Demon Hunt (14 page)

Spellbound, Rhi leaned forward to catch every word. A bell went off, and she pictured the page of the tattered Bible and the tale of the Gates. A crystal skull? Was the treasure she had fantasized about nearby? But if the treasure were near, so were the gates of Hell,
she thought. Yeek.

Pam was excitedly asking Houston if he was sure the story was about a crystal skull and not a diamond one.

Blackthorne sprawled in his chair next to Rhi with his infuriating ‘deeply troubled but still sexy’ expression on his face. She repressed an urge to kick him.

Houston, after convincing Pam the skull was rumored to be quartz crystal, not diamond, continued. “Now we get to the
really
outlandish part of the story. The Castle had an army in residence, hidden in tunnels that honeycombed the mountains and opened into the mines. Local lore also says a horde of demons hid in the tunnels. The true story of the battle in the Castle may never be known because on the same day, the big fire broke out and the town went up in flames like a pile of dried kindling.”

“
And what happened to the witch? And Pearl?
”
Rhi didn’t mention her own suspicions. “Did they live?”

“
Well, Pearl died of a laudanum overdose later that year and the witch died a few days after the fire,” Houston replied.

Rhi raised her gaze to meet Blackthorne’s across the salty rim of her glass. A burst of laughter from the back room housing the meeting of Alien Abductees made her hesitate a moment.

“
That’s a nice story but doesn’t help me understand what or who throttled me in the Pearl.” She addressed Blackthorne, not Houston. “I read something about the history of this place this morning that might be crazy enough to work as an explanation for all of this or you could just save me the time and tell me.”

Everyone waited in silence for his answer. Blackthorne looked like he was making up a good lie when the doors of the restaurant flew open to admit the prettiest man Rhi had ever seen. He was a Greek statue come to life, who had made a stop at his tailor before joining the town’s nightlife.

A sallow-faced younger man followed, almost as well-dressed as his boss, but not quite, clearly marking him as the other man’s servant.

Blackthorne didn’t turn or make a sound but he stiffened the moment the other men entered the bar. His features were dead, emotionless, but his eyes were alive and filled with fury.

Rhi gasped when she glimpsed a blue spark in their depths.

The evil metro-sexual gracefully stalked toward their table.

“
A party! Or is this a PTA meeting? All of you kids look so serious!” The newcomer placed a hand on Blackthorne’s shoulder, who didn’t bother to glance up.

Blackthorne’s eyes sparked blue light again and a muscle in his cheek twitched.

“
Is my brother bringing the party down?”

“
You!” gasped the newcomer’s flunky, gaping at Blackthorne. A torrent of emotion crossed his face as he stared at Manius, then at Blackthorne, unspoken accusation in his pale gaze.

“
I don’t recall inviting you, whoever you are …” Rhi broke off when the new arrival’s gaze turned on her. His gaze glowed a smoky shade of red in the poorly lit ambiance of the restaurant. He leered, baring sharp fangs lengthening before their eyes. The unbelievable teeth were framed in full red lips.

Rhi swallowed a gulp. “Whoops - I guess I could make an exception …” Her last word came out as a squeak.

“
Such a sweet looking girl,” the newcomer whispered. His voice twisted in the air to caress the side of her face. “I can’t let something like the lack of an invitation keep me from you, princess … no one has ever been able to keep me from you.” His eyes glowed and the hand on Blackthorne’s shoulder started to smoke a bit. Tendrils of gray smoke drifted into the air of the room and curled around the circumference of the table. The smoke turned into wispy claws that reached for her.

A bead of sweat popped up on Rhi’s forehead. “Who are you -
what
are you?”

“
My brother should have introduced me, but then he has always been such a barbarian.” He indicated Blackthorne with a nod. The smoke continued to pour from his hand and Blackthorne’s shirt. “But has it really been that long? We’ve shared so much, Rhi, I’m disappointed that you have forgotten me so soon. I’m Manius Black, of course.”

Blackthorne, oblivious to being on fire, dug his hand into the heavy wood tabletop, but did not flinch. The wood gave way and his fingers sank into the grain as if he were kneading dough. Then his hand broke through the wood with a snap.

Pain ripped through Rhi’s head. She had to remember him, from somewhere. Her head began to pound as she desperately searched for his face in her memories.

Pam spoke, breaking the spell of menace the newcomer cast. She held her margarita glass high as she examined the bright yellow liquid inside. “This is some hellacious tequila! If two drinks can make this guy’s eyes turn red, God knows what a few shots’ll do!” Pam turned towards the bar, turning her back on the dangerous newcomer.

“
Greg!” She called to the chubby bartender behind the bar. “Get me a few shots of this stuff!”

Rhi found her wits. Someone was trying to frighten her. And had succeeded until Pam interrupted. She took a deep breath and glanced at her friend, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe if I drink enough of this he’ll turn into someone I would actually do with glowing red eyes?”

Pam nodded and sipped her drink with apparent unconcern, her gun hand under the table. Houston’s thin body was tensed so tightly, a cord of muscle might snap at any moment. Whatever kind of weapon he wore, Rhi was sure it could be easily reached.

Manius took his hand from his brother’s shoulder, smiling, the palm blackened and blistered as if in some kind of terrible fire. The shoulder of Blackthorne’s shirt was in tatters and the skin beneath, raw.

As still as a mountain lion before pouncing, Blackthorne’s gaze smoldered with vivid blue light. Rhi closed her eyes, seeing black fingerprints burnt into her own skin.

* * * *

Blackthorne had been determined to keep his cool and not spring the reality of the situation on Rhi until absolutely necessary. Mentally, he called upon his God, his discipline and his strength to not attack his brother in public.

Then Manius spoke. “She seems a little frigid, Brother. I could warm her up for you - after all, I’ve done it before …”

God, discipline and strength went out the window. With impossible speed, Blackthorne leaped at his brother before the occupants of the table could register his movement. So much for keeping the dubious nature of his humanity under wraps.

* * * *

The assistant moved only to be stopped cold by the gun Pam pointed at the center of his chest.

Then they all leaped out of the way as Blackthorne tackled his brother and the men fell into and splintered the table, locked in vicious combat. The brothers pummeled each other with impossible blurred speed, and Rhi could barely make out their fists. Sparks of blue and red radiated from the struggling men, setting fire to several sections of the restaurant. When the back wall cut the limits of the fight short, the brothers continued to roll up the barrier in complete defiance of gravity.

Rhi’s mouth dropped open as she stared. Her stomach contracted. Pam’s eyes were big as Conestoga wheels and her grip on her purse slackened. Then Houston grabbed the women by the arms and gave them a shake. Rhi shook her head hard. Another nightmare had her in its grip, and it was high time that she woke up.

Houston hustled the women and Pam’s prisoner to the bar and placed himself between them and the fight.

“
It only gets weirder from here, ladies,” he told them. “I was afraid of something like this.”

He reached behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of tequila, right in front of the bartender, who had frozen in place, fascinated by the unearthly fight. Houston took a large swig and offered the bottle to the speechless and horrified women. “You might want a drink. It’s gonna be a long night.”

Chapter Fourteen

Rooted to the spot, Rhi watched the men wrestle and pound on each other – on the ceiling. “They can float.”

“
No shit.” Pam backed up to the bar, her gun and attention directed at her seething prisoner. She glanced up and let out a shriek. “Oh my God, look at his face!”

Blackthorne’s eyes blazed with neon blue light and his incisors had extended themselves like those of the man he fought. The teeth and the twisted fury in his face combined to make the man Rhi fantasized about earlier into a demonic beast.

“
Holy - he’s a vampire like the other guy,” Rhi breathed. “With me they’re jerks, married, gay or vampires!”

Pam grabbed her arm. “Girlfriend, there’s nothing holy about that - except maybe that they both have great butts. But the scooting up the wall thing? That just ain’t right.”

The bartender found his wits and sailed over the bar to hightail towards to the bathroom. Rhi prayed he would manage to stuff himself through a window and go for help.

Rhi tried to decide if she should grab a bottle and bash both men’s heads in or run screaming into the night.

Then Pam screeched again. “What is
that
?” She pointed a shaking finger at a broken side window across the room. A slug-colored creature crawled through, resembling a bald, shriveled, naked, little old man with translucent wings.

That alone should have been enough to make Rhi throw up until she spotted the lidless neon red eyes bulging from its swollen face and pointed, bloody teeth showing in the creature’s filthy mouth. The stench of death, decay and, oddly, wet dog hit as they realized that there were several of the hissing creatures behind the first one, jockeying for position to crawl through the window.

The newest arrivals headed straight for the women. Their hands reached towards the bar, displaying retractable claws.

Rhi cursed herself for leaving her gun in the truck and turned to make a flying leap for the barrier of the bar. Pam shoved her prisoner to the floor and jumped after her, exposing a great deal of leg in the process.

They crouched together for a moment.

“
I would like to wake up now,” Rhi whispered, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“
Stop!” Pam rasped, breathing heavily. “This is not a dream, Rhi, suck it up!”

Rhi balled her shaking hands into fists and nodded at Pam, who glanced grimly upwards. Together, they peeked over the bar to see Houston, armed with the leg of one of the shattered chairs and a hunting knife, swinging at the swarm of demons.

On the ceiling, the brawl continued. Any kind of winner was becoming hard to make out because of the smoke and sparks of flame that shot from both men as they pummeled each other.

Rhi grabbed some bottles to throw, picking the biggest and the heaviest to heave towards the monsters. Pam raised her head over the bar. “Do you think there’ll be any charges if I blast these nasty little buggers? What if they’re midgets wearing really good Halloween costumes?”

“
If you don’t want to do it, give the damned gun to me,” Rhi replied, tossing bottles. “I’ll take my chances.”

“
I’m sure I’m the better shot here. Of course we’re at point blank range. God, is that a bottle of good scotch you tossed? Oh, the humanity.” Pam heaved the gun up on the bar to let it rip.

Certain the first shot had burst her eardrums, Rhi threw another bottle at something nasty coming around the corner of the bar and got up to view the damage Pam had inflicted.

The first victim of Pam’s oversized gun stood near the bar staring down at a ragged hole in its chest. The demon looked up at them and giggled, its sharp teeth dripping liquid that sizzled on the wood floor.

She reached down and motioned for Pam to take a look. I think you’re safe from prosecution,” she told her. They stared at the creature in growing horror.

What happened next was worse. The wounded beast rose into the air on an unseen current and floated towards them, snarling and not slowed by the gaping hole in its body. The missing parts lay in a smoking pile on the floor. The smoke gave off more of the same stench of death and wet dog, but a hundred times more intense.

“
Ewww!”

Several more of the creatures became airborne and floated towards them, flapping their mucous covered wings. Rhi fought the nausea that exploded in her stomach and concentrated on the fight. “If I faint, I’m dead,” she muttered and continued to peek over the counter.

“
What the hell are we
doing
?” Pam dropped to the floor, grabbing Rhi by the hair to pull along.

“
Ouch! That hurt.” Rhi protested as she examined the handful of hair her friend pulled out. “I wanted to see if there’s anything left of the first guy I’ve been
able to look at twice in years, okay?”

Pam reloaded her gun from a large box of bullets she pulled out of her handbag. “You can sure pick a heck of a time to finally get horny, girl.”