A Girl's Guide to Demon Hunting (6 page)

Chapter 10

"The higher the jump, the farther the fall."

             
             
             
             
             
             
      
  -Father Henry
    Boy was he going to be pissed when he realized I’d skipped out mid-lecture. Not that it was anything new; this particular lecture or my running from it. I tried to blow off his comments but he was right on one thing: no way would I be given any type of consideration because I was born without a shield. 
    My lack of a shield is what started all of this: my parents fleeing the security of the Guardians, my father’s death, mom’s accident and finally the deal I made. The fact is if I’d been born like every other Guardian, none of this would have happened. A shield is the most basic form of protection a Guardian has. Without one, it makes the Guardian vulnerable to a Demon’s power.
    The Guardians believe that taking in a Demon’s power or darkness changes them. They’re right; I’m living proof of it and if they ever found out I’d be lucky to get life in a Guardian prison. Which is something I want to avoid at all costs; I look horrible in orange jumpsuits.
    Staying in Vegas had turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. It was an unspoken agreement between the Demons and Guardians that Las Vegas was one of the few places Guardians wouldn’t go so I didn’t have to worry anyone would learn of my missing shield. Except by staying here, I couldn’t get any assistance from the Guardians when it came to dealing with the Demons. It was one of the reasons I made my deal with Peaches. I don’t regret what I’ve done, even lying to my friends. It’s for their sake that I made the deal at all. 
    Having spent most of my money on yesterday’s trip I took the bus to the Las Vegas Public Library. I went into the main entrance, avoided the circulation desk and walked straight up the stairs to the study area. I was relieved to see both the main desk unmanned and the area pretty much empty. Looking at the little map of the second floor, I picked out a private study room and after signing a fake name at the empty desk I went into the room. 
    I closed the blinds and made sure the door was shut before letting Pancake out of my backpack. She gave me an annoyed look as she walked to the back corner of the room and curled up in a ball. She hated going into the bag; I tried to limit using it but there was no way the library staff would let me take her in here.
It’s not like I could pass her off as a service dog.
    Taking a banana and the jar of peanut butter I’d snagged from Father H’s kitchen out of my bag, I peeled the banana and set it next to Pancake. I opened the peanut butter and used my finger to scoop out a glob. It wasn’t chocolate but it’d do. I sat down and logged into the library home page and waited for the internet to load.
    The white page of the search engine finally loaded and I felt my motivation begin to fade.  Research was Jenny’s love but I couldn’t really ask her about this, not without it getting back to Ace and Shooter. They would be all over this, which was truly scary.
    Turning away from the computer I went into my bag and pulled out the single sheet of paper from the envelope. Typed in the center of the page was the name Camilla Bartlett and the address 5674 West Willow Lane, LV. Typing it into the search engine I had over three hundred hits. For someone new in town it looked like she had already gained the attention of the press.
    The first five links were newspaper articles highlighting the numerous charity balls in Vegas that she attended. Navigating away from the articles and to the images I opened the first one and realized why Peaches wanted Camilla dead. She was beautiful. Not classically pretty like Peaches, Camilla was exotic.
     Long dark brown hair hung to the middle of her back, bright blue almond shaped eyes looked at the camera through thick lashes. Her skin was a golden tan that looked natural and her body had curves the stick thin socialites would kill for. Clicking back to the article I kept reading; according to the author she wasn’t just another pretty face either. She had a masters degree in classical literature, was a major contributor to the arts and an heiress to a family fortune that reached into the billions. For the first time in Peaches' long life, she had a little competition. Still, her dislike wasn’t enough to sanction a kill. There had to be something more going on. 
    It took awhile to finally find what I was looking for. Opening yet another link, I found a website that was basically a data base. I typed all the information I had in the fields and pushed enter. It only took a few seconds before a new link popped up and when I clicked it, up popped a picture of Camilla that made me smile. The author had taken the photo and Photoshopped devil horns onto her. To the right of the photo was a bio. Physical characteristics, Demon classification (which in this case was Envy) and a red link labeled Victims. There are several sites like this; Demon archives. Much like the rest of cyberspace, the accuracy was varied at best.
     I opened the Victim link and the screen filled with a photo of a living room. Bile rose in my throat as I looked at the picture. There was a caption under the picture: Holly McGuire, Age 17 and unborn child. The girl in the photo looked like she had been literally torn to shreds. The only evidence that she was human at all was her face was untouched, which actually made the scene somehow more horrible.
    Closing the link, I minimized the webpage and sat back, staring at the blank screen. The image of Holly kept running through my mind in a bloody loop.
If I didn’t stop her, it might as well be me who killed her next victims.
    This was not going to be easy. Camilla was a very rich, very powerful public figure. People would know when she went missing, I was going to have to plan this out carefully. For the first time I found myself worrying about being caught by humans. A shudder ran through me as I thought of jail....all those tasers. And the orange; so much orange.

Chapter 11

Tip 362:  Demon blood doesn't come out of silk, no matter what your dry cleaner says.

    Leaving the library I managed to catch the last bus of the day. I’d spent the rest of the day looking up everything I could about Camilla. I even got a librarian involved, telling her I was writing something for my school newspaper. The poor woman had to hear all about how I thought Camilla was the greatest female role model of our time. Barf.
     The lie was worth it though; tucked in my backpack was a whole ream of paper on Camilla, including a city map of her neighborhood.
    
    Not wanting to go home just yet, I got off two blocks from the café and after letting Pancake out of my bag we crossed the street and walked to Jenny’s. She was standing outside; strange since judging by the line outside, the café was slammed. “What’s up?” 
    “Finally.” She said and handed me a big cup of coffee. Pulling out her phone she dialed a number and spoke quietly into it.
    My suspicious nature rose its ugly head as I took a sip of the coffee. This was a triple shot with extra chocolate. Jenny only loaded me up with this drink when she knew I wasn’t going to like something.
    “What’s going on?”
 
I asked once she was off the phone.
    “I don’t know, which is what’s bugging me.  Father H called and told me to bring you to him. Come on, let’s go. I don’t like feeling out of the loop.”
    I didn’t bother to protest; instead I jogged to her Porsche and was inside before she had opened her door.
 
 
    “Where’ve you been?” she asked as she weaved in and out of traffic.
    “Library.” I said, and had to stop myself from screaming as we came waaay too close to the car in front of us. Without missing a beat Jenny swerved into the next lane and passed the slowpoke. How did she get a license and I couldn’t? Even I wasn’t this dangerous on the road.
    “I’m sorry, did you say library?” she asked, unable to hide her astonishment.
    “Yes. I do read.”
    “I know that. I just hoped you’d know what was going on. Father H sounded freaked.”
    “I’m just as lost as you on this one.” I told her.
   
Jenny’s worry was contagious, so much so that by the time she pulled into Father H’s driveway I was about ready to puke from the stress.
    I had the door open before the car even made it to a full stop. I wasn’t even able to knock on the door before it flew open, Father Henry standing there with a relieved look on his face. Pulling me inside, he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hard hug.
    “Thank God.” He said, his voice quivering. When I looked up at him, I was shocked to find his eyes red and watery.
    “What is going on?” I demanded as Jenny and Pancake barreled through the door. Not answering me, he gave Jenny a hug and then closed and locked the door behind us.
    “Max will explain everything.” He said, leading us into the kitchen.
    Ace and Shooter sat at the little table, untouched sandwiches in front of them. I gave them a small wave and turned to focus on the newcomer leaning against the counter. He was around my age, dressed in dark washed jeans and a grey T-shirt. Dark hair hung loose, nearly to his shoulders and he looked to be about as tall as Ace.
 
I’m guessing this is Max.
His blue eyes gave me a quick once-over before he extended his hand to me.
    “You must be Allie,” he said as I put my hand in his.
    I felt his warm skin a second before the gentle pulse of his power ran through me like a single heartbeat and the world tilted on its axis. Fear slammed hard into me and I fought the urge to run as my mind screamed at me to stay calm.
No need to panic Allie; it’s only a Guardian, no reason to believe your life is going to come to a bloody end in less than ten seconds.
 
Ok, actually pretty much every reason but not the best thing to focus on right this second.
    Unable to speak, I give him a weak smile and let go of his hand like it was on fire. I backed away from him until my back touched the door jam. What the hell was Father Henry thinking? I tried to keep my freak-out from showing on my face as Father Henry introduced him to Jenny.
    I watched, looking for any sign that he suspected the truth about me. When he didn’t even bat an eye as Pancake came into the room carrying her favorite red ball, I began to relax; at least enough to release the death grip I had on the door jam. Okay, maybe he didn’t feel the darkness or he didn’t expect a Hell Hound, either way I wasn’t going to take any chances. I tapped my leg and Pancake came to lie at my feet. She happily chewed on the ball, oblivious to the danger in the room.
    “Now that we’re all here, care to tell us what’s going on?” Shooter asked Max.
Max looked between me and my friends with a confused look before he settled on Father Henry.
    “Can I talk to you in private?” Max asked.
    “We can use my study.” Father Henry said and walked out of the kitchen. I followed them; no way was I going to let a Guardian alone with Father Henry. I didn’t get out of the kitchen before Max spun around and put his hand on my arm, blocking me from leaving. 
    “I said in private.”
    Ace and Shooter were on their feet the second he touched me because, well, because they’re Ace and Shooter. I opened my mouth to tell Max to get out of my way when Father Henry shook his head no and glanced back in the kitchen. I gave Max my best ‘you hurt him and I kill you’ glare, the one I call number five. He rolled his eyes and turned around, following Father Henry down the dark hallway and into the study. I need to work on my number five.
    Ace and Shooter were already standing on their chairs, helping Jenny climb on the kitchen table when I turned back around. None of us spoke as I climbed up next to Jenny and opened the air vent. Little known fact about old houses: the air vents create a perfect way to listen in on private conversations.
    I’d learned this last year when Father Henry had unsuccessfully tried to plan a surprise party for me. I had to tell him and my friends how I’d known when I did a crappy job of acting surprised. Ace said it was my distinct lack of almost killing everyone in the darkened room that gave it away; surprise is hard to fake when you’re a semi-pro Demon hunter.
We all tilted our heads to the vent. Max’s voice came through loud and clear.
    “I thought you said you could help me. Instead you give me three humans and a little girl.”
    “Allie has more knowledge of the Demons here than anyone, myself included. And those humans are the best at what they do.”
   “Fine, I’ll give the humans the benefit of the doubt but Allie doesn’t even look like she’s old enough to drive.”
    What is it about me and driving? So I don’t have a real driver’s license; that didn’t mean I couldn’t rip his spine out if I wanted to. Seriously, I was too young? He looked as if he should be modeling underwear in a magazine, not fighting Demons but I wasn’t about to judge him on that. Well, not a whole bunch anyway.
    “Max, you came to me for help. Those four are what I can offer. You won’t find anyone more capable, not for something like this. Just give them a chance. If it doesn’t work you can always call it off.”
    There was a few seconds of silence and I figured Max was making his decision. Whatever was going on must be important to him.
    “Fine; but they better impress me.”
    We’d climbed off the table and regained our original positions by the time Father Henry and Max (aka Douche-tasmo) came back into the kitchen. ‘They’d better impress me.’  What an ass. Seriously, who died and made him King? I had to impress him? More like he had to impress me. I was so caught up in my not entirely unsnarky thoughts, it took me a moment to realize Max was trying to hand me something.
    It was a wallet-sized photo of a blonde girl. She looked around my age with hazel eyes; pretty in a delicate way. Passing the photo to Shooter, I listened to Max.
    “This is Julie Leland, a Guardian out of San Francisco. She was supposed to be traveling with her cousin to visit a prospective college in Nebraska.
As you may have guessed, she never made it to Nebraska. When she didn’t complete her morning check-in with her mentor, he asked me to run a check on her cell phone. Which is why I’m here; as of this morning, when her last call was made, she was somewhere in Las Vegas.”
    “And the cousin?” Jenny asked.
    “Julie never picked her up, she’s on her way here.”
    “What was she doing here?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. Her mentor said she hadn’t asked for an exception to the travel ban.”
    “Travel ban?” Ace asked.
    “Las Vegas is on the list of areas considered unsafe for underage Guardians.” Max answered.
    “I’m Father Henry’s ward, I go where he goes.” I said, answering what I knew would be Ace’s next question.
   Jenny, already knowing this, brought the conversation back to the topic at hand. “Do you think her mentor could be jumping the gun a little here? The Council doesn’t send investigators until a Guardian is missing for seventy-two hours.”
    Max took a moment to answer, giving Jenny an impressed look that she of course returned with an innocent one that said ‘I totally did not hack into the Guardian Headquarters server months ago.’ 
    “Hopefully you’re right and we’re overreacting. I’m praying she just lost her phone but I’m not willing to leave it to chance. She’s like family.” He said, looking at the five of us. Okay, so
that
I could understand; if anything happened to the people in this room, I’d tear Vegas apart brick by brick. Well, maybe not Max. Looking at everyone, I saw they came to the same conclusion.
    “We’re listening.” I said.