Bangkok Warlock: A Mark Vedis Supernatural Thriller Book 1 (Southeast Asia Paranormal Police Department)

by John P. Logsdon

  Chapter 32

  I spent the rest of the day with Mira, though I’d already slept through most of it. An hour or so before sundown we separated. Mira went to shower then check in with Lana while I called downstairs and asked them to order a pizza for me and Bert. It arrived by the time I’d dressed.

  Bert was in the living room, watching Adventure Time on Netflix.

  “Oh, pizza,” he said. “Gimmie.”

  He took the box, then turned it over. “Okay, it’s clean.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, when you’ve watched as much porno as I have, you get paranoid,” he said, cramming half a slice into his mouth. “Same reason I won’t eat any popcorn if it’s on a dude’s lap.”

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  He nodded, sagely. “Stick with me kid, I’m full of wisdom.”

  I grabbed a slice of pizza, noticing it was covered with seafood. I picked off the fish and squid, but kept the crab stick and vegetables. Not bad, but next time I’d be more specific about what kind of pizza to order.

  “So, we’re about ready to make our move,” I told him. “We’re going to set up a meeting with Jonah, telling him we want to team up.”

  “Okay,” Bert replied between bites. “Think he’ll buy it?”

  I shrugged. “Hope so. We haven’t told anyone outside of the group what we found, so he shouldn’t suspect anything.”

  Bert grabbed the discarded toppings from my plate and shoveled them into his mouth.

  “So what are we waiting on?”

  “Mira and Lana are going to try to figure out where the last attack is going to happen. I don’t believe Jonah is working alone.”

  He nodded.

  He wasn’t arguing, which was strange.

  “So you’re okay with this?”

  “No,” he said, spitting pizza as he talked, “but that doesn’t really matter. If I get killed with you I’m dead, but if I let you get killed alone, I’ll be tortured to death by my own mother. No real good options here.”

  “Do you really think she’d do that?”

  “Dude,” he said, swallowing, “maybe we aren’t as bad as people think, but we’re still fucking demons. Looking weak is the fastest way to get killed. I only survived by being clever and turning people against each other. My brothers and sisters would have murdered me decades ago if mom hadn’t stopped them.”

  “That sucks, man.”

  “Yeah, it does.” He sighed. “But that’s not your fault.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve been cool about all of this,” he offered. “We both got dragged into this because politics and shit, and I know I was a bit of a dick before, but…I’ve had fun.” He shrugged. “So, do me a favor and keep us alive. I kind of promised Miss Porn that we were going to finger-cuff her.”

  “What?”

  “Kidding!” he laughed. Then, he got serious again. “Unless you’re into it?”

  “So…?”

  He laughed again. “No!”

  “Right. Kidding.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  It was Lana and Mira.

  “Oh, hey,” I said. “You’re early.”

  Mira took a step inside, then frowned.

  “Wow,” she said, holding her nose. “You weren’t kidding about the smell. Lana, do you smell that?

  “Yes,” she answered. “I smell sulfur, as well as many fungal compounds. I think the correct term would be ‘Swamp-taint’.”

  “I know,” I agreed. “Why do you think I keep hanging out at Mira’s?”

  Lana’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I assumed it was because she was removing seminal fluid from your testicles on a regular basis.” She glanced at us both. “Was I mistaken?”

  Mira and I both blushed.

  “I see you’ve been studying anatomy since the last time we met,” I said, finally.

  “Yes,” Lana said. “Did you know women have a tiny little penis that makes them giggle when you pet it?”

  “Okay, anatomy lesson over,” I said, looking away.

  Bert was laughing so hard he’d choked on his pizza.

  I spoke louder. “What’s the plan?”

  Mira held a hand in front of Lana’s mouth before she could talk. “I’ve got it sweetie.”

  She continued holding her nose and walked into the apartment.

  “Jonah has agreed to meet at a coffee house a few miles from here,” she said, her voice sounding nasally. “He’ll be there in an hour, which doesn’t give us much time.”

  I nodded and turned to Lana, who was still standing outside.

  “And you? What did you find out about the next potential target?”

  “I’ve looked at the data,” she replied. “I found search results related to specific locations, all of them except the last, Nana Plaza, have already been attacked.”

  “Nana Plaza?” I asked. “What’s that?”

  “Do you remember Soi Cowboy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Same idea, but off the main road and all one complex. It’s very close to here too. Just a few miles away.”

  “So it’s isolated and big?” That fit. “Seems like a prime target.”

  Lana nodded. “I agree.”

  “Well, let’s go deal with Jonah then,” I said. “Hopefully arresting him will lead to some information about how to stop these attacks.”

  I looked around the room. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah,” Bert said, “I’ve got a question for Lana.”

  She nodded. “Yes?”

  “Does the giggle penis have seminal fluid too?”

  I pushed him out of the room before I had another murder scene to investigate.

  Chapter 33

  We took the sky train to the closest station to the coffee shop. We were just about to get off when I heard Mira shout.

  “Hey, watch where you’re going, asshole.”

  “What happened?”

  “Some jerk bumped me,” she said. “Either trying to pickpocket me or grab a feel.” She exhaled, loudly. “I hate public transportation.”

  “Sorry,” I said. “We have to be careful here. If we teleported to the coffeehouse, we might be walking into an ambush. This way we can know what we’re walking into.”

  It was a five-minute walk to the shop. I felt a tingle as we approached, a sign it was already in a null zone. A temporary null zone was expensive. If Jonah’d whipped one up this fast it meant he had serious cash at his disposal. I was glad to have it. It was better for normals to be away for the moment.

  “He’s there,” Bert said, pointing to a glass window. “The fucker’s even waving at us.”

  “Be cool,” I told him as I studied the area. “It looks like he and the barista are the only people here.”

  “You mean the barista who is almost certainly a Shaped, ready to ambush us?” Mira asked.

  “Yes, that one.”

  I contacted Lana, who’d gone ahead of us to scout the area.

  “Is it clear? I asked.

  “Yes. There is no suspicious movement in the area and he’s been alone for the past hour.”

  “Great,” I said. “Please continue monitoring the situation.”

  “On it.”

  “Okay,” I said to the others, “let’s go.”

  We walked in together and scouted the area more deeply, looking for anything that posed a risk.

  So far, so good.

  Jonah nodded to us from a nearby table.

  “Have your friend leave,” I demanded.

  His eyes widened, in mock surprise.

  “You mean the barista?” he chided. “I assure you she is in no way someone I brought for backup.”

  I just stared at him.

  He looked over at her and sighed.

  “Gretchen,” he said in a disappointed tone, “you were clearly way too obvious. We’ll work on that tomorrow.”

  She frowned. Then, she bowed and left.

  “Okay,” I
said. “That’s a start. Now—”

  I heard a loud thump as Bert dropped to the ground next to me.

  Mira smiled, her talons extended. A drop of poison fell to the floor.

  Jonah smiled, pulling a pistol from under the table. “I think we should talk.”

  What the hell?

  Mira walked over to Jonah. He touched her on the shoulder, directly on her skin.

  “Oh, come on,” he sniffed. “You didn’t think I smelled a setup a mile away? I’m in the mafia. This is what we do.”

  “How?” I asked, baffled.

  I wasn’t trying to stall for time, either. I seriously needed to know how he’d pulled this off.

  “It was so easy,” he answered. “I’d already had your girl taken over by one of my djinn. She was programed to take out your friend and now I’ve put her under my direct control. All I had to do was plant a fake barista here to make you feel confident.” He kissed Mira on the cheek, and then smiled at me. “This is basic double-cross stuff. You should really feel bad about not knowing this.”

  Fuck.

  “I’m going to kill you,” I seethed.

  It sounded good, but I didn’t have any idea how I was going to do it.

  “How?” he asked, not looking worried in the least. “You can’t merge and your lady is under my control.” He waved his gun around carelessly. “Honestly, I’d say you’re pretty screwed.”

  I started to pull my power into my hands, getting some magic ready.

  Jonah stopped waving the gun and pointed it directly at me.

  “I wouldn’t recommend that,” he warned. “I mean, you could throw some fire at me, but if you do, I’ll shoot you and then have Miss Mira kill herself.”

  He gave her a sideways glance.

  “Actually,” he said, tapping his chin with the gun nozzle, “I’m going to have her kill you. After that, I’ll have her kill herself.” He nodded as if sensibility had just set in. “Yes, it does tend to work better that way.”

  A growl escaped my lips as rage filled my body.

  Some of it was my own, but not all. Caleb and Theresa’s fury rose to join the mix. Logic suggested it was just a reaction to absorbing their energy, but it felt like they were here with me. My eyes started to burn, and then I heard their voices from inside my head.

  “Let us have him,” they said.

  “What?”

  Apparently I was wrong.

  “Give him to us,” they screamed.

  My power swelled as their energy merged with mine.

  It felt like I was going to explode.

  “Let us go! Give him to us!”

  Jonah smiled. “The boss is going to be so happy I took care of you myself.”

  “The boss?” I asked between my teeth. My mouth was trying to force itself open. “I thought you were the boss?”

  “Everyone has a boss,” he noted.

  “Even the boss?”

  “Well, no, but that’s different.”

  I growled, “Who is it?”

  “Oh, I’m not giving away the plan,” he laughed. “But you’d kick yourself if you knew.” His laughter died down, but he held on to his sinister smile. “I really want you to feel bad before I kill you, though.”

  I wanted to scream in frustration, or at the very least, frown at that, but I couldn’t.

  In fact, I smiled.

  I didn’t mean to, but I found my mouth was being forced open.

  Whatever it was, I couldn’t hold it back.

  A voice, not mine, but the combination of Caleb and Theresa spoke from my mouth.

  “No!” The guttural tone was so harsh that I nearly choked. “We will not allow this to happen!”

  Jonah’s smile fell. “What the fuck?”

  A wave of energy shot out from my body, throwing Jonah and Mira against the wall.

  Mira dropped to the ground, unconscious.

  My body was no longer under my control.

  I leaped forward and snatched Jonah as he stumbled, wrapping him in a hug.

  He looked as uncomfortable as I felt, but it was about to get worse for both of us.

  My mouth reshaped into sharp teeth as they spoke through me.

  “You’ve taken everything from us,” Theresa and Caleb hissed through my mouth.

  “What?” Jonah shrieked, looking more terrified than a mafia guy had any right to look. “Who the hell is that?”

  “Two of your victims,” they said. “The last of your victims.”

  Then they used my mouth to kiss him.

  Their energy poured out of me, flooding into Jonah and knocking me back.

  I landed on my ass, wiping my mouth in disgust as I did.

  Jonah’s eyes rolled back into his head as he screamed, energy swirling inside his body.

  He tried to run, but his feet collapsed under him. He clawed at himself, but his fingers dissolved.

  The energy ran over every inch of his body, burning him every place it touched.

  Within seconds all that was left was a husk of a person, charred beyond recognition, but somehow still screaming.

  I debated putting him out of his misery.

  No, it was better to let him suffer.

  A cold chill ran through my body as I felt a presence emerge, the same one I’d felt back when I’d almost died back in Kansas City.

  A black figure, indistinguishable even to my eyes, approached Jonah, waiting.

  It was a reaper.

  Jonah must have felt something because his screaming intensified.

  I heard a voice in my head.

  Yes, another one.

  “This might take a while,” the reaper said in a husky voice.

  I looked at the figure. I couldn’t quite make out the details with my eyes, but the energy flowing from the reaper was definitely feminine.

  “Have a seat please,” she suggested. “We might as well be comfortable while we wait.”

  I looked at Mira and Bert, who were still unconscious.

  “I should help my friends.”

  “They’ll live,” she said with a laugh. “Trust me, I know.” She pointed to the chair again. “Please sit.”

  I did. Even I knew better than to piss off a reaper.

  “So, I guess I should apologize,” I said, not knowing how to start a conversation with someone who was an avatar of death. “You tried to take me a few days ago, but I bonded with a demon instead.”

  “Not to worry,” she replied, waving a ghostly hand. “You’ll die, eventually. A few hundred years matter little in the grand scheme of things.”

  There wasn't much I could say to that.

  The screaming continued from Jonah, but it was almost background noise by this point, like a bathroom fan or tv static.

  “Wow, they are really mad,” the reaper said. “I suppose I can’t blame them.” She paused. “I find it’s best to let strong spirits tire themselves out. Less of a fuss that way.”

  “I guess I wouldn’t know,” I said.

  I resisted the urge to check my phone.

  “Am I keeping you from anything?” she asked. “It’s rare that I get the chance to speak with anyone still living, especially a warlock. You are one of the few who can see me when you aren’t dead, you know?”

  “Oh, no, it’s fine,” I said, feeling exceedingly uncomfortable. “I’m just not sure what to say.”

  She gave what looked like a nod.

  “Understandable. Those of us who deal with spirits tend to be rather shitty at small talk.” She leaned forward. “You know, your species has more interaction with us than most, historically speaking, but I haven’t seen a warlock in centuries.”

  “You should have met one recently,” I breathed. “Apparently, my grandfather was a warlock too. He died a few months ago.”

  “He didn’t come to me,” the reaper replied. She looked like she was shrugging. “But there are many of us working around the clock. It’s amazing the amount of carnage you people inflict on each other. Well, that and heart atta
cks. Your diets are pretty horrid.”

  The shrieking was winding down.

  “I suppose that’s my cue,” she said, standing up.

  The reaper walked over to Jonah and put her hand out. I saw three orbs of energy form as they were pulled from the body.

  “Okay folks, let’s get on the road,” she commanded. “Try to play nice from here on out, please.”

  I saw movement from the spirits as two of them circled another.

  “None of that,” the reaper cajoled. “You’re all dead now, so you’re even.”

  The orbs stopped moving. Then, they vanished into the reaper’s body.

  She nodded to me before beginning to fade away.

  Suddenly, she stopped.

  “This is highly unprofessional,” she said, “but would it be okay if I stopped by and talked with you from time to time?” She seemed to be self-conscious regarding this request. “It gets a little lonely on the job, and you wouldn’t believe how boring the other reapers are.”

  That was unexpected.

  “Uh, sure,” I replied. “That would be great.”

  The figure solidified for a second, long enough to see a very feminine face wink at me. I noticed her eyes were red and glowing.

  “Great,” she said. “Call you later.”

  Then she faded away.

  “Dude,” I heard Bert groan from behind me, “teach me.”

  After I propped him up next to a table, I moved to make Mira comfortable while waiting for them both to recover. Having your mind taken over had to suck and I didn’t want to try to wake her up, in case there were side effects.

  And seeing that my immediate team was completely fucked, that’s when the universe decided everything should go to hell.

  “Mark,” Lana called through the connector, “Nana Plaza is under attack. What should I do?”

  Damn it.

  We were supposed to have two more days. I guess Jonah must have warned Bubbles about our meeting and forced him to act quicker. It was a good thing I hadn’t trusted him, and even better that I’d had Lana and the Bangkok PPD set up some surprises.

  “I’m on my way.”

  I looked at Bert. “Are you feeling okay?”

  He shook his head. “I’m a little woozy. Your lady’s packing some powerful poison. Good thing demons heal fast.” He blinked, unevenly. “Do you make her wear gloves when she plays the skin flute?”