Night Call (Book 2): Demon Dei (30 page)

“And smell like you?” She hooked the helmet on the back and started the bike with a rev to wake the dead.

“Put a helmet on,” I yelled as she backed out of the driveway. “And don’t just drop the bike when you get home. Put the kickstand down this time!”

Helmetless, she waved, popped a wheelie and was gone. Roberts and I watched her go.

“What a charming drive it was out here with her,” Roberts said dryly. “Tell me, are you really trying to starve the poor thing?”

I glared at him. “Did she look underfed to you?”

“Hmm, let me see. Rosy cheeks, red lips, a lovely shine to her hair. Not particularly, but the complaining says otherwise.”

“Learn to ignore it. Makes your life much calmer.” I kept watch on the road, to make sure she didn’t come back. Behind us, Bach played on the stereo and soft mewling from the cages said it was doing its duty. “How many did you get?”

“About two dozen. Some are pretty small though.” Roberts showed me a couple of tears in his black jacket. “Nasty little blighters,
ain’t they?”

“They’re not pleasant, that’s for sure.”

“What are they for? Matter of fact, what is any of this for? And why did her helmet smell like ghoul?” He sniffed. “Why do you smell like ghoul?”

Grimacing, I said, “Don’t ask.”

“Oh, please do.”

Both of us spun around.

Erin stood in the garage, hands on hips, looking at the circle.

Suffice to say she looked much as she had last night. Tired, a bit sore, but tonight had the added bonus of angry. My stomach ended up somewhere around my knees.

“So, Lila came through with the goods, did she?”

The question was so rhetorical I thought it best to not even acknowledge it. “How did you get here?”

She glanced at me, at Roberts, then back at me. “It’s called investigating.”

I hit Roberts on the arm. “She followed you.”

“Don’t blame me for this,” he snapped. “You never said to look out for tails.”

“I didn’t think it needed…” And right there, my brain caught up to my mouth, slightly out of breath, but with an actual clue.
             

It was only when the hard butt of my gun settled into my hand that I realised I’d reached for it. Still, my fingers closed around it and pulled it from the back of my pants before I could think twice.

My arm snapped up at the same moment Erin’s did.

Gulp.

A Glock barrel looked like a fucking cannon when it’s that close to your face.

“What the fuck?” Roberts threw himself out of the line of fire.

“What are you doing, Hawkins?” Erin demanded, her gun not wavering.

“Things aren’t always what they seem. I never told you Lila’s name.”

“No. She did, when she came to see me in the hospital today.” She titled her head the bare minimum needed to indicate the circle. “She came to see if you were trustworthy enough to summon a demon.”

I swallowed my confusion. “She came to see you? But I never told her your name either. And why aren’t you still in hospital?”

“I got better.”

“You got better? So, no broken ribs? No broken arm? What about your face? Still cut up, I see.”

She ground her teeth so hard I heard it clearly. “If you’d just put your gun down I could tell you what’s happened.”

I smiled grimly. “Nice try. Show me.”

This time her gun did waver, but she got it steady in quick order. “What?”

“Show me your ribs.”

Erin turned side on, presenting a smaller target. “I’m not showing you anything.”

Roberts came a little closer. “Matt, what’s the deal?”

“Last night I was ambushed by a demon wearing Erin’s body.”

“What?” Stereo sound from Erin and Roberts.

“I’m not a demon,” Erin stated as Roberts asked, “A demon?”

“Look.” Erin moved to face me front on again and very slowly, she lowered her gun. “If I was the demon, would I do this?”

“Probably. Bullets have little effect on her.”

“Then put your gun away,” she said as she handed her Glock to Roberts. He took it and then hightailed it back to my side. Erin sighed.

“I said little effect, not no effect.”

“Fine.” Ignoring my weapon, Erin moved so she could lean against a wall. “I’m too tired to bother with this argument. What can I do to prove to you who I am?”

“Tell me about the ribs.”

She laughed wearily. “She healed my ribs, probably out of a sense of guilt for breaking them in the first place.”

“The demon?”

“Yes, the demon.”

“I’m not exactly sure on why she would do that, but I’m open the fact she might.” I didn’t lower the Cougar. “Still not convinced though. I called her on the rib thing last night so perhaps this tale is a handy way of bypassing that matter this time.”

“Whatever. Anything else I can do?”

“Kiss me.”

Erin gaped at me. Roberts too, but I didn’t care about his reaction.

“Kiss you?” Erin shook her head. “Why?”

“Humans have an aura demons can’t replicate.” I took a step toward her. “It would prove things one way or the other.”

“And put you right in my arms if I am the demon,” Erin offered. “Easy squishing position.”

“There is that,” I conceded and took another step toward Erin. “Come on, babe. Lay one on me.” I leaned forward. “You might not get another free offer.”

Erin knocked my gun hand aside, grabbed my face and kissed me.

It wasn’t a sweet, sensual kiss like last night. It wasn’t a greedy tongues and all thing either. She just pushed her lips to mine brutally hard, so I could feel the shape of her teeth.

And then it all changed. Though I’m willing to bet it was all one sided. In an instant the hard kiss became desperate, scared and reckless. The emotions rocked into me on a wave of Erin’s unique flavour. The desperation was in the sweetness of the honeydew melon, the fear in the sharp tartness of the
Moscato and the recklessness was bathed in all the rich, deep dark bitterness of chocolate and coffee.

The sensation swamped me, damn near knocked my feet out from under me. When Erin let me go I had to grab onto her to keep upright, though she nearly crashed under the added strain.

“Well?” she asked when we were stable.

I cleared my throat, trying to wash down the lingering taste of Erin. “You’re you.”

“Told you.”

Then she sagged against the wall. I caught her before she could fall and helped her to the floor.

“I had to make sure,” I said. “Tonight’s the deadline for the demon. She has to take me out.”

Erin nodded, though she made a big effort to look anywhere but at me. “I understand. You’re prepared for her?”

“As best I can be. I should start pretty soon, so I’m not ambushed again. Roberts, can you go call Kermit?”

Roberts grunted and left the room.

“Kermit?” Erin asked.

“A ghoul. Nasty piece of work but he’s agreed to help me out. So, it’s true the demon came to you and healed your ribs?”

“This morning. Matt, how well do you know Lila Reyes?”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you want to know?”

Erin dug in a pocket on her jacket. She pulled out a printed photo. “Nick Carson sent you this photo of himself and his girlfriend, whom I’m presuming is your poltergeist.”

Wondering where Erin was going with this, I took the picture, looked at it and fell on my arse.

“How well do you know Lila Reyes?” Erin repeated. “Or should we call her Amaya?”

My brain blanked out. All I could do was stare at the photo. The guy I guessed was Nick Carson. The woman, no doubt about it, was Lila. The same white skin, the same black hair, the faintly tilted eyes.

“She visited me this morning.” Erin’s words entered my ears and I recognised them but it was hard to make sense of them. “She said she wanted to know if I trusted you because she didn’t know if she should help you summon a demon. Why would she even consider helping you, Matt? You’d only be using what she told you to capture her.”

I shook my head. “Lila is Amaya, or looks extremely like her. Why jump to the conclusion that she’s the demon?”

“She healed my ribs and arm. And Jacob knows nothing about her. He didn’t give her your number.”

I wanted to deny Erin’s words. I really did but my mind was gearing back up and running through every moment of every meeting with Lila. She had called out of the blue, I’d been the one to mention Jacob and she’d agreed. She’d met with me in a public place and then tried to take me somewhere private—to screw me or kill me? Or both? All the expertly seductive things she’d performed for my pleasure. A succubus indeed.

“Oh God,” I whispered. “She even told me. Or tried to tell me.”

“What?”

“Last night. She came here, looking like you and… and when I worked out who she was she pretty much told me she was linked to my other job. Of course, she couldn’t say it plainly but she dropped a giant hint and I forgot to pick it up. I’m such a fucking idiot.”

“Not an idiot,” Erin said soothingly. “Just… a bit slow.”

I managed a bitter chuckle.

“And yet she’s helped you work out how to summon her.” Erin leaned against the wall, eyes narrowed in thought. “Why is that?”

“That part, I think I know.” I tucked my hands into my arm pits, worried they’d tremble and reveal my complete and utter shock. “She doesn’t like what she’s being made to do. Hurting you, hunting me, killing people. I think she’s different to your average demon.”

“Know a lot of demons, do you?”

“One or two. Either way, she’s done her best, as both herself and as Lila to give me what I need to break the other summoner’s control over her. She even gave me her name.”

“Which is? Lila or Amaya?”

“Amaya. I think she’s not only bound to this summoner here, but also to Nick.”

“But if Nick had summoned her, wouldn’t he know she was a demon? Wouldn’t he have told you that?”

“And he wouldn’t have worried about her being eaten by sharks if he knew she was a demon. He doesn’t know. Perhaps he summoned her accidentally.”

Erin snorted. “Is that possible?” She waved at my circle. “Hard to mistakenly draw that.”

“I don’t know, but it would explain why Amaya ‘haunted’ him after being summoned away. If she was bound to be with him, she would have had to return to him once her job here was done.”

“And when you poked your nose into Gerry’s death, the summoner found out and called her back to finish you off before you could solve the mystery.”

“Exactly, Watson.”

“I’m no man’s Watson,” Erin mumbled.

“That’s right. You’re Batgirl.”

Tactfully, Erin ignored that. “So, you’re going to summon her tonight, before she can come, intent on killing you.”

“Not exactly. When I concocted this half-arsed plan, I didn’t know her name. Didn’t have my trusty Girl Friday to put the puzzle pieces together for me.” I looked at the picture again, trying to reconcile this deliriously happy woman with the Amaya who was bitter about her relationship with Nick. It didn’t quite mesh. “I’m a sucker for a pretty face.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about that. Ninety-nine percent of men are. If you’re not summoning her, then who?”

“Hey!”

A gentle waft of ghoul proceeded Kermit’s entrance. Erin grimaced but I was used to the stench.

“Are we getting this show on the road or what? Who’s the saucy wench?”

Forgetting the smell, Erin gapped at Kermit. She pointed at him and turned to stare at me. “That… that’s the thing that shot at me in May at your place.”

“No,” I muttered, “that was a different ghoul. He’s dead.”

“Darn tasty too,” Kermit added not so helpfully. “Had him for dinner couple months back, actually. Nicely tender he was.”

“Too much information, Kermit,” I said as Erin retched. “Yes, I’m ready. Let’s get this train wreak under way.”

We set the cat carriers up around the circle and tied string to each latch. A quick jerk and the cages would open. While Roberts showed Erin the imps  and gave over several ends of strings, I hustled Kermit into the circle.

“You’ve done this before,” I said more to be saying something than out of any real need to give instructions. He was, after all, the old hand and I was the apprentice. “Do whatever it is you need to do.”

Kermit nodded and huddled down in the middle of the design. “I’ll be fine. You’re the weak link, human.”

“Any advice?”

“Pack up and take me home.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m hoping this goes wrong and the demon nicks off with you. Two trips with you in one night and I’ll never smell right again.”

“Or maybe, you’ll screw up and the demon will nick off with you and I’ll take your bike home.”

I patted his shoulder. “No you won’t. Mercy already took it.”

The feeling crept up on me like a spider had got under the cuff of my jeans and was upward bound.

Kermit, too, felt it. “She’s here,” he whispered, hunching down.

“But not too close,” I added and went to the garage door, pulling it down.

“No. The circle will keep her away. She won’t want to be accidentally caught.”

Erin met my gaze with a doubtful frown. Getting caught might not be a big worry for Amaya... Lila. Crap. I hadn’t even started and I knew it was going to go belly up.

“What happens now?” Roberts wound his strands of string around one hand. He still had Erin’s Glock and looked pretty comfortable with it.

I gave Erin my Cougar and she exchanged it for her
Glock.

“I’ll do my voodoo thing,” I said as my guts began clenching in anticipation and nervousness. “If anything goes wrong, release the imps.”

“How will we know if something goes wrong?” Erin asked.

“Oh trust me,” Roberts said. “You’ll know. Matt doesn’t do things by halves.”

“Can you tell where she is?” I asked Kermit.

Kermit just rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. Great. Belly up and gutted before you could say ‘put your left leg in.’

I read through Lila’s… Amaya’s list of instructions once more. It was fairly straight forward. Not much room for error, really. Still, this was me.

I pulled my SAS knife from the sheath and drew the blade across the palm of my left hand. The pain came a second or two behind the welling blood. Being all manly and stuff, I didn’t wince and calmly collected some blood on the blade of the knife. At each point of the hexagram, I let one drop fall. Completed, I cleaned the knife and sheathed it.

I closed my eyes and, thanks to all my practice, sank into a calm, near meditative state in a matter of seconds. Once upon a time, this had been a lot harder. I’ve likened my life and my psyche to a seesaw before. It’s a good analogy as I seemed to be constantly rocking from one extreme to another—at least I used to. These days, not so much. Well, if you took the demon factor out of the equation. The seesaw sat pretty comfortably balanced at the best of times and here, in this cool, quiet place, I could get it perfectly straight. When all things were even, whamo! Hello psychic goodness.

A loud crack snapped me out of my half trance. Erin was on her arse, staring at the space between us. Roberts was still on his feet, but just as slack jawed.

“Okay,” I said. “That seemed to work.”

The circle was very definitely powered up. A flickering, possibly swirling, barrier grew from the circle and ascended into the ceiling. It was transparent and flashed with all different colours, giving the hint that the thing was in motion. Inside it, Kermit yawned.