Carpe Demon (Carus #3)

by J. C. McKenzie

  Wick grabbed my hand.

  He hasn’t attacked yet, he reasoned in my head.

  The Demon shifted his gaze to take in the Vampires surrounding him as he continued to straddle the broken super-sized table. The normally unshakable bloodsuckers remained frozen in their seats doing their best mannequin impersonations. Released from his disturbing gaze and the inherent power behind it, I let out the deep breath that had been stuck in my lungs.

  So we wait until he draws blood? I asked.

  We wait for someone to act. He might be a representative from the demonic realm. He certainly likes a showy entrance. He squeezed my hand before releasing it. I won’t let anything happen to you.

  As macho as he sounded, a gentle wave of calm flowed through my veins at his words. I could take care of myself, but hearing Wick would protect me sent a warm girly flush through my body.

  Run, Red yipped at my feet, running circles around them. Now!

  The Demon dropped his head back and opened his jaws. Sharp fangs and pointed teeth littered his giant, gaping maw, ripe with dripping saliva. A roar ripped from his throat, low, pulsating, like the deep thundering of an earthquake or waterfall. Malice and hunger called out from the unnatural sound. One of the oversized gold-framed paintings fell to the floor with a bang. A few others followed, adding a clattering beat to the Demon’s roar.

  No one moved.

  Except the Demon.

  Cutting off the cry with a strangled sound, he launched from the table remains to the end of the room and clamped his giant dog-shape mouth over a Vampire’s head. His jaw snapped shut and bones snapped as the Vampire’s body shook. Ian, standing beside the victim, fell back, landing hard on the floor, sliding back enough for us to see him from across the table. His face turned up in an expression of…fear? On a Vampire? Cold prickled along my skin, raising the tiny hairs before settling at the back of my skull. Never seen that look on a Vampire’s face before.

  I stepped forward and clutched Lucien by his thousand dollar suit and hauled him out of the chair, shoving him behind me, Wick and Allan.

  Twisting, the Demon ripped the Vampire’s head off, and his throat bulged as he swallowed it whole. Blood sprayed across the room and painted Ian’s face, among others. The rest of the Vampire’s body crumpled to the Demon’s feet and turned to dust.

  Must’ve been young.

  Move! Red hissed at my feet.

  The Demon’s actions spurred the Vampires into action. Chaos erupted throughout the room. The Vampires surged from their seats and dispersed like a frantic marmot herd, funneling out of the boardroom through the four different exits. Allan gripped Lucien’s arm, and they ran for the main exit to the left.

  With Vampires zooming away in every direction, I turned and ran into the giant hall, my back just one of many. My skirt ripped to the waistband, and I lengthened my stride. Wick’s hand pressed into the curve of my spine, prodding me forward and reassuring me with his presence. I needed him safe, too.

  To hell with this place, I planned to get out of the building, and gauging from the pressure on my back, Wick agreed. We needed to grab Lucien and get him to safety.

  Following the mass of Vampires converging with speed on the main entrance, I put my chin down and charged faster. The expensive interior design blurred as I ran by. Wick kept pace, refusing to leave me behind. As a Were, he could easily outrun me in our human forms, but he didn’t. My quads burned and my lungs dried out, each shallow breath rasping against the raw tissue. How big was this stupid building, anyway?

  Where was Lucien?

  The Vampires ahead of us funnelled toward the main entrance. The giant wood panels loomed in the distance above the bobbing heads of hustling men and women. The doors crashed open, and the Demon exploded into the main hall from outside, dominating the large area. His hand swiped at the closest Vampires, knocking them over and throwing them to the side like bowling pins. I staggered and threw all my weight back to stop my forward momentum. Sharp pain lanced up my back as I landed on my tailbone. “Gah!”

  “Get up!” Wick grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. “Go. Hide!” He shoved me toward the bar, and then ripped off his shirt.

  “We need to find Lucien.” I glanced at the Demon. He picked off the Vampires closest to the door. Pounce. Bite. Snap.

  He had a number of Vampires to go through before he reached us.

  “Your safety, first.” Wick gave me another push.

  I stumbled forward, but halted after a few steps to turn back to Wick. “Come with me.”

  “I’ll get Lucien,” Wick hissed. He kept his gaze on the Demon and tugged off his jeans, showing me and anyone else looking he went commando. The sight of his toned butt stirred a warmth in my belly, entirely wrong for the current situation. Wick rolled his head back, stretching, and peered at me. “Lucien’s calling me. Can you feel the tug?”

  I checked on the Demon—still munching on Vampires—and then closed my eyes to focus inward. His Vampire taint ran through my blood, coursing with each pump of my heart and concentrating around my liver. Unfortunately, my body couldn’t filter Lucien out like other toxins.

  “No,” I said. “Nothing.”

  “Then hide.” Wick gripped my shoulders and pulled me to him, planting his lips firmly on mine. Slanting his head, he delved his tongue roughly into my mouth. It was a raw, needy kiss and I loved it, melting into him despite the inherent danger. He bit my lower lip before pushing me away, nodding again at the bar. “Be safe.”

  “You, too.” I turned and sprinted for cover, Red close on my heels.

  Two human bartenders, one male, one female, both norms, huddled in the corner. I ignored them and took cover behind the bar, peeking around the side. Red bumped up against my leg, huddling close to it.

  I don’t like this, she said.

  Me neither.

  Wick completed his messy change; blood, plasma and tissue splattered the tiles around him. His Werewolf was one of the largest I’d ever seen—black with a white tipped snout, white boots and mitts. The wolf turned to me, his bright yellow eyes meeting mine, before turning away and running to wherever Lucien hid.

  I could end this. One shift to my beast. I peered around the side of the bar to see three Vampires launch themselves at the massive, dog-headed Demon. He stood over nine feet tall, more than double the size of Wick as a Werewolf and at least half a foot on me in beast form.

  The Demon spun and caught a Vampire before the bloodsucker landed a strike. The Demon ripped him in half, dust exploding into the air like confetti.

  Could I take him? Maybe.

  My beast might lay the beat down on the Demon, but at what cost? I’d successfully shifted into the destructive form three times. It took me over thirty years to recuperate from the first shift, and while I’d had more control during the other times, I didn’t trust my beast form. I couldn’t risk losing my humanity when I’d just reclaimed it.

  Last resort, I decided.

  “Interesting turn of events, wouldn’t you say?” Sid’s voice sprung up behind me.

  I yelped and spun around. Fixing Sid with a death stare, I asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Sid’s smile broadened, and he sat down in front of me. All seven feet of naked, olive-toned skin plunked down on the bare ground. He smiled as he crossed his legs, exposing more of his boy bits. “Watching the show, same as you.”

  To prove his point, he conjured up a bowl of…I sniffed the air. Popcorn?

  My gaze snapped from his crotch. My shoulders tensed. Stupid Seducer Demons. I moved forward to threaten him with bodily harm, but halted.

  Screams erupted from the adjacent room. The Demon must’ve moved to a new location. Maybe the entrance was clear now. Still in a crouch position, I leaned around the bar to look at the exit surrounded by decaying vamp bodies and piles of dust. The two massive solid oak doors hung half off their hinges, and the outside beyond beckoned.

  “Wouldn’t risk it,” Sid said, as if reading my tho
ughts. “He’ll sense it.”

  I turned to Sid. “Aren’t you going to do something?”

  The Demon had the nerve to shrug. “I will if you want me to.” He popped a kernel of popcorn into his mouth and then set the bowl aside. His gaze drifted down to my ripped skirt and exposed leg. “Will you pay my price?”

  “At a time like this?” I tugged at the ripped skirt and covered enough of my upper thigh to block Sid’s view of my panty choice.

  “With absolute pandemonium and the scent of blood and fear?” Sid took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. “As a backdrop to your sensual hip swivels and bouncing full breasts, I couldn’t think of a better time.”

  “You’re a pig.”

  “Demon,” he reminded me. His eyes popped open and settled on my chest, thankfully still covered.

  Another roar ripped through the room, rumbling the air and shaking the glasses hanging above the bar. The clinking a spastic harmony to the noise erupting from the Demon.

  Wick was out there somewhere.

  “Will you take a rain check?” I asked.

  Sid shook his head and popped another kernel into his mouth.

  I’d rather embrace the beast than go through the humiliation of dancing naked for Sid to feed off my sexual energy.

  Sid chuckled, probably reading the thoughts on my face. “Relax. Looks like you’re saved from having to make a decision. They finally got their shit together.” Sid nodded over the counter. “Took them long enough.”

  I scowled at Sid before turning to peek over the counter top. Sure enough, the Vampires and their minions, including Wick, surrounded the Demon who towered over them, nearly double in size. Knifes, swords and teeth jutted forth, attacking in a controlled unified front. The Demon dropped his head back and placed a palm on his belly as he shook with laughter.

  “Fools,” the dog Demon bellowed.

  Wick leapt to attack. The Demon’s backhand impacted Wick hard in the abdomen. A sickening thud. Wick flew across the room. He hit the floor, limp.

  “Wick!” A strangled cry expelled from my throat. I shot up, ready to run to him when two dark, Demon eyes locked on mine. I halted in my tracks.

  The dog Demon licked his chops. “Mmm, Carus. I’ve missed you.”

  Huh?

  Before I could yell profanities at him, the Demon let out another ear-shattering bellow and launched himself out of the room, bursting through the large skylight and into the night.

  Sharp shards of glass hailed down in his wake. I flung my arms up. Tiny slivers sliced by me and clattered on the ground. The room filled with the sound of glass hitting tile, almost like a colossal wind-chime concert. It lasted seconds.

  When the room turned silent in the glass-hail aftermath, I let my arms fall to my sides. Small trails of blood ran down my skin. Mere flesh wounds. Barely worse than a bunch of paper cuts. Others were worse off.

  Wick!

  A groan rippled across the room from his crumpled form. I left the bar and ran to him, sliding along the floor for the last few steps. The Vampires turned to me with questioning expressions. Screw them. My mind focused on one thing only.

  Wick had shifted back to human. Turning him over, his head face up and on my lap, I checked his body for injuries. Gashes closed up as I watched, and a large bruise on his midsection faded away. I stroked the blood away from his cheek.

  “Andy…” Wick’s usual whiskey and cream voice softened into something tender. With his eyes opened to slits, he smiled at me.

  The tension in my muscles eased with my next breath, and my eyes stung with the sudden welling of unshed tears. I blinked rapidly. Don’t cry. Pull yourself together. He’s going to be okay. Thank god for Were healing.

  “How do you know that Demon?” Lucien’s demanding voice from behind straightened my spine.

  “I don’t.” I stroked Wick’s short blond hair. He’d closed his eyes again, but I smiled down at him anyway.

  “Then what was he talking about?” Lucien asked.

  “No clue.” My eyebrows pinched the middle of my forehead. I’d never met this Demon before. A dog with wings was hard to forget. The only Demons I’d come across were Sid, and that repulsive creature who’d…

  Little black spots danced in my blurry vision as my heartbeat thrashed in my ears. I stilled my hand on Wick’s head. The room filled with the sickly sweet smell of my fear. My feras growled in my mind.

  Dylan’s Demon.

  Chapter Four

  “If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.”

  ~Laurence J. Peter

  I held back my urge to throttle the Seducer Demon and counted to ten. My nerve endings tingled from the denied shift, burning as if I’d spent too much time in the sun instead of starting and stopping a transformation. It took multiple deep breathes and a silent mantra regarding a dead ex to calm down. By then, the Vampires had collected themselves and cornered the remaining Demon for interrogation. They looked ready to break out the gimp, and I didn’t blame them. Sid pissed me off, too.

  Ever notice the word “Demon” in the word pandemonium? Coincidence? I think not.

  Sid placed his half-eaten bowl of popcorn down on the bar counter and straightened to his full seven feet, unperturbed by the congregation of pissed-off Vampires surrounding him. “I could give you the information you seek. But no one here seems willing to pay my price…yet.” His gaze scanned the room and settled on me for a moment before continuing. “There’s always later.”

  Ian cleared his throat, and the bloodsucking heads swiveled in unison in his direction. “Should we go through with the vote?” he asked. “Since we’re all here?”

  I looked around, taking in the scattered piles of Vampire remains that decorated the Italian marble flooring of Ian’s grand entrance and ballroom. My heart still raced from lingering adrenaline. The air smelled dank and dirty with the cloy of ash and death.

  As if following the same line of thought, Ian spoke again. “Well, most of us, anyway. The seconds will stand in for any fallen masters, of course.”

  I turned to Lucien, still hale and hearty, and unaffected by the Demon attack. For some reason, relief washed through me. If I somehow survived his death, I doubted I would’ve escaped alive from a Vampire summit without a master to protect me. It would turn this whole event from bad to horrific. Looking relaxed and at ease as if he recently fed instead of faced down a Demon, Lucien shrugged. “May as well.”

  Some of the Vampires murmured agreement, while others remained silent, but they all must’ve agreed, because they filed back into the boardroom and sat down in their original spots around the broken table. Some seconds stepped up to vote now that the leader of their horde had blown away with the breeze.

  What the heck? These suckheads treated the Demon consuming their brethren like another tactical break. Sure Vampires lacked a beating heart, but geez…

  Then again, I wasn’t exactly shaking in my boots either. At least, not anymore. My recuperation time from traumatic or scary events seemed to constantly improve. Must be all the recent “practice” I’d received.

  I followed Lucien and kept one hand clamped on the ripped edges of my skirt. Not that anyone besides Wick was interested, but these guys didn’t need a show. I took my place at Lucien’s back and surveyed the area.

  Wick hobbled in after us and took his place at my side. By the time the vote finished, he’d be fully recovered. His warmth radiated against my skin and sent a soothing balm along my nerves.

  Clint turned in his seat to face me. “You might need these.”

  Oh look! My shoes. Completely unscathed and dangling from Clint’s forefinger. Would nothing go right tonight?

  “Your butt looks better with them on.” Clint winked.

  I snatched them from his hand. “Funny, you would look better with them stuck up your ass.”

  “Children,” Lucien hissed.

  Clint smirked before turning back to the damaged table, leaving me to waste my death stares on the back of his hea
d with his perfectly slicked hair. I stuffed my already sore feet back into the shoes, my feet so traumatized and swollen, I could’ve gone a size up.

  “All those in favour of creating an alliance?” Ian called out. He raised his hand, along with Lucien. The female vamp who’d been with Ian earlier, sitting at the far end of the table, also raised her hand. Everyone else looked away.

  Hmmm…What did this mean? Obviously the dog Demon had rattled a few Vampires, but they shouldn’t be so easily manipulated.

  Ian’s gaze cast back and forth before he lowered his arm awkwardly to his side. “All those opposed?”

  Vampire arms shot up in unison, crinkling the air with the sound of their clothing.

  “Forty-seven to three…” Ian glanced at Lucien before averting his eyes. “NAVA has spoken. There will be no alliance.”

  A deep chuckle filled the room, and fifty Vampire heads along with their minions swiveled to the doorway. Sid leaned against the frame, legs crossed and one hand on his naked hip. Someone needed to get this guy some tighty-whities. I, personally, was over looking at his junk.

  “I will pass along your decision,” Sid announced. He straightened, gave the room a shallow bow and disappeared, presumably swallowed up by the demonic realm. No one had to expel him. And no circle had contained him. He must’ve struck a deal for a limited time outside the circle with the promise to do no harm.

  Lucien stood and straightened his suit, somehow still immaculate despite the recent events.

  “Come.” Allan nudged me. Lucien, Clint and Wick moved beside him, looking at me expectantly. Guess we were on the move.

  “Dawn arrives soon, and I’m hungry,” Lucien said before nodding at the door. Hungry? His flushed cheeks and rosy red lips contradicted his statement. Lucien wanted out of here, and I didn’t blame him. I did, too.

  We walked in silence toward the exit. I hobbled along with my pinched toes, and Red trotting alongside me. The feras in my head grumbled and prodded me to move faster.