by Michael Todd
Well, three now.
His clothes were simply scraps of leather, and protecting his chest was steel armor with a red snake burned into the metal.
As he approached a small balcony to his right he paused, taking in a deep breath of the ash and soot. He stepped out onto the balcony and grasped the railing, looking out over the scene in front of him.
It was twilight, and the blaze of the active volcanoes dotting the landscape lit the sky. The dimension’s sun was never visible here, but neither were they in complete darkness.
It was perpetual sundown, and nothing grew in the ash that spewed from the mountains. The souls of the Damned walked the land, pulling themselves through the lava while carrying heavy chains. They lived in suffering and agony.
“Soon,” the demon said in a deep, ominous tone. “Soon I will have another domain to play with. There will be even more slaves to feed my conquest. More souls to claim, more demons to scatter about. The pain and suffering will reach a peak, bringing despair and anguish to the humans. They will beg for their lives and then pray for death when they see the fiery hell I will turn their home into. The children will bow to me, the women will serve me, and when all is said and done I will rule the new world as I have my portion of this one. My pretty little Damned, carrying your chains through the fire, screaming for release, screaming for food and for something more. I will give you your day soon enough.”
His large hands started as fat sausage-like appendages but quickly changed into claws, which he tapped against the stone railing in front of him. One of the volcanoes in the distance exploded, shaking the ground and spewing magma high into the air. The screams and moans that floated through the air were like music to his ears. He left the balcony and continued down the long corridor.
“And I’ll be able to get rid of my sister once and for all,” he finished.
Katie was exhausted. She hadn’t slept well in days, and the thought of this impending battle loomed over her like a storm cloud.
She was gun-shy; afraid that the upcoming battle would take more of her family away from her. Her nights had been long, with dark nightmares flooding her head. They woke her in the middle night, sweating and full of dread.
Pandora had said very little since giving Katie the information about the best tack to take going forward.
When Katie’s alarm went off that morning, she had fallen into a deep sleep not thirty minutes before.
She slammed the alarm clock’s ringer off.
However, the sound of motors running outside dragged her from her stupor.
She opened one eye and turned over on her back, listening closely to the whirring of the motors as confusion replaced sleepiness.
At first she thought she was dreaming, but when she rolled out of bed and looked out her bedroom window there were at least a dozen work trucks of all shapes and sizes on the ground outside her window.
“The hell?”
They were moving in and out of the abandoned building that would be home to her company in a short amount of time.
“That’s my company…” she mumbled, still not quite grasping the situation.
She would have slept right through it had it not been below her window, and she wondered if she was the only one the ruckus had woken up.
The last thing she needed was for the bigwigs to come roaring down on her before she even knew what the hell was going on. Katie started to throw on whatever clothes she could find.
“Oh, shit!”
When she was done dressing she bolted down the hall to the staircase, not wasting time on the elevator. When she reached the door to the outside she threw it open and stepped out into the sunlight.
She put her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun as she looked around, trying to make heads or tails of what she was seeing.
Katie turned in circles, adjusting herself to being awake and adjusting herself to being surrounded by so many people. When her body had fully awakened she just stood there for a minute, completely in shock at what was going on around her.
This shit was crazy. It was like being in the middle of a carnival, only it was filled with large adult men and a ton of unmarked trucks.
The men, though, didn’t look like your typical service or delivery men—they were more fit, although not in uniform. They moved through the area carrying all kinds of equipment in and out.
She walked around in a daze, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. Twice she had to jump out of the way of someone who seemed intent on going right through her.
Finally, she found Joshua and stood there for a moment watching him command the troops.
He was directing people where to put the machines that were being rolled in on heavy pallets and small dollies, and everything in between.
“Damn, good leadership skills.” She nodded her approval. He usually seemed to be afraid of the people around him, or maybe it was just the demons inside most people on the base.
As Katie dodged and wove around the trucks and boxes toward the new company’s quarters, she noticed a blonde woman dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair in a ponytail, carrying a box toward Joshua.
He smiled at her and directed her inside the building.
Katie tapped a finger on her lips. That woman was familiar. Very familiar, and Katie paused for a moment to figure out where she had seen her before.
She didn’t want to make the mistake of walking up to someone from her past life, since she had been declared dead months ago.
She finally got close to him and called to Joshua to get his attention.
He waved and smiled like a child, which lightened Katie’s mood a bit.
He directed one more box into the building before breaking away and meeting Katie in the middle of the masses. Katie shook her head and looked around.
“It’s great, isn’t it?” he asked, beaming. His eyes damned near sparkled in excitement.
“Um, yeah,” Katie agreed, turning back to him. “But Joshua, where did you get all of this?” She pointed to the machines. “I didn’t give you the extra budget yet.”
He shrugged. “But you are going to, so I put the down payments on my account and figured you would take care of it when I gave you all the invoices. I trust you, boss, don’t worry. You have stuck by your word up to this point, so I have no reason to think you won’t now.”
Katie’s mouth opened to say something, but she wasn’t sure what it would be.
Joshua chuckled and patted her on the shoulder before walking away. She reached out to stop him, but then decided that enough had been done. She just needed to go with it.
“Well, hello again, Miss Katie,” a voice said from behind her.
Katie swung around and stared at a smiling Mamacita, who was right in front of her.
Katie shook her head, not understanding why in the world she would be seeing this particular woman here at the base. Mamacita laughed at Katie’s reaction.
Katie jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “What in the hell is going on?”
When Katie turned back around, she realized that the blonde girl wasn’t the only one she recognized. Many of the girls from the brothel were there, only instead of all dolled up and barely clothed, they looked like anyone else.
They all were wearing street clothes—comfortable, normal—and none of them had a dab of makeup on. They looked like crew at a job site, all working hard.
Katie turned back to Mamacita and took a deep breath. She wasn’t angry, just confused, but given the world she lived in, she didn’t like surprises all that much.
It was a good thing—she knew it was—but in the mess of what was going on and awake barely fifteen minutes, she was struggling to understand.
Mamacita nodded toward those working. “They look different clothed, don’t they?”
“Huh?” Katie said.
“The girls,” she yelled over the roar of a small pallet truck bringing in a new machine, the beep beep beep almost overriding her voice. “They look differe
nt without all the makeup and fancy clothes. This is my favorite way of seeing them—like they are just normal girls.”
Katie just nodded, not knowing what to say at that moment.
“Joshua offered them a stupid amount of money to help him get the building cleaned up,” Mamacita hollered.
Immediately Katie narrowed her eyes and gave Mamacita a dangerous look.
This was not a job to hire casual workers like you could for others, or something for Mamacita to profit from. Joshua probably didn’t even know what they were doing in that house in the first place. Mamacita put her hands up to ward off whatever Katie was thinking and shook her head
“I didn’t take any of it. Not one cent,” she said. “I did offer an appropriate amount of money to some of the ladies to help with whatever they needed in their lives. The ones that knew Joshua was your boy decided they would do some vertical work for a while. In fact, they were pretty excited to get out of the house and put their minds and hands to work. I haven’t seen any of them this happy in a long time. Makes me think maybe I should start a temporary help company.”
“They would probably like that,” Katie agreed, checking out the ladies’ faces. “They really do look happy to be here. I’ll have to let you know if I do anymore hiring.”
“I would like that.”
“If you will excuse me, I need to talk to Joshua.” Katie waved. “It is good to see you, and thank you for giving Joshua a place to stay.”
“It’s my pleasure.” She smiled and sashayed away.
Katie shook her head as she made her way back into the building. She stopped for a moment and looked around the room, finding Joshua in the back corner peeking into some of the boxes excitedly. She walked over slowly, deciding it was time to calm her nerves just a bit.
“Hey,” Katie said as she got close.
“He-he-hey!” Joshua smiled.
“You getting everything you need?” Katie asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, nodding. “Everything and more.” He pointed into the box. “This is really great.”
“When do you think you might have some new weapons?” Katie asked.
Joshua pursed his lips and looked around the room. Katie could almost see the wheels turning in his head, the calculations being done, and the conclusion being drawn. He was such an interesting person; she was excited to hear his estimate.
“Three weeks for our first knife?” he said.
Katie nodded, feeling a bit crestfallen. She had thought that the weapons would come faster.
He eyed her for a moment and then spoke again.
“After that, though, I should be putting out at least one knife or sword a week, minimum,” he told her. “I gotta get used to the equipment and such first.”
Katie continued to nod, trying not to show her disappointment.
She looked down at the dagger on her hip. She realized that it must have taken him many weeks to make the other weapons, especially working with minimal tools and out of his van. At the sound of Joshua’s fingers snapping loudly, Katie looked back up at him. He reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a gold-colored cross.
“I have this,” he said, nodding at one of the girls. “I want you to give it to Damian. Jules says he helped her one time, and she hoped he didn’t die doing whatever it was that he did. She knew that whatever his job was, and whatever job your old teammate Armani did, was really dangerous.”
“It is,” Katie said. “Armani was a good guy and a good teammate, and he died in the line of duty. He spent a lot of time with these girls trying to help them better their lives. That is how I knew Mamacita, and why she let you stay there with them.”
“Got it.” Joshua nodded. “They are nice people.”
“They are,” Katie said. “A little lost in life, but that is okay. We all take detours somewhere in our existence—it’s part of the deal. These girls are no different than any of us. Their lives were stolen, but they are making the best of it.”
Katie reached out and accepted the cross from Joshua. “Thank you.” She looked down at the golden piece in her hands and smiled. It was exactly what Damian would need, and it had the same metal structure—or maybe magic, since she couldn’t understand what the hell made them special yet—as the daggers and swords.
Katie put her hand on Joshua’s shoulder and turned him toward her. She looked into his eyes and nodded her head.
“Thank you, Joshua.” Katie held the cross up. “I don’t want him to die either. You will come to find out that though we are the Damned, we are a special breed. We take family seriously, and thus take our teams seriously because they are the only ones we have in this world. As our Weapons Master you will officially be part of our team, and I hope that we’ll always show you the same kindness that you have shown him.”
“I know you will.” He smiled, then pointed to his eyes. “I’ve already seen it.”
Katie watched Joshua walk toward the outer door. Katie stood back and put her hands in her pockets, peeking into the boxes that Joshua had already opened. None of it made any immediate sense to her, but she knew the contents were like a dream come true for Joshua.
He had all new tools to work with, and a purpose for his craft. That was how she felt sometimes, her demon being the new tool to work with and the team her purpose for using that talent to the best of her ability.
Hopefully this whole thing would be well worth it in the end.
20
The man stepped onto the courthouse steps. His shoes were polished to a shine, and his suit’s quality tailoring showed in every crease, stitch, and hem.
His tie was perfectly knotted in a recently fashionable style.
You could imagine him practicing his smile in front of the mirror, staring at his perfectly coiffed hair and thinking about another day in politics. Another day stealing food from the poor and padding the rich. Another day in his perfect existence.
This day, though, felt different than others. There was just something in the air that smelled and tasted different; affected the ground differently with each of his steps.
The politician stopped on the third step and put up his hand, mustering his biggest smile and turning his best side to the cameras.
The crowd of reporters spat rapid-fire questions while the fans called out his name.
To the left was a group of protesters holding signs and yelling obscenities, but to those people he gave very little attention. He was concerned only with the sure thing; the people who would give him headlines, would make him even more famous than he already was. He carefully went down another step and took a small child from his mother, kissing him on the cheek while staring at the cameras. The typical baby kiss; it got them every time.
He grimaced slightly as he handed the screaming baby back to his mother before forcing one last smile and wave as he went down the rest of the steps and slipped into the waiting limo.
He pulled a towel from the bar of the limo and wiped off his face and hands, then tossed the towel to the floor as the driver climbed into the front seat and closed the door.
The politician took a deep breath and cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders around.
“I’m so fucking sick and tired of having to smile and wave at these useless excuses for flesh,” he growled. “I have to deal with them day in and day out no matter the damn weather, when I want to kill someone or chew off the babies’ toes. Sometimes I’d almost rather deal with the fuckers with the signs. At least they have some spirit. I’m tired of this job, and this restless, useless human existence. I am ready to help change the future of the planet.”
The driver nodded, unsure what he should reply.
Silence was the best choice, he finally decided.
The driver reached up and tilted the rearview mirror to view the politician, who was looking down at his hands. When his head rose and his eyes fixed on the mirror, the driver clutched both the steering wheel and the mirror tighter. He was no longer your normal corrupt politician. Where his ba
by blues had once gleamed were glaring red orbs.
Pure pulsing evil.
Damian entered the living room dressed in his normal shirt, tie, long overcoat, and hat, only this time he had a look of contentment on his face.
Derek was lying in the chair with his legs draped over the back, looking at his phone and sharing some ridiculous meme to his fake social media page. When he heard footsteps behind him he leaned his head back and stared at Damian upside-down.
“You ready?” Derek asked.
“Yeah.” Damian smiled down at him. “Sorry, had to say evening prayers.”
“Who am I to keep a man from his duty?” Derek laughed and swiveled to sit up correctly, and after setting the TV remote on the arm of the chair he stood up.
Never noticing the remote fell back into the chair between the cushion and the arm.
“Where you guys going?” Eric asked, walking out of the kitchen with a bottle of water.
“We are on the hunt for some BBQ.” Derek smiled. “Preferably delicious. It’s been forever, and I am seriously hoping I won’t be disappointed. I grew up with southern-style barbeque, not that North Carolina spice-and-vinegar shit.”
“Mind if I tag along?” Eric looked around. “I’m non-denominational when it comes to barbeque.”
“And that means?” Damian asked.
Eric shrugged and took a sip of his water. “I’m starving.”
“The more the merrier.” Damian turned to go.
Just then they heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Derek paused a moment. “Let’s ask Katie.”
“How can you tell it’s her?” Eric asked.
“Only one who opts for the stairs,” Damian answered.
Damian looked at Derek, who nodded to give him the go-ahead, though neither of them expected for her to go.
She had been so preoccupied with the business and the impending battle that she hadn’t had much time for anything else lately.
“Hey, guys.” She was panting when she walked to the living room. She looked Damian up and down. “Where you off to, looking dapper as fuck?”
Derek laughed. “We are going to get barbeque.”