Chapter 14 #2
One of the ghouls comes barreling at me, and I slow, holding up the poker. He’s making this easy as he practically impales himself. But before the poker can hit it in the heart, he’s pulled back and thrown to the ground. Jacques swoops in, thinking I’m about to get my face chewed off.
“It’s iron,” I pant, unable to see behind Jacques’s wings. Those things are close. His eyes meet mine for a fleeting moment, and I think he’s going to tell me to go back inside and stay away from the danger just like Hasan.
Instead, he nods and whirls around, taking to the sky and knocking the nearest ghoul to the ground. I run forward, poker raised in my hand again. This time, I bring it down on the ghoul, breaking its sternum on my way to its heart.
“The sun,” Jacques calls to the others in warning, and spins around with more grace than anyone his size should possess. He grabs the other ghoul by the arms and brings it to me, holding it out so I can kill it too.
“Are you hurt?” he asks me when he drops the dead ghoul to the ground.
“Not seriously,” I say, knowing he can see the claw marks on my arms. “But you are?”
He brings his hand to his neck, as if he’s just now realizing a chunk of skin is missing and he’s bleeding. “I’ll heal.”
One of the ghouls breaks away from Thomas and Gilbert and comes barreling at us. Jacques takes the fire poker from me and throws it forward with impressive accuracy.
“I didn’t know priests were so well versed in warfare,” I say, running my eyes over him.
“I’m starting to enjoy the ability to surprise you,” he replies, and moves forward to pull the poker from the ghoul’s body. He comes right back to me, protective but not doting. Obviously, I can hold my own. I take the fire poker back and move farther out into the yard, looking for more.
“I think we got them all.” Thomas lands a few feet from me, wiping ghoul blood from his face.
“Check the house,” Jacques says once Gilbert comes over. He flicks his eyes to the horizon. “Hurry.”
Hasan pulls his part of the tong from a ghoul and tosses the body on top of another.
“You’re not supposed to let them bite you,” he tells Jacques, smirking.
Jacques raises an eyebrow. “You should have told me that sooner.” He wipes away a drip of blood.
“What the hell just happened?” I ask, heart still racing. I’m on edge, not fully convinced all the ghouls are gone.
“Ghouls attacked us,” Hasan answers.
“I know. But why?”
“Ghouls are sent,” Jacques starts.
“Sent?” I question. With the adrenaline wearing off, the exhaustion I felt before hits again.
“By someone—or something—with powers.”
“Someone knows who I am,” I say slowly as things start to click in my mind. “And I don’t just mean they know I exist. They know I’m a witch.”
“Yes,” Jacques says, not attempting to soften the blow. “For ghouls to find you, you had to have been marked.”
“Marked? How?”
“I believe the term is a ‘calling card.’ Some sort of hexed object was put into your possession to draw the ghouls to you.”
“How?” I ask again, and quickly shake my head. “And when?”
“Tonight,” Hasan says, still gripping the piece of twisted iron. I think he’s wishing for another ghoul or two.
“I’ve been home all—shit.” I push a strand of hair back, and it gets stuck in a splatter of ghoul blood on my neck. “I went into town to investigate the murder weapon.”
“Did you have a bag or anything with you someone could have slipped something in?”
“No. I left my purse in the car.”
“The car,” we all say at the same time. We run over, and the feeling of having all my energy drained increases. Rays of sunlight start to stream down on us, reflecting off the tinted windows of my Charger. We’re skating on thin ice. The guys need to go back up onto the roof soon.
The three of us look the car over, and Hasan finds something shoved behind the license plate.
“Hex bag,” he says, dumping out the contents of a little black bag into his hand. Jacques looks it over and nods.
“Someone tagged you. And this…” He picks up what looks like a chicken bone covered in little scratches. “This binds magical powers.” He snaps the bone in half, and suddenly I don’t feel like I’m going to collapse.
“Whoever put this here knows exactly who you are,” he says, and his words bring a chill through me. “The sun is almost up. We have to go, Ace, but be careful until sunset. I believe you are in danger.”
“Great.” I press my lips together in a wry smile. “And I’ll be careful. I’m a cop, guys; for years, I’ve always had at least one person gunning for my death. I can handle myself.”
Hasan stiffens. It’s not that he doesn’t believe me, it’s that he worries, and caring for someone enough to worry is a fairly new concept to him. I’m sure if he had his way, he’d play bodyguard twenty-four seven and protect me from anything remotely unpleasant.
“These aren’t your run-of-the-mill humans,” Jacques points out as if I don’t know. “Controlling this many ghouls means the sender is powerful.”
I look out at the yard, wondering what the fuck I’m going to do with the bodies. “If they’re so powerful, why not come after me themselves?”
Jacques shakes his head, not sure. “Maybe they wanted to test you. Or have you killed while keeping their hands clean.”
“So you think it could be a human and not a demon?”
“Many demons live as if they are human. They’re able to sink their claws into more people if they can blend.”
“Demons are just lovely,” I say, shaking my head and looking at the skyline. They came at the perfect time too…almost as if whoever sent them knew once the sun rose I’d be screwed. My magic was blocked, and my line of defense will be turned into stone in less than five minutes.
Were they expecting the fight to last longer? If they want to kill me, they’re gonna have to try harder than that, and I have a feeling they will. We walk back to the porch, knowing our time is coming to an end.
Thomas and Gilbert come out of the house, shutting the front door behind them. It’s a moot point since my living room window is smashed in. I’m tired. Bleeding. There are ghoul bodies all over my house and yard. And now I need to board up that fucking window before going to work.
“We didn’t see anything in the house,” Thomas says. “I’d look longer but…”
“Go,” I tell them, and hold up the iron fire poker. “If any are left, I got this.”
“You’re badass, Ace,” Gilbert says with a smile, but it quickly fades. “I hate leaving you.”
“You’re not really going anywhere,” I shoot back, not wanting to think about it. They’re here. Within arm’s reach. But they can’t do a damn thing if I’m in danger. It’s so frustrating and so fucking unfair. I need to break this curse.
“Be careful,” Hasan tells me, and takes to the sky, landing on the roof. Thomas and Gilbert go to their spots on the front porch, and I walk around the front of the house with Jacques, hoping to get one or two more questions about ghouls answered before he turns to stone.
I set the fire poker down and bend one foot up to brush gravel from the bottom. Jacques keeps walking, needing to get to his spot before the sun rises. Suddenly, he stops and whirls around, his movements slowed by the sun.
I turn, going for the fire poker, but it’s too late. A ghoul runs along the roof of the porch, holding a sharp and bloodied spear. It’s bigger than the others, and its eyes glow bright amber instead of red.
It lets out a screech, and the sound reverberates through me, making my vision blur. I know I have to move, but the dizziness hits hard and I stumble, falling back and whacking my head against the cobblestone. Pain shoots through me, shocking me and rendering me paralyzed for a few seconds.
My mouth opens and my hands slip as I try to move out of the way.
Jacques throws himself in front of me, pulling his wings over his body to try and act as a shield.
The spear slashes through Jacques’s wings and hits him hard in the chest. He rolls off me, landing hard on his back.
The ghoul jumps down, landing just yards from us.
“Jac!” I scream, scrambling to my feet. The ghoul hisses, fangs showing and amber eyes glowing in the early morning twilight. It bends down and sinks its teeth into Jacques’s arm.
“Get away from him!” I scream, and heat rushes through me, erupting from my heart. Flames ignite from my fingers, and my entire hands are swallowed by red-hot fire. I throw my hand forward, and the flames grow. The heat is so intense it almost hurts.
Good.
My feet leave the ground and I tackle the ghoul, wrapping my hands around its throat. I scream out of anger and fear, and the ghoul slashes its claws at me, scratching my cheek.
The ghoul catches fire and I let go, tripping over my own feet in my desperate attempt to get to Jac. He’s trying to get up, with one hand pinned to his body and the other trying to pull the spear out.
“Ace,” he grunts, and his movements slow. The sun is almost up, and his skin is taking on a gray pallor. I clench my fists and put out the flames.
“No, no, no,” I cry, and put one hand on his chest. “It’s going to be okay.”
“You’re okay,” he says, and stops struggling. “That’s all that matters.”
“Don’t talk like that.” I grit my teeth and grab the spear with both hands. “This might hurt.”
Jacques turns away, bracing himself. I yank the spear free, and he falls to the ground.
Blood spills out around him, staining the cobblestone beneath us.
I drop to my knees, tears filling my eyes, and slip one hand under his head.
He’s turning to stone right before my eyes, and there’s nothing I can do to stop the bleeding.
“I don’t know what to do,” I cry, and my tears splash down onto his chest.
Jacques’s eyes flutter closed, and he becomes completely still.
“Jac!” I bend down, burying my head against his neck. The heat is leaving his body just as fast as the blood. I can’t lose him. My heart can’t handle the death of another loved one. “Jac!”
He suddenly jerks away and tries to sit up.
“You shouldn’t move,” I tell him, hands shaking. “Let me get a towel or something. I’ll stop the bleeding.” I move to stand but he grabs my wrist.
“There’s no time, Ace,” he says slowly, and pushes himself up. “I need to go.”
I get to my feet and take his hand, hefting him to his feet. Unsteadily, he shuffles forward and spreads his beautiful wings, holding out a hand to keep me at bay. His eyes meet mine.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Bits of stone crumble off his wings as he takes flight, landing on the roof without a moment to spare. He becomes a gargoyle again, trapped under the sun. I’m shaking, hands slick from Jacques’s blood.
“Jac?” I call one last time, not expecting him to respond. My legs feel weak, but I take a few steps back so I can look up at him. He’s in his usual pose, but this time, there’s a big crack in the stone on his chest.