emanations of power wafting off him as his anger simmered inside. I thought about continuing for a second, but I figured I’d pushed my luck far enough. “Yeah, I’m done.”
“Good.” He remained calm, much to my surprise.
“I don’t know what your organization has planned, but I’m sure it hinges on my hitting Asmoday before he strikes at me.” He paused to gauge my response. I imagine my face told him everything he needed to know because he continued. “I will do as you ask, but be warned, given the circumstances, I cannot commit the entirety of my resources to this. I must hold them in reserve to defend myself should you fail.”
I groaned quietly, knowing that was the best I was gonna get. At least I didn’t have to trade another favor to get it. “Fine, but you’ve got to do it soon and it’s gotta pack a punch. We’ve only got about a day and a half before Asmoday kicks down our house of cards.”
Baalth nodded and waved to his men. The Escalade pulled up alongside us and the back door swung open. I saw Poe peering out at me with cold eyes. Marcus glared at me from beyond the mentalist, his gun visible in his lap.
“I’ll do what I can, but after that, you’re on your own.” Baalth climbed into the SUV. “Make it count.”
He closed the door and the Escalade sped off. I watched until its taillights disappeared before I relaxed.
“I guess it’s just you and me now.” I turned to the assassin’s body. It wasn’t there. “Or not.” In its place was a pile of clothes soaked in a thick black goo, which resembled tar. Albeit nasty, it sure saved on my having to dispose of a body. My buddies at the local cemetery would appreciate the break, I’m sure. They were good guys. They let me dig a lot of holes. Presuming the assassin was smart enough to not carry any clues as to the whereabouts of Veronica, I left his mushy remains behind and went up the hill. Fortunately, my guns were still there. I could just picture some homeless guy stumbling onto them and Page 98 going on a rampage at a liquor store. That would just make Abraham so happy.
Bum crisis avoided, I scooped them up and headed for the car, kicking over every trash can I came across. I didn’t have the time to deal with my succubus ex-wife, but I reiterated my earlier promise to myself. The first spare moment I got, she was going down. And I didn’t mean in a good way.
Behold the Light
I had just started the car when I heard a whispered voice. I jumped at the sound and spun around, searching the vehicle. There was no one there. Then I heard it again, this time more clearly inside my head. I laughed when I realized what it was. Rather than use unreliable cell phones or twoway radios whose signals could be interrupted or intercepted, DRAC uses telepaths to contact their members. They have several on staff, their abilities varying from a range of a few miles all the way up to global and dimensional communication. As such, DRAC could call any of their people without the fear of eavesdropping. The only real drawback of the system was it only worked one direction. I couldn’t contact them through the link. That and it was rather disturbing hearing someone else inhabiting the same space as my mind. I always felt dirty afterward. More so than usual, that is.
I answered aloud. I never quite got the hang of thinking an answer. It always got muddled up with whatever other thoughts were rutting about in there. Let me tell ya, the last time I tried, the telepath got way more information than she ever wanted to know.
Trust me. It was real bad timing on her part. I heard she turned a beautiful shade of magenta and went rushing off to the bathroom. She doesn’t handle my calls anymore.
It’s too bad, she had a sexy voice.
Abraham’s not so sexy voice echoed inside my brain, interrupting my reverie. “Frank?”
“I’m here.”
“Rachelle has picked up a massive spike in magical activity near where the other three incidents occurred.” A map image appeared in my head, showing me the location. It wasn’t too far from where I was. And of course, it was in Old Town. I was getting real sick of that place. One day there’d be a barrel of gasoline and a match with Old Town’s name on it.
“It’s a little soon, isn’t it?”
“Magic isn’t an exact science, Frank. You know there’s no way to be sure. Just head over there and see what’s happening. If Asmoday is drawing more power, we need to stop him. Katon and Rahim have been informed and will be there shortly.”
“All right, I’m on my way.” The Lone Ranger to the rescue. I couldn’t get the image of being scalped out of my head as the telepath broke the connection. I hit the gas and headed out. Less than five minutes later, I rolled up near the address. As usual, I parked a block or so away and walked over. No point in advertising I was there. The site turned out to be another abandoned warehouse. I sighed when I saw it. Things hadn’t worked out so well at the last one so I didn’t expect it to be much better this time around. I debated on waiting for Rahim and Katon, but I didn’t know what kind of time schedule I was working with. So, rather than risk being too late I decided to go it alone. Besides, if I died in the line of duty they’d call me a hero. I’d get a better epitaph, at least. You gotta have priorities.
I extended my senses and let the psychic feelers wander out. I could tell there had been some sort of magical outburst here, but the footprint didn’t feel the same as it had at the other locations. That could only mean one of two things. One, this was a trap. No big surprise there. Or two, this incident was unrelated to our Asmoday problem and I was walking in on something I didn’t want to deal with at this point. Neither was appealing. I guessed the only way to find out was to go inside.
I drew one of my guns from my waistband, bitching to myself about not having a holster anymore, and went in through the open gate. The yard was windblown, with debris scattered along the base of the wire fence. Despite the fact the scene felt and looked different than the other locations, I couldn’t let my guard down. I ran to the docks and crept up the ramp slowly. At the top, the rolling door stood open. I had this strange sense of deja vu hit me, broken only by the fact that the lights were on inside the building and there weren’t any of the long lines of shelves like the last place had. Too late to worry about it, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and went inside. Less than fifty yards into the barren warehouse, a man stood staring at me as I approached. I recognized him immediately. It was Asmoday. My first guess this was a trap was right. Chalk one up for me. Tall and lanky, Asmoday was dressed in an expensive, black business suit, cut to his thin figure. He wore an understated black and red tie, which hung from his narrow neck, a gold upside down cross pinned in the center of it. Light-complected, his full beard and short hair were jet black, so much so shimmers of blue appeared in them when he shifted under the lights. His lean face looked chiseled in wood, cut with sharp lines and delicate angles. His brown eyes, so dark as to appear black, settled on me. I could feel the weight of their stare. If ever a man truly fit the description of sinister, Asmoday was it.
“Come in Triggaltheron, I was hoping it was you who would arrive first. I wanted to speak with you.” He waved me forward.
Damn demons and their penchant for given names. Some people say true names give the wielder power over the named. That’s superstitious crap at its finest, but it definitely makes a guy uncomfortable when someone knows you well enough to name you fully. It sets a defensive tone to the whole encounter. I walked up to him, shaking my head. “Said the spider to the fly.”
“Come now, do you truly think so little of me?”
He feigned hurt.
“I gotta say I’m not exactly a fan of anyone who lists wiping out existence as their top priority.”
“But it’s in our nature. Are we not what God has made us to be?”
He had a point. Damn demons. I hated these philosophical arguments. I always lost.
“What do you want, Asmoday?”
He didn’t hesitate to answer. “To know why you’ve turned away from your uncle’s path. He had such high hopes for you.”
I tried my best to keep my expression neutral. I doubt I succeeded. My acting skills made Keanu Reeves look expressive.
Years ago, when Lucifer came to me and told me my true nature, he threw my world into chaos. Raised by my mother until I was fifteen, I had no clue I was part devil. I had known I was different, but not even in my worst nightmares could I have imagined what I really was or what plans had been made for me. You see, while I was eventually able to accept my lineage, that wasn’t the worst of it. After decades of acclimating to Hell and learning about the abilities my heritage would one day grant me, I was told of my Page 104 destiny. I was to be the next Anti-Christ. Talk about a head trip.
