A Wolf at the Door

“I think that’s none of your business, Trav.” I leaned against the paneled wall, hooking my thumbs in my pockets to give the air of total indifference. “What about you? Schmoozing more clients to beat you up?”

“I told them all about you, you know. Everyone standing out there. No one’s going to hire you. I told them just what kind of things you do.” He poked his finger in my chest. “You cost me three clients. Good money!”

I had to smirk at that. “You sure it was me? Wasn’t that Internet video of you looking like a total chump?”

I swear, he had froth coming out of his mouth he was so pissed. He got right up in my face to make sure he could spit all over me. Ugh. “You just wait. I have the right connections now, you’ll be getting your comeuppance.” Comeuppance? Who talks like that?

When he tried to jab me again, I caught his wrist, sliding his shirtsleeve up to his elbow. The damning black tattoo was there, as I knew it would be. “Shame shame, Travis. You’ve been making bad business deals.”

He didn’t try to jerk free of me, almost proudly showing off his demon brand. “You have no idea the power behind this mark. They’ll be coming for you, you know. All your kind. You’re all dead men.”

I gave his arm a yank, jerking him right up close and personal so he could hear what I had to say. “They already tried, and failed,” I growled in his ear. “You wanna try next?”

I don’t know what he would have said, because at that moment, a woman screamed. That scream was followed by more, some of fear, some shouts of anger. Something had gone very wrong out there.

The second my attention was diverted, Travis jerked free of my hold and bolted, vanishing into the recesses of the house. I had the choice of chasing him, or finding out what the hell was going on. Of course, I chose to run headlong into unknown danger. It’s what I do.

The party was in chaos when I got back out there. I saw at least three fistfights, the combatants rolling on the ground in their nice suits as they tried to pummel the crap out of each other. To my left, a finely coiffed woman reached out and snatched a handful of hair off the head of the woman next to her. The pair of them disappeared in a flurry of sequins and rage-filled screeches, the crowd around them absorbing the brawl with an air of hungry anticipation.

What the hell was this? One fight at a party I could see, but four? And where the hell was security?

Only once before had I seen something like this, a rage that spread from person to person like wildfire. A demon had caused it, last time. My demon. Axel, if this was you, I will find a way to kill you myself. In a large crowd, the hysteria could cause a riot. People could die.

Cam’s danger disk was boiling orange and red swirls when I glanced at it, and I started shoving my way through the seething throng. “Gretchen! Tai!” There was no way they were going to hear me over the shouting.

Some idiot in a tuxedo tried to take a clumsy swing at me as I crossed the room, and blinked stupidly when he found himself flat on his ass instead. After that, they cleared a path for me without really seeming to know why. Maybe in this haze of dog-eat-dog, I was the wolf they’d let pass.

I spotted Bobby first, his broad-shouldered frame clearly marking another empty space in the madness. Another wolf the little dogs were shying away from. Tai was behind him, sheltering Gretchen and Alec against the wall as all hell broke loose.

I hastened to join them when it occurred to me that Alec was the host of this party. And yet not once did he seem concerned for his guests, his property, nothing. He wasn’t on the phone, calling the cops, wasn’t trying to bring order. He wasn’t giving commands to his own security guards.

He was just looking at me, clawing my way across the battlefield that used to be a dinner party. He smiled at me once, the wrinkles around his mouth suddenly failing to follow any natural contour of his face. Even as I shouted “No!” he turned, drew back a fist, and clubbed Tai in the back of the head.

The Maori dropped like a stone, but was almost instantly on his knees again, shaking his head groggily. Down, but not out.

Gretchen stared at her friend in astonishment. “Alec, what are you doing?!”

Alec didn’t seem to hear her. With another shove from behind, he sent Bobby sprawling and made a beeline for me. Even then, it took me a few moments to realize that the man’s face wasn’t Botoxed to hell, it was smooth. Even the wrinkles were artificial-looking, placed there rather than being earned. Artfully carved into a semblance of humanity.

“Get Gretchen out of here!” Without waiting to see if the other guys obeyed, I flicked the cap off my demon mace with my thumb and released the palm-sized canister in his face the moment he got close. It didn’t even faze him, and I was forced to retreat out of the cloud of cumin and cayenne. Okay, not a demon then.

Whatever this thing was, it was faster than the last one I’d faced, more coordinated. Not-Alec lunged for me, and I only barely ducked under one grasping arm. Somehow, I knew I didn’t want that thing getting a grip on me. As I moved past it, I kicked it square in the kidneys (if it had kidneys), using its own momentum to send it careening into the crowd. By the time it turned around, I had Mira’s pentacle charm in my hand, and the next time it grabbed for me, I caught its arm, mashing the blessed star against its bare wrist.

Nothing. No reaction at all. Not a zombie. And now I was within reach. It hammered a forearm down on my shoulder like a freakin’ anvil, and the leather bracer on that arm flared white-hot for a second. I’d almost forgotten I was wearing them. I was left with a dull ache instead of a shattered collarbone. Mira’s spells, saving me again.

My fists found its ribs, landing blows that would have dropped a human this size, but I felt only a dull thud under my knuckles. No ridges of ribs, no tight muscles, no squishy guts. What the hell was this thing? And of course, the punches had no effect. It kept advancing, like Frankenstein’s monster, inexorable. I could only dodge those grasping arms so long, and I dared one last elbow to the face before I darted out of reach again.

Again, my bracer flared hot—cooler than before, how much longer would the spell last?—and Alec’s perfectly formed nose smashed sideways…and stayed that way. The thing paused, blinking as it found one eye partially blocked by a blob of what used to be a nose.

“Oh, I got you now.” Normally, I wouldn’t kick that high. Leaving your feet in a fight is the best way to get