by N M Thorn
He channeled more fire and his arms got engulfed in smoldering orange flames. Careful, not to set anything on fire, he closed his eyes and moved his burning hands over the corpse relying only on his Fire Salamander senses. He detected the residual energy of magic right away and this time he had no doubt that it was dark magic. Evil intent and ill-wish that he sensed made his skin crawl.
He checked all five victims, and now that he knew what to look for, he found the residual dark energy right away. Jim was right—all five cases were paranormal. And now he knew that all these people were killed by the same supernatural being. However, Gunz had no idea what it was.
From the medical examiner’s office, he drove to Parkland. He parked his car at the far end of the plaza, facing the martial arts school. For a while he sat in the car, observing the martial arts school. It was five in the afternoon and children with their parents were going in and out of the school. Nothing special. Gunz frowned, biting his lip. He couldn’t sense anything supernatural so far, but possibly he parked too far away.
While sitting in the car, Gunz checked the school’s website again. The owner of the school was Master Aidan McGrath who held a few high-ranking black belts in different martial arts styles. He studied Aidan McGrath’s photo, wondering how he could achieve all these high-ranking black belts at such a young age. He didn’t look a day older than thirty.
Gunz also thought that the name of the school and its logo was a little unusual—Elements Martial Arts. Instead of the usual permutation of yin and yang symbol or a kicking man, the logo of this school had a stylized image of elements. But instead of four, it had only two elements—water and fire.
According to the schedule that was posted on the website, the kids’ lessons were over by seven PM. Gunz decided to wait a couple of hours and come back to the school after most of the children were gone. He left his car at the plaza and walked around residential neighborhoods to see if he could find anything unusual. But just like Angelique said—Parkland was a quiet city with minimal supernatural activity and Gunz didn’t meet any non-human residents in the area.
After checking Coral Grove, Gunz walked back to the plaza, approaching it from the back. The evening was rolling in, slowly wiping out the last traces of daylight and the sky got covered in dark clouds. With his heightened Salamander senses, Gunz could feel the approaching rain. The rain wasn’t dangerous to him, but he didn’t enjoy the feeling. Dwelling in the element of Fire, the touch of cold water to his skin was never pleasant. And the colder the water was, the more painful was its touch.
Following a hardly visible trail in the grass, Gunz walked up to the small dark parking lot in the back of the school and halted. On the opposite site of the parking lot, he saw a group of people. Four men surrounded a young woman, cutting all her ways out. From where he was standing, the men didn’t look like a friendly bunch and the focused moves of the woman suggested that she was getting ready to fight.
But it wasn’t only the appearance of these men and their behavior that made Gunz take a second look. Even from this distance, he knew that none of these men were human. They were oozing the dark, sinister energy that Gunz could recognize with his eyes closed. These men were demons. Or better to say, they were possessed by demons.
Contrary to popular beliefs, there were no visual signs of demonic possession. No black eyes, distorted faces or creepy twisting heads. Humans that were possessed by demons looked absolutely normal. A demon could freely walk in the daylight and never be discovered by normal people. But they couldn’t hide their supernatural aura. There was nothing that could mask the stench of their ominous energy from a Fire Salamander.
Regular people had a soft white or golden aura that was produced by the energy of their human souls. Some people had magic or elemental powers, then their aura was tinted with the bright colors of the energy of their magic. Once possessed by a demon, the human aura was infected by the demonic energy and the pure glow of the soul was replaced by the darkness of the demonic essence. If the human whose body was possessed was still alive, Gunz could sense the presence of the soul. But in most of the cases, demons were killing the original owner of the body right away.
Stealthily, Gunz made his way around the edge of the parking lot, getting closer to the demons. He still couldn’t see the woman clearly, but he was sure that she wasn’t one of them. As fast as he was moving, by the time he got close enough, all hell broke loose.
The woman landed a perfect jump punch in the taller man’s face, starting the fight. He yelped and fell backward, clasping his hands to his face, blood oozing between his fingers. The other three men attacked her at the same time. She screamed and twirled like a little tornado, punching everywhere her fists and elbows could reach.
With appreciation, Gunz noticed that her punches were well positioned and executed, and even though she was moving incredibly fast, her every move was well calculated. Obviously aware that the high kicks weren’t as effective in a close street fight as punches, she wasn’t trying to kick.
I guess Master McGrath is a good teacher, thought Gunz smirking.
Nevertheless, he knew that no matter how well she was trained in martial arts, she stood no chance fighting alone against three men who were a lot taller and heavier than her. Especially since these men were demons. It was time for him to get involved.
So much for going undercover and lying low, thought Gunz as he crossed the remaining distance between himself and the demons. Agent Andrews is not going to be pleased.
By the time he reached the fighters, one of the demons got the woman in a choke hold. She wasn’t giving up, struggling in the demon’s arms to regain her freedom. Gunz sent some fire toward his hands and seized the demon that was holding the woman. He still didn’t know if this woman was a pure-blood human and he didn’t want to use too much of his power in fear of hurting her.
As Gunz’s hand came in contact with the demon’s neck, the demon yelped in pain and let go of the woman. She fell on the ground but quickly recovered and jumped up to her feet. Meeting Gunz’s eyes for a brief moment, she gave him a curt nod and attacked the closest man on her right. Gunz squeezed the demon’s neck, channeling the Fire though him. The demon howled and thrashed violently but couldn’t break Gunz’s grip. The purifying power of the Fire surged through the demon’s body, burning the demonic energy out.
A few seconds later, the demon was gone, but unfortunately the original owner of the body was long dead. Gunz released the man’s neck, and the corpse hit the ground with a dull thud. That’s no good, he thought, how am I going to explain to her that I didn’t kill this man. He threw a quick glance at the woman. She was fighting the other two demons, ignoring him completely. Her lips were split and bleeding, but she looked like she was having fun, her big brown eyes sparkling with the excitement of the fighting.
Gunz turned his back to her and squatted next to the dead body. He placed both his hands on the corps, channeling more fire through it. In a matter of a few seconds, the dead body was gone, replaced by a pile of ashes. Gunz sprang to his feet and rushed back to help the woman deal with the remaining demons.
He halted behind the woman’s back and ignited the fire in the bottom of his eyes. “Stop!” he shouted, his voice infused with the power of Fire sounding deeper and stronger than normal. Both demons stopped fighting and stared into his igneous eyes, shocked. As soon as the woman started to turn around, he quickly extinguished the fire.
“You two,” Gunz roared, waving his hand at the petrified demons, “run, if you want to live.”
He hated to let demons go alive, but he couldn’t reveal his true nature in front of this woman. Especially not now, when he needed to blend in and go to the martial arts school where she appeared to be a student.
Gunz wasn’t sure that the demons recognized the Fire Salamander in him, but they surely recognized a power mightier than theirs. One of them raised his hand up and mumbled, “Sorry, man, we have no quarrel with you—”
“I said le
ave before I change my mind,” he growled. Then he noticed that the other demon that was lying on the ground got up and tried to follow his friends. Gunz seized his shoulder and shook his head. “Not you, you stay here. I need to have a word with you.”
The two demons took off running right away, but the one that Gunz was holding froze in place, his face contorted with fear. Gunz took in his appearance, carefully scanning his aura. His first impression was correct. There was a weak white glow of a human soul, suppressed by the demonic energy in him. The demon was a lot taller and Gunz had to squeeze his shoulder, forcing him to his knees.
“Demon,” he whispered quickly into the man’s ear, “leave this body now without harming the human and I promise not to set your shady ass on fire. At least not now.”
The demon whimpered, twisting in Gunz’s deadly drip. “Fire Salamander, you can’t use your power in front of this girl,” he hissed quietly. “And even if you use your power in front of her, you’ll kill the owner of this body…”
Gunz knew that the demon was right, but he wasn’t about to give up. He gave the demon an arched stare and the corners of his lips quirked up. “Are you willing to bet your miserable existence on this assumption?” he asked, redirecting a small amount of fire into his hand, burning the demon’s shoulder.
The demon decided not to tempt his fate. He didn’t answer, but Gunz saw a dark shadow separating from the man’s body and soundlessly dissipating into the air. The man moaned and bent forward, dropping on all fours.
“Where am I?” he asked, looking around without a sign of recognition in his eyes.
The woman approached him and stared down. “Why did you attack me?” she asked frostily, putting her hands on her hips.
The man raised his eyes and noticed her bloodied face. His eyes widened. “I did that?” he asked. “I would never hit a woman… I don’t remember… how did I get here?”
The man rubbed his forehead like he had a headache. Probably he did. Who knows how long that demon was wearing his body, thought Gunz.
“Can I call anyone for you?” asked Gunz, helping the man to his feet.
The man patted the back pockets of his jeans and pulled a cell phone out, showing it to Gunz. “Thanks, but I have my phone. I’ll call my wife.” He turned around and walked away slowly without looking back, picking up speed at the edge of the parking lot.
As soon as the man was gone, the woman walked to Gunz. She stopped right in front of him, her hands on her hips and threw him a scorching gaze. Gunz looked down at her with a light smile. She was tiny, a few inches shorter than him and very young, by the looks, no more than eighteen. Her long black hair, tied into a ponytail on the back of her head, got untidy during the fight and a few strands fell over her face. She brushed her hair off, smudging the blood over her flushed cheeks.
“Who the hell are you?” She lashed out at him, pushing him on his chest. “Who the hell asked you to get involved into my business?”
“Whoa! Take it easy,” said Gunz, suppressing laughter, backing away from her with his hands up. “I’m just an innocent bystander who saw a young lady being attacked by four big bad men.”
“Lady?” shouted the girl, stepping forward and pushing him again. “Do I look like a friggin’ damsel in distress who needs your help, Lancelot? I was doing just fine without you.”
“Be reasonable. He had you in a choke hold—,” started Gunz, but quickly changed his mind. “Forget it. I’m sorry if I ruined your evening promenade. We obviously started on the wrong foot.” He extended his hand to her, smiling. “I’m Zane and you are?”
“Late for my Taekwondo lesson,” she growled, ignoring his hand. She strolled by him to her car where she grabbed her sport bag and a brown McDonald’s paper bag and set off toward the school at a fast pace.
Gunz shook his head and followed her. “Hey, are you training at the Elements Martial Arts?” he asked. “That’s where I was going.”
She stopped and turned around to face him with a scolding glare. “Zane? Is it? Why would you need a martial arts school, when you can bring an adult man twice your size to his knees with one hand?”
Gunz sighed. He didn’t sleep thirty-six hours straight, didn’t eat since morning and an unplanned use of power to fight the demons got him a little drained. “As far as I recall, modesty is a part of the Black Belt Creed,” he said tiredly. “I believe that there is always something one can learn. No matter how good you are at what you’re doing, there is always a place for improvement.”
She pursed her lips and gave him another once-over. “Fine,” she said finally, gesturing for him to follow. “Let’s go, my mini-hero. I’ll introduce you to Master McGrath.”
Chapter 6
~ Zane Burns, a.k.a. Gunz ~
Gunz followed the young woman to the martial arts school. By the door, he halted and bowed, giving his respect to the dojang before entering. She walked inside, put her bags on one of the chairs and waved at him to sit down. Then she quickly disappeared behind the door of the Lady’s room and came back a minute later, cleaned up.
Inside, the Elements Martial Arts school was spacious and was brightly lit by numerous lights. The dojang floor was separated from the lobby by a glass wall. In the center of the wall there was a granite counter with a large opening above it. All the children were gone and only a few adults in martial arts uniforms were practicing inside the dojang. The characteristic hollow sounds of kicking bags and short barking kihaps were bouncing against the tall ceiling.
Gunz smiled sadly, thinking how much he missed all this. It had been at least a couple of years since he had a nice sparring session with his friends. He practiced with Jim and a few other FBI agents, but it just wasn’t the same. And right now, seeing the dojang floor, hearing the familiar sounds that could be heard only inside a martial arts school, he felt homesick. Everything inside him was screaming, begging him to take his shoes off and step on the soft floor.
A young man in an instructor’s uniform passed through the lobby. He waved at the woman with a boyish grin on his face. “Hey, Tessa,” he said without stopping, “you’re late again. And you’re bleeding… again. Master McGrath will have a few words to say.” He winked at her, humorous sparks shining in his dark eyes.
“Don’t worry, Angel, I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” she replied sarcastically, sitting down on the chair in the lobby, and reached for the paper bag with her food. “I’ll be on the floor in a jiffy.”
“I’m no angel, Tessa. The name is An-hhh-el,” said the young instructor, slowly pronouncing his name in Spanish. He laughed and winked at her again, before bowing at the entry into the dojang and walking away.
Gunz studied Instructor Angel with interest. The young man wasn’t human, at least not entirely human. Gunz was positive that Angel wasn’t evil, there was nothing dark about his aura, but while his energy signature somehow felt a little familiar, he couldn’t quite place it. Wondering if the rest of the instructors in this dojang were supernaturally endowed, Gunz got up and was about to approach the counter, when another young man walked into the lobby.
The man was also dressed in a white instructor’s uniform. A thick black belt with Korean writing on it and seven white horizontal stripes was wrapped around his slim waist. He was tall, at least six-feet-two and athletically built, which was a given, considering the Seventh Dan black belt he was wearing. He stopped in front of Tessa and folded his arms over his chest, his bright blue eye gazing at her reproachfully.
Tessa put away the McDonald’s bag and got up. “Master McGrath,” she said, greeting him with the traditional Taekwondo bow.
“Ms. Donovan, you’re late again,” he said, shaking his head and bowed back to her. He had a light Irish accent that was giving his speech a sing-song quality.
“I’m sorry, Master McGrath. We had an accident at work. A patient died during the procedure,” she explained.
Master McGrath’s eyes slowly moved from Tessa to Gunz and his eyebrows drew together. Gunz met his heav
y gaze and drew in a sharp breath. Whoever this man was, he had some serious magic and the energy of power was surrounding him like a thick wall. Gunz was sure that Aidan McGrath wasn’t just a wizard. He never felt so much power and magic in a single person before, not even in a Master of Power. And that was saying a lot, because Masters of Power were considered to be one of the most powerful magical beings. Besides magic, Gunz also sensed the elemental power in him—Fire and Water. That explained the logo of the martial arts school.
Master McGrath stared at Gunz without blinking, his eyes glowing with a soft white light. For a moment, Gunz felt dizzy and disoriented, like the man was scanning his insides, turning him inside out. Slowly the white light in his eyes dimmed down, and Gunz took a rugged breath, instantly feeling better.
“Tessa,” said Master McGrath without taking his eyes off Gunz, “why do you insist on bringing junk into my dojang?”
Gunz mouth fell open in shock, but he didn’t say anything. At this moment he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or be upset at the way he was treated. Is it just me, or does it seem like everyone is on my case since yesterday.
“I’m sorry, Master McGrath, but the junk-food was the only option on my menu today,” said Tessa, gazing at him with an innocent smile and then switched her tone. “Come on, Aidan, give me a break. I didn’t eat since morning and I was trying not to be late, because I knew that you would chew my ass out for that. And I wouldn’t be late if four morons didn’t attack me in the parking lot behind the school.”
“Language, Tessa, you’re in my dojang,” said Aidan dryly, shaking his head. “And this one?” He jerked his chin toward Gunz. “Is he one of those… morons that attacked you?”
“This one?” asked Tessa, throwing a sarcastic glance at Gunz. “No, Aidan. He’s a completely different type of moron. He actually thought I needed his help. Can you believe it? He’s my knight in shining armor.”
Aidan McGrath stared at Gunz for a few moments silently. “What are you doing here? What do you want?” asked Aidan finally, with so much frost in his voice that Gunz shivered.