I sighed. She glared at me. I couldn't be so lucky.
We parked in front of some sort of lodge building. The sign in front was so decrepit, it was difficult to tell what lodge it was. The parking lot was about a third full. She checked her watch. "We're about thirty five minutes late," she said. "You made better time than I thought."
"Thanks," I said. "I never could have done it without my faithful co-pilot. So is this lodge just cover for your conclave?"
"No. We keep it clean and do them some favors from time to time, so they let us borrow the lodge when they aren't using it." She stretched her arms up over her head. "It's quiet out here, too. Less chance of someone wandering into the middle of things. We had that happen once when we were meeting closer to the city. I think he was drunk. An adept was drawing up a complex rune on the floor as an example, leaving a gap so that the spell wouldn't trigger. The drunk managed to step right on the gap, completed the rune with his body."
"I thought you said that runes needed a bit of blood to work?" I asked.
"They do. And there was an entire person's worth of blood in the circuit there."
"That must have been painful."
"He wasn't too happy about it," she said. "But he lived. Apprenticed to us after that. Not a bad guy when he's not drinking. Let's go in, we've left them waiting long enough."
We got out of the car. I twitched as soon as my foot hit the ground. Paranoia, maybe. The trap at the construction site had me nervous. Having a very powerful enemy in the area gave me good reason. I took a step toward the door and my vision flickered, burned. "The hell?"
"Did you feel that?" she asked.
The sensation was similar to what I had experienced at the construction site. This was another trap. "I think we should leave."
She glared at me. "Coward. Come on."
The feeling persisted as we walked into the lodge. The entryway was dark, with dim overhead lights and wooden panels. There were no voices, no sounds, no sense of presence or life. That was the connection. Just like the construction site, life had been snuffed out here. We walked toward the double doors leading to the main meeting room. One side was slightly ajar. I looked at Tink. She looked back at me and nodded. We pushed the doors open to look in.
We looked into Hell.
There were long banquet tables spaced throughout the hall, chairs facing a lectern. Each table was covered with a white tablecloth. Each white tablecloth was soaked in scarlet. Humans, or at least the remains of humans, were placed piece by piece the length of each table. The lectern itself was draped in something. It took me a moment to realize that it was covered in skin. Multiple layers of skin.
Tink turned and ducked out of the room. I stepped in to survey the damage. From the ceiling, several bodies hung, strangled with their own clothing. Blood dripped from gashes and lacerations. This massacre was recent. Very recent. Toward the back wall of the room, six bodies were spiked upside-down to the walls. Spikes had been driven through their wrists, feet, and one through the forehead. Circles of blood surrounded them, barely visible against the wood paneling. The stench was horrific.
"Who are you?" I hadn't noticed the man in a black robe, standing at the far end of the room. "You're not one of us. Are you behind this?"
"No, I'm a special guest," I said.
He drew closer, stepping carefully around the tables, avoiding most of the blood splatters. His hood was down, revealing tanned skin and a shaved head. He looked older than me, probably in his late thirties. He stopped about ten feet away from me and held a finger up in the air, then rapidly sketched something in front of himself. I could see blood on his fingertip. His blood, or someone else's? "You're not human," he said.
I inclined my head, nothing to lose by being polite. "I'm half human."
"Half human," he repeated. "Your other half?"
"Demonic," I said.
"Your name."
"Isaiah," I said. "And yours?"
His lip curled. "I do not offer my name to your kind." He splayed his fingers and I felt magic push at my body, driving me back a step. "You are not welcome here, demon. Count yourself fortunate that I have more pressing matters to attend to."
I looked around the room. "It was a Duke." His hand faltered and I continued. "A powerful demon, beyond the comprehension of most humans. He killed five construction workers less than a week ago, in a similarly horrific way. One of them was a member of your conclave. Your conclave knows something that he doesn't want you to know. What is it?"
The man stepped sideways and dipped his fingertips into a pool of blood on a nearby table. "Demon, you are not welcome here."
"I heard you the first time, human."
"Depart, or I will kill you."
"Don't kill him, Rashid." That was Tink's voice. I turned my head to see her standing in the doorway, expressionless, pale. "He's mine."
"Yours, Anna?" Rashid glanced at her. "Did you pursue him here?"
"I brought him here, Rashid."
His eyes widened. "I told you I was a guest," I said.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
"We came to warn the conclave. Look, Rashid, that master who came a few months ago. The one who got Vostok upset. He told you adepts something. I don't know what, but it seems like it was dangerous. It got Vostok killed. Now it..." She trailed off, swallowed hard, continued. "Now it got everyone killed. What did he tell you, Rashid?"
The black robed mage never took his eyes off me. "You called for an emergency meeting. After you discovered that a demon had murdered Vostok."
"Not only a demon. A mage was involved." Tink pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and held it up in front of her. "This is their runic signature. Do you recognize it?"
"No." His eyes narrowed. "Were you revealed to this mage before you called this meeting?"
I saw where this was going. Before I could tell her not to answer the question, she did. "Yes. It was a trap. We barely escaped."
I started converting blood to ichor. It would take a few seconds to get into full fighting condition. I hoped that he wouldn't overreact as much as I thought he would. He would, though. If I had found a room full of my friends massacred in such a way, I would be a little on edge myself.
"You led them here," he said. His voice boomed through the room. "You betrayed us, Anna. You killed them all, and you brought your pet demon here to finish the job."
"Wait, Rashid-"
"As the senior surviving member of this conclave, Rashid Irhke, I cast you out, Annabell Glass. May God have mercy upon your soul." His focus switched from me to her, and his fingers danced in midair, drawing a rune with blood. Tink started to say something, and then he slammed his palm into the rune.
I was there. Before his speech was finished, I was there, in the direct line of fire. The contract bound me to protect her. Luckily, he had given me just enough time to prepare myself. He hit me with pure force, a hammering blow that would have punched right through her chest and blasted her heart out through her spine.
It tore my shirt to ribbons, blasted a layer of skin off my chest, but didn't even crack my ribs. It also exposed a whole lot of ichor to the air. I lifted both hands and pointed them at the mage, then summoned a ball of hellfire. It tumbled dangerously between my hands, growing as I fed ichor into it. "She may be going to hell, mage," I said. "But you'll be there to welcome her."
"Don't kill him!" she shouted.
I glanced over my shoulder. "You sure?"
She peeked around me. "Rashid, tell me! I don't give a damn whether you cast me out or not. What did that master tell you all?"
"Consort of demons, I'll tell you nothing," he snapped. He started sketching another rune in the air, this one significantly more complex.
"She doesn't actually consort with me," I said, then flicked a spark of hellfire past his ear. He froze in mid-drawing. "Mr. Irhke, I'm not going to kill you. Be aware that if you keep trying to kill us, I'm going to have to hurt you, regardless of what Tinkerbell h
ere says. I'm in a bit of pain here, which I'm sure you can appreciate, seeing as you inflicted it. Please note that I have enough hellfire in my hands to burn down this entire building. I also have enough control to burn just your hand off, or even just individual fingers. You'll live, but you won't enjoy it. Understand, we're not asking for your friendship. We're just asking for your help."
I felt something stick me in the back. "You better not kill him," Tink said, softly enough that he couldn't hear her. "Or I'll gut you."
"Your wish is my command, cupcake," I said, equally quietly.
Rashid lowered his hands. "You are involved in something very dangerous, Anna."
"No shit, Rashid. Are you going to tell me what I want to know?"
"Yes," he said.
Of course, that was when we were interrupted. Nothing could be that easy. That was precisely the time when the Duke chose to make his presence known. The shock of his sudden presence made my ichor surge, which made my ball of hellfire suddenly grow, which made everyone a little nervous.
"What's going on?" Rashid demanded.
"Duke," I managed to say. The presence wasn't anywhere near as bad as it was at the construction site, but the surprise had shaken me. It was a deliberate thing, an attack aimed right at me. He knew I was here and he was trying to overwhelm my demonic side. I needed to bleed off ichor, right now. "Cut my back up, Tink."
She didn't ask why, simply slashed a gigantic X across my back. I forced ichor from the wound, letting it steam down my back. The Duke's assault lessened, enough that I could keep control of myself. I used the ichor to seal the wounds and looked at Rashid. He looked back at me. "I propose we form a temporary alliance," he said.
"I propose we run the fuck away," I snapped. "He killed your entire conclave. What do you think the three of us can do? Kick him in the shins until he falls down?"
"How far away is he?" Tink asked.
"A minute or two at most."
"Burn the place down," she ordered, turning her back on the room and walking out.
Rashid trotted past me, barely sparing me a glance. "Anna! We can't just destroy-"
"Do it, demon!" Her shout echoed back to me from the entryway.
I was alone in a room full of dead mages, none of whom I had ever met before in my life. "Sorry for being too late." I sprayed hellfire across the ceiling and rear wall. Bodies ignited and wooden panels combusted as soon as the hellfire touched them. I sent the actual hellfire burning deep into the building and let the regular fire take care of the rest, then sprinted out of the conflagration.
Outside, Tink was just shutting the passenger side door. Another car was already speeding down the road in the opposite direction from where we'd come from. I hopped into the driver's seat. "So did you get the information from Rashid?"
"Not enough time, he gave me his phone number," she said. "If we live through this, he'll tell me. Drive, demon. We need to get out of here. Opposite direction. He can't chase both of us, can he?"
"Even a High Prince can't be in more than one place at a time." I didn't mention that there could be more than one demon out there. "Keep an eye out for churches."
"What?"
I pulled out and stomped on the gas. My car protested, wheels spinning on gravel, then lurched ahead. The presence intensified, then I felt him flash overhead, drawn to the burning building. At least that would keep his attention off the car for a couple more seconds. "Churches. Places of worship. You know?"
"Why would a demon be looking for a church?" I held the gas pedal down. My car was a bit of a beater, but had some legs once she got going. The needle inched past fifty. I blew through the first stop sign. No one was watching, I hoped.
The Duke was watching. I felt him start to move after us. "Shit. Watch for one, dammit. Do I need to explain every little thing to you? Demons can't go into churches. Most churches, at least."
"You won't be able to get in either!"
I could see a speck in my rear view mirror. He was flying a few feet off the ground, gaining on us. I was pushing over seventy. "I'm a halfblood. I've lost track of how many times I've told you that. It's not an issue for me. Hell, my dad brought me a few times when I was a kid, and I didn't burst into flames the moment I crossed the threshold."
"That's creepy," she said. "Are you sure you'll be able to go in?"
I wasn't sure in the least. "Absolutely."
"Turn right!"
The turn was very close, but so was the demon. I could see his glowing red eyes, his black wings, and the telltale green glow of hellfire building. "Hold on!" I tried to drift into the intersection sideways so I wouldn't lose too much speed. I succeeded, mostly.
Sirens. I laughed. Never a cop around when you need one, but always around at the worst time. How much worse could this get? I looked in the mirror, just in time to see the state trooper take the ball of hellfire meant for us. The entire car simply burst. No chance of survival. "Shit!"
Tink twisted in her seat to look behind us. "What the hell just happened?"
"Hellfire just happened. Don't dwell on it too much."
"I'm not dwelling. I'm too scared to dwell at the moment."
"I'm glad to hear that. Are you looking for the church?"
"I know there's one a mile or two up Route 148 here. Drive faster. Faster."
I already had the pedal all the way down. "It doesn't get any faster than this."
Green glow in the rear mirror told me that another ball of hellfire was on the way. I swerved, just in time. An explosion blossomed right behind us, carving an enormous hole in the asphalt. The Department of Transportation was not going to be happy. I slapped the control to lower my window. "Take the wheel."
She grabbed the wheel and I twisted to look out the window. The Duke was close, too close. He couldn't miss with his next shot. I had just a bit of ichor still oozing from my chest, but it would need to be enough. Instead of hellfire, I called in a bit of wind. More specifically, I called a short and intense downdraft, centered on me.
The car thumped as the wind blasted down on us, just for a couple of seconds. It was enough. The Duke had so much forward momentum, he couldn't do anything but plow into the road, skidding along it for dozens of feet behind us. "Road rash is a mother!" I screamed at him. In response, I saw a trickle of hellfire spray toward us. I stomped on the gas, but I was too late. The spray caught my rear bumper, which started to run and melt.
"We're so dead. We're so dead." Tink mumbled it like a protective mantra. It didn't fill me with much confidence either. "Wait, there's the church!"
I ducked back in and grabbed the wheel back. The hellfire hadn't reached the gas tank or the tires yet. I spun into the parking lot. First Revelation Church, I read as we blew past the sign. I slammed on the brakes, leaving us in the middle of the parking lot. "Get out!"
Tink jumped out and sprinted for the church doors. I followed her, but turned around halfway there, clawed at the wound on my chest, and built a tiny ball of hellfire with the resulting ooze of ichor. I flung it at my car, wished it a happy afterlife, and followed the girl. Behind me, the car exploded. The Duke might be convinced that it had killed us. It was unlikely, but possible as long as we got into the church in time.
The building itself was a little rundown, a little small, a little ugly. It was one of those small churches with maybe a couple of dozen members, one of those little places you find in the no-man's land between the suburbs and the sticks. They were usually abnormally pious, or just a front for a cult. I hoped this one was the former. Tink was pounding up the stairs, but just as she reached the top step, the doors opened. Someone was inside.
"Oh, shit," I said, stopping short at the bottom of the stairs. A man with shining silver eyes stared down at me. One hand was empty. The other held a shimmering outline of a sword. That sword pointed at me.
"What business do you have here, demon?" he asked.
"I'm not a demon, I'm a halfblood, contracted to protect the girl, we have a Duke on our tail, we need s
anctuary and we need it now!"
His eyes narrowed. I could see the outline of wings spreading from his shoulders. He had to be at least a Principality, if not a Power. This was not within my plans. "We are not in the habit of offering sanctuary to the enemy. What business is it of ours if demons slay demons?"
"He's mine," Tink said. "Under contract. I don't want to lose him at this moment, if that's all right. Please let us in."
Those silver eyes never left me. The sword's blade was right in line with my chest. He could lunge and stab right through me and I'd never have a chance to dodge. "Girl, when you contracted this demon, you brought corruption upon yourself."
"I'm turning evil against itself!"
His eyes narrowed. "One less demon in this world is one less, regardless of how it occurs. Leave."
Another person appeared in the doorway. An older man, balding and wrinkled, frowning as he placed a hand on the swordsman's shoulder. "Easy, Caleb. What's your name, young lady?"
"Annabell."
"And yours, young man?"
"Isaiah," I said.
His face creased as he smiled. "God is salvation. Caleb, we will allow them sanctuary."
"Jase." The angel's gaze flicked from me to the old man. His sword didn't move at all.
"Allow them sanctuary," the older man repeated.
The sword lowered just as I felt the Duke's presence moving toward us. I rushed up the stairs, Tink fleeing through the door ahead of me. Just before I crossed the threshold, the swordsman caught my arm. "No tricks, demon," he said.
"No tricks," I agreed, and stepped into the church.
Chapter Five
The door slammed shut behind me. Inside, the First Revelation Church looked just as rundown as the outside. Cracks ran across the ceiling and paint flaked off the walls, leaving pockmarks like a teenager's face. The apparent age of the building put me at ease. If it was old, it was more likely to have the strength to resist the Duke's assault. There was a crash and muted explosion from outside, right on cue. The building quivered, barely noticeable. The angel's sword vanished and he chuckled. "Foolish demon."
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