Danny nodded slowly. “So he wasn’t being a showoff for his ego, he was showing us what he was capable of.”
“Let’s kick his ass.” Sean flipped open his laptop. “Shit, he ditched his phone. The tracking app has him in your office still. He must have left it there. So now we have two screwballs to look for. Great.”
Angelica felt a tingle in her spine, something that always came when she was preparing for battle and it was imminent. “I have a funny feeling we won’t have to search hard. We’ve revealed her little spy, and she’s not going to be happy. In the meantime, send a message to our search team. We need to find that doll.”
“It feels wrong to be decorating when we should be out there,” Danny said to Angelica as she handed him a sparkly silver ornament. It was evening, and Angelica volunteered the two of them and Sean to help decorate the Chicago Children’s Hospital.
“What happened to the White Knight who wanted to help everyone?” she chided. “You know this is as important as looking for Cailleach.”
“Bless you!” a kid called to her.
Sean laughed so hard he started to cough, pausing as he helped a few kids paint dreidels with lead-free, child-safe paints.
“Maybe not let the kids overhear all this?” Danny suggested, glancing around. The last thing he wanted was for a bright child to figure out that monsters were real.
Angelica nodded and then clapped her hands, getting the kids’ attention. “Does anyone here like holiday songs?” she called in a voice Danny never heard from her before.
Of course, all the children chorused, “Yes!” so Angelica went over to where she had a Bluetooth speaker and hooked up her phone, playing a new version of The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack.
Most kids there knew it, and soon there was a room full of happy, singing, dancing, or vibing kids. It pained Danny to see the ones too weak to do more than mouth the lyrics to the famous Halloween/Christmas musical. He never had kids, but didn’t know what he would do if he knew his child was potentially dying.
Though he and Sean were supposed to be decorating, they both stopped to watch Angelica with the children. Danny knew two sides of her: the one he took to bed and the one he worked with. Neither were exactly kid-friendly. To see her dancing with the little ones and being so carefree both broke and warmed his heart.
One little girl, who could have been as old as ten but so small and weak from chemo appeared maybe six, at best, was having a particularly hard time not being strong enough to stand up. Angelica noticed and bent down before her, asking her something Danny couldn’t hear over the music. The girl nodded but appeared skeptical.
Angelica, with more strength than it would appear to a normal onlooker she possessed, picked the girl up and began to dance with her to “Kidnap the Sandy Claws”. The little girl looked overjoyed as she sang the words along with Angelica.
“You’re really strong!” she shouted over the din. “I hope I can be strong like you when I grow up.”
Danny saw blood-tinged tears well in Angelica’s eyes as she replied, “You know what? You’re already stronger than I could ever be.”
A man cleared his throat behind Danny and Sean, who jumped, half expecting an attack. Instead, they were face to face with a man in his sixties wearing a lab coat.
“You gentlemen here with Miss Cross?” he asked.
“Mrs. Mancini,” Danny corrected automatically. He held out his hand. “I’m her husband, Danny.”
Sean held his hand out as well. “Sean Wireman, just a friend.”
“Doctor James,” the older man introduced. “When I first met this wonderful lady, I was an intern at the ER, furloughed into the cancer ward. That was in 1976. There was … a creature here. Eating the children. Making them sicker. They suspected I was behind it. She cleared my name, and ever since she’s come back every year to give the kids here a nice Christmas … and Hanukkah. And everything else if we have a patient in residence who celebrates it. I can’t tell you how much her donations help the hospital all year.”
Danny turned back to watch his wife, seeing her with new eyes. He knew she sat on numerous charity boards worldwide, but he thought she spent her inheritance and fortune the same way other rich people did: signing her name on checks with no idea what it went to. The fact that she did her charity work so close to home proved to him something he always knew: he married the most amazing woman to ever walk the face of the Earth … in both his lifetimes.
After about another hour, Angelica declared the hospital perfectly Christmassy and they left, Sean lagging behind to see about organizing Torah studies with some of the Jewish kids and a rabbi he trusted.
Angelica and Danny hung around outside and he scraped the gathering ice on the sidewalk with the tip of his leather shoe. “I didn’t know you could be so cute,” he commented.
She arched an eyebrow at his particular word choice. “Because I like torture?”
“That … amongst other things.” He gave her a wan smile. “Can I ask … why did we never have kids before?”
She cocked her head. “You mean when you were Jonathan? Back during your first incarnation?”
He nodded.
“Well, mostly because I was a half-vampire, and you were mortal. Who knew what sort of abomination we’d unleash upon the world? Or possibly harm the kid, with such an odd ratio of mortal to vampire blood. And, if I’m being totally honest, I’d never be a good mother.”
Danny opened his mouth to protest and she held a black-gloved hand up to silence him.
“I know, I was great with those kids up there. They weren’t my responsibility. I’ve never had a plant live longer than a few weeks, and let’s not discuss the goldfish I’ve killed. I’m not attentive enough, or mothering enough, and let’s not get into my career choice. Trust me, I’m doing any potential children a favor by not conceiving.” She gave a grin, and Danny knew she was telling the truth.
“Fair enough. And you’re right, about the job anyway. I bet you’ve killed double the creatures and humans than you have goldfish.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “I couldn’t bear to kill any more innocent fish after number nine. They did not deserve me.”
He chuckled and pulled her close, and she leaned into him, fitting perfectly since she wore real snow boots and not three-inch heels. It was too icy even for her to make the attempt.
“Hey … Danny?” She moved away from him, leaving her hand on his back. “Look at the cars. That’s not snow falling right now.”
He glanced at them, and instead of seeing the soft white dusting of snow he expected, the hoods and windshields were coated in a thin layer of shiny, bluish-clear ice. Removing one glove, he held a hand out to feel the air. Sure enough, the flakes that landed on his palm weren’t flakes at all: they were tiny, wet shards of ice.
Chicago had ice storms before, but this felt different. Number one, it wasn’t cold enough to make snow turn to complete ice before it hit the ground. It was hovering right around thirty degrees. Number two, ice could pile up to an inch or two overnight, but not this thick in a few minutes. Not possible.
She took a few steps forward, looking down the street. It was a major part of downtown Chicago, and even here, cars didn't slow down for much. Now the ice on the road was so thick, they barely crept along, trying to maintain their footing on the slippery asphalt. “It’s thickening.”
“Where?” Danny came up behind her and peered over her head. Indeed, the ice was thickening on the road and sidewalk about half a block ahead. “Why just there?”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Angelica asked, concern edging her voice.
“That we’re about to see the evil snow queen herself?” Danny reached for his gun, the iron bullets having replaced the silver ones for the time being. He didn’t pull it. Chicago might not be a stranger to gun violence, but one did not draw a gun outside the Children’s Hospital.
Angelica pulled out her phone and began to type furiously with both hand
s.
“Social media check?” Danny asked.
“Ass. Cailleach is building ice for something. We need to get rid of it. I just asked Sean and the doctor for some help. Meanwhile, can you try and scan for Dark magic instead of being sarcastic?” she asked.
He nodded and focused his senses. His eyes slipped closed as he concentrated on the energies coming off of everyone around him. Most humans give off a vibe, some more than others, especially if they had a strong sixth sense. Angelica, and vampires in general, gave off no energy at all, at least not to him. Despite being Dark creatures, only witches could sense them.
The ice drew him. There was a deep, Dark malevolence within it, growing and festering like a tumor. Not all of the ice, but the particular spot where it seemed to grow at an exponential rate. Circles of black, two dozen of them, pulsed and glowed in his mind’s eye, conduits for the Dark magic creating the ice.
It was wrong, and nearly perverted, the way Cailleach wove Darkness into what was supposed to be Light magic. It offended every part of his soul.
“It’s all in the ice,” he said, opening his eyes. The world swam before him and only Angelica’s steadying arm kept him upright while he fought off a wave of nausea. “Or rather … something in the ice has it, not the ice itself.”
“Ice is pure, it cannot be corrupted. We need to melt it and get at whatever is making the Darkness congregate,” Angelica said. “I have Sean getting supplies, so—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the ice began to crack with loud, wet sounds. It took hold so deep, the cars it covered cracked right down to their foundations, and large chunks of asphalt came up as the change in temperature was too much for it.
Both Mancinis were struck dumb by the sight before them, even Angelica, who Danny knew witnessed countless supernatural occurrences and didn’t bat an eyelash.
The ice grew and rose into vaguely humanoid shapes, the black objects plastered into their “heads” like eyeballs. Now free of their frozen prison, Danny could tell what they were, and were he not so shocked, he would have laughed.
“Coal?” Angelica choked out. “Fucking coal? Sacrificed reindeer? What’s next: Roman’s gonna show up in a Santa suit?”
“No.” The voice came from above, and they both looked to see the witch in question perched atop a streetlamp. “But you’ll be carried out of here in a sack. Wonder what the blood of the Vampire Empress will do in a potion?”
Angelica didn’t waste any time drawing her gun. She fired off a shot, but he vanished before it hit.
Teleportation was illegal, too, unless one had a special dispensation from the local PID branch.
“Angie, forget him. We have to deal with whatever the Hell this ice has become.”
The icy shapes completed forming. They were perhaps four feet in height, with shiny, round heads without faces, save for their coal-eyes, comically long arms that ended in four bladelike fingers, and thick, stumpy ice legs with no detail. There were twelve in all, and in his opinion, that made twelve too many.
“Will guns even work?” he asked.
“Nope,” Sean said from behind, coming between the two. “But these will.” He handed them squat red tanks, his own strapped to his back in a makeshift sling.
“A torch?” Danny read.
“Safety precautions have been removed. Watch it, the flames can reach pretty far,” Sean warned. “By the way, the good doctor said don’t worry, Angie: you don’t owe anything to the hospital.”
She grinned, looking positively evil. “They think they have the upper hand because they control the elements. Guess what? So do we, and I have no reservations over burning Roman’s balls off.”
Danny made a mental reminder to never, ever piss her off before he turned back to the ice creatures. He blinked once, twice, three times, to be sure he saw what he was seeing.
“Angelica — the pieces of coal aren’t magical. They’re filled with demonic essence.”
“These fucking witches and their fascination with demon magic,” she swore. “Isn’t their own enough? Sean, call the PID. Tell them we need holy water. After we melt the ice, we’ll need to douse the coals.”
She stepped forward as one of the ice demons did the same, leading the others half a pace behind it.
Danny stood at her side, afraid of losing control of the torch and recreating the Great Chicago Fire. As a former cop, he knew that there would be extensive property damage, and Angelica would be liable for it. No way the FBI would cover the costs. And if any humans got in the way… The thought was too horrible to consider.
Then some of the ice demons began to walk away, down the sidewalk and in the middle of the street.
“The fuck?” Danny asked.
His question, barely asked, received an answer when the ice demons froze oncoming traffic. They ripped the car doors open, pulling out screaming mortals who had no idea what was going on.
Without another word, the three of them sprang into action. Sean, a former Army Captain, went for the reserve demons. Danny went to help the people, and Angelica set her sights on the demons attacking.
Turning the flame on low, Danny melted the wrist of a demon, and it dropped the little kid it held to the slushy street.
With much prodding, Danny sent the kid on his way toward the hospital to be safe while he tried to help the parents.
Angelica melted the ice around the car, but there was nowhere for anyone to go. The ice grew to encompass the entire block, trapping everyone within its confines. The cold bit at Danny, and he prayed he’d get to keep his toes after this.
The ice demons began attacking pedestrians, and Danny could do nothing but watch as one grabbed a man walking as if in a bear hug, quickly coating him in ice like a badly done sculpture.
The man he’d been walking with screamed and tried to run. He slipped in the ice, kicking at the demon who approached.
A blast of fire melted the ice demon’s abdomen, creating a dripping hole. It didn’t die, but it also didn’t attack as it tried to repair itself. Sean grinned, satisfied, and then began to remove the ice trappings from around the man.
Danny almost told him not to bother: the man was dead, there was no aura escaping from under the arctic prison. He thought better of it; the man with him would obviously want to mourn at least. He turned away, not wishing to see the devastating tableau. He had more people to try and get to safety.
Between the three of them, they worked like a well-oiled machine: Sean securing the perimeter, Angelica on the offensive, and Danny protecting the civilians. Each did what they did best, and that was why any mission they took on had a one hundred percent success rate.
Until a guy hiding inside his car decided to make a break for it and not wait for Danny.
“No, stop!” Danny called, turning to catch the man.
He was middle aged, looked like a banker or something corporate like that, perfectly ordinary. Why was it always the normal ones who caused trouble? The man pulled out a holstered handgun, Danny believed it was a twenty-two caliber, and fired at a nearby ice demon.
“Are you totally stupid?” Angelica cried, but she was unable to stop him as an ice demon narrowly missed stabbing her in the throat. She turned the torch on full-blast, reducing it to a puddle of water and two bits of coal.
The gunshots ricocheted off the ice demon, creating minute cracks in its previously unmarred exterior. It turned its emotionless eyes on the banker, and Danny could swear he did see emotion in them: amusement and contempt. It unnerved him more than anything.
It grabbed the man and he screamed as the ice began to envelop him. Danny, hoping his aim with the torch was as good as it was with a gun, aimed and fired at the demon’s arms, melting them away from its body. The man fell to the ground, icy hands still attached to his arms. He wasn’t dead, but unconscious, and Danny was positive the man was going to be a double amputee due to frostbite.
Damn these people and their innate stupidity, he thought. He fired the torch again as the
now armless demon turned towards him.
The dripping ice at the end of the arm stumps slowly stopped as the ice began to grow. Turning the power up as high as it could go, Danny sent a large stream of bluish fire at the demon, turning it into a puddle in which the two pieces of coal floated.
He turned to see who needed assistance, but in helping the modern day cowboy, he allowed Sean and Angelica to turn everything else to water.
“They can reform,” he called. “Let’s melt that ice wall down and get the agents in here with the holy water.”
He wished he had more abilities than seeing the past and future. Another psychic like him was able to use telekinesis, but he never had the time to learn. There was always another catastrophe to deal with. If he could, he’d tear down the wall with his mind and gather up the Darkness-infused coals for easy destruction.
As they stood in front of the solid ice, it began to crack quickly and loudly. Even with Undead reflexes, Angelica was unable to duck out of the way in time to avoid the large chunk of ice that hit her straight in the forehead.
She whipped backwards and the noise it made as it connected with her skull echoed. Danny and Sean both winced, especially as blood dripped in a light shower down the left side of her face.
“Damn it,” she groaned.
Before either man could get to her and help her up, Roman materialized in front of her, a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Don’t move,” Danny warned, trailing his gun on the witch. Sean did the same.
Roman didn’t even look at them, instead, he glared down at Angelica. The air around them crackled with frost as the very moisture began to harden. His rage was making the temperature drop significantly.
Danny and Sean exchanged a glance. They knew if it continued to freeze, the ice demons could reform.
“Haven’t you had enough, girlie?” Roman asked. “Give up for once. Accept that there’s someone superior to you.”
Holidays Bite: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Holiday Vampire Tales Page 68