“Not finished. Be careful, though. No one acts purely out of altruistic reasons, especially not witches.”
Denny’s fork paused in mid air. “Not even you?”
Brianna sipped her coffee. “Not even me. You must be incredibly discerning about who you trust. You need better filters...a better guide. You need someone who cares only about your health and well being, who can guide you away from women such as Cassandra.”
Denny looked up at her. “Such as?”
“The same one you’ve always relied on. Rush.”
Denny swallowed. The burrito was delicious. “Rush?”
Brianna leaned forward; their knees touched. “Just because you two are no longer lovers doesn’t mean she’s abandoned you. Rush has always been your confidante, Denny. She has no ulterior motive and she’s a good judge of character.”
“Did Rush put you up to this?”
Brianna shook her head. “She didn’t have to, but yes. We spoke, and I don’t think you realize how deeply she cares for you.”
Denny set her fork down. “Sure I do.”
Brianna laid her hand on Denny’s thigh. “Do you? Do you know it was Rush who went to your mother and asked that she contact Valeria?”
Denny was speechless.
“Ah. I suspected as much when you thanked me for it.” She leaned closer. “You have no idea about the loyalty you inspire in people, and those who love you, like your friends yesterday, will risk everything for you. Everything. I don’t think you grasp the enormity of that responsibility within you. You cannot continue risking your friends’ lives. So far, you’ve been lucky, but there will come a time when that luck will run out.” She removed her hand. “It’s time for you to enter the dark world of the supernatural allied only with those who can navigate those waters with you. If you do not, you may very well lose those you love.”
Denny swallowed once more, thinking of how she’d already put Lauren and Victor in danger. “I...I appreciate your brutal honesty, Bri. I really do. And you’re right. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. I am here for you...always. I want you to know that. So is Rush. Trust her. Trust her instincts. She saved your life last night by helping to contact the only witch in Savannah who Asmodeus fears.”
Rush appeared suddenly. “Please don’t be mad.”
Denny realized she had made plenty of mistakes these last few months—mistakes that hadn’t yet cost her more than she could afford to lose, and that she had almost lost the best friend she’d ever had.
But it was time she stopped.
“God, Rush, I’m so sorry. No, I’m not mad. Of course I’m not mad. I’ve been fumbling and bumbling along, not really considering—”
“I just want to be part of your life, Denny. I want to watch out for you like I have been since you were a little girl. Please don’t push me away because we’re not lovers anymore.”
“I won’t.” Denny looked at Brianna. “So, how long have you two been in cahoots?”
“Is that important?” Brianna looked to Rush and Denny knew it was too late—she’d been ganged up on.
“I suppose not.”
Brianna rose and nodded. “Good. Now that that’s settled, I can return to work knowing we’ve screwed your head back on your shoulders, right?”
Denny stood and hugged her. “Right. Thank you. For everything.”
“You have a great many things you need to learn, Denny. When in doubt, trust this woman. She will never steer you wrong.”
When Brianna left, Denny turned back to Rush. “So, you went to my mom?” She chuckled slightly. “Will you ever cease to amaze me?”
“No, smarty pants, I won’t.”
“But Brianna?”
“Look, back when you were acting like a crazy person, she was so worried, tears sprang in her eyes when she spoke about you. I don’t know how you blew it, but you could have had a good thing with her. She adores you.”
“We’re just friends.”
“Yeah, but you could have been more. Much more. You’re just too dim to see it.”
“Yeah, well, she’s moved on, which is probably just as well.”
Rush shook her head. “She’s right about you needing a friend, you know? You can’t do this demon hunting gig alone.”
Denny nodded. “But I’m not alone, am I?”
Rush smiled. “No. You certainly are not. And you never will be.”
****
“Valeria, eh? Haven’t heard from her in a long time. She comes and goes at her pleasure. So, she sent the Magyar packing?” Ames sat next to Denny, his hand wrapped around a steaming coffee mug. “Good for her. Good for you.”
Denny nodded. They were sitting on the swing on his front porch. “He would have taken the Hanta and then killed me.”
“Yes, he would have. You’re lucky Valeria came to your aid. She is a very powerful witch with a lot of connections in the supernatural world. She and your mother were…well…they were more than allies. They were a team. The supernatural world of darkness fears her powers.”
“Powerful enough to scare higher-level demons—tell me about that.”
“Well, remember I told you that Asmodeus is found in several religious texts, from the Book of Tobit to the Bible? Although there are very few beings capable of summoning a demon as powerful as he, Valeria is one such being. To do so, however, would start a war no one would win, with the casualties being heaviest on the human side.”
“He won’t fight her?”
“Fight her? Oh no, Goldy, Asmodeus is a coward. That’s why he always sends his minions. He doesn’t want confrontation. My guess is he had no idea you were hooked up with Valeria. He’s dropped back to punt, but how far back remains to be seen.”
“He still has one ball in play.”
“Quick?”
Denny nodded. “But I’m about to knock that ball out of the stadium.”
“Your detective worth the money?”
“Every cent. I just have to get to the DA tonight to remind him what’s at stake.”
“Tonight? You so sure that’s wise? You’re pretty beat up.”
Denny inhaled deeply, her ribs reminding her of just how battered she was. “I need to end this and get Quick out of jail. Once I do that, I can get to the matter of proper training.”
Ames looked askance at her. “Proper training?”
“You’ve taught me so much on the fly, Ames, and for that, I am grateful, but it’s time I slowed down and learned all I need to know to do the job correctly.”
Ames looked hard into her eyes. “I have to say, I’m stunned you didn’t let it go. You had the chance to live the rest of your life demon-free.”
“I...couldn’t. Not to the likes of some creepy Magyar demon. When and if I am ever ready to let go of the Hanta, it will be when I am ready, and not a moment before.”
“Two weeks ago you would have.”
“Two weeks ago I wasn’t who I am now.”
“The demon hunter?”
“Damn straight, Skippy, and there’s one more thing this hunter needs.”
****
When the DA got out of his car, Denny was waiting for him in his garage.
“Holy shit, Silver, you scared the crap out of me. How did you get in here?”
“Not important. My detective gave you all the evidence she dug up, didn’t she?”
He nodded, his eyes looking left and right.
“You’ll file charges tomorrow against that scumbag. I’ll pay him a visit and make sure he stays in town and relatively safe.”
“I...I don’t know where he is. I’ve sent investigators out, but—”
Denny walked around the front of the car. “I don’t need you to. You see, I’ve got a pretty fucking awesome team to back me. I know every move he makes.” She stepped right up to the DA and growled. “And I want him incarcerated and my brother set free. Are we clear?”
He nodded. “You are…evil.”
Grabbing him by the throat, Denny lif
ted him off the ground as she shoved him against a cabinet. “No. Evil is incarcerating an innocent man in an effort to move your sagging career forward. What did the demon promise you? A senate seat? Congressman? What? What was my brother’s life worth to you?”
The DA, eyes watering, shook his head. “None. Nothing like that.”
Denny lowered him back to the ground. “What then?”
“My...my youngest is...sick. He…he promised to make her well.”
She released his neck. “You know he can’t really do that, right? Only by possessing her can he heal her.”
“But…but he said—”
“Demon’s lie all the time. All. The. Time. So whatever he promised you is never gonna happen. Dude, demons destroy, not repair. You should have hooked up with an angel or something.”
“Angels…I don’t—”
“Know any? Of course you don’t.” Denny shook her head as she backed away. “You make the murder charges stick to Counselor Jones and you can have your life back. You let me down and my brother remains in jail, it won’t be pretty.” She turned to leave, then stopped. “And I want you out of Savannah. Out of Georgia. I don’t care where you go, but you’re done here.”
As Denny started to leave, she heard the click of a chamber as it turned. Slowly facing him, she stared down the barrel of an old Colt.
“Seriously? You think shooting me will be an answer to your woes? Are you going to also shoot the detective, who knows I’m here? My friends, who know I’m breaking this case? And need I remind you what happened the last time you pointed a gun at me?” Denny moved so swiftly, the DA couldn’t squeeze the trigger before she knocked it out of his trembling hands.
“Dude. You so suck. I think I’ll just go in there and end your daughter’s life sooner rather than later.”
“No!”
Denny stopped. “Look, I’m giving you an opportunity to save your family and what do you do? You draw down on me. Who are you? The Mayor of the Town Bad Choices? Pull yourself together and get to work building a case against Tyler Jones. I want daily updates. You can email them to the University librarian.”
He nodded.
“And buck up, will you? If you ask me, you’re getting off easy. Most demons would have gutted you for setting their family member up. I’m letting you walk. I won’t be so kind next time.”
****
When Denny pulled away from his house, she turned on the locator app that would let her know exactly where Tyler Jones was.
And he wasn’t far.
Less than half an hour away, she found him in a cheap backwater bar drinking his sorrows away.
Sliding up next to him at the bar, Denny said, “This place is a dive.”
When Jones tried to push away from her, she slammed her hand down on his wrist, pinning him to the bar. “Make one sound other than answering what I ask and I’ll break your wrist on my way to every bone in your body.”
Jones curled his upper lip at her. “Don’t be a fool, Silver. You can’t possibly do anything to me in here.”
“Who said I wanted to do anything to you? It’s simple math, Einstein. I need you alive...but just you. Your demon needs to go bye-bye.”
“You’re kidding, right? You don’t have what it takes.”
“I don’t kid about demons, Jack, so I’m going to give you a couple of options here. One, you can just exit the host and we can call it a day.”
“Fuck you.”
“Okay. Two, I can rip you out of there and turn you to dust—”
“You’re no Magyar, Silver. Now, even your bluffs suck.”
“Or three, I can wait until the DA finishes up with the paperwork and has you arrested for Lisa’s murder. Decisions, decisions. Which will it be?” Denny released his hand and he snatched it back.
“I can have a dozen here to take you out, Silver, just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
“A dozen? Really? That’s all?” Denny leaned towards him. “Go ahead. Call ‘em. An audience will make taking you down that much sweeter.”
“You won’t kill me, Silver. You can’t. You think I’m going to take the fall for that murder? You must have bats in your belfry to think that, honey. You got nothin’.”
A slow, ugly smile slid across Denny’s face like a snake. “Tell you what—why don’t you and me go outside and let’s see just how much nuthin’ I’ve got?” Denny rose and tossed a twenty on the bar. “After you.”
As Tyler Jones headed out the door, Denny pulled one weapon from her vest.
The Saugen.
Outside, Denny faced the dozen or so demons Jones had threatened her with.
Separately, she would be able to crush each of them in under two minutes.
Combined, it would take a little longer.
Jones turned to her, his victorious grin displaying expensive veneers. “You overplayed your hand, Silver. You may be the new kid on the block, but you can’t take on fourteen of us.”
Denny tapped her palm with the Saugen. “Actually, I can. You see, I come from a long and infamous line of demon hunters. Centuries upon centuries of my people have cast you out of generations of victims.” Pulling the cylinder apart, she held each piece in her hand as the electrical arc connected, one to the other. “And each time, we get stronger and stronger.” She smiled. “Pretty impressive, eh?”
“Not as impressive as this.” He snapped his fingers and every demon and possessed individual before her pulled out a weapon of some sort.
“Goodbye, Golden Silver. Your infamous legacy ends here.”
As each demon raised his gun, Denny spread the electrical arc wide enough that when she snapped both arms, it sliced through all thirteen of those holding weapons on her. The Saugen reached into the human shell of each man and woman there and wrapped around the demon within, sucking them from their human hosts.
To a one, they each dropped their weapon and writhed in pain as the demon was slowly sucked from their bodies.
“What...what are you doing?”
Denny growled. “Killing thirteen birds with one really awesome stone.”
“The Saugen?” Jones cried. “She has the Saugen!” Jones took off running, leaving Denny to wrangle thirteen spirits from the bodies of the possessed. The task was far more difficult than she thought it would be, but as each screaming spirit writhed and twisted from the host, she felt the Saugen’s power increase. Denny could barely hold onto the ends of the weapon—they vibrated with such an energy and heat that it required everything she had to hang on.
But she did hang on and when the electrical live wire touched each man, the demons screamed louder as first their shoulders exited the bodies, followed by their hips, then their knees.
And that was the moment Denny knew this would test every skill Ames had shown her. Every single skill.
But she was ready.
When the spirits were nearly out, Denny slammed the two pieces together, drew Fouet, and whipped it over her head until she released it from its loop and, one-by-one, cut down the demon spirits as each one exited its host.
The first three were cut in half, their darkness pooling in a cloud of dark gray dust, the hosts collapsing like marionettes whose strings were cut.
Fouet was unerring in the next half dozen it whipped through, slicing necks, heads, shoulders and hips as it completed the circle by decapitating the final four just as their toes left the hosts.
Three of the hosts were dead when they hit the ground—Denny and Fouet struck too soon, killing both host and demon. The rest collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Denny paused a moment to look at the three dead bodies.
She’d just killed three basically innocent people. Possessed people.
Dead people.
Denny carried on.
When Fouet whipped back around and into the cylinder, Denny stood, chest heaving, looking at the dead as well as the living on the ground before her. The Saugen had done its job—not perfectly, not even well—but it wor
ked. Ten people saved from the demons within.
Ten.
But none of them were her target. She wanted Jones in a way that made her salivate. Well...the Hanta was salivating. Denny was busy running.
When she caught up to Jones, he was trying to back out of a parking place. Denny took eight strides before she was airborne and landed on the hood of his BMW. The metal dented where her feet landed. “Not even close, asshole,” came the Hanta’s voice.
All Hanta.
Jones gawked at her as she smashed the windshield, grabbed him by the lapels, and ripped him through the opening.
“Son of a bitch!”
Tossing him to the ground, Denny leapt down next to him and pulled him to his feet.
“You think you can set up my family and just walk away? Huh? You think you can just waltz in here and wreck my family without repercussion?” She punched him in the gut several times, knocking the wind out of him. She was still angry, and the Hanta wanted to keep punching him and punching him, but she caught herself and held back. “You’re right, you motherfucker, I can’t kill you. I need you...but I sure as shit can make sure you go to prison a hollow, empty shell.” Denny slammed him to the ground before pulling out the Saugen and sucking the demon from him. “No more power for you, asshole.”
The demon came out, met its fate at the bite from Fouet, and turned to smoke.
Jones rolled over on his hands and knees. “How...how did you...?”
Denny stood over him, fists clenched. “Because I’m the demon hunter, you son of a bitch, and I always will be.”
****
True to her promise to herself, Denny returned that evening to her lair, drew her blood and spent two hours writing about her last couple of days. It took three and a half vials of her blood to ink the entire story of her battles with the demons, but when she was finished, she knew she’d done the right thing.
She was no lone wolf, no matter how often it felt that way. She was actually part of a team that did its best to protect others from the evil walking the planet. She understood that much now—why writing was so important for all of them to do. She understood what Peyton had been trying to tell them in all his posts—that demons were multiplying and gathering forces.
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