"With him?" I motioned toward Joey.
"Yes. We don't need him. I don't get it."
"Abaddon is back on Earth," I said. "I want your old team to know about it. They'll do their due diligence on exactly how and where that happened. Best case, they'll align with us to help me destroy him."
"Worst case, they'll get to him ahead of us and use his harnessed power."
"Yup. Better them than Hearst. If the Solen family gets their mojo back with Abaddon's power behind them, it will be tough to dislodge them again."
"I assume it's also better than Gervais getting his way?"
"Definitely. Besides, we need a ride for the night. I can make him forget everything if we need him to."
"Right. I forgot about that." She smiled. "Hey, do you know if Rose likes flowers?"
"You're asking me this now? Her name is Rose; I assume so."
She punched me in the arm.
The four of us made our way down the street. As we approached Hearst's brownstone, I noticed a group of men sitting on the steps of the block of townhouses across the street. None of us were Divine, so we didn't show up on radar as out of the ordinary. Even so, the way they watched us was too intense to be typical.
"Keep an eye on the Goombas behind us," I said to Rose as we climbed the steps. She looked back at them, earning herself a whistle.
"You can't walk anywhere in this city," she said as I knocked on Hearst's door.
We waited a dozen seconds before we got an answer. A serious looking blood-sucker in a tuxedo blocked the space between door and frame, his eyes flicking over each of us.
"Ah, diuscrucis," he said. "Mr. Hearst has been expecting you."
"He has?" I said casually.
"Of course. Please, come in." He moved aside. I stepped over the threshold, and he repositioned himself to block the entrance. "Just you."
I could have made him let the others in. I still wanted the Nicht Creidem to know what was going down. It wasn't worth making a scene, especially with the guards across the street. I knew Elyse could handle them, but it just wasn't worth it.
"Sorry, I guess you should hang out here. Maybe make some friends."
Elyse rolled her eyes. "We'll be on the steps." She looked at the butler. "If those mongrels come over to bother us, they won't live long enough to have to hide from the sunrise."
"Understood," the vampire said, his eyes casting a tangible warning across to the group. "We don't want any misunderstandings at this delicate juncture." He closed the door, separating us, and then began walking ahead of me. "Follow me."
I trailed the butler through an elegantly appointed lounge so a mahogany staircase and up to the top floor. We bypassed a simple bedroom draped in heavy, sun-blocking drapes, and made our way into a rosewood and green office.
Randolph Hearst was sitting behind the desk.
"Landon," he said with a smile, his head tilting as he tried to remember the last time he had seen me. "How long has it been?"
"Do you remember the night you had to walk home?" I asked.
His smile faded. "I thought that might have been you. Come on in, have a seat." He waved at a chair in front of the desk.
I walked over to it and sat, keeping my posture casual. There was nothing about Hearst that frightened me. He was a two-bit vampire who happened to have a good head for schemes, not unlike Gervais. His physical attributes were less than intimidating.
"I'm sure you've heard by now that I've summoned the demon Abaddon back to this world?"
It had been all of twenty-four minutes. "Why would you assume that?" I asked.
"You don't tend to drop in for tea," he replied.
"I don't like the additives. To be honest, I'm surprised to find you here. I thought you would be wherever your new pet is being held."
"I would, but I needed to be here to deal with you."
"Which meaning of deal with are you going for?" I asked.
He laughed. "You're always so sure of yourself, aren't you?"
"I held the power of a God in my hands and let it go," I said. "It did wonders for my confidence."
"I mean bargaining with you."
"Tell me where Abaddon is, and I won't kill you," I said.
"Cute, Landon. You know I'm not going to do that. And you also have to know I wouldn't have let you this close if there was any chance you could hurt me right now."
I raised an eyebrow at that, taking a quick glance around the room. The edges of demonic runes were visible beneath the rug and behind the bookshelves. They wouldn't affect me.
"How are you planning on stopping me?" I asked.
"That's part of my deal."
"I'm not following, Hearst."
The smile returned to his face. "I have Abaddon, Landon. I can do one of two things with him. One, I can keep him locked up and work on siphoning his power. Yes, my associate and I are going to use it to solidify our position in the Divine hierarchy. But what's the harm in that? Two, I can set him free."
"Why would you set him free?" I asked.
"Because you weren't willing to listen to reason."
I hated dealing with demons, and Hearst and Gervais in the same day gave me a sudden headache. "I'm listening right now."
"The terms are simple. You let my associate and me do what we need to do, and you keep your business out of ours. In return, we keep Abaddon locked up. Or, you insist on making trouble, and I let him out."
"I can't let you upset the balance," I said. "You know that."
"I'm aware of that. Look, I don't want to mess up this world. I like it here. What I want is to take over some of the, shall we say, assets. That's why we summoned the demon. With his power, we can remove certain obstacles, including you."
I was silent for a minute while I considered it. I didn't need to kill Hearst just yet, and there was no real downside to letting Abaddon stay under house arrest while I figured out how to destroy him.
"Well? What do you say?"
"Those are all the terms? I let you kill some competition, and in return you don't let Abaddon roam the Earth?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Indefinitely."
"The balance," I said.
"You can cull when you need to, but you cull from the opposition."
"You're buying me?" I said.
"That was the idea."
"Who is your associate?"
"They prefer to remain anonymous at this time."
"You know this deal is only good as long as I don't have a way to destroy him," I said. "Once I can, I don't care if you set him free."
"You can't destroy him, Landon. At best you can send him back to Hell, and we can summon him again. You see, the summoning isn't something you can stop, no matter what Gervais says." He laughed, noticing the change in my expression. "Oh, you didn't think I knew he was trying to stick his claws in this game? I know a lot more than you think I do. So, tell me. Yes or no?"
I stood up. The motion caused Hearst to shrink back. He wasn't as confident in the outcome as he was trying to make me believe.
"Yes," I said. "You have a deal. If there's a way to kill him, I'll find it."
"There isn't," Hearst said, satisfied. "The Box is gone. The Blades are gone. You can't kill him. That's why he's so valuable." He stuck out his hand, using a sharp nail to open his skin and draw blood. "Shake on it?"
"You have a knife?" I asked.
He took my hand in his, cutting me with a nail. We clasped hands.
"I won't come after you or try to stop you, so long as you keep Abaddon imprisoned," I said. "At least until I find a way to destroy him."
"And I won't free Abaddon as long as you stay out of my way," Hearst said.
I felt the slight pull of the binding, weakened by the fact that I wasn't really Divine. I could renege if I wanted, but there was no motivation to right now. Besides, I had only promised that I wouldn't butt in. I hadn't said anything about Rose, Elyse, Alyx, or even Gervais.
"Good doing bu
siness with you, Landon," Hearst said. "Now get out of my house."
Five
"Well?" Elyse asked when I returned to the street. The vamps on the other side had vanished into the night, no longer concerned that we would give them any trouble.
"It could have been better. It could have been worse."
"Did you kill Hearst?"
"Not yet. I made a deal with him. I leave him to his business; he keeps Abaddon locked up."
Elyse made a sour face. "That's why he summoned Abaddon? To get you out of the game?"
"And to make a move on the other demons. Or so he says."
I looked over at Joey. He was listening intently, ready to bring the information back to the Nicht Creidem. The outcome of my conversation with Hearst changed my mind on that front.
"We'll walk from here," I said.
"Aren't you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked. "I understand that Hearst summoned a demon, and he's got him locked up somewhere. What else can you tell me?"
"Nothing. Go home."
I was in a foul mood. Why shouldn't I be? I didn't trust Hearst, despite our agreement. I especially didn't trust his unnamed associate, whoever they were. And I still had to deal with Gervais before the night was over.
"What? You said-"
"I recommend going home," Rose said, showing one of her knives.
"Fine. I'll be happy with what I've got." He made a dirt face at me and headed back to his cab.
"Is he going to remember any of this?" Rose asked.
"He'll remember driving over here and waiting. He won't remember with who, or why. Let's walk."
The three of us made the way back to my apartment on foot. I moved ahead of Rose and Elyse, giving them some space so they could talk a little more privately. Elyse asking me about flowers had proven that there was a mutual interest there though I hadn't realized they had a compatible view of sexuality. Whatever. Who was I to judge? I had bigger problems.
Hearst claimed there was no way to destroy a soul like Abaddon's, and unfortunately, I was inclined to agree. The Beast had only been destroyed after he had been captured in Avriel's Box, and only because I had managed to take his power. Even then, it had taken six blades of both demonic and heavenly power to get the job done. All of that was gone now. As far as I knew, Elyse's spatha was the most powerful artifact still on Earth, and she hadn't corrected me. I trusted her opinion on that. She had been her father's best collector, and she knew Divine trinkets like a Great Were knew how to tear out throats.
Even worse, I knew now that the whole thing with Matthias Zheng and the Fists of God was just the beginning of something bigger. When it rained, it poured, and I was about thirty seconds away from a nor'easter.
"If you two want to grab a bite, or whatever, I can handle Gervais on my own," I said once we had reached the steps of the apartment.
"And miss the fun?" Rose asked. "It's always such a pleasure dealing with that little French shit."
"I'm sensing a bit of sarcasm."
"Who? Me?" She laughed. "What do you say, El?"
Elyse reached into her pocket and tossed me her stone. "In case you need it, Landon. I could go for some Chinese."
"Thanks," I said, catching the artifact. "I'll see you two whenever."
I waved goodbye to them, watching for a few seconds as they headed down the street together. There was good Chinese everywhere in Manhattan and an especially good place two blocks from the apartment.
I climbed the steps to my apartment, opening the door and finding Gervais sitting on my sofa, watching television, as ordered. Alyx was standing in the corner, her eyes piercing into him, her body completely still. She was the best guard I could have hoped for.
"You're back," she said when I entered, her face beaming.
She came over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and squeezing. I felt my bad mood fading away in an instant.
"Hi, Allie," I said.
The television went off. Gervais got to his feet. "Ah, Landon. You met with Hearst, I assume?"
"You knew he would be there?" I asked.
"Of course. I knew what he wanted."
"Then you also know I don't have any use for you."
"Au contraire mon frère. You need me more than you did before."
"Do you care to explain how, exactly?"
"For one, you can only trust Hearst as far as it suits him, but you already understand that. If he aims to make a power play against bigger demons, and you can't do anything to stop it, it will only end up badly for you in the end. Especially if he manages to harness Abaddon's power. Think about it, Landon. Picture Hearst controlling the demon's shadows."
I had thought about it, every step of the way back to the apartment.
"I know," I said. "But having Abaddon loose is a worse choice. Hearst will at least be a little picky about who he ends."
"For now," Gervais said. "You know what they say about absolute power, and demons are the most easily corrupted."
"Oh, please. You're no different from Hearst, and you're already corrupted."
"True. That is the chance you might have to take. Think about it, diuscrucis. And while you're at it, think on this: I know how you can get Abaddon away from Hearst without releasing his power on the world."
I stared at the demon. I had enough experience with the Divine to know everything he had said up until the last part was true. Hearst knew I would come after him and Abaddon the moment I felt I had the upper hand. I knew Hearst would break our deal the moment he thought he had the edge. Demons rarely held fast to their deals, as Gervais had proven.
It was all part of the balance.
The question then was whether or not to believe Gervais when he said he had a way to steal Abaddon from the vampire.
"You know how to destroy Abaddon?"
Gervais laughed. "Destroy him? Why would you want to do that?"
"I promised him I would. A bonded deal."
Gervais' amused demeanor vanished. "What?"
"You heard me. This throws a wrench in your plans, doesn't it? You're being a little too transparent right now, Gervais. I'm sure you want Abaddon's power for yourself. Knowing that I'll have to keep coming until it's gone will make things harder for you."
"Harder, but not impossible." His face changed again, returning to its general look of joyful superiority. "My plan may, in fact, meet the requirements of your bargain."
The statement piqued my curiosity, and he jumped on it.
"I see you're interested now, Landon. I knew you would be from the moment I came."
I heaved a nice sigh and rubbed my temples. I knew this was going to give me a headache. "Fine, spill it."
He smiled, a predatory smile because he knew he had me right where he wanted me. I had gotten used to being forgotten by the Divine, and since they couldn't remember seeing me to kill me, they were all trying to use me instead.
That was balance, too, I guess.
"Do you remember back at {name of the demon}'s mansion in California, when you fought the Fists of God?"
"Yeah, I remember. It was only a few weeks ago."
"Do you remember how one of the suits of armor was missing?"
"Yes," I said, playing along. "Did you take it?"
"No. But I know who did. If you recall, the armor is powered by the soul of a demon, held encased in scripture."
I could see where he was going. "How does trapping Abaddon's soul in a Fist of God count as having fulfilled my promise?"
"Well... Okay, technically, it doesn't."
"It doesn't at all."
"Technically, it doesn't," he repeated. "If his soul is trapped by scripture, the link will be broken. You won't need to keep your promise."
I could still sense the dark pallor over the world, offering a different hue through my eyes and caused by my connection to the demon. I wondered if he could hear what Gervais was saying. I didn't imagine he would be too happy with the idea of being trapped in yet another prison.
"And
then what?" I said. "I get Abaddon into the FOG, and you steal it?"
"Yes."
I felt my face wrinkle up at the absurdity of it all. He wasn't even trying to be sly.
"Oh, come on now, Landon. Just because you know what I plan to do doesn't mean you know how I would do it or that you would be able to stop me."
"I'm trying to figure out the part where this is better than letting Hearst hold onto him. Whatever the Devil did to you before he sent you here, I still give you credit for being more underhanded and conniving than Hearst could ever be."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Seriously, Gervais. Tell me why I would team up with you to stick Abaddon in the FOG."
He was prepared for me to say that.
"Three reasons, diuscrucis. One: as I said, the link will be broken, and you'll be free of the demon. How long do you think he will wait for you to find a way to kill him before he decides to kill you? Two: I would still have to take the FOG from you, which leaves you with more control over your destiny. Three: you can't destroy Abaddon. It is impossible. Which means this is the only way you get out from under him."
I glanced over at Alyx. She was still glaring at Gervais, remaining silent and watchful. I hated that the demon was making any sense at all. I hated that his points were valid.
"One more question, then," I said. "If you know where to get the FOG, and you know where to find Abaddon, then what do you need me for?"
"That is a good question, with a very simple answer. I don't have the power to get the FOG back from the one who holds it. You do."
"And who is that?"
"Cain. The son of Satan."
Six
"The son of Satan?" I asked. "Are you kidding me?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
"You always look like you're kidding. I didn't know Satan's son was on Earth."
Gervais' smile shortened to a sheepish smirk. "He isn't."
"Hell?" I asked.
"Yes."
"You want me to go to Hell?"
"That is where the Fist of God is."
"My powers don't work in Hell."
"Again, I say au contraire mon frère. Your Divine powers did not work on the other planes; that is true. As you like to tell me, you aren't Divine anymore. At least not in the traditional sense. Your power is all stored within you, like a nuclear reactor. You don't need to be on Earth to use it."
Execution (The Divine Book 6) Page 2
