by Davis, L. C.
Somehow, I'd always thought having my worst suspicions confirmed would be a relief. It wasn't. "Who the fuck is he, then?"
"I don't know. I mean, he smells human."
"What else would he be?" I paused. "On second thought, please don't answer that."
"Let's just say witches and wolves aren't the only monsters out there. Dennis isn't like anything we've come across, though. As far as any of us can tell, he's human, he's just..."
"Not himself."
"Yep."
"So why hasn't your uncle done anything about him?"
"This town is kind of a sanctuary for supernaturals. It's been that way from the beginning," he said with a shrug. "It's been thirteen years and all the new Dennis has done is some landscaping. We keep an eye on him, but as far as we can tell, he's harmless. If I thought otherwise, I never would've let Holden go out with him."
"They're going out now?"
"I mean, I followed them the whole time they were on their stupid date, but he was a gentleman," he muttered.
"I can't believe after all the bullshit you pulled to keep Holden safe from a preacher, you'd let him go out with fucking Dennis Mills."
"Hey, you're the one who said I was being a caveman and needed to back off."
"That was back when I thought human standards of behavior applied!"
"Are you upset because you're worried about Holden or because you're jealous that he went out with Dennis?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"The former," I snapped. "I don't know, maybe both. Fuck."
"That about sums up my feelings on the matter, but you try telling a witch what he can and can't do. Anyway, for the moment, I'm more worried about what my pack's going to do if they know there's a witch on our territory than I am about Dennis."
"But Holden's your soulmate." I couldn't believe I was going along with that, but it was by far the least weird aspect of it all. "Doesn't that count for something?"
"No, because I haven't marked him yet."
"Do I even want to know what that means?"
"Probably not. Suffice it to say, it's not something I can just do without him knowing about it. Especially not if he already belongs to a demon."
"If?"
"That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about," he said, narrowing his eyes. "This cat of Holden's. Notice anything weird about him?"
"No, but I'll try to interrogate him the next time he comes into the office for his shots."
"I'm serious. Now that you've seen my beastform, do you think that's what could have gotten to him that night?"
I thought about it for a moment. "I mean, yeah, I guess so. Whatever attacked him definitely had a bigger bite radius than a dog, but... Please don't tell me you tried to turn Puff into a snack."
"Puff?"
"Long story."
"It wasn't me, but the timing is weird. You treated him right before the last full moon, right?"
"Yeah, why? You think Holden's cat is a werewolf?"
"No," he said darkly. "But I think he might be something a lot worse. I also need you to do me a favor."
Sixteen
HOLDEN
The closer the full moon got, the more nervous I became. After coming home from my date with Dennis to find the cat crate empty and Puff missing, I was beginning to think Locke was to blame. If he thought stealing my borderline-evil cat was the best way to threaten me, he needed to take lessons from my father. I was half-tempted to call Nick for an excuse to not be alone when the full moon rose, a guarantee that Locke would be roaming the earth in human form with ten fingers and a silver tongue to put to sinister use, but when I finally caved, his phone went straight to voicemail.
It was a sobering reminder that no one would be there all the time. I felt pathetic for relying on anyone else to feel safe, since that had so rarely worked out in my favor, but I was thinking about at least going into town so I wouldn't bring the demon around Mrs. Marrin. I was still debating whether leaving her home alone if Locke came to the apartment looking for me first was any better when he appeared at my kitchen table and saved me the trouble.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," I said, refusing to give him the pleasure of stopping what I was doing to acknowledge his presence. At the moment, that happened to be unloading the dishwasher. Admittedly not the most dignified of tasks, but it could have been worse. I could have been brushing my teeth.
"You know, mundane household chores would be a thing of the past if you'd just accept my offer."
"Thanks, but I'd rather not rely on cheap magic tricks to accomplish basic tasks."
"I was referring to the menagerie of able-bodied studs that you could have at your beck and call," he replied, perching on the edge of the table. "The job comes with perks."
"Just tell me what you did with my cat."
"Spoken with an undue amount of concern for someone who leaves the poor thing to waste away in a crate while he gallivants around town with the resident axe murderer."
"One, there were no axes involved. Two, alleged axe murderer. Three," I said, reaching to slip a glass onto the top shelf, "it was two measly hours and it was the only way I could make sure he didn't get into anything dangerous. He's not the brightest bulb."
When I turned around, Locke was right there in front of me and the glass slipped from my hand, shattering to the floor. "I wouldn't talk about bright if I was you," he said, cornering me against the counter. "You're no Nancy Drew yourself."
A knock at the door distracted us both, and a glance up at Locke revealed that he was every bit as surprised by the intrusion as I was. "Better get that."
"Don't go anywhere," I warned, opening the door before whoever it was could wake Mrs. Marrin downstairs. I was expecting it to be Nick or Dennis, but not the man standing in my doorway wearing rumpled pajamas under an overcoat along with heavy dark circles under his eyes. "Daniel?"
"Nick sent me to see if you --" He froze, looking past me. I found myself relieved that he could see Locke, too, but the look of bewilderment on his face gave me pause. He probably thought I was "cheating" on Nick. "You? God, you get around."
"Hey," I cried as Daniel pushed his way into my apartment.
"I was talking to him," Daniel muttered, narrowing his eyes at Locke like he was searching for something underneath the demon's smug exterior as he stood in my kitchen, casually sipping my wine from the glass that had been shattered on the floor moments before. Showoff. "You've gotta be kidding me..."
"Hey, baby," Locke purred, giving Daniel a coy little wave. "You're just in time. Wanna turn this twosome into a threesome?"
I looked between them, frowning. "You two know each other?"
"In the Biblical sense," Locke replied, suddenly leaning on Daniel. The vet recoiled from him.
"How the hell did you do that?"
"Daniel, you should leave," I pleaded. "It's not safe."
He frowned at me, then at Locke. "Nick was right. You are a demon. Holden, what were you thinking?"
"Oh, don't be so sanctimonious," Locke huffed. "He hasn't contracted with me...yet."
"Come on, Holden," Daniel said, taking my arm and pulling me towards the door. "I'm taking you to Nick."
Locke grabbed my other arm and pulled. "It's not time for the wolf yet!" he snapped. "You're ruining everything."
"Wolf?" I jerked my hand out of Locke's grasp and shirked away from Daniel while I was still in one piece. "What are you talking about?"
Locke's fists balled up and he let out what could only be described as a muffled scream of rage. "I hate this! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it."
Daniel and I both gawked at the demon in mid-tantrum before he vanished in front of our eyes. Daniel turned to me and asked, "What the fuck was that?"
"I have no fucking idea," I murmured, jolting as Locke appeared between us again, grabbing us both by the hand. Before I could even gasp, we were outside on the edge of the forest.
Nick, who seemed to have been pacing the dirt path leading up to the farmh
ouse, caught sight of us and went for me immediately. Some invisible force jerked his head back and sent him sprawling to the dirt.
"Sit, boy," Locke said through gritted teeth. He planted his hands on his hips and watched, still fuming as Daniel and I rushed to Nick's side.
"You," Nick snarled, his lip curling back as a low rumble broke from his throat and he crouched low and feral, like he was ready to pounce on the demon. "I knew something about your scent was off. You can drown out the stink of sulfur with cheap cologne, but you can't get rid of it completely."
"That cologne costs more per ounce than your blood would fetch on the black market, Fido," he replied coolly. "Watch yourself or I'll have you neutered. What a waste that would be."
Nick got to his feet and pulled me behind him, glaring daggers at Locke.
"What is he talking about?" I demanded.
"Go ahead, Nicky," Locke drawled. "You already came clean with Daniel. Might as well tell Holden what you are. Of course, I'd be happy to help. I love a good coming out speech."
The rumble in Nick's chest built into a snarl and I could feel the vibrations against his skin as I clung to his arm, watching him as he stared the demon down. They seemed to be talking without words, but the clarity of Daniel's voice gave us all a start.
"The Whitakers are all werewolves," he said gruffly. "Nick didn't want to tell you because his family has this ancient grudge against witches and demons, and I just found out about it all tonight before he sent me over here to check on you."
"Daniel," Nick murmured, less angry about being outed than I would have thought.
"A werewolf?" I echoed, finding it hard to be as freaked out as I should have been. I would have been content to go through life without knowing for sure that wolves--or demons, for that matter--existed, but it answered more questions than it raised where Nick's bizarre behavior was concerned. That and all of my panic budget had been allotted to Locke for the moment.
"Spoilsport," the demon muttered.
"Sorry, but I've had the show, don't tell experience and it's not all it's cracked up to be," said Daniel. "Holden, now that we're all on the same page, you wanna tell us what this freak wants with you?"
I hesitated, finding myself the object of the inquisition I had been ready to launch moments earlier. "Locke is a demon," I said slowly, trying to buy myself some time to think.
"I gathered that," said Nick. "Do you have a contract with him or not?"
"No, but he offered," I admitted, starting to feel closed in on from all sides. The more I struggled to come up with an explanation, the more absurd it all seemed. "I keep telling him I'm not interested, but he thinks I'm the Whore of Babylon and he wants to use me to cockblock Heaven and Hell to the apocalypse, and he knows way too much about my past, and then he kidnapped Puff and drank my wine and all I wanted was a bubble bath and a normal fucking life, and there's a fucking pebble in these stupid girl shoes, goddamn it," I hissed, stumbling out of the offending gender-neutral sandals and lobbing one in Locke's general direction. It missed, of course.
Now all three of them were looking at me like I was as crazy as I felt.
"You uh, lost me at cockblocking Heaven and Hell," said Daniel.
"Who's Puff?" asked Nick.
"I can answer that," Daniel grumbled. "Locke is Puff."
"What?" I cried.
"Meow," said the demon. He picked my shoe up and let it dangle from his finger, grimacing. "Is this patent leather?"
I grabbed the other shoe and threw it at him. This time, it hit the mark. "Just go back to Hell and leave me alone, you fuck."
"'You fuck?'" Locke's emerald eyes twinkled in the moonlight and if I didn't already feel like an idiot, that last piece of the puzzle clicking into place did the job. "How creative."
"You really are Puff. That fucking cat that started all of this," I realized out loud. "I've been freaking out about you showing up again, and all this time I've been feeding you and letting you sleep in my bed."
"Don't be such a martyr. The food sucks and you snore."
I lunged for him and Nick held me back, which was probably a good thing since I was out of shoes. In the moment, all I had was rage. Reason had gone out the window the moment I realized I had tanked my new start for the demon who'd taken it upon himself to bring my personal version of Hell to earth.
"Easy, Holden," Nick said warily.
I ignored him, still straining in his grasp as words from some source I didn't fully remember rose in my throat of their own accord. "Deus projecit eum," I chanted, able to feel the power rising with each word. Locke's smugness dissipated the moment the first word was out of my mouth and Nick's grip loosened.
"Holden..."
"Stop that," the demon hissed.
"Qui Deum invoco te," I continued, feeling my mouth twist into a sneer that wasn't my own as my voice lowered, the vibrations of the sacred words on my lips thrumming throughout me. I didn't fully know what I was saying and at some point, I just knew it was working. I could see an emerald light hovering around Locke, the same unnatural shade as his eyes, shimmering on his skin. There was panic in his gaze as he turned to Nick and Daniel.
"Stop him!" cried Locke.
"Why?" Daniel demanded. "I'd say we could use an exorcism right about now."
"It's not just an exorcism, it's a summons! If he finishes that prayer, I'm going to be the least of your problems.'
I heard the exchange, but it was like it was happening on a screen, irrelevant to me in every way. All that mattered was letting the words out. It didn't take any effort. I didn't even have to call them consciously to mind, they just flowed naturally. "Omni potentis angelus dominus potestatem..."
The earth began to tremble and the gravel shifted beneath my bare feet. Pebbles rose in my peripheral vision and my throat tightened in fear as I tried to choke back the words, but I couldn't.
"Before it's too late," Locke hissed. "Before he hears, Nick! Stop him!"
Nick turned me to face him, his nails digging into my shoulders as he held my gaze, his own full of hesitation and concern. "I promised I wouldn't compel him again..."
"He's not going to be alive for much longer if he finishes that prayer, you fucking --"
"Holden," Nick said, his voice cutting through the fog in my mind. I could feel the warmth spreading through me again, only this time I welcomed it. "Look at me. You're going to sleep now," he murmured. "I'll keep you safe, just sleep."
The tension left me immediately and the grip around my throat loosened as I relaxed in his arms. I wanted to thank him, to ease the guilt I could hear in his voice and feel like my own, but his command had been clear and all I could do was obey.
Seventeen
DANIEL
It wasn't unusual for me to end up crashing on Nick's couch on a Saturday morning after a night of getting trashed and kicking his ass at whatever first-person shooter he happened to have bought last, but I was starting to feel like the fourth wheel as my best friend and one-night stand bickered over the unconscious witch on the couch.
At least one of us was getting to sleep.
"Someone want to tell me what that Latin bullshit was all about?" I asked, mostly because I was tired of listening to them go back and forth without getting anywhere. Looked like the stereotype about cats and dogs fighting was based in reality, after all.
Locke sighed. "It's called the preces exorcismi, and it's not exactly standard reading for choir boys. I have no idea where he got that, but it's a good thing you stopped him before he got any further. Prayers are like homing beacons to angels. Stillwater is protected, but it's still better for him to be off Heaven's radar."
"And we're better off with you than whoever he was calling why?"
"Because Holden is the Whore of Babylon," said Locke. Like that explained it. "Michael is an archangel. The archangel. If he finds him, he'll take him until it's the appointed time for the final battle to begin. He wants this all to happen as much as the other side does, and if it happens his wa
y, Holden dies in the end."
I was struggling to remember what Holden had told me about that prophecy, but I hadn't taken any of it seriously any more than I did my mother's theology. He might as well have been talking about little green men and tinfoil hats. It was all just the ramblings of a psychopath used to control an impressionable kid in my mind, and realizing there was even a slight chance any of it was true was fucking with my head more than seeing Nick as a werewolf ever could.
"Holden told me his father was some kind of religious whackjob," I muttered. "Maybe he's the one who taught him the prayer."
"I doubt that. The Reverend Hurlow and Heaven aren't on the good terms he likes to pretend they are," said Locke.
"My head," Holden groaned, pushing himself up to a sitting position. Nick was at his side immediately.
"I'm sorry, Holden," he murmured, pressing a hand to the witch's temple. "I didn't want to do this."
"You didn't have a choice," he said, grimacing. "I wasn't myself. It was like something else took over."
"That's what happens when you repress things," Locke said in a chiding tone. "They have a way of bubbling to the surface when it's least convenient."
Nick growled. "Say the word and I'll eat him."
"A tempting offer, but I don't fuck dogs," Locke purred.
"You're a werewolf?" Holden asked, turning to Nick.
"Look, I'm sure you both have a lot to sort out," I began. "But for the moment, can we focus on the demonic elephant in the room?"
"Elephant?" Locke scowled, running a hand down his lean torso. "You're one to talk."
"Daniel's right," said Holden. "Locke has caused nothing but chaos ever since he came here, and he tricked me into using magic to heal him."
"I didn't trick anyone, cupcake, and nobody forced you to save me."
"You expect me to believe the wounded animal act wasn't just another one of your ploys?" Holden demanded.