Whiskey and Angelfire

by A. A. Chamberlynn

  “Oh, no doubt. I’m sure he’ll get your fullest “briefing”,” I said, my smile widening. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  Eli fidgeted, which looked odd on his muscular form. “Zyan will need to see how the tracker works as well, since she’s working this case with me.” He avoided the daggers Hunter shot out of her eyes. “Perhaps we can get together later and go over it?”

  “Sounds swell,” I said. I wasn’t about to admit in front of Hunter that I was thinking of calling it quits with Eli.

  His eyes met mine for just a moment, conflict and a trace of confusion laced in his expression.

  I turned and headed for Gus’s bar. Then I changed my mind. I was tired of whiskey. What I really needed was a martini.

  Quinn and Riley met me at a place called Loch of the Irish, a jazz bar run by water nymphs I found after wandering north and heading down along the Liffey. A jazz bar was most certainly not something that had existed in Dublin last time I’d visited, which was exactly what I needed. Something to make me forget I was in Ireland to begin with. Unfortunately, they dragged the kid with them, which reminded me very much that we were not at home, and things were not normal. What exactly were they going to do with their little runaway when this was all over and we went back to Seattle?

  Colored lights shone on a trio of brass players across the room. Their music washed over us at our high top table toward the back. The waitress came by, a tiny thing with short blue hair and a matching dress. I ordered a dirty martini with an extra shot of brimstone liquor, and my besties shot me a look. Quinn ordered a pixie dust martini, and Riley a whiskey sour.

  When the waitress turned to Scorch he said, “Uh, I’ll have what he’s having,” and pointed to Riley.

  “Nice try,” I said. “Bring him a Coke.”

  “I don’t like Coke,” Scorch said with a glower in my direction.

  “I know just the thing,” the waitress said with a wink. Scorch blushed furiously, though his expression fought valiantly for neutrality. “Alcohol free, of course,” she assured the rest of us.

  She headed off, and Scorch nudged Riley in the ribs. “Whaddya think of the waitress?”

  Riley grinned. “She’s pretty. I go for dudes, though.”

  “Oh, that’s cool,” Scorch said. “One of my best friends back home is gay.”

  I leaned back in my seat and examined our little punk shapeshifter in his vintage rock band t-shirt. “Where exactly is home for you?”

  Scorch’s expression darkened, and Quinn shot me a look. “He doesn’t like to talk about it.”

  “Indonesia,” the kid mumbled, looking down at his lap.

  “That’s okay, I don’t like the place I came from either,” I said.

  His eyes flicked up to mine with a guarded expression. “Where’s that?”

  “Here,” I grunted. “And the sooner I can get back home to Seattle, the better.”

  Scorch looked down and started playing with his ring again.

  The waitress came back with our drinks. I finished mine off in one long chug.

  “So, I take it you and Eli got in another fight?” Quinn asked.

  “What makes you think that?” I asked irritably.

  “Because you’ve been doing nothing but fight since we got here,” Riley answered. “And for the millionth time, unless you’re having amazing makeup sex, it hardly seems worth the time.”

  I didn’t respond, which only made them look more worried. “Are you having hot makeup sex?” Quinn asked, nibbling on her lower lip.

  “No. We’re not having any kind of sex. Eli is my colleague.” I groaned. “Jesus, guys.”

  Scorch’s ears had gotten red but he nonchalantly sipped the vivid blue drink the waitress had brought him.

  “Then what’s the problem?” Riley asked.

  “Nothing.” I looked mournfully at my empty glass. “Nothing is the problem. It’s just this place. And my demon mark. Blah, blah, blah, same old bullshit.” I signaled the waitress for another.

  Riley raised his eyebrows and Quinn patted my hand. “Well, did you at least kill lots of demons at the breach?” Riley asked. He knew the way to cheer me up: discussions of carnage.

  “Indeed I did.”

  “Well that’s good,” Quinn said.

  “You kill demons?” Scorch asked incredulously, his tough demeanor busted.

  “Every chance I get, kid, every chance.” I grinned. “Something was weird, though. Usually with breaches it’s all demons of similar classification. This was a mix of all levels, from spawn to eleventh-level badasses.”

  Riley frowned. “That is kind of odd. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that before.”

  “I know,” I said. “It’s bothering me.”

  “Well, what do you think it means?” Quinn asked.

  “No clue. But something off like that doesn’t happen without a reason.”

  Scorch watched us talk, trying to get his expression back to bored and disinterested but failing miserably.

  “I say we check it out,” Riley suggested. “We’re not making a whole lot of progress on this angel thing.”

  “The spell books will turn something up,” Quinn said with a pout. “It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Well time is something we don’t have,” I responded. “Plus it seems these things are often mired together in some way. Chaos seems to weave together that way.”

  I waved to the waitress, who delivered a round of drinks she was carrying and hurried over. “What can I do for you?”

  “We need some information,” I said. She pasted a neutral, noncommittal expression on her face as I continued. “There was a demon portal breach earlier today. Is that a regular occurrence in Dublin?”

  “There wasn’t a breach,” she said.

  My brows furrowed. “Um, I was there, killing a bunch of the demonic bastards myself.”

  The bartender’s lips twitched. “I didn’t say there weren’t a bunch of demons running amuck in the streets. I said there wasn’t a breach. When a door opens from another dimension, my kind can sense it from miles away.”

  Quinn leaned forward in her seat, as if straining toward an explanation. “So, you’re saying the demons came through some other way?”

  A shrug from the water nymph. “Not sure, but I can tell you there were no breaches in Dublin today. And no, demon invasions are not a regular thing here.” She looked over the four of us in an appraising manner. “Are you going to do something about it?”

  “Yes,” I announced, caressing the hilt of my sword.

  “Well, then you need to check out one of the newcomers in the supe circles. She’s been here a couple weeks.”

  “What’s her name?” Riley asked.

  “She doesn’t have one that I’m aware of,” the bartender said. “But she’s been hanging around down in the Midnight Section. You know, near Dublin Castle, where the vamps hang out.”

  Vamps always loved the touristy areas of a city. It fit their flair for drama, plus it pretty much guaranteed a steady snack train. They couldn’t care less of course that feeding on humans, even willing ones, was illegal. “Thanks,” I said, dropping a hundred on the table.

  The waitress nodded, scooping up her cash before going to wait on other customers.

  “So, to the Midnight Section?” Quinn asked.

  “To the Midnight Section,” I said.

  We headed out onto the street. The river stretched before us, streaked in fiery hues from the setting sun. As I looked east toward the bay, I could see a series of bridges spanned it, each one quite different than the others. Colored lights glowed on the street and the water as the city transformed into its evening wear.

  Next to me, Riley stiffened. “Get out of the street!” He grabbed Scorch’s arm and yanked him into an alley. Quinn and I followed suit.

  “What’s going on?” I hissed.

  He put a finger to his lips and gestured for Quinn to take Scorch further back into the alley. I followed him as he cautiously walked back towa
rd the street and poked his head around the corner.

  An NHTF van had pulled up a block away and a squadron of armed soldiers jogged toward Loch. As we watched, they busted through the front door. Screams rose from within.

  “Everyone remain calm!” yelled a female voice.

  I recognized that voice. Commander Hunter.

  She strode forward between two uniformed soldiers holding the front entrance and disappeared within. Her voice boomed out to us even though we could no longer see her. “This is an authorized government raid. Cooperate and no harm will come to you. You will all be taken to NHTF headquarters for questioning.”

  Had she followed me there? There’s no way this was merely a coincidence.

  More troops jogged in after Hunter, and soon people began to be led out in cuffs. As they passed beneath the DNA scanner mounted on the doorframe of the building (mandatory for all public businesses), one of the soldiers watched the scanner. It flashed red for non-humans and blue for humans. He directed the non-humans into one of the vans parked down the street. About the fifth person through, the light flashed blue.

  “You’re free to go,” the soldier said, letting the human leave.

  Within five minutes, everyone inside from the cute waitress to the line cook had been rounded up and stuffed in a van. Hunter strode back out. She stopped and her head turned, her eyes scanning up and down the street before she finally signaled for the vans to head out.

  “What in holy hell?” Riley growled, stepping back into the alley and leaning heavily against the brick wall. He closed his eyes. “This is bad, Zy. We’re getting rounded up like cattle.”

  “Yeah. I told Eli things were starting to ramp up. The government has been waiting for an excuse to take action against supes.” I sighed. “He’s going to love that his little girlfriend is at the center of it all. And that she followed me over here and raided the bar I was in.”

  “Bitch has it in for you for sure,” Riley said, shaking his head.

  “I knew she was full of crap when she pretended she didn’t know anything about that supe bomb that almost killed us all at Mt. Rainier,” Quinn said, walking up with Scorch. Her eyes flashed. Even though she hadn’t been watching from our vantage point, no doubt she’d heard Commander Hunter with some sort of spell.

  “Things were at an uneasy peace before Alexander caused all that rioting a couple months ago, and Lucifer’s little attempt at a demonic invasion didn’t help,” Riley said. “It was all the fuel they needed to start a witch hunt. And they’re using Ambriel’s disappearance to back up their bigotry, too.”

  “Who’s Alexander?” Scorched asked.

  I sighed. “He’s my evil ex.”

  “She has a lot of them,” Riley said with a laugh.

  “Yeah, but Alexander is definitely the worst,” Quinn said.

  “And do you guys mean Lucifer, like THE Lucifer?” Scorch asked.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Riley responded.

  “Man you ask a lot of questions. Back to the discussion the adults were having…” I said with a pointed glare.

  Scorch ignored my gaze. “Maybe the government’s the one that kidnapped Ambriel,” he said with a shrug.

  We all turned to look at him.

  “You know, kid, you may actually be on to something,” I said.

  He shot me a smug smile.

  “It would actually make sense,” Quinn agreed. “Pay one of the angels to go into hiding for a while, so they can pin it on the supe community.”

  “But what about the shifter and the faerie?” Riley asked. “Not that I’m saying I wouldn’t put this past the government for two seconds.”

  “Well, it’s causing fighting within the community. What better way to take us down then to get us to do it ourselves?” I tapped my boot angrily against the grimy stone below my feet. “I need to talk to Eli.” I sighed. Why did I always have to find out crucial information when I was pissed with him and didn’t want to be the first to break the silence?

  “So, are we skipping the Midnight Section for tonight?” Quinn asked.

  “No,” I said. “I think we need to jump on that lead while it’s hot. Plus, it’s probably best if we keep moving around, since Hunter’s trying to find us.”

  Riley nodded. “Agreed. Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  The dank cobblestones and gloomy skies of Dublin’s old city made for classic vamp territory. As we made our way through the gas lamp-lit area of the Midnight Section, the shadows seemed to follow us. Literally. But if they thought we were snacking material, they were sadly mistaken.

  A young vamp sprung out from an alley, teeth bared. I kicked him right in the mouth, my boot colliding solidly. “Buzz off, blood worm. We’re not here to party.”

  His eyes glistened as if he might cry. “You—you knocked some of my teeth out!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, you did try to eat me, idiot. Try saying at least a polite “hello” before you fang somebody next time.”

  The vamp backed away slowly and then sped in a blur down the street. To my right, Scorch looked slightly wide-eyed, though he was clearly trying his best to play it cool.

  “Way to go,” Riley said.

  I sighed. “What was I supposed to do?”

  “I’m with Zy, he needs to recognize other supes when he sees them, unless he has a death wish,” Quinn said.

  I was a bit surprised Quinn sided with me. Of course, she was being more protective than usual since we had our new tagalong. I would’ve insisted he go back to Gus’s before we headed out, but with all the shit going down right now, it was probably best we didn’t let him out of our sight. I mean, not that I really cared much what happened to the little punk.

  We kept walking. The streets were quiet, even though it was well after dark. No vamps out to play? Or had I scared them all off? A couple blocks down, I saw the entrance of an establishment that looked promising. Two creepy stone statues sentineled the doorway, a huge oaken thing with a big iron ring in the middle. Over the threshold hung a polished wooden sign that said Velvet in flowy red paint. Could it scream vampire any louder?

  I snickered. “Love the subtly.”

  “Shall we?” Riley asked, giving a little bow and opening the door.

  Unsurprisingly, darkness greeted us, broken only by flickering candles scattered about a cavernous room. I smelled melted wax and blood and sex. Lots of sex. The moans of varying intensity echoing through the room confirmed that I wasn’t just having a gutter brain moment. I sighed and rolled my eyes, though it was too dim for anyone to see me. Vampires and their orgies. Might be a little hard to ask questions in here.

  “Ummm…” I whispered to Quinn and Riley.

  Scorch stood straight as an oak, and if I’d thought he blushed before at Loch, it was nothing compared to the scarlet color he wore now.

  “Just give me five minutes. But wait outside,” Quinn said, and she strode off into the darkness, shooting a worried look at Scorch.

  I shrugged and we stepped back out into the night. Quinn could certainly handle herself. And she might not actually mind this whole orgy thing if she got a hot date out of it.

  Really, I was sort of surprised they didn’t have a doorman or something. While vamps were out of the closet, like the other supes, that didn’t mean there weren’t still zealot vampire hunters roaming about. If I was that kind of hunter I’d be going to town right about now. Nothing like stumbling on a few dozen soporific vamps in the middle of a love fest. I rocked back on the heels of my boots and tried not to whistle or twiddle my thumbs as we waited. Patience = not me.

  Right as a group of vamps and their human lovers starting really amping up the noise from inside, Quinn popped her head back out the front door. We followed her to the back of the room, walking as quickly as possible, Riley with his hand over Scorch’s eyes. Waiting for us was a tall blonde vamp that looked similar to an Icelandic prince. Square jaw, rough stubble, glacier blue eyes. Eyes which were fixed adoringly on Quinn. Had s
he really hooked this one around her finger in less than five minutes? Impressive.

  “This is Vlad. He’s going to take us to the vamp we’re looking for.”

  “Vlad? That’s really your name?” I asked, blinking in shock.

  “Why, yes, it is,” he said. And yeah, he had about the most Transylvanian accent you could possibly imagine. Like he’d been Dracula’s speech coach.

  Riley and I exchanged a glance and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Scorch looked as if he was hiding a grin, too. “Excellent. Well, by all means, lead the way, Vlad.”

  Quinn shot me a dirty look over her shoulder as Vlad spun, his blonde hair swinging like cut silk, and led us further into the depths of the vampire den of depravity. We went through a door, down a hall, and then down some stairs that led us below ground. I wasn’t really too fond of underground places. Like that asshole Raoul’s cavern in Rio. Or Hell, for that matter, which I’d had the misfortune to visit.

  When we took yet another flight of stairs downwards, and the brick walls turned to rough-hewn stone wet with moss and slime, I was even less happy. Torches dotted the walls here and there, and I felt that perhaps I’d misjudged Vlad’s adoration for Quinn and he was taking us to his personal torture chamber instead.

  “Where are you taking us?” I asked, trying not to sound too testy.

  “We’re almost there,” he responded. Which didn’t answer my question at all.

  Light flickered ahead. As we approached its source, I could see that it filtered in through a rusty portcullis that led into the sewer. Rushing water could be heard in the distance. It was my turn to shoot Quinn a dirty look. “This is going to ruin my boots,” I growled, and Riley patted my hand sympathetically.

  We followed the sewer tunnel a bit further until it met with a current of water flowing beneath the city. An arched stone bridge crossed the water. More torches sat in moldy glass lanterns on each side of the bridge, flickering with green flames instead of orange ones. We climbed the bridge, and when I reached the apex I sucked in a surprised breath. Below us the sewers opened up into a large room with a domed ceiling, and within it lay an ornate garden, about an acre in size, with paths twisting in and out amongst the beds. Black roses and creeper vines with glowing purple buds, bright green fly traps the size of a human head. Mushrooms in an array of muted colors, and dark purple orchids that shivered as if in an invisible breeze.