through the Demonarch. I think he’s going to use it to challenge Baalth. At least that’s where he’ll start.”
Rahim’s brown eyes narrowed. Abraham’s widened, his glasses reflecting his surprise.
“I found signs of rituals at two of the locations Rachelle pointed out. There was also substantial damage to the dimensional wall in both of those places. Scarlett believes it won’t take much more to shatter it.”
I kept the part about finding the manacles to myself. No need to tell them everything. A boy’s gotta have his secrets.
Abraham sunk down and stared at me, speechless.
Rahim had no such hesitance, taking what I told him in stride. “So, your cousin was with you? Did you send her after Asmoday?”
I wanted to burst out singing, Let’s Get It On, but I controlled myself. “She showed up later, but yeah, I did. It didn’t take much to get her worked up.” An Page 84 impure thought crept to mind, but I stayed on track. “I also ran into an old friend of yours.” I gestured to both Rahim and Abraham. “The Gray.”
Rahim cussed in a language I didn’t understand and Abraham sunk even lower in his chair, running his hands through his gray hair.
“McConnell is involved?”
I nodded at Abraham. “He’s definitely involved. The bastard and a couple of his goons tried to whack me.”
They both looked at me like I was full of it.
“Seriously. If he hadn’t blown his wad doing grunt work for that bastard Asmoday, I wouldn’t be alive right now.”
Abraham looked back at Rahim. “If McConnell is involved, we’ve inherited a whole new set of problems. Big ones.”
Sheepishly, I interrupted. “Yeah, I think we have. He figured out DRAC is still functioning. I’m sure Asmoday knows by now, as well.”
Rahim growled like a feral pit bull. I raised my hands. “It’s not my fault. For a cowboy, he’s pretty damn quick-witted.”
Abraham sighed. “You’re correct, he is very intelligent. He also knows many of our current operatives. While his technical information is somewhat dated, it’s enough to put our people at risk.”
Rahim set his hand on Abraham’s shoulder. It was surprisingly gentle. “I’ll check into it and see what I can do, Abe.”
Abraham patted his hand in thanks. Just then, the door to the office swung open and Katon walked in.
“I know what Asmoday is up to.” His face was smug, confident.
I chuckled and reclined in my seat. It felt good to one-up their prized assassin, not that I’m petty or anything.
“As do we,” Rahim responded without emotion, motioning for Katon to sit. “Frank figured it out from evidence he gathered.”
Katon strolled over and dropped into the chair beside me, giving me an approving nod. I felt giddy inside, such high praise.
“All right, tell me what you’ve got. I’ll let you know what I found.”
Humble as always, I deferred to Abraham. Katon remained quiet, only nodding here and there until he’d been told everything I had already passed onto the Council.
Up to date, he added what he knew. “Trigg is correct, Asmoday has captured an angel. His name is Glorius, one of the Powers.”
“I still don’t understand how that’s possible.”
Abraham wrung his hands together.
Katon shrugged, as uncertain as the rest of us.
“Despite The Gray’s assistance, Asmoday shouldn’t Page 86 have the ability to contain Glorius normally, let alone after he powered him up further. There’s something else at work here, but I have no idea what it could be.”
“We need to find out before Asmoday tears a hole in the dimensional wall and we’re overrun with Dread Fiends,” Rahim said.
“Not to mention what will happen if Asmoday absorbs Glorius’s soul. Either situation would be a nightmare. I shudder to think of the horror that would befall the world if either came to pass.” Abraham took off his glasses and rubbed at his temples. He looked worn out today.
Rahim turned to the assassin. “Katon, find Glorius before Asmoday can steal his soul. Kill the angel if you have to, but do not let that demon get his hands on Glorius’s power.” He waved De Pena off. Katon left without a word. Rahim turned to me. “Set up another meet with Baalth. Tell him what we know and do everything in your power to convince him he needs to become more active in his own defense. The stakes have been raised.”
“I’m not sure he’ll care much. I had to trade a favor just to get him to cooperate the first time. Only the missing God knows what it’ll cost me this time.”
Rahim turned cold. “You’ll pay it, whatever it takes.” I gazed into his eyes, but I couldn’t see anything resembling compassion. “A united DRAC might have been able to fight Asmoday to something resembling a standstill before, but with the factors in place now, we stand no chance. We need Baalth if we are to have any hope of staving off Armageddon.”
My ass hole puckered. It knew what was coming, pun intended. Even guys in prison didn’t get screwed this often.
“After considering what you’ve told us and adding Rachelle’s theories to the mix, we have less than two days before Asmoday makes another power grab. We need to hurry.”
I sighed and nodded. What the hell? If I was gonna die, why not go out with a bang? I stood and said my goodbyes and headed off to set up a meeting with Baalth.
Again.
The Continuing Downward Spiral
Less than pleased by the arrangements of our last meeting, I held out for something less confined, more neutral; Memorial Park. Set near the center of our lovely desert town, El Paseo, a short but comfortable distance from Old Town, the park was a sprawling oasis in a sea of blowing dirt and tumbleweeds. With rolling hills and wide open tracts of green grass and trees, the park was the perfect place to have our little sit down. It was quiet and out of the way.
I chose a spot on the highest hill that gave me an unobstructed view in each direction. From there, I could see all three of the intersecting roads, the railway line that passed along the edge of the park, and all the high- dollar surrounding houses. I was feeling pretty confident I’d made the right choice. I should have known better.
Almost imperceptibly, there was a rustle behind me. I spun about just as a figure burst from a nearby trash can and hurtled toward me. Before I could even draw my guns, the figure crashed into my chest, driving the breath from my lungs. I caught a glimpse of silver arcing through the air as I tumbled to the ground. It didn’t take a genius to realize it was a weapon. Page 89
And I was no genius.
I hit the ground rolling, kicking my feet out at the apex to make space. It was just enough. I struck my attacker as he tried to drop down on top of me, catching him in the arm. Off balance, he stumbled forward and I saw the blade of his knife sink into the ground. He growled as I hopped to my feet, his eyes meeting mine. I got a good look at him while he pulled his knife free. Dressed in all black, from head to toe, there wasn’t a lot to go off of. There was enough though. The cold gray eyes that peered at me through the opening of the ski mask, shined with feral determination. Lean muscle rippled beneath the skin tight clothing, and though he couldn’t have been much more than fivesix, he packed a lot of meat on his solid frame. He held the knife with confidence, waving it before him as he approached. It clearly wasn’t the first time he’d put a blade to use. I was hoping to make it his last. He must not have ever heard the saying: Never bring a knife to a gun fight. I went for my. 45’s. His blades out, he got
