I took a deep breath and shouted. "Stop this stupid shit!" Attention turned to me and I pointed at Azriphel. "Knock it off, or the secret dies with us. All of us."
He held a hand up and the room grew silent, except for the occasional crackle and hiss of hellfire. "A threat?" he asked.
"Do you think we're completely unprepared?" I asked. "We're not that stupid, your Grace. If you try to screw me, the only thing left here will be a crater and little bits and pieces of demon. Plus a few humans and one angel with more guts than brains."
Azriphel chuckled, but the hellfire didn't dissipate. "He's an angel."
"And if you attack him, you'll kill her," I said.
"So we are at an impasse?"
"Caleb," I said. He grunted. Tink had been struggling silently the entire time. "Move to the back of the room. Keep holding her in front of you. Your Grace, attacking one angel who is already privy to this secret is not worth losing everything, is it? Even if I'm bluffing about killing all of you, we'll all fight to the death, and you won't get the secret from the dead. How much is it really worth to you?"
"A convincing argument." Azriphel lowered his hand as Caleb followed my instructions. "The girl does amuse me. Be thankful for your halfbreed, girl. He saved your life today."
She flipped him off and he laughed at her before turning his attention back to me. "So, speak, halfbreed. Reveal this secret, and your friends will go free, and you will enjoy the protection of our House and the accolades of the Host."
I smiled. "You didn't say please."
Azriphel smiled back, showing pointy, sharp teeth. "Please."
I held my left hand out in front of me, holding my right hand over it. "You know, of course, of human magic. While our abilities are innate, human mages can only tap supernatural or magical powers through symbolic invocations, using their blood."
"Go on."
I beckoned behind me. "Chrissy. Would you demonstrate something for me?"
She stepped up to my side. I could feel her shivering as dozens of eyes fixed on her. Julian swore quietly behind us, a litany of profanity aimed at me. "What do you need, Zay?"
"You know the force rune?" I asked quietly, sketching it on my hand. "Something like this?"
"Sure. What do you want me to do?"
"Aim for a spot about three feet over his head." She nodded. I watched closely as she drew blood from her fingers to sketch the rune in the air with her hand. Her palm slammed against the rune and a bolt of force flashed through the air and struck the wall with an audible thump.
The demons reacted most predictably. Hellfire sprang to life around the room again, cut short only by a snarled command from Azriphel. "A demonstration of human magic. Not too impressive, yes?" I asked.
"Your point?"
I transformed a finger into a claw and slashed my palm open. Red blood welled up, then I forced ichor from the wound as well. "There is power in blood," I said. "Power in our ichor. Why haven't we moved to study it closer, your Grace?"
"Why?" he asked. "Our innate abilities far outstrip human magic. Even a human grandmaster couldn't stand before us and live. Perhaps before you, though. That would be an interesting experiment, wouldn't it?"
"Are you certain?" I dipped my claws into the mixed blood and ichor to draw the rune in the air. In theory, this would be spectacular. In practice, I might just end up killing all of us. "Observe, the force when mixed with our ichor."
I slammed my palm into the rune. For a moment, I thought I had drawn it improperly, but then a swirling bolt of force flashed out and blew a crater in the wall above Azriphel's head. Dust and broken plaster rained down on his head. For a moment, he didn't respond, but then simply glared. "Is that all? Even that amount of power does not add appreciably to our own. That cannot be the secret the Consortium is so desperate to keep hidden."
"No, it's just a logical step in the chain," I said. "Have you ever wondered what human magic can do, when combined with our signature power?"
His eyes narrowed. I drew the force rune again while holding my other hand, streaked with green ichor and red blood, under and slightly in front of the rune. Hellfire sparked to life in my palm, a ball of green and yellow fire, right in front of the rune. I heard Tink gasp as she realized what I was about to do. Azriphel's eyes went wide. Fear? Shock? Surprise?
Hell if I knew. I slammed my palm into the rune.
Force flashed out again, sweeping through the hellfire and sucking it into the force spell. The result was even more flashy than I had anticipated. The hellfire streaked across the room, leaving a glowing purple afterimage. The wall, already cratered, simply exploded. Hellfire could do that, sure. But when the dust cleared, it was obvious that most of the ceiling and roof had gone with it. Flaming debris was floating down in the distance, dark ash occasionally sparking against the gray winter sky.
"Shit," Julian breathed.
"Indeed." Azriphel straightened up and brushed his robes off. It didn't work. Plaster and dust streaked his robes. "That's quite interesting. An idea that hadn't occurred to me. Yes, halfbreed, that's a secret well worth keeping. And you, angel? Do you agree?"
I craned my neck to look up at Caleb. He nodded. "Yes."
"Then you understand that I can't allow you to-"
"No, Azzy," I said. I already had rune and hellfire waiting, the rune directly in line with him. "He already knew. He's already spread it. Killing him won't change anything."
"Defending him?"
"For lack of better words, yes. You have what you want. Now stand by your word. Let her go. Let them go and leave us alone. You've got what you want." I glanced at Becky. She was covered in plaster dust as well, a little the worse for wear, but alive.
Azriphel lowered his hand. He seemed almost disappointed. He jerked his head toward Becky and the bindings snapped free, dumping her to the floor. "In the name of House Lucifer, I declare that this human is given clemency for her crimes. As a token of our appreciation, we release her into your custody, halfbreed. We also grant your friends free and safe passage. As for you, girl, our vendetta is at an end. You may live."
"Die," Tink hissed back at him.
He ignored her and turned his gaze back to me. "And as for you, our protection is yours. You will, of course, need to stay here."
"Thanks," I said. "But no thanks. I'll take my chances with the imps."
His eyes narrowed. Had he guessed? After a searching gaze, he shrugged. "Your life to lose, halfbreed. If you believe that you can talk your way through the Consortium, by all means, do attempt it. Now be gone, and be thankful that House Lucifer is forgiving."
I bowed my head. "Thank you, your Grace."
Caleb fluttered down to the ground and backed out the door, dragging Tink with him. I pushed Chrissy and Julian with me and slammed the door shut behind us. Even with a door between us, I didn't feel safe. Dozens of sparks of hellfire could come blazing through the door at any moment and there was not a damn thing I could do in that case.
They didn't. We made it all the way to the first floor without incident. It was still dark outside the lobby as we stepped out of the elevator. "I can't believe we got away with this," Caleb muttered to me.
"We haven't, yet," I said. We took a few steps toward the exit and stopped dead. The two young men were holding the front doors open for us, identical dark grins on their faces. The lobby wasn't dark because it was winter and the sun hadn't risen yet. The lobby was dark because there were hundreds, if not thousands, of imps hovering outside. I had never seen so many of the little bastards in one place. The one who had traveled with us stood at the front of the mass. A few steps behind him to his right stood Kibs. I caught his gaze and he looked away. "This could be bad," I said.
"Isaiah Bright," the lead imp said in his distinct rasp. "You've revealed the secret. Come out here, demon."
"To collect my reward?" I asked, walking toward the doorway.
"Death is your only reward." Caleb fell into step beside me, drawing his sword from nothing.
I heard the mages whispering, but only Tink came with me. Her eyes narrowed and her knife was in hand, blood already streaming down the blade.
"Thanks," I whispered as we approached the doors.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Caleb said.
The Lucifer guards were grinning even wider now, anticipating the carnage. I stopped short of the doorway and dropped to one knee, to get closer to eye level with the lead imp. He tapped his claws against the invisible barrier. "So, you'd kill me if I revealed the secret?"
"That is what we agreed on. Your life is forfeit if you revealed the secret. Judging by the destruction you've caused, it's obvious that you did so."
"What if I didn't?"
Beady eyes studied me. I didn't look away. Believe me, imp, was all I could think. Willing him to believe me. "Did you?"
"No."
The reaction was almost instant. The two Lucifer guards lost their smiles, then their human forms. Caleb bisected one vertically, having started to move even as I spoke. Tink slammed her knife into the other one's throat, not something immediately fatal to a demon, but it would slow him down. She dropped to one knee next to me and Caleb whipped his sword around in a tight backhanded arc. The demon's head popped free. Tink snatched her knife as the body sagged and we charged outside as an alarm started to echo from the upper floors.
The imps fell back, opening a path for us to flee. The lead imp and Kibs flanked me, flying as quickly as I ran. "You will explain."
"If we live." I kept running.
Chapter Fifteen
The crowd of imps parted, opening a path all the way to my car, and I realized about ten steps away that my car only comfortably seated five. With Becky, that was six and a half. I looked to Caleb to find him already dropping back. "You don't mind, do you?" I shouted over the increasingly loud roar.
"First Revelation?" he shouted back.
"Meet you there!"
He stopped short, unfurling his wings to their full span. His sword came out as he spun, imps scattering around him, giving him a wide berth. The initial wave of Lucifer grunts stopped short as he pointed his sword at them and squeezed the base of the blade. Purity rolled down the length of the blade and burst into blue-white holy fire. "Come, all ye faithful!" he roared, whipping the blazing sword up to a high guard position.
I snorted as we piled into the car. Becky plunked down in the passenger side seat. Tink stuck her head forward from the back seat. "What the hell is Caleb doing?"
"Buying us time," I said, and stomped on the gas. Tink thumped back into her seat, Chrissy squeaked, and we bowled through a cloud of imps. Most of them phased just in time while a few didn't and went rolling across the windshield. I couldn't see a damn thing and just guessed at the direction we needed to go. A heavier thump told me that a Lucifer grunt had gotten in our way, and then the cloud of hovering imps cleared and I made for the road.
"Bright," Becky asked when we were cleanly on the road and traveling far in excess of the speed limit, "what the hell is going on?"
I glanced over at her. "My name's Isaiah Bright. We're here to rescue you!"
"I gathered that much," she said. "But what the hell?"
"They wanted information that I have, and they were willing to kill you to get it."
She hissed out a breath. "Are we heading for home?"
"Nope. We need sanctuary."
Tink leaned forward again. "You're bringing Jase into this?"
"You have a better idea?"
She sat back with a growl. My speedometer inched past ninety. Even at this speed, we were at least ten minutes away. I didn't know how much time Caleb could buy, but even five minutes would be enough. We hit a bump and the car rattled. Chrissy squeaked again. If the car survived, that would be nice too.
"Isaiah Bright," rasped an imp's voice. I risked a glance over my shoulder. That imp sat on Chrissy's lap, while Kibs had claimed Tink's lap, much to her obvious dismay. I turned my eyes back to the road. "What did you tell them? What did you do?"
"I used a human force spell to accelerate hellfire," I replied. "That's not the secret you wanted me to hide. Hell, I didn't even know if that was going to work. I had Chrissy do it first not only for reference, but so I could see the rune again. I wasn't sure I remembered it right."
"Are you kidding me?" Tink sounded outraged. "You were guessing? What the hell, demon? Did you have any sort of backup plan? What if it had failed?"
"I would have taken the deal," I said. "At least it would have gotten you all out of there."
"That was your plan B?"
"Pretty much."
The raspy-voiced imp chuckled. "Assuming you're telling the truth, the situation hasn't changed. You still hold the secret, and your life is forfeit if you reveal it."
"We rescued Becky, we threw Lucifer off the trail," I said. "I'll take it."
"For the moment."
A turn was coming up and I had to slow down for it. Lucifer hadn't caught up to us yet. Caleb must have been doing a good job. I took the turn and pushed the gas down again. The car lurched ahead, shuddering each time it shifted gears. The check engine light flickered and I groaned. This was not the time for a mechanical failure.
A flicker of white light caught my eye and I glanced to my left. Caleb flew alongside the car, a couple of feet off the ground, his wings swept back and his eyes shining. I rolled the window down. "They pulled out the big guns?"
"I did what I could," he said. "But I can't take a Duke one on one, much less when he's supported. I had to retreat. I'll go ahead and tell Jase to be expecting guests."
"Thanks," I said, and he blazed past us, leaving a white streak behind.
"Think we'll make it?" Tink asked. Of course, she didn't make any comments about him running away from a fight. Bitch.
"What do you mean, make it?" Julian demanded.
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. "Take a look and tell me what you see."
I heard him grunt. "Shadows in the distance. Drive faster."
The pedal was already touching the floor. Luckily, morning rush hour was past and it was a straight shot to the church now. Even so, I wasn't sure we'd make it. They were flying, and they didn't need to worry about slippery roads or having the engine leap through the hood.
We almost didn't make it. It was nearly a repeat of the events of months back, with demons beginning to toss hellfire at us just as we pulled into the lot. Crunching noises came from the wheels as I took the turn. "Get ready to jump," I warned. "You've only got a few seconds."
That part was a success. I slammed on the brakes and people spilled out of the car, just a few steps away from the steps. Caleb was there, sword lifted, ready to cover us. With everything in place, our retreat should have been successful.
The streak of hellfire that hit my car came far too early, far too strong. The concussion as hellfire consumed the frame made us all stumble. I scooped Tink up and pounded up the stairs, Becky staggering up a step behind us. Caleb deflected a spark of hellfire away with his sword, protecting Becky from a fatal burn. He overextended, off balance. Julian rushed past him, not looking back. Behind him, Chrissy hit the first step.
Stumbled.
Fell.
The demons dropped upon us. I shoved Tink toward the doors and spun around, but it was already too late. Chrissy's fallen figure vanished from sight behind a host of demons, glowing red eyes, hellfire sparking from their claws. One moment I could see her. The next, she was gone. Caleb had one arm entangled with Julian, the other holding his sword out, but there was no way he could move to rescue the girl if he was that tied up. I started to move, to help him, to do something, but stopped short.
In front of the host, Azriphel landed. His wings folded and his smile was wide and pointed. "Get inside," Caleb said. Azriphel said nothing. Simply stood, teeth tinted red.
"Chrissy!" Julian shouted, trying to draw a rune with his free hand. He wasn't even bleeding. Caleb bodily dragged him up the stairs and I grabbed the flailing mage's free arm.
Together we dragged him, kicking, screaming, tears streaking down his face. We hauled him through the double doors, into the sanctuary, and left him on his knees in the foyer. Caleb knelt to put a hand on his shoulder while I turned to close the doors.
Azriphel stood in the doorway, one step outside, returned to his human form except for the wings. I could feel the pressure of the barrier keeping him out. "I request sanctuary," he said. His breath smelled of rotting meat. "So that we may continue our negotiations."
"Not my call to make," I said. I tried not to flinch away.
"But it is mine." Jase stepped up beside me. He looked exhausted, as if he had been awake all night. "I regret that I am forced to deny you sanctuary. Negotiating at the point of a gun, so to speak, is not negotiating in good faith."
"In good faith," Azriphel mimicked Jase's voice. "And yet you protect this halfbreed who betrayed our good faith, whose pet angel cut down multiple members of my House without provocation, whose-"
"Give it a rest, Azzy," I said. "There was no good faith from the very start, not after you kidnapped Becky. Besides, I gave you something valuable. Isn't that good enough?"
"It's not what we had agreed on."
"Sorry, we were out of stock, so I gave you something of equal or greater value."
His eyes burned red. If the barrier hadn't been there, he would have reached out and snapped my neck. Just like that. "I regret this, Pastor Pruitt," he finally said, his voice a low growl. "I have no quarrel with you or your congregation. But as long as you protect these fools, you may consider your church under siege."
Jase nodded. "And as always, faith will triumph."
"You may think differently in time," was all Azriphel said, and turned away. The demons behind him turned, and through a gap in their ranks, I saw Chrissy. Her eyes met mine, just for an instant, but I could see her terror. She was alive and she was theirs.
I wouldn't tell Julian. I wouldn't tell anyone. Better to let them believe she was dead.
Jase closed the doors and leaned against them from the inside. His eyes closed and his lips moved. A prayer, perhaps. Useless, but I wouldn't argue with what comforted him. I tried to force a smile, failed, and stepped over to where Tink was silently seething. "Got your phone?"
The Demon Inside Me Page 23
