Demonic Power

by Rena Marks

  A tiny pinprick of light.

  Tunnel vision. Was it lack of consciousness? No, wait.

  There was something here.

  Down below the black dots of her eyes, the inky darkness of the water, the swirls of her consciousness, there was a link to Luciefyiore. Like the gate she’d traveled through. A black hole in the middle of nowhere.

  But again, her head was pulled up from the water. It wasn’t as painful this time, though the sputtering of water from her mouth and nose was involuntary. She was almost desensitized, the burn in her nose and lungs lessened by the numb feeling.

  Enishka allowed her to catch her breath this time, an honest-to-goodness recovery. He waited calmly until her breathing normalized.

  “What say you, sweets? You can bear my child or return to the witchcraft trials. After all, you want your Earth so badly, even enough to face their barbaric customs like this one.”

  There was one focus on Holly’s mind. She had to get back into the water to see if it was truly a portal down beneath.

  She knew what she had to do.

  Deliberately she cocked her head to one side. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she mocked. “Was I actually given a choice? Because I think you forgot to mention that part.”

  “You dare to mock me, woman?” he shrieked.

  “I mock the fact that you truly believe I would bear your children rather than face my own drowning.”

  He stared in astonishment for a moment. Then he stamped his foot. “Then you shall drown until you decide to kiss me, Holly Dolly. Demonic kisses. The kind only you give.”

  The kind that triggered her breeding power.

  Holly stared straight at him. Then she broke her gaze and deliberately dropped her own head into the water.

  Screw him. She may not enjoy her power, but damned if she would let someone else control it.

  It didn’t take as long before the colors swirled her vision.

  Where was it? She shook her head frantically, as if she could see farther. What was it that she saw before? A pinprick of light? A tunnel of some kind? Dammit, where was it?

  The lizard creatures weren’t holding her down now. And she realized this time her hands were there in the water with her. Frantically, she cleared the water before her, as if by doing so she could see farther through the murky depths.

  Where was it?

  There. The tiny swirling of inky blackness, growing wider, deeper, opening up like a maelstrom in the water, but not yet extending to the surface. She extended both hands toward it, reaching out as her consciousness slipped farther and farther away.

  Chapter Nine

  Taunting Time

  “Where is she?” Enishka screamed, sending hundreds of lizard demons scattering every which way.

  She’d been there a second ago, half her body immersed in the pool before she was sucked in as a whole. It was a shallow pool. There was no way she could just disappear.

  Someone helped her to hide. Damn the traitorous creatures, not fully his to command on this substandard planet called a moon. He’d smash them to smithereens.

  He raised his arms palm-up, so all the creatures who tried to scuttle away were raised by his power alone, several feet from the ground, supported without gravity even as their bony arms and legs continued to run in the air.

  Like metal pieces to a magnet, the suspended lizards swarmed to him.

  His face grew to fifty times its normal dimensions, close enough to whisper at them. “Where the hell did she disappear to?”

  The terrified creatures of the moon all began to chatter in nonsensical ways, as if they just wanted to speak because he asked the question when they didn’t really have an answer. All their small minds could comprehend was, “Don’t anger the master”.

  The volume of the chatter stopped when a three-foot tongue snaked from Enishka’s mouth and wrapped around one of the floating lizards, pulling him into his mouth.

  Enishka chewed slowly, thoughtfully. She was still here, somewhere. He could feel her, she had so much energy within her tiny human form. She felt more demonic than the annoying little scuttle demons he was banished with.

  He had an idea.

  “Hannah malchuka, hear my call,” he chanted.

  He rolled his head, hearing the bones of his neck pop. This would take a lot of power, he would be extremely weakened. Probably wouldn’t be able to change forms at will for a while. But it would be so worth it.

  “Enishka, the demon lord, dares to fold the fabric of time to create a ridge. A temporal fold, a furrow between the worlds. Let her skip”—he paused for effect—“then-loop-the-wrinkle!” He stamped his foot, yelling the words out quickly. “Just when she thinks she’s safe…rein her back,” he dropped his voice to whisper, “to where she belongs.”

  The wind picked up, hurling rocks into a spiral shape that disappeared from sight.

  * * * * *

  When Ace arrived at Demitris’ house, Keara and Natalya already sat together at the dining room table. It was still an odd sight for him to see, the once mortal enemies now turned best friends.

  “Any word?” he asked, desperate for someone to have heard anything about Holly.

  Both women shook their heads.

  “Anyone see you cross a portal?” Keara asked.

  “No, I was careful. So where is she? She can’t just disappear.”

  “I know. But no one can find her. She’s not on Earth, she’s not in Luciefyiore. We need you to track her.”

  “How can I? I’ll be de-horned tomorrow at noon. I’ll be powerless then.”

  “Then you’ll need to track her now.”

  “Who’s searched the moon?” Demitris asked.

  “She can’t be on the moon. How would she get there?” asked Ace.

  “I don’t know but we have to be sure she’s not. Or on Earth. If she crosses the threshold of the human realm, then her soul belongs to him. For it was decreed years ago that she would be found in Hell by Enishka, the darkest lord himself. He would take her and she would lose what humanity she has.”

  “How can I keep her from crossing before that happens?”

  “A guard stands to protect the portal to another world. He keeps those from the wrong species of crossing.”

  “Holly is a human of demon descent. She is entitled to belong in both worlds.”

  “Yes,” Natalya murmured. “That is a dilemma. If the guard let her cross a portal, you can bet Enishka already has her.”

  “I am powerless there. And I can’t return to Luciefyiore without her,” Ace said.

  “You can escape punishment on a condition. If you were on a mission, perhaps. Your job title is still bounty hunter. If you had to protect your charge…”

  “You seem to forget I lost my charge.”

  “If you were to find her, you could return to Luciefyiore with the excuse that you couldn’t have her on Earth because of the prophecy. But you couldn’t leave her unprotected. She is as fragile as a human, being raised without using her powers. In fact, she was even dehorned as an infant. She has never had horns rise.”

  “How can I get to her?”

  “If she is not in Luciefyiore, because Natalya checked, and she is not here on Earth, because you and Keara have searched, there is only one place she can be,” Demitris said.

  “Enishka already has her.”

  He nodded gravely. “Yes, my boy. She must be on the moon.”

  “How?”

  “How did he trick you and Holly into getting there yesterday?”

  “He changed the borders…of a gate. Not an actual portal. Which bypassed portal guards. But how the hell would I get there?”

  “It would be impossible for a demon. Only a human or a half-breed would be able hop an opened gate. But in payment, that human does not receive a round trip. They are forced to spend the remainder of their days.”

  “Why the hell would any human agree to such insanity?”

  “It is said that Enishka can control those in the insane asylums on E
arth,” Demitris said slowly. “That’s it. That’s how Enishka is opening portals. He’s using the few people on Earth with abilities to open gates.”

  “Wait,” Natalya said. “If he can do it, so can we. Demitris, remember when I was on here on Earth? And I cast a few spells?”

  “Yes?”

  “The old woman who provided me her urine for a spell would have bits of my residual magic.”

  “She does,” Keara said excitedly. “And now she’s taken up with two friends. They’ve set up a fortuneteller’s shop downtown.”

  “Does she have enough to use to open a gate, should she know to attempt it?”

  “Please,” Natalya said, rolling her eyes. “It is my magic. Of course it will be great.”

  “How will I find her?” asked Ace.

  There was silence at the table for a bit while they all pondered.

  “I know,” Demitris said. “We can access Natalya’s memory of the old woman, and you will know what she looks like. Keara will lead you downtown, you can find the woman and her friends and get her to open a gate.”

  “How do we access a memory?” Acel asked.

  Natalya responded. “We need water.”

  “There’s a pond in the backyard,” Demitris said.

  All four demons rose from the table and headed quickly to the backyard. Standing close to Natalya, Acel observed the blonde demon. She had reached the pond first and looked down into the smooth surface.

  The water rippled softly. Natalya continued to concentrate on the water, her horns growing until they protruded from her head full size.

  Acel realized… in her reflection in the water, she didn’t have the horns.

  Then, in the water, her image wandered over to a park bench, next to an old woman. Through the memory he could feel the disgust wafting off Natalya in waves. Then he smelled why. The woman reeked, a rank ammonia smell. So this was what accessing a memory was like—watching a movie rewind, complete with sensory detail.

  “Not that.” To his surprise, Natalya shattered the image with her hand dipped quickly into the water, sending spattering ripples across the surface.

  When the water calmed, it showed Natalya again, this time with her husband Jere. It was later now, Natalya’s hair was a bit longer. Together she and her husband watched an old woman, obviously wealthy, walking with an older gentleman. She was the same woman as in the previous memory, but so much different now. Something had changed her.

  Not something. Natalya had changed her with a bit of demon magic power.

  Now the same old woman was thin and wealthy and made up like a hooker. Still, if he could recognize her face in both images, he was sure he’d find her no matter what she looked like now.

  The Huntress looked down tenderly at the image, the most emotion he’d ever seen on her face. Unless she looked at her husband. “Ahh, my pet,” she murmured to the image.

  Suddenly she seemed aware that he watched. Her head snapped up. Natalya looked at him, her eyes eerily lit by a silvery glow from within like flashbulbs. “Do you have enough?”

  “Yes, my Queen.” He nodded respectfully, eager to seek out the humans. And finding it painful to look into the iridescent silver of her eyes.

  * * * * *

  Alone, Ace entered the darkened tent and spoke, not bothering to allow his eyes to adjust.

  The three old women stank of human urine, much like the memory of Natalya’s had. It was a strong smell, enough to cause him to wrinkle his nose. At least in the memory, his brain knew it wasn’t in the air.

  “I am Acel, a bounty hunter from Luciefyiore. I am missing someone. I was told the three great human fortunetellers could help me find her.”

  All three old hags were seated together at a round table with a huge crystal ball in the center. One of them was the creamy color of chocolate, a bright purple turban wrapped around her head. Huge earring hoops hung from her long, stretched earlobes and she wore a gold and purple satin dress, resembling a tent.

  The second hag wore a wig of waist-length blonde hair cut into Farrah Fawcett waves. She fingered one lock incessantly, trying to call attention to the unnatural seventies ’do. She had about three tubes of mascara on her eyes, so her eyelids barely held open with the weight. Constantly she peered at him from underneath her lashes as if she thought her directness was sexy.

  But the one in the middle was who he remembered from Natalya’s shared memory. That one dripped with furs and diamonds and wore fuchsia spandex pants with a thin gold top that might have been attractive on a girl in her twenties. And the old woman had the implants of a twenty-year-old. Her breasts stood high and firm, pointing attention to the wrinkles in her face filled in with cream foundation and a spatula.

  “I am Madame Rrrena.” She yelled her name as if she had a Latin accent, barely able to speak through the high gloss red lipstick. She’d had a bit more plastic surgery done besides her breasts—her lips were swollen as if a bee had stung them repeatedly.

  His attention was diverted by the next old shrew dressed in the purple and gold. “I is Madame Mo-Neeka. So nice to meet you, mon.” He fought the urge to roll his eyes. This one thought she was Jamaican.

  “And I am Madam Treesssh-a.” The Farrah one said her name with wide eyes, as if she thought to impress him. Or make sexual eye contact. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to have a culture to lay claim to, but it did appear she was trying to hit on him by the way she kept fluttering her lashes, most of which resembled thickened spider legs. All three women were as deaf as doornails and used amplified tones that caused him to wince.

  This was going to be more difficult than he’d imagined.

  “Ladies, I need your, um, world-renowned powers to open a portal.”

  “What will you give us in return?” asked the one with huge false teeth.

  Wait a moment. The one in the center was sneaky. He’d have to distract her.

  “Are you really Latin?” he squinted at her.

  “Well…uh…I’m a lot of races,” she informed him. “I might be Latina in my blood. I have a nice ass. And I sure can shake it.”

  “Yep, yep,” her crazy sisters agreed. “She really can move.”

  “Yeah, mon, you should see her salsa,” Mo-Neeka said. “You can’t even tell she had a hip replacemen’.”

  “That’s cause of the magic spell,” Trisha muttered.

  She was elbowed by the other two. “Shh!”

  But he wasn’t about to let it pass.

  “Magic spell?” Ace asked.

  “Ours, Bounty Hunter. We are very powerful beings.” Obviously lying, but they had some sort of residual magic from Natalya’s spell casting during her time on earth, enough to make them successful fortunetellers.

  The one named Trisha looked through her thick glasses at him. “Let’s talk payment for our services.” She waved her hand over the fake crystal ball in the center of the table.

  Nothing appeared.

  “Hmm.Maybe needs polishing.” She pulled her bag out from under the table and began to rifle through it. A foil packet escaped, landing on the table in front of him.

  “Oops,” she muttered, grabbing at it. No wonder this old one smelled of rubber. Her purse was filled with condoms. Slyly she peered up through her lashes and winked. Ace realized she’d planned the accidental maneuver. Eww.

  “Weren’t you already given plenty of payment?” He turned and looked at Madame Rena this time.

  “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, crazy,” she muttered, peering at her psychic sisters out of the corners of her eyes.

  “Your payment, old witch. The life you traded in for this one.”

  She clacked the gold of her rings together. “Hey, I paid for what I got, sonny! You hear me? I don’t owe you horned weirdos nothing.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Really? What was your payment? One cup of…pish?”

  “What’s he talking about, Rrrrena?” one of her sisters asked. Ace felt like smacking his head. Did they really think that by
rolling their rrs, the accent was made believable?

  “Don’t listen to the chico. He’s crazy.” But she looked guilty.

  “Is you acceptin’ money for jobs behind our backs, mon?” demanded the Jamaican wannabe.

  “No! No, in fact, we need to banish the troublemaker before he says anything else. Now.”

  “Not without that portal,” Ace said calmly, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

  “Fine!” she agreed, as if desperate to promise anything as long as he’d stay quiet.

  “Rena!” hollered Mo-neeka.

  “Fine! We’ll just get rid of him, give him his damn portal.”

  “I think we can only do it one way,” Trisha said slyly. “We might have to get naked under a full moon, do an all-out threesome.”

  “Nuh-uh, tramp,” Mo-neeka muttered. “I seen u naked, mon. Besides it ees not a threesome when dere is four of us.”

  “I can’t help my lusty sexy drive,” Trisha yelled. “It’s a gift and a curse! Ever since that cute little cover model described me and Rena as exotic and erotic, you’ve been jealous!”

  “That was forty years ago, mon! Those cute cover models are bald and fat now.”

  “Well, I do have really nice maracas,” Rena said, sitting straighter so her odd-shaped breasts pointed freakishly outward.

  Ace thought it best to cut in. “Anyway, I’m on antibiotics until a little case of the itchies clears up,” he mentioned to the group as a whole.

  The three women stopped screaming back and forth.

  “Oh. Yuck, then,” Trisha muttered. “Let’s send the freako on his way.”

  “That’s what I said,” Rena yelled, forgetting her Latin accent for a moment.

  “Okay, okay. But when he leaves, we’re gonna talk.” The eighty-year-old version of Farrah threatened with narrowed eyes.

  “Yeah, mon! Cuz I don’ like the way you was pointin’ those things at Harold when we done gone to the senior center,” the Jamaican yelled, glaring at Rena’s abnormal breasts.

  “Hey, hussy, it’s not my fault. The girls have a mind of their own!” Rena was still enamored with her boobs, staring at them lovingly instead of at the angry Mo-neeka.