Oceans of Red Volume One (6 page)

Snorting, Sharelle answered, “You’ve had several good, strong bodies.  Quit getting them killed.  You’re wasting cattle.”

***

Remy paced the living room while Greg watched out the front window.  Every so often she’d glance at her watch.  “It’s been four hours.  What if she’s not co
ming back?  We shouldn’t have agreed to this.”

Looking over his shoulder, he answered, “She’s coming.  Give it some time.  After they figure out they can’t get any information from her, t
hey’ll send her looking.  They’re going to want to know who did such a clean wipe.  And they’ll want that person in custody as quickly as possible.”

“We should’
ve had the house’s location instilled in her mind.”

“That wouldn’t have
worked.  They’d have smelled a trap.”

Terror threatened to consume her as bile rose in her throat.  Swallowing, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.  “She’s out there
all alone.  We shouldn’t have left her alone.”

Greg returned his gaze out the window.  “She’s not alone, Rem.  By now she has an extremely capable demon inside her.  Right now, she’s in no danger at all.  And she won’t be until she gets here.  Just focus.  When she arrives, we have to be fast.”

***

Kaylyn stood outside the green two story home looking for any sign
s of life within.  Although evening had settled, there were no lights in the house.  Glancing first to the left, and then to the right, the demon noted that lights twinkled from several of the homes lining the street.  The child locked deep in the core of this shell strained and pushed wanting to move forward.  But something didn’t feel right.  Why would this girl so desperately want to return to an empty house?  She opened a link to her supervisor.  “
Sharelle?  There is no sign of life at this location.  The house looks empty.
”

“
What does the child want to do?”

“
She wants to go in.  She desperately wants to go in.”

“
Well then take her in.  There must be something in there she needs.  Be certain to take a good look around.  Someone had to have left traces of something.  I want that wiper in our ranks by morning.”

Closing the link, she moved to the front door.

***

“She’s here,” Greg whispered.

Remy moved behind the kitchen door as he sped across the living room and stepped inside the downstairs bathroom just outside the kitchen.  Concealed in the darkness, they both listened for the opening of the front door.  After a few minutes, there was a soft swoosh of air moving through the house.

Kaylyn stepped inside and closed the door behind her.  Now that they were in the house, Shane’s essence fought against Kaylyn.  Adrenaline filled the body as the young girl tried to regain control and move further into the house.  With little effort, Kaylyn squelched the girl back into the recesses of her mind.  “Tut, tut.  Now is not the time for that nonsense.  What is it you want here?”

Moving toward the dining room, she listened for any sign of life.  Ahead in the kitchen came a faint sound of shuffling.  Tensed and ready to pounce, Kaylyn moved closer.  A small streak of yellow bolted past her.  Spinning, she watched as it shot up the stairway.  “So that’s it?  You want your cat?  And what will we do with a cat?” she laughed.  Shaking her head, she took a step toward the stairway.  “If it will please you, we’ll take it home with us.  But first, I need to have a look around.”

She spun as a loud clank resounded from the kitchen.  “Two cats?  Now that’s asking a lot young lady.  We aren’t going to have time for that.”  Certain only animals resided in the house, Kaylyn moved towards the kitchen.

Greg waited until she’d almost passed the bathroom door, then stepped behind her and
wrapped one arm around her shoulders, effectively pinning her body to his.  The point of a blade gently pressed against her neck.  “Don’t move.  I’ll slit your throat and you can go back to standing in line with the others.”

Before she could answer, Remy raced to Shane’s side and slid a needle into her arm.  As the serum entered the
body, the demon howled in rage.  Slamming her head into Greg’s shoulder, she caused his arm to tighten.  The knife sliced neatly into the young girl’s neck.  Hot, sticky blood poured over his hand.  “Shit.  Oh shit!  Remy, help!”

Shane’s body began to convulse before going limp in his arms.  As he lowered her frail body to the ground, Remy ripped the table cloth from the dining room table.  Pressing it against her sister’s neck, she said, “Shane?  Shane
, stay with me.”

Shane’s red eyes glowed before erupting in a mass of dark smoke. 

“Please stay with me,” Remy screamed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.  Shane?” Greg bellowed.

The last of the smoke dissipated and the young girl’s eyes became blue again.  Reaching up, she placed her hand over Remy’s, and tried to sit up.  “I’m okay.  Seriously, I’m okay.”

Remy pushed her back down to the floor.  “Your throat’s been cut.”

Greg’s voice shook with raw emotion.  “Oh God, I’m so sorry!”

This time Shane shoved her sister’s hand away.  “I told you
, I’m fine.  Turn the lights on and look for yourself.  It’s not deep, I can feel it.”  Then looking through the dark at the place where the light switch should be, she said, “Never mind.  I’ll do it myself.”

Bright light filled the dining room.  Shane pulled the table cloth away from her neck to show them the damage.  Just as she’d proclaimed, the wound was not even deep enough for stitches.  As they watched, it healed completely.  “H-how did you do that?” Remy asked.

Shane winked.  “I’m guessing the devils don’t understand or have never heard about psychic healing.  If they knew, we’d be in even worse trouble.”

Both the older siblings exhaled strongly.

“Jeez, Shane.  It’d be nice if you’d share some information with us once in a while.  I thought I’d killed you,” Greg said.

“You almost did.  I had to wait to begin the healing process until it left my body.  I couldn’t take the chance of it finding out and telling the others.  Luckily, I was right.”

Still shaking, Remy stood and walked into the bathroom.  Unshed tears threatened to spill over as she furiously scrubbed her hands.  A sob caught in her throat as she realized her sister’s blood had pooled and dried around her finger nails. 

“Here, let me help,” Greg said.  Producing a small nail brush from some unknown drawer or pocket, he took her hands and gently went over each nail.

Her body shuddered with the effort of keeping her tears from flowing.  Greg’s unusually gentle kindness had been almost more than she could stand.  She took a deep breath, and cupping her hands, splashed her face.  

Greg stood
quietly to the side, waiting his turn.  Stepping back, she allowed him to take her place while watching him in the mirror.  “We can’t do this.  We can’t move ahead with this.  If she hadn’t thought of that, she’d be dead right now and it’s all our fault.  You and I will have more body strength than she does.  On top of that, even if we go to different processing houses, how can we be certain that the same demon won’t be inserted into one of us?  The minute he sees our reflections in a mirror, he’ll know who we are.  This was a bad idea.”

Without looking up, Greg continued washing his hands.  When he finished, he wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans. 
He glanced at Shane standing in the doorway.  “Are you back with us?  Everything’s back?”

She nodded and pointed to her head.  “Yep.  It’s all here.  As soon a
s I felt the demon leave my body, everything snapped into place.”

Shifting his eyes to Remy, he said, “We don’t have a choice.  You know we don’t have a choice.  It will be easier next time.  We won’t have to use a knife.  Shane can hold us in place.”

Running her fingers through her hair, Remy shook her head.  “Okay, so who goes next?”

Shane almost whispered as she spoke.  “It should be you, Rem.  It’s going to take both of
us to hold Greg.  Any demon who acquires his body will already have the upper hand.”

“And what if we get the same demon?” she asked.

Scratching her head, she thought for a moment.  “I don’t think it works like that.  Once they are terminated here, they have to wait in line for another chance to return.  Sharelle said something about it to Kaylyn.  And something about Kaylyn having many strong bodies before this.  She was bitching about getting stuck with my body.  Can you believe she called me puny?”

***

Remy waited in line with the others.  The fingers of her left hand seemed to have a will of their own.  No matter how hard she tried to remain still, they worked in continuous motion rubbing against the palm of her hand.  She had no idea why she was here, only that she needed to be.  The red-eyed guard at the gate kept meeting her eyes.  She must look as nervous as she felt, but she had no idea why she was nervous. 
How did I get here?
  She knew who she was.  Kind of.  But that was about it.

“Next,” the guard said.

The line moved forward.  Now there were only three spots between her and the guard with the eyes that seemed to know more than she did.  Drawing in a deep breath, she held it and willed her body and mind to be still.

The guard’s eyes darted to her again.

Remy gave him a half hearted smile and released her breath. 

Cocking his head to the side, his eyes remained fixed on her.

She lowered her gaze to her feet.  Seconds later, four large feet came into view. 

“You will come with me
, please.”

Remy looked to her right.  A tall
, ebony man waited for her response.  “Umm, sure.  Okay.”

Placing a hand on her elbow, he led her around those in front of her and through the gate.

As she entered the large brick building, the plaque by the door caught her eye.  Bio-tech Inc? 
What the hell am I doing here?
  She paused for a moment. 

The second guard, walking behind her, placed his hand in the small of her back and gave her a gentle shove.  “Keep moving.  It’ll all be over soon,” he said.

Remy’s muscles clenched.  She didn’t know much right now, but she knew she didn’t want either of these jerks touching her.  Moving forward, she made sure to keep pace with both men.  She wasn’t giving them the opportunity to put their hands on her again.

***

Sharelle removed her hands from Remy’s head and turned to face Kalial.  “Well it’s not as well done as the one earlier today.  This one has some memories and retains much of her essence.”

“Is it the same wiper?”  Kalial returned.

“I don’t think so.  This is poorly done.  I can’t see many memories but there are some.  Especially of her home.”  Sharelle moved to the widow and pulled back the burgundy drapes.  “It bothers me.  Two in one day and both with the same desire to return home.  Something is going on here.  My connection with Kaylyn is severed.  And this one looks remarkably like the other.  She’s taller and has more muscle mass, but you could transpose that face on the other.”

Short and stocky, Kalial moved to her side at a pace unexpected for someone of his girth.  “It’s good I called you then.  We need to have better communication between the houses.  Each house needs to be contacted.”

Sharelle nodded and closed her eyes.  “I will inform the Master.”

Remy stood silently and tried to remember something of importance.  These red eyed people were not her friends.  She was sure of that.  However, she was also certain she was supposed to be here.  Whatever she was doing was important.

Sharelle’s eyes snapped open.  “It is done.  The Master wishes for her to be filled regardless.  She is sending Daelen as a special envoy.”

Kalial’s jaw dropped.  His pasty face grew even whiter.

Seeing his fear, she replied, “He’s on our side, remember?”

Kalial nodded.  “Our side or not, Daelen scares the shit out of me.”

Her head flew back as laughter erupted from her throat.  “Sorcerers are one step away from our own kind.”

“Maybe so, but I still can’t understand allowing a vessel that cannot be filled to remain alive.”

Her voice grew cold as she answered, “It is not for you to question the Master.  Compared to her, we are all lower life forms.”

Chapter Five

When Daelen Atwater entered a room, everyone damn well noticed.  His size alone would have drawn their attention, but his eyes, when focused on any individual in attendance, held it.  Pale green with a luminescence that somehow seemed otherworldly, they peered into the very soul of the onlooker.

Perched atop a plu
sh burgundy chaise lounge, the Master watched the door in anticipation.  The two young men standing just to her right were all but forgotten.  She’d felt his presence the moment he arrived.  Any minute now, he’d enter through the front door.  The tip of her tongue darted between supple lips, moistening them.  An audible groan escaped one of her admirers.  Cat like, she grinned.   She was ready and this time he wasn’t going to get away from her.