Broken Moon by Laken Cane

Chapter Thirty-One

The demon had been good for two things. One, I’d gotten the blade from him, and that blade was going to kill a lot of assholes. Two, he’d led us to the screaming girl in Lucy’s dreams, a girl we might otherwise never have found.

Marcy was being held in Falton, a small, somewhat isolated town about thirty minutes outside the city. The town was a shithole known casually as the Pocket by its residents and “outsiders” both. It was a place that anyone who didn’t live there—including the police—avoided going.

I was forced to take time to drive to Shadowfield, because my mother had my knife. No way was I going to fight that demon without it. I called her on my way there, and she promised to be waiting with the blade.

When I arrived, the on-duty guard peered from the guardhouse at me, then opened the gates without giving me any shit. Word had spread that my mom and I were Pack now, and like it or not, they weren’t going to go against their alpha’s orders.

My mom was waiting for me just inside the administration building, and when she saw me pull up, she rushed through the doors, Lennon at her side. I was happy to see that the seer was healed.

I jumped from the car to meet them. Thankfully, neither of them asked questions. My mother wordlessly handed me my sheathed blade, and as I buckled it on, rushing back to my car, she called, “Kick ass, home skillet!”

“Mom,” I said, my eye-roll in my voice, then, “Love you.”

Lennon followed me. “Give me one of your traps,” she said, when we reached my car.

I didn’t waste time asking questions. I opened the hatch, grabbed my kit, and tossed her one of my spirit snares. She cupped the snare in her palms and whispered a few unintelligible words until the trap began to glow with a gentle blue light.

I was almost afraid to touch it when she handed it to me, but when I hesitated, she shook it at me. “Take it,” she hissed. “You won’t trap him without it. Even with it, you’re going to struggle.”

“Thanks, Lennon.” I trusted her. She’d cast a spell to ignite the trap, and I had no doubt it would aid me in catching that elusive and determined demon. The light went out when I gingerly accepted the trap, but it wouldn’t matter. I knew the light was still there, even if it wasn’t visible to me.

I didn’t ask her what she’d seen. Sometimes it was better not to know.

She told me anyway. “I’ve seen two realities. In one, you defeat the demon. You trap him in the snare I just enchanted. You keep your stolen blade, a blade you should never have taken. A blade that…” A whisper of a sigh floated from her parted lips. “Well, it’s yours now, for better or worse.”

I swallowed hard. “What else did you see, Lennon?”

She reached out to help me fasten the snare to my belt when my fingers became too clumsy to work correctly. “He took you, Kait. He took the blade, which you are now part of. If he gets the blade, he gets you.”

“What do I do?” I murmured, more to myself than to her.

She answered anyway. “You don’t let him get the blade.”

Yeah.

“Hang on, Lucy,” I muttered as I sped toward the Pocket. And a few minutes later, “Don’t you hurt her, you evil fuck.” I slapped the steering wheel. “Don’t you hurt her.”

But I knew the chances of Lucy escaping with her life were low. I shoved that fear away, though I’d meant to stop doing that. Tomorrow I’d stop.

I didn’t drive into the Pocket. My car would have been stolen immediately or broken into at the very least. I parked off the road leading in, locked up, and hoped it’d still be there when I returned. I strapped on my weapon belts, and this time, I took my gun—not that it would do a whole hell of a lot against the demon. I slung my leather kit bag over my shoulder, then sprinted down the quiet road.

Before I got far, I spotted the detective’s car alongside the road. Apparently, we’d had the same idea. I ran on, and just before I reached the town, I was forced to slow down and try my best not to be seen by the roving gangs of the Pocket.

Males and females had their separate groups, and from what I’d heard, the females were the ones you wouldn’t want to run into—especially if you were a man. Being a cop wouldn’t mean Rick was safe from them. On the contrary.

I sent him a text as I walked, my head swiveling from shadow to shadow. I could handle myself against hostiles, but bullets were another story. The detective and I were going to have some trouble tonight.

I’m here.

We’re on South Street.

OMW.

Careful coming in.

Der.

I dropped my phone into my pocket and raced across a street to stand silent and motionless behind a tree as vehicle headlights lit up the night and the dim voices I’d heard a few seconds earlier became abruptly louder.

The patrolling vehicle was an old black jeep, with at least five men sitting or standing with shotguns and rifles and likely a few handguns, as well. I didn’t move until they’d turned off down the street, and then I slipped between two dark houses, their occupants sound asleep and quite secure in the knowledge that their people would protect them. Of course, they didn’t know about demons, but still.

The brutal town was sort of like Jared’s Shadowfield or Adam Thorne’s Stonebridge, and those who lived in the Pocket were as vicious as any werewolf. And they were human, so they could afford to be less careful than wolf towns. Wolves went to great pains to avoid getting themselves on the radar of human police enforcement. Those in the Pocket simply didn’t give a shit.

I had to close my mind off to the dark despair of Falton as I made my infuriatingly slow way to the South Street house. I’d been inside the borders of the Pocket only once, but like most people even remotely associated with law enforcement, I’d studied the maps. I knew where South Street was, and I knew the quickest route to get there.

But along the way there were so many sounds of torment that I had to force myself not to stop at every single one of them. A baby crying, a woman screaming as a man yelled, a kid calling for his mommy.

Once as I hurried past the mouth of an alley, I saw three dark figures fighting. I couldn’t tell if they were male or female or if two were ganging up on one. I just knew I had to get to South Street, and the horrors of the Pocket would continue long after I’d left it. The place was hell. No wonder the demon was here. He was probably not the only one.

Fifteen minutes after I’d entered the Pocket, I made it to South Street. I walked down the street, listening and watching for movement. It was silent, dark, and cold.

I got my shift.

The thought torpedoed out of nowhere and smacked me between the eyes, and for a few seconds I had to cram my fist against my mouth, slow my breathing, and calm my emotions. I’d barely been able to let it sink in, but fuck. I’d gotten my shift.

Now was not the time to let myself be distracted though, and that made me just a little damn resentful. I was no longer a hobbled wolf. I was free. And I couldn’t even wallow in that truth.

Not yet.

I darted across someone’s yard and around to the back of the house, then yelped when I literally ran into the detective. I slammed against him and he grabbed my arms to steady me.

“Kait,” he murmured, his voice hoarse.

He looked rough, and I knew part of it was because of his worry over Beth, but the look in his eyes told me that he’d had a glimpse into hell and whatever he’d seen had fucked him up. He had a black eye, a still bleeding cut on his chin, and a swollen, bruised bottom lip.

“What’s going on, Rick? Where’s Lucy?” Without thinking, I ran my thumb over his lip, frowning. I was used to cuts and bruises, but I was a wolf.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away from his mouth but didn’t let go of my arm. “Locked in her body fighting the demon,” he said grimly.

“Shit. She’s aware?”

“Oh yes. She’s very aware.” Despite my wolf’s hearing, which was even better now that I’d gotten my shift, I had to lean close to hear him. The last thing we wanted was for the patrolling “guards” to become aware of us. “She’s keeping him occupied,” he continued. “He seems fascinated with her. If she hadn’t stopped him, he’d have killed me. He gets the upper hand at times, but he’s struggling for his control.” He let go of my wrist.

I remembered in the woods when I’d first met the demon—he’d been somewhat fascinated with Lucy then, too. And I didn’t think the only reason for that was because he thought he was owed her soul.

“I found an unoccupied house,” he told me. “We can talk there without worrying about the armed assholes hoping to find someone to shoot.”

The house he’d found was only two blocks from where we stood, but it seemed to take us an eternity to get there. We slipped through the night like shadows, but the extreme caution was necessary. It was critical that we not be caught by guards or seen by homeowners.

At last we hurried across the back yard of the empty house, and he quietly shoved open the door and ushered me inside. We stood in a small, clean kitchen, and I wrinkled my sensitive nose at the scents of strong disinfectant, old bacon, and decades of cigarette smoke. I followed him from the kitchen to the living room, where he flipped on a light. The curtains over the window were thick enough to keep the light from showing through, so we wouldn’t have to worry about someone seeing it and getting nosy.

He did a doubletake when he got a good look at the blood on my face, my chest, and my hands. “Kait.”

I shrugged. “I lead a violent life, Detective.” At least nearly every injury I’d gotten was healed, thanks to my shift.

My shift. I shivered, taking a second to relish that fact—and the lack of pain. When the full moon came, it would successfully push me into my shift, and it would not hurt at all. I could barely wait.

I put my mind on the situation at hand. “So what’s he doing? Why did he bring you here? Obviously he doesn’t care about Marcy Davenport. Do you have any idea where she’s being held?”

“I only know she’s in the Pocket. Lucy will tell us after you expel the demon. She’ll see it.”

“Why do you think that?”

“He’s in there with her. She’ll know everything he knows, won’t she?”

I shook my head. “No. Her human mind wouldn’t survive that. If she knows where the girl is, it’ll be because she asks him and he thinks of the place. She’ll get clues from that. That’s all.”

“She had a dream,” he said. “The demon was waiting for you to come home, and she knew it.”

“She deliberately gave herself to the demon,” I hissed. Damn that girl.

“She was aware that he knew where Marcy was being held, because of her dreams. Once he was inside her…” He gestured. “This. When she called me, she was already possessed. I could hear her talking to it. To herself. When I got here, she attacked me. They’ve been playing cat and mouse with me since I arrived. The demon left me alive so I could bring you here.”

I nodded. “Lucy won’t let him leave, but if I’m here, he won’t want to. He doesn’t care if we find an abducted girl. He doesn’t plan on letting us live, either way. Not after he gets what he wants.”

“What the fuck does he want, Kait?”

I squeezed the demon blade. “I have to kill him. I…” I shook my head, frustrated, then showed him the small spirit snare attached to my belt. “I can’t kill him, really, but I can trap him forever.”

“Kait. What does he want?” His stare was steady and glittery in the dim, artificial light, and unrelenting.

“He wants his blade back,” I whispered. “I told you that. It’s the only way he can return to his world.” I stiffened when the sound of one of the patrolling vehicles began to grow louder. One of the gangs was a couple of streets over and coming closer by the second.

“You have to give him the blade,” he said, his voice quiet but full of shock and anger. “Give him his fucking blade, Kait. You’ll find something else to fight demons with.”

I tightened my hand almost convulsively around the hilt of my blade. “I can’t. My blood is in this blade. If he gets it, he’ll have part of me. He’ll have control of me. He can take me back to hell with him and....” I couldn’t help but shudder. “God only knows what they’d do to me.”

He stared at me for a few seconds, then ran his hand over his head. “Son of a bitch.”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t he possess Lucy at your house and wait there for you to come home?” he asked.

I snorted and cocked an eyebrow. “My place is so warded and protected that Satan himself wouldn’t be able to find a way in. If you ever need to escape a nasty demon, a hungry vampire, or a…” I hesitated, then plunged on. “Or a raging werewolf, then—"

“Vampires and werewolves,” he said, his brows low, his eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to tell me those two creatures exist?”

I laughed, but it was not at all convincing, even to my ears. “Are you trying to tell me that after everything you’ve seen, you believe they don’t?”

His eyes lit with disgust. “I can handle the spirits and demons, but I draw the line at vampires and werewolves.”

Well hell.

“Hope you never have to meet one.” My words were light, but I couldn’t look at him when I said them. I’d always felt the danger in my secret, but until now, I’d never really felt the shame.

“You should have left the blade in your house instead of carrying it around. He can’t force you to give him something you’re not carrying.”

“I could have, but then I wouldn’t have anything to control him with. A regular blade isn’t going to get him out of Lucy and into my snare.”

“You’re planning to stab Lucy? You can’t kill her to get to the demon, Kait. You’ll have to think of another way.”

“I’m not going to kill her. I just have to cut her. She’ll survive that a lot easier than she will the demon. And since she’s aware in there with the demon, she’ll be able to help me trap him.” I hesitated. “I’m sorry about Beth.”

He only nodded and then changed the subject. “What do you need me to do—or not do—when the demon comes?”

“I need you not to die,” I told him, my stare catching on his. “He will find us here, and he’s going to come in. When he does…” I grabbed his arm and led him to the opposite side of the room, then pushed him up against the ghastly paneling lining the walls. “The best thing you could do would be to leave this town,” I told him. “Right now. Just get out and let me handle this shit.”

“Let you face a demon alone,” he said, his eyebrow cocked, “while I run and hide? Do you know me at all, Ms. Silver?”

I gave a quiet laugh. “Yes, Detective, I do. So here’s what we’re going to do.” I took the kit off my back and dropped it to the floor, then knelt and rummaged through it until I found what I was looking for.

“Is that…”

“Salt,” I told him, standing. “I carry an extra bag for times like this. I’m going to put you in a circle of protection. I need you stand inside it for as long as you can. The demon can’t possess you if you’re inside it. He can’t hurt you.” I emptied the salt around him. “Don’t break this circle.”

His stare turned just a little cool. “I’m not a child, Kait. I—”

“Don’t turn into a fucking alpha now, Detective. I can fight these things. You know you can’t. I’m not—” I clamped my lips together, realizing I’d been right on the edge of telling him I wasn’t human. “It’s what I do,” I finished. “Stay inside the circle.” I softened my voice and reached out to squeeze his arm. His muscles tensed immediately, but he didn’t pull away. “Please, Rick.”

He didn’t soften. “I’ll do what I can do.”

And that’s all he’d give me.

I knelt once more and began rummaging through my kit, pulling out everything I thought I might need against the demon who was inside my friend. First and foremost, the coveted demon blade.

I couldn’t let him take it from me. If he got the blade, he got everything.

“He might not find us here,” Rick said. He left the circle and went to peer out the window. “He might be waiting for us to hunt him down.” Then his voice changed. “Shit.”

I jumped up. “What is it?” But I knew what he’d seen. I knew, because I felt it. “He’s coming.”

“He’s here,” he murmured. “Just standing in the front yard staring at the house. And here come the assholes with the guns.”

“This is not good.” I leaped toward the front door, then yanked it open. “Come and get me, demon,” I called as quietly as I could, waving my blade at him. “I got your precious knife.”

Lucy immediately hurried toward the house. She knew the danger and chaos that would happen if the patrolling gang spotted us. “Kait! Kick this demon’s ass!” Then abruptly she went away and the demon was there, peering out of her eyes.

“Lucy,” I muttered. “You’ve got some fucking ‘splaining to do.”

I had the blade ready. I had the trap ready. “Detective,” I said. “The circle. Please.”

Because the demon was mad, and he was going to hurt as many people as he could as quickly as he could—but first, he wanted my blade. He wanted my soul. I stood back, waiting for him to rush inside so I could shut the door. I wasn’t going to keep him out of the house. I needed to keep him in.

The detective took my arms from behind, squeezing gently. “Steady, Kait. I’m here with you.”

“But the salt—”

“Fuck the salt.”

Then the demon—Lucy—was racing inside, and I slammed the door just seconds before the patrolling men rumbled by in their jeep with their guns and their attitude. Then everything happened at once.

Lucy began fighting the demon in earnest, trying to slow him down now that she thought he was trapped and that I could kill him. Rick grabbed her from behind, trying to hold her still so I could cut her and get the trap in place.

Technically, I didn’t have to put the snare over her mouth to capture the demon, but that cut down on his chances of escaping. When he was expelled, there’d be a few seconds where he was vulnerable as he dealt with the transfer out of her body. Those were the only seconds I had before he either escaped or possessed the detective.

He couldn’t possess me because of the anti-possession tattoo on my right shoulder. After this night, if we survived it, I was going to suggest to Rick and Lucy that they pay a visit to my tattoo artist.

There were only three people in the room—four if you included the demon—but there was such sudden chaos it felt like a dozen. Rick attempted to hold on to Lucy’s possessed body, but the demon was supernaturally strong. Even as I leaped toward her, my blade and snare ready, she threw Rick into a wall. Hard. He collapsed to the floor and didn’t move.

Lucy was trying with all her strength to help, but she couldn’t control herself. She couldn’t just hold still and let me do what I needed to do. I rammed her body finally, cornering her, and as I slammed the snare against her mouth and lifted my knife, she grabbed my hand and forced the blade to her chest.

“God,” I cried, desperate. She was going to shove that blade into her heart, and the demon believed that I wouldn’t be able to bear it. He thought I’d give him possession of the knife to save her.

He was wrong. I didn’t want to sacrifice Lucy, of course I didn’t. But I would if I had to. The demon had to be contained, and I would have sacrificed anyone—myself included—to make sure it happened.

I ground my teeth as I put everything I had into keeping that blade out of her chest. I needed to cut her to get my blood and the magic of the demon knife inside her, but if I wasn’t strong enough to move the blade someplace less vital, she was going to die.

I wasn’t strong enough.

I would never be stronger than a demon—unless I shifted. If I shifted, Lucy would see my wolf. If I shifted, there was a chance the detective would see my wolf, though I wasn’t sure if he were still unconscious or not.

And if I shifted, I would be vulnerable through a process that would take at least sixty seconds, maybe more, and the demon would take the blade. He would leave this world, and he would take me with him.

I absolutely could not lose control and shift.

Deep down, I hadn’t been confident I could shift. I didn’t know how. Without the full moon, and without the alpha, I was too new, surely. My wolf was too warped. I didn’t feel the knowledge. Funny how yesterday I would have given anything to shift, and right now, I was fighting with everything inside me not to.

“Fuck,” I cried.

My wolf was chaos, and she was mad. She fed on my extreme stress and emotions and she took control.

And I began to shift.