“Don’t thank me yet. There’s still a lot of work to be done. And by a lot, I mean a butt load.” She sucked another brain out. “So, eat up, sister. We got a lot of killing to do. And by a lot––”
“You mean a lot.”
***
Denny and Annalee met Iris in the Quarter before heading up the Brechtel Park. After making the introductions, they started off.
“So Valeria still won’t leave Farquar’s side? What’s up with that?” Annalee asked as they walked through the fried scents.
“No idea, but she’s been hovering all day,” Iris replied. “Wait.” She held her hands up. “They...oh my God, I think the Vodouisants kids are nearby.” She closed her eyes. “Yes. I believe that’s the energy I feel.”
Both Annalee and Denny reached for their weapons as they reached the entrance to the park.
Moonlight bathed the grass and peeked through branches. “I can feel something. It’s...it’s a different kind of magic. I’ve felt it only once before and that was when Hélène’s men took me. It’s Voodoo I’m sure of it.”
“Well, that could be a good thing or a really, really bad thing,” Annalee said softly. “Ya’ll get ready, then, because we’re going to have to open a can of whoop-ass on those kids if we’re going to get close to the source. If they’re here, they’re here for a reason.”
“God damn it,” Denny said, running her hands through her hair. “I gave her my word.”
“I said a can, not an Uzi for crying out loud. All we gotta do is keep them out of our way. No one said anything about a Haitian blood bath.”
“You sure?”
Annalee nodded. “Whoever opened that source could be tied to it until it closes.”
“Is there a rule book for these things?”
Annalee chuckled. “It’s magic, man. It’s the opposite of an exact science. That’s why we need to cover all our bases. That’s how some portals work. It all depends on the ritual used to open it in the first place, and we don’t have that information yet. I say we just grab one and see if we can’t round up the others. They have the info we need.”
Annalee looked over at Iris. “Can you feel anything else? Anyone else we need to be aware of?”
“Not yet. I suspect when I do, we’ll all know.”
Annalee laughed. “She’s perfect for you, Golden Silver. Not often a witch and a hunter are like a hand and a glove. She’s a keeper, that’s for sure.”
“Why thank you Annalee,” Iris said. “It’s nice to have someone respect what I can do. What about yours?”
“My witch? Well, we’re more like a hand and a shoe. Got a mind of her own that one, with a mouth to match. Only a fool would disrespect a seventh.”
“You know I’m a seventh?”
“I didn’t. My witch did. Went on and on about what that means to the regional covens. She...well...she had a lot to say about that.”
“Sounds like she’s a handful.”
“Yep, but she’s mighty when she wants to be.”
They walked a little more into the park in silence before Iris reached out and took Denny’s hand. “I can feel it.”
“The rift?”
Iris shook her head. “No. The Vodouisants. We’re getting closer to their energy. It’s strong. Icky and strong.”
“Icky?”
“Yes. It makes me feel dizzy.” She stopped and pointed. “There. Up over that hill. God, it feels like I am going to gack.”
Annalee and Denny stared at each other.
“Looks like this is it,” Annalee said softly. “It’s go time.”
Denny stared at her. “Please tell me you don’t say that before every hunt.”
“Of course not. I yell Tally-Ho!”
Denny groaned. “Iris, I want you to stay here.”
“Why? If you need me...” Iris leaned over and puked.
“Yeah. I don’t want you in the middle of anything if this slides sideways on us.”
“I have to go with Golden Silver on this one, kid.”
Denny rubbed Iris’s back as she vomited once more. “It’s okay, Iris. You really should just stay here. We’ll be back before you know it.”
“Make sure you do,” Iris said, wiping her mouth off and pulling her robe around her. “I’ll be waiting right here, hopefully not puking my guts out.”
“Ready to rock and roll, Silver?” Annalee pulled out a cylinder similar to Denny’s and twisted it. From both ends a pointed spike shot out, giving her a weapon nearly six feet long.
“Sweet.”
“Fiocina?” Annalee said. “Thanks. She’s been a pretty reliable little weapon.”
“Nothing little about it.” Denny pulled both of her weapons out and snapped them to life.
Fouet sizzled and cracked. Epée glowed. “Meet my leetle frens.”
“Wow. Impressive.”
A small groan emanated from Iris. “You sound like two twelve-year-old boys comparing your dicks. Mind moving it along?”
“Whatever is she talking about?” Annalee asked as she stared up the hill. “Come on, Silver, let’s find your Vodouisants thugs and put them to bed so we can close that stupid rift and move on with our lives.”
When Denny and Annalee reached the crest of the hill, they both scanned the area below. Hypersensitive vision enabled both to see better in the darkness, but still, it was darker than dark in this corner of the park.
“I don’t see it.”
Denny squatted down and slowly prodded the Hanta. Once it was fully engaged, she rose, looked left to the center then right.
That was when she saw it off in the distance. “There,” she said, pointing to the tree line about a hundred and fifty yards away.
Annalee followed her gaze. “Well, I’ll be damned. It’s hidden in a tree? Remarkable.”
Denny could see a faint glow coming from the length of one trunk. It looked like the sun was trying to get out. “That’s...wow. We have no idea how many or how quickly they can come through.”
“Right. Don’t need an ambush.”
“You think we need back up? I know Wynn Devereaux might come help.”
“He’s as useless as tits on boar. He just plays at being in the big leagues, but he’s a minor leaguer all the way.”
“Then I guess it’s just us.”
“Why don’t I dispatch any of those demons while you deal with whatever Vodouisants are down there?”
“Perfect. Slice and dice away. Feed the darkness, and all that crap. You need to give me about a ten foot radius for Fouet.”
Annalee nodded. “I need eight for Flocina. Anything else?”
“Valeria said to give the source a wide berth in case one of them tries pulling us into it—or in the event our Hantas might wish to be done hunting.”
“Seriously? God, how weird would that be?”
“No weirder than having one in the first place. Other than that, let’s just grab the Vodouisants and get the hell out of here.”
“Works for me. Stay safe, Golden Silver, and do your mother proud.”
They started walking. Denny held her weapons at her side, both holstered in their cylinders. Denny would need the Hanta’s power, that aggression. They were fighting in the dark, facing a magic she knew little about. She could only hope Annalee was as strong a killer as her entries portrayed.
As she made her way down the hill, a demon emerged from the split in the tree. It came out on wobbly legs and hunched over, no idea how to be a human. It was snarling and speaking Latin. Grotesque.
“I got this one,” Denny said. “I need to feed the Hanta before approaching the kids.”
“It’s all yours.”
Denny ran up to it and took it out with one swing from Epée. It exploded with a short howl.
Then she examined the tree trunk.
A bright sliver of light escaped the three-foot wide gash climbing the entire length of the thirty-foot oak tree. It looked like the gate to Hell, only brighter, beautiful as it was scary.
A second demon
started out, saw her, and retreated.
That was when Denny saw Focina light up. Annalee faced one of the Vodouisants.
“Annalee, stop! We can’t attack—”
“These aren’t just Vodouisants, Silver. These are possessed Vodouisants and need to be put down like any other demonic entity. We have no choice.”
Denny leapt over a fallen log, headed for Annalee.
“Anna, no!”
Annalee swung Focina like a bat, hitting the first Vodouisant teen in the temple and sending him crashing to the ground. She blinked as she stared down at the kid. “Holy shit, Silver, they are Dybbuks. All of them!”
Denny held Fouet and Epée out in front of her as four possessed Vodouisants made their way toward them. They each held a weapon in their hands. Two held some sort of handguns while the other two carried baseball bats and hunting knives.
As Denny reached Annalee, she saw something she never thought she’d ever see––
another demon hunter allowing her demon to take over.
Everything about Annalee changed: her voice, her posture, her demeanor. It was the most bizarre transformation she had ever witnessed—the pint-sized woman somehow appearing larger than life.
And as Annalee brought her weapon back to strike again, Denny did the only thing she could think of: she tackled her.
“Mother-fucker-ass-wiping, good for nothing amateur.” Annalee’s demon growled from within. “We have no choice, Silver. They are Dybbuks, you moron! They’ll kill us both. Get the fuck off of me!”
Annalee struggled beneath Denny’s weight.
“We always have a choice An—”
The world went black for Denny as someone cracked her over the head.
***
When Denny came to, she found herself tied to a tree with a throbbing headache, her arms pinned behind her. It took her a moment to shake the cobwebs from her head and to test the ropes that bound her.
She was, quite frankly, surprised to be alive.
“Where’s the other hunter?” Denny asked, trying to focus on one of the faces swimming in front of her.
“Dead.”
Denny knew the Hanta was waiting or her to release it, but she was outnumbered, without her weapons, and minus someone she had hoped might be her friend.
Dead.
Shaking her head, she focused on the nearest face. A teenager. “Why am I still alive, then?” Her voice sounded not like hers, but not like the Hanta’s, either.
The kid she assumed was the head Vodouisant pointed to her face. “You’ve been marked by the Mambo Priestess. We cannot harm you even if we wanted.”
“And do you?”
A wide smile played on the leader’s lips. “Oh yes, very much so, but even possessed, these young Vodouisants will not harm you. Voodoo magic...it is still such an enigma, isn’t it? To be of the spirit world and yet know so little about their magic. Do you know what we call their magic? Ghetto magic.” The voice was cultured...refined...not at all like the voice that should have come from the mouth of a Haitian boy raised on the bayou.
“I wish I could disagree, but I don’t. Look, I’m not one for small talk. You’ve kept me alive for a reason, so cut to the chase. What do you want?”
“What else? The hunter named Farquar. Give her to us and we will close the rift and leave New Orleans, and spare you the heartache coming your way.”
“You want Peyton?”
“But of course. The hunter has many, many enemies in this city. You give her to us and we will spare the two witches.”
Denny sat up and narrowed her eyes. “Spare them? You don’t have them.”
“Not yet we don’t, but we can and will. No one else need get hurt. Bring us the hunter and we will close the rift and let bygones be bygones. Allow the hunter to remain alive and we will destroy her, your witches, and everyone in between.”
Denny inhaled slowly, trying to calm the Hanta. She doubted she had much time before it took over anyway.
“Okay, first off, we all know demons can’t be trusted, and five Dybbuks here surely make me doubt your word. Besides, you don’t have the chops to close it. You know it. I know it, so it’s bullshit. So, try again. What the fuck do you want?”
The demons all looked at their leader.
“I told you. You bring the hunter and we will close the rift.”
“Bullshit. You killed the other hunter. You’ll kill us both if I bring her here. You are not to be trusted.”
He shrugged. He was a tall, thin Haitian kid maybe twenty years old. Denny knew he was deep, deep inside his body watching the action, having lost control once the Dybbuk took over. “Collateral damage. Truth is, the two of you should not even be here. This is between Farquar and us, but the hunter is in hiding like a coward. She sent the two of you to your deaths, so why protect her now?”
Suddenly Denny started putting the pieces together...why Peyton had been such a bitch and hadn’t wanted Denny to help.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want the help.
She was hiding something.
“So all you want is Farquar and everything else falls into place. Is that it?”
“That’s it.”
Denny laughed. “If you think I’m bringing another hunter here so you can kill her, well, you’ve got the wrong girl. Just kill me now because you aren’t getting shit from me.”
The Hanta struggled now, knowing this fight might very well be its last.
“Hunter, we’ve already killed the Miami hunter. We are not afraid of Peyton Farquar. We don’t have to kill you as well.”
Denny wondered if they were afraid of her.
The leader stepped to within inches of Denny’s face.
“Be wise, Hunter. There are many, many lives at play here, and you cannot be in all places at once. One hunter is all you need bring to spare those witches their lives. One hunter and this can all be over.”
There was more to it, but Denny couldn’t put her finger on it. What piece was missing? What was hiding in the shadows, just out of her reach? “Well, I think you’re a fool for not fearing Peyton. She’s pretty fucking tough and has shown herself to be quite an amazing killer of you ass-wipes.”
The Hanta was on the move.
“Was. She is very weak at the moment. It is the right time to strike. Bring her before midnight tomorrow or the hundreds of demons who have come here will strike your safe house and kill everyone inside. Your witches won’t be safe. Your demon hunters won’t be safe. We will come after you all. The streets of New Orleans will be awash in the blood of innocents.”
Denny found herself nodding, but she was having a hard time filling in the blanks. Why weren’t the demons even remotely afraid? Because they were Dybbuks? Because she was marked? Because...?
At least she knew Iris escaped or they wouldn’t be threatening her. She must have taken off at the first sign of the Vodouisants.
“Where’s Annalee’s body?”
“Where we left it.”
Denny stared at him.
“Oh. Where she went down. We left it there. She was killed swiftly. Respectfully.”
“So let me make sure I am clear here: you are actually willing to let me go in order to bring Peyton here. Have you any idea how good I am?”
He smiled. “Your Hanta is ancient, but you are a nubile hunter with very little idea of what you are up against. You are also a hunter who cares deeply for those two witches. That will always be your undoing.” He pulled back and studied her. “Peyton Farquar has lost her humanity. She does not care for anyone or anything. She has become as cold as the demon within her. You have not. That makes you weak. Your love of others makes you vulnerable. Because of your humanity, we do not fear you.”
Denny pushed the Hanta back. Attacking now would only result in her death.
“Fine. If it’s Peyton you want, it’s Peyton you’ll get, but I’m taking Annalee’s body with me. If you try to stop me, I don’t give a shit how many of you there are, I’ll fucking crush the
hell out of all of you.”
He motioned for two of them to cut Denny loose. “Midnight, Hunter, or the streets will become rivers of blood and gore.”
When her hands were free, Denny felt the bump on the back of her head. It was tender to the touch, but she knew it would heal faster than an unpossessed person’s head would.
Unpossessed.
Slower healing.
Something kept niggling at the back of her brain, but she just didn’t have the luxury of focus right this moment. “You’ll have your hunter at midnight, Dybbuk.” Denny held her hand out for her weapons.
The Dybbuk laughed. “Even if I had them, I would never give them back.”
Denny stepped right up to him. “You won this round Dybbuk, but someone’s going to pay for Annalee’s death and you’re as good a choice as any.” With that, Denny looked around before heading in the direction where she and Annalee had been attacked.
As she walked through the darkness, her heart hurt. She hadn’t realized the tears on her cheeks until she came upon Annalee’s still body.
The moonlight cast a soft, sorrowful light on Annalee’s small corpse.
“Oh Anna, I’m so, so sorry.” Denny said kneeling down and touching the top of her head. She looked like a child laying in a fetal position. “So, so sorry.”
Calling on her Hanta’s strength, Denny gently picked up Annalee’s small frame in her arms and carried her across the length of the park, never once feeling the weight of her in her arms, but feeling the weight of the loss in her heart.
“I don’t know what I’ve missed, Annalee, but whatever it is cost you your life, and I’m so sorry.” The tears ran down Denny’s cheeks now as the full brunt of Annalee’s death caught up to her.
Denny carefully set Annalee’s body down and reached for her phone. She needed to talk to Ames. Needed to call Cassandra and, and...
The only text was from Iris.
Stay right there.
Denny look around her. She was a good half a mile from the demons now.
“Iris?”
“Over here, DH,” came the hushed response from behind a small grouping of trees.
Denny looked to her left and there stood Iris, her hood up, her hands folded in front of her. There was something...otherworldly about her.
“Iris?”
Blood of the Demon (The Silver Legacy Book 3) Page 16