Bloodline Awakened Supernatural Thriller Series: Six Book Bundle of Urban Fantasy Read online

  He wore what appeared to be medieval style layers of boiled leather armor over his upper body, topped with a jacket of golden ring mail. He swept the nest of hair that hung to his chest away from his face and tucked it behind his ear, exposing the hidden half of his face.

  Despite a shield of stubble covering his face, he revealed a wasteland of burns and unhealed flesh, but that wasn’t the most disturbing part. A maze of red scars and swollen blue veins covered the right side of his face. That still wasn’t the most disturbing part.

  His missing right eye grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. Flesh hadn’t grown over the purple, bruised area. Depending on which way he turned, the wound changed color from black to burgundy to deep purple.

  The man crossed his arms, puffed out his chest and stood defiantly. He screamed, “This is no longer your city. Leave now and your lives will be spared. Go against us, and death shall be delivered. My dragons will not leave until this city is ours. Sod off or die.”

  I heard a voice from behind. “FIRE.”

  I kissed the pavement and covered my head. I heard a steady stream of bullets pinging off the mysterious man’s defense shield. I should have warned the cops not to do that. I peeked at the target and noticed bullets bouncing off his shield, redirected at unintended targets.

  You couldn’t be careless when dealing with the supernatural. You could summon fireballs only to realize they were useless against the opponent. Or you could just shoot wildly at something and end up with the result these cops were getting.

  The looks of shock and awe on the faces of Pittsburgh’s finest were a direct juxtaposition to the shit-eating grin on the face of my new enemy.

  That was until a Terrible Towel came flying through the wind tunnel-like atmosphere. The bright yellow towel somehow broke through his protection shield and hit the man in the head. He wrestled with the Terrible Towel for several moments until he finally ripped away the small piece of fabric.

  He threw the towel down and stomped on it, grinding it into the pavement. The Terrible Towel was a symbol of the Pittsburgh Steelers. True Pittsburghers considered it sacrilege to stomp on one of them and the act gave me extra motivation to take this asshole out.

  I had to put this asshole on notice so I moved toward him. Gretchen tried to hold me back, but I shrugged off her arm.

  I pointed at the smug bastard. “I’ll give you one chance to get out of this city or you are the one who’s going to die.”

  The man laughed, and I had half a mind to bull rush this asshole, even though I’d probably bounce off his defense bubble. I screamed, “Look at me.” Oh, shit. I’d forgotten what I was wearing. Not exactly intimidating. Too late now. “Get a good look. I’m the person who is going to kill you. Last chance to leave right now.”

  The man laughed again. He was taller and thicker than me, but even Debo got knocked the fuck out. I took a few steps back and squeezed between Gretchen and Officer Riggins.

  The supernatural man left his defense shield in place as he backed away. The brash bastard was almost moonwalking like Michael Jackson. He had a dancer-like quality to his graceful movements, which was in stark contrast to his grisly appearance.

  The sewer dragons moved in behind their master in a show of strength. The man smiled and Officer Riggins, who was standing next to me, started sliding toward the man. I reached out to grab him but my fingertips missed.

  The officer’s feet weren’t moving, but he was moving at the pace of a jog. Some unseen force was drawing him in. That was why that bastard was smiling.

  Riggins screamed for help, his husky voice begging for someone to save him. Taking a few steps toward him, I tried to cast a spell to reverse the forceful dragging.

  It didn’t work. Riggins slid to a stop right in front of the mysterious man. The one-eyed man stared down at the bowling ball-shaped officer for a few moments.

  The man set his hands on Riggins’ shoulders. With casual ease, he picked up the shorter officer and tossed him over his head. Riggins’ crouched body flew up like an uneven rock. When he made it to about fifteen feet above ground, two of the sewer dragons struck. Their necks whipped like that of a snake and their heads clanged into each other, but one of them chomped into Riggins, spraying blood down over the dragon master.

  As Riggins screamed primally, fighting against death, the giant enemy nodded as if he were giving a silent warning. He disappeared into his dragons as quickly as he had appeared out of nowhere. I hated this man for invading my city and silently vowed to kick his sorry ass out of the Burgh.

  At least this gave me a tiny clue to go on, although the man had never said his name. He didn’t seem human, despite his appearance suggesting otherwise.

  There wasn’t much I could do here. With a heavy heart, I turned to Gretchen and said, “You ready to get out of here now?”

  “I need to stay until there’s nothing more we can do here. Even though that might not be much, I need to see this out. Do you have any idea who that man was?”

  I shook my head, frustrated. “I don’t. That’s what I need to go figure out. Unfortunately, there’s not much more I can do down here.”

  “Here,” Gretchen said as she tossed me her keys. “Just don’t wreck it, all right? Although you do look pretty in that outfit with your blond hair and blue eyes, get some new clothes for God’s sake.” She let out a little chuckle.

  I nodded. Normally I’d argue with her, but I needed to figure this out. I had a feeling the Pittsburgh Police would be useless in this matter.

  I said, “You got it.” She’d never let me drive the squad car before. Then again, dragons had never invaded our city before either.

  I pushed my way through the crowd of authorities, turned sideways to squeeze between two ambulances parked ridiculously close together, and headed back to Gretchen’s police car.

  I had a few clues to go on and needed to begin asking questions. The first person on the list was my mentor, Alayna. The one-thousand-and-one-year-old faerie seemed like the most logical person to ask about this.

  I knew the Deep Burrow and the Celtic Gods didn’t even have dragons at their disposal. That meant this would be a serious uphill battle. As far as I understood, the Red Cavern of demons didn’t have dragons either. It had to be a powerful underworld or otherworld.

  I had been learning about the various “worlds,” but there were so many of them, good and evil. It would be impossible to pinpoint a suspect so soon.

  As I sat in the car on the way home, I adjusted the rearview mirror to see the city. The dragons stood perched atop the tallest buildings in the city. Smug bastards. They acted like they owned this city and it got my blood boiling. I needed to save Pittsburgh from the impending apocalypse. But first, I needed to get out of my shredded clothes and into some fresh gear.

  Chapter 2

  Sporting fresh gear, I backed into my office and went to flick on the lights. I noticed they were already on and I detected a presence behind me. Whirling around, a young woman holding my phone receiver in her hand startled me.

  I had a simple one-room office. My desk was located on the right side near the door and I had a few other mismatched chairs around the room. No art on the drab gray walls. Just two windows on the wall near my desk. An impromptu brawl had recently destroyed the place, so I decorated minimally now.

  My desk held my computer monitor and a corded phone. That was it. Nothing fancy.

  She hung up the phone, and spoke calmly, “There you are. The door was unlocked so I wandered in and couldn’t find anyone in here. I was just about to call your cell phone.”

  The door was most certainly locked. I eyeballed her suspiciously.

  She stood about five-five, bronze skin with light freckling, rich mahogany eyes flecked with silver sparks and long, red hair, Titian-tinted to be precise. She smiled shyly and revealed a crooked set of teeth. Her long, thin nose sniffed the office air and her wide set eyes carried a sense of calm confidence. The homely woman should have been nervous, and
her sense of ease made me uneasy.

  As I studied her briefly, I detected dark magic coming from her.

  I caught a whiff of sesame and orange. It led my eyes to a burning candle on my desk. “What the hell. Did you light my candle?”

  She put her hands up in front of her chest. “That was lit when I walked in.”

  I pinched out the flame. It was a special candle I’d made in the Deep Burrow to celebrate a new beginning with my girlfriend. I’d planned to light it before our special conversation.

  I got back to the issue at hand. “What do you need help with?”

  She fingered her ginger locks, casually throwing the tangled mess over her shoulder. The blue spandex pants and matching long-sleeved shirt showed off an attractive figure. “It’s something in my basement. I’m not sure what it is. I hoped that you could help me get rid of it.”

  I kept playing her game as I brought all my magical repertoire to the surface. “Do you have any idea what it could be?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never seen it. Only heard it. I’m too afraid to go down there.”

  More dark magic vines were slipping out of her purple tennis shoes and wiggling around on the floor. Only people versed in magic could see the vines. They were important when sizing up an opponent and could range in size from a drinking straw to a telephone pole.

  I didn’t even want to know her name yet. There was a good chance I’d end up killing her. I didn’t need that weighing on my conscience right now. “Where do you live?”

  “Excuse me?” The question seemed to take her by surprise as she scratched her left clavicle nervously. Her cheeks reddened, hiding her freckles.

  “Where. Do. You. Live?”

  It was a simple question, four simple words, yet she paused again, setting off alarms. She finally said, “Just down in the city.”

  “Where?” I pressed, trying to gauge her reaction.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve been stalked before and I’m not comfortable just giving out my address.” The lobes of her ears started turning red.

  “I understand that, but if you want my help, I need to know where to go.”

  “So you will help me? I’d like to be sure.” Her eyes darted around the room.

  Something shady was going on. Was the ‘thing’ in her basement infecting her with dark magical forces? Hell, was there even a basement to begin with?

  I had to be careful. “I’d like to say yes, but I’m not sure what we are dealing with. I’ll definitely take a look at it.”

  “I’m kind of in a rush, but I’m just glad you can help. Sorry, but I have to go now.” She walked by me, heading for the door.

  “Just a minute. I need a way to get back in contact with you.”

  “Right. Sometimes I’m just so forgetful.”

  Time for the setup.

  Keeping an eye on her, I went over to my desk and grabbed a small note pad and a pen. I placed the pad on the desk and handed her the pen.

  It was time to see if she knew the Pittsburgh area code or if she was just bullshitting me. She leaned over and her right sleeve moved up her arm, revealing a tattoo on top of her wrist. Noticing the Dank Artistry symbol of the Red Cavern, I brought my magic to the surface.

  I pounced and grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back. “Nice tattoo, demon. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?” I was expecting a fake number, not a demon.

  She struggled to get away, but her strength was no match for mine. I easily corralled the much smaller woman, and she stopped trying to break the hold. I said, “You might as well come with the truth. I know you’re in cahoots with the Red Cavern.”

  “Fuck.” She took a deep breath. “Let me go and I will tell you.”

  “Here’s the deal. I will let you go. However, if I suspect that you are going to try something stupid, like running again, I won’t hesitate to fuck you up. Don’t be foolish.”

  I released my grip, and she turned around facing me. Her shape and features were all the same, but her skin had turned deep purple. “You are a demon.”

  “Tremendous observation. Why don’t you just let me go?”

  “Why don’t you just tell me what the hell you were doing first?” I moved my back closer to the door.

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I was sent here by the Jersey Devil to tap your phone.”

  “Sons a bitches. Why would you demons want to tap my phone?”

  She explained, “Because you always seem to know what’s going on in this city. At least that’s what the Jersey Devil said. They keep going back and forth on whether they want to kill you or not. The devils still believe you are corruptible. The Jersey Devil says you have a soft spot for women that will get you killed one day. He really doesn’t like you, by the way.”

  “The feeling is more than mutual. Back to the subject at hand. Why did he send you? Why not just do it himself?”

  She stared at the ground and looked up with her long lashes fluttering. “Because I begged him to do it.”

  Shocked, I asked, “What? Why? What do you have against me?”

  Her purple chin swung back and forth as she shook her head. “Nothing against you. I was going to tap the phone and then make a run for it.”

  “Make a run for what? Where are you going to go?”

  “To get away from my cruel life in the Red Cavern.” She looked out the window in wonder. “I don’t know where to go. I can look like a human as you saw earlier.”

  Her words intrigued me. I asked, “Won’t they come after you?”

  “Don’t care. I already feel dead inside.” She drew in a long breath and asked dramatically, “What do I have to lose?”

  “Your life.” I had learned from many sources that demons didn’t have the same emotions as humans. They all supposedly took pleasure in the misery of others. A society of schadenfreude.

  She huffed. “What life? Being used for my body by the will of the Chieftains, demi-devils and devils. What’s that? It’s not living, I can tell you that. You might as well kill me right now and get it over with.”

  An idea struck me. “No. I hate to do this to you, but I have to send you back to the Cavern.” I hoped to trade the demoness for my knife, subsequently saving my own life.

  She muttered, “I’m not going back.”

  “Oh, I’m afraid you are.” As soon as the words escaped my mouth, a sudden unseen force blasted me in the chest, knocking me back into the front door of my office. I bounced off the door and crashed to the ground.

  How the fuck had she done that?

  The demon tried to hop over me and escape. Reaching up at the last moment, I grabbed the tight pants around her ankle. The young woman had strength, dragging me toward the entrance. She pulled the door open and squirmed to get loose. Reaching out with a stretched right arm, I clutched onto the spandex covering her backside, firmed my grip and dragged her back in.

  I jumped up, still holding her leg, and she toppled to the ground. Reaching over, I slammed the door shut and went to lock it. Before I could accomplish that, the demoness bit my calf and I yelped in pain. Yanking my leg away was a bad idea, stretching the skin even further and causing more damage.

  Using my other leg, I repeatedly stomped on her chest until she finally unclamped her jaw. I went to dive on her but another invisible force hit me, lifting me, holding my body parallel to the ground. The demon sprang up with a wicked uppercut and caught me flush on the chin.

  My teeth smacked together in an uneven clack and bright streaks that looked like neon tadpoles raced through my peripheral vision. The force holding me up died, and I fell four feet to the ground.

  All right. Enough screwing around.

  She tried to run past me again. I kicked her foot into her other one, and she tumbled into the front door shoulder first. I called on a lock bubble, worrying that with her advanced understanding of magic she would detect it.

  She grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled. Freedom was so close.

  I bl
ew into my hand and a bubble formed. A prism of colors raced around inside the giant bubble. Just before the demoness ran out the front doorway, I flung the lock bubble toward her. One side rammed into her back, and the central force of the bubble pulled her inside.

  I raced over to the door, delicately pulling the bubble toward the middle of the room as she pounded on the shell, attempting to break it. I locked the door and turned back to my visitor.

  “Not bad.” I rubbed my jaw. “You’ve got some pretty sweet magic skills. I couldn’t even see your forces coming at me. You’re one of the first ones.” Her weak magical vines had acted as a decoy. I’d never seen that before on a being.

  She spoke without emotion, “Lot of good it did me. Why do you want me to die?”

  Aaah, she was throwing down the sympathy card. I explained, “It’s either you or me. If I don’t get this knife back from Aka Manah, I’m a dead man. Sorry about the bad life in the Red Cavern, but you’re a demon.”

  “You’re going to trade me for a knife? A piece of property? I suppose that’s what I am.” Her head slumped down in disgust. That was a rather convincing performance. Maybe some demons had similar emotions to humans.

  I tried to explain, “It’s not exactly like that. This knife has rune symbols on it that have been blessed by the Celtic Gods. It can be used to cause great harm if it falls into the wrong hands, as it had when Aka Manah claimed it for himself. I knew that if I lost it, the wage would be my life. So it’s not just a knife, it’s basically my life. My life or a demon’s.” I raised and lowered my two hands like invisible scales to weigh the decision. “Not a hard choice.”

  “Doomed by birth, huh?” Her bottom lipped trembled. Damn, she was good.

  “Excuse me?”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You’re saying that because I was born a demon, I should believe in all the disgusting things they do. Not every demon is evil, just like not every human is benevolent. Ever heard of a guy named Hitler?”

  She wasn’t talking crazy. I concurred, “I see your point, but there’s really nothing I can do. It’s you or me.”