It Happened One Doomsday (10 page)

One thing missing from his place was the general sense of decay that pervaded the neighborhood. There was no graffiti on Greyson's building and no junk on the strip of grass out front, which actually looked green and healthy. The modest landscape was subtly well-groomed.

She wasn't sure what that said about Greyson, but she took it as a good sign.

At least the demon hadn't shown up yet. She'd have to work fast. Hopefully, she could find a way to get inside, track down the source of the demonic power, and break its connection to Greyson.

Pretty much impossible. But still, she had to try.

She took a deep breath and checked her crystals. With the quartz shattered and left behind in the garden, all she had left was the shiny cube of galena and a sparkling purple piece of amethyst.

Not much, but they would have to do. Mouth dry, palms sweating, Dru opened the car door and stepped out into the cool Colorado night. The breeze smelled vaguely like wet mud, as if a stream ran behind one of the streets, out of sight.

She looked both ways but saw no one. Down the street, an old car backed out of a driveway and chugged away in the opposite direction, red taillights like possessed eyes.

Dru decided to go the direct route first and walked up to try the worn brass handle on the front door. It was locked. Of course.

She felt along the ledge above the door for a spare key. She found only grit and something that she hoped was a dried leaf, not a spider.

Wiping her hands off on spare napkins from her purse, she circled the building, peering into the few windows, but she could see nothing. When she tried the one farthest from the street, it didn't budge. Actually, none of them budged. They were all locked tight.

She passed the garage door and peeked down the dark alley, seeing nothing but impenetrable blackness. She wasn't brave enough to head down that way. Maybe when Rane showed up.

She felt a sudden, guilty longing for the early days of The Crystal Connection. When she would start every morning by brewing a fresh pot of coffee, vacuuming the front entry, and turning over the plastic sign in the window that proudly announced, “Yes, We're Open!”

Back in those days, the world had seemed so full of potential. Everything was fresh and new. Anything felt possible. She'd been ready to help anyone who needed it. She'd been a little nervous, leaving a safe cubicle job and opening her own business, trying to run it all by herself. But the work was exhilarating.

Curing magic-hangover headaches and nausea. Finding the right ingredients for a good luck charm. Helping the occasional B-list sorceress track down a long-lost book, decode an ancient inscription, or identify an errant creature that had strayed too far into civilization.

Back then, working with a sorceress was like being invited backstage by a rock star. Every time, she had to resist the urge to squeal.

Back then, anything had felt possible.

Now she was keeping secrets from Nate, running around the wrong side of town, and close to ruining her only nice dress.

As she tried to psych herself up to step into the pitch blackness of the alley, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled up. Goose bumps prickled her arms.

The demon was here. She could feel it.

She turned to run back to the car, but she was too late. With a blur of motion, the demon leaped from the darkness above and landed with an earthshaking impact between her and the Prius. His hooves cracked the sidewalk underfoot.

The demon no longer looked even remotely like Greyson. Bare to the waist, his muscles rippled beneath skin that had turned scaly and midnight black. His curled horns had grown huge. His mouth was a nightmare of fangs.

Dru stepped back, gripping the amethyst crystal in her left hand, the galena in her right. “Greyson, it's me. It's Dru.”

The demon's mouth stretched open, fangs glinting in the streetlight, and he let out a bone-shaking roar. The hot steam of his breath filled the air between them.

Cold fear urged her to run. But she kept her feet planted on the ground. Even if she could outrun him, if she fled now, Greyson would be lost forever.

The demon closed the distance between them in three long strides, his hooves clopping like gunshots on the pavement.

“Greyson.” With every ounce of strength Dru could muster, she raised her gaze and stared the demon directly in his molten-iron eyes. “I know you can hear me. Fight it, Greyson. Fight it!”

Because if he didn't, she was doomed. Alone, she was no match for this thing, and she knew it.

The demon stopped, his breath blowing hot on her skin. With a deep grunt, he turned his head away and shook it side to side, his massive horns gleaming.

“Listen to me, Greyson. You're stronger than this. I know you. When we were in the garden, I felt that strength. I know you have it in you.” She longed to reach out and comfort him, but the crystals in her hands felt like loaded weapons. She kept them close to her body. “Follow my voice, Greyson. Remember the way back. I'm here.”

Slowly, the demon's head swiveled back around to face her. The lavalike glow was gone, replaced by glowing red irises.

Deep within them, she could see Greyson staring back at her. Barely, but he was there.

“Dru . . .” he whispered, his voice tortured and hoarse.

“That's it,” she said. “Just breathe. You can do this.”

“I . . . can't . . .” He staggered back, clutching his head with his huge hands. He let out a wordless groan that sounded more animal than human.

She moved to follow him. “You can. I can sense it in you. Don't slip away.”

“Dru. I can't stop it.” He panted. His voice dropped into a monstrous rumble. “Get back. I don't want to—” His words became an anguished growl.

Dru tightened her fists around the crystals. She could feel their energy humming in her fingers. Being this close to Greyson, even though he was corrupted by the demon, somehow magnified her power to an entirely new level. She knew there were forces unfolding here she hadn't even begun to understand.

“I'm not leaving you,” she said. “We're connected. Can you feel it? Greyson, we can find a way. We
will
. Just stay with me.”

He stumbled back, demon head thrashing side to side. Then he stopped.

When he next looked at her, his eyes faded behind the hellish glow. He ground out one last strangled word.

“
Run!
”

Somehow, through the fear that instantly flooded her veins, Dru realized with crystalline clarity that Greyson was trying to save her. It could have been his last conscious moment on earth, and he used it to try to spare her life.

Dru knew then that she'd die before she'd let the demon have him.

She brought up her fists, holding them a shoulder-width apart. A rush of energy sang through her, up and down both arms. She could feel an almost magnetic pull between the crystals. Together, they could protect her. She didn't know how she knew that.

But she
knew
. Felt it deep inside her core. The sheer magnitude of Greyson's presence had unlocked a deep potential within her. It welled up inside her, ready to explode.

The demon straightened up and slowly flexed his arms, thick fingers working the air, primed to grab her. A sigil glowed red-hot on his hands: two triangles with rounded bases, connected by a bar across the top.

As they grew brighter and became white-hot, Dru realized what the sigil was. Scales. Like the scales of justice.

She had no idea what that meant, but she didn't have time to wonder. The demon lunged at her with blinding speed.

Dru drove the heels of her hands together, crystals clutched tight in her fingers. The magic flowed out of her at an indescribable rate, like a river bursting through the floodgates of a dam, many times more powerful than anything she'd ever known. It refracted through the crystals, changed, and emerged as a blinding blue-white glow that enveloped her fists.

The demon's hands struck the outside of her protective aura and halted midswing, as if striking an invisible wall. His touch sizzled.

She felt the impact reverberate through her defenses and into her, a searing pain that burned her soul even more than her skin. She staggered for a moment, then planted her feet and leaned in, desperate to stand her ground.

But the demon kept pushing her back. She fought to hold her place, high heels scraping across the driveway, but she was no match for him. He pushed her until she was pinned against the concrete wall by the alley.

There was nowhere else to go. He had trapped her.

Grinning, the demon pressed on, threatening to crush her behind her own enchantment. The pressure increased until her spell overloaded with a blistering flash and flared out of existence.

Leering, the demon lowered his smoking hands. The afterimage of the magical clash remained burned into Dru's retinas, superimposed on the demon's hulking body. In the sudden silence, her ears popped.

Dru tried to call her magic defenses back, but they were gone. She raised her shaking arms, so heavy she could barely lift them, and opened her sooty hands. The crystals in her palms were blackened, burned. They crumbled, and their remains slipped away through her numb fingers.

The demon opened his jaws wide, fangs wet and sharp, and let loose a terrifying growl.

From the darkness of the alley came a rhythmic clanging that grew louder and faster with every beat.

Rane streaked out of the alley, legs pumping. Her metal skin shimmered beneath the streetlight.

The red-hot glyphs on the demon's hands flared brighter. He raised his fists. But before he could strike, Rane drove her own fist into his face with a deafening clang that rang like a hammer striking an anvil.

The impact drove the demon back, lifting him up off his hoofed feet. He toppled to the pavement with an earthshaking thud, skidded flat on his back, and let out a heavy breath. Then he slumped and lay still.

Rane slowly bent over, hands clutched together under her chin. She sank to her knees on the sidewalk, hunched over until her metal forehead nearly touched the ground, then toppled over onto her side.

Dru, shocked, looked from Rane's still metal form to the demon and back. They both looked as if they could be dead. In the distance, a mournful police siren wailed.

The demon heaved a slow breath. Alive, but out cold.

With tentative steps, Dru crossed the short stretch of concrete and knelt down beside Rane, afraid to touch her, terrified some horrible magical affliction had overcome her.

With a sound like a sword being slid back into its scabbard, Rane became human again. Her skin lost its steely shine and turned tan and soft. Her straight blonde hair fell down over her face, partly obscuring her pained expression. She clutched her right fist and pressed it against her chest, breathing hard.

She opened one squinting eye and glared at Dru.

“Rane?” Dru whispered. “What's wrong?”

“Fuck,” Rane intoned solemnly, as if it were a deep spiritual revelation, “that
hurt
.”

12

THE MONSTERS WE KEEP

Dru pulled Rane to her feet. Even in human form, the woman was deceptively heavy, built like an Amazon in a bright pink tank top and jogging shorts that said
Bad
across the rear.

Unsteady on her feet, Rane held onto Dru for support, then pulled her into a crushing hug. “Dude, I thought you were a goner,” Rane whispered in her ear. “When I saw that light . . .” Her voice caught. She drew in a breath that sounded like the beginning of a sob, then slowly blew it out. “Okay. Okay. We're all good, right?”

“Totally.” Dru gave her a thankful squeeze. But Rane held on, tightening the hug into a back-popping embrace.

Dru tried to wriggle free, but it was like pushing against a brick wall.

“Did he hurt you, D?” Rane said into her hair.

“Ack. I can't breathe.”

“Oh. Right.” Rane finally let her go. She swiped at the corners of her eyes with the heel of her uninjured hand.

“Let me see your hand.” Dru reached for her, but Rane pulled away.

“Whatever. I'm good to go.” Rane circled the unconscious demon, who was stretched out mere inches from the front bumper of Nate's car.

“Thank you. For, you know.” Dru pantomimed slugging the air. “If you'd hit him a little harder, I think I'd be buying Nate a new car.”

Rane put her hands on her hips and glared at the demon. “So now what do we do?”

Distant police sirens grew closer. Down the street, blue and red lights began to reflect off the houses and trees.

Dru looked over her shoulder, down the dark alley. “Can we get him out of sight, at least?”

“Yeah. Bet he's heavy, though. Let me just get my game face on.” Rane played with her rings. “I keep worrying I'm gonna use up this titanium ring. Better switch to the sparky rock.” She closed her hand over the stone ring.

With a grinding sound, patches of Rane's skin turned the same speckled gray of her flint ring. The effect quickly spread until Rane's entire body transformed into solid flint. “Now let's do it.”

Dru kicked off her heels. She struggled to lift Greyson's ankles, but Rane hoisted him up like a sack of groceries. Together, they carried him into the alley. There in the cool darkness, beneath a burned-out light bulb in a cage, was a steel door in the side of the garage. Rane kicked it open, denting the door and splintering the frame.

“Wait!” Dru whispered, realizing the futility of stealth at this point. “We don't even know what's in there!”

“So? Get the lights.” Rane shifted her grip under his armpits and dragged him away into pitch blackness that smelled of gasoline and chemicals.

Dru fumbled blindly, fingers gliding around the jagged wood of the broken doorframe, until she found a light switch. Just as she was about to flip it, a spotlight lit up the alley, shining across graffiti-painted brick walls, wind-blown newspapers, clusters of dead leaves.