Bitter Aries (The Zodiac Book 1)

by Paul Sating

  Bilba had just come back into the room, carrying Beelzebub's drink. He stopped well short of the Founder's chair. "Abandonment?"

  Beelzebub waved him over and took the drink from him. "If you aren't willing or capable of completing our mission, if you screw this up, we'll leave you here. Don't doubt that. Think about it. Losing your Abilities, your immortality."

  Ralrek was still straightening his post-tussle hair, casting angry sideways glances at me.

  "Now, what was that all about?" Beelzebub asked, extending a thick finger while holding the glass, swaying it at us.

  "He was being reckless." I nodded at Ralrek, as if I was sharing a secret with Beelzebub. "He wants to force Aries back to the Underworld, and then he's casting. I'm just trying to make sure we complete this mission and get back in one piece."

  "And you, Ralrek?" Beelzebub said.

  He pulled his hand away from his hair and huffed. "I was trying to get us moving toward the Council's aim. Around roadblocks." That was aimed at me, I was sure. "I have no shame and I wasn't being reckless. You can have faith in that. I'm doing what is best for the Council. I didn't mean to overstep."

  Beelzebub kept his fingers against the glass, examining Ralrek. "Yet you used your Abilities on a teammate. Well, you failed, but your actions were intentional."

  It wasn't a question.

  Ralrek shifted his weight. "I—I didn't mean to, sir. He angered me and I let him get the best of me. Plus, we're in the sanctuary."

  "I hope you learned from that," Beelzebub said. "Your mission remains the same. By whatever means necessary, you are to finish your task. Not tonight. It's late, and I don't want you out on the streets. Rest will make you think more clearly. Aries has enough advantages over you fools. Tomorrow you'll execute. There is no option for failure. Understood?"

  That was it? Did Beelzebub just give us a single day to capture one of the oldest demons alive?

  "Remember what I said about this apartment, boy. This is your sanctuary, protected by a ward. None in the Overworld can sense what's happening here. If you have a problem with Ralrek casting, then the two of you work that out like grown ass demons. As long as he doesn't do it out there—" Beelzebub pointed past me, toward the window, "—then I don't care what he was doing. Looks to me like you both deserve to get your asses kicked." He set the drink on the table and sat forward. "Tomorrow, boys. Or risk abandonment."

  With a snap of his fingers, the rift sizzled to life. Beelzebub pushed himself up and stepped through without another word, flashing out of existence in the Overworld.

  None of us were brave enough to break the awkward silence. Shame shut me up, accompanied by a dose of rage. But those were subdued by more pressing emotions.

  Bilba turned. "What do we do now?"

  That was the question. What in the heavens do we do now?

  18 - Seattle/Underworld

  Now I get what mortals mean about rocks and hard places. For demons, that saying doesn't hold a lot of meaning. After all, we live under trillions of tons of the Overworld's crust and mantle. Between a rock and a hard place is life for us. It's what we're used to. But now, faced with a direct order to capture Aries or abandonment in the Overworld forever, the saying took on a whole new meaning. One I didn't like.

  "You heard Beelzebub. First thing in the morning." Ralrek plopped on the couch. The king and his castle.

  "What do you think, Zeke?" Bilba asked.

  I pressed my hand to my face, up through my hair, gripping it harder than I intended. When I released it, I slapped my hand against my thigh. "What does he want us to do? There's no way to beat Aries, even if I wanted us to." I looked at Ralrek. "And I definitely don't want that. If he comes back to Hell, I want him doing it voluntarily. And he told me he wouldn't. What can we do besides talk to him one more time and try to convince him?"

  "I'm not going to waste time trying to convince him of shit," Ralrek said, snagging the remote from the table and flipping through various television stations with attitude, pressing the controller button so hard I thought he'd break the thing at the end of our first day.

  "I know," I said, not hiding my exasperation. Beelzebub's intervention not forgotten, I couldn't let Ralrek's ego derail our plans. "You'll kick his ass. But after he has swept the streets of Seattle with you, I'll respect him enough to open a dialog again. Maybe there's another way."

  "There's not." The curt response was immediate.

  It was late, I'd accomplished more in a day than in the past six thousand years of my life, and my muscles burned with exhaustion. If tomorrow's schedule included a showdown with a first of his name, as friends or enemies, I needed sleep.

  I stood. "I'm going to bed. See you guys in the morning."

  Bilba wished me a goodnight. Ralrek kept jabbing the remote.

  As the night darkened outside, I laid in bed, arms behind my head, staring at the ceiling and wondering what in the heaven could be done to change this course. Hours passed before I gave up and went to the kitchen to make another peanut butter sandwich. The apartment was dark and quiet. My cohorts were in their own rooms, so I had free reign of the place but still felt like a caged animal.

  Tomorrow was coming whether or not I wanted it to.

  Puttering around the kitchen, crafting a sandwich—one does not 'make' a glorious peanut butter sandwich—the new day's possibilities filled my mind. None of them were attractive or interesting. We were about to face an ancient demon who explicitly told me the last thing he would do was what I needed him to do. If Aries wanted to stay in the Overworld then what was the problem?

  I was still struggling to make sense of it all when I heard a slight hissing behind me. I spun, butter knife at the ready, to see a tear in the fabric of space opening. A rift occupied this small kitchen. The blue flames danced as it widened, exposing a dark room with little detail on the other side.

  I waited for whoever opened the rift to step through, but no one exited. Was I being fired? Could I go home and not have to deal with this mess? That would solve my Aries-shaped problem, though I couldn't deny the immediate regret I felt at that selfish thought.

  Still, I stepped through the tear in the world.

  Everything flashed, and the hissing grew to a dull blaze behind me. In the blinding white, the Overworld was gone, and I was falling and, yet, not falling. The disorientation slipped by more quickly this time.

  When I could see again, I was standing in the middle of a place I didn't recognize. The floor was black onyx. The spacious room spread out before me, decorated in the tools of the huntsman. Staffs, halberds, and crossbows decorated the walls. Every few feet, torches propped in sconces cast blue light—Hellfire?—casting flickering shadows. I was back in the Underworld.

  "Hello?" I called out. Silence. I called again, this time louder. "Hello?"

  "Yeah, yeah, boy. Keep it down. You're loud enough to wake the dead."

  Beelzebub's voice came from behind a large pillar. I went to him. Against the far wall, the table he sat at looked small enough to be an impling's play set as he hovered over it. Dozens of scrolls sat in front of him. Some tightly bound, some unfurled and pinned down with weights shaped like the red hell hawks that crowded benches at parks all around the Fifth. Wax seals were broken on a handful of loosely curled scrolls. A single, wide candle burned on the table.

  Beelzebub sat, hunched, supporting his head with his palm. He didn't even bother to look up. With this free hand, he pointed at the chair opposite him.

  "Sit, boy."

  I looked around the room as I made my way over to the table. More hunting gear and trophies hung from the wall. The mix of wood panels, flickering candlelight, and the light haze coming from the torches gave the room an ominous feel.

  "Where am I?" I asked as I took my seat.

  Beelzebub's gaze fell back to the scroll in front of him. "My abode." It was all he offered.

  Well, this was a fitting end to the strangest day in my life.

  Beelzebub rocked back, placing b
oth hands behind his head, making his biceps flex, filling the space to his forearm. Had he called me here to crush me in private? At least that would be a more honorable death, though I wasn't ready to be put out of my misery just yet. I still had another fifty millennia to live. Crazy as it may sound; I wanted to enjoy them and not have it end in the middle of Beelzebub's creepy house.

  He locked eyes with me. "You have questions."

  I nodded. This time, unlike when I was standing in the Council chamber, I was smart enough to wait for him to prompt me. Here, his position was established.

  "I do," I said. "How did you know?"

  Beelzebub dipped his head in the direction of a scroll to his side, one with its seal broken but not important enough to pin down for reference and review. Demon paper! The rarest paper in the Underworld, accessible to the powerful and privileged. Magic paper, demons of status use it to communicate with each other instantaneously over distances. Man, it must be nice to live this.

  "I receive that a few minutes ago. Seraph is on call, and she messaged saying you are troubled," he said.

  "She did?"

  Beelzebub rubbed his face. "You're bothered by your task and it goes beyond your initial resistance to being in the Overworld. What's your issue?"

  I wanted to test the long-held mantra that the Council knew all, as they claimed. How much of my activity was the Council aware of? They knew about our first run in with Aries at the museum, but only because they had someone tracking us. Beelzebub had said nothing about my solitary visit with the Council's target and I refused to give anything away because I still wasn't sure who I could rely on, if anyone.

  "I understand major demons can't get involved, and it's obvious he ran away on purpose. But what if he doesn't want to return home? What if leaving him alone might actually be the better solution?"

  Beelzebub snickered, unlocking his hands and scratching a blonde sideburn. "Enlighten me, boy. How would leaving Aries in the Overworld be better? I'm fascinated to hear your thoughts."

  Nothing I did tonight, yesterday, or tomorrow fascinated Beelzebub. Still, I wouldn't bite. "I don't know for sure."

  He grumbled an, "Of course, you don't," under his breath as I continued.

  "I wanted to ask you earlier, but I wasn't thinking clearly because of that argument with Ralrek."

  "It was more than an argument, boy."

  I cleared my throat. "Yes, I know. But I've been doing some thinking. What if Aries being here isn't all that bad. What if he is doing good work for mortals? What if him staying in the Overworld serves a greater purpose, keeps the stronger Balance? Isn't it all about that, and if the work he's doing maintains or strengthens it, wouldn't that be better for everyone? Him, the humans, and even Lucifer's plans?"

  Tense, silent seconds passed before Beelzebub burst out in laughter. At least he had the decency to do that. "From boy to major policy maker in a single day! You truly are the future of our species!"

  "I didn't mean it like that. I'm trying to find an amicable solution, one that might work for all parties, including any concerns the angels have."

  Beelzebub turned serious. "The angels' concerns aren't yours, boy. And, beyond that, I'm flummoxed why you fool yourself about such a sensitive situation. Fact is, Aries has been a thorn in my side since your father was an impling. Even longer. That bastard has always been an idealist; head up in the earth's crust, I swear. Never understood the true nature of politics. The entire Council grew tired of his posturing well before the founding of the Third Council. Yet," he paused and tapped a thick finger on the table. It made a dense thunking sound. "Yet here you are defending him after a single day in the Overworld. How strange. Why don't you enlighten me on your experiences today? What happened after you met that street musician and you split from the other two?"

  He knew about the drummer? Where in the heaven were the Council's operatives that they saw everything? Posing as human opera-goers, possibly? I had not been watching their faces too clearly. Could I get away with not giving up everything? He was wiser, older, and more experienced and could probably lead me into a trap without me realizing the noose was around my neck. Still, something told me to keep as much information quiet for as long as possible. I had to follow my instincts. What else did I have?

  "I searched for Aries."

  Nostrils flaring, Beelzebub's voice was edged with heat. "By yourself, without your companions?"

  My mouth moved before I thought. "The musician told me I needed to be alone or I wouldn't be able to find Aries."

  "And did you?"

  Keeping my thoughts closely guarded, I said, "I followed the street musician's directions, but I wasn't successful."

  Fear pressed on my chest as I watched Beelzebub and waited to see what he could decipher from my comment. As crazy as it sounds, focusing on the contrast between his dark skin and those bleached sideburns served as a wonderful distraction.

  He prodded with the look of a starving demon cutting into a succulent steak, a rare delicacy in the Underworld. "Sometimes I wonder if we made the right decision putting you on this project. I'm unconvinced you're actually not an absolute moron. To answer your dilemma, there is no other choice." Beelzebub looked like he was about to say something when his expression softened. "We gave you specific objectives. I don't care what or who you think you are and I don't care if the perfect solution sits inside that skull of yours. Make no mistake, you are a minor demon," he snorted. "You're not even that. You're very fortunate to find yourself in a privileged position. Do yourself a favor and recognize that. Honor Lucifer. Honor your family. Stop being an embarrassment and embrace the task. And for the love of Lucifer, stop wasting my time with this silliness."

  He rubbed a paw over his bald head. When he took it away, a moment of disappointment clouded his eyes, as if he cared about me and my plight. For the record, I didn't believe that for a second.

  "You remember what I said earlier?" the Founder asked.

  I did. "Our timeline? What we must achieve tomorrow?"

  Beelzebub's nose flared. "Then I'm wondering why you're sitting here in my chambers when you have important work to do."

  Chastised, I stood and apologized for the interruption, but Beelzebub had already returned his focus to the scrolls, plucking a new one from the stack and breaking the seal. "The rift is open. Remove yourself from my chambers this instant."

  I couldn't wait to be away from Beelzebub fast enough, even if that meant returning to the Overworld.

  What a strange day.

  19 - Seattle

  "Are you guys ready?" I asked, lacing my shoes.

  "I've been ready," Ralrek said. He appeared every part of that sentiment, standing in the entryway to the apartment.

  Bilba flinched when I caught him staring at me. His eyes flickered before he curtly replied, "Yes."

  Bilba was rarely down or moody, but I did not have the mental capacity today to deal with anything but our mission. We were about to do the last thing I wanted to accomplish in my life.

  Last night's visit to Beelzebub's chambers was unsolicited and unrewarding. In fact, I felt worse than at any point since the start of this travesty of an adventure. No word ever created would describe how shitty I felt. The thing about feeling shitty is that to stop feeling shitty you have to do something to stop feeling shitty. Right now, I was too overwhelmed to change anything. Ralrek wouldn't be able to understand because he was an asshole, and Bilba was suffering from an untimely case of petulance.

  I stood. "I guess we do this then."

  "Finally," Ralrek said sarcastically.

  Today was going to be a long day.

  With everyone prepared, we made our way into Seattle for hopefully be the last time. For their parts, Bilba and Ralrek looked excited. I'm not a good enough actor to even entertain the thought of mimicking them.

  A blanket of gray–white sky hung over the city, releasing a slight rain, not hard enough to require hustle, but not exactly unnoticeable.

  This time w
e tried our luck and hired a mortal to drive us. Everyone, for individual reasons, seemed to want this over.

  He was waiting at the street. It was strange being in a human's vehicle, so close to the species we were supposed to avoid if possible. The driver was a pleasant mortal who enjoyed conversing—he must for as much as he talked. With Bilba pouting and Ralrek being, well, Ralrek, I was forced to entertain the human. The conversation was a nice distraction.

  "Where are you guys from?" The mortal said. A younger man, his beard appeared to be a permanent shadow of scraggly hair.

  "None of your—" Ralrek started.

  "We're from Los Angeles," I interjected. The only knowledge of that city I had came from the human movies I'd seen—on a related note, everything that happens in the mortal realm seems to happen either in Los Angeles or New York City. I avoided using New York City because it reminded me too much of my idea of Heaven to bond with it. Los Angeles, I could fake my way through that conversation.

  "Oh, cool," the driver replied. "You guys come up here to film something?"

  So much for staying in my depth. I went to the only adult thing I could talk about after my parents nearly lost the house. "We're looking at real estate."

  The driver slapped the steering wheel accompanied by a dissatisfied grunt. "Ah, awesome. Another group of Californians moving into our territory." He coughed and then offer a bark of a laugh. "I'm giving you a hard time. Sore subject, guess you could say."

  No one said a word, so I filled in the rude silence. "What is?"

  The driver hesitated this time. "Oh sorry, man. I didn't mean anything by it."

  "No worries, I'm not offended. Sounds like there's an issue with them—us. But I don't take things too seriously."

  "Cool, man. Cool. Just do me a favor and stop your counterparts from moving up here, will ya? Too crowded already."