by Dora Blume
“Thinking pretty hard over there. Are you okay, love?” Mike’s voice was light. He knew her history, and the many secrets she hadn’t shared with anyone else.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about what life would be like if we could settle down. Maybe even live normal lives even if it’s only for a little while.” She sighed.
“Oh,” Mike said surprised. “I guess I never thought about settling down, but I technically already have. I have my bar, which is the one place I can always go. It’s my home. What made you think about all that, love?” She felt his eyes on her.
“I don’t know. Just thinking about my mom, and all the traveling we did when I was younger. Then, all the traveling I’ve done since I started fighting for the Shikari. I have a great offensive and defensive power, so I thought I might never get to settle down.” She looked down to her intertwined fingers in her lap.
“Oh, love. I’m sure you’ll get to settle down at some point. They can’t keep you running forever. Even the Shikari have limits. I’m sure you’ll get the normal life you desire.”
“I hope you’re right. Especially since, right now, we don’t know what the hell is going on, and demons seem to have the upper hand.” Jessie rested her chin on her hand. She leaned against the door of the car and stared out the window, dreaming of another life.
Chapter 12
Erik looked up after strapping the boy to the chair with zip ties. Caroline strode into the room. She stopped in front of the boy and put her hand on her hip. “Why haven’t you woken him up yet?”
“I was waiting on you. Do you have everything?” he walked over to the items she set on the table.
“Yes, I doubt we’ll need anything other than a few words, and a good old-fashioned knife. This kid isn’t going to take much.” She knelt in front of the kid. She snapped a capsule under his nose. The boy’s head flew up in an instant. Caroline smiled wide.
“Ah, there he is. I know you want to tell us where they took our friend.” The corner of her mouth crooked up as he tried to pull his arms up, then looked down to the restraints.
The boy shook his head, “Friend? What are you talking about?” His eyes dilated realizing where he was.
“Oh? You don’t know what I’m talking about. I believe I need to speak to the demon. I challenge the demon to address me.” She spoke with such conviction.
Erik walked over to Caroline, “What are you doing?”
“Shush, I know what I’m doing.” She waved his hand for him to go away.
Erik narrowed his eyes but nodded. He didn’t like stepping back, but she was the leader here and outranked him. Suddenly, a thought entered his mind. You’re too emotional. This is your sister. Trust me. He looked shocked. Another thought came abruptly. You block people’s thoughts. I don’t, and I can send you thoughts.
Ah... okay, he thought, and she nodded in his direction. She turned her focus to the boy.
“What’s your name?” Caroline asked.
“I am the demon, Orzal.” The demon cackled. “Did you mean the pesky human, or wait, Shikari? His name is unimportant to me. Are you angry that I wear one of your own?” His eyes stalked Caroline.
“No, because you won’t be there for long. So, are you going to tell me what I want to know?” She stared down the demon.
“Ha, that’s what you think. I will come back. I have marked this Shikari vessel. I will be able to find him again.” His lips curved into a wicked smile.
“I’m going to ask this one last time.” She took a knife from the table and ran her finger down the curve of the blade. “Where did they take my friend?”
“Denver, bitch. That’s all you’re going to get out of me. I hope she’s possessed before you get to her. We have plans for all of you worthless humans.” He spat through clenched teeth.
Erik reacted instantly. He bolted toward the demon hand outstretched. He wrapped his fingers around the demon's neck and pushed the demon, and the chair against the wall with a loud crack.
“Erik! Stop!” Caroline yelled as a large crack spread up one of the chairs legs leaving the demon hanging from Erik’s hand.
“No, I’m done. I want to know where the hell my sister is, now.” He looked vehemently at the demon. He tightened his fingers around his neck.
“Fuck you.” The demon spat.
Erik squeezed tighter. “I will snap your neck with my hands. I don’t care about the boy you are in. We are Shikari, and we are born ready to die for our creed. Can you say the same demon?” Erik’s eyes narrowed, and his fingers tightened.
“Put him down Erik,” Caroline demanded.
“Not until he tells us what we want to know.” Erik held the eyes of the demon.
“Well, let’s see what this boy can take, shall we?” Caroline held a small taser in her hand. “I don’t think it will take that many volts to make this one talk.” She eyed the demon levelly, and Erik dropped the chair back against the wall.
“Bitch do whatever you want I’m not telling you anything,” he spat.
She tested the taser in her hands, and her eyes widened at the blue sparks that shot from the end. She held the taser to the demon’s neck “What do you think will happen if I touch this button here?” She stroked her finger over the button so the demon could see. The demon’s eyes widened momentarily, then narrowed on her.
“Do it, Bitch.”
She shrugged, “If you insist.” She pressed the taser against the skin of his neck and hit the button. The demon convulsed momentarily and slumped in the chair. “So, are you ready to talk now?”.
“Fuck you, Bitch.” The demon spat as he straightened his back in the chair.
“Okay, I guess we’ll try that again. Maybe I will have to up the juice.” She adjusted the taser and touched the demon's skin again, holding a few moments longer than before. The demon screeched as he convulsed. When the shock stopped, he slumped forward, drool dripping from the side of his mouth.
“You ready to talk, yet?” Caroline asked. She peered over to Erik.
“They’re taking her to the warehouse district in Denver. Forest Street, 3890 Forest street. Go ahead, Bitch, go get her.” he cackled.
She looked to Erik, call them, let them know where she is. I’ll take care of the demon. Erik nodded and rushed out of the room.
“Ha, bitch, it’s a trap. We’ll get even more of you worthless hunters. You think you can stop us, but you’ll never stop us.” He threw his head back in a villainous laugh.
Caroline stopped, holding the taser in front of the demon. She hit the button, sending sparks from the tip. “What do you mean, it’s a trap?” she asked.
“It’s a trap, bitch. We are leading you there, all of you. It’s why we took the girl. She was a means to get all their powers. Mr. Hall watched the others outside while you were on your tour. He knew the powers they possessed, and he wanted them for himself. Now, he will have them. Master will be proud of me for delivering even more powers to him. I’ll be rewarded.” He laughed again, eyes alight.
She touched the taser to his neck and hit the button holding it there until she saw liquid pooling on the floor at his feet. He slumped forward again. Eyes closed. Caroline looked at the boy who passed out after the shock and huffed. She ran out into the hallway. “Erik, Erik! It’s a trap. They need to know it’s a trap.” She looked both ways down the hall, but he wasn’t there. She sent out a message telepathically. Erik, It’s a trap. You have to tell them it’s a trap. They want all of them. She raced up the stairs to find him.
She stopped in front of Erik who made it to the door. “Hey, what’s going on?” his eyes widened at Caroline. She was panting from racing around to find him. She bent with one hand on her thigh to catch her breath.
“It’s a trap. You need to call and tell them it’s a trap.” She raised to stare into his eyes.
“What? A trap? I just got off the phone with Jessie. They are on their way to the warehouse.”
“Call them; they can’t go in by themselves. They ne
ed help. The demon said it’s a trap. They saw you guys at the school. They want to possess all of you for your powers. You need to stop them. They can’t get either Mike or Jessie. They’ll be able to track and freeze us in a battle. They can’t get Jessie or Mike. We’ll be screwed. Erik, stop them.” She looked into his eyes.
“Okay, okay I get it. I’ll call.” He picked up his cell and dialed Jessie. It went straight to voicemail. “Shit, it’s going to voicemail. Her phone must be dead. I’ll try Mike.” He dialed Mike’s number. It rings twice and goes to voicemail. “What the hell. It shouldn’t go to voicemail that fast. I’m going to call Bryant. Send in reinforcements. If anything, they can still get Sloane, but not walk into the trap alone.” He dialed Bryant.
“Good plan. I’ll call a few friends and send them their way. Maybe we can warn them before they go in.” Caroline went to her office to get her phone.
Erik turned toward the door. He wanted to be moving, but he needed to warn them. If it’s a trap, they’re in danger. Bryant picked up. “Hey, Sloane got kidnapped, and Mike and Jessie are about to walk into a trap. You need to stop them.”
“What? Sloane was taken? How could you let that happen, son?” Erik could hear the disappointment in his voice.
“Yeah, I can’t give you all the details, right now. Jessie and Mike are following the demons who took her. They are about to go to a warehouse at Park Hill, Northeast. You need to stop them before they go in. The demons are trying to get their powers. We absolutely can’t let them get Mike or Jessie’s powers. We’d have a hell of a time stopping them.” Erik explained.
“We need to get your sister away from them as well. If they can see the future, they’ll know when we’re coming. I’ll immobilize everyone here. Will you be coming to Denver, son?”
“Yes, Caroline and I will be on our way. I’m going to keep trying to warn Jessie, but you need to get there. Stop them, Bryant. The address is 3890 Forest street. Bryant, you need to stop them, please.” Erik’s voice was panicked. He couldn’t believe he let this happen.
“It will be done. I will stop them.” Bryant hung up the phone.
Erik rushed to find Caroline. He flipped through his contacts to find Jessie again. He hit send on the phone as soon as he got to her name. “Oh God, Jess, please pick up.” He strode through the door of Caroline’s office. The phone kept going to voicemail. “Shit, Jess, what the hell?” He huffed a frustrated breath.
Caroline looked up from her call. “I got a hold of my friends. They’re on their way to the warehouse. Hopefully, they will stop them before they get inside.”
“I don’t know why her phone’s going to voicemail.” Erik paced the floor staring at his phone.
“Come on, let’s go. I have people who will try to beat them, but we need to go, in case they need our help.” Caroline grabbed her purse and stopped next to Erik. “Ready?”
“Yeah, we need to save them.” Erik shook slightly as he followed Caroline out the door.
Caroline started the car and threw it in drive. She flew down the side streets and got on the highway.
“Um, Caroline, what about the kid we left at your house?” Erik looked over.
“I’m having someone take care of him. We have more important things to do.”
“Okay.” Erik picked up his phone and dialed Mike again. “One of them has to pick up, eventually.” He tapped his thumb against his pants as he listened to the phone ring. He brushed his hair back with his hand. “Shit, voicemail. I hope the others get to them in time.”
Chapter 13
Sloane blinked her eyes open once, then shut again. Her arms ached, her head was pounding. She tried to reach her hands up to her head but pulled on the zip ties that bound her wrists. Shit, where the hell am I? She thought. Sloane blinked her eyes open again. Looking around, her eyes met a silver crossbar. She kicked her feet out and connected with the wall. The sound of a humming motor filled her ears, and she was jostled when the car hit a bump. Shit, I’m in a trunk. How in the hell did I get in the trunk? I was on the phone with Mike; then everything went black.
Sloane rolled onto her back to see what she could grab as a weapon. She yanked and wiggled her wrists, but the zip ties bit into her skin. She could feel the hot blood drip down her hands. She bent her knees, trying to pull her arms around to the front. The zip ties cut further into her flesh, but she managed to get her hands to the front. Her shoulders burned, and she bit her lip to stop a moan from escaping. She didn’t want them to know she was awake. She kicked out the back taillight with her boot. She scooted until she could peek out at her surroundings. All she could see was the passing trees on the highway. There was a burgundy Buick behind her. Maybe they saw her kick out the tail light. She moved to kick out the second. She was grateful that she was in an older car. This wasn’t always possible in newer models. If she were in a newer model, she could pull the trunk release cord and jump out. This old boat didn’t have one. It was quite a spacious trunk though.
As she watched, they took an exit, and after a few blocks pulled into a parking lot. Sloane figured they were in Denver but didn’t recognize anything around her. She reached down into her boot. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found her blade still there. These dumbasses didn’t even search me for weapons. She chuckled. She gripped the knife in both hands, listening for the crunch of their footsteps. She glanced out of the hole. She could hear two men talking.
“Mr. Hall said to take her in the back. He’ll be here soon,” the husky voice said.
“Good, we have the other one here, too. Are we ready when the others come to find them? We want the one with the power to freeze time. She’ll be an asset to our team.” A deep, smooth voice spoke with authority.
“We have thirteen, here. Two guys are loading up the materials for the others. We’ve printed the spells and information we’ve gathered from the others. We also have many of the athames and amulets to help ward against the hunters’ power. We are ready to start distribution. Is there anything else we’ll need?” The husky voice asked.
“We may need a few of those crystals posted around the building. We don’t want the blonde one to be able to freeze us once she gets here. We need to get them both possessed for our plan to move forward. Have you contacted the others in Kansas City? Are they ready for us?” the deep voice asked.
“I am doing that next. Anything else, sir?”
“No, go get the room ready. This one may put up a fight. I’ll get her in there.” He turned and walked toward the trunk. Sloane could see his indigo jeans through the hole. She gripped the knife ready. She needed to get out of here. They were going after the leaders in Kansas City. She needed to warn them. She needed to warn Jessie. She couldn’t let them get her. They’d all be fucked if they got her. She wasn’t sure how they were managing to possess Shikari, but they had figured out a way.
She heard the key in the lock and held her breath. She was ready to fight with everything she had. The trunk lid lifted, and she kicked out at the man standing in front of her. She landed her kick in his stomach, and he doubled over. She jumped up and swiped her knife in the air, slicing his bicep. She dropped down from the trunk and kicked out again. This time her kick landed against the man’s jaw. He flew backward, hitting the pavement with a crunch. She took a moment to try to flip the knife to slice off the zip ties. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and everything went black.
The pounding in her ears was getting louder. A constant, sharp pain filled her head. She swallowed hard before opening her eyes. Pain shot into her eyeballs when the light hit them, and she closed her eyes again. The metallic taste in her mouth let her know she probably had a concussion. She realized the pounding she could hear in her ears as her heart beat. She tried to swallow again, but her mouth felt like sandpaper and metal. She took a deep, steadying breath before braving the fluorescents again. She had to see where she was. She remembered attacking the guy with a husky voice in dark indigo jeans. He was handsome, and in anoth
er life, Sloane would have hit on him, instead of hitting him. She squinted through the pain. The walls were tinged yellow. She could smell the tobacco in the air. Across the room was a card table with ashtrays and Mountain Dew cans. She could see a sink to the right of her. This must’ve been a break room. The whir of a refrigerator came from behind her.
The large steel door was closed. The scent of old tobacco permeated the air, so she knew someone had been here smoking recently. Thinking back on what had happened before she got knocked out again, she remembered there were fifteen of them, including the two guys talking. A knot formed in her stomach. They were trying to get Jessie. This was a trap. She needed to get out of here and warn them. Jessie couldn’t come here. They were expecting it. She yanked on her restraints, and a biting pain shot up her arm. She felt fresh blood dripping down her fingers. She didn’t care; she needed to get free. She moved her hands against the metal chair. She tried to move her hands up and down against the edge. It was no use, it was rounded and would never cut through. She yanked her hands apart as hard as she could, but nothing happened. She could feel more blood dripping down her hands.
She tried to kick out her legs, but they were against the metal legs of the chair. She looked over to the ashtrays. Maybe she could hop over to try to burn the zip ties enough to get free. She took a few hops, and the chair moved slightly over. She did it a few more times. She pushed herself despite the pain coming from her wrists. She needed to get the hell out of here. She knew if she stayed, they were going to possess her or torture her for information. She’d rather die than tell these fucking demons anything. She got in a few more hops before she could hear voices outside. The husky voice was back.
“Give me five minutes with the bitch. I owe her a good ass kicking,” he said.