Tara glared from the spot where the couple had been to the magic necklace in her hand. She gnashed her teeth. The damn Fallen had some nerve to treat her like the bubonic plague. It irked her that her genuine desire to help had been brushed off because of what she was.

What did you expect from a Fallen Angel? Those bastards may be a step away from becoming demons, but they still wish to regain their Grace and their place in Heaven.

"Are you ready?" she asked Marcus, fully intending to taker her anger out on the Yakuza.

"Do you have to ask?" A wicked smile bloomed on his lips as he cracked the bones of his fingers.

The sharp snap of his joints was like a song in the prelude of a war. One that announced bloody mayhem.

Tara returned the smile as her honey eyes started to glow golden. Her magic reached out to the ruby necklace and surrounded it. The ruby pendant began to hum as the witch grabbed her man's wrist. A light started pulsing within the ruby, calling Marcus' attention. His mouth opened but the words died on his lips the moment their surroundings blurred, and they disappeared from the rooftop.

Not a second later, the couple teleported inside what seemed to be an inner garden filled with bonsai trees and rounded bushes everywhere. Elegant wooden racks filled with the artistic-shaped miniature trees stood in front, left and behind them, almost caging them in. The perfect hiding place in case they needed it.

A light breeze swept in, carrying the faint, but recognizable smell of iron. Tara pulled Marcus into a crouching position alongside her and brought a finger to her lips. For once in his life the man didn't make a stupid comment, instead he nodded and eyed their surroundings in search for enemies.

Tara concentrated on her sense of smell. The aroma in the air wasn't as sharp as the one coming from metal, but sickly sweet as the one of blood. Human blood to be more specific.

"Is your boss' wife human?" she barged into Marcus' mind with telepathy. "Sorry that I'm invading your privacy but it's wise to keep spoken conversations to a minimum."

Tara crawled to a nearby small, dark spot on the grass. Not more than a teaspoon of blood had been spilled there but it was coagulated. It's texture sticky and gel-like.

"Yes. Her name is Mina and she's the daughter of one of New York's senators."

Marcus' loud thoughts made the witch wince. His voice reverberated through her skull and pounded her temples painfully.

"Try to think less loudly next time. I can hear you even if you whisper."

He nodded with a sheepish smile as he neared her. His dark brown, sad puppy eyes searched for her forgiveness, and she was defenseless against them. Forgiving him with a sigh, she kissed him on the cheek and motioned for him to follow her.

"You think that's her blood?" His mental voice showed signs of fear stained by worry.

"We'll find out soon."

He only nodded with a grim look on his face and took out the vampiric Sig Sauer from the holster around his chest.

They left the garden like two shadows in the night. She had to give credit to her boyfriend, though. His usual clown personality was nowhere to be seen, almost as if he had turned into a different person. Marcus shadowed her with the demeanor and ability of a trained assassin. His steps were soundless, something difficult to attain for a human, and his piercing gaze searched the shadows, alert to any danger.

The open corridors surrounding the inner garden were silent and empty. Something strange for the mansion of a mob boss.

"Don't let your guard down. I have a bad feeling about this," Tara warned as she followed the scent of blood.

"I was going to say the same. They were preparing a trap for Vergil, but we should have entered undetected," Marcus added, worry etched in his tone. "Are we even in the right place?"

"You tell me. I only used the magic to take us to the place you visualized in your mind." She answered and stopped abruptly. Her boyfriend almost bumped into her before the click of a loaded gun sounded by her ear.

Looking out of the corner of her eye, Tara saw the elegant barrel of the Sig Sauer's barrel pointed straight ahead. Red runes in Diavol'eshmir-the demon's tongue-glowed brightly along the barrel's length.

"Are you sensing something in the room ahead?" Marcus whispered inside her head. His deep voice sounded deadly serious with a pinch of wickedness, sending a thrill down her spine. Oh, she could definitely get used to this side of him.

"The smell of blood leads there, but a scent of death also comes from the room."

"Shit," he cursed in a hushed tone. "I hope Mina isn't there."

Making his way around her, the mad mobster crossed the distance that separated them from the room and stopped at its threshold. Whoever let the door open didn't care about someone finding what lay inside.

Pressed against the corridor's wall, Marcus looked back at Tara and then peeked inside the room. There was fury in his chocolate brown eyes when his gaze returned to hers. "There're bodies inside. I'm coming in."

"No, Marcus. Wait!" Tara tried to stop him, but he rushed inside before she could react. "Damn his mortal ass!" she whispered aloud and teleported into the room.

Marcus stood with an expression of relieve in front of four human bodies. He risked his life thinking his boss' wife could be among the dead but thankfully that wasn't the case. However, finding the woman wouldn't be easy when they didn't have a clue of her location.

"These are Yakuza. I wonder why Akito killed his own men."

Tara came closer to the corpses and crouched beside them.

Thrown together in a careless heap over the wood polished floor, the four men had a perfect round hole about the size of a quarter in the middle of their foreheads and yet there weren't any bleeding signs anywhere. Not in the corpses nor on the floor.

She touched the arm of the closest dead guy. He was still warm, so he couldn't have been killed that long ago. It would also mean that the blood which lead me here wasn't theirs.

A shiver went down Tara's back and the inkling that something was wrong wrapped tighter around her heart.

In answer to her instincts, the skin of the four corpses began turning purplish gray and thorns broke through skin and fabric, covering their arms. Their hands grew larger as the fingers curved and hardened into sharp talons.

"What the fuck?" Marcus' horrified gaze stayed on the monsters as he jumped away.

"Are these the mutated humans you fought before?" Tara asked.

"No, these are worse."

The creatures started twitching and one of them opened his eyes. Pools of white fell upon the witch.

She shivered as her supernatural senses picked up the power of the monster's aura. He felt as mighty as a demon lord-the second step in Hell's power hierarchy pyramid. Way above her level.

How the hell did I missed this overwhelming aura? Did sleeping with a human also messed up my senses?

Feeling her heart beat loudly inside her chest and adrenaline flood her veins, Tara grabbed Marcus' wrist and fled into the open corridor that surrounded the inner garden. She ran at human speed until she reached a corner and, finding an adjacent close corridor to her right, she entered it. They passed three doors before she decided they needed a place to rethink their strategy and opened the next one she could find.

Tara rushed inside the room, followed closely by Marcus, and closed the door behind him. The soft click sounded ten times louder in her ears.

"There's something you should see."

The tightness in her man's voice prompted her to turn around and face the room they had rushed in without any precaution.

"Shartak!" The witch's eyes rounded with fright. They had fled four improved mutated Yakuza only to bump into two more.

The monsters were guarding a pregnant female who barred long fangs at them and clawed at the chair's iron armrests. Her black claws left deep gashes in the man-made metal as only a supernatural could do. She trashed, unsuccessfully trying to break the thick chains which tied her down.

This can't be Mina, can't she?

But there was more. Just in front of the female, hanged a gilded golden birdcage with bars that glowed with angelic power. Inside it lay a baby demon, wailing and holding his scaly tail between his chubby hands like a human child would do with a blanket.

The Yakuza's white eyes fell upon the intruders, their heads cocking to the left in synchronicity while the female prisoner shouted, "Get out of here, Marcus! They're too strong for a human."

"Mina, is that you?"

"Forget about me and just run!"

"No! We came here to rescue you. I'm not leaving without you," Marcus declared as fury and determination rolled off of him in waves.

Such fierceness reminded Tara of a demon. Goosebumps covered her body while her pussy pulsed in need. I'll never let go of this man again, she promised to herself before she began chanting.

A ball of red, hot flames formed in her hand, and she transformed into her demon self in hopes of giving herself an edge over the enemy.

After all, when the man you loved refused to leave the battlefield, there was no choice except to fight.

I hope I have the strength to protect him.

Marcus pointed the Sig Sauer at the Yakuza on Mina's left and pulled the trigger. The monster reeled back because of the impact but remained upright, no blood oozing from the bullet hole in his forehead. Two more gunshots followed before the second mutated creature sprang into action.

Not giving Tara time to check if three bullets from the vampiric gun were their lethal recipe, the second Yakuza swiped his enormous claws at her. She couldn't dodge in time, so the blow threw her against the wall beside her. Debris fell upon her from the cracks formed in the wall, but she was up in a second, charging at the creature with claws extended.

Tara's magic may be wild and unpredictable because she slept with Marcus, but her demonic strength, speed and agility were unaffected. It was moments like this where she was glad to be a demon-witch hybrid. Thank the Dark King's horns for small favors.

Dodging another swipe of claws, she spun to the Yakuza's back and sunk all her left hand's claws into his kidney area. The creature howled as Marcus cursed and another gunshot rang in her ears.

"Try with Hell Fire!" the female prisoner yelled.

Claws still inside her enemy, Tara's eyes frantically searched for her lover. She found him stepping away from his mutated Yakuza while the being got upright in B movie vampire style.

Goosebumps covered her arms and yet she ripped her hand away from her enemy a second too late. Light exploded from Tara's creature, burning all her flesh exposed to the purifying rays. A howl left her throat as her skin sizzled, and her legs buckled under her weight. The Yakuza followed her to the floor, panting heavily.

Was he hurt as well? Had he used a double edge sword against her? Why?

"Tara!"

"Free the vampire, Marcus." She panted. The telepathic connection put more strain on her already weakened body. "She can help you."

Indecision flickered in his chocolate brown irises for a moment but then he nodded and rushed at his mutated Yakuza. The creature swiped its claws at her mobster, however he rolled over the floor at the last second and more gunshots filled the air.

"Finish it with Hell Fire! Now!" the prisoner screamed again.

Looking over her shoulder, Tara noticed the Yakuza near her was trying to get on his feet. With her burns just beginning to regenerate, she gripped the necklace holding her familiar and let her magic reach out to the spirit within.

Struan's essence fused with hers, letting her take what she needed while whispering into her mind, "Let me help you incinerate this asshole, mistress."

As she chanted in Diavol'eshmir, a ball of fire summoned from the very pits of Hell formed in her opened palm. The sphere spun ever faster as it grew in size.

The thing about Hell Fire was that it never truly went out unless you threw vast quantities of Hell Water over it. And both elements were one of the most energy-consuming to summon for a magic user. Which meant that thanks to her weakened state she would be utterly spend after the attack.

"You can always use my magical reserves, mistress. I'm pleased to be of help after centuries of inactivity," Struan reminded her, proud that she was finally relying on him once again.

"I don't want to completely drain you."

"My soul won't vanish if you do, it will only enter hibernation."

Knowing the truth behind her familiar's words, Tara focused on the fight once again. The fireball swirled over her palm ready to be used. In the short time she had conversed with Struan, it had grown to the size of a soccer ball, and it was finally time to unleash it.

Out of the blue, a hand wrapped around her left ankle and pulled, sending her to the floor. She reacted on instinct as she fell and threw the fiery ball at her assailant. Her face smashed against the wood floor with a painful thud as her enemy screamed.

The creature's howls pierced the night at the same time it released her. Its arms flailed around wildly in an attempt to put out the flames eroding its flesh, but it was no use. The fire wouldn't leave the mutated Yakuza until he died and his body was totally consumed by the hellish flames.

Totally worth the pain, Tara thought while she stood on shaky legs. She felt weaker than whenever the Madam forced her to sleep with incubi, but the show compensated the price.

A slow smile curved Tara's lips when the monster ran into the door and broke it off its hinges, running off into the night. However, her delight was short lived.

Shouts in a foreign language and a small commotion came from outside the room. She tensed and her thin tail swished from side to side as her eyes were glued to the doorway.

Not long after her, an Asian man with grayish skin and short, inky black hair appeared in the threshold.

"Well, well, well. The clown brought a girlfriend to the party and managed to kill one of my zombies." The man's eyes gleamed and his black lips were pulled into a psychotic smile. "I'm impressed."

***************
A/N: I know Tara's necklace housing her familiar came out of the blue, but I'll fix that by adding more scenes after the novella is finish. I want to concentrate on finishing and then fix everything because I'm feeling burn out and don't want to left the novella unfinished. After all, it's scheduled to be published in Amazon in December 25.

To clarify, a witch's familiar is an animal or in this case a spirit that helps in creating spells or powers up its mistress magical power. Struan is a kelpie, a dark fae horse that lives in lakes and drowns people to then eat them. At least, he was that when he had a body. In this novella his spirit is bound to a necklace with a horse pendant that Tara never takes off but that is invisible to human eyes. I will put all this info at the beginning of the story once I start editing it.