SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (165 page)

“He’s gonna need ‘em,” I muttered.

“This is all bullshit, Cassie,” Logan whispered, still uneasy with not calling the cops. “This guy,” he jerked a nod at Devlin, “is probably in on this. He’s trying to get you into the caves with the tide coming in. Christ, we could all get trapped in there.”

I took a second I didn’t really have and looked up at him. I could see he was worried. Well join the club. “Logan, Thea’s in there and I’m getting her out. Come or don’t come. Just don’t get in my way.”

“You couldn’t stop me,” he said.

“The ground rises,” Jasmine spoke up for the first time since we left the house. “The cave entrance is low, but the further in you go, the higher. The water will not reach the back of the cave.”

“And you know this
how
?” I asked, pinning her with my world famous death glare that bounced off her like bullets off of Superman.

She actually
smiled
widely. And that might have been the eeriest part of the whole evening. Trust me on this, Jasmine smiling is not something you want to see. The words ‘curdle milk’ sprang to mind. “I’ve been in La Sombra many times over the years. The judge is not the first demon to claim these caves.”

“Right.” I nodded, then scowled at her. “Next time,
share
.”

Devlin gave me a smile and a supportive hand on my shoulder. Logan was giving me a headache. Still, I could see his point. A few weeks ago, if someone had told me demons were alive and well and living in my hometown, I would have thought they were nuts, too.

“Everybody got their spray bottle?” I asked, not bothering to lower my voice, since the pound of the waves was loud enough to cover the invasion of Normandy.

“Got it,” Logan held the spray bottle in his left hand, his 38 caliber in his right. “But the gun seems like a better call.”

“Trust me on this,” I said, “the window cleaner will work way better.”

He snorted.

“The judge will have most of his minions with him, but he’ll have two or three sentries posted at different intervals in the cave,” Devlin said, already heading toward the mouth of the biggest of the three caves. “I’ll go first. They won’t try to stop me because the judge still thinks I’m working for him.”

“He’s not the only one,” Logan muttered.

“Whatever,” I said, falling into step behind Devlin and sparing only one quick glare at Logan. “But when the spray hits the wind, you hit the dirt.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Devlin said.

I wasn’t. He was a big demon. He could take care of himself. Besides, all of my worry was being used up on Thea. I didn’t have any worry left for anybody else. They’d have to take a number.

Jasmine was bringing up the rear and it was good to know she had Logan’s back. The man was ready to fight—he just didn’t believe what he’d be fighting and that could get ugly.

The walls of the cave and even the ceiling seemed to be pressing down on me. The roar of the ocean was muted. Sort of like we were trapped in a giant conch shell—the kind you held to your ear to listen to the sea? Now that we were inside the cave and close to the demons, I was trying to walk quietly, slowly, though every instinct I had was telling me to knock Devlin on his ass and sprint toward my daughter. Good thing I waited.

A demon stepped out of the shadows to greet Devlin, then noticed
us
. He opened his mouth to shout a warning and before I could move, Devlin squirted a stream of the liquid into the guy’s mouth. That shut him up quick and sent him into a gagging fit. I stepped around Devlin just long enough to do a little dusting.

Logan came up behind me. “What the hell happened? I can’t hardly see a thing in here.”

Devlin shrugged.

I said, “Nothing. Thought I saw something that’s all.”

“Well let’s concentrate, huh?” Logan said.

I shot him in the face with my demon spray. It didn’t burn him or anything, but it made me feel better.

Then we were moving again and my legs were starting to ache. Definitely walking uphill. Damn, I’d been training for two weeks and was still in rotten shape. Good thing I’d had all the brownies. At least I could ride a sugar rush.

The next sentry was taken out just as quickly and as we went forward, Devlin held one hand up for quiet. My breath was coming in small gasps and just as well. The cave smelled like rotting seaweed. Ew.

“He’s just ahead,” Devlin whispered, his mouth so close to my ear it felt like he was talking
inside
my head.

I nodded and stepped around him. Staring off down into the shadowy blackness, I noticed the walls of the cave glistening with damp. My heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was going to pop free of my chest. I moved forward carefully and felt Devlin just behind me. I was really hoping that he was just who he said he was. A demon on
my
side. I didn’t want to have to fight the judge
and
Devlin.

Up ahead, I noticed the shifting glow of candlelight first. In the incredible blackness of the cave, those faint lights shone like the promise of sunshine.

I swallowed hard. Here it was then. Time to have a dust off at the OK Corral.

Turning around to face the three people watching me, I said, “I’ll go first.”

Logan tried to argue, but Jasmine gave him another squirt and I think she enjoyed it.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Devlin said.

“Good to know.” I started walking, not bothering to hide my presence now. What would have been the point? When I stepped into the heart of the cave, I had to stop for a second, to let my eyes adjust to the sudden rush of light—that felt nearly as bright as mid-day.

The judge saw me first. In the pale, flickering light, his tan was even darker, making his teeth, as he smiled a welcome, gleam in contrast like an orthodontist’s wet dream.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Duster,” he said, opening his arms wide.

There were three more demons-slash-humans-slash-creeps standing in the center of the room and they looked a lot less happy to see me and my friends. There was a fire burning in a circle of volcanic beach rock and the candles I’d noticed were standing in puddles of their own wax on rocky ledges on the wall. There were a couple of chairs and a small table that held a Thermos of all things, but that was about the size of it.

“
This
is your ‘lair’?” I asked, shaking my head in disappointment. “Have you considered a decorator?”

“Is this the entertaining banter portion of the evening?” the judge countered, frowning now. “If so, I must say, I’m not really interested in trading insults with you. I already have what I wanted.”

Thea.

Keeping one eye on the judge, I let my gaze sweep the shadowy edges of the cave, searching for Thea. I didn’t see her, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. From where I was standing, I could see at least two more tunnels off-shooting the main cave. She could be down one of those dark, slimy places just waiting for me to find her.

Finally, I turned my gaze back on the judge and let the others behind me worry about his little pals. “Where is she?”

“Close,” the judge admitted, walking toward the fire with his hands out, as if seeking warmth. “And very soon, she’ll be boarding a plane.”

“Thea hates flying.”

“Do you think I care?” he asked, smiling again and his teeth flashed even whiter in the firelight. “She’s going to be very popular with my friends in Ohio.”

“Ohio?”
I couldn’t keep the dismissive laughter from my voice. Hadn’t Devlin said once that he’d left Europe for Cleveland? Apparently there were demons everywhere. “Please. A hotbed of demons in Cleveland?”

“Actually, in a suburb just outside the city. Brecksville. Lovely place. Quite...welcoming to my kind.

“Uh-huh. Well, Thea’s
not
your kind.”

“Variety is the spice of life after all,” he said, his eyes narrowing on me in that cold, hypnotic way he’d used in his courtroom.

A curl of something hot and ugly unwound in the pit of my stomach. He was talking about handing my baby over to his demon pals. I didn’t think so. While I started a slow walk around the fire toward him, I said, “Teenage girls aren’t the easiest people in the world to control, you know. Especially Thea.”

“Your daughter was just a tool to deliver you to me,” the judge said softly.

I wondered what Logan was thinking. If he was convinced yet. But I couldn’t waste too much time on anything but the judge.

“Once she’s gone and you’re dead,” he said, “I can implement the rest of my plan to enslave humanity—starting with La Sombra. My ‘connections’ will take me far, and with the Duster gone, there’ll be no one to stop me.”

“God,” I blurted on an amazed laugh. “You sound like Lex Luthor.”

He frowned at me. “Your attempts to distract me are wearying.” Shooting a look at his demons, he shouted, “End this!”

For a split second there was silence in the cave and then all hell broke loose. A couple of the demons screamed and behind me, I heard the solid smack of fists meeting flesh. The scent of Oregano rose up and filled the room and even the judge choked and coughed as the spray of demon mixture filled the air.

I kept my gaze on the judge. He was all that mattered. I had to take him out to get to Thea. I jumped across the fire and felt the heat singe my thighs just before I landed in a crouch in front of him. “You know,” I said tightly, letting my anger rise up to fill me, “I was willing to live and let live. I wouldn’t have taken you out if you’d just left Thea alone.”

Okay, maybe I wouldn’t have, but the point was, I’d tried to avoid this confrontation. He’s the one who had insisted on it.

“You’re a fool,” he said with a sneer of contempt.

“Yeah?” I countered. “I’m not the one getting my cave invaded by enemies. This is all your own damn fault, you know. You just
had
to kidnap Thea—so now I’m gonna have to dust you.”

He laughed at me. “I’ve lived too long to be concerned about a bimbo cleaning lady.”

“
Bimbo?”
I screeched the word. “Could you
be
more out of date, you jackass chauvinistic demon? I’m no bimbo. I’m your worst nightmare. A pissed off mom with Duster powers.”

I crouched again, swung out my right leg and swept it in a circle. The judge leaped straight up, just like I’d seen Jasmine do that first time. When he landed behind me, I think he was expecting me to be surprised. I
so
wasn’t. In fact, I was waiting for him.

Just to make myself feel better, I slugged him in the nose and he staggered backward, astonished as blood poured down his face. Disgusting, but satisfying. His back hit the wall of the cave and I made a leap that made me feel like I was flying. When I landed, the judge’s eyes were as big as saucers.

“Never
underestimate a mother,” I said and shoved my hand at his chest.

He was fast though, I had to give him that. He caught my right hand and gave it a vicious twist. I shrieked at the unexpected pain then shut up fast when the judge did a weird shimmer thing. One second he looked as he always did, then his features blurred and in the next instant he was something
way
different.

His skin was dark blue—almost midnight—and there were white whorls etched into his face in dizzying patterns and squiggles. His nose was broad, his lips peeled back from teeth that were now several inches longer than they had been a moment before. His eyes flashed red and his long fingered, clawed hand wrenched my arm up and behind my back.

“You’ve been trouble for me long enough Duster,” he whispered and his voice scratched at my mind like nails on a chalkboard. “This ends tonight.”

Fear was there, at the back of my throat, the copper penny taste nearly gagging me. Pain was alive and kicking, reminding me that he had my arm up so high he could break it with just a little extra pressure. Enough already.

“It really does,” I said and slammed the back of my head into his nose.

Shock loosened his grip on me and I jumped far enough back that he couldn’t grab me again. Damn, Devlin had been right. The judge
did
have some serious strength. My arm felt like it was broken, the ache shuddering down inside me to reverberate through my bones. But I didn’t have time to surrender to the pain. The demon fighting me was determined to kill me and if he won, Thea was lost.

Jenks lunged at me across the fire and the flickering shadows made his ugly ass face even scarier. Instinctively, I backed up and when he crashed into me with a bellow of rage, we went down in a tangle of bodies. All around me I heard the sounds of battle. Fists smashing into flesh, groans and a single gunshot that blasted into the cave mouth and echoed with a wild abandon that nearly deafened me.

But I had bigger things to worry about. The judge grabbed my throat and his fingers closed around the base of my neck like a noose, slowly tightening. “Stupid woman,” he whispered and his red eyes quickened like a fire was building within.

I gasped for air as his fingers tightened and the edges of my vision went swirly black. His strength shone around him in an aura as black and empty as night. I felt myself dying and knew a kind of fear I’d never experienced before. The others were fighting their own battles. I wouldn’t get help from that quarter. If I was going to live, I’d have to manage it on my own.

I reached up for the judge’s red eyes and managed to gouge him well enough that his grip loosened. Then I gave him a shove with all my Duster strength that had him bulleting off me to land on his back in the center of the fire.

He howled and rolled out of the flames, but he was still smoking. I staggered to my feet, tossed my hair out of my eyes and faced my enemy across a wall of flame.

“You can’t win,” he promised.

“I won’t lose,” I answered, and have to say, that bravado was probably ruined by the way I was staggering like a drunk after a long night. But as my breath came back, so did my determination. This had to end. Here and now. I jumped over the fire like I’d been shot from a cannon.

My nails stabbed at the judge’s eyes as we fell in a roll on the damp sand. Still rolling, locked together, we smashed up against the cave wall, him on the bottom, momentarily stunned from his head bouncing off the rocks. I straddled him, looked him dead in the eye and said, “You never should have touched my girl.”