A Snake in the Grass (25 page)

“Who won’t let you eat their faces?” Points
to me for getting through that question without so much as a
flinch. I had no doubts, looking at the size of the maw on this
thing, that it could eat faces if it wanted to.

The demon gave me a bit of a smirk. “Wouldn’t
you like to know? All puzzled up, is the soul-bearer. Needing what
he does not know!”

“Wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to
know.” This was starting to be familiar territory. This would lead
into negotiations, trading for info. This I knew. “What’s it going
to take to get you to tell me? And don’t pretend like it’s Paulito.
You and I both know he doesn’t have the power of a AAA
battery.”

That tickled the little demon, and he
hissed-giggled all over the place. “No! No power there. Not enough,
but just enough… Enough for what wants.” It slunk out from under
the leaves, cautiously looking around it. I realized that the
shadows were slowly creeping my way as the sun started sinking
toward the ocean in the west. “What is the soul-bearer willing to
give, hm? A soul? One tasty soul? Won’t miss it, has plenty.”

“Not a chance. Try again.” I’d already
decided what I was willing to part with, and while it would be
better to force the demon to ask for it, I didn’t think I had the
time. I didn’t want to be out here with it once night fell. “How
about a name?”

The demon’s ears perked up, the tips
quivering. “The soul-bearer’s name?”

“One of them. One of my names, in exchange
for you telling me who is giving you orders, and what you’re
gaining by letting that bunch of idiots beat you up.”

The thing rocked its head back and forth, the
enormous ears flapping. “Hem. Haw.”

I couldn’t help it, I snorted a laugh at
that. “I don’t think you’re actually supposed to
say
‘hem’
and ‘haw’.”

The big eyes blinked at me. “Then how does it
know I am thinking? Thinking is much taxing. Hard working.”

I couldn’t decide if the little critter was
terminally stupid, or just nutty as shit. “So what do you
think?”

“I am thinking… I am thinking this is yes.
One name, one name of the soul-bearer, and in return I will say who
is, and what gets.” The very idea seemed to delight it, and it
danced a little caper in its growing pool of shadow. “A soul-bearer
name will be worth muchly! No worm then!”

Y’know, against my better judgment, I
actually felt kinda sorry for the little thing.

Chapter 16

“All right, tiger. You go first. If you tell
me true, I’ll give you the name.”

“Yes yes, always the true, always. No lies,
never never. Doesn’t like. Doesn’t like at all.” With its weird
crouched walk, it edged out again, still hugging the very boundary
between sunlight and shadow. “We play with the angry ones, so
doesn’t hurt. Doesn’t rend and tear and slash. Says, no eating
faces, no winning. Lose every game, and will be pleased with
us.”

“Whoever is bossing you around, they want you
to lose on purpose.”

It nodded, ears flopping. “Yes! Small game
not important, says. Big game important, and angry ones must stay
angry. Anger is stupid. Anger makes mistakes.”

I was inclined to agree with that. “So…the
fight club is just to get them used to being around demons. Get
them thinking that they’re bigger and badder than you and yours.
Make them cocky, make them reckless.”

“Yes yes! Big show, much fangs and claws.” It
hissed, demonstrating, then dissolved into giggles again.

“Why?”

“Needs them.” It nodded firmly at that.
“Needs the blood, needs the thump thump.”

“Thump thump…” The heartbeat. The life.
“Your…master, for want of a better word, is working blood magic.
They need the blood and the life force of the kids at the fight
club to do…something. So you little ones, you do the grunt work,
get your butts kicked, and your boss gets all the benefits.”

First it shook its head no, then nodded
vigorously, then shrugged its spare little shoulders. “Benefit is
not hurting. Don’t like to be hurting.”

Another inch of shadow, another smidgen
closer to me. Don’t think I wasn’t watching the little rodent. “Who
is it? Who is your master?”

The thing shook its head furiously to the
negative. “No name! Soul-bearer’s name is not worth
that
name.”

“Well you have to give me something, or our
deal is off. Is it a man?”

“Nope. No male apeling.”

“A woman then.”

“No!” The thing chortled gleefully. “Nope
nope, no female apeling either.”

I gritted my teeth and took a couple of
breaths for patience. “Then what is it?”

“The first. One of the very first. Older than
old, older than apes, than rats and rocks and trees…”

Lovely.
“A demon, then. A very old,
very powerful demon.”

“Older than demons, older than oldest. The
first.”

The cold chill down my back had nothing to do
with the fading sunlight. The souls in my skin stirred, twisting in
unease. “What is it using the blood magic for?” I’d never heard of
a demon using anything but souls.

“No!” The rat actually stamped his little
clawed foot at me in anger. “No! Gave you the wants! Now give me
the name! The soul-bearer’s name!”

I sighed and stood up, stretching the aches
out of my legs. “You did. You did what I asked, so our deal is
held. My name is Dawson.”

The moon eyes fluttered closed with an
expression of ecstasy. “Dawwwwwwson. It is a good name.”

“I’ve always liked it.” Time to go. I had no
clue what to do with the information I’d received, but maybe
Carlotta or Terrence would have an idea. “See ya later, scrawny.
Maybe think about getting yourself a new boss. Your current one
seems to be treating you shitty. Check into a union or
something.”

I turned to go, only to have the little
critter dart around in front of me again, clawed hands held out
imploringly. “No! No leaving! Stay….talk… Could say more, for
another name maybe perhaps.”

“Not a chance. One is all you get. See ya.” I
tried to walk around it again, and again he skirted the edge of the
shadows to get between me and the trees.

“Something else, then? What’s trade, hm? I
know things. Things Dawson wants.”

“I doubt that. You don’t seem strong enough
to have any good secrets.” Oh yeah, I was playing the little guy
now, and I should probably feel really bad about taking advantage
of a weaker being. But hello…demon? “What could you possibly
know?”

As I’d hoped, the bat ears quivered in
outrage. “I know much! I am small, yes, but forgets I am there.
Says things. Big game things! Things Dawson needs to know.”

I crouched down again. “Dazzle me, but you’ve
only got fifteen minutes to come up with something. Once the sun
gets below the trees, we’re done.”

The thing hopped back and forth on its two
clawed feet for a moment, thinking, then snapped its fingers. “Know
where the weapons are! Armor and blade, stained with blood.”

As much as I’d love to get those back for the
kid, it wasn’t vital enough to trade for. “We can replace those.
Try again.”

The little demon frowned, ears wilting in
concentration. “Know…know how he did it, the angry one. Blood in
the salt, monster climbs through. Rawr.” It mimed gnashing jaws
with its clawed hands.

“Dude, I’m so the last person who needs or
wants magic lessons. No trade. And you’re running out of time.”

It hissed at me this time, the moon eyes
flaring red. “Stay! Know more secrets! Dawson cannot leave!”

“Why are you so keen on me staying here?” The
creature flinched at that, ducking its head like it was about to be
hit. “Are you stalling me?”

A slow smile crossed its face, and it nodded
its head, the ears flopping a little. “Yes, there’s the secret.
Voices heard, plans made… That’s what Dawson will trade for.”

“What plans? Whose voices?”

“The youngling’s voice…you know the voice.”
The next thing that came out of its throat was not its own raspy
sibilant demon speech, but a pair of voices I knew all too
well.

“Where are you? Are you in a safe place?”
Estéban.

“Yes, I’m safe, but they’re coming for me.”
Paulito.
“I’m almost to the ruins, but I don’t think I’ll
make it to the house.”

“No, stay there, I’ll come get you.” It was
eerie, hearing the kid’s voice come out of that fanged mouth, but
demons were nothing if not perfect mimics. It was also dizzying,
listening to the thing switch back and forth between the two voices
with ease.

There was a tremble to the voice that
belonged to Paulito. “Why would you do that? After what I’ve
done?”

“Because you are family, that’s why.”

“Estéban… I… I’m scared.”

“Just stay there, I’ll be there as soon as I
can.” The thing even mimicked click of the phone hanging up, and
then a dial tone.

“When did this happen?” It could be false, I
knew that. Something invented, just to tempt me into giving
something up. But I had to say, in all the years I’d been dealing
with them, I’d never once seen a demon lie. The knot in my gut said
it was all too real.

“Moments ago. Days ago. Hard to say.” Once
again using its own voice, the thing shrugged its shoulders with a
sly grin. “Worth a trade? Another name?”

“No. But this is.” I took a moment to
carefully frame my words. This was gonna be a doozy. “The cousin’s
a douche and the kid’s walking into a trap. I know that much.
They’re going to the ruins, where there’s old magic and someone’s
been messing around already. I know that too. But you tell me now,
and you tell me true. Is your master, the first, going to try to
sacrifice Estéban for something? To get his blood to power some
kind of magic?”

It made sense. The fight club, and probably
Paulito’s blood alone, was no longer enough to power whatever they
were trying to do up at those ruins. The chicken death hadn’t been
big enough, either. Terrence had said that the next step was a
human death.

The scrappy little demon gave me a slow grin.
“Yesssss. Now a name. Pay your debt.”

“It’s James!” I shouted it back over my
shoulder, because I was already running.

The tree branches whipped against my face as
I pelted through the forest, and I had a vague thought that I sure
hoped I was running in the right direction when I blasted through
the Perez wards without even realizing I’d reached them.

People paused in their tasks as I raced
through the compound, outright hurtling one garden fence when it
sprang up in my way unexpectedly, and the kitchen door slammed open
hard enough to bounce when I hit it at full speed. “Kid! You
here?”

“Señor Jesse! You come!” One of the kid-pack
appeared, grabbing at my wrist and yanking. “Come now, Señorita is
hurt!”

I let myself get dragged down the hallway to
Carlotta’s room, where Sveta sat slumped at the end of the bed, a
bloody towel pressed to the back of her head as Carlotta examined
the wound. The boys, clustered around her attentively, all parted
like the Red Sea so I could get close. “What happened?”

Sveta spat something at me in Ukrainian, then
winced and wobbled where she sat.

It was Carlotta who supplied the answer. “He
is gone.
Mi hijo
, he hit her, and took the truck and left.”
She pressed an icepack against the back of Sveta’s head. “Why would
he do this? What is happening?”

“Did he get a phone call, right before this
happened?” Both women gave me blank looks, but one of the little
ones nodded.

“
Sí!
He went in the other room, so I
do not know who it was.”

“I know who it was,” I muttered. “And I know
where he’s going.”

“I will come with you.” Sveta tried to stand,
only to sink back down onto the bed, her face pale.

“You’re gonna sit right there, and Carlotta’s
going to watch you for a concussion. I’ll get him.” I fixed my gaze
sternly on the pack of boys. “You do everything your mother tells
you, and if Señor Smythe gets back, you tell him to get ready to
take on casualties and repel boarders. You use those exact words,
entienden
?” The kids might not understand what I was saying,
but the old man would. I got a round of solemn nods in return.

“Bring him home, Jesse.
Por
favor
.”

“I will. I promise.”

I turned to leave when Sveta’s hand shot out,
grabbing my arm in a grip like steel. When I looked back to her,
her ice blue eyes were grim. “He took The Way.”

Well shit.
Nodding my thanks, I bolted
out of the house again.

Terrence had one pickup truck, and Estéban
had taken the other, so that left me the donkey, which was not
really going to happen, or Miguel’s bike. It had been probably
fifteen years or more since I’d last ridden a motorcycle, but as
the engine sputtered to life, I figured it was like riding a
bicycle. The body doesn’t forget. “Man, I hope you guys knew what
you were doing with this thing.”

I admit, I drove at speeds that were unsafe
for road conditions, and it was only a miracle I didn’t lay that
thing over and get turned into street pizza. I didn’t know how much
of a headstart the kid had on me, but I had to make up time. The
sun was setting, if nothing else. And whatever “the first” was, I
did
not
want to confront it in the dark.

I would have missed the turn off toward the
ruins if the grasses hadn’t been mashed flat by something recently
driving over them. The kid was there already. I planted my foot on
the road to make the corner, the bike’s back tire throwing up a
spray of gravel in all directions.

The overgrown trail was rough, and I nearly
bounced myself over the handlebars a couple of times, trying to
muscle my way through. Only when I saw the truck ahead of me did I
abandon the bike, tossing it carelessly on its side in the
bushes.