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As we came to the porch, I glanced at the men. “Good to go, boys?” Everyone nodded. “Then let’s play exterminator.”
Camille was right: They knew we were coming, and we knew they knew, so there was absolutely no use pussyfooting around.
I raced up the stairs, spinning as I came to the door. My motorcycle boots were good and heavy, with thick soles and steel-clad heels. Letting out a war cry, I rammed my foot against the door, grinning as the wood around the lock splintered. A flurry of dust came rushing out as the door slammed open. Woohoo! My kickboxing lessons at the gym were paying off in a big way.
I leapt into the room and darted the beam of my flashlight around, my nostrils flaring. Something smelled nauseating. Camille dashed in on the other side, leaving room for the men to enter. All of a sudden, light flooded the room as another crash ripped through the air. Camille had grabbed one of the curtains and yanked it hard, tearing down the rod and all so that the entire room was filled with the overcast shimmer from outside.
Well, that would take care of any vampires who might wander into the living room, that was for certain. And possibly any light-sensitive specters, too. The room was large, with scuffed hardwood floors. Motel art hung crooked on the wall, and the paint was chipped in several places. Two archways, one on either side of the back wall, led out of the room.
A broken-down sofa sat in one corner, along with a table filled with so many filthy takeout boxes that I almost lost my breakfast. They smelled putrid, and there were maggots crawling on some of them, but in the back of my mind I knew that they weren’t what was causing the horrid stench. A very nasty thought crept into my mind, one I didn’t want to explore, but it wouldn’t go away.
Camille and the boys glanced around the room. “Nothing here,” she said. “Let’s spread out.” She motioned to Smoky and Morio. “We’ll take the right arch. Delilah, you guys take the left.”
Roz and Vanzir slid in behind me as we headed toward the left archway. I mirrored Camille’s actions, flattening myself to the wall next to the entrance. As I edged my head around the corner, I saw a long hallway. Empty. There were several doors on either side.
Camille did the same, then pulled back and shook her head. “Kitchen,” she mouthed. Given that all of us had exceptional hearing, it was as if she was talking at a normal volume. Unfortunately, chances were our opponents also had acute senses. “Looks empty. There’s one door, which probably leads out to the porch.”
“I don’t want to split up,” I said, motioning to her. “Come on, we’re doing this together.” I was leery of traps.
“How well can venidemons hear, anyway?” Camille asked.
Vanzir frowned. “I don’t know. Hell, I don’t even know if they have ears or can hear. But the ghost or specter or whatever it is, is probably aware we’re here.”
“We’ll go together.” I stared at Camille. She usually took the lead, but I had a strong premonition about this, and I wasn’t in any mood to be proven right. When she frowned, I added, “Please, just listen to me on this?”
Slowly, she nodded. “Whatever you like, Kitten. I’m not getting a whole lot of guidance on this, except for the creepy feeling I got coming up the stairs. What about you, Morio? Smoky?”
Morio closed his eyes. “Squirmy. The energy feels like it’s squirming. It’s all over the place, and I can’t pin it down.”
Smoky stared at the walls. “There’s Netherworld energy here, along with demon stench.”
Netherworld energy. That confirmed it. Ghosts, specters, and wights were all from the Netherworld. Although the Netherworld was linked to the Underworld, there was a big difference between the two.
The Underworld was usually a peaceful—if somber—place where a number of spirits journeyed after they left their mortal forms behind. The Netherworld, on the other hand, was filled with wandering souls and angry dead and generally pissed-off spirits. Of course, the undead also included vampires and ghouls, but they seemed to hang out with the Demonkin.
Somebody really needed to write a handbook on how to keep track of who was stationed where. Actually, if I remembered my OIA training right, they’d taught a class on the subject, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember anything from it.
“That seals it. We stick together.” I motioned to Camille, and we swung into the hallway, Roz and Morio right behind us. Vanzir and Smoky brought up the rear. As we edged toward the first door, I swallowed my fear and put my hand on the knob. I looked at the others.
Camille gave me a nod. “Do it.”
“Here goes nothing,” I said, yanking open the door. As I did, a cold shaft of wind gusted past, and my skin broke out in goose bumps. I stared into the room, thinking I’d been prepared for just about anything, but this took the cake. Nope, no way had I expected to stumble onto a portal first thing. Wide open, the portal led right into the heart of a glacier by the feel of the energy pouring through. Oh yeah, this was going to be a fun ride.
CHAPTER 4
“Holy crap, where the hell does this lead?” Morio said.
Smoky cleared his throat. “At first I thought it was the Northlands, but the energy is tainted, not clear. I’m thinking the Netherworld.”
“Oh shit,” Vanzir said. “Then we’re open to invasion from a bunch of spooks of the worst kind. They might even be able to summon the venidemons, though I’m not sure if that’s what happened in this case.”
“Great.” I stared at the shimmering energy, wondering just how big of a zap it would give me if I touched it. “So the spirit world has decided to take up residence over Earthside, too.”
Camille folded her arms over her chest and stared nervously at the opening. “Who are we going to call in to watch over this one? I don’t know many Supes who are very effective against denizens of the Netherworld. It’s not quite the same as a troll or goblin, whom you can take out with one good thump over the head. Spirits can be dangerous on so many levels.”
I squinted, trying to think of anyone who might be able to help. “I can ask Venus the Moon Child. He might know of somebody.” The shaman of the Rainier Puma Pride was an incredibly powerful Were, and if anybody would know how to deal with ghosts and spirits, it would be him. He’d been intensively trained when he was young, and I had the feeling he’d traveled to Hell and back more than once.
“Good idea,” Morio said.
