by Michael Todd
Turner was sitting on the edge of the couch wiping the clotted blood off his pistols. “I swear the bastards have tar running through them. It’s fucking awful to get this shit off.”
Brock put his last two magazines in his guns and holstered them. “Just be glad it’s their blood and not yours. Okay, team, let’s count them up. How much ammo you got left? I’ve got nothing for my rifle, two magazines for the pistols, and my blade.” His blade was a longsword of special metal, and it was leaning against the wall. “Turner?”
Turner shrugged. “No rifle ammo. I got one-and-a-half magazines. And the daggers.”
Eddie shook his head, holding up his short sword. “Pig-sticker’s what I got. No bullets.”
By the window, Sean patted his assault rifle. “I got a magazine for this baby and about seven loose bullets in my pocket.”
“How did you get loose bullets?” Eddie grinned and shook his head.
“I got a bullet for your mouth, you tattooed freak.” He grabbed his crotch. “This bullet right here.” Eddie laughed and shook his head, and Sean chuckled. “Other than that, I got a couple of daggers.”
Brock grunted and sat down in a chair. “We’re almost out of supplies, and HQ radioed in to say they won’t be able to resupply for at least two hours.”
Turner groaned, throwing his head back. “What the fuck are we supposed to do with nothing to fight with? Last time I checked, unless you’re Katie, fists don’t do much good—not that I wouldn’t have a field day running around this place punching fucking demons.”
Brock chuckled. “It’s all fun and games until you get a claw in the eye.”
Turner pointed at Brock. “Good point. No punching. I’m happy using my daggers, but there are a fucking shit-ton of demons out there. I don’t think I have the stamina to keep up that amount of thrusting.”
Eddie snickered. “That’s what she said.”
Turner threw a pillow at him. “That’s not what your mother said.”
“My mama did what she needed to do to survive. No shame.” Eddie winked at Turner, who burst out laughing.
Brock rolled his eyes. “Now that we’ve progressed to the your-mama jokes part of the evening, I say we make a Plan B and go with it. We have to figure out a way to conserve ammo until HQ gets us more.”
“I don’t know, bro. We barely have enough rounds to hold down this living room, let alone clear the town.” Eddie shook his head unhappily.
Turner shrugged. “Personally, I think we can only fight if we’re equipped.”
“Truth.” Sean sighed from the window. “We’re pretty much the only ones left, so preserving our lives until we can re-up on ammo is probably the smarter choice.”
Brock shook his head. “I hate knowing there are innocents out there who could be killed while we sit on our asses and wait for supplies.”
Turner leaned forward. “Bro, a lot more people will die if you’re six feet under. If a demon rips you a new asshole, you won’t be able to help anybody.”
Brock sighed. “I know, I know. Okay, so we sit it out somewhere. Obviously, here won’t do. One demon finds us and they’re all going to flock, and we’ll trap ourselves in here. Any idea where else we can go?”
“The church,” a thickly-accented voice pronounced from the other room.
All the guys stood up and pointed their weapons in that direction. A woman walked from the back of the house. One side of her head was shaved, the other in long dreads. She was wearing a cutoff shirt, a short pair of ripped jeans shorts, and black lace-up boots. Her black eyeliner was thick, and her lips were pouty and ruby-red.
Turner’s mouth dropped wide open.
She walked with her hands up, narrowing her eyes at Turner. “I don’t think so.”
Brock lowered his weapon. “Who are you?”
She put her hands down. “You can call me Sasha. This is my house. Well, my parents’ house, but they jumped in the ride and took off as soon as the portals opened. I pulled up just as the shit was going down and hid out in the pantry. Who the hell are you?”
Turner chuckled, liking the attitude. “We’re the US Anti-demon Task Force. Pretty badass motherfuckers.”
She was not the least bit impressed. “And you’re out of ammo.”
Brock stepped forward. “You said the church?”
She pointed out the window at a tall steeple about two blocks away. “That’s the only church in town, and it’s safeguarded and very holy. You can hide out there and be safe from the demons. If you can get there, of course.”
Brock walked to the window and looked out. “Yeah, we were in there once today already and that was how it worked. I think that might be our best bet. After we resupply, we’ll take any survivors we find back to that church. We have enough to get there.”
Sasha cleared her throat. “What about me?”
Brock pulled one of his guns. “You know how to shoot?”
Sasha took the gun and pointed it at Eddie. “Yes, point and pull the trigger. Aim for the head.”
Eddie grimaced and moved out of her line of fire.
Brock pushed the gun down. “Right. Okay. We move out, then. Let’s get there the quickest way possible. Beeline for the front doors.”
The team readied themselves. Brock opened the front door and was about to bolt for it, but he stopped at the sound of an opening portal ripping open above them. They all looked up as several portals ripped through the sky, pushing a wave of heat down on them. All across the town demons and humans alike stopped to gaze up into the black abyss.
Suddenly, a glop fell and landed in the front yard, setting fire to the grass. Brock stepped back in alarm. “What the fuck?”
The whole team stared as molten red liquid began to pour from the portals and shower the town. Turner couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “That’s motherfucking lava. Those assholes are dropping lava on our asses.”
Brock shook his head. Things just kept getting better. “Well, we can’t stay here. We gotta make it to the church.”
The team formed a line and made a break for it, keeping Sasha in the middle of the formation. All across the town, both humans and demons screamed. The flowing lava burned whoever it touched, no matter which side they were on.
The music from Baal’s band was louder than normal. He ordered them to really take it up a notch to drown out the voices in his mind. His brain was running over everything and getting it all tangled. He no longer knew where his plan ended and Beelzebub’s began. That demon was dangerous. He was a threat to Moloch’s and Baal’s lives.
But things had gotten worse.
A messenger brought Baal word that Moloch had attacked Katie and Lilith, and it hadn’t gone well at all. He didn’t know all the details, but the name Juntto had been mentioned, and that definitely wasn’t a good thing. Still, if Moloch were that upset, Baal would be hearing from him very soon. Moloch wasn’t the kind of demon to keep to himself when he was pissed, which was most of the time.
His glass of whiskey shook slightly from the throb of the stand-up bass. He reached over and picked it up, taking a sip and closing his eyes as he swallowed. “I’m glad I stopped and got this a couple of decades ago. It’s perfect now.”
He glanced at the Suntory Yamazaki 1960 Whiskey on the shelf. He still chuckled every time he thought about it. The bottle of whiskey sold on Earth for close to a hundred thousand dollars, but he had lifted it right out of the distillery. Waiting forty years in hell was nothing, but waiting forty years on Earth felt like an eternity. Nonetheless, it was one of the best whiskeys he’d ever had.
There was a light knock on his living room door, and a new demon scurried in carrying a tray of pickled ferrets. Baal had given in to the allure of luxury. He had his chef in the kitchen around the clock and had several demons to do his bidding inside the house. At first, he had felt guilty, but then he remembered he was a demon.
The demon servant set the tray on the table next to him. “Anything else, Your Grace?”
“
No. That will be all. The rest of you can go home, or wherever it is you go when you leave here.”
All of the demons quietly packed up and left Baal to his thoughts. The room was silent then, no music or scurrying servants. Baal opened the box and let out a deep breath as he removed the scroll. He began studying it closely.
Baal frowned and paused. He set the scroll in his lap and sniffed the air around him. His eyebrow went up, and he sat forward, smelling the pickled ferrets.
He burst into laughter and set the scroll aside, finished. “Found you!”
Katie sat in the hangar bay watching the medics tend wounds, mechanics try to fix broken machinery, and soldiers talk to each other about the events just past. They had enjoyed celebrating the night before, but only after respectfully tending to the dead. Juntto and Angie sat close to one another, lost in their own world as they whispered to each other.
Katie’s phone vibrated in her pocket, and the general’s name flashed on the screen. “General. I was wondering when you were going to call.”
General Brushwood cleared his throat nervously. “Katie, so good to hear you’re okay.”
Before the general could go on, Katie gave him the rundown. “Yeah, it was crazy. We were here checking on Juntto when all of a sudden, a portal opened and out came Moloch. He was a tough sonofabitch. We fought for what felt like forever. Several soldiers here gave their lives, and many more were injured. I was almost beaten, General. I’ll admit that to you. I don’t know when I’ve felt so weak and helpless. Then the door to the freezer swung open, and Juntto emerged in all his Leviathan glory. He tagged me out and started beating on Moloch. A lot of the base was destroyed, including much of our hardware, but Dr. Ozu managed to rig up some weapons. When Juntto started haphazardly shooting them, Moloch opened a portal and got the fuck out of here.”
The general chuckled. “No following him to hell this time?”
Katie snickered. “No. It was a good thing he left because we weren’t prepared. I don’t think we could have taken him down. Juntto arrived in the nick of time. We’ll be better prepared next time, for sure. I need large-grade ammunition to fight that bastard. Personally, I would rather cut his head off and be done with it. We can place it next to T’Chezz’s. But a huge-ass missile launcher would be okay, too. In any case, we have to destroy him. As long as we keep sending him back to hell, this war will continue to drag on.”
“In due time. What’s important is that you’re all still standing and Juntto is back.
“Juntto has changed in some ways, but it’s a good thing.”
“That’s fantastic news. It’s nice to have good news today. How is Pandora?”
“I think she had more fun than she should have knocking Moloch’s ass all over the base. Then again, she’s waited a long time.”
Pandora scoffed. Damn straight, and I can’t wait to do it again. I…
Pandora’s voice trailed off, sensing something wasn’t right.
“I’m glad to hear it, but unfortunately, that isn’t why I was calling.” The general’s voice went low, making Katie nervous. “The latest operation in Europe took a dark turn. As far as we know at this point, it was a complete loss.”
Katie stood, immediately thinking of Brock. “What happened? I don’t know if we’ve ever had a complete loss before. What do you mean by that? As in no demons were killed, or no survivors?”
The general let out a deep breath. “Well, the demons used a new tactic. They flooded the town with lava, using portals in the sky. They killed many of their own in addition to the humans. All hands not accounted for are MIA and presumed dead. I’m sorry to tell you, but that includes Brock’s entire team. I wanted to tell you before you heard it from someone else. They were valiant and strong fighters for the cause. It’s a great loss for the world, but I know they were friends of yours. I’m sorry, Katie.”
Katie’s eyes went blindingly red as she tried to wrap her head around what he had just said. “Don’t worry about sending a counter, General. I’ll respond to that personally.”
Before the general could argue with her, she hung up the phone and slammed it onto the bench next to her. The loud noise grabbed Juntto and Angie’s attention. Katie sat and put her head in her hands, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed. What the general had told her had been like a knife in her soul.
Angie moved her legs off Juntto’s lap and started to go toward Katie, but Juntto grabbed her hand. He shook his head. “I think it’s best if you give her a minute alone. You’ll know when it’s the right time to comfort her. I have a feeling whatever this is, comfort will be the last thing on her mind.”
Angie looked at her and back at Juntto. “But she’s my sister. Obviously, something terrible happened. She shouldn’t have to go through it alone. Remember, we’re a family, and that means we’re there for each other when something bad happens. We don’t leave each other to cry alone.”
Juntto pressed Angie’s hand to his lips. “You’re right, but remember that she isn’t alone. She has the best support system a girl could have right inside her.”
Angie sat back down but kept her eyes on Katie. “Right…Pandora.”
Juntto nodded. “Let her handle this her way, and when she’s done, we’ll armor up. When you were mourning what you thought was my loss, I bet she gave you space to breathe and handle things in your own way. Now we’ll do that for her. Look. I can see it now, as I’ve seen it many times before.”
Angie furrowed her brow. “See what?”
Together they watched Katie straighten. Her tears were tears of blood, and her eyes were no longer full of grief. They blazed red with fury.
Juntto whispered, “Our angel has become an angel of death.”
17
Everything seemed to slow to a crawl in Katie’s mind. Even Pandora didn’t have any words for her. She could feel Katie’s rage swirling wildly, pushing back the soft calm of the angel. The anger fueled a burning desire for revenge. Something was twisting deep in Katie’s chest. She pictured her last moments with Brock before he left for the mission. The rose petals. The wine. The bed. She could almost hear his voice echoing in her head. It was an indelible sound, one that would stay with her for the rest of her life—especially if she weren’t able to find Brock alive.
She had never felt that way before. She had been angry, hurt, and even destroyed by the death of a teammate, but this was personal. It touched her in a way she couldn’t quite understand. She realized that she cared for Brock more than she had ever thought she could, but she didn’t want to start thinking about that. If she did, she might stay frozen, standing forever in that hangar bay like Juntto in his frosty sleep. The world would tick by around her, but she would never be able to move forward.
Katie looked grimly from Juntto to Angie. Tears of blood ran down her cheeks, and her eyes burned red with anger. She walked to them, her tears leaving a trail of red behind her. Katie swallowed, mustering the strength the speak. “I need all the special metal you can pull together, and I need it now.”
Angie stood up, shocked by her friend’s fury. “What’s going on, Katie?”
Katie closed her eyes. “Brock and his team were at an incursion in Europe. The demons somehow dumped lava over the entire town. The military is calling it a total loss, and anyone MIA is being presumed dead. Brock and his team never checked back in.”
Angie put her hand to her mouth and thought about reaching forward, but comfort was clearly not what Katie wanted at that moment. Katie was rigid, her whole body tense. She wanted action, she wanted revenge, and she wanted to show those sonsofbitches that they couldn’t do something that terrible and get away with it. Angie whispered, “I’m sorry, Katie.”
Katie took another deep breath and spoke as if she had not heard Angie’s words. “So yeah, all the special metal we can muster. Start with this base. I’m going to figure out what we have at the home base and what Joshua can give me as fast as possible.” Her voice caught, but Katie snarled her final words, “I won’
t allow them to continue to kill us. I will not let this go.”
Juntto nodded. “Neither will I.”
Angie put her hand on Katie’s. “Nor will I.”
Katie looked at them, thankful. “I’m going to head to the home base. I need to get prepared for this, and I don’t want to do it over the phone.”
Juntto joined Angie next to Katie. Angie met her eyes. “Then we’ll go with you. Every step of the way, right?”
Katie forced a smile. “Every step of the way. But Juntto? You might want to shrink a bit. Not sure the plane can handle you at that size.”
Juntto looked down at himself. “Oh, shit, that’s right. Hmm, let’s see. What was the name of that actor you liked—the one in the movie where they danced like girls at strip clubs?”
Angie sang out, “Channing Tatum.”
Juntto snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Give me one second.”
Angie and Katie stepped back. Juntto’s blue frost giant form melted away, changing into a Channing Tatum look-a-like. His camo gear faded into Magic Mike tear-away pants, and his shirt disappeared altogether. Angie giggled, and even Katie cracked a smile. “Come on, you two.”
They left the hangar and went to a waiting plane. Luckily, it had been refueling on the other side of the base when Moloch had rolled through, so it was not damaged. As Katie walked, the vision of Brock resurfaced in her mind. She felt instantaneous anger that she couldn’t hold back. Demons. The lava. The bodies of her friends. The thoughts drove her mad.
They boarded the plane and Katie pulled out her phone to call Korbin. By that point, she was enraged again. That was good. If she was angry, she could use it. Korbin answered the phone, surprised. “Katie, good to hear from you. Not much has changed here.”
Katie answered softly, “A lot has changed here.”
Noting the tone of her voice, Korbin became serious. “What’s going on? What do you need?”
