I’d be willing to bet that they’d kill for her, too.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the music in the club died down. You could hear a pin drop in the place.
“Do you love me?” she asked the crowd, her tawny skin glowing in the spotlight, demanding to be touched. They held out their arms, prostrate with devotion. These weren’t merely fans, they were her devoted followers. Her willing slaves.
“We love you, Sasha!” voices called out.
“Then prove it to me!”
A spotlight found me onstage, and Sasha leveled a long-nailed finger at me. The red nail polish looked like blood. The mob swiveled in my direction, angry eyes locking on me.
“This man tried to hurt me!”
With a single sentence, the succubus had turned yours truly into public enemy number one.
Shit!
The crowd closed in, eyes flashing with hatred, teeth bared. This wasn’t looking good.
“Get him!” someone shouted.
The mob went nuts and stormed the stage. These fine folks were about to tear me apart with their bare hands. There would be no reasoning with the human tsunami.
Sasha let out a peal of triumphant laughter.
Fuck! I had to get off this stage. Out of this damn club. But last I checked, I couldn’t break steel handcuffs.
Octurna’s voice rang out in my head. She sounded almost scared. “You’re not the man you used to be, Jason. Dragon blood now runs through your veins. Now get up!”
As the mob surged toward me, I tightened every muscle in my body, clenched my teeth and strained against the steel cuffs behind my back. Metal chafed away at my wrists as the first of my would-be executioners spilled onstage. My muscles erupted with a burst of power, and I roared with both pain and triumph as the metal gave way.
Not a moment too soon as a bouncer and a stripper tag teamed me. My fists came up, cuffs still wrapped around my wrists, and found their incoming faces. The impact sent them reeling, and they flew off the stage, making way for the next wave of Sasha’s fan club. Judging from the way they glared at me, they sure as hell weren’t here for a two-for-one special.
But neither was I.
I swirled toward the seething circle of humanity closing in on me, and my training kicked in. I was not looking to cripple or maim anyone—these people were victims themselves, their minds under the succubus’s command, but neither could I let them rip me apart without putting up a fight.
My legs flashed out, arms snapping at the mob like pistons. Fists and feet connected with devastating force as I barreled my way off stage. I had always enjoyed hand-to-hand combat; my jujitsu and Muay Thai skills having gotten me unscathed out of many a scrape over the years. The dragon blood cranked up my skill set to a whole other level—as these hapless fools were beginning to discover. I cut a devastating path through the throng, and I was still holding back.
I don’t know how many teeth I knocked out before I dove off the stage. I landed behind the crowd, my long leather trench coat trailing behind me like a black cape. The club had transformed into a barroom brawl scene from some classic Western, the kind of movie my dad had loved and that they didn’t make any more unless they featured robots or aliens.
My gaze ticked to the larger stage. Sasha was gone. She must’ve sensed the tides were turning. I swept the club and saw the succubus vanish in the back, apparently not willing to engage me in a direct fight. Coward.
I wanted her to know that I was coming after her. Wanted her to be afraid.
Never slowing down, I jumped onto the larger stage, tossing more of my attackers aside, and swiftly scooped up my guns and knives. She’d left me an arsenal. I wondered why Sasha hadn’t just finished me off when she could have.
“Luckily for you, succubi are narcissists,” Octurna explained. They turn everything into a performance and have a fondness for the dramatic.
Things were about to get a hell of lot more dramatic for the demon if I had a say in the matter.
Jaw set with growing irritation, I knocked a few more members of Sasha’s personal fan club aside. They would wake up with a few extra bruises and possibly a broken heart but otherwise unharmed. On my way to the rear exit, I passed a few stunned female dancers who seemed to be the first ones to wake from Sasha’s unholy trance. One of them was sobbing, but I didn’t have time to care. I burst through the steel door. Now back in the alley, my head swiveled, eyes scoping, and I spotted Sasha vanishing around the corner of the dumpster-filled street.
The chase was on.
As I sprinted after the succubus, I vowed not to set foot in a titty bar ever again.
Within seconds, I reached the end of the alley and surged down the main street. The bouncer stared after me, his mouth hanging open. Between the shouts emanating from the club and a stripper being hunted down by a black-clad badass brandishing a glowing submachine gun straight out of a video game, the meathead took a step back and chose not to get involved.
Smart boy.
Sasha had a considerable head start, and she was edging further ahead with each passing second. She didn’t seem to care who might see her superhuman speed at this point. She was probably running at fifty miles an hour. Even with dragon blood pumping through my body, I wouldn’t be able to maintain this pace. I was falling behind.
I hated to admit it, but the succubus was getting away.
“Don’t let her escape, Jason. If she eludes you, she’ll go underground. It’ll take us weeks to find her.”
The urgency in Octurna’s voice spurred me on and made me ignore my screaming lungs. I wondered why the sorceress cared so much about this particular demon. Killing the succubus and avenging my teammates meant a lot to me, but what was it to Octurna? The sorceress had referred to the demon as nothing more than a low-level thug, so why did it seem so important to her that I destroy her today? I doubted she was doing this for my emotional gratification. No, something else was going on here.
I pushed the questions aside and focused. How was I going to catch the fleeing demon? If only I had a magic-powered motorcycle…
A fierce grin spread across my face as I veered toward my bike, which was patiently waiting for me. I surged past the wannabe gangbanger who’d gotten a little too close to my ride earlier. He was still hugging himself tightly and rocking back and forth on the sidewalk, a shivering ball of humanity.
I swung onto the gleaming hunk of street bike, fired up the engine and roared down the deserted street. The bike left me more vulnerable than a car but also provided greater maneuverability and faster acceleration. Plus, it was just fun.
I cranked up the speed, the bike’s screaming engine cutting through the night as I shot underneath a freeway overpass. Traffic distantly roared overhead.
I saw the succubus vanish up ahead into a subway station. If I ditched my wheels and pursued her underground, I would soon lose her in the tunnels below.
I only had one option. Take the motorcycle with me.
Mind made up, I braced myself. My hands tightened around the Nighthawk’s handlebars, I slowed the bike a bit and then bounced down the subway stairs in dogged pursuit of my prey.
I wasn’t letting her get away this time.
A few bone-rattling seconds later, the bike had completed its rapid-fire descent down the stairs and was now burning rubber across the subway platform. After the dark streets above, the brightly lit underground world felt blinding. A few late-night commuters gasped at the bike screaming past them, their mouths still open wide from seeing an almost-naked stripper running down that very same platform seconds earlier.
As the distance between me and my target continued to shrink, my eyes narrowed with anticipation. The moment of reckoning was drawing close. I couldn’t wait.
The succubus reached the platform’s edge, the dark tunnel yawning before her. She stole a glance back at me for a beat and then jumped off the platform. She landed on the deserted tracks with athletic grace and tore into the mouth of the shadow-drenched tunn
el.
I cursed under my breath. I’d been hoping to catch up with her before she disappeared inside the tunnel system.
No such luck.
I cranked up the engine and raced after, a madman on a mission. The platform’s edge came up, the endless tunnel system opening up before me. My whole body braced for impact as the motorcycle flew off the subway platform and sailed out into space.
I arced through the darkness, remained airborne a few heart-stopping feet, carried by sheer momentum, before my bike slammed into the tracks below with an explosive crack.
Sparks exploded from under the frame as I desperately fought for control of my ride. For a moment, Nighthawk felt a bit wobbly before I succeeded in steadying the bike. My ultra-fast, dragon-blood-enhanced reflexes were paying off.
Up ahead, the succubus began to slow down, perhaps sensing that escape had ceased to be an option. The creature would have to confront me.
Finally.
I gunned the throttle, and the heavy bike blasted after the succubus at full bore.
And that’s when another sound drowned out the roar of my motorcycle. Flashing headlights jumped into view, and I swallowed hard. Barreling toward at me breakneck speed was a subway train.
A devious smile curled the lips of the succubus as the creature vanished in the shadows. The demon had known the incoming train was her best bet at getting away from me.
“Keep going,” Octurna said.
Well, I wish I could, but there is the matter of the train that’s about to run me over.
I eased the throttle, planning to make a U-turn as soon as I slowed down enough.
“Keep heading for the train. The magic of the bike will protect you!”
“Are you fucking crazy?” I said out loud.
“Trust me, Jason.”
Octurna was asking a lot here. But she hadn’t spent the last month whipping me into shape to see me get run over by a subway train before this magical war even got started.
To my surprise, I did trust the sorceress. At least when it came to matters of personal survival. I wasn’t stupid. I sensed Octurna was keeping things from me, holding back information. But she wouldn’t sacrifice me for no reason.
I cranked the engine and shot like a bolt of lightning toward the oncoming train.
The headlights grew larger and larger. They became my world, a blinding vortex of light.
I had died once. I wasn’t afraid to do it again. My lips twisted into a determined snarl, and I fired the bike into the roaring train at full tilt.
If I was wrong about this…well, best not to think about it.
Just as I was about to hit the mechanized monster, the bike surged with spectral energy and enveloped me in a protective bubble of green light, a sharp reminder that the Nighthawk was far from an ordinary bike. This was a magical motorcycle. Flames ignited around the madly spinning tires.
I screamed. Hey, you would too.
To my stunned relief, the devastating collision I expected never materialized. The train warped around me for a split second, and then both the bike and I grew transparent and phased out of reality. For a few stunned beats, I was passing through one car after another as if I was a ghost, having become as insubstantial as smoke.
Magic had only recently become part of my world, and I sensed this was just the tip of the iceberg. I was now part of a new reality where the old rules and limitations didn’t apply.
All these thoughts raced through my mind as the train rippled through me at breakneck speed. Now that I had committed myself to the act, the fear drained away from me, and I experienced a deep calm. I caught glimpses of bored late-night commuters slumped in their seats. Most were dozing or on their phones, unaware of the miracle playing out around them. I was invisible to them, and I was glad for their sakes. Witnessing some ghost motorcyclist on a moving train would have been a hard image to shake even for the most open-minded individual. Maybe you could get away with that shit in San Francisco, but this was L.A.
And then the rush of subway cars stopped, and I was back in the dimly lit tunnel, going sixty-five miles per hour. I stole a quick glance back and saw the train continuing on its way as if nothing had happened. The Nighhawk stopped glowing, its color returning to normal.
I grinned like a little kid. I was alive.
My happy mood didn’t last as a shadow darted from the darkness, moving with a life of its own.
With horror, I watched as the shape elongated and shot out at me with serpentine speed. My tattoos lit up with power. The fast-moving form rammed into me and lifted me out of my seat, sending me flying. I spun through the tunnel and landed face down on the tracks. Hard. The impact sent the air out of my lungs, and I nearly spit up my last meal. I groaned with pain, but all my limbs were still working.
A hissing sound echoed through the tunnel, and I scrambled back to my feet.
My eyes widened in disgust and fear as I got a good look at the attacking succubus. Sasha had taken on what I assumed was her true form. A monster that was half snake, half sex goddess now reared up at me. Just looking at her made my skin crawl.
From the torso up, the succubus was all woman, beautiful features, full breasts, and perfect skin, but from the waist down, I was looking at the body of a fearsome snake. This was a beast of myth, a nightmare from another age, straight from the deepest pits of Hell.
It was both repellent…and seductive. That was the crazy part. I now understood how Sasha had been so flexible on stage, her agile suppleness making sense to me. A long snake tongue shot from the sensual lips, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. My stomach twisted with revulsion as the creature homed in on me.
The succubus hissed again, and a toxic cloud engulfed me. For one eternal moment nothing much happened, and then the effects kicked in, and I couldn’t breathe.
Another satisfied smile lit up those sweet, innocent-looking features as the snake woman inexorably slithered toward me.
My hand whipped out one of the silver daggers from my bandolier and rammed it into her bare human torso. She recoiled with another hiss, triumph giving way to pain. My other hand reached for the 9mm and unloaded into the demon. Silver bullets stitched the serpent body, and it flailed wildly on the tracks.
I was hurting the succubus. But despite the stab and bullet wounds, the beast was still full of life. I made the sign of the circle, and the air warped and rippled as a beam of concentrated magical energy tore into the monster. The bolt ripped a big chunk out of the snake woman’s body, painting the tracks black with demon blood.
“You must take her head,” Octurna told me. “That’s the only way. Use your gauntlet.
The twin blades shot out of the gauntlet with an audible snap. The subway tunnel’s halogen lights sparkled on the cold steel. Both knives now pointed at the succubus. She looked up at me, batting those big eyes, and for just a moment I was looking at sweet little Sasha again.
“Don’t, please,” she said, her voice shaking.
“Stop hesitating and slay the beast!”
I brought the gauntlet’s blades down on the creature. I almost expected the steel to bounce off the demon’s thick, coarse skin. Instead, the blades sliced through the succubus’s neckline like butter, separating the head in one fell swoop. The headless body reared up with a final burst of energy before it collapsed lifelessly over the tracks.
“Well done, my knight. I knew you could do it.”
I wiped the blood and sweat off my face, somewhat surprised by my victory. And that’s when the tattoos all over my body came alive. The burning sensation built in intensity. I gasped, stunned by the pain searing through my entire being. The agony felt disturbingly familiar, and for a second, I flashed back to that fateful night when Octurna transferred some of her magic to me. It felt like I was being tattooed all over again. What the hell was happening now?
My eyes grew large as I received a hint of the answer.
The snake creature lit up with reddish energy. As the slain demon dissolved into nothi
ngness, waves of red energy shot from its dead form and passed into my body. Into my tattoos.
Understanding slashed through my mind. I was absorbing the demon’s energy. It took all my self-control not to scream. If another train came down the tracks now, I would be done for.
I hunched over, wracked with agony. I felt like I was burning alive. Had flames erupted from my tats, I wouldn’t have been surprised. And then, as rapidly as the initial burst of pain had passed through me, my tingling nerve endings calmed down. I sucked in air and just lay there for a beat, a shaking bag of Jell-o.
“You must get up. Hurry. It’s vital that you return to the Sanctuary as soon as possible.”
The urgency in Octurna’s voice forced me to my feet. The body of the succubus was gone, having evaporated into thin air.
“Not thin air. Magical energy. Energy that belongs to you. To us.”
I shook off the cobwebs and searched the dark tunnel for my motorcycle. I had expected to find it crashed against one of the tunnel walls, a wreck of mangled steel, but nothing could be further from the truth. The cycle stood a few feet away, engine purring. It had kept on going even without its rider and performed a sharp U-turn. I stared at the green-glowing bike. Would the miracles ever cease?
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Octurna asked.
“What is it now?”
“Bring me the head of the beast!”
Had I heard correctly? Did Octurna want the demon’s head?
“Bring me my trophy, night slayer. Hurry!”
I didn’t like the sharp, demanding tone that had crept into Octurna’s voice. Was there even a skull to bring back? As far as I could tell, the succubus had gone supernova.
“The body of a slain demon becomes light and fire and turns to ash, but the head remains,” Octurna explained. “Search the area. It will be nearby.
I reluctantly complied, and within seconds spotted the dead monster’s head. Eerily enough, the creature’s preternatural beauty remained preserved in death, the expression on her face serene. I grimaced and fought back a wave of revulsion. As I reached for the head and lifted it into the air, a burst of red energy emanated from my tattoos and melted the skin and hair away, reducing it to bone and enamel. My throat tight with shock and disgust, I held the monster’s bleached skull out at arm’s length.
Night Slayer: Midnight War Page 9