The Gramm Curse (The Night Watchmen Series)

by Candace Knoebel

  A surge of adrenaline fuels my steps, and she drops almost too easily the moment my dagger-like flux connects with her heart.

  Me one - Gavin zero.

  “‘Bout time,” Gavin says, touching at his cheek. Cassie sends a quick spell out to heal it.

  “Quit whining and fight,” I reply as I spin around and quickly count everybody in the room; two Demons in suits with black eyes set on me, and an Incubus wearing a cruel smile guarding four humans. The rest must have run up the stairs.

  I crack my neck, dropping into a fighting stance. Bring it.

  Both of the Demons lunge for me with growls of anger ripping past their pointed teeth as Gavin goes for the Incubus. Reflexively, I pull out my throwing knives, wearing the grin of a predator. With aimed precision, I center myself and release the daggers, one after the other, each hitting them dead center of the chest. Just enough to stall them so I can finish them off

  The Demons fly backward, slamming into a couch from the force. I rush for them, my flux already in my hand, and aim for each stigma. Their skin is covered in black ink markings meant to hide the stigma I’m looking for- the mark that will send them back to Hell should I drive my flux through it.

  The first Demon picks himself up, cursing and swiping at me just as my flux plunges through his thigh where his stigma rests. I spin around in a flurry, stabbing the other Demon through the side of his neck, straight through the center of his stigma. Dark, stinging blood juts out, spraying across my arm and face and onto my chest as they both go up in black flames.

  Three ahead to Gavin’s zero now.

  By the time I stand and wipe off what I can, Gavin roundhouse kicks the Incubus in the stomach, using the advantage to pull out his revolver. The Incubus stumbles over an end table, crashing down to the floor with it. With a loud growl, Gavin jumps and lands on top of the Incubus, pinning him down by the neck. “Bye-bye, blood-sucker.” He presses the revolver against the Incubus’ chest and pulls the trigger. Screams fill the room as the humans huddled in the corner behind me make a run for the stairs.

  “Jezi!”

  “On it,” she returns telepathically. Her hands fill with magic as the words of her ancestors pass through her lips. Every human freezes in place as their eyes squeamishly move back and forth. “GO!”

  “I’ll stay with them,” Cassie says as she steps into the room, working her own magic. “Get the rest.”

  Gavin roars a cry of war, the hollow, angry, maniacal sound bouncing off the walls. I feel the sound all the way to my bones, lips curling with anticipation. We meet at the stairs and take them two at time, determined to end whatever else lurks in these halls.

  Halfway up, I sense a Succubus above us and to the right, so I tap Gavin on the shoulder to distract him. I want this kill. I pull out my revolver from the holster inside my jacket and race the rest of the way up. With careful precision, I turn, aim, and fire. The sanctified bullet passes through her heart at the same time her whip connects with my arm, knocking the gun from my hand. The leather strands wrap around my forearm, the magic within them burning through the leather of my jacket.

  “Jezi!”

  “Are you that hellbent on winning?!” Gavin says as he picks up my gun and tucks it back into my holster. “Serves you right.”

  The poison eats through my flesh just below my affinity mark, entering my system. Seconds is all it will take until I’m paralyzed. “Shove it,” I force out through chattering teeth, trying to remain in control. “You’re just jealous. Four to one. Who’s the loser now?”

  He looks at my shaking arm clutched against my chest, and then back up at me, wearing a look of triumph. “Umm, you are, smart ass.” With a wide-ass smirk, he takes off down the hall, calling out like an uncivilized wildling to the rest of the paranormal scum. He enjoys this shit way too much.

  Jezi’s halfway up the stairs by the time I lose control of my legs and drop to my ass. Pain rips across my entire nervous system as her magic encompasses the whip, removing it from my arm.

  “You have to let me heal you before the poison spreads to your heart.” Her words are calm and assertive. I can always count on her to keep it together. She takes my arm, her face all business, and places a hand over the wound. She whispers a spell I’m having a hard time focusing on.

  Searing pain lances through my veins as my eyes roll back in my head. The poison from the frayed ends of the whip is already taking a toll on my thoughts, pushing me into a stupor I’m trying so desperately to fight off. I can’t let this break me. I can’t lose. “Jezi!”

  “Hold still, damn it!”

  Slowly, the poison lifts from my skin, relieving me from a pain-induced hell. By the time my eyes open and I can focus again, I catch the last few drops of poison bleeding down the side of my arm and dropping into a vial Jezi holds out.

  “You’re good,” she says without looking at me, tucking the vial into her pocket.

  It takes a few moments for my breathing to return to normal; for my mind to return to its controlled state. I stand, testing my footing. Everything feels fine. I reach down and pull out my flux, feeling clearer and sharper. Turning, I pause for a moment, contemplating what I should say to her. Thank you? You did good? Way to go, champ? I exhale. What the hell am I doing? What the hell does it matter?

  I inwardly groan and turn from her without saying anything. Sulfuric fire bursts in the room across the hall. Gavin’s taken down another Demon. That leaves four Incubi and the remaining humans. That also means we’re four to two.

  With a growl, I push out a small wave of volation. Colored auras emerge in the room down the hall; three Incubi and five humans. I clench the hilt of the flux and march in their direction. Gavin strides out of the room next to me.

  “Catching up to you, little bro,” he says with a cocky laugh. “You good? Ready to finish this shit?”

  I nod, ready to get the hell on with it.

  “Good, let’s go.” He jogs down the hall and kicks the door in with two pistols already raised and aimed. By the time I make it into the room, he’s already dropped two of the Incubi.

  Four to four. Shit.

  The humans scream like maniacs as I sprint for the remaining Incubus. I’ve pulled every bit of electricity in the room into my volation, and I slam it through his well-suited chest. My flux drives deep through him, and I keep running until he’s pinned up against the wall. A guttural growl rips through my throat as I pull out my revolver, shove it against his chest, and pull the trigger.

  I quickly look away as blood splatters everywhere, all over everything, coating me like the savage I am. I pull my flux out, enjoying the chaotic pounding of my heart as the mangled body drops to the floor.

  “You’re crazy, little bro,” Gavin says when I turn back around. He’s wiping off some of the blood that got on him. Jezi’s already spelling the humans to keep them in place. She expertly avoids my eyes. I know it scares her when my rage surfaces, when I let the Hunter in me fully emerge.

  “Five to four. One left. Let’s go.” I brush past them, wiping the dark blood coating my flux against the leg of my pants. Cassie comes up the stairs and begins moving the humans back downstairs. I send out more volation and look up, following the sparking webbed tendrils. The last Incubus and humans are on the third floor, directly above us. I point upward and tell them to be quiet.

  We quietly ascend the stairs, one at a time, careful not to rouse him. He could have the humans as hostages. No matter what, we can’t let them be harmed. Not a single human has ever been hurt on my watch, and I’ll be damned if it happens tonight.

  By the time we make it to the third floor, the house has filled with an eerie silence; the kind of silence that tricks you into thinking nothing’s wrong. Gavin taps me on the shoulder and points his head to the door across from us. They’re in there- all of them. I brace myself, taking in a courage-filled breath, and kick the door in, my hand already wrapped around my revolver. The Incubus stands next to the bed in the middle of the room. He has his
hand pressed against the chest of a human girl, teeth bared, as she trembles beneath him. Three human males stand in the corner in only their underwear, their eyes turned away from the bed.

  “Come any closer, and I rip her heart out,” the Incubus says slowly, carefully. “It only takes one, correct? One human harmed to ruin your precious little reputation?” He tilts his head, black eyes scanning me over.

  My jaw clenches. “Yeah, and it only takes one sanctified bullet to end your shit-filled life,” I say harshly, setting my eyes on his. “Let her go.”

  The Incubus laughs, the sound pissing me off. She struggles a little, and he yanks her hard against him. “Let me leave, and then maybe I’ll consider letting her go.”

  In this light, he almost looks…normal. He almost looks human. He’s tall, lean, clean-shaven, and well dressed, but that’s their edge. That’s how they trick these fools; appear good-looking, safe, and harmless; offer them words of comfort to erase the pain of their daily lives.

  I make the mistake of looking the blonde girl in the eyes. Tears pour out as she pleads with her gaze for me to save her.

  “No way,” Gavin says, taking a step for him, gun aimed and ready.

  I catch his arm as the Incubus presses his hand harder against the girl's chest, digging his nails through her fragile flesh. She cries out underneath him as a fresh set of tears streams down her cheeks.

  “Please,” she murmurs before he covers her mouth with his other hand, fingers digging into her skin.

  All I need is one clean shot to his heart. I need her to move. How can I get her to move?

  “What if I say yes? Will you let her go then?” I ask cautiously, tightening my grip around the gun.

  Gavin throws me a weird look. What are you doing? he mouths.

  “Jezi, he has a human girl. I need you to spell protection around her.”

  “Coming!”

  “Where’s your Witch?” the Incubus asks, his eye twitching. He takes a shaky step away from us, jerking the girl back against him. She cries out in fear, and it takes everything in me not to leap across the room and rip his head clean off.

  “We left them behind to tend to the humans downstairs,” Gavin says slowly, carefully.

  The Incubus laughs uncomfortably, his eyes jerking between us. “Yeah, I’m supposed to just believe that?”

  “What choice do you have?” I prompt over the barrel of my gun. “You should have ran when you had the chance.”

  His black eyes flick to mine. “I would have if one of your Witches hadn’t spelled this place.”

  The girl wriggles against him, and he loses his grip a little before quickly recovering, pulling her back to his chest like a shield.

  He has to be a young one to make these sorts of juvenile mistakes.

  “Tell her to remove the spell. Now!” he shouts in an obvious panic.

  “Not until you let her go,” Gavin says.

  “I’m done bartering with you idiots!” He adjusts his grip on the girl, pulling her tighter against his chest, and digs his nails deeper into her chest. She faints in his arms the moment blood emerges on her dress, and nearly drops to the floor.

  He wasn’t expecting this.

  He strains to lift her dead-weight high enough to protect his chest.

  “The spell is up,” Jezi pushes through my mind.

  “Time’s up,” I say. I leap through the air, using the bed for momentum, and grab his head. By the time my feet hit the ground, his head has rolled all the way to Gavin’s feet. “Six to four. I win.”

  He rolls his eyes as the girl lets out a horrific scream. I walk past, not wanting to spend another minute inside the screeching sound. Jezi rushes into the room, already working a spell to calm her and remove her memories.

  “Want me to call it in?” Cassie asks as she saunters up the stairs.

  “Yeah,” Gavin says. He grabs my arm. “Where you goin’?’”

  “To my place to grab a few things.”

  “But breakfast-”

  “I’ll swing by. I have to watch you enjoy the beer I won’t be drinking, right?”

  His eyes go all squinty the way they do when he’s examining me, searching for a deeper reason than what my words are offering. If there’s anyone who can see past my thick walls, it’s him. I look away, focusing on the dark, drying blood coating my arm.

  “Right,” he says hesitantly, still staring, still gripping my arm. “And your Witch?”

  I peer over my shoulder at her. She tucks a strand of fallen hair behind her ear, and then rubs her hands together, preparing for the last memory-wiping spell. “She’s good. She came in her car.”

  Cassie snorts under her breath and offers a lifted brow toward Gavin. He shakes his head. He never agrees with me when it comes to Jezi. “Whatever you say, man. We’ll talk about it over breakfast.”

  I snatch my arm from him, ignoring the eyes the Witches have set on me, judging me. “I don’t want to talk about it over breakfast. I don’t want to talk about it at all.” Without another word, I rush down the rest of the stairs, anxious to get to my car. I can’t take another minute inside the house, another minute inside my head. The sooner I can shower off this blood, the sooner I’ll feel normal again.

  THE LOFT I STAY IN is a small hole in the wall I got from one of Mack’s friends who only bought it to rent out. Barren gray walls, crumbling brick around the window, rutted wooden floors…it’s where I call home, and it’s nestled in the lower Manhattan on Ludlow, sitting right above a Chinese restaurant.

  The sector Jezi and I are responsible for protecting extends a little past the Upper West Side. When we were fresh out of the Academy, it was barely a few blocks past my place. It seems the more paranormal we capture or take down, the further our reach extends; the more Mack wants from us.

  After showering the evidence of the hunt away, I step out of my bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around my waist. Standing in front of my closet, I know I can wear whatever I feel like wearing. I’m off duty, but I like the way I feel inside the Night Watchmen uniform. I like the simplicity of my black t-shirt and black denim jeans. I like sporting the Coven’s symbol, a pentagram surrounded by three half-moons, on the shoulder of my leather jacket.

  It’s what defines me.

  The phone on my nightstand goes off. I huff and run my fingers through my wet hair. Can’t I have just a moment to myself? Can’t I just be left alone, the way I prefer it?

  No. I can’t. I can’t because I’m bound by oath to the Coven. I’m bound to my partner. I’m bound to my brother.

  Two full, flustered steps and I swipe the phone up. It’s Gavin. With a small sigh, I answer, “I told you, I’m coming. I just got out of the shower.”

  “Forget that. Breakfast is over. I’m coming to you.”

  “For what?”

  “To talk,” he says seriously, bearing the tone of my father.

  “Gavin, I already told you-”

  “Tough shit.”

  The phone clicks off. Great. He still won’t let go of the fact that I don’t care for Jezi in that way. At least once a month he tries to have the same conversation with me. I don’t know if it’s his own guilt for loving Cassie, knowing that she’ll die because of it, or if it’s Cassie in his ear telling him what he should do for the sake of Jezi who is her friend.

  I’d put money on it that it’s the latter.

  Either way, I don’t see Jezi like that. I never have, and I’m pretty sure I never will. My brother doesn’t understand that love can’t be defined by pointless words in a meaningless conversation; it’s ineffable. It’s a spiritual feeling, an irresistible desire to want someone in all the ways that makes us whole.

  Or so I’ve read.

  And if I’m lucky, I won’t experience that in my short lifetime. I won’t have something to miss out on. I won’t die knowing that I’ve left something that magical…that indescribably powerful behind.

  But most importantly, I won’t regret my decision.

  I
settle for a pair of dark gray basketball shorts, and then cross the room to my bare kitchen. The fridge has very little in it; leftover pizza, a couple of eggs, a jug of milk, soda, cheese…none of it appeals to my growling stomach. I snatch the milk, and then reach up on top of the fridge for a box of sugary chocolate cereal. After filling my bowl, I grab a spoon and sit on a stool at the dark marble counter.

  That’s when silence decides to ambush me.

  I lean over and press the button to turn on the radio that streams throughout my small loft. Rap music pours through the speakers. “Gavin,” I groan, silently cursing him. He’s always messing with my stuff…switching things up, rearranging things so I can’t find them, and screwing with the orderly fashion I’ve come to need in order to function properly.

  Inside my four steel walls, I’ve constructed a methodical routine with the sole intent of keeping me occupied until my hourglass runs out, until the sand quits spilling, and until my heart stops beating.

  I shut the music off and flip the TV on across from me. It’s the news. I try to stay focused on what’s being said, but thoughts sit in the back of my mind like spring-loaded traps, waiting for me to step in. Just one small reminder, one small instance that reflects upon the things I’m trying so hard to avoid, and I’m caught.

  A story scrolls across the bottom of the screen. “A gruesome murder took place at Firebrand last night. A 22 year-old woman was found murdered, drained of blood,” it reads.

  That's a club located in my sector downtown. I need to check that out. I should call Mack. He can give us the go ahead to bring the club down if something fishy is going on. Jezi crosses my thoughts, and the trap snaps shut in the back of my mind. She’s always had my back, even when I’ve taken on the hardest cases. She’s always tried so hard, even from day one.

  I drop my spoon and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Shut it off, I tell myself, but the images won’t disappear. The memories won’t go away.