Demonfire (29 page)

“Did the call come through
Shascom?” she asked, referring to the 911 dispatch center in Redding, south of
Evergreen.

Milt frowned. “I’m not sure. I
can’t really remember, but we got a call from someone after checking out a
disturbance at the south end of town. Bud, what was the problem there?” He
chuckled. “I must be getting old. I know we had something near the freeway.”

“That’s okay.” Eddy gently
touched his arm. “Don’t worry about it, but if you think of anything important,
let me know, will you?” She pocketed her little digital camera and went back
across the street. Dax and Alton were there, talking softly with Ed. Her dad
yawned and stretched his arms high overhead. He’d been up since dawn, and it
was obvious he was running out of steam.

She flashed him a sympathetic
smile and nodded toward the deputies. “They’re talking satanic cult and devil
worshippers. Nothing about the demon gargoyle or the shots they fired at it.
They’re going to notice they’ve fired their weapons, so that might confuse
them, but whatever you tossed their way, Alton, it certainly took them off
track.”

“It’s nice to know I can do
something right,” he grumbled, glaring over his shoulder at the sparkling hilt
of his sheathed sword. “I can’t believe this thing still refuses to speak. What
does it want from me?”

Dax grinned. “It probably
wants you to kill me, so I’m perfectly content that the two of you aren’t
communicating. I’ve grown attached to all these human body parts.”

Alton grunted. “I’d laugh,” he
said, “but I have a feeling you might be right. We’ll have to continue to fight
separately.” He glanced at the waning moon hanging low in the sky. “It’s after
midnight. I say we go by the library, see if the gargoyle is there or not. I
doubt he’s expecting us to hunt for him any more tonight. There’s no sign of
him here.”

“Eddy?”

She turned toward the question
in Dax’s soft voice.

“Are you okay with that?”

“I am, but Dad looks beat.”
Bumper whined and rolled over on her back. Her tail flopped slowly against the
ground. “And it looks like Bumper is, too.” She laughed. “Dad, why don’t you
take the dog home and get some rest. We’ll be there in a bit.”

Ed gave her a hug. “Great
idea. I’m ready to fold.” He rested his hand on Dax’s shoulder. “Check out the
gargoyle, son, but I’d feel a lot better if you just looked. We’re all
exhausted, and I’d prefer to see you live to fight another day. You probably
need to get those cuts on your back checked too.” He took a closer look. “Maybe
not. They’re already closing.”

Dax nodded. “Part of my demon
powers—we heal quickly—but I agree. I want to see if the gargoyle returned to
the library. Then we need to rest and figure out how to beat this creature in
battle. He grows stronger by the day.”

“It’s all those demon souls he
had for dinner.” Ed patted Dax’s shoulder, tugged Bumper’s leash, and gave Eddy
a quick kiss on top of her head. Then he slowly walked down the street to the
Jeep, climbed in, and headed back toward the house.

Eddy watched him until he
turned the corner and disappeared from sight. He was obviously exhausted, but
she had to admit he looked better than he’d looked in years. As if the last few
days had given him purpose. It had definitely confirmed all his wild theories
and wilder beliefs. She smiled even as her heart clenched when she thought of
how lonely he must have been before Dax came into their lives.

How lonely both of them were
going to be when he was gone. How was she going to cope when Dax was no longer
here? She knew she’d never love again, not like this. She couldn’t allow
herself to think about the future without him. Not now, while he was standing
so strong, so alive, beside her.

As if he read her thoughts,
Dax grabbed her hand and tugged. She linked her fingers in his and looked at
the way they fit so perfectly together. Then she matched his steps, walking
between him and Alton down the dark street toward the library.

“Eddy? What are you guys doing
out here in the middle of the night?”

Eddy spun around. “Ginny!
Hi…uhm, I was just out with Dax and his friend Alton. You just getting off
work? You’ve met Dax, but this is…”

“Yeah,” she said, focusing
intently on Alton. “We’ve met. Hello, Alton.” She turned her back on the
Lemurian and smiled at Eddy. “My car’s in the shop so I got a lift with one of
the deputies. I told him to drop me off here. It was on his way, and not too
far for me to walk home.”

“Is that safe?” Alton asked.
His deep voice seemed to startle Ginny. “Walking alone at night? Isn’t that how
you got hurt before?”

Ginny nodded, almost as if she
were in a trance. “Yes. There was a street fight. I got knocked around, but I’m
okay.”

Eddy glared at Alton. “What
are you doing?” she whispered.

Alton shook his head.
“Nothing,” he said.

“Yes, you are.” Ginny glared
at him. “I know, because you’ve done it to me before, but for some weird
reason, I can’t remember exactly what it is.”

Alton’s eyes narrowed. “I’m
not really sure what you’re…”

Eddy interrupted. “Do you
think it’s safe for you to be walking home alone this late at night?”

Ginny grinned at her. “C’mon,
Eddy. This is Evergreen. That fight in town was a total aberration.”

“But it happened,” Alton said,
“and you could have been badly hurt.”

Now why did Alton sound like
he had a bee up his butt? Eddy watched the Lemurian as he glared at Ginny.

Suddenly, Alton seemed to come
to a decision. With a grim smile plastered on his face, he took Ginny’s arm in
his. “I’ll feel better if I walk you home, Ginny. I remember where your house
is. It’s not far.”

Ginny frowned and immediately
tugged her arm out of his grasp. “That’s not ne—”

“Yes. It is.” Alton stared
down his long nose at Ginny, and Eddy bit her lips to keep from laughing. No
one gave Ginny Jones orders. Ever.

Before Ginny could explode,
Eddy interrupted. “Ginny, I’d feel a lot better if you let Alton go with you.
There’s been so much weird stuff going on lately, you can’t say for sure it’s
safe. Which reminds me, thanks for the tips today. There really were statues
and garden gnomes blocking the on-ramp. It was nuts. Then someone stole a bunch
of statues from graves at the cemetery and left them at the intersection of
State and Lassen. Some folks from town showed up and bashed them all to pieces.
Really screwy stuff. The cops think it could be devil worshippers. Whatever’s
behind all this stuff, I’d rather you weren’t alone. I know it’s not far to
your house, but please let Alton go with you.”

Ginny laughed. “Oh, give me a
break. Devil worshippers? In Evergreen?”

“Or gangs,” Alton said.
“Whatever is causing all the problems, they’re not good. I’m going with you.”
He glared at Ginny.

Ginny rolled her eyes at no
one in particular. “All right,” she said, matching Alton’s glare with one of
her own. “But only so Eddy won’t worry.”

Once again, Alton grabbed her
elbow. Ginny shook him off, but when he started walking, she went with him.
Alton glanced over his shoulder at Dax and Eddy. “You guys check things out,
and I’ll meet you at Ed’s later.”

“Don’t hurry on our account.”
Giggling, Eddy dragged Dax toward the library. “I’ve never, ever seen that look
on Ginny’s face in my life.”

“What? The furious ‘I’d like
to kick your ass’ look?” Dax laughed and kept walking.

“No, silly.” Eddy gazed back
at the two figures crossing the street. “There’s something between those two.
I’d bet on it.” She sighed and turned away to follow Dax. “Okay. One look at
the library. That’s all you get. Then we’re going back to the house.”

“I think Alton likes her.” Dax
gazed over his shoulder at the tall Lemurian as he escorted Ginny home. He
sighed and turned away, still keeping pace with Eddy.

“What’s wrong with Alton
liking her?” Eddy wrapped her hands around his arm as they walked.

“He’s got the opposite problem
of mine.” Dax sighed again. “He’s immortal, and Ginny’s not. If he falls in
love with her, he will have to watch her grow old and die while he remains much
as he is now. Forever.”

“In just a couple more days,
I’ll have to watch you die, or at least disappear.” Eddy leaned her cheek
against his arm as they crossed the small park to the library. “It hasn’t kept
me from loving you, Dax. And I won’t regret it. Not one minute of the time
we’ve had.”

He paused and turned to face
her. “Are you certain?”

She shook her head. “No, but
that isn’t going to change a thing. I love you. I’m not sorry, either. But it’s
going to hurt when you’re gone. It’s going to hurt like hell.”

He pressed his forehead to
hers. “I know. It hurts already. I had no idea what it would be like, to love
someone. To love you.”

“Well, now we both know.” She
tugged his arm. “And it’s stupid to waste what time we have worrying about the
time we won’t have. Now where’s the gargoyle?”

They stepped out of the
shadows and stared up at the parapet. The gargoyle sat there as it had before,
perched on the stone platform. Even in darkness, it was obvious the creature
had changed. Tonight, instead of looking like a carved stone statue, it
appeared to live.

Leathery wings were folded
across its back, and the toes of one foot twitched, as if the creature dreamed.
Its chest moved slowly in and out as its lungs expanded with each deep breath
it took.

Dax and Eddy stood and watched
it for a long time. Neither of them spoke, but Eddy knew that Dax’s worries
were the same as hers. How did one fight a creature that not only continued to
grow, but to evolve? One that gained strength from the death of other demons.

Each time they fought one of
the avatars and won, unless they destroyed the demon inside, they provided more
demon energy for the gargoyle.

It rested, almost as if it
could relax now, as if it knew they were weaker.

So obviously confident it
would win in battle.

More exhausted than she’d
imagined possible, Eddy grabbed Dax’s hand and silently turned away. They
needed to sleep and plan, but they were running out of time.

She glanced at her watch. It
was well after midnight, which meant Dax was into his fifth day. At midnight on
the seventh, his time on Earth would end, whether or not the battle between
good and evil had been resolved. Not a particularly comforting thought as they
headed back to her father’s house.

Thursday morning, well after
midnight—day five

“Where are you from, Alton? I
don’t remember Eddy ever mentioning you before.”

Ginny had quit grumbling half
a block back. Now she looked at him with what had to be more than merely polite
interest, and added, “I can’t believe she wouldn’t have said something about
someone like you.”

Someone
like me?

What could
she possibly mean by that?

Lemurian women were nothing
like Ginny Jones. She was amazingly self-assured. Confident. He still wasn’t
certain if that weighed in Ginny’s favor or not. She’d looped her arm through
his at some point while they walked, and her tall, lean body was close enough
that he felt her heat and scented her subtle perfume.

Walking down the street in the
quiet hours after midnight with a beautiful woman on his arm was an entirely
new experience.

So was lying.

He’d never felt so marvelously
off balance in his life.

Or so dishonest. “I’ve been
here and there,” he said, shrugging as if it made no difference. “There’s no
reason Eddy would have mentioned me. We weren’t really close friends. We met in
college, but I’ve been traveling since I graduated.”

“I’m jealous.” Ginny flashed
him a bright smile. He realized he was smiling back, as if her jealousy were
the best thing in the world.

“But why?” he asked. “You live
in such a beautiful place.”

She gazed around the quiet
neighborhood. “I guess, but it’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve never lived anywhere
else. I’ve been to Arizona a couple of times, to Sedona to see my cousins, but
Evergreen has always been my home. I keep thinking there’s got to be more out
there than a sleepy little town full of people who’ve known me all my life.”

Alton stopped a couple of
steps beneath her when they reached her front porch, which put them at eye
level. He gazed into her beautiful golden eyes and realized he could easily
lose himself in their depths. “There is indeed a wonderful world,” he said. “If
you want to badly enough, I imagine you’ll see it one day. But to be honest, I
doubt you’ll find anywhere else as perfect as your town.”

Ginny seemed as interested in
gazing at Alton as he was in studying her, but then she sort of shook herself,
looked down, and dug through her purse. After a minute of pushing stuff around,
she pulled a ring of keys out of the bottom of the bag.

When she glanced back at
Alton, her beautiful tiger’s-eyes sparkled. “You might be right, but I’ll never
know until I have something to compare it to. Thanks for walking me home. It
really wasn’t necessary, but you were better company than I expected.”

Alton drew himself up to his
full height. “What did you expect?”

She laughed. “I’m not really
sure. My first impression was…” She shrugged.

“Was what?” He planted his
hands on his hips and glowered at her.

Ginny’s full lips pursed in an
angry moue. “Exactly that. I thought you were arrogant and overbearing. I guess
I was right, after all.”

Even when she was insulting
him, Alton couldn’t take his eyes off her. He’d never seen a more beautiful woman
in his life than Ginny Jones, with her smooth dark skin and thick black hair.
Her eyes, though…her eyes were what held him in thrall.

Those amazing tiger’s-eyes
with every shade of brown, amber, and gold sparkling in their depths. He’d
thought her beautiful the night he saved her, but seeing her like this, cocky
and downright rude, hearing her low voice with the rich, honeyed tones even as
she insulted him, had an effect on him unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

He wondered if she could hear
his heart, thudding away in his chest as if it might pound clean through his
ribs. He had to swallow twice to get his voice to work. “You might be right,”
he said. “I can be a bit arrogant at times. But I beg to disagree. It was more
than necessary.”

As if someone else controlled
his hand, he reached out and touched her dark hair. She raised her chin and
frowned, obviously confused by both his comment and his gesture.

“I haven’t forgotten you,
Ginny. When I saw you tonight, I realized just how much I needed to see you
again, so yes, it was necessary that I walk you home.”

He dropped his hand to his
side and stepped back before he lost all control and did something even more
insane. “Good night, Ginny. Sleep well. Please go inside and lock your door, or
I’ll be forced to stand guard.” He glanced at a small wrought-iron chair on her
front porch. “I doubt that would make a comfortable bed.”

Ginny burst into laughter.
Then, to his utter amazement, she planted her hands on his shoulders, leaned
close, and kissed his cheek. “You’re nuts, Alton. Absolutely nuts, but in a
really crazy way. I like you. You drive me up a wall, but I still like you. I
think. I hope I get to see you again.” She unlocked the door and slipped
inside. “Now get off my front porch. Go back to Ed’s and sleep in a comfortable
bed. Take your ego and go home.”

She closed the door. He waited
until he heard the sound of the dead bolt sliding into place. He hoped it was a
good strong lock, with demons running the streets. He had to be certain Ginny
would be safe. He stared at the door a moment longer. Then, before he could
talk himself out of it, he raised his hands and sent a powerful compulsion
toward the woman behind the door.

Sedona.
You really miss your cousins in Sedona.

With the satisfaction he’d
done what he could to get Ginny out of harm’s way, Alton trotted lightly down
the stairs and headed back to Ed’s house. He wasn’t quite sure why he was
smiling.

Sending Ginny away until the
demon threat ended was a good idea, but offering to walk her home had to be one
of the stupidest moves he’d ever made in his life. He sighed. There was
something about Ginny—something that wouldn’t let go of him—and he had to
admit, he liked the feeling.

Of course, there was no future
for the two of them. None at all, not for an immortal Lemurian and a human
woman. He’d be a fool to try and see her again, but as that cautionary thought
entered his head, he swung around in midstep, walking backward so he could see
the place where she lived.

The little duplex sat dark and
quiet. She wasn’t staring out the window, watching him walk away. He grimaced,
going over their brief conversation. She was probably wondering what kind of
idiot had just walked her to her front door.

A lacy white curtain twitched
ever so slightly. Alton grinned like the idiot Ginny probably thought he
was…but that had to be her peeking through the window. She
was
watching him.

No doubt about it. Whistling,
Alton turned around and headed toward Ed’s house. Definitely one of the
stupidest things he’d ever done, but knowing that probably wouldn’t stop him
from trying to see her again.

Once she came back from
Sedona.

They’d paused in front of her
dad’s house, and when Eddy glanced down at Dax’s strong fingers wrapped around
hers, she realized she needed a moment alone before she lost it altogether.
First she checked the slashes that had torn through his shirt and into his
skin.

They’d closed completely.
Dried blood stained the shirt and his back, but he was okay. For now. She rested
her palm against his chest. “Check on Dad, will you? I need to see if I can
find my baseball bat. I think it’s in the garage.”

Dax stared at her for a
moment, and she prayed he wouldn’t notice how her hands trembled.

“Do you need it tonight?” He
squeezed her fingers over his heart. “I know you’re tired. We both are. Let’s
look in the morning. I’ll help you find it.”

She shook her head. He
probably thought she was nuts, but she felt frantic, and frightened beyond
belief. Time was speeding by much too fast, and he was going to be gone in just
a couple of days—and she didn’t know if she could handle it.

“I lost my crowbar,” she said.
She forced herself to take slow, even breaths. “I didn’t have it tonight, and I
don’t know where I left it. I felt naked without it.”

“It’s late, Eddy. C’mon
inside. You don’t need it tonight.”

She shook her head again and
tugged her fingers free of his grasp. “You never know. I might. I need to find
my bat. Really. It’ll just take me a few minutes.” She raised her head and stared
directly into his dark brown eyes. She knew he didn’t understand. He couldn’t.

But at least he tried.

She hated feeling powerless,
hated the fact her world was spinning out of control. Hated knowing there was
nothing she could do to change things. Nothing she could do to keep Dax.

But maybe she could find her
damned baseball bat. It was good, solid ash, a Louisville Slugger her dad had
given her the year she turned twelve. She’d hit more than one homerun with it.
Her coach had bragged about her fantastic control, that when she connected, she
didn’t just hit it out of the park, she’d been able to place the hits.

Which was exactly what she
needed now. Fantastic control.

She gazed up at Dax. Finally
he nodded his head, leaned over, and kissed her quickly. He trailed his fingers
through her messy curls, as if there was something else he wanted to say, but
whatever it was went unsaid.

He sighed when he turned away,
but he went into the house. Eddy watched him until the door shut behind him.
Then she walked to the garage, opened the door, and slipped into the darkness.
She shut the door firmly behind her and hoped like hell she could keep from
crying.

Her emotions were all over the
place, but she had to hold herself together. Dax needed her strong, not
blubbering over things that couldn’t be changed.

She couldn’t hold him here
past his allotted seven days, but she could at least find the stupid bat. That
much she could do. She took a deep breath, and then another. The lump in her
throat was still there, but the stinging in her eyes eased.

Two more days. How was she
going to make it without him when he was gone? A shudder rippled through her
body, a mere prelude to the pain waiting for her. She’d meant what she’d said
to her dad, though. Even knowing how short their time together would be, she’d
never regret loving Dax.

What she was always going to
regret, though, was losing him. A tear escaped her left eye and burned a trail
over her cheek. She brushed it away, angry at herself, and, unaccountably, with
Dax, which was definitely stupid and wouldn’t do her a damned bit of good.

Well, damn
it all, Eddy. That’s just too bad.

She could argue with herself
all she wanted, but it wouldn’t save Dax. She flipped on the light and stared
at the neat rows of shelves filled with boxes and bags. One thing about her
dad—even with all the stuff he’d collected over the years, it was always
organized.

“Now where is that blasted
baseball bat?”

Dax stared out the window at
the dark garage for a moment longer before walking from the kitchen into the
front room. He’d fully expected to find Ed already in bed, but Eddy’s father
was sitting alone, sipping a glass of brandy, with Bumper snoring at his feet.

He acknowledged Dax with a
brief nod of his head, but he appeared lost in thought.

Willow popped out of Dax’s
pocket, zipped across the room, and found her favorite spot on Bumper’s curly
back. Dax figured she must be exhausted, as she only left a smattering of blue
sparkles floating in the air with her passage. He watched her settle herself
close to the sleeping dog before he sat down on the couch across from Ed’s
recliner.

“I thought you’d be asleep by
now,” he said.

Ed shook his head, but his
focus was on the dark amber liquid he held in front of his eyes. “No. I
couldn’t sleep until I knew you two were home safe. Where’s Eddy?”

Dax shrugged. He knew it would
take him years to understand the way women thought, and with only a couple of
days left…“Looking for her baseball bat. She lost her crowbar. I don’t know why
she had to find the bat tonight. She’s exhausted.”

Ed chuckled. “Be right back.”
He struggled to get out of the chair. It was obvious he was hurting after so
much activity. He left the room for a moment and then returned with an empty
glass, poured it half full of brandy, and handed it to Dax.

“She’s looking for her
Louisville Slugger, I’ll bet.” He took a sip of his brandy. Dax tasted his. It
burned like fire, but tasted surprisingly good.

“Is that her bat? Why does she
need it tonight?” He stared into the glass and wished things weren’t quite as
complicated as they’d become.

“Because it’s something she
can find. Something familiar that belonged to her when life was good, when her
mother was alive, when demons weren’t running amuck. Dax, all our lives have
been turned upside down in the past week. None of us, save you, know what’s
going to happen next.”

Dax took another sip before he
asked, “What do you mean?”

Ed settled back in his chair.
“You have a finite life span. In a few more days, no matter how the battle on
Earth between human and demon plays out, your role in the fight will end.” He
sighed, and spoke very softly. “I’m gonna hate to lose you, boy. Already you
feel like the son I never had, and it’s going to hurt like hell when you’re
gone.”

His voice was much firmer when
he nailed Dax with a hard-edged glare and added, “But it’s not going to hurt me
half as much as it is my daughter, no matter how brave she tries to be. She
loves you. I honestly believe you’re the first man she’s ever really loved, and
I hate to think of what my little girl will go through when you just wink out
of her life.”

It took every bit of strength
Dax had not to look away, but what Ed was saying was true. Painfully true. “I
don’t know what…”