Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend (Good Girls & Demons) Read online

  That was where most black diamonds came from. There were some mines in Africa, but they would hold different qualities that would identify their place of origin.

  The doctors exchanged knowing looks that made me both annoyed and suspicious. They were holding something back from me. I wanted to know what, fearing I was the butt of someone’s joke.

  “What?” I asked.

  “We, too, came to those conclusions.” Dr. Melnyk said as Dr. Simmons set another catalog box next to me.

  It had been a few stations down, so I had assumed it was someone else’s work. Apparently, it was part of this. How could I have known?

  “These are the rest of the items that were found at the site,” said Dr. Simmons as she pulled from the plastic catalog container a stone box, a piece of blue silk, and a sandwich baggy that contained some dirt and small stones. “Sandstone with cuneiform carvings. Sumeria 3000 BCE.”

  She set that down then lifted the silk. There was a circular symbol on it, embroidered in gold thread.

  “Hebrew Seal of the Seven Archangels. 300 BCE. It was wrapped around the diamond then sealed in the box with beeswax from Jordan Valley delta. Particulates in the wax identified the location.” She placed the silk on the stone box then flipped the plastic baggy onto the table in front of me. “Samples from the dig. In Canada. They show glacial remains.”

  “Canada?” I was so stunned that my doubt slipped out in my tone. I could feel heat color my cheeks for questioning what Dr. Simmons told me, and yet I still began flipping through the notebook closest to me for the records on the dig.

  “Canada,” she repeated.

  “Auyuittuq National Park.” Dr. Melnyk seemed much less condescending. “Specifically Mount Asgard.”

  Dr. Simmons dropped a folder that contained photographs and notes from the dig next to my elbow while Dr. Melnyk continued. I pushed aside the notebook I had been looking through in lieu of what Dr. Simmons supplied.

  “In case you aren’t familiar with it, that’s above the Arctic Circle.” He smiled while I stared blankly. “Not Brazil.”

  My mind was torn between disbelief and the thought that they were having one over on me. I looked from one prestigious doctor to the other. They looked dead serious. I waited for them to burst out laughing, let me in on the joke. Tell me that I passed their test. None of that happened.

  “Okay…” I said with trepidation. I could play along. “But none of that makes sense. It’s possible for the box to find its way to Jordan, and for the silk to get sealed into it, but that doesn’t explain the diamond or how it got to Canada at a place above the Arctic Circle and a height above the current glacial point.” I scowled as I crossed my arms. “I didn’t mistake the origin of the diamond. There’s only two places black diamonds come from, and the color and mineral refractions are specific to Brazil. Not Africa.”

  Dr. Melnyk held up a hand in a pacifying gesture. “We know, Miss McKay. We’ve been through the same details. Came to the same conclusions.” Before I could ask why they brought me in on this, he answered. “We wanted fresh eyes on it to see if there was anything we missed.”

  “Have you translated the cuneiform and Hebrew?” There could be a connection there. It was doubtful, but possible.

  Dr. Simmons nodded as she fingered the silk. “Protection spells and charms. Typical mumbo jumbo.”

  “Sort of.” Dr. Simmons glared at Dr. Melnyk as he interjected. “There are variations on certain symbols that could alter the translation, but we haven’t gotten very far on the possible alternatives.”

  I nodded as I understood where Dr. Melnyk was going with this. “Narrowing down the translations could provide the connection between different eras and location site.”

  I got the impression that Dr. Simmons felt I had stated the obvious. Her smile seemed to be the same she’d give a dog that had just learned how to sit on command. Her status as someone to look up to was beginning to fade in my eyes.

  She placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a small shake. “You have full access to the museum’s resources.” And with that she gave Dr. Melnyk a pointed look. “I’m going home.”

  Dr. Melnyk let out a sigh before he offered me a gentle smile. “Don’t hesitate to make use of our assets. You can even access them from home. You have full security so you can take the items with you. There is no reason for you to stay here at all hours.” He too placed a hand on my shoulder, but his touch was far more reassuring. “You’ll be fine. We have complete faith in you.”

  And with that, both doctors left.

  Oh, do you?

  If they had difficulty translating the symbols and hieroglyphs, what made them think I would do any better? I felt that I should be flattered by their trust in my abilities and knowledge. Instead, I felt as if I were being set up for failure. I didn’t see any other choice, though. I would simply have to do my best.

  TWO

  The trail for the diamond ended here.

  Public places were annoying. Too many eyes. Too much security both living and electronic. Any attempt to get at it was impossible during the day. Damn tourists and employees were everywhere.

  Nighttime had its own challenges. Motion detectors. Some places had impact sensors in the floors. It had taken a couple of nights to map out where they were. They turned the museum into a labyrinth to navigate, but I now had a functioning route.

  The security guards were easy enough. One was currently enjoying a healthy nap at his station, thanks to a little addition to his coffee. Not the final, but the most difficult obstacle was the security system at the entrance to the labs.

  The final hurdle was the researchers, but my patience had paid off. Instead of two well-known doctors who would be missed I now faced just one intern. Correction, one over-eager intern.

  It was three in the morning and she was still in the lab. I would be more irritated if not for the fact that I was within moments of getting what I came here for. I just needed her to leave.

  The piece of mylar I had rigged to the security pad after the other two scientists left worked like a charm. The sensor reflected back on itself to establish a connection that tricked the system into believing that everything functioned the way it was meant. I could see the green light from where I lingered behind the stairway door. The useless rectangular window proved to be not so useless after all. I had a clear line of sight without being easily spotted.

  Finally, the lab door opened, and the intern emerged. Judging by the way she yawned and scrubbed a knuckle at her eye she was exhausted.

  Good.

  That would make this easier. All I needed now was for her to disappear then…

  “Shit.”

  She had the diamond. And the Sumerian box and the Seal. I caught sight of it all when she checked inside her bag.

  Why the hell was she…

  Then it came to me. She was taking everything home with her to continue her research there. The museum had given her more clearance than I thought. They must have been really desperate to solve the riddle to trust a lowly intern with their acquisitions.

  I swore under my breath again then turned to start down the stairs. I had to get to the parking garage while she waited for the elevator. Not for the first time in my existence was I grateful for humanity’s inherent laziness.

  There was only one level of the underground garage reserved for employees, but apparently the engineers that had designed the layout of the building had only cared about the convenience of the patrons. The staircase dumped out on a level above my target. Here was where I made my first mistake.

  I had assumed the elevator was slower than it was. By the time I reached the employee parking level the intern was out of the elevator and fishing in her bag for her keys as she made her way down the rows. I took up position behind a pillar where I could watch. There were only a few cars in the lot, so it was easy to guess which one was hers. I didn’t think the museum paid interns well enough for her to own a Lexus or BMW. The older model Honda was the bet
ter bet. So, while she still searched for her keys, I moved closer. And made my second mistake.

  I should have taken her down while she was distracted. My mistake was not wanting to kill her. It made me hesitate. Others like me were not hampered by the same principles.

  A man came out of nowhere, moving with speed and purpose. Before I could react, he jumped the intern. She had a healthy set of lungs. I could give her that. The yelp she let out echoed around the garage. I winced mostly because I hadn’t wanted to attract any attention, but it looked like that had been a futile hope.

  The worst part was, I recognized the guy. Based on his brickhouse build, and the shoulder length dark hair, I knew exactly what had come after the intern.

  Damn it.

  I could tell he had been hidding behind a car, and I missed it because I was too focused on her. Now she was knocked to the ground, and the asshole had her bag. His malevolent nature worked to my favor, though. And hers. While he went in for the kill with a vicious knife, I had time to bum-rush him.

  He matched my almost seven-foot height, but he had me in weight by a good seventy pounds of muscle or more. And I was built like a linebacker. Not that it mattered since I caught him off guard and balance. My body-slam knocked him off the intern, and as a bonus he dropped the bag. With my sword in my hand, I got between him, the intern, and the diamond.

  “You!” he snarled. He recognized me. Damn. “Traitor! I’ll take your skin!”

  I said nothing in return. It wasn’t worth it. Instead, I gave my sword an arrogant swing in a circle next to me. My silence seemed to do more than any taunt could. His eyes let out that honey-gold glow that was so familiar, a clear sign he was about to put some real power behind his attack. I grinned in satisfaction. If I had provoked him that easily, he would be all attack, and no finesse.

  Easy to manipulate.

  I waited for him to come to me.

  He rushed forward with his knife. His dark brown, shoulder length hair flew around his head like a mane on one of those gigantic dogs from Tibet. I had my own pulled back. While I preferred it long, I did not want it to obscure my vision. My opponent had no such concern. I was more concerned with that knife, but his hair could make a great weakness that I would keep in mind.

  I parried his knife to the side then hilt bashed him in the face. Dark grey blood exploded from his nose and splattered on the ground and nearby cars, including the intern’s. The authorities should have fun trying to identify that. It would match no creature living on Earth. One more conspiracy theory would be born.

  My opponent roared in pain and fury as he struck out in a backswing of the knife. It missed me by a mile. Any other time I might have been more inclined to draw this out, have some fun with the fight, but I needed to end this before any of his friends or the cops showed up.

  And either one always did.

  His kind followed each other around to nab up whatever the other had found like a bunch of seagulls arguing over a dead fish. One of them was easy enough to handle. Two or three would make this more effort than I wanted.

  When he came at me again, in a clumsy and rushed attack, knife upraised for a stab, I simply put my sword through his throat. I could feel the edge of my blade catch on his vertebrae. While his mind still tried to comprehend what went wrong, I gave the sword enough of a twist to separate the bones in his neck. The act of pulling my weapon out severed his spinal column, and he dropped to the ground, limp and dead.

  His blood pooled under his head, but it wasn’t my concern. I knew a clean-up crew would remove the body long before the authorities showed up. There were no sirens piercing what passed for the night’s silence in a city, so no one had witnessed the fight. I never saw whatever creatures took the bodies away, and I didn’t want to. Ignorance was the better choice as compared to knowing what his corpse would attract.

  Now for the intern. I turned around then got a face full of mace. It didn’t hurt, to me it was just another annoyance.

  I growled as I swiped the stuff from my face. “Seriously? I save your ass and you hit me with pepper spray?”

  I cleared my eyes in time to see that she was shaking, surprised, and scared. The useless container of pepper spray was still held up and aimed at me.

  “Can’t be too careful,” she managed to whimper out.

  At least she wasn’t screaming. One thing that went right.

  I sighed then grabbed her by the wrist. I could have crushed it easily, but I knew how to be precise.

  “Shut up and get in the car!” I spun her around then shoved her toward her Honda. As I followed, I grabbed up my scabbard then slid my sword home inside, gore and all. I would clean it later when we were in the clear.

  She whined as she stumbled toward the driver’s side.

  “No. Give me the keys,” I said then took them from her hand. “I’m driving. Get in.”

  Before she had even reached the passenger’s door, I had the car started. She could have run off. I would have had to chase her down again since she still had the diamond in her bag, but I gave her credit for good sense when she got in. She was safer with me at the moment. I didn’t expect her to know that, so I assumed her instincts guided her.

  Maybe she wasn’t as stupid as I originally thought.

  I took off with a squeal of the tires before she even had her seatbelt on.

  I barely fit in the Honda and had to hunch. Had it been a manual shift instead of an automatic there would have been a problem. My knees didn’t fit under the dash. Fortunately, most people didn’t know how to drive a stick shift these days. Automatic transmissions were standard. Still, it wasn’t the most comfortable vehicle for me. Then again, at six foot eight and three hundred plus pounds of muscle, there weren’t many that would be.

  Maybe a Hummer.

  The New York streets were nearly empty at this time of night. I took advantage of that and drove more recklessly than most anyone else would. I had no direction, took turns, backtracked, whatever came to me in the moment. So long as we kept moving it didn’t matter where we went. For now. At least until I got some answers from the intern.

  It was a couple more blocks before I opened my mouth again.

  “Where wouldn’t you go?” It was more a demand than a question, but I wasn’t concerned about being nice right now. I wanted as far away from here as possible. They may or may not know the intern’s habits and normal locations, but I wanted to err on the side of caution.

  When she didn’t answer right away, I glanced over.

  “Uhh…” she stammered. “Home?”

  “Not go!” I repeated. “Where is the last place you would ever go?”

  “Stop yelling at me!” she hollered.

  She had guts. I had to give her that, but now was not the time to hand out compliments.

  I sighed. “More of those guys are coming so we don’t have time for this shit. Now, where would be the last place you would ever go? Something that scares you.”

  “Fine,” she snapped. That would get old very quickly. “Boats. I hate the open water so I would never get on a boat.”

  Weird.

  Did she not realize that she lived on an island? Manhattan was big and crowded enough with overly tall buildings to lure you into a sense that it was land locked, but that was the farthest thing from the truth.

  “Good enough,” I said then changed course. I knew exactly where to go.

  THREE

  The Staten Island Ferry was not much of an improvement, but it was the only boat that operated at this time of the morning. It stank of dead fish, chemicals, sewage, and whatever else wafted in from the putrid river. The benches were made of narrow planks, and they were the only thing anyone seemed to give a shit about. They were worn smooth but varnished and cared for. The rest of the interior was stained with who knew what substances. The walls were carved full of stories. Latitia and Juan were in love forever. Fuck the police. And apparently, Veronica was a bitch.

  I would’ve preferred to hire a water taxi to
take us in an endless loop of the river, but that was my luck. This meant I had twenty-five minutes to figure out how to get the diamond and rid of her. Right now, she had her head between her knees while she hyperventilated.

  Not for the first time I sighed and shook my head. “Will you calm down?” I snapped. “You’re in the middle of the boat, nowhere near the windows so you can’t even see the water.”

  Just then the ferry rocked more than normal as if to mock my words.

  “You’re not helping,” she said in half-shout, half-cry.

  After a few slow, deep breaths she shoved her fingers back through her long auburn hair. At another time I would have appreciated the slight wave to it. I might have also noted the softness of her pale hands.

  Okay, so I noticed now, but I shoved the distracting observations away. This wasn’t the time for any of the gentler arts. It may have been a long time since I employed them, but I wasn’t that much out of practice, nor immune to a pretty face. I simply had my priorities straight.

  “Talk to me,” she pleaded.

  “What?” I wasn’t used to holding a conversation with anyone, so this sudden switch confused me.

  “Talk to me. About anything.” She lifted her head from her hands to look at me with those hazel eyes. There were flecks of gold in them, I noted. “It’ll distract me.”

  She did deserve to know what was hunting her and why. If this had gone the way I wanted she wouldn’t even be here. She would probably be in some precinct giving a bored cop my description. Not that they stood a snowball’s chance in Hell of tracking me. I would have been far, far away with the diamond. The museum would have gotten a fat insurance payout, and the intern would probably be out of a job. Better that than dead. Things being the way they were the more she understood, the more likely it would be that I would get my way.