Demon's Doorway (38 page)

"Okay, how about this? Do you want to live through the night?"

Her brown eyes widened and her mouth hung open.

"That's what I thought. Now, again, come with me."

"Uh…oh my God…should I bring clothes or something?"

"Just yourself."

She locked the door behind her and followed Jack to the car. He glanced down the street to see the man following Cindy still sitting in his truck. He talked with enthusiasm into a cell phone, trying to seem casual, but Jack saw right through him.

Cindy was quiet for several minutes, and he had to admire her restraint and composure. Her hands trembled slightly, and she shifted in her seat, but she didn't whine, didn't cry. Life with a demon must have prepared her for strangeness.

"Is Alex okay?" she asked. "Victoria? Kevin?"

"I'm sure they're fine. A lot of power in that group. They're in Illinois right now."

"What? How?"

Jack didn't answer as he peered in the mirror. The truck was still following them, a few cars back.

"Text Leese, or however you young people communicate now. Tell her to be ready when we get to her apartment."

"How do you know where she lives? Shit, how did you know where I live?"

"Is that really important right now?"

Cindy said nothing. He enjoyed the peace and quiet as he pulled into Leese's apartment complex and parked outside her building. Leese's escort was already parked in front of another building, and the man following Cindy drove around the lot before leaving, no doubt to find another place to hide. It would be fun, dragging two cars around. He honked once and waited patiently for about ten seconds.

"Did you text her? Where the hell is she?"

"I did, but I didn't tell her we're in trouble. And it's Leese. She takes her time with everything."

Jack shook his head. "Like I've got nothing better to do."

He opened the door, but stopped when he saw Leese. She was leaving her building, doing a little skip as she went down the small flight of steps. Her smile turned curious as she approached Cindy's window.

"Hey, Cindy. What's going on? Where's our men?"

"Get in," Jack said.

"Sure," she said, opening the back door. "Are we going back to Victoria's house."

"Actually, we are. But this is gonna be a different kind of party."

"I don't like the sound of that, Jack. Are you some kind of perv? Cindy? What's wrong?"

Jack took the ramp for the beltway, making sure the hired men were still following them. He took a moment to look at the women. Leese was more curious than frightened, but Cindy was terrified. The thing that blew Jack's mind was that he could see Cindy was thinking about Alex more than herself.

"Why so quiet?" Leese asked. "Why is Frankenstein picking us up? Where's Kevin and Alex? Are they done doing whatever they had to do?"

Jack sighed, wondering how he got into his current situation. "Do you ever stop to breathe?"

"Do you ever stop being an asshole?"

"Every now and then. But not often."

"Does someone want to tell me what's happening here?"

"Do you really want to know? Can your tiny mortal brains handle it?"

Leese scoffed. "Tiny mortal brains—?"

"Yes," Cindy interrupted. "Tell us."

"Well, your loved ones are trying to stop someone very powerful. Because of that, you're both in danger. I've already got Kevin's sister under watch. She's safe."

"What do you mean?"

"Fifteen men are watching every move she makes, and she doesn't even know."

"How many people are watching us?" Cindy asked.

He smiled. "Just me."

Leese leaned back in the seat. "Shit. We're gonna die."

"Why are you doing this?" Cindy asked. "Alex and I talk…about
everything
. And he says you're…."

Jack finished her thought. "Not a very good man?"

"Yeah."

"Alex is pretty sharp. I care about a few people…and you two aren't any of them."

"Real nice," Leese complained.

"But," Jack continued. "I have to do this, to keep the witch happy. He has something I need."

"He can heal you," Leese assumed. "I've seen him heal. Are you dying?"

Jack snarled. "Not quite. But good guess. You two aren't completely stupid."

"Screw you," Leese said.

Cindy watched him carefully. "There's more, isn't there?"

He hesitated. "I don't exactly…
hate
the both of you. You inspire me."

"What?"

"You're both in love with non-humans."

"Hey, now," Leese said. "I've known Kevin a week. I'm not
in love
with anybody."

"You're on your way, whatever. My point is…I hope the woman in my life accepts me the way you've accepted Kevin and Alex."

"Awww," Leese said. She leaned forward to pinch Jack's cheek. "Our little Frankenstein is just a big softie."

"Don't ever touch me."

"Jack, don't take offense to this," Cindy said. "But how are you gonna protect us by yourself? What can you do?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

*****

Kevin didn't know where they were. He let Victoria and Alex lead through the darkness, pushing deeper into the prison. Occasionally Alex would stop and look around, like he was seeing something they weren't. The occasional sharp noise could be heard in the distance. It could have been anything, but Kevin's imagination had already taken over. In his mind, it could only be a ghost, or worse, a demon.

"Kevin," Victoria said. "Make a portal here."

He drew a circle on the wall with his marker where she indicated. The wall vanished at his touch, leaving a portal into the next room in its place.

They stepped through. He kept his hand on Victoria's shoulder the entire time. He didn't close it behind them, content to let it close on its own. There was nothing wrong with having an escape route.

"Whoa," Alex said.

Kevin squinted in the darkness. "Where are we?"

"Looks like one of the cell blocks," Victoria said.

He pulled several mothballs from his coat and tossed them in the air at different spots. Victoria was right. Dirt and debris were everywhere. Some cells were open, some closed. The sound of water dripping was the only thing they heard.

Alex squinted and covered his eyes for a moment.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just…here we go again."

Alex had several episodes as they walked through the prison. Seeing into the prison's past, seeing the fighting and panic. He thought he'd get used to it, but that wasn't the case.

He took a deep breath as he watched the chaos around him. Guards fighting inmates, inmates fighting each other. A man lay motionless on the floor, bleeding to death from a slit throat. Three guards tried to push back a wall of inmates, but were overwhelmed as they ran for the door.

He thought he couldn't be more disturbed, until his eyes fell on an open cell across from him.

Three inmates sat on the floor. They were in a circle with makeshift candles surrounding them. In the middle was a guard with a blade sticking from his leg, moaning in pain. The inmates weren't bothered as the pool of blood spread enough to soak their clothes.

They sat with their eyes closed and chanted quietly. The strange scene and quiet whispering somehow pushed out the violence around them, and Alex couldn't look anywhere else.

The guard tried to drag himself across the floor, only for one of the inmates to stab him in the other leg. The inmate barely reacted, like he was swatting a fly, before resuming his chanting. The sight raised the hair on the back of Alex's neck more than it already was.

It would only get worse.

An inmate revealed another long knife, and thrust it into the guard's chest. Alex jumped in surprise at the suddenness, and the chanting grew louder. The inmate withdrew the knife as the guard died, and they passed the blade around. He retched as they each licked the edge.

"Alex?" Victoria said. "Snap out of it."

The gray rushed in once again, and the past disappeared around him. The cell block was quiet, except for the same water dripping in the shadows.

He shook his head, trying to force the images from his mind. "Some really crazy shit happened here."

"Uh, guys," Kevin said, pointing at the darkness. "What is that?"

Alex looked back to see three dark shapes sitting in the cell, in the same positions he just saw. The shapes slowly developed features. Arms, legs, orange uniforms.

He didn't get the chance to speak before the three former inmates were on their feet and charging. An inhuman sound escaped their throats as they flailed their arms. Alex's jaw dropped and he caught a glimpse of their red eyes before they were upon them.

They flung him out of the way and went straight for Victoria. He landed awkwardly on an old cell door, twisting his ankle. Collapsing on the floor, Alex barely had time to process that whatever the inmates were, they could physically attack.

They caught the vampire by surprise, pushing her against the wall. Kevin tried to help. He grabbed one of the inmates around the throat, but another pushed him back and raked a claw across his chest. He screamed and fell as blood splattered around them.

Victoria's fangs popped as she lashed out at her attackers. They were surprisingly strong, pinning her easily. They ripped away part of her blouse, exposing her pale flesh, and one inmate leaned forward to bite into her neck.

She screamed, more from anger than pain. Managing to free one arm, she backhanded an inmate and sent him sailing across the cell block. He sprung to his feet and stayed low to the ground, like an animal, snarling.

Kevin threw several mothballs into the air, for more light. The three inmates looked up, distracted for a moment, before settling their gaze on the witch.

He gasped as he looked at them.

Their faces were twisted, their skin nearly brown. Where fingers used to be were long claws, dripping blood. They reminded Kevin of Alex when he got very angry.

Demons.

Two demons were left holding Victoria. One pulled away and roared as it slashed Kevin across the face. She watched in horror as he fell to the ground next to Alex, holding his cheek. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the demon in front of her, her blouse still dangling from its claw. She lunged forward and sank her fangs into its eye socket. The taste of demon flesh nearly made her vomit.

"Stop this," Alex said weakly.

The demons didn't listen as they converged once again on Victoria. Alex knelt next to Kevin to check on him, but was pushed over when the third demon moved past to get to Victoria. The vampire shoved the demons back, and exposed her own claws, ready to attack.

The demons instinctively wouldn't attack Alex, but no one else had that advantage. His own anger bubbled to the surface as he jumped to his feet. His wings grew from his back.

"I said stop!"

The demons froze in place, turning to face Alex. A look of panic crossed their faces at the sight of him.

"Master," they said together.

"You're damned right. What are you doing out?"

"We're…playing."

"Go home," he said, like he was scolding a dog. "Let the spirits go, and go home."

"But—"

"Don't question me!"

They let out a discontented grunt as they disappeared one at a time. Victoria's ripped blouse fell from the demon's grip as it disappeared, landing on the floor. The mothballs above threw light across the cell block, and Alex and Victoria would have thought they were beautiful under different circumstances.

Victoria assumed her normal look and knelt next to Kevin.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Demons. Demons possessing ghosts."

"Kevin?" she asked gently. "Are you okay? Talk to me." She looked up at Alex. "There's no way that's normal."

"No. That was a little intense. Me seeing them is one thing. Them throwing you both around the room is something else."

Kevin wasn't moving. She turned him on his back and gingerly moved his hand away from his face. They both gasped at the flesh hanging from Kevin's cheek and jaw, exposing the tissue underneath. Blood covered his face and hair, his eye bloodshot.

"No no," Victoria said, a slight trace of fear in her voice. "Come on, Kevin."

She rummaged through his coat and found a vial of water. She popped the cork and pressed the vial to his finger. The water turned blue.

"He's alive," she said.

Alex shrugged. "Of course he is. I'd see a ghost if he wasn't."

She ignored him and pressed the vial to Kevin's lips. She poured just enough into his mouth to dribble onto his chin. Victoria and Alex both watched as the skin grew back on his face, and his chest wound knitted together. He cough violently, reaching out to grab Victoria's shoulder.