Demon Underground (2)

by S. L. Wright

  The smell alone should have told me—decay despite the lack of flesh. My instinctive reaction was to flee, to get away from death, but I was walled in by the bones of dead people. Frightened Parisians were rounding up everyone who was different, everyone they called a vampyr . Plea had been caught and dragged here in chains, left to slowly die entombed by the bones.

  “No,” I managed to say. “No, I didn’t die.”

  “Allay!” Mystify was growing anxious.

  Giving in to the memory did the trick. I was no longer overcome by it. Rationally, I knew it was Plea, not me, who had been cemented into the catacombs. Those days trapped behind the bones had written itself deeply into Plea’s mind. Never again. . . .

  “It’s okay,” I told Mystify. “It’s passing now.”

  Doubtfully, he helped me stand up. “Those are some powerful memories. Are you sure there isn’t something wrong?”

  “You’ve got that right,” I admitted. I needed to sit down when I had a moment and start going through the memories. I couldn’t risk another flashback like that at a critical moment.

  He snorted. “I wish Ram’s memories were that vivid, but he was usually so detached that it’s like he wasn’t even living his own life.”

  I wanted to find out more about Ram in the worst way, but the yearning with which Mystify was looking down at me made me uncomfortable. We were standing too close to each other, in a narrow curving corridor twenty feet tall. “Where are we?” I asked to break the moment.

  The wall to our right was metal, and he tapped his hand against it, making a sullen boom. “We just came through the emergency drain that was installed in case this water tank busts. They don’t want it flowing into the underground power station next door, so they sent any spillage down into the cavern.” He bent over and closed the grate after him, pushing until it clicked. Then he pulled to make sure it was latched shut. “They don’t want people coming in this way. Only out.”

  “But you’ve cut us off. We can’t go back.”

  “There are other exits from here.”

  I could feel Crave’s signature again, so I knew we were following them. But I couldn’t hear anything.

  We circled the water tank to a long ladder leading up. It was almost pitch-black, but I’d gotten to the point where I could adjust my eyes to see in the barest of light. There was an outline of a hatch far above. “Where exactly are we?”

  “Right now we’re five levels down, a little east of Lexington and Forty-third Street. The Chrysler Building is just south of us. This tank was part of the building’s power station, providing steam heat and power for the offices. But most of the equipment was removed when it was shut down.”

  “You really know your way around after two days.”

  “This is the area I know best, between here and the park.” We reached the bottom of the ladder. He put his hand on one rung and pointed halfway up to a shadowy rectangle about ten feet square. “See that dark hole in the wall to the right? That’s my place. It’s tricky to get to—you have to lean over really far and stretch, literally, to grab on to the rope I’ve rigged there. Travis told me the last guy who tried to use that spot slipped and broke his leg. They had to drag him all the way back to the tracks and up the stairs to get him out. Nobody’s tried since. I think that’s what made him trust me when he realized I was giving it a go.”

  I closed my eyes to sense them. “They aren’t up there. Is that the way out?”

  “No.” He moved closer to me, his hands reaching out for my hips. “Come up with me. I have cushions there. It’s comfortable and safe. ...”

  His face was getting closer to mine, and his hands pulled me in. “Come with me, Allay. Let me please you.”

  8

  I pushed him away. “Mystify! What are you trying to do?”

  “What do you think? I like you, Allay. You’re the only sane demon around, and that includes my progenitor.”

  “I don’t even know you.”

  “You didn’t know Ram, either. You barely met him that night you took him upstairs.”

  My eyes widened. “That doesn’t mean I sleep with every guy who crosses my path!”

  “I’m no stranger. I know everything about you, Allay. What you like, what you don’t like.” His hand slid lower to rub my groin. “You can cash my check anytime.”

  My cheeks flushed red before I could stop my embarrassment from showing. “That’s private!” I had taunted Ram into going down on me by saying that, to see if Dread had cameras trained on me in the Prophet’s Center. “That’s not for you.”

  “Allay, listen to me. Ram’s no good for you. He’ll take over your life. He has to be in complete control. Why do you think he’s played the hidden and all-powerful Oz to the rest of us for two thousand years? He can’t bear to be on an equal footing with anyone else.”

  “He’s never been that way with me. In fact, he’s done things my way even when he didn’t want to. He didn’t kill you.”

  “He did that to manipulate you. My life was a small price to pay to get you to trust him.”

  I shook my head. “Then why? Why does he want me?”

  “The truth?” He took a deep breath. “You’re like Hope.”

  For a second, I thought he meant “hope,” not the woman’s name, Hope. But Hope had been Ram’s first love. My head whirled as if the floor were dropping out from under me.

  “You’re a lot like her,” Mystify said. “He’s never loved anyone since her. You feel like her.” His hand rose to brush my aura. “Possessed humans are so juicy, especially when you’re charged up like you are now.”

  I batted his hand away. “I think you’re trying to manipulate me.”

  He shrugged. “I know Ram better than anyone. His heart leaped the first time he sensed your signature. It’s a lot like Hope’s was, that lifting sensation, like anything is possible. You don’t know how important that is to Ram. He lives in despair. Even though he wants to think he’s helping humanity, deep down he’s afraid that it’s all for nothing. That demons and mankind are destined to prey on each other unto oblivion.”

  It was my worst fear—Ram didn’t really care about me. He was reenacting an old love affair gone terribly wrong.

  Mystify reached out to pat my arm as if to comfort me, but he soaked up some of my distress. I forgot that he longed to feed on confusion. Maybe this was just his way of getting what he needed most.

  I pulled away from him. I couldn’t let him distract me with questions about Ram and Hope right now. I’d have to think about it later. “Let’s find Bliss and Crave.”

  I tried to get hold of myself as we continued on around the tank. When we reached an archway in the wall, several pipes led out of the tank and through a narrow corridor. I had to go up several steps chiseled into the bedrock, and then slide alongside the pipes to get through the narrow gap.

  It opened out into a large room several stories tall. There were currents in the air, leading my eye to the dark openings high in the walls and into the maze of pipes ahead. I touched the wall, rough stone, unfaced with brick. It was very dark, but I was starting to see fine gradations of color in the shades of gray—the gleam of a red plastic toggle switch, broad olive green streaks curving down the sides of the pipes, and the cool silvery blue of an old steel catwalk.

  I gave in to the otherworldliness of the place, moving silently so I could hear the tiny rustles of the other occupants of the abandoned power station. The smell was dank and musty, but not as bad as the entrance to the condos. Or maybe I was getting used to it.

  Mystify climbed up to the catwalk. It curved around a corner and behind a pipe that was at least six feet thick. Smaller pipes ran in parallel lines above it.

  From up here, I couldn’t see anything but blackness above and below through the metal mesh of the catwalk.

  A scuffling sound drew my attention over to the far side. Two eyes shone in the darkness. Even when I enhanced my sight as much as I could, the only thing I could see was their shiny g
low in the distance.

  I almost called out, thinking it was Bliss or Crave. I could feel them very close. But Mystify put his hand on my arm, shaking his head. “A couple of guys live up in the electrical room. They’re scared of us because we’re walking without any light. Only real mole people can do that. The ones who don’t ever go back up. They can see almost as well as us.”

  “That’s . . . crazy.” What kind of person would come underground and never leave?

  “You do what you have to.”

  Mystify led me to the other end and through the arched doorway. He stopped short, putting his finger to his lips. Up ahead, I saw Bliss and Crave.

  She was bent over the railing of the catwalk that crossed the small room. Her hips were braced against it, as she leaned out into the darkness, her hands holding on to the bar to keep from falling over it.

  Crave had hooked one arm under her shoulder and the other was on her butt cheek, spreading her open so he could push his cock inside. He pulled her up as he buried himself deeper, so she leaned back into his chest, and they pressed against each other.

  My entire body flushed. He pumped into her slowly, relentlessly, as she arched against him, moaning and writhing. Their auras merged, enveloping them both in a brilliant emerald glow, like the burning heart of a perfect gem. She turned to look over her shoulder and their lips met. The scent of musky sex filled the air, banishing the metallic tang of wet metal.

  I started to turn away as he cried out deep inside her, his arms wrapped around her, his face buried in her neck. Now their energy truly merged, sending sparks flying back and forth as they fed off each other’s fervor. His voice echoed against the walls. Bliss was almost as loud in her climax.

  In the ringing silence afterward, there were a few muffled claps from unseen people down below.

  Bliss laughed, collapsing back against Crave, letting him hold her up. “Looks like everyone enjoyed it.” Then she saw me. “Including them.”

  “I can’t let you go,” he murmured, holding her close.

  “You’re going to have to,” she told him, gesturing toward us.

  Crave finally saw me and Mystify. I was trying to back down the catwalk, but Mystify was grinning openly at Crave and wouldn’t let me. What was it with men and their stupid games?

  “Sorry,” I told them both, turning away as they slowly pulled apart and started straightening their clothing. “I didn’t realize we were interrupting. We’ll wait back here.”

  “That’s the way out,” Mystify said with a laugh.

  Bliss looked completely satiated, languid in her postcoital pleasure. Pain clenched at my heart, blurred the sight of her upturned face, so innocent and uninhibited.

  “Give us a second, will you?” Crave was defensive, putting himself between Bliss and Mystify. I almost wanted to tell him to get over himself, that Mystify wanted me, not her.

  But Mystify put up his hands. “Whoa, big guy. I can wait until you lose interest in her. That should be about two months, if you hold true to form.”

  “You don’t know anything,” Crave shot back.

  “But he’s right,” Bliss said reasonably. “You’ll never be satisfied by one woman.”

  “You’re different,” Crave told her.

  “Spoken like a true Don Juan,” Mystify murmured loud enough for him to hear.

  “Don’t listen to him, Bliss.” Crave took her hands. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. They always want me. I make them want me, so they chase after me. But I want you. Like I’ve never wanted anyone. ...”

  She reached up to stroke his cheek. “That’s very sweet. But I don’t mind if this burns out like a meteor. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.”

  Mystify checked his watch. “This round will be over in another ten minutes. That’s when we’ll reach the street and Crave can check in with his boss.”

  Crave made a growling sound and started for Mystify. I was surprised when Mystify held his ground, but then again, he was Ram’s offspring.

  “That’s enough!” I ordered, stepping between them. “It’s getting late. I don’t want to hit the morning rush hour getting home.”

  Reluctantly, Mystify broke eye contact, giving in. Bliss tugged on Crave, making him come with her. They went first, even though Mystify was the one who knew the way.

  “Please leave him alone,” I whispered to him. “Glory’s going to be livid if she finds out about this. I have to convince him to play along for a while.”

  “I think it’s already too late for that,” Mystify told me. “But I’ll do it your way.”

  He didn’t have to say “just like Ram did.” But I knew he was thinking it.

  We climbed up a long spiral staircase that led to the platform of the train. I thought we were still too deep, but Crave checked his phone as we approached the escalator. “I can call out.”

  “Great.” Things were looking up. “Let Glory know you’re on your way home.”

  He silently dialed as we hopped onto the escalator. After a few rings, he said, “Hello, Glory? Allay wanted me to call you to give you an update.”

  He listened for a few moments. “I’m with Allay and Bliss right now.”

  “Tell her about Goad,” I prompted urgently.

  “Yes, we ran into them last night, too. They took Fervor? When?” He listened for a moment. “No, I can’t get back right now.”

  I grimaced at his tone. Glory wasn’t going to like being defied.

  “No, I won’t,” Crave was saying into the phone. “You tell Lash to get out of my house, or I’ll call her and give her the news myself. I never told her to leave Dread. She went nuts over some slight of his, and came crying to me. I never asked her to move in.”

  I nearly died. This wasn’t at all what I had planned.

  Crave listened for a minute, then retorted, “You can use it to your advantage, Glory. Tell Dread you’ll split up the two of us, stop the news stories, if he gives back Fervor in exchange for Lash.”

  As we reached the top of the escalator, he held the phone away from his ear so we could hear Glory saying, “. . . disobeyed my orders. Your misfortune is that everyone knows what I expected of you.”

  “I’m not starting a mutiny, Glory. I’m breaking up with my girlfriend.”

  From the phone came the tinny threat, “If you do this, Crave, you will regret it. For the last time, are you coming home to make Lash happy, or do I have to cut you off for good?”

  His anger was returning. “What do you mean by that, Glory? Don’t you make empty threats to me—”

  The dial tone made it clear that she had hung up on him.

  I stared at him. “She’s really mad at you.”

  Even Bliss was uncomfortable, which was a lot for her. “Maybe you should go home, Crave. I can see you in a couple of days. We can both deal with it then.”

  “I may be a gigolo, but she’s not my pimp.”

  Mystify snorted with laughter. I didn’t think it was funny.

  “What are you going to do?” Bliss asked.

  He shoved the phone back in his pocket like he didn’t care. “First, I’ll check into a hotel. I don’t want to go home until I’m sure Lash is gone. I’ll deal with Glory later, when she’s cooled off.”

  He knew Glory better than I did, so I should have been reassured. But the tinge of orange that sparked through his aura spoke louder than words. Crave was trying to hide it, but he was afraid. Maybe knowing that Fervor, another Glory demon, had been snatched from the street last night made him realize how vulnerable we all were. He had hidden under Glory’s skirts ever since he was born. Surely she knew what was best for him.

  We surfaced in Grand Central, the towering old-fashioned train station complete with wrought-iron flourishes and a vaulted blue ceiling painted with the night stars. The row of tall, arched windows at the end let in the meager light of dawn. After the underground, it was a relief to let my eyes go back to normal and see color again. People were moving all around us, cutting acro
ss the vast space in a feeble imitation of the rush hour crowds that were soon to come.

  Now we were exposed again. There were too many of us together for me to be able to tell if there were any demons in the area. “Can you sense anything?” I asked Crave.

  “Nothing,” he confirmed.

  “Are you sure you’d feel them if they were nearby, with all of us grouped together like this?”

  He nodded, distracted. “Yes, I’m known for my range.”

  I had to say it again. “Why don’t you go home and deal with this mess, Crave? You don’t want her putting a hit out on Bliss, do you?”

  Crave shook himself out of it. “No, it’s beyond that now. I’ve made it about me. It’s better if Glory cools down first. She’s forgiven me before, and she will again. I’m going to stay out of her way until she’s ready.”

  I filed that away as useful information. I was tempted to call her to try to smooth things over, but inserting myself at this moment might be a bad idea.

  “If you want a hotel, there’s an escalator to the Hyatt over on Lexington,” Mystify suggested.

  That would keep us inside the Grand Central complex, where we could disappear underground if a demon popped up.

  Crave ignored Mystify, as usual, but he took Bliss’s hand possessively and headed for the concourse off the grand hall.

  I smiled at Mystify and gave a slight shrug as we followed them. He didn’t seem at all interested in leaving us. I was actually glad. It was likely Bliss would stay with Crave. Then I’d be on my own getting home.

  We went straight up to the glass atrium of the Grand Hyatt. Despite the graceful trees and hanging garden in the lofty space, I didn’t like the hard surfaces of the shiny marble floor and gold metallic railings. Even the escalator was sided in gold, as flashy and cheap as an imitation watch.

  I hung back with Mystify as Bliss and Crave went to check in. Generic music played in the background, and we had nothing to do but watch the tourists dragging their bags up the escalator or crossing through the lobby with cameras slung over their necks. Mystify was watching them with the same bemused smile as me—they all seemed overwhelmed in some way or another. The city did that to you. I remembered when I first arrived, how amazed I was; even a walk to the bodega on the corner showed me things I’d never seen before.