Demonfire (31 page)

Somewhere above him was the
machine gunner sending death down on the men below. Probably the same one who
had killed the kid he’d pulled out of the water. That knowledge gave him a
sense of duty even more powerful than what he’d felt when he started up the
cliff. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to take the nest out. He’d
avenge at least one young man who’d lost his chance at life.

Voices drifted around him, and
while he didn’t know the language, he recognized the accent. German. There were
German soldiers close enough for their voices to carry, which meant they
couldn’t be any more than a few feet above him.

His focus narrowed. He
recognized that this was more than a dream. This was happening now, or at least
in what he accepted as now. The burning streak of pain along his shoulder was
the trail of a bullet that could have killed him, the rocks beneath his hands,
cutting into his palms, were real, and that kid lying on the beach below had
lived and breathed just as he did.

Pulling himself hand over
hand, he ignored the sixty-plus pounds on his back and slowly worked his way
across the face of the bluff. There was a lip of rock to one side, and he
managed to get around it. Somehow he ended up just above the group of three men
firing on the troops below. He grabbed his sidearm. His rifle was gone, and he
had no idea where he’d lost it, but the Remington Rand forty-five felt good in
his hand, and he’d kept it dry during the landing.

He aimed carefully, taking his
time with the first shot, and his target dropped without a sound. Before the
other two had a chance to react, he shot the second soldier, the one manning
the gun. It happened so quickly he didn’t have time to consider what he’d done,
though he was surprised that their deaths meant so little to him. He aimed at
the third man as the fellow whirled around with a pistol in his hand.

For the briefest of moments,
he stared into eyes as blue as his were brown, into a face of a man even
younger than he was, and he saw fear. Absolute terror that he would die today.

So be it. At least Dax knew he
wouldn’t die alone. He felt nothing when he pulled the trigger. He didn’t see
the young man die. No, he was too busy dying himself.

The slug slammed into his
forehead, just below the curve of his helmet. There was no pain, no sense of
loss, no feeling at all. One moment he was alive and aiming his weapon at a kid
no older than he was.

The next, he was sitting
upright in the big bed next to Eddy, and his heart was pounding and his breath
rasping in and out of his lungs. Eddy was beside him on her knees, eyes wide,
hands reaching for him.

He shook his head and tried to
clear his thoughts, but his death was too immediate, the sense of loss too
close merely to brush away. He took a deep breath, then another, breathing
slowly, steadily. Assuring himself he still lived. That he was Dax and he slept
beside Eddy Marks and, for now at least, all was well.

“Dax? Are you okay? I heard
you thrashing in your sleep. You must have had a nightmare, but…”

He took another deep breath
and reached for her. Eddy tumbled into his arms, and he sat back on his heels,
holding her as close as he could.

“I dreamed my death,” he said,
surprised that the dream remained as clear now as when he was living it. “Not
as I am now, but my death as a soldier on the beaches of Normandy. This body,
the man who lived in it, was a soldier who landed at Omaha Beach. He was terrified.
He knew he would die that day. Tonight, when I dreamed, I was with him when he
died.”

“Oh, Dax.” Eddy cupped his
face in her palms. “How horrible. I’m so sorry you had to…”

“No.” He shook his head. Then
he turned and kissed her palm. “No, don’t be sorry. I think he’s with me. Not
just his body, but his soul as well. I thought the Edenites had given me an
empty shell, but I feel his spirit, here.” He pressed his hand to his heart and
felt tears well up in his eyes, but he had to explain to Eddy, had to tell her
what he’d learned.

His dream, if that’s what it
was, had changed him. It had changed everything. “I’ve sensed him before, but
not as I do now. I know him. He was such a brave man, Eddy. He knew he faced
death, yet he didn’t quit. He saved the life of another young man, who was
killed by a bullet a few minutes later. When that happened, he threw caution to
the wind and climbed up a bluff near the beach, and he managed to kill three
men who were manning a machine gun. They were Germans, young men like he was,
following orders, but they were the ones mowing down the American soldiers. The
ones who had killed the one he’d saved. The last man—a boy, really—that he shot
put a bullet in his brain. He died bravely, and he died fighting. He was
following orders to the very end.”

Dax stared into the darkness,
wrapping those feelings around his body, absorbing everything he’d experienced.
“Eddy, when it happened, at the very moment of his death, he was no longer
afraid.”

“What is it you’re trying to
tell me, Dax? This isn’t just about a dream, is it? I don’t understand.” Eddy
leaned back in his embrace so that she could look into his eyes. She was sleep
rumpled and warm in his arms. Her hair stuck out on one side and lay all
squished flat on the other. She was the most beautiful, most precious thing
he’d ever known.

And she deserved the truth.
“I’ve been afraid of failing, Eddy. So afraid. I’m not as strong as the demon
gargoyle. Maybe I’m not as crafty, either, but I’ve got you. I have Alton and
Willow, your dad, and Bumper—even my demon self is still part of me. Together
we make a formidable team, but all along I’ve felt as if I didn’t have what it
was going to take to win the fight. When I dreamed tonight, when I felt the
strength of the man who first lived this body’s life, I realized he was sharing
his courage. He was letting me know him so that I’d understand what it meant to
die bravely. He’s sharing that with me.”

Eddy wrapped her arms around
his neck and drew him close for a kiss. When their mouths finally parted, she
smiled against his lips. “I’ve never doubted you, Dax. You’re the only one who
thinks you can’t win. I know better. Those Edenites wouldn’t have chosen you if
they’d had any doubt. Let’s go back to sleep. We’ve still got a few hours
before morning. When we go after the gargoyle tomorrow, you will win. I don’t
have any doubt at all.”

She kissed him again, and he
realized he wasn’t nearly as sleepy as he’d thought. When her hands slipped
around his waist and traced the bumps along his spine, it seemed perfectly
natural to lay her down and stretch out beside her.

But when he made love to her,
he couldn’t stop thinking about the man who’d died on Omaha Beach. A man who’d
gone into battle terrified, yet faced death bravely. A man who had followed
orders, even as they led him to his death.

Dax needed to remember the
orders he followed. His death was a given. His duty was to remove the demons
from this small town, to ease the pressure of evil against good before a
tipping point was reached. He was well on his way to accomplishing that
mission. As much as he loved Eddy Marks, the mission was for the good of all,
and he must not fail.

Failure was not an option. He
was destined to die at the end of his week, no matter how the battle against
the demons played out, so he’d better be damned sure that the outcome was what
he wanted.

He would win, no matter what,
because he had no fear of death. Just as the one who’d first inhabited this
body had known his own death was imminent when he went against the enemy, Dax
knew he’d be gone by the end of the week. That was the deal.

Ed Marks was right—Dax knew
what to expect. There were going to be no final surprises. The only surprise,
in fact, had been Eddy.

He realized then, as their
bodies reached that final peak together, that it wasn’t death he feared, not
the failure of his mission, not pain, or the demon gargoyle and his curse.

No, he’d thought his only fear
was leaving Eddy in a world that was no longer safe. It was worse. It was
something he couldn’t change, no matter how the battle on Earth ended.

He feared moving on to
whatever might come next without her. He could face the demon and whatever it
might do to him, and he could face him without fear, but eternity without Eddy
scared him more than death.

Thursday morning—day five

Eddy sipped her second cup of
coffee and stared at her laptop. She’d been working on a story for the paper
since she’d gotten up this morning, writing about the vandalism of the cemetery
statues. So far, nothing she’d written sounded all that convincing.

Organizing her thoughts with
all that was going on wasn’t easy. Writing lies made it even more difficult.
Grumbling, she highlighted the paragraph she’d just written and hit
DELETE
.

Ed, Alton, and Dax studied a
street map of town and threw out different plans to destroy the gargoyle.
Eddy’d only been paying partial attention as they went back and forth with
various ideas, coming up with plans and discarding them just as quickly as she’d
been deleting story ideas. So far, it appeared that the only thing they agreed
on was that the gargoyle would be at his weakest around noon, when the sun was
high in the sky, but she tuned out the rest of their discussion while she
worked on another angle for her story.

At least Harlan had quit
giving her grief, and there’d been a paycheck in yesterday’s mail, so she knew
she still had a job.

She wasn’t certain she still
wanted it.

Convincing the citizens of
Evergreen that all the damage and weird situations affecting their town were
the acts of nonexistent gangs or satanic cults wasn’t easy. Even with her
deputy buddies, Milton and Bud, agreeing with her—thanks to Alton—she could
offer no proof beyond guesswork by local law enforcement.

At least they were still in
line with the hypnotic suggestions Alton continued to plant. Of course, there
wouldn’t be any proof, since gangs weren’t responsible. She almost felt sorry
for the nonexistent gangbangers and satanic cultists who were taking the heat
for the current mess.

As far as she knew, people
weren’t talking about the battle on Lassen Boulevard. She wondered if they were
having nightmares instead. She hated to think they might be reliving the
horrible things they’d seen. Things they’d been compelled not to discuss.

“How long do you think people
will continue to buy this crap?” She waved her hand over her laptop. “I haven’t
got a lick of proof, no facts and nothing but made-up guesswork to explain what
we all know is a demon invasion.”

Alton laughed. “And you think
they’d believe that before they’ll believe that gangs or cultists are behind
everything?”

Eddy frowned. “Good point. I
just feel like such a fraud. I’m writing lies. It bothers me. It goes against
everything that journalism stands for. Haven’t you heard of the Journalist’s
Creed?”

Alton gave her a blank stare.

“Sheesh.” She shut her laptop.
“Well, essentially it’s a promise to write only what I believe, in my heart, to
be true.”

Dax smiled. “Doesn’t it also
have something about suppressing the news for the good of the welfare of
society?”

Eddy blinked. “How’d you know
that?”

“I found it framed on the wall
in your dad’s workshop and read it. I know the stories you’ve been writing are
bothering you, and when I saw a document titled The Journalist’s Creed, I
looked to it for answers.”

Alton laughed. “Sounds as if
you found them.”

“That I did. The truth could
cause a panic.” Dax glanced once more at the map, and then at Eddy. “If people
knew that a demon invasion was behind all this, they’d call in the military,
and we’d have a full-scale war on our hands.”

Alton agreed. “The minute we
get a military presence, the fear and potential bloodshed would cause nothing
but chaos, not to mention the kind of negative energy demonkind thrive on.”

“I’m still lying.” She crossed
her arms over her chest. Anger and frustration had been her constant companions
all morning. “So much of this is all lies.” It wasn’t just what she was
writing. What about Dax? A demon, disguised as a human. And Alton? He wasn’t
even human.

“It’s for the common good,
Eddy.”

Dax’s soft voice broke through
whirling thoughts. She was beginning to feel outnumbered, especially when her
father added to Dax and Alton’s argument. He glanced up and caught Eddy’s
stubborn gaze. “No one has been seriously injured or killed. We’re dealing with
nothing more than vandalism at this point, no matter what the cause, but I’m
afraid the guys are right. If that gargoyle gains more power, if he reaches a
point where he can proactively destroy life and steal the energy of human
beings…”

Eddy swallowed back a gasp. “I
hadn’t even thought of that. Do you think that’s all that’s holding him back?
That he’s not strong enough to take a human life?”

Dax nodded. “Quite possibly.
Not that he can’t kill. Slicing my back open is proof he can do damage. He just
hasn’t evolved enough to harness the energy a human death could provide. I’m
hoping Alton’s right. If all the demons that crossed over have been destroyed,
that would mean the gargoyle’s energy supply’s gone, at least for now. I was
wondering where he got his strength. It’s not like he’s got his own Willow,
pulling energy out of the air for him.” He grinned at the little sprite. She
twirled in a shower of blue sparkles at mention of her name.

Alton glared at his sword.
Encased in its leather scabbard, it hung from the back of a kitchen chair, a
mute reminder of its lack of voice. The jeweled hilt sparkled beneath the
overhead lights. “I was worried the ones I thought I was killing with my
worthless sword were merely going back to Abyss, or worse, directly to the
demon. At least, last night, it seemed to be killing them, but even so, I’m
ready to leave the damned thing here when we go out and fight, for all the good
it’s done me.”

Eddy interrupted. “Alton, it’s
a good weapon even if it’s not speaking to you. It cut through those stone
statues like they were made of butter, and when you hit the demon mist, it
flashed and sizzled and the gargoyle was totally pissed. That alone is proof to
me that you’re destroying them.”

“We’ll never know for sure,
though, unless the thing decides to acknowledge me.” He dismissed it with a
wave of his hand. “The problem is, as long as I’m wielding it, I can’t fight
beside Dax. It’s dividing our strength because I can’t trust it.” He stared at
it, mumbling, “A man should be able to trust his own sword, shouldn’t he?”

“I agree.” Dax gave the
crystal sword a wide berth, even when it hung innocently in its sheath. He
stared at it a moment and then looked away. “As far as the gargoyle, I think
we’ve been feeding him all along, with every avatar we’ve destroyed and every
demon we’ve missed, but there’s a good possibility the last of the demons are
gone after yesterday’s battle. If that’s the case, there’s nothing more for him
to absorb, or inhale, or whatever it is he does to the demons who revert to
mist. It should keep him from getting any more powerful than he already is.” He
glanced toward Alton. “I hope. He’s already stronger than I am.”

Alton laughed. “My money’s
still on you. I think you can take him.”

Dax shook his head, but Eddy
noticed he was smiling too. Alton and Dax had forged an amazing friendship in
such a short time. In a way, it made her feel better, knowing she wasn’t the
only one who loved the man with the powers of a demon and the heart of a
warrior.

“I’m hoping that piece of wing
you sliced off has cost him,” Dax said. “It takes a lot of energy to regenerate
parts, and he grew that wing tip back last night. If I hadn’t been in such
sorry shape myself, I would have gone after him, but I didn’t have anything
left. I’m stronger today. Here’s hoping he’s still feeling weak and puny.”

Chuckling, Ed stood up. “It’s
almost nine, and the last thing I need is to be worried about you guys feeling
weak and puny. How about a big breakfast so you won’t need lunch? Have you
figured out yet how we’re going to do whatever it is we have to do?”

Alton ran his hand over the
map and jabbed his finger on the spot he’d circled in red, where the old
library building stood. “I can use a compulsion to keep people away from the park
at the library. Once it’s cleared, Dax and Willow are going in.”

“Agreed.” Dax studied the map
and glanced at the clock. “If we’re there a little before noon, you should be
able to keep folks away. If they’re already there eating lunch, it might be harder
to get them to leave. Eddy?”

He flashed her a smile that
seemed terribly relaxed, considering what they were discussing. “I want you to
hang on to Bumper and stay fairly close to me, just in case Willow needs a
place to hide.”

“I can do that.” She glanced
at her father. “What’s Dad going to do?”

“You mean besides cook?” Ed
laughed and waved his spatula.

“Ed, I want you watching the
perimeter. Make sure there aren’t any demons hanging around. Don’t destroy any
avatars, because we don’t want the gargoyle to get them, but watch for anything
that might be demonkind.”

Eddy placed her hand over his.
“And what do you intend to do?”

He flashed her a cocky grin.
“I intend to kill the gargoyle. The demon has bonded so entirely with the stone
gargoyle that it’s gained a corporeal presence in this dimension, but it’s got
to take a lot of energy to maintain the body. It’s no longer animating stone.
It’s breathing now, and it bleeds.”

“Green blood. I saw it when
Alton sliced off the tip of its wing. Yuck.”

“Green, red, brown, or black.
It doesn’t matter,” Dax said. “If it bleeds, it can die. We couldn’t kill the
gargoyle because it wasn’t alive, and we weren’t able to destroy it and get to
the demon inside. It appears somehow to have attained life, which means mortality.
The flesh should burn; bones can be broken. It may have better mobility and
possibly cognitive reasoning, but I’m guessing it’s lost its indestructible
edge.”

Alton laughed. “Well, it
sounds good in theory.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Dax
stood up and pushed his chair back from the table. “Ed? How long before
breakfast?”

“About fifteen minutes.” Ed
added more bacon to the pan. The sizzle and pop filled the air with enough good
smells to make Eddy’s mouth water. She stared at her closed laptop and pondered
not sending anything to Harlan at all.

Dax rested a hand on her
shoulder. “I want to take a quick walk around the block and see if anything’s
stirring out there that shouldn’t be.”

Eddy grabbed his hand. “Do you
want company?”

“Always,” he said, smiling at
her. “C’mon. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

He held her hand as they
stepped off the porch and started down the sidewalk. The morning was cool. Pine
needles and dry leaves crackled underfoot. Birds chattered and chirped, a dog
nearby barked. Eddy heard a lawn mower roar to life. She noticed the distinct
lack of stone deer and ceramic garden gnomes. The neighborhood had been full of
them just a week ago.

“Could the demons have run out
of things to use as avatars? A lot of statues have been broken over the past
few days.”

Dax shook his head. “No. You’d
be surprised. There’s still a lot of stuff around. Look.” He pointed to a front
porch where a pair of metal birds hung in a wind chime. Then he showed her a
weather vane designed like a rooster on top of a nearby garage. “There are all
kinds of lifelike replicas made of stone or metal. If there were demons around
who needed avatars, they’d still be able to find them.”

They continued on around the
block. Dax seemed so totally relaxed, it was hard to believe he’d had that
horrible dream last night. He’d still been awake when she’d finally gone back
to sleep, her body sated from his lovemaking.

She wasn’t sated anymore. In
fact, the familiar sizzle of arousal was once more awakened, merely by the
touch of his hand, the sight of him walking beside her. She’d never seen such a
beautiful man, never been as attracted to anyone before, the way she was to
Dax, but when she’d rolled over this morning and reached for him, he was
already gone. She’d found him out in the kitchen having coffee when she’d
finally crawled out of bed.

“Did you get any sleep at all
last night?” She stopped walking, wrapped her hands around his arm and held him
close.

“Some,” he said. “I had a lot
to think about.”

“Dax?” She tugged him to a
stop and looked into his clear, dark brown eyes. Every time she looked at him,
she wondered how many more chances she’d have. “Are you afraid?”

He frowned. “Of the demon?”

She shook her head. “No. Of it
all ending. Of what will happen when your time is over. I can’t imagine what
that must be like, knowing exactly when you’re going to die.”

“Ah, Eddy. Sweetheart, I’m not
going to die. I’ll just be moving from this life to another. I’m hoping I’ll
end up in Eden if I’m successful with my mission, but even if I don’t, I’ll
merely go back into the void. It’s not a frightening place. It’s just…” He
sighed. “It’s boring. Eternity with only memories of the life you’ve lived
isn’t an exciting proposition. I’ve lived for a very long time, but the only
thing I want to remember is the time I’ve spent with you. I’m hoping these
memories will be enough. The past few days have been amazing. I need to stretch
these memories out and make them last.”

She thought about that, about
facing eternity with only memories. She’d always have such amazing memories of
Dax. They started walking again. Within a few minutes, they’d circled the
block, and her father’s house was right in front of them.

“Eddy?”

She turned to him. “What?”

“I love you. I don’t want to
spend eternity feeling guilty about leaving you. Promise me you’ll find love
again. Please? I have to know you’re able to accept what’s coming if I’m going
to be able to concentrate on my mission. Can you do that?”

She stood on her toes and
kissed him. “I promise. I will be fine. Let’s go eat before Dad sends out a
search party for us.”