StrangeDays (2 page)

His phone rang and he looked at the number. Recognizing it,
he answered. “This is Christian.”

“Hi, Christian,” Beth from the club said into his ear. As
the owner’s wife, she handled all the bookings. She smoked about three packs a
day and it sounded in her voice and showed on her skin, which she kept
perpetually tanned.

“What can I do for you today?” He liked her, even if some of
the other dancers made her a bit of a joke, imitating the sound of her voice on
the phone. She had a strong head for business and, during her husband’s
periodic alcoholic binges, she kept everything running nice and smoothly for
them.

“Well, I know this is your day off and that you haven’t had
one in a while…”

“But…” he continued for her, already knowing she wanted him
to come in. Why else would she bother to call?

“Colt didn’t show up. We’re not sure what’s going on. The ex
is back in the picture and we’re afraid he’s reacquired some of her drug
habits.”

“Say no more. Of course I’ll help.” The dancers all knew one
another really well. It had become a brotherhood of sorts. Not the closeness he
had with the others who studied with Master Foy, but friendship for certain. “What
are Mitt’s intentions?” He really hoped Colt didn’t get fired. He was a good
guy. Young and bound to be foolish, since he lacked mentors in his life to keep
him grounded. Colt was only eighteen years old.

“I’m not sure at this point. I know you’ll ask us to be
patient with him. For now I’m willing to try, if you’re willing to come in and
dance in his stead.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up and stared up at the sky.
So much for figuring out a way into Dodie’s life tonight. It would have to
wait. Patience.

He smiled at a fellow pedestrian and made his way down the
block. A shudder traveled through his body and he turned around. Nothing out of
the ordinary. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of utter wrongness that had
moved through him.

What had brought that on?

Christian had long since learned to trust his instincts. They
were why he’d been chosen, why he possessed the skills he’d been given.

Austin had never been a city under siege by too much evil. Since
his move from Chicago, he’d not had to do much in terms of clearing the area of
all things bad. Had he become complacent?

He looked at his phone. In the time of the ancients, from
what he had read, it had been difficult for a student who had been moved away
to contact his teacher. Not now. Thanks to modern technology, any information
he needed was merely a phone call away.

Or in this case a text.

Christian wouldn’t be able to reach Master Foy directly—he
spent most of his day in meditation or training—but the students who assisted
him were wired up.

Could you ask the master if he senses a particular
disturbance here, Jonah?

He sent the message and continued on his journey. At
twenty-seven years old, he’d studied with the master for two decades. He didn’t
need to worry about being called out for being overly imaginative. The master
trusted him. It was why he’d sent him here.

About a block from the club, his phone beeped. He crossed
the street and read Jonah’s reply.

This is Master’s response: You are where you should be on
the path chosen for you.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful, bro. He’s not being very
chatty. Lately he spends most of his time in silence. J.

That couldn’t be good. If Master got silent, he used his
energy to focus in the quietness on trying to send goodness out into the
universe. His cryptic answer didn’t make Christian feel any better about
things. Jonah would understand the severity of this situation. If there was a
way to get an answer, he would have.

His phone beeped again and he looked back down.
If you
need help I will come.

Christian smiled.
Thanks
.

That was the thing about family—the good kind, at least.
They came if you needed them. Hopefully this would all prove to be a whole
bunch of nothing—one person who triggered too severe a response from
Christian’s limbic system.

Either way, he couldn’t worry about it now. There were bills
to pay and plans to stick to. The women coming tonight wanted to be lifted from
their lives for a few hours. He could give them that.

When he performed at Brass, very little bothered him. On the
stage, for a while, he could forget.

The phone rang, jarring Dodie out of a solid sleep. The
pitch-black of the room told her that morning had not come. The clock confirmed
her fears. It was three in the morning. Phone calls at this hour were either
dire news or horribly distressing wrong numbers.

With her heart racing, she picked up her phone. “Hello?”

“Is this Dodie Chase?”

Dodie’s hands shook. “Yes.”

Her parents had been killed in a car accident when she was a
child and she’d gone to live with her grandparents, who were both gone now too,
from old age. She had no siblings—no relatives at all who would need to reach
her at this hour. This could only mean one person had been harmed—Mindy.

“We’re calling from Seton South West hospital. Your friend
Mindy is here and we need you to come down right away.”

She’d already gotten out of the bed, a million predictions
flowing through her mind. Car accident, drunk driver, slip and fall.

“I’m on my way. Tell her I’m coming. What happened? What is
her condition?” Where were her shoes? Where the hell were her shoes?

“It seems her boyfriend has been murdered. Mindy witnessed
the event. She’s gone into shock.”

Dodie stopped moving. No. That was too horrible. She forced
herself to breathe. In through her nose, out through her mouth. “I’m on my
way.”

How could this be happening? With her pajamas still on, she
shoved on her finally found sneaker. Car keys…yes she needed them, and her
purse.

Finally, after what felt like an hour but was probably more
like two minutes, she rushed out the door and slammed straight into a solid
wall of man.

Christian grabbed Dodie’s arms, keeping her upright. “Whoa.”

At that moment, she didn’t care that he happened to be the
best-looking man she’d ever seen or that the parts of his skin that were
visible were covered in grease. For once, his presence had little to no effect
on her at all.

“Sorry, I have to go.”

He didn’t release her. “Where are you going? It’s three in
the morning.”

His question might have chafed, but she had no time for that
kind of reaction. “My friend is in the hospital. I have to go.”

“Hold on.” He still didn’t let go of her. “Your friend is
hurt? I’ll take you to her.”

“No, I can take myself. Thanks.”

“Dodie.” He rubbed her arms. “You’re shaking. You’re in no
condition to drive. None. Let me take you.”

She shook her head. “No, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I volunteered.”

He smelled like baby oil. Always one of her favorite scents,
it took her back to a time when things had seemed easier than they were now.

“Listen, you’re just coming from work. You must be tired or
whatever. I—”

He interrupted her. “I don’t drink or smoke. I don’t do
drugs. I don’t even eat red meat. I can drive you to the hospital. I’m not
tired. Let me do this for you. It’s neighborly.”

“Right.” She supposed that had to be true. In small towns
like the one she’d lived in for a while growing up, neighbors stepped up to
help when needed. “Okay. Thanks. It’s Seton South West. Do you know where that
is?”

“I know how to get there. We’ll take your car so you have it
if you need it tomorrow morning to get home.”

She rubbed at her eyes, following him through the darkness
toward where she was parked. Her white, four-door sedan waited for them. He
walked to the passenger’s side and opened the door for her before going around
to the driver’s side.

“We’ll get you there in no time.”

“Thanks.” Much to her distress, tears seeped from her eyes
at his basic human kindness.

“It’s okay, beautiful.”

She didn’t look beautiful on her best day and that moment
didn’t come anywhere near her best anything. He probably spoke that way to all
the girls. Maybe it was even a means of not having to remember anyone’s name?
All women could be “beautiful” or “sweetheart”.

Dodie had no idea what to say, so she looked out the window
instead. It wouldn’t do to call out the guy who was driving her car. Her mind
probably wasn’t working on all cylinders either. She had to get to Mindy and
the half-hour drive felt like hours.

“What happened to her? To your friend who’s hurt? Did they
tell you anything on the phone?”

She turned back to look at him. If possible, he was even
more beautiful in profile. Strong jaw, sharp nose…the gene pool had been good
to him. Of course, some of it could be plastics, in which case he should give
out the name of his doctor every day.

Dodie shook her head. Not the time nor the place. Mindy
wanted her to be nicer, to figure out how to be in his presence without
panicking. Now it had happened and Mindy had been the cause. The horrible,
mind-numbing reason why she could sit in the car with him and not have a panic
attack.

Life could be one ironic mistress.

“I don’t have any details. She witnessed her boyfriend’s
murder tonight. They didn’t say what happened to her other than shock. They
said I needed to get there fast.” Her throat clogged up. “Do you suppose this
had something to do with what happened today in that office building?”

“What happened today?” He stretched his neck to the side. “I
wasn’t near a computer or the television for most of it. I must’ve missed it.”

“An office building on Lamar had a massive attack.” It
seemed as if Mindy had given her that piece of information a lifetime ago, but
it had only been a matter of hours since they’d sipped coffee and talked about
dating.

“Really?” He shook his head. “Seems as if there’s been a lot
of random violence today.”

“Twitter was filled with conspiracy theories. People seeing
things in the sky or on the ground that weren’t there. The government sending
out LSD or something.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I liked Mindy’s boyfriend. He
was a nice guy, based on the few times I met him.”

“They weren’t together long?” He gripped the steering wheel
tightly and she could see the white on his knuckles from the way he gripped it
so tightly.

“No. I have no idea what he’s into. I hope it wasn’t
something awful like drugs or something.”

Christian pulled the car into the driveway of the hospital
before coming to a stop in front of the emergency room. “Go on in. I’ll park
and come find you.”

“Thanks.” She turned to look at him. Why hadn’t she noticed earlier
how sweet his face was? All she’d seen had been hot and sexy, but the
fluorescent light of the hospital illuminated the pitch-blackness of the night,
showing Christian as gentle and kind.

A whole different guy than the one she’d hidden from in her
apartment and avoided in the hall.

“You’re really very kind, aren’t you?” She reached out to
squeeze his hand on the steering wheel. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you
for this. What do neighbors do? Do you want brownies? I don’t even bake all
that well. I can go buy some.”

“Don’t worry about that now. Go see your friend. I didn’t do
this because I want to be paid back.”

She nodded and stepped out of the car. Needing to get to
Mindy became the sole focus of her mind as she turned and ran from the car into
the emergency room.

The place was loud, crowded, and stank of disinfectant. Dodie
sneezed as she rushed forward through the lines of suffering laid out in front
of her. Did this place see this much pain every night? Blood dripped down one woman’s
arm while she screamed for a doctor. Another man twitched on the floor.

Doctors and nurses scrambled everywhere and Dodie dodged out
of the way to avoid being run over by a gurney.

Finally she made her way to the receptionist. “I’m Dodie
Chase. For Mindy Spellman.”

The woman’s head darted up and she nodded. Phones rang
unanswered and several people shouted in the poor woman’s direction. She stood
up, staring at Dodie. “Come with me.”

“Okay.” She grabbed the woman’s arm. “Is my friend okay?”

“This has been a night for the record books. I’m not certain
what’s going on. In all my years, I’ve never seen anything like tonight. And
your friend’s arrival started it all.”

They walked together down several long hallways and took an
elevator before they reached a room. The nurse, whose nametag read Tricia,
stopped her at the door. “Take care of your friend.”

“I will.” Dodie walked through the doorway of the hospital
room, wishing she’d brought a coat. It had to be ten degrees cooler inside that
particular space than anywhere else she had been in the hospital.

She shivered as she walked farther inside. Mindy sat upright
on the bed. Her arms were strapped down but her legs remained unrestrained. She
kicked them, one after another, into the air.

“Mindy?” Dodie whispered her name.

Her friend’s head shot up and Dodie gasped. All of Mindy’s
beautiful blonde hair had turned as white as winter snow. Bloodshot eyes stood
out against her pale face and the icy hair, and her colorless lips trembled.

“Mindy.” Dodie rushed forward. She grabbed her friend’s
hand. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Her best friend since the day she had started work didn’t
turn to look at her. She uttered the same word over and over again. “No. No.
No. No.”

Dodie let go of Mindy’s arm. She needed a doctor and she needed
one right now.

* * * * *

Christian exited the vehicle and locked it behind him. When
they got back home later, he would see to it that Dodie got her tires checked.
It had seemed as if it pulled slightly to the left. She might just need air in them.

Her words troubled him. One day of not checking the news and
he’d missed an office building rampage and strange sightings around town. His
ominous feeling of earlier took on a whole new meaning. Master Foy had said he
belonged here, and clearly he did.

If this city needed to be cleared of evil, he’d get going
right away. As soon as he saw that Dodie was safe and secure, not needing
anything. He shook his head. The woman hadn’t even indicated that she had any
interest in him at all and already she had him wrapped around her little
finger. Hell, that had been true since she’d moved in. He’d stood slack-jawed
staring at her as if he’d never seen a woman before.

A growl behind him caught his attention. He turned around,
hoping it was a rabid dog, but knew it wasn’t before he’d even gotten a good
look.

The beast that had growled at him didn’t belong on Earth—didn’t
belong anywhere near good people. It had been made for Hell and that was where
it should have remained.

“Hell hound.” Christian hadn’t seen one in five years and he
really would have preferred not to run into one alone in a parking lot.

The beast growled, saliva flowing from its mouth toward the
ground while its monstrous red eyes bulged out of its head.

“You know I’m never unarmed. Or maybe you don’t. Your master
should not have sent you here.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the
rolled-up whip he kept with him at all times, except when he was on stage, and
placed it off to the side.

With a flick of his thumb, it unraveled. He flicked it
forward and when it hit the ground it snapped so loudly that the Hell hound
backed up a step.

“That’s right, doggy. You don’t want to come here and bother
these nice people. You don’t belong here.”

He snapped the whip again, this time letting it collide with
the beast’s body. The Hell hound growled and lunged forward.

“Dumb dog.”

Christian raised his leg and landed a kick on the demonic
beast, sending it back two feet. The creature yelped.

“You don’t scare me. You won’t be feeding off my fear
tonight. And if you keep this up, I’m going to take off your head.”

He pointed at the demon. “I order you back to Hell and I
order you to remain there.”

The hound howled to the sky before vanishing. Christian
touched the necklace he wore around his neck. He tugged at it. Once again he’d
been protected from the things that went bump in the night. It was his honor
and privilege to keep those around him safe.

He pulled out his phone. Where there was one Hell hound,
there were always more. And it looked as if his beloved Austin had just become
a beacon for evil. That was okay. It wouldn’t remain that way for long.

Just took out a Hell hound in a hospital parking lot. Murders
and weird sightings
.

Jonah would know what to do with that information. In the
meantime, Christian wanted to set eyes on Dodie.

The hospital stank of blood, urine and pain. He looked
around the waiting room but saw no sign of the woman who should belong to him. The
staff ran about, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people needing
serious assistance. Unfortunately, as had been the case in Chicago before
Master Foy had got there, things would get worse before they got better.

He needed to find Dodie and he was going to have to convince
these people to let him get to her whether they wanted to or not.

Christian approached the desk and waited for the woman to
acknowledge him. “Hi, Tricia,” he said, reading her nametag. “My name is
Christian.” He smiled at her and she stared at him, her jaw dropping a little
bit.

She pointed at him. “I’ve seen you. At Brass.”

He leaned forward a little bit. “That makes me so happy.”

This might be easier than he’d thought.

* * * * *

A few minutes later, he made his way into the hospital room
where Dodie’s friend Mindy Spellman—he’d had to learn her last name—had been
placed.

Dodie paced in front of the bed while Mindy uttered the word
“no” over and over again. He stopped, remaining silent to observe the situation
in front of him. Mindy, unless she’d turned gray before her time, had a head of
white hair that could only have been caused by having been absolutely terrified
by an evil being.

He shook his head. The Hell hound had not been in the
hospital parking lot by mistake. Something had sent all these people here
tonight and now reveled in the work it had done.