Demon Hunt (32 page)

“
Hold me, Jack. Let’s pretend we are normal, boring people with nothing more to worry about tomorrow than gas and grocery bills,” she whispered.

He drew back for a moment. “Even if we win, we can never be those people, not now, Rhi. And, if we’re truthful, we could never have been those people before either. We two are doomed to be interesting people who will meet a bad end.”

“
Then let’s meet it head on and go out with a bang.”

* * * *

Blackthorne stared down at the tiny woman in his arms. Rhi was definitely not the woman he married so long ago … she was Raven and so much more. He had longed for his wife for so long; now he couldn’t imagine letting her go into the light without him at her side again. She had captured his heart as Raven but as Rhi, she owned both his heart and his soul.

He leaned down to gently kiss her lips. She opened to his touch immediately and the familiar flames rose.

“
Are you up to this?”

“
Your ‘essence’ was like drinking a double mocha cappuccino in a gallon bucket.” Rhi sat up to yank the t-shirt over her head, leaving her smooth, fully healed body bare. She slid her arms around his neck and pressed against him.

Desire rose the moment he took her mouth. His hands kneaded her compact backside as he deepened the kiss, consuming her heat. She wrapped her legs around his waist and busily pulled at his clothes. He groaned and disengaged her hands to get to his feet and strip his clothes off.

As sleek as a cat, she slid off the bed to stand in front of him, drinking in the sight of his body.

“
You know,” he said, pulling her in his arms, “ladies in your last life were a bit more … modest.”

She slid out of his arms to lie back on the bed, her cat green gaze never leaving his face. “Aren’t you glad this isn’t that life?”

He leaned over her, pinning her with the long hard length of his body. He leaned low to kiss her mouth and then torturously worked his way down her neck. She twisted in his arms and her skin glowed with blue light.

“
Let me show you what I consider vogue,” he whispered, raw hunger flavoring his words. Her body shivered as he tasted her breasts, her belly, and then drank from her aching core, burying his face in her flesh until she could not tell what part of her was not also a part of him.

Finally, he rose above her and braced himself on his forearms, staring into her glowing eyes. Rhi gasped at the sensation as he slowly entered her, forcing her body to writhe and arch beneath him. Blue flames spread through their limbs. Then he moved, heated sinew and velvet, the sensation sweeping both into a maelstrom of desire. The moment she decided that her heart could not take another powerful thrust, the orgasm burst through and she buried her face in his shoulder, muffling her cries. A moment later, his climax filled her body and soul as he buried his face in her soft skin to keep from calling out. Then there was the night, the lace of the bed, his arms around her and the illusion he could protect and keep her safe.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The next day found the group in the cozy kitchen of Pearl’s historic house, draining the massive coffee pot and feeding Ellie Mae scraps of leftover bacon.

Outside, snow fell in a bi-polar fashion, torrents one minute then a patch of clear sky and sunshine for the next ten. Rhi, Blackthorne and Molay were pulling on their gear as Pam, already dressed or maybe still dressed from the night before, kicked at her chair leg.

Chief Nicholas Boyd sat on the counter nearby, glaring at his great-great grandmother over the rim of his coffee cup.

“
If you’d listened to me and kept them from opening casinos in this town, this would never have happened, Nana,” he stated, ignoring the startled glances of the other occupants of the room.

Pearl, stirring eggs on the gas range, didn’t bat an eye or even bother to turn to face her grandson. “It would have made no difference at all, Nicky; I’ve said it a hundred times. He would have found another way … this was fated.” She filled a plate with eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy and handed it to him. “Now eat your brunch, sweet pea, you need your strength. You are absolutely pale.”

The motherly attitude of the woman towards the chubby policeman jarred Rhi. Pearl appeared to be at least ten years younger than Boyd. The only flaw in her beauty this morning was her red-rimmed eyes, bloody from crying and sleeplessness. The death of Houston had pained her, her grief obvious and raw.

“
That’s just weird, man,” Rhi muttered as she laced her boots. Crying would come later for her, maybe. She rolled her grief for her dead friend and guilt over Katie into a poisonous ball and held it tight in the pit of her stomach. If the emotions burst loose, she’d be catatonic.

“
What is taking so long?” Pam pulled her pistol, now carried in a shoulder holster, out to inspect the weapon for the fifth time. “We have to meet your knights, Bobby Wayne and his group of freaks at the Hospitality House in about 15 minutes.”

Pam wore her grief and anger openly, like an icy badge. She would spill blood soon. The premonition flowed around the thin blackjack dealer’s shoulders clearly to Rhi. She could only pray any acts fueled by a mother’s fury would not cost her friend her soul.

Rhi straightened and nodded towards the phone on the wall nearby. “I’m waiting for a call.”

The phone rang and, at a nod from Pearl, she picked it up and spoke one word.

“
What?”

“
How rude, Mrs. Blackthorne. Whoops, I guess that’s a sore point, huh?” Manius Black’s voice was smug and untouched by remorse.

“
How’s Katie? Are you sick of cartoons yet?”

There was silence on the other end of the line. Rhi swallowed a smile, imagining the man’s discomfort at her statement. Rhi knew he wouldn’t touch the little girl or upset her in any way. He needed someone pure of heart, pure of intent.

“
How do you know I haven’t cooked her up and fed her to my little friends?”

“
Because I’d feel it and smash the skull in a second,” she retorted, hoping he didn’t know if she were able to destroy the skull or not.

“
I have to admit, the creature is growing on me. The little darling introduced me to the a 24-hour cartoon station right after she ate her cereal. I’m no longer sure I want to give her back. She’s like a pet.”

Rhi suppressed her revulsion at the idea of the mass murderer watching television with Katie. He was capable of reaching out and snapping the child’s neck on a whim.

“
I suppose you’d like to meet me at moonrise tonight at my mausoleum?” She asked the question calmly.

“
With the skull, please; it’s all I need. I know everything else you wouldn’t share with me the last time we played. You can bring my brother, that dreadful bore Molay and his knights, Pearl and that harridan you like to hang out with but they have to stay outside. I rather like the idea of them right where I can see them. Bring me the skull and your pretty butt and I’ll let the kid take off with her mummy. Screw with me and I’ll slit the girl’s teeny tiny throat right there. If you want to go to war over her, it’ll have to be after I’ve got the skull in hand and am standing in front of the gate. It’s the only way you’ll ever lay hands on the child,” he stated and hung up. His confidence was unsettling. He didn’t care if Molay and the Brotherhood were with her. He had that much faith in his power.

She slid the phone back into its cradle and turned to face the room. Pam stood and stretched, her fists coming dangerously close to the light fixture. “Time to go.”

Rhi retrieved her Bible, gun and the cavalry saber from the counter. She also, with some effort, picked up the heavy backpack Bobby Wayne delivered earlier that morning at her request, refusing Blackthorne’s silent offer to carry it for her with a sharp glare. The less he knew about the bag, the better. “Coming?”

“
We’ll meet you downtown in a few minutes. Nicky has to finish his breakfast and be convinced of a few things, like why he can’t call out the National Guard,” Pearl said as Molay, Blackthorne and Pam rose to follow Rhi from the room. The chief managed to look sheepish as they filed out.

“
Uh,
why
can’t they call out the National Guard?” Pam asked her.

“
Well. It might be a bit more difficult to contain if the government gets involved, Pam, and can you imagine what the geniuses in the US military would do with access to a Gate? Pearl is not able to permanently wipe everyone’s memories, you know, some people are resistant.”

They both shuddered at the thought.

Outside, Pam trudged silently beside her, the M-16 at alert. Rhi took her friend’s arm and together they climbed into the SUV to head for the red brick storefronts of downtown Cripple Creek.

* * * *

The crowd gathered under Bobby Wayne’s direction in the front hall of the Hospitality House Hotel was a motley collection of the best, worst and weirdest citizens Cripple Creek had to offer. The Greek revival hotel, which once served as the Teller County Hospital, had a fleet of well-used pickup trucks and SUV’s parked in front of the building. Inside, some of the more open minded hunters, miners, survivalists, casino employees and members of the alien Abduction Club mingled and chatted.

The most frightening part, Rhi decided as she took stock of the group, was that they were all openly armed and dressed for extreme weather. Someone told Betty that they were hunting a type of vampire, because the older woman was completely decked out in warm, black, Goth clothing. Silver crosses hung from her neck and ears and several wooden stakes were in her belt along with a wicked hunting knife and a .357 magnum.

After giving Rhi a tap on the shoulder, Blackthorne and Molay deserted them the moment they got into the front hall to engage Bobby Wayne in a quiet but intense conversation. Several large, dangerous looking men with the same aged wisdom in their faces as Molay and Blackthorne stood off in a corner. The strangers examined the crowd with expression ranging from distrustful to downright amused. Pam’s father, Colonel Douglas, stood beside them on crutches, in full battle dress, another warrior. Rhi noticed her friend didn’t move to greet her one functioning parent. The pain was too raw. Both knew what needed to be done.

Max Hunter, the general manager of the Silver Pearl, stood off to one side as he dug through the pockets of his greatcoat, double checking the locations of his ammunition and weapons. Max, a man of few words, grunted at the girls and continued his weapons check. Stephen, Rhi and Pam’s pit boss stood nearby, holding both his and Max’s shotguns. He gave them a cheery nod. His normal timidity with human beings obviously didn’t extend to demons.

“
I wondered when you girls would get here,” Stephen said as they approached. “I should have known you’d be at the center of this.”

“
What exactly have they told you?” Pam asked him curiously. Pam had requested early in the operation her daughter’s kidnapping be kept quiet simply because she could not bear to talk about the subject to concerned friends.

The pit boss gave them an amused grin. “The forces of Hell are about to descend upon us like they did back in the gold rush days. I could have told them that those guys descended upon us long ago, when we decided to put in nickel slots near a town like Colorado Springs that’s filled to the brim with military retirees.”

“
So you know about the fire and the fight in the 1800s?”

“
Sure. Doesn’t everyone? My great-grandfather fought them. And now I guess I’ll have to as well, although there’s also a good chance I’ll make a break for it if things get nasty. You know how I feel about blood, especially my own.”

Pam and Rhi glanced at each other in disgust. Did anyone
not
know that Cripple Creek was overrun with evil except the two of them?

Nearby, two men in flannel shirts and barn jackets carefully opened a wriggling burlap sack the pair held between them and peeked inside. The tie to the sack was a leather cord from which a crucifix dangled. The religious symbol gave off blue sparks when it came in contact with the bag. The bag itself had been embroidered with a variety of symbols and appeared to be very old. Catching demons in bags might have been a fun pastime for someone at some time. “I told you there were gremlins in the woods, Earl. My great-grand pappy hunted stray ones for years after the little varmints burned the town down. Gramps told me that he was truly sad when they all finally got hunted down. There wasn’t nothin’ fun to chase no more.”

The other man peered into the bag and jumped back when a small, clawed hand snatched at his face. “Shit!”

Pam turned to face Rhi. “How come all of the crazy people are with us?”

“
You have to ask?” she replied, relieved Pam was able to smart off, even if it was just a little. She surveyed the crowd. “Don’t be dissing my people, Pam. They’re about to take on a demon storm and don’t seem particularly worried about it. They might as well be facing ‘Biker Day’ at the casinos.”

“
Don’t be underestimating ‘Biker Day’. It’s pretty bad,” Pam said. “And Rhi?”