Possession (4 page)

It was always the same when Kieran arrived, Wendy's face brightened and she practically flew to the doorway throwing herself at her husband. Legs wrapped around his waist, their mouths instantly joined. The Scot didn’t even stumble as he held his wife to him and made his way into the kitchen. Never looking away from her face, Kieran managed to pull out a cup and pour coffee.

After a few moments, Fallon cleared his throat. “Maybe the house is
not
big enough.”

His partner released his wife, lowering her gently. He shot a grin at him. The action still shocked Fallon, as the normally stoic man rarely showed emotions before being mated with the feisty Fae.

Kieran’s clear green eyes met Fallon’s gaze. “I didn’t see you in our sector, where were you?” the Protector asked impatiently sweeping his long blond shoulder length hair out of his face.

Bristling at his tone, Fallon forced a neutral expression back at him. “Did you miss me, honey?”

“We have to patrol in pairs, asshole,” Kieran replied heading straight for the box of cookies.

“Don’t spoil your dinner Kit,” Wendy admonished her husband, eyeing the box. Fallon suspected, she feared more that none would be left for her and already itched to have a third one.

The four of them sat down to dinner, most of the conversation neutral, as they didn't want to worry the sensitive Fae.

After dinner, Wendy left the house and headed to the gym. She always gave them time alone to go over the previous night’s activities understanding they would not discuss the more graphic cases in front of her.

The Protectors moved to the library.

“I ended up spending the night patrolling over by Inferno. I checked in every hour. Not sure why you were not informed,” Fallon finally told his partner. “I met with Sebastian to discuss my problem.”

“And?” Kieran asked.

“And he pretty much said I was fucked unless I kill the Master who put this shit in me.”

“Damn,” Logan replied. "We'll have to find him then."

Fallon took a breath and looked at the ceiling. “Logan get your dirty dusty boots off the furniture.”

Logan’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s a damn footstool, aren’t I supposed to put my feet on it?  That's what a footstool's for. Right asshole?” He looked to Kieran for support.

“Apparently not on that one,” Kieran replied with obvious amusement.

The Texan stood, stretching to his full six foot four inches. He lifted his wide shoulders and dropped them. “Fine, then I’m gonna go make one that I can put my dirty feet on.”

Fallon didn’t say anything. The man’s workmanship amazed him. Logan would enter his newly set up workshop in the stables with a block of wood and walk back out with a beautiful creation.

“Sit down Logan, let's talk. Anything new to report?” Fallon asked.

"It was boring as shit in mine and Cyn’s sector," Logan replied referring to Kieran's brother. "Too quiet if you ask me."

After a couple of minutes, they dispersed each to their own activities. Logan heading out to his workshop, Kieran to find his dog, and Fallon remained in the library.

He opened his laptop and brought up Google. Then he typed in. Tonia Mohr.

Chapter 3

It had been another exhausting day at work. At the sight of her townhouse, Tonia parked and leaned her head back against the headrest of her car seat after she cut off the engine. She tugged at the long strap of her purse across her body and scanned the parking lot while contemplating her day.

She and Douglas had four new cases assigned. It was always draining to go over the rules of starting a new life with people entering the program.  It never got easier to meet with individuals or families who faced the uncertainties to start anew without friends and family.

The evening was a total waste of time as well. Too emotional to be home alone, she spent hours sitting at a coffee shop going over her last conversation with Fallon.

Had she slept with a demon?

Tonia shook her head. She'd stay in tonight.

Would Fallon attempt to contact her?

The idea that Fallon was perhaps a demon rolled over in her mind.

Oh God, anything but that
.

Although already sundown, the brightness of the parking area at her townhouse complex allowed Tonia to watch three men who stood around a red Ford truck talking and laughing loudly. She got out of her car, straightened and pushed her shoulders back, before strolling toward her building.

“Hey girl. We’re looking for some action.” One of them called out. "You game for a good time?" She ignored them, not in the mood for their antics.

When one of them stepped in front of her, blocking her path, she almost cursed out loud.

A demon
.

Usually she could distinguish demons on sight. She’d not detected him. Had he somehow camouflaged his appearance?  Either that or she was getting sloppy.

Mentally she inventoried her weapons, two daggers, in the back pocket of her cross body bag. Her Glock tucked in the small of her back. Bullets didn’t kill demons, but they’d hurt like hell, both going in and exiting.

The demon moved toward her, his eyes narrowed. “Bitch, you killed my brother.” His slow smile sent an icy path down her spine.

She cursed inwardly at her lack of preparedness. Usually primed and vigilant, she never left her car without a blade in hand. Today she’d been distracted, thinking about Fallon. Her mind was not where it should have been. Otherwise, she might have picked up on the fact that they were demons, before getting out of the car.

Damn
.

Tonia glared at the demon, not wanting him to know she was aware of the fact she was in deep shit. “Funny I don't remember anyone as ugly as you. You sure I killed your brother?" She shrugged as if unconcerned. "Besides if I killed the demon, it was in self-defense. Or to save a life.”

“Don’t lie bitch,” he spat out and took another step closer. “We are all brothers." He swept his arm toward the other demons. "You go out hunting for us. I followed you here the other night after you met with that Protector, you led me back here.”

Tonia tensed and looked over her shoulder to track the demons behind her and then she faced the demon in front of her. It would be costly not to know where each one stood.

He smirked at the other two who moved in. “I brought my friends. We’re going to have us a party, maybe an all-nighter.” The demons laughed.

Like hell.

She lowered her head and coughed, in a fluid motion she unsheathed the daggers, holding one in each hand. “Good news. Just so happens I’m in the mood to party.” With narrowed eyes she ground out the next words. “Bring it.”

The demons were fast, they seemed to flash in and out, mostly shoving or punching her. They didn’t try to hurt her, not much anyway.

The message came through loud and clear. The demons didn’t plan to kill her right away. It didn’t take much to figure out what they planned to do once she was incapacitated.

When she sliced through one of the leader's arms, the large demon hissed and tried to slap her. Her reflexes sharp, she avoided the hit, but lost her balance when another demon shoved her from behind.

Tonia turned and stabbed the one closest to her in the middle of his chest. He snarled and threw her an angry look as he fell forward landing face first onto the pavement. He didn’t evaporate, which meant he wasn’t dead.
Damn it—missed his heart.

The one who’d approached her first let out an angry growl and charged.

Tonia leapt away, landing softly on the balls of her feet only to lunge again when another demon swung at her.

Her breathing became labored as she dodged hit after hit. A hard punch from behind hurt and pissed her off. She turned and sliced across the demon's chest, satisfied when he fell backward and evaporated.

The kill cost her.

She drew from the adrenaline fed by fear and rushed to the side, but not fast enough to avoid the next blow. She stumbled when a fist hit her in the stomach. Slashing in the air blindly, she barely kept from falling. A sharp pain ripped through her side

She’d been stabbed.

The demon laughed and wagged his eyebrows at her. “Gotcha.”

His glee was short lived when she kicked him in the balls and stabbed him in the shoulder. He staggered backward.

Not waiting for him to recover, and spotting that the one on the ground was already getting up, she sprinted to her townhouse, barely making it inside before one of them slammed against the other side of the door. The door groaned when he kicked at it.  Several more solid hits and in spite of her specially designed thick door, he'd be inside. But then the kicking stopped.

“We’ll be back for you bitch,” he called, his voice muffled by the thick wood.

Footsteps moved away.

She wondered why they left.

Then hearing other voices she relaxed. “Hey what’s going on?” It sounded like her neighbors and their annoying yappy terriers made an appearance. Obviously the demons attracted attention because someone honked a horn and a man’s voice called out again. “You guys all right?”

Doubled over, she applied pressure to her side, and staggered to the bathroom, locking the door just to be safe.

She gulped in air and pressed her lips tight. The wound hurt like hell. Bright red blood seeped through her fingers. Gingerly, she tore her shirt open and inspected the gash. No guts had leaked out, that was a plus. The cut looked to be quite deep, although it was hard to tell how far in it went, with so much blood pouring out.

Her side pulsed and she blinked away tears. Tonia grabbed for the nearest towel and pushed it against the wound while she dug in the bathroom cabinet for a roll of gauze. Once she located it, with shaking fingers, tore the package open and grit her teeth. She shoved gauze into the wound and cried out at the piercing pain. Finally she took the bleeding towel and once again held it against the throbbing injury in hopes the bleeding would slow.

The room began to spin and she slumped onto the wall beside the toilet. With small gulps of air, Tonia waited for the shifting to stop.

She needed help. Her hand shook so much it was almost impossible to drag the cell phone from her bag. She considered calling Douglas, but her partner would ask too many questions. Besides, she didn’t want to drag him into this ugly world. He had a wife and children. Demons would relish that type of a target too much.

In spite of the fogginess, she went over several scenarios. Nine-One-One meant her department would be notified. Same if she alerted her neighbor.

Another dizzy spell hit. She leaned forward resting her forehead on the sink's edge. If she didn’t call and get help soon, she’d pass out and lose the opportunity.

There was no doubt in her mind the demons would return, maybe bring more with them. Yes, they'd be back once they were assured the neighbors were not looking out the windows any longer.

Her eyes misted as she stared at the phone for a long while. Who could she call? Why didn’t she have a plan?

If Alex were alive, he’d be the first one she’d call. He would not hesitate to protect her. Die for her.

She took a deep breath.

It hurt so badly.

Oh God Alex, I need you.

Not sure why, she dialed Inferno and asked for Sebastian. Hopefully he'd contact the only person that could be of assistance.

Either that or he’d come over and finish what the others started.

Chapter 4

Fallon leaned on a short brick wall and bit into an apple. The crisp sweetness engulfed his mouth. It brought back thoughts of entire days spent laying about eating apples fresh from his family’s orchard. Days of leisure, the life of a Lord. What a waste of time it seemed now. How long had it been since he’d been able to relax?

Lately, not at all. The damn humming of his body, a constant reminder of the threat inside. Fallon took a deep breath and relished the fact that tonight he felt calmer than he had in days. Couldn't take it for granted, though. The urges would return—perhaps even stronger. At the moment, keeping the sinister anger at bay was a constant process.

So far, the evening proved to be a quiet one, no demon attacks, the streets practically deserted. He wondered if some type of sporting event or another thing kept people indoors tonight. He shrugged and tossed the apple core aiming to hit a trashcan half a block away.

Hearing the thump, he held his arms up. “Score.”

“Bored Brit?” Kieran walked up with a relaxed stride, with his arms loose at his sides his partner gave the impression of being at ease. But Fallon knew better, the Scot was far from it, the man scrutinized the area constantly. Night vision sharp by the glow emanating from his eyes.

Fallon shook his head. “Nope, not at all. It’s good to have a quiet night. Getting some thinking time in.”

Kieran’s eyes narrowed at him. “Are you all right?”

Lips pressed together, he blew out air through his nostrils. “I’m fine, stop looking at me like I’m some sort of science experiment.”

Uncertainty flickered across his partner’s face. “Sorry. It’s that, well, Julian wants us to keep an eye on you. It's strange, haven’t seen you this relaxed in a while. It’s good.”

"Yeah, I was just thinking that,” he conceded.

His cell phone vibrated, and Fallon pulled it out and read the display.

“Who is it?” Kieran asked. Protectors were not allowed calls during duty, not even on silent. Normally, a cell phone’s vibration was enough to be picked up by a demon’s sharp ears. But being such a dull evening, Kieran didn’t make that point to Fallon.

“Hello Sebastian,” Fallon answered.

Sebastian’s deep voice boomed into his ear. “Your friend Tonia called. Said she doesn’t have your phone number. Wants me to tell you she’s in trouble. Demons were at her place. I would have gone over to assist, but she refused to give me her address.”

Not bothering to say anything to his partner, Fallon began running toward his car. The pounding of Kieran’s boots right behind him matched his hard heartbeats.

“Thank you. I’m heading there now. Please text me her number,” Fallon told Sebastian.

“Who’s Tonia?” Kieran asked barely able to close the door of Fallon’s car when he peeled off.

“A friend.”

“What is she?”

“A human female.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Do you want to play fucking twenty questions or tell me the story?” Kieran snapped and then gripped the dash as they careened around a corner.

“I caught her killing a demon once.”

“What the hell?”

“Shut up and listen.”

“A couple of times actually,” Fallon continued. “She won’t listen to me, when I tried to convince her to stop. I told her she’d end up dead, but her reply was that she expects to die that way. Something about that’s what she was meant to do. Kill demons. Has the ability to see them.”

“You didn’t report it,” Kieran stated, no accusation in his voice. “Fuck!” he yelled when Fallon ran a red light barely missing being hit by a truck. "If we're dead we can't help her."

Pulling up in Tonia’s neighborhood, they sat in the car and surveyed the area. With their enhanced night vision, the brightly lit street and parking wasn’t necessarily helpful. A red truck pulled in and parked, Fallon hesitated in exiting the vehicle.

“Demons,” Kieran stated quietly when four males got out of the vehicle. “Low levels from what I can tell.”

“It’s too bright for a fight, we’ll attract attention,” Fallon replied, itching to get to Tonia. “How about we let our presence be known and see what happens?”

They exited the vehicle and rounded it, talking in low voices and acting as if they didn’t see the demons that stopped in their tracks and watched. Obviously recognizing them as Protectors, the demons looked at each other not sure what to do.

Kieran walked to a tree and shoved his hands in his pockets. He glanced back toward the demons, and spoke loudly. “So hey what about that game tonight, I hate that we missed it.”

Game? What the hell is he talking about?
Fallon shrugged. “I don’t watch that sport.”

His partner picked up on his ignorance of American sports and cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Do you even know which sport’s play-offs were on tonight?”

“I don’t give a shit,” Fallon replied as he watched the low-levels get in the car and pull out of the parking lot, heading away. “Let’s go.”

Fallon sprinted to Tonia’s door. Palm on the front door, Fallon concentrated. A series of clicks sounded and the door opened easily when he turned the knob. The Protectors hurried through the modernly decorated home, and didn’t stop until they found her slouched over, in the bathroom, a bloody towel clutched at her side.

When she lifted her head, her unfocused eyes stood out from her deathly pale face. “Y—you made it.”

Shocking pallor meant one thing…lots of blood leaking. Fallon rushed to her and without a word picked her up and raced back outside to his car.

“You’re not taking her to a hospital are you?”

Fallon shook his head. Tonia was dying. Her breathing barely noticeable.  Unsure he could even speak he kept moving.

“I’ll call Roderick,” Kieran told him, referring to one of the Atlanta Protectors who also happened to be a doctor. “I’ll ask him to meet us at your house, it’s the closest.”

“Tell him to hurry, her heartbeat is very weak. She’s lost a lot of blood.”

Oh God, let her make it.