Demonsense (Demonsense series Book 1)

by Sara DeHaven

  "You look like death warmed over, Thorvaldson. You should be home in bed, getting over that stab wound."

  "I'm no good to you in battle, but I can ID the kidnappers," Daniel returned.

  Javier's eyes narrowed as he considered, then he nodded. He looked over at Bree and asked, “Do you have someone who can come get you? You clearly need medical attention."

  “I’m fine. I’m coming with you too,” she said as she reached behind her, pulling her hair into a rough braid. The motion hurt like hell. Just about every part of her hurt like hell.

  “Bree, are you sure you…”

  “We’re wasting time. I know my limits, I won’t get in the way. But I know what these people look like too.”

  “I've got Daniel for that.”

  “Yeah, well now you have both of us for that. Can we please just get going?”

  Javier’s lips tightened in disapproval, but he gave the signal to move out.

  Hunter was lying awake in bed with Steve beside him. He hadn’t been able to sleep and had nagged Papa into lying down with him. Papa had told him one of his stories, then told Hunter to lie still and listen to his breathing. Papa had fallen asleep right after that, but Hunter hadn’t. He heard the phone ring out in the kitchen several times, but Papa was fast asleep and didn’t wake up.

  When Daddy had left tonight, something was wrong. Hunter tried to tell Papa after Daddy had left, but Papa had just told him everything was fine, Daddy was just going to dinner with Bree and Daniel at Sophie and Bruce’s. Hunter had been mad at first, because he liked all those people and he wanted to go. Papa had told him it was grown up time.

  With Papa asleep, he felt restless and lonely. He felt for the amulet around his neck and held it in his hand. At first, it had bothered his neck, but he was used to it now, and he liked the idea that Daniel could find him if he ever got lost. That was because Daniel used to be a Keeper, which was like a policeman for powered people. He put the amulet down, then whispered the spell to himself. “By Wind, by Will, I call Daniel Thorvaldson.” Daniel had told him as long as he wasn’t touching the amulet when he said the spell, it wouldn’t call him. Hunter just liked saying it.

  He was still awake twenty minutes later when he heard the sound of the front door opening. He got carefully out of bed without waking Papa, and padded out into the hall. It was still dark, but Hunter saw the shape of his Daddy at the end.

  “Good, you’re awake,” Daddy whispered. “I have a surprise for you. Get dressed as quick as you can, and don’t bother Papa.”

  Hunter went back into his room, intrigued and excited. Daddy had never done something like this before. What was the surprise? Was he going to get to go somewhere special? Was it something just for powered people?

  He wanted the surprise to be special, just him and Daddy, so he was quiet as could be opening his drawer for some pants and a sweater. He was proud to have thought of the sweater, in case they were going somewhere outside. He hoped they were. He sat on his floor in the dark and put on his socks and shoes. Then he got up and bent over Papa, checking to see if he was still asleep. Papa turned over just as Hunter got there, and he waited to see if that meant he was waking up, but Papa's eyes were still closed.

  He went back out into the hall, where Daddy still waited for him. As he came up, Daddy held out his hand, and Hunter took it. Daddy’s hand was all sweaty.

  “Eeuw, Daddy, you’re wet.”

  Daddy’s hand squeezed his harder, then too hard.

  “Ow!” Hunter exclaimed, still trying to keep his voice quiet. He started to pull his hand out of Daddy’s, but Daddy didn’t let go. Hunter looked up at him, and there was something about the way Daddy looked back at him that made him go all cold inside. Daddy let his hand go, and Hunter said, “What’s wrong, Daddy? Am I in trouble?”

  Daddy didn’t say anything at first, and that was weird too. Hunter took a cautious step forward and looked hard at Kevin. There was only the light from the porch lamp coming in from the window beside the front door. All he knew for sure was that Daddy wasn't smiling.

  “No, you’re not in trouble,” Daddy whispered, and something about his voice sounded funny. It wasn’t just that he was whispering, either.

  “Are you sick, Daddy?” Hunter asked. Daddy had told him once about when he got sick and acted all funny because he had a high fever.

  “I’m not sick. I’m just a little tired. But not too tired to show you your surprise.” Daddy turned and opened the door, and waved his hand to tell Hunter to go outside.

  Hunter didn’t want to. “I’m tired too, Daddy. I think I’ll have my surprise in the morning.”

  “The morning will be too late,” Daddy said. This time his voice was a little louder, and Hunter definitely knew something was wrong. It was Daddy's voice, but it didn’t sound like him. Daddy held out his hand again, and Hunter slowly put his hand in Daddy’s. He didn’t really want to go, but he couldn’t figure out how to tell Daddy that. Maybe Daddy was sick, and didn’t know it because his stomach hadn’t started hurting yet.

  Almost as soon as Hunter had that thought, he felt a pang in his own stomach, almost like he was going to throw up. Daddy led him outside and up the walk. It was cold out, but not rainy. They walked up the three stairs together to the gate, and Daddy let go of Hunter’s hand to open the gate. Hunter wanted to run back into the house while Daddy was busy with the gate, but he didn’t. He wasn’t sure what Daddy would do. He thought he would be mad.

  Daddy told him to go through the gate. There was more light out here on the street because there was a streetlight by his house. A lady leaned up against car, someone he didn't know. She was taller than Daddy, and had on fancy shoes.

  Daddy held his hand again, and led him up to the lady. He said, “This pretty lady is Franchesca. We’re going to go with her.”

  The lady laughed, and Hunter decided right then he didn’t like her. He wondered if it was because of being a Reader. He wondered that a lot, but Daddy said he wouldn’t know for a while yet what was being a Reader and what wasn’t.

  “There’s been a change of plan,” Franchesca, said. The car door on the other side opened, and a man got out and came around the front of the car to stand next to the lady. He was taller than Daddy too, almost as tall as the lady. The man was wearing blue jeans and a jeans jacket, and he smiled at Hunter. Hunter couldn’t decide if he liked the man or not.

  “This is Jim Scanlon,” the lady said. “He is your birth father, Hunter. That means he’s your real father.”

  Hunter looked uncertainly up at Daddy to see if this was a joke, but Daddy wasn’t even looking at him. He was looking at the lady, and his face was moving around like he was mad or he was going to cry. Hunter looked back at the man, then at the lady. “Nobody knows who my birth father is,” he said in a tiny voice.

  The man squatted down in front of Hunter and told him, "I really am your father. I just found out from your birth mom a little while ago. I’m glad to finally meet you.”

  Hunter regarded the man solemnly. He tried to read him to see if he was telling the truth, but he couldn’t tell. He looked up at Daddy again, but Daddy was still looking at the lady. His glasses were all fogged up and Hunter couldn’t see his eyes.

  “This is all very touching, but we’re in a bit of a hurry here,” the lady said.

  Jim held out his hand to him. “Come on Hunter, we’re going for a ride.”

  Hunter looked again at Daddy, and this time Daddy was looking at him, his glasses all white. Hunter saw there was sweat on Daddy’s face. His forehead was shiny with it. “Go with them, Hunter,” he said.

  Hunter couldn’t believe it. His Daddy wanted him to go with the man and the lady without him? Hunter shook his head no. It was dark, and Daddy was acting strange, and he decided he didn’t like any of it. Surely Daddy wouldn’t make him go if he knew Hunter was scared.

  “Go with them, Hunter!” Daddy said again, and this time, he sounded like he was crying. Hunter looked at Daddy’s face an
d saw some tears coming out from under his glasses. He threw himself at Daddy, and held on to him. “No, Daddy, no!” he cried. At first Daddy didn’t move or say anything.

  The lady said, “Tirakku! Obey!” which Hunter didn’t understand at all. Then Daddy put his hands on Hunter’s arms and pulled him away. He leaned down and said, “Go with your real father. It’s just for a little trip. He’s taking you out for ice cream, as a special treat. I’ll stay up until you get back.”

  “I don’t want ice cream!” Hunter yelled, and burst into tears. He didn’t want to go with his birth father. He kind of wanted to meet his birth mom, but he hadn’t thought about his real dad, and he didn’t want to go.

  “Enough of this, we haven’t got time,” the lady said in a mean voice. She came over and grabbed Hunter’s arm, and pulled him toward the car.

  “Daddy!” Hunter screamed. The lady put her hand over his mouth, and Jim opened the back door and helped the lady put him in the back seat, where there was another person who looked asleep. Jim buckled him in while Hunter shouted, “Daddy! Daddy, no!”

  Jim smiled and said, “Don’t be afraid, Hunter, it’s going to be okay."

  The lady pushed Jim away, and leaned into the car. She felt around his neck and she found his amulet. Her nails scratched his neck as she pulled it out of his shirt and sweater and over his head. She shut the door, and Hunter looked out of the car window. The lady was talking to Daddy. Her arms were out in front of her like she was holding something, but there was nothing there. Hunter stopped shouting then, but he kept crying. Jim got in behind the wheel, and the lady got in on the other side. The car pulled away, and Hunter saw his Daddy standing by the side of the road. Daddy didn’t wave goodbye.

  Chapter 15

  Javier pulled up to Kevin and Steve’s house. The second car with the rest of his team pulled in and parked behind him. Daniel got out of the front along with Javier, and Bree climbed painfully out of the back, shoving the remains of the granola bar Javier had given her into her mouth. Javier and Daniel were looking around, and Bree sent her Demonsense questing as well. She could feel the demon in the house. She looked at Javier, pointed to the gate, and Javier nodded.

  “I don’t think anyone else is here besides Kevin and Steve,” Daniel said quietly.

  Javier nodded, pulled out his gun, and offered it to Bree. “Do you know how to use this?" he asked her.

  Bree shook her head. "I never learned. I'll admit I feel inspired to change that after what happened tonight."

  "Well, stay in the car and lock the doors. I’ll have a Keeper nearby on the gate. Daniel, you’re with me.” He made a couple of hand signs that the rest of his team responded to by moving quietly toward the house.

  Bree fumed, but did as she was told. She was beside herself with anxiety for Hunter. The ride over in the car hadn’t done her mood any good either. Daniel was tainted from the demon possession, and it had rattled her overstretched nerves to be in the same car with him. She didn't think Javier had noticed Daniel's taint. Likely, he wasn't looking for it. Daniel had managed to spin a convincing story of events that left out his calling and being possessed by a demon.

  She scanned the street, and saw the gate ajar. One of the female Keepers, the one who looked Chinese-American, was standing next to it, scanning up and down the street.

  Faster than she had expected, Javier came back out. He unlocked the car door and opened it. “You can come in,” he said. “Hunter’s gone, and Kevin looks catatonic. Steve is apparently still asleep in Hunter's room.”

  "He's always been a heavy sleeper," Bree answered as she hurried with him down the front walk and into the house.

  There was a lamp on in the living room, and one of the Keepers was pulling the blinds shut. Kevin sat on the couch, still in his coat. He stared sightlessly off into the distance, with no acknowledgement of Daniel, who crouched down in front of him. Bree’s Demonsense shrieked at her, but it was a tired shriek, almost as if she’d worn it out with overuse on this long night. “What’s happening?” she asked quietly.

  Daniel looked over and answered her. “He’s still possessed. The demon is feeding right now. I think it must have taken a lot out of the demon to keep control of Kevin. It can’t do anything right now except feed.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Daniel to order the demon out when Javier moved beside her, and she remembered that Javier couldn’t know about Daniel's Demon Master talent.

  “This would be a good time to do the exorcism,” Javier said.

  “I agree,” Bree replied. “But it’s going to make some noise. I better go wake up Steve and break the news.”

  “He shouldn’t be here for it,” Javier cautioned. “I’ll send someone back to keep him warded just in case.”

  Bree nodded her agreement and left. She went into Hunter’s room and turned on the bedside lamp. Steve was lying on his side in Hunter’s bed, blond hair fallen over one eye, breathing peacefully. Bree felt a moment’s reluctance over waking him, knowing how terribly his life was about to change, but knew it couldn’t be delayed. “Steve,” she said loudly, shaking him by the shoulder, “wake up, it’s important.”

  He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion for a minute, then said muzzily, “Bree? What are you doing here?” He sat up and swung his legs around to set his feet on the floor, then started as he got a good look at her. "My God, what happened to you? Are you okay? You look like you've been in a fight."

  “I'm okay for now. Steve, look, there is no easy way to tell you this. We were wrong. Someone was after Hunter, some Keltoi who thinks he’s Hunter’s biological father. He teamed up with a Keltoi woman and took Hunter.”

  “What!” He leaped to his feet. “When did this happen? He was just right here beside me a minute ago!"

  “It gets worse,” Bree went on, trying to sound matter of fact, and failing miserably. “The woman, Franchesca, is a Demon Master. She had a demon possess Kevin, and had Kevin hand Hunter over. He must have gotten Hunter out of here quietly without waking you up.”

  “Oh God!” Steve choked out, arms cradled around his waist. “This can’t be happening! He was just right here!”

  Bree put her arm around his shoulders. “We have a team of Keepers here. They've searched the house and the yard already, and Hunter's definitely not here. It’s a long story, but the important thing is that they’re on it. Javier’s making calls now, putting out the alert and getting a plan put together to find him. Now, this is important. Did Hunter have on his locater amulet?’

  Steve looked momentarily more hopeful. “Yes, he did. He put it back on after his bath. He didn’t like it at first, but now he won’t be parted from it.”

  Bree breathed a sigh of relief. If Franchesca and the others didn’t find the amulet, then maybe Hunter would use it any minute now. Maybe this could be resolved quickly. “That’s good news. Now, another good thing is that keeping control of Kevin wore out the demon and it’s relatively inactive right now. If we move fast, we can perform an exorcism before it has a good hold on Kevin.”

  “I want to see him,” Steve replied, sliding out from under her arm and moving towards the door.

  “Steve, don’t!” Bree said, alarmed. She got in front of him and put her palms against his chest. His blue eyes sparked in anger, but she rushed on. “Trust me on this. You do not want to see him like that. And it’s not safe for you to be there during the exorcism. The demon will try to use his connection to you to interfere with the process.”

  “But he needs me,” Steve protested. His face was rigid with his effort to control his emotions.

  “Not right now, he doesn’t. But he will after. Now, please, I want you to stay here. Javier said to look through Hunter’s clothes and try to see what’s missing so we have an idea what he was wearing, so they have a good description of him. One of the Keepers is going to come back to stay with you.”

  “Will Kevin be all right?” Steve asked, voice breaking.

  “He’ll be exhau
sted, and probably distraught. He had no real way to fight the demon, Steve, I want you to know that. It was a powerful one controlled by a Demon Master. It wasn’t his fault they took Hunter, but he’s probably going to feel like it is. You have to make sure he understands that it’s not.”

  Steve put his hands over his face. “This is a nightmare,” he whispered.

  “It’s going to sound like one in a minute,” Bree responded grimly. “You’re likely to hear a lot of noise, and it will sound like Kevin is in pain. I can’t say for sure how long it will take, but since this has been a short possession and the demon's tired, I’m hoping not long. I promise that there's nothing that you can do to help Kevin while it’s happening, and that having you there to protect will only be a distraction to the exorcists. Do you believe me?”

  “I guess I have to,” Steve replied desolately. He was out of his element and knew it. She reached up and gave him a hug. “Somebody will come and get you when it’s over, or the minute there’s any word on Hunter.”

  Steve nodded, and she left him pulling open the drawers of Hunter’s dresser with shaking hands.

  Javier was talking quietly on the phone in the kitchen when Bree came back into the living room. Daniel sat on a chair across from Kevin. His ankle was resting on the opposite knee, and he jiggled his foot with restless tension even though he looked exhausted. He looked up at her as she came in and said, “There’s been no change, but this can’t last. The exorcism needs to happen now.”

  “It can’t be you, Daniel,” she replied. She stopped near him and looked at Kevin, who was still staring out the window and seemed barely to be breathing. “A couple of granola bars can't be enough to replenish you after what you've been through. And besides, you picked up taint.”

  Daniel dropped his restless foot to the floor, and leaned over to put his face in his hands. He was still for a moment, then rubbed his face briskly, dropped his hands between his knees and looked back up at her. “That’s not good,” he said dryly.