Diana Rowland - Secrets of the Demon

“That’s Ben Moran’s vehicle,” I murmured. A strange frisson of relief swept through me. I’d been right. The lack of tangible proof had caused me more doubt than I’d realized until that moment.

We moved forward cautiously through the gate. As soon as we passed through it I had even more confirmation. “Hold on,” I said in a low voice as a wave of resonance washed over me. “Golem’s definitely here.”

Ryan flicked an acknowledging glance at me, then I heard him mutter low into the radio as he passed the info to Zack.

“Foul,” Eilahn muttered. I glanced at her to see her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something disgusting.

“Have you ever seen one before?” I asked.

She shook her head, keeping her eyes in a constant scan of the area. “It is a different sort of power, but it makes my nose itch.” She didn’t have a gun, since she’d pointed out that she had yet to have any sort of training with such a weapon. Instead she had a goddamn sword strapped to her side. The sword was Zack’s and he insisted it was merely a high-quality costume piece that he used for Renaissance fairs, but there was something about the weapon that made me think that this sword was not only very real, but had also seen actual battle.

The door to the building opened when we were about twenty yards away, and we raised our weapons. Or rather, Ryan and I raised our shotguns, and Eilahn drew her sword.

I expected to see Ben Moran step out.

I was shocked as shit to see Trey step out. What the hell? Is he working with Moran?

Trey didn’t seem very surprised to see us, though he did give Eilahn and her sword a brief “what the fuck?” look before returning his attention to me. He no longer looked harmless. He stood straighter now, more focused, but his smile had a nervous edge to it. We might not have surprised him, but he wasn’t looking forward to this confrontation.

“Keep watch for the golem,” I murmured to Eilahn, probably unnecessarily. I held my shotgun leveled at Trey. “Keep your hands where I can see them,” I called out, “and step forward slowly.”

He lifted his hands slowly and spread them to show that they were empty, though he didn’t move from the doorway. “Detective Gillian, what on earth is going on?” he asked, trying to look puzzled.

“Where’s Ben Moran?” I demanded.

His shoulders twitched in a shrug. “I’m not sure.” Then his smile turned more confident. “Most likely in a stockholder meeting, accepting the appointment to the new board of the bank.”

I scowled, rethinking my theories. “So, he had you do his dirty work?”

Trey cocked his head. “Detective Gillian, what do you think you’re going to do here? Do you have a warrant? I really think you should leave and forget all this.”

“We’re beyond warrants, Trey,” I said, slowly stepping forward. I could feel the resonance grow stronger, like a buzzing in the back of my teeth. I saw a shift of movement behind him, but I couldn’t tell if it was the golem. “You and Moran shouldn’t have sent your creature to try and kill me last night. We’re here to destroy the golem. Maybe then we can talk about warrants and murder charges.”

He shook his head. “I haven’t murdered anyone.”

“Semantics,” I retorted. This was stupid. I didn’t want to get involved in conversation. I simply wanted to get this over with. My hands were beginning to sweat and I had to fight the urge to wipe them on my pants. “Where is the golem?”

He took a slow step forward as I tightened my grip on the shotgun. “Which one?” he said mildly.

Resonance slammed into me as Ryan let out a curse. Shit! My heart began to slam in my chest. That’s what I was overlooking. If he made one, he could make more.

Eilahn give a soft hiss. “Five . . . no, six that I can see. We are flanked.”

I risked a quick glance and confirmed Eilahn’s info for myself. Crude and shambling, they rose out of the dirt piles we’d passed like zombies rising from graves and terrifying me about as much.

I stepped forward and lifted the shotgun, training it on Trey’s chest. “Call them off!” I shouted. “Make them stop, or I’ll fucking drop you right here!” I didn’t know if killing him would make them stop, but it seemed like a fucking good start to me.

He let out a nasty laugh. “But I can’t. I’m not the one controlling them.” He stepped to the side. “Michael? These are the people who are trying to ruin everything.”

My gut tightened as the young man stepped through the doorway, his face contorted into a bewildered anger. Shit!

“Tell your clay men to take them away, Michael,” Trey said, gaze never leaving us. “Take them away so that they can’t take your nice house away.”

“Michael, don’t believe him!” I shouted. “We’re not here to ruin anything. Your uncle and Trey have been killing people with your clay men. You know that’s not right!”

Doubt flickered across Michael’s face. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the shambling advance of the golems slow. Trey gave a sigh. “Now she’s accusing your uncle of being bad, and you know that’s not true. You can’t trust anything she says.” He met my eyes and the look of smug satisfaction in them told me more than any confession could have.

What if that was true? What if Moran wasn’t involved at all? It doesn’t matter right now, I told myself. Get him to stop the golems!

“Michael! You’re not a murderer.” I tried to keep my voice strong and steady, which wasn’t easy considering how scared I was. At least these golems were moving nice and slowly. Maybe it was because he was controlling so many instead of only one. “Trey wants your men to take us away to kill us. He already had one of your men kill Adam and Roger!” Where the hell were Crawford and Zack?

Michael shook his head slowly. “Roger and Adam weren’t nice. They were bad for the band. They were ruining everything. Them and Mr. Vic. They were gonna take our house away, and all our money. They were gonna put me in a home, and I’d never see my sister and uncle again.”

Fuck. I didn’t have time to debate this crap. I turned and fired at the golem on my right while it was still a dozen feet away. The blast from the shotgun took a portion of its right shoulder off, but I felt as if it had taken off a portion of mine as well. I heard a cry of dismay from Michael, even as Ryan unloaded on the golem coming up on his side. I didn’t have time to spare him a glance, but judging by the satisfied “Take that, fucker!” I heard from Ryan I had a feeling his aim had been better than mine.

Eilahn let out a strange piercing battle cry, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her leap toward a golem coming up on our rear, swinging her sword in a broad arc. But my golem was still moving in inexorable advance, as were the other three. I pumped another round into the shotgun and fired again, this time with more success as the creature’s head exploded in a cloud of dirt.

“Nice shooting!” Ryan shouted. I wasn’t about to tell him that I’d been aiming for the middle of the thing’s body.

I took aim at another golem. “Michael, call them off! Think of Lida! What would your sister think if she knew what you were doing?”

My chest tightened at the sound of a feminine laugh. “She’d think he was finally being useful,” I heard Lida call out. I looked with dismay to see Lida step out of the doorway behind Michael and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. But her expression was anything but comforting.