behind her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, hoping she could take some comfort from the touch. Though I tried my best not to look down her shirt, I apparently suck at being sympathetic.
“Same thing here?”
Scarlett drew in a few shuddering breaths and answered. “Worse.”
I had a hard time believing that. “How so?”
“The dimensional wall is threadbare, even more so than at the warehouse.” She glanced about. I knew her senses examined the wall, but I wasn’t interested in following suit.
“There has been a power transfer here like I’ve never seen before. I know of no demon capable of such a feat.” I felt her pulling her senses back, her eyes glazing over with despair.
I stepped away from her and paced the aisle, trying to motivate my brain. I knew Asmoday was powerful, and bolstered by McConnell, there was no doubt he could pull off some serious feats of magic, but nothing capable of crippling the dimensional wall. How had he done it?
I growled and stopped pacing, staring up at the blinded Christ. “Got any ideas, buddy?” He didn’t answer. Foregoing any hope of divine intervention, the sense that God no longer prowled these halls, even in spirit, prevailing, my eyes roamed the church, taking in the somber mood.
The statuary lining the walls all stood with their eyes to the sky, their hands held out in welcome. Outside, I heard the rumbling of thunder and felt the faint tingle of electricity in the air. The hairs on the back on my neck stood on end as the reverberations faded away. There was a storm coming.
“Come on, Scarlett. Let’s go. I can’t think in here.”
I went over and helped her to her feet. She was a wet rag, all but lifeless. It took a few minutes, but I finally got her up and moving on her own. Thunder crackled again and the lights flickered as we headed for the exit. Scarlett seemed in a daze, walking numbly beside me. We stepped outside just as the first few drops of rain struck the ground. Not interested in getting soaked, I hurried her to the car and helped her inside. As I was shutting her door, I caught a glimpse of lightning as it forked across the heavens, striking something off in the distance. I smiled, the image reminding me of my childhood.
When I was young, my mother would tell me lightning was God’s way of protecting humanity from the fallen ones. As demons were most likely to do their dirty work in the dark, especially in the midst of a storm, the angels would hurl lightning bolts down to illuminate the earth and expose the demons to the faithful. Raised human in the early years of my life, I didn’t know any better than to believe her. While I learned differently later, I still remember the fear, which filled me every time a storm rolled in, of the black clouds swallowing the sky. I could picture demons lurking in every shadow, creeping up on me, my only salvation the kindness of lightning-hurling angels. I was so naive back then, but so was most everyone else. People were simpler. I chuckled aloud as I went around to my side of the car. The clouds had broken and the rain started to come down as I slid inside, shutting it out. That’s when it hit me.
“Son of a bitch!”
Scarlett turned to me, her eyes wet and angry, clearly not interested in listening to me complain.
“What?”
“I know what Asmoday is doing.”
Her anger dissipated instantly, replaced by eager curiosity.
“He’s using your angel as a lightning rod.”
Scarlett looked at me like I was insane. She did that a lot, but this time she looked like she meant it.
“What are you talking about?”
“Think about it. Asmoday doesn’t have the raw power Baalth has. There’s no way, even with his wizard’s backup, he can compete with Baalth. So what can he do to sway the odds in his favor?”
“I don’t know, which is why I asked you what you’re prattling on about.” Scarlett snarled. Patience was another trait she lacked. Good thing she was pretty. I just laughed. “Look, I don’t have any crayons to make this easier for you, so pay attention.” She glowered at me like she wanted to rip my tongue out. I ignored the threat in her eyes. “Think about your nature, that of angels. God knew Lucifer’s army would always outnumber his own, the lure of the dark and all that. So, to cope with the offset he granted you the ability to draw upon outside energy to improve your effectiveness against the Demonic Horde.”
I could see comprehension beginning to dawn. It was a beautiful thing. I should have been a teacher. I’d have gotten all kinds of tail, but I digress.“So, unable to draw upon additional power on his own, Asmoday is using your angel to draw it for him.”
Scarlett’s cheeks flushed. “He’s using him as a battery?”
“Looks that way.”
“But how does he hope to use the energy? No true angel of the light, however badly tortured, would side with Asmoday. He’s wasting his time.”
I shook my head, marveling at her naivete. “This isn’t about your angel changing loyalties, Scarlett. It’s about his life. All Asmoday has to do is kill him.”
All the color drained from her face. “He… he wouldn’t dare.” She clearly hadn’t thought that possible. I knew better.
“I’m sure he would. And on his death, all of your angel’s power would cede to Asmoday, giving him the easy edge over Baalth.”
Scarlett sunk into the seat. “But we’d feel his death, me and the other angels. We’d know where he died.”
“That’s probably one of the reasons he’s still alive. That and Asmoday’s greed. He’ll do his damndest to get the most power he can before he tips his hand.” I felt the cold chill of an ugly realization. “If he succeeds, our little angel won’t be the only one to suffer such indignity. There’ll be more.”
I saw Scarlett’s eyes go wide.
“If he’s able to capture and contain one of the Powers, what’s to stop him from doing it again when he’s twice as strong? Nothing.” I answered my own question. “He’ll feed off them until he’s unstoppable.”
Scarlett shivered, her arms wrapped across her ample chest. I shivered a little too, though I’m not sure if it was because of Asmoday’s plot or from seeing her boobs nearly spill out of her shirt. I’m gonna go with a little of both.
“We can’t let that happen,” she whispered. I nodded, my thoughts too scrambled to form words.
“I can’t just sit here.” Scarlett opened the door, the scent of rain filling the car. “I need to find him before it’s too late.” There was determination in her sad eyes. I nodded again. “I’ll do what I can from my end. Keep in touch.”
She shut the door without another word and burst into the sky, leaving behind a trail of shimmering light. She was gone in an instant.
Alone and feeling a bit vulnerable, I started the car and took off like a bat out of Hell. With a pretty good idea as to what Asmoday had up his sleeve, it was time to call in the cavalry. I headed for DRAC.
A Plot to Murder the World
After finding the closest teleporter, their location changed daily for security purposes, I arrived at DRAC headquarters. As usual, I stared up at the thirty tons of doom hanging over my head until my escort arrived. I was somewhat relieved to see some random member of security appear, rather than Katon. I was led to Abraham’s office in silence. I opened the door and was assailed by the delightful smell of Abraham’s book collection. I glanced up to see the serious faces that lurked past the cluttered desk. Rather than indulge in the scent, I took my cue from their mood and closed the door and went inside, Abraham waving me to a seat. Rahim stood behind him, his dark eyes taking everything in. I nodded to the wizard, who replied in kind.
Unlike Abraham who came off as grandfatherly, or Rachelle who’d always seemed too flighty to be termed impressive, Rahim exuded power. Dressed in a dark business suit only a few shades lighter than his skin, he always reminded me of Darth Vader. Easily six-footeight, a good five inches taller than me, Rahim towered over everyone. His bald head gleamed in the light and his deep, Barry White voice carried an authority that spoke of confidence. He was not someone to be trifled with and knew it. So did most everyone else with any semblance of sense in their head.
“What did you find, Frank?” Abraham asked. I shook my head. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Do I ever?”
He had a point. I shrugged at Rahim. “Looks like Asmoday captured an angel and is using him to draw power
