by Michael Todd
The horn blew, announcing the end of the training day. The crew lined up in ranks and waited to be excused. Pandora stood in front of them, shrinking back down. Juntto did as well. “You did well today, but know that you have only just begun to learn what you can do. Do not let this make you cocky. Now, everyone, eat, get a shower, and get some rest because we are going to do it all over again tomorrow. Make sure to wash your PT gear. You fuckers smell like goddamn animals.”
Everyone laughed and fell out of ranks, heading back to their barracks and talking excitedly to one another. Pandora let out a deep sigh and walked over to the weapons, picking them up to take back to the armory tent out front. She had kind of taken them by force, and she knew she’d better give them back before Korbin came down on her.
Juntto walked up next to her, picking up several spears. He looked at her and nodded. “You did really good today. I don’t know what changed, but I think you should stay that way. Don’t go back. You are the exact kind of teacher they need to defeat the demons when they come. Because they will come.”
Pandora smirked and shook her head. “Thanks. You didn’t do so bad yourself. And I’m pretty sure at least one of them pissed themselves when you went gargantuan. Didn’t know you could go that big.”
Juntto chuckled. “I guess I’m packin’.”
Pandora rolled her eyes and walked off.
Korbin, Pandora, Angie, and Juntto walked into the dining hall at Korbin’s office, oohing and ahhing at the feast laid out in front of them. Pandora laughed. “Wow, Korbin, you went all out.”
Korbin took a seat at the table. “It wasn’t me. The French government was so impressed by the speed this fort is coming together and the training they saw you guys doing today that they sent it over. Dinner and wine just like they do it.”
Angie shook her head, putting her napkin in her lap. “I think I would be fat if I lived here. I can’t stop eating the food. It’s all so freaking delicious.”
Juntto shrank to regular size to fit into the seat. He picked up his napkin and tucked it into the collar of his shirt. “I like to eat. Puts meat on my bones, and helps me have bigger muscles. The women in my dimension eat more than the men.”
Angie scoffed. “Lucky bitches.”
Everyone laughed as they filled their plates and Pandora poured the wine in all of their glasses. It was kind of like being at the base, but Pandora could feel the cold absence of her partner in crime. They all paused for a moment when the wine was poured and looked at Korbin. Angie elbowed Juntto with a giggle, and he stopped mid-bite into a piece of bread. He set it down abashedly and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm.
Korbin laughed and pushed back his chair, looking out the window at Notre Dame. “I want to take a moment to really thank you guys. You came out here and went straight to work without questioning it. Calvin needed to be with his family, and we take care of each other. I appreciate all of you making sure that the job still got done, and done right. We don’t skimp on things in this team; we make sure people are taken care of. And because of all of that hard work, construction on the base will begin really soon.”
Everyone lifted their glasses. Korbin smiled. “To keeping the world safe from demons. To keeping our human species alive and thriving. And to keeping each other safe and taken care of no matter what kind of hard labor that means for each of us. I’m proud of you.”
They all clinked glasses and took sips of their wine. Juntto purred excitedly as he dug into his food, Angie shaking her head with a smile on her face. As they ate, Juntto looked out the window to where they were training. “So the French saw us training?”
Korbin swallowed hard, choking slightly on his food and breaking into laughter. “How could anyone have missed you training? You guys were huge, and the entire building was shaking. I’m pretty sure the government had to call and let someone know there was no actual seismic activity. That it was just the training for the new fort.”
Juntto smiled, pleased with himself. “I can’t really take credit, though. Pandora was the one who led the charge today. She kicked those Damned into shape. They will sleep well tonight.”
Pandora smirked. “And be sore as hell tomorrow.”
Korbin smiled and nodded at Pandora. “You are really good at training. You seem to have a knack for really motivating people and helping them understand what they need to do to be successful.”
Pandora glowed. “Thanks. I’ve had some practice.”
Korbin chuckled. “As long as you can keep your claws off the soldiers, that is.”
Juntto pulled a piece of meat off the bone and popped it into his mouth. “You know, I remember leading a team into battle. To stand there on the crest of war, staring down your enemy with thousands of badass soldiers at your back. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Angie looked up at Juntto. “Did you win?”
Juntto nodded. “Of course we did. My army never lost a battle. We were frost giants, and the noblest of them all. We would have never let an enemy past us, and we would never have left until all the blood was spilled.”
Angie pursed her lips. “Good job, honey.”
Juntto shook the bone in his hand at Korbin. “I hope that the French Damned serve you well, Korbin. They are getting the finest training available. Juntto the Frost Giant and the Queen of the Damned. Doesn’t get much better than that.”
Pandora wrinkled her nose. “Ex-Queen of the Damned, but still…he’s right.”
Korbin chuckled and nodded. “Thank you, Juntto. I have complete faith that they will make us all proud. They will make France and the world thankful for their service. I wouldn’t have you guys training them otherwise.”
Angie took a sip of her wine. “So what happens next? I can’t see much from the apartments, and I haven’t wanted to get in the way.”
Korbin leaned back, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “Well, next the fort’s construction begins. We have the outer complex mapped out, flagged, and marked. In just a few days, they will start hauling ass and putting up the stones, the weapons, and everything else that goes with it. After that, I head to Russia.”
Pandora was surprised. “They already have your next assignment?”
Korbin nodded. “Yeah. They are moving fast. They want these forts up and ready to protect. Russia has been chomping at the bit, but they don’t want to do it without our assistance.”
Pandora nodded. “Well, at least they are getting along with everyone. I guess when it’s your ass on the line, you tend to put on a nice face.”
Korbin smiled. “I guess so. And as long as the Russian citizens are safe, I am happy. You know, you are all welcome to help me out there. That is, if Calvin is still on his leave. Really, either way. We can use all of the help that we can get, especially when it comes to training. We have the military to help, but no one who actually knows what they are doing. It’s nice having that support system around.”
Pandora lifted her eyebrows. “I’ve been to Russia a couple of times. It’s not a bad place, but it’s fucking cold. I think I will probably pass on that assignment unless Katie decides it’s where we’re going. I gotta meet back up with her. There is a lot of hell breaking loose over in New York.”
Juntto chugged his wine and wiped his chin. “I am down. I love the cold, and it’s been decades since I’ve been to Russia. The snow is my friend.”
Korbin looked at Angie and lifted an eyebrow. “How about you, Angie? You as excited about Russia as you were about France?”
Angie laughed. “Uh, no, not quite. I’m small. I would freeze my ass off out there. I think I’ll take my chances back in New York. Let me know when you head over to the Pacific islands, though. I’ll pack my suntan lotion.”
24
Katie wrapped the scarf tightly around her face and neck again, feeling the chill of the air once she dropped her angel armor. The warm glow was only there for a moment before being blown away by the frozen winds. The snow was changing to sleet, then rain, then back to snow again.
It was making her flight over New York less than comfortable at that point, but she didn’t have much choice. Taking a cab around New York would take too fucking long, and she didn’t have that much time.
Her phone rang and she swooped over to the closest building, ducking down next to the electric box. “I really hope you have some good news for me.”
Travers chuckled. “Where are you? Sounds like you’re in a fucking tornado.”
Katie groaned. “More like a frozen hell on top of some building near the West Side. What you got?”
Travers cleared his throat. “The company that owns the bowling alley isn’t in New York.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “Figures.”
Travers smirked. “They also own an old-school arcade in Brooklyn. It’s been there a long time. I remember it as a kid, although I never went in. It always looked pretty shady.”
Katie took a deep breath and stood up. “They usually do. All right, I’ll head over and let you know if I find anything worthwhile.”
She hung up the phone and zipped it in her pocket before diving off the building and taking flight. She moved as fast as she could through the shit weather, soaring low beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. She made sure to skim close to the East River to ensure she didn’t get pushed off-track by the winds. They were blowing pretty hard that night.
Travers texted her the exact location of the arcade, and she landed in an alley a block away. Slipping on her gloves, she headed down the street, finding this part of town full of people. It was lively and loud, the blocks lined with restaurants, cafés, and shops. Music pumped out of small jazz clubs in the basements beneath a couple of the restaurants. People laughed and partied, even in the middle of the day. Katie almost felt jealous of their carefree nature, wishing she could stop for a hot drink and a shot of whiskey.
It wasn’t hard to find what she was looking for once she was in the right part of the town. Every other place on the street was lit up with neon signs and lights. Then there was the arcade, smack dab in the middle of the block next to a narrow alley, with no lights and the windows blacked out. Katie pushed her face against the bottom one, but they had been painted over or something. Either way, it didn’t look like there were lights on inside the place—which didn’t mean anything when it came to demons.
Katie walked up to the door and looked right and left, then pulled a couple of tools out of one of her pockets. She pushed the pin into the lock and twisted it back and forth, waiting for the click. The door unlocked and creaked open just a tad.
An older homeless guy looked over and shuffled toward her. “Should you be doing that? That place hasn’t been open for years. We’ve heard some pretty scary tales about it. Ain’t a place for a pretty woman, even you, Katie.”
Katie smiled, reaching in her coat pocket and pulling out a balled-up ten-dollar bill. She slapped it into the guy’s hand and nodded. “I hope so. If I’m not out in fifteen minutes, get the cops.”
The old guy looked at the money and nodded excitedly. “I’ll be right here.”
Katie grinned at him. “My man.”
She opened the door and quickly shut it behind her, finding the light switch and flicking it on. The ballasts hummed loudly, but only a few of the fluorescents actually worked. A couple others flickered wildly, and the others just stayed dark. Inside the arcade were a shitload of old games, and Katie’s favorite as a kid, skee ball.
She picked up one of the balls and tossed it in her hand, setting it back down in the slot. She clicked on her flashlight, shining it around, seeing all sort of Satanic symbols painted on the dark walls. Had it been only a few, Katie would have chalked it up to punk kids vandalizing the place, but these were specific and targeted.
She pursed her lips and clicked off the flashlight, shaking her head. “Let me guess: a cult starts playing around with spells, and they accidentally summon a demon who’s a bit more than they can handle. Then, when that demon actually shows up because by the grace of Lucifer the idiots actually performed the ceremony correctly, he starts running those motherfuckers like a gang. Ordering them around, arming them, and getting them off the cold streets with food in their bellies and a little cash in their pockets. Fucking hustlers.”
She flicked a wadded-up piece of paper off the Pac Man machine and let out a deep breath, shrugging her shoulders. “Of course, I’m just taking a wild fucking guess here.”
From behind her, the sound of a deep maniacal laugh echoed through the arcade. Katie could feel it all the way down to her chest. She whirled around and grabbed her dagger from her side, staring at a large man in front of her. At first glance, though, it was hard to even see that the man was still there. His body was being taken over by the demon’s scales. No wonder Amir had been able to identify him immediately as a demon.
The man tapped his claws on the arcade games, the human fingers peeled slightly back to allow the demon claws through. “That’s about right. You guessed that one real nice. Of course, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. I was pretty disappointed when the great Katie didn’t catch on right away. Then again, you did destroy my gang, so you probably thought it was done.”
Katie paced back and forth. “You know, I’m pretty pissed. Your motherfucking ass had the nerve to put your claws on one of my friends, and you pulled me out of a beautiful little mini-vacation I was trying to have.”
The demon squatted, bringing up a bat in one hand and a chain in the other. He twirled the chain. “Tough luck, bitch. Maybe next time you’ll mind your own business.”
Katie clapped her hands, summoning her angel armor. The bright flash of light blinded the demon long enough for her to grab her sword from the air and jump back out of the reach of his chain. He growled, slamming it on the floor, sparks shooting out. He smashed the bat into the Galaga machine, breaking the screen.
Katie groaned. “That was one of my favorite fucking games, asshole.”
She yelled, then ran forward and leapt into the air. She sliced down with her sword, but the demon raised his bat. The sword cut right through the wood and he fell backward, growling loudly. Back on his feet, he jumped, charging at her while swinging the chain and the remains of the bat. The chain hit her hard in the arm and she was knocked sideways by the force. Her body hit the ticket counter, breaking the glass. She kicked her legs out, hitting the demon in the chest and sending him into a row of games.
The games slammed into each other, falling like dominoes. The demon shook his head and jumped back up as Katie leapt again, pointing her sword down at him. He circled his chain over his head and caught the sword, yanking it out of her hand and sending it flying away from her. With his other arm, he hit her, sending her flying in the opposite direction. She landed hard on the skee ball machine, her hand resting on one of the solid brown balls.
She gripped it tightly and gritted her teeth, then jumped up and ran after him. He slashed his chain at her and she put her arm up, letting the chain wrap around her armored forearm. She threw it to the ground, using her other arm to slap away the bat. She reached back, holding the skee ball firmly in her hand and punched him as hard as she could in the jaw. He roared, his head flying to the side.
Katie looked at the ball and smiled, grabbing him by the neck before he could react and hitting him again and again and again. Over and over she pounded him with the skee ball—that was, until he grabbed her fist.
Calvin stood nervously on the other side of the room, biting his nails and pacing back and forth. Sofia’s mom pulled the sheet down over Sofia and took off her gloves, tossing them in the trash can by the bed. Sofia sat up and grabbed the clothes that Calvin had taken out for her and put them on. She tossed the nightgown in the trash, slightly embarrassed by the fact that she, even though she had been controlled by Coco, had acted that way in the dining room. She wasn’t sure that she would ever be able to see those guys again without feeling like a complete and total asshole. Of course, by then the news had spread, and everyone knew she was now infected.
Sof
ia’s mom made some notes in a notebook and helped Sofia out of bed. Calvin turned around and rushed over to them, taking Sofia’s hand. He did a doubletake when he saw her red eyes, not used to his wife having those. He didn’t mind people being Damned, but not his wife. She was too pure and too beautiful for that. She deserved a nice calm life as far from demons as possible. Except for him of course, he couldn’t help it at that point. His demon was necessary.
Sofia’s mother smiled nervously. “So far the baby seems perfectly fine. Everything is closed up, the heartbeat is strong, and Sofia’s vitals are solid.”
Calvin let out a deep breath and wrapped his arms around his wife. “Oh, thank God. I was so worried about the both of you.”
Sofia hugged him tightly before pulling back and running her hand over her belly. “But what do we do now?”
Calvin glanced at her mother and back at her. “What do you mean?”
Sofia furrowed her brow, looking in the mirror at her eyes. “I don’t want to be infected. I don’t want to be a Damned. I am not a fighter like the rest of you, and this thing tried to kill me. Besides, I can’t understand how this could possibly be good for the baby. Won’t this hurt it in the long run?”
Calvin looked at Sofia’s mother, who shrugged her shoulders. “I have no answer for that. This is beyond my expertise. I’ve never had a Damned come to me for services. I don’t even know how the whole thing works. From an outside perspective, I can’t imagine it’s the best.”
Calvin nodded and pulled out his phone. “Katie can help us. She is an angel, and she can pull a demon right out of you. Whether it will hurt the baby or not, we don’t want it in you. Right?”
Sofia nodded, worry on her face. “No. I don’t want it.”