Aspen

by Skye Knizley

“How come I’m not dead?” she muttered.

  Aspen held her hand. “Because it wasn’t real. Whatever this is, I think it can cause shared hallucinations. Do you remember Raven?”

  Jynx nodded. “Yeah. She saved my ass a couple times in that fight, and I saved hers. I see why you’ve got puppy eyes for her.”

  She rubbed at the bare skin of her belly as if checking for a wound. “So, that douchebag Xavier, none of that was real?”

  “No. I suspect Xavier is dead. Very very dead. The real Raven killed him to free me,” Aspen said.

  Jynx probed one nostril and tossed the blue mess onto the fire. “It was so real. I felt his knife, I smelled the gunpowder. Where did all of that come from?”

  Aspen poked at the fire, sending sparks into the evening air. “Our subconscious. What better way to keep us here until it can feed on us than to make us think we’re fighting off monsters and struggling to survive?”

  Jynx sat up and rubbed her head. “I knew I’d seen that fucking ash and the weird church before. It’s from a bad horror movie Piper and I saw at the drive in.”

  She raised her eyes and looked at Aspen. “That means you didn’t kill Clanton. He’s still out there with Mal, isn’t he?”

  Aspen met her eyes. “Yes. But the good news is, if I can beat the one you had in your head, one that is made up of everything that scares you, then the real one won’t be so tough.”

  She rolled up her sleeve and showed Jynx the livid blue lines on her flesh. “But we have bigger problems. Whatever it is, we have it. Considering how I feel and you look, we don’t have much time to find whatever is causing it and stop it.”

  Jynx huddled closer to the fire. “I’m open to ideas.”

  “I have one. Something my subconscious Raven said about this being something similar to a disease but not a disease. What if it is some kind of venom?”

  “You mean like from a snake?”

  Aspen scooted closer and picked up the notebook she’d been holding before she passed out. “Yes! Remember the weird liquid that came out of the wound in Martel’s neck? It is similar to cytotoxin left behind by a snake bite.”

  She rubbed the bite on her neck and found a small wound weeping liquid. She showed it to Jynx. “I bet that’s how we’re infected. I have one, you probably do, too.”

  Jynx rubbed the back of her neck then wiped her hand on her jeans. “Okay, so is it an insect or something? How do we fight insects?”

  “I don’t think it’s an insect. We didn’t invent Dr. Wright, she’s here, somewhere. I have a hunch that the cell thing she mentioned in the mine is also here. We just have to find it and trap this thing back inside.”

  Jynx pulled herself to her feet. “I’d rather find it and kill it.”

  Aspen stirred the fire again, the ashes and coals were coming alive. “I’m not positive we can.”

  “We’ll know that when we find it, and I have a hunch of my own.”

  She pulled her father’s diary from her jacket pocket and began sorting through it. “Remember when I said there were pages missing? This is what I was looking for. Something Wright said struck a chord.”

  She showed Aspen a page with the same hieroglyphs that Wright had drawn. “My grandfather found these, a long time ago. They were written on the outside of a cave out in New Mexico.”

  Aspen smoothed the page and tried to make sense of the elder Kane’s notes. “He says that local legend speaks of something they called the Dying Sleep.”

  Jynx looked over her shoulder and pointed to a section written in red. “And that it was traced to a thing called a Djinn that they trapped inside the rocks.”

  Aspen handed the book back. “So you think this is the same thing?”

  Jynx flipped more pages. “Gramps did. He listed one of the possible locations of others, one of which was a missing Missouri mine. I didn’t make the connection, Piper probably would have.”

  “I don’t suppose he said how to trap or kill it?”

  Jynx closed the book and stuffed it back in her pocket. “No. His research didn’t go that far. I guess it was on Dad’s ‘to do’ list when he died.”

  Aspen hefted her gear bag. It felt like it weighed a solid ton and her shoulder sagged under the weight. “Do you think you are up to driving?”

  Jynx coughed and spat, then jerked open the door to the Charger. “Why not? It isn’t like there is any other traffic out here.”

  Aspen tossed her gear into the back seat and climbed in. Jynx brought the engine to life and tromped the gas.

  “Head north, toward the mine,” Aspen said.

  “Where Wright said it would be.”

  Aspen consulted her map. “Yes. I think whatever was in our heads, this Djinn, it draws on reality to fill in the gaps. If the doctor was right, then we should find the cage near the mine somewhere.”

  “Then let’s put this bastard back in his box.”

  II

  Downtown Chicago, IL: 10:30 p.m.

  Raven pressed the accelerator and guided the Bass through evening traffic. Many American cities had been called “the city that never slept”, but they had nothing on the Windy City, where offices and businesses ran on world time. The streets were crowded, even this late, and getting between taxis and private vehicles without scuffing the paint or running over a pedestrian who couldn’t read crossing signals took all her concentration.

  Levac flipped the switch that activated the police lights and pointed. “There! Black SUV turning right. The plate matches.”

  Raven changed lanes and drifted the Bass around the corner in a cloud of burned asphalt and exhaust. The driver in the SUV must have seen them because it surged forward under hard acceleration.

  “Why does everyone run?” she muttered.

  Levac gave her a lopsided smile. “Are you kidding? If I saw you coming up behind me in this thing, I would run, too.”

  Raven didn’t look at him, she was too busy avoiding people who thought a siren meant ‘stop in the middle of the road and panic’. She tapped the brakes and threaded the Bass between two sedans and turned left behind the SUV. “You keep talking like I’m scary. I’ll have you know I am as calm as a Georgia peach.”

  The SUV swerved to avoid stopped traffic and climbed up on the sidewalk. Raven followed, cursing under her breath.

  “You’re kidding, right? Last week you broke the coffee maker,” Levac said.

  “That wasn’t my fault! Some idiot let the coffee boil out instead of making a fresh pot,” Raven replied.

  The SUV cleared the end of the street and turned with the Bass close behind. When she saw an opening, she pressed the gas and the Bass roared up beside the SUV.

  Levac rolled his window down and held up his badge. “Pull the hell over!”

  The SUV swerved, almost hitting the Bass. Levac called out in pain and recoiled from the impact.

  “Are you okay? Keep inside the car!” Raven yelled.

  Levac rubbed his sore hand. “I lost my badge!”

  “We can’t go back for it, just call in a replacement,” Raven said.

  Levac shook his head and moaned, “It’s the third this year. IA is going to chew on my ass like a puppy toy.”

  Raven glanced at him. “How have you lost three badges this year?”

  “You know that cute blonde girl who moved in across the hall? I’ve been letting her do my laundry, but I keep forgetting and leaving my badge in my pants pocket. When I get them back, it’s always missing,” Levac said.

  The SUV swerved then turned the other way, barreling down a narrow alley. Raven turned at the next and followed in a parallel course. She could see the SUV kicking up sparks as it passed between buildings and she used that as her guide. Garbage cans and other debris bounced off the Bass’ grill and hood, but she kept going, only wincing at the impact.

  “What do you mean
you ‘let’ her do your laundry? You should be paying her hazard pay!”

  Levac shrugged. “We trade off. She does the laundry, I bring the mail, and carry out all the trash. It’s a ten story climb!”

  Raven slid the Bass into the next street. The SUV was just ahead, accelerating toward the highway entrance with sparks trailing from the rear bumper that was dragging on the pavement. Raven downshifted and pressed the gas, making the Bass fishtail.

  “She’s still getting the raw end of the deal. Call this in, I don’t want this bastard getting away,” Raven said.

  Levac picked up the radio mic and started speaking. Raven didn’t hear what he said, the SUV had crossed three lanes of traffic and was now racing down an industrial road between the old warehouse district and the train tracks. Near the end of the road, the brake lights came on and the back window blew out in a spray of glass. Raven felt a brief moment of terror then hit the brakes and swerved. The rocket propelled grenade the thugs had fired missed the Bass by inches and exploded against the warehouse behind them, sending plumes of fire into the sky.

  Levac’s jaw dropped. “Was…was that an RPG? That was an RPG!”

  “I noticed! Keep your panties on!”

  She chewed the inside of her lip and blinked, awakening her monster. The steering wheel moaned under her fingers and she pressed the gas. The Bass roared after the SUV like an angry tiger chasing prey.

  “Ray, they have RPGs, what are you doing?” Levac yelled.

  “I doubt they have two launchers. They’ll have to reset,” Raven yelled back. “Just get ready to take the wheel.”

  “Take the wheel? Have you lost your damn mind?”

  Raven guided the Bass between the train tracks and the fleeing SUV. The rear passenger window lowered and the faerie who seemed to be in charge leaned out with an MP5 in her hands. Raven grabbed Levac’s head and pushed him down just as bullets rained down from the SUV. The high-velocity slugs passed through the Bass like it was butter, only to vanish harmlessly into the upholstery.

  Raven let go of Levac and he sat up, his skin pale and clammy. “Thanks…”

  “Does your pistol still work?” Raven snapped.

  Levac looked surprised and pulled out his SIG. “Yeah…yeah, why?”

  Raven pointed at the woman, who was reloading. “Do me a favor and shoot that piece of shit!”

  Levac seemed to come to his senses. He chambered a round and started firing. Thad’s specials weren’t designed for armor piercing, but they still had enough power to punch through sheet metal. The blonde woman fell out of sight into the vehicle and it swerved to the right. Raven followed it between another set of gray-walled warehouses and set the car’s cruise control.

  “Get over here!” she said to Levac.

  Levac squirmed over onto the center console. “Ray, I don’t think this is a very good idea!”

  “We don’t have a choice, we’re losing fuel. Take the wheel!”

  She pressed the sunroof button. It started to open and she reached up to grab the sill. She used it to lift herself off the seat and Levac slid beneath her. His left hand closed on the steering wheel and she pulled herself the rest of the way out of the vehicle and onto the roof.

  “Now what?” Levac asked.

  “Punch it! Get me closer!”

  The car surged beneath her and she squinted into the wind. When the SUV was close enough she could see the people inside trying to reload the RPG, she jumped. She landed on the roof of the SUV with bone jarring force and slid toward the side when it swerved beneath her. She dug her nails into the metal and held on as her legs fell off the side.

  Behind her, the Bass backed off with smoke pouring from the engine compartment. Raven saw the lights fade from the corner of her eye as she fought to pull herself back up. Her flailing hand caught the luggage rack and she pulled herself onto the roof. She punched through the SUV’s passenger window and leaned down.

  “What part of pull over didn’t you assholes understand?”

  The passenger, one of the nondescript brown-haired men cried out in surprise and raised his weapon, an MP5. Raven grabbed the barrel and slammed it into his face. Blood spurted from his nose and he fell backwards with a yell. His retreat gave Raven the opening she needed. She opened the door and pulled him out. He fell to the ground beside the SUV and went headfirst into the side of a warehouse, where he exploded into silvery dust.

  Raven climbed inside and gave the driver her best smile. “Detective Storm, Chicago police. I’d like to see your license and proof of insurance, please?”

  The brunette woman appeared from the back seat, weapon first. Raven caught the barrel and yanked her into the front seat. She fell face-first into the stereo and Raven punched her in the throat. She gagged and let go of the rifle. Raven tossed it aside and drew her own weapon.

  “I was trying to be nice, now we’ll go for not nice. Pull over or you’ll be trying to breathe through the new hole in your skull!”

  The driver smirked. “If you kill me, the truck will crash and you will die, too.”

  Raven grabbed the seatbelt with her free hand. “I’m willing to take the chance. Are you?”

  The driver’s smirk faltered. Then gripped the wheel and wrenched it hard to the left. The SUV turned and Raven felt the high-side start to roll. She held onto the seatbelt throughout the crash. They rolled over more times than she could count before coming to rest against a fence at the edge of the lake. Her arm felt like it was made of gelatin, but she was otherwise unhurt.

  Beside her, the driver groaned and reached for his pistol. Raven shook her head and shot him in the knee. He squealed in pain and clutched at the ruined joint as if he could somehow hold it together.

  “Bad choice, pal,” Raven said. “You should have just pulled over.”

  She retrieved his pistol and tossed it into the water. “Why are you hunting humans?”

  “I will tell you nothing,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Raven nodded. “I understand. You do, technically, have the right to remain silent.”

  She punched him in the knee as hard as she could. She felt blood spurt around her knuckles and the splinter of broken bones. The Fae screamed and tears ran down his cheeks.

  “Except you aren’t human, you aren’t going to jail, and you are hunting humans on vampire turf. Why are you hunting?” Raven asked again.

  The door behind her opened. She half turned, expecting to see Levac. Instead, it was the blonde woman holding a sword that would have looked more appropriate in the hands of a medieval villain.

  “He will tell you nothing, vampire. We do not answer to your Totentanz, we are Fae,” she said.

  “I guess you’re the one in charge. I thought Rupert had shot you, no such luck, huh?”

  “I am. You killed nine of my people and poor Oakenford will never walk again. Drop your weapon and get out!” the faerie ordered.

  Raven gripped her pistol and weighed her options. It was unlikely the faerie could kill her with the sword, not at this angle, but a deep cut would be an inconvenience with backup on the way. She ejected the magazine and put it in her pocket before laying the pistol on the seat and climbing out of the wrecked vehicle. She stood on the sand opposite the woman and rubbed her sore shoulder.

  “Now what? Are you going to kill an unarmed woman?” she asked.

  The faerie flourished her sword. “You were going to kill my man.”

  “Your man? That doesn’t sound very professional. I wasn’t going to kill him, I was going to press him for information and lock him in a deep dark cell for a few hundred years,” Raven said.

  “A cell? You bloodsuckers have grown weak!”

  The faerie swung the sword in an overhand gesture. Raven skipped out of the way and backed off, using the motion to shrug out of her jacket. “Compassion isn’t weakness, it is strength. Why are you hunti
ng humans?”

  The faerie swung again. This time, Raven wrapped it in her jacket and spun. Her momentum pulled the blade aside and she slammed her elbow into the woman’s face. She groaned and backed away. In the instant her blade was free she raked it across Raven’s back, opening a deep gash that wept crimson. Raven hissed in pain and lashed out with a kick to the faerie’s midsection and a spinning punch to her jaw. The faerie used the momentum of Raven’s roundhouse punch to cartwheel away and raise her blade again.

  “You are better than I expected,” she said.

  Raven wrapped her jacket around her left arm. “You’ll find I’m full of surprises.”

  The faerie attacked, a flurry of stinging blows that Raven blocked with her jacket. The blade still bit into her flesh, but the pain was tolerable. She blocked again then spun into a heel kick that connected with the faerie’s chin and sent her sprawling. Raven picked up her sword and stood over the faerie. She could hear the sirens and see the lights flickering against the not too distant warehouses.

  “They’re playing your song, lady. Why are you hunting humans?”

  The faerie tried to sit up. “I will not tell you!”

  Raven kicked her in the ribs and pushed her back to the sand with her foot. “I know it has something to do with your fake king, I don’t need that part. Why are you hunting Aspen Kincaid?”

  The faerie shook her head and looked away.

  Raven pressed down with her foot. She could feel the faerie’s ribs cracking under her heel. “There are easy ways and hard ways to die! Unless you want to breathe through punctured lungs and spend the rest of your life in a vampire coffin, talk! Why Aspen?”

  The faerie coughed blood and spat it on Raven’s leg. “She is of the blood! The king is in danger as long as she lives.”

  Raven shook her head. “That’s ridiculous! Aspen is human.”

  The faerie shrugged and winced in pain. “I only follow orders, vampire.”

  Raven leaned close. “Then follow these. You tell your king, Aspen is mine. She is under my protection and this is my city. You tell him if he sends anyone else for her, I’m coming for him and I’m bringing the whole vampire army with me.”