Baylahn: A Supernatural Action Adventure Opera (War Of The Angels Book 3)

by Michael Todd

  Brock cupped Katie’s face with his hand and stepped forward, pressing his chest to hers. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned in, closing his eyes. He pressed his lips to hers gently and tenderly, and she could feel her legs jiggle. When he pulled back, he smiled at her red cheeks.

  She laughed and nodded. “Thanks. I knew I could count on you.”

  Katie looked across the field to where Pandora was and cupped her mouth. “Hey, ho! Time to get going.”

  Pandora groaned and looked at the soldier. “You just wait until I get back.”

  Katie shook her head, glancing at Brock. “She will never change.”

  Brock grinned. “Be careful out there.”

  Pandora jogged up, slapping Brock on the back. “Don’t worry, we’ll come back. You won’t be heartbroken forever.”

  Brock rolled his eyes at Pandora as she giggled, jumping through the portal Katie had opened. Katie waved and walked through, letting it close behind her.

  Katie skipped through another portal to New York to pick up Juntto. She and Pandora waited outside the condo after knocking to let them know they were there. Juntto opened the door wearing a fuzzy hat and a smile. Katie looked around him and Angie chuckled, waving goodbye. “Be careful, weirdos!”

  Juntto put his arms out. “Let’s rock and roll. I got Hygge to get back to.”

  Katie opened another portal, and they stepped into yet another dimension. This time everything was slimy and gooey and everyone groaned, feeling their boots sticking to the ground. Katie quickly opened the next portal, and they all hurried through to the Navy base.

  As they stepped through, grimacing at the slime dripping from them, everyone turned to look at them. They waved and walked over to the table, grabbing the atmospheric suits Dr. Thorough had given them. Juntto and Katie took theirs to the two bathrooms while Pandora stripped down in front of everyone and pulled hers on. She could hear the whispers around her and smiled, knowing all eyes were on her.

  Katie walked out as Pandora was zipping up the front. “You really have no shame, do you?”

  Pandora grinned. “I don’t know what that word means.”

  Juntto walked out, carrying his helmet under his arm. “These things are tight.”

  Katie nodded. “Apparently they are supposed to be. Deal with it for now, okay? One trip.”

  They walked over to where the general was standing and looked at Ashton, who was already wearing his suit. He was tall and strong-looking, with a bald head and a bushy brown beard. He stood up very straight and put out his hand to Katie. “I am Ashton. Civilian contractor for the Navy. I used to drive subs for them on the inside, and now they hire me for special missions.”

  Katie nodded. “Thanks for taking this one on. We’re glad to have a navigator.”

  Pandora walked around him, staring him up and down. “Aren’t you the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen? You’re like my own personal cue ball. We should have brought you onto the team sooner.”

  Ashton didn’t say a word, just stared at Katie, shaking his head. Katie laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Like I said, welcome to the team. We can be a little strange, but we mean well. If she gets too annoying, let me know, and I’ll take care of it.”

  Ashton smirked and turned to do his pre-start checklist. Katie looked at Pandora, who was giggling, and said, “Dude, he is the person, the only person, who can get us from point A to point B. I need you to show some sort of restraint, or I’ll make you swim behind the sub all the way there.”

  Pandora pouted. “You know what? You are a stick in the mud. And you know why?”

  Katie groaned. “No, please tell me why.”

  Pandora poked her in the chest. “Because you haven’t gotten any dick in like a century. You stared it straight in the face today but didn’t do anything about it. You shame me. Shame.”

  Katie turned to walk away with Pandora whispering “Shame” at her as she followed. “General, I think we are ready to load up.”

  He nodded. “Good. You know Captain Shift from earlier.”

  Katie shook the captain’s hand. “Good to see you again.”

  The general put his arm out, and a tall man in a perfectly pressed uniform came over. “This is Rear Admiral Bridge. He came to see you guys off. He wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.”

  Pandora snickered, her shoulders bouncing. “Rear Admiral. Hehehehe.”

  Katie slammed her elbow into Pandora’s gut, putting on a smile as she shook the admiral’s hand. He looked around with his hands in front of him. “Thank you for taking on this dangerous mission, all of you. You have been and continue to be a very big asset to the country. The Navy thanks you.”

  Katie shook her head. “Of course.”

  The general cleared his throat. “So, we will be monitoring you the whole time. We will stay in contact as long as you have comm. If you need anything, just call. There will be ships and subs in the vicinity waiting for our orders.”

  Katie patted him on the shoulder. “You are always prepared. I definitely missed that.”

  The team went to work, lugging their weapons, gear, rations, and water through the hatch of the submarine. It was a small space up front, especially for the four of them. “Pandora, you are going to need to ride inside. It’ll get way too cramped in there with all of us.”

  Pandora rolled her eyes, walking into Katie’s body. Fine. Let’s get this shit underway. The guys here are boring.

  Katie shook her head and climbed into the sub, closing the hatch behind her. She took her seat next to Ashton and in front of Juntto, who seemed to be too big for the vessel’s seat. She laughed as the lights flashed. “Down we go.”

  Brock grabbed a beer out of the fridge and walked over to the dining room table, popping the bottle open and taking a long sip before sitting. Turner came out after him carrying a tray of sandwiches left over from the New Year’s party they’d tried to have. Everyone had been exhausted from the day’s work, so barely anyone made it to midnight. Still, Turner wasn’t upset about having leftovers for a while. It kept him from living off granola bars and microwave popcorn.

  He set the tray down on the table and sat across from Brock, watching him stare off into space. “You still with us?”

  Brock cleared his throat and nodded. “Sorry, man. I was just thinking about the mission Katie, Pandora, and Juntto are on.”

  Turner took a bite of his sandwich. “Oh, yeah. Aren’t they chasing down some badass Leviathan who is apparently absolutely enormous?”

  Brock blinked at him. “Yeah, that would be the mission. They are probably off in their submarine as we speak.”

  Turner slowed his chewing, seeing the worry on Brock’s face. “Dude, she’s going to be fine. She has singlehandedly killed some of the largest and most badass demons ever to come to Earth. One Leviathan in the water isn’t going to be the downfall of her legacy. I knew this would happen, though.”

  Brock looked at him with a scrunched forehead. “You knew what would happen?”

  Turner shook his head as he took another bite of his sandwich. “You falling so hard for Katie. I mean, it’s obvious.”

  Brock looked at him seriously. “What’s obvious?”

  Slowly Turner’s lips curled into a smile. “That she is one thousand percent out of your motherfucking league, bro.”

  Brock let out a sigh and laughed, throwing his napkin at Turner. “I can’t argue with you on that one.”

  “Who can’t argue with Turner? I’ll argue with him,” Eddie said, coming into the dining room and grabbing a sandwich.

  Turner shook his head. “No, you won’t. I just informed Brock of how out of his league Katie is.”

  Eddie looked up. “Oh yeah, no, dude! She’s totally out of your league. I mean, she digs you, but it’s like jackpot city for you right there. You hit your peak. It’s downhill from here.”

  Brock groaned, rolling his eyes. “You guys are such motivational friends. And Eddie, why do you smell like the gun range?�
��

  Eddie sniffed his shirt. “Oh, I just came from firearms training with the soldiers. Let me guess; you were so far in the clouds from your visit from Katie that you forgot.”

  Brock opened his mouth to protest, but he knew it was true. “Sorry, dude. It totally went out of my mind. I’ll run the next one, and you can relax.”

  Eddie yawned. “It’s fine. I like that part of it anyway.”

  Brock looked around. “Where is Sean? I feel like I never see him.”

  Turner wrinkled his nose. “He’s in the dungeon with Timothy, trying to be a hacker.”

  7

  The general paced back and forth in the room, listening to the beeping of the sonar. The room was dimly lit, and more than a dozen sailors sat at individual stations tracking different aspects of the mission. He was going to see it through, to make sure the team got in and out of there, and that the mission was completed. It was the first time in a long time he felt unsure of what the outcome would be, and he was more than a little nervous about it all.

  The rear admiral walked up behind him and cleared his throat. “So far everything is going well. Remember that this is going to be a long haul, so you need to keep those nerves in check, General. This isn’t a pop-in-and-out kind of mission.”

  Brushwood turned around. He was irritated at first but caught himself. “You’re right. I’ve just been with this team since very early on.”

  The rear admiral softened his expression. “Understood. Right now, the submarine is traveling through the North Atlantic. It’s running smoothly, the controls and comm are working well, and the tracking is on point. There are no problems yet.”

  The general patted him on the shoulder. “Thank you. I know I am out of my jurisdiction here on a Navy base, but this is my specialty, and I would like to be kept in the loop. I will, however, find a place in the back to do my pacing. I don’t want to interrupt anyone.”

  The rear admiral chuckled. “These boys here are used to pacing. We do a lot of important tactical work from here. The captain is quite the pacer usually as well. I think that’s why he went back to his office. He knew there would be two pacers if he stayed down here.”

  The general chuckled, feeling a buzzing in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and nodded at the rear admiral. He walked to the back and answered. “This is General Brushwood.”

  “General, it’s Korbin. Are you busy?”

  He looked at the screens glowing brightly in the dim room. “I have a minute. What can I do for you?”

  Korbin took a deep breath. “We had a young guy approach the gates tonight in Taiwan. He is very obviously Damned. He wanted to do whatever he could to help. He needs training, but I think he would be a good fit. It got me thinking about Brock and the others. How they are military but kind of mercenary military.”

  The general raised an eyebrow. “Okay…”

  Korbin chuckled. “Well, I just thought that we could possibly start Damned units in these forts. Specialized and trained infected who can be on the scene when something happens. Remember, the goal is to let the countries defend themselves. It would take some of the weight off our shoulders and Katie’s.”

  The general rubbed his chin. “I agree with you there. The non-Damned out there aren’t trained like our military in demon warfare, but if we had a group of you guys on scene, they could help prevent these incursions from getting out of hand. I’ll put in a good word with the World Council for sure. I don’t see why they wouldn’t agree.”

  Korbin was grateful. “That’s really awesome, General. Thank you.”

  He clicked his tongue, distracted by the beeping sonar. “But listen, Korbin, I’m overseeing a very important operation right now. After I speak to them, I’ll let you know for sure.”

  “Absolutely, General. I’ll let you go. Good luck with your operation.”

  Baal and Beelzebub stood in the archway into Lucifer’s throne room. They looked at each other nervously, unsure why they had been called back in so quickly. They hadn’t made any moves since their last visit. Beelzebub nervously rubbed his claws together. “Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he was in the mood to torture and he remembered us. I really don’t want to lose my nuts again.”

  Baal groaned and pushed Beelzebub forward. “Get hold of yourself. Whatever it is, we can’t get out of it, so we might as well take it with fucking dignity.”

  Beelzebub walked forward next to Baal, grumbling. “Easy for you to say. You’ve stayed in the shadows your whole life.”

  The lord of hell was standing at the front of the room with a shimmering demon. It was tall and lanky, and its face looked twisted with nerves and concern—pretty much the same face any demon would have standing next to Lucifer. “And this is supposed to feel good?”

  Lucifer smiled at the demon, stroking his claws down the side of its face. “Absolutely.”

  The king of hell looked at Baal and Beelzebub, putting out his arms and walking forward. “Welcome, my favorite demons. Baal, Beelzebub, I would like you to meet my friend, a new sort of Freak on a Leash.”

  Baal and Beelzebub were completely confused and stared at the shimmering demon, who looked over and nodded at them. They both narrowed their eyes and nodded back, not knowing what to say. From the back, Mania came walking out, grunting as she carried a small television in her arms. She set it down on the table in front of the Freak and plugged it into the socket on the floor. She stood up, cracked her back, and looked at Lucifer.

  He clapped his hands and giggled as he took the remote from thin air and pressed the buttons with his long thin claws. The channel stopped on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the demon smiled excitedly.

  Lucifer took a step back next to Baal and Beelzebub. “All right, Mania, whip him.”

  The demon’s head snapped toward Lucifer with fear. Lucifer shook his head. “Trust me, my pet, this will not hurt. Would Lucifer ever lie to his favorite demon?”

  The demon thought about it for a moment and shook his head, turning back to Buffy. Lucifer nodded at Mania, who pulled her whip and reared back behind her head. She snapped it forward, the leather strap slamming against the demon’s body. He arched his back and moaned in ecstasy, his shimmer growing brighter by the second. Suddenly he exploded, a shower of demon flesh and blood raining down.

  Mania put her arms in the air and closed her eyes as it fell on her. Lucifer licked his lips and tilted his head upward, letting the black droplets hit his face like a warm spring shower. Both Baal and Beelzebub grimaced, lifting their shoulders and bending over, trying not to get the disgusting demon’s body all over them. A slab of flesh fell from the ceiling, landing right on top of Beelzebub’s head. He blinked in annoyance and reached up, carefully dropping it at his feet.

  Lucifer giggled and clapped his hands together, waving away the television. Mania looked as it disappeared from view, pouting her lip and grumbling. “You couldn’t have done that to bring it out?”

  She huffed and walked back toward the throne, dragging the whip behind her. Crows circled, cawing loudly as they swooped down to peck at the pieces of demon flesh on the floor. She stepped onto the dais and dropped her whip. She moved both of her hands over her face and through her hair. As she went, the blood-splattered skin was fresh and new, as if the event had never touched her.

  She looked down at her dress and snapped her fingers, a dark fog whirling around her revealing a tight glittering black halter top and a low-rise long black skirt that hit the floor. She looked at Baal and Beelzebub and grimaced at the sight of them.

  Lucifer was in his own world, licking the blood from his fingers. “That, my dear demons, is a new weapon.”

  Baal tilted his head to the side. “I’m trying to figure out if Buffy the Vampire Slayer did it, or the whip.”

  Lucifer pointed his long, crooked claw at Baal. “Very good, and the answer is both and neither. That demon was specially modified to give off an EMP.”

  Beelzebub smirked. “That is genius.”

  Lucifer chuckle
d. “I know, right?”

  Mania looked disappointed. “All I did was tap the fucking thing with my whip. Talk about premature!”

  Lucifer ignored Mania’s comments. “Their energies make them enjoy pain, but it also makes them very…unstable. You mix a terribly-made show with the pain of a whip, and it was too much for the dear thing. He exploded in a blast of ecstasy and pain, and what came from him was an electromagnetic pulse. It won’t harm anyone but the demon who blows up. It will, however, kill all electronic devices within a small radius of where it is blown up.”

  Baal chuckled, running his hand over his head. “That is freaking fantastic.”

  Lucifer smiled. “I’m glad you think so. I want you to use them to attack the new high-tech forts the humans are setting up.”

  Beelzebub furrowed his brow, looking down at the flesh. “But he blew up.”

  Lucifer rolled his eyes. “You really are slow on the uptake, aren’t you? We’ll make more Freaks on Leashes. Many, many more. Then we’ll see about those new-fangled forts you think are so tough to get past. Everything in the human world is centered around technology. They won’t be able to use anything that isn’t manual. And unless they have a Gatling gun sitting up there, I doubt they will be prepared for the wrath of this type of weapon. It will be spectacular.”

  Beelzebub began to cackle, then Baal, then Lucifer. They all laughed maniacally for several moments.

  Mania rolled her eyes and looked at her nails. “Give me a fucking break. Demons; they’re all morons.”

  Lucifer laughed harder but then abruptly stopped. Baal and Beelzebub followed suit, clearing their throats and looking at Lucifer’s serious face. “We will not stand by and let the humans get one over on us. I am giving you the tools, and all you have to do is implement them. Of course, if you fail, the consequences will be dire. But you knew that already, didn’t you, Beelzebub?”

  The demon swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, my Lord.”