The Awakening (15 page)

I ran up the stairs and to the garage. The back door of the SUV was open. I scooted between the vehicles, then tossed my bag into the back.

Tabby came out of the house with three bags. “Good, you’re here.”

I took one of the bags from her hands and slung it into the trunk of her vehicle.

“Here,” she said, handing me one of the bags. “This is as much as I could fit.”

I took the bag and put in the trunk as well. When I spun around, she had vanished already.

My heart sped as I went back downstairs. The light in Boss’s bedroom was on. I peeked in and found him kneeling on the floor in front of the closet. A piece of carpet had been removed and exposed a hole with stacks of cash.

“Two bags in the office. Grab them and I’ll meet you upstairs,” he said brusquely.

I backed out, gathered the bags, and hurried up the steps.

Jonas slammed the trunk shut as I strode into the garage. Anger poured from him like sweat. Actually, he was sweating. I smelled the salt.

He rubbed his arm over his forehead. “Did you get the weapons?”

I tucked my two bags into the SUV. The back was full and I wondered where we were going with so much stuff. “Yeah, I got them.”

Boss stepped into the garage with a jacket over his arm. He looked at Jonas. “Where’s Tabby?”

“She's coming,” Jonas said as he opened the driver’s side door.

Boss slipped between the cars and handed Jonas two wads of cash and mumbled a few words.

I shut the back of the SUV and it made a loud thud. I stepped around the rear as Tabby came running out with bags in her hands and up her arms.

“Get in the car. We’re leaving,” Boss said, walking past me.

I wanted to reach out to Tabby and hug her, but there was no time. Jonas revved the engine and the slam of a door told me Boss was ready to leave. Biting my lip, I turned and hopped inside the SUV.

Boss turned the key and the dashboard lit up. “Buckle up,” he said as he shifted the gear.

I reached over my shoulder and grabbed the seatbelt. Everything was happening so fast. I worried about Tabby and Jonas. Were they going to follow us?

Boss backed the vehicle down the driveway. I lowered the window. Drops of rain lightly coated the front window, not enough to require the wipers. The other car idled in the garage with the brake lights glowing in the dark. Boss pulled onto the street and stopped. He stared in the rearview mirror.

I twisted around and gazed out the back window. “Who would be tracking us?” Jonas rolled the other car down the driveway.

“I don't know.” He shook his head. “Tell me what you were doing before the warning appeared?”

The Lexus turned onto the road behind us, and Boss accelerated.

I twisted back to the front. “We were discussing the Senator. He found an article about a young lady who saved her life some twenty years ago. The name of the person appeared in other articles. We thought she might be a half-breed. So, Jonas logged into the local demon clan website. He went to look for her, clicked on a link that said, ‘missing’, and the screen flashed.”

Boss drove out of the neighborhood, passing through stop signs as if they were invisible. “Your picture was on the demon clan website?”

“Yeah.”

He shook his head as he turned onto the main road. “Sal posted the photo. He’s serious about getting you.”

“That son of a bitch.”

“Demons are sneaky. I guess I should've seen this coming. Can you get my phone out of my jacket? It's on the backseat.”

I removed my seatbelt, twisted around, and reached for his jacket. Finding one of the pockets, I dug inside and found the phone. “Got it.”

Boss made a sharp turn without stopping. I checked the mirror on my side and saw the Lexus making the same turn. I handed him the phone.

Boss slid his thumb over the phone. “What was the name of the woman who saved Galluzzi’s life?”

“Alison Baxter,” I replied. “Do you think demons are on their way to the house?”

Boss drove at high speed down the one lane road. He glimpsed quickly at the phone in his hand. “Someone is.” He raised the phone to his ear.

I gazed into the side mirror again. Jonas and Tabby stayed a few car lengths behind us. Something moved in the night sky, prompting me to glance up.

“Jonas. Head to site B,” Boss said into the phone.

More objects moved above us, and they were too large to be birds.

“Do you see what’s in the sky?” I asked.

“Hang on, Jonas.” Boss ducked his head out the window and looked up.

I stared up at the sky and noticed large wings, and something resembling a human body in the center.

“We need to separate. You head straight and meet us at the site,” Boss said. “Call me back if you run into any problems.”

He set the phone in the cup holder and slowed as we approached a four-way stop.

“I'm pretty sure it's the same kind of creature we ran into the other night,” I said.

“Gargumen. We need to separate so they don’t suspect anything unusual.”

He slammed on the accelerator and turned left, tires squealing. I watched in my mirror as Jonas’s car continued straight from the four way stop.

“Can you see any following us?” Boss asked with a white-knuckled grip on the wheel.

I angled the mirror up then swallowed hard. “Yes, I see them.”

“How many?”

I narrowed my gaze, trying to count the black blurs. “I can’t tell. Three maybe.”

Boss’s jaw tightened. “They can follow us for hours. I need to get rid of them.”

“I can help. Tell me what to do.”

Boss slowed the car. “There’s a gun under your seat. It should be loaded.” He made another sharp turn.

I bent down and opened the drawer under my seat. A gun and a fresh clip were lying inside. I grabbed both. Boss turned another corner and I bumped into the door. We were now out in the country with nothing but land and road. Our headlights sliced through the darkness. Easy targets.

Boss brought the car to a halt. He reached over, taking the gun and clip from my hands. “Stay in the car. There’s another gun in the glove compartment if you need it.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Kill them.”

I swallowed hard. “How?”

“A shot in the center of their forehead does the trick. Anywhere else just pisses them off.”

He pushed his door open and left before I could say a word.

I watched Boss walk down the road in front of the car. A touch of fear, but mostly fury coursed through my veins. I wanted to fight. I needed to do something. We might not have been the best of friends, but I still didn't want him hurt on my account.

Boss stood beyond the reach of the headlights. The tinted windows and his dark attire made it difficult to see him. Rain pelted the window, distorting his image. Had it not been for the beams, he would’ve blended in with the night.

Gargumen dropped from the sky. Four landed in front of him, and one landed behind him. Unlike gothic style gargoyles, they looked like humans except they had flat faces, large black eyes, and two holes instead of a nose. Their gray, naked bodies gleamed in the headlights. I held my breath as their long wings contracted. Five against one seemed like an unfair battle.

The garguman standing behind Boss opened its mouth, showing off a horrific set of piranha teeth. It shrieked, and I cringed. Not only were they ugly to look at, their shrill sound was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Boss raised the gun and fired as four of the gargumen charged. The head of one of the creatures jerked back before its body toppled to the ground. Two other gargumen flinched as bullets hit them. They were too fast for Boss to get a good shot at their heads.

My heart hammered in my chest as three gargumen threw punches at Boss. He fought back, but within seconds, they knocked him to the ground where they clawed and bit him. One ripped the gun from his hand and tossed it aside. The remaining garguman who had yet to fight simply stood and watched.

I couldn’t sit and do nothing. I couldn’t watch them rip him to shreds.

I opened the glove compartment. The gun inside was half the size of the one Boss had. I flicked the safety off and held the weapon tight in my palm.

Jaw clenched, I pushed open my door and strode in front of the car. The garguman watching Boss shifted his gaze to me and opened his ugly mouth. He shrieked and expanded his wings. I lifted the gun and fired at the creature’s head. It jerked and toppled backward.

The three holding Boss down lifted their heads. Blood covered their faces and dripped from their sharp teeth. I walked toward them with the gun aimed at one of their heads.

“Get back!” I yelled, ready to squeeze the trigger.

Something solid as stone hit me from behind. I fired the gun before I hit the ground. Whatever hit me pinned me down and a gray hand stripped the gun from me. I quickly realized it was another damn garguman.

I lifted my head and saw Boss fighting two gargumen instead of three. Good, I thought. I hit another one.

The garguman on top of me gripped my hair and slammed my head onto the pavement. Darkness threatened to suck me in as pain exploded in my head. I struggled to break free.

Sharp claws raked my back, and I screamed. My flesh burned as if it was on fire.

Grunting, I slapped my palms on the pavement and bucked, pushing the creature off my back. It rolled over, got up fast, and came at me. I rose, grabbing the dagger from my boot. Beastie reached for my throat. At the same time, I stabbed it in his chest.

“Fuck you,” I said behind my clenched teeth.

The creature backed away, staring at me with coal-black eyes. It dropped to the ground with a solid thud. Boss had said my poison blade would kill anything. Guess he was right.

I went over to the garguman and placed my hand on its chest. Its skin felt cool and gritty. I yanked my dagger out, and to my surprise, the creature didn’t bleed.

Dagger in hand, I spun around and found Boss still fighting with two garguman. I spotted my gun across the road. I ran for it and picked it up. As I turned back, one of the gargumen hit me in the jaw. I staggered sideways. Gripping both my weapons, I ignored the metallic taste in my mouth, regained my balance, and fired three bullets at the beast. The bullets hit him, but they did little to stop him other than giving him pause. That one-second was all the time I needed. I pointed the gun at its head and fired. He jerked his head back before his body crumbled to the ground.

Ahead of me, Boss had the last garguman in a choke hold. The creature twisted from side to side and they rolled over together. Boss held on tight. I ran toward them, pointing the gun at the creature’s head until Boss was on top.

“Boss!” I yelled.

Both the creature and Boss lifted their heads. I fired, and the bullet hit the garguman in the forehead. He died instantly.

I lowered my gun as Boss stood and brushed his wet hair from his face. He looked at me.

“What took you so long?”

I stared at him, still holding both the gun and dagger. Rain dripped from my chin and my hair stuck to the sides of my face. The cool air sent tiny shivers through me. My arms trembled.

I had killed five out of six gargumen. Killed them without hesitating. Killed them the only ways possible–through a bullet in the head, or with my dagger. Boss bent down and retrieved his gun. He strode past me to the car.

I stood cold, and aching in the rain. The unkind hunger pain tightened in my gut, reminding me of what I needed. The taste of blood lingered in my mouth from having bitten my tongue when the creature punched me.

I stared at the dead bodies and hated what I had done. Yet, if I hadn’t acted, they would have killed us. I hadn't killed senselessly. I didn’t enjoy it. Sure, it came easy, but part of me regretted the end had to be death.

I bent and slid the dagger back inside my boot. The scent of gasoline infiltrated my nose. I glanced up and found Boss pouring gas over one of the creatures. He strode from one to another, dowsing the bodies. When he finished with the empty canister, he threw it in the air. It landed far away in the field down one side of the road.

He returned to the car and so did I, neither of us speaking. I’d left the door open and the inside was one big wet mess. Gripping the handle on the inside roof, I lifted myself into the seat and shut the door.

Boss slammed the rear door. He strode to the nearest garguman body with his hands full of road flares. He lit one and dropped it on the deceased. One by one, he burned all the bodies.

I shivered. Drops of rain flew in through the open window and landed on my cheek. I closed the window and rested my aching head on the glass. I needed rest. I needed to feed. I doubted I'd get either one anytime soon.

Chapter 16

Boss drove in silence while I stared into the night. The windshield wipers glided over the window. With each sweep, my eyelids drooped further. I was cold, damp, and sore. Heat blew in from the vents, doing little to ease my discomfort. A hunger for warm blood poked at my gut. The pain was bearable, but still a nuisance. I hugged myself and watched the rain jiggle across the top of the window.

The phone rang and I snapped out of my daze.

Boss lifted the device to his ear. “Hello.”

His hair was a tangled mess and his skin was whiter than normal. The sweater he wore hung off his shoulder. The scents of blood, rain, and gasoline clung to him. Though his face and neck appeared free from bites and scratches, I wondered if his clothes were hiding any wounds.

“That’s fine,” Boss said into the phone. “We ran in to a few problems. When you’re done, be sure to meet us at the site. I’m going to need you.”

The way he said the last sentence made me suspect he needed Jonas to feed from.

“See you soon.” He set the phone back down. “They stopped for food.”

“At least they weren’t followed.” The thought of gargumen attacking Jonas and Tabby frightened me. Their human bodies were frail. I doubted they would have survived.

“How are you feeling?”

I took a slow breath. “Sore.” No point in complaining about being hungry.

“You’re not bleeding, but I do smell your blood.”