Deal with the Devil

by Kevin Lee Swaim

  Lucifer swept past me, pausing to brush his fingertips across Enid’s face, and approached Chima. Erlik took a step backward but otherwise held his ground.

  “You offer me my freedom,” Lucifer said. “I am already free. You seek to learn from Haagenti. In exchange, you would offer Haagenti freedom. I cannot allow that.”

  Chima hesitated. “You may not harm us. We are of the earthly plane. You have no power to physically hurt us—”

  “I don’t need to,” Lucifer sneered. “I only need someone to close the portal to Hell you idiots opened.” He glanced at the stone table, where Callie was watching with wide eyes. “I’m sure the Sister will be more than willing to do that.”

  Callie had been trying to speak through the gag in her mouth the entire time, but she finally stopped, her face calm, and she nodded.

  “Good,” Lucifer said, “We’re almost finished here.”

  “No,” Chima said, puffing out his chest. “We are not. What if we kill the girl? Who would close the portal to Hell then? No, Devil, you will bargain with—”

  Lucifer sighed. “Shut up, stupid.”

  Chima froze, his eyes widening. For the first time, there was fear on his face.

  Henry’s right. This definitely isn’t going as he planned.

  “Your bodies may still be here on earth,” Lucifer said as a grin slowly spread across his face, “but your souls have already left this plane. Based on how you acted before your deaths, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon, my friends. We will have all the time in the world to get … better acquainted.” He turned to me. “Remember what I told you, Sam.”

  “You cannot threaten us,” Chima said, “and no man may harm us.”

  Lucifer whirled around to take in the entire group. “And no man will harm you.”

  The wheels in my head turned slowly, but they did turn.

  He’s stalling!

  Henry must have realized the same thing, because his eyes locked on mine and I saw him whisper, “Duck.”

  And then everything happened at once.

  * * *

  Henry dropped to the ground as gunfire erupted from the west. The vampires became a whirlwind of motion, so fast they were only blurs. To my right, bullets struck Garski as he tried to shield Tessa Spurlock, but a hail of silver bullets mowed her down, tearing through her and leaving flaming holes in their wake. She desperately grasped Garski’s hand and screamed as the fire licked up her torso.

  Garski was hit, too, but he staggered as if he was being smacked by a baseball bat.

  He’s wearing some type of thin body armor under his clothes!

  I looked to the west, and my mouth dropped. There were six old women fifty yards to our west. They were clothed in some kind of fabric that shimmered from the planetarium’s parking lot lights, and they carried compact submachine guns, methodically squeezing the triggers and advancing upon our position. They were led by two scowling old women.

  It’s Sister Beulah and Sister Agnes!

  As my eyes took in the sight, I realized the fabric wasn’t fabric. The nuns wore silver chain mail, and it glowed with an unearthly light. Stitched into the chain mail were tiny silver crosses that blazed with the intensity of the sun.

  It’s holy armor! And, are those nuns holding … Uzis?

  “I’ve got your friend,” Pete shouted in my ear. In all the commotion, I had almost forgotten about the first man. He shoved me toward Garski and yelled, “Stop him!”

  I nodded and rushed forward. As I did, Enid and Erlik advanced on the women of the Order, weaving in and out of the incoming gunfire. Garski twisted his head from Tessa at his feet, now fully ablaze, to Chima, and a scream escaped from his throat.

  To the west, Enid reached the edge of the Order, and one of the old nuns went flying backward, her frail old body bent in half. Enid’s blow had launched the old nun halfway to the parking lot, and I knew that the woman was most likely dead before she hit the ground.

  Enid drew her hand back, and it was smoking. She shook it and howled in pain, and her voice echoed across the open field.

  The chain mail may keep claws away, but it can’t stop blunt force.

  Sister Beulah and Sister Agnes didn’t stop. They turned their guns on Enid, one firing to the left and one to the right, and then they swept their guns to the center.

  Enid had nowhere to go. She tried ducking, but she was either too slow or too pained from her smoking hand. The bullets punched through her chest, sending flickers of flame up her back. She screamed in agony and dropped to her knees, and then I was on Garski, smashing at his head with the butt of my Ingram.

  Garski was stronger and faster. He ducked, spun around, and punched me in the nose so hard I heard a crunch as the bones broke. I shook my head, trying to clear the tears away, and then everything went black when he punched me in the face again.

  Oh God!

  I didn’t pass out, because I could hear him screaming, “You killed her! You killed her!”

  There was a crack in my ribs and a stab of pain so sharp that I saw a white light. It quickly went black, and my head grew light.

  I can’t go under. I can’t!

  I still had the Ingram, and even though I couldn’t see, I had a rough idea where Garski stood. Before he could kick the Ingram from my hand, I cut loose with a burst of gunfire aimed where his crotch should have been.

  “You kill—agh!”

  So much for body armor, you bastard!

  I took a couple of seconds to catch my breath, and when I opened my eyes, Garski was on his knees, holding his crotch. There were at least three bleeding holes in his groin, and he was looking at me in shock.

  “I just … just wanted…”

  I hauled myself to my feet and pointed the Ingram at his face. “Enjoy Hell. Maybe she’ll be there waiting for you.”

  Behind me, I heard Callie scream, and then I emptied the Ingram into his face, blowing his brains out of the back of his head in a pink mist.

  When the Ingram ran empty, I pulled Callie’s Remington to my shoulder and looked up. To the west, Enid was dragging herself across the wet grass, trying to reach the old women. The initial six old nuns were now down to four, and Erlik was rushing them as they reloaded.

  Behind me, I heard Pete say, “I think you might find this useful.”

  “God help me,” Callie screamed. “It’s time to end this!”

  I spun to face her. She stood in her bra and panties, the runes on her skin still ablaze. But, her face…

  Oh, my goodness. Her face!

  If it were possible to concentrate all the rage and fury that existed in the world and channel it into one individual, they would have looked the way Callie appeared. At that moment, she was both more and less than human. The sight of her with her outstretched hand would be forever seared into my memory.

  Pete handed her Burzynski’s silver crucifix, and when her fingers curled around it, the light of Heaven poured forth, turning night into day.

  I had seen the power of Callie’s faith before, but I had never seen anything like the light that blasted from the crucifix. It was like a living thing, and I actually felt a wave of burning pressure against my skin. The clouds parted, and a matching heavenly light blasted down like a million spotlights from above.

  The effect was instantaneous. The remains of Tessa Spurlock exploded into greasy ash, spraying a black cloud of dust across the clearing. The cold, snakelike feeling of power crawled up my body and sank into my soul, nestling inside me.

  To the west, I watched as Enid flopped in the wet grass, and then the flames consumed her. Erlik held his hands to his face, moaning, and the old nuns finished their reloading and turned their gunfire on him.

  Erlik staggered back as the bullets punched through him, each hole erupting in flames, and then he joined Enid, the fire twisting and swirling around his body as it quickly consumed him.

  Seconds later, the fire dimmed, and I actually saw the swirlin
g blackness flow across the grass like fog and then it reared up and sank into my chest.

  The vampire essence was different this time, darker and more pure. The icy coldness that came with it was like nothing I had felt before. I collapsed on my back as the darkness joined the rest inside me, and I gasped frantically for air.

  “Sam?” Callie shouted from my left. “Sam!”

  As my vision cleared, I turned to see the light wasn’t just glowing from Callie’s crucifix; it was glowing from her. I smiled. “Did we win?”

  Pete stood between us and was watching something behind me. “Not yet.”

  I struggled to sit up and turned to see what he was looking at.

  Henry stood above Chima, apparently immune to the Lord’s power, bashing the silver shackles on his wrists against Chima’s head.

  Every blow caused a smoking chunk of ebony skin to splatter off Chima’s scalp. Henry was screaming, “Why didn’t you listen to me? Why … didn’t … you … just … listen!”

  Chima held his hand up for mercy and sputtered out, “No! Wait!”

  Henry’s mouth was drawn back in an inhuman snarl, and he kept bashing at Chima’s head with inhuman strength until he finally broke through Chima’s skull. Chima burst into flame and was reduced to a pile of ash in seconds.

  “Oh God,” I breathed. “Here it goes again!”

  The vampire essence from the Ancient named Chima surged across the wet grass, blasting into me, filling me with a frigid darkness that I thought might never end.

  I closed my eyes and stood in shock until the sensation finally passed. When I could open my eyes again, I found Callie and Pete holding my hands.

  “Are you okay?” Pete asked.

  “I … think I will be.”

  There was a polite throat clearing, and I turned to see Lucifer standing next to Henry. “I hate to interrupt, children, but the hordes of Hell are about to burst through. Sister, if you would be so kind. You know, before the world ends?”

  The remaining nuns of the Order approached, their eyes fixed on Lucifer. The light from Callie dimmed and then went dark. She turned to Sister Beulah. “What should I do?”

  “Do as Lucifer asked,” Beulah said. She paused, and Sister Agnes turned to her and gave her a dark look, but Beulah ignored her. “God saw what you did today, Devil.”

  “He always does,” Lucifer said, without a hint of irony. He turned to look at Henry. “Good luck, Cicolluis. You aren’t like the others. You didn’t seek out the darkness for your own gain. Maybe that makes all the difference. Then again, what do I know?”

  Callie frowned, then raised the crucifix. This time, the light that burst forth was as thin as a pencil. It struck Lucifer, and he collapsed. There was the sound of a giant bell ringing, and when the light faded, Andre Johnson’s dead body lay on the grass, his empty eyes staring at nothing.

  We were alone, just us humans and one vampire. I glanced around the stone table. “What happened to Lottie and Desmond?”

  Henry sighed. “They’re gone.”

  * * *

  Sister Beulah’s chainmail armor clinked as she stomped across the wet grass. She gave Callie a quick once-over, spent several long seconds inspecting me, scowled at Pete, and then turned to face Henry. “Knight.”

  Henry glanced down at the ash that used to be Chima and said, “You heard?”

  Sister Agnes joined Sister Beulah. “We always suspected…”

  “What happened to Henry Hastings?” Sister Beulah asked.

  Henry’s face was pained. “Chima gave him the gift, but before he turned, he begged me to kill him. He didn’t want this. I didn’t blame him. I struck him down as soon as he rose. Chima was furious…”

  Sister Agnes turned to glare at Peter. “The abomination—”

  “He’s not an abomination,” I said. “He stood up to them! He helped us!”

  Pete patted me gently on the shoulder. “You don’t need to speak for me, Sam. I’m done here, anyway.” He turned to leave.

  “Wait,” I said. “You don’t have to go.”

  “I shielded this place,” Pete said without looking back. “Nobody heard or saw anything. Good luck, children. I’ll be seeing you.”

  Pete kept walking across the grass and was soon lost to the darkness. I turned back to look at Callie. “We should probably get you some clothes.”

  “I have extras in the back of the truck,” Callie said. She pointed at Henry. “But first we need to figure out what the Order should do with him.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “He’s one of the Ancients,” Sister Agnes said. “We killed three of them tonight. Killing a fourth would be a miracle.”

  Sister Beulah kicked at the greasy ash at Henry’s feet. “You killed your friend.”

  “I did,” Henry said.

  “You know what that means?”

  Henry let out a bone-weary sigh. “Better than you, Sister.”

  “Sister Agnes makes a valid point,” Sister Beulah said. “The world could surely use a respite from the Ancients.”

  Henry sighed. “I’m not going to argue. I’m old, Sister. If it’s finally my time, then I’ve made my peace with it.”

  “You can’t kill him,” I said. “He’s not evil.”

  Before anyone could speak, Henry said, “Lottie and Minerva took Desmond, Sam. Promise me you’ll take care of that piece of business?”

  “Sister,” Callie said. “I don’t think the … sheriff is our enemy.”

  “Of course he’s the enemy,” Sister Agnes said. “He’s a vampire.”

  Callie held up the crucifix. “Then why did the light fade while he still lives?”

  Sister Agnes raised her Uzi and pointed it in Henry’s direction. “We exist for a purpose. We kill things like him.”

  Sister Beulah put her hand on Sister Agnes’s Uzi and pushed the barrel to the ground. “I think the Order has been more than successful tonight.”

  “Successful?” Sister Agnes sputtered. “We lost Mary and Irma to these unholy…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words. “We can’t just let him go.”

  “Leave it be, Agnes.”

  “We’re not going to—”

  “Yes,” Sister Beulah said. “We are. God’s will has been done this night. Three of the Ancients have been removed from the board. The gates of Hell have been shut.” She glanced down at Andre Johnson’s dead body, then at Garski’s body, and then at what was left of Raymond Burzynski. “We will clean up the evidence. Go and find the Queen of Chicago and deal with her accordingly.”

  Chapter Twenty

  At Sister Beulah’s request, Henry stayed to speak with her while Sister Agnes and the other two nuns began dragging bodies across the wet grass to the parking lot. The temperature had dropped as the storm had passed and was now in the lower eighties.

  We stopped at the truck so that Callie might change her clothes. The sky to the east was turning shades of yellow and orange as dawn approached. I felt it in my soul, like the warmth of God himself. The clouds had mostly passed, and it looked like it was going to be a picture-perfect Wednesday.

  Callie finished dressing, slammed the tailgate closed, and looked more like herself when she climbed into the cab of the truck.

  Before she could speak, I said, “I’m sorry.”

  “You did nothing wrong.” Her voice was calm, but she held Burzynski’s crucifix in her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white.

  “I should have stopped Garski in the tunnel,” I said. “I shouldn’t have let him take you. God, I should have figured out what was going on before…”

  “I’m glad you came for me,” Callie said. “I know you’ve been upset with me—”

  “I haven’t been upset. I’ve been worried.”

  “You’re not going to get me killed, Sam. If I die, it’s because I made my own decisions.”

  “You wouldn’t have been in danger if not for me.
That’s a fact.”

  Callie turned to me and smiled sadly. “After all we’ve been through? After everything we’ve seen? We’re on the right path, Sam. I’m sure of it.”

  I muttered, “I just wish I was.” She turned to me and took my hand in hers. There was a tingle up my arm, and for a moment I thought it might have been a residual effect of the magic, but then I realized it was a delayed reaction from stress and fear.

  “You killed Garski,” she said.

  I nodded. “I don’t feel a bit bad about it. If God wants to hold me accountable for killing that piece of filth, so be it. He murdered all those innocent men.”

  “I know.”

  “He murdered Andre Johnson.”

  “I’m sure his crimes will be taken into account.”

  As we waited for Henry to join us, I said, “Lucifer made me an offer.”

  She studied my face. “What kind of offer?”

  “He offered to make all of this go away. To turn back time and make it so that Silas never found me, so that he never took my child or turned my wife.”

  “Oh.”

  We sat there for a moment, until Callie finally cranked down the window and took a breath of fresh air. “You didn’t take it,” she finally said. “Why not?”

  “Because it was my immortal soul.”

  “You never seemed to think much about it before.”

  I smiled grimly. “When you’re face-to-face with the Devil, things look a whole lot different.”

  “Was that the only reason?”

  I thought about it for a moment. “I guess things happen for a reason. It’s probably a bad thing to mess with that. Besides, I’ll see my wife and daughter again, just like you’ll see your sister again. I just need to get baptized first.”

  There was a knock at my window. “You ready to go?” Henry asked.

  “What did the Sister have to say?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing important.”

  I studied his face. “You’re a terrible liar. I don’t know why I never noticed that before.”

  He ignored me. “I think I know where the queen went. Just follow me.”