by R. J. Blain
“You have the seed?” I grimaced at the thought of the vampire being told his child had gone to visit the Devil to pay for his sins.
“Surprisingly no. That’s what makes the Saven brood so damned special. That soul rests; in his life as a vampire, he balanced his sins with acts of good. I can claim a resting soul as needed. I’ll clear it with my father first, so He can maintain the balance as needed. Don’t get the wrong idea about the Saven brood. They’re vampires, yes, but the good they do generally far outweighs their evil. They’re good allies, and while they break mortal law, they break the mold of what it is to be a vampire.” Taking back the page, Lucifer sorted through the information, pulling out a few more sheets. “They do have information on the otter shapeshifter, but they have noted he’s a shapeshifter and unsuitable for their research—for now. There is a note to continue investigations. Was this part of the data you overwrote?”
“Yes. I printed everything before I overwrote the files. I think I used some medical research on anemia or something like that. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what it said and figured it looked scientific enough to confuse somebody looking at the files. Then I copy-pasted in a classic. I wanted the files to look robust enough. I don’t know if they had any backups, though. I didn’t stick around to find out, I just went for the one computer they’d left unlocked.”
“Fucking morons,” the Devil muttered, setting the sheets he’d dug out aside. “I’m going to take you to my office in Athens so you can make some calls and start getting to work for me. I want a meeting planned with the Chicago vampires, and I want you to ask the vampires to get a line on the whereabouts of their shapeshifter friends. When you aren’t on the phone, try to make sense of this mess. I’ll need a potential list of victims, their locations, and any leads you think might be involved. In the meantime, I’ll rile Jonas up. Once you’re done the preliminary work, I’ll set Jonas loose and have Diana take care of the next phase. Set the meeting up as soon as everyone is available, and let Saven pick the location. That’ll make him feel better. Also, inquire about how they want the body dealt with. I’ll have it restored, but vampires can be touchy about laying their own to their final rest. Even if it sounds strange, make the arrangements.”
“I can do that. What should we do about the SUV?”
“I’ll scrub the serials, have new ones put in, and register it in your name. You stole it fair and square, so you get to enjoy the spoils. It looks like a decent enough vehicle, and it can go the places you won’t want to take your Lamborghini.”
I raised a brow. “Murder and theft are rewarded?”
“When you’re in my employ, absolutely. You do small amounts of evil for great amounts of good. I’m going to have to work a little harder to corrupt you, else you’ll be more suitable for His heavens rather than my hells.”
“Do you think He would allow a spicy pony with bite into His heavens?”
“That stuffy place could use a little spice,” the Devil muttered before gathering the papers. “Unlike Jonas, my teleportation packs a punch, so brace yourself.”
The Lord of Lies needed to work on his tendency to tell the truth. It took me over an hour to recover from being teleported, and even then, my stomach grumbled its complaints while I worked. As though sensing I struggled with my temptation to beat him with the fancy phone on his desk, Lucifer made himself scarce.
When I could last five minutes without cursing someone or being tempted to flee for the bathroom, I grabbed the list of things the Devil wanted me to finish, with calling Ernesto Saven taking the top spot, ordered by importance. Grabbing the phone from its cradle, I tapped in the vampire’s number, which was marked as being his cell phone.
“It’s unusual for you to call me directly, Lucifer,” a man answered.
“My name is Sandra, and I’m calling on Lucifer’s behalf. He’s currently occupied keeping his wife’s brother contained. I was asked to contact you regarding one of your vampires.”
The vampire sighed. “Which one?”
I checked the sheet to make sure I had the poor vampire’s name correct. “Greg Westfield. Lucifer has recovered his body and wanted to know your wishes for your child.”
The vampire sucked in a breath, which intrigued me, as I hadn’t known vampires breathed. “You found him?”
“Yes. His body was recovered from a lab. Lucifer found information in the lab regarding some of your associates, and he would like to schedule a meeting with you in order to discuss the matter. He also asked me to make sure you kept a close track on your otter and badger, as they have drawn unwanted attention.”
Ernesto Saven cursed, although I recognized he indulged in foul language through tone more than comprehension of the odd language he spoke. “My otter and badger are in town, but I will make certain they’re protected. What do I owe for this favor you have done me?”
“That is part of what Lucifer wants to meet with you about. He also wanted me to inform you he can acquire the seed of your lost child if you desire it.” I reviewed the list of things the Devil had left with me, trapping the phone between my shoulder and ear while flipping through the sheets. “There is an organization that has earned the Devil’s ire, and he wants to ally with you on this matter.”
“Is this organization the one who killed my child?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Call me Ernesto,” the vampire ordered. “What do you need from my brood, and what is Lucifer’s timetable to meet?”
Using the password the Devil had given me, I unlocked his computer, accessed his calendar, and scowled at the ridiculous number of entries. I scrolled through the next few days, eyeballing a general staff meeting he had set for in the morning. “Do you have anything planned at nine in the morning?”
“Time zone?”
“Eastern.”
“I’ll make sure I’m available. Where does he want to hold the meeting?”
“He instructed me to have you pick a location convenient for you.”
“How many will he be bringing with him?”
“Expect at least six to eight, possibly up to ten. He’s been in a mood.” A mood was a good way to describe the Devil’s protective tendencies, and if there was any evidence of his wife being targeted, he’d go to extremes to protect her. I had no idea how far he would go to protect Diana or Darian, although I expected he would use excessive force as necessary.
“This organization targeted people in his family?” The vampire snorted. “They’ve suicided, and they don’t even know it yet.”
“How did you guess, Ernesto?”
“Six to eight would imply he intended to bring his closest family. His wife, his wife’s brother, that secretary of his, her fiancé, and you, as the one initiating contact with me, would bring the number up to five. Six would be Lucifer. His heir and her husband would be the final two. If he wants to bring ten, I would presume he’d be bringing his cindercorns, as they would give him access to the NYPD.”
I made a note of the people Ernesto expected and his logic. Then I checked the list Lucifer had given me. “Lucifer has authorized me to give you the relevant details on this group if you want to do some research on your own before the meeting.”
“For certain. I’ll make use of my contacts and come to the table armed with knowledge. I would like to bring an associate with me.”
I made a note of that. “I’ll tell him you’re bringing someone. The corporation’s name is Modern Miracles Pharmaceuticals, and they branched from Wishing Well.”
“Those fools,” the vampire spat.
Grateful I wouldn’t have to go into much detail about the eradication of three cities in Georgia, I said, “They are working on a variant of lycanthropy that does not have an animal strain in the virus’s DNA.”
“The same strain his secretary is infected with?” The vampire grunted. “He informed me of the strain, as he wanted me to be aware because of my demons. They do get infected with lycanthropy now and then, and he mentioned it’s rather poten
t despite lacking animal DNA.”
“The same. Lucifer hired me to be his intern, but due to a highly aggressive cancer, I was infected with the virus.”
The vampire snorted. “Why didn’t he just cure it?”
I checked the notes and made sure to tell the vampire only what Lucifer confirmed was acceptable to share. “I had about a week to live, parts of my brain had already been eaten by the cancer, and I had no uninfected organs. He would have had to do a conversion, and that wasn’t an option he appreciated. As such, the virus strain was tested as a method of treating my cancer. It worked, although I’ve had a rather lengthy recovery process.”
“Well, if you had parts of your brain eaten by the cancer, it’s impressive you sound as coherent as you do. Brain matter is not something easily healed.”
“An archangel helped to prevent the excessive amounts of whining.”
Ernesto burst into laughter. “Yes, I can see how that could happen. Are you another of his precious equines, then?”
“He has decided I am a spicy pony with bite.”
A thoughtful silence spread between us, and while he chewed on my unidentified species, I deleted the staff meeting from Lucifer’s calendar and added the meeting with Ernesto.
“There was, a very long time ago, a species of horse that would have been aptly named as spicy ponies with bite. They could spit a potent super acid, which happened to be flammable, and they helped the Earth be formed to a habitable state. The ash from anything their acid burned was rich with the basic building blocks of life, and, given time, would become the most fertile of soil. They predated unicorns by many, many years—they predated humanity, for that matter. You might call them a source of life on our world, for they breathed life into an otherwise lifeless ground. That acid isn’t just acid—it’s the basic building blocks of life. Much like Lucifer’s beloved cindercorns, their diet consisted of organic matter, preferably matter they’d broken down with their acid or burned. They had five clawed toes on each hoof, one of which is more like a human thumb.”
“Opposable?”
“Indeed. They were His promise of life to the Earth. They died out as humanity rose, but horses—and unicorns—were born from their image.”
“Did they have a name?”
“No, they didn’t. They were gone long before man began naming things in earnest. He hadn’t even created Lucifer by the time they had gone extinct.”
“How do you know about these horses?”
“A wise man knows his enemies and his friends, and Lucifer can be both. I have seen fossils of these beasts, and I allowed an angel to repay a debt through telling me of the fossil. This makes a great deal of sense to me now. The angel would have needed to ask Him about the fossil, and if He had a hand in your making, He planned for you long before your birth. He does that, when the need is great. So, as repayment for the great deed you have done for me, I will look into this matter—and into this pharmaceutical company. Please tell Lucifer I would appreciate my child’s body back.”
“They did not treat his body well,” I warned. “Lucifer is doing what he can.”
“Another debt, but one I will find difficult to repay. Did he speak of my child’s soul? You mentioned he could retrieve the seed.”
I swallowed at the hint of emotion in the vampire’s voice. “He rests well,” I replied.
“Good. Then he has made up for our sin of his second life. I am grateful for your kindness. Tell Lucifer we will meet in my home, and that he will be an honored guest among my brood and family. I will have the wards against teleportation lowered. Please call before you plan to teleport so I can make certain there are no mishaps.”
I made a note in the calendar someone needed to call Ernesto regarding the teleportation wards. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. I look forward to meeting you.” The vampire hung up.
A faint pop warned me someone had teleported into the room, and I finished checking over my list before glancing up to discover Lucifer holding Jonas by the back of the neck. As warned, the incubus showed off his wings, and he batted at the Devil’s arm in an ineffective protest. “He wouldn’t settle down without visual proof I am a self-rescuing princess?”
“I caught my darling trying to drown him in her moat, and while a little lava won’t hurt either of them, I thought I’d put an end to the general dispute. How did your call go?”
“We have an appointment with Ernesto tomorrow morning at nine. We need to call him before we teleport in. He will make the time for your visit. He wishes for the body to be brought to him, and he said he’s in your debt for recovering his child’s body.”
Lucifer nodded, dragged Jonas over, and shoved him in my direction. The incubus hissed, and to keep him from attacking the Devil and being slapped around or worse, I snagged his wrist. “If you get beaten up by your bigger and older brother, I lose bed buddy time tonight, and that would not be a good situation.”
Jonas stilled, although he kept glaring at Lucifer. “He blocked me from teleporting to you!”
“I’m sure he would have let you teleport if I actually needed help. I emerged generally unscathed, but there was some damage to my pride, my dignity, and my poor arm, so I’m going to need a lot of attention to get over it.” My stomach snarled its displeasure of having ignored it. “And dinner. I’m definitely going to need dinner.” To make it clear I really needed to be fed dinner before becoming dessert, I tugged on his wrist again. “I beat three idiots to death with a fire extinguisher, and then I slit their throats.”
Jonas muttered a few curses before he turned to me. “That bastard blocked me from teleporting to you.”
“I deserved all of the glory, and you can reward me for a job well done. Don’t annoy him too much, or he won’t let you go to the meeting tomorrow morning.”
“I really won’t, too. Take your spicy pony with bite home. She gets sicker than hell when I teleport her, so you get to be her transportation. Make sure you feed, groom, and water her before you do your intensive examination. You have until eight in the morning, and you two better be showered and dressed for a business meeting or I’ll send Darlene over to get you on the move.” The Devil teleported away so we couldn’t argue with him.
Jonas spat a few more curses before growling, “What a dick.”
“Hey, he’s not that bad. He only made me make one phone call before rewarding me for my good work.”
Jonas sighed. “What reward?”
Why had I thought it would be a good idea to pick an incubus to be my bed buddy? Nobody had warned me he would share Lucifer’s protective tendencies. I appreciated his concern, but if I didn’t stand up to his wicked ways, he’d find some way to lock me in a satin cage. Satin cages beat metal cages any day of the week, but I meant to stay as free as I could while indulging with my bed buddy. “You, obviously. Move it, Mr. Bed Buddy. We don’t have all night.”
Seventeen
I already missed his fur-covered wings.
The Devil didn’t understand time. At six in the morning, a mere three hours after Jonas had showed me a scrap of mercy, Darlene bounced into the bedroom. I had no idea who owned the bedroom, which did a good job of preventing me from flinging the nearest object at the bouncing succubus, who showed off her spotted wings, feline ears, and tail.
I glared at Lucifer’s wife, and because she was a cat, I hissed at her. While I lacked claws, I prepared to take a swipe at her.
Jonas wrapped his arms around me and trapped me against him. “As I love my sister, you can’t attack her. What is it, Darlene?”
“Lucy has information we need to hear before the meeting. Wake your woman up, get her showered, and toss her in some clothes. You’ve got twenty minutes. There will be breakfast ready when you’re done. We’ll be waiting for you in the conference room.” Darlene scowled at her brother. “If I have to come back in here, I’m sinking my claws in your ass, and you won’t be sitting anywhere for a week.”
Jonas grimaced, and he tightened h
is hold on me. “Ouch. We’re getting up, we’re getting up.”
I waited for Darlene to leave before asking, “We are?”
“We are. When my sister threatens to make use of her claws, she means it—and she makes it hurt as badly as possible. I won’t be sitting for a week if I push her. A smart man knows when it’s time to cooperate without protest. Now is that time. Lucifer wouldn’t get us up unless it was important. If he wants us up, it means we’re expected to contribute during the meeting, and he doesn’t toss people into a bad situation without appropriate warning. That’s how we lose negotiations.” Releasing me, Jonas rolled me off the bed and hopped to his feet, stretching.
I already missed his fur-covered wings, which he’d banished after realizing I’d spend all night playing with them rather than indulging in the rest of his person. “I feel like I was rewarded, but now that I’ve enjoyed my reward, I’m being punished. Having to get up after only three hours of sleep is definitely a punishment.”
Jonas took hold of my wrist and hauled me out of bed. “You’ll feel better after a shower. Lucifer’s a lot of things, but he doesn’t drag people out of bed unless there’s a damned good reason for it. It probably has to do with the body he brought in after you left the lab. There’s been enough time by now for the fucking assholes to have autopsied the body before putting him back together.”
“That poor guy.”
“Yeah. Since he was a vampire, he was probably still alive when they first started cutting him apart.”
Shit. “Are you serious?”
“Deathly so. Lucifer’s mad.”
“How can you tell?”
“I can sense it. Since he converted me himself, I’m more sensitive to his moods. Lucifer’s not just mad, he’s pissed. When he’s pissed, people get hurt. Darlene seems okay, but he’s careful to buffer her if he’s that angry. He’s probably influencing her and feeding her energy and attention to keep her tricked. That’s one of his favorite tactics.”