The Devil's Daughter Complete Box Set, page 69
part #1 of The Devil's Daughter Series
“What about the squads the guy downstairs talked about?” Jennifer asked.
“If they’re too scared to return to the actions of their reals, they’ll start desiccating.”
A cold shiver went up Sere’s spine and across her arm, causing Jennifer to shake uncontrollably. “So that’s how harvesters are created?”
“Yep. As we became more self-aware, a desire grew to strike out on our own. For every harvester my army decapitates, there are five doppelgängers who think they can cheat curfew.”
“So like the harvesters, there are electricians you can hire?” Sere asked, hoping to change the conversation. Jennifer already had enough hellish information for her growing nightmare.
“Hell-based technicians would be a better term,” Doodlebug said. “The original power plants were flooded early on in the storm, but the power that creates the doppelgängers can be tapped into by anyone who knows what they’re doing.”
Jennifer got off the bed like she was ready to leave. “I think I’ve had enough of my tour of hell.”
While on the prowl, Sere could distract herself from her injuries, but now that she was safely in the hotel room, the wound needed to be addressed. “We have to deal with this one step at a time. I can’t do much good with this bullet in me. We’ll need to get to the professor’s lab so we can call in. Once he knows where I am and that Jennifer is with me, he can project his cache of information on her to reconstruct my body. The repair is going to take some time, however, as her soul is in hell.”
Doodlebug continued to stand at the hole in the wall like a centurion keeping watch. “Those offices are clear across the French Quarter. We could work around the area—though with all the storm damage, it would take a lot longer. I’d offer to dig the slug out of you myself, but Dooly Buell never was much of a biology student.”
“Don’t look at me,” Jennifer said. “I can bandage a skinned knee, but that’s about it.”
Sere squeezed the woman’s hand. “You’re only barely in this reality as it is. If I lost consciousness, we’d both be screwed.”
Doodlebug turned from her post and started ripping the sheets off the bed. She then tore them into strips. “Sounds like you’ll have to travel injured. At the very least, we can clean you up and stop the bleeding. I’ve also got some more hell-appropriate attire.”
Sere held Jennifer’s hand as Doodlebug loosened the corset’s cord. She had a wad of torn sheets in her free hand to plunge into the bullet hole once she was free of the dress.
“Well, that would explain why you haven’t bled out,” Doodlebug said as she peeled the once semi-glamorous gown off Sere. “The metal stays must have slowed down the bullet. I can see it embedded in your flesh.” The girl’s grimy finger prodded the hole in Sere’s side. “I can almost reach it, but once it’s removed, you’ll probably start gushing blood.”
Blood loss was not an option—Sere needed all the strength she could muster if they were to sneak across the Quarter. “Until we’re at the professor’s lab and he can conduct my healing, there isn’t much point in digging out the slug.” She held the cotton fabric to her side. “Just wrap me up.”
Doodlebug circled the long strip of cloth around Sere until it looked like she was wearing a mummy-inspired tank top. “That should work for your upper half. I’ve got baggy jeans or army fatigues.” She passed her hand through Jennifer. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything fit for a ghost.”
The housewife pulled the belt of her bathrobe tightly around her midsection. “We all have our superhero costumes. Mine just makes me look like a mom.”
Sere snagged the jeans from the chair. “I may not know much about motherhood, but I know a heroine when I see one. Help me get into these, and we’ll work on getting you home.”
While Jennifer helped getting Sere ready for battle, Doodlebug pulled out her arsenal of weapons. “Grab whatever you fancy.” She stashed two sickles at her sides in her belt and the old flintlock pistol against her back. She then picked up two daggers for good measure.
Sere grinned at how similar she looked to Bart when going into battle. “I see you believe in being prepared.” She picked up the katana that she’d used while training under Joe. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d crossed blades with her mentor. Though the doppelgänger who’d killed him was standing right in front of her, being in hell again reminded Sere of how much Doodlebug had to endure to survive.
The demon warrior aimed one of her knives toward the window. “Harvesters aren’t subtle. Have a look out the window.”
Sere pulled Jennifer along at a distance like a kite. Down on the streets, across Canal’s neutral zone, black cloaks rode the wind like rags tossed from an invisible Mardi Gras float of the damned.
“Are there always so many?” Jennifer asked.
“Nope.” Doodlebug tied her hair back as if preparing for battle. “Half of the harvesters from the Quarter must be out there. And the longer we sit here gabbing like old ladies, the more will gather.”
Sere headed for the door with Jennifer still in tow. “Let’s do this thing.”
62
Chapter 14
Once out on the street, instead of heading for the gauntlet of wraiths, Doodlebug led the contingent deeper into the Central Business District. “As soon as we’re out of sight of the harvesters, we’ll cut down toward the river. There are doppel gutter punks along Decatur that owe me favors, though I’m not sure how much good a bunch of street urchins will be against an army of hellions.”
“Why are the harvesters singling us out?” Jennifer whispered to Sere as they splashed through the shin-deep water.
Sere could imagine any number of reasons, none of which gave her any comfort. “I’d guess stalking the usual victims like a bar sleaze hitting on the same women every night becomes a little dreary.”
“They don’t seem like the kind of demons to worry about getting no as an answer,” Jennifer said.
As they spotted the garishly out-of-place casino at the end of the street—and the towering World Trade Center behind it, discharging lightning bolts into the storm—Doodlebug motioned for Sere and Jennifer to keep quiet and stick close. “This is it. Hopefully, the harvesters will still be spread out along Canal Street. Until they spot us, they’ll be running a zone defense. Once we cross the neutral zone, however, they’ll be coming at us in force. Jennifer, remember, you cannot be hurt. Only Sere can feel you. Use your body weight to her advantage, but don’t second-guess her instructions.” The warrior stared into Sere’s eyes. “The last thing you need is for me to tell you how to fight. The harvesters are pure demon. They have no connection to whatever reals originally gave them substance. Use that to your advantage. Don’t attempt to reason with them. Don’t ask them questions. Kill them like you would a cockroach scurrying across the bathroom floor at midnight.”
Jennifer leaned in close to Sere’s ear. “I don’t even want to know what one of those insects would look like in hell.”
“You know where we’re going,” Doodlebug continued. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll run what interference I can. Take the most direct route to the professor’s lab and don’t look back. Also, don’t trust anyone who looks like their outfit cost more than a week’s worth of groceries. The doppelgängers of the rich love perusing the streets in search of targets for the harvesters. Picking body parts off the shelf is fine for the common doppelgänger, but commissioning hits has become a popular trend of the rich and powerful.”
“You sound like you’ve made this run before,” Jennifer said.
“Remember how I mentioned doppelgängers have found ways to make a living in this underworld economy? With Sere’s training of both me and Dooly, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to guess why others seek me out.” She aimed her dagger at the streetlight. “I’ll take the far side of Decatur. When I’m a block ahead—which should be just as you lose sight of me—take off running. Depending on how the harvesters react, I’ll either zigzag between Decatur and Chartres or make a beeline toward the lower Quarter. Again, don’t worry about me. If you get in real trouble, head for the river. With their bony limbs and large capes, harvesters can’t swim worth a damn.”
Sere held tight to Jennifer’s hand as Doodlebug sprinted across the streetcar tracks. “Whatever happens, don’t let go.”
Crossing Canal and splashing through the first block of Decatur proved wet but not dangerous. Sere kept Jennifer to the shadowy doorways as the capes that rode on the wind sailed by in pursuit of the Doppel Avenger a block ahead. At an outdoor café that was more tumbled chairs and blowing menus than eatery, Jennifer got tangled in the chrome legs of a table.
“You’re not physical,” Sere yelled. “Stop thinking of yourself as being a part of this dimension. There must be some video game or something that Bobby plays with that you could relate to.”
Instead of pulling at the outdoor furniture, Jennifer swung her legs through the Formica top like the Hulk breaking through a brick wall. “Won’t happen again.”
Sere pulled her against the twelve-foot-tall window of a bar entrance under a balcony. “This is where it gets interesting. I know being a cheerleader feels like a lifetime ago, and I guess it was—Bobby’s lifetime—but you’ve got muscle memory going for you and no physical form to contend with. Here’s what we’re going to do. We run full speed at those shops and grab wrists, then you plant your feet and toss me up to the wrought-iron balcony like a shot put. Since you don’t really have any mass, so long as we keep hold of each other, you should follow along without a problem. That will at least get us out of this damn street river.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Sere looked down at the woman’s fuzzy slippers that seemed to be waving in the deep water. “The important thing is to build up enough momentum.”
Jennifer pulled Sere back behind the window’s projection and surveyed the street ahead. “We can hop along the stair entrances. That will get us a little higher. Then if we use one of the city’s solid garbage cans as our launch platform, we’ll be free of the water and won’t be slowed down at the last moment.”
With Joe’s combat training and her personal gymnastic education, Sere knew she could make the move on her own. But if Jennifer had any lingering sense of solidity, the two of them together might teeter into a gutter at the final moment. Working alone for so long made it difficult for Sere to anticipate another’s moves.
“I’ve always worked solo, and you were a part of a squad, so you lead,” Sere said, hoping that giving Jennifer control would empower the woman to do what was needed for the team and not get caught up in her self-image.
Jennifer nodded once and took off at a sprint. The woman’s padded slippers worked like a long-legged duck’s webbed feet, paddling more than running through the water. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.”
Sere hadn’t felt like a plodding amateur in years, but as her dress shoes crashed through the water instead of slipping through it like Jennifer’s, she hoped she’d be able to keep up. Within the swirling water, the dark forms of fish and snakes threatened to make Sere lose her footing. “Just let me know when you’re ready to launch.”
“Prepare for the jump.” The housewife in hell leapt onto the anchored garbage can, crouched low, and extended both hands.
Sere grabbed the woman’s wrists and sprang off the step like a frog hopping off a lily pad. Jennifer extended her legs to increase the pair’s momentum then swung around. Just before Sere’s toes pointed at the second-floor balcony, Jennifer bent her legs back over the garbage can and gave a final launch to project them skyward. Sere arched her back and sailed feetfirst over the balcony railing like a high jumper over a bar, but instead of hitting the ground running, she performed a double-body vault to get them clear across the relatively small porch.
Jennifer’s feet landed on the next handrail. “Two can play at that game.” She hunched low then launched them well into the next gallery like a Slinky bouncing from stair to stair.
On landing, Sere pulled Jennifer down to the slatted wooden floor. A dark figure fluttered overhead. Sere pulled the katana from her belt and stabbed at the sky. A rapid beating of wings took the wraith cormorant clear of the strike.
“Fucking fish eater.”
“I thought you liked animals,” Jennifer said as they got to their feet.
“Swamp creatures, yes, but river birds have always freaked me out—and cormorants give me nightmares.”
Together, they jumped to the next balcony and resumed their sprint. Below them and less than a building ahead, the dark capes of harvesters fluttered on the wind like broken umbrellas in a storm.
Jennifer pointed at the melee. “I know what she said, but it looks like Doodlebug could use some help.”
Sere kept at her freight-train run as they plowed through the outdoor tables and chairs of an upscale restaurant’s balcony. “We obey her wishes. If we can get far enough ahead of her, we just might lose the bastards.”
At the end of the next gallery, however, they could either turn away from their destination or land back in the street. The intersection was teaming with harvesters. From the clash of weapons, Doodlebug didn’t appear to be alone.
“Guess we don’t have a choice,” Jennifer said.
Sere held her sword high and jumped with Jennifer as far from the building as their legs could thrust. They sailed clear of the carnage and landed behind a boy beating back the harvesters with a four-foot length of rebar. “Keep running. We’ve got your back. You should be clear to Jackson Square, but keep a watch out for the horse-drawn carriages. Those mules do the harvesters’ bidding.” He charged past her with a length of iron rebar to deflect a downward-slicing sickle.
“We’re out of here,” Sere yelled as she pulled hard at Jennifer’s arm. They raced across the busy intersection. A solid black sedan speeding down Decatur sent a wave of water against Sere’s legs, nearly knocking her down, while a tour bus drove straight at her and Jennifer.
“Down.” She pulled Jennifer face-first into the swirly pool of water, alcohol, and demon guts. The bus plowed over them. With a resounding crash that shook the street, the battering ram of a vehicle came to a stop. Sere pulled Jennifer free of the bus’s undercarriage and under the doorway of a curio shop.
“What brilliant move do you have planned for us now?” Jennifer asked while panting and covered in gore.
“Run.” A dozen harvesters exited the crashed bus like a group of tourists seeking out the nearest bar. Sere had to trust Jennifer to navigate the crumbling sidewalk while she ran sideways, swinging her sword at the mass of black capes behind them. Skulls covered in stretched leathery skin with black-dagger teeth snarled and lunged from the cowls. With a firm backhanded swing, Sere severed the head off the closest ghoul. “We need to get off the street before these assholes attract their friends.”
Halfway down the block from Decatur, Jennifer pointed to an abandoned building. “What about that construction site up ahead?”
The ancient brick structure—which, according to the placards, was destined to be another hotel—looked deserted. “It’s worth a shot. Can’t be much worse than out here,” Sere said. At the gaping hole where the hotel’s grand entrance would be, they ducked under the supporting wood beams. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s working today. The contractor must be using day laborers. They wouldn’t hang around New Orleans long enough to have doppelgängers.”
The constrained opening limited how many harvesters Sere had to fight off. By thrusting her blade into the bony bodies and swinging it through the wraiths’ capes, she caused arms and heads to start flying through the air. The dark mass of overlapping fabric blew away from the opening, allowing the driving rain to return.
“They must have figured there are easier targets,” Sere said.
Jennifer turned toward the building’s interior. “This place is only slightly less creepy than outside.” She had a point. Birds had a nasty habit of nesting in abandoned buildings.
Sere ran along the piles of lumber and sheetrock to stay clear of the water. Everything about the building had been demolished down to the original brick walls. “Good thing ghosts aren’t as big a deal in hell as everyone thinks.”
At the back door, they ran out into a walled-in brick courtyard. “Damn it!” Jennifer said. “Now what do we do?”
Sere pulled Jennifer in front of her and stared into her eyes. “I can climb these walls. I’ve done it plenty of times behind the Scratchy Dog, but I can’t do it with you weighing a hundred pounds. Imagine you’re a balloon animal floating above my head.”
Jennifer’s wide-eyed look made it clear she thought Sere was crazy. Even so, she took a deep breath as if inflating her balloon body. As she lifted clear of the water, she started to flail her arms and legs. “This is so freaky.”
Sere pulled her along to the cast-iron drain spout. “We’ll be out of here before you know it.” Climbing while clutching the inflated hand was a little more awkward than she was used to, but Sere had trained for all manner of inconveniences. At the top of the wall, she stood on the crumbling bricks and ran for a window in the next building. “Hopefully, no one’s home.”
“Doodlebug made it sound like these places were filled like tenement housing.” Jennifer floated along next to Sere like a cartoon character.
“So long as they’re service workers and not rich people playing at being normal, we should be okay.” She grabbed the bottom of the painted double-hung window and heaved it open then pushed Jennifer through like she was delivering a balloon bouquet. When Sere crawled through the window and stepped onto the woven rug, she noticed that Jennifer was once again standing on the floor like a regular person.
