* * *
We found twelve demons near the river this time, headed straight into the city. Do you think they brought them in by boat? I asked Dragon through mindspeech.
It's possible, he returned, drawing his blades. I'd carried Dragon in as mist again and we set down off to the side. The wind was blowing behind the demons; Dragon told me they could scent us if we came from that direction. Taking them completely by surprise, we had half of them down before the rest turned, snapping and snarling, to fight us. Dragon carried on a mental conversation this time, while he lopped heads.
Baby demons still look humanoid, he informed me. And they're stupid. They only know to follow their master's orders and will only turn away from their intended target if they're attacked. They will transform to their demon shape after three weeks or so. It takes that long for the demon to incubate and assert itself. Then the outer skin splits, allowing the young demon to emerge.
And they're so attractive, I sent, my sarcasm evident even in my mindspeech. Dragon was grinning as he decapitated the last demon with one quick swipe of a blade.
We went back to the apartment as mist, but found that we had callers. Karzac was standing in the doorway trying to convince two men to leave. They were asking for Dragon. That meant we had to go back out, rematerialize and walk up the stairs to the second floor where our apartment was, surprising the two men.
"Ah, Sursee Tatsuya," one of the men nodded. "We wish to speak with you in private."
"What do you want?" Dragon asked, shouldering them aside so he and I could enter the apartment. They followed us right in without an invitation. Karzac was scowling and muttering as he closed the door behind them.
"Anything you wish to say to me, you may say in front of my roommates," Dragon growled. He didn't like uninvited guests, I could tell.
"Well, uh, we wanted your help," one of the men said uncertainly.
"We want to get rid of Solar Red," the other man blurted.
"I don't know what you expect me to do about that," Dragon said. "It is time for you to leave." He walked back to the door and opened it.
"We just thought that with your talents, you might be able to help us," one of the two said, as the other man grasped his arm and pulled him toward the door.
"Hear this," I was in front of them immediately. "What you propose is dangerous, and it will get you killed. You will forget this idea," I laid compulsion. "And you will not approach Sursee Tatsuya again. Go home and protect your families. Go now." The two men nodded like bobble head dolls and walked out of our apartment. Dragon shut the door. "Fuck," I sighed, bumping my head against the doorjamb afterward.
Lifting my head, I looked at Dragon. "How far is the next city upriver?"
"Less than fifty miles," he said.
"How much night do I have left?" I asked Karzac.
"Four hours," he replied.
"Good enough," I said, and misted away.
* * *
There were fifty priests at the Solar Red temple. Sleeping or not, they all died and the children they held in underground cells were gathered up, all six of them, and taken to the nearest hospital. The oldest was twelve, the youngest three. I remained invisible while sending them through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room. Nurses and aides were running toward them; the children were all crying as they walked through the door dressed in tatters, the two oldest bearing evidence of torture.
These dead priests I left in their beds, their blood soaking into their sheets as I misted home. It took ten minutes, going as swiftly as I could, to return to the apartment. Once again, Kifirin was in my bedroom after I took my shower. I didn't say anything to him; I merely tossed my bloody clothing into the garbage bin with the used blood bags, walked around him to get to my side of the bed and crawled in. He chuckled a little when I covered my head completely with the blanket, shutting out the sight of him.
"Is this how you made the monsters go away when you were little?" he asked gently. I flopped the blanket back down and glared at him—he was now sitting on the side of my bed.
"The monster was real when I was little," I snapped. "I didn't have to make any up."
"I know," he said softly, reaching over to stroke my cheek. "Go to sleep, Lissa. The monster will keep watch, now, and make sure your sleep is undisturbed." Dawn came before I could ask him what he meant.
* * *
Paul Winthrop hadn't traveled into Kent before and he found he liked it very much. The countryside was lovely. Silently he thanked the Grand Master for calling him again, even if it was to track down the two that, in Weldon Harper's words, "shouldn't be there bothering Lissa."
He had photographs of both men and understood that one of them was a high-ranking official for U.S. security. Paul snorted at the thought as he drove his small car down the two-lane road. The town of Luddesdown couldn't be that big; it wasn't even on most maps, so he shouldn't have any difficulty finding both of them. One was a werewolf, too, just as he was, so the scent would certainly give him away.
* * *
"Yeah," the local pub owner's accent was thick as Paul asked about any guests from the states. "Those blokes staying at Thorne House, between here and Gravesend. They come over for a pint every night, just about."
"About what time, you think?" Paul asked.
"Bout sevenish, I'd say."
Paul checked his watch; it was nearly six-thirty. "Do you serve food here?"
"Yeah. Fish and chips. Nachos. Those blokes love the nachos." The local grinned. Paul noticed the bartender's nose was crooked, as if it had been broken more than once. Paul was lucky; His nose had been broken several times, but werewolves generally healed quickly from any injury and his nose was still straight.
"Then I'll have the fish and chips," Paul decided. "With a pint of your best." The local grinned again and went to work to get Paul served.
Paul's plate was mostly empty; just a few stray chips remained when the two men walked in. The werewolf scented him, just as he did the same. He motioned the man over. The werewolf grabbed the arm of the human male with him, dragging him over to Paul's booth.
"Have a seat," Paul nodded toward the opposite, empty side of his booth.
"Sit down, Tony," Deryn hissed. Tony sat, sliding toward the inside. Deryn sat on the outside. Paul wiped his hands on the paper napkin he'd been given.
"The Grand Master asked me to track you two down," he said. "Said you were off hunting something that could get you in a lot of trouble."