A Demon's Work Is Never Done: Latter Day Demons, Book 2 (25 page)

I roared a challenge when the enemy vamps were all gone; somewhere, a country away, I hoped the enemy was listening.

Chapter 14

Kordevik

It took some time to get Lexsi back to normal. Zaria and Opal finally suggested that I take her to a high peak so she could discharge the fire she'd gathered. It hadn't taken much of it to destroy vampires, who were on the heat sensitive side of things anyway.

I wasn't damaged when she released her fire atop the mountain I'd skipped her to, but anybody else might have been.

Unless they were extremely powerful.

Once the fire and energy left her, she became humanoid and dropped at my feet, naked and only half-conscious. I lifted her in my arms and cradled her against me; once the fire was gone, she shivered in the high mountain air.

Warming her with my heat, I skipped her to the house in Punta Blanca. Zaria and the others were picking at dinner, waiting for me to arrive with Lexsi.

"The enemy knows where we are," Opal frowned. "We have to move or they'll be back to kill more locals."

"How many died?" Lexsi turned in my arms to look at Opal.

"At least eighty people," Opal didn't sound happy. "Most of those before we got there to help."

"Dude, you gonna walk around naked all night?" Watson asked.

"Kory," Lexsi made herself smaller in my embrace.

"We'll get dressed, then we'll eat, and you'll tell us where we can go from here," I blew a cloud of smoke in Watson's direction. He was only dressed in jeans and didn't normally give a damn about nudity.

I skipped Lexsi into her bedroom, so I could get her covered first. She was cold.

* * *

Lexsi

I dressed in a long-sleeved T and a sweater; I was chilled completely after coming back to myself on top of a peak in the Andes. Kory was still warm enough—he'd banked his fire. I'd forced all of mine away from me.

"That's some talent you have, onion," Kory said as he shrugged into a T and jeans. "I'm concerned that the enemy will figure it out after tonight," he added.

"Fuck them. They killed innocent people," I muttered. "If they want some of my fire, I'll be happy to give it to them."

"That's not what I meant. You're now a target too, unless I miss my guess. Come on, baby. Let's eat and listen to what Opal and Zaria have to say about relocating."

"We need to punch Phineas in the mouth," I said as I trailed Kory. He strode determinedly toward the kitchen. I hoped Watson left some shrimp for us; I was starved.

* * *

"Opal got a phone call," Anita whispered as I took a seat next to Kory at the dining table. "She and Zaria are in Opal's suite, talking to somebody."

"Somebody knows already?" I asked as Farin set plates of food in front of Kory and me. She was the only one left at the house while the rest of us had gone to battle vamps.

"I don't think that's it," Anita grimaced. "I think this is something different and maybe just as bad."

"That doesn't sound good," I dipped a shrimp in sauce and bit into it. "You think it's global, national or local?" I asked after chewing and swallowing.

"No idea. Eat while you can. We may be traveling in a bit."

"I believe the enemy suspected we were here," Kell said. "There's no need to send more than a hundred vampires to terrify a small portion of the village—four or five would have worked well enough against humans."

"Eat and pack up, we have to go to D.C. tonight," Opal walked in. She looked gray in my estimation, and it wasn't because we'd fought off more than a hundred vampires earlier.

"What happened?" Anita asked.

Zaria appeared beside Opal. "New York was hit by terrorists tonight," she said. "Early estimates say that at least fifty thousand are dead across the city. I went to check for myself just now. It's worse than they think."

* * *

I never expected to meet the Secretary of Defense in person. Yes, I would have liked to interview him—if I were still a reporter and under much better circumstances.

"We found one of the terrorists involved. He's in interrogation now," Secretary of Defense August Hunter said. Opal insisted that Kory, Anita, Zaria and I be allowed in the meeting she was holding with Colonel Hunter.

"May I have one of mine watch the interrogation?" Opal asked.

"Why?" Colonel Hunter's dark eyes settled on Opal.

"Because she will know if he's telling the truth," Opal replied.

"Are you sure?" I could tell he wanted to believe Opal.
Very much
.

"I have others who may be able to command the truth," Opal added. "Provided he hasn't been obsessed already."

"This troubles me—that obsession as you've explained to me can happen at all," Colonel Hunter observed. He was in his late fifties and short, dark hair was going gray at the temples.

"This is tied to Peru—I'd bet my life on it," Opal said.

"Unless we have solid proof, we can't take that to the President," Colonel Hunter smacked a fist on the polished wood meeting table where we sat.

"We were attempting to get something when the village around us was attacked earlier," Opal said. "The plan still may work, but we'll have to set up a base elsewhere. They knew where we were when they sent their vampires in."

"Where are they now—these vampires?"

"Dead. We have some injuries, but no losses."

"I wish I could say the same thing about New York," Colonel Hunter said. "The situation there is only going to get worse, as damage and lives lost is taken into account. The subway system is destroyed. City blocks are nothing but rubble, and they hit where populations were heaviest. I have difficulty understanding how the bombs were brought in without anyone knowing."

"It's because those bombs were transported in only seconds before they exploded," Zaria spoke for the first time.

"How? Do I know you? You look familiar," Colonel Hunter studied Zaria.

"Maybe we knew each other in another life," Zaria sighed. "The truth is this, Colonel Hunter. Our enemy in Peru has unusual assets. Some of those assets are power wielders from other worlds. Getting a bomb into a subway or a building is child's play to them. It's my assumption that the terrorists have paid for these services."

"They're not allied?"

"The ones in Peru are only interested in wealth, power and destruction. The terrorists will learn soon enough that their lives are no more important than anyone else's."

"Won't the terrorists target them, then?"

"You understand that nothing can get across the border into Peru?" Zaria pointed out. "Let the terrorists try. They'll die, like anyone else. What's in Peru is a cancer on the Earth. If we don't cut it out soon, the entire planet will be destroyed."

"I'll get you a front row seat to the interrogation," he said. "I'd appreciate any information you can give me. My hands are tied until I can provide the link between these murderers and what's going on in Peru."

"We'll do what we can," Opal rose from her seat.

"Good. I'll have transportation here in five."

* * *

He's young, angry and disillusioned
, Zaria sent the moment we saw Mahmoud through the one-way glass.
No, it doesn't excuse his part in any of this
, she held up a hand.
When will people learn that what they do comes back to them? That they own their mistakes?

My favorite is two wrongs never make anything right
, Kory said.
You don't kill your sister because your brother stole from you
.

They're big on displacement
, Opal agreed.
Let's listen
.

Not much was coming from eighteen-year-old Mahmoud, including where he lived or who his parents were.

"We need names. Tell us who orchestrated this attack," the interrogator asked.

"Sheik Al-Harub," Mahmoud replied.

"Lie," I said.

"Jeff, that's a lie," Colonel Hunter spoke into a microphone. Jeff had an earpiece in and could hear Colonel Hunter clearly.

"That's a lie, try again," Jeff snapped at Mahmoud.

The boy rattled off several other names. "All lies," I said.

"Send me in, I don't think he's obsessed," Anita said.

"What good will that do?" Colonel Hunter covered the mic before he spoke.

"You'll see," Opal jerked her head sharply, telling Anita to go.

"All right, but if this doesn't work," Colonel Hunter began.

"It'll work, Auggie," Zaria said. "Trust me."

* * *

Anita

At least I wore a nice blouse over my jeans when I walked into the interrogation room at NSA Headquarters. Mahmoud barely looked at me; I was a woman and an infidel, in his eyes.

"Mahmoud," I walked toward him. "You're going to look into my eyes and tell me every damn thing you know about this attack."

* * *

Lexsi

Everything came tumbling out of Mahmoud's mouth that he knew. It wasn't everything we needed and certainly didn't name those at the top, but he knew enough for Homeland Security and the NSA to begin their investigations.

He confirmed what Zaria said, though. His terrorist organization had paid for services rendered; he merely didn't know how much and in what currency it was paid. What worried me was that the enemy in Peru could use this as a form of blackmail; that they'd give further assistance to terrorist groups if we didn't back off and leave Peru alone.

That infuriated me. They were killing Peru's indigenous people off by the hundreds and we were powerless to do anything about it.

"Now tell me what you know about your allies in Peru," Anita asked a final question.

"They say they were sent by the one god," Mahmoud claimed. "I think they may be something else." Well, he'd been born and educated in the US. At least he knew enough to be skeptical when somebody claimed to be sent by a god.

"Did you see any of them?"

"I saw the one named Deris."

"Ah. Would it interest you to know he's from the devil instead of a god?"

"What if you're lying? You all lie," he insisted. He spoke a personal truth—as he'd been taught it.

"There are billions of people on this planet," Anita pointed out. "Not everybody lies to further their personal goals—or their religions. I'm done, here." Anita turned and walked out of the interrogation room.

* * *

"My people are exhausted, Colonel," Opal declined Colonel Hunter's offer of food and drinks. At least D.C. was still in operation. New York was shut down, along with all neighboring cities. I was glad nobody suggested we go to New York right now; I didn't want to see the tragedy that night. We'd already seen enough to do us for a few hours.

"I'll have guards posted at your hotel," he said. "I know you have your own people on the job, but it will make me feel better if there's a military presence, too."

"We'll discuss this tomorrow morning, I trust?" Opal asked after accepting Colonel Hunter's guards.

"Yes. And your presence may be requested in a meeting with the President."

"I'll be happy to," Opal confirmed. "Anytime."

* * *

Baby, I want to hold you tonight
, Kory sent as we were checked into the same hotel in Silver Spring that we'd used before. I could see that this place was used to diplomats and dignitaries staying with them; the night manager didn't even blink when our crowd of security guards stood in the lobby, waiting to escort us to our rooms.

I was glad Kory asked; I didn't want to spend this night by myself in a strange place. Not while every news station everywhere reported on the New York bombings while showing images of smoking rubble and emergency workers desperately searching for the lost and wounded.

We have every werewolf and vampire in our employ working those sites
, Opal sent mindspeech.
They can scent the people trapped under rubble. We don't have nearly enough dogs on the scene to help with that
.

"Give us one room," I half whispered and gripped Kory's arm when my turn came to check in. His arms wrapped around me; I discovered I was shivering. The question that kept hitting me, much like a vehicle repeatedly racing into a solid wall, was—
why?

I didn't—and couldn't—understand.

What I did understand was this; without the help of Deris and Daris Arden, those bombs wouldn't have been planted so easily. Earth had no answers for a powerful witch and warlock, whose endgame I couldn't guess at any longer.

They had Peru locked up for whomever they worked for, and Sirenali to hide important facts and players from us. It could take days or weeks, even, to get a final total—in lives and destruction, caused by their interference.

If they'd stood before me at that moment, I would hurt them before they died. Yes, I knew that was wrong. I'd once heard Great-Uncle Gavin say that a swift death for our enemies separated us from them.

These took pleasure in the pain of others. That understanding was coming to me.
There are two kinds of people,
Gran said once after coming from a long Council meeting on Le-Ath Veronis. I'd watched as she'd removed the jeweled coronet from her head and set it on her dressing table.