by N. P. Martin
“Bit silly of Drake to hand over Lucifer’s energy to Knightsbridge, wasn’t it?” I said.
“Yes, well,” Deep Throat said. “He wasn’t thinking straight, and he also feared for his daughter’s soul. Though as it turned out, Knightsbridge was playing him on that front as well.”
“Seems to me like Lucifer played everybody.”
Deep Throat nodded. “Yes, we all realized that afterward. Still, everything worked out in the end, didn’t it?”
“If you can call Lucifer being in charge of the world now working out, then yeah, I guess so.”
“You have a problem with Our Lord Lucifer?”
“Not so far. I guess we’ll see how he works out. He’s no worse than his father at this point.”
“He’s a good kind soul is what he is.”
“You seem very enamored with him. May I ask why?”
Deep Throat shifted his weight slightly. “He may have granted me my wish.”
“Lucifer the genie. What wish did he grant you?”
“This magnificent body, of course.”
“I see,” I said. Things were making a little more sense now. “So what did you look like before you looked like…that?”
“Do you really want to know?” he asked, fixing his smoldering blue eyes on me.
I hesitated a second, then said, “Yeah. I do.”
“Okay. Stand back then and prepare yourself for even more magnificence.”
Jesus, this guy, I thought as I took a step back, not really expecting him to do anything, expecting him to start laughing, in fact, before saying he was just joking. But my jaw soon dropped as Fabio guy morphed in an instant into a massive black steed that had a long, razor-sharp horn protruding from the center of its forehead. “Jesus Christ,” I said as the steed, or whatever it was, snorted and stared at me with blazing red eyes.
“Not quite,” the steed said, shocking me again when it spoke. “The name’s Haedemus. Haedemus Sassoon.”
As I stood gawping at the awe-inspiring beast before me, the penny soon dropped. “You’re Drake’s Hellicorn,” I said. “I heard the stories, but I never actually saw him ride you.”
“Am I every bit as awesome as they say I am?” Haedemus said as he scraped the concrete with a huge hoof.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “You are. Though I thought you were supposed to be all rotted and more…hellish looking.”
“I was once,” he said. “Until Adrielis breathed life back into me.”
“Adrielis? Who’s that?”
“It’s complicated. A story for another time.”
“Okay. Can I take a picture for the website? People on the forum have been talking about your existence for a while now. They all want to see what you look like.”
“Hmm,” Haedemus said. “I’m not sure. Ethan insists we all keep a low profile, especially me.”
“Only believers read my site. It won’t matter.”
“Wait. Are you saying I have fans?”
I nodded. “Have you not read the threads on the forum? There’s an entire section dedicated to you. There are also many wild rumors floating around as well. Something about a ranch massacre…”
Haedemus cleared his throat and looked away for a second. “Yes, well, I’m sure I don’t know anything about that.”
“Well, regardless, you should jump on the forum and introduce yourself. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of questions. Maybe we could set up a Q&A session at some point.”
“Maybe. I’d have to think about it.”
“So can I take your picture?”
He thought for a moment. “Fuck it. Why not? It’s not like Ethan is even here to get annoyed, is it?”
“Where is he anyway?” I asked as I set up the camera on my phone.
“On sabbatical, as I said. With Vic Belford.”
“Victoria Belford? The leader of the Valkyries?”
“Not anymore. Daisy Donovan leads the Valkyries now.”
“Daisy Donovan? I don’t think I know her. Who is she?”
“My sister.”
I stared at him in surprise. “Your sister?”
“Not my real sister. She’s my sister in the way that Ethan is my brother.”
“Okay. But who is she?”
“Just an awesome person.”
“I’d like to meet her.”
“Daisy is like Ethan in that she likes to keep herself to herself, know what I mean? But I can put a word in for you, if you’d like.”
“That would be great,” I said, having now sorted the camera on the phone. “The Valkyries are very active these days. The criminal elements fear the hell out of them. I’d like to hear their side of the story.”
“We’ll see,” he said. “Now, how do you want me posed? I could rear up on my hind legs if you want something dramatic. Or I could just look smolderingly into the camera. Whatever you want.”
“We’ll go with the first option,” I said. “Might as well do something that fits your fearsome reputation.”
“I have a fearsome reputation?”
“Oh yeah.”
Haedemus peeled back his lips to reveal his large white teeth. “Fan-friggin-tastic.”
I shook my head at him as I held the phone aloft. “Whenever you’re ready, big guy.”
As Haedemus reared up on his hind legs, he made a great neighing sound that reverberated around the parking garage, and his eyes blazed right into the camera as I took the shot. “Let me see,” he said as I walked toward him and showed him the picture. “Awesome. I take a great picture, don’t I?”
“I’m sure people will love it.”
“People can’t help loving me,” he said, flicking his mane. “It’s just who I am.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re not the humble type either, are you?”
“Humble? Please.” In a flash, he morphed back into his human form again. “Humbleness is for losers.”
“So how does that work then?” I asked him. “You can change back and forth whenever you please?”
“Pretty much,” he said. “Originally, Lucifer was going to make it so I could only change on a full moon like some stinking werewolf, but I said, ‘Lucifer, hold on a second there, you big usurper you.’”
“You called Lucifer a usurper?”
“Yes, well, he needed telling, and I take no shit from anyone, not even the son of God.”
“Brave of you.”
“Anyway, I explained to him how instrumental I was in helping Ethan, and thus, in helping him get to the position he’s now in.”
“And what did he say?”
“What could he say? He knew I was right. So he relented and made my capabilities limitless. Except for one thing, that is.”
“And what’s that?”
“I still have certain…appetites, you might say.”
“What kind of appetites?”
“It’s best you don’t know. You don’t look like you have a very strong stomach.”
“You’d be surprised at some of the things I’ve had to stomach,” I told him.
“Anyway,” he said, dropping the subject. “I must go now. There are two supermodels and an eight-ball of coke waiting for me at home, and I don’t like to keep people waiting, unlike some I could mention.”
“Where’s home?” I asked. “Drake’s scrapyard?”
“Yes, but I also have a fancy apartment in Bedford when I need a little alone time and a break from babysitting.”
“Babysitting? Like kids?”
“Kids?” he said. “Maybe not the kind of kids you are thinking of, but they sure do act like kids.”
“Is that who I heard on the phone when you called yesterday?”
“Yes, that was them. One of them, anyway.”
“You know, I also heard that Drake could summon demons. Is that true?”
“I’ve said enough for now. I’m going. I look forward to reading your story on the website. Oh, and Damion,” he said, walking right up to me, his eyes now glowing re
d. “If you try to fuck me or Ethan, I will find you and I will eat you. Are we clear?”
I nodded, realizing he was completely serious. “I’ll keep that mind.”
He smiled as his eyes returned to normal. “Great. Glad we’re on the same page. Smell you later then.”
As he went to walk across the parking garage, I had a thought and called out to him, “Wait!”
“What is it?” he said, stopping and turning around.
Taking the piece of paper out that my father had given me, I unfolded it and showed it to Haedemus. “Do you recognize this symbol, by any chance?”
Looking at the piece of paper, Haedemus shook his head. “No, sorry.”
“Okay,” I said, disappointed. “Worth a shot, I suppose.”
Haedemus stared at me for a second. “It seems important to you.”
“It is. It may be the only link I have to my sister. She’s been missing for the last twelve years.”
“I’m sorry. That’s a long time to be missing.”
“Yeah. It is.”
“I may know who can help you.”
“Really?” I said, surprised and hopeful now. “Who?”
“Two guys I know. They are both crazy, but they might just be able to help you. How about I give you a call tomorrow, and then I’ll take you to see them?”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Haedemus.”
“Don’t mention it. Just remember what I told you.”
“I’ll just state the facts. Nothing more.”
“Good man. I’ll call you tomorrow then. And don’t be afraid to make my picture large, like full screen large. None of this thumbnail nonsense where you can hardly see me.”
Smiling, I said, “Sure, okay.”
With his back to me, he raised his hand and waved. “Fare well then, Damion Deadson.”
I watched him cross to the other side of the garage and then get into a white Lamborghini, his choice of car not surprising me at all. When he started it up, the engine was massively loud in the confines of the garage, especially since he was revving the shit out of it. When he drove off, he did so like a maniac, screeching around the corner as he flew up the ramp to the next level, sounding his horn at me as he did so.
“What a night,” I said to myself as I walked back to my own car, and that was when I felt something hard hit me on the back of the head and then I fell into unconsciousness.
14
I awoke with a splitting headache, feeling like my skull had been cleaved in two. When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t surprised to see Martin Phillips sitting across from me. On either side of me sat two men in dark suits, one of whom I recognized as the guy I knocked out with the sigil card.
“Finally, he’s awake,” Phillips said. “I thought maybe my guy had hit you too hard or something, put you in a coma. Maybe he fucking should have.”
“What the fuck, Phillips?” I groaned as I looked around the interior I was sitting in. It seemed like we were in a limo. A hummer limo. “What’s going on here?”
“What’s going on?” Phillips said, wearing a red tracksuit, holding a drink in his hand. “You tell me, asshole. Why’d you break into my fucking office last night?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about Phi—” The guy to my left cut my sentence short by punching me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me.
“Next time, he’ll punch you in the fucking face,” Phillips warned. “There’s no point in lying to me, Deadson. I know it was you in my office last night. You used some sort of magic to make yourself look like me. I didn’t have you down as a magic guy, but there you go.”
“As I said, I have no idea—”
Hard knuckles cracked the right side of my face, almost knocking me unconscious again.
“Keep it up,” Phillips said. “We can do this all night. I’m not bothered. I enjoy seeing you in pain anyway.” He held a gun up and waved it at me. “And don’t bother looking for this either.”
“Fuck you, Phillips,” I said as blood ran from my mouth. “What are you playing at here?”
“What am I playing at?” he said, leaning forward exaggeratedly. “You’re the one who broke into my fucking office. I wanna know what the fuck you’re playing at Deadson. And not only that, you put the fucking cops on me!” He looked at the guy on my left. “Hit him again for putting the cops on me.”
“Wait—”
An elbow struck my chest, causing me to cry out in pain, and Phillips to laugh, the fucking asshole.
“What did you think would happen, Deadson?” Phillips said. “Did you think the cops would arrest me and I’d go to jail or something? Fuck you! Did you think I’d be stupid enough to keep the files on my system? I moved them as soon as I saw you were looking at them. So all that running around you did was for nothing. All you did was cause me more hassle. Hit him again, Barry,” he said, and Barry wrapped his knuckles across my face. “You too, Eric. Cause this motherfucker more pain. I wanna hear him squeal.”
Eric turned slightly before I could even protest and punched me hard in the crotch, making sure Phillips got his squeal from me.
“I suppose you’re wondering how I know it was you,” Phillips said as I sat clutching my crotch. “I gotta admit, your little ruse was a good one. It sure had me fooled, and that little fag Brian, who I fired, by the way. Eric, tell him how we found out it was really him.”
“We checked the security cameras out on the street,” Eric said, like he was some sort of fucking genius.
“That’s right,” Phillips said. “We tracked you to your fucking car, you stupid asshole. To your stupid fucking Corvette. You probably thought you were smart, parking a block away, but you weren’t, were you, asshole?”
In a world of pain, I uttered, “You’re killing people for…entertainment.”
“I’m not killing anyone,” Phillips said. “The fucking monsters do all the killing. I just put it up online. I mean, they’re gonna kill people anyway, right? So why not get them to record their kills using cutting-edge tech that they can wear like a contact lens? That was my thinking. And it turns out, there are a lot of people out there willing to pay large sums of money to watch those kills. I’m just a facilitator, that’s all.”
I shook my head at him. “You make me sick.”
“Oh, do I?” Phillips said, and then suddenly shot forward and punched me, his knuckles hitting my forehead. “Ow, fuck!” He sat back in his seat as he held his hand. “You prick! That fucking hurt! See, this is why I get these guys to do all the hurting. Show him.”
“No, wait—”
Another elbow to the chest was swiftly followed by some sort of palm strike to my right ear, both of which hurt like a motherfucker.
“This is what you get for interfering in my business, Deadson,” Phillips said. “No one interferes with my business and gets away with it. I let your transgressions slide before, but not this time. This time you’re paying for them.”
“Shall we hit him again, Boss?” Barry said, sounding like he couldn’t wait to cause me more pain.
“No, Barry,” Phillips said. “I think he’s had enough.” He paused. “Actually, fuck it. Hit him again…just because.”
As Barry went to elbow me in the chest again, I blocked the blow with my forearm this time before using my other hand to punch him in the face, my knuckles cracking his nose, instantly drawing blood. “Motherfucker!” Barry shouted as he held his nose, and then Eric punched me in the ribs, cutting short my brief retaliation, causing me to slump down in the leather seat again.
“Jesus, all this fucking blood in here now,” Phillips said. “All right, boys, get this piece of trash out of here.” As Barry and Eric grabbed a hold of me, Phillips came forward and stuck his head close to mine. “This was your one and only warning, Deadson. Stay outta my fucking business, or next time, I’ll fucking kill you. Get him out of here!”
Barry opened the door to the hummer and then he and Eric roughly pulled me out of the seat and tossed me outside where I landed har
d on the concrete. A second later, my gun was tossed out as well, where it landed before skidding across the ground. As I lay there groaning, the door to the hummer slammed shut and then the oversized vehicle drove off. “Bastards…” I moaned as I hauled myself painfully to my feet, looking around to see that I was still in the underground parking garage.
After retrieving my gun, I made my way toward the car, wincing at the stabbing pains in my ribs and chest as I opened the door and got inside, wincing again as I stretched across to close the door. I sat for a few minutes inside the car, taking a second to examine my face in the rearview mirror, shaking my head at the blood and bruises I’d been left with, badly needing a cigarette.
Motherfucker, I thought as I gritted my teeth in anger. If that asshole Phillips thought he was going to get away with threatening me like that, he had another thing coming. All he had achieved by pulling that little stunt was to make me even more determined to take him down. Which I would do, threats or no threats.
He could count on that.
Zee was there when I got home. When she saw the state of me, she rushed up and coddled me, demanding to know what had happened. As soon as I told her about Phillips, her eyes went deep orange and her claws came out. “I’ll fucking kill him for doing this to you!” she said, her fiery tattoos showing on her skin as they snaked agitatedly around her. “I’ll drain the motherfucker dry and then eat his insides!”
“Calm down, Zee,” I said. “You’re not killing anybody. Just help me get to the bath, will you?”
She stared at me for a second as I struggled to take my coat off, and then came over and helped me. “I can’t stand the thought of anyone hurting you, Damion. It ignites my rage.”