Dan's Inferno, Book IV: Vengeance

by Jan Stryvant

  "That makes sense," Aella said with a sudden smile. "Think about it. In his mind, there's no way a kid beats a curse, seduces and controls five demons, and survives the demon realms, kills Weson in less than a day, and orders all the demons in town around. It has to be something big, bad, and powerful. He probably figured it was some effect from Weson's curse."

  Dan just shook his head. "Godfrey thought I was a devil?"

  "Obviously a powerful one, too," Wrath said, looking around the room.

  "And he was hoping to make a deal," Lofn said with a nod.

  Dan faceplamed. "Drinks. Now. I need one…maybe two."

  It's Good To Be King

  "Okay, so here's the deal," Dan said to Herman, who was sitting up in bed at home, covered in bandages. "I'm not going to label you an oathbreaker, since you never swore an oath to me. Though if anyone asks, I won't hesitate to tell them your word isn't worth shit.

  "The only reason you're still alive is because I took the time to heal you, or you would have died when Godfrey's people attacked your car—and I did that more for George," Dan nodded to his friend, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, "than for you. I lost my father, and I don't want him to go through that.

  "However, I still cursed you while you were unconscious."

  "What?" Herman gasped, looking up at him.

  "Oh, it's nothing nasty, but you have to be out of the state of California in twenty-four hours, and east of the Mississippi by the end of next week. If you ever try to come back west of it, you'll die. Oh, and you can't plot against me, encourage anyone else to plot against me, or help anyone who does."

  Dan looked over at George.

  "I'm sorry, George, but I have to do something; he did betray me and try to have me killed."

  George sighed and nodded slowly. "It's okay. I'm happy you didn't let him die, but I think it's gonna be awhile before dad and I are going to be talking again."

  "What happened to Wiles?" Herman asked.

  "I killed him," Dan said with a shrug. "Quickly. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but then, I gave him every chance, and he just kept doing stupid things. Honestly, he wasn't anywhere near as smart or as powerful as he thought he was. How the hell he got as far as he did is beyond me." Dan shrugged.

  "What about his niece and nephew?"

  "Honestly, that's none of your business, Herman. But if it'll ease your mind, I banished them from the US. I put a curse like yours on 'em."

  "Why didn't you kill them?"

  "Because I'm not evil? Because there's no need? Anyway, I'm done here. Sorry you did what you did. Just make sure you're gone by tomorrow."

  Dan got up and left them room.

  George followed him out not long after.

  "So what did you really do to those two?" George asked. "I asked the girls about it, but all they did was snicker.

  Dan laughed. "I took them and the survivors we grabbed at Wiles' headquarters, stripped 'em naked, threw them into a cargo container with a couple weeks' worth of food and water, and put them on a slow boat to Brazil."

  "That doesn't sound too bad."

  "I had Lofn sting Terry and Carmine with her tail just before we sealed them in."

  "Wait, isn't that a powerful aphrodisiac?"

  Dan just smiled and nodded.

  "I thought you said you weren't evil?"

  "What, they're married, they'll be fine!"

  "Uh-huh, sure they will."

  "So what are your plans now?" Dan asked as they left the house and walked back to his place.

  "Stay at your place in town until you throw me out, I guess? Sheila doesn't seem to be going anywhere, which is nice, because I really like making her bark like a dog!" George said and laughed.

  "TMI, dude."

  "What about you?"

  "I'm gonna do what I set out to do. I'm going to run this town just like Umber did. Well, maybe not as roughly. But I'm going to run it all the same. By the way, you're on my advisory team now."

  "What? I'm not even sworn to you, Dan."

  "Yeah, I know. I'm hoping that won't matter. I'm not the man I used to be; a lot's changed. I've changed. But it's nice to have a friend or two who aren't afraid to tell you when you're being an ass."

  "Thanks again for not killing my dad, even though he deserved it."

  "Yeah, well, I know what it's like. Later, okay?"

  "Sure, later."

  Dan watched as George went over to where Sheila was talking with Wrath and Olivia, then collected Sheila, got in her car, and left.

  "So now what?" Wrath asked, coming up to him.

  Dan shook his head. "I don't have a fucking clue. Either of you know how to run a city?"

  "I think that's more Fawn's specialty."

  "Or at least Fawn thinks it's her kind of specialty," Olivia said with a laugh. "That little ewe has so many delusions of grandeur, sometimes it's hard not to get caught up in it all."

  Dan grinned, "Why don't we go inside and encourage her for a while?"

  "What? You want to turn an entire capital city over to Fawn?"

  "Sure! Why not? With any luck, it'll be months before she figures out what we suckered her into!"

  "Dan! That's mean!" Wrath said, laughing.

  "Yeah, that is mean," Olivia agreed.

  "Yup! So, you both in?"

  "Oh, hell's yeah!" Wrath said, still laughing. "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

  "Oh, I can't wait to see her face when she figures out what we did to her," Olivia agreed, still snickering.

  "Now to get Lofn and Aella in on the joke so they don't accidentally spill the beans," Dan said grinning at the other two.

  End

  Dan's Inferno

  Afterword

  Okay, so yes, this is pretty much the end of the series. Originally I had planned for five books, but that was always a loose outline; it could have gone to four or possibly six. But as it turned out, it became just four.

  At least for now.

  I have a number of commitments for other stories that I need to write, and after I complete those, if I think there's space for another book, I'll write it, but right now it's not something I want to commit to.

  I also want to apologize for the length of time between books III & IV. 2020 was a rough time for a number of people, I know, and it was very rough for me, as any of you who follow me know. Just as I was starting this book, a few unexpected things came along, and that didn't make writing easy. I'm just glad life is back on track, and I can sit down and work again.

  I hope you enjoyed this book, and as always, I'd like to ask if you enjoyed it that you leave a positive review (Four or Five stars) and say a few nice words about it. As an independent author, reviews are my lifeblood; they're how I make sales, which is how I make my living. Indies aren't under contract to anybody. We only get paid for the books we sell.

  So again, Thank You for buying this book, and I hope you enjoyed it!

  Now! As always, Some Recommendations:

  Some other people I enjoy reading in this genre, and you might, as well:

  William D. Arand (aka Randi Darren)– If you haven't already, please check him out, he's good. I've been a big fan of William's since I discovered his work. It was kind of a funny moment for me when I found out he was a fan of my stuff as well. I'm honestly beginning to suspect that he can't write a bad story, because every book he writes is just so much better than the one before. You should really buy his books.

  Blaise Corvin – The Delvers books are really a lot of fun and very much worth it. When I first came across his Delvers LLC books, I almost felt kind of jealous, because I was like 'why didn't I think of that?' I do think if you like my stuff, you'll like his as well, so check it out! And definitely give the Nora Hazard book a try ('Mitigating Risk' is the first one). I really enjoyed that series.

  Michael-Scott Earle – Yes! Michael-Scott IS back, he's just not on Amazon anymore. If you want to find him and read his works again, please go here:


  https://www.michaelscottearle.com/books-1

  Michael is a great guy and he's always been quick with advice when I've needed some.

  Hondo Jinx - I'm a big fan of 'Power Mage'. Lots of action, lots of fun. I love that his main character is a former Bull Rider. Those guys are crazy!

  Daniel Schinhofen - another great author you should consider checking out as well.

  They're all good people and great writers.

  If you're into 'Harem' type fiction, you may also want to check out this group on Facebook to see who else is writing it that you might like:

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit/

  Again, thank you for your support and for buying my books.

  My Amazon Author's webpage:

  https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Stryvant/e/B06ZY7L62L/

  Occasional announcements at:

  https://stryvant.blogspot.com/

  Jan Stryvant website at:

  http://www.vanstry.net/stryvant/

  Mailing List:

  http://vanstry.net/vanstry/maillist.html

  (The stuff written under my real name - check it out, you might like it too!)

  John Van Stry website at:

  http://www.vanstry.net/

  Email:

  stryvant@gmail.com