Tuesday night—day three

Dax and Alton sat at the table, poring over the city map with a plate of sandwiches and a bowl of chips in front of them. Dax heard Eddy come into the kitchen, but he didn’t turn around. When she stood behind Dax and reached for half a roast beef sandwich, he tilted back, leaned the top of his head against her belly, and grinned up at her. “Ed makes good sandwiches. I could get used to these.”

She shook her head, and the damp strands of her short hair slapped the sides of her face. “Then you’d better learn to make them. I only cook when I have to.” She took a bite and pointed to a spot on the map. He glanced down and followed where her finger led.

“There’s a big nursery here. I thought of it while I was in the shower—it’s got a whole section devoted to ceramic garden creatures. Deer, mice, birds—all sorts of things. There’s a huge statue of a grizzly bear just outside the front. I can’t remember if it’s stone or plastic or maybe concrete. I guess it’s okay if it’s plastic, right?”

Dax nodded. “Stone and ceramic seem to be the avatars of choice. I’m not sure about plastic. Its basic component is petroleum, but that might be a stretch.”

“Well, we haven’t seen any plastic flamingoes flapping around, and all the garden gnomes I’ve seen have been made of cheap ceramic.” She chewed and swallowed a big bite. “Alton, the nursery is here on the southeastern end of town, so you and Dad need to check it out.”

Alton nodded and made a note on a small tablet. His list was already long. Willow buzzed across the room and hovered in between the Lemurian and Dax, but her focus was entirely on Dax. Her tiny wings beat so fast they practically disappeared.

You must see if you can achieve the transfer, she said, speaking telepathically to him.

Damn. He’d completely forgotten. Dax nodded, and Willow zipped across the room again to hover beside Bumper.

Dax turned to Eddy and shrugged. “Maybe I need to make lists the way Alton does. Willow just reminded me I have to see if I can disincorporate and transfer into Bumper.” He grabbed a sandwich and pushed his chair back. When Eddy started to follow, he stopped her. “Watch from here if you like, but don’t come close. Not until I’ve done the transfer a few times. There’s a risk that I could take over the body of the wrong living entity. I only want to do this with Bumper. It might be too confusing if I end up sharing your body.”

Eddy stared at him a minute. Then she burst out laughing and leaned close. He caught a whiff of her fresh scent and the flowery essence of her shampoo. His delight in her scent was so great he had to close his eyes. Would he ever grow used to such pleasure?

Whispering in his ear, so close that her breath tickled him, she said, “Dax, you can share my body any time you want.”

Dax took a long, slow breath, giving himself time to grasp whatever control he could. Then, as calmly as he was able, he cast her a sidelong glance. “How come you didn’t tell me that before I fell asleep?” Before she could move away, he planted a quick kiss on her full lips.

She blinked in surprise. He liked that he’d gotten her back after her tease. Then he stood up, grabbed another half of a sandwich off the plate, and went out in the backyard with Bumper and Willow on his heels.

He left Eddy sitting in the kitchen with a big smile on her face. One almost as broad as the smile on his.

 

Dax found a quiet corner out in the backyard near Ed’s workshop. Someone nearby had recently mowed their lawn, and the rich scent of freshly cut grass tickled his nostrils. The air was still, the early evening quiet. It was as good a time as any to practice something he wasn’t really certain he could do.

Bumper sniffed around the bushes, peed on a tuft of grass, and then planted her butt at his feet. Willow flitted around, checking the area as he’d asked her to, making sure there were no demons in hiding. He knew he’d be vulnerable until he got the hang of this.

“Okay, Willow. Have you explained to Bumper what we’re planning?”

Willow hovered in front of Dax’s face. Bumper yipped. It appeared they were ready. He wished he felt better prepared. Wished he had a better understanding of what he could and couldn’t do.

“You’ll need to show me what to do first.”

She continued to hover in front of his face. Instead of speaking in his head, Willow let him see visually how to transfer his consciousness from his human body into a living creature. It was a three-part process—moving his consciousness, the part that made him Dax, out of the human body; reducing the human body to all its separate molecular components so that he wouldn’t be leaving a mindless shell behind that could be captured or destroyed by his enemies; and transferring his consciousness into a living avatar.

It was essentially what the Edenites had done to him after they found him in the void. He’d existed there as consciousness only. His demon form had stayed in Abyss, probably as a meal for one of his many enemies. The group from Eden must have reached into the maelstrom of time and found this soldier’s body after its spirit had already flown.

Of course, they had refurbished it, added the tattoo and a few upgrades, and Dax had been sent through the portal as a human. Yet in essence, he was still the demon. The very soul of this body was demonkind. The powers that coursed through the tattoo, bound though they were by the curse, were still those of a once-powerful demon.

He vaguely recalled he’d been quite powerful on Abyss. So many of the memories of his life before the void were faded, the recollections twisted and confused by the memories still a part of this body.

He hoped the power he’d once wielded as a demon would help him now. He stared at Willow, studying the process she showed him, imagining each step that would disassemble the molecules of the human body and yet leave his conscious mind intact.

It all made such perfect sense. He had to be certain to separate his consciousness first, or even his thoughts would dissipate with the evening breeze, never to recombine again.

Still, what sounded complicated and confusing was really a very simple process—as long as he didn’t screw anything up. The idea of floating free of his body without an anchor scared the crap out of him, but he had Bumper standing by, ready and willing to play host, and Willow for advice. He should be fine.

He glanced once toward the house and saw Eddy’s face in the kitchen window. Her hands were clasped in front of her lips, as if in prayer. Knowing she was so close, so worried about him, gave Dax the courage he needed to take the next step.

He gazed once again at Willow. She glowed brightly, drawing energy out of the air and sending it to him. Dax absorbed it, inhaling as if he filled his lungs with oxygen, but taking all the energy Willow had to give.

He paused a moment and allowed his mind to absorb the energy. Felt the pressure build inside until power literally pulsed in his veins. Then he began the process that should separate him from his human body. The sensation was unlike anything he’d felt before—a sudden twisting of reality, as if he’d been sucked down a long, narrow tube.

Then nothing. He blinked. Looked down at his human hands, his large human feet. Ran his fingers over his arms and stared at Bumper.

She wagged her tail and yipped.

He tried it again, drawing power, taking each step that should free his consciousness and disassemble his body.

He should have been looking at the world from less than two feet off the ground. He wasn’t. He was still Dax, still human, still staring down at the dog and wondering what had gone wrong.

“Willow? What the hell happened?”

There was no sign of the sprite. “Willow? Willow, where are you?”

I am here.

He stared down at the dog. Bumper’s tail swished in rapid delight. There was a suspicious blue sparkle in her big, brown eyes.

“You’re in Bumper? I’m supposed to be in Bumper. What happened?”

Obviously your human body is unable to disassemble. Mine, however, does it beautifully.

“I can see that.” He planted his hands on his hips and realized he felt mildly ridiculous talking to the dog. “How come you can do it and I can’t?”

Bumper yipped.

Willow answered. I imagine it has something to do with your powers, the tattoo, and the curse. If you disincorporated your body, what happens to the tattoo? If it dissipates, do your powers disappear?

Dax let out a big sigh. “I hadn’t even thought of that. So, you can take on an avatar but I can’t.”

That’s how it appears.

“Will you be able to get your body back?”

He heard Willow’s laughter. Feminine, almost sultry, she said, I certainly hope so!

“Great.” He wasn’t used to being bested by a sprite. Dax folded his arms across his chest and tried once more to draw the power, to make the switch.

And again, nothing happened.

He glared down at the dog from his usual height.

She stared at him out of intelligent eyes.

“Willow? Are you still there?”

Yes. I like this body. I can’t fly, but I’m stronger and I feel more sensations. Watch! She took off and ran around the yard a few times. Dax watched, frustrated, as Willow discovered what it was like to run like a dog, to smell the different scents and hear the sounds through Bumper’s ultrasensitive ears.

Obviously, this was one demon power he’d lost. At least he still had his fire and ice. “Willow?”

I’m here.

“I want you to come out so I can see how long it takes you to get your body back.”

Do I have to?

“Please, Willow. This isn’t a game. Even though I can’t switch, we may have need for you to be able to do it. I need to know how fast you are.”

I know. Okay.

Willow took a bit longer than Dax expected, but within a few seconds she buzzed by him, leaving a trail of blue sparkles in her wake.

I want to do it again!

Should he really feel jealous of a sprite? “As often as you like, Willow. As long as Bumper doesn’t mind.”

Willow buzzed around him, then disappeared into the dog. Bumper didn’t seem the least bit concerned when Willow popped in and out of her consciousness.

Disappointed in his own lack of ability, Dax watched as the sprite improved the speed of her shift with each attempt. The tattoo throbbed across his torso, energized most likely by his failed attempts and frustration. It seemed that the thing was more painful whenever he used his demon skills. The pain appeared to be worse, if that was at all possible, when he attempted something and failed.

How long before it was too much? How long before he couldn’t handle it, couldn’t keep the damned thing from gaining sentience? That’s what was happening. He knew it, sensed the snake growing stronger, more self-aware each time it began to move across his body.

“Dax? Are you okay?” Eddy walked across the lawn. He could barely see her. Hadn’t realized it had grown dark while he’d been out here. “Alton and Dad are ready to leave. I thought we should probably get going too. Are you okay? Are you ready?”

He nodded. “I am.” He studied his shoes. “I failed to make the transfer.”

“I know. We watched.” She grabbed his hands in hers. “I’m sorry. Did Willow? We couldn’t tell for sure.”

He nodded. “Yes. With ease.” His failure left a sour taste in his mouth. He couldn’t believe he was jealous of a will-o’-the-wisp, but Willow had managed something he’d been so sure he could do, and she’d done it perfectly.

Eddy gazed into his eyes with more awareness than he wished she had. “It’s not really an ability you’ll need, is it? I know you thought for sure you’d be able to make the switch, but it shouldn’t affect how you fight, should it?”

He shook his head. “I can still fight. Willow thinks it’s because my powers are in the tattoo. Maybe I can’t disassemble the tattoo and retain my demon powers. I wish I had a better understanding of what I can and can’t do.”

Bumper shoved her nose against his leg. He rubbed her curly head. “At least Bumper didn’t seem to mind a bit when Willow moved in.”

Eddy reached down and rubbed Bumper’s ears. “Bumper doesn’t mind anything as long as someone’s paying her attention, do you, girl?”

Bumper leaned against Eddy’s leg and groaned.

“See? What’d I tell you? C’mon. The guys wanted to talk to you before they leave.”

Dax grabbed her hand. “First, I need…”

“I wondered if all that stuff would make this worse.” She sighed, shook her head, and quickly unbuttoned his shirt. When her cool hands covered the snake, he almost wept. The moment she touched him, the pain seemed more manageable. Even his frustration faded away. The longer she pressed her palms to the tattoo, the better he felt.

When Eddy leaned close and pressed her lips against the snake’s vicious head, the pain disappeared entirely. His body felt strong again. Whole. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against Eddy’s. “I could not do this without you. Thank you.”

She flashed him a bright smile, though he still sensed the worry she hid from him. Then she buttoned his shirt closed for him, touched his cheek with her fingertips, and turned toward the house. “C’mon. They’re waiting.”

He heard the tremor in her voice. She was definitely worried. What could he do, to take the worry away?

The only thing he knew. Kill the demons. Make the world safe before he either returned to the void or took his place in Paradise.

For some reason, he didn’t find the same sense of satisfaction those options had given him in the past. Wondering about his changing frame of mind, Dax followed Eddy back into the house with Bumper and Willow right behind.

Alton stood in the kitchen with his sword out, checking the blade in the bright overhead light. He glanced up, saw Dax, and quickly sheathed his sword, but it was obvious the weapon fought him. It looked as if it took all of Alton’s considerable strength to force the thing back into the scabbard.

Dax stood back, waiting in the doorway until it was safely encased in leather.

“It doesn’t understand why I won’t let it kill you, Dax.” Alton laughed. “Don’t ever try and sneak up on me. The sword will know the moment you get within striking distance.”

“I’ll remember that.” He eyed the thing respectfully. The blade was at least five feet long and appeared to be made of pure diamond, sharp as a razor. Not something he wanted to go up against in battle.

Dax put the evening’s failure out of his mind. Tonight they faced their first true test. “Alton, you and Ed are going to take the southern part of town and cover the area around to the east. Eddy and I will go north and west. Be careful on the eastern side since that’s closest to the mountain. If you discover heavy demon infestation anywhere, I want you to contact us. Ed’s got a cell phone, and so does Eddy. I can’t count on my telepathy in this body. It’s not consistent.”

“No problem.” Alton strapped the scabbard across his back and checked to make sure the grip was perfectly placed for quick retrieval. “Maybe we’ll get a little action tonight and my sword will finally tell me its name, eh?” He flashed a grin at Dax and took a step toward the door. “Ed? You ready to go?”

“I am.” Ed wrapped his arms around Eddy and gave her a tight hug and a kiss on top of her head. “Be careful, sweetheart. Don’t take any chances. Be sure and listen to Dax.”

She hugged him back. “I will, Dad. You be careful too. Do you and Alton want Bumper?”

“You keep her. We’ll be okay.” Ed glanced at Dax. “Take care of my little girl, Dax. Keep her safe.”

“Yes, sir.” Dax held a hand out. Ed took it in a firm grasp. “You have my promise.”

Ed nodded. “Remember to lock the house up, Eddy. I’ve got a key.” He looked around the kitchen as if he couldn’t quite believe where he was going. Then he flashed Eddy a huge grin, turned away, and followed Alton out the back door.

Eddy stared at the door for a moment after it closed. Then she shook her head, laughing. “All the years my dad’s believed in flying saucers and ghosts and demons and I’ve teased him about it. Now I find out he was right and I was wrong.”

Dax shrugged. “I can’t say much about flying saucers, though I understand Atlanteans have a form of transportation that might appear…”

“No!” Eddy laughed and held both her hands over her ears. “Let me hold on to at least a few of my delusions. Please?”

“If you say so.” Dax waited while she grabbed a jacket for the cool night air and locked the back door behind her dad and Alton. Then she led him out the front door.

Dax followed close behind and stood at her side while she locked the door. Eddy left the porch light on, as if they were just going out for a regular evening.

As if you could call hunting demons a regular anything. He wondered how they’d fare this night, if all of them would still be alive come morning. It was so beautiful out, but when Dax glanced up at the night sky, he felt as if time were spinning by at Mach speed.

The tattoo shivered across his chest, and he felt the heat beginning to build once more. Three days almost gone, and they’d yet to face demonkind in force. Three days since he’d been cursed, and the curse grew in strength by the hour.

Dax gazed along the dark and silent street and wondered, once again, what the night would bring.

 

“I’ve made a list of the places with stuff demons can use as avatars, all on the way to the cemetery, but that’s not even counting all the little garden statues in everyone’s yards and the ceramic stuff in houses.” Eddy raised her head and caught Dax looking back at her. She smiled at him, and for a moment she wasn’t terrified of what might come. She wasn’t afraid for Dax and the pain he suffered from the curse. For just a moment, she was a woman gazing at a man and thinking things a woman in love would feel.

Things she’d better stop thinking right now. Damn…where’d that come from? Double damn.…She’d been avoiding the L word really well until now. Eddy blinked herself back to the job at hand and tore her gaze away from Dax. Took a deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing.

She glanced once more at her list and then much more carefully at Dax. She wasn’t about to let herself be caught up in those gorgeous dark eyes of his. Not now. “Okay, how about we set the cemetery as our eventual destination, and just check as many of these places along the way as we can.” Eddy took a final look at the list, folded it up, and stuck it in her pocket. Then she grabbed Bumper’s leash and zipped her jacket closed. It was cool out, but not cold. She wondered what kind of weather demons preferred.

Willow flitted around for a moment and then settled in the curls between Bumper’s ears. Dax clicked on the flashlight he’d borrowed from her dad. Then he turned it off, and on again. There were no streetlights in this part of town, and they’d need the light.

“You lead,” Dax said. “I’m not really sure where we’re going.”

Eddy nodded and took off with Bumper leading the way. They followed the road to the main boulevard and headed north. Shops were closed, but there were still a few restaurants open, and all seemed normal for a Tuesday night. Music filtered out of a small bar. There was a burst of loud laughter, more music, and voices.

“It’s a nice town, Eddy. Good people live here.”

Eddy nodded. “They do. That’s why I hate to think of anything awful happening here. Demons! It’s so hard to believe. Like something out of a horror movie.”

Dax wrapped his fingers around her hand. He was so big, his hands so much larger than hers that he made her feel almost petite. She looked up at him and smiled. It was such a natural thing, even if highly unusual for her, to be walking down Lassen Boulevard holding hands with a really gorgeous guy.

His fingers suddenly tightened around hers. He pulled Eddy into the shadows beneath a decorative awning. Bumper whined.

So much for natural.

“Shush, Bumper.”

Bumper’s ears went back, but she didn’t make another sound. Dax tapped Eddy’s shoulder and pointed to a shadowed area across the street. At first she didn’t see what he pointed at.

Then part of a shadow detached itself from a darker area. What looked like a small panther moved clumsily along the sidewalk. Eddy stared a moment longer and realized it was a carved stone cat, one that had sat upright in front of the store for years.

Now, though, it slunk along the sidewalk. Awkward at first, it seemed to gain coordination with each step, sniffing at the ground and then raising its head in the air as if to sniff the wind. It paused with one paw raised, nose in the air, its posture preternaturally alert.

Bumper growled, low in her throat. Eddy pressed her jaws together with her fingers. The dog whined, but she stopped growling.

As Eddy watched, the stone cat turned and stared directly at her. Instead of blank stone eyes, she faced red, glowing coals. The cat opened wide an improbable mouth framed in flashing rows of razor-sharp teeth. It screamed a piercing banshee howl that raised all the hairs along Eddy’s spine.

It crouched low, and, without warning, leapt halfway across the street in a single bound.

“Eddy! Get back!” Dax raised his hands. His brow furrowed in concentration. The cat leapt again. This time Dax caught it with a wall of frozen air that knocked it to the ground. Bumper barked and growled, jerking hard at the leash. Eddy wrapped the strap around both her hands and held on. Willow flitted over Dax, gathering energy to fight the demon.

The stone cat sprawled on the ground, stunned. Dax shot it with a burst of flame. The stone cracked open. Black mist oozed through the fissures. Dax caught the mist with his icy blast once more, freezing it into shards of ice. Then he seared the frozen demon with flame. It sizzled and dissipated into the air.

Before the last wisp of steam had vanished, Dax grabbed Eddy’s hand and tugged her along the street, around a corner and behind a small crystal shop, with Bumper bouncing joyfully beside them. As soon as they got into the shadows, he wrapped his arms around Eddy and covered her mouth with his in a hard, uncompromising kiss.

She heard footsteps thundering by and laughed against his mouth. “And here I thought you just couldn’t stay away from me.”

He chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers. “I can’t, but I also don’t want to have to explain what we’re doing to your curious police. Not yet.”

She stepped up on her toes and kissed him hard and fast. Then she grabbed his hand. “Let’s go. That mess in the street will keep the cops busy for a while.”

They slipped out from between the buildings and headed away from the commotion, down the street toward the old library. Bumper trotted alongside as if fighting demon cats were an everyday event, but she slowed her pace when they reached the library. The stone building was empty now, merely a shell of its former glory, and, according to laws regarding earthquake safety, badly in need of restoration.

At one time there had been two gargoyle statues on the roof at either side of the main front door. Years ago, one had been vandalized and destroyed, but the remaining gargoyle had survived. They’d both seen it there, holding court from the corner mount earlier today.

Now the corner was empty. “It’s gone.” Dax’s flat words gave just a hint of the frustration he must be feeling as they stared at the point where the gargoyle had been attached since long before Eddy’s father was born. Now the shelf of quarried stone stood empty, mute testimony to the demon that had chosen the statue as its avatar.

“Listen!” Eddy tugged Dax’s hand and pointed toward the west, in the direction of the cemetery. The faint sound of screeching and deeply resonant howls barely registered. Bumper growled and tugged the leash.

“We need to see what’s going on.”

Dax stared at her for a moment, as if trapped by indecision. “Eddy, maybe you should try and find your father and Alton. Go with them.”

“You’re kidding, right?” She glared at him, silently daring him to give her such a stupid order. He looked as if he’d like nothing better than to send her home. “I’m going with you, Dax. We’re a team, remember?”

He sighed, long and loud. “I remember. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He rubbed his chest and took a deep, shuddering breath.

Eddy reached for his top button.

“We don’t have time,” he said.

“Don’t be stupid.” She was angrier than she had a right to be. Angry at Dax for wanting to keep her safe, at the demons for creating this mess, at Harlan for firing her. Angry at a life that was currently spinning totally out of control. “We don’t have time not to. Hold still.” She parted the buttons and gasped. The snake stared directly into her eyes with a malevolence she’d not expected. Eddy took a deep breath and slapped both hands directly over the serpent’s head. She was almost certain she felt the texture of his scales, the hard surface of fangs, but the intense heat quickly overwhelmed any other sensations.

Holding her hands against the tattoo, she drew the heat into her own body, aware of a difference this time, as if she dealt with an actual creature, not merely a cursed tattoo. It took longer to cool the heat, and when it was done, her arms felt heavy and her heart thudded in her chest.

The curse was growing stronger. How much longer would she have any effect on it? How long before the thing attacked her when she tried to cover it with her hands?

What the hell would she do if it did attack?

“Thank you,” Dax said. He bowed his head. “It’s worse, isn’t it? I can feel it. It’s coming to life. Just now, when I zapped the demon…the first time, nothing happened. It was harder to draw my powers. I felt as if they were fighting me, refusing to respond.”

“Yeah, but they did respond. You’re still in charge. It’s okay, Dax. I can handle the pain if you can.” She forced a laugh. “Ain’t no tattoo gonna get the best of me!”

She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him close, just hug him hard until the damned curse was gone, but when he held his hand out, she took it. Then she followed him down the dark lane that would lead them to the cemetery.

In the distance, Eddy heard faint screams and banshee howls, interspersed with the nearby chirp of crickets and the hoot of an owl. She shivered, held tightly to Dax’s hand, and kept her senses on high alert.

There was a small hardware store with a nursery along the road to the cemetery. Dax held a finger to his lips as they drew near. “I sense demonkind nearby,” he whispered. “Stay alert.”

Bumper growled and strained at her leash. Willow zipped around the side of the building, while Eddy and Dax crossed the parking lot. Two large dusk-to-dawn lights illuminated most of the asphalt and the front of the store, but the dark shadows could have hidden an entire army of demon-powered avatars.

They peered through the windows into the store, but nothing seemed amiss. Dax used the bright beam on the flashlight to illuminate the gardening area, but all seemed quiet.

Willow returned after making a full circle around the building and nursery. She hadn’t seen a thing, but the feeling persisted, so strong now that even Eddy felt it.

The distant cries and howls ebbed and flowed with the wind, but the sound was so eerie it made Eddy shudder. “Maybe you sense the demons at the cemetery,” she said. “It seems quiet here.”

“I know,” Dax said, flashing the light across the parking lot once more. “But the quiet feels wrong. Do you hear crickets? That owl that was hooting earlier?”

Eddy stared at him, wide-eyed. He was right. There was no sound other than the occasional roar of a truck going by on the freeway and the distant cries from the direction of the cemetery.

They stood together beneath the light in the parking lot, listening for anything—even the normal sounds of the night that should have created a backdrop for the silence. Eddy’s muscles tensed, almost as if she waited for a blow.

An earsplitting shriek shattered the silence. Eddy spun around to face the sound. Dax stepped in front of her, protecting her body with his, as something large and dark flew by just over their heads. The force of its passing threw Willow into a spin. Dax threw his arms high and shot flames into the sky. Eddy looked up just in time to catch the silhouette of the gargoyle circling overhead, getting set up to come back at them once again.

The thing circled high and then dove straight at them, jaws agape, mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. The eyes glowed red as it zeroed in on Dax. As he raised his hands to fire on the demon, Bumper tore free of Eddy’s grasp and leapt into the air. Dax pulled his hands back just in time as Bumper’s jaws closed around one wingtip. The gargoyle spun in a tight circle and slashed at the dog’s tender nose with a clawed foot.

Bumper yipped and turned loose of the wing, rolling and tumbling across the parking lot. Eddy ducked as the gargoyle dove straight for her. Dax couldn’t use his weapons, fighting so close, but he grabbed for the creature’s wing and managed to knock it off balance.

It missed Eddy and skidded across the parking lot with Bumper once again hot on its tail. Dax took a quick look at Eddy, then raced after the dog and the gargoyle. Eddy ran right behind him and dove for Bumper’s leash. She managed to catch the strap at the end and tugged as hard as she could. She had to get Bumper out of the way so that Dax could hit the demon with fire and ice, but by the time she got control of the frantic dog, the gargoyle had leapt into the air once again. It circled high above and screamed as if it cursed them all.

The thing hovered a moment. Its wings made a loud, grating noise as they slowly flapped, moving much too slowly to actually keep a stone statue airborne. The visual was disconcerting, to say the least.

Then it tucked its wings, bared rows of glistening teeth, and with an earsplitting screech, dove straight for them once again. Willow zipped behind Dax.

“Move, Eddy. Out of the way!”

Eddy rolled to one side. Gravel cut into her elbow and forearm as Dax let loose a barrage of flame. The gargoyle screamed a banshee cry of pure frustration that seemed to echo off the rooftops, but the flames didn’t slow it down, nor did the icy wall that Dax threw next.

Bursting through the sheet of ice as if it were only so much mist, the gargoyle totally disregarded Dax’s most powerful weapon. Willow shot off to the right. Dax dove to the ground and rolled to the left. The creature slashed at his face as it passed.

Lying on his back on the asphalt parking lot, Dax pointed his fingers at the gargoyle once again. Nothing happened. He looked for Willow and spotted her nearby, sparkles dimmed but still gleaming in the darkness. Again he tried. Nothing!

Thank goodness the demon didn’t seem to notice Dax was suddenly powerless. With a vicious snarl, it kept going and disappeared into the darkness, flying toward the cemetery.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Eddy gently rubbed her scratched elbow to dislodge the embedded gravel and broken bits of glass. She glared at the dark sky until she finally spotted Willow. Her sparkles were almost gone. Slowly she dropped down out of the sky to land on the asphalt, obviously exhausted.

Then Bumper whimpered. “Oh! Baby…” Eddy knelt down and wrapped her arms around the dog. “Dax, shine the light on her, please? I want to see how badly she got hurt.”

Shaking his head, Dax slowly rolled to his feet. Cursing beneath his breath, he scooped Willow up in one hand and held the flashlight close to the dog. There was a long scratch that cut across Bumper’s nose and ran under her eye, but it didn’t appear too serious. She stretched her tongue out and licked the tiny drops of blood away. Eddy stared at the scratch a moment longer and then turned to Dax. “Could it be poisonous?”

He shook his head. “I doubt it. The demon is still mist, even though it’s in an avatar, and the gargoyle is made of stone, not living flesh. If she’d been struck by demon claws, I’d say it was definitely poisoned, but I don’t think they have that power with an avatar.”

“I need a weapon.” Eddy crouched there with her arms around Bumper and thought of what she could have done to the gargoyle. It was the one who’d cursed Dax, and now it had come after them.

“I agree. Eddy, I’m so damned sorry. I never thought of arming you.” He sighed. “I didn’t think you’d need anything. I thought I was strong enough to protect us both.”

Willow’s wings fluttered, and she stared up at him, obviously upset. Dax shook his head. “No, Willow. It was not your fault. You sent me plenty of energy, but the snake was stealing it.” Sighing, Dax held his hand out. Eddy took it, and he pulled her to her feet. “There was nothing there when I tried to hit the demon a second time. No flame, no ice. If it had turned on either of us then, I couldn’t have done anything to stop it.”

He glanced down at her torn sleeve and bloodied arm. “Crap. You’re bleeding.”

“I’m okay.” She looked at the scrapes and scratches. Then she gazed into Dax’s dark eyes. “I want a baseball bat,” she said. “A big, heavy baseball bat. I know how to use one. I could have hit that thing when it flew over me if I’d had something I could swing at it.”

“Where would I find such a thing?”

“That’s easy,” she said, aware once more of the sound of crickets. “My dad’s got a couple of them. Good, sturdy northern white ash baseball bats. I played on the boys’ Little League team when I was a kid, and I was pretty damned…” She glanced up at Dax. He stood perfectly still. His jaw was clenched, his eyes closed.

This time Eddy didn’t even ask. She merely stood up, unbuttoned his shirt, and pressed her palms against the snake. It was definitely moving, pulsing like a thing alive beneath her hands. Willow perched on Dax’s shoulder and watched.

Eddy realized the snake gained more strength each time Dax battled demons, and tonight he’d lost his powers after taking just a couple of shots at the gargoyle.

Whatever energy Willow sent to him appeared to strengthen the curse as much as, if not more than, it empowered Dax. After only three days, it was almost more than he could handle.

The sounds coming from the cemetery grew louder. With her palms pressed to his chest, Eddy stood on her toes and planted a quick kiss on Dax’s mouth. Before he could kiss her back, she pulled away. “I’m calling Dad and Alton,” she said. “Personally, I want backup. You can just stay clear of Alton’s sword.”

Dax didn’t say a word, but his gaze was on Eddy’s bloodied arm when he nodded in agreement. As soon as his burning flesh had cooled, Eddy dug out her cell phone and called her father.