Demon's Doorway (22 page)

"He didn't leave this room."

"And how would you know, Jackson? Did you see where he went after he beat the shit out of you?"

"No, but he didn't step over me."

"Oh, so, where did he go? Out the damn window? He got the jump on you—don't ask me how—and the lights were out. You don't know what the hell you saw."

"He was wearing a suit or something. There was this noise, and I thought I saw wings—"

"Nice. You thought you saw wings. Go tell the boss that. Just shut up, and stand there. He's in this damn room, him and his woman, and we'll find them."

"What do we do with the woman? The boss didn't say anything about her."

"Whatever we want, I guess."

Alex watched, barely keeping his emotions in check, as the three men scoured the room. He stood in the corner with his arms crossed, invisible to the living. He wanted nothing more than to beat the men, and drop them off in the demon world for his pets. But he'd never learn anything if he did that.

There were six men in total. Three searched his room, while two more watched the stairwell and elevator. The last man wandered the hallways, pushing open the random unlocked door to look for him. They were dressed as cops, but were obviously the furthest thing from law enforcement.

He still didn't understand why they were using empty syringes as ammunition. There was no fluid in them, no solution of any kind.

He tried to think of some of the enemies he'd made recently. Could the men work for Don Summers? Don was wealthy, so the thought of dangerous men working for him wasn't impossible. But Don had seen what waited for him if he didn't walk straight. Demons, ready to rip him from limb to limb. Was it the vampire Victoria was after, Anatol Grigori? That was also a possibility.

"Alright, guys. I don't have a damn clue how, but they're not here. They have to be on this floor. Let's check the other rooms. The first one to find them gets ten minutes with the woman."

Alex seethed.

"Hey, check this out." One of the men pulled Alex's digital camera from his suitcase and scrolled through the pictures. "Looks like someone got hitched today. What a dumbass."

He reappeared, his shadow stretching across the room. "Put that down, right now."

The three men looked in his direction, shocked. They lifted their weapons and fired, but Alex was already gone. Glass syringes shattered as they struck the wall behind him.

Jackson took a step backwards into the hall. "The boss didn't tell us about this."

He was the first one to run. His two partners nodded at each other, and were right behind him.

Alex chased. He didn't bother using the door, or running through the hall. He took the path of a straight line, running through the bathroom and cutting through the adjacent room. He popped through the wall right next to Jackson, and reappeared once again to tackle the man to the floor.

His two partners tripped over them, landing awkwardly in a heap. Alex snaked his arm around Jackson's throat from behind as he kicked the next closest man in the face. Jackson fought and struggled to reach his gun, which lay only a few feet away. The third man made it back to his feet and leaned over Alex, ready to strike. Alex popped his wings and wrapped them in front of himself. The man struck the tough skin of his wing, hurting his fist. Alex shoved him back easily.

"Hey!"

Alex looked toward the voice at the other end of the hallway. Two men dressed like their partners stood, side by side, and lifted their weapons. Alex used his wings to spring to his feet, and vanished as they fired. The glass projectiles passed through him and struck the man standing behind him. He shouted in pain as he collapsed, syringes hanging from his neck.

He reappeared once again and sprouted his wings. His back felt like it was on fire with the constant use. He gripped one of the men under the arms with his wings and held him up easily, using him as a human shield. He ran toward the two men, steadying his shield by holding his belt. The men fired, and the human shield cried out.

When Alex drew closer, he reared his shield back and tossed him like a missile, colliding with the man on the left. The man on the right was distracted, and didn't see Alex launch forward, feet first. He planted his wings on the floor and propelled himself, kicking him square with both feet, catching him in the nose and cheek.

There was noise behind him, and he spun to see the men at the other end collecting themselves. They pulled each other to their feet and ran. Alex took a few steps to give chase, but changed his mind. He turned around to see the other two men running away. The only one left was the man he knocked unconscious with the kick.

His mind raced, trying to think of the next step. He stood in a hotel hallway, nearly naked, over an unconscious man who attacked him, with his wife on the roof of the next building.

It wasn't how he saw his wedding night ending.

CHAPTER 11

Victoria awoke to the sound of pans rattling in the kitchen. A mortal wouldn't have heard it, but even asleep, her ears were sensitive. She swatted red hair from her eyes and glanced at the clock next to her to see it was nearly two in the morning.

She nearly left the room wearing only her bra and underwear. It was easy to forget she had a house guest. She seldom entertained overnight company. She slipped into a robe and tied it tight around her waist, making sure she wasn't showing any unnecessary flesh. Modesty was a trait she lacked, but she didn't want Kevin's cheeks to turn red more than they already would.

Her nose wrinkled at the strange scents as she descended the staircase. She thought she recognized several, but then they changed. Cinnamon, sugar, salt, but then those scents became something else. What was Kevin doing?

She leaned in the kitchen doorway, not making a sound. A smile crossed her face as she watched Kevin work. He was dressed in only a pair of shorts and a white tee shirt. She was certain Alicia would have enjoyed the view.

He had four pots on the stove, but only two with the burners on. What looked like the entire contents of Victoria's kitchen was spread on every counter. There was a single sheet of white paper with the language of the witch on the refrigerator, and he paced with his spell-book in his hand.

"You didn't get enough to eat earlier?" she joked.

Kevin jumped, and put a hand to his chest as he looked at her. "Damn, Victoria."

"Sorry. Vampires are quiet by nature. I see you've made yourself at home in my kitchen."

"Yeah. Hope you don't mind. I couldn't sleep, and figured I'd make more potions."

"Are you gonna sell any of these?"

"Why? You interested? You're a friend, so you get a discount."

Victoria playfully wagged her finger, and Kevin rolled his eyes.

"No. These are for me."

She joined him and gestured to the paper on the fridge. "What's that?"

"A recipe that's slowly coming to me. If I keep anything new close to me, keep thinking about it, sometimes more will come. Hey, you don't happen to have any baby powder, do you?"

"Uh, no. Can't say I do."

Kevin nodded, and grabbed more random things. Baking soda, garlic, pepper. Victoria leaned against the counter and watched, fascinated. She was in the unique position to be able to learn more about witches. Witches were the only supernatural creatures that were always evolving. The nature of a potion's ingredients changed over time, and witches were in tune with that. What made up a fireball potion a century ago was far different than the present times. On the other hand, a vampire was always a vampire. Their rules never changed.

Given a witch's rarity, and the general kill-on-sight rule, knowledge about them had been lacking.

"So," Victoria said. "What exactly are you making?"

He pointed to each pot. "Invisibility. Short term memory loss. Long term memory loss. And a disorienting potion. Makes them think they're on fire. After that I'll work on an ice potion, maybe a delayed-healing potion."

"Did you come up with all this yourself?"

"Nope. I've changed the ingredients a little, but these are all in my book." He pointed to the paper on the fridge. "I have the feeling that one might be new, but I'm not gonna know unless it all comes to me."

He nearly shoved his finger in a pot. Victoria's eyes lit up, and she reached out with blinding speed, grabbing his wrist.

"That crap is boiling."

He smiled. "I know. Some of them need heat."

She let go, and watched as he dipped a different finger into each mixture. They all turned a different color, and the boiling mixtures didn't scald him. She shook her head as he carefully poured each potion into an empty vial and covered them with a cork. The weapons of a witch, common household supplies.

"Victoria, can a vampire and witch have sex?"

She blinked and regarded her friend, a smile on her face.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask."

His face went flush. "No, I don't mean
that
. I'm thinking about Anatol. Could his parents have been both?"

"Well, a witch and vampire can definitely have sex. But vampires can't have children. We reproduce strictly through the bite."

"How do you think he got like he is?"

"It's not really important. All I know is we have to—"

A familiar sound interrupted her thoughts. Her ears twitched as a car pulled up outside.

"What's up?" Kevin asked.

"Cindy's here," she said. "Her car needs a tune-up."

"Seriously? Did they get in a fight already?"

Victoria left the kitchen and headed for the front door. Kevin turned off every burner and jogged to catch up with her. She opened the front door to see Alex and Cindy stepping out of their car. They were dressed in regular clothes, but Cindy's hair was a mess.

"Hey, guys," Victoria said. "Didn't you get a nice hotel to consummate your marriage?"

Alex and Cindy both looked at Victoria, neither one of them smiling. She knew something was wrong.

She walked forward to join them, Kevin following. "What happened?"

Alex glanced at Cindy, and Victoria could see the fear and anger in his wife's eyes. Cindy put her hands on the roof of the car to steady herself. Alex gestured for them to follow as he went to the trunk.

"
This
happened."

He unlocked the trunk, and Kevin gasped at the sight of the man, tied up and curled on his side. They'd bound his wrists behind him with several shirts, and a sock was jammed in his mouth. He looked up at the three of them, his gaze hard.

"This guy and a bunch of his friends busted in our room."

Victoria looked over the failed mercenary. He was dressed as a police officer, a smart move in dealing with any bystanders. He had a large bruise on his cheek, with a black eye forming, no doubt the result of Alex.

"He tried to kill you?"

"I really don't know," Alex said, and handed over a tiny, empty syringe. "I don't think this would kill me."

She examined the syringe, and leaned over to pull the sock from his mouth. He coughed before smiling at Victoria.

"Well, well. First a hot black woman, and now a lovely redhead. My night just keeps getting better and better. Say, where is that fine, luscious, dark beauty?"

Alex clenched his fists, but kept calm. "His friends ran out on him."

The mercenary laughed. "I don't blame them. I've killed a lot of freaks in my time, but a guy with wings? You must be King Freak."

"Who hired you?" Victoria asked. "Who do you work for?"

"I'll tell you what, you take that nightgown off, and I'll work for you."

She lifted him out of the trunk by the waistline of his pants with one hand. Slamming the trunk shut, she started around the side to the backyard. Everyone followed her, Cindy bringing up the rear.

"There she is!" he said, eying Cindy. "I thought you left me, sweet thing."

Cindy said nothing. Victoria glanced at Alex.

"Do you have any enemies?"

"Well, I'm sure I do, but enough for this? I don't think so."

"It's Anatol. It has to be."

"How do you know for sure?"

"I don't. But he took an interest in you today. Why, I don't know."

"Damn, Red," the mercenary said. "You're a strong bitch."

She dumped him in the middle of the backyard. The mercenary laughed as he shifted into a sitting position.

"Listen, I have to be honest, I'm not sure if I can handle both of you women at the same time. But I'm more than willing to try. If the two young-uns here could just turn around."

Cindy stepped forward, her anger finally conquering her fear. She was ready to attack when Victoria and Alex grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Cindy, relax," she said.

She glared at Victoria, her eyes big. "Relax?"

"Yes, relax. Give me your cell phone."