Two Parts Demon (6 page)

Humming to herself, she got the map and flicked her hand to open the library doors. They swung open, and her entourage stumbled inside.

The map was gross, but keeping an interdimensional diagram on normal parchment wasn’t possible. A gargoyle’s wing hosted the map, and since it did not dry out, the map was rather lifelike.

She pinned the wing open and whispered over the skin in a language that had no name, but haunted the nightmares of anyone who heard their name spoken in it.

The zone took shape and projected into a three-dimensional drawing of the home of the demons. She whispered, “Yomra.”

A light glowed in the centre of the city.

“Harcourt Emile Ganger.” A blue light lit in the same building as the yellow.

“Agatha Lenora Ganger.” A purple light glowed near the blue one. It was a relief.

“Kyria.” Hot pink burned a few buildings away. That was something. At least she wasn’t going to have to contend with a demon high king and her great grandmother.

She memorized the map and smiled tightly. “Minerva, do you have a few extra vials?”

Minerva smiled. “Always.” She fished a few vials out of her bag and held them out. “They have magnetic flip tops. No magic involved.”

Benny carefully arranged the vials around her body, each with the top wedged open. If she had to get close enough to get Yomra’s blood, she was going to make damned sure she collected it.

Pooky transformed into a van when they left the house. They were all silent as the car drove to the Redbird City Park.

Minerva made a few phone calls during the drive. She was the only one who was going to be alone during the procedure, and they were depending on her to get them out. She called on a few friends of hers to come and watch her back while she worked on keeping them safe, even from a distance.

Benny looked at Minerva as she dialled yet another friend. “I wish I could help you with this.”

“This is out of your territory. I need folks who will blend in but have my back. Your friends are not known for blending in.” Minerva smirked. “I can call in a few favours.”

Smith asked, “How are you going to get us out?”

Minerva put her phone to her ear. “I am going to keep my foot in the door.”

She continued calling until they arrived at the park.

Benny parked and asked for a moment alone. When she was with Pooky, she asked him for the same favour that she had the house. To her surprise, Pooky refused.

“Fine, if I do not return, run wild and free until you choose to drive around with another teenager.” She chuckled and stroked the dashboard. “It has been an honour to be with you.”

He rumbled the engine.

What he was saying was clear. He had enjoyed himself as well.

She stroked the steering wheel. “I hope to see you again in a few hours.”

The engine purred and the door opened.

She got out and headed toward her group.

Minerva made a glowing orb, and she had a selection of vials and a folded piece of cloth. Minerva held them out toward her. “The cloth will open all doors. It is a piece of the gown of Giltine, but it can also summon sudden death.”

“I know who she is. Thank you.” Benny smiled tightly and put the cloth in a pocket of the courier bag she had across her body.

“These are healing potions. They won’t do you a lot of good in the zone, but you can take them the moment I grab you, and they will start working when you hit the threshold.”

Benny nodded and stuffed them into her bra and pockets. Her clothing would transform along with everything else, so it was best to keep things as close to the skin as she could.

She checked the height of the moon in the sky and beckoned to Freddy. “If you still want to come, it is show time.”

Freddy nodded, her eyes went red and she began to shrink. When she was in her hellhound form, she ran to Benny.

Benny opened the flap of the courier bag, and she scooped the Chihuahua with the glowing red eyes into it. “Thanks, Freddy.”

The three XIA agents were staring at the bag and the small head poking out of it. Benny gave them a stern look about ridiculing Freddy for her form.

“Okay, Minerva, can you start?”

Minerva held up her hand as she finished making a glyph in the grass. “And I am ready. Stand on the glyph, and I will wrap you up. Close contact please.”

The three men formed an arc, and Benny nestled in the centre. “Whenever you are ready, Minerva.”

The mage smiled and sent out tendrils of light that touched their skin and disappeared with the contact. Benny felt the protective covering going over them, the means by which Minerva would track them. Elementals were funny things, but Minerva had taken to the control that Lenora Ganger had taught her. Benny had known from the moment she met Minerva that the young woman needed to learn from her mother. There had been moments of jealousy, of course, but Benny had gained a friend, and Minerva had gained the tutelage of one of the greatest mages of the age. Everybody came out a winner.

When they were wrapped up with the elemental tags, Minerva lowered her hands. “Okay, I have sparked Benny’s blood, so I can find you wherever you are. When you see fire and hear singing, that will be me. Clump together and hold on tight.”

Argyle asked, “What if we want early extraction?”

“Benny can manage to get you out. That scrap of fabric will open the wall between dimensions.”

Benny put her hand on his arm. “I can also call her or my mother can. You will be out before dawn.”

Minerva nodded. “All right. You get going. I will watch the gate.”

Benny straightened her shoulders. “Okay, gentlemen. You will be transformed into your demon self. That will include clothing and cell phones. Bear with the changes and walk with me at all times. Our group won’t cause much of a stir as long as you guys stay close.”

They were with her, step by step, while they approached the gate that she could see clearly.

Smith muttered, “How have I never seen that before?”

Benny knew he was referring to the electric-blue gateway that they were approaching. “Demon blood is not just for locking folks up. It has a definite positive side, though the lack of a conscience is something you have to get used to working with.” She smiled.

One more step and they would be in the gateway. “All right. Everyone put a hand on me.”

One hand gripped her left arm, one her right shoulder and two hands gripped her butt. She was so shocked, she took that last step into the gateway and the human world disappeared around them.

Her companions fell to the ground when they entered the demon zone. Benny smiled smugly as she realised that it was where they belonged.

She stretched her arms to the sides, enjoying the freedom of the leather tabard and belt with thigh-high boots. Her men were wearing rich brown leather that complemented their golden skin, which matched her own.

Benny reached up and touched her horns, smirking at what she discovered. She did not have the stubby horns of her great grandmother or the spikes of her father. She had the majestic horns of a demon high king, and it felt completely right.

Smith got to his feet, a row of short horns running along his skull and his feline features matching his skin tone. He blinked at her, “You look...”

Argyle stood, his pale-gold skin set off by his blood-red hair. He had black sweeping horns that ran along from the front of his skull to the crown where they swept up and away. “She looks splendid.”

Tremble spoke from behind her, and she slowly turned. His skin was a metallic sky blue, and his horns curled on either side of his head in a ram’s spiral.

Benny smiled. “You all look splendid as well. Now, please get yourselves together. We have a bit of a walk into the city.”

Smith kissed her suddenly, running his hand down her back and cupping her against him. When he released her, she staggered free, and Argyle kissed her, stroking her sides, her butt and generally making free with her.

Argyle was shoved backward when Tremble lifted her off her feet and plastered her against him. After his turn, her blood was pounding in her veins, and it was only her tiny human voice in her mind reminding her that her parents needed her that snapped her out of tackling the boys and rolling around with them for her personal satisfaction.

“Come on. We have to get to Yomra’s palace.”

They shook their heads and adjusted their crotches.

Argyle nodded. “I will take point. Let’s go.”

Benny took Tremble’s arm on one side and Smith’s on the other. “Let’s go.”

The city glowed half a kilometre away; it blazed with light. It was very inviting for a den of those who were destined to be painted with the taint of evil, at least as far as humanity was concerned.

As they walked, Tremble asked, “So, how did you end up with those horns?”

She chuckled. “I am descended from royalty. It is more likely than not that I would end up as high king.”

She glanced back over her shoulder, and she could see the entryway that Minerva was holding open for them. They just had to find her parents, get some of Yomra’s blood and make it back through that door before dawn.
No problem.

The variety of demons in varying stages of undress was a little startling for her agents, but Benny was used to the sight of demons copulating in the street. Well, she was more used to it happening in the kitchen, but catching your parents doing it for the fiftieth time dulled the shock metre.

She twitched her lips as she watched one acrobatic coupling. “Hey, did anyone end up with a tail?”

Butts were checked and none of her boys had a tail. Too bad. Their leather pants did a lovely job of displaying their assets. Somehow, the magic that had surrounded them on their way in had coordinated their clothing.

Smith asked, “So, demons just have sex out in the open?”

She smiled. “Where would you rather they do it? Behind closed doors and under the sheets? Sex is natural, and they enjoy it when the whim takes them.”

She walked with her group through streets that were lined with ancient temples, modern homes and palaces. A few of the demons on the street glanced at them, but once they saw her horns, they quickly looked away and went elsewhere.

The bag with Freddy had turned into a cross-body bag with leather and studwork. Every few blocks, Benny glanced down and met the serious, glowing eyes of the tiny, tiny dog. It kept her from joining any of the groups having sex.

Argyle asked casually, “Is sex the currency here?”

“No. It is the entertainment. They don’t get Wi-Fi or cable, and demons are easily bored.”

Tremble muttered, “What about laws?”

“Don’t pick a fight with anyone bigger or stronger than you. There is the law of might here. It is really the only law.” She smiled.

“So, murder is acceptable here?”

“Acceptable and encouraged. Demons breed when their kings allow, so you want to keep the population in control. The new arrivals are actually protected for a month until they get the hang of it.”

Smith murmured, “How do you know so much about it?”

“I have studied the rules of the zone. Knowing that my father could be consigned here at any moment over the last decade and a half meant that I was always interested in it. My grandfather helped me learn.”

“How is it that he never changed?”

“He kept his soul, and he never entered the demon zone. My father shared his soul with my mother, so he lost his grip on his human shape.” She smiled.

Argyle looked at her with his eyes shadowed. “And he lost his humanity.”

She shook her head. “No, he kept it. He has only ever sought my mother for sex in the years since the transformation. As you can see by those we have passed, that is not a usual situation.”

There was no doubt about it. While the demons were screwing in public, they were also enticing anyone who passed to join them.

The scent of sex was heavy in the air. Even with the coupling taking place outside, there was still little to no air movement to sweep the pheromones away. Blood was also in the air, but it mixed with the sex in a disturbing way.

Smith looked the most uncomfortable. He was getting the full blast of the scents, and his erection pressed against the leather he was wearing.

She dug her claws into his bicep and whispered the promise, “When we get out of here, I promise to roll around with you until you are exhausted.”

He perked up. “Just you and me?”

“Well, Argyle and Tremble can listen in, but yes, just you and me.”

He nodded, and it seemed to renew his focus.

The basilica that they were approaching gleamed yellow to her eyes. She nodded with her chin. “That is our destination.”

Argyle inclined his head, his crimson hair swinging around him. They walked down the dusty streets until they reached the front entryway of the domed basilica.

“I go first now. Demons like to stab you in the back. I am depending on your three to keep me alive.” She smiled for a moment before straightening her features. They were about to face the second most dangerous person in her universe.

Two lesser demons were guarding the entryway.

The green one on the left challenged her. “Why are you here, lady?”

It was nice that her horns at least got her a civil question.

“Lord Yomra has issued an invitation, and I have answered it.”

The demon looked at her through evil yellow eyes. “Who are you?”

She straightened and glared at him through her own green eyes. “His blood.”

The two guards jerked to full attention. The green one nodded sharply. “Just a moment.”

He left his post and entered the building through a small door.

It took three minutes for the large doors to swing open. She stiffened her shoulders, and she looked at her companions. “Show time.”

They nodded with tiny movements of their head, and she could feel that they were prepared to back her up. This entire thing was about her and her family. They were just here for support.

It had to be the roughest first date in history.