Abominations (Demonkin Book 3)

by Sean Hayden

  Thompson swerved and knocked her loose. I spun in time to see her roll off the roof and land on the road. She stopped and sprung back into the air.

  "That was close," I said.

  "Very," a shaken Mel said while gazing at the holes just above her head. She sank lower into the seat.

  "We're almost there. Let's hope Fifty-Three isn't backed up."

  "Where are we going?"

  "Heading to the city. She'll have a harder time following us through the buildings if we can't lose her on the highway."

  "Good plan. I like this plan," I said and started kicking the clay jar at my feet, but not making a dent.

  "Give it up, kid. We'll try shooting it when we can get out."

  I stopped kicking, reached down, and pulled it out of the towel. I used that to wipe most of the blood off and looked at it. It had a slight pink tinge, but glistened whitely under the streetlamps above. The cuneiform only slightly darker. If it wasn't so fucking evil, it might have been pretty.

  I tried scratching it with my talon.

  Rayna screeched above.

  I tried it again to make sure it wasn't a coincidence, but this time on one of the engraved runes. A flash of light momentarily blinded me. When I could see, the tip of my talon was scorched black and the car swerved as Thompson blinked rapidly. Rayna's scream probably had been heard in Wisconsin.

  Thompson looked over at me, angrily. "Put. It. Down."

  "Okay, I'll wait."

  "Dumbass."

  "Hey, it hurt her."

  "You don't know that. Those could be cries of pleasure for all we fucking know!"

  I threw up in my mouth a little and dropped the vessel. Thompson was right, we could wait.

  He barreled through the light at the interchange and we took the on ramp toward downtown. I looked in the mirror on my door and began to smile as I watched Rayna get smaller and smaller until she disappeared.

  "She's gone," I said with a sigh of relief.

  "Yeah, but probably not for long. We need to figure out our game-plan…"

  I nodded and thought about it. "We want someplace open without a lot of people. There weren't too many places like that in Chicago."

  "Wrigley Field?" Thompson asked me.

  "With our luck there will be a baseball game tonight."

  "It's November. Baseball season is over after September."

  "Do it then."

  "See if I remember how to get there."

  "Take Ninety," Mel said from the back.

  "Hang on."

  We changed roads at the next exchange and headed east toward downtown. I turned on the radio, but Thompson hit the power button and gave me a dirty look before handing me his cell phone.

  "Call Alvarez. Tell her we're heading for the stadium and have a big nasty behind us. Tell her to get one of the gates open and clear the roads around it. We're coming in hot."

  I scrolled through his contacts and found Alvarez. There were two. One was Antonio and the other Lil Kim. I stifled a giggle and hit the one for Kim.

  "Twice in the same week? To what do I owe the honor Uncle Jim? You calling to set me up with your adorable little partner? If so I accept."

  "Um. Yeah. This is the adorable little partner… Uncle Jim is driving."

  "I’m going to hang up now and go kill myself."

  I couldn't help it. I started laughing. She didn't.

  "We'll continue that discussion later. We need your help. We're heading to Wrigley Field. Thompson wants to know if you can open a gate we can drive through and clear the streets around it? We're being chased by… Okay. I'm not going to lie. We're being chased by a demon…"

  "That thing you were fighting the other night?"

  "Yeah," I answered, shocked that she believed me.

  "I saw it on the news and it's like the biggest trending video on Youtube right now. People were filming with their phones."

  "Shit."

  "I'll be honest. I didn't think it was real, but I'll take your word for it."

  "You two done flirting?"

  "Your uncle is getting grumpy. Can you do that, or do we need to find another place?"

  "It's not my precinct, but I know the Captain over there. I'll get it done."

  "Thanks. You rock."

  "Can you forget about the beginning of this conversation?"

  "Not even going to try. I don't want to," I said and clicked the end button.

  "Let me guess. She thought you were me and started blathering when she picked up the phone?"

  "Yep. Called me your cute little partner."

  "Hehehe."

  "Sombody's got a girl-friend," Mel chimed in. "Bow chicky wawa."

  "Oh, my gods. Will you two grow up."

  "This may hurt a little," Thompson said as he banked hard to the right and drove straight through one of the maintenance gates. The dimly lit tunnel ran under the stadium seats and straight onto the field. It wasn't the smoothest of transitions. I hit the roof of the suburban with my head twice. I think my partner left a dent. Mel flopped around in the back seat like a beach ball.

  He skidded to a stop before we got to the infield. Whoever maintained the grass was going to be pissed.

  "It will be covered in snow in a couple of weeks anyway," Thompson said as if reading my mind.

  Not wanting to waste a minute, I grabbed the vase and hopped out of the car. I walked away from everyone and tossed it to the ground, pulling my gun out and aiming at it.

  I pulled the trigger.

  The first shot hit the ground in front of it sending a spray of dirt into the air.

  "Nice shot, kid," Thompson said and pulled out his gun, hitting it five times consecutively.

  "Showoff." I walked over and picked it up. Not only had it not shattered. We hadn't even scratched it. "Fuck."

  "Profanity," Thompson walked over and looked at it. "Dafuq that thing made outta?"

  "All kind of demonly goodness, apparently. Try running it over?"

  "If you can't shoot it, you can't run it over."

  "Mel, take the Suburban and get out of here," I hollered.

  She'd been standing by the car watching the skies. We had a few moments at best, before Rayna homed in on us. "Okay. Call me when you need a ride," she said with a confidence I didn't feel.

  I just nodded, knowing I'd probably never see her again. At least she would be safe. I wanted to run up to her and hug her, but we didn't have time. Instead, I turned to Thompson.

  "You wanna go with her? This is my fight."

  "Shut the fuck up, rookie. You'd be lost without me," he said with a wink.

  Mel took off and I stared at the vessel. Maybe if I could read ancient cuneiform, I could read the directions on the side. Rayna landed on the pitcher's mound in a cloud of red dust.

  "Having trouble? Breaking." She stood up straight and started walking slowly toward us.

  I turned around and with every single ounce I possessed, hurled the vessel into the stands. I turned back around, ready to attack when the sound of the vessel hitting the concrete echoed through the stadium.

  Rayna fell flat on her ass and screamed.

  The vessel bounced a few more times and she winced with every one.

  Then I noticed the five wounds on her chest in a tight grouping…

  Fuck me six ways to Sunday.

  "Thompson."

  "What?"

  "Go fuck up the jug."

  "With what?"

  "Kick it, hit it, throw it, shout at it, fucking spit on it. I don't care. Turn into a damn lion and bat the ever-loving shit out of it. Pretend it’s a big white ball of yarn."

  "Got it," he said and took off running.

  Rayna stood up, already healing the damage she had taken. She ignored me and snarled as she focused on Thompson's retreating back. She kicked up a cloud of red dust as she took off after him. I did my job and tackled her from the side as she tried to pass me.

  "No, you don't. Your ass is mine."

  She snarled back at me and sc
rambled toward him again, trying to fling me off. My arms were wrapped around her waist. I dug my talons into her hips for good measure.

  I could feel them pierce her flesh, but no blood flowed from the wounds. She reached down and grabbed one of my arms in hers and pierced between my radius and ulna, the talon going completely through. I could feel the pain and the pleasure working its way up my flesh.

  But, two could play that game. I bit into her shoulder.

  Her back arched as my bite did its magic. Thankfully, no blood came from the wound I made. I really didn't want to know what she tasted like. Putting my mouth on her turned my stomach enough.

  I let go with one hand and pulled out my sidearm, unloading an entire clip into the area just above her kidney. Her pain overwhelmed her pleasure. She let go of my arm, the talon ripping the flesh as it went back through my arm. Between the venom from that and the pleasure sweeping through me from my bite, the stadium started to get a little dark. She took the opportunity to fling me off her over her shoulder.

  I landed on my back and slid a few feet before looking up in time to see her run past my prone position and once again go after her jar. I got to my feet as quickly as possible and took off as fast as I could, having no chance of catching her. She made me look like a three toed sloth.

  Salvation came in the form of Thomson picking up her vessel and bashing it repeatedly against the ground before looking up to see if it had any effect.

  It did.

  She dropped like a bag of bricks and I took the opportunity to close the distance between us, landing in a flurry of kicks and punches.

  "You. Fucking. Dickwad," I managed to growl out in between punches to her chiseled black jaw.

  Her face looked cracked, but I didn't think it was from my punches. I looked over my shoulder to see Thompson standing there, watching us.

  "Don't stop!"

  I turned around and her talons raked across my throat, separating the flesh. Instinctively I grabbed the wound and fell backward, not daring to breathe. She got up and stomped on my chest. I could hear the ribs crack and a few of them pierce my lung. Luckily, I couldn't breathe with the gaping wound in my neck anyway.

  Thompson bashed the jar against the ground again.

  A chunk of flesh chipped off her face and fell to the ground, dissolving into black mist. I wanted to yell at him to keep going, but I had no way to communicate.

  Rayna screamed and blew apart in a tempest of smoke which faded from view. For a second, I thought we had won. Thompson even gave me a thumbs up from up in the stands.

  With my vampire eyes, I saw the smoke pour from his chest as her arm solidified. She pulled it back through, leaving a gaping hole that poured blood over his white shirt.

  Thompson looked down in confusion and then at the jar, before setting his sights on me. He frowned and fell forward, landing on the concrete with a sickening thud that broke my heart.

  I couldn’t even scream.

  Rayna gently set the jar down on the ground next to Thompson and began slowly walking toward me, clapping as she moved. It took her over a minute to get back to me. I had healed somewhat in that time, but not enough.

  I closed my eyes and rested my head on the soft grass beneath me, defeated. I waited for the killing blow that never came. Instead she sat on my chest and stared at me. I opened my eyes, ignoring her naked flesh, and mustered up enough hate to spit on her.

  She licked the blood off her lips and shivered.

  "You were close. Too close. Almost."

  She reached down and touched the tip of her talon to my sternum. She pushed and I felt the skin beneath split and open. It made a grinding noise as it crushed through the bone of my sternum and made its way inside me. Having a demon sitting on you as they slowly impaled you is not a pleasant feeling. I knew I was dead. Even the venom couldn't afford me any pleasure at that point.

  It was over.

  I closed my eyes and waited for the end to come.

  She stopped pushing and leaned over. I could feel her weight shifting forward. I promised I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of squirming. I had already accepted my death.

  Then her lips met mine.

  I didn't kiss her back, but I could feel her pulling. I felt a tug from somewhere deep inside me and it wasn't from the finger in my chest, it was from her lips. Involuntarily my mouth opened. I felt her tongue slip past my lips and run over my fangs. Then her kiss exploded inside me, tearing me away from my body. I felt cold. Colder than I had ever been before. Then I knew. She was stealing my soul.

  I couldn't scream. I hadn't healed enough for that and her mouth was sealed against mine anyway. Nobody would hear me. I opened my eyes and couldn't see. I could barely hear. Just the subtle washing sound in my ears of a world that was disappearing.

  Then I heard a thunk.

  The negative pressure pulling my soul from my body stopped. Her kiss did, too. The blackness in my vision began to recede and the bright stadium lights came into focus, as did the ornate arrow sticking from the flesh of her neck, just below her jaw. She still stared at me, but blankly. As if her focus were somewhere else.

  I let my head fall to the right. I wanted to gasp at the beautiful sight before me. I willed my throat to heal, just so I could make happy noises. The railing closest to us was lined with twenty elven archers and every one of them had a bow aimed at Rayna. Except for one. Darenthalis had already let his fly.

  Rayna didn't make a sound as she lifted herself off me, using only her legs. She didn't turn her head, I imagined she couldn't with the arrow nearly through her neck, but she did turn her torso and reached up, yanking the embedded shaft from her flesh and throwing it to the ground beside me.

  I expected her to surrender. She had other plans. With a burst of speed that I couldn't fathom, she charged the line of archers. From one end of the line to the other, they let fly a hailstorm of deadly precision. From ankle to neck, each arrow embedded itself in a completely different location, each one piercing a critical spot. She stopped in her tracks, turned toward me with a smile, and fell to the ground, face first. Most of the arrows snapped. Some did not, and they were pushed through the other side. The tips glowed with magic brighter than the stadium lights above. I shuddered and made a deep resolution never to anger the elves.

  Half-healed, I tried to sit up and failed miserably. Lying on my back was good…

  "You look like shit."

  I turned my head behind us and Raphael sat cross-legged on the grass, holding Rayna's vessel, which had taken on a gray hue.

  "That works out good then. I feel like shit."

  He gave a little chuckle. "Well. I'd like to say that you did a good job, but you kind of got your ass kicked."

  "Can't win them all. Luckily I have awesome friends."

  "You do. However, you are losing them at an alarming rate."

  That struck a chord. I sobbed. "Thompson…"

  "Is fine. He's being treated by that lovely elf," he said and pointed up where he'd been attacked."

  Gently, I turned my head. I couldn't see my partner, but I could see a beautiful elven lady kneeling beside him. Her hands glowing green.

  I turned back to Raphael. "You know, when I first met you, I kind of thought you were a dick. But now I'm not so sure. I do know I want to thank you," I said honestly.

  "Ha! Well. This fell under the department of small miracles," he said with an exaggerated wink.

  I laughed. And it hurt. But it felt good. I coughed up some blood and spit it out on the grass next to me.

  "That's attractive," he said with a disgusted look on his face.

  "Yeah, well. Getting your throat ripped out and stabbed in the chest takes a lot out of a girl. I'll catch up on my beauty sleep later."

  "That's gonna take a few days."

  "I take it back, you are a dick."

  He laughed. "You are an interesting creature, abomination."

  "Everybody keeps calling me that. Rayna tried explaining, but she wasn't the easies
t to understand…"

  "She was twisted several eons ago. Even the demons keep her chained up. She even killed a god once, long ago."

  "That's kind of heavy."

  "So is the weight on her immortal soul," he said sadly. He looked down and saw my face. "But that is a discussion for a different day."

  "What about the abomination thing?"

  "Abominations are the names given to all the Nephelim."

  "A what?"

  "Nephelim."

  "I heard you. What is that?"

  "Well, you know what Angels and Demons are?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm an Archangel. One of the original seven. Then there are Seraphim and Cherubim. Thrones and Dominions and so on and so forth. Nephelim are the offspring of angels and humans or demons and humans."

  "So, all vampires are Nephelim?"

  "I think it's safer to say that anything not human is a Nephelim. Even your elven friend," he said and pointed at Daren.

  "So why did the elf king order me dead?"

  "Darenthalis told you of the command then."

  I nodded.

  "Because I ordered it. I knew he wouldn't do it. Think of it as a test for both you, him…and your father."

  "You commanded that douche-nugget to kill me, too?"

  "As I was commanded to do so. We all follow orders and do not question."

  "Who orders you around?"

  "I'm afraid you don't want to know the answer to that. Nobody truly does. Everybody wants to worship the deity of their choice."

  "Doesn’t that piss whomever off?"

  "Not really," he said with a smile.

  "Okay. That's enough. You're hurting my head. So, is everybody done trying to kill me?"

  "Oh, I doubt that. You're quite annoying."

  I almost hit an angel.

  "I'm just kidding. We the angels, shall no longer seek your extermination. As will the elves. I shall give the order to my abomination later."

  "Your abomination?"

  "Yes. Oberon. He is my offspring."

  I could feel the world starting to spin. Too much information took on a whole new meaning. "Okay. That's enough for today…"

  He laughed and lay his hands on my leg. Warmth spread up through my body, steadying the world around me. "Thanks. That helped."

  He just nodded.