Pale Demon (46 page)

The unassuming-looking driver had unbuckled his seat belt and turned to us. His face was thin, and his expression from under his straggly brown hair severe. And his eyes…had gone vampire black. I shivered, feeling an ancient force take over the car, vampire incense filling me to overflowing. I stifled a shiver, a hand against my neck. Shit, this guy wasn’t a driver. This guy was I.S. Inderland Security.

“Oliver,” the man said, his voice causing ripples of sensation across my skin, “we at the I.S. think you’ve fucked this up far enough. If Rachel permanently eliminates the threat of this day-walking demon, no one will care if she’s the queen of the damned and eats live kittens for breakfast in front of kindergarteners. You will leave her alone, or you will find yourself disgraced.”

“Who the hell are you?” Oliver spouted, red faced, but he was scared. So was I.

Vivian flicked her eyes from Oliver to the driver, inching away from Oliver. Pierce, too, was staring with openmouthed awe. I just wanted to get out of this car before the vampire toxins sunk in my neck had me throwing myself at the guy. He was a living vampire, seeing as the sun was still up, but he was channeling a dead one. A really powerful, really old dead one.

“I’m your downfall, Oliver,” the man said, and I shivered. “If you push, I will be on you with bodies in your pool and satanic symbols etched into your children’s foreheads. But if all you put your faith in is titles, then I am the acting head of the I.S. west of the Mississippi, and as it stands, your coven is useless.” His eyes went to mine, and a small sound slipped out. “You need to replace them with people not afraid to get dirty for the greater good.”

I didn’t think he was talking about the rock dust, and I smiled, letting it fade when he glanced at me.

“We’re as close as we dare get,” he said, and my pulse pounded when he leaned between Oliver and Vivian to take my unresisting hand in his. Pierce bristled, and amusement danced in the man’s black eyes. “We at the I.S. wish you luck, demon. Letting you wallow amid mediocrity was our error.” He looked at Oliver, then back to me. “Our grave error. Good hunting, Rachel.”

It took me three times, but I stammered, “Th-thank you.” Oh God. If I could pull this off, the I.S. would be…well, they’d probably not be on my side, but I’d probably not be on their hit list anymore. They’d grant me respect, maybe? Oh crap. Did I want their respect? They’d probably want me to do stuff for them.

The vampire kissed the top of my hand—and a thrill of desire spiraled through me, pulled into existence by a slip of teeth and the scent of incense. And then…he was gone, his door thumping shut behind him and his quickly moving figure getting into the first car. It drove away fast, the car behind us following. Silence crept in my open window, and fresh air coming right off the bay. We’d passed the chocolate factory on the way in, and I thought I could smell it.

“I’m not getting out of this van,” Oliver said.

Vivian’s brow furrowed. “Got that right,” she said tightly, and then I gasped when she hauled off and hit him square in the jaw.

Pierce cried out, but it was over and the man had slumped to the door, out cold. Vivian was wringing her hand, eyes tearing as she held her red knuckles. A charm must have been involved because she hadn’t hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious. “That hurt,” she gasped, smiling. “Damn, I’m going to pay for that when the charm wears off, but it felt really good. He’s such a prick.”

Just three of us, then,
I thought, glad of it. Oliver would have messed it up.

A quiver went through me. It was time.

T
he rasp of the side door opening was loud, and heart pounding, I slid across the seat and followed Pierce out. We were at a sloping park where the streetcars turned around. The grass was cut and the bushes were manicured. Across the street, where the beach was, there was a small stone building that might once have been a public bathroom but was now boarded up. The wind was brisk by the water, and I sniffed, not bothering to tap a line.

It figured that Ku’Sox would be down here. Regular magic wouldn’t work well. Demon magic would, though, and I smiled grimly, feeling like a cupcake on a sparkling white plate.
Here I am, Ku’Sox. Come take a bite.

My shoes hit the pavement, and I looked at them, wondering how they had found me a pair so fast when the city had come to a standstill. They weren’t new.

“Rachel, you said you had something for us to do?”

I forced the worry out of my eyes as I turned to Pierce. “Keep me alive when it’s over?” I said weakly, and he took my hand. It was a horribly romantic gesture, and it only made me feel worse. Things were clearer to me than they had ever been, and yet I gave his fingers a squeeze before I pulled away and turned to Vivian. There was a radio playing somewhere, and she was squinting up into the distant buildings, trying to place the sound. Otherwise, it was silent, rubble strewn about the edge of the shore. On the bay, it was beautiful, not a car on the bridge or a boat running out to Alcatraz.
Hi, Mary. Eat your toast and kill your magic. It’s not worth it.

I didn’t understand this. My entire life would be decided in the next five minutes, the lives of Ivy and Jenks, the safety of all good people, and here I was delighting in the smell of the seaweed and how the sun shone on the tiny little bugs darting on the hard-packed shore.

“Vivian,” I said, forcing myself to look back to her. “Oh, Vivian,” I said, softer when I saw her fear.

“I’m fine,” she asserted, her voice shaking. “Trent isn’t answering his phone. I’m sorry. I’ll keep trying. I think he flew back to Cincinnati with his little girl. What else can I do? I want to help.”

The woman was terrified, and my heart went out to her. She had fought Ku’Sox for three days, seen two of her peers
eaten alive
. And yet she stood by me, ready to fight to the last. I didn’t want her here. I needed her in the city finding me a collective.

My hair lifted in the wind off the bay, and I smiled at the feeling.
Focus, Rachel, focus.
“Will you go back to the city for me?” I said, figuring the I.S. “driver” had left the keys.

“L-leave you?” she stammered, and I took her arm, leading her back to the van. “I can help!”

“I’m counting on it,” I said. “I need you to go back. Stop at every church you can find. There are people there, right? Get them to ring the bells for me.”

She stared, her blue eyes going wide. “For a collective,” she said breathily, realizing what I was asking. A city-wide collective hadn’t happened since the Turn. It was both a warning and a gathering. An act of trust. I didn’t know if they would help or not, but if they didn’t, then I would fail and they would suffer.

“I’ll do it,” she said, her voice trembling. “Rachel, if I have to light a fire in the middle of San Francisco, I will get you a collective. I promise.”

Somehow I managed a smile, and I stumbled when she gave me a quick hug. Her eyes were brimming when she stepped back.

I blinked fast, trying not to tear up. “Thanks,” I said, and her dusty shoes with the little bows scraped as she started to drift backward. “Don’t take too long.”

Nodding, she turned and went back to the van. The door creaked as it opened, and her slight figure made the jump inside. “At least there won’t be any traffic,” she said, and the door thumped closed.

The rumble of the van echoed against the abandoned buildings as the engine turned over. I felt Pierce’s presence beside me, and together we watched her pull away. The sound of the van quickly vanished, and we were alone. Sort of. Ku’Sox was here somewhere.

Nervous, I rubbed my palms together and breathed in the last of the exhaust fumes. “You don’t think they dropped us off at the wrong beach, do you?” I asked, and Pierce took my shoulders and turned our backs on the bay to look up to the hills of San Francisco. From here, everything looked normal, if a shade quiet and with the air markedly clean. If I had to do this with someone, I could do far worse than Pierce.

“Rachel,” Pierce said, the depth of the emotion in his voice stopping me cold. He was going to say something, overcompensating for his part in getting me cursed. But I was a demon and he had devoted his life to killing them. I didn’t want to hear it.

“Wait,” I interrupted, turning to find that he was too close. I didn’t move as he reached to steady me, his hand not falling when I found my balance. His dusty hair was all over, making him look endearing as he squinted from the wind off the bay. The slant to his eyes was determined, and I knew he had the strength to back up whatever he deemed a worthy task. He thought he loved me, even forgiving me for having prevented him from killing Al, and it was breaking my heart.

And I will cry when I go because I could love you forever.

I couldn’t love him. It would destroy him slowly, and I didn’t want that.

I leaned toward him, wishing I didn’t stink of the ever-after and demons. He blinked as he saw my intention, and his hands moved, one sliding behind my neck and the other holding firmly to my fingers. My head tilted and my lips opened. They met his in a shock of ley line, and I quivered.

I felt a tear slip out as Pierce held me, space between us as we kissed, leaving me aching when our lips parted. I didn’t know why I’d done it, except that I might die today. At least I’d die in the sun.

“Pierce,” I said softly, our kiss ended but our foreheads still touching. “I can’t—”

We shifted apart, and he put a finger to my lips. I could taste his salt, and I blinked fast.

“I know,” he said, his eyes flicking behind me to the water for a moment as if unable to hold my gaze. “Don’t say it,” he asked. “Wait until the sun sets tonight, and if we are both here to see it, then my heart will break knowing you are safe and yet not to be mine. If you are gone, then my heart will break knowing that God has taken you home, because there is no way in hell that that demon Ku’Sox is going to kill you. I won’t allow it.”

There was a lump in my throat, and I wiped my eyes, only to get the grit of sand in them.

“No,” I said, taking a step back until his hands fell from me. “Pierce, I don’t love you.” His lips twitched, hearing a lie that wasn’t there, and I took his hands. “I don’t love you,” I said again, my throat closing up. “I loved the idea of you and me together, and from that, maybe someday love could have come, but that isn’t going to happen. Ever. I am a demon.”

He took a breath to protest, his eyes wild and his denial obvious. “You are not.”

My eyes dropped to his hands holding mine, seeing his calluses and strength. “I am. I did something no witch, no male demon can do, and all the demons agree. There’s no way around it. It’s not like I wanted this.” My voice had gotten squeaky, and I looked up, seeing panic in him.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, sniffing back a tear before it showed. “It doesn’t mean I’m bad, but it does mean that there is no way that…” I stopped. It was too hard to say.

His grip on mine tightened, but I felt dead inside. “I’m not afraid.” Pierce’s hand drew me closer, and I resisted until he eased his pull.

“I’d never hurt you,” I protested, remembering him standing before Ku’Sox, fighting for my safety, risking his life for me. What person wouldn’t be humbled by that? Grateful?

His gaze jumped to mine, his anger lighting his eyes. “I meant I’m not afraid of love being difficult. If it was easy, then everyone would find it. But have it your way.”

He turned away, and I reached after him, saying nothing as my hand dropped. It was better this way. “Perhaps you should call him out,” Pierce suggested, angrily looking at the hills.

I nodded, even as my stomach clenched. I’d told him I didn’t love him, and he didn’t seem to care. I’d told him I was a demon, and he’d said so what? Then told me love was hard. I knew that, but it shouldn’t be impossible.

Shoes silent on the pavement, I walked across the street to the beach, stepping up onto the cement bench next to the boarded-up restrooms. It was covered in gang runes, and my feet spread wide, I cupped my hands around my mouth. Damn it, why couldn’t I have a normal life?

“Ku’Sox!” I shouted up into the park, my frustration giving my voice some anger. “You have something that belongs to me!”

The radio, I realized, was playing bouncy beach music. With a sudden snap, it vanished. My pulse hammered, and I glanced at Pierce. He was standing with his hands clasped, ready to fight for me, even after I’d told him I didn’t love him. Why?

“Just a minute!” Ku’Sox shouted back, and my lips parted. I did not believe this. Just a minute? Had he really told me to wait?

Pierce shrugged, and I jumped from the bench. “You might want to put some space between us if you want to stay alive,” I suggested, forcing myself not to touch my splat gun.

Pierce put his hands on his hips, flicking his duster back. “You might want to put yourself in a bubble to do the same.”

What was I thinking, taking Ku’Sox on without Al? But he had Ivy and Jenks, and I wasn’t going to wait.

A soft scrape of boot on stone pulled my head around and I felt the blood drain from my face. It was Ku’Sox, his arm around Ivy’s neck and his other hand twisting her arm painfully behind her as he forced her down the park steps.

“Let me go, you freak!” I heard her sputter as she strained to break his grip, but it was useless. One of her eyes was black, and she had a split lip.

“Jenks!” I shouted as they reached the bottom, and I pulled out the splat gun, my grip sweaty and the ley line I was connected to seeming to jump in me. “Where’s Jenks?”

Ku’Sox stopped in the middle of the street, his steel gray hair close to his head, shining in the sun like raven wings. Looking as if he was enjoying himself, he tugged Ivy around to be his shield. “Tell her what happened to the pixy,” he said softly, whispering it into her ear as his eyes bored into mine and the wind played with his hair.

My heart almost stopped.
Jenks…

“He’s okay!” Ivy said, Ku’Sox’s hand going white-knuckled as he gripped her throat. “Short dick here had to lock him in a box. Jenks kept slicing his ear off.”

Ku’Sox bore down on her, and she choked, falling to one knee.

“Hey!” I shouted, taking a step forward, splat gun raised. “Let her go. It’s me you want.” God, I felt as if I were in a western.
Hand over the little lady there, partner, and we’ll settle this like men.
I was so screwed.

Ku’Sox grinned, showing his small white teeth. “Does it bother you?” he asked, yanking her up and dragging her through the rubble that littered the street. Her foot got wedged between two rocks, and he yanked her free. My face went blank at her muffled grunt of pain.

Fingers shifting on the butt of my weapon, I said, “Let her go, and come over here. I’ll whisper in your ear how bothered I am.”

Confident and sure of himself, Ku’Sox stopped at the curb. His hand opened, and Ivy fell, her elbow slicing open on a chunk of ragged concrete. Head down so her hair hid her face, she pulled herself together, lashing out with her good foot, making Ku’Sox dance sideways.

I shot at him as he was distracted, but he raised a bubble, absorbing it.

Ivy, though, was free, and my heart quickened. I slowly continued to draw that broken energy into me, pulling it from the jagged lines and trying to organize it.

“I only snapped every bone in her body and mended it to get you to come face me,” he said, mocking me as he grabbed her shoulder and pinned her where she sat. “It took me a day before I realized you were unconscious and not simply afraid, but I thought, why stop now? I was bored, so she got a little more. We had fun, didn’t we, Ivy girl?”

I seethed, my hands in fists, as Ivy didn’t look up.

“It was only play,” Ku’Sox was saying. “Nothing permanent. I—”

In a smooth motion, I pushed the energy from my chi into my hand. Grunting, I threw it. There was probably little besides eating her that Ku’Sox could do to Ivy that Piscary hadn’t done already, but something in me had snapped.

Ivy screamed defiantly, kicking his feet out from under him and rolling away before the demon could direct my energy into her. Ku’Sox fell, arms flailing. My ball of unfocused energy arched to him.

“Celero inanio!”
I shouted, exploding it right above him.

He cowered, a dark sheet of ever-after snapping over him. I knew such a common spell wouldn’t hurt him, but it shut him up.

Ivy had staggered to her feet and was limping fast to Pierce, not me. Wise woman. I needed room to work, and I shifted my stance for better purchase.

“Oh, really. Grow up, will you?” Ku’Sox muttered as he got to his feet and his bubble flickered out of existence.

There was a tweak on my awareness as he pulled heavily on a line. Not trusting anything but a well-drawn circle, I dove to the side, landing with my back to that squat building between Ku’Sox and me. I watched his black ball of nastiness thump into the sand at the edge of the sidewalk. Water and grit sprayed up, a tiny crater hissing as it cooled to a green, milky glass.

“That’s how the big boys do it,” he said with satisfaction, but I couldn’t see him. Crap, I had to get away from this building before he simply blew it up around me.

“Ivy?” I called, praying as I hurriedly sketched a circle around me. He’d simply break through it, but there were no bells ringing yet. I had to stall him.

“I’m good!” came back, and I crab-walked to the edge of the building and looked, seeing her with Pierce, crouched beside a broken bench. They were both inside an uninvoked circle, relatively safe.