Subversive Giants: A Supernatural Action Adventure Opera (War of the Damned Book 6)

by Michael Todd

  Calvin laughed. “See? Go to hell and fight demons. No sweat.”

  Pandora scoffed. “Speak for yourself.”

  Calvin looked down at his suit. “No, really, I think I stopped sweating like three seconds into it. I’m bound to heatstroke out any second.”

  Pandora considered his torn clothing. “You’ll be fine. If we can survive it, you got this in the bag. Besides, your demon is working double-time to keep you going. He was just reminded of how good they have it out here. He doesn’t want to end up back in hell for anything. You’re sure to be kept in working order from now on, no matter what crazy shit you pull.”

  Calvin shook his head. “Was that all it took? I would have strolled through hell a long time ago if I thought it would light a fire under my demon’s ass…literally.”

  The commander walked over and stood in front of Calvin and Pandora. “I’m sorry. We need to get you guys out. We have to set up the trap in case anything follows you.”

  Pandora groaned as she got to her feet. “I don’t think anything is going to follow. The portal is closed, but it’s definitely better if you’re sure.”

  As they hobbled out of the hangar, the doctor was yelling commands to various soldiers. The soldiers were carefully pushing the machines out of the way, terrified they were going to break something. Dr. Thorough pointed to one man and muttered darkly, “Please be careful. Not all the data came through. It’s on that machine. If you break it, we are screwed.”

  Pandora laughed and stepped outside to where the rest of the crew was sitting in chairs or on gurneys. It was a makeshift MASH unit. I wonder how much it’s costing them—or me—to pump special metal gas into a chamber that may not get a demon in it.

  Pandora shrugged. Meh, it’s okay. It’ll save a hell of a lot of headaches. Besides, not a single one of us is in any shape to take on more demons. You should be passed out, and I feel like I could sleep for six years. These guys look like they might lie down and let the demon take them.

  Katie giggled. I haven’t seen them this worn out since the morning after getting wasted in New York City.

  Is that what Brock looks like after fucking? I don’t know. He looks half-dead.

  Katie stopped laughing and got serious. That’s not even… I didn’t mean… Damn it!

  Pandora cackled inwardly. It’s okay, I know what you meant. Don’t get your panties in a knot.

  “Stand back. Doors closing,” one of the soldiers yelled as he closed the hangar bay doors.

  Brock sat up on his gurney and took a water bottle from one of the soldiers. He took a long, deep drink. “You guys kicked some major ass down there.”

  Turner nodded. “You too, brother. You were like a kung fu master with your flips and shit.”

  Tattoos shook his head. “I saw Brock flip through the air and cut off three demons’ heads with one swipe of that crazy sword. Chop! I swear he looked like he was about to rip the others’ heads off with his teeth. It was the most vicious I’ve ever seen you, dude.”

  Brock stood up carefully, wincing. “Yeah, and in hell.”

  Turner gingerly touched one of the blisters on his arm. “I went to hell, and all I got was this lousy second-degree burn.”

  Tattoos leaned forward and showed Katie his hands. They were bright red and blistered from fingertip to wrist. “Hey, just so you know, you might want to get tougher gloves next time.”

  Pandora grimaced and nodded. “Noted. Thicker gloves.”

  “I can take care of that,” a medic offered, bending down in front of the guy.

  She was young, blonde, and pretty, and smiled sweetly at him. The tattooed soldier glanced at Turner and put on a wicked smile. “This might have been worth it.”

  Turner put up his finger for help, but she was already helping Tattoos to the sick bay.

  “I got you,” a deep voice rumbled behind of him.

  Turner looked at one of the big male medics. He sighed and stood up. “Why is my luck in the shitter?”

  Moloch leaned back in his dimly lit office inside his mansion and flipped through the channels on the television. He made it to CNN and put the remote down. He grabbed a glass of whiskey, cut it with Scotsman’s blood, and took a sip. He muttered, “Where are you, you bastard? I know you’re building an army, but why haven’t you made any waves yet?”

  Moloch didn’t know how to keep track of Juntto without specifically reaching out to him. After being knocked off the mountain, he wasn’t interested in having any more personal contact with the frost giant. Still, he needed him to pick up the pace. He had come this far, and he wasn’t about to put everything on hold just because one jackass wanted to take a century to conquer a few lousy European countries.

  “In other news, there has been no new information about the two dead hikers found in the Alps. Sources say it was definitely a demon attack, but the details are still fuzzy. In the world of sports today…” The newscaster didn’t linger on the story at all.

  “Ah, fuck it,” Moloch growled. He flipped off the television.

  He took a big swig of his drink as a loud knock echoed through the office. “Come in!”

  The door slowly creaked open, and Moloch’s main servant along with five others scurried into the room and stood to the side with their heads down. Moloch waved his hand, not looking at them. “What is it? Is dinner ready already? I’m used to eating later than this.”

  The servant stepped a little closer and nervously put up his hand. “No, sir. We’ve gotten word that there has been a Lilith sighting in hell.”

  Moloch sat up quickly. “Do they know for sure that it was her?”

  The demon nodded. “Invrrrnus is still bitching about his crushed nuts. Apparently, she grew to his size and kicked him in the balls. She then shrank back down and ran off with her human.”

  Moloch flinched. “Yeah, that’s her. She was always a bit too quick to hurt the boys. I told her over and over that it wasn’t fair play for her to kick a man in the balls. She never listened. I told her that one day it would get her head snapped off. I guess Invrrrnus wasn’t fast enough.”

  He swallowed the last gulp of his blood and whiskey and walked to his desk, checking his schedule. He rubbed his chin and glanced at the servants standing nervously by the bookshelf.

  He pointed at them. “You three in the front, you’re coming with me. We have a bitch to track. If I’m going to be sure it was her, I need to do it myself. I can’t seem to find reliable help anywhere in hell these days.”

  The head servant bowed and shooed them forward. He kicked one in the ass for good measure. Moloch grabbed his walking stick and nodded at the servant. “You and the rest can get dinner prepared. It’s a long walk out of the inner ring. I’ll be hungry by the time I get back.”

  The servant bowed and pushed the remaining servants out the door. “Absolutely. And let me know if any of them give you trouble. They should be on their best behavior.”

  Moloch closed the door behind him. It wasn’t the news he’d expected.

  Juntto downed the glass of whiskey and yawned, looking at the big-breasted blonde next to him. He gave her a fake smile as she continued to chatter.

  She ran her hand over his knee and smiled. “It’s just all this bullshit in the media today about men. I am so tired of society wanting everything to be equal between men and women. I mean, respect is respect, right? Everyone wants it. Seriously, there isn’t a woman out there who doesn’t want a man who knows what he wants and takes it. You know? I don’t understand how these women can be content with men who tiptoe around their natural instincts.”

  Juntto smiled. “Yes, I like taking what I want. So why don’t I take you?”

  Juntto slammed his glass down and grabbed her. He tossed her over his shoulders. She squealed. “Oh, that—oh!”

  He walked toward the door, and the whole bar quieted to watch the scene. The woman slapped him on the arms, trying to wiggle away. “Look, just because you have a nice ass doesn’t mean you can grab me and take me w
herever you want. You do have to be respectful about it. Maybe ask me if I want to go with you.”

  Juntto kept walking. “I’m confused. You’re getting what you want—a man to take you and do what he likes.”

  “A man as in, a man I’m seeing, not some stranger in a bar,” she scolded.

  A drunk old man stood from his barstool. “We should help that damsel in distress!”

  His drunk pal pulled him back down. “It’s none of our business. Bartender, another round!” The drunk old man quickly forgot about the strange pair leaving the bar.

  “You women need to learn your place. Don’t speak, just do what I want done.” Juntto grunted and shifted her weight as he carried her out to the street.

  “I’m not playing around, asshole. You need to put me down!” she squealed, but Juntto ignored the cries.

  He sighed as he walked along. “I don’t understand. The women in this century don’t tell the truth. You said you wanted this, so I give it to you, and you cry. Do you want me or not?”

  She shouted, “You didn’t hear what I was saying at all. I do want it, but not like this!”

  Juntto rolled his eyes and tossed the woman to the ground in front of a large crowd of people. “Who knows what that means? I’m done with your attitude.”

  He wiped his hands off and went back into the bar for another drink.

  He sat down at the bar, thankful that he no longer had to listen to the woman’s chatter. The bartender poured him a double and walked away.

  Juntto watched the news talk about the dead hikers and tucked the bloodstain on his sleeve up under his jacket. He took a big swig of his whiskey. The bartender saw him watching and gestured to the television. “That’s some sad shit, huh? It’s crazy, because those two came by here a few days before. They were stoked about climbing to the summit. I heard the guy was found butt-naked, and the woman was stuck in a tree or something. What kind of crazy shit is that?”

  Juntto nodded. “Bigfoot.”

  The bartender chuckled uncomfortably, then turned and walked away. Juntto shrugged and continued watching, panning his head slowly as he heard the woman from before bitching to the bouncer. She was pointing at him. He smirked and turned back, finishing his drink and setting the glass carefully down. He folded his napkin neatly and wiped his lips before standing up and pulling some cash from his pocket. He tossed it on the bar. “For the damages.”

  The bartender puzzled over the cash. “Damages?”

  The bouncer walked up to Juntto and patted him hard on the shoulder. “Hey. This woman says you accosted her and then threw her to the ground. Hey, I’m fucking talking to you.”

  Juntto turned and stared at the large bouncer. The bouncer narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger at Juntto’s face. “You fucking out-of-towners think you can come in here and do whatever the fuck you want. Think again, asshole. That is not how this works. You and your half-assed Viking accent.”

  Juntto yawned and grabbed the bouncer’s finger with one hand. He pulled back his other fist and punched the bouncer with everything he had. The bouncer was unconscious before he hit the floor. One of the old guys at the bar leaped up, knocking over his stool. “Fight!”

  It was like someone had flipped a switch. The entire bar broke out in an all-out brawl. They were throwing fists, chairs, and anything else they could get their hands on. Juntto ducked as a beer glass flew over his head. He watched one guy pick up a smaller man and slam him down on a table. The table’s legs snapped, and the whole thing collapsed beneath them.

  Juntto cracked his knuckles, ready to go along for the ride. “This place is disgusting. No one says what they mean. How does one create a nation out of spineless drivel?”

  A guy fell into him, and Juntto grabbed him by the shirt collar and punched him in the face. Teeth flew across the bar. Juntto tossed the guy into a wall and watched him slide down. The man didn’t move. The frost giant was ready to fight, but he decided to pull his punches. He wasn’t in the mood to kill someone and have to leave the town. Not yet, anyway.

  Another guy walked up and stared at him angrily. “You’re the fucker who started this whole thing. That was my friend you knocked out, asshole. I ought to—”

  Juntto kept a calm expression and punched the guy in the face, knocking him to the floor. “I’m just warming up.”

  He swung at anyone who got near him. He knocked out four guys and then watched two huge men circle one another. They each had a broken beer bottle and were threatening each other with them. Juntto grabbed their heads and slammed them together. The big men dropped in a pile of the unconscious brutes surrounded by shattered glass. Juntto sighed and watched the brawl continue in smaller, more vicious groups. “This is boring. Good night.”

  He grabbed a bottle of tequila from behind the bar since the bartender was hiding and put it inside his jacket. He stepped over the unconscious men on the floor and pushed open the door. A young couple was about to come into the bar, but they stumbled back when they saw the chaos.

  Juntto didn’t have a scratch on him.

  He whistled as he strode carefree down the street. He pulled the bottle of tequila out, popped off the top, and took a swig straight from the bottle. “Fuck me, that’s something!” He laughed. “This place might have some serious pussies, but it is good to be free again.”

  Someone passing gave him a high five. “Right on, buddy. Freedom!”

  Juntto put down his hand and sneered. “Idiot.”

  23

  Moloch’s walking stick clinked hard against the black stone rock. He grumbled to himself as he shuffled along, hating that his crew was too incompetent to do this on their own. He walked through a deep trench in the ground and looked around. One of the servants put his shaking hand up.

  Moloch nodded and the demon swallowed hard, looking down at the ground. He was too afraid to make eye contact. “That is where the demon fell to his knees.”

  Moloch pursed his lips. “Mmm. She must have gotten him good. She definitely used her powers to grow to his size. That must have been a sight to see. An eighty-foot-tall Pandora with those big tits flopping everywhere.”

  He looked into the distance, seeing the remains of a gate that had burned the side of the mountain. He shuffled across the ground, kicking through piles of demon ashes as he went. “At least they put up a fight. It doesn’t look like the demons won, though.”

  The servants zigzagged around the piles of their fallen fellow demons, getting more frightened by the second. Moloch moved up the side of the hill and looked around, finding shreds of the team’s climate suits simmering on the hot ground. He picked one up and sniffed it. “She had reinforcements. Other Damned. But why?”

  “Excuse me, Moloch, sir. There’s something over here,” one of the servants whimpered.

  Moloch made his way over to the servant and went down on one knee. He ran his large claw along the markings left by the equipment and sniffed the imprint thoughtfully. “Looks like they brought some sort of equipment with them. Several carts full. The heated metal scorched the ground along this ridge. What kind of machines would they bring in here, only to take them back that quickly?”

  Muttering rose from the group of servants, and Moloch lifted his head to peer at them. “Well? If someone has something to say, say it. Or I’ll make a snack out of the lot of you right now.”

  The group of servants tousled and grappled with one another until they managed to force one fat demon forward. His knees clanked hard together. Moloch straightened, staring down the portly beast. “What’s your name?”

  “Ricidiocalese, sir,” the trembling demon replied.

  “That’s a fucking mouthful, isn’t it? I’ll just call you Fat Rick. So, Fat Rick, what do you have to say? What machines did they bring?” Moloch was teasing him but hoped he would be more useful than the others. They were cowering just out of his reach.

  The demon pointed his small claws at the burn marks. “I don’t know for sure. I wasn’t here. But I have seen machin
es before. So, maybe they were scientific machines? Maybe they were studying our land. Or something. I don’t know.”

  Moloch growled. “Why would they do that?”

  The demon flinched and put up his hand. “I don’t know. To learn more about us, maybe? One of the demons who made it back said there were five soldiers and Lilith, obviously not enough to fight. There were two humans in special suits, too. They were the ones with the machines. The demons said they left first.”

  “Humans in special suits. I see.” Moloch patted Fat Rick on the head. “Maybe you aren’t useless after all, Rick.”

  Moloch squinted at the ground and tried to figure this new riddle out. “Who comes to hell on purpose? Especially when you have to wear a suit to keep you alive. And what about her angel bitch? She was obviously not in control when Pandora grew that tall. Just what the hell is our Queen of Kicking Demons in the Balls up to?”

  Juntto finished the bottle of tequila and tossed it down an alley. As he turned a corner, he spotted another drinking establishment. Perfect. Inside, the lights were low, and the music was heavy. He didn’t pay any attention to the people there, just went straight to the bar and ordered a drink. He threw some money down and turned around to view the crowd.

  He sized up all the people drinking, dancing, and talking. Something was wrong. He looked at his clothes and then at the people again. He realized he wasn’t dressed in the same style. Almost all of them were wearing black lace-up boots, jeans rolled at the bottom, suspenders, and either no shirts or a tight white t-shirt. Their heads were bald, with the exception of a couple of younger guys. They were sporting tall spiked mohawks.

  He glanced at a girl who’d bounced up to the bar. She had jet black hair and was wearing a short plaid skirt and a black band T-shirt. Her arm was tattooed with a swastika. She looked at Juntto and smiled. “You don’t look like you belong here.”

  Juntto chuckled. “I don’t belong much of anywhere in this century.”