Free Die For You by A. Sangrey Black

“I die of love for you, but keep this secret:
    The tie that binds us is an unbreakable rope.
    How much time did your creation take, O angel?”
    Abu Nuwas (756-815 A.D.)
    The biggest problem with policing things that weren’t human was that normal law enforcement methods often didn’t do a damn thing to slow them down. You could shout “Halt! Police!” until your head exploded, and the majority either didn’t give a shit or didn’t understand what the hell you were saying.
    Take, for example, the pair of Mereg Demon jewel thieves/vicious predators that detectives Gage Roberts and Jensen Holm were currently trying to apprehend without getting themselves slaughtered in the process. They had the demons cornered in an alley off Main Street, possibly not the best situation to try and catch them. This species was particularly dangerous, even to nearly indestructible vampire Jensen. Each beast measured almost eight feet tall, weighed in around 400 pounds of pure muscle and impenetrable scale armor, and had eight or nine fingers and toes, with razor-tipped claws dripping with deadly poison.
    Jensen was armed only with fangs and a broadsword, both requiring he get dangerously close to the monsters. Gage had a shotgun and a pistol, more or less the equivalent of throwing freaking pebbles at the demons.
    It was one of those nightmare arrests that Undertown Unit Liaisons dreaded. Funny that the Northbrook PD wanted the “monster ghetto” policed and protected, but didn't want to bother properly arming their officers.
    Not so funny right now, of course. Sword, teeth, guns, and even body armor weren't much good against the acidic spit raining out of the demons' slimy mouths. Both officers were spending as much time ducking and covering as trying to figure out a way to use their useless weapons against better-armed creatures.
    “Shit!” was all the warning Gage had time to give before he bodily clotheslined his partner, knocking him against the alley walls behind the dumpsters. Jensen immediately shoved Gage's much smaller and more human body off in frustration.
    “We have to get back out there!” the vampire shouted.
    “Why, so they can melt our brains before they poison us and rip out our guts? Yeah, great plan. I'm calling for backup.”
    “Gage, I'm not lying here like a rug waiting for them to come back here and eat us. They've killed eight people already, we can't just let them go!” Jensen objected, ever the freaking hero, ready to lay down what could end up an abbreviated run of immortality to help those in need. Not that Gage wasn't willing to die for a cause… just not a lost one.
    This one was definitely lost—no way was he losing Jen with it. He reported the situation to dispatch quickly, before the idiot decided to disregard common sense and do exactly what he wanted, as usual.
    “Blaze Units will be here in a few minutes. If the Meregs split, they'll get them in the sewers. They're not getting away this time, don't worry.”
    Jensen's expression didn't change, the stubborn bastard. He just kept glaring at Gage as if his partner were asking him to sacrifice puppies under the full moon—something that probably took place in certain parts of this neighborhood. But Gage didn't back down. Jen might be bigger, stronger, and have a set of fangs that would put those True Blood guys to shame, but that didn't mean Gage was giving in to Jensen’s superhero complex.
    The argument became moot when the demons worked themselves into enough of a frenzy to skip their “flight” option from the fight or flight menu and chose “splatter.” With Jensen and Gage trapped behind the Dumpsters, their opponents took advantage of the vulnerable position to either squash them or drive them out. One slammed the front with his full weight, heaving the ton-sized boxes ever closer to the wall, while the other shoved from the far end to expose their intended victims. If the detectives didn't move quickly, they were either going to be