by Dora Blume
“Don’t worry Sloane, I’ll take care of it. Just make sure you’re back here tonight.” Erik went over to unchain David, so she’d leave him to it.
Sloane went upstairs and found Amy asleep on the sofa. She shook her gently. “Come on Amy wake up we can go home now.” Sloane shook her again, “Amy wake up.”
“Oh, oh yeah hey Sloane how’d it go?” Amy yawned and stretched her arms above her head.
“Good, but now we can go home. You ready?” She picked up Amy’s purse on the ground and handed it to her.
“Oh yeah, I’ve never been more ready to go home in my life.” She looked outside, and the sun was just beginning to come up over the horizon. “Wow, we’ll be home just in time for the new day to start.”
“Yeah, well I don’t know about you, but I plan on sleeping much of that new day away.”
Sloane walked to the door and Amy got up and followed. Sloane got in the car and gave the driver their address. They were back at their apartment in just a few minutes. Amy laboriously walked up the stairs. She was beat, and she hadn’t even done whatever Sloane had done with Erik. She had fallen asleep on the couch.
“So, what was the errand, anyway?” Amy wasn’t sure she wanted to know but couldn’t stop the question from coming out of her mouth.
Sloane stopped short on the stairs thinking back to the electrical shocks and the young man in the chair. “Oh, nothing really, just had to get a bit of information. That’s all”
“Oh, what was all the fuss about then?” Amy asked confused.
“Erik likes to make a big fuss over everything. That’s just who he is." Sloane reached the top and said, “Well I’m beat I’m going straight to bed.”
“Yeah, me too.” Amy went to her room and kicked off her shoes. She didn’t even care that she was wearing what Sloane called pajamas, she was too tired to care. Her head met the pillow, and she was out in minutes.
Chapter 4
Sloane woke up before Amy and tiptoed around the apartment, so she wouldn’t wake her. She didn’t think Amy needed to be involved in her Shikari life. Hell, she didn’t even know what was going on yet. The intern had told them that some woman came to him then he was possessed. She thought back to the details the demon had shared as she contemplated which weapons she should take with her to her childhood home. It was all a lot to process. She grabbed her dagger, sheathed it in her boot and placed her pistol in the back of her belt. She’d been well trained when she was a child. Fighting was the part she’d enjoyed about being Shikari. She admitted to herself she had fun torturing David yesterday. It gave her a rush she hadn’t felt in a while.
She had a sinking feeling in her gut, her foresight hadn’t been reliable lately and she knew it had to do with her own disconnect. She didn’t want to let her father or brother in on her issues. Her power was the reason they’d found her. She wanted them to think everything was fine. She knew better though, the things that she was seeing of the future were jumbled. Not the images and scenes she’d seen all her life. These were different and took some time to decipher. The only reason she knew Erik was coming for her at the bar was because she’d seen random flashes of that night at many different times and was able to piece it together. This wasn’t normal, and she needed to figure out what was wrong. Especially if the demon was telling the truth, and they were actually coming together. Demons didn’t organize; they’d always been predictable in their unpredictability. They spent most of the time fighting each other and that’s why they were never able to plan anything. They’d just as soon kill each other as to hear each other out. This was all very strange, and they needed to get to the bottom of it and stop it before they did any real damage.
Sloane pulled up to her childhood home. Her heart contracted as she took in the bleeding hearts planted along the side of the house. An image of her mother bent, planting those bushes threatened to overwhelm her. She took a deep controlled breath and stared at the front of the garage. Every time she thought of this house she had a rush of memories that engulfed her. She’d grown up here. It was hard for her to confront those memories. She walked slowly up the sidewalk and paused a moment, hand outstretched toward the door handle. She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath before she entered the house. She couldn’t keep falling apart every time she came here. She didn’t want either Erik or her father to see her weakness and pain. She drew on her strength and put on the brave face she knew they’d expect before walking through the door. She was the strong rebellious girl that ran away from this life for good reason. She had to gather her strength now and use it to get through this. She could leave them again when this was over; in fact, she planned to leave again as soon as possible. She turned the door handle slowly, but it opened before she began to push. She stepped back startled, her father Bryant stood in the open doorway.
“Hello dear, do come in. I was becoming increasingly concerned about you standing all alone out here.” He motioned for her to come in. “Please, my dear, do sit down. I’ll fetch you a cup of coffee.”
Sloane moved and sat next to Erik. He was stretched back in his chair watching her closely. He had a pair of dark jeans and black t-shirt on, his leather jacket was lazily draped on the back of the chair. He smirked at her when she finished assessing him. He leisurely reached a hand to clasp his mug and moved to take a drink before stretching back again with one leg outstretched in front of him.
Bryant handed her the cup and sat at the head of the table. “So, with what we know what do you think our next plan of action should be?”
“Well, I think we shou…”
Bryant cut him off, “Actually I would like to entertain your sister’s ideas for a moment son.” He moved his eyes to study Sloane. She wished that she’d picked something more badass to wear rather than her own t-shirt and jeans. She didn’t know she’d be under this kind of scrutiny from her own father.
“Ugh,” Erik scowled at his father and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, I think we need to find out the identity of the woman David mentioned. She’s the one who came to him and then he was possessed. She seems like she’s the one planning everything. I think she should be our next mark.” Sloane sipped her coffee. She didn’t care what they thought of her ideas. She kicked back in her chair and put her foot up on the one next to her.
“That’s an excellent start.” Bryant looked to Erik, “Do you have any information on the alleged woman that this man spoke of?”
“I got a little from his thoughts. I could canvas the capital and see what I can dig up. Question David’s friends maybe.” Erik looked to Sloane, “or you could just do your thing and tell me who she is, save me the trouble.” He smirked, eyeing Sloane’s reaction.
“Actually,” she paused looking Erik up and down, “I think we should check out the capital anyway as well as where David went to school. She wanted him to be an intern, so she probably found him at his school. That would be a good place to start.” Sloane ignored what he’d said about her power.
“Fine, let’s go then. I’ll just have to use my powers since yours are apparently useless.” Erik huffed as he grabbed his jacket off the chair and stalked out the door.
“Sloane, is there anything you need to tell me? I could sense your unease at Erik’s question,” Bryant asked.
“No, why?” she looked startled but quickly righted herself and smiled.
“Just a feeling that’s all.” Bryant studied her a moment. “You know you’re safe here with family. We’ll stand by you no matter what.” He stood and moved toward her. He reached his hand out to her, and she took a step back.
“Yeah right, I almost believe you. I have work to do.” She stormed out the door after Erik. She hated that her father had the ability to read people’s emotions, especially when he used it on her.
Chapter 5
Erik sat in his Audi waiting for Sloane. Sloane slammed the door and walked to the car. “Why aren’t we taking the car with the driver?” She asked.
“I like to drive, and I’m not sure where we’re headed yet.” Erik revved the engine.
“David’s school, I assume you know where that is.” Sloane glanced over at Erik
“Of course, I know where he went to school. I have a power too you know.” He set off at high speeds down the street toward David’s school.
“Just checking.” She glanced from his hands gripping the steering wheel to his intense eyes focused on the road. She could see the tension he held around his eyes and the tightness in his arms.
“Yeah right,” he said as he flew around a corner at a high speed nearly hitting another car. Sloane’s body hit the door, and she rubbed her arm.
“So, do you follow traffic laws, or do you consider them suggestions?” Sloane braced herself grabbing the bar above her head.
“Suggestions, I told you I like to drive.” All his focus was on the road.
“Yes, I can see that.” Sloane braced herself for the next corner. He flew down River Road as if there were no one else on it. Sloane watched the surprised and infuriated faces as they passed.
“Seriously, you need to drive normal. I think you’re freaking everyone out.”
“They’ll be fine.” Erik grinned devilishly as he pulled into a parking spot near the fraternities.
“Either way, you’re drawing unnecessary attention.” Sloane looked around. “What are we doing here?”
“David was a brother here. These guys would know him best.” Erik got out of the car, “Are you coming?” he paused outside of the car before shutting the door.
“Yes,” she scrambled out of the car. “So why did we park way over here? The fraternity houses are blocks that way.” She started walking to catch up to Erik.
“There’s no parking over there.” Erik quickened his pace.
Sloane caught up with him. “What’s your deal?”
“Nothing let’s just get this over with.” He looked straight ahead with a single focus.
“I need to know if there’s something wrong or we aren’t going to be able to work together.”
“Really?” he stopped abruptly on the street and faced her, “Like you ever gave a shit, you left remember, not me. Since when are you even interested in any of this. The only reason you’re here is because I found you in the club. Now, everything’s about you.” Erik balled his hands into fists at his sides.
“Yes, you found me because you needed me. Don’t forget that. So, is that what you’re mad about? You think I came back to steal your thunder. I promise you that’s not why I’m here.” She looked him in the eye drawing her mouth into a thin line.
“Why are you here, Sloane?” Erik shifted his weight to one foot and waited.
“Because I know you guys need me otherwise, you wouldn’t have found me.” Sloane put her hand on her hip and continued. “I promise as soon as this is over, I’m outta here. You can be the golden child once again.”
“That’s what you think I care about, being the golden child. I couldn’t care less about that. You left me too you know.” His voice dropped low, “I lost her too. You didn’t care about that you only cared about yourself when you deserted us. I did what needed to be done, someone had to continue fighting. Your leaving hurt. You never think about anyone but yourself.” Erik turned away. He couldn’t look at her right now.
Sloane was stunned, he was right. She hadn’t even thought about him when she left. He’d always been so strong, despite being her younger brother it felt like he took care of her at times. Now he was telling her it hurt him when she left. She was speechless.
Sloane took a deep breath before speaking, “I’m sorry I hurt you. I had to leave. I couldn’t take living there anymore after she died. I couldn’t continue with the Shikari. I was angry, and I didn’t think about it. I just ran and never looked back and I’m sorry if that hurt you.” She reached a hand out to take his. He looked at her hand and took a step back quickly, narrowing his eyes. He turned and began walking briskly.
“Aren’t we going to talk about this?” she asked as she caught up to him.
“No, we have a job to do. There’s too much to deal with and we need to find out who this woman is.” Erik’s back was straight as a board as he walked, he was full of determination and focus.
Sloane shrugged, if he could push it back so could she. They had work to do, he was right. She just hoped there weren’t any demons around to take advantage of their fragile state.
“Ah… so do you have a plan or are we just going to walk in the door and start interrogating?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Erik didn’t slow his pace.
“Do you think that maybe you should figure that out before we get to the door?”
“I like to wing it,” he smiled at her. For a moment she felt like they were kids again but then she remembered that they weren’t kids, and this wasn’t some game they were playing. If they made the wrong move, they could end up dead. She could never forget that fact.
“Can we not do that? I would like to have some kind of plan before we get to the place. I mean what if there are numerous demons in there waiting for us?” Sloane wasn’t all that concerned, but it would be nice to have some information before they went barging through the door.
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Erik smirked, knowing that would get to her.
She huffed, “Um, I want to live a little longer. Please stop so we can talk about this.”
“Don’t worry so much, I can read their thoughts. Remember? I’ll let you know if anything is wrong, but I need to be close enough to hear them inside.” Erik continued his hurried pace.
“Oh, so you do have a plan then.” Sloane was relieved.
“Well, not exactly but I can hear their thoughts which comes in handy sometimes.” He smiled his crooked smile at her. He couldn’t help it he wanted her to be the fun, playful girl he remembered. Now she was being uptight, and he didn’t like it. If they were going to work together, she needed to loosen up. She needed to be ready at a moment’s notice and realize that planning was worthless in their line of work. Shit happens; she needed to be ready when it did.
Erik stopped short of the fraternity row and leaned against the fence. He lit a cigarette from his pack and listened to the voices inside.
“You can hear them from here?” Sloane was impressed.
“Yes, now hush I need to focus.” He closed his eyes for a moment. He became very calm as if he’d left his body and went somewhere else.
Sloane looked around to see if any of the people passing noticed them. She didn’t think anyone cared as they passed which was good. She waited for him to finish so he could tell her their next step. She closed her eyes and attempted to draw forth a vision, but nothing happened. She usually needed to be jolted into it and she didn’t have any control. When she touched someone with a strong presence, she could get something from them but lately she hadn’t even been able to do that. She was glad that Erik had worked on his and had become controlled in their time apart.
Erik finally came to and looked at Sloane. “We have a problem,” he said sternly.
“See, this is why we need a plan.” She cocked her head to the side and smirked but when she took in the taut features on his face she paused. “What is it?”
“Well, these guys have some dirty minds,” Erik laughed.
Sloane hit him in the arm. “What the hell, Erik!”
“You started it. You looked so serious at the end. I had to do it. We do have a slight problem though.” Erik became serious; he couldn’t help jibing his sister when he had the chance.
“So, what the hell is the problem, Erik?” she was annoyed with him for outwitting her.
“There are a few lower level demons in there. Not sure why though. If they are going to possess college students why haven’t they taken the whole fraternity? I can only sense two which doesn’t make sense to me.” Erik stared perplexed at the house.
Sloane leaned back. “You’re right this doesn’t make sense. Why are they tar
geting college students in the first place? If they’re going to take over the government or whatever to cause mayhem, why aren’t they going after higher officials? They’re just students. I don’t get it.”
“Ah, I think you struck something important sis. They aren’t there yet. Maybe that’s the key. They’re possessing students that will get them what they want when they finish school.” He put his hand to his chin and stroked it, contemplating the demons' motives.
“Oh yeah, so possessing students they can get to do their bidding when they get to a certain position, oh that’s crazy, that means they’re thinking long term and if they’re thinking that far into the future, we’re fucked. Who’s keeping them together and who’s got the master plan?” Sloane spoke hurriedly.
“Yeah if that’s the case we definitely are fucked. This is unlike anything we’ve ever dealt with. Maybe there’s a new breed of demon here.”
“So, are we going in to take out the two or what?”
“Or what, I want to know why these two were chosen, maybe we can learn something about who’s pulling the strings.”
“Okay, are we just going to stand out here then? I think we should get the car and find a little less conspicuous place to watch from.” Sloane looked around at the busy street. Right now, they were just standing there, she figured if they kept this up too long someone would get suspicious.
“I agree we need to find somewhere else, but I promise we could stand here all day and no one would blink an eye. We’re in the city, no one pays too much attention to anyone else here. Since when did you get so paranoid?” Erik flicked his cigarette onto the sidewalk and stepped on it before he started walking back to the car.
Sloane’s phone vibrated in her pocket, she knew who was calling and grabbed it out to silence it.
“Why don’t you just answer her call?” Erik asked. “You already got her involved she might as well stay involved.”
“Oh really? Why did you suggest she stay in the other room last night instead of having her join us downstairs?” Sloane glared at Erik, but he stared forward. “Exactly.”