Demon Touch

Before she had a chance to ponder what that meant, the bells on the front door of Saban’s office woke her from the vision.

Elliot blinked, letting Rachel come into focus in front of her.

“This wasn’t three years ago,” she said, brows furrowing. “This was a week ago.” She shook her head, wishing Saban would come back into the office, she’d just heard him come into the waiting room. “Rachel, why did you lie?”

“Who was the killer?” she asked, her eyes were bright, feverish, almost. “Did you see him, did you hear a name?”

“Caelen Locke,” she said automatically. “His name was on a list, what was this-“ she broke off, getting another flash of Caelen Locke looking down at the list, and followed his eyes immediately. This time another name jumped out at her, underneath Caelen’s name was a name all too familiar.

Elliot Tate.

Elliot blinked away the vision, letting the ring fall to the floor and standing up. “What was your husband doing?”

Rachel’s eyes had grown cold, her jaw set. “Saw your name on the list, didn’t you?”

Elliot began backing away toward the door to the waiting room. Why hadn’t Saban come in yet?

“Damnit, you’re better than I thought. I was hoping I could keep that bit from you till after you helped us find Locke.”

The redhead found the doorknob and turned it frantically, wanting to get away from the craziness in this woman’s eyes. The door opened and she fell into a solid chest. Breathing a sigh of relief she looked up expecting to meet Saban’s kind face, but instead she met unfamiliar dark eyes. Two arms wrapped around her in a vicelike grip.

She went to scream, but a hand covered her mouth and there was a sting in her upper arm. Seconds later the world melted away.

****

The panther paced and growled, taking a break every few seconds to take a bite at the wooden crate holding him. He pulled and snarled, but the crate wasn’t coming free.

****

“Daniel, she’s coming to, are you sure her binds are on tight enough.”

Elliot groaned, trying to adjust her arms, which were apparently tied behind her back.

“Trust me sweetheart, she’s not getting away.”

Elliot felt the ground below her cheek, sharp carpeting that hummed with the sound of tires on smooth pavement. She was on the floor of a van. She opened her eyes slightly to find that Rachel’s face was an inch away from hers. Without thinking she gathered as much spit as her dry mouth could offer and launched it into the blonde girl’s eye.

“Damnit!” she cursed. The man in the driver’s seat glanced back and barked out a laugh.

“I said she was bound, I didn’t say she was harmless,” he said.

Elliot tried to focus on him, recognizing the black eyes that she’d run into trying to get away in the office. He had a shock of yellow hair that fell haphazardly across his forehead, and a thin mouth that was turned up in a cruel smile.

Rachel glared at him, and wiped the spit from her cheek before hauling back in a sudden movement and slapping Elliot across the face. Now her head and her arm throbbed. “What did you do to me?”

“Drugged you,” Rachel said, sitting back and drawing her knees up to her chest. “We wouldn’t have had to this early if you’d just stopped being so nosey in your little vision sweetiepie.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Elliot was struggling to sit up, but they had her tied in such a way that it was impossible for her to get purchase.

“No more questions,” the man in the driver’s seat, Daniel, shouted. “I think we’re here.”

Rachel grinned. “Great!” She grabbed something down by her feet and swung at Elliot’s head, hitting her in the temple and making the world disappear again.

****

The dream this time was simply eyes. Those large panther eyes watching her intently, no sound, nothing but the gold green, then the electrical shock.

****

She heard the sound of the van door opening, a heavy thud of something large landing next to her, then the door closed and the van started up again. Elliot heard through muffled ears Rachel say something she couldn’t understand. She was answered by a growl. A new voice. A familiar voice.

Elliot forced her eyes to open and fought back a gasp of surprise.

Green gold panther eyes were less than a foot away from her, peering at her intently. She blinked, trying to focus, watching the black fur of the panther melt away, leaving high cheekbones, dark hair, not short, not long, a tiny silver hoop through a left earlobe.

“Locke,” she whispered.

He looked surprised for a moment, then let a lazy smile cross his features. “So I’m famous am I?”

She studied him in shock. He was tied just as she was, strong arms straining behind his back, laying on his side, facing her. There was a trail of blood running down the side of his face from somewhere past his hairline. And yet he was smiling at her, as though he was about to blow out birthday candles on an ice cream cake.

“I saw you kill someone,” she said softly, feeling a tremble somewhere in the small of her back when his smile turned cold.

“I’ve killed a lot of people, no one has ever seen me,” he said. His voice had lowered to a cool gravel.

“It’s true, Locke,” Rachel said. “I sat there and watched her, she even said your name. Then she helped us find you.” The blonde looked back at Elliot and grinned.

“I did not,” she growled, ignoring the darkening of Locke’s eyes.

“It’s true,” Daniel was saying from the front seat. Elliot noticed beyond him that the light outside had gone. It was night. “You wouldn’t stop talking after we drugged you. Completely asleep, but you kept repeating that we needed to find Caelen Locke, then you told us where he was. The convenience of the situation was astounding.”

Elliot was terrified. Passing out she could handle, but not knowing what she was doing was a frightening concept. “Fuck you,” she spat.

“Watch your mouth,” Rachel said, seeming truly offended.

Locke’s eyes hadn’t left my face, and I looked back at him with apprehension.

He smiled a dangerous smile and I felt that shiver again. “I’ll deal with you after all this is over,” he paused. “Everyone knows who I am, who’s she? It’s hardly fair.”

“Elliot Tate,” Rachel said as though she were reading from a dictionary. “Psychic vision through touch, also, good with divination tools, tarot, runes, tealeaves and crystals.” She looked up at Daniel. “Sounds like plenty of demon blood, we’ll have to go to extreme measures to rid her of it.”

It felt like an ice pick had landed in Elliot’s stomach. Even Locke’s face had grown stoney for a moment before he turned back to her. “Tate, huh?” He studied her for a moment, keeping his eyes clouded and unreadable. “I saw your name on Howard’s list.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

“No more talking, Rach, why don’t you shut them up?” Daniel said.

“Sure!” she chirped, and took out her weapon of choice, it looked like a hammer handle, and once again, introduced Elliot to cool quiet.