Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

I jumped in alarm. “Did you say ice pick?”

“No.”

“Because no ice picks in the house either. Ever.”

“Got it. Making a note now.”

The officer, who remained silent all the way home, thank the gods, dropped me at my front door. I offered the most grateful smile I could manage, then set out in search of a long, hot shower and a strong cup of java. But, naturally, the minute I stepped out of the patrol car, I was hit with all kinds of dark emotions that I’d learned to associate with dark people. Feral people. Possessed people.

I’d started to get right back in the car, when I heard an English accent from the shadows very near me. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

Wonderful. It was my new friend from the old country. I knew this day had gone too smoothly. My life had been in danger only a couple of times. These things usually happened in threes.

The officer looked back at me. “Is everything okay, Ms. Davidson?”

I so very much wanted to tell him the truth, but there was nothing he could do, and his life would be in just as much danger as mine if I brought him into it, so I said, “Yes, thank you,” instead.

I closed the door and watched as he drove off. A hatred so pure it pulsated swirled around me. I could feel at least four of the beasts near, possibly five, lurking in shadows, afraid of the light even though they were protected by human flesh.

The Englishman stepped out of the dark to stand beside me. “Good girl,” he said, and I wondered what the unpossessed Englishman was like in real life. He certainly dressed nice. But this wasn’t him. This was a fraud, a minion from hell. A demon. I flexed my fingers at my hip, but Hedeshi stopped me again. “And don’t call your dog, either. It will end badly for both of you.”

Was he right? Could he kill Artemis?

“I take it Reyes didn’t stop hunting your pets.”

“You knew he wouldn’t.”

He was right. I did know. “Reyes doesn’t really listen to me.”

The man leaned over to smell my hair. He took a deep whiff, practically nuzzling my neck, reveling in the scent, while he smelled like rotten eggs. I tried not to flinch when his scent burned my nostrils.

When he spoke, the smell grew stronger. Suffocating. “If I could,” he said, his voice soft, sincere, “if I had the time, I would lick the fear off every inch of your body before I bit into your flesh, but no doubt the boy will come soon.”

The moon glinted off a silvery blade in my periphery. A blade very similar to the one Earl Walker had used on me. The fear that flooded my system hit so hard and so fast, the edges of my vision grew fuzzy. I wanted to run, but Hedeshi seemed to sense every thought I had.

He put a hand on my shoulder to stay me. “I’ll make it quick, Dutch. You’ll hardly feel a thing.”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice quivering, “I’ve been on the wrong end of a blade before, and I would have to argue with you on that point.”

He stepped around until I could see his face. He wasn’t tall, but I knew the demon inside gave him immeasurable strength. A humorous smile slipped soundlessly across his face. “You’re probably right.” His hand shook with excitement as he drew back the blade, and I hoped Dad would be okay with this. With my death. He’d probably take it hard.

Odd that I would think of him now.

Setting my jaw, I figured I should probably give this my all. If I was going to go out tonight, I was going to go out fighting. Or screaming in agony. Either way.

The blade rushed forward, certain to sink into my stomach, which instantly pissed me off. I’d heard death from a stomach wound was a really painful way to go. Reyes was right. These guys were liars. Before I could think about it, I blocked his attack by thrusting his hand to the side with one of mine, diverting the forward momentum. I twisted around, doing everything in my power to avoid the sharp end of the knife.

I still managed to get cut. The blade sliced across my forearm, through my jacket and into my flesh. The sting of the blade rocketed through me, but Hedeshi brought it back around for another try. He lost control for just an instant, and the demon inside the man slipped to the side. I saw him, and the sight stunned me for a moment. Long enough for him to sink the blade into my side. I rocketed to attention and pushed at him as hard as I could. Then I ran because it seemed like the right thing to do.

This was no ordinary demon, as ridiculous as that sounded. His shell didn’t swallow light like the void of a starless night. Instead, his sleek black exterior gleamed with a red translucent coating, an iridescent shine. He was something else. Something higher. Stronger.

“Older, actually.”

“Reyes,” I whispered.

I tumbled out of Hedeshi’s reach to the ground and swiveled around to see Reyes standing between us. No wonder I wasn’t bleeding from a dozen different stab wounds. Reyes held the man’s arm, the sheer strength each of them possessed causing the earth to quake beneath us. I scrambled back only to be brought up short by a hot breath fanning across my neck.

Slamming my eyes shut, I summoned Artemis, my voice nothing more than a breath on the night air. She rose from the earth beside me and lunged toward the demon at my back. Loud, guttural growls mixed with a series of inhuman screams as the demon was ripped from a woman’s body.

Hedeshi and Reyes seemed oblivious. They stood there, arms clasped, eyeing each other. The energy radiating off them caused the fabric of time to ripple around me. Their images distorted, warped, then snapped back into place. I blinked to clear my vision. To focus.