right at home.
Bobby pulled the car through the gates of a park and on up the winding street. It felt like we were the only ones in the world, trundling up toward the observatory that I could already see lighted against the night sky. “Are you sure this place is open?”
“Until ten. And this time of year, there shouldn’t be too many people here. I hope.”
It seemed like we drove uphill forever. And while my brain knew that this wasn’t technically “the mountains,” little me, born and bred around Missouri’s river bluffs, thought it looked pretty damn impressive. Below us, I could see Los Angeles spread out like a Christmas tree, the lights of the city gradually taking the place of the light of day. I was forced to admit, if only to myself, that Kansas City looked nothing like this.
“If we were here during the day, you can see the Hollywood sign from certain places along here,” Gretchen supplied, perhaps tired of the silence. She even sounded a tiny bit apologetic. “But they don’t light it at night.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine without seeing it.” Sightseeing was
At the top of the hill sat the observatory building, pristinely white against the darkening sky like a reversed silhouette. A few evening sky watchers were trundling in and out as we parked, but all in all I was satisfied with our “innocent bystander” quotient. I held Gretchen’s door as she slid out of the car, then gathered up my plastic bag of supplies. Bobby moved up behind us like a big, menacing shadow, and I was suddenly glad he was on our side.
“Where to now?”
“Just out on the lawn. Reggie said the city spread out below us lends power. Something about all the hopes and dreams gathering in one spot.” Gretchen stopped to slip off her heels as she left the asphalt lot and started picking her way gingerly over the lawn. “He said it would be better to do it at the Hollywood sign, but the cops come too quick up there.”
I put my hand on Bobby’s chest when he would have followed Gretchen across the grass. “Have you seen this before? A real demon?”
He shook his head. “No. But how bad can it be, right?”
I shook my head in return. “You’re staying here.”
That got me a serious frown. “I’ve seen actual combat, man, I think I can handle a little hocus-pocus in the dark.”
“Look.” I lowered my voice, mindful that there were civilians nearby. “Once you hear a demon name, you can’t unhear it. It winds through your brain in a way I can’t even describe, and it will sit there in your skull, festering for the rest of your life. Ask me how many I have in my head.”
The scarred marine hesitated a moment before asking. “How many?”
“Thirteen. Thirteen of those nasty, slithery things swimming around up here.” I tapped my temple. “And I’d give anything in the world to be able to scrub them out. So take what I’m offering. Stay here, make sure we’re not disturbed. ’Kay?”
After a few moments, he nodded. “All right. You want my weapon?” He shifted his coat aside, displaying his holstered gun.
“Nah, I’m set.” I shook my plastic bag with a rustle. “Guns are usually no use anyway.” For fighting a demon, which had no vital organs to disable, a bullet just didn’t cause enough damage. And the bullets that would, well, those were too dangerous to the bystanders. Better to stick with the tried and true. To that end, I popped the trunk of the car and fished out the tire iron. Trust me, I could beat the crap outta a whole lotta demon with a good piece of metal.
Armed and supplied, I trotted to catch up to Gretchen, and she gave me a faint smile. “Thank you for that, by the way. I don’t think Bobby would have stayed behind for me. He respects you.”
I gave her some noncommittal man noise. I wasn’t sure Bobby respected me. I was just glad he’d listened to me.
We found a place far enough away from the building to be deemed “out of sight” but close enough that the faint light still provided some clarity. Gretchen turned to look at me expectantly. “What next?”
“Well, first we’re going to make sure you’re safe during all of this.” Out of my little shopping bag, I produced a box of salt. “Find a place to stand where you’ll be comfortable. I don’t want you moving after this.”
She obeyed, and I took great care in pouring a solid line of salt in the grass around her bare feet. No doubt, I was going to kill this section of lawn here, but better that than risk Gretchen’s soul.
I’d seen what demons could do to the people they’d bargained souls from. The handless, armless zombie creature flashed through my mind again, and the skin down my back crawled even though I knew she was far away. If a demon owned your soul, he didn’t have to wait for you to finish with it before he came to collect. Yank a soul out of a living body, and poof…instant zombie. I wasn’t taking that chance with Gretchen.
“No matter what happens, you stay in this circle, understand? If it comes down to it, you stay in this circle until the sun comes up, and then you run for the car.”
The starlet frowned at me. “You talk like this is going to turn into something bad.”
“It never turns into something good.” Next out of the bag was a plain bottle of water with a wide mouth. From my collection of key chains, I took the plastic carnival token and dropped it into the bottle, giving it a good shake. Voila, instant holy water. “Hang on to this for me. Don’t drink it.”
“I thought you said you don’t have any magic.”
“I don’t. But I have a lot of friends who do. They hook me up.” Last but not least, I unhooked my mace canister from my belt loop. I thumbed the cap off and sprayed a bit off to the side, just to be sure it was working. The odor of cayenne and cumin cut through the chilly night air.
Now that the sun was down, California remembered that it was late December. I spared a small moment to wish I had one of my jackets with me, but I was also pretty sure my goose bumps weren’t entirely from the cold. We were about to do something colossally stupid, and my danger sense wanted to make damn sure I knew it. Sure enough, Cam’s little warning system was also swirling, the color a muted blue-green.
