Bitter Aries (The Zodiac Book 1)

by Paul Sating

  I took a deep breath and rounded the shrubs in a sprint. Within a few strides, I'd put separation between me and my companion. As I approached the structure, my senses heightened. Nothing moved inside from what I saw through the windows. Maybe Bilba had already given us up, giving the human time to prepare a defense and maybe even warn with Aries?

  Time was not on our side. No matter how passive the first of his name seemed during our first encounter, it didn't mean he would be a second time. In fact, I doubted he'd appreciate us showing up in his life, especially outside of his sanctuary. The short distance to the house gave me enough time to imagine all sorts of horrible implications of Aries's nature.

  At the exterior wall, I dove and rolled, coming up on my knees underneath the window. Ralrek only kneeled once he got there, making me feel exceptionally stupid.

  "Nice moves, douche," he said.

  "Whatever," I replied. "At least I didn't risk Aries taking my head off."

  Inching my head up, I peeked through the window. I was looking into an empty kitchen, filled with a variety of stainless steel appliances. Impressive enough, I figured, that even Mother might cook something edible here.

  I watched for a few more minutes. No one came into the kitchen, there were no signs of occupants or even the shadow of occupants cast through the kitchen door. Bilba had to be somewhere deeper in the house. "Follow me," I said and crept around the corner of the house to a door I spotted when running toward the sanctuary.

  Ralrek stopped me when I reached for the handle. "What are you doing, Zeke?"

  "Ezekial," I corrected. "And what does it look like? I'm saving our friend."

  Wincing as I slowly depressed the door handle, I jumped—just a little, don't judge me—when the mechanism popped and the door creaked open.

  I looked over my shoulder at Ralrek and gave him the best smartass smile I could manage. "Ready?"

  "After you, liege," he said, gesturing me forward.

  I stepped into Aries's abode.

  The first thing that hit me when we were inside was the normality of the place. Spaghetti is about as normal as you can get for us demons since we live in limited space and do not dedicate much land to farm animals. Carbs are the key to living thousands of years, and Aries's house smelled like a chef soaked in pasta sauce for decades.

  Two pots sat on the stove. A tall one and a much shorter one, which puffed clouds of steam under the range hood. It smelled fantastic, and my mouth watered before we'd walked through the kitchen.

  I paused at the archway, listening. Muffled voices came from somewhere deeper in the house. A slight echo told me that, wherever those voices were coming from, they weren't stuffed in some corner bedroom. The ceilings had to be high or the rooms large and barren to create an echo like that.

  So I moved forward, inch by inch. Ralrek followed.

  After the kitchen, the house opened. The next room was a large, sparsely decorated living area that put my cramped space in the Angel Oak to shame. White walls stretched twenty feet into the air and large windows lined one side, overlooking the hillside as it dropped away toward the city below. White furniture dotted the room and a black piano dominated one corner. Beside it, five guitars stood on stands, red, blue, orange, yellow, and green, all striped with the same thick black streaks. Three more tan guitars with holes in the middle of them sat at an opposing angle.

  On the far right, a staircase led up. The voices came from the second floor. I gestured and Ralrek followed along as I softly planted a foot on each step, careful to listen for potential squeaks of wood.

  Thankfully for the two of us, who were at a physical disadvantage to the muscle-bound human, he did not seem to hear us.

  "Careful," Ralrek said in a husky whisper, even though I already was taking each step at a painfully slow speed.

  The voices grew clearer as we neared the landing. Pushing up on my toes, I peered over the edge. The room on the second floor stretched away toward the back of the house. In the far corner, Bilba was strapped to a chair, his mouth gagged. Two men bordered him, including tank-top man who dragged my friend inside and started this adventure.

  My teeth ground all on their own.

  "What are you thinking?" Ralrek mouthed.

  I shrugged. We couldn't get to Bilba without being noticed, and it wasn't like Ralrek could use his Fire spells here without setting the house and us ablaze—sanctuary or not. The only realistic option was to wait.

  "Tell us," the other human said. He was thick and more rounded than tank-top man, but also better dressed—he wore a t-shirt with actual sleeves and jeans. And he was snarling into Bilba's face. Almost as large as the man who'd snagged my best friend, this one had a shaved head and a long goatee. He could have passed as a demon any day of the millennia.

  "Mmm, uhmm, thmmm," Bilba struggled through the gag until goatee-face yanked it out of his mouth. He made a large 'o' shape with his lips once it was free. "I've already tried but you keep shoving that stupid gag in me every time."

  "Because you're lying." The original brute closed in on Bilba. Standing over him, the human's hand clenched into a fist, which he shook in Bilba's face. "And I told you, either you tell the truth or we beat it out of you."

  "I am, I swear," Bilba said. The red streaks stretching from the corners of his eyes told me he'd been crying. "I told you everything."

  "Except why you're here," the goateed muscle-head snarled.

  "But. But." Bilba's cheeks shook. "I don't have a reason. I just am. I was walking by. I got dizzy and tried to brace myself. I thought it was a tree when I leaned on it. That's why I fell through. I swear. That's all it was."

  "And I told you—" That's when the talk-top did something that stoked my fire. I watched, helpless, as he pulled back and sent his clenched fist flying into the side of Bilba's face.

  The chair rocked backward. So did Bilba. Skin against skin. Bilba screamed. The growl of the behemoth assaulting him. Each sound processed by my brain within milliseconds.

  And then I was up the stairs and on the landing, squared on the pair of brutes, before I knew what I was doing. I surged forward with ease and a speed that didn't register with the behemoths hovering over Bilba. They barely had time to turn their heads.

  I was on tank-top before he turned. One was enough to think about; the second one would concern me later. Jumping on his back, I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled, squeezing until the inside of my elbow pressed against his Adam's apple so firmly that I felt it bob up and down against my skin. His hand slapped against my arm, trying to break my grip, but I wasn't about to relinquish. Even if I wanted to, Bilba's wide eyes and quivering lips pleaded for me to hold on.

  My back exploded in pain as the goateed man closed in and thrust one of his beef bricks into the middle of my spine. I shot up straighter but didn't let go of the goateed assailant. After the initial shock, I refocused my energy on the man's neck.

  "Let go, asshole," the nicely dressed man screamed. I swiveled to find him readying another punch. I braced myself.

  A general scratchiness spread across my neck, my arms, even down my back and legs. It felt like I had not used lotion in decades. Fire magic. Ralrek was following through on his promise to defend me.

  Have you ever heard a fire born into existence in the blink of an eye? It's a sexy sound—even when it's an asshole creating it, not literally, of course—when it is saving your skin. That's what happened as I was clinging to one monster's neck while his friend pounded away on my back. My skin itched all over right before the distinct crackle of a newborn fire approached from behind, quickly setting the air itself on fire.

  I anticipated it before it struck my goatee assailant. Spinning the tank-topped bully, I kicked out at his goateed counterpart. The kick sent goatee tumbling towards the approaching fireball. He howled as it struck his leg, knocking him over and setting his pant leg on fire.

  I squeezed tank-top's throat harder. His hands still slapped against my arm, but they were coming slower an
d with less force now. The more I squeezed, the slower his strikes. First, once every few seconds, and then five or more seconds would pass before that thick arm rose again. Even when it did, it barely qualified as a slap. When he bent forward, I knew the fight was over.

  Just before he hit the floor, I jumped off his back to my feet, desperate to see what was happening with the other bull. Ralrek was wrestling with him, flicking flames whenever he had a free hand, which was not often. In the middle of the struggle to overpower Ralrek, the goateed behemoth never saw me coming. I sprinted the short distance, feeling the power in my thighs, and plowed into him, breaking his hold on Ralrek.

  We rolled across the floor without breaking my double-arm grip. When we came to a stop, he tried to break free, but I wasn't letting go. The effort made me squint and when I opened my eyes again, it was barely in time to think twice before his thick elbow came my way.

  Have you ever had those 'oh shit!' moments in your life? Having that skin-covered bone race toward my face, knowing it was going to hurt, that was mine.

  It got worse when that angled arm met my cheekbone. Coincidentally, it was at that moment that my stranglehold on the meat-king broke. My face exploded in fiery pain, stars filling my vision as I rolled away from him, seeing the early signs of an impending blackout.

  The human staggered to his feet. I know this because he disappeared from sight and I could hear him gasping and throwing up.

  Somewhere in the haze Ralrek shouted and Bilba screeched like a cat in a fight. Both were muddled in the fuzzy cloud descending on my brain.

  I rolled, pressing my hand against my cheek and rubbing it to make sure I hadn't lost any teeth—I hadn't. When I sat up, the world tilted, even though the chair the humans had been torturing Bilba in remained where it was. The floor heaved side to side and now it was my turn to not feel so hot.

  When everything settled, Bilba was still tied and Ralrek was getting his ass kicked by the goateed human who appeared weakened by my assault but was still stronger than my partner. He picked Ralrek off the floor and slammed him into the wall. Ralrek's hands were busy with fending off the punches, pulls, and arm bars. He couldn't cast to defend himself. His head was too limp. The human almost had him subdued.

  "Help him, Zeke," Bilba begged.

  Like I didn't want to. I was groggy but still had enough wherewithal to know that if we overpowered this last guy, we could free Bilba and then we could figure out what to do next. Thank Lucifer Aries had not shown up for the fight yet.

  "Come on!" I yelled at the human. I don't know why, it just felt like the right thing to do.

  The man looked in my direction. He did not let go of Ralrek, but at least my shout had surprised him enough to stop landing punches into the immortal punching bag he held.

  "Let's do this," I growled and raised my fists.

  The man, his arm wrapped around Ralrek's head, swung an uppercut, sending Ralrek to the floor in a heap.

  I didn't have time to wonder if Ralrek was okay before the bully was rushing at me. I swallowed my panic and then did something that surprised even me. The human was within half an arm's length of me when I ducked.

  I dropped low, feeling the movement of air dance over my head. The human's momentum carried him past. With a leg swipe, I tripped him, sending him crashing into the wall. The drywall popped against his weight and he sunk halfway into the hole.

  Without delay, I was on him, pulling the human from the newly created wall crevice. He staggered, blinking mechanically, then his nose flared. But before he made a move, I jumped. Not from fright, but in frustration and, I'll admit, anger. This man had messed with us, hurt Bilba, and scared the shit out of me.

  All those emotions surged through me in that second. In mid-flight, I got high enough to thrust my legs out and wrap my ankles around his neck. I locked them, flipped upside down so that my head was racing toward the floor. Before I landed, I tucked in at a sharp angle to land on my back while driving the human over me. He rotated and dove face-first.

  The thud of his head connecting with wood was gut-wrenching, even to me. Effectiveness didn't care, though. He went limp. No more fight in him.

  I got to my feet and spun, not knowing what to expect, but being ready for a new wave of enemies, including a first of his name. But no one came.

  I ran to Bilba and untied his hands. I moved to the fire caster and checked on him. Ralrek was breathing and conscious, but groggy.

  I slapped his cheek and grinned.

  "We good, Zeke?" Ralrek groaned.

  "Ezekial," I reminded him, this time softer. "And yes, we are. Now stand up. We need to get out of here before Aries shows up." I held out my hand, and he took it. I yanked him to his feet and held onto him because he was too unsteady on his own.

  I stabilized him and checked on Bilba. "You okay, bud?"

  He nodded and pointed behind me. "I am, but we need to take care of that."

  The goateed body guard stirred and sat up, holding his head. He took the three of us in with a tight look. "Who are you punks?"

  If I had the luxury of time or not fearing meeting Aries, I still would not have entertained the question. I wanted out of the house and to live to see another day. "Where's Aries?"

  "Who?"

  I shook my head. "Don't play stupid. Where is Aries? We know he's here."

  A stickiness spread over my arms. It was a sensation I had felt a hundred thousand times. Bilba was casting. I stood by, a comfortable smile on my lips as his large boa constrictor appeared on the floor between the man's legs. He scooted backward until the table blocked his path.

  "Wha—what the fuck?" He grimaced, tried to scramble up the table but too weak to manage. "Call it off. Please?"

  Bilba shook his head. "Can't do that until you answer my friend."

  The snake slithered parallel to the man's leg. Bilba had used that trick on me thousands of times just over the past few centuries of sparring and I still got creeped out watching what it was doing to the human, who yelped when it wrapped around his ankle.

  "Geez," Bilba winced. "It looks like you better hurry too."

  Cruel as it may be, I couldn't fault my friend. Welts raised on Bilba's forehead, which would surely bruise by the end of the night. Bilba had every right to do what he felt was necessary to help us reach our objective, just as long as it did not turn into revenge.

  "What—what do you want?"

  "Simple," I said. "Tell us where we can find Aries. He would have intervened if he was here. Since he didn't, it's safe to assume that he's not. Right?"

  The man nodded without as much as a grunt, his eyes never leaving the boa that continued to wrap around his leg.

  "Then where is he?" Ralrek said, still holding his face.

  "I'm not—" Tthe human started and stopped when the boa cinched around his ankle, cutting off his lie. "Okay! Okay! Pull it off!"

  "I'm not touching that thing," I said.

  "No way," Ralrek said, crossing his arms.

  Bilba put hands out to his side. "I guess I could. But we need to know where Aries is."

  The snake coiled tighter around the leg.

  None of us moved.

  "Please! I—I don't," the man cried. My stomach turned. "He—he was here a few hours a—ago, but I haven't seen him since. Please, I'm begging you. Please help me."

  Something cracked. He screamed. I almost threw up. Pressing my hand to my mouth, I was surprised to see neither Bilba nor Ralrek flinch.

  "Not good enough," Bilba said. Outside of his Abilities, Bilba was a withering bag of skin and bones, but let him use his Deception magic and he was a whole new demon. But he was too confident, too aggressive with this human. I had never seen him like this, but he had also never been able to subdue me like he had done to this human. But, if this man truly did not know Aries, he would have no clue about our nature either.

  "Mercer Street!" The man squealed as the boa moved up to his thigh. "You'll—he plays guitar over on Mercer, near a café. I think it's�
�ow! Please!"

  The giant snake was getting awkwardly close to the thug's crotch. "Better speak fast," I said.

  "Zingaro," the human huffed. "Café Zingaro! Please. Please help. Oh God, it hurts. That's—that's where you'll find him. That's where Aries is!"

  Bilba nodded and started walking away toward the stairs. Ralrek and I followed.

  "Please!" The man's voice filled the room behind us. "Please don't go. Pull this off. Please!"

  As we descended, I grabbed Bilba's arm. "You won't leave him like that, will you?"

  "Does it matter?" Ralrek said from lower on the stairs.

  "Yes," I said. "Bilba?"

  We made it to the first floor before he broke the silence. The man upstairs screamed. "It's imaginary, Zeke."

  I turned toward the landing, wincing with each new scream. "It's causing real pain, Bilba. All spells do here."

  "You can't cast magic," Ralrek reminded me. "How would you know?"

  Bilba shrugged. "I want to get away, Zeke. I promise, I'll release it as soon as we're out of here."

  I shook my head and tried to ignore the cries of the human by thinking about how much I did not like some of what I saw of my new and not-so-improved friend. We walked from Aries's sanctuary, a little more battered and bruised than when we entered, but more confident that we might come out of this unscathed.

  All we had to do was find the first of his name.

  15 - Seattle

  One thing humans take for granted is their access to ice.

  See, in the Underworld, ice isn't exactly a thing we can get with a trip to a refrigerator's freezer—which, completely related, was one of the most fascinating things about our apartment. I think Bilba and I spent the first fifteen minutes of our recovery time standing in front of it, waiting for the ice-maker to puke out another neat, clean row of frozen cubes. Yes, we have ice makers in the Underworld, but you have to go through a lot to get it and keep it and, honestly, only the Floaters living in their mansions can afford them, which makes enjoying a mixed drink an utter nightmare of angelic proportions. If for no other reason, the availability of ice was a great justification to stay in the Overworld, even if the rest of this domain smelled like a toilet and was the one place where we could be killed.