Clutch of the Demon (5 page)

Cara shoved him around the corner of the building and clapped a hand over his mouth in case he cried out. The moment she made contact with his skin, evil poured into her. Visions of gunfire and dead bodies flashed through her mind along with images of his childhood. He was filled with black fury. She saw flickering images of him beating a dog to death before he shoved her against the wall, breaking through the visions in her mind. He slammed his forearm over her throat, leaned his face close to hers and applied pressure. Her fingernails scrabbled over the scratchy material of his coat before she kneed him in the crotch. As he staggered backwards, his trench flapped open and she saw the glint of guns.
 

"You shouldn't have interfered," he said in a strange, distorted voice.
 

He smiled as he straightened and went for his gun. Cara whirled for momentum and kicked his wrist as it closed over the handle. The sound of his wrist snapping split the night air and the sound that came from him wasn't human. He attacked like an animal and she easily ducked his punches, which were filled with more strength than a normal human, but he was sloppy and uncoordinated. The most experience he had in fighting was beating those who didn't know how to defend themselves. She did. He managed to plant a fist in her side and that hurt like a bitch. She channeled all her strength into an uppercut that would end this. Teeth flew as his mouth clacked shut. Before he hit the ground, he was out cold. Blood poured from his mouth and she swallowed with difficulty, throat aching. She ran a hand gingerly over her ribs, checking. Bruised, not broken. She stood motionlessly over the unconscious human and waited.
 

Dilated blue eyes laced with red flipped open. There was no humanity left in him. The creature that peered up at her was evil incarnate. "I've heard of you, Cara."

She wasn't speaking to the man, but the demon using him as a puppet to further his propensity for violence and murder.
 

"Want to introduce yourself?" she rasped.
 

"Rage," he said and inclined his head.
 

She crouched beside the human and grasped his face between her palms. Warm blood slid over her hands and once more, she plunged into the human's mind and found icy cruelty. She saw more images of a child being ridiculed by school kids and foster parents. No one wanted him. He loathed his biological parents who threw him away like trash. The demon, Rage, had been working on this human for years, stirring his bitterness and hate to a feverish pitch which would culminate here in a bloody massacre. Cara sent her magic into the human who jolted as if he had received an electrical shock. He reared up to claw her face. She clocked him in the face to stun him and straddled his chest, using her legs to pin his arms to the ground.
 

"Rage, you bastard, come to me," she hissed.
 

The demon was firmly embedded in the human's heart. She streamed more of her magic into the puppet, demanding Rage give himself up. When the demon detached himself from the man and launched himself at her, the impact toppled her backwards. The back of her head smacked the pavement and white-hot shards of pain bolted through her skull. Rage ricocheted inside of her like a pinball and jacked up his power. Her blood boiled and every fiber in her demanded she finish the job the puppet came here for. Murder, retribution. Kill everyone in sight.
 

Cara rolled onto all fours and her body bowed as she tried to contain Rage. The demon filled every inch of her body with hate and a need to make everyone fear her. She struggled to focus. She chipped the pavement beneath her fingers as she fought the demon's compulsion. Her hand rose and hovered over the unconscious man beside her. His coat was open and the guns on his torso gleamed seductively in the light. An image flashed into her mind and it was enough to block out the poison drowning her. She jerked her hand away from the guns and glanced up to locate the security cameras. She whispered under her breath, gathered herself and screamed.

People rushed around the corner of the building and Cara burst into tears. It took only a matter of minutes for airport police to arrive. They examined her bruised throat, knot on the back of her head and ripped clothes.
 

"He attacked me and I fought back," Cara wept. "I don't even know him!"

Medics arrived and treated the wound on her head and checked to make sure her throat wasn't damaged. She didn't tell them that this was the second time within an hour that someone had gone for her throat. Cara gratefully accepted some painkillers and made sure she cried a lot when questioned about what happened during her encounter with the would-be terrorist. She made sure her story matched what they would see on the cameras when they replayed the video.
 

"He said he was going to k-kill everyone," Cara stammered. "Good thing I went to defense classes."

The police treated her with great care and assured her they would take care of her unconscious attacker who was rushed away in an ambulance with a police escort. By the time she gave her statement and limped to the ticket counter, the sun began to rise.
 

People stared at her mussed and bruised appearance, but no one asked questions. Rage's spirit beat against her insides and she staggered. Someone asked if she needed a wheelchair and she declined. When she slipped off her shoes for TSA, someone shoved her from behind. Her leash slipped on the demon and she turned with murderous intent on the asshole before she caught herself. She stood in place, so rigid that she trembled. She closed her eyes and tried to control Rage who was furious at being thwarted.
 

"Ma'am?"
 

Cara opened her eyes and saw a female TSA agent regarding her with a combination of suspicion and wariness. Cara swallowed and winced. It felt as if she had glass shards in her throat.
 

"You okay?" the agent persisted.
 

Cara nodded and walked through the metal detector. She wasn't surprised when TSA pulled her aside for a more thorough search. Cara knew the agent that asked her if she was okay was responsible for this 'routine procedure.' Although Cara didn't appreciate it, the agent had good instincts. Cara
was
dangerous. Once the inspection was over, she limped to the nearest bathroom. She scrubbed the dirt and blood off of her face and brushed her hair. She didn't have the energy for more than that. Rage howled inside of her and flashed gruesome images in front of her that temporarily blinded her before she bitch slapped him. She zipped her jacket up as high as it could go to cover the mottled bruises on her throat. She bought a bottle of water, painkillers and sleeping pills with the last of her money. She collapsed in her seat on the plane, turned towards the window and downed four pills. She made sure Rage wouldn't slip away from her while she was unconscious. Who knew what havoc he could wreak in a plane cabin? She didn't want to know.

She switched planes in London and felt like a stiff zombie. It was the last leg of her trip and she was beyond exhausted. She bared her teeth in a painful grimace as she sat and tried to find a position that didn't make her feel like shooting someone. Her voice wasn't louder than a whisper and no matter how many pills she took, she was in agony.
 

Rage didn't help matters. During the layover, she snapped at anyone that jarred her and when someone rolled a suitcase over her foot during the layover, she got up and kicked the offender's suitcase. Fortunately, the woman was in such a hurry that she didn't have time to do more than toss Cara a harried, disbelieving look before she rushed onward. Rage ravaged her insides brutally as everyday drama unfolded around her during the layover. Bratty kids screamed for candy while a wife screeched at her husband when she found a text on his phone that indicated he was cheating. Two seats down, a grandmother tried to convince her granddaughter that the child she carried would ruin her life.
 

Cara's head throbbed with the need to scream, to vent and punish these people for being so callous, weak and
human
. There was no restraint, no order. She bowed her head as people boarded the plane in an uncoordinated, slow trickle. She blocked out the urge to shove people into their seats and rail at the chatty women sitting two rows behind her. Rage sensed how perilously close she was to losing control. He gleefully shoved her towards the edge of a cliff from where there would be no return. Panic fluttered through her. Was she strong enough to contain Rage from London to Ireland? Her hands trembled over the belt buckle, debating. She didn't have the money for another ticket, but what if she went postal during the flight?

Are you possessed?

The Ancient's voice broke through the panic and she stilled.
What?
 

You let the demon possess you.

Cara scowled.
I had no choice. I couldn't let him possess the police or one of the passengers.
 

Are you strong enough to hold him?

She was about to snap back at him when Rage viciously sank his teeth into her heart. The belt around her waist was the only thing that kept her in place as Cara bent over, the top of her head touching the seat in front of her. The man across the aisle watched her excitedly. Freaking pervert.

Are you strong enough?

The Ancients voice was cold. It forced her to focus. Pride reared its head and she bitch slapped Rage again. He was momentarily stunned and it gave her enough time to catch her breath and answer.
I'm almost at the end of my rope, but I can handle him.
 

Do you do this often?

The knot on the back of her head had its own pulse. She dug around in her purse for more pills and ignored the teenagers that sat beside her, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings to each other. She tilted her head back to swallow the pills and ignored the wary glance the couple shot her.
 

The demon knew your name.

So, the Ancient watched the fight she had with the human and Rage. She couldn't help feeling a bit miffed that he hadn't stepped in to help. If he had, she wouldn't be such a battered mess.
 

I'm a demon hunter
, she said shortly.

But you're human.

No shit, Sherlock, she thought.
 

How did you know the human was possessed?

She huffed impatiently.
I can sense when a demon is near. It's like getting a whiff of a sewer.
 

Cara jolted forward when a large woman hit her seat from behind. The woman's strong perfume wreathed Cara's senses and when she sneezed, her whole body shrieked in protest.
 

You're able to resist being completely possessed by a demon. How?

She rubbed a shaking hand over her face. She should be grateful that the Ancient distracted her while people settled into their seats at a snail's pace. Some asshole held up the line as he tried to shove a huge bag into the overhead bin. The flight attendants tried to squeeze their way through the masses to get to the asshole and Cara closed her eyes as her head throbbed. Rage tossed tempting images into her mind. She felt as if she was drowning in his power. She desperately reached for a memory of her mother and let her heart fill with love. Rage howled as bits of his spirit disappeared, ravaged by an emotion he didn't understand.

I love my mom and sister. As long as I keep my eyes on my family, I can resist the demons temptations. Demons can't possess someone filled with more love than hate.

There was a long silence she didn't understand. She could hear the flight attendants trying to reason with the cheap ass who wanted to take things out of his bag and toss them into the other overhead bins. She blew out a long breath and tried to get comfortable. This was going to be a long flight.
 

Some puppets carry out demons' biddings unknowingly.
 

Even though he didn't say it, the man that Rage possessed appeared in her mind. Did the Ancient think the human had been an innocent victim? She relaxed fractionally as everyone settled and the plane began to move.
 

He wasn't innocent
, she informed the Ancient wearily and closed her eyes.
He's been a bully all of his life. He would adopt dogs from shelters just to beat them to death. Rage didn't possess him long, he just pushed the human to the next level. He wants to punish the world for his life and die in glory.

And how do you know that?
 

When I touch people who are possessed, I see visions.
Cara said woozily as the pills began to take effect.
Everyone has a streak of evil in them, so anyone can be possessed. But, if the good in that person is greater than the evil part, the demon will eventually flee because he can't force a human to do his bidding, he can only tempt and manipulate.
 

How old are you?

She was so startled by the question that her eyes opened.
Twenty six.

You are young to know so much about evil and demons. We have much to talk about when you arrive.
 

Cara shrugged, propped her shoulder against the oval window and was asleep before the plane left the ground.

Chapter Five

Cara stood at the edge of the Cliffs of Moher. This time, she could see the cliffs in all their grandeur. It was a clear day and the wind that blew in from the sea took her breath away. She fell to her knees beside the goat path and looked out over the ocean. A swift glance down made her shuffle back a little. How she made it down this path the first time was beyond her. She couldn't see much of the trail before it disappeared from sight. She dreaded the climb down. She closed her eyes, tipped her head back and enjoyed the feel of the sun on her face. Was this the last time she would see the sun and sky? She ran her hands over the blades of grass around her and took a deep breath.