Night Call (Book 2): Demon Dei

by L. J. Hayward

  “Too much information, Kermit,” I said as Erin retched. “Yes, I’m ready. Let’s get this train wreak under way.”

  We set the cat carriers up around the circle and tied string to each latch. A quick jerk and the cages would open. While Roberts showed Erin the imps and gave over several ends of strings, I hustled Kermit into the circle.

  “You’ve done this before,” I said more to be saying something than out of any real need to give instructions. He was, after all, the old hand and I was the apprentice. “Do whatever it is you need to do.”

  Kermit nodded and huddled down in the middle of the design. “I’ll be fine. You’re the weak link, human.”

  “Any advice?”

  “Pack up and take me home.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m hoping this goes wrong and the demon nicks off with you. Two trips with you in one night and I’ll never smell right again.”

  “Or maybe, you’ll screw up and the demon will nick off with you and I’ll take your bike home.”

  I patted his shoulder. “No you won’t. Mercy already took it.”

  The feeling crept up on me like a spider had got under the cuff of my jeans and was upward bound.

  Kermit, too, felt it. “She’s here,” he whispered, hunching down.

  “But not too close,” I added and went to the garage door, pulling it down.

  “No. The circle will keep her away. She won’t want to be accidentally caught.”

  Erin met my gaze with a doubtful frown. Getting caught might not be a big worry for Amaya... Lila. Crap. I hadn’t even started and I knew it was going to go belly up.

  “What happens now?” Roberts wound his strands of string around one hand. He still had Erin’s Glock and looked pretty comfortable with it.

  I gave Erin my Cougar and she exchanged it for her Glock.

  “I’ll do my voodoo thing,” I said as my guts began clenching in anticipation and nervousness. “If anything goes wrong, release the imps.”

  “How will we know if something goes wrong?” Erin asked.

  “Oh trust me,” Roberts said. “You’ll know. Matt doesn’t do things by halves.”

  “Can you tell where she is?” I asked Kermit.

  Kermit just rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. Great. Belly up and gutted before you could say ‘put your left leg in.’

  I read through Lila’s… Amaya’s list of instructions once more. It was fairly straight forward. Not much room for error, really. Still, this was me.

  I pulled my SAS knife from the sheath and drew the blade across the palm of my left hand. The pain came a second or two behind the welling blood. Being all manly and stuff, I didn’t wince and calmly collected some blood on the blade of the knife. At each point of the hexagram, I let one drop fall. Completed, I cleaned the knife and sheathed it.

  I closed my eyes and, thanks to all my practice, sank into a calm, near meditative state in a matter of seconds. Once upon a time, this had been a lot harder. I’ve likened my life and my psyche to a seesaw before. It’s a good analogy as I seemed to be constantly rocking from one extreme to another—at least I used to. These days, not so much. Well, if you took the demon factor out of the equation. The seesaw sat pretty comfortably balanced at the best of times and here, in this cool, quiet place, I could get it perfectly straight. When all things were even, whamo! Hello psychic goodness.

  A loud crack snapped me out of my half trance. Erin was on her arse, staring at the space between us. Roberts was still on his feet, but just as slack jawed.

  “Okay,” I said. “That seemed to work.”

  The circle was very definitely powered up. A flickering, possibly swirling, barrier grew from the circle and ascended into the ceiling. It was transparent and flashed with all different colours, giving the hint that the thing was in motion. Inside it, Kermit yawned.

  It was like a riptide tugging at my feet as I trod water. It drew on my strength steadily and at this rate I didn’t think I could hold it for five minutes, let alone long enough to interrogate a demon.

  “The longer you wait, the weaker you get,” Kermit reminded me.

  Nodding, I checked the instructions again. “Right. Let’s summon a demon.”

  “She’s moving,” Kermit told me. “Coming down.”

  “Get ready,” I said to everyone. “I think she’s going to be pissed.”

  I dropped the paper and, finding that inner seesaw again, intentionally tipped it all the way to the bad side. All the rage and anger I’d been bottling up the last couple of days roared into me. My vision turned red, my blood boiled and I snarled before I could stop myself.

  “Come to me,” I called out, my voice husky and dangerous. “I summon you. Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, I command you.”

  Did I say pissed?

  Let me rephrase that.

  All hell broke loose.

  Literally.

  Chapter 32

  Erin’s finger jerked reflexively on the trigger, but it wasn’t enough to push past the safety. As her vision cleared, she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

  The female demon simply obliterated the garage door. Erin had never seen steel shatter before, but she witnessed it now. Thousands of white-hot metal shards exploded inward. The only thing that saved her and Roberts was the violently swirling barrier around the circle. The metal projectiles hit it and were pulverised.

  Matt, however.

  He was already down, blood staining his arms and face. Smoke rose from his body, the steel burning clothes and flesh.

  It took a second, maybe two.

  Then the demon strode into the garage. She was, in a word, furious. The night in Ivan and Brad’s building was nothing compared to this. The demon was bathed in her blue glow, eyes as bright as the flame of an oxy torch. Her wings were spread to full length, lips pulled back from her teeth.

  “You fool,” she screamed and her voice tested the foundations of the house. “I gave myself to you and you do this. Perhaps you aren’t the one to help me. Perhaps you deserve to die.”

  “Maybe I do,” Matt croaked, struggling up. “Or maybe this isn’t just about you, Amaya, Lila, whatever the fuck your name is. There are other lives involved, lives that could be more important than yours.”

  “Listen to him, my child. He speaks the truth.”

  The haze in the circle cleared and the ghoul stood tall, head thrown back imperiously.

  Amaya stared at the ghoul, then hissed. “You’re trapped, father. I don’t have to fear you in this.”

  Kermit’s lipless mouth curled into an impossibly smug smile. “Perhaps you do, daughter. I am now his to be commanded.”

  The noise that came from her throat was an inarticulate bellow of rage. She moved so fast Erin couldn’t see what happened, but the result was Matt falling backwards into the barrier.

  Matt screamed and Kermit grunted in pain. Jerking forward, Matt rolled off the barrier and lay in a huddle, gasping for breath.

  The demon stood over him, lips peeled back from her teeth, one foot lifted to crush his head.

  Then Mercy was there. She materialised out of a swirl of light and knocked the demon out of the garage. Eyes flashing silver, the vampire tore off after the female demon and they disappeared into the night.

  Erin dropped the strings and ran around the circle to him. “Matt. What happened?” She put her hand under his back to help him up and he yelped. “Sorry!”

  Taking his arms, she got him to sit up and then looked at his back. “Oh my God.”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Matt whispered.

  “Holy mother of God,” Roberts breathed as he came to crouch behind Matt.

  “Not doing a lot to comfort me here.”

  “Don’t think sugar coating’s going to work this time.” Roberts carefully peeled back a stray strip of burned material.

  “Your back’s pretty badly burned,” Erin told him.

  Matt’s eyes, glazed with pain, tried to focus on her. “Now that’s what I call serio
us backlash.”

  “He put too much power into the barrier,” Kermit-but-not-Kermit said. “Touching it caused a ‘backlash’ proportional to the amount of power he put in.”

  “Thank you for the lesson,” Erin snapped at him, not entirely sure who she was talking to. “Either say something that will help or shut up.”

  The ghoul smirked and crossed his arms. He turned around, studying his prison.

  “We’ve got to get him to a hospital,” Roberts said.

  “No.” Matt struggled out of their hold. “Not going anywhere. Have to stay and finish this.” He looked around blearily. “Mercy’s here.”

  “Just in time to save you from the demon,” Roberts said. “Lucky for you she didn’t do as she was told.”

  “She’s gone after the other demon now.” Erin took his hands and held out his arms. They were lacerated from the exploded garage door. Whatever damage it had caused his back was covered up by angry red blotches and a few small spots of weeping, exposed raw skin.

  “Then we need to hurry before things go completely pear shaped.” Matt made as if to stand and gave up very quickly.

  “Haven’t you done enough?” Erin asked gently. “You could die from these wounds.”

  “Barely even started,” he whispered. “Have to find out why Asmodeus is here, why he possessed Karl Roeben, why…”

  “He’s not going to be coherent for much longer.” Roberts stood and pulled out his car keys. “Let’s get him up and into the car.”

  “And just leave me here?” the possessed ghoul asked mildly.

  “And we’re supposed to care?” she spat back at him.

  “I should think you would care.” Those big, round eyes bored into Erin. “You know what we can do. It is why you are here. Let me help him, and then perhaps, I can help you too.”

  “What’s it talking about?” Roberts asked warily.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Matt said, his voice gaining some strength.

  Erin made sure Roberts had Matt and then stood to face the ghoul. “Why should we trust you?”

  He grinned, exposing rows of needle teeth. “You do not have to trust me. You just need to command me.”

  “I can command you?”

  “No.” Matt grunted and hauled himself up, using Roberts as a support. “Only I can.”

  “Christ, man. Where do you find the strength?” Roberts gingerly held onto his friend’s arms, unable to hold him anywhere else.

  “Me and pain are friends from way back,” Matt said.

  Erin stared at him. Even as he spoke he did seem to gain stability and strength. His eyes had cleared but they’d also taken on a sharper, more intense colour. She swallowed hard, remembering the night six months ago, when he’d faced up to a super vampire and moved so fast he’d taken it by surprise. This was the Matt Hawkins she didn’t know and couldn’t fathom.

  “Time to answer some questions, Asmodeus.”

  The ghoul studied him for a moment. “You are more powerful than I initially thought. At first I wondered if you would be capable of doing what you set out to do.” That knowing, smug smile returned. “I am happy to be proven wrong.” He bowed, mocking and low. “Command me, master. I am your plaything.”

  Matt grimaced. “You look like a ghoul, Asmodeus. You couldn’t seduce a blind and dumb warthog. Stop trying.”

  “There are more ways to seduce a person than through sex, my master.” Asmodeus/Kermit faced Erin again. “A lot of the time, it is simply giving the person what they want.”

  Matt glanced at Erin. “Leave her out of this. It’s just you and me in this relationship.”

  “But there is something she wants so much. Perhaps more than you want the answers to your questions.”

  Asmodeus smiled and for a moment, he wasn’t the ghoul. He was William, healthy and vibrant. Erin’s breath caught in her throat.

  “Erin.” Matt faced her. “Perhaps you should leave.”

  “No.”

  Matt pulled out of Roberts’ hold and stood in front of her, closer than when she’d kissed him. “I don’t have time for this. I can’t hold him forever. He can tell me everything I need to know about Geraldine.”

  “Gerry’s dead.” It was out before Erin could stop it, so she ploughed on. “William’s not dead yet. He could heal him.”

  “Maybe he could. But we don’t know that for sure.”

  “The other one healed me.”

  “And maybe that’s the extent of their powers. Fixing a few broken bones. This isn’t just about who killed Gerry, Erin.” He leaned so close she almost had to hold him up, scared he was about to topple over on top of her. “Chris and Rufus are involved deeper than I initially thought. Another man is lying in a stupor because of this creature. His wife is contemplating a life of looking after what amounts to a vegetable. This is all about Brad’s family, Erin.”

  She shook her head, denying him the right to say what she thought he would say; what he did say.

  “It’s Ivan’s family, Erin. Can you take this chance away from them to end this all because a demon hints that he can heal your husband while he lies with the same breath?”

  “You bastard.” It was barely audible.

  “Kick me in the balls later.” He turned his ruined back to her and walked back to the circle. “Let’s start at the beginning, Asmodeus. Why are you here?”

  “You summoned me, master.”

  “You’re a clever prick. Why are you on this side of the boundary between our realms?”

  “I was summoned, master.”

  “By?”

  Erin sank back against the wall, empty of all need to care anymore. She’d bullied her way back in for one reason only and now Hawkins was going to deny her that. He could do whatever he pleased.

  “Rufus Davis.”

  Shock brought Erin upright. “Rufus?”

  “At the office Geraldine and Karl were working in?” Matt asked the demon.

  “Indeed.”

  “Why?”

  Asmodeus smiled. “Because they could. Geraldine and Karl had the knowledge, Rufus had the power. So they went fishing and look what they caught.” He spread his borrowed arms wide. “A Demon Lord. They were a little surprised, let me tell you. A little surprised and lot unprepared. Unlike you, my master. You have constructed quite a solid cage for me. I feel… very secure.”

  “So you broke the circle and possessed Karl Roeben.”

  “That is your presumption, master. For me to confirm or deny, you must question me.”

  “Did you break the circle and possess Karl?”

  “I did not.”

  Matt eyed the creature intently. “Then how did you come to possess Karl?”

  “He invited me in.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “He’s telling the truth,” Erin said.

  Matt faced her and the ghoul smiled at her.

  “How do you know that?” Matt asked her.

  “I did some reading today. A demon in a circle, asked a direct question, cannot lie.”

  “The lady speaks true,” Asmodeus said, giving her a small bow.

  Turning back to the circle, Matt asked him, “Why did you do it? Because you simply needed a body to possess before you dissolved? Or because you had some other motive?”

  “Bit of both, actually.”

  “Explain that to me. And that’s a command.”

  “Of course, master. I shall explain everything. But first, may I mention you are weakening. This impressive barrier is not going to last much longer.” Asmodeus reached out Kermit’s hand and touched the barrier.

  Matt grunted and doubled over. A truly ghoulish howl escaped the possessed creature and the flickering barrier failed to flicker for a second or two.

  Erin and Roberts reached Matt at the same time, catching him before he could fall. Asmodeus gained control of the ghoul again and laughed.

  “I don’t think the demon’s lying,” Roberts said.

  “He’s not.” Matt pulled in a lung
full of air. “It’s going to drop very soon. Get ready with the imps.”

  “You’ll fall over if we leave you,” Roberts said.

  “So? Just do it.”

  Erin and Roberts lowered him to the floor instead of letting him drop. They scrambled about, gathering up the strings. Asmodeus watched them, highly bemused.

  “My dears, I am possessing a ghoul, immune to the venom of the imps. I need only take spirit form and the pitiful creatures will be mine to possess.”

  “What makes you think they’re here to poison you?” Matt demanded weakly.

  Something big landed on the roof of the house. The whole structure rattled and dust and broken plaster rained down.

  Matt grimaced. “Not how I had planned this to go, but it was always a possibility.”

  Asmodeus looked at the cracked ceiling. “My daughter is not very happy with you.”

  “No, she isn’t. So here’s a new command. Go catch her and bring her back to me.”

  Matt slowly toppled over sideways and the barrier dropped. Kermit convulsed and collapsed, leaving behind a blue mist where he’d stood.

  “Now!” Roberts yelled and he and Erin jerked back on the strings they’d gathered.

  Screeching at a pitch set to pierce eardrums, the imps launched themselves in a flock of red fury. They rushed for the blue mist and as they hit, their bodies seemed to melt and merge into one big form.

  Erin had her gun out and aimed without thought.

  Asmodeus was massive and all perfectly sculpted muscles and features. His black wings snapped out to full length and knocked her and Roberts over with the resultant gusts of wind.

  Hovering over the broken circle, Asmodeus howled. The tortured house groaned in response and the demon on the roof screamed another.

  In a furious flash of shadows, Asmodeus was gone.

  Chapter 33

  When the dust settled and the terrible roar of demons fighting had vanished into the distance, Erin was surprised to hear laughing. It was small and pitiful but it was laughter.

  “You mad bastard,” Roberts moaned.

  “That went about as well as I could have hoped.” Matt’s voice broke on the last word. “Fuck, I hurt.”