Shadow Of Death . Amy Blankenship

you all right Miss?” the officer asked wondering if she was high. “I saw you stumble and almost fall… do you need any help?”

      Angelica’s frown deepened and she looked back up the steps at the large man that had bumped into her. No one seemed to see him, yet people walked around him as though he were there.

      “No,” she said softly, “I’m fine.”

      The officer nodded and kept going but Angelica narrowed her eyes before looking back down into the dimly lit station. Syn had taught her how to hide her own energy so whatever she was tracking wouldn’t know she was coming. Considering an invisible demon had just plowed into her and kept going… it seemed to be working just fine.

      She frowned again wondering why she had the gift of seeing the grumpy demon plain as day when other humans couldn’t. Deciding to deal with her identity crisis later, Angelica readjusted the strap of her overnight bag on her shoulder and continued on down toward the strongest source of demon activity.

      Michael had been taking a walk through town making up his mind about what to do for the Moon Light Masquerade. He thought briefly about dressing up in costume but it didn’t really appeal to him. Finally, he decided the best thing to do was to purchase a mask from The Witch’s Brew, dust off his finest clothes he still had from the seventeenth century, and go as himself.

      He’d just turned the corner when he saw Angelica standing at the entrance of the subway station looking down into it without Syn at her side. He watched as she looked up at the bright sky wishfully then descended down the steps into the dim interior.

      With his interest peaked, Michael followed her discretely down the stairs. He didn’t fear getting caught because the stairwell was full of people between them… he could quickly pull the shadows around him and hide from her if she turned around. Michael smirked wishing he’d known this trick when he was a child.

      His eyes narrowed when he saw a large man purposely push Angelica against the wall and keep going. He was surprised by the instant rage he felt. Taking a deep, calming breath, Michael kept walking and blatantly put himself in the man’s path. When the big man was in front of him, they both stopped and stared at each other. He suddenly had a flashback of something he’d once seen Damon do to a demon that had pissed him off.

      “Where’s the fire?” Michael asked with a cold smile.

      The big man’s lips parted, showing a mouthful of rotting teeth that made Michael almost sick. His hand flashed out and he palmed the center of the demon’s chest… not hurting him, just simply touching him. He smirked seeing the demon’s confusion.

      “Ever heard of spontaneous combustion?” Michael asked curiously before pulling his hand away. “If not, you’re getting ready to have a crash course on it.”

      Michael stepped back and quickly flickered out of sight when the demon looked down at his chest then screamed in agony. People around the man started yelling and running when his clothing began to smoke. Within seconds, all visible skin turned red before blistering and burning away like cinders in a campfire.

      Angelica paused and looked back around the corner of the stairwell when she heard the man start screaming and wondered what the hell had happened. He had been a demon, she knew that much, but who had attacked him in such a painful manner? Angelica cocked an eyebrow actually wishing she’d thought of it first then sighed figuring it was probably another demon attacking it.

      Shrugging her shoulders, she continued down the steps and smirked when she heard the unmistakable cracking of bones as they burned. Storm had been right when he’d said most of the demons would destroy each other. Angelica quickly moved out of the way when several subway security officers took off up the stairs to find out what had people in such a panic.

      Michael wrapped the shadows around him and traced to the bottom of the stairs, staying out of sight as Angelica emerged. She walked right by him and he suppressed a smirk. He didn’t know what she was doing down here alone but he was actually having a little bit of fun following his mother around.

      He knew Angelica didn’t remember him, but his own memories of her were crystal clear… even her name was the same. It was because of her that he’d never found a woman to love… no one compared to the way she had loved not only him, but the temperamental Damon as well.

      He’d spent so long thinking the only form of true love was the love a mother had for her children. It wasn’t until recently that the people around him had caused him to start second guessing that theory.

      Angelica stood on the platform watching the people intermingle and go about their lives. Seeing a small boy peek around his mother at her and smile reminded her of what Syn had done at the hospital. She smiled back at the boy wishing she had the power to give him a demon repellant since his mother had unknowingly brought him down into this tunnel with a bunch of them.

      She cringed realizing her thoughts had just went full circle… right back to Syn. Feeling a little reckless, she approached the guardrail that kept people from falling down onto the tracks and leaned over it a little bit, looking one way and then the other. Turning to the left, she followed the railing to the end of the massive room and leaned over it again to take a closer look into the tunnel.

      All she saw was darkness broken by bits of light from the dim fluorescents that served to illuminate only a few feet around them. They were spread too far apart to be any real help. It was no secret that she hated tunnels and darkness. Right now she was actually wishing Zachary were here with her. With a wave of his hand, he could brighten up anything he wanted with a suspended flame.

      When he’d first summoned the small flames in front of her just to show off, she’d called him her little fire fly for weeks. She smiled at the memory. At least Zachary could have provided some entertainment and he was a hell of a lot safer to team up with than a certain Sun God that made her want to press her thighs together in frustration.

      Unzipping her shoulder bag, Angelica removed a palm sized crystal orb that she’d acquired from the castle’s private arsenal and hopped down onto the maintenance walkway leading through the tunnel.

      She didn’t look back at the platform… if she had, she would have seen Michael slip into the darkness following silently behind her.

      Michael continued to track Angelica’s movements through the tunnel and turned his face away when one of the subway trains went flying by him back toward the platform. The draft it created made his hair and clothing whip around him but with it also came the scent of demons… a lot of them.

      When he glanced down the tunnel again, he saw Angelica pause and look behind her. As he stepped into the shadows he frowned wishing she wasn’t a part of PIT. No good son would like the fact that his mother’s job was this dangerous.

      Hearing what sounded like scratching underneath him, Michael stopped and leaned over the railing seeing the dark edges of a narrow passage exposed just under the concrete he was standing on. His eyes narrowed wondering what kind of monsters were down there.

      Glancing back up the tunnel, Michael hissed not seeing Angelica. With all the hatch and maintenance doors, not counting the fact that there were sub tunnels under this one, he would have to figure out which way she had gone.

      Speeding up his movement, he became little more than a blur, slowing down when he came to a cross section that broke off in four different directions.

      “Syn,” Michael whispered not liking the odds.

      He felt Syn brush against his mind letting him know that Angelica was all right and in good hands. He wasn’t about to ask his father any questions about that and almost wondered how Syn knew he was there. It would have been a stupid question… Syn always knew where his children were.

      Michael looked to the far left, sensing his father’s aura down the darkest tunnel and felt relief knowing his mother was safe. Feeling the vibration of another train coming, he leaned back against the wall and stared straight into the long train as it passed.

      Sharpening his sight, he caught the quick images