Sharon Ashwood - Unchained

Alessandro’s face grew grim as he gripped his sword. “I can’t see our demon passing up such a prize, can you?”

They stopped their advance a few yards away from the card shop’s entrance. More slowly, they edged toward the door. Ashe risked a glance behind her. Reynard was with them now, gun drawn, Holly behind him.

She peered around a big display of souvenir mugs and into the store. Shit. Hostages.

Tony sat on the cash desk, an affable smile on his face. He was opening every box that held a piece of the collectible village and setting the miniature beside him. About twenty customers and staff huddled on the floor. He was using this store for his holding cell. Ashe counted five under Eden’s age, and two elderly women. She turned and waved at the others to stay out of sight. He’s got to have taken out mall security. Someone would have seen all this on a surveillance camera!

But maybe someone had used their cell phone to sneak a call to the cops? She’d heard sirens—where the hell were they?

“I’m still missing the bridge,” Tony said. His pleasant expression didn’t reach his voice. It was flat and cold as a dagger.

The saleswoman hurried to a cupboard with a sliding door. She opened it, rummaging frantically through what looked like dozens of identical boxes, reading the labels to find the thing he wanted. She finally found it and rushed back. “Here you are, sir.”

Carefully, Tony eased open the lid and pulled out a block of Styrofoam. He pulled that apart to reveal a small stone bridge ready to take the Easter Express across an imaginary river. A delighted smile played on his lips until his face suddenly fell.

“There’s a chip in it!” He held it up, pointing to something Ashe couldn’t see. He rounded on the saleswoman. “This is flawed!”

“I’ll get you another, sir,” the woman squeaked, and hurried back to the cupboard.

The demon hurled the offending bridge against a glass display case. The safety glass exploded with a resounding boom, sending a shower of chips to the floor. The saleswoman screamed, and two of the children started to cry.

“Give me another!” Tony roared in an unearthly voice.

Ashe used the moment to slide inside the store unnoticed, Alessandro on her heels. Reynard and Holly headed to the other side of the store. She was pretty sure a bullet wouldn’t kill a demon in human form, but it would hurt and maybe incapacitate. All they had to do was shove Tony through a portal, and they were done.

A woman squealed when she saw the gun, but with the crying children the noise made no difference. When Ashe had a clear head shot, she squeezed the trigger. She felt the recoil and heard the blam a microsecond later.

In the next eyeblink, Tony slid off the counter, the bullet between his thumb and forefinger. “You’re starting to annoy me.”

Ashe felt a ripple of earth magic. Holly was gathering her forces. Thank Goddess her magic’s back. Ashe faced off with the demon, keeping his focus on her. “Well, you’re past pissing me off, so we’re even.”

“Get out. Leave me alone. I own this mall.”

“Demons can’t hold property. Not so much as a post-office box. Any agreement Bannerman drew up is a fraud.”

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law, and believe me, demons are good at possession.” He laughed at his own joke, and tossed the bullet aside.

“Why the hostages?”

“The policemen I hear pulling up outside.” Tony flashed his dimples, looking almost jolly. “Hostages keep them civil.”

She felt Holly pulling in earth energy again. Ashe stalled some more, giving her sister more time. “What were you before you were a demon?”

“An estate appraiser. All those lovely things, none of them mine. It was a sad life.” He grabbed the second box the saleslady had brought. “Now I can have whatever I want.”

“Have you noticed that it’s mostly junk?”

He chuckled, opening the box. “Who says it’s about the dollar value? Having things makes me all warm and happy inside.”

Ashe could see Holly now. Her sister had moved up behind where Tony stood. Holly let loose a flash of power. Tony jolted like he’d been electrocuted, smoke seeping from his skin. At the same moment, Alessandro dropped from the ceiling, sword flashing.

“Go!” Ashe screamed at the hostages. They scrambled, but not all of them were quick. She heaved the two older women to their feet, pushing them out of harm’s way.

But not fast enough.

Furious, Tony hurled Alessandro into a rack of cards. The blast of energy knocked three of the fleeing humans to their knees. Reynard was suddenly there, hustling them out the door. Another angry wave of power followed. Ashe staggered back, bruising her shoulder on a shelf bracket. She holstered her useless gun, thinking fast.

The demon’s human form wavered like an underwater image, the colors that made up his clothes, the definition of his features growing dark and indistinct. A second later, he dissolved into a billow of smoke, wings unfurling from his swirling form and filling the width of the store. Ashe got an impression of teeth and beak.

Great Goddess, they had to contain this thing. They had to distract it from the running hostages. She saw the miniature church on the counter and had an idea. Tony’s Easter village wouldn’t be complete without it.

Near the front of the store, Holly dropped her arms, realizing her spell hadn’t been powerful enough. Ashe grabbed the miniature church from the counter and hurled it at her sister. “Catch! Run for the hoard!”

Holly’s eyes went round as she caught the thing, but she obediently bolted. The demon thing whirled, tendrils of smoke seeming to flow around its fluid move. It shrieked its displeasure, hurling mugs and little houses after her.

Reynard used the opportunity to open a portal right on top of it. Enraged, the demon lashed out. Cards exploded into the air. Paperweights and gift boxes flew in crazy figure eights. Something heavy caught Ashe in the back of the head. She stumbled, tripping over the edge of a low display shelf. Once she was down, every airborne object zoomed toward her like hostile snow: envelopes, bows, pens, notebooks, photo frames, and tree ornaments. Ashe rolled facedown and covered her head with her hands, trying to get her knees under her. The flimsy cards felt weirdly heavy, like they were brick instead of paper, and more and more piled on top of her. Ashe tried to thrust out a hand, but the edges of the cards and envelopes seemed stuck together. Light filtered through the curtain of paper, a checkerboard of pink and white and pale green, but she couldn’t poke through the cocoon.

Panic set in. She wriggled, but every movement increased the weight of the trap. Her legs were pinned and she couldn’t kick. Ashe stopped, listening and panting. She was conscious of the worn carpet inches from her nose and mouth, a mashed piece of gum just beyond her cheek. Fake cherry scent didn’t mix well with the reek of demon.

She couldn’t hear a thing. Crushing down on her ribs and spine, the pile of paper was grinding her to the floor. A burn started in her lungs as they struggled to inflate. It felt like every object the demon had ever collected was piled on her back.

Not even her fingers could budge. Every nerve in her body seemed to fire, begging to move her muscles, but all she managed was a shudder. Hot, salty tears of frustration ran over her lips and into the scratchy carpet.

Where is everyone? What’s going on? Why can’t I hear anything?

Whatever air was inside the cocoon, she’d used it up. The edges of her vision were growing dark. She closed her eyes so she couldn’t see the creeping blackness.

Her breath came in thick, wheezing gasps.

And then stopped.