Her voice died in her throat, but I knew what she was going to say next. “Using you,” I said.
She took a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she shut her eyes.
“Maybe I don’t know what you’re going through,” I said. “But I’m going to help you. That witch I mentioned, Tessa, she might be able to give us some answers.”
“That all sounds great.” She opened her eyes and her gaze met mine. She looked more composed than before. Determined. “But before we do that, we have to go after the others.”
I shook my head. “That’d be a stupid idea.”
Dakota took a step back—the glare had returned with a vengeance. No doubt about it; the girl wasn’t happy with my decision.
“I may have survived, but Darlene didn’t. And the Minister has three other girls lined up for a similar fate. And who knows if he’s gone looking for others since I ran off? Or what if my leaving makes him so angry, he takes it out on the others?”
A sigh escaped my lips while I headed back to the chair to retrieve my drink. I took a sip, looking away from Dakota. “I know how you feel, kid. But we’re dealing with a potentially powerful demon. I don’t want to leave those girls behind either, but until we know exactly what we’re up against, we don’t really have any way of fighting it. Once we have the demon’s name, we can do something about it.”
She returned to the couch and sat down, picking up the remote. “Tomorrow, I’m going back to that farm. You can either come with me or you can stay behind and bake cookies.”
“Trust me, you’d prefer it if I did the latter. My cookies are better than sex.”
I expected a chuckle. Instead, Dakota threw the remote at me. I ducked and it hit the wall, then clattered to the ground. My sleeve felt damp, too. I looked down and saw I’d spilled some scotch on my shirt.
“Great.” I put the glass down. As I unbuttoned my shirt, I walked into my bedroom and to the closet. I stripped off the white, whiskey-stained shirt and tossed it into a basket of clothes to take to the dry cleaners, then grabbed a simple red T-shirt from my closet and pulled it over my chest.
When I returned to the living room, Dakota hadn’t moved. Except for her eyes; those followed me as I crossed and bent down to pick up the thrown remote. I set it on the coffee table and returned to the recliner.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“My friends are in danger and you’re making jokes,” said Dakota.
“Just trying to lighten the mood.” I shook my head and took a sip of scotch, making sure not to keep holding it in case Dakota found something else she wanted to throw at me. “Listen, I get you’re worried about your friends. But going out there half-cocked will just get us and them killed. Well…maybe not you, what with that thing inside you. But I could be killed and I don’t usually like to start off my mornings walking into imminent death. Makes the rest of the day kind of a let-down.”
“Fine, then you stay here. I’m going to go find my friends.”
I rubbed my eyes and groaned, then drew on the cigarette. This wasn’t the way I wanted things to go. Without Tessa’s help, we wouldn’t have much luck getting to the bottom of this, and I needed Dakota there so Tessa could work her mojo.
“You do realize I’m part-demon, right? And I can work magic and I’m a lot stronger than you?”
“What are you saying, that you’ll spike my drink with some kind of sleeping potion and then drag me by the hair to meet your friend?”
“Something a little less caveman-y, but yeah, that’s the general idea. Also, I don’t use potions.”
“And what about this?” She placed her hands on her stomach. “You remember what happened to the last guy who tried to do something I didn’t want? If this baby thinks you’re a threat to it, it won’t hesitate to do the same to you.”
Smoke flowed from my lips, twirling in the dimly lit room, reflecting the light from the TV set. Goddammit, she was right. If I tried to force her on this, the cambion might see me as a threat. And then it’s bye-bye, Mr. Cross. That was certainly one way for Raziel to avoid paying my fee.
“I can already tell you’re gonna be a real pain in my ass, aren’t you?”
“Count on it.” The dour expression finally changed and now she smiled at me. Then she got serious again. “You said you went to Cassie’s first. Where else did you go?”
“Y’know the thing about human-demon hybrids?”
“What about them?”
“They’re supposed to be banned.” I took a drink and let out a satisfied sigh once I finished. “Y’see, Heaven and Hell are real. But they’re nothing like what you were told in Sunday school. Lucifer was an angel who led a rebellion and was then cast into Hell—that’s all true. But humanity, that was something interesting. The souls of humans are different from the souls of angels and demons. There’s power in them that neither side possesses. That makes them a very valuable commodity. Back in the early days of mankind, Heaven and Hell waged war through man. The Bible is mostly fiction, but some of the stuff in there’s true. And did you ever wonder why there was so much interference from angels and demons back in Biblical times?”
Dakota shook her head. “I guess I never really gave it much thought.”
“Don’t feel bad, very few people do,” I continued. “But the reason all that stuff stopped is, eventually, Heaven and Hell agreed to an armistice. They would stop waging direct war. Mankind could be influenced but not controlled—free will had to remain paramount. The treaty also banned a pretty controversial practice—the creation of hybrids.”
“Was that a problem back then?” asked Dakota.
“Oh, sure. Ever hear of the nephilim, the offspring of angels and humans?”
Dakota blinked, but then gave a slow nod. A half-buried memory, probably. Nephilim were pretty obscure by Biblical standards, so it wasn’t a surprise she had trouble remembering.
“It was agreed to by both the Divine Choir and the Infernal Court that—”
“Wait, what are those?”
“The respective ruling bodies of Heaven and Hell.”
“But I thought God and Satan—”
“Lucifer, actually.”
“Right, Lucifer. Aren’t they the rulers?”
I scoffed. “Political systems of governance are always complicated. Even in the realm of the supernatural. Where do you think we get it from?” I puffed on the end of the cigarette and discarded the excess ash into the tray. “Anyway, they came to an agreement—a total ban on the creation of nephilim or cambions. Whoever violates that law meets swift and brutal punishment and the hybrid itself will be eliminated.”
Dakota’s face scrunched up. She looked confused and I knew why even before she said, “But…aren’t you a hybrid? Isn’t my baby a hybrid?”
“Yes, to both questions. Exceptions can be made in certain circumstances,” I said. “Fortunately, I had some pretty powerful people to speak on my behalf.”
“What about me?”
“That’s where I went after Cassie, to speak on your behalf. I went to visit an angel named Raziel. In exchange for finding the demon responsible for this, he’s also agreed to leave you unharmed.”
“And the baby, too?”
That was a different matter. Raziel only promised he’d spare Dakota—and it was a temporary stay, at that. I was sure he had no intention of letting another cambion—especially one possibly fathered by an archdemon—walk free. That was getting into Armageddon territory.
Dakota didn’t need to know that right now, though. She had enough on her mind. And if I told her, she’d probably run out of the apartment. No, I had to keep quiet on that front. Yeah, it was a shitty thing to do, I know. But sometimes you gotta make the hard choices for the greater good.
“The baby will be fine, you have my word on that.”
Right. The word of a lying con artist. That was something you could take to the bank.
13
The smell of freshly brewed coffee was what got me to open my eye
s. I sat up in bed and glanced at the clock on the nightstand, which told me it was half past seven in the morning.
Huh. Couldn’t even remember the last time I woke up that early.
Of course, last night hadn’t really been a late one. Even with the excitement of dealing with Raziel and Kayla, I’d still managed to get home before midnight. After our chat, Dakota and I had finished watching Rosemary’s Baby. Well, I finished it. She fell asleep on the couch.
I climbed out of bed and pulled on the same T-shirt I’d worn last night. That and the lounge pants I slept in would be appropriate enough to deal with my guest. I opened the master bedroom door and strolled out. My eyes drifted to the couch as I walked through the living room and I saw Dakota had already folded the blanket she slept under. The curtains were open and sunlight filtered in through the large windows lining the living and dining rooms.
From the kitchen, I heard the sound of the coffee pot working its magic. I entered and saw Dakota standing there, still wearing the clothes she’d borrowed from Celeste’s stash, spreading cream cheese on a toasted bagel.
“’Morning,” she said, and looked down at the bagel resting on the plate. “I wanted to make you breakfast, kind of as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for everything you’ve done so far. Only problem is I…don’t really know much about cooking, so…”
Dakota held out the plate with the two bagel halves resting side by side, the cream cheese-coated surface staring right back at me. I gave a small smile and took the plate, then walked over to the little eating nook at the end of the kitchen.
“I usually don’t eat a big breakfast anyway, so this is more than fine,” I said.
“Good.”
As I sat down at the table, I heard Dakota setting another bagel in the toaster oven. Looking at her, I watched as she took the thermos from the coffee maker.
“How do you take it?”
“Strong, black, and sweet,” I said, then added with a smile, “Just like me.”
Dakota scoffed and I could’ve sworn I heard her roll her eyes. I bit into the bagel and it crunched louder than it should have. Looking at Dakota, seems she heard it too, because her face had an apologetic expression.
“Maybe I’m not so great at toasting stuff, either…”
“Little harder than I usually like, but not burnt,” I said with a mouthful of bagel. I washed it down with the cup of coffee she’d just set in front of me. With my cup raised to her, I said, “This is pretty damn good, though.”
“Thanks.”
Once Dakota’s bagel was ready, she brought it and a glass of water to sit across from me. We ate in silence. She mostly stared out the window and I checked the news on my phone.
“Once we finish here, we’ll get moving,” I told her. “Do you remember where the farm is?”
“It was dark out, but I think I can remember,” she said.
“Well, I know where Donley’s body was found. ’Bout how long had you been walking when he picked you up?”
“I really don’t know. To be honest, it felt like I’d been running for hours.”
Real helpful. But maybe once we got back up to the area, Dakota might get a sense of things. Like the feeling she said had pulled her to Cassie’s place. It would make things easier if she did. I watched as Dakota alternated between bites of her bagel and sips of water. Finding the Minister’s farm was her idea and I wasn’t onboard with it. Dakota said the Minister frequently left them alone, locking them inside the house. If that was the case, we might get lucky enough and be able to free the captive girls before he returned.
Of course, if our luck went the other way, we might have a very pissed-off demon to contend with. And I wasn’t so sure I was ready for that kind of battle just yet. I would have to prepare some supplies just in case it came to that.
“You’re pretty quiet,” she said.
“Just thinking. I’m not much of a morning person to begin with, and I don’t usually spend them with anyone else.”
“What about your…girlfriend?” It was almost like she hesitated to say the word.
“Suppose you could call Celeste that. We’re not too big on labeling whatever it is we’ve got going on,” I said.
“What’s she like?”
“Tough as they come. But we got more important things to worry about than my love life.” I ate the last of the bagel and drank what remained of the coffee, then stood and took both the plate and mug to the sink. “I’m going to jump in the shower, then you can do the same, if you want.”
Dakota nodded and I left the kitchen. Going into detail about Celeste wasn’t something I was prepared to do just yet. Dakota’d been thrust into a world of angels and demons and magic. Vampire escorts could wait for now.
I made the shower quick and dressed in a black suit and white shirt with red tie, same as I usually wore. I left the bedroom and Dakota went in to take her turn in the shower while I entered my office.
I made a quick call on my cell phone to a number I’d gotten the day before. It rang while I opened the closet to view a rack of supplies. There were weapons resting on pegs in the wall—ceremonial daggers and swords, cursed objects, talismans for warding off spirits—everything you needed to face off against mystic dangers.
The other end answered and a gruff hello was spoken.
“Good morning, Chief Burke,” I said. “This is Luther Cross. We met yesterday.”
“Ah, Mr. Cross. You left kind of abruptly; we were wondering what was going on.”
“Right, sorry about that. Anyway, I was calling to see if any other bodies turned up recently?”
Burke hesitated then laughed. “We don’t get a lot of bodies up in Winthrop Harbor, Mr. Cross.”
“Well, if you hear of anything, I want you to give me a call, okay?”
“Is this related to Robert Donley?”
“Could be, or it could be nothing. Just running down every possibility.”
“All right. I haven’t heard of anything, but I’ll keep my ear to the ground.”
“Thanks, Chief.” I ended the call and made another, this one to Lt. Newton. He answered the phone with a yawn. I made the same greeting and asked him about any bodies.
“Nothing’s come in, Mr. Cross. If you want, I can make some calls to some of the local police stations.”
“Wonderful, thanks, Lieutenant.” I hung up and put the phone back in my pocket.
So, no bodies had been found. Which meant the Minister had probably been careful about what he’d done with Darlene’s remains. If he’d been more careless, the location of her body could give us an idea of where this farm of his was.
Ah, well—guess we had to rely on other methods. I took some small bottles of holy water and selected the revolver from the case, plus the dagger. A cross, too, and a necklace with a charm containing one of the seals from The Key of Solomon. That would protect Dakota from being possessed by anything.
Hold on, could demons possess a woman pregnant with a cambion? I couldn’t be sure, but I wasn’t about to find out. If not for the wards tattooed on my body, even I could be possessed. So better not to take any chances.
“Luther…?”
“In here,” I called back in answer to Dakota’s summons. A moment later, she appeared in the doorway, staring into the office, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black sweater, her long, blond hair tied back in a simple ponytail.
“Wow, what’s all this?”
I glanced around the room, my eyes exploring the various paraphernalia. Bookcases lined with grimoires, talismans and weapons in the rack, banners displaying sigils, various containers filled with different herbs and objects used in spells.
“It’s my own little Batcave,” I said. “Unfortunately, the butler’s sold separately.”
“Well, it looks nice,” she said.
“Yeah, nice.” I loaded up the holy water and cross into a small satchel, keeping the dagger and the revolver on my person. I took a few containers of herbs as well. I carried the bag from its han
dles with one hand; the other held the necklace, which I dangled in front of Dakota. “Put this on.”
She accepted the necklace and examined it. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m not giving it to you so you can look pretty. That necklace will protect you from demonic possession.” I stepped into the hallway and set the bag on the ground so I could pull on my trench coat. “So wear it at all times.”
With a nod of understanding, Dakota put the necklace on. I grabbed a leather jacket from the closet and handed it to her. It was a little bit big on her, but would keep her warm. After a quick ride down in the elevator and Jack retrieving the Camaro, we were driving through the Gold Coast neighborhood and heading for the expressway.
My phone was open to the maps app, and I had the location where Donley’s body was found programmed into it. I stepped on the gas and we raced down the expressway in the direction of Milwaukee.
The first part of the drive was spent in silence. After about twenty minutes or so, Dakota finally broke it. “Why do you do this?”
“Because it’s my job.”
“I know, but why this job?”
“When you're one of a few people who can do a job, it puts you in demand,” I said. “Means I can charge top-dollar for doing things that are second-nature for me, but damn-near impossible for normal people.”
“Is that the only reason? Money?”
I shrugged. “Is there any better reason to do a job?”
“Great.” She sighed. “So I’m relying on a demonic mercenary?”
I glanced her way. She stared out the window at the passing scenery. I focused on the road, stepping harder on the accelerator and pushing the Camaro into the eighties, weaving through the lanes. I turned up the volume on the car’s stereo as Smith’s rendition of “The Weight” started up.
We made good time, getting up to the area in about an hour. When we finally got off the highway and followed the directions down the backroads, it wasn’t long before we came to the right spot. I pulled the Camaro over to the side of the road and parked, then got out of the car. Dakota followed my lead and walked near the side of the road, stepping through the tall grass. She pointed off in the distance.
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