Dan's Inferno, Book IV: Vengeance

by Jan Stryvant

  "And second?"

  Dan smiled and relaxed a little. "Keep us up to date on whatever you learn. Oh, and this table is ours from now on. I don't think that's too much to ask."

  Estaca shook her head. "No, it's not, and okay, I'll help." She smiled widely, and he had to admit, she really was beautiful, as she continued, "The idea of one of us running this town is too tempting to not want to help! Besides, that bastard Weson has got to go! If he wins, he'll drive all of us out."

  "Welcome aboard, Estaca," Dan said, extended his hand, and smiled as she shook hands with him.

  "You know, there are better ways to seal a deal," she all but purred and winked at him.

  "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he replied, smiling back at her. "Though I don't think this is the right time for that."

  Estaca pouted and bit her lip. "Well, don't keep me waiting too long, hon."

  "Oh, we'll be sure to send him by after he's worn us out," Fawn teased.

  "As for now," Lofn said while rolling her eyes, "perhaps you might want to spread the word for us? Just to the other demons for now. We'll deal with the local mages."

  Estaca nodded and slowly let go of Dan's hand, smiling at him and the others, then turned and strutted back to the bar. He watched as she slinked across the floor.

  "She really does have a nice ass," he commented, then turned to the look at the girls. "I'm gonna have to bed her eventually, aren't I?"

  Olivia, Fawn, and Aella giggled and nodded.

  "I'm surprised you aren't already dragging her off to bed," Wrath grumbled.

  He put a hand on her thigh. "Yeah, I want to fuck her, why wouldn't I? She's cute. But I don't see myself loving her, Wrath. You I love. Same for the rest of you," he said, looking around the table. "Why do you think I'm not dragging her off to bed? I have better plans for tonight!"

  Wrath sighed and leaned into him. "Just don't bring anyone into our harem without thinking about us first, okay?"

  "You're saying you don't mind me sleeping with her?"

  "I mind," Wrath grumbled, "but I don't think you're going to give me a choice."

  He almost told her otherwise, but the words of his father suddenly came to mind, about the powerful doing what they wanted, and the rest just accepting it because it was their nature. A sobek, a real sobek wouldn't have any problems nailing Estaca, and if he thought she'd fit into his harem, he'd put her in it.

  Looking around at his women, he was reminded they were just that: his women. It might be chauvinistic or old fashioned, but he was definitely demonic in the way he acted towards them. The way they expected him to act towards them. They were attracted to him because he ruled them, because of his power over them. That was how they knew he loved them, because he cared enough to do it. Especially now that they couldn't read his mind all the time.

  "Just remember," he warned them with a serious look, "any of you even think of messing with another male, I will punish your ass in ways that will be neither fun nor enjoyable, after I kill him. I don't share. Ever."

  They suddenly smiled and gave him that 'dawww' look once again, and he knew he'd said the right thing. He also knew he hadn't been lying, just as when he'd told Estaca this was his town now and he meant to rule it.

  He really was a sobek now.

  "We need to find out which of the mages who've been waiting for all this to blow over will support us," he said.

  "The problem is, how do we find them?" Fawn asked.

  He smiled. "I bet Madura knows."

  "Assuming, of course, she'll tell you," Wrath said.

  "Only one way to find out, now, isn't there? Besides, she was right about your father."

  "I'm not looking forward to her saying, 'I told you so'," she grumbled.

  "I'd rather hear that than, 'I warned you'," Aella said with a grin.

  "True," Dan agreed with a nod. "Now, how about we go home so I can spend the rest of the night abusing each of you?"

  "Shouldn't we wait around a while and see if any of the rest want to talk to us?" Fawn asked.

  "They wait on us now, hon," Olivia said with a feral grin. "Not the other way round."

  Old Homes and Old Crones

  It felt weird to him, pulling into the driveway of his old home, which was now his home. Fawn had her attorneys looking to see if there was anything left of the other van, which had been left in the parking lot of the hotel, mainly because they didn't want any of the mayhem Weson had unleashed to be traced back to them.

  He was driving one of the other cars they'd bought during their shopping spree a couple of weeks ago, while Aella followed in the remaining van. Wrath was sitting next to him, while Fawn was in the back seat, on the phone to her guy at the bank.

  "No, no, you did fine," Fawn told him in an exasperated voice. "Yes, we wanted the money, and we wanted the liens on all his properties. What, why? Why do you think! Yes, of course we're going to kill him! Just make sure you get all the paperwork filed so we can seize the properties after he's dead! And don't worry; I'll give you a nice, fat commission for looking after my interests, okay?"

  Fawn paused a moment. "Um, sorry, I'm married now, and my husband is not the sharing kind. In fact," Fawn giggled, "he's pretty quick to kill people who put their hands where they don't belong. Right. Thanks again, Jorgan."

  Fawn hung up and sighed. "You were right, Dan. He thought he was doing us a favor."

  Dan shrugged as he pulled the car up in front of the garage and put it into park. He could see the realtor standing there, waiting for them.

  "No harm, no foul. It's in the past. Let's get the keys to the house, make sure nothing's changed, then we can all pile into the van and head off to Madura's."

  "Aren't you forgetting something?" Fawn asked.

  "I don't think so?" he said, turning off the car and looking back at her.

  "We have a bunch of furniture being delivered today, remember?"

  "Oh," he nodded, "right."

  They got out of the car and went over to greet the realtor, who kept looking at him, then the other girls as they walked over to join them, giving him little PDAs as they arrived, then looking back at him again.

  "I'll take those," Fawn said, all but dancing over to the woman and grabbing the keys.

  "What is it you do, anyway…" the woman asked, slowly looking around at the group.

  "Porn," Dan said, coming over and smiling as he gave Fawn a squeeze. "I'm very big in South America."

  "We don't do porn!" a blushing Olivia said loudly as she came over from the van.

  "Only 'cause we don't livestream it!" Dan said with a snicker. "Yet!"

  "Oh!" Fawn said and did a little dance in place. "I bet we could make a fortune if we did that!"

  "Ummm…" the realtor said, looking around and taking a step back, looking very embarrassed.

  "Oh, don't worry; I'm not looking for any more wives," Dan said, then added with a wink, "unless you're looking for a guest star role?"

  "Wives?" she said, still looking nervous.

  "Don't worry about him, he's just got a strange sense of humor," Wrath said, taking her by the elbow and leading her back to her car.

  "Oh, so you're not…?"

  "No, we're not making porn," Wrath said with a snicker.

  "Spoilsport!" Fawn yelled.

  "Don't mind her; she's just pulling your leg. Now, thanks for the help with buying the place."

  "So you're not all…?" she asked, looking around as she got into her Lexus.

  "Married? Oh, yeah, we are," Wrath said with a chuckle. "That part was true.

  "Oh! If you hear about any of our neighbors putting their houses up, let us know and we'll buy 'em. Now, have a good day!"

  "But he's so…so young!"

  "How do you think he's able to keep up with us?" Aella said with a smirk.

  Wrath grinned and helped the realtor the rest of the way into the car, carefully closed the door, then waved as she started the car and slowly drove off.

  "What'd you do that for
? I was hoping we could have her deal with the furniture delivery," said Dan.

  "Madura's not going anywhere, and we really need to make sure this place is safe and well warded."

  "How are we going to ward it?" he asked, a little confused.

  "Not we, dork, you!" Wrath said and laughed at the look on his face.

  "But I don't know that much about wards!"

  "No, but Fawn over there does. She's an expert on 'em."

  "You are?" he asked, looking over at Fawn.

  "How do you think I'm able to bypass them?" Fawn said, dancing over and giving him a hug.

  "What's got you all excited?"

  "I've never had a real home before! Just an apartment downtown."

  "Well, let's get inside and check everything out," Lofn said, getting them all back on track. "Once we've done that, Daniel and Fawn can start on the wards, and the rest of us can deal with the delivery trucks."

  "I think I see one now," Olivia said, looking down the driveway towards the road.

  "Then we better get started, hadn't we?"

  #

  "So, I see you survived, Daniel," Madura said as they stepped through the doorway.

  "You had doubts?" Dan asked with a grin.

  "No one can see the future, young man; not even the gods of the twenty-nine have that power."

  "Then how did you know Wrath's father could help me?"

  Madura smiled. "When you can see the past, if you're smart enough, young man, you can make a well-educated guess.

  "So what brings you back to me this time?"

  "We were hoping you might know which mages and wizards might be willing to side with us," Wrath said, looking at her.

  "And why would any of them wish to do that?"

  "Because we're going to kill Weson and take over Sacramento, with or without their help," Aella said, grinning.

  "Then why ask for their help if you don't need it?"

  "Because of what might happen if we don't ask," Lofn said in a serious tone of voice.

  Madura smiled and nodded. "I see you've thought this through."

  "What might happen if we don't?" Fawn asked.

  "The mundanes, the mages, the wizards, they'll all think we're controlling Daniel. Even if they don't, they'll still see one human and five demons. They may not like the idea of a human city being run by demons." Lofn said, looking over at Fawn.

  "And you think asking will change that perception?"

  "They don't believe demons would ask humans for help, so it shows them Daniel is either in charge or has enough sway with the five of you that you'll listen to him," Madura said.

  "And of course, any who do join will soon learn how powerful Dan really is," Wrath added.

  "And exactly who's in charge," Madura said with a laugh.

  Dan noticed Olivia and Wrath both looked a little embarrassed by that, but Fawn and Aella just grinned, while Lofn smirked.

  "I think the biggest shock will be when they find out I'm not who they think I am," Lofn said. "Wiles is positive I'm the one in charge."

  Madura nodded. "Yes, he believes you're Hana. It's nice that he's wrong, of course. Neither he nor Weson believes young Daniel is long for this world."

  "So which of the mages do we ask?" said Dan.

  "I think Royce, Takett, and Stidham would be the most interested. Layton you might ask after the others have either joined or turned you down. If any of them should join your side, I suspect you'll see a flood of lesser mages and mundanes seeking to join as well. Things have been going on for far too long back there. There are a lot of people who just want to go home."

  "I take it you girls know where to find them?" Dan asked, looking at them.

  "Estaca will know," Wrath said.

  "Any words of wisdom I should heed?" he said, turning back to Madura.

  "I think your father gave you more than enough of those," Madura replied, smiling back at him.

  "Is his father, his real father, a god?" Wrath asked suddenly.

  "If he was, do you think I'd want to annoy him by telling you?" Madura laughed.

  "Probably not," Wrath said with a dejected sigh.

  "Oh! Oh! I have a question!" Fawn said, dancing on her hooves suddenly. "Do you have any magical gems for weapons? Cause Dan's mace there definitely needs one. Same for Lofn's whips."

  "Aella, would you be a doll and please get that small wooden box from the bottom shelf and bring it over here?" said Madura.

  Aella nodded and picked it up, then brought it over and handed it to Madura.

  "I've got three. One that that does electrical damage, another that will cause damage similar to acid, and a third which simply increases the damage of the weapon. None of them are really all that powerful; I don't normally deal in weapons."

  "They're better than nothing," Lofn said with a shrug. "Fawn, pay her."

  "Why do I have to pay her?" Fawn complained.

  "Because you asked. Also, I don't have any money on me."

  "Fine," Fawn said and pulled out her phone. Dan wasn't surprised she'd already gotten it replaced. "How much?"

  "Ten thousand."

  "Say, you wouldn't have anything that would keep us from getting banished again, would you?" Dan asked.

  Madura shook her head. "Sadly, that's not something I have anything to prevent. You might, however, wish to learn how to open portal gateways of your own."

  "I can do that?" he asked with a surprised look.

  "With the proper preparation, yes, you could."

  "How do I learn?"

  "See that book with the blue binding on the shelf over there?" Madura asked, pointing. "It should teach you what you need to know."

  "How much?" Fawn asked with a resigned sigh.

  "A hundred thousand," Madura said with a smile.

  "A hundred…!" Fawn started off, stopping as Dan put his hand on her shoulder.

  "Hon?" he asked in a soft voice.

  "Fine," she grumbled. "But you owe me, mister!"

  He goosed her with his other hand, and she squeaked, then blushed furiously.

  "You mean I own you," Dan teased, then got the book while Fawn rubbed her bottom and the others snickered.

  Retrieving the book, Dan put it into one of the pockets in his duster. He'd definitely be reading it later tonight…or maybe tomorrow, as he remembered he needed to go over all the wards again soon to make sure that they were set up right. He'd recalled what little he'd learned from Nicitel about wards while Fawn had been telling him what she wanted each ward to do, and how to set it up.

  Apparently, sneaking through wards was something of a bovera sheep specialty, not unlike her dancing. Apparently sheep could be very sneaky. However, Fawn was also smart enough to have figured out a few little tricks the average sheep wouldn't be able to sneak past.

  "Any parting words of wisdom before we leave?" Wrath asked.

  "Or even a few hints?" Aella asked with a grin.

  "Oh, I think you used those up the last time you were here," Madura said with a smile.

  "Then I guess we'll take our leave," Lofn said. "Thank you, once again, Madura. You've been very helpful and we're all very thankful for that."

  "You're all more than welcome."

  They all left, and the moment the door closed, Wrath sighed.

  "Well, at least she didn't…" Wrath started to say, then they all heard Madura shout from the other side of the door, "I told you so!" and laugh manically.

  Wrath growled and stomped off to the van as the rest of them snickered.

  "So, where do these guys live?" Daniel asked as they took the turnoff for Granite Bay a couple of hours later.

  "Royce used to be in Folsom, Takett was in Gold River, and Stidham was in Granite Bay—we can ask Estaca, I'm sure she'll know where they're all hiding out now."

  "Wait…Stidham is in Granite Bay?"

  "Oh! I wonder if he's still here!" Fawn asked.

  "I don't know," Wrath started saying. "It's still pretty…"

  "Wait!" Dan
interrupted. "Are you talking about Herman Stidham?"

  Wrath looked back at him from the front seat, where she was sitting next to Fawn, who was driving. "You know him?"

  "Yes, I know him! His son George is one of my best friends!" Dan exclaimed in surprise, almost yelling it out.

  "Well, that's handy," Olivia said, grinning.

  "I need to go by there."

  "It's after nine, Daniel," Lofn pointed out.

  "You just told me my best friend's father is a powerful mage, and you think I'm not going to head over there tonight?" Dan snorted. "He had to have known about my father. Hell, I wonder if George knows!"

  "How far are they from the house?"

  "Walking distance. It's the next block over," he said, giving Fawn the address. "But if you cut through the woods, it's just a few houses over."

  Wrath shrugged. "I guess we can all walk over there with you after we get home."

  Daniel shook his head, "No. Drop me off out front. I'll catch up with you later."

  "Wait, what?" Wrath asked, frowning.

  "This is a friend of mine, one of my oldest. The last thing I want to do is walk into his house with a group of demons in my wake."

  "But…"

  "No," Daniel said, cutting her off.

  "Daniel's right," Lofn said.

  "What?" Wrath said, looking at her like she was crazy.

  "If Daniel shows up on his own, it proves we don't control him. When he comes home, it shows he's with us willingly."

  "Wasn't part of this whole recruitment thing to show those mages that Dan's in charge?" Fawn asked.

  "Of course," Lofn said in agreement. "But first they have to see we don't control him. Stidham will figure that out very quickly when Daniel shows up at his front door, alone."

  Wrath grumbled, and he could see that even Aella was looking a little antsy over it from the way her tentacles were dancing. Then again, he hadn't gone many places without the two of them for a while now, and he hadn't gone anywhere without Wrath since this had all begun.

  "I'll be fine," he said and gave each of them a hug in turn, giving Wrath an extra squeeze. "George's dad is an okay guy. Honestly, finding out he's a mage like my stepdad is a bit of a shock. He didn't seem like the type."