Her mind jumped to a few possibilities, but she didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. It was dangerous to make assumptions in her line of work.
If she was being honest with herself it was more likely that Kyle had summoned something that had killed him.
“Ma’am.” Feet, a waist, and then Lucas’ head descended through the ceiling.
He didn’t give the grizzly crime scene a second glance. They’d all seen worse in the service of the Divine.
“Yes.” She pulled herself together and faced the Guardian.
“Word from the border, Ma’am.” He braced to attention. “A werewolf pack’s extermination is confirmed. The mortal magician fulfilled a contract tonight. A dwarf charged with monitoring the Nature Preserve confirmed it.”
“Could the werewolves have done this?” Lucas had already moved on to the next likely suspects.
“Possibly.” Ava would need someone with more experience in these things to make sure. “Get the specialist.”
The “specialist” was easy to track down. He’d followed a pretty rigid schedule for the last two decades. It was the middle of the week, so that meant he would be getting done with his weekday drink at a local bar before heading to one of his kind’s more specialized watering holes.
She floated over the alleyway for ten minutes – out of sight and out of mind – until he exited the backdoor. He never exited a building the way he’d entered, but his unpredictability ended there.
“Cameron.” Divine light flooded the alley and the Soulless screamed.
The light burned his flesh and scorched the eyes in his socket. He scrambled backwards blind and steaming to find cover behind a nearby dumpster.
“Ah! Fuckin’ hell, Ava!” He had a thick Cockney accent to go with his fiend of the night good looks. “Ya could have just said hello. No need for the Divine wrath.”
“Your history of cooperation is spotty at best.” She smiled as her light dimmed and he peeked out from behind the trash bin.
“By cooperation you mean being a traitor to my kind.” He snarled, but it was because of the pain of his reknitting flesh and reforming eyes.
“If your kind has one talent it would be survival. You are just doing what you’re good at, Cameron.” She landed lightly a couple of feet from him and motioned for him to come out.
He didn’t budge.
“I won’t hurt you, you have my word.” She sighed.
Angels couldn’t lie. They kept their word, and that was enough to flush him out.
“What do you want?” He kept his eyes averted. Not out of respect, but to avoid getting them boiled again.
“I need you to take a look at something.” She waved her hand and the æther in the hallway shifted.
The garbage, trash bin, and weather-stained brick of the buildings was still there but it sunk a little deeper into the fabric of reality. It was replaced by an identical version of the crime scene of the Dark Mages’ death; accurate down to the last drop of blood.
Cameron’s breath caught as he surveyed the new scene. The amount of power it took to essentially conjure a pocket reality was immense, and Ava did it without breaking a sweat. Such was the power of a Dominion.
“What am I looking for?” he audibly gulped as Ava stepped forward to the reconstructed corpse.
“In your estimation, what did this?” she kept it vague, not wanted to push his opinion in any direction.
Cameron walked up to the ætherial corpse and stared at it. “Would have been better if you didn’t barbeque my eyes.” He grumbled as he blinked furiously to get his eyes to heal faster.
He got back up and judged it from a different angle – then another. He scratched his head and took a deep whiff of the scene. Ava had recreated everything about the scene including the scent.
“And,” she prompted him after several minutes.
“Honestly,” he looked nervous as he looked over his shoulder at the angel. “I don’t know.” He braced like she was going to hit him with another burst of light.
“What makes you say that?” She took a different approach.
“I don’t recognize the bite marks.” He hurriedly explained. “It’s too small to be a werewolf. It’s possible it could be some shifter, but they can be any number of things so it’s hard to tell. It’s not my kind, we just puncture, and I’m not versed in the variety of Fae beasts that sometimes hunt in our realm. So, I just don’t know.”
The Soulless hadn’t fully answered her question, but he gave her enough to go on.
“Thank you, Cameron.” She unfurled her wings and floated into the air. “I will turn a blind eye to any minor infractions you commit over the next seven days.”
“Ava.” He bowed, unable to hide the raucous grin on his face. “I’ll behave.”
“Be sure that you do.” She turned insubstantial, vanished from sight, and shot across the sky faster than anything man could make.
She aimed south east and let her mind wander as she flew. She beat her wings faster to gain speed and reach her destination quicker. Time was of the essence.
She left the equivalent of and ætherial skid mark across the sky above Charleston as her target intercepted her.
“Ava, back so soon?” Emmanuel, Charleston’s Dominion, gloated as he stopped in her path.
“I need you to take a look at something.” She didn’t wait for him to acknowledge before dropping to the ground and recreating the scene of the crime. “What do you think?”
All haughtiness disappeared from Emmanuel’s face as he surveyed the carnage.
“Hellhound.” He confirmed her own suspicions. “Do you know what this means?”
“Yes.” The weight of her increased responsibilities settled on her shoulders. “Either the Dux operating in your city has accumulated enough power to expand, or I’ve got a new Dux in town.”
“We should pass this up the chain to Uriel.” Ava had been against the course of action before, but now she suggested it.
“Yes.” Emmanuel was deep in thought now. He didn’t like this any more than she did.
Two Duxes in such close proximity was bad for the Divine and terrible for the mortals under their care. They needed to mount an effective response immediately.
She’d be doing all of those before the end of the night.
***
Vicky sat in her office doing taxes of all things. She’d learned long ago not to skimp out on giving the government their due. She beaten death, but taxes were something she didn’t dare try to avoid.
A knock on her door pulled her out of her calculation of deductions. “Yes, Elisa.”
Her assistant opened the door and stepped aside. “Cameron requests an audience.”
Vicky didn’t particularly like the British transplant to her coven, but the man had a way of getting bits of information that could prove valuable in the right hands.
“Send him in.” She sat back and closed the laptop she was working on.
Cameron stepped in looking a little worse from wear. His skin was still a fresh pink instead of the lifeless white of the Soulless, which meant he’d recently been severely burned. It was a common misconception that vampires could be killed by burning them, but that only worked during the day, and if it was tried at night it was best to remove their head or stake them to the g
round so they couldn’t run away.
Whoever had tried to deep fry Cameron hadn’t been trying hard enough.
“Cameron, you look crispy.” She smiled, showing fangs as the man entered.
“Courtesy of our local Dominion.”
That wiped away any semblance of a good mood she’d been fostering. Hunters were one thing but fucking angels was an entirely different ball game.
“I just want to give you a heads up that they’re looking into the Dark Mage’s murder. She had me look over the scene. The kid was torn to pieces by something I haven’t seen before.”
Vicky hid her expression well enough that Cameron didn’t pick up on anything. He might not know what did it, but she did. She’d seen the ugly mutt ushered into creation only a few days ago.
“Thank you, Cameron. I will pass on this bit of intelligence, “she smiled. “Have a drink, on the house.”
The Brit’s face lit up and he exited with a bow. The minute he was gone she called for Alfred and had him bring the car around. Taxes would have to wait. They were in much deeper shit than anything the US Government could do to them.
Sideshows and Seductions
“That’s a good boy…such a good boy.” Gerry dug his fingers behind Grimm’s ears and scratched. The hellhound gave a soft moan before flopping down and rolling onto its back. “You want me to scratch your tummy…ah that’s a good boy.”
Grimm’s tongue lolled out and his foot began to kick in the air in rhythm with Gerry’s scratches. Gerry let the joy show on his face. It was something he would never do in the company of his lieutenants. There was something about having man’s best friend around that always seemed to brighten his day. Especially when said best friend had caused a ruckus in the local magical community. He was getting reports from his agents that people were consolidating their strength and looking over their shoulders. Grimm’s attack was showing the deeper fault lines in the local community.
Day by day he was growing in strength. He could feel the æther swirling in the near-bottomless pit of his Demesne. A few more weeks and he’d have enough to take on the Remnant, and after that all that stood in his way was the Divine.
Grimm’s large, clawed paw waved in his face. He’d stopped scratching and the Infernal beast took offense to that.
“Sorry, boy.” Gerry went back to work.
“This looks intriguing.” Jezebel’s presence and voice came into focus from the edges of the demesne. “Why wasn’t I invited?”
“Enter.” Gerry schooled his face and rotated to face the other Infernal.
She was dressed to impress tonight with a tightfitting evening dress that showed off a lot of tanned thigh. She smiled her sensual smile as she curtsied to the Dux and assumed a humble position.
Gerry didn’t fall for it.
“You asked for me, Dux?” There was an invitation in the question, but then again there was always an invitation where Jezebel was concerned.
“Yes.” Gerry gave Grimm one last pat on the belly and then shooed him away.
The beast gave Jezebel a short growl before complying.
“I don’t see why you created that filthy…”
“That filthy creature has our enemies looking everywhere but at us right now, Jezebel.” He cut her off. “My creation has done more for our mission than you.”
Anger crossed her face for a second before she regained control. “I live to serve, my Dux. I only await your command.”
“It’s time to get some skin in the game.” Gerry’s comment elicited a raised eyebrow from the sex demon.
“I am fully engrossed in our mission, Dux. My agents…”
“You’re agents are doing fine work, Jezebel. It’s you that I want involved.”
“Me?”
“Yes you.” Gerry took a bit of pleasure at seeing the look on her face.
“My Dux, I am management. I maneuver my pieces across the board and influence only where necessary. My people are more than capable of handling any task you assign us. I have trained them well.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say.” Gerry sighed before flicking his wrist.
Just like the first time Gerry had been in the presence of Prince Seere, his hand motion picked the lesser Infernal up and threw her across the room. The impact didn’t hurt as much as it was humiliating. Her hair got ruffled and her dress ripped as she fell back down to the ground.
“Do you know what the difference between a good general and a bad general is?” Gerry strode over to stand over her.
“No, Dux.” She didn’t try to get up.
Gerry could feel the anger radiating off the Infernal, and he drank the excess æther in before she got control of her emotions.
“A good general leads from the front. They know the issues that are important to the common soldier, as well as the tactics needed to win the battle, and the overall strategy to win the war. I’ve been lucky enough to have dealt with some fine generals in my day with our Prince’s legions. You undoubtedly have not.”
Jezebel hid her face.
“Tonight you are going to learn to lead, Jezebel. Not manage… lead.”
“I am always eager to learn, my Dux.” She answered diplomatically.
“Good.” Gerry gave her another look. “Rise.”
She did. “What can I do to prove my loyalty?”
Gerry smiled. “I want you to take a page from Grimm’s book.”
“You want me to kill someone?”
“Not quite.”
She thought back to the conversation they’d been having.
“You want me to sow discord among our enemies. You want them infighting and stabbing each other in the back instead of looking at the real threat…us.”
Gerry just smiled and waited for her to grasp the full meaning.
“But the magical community is already doing that. They’re already frightened, and knowing your tactical mindset you don’t want to overdo it.” She mused.
Gerry nodded.
“That means that you want me to fuck with the humans.” She arched another eyebrow at the Dux. “But why?”
“My reasons are my own.” Gerry didn’t fill her in. “But you need to have a target selected and complete your mission between eight pm and midnight. Can you do that, Jezebel?”
“Of course, my Dux.” She smiled, and her infernal beauty hovered on the edge of being feral. “I assume you want it to draw the necessary attention.”
“Yes,” Gerry smiled. “Use your artistic discretion.”
“Yes, my Dux.”
Gerry watched at the Infernal curtsied low and exited the demesne through the elevator. He needed to make sure she was committed to the mission of realizing Prince Seere’s vision. She’d been on Earth longer than the old Dux and had always seemed to keep everything at arm’s length. By getting her hands dirty, Gerry was forcing her to join the party. She’d either succeed or fail and that would tell him all he needed to know. A request for another demon of the fourth choir wasn’t something he wanted to do, but sometimes you had to shake up your staff to get the results you wanted.
He’d been called to meet the Dominion. It was inevitable. He was the new face in town and even with his very public alibis she needed to vet him. It was probably going to be the most important meeting of his life. A life that was going to be cut tragically short if he failed.
He headed to the bathroom to begin the purification ceremony. He couldn’t show up to the meeting smelling like hellhound.
***
“Welcome to the ahhhhhhh…” The doorman nearly had a heart attack as a woma
n walked through the front door.
He was ancient – over eighty – and he did what he did because he loved it. He’d been doing it for over fifty years, and planned to do it until he couldn’t stand up anymore. He prided himself on his professionalism and that he always treated everyone with a smile. That’s why he was so surprised to feel arousal coarse through him.
Jezebel smiled as she felt the lust in the man’s heart. Even good men felt temptation and longing for beauty. He also hadn’t had a boner since the Clinton Administration which made his æther that much sweeter. She siphoned it off as she walked past the man in a dress that was to die for.
At least that was the goal anyway.
Every male eye in the hotel lobby turned as she walked past. Every female eye grew jealous with envy. No one could have her curves or her smile. They were products of Infernal machinations, and they were gifts she planned to use tonight. On the outside she looked cool, composed, and confident but on the inside her anger was smoldering.
The new Dux questioned her.
What the Dux had said was true. She played in the shadows while those she trained and molded did the dirty work. In her line of business that was how it worked. She had done her time on the front lines. She had fucked the dregs of this world to their deaths. She had sucked the life from their bodies and passed their souls on the Hell.
She walked past the line waiting to enter the ballroom and right up to the man in charge.
“I’m looking for the mayor.” She smiled sweetly and infused it with her influence.
“By the stage.” The man got a dazed look on his face when he gave her the information and then stepped aside.
To Charlotte’s blue-blooded elite that cause a few disgruntled whispers, but one look back at them shut them up. She walked across the room like she belonged there and strode straight up to the mayor. Her fragrance blossomed across the space and seeped into the pores of the men and women present. Men of power found themselves drawn to the waitresses, and the waitresses to them. They paired off like they were boarding Noah’s Ark, and left her alone with the most powerful man in the city.
I'm on TDY from Hell Page 22