Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) (2 page)

One of the caterpillar creatures burst up through a pile of
rubble to my left and, with a blur of writhing golden fur, ducked inside the
ruins of a video store.  Damn, these things were fast.  I ran toward the alley
at the back of the store, hoping to corner the jincan before it escaped back
into the ground or into the multi-level parking garage.  Chasing the jincan
around in that warren of concrete and steel was something I’d like to avoid. 
There were fae who liked to inhabit those shadows and I’d rather not come toe
to toe with any of them.

I gulped air as I came around the back of the building, scanning
the area around the dumpster and metal exit door for signs of the jincan.  No
eight foot caterpillar here.  Maybe I’d been wrong to think it would come this
way.  Heck, it could be tunneling through the shop floor this very moment.  In
fact, I could hear a rhythmic thud coming from inside.  Crap, I wouldn’t
collect my fee if I let this critter slip away.

I spun on my heel, ready to sprint back down the alley when
a furry steam-train came barreling through the cinderblock wall.  The owner of
the strip-mall wasn’t going to be happy.  There was hardly anything left of the
place.  Too bad I had more to worry about than pissing off my clients.

I needed to stay alive.

A chunk of concrete whizzed past my head and I ducked into a
crouch.  I blinked away the dust and debris that filled the air and honed in on
the creature’s location.  There, it was halfway through the wall, its head
already dipping into the parking garage.

“Oh no, you don’t,” I said.  “Hey, Goldy, over here!”

The jincan raised its head and gnashed its large, brown
teeth.  Oh yeah, that’s attractive.  These critters could use some serious
dental care.

With a bellowing cry it lunged toward me.  I jinked to the
right, avoiding those nasty teeth with a few feet to spare.  As the creature’s
momentum carried it forward, I lifted the hammer, bringing it down at the base
of its skull.  Do caterpillars even have skulls?  Whatever, the blow stopped
the deafening chomp of its teeth—too bad it also squished the thing’s head like
a water balloon.

Smelly jincan goo hit me square in the face, on bare skin.  I
froze, hammer locked in unmoving gloved fingers, as a vision held me rigid in
its icy grip.  I tried to calm my breathing and ride it out.  It wouldn’t do me
any good to fight it, and I needed to get this over with.  If another jincan
came along while I was imprisoned by the goo-induced vision, I’d be getting an
up close and personal look at those rotting, pointy teeth.

I’d be caterpillar food for sure.

In fact, it looked like I’d be fed to this guy’s queen if he
had any say in the matter.  Oh, goody.

Psychometry is a funny thing.  If a strong psychic imprint
is made on an object, then someone with my rare gift can read the information
that’s left behind.  In this case, the caterpillar goo was giving me a vision
whammy that made my stomach churn.  This jincan had three images playing on a
compulsive loop and the message of what drove the beast was clear.  He wanted
to kill, eat, and mate—not necessarily in that order.

And, oh boy, the gal he wanted to impress was a golden-skinned,
furless grub the size of a semi truck. 
Protect the Queen, feed the Queen,
and mate with the Queen
.  Oberon’s eyes, I needed brain bleach.

Oh yeah, this vision was no joyride—they never were—but
visions of jincan males lining up to hump their gelatinous queen?  That was
sure to give me nightmares.  Damn that shit was nasty.

I gagged and shook off the last of the vision.  Psychometry
is a bitch of a psychic gift, but the thing is, sometimes it comes in handy. 
Now I knew how to stop these creatures from destroying another city block, even
if it was out here in the suburbs.  I just needed to squash their hive leader,
and I knew right where to find her.

Aware of the gathering gloom, I sprinted into the parking
garage.  For the second time today, I wished that Jenna hadn’t pissed off the
Guild and got herself shipped off to Europe.  This was one job where I could
use some backup.  The obese hive leader didn’t seem like much of a
threat—heck,  she looked like a pulsating marshmallow—but I was pretty sure the
masses of horny jincan males I’d seen in my vision weren’t about to welcome me
with open arms, even if they did have about twenty extra sets of the damn
things.

I sighed and ducked into the parking garage as the first
stars appeared in the darkening sky above the alley.  It was going to be a long
night.

"
I
vy!"
Jinx yelled.

I startled awake, heart pounding, wondering briefly if the
scream had truly originated from my loft apartment or if it had followed me
from the depths of a nightmare.  I reached for my blades and stumbled out of my
bedroom, hoping that I wasn’t about to give anyone a show.  I couldn’t complain
too much if Jinx brought a guy home with her, especially after the bedroom
acrobatics Ceff and I had been up to lately, but I sure didn’t want to run
naked into some stranger.  After being inside a jincan’s head, I wasn’t ready
for another vision.  Plus, I didn’t think that meeting someone while
brandishing blades and wearing only panties and leather gloves would make a
good first impression.

Then again, I wasn’t about to hesitate if Jinx needed me. 
She was my best friend and, until recently, the closest thing I had to family.

“Jinx?” I asked, calling out while scanning the apartment
for threats.

I squinted against the bright light that rose from my skin. 
Turning into a freaking light bulb was one of the side effects of my fae
blood.  I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and dampen the glow. 
For once, I sent up a silent prayer that Jinx hadn’t brought any human guys
home with her.  If a human witnessed my fae abilities and told his friends, I’d
be as good as dead.

“In here!” she shouted.

I turned toward the bathroom, making it to the door in two
quick strides.  Our loft apartment was small, a fact I was now thankful of.  I shifted
my blades and reached out with one gloved hand, but hesitated, hand hovering over
the doorknob.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

"I don’t know,” she said, from behind the closed
bathroom door.  “Is your wispness contagious?"

"Are you serious?" I asked.

What the heck was Jinx going on about?  I set my blades on
the kitchen counter at my back, adrenaline washing from my system.  She’d
gotten me out of bed for some fae trivia?  I slid a gloved hand over my face
and yawned.  Mab’s bones, I was tired.  I wanted nothing more than a nice, warm
bed.  My side ached and my head throbbed.  Clearing out jincan nests was
exhausting work.

"Please say yes," she said, her voice going small
and weak.

My hair stood on end.  Jinx never sounded weak.  My
tattooed, rockabilly best friend may be human, but she was tougher than an
ogre’s hide.  I had a very bad feeling about this.

"No, my being fae isn't a virus," I said. 
"It's more like a congenital disease or birth defect.  Why?  What's going
on in there?"

I heard a rustle of fabric behind the closed door, but Jinx
didn't come out.

"N-n-nothing..." Jinx stuttered.

"Nothing, my shiny wisp butt," I said.  "Come
out and we can fix whatever it is."

I crossed my fingers, toes too.  Jinx was the most unlucky
person that I knew.  I didn't even dare venture a guess at what was going on in
that bathroom.

"You promise you won't laugh?" she asked.

"Pinky promise," I said.  I wasn’t about to link
pinkies with my best friend, and she knew it, but the sentiment was there all
the same.

"Okay," she said.

The knob turned and Jinx let the bathroom door swing open. 
I bit my lip, stifling the urge to laugh.  I’d promised, after all, and
breaking a promise doesn’t come easy to the fae, even a half-breed like me.  Fortunately,
my weak blood left me wiggle room for telling lies.  Thank Oberon for small
favors.

Jinx stood awkwardly in a t-shirt and fuzzy slippers, her
hair a mess, dark circles under her eyes, and arms crossed with her hands
shielding her neck.  I gave her an encouraging nod.  She let her hands drop
from her neck to reveal a trail of glowing, lip-shaped marks that began behind
her ear and traced along the line of her pulse, a pulse that now jumped like a grasshopper
on Red Bull.

“It’s not so bad,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

But it was bad.  Very bad, indeed.  In fact, if I didn’t
know better, I’d say she’d even lost some weight.  Her face looked haggard
beneath the harsh bathroom lights.

I no longer felt like laughing, that was for damn sure. This
wasn’t about a bad hair day, something was seriously wrong with my friend.

“Really?” she asked, tugging down the oversized t-shirt
she’d slept in to expose more of the luminous kisses.  “I look like I spent the
night at a rave.”

Actually, she looked like a throwback from an eighties music
video, but I kept that thought to myself.  The offending marks followed her
collarbone to the curve of her shoulder, down her arm, along her rose tattoo,
and across the rise and swell of her chest.  I brought my eyes up to Jinx’s
face and blinked.

“I have to ask,” I said.  “Where the hell did those come
from?”

“That’s just it,” she said, tears welling up in puffy,
red-rimmed eyes.  “I went out to Club Nexus last night.  J-j-just for a drink. 
I thought I’d bump into Torn, but he wasn’t there…”

“I thought we’d agreed, no entering Nexus without an
escort,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“But you were busy on a case,” she said.  “And I thought
Torn would be there!  I didn’t think I’d be alone.”

“Okay, so what happened next?” I asked.  I crossed my arms
to keep from strangling my friend, visions or not, and settled against the
breakfast bar.  I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.  “I
take it from the luminous hickies that you didn’t turn around and come straight
home.”

“Well, no,” she said.  “I had a drink or two.  No faerie
wine!  I made sure they knew I was your vassal, or whatever.  So, I had a few
drinks and I think I was dancing, but…”

“But you don’t remember the rest,” I said.

“Not really,” she said, shuffling her feet.

Crap.  Jinx had probably partied too hard and left with some
sleezeball guy from the club.  Someone paranormal who could leave a trail of
glowing kisses behind like a magical brand.  Had the marks been intentional? 
If so, who would want to claim ownership over Jinx?

There was one scoundrel who immediately came to mind.  When
I’d asked what the hell had happened, I hadn’t realized how right on the money
I’d been.  Those marks may very well have come from the fiery depths of Hell
itself.  And if I found out that a certain demon attorney had laid a finger on
my roommate, avenging angels could learn a thing or two from the revenge I’d
rain down on Forneus’ well-coiffed head.

“Stay here in the apartment and rest,” I said, quickly
formulating a plan.

I retrieved my knives from the counter and ran for my room. 
I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed my knife sheaths.  The sheaths were
a custom job, clurichaun craftsmanship, so the straps held my blades securely
and comfortably along my forearms without giving me any unwanted visions.  I
shrugged on my leather jacket to hide the blades and protect my arms and
stomped into a pair of leather boots.  I checked that the throwing knives slid
easily from their sheaths and shoved a dagger into each boot.

That would have been more than enough for me to handle a
human adversary, but I had bigger creeps to fry.  Opening the bedside table
drawer, I withdrew a large utility belt already laden down with wooden stakes
and charms.  Slinging the belt across my hips, I added a clip of tiny water
balloons.  The industrious pooka wore these things as hats, but I’d found
another use for the condoms they hand out at the free clinic.  I’d filled these
babies with holy water, blessed by my pal Father Michael.  I slid a crucifix
pendant over my head, wound my hair into a tight bun at the nape of my neck,
and rushed for the door.

I was ready for anything, but most importantly, I was armed
for demon.  If Forneus thought he could take advantage of Jinx, he was in for a
nasty surprise.  No one was going to give my best friend a supernatural STD and
get away with it.

I
stomped along
Congress Street, heading away from the cobbled streets of the Old Port quarter
and up into the more modern financial district.  Plan A was to find Forneus, a
no-good demon attorney, and use my blades to nail the bastard to the wall and
make him talk.

I just had to find him first.

My gloved fingertips skirted the catch on my wrist sheaths
as I made my way toward the tallest buildings in Harborsmouth.  Good thing I
knew where the creep liked to drum up business.  Forneus may moonlight as an
attorney, but he was still a demon with a quota to fill—and there were plenty
of souls for sale in these glass and steel towers of commerce.

Knives hit my palms as my brain registered the scent of sulfur,
but by then I was already shoulder to shoulder with the demon.  Damn, Forneus
was fast when he wanted to be.  I’d seen the guy in action more than once.

My chest tightened as a memory of Forneus saving Jinx’s life
pushed its way to the surface.  Thankfully, it was followed by the image of the
man in his full demonic splendor, horns, cloven feet and all.  That made it
easier to tamp down the rising guilt and hold onto my anger.

I still wasn’t sure of the guy’s motivations toward my
friend, but catching him with his tongue down her throat was a clue.  The
dogged way he followed her around was another hint.  Did the glowing marks on
her skin mean he’d already laid claim to her?  If he thought Jinx would become
his demon bride without a fight, he had another thing coming.