Lost Girl: Hidden Book One (20 page)

Veronica glanced at me and grinned. Then she noticed my torn, bloody clothes.

“Holy crap! Rough night?” she asked, grabbing another shifter that Brennan hurtled toward her.

“Fucking vampire,” I said, going into a nearby shifter’s mind and making him go to sleep.

“Ew.”

“Seriously.”

“Did he get a taste?” Veronica asked, laughing and laying out another shifter.

“Yeah,” I said, grunting as I focused an energy blast at a shifter who was running toward me. “For the record, I taste good.”

We cleared out our group of shifters, and Brennan shifted back. “TMI, Molly,” he said, winking at me.  I shook my head, but couldn’t quite stop myself from grinning. Relief that whatever weirdness was between us earlier seemed to be gone.

The three of us headed to where Nain and Stone were shielding Ada as she worked her shielding spell. Someone had managed to call the police, and I saw two squad cars heading for us.

“Molly,” Nain shouted, pointing at them. I nodded, walked toward the cars, hands up so they’d know I meant no harm.

The officers got out of their cars, gathered around me to hear what was going on. It only took seconds to convince them that there was nothing going on, to go back and report that it was a false alarm.

“These aren’t the shapeshifters you’re looking for,” Brennan murmured behind me, and I laughed. “Jedi mind trick. I am so jealous.”

I turned and looked at him, and he grinned. Everything seemed to be dying down. I was about to respond with some dorky Star Wars joke, but I glanced over toward Veronica and saw a shifter lunging at her from behind.

“Veronica!” I shouted, running toward her. Too late. The shifter grabbed her from behind, holding her hands so that she couldn’t touch him and defend herself.

“Stop, mindflayer,” the shifter holding Veronica said. “Don’t move, and if I feel you or the other demon in my head, she’s dead.”

I stared at him. Thinking. I felt the other shifters gathering around us. Stone was holding George back.

“And we know that fucker can go invisible. You just stay where we can see you,” the shifter said to George. Then he looked back at me.

I sized him up. He was about Veronica’s height, maybe five ten or so. Strong. Dark hair and a full beard. I stood there, crossed my arms. I could set the bastard on fire. Could be enough to distract him enough to let go of Veronica.

“If you do anything to me, there are three of my friends with guns perched in the area. If I’m in trouble, they’ll shoot her brains out. And if not her, then one of you other assholes. She’s the only one with a healing power,” he finished, nodding toward me.

“You seem to know a lot about us,” I said, keeping my voice calm. It wouldn’t do to freak any of them out. I didn’t doubt that there were guns trained on my friends.

“My boss knows everything about you, Angel.”

“Astaroth,” I muttered.

“We were almost afraid you wouldn’t show. But, I thought…attacking your precious Normals, the Angel would show. And here you are.”

“What, do you want a cookie?” I asked, rolling my eyes. I sensed irritation from him. Tension filled the air. His packmates were nervous. Good.

“All you have to do is come with us, quietly. Let us collect our reward, and all of your little friends can go on their way,” he said.

“How do I know you won’t just have them killed, either way?”

Molly, no.

Quiet. Wait.

“The only one we’re interested in is you.”

“What do you get out of this?”

The shifter alpha laughed. “Astaroth will pay very well for you. We’ll never have to worry about money again. Have the best of everything. And he’s got some powerful allies. This will be the last day we ever have to cower, to hide, in fear of you and that demon asshole coming down on us.”

“Maybe if you joined us instead of acting like animals, you wouldn’t have to worry about hiding from us,” I said.

“Yeah, that was ever a possibility,” the shifter alpha said, snorting. “You and him, your little group of vigilantes here. You think you’re so much better than the rest of us. I know what you are. I know how demons get strong. You want to believe you’re better than us, the fact of the matter is you’re the biggest fucking animal here.”

I could feel Nain’s rage behind me, on my behalf. He really didn’t take it well when people insulted me.

“Well, Rover,” I said, and felt his irritation spike. “You aren’t the only ones who tried to take a crack at me tonight.” I held my arms open, showing him the mess my clothes had become. “A vampire over in Indian Village tried it a while ago.” I felt fear in his pack mates, had to hold back a smile. “And you see. I’m here. And he’s rotting in a basement, minus his head.”

No need to tell them who removed his head
, I thought at Nain.

You can pay for my silence later, woman
, he thought back, humor from him.

More fear. So good. I felt it strengthening me, felt it buzzing through my body. Alive. Fear was a living thing, and it belonged to me.

The beautiful thing about fear, besides the obvious, was that I could feel exactly where it was coming from. I could home in on those feeling it, sense them without having to see them.

There were six of them. The alpha, holding Veronica. The two standing next to him. Three more above: two in the trees behind me, one in a house to my left, on the second floor, peeking out the window.

“So I’m going to give you one more chance, Fido. You and your friends run. Leave my friends alone. And we’ll let you live, tonight. If not. I’ll send you and your pack to your good buddy Astaroth in a garbage bag.” He just stared at me. “Your choice.”

He laughed. “What are you gonna do, bitch?” He wasn’t going to back down. One on one fighting wouldn’t work.

I sent a silent wish that I would not fuck this up.

“This.” And I released fire, in five directions, perfect, searingly hot balls of molten death hurtling toward five of our enemies, then I lunged for the alpha, who was still holding Veronica. Screams, terror filled the night as my fire hit its marks. I smiled.

The alpha still held Veronica, tried to run back with her. My friends stood back and watched the shifters burn. My focus was on the alpha.

Molly he’s got a–
Nain said in my mind. Too late.

The alpha flashed a switchblade, and ran it across Veronica’s throat.

It all happened in slow motion.

The surprised look that froze on her face as she was cut open.

The first streams of blood falling onto her pink t-shirt.

Her body going limp.

I snapped out of it and charged at the alpha. When I hit him, Veronica went tumbling from his arms. I used every bit of my strength, bashed his head into the concrete of the street. I went into his mind, made him feel real pain without ever having to lay another hand on him. I tortured him with nothing more than a thought, turned his mind into a prison, his thoughts into weapons. He screamed, a high, terrified scream that cut off when I finally destroyed his mind, tore him apart. Fire ate him from the inside out, and he collapsed into nothing more than smoldering flesh.

When it was done, I turned to where I’d last seen Veronica.

George cradled her limp body in his arms. Her eyes were glassy, empty. Blood still flowed slowly from the wound across her neck, and her legs splayed in a way that made me want to straighten them for her. She’d been such a together, beautiful creature in life. She deserved better than this.

I bit my lip against the rage and loss I was feeling.

My fault. Holy shit she was dead because of me why the hell did I let this happen?

Nain came up behind me, put his hands on my shoulders. Ada and Stone were hugging each other, crying. Brennan crouched next to George, head bowed.

Don’t. This is not your fault,
Nain said in my mind.

She’s dead because of me. Her blood is on my hands.

Brennan stood up, came to us. He folded me in a huge hug, and when he stepped back, his eyes were red. “Fuckers.”

I nodded. Looked at Nain. “You know how to get a message to him, thanks to the vampire, right?”

Nain nodded. I gave him a nod, stalked into one of the now-empty homes, and found a large black garbage bag.

I went around the neighborhood, shoveling the remains of the six shifters into the bag. I ignored my disgust at seeing a stray jawbone here, a hand there. I bagged it all up. It took less than a whole bag. I tied it up, found paper, and jotted a note.

“Molly 7, Astaroth 0. You’re next.”

I duct taped it to the bag and called Bashiok, Dahael, and six of the other imps, who had gathered as the chaos erupted. “Ask Nain where to deliver this. Leave it there. Be careful.” They thumped their fists to their chests, then two of them took the bag and scampered off into the night.

I turned to Nain, met his eyes. “This ends now,” I said.

I felt regret, sadness, anger from him. He nodded. “Dead demon.”

We all stood, gathered around Veronica’s body until Nain’s pastor friend, Pastor Balester, came to collect her and prepare her for her burial.

Veronica’s burial was not quite what I was expecting. It happened that very night. We all went home, cleaned up, dressed in the customary black. Then we made our way to the large stone church and cemetery that Father Balester served, not too far from my house, actually.

I pulled into the parking lot, which was otherwise empty other than Nain’s black truck and Stone’s Harley. The team was standing around near the wrought iron fence, waiting for me.

I’d seen the team tired. I’d seen them angry, stressed out, frustrated. Seeing them like this, broken and mourning, nearly flattened me. They had lost a sister, a partner. I mourned Veronica’s loss. She was the closest thing I’d ever had to a friend. But my pain was nothing compared to theirs. Nain folded me in his arms when I reached him, then I hugged my other team mates. Except for George, who stood apart from everyone else and clearly wanted nothing to do with us.

Within a few moments, Father Balester walked out of the church, dressed in his black vestments. He greeted the team in a subdued, serious manner that immediately made me like the man.

He glanced at me. “Is this your first supernatural funeral?”

I nodded.

He gave a small smile. “They are not much like mortal burials. Seeing my first one when I was young made me believe in what lies beyond. It is the reason I became a priest.”

I watched him. Sensed for him. Ah. Power.

“You’re something. I don’t recognize it, though,” I said, still trying to feel for him.

He smiled at me. And then he winked, and where he’d been standing, a majestic oak stood instead. I gaped at it, and watched as the air shimmered and he resumed his human form.

He gave a small laugh. “Earth guardian. We try to clean up the messes the mortals make, try to keep things in balance.”

“Must be a hard job,” I said, thinking of the steel and concrete that surrounded us.

He nodded. “But a worthwhile one. I’ve been here since this area was nothing but swampy forests. Things change, but the fight goes on.”

“One would think you’d have your hands full enough, without entering the priesthood.”

Father Balester smiled. “I serve a very specific community. The Catholic church barely knows I’m here. This church lies on sacred ground, the perfect place to send our brothers and sisters on to what is next.”

“And what is next?” I asked, my stomach clenching.

“Judgment. For all of us. The Lord of the Nether judges us all, and decides how we shall spend eternity.”

“I thought that was St. Peter,” I said. He smiled again. “Each tradition puts its spin on it. It is all the same thing. Only the explanations, the mythology, differ.” He paused. “Normals leave this world, and their souls are collected quietly, escorted swiftly to the ever after. But supers…we all have a bit of the Nether in us. You and Nain, being demons, more so than the rest of us, obviously. When supers die, the Guardians come to collect us. The Lord of the Nether decides our eternal fate, and the Furies carry out his judgment. Because we had more power, our judgment in the ever after is much harsher than those who had no power.”

“Please don’t say ‘with great power must come great responsibility.’” I said, smiling.

He laughed. “Spidey’s Uncle Ben had it right. Yeah. We’ve been given gifts, for whatever reason. We are judged swiftly and harshly by the Lord of the Nether. You, a demon, are progeny of the Nether, and will be judged most harshly. When your death comes, you will return to the Nether for eternity. It will not be pleasant.”

“Well, this has been a fun talk, Padre,” I said.

“Consider it a warning. Use your time here well, Angel.”

Father Balester met my eyes one last time, then walked toward the cemetery. Nain took my hand, and we all followed him into the dark cemetery.

It should have been creepy, but it was peaceful. Veronica’s body was on the ground, clean and dressed in a simple black gown. Her hands were folded over her stomach. No effort had been made to disguise the wound that killed her. There was no artifice here, no pretense of prettying up the dirty business of death. I respected the Father even more for that.

We sat in silence, and Father Balester began to chant, words I couldn’t understand, but could feel down to my soul. A summoning, a request. A hush fell over us.

“I advise you now to say your goodbyes,” Father Balester said quietly. “Her soul is about to be freed from its mortal prison. She will be judged by Our Lord of the Nether. May her soul live on in peace.”

I looked at Veronica’s body. Remembered a sweet woman who’d tried to be my friend. A friend who’d died because of her association with me. I closed my eyes and promised her vengeance, swore it as I felt strange energy begin to surround us, power that washed over me in waves.

I opened my eyes to see the air shimmer near us, and three winged figures flew out of what seemed to be nothingness. These were not angels. There was nothing cherubic about these beings. They were small, maybe four feet tall at the most. Skin, pale white with an otherworldly luster. Compact, powerful bodies. Flowing black hair, eyes that glowed deep red in the night. And wings. Black feathered wings that extended from their backs. Slender arms ended in hands with long, sharp claws. Their faces were so beautiful, I could hardly look away. The three beings landed, soundlessly. I watched them as they surrounded Veronica’s body, joined hands, and began chanting, singing words that I couldn’t understand but that tugged at my soul just the same. The chanting got louder, more intense. And then I understood: