Drop Dead Demons (27 page)

Nightmares chased me awake.

I was lying on softness and wrapped in warmth, the last dregs of sleep paralyzing my limbs.

“Don’t you dare send a team,” Aunt M’s voice roused me. “If I pull out, that only leaves Bancroft to watch…”

A door closed, and I couldn’t hear anymore.

I remembered Mom finding me on the swing. She’d screamed for Dad who, after making sure I wasn’t comatose, carried my groggy self upstairs to my room. Even only half-awake, I saw they were furious with fear. Dad redressed my puncture which had opened up completely and was bleeding profusely. They’d both berated me for not getting enough rest. I was asleep before they’d tucked the comforter around me.

I dragged my arms up, my shoulder only a mild ache, and rubbed eyes with lids that felt lined with sandpaper. My bedroom was blanketed in the dead of night. Van Helsing curled in a neat ball on my chest lost in dreams, where I’d like to be. Instead, something plucked the strings of my mind and nagged me awake. 

“Ken, I think…through something and…but if those Hex Boys…”

Through my closed door, M’s hushed voice carried in and out from the hallway. Then the door creaked like she was leaning on it from the outside and…

“I already asked, and they won’t consider visiting, let alone leaving for good. The last time we talked them into moving closer, Aurora almost died. They won’t listen to us again even if…” The door creaked, and I lost her voice again.

My head throbbed, a strumming in my brain that suddenly flashed taut, urging me to remember something…important…

I shot up, ignoring Van Helsing’s grumble as he tumbled off my chest, and groped in the shadows on my nightstand. I found a phone and dialed. The vision’s connection to Fido was still strong.

“Aurora?” Logan answered.

“I know where Jayden is,” I whispered and hopped out of bed.

“Jump out your window,” Logan said.

I paused. “Uh, I said I found Jayden, not that I’m suicidal.”

Logan hung up.

A soft
ping
came from my front window. I edged aside the curtain. Logan hovered mid-air.

Oh. Sure. That’s normal. 

I opened the window. Behind me, the bedroom door opened. I dived for my bed and yanked up the covers. 

“Aurora?”

I remained still.

“Just a minute, Ken,” M whispered. “I thought I heard somethi— Ahh—!” She cut off her near shriek, then hissed, “No, it was the stupid cat. Give me a minute.”

Through slitted eyes, I saw M shuffle over to the open window. I held my breath, waiting for a startled cry regarding a flying Hex Boy. She looked out, then closed it and the curtains before rearranging the covers around my shoulders and heading for the door.

“Yes, I heard you. Cat burglar. Ha ha,” M whispered into the phone as she left my room. “What? No, I won’t back off. She tore open the wound on her shoulder somehow. Was so tired she fell asleep out in the cold. Could’ve caught her death.”

If she only knew.

“Protection is what I do, Ken. I swear, those Hex Boys are bad news, and I will bury them, one way or another before I let anyone harm a hair on…” 

Her voice faded, and I waited until I heard her bedroom door close before I was back in action.

I hopped on one foot, tying my shoe, and hissed out the window, “Logan!”

Logan tornadoed up from below. “Where’s Jayden?”

“The portal.” I shrugged into my jacket, relieved my shoulder felt nearly numb. I remembered Dad giving me something. Pain killer probably.

“Already looked there. His security code was used to get in, but no sign of him. We keep getting alerts, but there must be a glitch. ”

“Don’t know about that, but I can still feel them with the Divinicus connection, so let’s go.” I leaned out the window. “Where’s your car?”

Logan glided close and held out a hand. “I’ve got a better idea.”

Logan did
not
have a better idea. Sure, flying with nothing but a pint-sized albino’s super wind powers keeping you from splatting to the ground miles below may be considered fun by plenty.

Just not me.

Especially since Logan bobbed, weaved, and even barrel-rolled us through the tree tops. Then the forest gave way to moonlight glinting off the tall, thundering waters of Gossamer Falls. Logan swooped down over the beach and headed a course directly through the crashing water. I readied to get soaked, but a gesture of his hand brought a fierce wind that parted the waters, and we sailed through with only light moisture dampening our skin.

We landed in a small alcove illuminated by the jittery hold on my flashlight. Water dribbled down mottled gray rock. Wind whistled mist against my skin. The falls crashed a dark curtain behind us, glinting silver when the moon peeked at our backs, the air wet and musty. It seemed to be a dead end.

“Where’s the entrance?!” I yelled over the thundering water.

Logan stuck his hand in a cavity in the wall, then withdrew, blood trickling thread-thin down his finger. Rock split and retracted to reveal a keypad. Logan punched in the code and stepped back, pulling me with him.

The ground shuddered, stone crumbling small pebbles as the wall split open a doorway. We stepped into a cavernous room lit with an eerie green glow from some organic material on the dripping wet walls.

“Glow-in-the-dark algae,” Logan said. “Jayden swears it shouldn’t exist here but…”

“Cool.” I started to move down the only tunnel, but Logan held up a hand. I frowned. “What are we waiting for?”

“Us,” growled a voice at my shoulder.

I whirled, juggling the flashlight until the beam landed on, “Matthias!”

And Ayden, Blake, and Tristan.

“Get that bloody thing out of my face.” Matthias smacked down my flashlight.

I scowled at Logan. “You called them?”

Silent, he suddenly found his cuff links very interesting.

“Of course he called us.” Matthias yanked me aside. “
We’re
his team.”

Ayden barely spared me a glance as he shook water from his jacket and headed down the tunnel. Did he blame me for Jayden’s plight? Probably. I did.

“You’re all the backup I’d need, chick-a-dee.” Blake ruffled my hair as he passed. “I still don’t get why we’re here.
A
-gain. We tore this place apart already. Jayden’s not around.”

“But Logan said she had Fido track Jayden here.” Ayden hit me with a cold look. “Although she didn’t think to call
me
.”

“And give you false hope? No,” I said, feeling guilty. It wasn’t exactly a lie but…ugh, I hated all these secrets, I just wasn’t sure the truth was a great idea either.

“Cameras are off for some reason.” Tristan had a translucent computer tablet in hand and was using his jacket to wipe off water droplets. “The portal’s closed. Aurora can go in, but it’s safer if she waits out here.”

“A hunter attacked her at her house.” Logan motioned for me to go forward. “She stays with us.”

Matthias yanked me back again, disbelief and outrage swirling comically on his face. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Rose?” Tristan asked.

“No,” Logan said. “But Rose could have sent him.”

Ayden turned around, pale and worried. “Are you alright?”

“On a scale of one-to-important, that doesn’t even register right now.” I pushed past them down the tunnel.

“It’s a bloody waste of time,” Matthias said. “Logan, hold up. Tell us more about this hunter.”

I raced ahead of the boys and almost slipped when the tunnel narrowed and my feet hit slick metal. The floor had dropped away and changed into a catwalk. Large glowing stones embedded in the wall at regular intervals gave light, and through the grated steel at my feet I saw rushing water below lit with some blue light swirling in the currents. There was an earthy scent and the air tasted wet. Droplets clung to the railing I used to steady myself as I kept running.

I reached a glossy door that swished open on my approach. Across the threshold, I entered another algae-lit cavern, crossed another catwalk, and finally reached the solid ground of a tunnel that opened to the portal where I skidded to a stop next to Fido.

She nudged me and chittered nervously, staring at the portal and the body in front of it lying battered, bleeding, and unmoving.

Jayden looked bad. Propped up against the portal wall, eyes closed, chin dropped to his chest. His long black hair was matted in clumps and fell over most of his face, but I could see blood streaming down his forehead. He still wore Tristan’s handcuffs, but it was the bazillion pounds of chains lassoed and weaved tight around his body then anchored around the massive boulder that was going to make it tough to set him free.

“Jayden!” My voice bounced over the cavernous stone.

His head lolled from side to side, eyes fluttered, and the knots in my chest loosened. He was alive.

The metal net that Fido had broken through was nowhere in sight so nothing blocked my path as I raced toward him. Jayden saw me and struggled to become alert, eyes widening, head shaking in staccato bursts. I’m sure without the hot pink gag tied around his mouth, he’d be saying something brilliant, but it just came out as garbled nonsense.

“Don’t worry, the guys are coming,” I assured him.

The ground and walls shuddered violently. On the surface of the bubbling pool, the reflection of the stalactites hanging above blurred, and I was knocked off my feet.

Jayden became more frantic, fighting against the chains. The stone wall behind him, the portal itself, began to change. It became fuzzy, distorted, like looking through a camera going in and out of focus.

Hmmm. Just spitballing here, not being a portal expert or anything, but I’d put that in the “not good” category. It was almost as if the portal was trying to — I gulped — open. 

Now?
With Jayden right there, ready to get sucked in.

My mouth went dry.

“Guys, help!” I yelled over my shoulder.

There was a piercing
snap-crackle-pop
of stone and another nerve-rattling shudder, and a long crack opened across the portal wall. As it lengthened, light burst through. Deep red and menacing. The color of blackened blood. The beam washed the cave in its gory light as the crack opened wider and wider by the second.

It was dangerous to go near it. The thing could break wide open and let loose a torrent of lava, demons, ghoulies, genuine fire and brimstone — whatever the heck that was — and who knows what else. The smart move was to stay far, far away.

But whoever said I was smart?

“Aw, screw it,” I muttered.

I scrambled to my feet and sprinted across the space, ignoring Jayden’s frenzy of muffled protests. I jumped over the boulder wrapped with chains then skidded on my side. Dust flew. My feet hit the wall. Solid rock, thank goodness, but the crack spidered new fissures. More deathly red light seeped through.

Jayden groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, shut up.” I yanked out the gag, then the saliva-soaked fabric stuffed in his mouth. Yuck. “How do I get the cuffs off?”

“Get out!” Jayden shouted as he planted his foot against my stomach and shoved, vaulting me back.

In midair, my skin suddenly illuminated. As I thudded to the ground, sparks flew from my fingers and morphed into lines of white electricity that spiked out in jagged streaks directly toward the portal. When the currents hit the wall, the portal fractured like a hammer shattering glass.

And the lines of current stayed connected.

As hard as I yanked and tugged, grunted, groaned, and screamed with effort, I couldn’t pull my hands away. It was as if they were tethered to the portal.

Ayden arrived out of nowhere and jumped in front of me. He grabbed my wrists, and wrenched them sideways, then with a grimace, fell to his knees. The streaks of electricity from my hands cut out. I flexed my fingers. My skin still glowed and tingled, but I was free, had control.

“You…okay?” Ayden coughed and put a hand to his chest, seemed to have trouble breathing.

I nodded. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “Let’s help Jayden”

Matthias bellowed from the catwalk. “Ayden, Aurora, get out of there now! The portal’s opening!”

Gee, ya think?

“I got this!” Blake raised his hands.

The chains around Jayden rattled and started to stretch, releasing him. Then, across the cave, a cotton candy cloud burst beside Blake. An elbow materialized and slammed into his chest, rocketing the big guy back like he’d been hit by a cannonball. Jayden’s chains
clinked
and fell limp.

The pink mist cleared with no culprit insight. Logan and Tristan rushed to Blake who wasn’t moving. I really hated Rose and his parlor tricks.

Flames exploded on Ayden’s hands. He grabbed a length of chain that still imprisoned his brother. As the metal turned red hot and softened, Ayden pulled it apart. I looked at my hands, still glowing, then grabbed the links. In my fingers, the loops of metal heated and became as pliable as cooked noodles. Odd sensation, but helpful.

“Ayden, get her
out
,” Jayden boomed. “It’s a stratagem!”

“A what?” Ayden said as we shredded apart the molten chains.

“A…a…” Jayden actually struggled for words. “A trap!”

The portal kept disintegrating. New fissures appeared bringing more rock pelting my back. Wind whipped my red curls across my face. The smell of earth was strong and mingled with the burning metal. Air with a noxious scent of sulfur whistled and hissed through the cracks, as if a giant waited on the other side of the portal ready to suck us in with one breath and crunch our bones in his massive jaw.

One panicked rip of my hand shredded the last of the chains. I felt immediate relief and just as quickly my skin’s light snuffed out. Good thing because otherwise I’d burn Jayden when I helped carry him out. Panting, I turned to Ayden, but he wasn’t there. He was…

“No!” I screamed.

Jayden twisted free, links dripping off him as he dove to his twin, fallen and half-buried under rock. With a storm of curses, Matthias ran toward us, the rest of the guys following. I crawled for Ayden.

A cloud of pink blinded me. I batted it away but hit flesh instead of smoke.

Rose caught my wrist. “Took your sweet time, dove.”

Tristan shouted, “Look out!”

I thought he meant Rose, but a bubbling noise made me turn.

Through one of the cracks something bright orange-red and thick as cookie dough oozed out.

Magma.

It sizzled, hot, steaming, and ready to drop on Rose and me. Slid down the stone as if the portal was a volcano about to explode. I lost my breath as Rose slammed me back against what remained of the shattered wall. And directly under the oncoming lava.

“Stop!” I yelled and tried to pull away, but the whack-job trying to murder-by-molten-earth was inhumanly strong.

A black whip cut through the air behind Rose. Just as it was about to wrap around his throat, Rose gracefully ducked his head sideways. The whip snapped harmlessly at the air.

Rose smiled and yanked my hand down, palm flat against stone. Heat flared on my skin.

“Best of luck.” He threw me a kiss and disappeared into dust like the darn Cheshire cat.

I ripped my hand away from the wall and saw…

“Uh-oh.”

Rose had put my hand over a double-spiral carved into the stone.

Searing heat scorched my cheek. The glob rolling down the collapsing wall dribbled small dollops of lava onto my sleeve. I squealed and batted at the sizzling fabric, then turned to run when a black whip encircled my waist and tugged me out of the magma’s path just as it splattered to the floor.

The whip disappeared. With one wave of his arms, Blake cleared the fallen rocks. Jayden and I helped a groggy Ayden to his feet. I glanced back at the double spiral, then raked my eyes around for doors opening or tentacles reaching to pull me into some hidden passageway.  

Good news?

None of that happened.

Bad news?

The floor opened up.