She stared at me, mannequin still.
“Shit. Forgot you can’t talk,” I said, stifling a laugh. “You can move and speak now, but don’t you dare come after me, understand?”
Veronica gasped, just as she had when she’d returned to life, drawing in a deep gulp of air. After a moment, her patented sneer slipped back in place. “Not that I have much of a choice, do I?”
I shook my head. “Not now you don’t but, even with how furious I still am, even I won’t allow you to remain like this for long, under Styg’s control, or mine. Do what I ask of you, and I’ll do everything in my power to make you your own woman again.”
She laughed, not bothering to hide her derision. “It’s a good thing you can make me do what you want because there is no way in hell I’d do it for you on my own.”
“No? Not even for Rala?”
And that is what they call the Dick Card. Big, sloppy, and hairy, I’d whipped it out with authority.
“Rala?”
“Yup. Shaw and the murderer’s row she’s allied herself with have kidnapped Rala and Michael Li, holding them both hostage somewhere we can’t find. It won’t be long until the two outlive their usefulness and they get dumped in a hole.” I drew up closer to Veronica, locking eyes with her. “They’re running out of time, and I need you to find them.”
I drew in a deep breath and let it out slow, pondering the stupidity of what I was about to do.
“You’ve free will to decide this, Veronica. I won’t make you do anything.”
She glared at me, no doubt wanting to rip my eyes from their sockets and piss in the holes. Fortunately, she couldn’t.
“I’ll do it…for Rala,” she said after a long pause.
“For Rala,” I parroted, doing my best to hide the relief wanting to dance a jig all over my face.
Fifteen
A succubus, Veronica was blessed with the ability to hone in on and track mystical energy as that was how she fed, making her every bit the supernatural bloodhound. That trait was the main reason I brought her brought back to life. Her attachment to Rala was the second, her feelings only furthering her ability and desire to find the little orange-skinned alien.
That had been exactly what I’d counted on when I let her make her own choice. Mind you, I would have forced Veronica to do it had she said no, but it was so much easier to let her decide. She’d never put as much effort into it if she wasn’t doing it of her own accord, even compelled.
Still, despite her willingness to help, I had to wonder if all that time dead had impacted her powers.
“She’s here,” she repeated…for the fifth time, walking a circle with a circumference no greater than ten feet around.
“You keep saying that but I’m sure as shit not seeing her.” I was starting to think she was yanking my chain, paying me back for killing her. “How can she be right here if we are right here?”
We’d split a crack into Limbo at the deserted location in northern Canada where Veronica had led us, and Father Lance had held a mystical ear to the door and listened for Morgan. Since he hadn’t heard anything, we took a quick tour of the cloudy dimension, ascertaining that Rala was not there, with no trace she’d ever been.
I’d also traveled to Hell and searched the corresponding location Veronica was pointing out and, to no one’s surprise, Rala wasn’t there either. As a last ditch effort, I’d send Scarlett to examine the coordinates in Heaven, if need be, but it was pretty much a guarantee that Shaw and the others would be turned back at the gate, do not pass Eden, do not collect $200. Heaven had a heck of an immigration policy.
That left no-fucking-where.
“Are you sure?”
“How many times are you going to ask me that?” Veronica’s cheeks were pink with her growing anger, and she stabbed at the ground with her finger. “She’s right here, damn it!”
As Veronica couldn’t lie to me, seeing how she was still under compulsion, I didn’t have a choice but to believe her. I turned to Rachelle, driven batty by whatever it was we were missing. “Anything?” She paced the area just the other side of Veronica’s invisible circle.
She shook her head. “The dimensional wall here resonates strangely, an odd darkness clinging to its essence, lingering like old smoke, but I can find no hidden pockets here on Earth, nor in Hell or Limbo. Only Heaven is closed to me, and it’s unlikely anyone else could access that particular realm either,” she said, only confirming what I’d already thought, Metatron having sealed off Heaven a while back.
“Looks like your GPS is broke,” Thud said, watching Veronica walk in circles. He was no doubt checking out her ass. Can’t say I blamed him, but the view wasn’t helping any of us find Rala or Mike any faster.
Frustration having settled over, I dug into Lucifer’s memories for some clue as to what we were facing, riffling through them as if they were a Rolodex. It was as if I’d snorted an encyclopedia in cocaine form and chased it with a Google energy drink. Waterfalls of information only vaguely related to what I thought about flooded my mind, and it wasn’t more than a minute later that I was drowning, flailing about in my head. I grasped at anything I could find that was remotely related to why Veronica could sense the kid but Rala still not be in any of the nearby dimensions. Then my fingers seized on a thought, drawing me out of the quagmire of memories, a name on my tongue.
Irkalla.
“Shit! She is here, just not in any dimension we’ve ever interacted with before.”
“That’s not possible, Frank,” Grace said, looking at me as if I’d just farted her name…in French. “That would require an entity of immeasurable power, capable of carving a separate plane into the universe and imbuing it with—”
“You mean someone like a god?”
She stared at me a moment before understanding washed across her features. “Oh…shit.”
“Yup. “
“How is this possible, Frank?” Rachelle stopped her probing and came over to join us.
“Just so happens we have a pantheon of Sumerian/Babylonian deities recently released into our universe.”
Father Lance groaned. “All of whom were here before God arrived and coalesced the various universes into a single entity. But given that matter is never created nor destroyed, the dimensions were still here, just transformed into something new.”
I nodded, having come to the same conclusion as he had, thanks to Daddy’s extra potent brain cells. “Which means they didn’t need to create an alternate universe, they just had to nudge it back into existence. And, if my guess is right, that realm is Irkalla, the Sumerian land of the dead.”
Grace rubbed her temples. “This explains why we couldn’t find them…”
“Because we were only looking in the dimensions we know,” Kit finished for Grace.
Then it clicked, Lucifer’s memories holding my hand and walking me through it. “Which explains how Nergal came back after we’d killed him. Just like when God and Lucifer were in their rightful places, when any supernatural being linked to either realm died, they returned there to be reincarnated.” I sighed, following the tail of logic a little farther. “It also means that any of these guys we kill that are connected to the pantheon will regenerate and plague us until we kill them at the source.” The thought of facing down the biker twins again sent a chill creeping down my spine.
Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “Speaking of plague, this means we’re dealing with Ereshkigal, goddess of the underworld and sister to Inanna and, drumroll please, wife to Nergal, the plague god who’d been exiled to Irkalla.”
“While this is all informative, it doesn’t tell us how we access this dimension, this Irkalla,” Rachelle said. “With no ethereal markers to identify it, I cannot create the key needed to unlock a portal between our world and theirs. They might well be a million universes away for all the access we have.”
I thought about it for a moment, pondering the various ways we could open a gate between the two worlds, realizing the simplest way
would likely be the most effective. “You don’t always need a key to open a door. Sometimes all you have to do is—”
“Kick it the fuck down,” Thud said with a chuckle.
I laughed at his enthusiasm, his idea high on the list, but I had an even better idea. “We’ll just have to get them to open it for us.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Rachelle asked.
“Leave it to me,” I told her, waving everyone in so they were closer. “Time to go back to Hell and figure a few things out.”
Shaw wasn’t gonna make things easy for us but I had just the thing to make her stand up and take notice.
Grace, and Thud went off to prepare, while Father Lance followed along hoping to research Irkalla and the corresponding gods and goddesses.
I grabbed Kit before she took off. “Got a second?”
“Sure,” she answered, and I motioned for her to hold on a moment.
As I felt my time would be better served cutting tempting bait and casting a hook rather than digging through musty books learning about the Sumerian underworld, I called Veronica and Poe over.
“I’s gonna need your assistance. Head over to the God-proof room, please, and I’ll meet you there in a minute.”
Poe nodded and led Veronica off, the ex-wife glaring at me over her shoulder until they rounded the corner.
“Think you can hunt something down for me or create it yourself?”
“What do you need?”
I told her and her eyes flew open wide. She paled, looking ready to pass out at the thought of what I’d suggested.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Frank?”
“I wish I was.”
She set a hand against the wall to steady herself. “You really need a class in problem resolution. It’s like you learned how to deal with things by watching action movies.”
“Why wouldn’t I? Every Steven Seagal movie ends with him winning out. Seems as good a model as any to follow.”
She shook her head. “I never know when you’re serious.”
“That’s probably a good thing.”
“Probably,” she agreed. “But just to be sure, you really want me to—”
“I do indeed. And it needs to be done soon,” I told her. “Can you manage it?”
“Much as I don’t want to, I can.”
“And will?”
She snorted. “Yeah. I will.”
“Thank you,” I said, offering up a grateful smile. “I need make a few arrangements but I’ll check in with you in a bit, see how you’re doing.” I started off, stopping short of the door. “Oh, and if you don’t mind, don’t tell anyone about this, yeah? They might not understand.”
“I wonder why.” She exhaled, the sound half a giggle, half a groan, as if she wasn’t sure how to feel.
I couldn’t blame her. It was a lot to ask, but if Maximus had been right about anything, it was that everything was on the table given our current circumstances. I’d do what I had to do and worry about the consequences later. Confident Kit understood where I was coming from with my request, and that she’d follow through, I chased after Poe and Veronica.
Back at the God-proof room, I willed the wall open and let it seal behind me as I made my way into Maximus’s cell. He acknowledged me with a grunt, staying hunched in the far corner. It was the cleanest of the lot, though that wasn’t saying much. He had started to smell like the rest of the place.
“Finally come to your senses, Triggaltheron?”
I kind of had, but not the way he was thinking. “Stand up. We’re going for a walk.”
It was clear he didn’t trust me. “And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll drag you out of here by your toes, if necessary, so walk or be carried. I’ve no preference one way or the other, to be honest.”
He sat there for a minute, likely going over his options, before he got to his feet and came over to stand beside me, his posture stiff.
“We’ve found Shaw.”
That got his attention.
“Is she dead?”
“Not yet,” I said. “That’s why I need you.”
His gray eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “For?”
“She’s somewhere we can’t reach her.”
He chuckled at that. “So you’re hoping to use me to lure her out, are you?”
“It’s either you or a bucket of spicy Popeye’s chicken, and I’d really hate to waste good food on Shaw.”
“You think yourself funny, don’t you, Triggaltheron?”
“I’m no Richard Pryor but I’m all right.” I nudged him toward the opening door. “Now get your ass outside so we can finish this.”
Eager to face down Shaw, likely believing I was setting him free, he started off without a word. That’s when I punched him in the back of the head, dropping him to the floor unconscious. Then I straddled his body, zip-tying his arms and legs. Once he was secure, I hefted him over my shoulder and carried him out of the cell.
“I lied when I said I didn’t have a preference,” I told him, not that he was awake to hear me. It satisfied the Devil in me to hit him.
I had a group of dread fiends collect Venai. They pulled her from the cell and dumped her at my feet, and I went about binding her arms and legs, layering them so heavily there was no flesh left to be seen on her arms of legs.
“That going to hold her?” Poe asked.
“Long enough to do what we need to,” I told him. “To tell the truth, I really don’t care if she gets away. Venai’s nothing without Shaw.”
Poe deigned not to speak, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with my assessment.
“Regardless, we only need her a little longer.” I glanced over at Veronica, leaning against the wall and pouting. “You ready for this?”
She shrugged non-committedly, pretty much summing up our entire marriage in a single gesture.
“Well, we’re doing it regardless,” I told her. “Now reach out and find our mutual friend Shaw.”
She closed her eyes and did as ordered. Poe followed suit, his eyelids locked down as he concentrated. I couldn’t feel his psychic energy as it wasn’t directed at me, but I knew he was trailing Veronica’s thoughts as she used her ability to seek out Shaw. And since Veronica already knew the vague direction in which to search, her power reaching across the dimensions, it didn’t take more than a minute before she had locked on to the wight’s essence.
“I have her,” Veronica said.
“As do I.” Poe spread his telepathic link to include me. He didn’t ask for confirmation or second guess the plan, he simply went ahead with it, giving me his unspoken support. Not long after, I felt Shaw’s spectral essence in my skull.
“This is…unexpected, Trigg,” she said, her voice sounding even more ghostly through the ethereal connection. “What do you want?”
“To offer a trade,” I said, getting straight to the point. “Maximus and Venai for Rala and Mike, both unharmed.” My gaze drifted to the pair bound on the floor, Poe transferring what I saw to Shaw, shutting the link down when I looked away so she wouldn’t see anything else. “So, what do you think?”
“I think you’re insane.”
“Stay on task here, Shaw. I want this war over as much as you want Maximus dead. I’m willing to offer you the means of taking care of the latter in exchange for the former. Plus, you get your BFF as part of the deal. Buy one asshole, get one free.”
“I will need to consult—”
“No,” I said, cutting her off, my telepathic voice overriding hers. “This is a limited time offer. Call now, operators are standing by.”
“You’re leaving me little choice, Trigg.” I could hear her frustration leaking through the connection.
“You’re right, I am,” I told her, leaning down and snatching Maximus up by his neck, staring at him as Poe streamed what I saw back to her. “Rala and Mike are useless to you but Venai matters to you, and I know damn well you care about what happens to Maximus.” I shook him a little so she could s
ee him thrash about. “I made a decision and chose to sacrifice Maximus for the greater good. Now you can either seize this golden opportunity get him into your hands or I can hide him away where you’ll never find him again. Your call, Shaw.”
The connection sat silent for several long moments, and I hoped I hadn’t overplayed my hand. I needed to sweeten the pot.
“Did I mention I’m currently in possession of the all the family members you and Maximus kidnapped as leverage against the rest of the DSI team?”
Her emotions flooded the connection before she reined them in, kick starting my brain.
“I wonder, seeing how Maximus held them in a prison you had no access to, nor knew the location of, if one or more of those prisoners just happens to be related to you.” I laughed to myself, torn between wanting to crow about figuring that out and kicking myself for only realizing it just then. Maximus had sealed the deal with her by capturing someone she cared about.
Well, maybe she cared about them, seeing how she’d still rebelled and left the person behind to rot. Or maybe she knew something about Maximus that I didn’t, something that kept her loved one safe. I’d have to interrogate the prisoners and see who was who before I decided to let them go.
I groaned at what I’d have to do but that was a problem for a later day. Right now, it was all about maneuvering Shaw where I need her.
“Tick, tock, Shaw, time’s a wasting. Rala and Mike for Venai, Maximus, and a guarantee I won’t hurt any of the hostages.”
She sighed. “Fine, I agree to the swap, but I want assurances that Maximus’s prisoners are truly safe and in your possession.”
“I can do that, but I need my own assurances there needs to be peace between you and the DSI rank and file. I don’t give two shits about Maximus’s masters but I don’t want your war with them trickling down the ranks, got it?”
Institutionalized (Demon Squad Book 10) Page 14
