The girls left with no further argument. By then, the first wave of attackers was on me. My swords lashed out. Men went down in pieces. Their female family members and friends shrieked in horror. It made an interesting battle anthem, as I waded into the mind-controlled meat-puppets.
I leaped, driving one sword up through the bottom of one guy's jaw. I took a step to the left, pulling his body in the way of a chair someone had thrown. I kicked the body off my sword, and made the tattoos on my legs burn with dragon rage, temporarily boosting my strength and endurance to godlike levels.
A dinner patron in a Hawaiian shirt—with olive green fronds over a black field—lunged at me with a fork. I took his head off cleanly with one swipe. His neck spurted blood, bright arterial red, my favorite color, as his head bounced away, getting kicked like a soccer ball by other attackers.
A flurry of slashes, and the immediate area around me cleared. The fallen bodies tripped up the next wave of puppets since they were a bit too befuddled to properly pick up their feet. Those behind came on, toppling over the growing ring of flailing bodies. A woman in a dress leaped the ring, and came at me from the side. I allowed her to stab me—with a pair of clutched spoons—admiring her silicon-enhanced tits.
Wait a second! A woman? It had been only men until now.
I stabbed my sword into the headless body at my feet, freeing up a hand. I grabbed a handful of hair and wrenched the woman's head to the side, exposing her throat. She had an Adam's apple. "Damn cross-dressing transvestite!" With the hilt of the sword I still held, I smashed the wanna-be-bitch's face, driving her to the floor. Pulling my other sword from the corpse's back, I dragged the tip over to the woman and slashed upward. Another home-made soccer ball went bouncing away.
The surviving meat-puppets grew still and collapsed, their invisible strings cut. The fight was over. Maybe my unseen nemesis just got tired of repeating a theme.
A swirl of blue-green cloud billowed out of nowhere. I knew that cloud so I didn't hack into it. The cloud dissipated quickly, revealing Old Man. He looked around, appraising my work. "Done already?"
"Strings were cut." I had to yell over the room full of hysterically crying women, who doubtless realized that without the men, they'd have to pay their own checks. Perhaps it was mean-spirited for me to think so, but I was demon raised. Men existed to pay for my services. Women existed to service me in bed.
"Where are the girls?" Old Man asked.
"Where's Hiro?" I countered.
"He'll be here in a moment." Old Man slapped me in the back of the head. "Answer the question."
"I sent them to find a hiding hole while I took care of all this."
Old Man grew still as a graveyard angel, eyes wide and staring into infinity. His gaze came back to me, a frown on his face. "I don't sense them. Either they left the building, or—"
Or all this was a distraction and they've been grabbed," I said
"They've been grabbed?" It was Hiro's voice, distorted by deep shock.
I turned to see him by the hostess' desk. He leaned on it for support, face an ashen gray. He looked like he was having a heart attack. I turned back to Old Man. "You take care of him. I'll get the girls back."
"How?" Old Man asked.
I have a plan."
Old Man grabbed his chest like he was having a heart attack too. He gasped out, "Now I'm afraid."
I growled low in my throat. "Wise ass."
He straightened. "No, all of me is intelligent. You're getting us confused again."
He went to Hiro, taking his arm, leading his gently to an empty chair.
I put my swords away and went up to Old Man, staring at him. "Hey, what's with the sudden consideration? You've never been exactly nurturing."
"No?" Old Man said.
"You dropped me of a frickin' cliff once without blinking, teaching me to land on my feet, but you pamper him like he's your favorite whore?" I said.
He gave me a fiery blue-green stare that let me know I was on dangerous ground questioning him, but he explained. "Hiro's father was a good friend, and I watched Hiro being born."
I didn't ask anymore. Old Man had very few human friends. He didn't make them easily, and so treasured each one. That was all I needed to know.
"The guards' weapons are mine now. Have them dropped off at my house," I told Old Man. It was a demon rule: you get to keep the property of those you kill. I'd get a good price for demon-slayer swords on the preternatural black market.
Hiro bowed his head in agreement.
I headed for the entrance, grabbing a bottle of wine off a table I passed.
Hiro found enough voice to call after me. "I want my daughter safe. Kill whoever you need to."
Of course. That goes without saying.
I went out the door without a backward glance. I went downstairs to the lobby, sitting on the bottom step where I pulled out my phone. After a swig from the bottle I'd swiped, sent a text to Izumi: I NEED A FAVOR, BRING ME TO YOU.
Another demon cloud formed; this one around me. It was white with a light blue core, a haze of ice crystals more than vapor. My tats weren't activated, so I knew the demon magic was no threat. Izumi was a friend, but even so, Old Man had taught me never to assume benevolence under any circumstances.
The cloud picked me up, rotated me, and collapsed into a theoretical dimension no scientist had yet named. My stomach registered a massive increase in gravity, then I was back in the human world with the cloud thinning to nothing. I was also in Izumi's home. She lay sprawled on a red velvet couch, wearing a sheer red negligee that tinted her flesh without hiding anything. Her eyes flamed with lust. She wiggled a finger at me.
I understood. Demon magic always has a price. No free rides. She expected me to pay her for the expenditure of magic. I really didn't have the time, but… I shed my coat on the floor and tugged open my belt and fly.
* * *
Two hours later, after making sure the clips were full; I put my guns back into their shoulder holsters. I used a handkerchief to clean my swords. Izumi lay on a polar bear rug by the fireplace, where we'd finally finished up. She watched me while recovering from her latest string of multiple orgasms.
"So, Izumi, what else do you know about the wolves that have moved into my territory?" I asked, wondering if I had the time for a fourth go at that glorious ass of hers.
"Not much, they're not even done moving in … yet."
I had no idea how old Izumi was, but unlike most immortals, she's liked to stay with the times, one of the reasons why I let her move into my territory in the first place. That the wolves had come without invitation and were still ignoring me meant that blood would soon fill the streets—none of it mine. She had to know that. Why was she acting like it had nothing to do with her? They were her friends.
She rolled her feet under her and stood. Backlit by the flames of the fire, she wore shadow as she faced me, a mysterious creature I might never fully understand. Her negligee was on the floor, ripped into numerous pieces. Naked, she sashayed past me to her room. I studied her, uh, assets until she left my sight, and walked over to the window. I moved the blinds to look at the house across the street, the wolves were close; her house lay between them and me like a neutral zone.
Moving boxes from the moving truck into the house, the wolves gave every sign this wasn't temporary.
I heard Izumi approach me from behind though she was trying to be quiet. I sometimes let her believe she could actually sneak up on me since it gave her such a thrill. She said, "I know that look. It's never good when you smile like that."
I turned. She wore a pale blue dress, a sweater vest with a fringe, and white stockings. Her feet were sunk into white boots with furry cuffs. And her hair was piled, held in place with silver snowflake pins. Platinum bracelets adorned one wrist, clinking gently as she moved.
As intended, I let my stare reveal the hardness of my soul. "Can you blame me? You know how these things go. One unanswered challenge invites another. Soon, you're fighting for respect from every imp and pixie." I concentrated on my tats, letting the dragon magic quicken to a faint suggestion of life. Waves of power shimmered, radiating from me as I turned back to the window, glowering outside with menace.
The wolves froze mid-step, looking at Izumi's house. A large man—about six foot, built like a mountain, with short brown hair, wearing black slacks and a button up-shirt—left the wolves' den. He, too, stared toward Izumi and me. His legs were wide spaced, his head high, shoulders back. I wasn't a wolf to sense the reassuring vibe he'd be sending his pack, but I knew it was there.
Fight one, fight all.
I went to the front door, stepped out, and made my way toward the wolves. They put their boxes down and formed a crescent behind their Alpha, showing solidarity; four males, two females, all very dominant and aggressive, no wimps in this group, all very ready for a battle. As I reached the property line for their house, the Alpha started toward me. I could feel the pack magic like nettles against my skin. I let my tats awaken a little more. The Alpha didn't flinch, but the other wolves cast uneasy looks at each other.
The Alpha and I stopped with several feet still between us. I looked up into the man's eyes. "You must be the Alpha," I said.
My stare was a challenge. We both knew it. Whoever looked away first would lose.
He said, "I'm William Cooper. Who are you?"
"Caine Deathwalker, Master of the City."
William's eyes went from brown to wolf yellow.
"Bill, is every thing all right," a young red-haired woman called from the doorway of the house. My wide stare caught her as a blur while I kept my focus through the body of the Alpha. Most people thought you looked at your opponents in a dangerous situation. That's not true. You use peripheral vision to absorb everything, your awareness like the light of the moon, touching everything around you. Predators track motion. It's why prey stays very, very still—until discovered.
The woman was a wolf, her movements powerful, smooth, and fearless. She walked up to William, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that he and I were about to rip into each other. She stood next to the Alpha and looked at me with a smile. I smiled too. The fact that death was in the air made her lovelier than I might have otherwise have found her.
"Hi, I'm Angie," she said.
I stared through William. "The submissive isn't very sharp is she?"
"Not when it comes to things like this," William said.
"My name is Caine Deathwalker," I repeated. "If you've been here more than a day or two, you will have heard of me."
Neither of them responded, which told me they'd been warned. I put away my smile. "There's a bar I like that's neutral ground. We should have a drink there some time and straighten out a few things."
I handed William a card. "And, please, do bring your pack so every one can relax. Say in an hour or so."
"I can come?" Angie asked.
I said, "Bring her. She just saved your life."
As if I had nothing to fear from any of them, I broke eye contact, turning and walking away. Had there been the slightest sound of a step, my magic would have flared, and blood would have soaked the lawn. The only steps were mine. Sometimes, sheer bravado is worth more than a machinegun. I passed Izumi's house, curving around to my own house. Until I was out of their sight, I could feel William's eyes on me. Asking him to bring his pack guaranteed he'd show where and when I wanted. He couldn't turn me down; he'd look weak. An Alpha can't let that happen without inviting challenges to his power.
The hour delay would give me time to find out more about William Cooper. I suspected that if I handled things right, I could make use of the wolves in recovering Haruka. I entered my house and fished out my phone, auto-dialing Old Man's number.
"Yes?" he said.
"It's me. Meet me at The Velvet Door in twenty," I said.
"Really, the bar? You should be looking for the girls," Old Man said.
"This is that plan I told you about. Now get there. I need to talk to you about something."
He hung up.
I went to get cleaned up.
Once I was done, I walked over to Izumi's house again; without my car, I was going to have to ask her for another favor, one I'd be happy to pay for later. I knocked on her door.
In moments, I felt her walking toward me from inside the house. She opened the door with a smile.
"Want to get a drink?" I asked.
"Sure, I'm already dressed; I may as well go out."
"I don't have my car so you'll have to drive," I said.
"I'll pull the car out, go wait by the curb," Izumi said.
I walked to the curb and waited. The wolves were moving things in again, working hastily to finish the job fast. They kept their eyes on me, as Izumi pulled her sky blue Honda hybrid out of her garage. She cared about nature more than most things, a tree hugger at heart. I didn't mind riding in her baby, but unless they made one that could keep up with my muscle car, I'd never own one.
I got into her car before she completely stopped. We pulled out into the street and gathered speed. I felt weird not being the one driving. Izumi drove like a bat out of hell, not really looking at the road. Not a lot of things make me nervous. Her driving did.
We made it to city in one piece, some how. Izumi pulled into a back alley. We parked behind a line of cars, and walked to the entrance of The Velvet Door. It really did have a red velvet door—and a fey bouncer just inside, drinking, pretending to be a bum.
"Hey, Claude…"
He looked up at me, his face turning ashen with fear.
I held up my hand, raising fingers one at a time in warning. "One … two…"
Claude said, "Okay, man, I'm moving. Be a little nice."
The fey got up and dragged his stool out of the doorway. He bowed to Izumi, recognizing a regular.
I paused by the fey. "Oh, by the way, there's a pack of new wolves coming here to see me, let them in," I said.
"Dark gods, no!" he said. We just got the place fixed after your last attempt at inter-species diplomacy."
I looked at him in surprise. "Are you trying to say you don't want my business?"
He sighed. "I've never wanted to live in interesting times."
"But you want to live, right?" I asked.
He nodded.
"Then don't you think you should be showing us to a table?"
He lumbered on. "Right this way."