t use dark magic, I wouldn’t catch him.

  I screamed in frustration. There had to be another way.

  Bennet’s knife flashed in the moonlight and caught my eye. Maybe I didn’t have to touch him. Maybe, I co
uld hold something he had touched.

  I picked up the bloody knife and held it firmly in my right hand. My fingers wrapped around the hilt, I closed my eyes.

  A soft breeze blew, and I smelled the familiar spicy scent of Singh. His warm body lay beside me, grounding me. He was Durga’s will and determination. I could feel the power of our connection suddenly, like an elastic band snapped tight. Durga was just beneath my surface, her eyes seeing through mine as we inspected the knife in our hands.

  “Goddess help me,” I whispered, bringing the blade edge to my left hand, Durga pressed the point into my palm, spilling my blood. A sacrifice to the ancient gods. Their power and wisdom rose up, filling my mind with words written in Sanskrit. I closed my eyes and saw Durga’s form again on the backs of my eyelids. Her hands, full of gifts given to her by the gods to help her in her mission.

  I saw her face change to a smile as if she were looking at me from across a vast dark space.

  “Go, child. Slay the demon,” she said as suddenly the knife jerked in my hand and pulled me out of my vision. My eyes flashed open, and I leapt to my feet. Singh was right there with me as my legs moved of their own will and I was running across the pavement and down the street.

  The night pushed me forward. I didn’t know where I was going only that I had to go. I ran through the city for longer than seemed possible.

  I heard footsteps behind me and Durga flashed me a picture of Frankie running along behind me. I caught sight of Singh’s white mane as his strides matched mine and we travelled together. I could feel Durga’s energy filling my legs with strength and my lungs with air. Finally, I stopped in front of a familiar building. The blade in my hand wavered, and I walked into Arnie’s bar.

  The music was on, but the lights were off and no one was inside. This time of night, it was usually a hub of jersey-clad sports fans and college kids, blowing off steam. Arnie was also missing from behind the bar. I couldn’t remember a time he wasn’t there. My gut clenched at the thought something may have happened to him.