''Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings!''
Demons screamed and clapped their hands to their ears to shut out the sound, but the music was as much of the spirit as physical sound, and their efforts were futile. Blood streamed from their ears and eyes, and some fled, hands still held fast to their ears. Of those who didn't flee, more than a few had their heads explode in bursts of blood, bone, and brain matter.
Of the original squad, only five demons remained, Face-Chest and Python-Tail among them. All of them were bleeding from their eyes and ears, but they were tough enough to withstand the power of the Herald Bells, though the effort had obviously taken a lot out of them. They began firing their weapons, and automatic gunfire strafed us along with high-tech energy beams and mystic power blasts. But the Coat of Every Color blazed with Light in response to the demons' attack, neutralizing everything they threw at us. After several moments, they realized their efforts were useless and they stopped firing, and the coat stopped shining.
'I gave you the chance to run,' I told them, and I swung the weapon Arthur had given to me. It looked like a Native American dreamcatcher attached to a handle, and I swung it back and forth through the air as if it were a small handheld net. But this wasn't for catching dreams. It was a Dream thrower, a device that disgorged the nightmares that a dreamcatcher collected.
Every time I swung the Dreamthrower, a tiny shadow-creature leaped forth from the device and began growing as it landed on the ground and ran swiftly toward the remaining demons. The Nightmares swelled in size as they went, becoming large as elephants, all ebon teeth and claws, and though the last few demons finally had the good sense to turn and attempt to flee, it was too late. The Nightmares fell upon them and within seconds tore them apart. When there were no more demons to kill, the Nightmares simply faded as if they'd never existed.
Shamika, Varney, and I stood alone in the street, completely unharmed by our encounter with the demons.
'I'd call that a successful field test,' I said. 'Now that we've had a chance to practice with our new toys, I think it's time to pay General Klamm-slashGregor a visit.'
We continued toward Demon's Roost, mowing down every demon that didn't have enough sense to get the hell out of our way.
• • • •
Reaching Varvara's penthouse turned out to be easier than I thought. Because demons are so selfcentered, once they realize they can't win a fight, they immediately focus on doing whatever is necessary to save their asses, and to blazes with whatever cause they were fighting for. Word must've spread quickly among the Demonkin's ranks, because by the time we were actually inside Demon's Roost, few of Varvara's people remained to give us any trouble. I'd been keeping an eye out for Scorch the whole time – I wanted to make sure we didn't accidentally hurt her on our way to Varvara's stronghold – but I saw no sign of the demoness. Either she was stationed elsewhere in the Sprawl or she'd taken off when she heard we were coming. I was glad. Scorch is tough, but I knew she couldn't stand against the holy weapons the Hidden Light had loaned us.
The elevator to Varvara's penthouse was unguarded, and while I wasn't thrilled at the idea of taking it, I was even less thrilled at the prospect of walking up a dozen flights of stairs.
'Are you sure it's safe?' Varney said through his hazmat hood.
Before I could answer, Shamika said, 'It is. Gregor has eyes everywhere. He's known we were coming since we engaged that first squad of demons. If he didn't want us to use the elevator, he'd have disabled it.'
'Maybe he booby-trapped it,' Varney pointed out. 'Wouldn't Gregor love it if we fought all this way to reach Demon's Roost only to get crushed in a falling elevator?'
Shamika shook her head. 'I know how my brother thinks. He'll want to see me, if for no other reason than to tell me that he's right and I'm wrong.' She looked at me. 'And he'll want to have words with you too, Matt.'
I said, 'That's good, because I have a few things to say to him myself.'
I pressed the elevator's up button.
No Muzak played as we ascended, which was just as well. I hate Muzak.
Varvara's penthouse-cum-war-room was empty, with the exception of the Demon Queen herself and General Klamm. The computer stations around the room were vacant and their monitors were black. The holo table in the middle of the room was still active, though, and it currently displayed an image of Demon's Roost. Klamm stood at the table, Varvara beside him.
Klamm smiled when he saw us.
'Welcome! You made it just in time for the closing act in our little drama. Matthew, Varney…' He gave both of us nods of greeting before turning his attention to Shamika. ' Sister,' he said, his false bonhomie giving way to derision. 'Ready to see the error of your ways?'
I examined Varvara more closely. Her expression was blank, and she stared off into space as if she wasn't aware of our presence.
'Let me guess,' I said. 'Once Varvara was weakened by using her power to create a new force field over the Grotesquerie, you were able to implant one of your bugs inside her and control her.'
Klamm – Gregor – smiled. 'That was my real reason for releasing the creatures and disabling the Grotesquerie's force-field generators. Of course, if you'd gotten squashed in the process, I wouldn't have cried about it. But I suppose you can't have everything, can you? Taking control of Varvara was the main thing. As General Klamm, I could only do so much to manipulate her – and through her, her demons – but once she was under my complete control, all the Demonkin were under my power. It made things so much easier.'
'I'm surprised you were able to gain her trust with your General Klamm persona,' I said. 'Varvara knows all of her people. She must've been quite puzzled when a new demon suddenly appeared in town.'
'Which was why I killed the real Klamm and assumed his form,' Gregor said. 'He was a mid-level functionary in Varvara's service, but once I 'became' him, I was able to use my abilities to refashion Klamm as a highly effective intelligence-gatherer. After that, it was just a matter of time until I made myself invaluable to Varvara, and when Talaith attacked, I stepped forward to help and she made me her second in command.' He turned to Varvara and smiled. 'The fool. She allows her passions to rule her far more than any Other I've ever met. Manipulating her was far easier than I'd ever imagined.'
Seeing Varvara like this, I knew my original plan wasn't going to work. I'd hoped that if we could reach her, we could tell her the truth about who and what Klamm really was, and she'd deal with him. Now it looked like we were on our own. We were well armed, thanks to Maggie Holstrom, but as Gregor wasn't actually a demon, I wasn't certain any of our holy weapons would work against him. And even if they did, this one body wasn't really Gregor – not all of him, at any rate. It was just one manifestation of a much larger consciousness. Besides, I didn't want to kill him just yet. He had information I needed.
'Where's Devona?' I demanded. 'If you've harmed her…'
'You'll what?' Gregor said. 'Continue talking at me in a threatening tone of voice?' He smirked. 'No need to fear, Matthew. Your paramour is fine. She's with me elsewhere, helping me complete my ultimate objective.'
'Along with the magic-users you abducted,' I said. Gregor nodded. 'And Darius. It's not as if you haven't worked that much out for yourself. But do you know what I'm doing?'
'You've set up a war to distract the Darklords from your real plan, which is transporting Nekropolis to Earth,' I said. 'But why? I thought you wanted to destroy the Darkfolk, not relocate them.'
'I think I understand,' Shamika said. 'Gregor's real motive is to be alone once again. He doesn't really care how that happens. Sure, it would be better if the Darkfolk were all dead. Then he would be assured of being alone. But there are so many of them, and as a group they're too powerful to easily destroy. But if he can return them all to Earth-'
'The hated Others would be gone, and life could return to the way it was before they came here,' Gregor said. 'You remember what it was like, sister. We were One then. It was so peaceful, so… perfect.'
'Maybe so,' Shamika admitted. 'But it was boring, too. I didn't know how boring until the Darkfolk arrived.'
Gregor's face clouded over. 'We didn't invite them to come here, and they didn't ask our permission to build a city in our world! They were nothing more than invaders!'
