Darker Days

Chapter Twelve

“We need to find her. She’s all amped. Knowing how wonky her powers can be, who knows what kind of damage she can do?”

Lukas dusted off some debris from the front of his pants and frowned. As he bent forward, tiny bits of glass fell from his hair to the floor.

I turned to take stock. The crowd was thinning, most of the looters gone—along with a huge portion of the store. The counter had been destroyed, and the cash register was nowhere in sight, but there was a pile of nickels on the floor two kids were fighting over. I stepped forward, pulled them apart, and shoved them in the direction of the door. They went, but not before calling me several names that would have made a trucker blush.

With every step, glass crunched under my shoes, scraping against the previously pristine hardwood floors. Mr. Flankman was going to have a coronary when he saw them. He’d once chased me from the store because I tracked mud inside.

From where I stood by the counter, I could see out to the road. The police had people cuffed and lined up along the sidewalk side by side like a prison yard. Some were still screaming and trying to get to each other, and the police were having a hard time keeping them all apart.

“How are we going to find your friend?”

“I have no idea, but we need to hurry.”

“Oh, you need to hurry all right. You need to hurry your ass right along home,” a voice said from the door. I looked up to see Mom and Dad standing there—and hell in a hailstorm, did they look pissed.

“We heard the explosion and saw the smoke from the field. I thought—”

Mom held up a hand and shook her head. I closed my mouth immediately. “No, Jessie. You didn’t think. You had no idea—”

“Klaire!” Officer Barnes called from across the room. He released Tom Aaron, the local postmaster, and started toward us. Tom let out a maniacal giggle, grabbed the box of shoes Kendra had abandoned, and took off.

Mom peered around him, eyebrows cocked. “Um, Officer Barnes…Tom is—”

“I was hoping to see you here.” He puffed out his chest and hitched up his pants, stretching them tight over places that would give me nightmares for weeks. “You look lovely today.”

Was he blind? He’d never met my dad, but the guy was standing right there. Seriously close to Mom…with his hand around her waist! He didn’t think that might mean something? I cleared my throat. “Officer Barnes, this is my d—”

He leaned close and flashed Mom a cheesy grin. “We should have dinner tonight.”

“Jessie…” Lukas tapped my shoulder. “Look. Over there.”

I followed his gaze and a sticky lump formed in my throat. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Vida,” he growled and started forward.

I grabbed a handful of his shirt and yanked back. Last thing I needed was two Sins slugging it out in the middle of Flankman’s department store while Binkie Barnes drooled all over my mom with Dad looking on. “Down boy. Bigger problems right now.”

“And then breakfast tomorrow,” Barnes finished with a suggestive swing of his hips.

Mom, a class act to the core, simply smiled. “Bindle, I don’t think you’ve met Damien.”

Officer Barnes gave Dad a dismissive wave and continued to stare at Mom.

Dad looked annoyed, but I had to give him credit. He kept it together. “I’m Jessie’s father,” he said. My parents had never been officially married, but that didn’t mean anything. As far as they were both concerned, he was her husband and she his wife. A stupid piece of paper didn’t matter to them. Telling Officer Barnes he was my dad was his way of saying this is my family so back the hell off.

But Binkie didn’t take the hint.

“How nice for you,” he said, pushing Dad aside. “So about dinner… Clothing is optional.”

“Officer Barnes!” Mom exclaimed, eyes wide. “What is the matter with you?”

He winked and said, “I’ll make it worth your while.”

Dad took Mom’s hand and nodded to me. “Out. Now.” He was losing his temper. Leaving seemed like a pretty good idea.

They turned and started for the door, and Lukas and I followed—but so did Officer Barnes. In a move I would never scrub from my brain no matter how hard I tried, he reached out and slapped my mom across the ass. The sound was like a gunshot echoing through a churchyard. He whistled and said, “Hot damn, baby’s got back!”

I thought the riot had been bad. It was nothing compared to the look of fury in Dad’s eyes when he whirled on the guy. His hand shot out, and he had Officer Barnes pinned to the wall across the room before I could even blink. “If you ever touch her again, I’ll snap your bones like twigs and feed them to the armies of hell.”

“Twigs,” Officer Barnes nodded like a bobble head. “Armies of hell.” His head swiveled back to Mom and he smiled. “Hands off the hot—”

Dad grabbed two handfuls of Barnes’ uniform and jerked him closer. Judging from the look in his eyes, Officer Grabby Pants was about to be paste.

Beside me, Lukas went rigid. There was a flash of red and a sharp intake of breath, and I knew we were teetering on the verge of a meltdown. I rushed forward before Dad could take it any further. “You need to chill.” I hitched a thumb back toward Lukas who was starting to twitch. “You’re going to set Lukas off. This is all the work of the Sins, right? Maybe Officer Barnes was hit by Lust.”

For a moment, I didn’t think Dad would leave it at that. I held my breath, waiting for the blow that thankfully never came. With a final shake, he stepped away and rejoined Mom across the room, never taking his eyes from Officer Barnes.

I stepped back to where Lukas stood, still stiff, but looking much less like a balloon ready to pop. “You okay?”

He gave me a slight nod.

Voice still laced with anger, Dad said, “Jessie, take Lukas and go back to the office. Your mother and I will clean up here.”

I wanted to argue but decided against it. Going head-to-head with Mom over little stuff was one thing, but Dad? Hell no. “Kendra was here. She was affected, too.”

Dad nodded. “We’ll find her. Go.”

…

“You didn’t tell them about Vida. Why?” Lukas asked.

We’d cut back through the field and crossed the train tracks in record time. I didn’t know how long Mom and Dad would be and had no intention of pushing my luck. Back at the office, Lukas settled in the main room while I went upstairs to take a shower. Soda and long hair did not mix well. Plus, I hated the smell of root beer. The only thing keeping me from burning my clothes was our serious lack of funds.

The phone kept ringing, but I let the voicemail get it. If I picked it up and something juicy popped, I’d be way too tempted to hop a bus and go out on my own. That would only add to the hot water I knew I was already in.

“I didn’t think right then was the perfect time to tell her I’d gone head-to-head with lust at school.” I picked at the edge of the couch. There was a small rip in the end cushion that I’d systematically made bigger over the last few months. It wasn’t on purpose—just habit. “I’ll tell her later. No sense in making her worry more than she needs to right now.”

Lukas stood and began to pace the length of the room. “Any witch powerful enough can free them—they’re not bound to the box by a specific bloodline like I am. That scene at the store was deliberate.”

“Deliberate? Yeah, they deliberately wanted to cause trouble.”

He shook his head. “You don’t find it odd that it was so close to your home?”

I shrugged. “Penance is a small town. Everywhere is close to home.”

“No,” Lukas insisted. “That place we were this afternoon—that would have been a much stronger feeding ground. There was a lot of negative energy and they could have done maximum damage there. This was done to draw you out.”

I stood. “Well, they didn’t try very hard, did they?”

“I believe they’re still testing the waters. They need to know what they’re up against. What your limits and weaknesses are. They’ve underestimated the Darker family in the past. I don’t believe they’ll make the same mistake again.”

Lukas, not paying attention, ran right into me. His hands shot out to steady me, fingers grazing the bare skin of my arms where I’d rolled up my sleeves.

Even with just the dim light shining in from the other room, I could see him flush. He pulled away in a flash, like he’d just gotten caught copping a feel or something. “I’m sorry.”

I grabbed his arm and placed his hand back on my bare forearm. It was pleasantly warm in contrast to the chilly air and, guiltily, I liked the way it felt there. “You gotta get over this stone-age mentality. It’s not like you’re grabbing my boobs or anything!”

“Am I interrupting something?” Mom came through the door, followed by Dad.

Lukas pulled away so fast he lost his balance and landed on the couch, eyes wide. “Klaire, I—”

She looked from him to me and sighed. “Do you mind if I talk to Jessie for a moment?”

“Of course.” He climbed to his feet and scampered out the door without another word. Dad turned on his heel and followed. I hoped he wasn’t going to go all demon-Dad on the poor guy. Arm contact must have been equal to ass grabbing back in his day. He was seriously freaked without an added lecture.

Mom waited till the door closed, then turned to me, expression grim. “Your father went to his boss Valefar to request an extended stay.”

I swallowed. They had to be worried if Dad was willing to request shore leave. The lower ranking demons needed special permission from their bosses—AKA masters—and it never came cheap. If they weren’t here on official business, they needed special permission to stay for any length of time. Dad used to visit me on my birthday every year. But on my seventh one, he brought uninvited company in the form of a party crashing fire demon. After that, Valefar revoked the birthday visit privileges. “And?”

“He has permission to stay until we get this all sorted.”

“Not that I’m not glad to have Dad around—and the extra help would be great—but is it really safe for him to be running around town with the Sins lose? I mean, they need him, right? For the spell? Without his blood, they can’t be freed…”

She shook her head. “I said that, too, but truthfully, I need his help. And you know your father. Stubborn as the ocean is deep. Don’t worry. He can take care of himself.”

I settled across from her, unsure what I should say next. The silence that hung between us was, for the first time I could remember, uncomfortable.

“What about Kendra?”

Mom sighed. “We found her a block from the store and brought her home. I explained to Cassidy what was going on.”

“You told her about the Sins?”

Mom’s lips twitched. “I didn’t have any choice. They’re one of the few families I know with permanent residence in Penance that could do serious damage if affected. They’re more dangerous if unaware. Plus, I need her help, too.”

“Her help?” Cassidy Belfair wasn’t the helpful sort unless she was getting something out of it.

“Lukas says the Wells family is local to these parts. The Belfairs are, as well. Witches keep detailed histories. If anyone can help me locate a Wells witch, it’s Cassidy. Considering my time limit, I didn’t see another option.”

I wanted to argue, but couldn’t. I wondered how the conversation had gone. Mom and Cassidy had never really clicked.

“What about Kendra? She’ll be okay?”

“Your father believes it will wear off in a day or so. She’ll be back to normal.”

“Oh, good… Lukas said pretty much the same thing.”

Mom shifted in her seat. “Yeah…” There was more coming. I could tell by the way she tapped her right foot and ground her teeth. All tells that there was something pressing on her mind.

I nodded and glanced away, bracing myself for the lecture. Actually, I kind of looked forward to it. This was painful—forcing small talk. While a part of me wanted to get away with running off half-cocked to Flankman’s, a bigger part wanted something other than what happened between us earlier to focus on.

“We think you’re right about Lust. Bindle Barnes must have been affected. I know he’s always—had a thing for me—but he’s never spoken out of line like that, much less gotten grabby.”

“The whole thing was way disturbing…” The truth was, I’d probably never be able to scrub the scene from my memory. I was scarred for life.

“It would explain his behavior.” She laughed. “I believe that was the only thing keeping your father from shredding him limb from limb.”

A few moments of silence ticked by. When I didn’t say anything, she continued.

“About Lukas… I know you’re—disappointed,” she said. “But I did—”

I held up my hand. “I love you, Mom. But you’re right. I am disappointed. I put you on this kind of pedestal and seeing you fall off…”

“That’s not fair. I’m only human, and I make the choices I feel are right. They’re not always easy, and sometimes it sucks, but that’s what being an adult is.”

“I just—could we not do this now? Shop talk only. Agreed?”

I knew she was hurt, and I felt bad about it, but I needed a little time. She was my idol. My superhero role model. I knew I was too old to think that way, but there it was. I’d just been told Santa Claus didn’t exist. That took a bite out of your butt in the worst possible way.

It was obvious she wanted to say more, but instead nodded. After a deep breath, she said, “So, I’ve been talking to some people.”

Talking to some people. That was a loaded statement coming from my mom. It could mean anything from chatting up the neighbors about strange sounds at night to chaining a demon down and jamming quartz splinters under its nails to get information—all without misplacing a single hair.

“The last time you said that to me, I had to come pick you up in The Pit because you’d insulted the leader of the local were coalition by suggesting he go fetch you something.”

And she wondered where I got the attitude from?

She rolled her eyes. “Something feels off about this one.”

“Off? What do you mean?”

“This is the Seven Deadly Sins we’re dealing with here. Don’t you find it odd that they’ve been keeping a low profile?”

“The phone’s been ringing off the hook,” I pointed out. “And what about Flankman’s? That’s your idea of low profile?”

“It’s all been petty things. And Flankman’s could have been a thousand times worse. It should have been a thousand times worse. Remember Lukas telling us about the 1959 riots? Nothing even remotely close to that has happened. I believe what we’re seeing is simply a side effect of the Sins being in the area.”

“Like the zombie in The Ledges…”

“Exactly.”

“Or, maybe they’re staying off the grid so they can focus on finding a witch. Once they’re bound to the human bodies, they’d have an eternity to chase chaos with a side of mayhem. Lukas told me they found out about the spell to free themselves right before going back in the box last time. They know about it now, so it makes sense that their approach is a little different this time around. They’re shooting for total freedom from the box. He says he thinks they’re testing us to find out what our weaknesses are. If they take us, the Darkers, out then we can’t stand in their way and they’ll be free.”

“Maybe,” she said. I could see the wheels moving, though. She didn’t think it was that simple. And she was probably right.

Because there really was no such thing as simple. No black and white—only different shades of gray. In our line of work you had to remember that everyone—human and demon—had an alternative motive or hidden agenda.

“So we’ll need to step things up. Beat them to the punch—whatever it is they’re up to.”

“Jessie—”

“I can handle myself. Please. One. Just let me go after one.”

“This is not like our normal cases.”

“Normal? Ma, I know you’re desperate to introduce normal into my life, but it’s time to face facts. We’re not normal. I’m not normal—and I like it that way. Last week, I evicted a nest of hell hounds in the park, got a twelfth century ghost out of the record room in town hall, and two days ago I went shopping with a witch and a necromancer. What about that screams normal to you?”

Silence.

“What about the box then? We need it to capture the Sins. I can track that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Cause that’s so much better. Don’t you think the Sins are guarding the box like Fort Knox?”

This was getting me nowhere. I needed a tactic change.

“Lukas has amazing control. Today went fine.” No reason to tell her about our little run in with Vida yet. It wasn’t like I was withholding helpful information. “At least let me take him back to school tomorrow. Just in case we can’t help him, he deserves to live a little while he can.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Since when do you consider attending school living?”

“Cooping him up here at the office is only going to make him stir crazy. Hasn’t he been cooped up enough?”

She thought about it for a moment. “It would help to know he was being watched. It’ll be hard for me to keep an eye on your father and Lukas while searching for the Sins, and we’re running out of time.”

“Exactly.” My superior negotiating skills hard at work. I was the master. “And technically, he’s in the same boat as Dad. The Sins are going to need him in order to follow through if they find a witch.”

“I can’t say I’m happy about my teenage daughter toting around the incarnation of rage.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Your father won’t like it.”

“I love Dad, but it’s you and me out here. It always has been. We have to be able to rely on each other.” It was a low blow, but I was desperate. If Lukas was right and the Sins were testing us, I had a strong feeling Vida, as well as the others, would make another appearance at school. All I’d have to do is take one down, and Mom would see I could handle things fine on my own. “I’ve been helping you out here for years. You trained me, and I’m careful.”

“Says the girl who does more property damage than a rampaging poltergeist.” She leaned forward, lowering her voice. “You can take Lukas with you tomorrow. I’ll take your father out and search for the Sins while we wait to hear back from Cassidy about a Wells witch—but Jessie, be cautious. It doesn’t look good. I can’t spend time searching, and you seem to be… Remember there’s a better than average chance he’s going back with the others.”

“No worries. He’s a client—I’m just trying to make good on our deal, that’s all. We said we’d help, so we need to try.”

She said nothing, but I could tell by the look on her face she wasn’t buying it, which annoyed me.

Lukas was narrow-minded and annoying. Sure, he was nice to look at and had a voice that could make an Eskimo melt, but he was a client. Just a client. The idea that I could be getting attached to someone like that was insane.

Absolutely insane.