Chapter Nine
When I step into the hallway. I find Sherbet leaning over a desk, aggressively thumbing through paperwork.
He glances up as I approach. “Where’d you run off to?”
“Teleport off to,” I correct him. “Marlene, Jamie’s mom, really thought he did it since he confessed.
She didn’t know the real killer was Trent, her boyfriend.
He came home later that night acting sketchy, and suddenly interested in doing loads of laundry with lots of bleach.
In Jamie’s memory is Trent’s confession: he raped and murdered Kayla, then threatened to kill Jamie’s mother next. So Jamie took the fall to protect her.”
Sherbet exhales slowly, a mix of anger and sorrow crossing his face. “So the kid took the fall.”
“He did.”
Sherbet nods grimly, reaches for his phone. “Time to bring this asshole in before he gets to her. Then get her in for a statement.”
I nod. “One other thing, boss.”
“What’s that, Sammy?”
“He’s a practitioner of the dark arts.”
“Like Voldemort?”
“Um, yeah. Just like He Who Shall Not Be Named.”
“Oops, I named him.”
“You did,” I say.
“Is that a bad thing.”
“Voldemort isn’t real, Detective.”
“Not in our world, but didn’t you once say that J.K. Rowling is real, and that there’s a parallel world out there where Harry Potter is running round, waving his wand and chasing that little golden ball on broomsticks?”
“Yes,” I say. “I’m nearly certain she’s a creator.”
“Is there a chance that He’s Who’s Name Shall Not Be Spoken Aloud heard me?”
“I guess there’s a chance. But you got me to protect you, Detective. I ain’t afraid of you know who.”
“Okay, whew! Okay, let e make the call and round up this asshole Trent. Any idea where he is?”
“He’ll be coming home soon from work.”
“We’ll be waiting... discreetly.”
“Good. Want me to go fetch Marlene? Make sure she’s safe?”
“Will she magically appear in the visitor bathroom?”
“She will, yes.”
“With her memory scrubbed of how she got there?”
“Scrubbed clean.”
“Yeah, go get her. Don’t let this jerkoff hurt her. If he’s a practitioner of this voodoo shit, he might already know she ratted him out.”
“Not sure if it’s voodoo, but yeah, he might be psychically connected to her.”
And just like that I’m gone, leaving the detective no doubt stumbling over his words.
I land in Marlene’s living room. I hear the zipper before I see her in the bedroom, folding clothes with shaking hands, a half-packed suitcase open on the bed.
She looks up when I step into the doorway, eyes wide but already knowing.
“He’s coming,” she says. “I can feel him. He knows you’re here, too. Please be careful.”
“I can take care of myself,” I say gently. “And take care of you, too. I’m not what I seem.”
Outside, a car door slams. Not a car. A truck. Heavy. Purposeful. Boots hit the cement walkway, fast and angry. The front door is yanked open hard enough to rattle the walls. The air shimmers with angry energy. Yep, there’s a legit killer among us.
I feel the faint tug of something reaching out, searching.
A thread stretches through the house like an octopus’s curious tentacle.
Trent knows Marlene told someone. The turgid thread hits me and bounces off, like a spray of water hitting an outdoor statue.
The tentacle bounces off me and hits Marlene, who gasps and whimpers.
She takes a tentative step toward the bedroom door; he’s drawing her to him.
I step between them and sever the connection. Marlene gasps and stumbles back.
“You don’t have to listen to him anymore,” I say.
“He’s going to do bad things to me.”
“I’ll protect you.”
She looks at me, lower lip quivering. “But how? He’s like a demon.”
“I’ve killed demons before.”
Footsteps pound down the hallway. Soon, Trent fills the doorway: broad shoulders, flushed face, the kind of man who’s used to rooms quieting when he enters them. I recognize him from both Jamie’s and Marlene’s memory. His eyes go straight to her first, then flick to me... and narrow.
“Who the hell are you?” he says.
“Your worst nightmare.”
He laughs at that. Truth is, I almost do, too. Didn’t mean for it to sound so corny. Sounded cooler in my head.
“Get out of here, lady, before you get hurt. This ain’t no business of yours.”
As he speaks those words, I feel a blast of energy come over me. He’s trying to get in my head. He’s trying to make me follow his command. His eyebrows quiver with the effort, then raise curiously.
“Why is your mind blocked?” he asks me.
“Gee, what a strange thing to say,” I say, and walk over to him. Just as he takes a step back, I sock him in the kisser, launching him up on his toes. His head snaps back as Marlene gasps behind and begins muttering the Lord’s Prayer.
“That’s for what you did to Kayla,” I say, and as he rocks forward, I drive a punch into his bread basket. Air explodes from his lungs as he doubles over. I let him fall forward onto the floor, where he curls up into the fetal position, gasping for air.
Finally, he rolls over on his back, gasping for air. His bovine eyes roll towards me and, amazingly, I hear his words again, this time spoken as if on an unfelt breeze:
Leave. Forget. Obey.
I step on his open hand and really grind my foot down. “You can stop with your little commands, asshole. They won’t work on me, and I think you know why.”
“You’re... you’re...”
I smile down at him. “Yes, I am. And you’re lucky I don’t drop you in the middle of the ocean... or in front of a semi-truck.”
Something ugly flashes across his face. And yes, it does look demonic.
Hmm, maybe he’s straight-up possessed. Could be the source of his mental powers.
Then again, he didn’t strike me as very strong physically.
Possession generally gives enhanced strength.
Then again, I had sucker punched him. I didn’t really give him a chance to fight back, nor did I intend to. It wouldn’t end well for him.
He laughs, short and sharp. “She belongs to me, vampire. I’ll kill you and her, and her fucking rat-bastard kid.”
“You know, you’re kind of a dick,” I say, and step down on his hand a little harder. He yelps and tries to pull it free. He’s unsuccessful in this endeavor.
When I hear sirens in the distance now, faint but coming closer, I take Marlene’s hand and summon the single flame.
Shortly, we appear in a stall in the visitor’s bathroom.
Marlene screams and screams, until I put my hand over her mouth and command her to calm down.
I implant the memory of us driving here together.
When she’s totally calm, we step out of the stall, out of the bathroom, and into the police station.
I lead her into Sherbet’s now-empty office. No doubt he’s part of the contingent there to pick up Trent. I show Marlene to one of Sherbet’s guest chairs and command her to wait there. She nods. Her poor noggin is jam-packed with endless commands. Well, I’ll clear them out tomorrow.
I teleport back to the house and tackle Trent just as he’s about to bolt out the back door.
“You again!” he screeches.
I pin him to the ground as a big, ugly grin spreads across his face. A sure sign that he’s totally possessed.
“What’s your name, demon?” I command. “And don’t give me that ‘Legion’ bullshit.”
A low chuckle rolls through Trent’s chest. “I’m Baltazar. And you are... Samantha Moon. We’ve been looking for you.”
“Well, I’ve been right here, asshole,” I say. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you.”
The demon smirks using Trent’s face. “Would you kill an innocent human just to get to me?”
“Innocent?” I arch a brow. “I doubt that.”
“He’s a pathetic little wannabe devil-worshiper,” Baltazar sneers.
“He sacrificed something to win your favor,” I press.
The grin widens disturbingly, stretching Trent’s lips like rubber. “But of course. Possession like this doesn’t just happen.”
“Possession like what?”
“I’m not your garden-variety demon, Samantha Moon,” he purrs. “I’m upper management.”
“Then maybe I should kill you and make the world a better place.”
His eyes glint black. “Are you in possession of the Devil Killer?”
“Maybe.”
“Liar,” he hisses. “We know you traded it for that stupid ice sword.”
“It’s not stupid. It’s stylish,” I say. “And it matches all my outfits.”
“But it cannot kill us.”
“I noticed. Also noticed the Devil Killer acted like demon catnip. Drove you idiots right to me.”
He shrugs—or rather, Trent’s body does. “Naturally. It was a threat. Best to eliminate the wielder and retire the blade permanently.”
“How does it make sense to attack the one person with the weapon that could kill you?”
“We are not known for our strategic brilliance,” Baltazar admits. “A handful of us chose martyrdom for the greater good. Very noble, really.”
“I killed a lot of you when I had the chance,” I say. “That part was fun.”
“Hundreds. But you don’t have the sword now, do you?” His head tilts. “So why not let us go?”
“No chance. He murdered a woman. He gets to face justice.”
The smile fades. “How drearily moral of you. Fine, I’ll just kill him and find my release.”
“Do whatever you want with him, I don’t care.”
“But what if I told you I killed the girl, that he had nothing to do with it? You would let him suffer?”
“His hands are hardly clean, Balta-asshole. First off, he summoned you via some blood sacrifice. Something was killed to get your attention. Second, I know how possession works. You didn’t do anything he didn’t already want to happen. If anything, you suggested it, and he willingly went along.”
The sirens grow louder and soon red and blue lights wash across the walls. Tires screech. Doors slam. Commands are shouted.
“Trent Hale! Hands where we can see them!”
The door crashes open behind us. Officers flood into the room, guns up, voices loud and sharp, led by Detective Sherbet. They see their man pinned under me. Some blink in confusion, until I wipe the memory of me from their minds. Now, all they see is Trent lying on the ground.
“Don’t move, jerk off!”
The first officer arrives, and doesn’t acknowledge me.
And why would he? He literally doesn’t see me.
He drops to a knee, placing it on the back of Trent’s neck, pushing the man’s face into the carpet.
As they cuff him, Trent starts talking, mostly because I commanded him to do so.
But the demon’s shield around his mind is nearly bulletproof.
It takes all that I have to push through the evil firewall.
Soon, he’s confessing to killing Kayla and to killing a homeless man in a Satanic sacrifice.
He confesses to threatening Jamie and to robbing an old lady ten years ago.
Wow, the floodgates are really open. I step back into the shadows as an officer reads him his rights.
Another monster in chains. Another woman safe.
Sadly, a real demon is loose in our world. Really do wish I had the Devil Killer. And that Baltazar asshole is right. I probably couldn’t kill Trent to get to the demon. Probably. Just don’t push me.
After he’s been removed from the house and I’m alone with Sherbet, the old detective comes over to me and claps me on the shoulder. “Hell of a thing, that confession. I wonder what possessed him to do that?”
“Not me, detective. I don’t do possessions; I’m an influencer.”
“Kind of like the Kardashians?”
“Pretty sure they’re not immortal, detective.”
“But they are influencers, right?”
I chuckle. “Oh, right. Marlene is waiting in your office, by the way.”
He nods. “I’ll hurry off and reunite her with her son.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I say, “I’ve got a paleontologist to watch.”
“We might need your statement, Sammy. Everyone here saw you with that punk.”
“Pretty sure no one remembers I was here.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“I summon the single flame. “Toodles, Detective.”
“Right, um... toodles.”