by Gail, Stacy
Then Nate had come along, picked up her shattered pieces, and put her life back together. And he’d done it without even trying.
She put a hand to her forehead as if to stop the internal chaos, and it took her a moment to register that for once, she wasn’t looking at a game cheat or MMORPG chat board. Blinking, she used the touch pad to click on a link, then sat back to read.
It is often said that the greatest trick the Devil ever managed to pull is to convince the world that he is not there. But for those few who have seen the face of true evil in the creatures who answer to him, the demonic entities that feed on the weaknesses of humanity and strive to make it their own, the truth is known. It is up to those few to push back the dark forces wherever they are met, through strength, faith and unwavering determination. Only then can those evil beings known as demons be banished back to hell.
There is no such thing as “killing” a demon, for no human has the power to take the life of one of The Fallen. It is also difficult for a demon to have enough energy to both stay in the physical realm and kill a human through physical force. More often than not, a demon even of the highest order uses a proxy—a human they have possessed or corrupted—to actually take a life. Sadly, due to humanity’s many weaknesses, there is never a scarcity of proxies willing to be used in such a manner.
Banishment of a demon is a possibility through exorcism and other religious rites. It is also possible to produce a banishment even if one does not have these other forms readily available. Once a demon appears in the physical realm, it is imperative to injure or weaken it beyond sustainable life. Once it no longer has the strength to maintain a physical form here, it will be transported back to where it belongs. Unfortunately, those who have tried to wrestle a demon from this world have, more often than not, given their lives to do so.
Grim-faced, she snatched up a hotel pad and disposable pen and began to write, scrolling down quickly through various posts and anecdotal encounters. She wasn’t an exorcist, and she didn’t know how to find a local demon hunter. Nor could she do things like she’d seen in the movies to banish a demon; she didn’t have magic and she couldn’t see herself wielding a bible and a cross or some other religious symbol like she knew what the hell she was doing. She only had one thing—the determination of a woman who wanted to protect the man who had become her world.
One way or another, she’d find a way to send this thing back to hell.
Chapter Fifteen
Nate could smell the water.
He stood on the corner of a concrete slab that jutted out into what looked like an ocean harbor, the water inky black and rippling calmly with the reflection of the full moon hanging low over a lighthouse far in the distance. He looked behind him and saw the glass building, and this time he was close enough to see it wasn’t a snow globe on high-octane fertilizer. Its roof was arched like a barrel that had been put on its side, and inside...
Inside.
Nate started to walk toward the building, but paused when he noticed chains lying in a radiating pattern across the pier. He followed the nearest one trailing off into the water. Beneath the water’s rippling surface, Briella Fields and Gabrielle Litte along with the woman Ella had carried out of the mountains, Jasmine Sims, looked back up at him. There were other people as well, five people he didn’t recognize but had that same hopeless look about them, as though they could do nothing but resign themselves to their fate. The chains held them beneath the water; the links tightened on their bodies, which began to wither before his very eyes, as though the chains themselves were somehow feeding on them.
This bullshit stopped right here, right now.
Every cell in his body burned to snap the chains into pieces, but something told him that wasn’t the way. Instead, he ran toward the building from which the chains emanated, but it seemed impossibly far.
That won’t do it.
A small eternity passed before he finally made it to the front, where a bank of glass push-bar doors was located. Furiously he tried to get inside to the source of the chains feeding on the lives of the people beneath the water, but everything was locked up tight.
That’s not the way.
A terrible, sweat-popping panic built inside his chest until it was hard to catch his breath, and he looked through the glass in desperation. In the center of a large room, gloomy with the shadows of night, the faceless giant stood with his arms outstretched and head tilted downward as though in thought. The being’s fingers were spread impossibly wide, spidery thin and deformed with extra knuckles, and instead of nails coming out of the ends, the links of the chains sprouted and grew. They throbbed with a sickly pink glow, where chain connected with finger. With every pulse the faceless man became more substantial, and the sense of those chains feeding off the submerged people grew. Only two of the faceless being’s ghostly, geometrically wrong fingers were unconnected, and the moment Nate’s attention turned to those fingers, the giant flinched as if touched by a whip. His bald and formless head jerked up and around to where Nate stood on the other side of the door, and a horrific wailing filled his ears.
“I’m not ready yet.”
“I don’t give a shit. You have to stop.” Nate heard the words boil from him even as he clamped his hands over his ears. But the moment he spoke, he knew he’d said the wrong thing. “I have to stop you.” There. That was better.
The being inside the glass building continued his nightmarish screeching from a mouth that wasn’t there. “If only I could see you the way you see me. I would crush you like the annoying ant you are if I could just find you. But make no mistake, I can’t allow you to stop me. All I need are two more, and then...”
“You’ve sucked them dry. I have to stop you from getting anyone else.” Wait. Two more what? What did he have to stop this thing from doing?
“Nate.”
A jolt went through him at the sound of Ella’s voice. Ella. Oh God, he wouldn’t be able to stand it if she had a life-sucking chain on her. Frantic, he looked all around and spotted her at the side of the building. Sweet relief almost drowned him when she smiled, hale and hearty, unencumbered by any chain and wearing her kickboxing outfit. She winked at him and beckoned to him with a hand wrapped in a pink boxing glove.
“Come on, Nate, stop being stubborn. You know that’s not the way.”
“But, the faceless man. He’s here, past these doors—”
“That’s not the way.”
“But...yeah, it is. They’re doors. That’s the way in.”
“This is the lesson for today, Nate. Drop the expectations that are nothing more than leftovers from your mother. They’re blinding you from your sight.
”
Nate stared. Since when had Ella become fluent in Fortune Cookie?
She smiled again and stepped forward.
Right onto an energy-sucking chain.
“No!” Nate leaped forward even as the clinking of the chain signaled sudden movement. Every muscle exploded with vengeful heat as he raced toward her while his feet seemed to stick to the ground. He tackled her with full force, hoping to jar her away from the chains, but as they rolled across the pier and into a golden glow of a huge circle of light, Ella withered in his arms while the faceless man fed on her life...
“No!”
Nate jerked awake, the sound of his yell echoing in his ears. He was half out of bed, every muscle hot and quivering to punish the no-face giant, and in his arms...
“Nate.” Ella was looking up at him, her dark hair mussed, wearing those stretchy pants that hugged her bottom and a rumpled T-shirt with The Body Electric’s logo splashed across it. She had a pained look on her face, much like his dream, and without giving it a thought he searched for the chain so he could obliterate it. “Nate, let go. You’re crushing me.”
“What?” Crazy woman, didn’t she realize he was trying to save her?
Without another word, she reached up and gave his thumb a quick thrust against its socket. A sting of near-pain made him hiss and let go, and only then did he fully snap out of it. Hotel room. No chains. And Ella attacking him. “Damn it, Ella.”
“You were squishing me.” Unrepentant, she rubbed at her upper arms and watched him as if she suspected he might be Dr. Jekyll about to morph into Mr. Hyde. “Are you awake now?”
“I think so.” He rotated his thumb experimentally before slumping back onto the bed with an explosive breath. “Sorry. The chains were going to eat you.”
“You don’t say.” Taking a moment to open the curtains so they could enjoy the calm of the purpling sunset, she joined him on the side of the bed. “Was the faceless man there with the chains, or no?”
“He was there, all right. I know this is going to sound as crazy as all the rest of this situation, but I think he’s somehow responsible for the death of Jasmine Sims.”
Ella’s jaw dropped. “Why would you say that? Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, a few times now. She’s shown up with Briella Fields and Gabrielle Litte, and we know what happened to them. I don’t know how, but I think she was killed. And somehow their deaths are feeding the faceless man. That demon.”
“So you finally believe your faceless man and the demon are one and the same?”
“I don’t know what else to think. And maybe you were right—maybe my expectations are blinding my sight.”
She tilted her head. “Did I say that?”
“You were quite the chatterbox in my dream.” He curled an arm around her shoulders, then reached to hook his other arm under her knees to pull her onto his lap. Her nearness chased the rest of the nightmare away, and he sighed in mingled relief and that odd sense of completion when she rested her face against his neck. “And I don’t think it was a dream. These are visions of a demon who doesn’t want me to find it before it’s ready.”
“Which means we have to find it, if only to make it really uncomfortable with the prospect of uninvited guests.” Her lips moved against his throat as she spoke, a breathy caress that did crazy things to his pulse. He stretched his neck to encourage more of that delicious touch, and he sighed when her mouth opened on a place just above his collarbone and gently sucked, her tongue tasting him until he thought his spine might melt.
“Mm, nice.” His hand slipped up the line of her back to tangle in her hair, and he turned his head to nuzzle his chin against the crown of her head. “Better than nice. If you’re not careful...”
She pulled away when he went silent. “Do you want me to finish that sentence? Because I totally can.”
“That big light.” With his heart tripling its rate with a heady rush of adrenaline, Nate pointed out the window. “What is that?”
She glanced in the direction of the window. “The Ferris wheel? That’s Navy Pier.”
The concrete pier and dark water flashed before eyes that had begun to throb. “Is there some kind of glass structure, like a green house near there?”
She thought for a moment. “The Crystal Gardens, but I think it’s closed for renovations.”
“So it’d be a nice place to hole up for a while.” He smiled as his internal heat began its familiar thrumming in his muscles, the edgy energy prowling through him in a never-ending search for a way out. “Perfect.”
* * *
“I don’t suppose there’s any point in saying you can’t go.”
Ella didn’t even bother looking up from the task of digging through her duffle bag. “Smart man.”
“Full moon tonight. Just like I’ve been seeing.” With a short sigh Nate checked the gun holstered at the small of his back, then aimed the remote at the TV. The screen showing the local weather for clear nighttime skies, perfect for moon-watching, went black. “I know you can handle your own in a fight with a regular human being, Ella. But this isn’t anywhere near normal. You get that, right?”
“I’m not an idiot.” Ah, there it was. She snagged up a plastic baggie containing a small can of pepper spray and stuffed it into her hoodie’s slash pocket. Jacob wasn’t a strong advocate of any sort of weapon that could affect both the target and the user, but she figured if push came to shove she’d want to have as many weapons as possible within reach. “I did some research on demons and how to kill them—or, I should say vanquish. Apparently no mere human can actually kill one of these suckers, did you know that?”
“Yes. Which is why I want you to stay out of this.”
“It also takes a tremendous amount of energy for demons to simply exist in our world, so much so that it risks being sucked back into hell if it tries to physically go toe-to-toe with anyone, so they piggyback on people and make them do their dastardly deeds just for fun.”
Nate pursed his lips. “One of the Nephilim out of the west coast, Zeke, described something like that. A demon made some guy go berserk in a crowd, then flew the coop when Zeke showed up to pound him into the ground.”
“Maybe your friend would have been more careful if he knew that just about everyone who goes up against one of these things loses their life in the struggle,” she went on, forcing the words out as if they didn’t rip bloody strips off of her. But there was no way she could ignore that some vital part of her would die if anything happened to Nate. “That’s what happens if a person goes one-on-one with it. I’m pretty positive, though, that if we tag-team it, the odds are going to tip in our favor. If we work together, we can weaken it to the point where it can no longer survive in this realm.”
“Wow. You really did do some research on this, didn’t you?”
“Ignorance is akin to being powerless.” Zipping up the duffle bag, she shoved it into the bottom drawer of the bureau before kicking it shut. “I’m not going to be powerless and I’m not going to hide. If you try to take this thing on all alone, it’ll kill you.”
His face was like granite, and just about as readable. “I know I’m the weakest of my bloodline. I know I’m crippled and my powers are useless when it comes to a knock-down drag-out. But don’t underestimate me. I’m tougher than you think.”
“This isn’t a matter of being tough. It’s a matter of logistics. Two people are better than one and if you go through with this all alone, that’s the basic math that you’ll be going up against.” When his expression didn’t change she framed his face with her hands, gently brushing a thumb over the corner of his mouth in the hope of thawing that icy mask. “I don’t doubt your strength, Nate. You’re the most powerful man I know.”
His mouth twisted with a bitterness that hurt her. “Right.”
The loving caress turned
into a gentle pinch. “Idiot.”
“Ella—”
“You’re an idiot if you think you’re weak.” She let the irritation flow full and bright, because it dulled the edges of the fear that she’d lose him just when she’d discovered he was the most important person in her life. “Even if I didn’t already know how strong you are, your heart and strength of will is what’ll defeat anything that’s stupid enough to stand in your way. Just because I’m determined to stay by your side doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in you. It only means that I need to be with you. So do us both a favor and find a way to cope with that.”
“Yeah?” The icy hardness of his expression melted under a flood of warmth that started in his eyes before it spilled into his crooked smile. “A beautiful, courageous woman wanting to be with me, even when life sucks and I can’t promise a damn thing, not even if we’ll see tomorrow. Damn, how will I ever cope?”
A velvet fist of emotion clenched around her heart until it was almost too much to bear, but before she could tell him exactly what he did to her, a familiar musical chime sounded from the laptop. Nate surprised her by gathering her to him for a swift kiss that held an overwhelming sweetness. It was as though he cherished her, valued her. As though she was a prize he couldn’t stand to give up. Tears stung her eyes, and she was so moved by the flood of unspoken communication between them that it took her a moment to realize he had broken away to answer the call.
“Hey, Macbeth.” Nate’s voice was husky, as if he’d gotten caught up in the same tidal wave of emotion that had slammed her. “Good timing on your part. We were just about to head out for a little demon hunting.”