Cat Adams - Demon Song

People were crowded around a flat-screen television, staring at a news report. The camera moved from a broad scene of an explosion of some kind to the reporter on the scene. “The devastation is horrendous, Chet. The perimeter wall is gone, as are two of the inner walls. There are already five confirmed dead among the joint police and federal task force, but authorities believe that the number will go much higher once they get inside.”

The words “joint police and federal task force” made my stomach lurch and I dug my fingers into Creede’s arm as icy threads of panic raced up my spine. The news team cycled around to the top of the story. The camera switched to a serious woman in a yellow suit jacket. “For those just joining us, there’s been a series of explosions at the State Paranormal Treatment Facility outside of Santa Maria de Luna. There are reports of escaped shape-shifters and vampires. Residents are being advised to lock their doors and move to non-windowed rooms, and the governor has activated all EMTs, mages level seven and above, and A and C card holders. Available warrior priests are urged to check with their seminaries for instructions and all vacations or other non-medical leaves have been canceled for National Guard and police agencies. News Twelve has exclusive footage of the explosions due to an embedded reporter who was accompanying the local police to the scene. Bob, we’re back to you. What can you tell us?”

Creede started to pull away from my grip. “I’ve got to go. Stay here and be careful.” He gave me a quick kiss on the mouth and I saw Dawna’s eyebrows rise with interest before she looked back at the TV screen.

I followed Creede out of the room and grabbed his arm to stop him. “Where do you have to go? What’s wrong?”

“I’ve got an A and C card. I could lose my license to practice magic if I don’t get my ass out there.”

I didn’t even know what an A&C card was. He must have seen it in my face. “Mages level six and higher who want to profit from their magic have to register with the state. Like paramedics, if there’s an emergency, we are required to ‘assist and control.’ A and C. I’m an eight, nearly a nine. So I’ve got to go.”

“I’m going with you.”

He sighed and dropped his head. “No, you’re not. You don’t have a card and you have fangs. That’s not a common attribute of the good guys. There will be way too many trigger-happy cops out there.”

Every single thing he said made perfect sense. “I’m still going. Whether with you or behind you. Besides, do you really want to take your Ferrari to the scene of a battle? We could take the rental. I bought the extra insurance on it.”

He crooked his finger and turned. “Walk with me.”

I fell in step beside him and we went out into the cool, still night. It was so lovely here and I hated that it was ending this way. But the adrenaline rush told me that I was looking forward to it, too. I’m just weird. “You know I’m right.”

“No,” he said with a sad sort of laugh. “I know you’re too stubborn to play it safe. We can’t take your rental because my car has special plates. I can speed and get an escort with the activation in effect. But you’re right that I don’t want to leave my car there for it to get destroyed. So, you’ll come with me and then drive it back here. I can hitch a ride back with the police when the crisis is over.”

If he knew how likely it was that I wasn’t going to go through with that plan, he had the sense not to say it out loud. “Let me grab my stuff on the way. These shoes are killing me.”

Creede’s low-slung red chariot was in a cluttered garage next to the main building. I waited until he backed out before I got in. It might have been an emergency, but I could still appreciate the luxury and power of the car. He raced the engine and checked the fuel level, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “Remind me when we get closer to check the gauge. I might have to stop and fill up.” I nodded as he put the Ferrari in gear.

Before he could step on the gas, the door of the winery opened and Dawna and Emma came racing out. “Where are you guys going?” Dawna sounded panicked, probably because she had already guessed where we were going.

I rolled down the window and shrugged. “Where else? Into the maw of disaster like normal.”

Emma clutched my arm. “You can’t, Celia. You didn’t wait long enough to hear the whole story. It’s not just a crime scene. The explosion opened a rift between the dimensions. Lesser demons are coming out of the rift.”

Creede’s jaw set and his eyes narrowed. “Then I’d better get moving. Get out, Celia. To hell with the car.”

I turned my head and put a hand on his already tense and twitching arm. “John. With my knives and my strength, I’m more than a match for lesser demons now.” He looked at me for a long moment and I could hear his teeth grinding. I felt the moment he accepted my statement as truth when his arm relaxed just a bit. I gently removed Emma’s hand from my dress and handed her the spare key to the rental. I don’t know why there were two on the ring, but I’d checked and, sure enough, they both opened the door and started the engine. “You should be safe at the spa. Call Warren and make sure Kevin’s and Amy’s cells have extra security. If either can still be called by the demon, they’ll be in danger.”

Dawna gently pulled Emma back. Her eyes were frightened, but she nodded firmly. “Go. Do what you have to and try to make it back safe.”

I noticed the word “try” in there. It was all any of us could do. Emma’s face was stricken as Creede and I roared off into the darkness, but I couldn’t fix that. I could only hope that since she hadn’t been called yet, the demons couldn’t reach her. Yet. Everything depended on keeping the demons at the prison site and closing the rift.

We got to my rental, in the parking lot outside the main gate, in record time and I opened the trunk, where my weapons and clothes were. I tried to figure out how to change out of the dress with some discretion and then realized it didn’t really matter. Creede had seen me nearly naked on the deck of a boat the last time we fought a lesser demon. I turned my back as I pulled the dress off over my head, but I knew his eyes were on me. I could see his face in the rearview mirror. There was more worry in his expression than lust. That was both a good and bad thing. It meant that my fear wasn’t misplaced. Things had changed. Something bigger than simple attraction had grown between us, and I didn’t know what to do about it.

When I turned back around, fully armed and wearing jeans, a black sweater, and socks and sneakers, he was on his knees on his seat, digging for something in the back compartment. As I slid into the passenger seat, he settled back in the driver’s seat and tossed a small, gift-wrapped box into my lap. “Merry Christmas.”

He’d bought me a Christmas gift? Before what had just happened? Crap. If we survived what we were about to do, I would have shopping to do.

“Thanks. I’ll put it under my tree when we’re done.”

He shook his head and slammed the car into first gear; the tires spun briefly on the gravel before they caught the road and the Ferrari leapt forward. “Open it now. You might need them.”

Them? Okay, that got my curiosity up. I had the package open before he reached fourth gear. Inside the small box were five ceramic disks on a bed of gauze. The letters TBB were stamped in tiny letters around the rim. Ooh, weapons. A man after my heart. “What are they?”

“You wanted a total body-binding spell, you got one. It was a hell of a complicated spell, so don’t waste them. These aren’t simple immobilization charms. I mean total body binding. A person could die of thirst if the spell isn’t released in a day or two.”