“The police are investigating the murder as a ritual killing.” Sid’s hand waved at nothing for a second as his voice hitched. “Bau—er, the hand with the Trinity tat was found in a fire ring. It was only partially burned.”
“Someone removed the tattoo from the body and burned it? This screams of sacrifice. But for what?” Koivu asked without expecting anyone to have an answer. His shoulder throbbed as if it knew something about this. “How do you know there was an athame?”
Seeming relieved to move away from the details of the dismemberment, Sid slapped on his intel analyst hat and brought up another window. “The weapon was left at the scene. The police don’t know what it is, but I recognized it. See?” Bagged and tagged, an obsidian dagger with a forged Ladian haft popped up in the center of the screen. “It’s the same style of weapon that Lucifer’s guards carry.”
Derick snorted a bitter laugh and said, “And the soldiers on each security level carry one too. So do the enforcers and the assholes that guard Tartarus for Uriel.” He shoved his ass away from the table and ranted, “It’s the basic fucking weapon of demons everywhere. Obsidian and Ladian are the most common elements in Hell. There’s no way to track this thing. It’s not like demonkind have fingerprints we can identify.”
“Any suspects?” Koivu asked. He was wasting his breath. Whoever did this wasn’t going to get caught. If it was truly someone from Hell, they were either acting on Lucifer’s orders or they were linked to the Da’vinRa’. In either case, they weren’t likely to make mistakes. So why would they leave the weapon at the scene? It was sloppy. Or intentional.
Sid shook his head. “The cops are looking into the transporter’s life, but I don’t think that’s going to turn up anything. The murder’s not connected to the human. It’s connected to us.”
“You sound pretty sure about that. What aren’t you telling me, genius?” Koivu sensed there was more to the story. It wasn’t in the words Sid said, it was Nash’s reaction. Still facing the wall, he slumped against it as Sid talked. Grief he could understand. Baun was a good friend. Anger? He could understand that too, but Nash looked blown away. Defeat was out of character for his commander, his friend.
Nash turned around and answered for Sid. The earlier fury that glowed in his eyes had faded to a bleak sadness that tightened Koivu’s throat all over again. “He’s not telling you that Baun isn’t the only one who’s been killed. There was a similar murder two months ago in Phoenix . . .” His voice hardened with returning anger. “Butchered . . . killed with the same weapon. Posed in the same way.” He hung his head, his breath coming heavily as he pulled himself together.
No. No way. Another one? An icy calm settled over Koivu as he did the math in his head. Out of the twelve demons on their crew, they’d accounted for himself, Vanek, Benn, Nash, Derick, Nikita, and Sid. If Baun was dead, the other Trinity demon could be either Alyx, Tanner, Hayden, or—
Nash cut off his thought with a snarled, “It’s Olli.”
The name hit Koivu like a punch in the nuts. Olli? “Damn. The kid was barely out of school. Why would someone go after him?”
Golden scaled and dual horned, Olli was from a good family; an old family. His family tree probably sprouted from Lilith, though Olli hadn’t known for sure. How would his parents react to his murder? They were tight with Lucifer. Would they demand retribution?
“Fucking Olli,” Derick growled under his breath. “That sucks.”
Benn bent from the waist, his hands braced on his thighs, head hanging limply. “He was so young. He must’ve been terrified. Poor little dude.”
“Yeah, this sucks,” Sid muttered while everyone sank into their own heads for a few minutes.
Finally, Nash rallied to his usual commanding self and demanded, “Does anyone believe these killings are related to the bounty on our heads?”
There was a lot of muttering, but no one raised their hand to say yes. Koivu answered for the group. “I don’t think so. It was done as a ritual, not as a stab and grab. Enforcers, like Malik, would’ve taken the bodies for proof of death. They wouldn’t get their bounty money without that proof.”
Derick seconded his opinion. “Fuck no. This is another twist in a very fucked up story.” He didn’t bother to hold back what he thought, and no one expected him to. It wasn’t in his DNA. He was angry even when he wasn’t angry. “Let’s have a fucking recap of the past year. Twelve of us got exiled by Carrick. Since then, we’ve managed to track down seven who’ve survived the transition into human transporter bodies. Still missing five. Finding these two means there are three more of us out there somewhere. A year and we still know nothing about the Da’vinRa’ except that they’re old as fuck and hate Lucifer.”
Sid nodded absently before casting his eyes to the screen and tuning them out. His fingers flew over the keys searching for something that he’d find useful.
Benn straightened abruptly and did what Benn did best; he fired off questions so he could try to analyze the problem. Shrinks worked that way. “Nash, do you have any news from Raphael? Has he gotten anything from Lucifer yet? They’ve got to be working this from their end. Lucifer isn’t going to ignore an uprising.”
Nash, still furious, grunted a non-answer that sounded like, “idiot archangels . . .”
Benn frowned and kept going. “When was Raphael last here? Did he share any intel with you?”
“He was here last month. He’s working the relic from his end right now and doesn’t want to assign us anything until he’s got more info. And no, he wouldn’t give me the name of the relic. Said I didn’t have a need to know.” Nash’s mouth twisted into a parody of a smile. “Told me we had to spend our time working Expat jobs until he had something for us to do. That’s why we’ve been doing more personal security gigs. It keeps us busy and pays the rent. I get the impression he’s not willing to conjure up cash for us to live on. We’re on our own here.”
Derick snorted rudely again. “Why should we expect any help? Fucking archangels don’t give a shit about a bunch of disgraced demons like us. We’re friggin’ lucky we’ve got transporters to keep us breathing ‘til we figure this shit out and get home.”
Nash tossed Derick a sideways glance and barked, “Give it a rest. This isn’t the time to bitch about this. We’ve got two dead friends to deal with and fucking Lucifer only knows who’s next.”
“We should let Raphael know about Olli and Baun. Someone needs to tell their families,” Koivu told Nash. “Olli’s mother’s going to be devastated. She wanted him to go to the academy next year.”
Nash growled and clenched his fist. “No one should have to tell them! This is bullshit! That kid had a full scholarship! He should be getting ready for classes, not rotting inside some fucking human corpse.”
“Is this a bad time?” The question and the attitude came from a dude who appeared out of thin air in the doorway. Dressed like a merc in black tactical gear, he lounged against the doorframe with an ugly smirk. The guy pushed a pair of mirrored aviators to rest on top of his spiked hair. The wicked, blazing blue eyeballs were a surprise. Koivu bit his tongue to keep from gasping out loud.
“Perfect!” Nash snapped. “What the hell do you want, Primani? We’re busy!”
The smirk vanished and so did the Primani. He reappeared behind Nash with a wickedly shiny knife jammed against his ribcage. Nash froze. Well, damn. Primani eyes really did glow like hellfire. Koivu blinked, but the glowy-eyed freak was still there. He wasn’t hallucinating. They could teleport? Yay. Just another reason to hate the archangel’s private army.
“Sean! Heel!” This came from another Primani who appeared as suddenly as the first. He had the same blazing blue eyes but still seemed to have his sanity. “Stop stabbing our allies, for fuck’s sake!”
Nash’s eyebrows popped up in surprise, but he breathed out a cautious greeting without moving, “Killian.”
“Nash.” Killian lifted his chin in greeting before striding the rest of the way into the ops center with a
nother Primani at his side. Blond haired and smiling good-naturedly, he could’ve been Benn’s twin. This one must be Declan. Vanek and Nash had given Koivu and the others a play by play of their joint mission to bring in the soul broker a few months ago. According to Vanek, Declan was the only Primani who wasn’t a complete asshole.
Still looking grim, Sean eased the knife away from Nash and pressed his mouth closer to his ear. “I want my blade back. Now.”
Nash pushed the Primani out of his personal space and looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t have it.”
“Where is it? Did you lose it?” Sean’s creepy eyes shot up to pin Benn and Koivu to the wall. “If you’ve lost it, I’ll kick the shit out of you.”
“If you think you can.” Koivu’s whole body tensed at the threat. He’d like to see this pansy ass golden boy try. He wasn’t afraid of any Primani. Fuck that! He was the reigning Hell’s Fury Champion. He’d beaten the strongest demons in Hell. This asshole was nothing but an amateur—
“You really, really want to redirect those thoughts, Trinity.” Killian’s tight smile was almost, nearly, but not quite amused. “Your demon days are done. You’re an unarmed human now. You’ve got no powers. You’ve got nothing on Sean and he’s the weakest of us all.”
Sean’s head snapped up, his eyes lit from within. “Say what?”
Koivu took a step back as the blond Primani burst out laughing and slapped Sean on the back, saying, “Come on, dude, you need to chill.”
Oh, did they think this was funny? Just one big joke, right? He felt the anger he’d been keeping leashed crawl up out of its cage. His friends were dead. Dead! Butchered! Sacrificed for who knew what reason, and these assholes thought they were funny? He was moving before he could stop the impulse. Before he knew it, he was driving the Primani into the wall, snarling, “Fuck you! Is this a bad time? Yeah, motherfucker, it is!”
That’s as far as he got before Sean’s hands came up and launched him across the room. His hand slammed into the far wall. Spots danced in his eyes, but he shook it off. His rage was taking on a life of its own. Stalking forward, fists curled into rocks, he saw nothing but red. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
Nash leapt between them, yelling, “Whoa!”
Sean shoved Nash to the side, warning, “Stay out of it before you get hurt,” and swaggered forward until they were toe to toe again. “You want your ass kicked, Trinity?”
“Bring it.” Koivu cracked his knuckles.
Sean sheathed his blade with a sharp metallic hiss.
“Knock it off, both of you.” Killian flashed between them, one hand on Sean, one on Koivu, shoving them apart. “We don’t have time for this shit.”
“There’s always time to kick some demon ass.” Sean elbowed Killian aside and fixed his freaky glowing blue eyes onto Koivu’s face. The challenge was there. Koivu returned it with a growl.
Fists flew. Bodies flew. Mostly Koivu’s body flew. He had a tornado of grief, anger, and terror fueling him up so he had the upper hand for a minute or two. He managed to land some brutal body shots and a couple of nasty punches to Sean’s pretty boy face before the Primani got pissed and switched on the superpowers. Seeming to sense Koivu’s shoulder was already weakened, he blocked a blow, caught Koivu’s forearm and smashed him to the floor. He landed with the arm twisted beneath him. Agony ripped through his shoulder like a lightning strike. Hunched over, cradling his arm, he grimaced at the pain, but managed to push himself to his feet, ready for another round before everyone else decided to get involved.
“That’s enough!” Killian yanked Sean to the other side of the room. “Feel better?”
Benn caught Koivu by the elbow and steadied him against one of the tables. “Hey, man, give it a rest. You’re going to end up back in surgery.”
“It’ll be fine.” He simmered with a fresh wave of fury. Fighting dirty? He could play that game too. The Primani rubbed the back of his hand across his upper lip. It came away bloody, but he didn’t seem to care. He smeared it on his leg and smiled. The smug expression was the last straw.
Benn hit the wall and went down to his knees as Koivu flung him out of the way and barreled into Sean’s gut like a subway train. The asshole’s head hit the concrete floor so hard he didn’t move again. Nope, he didn’t even twitch as Koivu unleashed his rage. He lost it completely. His head was filled with images of Olli and Baun’s butchered bodies. Someone had to pay for that. Someone needed to die. The last thing Koivu saw before his vision went dark was Killian’s furious face.
A bucket of water over his head brought him choking back to awareness. Gasping and spitting water, he tried to sit up, but someone was holding him down. It was Killian—with one hand. Shit. This guy was strong. The Primani was still pissed, but he didn’t look like he wanted to kill him anymore. They were alone in the garage. Perfect. No witnesses. Was Killian planning to give him a beat down? Scrambling to defend himself, he tried to push himself upright and failed.
Killian shoved him back to the floor. That didn’t help the pain. “Stay down, dumbass. What the hell were you thinking in there? Do you want to die?” He copped a squat and peered down his nose at Koivu. “How much control do you think I have over my team? Sean’ll be gunning for you now. Your pathetic life’s about to get complicated.”
Rising up onto his good side, he spit out the rest of the water and complained, “He fights dirty. He needed his ass kicked.”
“Dirty?” Killian choked on a rude laugh. “How would you know the difference?”
“Fuck you. I don’t fight dirty unless my opponent does it first.” He struggled to get to his feet using his one good arm. His shoulder was screaming and refused to support his weight. It felt like he’d torn something necessary. Dr. Glass was going to be furious.
Killian gave him a long, measured look before finally offering his hand. Once he was upright, he considered the Primani. He was big. No doubt. But Koivu was the same size. Easily 6’3” and 230 pounds, he was packed with muscle built from years of rigorous training. The hard eyes spoke of war, pain, and personal sacrifice. He could relate. His life wasn’t easy in Hell or topside. The Primani wore a wedding ring though, and that was one thing Koivu couldn’t relate to. He couldn’t imagine loving anyone that much. Or anyone ever loving him.
The Primani considered him right back until he eventually broke the silence, saying quietly, “Look, Nash told me what happened. I get it, man. I do. You lost some good friends. It sucks. You’re pissed off and no one can blame you.”
“Are we doing therapy now? I’ve got my own shrink, thanks. He came with my exile.”
Killian’s eyes went flat and he chuckled, the sound suddenly chilly and menacing. “Yeah? You might want to see him before you lose your shit again. If there’s a next time, I’ll let the fight go until Sean’s arm gets tired. I guarantee that you won’t like the results. Are we clear?”
He opened his mouth, but Killian held up his hand and stopped him. “If you say fuck you to me again, I’m going to get angry, so don’t do it.”
He flinched and clamped his lips together. How did he know? Narrowing his eyes, he warned, “Stay out of my head.”
Killian clapped him on the bad shoulder, making sure to dig his thumb into the scar tissue before letting go. “Are we clear?”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. No more punching your boy.” He squared his shoulders as much as possible, and said, “I’m warning you though, if he starts it, I’m not walking away. I’m not made that way.”
Killian turned towards the door, calling over his shoulder, “Neither is he.”
When they walked back into ops, Sean was gone and the Primani named Dec was making himself at home. Kicked back in a chair, booted feet up on the table, he studied the giant flat screen while listening intently to Sid. Conversation halted when he and Killian entered. Nash glanced up from his phone and nodded respectfully to Killian. One leader to another? Based on what Koivu’d seen so far, they had the same management style.
&nb
sp; “You good?” Nash asked.
“I’ll live,” Koivu replied. “Did I miss anything?”
Benn flashed a pained smile and answered, “Other than watching that Primani tear the armory apart looking for his weapon? Um, no. Not a thing. He, uh, didn’t believe me when I told him we lost it on Ta Rom.” He cast a sideways glance at Dec and Killian and added, “You might want to watch your back. I don’t think you made a good first impression, and these guys like popping in and out without notice.”
Killian waved off the warning. “Sean won’t kill you. Raphael would have his balls for doing something that permanent. Apparently the boss needs your team intact. For now.”
The threat lingered but didn’t faze him. “Whatever.” Koivu rubbed at his shoulder and said, “I don’t have time for this shit. I’ve got two dead friends and three more that might be next. Tell your buddy to bring it on or stay the fuck out of the way.”
“I like this guy,” Dec commented to Killian. “He’s got zero common sense and more balls than he needs. Can we add him to our team? He’ll fit right in with Rivin and Sean.”
Killian shook his head. “No, idiot, we can’t. It’s tough enough trying to keep those two in check. I don’t need another loose cannon.”
Deciding to ignore them, Koivu asked Nash, “Have you reached out to Vanek? He needs to know about the murders. Nik won’t be able to defend himself for a while. Trust me on this. The human body takes its sweet freakin’ time healing. It’ll be months before he’s able to fight again.” If ever, he didn’t say. He didn’t want to jinx him.
“I’ve already called Vanek,” Sid answered without looking away from his screen. “Nik’s doc says the surgery went well, but he’s not on board with releasing him yet. He’s worried about complications. Apparently getting shot in the chest causes a lot of damage. Between the doc and the cops, Vanek needs a miracle to get Nik released from the hospital today.”
“What’s going on with the cops? I thought they’d decided it was a gang shooting? Why do they care if one gang tries to kill off another gang?” Koivu asked. “Is it a big deal?”
Koivu (Demons After Dark Book Three) Page 3