Demons Not Included: A Night Tracker Novel (Night Tracker Novels) Read online

  “Amethyst,” I whispered.

  No, I’m not a Demon, and I don’t have horns.

  But I’m amethyst. Purple.

  Kali meowed, and I wished I knew what she was saying. Maybe Olivia could learn “cat” as well as Drow. She could pick up any language if she was around someone long enough who spoke it.

  My skin turned more fully to its Drow shade. The push and pull of my muscles felt somehow alien as my body grew more powerful and dangerous.

  An oddity.

  That’s what I am.

  That’s what I’ll always be.

  I sighed. I didn’t know where the melancholy came from, but it shrouded me like the city’s pollution on a particularly dense humid day I’ve always been proud of who I am and of the two halves of me.

  I don’t know why it was affecting me then.

  Maybe because of Adam and what he might think about me when he learned the truth.

  Maybe because we were no closer to finding and getting rid of the Demons.

  Maybe because I missed Caprice. Her death and my failure to save her, The fact that she’d left angry the last time I’d seen her added to the pain.

  Everything contributed toward my melancholy feeling. All of what had been happening.

  1 stripped out of my clothing, which felt odd because I so rarely transformed in my street clothes.

  As I stepped into my leather pants, my mind turned more fully to Caprice. The thought that I’d been too late still sat like lead in my belly, and somehow it hurt worse now, as if some of the numbness had worn off.

  I could picture how Caprice was before we lost her. Dark hair, beautiful smile, intelligent hazel eyes, quick wit.

  Now gone.

  Just gone.

  Like a chessboard where suddenly one of the knights disappeared. A blank spot on the board of life that could never truly be replaced because no two things were alike, no two beings alike.

  I thought of one of Olivia’s T-shirts that read, You’re unique . . . Just like everyone else.

  Yeah, we are all unique, but some people are more special to each of us than others.

  My lips felt too stiff to smile and my throat too tight to swallow. I had to get my mind off of my friend.

  After I slipped into my leather corset, I tugged on one boot and then the other like a wooden toy warrior. I needed to be alone. Going to the Pit and running into T or Olivia wasn’t an option for me tonight, so I headed to the kitchen to fix myself something for dinner instead of eating at the Pit.

  The Manhattan skyline always amazed me. Other-world was simple, as if the world had been frozen during the Middle Ages, except that Otherworld was more beautiful and somewhat more civilized.

  Well, sort of.

  First I made a quick sweep around the area of Sixtieth and Columbus Circle in the rain. The Mandarin Oriental, a fabulous five-star hotel, was where we hid our most precious paranorms. The Magi. And we hid them in luxury.

  Not too far from the Mandarin Hotel, I chose a block of four- to five-story brownstones. As easy and silent as a cat, I climbed up fire escapes and ledges and worked my way through the rain until I was on the rooftop.

  I took a good look at my territory as I stepped around a chimney.

  My leather clothing hugged my body, and the belt clinging to my hips carried my weapons, including my 9mm, in addition to my XPhone. I’d woven a little air spell to protect everything on my belt from the rain. I didn’t want to use too much of my elemental strength by cocooning myself, so my hair was plastered to my head, and water rolled down my face and into my eyes.

  As a Siren, Nadia would be having a ball right now, reveling in her element.

  My gut twisted. Would a Tracker be attacked tonight, a third night in a row? Would it be Nadia?

  “Anu, please watch over her.” I tilted my face to the rain-filled sky. “Please watch over all Trackers.”

  I lowered my head and blinked away the rain.

  We needed more Trackers. “This is bullshit,” I said out loud to the Great Guardian, as if she was bothering to listen. I talked while I moved along the rooftop. “Can’t you cut us a break?” I shouted.

  Not that I expected an answer.

  “If the GG doesn’t start getting us help, I will,” I grumbled. Although Rodán might have a say in it.

  I leapt from one rooftop to another and worked my way toward the larger buildings. Spider-Man had nothing on me. The air power I used to stay airborne long enough to reach the next rooftop was simple, really, and it didn’t drain me. All I did was ride the currents already there, and a little water power from the rain made traveling this way even easier.

  Since all of my powers are derived from the four elements—earth, air, water, and fire—an element must be present for me to draw any magic from it. If I was to be captured and locked in a room with no bars, a floor too thick to reach the earth, walls and a ceiling too thick to grab enough air, and of course no water or fire, I would be, as humans say, “Up shit creek.”

  But no one knew about that weakness, and I sure wasn’t sharing. That was my Kryptonite.

  “I wonder what the Shifters’ weakness is?” I frowned. Whatever it was might have kept Caprice from shifting and escaping, and could have been why she died. Or she was totally caught off guard and it came out of nowhere.

  My face felt hot as I thought of Chance. He had been at the Pit the night Caprice died. Could he have somehow penetrated the Pit’s defenses and “made” us Trackers?

  I’d have to talk with Rodán about the possibility.

  I worked my way from one rooftop to another, then landed on a rooftop in a crouch and listened.

  Air carried to me sounds, smells, and the kind of sensory input that would send prickles crawling up my back if something was wrong. But the rain did make it harder to reach out with my senses.

  I kept moving through my territory, listening, smelling, reaching out with whatever the air would bring to me. Unlike other nights, like the night I was attacked, it was quiet.

  Too quiet?

  Maybe Demons didn’t like rain.

  As if we could be so lucky.

  At the intersection of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, I climbed down a building to Verdi Square and walked through a puddle. I passed a couple of New Yorkers carrying big black umbrellas, but of course, because of my air glamour, the people didn’t notice blue-haired, amethystskinned me.

  I took a deep breath of rain-filled air, with raindrops that sparkled as they passed through the glow of streetlights. Perhaps tonight the rain obscured any signs of Demons, so maybe the earth would help me find them. I went to the tallest and oldest tree.

  Bark scraped my palms as I grabbed a sturdy branch of the tree and flipped up onto it. Wet branches and leaves slapped my face, but the canopy kept some of the pouring rain off of me. With my back to the tree trunk, I sat on one of the larger branches and easily balanced myself so that I was in a sitting position with my knees bent, feet on the branch, and my arms hugging my knees.

  I already sensed that the tree’s roots delved deep into the earth and spread out, far, far, fan I’d used tree roots a few times in the past, but not too often because it does use up some of my earth elemental power.

  Using the tree roots was sort of like using antennae. My earth senses could shoot far, far beyond the roots.

  “Relax,” I said to myself. “Fail into it. Forget everything else.”

  I closed my eyes and let go of all the troubles of this world, and my own troubles, and sank my senses deep into the ground. In my mind I shot through the earth, below concrete and asphalt.

  Yes, the tree’s roots were strong and extended far beyond the immediate area. They were perfect for what I wanted to do.

  Piece by piece, I searched each section of my territory. It was time to push. Push harder than I ever had before.

  I felt the rough bark and the earth as I mentally grabbed onto a root and rode it. The root stretched out farther and farther and farther.

 
It was like I was flying underground. Mentally flying. It felt so free.

  Then the root I’d been riding ended and I propelled myself farther, using the strength of those roots to go beyond.

  Riverside Park rushed toward me and I came to a full stop.

  Demons. Multiple Demons.

  The jerk of my heart brought my senses swooping back inside me so hard I almost lost my balance on the tree branch.

  How many Demons were there? I couldn’t tell for sure. Should I call Olivia for backup? Or should I stay hidden and follow the Demons to find their lair? Calling Olivia would be the smart thing to do.

  Nobody said I was always smart.

  CHAPTER 20

  I ran hard and fast. With Caprice’s death just last night, and Jon’s the night before, my rage fueled me. My eyesight was sharp and keen, my breathing natural and even as I ran at top speed.

  I needed to take down some Demons. I needed to stab the life out of every one of them. Screw following them to a lair. I needed the kills. It was like I was possessed.

  Riverside Park and 108th Street were within my sight when I sensed a shift. Something I’d never felt before. Like the Demons had melted away and weren’t in the park anymore.

  Frowning, I came to a halt on the corner just across the street from the park. I reached out with every element I had.

  Nothing.

  What?

  Had the Demons gone underground because their lair was here? Or perhaps they’d gone into the Hudson River that bordered the park?

  The rain had stopped. I started moving and crossed the empty street. I kept going and went down to the lower level, until I reached the spot where I was sure the Demons had been.

  To my right was Neville Colman Field, but I didn’t see anything on the other side of the fence. A wire-mesh trash bin was a few feet away from me, filled with rain-soaked garbage that smelled of spoiled hot dogs and mustard.

  Old-fashioned light posts lit the park intermittently down a stretch of sidewalk directly in front of me, park benches along the way. To my left was another field, lots of trees, and no Demons. Past the sidewalk, grass, and trees before me, 1 could see the glittering lights of the city reflecting on the Hudson River.

  I pushed my wet hair out of my face with one hand, my other hand braced on my hip.

  What was going on? Only a slight taint hung in the air, which didn’t really feel or smell like Demons. Like anise seed, a smell like licorice. Strange, but not a Demon smell.

  But they’d been here. I knew it.

  “Godsdamnit!” I shouted. It wasn’t nearly enough, and I wanted to shout more. To scream every obscenity in Drow that I could think of.

  But more than that, I wanted to kill. I wanted to make the Demons pay for Caprice’s death.

  I didn’t care about weakening myself. My anger and adrenaline would more than make up for any form of weakness in my body.

  My jaws ached from clenching my teeth so hard. This time I called on the most difficult element to use—fire. It was even harder because there was no fire around, only static in the air.

  Power rushed up my body and I felt like / was on lire as I shot my very essence into the air. I sailed the currents, feeling the heat and flames that I created from the static surrounding my body.

  Fury rolled through me like hot iron rods. My anger was so great that I didn’t feel the drain that I normally would have. I pushed and pushed and pushed until I had reached every corner of my territory.

  Nothing. Not a godsdamn thing. Something tickled at my consciousness. Nyx, you idiot. You’ve left yourself vulnerable. You’re going to pay for this. I didn’t care.

  But the something that was pulling at me made me retreat, and I practically flew, riding the flames of static until I rushed into my body.

  And fell to my knees. Air burned my lungs as if I’d been running.

  Immediately I swept my gaze around me. Nothing.

  Thank the Goddess.

  What an idiot. I’d left myself vulnerable, and I’d used so much fire power that my belly clenched and ached. What was wrong with me that I’d take chances like this? My head felt so dizzy that I gagged. My stomach convulsed and the hamburger I’d made for dinner started to rush up my throat.

  Only by sheer will did I keep from vomiting.

  “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” I sat on my haunches as I clutched one arm against my belly.

  I struggled to remain aware of everything around me. I knew better than this. I knew better than to make myself weak enough that I’d be unable to fight well if I was attacked. I’d barely recovered from last night.

  My breathing was so harsh my ears seemed filled with it. Like I was in a tunnel and could only hear the echo of each breath.

  Slowly, so slowly, my body began to recover. Strength came back into my muscles and the pain in my belly started to subside.

  I’m Drow. I heal fast and easily. But this wasn’t the same. It’s much harder for me to recover from using such intense elemental powers.

  A few more moments passed. I should call Olivia. I started to reach for my XPhone.

  Then I felt, and even heard, a disturbance. Only this time it was a scream, and then the sounds of a human female sobbing. The laughter of two human males followed. Mean, cruel laughter.

  ‘”No way.” I got to my feet, still holding my arm to my aching belly. I didn’t give a crap that Trackers weren’t supposed to interfere in human crimes. No way was I going to let men rape a woman. “Not in my territory.”

  I’d call Olivia as soon as I was done with these assholes. I dropped my arms to my sides. Took a deep breath and ran what would be about thirty blocks, until I was close to the lower end of the Cherry Walk, approximately Seventy-seventh Street and Riverside.

  From my stopping point I could see two males and a female. One male had a dagger to the woman’s throat so that she was only whimpering, her face flushed with tears.

  Anger whirled through me like the firestorm I’d just flown in. and I wished I could use that anger to incinerate those males.

  My senses felt off-kilter again. Not right.

  Something had to be going down. Where?

  “I’m taking care of this first.” I hissed the last word.

  One of the males jerked his head up. Good. He looked afraid.

  Too bad I wasn’t allowed to kill humans unless absolutely necessary. Maybe I could consider this necessary.

  No, damn it. But I could hurt them.

  I avoided a lamppost, and crept through muted light and shadows before leaping onto a sycamore tree behind the men and woman. I balanced on a branch, then eased along it until I was in a crouch, directly over the males.

  The men had started to strip off the whimpering female’s jeans. One of them ripped open her shirt.

  My whole body heated and I knew the dangerous flash was in my eyes.

  No killing humans, Nyx.

  Damn.

  With the power of air I could bind the sons-of-bitches, or by taking magic from earth I could force them to the ground and let the earth hold them so that they wouldn’t be able to budge. But I couldn’t afford to drain myself more by using any elements when I had Demons to track. After the stunt I’d pulled with the lire element, I was low on reserves.

  I could scare the shit out of the humans, though. A dragon-clawed dagger should do the trick.

  One of the men nearly had the woman’s jeans off as I drew the weapon from its sheath and held it in one hand. The damp air carried an odd scent to me along with the sweaty smell of the men, but I couldn’t place it.

  And then I sensed Demons.

  My heart raced and my skin went clammy.

  Randy.

  Dear Goddess, seven or eight of the Demons were closing in on the Tracker on the west side of Central Park, a short distance from me.

  My skin crawled. I could feel the Demons. Almost smell their fetid breath.

  And I sensed something else. Something so vague it was barely a brush against my mind.


  I had to get to Randy. I couldn’t let him down like I had Caprice.

  The woman, whose face was wet with tears, whimpered as one man held the knife at her throat while the other stripped her. Her jeans were off now and she was only in her panties.

  Randy. Randy. I had to get to him.

  A split-second decision. I didn’t have a choice in doing what I had to now, no matter how much trouble I’d be in.

  With a firm grip on the dagger in one hand, I swung from the tree branch with the other hand. It would cost me five seconds in getting to Randy, but I had to do it.

  I landed in a crouch behind the men.

  In two quick moves I sliced their hamstrings.

  At the same tithe I cut the man who was holding the knife, I shoved him to the side so that his blade wouldn’t touch the woman.

  The males screamed, shouted, and dropped to the ground. They cried out as they tried to get to their feet, but were unable to stand and unable to comprehend what had just happened to them.

  “Hurry!” I grabbed the woman’s hand, jerking her up to haul her away from the men so they couldn’t stab or hurt her in any way “I can’t stay so you’ve got to take care of yourself,” I said as I dragged the girl a few feet out of danger. The expression on her face would have puzzled me if I wasn’t in such a hurry. Almost a smile.

  Shock. She was in shock.

  “You’ve got to get out of here. Fast!” I yelled as I yanked her a little farther.

  Still holding her hand, I turned from her and prepared to run for the second time that night. I’d get her a few paces away, and then I’d go after Randy.

  She came to a full halt behind me and wouldn’t budge. It was suddenly like trying to pull a semi.

  At the same time her hand shifted in mine.

  Armored skin and claws against my palm.

  Before I had a chance to react, the claws reversed the hold and had a grip on my hand.

  Honor knifed my gut.

  A Demon.

  Without taking the time to assess or think about what I was doing, I twisted around and drove my dagger up toward the neck—

  Of Chance. The man I’d seen Caprice with. Except he now had sharp Demon teeth as well as claws for hands.

  My dagger clanged off his neck as instant shock went through me. Somehow I knew this wasn’t an underling Demon. It was a major Demon. At the same time I caught that odd scent from earlier.