The Gramm Curse (The Night Watchmen Series)

by Candace Knoebel

  She drops her shoulders and sighs. “Yes, Jax, I’m sure it will work.”

  “Now that that’s established, can we get to the real plan?” Gavin asks. He turns to me. “We’re going to go through the back and scope things out inside while the girls work their way in through the front. Don’t try to stop any feedings. The only way to save these humans is to take out the ringleader. Once we find him, I’ll let Cass know through the telepathic bond.” He turns to the girls, wearing his typical game face- large eyes rounded in seriousness, lips pressed thin, and fingers pointing at each of us. “Keep the paranormals from stopping us. Use that mirage spell thing.”

  “Cloaking?” Jezi corrects.

  “Yeah, ‘cause when shit hits the fan, it’s going to spread like a nasty, smelly mess. We don’t need the paranormals in the joint trying to stop us, because they will once they realize we’re about to take down a prominent food source.”

  Cassie rolls her eyes. “God, you’re so poetic when you talk.”

  My lip twitches at the corner.

  He grins. “Are we clear?” he asks, looking between all of us.

  We nod.

  “Good, let’s go.”

  THE CLUB IS LOUD AND hot. The sounds push at my brain in an uncomfortable way. I’ve never been one for crowds, and even more so, not for crowds full of people grinding against each other, and paranormals sucking the life from innocents. Gavin pays the human bouncer posted at the back door, and then we push our way through the steamy crowd, keeping our heads low and our eyes directed to the floor.

  In the two seconds of being in the club, I’ve already assessed and located each and every threat around me. Two female Vamps to the right of me are luring a man to the stairs that lead to the cellar where all the crimes take place. A Werewolf sits in the corner, his legs crossed and his shifted eyes scanning the crowd, most likely searching for a meal. I spot seventeen Vamps, mostly women, working their way through the crowd of anxious dancers. A Succubus dances for a man standing at the bar. Two Demons hide in the shadows to the left, their red eyes pinned on me and Gavin.

  Even though I trust Cassie’s potion, I still can’t slow my heart to a reasonable rate. It beats against my chest like a raging caged animal.

  Gavin flicks one small glance over his shoulder at me, and I know he’s seen all of them too. Spotting is one of our specialties. He nods ever so slightly, and then turns back. Even though everything in me screams to rid the world of each and every one of these vile scum, I know this isn’t the moment. Blowing our cover would only lead to more death for the humans around us.

  And that would result in being demoted, something that I’ll never let happen.

  We pass the bar, and I catch Jezi and Cassie entering the club from the corner of my eye. They do a good job of ignoring us and head straight for the bar. Jezi eyes the Succubus down and worms her way in between them. Gavin stops in front of a bouncer blocking the red velvet rope that separates the crowd from the VIP area. He slides the bouncer a palm full of money, and then the rope is lifted.

  “He’s close,” Gavin whispers over his shoulder.

  The bitter, sickening stench of sulfur is too pungent to ignore. The higher up a Demon is in the Underground chain, the worse the smell is. Demons of that stature spend more time in the Underground, reporting back and forth.

  Gavin stops at the top of the stairs and turns to me. “Who’s finding the stigma to stab?” he asks. I shrug. He balls his hand into a fist and slams it into his palm, initiating our ritual for decision making- a game of rock-paper-scissors.

  Three hits and he delivers a rock. I chose scissors. Of course. My win was just a mere fluke. It’s like he freaking reads my mind or something.

  “Ha ha!” he says on a heightened whisper. “You suck at this game.”

  I groan and reach under the back of my jacket. I pull the flux out and hold it down by my side. Spilling a Demon’s blood isn’t something to complain about. They’re my favorite kill. “Let’s do this,” I say as I walk past him. He’s still wearing a shit-eating grin; a grin that has always had the power to irritate, and comfort me.

  “After you, princess,” he says with triumph in his voice.

  The balcony has a few humans leaning against the railings, peering down at the crowd below. They’re Feeders. I can tell by the puncture wounds and bland looks on their faces. They barely look up when we walk by them. They’re probably still in the feeding trance. Vampire venom is like a drug for a human, a high they beg for once bitten.

  Gavin points to the door at the end of the balcony, but I already know. I tap into my volation and let it coarse through my veins. I pull just enough electricity from the rooms around me to allow me to tap properly into my senses. A Demon’s stigma is always hidden, and only a Primeval Hunter has the gift to spot it amongst the many black markings that cover their skin.

  The two Demons that stand guard on the outside of the door with their hands folded across their burly chests are easy targets. Both of their stigmas are on their ribcages. The only way we’ll get by them is by taking them down.

  And that’s not a problem for me.

  Without words, my brother and I move in sync, each going for the opposite Demon with the stealth and quietness of a shadow. My flux plunges deep into the Demon’s stigma before he even has a chance to register that I’m a threat. With a hand latched onto his shoulder, I drive the flux further and push every bit of my volation into him. His body ignites into a black flame and then disappears, leaving the scent of sulfur in the air.

  I look over at Gavin just as he rubs the blood from his flux across the leg of his pants. “Go time,” he says. We both know that the three Demons behind this door now know we’re here. Casting a Demon back to hell alerts every single Demon on this plane. We don’t have a second to waste.

  “They know,” Jezi says, talking about every paranormal being in the club. Her thoughts are like warm breaths against my cheek.

  “Keep them from coming up here,” I say. This is always the hard part; leaving her to fend for herself. Although I know she’s fully capable, it’s still ingrained in me to be by her side.

  “I appreciate the concern,” she says, reading my thoughts, “but we’re fine. We wove a barrier spell to keep them from breaching the stairwell. I don’t think anyone has spotted us yet. Her potion is working.”

  “Good. Shout if you need me.”

  “Take out the beef first,” Gavin tells me. I nod at him. Throwing a wicked smile over his shoulder at me, Gavin kicks the door in and storms into the room like a raging bull. Jezi’s on the outskirts of my thoughts, watching and waiting. I follow in behind him with my flux held out, just waiting for a victim. The room is a small office with filing cabinets brushing against every wall, and a large wooden desk against the back of the room. A large, very dark Demon sits behind the desk with two other Demons posted up behind him. Black eyes pierce through me with the hate held only for my kind.

  “Ah, the Gramm brothers,” says the Demon behind the desk. “I was wondering when you two would show up and wreak havoc on my humble abode.” His voice is deep and filled with a hint of humor.

  “You know we can’t ignore the human feast you’re unlawfully advertising…” Gavin drags out, waiting for a name. I’m testing each of them out, searching for their stigma. The Demon to the left of the ringleader has a stigma on his left bicep. The Demon on the right has a stigma on the center of his abdomen. Both are awkward shots to make, but I think I can do it.

  The lead Demon jerks his hands back in offense, his face curling in disdain. “Are you asking for my name? My true name?” He sucks in a deep breath. “That’s like asking a woman her age. How rude. You know I can’t tell you that.”

  Gavin slams his hands down on the desk. “Shove it. I’ll give you one last chance. What’s your name.”

  The Demon’s lips reach up to his ears. “You can call me Oro…short for…” he laughs, moving his hand up to his mouth, and finishes, “well, you already know t
hat I won’t give you my full name.”

  Gavin leans forward. He’s ready to be done. I reach for another flux, pulling it from my pant leg. In one brisk move, Gavin squats, and I aim and release. The daggers hit their mark with flawless accuracy. The left side of my mouth lifts proudly as I watch their bodies disappear inside of black fire.

  Oro’s smile vanishes. “They were my best Demons on hand.”

  “Really?” Gavin taunts. “That’s what you call best on hand?” He looks back at me. “This is gonna be easy.” In one blurry move, Gavin has the Demon by the throat with his flux wedged up against Oro’s stigma. “We’re shutting this club down, you piece of shit. When you get to where I’m sending you, be sure to let all of your friends know that if they try this shit again on my turf, they’ll get the same treatment.”

  “I’m flattered,” Oro says, “but I also know that you don’t want to kill me. At least, not yet.”

  He’s stalling. Typical. Drive it in and send the bastard home.

  “What are you talking about?” Gavin asks.

  I sigh, rolling my eyes. He always takes the bait.

  “Tell him to sink it in so we can go. I feel the potion wearing off,” Jezi says in the back of my mind.

  Oro laughs, despite being so close to his demise. “The curse,” he says, looking between me and Gavin, “I can smell it on you both. You’re a deal waiting to happen.”

  “And why is that?” Gavin asks. I hear the small note of desperation in his voice.

  “Gav…”

  “Don’t think you’re excluded from this, Jaxen Gramm,” Oro says.

  I snap my eyes to his. “Our curse is none of your business. Gavin, do it already.”

  Gavin’s shoulders sink a little, and then he presses the blade against Oro’s side.

  “I know a way you can be rid of the curse,” Oro rushes out as he tries to back out from under Gavin’s grip.

  “You have one second to spit it out or you’re done,” Gavin says under his breath.

  I feel Jezi’s interest peaking. I see her moving through the crowd, drifting up the stairs with Cassie on her heels. I feel her hope lifting, despite the fact that a Demon’s deal is bad news for everyone involved.

  “Jezi, no.”

  “Just listen to what he has to say.”

  “Your curse dates back to the time of the Divine. I smell their taint all over it,” Oro says quickly. This is the first lead we’ve had on who cursed our family, if it’s even true.

  “And?” Gavin says just as Cassie and Jezi appear in the doorway behind me.

  I stiffen. “I told you to guard the stairs.”

  “The barrier is still up. Calm down,” Jezi snaps back.

  “And I know the way to lift it. Remove that dagger from my side, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Not a chance,” Gavin says, growling through his teeth. “You’ll tell me, or this flux finishes the path it’s on.”

  “Go ahead. It’s your loss,” Oro says with vehemence.

  Before Gavin can shove the flux through, Cassie’s hand flicks, and his flux lands in her palm.

  “What the hell, Cassie!” he shouts as he whips his head around.

  Jezi passes me, her palm outstretched. Magic flows from her veins, filling the room with a sweet, floral scent. She’s using a spell to hold Oro in place. “Speak,” Cassie says as she follows Jezi’s steps and stops in front of the desk. Oro is pinned against his chair, his head tilted back enough to expose his throat.

  Gavin growls under his breath and pulls out another flux from the back of his pants. Jezi clenches her fist, and the Demon screams out in pain.

  “She’ll rip your essence from that body, piece by painful piece, unless you start talking,” Cassie says. “The curse. How is it lifted?”

  Oro strains to laugh.

  “Screw this,” Gavin says as he aims for the stigma.

  Cassie flicks her palm again and knocks Gavin back on his ass. Gavin jumps to his feet, his eyes hidden beneath his menacing brow.

  “If you ever do that-”

  “I will if you try to stab him. I want to hear what he has to say,” Cassie says without a hint of remorse for her actions.

  I slowly pull my flux out, keeping my hand behind my back. If she moves just an inch to the left, I’ll have a clear shot. I cast my eyes over to Gavin, widening them for a second before looking over at Oro. I know he knows what I need him to do.

  Jezi squeezes her fist tighter. I try to reach out to her mentally, but she’s blocked me. Oro’s screams fill the room. I pray that the music is louder.

  “All right,” he says through his teeth. “There’s a spell that can lift curses. I’ve seen it before during my time in the Underground. Let me up, and I’ll conjure it for you.”

  Jezi looks over at Cassie. Cassie nods, and Jezi lets him up. He balls his hand into a fist, and then opens it. An old piece of parchment paper rests in his hand, the spell scrawled across it. Jezi snatches it up. “This is in your language. We can’t interpret this.”

  “I know. Make a deal that you will do my body no harm, and I’ll help you translate it.”

  “No,” Gavin says firmly, forcefully.

  “This could be the ticket,” Cassie says when she looks over at him. Excitement drips off her words. “We have to try.”

  “No, we don’t,” I say flatly. Her eyes jerk to mine. “This could all be a lie. It’s not worth it, Cassie.”

  “Or it could be the truth,” Oro points out.

  Gavin and Cassie start arguing. Jezi says something to me, and I can hear her in my mind, but I push all of it away, focused solely on Oro. His eyes flick under the desk where a shadow rests. He’s going to leave. I glance over at Gavin, trying to alert him, but he’s too caught up in his argument with Cassie to notice.

  I take matters into my own hands. Just as Oro shoves his chair back, I shove Cassie aside and toss my flux at his stigma. It sticks, and he drops to his knees, disappearing into the shadow.

  “Are you freaking kidding me!” I shout, walking around the back of the desk. “That piece of shit took my flux! All because you two didn’t listen.” I glare at Jezi and Cassie.

  “But we have the spell,” Jezi says, sounding like she’s just now realizing how bad she’s pissed me off.

  “I don’t give a damn about the spell. It won’t work. Nothing ever does, and you falling for a Demon’s lie is unlike you.” I cast my glare on Cassie. “And you, it’s not our job to cure curses. It’s our job to rid the world of this kind of scum. Do you know how many lives are at stake?”

  “Are you including mine?” she asks, glaring at me. Gavin winces. “This curse affects me too! I’ve accepted it, but I sure as hell won’t pass up on any chance to stop it. I’d like to remain alive, therefore, I’ll do what I must. If you were smart, you’d do the same!”

  “Taking the word of a Demon isn’t exactly what I’d call smart, Cassie,” I say harshly. I look over at Jezi, who’s keeping her eyes on the floor. She's sending apologies through our link, but I shut them and her out completely. “I’m going to clean this club up…finish what we came here for. Do what you will.”

  I shoulder past them and make my way down the stairs just as the magical barrier lifts. Eyes of every glowing color fall on me, and a predatory instinct fills me up. Volation taps at my senses, and I let it in. I pull hard on the electricity around me, using every bit of pent up anger and rage, and smile when the room darkens to pitch black. Screams fill the air as I make my way through the crowd with Gavin on my heels.

  Bring it on.

  AFTER CLEANING OUT THE CLUB, I drop Jezi off at her house. A few times on the way home, she tries to strike up conversation, but I keep my mouth clamped shut. I know that nothing good will come out. By the time I pull up to her curb, I think she’s accepted the fact that I’m more than a little mad, and talking isn’t going to change it.

  She pulls the handle to the door and hesitates. “You understand, don’t you?”

  I keep my eyes
forward, gripping the steering wheel.

  A small sigh escapes her lips. I know I should say something. I know she would like it, and I don’t want to leave her feeling bruised, but I can’t bring myself to form words. I can’t make my head turn in her direction.

  “Fine,” she relents, “see you tomorrow,” and then the door shuts behind her.

  A heavy groan erupts from deep within. I hate that, in the back of my mind, there’s a small itch to see the spell…to know if it works. It wouldn’t be there if the hunt had been completed properly. It wouldn’t be there if my brother wasn’t so desperate for a cure that doesn’t exist. I growl and reach into my pocket to pull out my cell. I know I’m going to regret this, but I dial Gavin’s number anyway.

  “Yo,” he answers.

  I pinch my eyes shut. “So.”

  He breathes into the phone. “You should call your boyfriend, Weldon. He can probably decipher the spell.”

  I sigh. He’s right, and it’s one of the many things I wish he wasn’t right about, for Weldon’s sake. Weldon is a Hunter who traded himself to save his twin, our Elder Mack, from Demons in the Underground. He was kept there for years, and surfaced only to discover that he’s now half-Demon and unaccepted by our Coven.

  “Gavin, I just think-”

  “That’s your problem right there, little bro. You think too much. Like it or not, we have the spell. Might as well try it out. What can it hurt?”

  Me. It can hurt me. I hang my head, feeling my control slipping and my steel walls cracking. “Fine,” I force out, not admitting to the fact that by opening this door, I open myself up to a world of hurt…a world of deflating disappointment; disappointment that I’ve devoted my life to avoiding.

  “Let me know what he says.”

  “Okay.”