The Demon Within

by Linda Kay Silva

  Sterling sighed softly. “Something like that. You need to help him just as you would me or Pure. You need to go see Quick and tell him what you have, what you’re going to do, and that you’re going to finish this on one condition.” Sterling paused as an announcement came over the intercom. “That he leave Savannah and go to wherever there are fewer demons. If he does not agree, then wash your hands of him.”

  Denny’s eyebrows rose. “Wash my hands?”

  Sterling rose and wiped off the whiteboard. “He has to participate in keeping our family safe or he can rot in there. It’s that simple.”

  Studying Sterling as she wiped the board clean, Denny felt a huge albatross lift from her shoulders. “It really is that simple, isn’t it?”

  “When it comes to family, yes, Golden, it is really that simple. If the demon protected us and kept us safe while Mother was alive, then we need to allow it to continue doing so.”

  Denny stood and hugged her sister. “Thank you.”

  Pausing her cleaning, Sterling cocked her head. “You didn’t need my permission, Golden, but I was afraid you would let our wayward brother ruin your life if you thought doing so would help him.”

  Denny chuffed. “The Hanta would never let that happen.”

  “It’s not up to the Hanta, though, is it? You have to have the strength to hold it down, to keep it at bay. You need to learn even more than our mother did. You must protect Pure at all costs. She is an innocent in all this. If Quick couldn’t protect her...or can’t…and Mom can’t, then it’s up to you. If Quick doesn’t understand,” she shook her head, “then to Hell with him.”

  Denny’s jaw dropped. Sterling never swore. Ever.

  Sterling smiled at Denny’s surprise. “And I mean that in the Christian sense of the word.” She squeezed Denny’s hand before letting go. “He’s one of us, Golden…until he isn’t. You weigh the pros and cons for him but make it very, very clear, he is not to return to the South.”

  “And if he doesn’t agree, I just let him rot?”

  Sterling slowly nodded. “The ‘needs of the many’ has never been wrong, Golden. I know how hard it will be to say goodbye to him, but we can always visit him. We just can’t let him live near us. He is a liability.”

  Denny sighed loudly. “No, I understand what you’re saying. You’re right.”

  “Can you...will you be able to...free him?”

  Denny nodded. “Getting closer every day. You know he didn’t do it, Sterling. Quick is many things, but a heartless killer? No. One or more demons got to him—demons who thought they could destroy the Silver legacy.”

  “They just didn’t count on you being such a kick-butt demon hunter, did they?” Sterling threaded her arm through Denny’s and walked her to the door. “As much as I wish it weren’t so, I have no doubt this is your calling.”

  “Really? How come?”

  “Oh, Golden, you have always lived in the black and white of the world. Always. Right from wrong has always been so clearly defined for you. Why do you think you were always so attracted to Quick’s energy? He lives in the gray. Together, the two of you balance each other out—only, because he is older, he possessed greater influence over you than you did over him. Now, it is time for the balance of power to shift in your favor.” She smiled. “Save him, Golden, and then protect us all. It is what you were chosen to do.”

  “I’ll do it on one condition.”

  Sterling frowned. “Okay.”

  “Stop swearing. You’re freaking me out.”

  Sterling rewarded her with a rare laugh. “Deal.”

  As Denny walked down the hallway and to her car, she could only shake her head.

  When had Sterling become so wise?

  ****

  When Denny pulled her car into the driveway, she noticed a black Toyota out in front of the house. The Hanta woke up, sending warning signals up her spine. Funny thing was, she was getting used to that warm molasses feeling of imminent danger.

  “Down, boy,” Denny muttered, coming around the back of the car.

  When the Toyota door opened, a tall brunette woman stepped out, a smile sweeping across her face as she approached. “Denny. So good to see you.”

  Denny folded the woman in her arms and hugged her tightly. “Cassandra.”

  Cassandra and Denny hugged tightly before pulling away, her blue eyes searching Denny’s face. Slight smile lines twitched on the corners of her mouth. “You’ve lost weight.”

  “I’ve been working out.” Denny headed toward the stairs.

  The twitch turned into a tiny grin. “And I’m Helen Keller.”

  “How’s my favorite witch?” Denny threaded her arm through Cassandra’s and walked her to the front door.

  “I’m great. How’s my favorite demon hunter?”

  “Better than I’ve been in a long time.”

  “So I’ve heard.” Cassandra pulled Denny closer. They were nearly the same height. “I heard you went to some really dark places, Hunter. It’s not easy to bounce back from those.”

  “Well, I seriously bounced back. I know my place now. I know what I should be doing with my life. Not many twenty-one-year-olds can say that.”

  Cassandra lightly played with Denny’s hair. “Tough way to go about knowing that, but well met. You are more balanced than when I last saw you.”

  “How can you tell?” Denny said, unlocking the front door.

  “I’m a witch. A very powerful witch, and I’ve had you on my radar since we first met. I know things others merely guess at. I know you’ve been skulking around in the darkest corners of Savannah. I know you have caused a great deal of suffering on the dark side. You’ve done your fair share of damage. That appears to be over for the time being. Welcome back.”

  After they entered the house, Denny led her to the kitchen where she poured two glasses of lemonade. “It’s good to be back, and yeah, I was pretty dark.”

  “Pretty dark? Hunter, you were on a mission of utter self-destruction. You cared not whether you lived or died. What brought you out of it?”

  Denny sipped her lemonade. “A girl named Iris came to me. She was being hunted by demons and needed help.” Denny poked an ice cube deeper into the lemonade. “I turned her down.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only woman you can so easily turn down.”

  Denny smiled. “Funny.”

  “Why did you reject her plea? That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

  “Because I’m an asshole.”

  Cassandra cocked her head. “Oh. Well, then there’s that. Continue.”

  “As you obviously know, after our encounter with those demons, I really went around the bend. I’ve recently returned from the bend and I have my head on straight now.”

  “Nice visit?”

  “I wouldn’t recommend it, no.” Denny smiled at Cassandra, the air filling with mutual admiration and attraction as they held each other’s gaze. “It was…hellish and bloody. In destroying them, I nearly wiped out my own humanity. Anyway.” Denny broke off her gaze. “The girl was beaten pretty badly and...there was an attempted rape.”

  Cassandra held her hand up. “Whoa. Slow down. One of your demons attacked this girl and tried to rape her?”

  “Not one of mine, but they were demons, yeah.”

  “Did it succeed? You say attempted.”

  Denny studied Cassandra’s unlined face. She was a beautiful woman with a sensuous mouth, high cheekbones, and a Roman nose that barely got noticed since her deep blue eyes were so penetrating and intense. “It did not succeed.”

  “But it was a demon after her.”

  “Yes. Kicked her ass and—”

  “Tell me more about this Iris.”

  Denny set her lemonade down. “There’s not much to tell, really. Comes from a wealthy family in Boston. She’s got a bunch of siblings. She—”

  “How many?”

  “What?”

  The air around Cassandra became very still. “How many siblings?”r />
  Denny thought for a moment. “Six.”

  Cassandra put her glass down and laid both hands on the table. The room became preternaturally still. “Did she say where she was in the birth order?”

  Denny noted Cassandra’s change in energy and tilted her head. “She told me but I wasn’t...I don’t remember.”

  Cassandra stood up straighter. “Take me to her.”

  “What? Now?”

  Cassandra was already headed for the door. “If you have time. If not, I’ll go on my own, but we need to get to that girl before they do.”

  Denny caught up to her. “They? They who?”

  “Come on. You’ll see, but we need to get moving. There is not a moment to waste.”

  ****

  When they arrived at the hospital, it didn’t take long before Denny understood Cassandra’s interest in Iris. It only took a few questions to clear that mystery from the table.

  When they entered the hospital room, Iris was sitting up and texting on her phone. When she looked up, fear started to cross her face until she saw Denny come in behind Cassandra.

  “Iris, my name is Cassandra. I’m a friend of Denny’s.” Cassandra reached her hand out for Iris’s. “Hunt…er…Denny told me you’ve had quite an ordeal. How are you feeling?”

  Iris cut her eyes over to Denny, who nodded that it was okay.

  Shaking Cassandra’s hand, she answered, “I’ve been better. It was pretty dicey there for a minute. What can I do for you?”

  Cassandra released her hand and leaned closer to her. “I’ll be brief. Denny tells me you have seven children in your family.”

  “Yes.”

  “All girls?”

  Iris frowned. “Yes, but—”

  Cassandra pushed away from the bed and took a deep breath. “Oh my.”

  “What?”

  Cassandra returned to the bed. “And you’re the last one born, aren’t you? The last one in the group.”

  Denny stepped up to the bed, her curiosity piqued.

  Iris cut her eyes over to Denny, who shrugged. “Cassandra is cool. I wouldn’t have brought her here if she wasn’t.”

  Iris swallowed. “Yes...yes, I am the baby in the family.”

  Cassandra clapped her hands together.

  “Wonderful. Oh my, but this is fantastic.”

  “Wonderful?”

  “Fantastic?” Denny asked.

  Cassandra reached for Iris’s hand once more and gazed deeply into her eyes as if searching for some cosmic truth. “Oh. I see. You don’t know. You really don’t even know.”

  “Know what?”

  The energy around Cassandra fairly crackled with her energy. “How many aunts do you have?”

  Iris looked again to Denny, who also looked confused by this strange line of questioning.

  “Two.”

  Cassandra frowned. “Your mother only has two sisters?”

  “No. My dad has two. My mother has none. She was adopted.”

  Cassandra inhaled deeply and smiled. “Oh my. I see. Well then. That makes complete sense. You are the genuine article, Iris.”

  “The genuine article?”

  Cassandra nodded. “My best guess is that you are the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.”

  “A what?”

  Cassandra then leaned over closer to Iris, her lips next to her ear. “You, my dear, are a true witch. A powerful witch.”

  Iris winced in pain as she quickly sat up. “A...a witch?”

  Cassandra nodded again, her eyes gleaming like she’d just plucked a diamond from manure. “Oh yes. The seventh daughters of seventh daughters are the truest, most potent of all witches.” She looked up at Denny with eyes on fire. “Which explains why the demons followed her down here.”

  Denny nodded once. “A cacodemon.”

  “Yes. A caco can be the only explanation.”

  “What are you two—”

  Denny took Iris’s other hand. “This might be a bit hard to hear in light of what happened, but I think…we think you need to know. A cacodemon’s job in the demon world is to impregnate humans, but this one found something that, coupled with his power, would have the potential to be amazingly powerful.”

  “Powerful, evil, and nigh unstoppable.” Cassandra added. “It’s well you did not allow him to finish the deed or we would be having a much different conversation.”

  “He didn’t get what he wanted so he beat her up.”

  Cassandra shrugged. “In an attempt to knock her out is my guess. He could have merely been angry that she sought you out, that she came down here. Maybe he was punishing her, but I’m quite certain impregnating her was the goal of the attack.” Cassandra’s eyes softened. “You did well fighting them off.”

  Iris blinked a few times.

  “So what now, Cass?” Denny asked. “If cacos are after her, they won’t stop until they get what they want,” Denny said. “And beating her up is not that.”

  “No. No. It isn’t. She is not safe here, either. She’ll be better protected in the coven. We can bring her there.”

  “C-coven? You want me to hide out with other witches? That’s your plan?”

  “Other witches will not only protect you, but will also make it difficult for him to find you. It’s a little like hiding a piece of straw in a bale of hay.”

  Denny stepped back slightly...the base of her skull tingling slightly. “Oh. Shit.”

  “Denny?”

  “Keep her safe. I’ll be right back.” As Denny pulled open the door, she felt it...or, more correctly, the Hanta felt it and was beginning to react.

  There was a demon—a very powerful one—nearby. Not a mid-level. Higher. Higher than any she’d faced. It was why the Hanta awoke so quickly. It felt it, too.

  Reaching into her vest, she pulled out only Epee. The quarters were too tight to bring out the more commanding Fouet.

  Starting down the white corridor, she watched a doctor disappear down the next hallway.

  The Hanta was fully awake now, as Denny lowered her head and walked faster, feeling the blood course through her veins as her heart beat faster.

  She let it.

  If this was more than a mid-level, she would need the Hanta’s strength. She would need everything it had to give her the edge. Denny was very clear that she was in a position where she had to go against Ames’s recommendations and warnings. She was being forced to let the Hanta take over, and even though that was very dangerous, in this case necessary.

  When the doctor disappeared through a set of double doors, Denny went through them as well.

  When she came to a lab door, she stopped. The door was locked. The demon was on the other side. She could practically smell him.

  Standing back, Denny looked both ways before lifting her left leg and kicking the door in, tearing out part of the doorframe. As her left foot landed and she regained her balance, she just barely caught sight of the flash of a scalpel as it cut through the air, slicing into her thigh. Blood instantly blossomed beneath her jeans. The stain spread alarmingly fast, but she paid no attention to it.

  “Motherfucker,” came the Hanta’s voice as Epee popped out, unsheathed, crackling, hot and ready for action just as Denny fell to the floor from the initial cut. Raising Epee up, she easily deflected the scalpel, knocking it from the demon’s hand where it clattered to the floor.

  “Stay outta this, hunter. It does not concern you.”

  The Hanta laughed as Denny rose, blood now covering her lower pant leg. She had receded into herself the moment she was cut, allowing the Hanta to assume complete control over her.

  Ames would not be happy.

  To be able to stand…to be able to defend herself with a wound in her thigh, she would have been in miserable pain. The Hanta, however, did not even acknowledge that she was cut.

  “Everything you do concerns me, you dickweed Magyar piece of shit. Tell your master to send better soldiers than the pissant likes of you.” The Hanta stepped toward the demon, who stepped
back, grabbing a glass beaker and throwing it at Denny.

  Epee once again deflected it. “That all you got?” The Hanta took a step on the cut leg and immediately regretted it. As the physical shell weakened, so did the Hanta. They were losing too much blood and the leg was weak. Denny barely managed to catch herself on the counter.

  The Magyar smirked. “It will be a pleasure telling him I defeated such an old bastard as you.” Pulling his own weapon from inside his lab coat, Magyar unleashed a crossbow made of pure light. It glowed in his hands and sent light out like a prism in all directions. “I’ll go down in the books for this simple kill. I can’t believe the others were incapable of taking you out.” Raising the crossbow he took aim and pulled the trigger. An empty click resounded in the room.

  Nothing happened.

  The Magyar appeared stunned.

  As Denny struggled for balance, a pair of hands reached under her armpits and yanked her to her feet. As Denny drew Epee back to strike the demon, Cassandra cried out, “No! Magyar is a spirit demon. He’s only possessing the host. You can’t strike or you’ll kill the doctor.”

  The Magyar attempted to fire again, Cassandra raised her hands and the crossbow flew from the demon’s hands.

  As Magyar tried to get to his crossbow, Cassandra moved Denny to the next lab and with a wave of her hand, closed and locked the door.

  “Iris—”

  “Is safe for now. Keep pressure on that leg. Don’t faint on me, hunter. I’ll be right back.”

  “No—you—can’t. It’s—” and as hard as Denny fought to maintain consciousness, she slowly faded away as Cassandra stormed out of the room full of fire and brimstone.

  ****

  When Denny woke up, she was in a comfortable yet unfamiliar bed. Quickly sitting up, she grimaced, remembering how her leg had been slashed by the demon.

  Pulling the covers back, she examined the wound. It looked days, not hours, old and there was a thin green poultice spread over it.

  “You’re in my home,” Cassandra’s voice wafted across the room. “Relax. I would say not to move around because you’d bust open my beautifully hand-crafted sutures, but you heal unnervingly fast. Remarkable. You barely needed them by the time I got you home.”