Demon Hunters (22 page)

“What?”

“I know. It’s horrible, but Jackal is that
kind of sick.”

“None of this makes sense.”

“Maybe it does. I have one theory. Jackal
wants me out of the way. What better way to do that than to pin a
murder on me? I should be snug in a padded cell before the day is
done.”

“What about Demonica?”

“She’s the only one who knows how to destroy
the dagger. He must have gotten her. Which means right now, he’s
holding all the cards.” I then felt Gwen’s hand take mine. I looked
over at her.

“It’s going to be okay.”

Sometime later, the police were done
investigating and Lowell did me the honor of escorting me to one of
the patrol cars outside. He stuffed me in the back and slammed the
door shut. I looked out at Gwen. She was standing alone outside. I
kept my eyes on her as the car pulled back and started down the
street.

“What about Gwen?”

“She’ll get an escort back to her home.
Right now, you should spend all your worry on you.”

The Escape

It wasn’t like I had never been arrested
before, but traditionally I was arrested for laws that I actually
broke. I was in the back of the police cruiser and we were speeding
along to the nearest station where I was going to be booked for
murder and possibly kidnapping and about a half dozen other trumped
up charges that were sure to keep me behind bars for the rest of my
unnatural life. Demonica was missing and for some unknown reason,
Tyler’s body had shown up again and to top off the whole day, the
Dagger of Sira was gone too. There have been better days.

I looked out the window watching the traffic
run by. The sun was going down and the sky was changing from blue
to purple. The officers in front were speaking to me, but I was
tuning them out. I was more worried about Gwen than anything else.
The Reborn and Jackal had us on the defensive. They knew our
strategy and I could only assume they also knew where Gwen was.
Jackal would run out and skin her alive just because he felt like
it.

The car pulled into the front of the station
and one of the officers got out and yanked me from the back seat. I
looked up at him, but his eyes were dead and expressionless. I had
the distinct feeling I was about to enter the company of people who
did not have very good senses of humor.

I was escorted into the station and was
surprised to see the lobby was quite crowded. There were teams of
convicts all around waiting to get processed. The officer began to
direct me along when I heard a loud crashing sound behind us. I
turned but before I could see a thing, I was slammed to the floor.
I heard a chaotic storm of screams coming from all around me. I
flipped over and I saw a large hulking beast standing in the middle
of the lobby. It turned and I could see its face. It was some kind
of wolf with great big ears and a long, grinning muzzle. Its eyes
found me and it stooped down before me. It took hold of my arm and
turned me over. I then felt a sudden jolt and then my arms were
free. I jumped to my feet and saw that the creature had managed to
break my cuffs off. I looked at the monster again and there was
something about the eyes that seemed familiar.

“Venris?” I asked under my breath. It nodded
slightly and without any more communication than that, Venris
grabbed me, threw me over his shoulders and dashed back out the way
he came.

I could hear gunfire ringing behind us as
Venris leapt high up into the air. He landed on top of a nearby
apartment building and then climbed down onto a dark quiet street
off the main drag. He then sprinted forward leaping over houses and
alleyways. He kept to poorly lit areas. I could hear the police
cars closing in on us. Venris increased his pace and I could feel
the force of his speed. He was moving so fast; I could barely hear
what was going on around me.

Venris was weaving through one street after
another and soon I wasn’t sure where we were. As he approached a
major freeway interchange, he vaulted over eight lanes of traffic
and landed in a cul de sac. He found a safe passage through the
neighborhood. The street was under the cover of a thick cluster of
tree branches. The sirens had faded in the distance and it seemed
we were safe.

Venris finally stopped and let me down. He
stepped back and I finally got to take a better look at him at his
full height. Even hunched forward, he had to be almost ten feet
tall. His body was thick and his fur was matted and dull. He closed
his eyes and he began to transform. He soon stood before me, human
and naked and standing in a pile of fur.

“What are you doing here? I though you went
to visit Tyler’s grave.”

“I did, but when I got there, no body.
Someone had come and dug him up.”

“But how did you know that...”

“I picked up on Gwen’s scent and found her.
She told me everything. I thought I’d be nice and play the cavalry.
I don’t know how much this helps. You’re a fugitive now.”

“Been there. Where’s Gwen?”

“Back at your place, which is about two
blocks north of here,” I was a bit astounded. It hadn’t felt like
we had gone that far. I did a quick look around to get my bearings.
“I think you can make it the rest of the way without me.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Same as I always do. If you need help, give
me a call sometime.” Venris then disappeared into the shadows.

I ran down the street and turned at the
corner. I began to recognize the neighborhood. Venris had brought
me close to home. I ran down a few blocks to my street. When I
reached my apartment house, I hurried up to my unit where I found
Ivar and Gwen huddled in the living room as I walked in. They
didn’t seem too surprised to see me.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine. How are you? We saw the whole
thing.”

“How?”

“On television,” Ivar added. “We saw your
escape until they lost you.” I looked at the TV set and the
newscast about my prison break was still on. It seemed to be just
the reporter recounting the events of the chase up until Venris
disappeared from their cameras.

“They saw Venris?”

“It was fuzzy, but yes. I suggest we get out
of here because I’m sure when the frenzy dies down, this is the
first place they’ll be coming to.”

“Agreed, but where do we go? What do we do
now?” Everything had spun so far out of control in such a small
amount of time. I turned away from Gwen and Ivar and did my best to
think. Jackal had everything he needed. Morgan’s body, the dagger
and Demonica. The cops were after me.

We took the back roads through the city as
we made our way to the Black Flame’s headquarters downtown. It
looked dark and deserted from the outside, as usual. There didn’t
seem to be much foot traffic so it was an easy matter of breaking
in once more. I pushed the door open and was not surprised to find
it empty. I wasn’t sure how, but it actually seemed more empty than
normal.

“I don’t sense anyone.”

“It’s quiet and it’s a good hiding
place.”

“You are not seriously proposing we stay
here tonight, are you?”

“No. The cops aren’t looking for you two.
I’ll stay here for now,” I said. “There was a little hotel a few
blocks away. Get a room there and we’ll pick this up tomorrow.
Ivar. Take her and go. I’ll see you in the morning.” Ivar gently
took Gwen by her arm and led her out.

The door shut behind them and the metallic
bang echoed through the dark warehouse. I surveyed the surroundings
for a suitable rest spot. There were piles of old boxes and rusted
out equipment all along the main floor, but nothing that seemed too
accommodating. I thought of checking the break room in back, but I
remembered all the bugs in there. I explored further and found a
door at the other end of the warehouse. It looked as though it
might lead to another office so I took a chance and
investigated.

I peered in and found an old office lounge
complete with leather sofa. It seemed to be more intact than the
rest of the building. The carpet seemed rather well preserved and
the walls weren’t as worn and cracked. I shut the door behind me
and tested the couch. It didn’t fall apart when I sat on it and
that was just about all I needed to know. I lied down and tried to
get to sleep, but I knew the concept of sound sleep was completely
ridiculous.

I sat up and I could hear the faint sound of
helicopters high above and sirens rang out gently in the distance.
It was a high crime area, so it wasn’t a surprise but it didn’t
help that I knew I was a wanted man. Some of those helicopters and
sirens were meant for me. I also wasn’t totally sure about my
hiding place. If I was charged with finding a man wanted for
murder, abandoned warehouses would make the top five list of places
I would search first, and that warehouse was fairly prominent. It
would not go unnoticed.

A bright light suddenly flooded in and I
dropped to the floor. I crawled toward the window and peeked over
to see what was happening. The light was coming from a helicopter
hovering above. The light seemed to be staying steady which made me
begin to worry. Suddenly, the light vanished and the sound of the
helicopter faded into silence. I stood up and sat back down on the
couch. I just sat there waiting for the sun to come up.

An hour passed without incident. I sat there
on the couch aware of every little noise and creek in the
warehouse. I checked my watch and I still had a good four or five
hours to go. I began to feel my eyes grow heavy and before I knew
it, I was slumped over, sleeping but nearly five minutes later,
there was a banging sound on the door and I jumped up. My blood ran
cold. There were no lights and I couldn’t hear any sirens or
radios. The door suddenly flew open and I saw Dontavius standing
before me.

“Corba. What are you doing here?”

“I actually came looking for you. You
weren’t here and I kind of needed a place to hide. I hope you don’t
mind.” I said as I stood to meet him.

“Of course not. You do realize I don’t live
here, right?”

“Yeah, I get that. I was just hoping you’d
be here. Someone always seems to be here.”

“Desperate. Can’t say I blame you. Not after
that daring police escape.”

“Bad news really travels in this town.”

“It was all over the nightly news. What did
you want with me?”

“I need to know what to do next.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Jackal has Morgan, the dagger and Demonica.
I don’t know what his next move is.” Dontavius looked at me
thoughtfully and then walked over to a small card table sitting in
the corner of the room. He pulled a folding chair out in front of
him and sat down.

“I wish I could help you with this, but
Jackal’s motives are well beyond my understanding. We were hoping
you would be able to anticipate his actions.” I hated the bastard,
but I knew Jackal better than anyone else. I was getting rather
good at predicting his behavior, but somehow I was off my game. Or
he was off his.

“Since Jackal has everything he needs, we
can only assume that he will be going through with bringing Morgan
back,” I said. “Only he, The Reborn and Demonica know how to do
that now. If I knew, I’d know where to find Jackal.”

“Perhaps you know someone else who would
know?”

“I don’t really know many people who can
raise the dead. I mean to do something like that you’d have to
be...” I suddenly stopped. A sharp pain stabbed through my head,
like razor wire cutting through my brain. Once the pain faded, I
suddenly realized there was one last chance, but it was risky.

“Yes?” Dontavius asked.

“There is someone else I can ask about
Jackal, but I need you to be here. Could you do that?”

“I suppose so.”

The stabbing ache in my head came rolling
back. I winced in pain as it tore through me. I closed my eyes and
forced my mind to fight it, but that just made it worse. I heard
more police helicopters in the distance and I knew I didn’t have a
lot of time. I cleared the floor in the middle of the room and sat
down into my meditation pose.

“Whatever I do or say, do not touch me.
Understood?”

“Yes. What exactly are you doing?”

“Meditating. Usually when I feel stuck like
this, I just need to clear my mind. That way I can talk with the
demon. It usually has a bit more insight when it comes to
situations like this.”

I tried to blank out my mind, but something
kept nagging at me. Every time I felt I was finally doing it,
another pulse of brain activity shot through and broke my
concentration.

“Interesting.” Dontavius said. I looked up
at him. He was still sitting across from me, regarding me as a
parent might a small child.

“I’m doing this to help everyone, you
know.”

“It doesn’t seem to be working.” I felt
compelled to shoot back at him, but he was right.

“I just can’t get clear. I don’t know what
the problem is.” I stood up from my pose.

“I think I may know.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Must I? I’d think the answer would be
clear, even to you.”

“Humor me.” Dontavius just smiled at me and
stood up from his seat.

“Why aren’t you with your friends? Why are
you here, hiding like some lowly rat?”

“It’s for their safety.”

“And?”

“That’s it.” I went back to my meditation
pose, intent on breaking through my mental barrier.

“Guilt has nothing to do with it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You still feel guilty over Tyler’s death.
You’ve been blaming yourself since it happened.”

“So what if I have? It was my fault.”

“No argument here. I just think that may be
the distraction that is keeping you from fully concentrating on
your meditations.” I looked back at him as I realized he was
talking about things I did not share with him.