Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  She shrugged a single shoulder and her gaze shifted as the waitress set two glasses of water on the table and I rattled off an order for two steaks, medium rare, Caesar salads and a blooming onion and boneless buffalo wings as appetizers.

  “Do you want anything to drink?” I asked after I finished ordering for us.

  “This is fine for now.” She picked up her water and took a sip, waiting until the waitress was out of range. “I’m capable of ordering for myself,” she said.

  “I know, but I figured it would save time. Unless you were going to change your mind again?”

  She smirked and shook her head. “The fact that’s what I was going to order is neither here, nor there.”

  “Okay. From now on, I’ll let you order for yourself.”

  “Thank you,” she dipped her head in acknowledgement.

  “Now, back to the original conversation. You think I can’t keep my hands off you?” I leaned back in the seat and crossed my arms. The smirk was back and then she slowly shook her head. Well, okay, maybe she was right, but I’d play this game out. I leaned my elbows on the table.

  “Game on, baby,” I said and smiled.

  The smirk morphed into a grin and that gleam returned to her eyes. I could tell this was going to be a hell of a difficult game to win, but I vowed any time I got the urge to jump her, I’d double-check the underlying reasons, and if Sandy entered my mind in any way, I’d back off.

  “So, you were muttering about being behind in your schoolwork last night. What’s involved in becoming a doctor, beyond gross anatomy?”

  I swear that statement opened Pandora’s box. She perked up and started enlightening me on her classes, her challenges, the gross things she’s experienced and while I could almost picture each instance she told me about, the memories didn’t do them justice the way she described things. Dinner came and went and when the check was placed on the table, I ignored it, enjoying really laughing again.

  I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d laughed with someone instead of laughing out of necessity or sarcasm. It was refreshing as hell.

  Chapter 16

  “You think everything at home is okay?” Valerie asked as I opened the car door for her.

  The light mood fizzled at the reminder of the darkness that shrouded our lives and I glanced at the dark sky. “No one called, so that’s a good sign.” I closed the door and scanned the parking lot before I slid into the driver’s seat.

  Instead of starting the car, I sat contemplating if I could do what Steve did, now that I had the rest of the mojo fused in my blood.

  “Try it,” she whispered.

  I sighed, tempted. “Here isn’t the place.” I turned the car on and headed home. “I’ll try at home.” I didn’t need to explain why. Just the darkening of my mood was enough.

  The question of whether we would ever be able to truly relax and enjoy life settled into my bones. “There’s got to be a way to get hell’s legions to back the fuck off.”

  She burst out laughing. “I’m not sure that’s possible.”

  Unfortunately, I agreed with her. I had too much information downloaded into my brain and just couldn’t abide by some of the mutants and monsters that existed. All of a sudden, what I really wanted to do with my life overwhelmed me. Instead of sitting by waiting to be attacked, it was my turn to hunt those motherfuckers and put them down.

  “I think I should take up hunting.” I glanced at Valerie and her eyes widened.

  “You can’t...”

  “Yeah, I can. Damian ran all his life, look what that got him. It wasn’t until he chose to fight back that he won. It wasn’t the martyrdom that broke the cycle, it was the attack.” I refocused on the road. “I’m better suited to attack than look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?” Valerie spouted at my epiphany.

  “Seriously, think about it. Everything so far has been defensive maneuvering. It’s time to gear up and go on the offensive. Make the monsters run from us for a change.”

  “Why? Why would you put yourself in that kind of situation?”

  I knew she’d had run ins with some pretty evil assholes, and almost didn’t live to tell about it, but she didn’t see the beauty in the solution, nor did she get the real reason behind my epiphany. “Someone has to save those kids from a life of running and fear,” I said and refocused on the road in front of me, stopping at the next set of lights. “If Damian isn’t prepared to do it, I certainly am.”

  “Why would you risk your life for someone else’s children?”

  She really didn’t get the scope of what would happen to our world if Lucifer got his hands on Damian’s little girl. “Because saving Grace from Lucifer should be a priority for all of us.”

  “And the boys?”

  “Lucifer can’t build an army of trinities with them. At least not an army of his offspring, one that he can control. Naomi’s at risk too, but I have a feeling if he ever got hold of her, she’d destroy herself before she let him use her for his evil spawn. Besides, there’s something special about Grace. Something compelling that makes me want to put my life on the line for her.” I bit my lip and turned onto the highway, trying to pinpoint what it was that made the child stand out more than the other two. “It’s much more than just the consequences of Lucifer getting his slimy hands on her. It’s something deeper.” I glanced at Valerie. “You and Naomi have a hint of the same power, albeit much less intense.”

  “You think it might be our angelic bloodline?”

  “Maybe, but I don’t feel the same compulsion to protect Damian.”

  We drove in silence over the Piscataqua River Bridge into Maine. “I’m not sure if it was Damian’s innocence or Naomi’s specialness, for lack of a more appropriate word, that drove Steve to take a stand with them.” Or if it was just his sense of justice combined with his tainted moral compass that drove it.

  “Why did you?”

  “I wasn’t going to let Steve stand alone against what was coming. He’s family.”

  “Damian’s my family,” she said under her breath.

  The last thing I wanted was another Sandy situation, even if it only involved a friend. “I guess that means we’ll have to call a truce then,” I muttered.

  Valerie’s hand slid over mine and gave a little squeeze and I traded a glance with her and then looked down at my hand covered with hers. She removed her hand and the absence of her flesh against mine made me sigh. Shutting off access to my thoughts, I stared at the road ahead of me wondering how in the world I was going to continue playing this game when any time our skin touched it sparked a fire in my soul.

  Chapter 17

  The house was dark when we pulled in and Damian’s van was gone along with Steve’s truck and I slowed to a stop in front of Tom’s car. Valerie and I exchanged a glance and she reached for the door. I grabbed her arm.

  “Not yet,” I said and pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed. Holding the phone to my ear, I waited, feeling the unease snake into my skin. The call dropped to voicemail and I ended the call, trying another line.

  “Hello?” Raven’s Irish brogue came through the line and I exhaled.

  “Hey, Raven, where is everyone?”

  “You aren’t the only one who can decide to grab a fine dinner out on the town,” she said over the background noise.

  “So nothing weird happened at the house?”

  “No. We decided to let Damian and Naomi experience Wild Willy’s while it’s slow.”

  I let out a laugh. “Wild Willy’s is never slow.”

  She laughed too. “I know, right? Anyhow, we’re just getting ready to head out.”

  “Okay, see you in a few.”

  I folded the phone. “They went out to eat.”

  “I heard,” Valerie said and we both stepped out of the car.

  The chill tonight wasn’t as biting as it had been the past few nights and I was hoping that meant spring wasn’t far off
. I waited on my side of the car for her to join me before heading toward the front door. Halfway down the path, my intuition prickled and instead of running from whatever stalker had invaded our property, I stopped and mentally told Valerie to stop as well. Taking a moment, I glanced at her and willed the protective bubble around both of us.

  We both turned, slowly enough for me to get a whiff of her perfume, the sweet scent grounding me and reminding me I wasn’t the only one facing off against whatever it was. When we faced the approaching beast, Valerie threaded her fingers through mine, pulling my attention to our hands and then her eyes. I smiled and gently squeezed her hand, giving her the strength to not scream at the sight before us.

  The rabid vampire bear stood on its hind legs and roared. This wasn’t a human I could intimidate, nor was it a demon or vampire that had a sense of reason. This was a killing machine and it was hungry.

  I let out a snarling roar of my own, wishing the beast into dust. A swirl of fire engulfed the beast like a destructive tornado until all that was left was fine gray ash.

  “Impressive,” Valerie said.

  The protective field still encompassed us and I turned toward the house, flipping my phone open again and redialing, keeping Valerie by my side.

  “Raven, everyone is with you, right?”

  “Yes, we didn’t want to leave anyone at home alone.”

  “Good call.” I folded the phone and closed my eyes. “Can you smell them?” I whispered as my nostrils filled with a foul mixture of brimstone and blood. Her hand tightened on mine and I opened my eyes, focusing on the downstairs window and the grin that met my gaze.

  I pointed. “Come here.”

  His smile fell into shock as his body stepped out of sight.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Leaving one alive.” I glanced at her and when the door opened. I inhaled, putting a duplicate layer of protection around the fiend stepping out of our house. And then I let loose, killing every non-living, pseudo-living and live being from our property line to the ocean breakers at the bottom of the small cliff outside the rock wall. Mini-fire tornados engulfed flesh, leaving the physical property intact as if nothing happened. The only hint of destruction was the gray dust raining to the ground.

  The lone demon standing on the stoop stared at me, his face paling, and the first hint of fear gripped his eyes. I released control of his physical form as well as the protective cocoon around him.

  “Let your friends know that I’m coming after them,” I said.

  He waved his hand and the spark of contact hit our protective barrier. I think he thought he could toss me around like a rag doll, but I was truly supercharged. In kind, I waved my hand toward the gate, tossing him halfway across the lawn. He scrambled to his feet, the front of his jeans now soaked with piss.

  “And whoever has the gall to step on this property will end up being roasted alive. Understand?”

  The demon nodded, turned tail, and ran out the open gate. I turned back to Valerie with a smirk dancing on my lips.

  “You should have torched him as well.”

  The venom in her tone pulled my gaze to her and my heart dropped into my stomach. I searched the collective memory banks for some retribution, for some redemption and there was none. Demon red eyes peered out from Valerie’s beautiful face and I dropped her hand, stepping away.

  She had been right next to me all night. And then it occurred to me, she had gotten up and gone to the bathroom. The thing possessing Valerie opened the blazer, showing me the bloodied shirt covering her right side.

  “The bitch passed out and I took over.”

  I couldn’t destroy her, but I could contain her and I created a force field box around her. One that would stun but not kill the body this prick inhabited.

  “Inside,” I said, pointing to the opened door. I blocked my thoughts, focusing on the blood, wondering if this shit knew she had the power to heal. My chest hurt as I forced her across to the chair at the head of the table, tying her arms to the hand guards and her legs to the legs of the chair.

  I backed into the wall across from her, forcing my breath in and out, keeping the need to scream and tear my hair out at bay.

  “I’ll let her go if you’ll be a dear and let me in,” it said.

  I covered my mouth, wondering what the hell Damian was going to do. He destroyed the last demon nest without a thought, but this was Valerie. The girl he saw grow from an infant to the beautiful woman before me.

  I regained my composure and stalked right up to her. “Get out of her you bastard,” I growled, but I didn’t know the first thing about exorcism. I did know if I could get the shit out of her, then she had more of a chance of survival than anyone on earth. Hell, she might be unconsciously mending as I stood and stared.

  The door opened and the family filtered in, chatting away until the tiger growled. Naomi stepped around the car seat she had the presence of mind to put down before she changed and Damian’s gaping stare met mine.

  “She went to the ladies room right before we left,” I said. “I... I didn’t know. When I got here the house was infiltrated and I destroyed all but one. Well, two.” I waved at Valerie. “And after the last one ran with his tail between his legs, this one...” I ran my hand through my hair. “This one decided to make its presence known.”

  Naomi hissed, pacing a trail blocking Valerie from her children.

  I met Tom’s gaze and signed for him to take Jen, Steve and Raven upstairs along with the babies. He nodded and Damian didn’t stop them when they disappeared upstairs.

  “I couldn’t...” I said after everyone else left. Damian’s thoughts were sporadic and stinted. He collapsed on the closest ottoman and glanced at the broken lines of salt all over the house. His jaw tightened and he got up, crossing into the kitchen and disappeared with the salt container. When he came back, he fixed the last three entry points and drew a line across the lowest stair. The last grains fell and he chucked it across the house, roaring with the same frustration that pounded my muscles.

  He grabbed another container and circled the chair. Slamming the container on the table before coming even with me. His shoulder faced me and then his hand shot out, clamping around my throat as he slammed me against the wall. Fury lined his face and Naomi rubbed against his leg, trying to calm the wild beast raging inside him.

  I didn’t fight back. Whatever he did to me, I deserved it. I was supposed to protect her and I failed in epic fashion.

  His grip loosened and his chin dropped to his chest.

  “Don’t,” I whispered as the power coiled into a tight ball inside him.

  “I have to.”

  “No. You don’t. Valerie is still in there. You can’t kill her.”

  He shook his head. “She’s not.”

  “What if it was Naomi,” I said and the muscles in his jaw jumped. “There has to be a way.”

  “She’s already dead.”

  “No. She just passed out and that gave that thing an opportunity to get in.”

  “But,” he started.

  “I don’t have everything,” I whispered and his eyes narrowed. His grip loosened more and he finally dropped his hand as understanding dawned in his eyes. “But I don’t know the first thing about exorcism.”

  “Neither do I,” he said.

  Naomi continued to pace in agitation.

  “You may not know about such things, but I have a potent banishment spell we can try.”

  Both Damian and I turned toward the stairs where Raven stood, leaning on the railing, her squinting gaze meeting mine and averting Damian’s blinding aura.

  “Bullshit,” Damian said.

  Valerie cackled from the seat, her gaze bouncing around the room from the aggravated tiger, to Damian and me, and finally landing on Raven. “Your pathetic spells won’t work on me,” she said, her voice transitioning between demon and Valerie’s in an eerie stereo quality.

  Raven flipped her hair back with her hand and gave the demon inside V
alerie the evil eye. “You’d be surprised at what my spells can achieve,” she said and turned, heading upstairs to gather what she needed.

  “If this doesn’t work, I’m flying her out to the middle of the Atlantic and leaving her there,” Damian said.

  I couldn’t help staring at him and then I said two words that made Valerie pale.

  “Salt water.”

  Damian nodded and I closed my eyes, hanging my head. If he did that, hypothermia would kill her before she had a chance to do anything else. There were limitations to the healing power, and while I liked to think what gifts we had made us invincible, the reality was we still had vulnerabilities. A surprise shot to the heart would kill us, same with a bullet in the brain, our human frailties existed, and there are some people and things that could get the drop on us no matter how diligent we were. Valerie could heal her wound, but the cold water would stop her heart.

  I pulled up a chair next to the bound demon and sighed, nodding to Damian.

  If what Raven cooked up, didn’t work, Valerie would have to be sacrificed.

  Chapter 18

  Raven came down with a duffel bag and set it on the table, turning towards Damian and the wild tiger.

  “Please, take everyone but Valerie, CJ and me, somewhere while I do this.”

  A hand banged on the railing, pulling our attention to the stairs. Tom shook his head and pointed to his chest and then the floor, conveying his stance without the flurry of sign language.

  “No. I...”

  Tom put his palm out, stopping her. I knew that stubborn set of his jaw. There was no way he was leaving her if there was any hint of danger. Besides, his ability to see and even intercept spirits might come in handy.

  “Fine,” she said and turned back to Damian. “Take Steve, Jen and your wife and kids and go.”

  “I don’t...” Damian started and Naomi hissed again, this time at him.

  He hesitated and Raven stared him down. “The less people here, the better.”

  There was something more to the warning. She was concerned about the children. About the demon taking over one of their impressionable minds and Damian blanched when Raven’s thoughts broadcast her concerns. He nodded, turning and bolting up the stairs. A few minutes later he came down with Jennifer and Steve, each carrying a car seat and diaper bag.