by Parker Blue
Val
IVY, FANG, AND I drove up to the blood house an hour after sunset the next day. There were a lot of black vampmobiles parked on the surrounding streets, along with other less discreet vehicles owned by demons. I’d called Lt. Ramirez last night, and he’d agreed to provide some members of the SCU to run interference with the neighbors and provide a last line of defense. Lord, I hoped they weren’t needed.
That’s when the fear hit me. Not of the fighting, not of the raving demons on the other side, but of having made the wrong decision. Who was I to choose a path that might result in some people losing their lives or being trapped forever in a demon dimension?
YOU ARE THE PALADIN OF THE DEMON UNDERGROUND, Fang reminded me. THAT GIVES YOU GREAT POWER. AND, AS THEY SAY, WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.
Yeah, well, I didn’t want it.
NO GOOD LEADER TRULY DESIRES IT.
Not helping.
Lt. Ramirez himself was directing traffic, and when he saw me inside Ivy’s MINI, he directed us to a spot in the driveway they’d saved for us. As I got out with my backpack and sword, I realized what Austin meant about having an appropriate car. Hard to command respect when you arrived in a vehicle resembling a chubby baby bumblebee. Luckily, only the cops were outside. The rest must be waiting inside.
I controlled my apprehension and stepped into the foyer, crowded with vamps and demons.
“There she is,” Andrew shouted from the stairs, where he’d apparently been set to watch for me.
Everyone turned to stare at me, no doubt assessing me, weighing me and my ability. I gave them a curt nod, trying to look confident and competent. They were all here because of me.
BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HELP, Fang corrected me.
Andrew charged down the stairs toward me. “They’re waiting in the altar room for you. This way,” he said.
He was so excited about being a part of this, I didn’t let him know I already knew the way.
Sure enough, Austin, Luis, Rosa, Diego, Jeremy, and a couple of Luis’s minions I didn’t know represented the vampires, and the Underground was represented by the massive water demon Ludwig, Josh, the phase demon, Micah, Shade, Ivy, and me.
I’d left the planning of the actual strike force to Austin, and he looked totally prepared and in charge. “You have the supplies we might need?” I asked.
Austin nodded. “Rosa has outfitted the six of us with sustenance in case we need to spend a lot of time over there, and I understand Micah has brought food and water for the four of you.”
The vampires all carried packs and swords, but the rest of the demons needed only packs, since swords would interfere with their powers. “Four?” I hadn’t expected Micah would go through since his power only worked on female demons.
“Yes—you, Ludwig, Josh, and Andrew.”
“I didn’t know you were going through,” I said to Andrew.
“I can fight,” he said stubbornly.
“I know you can,” I assured him. “But I hoped you’d stay on this side to watch over Ivy.” She had to be here to read her stone, but I didn’t want to put her in any danger beyond that.
“The fire demon will be a good asset on the other side,” Rosa said. “I am staying on this side to prepare for anything they might need. I will watch over her.”
ME, TOO, Fang said.
That’s right—I’d forgotten Fang would have to remain behind to let Ivy and Micah know what was going on in the other dimension. It would be odd fighting without my faithful hellhound by my side, but it had to be this way. “Okay.”
Austin nodded briefly. “That makes ten of us, and I have more in reserve in case we need them.”
“What’s the plan?” I asked him.
“I figured we’d have Shade open a portal here in the altar room since this is where Alejandro went through, but the rest hinges on what’s on the other side. We’ll only send through as many as we need. Are you ready to get started?”
They couldn’t go anywhere until I gave Shade permission to open the portal. I glanced around at them. “Everyone who is going through is aware they may not come back?”
They all nodded—the younger ones with an eagerness they might soon regret and the older ones with grim certainty. Except for Luis and his minions. Their expressions held more of a sneer laced with contempt.
Fine. I didn’t care for them, either. “Anyone not going through should stand back.” Rosa, Ivy, Micah, and Fang withdrew to the other side of the room. “We’ll only use the personnel we need. Austin will let us know who he wants.” I glanced at Ludwig, Josh, and Andrew. “The three of you, listen to Austin—he’s in charge. Fang will keep us posted as to what the demons are doing.”
They all nodded. I trusted Ludwig to do as we asked, but Josh and Andrew were unproven. “The primary objective here is to rescue our people—that is of paramount importance. No grandstanding. Got it?”
“Got it,” the two said in unison, and I had to be content with that.
“Okay, Ivy, you have a stone?”
“Yes.” She pulled a large turquoise from her pocket and handed it to me. “Bring it back if you can?”
I nodded and gave the stone to Austin. “Here, you were so good with a football, let’s see how you do with this. Shade, open a small portal, please, only big enough for Austin to throw the stone through.” I didn’t know how far the portal’s field extended and didn’t want anyone sucked through prematurely.
Shade nodded and, with no evidence of strain, immediately formed a small, baseball-sized green cloud. Good—it looked like the amulet was providing him some extra oomph.
Austin weighed the stone in his hand, then chucked it through perfectly the first time.
“What do you get from the stone?” I asked Ivy.
“Dry, hot, wind. Nothing too out of human tolerance, or the stone would be screaming.”
“Day or night?”
“Twilight, I think.”
Austin nodded in relief. He’d been afraid of full day, when it would have been impossible for them to go through.
“How many demons?” I asked Fang.
I COUNT TWELVE WITHIN MY RANGE.
That was a relief—we could handle twelve. “Pick up anything else?” I asked Ivy.
“Stones aren’t good at material details, but they do recognize emotions. They’re picking up some fear and anticipation. Oh, and a sudden spike of excitement just now.”
Fang leapt to his feet. THEY JUST SPOTTED THE PORTAL. THEY’RE SENDING FOR REINFORCEMENTS. SHARRA’S THERE, AND SHE’S THINKING ABOUT ALEJANDRO AND VINCENT, SO THEY’RE THERE TOO.
We had to go now, before more showed up, and we were inundated. Making an instant decision, I shouted at Shade, “Open wide.”
“Everyone goes,” Austin ordered.
Shade opened the portal wide, and the ten of us jumped through one at a time, pausing only an instant on the other side to get oriented. Once everyone was through, I yelled, “Shrink it,” at Fang.
He passed the order to Shade via Micah, and the writhing blue energy of the portal became the size of a baseball once more. It was reassuring to know it was still there.
Briefly, I noted the world was just as the stone described—hot and dry, with red sand everywhere and rock monoliths looming like hoodoo stones as far as I could see. Which wasn’t all that far. The howling wind drove sand into our eyes, and I scrubbed them clean with the back of my hand. I squinted to keep the dust out of my eyes and tried to make out details of the demons charging toward us.
“Spread out,” Austin yelled. “Find them.”
THE DEMONS DON’T WANT YOU, THEY WANT THE PORTAL, Fang yelled.
“They’re after the portal,” I screamed into the wind. “And two of them are getting away to bring their friends.”
I pointed in the direction of the two demons, and Luis bellowed, “After them!” They had to be stopped before there were too many to handle.
His two men raced after the retreating demons with vampire-enhanced speed. After that, the other demons converged on us like starving locusts on a wheat field.
“Sharra’s here,” Josh yelled, “behind the—”
A snatch of wind carried the rest of his words away, and I had no time to feel relief as a demon appeared out of a red dust devil, a fireball in his fist. Ludwig was suddenly there beside me, dousing the flame with a huge splash of water. The soaked demon paused in astonishment, and I was able to chop off his head with a single stroke. “Thanks,” I hollered at Ludwig.
He nodded and went on to slam water at another demon coming toward us.
JOSH SAYS SHARRA IS BEHIND THE ROCKS ON YOUR LEFT, Fang said.
Seeing that the others had the fight well in hand, I darted around the rocks. Here, three monoliths leaned against each other, forming a sort of shelter from the wind. Josh was on one knee next to Ms. Swirly Face herself, holding a bottle of water to her lips. Relief filled me, and I passed the news on to Fang, knowing that would help Shade hang on.
“She’s alive,” Josh said in delight.
“What about Alejandro and Vincent?”
“They’re fine,” Sharra said. “When they heard you, they went to join the fighting.”
“Good. Can you get her to the portal?” I asked Josh.
“But I want to fight,” Josh said. “With my phase ability, I can reach in and pull out their hearts.”
That meant getting way too close to them. “I don’t think—”
But he was gone, and I was left with Sharra.
“Don’t worry,” Sharra said, pushing herself to her feet. “I can walk, no problem.” She took a big slug of water. “Just point me in the right direction.”
I touched her, so I could see whether she was telling the truth. She was in much better shape than I expected. Caked with red dust but able to walk. “Follow me. The portal is small now but will open wide again when we signal Shade.”
She nodded and followed me back into the wind. I saw people struggling with demons, plus a few figures lying motionless on the ground, but couldn’t make out who was who in the whirling dust. “I have Sharra,” I shouted.
Austin shouted back, “Alejandro and Vincent are here. Gather our wounded and retreat!”
Wounded? Crap. I sent notice back to Fang to have Shade be ready to open the portal. I couldn’t see it in all this whirling dust, so I told Fang to have Shade open it to basketball size.
“Found it,” Ludwig bellowed. “To me!”
We all headed in the direction of the man-mountain’s large form, Luis and Austin holding off two more demons, their swords flashing with their speed.
“All here and accounted for,” Ludwig said as I reached him.
Ah, there it was—the portal. “Open it wide,” I yelled at Fang. The blue cloud widened, and I told Ludwig, “Let me know when everyone is through,” before I turned to help Luis and Austin. Austin was battling a huge demon with long claws, teeth, and horns. He was holding his own, but those sharp things could impale him at any moment.
I let out a battle cry of pure fear and frustration and swung my sword at the monster’s arm—the only part I could reach. I almost completely severed its arm at the shoulder, and it roared, turning on me, blood spurting out of its arm. Austin leapt up, and with a two-handed blow, cleaved its head off its shoulders.
Austin didn’t pause but went to assist Luis. Before I could even move to help them, they’d skewered the demon front and back. It fell to the ground, and I motioned them toward the portal. “Let’s go!”
Seeing we were coming, Ludwig said, “You’re the last,” and leapt through the portal.
The three of us followed close behind. “Close it,” I told Shade in the relative silence and peace on the other side.
When it reduced down to a pinpoint then disappeared, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was done. The wind was gone, too, and all that was left of the other dimension was the red grit covering every surface of our bodies and even finding its way into way too many crevices for my comfort.
I glanced around. The twins, Shade and Sharra, were locked in a swirly knot together, and Alejandro was wrapped in Rosa’s arms. Vincent was being given back-slapping man hugs by a couple of vamps . . . but not everyone was exultant. One of Luis’s followers was cradled in Diego’s arms, run through the heart by his own sword, it looked like. Diego shook his head sadly as he gazed up at Luis. “He’s gone.”
Oh, crap. I didn’t even know his name. Was he the only casualty?
ONE MORE, Fang said sadly.
I whirled around to see Andrew collapsed on the ground next to Josh, tears making streaks in the red dust on his face. Josh’s head and shoulders were covered in blood. “Josh . . . ?”
“He’s dead,” Andrew wailed. “He tried to phase through a demon to grab its heart, but he got too close, and that clawed demon ripped his throat open.”
I closed my eyes in pain. I’d done this. They were dead because of me.
NO, BABE. YOU DIDN’T KILL THEM. THE DEMON DID.
But it was my decision to mount the rescue.
AND IT WAS THEIRS TO PARTICIPATE. YOU CAN’T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR JOSH’S STUPID DECISION.
Couldn’t I?
“How long were you there?” Shade asked Sharra. “It was about three weeks our time.”
“Only about a day for me,” Sharra said.
I did a quick calculation. So, about an hour had passed there for every day here. Thank goodness.
Alejandro nodded. “It was only a few hours for us.”
“Why didn’t you open a portal so we could find you?” Shade asked Sharra. “And why did they leave you alive?”
“Because I was knocked out at first. And they knew I was a shadow demon, so they were trying to force me to open a portal.” She shook her head. “I refused. Knowing their plans for coming through and inundating this world, I couldn’t let that happen.”
And now I felt even more guilty for not rescuing her earlier.
STOP TAKING THE BLAME OF THE ENTIRE WORLD ON YOUR SHOULDERS, Fang said in annoyance. YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD, FERGAWDSAKE.
“The demons stayed close to the portal, hoping you’d open it again to rescue me. I figured you wouldn’t unless you had enough firepower to take them on. I didn’t know you thought I was dead until Alejandro told me.” Sharra glanced at Alejandro and Vincent. “They helped keep the demons from hounding me and kept my hopes up.”
Well, we’d done one thing right at least, in bringing the three of them back. I gave Ivy a regretful look. “I’m sorry, I was too busy to retrieve your stone.”
“That’s okay,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t really expect you’d be able to, but Ludwig found it while he was waiting at the portal. He brought it to me.”
Ah, good.
Austin left Alejandro’s side to come hug me tight. “Thank you,” he whispered fiercely.
I hugged him back, happy that we’d been able to rescue Alejandro for him. I watched from a distance as Luis stood stiffly and spoke to Alejandro and Rosa in the dining room.
“What’s that all about?” I asked Austin.
“He may be discussing our duel.”
“What will happen to him?”
“Nothing. He acquitted himself honorably and kept his word. He has nothing to be ashamed of.”
EXCEPT HIS HUMILIATING LOSS TO AUSTIN, Fang snarked.
Yes, there was that.
When they finished speaking, Luis and his remaining minion left abruptly, taking their friend’s body, and Alejandro and Rosa came to join us. Alejandro clasped Austin’s hand
with a rueful expression. “I understand you two fought a duel for leadership of the Movement, and you won.”
“Only as a temporary stopgap until you returned,” Austin assured him.
Alejandro smiled. “Yes, I understand.” He placed an arm around Rosa—the first time I’d actually seen him show affection toward her in public. And she was eating it up like he was peanut butter, and she was intent on licking the spoon.
VAMPIRES DON’T EAT PEANUT BUTTER, Fang reminded me.
Maybe, but the proper image grossed me out. It still works as a metaphor, or simile, or whatever you call it. English wasn’t my best subject.
“It has been coming for a long time,” Alejandro continued, “and I’m glad you two settled it without my interference.”
Austin nodded, but though he obviously didn’t feel it necessary to ask any more questions, I did. “So what will happen now? Is Austin your deputy or something?”
“Yes. I see the wisdom in having a permanent deputy, especially in light of my recent absence, and Austin will fill that position admirably.”
“What about the lieutenants?” I asked, since Alejandro didn’t seem to object to me asking questions.
“I still need three. Rosa will continue in her current position, Vincent will take over the duties formerly done by Lily—I’ve waited too long to make that decision—and . . . who would you recommend to take your place, Austin?”
He thought for a moment, then said, “Diego, I think.”
“Good choice,” Alejandro approved.
“But what about Luis?” I asked. Was he reduced in rank now, or what?
“I will absorb his political duties.” Alejandro hesitated a moment, then added, “Luis has informed me he intends to leave San Antonio and join Lisette in the capital. Immediately.”
Well, that was a relief.
FOR EVERYONE, Fang agreed.
I gave Austin a one-armed hug in congratulations, and he smiled down at me.
But our satisfaction was short-lived as one woman pushed her way through the crowd, saying, “Josh? Where’s my boy?”