Devil's Due

by Percival Constantine

  “Sure they do, but I’ve got a pretty good bullshit detector.” I reached into my jacket and procured my cigarette case. Asmodeus watched as I took one out and lit it.

  “I’m sure you’re aware that Chicago has ordinance restricting smoking inside public places.”

  “Feels good to break a rule every now and then, doesn’t it?” I drew on the cigarette as long as possible to exhale the largest cloud of smoke I could manage. “So how about it, Asmodeus? You ready to drop the bullshit and get to the point?”

  Asmodeus signaled to his bartender. “I think we ought to have a drink first, don’t you?”

  18

  Asmodeus took a large brandy glass from the tray carried by his bartender. He leaned back into his chair, swirling the liquid around the glass as he inhaled its scent. The bartender carried the tray over to Celeste and myself next. Two drinks left on it: one a glass of scotch and the other a wine glass filled with a red liquid.

  “For you, my dear. Blood mixed with red wine. Hope you enjoy,” said Asmodeus.

  Celeste took the glass and raised it in Asmodeus’ direction. “You’re a kind host.”

  Asmodeus smiled at her. I suppressed the anger I felt watching a demon flirt with my girl, claiming the scotch from the tray. A slow sip to test it out. Wasn’t bad. Not my usual, but at least it wasn’t poisoned.

  “Can we skip the pleasantries now?” I asked. “I’ve got other things to take care of.”

  “I want to know what you and Raziel spoke of,” said Asmodeus.

  “He likes my suits, wanted to know who my tailor was.”

  “Wasn’t it you who said we should drop the bullshit, Cross?”

  “Confidentiality agreement, standard for all my cases,” I said. “I don’t discuss my clients with outside parties.”

  “I’m hardly an outside party, Raziel and I are brothers.”

  “Luther, let me.” Celeste gently rested a hand on my knee, staring at me with her big brown eyes. I relented under her gaze and she turned to look at Asmodeus. “You both have something the other wants. Consider me a mediator between the two of you.”

  “Oh, please.” Asmodeus scoffed. “Celeste, I adore you. We’ve had a partnership for many years. My club has been fertile ground for your escorts for some time, and I’ve even personally recommended clients to you. But I also know what’s going on between the two of you.”

  His yellow eyes drifted from Celeste to meet my crimson ones, and then back. A darker, sharper tone colored his voice as he spoke and leaned forward, remaining silent just long enough to sip his brandy.

  “Lust is my domain, children. The waves of it emanating from the pair of you are so thick, I can taste them. I know the two of you are more than just friends on this case.”

  Well, that wasn’t good. I’d made some enemies in my time. Most people knew Celeste and I were acquaintances, but they weren’t aware of anything more than that. It was a secret Celeste kept from even her most trusted employees. If word got out that Celeste King and Luther Cross were Chicago’s latest power couple, it could send reverberations throughout the underworld.

  “Respectfully, I think you’ve misunderstood the situation, old friend,” said Celeste, ever the diplomat. “Luther’s done some work for me and I help him out in return. He felt he’d have better luck gaining entry if I was on his arm tonight.”

  “You expect me to believe that?”

  Celeste gave him a flirty look. “Asmodeus, dear. You know how long I’ve been around. I’m not a fan of attachments, especially not to beings who will be old and withered while I’m still fabulous as ever.”

  Ouch. I had to stop myself from visibly cringing at Celeste’s remark. Even if it was an act, she sold it with talent that would put Meryl Streep to shame. I just hoped she wasn’t trying any hypnosis crap. That would work on lower level demons like those guards, but on Asmodeus, it would crash and burn and we’d both end up in some torture chamber.

  “Very well,” said Asmodeus. “I’m intrigued enough to see how this plays out. So how shall we begin the negotiations?”

  “You want to know what Raziel and Luther are up to, and Luther wants to know why you’ve got demons tailing him. So how about you meet each other halfway?”

  Asmodeus sipped the brandy, seemingly considering the offer. I nursed my scotch, pretending to do the same. But in truth, I already knew my answer. And I knew how I’d play this out. It really didn’t matter to me one way or the other if Asmodeus knew why I was working with Raziel. But someone as arrogant as a Hell Lord would want the satisfaction of knowing he was getting someone to give up a secret.

  “If Mr. Cross agrees to those terms, then I shall show him the same courtesy.”

  I didn’t smile, just drew on the cigarette, keeping up the notion that I was thinking over the offer. After exhaling, I said, “Sure, I’m game.”

  “Good. So, who would like to go first?” asked Celeste.

  “I will,” said Asmodeus, crossing his right leg over his left. “We have our own seers down in Hell—and here on Earth, too. There are powerful forces at work, forces aligning against the Infernal Court and its interests.”

  “What kind of forces?” I asked.

  Asmodeus shook his head. “That is not clear. But as it stands, the various factions exist in a fragile balance. Should that balance be disrupted, it could bring all-out war crashing down on the humans.”

  “Don’t tell me that you’re suddenly concerned about some talking monkeys, Asmodeus,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t go that far, Luther.” Asmodeus rose from his chair and walked over to the windows, staring out at the dance floor with his free hand resting in his pocket while he sipped the brandy. “Do you know what it was like in Heaven? Before the Fall?”

  “Never given it much thought, truth be told,” I said.

  “Three words: Boring. As. Fuck.” He turned and faced us. “A place of pure rigidity. Days consisted of little else than reciting the words of the Presence, bowing before His glory, singing hymns in praise of Him, following the orders of the Divine Choir without question.”

  He looked back through the glass at the dance floor. In the glass’ reflection, I could see a smile spreading across his lips.

  “But here, these humans…oh, they’re truly something to behold. Just look at them. Giving in to their basest desires, reveling in their carnal passions, it’s…” He sighed with satisfaction. “It’s intoxicating is what it is.”

  Asmodeus turned his back to the glass and faced us, walking over to the table resting in front of the couch. A bowl of purple grapes sat there and he plucked one off the vine, tossing it into his mouth.

  “I may not care much for the humans, Luther, but that doesn’t mean I want to see them extinct. They give me far too much entertainment. So, if something threatens to deprive me of my favorite pastime, I’ll do whatever’s in my power to stop it.”

  It was a selfish desire, but could you blame him? I was only in this to get paid and keep my fool ass from dying, so not like Asmodeus and I had radically different motives.

  “What do you know about this threat?” asked Celeste.

  “Unfortunately, not much more than I’ve told you,” he said before he tossed another grape into his mouth. “There are conflicting visions, most shrouded in darkness and littered with confusing imagery. But there is one constant among all the seers I’ve spoken with.”

  “And that is?” I asked.

  Asmodeus returned to his chair and sat once more. His yellow eyes met mine and we locked gazes. “You,” he said.

  “Me?” I blinked and pointed to myself.

  Asmodeus nodded. “Yes, Luther. You are the one constant. Whatever threat Hell faces, you are involved.”

  “In what way?” asked Celeste.

  “Again, unclear. He could be on our side or he could be opposed to us. Or he may simply be a pawn in someone else’s game. The latter is what proved particularly interesting to me, which is why I wanted Kayla and Alex to confront him, se
e why he was paying Raziel a visit.”

  “You knew I’d kill them and you told them just enough so the trail would lead me here,” I said.

  “You didn’t disappoint, Mr. Cross,” said Asmodeus. “I needed pretext to bring you here.”

  “Y’know, I’ve got a website,” I said. “Real nice, too. Paid a pretty penny for it, in fact. Got a contact form and everything.”

  “If I’d told you I wanted to meet with you, would you have believed me?” asked Asmodeus. “Or would you have assumed I was trying to trick you?”

  Okay, point taken.

  “I did what I did because I knew you’d come to me seeking answers, and it looks as though I was right.” Asmodeus smiled and sipped his brandy.

  I scoffed before dragging on the end of my cigarette. I didn’t like being played that way, but he was right. No way I would’ve trusted Asmodeus was on the level if he came out to me in the open.

  “Now it’s your turn. What were you and my dear brother talking about?”

  “There’s a man,” I said. “From what I can tell, he’s trying to breed cambions.”

  “A human wouldn’t have that kind of power; you know it takes the cooperation of a demon to create a cambion.”

  “He’s capturing girls, and after indoctrinating them, a demon impregnates them,” I said. “I don’t know if he’s a demon himself or possessed by a demon or just working for one. But I do know there’s something dangerous going on. And whichever demon is involved, it’s a really powerful one. Powerful enough to vaporize a human soul.”

  Asmodeus narrowed his eyes while drinking. “How would you know?”

  “Because this guy’s already gotten started. He’s made two attempts to breed cambions. The first ended in the girl’s death. The second attempt, she survived. And when someone tried to hurt her, the cambion inside her womb torched his soul.”

  Asmodeus finished his brandy and gestured for the bartender to approach. A moment later, the bartender appeared, holding a tray with a freshly filled glass. The archdemon exchanged the glasses and waved the bartender off.

  “You expect me to believe this?” he asked.

  “You said yourself your seers have had visions of forces aligning against Hell,” said Celeste. “Heaven coming down on you for one of your own creating cambions? That seems like it would fit.”

  “Half-breeds are a violation of the armistice,” I said.

  “Yes, though you’re still standing for some odd reason,” said Asmodeus.

  “I’ve been useful to the people that make exceptions.”

  “Debatable.” Asmodeus sipped the brandy and sighed. “But what you’re talking about, it’s not possible. In order to vaporize a human soul like that, a cambion’s progenitor would have to be—”

  “An archdemon,” I finished. “Possibly even as high up as a Hell Lord.”

  “Are you suggesting I had something to do with this, Cross?”

  “I dunno.” I sat back in the couch, propping my elbow on the armrest and dragging on my cigarette. Through the cloud of smoke, I said, “Did you?”

  “Of course not. I helped broker that armistice agreement myself. Putting it in jeopardy is the last thing I want.”

  “Someone’s doing it, Asmodeus. Raziel hired me to find out who this guy is and what he’s up to.”

  “Who is he?”

  I shook my head. “All I know is he’s called the Minister.”

  “And you think he’s of Hell?” Asmodeus chuckled. “Are you sure you’re looking in the right place?”

  Celeste chose that moment to chime in. “What about the false prophet legends? Just because he says he’s working for the angels doesn’t mean he’s telling the truth.”

  “Or he might be manipulated. Not like your kind’s above that, are they?” I asked.

  Asmodeus tightened his lips in annoyance. “You make a strong case. What else do you know about him?”

  “He can influence people, bend them to his will.” I cocked my head in Celeste’s direction. “From what I’ve heard, sounds a bit similar to what our girl here’s capable of.” I took a sip of the scotch and then added, “Also, seems he’s something of a necromancer. Went up to the farm where he’d been holed up until recently, ran into a zombie security system.”

  Asmodeus stroked his chin, his eyes shifting between Celeste and myself. She sat back and enjoyed her wine while I alternated between the scotch and cigarette.

  “You don’t want the party to end, right?” I asked. “If someone’s building a cambion army, their intentions can’t be good, can they? It’ll jeopardize everything you’ve worked so hard to build. Is that what you want?”

  Asmodeus’ eyes went to the window overlooking the club. He stood and approached the glass, staring down while drinking his brandy. It was like he’d completely forgotten we were here. I was about to say something to get his attention again, but Celeste had apparently sensed my intention and placed a hand on my shoulder to hold me back. My eyes met hers and I decided to give him a few more minutes.

  When Asmodeus finally did speak, he said, “I’ll make inquiries. If a Hell Lord is on Earth and breeding with human females, I’ll discover the truth. But I want you to do something for me, Luther.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  Asmodeus turned and stared at me. “Consider all possibilities. It’s not just demons who are interested in chaos, you know.”

  19

  We left Lust and I drove Celeste back to her building in Lincoln Park. I didn’t plan on getting out, so I just pulled up to the curb and shifted the car into park, allowing the engine to idle. Celeste had been staring out the window since we got in the car, saying nothing. Now, she finally looked at me.

  “You sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked.

  “I’ve got a job to do and I’m getting paid to do it.”

  “Oh, Luther.” Celeste reached a hand out for me, gently laying it on my cheek. She sighed. “You’re not as much of a mercenary as you want people to believe. This job is personal for you, I can tell that.”

  I placed my hand on Celeste’s, softly rubbing her skin, savoring the feel of her touch. You might think her hands would be cold—what with being undead and needing to drink all that blood. But they were surprisingly warm. I took her hand from my cheek and held it by the fingers, laying a soft kiss on her knuckles.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m going back to The Sanctum right now. Tessa should have a spell ready to go, so soon we’ll get a peek at the bastard behind all this. Once we do, I can get the information to Raziel and the God Squad will take it from there.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “That’s because it is.”

  She scoffed and smiled. “Right, of course.” Celeste leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t know where I’d find another cambion to bite if something happened to you.”

  I returned the hug, not wanting it to end. Would have loved to just go upstairs with Celeste, spend the rest of the night lying beside her. But duty called. I broke the embrace and she stepped out of the car. Celeste stood by the curb, waving. I held up my hand in response and then shifted into drive and pulled away.

  With the window rolled down, I lit up a fresh cigarette and drove the route back to Logan Square. It was almost nine and The Sanctum would probably be closed as soon as I got out there. That was good news—would make it easier to perform whatever spell Tessa had in mind without any customers interrupting.

  I pulled into an empty space in front of The Sanctum and parked the car. At this time of night, I didn’t have to worry about the parking meter so no glamour was necessary. I stepped up the curb and approached the front door—sure enough, the “SORRY, WE’RE CLOSED” sign was posted in the window, with blinds drawn across. I could see there was still light on inside and I rapped my knuckles on the glass door.

  A few moments later, the door was unlocked and pushed open. Tessa stood there, the door open just a crack,
studying me with brown eyes. “Took you long enough.”

  “I said later tonight.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  She held the door out for me. I walked in and Tessa closed it behind me, locking it once more. I started to walk towards the back room, but then Tessa stopped me.

  “Hold on. Turn around,” she said.

  I sighed and did as I was told. Tessa looked me over from head to toe and then back again. She closed her eyes in concentration and after a moment, made a face like she’d just gotten a whiff of a skunk. Then, her eyes opened.

  “You reek of demon.”

  “I dropped by Lust. Had a chat with Asmodeus,” I said.

  “You went into Lust? Alone?” asked Tessa.

  “Not alone. Celeste came with me.”

  Tessa sighed. She wasn’t Celeste’s biggest fan. Tessa may be a witch, but that still made her one-hundred percent human and she was suspicious of anyone who wasn’t. Being half-human—and having a mutual acquaintance—got me off the hook. Being a vampire put Celeste firmly in the category of creature, no gray area there. And it’d be a long time before Tessa trusted her—if ever.

  “So what’d the bastard have to say?” she asked.

  “Seems to know nothing about Dakota or the Minister.”

  “And you believe him? He’s a demon.”

  “He is, but they sometimes tell the truth,” I said. “He gave a pretty convincing argument.”

  Tessa rolled her eyes. She obviously wasn’t convinced. Not so sure I was, either. “Well, let’s see what we can find out.”

  She led me through the store and into the back room. There was a storage area for overflow merchandise and a small office, as well as a staircase—one set of stairs leading up to the studio apartment where Tessa lived just above the shop, and a set leading down to the basement.

  We went down to the basement and came to an open door. Tessa gestured for me to go in first and I did. She followed, locking the door behind me. I looked around the large basement area. The ceiling was low—if I were just a few inches taller, I’d have had to squat—and the floor was solid concrete. Red sigils were painted all over the walls and there were bookcases filled with leather-bound grimoires. Off in one corner was a small kitchen area with a refrigerator, sink, and a small counter with a microwave and a few other appliances.