A Demon's Work Is Never Done: Latter Day Demons, Book 2

by Suttle, Connie

  In other words, this entire meeting had been off the record. He and the Secretary of State had barely looked at any of us after our arrival. He'd been pleased enough to unload on Opal and Colonel Hunter while ignoring the rest of us. It made me wonder how we'd been allowed into the meeting to begin with.

  We were forced to wait until the President had vacated the building before we were given permission to leave.

  Opal blew out a breath while Kell hovered. She and Zaria looked as if they were ready to drop, Kell and Klancy likewise. "You need rest," I said before I could stop myself.

  "We have two days, young one," Opal said. "There's little time to rest for us." All of us followed her and Kell from the building. We had sketchy plans at best, and all of it could explode in our faces.

  * * *

  Peru

  Laurel Rome

  Charlene knew something. She'd been spying on Deris, Daris and Morgett whenever he was here. Why she included me in her current shenanigans, I didn't understand.

  "They keep talking about a treasure," she hissed as we walked through the back garden toward the pool. "I want to ask the fish bitch if she knows anything about it."

  "Treasure? You're an idiot," I whispered at her back as she ducked through closely-planted banana trees on her convoluted trip to the pool. "We're growing the treasure. Dervil says so."

  "Dervil doesn't know about this," she turned and snarled at me. Shoving banana leaves out of her way, she stalked ahead of me.

  "Why are we hiding?" I spit a mouthful of green banana leaf out of my mouth; she'd let the long, broad leaf slap me in the face while I had my mouth open.

  "Because we don't want V'ili to see us. He knows about this, too. In it up to his neck, actually. He's working with Morgett, or didn't you know that? He's only pretending to take orders from Dervil."

  "That's insane. You're insane."

  "No, but you're blind if you haven't figured out there's something else going on, here."

  "Well, well," V'ili's voice was unexpected as we cleared the long stretch of banana trees. He stood, hands on hips, on the flagstones surrounding the pool while Loftin Qualls drooled behind him.

  "Kill Charlene," V'ili shrugged at Loftin. "We'll let Laurel live. This time."

  I shrieked and shrank backward as Loftin grabbed Charlene by the throat. Producing a sharp knife, he began to cut into her skin while she screamed.

  Chapter 15

  Lexsi

  Yoff spent the afternoon in a nearby lab, casting spells to miniaturize spy cameras that were already minuscule in size. The rest of us listened while Opal and Colonel Hunter went over the plan to smuggle someone or something through the petroleum pipeline on the Peruvian/Ecuadorian border.

  Tibby spent time on the phone with his cousins, who'd been transported back to California when the rest of us came to D.C. He'd already offered his services through the pipeline. Opal wasn't willing to risk his life.

  "Let's send something else through first," she turned his and his cousins' offers aside. "Small drones roughly the size of a pellet from a pellet gun," she added.

  "But you need someone who can speak at least one language those mountain people speak," he countered. "They speak enough Spanish that I can make them understand."

  "We don't have a solution, Tiburon," Opal said, patting his arm. "No gathering place is safe for them, yet. We have to have good news before we send someone through."

  I saw her glance at Zaria, then. Something passed between them, but I had no idea what it was or what it meant.

  There was an alternate plan, perhaps, but it was a plan of last resort.

  I wondered briefly what it could be.

  * * *

  Kordevik

  We had two days to solve the problem in Peru before US and Coalition forces moved toward Peru's border. Several allied nations had pledged to stand with the US after the attack on New York.

  Mangled bodies, few of which were whole, were pulled from entire city blocks leveled by blasts. US citizens couldn't understand or even speculate how bombs of sufficient size could be set without anyone noticing. They had no idea that the skills of a talented witch or warlock could achieve that very thing.

  Yoff continued miniaturizing cameras. How easy would it be to for the enemy to place tiny explosives that had timing spells set upon them? They could become normal size just before their detonation.

  I was beginning to detest anyone with Karathian blood. Yes, I knew that was wrong—the vast majority worked within the laws set by their planet and their alliance. Those who operated outside the law could cause terrible harm.

  "When will Yoff be finished with his project?" I asked when Opal walked in after another meeting with Colonel Hunter and the Joint Chiefs. I understood that the President and Secretary of State were calling in every favor from every politician in D.C. so their proposal for a declaration of war would go smoothly in two days.

  "He's almost ready," Opal sighed. "I want you and Lexsi with us when we send our drones through the pipeline at the same time."

  "Sure," I agreed. "Whatever you need."

  "Do you think there are spells on the pipeline?" Lexsi handed Opal a cup of coffee in a paper cup. It was all we had available at the hotel.

  "There could be," Opal said, taking the cup and nodding her thanks. "We want to cover every possibility when we send those drones through."

  "Phineas is missing—again." Zaria folded in. Nearly all of us had gathered in Lexsi's and my suite—it was large enough for everyone.

  "What the hell is he doing now?" Opal muttered. I could see she was angry.

  "I hope he isn't attempting to swim his way into Peru," Zaria replied. I could tell she was just as upset as Opal by this development.

  "How long has he been missing?" Opal asked.

  "Since last night. That means he hasn't gotten to the border, yet, unless he decided to drive as far as he could before turning."

  "He can fuck everything up. Can't he?" I asked.

  "He's susceptible to obsession, like most people," Opal grimaced as she emptied the coffee cup. Lexsi had done her best with the coffee, but hotel room coffee was never what I'd call decent. It was enough caffeine to get you up, dressed and looking for better-tasting caffeine.

  "Get everybody together—we'll launch our offensive from San Rafael," Opal announced. I strode toward the door. Tibby, Farin and a few others were in his suite. If necessary, I could get them to California.

  * * *

  Lexsi

  I was grateful to be back in San Rafael, but there was very little food in the house. Gran was right—an army does travel on its stomach.

  "Let someone else do the grocery shopping," Opal placed an arm about my shoulders as I studied the empty fridge. "I need you, Kory and Anita with me at the pipeline. Zaria is taking Yoff, Kell and Klancy farther south to release the miniature spy cameras."

  "Man, I hope this works," Kory said, pulling me away from Opal and the fridge and folding me in an embrace. "If we could find some weak spots to sneak in," he added.

  "I want the locations of those fucking N'il Mo'erti," Opal said. "We really need to take those things out, first. Without those, we can get troops safely across the borders. With them still in place and operative, the invasion forces are all dead."

  "Won't it take time to move tanks and equipment to the border?" Lexsi asked.

  "Not as long as you think. We have military bases all over Colombia—we've had an agreement with their government for years. While it looks as if the part of Colombia that borders Peru is in league with the enemy, it doesn't appear as if they're protected on that side by the N'il Mo'erti. Colonel Hunter told me that forces are already moving through Colombia to set up a temporary base on their side of the border."

  "What does the Colombian Government have to say?" Kory asked.

  "They don't care. They know our guys are toast if they try to cross the border."

  "Not good," I said. "Let me change clothes and I'll be ready to go with y
ou."

  "Dress warmly; we'll be in the higher elevations where we're going."

  * * *

  Opal left Davis, Thomas and Jorden in charge at the house while she and Zaria transported those of us going to Peru. They knew where they were going; I didn't. Not exactly, anyway. All I'd seen was a tiny dot on a map when I'd offered the pipeline as a possible way to get into Peru.

  We were about to see whether that was actually possible.

  The pipes were larger than I'd thought when we arrived; the older one was smaller and narrower next to the large, new one installed in the past decade. The new pipe was big enough for an adult male to slide through—provided he could hold his breath long enough.

  "You'll have to mist these inside," Opal held up a clear, plexi box with a hinged door. Inside, tiny spy drones hovered. They had their programmed orders; I hoped they wouldn't be destroyed before sending information back to our side. "Just form hands long enough to allow them to get out; they're built to survive in gas or liquid."

  "How will they get out?" Kory asked.

  "Good question. One of those little things will go ahead of the others. It's spelled by Zaria to become larger and drill a hole in the top of the pipe to let the others out."

  "So we nullify enemy spells—if there are any at the point I mist inside, then they travel across the border through the pipe, where one will become larger and drill a hole big enough to let the others out?" Kory asked.

  "That's the idea. I hope those idiot death machines know not to blast the pipeline—we could see a huge explosion, otherwise."

  Opal was counting on that—that the enemy knew not to destroy their fuel source. If I were the enemy, I'd have been working to place solar energy panels everywhere. I hoped the enemy hadn't prepared for such an event—that their fuel source could be destroyed.

  We were doing this without the knowledge of the Ecuadorian Government, too, and wondered how they'd feel if part of their income were shut off; they had a deal with Peru to allow the pipeline to be placed on Ecuadorian lands.

  In the long term, it probably wouldn't matter—those in Peru would kill any who opposed them, and they were about to be opposed.

  Opal handed me the plexi box, bringing me back from the paths my mind had wandered. I nodded, gripped the box tightly and turned to mist. All I had to do was mist inside the pipeline and release the contents of the box. I wasn't prepared for how dark it would be, or that my hands might fumble for seconds to release the tiny drones.

  * * *

  Zaria

  Yoff had done excellent work; the spy drones were so tiny they couldn't be seen by a normal human. Some shapeshifters might see them, but we weren't dealing with that sort of shifter in Peru.

  No, we had worse things to worry about. I imagined that what Dervil San Gerxon's power-wielding allies wanted would never be communicated to him. If they found their treasure, they'd leave him in an instant to wreak havoc and revenge against those who'd—in their minds—wronged them.

  Most of what they wanted would never cooperate and would be useless to them. They'd have to search in that treasure for what they truly desired. I hoped if they managed to get their hands on it, it would take long enough that we'd be prepared to stand against them when they did.

  Dervil and his drug fields were only a decoy for them and their true intentions.

  "Are you ready?" I turned to Yoff, who held a small, plexi box in his hands. Farther north, Opal had a larger one that she'd just sent through the pipeline. Those tiny drones had almost reached the border.

  Ours had to coincide with those.

  "Yes," Yoff placed his hand on the tiny latch.

  "Release them," I said.

  Yoff opened the door and dozens of microscopic spy drones flew across Peru's border.

  * * *

  Lexsi

  "So far, so good," Opal said after we'd landed at the house in San Rafael. I saw that Tibby, Farin and Jorden had gone shopping for groceries. They'd brought a fair amount of food back from the supermarket—enough that I could make lunch and dinner for everyone.

  "We'll know if any of the spy drones are destroyed—we have a military team in Colombia recording information from the drones. As soon as I log in on my computer, I'll have the images, too."

  "You still need sleep—all of you," I pointed toward Opal, Kell, Zaria and Klancy.

  "Maybe a couple of hours," Opal yawned and nodded. "It may take that long before the drones pick up any useful information."

  "I'll have food ready when you wake," I said.

  "Thank you." Opal took a step toward me and hugged me tight for several seconds.

  "No problem," I said when she pulled away. "Let's hope those drones get what we need before they're found."

  * * *

  Opal and Zaria slept for four hours. It wasn't until after they woke that the images—and sound—came through.

  There wasn't supposed to be any sound.

  Somehow, our enemy had arranged it. Whether by spell or science, it didn't matter. Kory and I were allowed to see it with the others after Opal was on the phone with the President for nearly an hour.

  Kory wrapped his arms around me after we sat down to view the video sent by our enemy in Peru.

  "Hello," the man said. Only his image was visible against a black background. "I am Dervil San Gerxon," he went on. "This planet is mine. If you don't believe me, send your army across the border. I intend to kill all who oppose me." The screen went dark.

  "All our drones stopped working at the same time, shortly after that message came through," Opal said. "I don't know yet what they used to detect both sets of drones, but whatever it was, it was effective. We have nothing useful from any of them."

  "At least he named himself," Kory pointed out.

  "Sure. Name yourself when you believe yourself invincible," Anita grumbled. "Dervil San Gerxon, asshat extraordinaire."

  "We have less than a day and a half to do anything else before our forces line up at the border. Nobody can get across alive in either direction. I have information from the station where Davis and Thomas were. Native Peruvians are lined up just across the border in the mountains. They're stuck there, because of the piles of bodies scattered across that part of the border. Bodies of those who'd attempted to cross before the next wave got there."

  "They'll be marked for death, just for attempting to escape," Zaria said.

  "What can we do?" I asked.

  "I need some time to make a decision," Opal said. "Zaria, will you and Klancy come with Kell and me? I need to work this out before we send any of ours into danger."

  * * *

  "If they blitz part of the border with rockets and remotely fired missiles," Davis offered.

  We were having our own meeting, where ideas were being kicked around like a soccer ball.

  "The N'il Mo'erti will just shoot them down—they're too advanced for even the best Earth has to defend itself," Kory pointed out.

  "How do you know all this?" I turned to him to ask.

  "Onion, they were using these things when—uh, where we came from. You probably didn't hear about it on Avendor."

  Yes, I understood most of my life had been sheltered, but this—surely I would have heard about this. I hadn't and Kory had, somehow. That would teach me to pay better attention in the future.

  * * *

  Kordevik

  I wouldn't have known, had Li'Neruh Rath not told me about the N'il Mo'erti three nights earlier—when he handed me the ring I'd bought for Lexsi. Somehow, he'd also known I'd need the ring and the information, so he told me what I needed to know.

  He explained that more High Demons waited in Peru, should we manage to get across the border. He said Lexsi had a set of blades in her bedroom, just as I did. We might need them with us if we went to Peru.

  When I asked him if there were a way into Peru that we didn't know about, he frowned. "Zaria knows," he answered. I racked my brain, wondering what Zaria knew that the rest of us didn't.

/>   Whatever it was, it must be dangerous, because she hadn't said anything about it, yet. Time was passing, too, and there was little of it left. Every news program was running updates on whether war would be declared.

  At least we had inside information on that particular subject. The President was determined to send troops to Peru, and several other countries were aligned with him. Even the UN wanted to send their forces, after attempting to get the President's attention for months about the goings-on in Peru.

  No matter what, people were going to die. Whether in Peru or outside it, people would die. How many had yet to be determined. I'd heard an updated count on the death toll in New York; estimates now said more than half a million. I hoped the news station was padding those numbers to garner ratings.

  We were down to one day—one day before coalition forces would attempt to invade Peru. Visions of fighter jets shot down, tanks obliterated and missiles detonated before they reached their targets filled my imagination.

  We needed another option and soon.

  "Kory?" Lexsi scooted onto the sofa next to me. I'd chosen a seat in the family room and watched television with the sound off. I didn't need to hear the bluster—the crawler at the bottom of the screen told me everything I wanted to know.

  "Onion." I pulled her against my side and wrapped her in a snug embrace. She was worried and had been for days. I'd promised her that we'd get the bad guys. I had no idea where to start.

  Yes, feeling helpless was aggravating. I hated it, yet that's exactly where we were. Lexsi felt the same; I could see it in her eyes. Sure, I wanted to be a hero to her, but I was just as worried and scared as she was.

  "Baby, we'll do what we can," I breathed against her hair. "I don't know what that is, yet, but whatever it is, we'll be ready."

  "Kory?" She looked up at me.

  "What, baby?" I wanted to kiss her so badly by that time it had become a physical pain.

  "I'm glad you're here with me. Even if I could call someone else, you're the one I'd choose."

  My heart skipped to a stop for a moment, then reawakened and thumped rapidly to make up for its brief cessation. We were going to stand together in this, no matter what happened.