She gave my partner a nod, her smile widening and her teeth throwing off a few angry sparks.
She spoke in a thick Australian accent, her voice deep and guttural – exactly the way you’d expect a crocodile to sound.
“Shocktooth,” I said in acknowledgment, if not in greeting. “I’m surprised to see you bare-necked.”
“And
I’m
surprised to see you walking without a limp,” Jinx said to her. “I guess I’ll have to break both your legs next time.”
Shocktooth ground her teeth together, and the electric current that surged between them sizzled and popped.
A few years ago, Jinx and I had caught wind of a jumper operating in the Maul. Jumpers import adrenaline from Earth and sell it on the streets of Nod as jump juice. Since Incubi are nightmares made manifest, adrenaline is a highly pleasurable and addictive drug to them, and one for which they’ll pay through the nose.
Shocktooth had been working “security” for the jumper, meaning that she made sure transactions went down smoothly, and if they didn’t, she started snapping bones and demonstrating how she’d come by her name. Jinx and I busted the jumper and hauled him and his “associates” in.
The law in Nod is more lax than on Earth. Incubi are expected to behave chaotically. They
are
nightmares, after all. So the jumper was sentenced to Deadlock, but Shocktooth received only a three-year collaring. But she was bare-necked now, and that meant she was dangerous. And of course, she had a grudge to settle.
Quietus didn’t show any outward reaction to Shocktooth’s arrival, but I felt his arm tense beneath my grip, just the merest amount, but I knew what it meant. Quietus saw a chance to escape, and he was preparing to take it.
I shot Jinx a quick glance to see if he’d picked up on Quietus readying himself for action, but my partner only had eyes for Shocktooth at the moment. If we hadn’t been escorting a deadly assassin to the Rookery, I might’ve simply stepped aside and let Jinx have his fun. But we were, so I couldn’t.
A quick look around showed me that, just as I’d feared, we’d begun to draw a crowd. A crowd of Incubi always means trouble of one sort or another. But a crowd of Incubi watching one of their own confronting a pair of Shadow Watch officers – who happen to have yet another Incubus in custody – is reason to go to DEFCON 1.
Raising my voice slightly, I said, “Antwerp.” And when Jinx didn’t respond, I repeated it louder. “Antwerp!”
Jinx’s inhumanly wide grin faltered, and his right eye twitched.
Some couples use safe words to prevent one or both partners from getting injured when their sexual encounters become, shall we say, overenthusiastic. I established a safe word with Jinx to help rein him in for similar reasons. Not because I’m afraid of him hurting me when he goes full-on demonic clown on some bad guy – well, not
too
afraid – but because sometimes I need him to focus, and this was definitely one of those times.
I gave Shocktooth my best “Don’t fuck with me” look.
“You’re lucky we’ve got more important things to do,” I said, “or I’d let Jinx turn you into a handbag with a matching pair of shoes. Now beat it.”
Shocktooth didn’t appear intimidated in the least, and I wondered if I was losing my touch. The croc’s grin widened and the electric current coursing between her teeth became bright and started throwing off sparks.
“Thanks for the advice,” she said in a low growl. “Not gonna take it, though.”
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and I risked breaking eye contact with Shocktooth to check it out. Two figures were walking toward us from the middle of the street. One human, one more or less canine. The human was male, late twenties or early thirties, and wore a white poet’s shirt with poofy sleeves. His pants and boots were black, and he wore a sword in a scabbard at his belt. And if all that hadn’t been enough to peg the guy as having a serious pirate fetish, then the purple hooded mask and matching cape cinched the deal.
The canine – and I use the term loosely – padded along at the pirate’s side. The creature was the size of a small horse, with coarse black fur and a spiked collar around its neck. The spikes were long and ended in needle-sharp points. The beast’s mouth was open, displaying twin rows of wicked-looking teeth and a black forked tongue. The creature’s hindquarters were scaled instead of furred, and its long, writhing tail resembled a lizard’s more than a dog’s. A line of serrated bony ridges ran down the tail’s length, ending in a spiked protuberance that resembled a morningstar. Its feet were lizardlike too, with scaled toes terminating in sharply curved talons which clicked softly on the street as it walked. Its eyes were disturbingly intelligent, almost human-seeming, and I knew this Incubus was much more than the nightmarish beast it appeared to be.
They weren’t Shadow Watch officers. No way I could ever forget that pair, especially the pirate. Pirates are hot. Besides, there was something almost familiar about him, although I couldn’t put my finger on it right then.
I could tell they were bonded, though. Like the saying goes, it takes one to know one. I could
feel
the bond between them, and I knew Jinx could too. I had no reason to think the pirate and his monster-dog were heading for us, other than a tightening in my gut that told me they were. But over the years, I’ve learned to trust my instincts on this job, and they were telling me that trouble was heading our way.
But before I could even start to think what to do about it, Shocktooth released a bellowing roar and charged.
I jammed my M-blade into Quietus’ side. He wasn’t human, and I knew a single strike from the weapon wouldn’t kill him – as long as I didn’t hit any vital organs – but it would seriously hamper him. It wasn’t that I had any objection to killing him if necessary. I’m not bloodthirsty, but I am pragmatic. But I wanted him alive for questioning. I wanted to know why he’d been killing people in my town.
Jinx’s reflexes are inhumanly fast. As I slipped my blade into Quietus’ side, Jinx released his grip on the assassin’s arm and rushed forward to meet Shocktooth’s attack. The crowd that had gathered to watch let out a cheer – well, more a series of guttural cries and high-pitched shrieks, really – at seeing the promise of violence fulfilled at last.
Without Jinx to support him on the other side, Quietus slumped to his left, his body pulling free of my blade. Instead of blood, tendrils of black mist coiled forth from the wound. Quietus fell to one knee and clapped a hand over the injury, as if the black mist was the equivalent of blood and he intended to prevent his life from escaping. It was possible. There’s no telling with Incubi.
Shocktooth opened her maw wide and lunged at Jinx, miniature bolts of blue-white lightning arcing from her teeth. Jinx was ready, though. He raised his right hand in a blur of motion and slapped his palm onto the crocodile’s tongue. Bright light burst forth from Shocktooth’s mouth, accompanied by a loud
fwoom
! She flew backward a dozen feet, hit the concrete sidewalk, and slid several more feet before finally coming to a stop. Smoke curled upward from her mouth, and the smell of burned flesh filled the air.
Grinning, Jinx turned to show me his hand and the scorched joy buzzer in the burned flesh of his palm. It looked painful as hell, but if it bothered Jinx at all, he gave no sign.
“Go on,” he urged. “Say it!”
I smiled. “How shocking.”
He let out one of his crazed hyena laughs, but it was interrupted by an ear-splitting growl. I still held the M-blade, and I spun around, already knowing what I’d see. The monster-dog bounded across the street toward me, jaws stretched wide, foam-flecked tongue lolling out the side of its mouth. Its pirate master ran at its side, his sword drawn. The weapon’s blade was rapier thin, but its swirling, multicolored hue shocked me as thoroughly as Jinx’s joy buzzer. Pirate-Boy carried a sword formed from Maelstrom energy.
As far as I knew, only M-gineers were capable of creating such objects, and every M-gineer in Nod worked for the Shadow Watch. But there he was, carrying a weapon – you’ll pardon the seeming double entendre, I hope – much bigger than any I’d seen before. Hell, from what I understood, an M-object that large should’ve been inherently unstable. I almost wished Neil could’ve been here to see it. Almost.
At first I thought the gigantic hound was going to attack me, and I braced myself and tried not to think about how much I really could’ve used a fully charged trancer right then. But before the beast reached me, it leaped into the air, soared over my head, and slammed into Jinx. Jinx is no delicate flower, but the creature’s mass combined with the force of its leap knocked my partner backward. Jinx smashed into the building behind us. Breath whooshed from his lungs, accompanied by cracking sounds like multiple gunshots as a number of his bones broke from the impact. He fell face-first to the sidewalk and lay there. The demon dog stepped toward him, growling softly, and I spun around, ready to dash forward and sink my M-blade into the beast’s scale-covered haunch. But before I could, Pirate-Boy reached me and swung his sword in a broad, sweeping arc designed to separate my head from my body.
Maelstrom energy doesn’t have the same disruptive effect on humans as it does Incubi, but objects formed from it are incredibly strong and can hold a razor-sharp edge. I had no trouble believing my attacker could behead me as easily as slicing through a sheet of paper. So, hoping Jinx would recover before the demon dog could do more than take a couple mouthfuls of clown flesh, I raised my M-blade to block Pirate-Boy’s sword, crouching slightly as I did so in order to get my head out of his sword’s path.
His blade might’ve looked thin, but it hit mine with the force of Cuthbert Senior and Junior combined. The impact sent a jolt of pain jangling through my hand, along my arm, and into my shoulder, and I felt my fingers go numb. I managed to keep hold of my weapon, though, and despite the pain, I didn’t think anything was broken. And if it was, I didn’t have time to worry about it.
Still blocking the sword with my blade, I pivoted left and kicked at Pirate-Boy with my right foot. I was aiming for his knee, but he turned to the side and took the blow on his inner thigh. I’d put a lot of power into that kick, so even if I hadn’t shattered his kneecap as I’d hoped, I knew I’d landed a solid blow. I meant to follow up the kick with a blade strike at his midsection, but he moved back several steps to get out of my knife range and give himself some room to get into a better fighting position.
Pirate-Boy was fast, and more importantly, smart. It was exactly what I would’ve done in his place. I considered hurling the M-blade at him, but my knife-throwing skills are a bit spotty. Despite how massive the sword had felt when it struck my blade, Pirate-Boy swung it as if it weighed nothing. Given the ease with which he could wield his sword, there was a good chance that he’d be able to deflect a hurled M-blade with that weapon of his. So knife throwing was out.
The crowd of violence-hungry onlookers stepped back to make more room for us. They might’ve wanted to watch the fight, but that didn’t mean they wanted to take part.
I risked a fast glance in Jinx’s direction and saw that my partner was back on his feet and battling the demon dog with a pair of cast-iron chickens (so much more deadly than the rubber variety). Jinx had a chicken in each hand, and he wielded them like the heavy clubs they were. The metal struck the dog with sickening dull thumps, but although the creature let out a pained whine with each blow, it appeared the impacts weren’t causing any serious damage. I wasn’t surprised. Some Incubi are so tough, it would take a bazooka strike to make them do more than blink, and it looked like the mutant pooch was as tough as they came.
Jinx didn’t seem disturbed by the inefficiency of his blows. Or for that matter, by his shredded clothes or torn skin beneath. He was giggling with mad delight, as if he were having the time of his life. The worse things become, the happier he is. He was bleeding from the wounds the demon dog had given him, but he was already healing. He had to be careful, though. As strong and fast as the beast was, it might be capable of inflicting more damage than Jinx’s Incubus physiology could heal – and then he’d be in real trouble.
Thinking of Jinx healing reminded me of Shocktooth. I turned my gaze toward the spot where she’d landed after Jinx short-circuited her, but she was gone. I’d hoped she’d taken advantage of the confusion to leave, but I doubted we’d be that lucky.
Quietus still knelt on one knee, hand pressed to his side. I was surprised that he hadn’t tried to escape, even wounded as he was. Maybe I’d hurt him worse than I’d thought. Or maybe there was more going on here than it looked like.
Pirate-Boy had got himself together and now advanced for another attack. He ran toward me, sword held high, and I knew at once that something was wrong. No way would the skilled, confident fighter I’d faced a moment ago make such a clumsy advance. I could kill him half a dozen ways without working up a sweat. It had to be a–
Before I could think the word
distraction,
I heard a loud smacking sound. I turned in time to see Jinx flying toward me. Behind him, the demon dog finished spinning its hindquarters around, and I realized the beast had struck my partner with its powerful tail. Jinx collided with me and we went down in a tangle of arms and legs, and the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was Shocktooth running forward and scooping up Quietus in her muscular arms.
After that, everything went black.
THREE
“So to sum up, you failed to stop Quietus from taking another life, you damaged a well-known Chicago landmark, and once in Nod, you were attacked by an Incubus you’d previously captured – one who somehow managed to free herself from her negator collar – and during the altercation, you lost Quietus.”
Sanderson stopped pacing around the office, turned, and fixed us with an icy stare.