Blood Lite II: Overbite (33 page)

“I’ll stop him,” Karl whispered. “You stay here.” He pressed the box into my hands. “Work on this.”

“I can’t—” I began, but he was gone.

I held the box, fingers running over the jewels. He was right. Opening it had been a fluke the first time, impossible to repeat. All we could do was catch whatever body he’d jumped into and get these people to safety before he grabbed a new one. With a room filled with fresh bodies to possess, though . . .

Shit.

I turned the box over in my hands, touching the jewels randomly, frantically, as I strained to hear Karl.

“Is that a wolf I smell?” the singsong voice said.

A grunt, then the thud of a body hitting the floor. A woman started to scream. Karl apologized and laughter rang out—in a man’s voice now.

“You may be a fast wolf,” Nybbas said from his new body. “But you aren’t nearly fast enough.”

A scream made me jump, and I nearly dropped the box before I realized it was just the vision again. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced it away.

Then a woman shrieked, “Get him off me. Get him off me!” and footsteps thundered across the room. A thump, as Karl grabbed the demon off his new victim. A laugh as the demon jumped bodies. Only this time I recognized that deep chuckle. Recognized it very well.

“Get out of him!” I said. “I commanded you—”

“Not to kill him.” Nybbas giggled. “I won’t. I promise.”

“I command you—”

“I can’t hear you!” Nybbas said. “Can’t hear anything. I will return to my master and tell him what I have done, and he will be pleased. You can’t stop me, princess. I won’t let you.”

I tried ordering him again, but he just kept getting louder, drowning me out.

The vision threatened again. I pushed it back.

“Now I can smell you even better, humans.” Nybbas inhaled deeply. “Better sense of smell. Better night vision. Better hearing.” He chortled. “This makes it almost too easy.”

I turned the box over. I just had to hold this damned chaos vision at bay long enough to concentrate—

I stopped. Chaos vision. Of Nybbas’s incarceration.

“There you are,” Nybbas said. “Come here, human. Let me taste—”

An
oomph
and a hiss as whoever Nybbas caught escaped. Then a clatter and a howl of rage as he tripped over something.

I squeezed my eyes shut, wrapped my hands around the box, and cleared my mind. The vision hit with what felt like a left hook to the temple. I hit the floor, and everything went dark.

I heard the demon’s screams. Then chanting. Then a man’s voice reciting the incantation. I blinked hard, and the vision came clear.

I stood in a temple. At the altar, a bearded man held the soul box aloft. Women in red robes ringed him, chanting. At his feet a bound man struggled.

The sorcerer pressed the jewels on the box. The lid flung open.

One of the women took a knife from her robe, raised it, and stabbed the bound man. Stabbed him over and over while the sorcerer continued the incantation. As the last word left his mouth, the demon was ripped—still shrieking—from his host, a yellow pulsing light being dragged toward the box. When it disappeared inside, the sorcerer smacked it shut.

I snapped from the vision, but the screams continued. A woman’s screams now, her nails scratching the floor as Nybbas dragged her. I quickly hit the jewels in sequence as I recited the incantation.

In the vision, the host had been killed to free the demon, but everything I’d heard about dispossession told me that wasn’t necessary. I
prayed
it wasn’t necessary.

As I hit the last jewel, the box popped open. I squeezed my eyes shut, and finished the last words.

“No!” Nybbas shrieked. “Mistress, no! I will obey you. I will—”

Yellow light flashed, then a glowing ball streaked toward me. When it disappeared inside the box, I slapped it shut. The box rocked and jumped. Then it went still.

• • •

We didn’t trust that Nybbas was gone. After escorting everyone out of the exhibit, I assured my mother and grandmother that we were fine. Then, as the fire trucks arrived, we sneaked back inside and canvassed the museum. It was empty. No humans. No demons. Just us, staying two steps ahead of the fire crews.

We replaced the soul box. Keeping it would only alert the museum to the theft. Better to return later with help to seal the box forever.

We were heading for the exit when Karl whisked me into a closet.

“Someone’s coming,” he whispered.

“I don’t hear anything.”

He lifted me onto a crate. As he pressed against me, I felt a bulge . . . in his tux jacket. I slid my hands inside the coat.

“You did steal something!” I yanked out a box from the hidden pocket. “Damn you, Karl—”

“Shhh. You don’t want us to get caught. Particularly if I did steal something.”

“Bastard,” I hissed.

I pushed him away. It was a jewelry box, one he must have brought, so if he got caught, he might convince a naïve guard it held only a gift for his girlfriend.

I opened the box and tugged out the contents. A diamond solitaire ring.

“
Not
stolen,” he said.

On each side of the diamond, there was an engraved symbol for eternity, matching the charm Karl had bought for me last year. The writing inside matched my charm, too. Three words:
No matter what.

“Yes, I haven’t gotten any more poetic. No more romantic either.” He gestured around the closet and made a face. “In my defense, I did try. It seemed perfect—returning to the place we first met. It didn’t quite work out the way I planned, though.”

I lifted the ring. “So is this . . .? I mean, is it what it looks like?”

“Ah, sorry. I’m making a mess of this, aren’t I? Let’s try that again.” He put the ring back in the box. “I know this isn’t what you want right now. That’s fine. I’ll wait. But someday, when you’re ready . . .” He held out the box. “Will you marry me?”

“You’re still asking after tonight? You saw what you’d be getting yourself into, right?”

“Let’s see . . . High-society in-laws on one side. The Prince of Darkness on the other. A demon princess for a wife. A lifetime of chaos and general anarchy. Is that what I want?” He met my gaze. “Absolutely.”

He lifted the box. Before he could ask again, I took out the ring, looked up at him, and put it on.

About the Authors

KEVIN J. ANDERSON’s first novel,
Resurrection, Inc.
, was nominated for the Stoker Award. Of his hundred or so published novels, a few have been horror, particularly his international bestselling
X-Files
novels, though he is best known for his epic science fiction and fantasy (
Dune
novels with Brian Herbert, his own
Saga of Seven Suns
science fiction epic and his
Terra Incognita
fantasy trilogy). He and his wife, Rebecca Moesta, have also written the lyrics for and executive produced two rock CDs from ProgRock Records. Anderson is the editor of seven anthologies, including the three bestselling science fiction anthologies of all time. His cats, however, are not particularly impressed.

SAM W. ANDERSON lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, two children, a goofy golden retriever dog, and several skeletons taking up residence in his closet. His fiction has appeared in many venues: online, print magazines and anthologies.
Postcards from Purgatory
, a collection of his short stories, was released from Sideshow Press in April 2010. Feel free to mock him at his web site:
www.samscrap.com
.

KELLEY ARMSTRONG has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the
Women of the Otherworld
paranormal suspense series,
Darkest Powers
young adult urban fantasy trilogy, and Nadia Stafford crime series. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids, and far too many pets.

L. A. BANKS, the recipient of the 2008
Essence
Storyteller of the Year award, has written over forty novels and contributed to twelve novellas in multiple genres under various pseudonyms. She is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program with a master’s in fine arts from Temple University, and is a full-time writer living/working in Philadelphia.

MIKE BARON is the writer of
Nexus, The Badger, The Architect
, and many other comics. He lives in Colorado with his wife and dogs.

ALLISON BRENNAN is a
New York Times
bestselling and award-winning author of fourteen novels and four short stories. Best known for her dark and edgy romantic suspense, her latest Seven Deadly Sins series shifts to the supernatural with the premise, “What if the Seven Deadly Sins were incarnate demons released by witches practicing the dark arts and seeking immortality?”
The San Francisco Examiner
said
Original Sin
is “Seductive, suspenseful and exquisitely written,” and the
Providence Sunday Journal
called the series launch “A new genre classic.”
Carnal Sin
was a summer 2010 release, and Allison’s Lucy Kincaid romantic thriller series begins in early 2011 with
No Way Out
. A California native, Allison and her husband are raising their five kids outside Sacramento. Visit her at
allisonbrennan.com
or
sevendeadlysinsbooks.com
.

EDWARD BRYANT was seduced from science fiction into horror long, long ago while on a long, descending elevator ride with
Dark Forces
editor Kirby McCauley. Since then he’s written a considerable procession of short horror stories, including several about the psychic detective who appears in this anthology. Recently Ed was pleased to see Kim Bassinger star in the feature film
While She Was Out
, based on one of his stories.

Inspired by a lifelong love of nature, endless curiosity, and a belief in wonderful things, AMY STERLING CASIL is a 2002 Nebula Award nominee and recipient of other awards and recognition for her short science fiction and fantasy, which has appeared in publications ranging from
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
to
Zoetrope
. She is the author of twenty-one nonfiction books, one hundred short stories, primarily science fiction and fantasy, one fiction and poetry collection, and two novels. She lives in Playa del Rey, California, with her daughter, Meredith, and a Jack Russell Terrier named Badger. Amy has worked since 2005 as a nonprofit executive for the progressive charitable organization Beyond Shelter in Los Angeles, and she currently teaches writing and composition at Saddleback College, after receiving her MFA from Chapman University in 1999. She is currently the Treasurer of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

DEREK CLENDENING lives and works in Fort Erie, Ontario. When he isn’t writing or reading, he pursues his deep interest in sports. He is a die-hard fan of the Buffalo Bills (isn’t that scary enough?) and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.

DON D’AMMASSA has loved horror fiction since he found a battered copy of
Dracula
at an early age. He is the author of seven novels, 150 short stories, and hundreds of genre related articles and book reviews. He currently lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Sheila, two cats, and 60,000 books.

HEATHER GRAHAM is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of over a hundred novels including suspense, paranormal, historical, and mainstream Christmas fare. She lives in Miami, Florida, her home, and an easy shot down to the Keys where she can indulge in her passion for diving. Travel, research, and ballroom dancing also help keep her sane; she is the mother of five, and also resides with two dogs, a cat, and an albino skunk. She is CEO of Slush Pile Productions, a recording company and production house for various charity events. Look her up at the
originalheathergraham.com
,
writersforneworleans.com
or
eheathergraham.com
.

BRIAN J. HATCHER is an author and poet from Charleston, West Virginia. His work has appeared in
Weird Tales
magazine, the celebrated
Legends of the Mountain State
series, the poetry anthology
Leonard Cohen, You’re Our Man
, and the Stoker award-winning
Writers Workshop of Horror
. Brian is currently editing his first anthology for Woodland Press, entitled
Mountain Magic: Spellbinding Tales of Appalachia
. You can find Brian online at
www.brianjhatcher.com
.

Over the past twentysome years, NINA KIRIKI HOFFMAN has sold adult and YA novels and more than 250 short stories. Her works have been finalists for the World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Sturgeon, Philip K. Dick, and Endeavour awards. Her first novel,
The Thread that Binds the Bones
, won a Stoker award, and her short story “Trophy Wives” won a Nebula Award in 2009. Her novel
Fall of Light
came out from Ace in May 2009. Her middle-school novel
Thresholds
came out from Viking in August 2010. Nina does production work for the
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
. She also works with teen writers. She lives in Eugene, Oregon, with several cats and many strange toys and imaginary friends. For a list of Nina’s publications, check out:
ofearna.us/books/hoffman.html
.

JANIS IAN has won multiple Grammy Awards since her first nomination at the age of fifteen. Her songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, and Spooky Tooth. Her autobiography,
Society’s Child
, was an
O Magazine
summer must-read. She enjoys her day job, but would prefer to write science fiction. Visit her at
www.janisian.com
.

NANCY KILPATRICK is not known for her humor. This award-winning author of dark fiction puts a rather depressing spin on both life in general and in her work specifically. Still, on occasion she laughs and then, voila! Out comes a humor piece, like the one in
Blood Lite
and now “The Ghoul Next Door,” included in this diabolical sequel you are holding. This disturbing trend toward amusement shows little sign of abating and can only add a surprising element to her body of work which includes eighteen novels, five collections, over 200 short stories and the ten anthologies she’s edited. You can find out more about this demented writer at
www.nancykilpatrick.com
.

J. A. KONRATH has written a lot of books and short stories. You can visit him at
www.JAKonrath.com
, or at the local bar. He’s probably there right now.

JOHN R. LITTLE won the Bram Stoker Award in 2009 for his book,
Miranda
. His first novel,
The Memory Tree
, was published in 2007, and all five of his books have been very well received. John has a short story collection,
Little Things
, being published in late 2010, and following that are a couple of thrillers he is currently writing. You can see what’s up with John’s writings at
www.johnrlittle.com
.

SHARYN M
C
CRUMB is an award-winning Southern writer, best known for her Appalachian “Ballad” novels, including the
New York Times
bestsellers
She Walks These Hills
,
The Rosewood Casket
,
The Ballad of Frankie Silver
, and
The Songcatcher
. Her most recent novels are
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers
, a Ballad novel set in Wise, Virginia, in 1935; and
Faster Pastor
, a comic Southern novel coauthored with NASCAR driver Adam Edwards.
St. Dale—The Canterbury Tales
in a NASCAR setting—won a 2006 Library of Virginia Award, the AWA Book of the Year Award, and was featured at the National Festival of the Book. In 2008, Sharyn McCrumb was named a “Virginia Woman of History” for Achievement in Literature. Her other honors include: AWA Outstanding Contribution to Appalachian Literature Award; the Chaffin Award for Southern Literature; and the Plattner Award for Short Story. She lives and writes in the Virginia Blue Ridge.

SCOTT NICHOLSON is the author of ten novels, including
Drummer Boy, The Red Church, The Skull Ring
, and
Disintegration
. He has published more than sixty stories, including the collections
Ashes, The First
, and
Flowers
. Nicholson is also creator of the comic series
Dirt
and
Grave Conditions
and has written six screenplays. He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where he works as a journalist and freelance editor. His website is
www.hauntedcomputer.com
.

MARK ONSPAUGH is a native Californian whose childhood was warped by a whole lot of monster movies, DC Comics, and science fiction. He’s a proud member of the HWA and his film,
Kill Katie Malone
, is seeking distribution as he writes this. He’s published some thirty short stories in anthologies like
Footprints
,
The Book of Exodi
,
Dead Bait
,
The World is Dead
,
Return of the Raven
,
Dead Set
,
The Zombist
,
Triangulation: End of the Rainbow
,
War of the Worlds: Frontlines
,
Timelines
, and
OZ: Shadows of the Emerald City
. His essay on monsters will appear in the slasher compendium
Butcher Knives and Body Counts
from Dark Scribe Press. He’s working on a couple of novels and stays out of graveyards after dark. He lives in a well-lit house in Los Osos with his wife, writer/artist Dr. Tobey Crockett and two space-warping cats. Please visit him at his website,
www.markonspaugh.com
.

AARON POLSON was born on the Ides of March: a good day for him, unlucky for Julius Caesar. He currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, two sons, and a tattooed rabbit. To pay the bills, Aaron attempts to teach high school students the difference between irony and coincidence. His stories have featured magic goldfish, monstrous beetles, and lullabies for baby vampires along with other oddments. You can visit Aaron at
www.aaronpolson.com
.

DANIEL PYLE lives in Springfield, Missouri, with his wife and two daughters. Despite his certainty that swarms of testotserone-laden boys will someday come buzzing at his door, he has a full head of hair. For now. Read his debut novel,
Dismember
, available now from Wild Child Publishing.

MIKE RESNICK has won five Hugos (and been nominated for thirty-four). According to
Locus
, he is the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short fiction. He is the author of 61 novels, over 225 short stories, and two screenplays, and has edited more than forty anthologies. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages.

LEZLI ROBYN is an Australian writer who made her first professional story sale in November 2008, and since then has gone on to make seven more, to American markets such as Clarkesworld, Jim Baen’s Universe,
Asimov’s
,
Analog
, Hadley Rille Books, DAW, and Tor’s 50th Anniversary
Twilight Zone
anthology, alone or in collaboration with Mike Resnick. She has also resold those stories to foreign fiction markets in China, Poland, Russia, Greece, Italy, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Spain, and Slovakia. She was recently nominated for the Best SF Short Story Aurealis Award for a novelette she wrote with Mike, “Soulmates,” as well as having just found out she’s made the Campbell Award for best new writer.

JEFF RYAN’s
Super Mario: A Biography
will be published by Penguin’s Portfolio imprint in 2011, provided the world lasts that long. What if the Mayans forgot to carry the one, and we’re really doomed a year or two early? What if the Giant Space Baby (circa 2010, after all) eats us? Jeff lives in New Jersey with his wife and daughters, although Jersey itself may be a wasteland of filth and despair by the time this sees print. That is, a bigger wasteland of filth and despair.