Demonicus (Overworld Underground Book 2) (6 page)

"Would you like to join us again tomorrow?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, I have my day job to attend."

"After your performance with Franco, I'm convinced you could join the Custodians full time."

"Full time?" I wasn't sure I wanted to hunt supernatural criminals all the time. "I might have a useful talent, but I can't fight, and I'm not nearly as strong as you or Mr. Sticks."

"We are not born preternaturally strong. It is a blessing given to us by the Templar Divinity."

My interest piqued. "There's a divine being who rules the Templars?"

"Perhaps." He looked toward the setting sun. "The Synod—the leading council—are the only Templars who are allowed to personally meet her. She may be myth, but the enhanced abilities are very real."

"No wonder the Templars are so efficient. A goddess looks over them." I smiled. "Perhaps that's why I sense a brilliant white ember burning at the center of most Templars. Only the wizards are different. They possess the brilliance, but it's different somehow."

"Can you touch this ember as you do with the vampires?"

I shrugged. "Perhaps. I haven't tried."

George pursed his lips. "I think we should test the extent of your abilities. I've never encountered anything like them."

"I suppose I could be a lab rat, just don't poke me with needles."

He flashed a smile. "Think about my offer to join the Custodians. The hours are long, but the pay and benefits are quite decent."

"Would I get supernatural strength?"

"Perhaps. I'd want to be sure it wouldn't interfere with your innate ability." He pressed a button. My door opened and a ramp extended over the railing to the balcony. "Have a pleasant evening, Miss Glass."

Once I was safely deposited, the door closed, leaving only a faint blur in my vision due to the car's camouflage. I entered the unlocked balcony door and froze in shock.

A strange man sitting on the couch in the den smirked back at me.

Chapter 5

"Tyler?" I called out his name, praying he was here.

The man stood. "He's not in. Do you know where he is?"

I reached into my purse for the phone. "Who are you and what are you doing in Tyler's condo?"

"I'm an old friend of…
Tyler's
." He ran a hand through thinning brown hair with a lanky arm. I wondered if he might be someone Hugo knew before he died and Tyler possessed his body. Even so, that didn't explain one thing. "How did you get in here?"

"You ask a lot of questions." He stepped forward. "Who are
you
and how did you get in here?" He looked toward the balcony. "I looked out there earlier and nobody was there."

Keeping my phone out of sight behind the counter, I sent Tyler a text.
Help! Stranger danger in your condo!

His response came almost immediately.
Joe is dropping me off now. Be right up
.

I only had to delay this man for a moment longer.

"I know why Tyler keeps you around." He stared at me and licked his lips. "You look delicious."

"Sadly, I can't say the same about you." I eased open a drawer in the kitchen island and removed a gun Tyler kept there, careful to keep it hidden behind the backsplash. I flicked off the safety and took a deep breath to steady my nerves. "Once again, who are you and what do you want?"

A feral smile curled his lips and he walked toward me. "Perhaps
Tyler
wouldn't mind me snacking on you while I wait."

"He most definitely would." I raised the gun and aimed it at his chest. "And so would I."

He glanced at the gun as if it were a mere inconvenience. "Oh, you enjoy playing rough, do you, Emily?"

The revelation that he knew my name shook me. I gripped the gun with both hands to steady my grip. "I'll shoot your balls into oblivion if you come a step closer."

He laughed. "I'll live."

It suddenly occurred to me this man might not be normal. He could be a vampire. I opened my senses and almost immediately tasted foul burning air and a nauseating aura. It reminded me of the blood bank.

"You're a demon."

He jolted to a stop, eyebrows rising. "How could you possibly know that?" He flashed his teeth. "You're just as smart as a whip, aren't you?" Without further warning, he blurred toward me. I fired the gun. The man howled in pain and flopped to the floor, holding his knee.

I was about to fire more shots into him when the front door flew open and Tyler flashed through. He looked from me to the man on the floor. "Are you okay, babe?"

Relief flooded into me. I ran to him and hugged him tight. "He's possessed, Tyler."

Alarm flickered through his eyes. He kissed my forehead and walked to the screaming man. Without a word, he gripped the front of his shirt and jerked him off the floor. "Who the hell are you?"

Gritting his teeth and smiling, the man said, "It's good to see you again,
Grimsvokull
."

Tyler dropped the man with a thud, eliciting a grunt of pain. Eyes fierce, Tyler looked down at him. "Xasha?"

A laugh burst from the man. "Barboar. You must have lost your demonic senses, Grim."

Tyler shook his head and backed away. "Why are you here? How did you find me?"

"Oh, you were easy enough to find. Vatna just happened to be locked in a nearby cage before the Exorcists tried to send you back to Haedaemos." Grimacing, he sat up. "He saw the little trick with the soulstone and knew you weren't done."

"How did Vatna know it was me?"

"Who else has such a green glow as you, Grim?" He spat on the floor. "You and your lovely appearance and petite odor? Vatna found us the moment he was sent back to Haedaemos and told us what he'd seen."

Tyler knelt over the downed man. "He didn't know my mortal name."

"Oh, but you're a famous mortal, aren't you, precious?" He pulled a scrap of newspaper from his pocket and held up a picture. "Tyler Rock, boy millionaire."

"Fine, you found me, Barboar. I want to know why."

As they spoke, I walked behind the possessed man, ready to use the gun if he tried anything else. Unlike the pleasant heat in Tyler's aura, this demon smelled like burnt eggs. His mere presence nearly made me gag. As I closed to within a couple of feet, something flashed before my inner eye.

"Why not?" Barboar said. "You used to be a lot of fun until you turned against us."

"I didn't turn against you; I decided I was done destroying the lives of mortals."

"Bah! Mortals are nothing but cattle." His lips curled into a snarl. "Little Grimmy. The demon who cared."

I concentrated on the demon, trying to focus on the hazy image in my mind, but couldn't quite see it. Against my better judgment, I reached out a tentative finger while the possessed man was looking at Tyler and touched him.

The vision sharpened into a pattern. A word echoed through my head.
Barboarklistlsvang
. The pronunciation was bizarre, with an accent on the first and last syllables and a slight pause in the middle, almost like a chant.

"So you
do
want to play," Barboar said, looking at me.

I jerked my finger back and wiped it on the floor with disgust. "I'd rather eat a roach."

Already, the pattern was fading from my mind's eye. The name, however, was burned into memory. I looked at Tyler and wondered why I'd never sensed a pattern or a name from him.

"Maybe I'll drop you off at the Exorcists' church," Tyler said.

"I'm sure you'd like that," Barboar said. "But you know you wouldn't dare go near one yourself."

I abruptly thought of something and sent a quick text.

Tyler stood and paced. "I'd kill your body, but that would be murdering an innocent human."

"This man is hardly innocent." Barboar laughed with glee. "He's already raped two women and was thinking of killing the next one." He rubbed his hands together. "I might just sit back and let him do that while I watch."

It took all my willpower not to shoot him in the head.

"Who else is back?"

"All of us, Grimmy." Barboar licked blood from his fingers and groaned with pleasure. "I'd like to possess a vampire again. They're so carnal." He groaned and shivered. "Xasha, Vatna, and Eyja will be so happy and surprised to know I've found you."

A gust of wind blew past as the sliding glass door opened. George Walker stepped inside. "I got your message, Miss Glass." He looked at the wounded man. "Is this the demon?"

"An Exorcist?" Barboar climbed to his feet rather nimbly for a man with a gunshot wound to his lower thigh.

"I'm a Custodian." George aimed a wrist-mounted lancer at the demon. "But I'll be happy to get you to the proper authorities."

"Sorry, not interested." Barboar burst into insane laughter and reached into his pants. Grinning lewdly, he fondled his privates then withdrew his hand.

I saw something green and round in his hand. In an instant, I knew what it was.
A grenade!
His finger reached for the pin. Without thinking I pulled the trigger on the gun. A shot rang out and blood splashed from the other side of his head. Barboar's host thudded to the ground. The grenade rolled from his limp grasp and bumped against George's shoe. Sullen yellow mist filtered from the dead man's eyes and vanished into the floor.

Tyler stared at the unarmed grenade, fury burning in his eyes. "He came here just to kill me for the fun of it."

George turned his gaze to me. "Quick thinking, Miss Glass, though I'd already hit him with a lancer dart."

I looked at a silver dart protruding from the dead man's chest. With trembling hands, I placed the gun on the counter. "It was a reflex. I couldn't let him kill us."

Tyler wrapped me in his warm embrace. "It's okay, baby. I'm proud of you."

I felt no shame pressing my face to his chest and wishing the dreadful scene to go away.

George intruded on my fantasy. "Unfortunately, without a proper exorcism, the demon will be able to return in a matter of weeks, perhaps days."

"Getting rid of him wouldn't solve my problem," Tyler said. "All four of my former acquaintances are back." He looked at the corpse. "Well, three of them are still here."

"Judging from what he said earlier, I don't think they know he located you." I sucked in a breath and pulled away from him. "We need to track down each and every one of them."

"I can deliver them to the Exorcists," George said. "That should remove them from Eden for quite some time."

"But not permanently." Tyler slammed a fist on the counter. "There's only one way to get rid of them for good."

"Devouring their souls?" I said.

He waggled his hand in a so-so motion. "I don't know for sure if that works." Tyler made a face. "The other way is just as impossible. I'd have to find someone who knows a ritual of Abyssal banishment."

"I'm certain one of our Arcanes could do that," George said. "But wouldn't you need the demon's true name?"

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "Banishment is one thing, but I want them sent into the Abyss. That's the only way to guarantee they'll never escape."

"Unfortunately, demons are not my specialty." George picked up the grenade and examined it. "I certainly hope your other acquaintances don't attack you with explosives."

"Something happened when I touched Barboar."

Tyler and George flicked their eyes my way.

"I saw a pattern and heard a name." Though I couldn't remember the pattern, I did remember the name and the precise pronunciation. "Barboarklistlsvang."

Tyler's mouth dropped open. "You sensed his true name?"

"I believe so." I tilted my head slightly. "If you ask me how, I won't be able to answer. I've never sensed any such thing from you."

George's eyebrows rose. "Impressive, Miss Glass. Your talent goes deeper than I could have imagined." He held up a finger. "We must use utmost caution, however. If people were to discover your unique abilities, you could become a target."

"I assumed that's why you didn't call me by name with Franco."

"Franco?" Tyler looked back and forth. "What are you talking about?"

I told him about my interrogation of the vampire.

"Well, sounds like you're becoming a supernatural detective." He looked at George. "I don't like knowing she was exposed to a dangerous vampire."

"Do you really think I could be in danger surrounded by Templars?" I gave him an exasperated look.

Tyler deflated. "I'm sorry. I love you, Em, and I don't want to lose you."

I suddenly felt awful.

George piled on. "It is a valid consideration, Miss Glass."

I threw up my hands. "Well, I'm sorry for pretending I'm a grown up."

Tyler chuckled.

George went to the balcony and returned with a slick shiny body bag. "If you'd be so kind, Mr. Rock."

The two of them lifted the corpse while I placed the body bag beneath it.

I heard a ding and looked toward the front door. It still hung ajar from Tyler's abrupt entrance. "Good lord, someone's coming up the lift!"

George quickly grabbed the body bag and took it outside. Tyler grabbed a nearby rug and dropped it over the puddle of blood on the floor. I rushed toward the entrance just as the lift doors slid open to reveal a police officer.

"May I help you?" I asked him.

He nodded in greeting. "Ma'am, we received reports of gunshots from several people downstairs. I just wanted to come up here and make sure everything was okay."

"Gunshots?" I pressed a hand to my heart. "I thought that noise was fireworks or something from outside."

He took out a notepad. "Describe what you heard."

"Well, I heard a loud popping noise. You don't know where it came from?"

"There are thirty tenants in the units on the floor below and I have a lot of people to interview." He shrugged. "If you hear anything else, let me know."

Tyler came out of the kitchen with a drink in his hand. "I'm sorry, did someone say something about gunshots?"

The officer's radio hissed and someone spoke. "One eighty-two officer on the scene?"

He turned away and spoke into the mic. "One eighty-five Rogers."