"There must be something Marlene can do - some spells, something, man. Take her to a priest, an exorcist..."
"We been through this, little brother. Now give me your weapon. There's nothing we can do for Dee Dee now. Did she nick you?"
"No ... but all she wants me to do is hold her before she dies, she wants to be at peace. Just once."
The group nodded, which seemed to be the assurance Jose required. He slowly handed Big Mike the weapon.
"You'll give me a chance to say good-bye, right?" he asked, stepping toward the shadows.
"Steady, Mike," Shabazz said low in his throat. "Over our brother's shoulder. Let him draw her to where you can see her."
"Be prepared to take Jose, too," Marlene murmured to J.L., "if Big Mike misses. Dee Dee will be on him in two seconds."
Jose hesitated, and looked back at his teammates. "She's afraid, that's all, and so alone. Can't you hear what she's saying?"
"Yeah, I can hear her," Big Mike replied quietly. "She ain't saying what you think, though."
The two eyes in the corner of the alley disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared in the same spot as though the creature had slowly blinked. A form stealthily came forward. The group held in a collective gasp. The alley was silent, save for the hum of the air conditioners. What was once their beloved Dee Dee flicked a long, pronged black tongue out upon a hiss. Talons had replaced her once-neat French manicure. Her grayish-green skin was peeling away from the skeleton of her face, and her glowing eyes sat in black, dark sockets. Her nose was merely two holes. This abomination of their friend had a sly smile on its face, a taunting grin that flashed huge, saliva-slicked fangs. Damali wanted to hurl.
Chapter Four
The team glanced at each other, all sensing that the beast was inside Jose's head, cracking his skull with its call. Damali's heart hurt from watching her teammate writhe in emotional agony. But the situation was too delicate. Nobody made a move, lest they catch the living lover, Jose, their teammate, in the crossfire.
It was clear that he'd make a lunge to try to spare her the stake. This had to go down smooth to save their brother.
Jose stepped forward slowly. "Dee Dee, baby. Nobody is going to hurt you. We're going to help you. You're still one of us."
Like hell...Damali glanced at Marlene and the fellas and shook her head. Even though it was eating her up inside to watch Jose battle this thing, there was no other way. She almost couldn't watch him calling to the woman he loved like one would call to a beloved house pet that had been hit by a car and had hidden under a parked vehicle to die alone in fear. It was pitiful.
There was only one focus, however. Get Dee Dee in range. As soon as Dee Dee's clawed hand reached out, and a glimmer of her fang-distorted face showed past the next set of Dumpster shadows, Damali gave the order. "Fire!"
The stake released, sending a whooshing sound past the group, nearly grazing Jose's shoulder, but connecting with a screaming target that instantly combusted where it once stood. Rider was still trying to fire rounds from his jammed gun when Jose dropped to his knees and covered his face with his hands. Damali watched his shoulders shake as Big Mike tried to help Jose up, only to have him shrug away.
"He'll be all right in the morning," Marlene said in a distant tone.
"Dirt - shit! You can't even find good hallowed earth these days!" Rider yelled, spitting again and attempting to reload his jammed gun. "He ain't gonna never be all right."
"Were any of us?" Shabazz added solemnly, collecting Jose under his arm so he'd stand, and then shaking Big Mike's hand. "Your brother just saved your life - even though right now you just wanna curl up and die. Was hard for him to take that weight so you wouldn't have to. Recognize, and let this go."
Jose nodded, wiped his face, and pounded Big Mike's fist.
"Told you I gotcha back," Mike reminded Jose, throwing an arm over his shoulder.
But the fact that Big Mike warily appraised Jose's skin from head to toe first, was not lost on the group.
"He's clean," Big Mike finally muttered, offering Jose a fast male embrace, then handing him back his 'weapon.
"I can't get her voice out of my head," Jose whispered.
"And you won't," Shabazz said in a harsh tone, collecting their gear and still surveying the perimeter beyond the group. "That's why you can't afford to fall in love, let somebody get under your skin like that - their voice will be in your head until the main vamp is dead. You'll be in hell, and want to take your own life every night when one of them assumes her voice to f**k with you ... or tries to climb into your bed to make you forget she's dead. That's why I wanted Wizard to kill her - so he'd remember that when the succubus comes for him. His hell is brand-spanking-new. Ask me how I know."
"Leave him be," Marlene warned. "One step of awareness at a time."
"Maybe you haven't noticed, Mar, but we seem to be running out of time."
Marlene and Shabazz held each other's gaze in a deadlock before Shabazz turned away and looked up at the sky.
"We need to move out," Damali said quietly, sensing the environment, and then she looked up at the sky. "But I don't think it's safe yet." She glanced at her group and they nodded their agreement. The team •was wired, still breathing hard, and pumped from the battle. "I know we all wanna get out of here, but we need to be strategic, and not just run headlong into another setup."