I emerged from the alley and into the parking lot outside of Yao's. The spider on my shoulder felt damn heavy.
“How do you think this is gonna go?” asked Germaine in an attempt to make some small-talk.
I'd been silent most of the way since leaving Mona's, and didn't really want to think too much about how I'd be received upon returning to HQ. “Honestly? Not good. I'll be surprised if they don't try and lock me up like a child molester the minute I walk up to the front gate.”
Germaine sighed. “I was afraid you'd say that.”
“Think Lubec will take us in, maybe let us crash at his place till we get back on our feet?” I asked.
“Don't... don't even joke about it,” muttered the spider.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
42
I took my time getting back to HQ. I hopped into a taxi and traveled most of the way in the fetid backseat. Just because I could've sprinted there at breakneck speed didn't mean I wanted to. I was in no rush to meet with Arson and wanted to take in the sights of the city good and proper.
Just in case.
There was no telling how this was going to go down, but the scenario that kept playing in my head dealt with my being chased out of the city. Maybe Arson would consider me a threat, decide to lock me up in the isolation chamber at HQ until they could think of some way to dispose of me like a volatile experiment gone wrong. Maybe he'd sic Kubo and the rest on me and I'd be forced to face off against my friends to survive.
Whatever happened, I felt like I'd more than earned the right to be leisurely about it.
And so I let my head rest against the glass and half-listened as the cabbie droned on. Germaine was hidden behind the front passenger seat, out of view. “I tell you, it's really something, this recent attack. Feels good to be out driving again. The terrorists—think they'll be back for more? I hear they blew up a couple of buildings. Weren't many people in 'em, thank God, but I tell you they're relentless. You can't turn on the news anymore without hearing about a new attack. The times we're livin' in, friend.” He shook his head. “Yeah, that curfew was hell for my business. Had to stay home while they tried to catch the bastards, assess the damage. I guess they weren't Arabs this time, but Russians. Can you believe that?”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “That's something.”
We'd slipped onto the highway and were going a comfortable seventy when I reached out and tapped on the back of his seat with a damp wad of bills in my hand. “Let me off here.” Up ahead, its outline roughly hewn in the fading sunlight, was the HQ building. It was a miracle the thing was still standing after everything we'd been through the last few days.
The cabbie slowed down and looked back at me, baffled. “You want me to let you out here? You, uh... you sure? There ain't nothing out here, kid.” He flicked at the HQ building to our left and shrugged. “Except that big old complex there. Lived here my whole life but I ain't got a clue what that place is supposed to be. Bet ya they manufacture weapons or some such in there. What do you think?”
I grinned and opened my door. “Your guess is as good as mine.” Germaine hitched a ride on my pant leg as I stepped out. The cab took off, leaving me in the dust. Across the empty lanes sat the black gates of Veiled Order HQ.
Germaine noticed my hesitance. “Hey,” he said, crawling up onto my shoulder and motioning towards the building. “What ya waiting for? Treat it like a band-aid. Just rip it off all at once.”
Hands in my pockets, I shrugged. “Don't have much of a choice, do I?”
We started towards the gates.
* * * * *
I was greeted not by a parade, but with a bunch of guns in my face.
I oughta be a goddamn psychic.
They'd been waiting for me, by the looks of it, and a bunch of freaked-out commandos were standing sentry outside the complex with rifles poised as I arrived. I heard one of them speak into a radio. “He's here, sir,” he gasped before quickly pointing his gun at me.
Sighing, I put my hands behind my head and arched a brow. “Come on, fellas. We all know that those pea-shooters won't do a damn thing. What say we just play nice?”
Gadreel had something to say about the whole thing and reared his head, clicking his tongue at the spooked guards. “What a surprise. I helped save your world, and this is the thanks I get. Rather than praise, they offer violence. I can smell your fear, gentlemen. It's an intoxicating aroma.” Gadreel sniffed the air hungrily for dramatic effect.
“Hey, this ain't necessary!” shouted Germaine, taking shelter on my back and hovering close to my body. “Just, uh... put down the guns, OK?” Whispering, Germaine tapped me on the neck with one arm. “L-lucy, man... if they start shooting...”
I reclaimed control of my body and reassured him. “They won't start shooting, Germaine. They were just put here to watch for me. I expect Arson or Kubo will be joining us shortly.”
“I don't give a shit about that!” replied Germaine. “If they shoot at you, are those bullets gonna sail through your body and hit me, or what? I need to get the fuck outta here, kiddo. This shit's too heavy for me!”
The commandos didn't move to stop me when I started towards the main entrance, but I paused upon the steps when the door began to open from the other side. Both Kubo and Arson, along with a couple more armed guards, stood in the doorway.
Looking past Arson, I waved at Kubo and frowned. “The fuck is this, man? I put down the Manticore and you've got these guys out here pointing guns at me? Real sweet.”
Kubo's lips didn't move, but his eyes spoke volumes. He averted his gaze, all but muttering, “this wasn't my idea.”
Arson smoothed out the sleeves of his black sport coat and looked me up and down like a sack of stinking trash. “Welcome back, demon. What took you so long?”
“Well, sir, I had some other business to take care of,” I replied.
Arson's bowl cut quivered as he gave a forceful shake of his head. “And you thought it would be all right for you to wander off despite Chief Kubo's orders to come to headquarters? He's informed me that you've undergone some kind of change... that you've dabbled in forbidden demonic magic to give the demon in you more power. Is that true?”
If he'd really wanted to know the answer, a single glimpse at my left arm would have made it pretty damn clear. This prick just wanted to hear me say it, wanted to revel in my guilt a little. “You're a real rules lawyer, aren't you? The kind of loser who covered up his test papers in school, am I right?”
Arson was unamused. “These marks on your arm. They're the mark of a demon, aren't they? Kubo is correct.”
“Yeah. That's what it is. And that's the only reason you're all still standing here. If I hadn't tried something new, we'd have all been gobbled up by the Manticore like candy corn. Got a problem with it?” I took a step towards Arson and I swear every guard on site must have flinched at the same time. There wasn't anything anyone in the vicinity could have done. If I'd wanted to kill Arson, none of them would have been able to stop me.
The boss seemed to know it, because he took a step back and straightened his tie. “And you have our thanks for that, no doubt.” He cleared his throat. “But unfortunately, in taking such things upon yourself without approval, you've gone and put us in a very difficult position, Mr. Colt. You see, now that the Manticore is gone, the demon in you still has access to this incredible power. And that's a problem. It makes you unpredictable. Dangerous. In war, taking a gamble like you did may be wise, but now that the threat has passed, what use have we for such weapons? Keeping you around is nothing but a tremendous liability, under the circumstances...”
Germaine thumped me on the back. “Goddammit, I told you, kid! I told ya not to do it!”
Gadreel took a bow, meeting Arson's gaze and emitting a wave of demonic power that everyone within a mile of the complex could feel. “I fail to see the problem.”
Fists balled, Arson's pale face grew pink, then red. “The problem is that we hav
e no use for a rogue demon. You can either come inside to the isolation chamber until we can determine the best course of action, or--”
Gadreel guffawed, throwing my head back. “The best course of action? Oh, I can see it now. You're visualizing this body of mine being kept in the chamber until you can find some way to extract my heart from it. Is that what you're thinking? You're an imbecile for ever thinking I'd agree to such a thing.”
The demon and I were on the same page. Even though Arson hadn't come out and said it outright, that he wanted me out of the picture was plain as day. From the very beginning he'd been opposed to involving a demon in the Veiled Order's affairs, and he was now faced with a big, honking excuse to shut me down because I hadn't played by the rules. “Tell me,” I said, beating Gadreel back, “if I'd come up to you and asked 'mother may I' before getting these marks, what would you have said?”
Arson's silence said it all.
“Why don't you take a walk down to that isolation chamber and go fuck yourself?” I asked.
Kubo reached out towards me. “Lucy, don't--”
I had already taken a few steps back, keeping Arson squared in my sights. “This is really how you're going to end things? That's just swell. And you have no problem doing it despite everything I've done for the organization. You're a real piece of work, Arson. You know that?”
“I never said I was doing this simply because I enjoyed it. Rules are made to be followed, Lucian. And this time, you've run afoul of them. You're a dog without a leash, and I'd rather preempt any problems before someone gets bit.” The barest hints of a smile teased the corners of his eyes, and in case I didn't know it before, I knew right then that this guy had been hurting to get the jump on me.
“All this talk of dogs,” began Gadreel, his demonic gaze piercing Arson with infernal intensity. “What if I were to just walk up to you and tear out your throat, hm? What could you possibly hope to do about that?” I scanned the row of commandos, lips curling in a smirk. “Not a damn thing. I could kill everyone inside and outside of this building in record time if I felt like it.”
Arson gulped. “And that's why I'm terminating your employment.” He raised one of his hands, urging the guards to fix me in their sights. “Lucian Colt, you are no longer affiliated with the Veiled Order. Come peacefully if you want to live. Otherwise, you will be considered an enemy and we will use the resources at our disposal to neutralize you.” From behind him came a commando carrying a pair of silver manacles. They were the enchanted, unbreakable kind. I knew it from a single glance.
Cocking my head to the side, I tongued my molars. “Sorry, but that's never going to happen.”
“I am a prince among demons,” added Gadreel. He spit on the concrete, narrowly missing Arson's polished leather shoe. The stone was eaten away with a hiss. “If you think I'll roll over and show you my belly like a good dog, you're sorely mistaken. In fact, I'm tempted to stay here and show everyone just how mistaken you are.” The demonic gaze traveled up and down their ranks, inciting shudders among the commandos.
“Lucy, don't do this. As long as you cooperate, there's always a way to--”
Kubo's voice was drowned out by Arson's shouting. “You have my permission to shoot.”
Bullets ain't shit. Squeezing my fist, I pulled some electricity out of the air and threw up a veil of crackling blue energy which caught every shot like a fine mesh. Upon my doing so, the commandos promptly stopped firing, and everyone on site began staggering away from me.
“That was a mistake,” growled Gadreel, letting the bullets clink to the ground.
“Lucy... Lucy... cool your head,” urged Germaine. “Be the bigger man. Let's get out of here.”
It took all the restraint I had to take the spider's advice. Gadreel was ready to murder the entire assembly, and even I was entertaining fantasies of finger painting with Arson's blood. But I held back, swallowed my pride.
I shot Arson some daggers before turning on my heels and sprinting towards the gates.
I mounted the wrought iron and dropped down onto the other side.
I started across the highway.
All the while, silence reigned. No one dared fire at me again. No one gave chase.
It was just me, my demon and Germaine walking down the empty stretch of highway, the dying light casting long shadows down the road.
“Lucy, what the hell are we gonna do now?” asked Germaine. “I ain't suited to the outlaw life, kiddo!”
I buried my hands in my pockets and drew out the black work-issue phone. Tossing it into the grass, I continued down the road. “The outlaw life, huh?”
Yeah. I suppose that's what awaited us from that point on.
END.
Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed Happy End of the World. Want to read the next book in the Demon-Hearted series? See where Lucy, Kubo and the others end up next time? Consider joining my mailing list below for news and updates on the series!
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Happy End of the World (Demon-Hearted Book 3) Page 20