Atoning (Darkness Rising 3.1)

"Chloe!" a voice called from the street behind us.

I turned that way. The voice came again. "Hey, Chloe! You out here?"

It was Daniel. And there was no way in hell he was actually walking down a deserted street yelling for me. I took out my cell phone. Derek and I had silenced them so we wouldn't blow our cover. I had a string of texts from Maya.

9:15. Maya: Hey, guys. If u r just 'busy,' let me know. Concerned.

9:20. Maya: OK, not in the bldg, grabbing D.

9:23. Maya: D's picking up 1/2 demon. Not M. Guessing u know that. We're out & about.

Daniel was a benandanti--an Italian witch hunter with supernatural powers, including the ability to sense half-demons, because their demon blood tripped his "bad-mojo" sensor.

"Chloe? You out here?" Daniel called. "Oh, hey, you there! I'm looking for my friend."

I peered out to see Daniel hailing one of the guys in black. The guy had decided to play it straight and had come out of hiding, his hands in his pockets, just a random dude out for a stroll.

"My friend wandered off," Daniel said. "We're not local, so I'm worried she got lost. She's about this tall. Blond hair. Ponytail."

"Wearing a pink hoodie?"

"That's her."

"I just saw her over here, not two minutes ago. I'll show you."

"Thanks, I appreci

ate that."

They set out toward a side street.

"Hey," Daniel said. "While we're at it, you haven't seen my cat, have you?"

"What?"

"My cat. She took off, too. She's brown, about this tall, really cute, with--"

A scream cut through the night. And no matter how often I hear that sound, I jump every time. Rae's eyes went wild, and she started struggling as Derek pinned her to the wall. The man talking to Daniel wheeled toward the noise. Daniel shouted, "No!" and the guy flew clear off his feet--literally knocked over by that sonic boom shout, another of Daniel's powers.

Daniel dove for the guy, and I heard the skitter of a gun hitting the ground as Daniel yanked it out and tossed it aside. The man's partner was running to his aid when a tawny shape leapt from atop a building. A mountain lion. A hundred-and-twenty-odd pounds of muscle, fangs and claws. It fell on the second man, dropping him to the pavement.

"Good," Daniel said between swings as he battled his opponent. "You found my kitty."

Maya snarled at him. She easily pinned the second man while the first fought Daniel.

One thing a benandanti is really good at? Fighting. Yet it looked as if Daniel was just toying with his guy.

"Come on," I whispered. "End it already."

"He has a reason," Derek rumbled beside me. Which was right. Daniel's benandanti blood meant he had a tendency to lash out, but he'd gotten that under control months ago.

Derek's head shot up as if hearing something again. He shoved Rae to the ground and pinned her there, and then he said to me, "Can you hold her?"

I nodded and moved onto her back, my knee against her spine, my hand on her neck. As Derek took off, I heard what he must have: the sound of running footsteps.

Seven

Daniel had been toying with his opponent to flush out the man's allies, who were now joining the fray. I listened to the fight with relative calm. Daniel's opponent was obviously no skilled assassin. I won't say we were but...well, the Nasts weren't training us for desk jobs. We all got private lessons with world-class instructors, who had determined the best mix to suit our personality and size. I got jujitsu and aikido, plus archery and marksmanship.