“Okay. Two, I can rip you out of there and turn you to dust––”
“You’re no Magyar, Silver. Now, even your bluffs suck.”
“Or three, I can wait until the D.A. finishes up with the paperwork and has you arrested for Lisa’s murder. Decisions, decisions. Which will it be?” Denny released his hand and he snatched it back.
“I can have a dozen here to take you out, Silver, just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
“A dozen? Really? That’s all?” Denny leaned towards him. “Go ahead. Call ‘em. An audience will make taking you down that much sweeter.”
“You won’t kill me, Silver. You can’t. You think I’m going to take the fall for that murder? You must have bats in your belfry to think that, honey. You got nothin’.”
A slow, ugly smile slid across Denny’s face like a snake. “Tell you what––why don’t you and me go outside and let’s see just how much nuthin’ I’ve got?” Denny rose and tossed a twenty on the bar. “After you.”
As Tyler Jones headed out the door, Denny pulled one weapon from her vest.
Saugen.
Outside, Denny faced the dozen or so demons Jones had threatened her with.
Separately, she would be able to crush each of them in under two minutes.
Combined, it would take a little longer.
Jones turned to her, his victorious grin displaying expensive veneers. “You overplayed your hand, Silver. You may be the new kid on the block, but you can’t take on fourteen of us.”
Denny tapped her palm with Saugen. “Actually, I can. You see, I come from a long and infamous line of demon hunters. Centuries upon centuries of my people have cast you out of generations of victims.” She pulled the cylinder apart and held each piece in her hand as the electrical arc connected, one to the other. “And each time, we get stronger and stronger.” She smiled. “Pretty impressive, eh?”
“Not as impressive as this.” He snapped his fingers and every demon and possessed individual before her pulled out a weapon of some sort.
“Goodbye, Golden Silver. Your infamous legacy ends here.”
As demons raised their weapon, Denny spread the electrical arc wide—wide enough that when she snapped both arms, the arc sliced through all thirteen of them at once. Saugen reached into the human shell of each man and woman there and wrapped around the demon within, sucking them from their human hosts.
They each dropped their weapon and writhed in pain as the demon was slowly sucked from their bodies.
“What are you doing?”
Denny growled. “Killing thirteen birds with one really awesome stone.”
“The Saugen?” Jones cried. “She has the Saugen!” Jones took off running, leaving Denny to wrangle thirteen spirits from the bodies of the possessed. The task was far more difficult than she thought it would be, but as each screaming spirit writhed and twisted from the host, she felt Saugen’s power increase.
Denny could barely hold on to the ends of the weapon––they vibrated with such an energy and heat that it required everything she had to hang on.
But she did hang on, and when the electrical live wire touched each man, the demons screamed louder. First their shoulders exited the bodies, followed by their hips, then their knees.
And that was the moment Denny knew this would test every skill Ames had shown her.
But she was ready.
When the spirits were nearly out, Denny slammed the two pieces together, drew Fouet, and whipped it over her head until she released it from its loop and, one-by-one, cut down the demon spirits.
The first three were cut in half, their darkness pooling in a cloud of dark gray dust, the hosts collapsing like marionettes whose strings were cut.
Fouet was unerring in the next half dozen it whipped through, slicing necks, heads, shoulders and hips, and completing the circle by decapitating the final four just as their toes left the hosts.
Three of the hosts were dead when they hit the ground––Denny and Fouet struck too soon, killing both host and demon. The rest collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Denny paused a moment to look at the three dead bodies.
She’d just killed three basically innocent people. Possessed people.
Denny carried on.
When Fouet whipped back around and into the cylinder, Denny stood, chest heaving, looking at the dead as well as the living on the ground before her. Saugen had done its job––not perfectly, not even well––but it worked. Ten people saved from the demons within.
Ten.
But none of them was her target. She wanted Jones in a way that made her salivate. Well, the Hanta was salivating. Denny was busy running.
When she caught up to Jones, he was trying to back out of a parking place. Denny took eight strides before she was airborne and landed on the hood of his BMW. The metal dented where her feet landed.
“Not even close, asshole,” came the Hanta’s voice.
All Hanta.
Jones gawked at her as she smashed the windshield, grabbed him by the lapels, and ripped him through the opening.
“Son of a bitch!”
Tossing him to the ground, Denny leapt down next to him and pulled him to his feet.
“You think you can set up my family and just walk away? Huh? You think you can just waltz in here and wreck us without repercussion?” She punched him in the gut several times, knocking the wind out of him. She was still angry, and the Hanta wanted to keep punching him, but she caught herself and held back.
“You’re right, you motherfucker, I can’t kill you. I need you...but I sure as shit can make sure you go to prison a hollow, empty shell.” Denny slammed him to the ground before pulling out Saugen and sucking the demon from him. “No more power for you, asshole.”
The demon came out, met its fate at the bite from Fouet, and turned to smoke.
Jones rolled over on his hands and knees. “How did you...?”
Denny stood over him, fists clenched. “Because I’m the demon hunter, you son of a bitch, and I always will be.”
***
True to her promise to herself, Denny returned that evening to her lair, drew her blood and spent two hours writing about her last couple of days. It took three-and-a-half vials of her blood to ink the entire story of her battles with the demons, but when she was finished, she knew she’d done the right thing.
She was no lone wolf, no matter how often it felt that way. Being part of a team that actually did its best to protect others from the evil walking the planet felt like a job she could now do. She understood that much now––why writing in the Kill Book kept other hunters alive.. She understood what Peyton had been trying to tell them in all his posts––that demons were multiplying and gathering forces.
She got that, too.
She also finally understood the need for self-education as well as tutoring from others more knowledgeable than she.
Cassandra had offered to teach her about Wicca. Ames would continue teaching her about martial arts and the job of hunting. Lauren would help her with the massive number of books she would need to read, and even Sterling could expose her to the Catholic views on demonology.
She had a lot to look forward to, but mostly, she would anticipate the day her brother walked out of the prison. The day when, if only for an hour, she was able to bring her family back together.
“It’s a good thing you’ve done.”
Denny glanced up from the Kill Book at Rush. “What? Kill a lot?”
“No, silly, save your brother’s life. You’ve been through a helluva lot. I hope he appreciates all you’ve done for him.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“Where is Tyler Jones now?”
Denny sighed. “Well, someone had to pay for the deaths of those three poor guys I left on the ground. He was a babbling fool once I got his demon from him. He’ll be out on bail one day and back in jail the next. You’ll see.”
Rush smiled. “You must be so proud of yourself.”
Denny rose and put her used vials in a cup. “Proud? Hardly. I’m exhausted, scarred, and I accidentally killed three innocent people. I could really use a full night’s sleep.”
“So, no more skulking around in the dark?”
Denny shook her head. “No more. I need to get myself back on––”
Just then, a text popped up on her phone from Reese.
Things will roll in the morning from D.A.’s office. This will really catapult my career. Thank you so much for believing in me, Golden. I owe you.
“You never told her.”
Denny shook her head. “Didn’t really need to. She did a lot of leg work...it will be her evidence that puts him away.”
“Well, I’m surprised she never made a move. I always thought she had the hots for you.”
“You think that about everyone.”
“And I’d be right.”
As Denny started out of the lair, she waited for Rush. “You coming?”
Rush looked around. “Yeah. I just...I’m really proud of you, baby. You’re an amazing woman who I’m proud to have as my friend.”
“Best friends.”
Rush smiled. “Best friends.”
***
Two Months Later
The day was muggy and hot, but none of the Silvers felt it as they waited outside the prison gate. Behind them was a growing crowd holding signs and cheering for Quick. Camera men roamed around interviewing people, and Reese held court as people shot question after question at her. She had become a media sensation that the press was calling Reese’s Pieces.
She’d been right about this case making her career. She’d had job offers from all over the country.
“Anyone else’s heart racing?” Pure asked from behind Gwen’s wheelchair. Gwen’s hair had been done and she wore make-up for the first time in six years.
Pure returned from California with blonder hair, tanner skin, longer legs, and bigger breasts. She’d grown like a flower under the sun and when she got home, she was no longer a naive teenager with no direction. She told Denny and Sterling she would return to California for college and had applied to UCLA, USC and Berkeley.
Denny and Sterling couldn’t have been prouder of their little sister, though Denny kept calling her Blondie.
Sterling clucked around her sisters, transforming back into her older sister costume and dumping the habit for one day. Denny was proud of her for that as well.
“The press is chomping at the bit. Your detective is really in her element.”
“I like her,” Pure said. “She has integrity.”
“Without her, none of this would be possible. All the magic in the world couldn’t have created the evidence we needed to put Tyler Jones away. She deserves this.”
Sterling shifted her eyes from the sun. “This is taking forever.”
“They have to play it up big,” Lauren said, “to make up for their mistake. Good press is hard to come by these days. The D.A.’s office will milk this for as long as it can.”
Denny turned back around and looked into the crowd. A hand went up and waved at her.
Brianna.
Denny smiled at her.
“Golden, are you positive Quick needs to leave so soon? It would be so nice to visit for a while.” Sterling said.
Denny shook her head. “Can’t. Quick is far too easy a target for demons and the supernatural. With Pure in California and Quick in Alaska, all of us will be safer. He’ll be able to get work there, and the number of ghosts and supernatural activity are minimal.”
“I know, I know... Still...”
“You saw the research, Sterling.” Lauren said softly. “It’s his best option for success. I’ve crunched it five ways to Sunday and Anchorage is his best opportunity for an extended, demon-free life.”
Pure was nodding. “Loose cannons aren’t conducive to a safe existence for any of us.”
Everyone stared at her.
“What? Think I applied to those schools because I’m some dummy? Sheesh.”
They all laughed.
Their laughter was cut short when the doors to the prison slowly opened and the crowd quieted. The new D.A. paused his interviews and waited with the rest of the crowd.
Denny held Sterling and Pure’s hands, and together, they stood behind Gwen’s wheelchair and waited.
As the grains of sand fell slowly through the hourglass, Denny thought back over the last two months and how peaceful her life had become since her battle with the Magyar. She’d stopped prowling around at night and started sleeping during normal hours. She’d started jogging regularly, had been eating better, and had already read over two dozen books in her lair.
She was finally on track.
Having some normalcy in her life was a welcome change, and she’d even re-enrolled in school to take Latin and German.
Reese had worked tirelessly on the case, the earlier evidence that had been omitted came to light, and the slow churning wheels of justice had kicked into second gear.
Cassandra made several nighttime appearances for booty calls, but Denny finally had to put an end to that. As fun as casual sex was, she knew it hurt Rush to have Cassandra in her bed, and the last thing she needed was the complication of a relationship, even if it was just a sexual one.
For her part, Rush had settled into a deep friendship with Denny, making sure she ate and took time away from the lair. That time away usually consisted of half-day long training sessions with Ames, who showed her how to better use Saugen. It had other little tricks to it as well as the ones she’d used, and now, she had weapons that could change the course of her career.
For two months, she and Lauren had spent countless hours trying to find ways to decipher the carvings on the trunk. So far, they’d come up with nothing.
Nothing’ was just fine for her right now. She had learned a thing or two about balance. She’s realized that being a demon hunter was what she was, not the sum of all her parts. Ames had taught her to view it like a job, not a lifestyle.
Even the Hanta seemed to accept that.
“People will come to you for help now that the word is out there,” Ames had told her. “Until then and in between jobs, live your life to the fullest.”
That was about to happen now that Quick was getting out of prison.
When he finally walked out the gates, he made a beeline straight for Denny. Cameras clicked, the crowd cheered, and Denny cried into his musky smelling army jacket.
“You did it,” he whispered.
“I promised you I would.” Denny pulled away and looked into his face. He was heavier than when he went in. “Welcome home.”
Sterling and Pure joined the embrace. There were tears, laughter, and love as the Silver family reunited.
“Quick! Over here!”
“Quick, a few words!”
Quick started to cut them off when Denny put her hand on his chest. “You need to do this—if for nothing else than to sing Reese’s praises. She’s the one who made this happen. Go.”
“Fine, but don’t go anywhere.” Quick knelt in front of Gwen before kissing her forehead and whispering something in her ear.
As he addressed the crowd and answered questions from the press, Denny knelt in front of Gwen, tears in her eyes, and said, “I promised to get Quick out of his prison, Mom. Now it’s time for me to get you out of yours.” Caressing her mother’s gaunt cheek, Denny vowed to herself that the next person she saved, the next life she would pull out of incarceration, would be her mother’s.
It was a promise she intended to keep.
***
Demon Blood
Coming in 2015
When demons explode, demon detritus flies everywhere. At this very moment, the demon Denny Silver was trying to put down was one wrist flick away from blowing up.
“Come on Jahi, just release this woman,” Denny said. “Take your minion from her and maybe, just maybe, I’ll let her live.”
In each hand, Denny held a silver cylinder about a foot i
n length. When she snapped her wrists forward, a sword made of energy cracked out of the right cylinder while a blade chain whipped out of the other.
The possessed woman laughed—sounding slightly insane. “Your reputation as a killer of demons proceeds you, Golden Silver, but how will you fare against one you cannot kill?”
Denny pulled herself up to her full five feet ten as she slid the whip into a specially made inner pocket in her vest. “Oh, I could kill you and the host, but I’m hoping Jahi comes to her senses before I do that.”
Denny stepped closer to the possessed women, who looked like a forty-year-old mom trying to dress like her fourteen-year-old daughter.
“Stay where you are Hunter, lest my mistress, Jahi, feels the need to defend me.”
From another inner pocket, Denny withdrew a third cylinder, a weapon known as Saugen. The woman stepped back, eyes wide with fear.
Denny grinned. “Yeah, I’d back up too. See, here’s the thing: in less than one minute, this Saugen is going to suck you right out of this poor woman, and the second you clear her body, Epée here will cut you in half, ending your days of whoring around for the sake of your demon. So I’m giving you one final warning. Get out now or I’ll tear you from her and destroy you.” Denny looked up. “Do you hear me Jahi?”
Suddenly, a black mist appeared—formless, shapeless, almost two-dimensional. The mist hovered near the woman a moment before slowly taking the shape of a curvaceous shadow.
“Cease your threats, Hunter. You needn’t destroy my minion, though she is far tougher than you might surmise.” The shadow shimmered a moment.
“Your minions do not belong in Savannah, Jahi. Why are we having this conversation again? You’re trying my already limited patience.”
“It is my error, Hunter. One I’ll not make again.”
“Good, then take your servant with you when you leave and don’t return. I mean it, Jahi. Next time, it won’t be your minion I come after.”
The tense silence hung in the air between them, the shadow never anything more than a heavy smoke-like mist. “Save your warnings. Your reputation is well-earned. Come, Enocha. Leave that poor dimwit to her own devices.”
“And don’t return. Either of you. Whatever my reputation is ain’t nothing compared to what it can be.” Denny’s voice chopped three octaves. She sounded like a gnome who’d just eaten a bag of rocks and chased it with a pitcher of sand.
Demon Within (The Silver Legacy Book 2) Page 27