Deadly Curiosities (18 page)

I sighed. “Probably. But Sorren won’t be happy.”

“Road trip!” Teag crowed. He gave me a conspiratorial glance. “And as for Sorren, we could go after we close up shop and be back before it’s dark.”

The rain never let up, but despite the weather, a dozen or more tourists sought shelter in the shop, and half of them bought something, so the day turned out pretty well. It was raining harder at five o’clock, so I felt no guilt about locking up right on the dot.

We climbed into my Mini Cooper, and I handed him the map. “Where to first, boss?” He asked with a grin.

I pointed to one of the larger buildings on the map. “Let’s start with that one.”

Neither of us spoke on the drive over to the de-commissioned Navy yard. I wasn’t sure this was a smart thing to do for two people who had a guy with a demon after them. Then again, hiding in my house didn’t appeal to me, either. Corban Moran couldn’t be everywhere, and I was gambling that tonight, he wouldn’t be any of the places we were going.

Before long we sat in front of a sorry looking warehouse. The building had no sign, and a chain link fence separated it from the street. The windows were boarded shut.

“You getting any vibes?” Teag asked.

I concentrated, but felt nothing. “Nope,” I said. “Next?”

Teag gave directions, but we ended up in front of an empty lot. I went around the block and cruised by again slowly, making certain to check street numbers on the decrepit buildings on either side.

“Guess the building’s gone. You pick up anything from the lot?”

I shook my head. “Let’s move on.”

We went down the street as slowly as the speed limit allowed. I didn’t want to miss seeing something, but I also didn’t want to arouse suspicion. Teag looked surprised when I stopped at the curb in front of a large old house. “What’s up?” he asked.

I stared through the rain at the forlorn old house next to us. It had seen better days. Shingles were missing from the roof, and part of the porch was tilting at an alarming angle. Windows had been broken, and whoever owned the property didn’t care enough to board up what was left. Graffiti covered the front door and some of the wall, blurred by the peeling paint.

“I don’t know what happened here, but I’m picking up some very strong resonance,” I said. “Can you make out the house number?”

Between the two of us, we figured out the address, and Teag marked it down. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the house had something to do with our demon problem. “Once we get back, let’s see what we can find on the Internet,” Teag suggested. “I bet we can turn up a last owner.”

I nodded and pulled away from the curb with a self-conscious glance over my shoulder. It didn’t look as if anyone was around, but I didn’t relish having anyone call the cops. The next several buildings were rubble. Parts of the former Navy yard had been renovated into an office park, but this section looked like it had been bombed.

Nothing set off my senses. Then we turned a corner, and I felt something so strong I nearly stopped the car in the middle of the road.

“What’s wrong?” Teag asked, worried. I guess my feelings showed in my face. I felt like I was driving through a curtain of dread. I shivered.

“Is that one of the ones I marked?” I asked, forcing myself to keep moving until I could get to the curb.

Teag consulted his list and nodded. “Yep. Simchak Exports and Freight was the last listed owner, according to what you’ve got here.”

The Simchak building was made of red brick, and from the design, I guessed it was built in the late 1800s. It was a hulking place, with large barn door-sized openings covered with weathered wood. Over the main door, light colored bricks spelled out ‘Covington.’ “What does your spidey sense tell you?” Teag asked. Something about this whole area gave me the creeps. “That it’s got juice,” I said. “We’ll need to do some digging.”

I peered through the drizzle, trying to determine what was giving me the heebie-jeebies. The shadows seemed thicker near the warehouse. Something had happened here, but what, I wasn’t sure. Despair seemed to roll off the old building like the rain.

“Cassidy?” Teag looked worried, and I figured I had zoned out longer than I intended.

I shook off my mood, and took another deep breath. “How close were any of the bodies found to this building?” I asked.

Teag consulted his map. “Hmm. Three of them were found within two blocks of here.”

“I wish we knew where the murders happened, not just where the bodies were found,” I said. “Not to mention why Moran and his demon are juicing up objects that should just be minor-league haunted.

Let’s keep going.”

The day was so overcast, it was difficult to see the sun, but my dashboard clock said six p.m. and I thought the day seemed darker than it should be for the time. This time, when we pulled away I felt as if something was watching us. I didn’t see anyone around, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling.

“You’ve got one more address listed.” Teag said as he looked at the map. “Should be close, around the block.”

We headed for the last site. I got a glimpse of several buildings inside a compound surrounded by a chain link fence as we came up on the address from the back. Even at a distance, the whole place gave me a severe case of the willies. “Definitely bad mojo,” I said. “Let’s go around the block and get a closer look.”

Several large buildings were between us and the cross-street, blocking our view. I turned a corner, and up ahead I saw the flash of police lights. “Uh oh,” I said. The cops were between us and the last address, blocking the road.

“Pull over,” Teag said. The rain had stopped, and no one else was around. Cars crowded near the flashing lights. “Let’s see what’s going on.”

“You mean, just walk up there and poke our noses in?”

“No,” Teag said, reaching into the back seat and grabbing the spare leash I keep for Baxter in the car.

“I mean wander up while we’re looking for your lost dog.”

I parked the car and we got out, calling Baxter’s name and looking from side to side. The cops weren’t expecting bystanders, so when we approached quietly, it took them a minute to realize we were there.

It was long enough to get an eyeful past the crime scene tape. I glimpsed what was left of a body, big enough to be a man. It looked as if it had gone through a shredder. No skin, face or hair, and what remained of muscle and bone had been ripped apart and broken. I leaned against Teag, trying not to be sick, but even so, one thing stuck out in my mind.

There wasn’t enough blood.

If something had done the killing right there, the whole block should have been spattered with gore. I didn’t try to look at the body again, but it hadn’t been lying in a huge puddle of blood, and the ground underneath it was an old asphalt parking lot, so the blood hadn’t just soaked in. He’d been dumped.

The other reason I was so sure the murder had happened somewhere else was that I hadn’t passed out from a vision of the dead man’s final moments. Even if the victim had been stoned out of his mind, being flayed and ripped to shreds has a tendency to sober someone up. If he had died here, so recently, the images would be impossible to avoid. His terror and pain should have completely overwhelmed me.

But there was nothing.

“Hey!” a cop shouted, just noticing us. “You shouldn’t be here!”

Teag held up Baxter’s leash. “Have you seen Baxter? Little white dog?”

The cop hustled toward us. “No. I haven’t seen your dog. Shit, you didn’t take pictures, did you?”

“No pictures,” Teag replied. “Just figured we’d ask if you’d seen him.” He glanced over toward the body and paled. “Wow,” he said.

“In case you didn’t notice, we’ve got a murder investigation going on,” the cop said, shooing us toward our car. “And if you’re smart, you’ll lock your doors and head straight home. Whoever killed the guy is probably around here somewhere.”

The same thing had crossed my mind as well, and since I was pretty sure Moran and his demon were behind the killing, we had even more motivation than the cop might have expected to get the hell out of there. So I was surprised when Teag stopped to pick something up.

“What?” I asked.

“Later,” he said, pretending to tie his shoe. The cop was still watching us, and he kept staring at us until we turned the car around and drove away. The sun was just setting, and I was anxious to get out of the Navy yard.

“What did you find?” I asked, steering for home.

Teag opened his fist. Inside lay a metal button, something you’d find on a pair of men’s jeans. It was scuffed with wear, but didn’t look like it had been sitting out in the weather for long.

“Think it’s from the dead man?” I asked.

Teag shrugged. “That’s as good a guess as any,” he replied. “There weren’t any occupied buildings down that way, so there’s no reason for foot traffic. Then again, who knows?”

I’d know as soon as I touched the button, but that would have to wait until I wasn’t driving. Teag pocketed the button, and I turned a corner. Finding my way out of the Navy yard was proving harder than going in.

“I’m turned around,” I said. We had managed to find a street of even more decrepit buildings than any we had seen. The rain had started up again, and the sun was nearly gone. The diversion with the cops had kept us out later than we planned and it was getting dark fast. Too fast.

“Hang on,” I said. I glanced in my rear view mirror. Darkness was falling like a curtain behind us, inky black and opaque, rushing at us like the tide. Every nerve ending in my body screamed for me to run.

I gunned the engine and floored it, wishing my Mini Cooper was a muscle car. We were out of sight of the cops, and everything around us looked deserted. We roared down the crumbling roadway, and I leaned on the horn, hoping for once in my life we’d attract attention and get pulled over for speeding.

No such luck. My horn made no noise, though I had beeped at a slow driver just fine earlier in the day.

“Uh, Cassidy. All your warning lights are blinking,” Teag said.

No shit.
But Teag meant in the car, and when I looked at my dashboard, it was lit up like a Christmas tree. Even my car was panicking. Or more likely, the dangerous magic that was closing in on us was also playing havoc with our electronics. And that meant that the car might go – Dead. Just like that, the car engine cut out and we coasted to a stop.

Darkness descended over the car, blotting out the light. Normal darkness has stars and street lights and reflections. This was like someone had dropped a black shroud over the car, blotting out the world.

I’d already slammed down the door locks, but I checked again. Teag and I held on as a force began to rock the car. I heard metal ripping. The car lurched to one side as something slashed the metal in Teag’s door. It didn’t get into the passenger compartment, but the next swipe certainly would. The rear window smashed, and a foul smell seeped into the car. Teag and I were both screaming.

I tried the key but the engine didn’t even grind. The car rocked again, not quite tipping over. The darkness was toying with us. Playing with its food.

Inside the car, the temperature plummeted. My teeth were chattering, and ice crystals were beginning to form on the windshield. My left hand was holding onto the agate necklace hard enough that the silver setting drew blood.

Abruptly, the rocking stopped. Was it the blood? I wondered. Or was the big bad thing outside just getting ready for new tricks?

Blindingly bright light flared, knifing through the darkness. I saw two things. First, Sorren stood directly behind us, dressed all in black, armed with a very large, very lethal looking sword.

The second thing I saw were monsters.

Maybe I should have been glad that Moran’s demon wasn’t the thing wrecking our car, but his minions were plenty scary. If Dr. Frankenstein had built a do-it-yourself monster from the rotting parts of big reptiles, it might have looked like the things that surrounded the car. Big teeth. Sharp talons. Powerful legs. Crafty eyes that were utterly cold and looked very hungry.

The car’s engine roared to life and I floored the gas pedal.

“You’re just going to leave Sorren back there?” Teag asked.

“Nope,” I said. I’d been scared, and now I was just plain pissed off. I cut the Mini Cooper in the tightest turn I could manage at high speed and headed straight for the
things
that were closing on Sorren.

Six of them to one of him. Not a fair fight, even though Sorren was laying about with sword fighting moves that would have done a movie blockbuster proud. The sword gleamed an odd blue, and I wondered if he’d chosen it over a Glock because magic is better at fighting magic. Whatever the reason, he’d obviously had practice, and by the time we got there, he had put down two of the creatures.

The other four were closing on him. From the look of it, they’d already scored a few hits. Sorren’s left sleeve was slashed and dripping dark blood. The front of his shirt hung in tatters. I revved the car and steered straight toward the monsters.

“What the hell!” Teag screeched. “You’re going to hit Sorren!”

“Bowling for bad guys,” I muttered, bearing down on the creatures. We hit the first one, smashing the left headlight. The second one bounced into the air, crashed down on the hood of the Mini Cooper and left a bloody streak and a big crack on the windshield. Teag got the third one with his door in a move that was either brilliant or suicidal. I steered toward the last one, which was still battling Sorren. “For God’s sake, Cassidy!” Teag threw up both arms and ducked his head.

We hit the monster square on, knocking him down and running him over. Problem was, I couldn’t stop fast enough to take out the creature and not hit Sorren, too.

Good thing vampires are fast.

I skidded to a stop, watching carefully for either the darkness or the minions. The engine was making suspicious coughing noises. My windshield wipers seemed to be stuck on. A nasty streak of black blood was smeared down the cracked glass of the windshield and all the way to the grillwork. My car was a wreck, but we were alive.

Sorren came up behind us, and I saw that he was limping. I unlocked the doors, and he climbed into the back. “Nice driving,” he said.