Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
“Thanks for picking up food,” Delphi says when she gets into the G-Wagon. “Is Xavier going to kill us for eating in here?”
“He might give me a judgmental glare, but no, he won’t kill us.”
“I don’t even eat in my car, and it’s eight years old and a Honda.”
I laugh and back out of the parking space. Delphi got a walk-in at the last minute so I had Alan make us food to bring and picked her up at the clinic where she works. “I thought doctors all had fancy cars.”
“Eventually. Once the school loans are paid off.”
“You seem to be doing pretty well here.”
“Oh, there’s no shortage of sick kids.” She shakes her head. “That sounded bad. You know what I mean.”
“I do. I need to make a stop before we buy drugs. We can find a table and eat outside.”
“Perfect.”
“Egg salad isn’t easy to eat while driving. And yes, I’m speaking from experience. As hunters, we drive a lot.”
“Egg salad is an interesting choice, regardless,” she teases.
“I don’t eat meat, so it’s grown on me. And I’ve been craving it ever since I mentioned it last night.”
“Craving?” She raises her eyebrows. “Wow, sorry, not only was that pretty sexist of me, but also…vampire husband.”
“Right. It’s nice not having to be on birth control and still not worry about getting pregnant.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“We’re going to buy drugs together, I think you’re safe to ask me anything.”
“Do vampires, ya know, when they finish?”
“Cum?”
Her eyes widen and she nods. “Yeah.”
“They do, and yes, it looks just like normal.” I shrug. “They have blood running through their veins and their eyes water and they have saliva.”
“From a medical standpoint, it doesn’t make sense. Then again, neither does shifting into a wolf.”
We both laugh. “Magic isn’t supposed to make sense.”
“It’s funny when you think about what used to be called magic years ago is science now.”
“True, I never thought about it like that.”
It’s another beautiful day, and I park downtown near the new age store Devon and I went to a few weeks ago. We take our food and find a bench nearby, sitting so we can eat.
“How do you know how to kill different monsters?” Delphi asks as she bites into her sandwich. “Not everything is even corporeal, right?”
“Right, and those motherfuckers are the real challenge.” I unwrap half my sandwich.
“A lot of what I know has been passed down. There are books and journals Order members can access. One thing about monsters is they’ve been around forever, so what we encounter today, someone else probably already has at some point in time before.
Hopefully, they already figured out how to kill and we’ll know exactly what to do.
But when in doubt, cutting off the head usually works. ”
“Usually?”
“Usually. You always run the slight risk of two growing back.”
“Like that thing from Greek mythology?”
“Hydra. They’re rare, but I’ve read about hunters coming across them in some of the archived journals.”
She takes another bite and blankly stares out at the street. “It’s so weird because the Order was founded to protect humanity. And it’s turned into something full of hate for anyone who’s different.”
“And it’s getting worse. Everyone swore up and down witches got their powers from making deals with the Devil.
You’d think once they saw that wasn’t the case with me, they’d realize they were wrong.
A lot of Order members wouldn’t even talk to me because they insisted I made that deal.
Because a six year old totally knows how to do that.
” I shake my head. “They would rather believe lies than what they quite literally see with their eyes.”
“It’s jealousy. They hate what they can’t have. They’ll never have magic, or the enchanted strength, speed, athleticism, and fast healing werewolves have. And they hate us for it.”
“I keep thinking if I just prove myself enough, they’d see me as human first,” I say quietly.
“But they don’t,” Delphi replies. “They see what you are before they see who you are.”
“I know that now. I grew up being told if I just behave, if I just follow their rules, if I just stay useful, the Order will protect me. But protection that only exists if you’re obedient isn’t protection.
It’s control.” I watch a car slow to a stop at the street across from us.
The windows are rolled down and two little girls sing along to some Disney song.
Their mom is too, and she’s smiling as she looks in the rearview mirror at them.
“And even though I’m out, they’re still pestering me. ”
“Well, you did marry Xavier Malus. I’m also dying to know how you guys met.”
“Taylor Swift concert.”
She cocks an eyebrow. “Sure.”
I chuckle and then go back to eating my sandwich.
Delphi has to be back at the clinic for more appointments later, so we don’t have a ton of time.
We toss our wrappers and go into the new age store so I can stock up on supplies.
Vanquishing potions are the easiest way for me to take out demons, and I can make a huge batch if I spend just one afternoon in the kitchen with a cauldron.
Despite the ease and the success, I was only allowed to use it as a last resort and it was one of the things Larissa told me was “cheating” when it came to demon hunting, which never made sense.
I stuff items and ingredients into my basket, my mind going back to when Devon and I were here last time.
Is it stupid to hold onto the hope that he’ll adjust to life as a vampire, balance his undead blood sugar or something, and be the guy that I used to know?
Mabel’s words dig at me in a way I know is going to haunt me as I’m trying to lay down and go to sleep tonight.
He had feelings for me.
Did I have feelings for him? I didn’t want to admit it then, and when I almost lost him, I thought I did. But…I can’t. I couldn’t. And now he’s not the same.
We go to a hunting supply store next and I put together a typical hunter’s bag, full of weapons and first aid supplies.
The guy selling us this stuff keeps attempting to flirt, telling us over and over how two good looking women who deer hunt are exactly his type.
I guess I’ll be telling Xavier I need an even bigger ring to keep hillbillies like him from hitting on me.
“According to the kid who bought the drugs,” Delphi says once we get back into the G-Wagon. “They were in Hidden Valley. It’s not a nice place to be. The news says it’s riddled with crime and gangs.”
“Which is exactly what we want. Don’t forget we’re two badass women. You’re a werewolf with a medical degree and I’m a witch who was raised as a warrior. And depending on which gang, that might not be an issue.”
Delphi looks at me for a few seconds and then nods. “Larkin has let me in on a bit more than I should know, and it’s pretty much common knowledge for anyone in the area that the Malus Family is in charge of everyone.”
“Right. Doesn’t mean we have immunity or invisible protection.” I plug in the address for the rental car company, which isn’t far from where we are now. There’s no way we can roll into Hidden Valley in Xavier’s overpriced SUV and not be suspicious from the start.
Thankfully, I get the keys to the car quickly, leaving the guy at the checkout confused as to why I rented their oldest car when I showed up in something worth as much as a small house. I transfer my bag into the trunk, put on a baseball cap and sunglasses, and head into the bad part of town.
“I’ll be right here,” I tell Delphi, putting my AirPods in my ear. “And I’ll hear everything.”
“They’re not going to pat me down?” She touches her shirt, tapping the hidden microphone.
“I highly doubt it.”
“What if he’s an undercover cop?”
“That would suck, but we’d get out of this. Worst case scenario, we spend a few hours at the police department while Xavier makes some calls.”
“Okay. I’m nervous. I’ve never bought drugs before.”
“I haven’t either. My brother always procured them for us.” I shrug. “And it was shroom or pot. Not…whatever this is.”
“If they offer you anything, don’t even touch it,” she warns. “It can kill you just by getting on your skin.”
“I won’t. Do what we said, and you’ll be fine.”
She nods, takes in a deep breath, and gets out of the car.
I’m parked a block down and watch as she walks down the street.
Anything can happen and this could go south at any time, but I have an overall feeling of calm which lets me think this will work.
The microphone she’s wearing isn’t the best, and I can’t make out exactly what is being said. I’ll know if she’s in trouble at least.
There are a couple guys sitting along the street, and by the way one of them is bent over, they’re high.
She says something about how she’s having a really bad day and wants something to make her feel better.
The guy’s speech is slow and slurred, and I can’t hear what he says back.
Then it looks like he tries to give her something and she takes a step back, shaking her head.
My hand goes to the handle on the car door, ready to jump out.
But then it looks like she’s thanking him and waving, and she starts walking back toward the car, pace getting faster and faster.
“Slow down,” I whisper, though she can’t hear me. “Don’t look obvious.”
She makes it across the street unnoticed and unscathed and gets back in the car. “Holy crap, that was scary.”
“Did you get anything?”
“I think so,” she says with a nod. “That guy was nice, and now I want to come back and get him to a men’s shelter where he can get clean.
Okay, not the point. He told me he gets his drugs from a guy named Bones and Razor Mike lives in a blue house with boarded up windows on the corner.
Don’t ask me what corner, but that’s what I got. ”
“We can work with this.” I lock the car doors and think.
“Most of the bodies the demons are using are homeless, so we should go to Tent City and ask if anyone knows Bones or Razor Mike.” I make a face.
“I would have a cooler nickname if I was a drug dealer. Bones is basic. Mike, he’s got some pizazz, I’ll give him that. ”
“I would just call myself The Doctor.”
“Ohhh, I like that.” I put in another address in the GPS, stopping a street down from where we need to go.
The smell of urine and body odor hits us as we get closer to the underpass.
Demons preying on the weak is a tale as old as time, but it doesn’t make this any easier.
It’s going to be hot today, and there are several people passed out or barely moving with the sun beating down on them.
“I’ve only seen the “fentanyl lean” on TikTok,” Delphi says quietly. “This is heartbreaking.”
“It really is.” I pull my lips over my teeth and slowly look around. “The Order is out here dealing to the forgotten, farming their bodies to demons.”
“Why hasn’t anyone done anything to help them?”
“Because they’re invisible and people don’t fight for things they don’t see.”
Delphi shakes her head. “I feel very privileged all of the sudden.”
“Me too.” I spin my engagement ring around so the large diamond is facing my palm. Not because I’m worried someone will try to take it from me, but because I suddenly feel like an asshole wearing a ring that costs more than it would to feed and clothe everyone here.
“Hey,” I say to the first lucid looking person I see, who is a woman sitting on a cardboard box next to a blue tent. She’s so weathered and worn it’s hard to guess her age. “I’m looking for a guy. Goes by Razor Mike. I hear he can give me something to help me forget.”
Resting her elbows on her knees, she looks around and then holds out a hand. I pull a folded twenty dollar bill from my back pocket and give it to her. She takes the money, rubs it between her fingers, and then sticks it in her bra.
“Is he from around here?”
She shakes her head no.
“Do you know where I could find him?”
She nods and extends her hand again.
“Tell me where to find him,” I say as I hand her another folded bill.
“Blue house past the rail yard,” she tells me, voice hoarse from years of smoking.
Most of her teeth are missing and she’s rail-thin.
She’d make a perfect host for a demon. Delphi looks at me and I nod.
Two people now have mentioned a blue house.
“I’ll give you a warning for free.” The woman swallows hard and leans back, eyes opening and closing in a slow blink.
“What is it?”
“There’s something evil inside that house. If you go in, whatever comes out, it ain’t you no more.”