by Michael Todd
“There were several large demons, but the rest were normal ones,” Korbin replied. “The big ones were taken down by the team, except for one which was eaten by another to gain power.”
“That’s…interesting.” Amy reviewed her memories. “Haven’t seen that before.”
“Neither had we,” Korbin admitted, stopping and turning to them. “In the last moments of the battle the demon raged, blowing through the other buildings. It took Katie, Damian, and Eric to finally put the beast down.”
“I don’t mean to question you,” John asked, “but a demon that size and three normal hunters? That sounds like it would be an awful lot for them to handle.”
“I would agree, but I heard about Los Angeles.” Amy shrugged. “Still, there had to be something else involved with all this. Maybe some special somethings you aren’t telling us?”
Korbin shuffled his feet as he looked at each of their faces. He had known it wouldn’t be that easy to fool them, but he wasn’t prepared to tell them about Katie yet. They had agreed that would be a bad idea, and he was going to stick to that decision.
“Actually,” Korbin continued, “that’s why I brought you here. I do have a secret, but I think that it may be a bit different than what you are thinking. There are no superpowers or a Hulk waiting in the wings.”
“Then what is it?” Amy asked.
“Weapons,” Korbin told them. “And not just any weapons, very special ones. Follow me, and I will show you. And by the way, where are your seconds?”
“Oh, we all left them back in charge at the bases,” William explained. “We knew you had been attacked, and we didn’t want to leave our people completely unprotected with that kind of threat out there.”
“Got it.” Korbin nodded. “Good decisions.”
“So, we heard you picked up a new Damned,” Brian said. He was walking next to Korbin. “Another female, younger than you but older than the others. How is she?”
“Her name is Stephanie,” Korbin replied. “And she is good. She is trained in martial arts, strong, mentally capable, and very loyal. I tried to get her to go to one of you, but she insisted on staying with us.”
“What kind of demon?” John asked.
“A succubus.” Korbin blushed slightly. “She owned a brothel before becoming one of the Damned. I guess that was where she got the demon.”
“That should be interesting.” Amy laughed. “With all these men in here.”
“She isn’t like that,” Korbin replied. “She is very respectable, and controls her demon really well. She actually has been quite helpful recently, donating some land for us to build our new base on.”
“I was going to ask you if you planned on staying,” Brian replied. “Though this would take a major rebuild.”
“Yeah.” Korbin shook his head. “I thought about rebuilding here, but our cover is blown, and I can’t keep the civilian authorities away for too long if they continue to try to attack us. I figured it was time to move on to the next place.”
“Good thinking,” Amy agreed. “Are there facilities there?”
“An old base for us to stay in initially,” Korbin replied, pressing the elevator button. “But I plan on building a whole new base around it.”
“And what did the higher-ups say?” William asked.
“Are you kidding?” Brian laughed. “This team is on fire! The higher-ups will probably give him anything he needs.”
“True.” Korbin chuckled. “But I am building the base myself, or at least most of it. I made a deal with Stephanie.”
Korbin stopped in front of the conference room and the elevator doors shut behind him. He looked at each of the leaders in turn, just to make sure that they were on the same side as him. He smiled at Amy, who knew exactly what he was doing.
Korbin smiled. “The surprise is through here, but I need to know that I have your discretion. That you won’t speak of what you are about to see, even with the government.”
“What do you have back there?” Amy chuckled, trying to look over his shoulders.
“Godzilla.” Brian laughed. “You have my discretion.”
“And mine,” Amy replied.
“Always,” William assured him.
“John?” Korbin asked, turning to him.
“Well, I don’t know you as well as the others, but curiosity has me on pins and needles, so you have mine too,” John assured him.
“All right, then let’s get this over with,” Korbin replied.
Chapter 3
The demon had situated his things just perfectly, knowing he would be gone for a bit. He didn’t want to leave a mess. He was not a normal demon, but rather was purposeful about everything he did. He left the underworld and traveled up, searching for a “proper” human to take over.
The capsule not only had to suit his style—be neat, tidy, and pay close attention to detail—but it also had to be someone who could get close to the Damned; talk to one of them about the betrayal.
The demon ended up in New York, a city he loved for the excitement but hated due to the lack of order and the resulting chaos.
He needed order. He needed everything to be in its place, he planned things out, and he allowed no spontaneity. That was just how he was, even though his instincts were quite the opposite.
Finally, after days of searching and then a day or two of stalking and planning, the neat-freak demon found a Coven whose leader, Bridgett, had yet to be infected.
She wanted to be infected. In fact, she prayed for it and thought about it constantly, and the stench of jealousy on her when she was around the Damned in her coven was more than disgusting to the demon. He didn’t want to be cooped up inside a human, but he knew that to have even a chance of getting close to the Damned he needed her.
After several days of watching, the demon took her while she was asleep. He had found that way to be the most effective, since he could keep the human from passing out or vomiting during the experience, due to his power.
Bridgett woke up afterward. “Oh damn!” She slid out bed and moved to her dresser.
“Yes!” Her eyes were red and she could feel something inside, but he wasn’t moving or talking.
This was not how she had heard it usually happened.
Hello? she called mentally. Anyone in here? Can you talk back?
Obviously I’m in here, a voiced snapped derisively. But until I have orders for you, I will remain quiet.
Her brows narrowed. I thought I was supposed to be the leader here.
Yeah, you keep thinking that. He scoffed. Anyway, brush that hair, put on some clothes and go about your day.
“Whatever,” she grumbled out loud, then she felt the unyielding need to follow his instructions.
The demon wasn’t going to take her shit, and being one of the more powerful ones, he set himself up to control as many of her actions as he could without completely giving her away.
The last thing he wanted—or needed, for that matter—was to be tracked down by the Killers before he’d had a chance to speak to one of them. Until that point, he would keep Bridgett on a short leash. It was always better to be the one in control.
He didn’t mind this human as much as the last he’d had to deal with. She was well groomed, got up on time, spoke fluently and intelligently, and generally didn’t make him want to puke. But still, she wasn’t up to par with what he deserved.
This was a short-notice gig, which was just like T’Chezz, but he owed him a favor, so there he was.
Next time he would think it through before he asked anyone like T’Chezz for a favor. Missions like these were not his favorite things, but then again, rotting in hell was not very exciting either.
He put on a brave demon face and decided to make the most of it. At least Earth had good food, and better conversation than he had been having with the idiots below.
No matter how strong they were. Strength did not equate with intelligence.
When the human had cleaned up and made herself as p
retty as she could, the demon directed her to go about her day. There was no time to lose, especially not on human bullshit.
Bridgett went out to a restaurant and sat—back straight as a statue’s—at an outside table, staring down at the menu.
The demon read it over and sighed, not impressed by her choice of restaurant. He made a mental note to make her do some research next time before taking him out to a place to eat. He didn’t need food to survive, but she did, so he picked the most appetizing thing—to him—on the menu.
Order two eggs, sunny-side up, an English muffin, lightly toasted, and a hot cup of coffee, he told her.
She did so and then sat there in a light trance, folding her napkin neatly in her lap and placing her hands on top. The waitress looked at her strangely, but shrugged and kept going. Bridgett stared at the table as she waited for the demon to speak. She had wanted this for so long, but it didn’t seem to be anything like she thought a possession would be.
I am here looking for the Damned. The Killers, to be precise, the demon told her. I need someone who may be willing to strike a deal.
Someone to make a deal with the Devil? she clarified, surprised.
Precisely, he agreed. Have you heard of them? They haven’t been so quiet recently with their attempts to take down the demon race.
I know of them, she qualified, thinking this through. I try to stay away from them for safety reasons. I’ve known one of them for a while.
A coven head and a Damned know each other, the demon mused. Interesting. Go on.
He doesn’t know that I’m in a coven. If he ever found out, I would be dead in a heartbeat. I know him, he knows me, but we aren’t more than passing acquaintances. For good reasons, I have kept him at arm’s length.
No matter. You know who he is, he knows who you are—that is perfect, the demon snarled.
She thought about their options. I also know he hates to be anything less than Number One. He is constantly racing toward the future, trying to get ahead. Sometimes he seems almost obsessed with the idea of perfection.
He sounds like the perfect candidate, the demon replied, wondering why he never got those kinds of humans to possess.
I bet he would like to know what you are offering, Bridgett said. And maybe we can get him to see the opportunity as a positive thing. It’s important to keep him or speak to him away from the others, though. Something secretive will grab his attention. I will have to be quick, though. He will know I am infected the moment he sees my eyes, and I really would like to keep my head on my shoulders.
The demon waited a minute before speaking again. Hmmm. You may be right. Maybe you will be more useful than I originally had considered. She perked up a touch with his compliment. I am sure I can protect you from whatever you are afraid of, which in this case seems to be death. Humans are so interesting; so curious, when it comes to things like that. Death should be the least of your worries. This world is full of despicable and disgusting people. I know, because I used to frequent their bodies.
Bridgett opened her mouth to say something, but he didn’t feel like hearing her philosophy on death so he cut her short.
She closed her mouth and pouted. He controlled the way she moved her mouth. She must have looked insane sitting there fighting to get her mouth open; fighting to do anything other than stare. Finally the waitress came back with her food, and smiled down at her. She forced a smile in return and picked up her coffee.
Bridgett sighed. Okay, I’ll be quiet. Jesus!
Eat your breakfast. We have a plan to hatch, and for fuck’s sake—never say that name!
Korbin looked at each team lead to make sure that their faces were resolute.
He hated questioning his own family but these days he had to be more careful than usual.
Many people had been betrayed in the previous year, so he was making damn sure he and his team wouldn’t become the next victims.
These were the most upstanding leaders of the teams, and he would need their help keeping the weaponry a secret from the government. The smaller teams would get the new weapons too, but the main hubs were his focus. It was vital that they be brought in before they started to ask more questions.
He unlocked the door and led them across the room to the massive metal safe against the back wall. It looked like the old-time vaults; the ones that had rolled to be into banks before they built the secure rooms.
However, this one’s door was completely up to date on all security protocols.
He pushed in the code to the finger pad, pressed his thumb to the scanner, leaned down for an eye scan, and when it clicked, turned the knob, opening the door wide to reveal the weapons the company created for them.
They shimmered and sparkled in their display case, and Korbin could almost feel the power radiating through them. There were twelve weapons, enough for each team lead to take home three. The team leads gaped at the bright weapons. They weren’t sure what was so special about them, but they too could feel the otherworldly presence pulsing from their long, sharp blades.
“Who is going to be tested first?” Korbin asked with a straight face.
The leads looked at him, and then each other. They had no idea what he meant by “tested first,” and they couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off the weapons.
Korbin smirked as he stared at the four of them, his arms crossed over his chest. After several moments of silence Amy stepped forward, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands in the air.
Korbin had figured she would probably go first, since she was the bravest of them all. She was small and had just a small touch of the Napoleon complex, but she had been his favorite of the leaders for a long time.
“Bunch of rabbits,” she grumbled, looking at the men in annoyance as she stepped forward. “Korbin isn’t going to hurt us.”
She shook her head as Korbin took her hand and grabbed a small knife from the vault. Before she could even look back at Korbin, he pricked the tip of her finger and let go.
She looked at him strangely for a fraction of a moment before pulling her hand up to her chest, her eyes opening wide in surprise. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her face went pale as she worked to stop any noise from escaping her lips.
Her eyes declared their intent to plug Korbin full of laser holes if she could just shoot them from those orbs.
“FUUUUCK!,” she finally groaned. “What the holy hell did you just do to me? Goddamn, it feels like fucking fire!”
She put her finger into her mouth and closed her eyes. Korbin could remember how strong that feeling had been when he was pricked for the first time. He had kept his composure better than Amy, though.
When the pain subsided, she hopped back to the others and pushed John forward.
“You’re up!” She looked at John, her lips smiling but her eyes promising pain.
“Great.” John stepped forward. “Just what I was looking forward to this morning—a stabbing.”
One by one the leaders stepped up to the front, allowing Korbin to prick their fingers. All four of them had a bad reaction, cursing and growling at the full effect of the knives.
They were not happy to have been wounded like that, but it had definitely intrigued them.
“What is this?” John asked. “Where did you find it?”
“Well, we met a young man at a weapons fair we attended,” Korbin explained. “He’d inherited a centuries-old skill, and it was the breakthrough we needed. We knew as soon as the metal was near us that it was something special. I am a minority owner in the company, Katie being the main stockholder, and a few others taking board seats with small shares of the company. The young man originally running it was orphaned at a young age and was living in his van. He was traveling around making these weapons, but never really selling them. It is a very well-hidden centuries-old secret, used long ago to defeat an incursion of demons and now in our hands. We felt we needed to move on it quickly.”
“I would tend to agree,” Amy exclaimed, examining a sword “This
might have something to do with why the demons attacked the base. These would not go over well in the demon community. I suppose these are what you used when you were defeating those guys?”
“It was, and I agree,” Korbin told her. “Our team heavy found him tucked away at the event, bought the company right there, and brought him back with us. It’s just him, so it took a while to build up enough of a supply to give you guys some. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that has since saved our lives more than once.”
“I would like to meet your team heavy,” John said, looking at the sword. “She seems to have an eye for weaponry.”
“And everything else.” Amy scoffed. “She is the one who created our team-wide creed. She was apparently small and quiet at first, but I’ve heard she is definitely on warrior status now.”
“She is quite the Killer.” Korbin chuckled. “She was found in an abandoned parking garage, tied to a pole and newly infected. I didn’t have high hopes for her longevity, but she has become one of my best fighters—though sometimes she can get carried away.”
“It seems it pays off, though,” Amy countered. “Those demons she kills are pretty hefty.”
“That they are. She wanted to meet you as well, but unfortunately she couldn’t be here for this meeting,” Korbin said. “Next time we get together, she will be there.”
“Good,” John exclaimed.
John was experienced, more because of the sheer number of demons that hit the New York area than the years under his belt.
Korbin had never really liked him that much. He was pushy and competitive, and out of all the team leads he was the last one that he would trust with Katie’s secret.
He couldn’t be sure John wouldn’t have her transferred to his team by the higher-ups—or even worse, be the one to drive a sword through her heart.
Now that everyone was there with Korbin, he had started to realize just how important it was to keep her abilities a secret. Much like the swords, she was a precious weapon; poised and ready for battle, never letting the team down.
Her safety had just become his primary focus. Unfortunately, needs must when the Devil drove.
