Her face flushed red, in an instant, her eyes narrowing. “They did what?”
I reached out and grabbed her wrist, her hand clenched in a fist. “I’m okay. They were making a point. While I didn’t appreciate it, they’re the least of my concerns right now.”
“They shot you! How can that be the least of your problems?”
“It’s been a hectic day.” I soothed her fist open so I could hold her hand. She grasped mine tight, fury still evident in her grip. “The government guys, the DSI, dumped me downtown. Before I could call you, some jackass attacked me with a specter. You might have seen the results of that on the news.”
She nodded, wrapping her other hand around mine. “That was you? Did you kill him?”
I shook my head. “He-she-it got away, and I don’t have a clue as to who was behind the spirit. I picked up a trace of power, but it disappeared before I could sort anything out. It didn’t seem random, so at first I thought it might be the DSI folks flexing their muscles to keep me on my toes, but I just don’t know. It doesn’t make sense for them to attack me out in the open just after they had me locked up and shut down. That’s why I have the dread fiends scattered about, just in case this turns out to be more than the government trying to gauge my abilities. They’ll attack anyone I haven’t put on the do not kill list.”
“What now?”
“Well, I only had two thoughts on my way home.” I sat up and grabbed handfuls of Karra’s breasts. “We took care of the first thing, so that only leaves the second, unless you want to revisit the first. I suppose I could make time for that.”
She laughed and batted my hands away. “What’s the second?”
Doing my best to keep the disappointment from my voice, I told her. “I was thinking of going to Hell.” She raised her eyebrows. “Back when I was checking into Asmoday’s murder, I stumbled across a containment case. It looked like it had been built to keep something-someone-powerful inside. Whatever was in there had broken out before I found it, but the case itself was covered in a fancy magical script. It was some kind of warding, way too complicated and strange for me to have any clue what it meant.”
I hopped up and waved for Karra to go with me as I left the bedroom. In the kitchen, I pulled the tome from the fridge and tossed it onto the counter. The overloud sounds of grunting and bad dialogue drifted from the living room, bringing a smile to my face. Karra came up alongside me to examine the book. I knew Lucifer probably didn’t want me showing it to anyone, seeing how he wanted it hidden in the God-proof room, but I didn’t want to keep it from Karra.
“Lucifer’s messenger gave this to me.” I opened the book and flipped through a few of its pages, showing her the flowing script that filled them. “It’s the same language that I saw on the case, and it’s somewhat close to the symbols Hasstor had imprinted across his skin. That gives me a pretty good idea that what was in the case came from out there.” I waved my hand toward the ceiling.
“Angels?”
I shook my head. “Aliens, more like.”
Karra stared at me a moment before returning her attention to the book. She flipped through the pages with wide eyes, her breathing shallow-not that I was looking at her chest, or anything.
“Can I see the case?” she asked.
I didn’t see why not. “Sure, I’m going there anyway. Hasstor didn’t tell me shit about the book or why he was giving it to me. He just said Lucifer wanted me to hide it. Maybe we can find something out.”
Her smile coming back to light up her face, Karra hugged me, and then ran off to the bedroom to get dressed. I watched her until she disappeared from sight, and then looked back at Chatterbox. His ugly mug wiped the leer from my face, but I had to admit it was good to have him home.
“Nice seeing you, CB.”
He chittered and gave me a toothy grin. “ Ppoooorrrrrrnn.” He spared me about a half-second of his time before turning back to the TV.
It’s good to see a man of dedication. “Watch the house, and play nice with our stinky guests while we’re gone. We’ll be back in a while.”
Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to Hell I go.
Chapter Seven
Through the portal that led to my uncle’s quarters, Karra and I were in Hell just a short while after we were dressed. She was excited to go, the tome and case intriguing her and driving her into a frenzy of curious energy. While I was interested, too, it was more of a how will this save my ass? kind of adventure. Unless the book was the Kama Sutra of the Otherverse, and I didn’t think it was-there weren’t any pictures-it was like lugging around an old textbook. Sure, that kind of thing was useful when you needed to pass a test, but it sat in the closet collecting dust, otherwise.
“Why are you so riled up?” I asked.
She grinned as we wound our way through Lucifer’s chambers. “The idea of something beyond our existence fascinates me. It’s what drew me to necromancy-among other things.” Karra’s smile flickered for an instant, likely remembering her quest to reanimate her father, Longinus-the Anti-Christ-and the cause of his death: my uncle, whose chambers we were now roaming. A second later the smile was back. “I’d love to see what else God deigned to create.”
“Preferably dead and under a microscope.” The very last thing I wanted was an army of Hasstor-like beings invading Earth and giving her a firsthand glimpse of alien life. I shivered as I recalled Hasstor’s squirmy appendage. It gave the term violation a whole new meaning.
As we passed the corridor that led to the God-proof room, I waved Karra on ahead. “I need to stash this somewhere, and it’s probably safest if you don’t know where it is. I can pull it out later for a closer look.”
“You’re still talking about the book, right?”
“Mostly.”
She laughed and shooed me off. “I’ll be down the hall.”
Once she was, I made my way to the only room in existence-as far as I knew-that no one, to include God, could see or send their senses into from the outside. A gift to Lucifer from God himself, it was the supernatural equivalent to a super powered safe room. Once inside, I found a good spot to hide the tome and made my way back to Karra. She stood at the entrance to the room where Asmoday had been murdered. I had the dread fiends open the place back up afterward, seeing no point in keeping it sealed since it wasn’t being used as a prison cell.
“You feel better now that you’ve done your manly duty and protected me from the mean old book?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, and please stop impugning what little bit of my manhood I have left.”
She laughed and followed me inside as I pretended to pout. She was only joking, seeing how she was the more powerful of us, but she was right on the truth. I was trying to protect her. Lucifer hadn’t passed on anything about the book or what its significance was. Who knew what it was meant for or who would be scrambling to get their hands on it? I sure didn’t, but it didn’t take a genius to realize he wouldn’t have me stashing it in the God-proof room if he wanted it to be found. That was a pretty good indication someone would have cause to look for it. There was no way I wanted Karra in the middle of any more of Lucifer’s bullshit.
She glanced around the room and raised her hands after peeking into the side chamber. “Where’s it at?”
I went over to the bed and patted the mattress.
“Really? Do you think I’m that easy?”
“A guy can only hope.” I grinned and tossed the bed aside, revealing the hole that had been dug beneath it. “Follow me.” I hopped down inside, and Karra dropped beside me a moment later.
As we made our way through the tunnel, which led to the case chamber, I could hear Karra snorting behind me. “If this is your idea of a good time, I’m going to have to reassess our relationship, buddy.”
The stench of dread fiends was in the air. The room before the chamber was filled with thousands of them, all awaiting orders. It made for a horrific cloud of funk, but you couldn’t find a better guard dog to protect your valuables. They didn’t chew up your furniture or shit on the rug…unless you’re into that kind of stuff.
“Once we’re through the next chamber, the stink will taper off.” I heard her laugh and mumble something under her breath. I could only assume it was a joke about men and their penchant for fun smells.
