Demon Hunters (15 page)

“What will the Black Flame do when they get
Morgan? Destroy her, right?”

“I believe that’s the plan.”

“And with her, any hope of lifting the curse
you have lived under for all these years.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Morgan is the one who placed the curse upon
your family originally. The curse that has left you in the state
you are in, and as such, she holds your salvation. With her body,
it would be possible to purge the curse.”

“What do you know about it?”

“More than you think. The Reborn hold many
secrets and I have learned quite a bit since they welcomed me into
their fold. Morgan is your only hope of being normal and all you
have to do is hand her over to me.”

“And I’m supposed to trust you? Once upon a
time another Warlock said he could save me, but his ‘cure’ wound up
nearly killing me.”

“Your uncle. I know. I’ve heard the story.
The only difference this time is this is for real. With Morgan’s
power, I really can set you free. I can release the demon and
absolve the curse.”

“I could ask The Black Flame to do
that.”

“You could, but it would be pointless. They
believe Morgan’s very energy spreads evil. They want her destroyed.
Besides, they don’t have the knowledge to perform such a feat. I
do. I’m the only one who can free you now, Jake,” Jackal turned to
one of the mirrors on the wall and ran his fingers along his hair
and then crooked his eyes back toward me. “We’re very much
alike.”

“We have nothing in common.”

“We’re both mortals who’ve been sucked into
this world of demons and monsters. We both wield powers.”

“First, I didn’t choose this for myself. You
did, and second, you are a psychopath!”

“You’re not exactly the picture of mental
health yourself. My point is we have always been two sides of the
same coin. I think we should start trusting each other more. Trust
me to cure you. Let The Reborn have Morgan’s body. I know it’s what
you want,” I turned toward the door and started away. “I won’t be
here.” I looked over at him. “You were going to call security,
weren’t you? I just want to let you know that I won’t be here by
the time they arrive. I came here only to offer you this chance.
All you have to do is make sure my friends receive Morgan’s body.
You do that and I can heal you. Think about it. No more demons. No
more weirdness. You can go on from here and lead a normal life. You
can look at me with those stone eyes all you want. I know that’s
what you want and I know you believe me. Think about it. You have
about twenty minutes to decide your life. No pressure.”

I walked out, cursing Jackal but I knew he
was right. He would be gone by the time I rounded up any security
guards. I saw Tyler approaching with a gurney.

“Okay. Follow me. Don’t say anything and
look like you belong.” He said as he passed me. I followed him
in.

As we walked down the corridor, Jackal’s
words rang in my head. There was a grain of truth in his words.
Morgan was the one who cursed my family, and by that logic, she
could be the only hope I had of purging the beast within me and
breaking the family curse once and for all. It could be a once in a
lifetime chance that would be forever lost if her body was
destroyed.

“These are the terminals private charters
use to deliver large deliveries, such as bodies. It’s not as busy
in the evening as it is during the day, so keep your eyes peeled.
There really shouldn’t be too much traffic around here right now,
and if there is, it could be The Reborn.” I nodded carelessly as my
thoughts swirled through my mind.

We approached the gate where the body was
going to be delivered. Two security guards flanked the doorway. I
hung back while Tyler handed over a thick pack of papers. They went
through them and soon we were allowed to proceed. I looked over at
Tyler and he glanced back at me. I could see the sweat on his
forehead but his eyes communicated nothing but confidence.

We walked out onto the tarmac toward the
plane with our cargo. We rolled up to it and another small army of
security guards greeted us. Tyler flashed more papers at them and
soon a large metal box, the size of a coffin, was brought out from
the plane. They loaded it onto the gurney. It was large and heavy.
There was a small device installed on the side that looked to be
some kind of thermostat. Tyler engaged in a little small talk while
I made sure the box stayed steady on the gurney, which turned out
to be woefully too small to carry the load.

We were backtracking through the terminal.
My heart was easing as we went along. The tough stuff was over. The
security checkpoints were open to us and all that was left was to
load the box in the van and take it to who knows where to dispose
of it.

I could feel something coming from within
the box. Not just the chill of the cold. I felt something greater.
It was power. Even dead, Morgan practically hummed with it. I
darted my eyes around. There didn’t seem to be any attempt to
retrieve Morgan’s body. I was still debating over what Jackal had
said. While I did want to be free of the family curse, I wasn’t
totally sold on betraying Tyler and there didn’t seem to be any
opportunity to do so. Suddenly, I saw three dark figures appear out
of nowhere. I felt the gurney jerk back.

“Back! Back!” I followed him and then I
heard gunshots. I looked around and saw the dark figures were now
holding large rifles. I tripped over my feet and fell to the floor.
Soon after that, I heard a loud metallic bang. I looked up and saw
the gurney had tipped over and the metal box was rolling away. It
felt like everything was going in slow motion as I saw Tyler dive
for the box amid the gunfire. I stalled as I spotted Jackal just
down the hall, outside the building. His eyes were on me. Instinct
took over. I jumped up, grabbed Tyler and we both tumbled off the
box. I held Tyler tightly and did my best to shield him. I could
feel the slugs hit me and push against my skin. It felt like quick
bites being taken out of me, but soon it stopped. I let Tyler go
and rolled over. I saw that the box was gone as were the dark
figures. Tyler got up. His face was a mix of anger and exhaustion.
He looked over at me with steaming eyes.

“What was that?”

“You mean the part where I saved your
life?”

“No, the part where you let them take the
body!”

“I’m sorry, but I saw it as a choice between
you and Morgan and considering she’s already dead, I kind of
thought you might appreciate me saving you.”

“I was expendable! We needed the body! That
was our only chance of destroying Morgan forever! Now The Reborn
have her!”

The ride home was quiet. Tyler kept his eyes
glued to the road and his lips were pursed tightly. I didn’t really
blame him. I wasn’t too crazy with myself either. I’ve always
prided myself on acting in the interests of others over myself. It
was too easy to give in to the dark urges and once that door was
opened, there was no going back, but the temptation had been too
great. For one act of treason, I had the chance to be free of
everything I hated in my life.

Plan B

I walked into my apartment with Tyler behind
me. Ivar was already at my kitchen table. Two beers were set before
him. One for me and since I knew Ivar didn’t drink, I assumed the
other was for Tyler. I handed it to him and he took it but not
without shooting me a glare as cold as the bottle in my hand.

“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t expect to be
blindsided like that.”

“What happened?” Ivar asked.

“The Reborn got Morgan. They stole her right
out of our arms.” Tyler said as he stormed toward the sofa and
flopped down, chugging his beer.

“How could that have happened?”

“Because...”

“Because Jake here froze and all but handed
her over!”

“We were under heavy fire!”

“From the stories I’ve been told, that kind
of thing is pretty routine for you.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear. I get in
pretty tight most of the time, but I don’t get careless. We were in
a high risk situation and it was either you or the corpse.”

“You made the wrong choice!”

“Fine! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I saved your
ungrateful ass!”

“I think the issue at hand now is the fact
that The Reborn have Morgan. We should work on that now.” Ivar
said.

“Fine. We’ll just have to go to Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?”

“The Reborn think bringing Morgan back will
be like raising one of their own. Wrong. Bringing someone as
powerful as Morgan back is going to require something more potent.
It won’t be long before they figure that out, but that should give
us plenty of time to get the dagger.”

“What dagger?”

“The Dagger of Sira. A ceremonial dagger
that has been under the protection of the Black Flame for thousands
of years. It has been used for powerful resurrection rituals in the
past. It has the ability to grant life and power to any who wield
it. Once the Black Flame got it, they decided it was too dangerous
to have out in circulation. It has been entrusted with the Grand of
the Black Flame for protection.”

“So, you have it.”

“No. I knew The Reborn would know I had it,
so I left it with someone very trustworthy.”

“Who?”

“Not yet. I need to speak with the others.
Let them know what’s going on. I will be in touch soon.” Tyler then
finished off his beer and walked out the door.

“Do you know what he was talking about?”

“Many different tools have been used in all
kinds of rituals over the years. Many such rituals that require a
sacrifice often use swords or daggers. In particularly complex or
powerful rites, the tools must be blessed or empowered. I do not
know anything of this particular dagger, but if it is the only
thing that can bring Morgan back, it would be likely The Reborn
will be searching for it.” I started working on my beer. “What
happened today?”

“What do you mean?”

“You froze under fire? That is not like
you.”

“There was a little more to it.”

“Such as?”

“Jackal.”

“He was there?”

“Yes. He claimed that if I let The Reborn
take Morgan, he would be able to lift the curse on me. He said he
could free me.”

“You didn’t believe him. Did you?” I could
only answer with a shaky look. I turned away from him and I could
feel the shame in his look. “You did let them take her.”

“No! Maybe. When it all started I just
focused on getting out of there alive, but then I heard Jackal in
my ear. I thought about what it would be like to be free. After
that, I’m not sure what I was thinking. I might have pulled a punch
or two,” I looked to Ivar and his disapproving glare was on me.
“I’m not proud of it! I know it was stupid of me. You just don’t
know what it’s like having this thing inside me. How many nights
I’ve spent awake because of the voice in my head? Do you realize
how much concentration it takes me to just maintain my sanity on a
daily basis?”

“And you believed him.”

“I’m desperate, I admit that,” I paced
around the room frantically. Ivar just stood there, his eyes
patiently locked on me. “I didn’t totally believe him, but if there
was even a slim chance that he could deliver, I had to take it.
Besides, I figured Tyler would have a back-up plan, and he
does!”

“Yes, but how do you intend on collecting
from Jackal?” I was about to open my mouth, but froze. It would
seem I hadn’t thought out my plan as thoroughly as I had
thought.

Trust

I didn’t get much sleep that night. I was
lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling and playing the events of
the day through my mind continuously. At my core, I knew I had done
something incredibly stupid. I hadn’t even really realized I was
doing it. After talking to Jackal, my mindset was to go ahead with
the mission, but when the moment came I let my instincts take over
and I let them take Morgan.

It had been the first time I had ever let
anyone get away with anything like that. I took a dive! And for
what? Some slim chance that psycho would help release me from the
personal Hell I have made into a comfortable existence? What
happened? Did my brain disappear for those few seconds? The gravity
of what I had done was weighing on my soul, but I knew there was a
chance of redemption. All we had to do was get this dagger and then
it would be as if I hadn’t done anything at all.

I had instructed Ivar to stay behind and get
the office straightened away. Going for the dagger seemed like a
simple mission and someone had to be around to deal with the
business. He knew how to get me if there was an emergency.

I felt my eyes growing heavy and the
presence of sleep was taking over, then the phone rang. I sprang up
with a light yelp. I looked over and saw the time. Just a few
minutes shy of three in the morning.

“What!?”

“It’s me.”

“Hey, Tyler.”

“I spoke with the others. They have agreed
that destroying the Dagger of Sira is the only way to go.”

“Destroy?”

“Yes. Without that dagger, she will stay
dead forever.”

“Okay. It’s your game. You call the
shots.”

“I’ll pick you up after sunrise.”

I managed to fit in a couple hours of sleep
before I heard a pounding at my door. I was tangled up in the
sheets as I roused. I slid off the mattress and padded to the door.
I opened it up and saw Tyler standing before me, as bright and
chipper as you could hope for. He had two cups of coffee in his
hand and an eager glint in his eye. I took the coffee.

“Are you just getting up?”

“Yes.” I said between sips.

“Well, get ready! We’ve got a long way to go
and not a lot of time!”

“All right! Just let me pull on some new
drawers and we’ll be on our way.”