The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 1 - 4 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets)

by John P. Logsdon

  “But…”

  “Everyone!”

  They all turned their attention toward the demons. Reese did as well, but his intention was to heal them as fast as my crew attacked them.

  But I had recalled something about my particular relationship with Reese. He couldn’t block me out.

  As my mages fired wave after wave of energy at the demons, and Chuck and Felicia supported their efforts by punching, kicking, and shooting the green-scaled things, I ran full force at Reese and launched myself at his mid-section, barely ducking a blast of energy.

  We hit the ground and he began building up the same type of spell that he’d used on us at the morgue.

  The tornado was coming again.

  But this time I wasn’t going to wait for it.

  I pulled out the Eagle and fired it at point-blank range into his chest.

  The growing noise faded, replaced by the screams of demons who were being systematically sent through the void.

  “What have you done?” said Reese as his eyes dimmed.

  “Stopped an asshole from taking over the world,” I said through ragged breaths as I pushed up and leveled the Eagle at his head.

  “You have no idea what you’re doing.” His voice was subdued and his breathing was gurgled. “Killing me will not stop us.”

  “Us?”

  He began to chant as spittles of blood formed on his lips. His eyes started to brighten until there was a stream of light shooting from them.

  Rachel hollered, “Kill him!”

  This was enough to shake my mind back to the moment.

  A 50-caliber bullet stopped Reese’s chanting once and for all.

  Chapter 41

  I collapsed next to Reese’s body as Rachel came over and lifted my head off the ground.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “You’ll be out of it for a while, you know?”

  I nodded.

  The headache was already beginning. It always followed quickly behind the Freeze, or any of the other special skills I used. But I had to do it. We needed the time.

  “I hate it when you do that,” she said while running her fingers through my hair.

  “It’s the only way I can get you to touch me,” I said, giving her a tired wink. “I’m feeling a lot of pain in my groin area, too, you know?”

  “We’re not allowed to play that game anymore, remember?” She smiled and shook her head. “Freak.”

  As if my head hadn’t hurt bad enough, I heard the growling voice of Paula Rose as she thumped across the roof.

  “Great,” I said. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to talk with her about—”

  “Oh no,” interrupted Rachel. “Fighting demons, werewolves, vampires, and evil overlords is one thing. There’s nothing in my contract that says I have to tangle with your ex-girlfriends.”

  She helped me to my feet as Paula came up, wagging her finger at me.

  “I’ve put up with a lot from you, Ian,” she said. “A lot. But this crosses the line, even for you!”

  I winced with each word. “Could you take it down a notch? I have a bit of a headache here.”

  “You have a headache?” She scoffed and looked around at everyone. Then she glanced down at the body of Reese and spun away. “Holy hell.”

  That was odd. She’d seen bodies before. Even ones that weren’t all in one piece.

  I looked down and noticed that Reese’s corpse was transforming. He was turning green and scaly.

  “Shit,” I yelled, picking him up and running as best I could toward the void.

  I had almost no energy left, but there was just enough adrenaline in me to launch his sorry ass at the black canvas.

  Just as he passed through, his eyes flashed at me one last time.

  Again, I collapsed.

  “What the hell was that?” Paula said, clomping over toward me.

  Fortunately, there was one person on my squad who had no issues going toe-to-toe with the CEO of The Spin.

  “If you’ll come with me,” Serena said, taking Paula firmly by the arm, “I’ll explain everything.”

  “But…”

  Serena gave her a stern look. “Don’t make me ask twice.”

  Paula wisely acquiesced.

  Chapter 42

  “And that’s all he said?” asked Zack.

  I was still suffering the post-effects of the Freeze, but the Directors insisted on being informed of the situation.

  “Yes, sir,” I answered tiredly.

  “Do you know who the ‘us’ is in Reese’s statement?”

  “I have no idea, O,” I replied to the mage. “My guess is that he meant the demon he was turning into before I sent him through Warren’s void thing.”

  O nodded, along with Zack.

  “Any casualties on the PPD side?” asked Silver.

  “No deaths, sir. Just bumps and bruises. We’ll be fine.”

  Zack leaned forward. “You do know how we feel about your using Freeze or any of your special skills, I hope?”

  “I do,” I said, “but when the fate of the world is at stake, you do what you have to do.” I then rubbed my temples. “And believe me when I say I dislike going into Freeze far more than you do, sir.”

  Having a pounding headache was nothing compared to the pain from a Freeze. Imagine a migraine mixed with the worst hangover you’ve ever had. Then tack on an earache, light-sensitivity, and a general desire to kill anything that aggravates you. Or, as Rachel succinctly put it after I’d explained the symptoms to her, “So, PMS?”

  “What is your plan now?” said Silver.

  “Warren is doing more research into demonology. His goal is to build up his chops so he can be faster to the punch should this happen again.” I took a sip of water. “The mages worked incredibly well together, but they’ve identified a few areas of improvement.”

  “What about your werewolf and vampire?”

  “They…” I started, but rethought what I was about to say. “We are going to start working on our training again, sir. We’ve grown soft over the years because things have been too stable. While I’m not a fan of what Reese did, the effect of his actions was a wakeup call for the Paranormal Police Department.”

  “Indeed,” agreed O. “EQK, have you any questions for Mr. Dex before we let him get some much needed rest?”

  “Have you named your gun yet?” the pixie asked in his tinny voice.

  I grinned. “Hadn’t really thought about it, to be honest. I’ve just been referring to it as Eagle—”

  EQK slapped his hand on the table lightly. “Lame.”

  “Does it really matter?” asked Zack.

  “Of course, you mental fallacy!” EQK shot back. “How can you go around shooting dicks off with a weapon that has no name?”

  “Hadn’t thought of that, sir,” I said as I took out the Eagle and looked it over. “Fine. I shall dub it, ‘Boomy.’”

  EQK clapped his hands and giggled some more. “That is so lame!”

  Chapter 43

  One of the only things that took the edge off these Freeze hangovers was a shot or two of whiskey.

  “I’m going to head out,” I said to Rachel as I stopped by her office.

  “Three Angry Wives?” she asked, referring to the pub I stopped at from time to time.

  I grinned at her, though it took some effort.

  “Wanna join me?”

  “I’d better not,” she said. “You know what seeing you in Freeze does to me. Add in drinks and that spells trouble.”

  I liked trouble, but being with Rachel in such a way anymore was a no-no. “Trouble is bad.”

  “Yep.” She then held up some papers. “Besides, I’m helping Warren go through some of these esoteric spells.”

  “No good?”

  “Let’s just say that I’m glad to have been born a mage and not a wizard.” She dropped the papers back on her desk and looked up at me. “Get some rest.”

  �
��I will,” I replied, nodding. “Don’t stay too late.”

  I said my goodbyes to the others and drove down to the pub.

  The bar was mostly full when I walked up and grabbed a seat, simultaneously indicating to the bartender that I wanted two shots.

  They knew me.

  “Mr. Dex?” said the voice of a man who looked to be in his early fifties.

  He was fit with black hair that had splashes of gray mixed in, and he wore a suit that signaled he was well-to-do. Adjusting my focus a bit more, I sensed that he was a vampire.

  “That’s my name,” I said before drinking down the first glass of whiskey. Then I said, “And you are?”

  “Gabriel,” he replied. “You may call me Gabe.”

  I eyed him again and nodded. Then I dropped the second shot of fire down my throat.

  “What can I help you with, Gabe?”

  “I believe it’s me who can help you, Mr. Dex,” he answered while standing up and gathering his things.

  I turned toward him. “And how’s that, exactly?”

  “The mage who attacked your city today is just the first in a line who are coming.” He pulled out a few twenties from his wallet and set them on the bar. “There will be flashes of more.” He’d said the word “flashes” somewhat dramatically. “You will need to be prepared for them.”

  I wanted to ask him how he knew about this, but there was something about him that seemed familiar. There was also an air about him that said he knew what he was talking about.

  “And you can prepare me?”

  “No,” said Gabe. “Only you can do that. I’m merely here to lend support when and where I can.”

  He started to walk out.

  “And you plan to do that by leaving?” I called after him.

  “I’ll be around,” he said over his shoulder. “Just keep your eyes open, Mr. Dex.”

  The door closed behind him and I turned and grunted at the bartender for another shot of liquid joy. She delivered it and I stared into the small pool of amber whiskey for a few moments.

  Did I know someone named “Gabe” or “Gabriel?”

  His face seemed so familiar, but that could have just been due to his being a vampire. Most of them were attractive, after all.

  No, there was something more to it.

  I just couldn’t place it.

  And what was with the “flashes” bit?

  Finally, I shrugged and then drained the shot glass as the edge started coming off of my headache.

  “Probably just some asshole,” I whispered while rubbing my temples. “Probably just some asshole.”

  Grave Creatures

  Chapter 1

  One of the things I despised most about being on the Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department, better known as the PPD, was having to see the psychiatrist. Supposedly this was necessary in order to help us avoid losing our minds with all of the stuff that we see walking the beat, but most of us were inherently nuts anyway, which is why we made a perfect fit for the force.

  But like any good cop, I took my place on the couch and let Dr. Vernon sift through my naughty thoughts. It was mandatory after any big cases anyway, and since it started a few hours after nightfall, I managed to be okay with it. If anything, I imagined that Dr. Vernon disliked having to stay late in order to take care of the PPD officers.

  “For clarification,” she said in her bookish way, “the mage that you faced was more powerful than any you’ve encountered in the past?”

  “By far,” I answered as the memory of Reese and his team of demons, or as I’d dubbed them “Admiral Psycho and The Four Demon Batteries,” were hard to forget. “The guy was supremely confident, up until the end anyway.”

  “And this has led you to feel a sense of inferiority?”

  “No,” I said, bolting upright and giving her a look that suggested maybe she should be the one in therapy. “Where’d you get that idea?”

  Dr. Vernon peered over her book.

  The amethyst eyes that sat nestled in her deep brown cheeks were mesmerizing. They played off perfectly with her studious outfits, today’s being a white button up shirt under a dark gray jacket that had a matching skirt. It was all rather form fitting, and she had quite a form. Unfortunately, she didn’t get involved with patients.

  She flipped back a few pages and said, “You noted that you believed there was no way for your team to defeat him. Then you said that you feared that you, specifically, felt incapable of protecting members of your crew. And just a minute ago you expressed frustration over the fact that you couldn’t spend more time dealing with one of the mage’s minions.”

  “So?”

  “So why would you need to spend more time with one of the minions unless you felt some need to connect?” She had an eyebrow raised. I was about to reply, but she held up a finger. “Mr. Dex, when a person threatens our very existence, it’s normal to want to identify with them. We seek to find a connection. Our psyche must deal with the fact that we’re about to end. We need meaning.” She paused, closing her book and leaning forward. “Do you understand what I mean?”

  “Sure I do,” I said, having been in that very situation more than once, “but that’s not the case this time.”

  “I’ve heard that response many times over my years in practice, Mr. Dex.”

  “Not from me, you haven’t,” I replied, lying back down on the comfy leather couch.

  “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “Explain to me why you believe you desired to spend time with this minion.”

  I smiled to myself at the memory. “Because she was a seven-foot tall succubus with a body to die for…literally.”

  She frowned and then groaned. “So you’re telling me this is some sort of sexual thing for you?”

  “Well, duh, doc,” I replied with a laugh. “I’ve been coming to these sessions with you for, what, seven years? You know my genetic alterations not only make me the most unique supernatural in the world, it also makes me a major horndog.”

  When joining the PPD, each officer is given genetic enhancements to accentuate their particular skills. Mages become more powerful, werewolves get added strength, vampires gain speed, and so on. We all improve, but there is a cost. Our libidos shoot up. I know it sounds odd, but it’s true. For each element of your genome that gets enhanced, you get a power point added to your sexual desire. So if you get bumped up in strength and stamina, you get two horny points along with that. Now, that may not seem like much, but it is, and I got it the worst…or best, depending on your perspective. I’m an amalgamite, meaning I have tons of genetic upgrades since I’m a jack of all trades. I have speed, power, night vision, special skills, the ability to do minor magic, and I’m a snappy dresser. Okay, that last one isn’t exactly a factor of my genome, but it needed to be said. Anyway, the point is that I’ve got a plus-10 on the horniness scale (well, technically it’s a plus-11, but who’s counting?). This is tough because a lot of the people who work for me are incredibly gorgeous and highly desirable. Unfortunately, I’m the boss, meaning they reside in the no-touch zone. They all play amongst themselves as they see fit, seeing that they’re peers, but being that I’m the chief…. Well, I can’t go down that road.

  Dr. Vernon leaned back again and put on a wry grin.

  “What?” I said, suddenly feeling like I was about to lose an argument.

  “The minion was a succubus,” she answered while writing something in her book.

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So what does a succubus do, Mr. Dex?”

  “Do you really want me to go there, Doc?”

  “A succubus controls the one she is manipulating,” Dr. Vernon explained as if I didn’t know this already. “Therefore, I was correct in my assessment.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Huh?”

  “You were feeling a sense of inferiority!”

  Technically that was true, but it wasn’t for the reasons she was originally claiming.

  I rolled my eyes at her and faced the ceiling agai
n.

  It wasn’t easy being me, but it was fun. I had the best job in the world, along with a fantastic crew. Yes, I had an annoying psychoanalyst and my bosses, the Directors, could be trying at times, but they were all just a wrinkle in an otherwise dream situation.

  “Babycakes,” came the voice of Lydia through the internal communications channel, “are you there?”

  Lydia was a culmination of the best artificial intelligence available, 100% digital, a miracle of technology, and the only non flesh and bone member of the squad. She spoke to me through a device implanted in my brain called a “connector.” All PPD agents had them. They allowed us to communicate with each other over long distances without the need to carry additional gadgetry. Though Lydia was A.I., she often flirted with me. Specifically me. Everyone else on the force got the standard robotic drone whenever they spoke with her.

  “…and this is why you still have issues, Mr. Dex,” continued Dr. Vernon.

  “One sec, Doc,” I said. “Getting a call from base.” I adjusted my thoughts for a moment. “What’s going on Lydia?”

  “We’ve received a report that there are a group of corpses digging themselves out of their graves in old town.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me right, sugar,” Lydia replied sweetly. “Dead people are coming up in one of the cemeteries.”

  “You’re talking about zombies, right?”

  “You know it, puddin’.”

  “Well, that doesn’t sound good,” I said as I stood up and looked at Dr. Vernon. “Sorry, Doc, I gotta run.”

  “You do realize there is no such thing as zombies, Mr. Dex?” she said.

  “Seems there are. My top-of-the-line A.I. doesn’t make mistakes. She’s the icing on the cake, the best of the best, and all that.”

  “Aw,” said Lydia in response, reminding me that I was still talking to her as well, “you’re so sweet, lover.”

  “But Mr. Dex,” Dr. Vernon exclaimed, “we haven’t dealt with your issues yet!”