Daemon

by Doug Dandridge

  The conductor walked through the cars yelling the name of the stop. The train swept into the station and slowed to a halt. Jude followed Gerald, pulling his small bag down from the overhead and walking out of the train. Gerald looked for the headers over the tracks and pointed to one, the express to the capital. In fifteen minutes they were again on their journey, forging along the tracks on the way to the point of danger.

  Night started to fall. Jude sat in the dining car getting a bite to eat with Gerald. He looked out the window as the world darkened. Cities and towns were lighting up like bright jewels. Roadways and railways became strings of lights, lest the Shadows get on the passageways and cause havoc. Farms and ranches were also bright patches, as were fields of produce that could be annihilated in a night if not guarded by the light. Animals gathered around the lights, instinctively seeking cover from the terrors of the dark. Here and there Jude saw a wild animal, a deer or other herbivore, lurking among the domesticated animals, their fear of man overridden by their fear of the things that hid in the darkness.

  “I wonder what the other animals do?” asked Jude as he played with the food on his plate.

  “Whatever they need to do,” answered Gerald, looking out the window, his gaze following Jude’s. “I don’t think the Shadows are as interested in dumb beasts as they are in people. After all, the dumb beasts have not done anything to them. I’m sure if they happen to run into one they will take its energy, but I don’t think they go out of their way to take them.”

  An hour later they were watching the outskirts of the megacity from their car as they rolled through the mile after mile of rail yards, warehouses, factories and row houses. The city was one giant lit jewel. The dark patches of the burned out dead zones were more conspicuous for being set amongst such brilliance.

  Jude had thought this the center of the universe. Once the largest of the megacities on Earth, now the sole remaining example, it paled when compared to the natural beauty he had seen in the mission.

  All those people, he thought, of the masses that lived here, almost ten million by last count. And they don’t even realize that they live in a dying world. Or that there is an alternative.

  The train started to slow several miles from the Central Station. It pulled over a bridge, then another a half mile further on, and rolled onto the island that was the city proper. Other trains, most stopped, rolled by the window, until the train the pair were on slid to a stop at the station and the conductor announced last stop.

  Jude felt very tired as he walked down the steps from train to station. He had been riding all day, in all terrain steamer or train. His eyes searched the people on the platform, trying to catch sight of enemies before they caught a glimpse of him. He still didn’t see Sarah before she saw him, and he turned as he heard her yell.

  “Dad. Jude.” Sarah came running through the crowd, dodging people here and there. Gerald frowned and Jude knew what he was thinking. So much for coming into the city unnoticed. Now they could only hope that they were not noticed by anyone who meant them harm.

  Sarah Stranger ran into her father’s open arms, hugging him fiercely. The older man ran a hand through his daughter’s hair, then released her as she stepped over to Jude and wrapped her arms around him.

  “I prayed for you,” she said, leaning back and looking into his eyes. “The Good God answered my prayers, and sent you to my father.”

  “I was just lucky to come across that mission,” said Jude with a smile, wondering why these people thought every little thing might be God’s will.

  “It was more than luck,” said Gerald, patting them both on the back. “Just as your coming together was more than luck. But let us leave this place, before luck does enter into the equation, and we’re spotted.”

  Jude nodded, noting that several other men had moved in and were forming a mobile barrier around them. By the look in Gerald and Sarah’s eyes, he knew that these men were expected, so he allowed himself to relax.

  As they walked from the main entrance of the station Jude found himself looking up at the mile high skyscraper that was the Daemon Building. Its high dome washed the city in its light. Jude remembered when he used to look at that light as a positive, hopeful thing, the power of his civilization to keep the darkness at bay. Now he saw the sickly undertone that the light projected, derived as it was from the death of living creatures. The suffering of others that kept the darkness at bay from the privileged few that were left on this world. A protection that was undeserved.

  Gerald gestured him toward a large car that was parked by the curb, while one of the other men ran up to open the door. Sarah got into the back, followed by Jude, with Gerald following. The doorman closed the door, then jumped into the front seat beside the driver. The other men got into the car behind them, and the vehicles pulled out into traffic to the beeping of horns and a couple of hurled curses.

  “How does it feel to be back to your home?” asked Gerald Stranger, his own expression showing his distaste for the crowded city.

  “I’m not really sure,” said Jude, looking forward at the moving traffic on the brightly lit road. “It’s changed in the day I’ve been gone.”

  “You’ve changed in the day you’ve been gone,” said Gerald with a short laugh. “But now it’s up to you to change civilization.”

  Jude thought about that as the cars moved away from the station, turning onto a northbound street. Soon he could see the high spires of the Cathedral of God Ascendant rising up to the right front.

  “We want you to meet the Primate of the Church and tell him what you’ve seen,” said Gerald, following Jude’s stare. “Then we’ll figure out how to get back into the building and try to bring out more evidence than a single man’s testimony.”

  Jude nodded, realizing that what Stranger said made sense. Even though he knew it was the truth, what he had seen with his own eyes, others might discredit it as the ravings of a lunatic. Something physical would be good, and he wondered how the newspapers would react to one of the little blue people in the flesh. And how Daemon Corp would react to the press having that knowledge.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Parkinson is back in the city,” said Steiner Stark, pushing past the startled secretary and into Lucius Daemon’s luxurious office.

  Daemon looked up with fatigue reddened eyes and scowled at the Magara Officer.

  “I thought you had dumped him deep in the desert?” said Daemon, his eyes glaring at the Secret Policeman. “Dammit, Stark. Can’t you do anything right?”

  “I’m doing all right leading those teams to the Eldritch world,” said Stark defensively, feeling a shiver of fear at antagonizing the powerful man.

  “Maybe I need to relieve you of those duties so you can perform your governmental duties better,” said Daemon with a growl.

  Stark jerked at that, feeling anger and fear both as the boss threatened his income.

  “Any idea where he might have gotten?” said Daemon, his eyes locking on Stark’s with a cold stare.

  “He was seen in the company of a known Church operative,” said Stark, pushing out the words, hoping he could get Daemon’s ire off of him and onto the problem. “Gerald Stranger, a minister at one of those damned missions they keep out in the wastelands. And his daughter Sarah, a social worker in the city that Parkinson has been friendly with. We believe they must have taken him to a church, or a Church member’s property.”

  “Which means what?” said Daemon, his voice growling. “There are a couple of Cathedrals and hundreds of parish churches in this city. And maybe a million adherents. Which gives you hundreds of thousands of possible locations.”

  “We figure we’ll search the big venues first,” said Stark, frowning. “I just wanted to let you know so you could tighten up security here.”

  “Do what you can,” said Daemon, nodding, a little of the ire seeming to bleed out of him. “Day after tomorrow we’ll need to go after another harvest. I think that capital of theirs will be a treasure t
rove. That should give us a half dozen, maybe a dozen harvesting trips to a single location.”

  “What about the God King we brought you?” asked Stark, focusing Daemon on a triumph.

  “We'll use him soon enough,” said Daemon. “My techs are still trying to figure out just how much energy he'll give up. And the best way to gather it. That was quite a coop by the way.”

  You think about the positive stuff, thought Stark with a slight smile. That way you’ll not worry about Parkinson, giving me a chance to bring you his head.

  “We’ll get him, Mr. Daemon,” said Stark, smiling in earnest. “Don’t you worry. We’ll get that damned Parkinson. And we’ll dump him in the ocean this time, where he won’t find any help.”

  * * *

  Jude had never been in the Primate’s quarters before, though he had imagined what they must be like based on the ornate furnishing of the Cathedral and the clothing of the celebrants, when he had attended church as a child. It was nothing like he had imagined. The quarters had good if not too fancy furnishings. They ate a meal served at a long wooden table on common plates, sitting in hard backed chairs. There were good paintings on the walls, but nothing like the old masters that Jude had imagined. The food was good, in a plain straight from the farm sort of way.

  The Primate, Jasper Burns, Archbishop of Manhat, was the biggest surprise. He was a big man, a little soft from performing his priestly duties as his only work. He dressed in the black pants and shirt of a priest, with a white clerical collar, the only jewelry a plain golden hand on a chain around his neck, and the Bishop’s ring on his right second finger. He had intelligent blue eyes, close cropped graying hair, and a ready smile, though the eyes showed that the man had seen the sorrows of the world, and accepted what he could and couldn’t do about them.

  “We have been watching Mr. Daemon’s operation for some time,” said the Primate in his cultured voice, stopping for a moment to take a sip of ordinary wine from his glass. Most of the other people around the table were also indulging in wine, though Jude was drinking water, not trusting himself to not guzzle and try to subsume all his negative feelings. Especially not in front of Sarah.

  “Then why haven’t you done anything?” he asked, while wondering what they could have done.

  “We haven’t had any evidence of wrongdoing,” said the Primate, a sorrowful look on his face. “No evidence that he was breaking any laws of the land. He is, after all, legally sanctioned to kill and drain convicted prisoners, as well as animals. We suspected that he was also rounding up and killing the homeless. Not enough to make anyone noticed that they were disappearing. At least not anyone who cared. If we found that evidence we might be able to bring him before a judge.”

  “But maybe not,” said Gerald Stranger, looking from the Primate to Jude and back again. “Daemon is the most powerful man in this shrinking world of ours, after all. Any accusations might simply lead to the accuser disappearing. Or the accusation being laughed off.”

  “There’s got to be something we can do?” said Jude, his brow furrowing. “He can’t simply get away with this. And these new creatures they are sacrificing. I’m still not sure what they are, but they have to be intelligent life.”

  “Those really bother me as well,” answered the Primate, nodding his head. “I’m not sure what they are, or how they fit into the Good God’s plan. But I do know that it is an evil act to kill them, and to harvest their energy, such as Daemon is doing.”

  “But you have Church people working for him, don’t you?” asked Jude, beginning to feel the frustration. If the largest opposition organization to the Magocracy couldn’t stop this, who could.

  “We do have loyal Church members in the organization, yes,” said the Primate, rubbing his nose. He sat back in his chair and put his hands over his stomach. “The problem is, you have to be a magic user to work in the parts of the company we are interested in here. And Church adherents are not magic users.”

  “So you have no one in the actual harvesting portion of the company?”

  “Correct,” said the Primate, nodding. “We do have some people in security. Even in the mid-level. They might be able to get you through the first layers of security. Maybe give you a chance to work through the rest. If you're willing to use your magic to work the system.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Sarah, putting her hand on Jude’s arm. “Magic got us into this mess. I don’t want to turn the Good God away from us by using magic.”

  “I don’t know how else to get through their system,” said Jude, frowning. “Magic is the only way I can think of getting through their defenses.”

  “Let me ask a couple of other people here,” said the Primate, looking thoughtful. “Maybe we can come up with something else.”

  Jude nodded, trying to figure out another way himself, and coming up with nothing.

  “OK,” said the Primate, looking around the table at the dozen other people gathered there. “We will meet again in the morning and go over a plan to get the Detective into Daemon Corp. Now, it’s late, and I think our guests are tired. Diego. If you would see them to some secure rooms. And I think it would be a good idea if Ms. Stranger spent the night with us as well.”

  The Primate turned his attention to the young social worker with a smile. “I don’t know that people are watching this church at this moment. I don’t know that they aren’t either. But I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to be seen leaving the church at this late hour. There might be, consequences, to that which we do not wish to contemplate.”

  Sarah nodded her head in thanks, then reached over and grasped Jude’s hand in hers. Gerald Stranger cast a concerned look at the pair, then shook his head and rose from the table. Then all the rest rose and Gerald, Sarah and Jude followed a Priest from the room.

  * * *

  “I didn’t expect you to be here, sir,” said the Sergeant as Lieutenant Steiner Stark got out of his car and walked up to the crew watching the Cathedral.

  “Where else do you think I would go, Sergeant?” asked the angry Officer, looking at the tall spires of the religious edifice. “This is, after all, the most likely location for them to come. Anything?”

  “No sir,” said the Sergeant, leading the Officer to the large vehicle that was a Magara mobile command post. “We’ve been on watch here since we were sent to this location, about three hours now. People have gone in and out, and we’ve checked out all of them. None of them were our target.”

  “Then I guess we need to go inside and have a look for ourselves,” said Stark, gesturing for the two men who had come with him to follow, starting toward the entrance to the Cathedral.

  “Are you sure you want to do that, sir?” said the Sergeant, his eyes wide. “After all, they’re the Church.”

  “May the God that isn’t protect me from fools,” said Stark, turning on the Sergeant. “Have you studied any history Sergeant? From before the magical reconstruction?”

  “Only what we learned in school,” said the Sergeant.

  Stark nodded his head, realizing that the Sergeant knew very little about history.

  “Back in the days before magic there were a number of powerful religious organizations,” he said to the man with the voice of an adult talking to a child. “The Catholics and Muslims were the most powerful, though there were hundreds of other church organizations. But the majority of the world’s peoples belonged to one or the other of the churches.”

  “Yes sir,” said the man with a confused look on his face.

  “They all died when we turned to magic, and a God no one could see was replaced by a power that was apparent to all.”

  “Then why is this church even here, sir?” said the confused looking Sergeant.

  Stark shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “That’s the question, Sergeant. That’s the question. What in the hell are these fools thinking, that they attempt to stand against the true power of the universe with their Mythology. Well, I for one will not allow
them to make that stand.”

  Stark strode up to the doors of the Cathedral and pounded on them with his fist. He noted that the churchyard was very well lit. They knew they had no power against the Shadows, and used electric lights to augment what was coming in from the surrounding properties. Stark pounded again, then noticed a knocker on the heavy door a few feet to his right. He shifted, grabbed the knocker, and used its hard bulk to pound on the door.

  “Open up in the name of the Mage’s Council,” he shouted. “And of the Magara, which is its organ.”

  He pounded a couple more times and then waited. After what seemed like a long time, but could only have been a few minutes, the sound of a heavy bolt being withdrawn was followed by the big door swinging inward.

  “Magara business,” said Stark, holding out his credentials for the man, a Priest by the look of him, to see.

  “And what can I do for you?” said the Priest, gazing steadily into Stark’s eyes with a look the Secret Policeman did not like, calm.

  “We believe some fugitives are in your church,” said Stark, glaring at the man, trying to plant a spark of fear, and feeling disappointed when the man continued to look serene. “We require you to allow us to search the premises.”

  “I don’t know,” said the Priest, looking at the other men with Stark. “I have to talk to the Primate about this.”

  Stark pushed on the door, then shoved the man out of the way as he walked into the church, his men following.

  “Go talk to your damned ape,” said Stark, with a smile at the joke. “Meanwhile, we’ll be searching the church.”

  The man spluttered a protest, then ran off, holding his robes up in his hands. Stark waved his men through the Narthex and into the Nave. He looked up at the arched ceiling, at least a hundred feet above, and listened as their hard soled shoes echoed off the floor. Stark looked around at the pews, which were empty, but must have held five thousand people during services, if not ten thousand.