Good Intentions 3: Personal Demons (44 page)

Evelyn’s eyebrow rose. “I suppose so.” He didn’t take her question as a hint that she had a better idea, and in truth, she didn’t want to offer one. She hoped instead he might think of one on his own. It was important to let mortals hang themselves.

The ostensible team leader pulled an old, beat-up pocket watch from his jacket. He stepped up onto the desk chair to hang the watch by its chain from an overhead sprinkler, then opened it and murmured the words to his spell. Evelyn watched calmly as Aaron pushed the red arm that counted seconds back three spots. He did so three times, concentrating for each. The spell would not actually turn back time. Not even their demonic tutor could do such a thing. Yet those who engaged with the spell would enjoy a slight edge in speed. For work such as this, every fraction of a second could be critical.

Aaron turned back toward the window. Dutch had already quieted the room with a spell to dampen the inevitable racket of their guns.

Behind their backs, Evelyn shook her head. “All this magical preparation, yet you choose those silly toys for the final blow.”

“What can I say?” Aaron shrugged. “Magic is great, but sometimes it’s nice to know you can do things the American way.”

* * *

“This better be urgent, Roger,” Leon fumed. He stood at the back end of Coot’s semi-trailer with his phone to his ear and a scowl on his face. The alleyway offered barely enough room for the vehicle. His guys already had the front desk and manager’s office under control with the help of some nap-inducing magic. The freight entrance was open. As soon as the freight elevator was down on their level, he could open up the trailer. He didn’t need distracting calls from back at the compound at a time like this.

“Boss, something’s going on with the summoning circle,” warned the voice over the phone.

“What do you mean? Did it go cold?”

“No, that’s what makes it so weird.” Roger’s heavy breath carried through the line along with the soft crunch of packed snow under his feet. “I wouldn’t have called you if it went out on us. We could fix that. It’s still sittin’ here like a campfire with the wood mostly burnt out like it has all along. Only we hear screams now, boss. Lots of screams.”

A sharp whistle drew Leon’s attention to the loading dock. One of his guys appeared down the hallway and waved the all-clear. Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Roger, you know that portal goes someplace unpleasant, right?”

“No, it ain’t those kinda screams. Tammy heard those right from the start. Said they were faint. Distant. This shit’s louder, angrier. Sometimes we hear crashing or booming noises, too. It sounds kinda distant still, but it’s worrisome, y’know?”

Strange as that sounded, Leon knew everything about such dealings would be strange. Maybe the summoning circle changed character over time. Maybe this sort of shift happened once the sun went down. Funny little things happened with magic all the time.

He had to concede this could be more serious, too, but he couldn’t do much about it. Evelyn and Aaron were already moving into position. He didn’t want to call them when they might be in the middle of who knew what over there. Buzzing someone’s cell phone while they set up a hit wasn’t exactly smooth.

“Okay, keep an eye on it but don’t do nothin’. I can’t ask Evelyn right now ‘cause she’s not by the phone and we’re about to be real busy here. This shouldn’t take too long. I’ll call you when I can.”

“You want us to record this so you can hear it when you get back?”

“Sure, Roger. Sure. Maybe keep a written log or something. I’m out.” He hung up the phone and grumbled, “Whatever keeps you busy.”

Leon took one last look up and down the alley before throwing off the latches on the big trailer. A faint trace of smoke spilled out from under the door while Leon got his fingers underneath. He shoved the sliding door open with a grunt, sending it rolling up and out of the way.

Normally, the lights came on inside Coot’s trailer when the door opened up. This time, Leon saw only shadows pierced by pairs of dimly glowing red and yellow eyes.

“The FBI has jurisdiction over threats to national security, and this mess sure sounds like it qualifies,” said Amber. She sank back down onto the couch corner with her plate and her glass of soda. “Also organized crime, which according to the RICO Act is six or more people with an organized structure engaged in crime, so that counts. Also any number of other Federal crimes like certain firearms violations.” She sprinkled parmesan cheese from a small plastic container over her pizza. “And kidnapping, which your, um, bird visions allege. Let’s not dwell on how admissible that little detail will be in court,” she grumbled. “Oh, and transnational crimes. Those apply here, too.”

Sitting on the couch adjacent to Amber’s, Taylor watched and listened curiously. Most of the others were still back behind the kitchen counter claiming their dinner from the delivery boxes. Apparently, they’d all had “the talk” with Amber before.

On the other side of the living room, rain fell against the sliding glass balcony door. The world had grown dark, as had the tall buildings across the street. Hours had passed since Lorelei’s last call. Nothing further came from Alex—no calls, no texts, no email. All anyone could do now was wait and try to keep their spirits up, hence the pizza and little chores like secrecy agreements with the FBI.

“Transnational?” asked Taylor.

“Yep. Like summoning demons.”

“That’s a crime?”

“It sounds like they didn't go through customs, so, yeah.” Amber shrugged at Taylor's disbelief. “Hey, magic isn't against the law. It's not recognized by the government at all, so it's totally unregulated, right? No law against being a werewolf or a vampire or a witch. But what you
do
with all that is absolutely subject to Federal, state, and local jurisdiction. Cross all the dimensions you want, but if you're crossing over into this country, you better have a valid passport.” She paused. “Or a NEXUS card or whatever if you're from Canada. We like Canadians.”

“And Rachel and Lorelei?” Taylor asked. “Are they transnationals?”

“Yeah. Funny story,” said Amber with a frown. “All that crazy stuff out here last fall? That was all a big deal with my task force. Like, a really big deal. Tons of case files closed because of all the bad guys you put down. But everyone aside from my task force remembers Lorelei and Rachel as ‘undesignated individuals.’ Words like ‘angel’ and ‘demon’ kinda disappeared from reports. Some files got lost altogether. In fact you can barely find Rachel’s name at all. As for Lorelei, she’s officially a protected witness. Like all the rest of you.”

“Protected?”

“From criminal prosecution, which is another reason why I need you to sign the form,” the agent said with a quick smile. “That’s the deal. Look, all this supernatural stuff my task force deals with is a national security headache. Nobody wants a panic or the societal upheaval we’d see if it all came out in the open. I’d feel much better if I could persuade you to sign out of an interest in public safety and national stability and not having literal witch-hunts all over America. But I’d be dishonest if I didn’t tell you the bottom line: you agree to keep all this a secret, and in exchange you’re granted immunity from prosecution for all the crazy you’ve been involved in. Or will be involved in if you’re, y’know, still on the side of the angels so to speak.”

Taylor bit her lip. Amid the pizza, breadsticks and drinks sat a typed document with an FBI letterhead and a blank signature line at the bottom. A stamp at the top read, “Top Secret.”

“And as far as this mess goes,” Amber went on, pulling back the slice of pizza from her mouth, “if shit gets crazy, I need you to stay close to me, okay? Preferably right behind me.”

Taylor glanced to the young man sinking down into the couch seat beside the agent. “That’s where I’m gonna be,” Jason conceded. “We’ve talked about this before.”

“Hopefully it ain’t even gonna come to that,” said Wade. “We ain’t got the muscle to handle this sort of trouble. Not unless Lorelei’s plan works.”

“We did before,” Taylor pointed out. “Twice, even. I wasn’t there for the second time, but you came out okay.”

“That was all desperation. We had our backs to the wall. An’ a whole bunch of FBI guys died the second time. We ain’t got that kinda support tonight.”

“Okay. Fair,” the younger woman conceded. “I’ll stick with Amber and Jason. All I want is some way to be useful.”

“You are useful, Taylor,” said Amber. “You’ve taken on monsters. Just having the nerve to handle that is a big deal. Plenty of hard core bad asses lose their shit when confronted with the things you’ve seen. You have a sense of how all this supernatural nonsense works. That might not seem all that important, but it’s a huge step up from most people. Everyone here trusts you. Even if you’re only an extra pair of eyes and hands, that’s important.”

Taylor’s lips twitched. “Even if I’m unarmed?”

“Yes. Actually.” Amber’s eyes slid over toward Jason, and then to Wade. Beside him sat the open rifle bags from Hector’s gun shop.

“Oh hey, them protection agreements cover these totally undocumented firearms we picked up today, right?” Wade asked with a wide grin.

Behind the kitchen counter, Drew shook his head. “Wade’s trollin’ again,” he muttered. He stood beside Molly and Onyx, plate in hand as he waited for them to grab their share.

“You don’t have to make this a ‘ladies first’ thing,” Onyx told him. She waited for the foam to die down in her glass before pouring more beer. “Grab what you want.”

“Nah, I’m good. Don’t want to grab the last four pieces of whichever style you wanted.”

Molly peeked over Drew’s shoulder at the three open pizza boxes. “Four?”

“I’ll work it off at the gym. Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

“Yeah, Molly,” Onyx chimed in. “Judgmental much?”

The redhead nudged them both aside to claim her dinner. “Whatever. For that, I’m taking up the rest of the couch. You two can have the floor.”

“What? I thought I was being nice,” objected Drew.

“You set me up for Onyx to accuse me of shaming,” Molly replied before walking away with her pizza. “This is the penalty for entrapment.”

Rather than banter further with Molly, Onyx switched gears and slid closer to Drew. “So. Sierra,” she said, keeping her voice low.

Drew waited. “…yeah?”

“I didn’t want to say anything in the truck. Y’know, in front of Wade,” she added, grinning.

“Say any what now?” He, too, held to quieter tones than before, glancing at the others. The conversation around the coffee table carried on.

“I sensed a little tension there,” said Onyx.

“Well, last time we saw each other was on opposite sides of a bunch of guns and wizard-type nonsense. And I just came out of a gun store.”

Onyx looked up at him with an amused grin. “That’s not the kind of tension I saw.” She relented when he frowned back. “Okay, that’s not the
only
kind of tension. But you said you know her from your kung fu classes, right? Ever talk to her before all this?”

“Few times.”

“You ever catch her checking you out?”

“No.”

“Huh.” Onyx paused to grab her share of pizza. “Guess she’s pretty slick, then.”

Drew’s eyes narrowed. He took some slices without looking, focused instead on the taunting woman in front of him. “For real?”

“Is that a surprise? Don’t tell me you’ve never checked her out.”

“Maybe a little.”

“But you’ve never done anything about it? Since when are you shy?”

“I thought she might have a boyfriend. She doesn’t stick around class long, either.”

“Maybe she’s shy?” Onyx suggested.

“I’ve seen her kick dudes in the face,” Drew pointed out. “And throw ‘em to the ground. I’ve wound up that way myself a couple times.”

“Hey, I can hurt people right in their
brains
if I have to. It still took me weeks to work up the guts to ask Alex if he wanted to hang out. Even then I almost backed out of it. Sometimes it’s hard to be the one to ask first.”

“Okay but she’s still trippin’ about Lorelei,” said Drew. “I’m not setting aside my friendships like that, you know? And there’s all the side-eye her bosses are giving you. I ain’t down with that, either.”

“Aw. That means a lot.”

Drew put up one fist, tapping it against the one Onyx raised in return. “If she can’t hang with my friends, she can’t hang with me.”

“Her loss,” said Onyx.

“Damn straight,” Drew vowed. “She was really checking me out, though?”

“Up and down.”

“You were across the street. With traffic and stuff.”

She walked around the kitchen counter toward the living room with Drew close behind. “It turns out I’ve got good eyes,” said Onyx. “I notice stuff…”

Her friends carried on. Rain pattered gently against the balcony glass door. The office tower across the street lay dark and still…except for the dim light from the broad pane of glass directly across from Lorelei’s balcony.

It couldn’t be anything direct. Not a desk lamp, not a computer monitor, surely not one of the overhead lights on a dimmer switch. It had to come from outside the office, perhaps ambient light spilling through the open door from the hallway outside. That, and a tiny, shimmering glint of light off of something in the center of the space, like a bit of gold or copper spinning in the shadows. Something round, and small, and…magical. Something carrying a spell.

Her mind reached for that spell. In that same moment, she noticed movement against the glass. Shadows that might have been people lined up low in front of the window. The faint outline of broad, unnatural wings loomed above them.

“Down!” Onyx dropped her food and ran straight for the balcony door. “Get down now!”

Of all her friends, only Wade moved without hesitation. He grabbed Molly by the shoulders to haul her down to the floor with him. Onyx caught sight of that in the reflection of the balcony door as the world slowed down and she crossed the room. She didn’t question her senses or the unnatural flow of time. She didn’t consider things like adrenaline or fight-or-flight responses. She had no time for any of that. Not when she had to concentrate on a spell.

Onyx slapped both hands against the glass and yelled out a single word:
“Shakef!”

The window across the street shattered with the first flashes of automatic gunfire. Sparks and bits of iron flew from the railing of Lorelei’s balcony. The glass door shook under the impact of dozens of bullets, sending vibrations down Onyx’s arms in tandem with a roar that practically deafened her.

A thousand cracks spread through the glass under her hands. Onyx held it all together.

* * *

“Aaron,” Dutch prompted as the witch in black moved.

The younger man didn’t need the warning. He’d already seen it. “Fire!” he yelled.

Everyone had their targets. All four weapons opened up on full automatic, shattering the office window instantly. Bullets flew across the street, tearing through the balcony and striking the glass—and reflected straight back.

Each man wore talismans to guard against gunfire. Aaron’s spell gave them the extra edge of unnatural speed. All told, their magic provided considerable protection from bullets…but not from dozens.

Dutch actually saw the round that came back for him in his scope, right before it crashed through the lenses and his eye. The bullets that followed struck him all across his arm, his chest and his side. He didn’t die instantly, but no hospital in the world could save him. Nor did anyone nearby offer magic to mend his wounds.

The others fared about as badly. Both of the men to either side of Aaron suffered messy, fatal wounds. Slugs battered Aaron’s Kevlar vest, knocking him onto his back. Standing behind them, Evelyn took a bullet to one shoulder. One more passed her head close enough that she heard it whistle as it went by. All around, sparks and shattered drywall flew as other bullets ricocheted through the office.

A final bullet destroyed the old stopwatch hanging from the ceiling.

Evelyn turned back to the window with cold fury. The glass door across the street still stood, though it looked ready to fall into a million pieces under the slightest breeze. Through the frosted image of a waning enchantment, Evelyn saw the silhouette of a woman on the other side.

Unlike her pupils, Evelyn didn’t need to rely on wands or trinkets to focus her power, nor the rote exercises of magic words or careful movements. In this case, she could reach out with her will and her rage to take what she wanted.

* * *

The assault lasted only seconds. For Onyx, each of those seconds felt much longer. She kept her hands against the glass, afraid it might break if she moved.

Everyone else was on the floor. Wade passed the shotgun from Hector’s rifle bag to Amber almost without looking at her. Molly started to rise. “What—?” she began.

Onyx felt an invisible
nothing
wrap itself around her waist. She managed only half a yelp out of surprise before it tugged her forward hard. The already shattered balcony door exploded with a loud crash as she flew straight through it and what remained of the iron balcony rail. Onyx felt both impacts as a single wave of pain.