Thursday, April 16, 2015

Work In Progress



Here's a little snipet of what I've been working on, Payable On Death. New world, new characters but still Urban Fantasy. It's weird to be some where other than Salem with Maurin and the crew but I think you'll like Jax as much as I do. smile emoticon
I reached into my bag, fumbling around until I got a hold of the neck of the vodka bottle. I yanked it out and cracked it over the head of the demon. The bottle bounced off his head without any of the satisfying shattering glass I'd come to expect from the movies but he did drop me. After gulping in air, I smashed the bottle against the wall and slashed out with the jagged neck. I missed, taking a sharp jab to the ribs in the process. Doubled over, but still holding the broken glass, I tried for another strike, managing to slice Lazarus's thigh. He hissed from the pain but didn't back down. He had me by the neck again, slamming me into the brick wall of the building behind me. Close to blacking out, the bottle neck slipped from my grip. Resolved to my fate, I stopped fighting and prepared to meet the Devil.
The sound of footsteps and someone shouting reached my ears as I slid down the wall. Lazarus took off, disappearing at the end of the alleyway. The lessor demons scattered like wharf rats down by the peer. I sat there on the damp ground, surrounded by trash bags and over flowing dumpsters, trying to catch my breath. The person who'd been yelling reached the alley, their footsteps slowed as they realized my attacker fled the scene. Grateful the guy passed by at the same time Lazarus was kicking my ass, I looked up to thank my rescuer.
He extended a hand to help me up off the ground, waiting patiently when I stared at him with my mouth agape. He wiggled his fingers, trying to encourage me to take his hand but I smacked it away. I've never believed in coincidence before and I wasn't about to start. Dane didn't just happen by, he'd been looking for me.
"I'm going to file for a restraining order if you keep this up." I pushed off the cement and stumbled to my feet.
Dane reached out to help me after I swayed a couple times but I shook my head.
"You want me to take you to the emergency room? Get those ribs looked at?" Dane glanced at the arm I'd wrapped around my midsection. "You can fill out a police report while you're there."
"I'm fine. No hospitals, no police." Because when you tell people demons are attacking you they didn't put out an apb for the assailant, they locked you up.
"I really think..."
"I said I'm fine." Far from fine, I gritted my teeth and slowly made my way out of the alley.
Of course he followed.
"Who was that back there? Who did this to you?" Dane reached for my arm, then thought better of it.
It could have been from all the wincing in pain or the don't touch me vibe I threw off. Either way I was relieved he kept his hands to himself.
"You saw him?" It hadn't occurred to me when Dane showed up, but if he saw me fighting someone in the alley then he saw Lazarus. No one saw Lazarus. Not ever. So how did Dane?
"No. I didn't get a good look at the guy. I saw you go down. Whoever it was must have hauled ass down and out of the alleyway when they heard me coming."
I smelled the lie. Dane saw the demon. Which meant one of two things. He didn't think I'd believe him when told me he saw a demon or he knew about the demon before he found me in the alley. Either way he was keeping something from me.