Wildfire Gospel (Habitat) (12 page)

I took it straight to the head, swallowing as much as I could. The stuff flowed easy with a lumpy texture, more creamy than milky. “What is this? It’s kind of sweet.”

“Milk. I got a lady down the street that gives it to me once a week. Earth Witch.” Graham extended his hand. His coat materialized out of thin air. Those black ragged strips swarmed to him and formed around his body. “I think she likes me. Says I do too many drugs and just need a good woman to keep my mind busy and daily walks in the park. You know how Earth Witches are, always talking about the dirt and grass.”

The sun had made its way toward setting, layering the sky with golden shades and then darker tones as my view came closer to the horizon. I closed the door and we left the house. Life filled the neighborhood. People watered their lawns or played with their kids. Others grabbed their mail. A few ate right on their battered porches. Pixies flew near, attempting to grab a piece of food when the person looked the other way.

“She works at a grocery store or something?” I asked.

“No. She’s an artist. Got a whole bunch of metal pots that she dents into shapes and makes a lot of money off of it.”

“How does she get the milk then?”

“From her breasts.”

My stomach grumbled in disgust. Quickly, I snatched up my shirt and wiped my tongue across the fabric to get rid of the taste. “That lumpy stuff was breast milk?”

“Yes. Haven’t you ever been wooed by an Earth Witch before. That’s what they do. They give you breast milk.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“Then you’re not doing it right.”

“Doing what right?”

“Sex.”

We crossed the street.
Sex.
Part of me, yearned to further the conversation with him. We had discussions like this before. Graham taught me all about sex and even a Shifter’s puberty. Anything he couldn’t figure out, he researched and left the books on my desk. La La thought her dad had no life outside of drug use. I knew better. Lonely women spotted Graham and gravitated toward him. They all craved to be with him in some way. Most heard the stories about how his ex-wife had killed herself in front of him and her child. The ones that didn’t hear the story, he told. None of that mattered to them. He loved to dump his baggage on women, and I bet they enjoyed pushing their own baggage to the side and opening up his to see what was inside. Once they saw, their hearts broke and they craved him even more, thinking that they would be the ones to get him over his true love, Lily.

“That’s when I swoop down and make love to them,” Graham told me once.

We walked down the street. My stomach twisted into knots of revulsion. I spit a few inches ahead of my feet. “So you’re having sex with this Earth Witch?”

“Yes. Her name’s Eileen. We started three months ago. I’ll have to cut it off now that she’s giving me breast milk. It means she wants a commitment. That’s what they do, you know. They give parts of themselves to you.”

“Their fluids?”

“It’s breast milk, boy. Full of vitamins too. I usually eat it with my cereal.”

I glanced at him to make sure he wasn’t Were-bullshitting me. “Why is it lumpy?”

“I don’t know. Witch milk just is.”

“You give it to a Witch just right and she’ll be giving you milk too. Her body starts to lactate when it believes they’re with a potential mate. It’s a signal that they’re ready to breed. That’s why I have to stop messing with her. Once a Witch’s body lactates, the hormones kick in, and it prepares for kids. It doesn’t matter how old she is, she’ll have a baby by you, if you slip up.”

Maybe that’s why Vee has so many.

“I don’t know, Graham. I’ve never heard of anything like that before. No Witch has ever given me any breast milk.”

“Then you’re doing it wrong.” He flashed me a wicked grin. “I’d share my skills, but one can only share so much until it becomes uncomfortable for the both of us.”

I held my hands in the air. “Yeah. Let’s not go there. Just don’t serve me anymore lumpy breast milk, please.”

“Be happy that I did. You’ll need them with that spell. In fact, I’m surprise you could walk out of the house or that you’re still moving now.”

As if on cue, the spell kicked my ass. A throbbing ache ripped through my legs, shot up my chest, and boomed against my skull. Screaming, I collapsed to the sidewalk. Sweat poured out of my jelly surface and remained under the skin I wore. It bubbled in the heat of my body’s temperature, lifting my skin in places and drawing it in. My neck bulged a little.

He could’ve warned me that it would hurt this bad.

“Think through the pain.” Graham kneeled in front of me. “Focus on your killer with this spell you should be able to see him in your head. The spell shows you the target right before it leads you to him.”

I gritted my teeth. Knives stabbed at my gut. Needles jabbed at my eyeballs. Blood slipped from the corner of my eyes.

“Think through it! Picture your killer!” Graham held onto my chin hard. “Think, boy!”

The kids across the street stopped playing and stared at me. A mother turned her stroller and baby around and stepped off into the opposite direction.

“Focus on your killer.”

I closed my eyes. An image played across my shut eyelids. The ballroom returned to me—the sugary fragrance of the ballroom’s fairy glamour, cool mist, glamorous people rushing away in formal wear as I fought so many Vamps, the screams and cries of shock and fear. It all looked like a film that I’d stepped into.

And then he appeared. My killer. He jumped in front of me right as I charged for La La. He wielded the longest sword I’d ever seen. Black hair hung to his shoulders. Pale white skin covered him. He wore a baby blue suit with a white bow at the collar. Too my surprise, his fangs didn’t extend. Usually Vamps pushed them out during a fight, if not for an extra advantage to bite, then to scare the shit out of the average supe.

“You see him?” Graham asked.

“Yes.” My body stiffened as I focused on the one shocking thing I never noticed in that quick moment. His forehead brand. “He’s not a Vampire. He’s a Mixbreed. He has an X on his forehead.”

“You and Lanore always look at brands. That’s no good. Don’t let the humans dictate what a supe is, let your nose do the analyzing. What did you smell in that moment?”

Within the vision in my head, I stepped back and saw myself fighting with this Mixbreed. Rage painted my vision form’s face. Fur pushed out of my skin. My suit ripped and tore into strips that fell to the floor. My claws appeared. An ache seeped into my chest as I continued to watch.

I’ll never be able to shift again.

“What does he smell like?” Graham shook my shoulders.

“Powdered sugar.” I opened my eyes. “And lavender like La La. He’s some sort of Fairy that’s close to whatever her mom was.”

A grumble left Graham’s throat. “There’s only a few in this habitat that smell like her mom, and they all went underground into black market activities. What else do you see?”

“He had some scars on his neck and hands.”

“Probably all over his body then.” Graham helped me stand. “Could he fight?”

“There was no way I was escaping that sword of his. He knew how to use it.”

“Fairies don’t work with Vampires, not even outcasts.”

“This one could have.”

“Why would a Vampire like Dante Bottelli need to hire a Fairy to kill you? Why not just have his men do it? He carted her off at the ball in front of hundreds of people. He bombed Yemaya Towers. Subtlety is not this bloodsucker’s method.”

“What are you saying?”

“Someone else might’ve hired him. You can fight. I taught you everything I know. You’re quick, fast, and smart. If he sliced you in two, then he was a pro. He cost money, lots of it.”

“I doubt someone paid another to kill me. I don’t have any enemies that could afford to hire some killer and even if they did, our beef isn’t really that serious.”

“But Lanore has enemies.” Graham’s power wavered around him and scattered the dust further away on the sidewalk. “Let’s just find this killer first before we make any big assumptions, but don’t think you know anything. Always ask. Never assume. That’s how you beat someone at their own game. You figured it was a Vampire because you were already fighting them. You think he works for Dante because he had my daughter. I say let’s see and then we kill whoever we need too.”

“Okay.” The skin suit continued to bubble from the heated sweat. “What do I do next with this spell? How do I locate him?”

“Say, ‘show me.
’”

I swallowed down my fear. “Show me.”

Green light ripped out of my chest, and with it came a singing pain. I dug my nails into my skin. The light flowed down the street, but still the end of it continued leaving my body like a long ass rope that was slowly unwinding as if it was a cord being dragged by another person far away.

“What’s happening now?” Graham asked.

“You can’t see the light?”

“No. Only you can see it. Which direction is it rushing off too?”

I pointed in front of us with shaking fingers.

“Then let’s go. We only have an hour and then the light will disappear.” He hooked his arm around mine and dragged me forward. “Think through the pain. It will keep on hurting, but don’t stop. Never stop. When you want to stop, just think about how sweet it will be to skin this Fairy bastard alive as well as the person responsible for paying for him to kill you.”

Lanore

The Sisters sat in the chairs before us.

Their pale skin moved on its own, never stopping or remaining still. They looked six months pregnant, which was disgusting on its own, if not for the thousands of tiny faces an inch long and wide pushing up under their flesh.
Motherpounder!
Those heads cried, wailed, and screamed, blinking their eyes and parting their mouths to reveal bloody teeth and itty-bitty tongues.

All over their body! I got to get out of here.

The small faces blinked their eyes near the women’s rib cage. Screeched for help within the women’s thighs and writhed from side to side across the Sisters’ bulging bellies. Those heads covered every freaking gory inch of the Sisters, except for their faces and breasts. Surprisingly, two mounds rested on each of these Sisters like the perky bosoms of curvy beauties I’d seen in MeShack’s Shifter porn mags.
But I doubt MeShack would’ve enjoyed these.
Their nipples were crimson red. Gray liquid dripped out in small taps like faucets that hadn’t been shut all the way off.

A Vamp walked from between the glass chairs and raised his hands. “Let all who have been chosen to feed, rise.”

I held my stomach and glanced at Dante. “You sure you want to feed from those things?”

Dante whispered, “Quiet before someone hears you. What you’re saying is a great disrespect to my race.”

Fine with me. I’m just saying. They’re covered with faces!

Dante rose and left us kneeling. Someone hit a bell every three or four seconds. With each chime of the bell, Dante took a step. It was like the procession of a wedding ceremony.

Is that the symbolism? That these people coming to feed are kind of marrying the Sisters?

Zulu tilted my way. “Is he going to drink from their breasts or blood?”

“I don’t know.”

“I bet you ten dollars it will be from their breasts.”

My stomach twisted into a bubbling sludge of disgust. “Please don’t say that because if he does, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep the contents of my stomach inside my body.”

Zulu chuckled.

“I’m serious.”

Dante and two other women wearing white robes took their time heading to the Sisters. The women kept that same ceremonial pace with the bells like Dante. Excitement lingered in the air. It was hard to explain. Cold tingled across my flesh. I could hear strong intakes and releases of breath from the Vamps all around me. Everyone’s fangs jutted out of their mouths. Their widened eyes glittered. The few Vamp-owned Mixbreeds in the crowd covered their faces, looked down at the ground, or even turned completely away, placing their backs to the scene.

Not a good sign.

I scanned the area some more. So many Vamps from so many different ethnic backgrounds crowded the place. None were dressed like the Bottelli family, but they all wore some sort of uniform dress. I guessed many of their origins. The Christianity Habitat Vamps were the easiest. Black capes draped their bodies. Silver crosses dangled from chains, adorned their necks, and a few even had them tattooed on their faces. Dad had an odd fascination with the Christianity Habitat and brought many books home about the religion.

When I was a kid in elementary school, the cross was the easiest object to remember in my Social Studies class. I’d had to memorize all supernatural brands and what species it belonged to in order to pass to second grade. The cross brand was the first one created by humans. It was originally intended for Vamps. The government believed religious items protected them from the fanged creatures, only to realize later that the object had no effect. Due to no result, the humans changed the original Vamp brand to the full moon, being that in the end, Vamps only saw the moon for the rest of their lives.

The bells ceased once Dante and the two other females stopped in front of the Sisters.

“Wait.” One of the Sisters raised her hand. The little faces on her arm closed their mouths and searched the crowd with their eyes. “There is great power in this room, one I do not remember. I smell it. It is here all around me, smelling like the sun and sweet blood of the father.”

Zulu tensed next to me. I was finding more and more as we remained underground that I didn’t like it when Zulu was nervous. He represented strength, insanity too, but in the end I believed he could destroy anything in his path. Therefore, if Zulu shivered or gave an impression of fear, then I prepped myself for running.

The Sister on the far right leaned forward and breathed in. “Yes, Jru. I too can sense this magic. There is a Demon amongst us, and something else.”

Whispers scattered through the crowd. People turned their heads from side to side, scanning the space. Dante stepped forward. “May I speak, Sisters?”

“First address us properly,” the one that I now knew was named Jru hissed.

Dante bowed and remained with his head facing the ground. “My humble Sisters, Jru, Teel, Vondi, and Qom. I am blessed to be before you. I am blessed to speak in your presence. I am blessed to drink from your breasts—”

I vomited right there, with no warning, way to run off, or stop it. Hot liquid burst from my mouth and seared my lips. The Vamps in front of me jumped out of the way. Zulu held up my hair and rubbed my back.
Oh my.
Tan stuff escaped my mouth. Boiling and bitter.

People talked around me, especially the Sisters.

“That is the Demon.”

“But what is wrong with it?”

“I do not know.”

“It could be our power.”

“Or the calling of our blood.”

The Sisters continued to talk.

“Take her off somewhere. I don’t like the smell of this.”

The vomiting ended. People had separated from Zulu and me enough to not touch the tiny puddle in front of me. Zulu handed me his coat and wiped my mouth with his shirt. Sometime during my throwing up, he’d shed his shirt to help me clean up.

“I’m fine.” I covered my mouth, knowing that my breath had to smell bad.

“Are you sure?” Zulu whispered. “You never throw up. You’ve seen worse than this.”

“It’s been a rough couple of days.” I rose from the ground.

All around us chattering ensued. He draped his coat over me. “I’m taking you in the back so—”

“No. We need to see if I can check the portal. Besides, we’re supposed to entertain the Sisters.”

“Take her away!” Jru screamed, getting Zulu and my attention. By now she’d rose from her chair and hovered over it. Her wings flapped at a lazy pace. Her breasts bounced with the movement. Gray milk splattered down to the floor. Some of the Vamps in the front row opened their mouths to get a taste.

I held my stomach as it churned some more. “Fuck. How can you
not
throw up?”

“She has caused the feeding ground to be filthy!” Jru flew our way.

Without my command, fireballs materialized in front of us. She snarled and jumped back along with all the other Vamps.

Good. At least this ugly bitch is afraid of fire.

“Great power.” Jru’s white eyes gleamed in the flames’ light. At that moment, I realized I could actually look into the Sisters’ eyes and feel no pain.

Maybe it’s my Demon heritage that allows it.

Zulu jerked away and blocked his own view.

“Did you try to look in their eyes?” I sneezed from the assault of brimstone all around me.

“Yeah.” Zulu rubbed his temples. “It hurts my head.”

“I can with no problem.”

“Who did this fire?” Jru landed on the ground with a boom and walked around the flames. Her bare feet stepped through my vomit. She sniffed the air. “I smell Demon near. Which one of you made the fire?”

Itching my neck, I raised my head to this towering horrific giant and simply answered, “Me.”

Dad always said, “With those bloody Vampires you have to talk a good game. Half of them are scared of Demons, and they should be. The other half pretend to not be scared, but they should be.”

If these Sisters figured I was a pureblood Demon, then I wouldn’t correct them.

Jru inched closer. “Do it again. Make more fire.”

“Why?” My lips quivered. My eyes watered. I rubbed them longer than I should have and was sure they would be red by the time I finished.

The crowd hushed. Silence filled the area.

“You ask me why? You surely must be a Demon of great power,” she cackled. “For none of the lower ones would stand before something as great as me and question my command.”

I remained silent. Her eyes were stark white with no pupils or veins, nothing to let me know she possessed the ability to see at all.

“What is your name, Demon?”

She either can’t see that I have an X brand, or she doesn’t get the brand system, or even worse she’s like Dad.

He ignored the brand system and determined what species the being in front of him was by sniffing their scent.

I hope I smell strong.

“What is your name, Demon?” Jru’s voice boomed through the cave-like area. Zulu roared and got next to me. His cords brightened to white and then shifted to other colors.

“It doesn’t matter.” The words just blurted out of my mouth.

Jru bent down my way. I backed up. Zulu too. Again, that wasn’t a good sign. A chill flared up my spine.

Her huge face existed two feet from me. So close, the scent of brimstone was unbearable. It hurt to swallow or breathe. Each intake of breath scraped my lungs as if I’d inhaled shards of glass. Bumps covered my naked arms. I touched my face. Rocky acne met my fingertips. My eyes closed without me ordering them too.

“Why are you here, Demon?” Jru sniffed again.

I tried to talk. My lips puffed out and hung heavy. Zulu turned my way. “Shit.”

“What?” I squeaked.

He grabbed my hands with shaking fingers and yanked me back. “You’re whole face is swollen.”

I swayed and shook my head. “Really?”

“Blessed, Jru. I brought these beings here for entertainment.” Dante sounded on my right as Zulu guided me farther back. If Dad had been here, he wouldn’t have been impressed with my weak performance of power in front of these Sisters. I’d never learned how to block out the brimstone or frankincense from entering my skin.

“You’ll look weak to stronger Demons. You must pretend!” Dad would say.

Too bad he never understood that you can’t pretend to not have an allergic reaction!

“This Demon and creature with her are my entertainment?” Excitement drenched Jru’s voice as she turned Dante’s way. “I’m already enjoying this. What more will they do for me?”

“There won’t be any entertainment. We’re leaving now!” Zulu roared. More chatter ensued.

I could barely lift my puffy eyes to see what was happening around me. “Calm down, baby.”

“Leave?” Jru asked.

“Well the one that is sick should go.” Dante came to my right. “Your power is too great for her, Blessed Jru. She cannot withstand you so close.”

Yeah right. More like you disgust me.

“That makes sense. And the other creature, will he entertain me?” Jru stalked our way.

Zulu faced me. I nodded and mumbled with swollen lips, “I’ll be fine.”

“Who will take the weak Demon to safety?” Jru asked.

I’m not weak!

It would have been dumb to set her in flames just to prove a point.

“I can take her.” A strong accent decorated each word. The scent of Jasmine encased me. A petite woman hooked her arm around mine. I liked her already, probably due to her perfume, but most likely it was the exotic silk robe flowing in bright violet and outlined in sea green at the hem that made me comfortable with her.
People who wear violet are cool with me.
A gold belt tied around her waist. Her long black hair rested in a bun above her head with pearl sticks planted in the center. Her complexion was pale, her eyes a ghostly gray. “The Endo Family takes great pleasure in providing support to the Bottelli family during this great honor of feeding.”

“I thank you, Sakura,” Dante said.

Okay. Sakura is the Vamp leader that’s aligned with Dante.

“Let’s go, before you pass out,” Sakura whispered to me.

Yet, Zulu’s hand remained clamped on mine.

“Let’s let them talk for a few minutes.” Sakura guided Zulu and I to the back of the crowd. The crowd’s conversations increased as they tried to understand who we were and what was going on around them.

Once we got far enough away from everyone, Zulu leaned my way. “I don’t like us being separated, especially with you being so weak right now.”

“I’m not weak. I threw up because they’re disgusting, that’s a big difference.” Coughing, I wriggled my fingers away from his. “I’ll be fine. I’m already finding it easier to talk. The more I’m away from them the less I have the allergic reaction.”

“I don’t like you away from me.”

“I’ll be back soon. Just keep them busy. You’ll have to entertain her until I’ll get back.”

He frowned.

“Please. I’ll be okay. We need this.”

“I’m not big on entertaining.”

“Do your best.”

“I may try an alternative.”