A Girl's Guide to Demon Hunting (23 page)

Chapter 47
"Stop, think and read the board."
                                     -Jenny

    As one, the Demons turned to stare at the front door, where Lokess stood, a set of keys in his hands. He looked different dressed in an immaculately tailored grey suit and his aura exuded power like a blast furnace. Without sparing me or Nick a single look he came to a stop about five feet in front of Peaches. As if on command, the Demons all took a step back and I saw fear cross their faces.
    “The terms of your contract have been met, Allie is now free of any hold you had on her. Do you agree?”
    “Yes.” Peaches whispered.
    “Excellent.” Turning to Nick he said, “Get her out of here.”
    Nick didn’t hesitate once he was free from his chains. Running to my side he quickly wrapped my arm around his neck and dragged me to my feet. The pain in my back was intense as we walked to the front door.
    “Now, I want to know which one of you has my missing Guardian…” Lokess said as the doors closed behind us.
    Once outside I was pulled from Nick and for the third time today, I found myself being pushed to the ground. This time I had enough sense to keep my head from slamming into the sidewalk. I screamed as whoever was on me dug their knees into my back, my wounds erupting in fire.
   “Stop, you’re hurting her!” I heard Nick shout from somewhere behind me.
    I then realized who this new group was. Crisp dark blue suits, polished (and very expensive) shoes with a high shine. Palace Guards; the elite Guardian forces. How the hell could this day get any worse?
    Suddenly the weight was gone and a new set of hands was on me; a gentler touch. “Back off!” Barked a deep raspy voice behind me, “We have this one.”
    As if they knew the pain in my back, the hands let go and left me where I was on the ground.
    Struggling to stay conscious, I saw the feet of the new Guards next to me. The shoes…they were different. One set of black motorcycle boots, a pair of tan hiking boots next to them. It was the first glimmer of good I felt today.
    “We’ve got you Wonderkid.” Came the voice as I felt myself being lifted gently from the ground and I finally felt something I thought I never would again: I felt safe. I let the world fade away.

Chapter 48
Tip 56: Hairspray and a lighter is the best Demon mace there is.

    Opening my eyes, I squinted against the bright lights and tried to tug the covers over my head. I found my hand wouldn’t move, like it was being weighed down. Figuring that maybe this was bad, I decided to brave the light again. Opening my eyes again, I saw that I was on my stomach on a bed, a large window took up the wall on my right, light grey curtains were drawn closed. Remembering my hand, I tried to push myself up on my elbows only to have pain shoot from my shoulder blades. I let out a low groan as tears flooded my eyes.
    “Thank God you’re awake.” Max said.
    The weight was gone from my hand and I caught a flash of movement as he moved around the bed so I could see him. Kneeling next to the bed, he gently brushed the hair out of my face.
    “What...” I croaked.
    “You’re still healing. Jarvis said it’s best if you try not to move.”
    Like he had to tell me that; my back was screaming in pain. Very, very slowly I laid my head back down and the pain eased to a dull ache as a gentle warmth settled over me. Closing my eyes again, I faded back into the darkness.
    “Ahhh, there you are. That’s it, keep listening to the sound of my voice. It’s time to wake up. If you open your eyes for me, I’ll let you punch someone. You’d like to do that wouldn’t you?”
    Why was some guy trying to get me to punch someone? Curious, I tried to do as he said and open my eyes. It took a couple of tries but I finally succeeded.
    “See? I knew you could do it.”
    A small man was kneeling at my bedside, fuzzy grey hair standing up all over his head.
    “Who are you?” I croaked.
    Giving me a warm smile, he held a pale green cup to my lips. I tasted cool water and eagerly drank it down. I don’t think I’d ever been so thirsty.
    “No, not too much or you’ll vomit and since I’d have to clean it up, I’d rather you not.”    Taking the cup away, he put it on the nightstand next to me. He fiddled with a plastic tube that was running into the back of my hand and a second later I felt a coolness spreading up my arm.
    “What did you do?” I asked.
    “It’s to help you sleep. You’re not quite healed and right now your rest is more important than Max or his father’s desire to speak to you.”
    “I was sleeping, why did you wake me up? His dad’s here?” I was still pretty out of it.
    “Because I needed to speak to you alone and Max hasn’t left your side since you were brought in. I don’t have much time before he comes back or before you fall back asleep. First off, my name is Dr. Jarvis Pond but you can call me Jarvis. Secondly, you’ve suffered a rather nasty and complicated wound. Lastly, Father Henry says hello.”
    “What?” I asked, feeling completely confused. The last thing I remembered was walking into the café. Then something awful but I couldn’t remember what.
    Jarvis cocked his head to the side like Pancake does when she’s curious about something and gave me a searching look.
   “Hmm; well, a little amnesia can be expected at this point. But no real head trauma, I’m sure it’ll come back.”
    It felt like my brain had been replaced with Jello as I tried to follow the conversation. What the hell was going on? And why couldn’t I remember anything? While I tried to put together what happened, Jarvis went around checking all the machines that were in the room; some beeped and some just sat there looking creepy and intimidating.
    I’m not a fan of hospitals, not after mom. Done checking all the machines, he took out a little notepad from the pocket of his white coat and wrote something down. Putting it back, he gave me another bright smile and walked out the door just as sleep pulled me back under.

      Blinking against the harsh light, I tried to focus my eyes.
I was in the hospital? It didn’t look like a regular hospital room. It was nicer. There was a long wooden dresser across the room and hoping clothes were inside, I slipped off the bed and took a step toward it. I immediately stopped when I felt a tug on the back of my hand. An IV tube was threaded underneath the cuff on my left wrist and imbedded in the back of my hand. It took a moment but a memory of Max and these cuffs surfaced from the black hole of my head. 

    There was something there, some reason I was angry about the cuffs but what? Suspecting Max was the one with the answers I took a deep breath and pulled the IV out of my hand. I gave myself a once-over to make sure I wasn’t attached to anything else.
    With careful, measured steps I made it to the dresser. Opening the first drawer, I found a small stack with men’s T-shirts. Taking a grey one out I went to the next drawer and pulled out a pair of black fleece pajama bottoms. While I wouldn’t win any fashion awards with the ensemble at least I’d be out of a hospital gown. Tugging at the strings on the gown, I let it fall to the ground.
    I gasped as I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. I twisted around until I could see my back,  two long red scars ran parallel down my spine. Reaching back, I brushed the tops of the scars with my fingertips. There was a slight burn but nothing more. Betrayer scars.
    The memories were in there somewhere but still foggy:
I know something terrible happened.
How long have I been asleep?
    A mix of worry and confusion swirled in me as I got dressed. A part of me wanted to climb back into bed and sleep for another few days but I needed to make sure my friends were okay and I couldn’t do that with my ass hanging out of a hospital gown.
    The pants made it on easily but the shirt was whole other matter. Just the act of getting it over my head was exhausting. Max’s clean scent hung in the air around me as I rolled up the cuffs of the pants. I felt strange as I realized I was wearing Max’s clothes, as if I was trespassing somehow and why did it matter anyway? Clothes were clothes. 
    Well this explains..nothing? I thought, as I opened my door and found myself standing in the middle of a living room three times the size of my little apartment. A large brown leather couch sat in the middle facing a really big flat screen TV. Two paintings that looked like someone let a three year old loose with red and yellow spray paint took up most of one wall.
   The other wall had two doors side by side. Feeling a little like I was Alice and I’d just fell down the rabbit hole, I went to the first door. An empty closet. Okay, on to door two. Great, a hallway. Using the wall for support, I slowly walked down the hall, my bare feet sinking into the soft carpet.
    I counted three doors on either side of me, the muffled sound of people talking drifted down the hallway. Okay well at least I wasn’t alone with the crazy doctor. Remembering the doctor, I paused as our conversation replayed in my head. He’d said Max was here. But where? And Father Henry; he said hi? If Father H was here, why didn’t he just come say hello himself? My mind was still pretty jumbled and I didn’t like it, not one bit. I was sure of one thing: if Father Henry was here I had to find him. With a clear purpose in mind I pushed away from the wall and walked to the last door, the one with the voices on the other side.
    I entered and found myself in the middle of a small room about the size of my bedroom. The voices I’d heard were coming from a set of speakers sitting on top of a long desk. Five flat screen monitors lined the wall above the desk, which had a keyboard. I sat down in the chair and seeing a mouse, I moved it, causing the screens to come to life.
    On one screen was Nick, who was sporting a nasty black eye. Max and Ace sat with him. Ace had a bandage on his right hand and the combination of his injury with Nick’s I was pretty sure Ace had broken a few knuckles on Nick’s face. Then it was all there; I knew what had happened. I stepped into the café and the last bits of my life fell apart. All deals were off. And I remembered the cuffs. That last one explained the pain; I’d been slashed with no power to protect me.
Ok, so I know where I was. Now where the hell am I and how did I get here?
    I remembered waking up more than once to find Max by my side, the warmth of his shield. I was drawling a blank at Father Henry. Closing my eyes I replayed what Jarvis said again. I felt a weight lift off my chest as my head cleared. He wasn't here, he'd never been here. Father H had used Jarvis to pass a message to me. He, mom and Mary were okay. This also meant Jarvis was someone I could trust. Feeling better I focused back on the monitor.
    Sitting at the table across from Max and Ace was an older couple. I'd never seen either before but if I had to guess I’d say it was their parents. She and Nick shared the same coloring and build. Max and the man both had the same dark hair and blue eyes. Clicking on the back button, the screen blinked a few times and the speakers went silent. It took a few seconds but finally I was able to watch.
    “You can’t possibly be entertaining their demand?” Max asked, looking at the man I assumed was his father.
    “What choice do we have?” he said, “The ransom note was very specific. They want a trade.”
    “Since when do we negotiate with Demons, especially kidnapping Demons?”
    “Since your brother decided to marry her. She’s your future sister-in-law.” The woman said, her voice icy.
    “That’s bullshit. You can’t do this. There has to be another way.” Max said, pushing away from the table. I watched in astonishment as Ace grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back in his seat. Leaning close to him he whispered something. Whatever it was it seemed to calm Max enough to keep him there.
    “You’re sure it’s Peaches who has her?” the man asked Ace.
    “There‘s no such thing as sure, sir. This has all the hallmarks of something Peaches would do. From the information Jenny’s collected over the years we know that Peaches values her position over all else. She will use any means necessary to maintain this even if it means defying you and killing Allie. Peaches is our best guess.”
    “If she wants power then why not request me in the trade instead of this Allie?”
Max, having calmed down, answered him. “It’s not about power in the traditional sense. She wants the world to know she can control you. That she can take Julie and kill Allie while we just sit here on our hands, doing nothing. She’s counting on us fearing for your safety and playing by her rules.” 
    “It doesn’t matter why,” Nick said, “let's just go capture her and if she doesn’t tell us where Julie is, I start removing limbs.” 
    The woman stood up and turned on Nick. There was a dangerous look in her eye, the kind of look I’d seen on the Nature Channel when a momma bear’s cubs were in danger.
    “No, you will not and that’s an order. You’re my child and I don’t care how old you are or how much you’ve screwed up. I will do everything in my power to protect you, even if it means locking you up.”
   
    Nick was seething although there still seemed a line of respect there. “And I will do everything to protect Julie!"
    Ace looked like he was going to say something but at that point a shouting match began between Max and Nick and their parents. Their voices were so loud I had to turn the volume down unless I wanted to go deaf. This must have been a common occurrence as no one but Ace seemed surprised.
    My attention was pulled away from the argument as the door to the room opened. Jenny carrying a tray of steaming mugs of coffee came in, Sam following behind her. Jenny set hers on the table and ignoring the arguing, she placed the mugs on her tray in front of Nick and his parents. Sam stood behind Max and Ace, waiting for everyone to calm down. She finally put two fingers to her lips and let out a piercing whistle. Silence fell in the room and everyone turned to her and sat down. 
    “The gala will be packed with humans and Demons alike. According to Ace this is a typical move of Peaches, she uses the humans as a shield; a sort of protection against both Demon and Guardian attacks. Tonight should be no different. Which means our first move should be to get the humans out. We have the upper hand here. We know what Peaches is most likely to do and while we know her moves she doesn’t know ours. She’s going to be anticipating Allie’s actions.”
      “So what would Allie do?” Nick asked, taking a drink of his coffee.
    Jenny stepped forward to answer. “She wouldn’t endanger the humans or any of you for that matter. She would go in alone and make the trade. Peaches knows this and therefore won’t be expecting an ambush. Shooter can have us covered from above and Ace and I can get the humans out, eliminating her shields and forcing her to either fight or flee. Her guards may put up a fight but not Peaches, she’ll run."
    “I’m not comfortable with this.” The man said. “I will go and make a deal with Peaches. I won’t allow any of you to be put in danger.”
    “I figured you’d say that.” Max said, getting to his feet.
    A soft knock came from the door and Jenny opened it. Shooter stood in the doorway, his face flushed. He carried his silver tranquilizer gun. “We’re clear.” He told Max.
   “And Allie?” Jenny asked.
   “Lokess took care of her. She’ll be fine”
   “The clock is ticking people.” Jenny said and walked from the room.
   Ace and Sam left right behind her, leaving Max alone with his brother and parents. I felt a little bad for him when I saw the anger on their faces, until I looked closer. Eyes drooping, they were having trouble staying upright in their chairs.
    Nick looked at Max, slurring his words he asked, “What have you done?”
    “Hopefully saved your lives.”
    I watched until Max left the room, locking the door behind him. The others made attempts to follow but seemed to lack the strength to even rise from their seats. He had a pair, I’d give him that. I wasn’t sure I would drug my own family. Pausing the video, I got to my feet and tried to think of what to do. Shooter had said Lokess “took care of me.” Then why was I awake?
    Leaving the monitor room, I wandered the big house until I found him. He was in the kitchen, calmly sitting at a table, a cup of coffee in front of him.  Guardians seemed to like their coffee.
    “Welcome back to the living.” Lokess said, turning his cold black eyes on me.
    “Thanks. So I’m guessing you didn’t do what they asked.” I said, sitting down on the stool next to him.
    “Can’t pull one over on you, can I?”
    “Why?” I asked, ignoring his sarcasm.
    “Because I believe it is possible you may be the difference between victory and defeat in this matter. I also believe in giving people options and this is yours.” Sliding the coffee in front of me, I looked at it for a moment and remembering the video, understood.
    “I’m not drinking it.” I told him, pushing it back towards him. “I’m going to help.”
    Saying it solidified it in my mind and I itched to catch up with my friends.
   "You’re actually going to trade yourself for Julie?”
    “I-I guess.”
    At my stumbling answer his eyebrow raised, disappearing in his among his hair.
    “You had better be certain. Once Peaches sinks her claws in you she’s not going to let go; at least not until she gets whatever it is she’s after.”
    “I’m counting on it.”
    A look of understanding passed between us.
    “Tell me something. In the café why did the Demons fear you and why were you concerned about my contracts with them?"
    He dark eyes settled on mine. "I was wondering how long it'd take you to ask that. Nick didn't even catch it." He said a note of respect in his voice. "I've been watching your progress here in Vegas since you first arrived. In fact I'm the only one whose been watching. Nothing about you being here, surviving in Vegas makes sense. You should have been killed your first week. But you weren't, you kept fighting. Eventually there was a slight change to Father Henry's reports and I gathered you'd done something to lessen the direct threat against you. I just didn't know what until I came here and Nick decided to go after those Demons. When I learned of the contract you made, I knew the only way to free you from it was for you to betray the Demons. So I manipulated Nick and Max until I got the result I intended. The marking of course was not my intention. About the Demons fearing me, we all have a past Allie, mine is just a little more violent than most." 
     "Why me? Why go to all this trouble?"
    "The short answer is because a war is coming Allie and I want you on our side."
    "And the long answer?" I asked.
    "Is exactly that, long and we don't have time for it now
but
I will tell you. One day. For now just concentrate on the task at hand."
   I'd been so wrapped up in what he'd said and the thousands of questions I wanted to ask that I completely forgot about Julie and more importantly my friends. Locking everything he'd just told me away for another day,  I pushed the coffee cup closer to him.
    “Drink your coffee, Lokess.”
    “Perhaps I should come with you. I am rather formidable.”
    “You’re not a complete ass, are you?” I said with a smile, “Your coffee’s getting cold and I think you're going to be needed here, to explain things when everyone wakes up.”
    He emptied the cup in a single gulp, then pulled a pair of keys from his coat pocket and tossed them to me.
    “Take this.” he said sliding a single silver ring across the counter. “It’s Julie’s, just in case she wants proof you are in fact one of us. Through that door you’ll find a black sports car, everything you need is inside. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find a bed.”
    I watched him walk out of the kitchen and when I knew he was gone, I went through the door and found a row of six cars.
    A sleek looking black sports car sat directly in the middle. Flipping the switch for the garage door, I walked to the car while it rattled open. As I opened the car door I was caught off guard by the black and white blur that flew at me from the passenger seat. I managed to catch her in midair. I held on tight as Pancake licked my face and I took just the one moment to be truly happy.