Chapter 19
BING WRENCHEDforward, catching Walter just before the man face-planted. Shit, he’d never seen anyone do something so brave. They were surrounded by the paranormal with one, maybe two demons nearby in Sand and Gator, and Walter had just given up his ability to fight. Bing knew it was what he’d begged Walter to do, but recently he’d realized that no one in this fight had a chance to survive without some extraordinary skills. And Walter had willingly given that up by pushing out Monkey.
Sand started screeching something unintelligible in ancient Chinese, and Bing hunched over Walter to protect him from her nails. He tensed, expecting her to rake his back to shreds. Instead, she dropped onto her knees and began wailing in true grief.
He wanted to tell her to shut up, but honestly, his attention was centered on Walter. What had his friend done? Had Walter gutted his brain like the former Batman? He dropped his head to Walter’s forehead, breathed deeply of the man’s scent, and prayed. Funny thing was he didn’t pray to God. He wasn’t even sure he believed in a God. But he did talk to Monkey.
“Don’t leave him,” he whispered. “Not if it means destroying him.” He knew it was a ridiculous prayer. Walter was the one who controlled his body and his soul. If Walter made Monkey leave, there was nothing Monkey could do about it. At least that was what he’d been told. That was what he believed. There was still so much he didn’t understand about the paranormal.
And while he stayed there, crouched over Walter in case something else decided to go wrong, the door to the courtroom burst open. Bing looked up, tensing in case he had to fight, then exhaled in relief.
It was Nero, Josh, and Cara, all looking mean as they rushed in. Bing watched as they scanned the place, saw nothing but them and a potted plant, and visibly relaxed. But Bing’s eyes focused on Cara.
“Check him, please. He passed out.”
“What happened?” she asked as she rushed forward.
“He… I….” What to say? “He kicked out the Monkey King energy.”
Suddenly Auntie Sand’s wailing cut off. It was a quick shift from hysterical sobs to fury, but she made it with a hard stab of her finger at Bing. “You did this. You seduced him away. And now we are—”
Bing stood up, fueled by fear and anger. “You did this to him,” he snapped. “You put that energy in him. You lied to him. And if he….”Dies.He choked on the next word. “You will have no one to blame but yourself.”
She attacked him, letting loose a flurry of swipes, blows, and kicks. It was a relief to fight her, to knock away her anger with his own pain. They were well-matched, and he enjoyed every time he connected hard enough that she grunted.
He would have killed her simply for what she’d done to Walter. She saw her end in his eyes. And if she didn’t, she could see that the others were ready to help. He saw the grim fury land on her face, and then she sprang straight at him.
He ducked. He had to. But when he turned around, she was gone.
“Where?” he gasped out.
Nero and Josh both stared at where she should have landed. “I don’t know,” Nero said.
“She disappeared,” Josh filled in.
Bing clenched his fists. “She’s a master—mistress—of illusion. She created the kangaroos and their riders.”
Meanwhile his gaze went back to Walter as Cara dropped back on her heels. “There’s nothing more I can do for him.”
“What? He’s—” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“He’s fine, as far as I can see. Just unconscious,” she said. “We’ll have to wait until he wakes up to know for sure.” Then she turned to the chained-up kangaroo. “Your turn, girl. I’m so sorry that the mean lady did this to you.”
Bing squatted down next to Walter, feeling his heart squeeze tight in his chest. He didn’t speak. What would he say? Meanwhile, Nero pulled up a chair beside Bing.
“Start at the beginning, and don’t stop until we know it all,” he ordered.
Bing looked up, resentment burning hot in his chest. “I don’t work for you anymore, remember? You said I’m off the payroll until I sort this out.” He hadn’t realized, until this moment, how that had felt. It was one more betrayal. Walter, on the other hand, had never rejected him, never betrayed him. The only person in his life who had never abandoned him was Walter.
“My bad,” Nero said with what sounded like regret in his voice. “I thought you’d be memorizing lines and prancing in front of a camera, not duking it out with a woman who had nine-inch nails and could create kangaroos out of nothing.”
Bing looked down at Walter, unable to stop himself from feeling for a pulse. It was there, strong and solid beneath his fingers. That reassured him enough that he could answer Nero’s questions.
“She’s Sand from the Chinese legend of the Monkey King. She’s the demon sidekick of the demigod Monkey.”
Josh groaned. “We really need a librarian like Giles fromBuffy, the Vampire Slayer. An oracle would work, or even a general know-it-all.”
“You’re our know-it-all,” Nero groused.
