Secrets of the Demon Read online

  Complicated? Yeah, that pretty much described my life.

  I looked away, annoyed at myself for being . . . unsettled? Intimidated? I couldn’t really explain why, but I wasn’t comfortable keeping my attention on him. Or vice versa.

  I returned my attention to the stage. Lida Moran was the lead singer for Ether Madhouse as well as one hell of a guitar player. Her fingers flew over the strings as she threw herself around the stage with gusto, belting out something that might have been lyrics. I really couldn’t tell, but the crowd didn’t seem to care whether they understood what the words to the song were. She was good, though. I had to give her that. Nineteen years old, five foot ten, and with the kind of body that most of the guys I knew would dub “smokin’ hot,” she had a powerhouse voice that wowed everyone who heard her, whether they liked her style of music or not. The other three members of the band had some decent musical chops as well, though I wasn’t much of a judge of that sort of thing. But I could tell that they didn’t suck.

  “Isn’t she a little young for Zack?” I asked, casting a dubious glance at the singer. The purple streaks in her long, jet-black hair seemed to glow under the lights, and I could see the flash of metal from the numerous piercings in her ears, nose, and eyebrows. “How old is Zack anyway?”

  Ryan’s brow creased. “I have no idea. I guess late twenties or so? But don’t worry. He’s a fanboy, but that’s as far as he’d ever take it.”

  I caught a snatch of lyric through the driving beat. And the watchers on patrol / hunt the creatures in the night / until the demon eats your soul / and you have to leave the fight.

  “So, you’re the big bad demon summoner,” Ryan said. “Do you listen to this sort of music?”

  I shook my head. “Not in the slightest! Give me some Faith Hill or Carrie Underwood any day.”

  “Country music and demon summoning,” he said with a wince. “Now that’s cognitive dissonance.”

  The driving beat ended and the lights dimmed. Lida set her guitar aside and the band shifted to a slower, almost sultry number. I let my breath out in relief at the cessation of the pounding. “Last set,” I said with a nod toward the stage. “That’s what the threat said, right?”

  Ryan gave a nod, expression completely serious now. “See anything?” he asked. It was a twofold question. He was asking me if I saw anyone or anything suspicious, but he also wanted to know if I felt anything out of whack. Anything to do with the arcane.

  I shifted into othersight, then shook my head. “Nah, just the usual background buzz you’d expect . . .” I paused, feeling the brush of something. I scanned the crowd again, eyes narrowing. What the hell? “Hang on, I think there’s—”

  My words choked off as a strange resonance slammed into me. I felt a sharp stab of pain at the base of my skull, and then the lights went out.

  Chapter 2

  “Kara!” I felt hands gripping my upper arms and I blinked to clear my vision. Then the emergency lights flickered on and I abruptly realized that the lights really had gone out. I had no idea if I’d actually lost consciousness, but if so it couldn’t have been for more than a couple of seconds.

  “The stage,” I managed to gasp out through the dull pain that still throbbed in the back of my head. “Something’s after Lida.”

  Ryan didn’t seem to want to let go of me and I batted at his hands. “I’m fine! Go!”

  He released me, then turned and jumped off the platform and into the milling crowd below. Shrieks and protests rose in his wake as he ruthlessly shoved people out of his way, but my attention was on the stage and Lida. She still held her microphone, a faintly bewildered smile on her face as if she was expecting the stage lights to pop back on any second now. I started to clamber after him, then stopped as another wave of the odd resonance washed over me. I shifted back into othersight, gritting my teeth as the strange feel of the resonance seemed to multiply with the increased perception. But it was worth it. The creature that leaped onto the back of the stage practically glowed in othersight. Okay, so I was wrong about the arcane involvement! “Zack! Get to Lida!” I shouted, pointing at the whatever-the-hell-it-was.

  Zack snapped his head up to me, then quickly looked in the direction I was frantically gesturing. I shifted back out of othersight before another wave of resonance could flatten me, then watched in amazement as Zack made an incredible bounding leap onto the stage. In normal sight the creature looked like a vaguely man-shaped dark blob, and for a brief instant I was certain that Zack would be able to get to Lida before the thing did.

  But the creature was shockingly fast, and before Zack could even take one step toward the singer, the thing grabbed her and jumped back down off the stage. Lida screamed as it took off toward the back door, scattering people in its wake like bowling pins. Zack made another leaping bound and hit the floor at a dead run, but the thing was already through the door and into the alley. I caught a glimpse of Knight moving swiftly and smoothly, but in the opposite direction—toward the front.

  “Kara, what the hell is it?” Ryan yelled as he barreled through the crowd toward the back door.

  “I have no idea!” I yelled back over the rising din.

  Ryan burst through the back door, then took off down the alley after Zack. For about a tenth of a second I debated fighting my way through the crowd before quickly discarding the idea of running after them. Knight had the right idea. There was no way I’d be able to catch up to the agents. But then again, I wasn’t expected to do a lot of running anyway.

  There weren’t many people between me and the front door, and I made it around the building and to the alley in less time than it would have taken me to get through the crush of bodies on the dance floor. The odor of stale beer and fresh urine assailed me as I entered the alley, and even though it had rained the day before, I had enough self-preservation going on to be wary about stepping in any puddles. There was no sign of Knight, but I didn’t have time to worry about what he was or wasn’t doing. “Skalz!” I shouted, also sending a mental urging along the bindings that held the demon in my control. I felt an answering surge, easily sensing the demon’s excitement and barely restrained impatience. I’d told it to wait and hide on top of the building, not knowing if I would need to call on it. But the zhurn was bored and eager to join the chase. It needed no further encouragement.

  I looked up as an oily shifting darkness seemed to pour over the edge of the roof, then heard a snick as its wings snapped open and it sailed down. But instead of chasing after Ryan and Zack like I’d expected, it swooped straight down at me. Before I could even blink in surprise it grabbed me by the upper arms and shot straight back up into the air.

  I yelped in shock and my heart slammed in my chest as the demon skimmed the tops of the buildings—or rather my feet skimmed the tops. “A little higher, please?” I managed to gasp out, an unpleasant vision of my body ending up wrapped around an antenna that the demon hadn’t seen filling my head.

  The zhurn answered me with a growl that sounded like a stoking furnace, but it veered abruptly higher, causing me to clutch desperately at the claws holding me. I was more than a little surprised that the demon hadn’t broken my skin with those wicked claws. Wasn’t hurting me at all, in fact, other than scaring the absolute crap out of me. Yeah, I probably should have specified that I wanted the damn thing to chase whatever had taken the girl, I snarled at myself. But I had to admit that this was probably a better way to handle things. At least I’d be there at the end to control the demon.

  Skalz sent through the bindings. I looked down and saw the large figure running down Governor Nicholls Street with the screaming singer in its grasp—and being generally ignored by the few people in the area. This part of the French Quarter was far quieter and darker than the area closer to Bourbon Street, a ripe spot for muggers to prey on foolish tourists.

  Ryan and Zack were about a hundred feet behind the thing. They were running all out, but the creature was just as fast and staying ahead of them. I still
couldn’t figure out what the hell it was. It looked big and lumbering—except that it sure as hell wasn’t lumbering. As I watched from my superb vantage it crossed Decatur Street in two loping strides, then it raced past the French Market and toward the Moonwalk and the Mississippi River.

  What the hell? Is it going to throw her in the river? Dread shot through me. The Mississippi was over a mile across and full of vicious currents, and going into the river, even near the bank, could be deadly. At night it would be damn near impossible to find her if she went in.

  Ryan and Zack were beginning to close the distance, but I couldn’t see any way that the agents would be able to stop the creature before it reached the river.

  Skalz suddenly went into a steep dive, and I yelped and clutched tighter. We skimmed up over the levee and across the railroad tracks, then, in complete defiance of the laws of physics, the zhurn stopped dead about ten feet from the creature. I staggered briefly as the demon set me on my feet, and then I pulled my gun from the holster in the small of my back. I still couldn’t tell what the thing was. Its face looked crude and half-formed—small depressions where eyes would be and a lump for a nose—like a sculpture that hadn’t been finished.

  “Let her go!” I commanded as I took careful aim at its head, not even sure if it would understand what I was saying. I wasn’t even sure if it was something that was living at all. It glowed oddly in othersight, but it didn’t seem to have any aura, or feel about it of something that lived.

  I didn’t have a chance to wonder about it for long. The thing opened its mouth and gave a weird and soundless roar that vibrated through me, then it hoisted Lida high as if to throw her into the river. I gave a shout and started forward, but before I could take more than half a step a black oily blur struck the creature in the middle, sending both it and Lida into the water. Half a heartbeat later she and the creature disappeared beneath the roiling current.

  Chapter 3

  I frantically scanned the water as both Ryan and Zack pelted up alongside me. The miasma of the river surrounded me—a strange melding of mud and water and rot and the effluvia of every city upstream. It smelled a bit like death, and for the barest instant I felt the power beneath the muddy roiling surface—a deep and ancient force that had carved its way through a continent. I’d felt the barest touch of that raw elemental force once before, when I’d nearly died in the Kreeger River. But there was no comparing that trickle to this beast. There was no way I could tap the power of this river and survive.

  Fortunately, I had other means at my disposal. “Get her out!” I commanded the zhurn.

  But my order was unnecessary. Skalz had made a tight circle after tackling the pair and now made a silent dive into the water. Five heartbeats later it knifed back out of the river, with Lida in its grasp. It deposited her at my feet and then stepped back and melted into the shadow of a nearby wall so thoroughly that I could only see it because I knew to look for the two pinpricks of red light that were its partially closed eyes.

  Okay. Totally worth the effort to summon a demon to use as backup! My pulse slammed in relief now that disaster had been averted, and I sent an impression of thanks to the demon along the mental bindings. I crouched by the coughing and shaking girl. “Lida, are you hurt?”

  Ryan moved forward and handed me a small flashlight. I gave him a grateful smile and shined it quickly over her. Her makeup was streaked in chaotic patterns across her face and her hair was plastered to her skull in snaky tendrils, but I couldn’t see any obvious injuries. “Are you hurt?” I repeated.

  She shook her head. “No,” she gasped. “I . . . I don’t think so.” She looked up at me, eyes wide, and for an instant I could see beyond the crazy makeup and hair and piercings to the scared and uncertain teenager. “Wh- who was it? What happened?” She looked around in confusion. “How did I get out of the river? Oh my god, I thought I was dead for sure!”

  Crap. We were all quite obviously dry. “Another member of our team dragged you out,” Ryan said quickly. “He’s gone to see if we can find the, uh, guy who attacked you.”

  I had to hide a smile. Well, it was mostly true.

  “Team?” The confusion in her face increased. “Who are you?”

  “Police and FBI,” I explained. “Your manager contacted us about the death threats, so we were staking out the concert.”

  “Oh,” Lida said, her eyes wide and her voice small. “I didn’t take those seriously at all!” She gulped. “Wow. Good thing that Adam did.”

  Knight chose that instant to pull up to the levee in his unmarked. He left the lights in his car flashing, then headed our way at an unhurried pace.

  “I’m not much into running,” he told me in a low drawl, giving another of his sardonic smiles. To my surprise his eyes flicked to where Skalz was hiding in the shadows, and then back to me as he gave a low snort of amusement.

  Okay, so I didn’t run either.

  “There’s rumors of all sorts of tunnels in this area,” he continued as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, voice still low and casual. “Gutter rats supposedly use ’em to move around the city.” He shrugged. “Could be your bad boy ducked into one.”

  I gave him a slight nod. I’d ask Skalz as soon as I had the chance. I needed to get rid of all of these people around me first.

  Knight’s lips twitched. “How ’bout I get out of your way and go take care of those officers hoofing it this direction? And maybe Agent Garner can take Miss Lida over to one of those benches so she can have a chance to settle her nerves.”

  Okay, he was way too perceptive for me to be comfortable around him, though I couldn’t bitch since I did need a couple of minutes alone. Knight winked at me, then turned and walked back in the direction of Decatur Street, holding his badge up to neatly intercept two approaching NOPD officers.

  Zack took Lida’s hand and gave her a smile. “Can you walk, hon’?”

  “Yeah, I can walk,” she replied, taking a deep breath to steady herself as she took his hand. The scared teenager was gone, covered by the same confidence that she’d shown on stage. Except for the fact that she was soaking wet, I’d never have known she’d been thrown into the river. I couldn’t help but be a bit impressed. I hadn’t possessed even a tenth of that much poise when I was that age.

  “C’mon then,” he said, gently tugging her to her feet. “Let’s get you to where you can sit down more comfortably.” Her gait was still pretty unsteady as he led her away, and she leaned on him slightly for support.

  Okay, she’s still freaked out, but she knows how to cover it well. Then I saw her smile up at Zack and had to suppress a laugh. Or maybe she’s just trying to impress a cute guy. I didn’t miss that Zack returned the smile with a charming one of his own.

  I glanced over at Ryan. He wasn’t bothering to hide his grin. He also wasn’t even breathing hard which was personally annoying to me. If I’d sprinted nine blocks I’d be gasping for someone to call 911. “He’s a smooth one, isn’t he,” I remarked.

  “He has those teen idol looks,” he replied with a laugh. “The girls melt all over him.”

  “It’s good that he can keep her distracted,” I said, watching as Zack settled her on a bench about a hundred feet away. That was all the distance I needed.

  “I’ll go see if Knight needs any help,” Ryan said abruptly, then spun away and headed toward Knight before I could question why. But the reason hit me as he walked away. He didn’t want to be near the demon.

  I stepped toward the shadow where the zhurn lurked. “Skalz, what of her attacker?” I murmured.

  A tendril of shadow slid forward and I heard something fall at my feet with a wet plop. “I retrieved a portion of it.” It spoke in a voice like crackling flame. I frowned and crouched, shining the flashlight down at what looked like an oozing clod of clay. I glanced back up at the demon. “Mud? She was attacked by mud?”

  An odd noise came from Skalz as it straightened, and it took me about half a dozen heartbeats to realize
it was laughing. I scowled, getting the unnerving feeling that it was laughing at me. “What?” I demanded, feeling rather petulant.

  “It is a construct.”

  “A what?” I was missing something here.

  “A creature of inanimate matter given a semblance of life through arcane means.”

  “You mean like a golem or something?”

  “Yes,” it hissed. “A very similar creature. An arcane construct.”

  “Oh.” I looked again at the blob in front of me, trying to visualize it in man form. I didn’t know diddly squat about golems other than what I’d read in the occasional storybook. Time to do more research, I thought with a mental sigh. “Okay, well, was it destroyed when it went into the river?”

  “Such creations are durable, but it would likely sustain some damage,” it answered. “Feel. Look deeply.” Before I could move it seized my hand and plunged it into the depths of the yucky blob of mud.

  Gross! was my first thought, but an instant later I could sense what the demon was talking about. The resonance I’d felt earlier washed over me so heavily I could almost taste it. the demon sent along the mental bindings.

  Skalz released its grip on me and I stood up, shaking my hand to get the clinging mud off it and wishing I had something to wipe it off with. I’d remember that resonance though.

  I glanced quickly around. Zack still had Lida a good distance away, and facing the other direction as well. Ryan and Knight were down near the street and I didn’t see anyone else nearby. Now was as good a time as any to send the demon back to its own sphere.

  I drew in breath to begin the chant for the dismissal of the demon, then blew it right back out again in aggravation at the sound of more running footsteps. I looked back to see the keyboardist and bass player from the band hurrying over the railroad tracks toward us, along with Lida’s manager, Adam Taylor, huffing his way a few hundred yards behind them. I’d met Taylor earlier in the day during the planning for the stakeout, but I’d never met any of the others.