Chapter 17
Kris
Jo Jo and Zhen spent all day tracking Annabelle.
The demon traveled in circles in Demonbreun, seemingly not at all inclined to leave the city.
Which was not what we’d hoped for. There were way too many power sources it could trip over and take advantage of within city limits.
But trying to force it out of the city hadn’t worked.
It had just looped around and skirted city limits before coming back in.
Jun Hie had kept me updated as things progressed, but most of the updates were We’ve got it in sight, it hasn’t killed anyone yet. Helpful, but it kept me on tenterhooks.
I didn’t know what the demon was aiming for, what its plan was, and I didn’t actually want to find out. I wanted the demon either safely exorcised or caged. Either-or, I wasn’t picky.
Eventually, Jo Jo and Zhen realized they were wearing themselves out following the demon everywhere.
They couldn’t engage anyway, so they tasked the huodou with harrying it and took a break to rest up for the actual fight.
Which was great in theory. I approved, but it meant they were now suited up and ready to roll but still waiting on people.
Jun Hie only took a break once Zhen had returned to me.
Now, we all knew Zhen handled waiting about as well as a hungry baby eyeing someone’s ice cream. He didn’t throw tantrums, at least, but the moping. My god, the moping.
Five minutes after arriving, he plopped onto the ground behind my desk.
He was fully armed in his combat outfit of black cargo pants and boots, his hair in a loose braid, weapons strapped to every appendage, absolutely ready to rumble, but the energy coming off him was that of Sad Zhen.
He lay much like a wilted damsel waiting upon word of her lover in the battlefield, Bootsy perched on his chest.
I think if he had to wait another hour for his A-team to assemble, he might come right out of his skin. Or have a breakdown. One of the two. His expression had this whole Dark Mode on Word thing going on.
I took a picture of him and texted it to his mother. Is there a return policy on your son? This one’s out of order.
Being a loving mother, she sent back a string of laughing emojis.
We were all laughing rather than letting the tension break us.
I had a local news channel up on my computer, tracking breaking stories.
Annabelle was wreaking havoc for sure. Tiffy had said the demon wouldn’t want to make itself known until it had grown more powerful, so the fact it wasn’t even really trying for anonymity now was concerning.
Escalating behavior wasn’t what I wanted to see right now.
People were dropping like flies as it hopped from one to another, using people to carry the doll, then ditching them quickly as they fell unconscious.
At least it wasn’t killing anyone yet. Too busy trying to outrun the huodou, or so was my guess.
The news reports were all about people fainting, and warning about health issues, which absolutely wasn’t the problem.
Not that we were about to tell anyone differently.
It’d just create more chaos and panic. Got enough on our hands, thanks.
The pack was actually having a grand time harrying the demon and keeping it from the ley lines.
So far they’d gone east toward the performing arts center, then west again into the park, and briefly north along Park Street.
They were doing a fantastic job at herding without actually engaging.
Like counting coup, I guess, or some kind of murderous tag?
Zhen had impressed upon them that directly engaging with the demon was super dangerous, so they were avoiding contact, but my ancient Chinese hellhounds liked a little danger, apparently.
To them, tracking demons counted as great fun.
They were only upset I was in the area and thereby in danger. Not Okay in their books.
I mean, if the apocalypse started, I was hopping in a car and taking my sister and Boss with me, getting us all out of the line of fire. Which everyone agreed was a good idea. But still, my furry peanut butter addicts worried about me.
Not so sweet was my husband lying directly behind my chair, blocking me in so I couldn’t pop up without stepping all over him.
“Zhen, are you sure I can actually leave the city if all hell breaks loose? The bond’s probably going to react.”
“If it reacts badly enough, I’ll go with you. I’d rather be out of the fight than endanger you three.”
“Nice of you to say, but then you’d drive me crazy.
” He was already driving me crazy just waiting on the fight.
Being forced to watch it play out from a distance might drive him into a straitjacket.
“If it comes down to it, Charlotte will take Boss and run. I’ll stay nearby so you can at least fight. ”
He blinked, still sad but with affection in his dark eyes. “You’re the best. Thank you.”
I nudged his knee with my shoe. “That said. Surely there’s something more productive you can be doing while waiting on friends to arrive.”
“There’s not,” he said with a groan, looking up at me with pitiful eyes. “I did all those things.”
“Weapons are all sharp and ready?”
“Yup.”
“Plan of action established?”
“Can’t do that until everyone’s here. Annabelle’s a fight none of us envisioned or trained for, so it has to be a collaborative effort.”
“Ah. Okay, so that’s on pause. Wards up on this building?”
“Jo Jo’s actually doing that right now, as he’s better at it. Charlotte’s…assisting, I guess?”
“Is that where my sister disappeared to?”
“Those two being together kinda breaks my brain,” Zhen admitted. “I’d never have matched them.”
“The Cali socialite with the Floridian demon slayer? Yeah, same. Hurts my brain if I think about it too much. But they genuinely seem attracted to each other. I don’t think it’s a bad boy thing since Jo Jo comes off more as the mischievous kid next door.”
“Always has.” Zhen petted Bootsy, getting the void baby purring again.
Of course that led to Bootsy kneading and making biscuits, which inevitably led to a nail getting stuck in the gear Zhen had strapped over his chest. Zhen tried to help but Bootsy got mad and hissed, tail lashing low in frustration.
“I’m trying to help you!” Zhen protested.
I carefully moved, straddling his legs and leaning over Bootsy. “Now, Zhen, you clearly are a nefarious soul who has never had a single honorable intention in your shameful life. This is without a doubt a sinister plot. There you go, Bootsy. Free kitty.”
I set Bootsy on the ground. He flicked his tail once more, stretched, then sauntered over to his food bowl under the desk. Because obviously the fix to a bad mood was snacks.
I mean, as a human, I adhered to this philosophy, so I couldn’t exactly throw stones.
Zhen glared after the cat. “I see how it is. How come she gets a pass and I don’t? Huh? It’s because she feeds you, isn’t it.”
“Food is a bonding activity,” I drawled. “I have a friendly pack of hellhounds to prove it. Now, you, get up. You’re blocking my way and making it hard to work.”
I gained my feet as Zhen continued to lie there, still pouting at the ceiling. “I have a sad. I can’t stay here?”
Hands on hips, I stared down at him and mentally debated stepping on him until he moved of his own volition.
Zhen moved, but not where I expected him to.
He rolled under my desk, Bootsy meowing in protest at the sudden intrusion before darting off.
Zhen looked ridiculous sprawled with half his torso and legs sticking out.
I bent down to see, but all I got was a visual of his head stuck in the corner.
What the hell was he doing now? I opened my mouth to protest—
“Hey! Anyone hear me?” Zhen called into the darkest corner.
I waited for an explanation. No? Nothing? Time to ask, although at this point I didn’t want to know. “Zhen? What are you doing…?”
“The huodou use shadows to travel,” he pointed out in this oh-so-reasonable tone. “So sound should carry and they can hear me, right?”
I texted Jo Jo. Get back in here. Zhen’s breaking down in front of my eyes.
“HeEEEEEllllLOOOOOO?”
Yeah, he’d officially lost it.
The back door opened and Jo Jo jogged inside, Charlotte right on his heels. It took him seconds to reach behind the desk, and then he found Zhen curled up underneath it, saying hi to the shadows and making kissy noises.
Jo Jo stared for a moment before giving a sage nod. “Yup, he’s gone. Hey, Zhen? Buddy, pal, you still with me?”
Zhen tilted his head from under the desk, bottom lip pushed out in a pout. “Don’t you think the huodou can hear me if I speak to the shadows?”
“That’s only if they’re nearby,” Jo Jo explained patiently. “Remember our lessons on parallel dimensions and transference?”
Zhen tsked him. “No, remember, we have this sorted. I’m brawn, my brother’s beauty, and you’re brains. You’re supposed to remember the nitty gritty technical shit.”
Charlotte hid a laugh behind one hand, apparently enjoying Zhen’s punch-drunk mode.
“Since I’m the expert, then no. That’s not how this works.”
“Booo.” Zhen finally rolled out from underneath the desk, still pouting. “I wish the huodou could carry, like, a cellphone or a walkie-talkie.”
“Also not how this works. Different planes. Sound wouldn’t translate back to us.”
Zhen paused, thinking hard. “Did I sleep through that class?”
“It was a week’s worth of classes and, knowing you, probably.”
“In my defense, I grew a lot that year.”
“I didn’t say what year.”
“Doesn’t matter. Growth spurt. Naps were a necessity.”
“Uh-huh.”
Zhen’s phone rang and he hit Accept, a happy smile bouncing back. “Tiffy! You landed, the airstrip just outside of the city?”
Jo Jo’s phone rang a second later, and he stepped into the conference room to answer.