Everyone quietly absorbed what Matt had said. No one contested it, and no one became defensive. After about a minute of the uncomfortable silence, Matt bowed his head and walked toward the door.
“Wait, Matt,” Abbie rasped, obviously moments from tears. “You’re right: We’re losing our faith. Sometimes, we don’t fully understand people’s reasons for doing what they do, and consequently, we question their judgment. Just because we don’t understand his motivation, doesn’t mean Alex is losing control or is even much different than he was before. Many things have happened to him in the last several weeks, and stress has a way of temporarily altering anyone. We’ll await the call and go to his aid, but we should practice having faith until then.”
To this, everyone nodded. They stood, looking off into the distance, as if a sign were out there. In truth, it looked like a storm was rolling in.
***
After four hours of searching, Garrett was sure the demon was close. He had explored its exit the night before and had, with remarkable accuracy, projected the course to where they had picked the trail up about three hours ago. A rigorous hike across farms, open fields, and forests had led them to a gravel road. And, in the distance, Alex could see a small, white house against the backdrop of a darkening sky. The weather guy on the news had called for snow, but not until the evening hours. The clouds looked like they were getting ready.
“It’s inside the house,” Chiron growled.
Alex could feel it too. He knew instantly that Garrett had been right about at least two things: The demon was incredibly powerful, and it wasn’t Metatron or Lucifer. He knew very well what they felt like.
“Maintain focus,” Garrett ordered. “We need your illusion to hide us until we’re ready to strike. Alex, I guess this would be the time to call the hotline,” Garrett said and turned around to look at the prophet only to find him gone.
Gregor and Chiron were also staring at where the prophet once stood. Garrett turned to the house, pulled his mace from underneath his coat, and yelled, “Get to the house by the fastest means you have, but don’t enter until I do.”
Suddenly, the hunters were aware of the presence of five demons, closing in on them.
“Ambushed,” Garrett observed with mild amusement. “They were waiting for him to leave, so we would be easier targets. Well, I don’t know how the fiends spotted us or how they eluded our perception, but we must respond quickly. Show no mercy, and nothing fancy. Alex needs our help, even if he might not think so.”
***
He couldn’t help it. The demon hunters had gotten him close enough to do what he needed to do. There was only one course of action that made sense. Alex couldn’t risk any more lives on this demon. With so many fights ahead, this was just another annoyance: one he could tend to himself.
The door was ajar when Alex stepped in front of it. There was a dead child laying in the entryway. Alex stepped over the corpse and walked into what looked to be a living room. The child’s parents, or at least their bodies, were there.
The cause of these atrocities stood not more than twenty feet from Alex and peered down at him with malicious curiosity. Asmodeus was forced to hunch over in these relatively cramped quarters, and his weight had left indentations and cracks in the hardwood.
“What is this?” Asmodeus purred. “A reward?”
“Not quite,” a disembodied voice replied.
“Lucifer,” Alex hissed. “I should have known you were behind this.”
“I’m surprised you can’t sense me yet, even when I’m hiding,” the voice said. “I could never sneak up on Jesus. He saw me coming from miles away.”
“Enough of your games. You know the rules. You can’t come near me.”
A soft chuckle emanated through the room. “You came to me. Anyway, I wanted you to have this opportunity. As such, I’ve made other arrangements for your demon hunter friends. You have something very important to do, and it will require your concentration. Kill him.”
“With pleasure,” Asmodeus agreed.
“I wasn’t talking to you, fool.” Lucifer’s voice froze Asmodeus where he stood. “Alex, kill him. In less than one day, he has murdered fifteen mortals, five prophets, and an Elder Prophet. End his rampage.
“His soul is connected to the body, but only barely. He’s not used to it yet. Force him out. I’ll hold him for you.”
Alex eyed Asmodeus carefully, but spoke to the voice: “You have something to gain. I’m not sure I want to kill him anymore.”
“Master!” Asmodeus roared. “Why are you doing this?”
“I can do it myself,” Lucifer replied, ignoring Asmodeus’s pleas. “But you deserve this, and he deserves death for being so sloppy. Reach out with your mind, and force his soul back to Hell. It will be good practice in case you should want to do it later to another demon.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed, and he focused his will on Asmodeus. Ripping his way into the demon’s mind, he destroyed any semblance of a sentient force that tried to stop him. He could feel Asmodeus’s agony and helplessness as he destroyed the fiend piece by piece. Then, there was no more fighting. Alex felt nothing.
“Good,” the voice congratulated, chuckling. “He had it coming.”
The body of Asmodeus, which had slumped slightly after the attack, stood straight up again—or as straight as it could stand, given its height. Its arms reached outward in a stretch, and its head twisted back and forth, as if working out kinks.
“And I needed a body,” the reanimated Asmodeus continued.
Alex had a sudden, horrifying realization. “You used me.”
“Oh, don’t be down on yourself,” Lucifer suggested from his new body. “I told you I could have done it myself. You also couldn’t have stopped it from happening, so don’t feel guilty about that either. And, in the end, it makes little difference what body I inhabit, as long as I have one to converse with you in. You did very well.”
“Approval from the Devil is not what most people would hope for,” Alex said, feeling a little nauseous. He turned to leave the house.
The door slammed shut before him. “Wait,” Lucifer commanded. “You haven’t even heard my plan yet. I think you’ll like it.”
“If you think I’ll like anything that comes from your mouth, you don’t know me very well.” Looking at the door, he added, “The same is true if you think you can keep me in this house.”
“You really want to have to stop two of us?” Lucifer asked. “I could make this war much more difficult. Or I could eliminate the opposition.”
“And what do you have to gain from that? The more of us Metatron can kill, the fewer you will have to deal with. No matter who wins, your enemy will be much weaker than before.”
“Well, first of all, I don’t think you and I need to be enemies,” Lucifer said as he strolled around the room like he occupied the body of a cultured gentleman, rather than that of a monster that had to hunch over to fit in this house. “Secondly, I’m not sure Metatron would be weaker. Every demon, prophet, and mortal he kills makes him stronger. Further, whether or not he could kill you, demons all over the world would say he was the one who defeated Alexander Tanner, that Metatron openly defied the will of God and won. That I cannot allow. Besides, if he loses, which I think is the more likely possibility, he will take too much of what is rightfully mine with him.”
“Why do you care if he openly defies God?”
Lucifer laughed. “Only I get to do that. If the other Fallen saw someone else stand up to God and walk away from it, then my feat would not seem as grandiose. They would equate me with Metatron.”
“And even those that were still loyal to you might think twice about whose side they chose. But if you killed him yourself, they would fear you enough not to question.”
The Archfiend clapped his giant hands. “Precisely.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter,” Alex parried. “I’ve heard that another prophet will defeat Metatron for the final time.”
“A
h, yes,” Lucifer agreed thoughtfully. “So you follow prophecy as well. John Brown is his name. But John won’t be able to take control of the demonic forces who will be with Metatron as he walks into Kingstone.”
“But you can, right?” Alex asked. “That’s the point, isn’t it? When competition for leadership over the demons is eliminated, you plan to sweep through the prophets with ease, having inherited a horde of followers. You’ll just pick up where Metatron left off.”
“Not at all,” Lucifer corrected. “I’ve learned my lesson. You see, when I tried what Metatron is getting ready to attempt, the forces of Heaven intervened. An all-out attack really pisses them off. Paper may, inexplicably, beat rock, but no one ever beats a legion of angels. For that matter, thousands of demons could not hope to win against ten angels. I should have known better when I tried, but I was a little confused at the time.
“Metatron has been allowed to cross many lines, but if he walks into Kingstone, expecting to wipe out the majority of the world’s remaining prophets, God will step in. I’ve seen it happen. He may act like he lets humans do their own thing, but if you all can’t manage to pull it off yourselves, he won’t let all of you die. Though some of you could be sacrificial to his delusions of ‘free will,’ the death of as many prophets as are now in and around Kingstone would constitute a huge loss on his part. I can’t say what God’s plan is, but I don’t think it’s to lose.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Why are you still listening?” Lucifer countered. “When Metatron comes to Kingstone, call for me. I will come and personally stop him. No more prophets have to die. You can go back to your old life. You call, and I will clean everything up for you.”
“Why don’t you just do it now? If you’re concerned about demons dying, why don’t you dethrone him before he has a chance to defy the will of God?”
“Actually, Metatron is a very hard guy to track down. If I had some way of divining his location, I might. Alas, he killed the only way I know of for doing that.”
Alex knew of another, but he wasn’t about to tell Lucifer that, when he stole Metatron’s powers, he also gained an insight into the demon’s whereabouts and activities. Giving Satan another reason to be interested in him seemed unwise.
Alex shook his head. “As tempting as the offer sounds to use one of you against the other, I know I can’t trust you or anything you say.”
“Just think about it,” Lucifer recommended patiently. “And try not to be so hostile in the future. You have no idea what kind of help I could be to any cause you have—or hindrance. But I have to go now because my diversion has come to an end, and I don’t think we could have this discussion in the presence of demon hunters. Goodbye, Alex.”
Lucifer’s new form dematerialized, and the door behind Alex swung open, nearly knocking him down. The demon hunters, disheveled and bleeding from the recent fight, ran in the room with weapons ready.
“Where is the demon?” Garrett demanded.
“It’s dead,” Alex answered, looking to the place where Lucifer had been standing.
“Go outside, and patrol the perimeter for any other demons,” Garrett ordered.
Gregor and Chiron exited the building as they were told. Garrett walked around the room, casually examining the bodies and the floor.
“Almost fifty years ago,” Garrett began, still looking around the room, “I fought Lucifer in Kingstone, right outside your safe house, actually. It took six demon hunters, and the death of three, to drive the beast away. I don’t know if Gregor, as one of the six, can feel the residual effects of Lucifer in this room, but I can. I also happen to know that it was inside the safe house recently. But I presume you know these things already.”
Alex nodded.
“I don’t know what it has said to you,” Garrett continued, eyeing the boy carefully, “but I think I know why. When I met John, I said he had the most demon hunting potential of any prophet I had ever seen. Dylan, my apprentice, is a similar case: a demon hunter who closely resembles a prophet, so much so that I completely missed the hunter in him in our first encounter. Something very interesting is happening in the latest generation of prophets. It seems that some of you are more capable of dispatching the beasts than we are, almost as if there is a new breed of prophets whose abilities have been designed to stop demons. That, along with the weakening of the League, leads me to wonder if demon hunters are becoming obsolete.
“You, of course, are the most telling case. There seems to be no limit to your power. Even the most powerful demons run and hide when confronted with you, or die. When is the last time you’ve seen the angel step in to help you overcome a demon?”
“I’ve never seen it help me,” Alex admitted.
“Every foe you have vanquished has been of your own doing,” Garrett concluded. “And never once have you obtained any kind of serious physical injury?”
“Right.”
Garrett nodded. “There aren’t many prophets who can walk away from demonic encounters unscathed, but there are more than there have ever been. These new battle-hearty prophets may be Heaven’s answer to the dying population of demon hunters. And, once again, you are at the top of the list. If I can see this, I have no doubt Lucifer sees it.”
“I would never help Lucifer, I promise,” Alex replied quickly. “And I also promise to do everything in my power to help strengthen the League of Hunters. Many of you have died defending the rest of the human race from demons. I’m sure you are still a very large part of God’s plan. Demon hunters must continue to protect us, or hope is lost.”
Garrett looked at Alex meaningfully, then motioned to the door. “We should be going. Abbie will want to know everything worked out. You did what you said you would do. We’ll all be returning alive. Without you, that probably would not have happened.”
Alex nodded, but at the same time, he wondered if the whole situation had been his fault. Lucifer’s interest in Alex had drawn Asmodeus to this place. Even if Lucifer had not actually intended for Asmodeus to go on a killing spree, it was Alex’s very presence in Kingstone that brought both of the demons so close. He was also painfully aware of his responsibility for the death of Zeng Wei and all the other prophets who had died up to that point.
More than ever, he wished he still had his direct line to God.
***
The quest Sara assigned herself and John to led them deep into the heart of Kansas City. The trail had been pretty difficult to pick up initially. And, in order to not lose the trail, they had to move slowly. More than a week had left the trail very faint and quite a chore to accurately follow. Nevertheless, they were standing outside of an abandoned, rundown high school, halfway between her car and the entrance. The neighborhood they were in could have been classified as the projects, but it looked like the people living there kept it pretty well maintained and clean. The houses in the general area were small, and some of them would have benefited from a little remodeling, but none of them were condemned or showing signs of dangerous neglect.
“This is where the trail ends,” Sara observed, pointing to the door. The tingling in her head that she had begun to associate with the presence of demons did not go unnoticed.
“There are at least two demons in there,” John said, walking back to the car to retrieve his sword. “They have probably already sensed us,” he added as he returned to her, sword in hand. “We’ll have to move quickly in case the cop’s family is still alive.”
John stopped talking, cocked an eyebrow, and began looking around. It was then that Sara felt a different kind of feeling, the one she had anytime she came to the prophet compound. She was sure that was what had stopped John in mid-thought.
A group of four black teenagers were walking purposefully in their direction, three boys and a girl. The boys all looked to be high school age, the girl was probably twelve or thirteen by Sara’s guess.
“The boys each have a gun,” John said quietly. “The girl is a prophet.”
“Yo, I thought that was you,” the lead boy stated, nodding at John. “We seen you on the news. Brianna, my kid sister,” he motioned to the girl, “had a feeling. Couldn’t keep her in the house, so we all came out to introduce ourselves, so to speak. My name’s Micah. You’re looking for the white woman and the little girl, ain’t you?”
“Yes, Micah,” John confirmed without surprise, “we are. Do you know something that could help us?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Micah returned with a broad grin. “Brianna says the men who took your ladies into Eastgale, over there, were devils.”
John nodded grimly. “We knew that much.”
“Micah,” Brianna insisted, “tell them.”
Micah shrugged his shoulders. “She says she’s going to help.”
This did take John by surprise. “What? No, that really isn’t a good idea.”
“She’s real good at getting into places she ain’t wanted, Mister. See,” Micah added quietly, looking around to make sure no one else could hear him, “she can turn invisible.”
John smiled but shook his head. “If she walks in there, they’ll be able to track her by the sensation we all put off without having to actually see her.”
Micah took on a very solemn expression. “That’s why we’re here. Brianna ain’t walking in there without me. My boys and I can help you distract those things while Brianna finds your girls and gets them out.”
“The demons in there could kill any of us instantly,” John told him.
“I kind of figured that,” Micah agreed. “But you’re a badass.”
“All right,” John conceded hesitantly. “But no one does anything until I do.”
“John,” Sara admonished sharply, “you can’t think this is a good idea.”
He turned to her. “Perhaps not, but they know the risk. It’s going to be hard to get in and out of there without one of the hostages dying. These kids are offering to help, and I think it might be a good idea. They seem to be about as equipped as we are to deal with this situation.”
Legends (To Absolve the Fallen Book 3) Page 24
