Closing her eyes, she shook her head. “I’ll kill her before I let that happen.”
“Can we talk about this in person?”
“Sure. Of course. Is there anything else I need to know that you’ve not shared? I’m a big girl now, Ames. A true hunter. I am educating myself. I have good weapons. I need to know it all no matter how hard it hurts.”
“I understand that. Right now, just tell me you understand why I’ve kept this to myself.”
Denny pinched the bridge of her nose. “I do. Really I do.” Denny hung up and started to turn out the lights when she saw print slowly appearing in the Kill Book. Sitting back down, she waited patiently for the blood ink to become readable.
It was Peyton again.
“Damn, Dude,” she muttered. “You make the rest of us look like slackers.”
The ink was now solid and described a macabre scene much like the one Denny had faced the other night.
“Son of a bitch.”
It was a nearly identical story to hers—an incubus tracking his movements—surrounding him—attacking him—and being defeated by him. He needed to hear her story, so she sat down, drew her own blood, put it in a cartridge and began detailing her evening with the demons. She was very detailed—something she hadn’t been earlier, but she refused to let Peyton outshine her. So far, he’d killed nearly twice as many as she had. He was good.
She wanted to be excellent.
When she finished, Denny opened the fountain pen and removed the cartridge. She needed to improve at the demon hunter protocol—needed to do what Peyton did— but better. There was so much she hadn’t done well, so much she needed to be a part of.
If this guy Peyton could take the time to fill out the Kill Book, then so could she.
Denny wrote on a post-it, “Kill Book Now,” and stuck it eye-level on the roll-top desk. Then she set the fountain pen where she could more easily see it and the syringes next to the note. From now on, she would not be lame at the paperwork.
“There you go, Peyton. Just so you know, you’ve got competition.”
Locking her lair, she went downstairs and made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before donning her leather vest, jeans and Doc Martens.
Once in her car, Denny drove slowly through town as dusk settled in.
Her first stop was to the assisted living facility where her mother lived.
“Hi Mom,” Denny said, kneeling in front of her. Princess, her mother’s aide, had pushed the wheelchair up to the television that she always kept on the History Channel.
“I’m figuring a lot of shit out, Mom. I know why you’re like this now. You’re...in some kind of stasis, but I think I can figure out some way of freeing you. You know I have to try. This Asmodeus fuckwad seems to have some sort of vendetta against us. Well, I’m not going to let him win. I swear to God, if it’s the last thing I do, I’m taking that S.O.B. out.” Lightly touching her mom’s hands, Denny rose, kissed her on the forehead, and whispered that she loved her before heading back out to the parking lot.
When she was ten feet from the car, she stopped cold, staring at it in sudden discomfort.
“A Prius? Seriously?” Denny shook her head. “I need a much cooler car.” Denny made a mental note to ask Sterling for the checkbook. “An ass-kicking hunter needs an ass-kicking car.” Hopping in, she could not deny the change that was slowly happening to her. The Hanta’s presence was beginning to take root inside her, transforming her into the truest nature of what she carried within her. And it did not like the Prius.
As she drove through the city, her plan became solid and she knew she would have to attempt it, regardless of how dangerous it was. This wasn’t just about Quick any longer. This was about protecting her whole family, starting with her mother.
Her family needed her. Her friends didn’t even know they needed her, and the city of Savannah desperately needed her.
When she finally rolled by Brianna’s house, Denny stopped a few houses down the street before getting out.
Brianna’s safety was important to Denny, but she knew the real reason why she came by here every night. Rush had told her one of the witches would make a good partner for her. While she thought it would be Brianna, if that were so, why had Brianna so easily given up on Denny? Why had she moved on to someone else without so much as a conversation? And why was Brianna so angry with her when she’d been so understanding before, during Denny’s darkest hour?
Leaning against the small car with her questions weighing her down, Denny froze as the front door opened and Brianna escorted a tall, slender woman out to her car. Denny was too far away to make out the woman’s face, but when the two women hugged, Denny recognized the meaning and feeling behind it.
It was time for her to stop torturing herself. Brianna had something else going on. End of story.
As she pulled out, Denny was surprised when a single tear rolled down her face. “Over before it started. There’s a theme there. Maybe I should pay attention.”
Dialing Cassandra’s number, Denny waited for her to pick up.
“Hi, gorgeous. Is a late night call going to have an even later booty call?”
Denny hesitated a moment before replying. “Actually, this is business. I want to take you up on your offer. Can you summon the Magyar tomorrow night?”
“I can certainly try. You know the dangers. You still want to go ahead with it?”
“I do.”
“Then I’ll round up the women who can best handle a demon of that level.”
“Good, but not Brianna.”
“Excuse me?
“Not Brianna. I don’t want her there.”
The line was silent a moment.
“I see. I’m going to choose to believe that you don’t want her there because she’s seeing someone else and not because you’re still hung up on her and fear for her safety.”
“You can believe what you will. I just don’t want her there.”
“I understand.”
“I just need a face-to-face with that prick.”
“It’s not an exact science, but I believe we have the power to summon him to us as safely as possible. I think it’s a wise move.”
“You do? Why?”
“Your little Iris appears to be a very big power in our coven. It’s no wonder he wants her—”
“Then she’s strong?”
“No, Denny. I’m strong. Iris is powerful. Big difference. She has a lot of raw power and potential, but she doesn’t know what to do with it yet. She has a lot to learn, but for a summons, we need only that power. Trust me. Your Magyar will show once he senses her power there. Lust is an amazingly potent force..”
“Perfect. My house, then?”
“Ten o’clock. We’ll be there. Without Brianna.”
“Without Brianna. Thank you.”
The line was quiet for a moment.
“Hunter, you need to move on. She has.”
“I know. Thanks for everything.” Hanging up, Denny looked at the Google map on her I-phone and drove straight to the DA’s house.
It was time to tie up loose ends.
It was time to end that story.
****
Once the Hanta was engaged, Denny easily made it over the eight-foot high sheer stone fence surrounding the District Attorney’s home. Motion detectors were all over the place, as were flood lights and various alarms.
“Who are you so afraid of?” Denny whispered, easily avoiding the detection of the motion sensors. The Hanta allowed her to move so quickly, so stealthily, that she was able to get close undetected.
When she was finally at the back of the house, she brought Epee to life, cut the handle off the door and walked on in.
“Big, big mistake, Golden Silver.” Launching himself from the darkness, DA Carol knocked Denny out the doorway and down the steps.
When Denny jumped back on her feet, she stared down the barrel of a Colt forty-five.
A gun?
Denny grinned. �
�So you’re gonna make it look like the crazed sister of a man—an innocent man—you put away—came after you? Is that it?”
“Yep. You’re not as dumb as you look. See ya, Silver.” Just as he squeezed the trigger, a flash of light blinded him.
Denny shook her head, the light temporarily blinding her. She didn’t have time to figure out what the hell that was. She needed to get to the gun.
The bullet hit nothing and Denny was up the stairs and on him in no time.
“Motherfucker—” Denny growled, punching his face repeatedly with her left hand while her right hand wielded Epee. “You framed him!” SMASH. “You put a good guy in that shit hole!?” SMASH. “I ought to kill you right here.” SMASH. “Right now.” SMASH. Denny beat his face bloody. She broke his nose, his front teeth, and cracked his eye socket.
She was emotional, and that made her vulnerable. The Hanta had risen and was moments from complete control as Denny continued pummeling his face, turning it into hamburger. “God damn you, motherfucker! Stop. Messing. With. My. Family!” As she hit him again, she realized he wasn’t possessed…at least, not at this moment…that’s why he used a gun.
“Please...”
“Begging is pathetic. You are pathetic.” Denny split his eyebrow open. Blood was everywhere. She knew she should get control of the Hanta, but god, she was so angry. “Come after my family, you bastard.” SMASH. “Oh, hell no!” Taking Epee in both hands, Denny raised it above her head. “I’m gonna enjoy eating your darkness you sack of shit.”
“Baby, stop! Please stop! You can’t kill him!”
Denny blinked. She blinked again and then looked up to see Rush’s light pierce through the darkness.
The flash of light that had saved her...had been Rush.
“Rush?” Her sudden appearance made Denny shove the Hanta aside. “What…what are you doing here?”
Rush hovered just above the DA “Stop. Think. You need him alive, remember? You can’t kill him—you’ll have nothing. Get control, baby, please. Before you kill him.”
As if waking from a deep sleep, Denny looked at her pose, at Epee, at the DA, and slowly climbed off him, still keeping Epee at his throat. “Consider yourself lucky, asshole, or you’d be a candidate for the Headless Horseman Club.” Pushing him back into the house, Denny followed with Rush right behind.
“You don’t have any idea—” he began.
“Oh, sure I do. I know precisely who your jacked up boss is. He’s sure got his hands in a lot of cookie jars, huh?” Denny motioned for him to sit on the sofa. “What did he offer you? The DA votes?”
“You may kill me, Silver, but he’ll tear you and your family apart. You are not nearly strong enough to defeat him.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“Then just kill me already,”
Denny hovered over him. “Not afraid of dying?”
He glared at her. “Not afraid of you.”
Denny made a “tsk-ing” sound as she half-turned to walk away before executing a perfect spin kick, connecting her left heel to his left temple. He slumped down on the couch, out cold.
“Come on, baby, you have to get out of here. This is a bad, bad idea. This entire house is wired.”
Denny looked at Rush. If possible, she seemed...older.
“Get out of here? Oh, hell no, Rush. I’ve only just started. Keep an eye on him, will you? Holler if he wakes up.”
“Where are you going?”
As Denny ran up the stairs, she replied, “To get collateral.”
Collateral was a ten-year-old blonde girl was named Jilly. Minutes later, Jilly lay on the sofa, still asleep about ten feet from where her father slowly came to.
When he saw his daughter, his eyes grew wide and his energy changed drastically as he struggled to get up. “You…you fucking bitch…”
“Golden Silver...I...I can’t believe you would do this to a child,” Rush whispered.
“Do what? Use his pawn pieces as he’s used mine? Sorry, Rush, but this demon hunting gig is a demon-eat-demon world. Now, I appreciate your help in this, but maybe it’s time you go...”
Rush’s face fell. “This...this isn’t the Denny I know and love.”
“No, this is the demon hunter you don’t know and can’t love. There are no rules to this game, Rush. My brother is innocent and the only two people who can set him free are demons. So forgive me if my grabbing hostages upsets you.”
“Hostages...” The DA sat up, hand to his head, trying to focus on the scene before him.“Jilly?” He started to rise, but Epee shot out of the cylindrical sheath and right up against Jilly’s throat.
“My god, Denny—” Rush said, her hand going to her mouth.
“Beat it, Rush. I know what I’m doing.”
Rush hesitated a moment before slowing vanishing.
“So, here’s the deal. It is a one-time-only offer. You tell me where that piece of shit Tyler Jones is and I’ll spare your daughter. He’s not at his house anymore, and his car is gone. I’ve checked.”
The District Attorney blinked with his one good eye. His face looked like bloody hamburger.
“Tick-tock, asshole. Where. Is. Tyler. Jones?”
“He took off as soon as he knew you were looking for him. You’re crazy. You know that, right? You’ve let that dem—”
“Took off? Fucking coward. Both of you, and that’s a shame, because without his whereabouts, Jilly here will be dead before her head hits the ground.”
“You son of—”
“Me?” Denny roared in a deep voice that was not hers at all. “You come after my family—you use your position to incarcerate an innocent man, and you think I’m the evil one? Fuck you.”
“Don’t hurt her. Please.”
Denny raised Epee. “Come on. We both know you don’t give two shits about this kid. And if you don’t, neither do I.”
“She...she’s innocent, Silver. She’s done you no harm.”
“Right. Just like Quick did you no harm, but you came after him anyway. What did you earn for your loyalty to the great Asmodeus? What is your child’s life worth?”
There was a slight pause before the DA wiped his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. “He’s in Garberville about three hours south. At the Peach Tree Motel. That’s the best I can do. Please, don’t hurt her.”
Denny moved Epee away from Jilly’s throat. “That was step one. Step two is you telling me how you’re going to pin this murder on Jones, because until my brother walks out of there a free man, there’s no place you or your family can hide from me. No place. There are no demons strong enough to keep me from taking from you what you’ve taken from me. You understand me? I’ll skin her alive and wear her flesh as a hat if you fuck me over. Understand?”
The DA nodded quickly. “I...I never realized—”
“That making deals with a demon meant handing your life over? Oh, counselor, counselor, you know better than that. You’re fucked. The only question remains, have you fucked your family as well?”
“I didn’t know...had no idea—”
“That we’re real? What? Did you think he was the only one? Did you think there wouldn’t be payment? You’re dumber than a bag of rocks.”
“That...that voice...”
Denny laughed a sound like pebbles in a blender. “Yeah, well, as you can see, all is not as it appears. Now, once I get Tyler Jones back here, you will re-open the case against my brother and build one against Jones.” Denny threw out the only bluff she had. “I know you both were there that night, but only one of you left through the front door.” She waited. Everything hinged on if she was right.
“That was him. The idiot thought Asmodeus would protect us or some shit like that.”
“But you can pin this on him, can’t you?”
The DA nodded vigorously. “Yes. Yes I can.”
“Excellent. Then I need him alive and back here where he can go to trial.” Denny brought Epee back toward Jilly. “I don’t have to tell you wh
at will happen if you let me down, but I will anyway. I’ll destroy everyone you’ve ever loved. Your wife, your daughter, your brothers, your parents, even your mistress. Oh yes, I know about her as well. I will tear through your life like a tornado until you’re the only one standing. Then, I’ll take your arms and your legs and leave you to live like a human stump for the rest of your life. Get the picture?”
He nodded, eyes wide with fear and the realization that he had drastically underestimated Golden Silver.
“Say it. I want to hear that you understand what is at stake here.”
“I understand.”
Denny flicked her wrist and Epee disappeared once more. “Anything happens to my brother while he’s incarcerated and the same results apply to your loved ones. My family stays safe or your family dies.”
He nodded again. “Clear. But—” He shook his head.
Denny tilted her head to one side. “But what?”
“He...he’ll kill me any way once he knows I’ve betrayed him.”
Denny nodded. “True, but if I can get to him before he gets to you, then it’s a win-win. Otherwise, you’re just a dick dragging a body around.”
“You...you can kill him though, right?”
“You sure as shit better hope I can, because your house is the first place he’ll come when he realizes what’s going down.”
“Then he’ll kill me.”
“He will when he no longer needs you, so you would do well to keep this under wraps until it’s too late for him to kill you. Your death needs to make zero difference to him—maybe then he’ll leave you alone—but truthfully, I couldn’t care less. Every day you live beyond today is a gift...a gift I gave you.” Denny started for the back door and took one step before turning back around. “And if one cop shows up at my door, you’ll all be dead by sundown. My reach in this city is far and wide. You best remember that.” Denny continued for the door.
“Silver?”
She stopped. “What?”
“Jones is...he’s a...”
“A demon? Yeah. I know. You leave him to me. You just build your case as quickly as you can...as if your life depends on it.”
“Because it does.”
Denny nodded again. “Yes...it does.”
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