We set up a meet to get the money. It was there when we arrived. Really tall, wrapped in a long, black hooded coat. Somethin’ felt weird, so I hung back.” Philby’s hands trembled. “While they were talkin’, the wind caught the hood, and I seen them eyes. Red…on fire. Like something out of hell. Wasn’t normal.” He shivered again. “Not human.” His hands clenched into anxious fists.
Despite her lowered sensitivity, Ari smelled his rising panic. Her witch senses kicked into gear, threatening to flood her system with adrenaline. She blocked the response and re-focused on the suspect.
“Are we talking vampire? That kind of non-human?” Ryan was asking.
“Huh-uh. I’m telling you, he, it looked like the devil.” The suspect whispered the final word. “Oh God, I know it’ll find me. Even here. You can’t keep that thing out.” Philby was almost wailing now, rocking back and forth.
“What makes you think he’ll come after you?” Ryan tried to lower the tension by keeping his face and voice neutral, but the suspect was beyond calming.
“Said he would. If we got caught. Them eyes flared up when he said it. Oh, mother, what’s it gonna do to me? Billy’s better off dead!” He went back to rocking.
Continuing the interview appeared pointless to Ari, but Ryan tried one last time. “How do we find this person? Do you have an address? Name? Anything?”
Philby shook his head. “Don’t know, I don’t know. But he’ll come. He’ll hurt me.” He whimpered.
Ryan caught Ari’s eye and jerked his head toward the door. Philby didn’t seem to notice their departure. As Ryan strode down the hallway at a rapid pace, Ari hustled to keep up.
“Hey, slow down. Do you realize what he—”
Ari didn’t get any further before Ryan spun around and glared at her. “Not now. Not here.” He turned and continued to his office.
Startled by his harsh reaction, she stayed quiet until they were inside Ryan’s office with the door closed. “He may not be lying,” she said, trying again.
“I know that. I got it. But there are some things I can’t openly discuss around here. Not if I want to keep my badge and stay out of the shrink’s office.”
“Everyone knows about Otherworlders,” she protested.
“Regular Otherworlders, yes, like witches and vampires. But do you think that’s what he was describing?” The look Ryan turned on her was harried, resigned. He really would prefer to live in a normal world.
“Well, no, I think it might be a full blooded demon.”
“There, see what I mean? A demon! Brass will haul me away this time.” He collapsed in his chair, the back knocking against the wall, and gave her a belligerent look. “OK, tell me about demons.”
She gave him a first semester demonology synopsis. “Demons—big D, only exist in Hell. The creatures that live or manifest on earth are only part demon. They are descendants of a human\demon mating thousands of years ago before the banishment. When Satan and his descendants were eventually vanquished from earth, the only exceptions were those with mixed blood, who have the ability to exist in both realms. Two kinds of earthly demons have evolved. Those with the misnomer of full bloods are born in hell with only the one ancient tainting of human blood. The halfling demons are born on earth and have interbred with humans or other species many times.” She paused to see how he was taking this.
“Ok, two kinds. And let me guess, the full blood is the worst. What makes you think that’s what this guy is? And what’s that mean to us?”
“The red eyes, the long black cloak. Hard to miss. I’ve seen these creatures once before.”
“And they’re all killers.”
“All the full bloods, yes. Not the halflings, at least they don’t have to be. It’s the interbreeding. They can learn to control their dark side, much like vampires. But that’s not Philby’s employer. He sounds like the real thing, a full blood. They’re close to pure evil.”
Ryan shoved away from the desk. “Dammit, Ari. I find this ‘evil’ talk a little over-dramatic. Can’t we just agree he’s a really bad guy?”
“Fine, but it’s not going to make him any less dangerous.”
“Yeah, I know.” His mouth twisted in reaction. “So, how do we find him? And then, how do we get rid of him?”
“Magic. That amount of demonic energy should be easy to trace by scrying. But to get rid of him, we’ll need help. He’s physically strong and magically powerful. He’ll have enormous speed, the kind where he