Bitter Aries (The Zodiac Book 1)

by Paul Sating

  Ice also serves an amazing purpose of numbing swollen cheekbones and pulsing temples.

  "You guys okay?" Bilba asked.

  I nodded, trying to keep my elation at my status reserved—seriously, I felt great, fully recovered after a short rest and the magical bag of frozen cubed water. "Yeah. How about you guys?"

  "Fine," Ralrek groaned. He wasn't doing so well, still laid out on the couch, his own bag pressed to his head.

  "What do we do now?" Bilba asked.

  I stood and stretched. "I'm making myself a sandwich and then I say we head back out."

  "Seriously?" The question came from the couch.

  "Why wait?" I asked. "No better time than now. Especially since we know where Aries is."

  He pulled the bag away from his face and glared. "We don't know where he is. We think we do. But can we really trust humans? Doubt it."

  "Do you have any better ideas?" I definitely did not, so if he did, I was more than happy to hear them.

  "Well, no," he said, replacing the ice. "But I'm not exactly feeling great, so my thinking is a little jumbled."

  Bilba smirked. "Your thinking is always jumbled. I'm not opposed to heading out and looking for him. If he is performing street music, he might not make a scene and we can try to talk him into coming back here, at least. Then we can use that beacon stone."

  "Even if we do, he could kill us before I pulled it out of my pocket," I said.

  Bilba shook his head. "Ye of so little faith, Zeke."

  Ralrek tried to sit up, groaned, and then lay back. "Why bother? We just got our asses kicked and I'm not feeling up to another fight, especially one with a major demon. Aries would rip us apart without putting down his damn guitar. Why don't we just signal the Council? We confirmed where he lives."

  I shook my head. "We didn't actually see Aries there. But we did see two goons."

  "So?"

  "So," I tried my hardest to keep any semblance of a growl out of my response, "look at what happened trying to take on two mortals? Both of you look worse for it."

  "That's because dumbass got himself tied up and he couldn't cast," Ralrek said. "If he'd been free and it was the three of us, it would have been an entirely different deal. We would have slaughtered those humans."

  My frustration increased at having Ralrek along on this journey. Couldn't the Council have assigned someone, anyone else, to be part of this team? Was it too much to expect to include a demon with common sense and a less irritating and combative personality?

  "We can't be sure," Bilba said, stepping into my direct line of sight to Ralrek. "If we go back we have to remember Aries is likely to be there at some point. Even if Zeke handles the human bodyguards, that still leaves you and me to battle Aries on our own, and we don't know how powerful he is."

  Ralrek waved at the brief still sitting on the table. "It's in there. You should read it."

  Bilba huffed. "I did read it, asshole. But experiencing that power first-hand is different. We have no idea what it's like to go up against a caster of his talents. Why not use every advantage we have?"

  He might be a blabber-mouth, but at least Bilba understood that surviving is pretty awesome. The same couldn't be said about that powerful powder puff with perfect hair across the room.

  I made my way toward the kitchen. "I'm making that sandwich and then I'm going to look for Aries. Bilba, are you coming?"

  "You bet."

  Ralrek threw the ice bag on the table. It plunked, shooting out droplets of condensation upon impact. Ignoring him, I set about the most important thing I could do at the moment. Eating. Growing demons need their strength too. Though, technically, I stopped growing while you humans were still slogging through the Middle Ages.

  By the time I finished and my stomach was digesting the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich—by the way, has there ever been a better invention than peanut butter in the mortal realm?—known to demonkind, Bilba and Ralrek were ready to go.

  Ralrek had a point, and it bothered me more than for obvious reasons. Finding and facing Aries right now would be beyond challenging with two battered and bruised partners. If we couldn't overcome humans without battle scars, no matter how big they were, I had serious reservations about our collective ability to do what we needed with Aries. I couldn't help but wonder if the Council was having a good laugh at our impending doom. Part of me wondered if they didn't have some twisted bet between the lot of them, that we were nothing but an interesting sideshow to entertain them for a few days until they got serious about returning Aries—hey, when you are immortal, you need to pass time somehow.

  I stopped immediately halfway down the stairs to the ground floor. Ralrek kept going, but Bilba had pulled up and was staring at me from a few feet below.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  I was confused, my thoughts too convoluted, too dark, to communicate. But with Ralrek out of ear-shot and us out in the early evening, outside the apartment where the Council could not eavesdrop, I took the chance to see what he thought.

  "What if," I paused to check my surroundings. Noting no humans and Ralrek's increasing distance, I continued, "What if this is nothing but a setup? This entire thing? What if the Council didn't send us here to bring Aries back, but for some other point?"

  Bilba gave me a look like I'd just punched his Hellhound in the face. "What are you talking about?"

  I didn't know. That was the problem; I was still working this out within the tangle of immediate revelation.

  "What if the Council has us running around this human city, chasing a demon who is in on their plot?"

  Bilba scrunched his face, his chin disappearing somewhere into the folds of his neck. "Plot? To do what?"

  That was the billion-coin question, wasn't it? Why would the Council send three neophytes to the Overworld? Beelzebub said we needed to find Aries, capturing him was a bonus. But the plan called for assistance by the Council, so they knew we could not do this on our own. They had to get involved at some point. But why? That was the question that continued to bother me. Always skeptical of the Council, or anyone with too much power, I could not shake the feeling that this was more than a simple runaway situation. Truths were often cleverly wrapped in polished tales of deceit, regardless of Father's advice that if something sounded too outlandish to be true, there was likely good reason.

  I couldn't shake the viability of it. Because something just was not sitting right. Beelzebub mentioned politics surrounding the Council, but he had also warded our conversation. What was he hiding?

  "I've got to figure that out."

  With a nod of his head toward Ralrek, who was now watching us from across the street, arms crossed, Bilba said, "How about you keep working out this stellar theory of yours while we walk? From what this map shows, it's a bit of a hike. And it's been an eventful first day. I'd like to see if we can complete our mission in time to get home for a cold bath and maybe even a movie."

  Both sounded attractive to me and, against my better judgment, I agreed with my lifelong friend and we navigated the human streets once again.

  Funny, how quickly I was getting acclimated to the Overworld. We'd been here less than a day and the sights and sounds no longer seemed as strange—though I doubted I would ever be okay with an open sky above. During our trek across this part of Seattle, I'd spied skyscrapers reaching toward the heavens and dominating the horizon. What would it be like to walk among them? We had come so close during our trip to the museum. If we found Aries, and he was agreeable to returning to the Underworld, we might have time to take a quick detour on the way back to the apartment so I could experience it before returning home forever.

  Diversity of Overworld life was on display up and down Mercer Street. A woman in an expensive outfit stomped down the sidewalk like she was mad at it, a cell phone to her ear. Business people hustled as if escaping pursuit. Then, somewhere around Second Street, a colorful wall of art blocked off ringing metal strikes of a dozen hammers, the buzzing of saws, and y
elling from one human to another. Construction projects sound the same in the Underworld.

  As we passed, three men in funny looking orange vests with yellow stripes nodded.

  "Nice outfit, girls," one of them laughed after we passed, and was joined by the other two.

  There was nothing wrong with the way we dressed. We wear shorts and jeans, tee shirts and sweaters, and any other combination of clothing mortals wear. Not out of shame or pride, but because clothing helps keeps body parts where body parts belong. It's that simple. That whole 'they knew their nakedness' stuff was just a manipulative tactic added much later by mortals.

  Still, Bilba's ears turned pink.

  "Ignore them."

  "Yeah," he said, his eyes cast down.

  I examined him. "What is it? You're keeping something from me. Come on."

  He glanced over his shoulder at the orange and yellow humans. "Zeke, is it so easy for them to pick us out of the crowd?"

  "Why would you say that?" Ralrek eyed him.

  "Look at them," he said through pinched lips. "Why did they pick us out? There are others all around us. Why not them?"

  "Probably because you look like you'll puke the second someone blinks at you," Ralrek snickered. "You can't let them see you like that. We're the superior species; remind them of that."

  "And how do I do that?" Bilba huffed.

  "Look them dead in the eyes and don't blink," Ralrek said simply.

  "Don't blink," Bilba repeated. "Got it. I'll get right on that as soon as you cover those bruises that probably drew their attention in the first place. Glad we brought you along. How do I survive the Overworld without you?"

  "Kiss my ass," Ralrek said. "You don't look so pretty yourself."

  I did not bother to hide my smile that went unbroken even when the strumming of a guitar accompanied by a hollow-sounding percussion beat yanked my attention away from celebrating Bilba's accomplishment.

  I slapped my best friend on the shoulder. "Let's go!"

  We broke into a sprint. Well, let's not kid ourselves, Bilba was sprinting, but I moved at a moderate jog so I did not leave him behind. Ralrek moved with a newly formed jerk to his stride. Staying together was important now after the battle at Aries's house. Strength in numbers and all that. After this adventure was over, though, I planned on talking with Bilba about his workout routine.

  We passed the glass and charcoal gray metal facade of the Seattle Opera and the guitar strumming grew louder. Dodging humans moving at a casual pace, a skywalk crossed the street ahead. The guitar and drums were coming from near there, but it was hard to tell because of the tree coverage.

  The sidewalk was filling with humans dressed in black jackets and slacks, expensive dresses, and umbrellas for everyone. The fine human wave moved in the opposite direction, likely headed to the opera. We were pushing against the stream. In the throng's midst, we slowed to avoid attention.

  Somewhere in the hustle through the humans, I lost my focus on what might be Aries's presence. When I finally cleared the thickest clump, I no longer heard the guitar. Only the rhythmic percussion now accompanied vocals. Unsure when the guitar strumming had stopped, the urge to run overcame me.

  "Shit!" I sprinted, pulling away from Bilba and Ralrek. Dodging around the thick gray pillar for the opera building, I cleared my final hurdle as the last of the crowd trickled past. The skywalk was overhead now. Stairs wound down to street level, spreading out like lava from a volcano's mouth. In the corner between stairs and building, sat an older human, dressed in rags. At his feet lay three plastic buckets turned over on their lids. He grinned at passersby while tapping out the funky rhythm I'd heard for the entire block. As I approached, he eyed me.

  "Hey, friend." I smiled.

  "Ain't your friend," the man replied, not breaking his rhythm.

  I cleared my throat, trying to hide my nervousness. "I was wondering if you could help me. I'm looking for a friend ... an actual friend."

  The man continued drumming and, I swear, with more force, increasing the volume. I waited to see if lingering would encourage him into conversing, but he didn't stop.

  "Can you help me?" I asked.

  Still drumming, the man in the tattered rags squinted up at me. "Will ya' leave me alone if I do? You ain't good for my business." He nodded at a cardboard box with the top cut off sitting in front of his plastic setup. Another piece of cardboard, possibly the sacrificed top, was haphazardly taped to the back of the box so it stood above it. Bold black letters written by a shaky hand read PLEASE HELP. The box was decorated with a few folds of paper currency and a scattered collection of coins. It may be discouraging to discover, but even the eternal realm has beggars, so the drummer's message was easy to translate.

  I reached into my pocket where I kept the human currency neatly folded. Our mission brief contained an entire section on currency but who—besides Bilba—has time to read something so boring when you're chasing an ancient demon? Bilba's photographic memory would have me covered. The problem was, he was still making his way through the human crowd.

  Looking at the folded paper money, I really wish I had read the brief. Each bill shared many similarities, with subtle differences only in the faces—and even those were difficult to distinguish since old white men all looked the same.

  I did what any good tourist would in a moment of confusion. I pulled one piece of paper currency with the largest number on it, a twenty, and I set it in the box. I'd done something stupid. The man's eyes grew, and he grinned wide enough to show a mouth spotted with dirty teeth.

  "How can I help you?" The grin was permanent now, confirming I had just overpaid for this musician's services.

  "Like I said, I'm looking for a friend," I said carefully, not wanting to shut down a conversation I'd paid for so dearly.

  "Ain't looking for friends like that," the man said with a glance at the currency I'd set in the box, his smile slipping.

  I tried to cover the awkwardness. "An older man, long white hair down to here," I gestured to my waist and pretended to be well-versed about Aries's activities. "Great guitarist. Usually plays around here."

  A couple walked past, eyeing me and the drummer with a sideways glance and moving two steps further away. The musician waited for them to pass before speaking. "Sounds like lots of people. Could be anyone." He grinned again, and my eyes were drawn to his teeth. He needed extensive dental work.

  "It's important that I find him," I said. "I haven't seen him in a long time and the men he shares the house with told me to look for him here."

  Mentioning the men at Aries's house was a calculated risk. That might add an air of legitimacy. I wasn't sure if this drummer could help or not, but looking around the street, this location matched what the ruffian at Aries's house had described, though I did not see a Cafe Zingaro. We might have to start all over if he couldn't help.

  "How important?"

  By now, Ralrek had joined the conversation while Bilba's panting announced his arrival a few seconds later.

  "Very."

  "Doesn't seem like it." The musician grinned again and broke out into a new percussion solo that grew louder the longer I stood there staring. After a nice run of impressively fast beats, he nodded at the box.

  Thankfully, I had not put the clump of human currency away yet, so I unfolded another piece of paper with an old man's face and the number twenty on it and placed it in the cardboard box.

  The drumming stopped as he eyed my partners. The momentum slowed just as quickly as I'd regained it. Now would have been an excellent time for the pair of them to be even slower.

  "Might know someone like that," the man said. "Might need to hear why you need to see 'im. You seem to be in a rush and if there's one thing old men don't care for, it's young men who are rushin'. You up to no good?"

  It was a question I couldn't answer with complete confidence. Especially not after my conspiratorial thoughts I shared with Bilba before we'd set out. This was one of those times truthfulness would s
erve me best.

  "We're just looking to talk to him," I said. "We have important work we need help with. Honestly, we're desperate."

  "Friends helping friends," he grinned, the drumming growing louder again. "That's the only way to get by in life, ain't it so?"

  I freed another twenty from the stack of currency, growling as I did. "This feels like extortion."

  "Don't know what that is but I've been working hard out here all day and will need to eat soon. You need to find your friend? I need to find a meal."

  Once the newest twenty rested in the box, the man stopped drumming completely. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Come closer."

  I eyed Bilba and Ralrek. Neither one of them moved, and I was grateful for that. Talking with this old musician had cost me time and probably far too much mortal money, and neither of my cohorts had established any rapport with a man. I didn't want to risk the entire conversation on the chance Ralrek might make a rude comment. So I leaned in and was met with an odor of sweat and something more pungent. I forced the gag back down my throat.

  "It's Aries you seek, isn't it?" His breath smelled like stale air that had been trapped inside a box for fifty years.

  I struggled to not react. Not just because of the man's flavorful aroma, but that he named Aries before I did.

  I forced my voice to remain even. "Yeah, we are."

  The man shook his head and grunted. "Not 'we'. You." The drummer leaned to the side to peer around me at Bilba and Ralrek before squaring on me again. "Send them on their way."

  "What?"

  "Your friends," he said. "If you want to continue this conversation, we do it without them or we don't do it at all."

  Ignoring his suddenly perfect diction, I stood up straight. Could I trust this man? For all I knew, he was trying to isolate me from Bilba and Ralrek. Without the only demons with Abilities, I'd be an easy target for Aries. Still, I did need to find the first of his name in order to be a target at all. A man who squeezed three bills from me to get this far was not likely to back down, but I had to try.