by Michael Todd
Hell, at this point I would picture anything, Pandora said. It’s not like you get any action ever.
I’m sorry, Katie said. I’m slightly busy with other things like saving people—namely Garrett—right now.
Yeah, yeah, superhero complex, Pandora replied. Got it.
“Garrett,” Katie began after everyone else had spread out across the building, “how are you doing?”
He nodded to her. “I’m okay. I want to thank you again for what you did for me the other night.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said. “I’m just a little worried about you, that’s all.”
“I deleted the Facebook like you suggested,” he said, looking down at his hands. “You were right. It doesn’t do me any good to dwell on it and torture myself.” He looked back up. “Right now all I can do is protect them from the craziness out there, and hope that what I’m doing is making some small difference in their lives.”
“Good,” Katie said in a calming tone. “They may not know it, but you are their guardian angel while you have breath in your lungs.”
“I am.” He smiled. “Anyway, I’m going to take Korbin up on that sleep idea so I can get up bright and early and get some training in.”
“Yeah,” Katie said. “I’ll probably do the same thing. I gotta talk to Damian for a few, then I’m hitting the sack. Gotta be good and ready for this next attack.”
“Sounds like a doozy,” he said, patting her on the arm and walking away.
Katie sat there for a few moments thinking about her next move. She needed to talk to the priest, and she didn’t want too much time to slip by. In their profession, every second counted. She got up from the table and pushed away the nerves, then made her way to Damian’s room. She knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.
“Hello?” he called.
“You decent?” she asked.
“Come in,” he answered.
She opened the door and slowly entered the room. “Damian, I was wondering if you had some time?”
“Sure,” he said. “Did you want to talk here or somewhere else?”
“Uh…” She looked out of the room then back at him. “Actually, I was going to offer to buy you a drink at that Irish place you took me to,” she said. “We can sit and talk in comfortable surroundings, and I noticed they have tea on the menu.”
He chuckled. “That sounds good to me. I could use a relaxing drink and some good conversation.”
She laughed. “I don’t know how good it will be.”
Damian and Katie went to the garage and snagged the first SUV they saw, and headed out. Once they got to the bar, they parked down one block, locked the doors, and walked the rest of the way.
Damian grabbed a booth in the corner while Katie ordered his whiskey and her hot tea, earning herself a strange look from the bartender. She returned to the table and sat down, awkwardly holding the cup between her hands. She was unsure what to say.
“So,” she started. “How is Armani doing?”
“As good as a train wreck.” He chuckled. “I’ve thought about recommending he be benched, but I think that would just make him more reckless. At least when he is with us, we can watch out for him and protect him in some ways. Ultimately, though, his choices are his alone.”
She dipped her tea bag. “How’s your service doing?”
Damian smiled and took a sip of his whiskey. “How about we do this?” he asked. “How about you cut to the chase and tell me why we are really here?”
“That obvious?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
“It couldn’t be more obvious if you asked me how my bowel movements were progressing,” he answered, grinning.
“Okay,” she said, sitting up straight, “let me ask you something. Do you honor the seal of the confessional?”
He scratched the side of his face. “Confession is traditionally a Catholic practice, Katie.”
“I know. I just wasn’t sure if you followed that,” she pressed. “Or at least honored the concept?”
“Not exactly follow,” he said. “But if you mean you need a Father Confessor, I suppose I do it for Armani, so there’s no reason that I can’t do it for you as well. Though I wasn’t aware that you followed Catholic practices.”
“I don’t,” she said, shaking her head. “Wait, did you say you are the Father Confessor for Armani?”
“Yes, every Sunday like clockwork,” he said. “It’s the only thing he’ll fight a hangover to get to.”
“Oh, wow,” she said, making a face. “Your ears must drop after one of his nights.”
“Try one of his weeks.” Damian sipped his whiskey and chuckled.
“Oh, God,” she said.
He shrugged. “It’s not the most glamorous part of my job, but I’m in the Lord’s service and I do what his people need. Besides, I have never been your normal priest. I drink at Irish pubs and I was part of the SWAT team, remember? Armani’s confession is no worse than anything I’ve seen working with the police force, arresting violent criminals, and hearing those men’s confessions as well. When you’re a priest people tend to open up to you, so I had to get used to being the sounding board for the entire SWAT—and sometimes the Police Commissioner.”
“Wow!” Her eyes went unfocused for a moment as she thought. “You must have known a lot about these people.”
He chuckled as he looked around the bar. “If I were a politician, I’d be a billionaire by now,” he told her before bringing his attention back to her. “Why do you want to know about the confessional?”
“The ‘why’ isn’t so important.” She stirred honey into her tea for a moment, and Damian allowed her time to cultivate the courage she needed to lay whatever it was out.
Katie sat there going over different approaches to the same issue again and again. She didn’t know how to start that conversation, and she had no idea what his reaction would be.
She had to say it in a way that didn’t reveal the fact that she had been making plans with her demon. At the same time, she wanted him to know that she was serious—that she truly believed that she could save Garrett and survive the process.
Finally, she just decided to say it straight. There was no reason to continue beating around the bush. It was late, and she needed to get back for morning training.
She took a sip of the tea, pulling the hot elixir from her cup. “I know a way I can help Garrett,” she told him. “A way that will free him and reunite him with his family.”
“How?” Damian asked, pulling his eyebrows together. “The demon has to go somewhere. It can’t just linger. Even if it didn’t get sucked back into Hell, leaving it up in the air like that would endanger innocent people. It would be reckless and immoral.” He considered options, thinking through what he knew as he sipped his drink. “This is a Level-Three demon, and though there are those much higher on the list, he isn’t just going to let us tell him to eat himself. He will fight for his survival just like we do, only he has no fears, no ties, and no rules to play by. That in itself makes him a dangerous entity. It’s like trying to fight a rabid dog. You’re going to get bitten, if not killed, every single time. There’s no way to reason with these beings.”
Hey! Pandora said.
“I know,” Katie said, shaking her head. “That’s why I want you to send it to me.”
“Wait, What?” Damian looked at her with first confusion and then determination on his face. “That is ludicrous. It can kill you.”
“I know the risks,” she pressed. “I know there’s a possibility of a fate even worse than death, but my demon is powerful, and if I bring that fire demon into me she can and will destroy it. She’s very territorial about her space. It would be me, my demon, and Garrett’s demon battling for the space. Only two of us can coexist, and that’s even if any of us survive. Still, I’ve come to know the demon inside me, and I think this has a good chance of working.”
Damian played with his drink. “I think you should think about this a little more,”
he told her, shaking his head.
“I have thought about it, and I want to do it for him.”
Damian just looked at her, but his mouth relaxed a bit. He picked up his whiskey, but didn’t drink it. “I can’t make the choice on that, Katie. Ultimately the okay has to come from Korbin, or possibly higher than him. You know this, right?”
“I understand,” she said. “I’m asking that you take it to Korbin. He will listen to you and trust your opinion, but if I go he will only see his soldier, and he isn’t willing to risk any of our lives. This could free Garrett and reunite him with his family; bring some peace and love in this dismal and dark world we exist in.”
Damian sat there for a moment and mulled everything over, not looking happy about it at all. Katie hadn’t expected him to embrace the idea with open arms, but she needed him to trust her judgment enough to go to Korbin with it. He finished all but a sip of his whiskey and put the glass down on the table.
“All right,” he agreed, “I’ll talk to Korbin.” He saw her smile and tried to cut it off. “But I can’t make any promises.”
“That’s good enough for me.” She winked, lifting her cup and clinking his whiskey glass.
She took a sip and wrinkled her nose.
He frowned. “What’s the matter with your tea?”
“Sometimes tea just doesn’t cut it,” she told him.
Now that, Pandora muttered, I could have told you.
18
Katie had gone to bed in hopeful spirits after her talk with Damian at the bar.
She wanted so badly to help Garrett, and she knew her plan would—well, should—work.
The loud blaring of the alarms jolted Katie from her sleep. She sat straight up in the bed and blinked her eyes a few times, trying to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
The bright red light flashed above her door, and she looked out the window, realizing it was just before dawn. There must be an emergency, or the big event was happening.
Katie got up and flipped on her light, throwing her battle clothes on and lacing up her boots. As she pulled her hair back in a ponytail, Korbin’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Everyone gather battle-ready in the pit,” he said. “I repeat, gather battle-ready in the pit. This is not a drill.”
Katie finished up and jogged to the elevator, and she was the first one into the pit. She gathered her weapons and strapped two guns to her hips, figuring this might be just the occasion to start using them. When she turned to walk out of the armory Armani came through the door looking a bit worse for wear, like he needed some sleep. Katie chuckled and shook her head, nodding as she passed him. Everyone gathered quickly, pulling on the last of their gear as they waited for Korbin to address them.
“Good morning,” Korbin began. “Thank you for rushing. The event has been spotted, and we are going to be the first and probably only team to make it there in time. It’s happening in the desert somewhere west of Las Vegas. There is a commune out there, only they aren’t your normal hippies. These are Damned, and demon-taken people plotting a huge summoning. We will fly in, neutralize what we find, and dispose of whatever we need to. They are reporting hostages; innocents who have not yet been Damned. Those people need to be rescued and gotten to safety. Calvin and I will focus on the rescue effort while the rest of you go in full force—no holding back. All right, team, let’s load into the choppers and get on this.”
The guys clapped loudly, and Katie let out a battle cry.
At least, they thought it was a battle cry. Katie thought she had yelled, “Choppers?”
Everyone double-timed it down the tunnel toward the helo pad, where three fully-stocked helicopters sat with their blades whizzing through the air.
“We have fucking choppers,” she whispered. “What will we have next, and when did they get here?”
Katie followed Damian and strapped into one of the helicopters, nodding at Garrett in the pilot seat of the one next to her. She had a task at hand, but all she could think of was getting Garrett back to his family safely.
She had to focus.
And figure out how she could learn to fly choppers.
Armani flipped on the loudspeaker and jacked in his phone, turning up the music—The Flight of the Bumblebee—and was jamming out to his own version in the passenger seat next to Garrett. Everyone was pumped, cheering as they lifted off. Katie’s stomach stayed back on the helo pad for the first ten seconds of their ride before it figured out it had been left behind and caught back up.
The three choppers soared through the air toward the commune.
We are going to kick some motherfucking ass, Pandora said, excitement in her voice.
Hell yeah we are, Katie replied, her heart pounding in her chest. As soon as my stomach locks itself back in place.
Snarls, growls and screams echoed in the warming sunrise across the once-peaceful grounds of a commune secured from the masses by large fences.
It was a massacre.
Six demons, a portion of the total, had wholly possessed the bodies of their humans and now ran wildly around, killing the people of the commune.
Blood soaked into the sandy desert soil, and buildings simmered and burned in the early morning light. The demons were killing everything they could get their hands on. Anyone without the mark of the Damned was fair game to them. Bodies began to pile up in the center of the commune as the leaders of the demon horde stood by, waiting for them to calm.
“Elias, we need the humans alive,” one of the leaders said.
“Patience,” Elias, the head Damned, growled. “They need time to feed and be free before we get to work. I’m sure they are enjoying the chance to get their energy out.” He waved a hand. “Go tend to the humans left unharmed, Terrance.”
“Yes,” Terrance said, bowing and hobbling off toward the untouched buildings.
Elias stood on the edge of the fountain in the center of the commune, taking in deep breaths of the death and decay surrounding him.
His eyes flashed a brighter red and he gripped his gun tightly. Everything was going how they had planned, and it wouldn’t be too much longer before they set out for their real mission.
For once they had managed to thwart the demon hunters’ intelligence services. They had changed their plans every day or so, only deciding on the commune at the last moment.
He knew there were traitors among them—spies even—but he didn’t care. He had a mission to complete, and nothing was going to stand in his way.
Not even those godless demon killers.
After the sun had breached the horizon, Elias lifted his weapon into the air and shot off three rounds. The six demons presently wreaking havoc came to a stop and slowly turned toward Elias, growling, blood dripping from their chins.
Elias smiled and cleared his throat.
“Come,” he yelled, waving them towards him. “Hear my words. It is time for us to begin the next stage of our journey.”
He stood there patiently as the demons abandoned their kills and moved fast enough not to annoy him until they were in front of him.
He smiled as he looked them over, knowing they were just part of the puzzle. Terrance had returned from the back buildings and was looking over the carnage. Next to the fountain crouched one of the six, gnawing intently on an old woman’s leg like an oversized toothpick. She was long gone, though; her throat had been torn from her body. Terrance noticed the others staring at him, so he made his way to the front to join Elias and the other leaders.
The demons hissed and growled at Terrance as he moved through them, but he was used to it.
They didn’t take kindly to anyone, and it was only because of the strength of Elias’s demon and how his human side controlled it that the demons listened to him at all.
Still, the dawn had come and gone, and it was time to push forward with their plans. Terrance climbed up on the fountain next to Elias and stood with his knees knocking.
“Terrance,” Elias pointed in front of them, �
��I would like you to stand right in front of me on the ground. You will be my sword, just in case.”
“Yes, sir,” he sniveled, climbing back down and taking his post.
“Very good,” Elias said, looking at the other leaders up on the makeshift podium with him. “You have yet to see my power, so in order to secure your loyalty, I thought we would start with a little show.”
Terrance had a bad feeling about that, and his eyes grew large.
“Demons,” Elias waved towards Terrance, “he is my gift to you.”
Terrance, shocked, looked up at Elias. The demons started to swirl around Terrance, growling and snarling and reaching for his clothes. Terrance jabbed his rifle toward them and pulled the trigger—and realized he had been given an empty weapon.
“Sorry, old friend,” Elias whispered. “The weak will never survive this war.”
The other leaders looked away as the demons pounced, pulling Terrance’s limbs from his body. The screams echoed over the commune, and Elias smiled evilly down at the scene.
Once Terrance’s cries died out, Elias put up his hand.
“Enough,” he said, and the demons backed off.
“Impressive,” one of the other leaders agreed.
“We all know that our goal is to kill off the human race and take its place ourselves, since we’re a smarter, stronger breed,” Elias said. “Today we start that war. We will take any extra bodies we need from the nearby house and infiltrate the Vegas Strip, grabbing a few tourists here and there to change as soon as possible. Once that is complete and our army is at full strength we will disperse into the rest of the country, blending in and working as spies for our Master until the day arrives that we’re called forth in victory. Any bodies that completely transform, like my friends here, will be the muscle for this venture. The weak will not be tolerated, and the strong will rise, promised a place beside the Almighty when He rises. While Terrance was put to idle work, we took the strong humans and pulled them to safety. The only task left is to rid this commune of the weakest links, something these six fine demons can accomplish in a matter of minutes.”
