Collateral Damage (Demon Squad Book 8) Read online

  The last of the trio wasn’t even human. She was a revenant, an entity of pure mystical energy held in check by sheer willpower.

  Her face swam before my eyes, a mirage unwilling to settle. Dots of red glistened above her ethereal cheeks, their malevolent stare boring its way into my skull. Wisps of crystalline smoke billowed at her feet, chilling the air even further. I could feel it crackling in my lungs. My own power welled up to keep the frost from enveloping Abby. She whimpered in my arms.

  “What do you want?” I asked, turning my gaze back to the kid holding Karra hostage. It was pretty obvious they weren’t looking to swap spit with me, but the more time I could buy Karra to recover the better. Only the barest glimmer of awareness colored her expression, and a sigh slipped out at seeing it. Her father’s blade running her through, she was gonna need more time than these guys were gonna give us. “Leave her be, and I’ll surrender. It’s me you’re after, right?”

  The other two drifted down and settled alongside the kid. Their magic prickled my skin as if I were dragging my feet across a shag carpet. They might not be world-beaters, but there was no denying the power that wafted from them. One on one I’d mop the floor with them. Together, I wasn’t sure.

  “The sin of pride runs deep in your bloodline, demon,” the old one said, “but do not be hasty in your presumptions.”

  The kid ripped the sword free of Karra, and she and I cried out at the same time.

  “While you are correct that we do want you,” the revenant went on, “you are not the only monster here who deserves to suffer.”

  The kid brought Longinus’s sword about in a wide arc and there was no mistaking his intention. I tightened my grip on Abigail and willed my magic to stop him. His companions had other plans, however.

  Energy flew from the pair and crashed into my shield like a runaway tractor trailer. I fought it, my feet inching backward in the ankle-deep wreckage, but that sliver of a moment was all the kid needed. The blade cleaved the air and bit deep into Karra’s neck, thunking sickly against her spine.

  “Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…” she started as she toppled forward, eyes lolling and blood spewing from her throat.

  “…uuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!” The last of her scream poured out through Chatterbox, who’d made his way into the hallway just in time to see her collapse.

  A tight fist seized my heart and squeezed, my brittle ribs its hollow tomb. My legs threatened to give way beneath me as the old man and the revenant continued their assault against my shield. Abby shrieked, and I could feel my magic failing, despair sapping my control. I cried right along with my daughter, begging her mother’s killer to stop for the sake of my child.

  The murderous kid paid no heed. The sword fell again, this time taking Karra’s head. It rolled from her body in slow motion, every moment of her decapitation searing itself to my memory.

  “And thus does the defiler meet her end,” the old man chanted as he continued his assault.

  I barely heard him through the fugue of sorrow drowning me. Every breath was like tar, the air clutching to my lungs. Instinct screamed at me to unleash hell, but the small, still voice of reason cried the loudest. Vomit trickled between clenched teeth as cold reality sunk home. Karra was dead, but Abigail still lived.

  She needed me to keep her that way.

  Without another thought, I used the last of my flagging energies to reinforce the defenses around my daughter and willed myself skyward. I barely noticed Chatterbox had latched onto my pants leg as we rocketed through the hole in the roof and streaked into the sheltering darkness of night.

  Two

  I’d flown until I couldn’t hold us airborne any longer. My every muscle throbbed with exhaustion, skull pounding. Deep in the desert that surrounded El Paseo, as far from everything as I could manage, I finally brought us back to earth, a hurricane of sand kicked up in our wake. Abby cradled in my arms, mewling softly, and CB still latched to my pants leg, I collapsed to my knees. The last of my adrenaline went out like a candle in a stiff breeze, and the weight of all that had happened fell over me. I clutched to my daughter and wailed while Chatterbox whispered words of comfort into my ear, the head snuggling in as close as he could to the two of us.

  For the longest time, that’s where we stayed. It wasn’t until Abby began to fuss that I was able to push aside the veil of selfishness and remember why I’d run in the first place. Her nose was crusted with snot and tears streaked her chubby cheeks. She stared at me with her big browns, hunger, fear, and uncertainty swirling in there in equal measure. She had no clue what was going on, only that her father had left her untended for who knows how long while we lay on the cold, uncomfortable ground.

  “I’m sorry,” I muttered, my voice thick with emotion. “I’m sorry.”

  “Neeeeeed to go.”

  I barely heard CB over the stream of my phlegmy apologies, but his words sunk in after he repeated himself.

  “Yeah…” But where?

  I clambered to my feet and dug deep, once more willing the air to warm around Abigail. She clung to me like a life preserver in a turbulent sea. My heart ached at seeing her helplessness. I was all she had now and that was about as comforting as a death sentence on an empty stomach. Almost everyone I’d ever cared for had died depending on me. A shiver set my teeth to chattering at the thought.

  “No,” I said in a low growl. Abby wasn’t gonna be another casualty in my life. I reached down and scooped CB into my arms alongside the kid while I mustered my reserves. “Hold on.” We were in the air an instant later.

  While Hell beckoned, safety in its cavernous depths, we needed more than just a place to hide. I couldn’t do this alone. We needed help, and there was only one place left where we would find it.

  A short while later I stood outside of DRAC headquarters and waited. A frigid rain had begun to fall just moments before, insistent drops splattering against the shield I’d formed to keep us dry and warm. To my relief, one of Rachelle’s portals rent the air before us within moments of our touching down, and the thin mystic waved us inside.

  “Hurry out of the rain, Frank.” Her voice was the song of angels, and Abby perked up at hearing it. Wide eyes sought the source, a quiver of a smile forming on her lips when she saw Rachelle reaching out. “Give her to me,” Rachelle told me, not bothering to wait for an okay before she snatched the baby.

  As reluctant as I was to let Abby go, she practically dove into Rachelle’s arms. Chatterbox went along with her, a faithful watchdog to the last. A stream of motherly assurances spilled from the mystic, and gentle caresses had the kid melting into her arms. CB snuggled in beside her. Despite all my worries, that was the best place for her right then. She needed comfort I couldn’t provide. My head swam at the realization. Could I ever?

  Rachelle ran a hand over my cheek, startling me from the sour reveries that had overtaken me. “You look like hell, Frank.”

  I could only imagine. I felt like it, too, but I couldn’t give in just yet.

  “Rahim will be here soon,” she said. “You can tell us what happened when he arrives.”

  “There’s no time for that.” I shook my head. “I-I-need to do…something.” Anything. “Keep her safe,” I said, running an errant hand over the dark fuzz on my daughter’s head. My stomach churned with the decision I’d made, but if there was anywhere Abby would be loved and taken care of, DRAC was it. “Please, just keep her safe.” That was the only thing I could count on right then.

  Before I could second guess my decision, or Rachelle could talk me out of it, I bolted for the door. She apparently knew better than to try. Only silence sounded at my back. The rain greeted me a few moments later, and I was in the air again, a burgeoning fury warming my blood to a boil.

  #

  Home came into view a short while later and stole my breath away. Where the house had been was now a charred husk, clouds of black billowing from its depths. The flashing lights of emergency crews and police cruisers, alongside a half dozen camera cr
ews, brightened the block as I dropped through the night’s darkness to land a short distance away, out of sight of the growing assembly. The milling army of onlookers did nothing to better my mood. Thick smoke choked the air as I hurried toward the house. The closer I got, the more frantic I became. I hadn’t expected an audience but nothing was gonna keep me from Karra.

  I hit the back of the crowd like a bulldozer. People shouted and stumbled when I collided with them, voices raised in anger and surprise, but they parted just the same. Through the other side, the complaints stilled, no doubt warned off by the murderous glare that framed my face. A nearby police officer saw the commotion, no doubt aided by the eagle-eyed reporter who had his camera guy spotlight me, and started my direction, but I tore through the caution tape barring my way and stormed into the smoldering remains of my home before he could catch up to me. I shouldered the remnants of the front door aside and stepped inside, a rush of heat drying my eyes before tears could form.

  Charred wood crunched beneath my heels as I entered the foyer. The carpet beyond was soaked, emitting loud squishes as I headed for the hall, the sound echoing ominously in the wreckage. Red and blue flashes led the way from the living room, their swirling lights revealing an empty hallway. My throat swelled at seeing Karra gone. Only a black stain smeared the wet and dirty carpet. I dropped to my knees with a splat right where she’d been only a short while ago. Not even the heat of the still smoking house could erase my tears this time.

  Rage and sadness waged a war inside, tearing me apart as I stared at the ragged carpet awash with the memory of Karra’s last moments. I’d only just begun to ask the question of where she could have gone when I remembered the flood of emergency vehicles outside. My pulse ignited, the answer so obvious, and I scrambled to my feet so I could tear through the ambulances looking for her. It was then, my senses sharpened to a razor’s edge, that I felt the virulent thrum of foreign energies prickling my skin. Whatever it was, it was close.

  I scanned the floor and up the wall, zeroing in on the odd tinge of magic.

  My gaze settled on a rune that had been carved into the glass of a portrait frame hanging crooked on the wall. Though the picture inside had been charred almost beyond recognition, the frame a warped and twisted black, the glass had been wiped clean, the sigil gleaming with its mystical signature. There was no mistaking the fact that it had been placed there for me. No threat emanated from it, so I reached up and laid my palm over the rune, activating it. A tingle ran up my arm at triggering the spell, but I ignored it despite the acid roiling in my gut. There was no turning back now.

  “It would appear we have failed in our mission…”

  The words spilled into my ears, and I recognized the cold delivery of the old man who’d raided my home and helped to kill Karra. I swallowed hard against the disgust that screamed at me to destroy the rune and rip his callous voice from my head. If it hadn’t been for the overwhelming need for revenge, I might have done just that. Instead, I listened, absorbing every word in hopes of stumbling across even the slightest clue that would lead me to Karra’s killers.

  “…but no matter. We have all eternity to tear the souls from the wretched offspring of Hell. And we will do just that, rest assured, demon spawn. The daughter of the betrayer, Longinus, was the first to fall to God’s wrath, but she will surely not be the last.”

  His words whirled inside my head, their jagged edges carving bitter wounds, but I clenched my teeth and held my peace to hear the rest.

  “We have been tasked with ridding the world of your foul taint, and we’ve only just begun. We will come for you, demon, but you will not die alone, you can be certain of that. The line of your family is at an end, its blood soon to bathe the hands of the righteous,” the voice went on, soaring in its arrogance. “All who stand at your side will die, as well, without mercy. You will find no haven in this world or the next, and all you cherish and value will be brought low, so declareth the Lord, our Savior. Cower as your kind will, but we will find you. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.”

  The last of his statement washed over me, its hypocrisy nearly drowning me. ‘In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.’ Murder in the name of a God who had long since abandoned them. How trite.

  I spit at the rune and put my fist through it and the wall behind, discharging the remnant energies with a sparkling flash. The shattered frame crashed to the ground when I pulled my hand loose of the wall, but I barely heard it hit as a voice called to me from the living room.

  “You can’t be in here, sir.”

  The young officer who’d seen me brush aside the cordon tape stood there with his hand on the butt of his pistol, the safety strap hanging aside loosely. I whirled about to face him, still reeling from the threat to my family and friends, the murder of Karra. The officer stiffened and inched his gun from its holster. His expression was one of uncertainty, eyes narrowed, but there was no missing the compassion that lingered there, as well. He hadn’t followed me to cause problems, but I’d forced him to fall back on his training. And as much as I wanted a scapegoat, someone to take my anger out on, he had done nothing to deserve it. I reluctantly raised my hands and nodded.

  “All right,” I said. “I’m leaving.” I went and did just that.

  Offering the officer nothing that could be misinterpreted as aggression, I made my way down the hall, hands out where he could see them. He backed away slowly, keeping his distance, but doing nothing to impede my passage.

  “Are you the homeowner?” he asked, but I ignored him and kept walking. There was nothing he could do for me. “Is there anyone else inside?”

  Outside, the barrage of lights stung my eyes after the gloom of the house. I blinked their brightness away and headed for the crowd that had grown since I was last outside. Still, for all their number, they knew a predator when they saw one. The onlookers parted without hesitation. Even the news teams shuffled aside, though they never stopped filming.

  “Sir,” the officer called out to my back, not so easily brushed aside. “I need to talk to you.” I could hear the voices of his companions coming to investigate, another officer ordering me to stop.

  My cheeks warmed as yet one more cop shouted for me to comply, the call becoming a mantra. The unmistakable clack of a round being chambered followed the command. I walked on, my breath cold in my lungs despite knowing none of the officers would be so foolish as to risk firing at me surrounded by lookie loos as I was. At least I hoped they wouldn’t be. We would both regret that move; them way more than me.

  “That’s the guy that lives here.” I heard someone in the crowd shout. Most likely one of our neighbors we’d not bothered to befriend for obvious reasons. Snitch. “That’s him.”

  “Sir, I need to insist.” A hand clamped down on my arm, and that was all it took for me to lose what little restraint I had left.

  I slapped my hand over the cop’s and twisted his wrist backward. Bones snapped. He cried out, but his complaints were silenced by the sudden gust of wind I’d summoned to clear my way. The crowd stumbled and toppled like bowling pins beneath the icy gale, arms and legs flailing, the officers shoved back with them. Only when I had a good twenty feet of open space around me did I let the wind die, but I wasn’t finished yet. Flames roared to life around me as I did my best Ghost Rider impersonation, a fiery halo encircling my brow. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I damned sure wanted to make an impression. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything for fear of losing control. I was too close to the edge already.

  The crowd hunkered on the ground in terror—the officers among them, fortunately—their passivity helping me put the leash back on my powers. I willed the fire to recede and let out a wispy sigh, smoke swirling in the chilly air. Before anyone could find their courage or a trigger, I took to the air and was gone.

  As high above the ground as I could get and still breathe, I hovered for a long time without direction, just floating wherever the wind took me. I was
lost. The world crept by below while the sky clasped me in its arctic embrace. The chill seeped into my bones, and I let it, begging for a numbness my heart and mind could never achieve on their own. The cold obliged, but it did nothing to ease the anguish that raged inside me. My thoughts warred on. Guilt, anger, sadness, and a myriad of other emotions battled for space within my tortured skull, razing my every feeling, my every thought. Chaos reigned, and I did nothing to defy its callous touch. Blackness shrouded me.

  I was fortunate then for the errant sense that had strayed loose of my stupor and recognized some earthly landmark my conscious mind hadn’t cared to notice. Slowly my gaze came into focus, recognizing where I was. My body responded to some involuntary command and changed directions, drifting downward. Before I knew it, I had settled on the street outside of my old house.

  At least what was left of it.

  Just like the house Karra and I shared, this one was in ruins. Seeing it was salt in the too fresh wound. Yellow streamers fluttered in the breeze, wrapped as they were about the trees that framed the yard, the police having left their own mark upon the mess. While the place had clearly burned to the ground, there was no trace of the fire that had consumed it. All that remained of their efforts to bring the flames under control was a cloying wetness that lingered in the yard. The fire trucks and police had long since gone. I had no question as to who had done the deed but when was still up for debate. It had to have happened before they killed…

  I couldn’t bring myself to finish that thought, the pain of it too fresh. Karra was gone but I didn’t want to believe it.

  My nose tickled as I sniffed back another wave of tears and turned away from the house, unable to look at it any longer, my nerves raw. The bastards had come looking for us, leaving carnage in their wake. If only…

  My eyes flew wide as the old man’s threat repeated inside my head.

  You will find no haven in this world or the next, and all you cherish and value will be brought low…