I shuddered. “That’s disturbing on many levels.”
“What?” Tres asked. “I can’t enjoy the beauty of a woman?”
“She’s like our big sister,” Esais said.
“She probably changed your diapers,” I said.
Adrian raised a brow. “She would have been a child then.”
Esais frowned, his eyes going distant as if he was trying to catch hold of a memory eluding him. They didn’t know about Lucy. Interesting that she and Jonah had kept their secrets despite being almost family to the Van Helsings. With everyone meeting in New York, and given Esais’s unique abilities, I doubted it would stay a secret for long.
Lucy glanced in our direction, and our gazes met. A grin spread across her face. She hopped off the platform and pushed her way through the dancers. She bounded up the stairs and practically threw herself into Esais. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and she laughed.
“It’s so good to see you,” she said.
He grinned, hugging her tight. “Hey, Lu.”
She pulled away and turned to Tres. “Hey there. Look at you all grown up and sexy.”
Tres gave me a look as if to say “you see?” before spreading his arms out for a hug. She pulled him close before turning to Adrian.
“You look better outside your cage,” she said. “I’m glad you broke free.”
He chuckled, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I was only waiting for the right time. Ms. Di Luca provided the right reason.”
She glanced at me with a smile. “Hello, dearie. Good to see you again.”
I smiled but remained where I was. I didn’t want to invade on the brothers’ reunion with her. “You as well. It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”
She nodded. “I think it was that demon in Germany.”
“Hmm, that was fun.” I pulled Marge forward. “This is Marge Devereux.”
“Ah, yes, the one searching for her own demon,” Lucy said. “A pleasure to meet you, dearie.”
“Yeah, whatever. Where is it?”
Lucy took a step back with a frown. “No need to rush things. How about we enjoy the night and start tomorrow?”
“Not interested. Can you find it or is this another waste of my time?”
“Most likely, I can. However, it would be easier with my cards, which I don’t have.”
I touched Marge’s shoulder. “You can wait one more night. Why don’t we visit Lucy tomorrow for a reading?”
Lucy studied Marge for a few moments. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s it? You’ll think about it?” Marge mumbled. “Why the hell am I here at all?”
“I wanted to meet you and get a feel for you before I did a reading,” Lucy said.
“So I had to pass some sort of test?”
Lucy winked at her. “Maybe I just wanted to see if you were hot.”
Marge scowled and muttered, “Fuck this shit.”
Lucy laughed and turned to the brothers as Marge stalked toward the exit. “Let’s get a drink. I’m parched.”
I stared after Marge. I could try to drag her back, but it would make her angrier. Besides, why should I ruin my night? I would find her later when she calmed down and convince her. I followed behind Lucy as she led us to the closest bartender to order drinks.
He approached and leaned down, his blue-dyed hair fading so that brown roots peeked through. He looked at us with one eye that wasn’t covered by a straight lock of hair that had fallen to cover the right side of his face. “What can I get you?”
Esais did a double take as Lucy ordered the drinks. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the bartender. Lucy turned and handed me a frozen peach-colored beverage. She waved to the row of shots that sat on the bar for the brothers. She raised a matching drink to mine and downed it. I sipped, winching at the ache the cold brought to my head but enjoying the peach flavor that mixed with the warm bite of alcohol.
“So tell me all the juicy tidbits,” Lucy shouted over the music. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
Tres shrugged. “Nothing much, just enjoying the city.”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “And the girls in it?”
He laughed. “Maybe.”
“You need to show me around. You probably know the best clubs, unlike your brother here.” She waved her drink in Adrian’s direction. “What have you been up to?”
Adrian tapped his fingers on the bar and gave her a smile. “I’ve been busy with the security system for the new office.”
“New office?”
Adrian nodded to Esais. “He decided to take Jonah’s words about building father’s dream of a hunter organization seriously. So, we have an office.”
Lucy grinned and poked Esais in the side. “Look at you, trying to be all responsible. Please don’t say you’ll be as boring as Dad.”
Esais glanced at her and chuckled. “No one can be as boring as your dad. I just thought we need some place to settle, and New York is a hub—is that the right American word?”
“I get what you’re trying to say,” Lucy said.
“And they decided to start paying Marge,” I said. “Mostly because she didn’t want to do anything that didn’t concern her demon anyway. So, now they have an employee.”
“You’re not getting paid then?”
“And be on the same level as Marge?” I threw my head back and laughed. “I have enough of a nest egg.”
Mostly from antiques I’d liberated from demons and sold over five centuries, but it ensured I didn’t have to find work.
Lucy finished her second drink and grabbed Tres’s arm. “Let’s dance.”
Tres merely laughed as she led him to the dance floor. Adrian stood up with the shake of his head and disappeared into the crowd toward the bathroom. Esais held his full shot glass, still watching the boy behind the bar who had served us our drinks. The boy appeared to be in his mid-twenties and thin, as if he hadn’t had a good meal in a month. He leaned against the bar, watching the dancers. The holes in the elbows of his shirt didn’t match the artful slashes in the upper sleeves.
“That’s your type?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
He blinked at me. “What?”
“If you’re interested, you should go talk to him.”
“I, no . . .” He shook his head and laughed. His gaze traveled back to the boy. “There’s something different about him. I can sense it.”
I narrowed my eyes and studied the boy through my second sight. The world shifted to gray and the landscape was outshone by the rainbow of colors drifting from the dancers. I focused on the boy, blinking at the torrent of colors swirling about him. The aura was a representation of the human soul, and his was a state of desolation. The inky black of despair, livid blue of fear, and a muddy red anger mixed with the azure of loneliness and the burnt sienna of hunger. He didn’t have anyone in the world looking out for him. I swallowed the ache in my throat. I’d had several times in my life where I’d been in the same position, lost and alone. Only my need to destroy Allegra had kept me on my path. His aura formed a halo that swirled around his head like gold dust caught in sunlight.
Hmm, I hadn’t seen something like that in quite a while. I let my gaze pass over the blur of drunken auras until it came to rest on Lucy as she swayed wait with the music. She burned bright and blazing with pleasure. Her aura peaked into two spikes at her crown with a red sparkle.
“Well?” Esais asked.
I turned back to him and kept from wincing at the bright golden white light that surrounded his aura. It almost obscured the winged figure that stood behind him. The angel seemed to have grown since the last time I checked, almost as if it had gotten closer. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I let my vision returned to normal and rubbed my eyes.
“You should talk to him,” I said. “He’s not tainted or anything, but he’s special. And he could use a friend.”
“Are you trying to play matchmaker?” he asked, crossing his arms.
I chuckled. “Not anymo
re. He’s in need, and you have a way with people.”
He flushed and ran a hand through his hair. I pushed him in the direction of the boy. He glanced back at me with a smile before approaching. I turned back to find myself alone in a sea of strangers. Tres was back at the bar, several seats away, chatting with a young redheaded woman. She batted her eyelashes at him and laughed. He would be lost for the night. Lucy and Adrian were on the dance floor, moving to the music. I chuckled at how Adrian’s stiff movements contrasted to Lucy’s wild gyrations. She was all head shaking and flinging hair. I frowned. I really needed to talk to her about the bartender, but she would brush me off if I interrupted her. I would have to find a chance tomorrow when she was in a serious mood.
The music beckoned me to the dance floor. Everyone was occupied, and it was time I had some fun of my own. The tense muscles in my shoulders relaxed as I undulated my hips to the quick tempo and let my mind wander.
An angel had gifted Esais with power of telepathy, the same as a spirit had granted me the ability to see souls and other entities. Mine was useful in hunting demons. Actually, all three of the brothers had gifts from different spirits. Lucy and the young bartender were something else. Nephilim. My son might have been one if he had survived long enough. I scrunched my eyes closed and swallowed hard.
No point in dwelling on what could have been. There’s only what is.
The music filled my ears, pounding in rhythm to my pulse. Fingertips brushed my upper arm, and I spun around. Adrian caught my swinging arm at the wrist. We stared at each other, frozen for a few seconds before he raised our arms. The people around us blurred as he twirled me. We stopped as he pulled me against him. His fingers slid down my arm and over my hips as we began to move to the song. I rested my arm on his shoulder and my gaze locked in his with my heart racing a mile a minute. One corner of his lip lifted.
What about John?
There went my head again, acting the voice of reason. The beat shifted as the song changed, and I pulled away from him. He gave me a mock bow, and I curtseyed with a smirk. I slipped through the crowd and grabbed my coat on the way out. I had spent enough time enjoying myself. Marge’s time grew shorter and someone needed to kick her out of her stubbornness. One of us would be going to sleep with a few more bruises tonight.
Chapter 2
THE KEYS JANGLED in my hand as I opened the door to our office and slipped in. Adrian had complained how easily the keys could be lost. He claimed his new system would eliminate the need for any kind of key access. His project was still unfinished. So, for now, we used the keys.
Adrian. My heart sped up at the thought of his name. What had that been about tonight? Sure, he had stopped resenting me for living while his family died, and had been less antagonistic in the past three months, but I had proven myself against Ose in Texas. I had risked my sanity to rescue Adrian and his brothers from that devil. Over the last few months, Adrian had come to accept me, even found me useful, but I doubted it went any further than that. And what about John? Despite my misgivings, I’d slept with him. Would this change our long friendship? Was he expecting more? I really didn’t know since we hadn’t seen one another since we parted ways in Texas. I shook my head. I needed to stop mulling over this. A good workout would distract me and help me think with a clearer mind.
I kneeled in the corner of the entry hall and ran my finger over the spiral of writing carved into the floor. The angular symbols started tiny in the center and grew larger until the edge of the spiral was the size of a sunflower seed. Each corner of every room held a similar symbol. I chuckled softly. Jonah had blanched at the amount of quicksilver I’d use to paint these devil’s traps. He’s always had a thing for money and rare alchemical ingredients, and quicksilver was one of the rarest. Most people thought it was another word for mercury, but it wasn’t. It held tremendous magical potency. This would make damn sure that no demon or devil stepped foot here.
I passed by the glass doors and walls on either side of me that led into two large rooms. When this building thrived, the left had been a diner. We’d kept the kitchen and added a few tables. You never knew when we would have to work through several days, and to have food onsite was just brilliant. The right had been some sort of store. Tres had gutted the place and turned it into an infirmary with Adrian’s help. I walked past the elevator to the stairwell. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with that tiny deathtrap, even on my best of days.
When I opened the door to the fourth floor, the thudding of a foot hitting leather and a woman’s grunt greeted me. Marge had become predictable in the past month. If she wasn’t out roaming the streets in search of her demon, she came here. I slipped into the office we were using as a makeshift changing room and dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. The main room had been cleared of the cubicles of the previous occupants and navy blue mats spread over the carpet. Marge worked over one of the three punching bags that hung from the ceiling in the left corner of the room. Along the wall were weight benches and other contraptions that looked as if they belonged in a torture chamber. I grabbed the bag and steadied it as Marge landed a solid kick. The impact vibrated up my arms. She hopped back, her hands held in a defensive position and her mouth open as she panted. Her eyes narrowed as she leveled a “Go to Hell” glare at me.
“What the fuck was that?” Marge asked. “She made me go to that shithole, just to say no?”
“She said maybe,” I said.
“So, this was all some game to her.”
“You were being a bitch. Do you expect everyone to take your abuse?”
Marge sneered and slammed her foot into the side of the bag. “Fuck it. I’ll do it on my own.”
“How long do you have left?” I asked. “Five years?”
A hard kick thudded against the bag.
“When your contract is up, the demons don’t kill you. They use your body for whatever they want; they ride you, and there’s no way to stop them. Banish them, and your soul goes to Hell with them.”
A shock reverberated through my hands and to the rest of my body.
“That is if you manage to live that long. If you die before your contract is up, your soul is claimed.”
“I’ll figure something out.”
I ground my teeth together. Marge constantly grated on me, but I didn’t want to see her lost. Unfortunately, it seemed that all she understood was violence. I shoved the bag forward. It caught Marge in the side, and she stumbled back with a grunt.
“Fine,” I said. “Reason doesn’t work on you. Let’s talk in a language you do speak.”
I leapt forward, aiming a punch to her gut. She sidestepped and brought her arms up, spreading her legs. “You wanna fight?”
“If you win, you can go and do whatever it is you want with your last years. If I win, we go to Lucy tomorrow.”
She smirked. “Let’s do this.”
“Prepare to have . . . what is the term? ‘To have your ass kicked?’” I said.
Marge snorted. “Whatever, Old Lady. Just make sure you don’t hurt your back or anything.”
Marge walked to the comer of the closest mat. She bounced slightly on the balls of her feet as she brought her fists up. I took my place at the opposite corner and pulled my arms up. I felt more comfortable with a weapon in my hand, but this was just a sparring match. Luckily, Eskrima taught a variety of methods, including barehanded. Marge specialized in Taekwondo, focusing mainly on kicks. I had to watch out for her deadly feet.
We stared at each other across the empty space between us, waiting to see who would break and make the first attack. Marge let out a breath of air with a small yell and charged me. She leapt into the air and thrust her foot at my chest. I stepped to the side and lowered my shoulder a little. My arm wrapped around the thigh of her extended leg, and I pushed forward. She flipped backwards and landed on the ground.
Without wasting a breath, she rolled up to one knee. Her other leg swung around and caught me in the weak point in the back of my knee. He
r momentum knocked my feet out from under me, and I landed flat on my back. She stood up, with her fists raised and a grin on her face.
“Getting slow in your old age,” she said.
I rolled away from and rose to a crouching position. I lunged at her, staying low, with my elbow pointed out. I connected with her abdomen, and she doubled over with an oomph.
“You waste time gloating,” I said. “It makes you slower than these old bones.”
She straightened, and we circled each other, scanning for the slightest muscle twitch or twist of foot. Now was my chance. I could take her down if I was fast enough. She wouldn’t expect an offensive strike from me. I hopped in, hooked my foot around her left ankle, and jerked. She tumbled backwards, her shoulder slamming into the mat as she hit the ground. I was on her before she could recover, jamming my knee into her throat.
“Dead,” I said.
She glared at me but laid her hand flat on the mat in our symbol for submission. I stood up and held my hand out. She pushed herself up and stood, her eyes never meeting mine.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I headed to the door. “Around the bright and early time of noon.”
Chapter 3
A FEW MOMENTS after I knocked, Lucy flung the door of her hotel room inward. Her hair was a mess with one large tangle lifting the left side several inches away from her face. The eyeliner from the previous night had smudged, giving her two rings like a raccoon. She blinked at us with bleary eyes.
“Oh, hey.” She stepped back to let us in. “Welcome.”
I whistled as I stepped into the living room. Clothes draped across the back of the peach couch, a blanket lay in a pile on the Persian rug that covered the wood floor, and her leather jacket was tossed over one of the chairs. A movie blared from the television.
“Star Wars?” Marge raised an eyebrow.
“I like it, and I needed something to play while I took a nap.” Lucy smiled and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s start with some coffee and breakfast.”
Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More Page 2