Among Demons : A Siren's Voice

Ch. 15 : Clues

*Nick Carnia*

The weight of my weapon in my hands helped reassure me as I rushed out from cover, carefully moving out towards the three men that had appeared without warning.

Marcus and my sister stepped out with me, both with weapons up and ready.

Though Devin was more comfortable and skilled in close-quarter fights, preferring the use of knives, knees and elbows, Marcus and I both insisted she learn to use a gun. So, even though my picky sister still carried her knives on her, concealed on her person no matter what she wore, Marcus made sure to carry a second gun on him for moments just like this. She wasn’t as good of a shot as Marcus, Danny, Izaak and I, but she was good enough to pose a threat from this short distance.

And now, all three of us were stepping up to the three downed Hunters that had underestimated us.

The one that had rounded on Marcus and Dev, leering at my sister, had been put down fast, with Marcus filling him with holes before moving on to the others. The first guy, the one that had jumped down the last few steps to reach us, was trying to reach his gun again, wheezing as he held his bloody side with one hand while he stretched out to grab at the weapon with the other. His leg had a few wounds in it from me, and struggled to move any closer to his gun that was mere centimeters from his fingertips.

I stepped over to him and kicked it away, earning a very angry glare from the still wheezing prick at my feet.

Glancing over, I watched Dev kneel down to the third and final guy that had dropped by the stairs. I could see a bit of movement from his chest and his hands twitched a bit too. But when she looked up to Marcus who stood protectively behind her, a calm yet grim look took over while she shook her head.

Ever the kind person, my sister, pity seeped into her ringed eyes, lasting for only a few seconds before fading. She’d always hated how far some people willingly push during situations like this. How easily they decide to endanger their lives over something as simply as hatred, fear, jealousy and greed. We’ve both had our hands forced many times in the past, staining our skin with the blood of those that were prepared to kill us, hurt us or use us in some tormenting way. So, in order to survive attacks coming at us from all sides, my sister and I have been forced to kill, just to make the enemy stop. But even after so many years of this, even knowing and understanding that there was no way out without sacrificing herself, she still pitied the pricks.

“I’ll make the call.” Marcus stated a moment later, holstering his weapon and rocking back on his feet before pulling out his phone. He pulled my sister into his side, soothing her as she sighed and looked over at the man at my feet, still alive.

At least for now.

“f*****g… b***h…” The croaking, raspy voice coming by my feet made me look down again, my eyes narrowed.

The Hunter was staring past me, towards the hallway that I had used as cover during the shoot-out. And I knew, without having to look, that Lora had either stepped out from hiding or was peeking from around the corner. So, as I felt a well of rage begin to rise inside me, I raised my gun and leveled it at his head. His bloodshot eyes moved to me a second later, still glaring, but clearly understanding my silent warning.

I took a few more seconds to stare him down before dropping down to a knee, relaxing my hold on my weapon ever so slightly.

“You recognize her?” I asked softly, jerking my chin to the side to point towards Lora.

I watched as a flash of something akin to recognition appeared in his angry glare before it was gone just as quickly. Leaning in a bit more, bracing the barrel of my gun on the concrete right in front of his face, I raised a brow, pressing him silently to say more.

He looked more tense than he had when I wasn’t so close, his eyes bouncing from my face to the gun over and over. I let a few more strained moments pass before I lifted my weapon, tapped his forehead with the barrel, then placed it back where I had had it, right in front of him. His body jumped when I moved, then once more when I touched him with the hot metal. And when his gaze moved back to me, there was a bit of fear in his glare, and his hands were now shaking slightly too. But he still remained silent, his lips nearly turning white with how tightly he was pressing them together. My answering smile looked to not only confuse him, but an air of nervousness seemed to fill him too.

I shrugged, “No problem.” I pushed off the floor and stared down at him from my full height. “I’m betting the papers you morons left behind have something useful for us.” His eyes twitched and he looked more uncomfortable. “Or maybe those few computers someone forgot to scrub clean.” I added, but he didn’t react as strongly, though he did tense up, his reaction wasn’t as pronounced as when I mentioned the papers.

I looked him over a bit more carefully, wondering if he maybe had anything on him. I could hear faint rustling noise coming from where the other bodies lay and knew that either my sister or Marcus were searching the other men.

“f**k off!” The man in front of me snapped, bursting into a painful sounding coughing fit when I reached for his pants pocket.

He was in a plain t-shirt, with a single shoulder holster wrapped around his left shoulder that clipped around his waist. No bags, satchels or even a coat to hide anything. So if he had something on him, it would have to be in his pants…. Or maybe his boots? Unless this fucker was some kind of freak and had stuffed something important somewhere else. Though I sure as hell wasn’t going to go looking for it.

“Nick.”

I turned as I finished fishing into one pocket, finding my sister slowly moving towards me, her hands holding a crumpled up piece of paper. I could see her reading whatever was written there, her brows scrunched up along with her little nose, showing some frustration.

“What is it?” I question, rising to my feet and moving to where she stopped, walking around her and reading over her shoulder.

I felt my own frustration rise as I looked at five different addresses listed on the paper in thick, black ink. And near the bottom, written in blue pen, was a short circled sentence that was also underlined a few times.

‘Call Harmony’

“It’s something.” I muttered, taking the small paper when my sister passed it to me. “I’ll organize some scouts once we get back.” She nodded to my words as she turned away, slowly walking towards Lora who was still standing by the hallway entrance.

She looked anxious still, her body tense and curled a little inwardly as she rocked from foot to foot. Devin took hold of Lora’s hands and said something to her softly, making Lora shake her head, then nod and smile back at her, albeit a little weakly. My sister then turned and waved me over, smiling at me while she tugged Lora a few steps forward.

“You ok?” I asked the small Siren, catching the tormented look that swirled with her panic and fear.

Her ringed eyes, beautiful hues of smokey gray and deep amber, looked up at me with a sudden increase of worry shining within them. I placed a hand on her shoulder gently, smiling at her as she slowly relaxed. My mind wondered why her gaze suddenly started bouncing around me, glancing at my face then moving to my neck, my chest, down my stomach and grazing both arms.

It took me a few seconds, but I smiled a bit bigger once I realized that she was checking me for wounds.

“I’m alright.” I chuckled lightly, locking eyes with her for a moment before she turned and started looking my sister over. “Dev’s ok too.” She turned back to me, clasping her hands over her chest as if to try and calm her heart. “We’re all alright.” I leaned in closer, still looking into her eyes, and hoped that I was reassuring her.

Our gazes stayed locked onto each other for a long silent moment before, slowly, she turned away. I was grateful for her strength, knowing that I was completely unable to turn away from her like she had. Then, clearing my throat and shaking off the heated feelings that had been growing in me, I showed her the paper in my hand, holstering my weapon at the same time.

I watched her read the paper, her eyes glaring down at it at first. But when she reached the bottom, where the different colored message had been scrawled on, her eyes widened. Recognition flashed in her eyes before pain and confusion filled them, her breathing picking up as her grip on the paper tightened dangerously. My sister came up behind her, making Lora jump when she tapped the paper with her finger.

“You know who this is?”

Lora’s eyes widened a little, a look of sadness, confusion and pain clouding her beautiful eyes before she looked at my sister. I couldn’t see what it was that she was trying to communicate, seeing only her profile. But her lips mouthed slowly as she mouthed out some words to my sister. Devin’s eyes widened a bit before her own eyes moved to the paper, staring at it for a long tense second before looking back at Lora.

“Your sister?” She asked softly, making me jump a tiny bit, my eyes now focused on the fidgety Siren.

She nodded stiffly as her head turned back to the page in her hands, confusion and sadness growing within her.