Mars Rising (Domeworld Saga Book 1)

by John Corwin

  Max was too stunned at first to reply and stared, jaw slack, at the marshal. Scarlett's touch pulled him back to reality. Alderman had given Max and Scarlett what they'd asked for in another life. Max was the new governor.

  Excitement and fear knotted his insides. The look on Scarlett's face showed that she shared his apprehension and anticipation.

  Max looked warily at the marshal. "This isn't a trick?"

  Grim shook his head. "Alderman abdicated."

  "I don't understand," Scarlett said. "Why?"

  Max thought back to Alderman's last words and the despair in his voice. "Humanity finally broke him."

  Understanding dawned in her eyes. "We're too deeply flawed."

  "Yeah." Max rested his hands on the railing and looked around. "What he could never accept is that imperfection drives us forward toward that impossible goal of perfection."

  Scarlett put her hand over his. "What now, Governor?"

  Max looked back at Grim. "Let's gather everyone and return to City 7." He waved his arm at Utopia. "We have a city and a future to rebuild."

  ###

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  Demonicus Chapter 1

  The last person I expected to see after a nice, relaxing vacation was George Walker.

  I nearly dropped my purse at the sight of my enigmatic handler for the Custodians. "What's wrong?" My heart skipped a beat.

  "Apologies for catching you so soon after your return, but we need your help, Miss Glass." He motioned toward a sleek black sedan. "If you don't mind, the situation is rather urgent."

  Tyler wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I don't know how you do business in the Custodians, George, but a text or a phone call would have been nice."

  "I tried to reach her, but never received a response." George seemed to take no offense to Tyler's stern tone.

  "It's okay." I took out my mobile and looked at it. "I put my phone on airplane mode and forgot to switch back to normal."

  "What's the emergency?" Tyler asked.

  George regarded him calmly. "That's for Miss Glass to know."

  Tyler shrugged. "Then tell her. I promise I won't listen."

  I held up my hands. "Let us put our luggage away and we'll come, George." I pointed toward his car. "Please go wait there, and I'll be down shortly."

  George nodded and walked to the car.

  On the way up the elevator, Tyler cornered me with a kiss. "We're not home ten seconds and you're already off on another adventure."

  "Indeed." Despite all the intimate time we'd spent on holiday, I could hardly get enough of this lovely man. The thought of taking off on a Custodian mission without him left me feeling empty. "I want you to come."

  "Moi?" A corner of his mouth lifted into a lopsided grin. "Whatever will your handler say?"

  I pecked a kiss on his lips. "Absolutely nothing, if he knows what's good for him."

  George raised an eyebrow when the two of us approached his car.

  "We're both coming," I said.

  George glanced at Tyler. "Mr. Rock isn't a Custodian."

  A tall man emerged from the passenger side of the car and narrowed his eyes at Tyler. Mr. Sticks didn't say a word, but it was more than obvious how he felt about me bringing a playdate.

  "Does he talk?" Tyler bobbed his head toward Sticks. I had, of course, told Tyler all about the people I'd met during my work with the Custodians, including the ever-silent Mr. Sticks.

  George smiled pleasantly. "He communicates if that's what you're asking." He turned to me. "I suppose Mr. Rock may ride along. Are you ready, Miss Glass?"

  I took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go."

  Tyler ran his eyes across the sedan. "What kind of car is this?"

  "A custom model," George answered.

  Mr. Sticks held open the rear door and motioned me inside. I slid across the seat so Tyler could climb in beside me. The smell of new leather pleased my nose. Once Tyler was seated, George climbed into the driver seat.

  Tyler leaned forward. "Who makes your custom models?"

  George touched a handle on the steering column. Soundlessly, the car accelerated toward the exit. "This is the latest out of Science Academy."

  "Science Academy?"

  Mr. Sticks glared over his shoulder at Tyler.

  "You really must attend an orientation soon," George said. "It would answer many of your basic questions."

  I pulled Tyler next to me. "Let the man drive." My stomach fluttered with anxiety. Since saving Tyler from the Exorcists nearly three months earlier, I hadn't been on any missions for the Custodians. Tyler and I had taken a long overseas vacation to make sure he was safe and to give my sanity a chance to recover.

  He ran a hand across the leather and looked around the car, obviously wanting to talk more about it, but finally relaxed and slung an arm over my shoulders. "Sorry, Em. I've just never seen anything like this."

  "Boys and their toys." I tried to give him a serious look, but couldn't stop from smiling at his enthusiasm. "I didn't realize demons were into automobiles."

  He squeezed me tight. "I acquired the taste from one of my previous hosts."

  This turned Sticks's glare toward us once more.

  "Perhaps it's best if you don't discuss Mr. Rock's true nature right now," George said amicably. "Mr. Sticks is a stickler when it comes to the rules and is none too happy that I promised to let Mr. Rock be."

  "He's really a very nice demon," I told Sticks. "Once you get to know him."

  The man shook his head and faced forward.

  George pulled into traffic, drove a couple of blocks, and turned into a blind alley I'd seen him use before. Excitement replaced the anxiety. Before I'd discovered the true nature of my work for the Custodians, George had always blindfolded me before we traveled anywhere. Considering how quickly we made it across town, I knew there must be something special about the cars they used.

  I wasn't disappointed.

  At the press of a button, the outside of the car blurred and faded until it matched our surroundings. George pulled a lever and the car lifted from the ground, rising quickly until we were above the city. I gasped.

  Tyler's hand tightened on mine. "I think I'm in love," he said.

  The early morning sun hovered behind the Atlanta skyline, dividing the city into shadows crisscrossed with corridors of light. My sense of wonderment fled, replaced with worry gnawing at my insides. I didn't know what prompted this abrupt shift in my emotions. I haven't been on a mission for a while. It's probably just nerves.

  "How much do one of these cars cost?" Tyler asked.

  George pressed the accelerator and steered the car until the brass compass in the dash pointed north. "They're for official use only, I'm afraid."

  "Damn." Tyler braced his elbows on the front seats and peered out of the window, much to the obvious chagrin of Mr. Sticks.

  I contented myself to look out to the side as buildings flashed past beneath us. We soon reached a single story office building and circled overhead. A pattern of black lines across the flat roof caught my attention. They resembled burn marks, though they appeared too neat and precise to have been made by a fire. "George, what are we investigating?"

  He brought the car in for a landing in a loading zone behind the building. "We received a tip that this place was being used as a cover for illegal vampire operations. We'll pose as customers and go inside while you use your special abilities to sense the truth."

  A wave of heat washed across my skin from the direction of the building. I swallowed hard and nodded. "What if they catch on?"

&
nbsp; "I have a team on standby." He looked back and smiled. "I don't anticipate any trouble. If you confirm there are vampires, we'll have to be sure they're up to illegal activities before we can raid them."

  Tyler's arm tightened around my shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

  I melted into his reassuring embrace and just as quickly stiffened when I remembered there were others present. Don't act like a frightened ninny!

  George drove the car to the front of the building and pulled into a parking space between two other cars. The warm sensation followed us the entire way, though nobody but me seemed to notice it.

  Tyler slid out of the backseat. I followed and stood in the parking lot next to him. It was plain to see through the glass windows that the building lobby was empty. The sign above the door read, Tri-Cross Blood Donations.

  Tyler chuckled. "Well, if this isn't the perfect place to run illegal vampire operations, I don't know what is."

  "Technically, vampires running a blood bank isn't illegal," George said. "In fact, since vampires aren't supposed to feed directly on noms, something like this is a necessity."

  I grimaced. "How awful. They're taking vital blood from normals who might need a transfusion someday."

  Sticks didn't frown, which probably meant he agreed with me.

  George looked at me. "Do you feel anything, Miss Glass?"

  I closed my eyes and opened my senses. I sensed the low simmer of Tyler's presence, and glimpsed the brilliant white energy at the cores of Mr. Sticks and George. The radiating heat from the building intensified. I usually enjoyed warmth, but this sensation brought me no comfort. Instead, it sent chills skittering down my back.

  "I don't feel vampiric auras from here," I said. "Just an odd warm feeling."

  George nodded. "Let's go inside."

  The moment he opened the door, a blast of rancid air hit us in the face. I staggered back, coughing and hacking and spitting. It smelled as though someone had left a truckload of eggs in the hot sun. The only one of us who didn't seem adversely affected was Tyler.

  His forehead pinched and his green eyes looked deeply troubled. "This isn't good."

  George pressed a handkerchief over his nose. "It's brimstone, isn't it?"

  Tyler nodded. "This is the most concentrated I've ever smelled it on the mortal plane."

  Mr. Sticks retrieved something from the car trunk and returned with small scraps of cloth. He placed one over his nose. The cloth spread over his nose and mouth and stuck there. George took a scrap and did the same thing. I followed his example. The moment the silky material masked my nostrils, the odor vanished.

  Tyler took a scrap but stuck it in his back pocket. "I don't need it."

  George raised an eyebrow. "Such high doses of brimstone fumes could harm your lungs, despite your demon soul."

  "And it's such a foul odor," I added.

  He gave me a hurt look. "I think it smells good." Even so, he put on the mask.

  Mr. Sticks and George led the way. George stepped into an empty office in the first hallway. Scattered papers lay on the floor next to the desk. I picked up one of the papers.

  I skimmed through it. "This is a shipping order to relocate blood from Los Angeles to Atlanta."

  George took the document. "Interesting. This much blood would feed an army of vampires."

  Sticks gave him a knowing look.

  "An army?" Tyler folded his arms. "Is there something you haven't told us?"

  George shook his head. "Suspicions, nothing more." He nodded toward the door. "We should continue."

  After the other two men left the office, Tyler took me aside. "I get the feeling he still isn't telling you everything."

  "You may be right." I sighed. "It's probably because we haven't taken that orientation yet."

  He snorted. "Doubtful." We followed the others.

  In the next office, coffee-stained documents littered a desk and the floor. A toppled chair, a broken mobile phone, a trace of blood—each office bore some trace of a struggle or a quick departure.

  "Anything yet?" George asked me.

  "I'll be sure to let you know the moment I sense anything besides this awful heat." The deeper into the building we went, the stronger the stifling heat pressed against my senses. I was tempted to dampen my sensitivity, but didn't want to miss any vital clues.

  We found the body of a young man in the break room, his head tilted at a horrific angle, face terribly bruised.

  George knelt next to him and ran a finger along the spine. "Neck's broken."

  "Perhaps you could tell me something I didn't know the moment I saw it." I drew in a shuddering breath and took calming breaths.

  "Do you sense anything from the body?" George asked.

  Swallowing the bile in my throat, I knelt and touched the man's cold skin. "I don't know if my ability works on dead people."

  "If he died from a broken neck, there's a good chance he's not a vampire," Tyler said.

  "Agreed," George replied. "Still, it never hurts to make sure."

  The blinking clock on the microwave caught my attention. I looked at the large watch on the dead man's wrist. The hands were stuck on twelve AM. "Why would this man be here at midnight?"

  "True dedication," Tyler said.

  George looked at the watch. "Interesting. The watch shows today's date."

  I pointed to the microwave. "It looks like the power went out." I opened the microwave door and removed what had once been a frozen meal. "It looks like he was making lunch or supper."

  Tyler opened the refrigerator. "I'd guess it was lunch, judging from all the food in here." He pulled several plastic containers marked with names from the fridge. "When did you get the tip about this place?"

  George pursed his lips. "This morning."

  "Interesting timing, wouldn't you say?"

  "It does raise questions." He pulled a wallet from the dead man's pocket and took out the ID. "Not many vampires carry driver's licenses." He held turned it around. "And if they do, they're usually expired."

  "They don't drive cars?" I asked.

  "Sure, but if they're pulled over, they can compel the police to let them go." He put the wallet into an evidence bag. "Even new vampires can do that to noms." George sighed and touched a cross-shaped pendant on his collar. "All teams move into position and secure this location. We've got at least one corpse on the premises."

  A man's voice emanated from the pendant. "Sir, this is Carswell. Do you want my people to sweep for evidence?"

  George replied. "Start outside and work your way in."

  "Yes, sir."

  Sticks stepped into the hallway and stared toward the area we hadn't yet visited. George set the evidence bag next to the corpse and followed Sticks.

  Tyler's took my hand and pulled me close. "Are you okay?"

  I rolled my eyes and pushed away. "I'm fine. Don't coddle me in front of the others, please."

  He grinned. "Don't want to look soft in front of your part-time boss?"

  "That, and there's a body in the room." I turned him to face the door. "Now, go."

  "As you command."

  A set of sturdy double doors guarded the last part of the building. Mr. Sticks tested them but they were locked. He solved the dilemma by spinning on a heel and smashing the door from its hinges with a powerful kick.

  Tyler chuckled. "Well, if anyone's still around, they'll know we're here now." His lips curled up. The man always seemed perpetually amused by the world. Sometimes his cavalier attitude really bothered me. Today it boosted my confidence.

  He'll protect me. During our long vacation, we'd dedicated an hour or so each day to learning self-defense techniques, though Tyler had taken it to an extreme and taken other martial arts classes. With his superhuman reflexes, it hadn't taken him long to pick up on the basics. I'd dedicated that time to sipping drinks by the beach.

  Having encountered a vampire before, I knew there wasn't much I could realistically do to fight one. Even Tyler had barely won the f
ight with Stephen, a creeptastic vampire who'd nearly killed my best friend Isabel, and then tried to kill me. I'd gotten the last laugh by removing his vampiric abilities with my odd powers.

  George flashed Sticks a look. "You really should work on that temper."

  Sticks shrugged and went through the open door and into a black room. I followed the others inside.

  It was like walking into a sauna, except the heat wasn't physical, but psychic. Grey shadows darker than the pitch black danced before my eyes. I staggered back into the hallway and breathed with relief as the heat abated. My eyes must be playing tricks on me.

  "You just glimpsed something big, didn't you?" Tyler asked.

  George turned around. "Glimpsed?"

  Tyler nodded. "Yeah, that's what we call her special talent."

  "Apt description." George felt along the wall. Something clicked and the lights flickered on to reveal a sprawling empty warehouse.

  My mouth went dry and I wanted to run away screaming at what I saw.

  Demonicus Chapter 2

  The black shapes I'd seen in the darkness still flitted around the room like leaves in a storm. They had no discernable shapes, but morphed from second to second. None of them looked larger than my hand. Most were like motes of dust. But what truly bothered me were the bodies.

  Several slumped figures were bound together in the center of the room. I counted at least six more corpses scattered around the area.

  "Jesus." Tyler's voice was rough, all traces of amusement gone.

  "We need to make sure they're not alive." I took a step forward, but George quickly barred me with an arm.

  "Careful," he said. "We don't know if the runes are still active."

  "Runes?"

  He pointed down.

  A black line was burned into the concrete floor. I followed the line to a circular diagram perhaps four feet across. A body lay in the center of it. The line continued from the other side and ran to yet another diagram, this one identical in size to the first, but with a different pattern. The line ran through several such diagrams, curving in a giant circle, but it didn't stop there. Lines ran from each design and into the center to construct several slightly larger patterns, which encircled a pattern at least three times larger than the others.