Life in Shadows (32 page)

He
hardly needed to explain. Rachel put her hand over the wound. “I’ve got it,”
she said. “I can fix this. Don’t let anyone tear your spleen open again, okay?
And what the fuck happened here?” She glanced to Lorelei. “I was at that
stupid-assed council meeting, and all of a sudden I had two guardians rushing
up to say their guys got chased out of this club with a bunch of strippers
trying to murder Alex. Were they all demons in mortal bodies like that bitch?”
Rachel tilted her head back toward the entrance.

“Only
two others,” explained Lorelei. “And their master. All taken care of now. The
one you killed was the last.”

Rachel
frowned. “I knew you were planning a strip club, but fuck me running, y’know?”

Alex
rolled his eyes. “Oh, sure, you told
her
in advance,” he muttered.

“She
needed to know at least that much,” said Lorelei.

“Ugh.
And this place fucking stinks like hell,” Rachel complained. “Seriously. How
did none of the angels find this—oh, wait, lemme guess. Wards, right?”

“Yes.
Many guardians likely followed their charges inside and never knew any better.
The wards fell with their creator.” As Lorelei spoke, all three heard the first
wails of approaching sirens. “We cannot let the emergency responders find us. I
can conceal Alex and myself. This fire must burn away any evidence we were ever
here,” she warned.

“I
can do that,” said the angel. She let go of Alex, who found himself able to
stand on his own now. His abdomen bore ugly bruises and scars, but he no longer
bled. “You two get gone.”

“Make
sure you take care of the basement, too,” Alex mumbled idly. “Serious shit down
there.”

Lorelei
paused. “What about the basement?”

“Oh
man, there’s a room down there with bodies on racks and green ghosties or
whatever crawling into ‘em. It was behind some mirror that I smashed when the
stripper demons wouldn’t let me go. That got them fucking pissed. Oh, and
there’s probably some dude still chained to the wall down there, too. I dunno
if he needs help or if he’s a bad guy. Big scar on his chest, crazy eyes,
and…and I take it that’s a big deal?” he asked, watching their expressions.

“Yes,”
answered Lorelei. “That would be one more bad guy.”

“Right,”
huffed Rachel. “Nuclear option it is. See you in a bit.”

Lorelei
took Alex by the hand and led him down the steps. “I don’t see your motorcycle
out here,” she noted.

“It’s
around the block. Figured I shouldn’t leave it in the parking lot if this was
supposed to be a secret mission, y’know?” He noted her sly, approving grin.
“What?”

“You
catch on to this lifestyle fast.”

As
she spoke, they heard a sudden roar of flame. Orange light bathed the parking
lot as they walked. Alex glanced over his shoulder at the inferno and sighed.
“Not fast enough to get my jacket out of coat check,” he grumbled.

* * *

“How
many buildings is this now? Three, right?”

“Hm?”
murmured Lorelei. She kept her arms around Alex as they sat on the edge of the
warehouse rooftop. She had little trouble keeping him warm in the cold, wet
autumn night. All he needed was the demon’s touch. He gestured at the
conflagration and the firefighters deployed across the street, drawing from her
another smile. “Fire seems to be a theme for us, yes.”

“Guess
I can’t think of a better way to cover our tracks,” said Alex. “Probably ought
to work on that, or every big fire is gonna be a dead giveaway.”

Lorelei
caught his grin and found herself returning it. “I thought you’d be more upset
by all this. Or that you would be more inclined to lie low and avoid these
incidents.”

“Nah.
It’s what I get for living with you two. I mean, laying low is good. I don’t
wanna go out looking for trouble. Maybe space things out so we’re not averaging
an arson a month,” he teased. “But it’s like you both said in the beginning.
This isn’t gonna be an ordinary life. I get that. You’re worth it.”

“That
means more than you know. I gravely underestimated the danger this would
present. I am so sorry, Alex,” she told him.

He
shrugged. “Hey, for all I know, everything would’ve gone according to plan if I
hadn’t freaked out at the sight of their sex dungeon or whatever. You told me
they couldn’t do anything serious to me in only one night, right? Guess I’m not
down with bondage. Not on a first date, anyway. Not after the shit that’s
happened to me in the last couple months.”

“We
all have our boundaries.” Lorelei kissed the side of his neck. “I worried that
I pushed yours in even suggesting this errand.”

“We’re
cool.” He watched the scene across the street with detached interest. “Guess
they’re gonna stand off and dump water on it ‘til it dies off a bit, huh?”

“Probably.
I can’t see any guardian angels, but I suspect a few may be discouraging the
firefighters from being more aggressive. It keeps them safe in more ways than
one.”

“Did
you get what you came for?”

At
that, Lorelei’s smile turned rueful. “Yes, though I do not know what good it
will do now. Lester gave up names and other information. Unfortunately, his
contacts and associates will all likely know about this before the dawn. They
will see this for the bad omen it is.” Her fingers ran fondly through his
matted, smoke-scented hair. “You made the greatest discovery tonight. A fitting
room is no small investment. If we had left peacefully, Lester would likely
have dismantled it and fled, only to rebuild his operation somewhere else. We
would have at best delayed his activities rather than ended them.”

Alex
shuddered. “That was some freaky shit. I never even imagined.” He turned toward
her and ventured the question. “Are you…?”

“No.
I am something quite different,” she reassured him. “It is why I am of a more
powerful sort than those we faced tonight. This is my original body, however
differently it may be shaped.”

“Fair
enough,” said Alex. “I want to know, if you’ll tell me, but maybe not right
now. I’m still a little grossed out.”

“You
ended the whole atrocity when you broke the soul mirror. Such artifacts are not
easily constructed or replaced. Without them, bringing an unbound spirit from
the Pit is much more tedious.” Her lips drew close to his ear. “You did a great
deal of good tonight, Alex. You know how Rachel gets when that happens.”

“Hey,
you did all this, too,” he pointed out. “It was your idea to check this place
out to begin with.”

“I
know,” she admitted with feigned resignation. “She’ll be beside herself with
glee. I’ll endure it somehow.”

The
pair fell silent, the burning club providing the same serene spectacle as a
campfire or a warm fireplace at home. Before long, the large “Vixens” sign
collapsed from its mountings over the front façade with a loud crash.

“So
that was the best strip club in Seattle?” asked Alex.

“By
reputation, yes.”

“Huh.”

“Did
you at least enjoy yourself before the crazy began?” Lorelei asked.

Alex
grinned at her choice of words. She didn’t often mirror his speech patterns. “I
can’t decide. It’s not like I could forget where I was or what I knew, y’know?”
He considered it a moment longer. “It was a lot nicer than the places I used to
work, at least. I used to think these places were all bad news. Figured it was
all morally wrong somehow. I was afraid to try stuff like this. That was before
I met you. And it was before all the memories, too. Now I don’t know.”

“Such
places don’t generally host demons.”

“Yeah.”
He paused again. “This might not be a fair example for the whole business.”

“It
may well not be your sort of thing,” Lorelei mused. He felt her sly grin at his
ear. “But the good clubs are in Portland. And even if they disappoint you, I
will not.”

“So…weekend
road trip, is what you’re saying?”

About
the Author

Elliott
Kay is a survivor of adolescence in Los Angeles, service in the United States
Coast Guard, classroom teaching, a motorcycle crash, chronic seasickness,
summers in Phoenix, winter in Alaska (only one), serial monogamy, and reading
comments on the Internet. He resides in Seattle with his girlfriend and two
cats.

His
military sci-fi novels
Poor Man’s Fight
and
Rich Man’s War
are
published through Skyscape. His urban fantasy novels
Good Intentions
,
Natural
Consequences
, and the fantasy novella
Days of High Adventure
are
independently published and available through numerous online vendors.

Email:
[email protected]

Website: 
www.elliottkay.com

Twitter:
@elliottkaybooks