Demon Hunters (18 page)

“We can go back. When all this is over, we
can go back and give Tyler the resting place he deserves.” I
whispered. Her body tensed as I spoke.

“Thanks,” She stood back from me and wiped
her eyes clear. I could see her color coming back. She turned away
and stepped away from me. She looked up at the morning sky above us
and I could hear the faint sound of her sobbing. I didn’t know what
to do. After a few more minutes, she walked back. “Okay. Let’s
go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, Gwen.” I said again. I felt as
though I could have stood there for a thousand years telling her
how sorry I was, but that would still not be enough.

“Don’t. I really don’t think I can talk
about this anymore.”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

We headed back for the car and after we
belted ourselves in, I gave Gwen one last check. She was just about
back to normal. Her eyes were clear again and the stains of her
tears had disappeared. She stared straight out the window, looking
out at the horizon. I almost said something to break her trance,
but thought better of it. I simply put the key in and started the
car up and pulled back onto the highway.

For a long time, Gwen said nothing. She was
awake, but didn’t say anything.

“I was the first one he told.”

“Told what?”

“About being a werewolf. He and a couple of
friends went on a camping trip up in the mountains. We got word
there had been a wild animal attack that evening. There had been
two fatalities but the hospital didn’t know who was who, so we had
to drive up to find out if Tyler had been one of them. When we got
there we found out Tyler was the one survivor. We were sad of
course for the others, but we were all so grateful that Tyler was
spared. It was too late to drive back, so we stayed overnight. Our
parents camped out in the waiting room but the nurse let me stay
with Tyler. We were up all night talking. He told me all about the
attack. He walked me through the whole thing in so much detail. The
next morning they washed him up and we took him home.”

“That’s when he got bit?”

“Yes. A couple weeks later there were
reports of animal attacks in town. It wasn’t long before Tyler sat
me down and told me that it was him. He said the guilt was too much
for him but he couldn’t tell our parents. He thought they’d just
freak and he was right. I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone.
After that he said he was leaving town. He met some people who
claimed they could help him. I didn’t like it, but there wasn’t
much I could do except wish him luck.”

“Sounds like you two were real close.”

“We were.”

We continued talking. I told her a few
stories of some of the more interesting cases I had worked on over
the years, which she seemed to find amusing. She shared more of her
life story with me and by the time we pulled up to my apartment
building, we both knew more about each other than either of us ever
had expected to learn.

The Guest

I showed Gwen around my place. It didn’t
take long as I barely had more than two rooms to show her. After I
settled her in, I called Ivar and explained the situation to him
and asked him to look after Gwen. I wasn’t sure what was going to
happen next. We had the dagger and Jackal knew that he needed it as
much as we did. The only difference was he probably would have
known what to do with it if he had it. Ivar came knocking at my
door.

“This is my partner, Ivar.” I said to Gwen.
She looked up at him and I could feel her blood turn cold.

“Nice to meet you.” He said.

“Nice to meet you too, Ivar.” Gwen’s voice
shook. She reached her hand out for his. He looked down at her,
puzzled. Soon, it dawned on him and he took her hand.

“Don’t!” I blurted up to Ivar. “Don’t shake.
We don’t want you ripping her arm off.” Ivar shook his head and
opened his hand, releasing her.

“What is she doing here?”

“I couldn’t leave her. They were bound to
return. Right now, the safest place for her is with us.”

“Fine. You have the dagger?” I looked to
Gwen and she turned to pick up a large blanket we had wrapped the
box in. She opened it up to reveal the dagger.

“It won’t be long until they find us, I’m
sure. Just keep an eye on Gwen until I get back.” I headed for the
door, grabbing my gun on the way.

“Where the Hell do you think you’re going?”
Gwen asked.

“I’m just going to see if I can get some
help. Stay put.”

I drove back to the warehouse where I had
first found The Black Flame. It looked as quiet as it did the first
day I had broke in. I climbed over the fence and headed for the
small metal door in the back. I went in and walked out to the main
floor. It didn’t look as though anything had changed since the last
time I was there.

I went over to the break room where Tyler
and I had talked. It was as though no one had ever been there. I
turned back and nearly fell as I saw the lineup of people in front
of me. Their faces were expressionless. Just blank slates. The only
person who really caught my eye was a fellow in the middle. He
looked new. He had shiny black hair and was quite handsome. He was
also the only one wearing a suit. It was black and fit him like a
glove. He held his arms behind his back and a seductive smile
crossed his face.

“Jake Corba, correct?”

“Yes. Who are you?”

“Dontavius DeMarco. So happy to meet you.”
He stepped forward and took my hand into his. His touch was ice
cold and he seemed to know that it was. I’ve never been the kind to
make snap judgments, but I didn’t like him. He was done up high
class, but he seemed like a used car salesman. He was working an
angle, I could tell. I just couldn’t say what angle it was.

“Nice to meet you, Don, but if I may ask
again, who the Hell are you?”

“I’m sorry. The Black Flame’s communications
with outsiders leaves something to be desired. I’m the new Grand of
this order.” His eyes narrowed as his smile widened.

“You heard about Tyler?”

“Sensed it, actually. We have all been
shaken by this loss. Tyler was very well respected by all factions.
I am honored to take the mantle up after him.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Do I detect a tone?” There was a tone, I
admit, but I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to say.

“No. What you all do here is your business.
The only problem is my business kind of crosses over with yours
now.”

“What business is that?”

“I have the dagger. Gwen and I took it with
us after Jackal attacked.”

“Tyler’s sister?”

“Yes. You know her?”

“Not personally. Tyler always spoke of her.
I was under the impression she was unaware of the Black Flame and
its actions.”

“She is but after Tyler was killed, I had to
take her into my protection. Right now, she’s babysitting the
dagger. Which brings me to why I’ve come here.”

“Of course. Where is it?”

“It’s safe. I came here to find out how to
destroy it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to destroy it. Is there
some kind of trick or spell I need?”

“As far as I know, there is no way to
destroy the Dagger Of Sira. You’re certainly not going to destroy
it by putting it in a fire or smashing it with a rock.” He said
with a slight laugh.

“Tyler was under the strong impression it
could be destroyed.”

“If it can be, I am ignorant of how it would
be done.”

“Fine. I have another question. Do you know
anything about something called Venris?” Dontavius’ smile
disappeared.

“Venris? Where did you hear that?”

“Tyler. It was the last thing he ever said.
You know what it means?”

“It’s a name. A friend of Tyler’s. We don’t
talk about Venris here.”

“Why not?”

“Before Tyler joined the Black Flame, he was
associated with a pack of werewolves.”

“Where can I find them?” Dontavius slid
toward me as though his feet weren’t on the floor. He grabbed me by
the arm and pushed me away from the others.

“They’re all over town, but if it’s Venris
you want to see, I can arrange a meeting.” He said in a hushed
whisper.

“How do you know how to reach him?”

“If you must know, there are times I require
his services for certain tasks I need accomplished outside of the
parameters of the Black Flame.”

“Where I can meet this guy?”

I arrived at the address Dontavius had given
me late that night. It was a small street in the middle of Westwood
Village. I had told Ivar to continue looking after Gwen despite her
pleading to join me. It was a full moon and I wasn’t sure how this
little meeting was going to go.

I found the alley Dontavius told me to turn
at. It was dark, but I could see some lights. There were a few
small stores in a row at the end of the alley. They looked pretty
cheap and I speculated as to how they could stay in business in
such a lousy location. There was a small sushi joint stuck right in
the middle. I looked inside. It looked warm. Clean hardwood floors
and wood paneling on the walls with authentic Japanese decorations
liberally spaced on them. An elderly Asian couple stood behind the
counter where the sushi was laid out for the customer’s approval. I
then noticed a distinct lack of customers.

I walked in and the couple looked at me,
smiling. I hadn’t planned on ordering anything, but I was beginning
to feel a little guilty. I stepped up to the counter and picked out
a couple rolls and a small bowl of rice to go with it. The man put
the food on a tray as the woman took my money. I took the tray and
turned toward the dining area and then I saw him.

Venris was the only one in the joint. He was
sitting at a small table in the back, just as I was told he would
be. I walked over to him. He didn’t look like I imagined him. He
looked young. His jet-black hair was slicked back tightly. His eyes
were cool and his face was sharp. He was wearing a white tank top,
which showed off his thickly muscled physique. I stopped as I came
to his table. He looked up.

“What?”

“Venris?” He leaned back in his chair and
his eyes ran up and down my body as though he were sizing up his
next meal. He lifted one of his boots up and kicked the chair
across from him away from the table.

“Sit.”

“I wasn’t aware werewolves enjoyed sushi.”
He took a colorful item from his plate and popped it into his
mouth. He held the fish in his mouth and his eyes closed. A smile
stretched across his lips as he savored the raw flesh.

“It feels so good, you know? It’s a texture
thing. I try to enjoy all the sensory sensations of my food. Not
many of my brothers care for cold flesh, but I find it to be a nice
change of pace. It’s so soft, yet tough at the same time, but I’m
sure you didn’t come here to talk about dead things.” He said as he
sucked in another meaty roll.

“Actually, I did. Tyler Thorne.” I didn’t
like being so blunt about it, but Venris was kind of pushing my
button. I could see from his expression, I had surprised him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Tyler’s dead.” Venris put his food
down.

“How?”

“It’s not important.” Venris shot up out of
his seat and snatched me by my shoulders.

“The Hell it’s not!”

“Does it really matter how he died? The
point is he’s dead and your name was the last word he ever spoke.
Why is that?” Venris released me and I fell back into my seat.

“I haven’t talked to him since,”

“Since what?”

“Nothing. What makes you think I know why he
said my name?”

“We were attempting to destroy the Dagger of
Sira. Do you know anything about it?”

“The dagger? Yeah. I do.”

“What?”

“Why do you want to destroy it?”

“We were trying to keep someone very bad
from coming back. I don’t have time to give you the full story
here. I just came for some information. Either you’ll tell me or
you won’t. Which is it going to be?”

“I met Tyler a long time ago. I’d been
running solo before that. We joined this pack together and we
became close. That’s not normal in most packs. One day he said he
wanted to start working toward something,” His voice became distant
and thoughtful. “He wanted to make the world better for our kind.
He was like that. He would always sermon to me about how we are
obligated to do what we can to improve ourselves and the world
around us. I don’t know where he picked that crap up. Then those
Black Flame guys came nosing around for recruits. He couldn’t sign
up fast enough. I told him I’d keep his place in the pack if he
changed his mind, but he said he’d never come back. He tried to get
me in too, but I’m not what you’d call a joiner. Before he took his
vows, though, we went on one last adventure. We traveled across the
country, wandering around, seeing what trouble we could get
ourselves into. We got into a lot of it.” Venris let out a laugh.
He looked over at me. His eyes weren’t cool anymore. They had
softened and something in them was broken. Missing.

“I bet you did.”

“We met this old witch. She calls herself
Demonica. Her real name is Selma Shallows. She uses the name
Demonica as a kind of marketing tool for the rubes. Take the dagger
to her. She’ll know what to do with it.”

“How do I find her?”

“Google it. She’s listed.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure,” Venris got up from his seat. He
walked past me toward the front door and then stopped. His head
tilted toward me. “What happened to Tyler? You know, after?”

“Buried.”

“Where?”

“His sister buried him at her home in a
backyard grave. She’ll probably have it moved when all this is
over, though.”