Hell Hath No Vengeance (Vengeance Demons Book 5)

by Louisa Lo

  Her lips curved into a smirk. “Of course. I told him he should never rely on brunt force only. That’s what people would expect of him.”

  “Well, if he could sing, that would be the ultimate definition of defying expectations,” I muttered.

  “Oh, he can sing alright, trust me. Maybe I’ll be able to get him to add some singing into his fighting repertoire.” She giggled. “That oughta surprise his opponents, don’t you think?”

  Ever since Gregory and I came on board, Vera took on a more optimistic demeanor. Maybe a little too optimistic. She was talking as if it was a given that she would be seeing her boyfriend again very soon. It was disconcerting, seeing her complete faith that her love would get out of Hell. That was a lot to bet on his innocence.

  And the investigative ability of Gregory and me.

  After Gregory put Candy back onto the ground, she turned to me, biting her lower lip. “Megan, sorry for getting you into trouble last night.”

  I smiled ruefully. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad we’re all okay.”

  I didn’t bother hiding the conversation from Vera. As a shade, she most likely knew about the ordeal last night already, especially since she would’ve wanted to know as much about Gregory and me as possible before grabbing our loved ones. There was no hiding secrets from a shade—only the management of it. I just prayed that the rules of conducts governing her kind were just as ethical and restrictive as the ones for vengeance mercenaries.

  “Everyone was mad at me. I was mad, too,” Candy said. “But then mom cried. So I told her I’m sorry.”

  “Good show.” I looked at Gregory over the little girl’s head and mouthed I’m sorry to him. He mouthed back I’m sorry, too.

  I asked Candy, “So, Mel is in session, huh?”

  “He should be done soon. Mum’s in there helping with the paperwork, so I’m manning the fort for a while.”

  Candy’s expert illusion of the adult fire demon was a pretty intimidating front for Mel’s oracle business, and apparently, a little terror in the night and sleep deficit didn’t detour her from her duty.

  The little girl turned to Vera and squinted, paying attention to the latter for the first time. “Oh, a shade. Am I supposed to pretend you’re not here?”

  Candy’s tone was conversational, as if she was asking Vera if she would like a pen to fill out her first-time client application form. I wondered if she’d encountered other shades before. Hopefully not from the attack that drove her family into hiding in the first place.

  Vera huffed. “If you have to ask, then you’re already not doing it, kiddo.”

  Candy grinned. “Must be important, for you to come see an oracle.”

  Vera just pursed her lips, ignoring Candy.

  I wondered what that was all about.

  As per Candy’s instruction, we waited at the back office while Mel finished up his appointment. Then we waited some more as we knew the guy kept impeccable record of all his clients and liked to spend a few minutes after each session to make notes for himself. I sometimes wonder if he kept any files on me and Gregory. We weren’t his clients, but Mel seemed the sort to keep a file on everyone.

  Ever since working with Mel a few months ago, I’d come to respect his skills as an oracle, not to mention the fact that he’d taken Candy and her family in during their time of need. I was beginning to think of him as an extended family member of sorts, though in truth I knew close to nothing about him, not even what supernatural race he was born into. Like warlock and witches, oracles were identified not based on species, but the nature of their power. Candy, for one was born a human. In my quiet moments, I sometimes wondered why even Gregory didn’t know what Mel was.

  Candy poked her head into the back office. “Mel can see you now, and Mum is making lunch. It’ll be ready in less than an hour. She said you’re not allowed to leave until you eat.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, like I’ll pass up a free meal.”

  Sarah, Candy’s mom, was a really good cook. I got to eat healthy without breaking a sweat. What was not to like?

  Candy laughed at me. “I think Mum is feeling competitive, with you eating so well with your roommate.”

  “Hey, there’s enough of my tummy to go around. What are we having?” I asked, my mouth already watering. Sarah worked for a catering company before going on the run with Candy and her little brother, so freshness and creativity was always guaranteed.

  Maybe gluttony was already a sin I had down in the Book of Life and Death. Or would that be sloth for not wanting to make what I craved myself?

  Candy grinned. “Green apple pecan salad, butter chicken sandwich, and Greek yogurt parfait for dessert.”

  “Can’t wait!” I said wholeheartedly.

  We all got up and walked toward Mel’s office, with Candy carrying her highly powerful laptop with her. Gregory’s brows creased, clearly uneasy that she was acting like she was part of the upcoming session, but he said nothing. I got a feeling whatever misgiving he had, he was saving it for when he saw Mel.

  As we got near Mel’s office, a sense of anticipation filled me. I couldn’t help but wonder what the office would look like today. Mel liked to magically transform his workspace to fit whatever mood he was in that day. So far I’d seen everything from the bridge of the original Star Trek, to the T.A.R.D.I.S of Doctor Who, to Camelot’s round table, to all things LEGO.

  Today, Mel again didn’t disappoint. We opened the door to find the office being turned into the set of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The cheery and campy seventies version, not the one with Johnny Depp.

  There was a canal made of liquid chocolate, giant gummy bear balloons, and oversize lollipops that was quite obviously made of foam. The smaller candies hanging on the trees, though, looked like the real deal. My fingers itched to pluck one off, if only to see if the enchantment would hold if I put it in my mouth.

  Yeah, sure, that was the only reason why I wanted to grab one.

  Standing on a boat in the chocolate canal was Mel, dressed in a purple suit and top hat. As always, he seemed ageless. He could be anything from middle-age to elderly, and he could alter his appearance at will just like Vera.

  Today, Mel was a human male of medium height and darker blond hair, his face round and friendly.

  “Hello, Megan and Gregory,” he greeted us.

  “Hey, Mel,” I replied. “Cool set.”

  “Why, thank you.” Mel grinned. “I knew you’d get a kick out of it.”

  “So where are the Oompa Loompas?” I asked, looking around. He wasn’t the type who would leave such important characters out of his transformation.

  “Maybe you’re volunteering to be one, since you’re the one who’s got a perfect puzzle for me.” Mel narrowed his eyes on Vera. “Let me ask you: what is a shade doing at my place of business?”

  I looked from Mel to Vera, and found the two of them glaring at each other. “Um, do you two know each other?”

  “No,” Mel said after a while, seemingly having collected himself, “not her in particular, but her kind. You can say that they’re an oracle’s natural enemy. They’re always hiding in the shadow of the Cosmic Balance, giving me false readings when I try to gauge its temperature. It’s like having gremlins in your car engine. Most annoying.”

  “And you oracles are the most irresponsible.” Vera spat. “After you take your reading, do you bother to return darkness to where you shed light? Many of my brethren got forever trapped in the eternal sunny spots in the Cosmic Balance because of you lot. A lifetime of cat videos, the horror.”

  “Vera.” Gregory cleared his throat. “We’re not here to trash Mel’s professions or his colleagues. We’re here because I think Mel could help us with Boyce.”

  Being reminded of the goal of the visit seemed to have calmed down Vera. She said no more, and simply looked at Mel.

  Gregory turned to his mentor and said formally, “Mel, this shade has accused us of carrying out an injustice toward her intended in the co
urse of our mercenary work. I’m honor bound to look into the matter and would like to ask for your help.”

  Mel opened his palms in a welcoming gesture. “Of course, son.”

  “How is he going to help?” Vera asked.

  “You mentioned that Boyce was arrested, tried, and promptly sent to Hell within a week. That music festival syllabus with his name on it should’ve warranted at least a more thorough investigation. We have to find out why it didn’t, and what happened in that court proceeding. Unlike the music competition, there has to be an official court record somewhere.”

  “I wasn’t allowed into the proceeding,” Vera explained. “Shade-blocking safeguards are embedded right into the very insignia of the Council, and that bloody symbol is in every official government office including the courts. I can’t get access to those records.”

  I had to say, it was rather comforting that there was some limitation to Vera’s power, given how omnipresent she was capable of being. I made a mental note to get my hands on a few copies of the Council’s insignia to put around the house and on my person—provided there was a way to make an exception for Sassy.

  “You can’t, but Mel can,” Gregory assured Vera.

  “And I’ll help, too,” Candy chimed in as she made her way toward the boat to join Mel.

  “No, you won’t.” Gregory blocked her path and turned to Mel, “She can’t. Not after what almost happened.”

  Gregory’s tight face shown just how much the attack on Candy had shaken him.

  “It’ll be okay, I’m only helping as a hacker this time,” Candy explained.

  “Even on the off chance that her signature shows through, I’ll be shielding it anyway,” Mel said. “I promise you, no harm will come to her. This is not like last night.”

  “Why are you allowing this? You’re rewarding bad behavior,” Gregory said accusingly.

  “No, I’m not. You were the one who encouraged her rebellion in the first place by not wanting her to learn astral projection. Trust me, Gregory, it’s safe.”

  Gregory looked like he wanted to argue. Then he sighed and moved out of Candy’s way. The little girl gave him a quick hug and bounced onto the boat with a happy grin.

  Vera asked Mel, “Can you really help my Boyce?”

  “Well, hop onto the boat and find out.” Mel gestured the rest of us to join him.

  “Is this one going to get dizzy like that one in the movies?” I asked worriedly.

  “My dear, has your life ever been smooth sailing?” Mel snorted.

  He had a point.

  With everyone getting onto the boat and settling down, Mel waved in the air until a transparent bubble was formed. I’d worked with him long enough to know that the bubble was his mental representation of the Cosmic Balance.

  “So,” Mel said, “tell me everything you know.”

  Gregory started speaking, with Vera providing extra details such as the exact time, place, and dates of the legal proceeding and the crimes in question. As Mel “fed” the information into the bubble by tapping on its surface with his fingertips, it became cloudy with white vapors, like having droplets of milk falling into a glass of water.

  Mel studied the pattern of the vapors thoughtfully. The ever-shifting cloud was mostly pure white, with wisps of brown shading the edges, lending it a more three-dimensional look.

  Mel tapped on the bubble some more, making the milky vapor disappear. The remaining brown shade now looked almost black.

  The bubble should’ve returned to its initial clear color if all was as it should be, but it didn’t.

  “Boyce’s judgment doesn’t have the Ring of Vengeance.” Mel leaned back on his seat after a long while and whistled. The Ring of Vengeance was the instinctive knowledge that tells a vengeance demon whether justice was truly served. It was like the ring of truth for humans. Not always obvious, but never failed if one pay attention to it. “Mind you, the case gave a very good impression of having the Ring, but not quite so.”

  “A false Ring?” I asked, frowning. I’d never thought of such a thing before.

  “Looks like it. A rare thing. Usually either the Ring was there, or not.”

  A look of vindication crossed over Vera’s face, “Now will you believe me?”

  “Not so fast, young lady,” Mel cautioned. “Let me look into this further. You yourself admitted you weren’t physically there to listen to what was presented against your man in court.”

  “Who’s the judge residing over this?” Gregory asked Vera.

  “Judge Montgomery Remington Tabella.”

  I’d never heard of him before, but then it wasn’t surprising. His last name, which meant “record” in Latin, wasn’t one of the old vengeance families. Ancient houses like mine, Serafina’s, and Gregory’s—not that he was officially a part of it, and neither was I in a sense—all had family names that were rooted in justice-related words. One ought to think that in this day and age the appointment of High Court judges wouldn’t be so nepotistic, but there it was. Judge Tabella, by the virtue of his last name, resided over the lowlier Civil Court.

  “I know Judge Tabella by reputation,” Mel said. “He’s said to be tough but fair. He doesn’t seem the sort who’d be dirty.”

  “And with the death of four people, shouldn’t this have been tried at a higher court?” I asked. The Civil Court was a place for cases deemed not unique, or serious enough, to qualify for a more personalized brand of vengeance.

  “Let’s find out what really happened there.” Mel waved at the almost black vapor until the bubble was clear once again. He stared at it, reading the transparent space in a way only he could, his gaze a million miles away. I did my best not to fidget as we waited for him to do whatever it was that he was doing. Unlike the boat scene in the movies, waiting for Mel during this part of the process was always far from excitement. It usually only lasted minutes, but there were a few times when he had Gregory and I sit for well over an hour.

  Focus on the upcoming lunch. And the Greek yogurt parfait, with drizzles of honey over crunchy granola and summer berries…

  Alright, that’s enough. Do you want your stomach to rumble so loud that everyone hears?

  As time passed, a crease began to form between Mel’s brows. Then he said, “I might have to take my word back. The Ring might be real, after all. The judge had based his decision on evidence pointing at Boyce losing his cool while exiting the scene of the robbery. Once the first person was shot, he seemed to have killed the others for the sport of it.”

  “Wait,” I puzzled, “so first the Ring looks real, but it’s not, and now it looks real again?”

  “A mystery,” Mel admitted.

  Was it my imagination, or was there a trace of unease in Mel’s voice? A slight tremor passed through me. Being an oracle, and an expert reader of the Cosmic Balance itself, Mel wasn’t the type that got fazed easily. The fact that he was concerned was making me concerned.

  “Candy, can you access the testimony from the law officer?” Mel asked.

  Candy nodded—not that Mel could tear his eyes away from the bubble to see it—and made a few taps on her laptop. “Already got it.”

  Her young voice sounded even more high-pitched than the last time she’d spoken. She, too, must’ve picked up on Mel’s anxious vibe.

  Mel lifted his fingers toward Candy’s direction, and vapor, moss green this time, oozed out of Candy’s laptop and entered the bubble.

  Mel did his waving thing, and once again the bubble became clear after a while.

  “Well, there you have it.” Mel leaned back onto his chair. “A Ring of Vengeance. But not.”

  “How could it be possible?” Gregory shook his head. “Like Megan said, the Ring should either be there, or not.”

  Mel said thoughtfully, “The lead investigator believes that he got the right man. The judge believes that he was convicting a guilty person. Yet they weren’t.”

  Gregory drew in a sharp breath. “They were enchanted.”

  �
�See, I told you he’s been framed!” Vera pumped her fist in the air victoriously.

  “But I thought vengeance cops and judges are incorruptible and charm-proof.” At least that was what I had been told all my life. First the Book of Life and Death, now this?

  “You’ve been told a very convenient lie, Megan. They’re charm-protected, not charm-proofed,” Gregory said. “I’ve enchanted a cop or two to look the other way in my day. How do you think I managed to avoid trouble with the authorities all this time?”

  Gregory and I looked at each other, letting the realization that we really did send someone innocent back to Hell sink in. It was a sobering moment, with every fiber in my being hating it.

  But we couldn’t stay in limbo forever. Boyce was still there. We had to help get him out. Vera was right. Now that we knew we couldn’t help but want to help. Our conscience demanded it, in fact.

  “But if we suspect that both the investigator and the judge have been enchanted”—I cleared my throat—“that’s even more serious than if they’d been bribed. We need to see the hard evidence."

  “It’s gone,” Candy said.

  “Gone?” Gregory asked sharply.

  “The robbery was captured on closed circuit camera and was submitted as evidence in court. It’s now missing,” Candy explained.

  “Well, that sucks.” I punched the edge of the boat in frustration, causing it to sway left and right.

  Whoever was framing Boyce for the multiple murders must be powerful and connected. It was the only way to explain their ability to remove crucial evidence straight out of a courtroom, on top of beguiling the officials involved.

  “The only evidence that wasn’t stolen,” I reasoned, “would be the ones that weren't submitted to the court at all.”

  “His alibi at the music festival,” Gregory said, coming to the same conclusion I did.

  “Well, we got the trophy final tonight,” I said excitedly.

  “That’s tougher to get into than you think,” Vera warned. “At this point in the competition, the festival judges are very well-guarded—you would not believe the stupid stunts people pull in order to sway the judges. And Boyce’s fellow participants aren’t exactly a friendly bunch.”