by Leah Silver
Ike ran back at the demons while Oscar and Ed fought hard. I stood there, not sure where to jump in, when a voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Well, well. You’re setting the spring nicely,” Devlin’s oily voice said from behind me.
I whirled around, but he wasn’t there. “Devlin, you twatwaffle. What do you want?” I held my daggers up, ready to slash at him as soon as he showed himself.
But, being the pussy he was, he didn’t speak to me again. By the time I turned back around, it seemed like the boys had things pretty well wrapped up. One demon was backed into the corner with the three supernaturals closing in on him fast.
“You think you’ve won this?” His voice was deeper than I expected, given how small he was. He was hunched over, but even still, he had to be shorter than I was. I eyed him cautiously while I slowly approached, knowing not to underestimate a demon.
The boys, on the other hand, closed in quickly. Too quickly. Just as Oscar reached for him, he turned to water, filling the room. It was up to my thighs in an instant. I trudged through it, closing the small distance between my men and me.
“What now?” Oscar asked.
“Don’t die,” I said as I whirled around. It had been quite a long time since I’d dealt with a water demon. I hated them. They were nothing but trouble.
Poor Ike was already swimming as the water rose higher and higher.
“Should we open the door and let some of the water out?” Oscar asked.
“No, he’ll escape. That’s exactly what he wants.” My mind worked fast. He was everywhere in the water, and nowhere. Last time, I’d gotten lucky. The demon had been reckless, and attacked me in the garden. He ended up absorbing into the ground and escaping. I faced him down another day, and learned to attack first, ask questions later.
I’d never heard of someone surviving an attack like this. But I didn’t intend to die by drowning. I wasn’t even sure a vampire could die that way. But when I looked at Ike and saw his wild eyes, I was pretty sure a werewolf could.
“Ed? A little help here?” The water was rising quickly, already up to my shoulders. Soon, I’d be treading water, and the ceiling wasn’t exactly cathedral style. We’d be in over our heads in no time.
“Working on it.” He was struggling to keep his hands above water. “Merry, get me a bottle.”
Everything was floating at that point. I didn’t see much in the way of a bottle among the debris, but a glass vase was rapidly sinking. I swam over to it.
I dumped it out and presented it to him, treading water by that point. “Will this work?”
Ike was holding on to Oscar’s shoulders, whose head was still out of water, but it wouldn’t be for long. And I knew he would sink like a … well, like a rock.
“We’ll find out.” Dark blue light appeared between his hands. He stirred the water, mixing his light with it. A muffled grumble sounded in the water, letting me know the demon wasn’t happy about our actions.
In handfuls, Ed started scooping the water into the magically enhanced vase. It was working, but slowly. The water still rose. We were close to the ceiling. Ike was swimming. Oscar was under the water, and I could only hope he didn’t need to breathe. He was a rock, right?
“Ed,” I cried out.
“Merry, go to the door. We might have to let this one go.”
I cursed under my breath. He was right. But if I opened it, Floresta would be alerted to our fight. We’d be at a huge disadvantage. Well, bigger than we already were, which was saying something. We couldn’t let this one get away.
I swam to the door anyway, ready to open it if need be. Bottom line, I wouldn’t let one of us drown while I tried to figure out a solution. I would think faster, or deal with the larger problem.
Ed scooped more and more water into the vase, and the level stopped rising at least. Finally. But would it be enough? My nose was barely out of the water. I kept my head flat and gulped air. We wouldn’t be able to tread like that for long. Ike was struggling, keeping his nose above water, but not bonking it on the ceiling. We needed rescue.
“By the void,” Ed cursed as he pushed an armful into the vase, and the level went down. “You slippery son of a motherless gravedigger. Get in there.” He pushed another armload in, and it went down more. I swam over to him and tried to help, but my scooping did nothing. It seemed like it had to be him. He was the wizard of the group after all. I was the one who was supposed to be in charge, in control, and here he was saving my skin. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
But I didn’t get much time to feel anything. Suddenly, the water was sucked rather violently into the vase, taking me with it. Ike yelped as Oscar grabbed onto his tail, serving as an anchor.
I grabbed onto the mouth of the vase, but it did nothing. The suction was too great.
“Merry…”
Ed’s panicked cry was the last thing I heard before my world turned dark at the hands of a wizard I cared just a little too much for.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
It was dark and wet. I turned around, and my feet splashed in a thin layer of water. The silence was broken by a quiet bit of laughter that bubbled up, but the dark was so absolute I couldn’t tell where it came from.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“He trapped you with me.” It was a statement, not a question, from a voice I recognized. The water demon.
“Are you the lead demon here?” I asked.
But my question was met with more laughter. “I suppose in this space, yes. I’m in charge.”
“What do you know about the plague?” I asked, biding my time, not really expecting him to give me an answer.
“Ah, hunter. This is just the beginning.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I scoffed.
He chuckled. “I like you. I didn’t expect that.”
“I’m afraid the feeling isn’t mutual.” Thankfully, I still had my daggers. I searched the darkness, but saw nothing. It was ridiculously frustrating, knowing he could probably see me, but I couldn’t see him. He could attack at any moment, and being at a disadvantage made me grouchy.
“Well, that’s too bad, hunter.”
I could tell by his amusement he was smiling, his pointed teeth displayed for no one to see through this ridiculous darkness. Ed could’ve at least given me some light down here.
Water sloshed to my left, and I turned. “I see your reflexes are good,” the demon said, his voice coming from my right. I whirled around again, feeling completely blind.
The humidity rose in the room, making it tough to breathe. I swallowed, working hard to keep my panic at bay. In a last-ditch effort, I closed my eyes, fooling myself about the surrounding darkness. I listened to the water moving around me in all directions. But where was the source? Where was it the loudest? I let my feet guide me toward the bubbling and splashing until I could feel him within striking distance.
“Oh, you’re good, hunter. But not good enough.”
A wave washed over me, knocking me flat on my ass. I whirled head over heels inside the tsunami, and I knew he thought he’d won. But he’d get bored before he drowned me. Like I said, I wasn’t even convinced vampires could drown. There certainly wasn’t any silver in this water.
My lungs began to ache for air. Not a scream, or desperate cry, just a pang of need. I ignored it as I tumbled with the water, not fighting it. I held out a lot longer than a human before my lungs got impatient and begged me to open my mouth and gulp in air. Only there wasn’t any air to gulp. That damned demon had me trapped.
All I could do was wait him out. I kept my mouth shut. To keep my mind off my situation, I wondered what the boys were doing. I hoped they didn’t smash the bottle. That was the last thing we needed—a tsunami unleashed on the inside of the hive. Better to keep it contained. I’d kill him eventually, and hopefully in time to save Sara.
I was right. Just before I lost my battle with my body, the wave petered out and slamm
ed me against the wall. I landed on my head, my feet falling over top in some kind of backward somersault. I scrambled to my feet, daggers still in hand, and waited, listening. But he didn’t move. He was smarter than I liked.
So I took the first step, my boots echoing in the dark space. Echoing, not splashing. He’d retreated. He was weak. Now was my chance, if I could find him. I closed my eyes, following my instincts. After a few more steps, I splashed lightly in the smallest bit of water. “Jackpot,” I crowed. “You can’t hide from me forever. Tell me what you know about the plague, and maybe I’ll make you a deal.”
A bitter laugh escaped him, coming from behind me, but I knew he was in front of me. I could feel the cool air rolling off him. “What deal do you think could save me?”
“I can protect you, if you’re good. There are others like you. Others who could help keep you safe.” I bided my time as I took another slightly wetter step toward him.
“You can’t protect me from the coming revolution, hunter. You will go down with it. And all who are attached to you will follow you into the void.” His threat rang true. I could feel the weight of it ringing all the way down to the base of my spine.
“So, what’s it to you? You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” I snorted at my own pun, but the demon didn’t.
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Who made you promises?”
“Someone higher up than that snot-nosed vampire who thinks he’s winning.” The contempt dripped off his statement like the water he was made of.
“Well, at least we’re like-minded on one subject.” I took another step closer, feeling his breath on my arm, which meant he could likely also sense I was close. It was a dangerous place to linger, but linger I did. “Devlin is a sniveling little twat who has my daughter. I intend to take him down. But I need to know about this plague. He’s infected her with it. I will save her, with or without your help, but I suspect with would be easier.”
He scoffed. “I have no care for your daughter, hunter.”
He was right. Wrong play on my part. I circled back around to Devlin. “Fine. We share a mutual hatred for Devlin. What if I let you out of here, and let you kill him? Then I’ll do what I can to protect you.”
Silence fell, and I knew I’d found something I could win with. Was it enough?
“How exactly will you let me out of here?”
“I’ll figure it out. That’s kinda my M.O.”
At that, he laughed out loud. “Is it now, hunter? Here I was laboring under the impression that you liked to go in prepared. Know what you were getting into. Isn’t that what you told Devlin at your little meeting that got you into this mess in the first place?”
“How do you know about that?”
“I know many things,” he said, enjoying the ambiguity of his statement far too much for my liking.
“Oh, okay. I’ll just start calling you god then.”
“It does have a nice ring to it.”
Water started pooling around my ankles, and I knew the time for chatting was over. In one smooth motion, I whipped around behind him and put both daggers to his neck. “Time to talk, or die.”
“You’re an impatient one.”
“Like you weren’t getting ready to make your move on me with all this chitchat.”
“Fine. Devlin is key. He didn’t make the plague. That was one of us. And you’re right, we’re planting it. Mostly. Your daughter was special. Devlin did that one. That’s all I can give you.” I pushed the blade into his neck and his voice changed, becoming more strangled and frantic.
“Can? Or will?”
“Is there a difference?”
Enough. I wasn’t feeling charitable. Baring my fangs, I leaned in and bit his shoulder, taking a long drag of his blood. The fresh blood zinged through my system, making me feel like I was a brand-new vampire again. Like I really could conquer the world.
He cried out, struggling against me as I drained him, so I dragged the blades in opposite directions across his neck, nearly cutting his head clean off. Water exploded everywhere at once in a concussive moment, forcing me to release his shoulder and shattering the vase. I spilled back out into the room on the wave of a dead demon.
Caught in a shit storm without an umbrella
“What happened?” Ed demanded. He helped me up, genuine concern in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I thought about breaking the vase, but I didn’t want to just release the demon again.”
“So, you’ve all just been sitting in here, crowded around that vase?” I raised my eyebrow, dragging my gaze from man to man. Ike was back in his human form, dressed in clothes that didn’t appear to be his based on how loose they were. Oscar had his arms crossed over his chest, worry etched in the deep wrinkles in his forehead. Ed stood there with his concern and excuses.
“Well, we weren’t sure what else to do. It’s only been a few minutes,” Ed explained.
“A few minutes? It felt like an eternity in that darkness. You could’ve at least thrown me a light.”
Ed looked sheepish. “I didn’t think about it. Sorry.”
I held my scowl, even though it was probably wrong to chastise them for my own enjoyment. But it was fun to see them squirm. Ed was right not to release the water demon. I never would’ve been able to end him if he had. But the Mother knew I wasn’t going to tell them that.
“What now?” Oscar asked.
“Devlin. We need to stop this goose chase and get Devlin. The demon confirmed he is behind this.”
“What?” Ike asked as he took a step closer to me, looking at me in disbelief.
“I didn’t stutter,” I said, holding my ground.
“How is Devlin behind this?” Ike pushed.
“All he said was it goes back to Devlin. That he hadn’t made the plague, and he wasn’t the one spreading it. Well, mostly. He slipped in that Devlin had given the plague to Sara, but that was when I killed him.”
“You did what? Why? You could’ve gotten more information,” Ike said, his frustration clearly getting the better of him.
I took a menacing step toward him. “I’m the demon hunter here, wolf. I know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. And if you’re questioning my skills, why are you even here with me?”
He took a step back, but said nothing, giving me the win, but holding on to his anger. That was fine. We might need it in the larger fight.
“What do we do now?” Ed asked.
“I think we need to collect Levi, get rid of Floresta, and go after Devlin. Like I wanted to all along.”
“To be fair, we did try to go after him once,” Oscar pointed out.
“Thank you for reminding me of that colossal failure.”
“How will we win against a seer, Merry?” Ike’s question wasn’t argumentative. It was more an admission of defeat. As if he thought we were taking on a challenge we couldn’t win.
“Very carefully. Let’s get Levi. And deal with the daughter of the Fae queen.”
I marched out of the room and down the hall, my shoes squishing with each stomp, hoping to hear the deep undertones I knew Levi would be using to charm the pants off the Fae bitch in charge. The more I thought about it, the more my jealousy grew and the faster I stomped down the hall.
Eventually, his voice carried to me from downstairs. I followed it, making no attempt at being quiet.
Outside the door, I could hear girlish giggles, along with deep moans. From a man. Levi. It was sounds I’d hoped would be for my ears alone, brought on by me alone. Blind rage made me throw the door open, but I wasn’t at all prepared for what I saw.
Levi was sitting in a deep red leather armchair near the fire, and the Fae whore was straddling him, her back to us. Her silvery hair fanned over him, one of his hands clenched in it. The straps of her sheath were pulled down, resting in the crooks of her elbows, exposing the Mother only knew how much of her breasts to Levi. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his chest, and she had her hands all ove
r him. When he snapped his head up at the noise, she turned sideways. Resting a cheek against his pecs so she could see me, she flicked her tongue lazily over his nipple. Triumph gleamed in her eyes, the creamy swell of her breasts rising well above where her sheath had slipped, or been pushed, down.
Red exploded in my vision, but I managed to restrain myself from yanking her off him. Instead, I barked, “Levi, wrap it up! We’re done here.” I pivoted out of the room, and then slammed the door behind me. It only took a moment to second-guess what I’d done. I’d just revealed myself to the daughter of the Fae queen, then left Levi alone with her. Before I could go back into the room, I heard his voice mumble something short, and then a thump. He joined us moments later.
“Merry, I—” Levi started.
“Nope. Let’s go.” I grabbed back onto my anger the second I knew he was safe. I didn’t want to hear any of it—not about how it was just part of the job, how he was a charmer and it was who he was, or any other excuse for his betrayal. Even if the logical side of me said it meant nothing, the image of her astride his lap, licking his nipple, hearing his moans—it was too much.
I shook my head and picked up the pace.
“We were going to take her to the council. Did you take care of her?” Ed asked.
“Yes,” Levi said simply, his voice lowered.
“How?” Ike asked, apparently joining the conversation.
“I asked her to die. She was getting to be too much of a handful. No way would she have gone with us to the council.”
I whipped around. “You what?”
“I asked her to die. I’m a charmer. With enough charm, I can convince anyone to do anything. Even die.” He said it like it was yesterday’s news. Definitely something I should’ve already known. But I’d never heard of that before. I’d known a handful of charmers in my day. All of them were exceedingly arrogant and intolerable. None of them lasted in my life. I’d gotten what I needed from them and sent them on their way. But this one was, well, special.