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I drew in breath to begin the chant for the dismissal of the demon, then blew it right back out again in aggravation at the sound of more running footsteps. I looked back to see the keyboardist and bass player from the band hurrying over the railroad tracks toward us, along with Lida’s manager, Adam Taylor, huffing his way a few hundred yards behind them. I’d met Taylor earlier in the day during the planning for the stakeout, but I’d never met any of the others.>Ryan and Zack were about a hundred feet behind the thing. They were running all out, but the creature was just as fast and staying ahead of them. I still couldn’t figure out what the hell it was. It looked big and lumbering—except that it sure as hell wasn’t lumbering. As I watched from my superb vantage it crossed Decatur Street in two loping strides, then it raced past the French Market and toward the Moonwalk and the Mississippi River.
What the hell? Is it going to throw her in the river? Dread shot through me. The Mississippi was over a mile across and full of vicious currents, and going into the river, even near the bank, could be deadly. At night it would be damn near impossible to find her if she went in.
Ryan and Zack were beginning to close the distance, but I couldn’t see any way that the agents would be able to stop the creature before it reached the river.
Skalz suddenly went into a steep dive, and I yelped and clutched tighter. We skimmed up over the levee and across the railroad tracks, then, in complete defiance of the laws of physics, the zhurn stopped dead about ten feet from the creature. I staggered briefly as the demon set me on my feet, and then I pulled my gun from the holster in the small of my back. I still couldn’t tell what the thing was. Its face looked crude and half-formed—small depressions where eyes would be and a lump for a nose—like a sculpture that hadn’t been finished.
“Let her go!” I commanded as I took careful aim at its head, not even sure if it would understand what I was saying. I wasn’t even sure if it was something that was living at all. It glowed oddly in othersight, but it didn’t seem to have any aura, or feel about it of something that lived.
I didn’t have a chance to wonder about it for long. The thing opened its mouth and gave a weird and soundless roar that vibrated through me, then it hoisted Lida high as if to throw her into the river. I gave a shout and started forward, but before I could take more than half a step a black oily blur struck the creature in the middle, sending both it and Lida into the water. Half a heartbeat later she and the creature disappeared beneath the roiling current.
Chapter 3
I frantically scanned the water as both Ryan and Zack pelted up alongside me. The miasma of the river surrounded me—a strange melding of mud and water and rot and the effluvia of every city upstream. It smelled a bit like death, and for the barest instant I felt the power beneath the muddy roiling surface—a deep and ancient force that had carved its way through a continent. I’d felt the barest touch of that raw elemental force once before, when I’d nearly died in the Kreeger River. But there was no comparing that trickle to this beast. There was no way I could tap the power of this river and survive.
Fortunately, I had other means at my disposal. “Get her out!” I commanded the zhurn.
But my order was unnecessary. Skalz had made a tight circle after tackling the pair and now made a silent dive into the water. Five heartbeats later it knifed back out of the river, with Lida in its grasp. It deposited her at my feet and then stepped back and melted into the shadow of a nearby wall so thoroughly that I could only see it because I knew to look for the two pinpricks of red light that were its partially closed eyes.
Okay. Totally worth the effort to summon a demon to use as backup! My pulse slammed in relief now that disaster had been averted, and I sent an impression of thanks to the demon along the mental bindings. I crouched by the coughing and shaking girl. “Lida, are you hurt?”
Ryan moved forward and handed me a small flashlight. I gave him a grateful smile and shined it quickly over her. Her makeup was streaked in chaotic patterns across her face and her hair was plastered to her skull in snaky tendrils, but I couldn’t see any obvious injuries. “Are you hurt?” I repeated.
She shook her head. “No,” she gasped. “I . . . I don’t think so.” She looked up at me, eyes wide, and for an instant I could see beyond the crazy makeup and hair and piercings to the scared and uncertain teenager. “Wh- who was it? What happened?” She looked around in confusion. “How did I get out of the river? Oh my god, I thought I was dead for sure!”
Crap. We were all quite obviously dry. “Another member of our team dragged you out,” Ryan said quickly. “He’s gone to see if we can find the, uh, guy who attacked you.”
I had to hide a smile. Well, it was mostly true.
“Team?” The confusion in her face increased. “Who are you?”
“Police and FBI,” I explained. “Your manager contacted us about the death threats, so we were staking out the concert.”
“Oh,” Lida said, her eyes wide and her voice small. “I didn’t take those seriously at all!” She gulped. “Wow. Good thing that Adam did.”
Knight chose that instant to pull up to the levee in his unmarked. He left the lights in his car flashing, then headed our way at an unhurried pace.
“I’m not much into running,” he told me in a low drawl, giving another of his sardonic smiles. To my surprise his eyes flicked to where Skalz was hiding in the shadows, and then back to me as he gave a low snort of amusement.
Okay, so I didn’t run either.
“There’s rumors of all sorts of tunnels in this area,” he continued as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, voice still low and casual. “Gutter rats supposedly use ’em to move around the city.” He shrugged. “Could be your bad boy ducked into one.”
I gave him a slight nod. I’d ask Skalz as soon as I had the chance. I needed to get rid of all of these people around me first.
Knight’s lips twitched. “How ’bout I get out of your way and go take care of those officers hoofing it this direction? And maybe Agent Garner can take Miss Lida over to one of those benches so she can have a chance to settle her nerves.”
Okay, he was way too perceptive for me to be comfortable around him, though I couldn’t bitch since I did need a couple of minutes alone. Knight winked at me, then turned and walked back in the direction of Decatur Street, holding his badge up to neatly intercept two approaching NOPD officers.
Zack took Lida’s hand and gave her a smile. “Can you walk, hon’?”
“Yeah, I can walk,” she replied, taking a deep breath to steady herself as she took his hand. The scared teenager was gone, covered by the same confidence that she’d shown on stage. Except for the fact that she was soaking wet, I’d never have known she’d been thrown into the river. I couldn’t help but be a bit impressed. I hadn’t possessed even a tenth of that much poise when I was that age.
“C’mon then,” he said, gently tugging her to her feet. “Let’s get you to where you can sit down more comfortably.” Her gait was still pretty unsteady as he led her away, and she leaned on him slightly for support.
Okay, she’s still freaked out, but she knows how to cover it well. Then I saw her smile up at Zack and had to suppress a laugh. Or maybe she’s just trying to impress a cute guy. I didn’t miss that Zack returned the smile with a charming one of his own.
I glanced over at Ryan. He wasn’t bothering to hide his grin. He also wasn’t even breathing hard which was personally annoying to me. If I’d sprinted nine blocks I’d be gasping for someone to call 911. “He’s a smooth one, isn’t he,” I remarked.
