Demonsense (Demonsense series Book 1) (37 page)

Bree looked around as well, and soon recognized several of the Keepers in costumes they'd discussed earlier in the day. There was Chen, dressed as a Ninja, chatting with another female Keeper in an elaborate, feathered Mardi Gras mask. She was happy to see Caleb Lane on his feet after his brief possession last night. He was decked out as a cowboy, and he had his arm around another Keeper in a cute wood elf costume, complete with pointed ears. They swayed in time to the drums.
 

Javier, she was shocked to see, was dancing, if you could call jumping up and down like a pogo stick dancing. Well, that was certainly a good disguise for him. In all the years she’d known him, she’d never seen him dance. He was done up as a punk rocker, with a black leather vest leaving nicely muscled arms bare to the cold, torn jeans adorned with large safety pins, heavy black eye make-up, and spiked hair dyed scarlet. She had to admit he looked kind of sexy, and nearly unrecognizable as himself, which was likely the point.
 

Bree was starting to feel underdressed, although there were others present in street clothes with masks the only concession to costuming. As more people gathered, there was a profusion of fairy wings, glitter and feathers, and some belly dancers who had to be freezing. There were quite a few men in some variation of the Green Man look, with horns and leaves, as well as numerous guys dressed as some kind of animal. Given the event was put on by artists, some of the masks and costumes were stunning. There was a splendid rendition of the elephant headed god Ganesha, and a gorgeous fairy queen in a full length opalescent white and green gown with intricate silver wings, and a sparkling, beribboned headdress.

She and Daniel milled around for a while, scrutinizing the revelers. They settled finally at the outer edge of the crowd as the meet time approached. Daniel draped an arm across her shoulders, pulling her a little closer. She put an arm around his waist automatically, and was acutely aware of where their bodies pressed together.
 

They swayed together a little in time to the drumming, putting on a show of being a couple. She was surprised that Daniel’s body felt relaxed. It'd seemed to her that he'd tensed up in the car and on the walk down. Bree was about as tightly strung as she thought it was possible for her to be. After a moment, he leaned over and said in her ear, “I’m still not seeing or sensing any of them. You?”
 

Bree shivered at the intimacy of his warm breath on her ear. “Nothing so far. Not that I can be sure I’d sense any Keltoi that weren’t possessed.”

“Maybe not at a distance, but I’m betting if they got close, you’d know. Dark magic use makes for a dark feel to their energy.”

Almost on cue, Bree’s Demonsense started its unpleasant initial tingling, like tiny spiders crawling under her skin. She stiffened, and Daniel leaned in further. “Did you feel that?” he asked.

Bree shifted closer to him, seeking comfort, and his hand tightened on her shoulder. “Yeah, they’re coming.”
 

She cast out more carefully, trying to locate numbers, individuals. She caught
 
movement out of the corner of her eye and saw a man with a shaved head in red and orange face paint, black around his eyes, black lips, and horns glued high on his forehead. He sported a devil costume consisting of a red body suit painted in swirls of orange and glittering gold, and a red devil tail. He was about twenty feet away now, and moving toward them. Definitely possessed, that one. It just roiled off of him. Then another, further left, dressed almost identically, though with short blond hair. And there, a third, a shorter Asian man, again in the devil suit, farther out, standing up under the bridge near the level of the Troll’s head. Daniel turned her around to face him, both arms around her waist, as if pulling her close to dance. They moved together, his mouth again by her ear. “Kind of obvious, don’t you think?”

“Why would they do that, dress in such a way that they’re easy to pick out?” she said back, voice as low as she could make it and still be heard.

“I’d say they’re trying to psych us out in some way, putting on a show of force to convince us they have the upper hand. They likely want us to believe it's futile to fight them.”

Over Daniel’s shoulder, she saw two other men and a woman, these three arriving together, each attired as a ghost, their faces painted white. The tattered edges of their costumes fluttered as the breeze picked up. They looked her and Daniel’s way, and Daniel was right: If she felt for their energy, she felt something off, something dark, even though none of those three were possessed. She gradually moved Daniel to face them, then pointed them out. Now that she was facing the opposite direction, she saw three more devils creeping out from behind the Troll, two lower down, one higher up the hill. They moved through the crowd, capering and mugging at people, and Bree heard some nervous sounding squeals and laughter. They were all possessed.
 

Panic wormed its way into her gut and up her throat. She had never been around that many demon possessed people in her life. Her Demonsense vibrated through her, nearly shaking her bones from her body. None of the demons felt particularly strong, but there were so many! She had to force herself to breathe, and tamped her Demonsense down as far as she could.
 

Glancing around, it seemed to her there were still slightly more Keepers than Keltoi on hand, but she wasn’t sure it would stay that way. Daniel danced her slowly around in a circle, and she saw the Keepers in the crowd begin to move toward the devils and ghosts. They seemed to be doing a sort of dance as well, the Keepers trying to move naturally toward the Keltoi, and the Keltoi sliding away, trying always to move closer to her and Daniel. At this point, it didn't look like anyone was casting spells.

The tenor of the music started to change, becoming louder, quicker, more driven. The pace of the dancing picked up, and a gust of wind whipped under the bridge, causing people to clutch at their headgear. Most of the people were dancing now, though Bree saw two groups gathering up their children and heading off out of the crowd, going home. She could feel the negative energy from the presence of so many demons still building.
 

Most normals had a very rudimentary Demonsense, something Bree thought was a survival trait. In close proximity to someone possessed, they felt uneasy, nervous, or unpleasantly over excited. Sometimes their sexual feelings spiked as well. As she looked around, she saw more in the way of bumping and grinding among the couples dancing together, and a mosh pit was forming in front of the Troll. The feel of the crowd was shifting from happy and playful to something darker. Another big gust of wind blew through, and her rabbit ears flapped in it. A young man ran through the crowd and bumped her into Daniel, who staggered a little as he caught her. His fox face seemed to move in the flickering light of the torches, looking suddenly sinister.
 

Then Bree saw her. Franchesca. She frantically scanned the crowd near her, but there was no sign of Hunter. As she had said she would, Franchesca wore the half mask of an eagle, covered in brown and gold feathers, the yellow beak protruding fiercely in front of her face. Her black hair was pulled back in a sleek braid. She was encased in a brown latex body suit that clung to breasts so round and full that Bree was convinced they were fake. A v-necked opening plunged between her breasts and down to her navel. That latex suit was definitely a sex shop acquisition. A feathered cape was attached all along her shoulders, the backs her arms, and her wrists.
 

The hulking individual next to her was in a simple gangster outfit, vintage brown suit and a brown fedora, with a straight black eye mask. He carried a toy black machine gun. The devils and the ghosts wove through the crowd all around them. There was Lane and the wood elf, and Chen, herding them away.
 

“And so we meet again,” Franchesca said as she sauntered up to them.
 

“Hardly in the way you promised,” Daniel replied. Bree glanced at him. His posture said relaxed and ready, but his focus on Franchesca was intense. “I thought it was just to be the four of us and Hunter.”

“Now, my dear fox, I know you are not so naive. I anticipated you would bring reinforcements of your own. There's no need for any violence here. This is a simple business meeting.”

“Simple if your business is the kidnapping of innocent children,” Daniel rejoined.

“Not all children are innocent,” Franchesca returned, voiced hardening.

“That’s just your poor, twisted childhood talking, Chesca,” Daniel sneered.

“And you would know about twisted childhoods, wouldn’t you, Daniel?”

“I’m sure I’ve got issues, but I’m not the one consorting with demons here.”

“Are you not?” Franchesca asked, moving a step closer, voice almost too soft to be heard.

Bree’s mind flashed to Gelsenim, wondering if he had found a way to betray them. She had no time to think about it further, because Daniel was replying.

“Not in the way you do."

“I don't see the difference,” she shot back.
 

“Different motives makes for a big difference."
 

“One thing we can agree on, I’m sure, is that the boy belongs back with his parents.”

“Damn right!” Bree broke in. “Where the hell is he? And what kind of monster would posses a child like that? Do you have any idea how traumatized he’s going to be?”

“The child has not been mistreated,” Franchesca began.
 

“If having a demon possess a child isn’t mistreating him, I don’t know what is!”

“Things could be made worse for him,” Franchesca said coldly.
 

Daniel put a calming hand on Bree’s arm, but replied in a voice just as cold as Franchesca’s. “If you harm him further in any way, if I see the merest bruise, the merest scratch on him, I will come after you, and I will never stop coming, until I see you dead.”
 

A chill washed through Bree. He sounded deadly serious. The man with Franchesca must have thought so too, because he shifted uneasily.
 

Franchesca shrugged in feigned indifference, but Bree could read in the way her weight shifted and her breathing changed that Daniel had thrown her. “There will be no need for that. I agreed to give him up if you hand yourself over to me." Franchesca turned to look behind her and raised her hand in a beckoning gesture. "He’s with his real father, who’s already rather protective of the little tyke.”

And there, finally, was Hunter. Scanlon had his hand on Hunter's shoulder. Hunter's eyes widened when he saw her and Daniel. "Daniel, Bree!" he cried. He started forward, but Scanlon pulled him back.
 

Bree had to control the nearly overpowering impulse to run to Hunter. She could blow the whole thing by acting too soon. The plan was to wait until Hunter was handed over to make a move. "We're going to get you back!" Bree called out to him. Tears poured down Hunter's face, and Daniel's grip on her arm tightened, warning her to stay still.

"Now, I need to see if you’re serious about offering yourself for the child before he comes any closer." Franchesca continued.

“Of course I am,” Daniel said evenly.
 

Franchesca eyed him for a moment, clearly reading, then nodded. “Yes, I see that you are. Come with me, and we can make the exchange.”

"If you want me, you'll have to Scanlon bring Hunter to me instead," Daniel said, crossing his arms. "When he's handed Hunter over to Bree, I'll go with you."
 

“Oh, I do want you Daniel, I really do,” Franchesca replied huskily. She reached up and pushed her mask up on top of her head, and took another step toward Daniel, lips parted. Bree immediately stepped forward.
 

“Possessive are we, little rabbit?” Franchesca asked. She glared across at Bree, the soulful look on her face transformed instantly into one of anger.

“Enough games,” Bree said briskly. “Stop your pathetic little seduction routine and tell that guy to bring Hunter over."

Rage flushed Franchesca’s face, and her hand reared back to slap Bree, but faster than Bree’s eyes could follow, Daniel grabbed Franchesca’s wrist. For a moment, they were locked together, like two opponents arm wrestling, faces close together. Bree heard Franchesca whisper, “I will get Hunter for you, but you must help me get free of the Keltoi. They forced me to possess Hunter. Help me get free, Daniel, please!”

They broke apart as a group of young men stumbled in the middle of them, flinging their limbs around frantically to the music, galloping like horses through the crowd. Bree glanced around, and saw a couple writhing together, clothes half off, one of the devil shapes dancing behind them. She saw a young woman with bent fairy wings stagger by, hand held to her bleeding face. Another devil was in the midst of a brawl that had broken out, fists flying. The dancers were caroming off each other, and one of them went down and got stepped on. The energy of the demons was urging people toward an unhealthy state of arousal, both violent and darker sexual feelings coming to the surface. Bree saw one of the Keepers trying to break up a fight, and knew instantly that the point of bringing so many possessed was to provide just this kind of distraction so they could try to take Daniel without giving up Hunter.

“I can have the father bring him to us,” Franchesca was saying a little breathlessly, “but how can I trust that you'll truly come with me without a fight?"

Daniel pulled his mask off, and his voice softened. “Franchesca, I think you know that I’m not the one here with a history of breaking trust.”

“You turned me in!” Franchesca said, voice breaking, and Bree saw the first genuine emotion from Franchesca she had seen all night

“I was trying to help you!” Daniel replied roughly. “I didn’t want to see you come to this. There’s almost nothing of you left, Chesca. Don’t you see that?”
 

Franchesca shook her head. There was something off in the gesture, Bree was sure of it. It didn't go with the emotion she'd shown just a moment before. Bree didn't hear Franchesca's reply. She was too busy trying to figure out what Franchesca might be up to. Hunter and Scanlon were still there, and Franchesca hadn't moved. Finally, Bree glanced at the Keltoi in the gangster outfit, just as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "Daniel, the gangster, look out!" she cried.