Devil Inside (59 page)

When she quit fighting the three Nocte let go of her arms and legs.  She took several calming breaths and walked away from her friend’s remains and the Nocte that had helped cause her death.  Walking to the other side of the storeroom, Harley found the source of human blood she had smelled.  In a staff bathroom Harley found two bodies.  A man and a woman were tossed on the floor like trash.  They were both young and it made Harley’s heart ache to look at them.  The way their bodies had been discarded left them lying together on their sides facing each other.  Their arms overlapped each other as if they were about to embrace.  If it wasn’t for the raw, handprint-shaped burns on their faces Harley might have been able to convince herself they were asleep.

The store’s back door was ajar and the lock broken.  This was surely the way that Cassandra and the Rogue had both entered.  Harley didn’t realize how desperate she was for fresh air until she stepped into the cool night air.  She gulped at the air trying to regain some sense of calm.  Outside she found the remains of the two local Nocte that had been with Cassandra.  They must have died long enough before Cassandra that they had burned before Harley and the others had even arrived.  Harley picked up a cinder block that must normally be used to prop the door open.  She slung it across the parking lot with all her might and it shattered into dust as it skidded across the pavement.  The outburst didn’t change anything, but it did make her feel better.

Harley looked up when the others walked through the door.  It was only Levi and Nya.  Evie and Rafe must have left through the front door—that was probably wise.  Harley felt like she had swallowed glass.  Losing Cassandra brought back the pain of losing Jamie.  Two friends lost to greedy creatures intent on gaining money, power and who knows what else.  One friend lost to Cutter.  One friend lost to the Rogue. 

“Why was she even here?” Harley asked Levi and Nya both.  Her throat was tight with unshed tears and it took great effort to not choke on the words.

Levi shook his head sadly.  “Evie wasn’t sure.  Cassandra didn’t check with them after they split up.  But we did find some empty boxes.  It smells like there were drugs in them at one time.  This place is probably part of the drug distribution line.”

It took all of Harley’s self control to not go running off into the night in search of both the Rogue and Cutter.  Every inch of her burned for vengeance and she struggled to rein in her anger.  She knew that she would need to focus her feelings—she  needed to gain control over them or they would control her.

It was two more nights before Harley’s group finally found Amber.   All three groups had been searching for the distributing Ignis for two days and nights before Harley’s Nocte sense finally picked up on a hum that had hit pay dirt.  Cassandra’s death left no doubt that the Rogue was in California.  Both the Vigilum and the Praesidio picked up the pace in their searching.  None of them knew just how to process the loss of their friend.  The only way any of them were able to maintain their focus on the situation was to turn her death into motivation and fuel for the mission.  Nothing the Rogue did could have made their fight to stop him more personal that killing their friend.  His confidence, arrogance and malevolence couldn’t be more clear to them.

Harley, Nya and Levi had been walking for less than an hour when Harley felt the buzz of a nearby Ignis.  It started at the top of her head and traveled down her spine.  “Hey guys,” she called out softly.  She stopped and turned in a circle trying to get a feel for the direction the hum was coming from.

Nya and Levi stopped and turned.  “What is it?” Nya asked.

“There’s an Ignis close.”  Levi and Nya followed her as she wound her way through people.

“Is it the right one?” Levi asked.

“I’m not sure,” she answered, distracted.  She followed the hum and the other two followed her.  Less than an hour later Harley had finally zeroed in on the Ignis buzz and was standing next to a small apartment building.  She stood studying the air and the evil energy that flowed through it.  Neither Nya nor Levi disturbed her while she tried to figure out what she had found.

“Bingo,” she breathed finally getting just the right shift in the air.

“Is it her?” Nya asked with a growing smile.

“I pretty sure that it is.  The Ignis in the apartment on the end does indeed distribute drugs.  A lot of drugs.  And it’s a woman.”  Harley tilted her head.  “There are kids involved somehow.”

“How do you want to handle this?” Nya asked.

“I say we bust in and tie her up and interrogate her.  It worked last time,” Levi shrugged.

“Works for me,” Harley answered.

“How about I take care of this?” Nya asked.  “It’s my favorite part I think.”

Harley chuckled and Levi smiled at Nya.  “Go for it,” he said.  Harley and Levi waited across the street as Nya practically skipped to the door of the apartment.  The apartment was on the ground floor and the front door opened directly onto the street, so that made getting in a little simpler.

Nya knocked at the door with a jaunty pleasant knock and waited.  Harley could hear a muffled question from inside the apartment.  Instead of trying to come up with a response that would get the Burner to open the door, Nya leaned back and kicked the door open.  It broke with a loud boom and Nya didn’t waste any time in entering the apartment.  Harley, unfortunately, didn’t get to see Nya take the Ignis down since they were inside and she didn’t have a clear view.  But Harley had gotten her ass kicked enough by the general to be able to imagine just how quickly Nya had the Burner under control.

A short while later Nya poked her head out of the door. “All clear,” she called giving them a thumbs up.

When Levi and Harley entered the apartment they found the Burner tied with silver wire on the floor in front of a worn but plush couch.  The Ignis had mousey brown hair and was dressed conservatively in a blue blouse and gray slacks.  If her eyes hadn’t been flashing with animal shine, Harley could have believed she was an accountant or a librarian.  The Burner struggled against the silver wire but wasn’t having any lucky breaking it.  Her skin was starting to burn and the smell was beginning the waft through the apartment.  As always, the sharp, pungent odor of burnt flesh caused Harley’s heart to clench painfully.  Smell had a powerful ability to trigger memories, and unfortunately for Harley, this smell would forever remind her of the night her life had been shattered. 
Actually, maybe it’s a good thing the burnt smell always reminds me of Jamie—and now Cassandra
, Harley thought as she watched the Ignis struggling at her feet. 
It will always make sure I remember what’s most important.
  She shook her head to clear the nostalgia that threatened to cloud her mind.

The Ignis glared at the three Nocte as Levi propped the door back up into its frame.  Harley hoped that if anyone heard them enter they wouldn’t pay enough attention to call the police.  Nya had a small scratch on her chin that had healed already leaving a steak of dried blood.  That was the only indication that Nya had had struggle with the woman at their feet.

“We have some questions for you,” Harley said squatting next to the woman but keeping far enough distance that the woman couldn’t reach her easily.  The woman continued to glare at them without speaking.

“Are you going to answer them?” Harley asked.  She was already forming a plan on how to make the woman talk.  “Hey,” she said looking at Nya over her shoulder.  “You want to use the wire again?”

“Sure,” Nya said with a smile.  “It worked last time.”  She pulled the bundle out of the pocket of her sweat pants and handed it to Harley.

The Burner’s eyes widened at the sight of the sharp, pointy, silver wire.  She licked her lips and finally spoke.  “I guess you have something creative in mind for that wire, huh?”  Her voice was calm despite her situation.

“Yep,” Harley answered.  “You’re Amber, right?”

“I am,” she answered.  The Ignis sighed.  “And I’m going to die either way, right?”

“Right.”

“So, if I tell you what I know—you won’t use that wire.  And you’ll kill me quick.”

“Exactly.”  Harley was pleasantly surprised by the Burner’s attitude.  If she hadn’t picked up on the fact that the woman not only distributed drugs to local dealers, she also sold drugs to the kids that she taught at a nearby high school, she would almost consider letting her live.

“Fine,” the Ignis said.  She wasn’t weak or scared.  She just knew the reality of the situation and was choosing to go out with dignity.

“Who do you get your drugs from?” Harley asked her.  She took a deep breath.  She could smell the chemicals somewhere in the house.

The woman didn’t seem surprised by her question.  “His name is Danny.  I text him and he texts me back with a pick up location.  If you are trying to find him, though, you are going to have a problem.  I just got my shipment from him yesterday.  He’s not going to meet with me to give me more.  It’s against policy.  And if I try he will know something is up.” 

Harley sighed and looked at Nya and Levi.  “Any ideas?” she asked them.  Neither of them answered while they thought.

“I have one,” Amber said.

Harley scowled at her.  “Why are you being so helpful?”

The Ignis woman shrugged and winced as the silver wire dug into her skin.  “You’re going to kill me either way.  I’m not stupid.  I’d rather not suffer any more than necessary.  I’ve heard of you, you know.”  She smiled at Harley.

“Excuse me?” Harley asked, feeling her blood run cold.  Levi and Nya tensed at the woman’s words.

“Yeah,” Ignis said.  “Look, do me a favor.  Cut the wires off.  I’ll tell you what I know and I’ll even help you find who you are looking for.  I’m not going to fight you.  There’s no way I would win.  I know that.  Like I said, this is going to happen and I’d rather it be as quick as possible.”  Harley looked at her doubtfully.  “OK, OK.  The other reason I’m being so helpful is because I really hate that asshole Cutter.”

Harley’s heartbeat slammed in her chest at Cutter’s name.  She didn’t need to look to Nya or Levi to know their reactions were the same.  Using the serrated edge at the base of her knife she snapped the wires from the Burner’s wrist and the woman shook her hands to relieve the burning stripes in her skin.  Harley left the wires on her ankles.  The woman’s socks protected her skin from direct contact with the silver wire so the skin wasn’t actually burning.  The Burner didn’t complain or try to convince her to free her feet. 

“I have heard that there was a Nocte woman that was hunting Cutter.  I am assuming that is you, right?”

“Yep.”

Amber nodded.  “I don’t have a way to contact him directly.  But I know that he is meeting a friend of mine to drop off a shipment of salts that’s going to be taken south.”

Harley’s Nocte growled.  “When is the shipment drop?”

“Thursday afternoon at my high school near the beach.”  Amber gave them address and time of the meeting.

That gave them three days to prepare.  “A school?” Harley confirmed.

“Yeah.  School’s not in session right now.  But we have meetings often enough that no one would pay attention to cars in the parking lot.”

“Why should we trust you?”  Harley knew the question was cliché and moot at this point.  But she felt compelled to ask it anyway.

“You’ve met Cutter.  Is there much to like about him?” she laughed humorlessly and Harley shrugged her agreement.

“Who told you about me?”

“Cutter has put the word out.  We are supposed to kill you on sight.”

“Lovely,” Levi muttered from behind Nya.

“So, Cutter knows I’m in L. A.?”

“I guess he figured that you would be eventually,” Nya said from behind her.

“What do you know about the Rogue?” Harley asked Amber.

“The what?”  The Ignis was genuinely confused.

“The one responsible for the killings—of the Lux and the Nocte and the humans.”

Amber shrugged.  “I didn’t think that it was anyone in particular.  I just figured it was Cutter expanding his territory or something.”

Harley nodded.  The woman was telling the truth and there wasn’t anything else that she could help them with.  Again, Harley felt a nag of regret at having to kill the woman who had been so helpful.  But then she remembered the things this Ignis was guilty of.  “Do you like being an Ignis?  Do you enjoy the things that you do?”

Amber’s eyes flashed and her previously passive face shifted into a look of hunger.  “Of course.  Don’t you like being a Nocte?”

It was the only reminder that Harley needed as to what she needed to do.  She killed the Ignis quickly with a knife to her heart since none of them needed to feed and the three of them left the small apartment.

“Didn’t that seem entirely too easy?” Harley asked as they made their way back to their hotel.

“If this were a movie,” Nya laughed.  “This would be the point that we rush into the trap that was just set up by one of the bad guys.”  Anyone who didn’t know them well would never be able to tell just how much they hurt over Cassandra’s death.  But Harley could see it.  Nya’s eyes didn’t burn quite as madly as they normally did.  There was levity behind the hazel that indicated the heaviness of her heart.  Levi kept rubbing his face.  It was a clear indication that he was stressed.  Harley hadn’t seen Evie or Rafe since finding Cassandra, but she knew they would show it as well.  As much as Harley hated Rafe, he was Praesidio.  He wasn’t an enemy.  He would be just as upset by his teammate’s death as the rest of them.  Maybe more so if he was feeling any guilt.  Harley’s own grief was a bruised heart and ached with each beat.