Nameless: The Darkness Comes

by Mercedes M. Yardley

  “Now I understand you don’t like her, but you don’t have to be so harsh. It’s unbecoming.” The officer looked perturbed at my rudeness.

  I snorted. “Unbecoming? She is the most evil person I have ever met, and believe me, I have seen a lot of yuuuuuck in my time.”

  “Now, miss…”

  I was ready to really lay into him when the doctor poked his head out of the door. “Family for Seth Masterson?”

  My head whipped to the doctor, back to the officer, and to the doctor again.

  “Talk to the doc. I got the cop,” Reed Taylor told me. He winked at me with his fantastic green eye.

  I nodded, flashed the officer a “You’re so lucky I have to leave right now” look, and strode over to the doctor.

  “So what’s going on? How is my brother?”

  The doctor smiled. It looked fake, but he had a hard day, too, so I was prepared to let it go. “He’s alive. We pumped his stomach. He had some water in his lungs, but not very much. He’s a lucky man.”

  “Can I see him?”

  He nodded. “Just for a minute. He’s pretty groggy.”

  I followed him through the door into the triage unit. A little boy was getting his head bandaged. Weak cries came from behind a curtain. I could see something leggy winding around the hospital bed. That thing from earlier.

  “Here he is. Like I said, you only have a few moments.”

  Seth looked like death. His color was bad and his eyes were tiny slits. His body looked small and horrifyingly frail in the hospital bed. I checked his heart rate and blood pressure on the machines. Weak, but better than I expected. I pulled out the single chair and straddled it.

  “Hi, big brother. How are you?”

  I saw the shine of his eyes flick in my direction.

  “Luna.”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Good to see you. You scared me to death, you know.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, I bet you are. Do you know Sparkles has Lydia? What were you thinking? Did you go crazy?”

  He flinched at the word ‘crazy,’ and it only served to anger me.

  “That’s right. I said The Forbidden Word. Crazy. You hear that? Killing yourself, Seth? You, of all people. What about your daughter? What about me? You said you’d never forgive Dad—”

  A nurse swung the curtain open with an irritated scowl. I hadn’t realized that my voice had gotten quite so loud. Or hysterical.

  “Now that is quite enough, young lady. This man needs to rest, not be badgered. Out. Scoot.”

  “But—”

  “Now.”

  I was pretty mad. I hate being told what to do, and Attila the Hun here was getting on my last nerve. I jumped to my feet and opened my mouth to tell her exactly what I thought. Then I took another glance at Seth, and he looked awful. The anger quickly drained out of me, and I was left with gratitude and worry.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Seth. Then to the nurse, “I’m sorry. Give me just a second, will you?”

  The nurse hmphed and looked away to give me some semblance of privacy. I noticed she didn’t budge, though.

  I leaned over the bed and smoothed Seth’s hair with my hand.

  “I love you, Seth. You and Lydia are the only family I have. I never want to go through life without you.” I patted his cheek. “Now get better or I’ll have to amputate your toes for you. With a hunting knife. And no anesthesia.”

  The nurse looked alarmed. Seth’s lips twitched in a brief smile, and then he was asleep again.

  “He likes it,” I assured the nurse. “If I didn’t threaten him daily with bodily harm, nothing would get done around the house. That’s just how it is.”

  I blew past her into the waiting room. Reed Taylor was sprawled across the chair, staring at nothing. He stood up as soon as he caught sight of me. There was no sign of the policeman.

  “How is he?” he asked.

  I tapped my foot rapidly. Suddenly I was full of nervous energy. “He’s all right. He’s alive. The nurse is a real tyrant, I tell you. Wouldn’t let me talk. I didn’t get a chance to ask him anything.”

  Reed Taylor’s smile almost made me forget everything. For just a second, anyway. “Yeah, I heard you. You were pretty upset, and your voice really carries, love.” His smile faded. “Listen, about Lydia—”

  “Right. Let’s go get her.” I started for the door but Reed Taylor stopped me.

  “It isn’t that simple. I was just talking with the policeman there, and he was saying that…well, it doesn’t look likely you’ll be able to get her back right now.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Shooting the messenger, sure, but curse it all, somebody was going to be shot around here! “Why not?”

  Reed Taylor sighed. “There’s no easy way to say it, Luna. Lydia’s father just tried to commit suicide. There’s history of mental illness in the family. You’re also suspected of being mentally unstable. So here comes Luna’s mom, who basically looks pretty clean right now, riding in on a white horse to save her little girl.”

  “What?” I shouted. Every head in the hospital snapped my way, and Reed Taylor put his arm around me.

  “Luna. Calm down. I know how you feel about Sparkles. But let’s face it. You don’t really have a leg to stand on right now.” He looked grim. I wanted to run my hands through his hair of fire to assure myself he was really there, or maybe just belt him in the stomach, but I was too wooden to move. “Besides, there’s more than that. Notice who’s missing?”

  “The angel. I told you things were going down.”

  I spun toward the voice. Mouthy demon was standing behind me. He looked angry and possibly even a little defeated, but it flashed across his dark face so quickly I couldn’t be sure.

  “Mouth,” I said. I nearly wanted to hug him, which only proved how out of sorts I was. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  He snorted. “You are?”

  “I am. Reed Taylor and I need to talk to you.”

  Mouth turned away. “You know I want nothing to do with this guy. Talk to me when you’re alone.” He started to flow away, but I grabbed for his arm. A faint resistance, but that was it. My fingers went right through. Mouth stopped, though, and looked at his arm. He looked at me.

  “Mouth, Lydia is gone. I…” I was no good at this. I didn’t even know what words to say. “I could use his help. And yours. Just get over it and let’s go figure some stuff out, all right?”

  Mouth muttered some very angry, crass words a lady never chooses to repeat but I’ve never had a problem with, and then he sighed.

  “Okay. All right. Not here; you’re causing a scene. Your house.” His eyes flicked to Reed Taylor. “I’m telling you it’s best if he doesn’t come, but you’re not going to listen to me anyway.”

  He dissipated into darkness.

  I turned to Reed Taylor. “Man, he really does not like you. Have you had a run-in with him before? Killed his mama?”

  Reed Taylor laughed. “Not that I know of.” He took my hand. I closed my eyes for just a second, taking the chance to collect myself. His hand was warm, callused, and very reassuring.

  My father’s hands used to feel the same way. I slid my fingers out of his grip and stepped away.

  “We’re meeting him at my place,” I said. I couldn’t look him in his beautiful eyes, couldn’t take a chance of what he might see. “He’s willing to talk to us. Maybe he knows what’s up with Seth and Sparkles and the absence of your Demon Patrol.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The ride home took forever, and the worst part was it gave me time to think. Obsess, really. If Lydia was with Sparkles, then that means she’s hanging out with her mom’s demon. Who know what was going on, wherever they were? Seth was in no condition to go after his daughter. I think Reed Taylor would be willing, but what good would he be without his own personal Demon Patrol? He can’t even see the things. And Mouth seemed like he might know what’s going down, but he is, after all, a demon himself. We all know demons are liars.
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br />   Mouth was waiting for us when we pulled in. He looked irritated.

  “All right, let’s go.”

  He stalked up the porch stairs.

  “Hey,” I called out, “you’re not going to be able to—”

  Mouth glided through the front door. I froze. I couldn’t make myself breathe right.

  “What’s wrong?” Reed Taylor asked me. He cursed. “I can’t see anything.”

  I licked my lips. “He just…he just went through the door. He’s in the house.” I turned to face Reed Taylor, hoping his gorgeous greens would calm me down. They didn’t. “He isn’t supposed to be in the house. I did that protection thing. It should work against any demon that isn’t fully possessing a human…”

  Mouth’s head popped back through the door. “Coming?”

  I took a shuddering step forward, and Reed Taylor wrapped his arm around my waist.

  “You shouldn’t be able to get inside there,” I accused Mouth.

  He shrugged. “I had no problem. So are you staying outside all night or what? Your neighbors are already watching you mill around.”

  Ugh, the neighbors. First the ambulance and now I’m freaking out on the sidewalk. I growled in my throat and started marching forward. The things I do to keep up appearances.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” I threatened.

  “Can’t wait,” Mouth replied demurely. The Mark between my shoulders tingled.

  I worked the key in the lock and threw the door open with exuberance. Quite a bit of exuberance. Too much exuberance.

  “Ouch!” yelped Reed Taylor.

  “Oops! Sorry.”

  He rubbed his shoulder and stepped through the door. He stopped.

  “Whoa,” he said.

  Whoa was right. The ambiance. The heaviness. But more than that, the house was packed. Demons crowding around the staircase, demons on the furniture. A tiny demon that looked like a fruit bat stuck its head out of the garbage disposal.

  I had never seen so many demons in one place before. I felt dizzy and looked for a place to sit down, but there were demons of all shapes and sizes propped on every surface.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” I said, and slid down the wall to the floor. I wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to keep myself as small as possible. I didn’t want a demon to touch me if I could avoid it.

  “Your house,” Reed Taylor said. He moved his head around like a blind man who was straining to see. “It feels terrible. So dark. What happened here?”

  “It’s become Demonic Utopia, you screw-up.” Mouth looked Reed Taylor up and then he looked him down. “Seriously, Luna, what do you see in this guy? He’s got nothing.”

  “Shut up, Mouth.” I struggled to my feet. “There are demons everywhere,” I told Reed Taylor. “I mean hundreds. One just…one just walked right through you. Did you feel it?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  Thank goodness. I took another step into the room. I hated to see them in our space, trying to touch our things. Something slinky slid down the banister.

  They’re upstairs, in our rooms, looking at our pictures, at our clothes, touching as much as they could touch. I wondered if I’d find a tiny demon in Lydia’s crib. The thought of it nearly made me throw up.

  “You okay?” Reed Taylor asked me.

  I shook my head. “This is so uncool. I mean, seriously. You should just see the place. Actually, it’s probably better you can’t.”

  Reed Taylor’s muscles were tense. “I don’t have to see them. I can feel the air. It feels dangerous.” He looked at me. “Besides, there isn’t a single angel here. Not one. I wonder why that is?”

  “Because they’re not welcome here, doofus!” Mouth stabbed his finger into Reed Taylor’s chest.

  “Knock it off, Mouth. But what do you mean, they’re not…ugh.”

  My eyes practically crossed, I was feeling so sick. I doubled over and wrapped my arms around myself.

  Reed Taylor was instantly at my side. “What’s wrong? You look awful. Is it the house?”

  “It’s the—” I started to gasp out, but I couldn’t finish. I dropped to my knees. I screwed my eyes closed, but I could still feel the demons’ gazes upon me. The area between my shoulder blades screamed for their attention, I could feel it.

  “It’s the Mark,” Mouth finished for me. Which was very helpful, except Reed Taylor couldn’t hear him at all. Still, it was a rather conciliatory gesture, offering an explanation to the man he despised so much and without good reason, and I’d have to thank him for it later.

  If I didn’t die right here on the living room floor.

  Mouthy demon closed his eyes and the want in his voice made me shiver. “Oh, man, that Mark. The Demon Tracing. You have no idea what…” His eyes snapped open. The other demons were inching closer.

  “You need to get out of here, Luna,” Mouth said. “Like, right now.”

  I couldn’t move. It hurt to breathe. I was curled up on the ground and my muscles were starting to twitch.

  “No,” mouthy demon said, and stood between me and the other demons. He used the commanding voice and strange language I had heard from him before, his eyes flashing. I didn’t need to speak Demon to know he was angry.

  The demons stopped advancing for just a second, but the pull of the Tracing and my deliciously deliciousness was apparently too great. Mouth turned to Reed Taylor and swung at him in frustration.

  “Get her out of here, you moron! Use your head. Be useful for once.”

  Of course Reed Taylor couldn’t hear him, but if there was one thing that man knew how to do, it was to think on his feet. He swept me up, threw me over his shoulder, and took off out of the house.

  Just being out of that oppressive environment made me feel better. I breathed in through my nose. The Mark still hurt, but it wasn’t a blinding, screaming pain like it had been before.

  “You can put me down, Reed Taylor,” I said. My voice sounded weaker than I liked.

  “When we get to the bike.”

  He trotted over to his motorcycle, and set me down gently. “How are you feeling?”

  I rubbed my eyes. “Not so great, but better. The house…”

  I didn’t know what else to say. The house was a cesspool of demons. It felt like death. The house was no longer safe. I didn’t have anywhere to go.

  “What did your little demon friend have to say about it?” he asked me.

  Mouth didn’t come out of the house, but other demons were starting to drift over from across the street. It seemed like tonight was going to be a big demon block party.

  “He didn’t say anything. Wait, except that he started yelling at them in some strange language. He was telling them to back up, or something. I’m not sure.” I reached back to rub the pain out of the Mark. It wasn’t helping. Plus it’s in a really awkward place. I sighed and grabbed my helmet and motorcycle.

  “What was that all about, anyway?” I asked bitterly. “Why would he bring us here if he knew it was going to be so disastrous?”

  Reed Taylor shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t know. Maybe he thought you’d be more comfortable at home, I don’t know.”

  Suddenly Mouth was standing at my side. “Or maybe I wanted to give ol’ Luna here a wakeup call. Show her how things were really shaking down. ”

  I bared my teeth at him. “Oh, is that it? You couldn’t have just told me, instead of driving me to my knees because of the horrible demony power of my mystical, magical Tracing?”

  He bared his teeth right back. I almost took a step back but reminded myself it was only the pesky mouthy demon, and he didn’t scare me. Good, because I had almost forgotten.

  “Telling you does no good, Luna, because you never listen to me. Luna.” He wasn’t kidding this time; he was really, genuinely angry. I really did take a step back, and nobody could fault me for it.

  “I take it he’s here again,” Reed Taylor said wearily. He pulled his helmet over his head. “Fantastic.”

  Mouthy
demon heaved a great sigh and visibly pulled himself together.

  “Listen, you two. I tried to tell you, and I tried to tell you. That wasn’t getting us anywhere, was it?” He gestured at Reed Taylor. “He can’t hear me. You won’t listen. What else am I supposed to do?”

  “I’m sure you could have thought of something.”

  He wheeled on me quickly, and his eyes were blazing fire. That’s not a figure of speech, either. It’s a real true thing. Fire licked up out of the sockets of his eyes and danced around his forehead. I could actually feel the heat.

  “You,” he said, and his voice dripped with venom and, I want to say, disgust. “Stop with the jokes. Drop the wisecracks and sarcasm. You don’t even grasp what I—“ He glanced over his shoulder. “They’re coming. They can’t forget the scent of your Mark.” He glared at me, and I kid you not, I was actually afraid. “Go somewhere. Anywhere. Get away from here. And if you’re smart, you’ll get away from him.” He spit at Reed Taylor, and disappeared.

  “What did the punk have to say?” Reed Taylor asked me.

  I was shaking with anger and more than a little fear. Did Reed Taylor somehow have something to do with this? Was he demon bait, too? “The usual,” I said, and threw my leg over my bike. “I don’t want to talk about it. Listen, Reed Taylor, it’s been swell, but I need some time to think. I work best alone. Catch ya later.”

  He looked hurt, so I quickly pulled my helmet down and started the engine. Demons ran from the house like dark water, flowing toward Reed Taylor and me. The Tracing sizzled and I felt my head start to spin. I couldn’t stay here anymore. I needed to bail.

  I found myself doing a lot of that lately.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I left Reed Taylor standing in my driveway and headed to the flower shop on the far end of town. We had a big garden when I was a kid, full of daylilies. I packed the flowers up carefully and hopped back onto the bike. I needed to think. I needed to calm down. I couldn’t go in swinging concerning Lydia. As much as I hated it, Reed Taylor was right. If I tore the city walls down brick by brick, shrieking for Lydia, it was only going to hurt our cause. I had to get control first, and there was only one place I could think of to go. It was a good long drive, and it was getting dark when I arrived at the cemetery.