Blood Debt (The Blood Sisters Book 2) (23 page)

The
elements were at her beck and call. She would forever be their master, but they
were hard to control for
someone who wasn’t
a demon. She lifted her hands and shot a bolt of lightning toward the charging
creatures. It hit one, lighting it on fire, before surging into another. Mud
and maggots exploded everywhere.

Mike
yelped as guts sprayed him. Gwen sailed through the air under the force of her
own power. Her back hit a streetlamp. Grimacing, she fell down to her butt. Up
above, the light swayed in erratic delight—it was going to fall.

Giving a
yell, Gwen rolled out of the way, pressing her body up against a rock to avoid
being hit by the lamp post. “We’ve got to move!” Mike grabbed her hand and
forced her up.

Running
up the hill, Gwen glanced back at the mud demons putting their bodies back
together. Well, that had never happened before, had it? These creatures were
different. These creatures weren’t regular demons.

Only one
could be responsible for what was happening here. The answer terrified Gwen, so
she refused to admit the truth as they reached the mansion’s black iron gate.
She slammed her hand against the red call button. Mike took
point
, turning around to fight the demons, but
it would only slow them down.

No answer
from the house. Peering through the gate, Gwen saw the dark mansion—no lights
were on anywhere. “Damnit, Arch,” with a mutter she hit the call button
repeatedly.

“They’re
coming up the hill,” Mike took a deep breath, “If he hasn’t answered now, he’s
not going to.”

“Can you
climb?” Gwen asked.

“Don’t
make me laugh,” Mike sneered. “I’m not twenty anymore.”

“So I
noticed. I’ll hot wire this, baby.” Gwen ripped the panel open and with her
fingers pressed against the wires, an electrical pulse built in the pit of her
stomach. Warm, but with a slight tickle, Gwen felt like laughing as her
fingertips glowed silver and zapped the wires.

The gate
started to slowly swing open. “Time to move, Mike!” Gwen slipped
into
the open space. Mike fired wide, laying
down protective cover to drive the demons back, before retreating behind the
gate with her.

The
sopping wet ground tried to claim Gwen’s boots. Lifting the control panel’s
lid, Gwen pushed the button to close it again—that at least still worked.

“Look at
this place,” Mike muttered, his back to her.

Gwen
followed his gaze and saw the mansion wasn’t as she had last seen it. Now it
was
solied
brown and dingy with mud.
Vines grew from the ground, matted across windows and
doors
as if something didn’t want to let Archibald out—that or he
didn’t want to let anyone in. They had to find a way inside and make sure he
was okay.

Up the
steps they raced and Gwen grabbed at the vines. Coarse and thick, they
pricked
her fingers as she tore them off. She hissed
a breath as the thorns on them drew blood. “I think we have a problem.”
Witnessed by her own eyes, the vines grew back, this
time,
larger. Tighter.

“Not our
only problem.” Mike pointed back at the gate where the demons raged against the
iron wrought gate. Their mud smooshed through the bars and fell to the ground.
Once on the
other side
, the demons remade
themselves.

Disgusting.

Gwen
wasn’t even sure demons were the right word for these guys. They seemed
mindless as drones and didn’t have much skill so far when it came to fighting.
“Quick, around the back!”

Racing
down the steps, Gwen ran to the side of the mansion. The windows were protected
by bars so she kept going, following along property until she was winded. Her
lungs on fire for breath, Gwen reached the back of the building. “There has to
be something. We can’t keep doing this all night.”

Mike bent
over and removed some moss. “Look here! Basement access.”

He was
right. A hidden bulkhead that would lead them inside. “Quick, get inside.”

Throwing
the doors open, Mike offered Gwen his hand. “Ladies first.”

It was no
time to be
gentlemanly
, but she didn’t
have time to argue either.
Gwen
waved off
his hand and pounded down the stairs. Inside, Mike closed the door and shoved a
bar through the handles. If the demons found them, it wouldn’t be very easy for
them to get inside.

Gwen
flicked her flashlight around. As far as basements went, this one was neatly
organized. Everything had
its
place.
In-line bookcases and deep mahogany walls with crystal
chandeliers
. The hardwood floors were
an antique
strain that made Gwen feel badly for tracking her muddy
boots all over them.

Archibald
hadn’t spared any expense.

They
found a curved stairwell and dashed to the top. “Let’s find Archie. For the
love of God, I hope he’s all right. We’re going to need him to get out of
this.”

“This is
happening because she’s free, isn’t it? Lourdes walks among the living and—.”
Mike rushed on speaking in a manner unlike him. He was more than a little
frightened.

“Don’t
jump to conclusions,” Gwen said, but she already knew the truth. Mike was
right, but to admit that now—she needed more time to formulate a plan. One that
didn’t end up with her sacrificing Amanda to the pits of the underworld. There
was only despair there and Amanda—she deserved so much better than that.

Slowly
Mike opened the door, his hand flicked out to pause her advance. She waited
patiently for him to give the word. His posture was rigid and Gwen caught a
whiff
of his cologne, not much different than
the one he used to wear. She couldn’t avoid glancing at his rugged profile,
remembering all those years ago…putting a rapid thump-thump into her heart like
a
well-laid
plan.

“Coast is
clear. Come,” Mike took her hand and led her upstairs. It was so easy for him,
wasn’t it? To touch her like it meant nothing. As if touching her hadn’t once
set his heart on fire? Now the touch was casual, not even the type between
friends.

More like
how you would touch a stranger when offering assistance. Gwen didn’t see any of
the old flame burning inside of him.

Good,
because they had a job to do.
 
If only
Gwen’s sentiments were true. No, part of her wanted to see that old fire
burning in his eyes. Instead it smoldered like flame dosed in ash. No longer
here, no longer anywhere.

They exited
the servant’s area into the main foyer of the mansion. The lights were off, but
thanks to the tower like bay windows, the white floors gleamed under the
sunlight. Giant bookcases stretched up seemingly for miles and more than just
books covered their shelves. Treasures and trinkets from a world long past were
displayed proudly and led Gwen to a solid wooden door.

She
placed her hand against it, but could feel nothing about the inside. Times like
this, Gwen really wished Amanda was around, but she had never even met
Archibald. No, she needed to protect her youngest niece from the knowledge that
man held. He’d never be able to keep it to himself if he met her.

Gwen
pushed open the door with her foot and edged herself inside. Mike closed the
gap between them as her foot stepped over the threshold. “Arch—.” A gong
sounded and Gwen’s eyes opened wide.

“Trap,”
Mike yelled. He shoved Gwen out of the way and
dove
into
an overstuffed
brown recliner. The
door exploded with a cloud of smoke.

Gwen sat
up, holding her aching head and glanced at Mike. Crunched up in the chair, he
appeared fine, but the door wasn’t. Splintered and destroyed, it smoldered.

Her
temper fumed. Where the hell was Archibald? Storming over to his desk, Gwen
opened his drawers, flipped through his books. Mike peered inside a closet.
“There’s no one here.”

Gone.
Archibald? It left Gwen with a bad taste in her mouth. What did they do now?
If…pushing some papers aside atop the desk, she found an old tattered article
written on parchment.

The ruby
heart?

Of
course, Gwen had heard of that before. Was it something that could be used to
stop Lourdes and maybe avert Amanda from her troubled destiny? Rolling up the
parchment, Gwen had just hidden it in her pocket when a screeching noise from
the foyer caught her attention.

Husks,
dozens of husks, filled the foyer. Gwen had heard about how Lourdes would feed
once she walked the Earth, but had always hoped to never see it come to pass.
Their
gray
sunken bodies shuffled toward
them. Jaws unhinged, heads tilted back, their disgorged locusts circled right
toward the den.

“There’s
a secret passage in this closet! Hurry, Gwen!”

It didn’t
take long for the locusts to swarm her. Gwen ducked her head and ran into the
stone secret passage. Mike sealed the door shut, but some of the insects got
in. They covered her head to foot, biting at her cheeks and ripping at her
clothes. She batted them away in a frenzy, as pain pinched her exposed flesh.

Hands,
fingers, cheeks. Anywhere those little suckers could get, tearing slivers of
skin. The pinching was everywhere and the rising panic was punctuated by the
scattered bits of blood along her eyelids and hands.

Mike took
off his jacket and used it to block the door jam, keeping more locusts from
getting in.

“Ahh!”
Gwen screamed, batting away the bugs. End over end, she fell down the stone
stairs.
 

Mike
followed, using his hands to kill what locusts were left on her face. Gwen
could barely catch her breath. Taking her face in his hands, Mike studied her
eyes. “You all right?” He asked, louder than it needed to be.

Gwen saw
his fear, his concern, and for a brief moment, despite the fact he wanted it to
remain hidden, she saw his love. He did still love her, and that realization
brought tears to her eyes. The pain of that blocked out the cuts on her face,
the bleeding of her hands.

Mike
sighed and pulled her close, hugged her tight. Gwen wrapped her arms around
him, buried her head tight against his chest. Able to hear his heartbeat for
the first time in decades, it was a familiar song.

A life
beat. Loving and stirring, but inside her soul held hints of bitterness to be
away from him for so long. There were no words Gwen could say to express
herself. They just didn’t exist. For all they had lost, all that was
sacrificed, they were still alive.

That
meant there was still a chance to correct this mess. In the
silence,
they listened to the locusts battling
against the locked door, desperate to get inside. They’d find a way in and when
they did, Gwen and Mike be torn apart, limb by limb one piece of flesh at a
time.

Gwen cast
her flashlight further into the room and saw they were deep in a cavern. Her
eyes traveled down the slanted brick wall until they came to a river. “Michael,
look.” Gwen took his hand and led him down the steep hill. As they got closer,
he took a glowing
lantern
off the wall
and used that to guide them.

A lone
rowboat was tied to a simple wooden dock. “You think this will get us past
them?” Gwen asked.

The buzzing
sound of the locusts drew closer. “I think it’s better than the alternative.
Get in and I’ll cast off,” Mike said.

Gwen was
quietly grateful to not be alone. She climbed in the boat and waited for Mike
to take the oars, rowing them out of the cavern. Her eyes couldn’t make out
daylight or anything other than the darkness. How long could this grotto be and
where would they end up?

From her
pocket, she took out her paper. Unrolling them, she studied the drawing on the
page.
 
Mike held his small flashlight so
she could make out the words. This had to be what Lourdes sent her demons and
husks after.

The Ruby
Heart.

Would it
have the power to undo some of the damage she had
caused?

“Where do
you think she is?” Mike asked, studying the furrow on her brow. “If her husks
and demons are here, where do you think she’s gone?”

That was
a question Gwen was afraid to answer. She thought it might have something to do
with Blood.

“
Well the coast looks clear,” Amanda said.

Laying prone
on a jagged rock, scoping out the docks, Jessica couldn’t help but agree.
That’s what made her nervous. Shipping cargo containers lay out in rows and
between them all a damaged yellow school bus. The pier was deserted. No guards,
no demons, it was virtually unprotected.

Not
Vaughn’s style. He kept an angel on a leash for nearly a hundred years and now
he was flying solo. Nothing about this made a lick of sense and Jessica had to
suspect the cargo containers could be filled with waiting guards. At any
moment, they could bust open and their day would get a whole hell of a lot
worse.

“You
think it’s a trap?” Amanda glanced back at the warehouse. The salty breeze
billowing
her hair.

“I think
it’s probably a trap, but we have to go in
anyway
.”
Jessica slipped gracefully over the outcropping and crept down the hill; Amanda
close by her side.

To their
left, the ocean cast a wave tumbling toward the pier—a storm was coming from
the way the boats rocked in the harbor. An old fisherman stood by the water,
pulling lobster traps off a boat called
The
Old Maiden
.

Taking
cover behind a red cargo container, Jessica whistled to get his attention. “Old
timer, get inside. Bad things are about to happen here.”

Amanda
gave Jessica a double glance. “What?” Jessica asked. “I’m tired of people
getting hurt, all right?”

The old
fisherman wore a heavy beard and his cheeks were flushed red, as if eternally
chapped. He nodded slowly. “I’ve seen my share of storms,” he glared up at the
clouds
as if just looking at them told him a
story. “A storm is coming, and out of nowhere. Today was supposed to be clear
skies.”

Well,
that was never good.

Creeping
their way along, Jessica and Amanda used the shipping containers as cover as
they ran along the slick pier. Jessica studied the warehouse door, trying to
hear movements on the other side, but she heard nothing. Amanda shook her head.
“I can’t feel inside.”

It sure
would be nice if Amanda would stop reading her mind.

Signaling,
Jessica stepped out from the bus and the tip of her foot tripped on the blade
of a sword. Interested, she bent over and grabbed the hilt. An unremarkable
blade, it seemed, but not Vaughn or a demon’s style. So where had it come from?

Not her
style either, Jessica let it go before advancing toward the target. She and
Amanda pressed their backs against the warehouse wall on either side of the
door. Nodding, Jessica spoke. “Ready?”

Amanda
lifted her hand with her fingers splayed. A glowing ball formed in almost an
instant. So much control and power. With appreciation, Jessica nodded her head
toward her sister—glad to have her in this fight. Amanda smiled in a proud way,
like she was ready to be part of the team.

Jessica
gripped her
shotgun
and kicked the door
open to the warehouse. She quickly moved inside the darkened room, sweeping the
perimeter. Cages littered the outside wall and Jess bent down to peer inside.

Empty—the
lot of them. That realization hit Jessica hard. Her legs wobbled as she
advanced to scope the place out. Duncan wasn’t here. He was gone.

Damn it,
no. They had gotten so close. Jessica, had gotten so close.

Amanda’s
face was lit up by the glow of her power. “Duncan’s not here.”

Couldn’t
they get a simple break? She wouldn’t stop looking, but the large warehouse
didn’t have a lot of places to hide. So where had Vaughn taken him? Where?

“Look for
clues,” Jessica pulled back a black curtain and saw a small chamber. Bloody
chains hung from the ceiling and on the round bed lay Vaughn. His arms and legs
were spread eagle, held in place by chains running under the bed frame. His
mouth was stuffed with a bloody rag and his face had been slashed up. His eyes
widened with panic at the sight of her.

He’d
live. Unfortunately,

Jessica
approached him slowly. Vaughn lashed out, kicking and growling at her, but
Jessica held a steady hand up. “I’m going to take out the gag. You’re going to
tell me what happened here, or I’ll shoot you in the head,” Jessica rested the
butt of her gun against his temple. “Close range like this, you don’t have a
chance.”

His eyes
narrowed, thinking over her proposal. Jessica wet her lips with anticipation,
but Vaughn exhaled and nodded. She was almost disappointed he agreed to play
nice.

Almost.

Carefully,
she ripped the cloth from his mouth so he couldn’t bite her. “That bitch Vain,”
he shouted out, “double crossed me. Turned my own demons against me. I fell for
her lies and I was ambushed. She took them and the girls.”

“And
Duncan?” Amanda asked, approaching the blood-soaked the bed. “Where did she
take Duncan?”

Vaughn sneered
at her. “I regret the day I’ve ever met you! Either of you.”

Jessica
pushed the gun against his temple harder. “Is that any way to talk to my dear
sister? Where’d Vain take him?”

Vaughn
licked his lips and his eyes darted away. “Sin town. She has a
brothel
there, but
it's
guarded
by
more than
just demons. There are hexes. Curses. She even has a few
hellhounds
that she calls pets. Even named
them. Sick freak.”

Jessica’s
heart skipped a beat. Vain had taken Duncan to Las Vegas, a two-day drive from
where they were. Not just that, Vegas had a hidden under-city that demons
frequented when they needed to relax, a good party. Getting in wouldn’t be
easy. What if Duncan hadn’t survived? What if they couldn’t make the drive in
time?

Her hands
were sweaty and her palms shook. How much more could she take?

“Can I
exorcise him now?” Amanda asked.

Vaughn’s
eyes widened. “How arrogant are you to think you can free this host? There’s
nothing left of his mind.”

Amanda
laid her hand on Vaughn’s stomach. Eyes
closed,
the slow spread of a smile forming on her face. “You’re so wrong. He’s calling
out for help now. The world is so dingy and gray for him, but soon he’ll be
free.”

Running
her hand through her hair, Jessica sighed. “Amanda, there isn’t time. We have
to get to Duncan. It’s going to take us two days to drive to Vegas and we’re
going to need help. We can’t go into that place by ourselves.”

She
needed to call Gwen. She needed to—Jessica reached into her pocket, but Amanda
grabbed her arm. “She didn’t answer the last time I tried to call her.”

Typical.
Jessica gritted her teeth and glanced back at Vaughn. “We leave him here. Leave
him here to rot.”

Amanda’s
eyes widened. “No, Jess. He’ll hurt other people. Eventually he’ll get free or
someone will find him—.”

Time to
appeal to Amanda’s logical side. “I know you want to help people. Save people.
It’s all well and good, but right now Duncan needs us,” Jessica made a fist and
shook it. So angry—everything so unfair, she wanted to rip into something.
“Sometimes we have to pick and choose who we save and this guy, everything you
went through while I was gone, it’s his fault. So let’s go,” Jessica turned.

But
Amanda grabbed her arm. “Jess, I would agree with you. But it’s not the man’s
fault. It’s the demon who stole his body. Can’t you let me free him of his
prison?”

“He’s
going to be helpless. Amanda, he won’t know anything about our world. He was
taken so long ago, he probably lived in a damn cave.”

“Please.”
Amanda’s eyes widened as she gripped Jessica’s arm tighter.

Doubt
formed in Jessica’s mind, but not regular doubt. No, it had shape. It forced
its way inside from elsewhere. She never had doubts when it came to these types
of situations. Glancing down, Jessica saw the way Amanda caressed her arm, but
no… Amanda wouldn’t.

They were
sisters. Amanda wouldn’t use her power like that.

“The
world is a very different
place from the one
he’ll
remember. Is it even fair to exorcise him? Is it fair to just drop him off
somewhere, when he knows nothing?”

“We’ll
figure it out,” Wide eyed, Amanda squeezed Jessica’s arm. “When I was captured
I felt him. He is so desperate for help. I can’t leave him.”

A force
of power gushed through Jessica and chilled her skin. She nodded. “Okay, we
bring him with us. Get him up and chain his arms behind his back. We’ll have to
exorcise
on the go.”

With an
excited bounce, Amanda went to the bed and got to work, unlocking the cuffs
from beneath the frame. “You’re making a mistake. If you take me with you, I’ll
kill you,” Vaughn hissed as Amanda sat him up.

Jessica
trained her shotgun on him. “I never miss, so you’re going to want to shut your
pie hole.”

Vaughn
complied, his eyes on the floor as Amanda handcuffed his wrists behind his
back. Jessica sneered at him. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Such a powerful
demon you are.”

“The game
isn’t over yet,” Vaughn stood as Amanda edged him forward with her foot. “I’m
down, but not out. I know when to bide my time, but I will win.”

A demon
that loved sports metaphors—great. Jessica opened the door and pushed Vaughn
out. She kept her
shotgun
pushed into the
nape of his neck. Glancing back, she saw Amanda following after them. Her
posture straight, almost regal and her cheeks glowed with a happy shine.

Saving
Vaughn, this was what Amanda wanted.

What did
Jessica want? Had she given in too easily? Amanda always got her way anyway, so
what was the harm in… taking a
high-level
demon into their car?

“We can’t
do this,” Jessica shook her head. “It’s too dangerous to take him with us.”

Amanda stuttered
in surprise. “I thought…”

“I
thought so too, but it’s wrong. He’ll get us killed. At the least he’ll
sabotage our mission. I knew that, but after you touched me…” Jessica’s jaw
tensed. “Did you do it on purpose? Did you force me to go along with what you
wanted?”

Amanda’s
mouth fell open. “I would never, never do that to you!”

Jessica
wasn’t so sure anymore. She didn’t know which way was up, what was right. What
was wrong, but she knew Amanda never lied. If she started now, Jessica would
see it in her face. She was sure of it.

“What are
we going to do?” Amanda asked. “I can do it right here. Right now.”

Vaughn
was right about something; Amanda was turning arrogant. They couldn’t risk it,
but they couldn’t let him go either. Her sister might not have seen it, but
Jessica knew there was only one choice.

Pivoting
on her heels, Jessica spun, lifted her
shotgun
and shot Vaughn in the forehead. Center mass—right between the eyes.

“Jessica,
no!” Amanda screamed and pushed Jessica out of the way. Vaughn’s body hit the
pavement
backward
hard.

“I’m
sorry, really I am. But we have to go.” Jessica snatched her sister’s arm, but
Amanda shrugged her off.

“Give me
just a second, I can heal him right after the demon leaves, looking for another
host. I can.”

“That might
kill you. A throat is one thing, but a brain?” Jessica tugged on her arm. “Now,
Amanda! Stop acting like a child!”

“I need
one minute!” Amanda crashed to her knees beside the fallen demon, a flash of
energy and light shot out from her. It extended out in a circle and it threw
Jessica back against the bus. Falling to the ground, Jessica hit her head and
gazed up at the sky.

She
rubbed the sore spot
on
her head and
struggled to roll over. That didn’t work out as planned.
 
Beside her, Jessica’s face reflected in
Amanda’s healing light as her sister did her best to heal Vaughn. Would she be
able to? Would it kill her?

Jessica
rolled over onto her knees, her hands firmly
on
the ground. “Amanda…” her voice drowned out by the sound of crumbling rock.
Beneath her fingers, the earth cracked and it grew long with small branches
jetting off in all directions.

She
tossed her head at Amanda and Vaughn, a giant bubble of glowing light encased
them as an edge of green mist circled around her.
 
Her sister was in danger of being possessed.
Something Amanda had always seemed protected from, but with all the changes
she’d gone through—the fracturing of her soul—Jessica was afraid things might
have changed too much.

Leaping
to
her feet, she lunged for the glowing light.
Amanda’s head tossed back and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. That
look of angelic beauty was gone and something snarled in
its
place. The evil Vaughn had carried around
within himself for the last hundred years, was now in full display on her
sister’s face.