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The demonic bloody-wall ghost-filled house had been terrifying. We hadn’t really won the battle, but at least we’d survived.
“Yeah?” I asked warily.
“There’s something on the lot. Something weird that I don’t want my men near until we figure out what it is. And it’s attracting a horde of zombies. I’ve got the entire block cordoned off. The few other houses there that are actually inhabited, I’ve evacuated.”
I cleared my throat. “Something weird as in what? A creature? Structure? Portal? Big-ass pony with wings?”
He snorted. “I wish. If I knew what it was, I’d tell you instead of coming out with a vague description. I’d say, ‘We have a large wheel of cheese cavorting around town’ or ‘There’s a giant snail on the property squirting everybody with slime.’ But I don’t have a clue. I think it’s organic. In other words: alive. But truthfully? I don’t know. And the way I’ve been losing officers lately, I don’t want to take any chances.”
I sobered. Chase was right. He’d lost several good cops, and he was feeling the heat from all sides. “Right. We’ll be there in fifteen to twenty minutes. Don’t let anybody near…whatever the thing is. And Chase?”
“Yeah?” He sounded tired.
“We’ve got your back, dude. Seriously.”
“I know, Camille. And for that, I am eternally grateful.” As he hung up, I turned to the others.
“Let’s roll. Weapons, arms…bring it all. We’re going in blind.” As we hurried to gather everything we could, Iris made up a couple of sacks of sandwiches so we’d have a chance to eat on the run. I told them what Chase had said. Vanzir warned the elfin guards who watched over our property to keep alert, since Trillian and Smoky were still gone. As we headed to the cars, we were all quiet, as a deep sense of apprehension settled in.
We divided up into two vehicles: Morio, Vanzir, and me in my Lexus, and Delilah, Shade, and Roz in her Jeep. The trip didn’t take long, even though we hit noon traffic on one of the main streets. I glanced at the clock. We were still ten minutes out and the more time we took, the more danger Chase and his men were in. I finally saw a side street that I knew would lead to a back route.
“Call Delilah and tell her we’re going down Bay Street.”
Morio punched in her number and, a moment later, I edged over to the right side of the street, nudging in between bumper-to-bumper traffic, with Delilah on my tail. I managed to get into the turn lane right before we hit Bay. A quick, sharp right and we were on our way again.
In another ten minutes, we were on Foster Street, a block and a half out from what had been Fritz and Abby’s house, and we were entering the Greenbelt Park District—the most haunted place in Seattle. Now knowing that Gulakah was fueling the fire made it even more nerve-racking.
The cedars and firs overshadowed the streets, and all the houses around here looked weathered and decrepit. As we neared the intersection, we saw prowl cars blocking the way, along with police tape. Chase had cordoned off the area.
I pulled over to the side and we jumped out, looking for Chase. Delilah and her crew were right behind us. After a moment, I caught sight of him—on crutches and looking frustrated. He motioned for us to join him. Next to him stood Yugi, who seldom went out in the field.
“What’s going on?” I nodded to Delilah and we joined them. “Yugi, what are you doing here?”
“I was hoping, with his empathetic abilities, that he might be able to get a sense for what this is.” Chase sounded tired, and he stifled a yawn.
Yugi shook his head. “All I get is a lot of static—the airwaves are filled with confusion. Either I’m not tuned in enough to hear clearly, or whatever is around here is causing a lot of chaos.”
That’s the first time we’d seen exactly what Chase used Yugi for, other than his typical duties. We knew he was an empath, but until now, I’d had no clue that the FH-CSI actually made use of his abilities.
“Don’t sweat it,” Shade said. “The energy here is thick enough to cut with a knife, and it’s bound to be hard to navigate.”
I closed my eyes, trying to tune in myself. “Shade’s right. It’s like a big hollow brick filled with bees.” Try as I might, I couldn’t pick up anything other than a loud buzz of static. That didn’t mean there weren’t any demons around, though.
“I guess we’d better see what it is.” Morio glanced at Chase. “You stay here—with that leg, you’d be a sitting duck. In fact, we’ll only take one of your men with us, to act as a messenger. I don’t want any easy targets.”
Yugi started to volunteer, but Chase nixed that idea. “I need you—you’re second in command. Keo, please go with them.”
Keo stepped forward.
Delilah squinted, then let out a short laugh. “Werewolf?”
He nodded. “Right.” And then, with a grin, he added, “Pack mentality makes for good teamwork, you know.”
“You’ve got a point.” Delilah glanced at me. “What order?”
“Morio and me first, with Shade and Vanzir right behind us. You, Roz, and Keo take up the rear. Keep an eye out, too. We don’t want anybody slipping behind to ambush us.” I pulled her to one side. “You keep an eye on Keo. If it looks like he’s in danger, get him out.”
She nodded.
