Protect Her: Part One Read online

  Protect Her: Part One

  By Ivy Sinclair

  Copyright 2014 Smith Sinclair Books

  ebook Edition

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  CHAPTER ONE - RILEY

  “You can’t make me tell you anything,” the apparition said to me. Its dark, grainy voice was defiant. “I’m already dead.”

  Things had been slow around the office lately, so I kind of got a sick thrill knowing that the apparition was sorely mistaken. That meant that I was going to get to do what I did best.

  “You must not have heard of me then,” I said, crossing my arms. “Which surprises me considering the scumbag circles you ran in while you were alive.”

  The apparition, a hundred year old Klybor demon, hissed at me. The ghostly mist that resembled his inhuman image hovered about a pile of ashes, the last remnants of his earthly form. Klybor demons were able to appear human in order to stalk their prey, but in death those abilities fell away. They were ugly motherfuckers in their true form. All horns and scales. It was almost hard to look at him.

  “You’re lucky that I’m dead. You think you are my equal? You are nothing but a measly mortal man with a life span that is barely more than a fly’s. You aren’t worthy to lick the soles of my boots. I’d enjoy eating your bones for breakfast if I lived,” the beast snarled.

  I had no doubt that he would. Klybor demons had a particular affinity for thighbones. I really did love this part of the game. Demons were so cocky and self-assured that they forgot that not every human cowered before them. Especially not humans like me.

  I rocked back on my heels, feigning that his empty threat meant something to me. This was where things got fun. I put up my hands in mock defeat. “I think we got off on the wrong foot here. Let’s start with proper introductions. You’re a filthy, scumbag Klybor demon named Jerico Hopper. My name is Riley Stone.”

  I enjoyed the shocked look that appeared on the demon’s face. I waited for it to sink in. The only reason he was here was because I called him up from Purgatory. His ass was officially mine. I controlled him, and he knew it. We’d see how tough the beast wanted to play it now. I truly hoped that he was still going to play hard to get.

  “The Necromancer.”

  It wasn’t a question, but a statement. It was common knowledge how to conjure up a spirit from the dead. Anyone with even an echo of magical talent and the right know-how could whip that kind of spell together, although avoiding the consequences of touching that kind of magic was a whole other story. What I did though was entirely different.

  I grinned. “So you have heard of me. Excellent. Let’s start back at the beginning then. Why were you poking your nose around Calamata Island? You know its off limits to all demons, so it must have been something pretty important for you to risk it. Benjamin doesn’t tolerate trespassers well.”

  Benjamin was the archangel in charge of this region of the country. He wasn’t known to be big in the ‘let bygones be bygones’ sentiment. It amused me that humans automatically assumed angels were benevolent. I had yet to meet one that I considered a true good guy.

  “I don’t remember,” the demon said, avoiding my eyes. “I must have forgotten when I died. That happens you know.”

  He was going to play the game. That made me happy. It had been awhile since I’d been able to flex my true talents.

  I clucked my tongue. “I’ve met a lot of dead demons in my day, so actually I do know better than most what happens when you kick the bucket. Losing your memories is a line of bullshit. Whoever sent you sent you on a suicide mission. You realize that, right? Calamata Island is rife with demon traps. I’m not surprised your dumb ass walked right into one. You just need to tell me who and why. That’s all. And I’ll let you get back to rotting in Purgatory until you get dumped back into Hell.”

  “You can’t make me tell you something I don’t remember,” he hissed again.

  It was all bluster, and both of us knew it. He would fold. It was just a matter of how painful it would be for him before he did. That was how my talents were different than any sideshow witch. What I did, my prisoners felt even in death.

  Working with ashes is a little bit trickier than working with a corpse. Like most necromancers, I needed to be able to physically touch the remains of the person or thing that I’m interacting with in order to make the kind of point I was about to make.

  I pulled a small baggie out of my hip pocket and displayed it to the demon. “Does this look familiar to you?” It was a small amount of ash.

  His bravado was starting to falter. I’d interrogated enough apparitions to know it. It was the same song and dance and the same routine every time. The only difference was how far they pushed me to push them before they broke. And they always broke.

  “It was strictly intel,” he sputtered. “That’s it. I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

  I opened up the baggie and poured a few of the ashes, about the size of a dime, into the palm of my hand. This always encouraged them to keep talking.

  “Intel on what?”

  “It was stupid. I was supposed to find a human and report back. That’s it.”

  I grazed my thumb over the ash pile, and the demon in front of me squealed. “What the hell, man? I’m telling you what you wanted to know.”

  “Tell me everything I want to know, and tell me quickly,” I said as I stroked the pile again. The demon screamed this time.

  “A dame. I didn’t even know her name. I just had a picture. Eckland told me to do a pass through town because he heard she was supposed to be here, and he’s been looking for her for a while. Report back. That’s it.”

  Eckland Rainer was a high level demon who was well-known for his backstabbing, vicious methods of climbing the demon chain of command ladder. It wasn’t any of my concern, but I did pay attention to demon politics just in case it ever interfered with my own self-interests.

  “Where’s the picture?” This was going sideways. If the demon didn’t know the name of the person of interest, then I was going to be at a standstill yet again. Eckland wasn’t the only demon official who was looking for a girl on Calamata Island. The Klybor demon was the third demon I had interrogated in the last week, and all three of them were sent by someone different and said the same thing.

  There was a picture and instructions to find a woman who was believed to be here. That was all. The level of secrecy was surprising for the demon community. They weren’t known for their tight lips.

  “I don’t know. It was in my pocket when I stepped into the demon trap,” the demon replied. “I’m assuming it went up in smoke just like the rest of my body.”

  I sighed. He was likely right. This was another dead end. Sheriff Halpren was not going to be pleased.

  “Thank you for your time, scumbag. Unfortunately, you had little information of value to me, and I’ve had a long night.” I turned sideways so that he could see the small stack of materials in the corner behind me.

  A panicked look crossed his face as he realized what it was. “I told you everything I know. You can’t do this,” he stammered.

  I didn’t answer and blocked out his pleading as I shook the ashes from the baggie onto the floor in a straight line from where I stood to the pile of ashes under
neath the demon’s feet. He tried to swipe at me, but he was an apparition, and I was corporeal. It made me chuckle. Then I walked over to the corner and picked up the container of consecrated salt and the blowtorch that I brought with me. No matter what happened during my interrogations of demons, they always ended the same way. Leaving them to return to Purgatory was too risky.

  “I know that if I just leave you here, your essence will eventually find its way back to Hell and you’ll join all the other scumbag demon essences waiting for a new body. And at some point in the future, some stupid human kid will be getting his or her goth on and think it’s cool to conjure a demon. You’ll be free and have a spankin’ new host to infect for another life cycle. Then maybe you’d think it would be a good idea to track me down. I can’t have that. Besides, the last thing we need is another reincarnated demon wreaking havoc in the world.”

  Then I intermingled the salt with the ashes. I watched as the demon’s apparition began to spasm and then a trickle of white foam appeared in the corners of his mouth. I stepped to the end of the trail of ashes and ignited the blowtorch, then set the nozzle on it.

  Instantly, the ashes caught fire and in a haze of blue flame the trail burst up into flames and set the apparition on fire. Two seconds later, the fire burned itself out leaving nothing but a smoking patch of black smudge on the floor.

  “May you never rest in peace,” I said to the air.

  I had just gathered all my equipment back into my bag when I heard a high-pitched scream in the distance. I looked at my watch. It was 3:10 am and I was in the middle of an isolated crypt at the edge of a graveyard. As I heard the shriek of distress again, I detected that it was definitely female.

  Grabbing my knife out of the side pocket of my kit, I moved quickly out of the crypt and listened again. A burst of movement off to my left caught my attention. I dashed off in that direction. Demons were crawling all over Calamata Island for the first time in a decade. Somebody had to make sure that the humans didn’t suffer for it.

  CHAPTER TWO - PAIGE

  I was so stupid. My best friend Christopher warned me not to run at night, and I didn’t listen. But the nightmares were back, and I couldn’t sleep. My plan had been to run myself to the point of exhaustion so I could get some rest tonight, but now, instead, I was running for my life.

  The old cemetery on Briar Street was one of the better-lit cemeteries in town at night, and normal people usually avoided such places after the night settled in. That made it a favorite route of mine during my night runs.

  My mind had finally quieted when I heard the crunch of gravel that indicated someone was behind me. I cast a quick glance over my shoulder, but didn’t see anyone. I started to quicken my pace, but in that instant it felt as if a ton of bricks hit me in the back. I stumbled and went down scrapping my hands and knees on the rocky gravel path as I heard a heavy panting close to my ear.

  A heavy, acrid smell filled my nostrils, and then I felt the sharp pain of razor sharp teeth sink into my shoulder. I cried out even as I struggled to regain my footing. Whatever it was that attacked me had a firm grip on my shoulder though, and pressed harder against my back to splay me against the ground. I knew that if I went down completely, I was never going to get back up again. I used every bit of strength I had to twist to my right and pulled the small canister off my belt. I didn’t even think as I sprayed the mist of Mace over my shoulder. There was a sharp snarl, but at that moment, I was free.

  I pushed myself forward even as I regained my footing. I didn’t think I could outrun whatever it was that attacked me, but I would be damned if I didn’t try. Then I remembered my safety classes. Other than the Mace, the other weapon I had was my voice. I started to yell even as I pushed myself to run faster, but I felt my body weakening. I was losing a lot of blood from the wound on my shoulder.

  An idea burst through my panicked mind. I was going to die.

  An absurd laugh burst from my lips, because I knew that I should have died three years ago. Fate intervened on my behalf then though, and somehow, I survived. I felt the shifting air that told me my attacker was still behind me. The Mace had only momentarily slowed it, and now it was coming for me.

  I willed my feet to move faster, but the edges of my sight blurred. I was going to pass out from blood loss, and that would be it. My sad, sorry life would finally be over.

  I wasn’t consciously aware that I had stopped running. All I knew was that I was suddenly on my knees staring up at the moon. It was so full and pretty. Then strong hands pulled me up to my feet, and I found myself staring into jaded green eyes instead.

  “You’re hurt.” It wasn’t a question.

  “It bit me,” I wheezed.

  “What bit you?” Backlit by the moon, the man appeared to be a handsome, chiseled angel. I didn’t believe in that kind of stuff, but when you’re on the verge of death, you start to believe anything is possible.

  “Behind me,” I said, as my knees buckled again.

  This time, he let me slide to the ground, and I thought I heard him mutter “Shit.”

  Tell me about it, buddy. Even in my stupor, I smelled the woodsy scent of his cologne and it reminded me of someone else I knew who smelled that way, but the person eluded me. I clawed at that memory, but then it was gone.

  “Don’t move,” I heard him say.

  I didn’t think I could even if I wanted too. My head fell to my chest, and that’s when I heard a snarl and hiss that, if I lived, would surely be added to the nightmares that plagued my dreams.

  “Teeth,” was the only word of caution that I could offer the man.

  “It’s okay. Just stay still.”

  I swung my head so that I could look around my shoulder. What I saw caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. The man approached a shadow that wasn’t more than thirty feet away from us. I saw the glint of metal flash in the moonlight. He had a knife, and something about the way he moved told me that he knew how to use it. But it was the shadow that caused my heart to race. The shadow had eyes that glowed bright orange and resembled flames.

  “You’re far afield of where you should be,” the man said to the shadow. “I suggest you take the first transport back to the mainland before you get hurt. Or worse.”

  The only answer was another snarl and hiss. The shadow didn’t move, and if possible, the things that resembled eyes burned brighter. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn that they were focused completely on me.

  The man raised his hand with the knife in it so it was fully in view. “This is Plythen steel. I won’t tell you again. Your business on Calamata Island is finished. Leave now, or I’ll be forced to use this on you.”

  I had no idea what the man was talking about, and part of me wondered if I had stumbled into some bizarre parallel universe. Shadows didn’t have teeth or attack people. Gorgeous mystery men didn’t materialize out of thin air and threaten flame-eyed shadows with wicked looking knives.

  There was a short howl and then my eyes widened. The shadow seemed to suck in on itself, and then it was gone.

  The man turned back to me and hurried to my side. He pulled a cloth out of a bag that seemed to materialize out of nowhere and pressed it against my shoulder. I winced, but didn’t cry out. He wasn’t the only one who was tough.

  “You’re losing a lot of blood, and unless we get you patched up quickly, it’ll be able to track the scent. Can you hold this for a minute?”

  I clumsily put my hand over his on the cloth, and then he slid his away and started digging in his bag again. My mystery man wasn’t making any sense.

  “The scent of my blood? What was that? Why would it track me?” My questions were endless.

  “I don’t have time to explain. Right now, we need to get out of here before it comes back.” He pulled a small bottle out of the bag with a relieved sigh. “I always carry this in case of an emergency. I think this qualifies.”

  He took the cloth away from my shoulder and dabbed liquid from the bottle on it
, then pressed it back against my shoulder. This time, a white-hot bolt of pain shot up into my head, and I couldn’t bite back a yelp.

  “What is that?”

  “Something that will help with the healing and deaden the scent from the wound. It should give us enough time to get a head start.”

  “Why would it come back?”

  “Tiphon demons are trackers. As soon as it reports back to its master that it found what it was looking for, in this case you, it’ll be back. And it won’t be alone.”

  “Tiph…what? What are you talking about? Are you crazy?” I had no idea what the man was talking about. Demons? I was fairly certain now that I was hallucinating.

  “Can you stand up?” The man ignored my questions, and barely gave me an opportunity to consider his before he had my elbow and was pulling me to my feet.

  Once there, I felt the wobbliness of my knees, but I wasn’t falling over. It was a start. He propelled me forward and somehow I managed to keep up. I wasn’t fast enough though. He slipped an arm under my uninjured shoulder and pulled me closer to him. He was bigger than I realized, and I felt the coiled strength surging through his body.

  “Let me help you. We need to get out of here.”

  I was too exhausted and confused to argue. I let him essentially drag me out of the cemetery and onto Briar Street. It’s funny how after just a few short minutes, your whole world perspective can change. I glanced furtively around looking for the solid black mass and flaming eyes, sure that it was about to descend on us at any moment.

  We stopped in front of a black SUV, and the man pulled keys out of his pocket and unlocked it before unceremoniously dumping me in the front passenger seat. He must have sensed that I wasn’t in any shape to protest.

  He slid in next to me and started the engine.

  “Where are we going?” My words had a slightly singsong tone to them, and I giggled. Then I frowned. It wasn’t appropriate to giggle. What the hell was the matter with me?