Demon Mania (Demon Frenzy Series Book 2) Read online

  “Hell yes. Jack Roamer’s one of my father’s best friends. He’s always been like an uncle to me. This is top secret, so you absolutely can’t tell anyone, but I’m one of his Irregulars.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “We’re sort of like secret deputies, and we’re planning to go out there to that so-called church and kick their fucking asses.”

  “You’ll all get killed,” Shane said. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but they have demons. Some of them can even fly through the air, and you can’t kill them with bullets.”

  “I don’t think you’re crazy. They’ve been sending some big ugly freaks after us, and they’ve already killed one of his deputies. Look, Shane, we don’t have any choice at this point. They’re gonna kill all of us if we don’t do something.”

  “And if you do something without knowing what you’re doing, they’re going to kill all of you anyway,” Shane said. “Maybe you can kill the big ugly freaks with bullets, but not the demons. One single bite from those things and you’re dead. Imagine a whole nest of rattlesnakes biting you all at once.”

  “Shit.”

  “How many of these Irregulars are there?”

  “I don’t exactly know. At least twenty I think. Bo and Pete joined up, but that’s top secret too. We’re afraid if the church finds out we’re Irregulars they’ll send out their freaks to kill us.”

  “As for this sheriff, are you absolutely sure I can trust him?”

  “I am. I told you, he’s like an uncle.”

  “Is he working with the FBI?”

  “Hell no. He thinks they’re playing on the other team.”

  “Do you have his phone number?”

  After he hung up, Shane found a pen in the Jeep and wrote it down. He went back to the campfire and told the others what Blaine had said.

  “Maybe we should contact this sheriff,” he said.

  “Over my dead ass,” Nyx said.

  “I want nothing to do with the law,” Joe said. “I’m gonna go start my patrol now.”

  Joe put on his scabbard and his quiver, grabbed his bow, and headed for the back of their campground. The sun wasn’t down yet, but it would be pretty soon, and he wanted to have a close look at the property before dark.

  He was sore from the fierce martial arts training and very tired. He was getting too old for this sort of thing and wished he could just lie down and sleep for about ten good hours, but if he was going to be their leader he at least needed to try to keep them alive.

  He didn’t like Bill and he hated the people working for him. He’d seen their like before, heartless thugs who’d kill you for a dime. He didn’t want to work with them, but he knew there was no chance of winning this fight without them. The only smart thing to do was to pack up and leave, but he wasn’t going to abandon Amy like that. He wondered if any of them would live through this, but there was no telling because his spirit guide hadn’t shown him anything except a glimpse of himself that he hadn’t wanted to see.

  He wondered what Bill’s plan was or if he even had a plan. If he had a plan, why was he expecting an attack? Tomorrow he would ask, and if he didn’t hear a good answer he and the others would have to go away somewhere and find some other way to rescue Amy’s baby. But what other way could there be?

  He had reached the back of the property and was walking along it watching every shadow. There was still enough light but nothing to see. The land was flat and the few trees were too scrawny for anyone to hide behind, at least anyone who was human.

  But he kept feeling that someone was watching him, and he kept turning around and looking behind, but nobody was there. He listened and heard nothing but an owl hooting forlornly in the distance. He looked up in the sky, wondering if some invisible spirit-traveler was flying around up there watching him. The feeling didn’t go away, and he kept turning around and looking, but the land was empty.

  “Greetings,” somebody said.

  Joe spun around and saw Bill standing just a couple feet away, his face like a white mask in the twilight. In a split second Joe’s knife was in his hand, and Bill backed away from it but didn’t lose his thin smile.

  “I thought we should have a private word together,” he said. “This looks like a good place to do it.”

  “What do you want?” Joe asked.

  “For one thing, I want to prove that you’re not safe back here. If I can sneak up on you, so can demons and assassins. I need your help, and if you get killed you won’t be much help.”

  “We’re not staying in that bunkhouse with your bullies and thugs.”

  “No, I’m offering you my house. I’ve prepared three bedrooms, one for you and Nyx, one for Shane and Amy, and Lucky gets a room of his own, albeit a small one. They all have comfortable beds and you can sleep in as late as you want. In fact, I want you to sleep in late and get as much rest as you can, because I think Godson is going to attack us soon and I want all of you well rested and ready. From now on you’ll train by yourselves, when you like and the way you like. As for meals, you’ll eat with me and Azura in the house—good food, not that mess-hall slop.”

  “What’s this attack I keep hearing about?”

  “Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about it and I’ll tell you my plan. I believe we’ll weather the attack with few or no casualties, but I need the help of your people and especially Amy.”

  “We don’t trust you very much.”

  “I regret the incident and I guarantee you nothing like that will happen again. I don’t hire social workers, I hire killers. They’re mercenaries but they’re also Unseen. They’ve sworn the same oath you swore, which means they must never hurt other Unseens, and for this reason I’ve severely reprimanded the woman who injured Nyx.

  “Tell me, Joe, do you plan to roam around back here all damn night, waiting for demons to pounce on you? Go get your people now and your things and come to the house. Bring all three of your vehicles and park them in the shed.”

  “I’ll talk to the others and see what they say,” Joe said.

  Bill smiled and looked away somewhere past Joe’s shoulder. “Listen to it, do you hear it?” he asked.

  Joe listened and heard nothing but the same owl in the distance.

  “There’s no wind,” Bill said, “but if you listen closely you can hear a sound very much like wind. It’s the sound of battles long over, the war chants of Hopi braves and the cries of ancient warriors who fought here long before them. Their blood has turned to dust and yet their cries linger in the air. History is a river of blood, and nothing will stop it from flowing. People fight over scraps that even dogs would ignore, and if there were no scraps they’d still fight because war is written in their blood.

  “You and I are both warriors, Joe, and though we believe we want peace our blood wants something else. Look over there, Joe. If you look closely you can see the long-dead warriors still fighting their battle, still slaying one another over and over again.”

  Joe turned and looked. The sun was down now, and the shadows of the desert looked like deep graves in the gloom, but he saw no dead warriors fighting.

  When he turned back around, Bill had vanished.

  ***

  Their bedroom wasn’t large, but it seemed less dusty than the rest of the house and the bed was comfortable. Amy gently stroked the hair on Shane’s chest. They had made love for the first time since the kidnapping, and she was savoring the soft afterglow. She ran her hand over his muscular bicep and his shoulder. He had been a star athlete in high school, and he was probably even trimmer and more muscular now than then.

  She loved the lean hard feel of his body and loved too his strong but gentle nature. He was a far better husband than she thought she deserved, and she thought that somewhere deep inside she loved him as much as she loved his body and his gentleness. But for some reason she didn’t allow herself to feel it.

  She thought it was because love made her too vulnerable. She knew it did because of the terrible pain she felt over Emi
ly’s absence. Opening herself up to love Shane would only make her more vulnerable, and after the events at Blackwood the last thing she wanted to be was vulnerable.

  So she did what she usually did with Shane. She stroked his shoulders and chest and murmured in his ear that she loved him, and she told herself that somewhere deep inside it was true, even if she didn’t allow herself to feel it.

  “I love you too,” he said, and she knew he meant it.

  He looked quite handsome in the dim glow of the lamp, his thick dark hair tousled and his lean face still boyish though rough with stubble. She moved her hand down his chest to his belly and then farther down. She loved his penis, loved its taste and the way it felt when it was inside her. It was already getting hard again, though they’d had sex just a few minutes ago. She felt it growing in her hand, and after two years she was still surprised at how big and hard it became.

  “Maybe I should leave you alone,” she said. “Maybe you want to sleep.”

  “Don’t you dare,” he said.

  She straddled him and moaned softly as she placed him inside her. He put his hands gently on her breasts, heavy with milk, and she leaned down to kiss him.

  She heard a quiet sound and turned her head to look. The bedroom door was open, and Azura was standing naked in the doorway watching them.

  “What do you want?” Shane asked.

  “I want what the two of you have,” she said.

  “Well, you’ll have to go somewhere else to find it,” he said.

  Azura stared at them for a few seconds, then turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

  “Maybe she was sort of sleepwalking,” Shane whispered. “Or maybe she’s just crazy.”

  Amy didn’t answer. Still straddling him, she resumed their lovemaking. She was pleased that Shane’s eyes hadn’t lingered even for a moment on Azura, and she was pleased that the tone of his voice had made it clear he belonged to her and her alone. She felt proud that he had no interest in other women.

  Proud but also a bit disappointed, because as she rocked gently up and down, enjoying the hardness of her husband’s body, she was imagining that he had invited Azura into their bed and the three of them were making love together.

  Chapter 16

  Hey Sonny Boy,

  If I don’t hear from you by midnight tonight my pack of evidence is going out tomorrow morning before you haul your wimpy ass out of bed. I’m sick and tired of being ignored, but I’m sure I’ll finally get your attention when the narcs show up at your door. No more Mr. Nice Guy, bozo-boy. If that gold’s not sitting in my front yard by midnight tonight your ass is going to be sitting in a federal pen from here to eternity.

  Sincerely yours,

  Mr. Sam Non, The One True Son of God

  ***

  Azura served them a late breakfast of omelets, sausage links and coffee in the big dusty dining room. She was wearing her blue silk pajamas again, and if she felt any embarrassment about her visit to the bedroom last night, she didn’t show it. This morning she was the perfect hostess, smiling as she poured coffee, asking how they’d slept, worrying that their omelets might be slightly overcooked.

  When Azura left the room, Amy asked Nyx how her arm felt.

  “Pretty good,” she said. “Maybe in a couple more days I can throw knives again.”

  They had finished eating and were enjoying a second cup of coffee when Bill stepped in and said, “Azura tells me all of you slept well. That’s good because I think Godson is planning to attack us very soon. Maybe tonight or maybe tomorrow night he’ll send his demons after us. Come with me and I’ll show you what we need to do.”

  They followed him up to the second story and then up a narrow stairs to the roof. There was a warm dry breeze up here and a good view: Amy could see the mercenaries even though they were probably half a mile away. They were sitting in the shade relaxing with cans of soda or beer.

  “Don’t worry, we can’t be seen by spirit-travelers up here,” Bill said. “I’ve woven a sort of shield around this entire property to block astral bodies. They can’t get in, and they can’t see us or hear us. Because of this, Godson has no idea I’m living here. He knows enemies live here, but he thinks they’re rank amateurs.”

  “How does he know enemies are living here?” Lucky asked.

  “Because I’ve told him.”

  “Why?”

  “So he’ll attack us.”

  Nyx made a sarcastic noise and said, “See? I told you it was stupid to come here.”

  Bill gave her a humorless smile and said, “I want him to attack. It’ll be much easier to kill his goons here than at the church. The steel shutters on our windows will protect us from their bullets, even if we open them an inch or two to shoot the bastards. And up here the concrete parapet offers good protection. We can lie flat on the roof and fire through the gaps with little danger of being hit.

  “So I wish he’d send us all his disciples, and we could kill them all in one fell swoop. But he’s not going to do that. Unfortunately I don’t think he’ll send any gunmen and probably no more than half of his demons.

  “He thinks he’s dealing with a few nitwits led by some damn fool who became disenchanted with one of his church branches and moved out here to set up a rival cult. He thinks that because that’s what I’ve been telling him. I’ve been goading him by sending him blackmail notes under a phony name, threatening to expose his church if he doesn’t pay us off.

  “The only reason he hasn’t attacked us sooner is because he thinks we’re no more than a minor nuisance. But now the new sheriff of Silver Stone has become another minor nuisance, and lately I’ve been cranking up the blackmail threats, so now he’s probably thinking he should eliminate at least one of his headaches.

  “In any event, he believes he’s dealing with idiots, so I don’t think he’ll bother sending any gunmen. Just a hoard of demons that will eat the evidence after they kill the imaginary rival cult members.

  “We should have plenty of warning. Amy, Azura, and I can take turns spirit-traveling every hour or so to watch the church. Some of the land-bound demons can travel pretty fast, but it’ll still take them at least two hours to get here. Godson will wait until nightfall to send them out so they won’t be seen. He’ll send out the slowest ones first and then the faster ones and finally the harpies, so they can all arrive around the same time. He’ll probably have them hide somewhere out there across the road for a while until they’re all present and accounted for and then have them attack all at the same time.

  “We’ll be ready. I’ll want you folks plus Azura and four of my men up here to fight off the harpies. You’ll have to do most of the rooftop fighting because the other four will be busy throwing out these nets to capture the demons as they cluster around the house and try to climb up the outside wall. Everybody else will be down on the ground herding them into nets or else up in the trees around the house to throw out the nets I’ve hidden in the branches.”

  “You intend to capture these things?” Lucky asked. “What are you planning to do, start a demon zoo?”

  “We’ll capture as many as we can and kill the others,” Bill said. “The ones we kill will soon come back to life of course, so they’ll be as good as new.”

  “Good for what?” Lucky asked.

  “Good to use as weapons. I’m going to ensorcel them and make them my own. We’ll use them against Godson’s goons if they attack this house again, and we’ll use them when we eventually storm his compound.”

  They all stared at one another. “This is crazy talk,” Nyx said.

  “What do you think you are, the demon whisperer?” Lucky asked.

  “Something like that.” Bill said. “I’ve had these steel nets coated with lead. Lead makes demons weak.”

  There were several heaps of them at every side of the roof, and Amy and her comrades bent down to examine them. They seemed no stronger than the sort of chain link used in fences.

  “I’ve seen demons bend heavy steel bars
coated with lead,” Lucky said. “They’ll tear through this stuff like tissue paper.”

  “No,” Bill said. “They’ll be cramped by the netting and not able to move freely. It’ll take them several minutes to rip holes in it, and during those minutes I’ll be subduing them. I have spells to make them sleepy and compliant.”

  “Crazy talk, crazy talk,” Nyx said.

  “Then why didn’t you teach Neoma how to make them sleepy and compliant?” Amy asked. “There were times it would have come in pretty handy.”

  Bill smiled. “There’s more to a spell than learning the words. I can tell you how to play a violin, but that doesn’t mean you’ll sound like Itzhak Perlman. There are many spells Neoma was unable to master. Follow me.”

  They followed him downstairs and outside to the barn. It was a good-sized horse barn lined with stalls.

  “I’ll keep the demons in here,” Bill said.

  The stalls were made of heavy oak planks, but they were intended to restrain horses, not immensely powerful creatures from hell.

  “They’re going to break this wood into splinters,” Lucky said.

  “No they won’t. Godson houses a great number of them in dormitories. How’s that possible? Because they’re under his control, that’s how. As I said, I intend to ensorcel them, and then they’ll be under my control.”

  “Yeah, and what if you lose control?” Shane asked.

  Bill gave him a thin nasty smile and said, “Then I expect they’ll run amuck and eat all of you for breakfast. So it behooves you to make sure no harm comes to me.”

  “Fuck this shit,” Nyx said.

  “If you want demons, why don’t you just conjure some up yourself?” Lucky asked. “Don’t you know how?”

  “Of course I know how, but there’s a terrible price to pay. We’re talking about minor demons, herky-jerkies and jabber-suckers and the like. How does a magus get them? He summons a major demon to serve him, and the major demon gives him the minor ones as gifts. And how does a magus summon a major demon? Well, among other things he offers a human sacrifice.”

  “Yes, I see the problem,” Lucky said.