She frowned. “You make a fair point.”
“So, I think it’s in our best interests to try and make sure they don’t know who stole the stone,” I said. “Any time of day, there’s always gonna be Sons walking around, so we go when they’re asleep. There will be security, sure, but we should be able to avoid or take out a few guards. And so long as you can take care of the magical defenses—”
“I can.”
“Good. In that case, we just have to worry about technological ones.”
“What sort of technological defenses are you talking about?”
“The Sons don’t protect their temples with only magic—they use a mix of magic and modern security technology. Surveillance cameras, motion sensors, biometric scanners, that sort of thing.”
“The cameras and motion sensors won’t be a problem for my powers; I can scramble those,” said Lilith.
“What about biometrics?”
“That’s another story. I’m not a shapeshifter.” Lilith sighed. “I don’t suppose you—”
“No chance,” I said. “I left years ago, and it wasn’t on the best of terms. Even if they didn’t scrub my access from the system, I was never granted access to the really secretive stuff.”
“We take one of the guards, cut off a hand and pull out an eye—that should be sufficient, right?”
“A regular guard won’t have access, either. We need one of the masters.”
“Masters?”
“Each temple is run by four masters. Men—and it’s always men—who have risen through the ranks. They have full access to everything in a temple, including the most heavily guarded secrets. There’s a man named Thomas at this temple; he’s a master. Tends to be a night owl, usually up late researching. And he likes his privacy while he does it, so the guards know to leave him well enough alone.”
“Then that’s perfect,” said Lilith. “We grab this Thomas and take the hand and eye from him.”
“No,” I said in a firm voice. “This has to be a bloodless operation.”
Lilith scoffed. “I thought you said you didn’t care about the Sons anymore.”
“I don’t, but I’m also being smart. We want to get through this undetected. When we find Thomas, I can use my powers to charm him into subservience.”
“Are you sure they’ll work? If he’s a master, he’s probably had significant experience in warding off that kind of magic.”
“I can do it, trust me.”
In truth, I wasn’t sure if I could. Lilith was right that a master of Thomas’ training and skill would have been able to resist my influence—at least, if I was the old Luther. Since the demon had come out and my powers had grown, I wasn’t sure how much I was capable of now. The hellfire was new, so it stood to reason my other powers were also stronger.
There was a voice inside me saying this was a mistake, that I shouldn’t go after the Sons like this. The dream from last night kept flashing in my head. I ignored it and instead focused on the job at hand. It wasn’t pretty, but this was something that had to be done.
“Do you know where in the temple the stones would be?” asked Lilith, moving on from the subject.
“The temple’s pretty large and spread-out. The top two floors are living space for the Sons. The main floor is where the library, chapel, classrooms, and training areas are located. The basement is the archives. Only entrance there is through the library.”
“And you said Thomas is usually in the library at night?” she asked.
I nodded. “Usually.”
“How do we get in?”
I pointed to a photograph of the outside of the temple. “Front entrance will have the most security and cameras. Wouldn’t be smart to go through that way. But there’s a rear entrance for deliveries. Security’s a bit more lax there, so it’s probably the smart bet. It’s fenced in and there will be a guard, but nothing the two of us can’t handle. Once we’re inside, we have to stick to the shadows as we move through the corridors. The place can be something of a maze, so you’ll have to follow my lead the whole time.”
I paused.
“What is it?” she asked.
I took a drag on the cigarette before continuing. “I just realized something. If you’re a guard and the entire security system goes down, that would be pretty suspicious. But if you see cameras flickering off every now and then, wouldn’t that also make you suspicious? What happens when you use magic to scramble a camera or sensor?”
“The image goes fuzzy.”
“That’s what I thought. If the guard on monitor duty is competent and actually watching the screens, he might find that suspicious,” I said. “The rear entrance leads to a storage area. The Sons all wear robes and we should be able to find some there. We put those on and walk around like we own the place in the common areas, only use scrambling in the restricted ones. That will reduce the attention drawn.”
“You just tell me which ones to scramble and I’ll do the rest,” said Lilith.
“Good attitude.” I tapped the cigarette in the ashtray. “The library is dead-center in the middle of the temple. We go in there, we should find Thomas. You focus on the cameras; I’ll take care of him.”
“And you’re sure the stone will be in the basement?” asked Lilith.
I nodded. “All the powerful artifacts in a given temple are stored in the archives. It’s located in the basement, behind biometric security and magical barriers. We get Thomas to handle the biometrics, you handle the magic. But we have to be prepared. I’ve never been in the archives myself and there’s no telling what sort of threats will be waiting for us down there.”
“Luther, I’ve fought angels and demons alike. I think I can handle whatever magic a bunch of monks can throw.”
“Don’t get cocky. Remember, it was the founder of this order that stopped Abraxas and managed to enslave a number of demons.”
“Solomon was a rare case,” said Lilith. “Once we have the stone, then what?”
“Then we have to haul ass without drawing attention,” I said. “Go back to the library and leave Thomas there, then back out through the delivery entrance. So long as you do your part, we shouldn’t have to worry about any alarms.”
Lilith nodded. “Okay, good. Sounds like a plan.”
“The temple’s located in Rock Island—that’s about a three-hour drive from here,” I said. “If we leave at ten, that should put us there at the perfect time.”
“Fine, I’ll pick you up outside your building,” she said.
“You’ll pick me up?” I asked. “Uh-uh, sister. I’m driving.”
“You drive a ’69 Camaro with a loud-ass engine and plates registered to you,” said Lilith. “We’re trying to stay inconspicuous. I’ve got a nondescript car with fake plates; it’s perfect for this job.”
I sighed. “Fine. And after the job? What’s the plan then?”
“Then the fireworks start,” said Lilith. “We summon a member of the Infernal Court and demand an audience.”
“If he says no?”
“We kill him and summon another,” said Lilith. “Eventually someone will be willing to listen to what I have to say. But as soon as they see the Abraxas Stone in my hand, I doubt anyone we summon will be in a place to tell me to fuck off.”
I nodded. This was a big risk we were taking here. Stealing a powerful artifact from the Sons of Solomon, summoning an archdemon of the Infernal Court…this was playing with fire.
And I had to admit, I was really starting to enjoy myself. Felt like this job was going to be a lot of fun.
18
At ten o’clock, I stepped outside my building’s front entrance and waited at the curb. I felt the weight of the gun in the holster under my leather jacket and had the knife sheathed at my belt. In my hand, I also held a bag with other supplies that might come in handy. Lilith said she could handle the defensive spells used by the Sons, but I wanted to come prepared just in case things went sideways.
A horn honked, and I looked in i
ts direction to see a gray minivan slow down and pull over to the side of the road. It stopped right in front of me and I saw Lilith in the driver’s seat, dressed in black.
“Need a lift, handsome?” she asked.
“I was taught as a kid not to get into strange vans,” I said.
“You sure? I’ve got free candy and ice cream.”
I chuckled. “Ah, well, why didn’t you say so before?” I climbed into the passenger seat and set the bag down at my feet.
“What’s in there?” asked Lilith.
“Contingencies in case your magic doesn’t work or we run into something unexpected.”
Lilith said nothing as she pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic on Lake Shore Drive. A smartphone sat in a dock on the dashboard, a cord connecting it to the car’s stereo. Lilith turned on the stereo and touched her phone’s screen. Taylor Swift started pumping through the speakers and I gave her an annoyed glare.
“What?” Lilith shrugged.
“Taylor Swift? Really?”
“Don’t judge me. I’m actually thinking, when I become a Hell Lord, one of my first acts will be finding a way to get her to sell her soul. Guarantee a place for her in my realm once she dies.”
When we came to the highway, Lilith got on the ramp for I-55 South and sped up. The minivan was slow to get up to speed and it made me miss my Camaro. But Lilith was right, it was so sexy that it drew too much attention, and we had to be careful for now.
I looked at my watch. Just a little after ten now. We were right on schedule to arrive there around one. If I remembered correctly, Thomas usually didn’t turn in until about three. More than enough time to force him to give us access to the archives.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and checked to see a text from Celeste asking where I was. I ignored it and placed it back in my pocket.
“Is that the girlfriend?” asked Lilith.
“Don’t know what you mean.”
Lilith smiled. “I know all about you and Celeste King, Luther. Lydia told me everything there is to know once I hired her. I don’t get in bed with someone unless I know who they are first.”
“And what did Lydia tell you?”
“That you haven’t spoken to Celeste in months. Funny how that was right around the time that Asmodeus disappeared.”
“Okay, you got me,” I said. “Asmodeus and I are secret lovers. He went into hiding because we’re planning to run away together, but I had some business to take care of first. So I’m ignoring Celeste in preparation of leaving town soon.”
“Aww, that’s so romantic. Where are you headed?”
“Thinking we might open up a quaint little hostel in Fiji,” I said. “Something on the water where we can also have boat tours.”
Lilith laughed, and I did, too.
“I don’t think you’d be very good at dealing with tourists,” she said.
“Nah, probably not. I might just shoot ’em.”
“But only after Asmodeus got them to sell their souls,” said Lilith. “Could be a nice little scam you two could run.”
“Nah, we’d just end up killing each other.”
The joke ended with that comment. We grew quiet, just listening to Taylor telling us to shake it off. Once the song ended, Lilith filled the space between with more conversation.
“So, what’s the real reason things went south between you two?”
“We’re both on different paths, that’s all. I’m not the same guy who saved her from that vampire hunter a few years back.”
“Anything to do with Purgatory?”
“Think we’ve chatted enough for one night. I’m gonna take a nap—wake me up when we get there.”
My wrists were covered in large manacles, chained together. I wasn’t wearing my street clothes, but instead a black and white striped prison jumpsuit. I looked around, but the entire room was an endless void of darkness.
The sound of hammering drew my attention. A tall judge’s bench stood in front of me. And when I say tall, I mean tall. It towered so high over me, I had to squint to make out the judge’s face. It was made even harder by the powdered wig he wore.
“Luther Cross.” As soon as he spoke, I recognized the voice as Alistair Carraway’s. “You’ve been charged with launching the apocalypse. How do you plead?”
“I didn’t start anything!” I said.
“Objection, your honor.”
The new voice came from beside me. I looked over and saw a man in a black suit with a red tie standing there, hands in his pockets. He turned to look at me and smiled, his red eyes glowing.
So, I was on trial, and the prosecutor was none other than me. Made me think I should tone down on the booze before bed.
“The defendant is clearly responsible for these actions. It all began when he took over our body,” said the lawyer. “I move for immediate sentencing.”
“Hold on, what about the trial?” I asked. “Don’t I have a right to defend myself?”
“You don’t have any rights here, cambion,” said the judge. “The sentence is death.”
I woke with a start and rubbed my eyes. Now I was back in the car, Taylor Swift still blaring through the speakers. My abrupt awakening drew Lilith’s attention and I felt her staring at me as I rubbed my eyes.
“Bad dream?” she asked.
“Something like that.”
First the dream about Cain and the apocalypse, now this. Maybe it wasn’t just a coincidence. I started to feel like my other half was trying to reassert control. I didn’t want that to happen. I had to keep him at bay. He’d been on the outside for far too long. And now that I’d finally woken up, I had no intention of going back to sleep again.
“How long was I out for?” I asked.
“Over two hours,” she said.
“Really? Felt like ten minutes.”
I looked out the window and saw an interstate sign. We were now on I-80, heading west. Wouldn’t be much longer before we reached Rock Island and the temple.
“You have bad dreams a lot?” asked Lilith.
“Not sure—don’t really remember most of my dreams.”
“How about this one?”
I pretended to try and think and then lied. “Nah, not sure. Just kind of a blurry after-image, can’t really put it into words.”
“Suit yourself.”
I decided to change the subject. “So, what’s it like down there?”
“What, Hell?”
I nodded.
Lilith scoffed. “Hell is…well, it’s Hell.”
“Be a bit more specific?”
“It’s actually not what you might think,” she said. “Sure, some realms look like they came right out of Clive Barker’s nightmares. You should see what Beelzebub’s realm looks like. But Lucifer’s whole thing is angels were forced into a life of servitude. He wanted free will. So, each of the Hell Lords can design their realm however they like.”
“They have control over it?” I asked. “Can just will it into being one way or another?”
“Takes practice, but basically, yeah.”
“Which realm were you in?”
“Asmodeus’. He was the one who fought to keep me out of Heaven’s hands. They agreed, but only if I were trapped,” she said. “So Asmodeus locked me away into my own little solitary corner of his realm. He did make it as comfortable as possible, but…”
Her voice trailed off. I looked over at her and could’ve sworn I saw her eyes beginning to water. She blinked, and it was gone.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Perfect.”
Looks like we had something in common—we were both lying to each other.
“You know, once I found out I was a cambion, I wanted to learn everything there was to know about them. Get a sense of where I came from. Other than a photograph, I had nothing of my own mother’s. I knew her name and what she looked like, and Alistair had a few stories, but that was it. She was a runaway, so not even sure if Grace Cross was even h
er real name.”
“What’s your point?”
“Point is, I developed an interest in you because of that. If I couldn’t learn anything about my mother, maybe I could learn more about who I was supposed to be. So, I read the legends of you birthing the first cambion,” I said. “Odd thing, though. In all the legends I’ve read, not once did they ever mention the name of the demon who seduced you. But I think I’ve figured it out now.”
Lilith didn’t say anything in response.
“It was Asmodeus, wasn’t it?”
She took a breath and accelerated the car. I saw her hands tightening around the steering wheel. Her eyes took on an intense focus and started glowing yellow. I made sure my seatbelt was fastened and then kept talking.
“Take it easy. We don’t wanna get pulled over and have this job end before it starts, do we?”
Lilith’s eyes returned to normal and she slowed down until we were back at the speed limit. “You’re right.”
“Struck a nerve?” I asked.
“It was Asmodeus. And it wasn’t just a fuck-you to the angels or some kind of kinky fetish. I honestly and truly loved him. To Adam, I was just meant to be a baby-making machine and something to get him off. He never cared about who I was or what I wanted. But Asmodeus? That was different.”
“How so?”
“He understood me. He listened to me. He wanted to know who I was. When I died and went to Hell, he welcomed me into his arms. I was his queen for a time.” Her voice quieted again, and she hesitated. “It’s why his betrayal hurt so much when he agreed to imprison me.”
“You do realize he probably saved your life by doing that,” I said.
She nodded. “I know. And I know he had no other choice. But emotion and logic aren’t the same thing, are they?”
I nodded with understanding. Never would’ve thought of him as someone who cared about anyone, but from the way Lilith talked about him, seemed I was wrong. Also never expected to see a demon with a reputation like the one Lilith had get choked up and emotional. Part of me really believed that she loved him.
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