by Ryan Attard
“There is a backdoor,” she said, wrapping my left hand around her back.
As we walked (or hobbled in my case) out of backroom, I heard Berphomet clomping behind us. As we passed under a support beam I swung Djinn with enough magic to shatter the beam and collapse a part of the scaffolding under him.
Ishtar kicked the door open and the sun greeted us. Behind us, a massive crash echoed, and made the ground beneath out feet shake.
“My studio,” Ishtar griped. “And just as we were about to update our insurance policy.”
I was in too much pain to respond with anything.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “Who was that?”
“An assassin,” I replied through gritted teeth. “Clearly sent by Greede to tie up loose ends who talk. Like you.”
“Shit.” Ishtar slapped her forehead. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“Hey, lady,” I said, “shit is an underestimation when dealing with guys like Greede. Now help me.”
“What do you need?”
I grimaced but there was no time to be pretty, proper, or anywhere near hygienic.
I tore enough of my shirt to reveal the bullet wound. “I need you to use some of that succubus strength and pull the bullet out.”
Ishtar turned green. “Pull it out? Me? No, no, Mr. Ashendale, you need a hospital and a nurse, and someone who can deal with that kind of stuff…”
“Just fucking do it,” I yelled, handing her my penknife. “Pull it out so I can defeat the demonic assassin that’s after us.”
Ishtar took the knife with shaking hands. Only the sound of a goat’s bleet and a series of crashing sounds jarred her back to life.
The edge of the blade hovered on my wound.
“Just keep your eyes on the knife,” I instructed. “A nice, deep insertion. When you feel the bullet, just wedge it out.”
She inserted the knife. I had to stop myself from screaming.
“Come on,” I said.
“I’m trying, I’m trying… hang on, wait, I think I have it.”
Agony shot through me. “Yep, you got it. Now wedge it out before I pass out.”
More crashing sounds. A window shattered somewhere above us. Glass rained down. Ishtar yelped but stayed on task.
Berphomet leapt out, guns at the ready.
Ishtar flicked the bullet out of my body and magic surged around the wound. Tendrils of black wrapped around my body. Djinn’s blade elongated into a spear that crashed into Berphomet, forcing him to careen away and landing a few meters away from his target.
I stood up.
“Stand behind me,” I told Ishtar. “I’ll create an opening, and when I do, I need you to run. Go to my office, Abi and Amaymon will keep you safe.”
I didn’t wait for her to say anything.
Berphomet fired off the first shot. Energy blasted out of my sword, catching the bullet. A split second later, Ishtar threw herself behind a dumpster for cover.
I threw more energy beams at the goat assassin. He dodged and hopped around. That was good. So long as I kept him from pulling off a properly aimed shot, I had a chance of winning.
This time channeling fire, I let the spell go wide in a conical shape, completely obscuring his vision. Berphomet leapt high — impossibly high — each of his revolvers on both me and Ishtar.
But I was ready.
I thrust my finger inside the ring cross-guard of my short sword, activating the spell. Djinn glowed blue in response. I threw my weapon, magic making it spin like a buzzsaw. A thread of blue linked my right hand to the centre of the sword, sending my commands to the weapon.
Djinn sliced into Berphomet’s hip and his shots went wild. I pulled on the string, making the sword come round for a second attack. He landed and dashed towards me. Djinn flew behind him, scything at one of his legs. He lifted it just in the nick of time and Djinn came back to my hand.
At close distance, this was now a battle of brawn.
I threw a punch. He thrust his head forwards, catching my fist with his horns. The bones in my hand cracked and shattered. His kick came high and I dodged, thrusting with Djinn as I did.
Too late I saw one of his guns aimed straight at my trachea — no way I was going to survive a lethal shot, not with those magic bullets of his.
Any second now…
The stout creature, only three feet tall but just about as wide, materialized between the demon and I just as Berphomet pulled the trigger. It caught the bullet with its face, and its visage crumbled like shattered clay.
Still, it swung a massive fist at the demon, sending him flying, while at the same time, it pushed me away. The blow stunned me, forcing me on my knees.
The creature looked at me just as its face was repaired.
Goddammit, it was ugly. Think car accident, shark attack, and an unfortunate case of leprosy, all in one. This thing made the Elephant Man look like a supermodel.
It looked at me, then beyond my shoulder. From somewhere to my left, I was aware of a few dozen trucks coming to a halt and Ishtar squeaking as she held her hands up.
All I really saw was the man casually striding in his rose gold vest and pants, fingers decorated with gold and platinum, his perfect hair on his perfect face.
Jared grinned.
“Gigas Gnome,” he ordered. “Disable the assassin.”
The creature turned. A massive two headed hammer erupted from its body and landed in its hands. The creature threw itself at Berphomet, who kicked it with all his might.
The Gigas Gnome shattered, only to reform a split second later. It swung the hammer into the demon’s ribs, crumpling him to the ground. Then it swung again over his head. Berphomet fell on the ground, one of his horns broken off.
Jared turned his attention back to me. “Now then, I suppose-”
The bullet grazed his hairline, drawing a faint of red. Jared’s hand flew to his head and his eyes widened with rage as he held blood and a few strands of hair in his hand.
“How dare you?” he screamed.
I felt his magic spike. For all his bullshit, I had assumed Jared simply bought his way into the Grigori. How naive of me! These guys were the best of the best, and if Jared held the third rank, that meant he’d earned it.
The Gigas Gnome disappeared. I expected the usual pop of summoning energy being used, but the creature was simply sucked back into the earth.
“Silphus!” he screamed, waving his hands up.
I didn’t know what to expect and, when I saw nothing happen, I assumed Jared had let his emotions get the better of him.
“Watch out,” I began when I saw Berphomet climb to the knees and aim his guns.
A gust of wind slapped me in the face and I was thrown off.
“What the fuck?” I began.
Standing beside Jared, holding two bullets in mid air, was a translucent bird-like humanoid. It stood upright on a pair of talons, its massive chest puffed out like a pigeon. Its hands were also talons, and its wings billowed out with a gust of wind. The creature turned to look at me with a fierce crow’s head promising murder.
The bullets clattered on the ground and a second later the creature was upon Berphomet. It snatched him and lifted him up in the air. The goat demon fired again and again — the bullets tore into the avian creature and passed right through.
Jared channelled his magic again. “Undine!”
The wind was gone, replaced by a sudden lack of breathing. I immediately understood that Jared had robbed the air around us of its moisture, focusing all on a single point above the now-free-falling Berphomet.
The water creature had enormous tentacles for a tail, as if someone took the concept of a mermaid and Cthulhu, and made a weird amalgam of both using only the most horrifying bits. The top half of the Undine was humanoid, except it looked like it was made out of weird blue slime.
The creature completely engulfed Berphomet, making him scream, as he slammed a thousand miles per hour into the hard concrete.
The Undine dissipated as
Jared looked down at Berphomet.
“Stay down, demon scum,” he said, “and I shall promise you a swift death.”
Berphomet rose shakily to his feet. His hands produced a single knife, one of those military Rambo ones.
“My task is not finished, human,” he said. Or at least that’s what I thought he said — his face had been shattered and half his teeth were missing.
“Then you shall burn,” Jared said. “Salamandra!”
A massive pillar of fire erupted, covering Berphomet from head to toe. He leapt away, fell and rolled, screaming all the way through. The acrid smell of burning hair and flesh filled the air.
From the fire, the largest salamander I’d ever seen waded out. It was flaming red with orange and yellow stripes, with a round head and a darting tongue. Sabre-like teeth poked from its lips.
“Burn, demon,” Jared snarled.
Upon his command, Salamandra launched itself on its target, burning like fire incarnate.
Chapter 15
Berphomet was not quick enough. The giant salamander descended upon him and he screamed. If the smell was bad before, the stench of burning flesh and fur dug deep into my nostrils — I wasn’t sure I would ever get it out of my system.
I never heard a demon scream like that. Sure, Berphomet was an assassin for hire, but this was too much. I’m not feeling sorry for someone who would have killed me for a cash prize, but Jared’s smile was unsettling.
He stood still, casually grinning, with one hand in his pocket. A man who knew he had control over everything, who could inflict pain on another living creature just for shits and giggles.
I guess I’m trying to justify my actions — my stupid, stupid actions.
The blue streak blasted into Salamandra, toppling the giant amphibian off Berphomet. The demon let out a weak bleat and rolled away. Chunks of skin and flesh fell off his body.
Salamandra turned to me, hissing violently as flames surged.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Jared snarled in my direction.
I raised my weapon. “You won, Jared,” I said. “You beat him. Either kill him or arrest him. This is wrong.”
“Wrong?” he snapped. “Are you kidding me? That’s a demon, you idiot. A demon. Or have you colluded with so many of them that you can’t recognize your own kind anymore?”
Salamandra flicked its tongue and came closer.
Shit.
I poured more magic into Djinn, making the blade glow even more azure than it was already. This was a long time coming. Jared was itching to get me in trouble, to have an excuse to fight me and show me who was the real boss.
“Torture is torture,” I said. “I thought you Grigori were better than that.”
“We are,” he said. “We actually finish our jobs.” He flicked his eyes behind me. “Capture the succubus.”
SUV doors flung open. Soldiers converged around Ishtar who held her hands up. He knees were shaking.
“What are you gonna do with her?” I asked.
Jared grinned. “Whatever we have to.”
I didn’t even think. I released my pent up magic and flung it at Salamandra. The blast toppled it and sent the giant creature over to Jared who yelped and hopped away.
At the same time, I spun, unleashing a second blast directed at the nearest SUV. I didn’t want to harm the soldiers — they were just lackeys doing their jobs. But the cars were open season. Jared had enough money; let him shell out for some destroyed property.
I saw the blast travel towards my intended target. The air around it shimmered, warping ever so slightly. A faint spike of magic. The blast changed into anti-gravity magic that rebounded back at me. I was flung high into the air.
“Fuck!” I screamed.
The magic shifted, pure entropy randomizing the effects. I was flung down at high speeds. The world shifted and I was standing right back were I was before the spell took effect.
The effects of being thrown up and jarred back down, the impact of the fall, the sudden shift in air pressure — they all hit my body at the same time.
I dropped my sword, stunned to my knees.
“Enough, Jared.”
I saw Akasha descend from one of the SUVs. Her expression was ice cold and stolid, all business. She didn’t even look at me.
Jared glared at her and, for a split second, I though he was gonna attack her.
The giant rushed out in a blur, shaking the SUV as he passed by. Eight feet tall, with a body that could have fit three of me in it, the blank-faced golem stopped in front of Salamandra and casually slapped it.
The giant creature burst into flames and disappeared.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Jared said, wiping his shirt from soot.
The golem, whom I recognized as Evans, Akasha’s personal assistant, and the eight rank in the Grigori, blinked once and turned around like a robot, walking back behind Akasha.
“Akasha,” I gasped. Slowly, I felt my healing magic take effect and managed to get back up to my feet. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s just business, Erik,” she replied.
“The fuck it is,” I said, stepping protectively towards Ishtar. My gaze darted to Jared who was sulking as he kicked the dirt, then back to her. “You were following me?”
“You kept her from us,” she said, nodding at Ishtar. “Step aside, Erik. She’s to come with us.”
“After his little display, she isn’t going anywhere with you guys,” I said, glaring at Jared.
“A display of power which was meant to stop the assassin from killing our target,” he replied. “An assassin which, may I point out, you allowed to escape.”
“You were torturing him!” I snapped.
“Yes, I was.”
Nothing, not so much as an apology or a sign of empathy. I turned to Akasha, the woman I thought I knew, the one I shared my bed with for the past few months.
“Is this who you are now?” I snapped. “This is what we have?”
She returned my glare. “What do we have, Erik? Secrets, lies, information withheld?” She jabbed her finger into my chest. “You were hired by us to find the culprit who orchestrated the events at the auction. Which you did. Now step aside.”
“No.”
I tightened my grip on my sword. Hell, I knew I wasn’t gonna use it, not on her.
Wait. Was I?
Akasha never let me find out.
Magic surged from her finger, completely engulfing me. A cocoon of entropic magic formed around me. Space and time warped, and I reappeared back in existence a few meters away from where they were.
A few seconds seemed to have passed because Ishtar was screaming “I didn’t do it” to a few soldiers. She punched one of them, sending him flying, and was about to run away.
Evans wrapped one massive hand around her, pinning her arms to her sides with just one hand. Gently, he lifted her up and carried her to the SUV. After a few seconds, Ishtar stopped struggling and lay limp on his hands.
“Akasha,” I screamed. Everyone turned to look at me. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. We’re supposed to work together, goddammit!”
“Hah!” Jared sneered. “You think you’re at our same level?”
“Get in the car, Jared,” she snapped, before turning to me. “You want answers? Now?”
“Yes.”
She turned to her men. “Take her to the rendezvous,” she said. “I’ll catch up.”
“Suit yourself,” Jared said, getting in one of the SUVs.
Only Evans remained. He stowed Ishtar inside an SUV and gently tapped Akasha on the shoulder. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was trying to tell her something.
“I know,” I heard Akasha whisper. “Trust me.”
Evan nodded at her and climbed into the only remaining SUV. The engine remained dead — he was waiting for his ward.
Akasha approached me. “That barrier will only react if you try to escape with magic,” she said.
“I figured,
” I said. “And since this thing also reacts to space, I figure I have about ten minutes before it decays enough for me to safely walk out of it.”
She nodded. “Make it five. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Will you stop being sarcastic for a second?” she snapped. “Do you think I don’t know the succubus is a pawn in Alan Greede’s game?”
“You do? Then what the hell is this charade all about?” I asked. “You’re the one in charge, not that overgrown schoolboy.”
“I’m not,” she admitted. For a split second, she was not the confident powerhouse I knew her to be. “The leader of the Grigori is as much a mystery to us as it is to you. But we made contact and we have our orders. And when the First tells us to do something, we listen. Maybe they see something that we don’t.”
“You’re just gonna take his word for it?” I asked. “Where’s the Akasha I know? Where is the fighter?”
“She was overruled,” she replied, defeated. Then she sighed, her eyes on the ground. “I’m sorry, Erik. I wish our circumstances could be different, but we both knew this day would come.”
Oh good, a break up.
There were about a thousand things I wanted to yell at her face. Most of them four-letter words that would get me in trouble with the social justice crowd.
But this was not the time or place. We were gonna have a proper conversation soon but right now, there was a semi-innocent succubus about to go down for being a victim.
“Akasha,” I said, after taking a deep breath. “You know me by now. You know I’m not gonna stop. You can hold me back, delay me, but there is no way I am letting this go.”
She nodded and smiled for the first time that evening. “Damn you, Erik Ashendale,” she said in her ‘I-find-you-adorable’ voice.
She sighed again.
“Our war is with Alan Greede,” she said. “But there is another side to him that the Grigori have officially stayed out of.”
“The Seven Deadly Sins,” I said. “The Sin of Greed.”
“We will not stop you pursuing that side of Greede, provided you have the proper permission.”
