How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend (Necon Modern Horror Book 9) (11 page)

“What’s that got to do with
magic?” Angelique asked.

“I’ve been working on a personal
project at the lab.” Brenda struggled to her feet and stretched. She paced as
she talked. “I’ve found something fantastic, Angelique. The thing I’ve been
looking for.”

“The magic gene?” Angelique
asked.

“Something like that. Our team’s
been working with chromosome 19. Its network of genes controls repairing DNA
damage caused by pollutions and radiation. You know how we’ve always wondered
why some people have more power than others?”

Angelique nodded.

“I’ve found some sequencing data
that implies chromosome 19 is making repairs in DNA that increases the ability for
people to access their power. I’ve been doing my own research on the side,
looking at my chromosomes and yours.”

“Mine, but how — ?”
Angelique frowned. “Oh, I guess you could have gotten a sample of my DNA from
any of my visits. You should have told me.”

“I’m sorry. I meant to tell you
what I was doing, but I’ve always believed there was a scientific explanation
for magic. I think nature tries to fix us and ends up making us different. The
next question is whether we could manipulate someone’s DNA to enhance or turn
on their power. I’m afraid this is what they’re interested in.”

She stopped pacing and sat on the
bed. “There was a break-in at the lab, but I don’t keep the results there. I
always downloaded the data when I leave. Two weeks ago there was a break-in
here while I was at work. That’s when I knew someone was after my research. Now
they’re trying to break into my mind and make me show them what I’ve
discovered.”

“I can’t believe this.” Angelique
stood up. “You steal my DNA, do research I’m sure your lab didn’t approve and
now put us both in danger. I don’t know how someone so smart can act so stupid
sometimes.”

Brenda shook her head. “You’re
right.” She grabbed Angelique’s hands. “But now that you’re here, maybe
together we can find out who’s after me.”

“And then what?” Angelique asked,
pulling away. “There aren’t any magic police to protect you. Do you at least
have the information in a safe place?”

“Very safe. I’ll figure a way out
of this.” Brenda looked at her watch. “Isn’t Tempus Fugit playing at Sara’s
club tonight?”

“In about three hours, but
— “

“I need to get out of here. Why
don’t you shower and dress here for tonight. We’ll go to the club together. I’m
starving. Sara’s kitchen still makes the best po-boy sandwiches and onion rings
around. By the way, how’s Milez?”

“He’s been fine.”

“Good I’ll give him a quick
checkup tonight, free of charge.”

“You still haven’t told me how
you’re going to handle this — attack,” Angelique said, leaning against
the doorway with her arms crossed.

“Don’t worry, I will.” Brenda
rushed to the living room.

Angelique closed her eyes and
massaged her temple. She was going to need something for this headache and she
had a feeling things were just going to get worse.

Angelique changed to the black
body suit designed to communicate with Milez. Before they left for the Funky
Piranha, Brenda stopped at the door. “Remember the protection spell you created
when we were kids?”

Angelique nodded. They held hands
and recited it together:

“Goddess of Day

Complete the way

Goddess of Night

Surround us with Light

I call upon thee

I call upon thee

To protect us two

Protect us twice.”

Warmth encircled them. Brenda
gave her cousin a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

When they entered the club Brenda
went straight to Milez. Angelique talked to Sara and the three members of her
band, as she watched her cousin talk quietly to Milez with her hand over his
open interface panel. Tendrils of blue protoplasm moved over her right hand and
wrist, and danced around her bracelet.

She walked over to Brenda. “So
what’s going on?”

“Just catching up. I ran a quick
check of his system and he’s in excellent shape.” Brenda caressed his casing
with her other hand.

“I’m always good around you,
Brenda,” he said. Lines of neon light fanned out of the interface panel,
filling the ceiling of the club as the protoplasm melted off her hand back into
the container.

“Show off,” Angelique said,
smiling. “Save the pyros for the show tonight.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty
where that came from,” he said.

Brenda sat at a small table next
to the long bar opposite the small stage. The sound check didn’t take long.
Once Sara opened the doors to the public, the small club filled up quickly.

Sara turned down the lights. The
band opened with Combustion, an original piece written by Angelique. Milez made
his way to the top of his casing in slow, graceful neon-bright blue drops, like
rain falling up. Angelique rifted on the acoustic with one hand, the other hand
lay over his open interface panel. As the blue protoplasm touched her hand it
poured up and over her hand and arm until she was spotted with glowing dots.
Milez picked up the sounds from the piano and broke the chords into sharp
harmonic bursts to complement her playing. The bass, drums and violin danced in
and around the main movement. The dots slithered and swirled into lines and
patterns over her body. She played with her eyes closed, occasionally humming
and scatting. Milez picked up her voice and morphed the sounds to play back
against the original sounds. They teased back and forth, building and
juxtaposing each other’s harmonies. At the climax of the piece, Milez threw a
rainbow of laser light into the air, the thin lines flashing into flame shapes
overhead. The audience erupted into whoops and applause.

The rest of the evening went
quickly. They played two long sets with a short break in between to a
standing-room-only crowd. The band finished well after midnight.

Brenda drank juice with her meal.
In spite of being at the club all that time, her aura was brighter then when
they first arrived.

Sara locked the door after the
band, bartender, and bouncer left.

“How about we have some of my
best scotch, to celebrate the Three Musketeers?” Sara asked, as they sat on the
edge of the stage near Milez.

“The three of us?” Brenda asked,
pointing to Sara and her cousin.

“No, silly,” Sara said, laughing.
“You, Angelique and Milez. I’ll meet you in my office.”

“You enjoy the scotch. I dig the
juice in your club, Sara,” Milez said, sending sparks into the dimly lit room.

“You can have as much electricity
as you like,” Sara said.

“Do you need me anymore tonight,
baby?” Milez asked

“No, you can sleep,” Angelique
said.

“Nighty-night, girls,” he said.
The soft glow of his suspension liquid dimmed and went out as his protoplasm
settled into the dark base.

Someone banged on the front gate
of the club. Sara pulled the curtain aside and peeked out. “It’s the bartender,
he must have forgotten something. You two go on, I’ll be there in a minute.”

 
“We’ll pour one for you, Sara,” Brenda
said as they walked to Sara’s office in the back of the club. “The band sounded
better than ever.”

“Thanks. It’s been a long night,”
Angelique said, sitting on the small couch. “What are you going to do about
your problem? You can’t hide from them forever.”

“I know, but I don’t think I’ll
have to.” Brenda sat in a chair next to the couch.

The office door opened and Sara
came in. Angelique started to speak but the look on Sara’s face stopped her. A
large man and a tall woman came in behind her. Only after they shut the door
behind them did Angelique see the guns. She began to rise when the Asian woman
gestured with her weapon to sit down.

“Brenda, good to see you again,”
the man said. He had strong Native American features and wore his long hair in
two tight braids, wrapped in leather strips. Silver and stone charms hung from
his multiple earrings. Power vibrated around him like the sound of fine glass
being gently struck.

“Mac. It’s been you all this
time,” Brenda said.

“I had a feeling you knew that,”
he said, walking over to them.

“You know these people?” Sara
said.

“Unfortunately we used to belong
to the same club.”

“Gun club?” Sara said, sitting
down at her desk.

“You’re funny,” Mac said. “Not
many people can maintain their sense of humor with guns pointed at them.”

“You should come to this club
during Mardi Gras.” Sara leaned back in her chair.

“Mind your manners and you might
get to see Mardi Gras this year,” the Asian woman said.

Sara opened her mouth, then
crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them instead.

Mac leaned over Angelique and
caressed her face. “So this is your cousin.” He closed his eyes for a moment
and took a slow breath. “The power runs deep in your family. Imagine the
children you and I could make.”

Brenda stood and pushed him away
from Angelique. “Did you come here to look for a wife?”

He grabbed her arms and pulled
her close. “You know what I came for,” he whispered. “We’ve played around long
enough. I can’t wait to get the information from you – even with my
skills you’ve kept me out.”

“Why are you doing this?” Brenda
asked.

He released her and laughed. “You
can’t seriously be asking that. The potential of your discovery is obvious.
Everyone wants more of what they have, whether it’s money, beauty or power.”

“You’re one of the strongest in
the Order –”

“This has nothing to do with
them.” He leaned against the wall opposite her. “They’re small-minded humans
doing little tricks. I have bigger plans that need bigger power. You’ve found
the path and now you’ll share it with me.” He spread his hands in front of him.
“Why fight me on this? Your resistance can’t keep me away forever. Why not work
with me? I’m certainly a better match for you than that wimp, Flynn.”

“What’s he got to do with this?”

“Nothing now.” Mac smiled. “He
has no more power than most people, making them very easy to manipulate. Like
your albino friend here–a simple glamour spell and she believed someone
she knew was at the front entrance.”

Brenda balled her hands into
fists. “You influenced Flynn to break up with me?”

“Should you be saying this in
front of her?” the woman asked Mac, gesturing to Sara.

“Don’t worry about her,” Mac
said. He turned to Angelique. “But you’re worried about her, aren’t you?” He
nodded to the Asian woman.

She pressed her gun against the
side of Sara’s head. Sara reached up to push the gun away and the woman
released the safety, Sara threw her hands in the air and slowly lowered them to
her lap.

Angelique jumped to her feet.
“Don’t hurt her.”

“Don’t–I’m fine,” Sara
said.

“Yes, I thought so.” He shoved
Angelique back on the couch. “The air is thick with the attraction between you
two. The thing is, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want the information
your cousin has gathered and then I’ll leave.”

“What makes you think I have it
here?” Brenda asked.

“Because if I were you I’d keep
it nearby and we haven’t found it anywhere else. We could search every inch of
you, that might be fun, or we could go a more traditional route to convince you
to cooperate. It’s kind of low-tech on a magic level but can be persuasive.” He
nodded to the woman. She took a slim laser knife from her jacket pocket,
clicked it on and swiped at Sara. Two of her long pale dread locks fell to the
floor.

Angelique started to stand, but
Brenda grabbed her hand and squeezed. A spike of electricity rushed between
them.

“There’s no reason to overreact,”
Brenda said.

“Then give me what I want,” he
said.

Brenda took a long breath and
pushed out. The air in the room compressed.

“I was waiting for you to try
something like this,” he said. He waved his hands in the air, clenched his
hands into fists and grunted. The pressure in the room disappeared.

Angelique squeezed Brenda’s hand
and took a breath at the same time she did, pushing out from her center. They
worked together, their power joining and pushed the air toward Mac and his
partner.

“Sara, run,” Brenda said.

There was a loud boom overhead.
Light bulbs exploded. Their ears popped as an invisible hand shoved them away
from each other.

Brenda ran out the door, through
the club and into the crowded street. She turned around and saw Sara but not
Angelique. Sara stopped and looked back at the same time.

“Keep running!” Angelique’s voice
whispered in her ear. She still didn’t see her cousin, but grabbed Sara’s arm.

“We have to get further away,”
Brenda said.

“What about Angelique?”

“She’s okay. Let’s go.” She
pushed Sara in front of her. They shuffled through the packed streets. Sara
ducked into an alley and Brenda followed her as they ran left and right through
the alleys.

They climbed over a low fence,
through a yard, and into the back door of a bar. The bar was an old
neighborhood hang out, a safe haven for natives when the French Quarter was
swamped with visitors. Sara grabbed Brenda’s arm and lead her through the crowd
to the bar.

“Hey, Sara, what’s up?” the
bartender yelled over the jukebox.

Brenda looked at her and shook
her head.

“Just out for a little down
time,” Sara said.

The bartender poured two beers
into frozen mugs and slapped them on the bar in front of Sara and Brenda.

“We have to go back and get
Angelique,” Sara said.

“She’s safe for now,” Brenda
said. “He’ll use her to get the information from me.”