And where was Adrian? Bullets might not be able to kill him, but they could injure him, and I couldnt risk him being carried off in an incapacitated state. If there was one person minions wanted to cart off to their demon masters more than me, it was Adrian. He was the last descendant of Judas whod refused to fulfill his destiny by betraying me unto death.
More people were hiding behind the first couple rows of cars we ran past. They didnt know Id taken care of the roof shooter. My heart began to pound when I found a blood trail that started at roughly the same point where Adrian and I had been standing when the first shots were fired. The splatter thickened as it led deeper into the parking lot. That wasnt my blood or the girls blood. Wed been shot on the other side of the parking lot. Please, I found myself thinking. Dont let Adrian be badly hurt!
I burst around the next row of cars...and skidded to a stop in relief. Adrian had a blond-haired minion pinned beneath him, and while Adrian had a bullet wound hole in his shoulder, he must not be too injured. Not from how he was pounding the stuffing out of the minion hed tackled.
You tried to kill Ivy. Why? I heard Adrian demand between brutal rib punches.
I wouldve thought the why was obvious. The minion mustve thought it was a stupid question, too. He let out a pained laugh and said something in Demonish, which was what I called the strange, harshly beautiful language that demons spoke. Whatever it was, it pissed Adrian off into a whole new level of outrage.
Fuck you, he snarled. Then his fist slammed into the minions face with such force, it went all the way through to the back of his skull. I winced, both at the instant gore splatter and at the impact as concrete finally stopped his blow. If Adrians hand werent broken after this, it would be a miracle.
You murdered him! a woman screamed, coming out from behind a nearby car. Then with shaking hands, she pulled out a Taser from her purse and pointed it at Adrian.
Brutus let out a warning chuff and squared off on her. He wouldnt tolerate anyone threatening us, human or otherwise.
Something about the noise he made caused the woman to blanch, as if on an instinctive level she sensed the predator he really was. If she could see Brutuss real form behind the seagull disguise, she wouldnt just pale. Shed piss herself.
No, I told Brutus, yanking on his harness for emphasis. To the woman, I said, Youre in shock. He didnt kill anyone. Theres no one else here but the three of us.
There is! she snapped. Hes right there
She stopped in midsentence when the minion crumbled into ashes before her eyes. Adrian got up, shaking the blood off his right hand while brushing the ashes from his jeans with his left. Soon, the blood on him turned to ashes, too, and all of those dark specks began to slowly blow away in the breeze.
Thats...thats not possible, the woman whispered.
Like I said, youre in shock from the shooting, I went on. The mind plays tricks on people when that happens. Go home, be with your family and dont think about this again.
More people were starting to peek around the cars theyd been hiding behind. It wouldnt be long before an ambulance showed up, which would be good for the wounded girl, but the police would soon follow, and that was a hassle we didnt need.
Adrian knew it, too. Time to go, he said, taking my arm. Then he stopped, cursing when he saw my leg. Youve been hit.
Flesh wound, I said, which was true, although it didnt help with how much it hurt.
Adrian picked me up. Theres manna in the van, he said, striding away from the onlookers. Well get you fixed up on the way to the hotel.
Wed parked the van at the back of the lot, where a big tree had shaded it from the sunlight Brutus hated so much. One look at it, though, and I knew we wouldnt be leaving in that.
Brutus killed it, too, I said, sighing at the missing side door and the long, rending claw marks. No way were we getting our security deposit back.
Adrian set me down and pulled our duffel bag out of the ruined van, then emptied the glove box of our paperwork.
Brutus can fly us back, he told me, taking the small plastic bag out of the duffel bag. It looked like it contained crumpled-up sugar cookies, but the substance that Adrian smeared on my leg wasnt baked goods. It was the famed bread of heaven that had sustained the Israelites for over forty years in the desert. Only, manna was good for a lot more than food. It could also heal anything except for a mortal wound.
I cast a dubious look at the not-quite-dark sky. Thats a lot of exposure. Why risk it when we can take a cab?
We need to get back before dark, he said, picking me up and carrying me even though the manna would heal me in another few moments. Brutus easily kept pace with Adrians rapid strides, his big head swiveling around to check for danger.
Whats the rush? We dont have to worry about being outside after dark anymore. There are no more demons in our world, remember?
Maybe, maybe not, he responded, his pace increasing. Its possible some of them managed to stay behind here.
What? I burst out. How? You told me demons couldnt stand our realm for long. Its been over four weeks since the gateways slammed shut, so any demons stranded on our side should be dead by now!
Not if theyre on cursed earth, he countered, heading for a cluster of trees. You remember the demon I trapped beneath that old chapel? I cursed the ground he was on so he could stand being in our realm, even beneath a church. Demons had advance warning that you were going after Mosess staff, and they knew it could close the gateways. Some of them couldve cursed sections of ground in this world as safe places in case you succeeded, which you did.
This was the first I was hearing about the possibility of demons still being in our world. Why hadnt he told me before?
I didnt have a chance to ask that, let alone any of the other questions that sprang to mind. Adrian hoisted me onto Brutuss back with a muttered Damn, suns almost down. Then he jumped behind me, grabbing the reins and shouting, Tarate!
The gargoyle took off, leaving the Mother Sees complex of buildings, churches and museums below us. The sky stretched out in front of us, the few remaining dusky shades of sunset darkening into the bluish-black haze of night.
I told myself it looked nothing like when a demon realm swallowed a place in our world, and mostly, I was right. Still, I couldnt shake my feeling of foreboding as the darkness spread until it snuffed out the last remains of the light. Something bad was coming with that darkness, I could feel it.
And if Adrian was right, that something might be demons.
CHAPTER FOUR
OUR HOTEL HAD been more than thirty minutes away by car. By air, it took less than fifteen. Adrian used the GPS on his smartwatch to find it, since you couldnt see street signs from this height, then had Brutus land on the hotels roof. That allowed us more privacy for our unusual arrival. Even though there were other buildings around, most people didnt spend their evenings staring up at the night sky.
Did you try Jasmine and Costa again? Adrian asked as one hard kick broke the lock on the roofs only door.
Did you try Jasmine and Costa again? Adrian asked as one hard kick broke the lock on the roofs only door.
Yes. Still no answer.
I tried to control my rising fear. Maybe theyd gone out on a date. My sister and Costa thought we didnt know that theyd started seeing each other, but we did. We were just waiting for them to admit it to us.
Wait here with Brutus, Adrian said curtly. Ill be back in ten minutes. Any sign of danger, have him fly you away.
No way, I snapped. If a demon is somehow here, Im not leaving you, Jasmine and Costa alone to deal with it.
If one is, youre in the most danger, he shot back. If nothings wrong, you only waste ten minutes up here while I make sure that Costa and Jasmine are ignoring their phones because theyre too busy having fun.
But Im the only one who has this, I said, pointing at the slingshot embedded in my right arm. This can kill demons, so Im going with you. End of discussion.
His features hardened in a way that said he wasnt listening. I started to shove past him, but he pushed me back and said a word in Demonish Id never heard before.
Brutus snatched me around the waist and pulled me back against him. His arms crossed around my midsection when I tried to wrest away, and pounding against them was as effective as trying to chop down trees with my bare hands.
Ten minutes, Adrian said over my furious demands to be released. If Im not back by then, leave.
With that, he disappeared into the staircase. I continued my struggles while cursing both Adrian and Brutus. The gargoyle whined as if in apology, but his unbreakable grip didnt loosen. After a few minutes, I realized that all my struggles were doing was giving me a nice set of bruises.
Still, I wasnt about to give up. I was destiny-bound to save people, dammit! Not to stand by and let others do the fighting for me. Brutus apparently couldnt be berated into releasing me, but maybe there was another way.
Whos a good boy? I suddenly asked, ceasing my struggles.
Brutuss whine changed, sounding less sorry and more hopeful. I couldnt be sure, but I thought I also felt his back end start to shift from side to side. Over the past couple months, Id found out that Brutus loved being praised, to the point where when he got lots of it, he fluttered his wings and shook his butt as if he were wagging an invisible tail. Sometimes, he did both things with such fervor, he nearly knocked himself over. Watching a huge, right-out-of-your-nightmares gargoyle do that was hilarious, yet now it might also be exactly what I needed.
Whooooos a gooooooood boyyyy? I said again, elongating my vowels and increasing my pitch to a baby-talk voice.
I definitely felt a wag this time, and his wings began to inch up as if he were a peacock about to display its feathers. I increased my compliments, telling Brutus that he was the cutest, smartest gargoyle who ever lived. That got me more butt-shakes and wing-fluffs, but not enough to do what I needed.
You know what Im going to do? I crooned, adding in bribes. Im going to give you five, no, six, no, seven, yes, seven big pot roasts tonight! Because youre the bestest, most beautiful Brutus, yes you are, yes you are!
His whole body began to shake with joyous anticipation. He might not understand tons of English, but he knew the words pot roast. It was his favorite raw meat. His wings began to flutter frantically and his butt wagged so hard, he almost knocked himself off his feet. Most important, his grip loosened.
I slithered beneath his arms and ran for the door as fast as I could. Brutus lunged, but it was too late. His overly delighted state had distracted him, costing him precious seconds, so his talons ended up grasping only air as he tried to grab me. The narrow space in the stairwell was too small for his wide body to fit through.
Sorry, boy! I called out as I ran down the staircase.
His betrayed-sounding howl chased after me, making me feel guilty, but Id make this up to Brutus later. Now I had to make sure that Adrian, Jasmine and Costa were okay. Our rooms were on the fifth floor, only three floors down from where I was. It shouldnt take me long to get to them
Pain erupted in my right hand. Then the braided brown rope of my tattoo began to change color, lightening to a beautiful golden shade. Seeing it, my heart began to pound.
Only one thing in the world caused my supernatural tattoo to change color and burn like it had suddenly caught fire, and that was the close proximity of a demon.
CHAPTER FIVE
I GRABBED THE glowing etching and pulled. More pain shot through me, but I came away with a loop of rope as the ancient tattoo became as real as the danger I was in. I kept pulling, ignoring the increasing pain. By the time I reached the fifth floor, my whole arm throbbed, yet the entire length of the famed sling that David had used to slay the giant Goliath was now a real, tangible weapon.
A feminine scream caused panic to bolt through me. That sounded like Jasmine. I burst through the door leading to the fifth floor. As I ran down the hallway, I saw a large mirror propped against the wall. It hadnt been there before, and since demons used mirrors as portals for travel, its presence was ominous.
In the short moment that I was distracted, a door opened and a guy pushed his room service cart right in front of me. I was running too fast to avoid it, and I hit it hard enough to knock it over. It fell with a crash, yet I barely registered that, or the startled yelp the hotel guest made. Something more important caught my eye.
The vase on the cart had been filled with decorative glass rocks, and those rocks were now scattered across the floor.
I snatched up as many as I could, not caring that I slashed my hands on the broken plates in my haste. I stuffed most of the rocks into my pockets, but I put one in the notch on my sling.
New crashing sounds and fresh screams turned my blood to ice. I ran toward the racket, wincing at how the other tattoo running along the length of my body now felt like it was burning, too. Mosess staff, the second hallowed weapon that had melded into my flesh, must react to the presence of demons, too, yet I had no idea if it would manifest like the sling did. This was the first time Id been near demons since Id wielded it to close the gates between their realm and mine.
Adrian crashed through the wall about thirty feet ahead, grappling with someone whose long mass of reddish-black hair hid her face. I started to spin my sling. The unknown woman had to be a demon. A human or minion wouldnt be able to take the punch he slammed into her, let alone to reciprocate with a block that knocked Adrian off his feet. She immediately jumped onto him, and I glimpsed a smile through her wild tangle of hair. Why did the demon look as if she were enjoying his fierce, bucking attempts to dislodge her...?
Sonofabitch! I spat, recognizing her.
Id met this particular demon only once, but she was hard to forget, and that had more to do with how shed been Adrians longtime girlfriend than it did with her looks. Some demons looked like normal people. Some appeared animalistic, right down to the cliché horns and hooves, and some, like Obsidiana, were so beautiful that it actually hurt a little to look at them.
Get off him, you bitch! I shouted.
She finally noticed me, and Obsidiana shot me a single, malevolent glare before jumping off Adrian. He seemed as surprised by her instant compliance as I was, but he leapt up just as fast, going right for her throat. Hed ripped it out the last time theyd fought, yet Obsidiana mustve remembered that.