"It's bad for your health," Shabazz countered.
"I need some real food ... might even have me a taste for some Creole."
Rider opened his eyes and gave Big Mike a scowl. "Do not even talk to me about anything that has to do with Louisiana. That topic is off-limits."
Damali chuckled and before she could open her mouth to ask the question about the dreaded city, Marlene had held up her hand.
"Girl, you don't even want to know."
"But I hear you, Mike. We all need a break after what just went down tonight." Shabazz shook his head. "Me, I'm going to find my jazz spot." He glanced at Jose. "Man, some cool-out music might help. We can hang, if you want? We can go find us a brew, maybe?"
Damali watched the interaction, quietly assessing how each team member was talking about everything but what needed to be discussed. "I might go shoot some pool, then find Rider and J.L. and whip their butts at some cards - as long as the joint you hit has my extra-hot barbecue chips."
"You can shoot pool, but you can't play cards with us, darlin'. You and Marlene have been permanently banned from all games of chance, even Scrabble - because you ladies cheat with your gift."
"We do not!" Damali laughed and hopped off the table to stand in Rider's face.
"We're just good," Marlene chuckled. "But I'll leave you guys to your games. I have some research to do."
Just as quickly as it had erupted, the mirth slid away from the group.
"Marlene is right," Damali said with a sigh. "There's a new entity out there that we've never dealt with before. So, I suggest you all get some more rest and play hard when the light comes up, because we're gonna have to work hard come nightfall."
All team members nodded agreement, except Jose, who just continued to stare at the steel-covered windows.
"Work hard, play hard, and carry some serious heat," Shabazz muttered.
"Correct." Damali cast her attention toward Marlene. The subject was on the floor, and it was time. "These things die like vampires, and suck blood. But they hiss, not a normal characteristic of vampires. They leave a horrible signature bite - "
"They ain't smooth at all," Shabazz added. "Normal vamps talk a lot of shit. You don't even see the bite coming till it's too late - but from what Damali described, they totally jack up their prey."
"Can't be demon, though, can it?" J.L's gaze went from teammate to teammate as he spoke. "Each one of the people we lost had been attacked in a different location - just like Blood Music's people, according to the newspapers. Demons are usually linked to a place - a house, an abandoned facility, or inside a host body."
"Right, J.L. And the host body doesn't incinerate on impact. The demon flees, and it will torch, but the human body just dies a normal death." Damali waited, her focus on Marlene.
"Marlene, tell her," Shabazz urged. "Tell her about the house in New Orleans."
Everyone watched the team matriarch slowly stand and walk over to the sealed window. Marlene leaned against the steel beam and spoke in a low tone. "There was a mansion down there that had what we all assumed, for years, was a demon sighting. Same thing happened - the absence of sound, and one hell of a fight to put the thing down. It slithered into nothingness, and we thought it had been destroyed. The host body was unfortunately killed."
"How long ago?" Damali's arms were folded over her chest. For some strange reason the information was making her breathe hard, and again, her second sight was wavering. "And why didn't I hear about this before?"
"It happened a little more than twenty years ago," Marlene murmured, and then her gaze slid away from Damali's. "I thought it had to do with my own coming of age as a guardian, with no bearing on what's been going on here. Every one of us has their own private tale about how they were summoned to this destiny, I'm no different."
Nervous glances shot between her crew members, and then each of them looked away. She didn't like it. "Fine. But what did that thing from twenty years ago look like? How did it manifest?"
Marlene took in a deep, cleansing breath and exhaled slowly. "We thought it was an Amanthra demon - ugly things that look like a cross between a snake, a huge spider, and a panther, hence the scaly facial appearance and fluid movements and power. The hiss is like a snake's, but it also has big cat properties, like a panther, and growls low in a rumble. Jaws unhinge to attack - the snake part. Its fangs and bite are deeper than a regular vampire's. Retractable claws, moves fast - the panther aspect. Joints able to turn backward and give it scurry motion like a spider's. Eats flesh. Hideous creatures."
"Now where did some shit like that come from?" Rider was wide-eyed, his expression incredulous.
"Demons have to be released, or conjured up, brother." Big Mike rubbed his jaw and stared at Rider. "You and I both know that."
"Right. New Orleans." Rider sighed. "Need some black magic to bring them to the surface. Vamps can just do their thing and don't have to be called. Guess that's why they're at the top of the food chain - or the bottom of it, as the case may be."
"Vampires are incredible creatures, if you really think about it."
This time the entire team just stared at J.L. for a moment, stunned.
"What?!"