by Tim Marquitz
There for maybe a minute or two, I hoped the vial of blood in my pocket would help to draw someone out. I just hoped they wouldn’t come out guns a blazing. As I watched the clouds for any sign of the gates being opened, a sharp voice startled me.
“Why are you here, demon?”
I tore my eyes from the sky to see Uriel standing before me. Not even remotely cherubic as the world has been led to believe, he was tall and broad, and I was forced to look up at him. Dressed in flowing white robes, cut more in the Grecian style, his flaming sword hung at his belt. The blade looked as though it was forged of lava. Uriel’s blond hair was long, braided down his back without a single strand out of place. He stared at me with brilliant gold eyes set in a pale face, which showed none of the stress of his position.
After a quick cough to clear my throat, I started to explain. “I was hoping I could speak with Metatron.” I felt like a kid asking for more cookies.
Uriel sneered, drawing a step closer. He sniffed at me. “Metatron has no time for you, spawn of Lucifer.” His stare was unsettling.
Put off by Uriel’s attitude, figuring I’d be greeted with a little more respect since I’d saved Heaven, he was starting to piss me off. “I’ve a message of great importance to deliver.”
“Give it to me, and I’ll ensure it is seen by the appropriate eyes.”
“That won’t work.”
“Then we have nothing further to discuss.” Uriel waved me away. “Begone, whelp.”
“Are you fu-“
“Young Trigg, hold your tongue, please.” Duke Forcalor strode up alongside Uriel and set a hand on the angel’s shoulder. “I will deal with him.”
Uriel nodded, gave the barest of grins, which looked like a wolf swallowing a baby sheep, and disappeared.
I turned to the duke. “Man, you’d think I’ve earned a little more respect than that around here,” I couldn’t help but say what was on my mind, but my old mentor’s daunting presence kept me from punctuating every other word with fuck.
“You have, but you cannot expect Uriel to be pleased that you dumped Lucifer’s blood into the heart of Eden. Your uncle was cast out of Heaven, in large part, for what he dared do to the Tree of Life. Uriel has not forgiven him that. He is not pleased to be reminded of the incident so boldly.”
It was that or Heaven and Earth died, but I didn’t say that out loud. I might have pissed in Uriel’s Cheerios, but he should be grateful he still had Cheerios to be pissed in. I just shook my head. “Fair enough. I didn’t come here to argue.”
“Then if I may ask, why did you?”
I showed him the book. “I need your help. Any idea what language this is?”
Forcalor examined the tome without touching it. “I’ve seen writing similar to this, yet not quite, though I’m not capable of deciphering it. Where did you come across it?”
I wasn’t sure how much to tell my old mentor, but it felt natural for it to be the truth. “It was delivered to me along with a warning…from Lucifer.”
His eyes widened. “You spoke to Lucifer?”
“Not directly, no. He sent an emissary with the book, but he told me nothing about it.”
Forcalor’s face lost all expression as he hid his feelings away, a trait that had always annoyed me when I was his student. I never knew when I was screwing up until he put his foot in my ass.
“And the warning?”
“You’re not gonna like it,” I told him, breaking into a forced smile. He hated me being evasive, but it always made me happy. “It seems Lucifer and God have joined forces to fight a war against the other dimensions God created before ours.”
The duke’s passive mask cracked. “Other dimensions?”
I nodded. “There’s quite a few of them, from my understanding. Lucifer believes these beings might slip past and invade the Earth. He fears if they do, the war as a whole may be lost.”
“So, he would have us prepare for their coming?”
“They may already be here…a couple of them, at least.”
Forcalor began to pace. “This is not good news.”
I seriously needed to start selling Captain Obvious costumes. I’d make a fortune.
“I’m not completely sure they’re connected, but it seems a being who crashed into our dimension nearly a thousand years ago might well be a part of all this.”
His eyes lit up. “The alien creature Lucifer slew?”
“I don’t think he killed him. For whatever reason, Lucifer trapped him inside a containment case warded in this language.” I waved the book about. “The case is now empty, escaped from, and I’ve been attacked by a strange alien-demon claiming he serves another named Gorath. Add the fact that Lucifer’s messenger had tattoos similar to those on the book, and the pieces start to come together. Gorath was most likely the alien inside. The tome has to have something to do with it all, but no one can read the damn thing.”
“That fool, Lucifer.” Forcalor growled and stopped his pacing. “Even gone, his machinations bring us to the brink.”
I stepped back. Never in all my years had I seen the duke openly curse my uncle. He’d always been honest, sharing his thoughts and feelings without restraint, but he’d always shown respect. Distance makes the tongue grow bolder, it would seem.
He drew in a deep breath and let it loose loudly. “Thank you for the warning, Frank. I will pass it on and see prepare the Kingdom should this war come to our shores. Though I cannot offer you an immediate solution to the alien beings, I will speak to Metatron to see what we might do in recognition of your efforts to save Heaven.” A slim smile graced his lips.
That was the best I could hope for. I wasn’t getting anywhere. Nodding, I thanked the duke and started to walk off, but a sudden thought hit me. Forcalor might know nothing about the book or the alien gunning for me, but there was something he might know about. I caught him before he left.
“Hey, can I ask you about something else?”
He turned back to me. “Certainly.”
Pissed as he was at Lucifer, I thought I might get some answers. “While I was searching my uncle’s chambers for information about the book, I stumbled across a bunch of old letters.”
Forcalor’s face slipped once more into neutral. He might not know what I was about to ask, but he knew damn well it wouldn’t be good. He motioned for me to continue, anyway.
“The letters were to Lucifer…from my mother. They were love letters,” I spit out the last part.
The duke sighed. “Damn your uncle twice for leaving behind such trash.” I started to say something, but Forcalor waved me to silence. “The letters, Frank, I speak only of the letters. After Lucifer took your mother and you away from Arol, he found an attraction to her he had not expected. Though he was married to Lilith, for what that was worth, Lucifer pursued a relationship with Charlotte. With her, he found an escape from the rigors of Hell, as had your father. She was a lovely woman; one of God’s finest, if I might be so bold.”
It sounded weird to hear such praise, but I had to finish my questions before I lost my will. “Did they have a child together?”
Forcalor shook his head, and my stomach churned. “No. Lucifer was careful not to impregnate your mother for fear of what might come of the child. He was happy to dote upon you as though you were his own, but that was enough for him.” A smile creased his lips. “But as much as he cared for you, it was your savage willingness to kill your father that endeared you to Lucifer more than any other thing.
“Lucifer had always believed he and Arol would come to terms one day and end their conflict. The murder of your mother brought all pretense of peace to an end. It drove Lucifer into a fury, the likes of which I have seen only once before; when God barred him from Heaven. Lucifer was but moments from departing to kill Arol when you demanded the right to do so. He felt it only fair that Arol die by your hands, so he empowered Baalth to make it so, and you know the rest from there.”
I did, and just thinking about it made me ill. My hea
d pounded, and the cold sweat returned. I wasn’t learning anything, but I knew there was more to it, could feel it inside. Once more I thanked my old mentor and said farewell, asking him if he could return me to Hell before he left. It would be a long walk to find a suitable portal if he didn’t, and I wasn’t feeling up to it.
He agreed and sent me on my way. I’d made the trip for almost nothing. I was going home empty handed with no assurances of help against Gorath, nothing new to help with the translation of the book, or any news about my family.
Today was turning out to be one big circle jerk with me in the middle.
Chapter Fifteen
Back in Hell, I scanned the place to see if the voyeur was back. Not finding any trace of a stranger, I set the dread fiends to work guarding Lucifer’s chambers. I was getting real tired of surprise visits.
Once the book was back in its hiding place, and the guard dogs were on duty, I set up a gate to take me back to my house. With all the excitement up on Earth, I hadn’t had time to go back and collect Chatterbox or the last few vials of Lucifer’s blood. While it infuriated me to use the shit, it was an advantage no one else had. I could be as stubborn as I wanted to be, but even my dumb ass knew the blood was too useful to abandon.
The portal ramped up and I drew in a deep breath as I was transported to Earth. I thought about readying my magic or pulling out my gun, but honestly, had the DSI broken into my house, there wouldn’t be enough of them left to fill a body bag, let alone a bucket. A mop would be more useful.
The spare room of my house started to flicker into existence, and I wondered what surprises waited for me there. I didn’t have long to wait.
The instant I solidified, a shadow crashed into me and slammed me face down onto the ground. The portal hummed and carried us away immediately. I struggled but I was locked up good, my arm twisted behind my back at an ugly angle, far from my gun. In the whirl of the gate, my senses were blind and it’d be suicide to use magic. The shadow hadn’t done anything but wrap me up, so it made me think he wasn’t looking to kill me, but I still didn’t know who it was. I’d just have to wait it out.
As the portal began to wind down, I powered up and got ready to scrap. Turned out, I didn’t have to.
“Damn it, Frank, are you really that stupid?” I recognized Katon’s voice and let my energy fade. He loosened his grip on my arm and yanked me to my feet.
Katon was DRAC’s enforcer and all around vampiric badass. He and I have butted heads over the years, but we’d gotten closer through all the recent supernatural drama. He still wasn’t sure just how far he could trust me-an ancient deal I’d made with Baalth having soiled my good guy card-but he always dealt fairly with me. We’d fought side-by-side and risked our lives for one another, so he was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt as to whose side I was on, but the ugly uncertainty reared its head from time to time.
I met his dark gaze and saw the fury in his eyes. “You trying out for the Oakland Raiders?” I asked, rubbing my shoulder.
“Don’t start with me.” He huffed and pushed through me, storming off the portal. I followed. “Are you looking to get yourself killed?”
“Uh, no more than usual. Why?”
“The DSI have issued a warrant for you, Frank. You’re wanted for the murder of a DSI officer and for the questioning in the deaths of thirty-four citizens killed by whales.” He raised his hands into the WTF position. “By whales, Frank. Whales! What the hell happened?”
“I didn’t kill the guy.”
Katon shook his head and dropped into a chair. “I didn’t think you did, but the DSI does. They’ve got your house surrounded, and they’re just waiting for you to show up so they can return the favor.”
Shit. “Did they go inside?”
“No, not yet. They’re hoping to surprise you by making it look like they aren’t casing the place.”
“Good thing they didn’t or the surprise would have been on them. I assume you stayed in the portal room?”
“Yeah. I was going to take a look around, but I have to be honest, Frank, you really need to hire a maid. You’ve got some serious funk built up in there.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Katon stared at me wondering what the joke was. “The smell is my dread fiend guard dogs.” He raised an eyebrow. “Long story, but between the DSI, the weres, and the whale-tosser, it’s been a hectic day. I needed a bit of insurance against another sneak attack at home.”
“Another?” He sighed
“Yeah. My day started off with me being shot in the head; it’s only gone downhill from there.”
Katon looked like a heavy metal Spock. “Let me call Rahim and-“
I cut him off. “Nah, man, it’s all good. He and I talked earlier and we decided it’s best if I stay out of DRAC’s way right now. There’s too much going on to drag Rachelle through it. I’m fine, Katon. I’ll get through it.”
He growled low in his throat. “Abraham wasn’t your fault. I know Rachelle’s hurt and angry, but I would have done the exact same thing had I been in your shoes. We all would have. She needed to be focused.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I let Abe die and kept it from her.”
Katon loosed a barking laugh and shook his head, “Whatever, Frank. I don’t believe you let him. No one does. Stop blaming yourself. It’s a risk we all take being a part of DRAC. Abraham knew what he was getting into when he started the organization. He probably even knew he was going to die right then, and still put himself in the position to do so because it served a bigger purpose. He was a great man, but he’s gone. We all need to move on.”
The words stung, but I knew Katon was speaking the truth. A psychic of immense talent, Abe probably did know he was going to die and didn’t bother to avoid it because it would change the final outcome of the battle. That was something he would do. He’d formed DRAC to help stand against the supernatural world after God’s disappearance, and what better way to go out than by saving Heaven?
My stomach grumbled and a wave of nausea hit me as I thought about Abe. I went over and sat across from Katon.
“You all right?” he asked. “You look a little pale.”
“Been a lot going on today, from jumping across dimensions to being shot and ambushed by flying monkeys; I think I’m just run down, using my magic a bunch and I’m not used to it.”
Katon sat quiet for a moment as though he had a question but apparently chose to let it go. “What happened with the DSI agent?”
I knew he’d get to him eventually. “I’d just left Baalth’s and they were camped out there. They followed me and I tried to lose them, but the one guy kept up. I figured I’d give him a bit of a scare and buy myself some time. Next thing I know he’s going up in flames, and I’m sitting there like an idiot, powered up. His buddies show up and you can guess how that went down. Not much else to do then but run.”
“And the whales?” The emphasis told me he was still trying to work out how they figured in.
“Lucifer’s had some alien being locked up in a trophy case in Hell for the last millennium, apparently. The guy got loose and has been hunting for my uncle, but of course he can’t find him so he started shit with the next best thing: me.” I threw my hands in the air and sank into a chair. “He’s the one that cooked the agent, and then followed me to where he could attack without the DSI seeing him.”
“His weapon of choice was whales?”
“You just like the word whales don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Kind of.”
I shook my head. “His magic seems to draw on images, pictures. He attacked me with a witch and her flying monkey minions first, and then started dropping whales on me. I gotta tell you, it gave a whole new meaning to the term dick slapped.”
Katon rolled his eyes, but stayed on point. “With Hell to come back to, why did you go to your house? You knew the DSI would be there.”
“There was someone here spying on me earlier, so I can’t trust this place any more tha
n I can anywhere else. Besides, I left Chatterbox and Lucifer’s blood in the house. I need to get those before anything happens.”
“I’ll get them for you. The DSI aren’t looking for a walking corpse, just someone that looks like one.”
I grinned. “If it’s any consolation, I’m starting to feel like one, too.” I thanked him for the help and explained where he would find the vials and CB.
“I’ll do some quiet research and see if Rahim or the DRAC archives know something about the alien, and I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to get the DSI off your back. I don’t have many contacts connected to them, though, so I don’t have much faith in a miracle.”
“That’s okay. I appreciate the effort, regardless.”
He nodded and went back to the portal, returning to Earth. I just sat there waiting, taking a moment to catch my breath. It seemed like every time I tried to do something, the pooch got screwed, so I figured it was safest to stay put.
After Katon returned and passed Chatterbox and the vials to me, he left again to see what he could do about the DSI. Not even a blip on the radar until the storms, I didn’t figure Katon would have any success getting them to back off. DRAC hadn’t bothered to cultivate a relationship with the group, so they didn’t have any influence. It was gonna be up to me to get my ass out of the mess I was in.
Good luck with that.
Hoping to cheer myself up, I hummed the opening riff to Slayer’s “Angel of Death” as a belated tribute to Azrael. Chatterbox jumped in with an Araya-esque rendition that sent chills down my spine. As we closed out the song, I had to admit I was feeling better. I dropped Chatterbox off in the God-proof room and stashed all but one of the vials. After saying goodbye to the knucklehead, I wandered off. I could hear CB belting out Pantera’s “Slaughtered” behind me and I really wished he would stop, seeing how I was going back to Asmoday’s prison.
