Devil Inside (49 page)

Harley caught it and studied it for a moment.  Finally, it clicked as to what it was.  A retractable, tactical baton.  “You get a badass sword and I get a police stick?”

Castor grinned at her.  “If you don’t want it—leave it,” he shrugged.  Harley rolled her eyes at him and followed him across the street after tucking the baton in the waistband of her jeans.

“Yeah, I guess you need the sword more than I do,” she smirked. 

Castor looked at her over his shoulder and grunted unhappily, realizing she had won that round.  Harley grinned to herself but didn’t say anything else as they neared the church.

“Church” was stretching the description of the building they were looking for.  It was an old brick building that was crumbling and the windows were boarded up.  It was nestled between several apartment buildings that were taller and newer.  The little building looked as if it hadn’t been used as a church for many years.  It sat unused like the psalm books that missionaries sometimes handed out on the streets.  People didn’t want them, but felt bad for throwing them away.  So, instead they sat around collecting dust.  That was this building.  Unwanted and neglected but kept around out of a sense of obligation.  People stopped noticing it after a while and it made a good place to do business when you didn’t want to be seen.

Castor and Harley ducked into the covered doorway of a building across the street from the church.  A large moving truck was parked in front of the office building and offered them extra cover as they tried to get a fix on the Burners inside the building.  She could see dim lights shining around the edges of the boards over the windows as she leaned around the side of the truck.  She listened quietly to sounds around her.  Sunset had not begun yet but there was very little activity on this block since it seemed to cater to businesses and this was a weekend.  She felt her eyes black out as she let the sounds and smells flow over her.  Castor watched her quietly—not questioning what she was doing.  She could just barely make out the life forms inside the building.  There weren’t a lot of humans around so it was easier to focus on the Burners but they were far enough away and blocked enough that she couldn’t get a clear read on them.

“What can you tell?” Castor asked her.

“It’s a small group.  At least one of them is a lot stronger than the rest.  I can’t tell much more than that from here.”

Castor shrugged.  “Then let’s try to get closer.”

Harley and Castor crept closer to the church.  They moved silently and quickly as possible.  Harley ducked into the small space between the church and the building beside it.  She approached the side window that had once held stained glass but was now just weather beaten boards.  Harley stilled herself and focused on the sounds from inside.  What she heard made her heart leap into spastic beating and her Nocte start dancing with excitement.  She could barely contain her excitement as she turned to face Castor.

He looked at her with a questioning look.  “Cutter’s here,” she said in the faintest whisper possible and her grin spread even wider.

“Are you sure?” Castor whispered.

“Oh.  I’m sure.” Harley said simply.  She closed her eyes briefly.  “There are also four others.” 

“I can only hear two more.”

“The other two are quiet.  But I can hear their hearts from here.”  Castor raised his eyebrows but only nodded. 

Harley and Castor listened to the Burners’ conversation for a few minutes.  The bulk of the conversation seemed to be about quality of product.  Meth in particular.  Finally, they both got tired of listening to the finer details of drug manufacturing.

“How do you want to do this?”  Castor asked Harley.

“Can you handle the four?  How are you feeling?”

“Pretty much normal.  I can take them.”  When Harley continued to study him he scowled at her.  “I CAN handle them!”  He whispered harshly, spitting a little as he did so.  Harley looked at his green eyes.  He was even hotter when he was mad.  She smiled.

“What?” He asked, clearly still annoyed.

“Nothing,” she shook her head.  “I’ll take Cutter.  He will run when he sees us I’m sure.  It’s what he’s done before.  He lets his minions do his fighting for him.  I don’t want him to get away this time.”

“OK.  How do you want to go in?”

“How about the front door?”

Castor shook his head, trying not to smile.  “You don’t believe in subtlety do you?”

“What’s the point?” Harley asked.  “They will hear us or smell us as soon as we are in the building.  At least this way we have a chance to take them by surprise.”

Castor drew the sword from his back.  “OK.  Let’s do this.”

Harley watched him for a second.  He didn’t look nervous but she couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about dragging him into this.  “Look,” she said.  “This is your last chance to back out.  You don’t have to do this.”

Castor scowled at her.  “You’re going in, right?”  She nodded.  “Then I am too.  Besides, I want to put an end to whatever they are doing as well.”

Harley nodded again.  Whatever chivalrous, self-sacrificing feelings he had—they were his business.  She had made it clear that he didn’t have to be involved and that she didn’t need him to be here.  He is the one who sought her out.  Harley pulled the knife from behind her and started for the door.  Castor stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Be careful,” his eyes locked onto hers.  “I really don’t want Levi coming after me for revenge if you get yourself killed.”

Harley rolled her eyes at him.  “Who are you kidding?  If either of us dies, it’s going to be you,” she said in a teasing voice.  She smirked at him and continued towards the door.  Castor laughed softly and shook his head at her, ignoring her jab.

Harley stood back from the double front doors and nodded at Castor.  He returned the nod and stepped in front of the doors drawing his foot back he slammed it against the door—right in the middle.  The latch was old and easily snapped into bits.  The metal pieces pinged as the clattered across the church floor and the doors banged against the walls with a loud boom.  Castor rushed inside and Harley followed right behind him.  The five Ignis inside froze in shock for only a split second.  They were huddled over a small folding table with papers spread across the surface.  Most of the pews were gone, probably having been stolen long ago, the rest were pushed out of the way.  Cutter was the first to react to their entrance. 

Cutter’s eyes flashed like a hungry wolf and he growled like one too.  He knew Harley was coming for him and this time he rushed to meet her.  From the corner of her eye she could see Castor dive into the four Ignis, his sword flashing and she made the instantaneous decision that Cas would have to be on his own.  She and Cutter didn’t hesitate.  They crashed together with a bone crunching flurry of fists and blades.  There was no stalking, or talking or posturing.  Harley was ready to fight to the death and Cutter was, apparently, ready to fight as well.  Every ounce of pain and anger that had been building up inside her since Jamie’s death was hemorrhaging out of her through her fists and feet and her knife.  Harley could feel the adrenaline surge through her and she used all her strength to fight for a chance to drive her knife into Cutter’s heart.  She would love to drain him dry—but she would gladly settle just for killing him.

Cutter may have been bigger, and maybe stronger, than Harley—but her smaller size was more to her advantage.  It made her faster and more acrobatic.  However, neither of them could get the upper hand over the other.  Every time Harley would land a blow, Cutter would land one.  She could feel her bones cracking when he landed solid punches.  She had not fought an Ignis this strong before and it was taking everything she had to keep up with him.  Harley focused all her energy on delivering faster and faster attacks.  It was her best shot at defeating the Burner she had hunted since becoming a Nocte.  She nearly giggled when she finally got a good swipe in with her knife.  Her quickness was rewarded with a jagged gash to the underside of his chin that splattered blood across his shirt.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t fatal as she had missed any major arteries.  Cutter retaliated by lunging at her with his knife poised to kill.  Harley dodged backwards and collided with something hard that hit her in her lower back.  Before she could stop herself she somersaulted over backwards.

By the time she crashed to the floor she realized what had happened.  Cutter had managed to back her into one of the few pews that remained.  Instinctively, she prepared for Cutter to follow up with a direct attack.  However, it didn’t come.  She rolled to her knees in time to see him snatch some of the papers from the table and dart towards the front doors that still stood open.  Just as he passed through them she made it to her feet.  Harley didn’t hesitate to give chase.  She could feel her Nocte roar in frustration. 
He isn’t getting away this time
.  As she rushed through the doors, picking up speed as she went, she saw Cutter going for the truck that they had hid behind earlier. 
Of course
, she thought with dismay.  If she had time later she would kick herself for not recognizing the fact that the truck belonged to the Burners.

Cutter saw her coming realized and he wouldn’t have time to get in the truck and darted away before she caught up with him.  He turned and ran away from the truck instead.  She began chasing him down the middle of the street pulling the tactical baton out of her waist band as she went.  Her muscles surged as she desperately tried to catch up to the blonde Burner.  Slowly she began to close the distance between them.  They had only been running for three blocks when, suddenly, Harley heard a car horn honking and Cutter stopped running.  Confused and distracted, Harley slowed to a stop as well.  At first she was unable to figure out where the honking was coming from.  The street that had held office buildings had been virtually deserted with no street traffic and she hadn’t seen any other cars since they arrived.  As Cutter turned towards her she saw the arrogant smile of victory on his face.  At the same time she realized that the horn had come from behind her.  She turned as the roar of an engine filled her ears.  She didn’t have time to dive out of the way as a red SUV bore down on her.  The truck had to be going more than fifty but she could still make out the blonde, female Ignis that she had shot in the chest so many months ago grinning behind the wheel.  Fuck, she thought as the car slammed into and her world exploded in pain and blackness.

The first thing that Harley became aware of was the cold darkness in which she floated.  That’s how she knew that she was mostly dead.  Just like when Levi created her Nocte bond.  This time she didn’t panic because she knew what this was.  She also she knew she wasn’t actually dying.  She had no idea how to get back to her body but she figured that it would happen eventually.  Therefore, she just floated, determined to calmly wait this out.

Harley was so mad at herself.  She had messed up again and she was sure that Cutter had gotten away.  She hoped that Castor was OK.  If she had been breathing she would have sighed dramatically at this point.  The desire for revenge still flowed through her—and always would.  Once her heart started pumping again it would pump vengeance as much as it did blood. 
Well, that’s rather cheesy
, Harley thought to herself. 
But no less true.
  Thinking about Cutter was causing a sharp and increasing pain in her head—or at least where her head was when she had one.  But she couldn’t stop, the thought was persistent—of making him pay for what he had done to her and Jamie.  She was even holding him responsible for her parents and, by extension, her crappy childhood.

Harley knew that she wouldn’t be able to rest until he was no longer in this world. 
Hopefully it’s a painful exit.
  The pain in her head was becoming a shrill and driving agony that stretched throughout her body as it grew in intensity.  The more pain she was in—the angrier she became.  The fact that every encounter with the blonde Ignis resulted in pain for her wasn’t lost on her.  But Harley had always had a reckless streak.  And even if her driving force was revenge—the end result was ridding the world of creatures that thrived on pain and suffering.

And that is why you need to let this petty feud with Cutter go
, a raspy voice broke through her thoughts.

Harley froze.  Instantly, she knew who—what—the voice belonged to. 
Well—hello.  It’s been a while since I’ve actually heard your voice
, Harley greeted her Nocte.

Well, if you would shut up once in a while and stop feeling sorry for yourself, you might hear a lot more from me.

I didn’t actually SAY that I wanted to hear from you
.

Hehe
, the Nocte chuckled. 
I don’t know why not.  It would save us both a lot of pain and suffering.

But what about everyone else?  I don’t think letting you go would be better for everyone else.

You think I’m responsible for what you have done to the Ignis.  For the torture that you have inflicted for your own gains.

It wasn’t a question, but Harley felt compelled to answer anyway. 
Of course.
  She tried to sound more confident than she actually felt.

The Nocte laughed heartily and it caused a strange tingling that softened the pain that she was still feeling.  If it had been possible the hair would have stood up on her arms.  The Nocte’s laughed marked her as distinctly “not human.”  It was closer to a growl than a laugh and if Harley could see the Nocte she would expect smoke to coil out of her mouth and nostrils because it was much like what she would have expected a dragon to sound like.