Dan's Inferno, Book IV: Vengeance

by Jan Stryvant

  Dan didn't doubt there'd be issues. He was only nineteen, and as far as they were concerned, that made him a kid. He was getting that vibe a lot now from George's father, Herman. Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with it as much from Royce and Takett, since they hadn't watched him grow up.

  Wrath knocked on the door of the van. Opening it, he got out, and Fawn followed him with a briefcase in her hand. All of them were dressed up to look like businesswomen—the conservative clothing made it a lot easier to hide weapons, and all of them were well armed. None of the girls were that trusting, and some of that had rubbed off on Dan due to Weson's behavior. He just hoped that was Weson being an asshole, and not all mages and wizards acted that way.

  "There's five of them in the room," Wrath told him as they headed inside. "Your friend, his father, the other two, and one we think is Layton, but we're not sure."

  Dan nodded and followed Wrath through the restaurant and into the room. They picked up Olivia on the way there; Lofn and Aella were going to stand watch, and when they entered the room, Olivia closed the door behind them and stood by it with a smile.

  "Gentlemen," Dan said with a smile, coming into the room and shaking hands with each of them in turn, until he came to Layton.

  "Danny, this is Layton," Herman said, introducing them. "He's interested in hearing from you."

  Dan nodded and shook hands. "It's simple," he said with a smile, "swear yourself to my service like the others here, and you can stay, or we can talk after I've taken over Sacramento."

  "That's a pretty bold statement, young man," Layton said with a frown.

  "Yes, well, I'm going to kill Weson, toss Godfrey out on his ass, and take over. Bold is what I do."

  "What about Dale?"

  "We already killed her," Dan said with a smile.

  "What?" Layton said with a surprised look.

  "Oh, you didn't know Dale was a woman?" Dan shrugged. "I hoped she'd want to sign on, but for some reason, she thought she could kill me. Shame, really, but I got a really nice house out of the deal, so I guess I can't complain.

  "But really, Layton, what did you expect? I'm offering everybody the same deal as Umber. True, if you're not onboard before I take over, the deal won't be as sweet, but Umber did a good job here, and I don't see any reason to run things any differently than he did."

  "I heard you have five demon wives?"

  "Yes," Dan said. "I've also met most of their parents. Which means I've been to the demon realms and survived." Dan noticed Layton looking at the others, and both Royce and Takett nodded. Herman didn't, but George did.

  "How do I know they're not controlling you?"

  "Umm, because I'm my father's son?" Dan said with a grin. "Besides, let's be honest, as long as you're all getting your cut, and we don't end up with some sort of demon jamboree, here, do you really care? I know you think I'm just some young kid being led around by his balls, but there's a lot more to it.

  "I'd love to have you onboard, but you need to decide here and now. Because I have business to conduct, a lot of business, and I have to get it done tonight if this whole thing is going to run on schedule."

  Layton snorted. "Damn, you even sound like your father! Okay, I'm in."

  "Do you swear to support me to the best of your ability and not to betray us?"

  "Do you swear to treat me as an ally, allow me to live in peace, and never betray me?

  "I do swear, in return for your oath."

  "Then yes, I swear it."

  Dan smiled and shook hands with Layton. "Great to have you on board! Let's all have a seat, and while I'm demolishing some of that cheesecake over there, I'll go over our initial plans. Fawn?" he said, holding out his hand.

  Fawn handed him the briefcase. Moving over to the table, he set it down, opened it, and pulled out a stack of printouts that he passed around to them. He'd brought six copies, one for Herman, Royce, Clayton, George, Wrath, and himself. He gave his to Layton, set the briefcase on the floor, and grabbed dessert. He was still pretty hungry.

  "Okay, the basic plan is to have four groups on the ground, each responsible for a different side of Weson's building."

  "Do we all charge at once?" Takett asked, looking through the pictures.

  Dan gave a shake of his head as he speared a piece of cheesecake. "No, you don't go in at all. Each of you will set up a perimeter around the building, attack it from outside, and deal with anybody who comes out of it."

  "Then who's going inside?"

  "I am," Dan said, looking up from the piece of cheesecake he'd just speared with his fork.

  "You are?" Herman said, looking surprised.

  "Course I am. Me, my wives, maybe a few others," he said with a grin. "We're going to go in there because I am going to kill Weson. Me, personally."

  "Do you really think you can?" Layton asked, looking up from the notes at him.

  "Dude, I have five demons for wives! Five of the most powerful demons around!" Dan shook his head and chuckled. "Yeah, I think I can. Besides, this isn't the first time I've dealt with him. I think I know him pretty well by now, and I know what we're going to be facing."

  "We raided his place a couple months ago," Wrath said. "So we know what's inside."

  "You did?" Takett said, and then laughed. "Of course you did! I remember now! It was right before you blew up his car in that park!"

  "You heard about that?" Dan asked around the bite of cheesecake.

  "Godfrey made sure everyone found out about it. He's trying to keep Weson from getting any more followers."

  "If Godfrey was half the man he claimed to be, he would have attacked after we softened the place up for him," Wrath said.

  "That's a good point," Royce said, looking thoughtful. "If Weson couldn't stop a couple of demons and a human mage, he's not all he's claiming to be."

  "My point exactly," Dan said, going to town on the cake.

  "Are you always this hungry?" Layton asked.

  "Five wives, do the math," Dan said, stopping to take a drink. "If there was any fat on me, it's long gone."

  George snickered, and Dan noticed that Royce, Takett, and Layton were all smirking, while Herman had a slightly disapproving look on his face.

  "Anyway, that's the basic plan. What we need to know now is how many people are you bringing, and which side do you want to take?"

  "How many people will you be bringing?" Herman asked.

  "Right now, probably about fifty demons."

  "Demons?" Layton said looking surprised. "How'd you get demons?"

  "He told them if they help us, they get free rein," Herman said with a frown.

  "No," Dan said, shaking his head. "I told them I'd leave them be and let them do what they wanted as long as they weren't killing people or causing serious problems. But only if they helped me."

  "And because he's got five demonesses for wives," Royce said, "they not only listened to him, they're willing to fight with us."

  "Pretty sweet, if you think about it," Takett said. "Demons are more magic resistant than we are. Can't be killed by mundane weapons— not easily at least—and some of them have extremely useful magical attacks. Plus this gives us an opportunity to make friends with them and get on good terms."

  "Why would you want to be on good terms with a demon?" Herman asked, looking a little offended.

  "Because being on bad terms with them can be painful," Royce said with a snort.

  "Plus, some of them can get you components for magical spells that you can't get yourself," Takett said. "I don't know about you, but while Dan there may be willing to go to the demon realms, I for one am not."

  Herman nodded slowly. "I guess I see your points; it's just not something I'm used to."

  "Great!" Dan said with a smile. "Now that we've got that settled, let's go over what you've got and where you think you'll do the most good."

  "What about me?" George asked.

  "That's up to you, but I think it'd probably be best if you helped your father, seeing as you've
worked with him before."

  George nodded.

  "I'd rather you weren't there for this, son," Herman said.

  "Oh, don't worry, Herman," Dan said, giving Herman a serious look. "I'm going to make sure all the demons there know that if anything happens to George, I'll gut them myself for not protecting him."

  "You'll what?"

  "He's my best friend; you don't think I'd leave him unprotected, do you? He needs the experience, but it's his first fight. Hell, I got shot in my first fight, and no way I want that to happen to a friend of mine!"

  Dan noticed the smile on George's face as his father quietly fumed.

  "I'm going to go back to stuffing my face, as Wrath helps you all figure out who's doing what. She and Fawn here are a lot better at taking notes and arranging resources than I am."

  Dan sat back and watched as he dug into a second piece of cheesecake. Wrath asked each of them what they were bringing, what kinds of attacks they were good at, and what their defenses were. None of them balked at all at dealing with her.

  Royce had a dozen people who answered to him, and all of them were magic users. Layton had twenty-three, but only six of them were mages. The rest had some minor abilities, but he had a metric shit-ton of magical projectiles. Apparently he'd been waiting for Weson to attack him, or someone else to recruit him.

  Takett was also a surprise. He had twenty-nine, and half of them were mages, though only a handful were of any real power. His people were also well armed and well supplied. Takett also had a lot of offensive spells. He'd be in the front, Layton would be in the back, Royce would take the strong side, and Herman, who only had four people he could call on—all mages, thankfully—would take the weak side. He didn't have a lot of offensive magic, but he had enough to do the job.

  He'd probably end up with a fair number of demons to round his numbers out. Wrath said she'd have them all deal with George, so Herman could focus on his offense, which seemed to make Herman happy.

  "So when are we attacking?" Royce asked once everything was settled.

  "Tuesday," Dan said, standing up and looking around.

  "The day after tomorrow?" Layton said, with an impressed look on his face. "You don't like to wait around much, do you?" he added with a smile.

  "Nope. Weson's still licking his wounds from the whole Auburn debacle."

  "What time?"

  "Six pm. And it goes without saying—don't tell anybody. Tell your people to show up early on Tuesday, before noon, then move them into the staging areas Wrath showed you. Once things look right, we'll move."

  "Why such an early start time?"

  "If something happens to delay anybody, it won't affect our schedule. Besides, maybe we'll go early if we see an opportunity."

  "Sounds good," Layton said, and everyone around the table nodded.

  "One last question—where are you entering from?" Takett asked.

  "The roof."

  "What, you going to fly up there?" Herman asked.

  "Of course not, we're going to use a helicopter," Dan replied with a grin. "Not Everything has to use magic, you know."

  Dan didn't miss that the only one who didn't laugh was Herman. He'd have to keep an eye on him.

  Allies and Lovers

  "That went well," Fawn said as she drove them to the Zoo.

  "What's up with Stidham?" Olivia grumbled.

  "I think he just has trouble thinking of me as anything but a kid," Dan said.

  "It's not just that; he's supposed to be a powerful mage, even Madura thinks so. But Layton is probably just as powerful as he is—more so, if you take his followers into consideration."

  Dan shrugged. "Maybe she suggested him because she knew I was friends with his son and it would make it easier for me to recruit everybody else?"

  "Sounds like something Madura would do," Wrath agreed.

  "In either case, once we get things settled, I don't think we'll have to deal with him that much. Takett, on the other hand…"

  "Yeah, Takett's obviously got no problems with demons," Olivia said with a grin.

  "Neither does Royce, I noticed."

  "Oh, I think Takett's decided he'll take more of the 'Daniel' approach to demons." Olivia snickered. "He was definitely taking a good look at the three of us."

  "I don't know," Dan said. "He didn't seem to like the idea of going to the demon realms."

  Fawn snorted. "A lot of demons don't like going to the demon realms."

  "It's definitely a lot safer here," Olivia agreed.

  "What about Royce and Layton? Any impressions from them?" he asked.

  "Royce seems to be exactly what he presents himself as—a guy who just wants to do his own thing and mind his own business. I suspect he's probably a lot more powerful than he lets on, but he doesn't want the shit that comes with being in charge," Wrath said.

  "As for Layton?" she continued. "Olivia's right, he's just as powerful as George's father, maybe even more so. He's spent the last few years worrying about Weson and gearing up for a confrontation. After we win this, he's probably going to want to be a part of the bigger picture. Because he's done the work, he'll want a share of the pie."

  "And Takett?" he asked.

  "I don't see us having any problems with him. Though I suspect he's going to become somebody we can rely on. Especially if we hook him up with a hot demon or two who'd rather set up shop with him instead of preying on him."

  "We can worry about all of this afterwards," Lofn said, leaning against Dan. "For now, let's just focus on winning the first battle."

  "Yeah, and dealing with all the demons we're going to see tonight," Aella agreed.

  "Has anybody come up with anything, short of me showing my aspect, to make it clear that I'm part demon?" he asked.

  "Not yet, but I'm sure we'll come up with something."

  "Somebody needs to let Aureate know if her help doesn't show up here tomorrow, they're probably going to miss the show."

  "I'll take care of it," Wrath agreed.

  They parked a ways from the club and snuck in via one of the underground back ways that used to house the steam pipes—again, they didn't want to pick up any tails. Sooner or later, people would figure out that he had a house in Granite bay. He just wanted it to be later. As in 'after Weson and Godfrey were gone' later.

  "Daniel!" Estaca said, running up to him and giving him a warm hug. Smiling, Dan put his arms around her and hugged back. He had to admit, she smelled and felt good. "Wrath, Fawn, Aella, Lofn, and Aella!" she continued, giving each of them a smile and a nod.

  But he noticed she hadn't let go of him yet.

  The girls all smirked and headed over to their table. Dan followed, shifting his grip slightly, but keeping an arm around her as he walked. The place might not be packed, but there were a lot more demons in it than he'd ever seen before.

  "There aren't any humans here tonight, are there?" he asked in a soft voice.

  Estaca shook her head. "No. We don't get them often, but I made it clear that tonight was only us demons."

  "I'm surprised you get any, but I wanted to check."

  "Eh, some of the mages out there don't really care, and there's a few mundanes who can see us and are just plain kinky."

  Dan snorted. "What's so kinky about sleeping with a demon? Most of 'em are pretty hot."

  "Oh?" Estaca said and turned to look at him as they stopped at the table.

  Dan faced her and put his arms around her, then pulled her close. Lowering his mouth to hers, he gave her a long kiss as he cupped her buttocks with a hand and gave it a squeeze.

  "Now be a good little harpy and get me a drink so we can get this show on the road," he whispered in her ear when he broke the kiss, carefully turned her in the direction of the bar, and gave her a little pat on the ass.

  "Damn, now he has to fuck her!" Fawn said in a voice loud enough that he heard her as she snickered.

  For his part, he took a moment to appreciate Estaca as she rolled her hips all the way to the bar. T
hen he sat down to join the others.

  "It's not like she doesn't deserve a reward for all the hard work she's done," he said, then grinned at all of them.

  Estaca returned shortly with a drink for him, and he saw that act wasn't going unnoticed by the rest of the bar. A waitress was already pouring beers for the girls, so smiling, he took his drink from Estaca and drank about half of it, enjoying the slight burn of the alcohol.

  Standing up, he got up on the table and looked around the room.

  "What are you doing?" Estaca whispered, looking at him in surprise.

  "Being a god," he said with a grin as the warmth of the booze soaked into him. It definitely took the edge off.

  "Hey, everybody," he said, waving a hand. Not that he had to; he already had their attention after what had transpired between him and Estaca.

  "Now, as you all know, I'm killing Weson here in a couple of days…"

  He was surprised when they actually cheered.

  "Right, yeah, the bastard has got to go for what he did to my wives, here." He motioned towards the girls. "Never fuck with a sobek's wives. We really don't like that," he said with a grin. "So, here's the deal. I obviously don't have any issues with demons, so the usual rules will apply. You want to work in my town—and by work, I mean get up to the kinds of stuff you're all famous for—you kick me back twenty, just like everywhere else."

  There was a little grumbling at that.

  "BUT!" he said and grinned. "You help me kill Weson and run that Wiles asshole out of town—or if necessary, kill him too—and you know what? As long as you aren't killing anybody or causing too big of a ruckus with the mundanes and other magic users, you're welcome here. No tithe, no taxes, no duties!"

  That elicited another cheer.

  "Hey, what kind of god, or at least the son of a god, would I be if I didn't take care of my homies, right?" he said, toasting them with his glass, and took another drink.

  "So, the wives here are going to get the names of everybody who's up for this, and what you can and can't do. They'll tell you what you're going to be doing and when.