Demon Coil Ch. 02

CHAPTER TWO

Tali turned heads as they walked down the street, flipping her voluminous hair over her shoulders and shooting sultry looks at passerby. Lacuna walked behind her and a little to the left, knowing that Tali could take care of herself, and getting stabbed by her spikes usually deterred any street harassment. Nasah had stayed behind, seeming excited by the opportunity to sleep in Lacuna's bed while she was out of it.

"Where are we going exactly?" Lacuna asked.

"Wait and see!" Tali replied before she skipped ahead, forcing Lacuna to walk faster. They turned down several alleys, and Lacuna chose not to complain because they were at least traveling away from Ospoxun's warren. When Lacuna was convinced Tali must have been in agony from walking so far in her neon pink heels she finally led them off the dark street and down a flight of stairs.

When she raised her hand to knock on the door a panel snapped open and a pair of electric blue eyes glared at them. Once the barrier was broken Lacuna could hear bass thumping somewhere inside the building. "We're full," a deep voice said.

With the height of her shoes Tali was able to meet the eyes without looking up. "Tell Saebur it's Tali," she said.

The eyes narrowed, but the panel closed and it only took about fifteen seconds for the door to open and reveal the entrance. Tali reached back to grab Lacuna's hand before disappearing into the inky darkness, unfazed by the barrier. Lacuna shuddered as the protection magic touched her but kept her expression stony.

As soon as it released her only a short hallway with a coat check stood between them and the main floor of the club, which pulsed with electronic music and so much bass any lyrics were unintelligible. Lacuna declined to hand over her jacket and Tali wasn't wearing one, so they bypassed the green haired part demon watching over the hallway. Leaning down less than usual, Lacuna pressed her lips to Tali's ear and said, "Get me a drink."

Laughing, Tali pushed through the crowd and headed to the bar. Lacuna scanned the room as Tali yelled her order to the bartender and came back with two drinks, which were a disturbing shade of pink. She handed one to Lacuna and made a gesture for "bottoms up." After wrinkling her nose at how obscenely sugary it was Lacuna obliged, and then watched as Tali slipped out onto the dance floor. She had curves in all the right places and no shortage of people grinding against her to the heavy beat. Lacuna considered getting another drink as she leaned against the wall, appreciating the view.

"Fuck she's hot," a deep voice said in Lacuna's ear, and she stepped into the person's body as she turned to face them.

"She's mine," was Lacuna's fierce reply as she looked up into the same electric blue eyes from the door. It wasn't true, but she didn't trust him at all.

He licked his lips, and his tongue was the same disconcerting blue color. It almost glowed. "Too bad," he said, but he didn't sound upset enough. Before she could continue he came even closer and added, "Let's dance," before pulling her into the music.

Lacuna was detached as he focused on her, always keeping an eye on Tali in her peripheral vision. She couldn't hear what he said, but nodded at the right times. Lights swung above their heads, illuminating her companion's broad shoulders and nice physique in so many colors that she wasn't sure of his natural skin tone. If he hadn't unnerved her so much she would have been interested.

Tali pushed over to them, dragging Lacuna to her and pressing their bodies together, shutting out the blue-eyed man. In her heels Tali was only two inches shorter, and Lacuna didn't resist when Tali pulled her into a searing kiss, her soft body pressed against Lacuna's lean muscles. She could feel the other girl's smile, and licked her full lower lip as she pulled away. She caught the man's eye, winking at him as she pressed her hands into Tali's back.

"So that's how you want to play," Lacuna whispered, though she wasn't sure if Tali heard. She ran her fingers up through Tali's soft brown hair, pulling her head back to nip at her creamy neck. When Tali sighed she spun her around and pulled her back close to run her hands down the slinky dress. The man was staring at them, and Lacuna leered back, mouthing, "Mine." He disappeared into the crowd as Tali encouraged Lacuna to move her hips to the music.

After a few minutes the song changed, the DJ slowing the beat and lowering the volume slightly. Tali laughed and tried to keep dancing, but this time Lacuna dragged her to the bar as the dance floor crowd thinned. "I should take you out more often," Tali said. Lacuna scowled in reply as she felt herself sweating under her jacket, but there was a small smile on her lips.

They watched the bartender make them two more pink drinks and found a barstool, Lacuna pulling Tali into her lap so she could sit too. Lacuna chugged her drink again, setting the ice filled glass on the bar and putting an arm around Tali as she braced the other against the counter to balance them on the small stool.

"Where'd mister electric eyes go?" Lacuna asked as Tali sipped her drink. Her companion scanned the room, but then shrugged. "Who is he?"

"Just a bouncer. He works other places too."

"Maybe he was just on his break then," Lacuna said. Tali leaned her head against Lacuna's shoulder and licked her neck, running her tongue up and around the shell of her ear. Lacuna shivered, feeling Tali's breath chill her skin.

"Hmm," Tali offered, her lips pressed close.

"I shouldn't encourage you."

"Maybe you should," Tali said, her eyes flicking to a dark corner, but then she laughed at her own joke.

They watched the crowd as the beat picked back up, Tali seeming content to take her time with the drink. Lacuna ran her fingers down Tali's free arm out of boredom and for the satisfaction she gained each time she touched a spike and her companion shivered. Tali's drink was almost clear by the time she finished it, and Lacuna wrinkled her nose. "Doesn't it taste weird watered down?" she asked.

"Did you taste it at all?" Tali retorted, causing Lacuna to dump her off her lap.

"Rude."

"Let's dance!" Tali replied, and as if the DJ read her mind the music ramped up so Lacuna could not hear what was said next, but she got the idea.

Fingers ran along Lacuna's stomach under her jacket, plucking at her shirt and touching her skin. They moved together and managed to find a break in the crowd for a moment, Tali's continuous giggle lost in the thunderous bass as Lacuna spun and dipped her to break their heated contact. Tali grinned at her and kissed her when Lacuna pulled her back up, opening her mouth to breathe against Lacuna's lips. She sagged against her companion, obviously out of breath, and Lacuna towed her off the dance floor.

Tali rested her head into Lacuna's neck, nibbling on her freckles. "I don't know why I'm so tired," she said into her ear. Lacuna pushed her away while keeping a hold on her upper arms, and looked into her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she half yelled so Tali could hear her across the small distance between them. A light swung across Tali's face, illuminating her unfocused eyes.

"I don't—" her knees buckled, but Lacuna kept her upright.

"Shit," she said, and wrapped her left arm around Tali's shoulders while trying to avoid getting impaled by an arm spike. "We're getting out of here."

Lacuna managed to support Tali to the door, not wanting to make their situation obvious. The bouncer wasn't there, but when she looked over her shoulder she saw electric blue eyes in the distance and cursed again. Once they got outside she dragged Tali down the street and sat her on a bench. As she pulled out her phone to text Rex for help she glared at her friend.

"Did you take a pill or something?" she demanded, her voice coming out too loud even to her music deafened ears. She looked down at her phone and was relieved to see a text back. She told the phone to give Rex her current location and shoved it in her jeans pocket.

Tali forced herself to focus on Lacuna. "No," she whined, trying to shift her body and almost falling. Lacuna clenched her fists hard before forcing herself to uncurl her fingers.

"You're sure?" she asked.

"Mhmm," was the reply. Lacuna sat down, letting Tali rest her head against her.

"Don't puke on me."

"'Kay."

Lacuna sighed, adjusting Tali's dead weight so she could pull her phone back out. It was just after midnight, and she hoped the traffic wasn't too bad. The street they were on was deserted, at least. She was glad Rex had answered, not liking the idea of dragging Tali all the way home in this state. But, what was this state exactly? As far as Lacuna could tell, Tali had consumed the exact same drinks she had, and Lacuna was fine. She wasn't even drunk!

Arno's van pulled up while she was musing, Rex waving from behind the wheel.

"A little help out here?" Lacuna said when he rolled down the window, her voice readjusted to the silent atmosphere.

"What did she do?" he asked, coming around and opening the sliding door so they could put Tali on the bench seat. The other girl's soft breath rustled her hair, but Tali was otherwise unconscious.

"I have no idea."

"Huh," he replied, but didn't press her for details.

Once Tali was safe in the van Lacuna's temper began to build. Rex locked the window controls so she could fidget with the button on the passenger side and continued to say nothing, allowing her to stew. When they got back to their building she slammed out of the van, giving Rex the task of hauling Tali inside. She barely even shrugged at the barrier when Sygny opened the door. Then she stomped back to her room, not bothering to turn on the lights.

"Get out of my bed!" she yelled at Nasah, and threw herself into it when he moved. His reptilian tongue flicked her cheek as she began to cry.

* * *

Rex inserted a cannula into Tali's forearm and noted the small twitch at the corner of her eye. He touched her forehead with his clawed fingers, but did not feel a fever.

"Is she going to be okay?" Sygny asked. Rex had told him to stay by the desk, but he kept standing up and then forcing himself to sit back down in the plush chair. He twiddled his fingers and added, "Maybe I could try—"

"No," Rex cut him off, but without malice. He hooked a rehydration solution up to the IV. "She'll be fine. She just needs fluids and rest." He picked up the vial of dark red blood that he had drawn and inserted it into a processor behind his desk, patting Sygny's shoulder as he walked by. "Where's Lacuna?" he asked.

"She's in her room. Not before she slammed every door in the place though!" Sygny's voice rose.

"Hmm," Rex replied, his gaze even.

"Not even coming in here to check on Tali. How dare she!"

Sygny moved to stand up, but Rex's strong grip held him in the chair. "Leave her alone. She's probably upset with herself, and you barging in there to yell at her won't help."

"Okay. But tomorrow..." he trailed off.

"No."

Sygny opened his mouth to argue again, but Nasah appeared as if from nowhere and smacked his bare skull against Sygny's knee. "Ow!" the small mage said.

Nasah sat, focusing his sightless eyes on Rex and lolling his tongue out of his mouth. "How's Lacuna?" Rex asked the demon creature. Nasah lay down, putting his head on his paws. Though his ability to make facial expressions was severely limited, it was clear his posture implied sadness. "As I told you," Rex said to Sygny.

"Nasah always takes her side. Ever since she came here," he crossed his arms, reminding Rex that for all his staggering magical power he was barely nineteen, and could still act like a child.

"Why don't you go help Arno? He still won't talk to anyone else, and he has to pay the tithe tomorrow. I don't trust him not to jump into a pile of Tali's bombs," Rex said, a laugh in his voice. Sygny nodded and left the room to head down into the basement.

Rex turned to the unconscious woman on his table, his blue eyes on the monitor that displayed her vital signs. She didn't stir. A soft ding sounded behind him, and he turned to read the screen displaying the results of Tali's blood test. The soft green readout was as comforting as the results were not. "What is this?" he whispered, and Nasah walked over to press against his hip, looking up and tilting his head. Rex instructed the machine to send the results to his computer, and he sat down at his desk with Nasah at his feet.

Almost everything looked normal to Rex, but he scrolled down until his computer screen displayed the anomaly he had noticed. He plugged the unfamiliar compound into his favorite database and results began populating the screen. Rex opened the first article, which matched almost the entire compound, and it described the toxin Tali had ingested as a date rape style drug. He wasn't surprised, based on its effects. However, that wasn't the entire problem.

He searched again for the missing part of the compound by itself, and only one result was returned. "What the hell?" he asked himself, reaching out to touch the screen and pulling his hand back at the last second. He stood up, the chair hitting the wall behind him. Nasah hurried after him as he ran to Joss' suite.

* * *

Tali was propped up on pillows on the couch, her eyes half closed and her hair sticking up in all directions. Lacuna sat beside her but with a good foot of space between them, her fists balled up in her lap. No one mentioned that her eyes were red. Sygny was sitting on his feet, leaning his head against Arno's shoulder, and Rex was pacing with Nasah following him, almost tripping him whenever Rex turned. Lacuna couldn't remember the last time she had seen him so upset.

"Where is Joss?" Sygny asked, waving his hands toward the ceiling and making the protective net that encircled the living area visible for a moment. He would have to open it for Joss to get in when they returned.

"He'll be back soon," Rex said, but he didn't look at Sygny. Nasah whined.

"I'm thirsty," Tali said, and Lacuna stood up. Before Sygny could stop her, she ran into the barrier.

"Ow."

"Sorry," Sygny said. "You have to give me a second." The barrier flashed visible again, revealing a slit where Lacuna was standing that snapped closed as soon as she passed through.

Lacuna returned moments later with a glass of water and Joss, remembering to have Sygny let them back in. She handed the glass to Tali without looking at her and sat back down.

"As far as we can gather, Tali is the only victim," Joss said without preamble, sitting in their usual chair. Their eyes flicked to Lacuna, but their crystalline gaze did not feel accusatory.

"But what is it?" Lacuna asked. "Roofies are normal. She should have watched the bartender more carefully." She smacked her knee and looked down. "I should have too."

"It's possible that you were the intended target," Rex said, and Lacuna's gold eyes flashed as she looked at him. He shrugged.

"It's a tracker," Joss said, and gestured to the invisible net. "It is my understanding that Sygny can keep Tali from being detected while the toxin clears her system, as Rex assures me it will. It's organic."

"But why would someone want Tali?" Lacuna asked, her voice rising.

"There's no reason to. Which is why we think they wanted you," Rex said.

"What?!"

"Please don't yell," Tali said, putting her free hand to her head.

"Sorry."

"It's the best theory. When you came to us three years ago we had no idea where you came from, and neither did you," Joss explained in an even tone, as if Lacuna's outburst had not occurred. They looked at her again, but without accusation. "You went to Ospoxun's warren, allowing every new demon in the area to see you. Maybe someone recognized you."

"What are we supposed to do about this?" Lacuna asked.

"Nothing, yet. Let Arno go and tithe today. We can't do anything while Ospoxun is so angry, so we'll talk about it when he gets back."

"If I get back," Arno muttered, and Sygny smacked his shoulder.

"You'll be fine," his partner said. "Don't talk like that."

Sygny kissed his cheek and opened the barrier for him, and Arno left.

"What do you want to watch?" Lacuna asked no one in particular as Joss left the room. She picked up the holoscreen controller and forced herself to smile.