“I’ve got the book, I don’t need anything from you,” said Odysseus. “Seems you wasted your time comin’ all the way down here, old man.”
Alistair sighed and leaned forward. “Do you know who you’re working with? This angel, whoever he is, he’s trying to eliminate Hell. Once he’s done with that, where do you think he’ll turn next? Demon offsprings—cambions, vampires, lycans, whatever. And then, he’ll come for the sorcerers.”
“But you think your boy Cross can stop all that?” asked Odysseus. “How’s he gonna do that? Way I heard it, he got his ass spanked by an angel this past year. How’s he gonna stop another one?”
“Luther Cross went up against the Angel of Death. He escaped from Purgatory. He stood face-to-face with Lucifer himself. If there’s one thing I know about that boy, it’s that he’s a survivor,” said Alistair. “But I need him back to the way he truly is. Not this…thing walking around wearing his face.”
Odysseus took the cigar from his mouth and put it out in the ashtray. “Sorry, buddy, but I can’t help you. I got too much at stake and this book is what’s gonna protect me when the time comes.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” said Alistair. “I need that book, Odysseus.”
“No, you don’t,” said Odysseus. “What you need, Carraway, is to pull your head out of your own ass.”
“And what’s that mean?”
“It means have you ever considered that maybe it’s not something that’s corrupted Cross…but that maybe this is Cross?”
Alistair’s free hand tightened into a fist and he ground his teeth together.
“He’s part-demon, after all. There’s always been that darkness inside of him,” said Odysseus. “Maybe you just have to learn to accept that this isn’t some sort of supernatural hocus pocus, and that Luther Cross gave in to his roots.”
14
Celeste stared out the window of her apartment, looking up at the large moon. Despite her best efforts, her mind kept drifting to Alistair. A part of her still wanted to help Luther recover from what he’d become, but another part of her knew that he was too far gone.
There was a knock at the door and she was distracted from her thoughts. She looked to the door as it opened, and Hem stood there, looking at her with his red eyes. Celeste could sense his hesitation. His massive shoulders were slumped, but his eyes never broke contact.
“Are you okay, Mistress?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” Her tone was far more clipped and curt than she’d intended. “Is there something you wanted?”
“There is someone here to see you.”
“Who is it?”
“Iblis.”
“What does he want?” asked Celeste, scrunching her eyebrows together.
“He said he wants to speak with you about possible entertainment for the coming weekend.”
Celeste stood from the bench by the window, and crossed from her bedroom into the living room. “Send him in.”
Hem nodded and left the room. Celeste sat down on the couch and picked up the cigarette case from the coffee table. She lit one and started smoking as she waited for her unexpected guest to arrive. A few moments later, there was a knock at the front door followed by Hem opening it. He stepped in first and held the door open for Iblis, who walked past him and right towards Celeste.
She rose from the couch and greeted him with a quick hug. “Good to see you, Iblis.”
“And you as well.” After the hug, Iblis took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles. “You’re as lovely as ever.”
“Save the flattery for someone it’ll actually work on,” said Celeste. “I’m more interested in hearing what you have to say. Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” Iblis sat in the recliner beside the couch.
“Care for a drink?” she asked.
Iblis shook his head and held up his hand. “I appreciate that, but I’m okay. I don’t think this will take very long anyway.”
“Mind if I have one?”
He shrugged. “This is your place, by all means do as you wish.”
Celeste looked in Hem’s direction, but he’d apparently heard her as he moved over to the bar to fill a glass with red wine. He brought it over and set it down on the coffee table in front of her. She smiled at him and raised the glass to her lips.
Iblis watched Hem’s movements carefully with his yellow eyes, even keeping his stare on the yeti as he returned to his place beside the door and crossed his arms. “He seems quite devoted to you.”
“Good help can be hard to find,” said Celeste. “Now, Hem tells me you’re interested in hiring some entertainment for the weekend?”
Iblis nodded. “Lust will be closing down this Friday for a private party. Some conservative organization dedicated to preserving the family.”
Celeste chuckled. “And they’re coming to undermine everything they claim to stand for by going to a club run by a demon so they can mingle with vampire escorts?”
Iblis smirked. “Well, you know how it is. I’m sure you’re no stranger to these types of events.”
“Certainly not.” Celeste set her wine glass down and leaned back into the corner of the couch, draping her arm over the back. “How many girls are you thinking?”
“Five, maybe six.”
“You know the rules,” said Celeste. “My girls only drain. If these hypocrites are interested in fucking, they have to go somewhere else.”
Iblis nodded. “Of course, that won’t be an issue. I’ve made other arrangements for that.”
Celeste paused and studied the demon’s face. “This is a bit short notice, isn’t it?”
“Actually, they booked the club with Lilith, before I took over,” said Iblis. Celeste tried to avoid cringing at the mention of the name and Iblis continued. “However, this was a last-minute request. Apparently one of the members had an encounter with a vampire in DC and couldn’t stop raving about it, so he got the others to go along with it. Will it be a problem?”
“Not necessarily,” said Celeste. “But I’ll have to check the schedules. My girls are in high demand, so I might not be able to meet your needs.”
“Whatever you can,” said Iblis. “My guests said money is no object, so they’re willing to pay whatever price you can imagine.”
“I can imagine a lot.”
Iblis gave a snicker. “Yes, I’m sure you can. The organizer is actually downstairs in my limo right now. Would you like to come meet him, chat about the price and the terms?”
Celeste reached for her glass and took another sip of wine. “I don’t think that’s necessary. You know the rates, you know the terms, you can handle it from here.”
“He insists on meeting you,” said Iblis.
“I’m not.” She puffed on the cigarette and then crunched it out in the ashtray. “So how about you tell me what’s really going on here, Iblis?”
If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn Iblis looked hurt by her comment. He was quite good at faking sincerity, but she’d learned to never trust a demon. Especially not one as proficient in making deals as Iblis.
“That hurts, Celeste. And here I thought we’d grown quite close in the time since I took over Lust.”
“You’re a client, nothing more,” said Celeste. “To be honest, I wouldn’t really lose any sleep if I never had to deal with Lust ever again.”
“Still sore over the whole thing between Lilith and Cross, eh?”
Celeste felt her blood boil at that comment. She felt an almost irresistible urge to leap across the distance separating them and tear out Iblis’ throat with her bare hands. But she restrained herself and maintained her composure, aside from some slight flaring of her nostrils.
“I think you should leave now,” she said.
“So soon? I thought we were having a nice chat.”
Celeste pointed to the door. “Go now. Or Hem will escort you out. And he’s not very gentle.”
Hem had been like a statue the entire time. Now he moved, lowerin
g his arms and approaching Iblis. His massive shadow fell over the now-unwelcome guest and the demon looked up at the yeti. Iblis sighed and stood.
“As you wish. But you’re making a big mistake. I would’ve liked to handle this with a bit more finesse.”
“Should’ve thought of that before you mentioned Cross’ name,” said Celeste.
“Oh no, not about the event. That was just an excuse to get you down to the limo. Things would have been much simpler if you did that. But instead…”
Iblis spun on his heel and drove his fist into the side of Hem’s face. The blow was far stronger than one would expect from a man of Iblis’ size striking someone of Hem’s. Celeste could hardly believe what she just witnessed.
Hem was thrown back, crashing on a table and bringing it to the ground. He growled and was back on his feet. Hem barely missed a beat, catching his footing and charging at the demon. Iblis was far faster and sidestepped him. Hem quickly slowed to a stop just before hitting the wall, but them Iblis kicked him in the back.
The yeti slammed into the wall. The reverberations from the impact caused cracks to form in the surface and the mount holding up a large-screen TV came loose. The TV set fell right on Hem’s head and the screen cracked.
Celeste was off the couch now and she dove at Iblis. She transformed while in mid-leap, her fangs extending from her gums and her nails growing into razor-sharp talons. She slashed once within reach, her claws raking across Iblis’ face.
He pulled back, cringing in pain. Four bloody marks stretched from his right temple all the way down to the left side of his jaw. He gritted his teeth and his eyes burned bright yellow.
Celeste moved in for another strike, but Iblis grabbed her wrist before she could make contact. He did the same when she tried to strike with her opposite hand.
With both wrists in his grasp, Iblis pulled her closer to him and headbutted her. Celeste was dazed and she stumbled back once he released her wrists. She felt something strike her chest and was thrown backwards, crashing on the coffee table.
“I really did expect more from you and your little bodyguard, Celeste,” said Iblis. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, but I do have my orders.”
“O-orders…?” she asked, still in a daze. The world was spinning and she had trouble getting up. She turned onto her side and she saw Hem lying on the ground, unconscious.
Even with her distorted vision making her see double, she watched as Iblis approached Hem. The demon knelt down and raised the yeti up. It almost seemed too absurd to believe, watching someone as slender as Iblis lift up Hem as if he weighed nothing.
“Wait…what are you doing?” asked Celeste.
“Just taking out the trash.”
Iblis threw Hem at the floor-to-ceiling balcony window. The yeti went right through it, shattering the glass. He struck the railing and then went over the edge.
Celeste let her head fall back to the ground, trying to fight against the pain and channel the rage she felt. Hem was more than just a bodyguard to her, he was also like an overprotective big brother. And if Iblis had killed him, she’d see to it that he paid for it.
She had to block out the pain and focus. Celeste got to her feet, shards of broken glass falling off her. There were cuts along her body and her movements were sluggish. But Iblis had moved to the balcony and now stood at the edge, looking over the railing to admire his handiwork.
Wouldn’t take much, she just had to push him over the edge. Send him crashing down, the same as he’d done to her friend. She was getting closer.
“Well, he’s still intact, it seems,” said Iblis, still staring over the edge. “I wonder if he survived?”
Closer, still. Now she reached the door frame and stepped onto the balcony, broken glass crunching beneath her feet. That apparently got Iblis’ attention, because now he looked over his shoulder and smiled at her.
“Did you really think it was going to be that easy?” he asked.
Celeste grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. She lunged for him and opened her mouth wide. Her fangs were just mere inches from his flesh when something grabbed her and pulled her away from the balcony.
Suddenly, Celeste found herself racing up into the air, being pulled higher and higher, her building receding into the distance. She couldn’t believe what was happening now, wondering if Iblis had cast a spell on her or slipped something in her drink.
But then she realized there was someone holding onto her. She looked up and saw she was in the grip of a man flying high above the city. Celeste gasped when she saw his pale face. His long, dark hair billowed in the wind, and his eyes burned bright yellow. He wore a burgundy-colored suit and he kept them both aloft on leathery, bat-like wings that extended out from his shoulder blades.
“Asmodeus…” she muttered. “But…how?”
Asmodeus chuckled. “It’s good to see you too, Celeste. We have so much catching up to do.”
On the street far below, a shocked crowd had gathered around the large being who lay flat on the asphalt. The strange thing was that a fall like that should have easily liquefied the man. But instead, Hem’s body was more or less intact.
Once he started to move, it caused the crowd to disperse. Screams were shouted and they all ran. Hem moved slowly, pulling himself up to his feet. He stumbled, having to brace himself against a parked car and nearly knocking it on its side.
His eyes drifted up to the sky and in the moonlight, he could see a figure flying overhead. A figure with demonic wings carrying his mistress.
Iblis had attacked them without provocation. He’d taken Celeste captive. And there was one thing Hem knew for certain—Iblis worked for Lilith, running Lust on her behalf. That meant there was someone else he worked for, a Hell Lord. One who Celeste had something of a rocky relationship with these days.
Anger started to grow in Hem’s body. He’d go straight to the source, find out where Celeste was, and kill anyone who got in his way.
“I’m coming for you, Cross,” he growled.
15
After taking an Uber back to my car, I decided it was best to leave Morrison with Tessa for the night. She had that basement where he could sleep after all, and he’d be safer there than with me. My idea of trying to get Gabriel to step in proved to be a wasted effort, so now I was back at square one.
The only real option I had was the Abraxas Stone, which hadn’t worked since that night a few months ago. Took the energy from a building full of angry spirits to charge it up back then and where was I going to find that kind of mojo on such short notice?
Had to try something. Asmodeus would make a move soon. I was surprised he hadn’t come after Morrison yet, which meant he was up to something. He never did anything half-assed.
I drove into the garage beneath my Gold Coast building and the headlights fell on a large, hulking figure in a torn suit. His skin was pale and he was bald, but his eyes were red, almost like mine. As soon as he saw me, he bared his teeth and moved into action.
I turned the wheel hard and hit the brakes, trying to avoid running into him. My insurance didn’t cover damage due to hitting a yeti.
Hem slammed into the passenger side of the car as I turned to try and avoid him. I stepped on the gas to peel out of the garage, but Hem grabbed the Camaro’s rear bumper and pulled back. The wheels spun as I hit the accelerator, but went nowhere.
“Dammit!” I cursed.
Hem slammed his fist against the trunk. “Cross! Face me like a man!”
This wasn’t gonna end unless I gave him what he wanted. I thought, why not? I’d gone up against some tough characters in my day. Azrael, Belial, even Thanatos. A yeti wouldn’t be the hardest thing I’d ever fought.
I turned off the engine, took the gun from the glove box, and stepped out of the car. Before Hem could take a step towards me, I aimed the gun at him.
“Let’s start slow,” I said. “The hell do you want?”
“You know what I want!” Hem slammed his fist on the trunk for
emphasis.
“Could you not?” I asked. “I like my car the way it is.”
“You just couldn’t stand it, could you?” asked Hem. “She let go of you and you couldn’t take it anymore.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you on about?”
“You know, dammit!” he shouted. “Celeste!”
“Celeste? What’s she got to do with—”
Hem stomped on the ground, causing a small tremor. Not enough to knock me down, but enough to distract me long enough. Because the next thing I knew, he had his hand around my throat and had slammed me against the hood of my own car.
And then I saw his fist up-close. Right before it slammed into my face.
And then again.
And again.
My vision blurred. I could feel something hot and sticky running down the side of my face. The fact that I didn’t black out was probably a small miracle.
“Where is she?”
Another blow. I had to try and stop this before he caved my skull in. Violence wasn’t gonna do it, but maybe I could try words. I held up my hand just as he wound up for another punch.
“Wait…wait…”
Hem growled back, his hand still poised to strike. But he didn’t bring his fist down, just kept it above me, like a hammer ready to fall. I turned my head to the side and spat blood on the hood.
“What exactly do you think I did?” I asked. “What does Celeste have to do with all this?”
“You took her,” said Hem.
I didn’t know if all the punching had affected my mind or if Hem had just lost his. “What are you talking about? Why would I take Celeste?”
“Because she rejected you after you refused her aid.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“Your errand boy came after us,” said Hem.
“What errand boy?”
“You know who! Iblis!”
Now the pieces were starting to come together. “Hold up…you’re saying Iblis took Celeste as a captive?”
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