AS IT TURNED OUT, the demon was full of information. According to Alex, all evidence suggested there was something unusual going on in Vermont. While I hung out with James, Alex, Killian, and Sean took turns interrogating the demon whose name was Dai Li.
These interrogation sessions were off-limits to me. I was absolutely not allowed in the room with the demon for any reason. I didn’t really want to spend time with him anyway, but it chafed to be forbidden. Geez, they treated me like a child. I had to admit Dai Li freaked me out a little. Okay, a lot! His cold sing-song voice echoed in my head if I let my guard down.
I see you, Mica! Want to come and play with me?
The last time I saw him, Killian and Dec were pulling him out of James’ room the day of the exorcism. I waited out of the way with Sean, but Dai Li’s red eyes held me paralyzed. The duct tape covering his mouth didn’t disguise his thoughts. He wasn’t done with me yet.
With a stony-pissed-off-boyfriend expression, Sean calmly extended his hand towards Dai Li’s eye. The effect on Dai Li was electric. He squinted and flinched away in terror. As Sean’s hand got closer, the demon trembled, pleading behind the tape. The hair on my arms stood up as the mewling whine got louder. I tried to step around Sean to see what he was doing, but he blocked me with his other arm. Dec frowned and shook his head at me. He mouthed, go. I backed away. Dai Li made a high-pitched keening sound just before the odor of sulfur tickled the back of my throat.
I hadn’t seen Dai Li since. I asked Sean what was going on, but he refused to answer. I’d hardly seen him the past few days. He got up early, got back late, took a shower, and crashed. His eyes were hooded whenever he looked at me now. My gut told me he was keeping secrets. I knew it but couldn’t bring myself to confront him. The feeling of dread still haunted me, and was getting more and more pronounced as the days turned to weeks. My stomach ached with it, but I had no answers. To make things worse, my playmate was out of reach. Dec was gone for days at a time, and I missed him painfully. Alex had them searching the city for another demon named Xarchi. Dai Li had fingered him as a mid-level demon running operations across Manhattan. Alex felt he would know about other operations in the northeast region. All of them were gone, but I was stuck here with James. Gazing wistfully out the window, I sighed into my tea cup.
“That’s the third cup of tea you’ve let grow cold. Am I such poor company then?” James asked with a sardonic smile.
Chagrined, I said, “I’m sorry, James. It’s not you. It’s me. I’m the one who’s poor company.” I saluted him with the cup.
We were in a breakfast nook that was bigger than my entire apartment. After helping himself to coffee and a bagel, he settled into a chair and considered me over the rim of the cup.
“Maybe it’s time for us to have a talk.” he began.
Uh-oh, this always means bad news. Totally healed now, he was comfortable smiling again and did so now. That smile would be hard to resist if I wasn’t already madly in love. His lean face wasn’t perfect, but he was attractive enough. Now that he was healed, his olive complexion was clear and vibrant again. The only detraction from his otherwise handsome face was odd caterpillar eyebrows that perched uneasily above his heavily lashed eyes. Those pale blue eyes were sparkling now so maybe it wasn’t such bad news after all.
He cleared his throat, and said, “We’re living in very strange times, Mica. There are events taking place that we never expected, and we’ve got to get answers. We can’t afford to be surprised by the other side. Our powers are too evenly matched. Any surprises can tip the balance in their favor.”
“Evenly matched? I thought you, I mean we, are the good guys. Doesn’t that mean we win? I mean, I assumed we were stronger.”
Well, there went one of the truths that kept me positive all this time.
He barked a laugh that sent one of those eyebrows jumping toward his forehead. “That would be nice if it were true, but it’s not. There’s just as much evil as good in the world. We stay ahead of some of the most heinous events by using informants and neutralizing the demons—or humans—before they carry out their plans. It doesn’t always work that way, of course. We win some and lose some.”
“Win some, lose some?” I repeated, surprised at his nonchalant attitude.
“Hey! Are you okay?”
The room went black as a vision came out of nowhere. Like a conscious dream, I saw a flash of a faded red door in an old rundown warehouse. Fire shot out from the roof as an explosion blew me off my feet. Before I could recover from that, a shocking image of Trevor burning to ash hit me between the eyes.
“No!”
I blinked furiously as the images faded into smoke and the kitchen came back into focus. I pressed my fingers into my forehead against the sudden blinding pain. What was that? Was that a premonition? I’ve never had premonitions before. Was this another new ability? Maybe it was just some random flash from my ever-evolving brain neurons?
“Mica! Take a deep breath.” He crouched beside me, patting my shoulder in sympathy. “What happened just now?”
“I think I had a premonition.” My hands started to shake and my eyes pricked with tears. “Not Trevor. Please not Trevor.”
“Okay, just breathe. Calm down. What did you see?”
I told him about the vision first and then I told him the whole story from sharing Sean’s saol to my new ability to see into people’s minds. And I ended with the journey into his mind to remove the wall of flames that kept him from healing. This flash of insight or premonition was another new ability and not one that I wanted. How was this helpful? Was I supposed to use it to help the Primani? I wanted answers.
James was quiet for so long it seemed like he’d slipped into another coma. I was about to call for help when he stiffened. My spidey senses went on high alert. He was different. His irises were backlit with a faint light that captivated me instantly. I couldn’t move away even if I wanted to.
He whispered in an odd gravelly voice, “You are not ready.”
I strained to hear him. “James? What do you mean? I don’t understand you.”
He stared at nothing—his eyes focused inward—irises glowing brilliantly. This was clearly not James. My breath caught in my throat.
He leaned across the table, and said in the same broken voice, “Your destiny is still evolving . . . you must be ready!”
Unable to pull my gaze away, I stared into the pure white light until there was nothing but that light. It drew me forward, drew me deeper into its nothingness. All the while he kept whispering, and I found myself answering.
“I’ll be ready.”
Later that afternoon, my boys came back to the penthouse, half frozen in spite of their natural biology. Snow crusted their hair and boots, and they stomped off slushy piles of it in the foyer. Apparently New York City was in the middle of a historic cold snap. I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t allowed to leave the building. Amused, I watched as Killian stripped off his boots and rubbed his toes. He saw my glance and cracked a smile but caught it before it could get carried away.
Don’t worry. Your face won’t break.
He burst out laughing, drawing questioning glances from Sean and Dec.
Sean snapped, “Do you two mind?”
“I’m sorry. It happens automatically now . . . I’m not doing it on purpose.”
“Oh, that’s fucking awesome!” He shook his head like a dog, pelting me with melted snow. “I’m too damn tired to argue about this. Just stop it.”
Before I could retort, Alex started the daily meeting. “Children! It’s time to get to work. Save it for later. Sean, what do you have?”
“A whole lot of zip. I tracked down a few promising leads but can’t get confirmation because the fucking informant is in the wind.” He wrinkled his nose and sniffed his fingers before heaving himself out of the chair to stalk to the kitchen sink. “If I have to spend another day trolling through alleys, I’m going to start killing people”
Dec snickered and bragged, ?
??I had a great day. Maybe people don’t like your attitude, dude. You need to be more friendly. I talked to a guy in a pawnshop off of 74th Street after lunch. He mentioned an odd customer that gave him the heebie-jeebies. What do you know? There was some demon trace behind the store.” He pulled out his favorite guitar pick and tapped it thoughtfully. “I sent the sample to the lab. We should hear back in a few days.”
“You guys have lab people?” I interrupted.
He winked with his usual good humor, and said, “Of course we do, darlin’. How do you think we get anything done?” He broadened his Irish accent, and added, “We’re not magic, you know!”
That night I got my wish and was allowed to go out. Several days of inactivity made my muscles stiff, and I was getting stir-crazy. Regardless of the freezing temperatures, I had to get some air and exercise. I pled my case that afternoon, and Alex relented as long as I was with one of the guys. That suited me just fine as I didn’t exactly want to roam Manhattan by myself anyway. I flexed a bicep and was reassured I could still handle myself but didn’t want to go looking for trouble. All the fight training in the world was no match against a gun. I felt a little vulnerable, so packed my Sig in my purse. I tucked in an extra magazine to even the odds. There, I liked my chances a little better.
The freezing wind caught us by surprise when we rounded a corner onto Broadway. I burrowed my face against Sean’s shoulder. Practically dancing, I tugged his arm and dragged him down the street. The sidewalks were still busy even at this time of night. People eddied and flowed around us as the current swept us along. Everyone seemed to be going someplace and stared straight ahead as they made their way along. No one stopped to look at anything along the way. Only tourists gawked at the glass storefronts. Real New Yorkers knew where they were going and forged ahead with that goal in mind. They didn’t have time for silly little side trips into liquor stores or pizza joints. Real New Yorkers also did not stop in the middle of the sidewalk to crane their heads at the ridiculously tall buildings that loomed above all real estate in central Manhattan. I learned this last rule the hard way. I was rear-ended by a man in a black leather jacket when I got distracted by the shining blue lights that capped the Empire State Building. We were walking along when the building suddenly came into view. I stopped to stare, and the man slammed into me from behind. He knocked me heavily into Sean who grabbed my elbow to keep me from falling. I started to protest, but the man was gone.
“Freakin’ tourist!” the man mumbled as he disappeared into the sea of people.
It was Sean’s turn to tow me along. He guided me to the awning of a grocery store and stopped. He leaned his back against the glass window and pulled me against his chest. For all the world could see, we’re just a couple of young lovers out enjoying the night. I tilted my face for a lingering kiss, totally forgetting that I was supposed to be undercover. He kissed me back convincingly, but his eyes scanned the opposite street. A couple of bulky guys wearing black skull caps and heavy jackets whistled their approval. Sean gave them a head nod that meant something only guys understand. The two men laughed and kept walking. I flushed scarlet and buried my face in his jacket. He chuckled and patted my butt familiarly.
“Anything?” I asked. The rich smell of marinara sauce was drifting into my sinuses, and I realized we hadn’t eaten since lunch. My stomach growled with an alarming demand for pizza.
Sean remained still and continued scanning. He stood loosely with an arm draped casually around me while his eyes searched for our prey. I huddled against him for warmth and tried to mimic his casualness. In contrast to my beloved Secret Agent Man, I was coiled like a spring. I was unused to hunting, and my neck ached from the tension. He scowled slightly and massaged my shoulders. Even through the layers of my clothes, I felt the heat pulse from his hand and gradually the tension eased from my shoulders to coil in a much lower spot.
“Is that better, love?” Warm blue eyes crinkled down at me as he kissed the tip of my red nose with cold lips.
Yep, I was warm pudding now. Let’s go to bed. I teased his bottom lip until he gave up and let me kiss him breathless. “I love you. You know that?”
“I do know. You’re a lucky woman.” He ducked my right hook, but grunted when my knee whispered past the family jewels.
Twenty minutes later, I was drooling over the smell of freshly baked pizza and nibbling from the ceramic bowl of olives on our table. The rickety table was covered with an ancient red and white checkered plastic cover, the condiment jars were sticky, and the menus were wrinkled. The neon sign was only halfway lit up. Red letters proclaimed Pizz, and a neon pizza slice was only half filled in. It looked like someone had already eaten part of it. This was a real New York pizza joint!
The guy behind the counter called our number. I snapped a picture of him with my phone. I hadn’t been able to tear my eyes away since we got here. He wore his head shaved and had piercings in both eyebrows and his lip. I tried not to stare, but the eyebrows were fascinating me. He had a hook in each brow and a small chain connecting them across the bridge of his nose. Hanging from the chain was a tiny green lizard. The lizard danced back and forth every time he moved. He caught me staring and smiled good-naturedly. He was sporting three gold teeth. Sweet!
The wind had died down by the time we left Pizz. I was warm and drowsy from too much chewy crust and bubbly mozzarella. Pizza this good should be illegal. I bumped contentedly against Sean as we made our way down the sidewalk. Tonight’s intel gathering was a bust. The streets didn’t cough up the informant and no demons rushed forward with their hands up. We were heading back toward the penthouse. Manhattan at night was even more exciting than in the daytime. Neon lights competed with every kind of LED display I could imagine. Buildings were covered with banners and signs. The skyscrapers loomed above as we made our way. The sidewalks were less crowded now, and there were fewer cars on the streets. Small groups of younger men stood together outside of the liquor stores. More than a few showed too much interest in us. Uneasy, I walked a little faster until Sean suddenly stopped to zero in on something just ahead.
“What do you see?” At first I didn’t see anything, but then a shadow detached itself from the side of a building. It slipped around the corner and disappeared.
“Let’s go. Stay beside me.” Sean broke into a jog.
We cleared the corner and kept straight. I scanned the area for . . . whatever we were following. I didn’t see anything but Sean must have. We nearly knocked a homeless man down a flight of stairs when he staggered in front of us. After several blocks of twists and turns, I still didn’t see any sign of a person or anything else that casts a shadow. Sean must have been stumped too because he moved more cautiously along the dark, narrow street. Dead end. We were far away from the sounds of the city. The silence was eerie as we considered our options. A cat screamed from a dumpster, and I jumped. Marinara sauce sloshed unpleasantly in my stomach. Friggin’ wildlife! Snow piles against the back entrances of the dark brick buildings glowed in the pale moonlight. As I caught my breath, faint sounds of music came from someplace ahead of us.
The thumping of drums was muffled but distinct as we came to the end of the alley. A steep set of concrete steps led down into a set of dark metal storm doors. One of the doors had a tiny window cut into it. The other was chained shut at the top. The metal railing was hanging loose halfway down the steps and didn’t look safe. Several sets of shoes had packed the snow into unfriendly ice. One word was spray painted across the brick lintel. In neon green letters, someone had defined this space as, Dump. It seemed to fit.
“I don’t know, Sean. This looks sketchy to me . . .” I didn’t feel good about this place. It seemed . . . well, seedy. Yes, seedy was the right word. Probably, I was overdressed.
Sean, being Sean, just smiled reassuringly and told me to relax. He didn’t sense any demons, and he could always handle any human problems that came up. I was still dragging my feet when I heard her. The woman sang with a raw intensity t
hat sent a shiver down my spine. The words were muffled, but the powerful voice wasn’t diminished by brick and concrete.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I slid most of the way to the bottom of the steps and dusted my butt off while Sean pulled the door open.
Dump was a dark little place that had probably never seen better days. Most of the fluorescent lights were burned out. A tiny strobe light flickered sadly in one corner. It smelled like stale beer and mildew. The music stopped abruptly when we walked in. My ears rang as one last discordant chord fell away. Everyone stared at us, including the band. The band, and it was an actual band, was set up in a little space off to the right. There wasn’t room for a proper stage, but someone shoved a handful of rickety tables to the side, and the musicians squeezed into the space. The five musicians gave us the hairy eyeball (or eyeballs since there were five of them). Well, mostly they glared at Sean who unconsciously projected violence as he assessed the room. The female singer gave him a long appraising look that made me grind my teeth. Really, wench? I sighed and pulled my purse closer to my hand in case I needed my Sig. She’d have a hard time pulling off those high notes with a bullet through her chest. Yeah. That would fix the problem. I smiled the feral smile I’d seen on Killian’s face so many times. The woman suddenly found something else to do.
A peeling, paneled bar with three ancient wooden stools was the centerpiece of the room. The neon beer signs were mostly dead with random letters still glowing like fireflies on the wall. The bartender was a huge hairy man that reminded me of an old biker. He wore a faded blue bandana over his head, and had bushy black hair and a long greying beard. Someone had put some small braids in his beard. He had tiny little eyes that were swallowed up in the fatty creases of his face. These piggy eyes watched us now. He didn’t look friendly to me, but Sean didn’t seem alarmed. He simply returned the appraisal and waited. Easy for him—he’s got superpowers. I sidled closer to him and tried to look cynical.
The bartender hollered over to us, “Hey! Don’t stand there with the door open. It’s cold enough in here.”
That was about as much of an invitation as we would probably get. We both relaxed and made our way to a small table that looked sturdy enough to hold a beer. Nervous, I fiddled with my purse strap. There were other people sitting around, and they were looking us over with varying degrees of interest. Sean bent over and kissed me hard on the mouth. Grinning, he turned around and went to the bar. I caught one of the musician’s eyes and flushed. He gave me a knowing look and downed a shot of something. He licked his lips and saluted me with the glass. Fuming, I waited for my hero to return. Marking his territory! Why doesn’t he just pee on my leg? Ugh. Men!
The band picked up their instruments to play again, and I’m sure the fifteen people listening appreciated it as much as I did. Wow! I was completely blown away. The singers put their hearts into every song, and the drummer and guitar players were every bit as talented as any professional group I’d heard. Occasionally, they’d pause and work on some dance move or re-do a piece of a song that wasn’t exactly right. They had too much heart for this dive, but I guess everyone starts somewhere. One of the singers, the guy who gave me the look earlier, directed everything. I wondered how much Red Bull he slammed before the show. Taking his job as front man very seriously, he introduced the band as if they were performing in a packed arena.
Standing on a chair with a mic, he boomed, “How’s everyone doing tonight?” This was met with silence. I felt bad for him.
Undaunted, he continued, “We appreciate your hanging out with us! We are RockHard! And we’re going to party with you tonight! My name is Aiden, and this is the beautiful and talented Missy Devoux. Come on, people! Let’s do a shot!” People clapped and whooped weakly.
Each member of the band bowed and played up their introductions. I was impressed. They had spirit, for sure. Aiden was interesting to watch. He didn’t just sing the lyrics; he performed them. What was he doing here? He should be on Broadway.
Missy was covering Lady GaGa’s song Bad Romance. The power in her throaty voice was stunning. How did she get stuck in this dump? I looked over at Sean, and said, “Wow!”
Since he was watching the door the whole time, he missed the visuals, but he couldn’t miss the sound. He smiled at my enthusiasm and agreed with me. I was totally into a guitar solo when Sean tensed at the table, and whispered into my ear, “Don’t look. We’ve got company.”
“Where?” I swiveled in my chair to see what he was talking about.
Sean spun me back around, hissing, “Are you deaf? Go to the bathroom and wait for me. Try not to shoot anyone unless you’re really in trouble.” I bristled at his bossy tone but did as he ordered. We’d talk about this later.
The smell of urine slapped me in the face as soon as I opened the door. Gagging, I sucked in my breath. There’s no way I could stay in here for more than twenty seconds. That’s approximately how long I could hold my breath. Apparently functional plumbing wasn’t in the budget, and neither was Lysol. This place was disgusting. A minute later, the woman from the band joined me.
As way of greeting, she said simply, “This place is a hole.”
Wow, she was tiny. I was at least six inches taller than her, and I’m not very tall. Despite the freezing weather, she wore a long black skirt with ripped fishnet tights. The skirt was shredded and floated away from her whenever she moved. I was totally checking it out when she was performing. Underneath, she wore a pair of black cowboy boots. The heels on those boots gave her some illusion of height. At the moment, she was finger combing her hair in the mirror while checking me out from the corner of her eye. Seeming to make up her mind about something, she asked casually, “So, is that your man out there?”
Well, yes and no. Oh, he was mine all right. But he wasn’t technically a man. I didn’t think she’d understand so I just said yes and casually patted my purse. The shape of the gun was barely visible.
Unconcerned, she shrugged a shoulder, and said, “As soon as you came in here, some blond bitch pulled him outside. I thought you might want to know.”
Feigning a coolness I didn’t feel, I said, “Really? Thanks. By the way, your band is fabulous. What’s the name again?”
Her pretty face brightened at the compliment, and she gushed, “RockHard! Our name is RockHard!”
Chapter 21: Fear of Change