The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers ds-2

by Angie Fox

  Dimitri’s yellow eyes focused on a spot on the wall behind me. “I knew something was wrong,” he said roughly, almost to himself. “I felt it.”

  “There’s nothing we can do. And you certainly can’t protect me like this. If you stay, you’re only making them stronger. Let it go. Leave.” Then softer, I said, “They’ve won this round.”

  He stiffened, eyes darkening. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

  Oh no, no, no. He wasn’t going to deny this. “You’re feeding them!”

  My voice echoed down the empty corridor. Now I knew why it was dim. The concierge posts stood empty.

  His nostrils flared, his body tight with resolve. “I’m also resisting them.” He loomed over me. “And doing a damned good job of it. Better than I should be given these…” He couldn’t even say it. “Circumstances.”

  “You need to leave,” I said. He gave me a predatory smile. “Point taken.” Stubborn, stubborn man. He might think he could control his own destiny, but he couldn’t deny one basic truth about the fight ahead. “Fine. Whether you stay or go, we’re not going to beat this thing without Max.” Facts were facts.

  “You don’t know what the hell he is.”

  “Max can kill demons,” I said. “We need him.” Dimitri closed his fist as if he wanted to punch something. “He is a demon,” Dimitri said, grinding out each word. “Half demon.”

  His mouth twisted into a mockery of a smile. “Now you’re splitting hairs.”

  “And you’re lumping him in with the devil.” His temper burned. “He’s a vigilante, Lizzie.”

  “Fine, so he’s not a slayer.” He killed for revenge. It left the demons just as dead. “And how he kills them…” Disgusting wasn’t the word. I’d seen him consume a she-demon. I’d touched his steel holding cells with my own hand. “But you have to admit, he’s killed more than I ever have.”

  If possible, Dimitri’s rage intensified. “Can’t you feel him turning?”

  I stood, rooted in place.

  He thrust his hand out, gripping my shoulder, his fingers tight with fury. “Every demon Max consumes takes away a small part of his humanity. Until there won’t be anything left.”

  “What about you?” I demanded.

  “I’ll survive.”

  “This is not a choice.”

  “He’ll turn.”

  It took me a moment to hear him. Maybe I didn’t want to understand. “You mean he’ll become one of them?” I gasped.

  What was the male version of a succubus? “An incubus?” I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

  Dimitri gave me a cold look. “I don’t know what he’ll become, but I don’t want you to be around to find out. We need to fight our own part of this war and leave Max to fight his. In the meantime, I’m on you like a second skin. If he shows up again, he’ll have to answer to me.”

  “Oh yeah, because that’s what demon slayers do. We hide from the demons while our boyfriends fight our battles for us.”

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “You can’t protect me from the entire world, Dimitri. I don’t want you to.” I’d walked into tonight determined to take my place as a demon slayer. Max had taught me more in one evening than Grandma had since we’d set foot in Vegas. And he’d launched a demon at me. And, yes, I’d been marked.

  The war was on and I wasn’t ever going to become a true demon slayer without facing down creatures like the ones I’d battled tonight.

  Every urge from my old life would have had me clinging to Dimitri. That’s why I knew I couldn’t. It was like the winter I’d wanted to learn to ice-skate. I’d been so scared of falling that I kept to the wall of the indoor rink, never risking a trip onto the seemingly endless stretch of ice, knowing for sure that I’d fall. And, yes, I didn’t fall that winter. But I didn’t skate, either. I had to get off the wall.

  “I’m doing this,” I told him.

  “I’m making sure you survive.”

  “What are you going to do? Lock me up like a terrier?”

  “I heard that,” Pirate’s voice echoed from the other side of the wall.

  Dimitri let out a string of curses I wouldn’t say in front of a roomful of biker witches, much less our entire hotel floor, who was no doubt listening.

  “Stuff it,” I said, stomping down the hall toward his room. If he wouldn’t get out of the hallway, I would.

  I yanked up the straps of my ruined dress, venturing a glance at my marked palm. Times like this, I really missed my old life.

  Last month, nightclubs were nightclubs, concierges were human and the demons were the name of the local high school football team. Now my shape-shifting griffin boyfriend couldn’t seem to get along with my biker-witch Grandma, much less a half human/half demon potential ally, who as far as I could see was key to helping us stop an invasion of succubi that could not only kill my Uncle Phil and “turn” me, but could also go all biblical on the good citizens of Las Vegas, Nevada.

  And right when I was working up a really good rant, I reached Dimitri’s room and realized I didn’t have a key. His shadow fell over me as he popped open the door.

  We were barely in the room before Dimitri slammed the door closed behind us.

  “First of all,” was all I managed before he pinned me to the wall, his body hard against mine as he assaulted me with his mouth. The man did amazing things with his tongue, his teeth. Yum. I ground against him. Pushed him harder. I heard him groan. Or was that me?

  He pulled back, his lips almost on mine. I tried to close the gap, just for a moment. The temptation was too overwhelming. It wouldn’t cost much, I told myself.

  But he resisted. “I’m not stupid,” he said. “I know what you have to do here. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it, and it doesn’t mean you need to go riding off with assholes like Max. He’s half demon, Lizzie. You remember demons, don’t you?”

  Like I could forget.

  “Here’s the deal,” I said, ready to lay it out as plainly as I could.

  I told Dimitri about my night with Max, how I watched him suck the life out of the she-demon at Pure. I told him about Max’s abandoned mental hospital/prison and the succubi Max held captive there.

  Dimitri had to get it. I watched his face for signs of understanding. “Vegas is on the edge,” I said. “This is the gathering place. You said it yourself. Something big is about to go down. Uncle Phil is involved, and now I am too. We only have one choice in this. One. And that’s whose side we’re going to be on.”

  Dimitri gave nothing away. “Not his.”

  “Oh, come on.”

  “He’s sucking out their immortal essences, Lizzie. He’s no better than they are.”

  “Yes, but he’s doing it to destroy a demon.” At a huge sacrifice to himself. I might not agree with how he did it, but it didn’t make the demons any less dead.

  Dimitri’s jaw tightened.

  “Fine,” I said. “We’ll agree to disagree.” It seemed like we’d been doing that far too often lately. “The only thing I can’t figure out is how my Uncle Phil fits into any of this.”

  Dimitri considered it, his expression darkening. “If the succubi are planning a war, fairies could be incredibly useful.”

  That’s right. Grandma said the fairies could anticipate events, fly undetected, even change the near future.

  “But Uncle Phil’s only half fairy.”

  “Exactly. He’s half human. They can get to him.” He took my hand, heading for the door “Come on.”

  Excerpt from The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers:

  Fairies: a species of magical creature that will drive you insane if you let them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  We jammed our Harleys into gear and drove straight to McCarran International Airport.

  “Let me do the talking,” Dimitri said, as we left our bikes in short-term parking.

  It sounded good to me, considering I didn’t quite understand who I’d be talking to, anyway. I had a feeling
I’d be adding another chapter to my demon slayer handbook.

  “The fairies in Vegas have to stay on the down low,” Dimitri continued, taking my hand as we walked. “Did you wonder why the DIP office sent you a fairy?”

  “Because he’s good at going undetected?”

  Dimitri nodded. “Also because he’s expendable.”

  “Ouch.”

  “In a lot of places, fairies are considered second-class citizens. Vegas is no exception. They don’t allow fairies anywhere near casinos or gaming halls. They’re not even permitted inside the airport here. Management is convinced they’ll make a break for the slot machines.” He rubbed a thumb along a sensitive spot near my wrist and I had to force myself to stay on track.

  I leaned into him as we walked. “What and influence the near future?” The magical world had much bigger problems than a few gambling wee folk.

  “Gambling is big money here. And it wouldn’t just be the fairies who win big. If a person’s will is strong enough, they can compel a fairy to do their bidding—in big ways and in small.”

  No wonder Sid Fuzzlebump was so defensive.

  We jogged across two lanes of traffic to the taxi stand outside the Arrivals gate. “They used to burn fairies as witches in the Middle Ages,” Dimitri said. “Hold up. Dispatch said he’d be here soon.” He found us a spot next to the taxi line. Dimitri watched traffic as he continued his explanation. “These days, ninety-nine percent of the population would never recognize a fairy. I saw one in Tulsa once, working as a TV weatherman. But as a race, they have trouble assimilating. A lot of the premier athletes, Wall Street types, successful literary agents you see are only a small part fairy. They don’t even know they’re influencing the future.”

  I hated to state the obvious, but… “It seems like fairies could do a lot of good.”

  “Pure fairies aren’t interested in making their mark in the human world,” Dimitri said, “and most magical places ban them.”

  “That seems kind of harsh.” Good thing Uncle Phil was only part fairy. Still, his mom must have had it rough.

  “I don’t make up the rules,” Dimitri replied. “In any case, expect the fairies you meet to be on guard. Don’t take it personally.”

  “But if they’re not allowed inside the airport, where—?”

  “There!” Dimitri lunged forward into traffic, taking me with him.

  An aquamarine Gossamer Cab veered away from us, jamming into a mass of taxis right before an airport limousine blocked our path. We sprinted past a honking BMW and a Ford F-150 exhaling hot engine air. We dashed alongside the limo and when I thought we’d make it around, we almost missed the cab again as the light ahead turned green and traffic surged. Dimitri yanked the door open and I dove in, with him right behind.

  Sid Fuzzlebump, DIP officer and cab driver, glared at us through the rearview mirror. “Get out of the cab. I’m off duty.”

  Dimitri slammed the door closed behind him. “Like you didn’t see this coming.”

  “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t know everything. Now scram.”

  “We need to talk.” Dimitri said. “It’s not like the DIP offices are going to send us another fairy.”

  Sid threw a stubby hand over the seat and glared over his shoulder at us. “The DIP offices are a little busy trying to verify your count. I was the laughingstock of Temp Area Three when I turned in your esteemed findings.” Horns blared behind us. He pounded on his horn in response and made an obscene gesture out the window with a certain stubby finger.

  The fairy cursed under his breath. He hit the gas and made a hard left, stopping at the curb as traffic whizzed past. “I did my job. I met you once. Now beat it.”

  “Did you see anything unusual on your cab route?” I asked. “You said you’d check.” I looked him straight in the eye, willing him to answer me, to help us.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Sid said. “And stop trying to compel me. It’s annoying.”

  “Fair enough,” I said, almost throwing up my marked right hand, catching myself at the last moment. “But we need your help. Phil Whirley is my fairy godfather.”

  His eyes narrowed. “No kidding. I think I saw your dance recital tape. Nice to meet you. Now vamoose.”

  “You’re the most obnoxious fairy I’ve ever met,” I said, digging into my utility belt. Let him think I’d met more than one.

  “And yet you’re still here,” he sniped.

  “Okay, Sid. Let’s bargain,” Dimitri said. “What will it take for you to help us?”

  “Look, you two,” the fairy said, the bubblegum air in the car thickening, growing even sweeter. “I’m not talking with you, I’m not going anywhere with you and I’m not driving another inch. I’ve got enough going on without running a charity for displaced demon slayers. Now scram.”

  “We need your help,” I said, holding up my cell phone. “What is the DIP not telling us? Why would demons want my uncle? Are they going after any more fairies?”

  “You want me to bash you over the head with that thing?” He took a swipe for my phone.

  I yanked it back and hit the button for a ring tone I should have erased after last Christmas. A chorus of bells blared through the cab. Fairies hated bells.

  Dimitri looked like he wanted to kiss me.

  “Gaaa!” The cabbie threw his hands over his ears. “Stop it! Shut it off!”

  I hit the volume until it maxed out at ten.

  Sid cringed. “We’ll talk. Did you hear me?” he yelled, “We’ll talk!”

  I snapped the phone shut. “It’s a deal.”

  “Yeah, well goodie, goodie gumdrops,” Sid muttered, flooring it.

  Sid the fairy hit every green light as we sped straight east down Highway 160.

  “So?” I asked.

  Sid ground his fingers around the wheel. “Yes, okay? The demons have been going after fairies for the past few years. They haven’t been able to catch a full-blood. We don’t keep track of the rest.”

  The cab’s radio crackled and Sid picked it up. “Fuzzlebump here.”

  Sid took much longer than he needed to talk to dispatch. Yeah, well the fairy could stall all he wanted. We weren’t getting out of this cab without some answers.

  I flopped back onto the seat. “Why taxis?” I asked Dimitri. “Why not highway construction or farming or anything else you can do outside of town?”

  “Fairies like to stick to the same routes their ancestors traveled,” Dimitri said. “This way, they can draw on the strength of their community while they work their magic. They know which traffic spots to avoid, they can keep lights green longer, steer out of accidents. Fairies can tell by looking who’ll tip them, who will have the higher fares.”

  And who would be trouble.

  Sid cranked up the theme song to American Bandstand, a dance tune guaranteed to get into my head worse than any demon.

  “The thing is,” I said, leaning over the front seat, catching a strong whiff of bubblegum. It wouldn’t hurt to have Sid on our side, or at least understand where we were coming from. “Last month, when I thought of fairies, I pictured Tinkerbell.”

  He raised his bushy brows.

  “Now I picture my fairy godfather. He saved my life, and I’m going to save his.”

  Sid huffed, his ears reddening.

  “My uncle’s name is Phil Whirley. He’s half human.”

  Sid’s bushy brows lowered. “Then he’s not very powerful.”

  “Whether that’s true or not,” I said, refusing to get into fairy politics, “a succubus has him.”

  The pudgy fairy squirmed in his seat. “Look, I’m sorry to hear about your loss, but let’s not drag everybody else into this, okay?”

  “He’s not lost.” I hoped. “She married him. We watched it happen. There’s something she wants bad enough to keep him alive. But she controls him, body and soul. Any idea why she’d do that?”

  He rubbed his lips together while considering the question. Finally, he said, “Well you�
�re right about one thing. By marrying him, she took control. As far as why? I have no idea. If your uncle is only half fairy, he can’t do much about the future other than give someone a lot of luck.” Sid made a right turn onto Wayne Newton Boulevard. “Whatever she wants him for, it isn’t fairy magic. He’s not powerful enough.”

  Focus. “If they don’t want him for his magic,” I said, more sharply than I’d intended, “what in the world—”

  The fairy stiffened. “Switch your ring tone.”

  It took me a moment to understand. “On my phone?” I asked. My phone wasn’t ringing.

  I dug it out of my utility belt and found the ringer switch. “Sure.” I turned off the fairy bells.

  “Good. Now answer this—after you try to save your uncle, why do you give a rip about a bunch of fairies? And no games. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

  “I’m in it to stop the she-demons,” I said, “once and for all.”

  “You would have to say that.”

  The phone in my right hand chirped. I glanced down at the Caller ID.

  Grandma.

  “Answer it, hot stuff,” Sid said, lurching the cab into a U-turn.

  I grabbed the seat in front of me and held on. “Are you influencing the future?”

  “Oh yeah, I’m conjuring up all kinds of goodies,” he said, an eye on my ringing phone. “Now answer the damned phone.”

  With dread pulsing in my temples, I flipped open the phone.

  “Lizzie!” Ant Eater’s voice sounded hollow, and about a million miles away. “Get back here! We’re under attack!”

  Not the demons. They couldn’t break through the wards.

  “Incoming!” she hollered before the line went dead.

  I dashed down the ordinary twelfth floor and thrust open the door to the stairwell. My demon slayer senses told me there were three of them waiting up there. Three. Could I even handle that many? I had no idea. I just hoped the witches had made it out all right. And poor little Pirate.

  Don’t think about it.

  My boots pounded on the concrete stairs to the maintenance closet that led to thirteen. I shoved my keycard at the door, hit it wrong and broke the thing in half. Criminy!