Raging Inferno (Delphine Rising Book 1), page 8
“Well, I can say one good thing came from it. I think I know how to help lost souls move on now. At least it seemed so in the dream—we’ll just call it a dream for now. They came to my rescue and tried to fight the demon while I was paralyzed.”
I continued on with the whole sordid dream, waiting until the end to tell her about the demon’s final words. I knew she’d be livid and out for blood once it got out and I was right…
“What do you mean, ‘belong to the darkness’? I think not! He must have you confused with someone else.” Liz stood and started pacing in front of my bed.
“He thinks his magic is more dangerous than Delphine’s? Hmph. Here we thought they’d made some sort of deal—they could have, but I agree. None of it makes sense at all. There’s nothing dark about you, Abby.”
If she only knew… I had allowed darkness to consume me for quite a while, but I doubted that was what the demon from hell was talking about.
“I feel like we’re back at square one again. Just when we think we have a lead, something strange happens. It appears you’re on more than one bad guy’s hit list. No offense, Sis,” Liz said, plopping back down on the bed again. “We need to tell Mamma.”
“No, not right now. I’d rather wait until we have both her and Genevieve together. Genevieve seems to know a few things about this demon. She and Mom can help us research his origin and the whole ‘darkness’ thing. I swear, I’d better not have been sold to the devil himself,” I said, laughing and trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work. Liz was all business—complete serious-mode and didn’t even crack a smile. “That was a bust. You were supposed to laugh.”
“This is serious, Abby, and not a laughing matter. You need to call Danny, by the way. He’s got his undies in a twist, worried to death the demon syphoned away all of your powers and part of your soul,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Nah, I’ll let you handle that one. I don’t want to talk about it right now, not until we know more. Look, fire ball,” I said smiling, conjuring my fire magic to prove my powers were still intact.
Liz straightened on the bed and looked at me pointedly. It seemed I was about to get a stern talking to. “Abby, he’s your man, you talk to him. It’s not my place to assuage his fears, and if I remember correctly, you two were hot and heavy only a few hours ago. Big girl panties—find ’em. I’m not your secretary.” She got up and left the room.
Well, that could’ve gone better, but Liz was right. I needed to take things a bit more seriously and call Danny myself, I just didn’t want to deal with his overreacting drama. Yes, we were sort of a thing again, but he could still be exasperating with his overprotective ways. The visions were one of them. I so didn’t want to make that call or find my big girl panties. I wanted to wallow in my bed and analyze everything to death as I usually did. I had just lost two of my very dear friends, and a hollow-eyed, creepy demon tried to eat my soul or kill me. I just wanted one day. Was that too much to ask? Apparently in the witchy world, it was. We had too many pokers in the fire to even think about taking a mental health break.
One phone call and forty-five minutes later, Danny was finally calm enough to let me get off the phone. He’d insisted on coming over to check me out himself and I had to tell him no at least three times. It wasn’t until I told him I could still conjure fireballs at will and move things with my mind that he finally relented. To be honest, he just wanted to see me in the flesh to make sure I was physically okay.
On the one hand, I was happy to have Danny back in my life, but on the other, it was going to be a huge adjustment allowing him to know everything that went on in my day-to-day life. We’d have to find a middle ground somewhere; otherwise his overprotective nature would get irritating fast and I’d run for the hills again. I didn’t do clingy unless I needed it. Crappy? Yes. But it was just the way things had to be until I was fully ready to commit again and I wasn’t exactly sure how long that might take.
Sis and I had been handling ourselves just fine for the past two years. Okay, the Delphine situation called for a lot more manpower and witchy intelligence, but still… I needed my space sometimes. Oh, my stupid hormone-infused brain was going to be the death of me, because my body always betrayed me when he was around before. I’d definitely have to deal with that tomorrow… God help me.
No sooner had I’d hung up the phone, than Liz knocked on the door and entered my room asking if I minded getting ready for our recon mission tonight. I still had every intention of going regardless of what some crazed demon had to say; “darkness” be damned. Not that I believed a word that he said, but I was a bit curious as to what he was talking about. I wondered if it was a deal he made with Delphine, but that didn’t make sense either. She wanted my magic. It was making my brain hurt thinking of all the possibilities, so I opted to jump in the shower instead.
When I turned on the steaming shower, I couldn’t scrub away the filth from my dream fast enough. Images of the demon’s ugly face were etched into my brain, playing on a loop as he held me by my throat. I scrubbed until my olive skin turned bright red. After noticing I’d left a few blood marks on my right arm, I decided I was clean enough. I hadn’t intended to harm myself in the process, but I wasn’t thinking, only scrubbing.
I cleared the mirror of steam and took an alarming step back. There were faint bruises around my neck in the shape of fingerprints. What in the actual hell? That demon’s hands had actually touched me—he’d really entered my dream. Holy shit! That was not okay. I was not okay. First Delphine, now a soul-sucking demon? I had no idea how it was even possible. I realized I needed Danny’s expertise more than I wanted to let on and it pissed me off even further. I wanted my mom, but I needed to wait until Genevieve arrived tomorrow. Suck Town was an understatement if I’d ever heard one, more like up shit creek without a paddle and I was drowning.
I called out for Liz after I had gotten dressed, asking her to take a look at my neck. The look of shock registering on her face was no surprise; it matched mine from earlier. She didn’t know what to say except, “Well, shit. What do we do now?”
“Don’t know. Let’s focus on what we do know —recon,” I said firmly, nodding my head toward the door. I wanted to slip out before Mom knew we were gone and I definitely didn’t want to think about that dream.
“We’re taking my vehicle this time,” I said.
Liz looked at me like I’d kicked her puppy. I wanted to drive to clear my head, but apparently she had the same idea in mind. I liked driving my new GMC Acadia, thank you very much. It was roomy and I liked big trucks as well. I wasn’t a sports car kinda girl, but whatever.
“Fine, you drive. Don’t whine, but we’re stopping at the coffee shop on the way. Not a peep from you, missy,” I said, wagging my finger with a slight grin as we walked down the stairs toward the foyer.
“Sure, whatever you say. I just like driving and you drive like an old lady. We’d be doing recon all night if you drove,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
I mock-scowled at her as we reached the front door. There was no use in arguing with her anyway. I didn’t really care anymore. I was getting a large coffee with cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate. I was a happy camper.
After we stopped at my favorite coffee café, we decided to check out the magic shop first. I was a bit apprehensive, especially after my dream and the bruises left on my neck as a result.
“Sis, should we call Danny for backup?” I asked, trying to hide the fear in my voice. “I know I was against it earlier, but that was before I saw, well…just look at my neck. What if the demon or that weird shadow guy shows up again?”
I didn’t want Liz to know how much that dream or whatever it was truly affected me. I was supposed to be the strong one. I couldn’t break down.
“If you want to, I don’t have a problem with it. There’s always strength in numbers, especially if we run into trouble. Go ahead and give him a call and tell him to meet us there. I bet he beats us to the shop, waiting with his arms wide open, ready for a wet, sloppy kiss,” she teased.
Leave it to Liz to make me laugh and direct me away from dark thoughts. She always said Danny was the Yin to my Yang, but I knew she was wrong. If there was such a thing, Liz was definitely mine…and I thought of Danielle again—my twin soul.
“Just shut up and drive, you loon,” I said smiling back at her, then made the call to Danny. Just as Liz had predicted, he was more than ready to meet us and said he’d be there in ten. We were still fifteen minutes out. I shook my head and laughed again. For someone who said I drove like an old lady, Liz was taking her sweet time.
We pulled up to Mystical Magic to see Danny waiting by the door. No, his arms weren’t wide open, thank you. He was smiling, though, kind of like the cat who had caught the canary. Hello? We were supposed to be on a recon mission and everyone had a smile on their face, except me. Maybe I needed to lighten up a bit.
Remove stick from thy arse—check. Dial back the fear a bit—I’d try.
“Hey Liz. Abby,” Danny greeted us, then walked toward me and kissed me full on the mouth right in front of my sister.
I was so caught off guard, I just stood there like a fumbling idiot. I quickly pulled away and said, “Well, hello to you too,” as Liz laughed hysterically, unlocking the shop doors.
“Come on, you two. I don’t want to be out all night. You guys can make out, maybe when I’m not around? We have work to do, move it or lose it,” Liz said and motioned her hands toward the door in a shooing motion.
I just hung my head and shuffled toward the door, rethinking my decision about calling Danny for backup. If he was going to kiss me like that the entire night, I’d have to fight him off instead of the bad guys. Wait, wasn’t I the older sister? So embarrassing. Liz needed a boyfriend.
Danny followed me inside, equally embarrassed, as he should’ve been. We decided to test Mom’s wards to see if anyone with evil intent had tried to breach the protection spell. We started downstairs, leaving the attic for last. I wasn’t looking forward to going up there again, but at least I had backup.
Liz and I performed a recreation spell to check the wards. Basically we could see anyone who had come and gone since our absence. Who needed to pay for a surveillance system when you had magic?
Thankfully, Mom had brought the Book of Shadows down from the Attic earlier and the spell was easy to find. As we looked through the witch’s mirror, nothing out of the ordinary showed up until just before seven p.m.
My heart leapt in my throat and I gasped loudly, barely able to contain a shudder—it was the shadow man from my dream or at least it looked like him, but how?
“Liz, that man in the long black coat, he looks like the shadow man from my dream, but I don’t know because I only saw his profile,” I said, my voice vibrating.
“Are you sure, Abby? He’s didn’t set off the protection spell. If he was evil, then this thing would go haywire. The guy literally just walked past the shop and didn’t glance back,” Liz said, trying to reassure me.
“Maybe it’s just my eyes playing tricks on me or he’s just some guy who looks like him, but I have a strange feeling about it. That man just happened to be passing by around the same time I was in the middle of my demon-stalked nightmare, the same man or witch who held me down with magic and allowed the demon to attack me. I don’t know, Sis. It’s smells rotten to me, but other than this spell, we have no proof.” I tried not to think about the ramifications of an evil shadow man stalking me as well.
Danny chimed in. “What if he didn’t set off the protection spell because he never attempted to enter the shop? It would make sense if he’s really the man you saw in your dream, Abby.”
“True, but the way Mom set up the spell, it would show us anyone who wished us harm before they entered the shop,” Liz said. “I think we need to talk to her, Abby. The Book of Shadows suggests the same in the recreation spell.”
I shrugged. “Either way, we have nothing to go on at this point but a face to look out for. We can ask Mom about it later. Let’s head up to the attic and make sure the protection spell is still intact.”
As we ascended the steps, I heard a slight creaking noise, like someone walking across the floor. My heart sank in my chest as I held my breath for what might await us in the attic. I needed to get it together. I concentrated on my magic, balanced a fireball in my hand, and continued climbing the stairs.
“Abby, why are you about to shoot a fireball? Where’s the bad guy?” Liz asked.
“Don’t you hear the creaks and light footsteps? I’m not taking any chances,” I whispered.
Danny was behind me and stopped when he heard me say “footsteps.” “I hear it too. Get behind me just in case it’s the demon again.”
Liz and I waited for him to pass before we stepped to the second landing. I wasn’t about to argue at that point. I definitely didn’t want to see that damned demon for a second time tonight unless he was on his way back to hell.
When we finally walked into the attic and clicked on the light, there was no one there. I know what I heard and Danny heard it too. I knew I wasn’t crazy. Well, not crazy in that sense. I looked around, searching every corner, with Liz on my heels, while Danny scanned the area with magic. Apparently, the protective spell had been breached, but the recreation spell didn’t reach the attic. What a good lot that did us.
“This is stupid, I clearly heard footsteps. If there’s a ghost lingering around up here, go ahead and show yourself. No need to be shy. I see you guys all the time anyway. Come on out,” I shouted, getting more irritated by the second.
Nothing.
Liz and Danny just stood there watching me with interest, or it could’ve been to see how far I’d go in my lunacy. Who knew? I was so over the shit storm my life had become and I refused to be scared another minute. I was more than ready to move these souls on. Although, I was sure God didn’t appreciate my potty mouth. I really needed to work on that…later.
“Last call for the Pearly Gates; otherwise I’ll just leave you to wander around aimlessly. This train is departing soon. You’ve got two minutes to show yourself or I’m outa here,” I said as I walked the length of the attic.
Still nothing.
“Uh, Abby.” Danny cut me off as I was about to start yelling at what I thought might be ghosts in hiding again. “I don’t think anyone’s here. I don’t feel their energy or anything for that matter. I’m pretty sure it’s a dead end.”
“Fine. We both heard footsteps, though. They had to come from somewhere; ghosts are the only rational explanation. Nothing else has been tampered with. We’ve checked every nook and cranny of this attic and nothing’s out of place,” I huffed and folded my arms across my chest.
“You’re right, but do you feel their energy like you normally do? I feel nothing. Liz?” Danny asked.
“Don’t look at me,” Liz said. “I didn’t even know Abby saw spirits until earlier. I have no idea.”
“No. Not really… I’m just frustrated because I have no idea what else it could’ve been. Mice?” I asked jokingly.
Liz rolled her eyes and Danny suggested we go back downstairs; there was nothing left to do in the attic. The spell had been breached, but we had no idea who tried to get in, unless it was ghosts who refused to show themselves. I was still going with unsettled spirits. Then again, a ghost couldn’t breach the wards, but they sure as heck could walk across the floor.
Shadow man? He was exceedingly powerful and it was possible he poofed into the attic somehow. That was something to ponder on. I needed to find out who that mystery man was and fast. He seemed to have it out for me and he worked for that soul-sucker from hell. Oh how I wanted to kick both of their asses back to the fiery pits of the underworld.
“You ready to go, Sis?” Liz asked, catching me deep in thought.
“Uh, yeah. There’s nothing here. Let’s head over to Dauphine Street and see what we can come up with. I hope there’s no more vamp activity and Genevieve was able to move the coven out today.”
“Danny, are you coming with us or following behind?” Liz asked.
“I could drive us all—”
I cut him off. “Don’t even think about it, Danny. There’s no way Liz will ride with anyone, so I guess you’re following unless you want to ride in the back of the ’stang”
“No, thanks. I’d rather be comfortable, with legroom. I’m good. I’ll see you ladies there. Meet outside May Bailey’s place. It has the best parking,” he said.
Chapter 9
We arrived at May Bailey’s Place just after nine p.m. and the place was unusually packed for a Thursday night, but as we were driving I noticed a dark aura surrounding secluded parts of Dauphine Street, including Dauphine Orleans Hotel.
“Liz, have you looked around? Did you see the black aura around this place?” I asked, stepping out of the car.
“Yeah, unfortunately, it’s everywhere. This can’t be good,” Liz agreed when Danny walked up.
“Did you see—”
“Yes, Danny. We saw the aura,” Liz and I said in unison.
“We need to walk around the hotel first before we do anything. That’s where most of the activity has been. Just keep your guard up,” Danny said.
For some reason, Danny had taken on the leadership role of our little team without consulting us and it didn’t sit well with me. We’d been hunting rogue vampires without him long before we invited him back into the mix. Before I could call him out on it, my cell phone rang.
It was Genevieve. Another one of her hybrids had been infected with dark magic while she was trying to relocate the coven. She had staked him, but he was still alive and she needed Liz and me to take care of him. She asked that we meet her just inside the eastern alcove access tunnel.
