The Demon Beside Me

by Nelson, Christopher

  The angel didn’t say anything, just stared up at her. I stared at her too. My partner’s face was typically a scowl. Most of the time, her emotions were completely visible, much to her chagrin when we played poker. This time, she was unreadable, almost serene. It scared me.

  A silver glow caught my eye. Caleb stepped in from the side and put a hand on Tink’s shoulder. “Peace, Anna,” he murmured. “He’s not worth this.” She looked up at him and her normal scowl returned, but she held her hand open and drew a finger through the rune on her palm. Victor gasped in a deep breath and sighed.

  As I released my transformation, a hand fell on my shoulder as well. “What the hell just happened here?” Hikari breathed in my ear. “You two are both dangerous and stupid. It’s a good thing that Caleb noticed what was going on out here. I’ve been warding off the police, but it’s not going to hold up much longer. Dammit, Zay, why did you let her go so far?”

  “Let her?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I really don’t.” I pointed at the new potholes, the wrecked cars, and the bloody angel. “She was throwing around enough power to kill me outright. Many times the power needed, actually. Do you really think I was going to step into that?”

  “You’re the one who gives her that sort of power!” Hikari’s hand tightened. “It’s so idiotically dangerous. You need to stop. She’s not stable!”

  I sighed. The irony nearly overwhelmed me. “So you’d rather have me get killed?” I pointed down at the twin scimitars at my feet.

  “If you two had come inside rather than stay out here and-”

  “And what?”

  She hissed and her hand abruptly released my shoulder. “Whatever.”

  I rubbed my face as she stalked off. Hikari being jealous of Tink and paranoid about her magical strength was nothing new, but her timing was terrible. If she hadn’t used the contract’s power, Victor would have turned me into halfblood strip steak. Hikari was being irrational. More irrational than usual. Wonderful.

  “Demon.” Tink was in my face. I blinked. “What are you spacing out about?”

  “Hikari.”

  “Like I was saying, she’s nuts.” She shook her head. “Caleb wants to know what you want to do with Victor. There are two votes in favor of execution here, but you have the veto power.”

  I bent down and picked up Victor’s weapons. Both of them were long curved scimitars, sweeping backwards, angelic sigils etched in silver decorating the flat of each blade. I walked over to where Victor was lying, Caleb standing over him with his own sword pointed toward his gut. “Caleb, desist.”

  “As you wish.” He stepped back, his features as inscrutable as Tink’s had been moments before, but not quite as scary.

  I stood over Victor and dropped the scimitars on his chest. “We three are the Gatekeepers. I am the First Gatekeeper,” I told him. “You should know by now that you’re outmatched. The next time you attack any one of us, or anyone I know, or do a single damn thing to mess with me, you’ll die, Victor. You’ll be lucky if I let Caleb do it, because I know he’ll make it fast. Do you understand?”

  His face twisted in a snarl, but then Tink’s knife fell into her hand and Caleb’s sword pointed at his throat. His face smoothed out and he nodded. “Good,” I said. “I’m not going to tell you to do anything. I’m not even going to ask you to do anything. Understand this, Victor. I am giving you your life. If it weren’t for me, you would die, right here and right now. Do you understand that?”

  He nodded, his eyebrows drawing down into a frown. “Good,” I continued. “I’m glad we’re able to communicate so well this time. Now, as I said, I’m not going to tell you or ask you to do anything. However, I’m going to make a suggestion. I suggest you let your Cherubim know that the Gatekeepers hold a rather inordinate amount of power. I suggest you let them know that getting us angry is a bad idea. I suggest you let them know that I’m more than willing to give Heaven back, but continually trying to take it from me is going to cause some issues, namely, the use of the Gatekeeper’s powers against you. Understand this, Victor.” I leaned down close to him. “We opened the Gates of Purgatory by uniting the powers of humanity, demons, and angels. Working together got us this far, which is farther than we came in the past five hundred years. I suggest you think about that.”

  I stood up and took a couple of steps backwards. Caleb and Tink stepped back as well, but neither turned their blades away. Victor’s hands curled inwards and gripped the hilt of each scimitar. Both Tink and Caleb tensed. Victor’s hands tightened and his weapons vanished. He sat up, wiped purity from his nose, and looked at me. I saw no understanding, no comprehension, just hatred. Even so, he levered himself to his feet and made no sudden moves. “I will remember this,” he said, and kicked himself into the air. Golden wings thrust from his shoulders and in moments, he was gone.

  “I’m pretty sure that was a mistake,” Tink said.

  “It was,” Caleb said. “But it was relatively harmless. Victor is not a threat.”

  I yawned and stretched. The slice across my palm sealed, leaving just an itch behind. “It’s been one hell of a night,” I said. “Considering the situation, you guys might as well stay here overnight.”

  Caleb nodded. “I’ll take you up on that.”

  “You two aren’t going to get into another fight as soon as we get up there, are you?” Tink asked. “The last thing I want to hear is Hikari shrieking all night. For any reason.”

  I snorted. “No chance of that tonight, I’m sure.”

  “All right. Let’s get out of here before the cops show up.”

  Our apartment was on the second floor. We creaked our way up the stairs and I opened the door, which looked to have been professionally re-hung already. “Sweetheart, we’ve got a bit of a situation here.”

  “Oh, do we?” Hikari smiled sweetly at me as she lifted a steaming cup to her lips. Two imps sat on the coffee table and mirrored her movements, from the sweet smile to the lifting of the cup. One of them was Kibs, and the other was rather more important. “I hadn’t noticed. More guests? How lovely.”

  “Good evening, Chairman,” I said. “What brings you here tonight?”

  “I seem to recall a certain halfblood who pushed for a clause in the Pact that limited use of magic amplification,” the Chairman rasped. His suit and demeanor were impeccable, as always.

  “I seem to recall that clause being amended out of the Pact,” I said, taking a seat on the couch. “Am I wrong?”

  The Chairman smiled. “The amendment was challenged, but once the Gates of Purgatory were opened, the challenge lapsed. Therefore, I must investigate the unauthorized use of magic amplification tonight. I understand there may be some mitigating circumstances. How about you explain yourself so I am not forced to kill you?” He took a sip from the cup clutched in his claws.

  I rubbed my face. It hadn’t even been three hours since Conquest had shown up at my doorstep, but it felt like three days. All I wanted to do was sleep. “Chairman, do we really need to go through this at this exact moment?”

  “Unless you want the Choir’s pending complaint to be validated, yes.”

  “I am the Gatekeeper,” I said.

  “Yes. And?”

  “Isn’t that enough?”

  The Chairman shook his head. “It isn’t.”

  “Isn’t it?” I stood up, looming over the imp. “Chairman, I am the Gatekeeper, I hold the reins of the Four Horsemen. My death places control in the hands of Caleb, and his death places control in the hands of Tink, and her death releases the Horsemen to do as they will to this world. If I die, the Host will kill Caleb to prevent the Horsemen being used against them. If he dies, both Host and Choir will kill Tink to prevent a revenge attack. We know what the results will be, Chairman. In my capacity, my unique capacity, I judged that unauthorized use of amplification to prevent my death and the resulting chain of events would be better than allowing Conquest, War, Famine, and Death from running roughshod o
ver all of creation!”

  The Chairman took another sip from his cup and clicked his claws against the side, but said nothing. His beady eyes regarded me, expressionless as only an imp could be. I had no idea how old the Chairman was, but I suspected he had seen more than anyone in this room. His silence was unnerving.

  A buzz from the ceiling caught my attention. An archon floated down, a sphere of light with shadowy limbs within. “Chairman, I come as a representative of the Syndicate, bearing a message from-”

  “The Angelic Choir, arguing that a Pact violation has been made by Isaiah Bright, yes?”

  The archon brightened, throwing strange purple light around the room. “Indeed, sir! Most horrible, the perpetration of excessive force, most horrible the results-”

  “That Archangel is alive, isn’t he?”

  “That is an undeniable fact, sir.”

  “Then the results can’t be so horrible after all, can they?”

  The archon dimmed. I smiled and leaned forward as Hikari got to her feet. “Would the representative of the Syndicate like some tea? Caleb, Anna?”

  Three voices indicated assent. I blinked. “What about-”

  “Get your own.”

  I crumpled back down on the couch to sulk. Hikari emerged from the kitchen and handed out new cups, filled and refilled, gave me a sunny smile with lightning flashing in her eyes, and sat back down. Slurping noises came from the archon, but otherwise, there was silence.

  The Chairman finally placed his cup down on the coffee table next to him. “Isaiah, you are authorized use of amplification in self-defense for the duration of your duties as Gatekeeper. Self-defense, and only self-defense. Is that understood?”

  “I understand.”

  He turned to the archon. “You may return to your Choir contact and advise them of my decision, and then immediately request that the Chairman of your Syndicate meet to discuss this.”

  “At once, sir!” The archon placed its cup on the table and lifted off, pulsing with green light. Before leaving, it hovered in front of Hikari. “Thank you, kind human, for your refreshments.” The ball of light bowed, somehow, and then flew off through the ceiling and outwards.

  “Kibs,” the Chairman said, “you are my liaison in this matter. You are to watch over the Gatekeeper to assure there is no misuse of his specially authorized powers. If there is unauthorized usage of the spell amplification, you may immediately execute him for violation of the Pact.”

  “Understood.”

  The imp stood up and brushed off his suit jacket, then sighed. “As for myself, I will report to the High Council and let them know that the war we have feared for decades is about to come to pass. Caleb DeMarco, I regret that this is likely the last time we will speak this way. The next time we meet, it may be as foes.”

  “What?” Tink jumped to her feet. “Why do you think this is going to start the war?”

  The Chairman turned his gaze on her. “Because the Choir will not accept that we have authorized a demon’s use of amplification. They will consider it a provocation. They will consider it unfair. They will be right. And then, they will reject the Pact, as it has been unfairly applied. They will consider the Consortium to favor the Host unfairly, and they will attack us.” He gave her a toothy smile. “Don’t feel too concerned about it. The Consortium will survive, just as we have for millennia. The Host, on the other hand, may be in trouble.”

  “I’ll stand with them,” Tink snapped. “We’ll stand together, right, demon? We’ll fight until we’re both bled dry.”

  I stared at her. There wasn’t any way we’d be able to stand up to the Choir, not even if we all stood together. If a war did break out, which seemed more and more likely with every passing second, we’d all die, and then the Horsemen would win by default. We needed to convince the Choir that a war would kill everyone, including them. I turned to Caleb, hoping that he’d have the solution.

  He did not disappoint. “I have an idea,” he said.

  Chapter Five

  * * *

  Caleb left and didn’t come back that night, which was fine, as he’d have ended up on the floor somewhere. Tink slept on the couch, which was probably where I’d have ended up if she weren’t around. Instead, Hikari pointedly turned her back on me and stole all of the sheets.

  I didn’t care. I was asleep within a minute of my head hitting the pillow.

  Dawn broke with a phone call from Caleb. “The Cherub handling this situation has agreed to meet at First Revelation for negotiations,” were the first words from his mouth.

  I grunted into the phone, my eyes still closed. “When?”

  “Noon.”

  Noon was hours away. I fell back asleep. Hikari woke me up, barely in time to shower and shave before leaving. Cops and curious bystanders were examining the damage to various cars and gawking at the crushed and torn remains of Tink’s car. Luckily, my car hadn't been blocked in by any of the police cruisers, so we were able to leave without being hassled.

  We made it to First Revelation about ten minutes before noon. Caleb and Jase met us at the front doors. Jase was wearing a shirt and tie, while Caleb wore something I’d never seen him wear before, a Choir uniform. White with blue piping, golden insignia of rank at his lapels, the only thing missing was a slightly frayed patch where he had removed his unit insignia. That was a good idea. No other demon needed to know his background. His sword hung from a scabbard at his belt, fully manifested. I felt rather underdressed for the occasion. At least I wasn’t wearing sandals.

  Minutes later, Kibs and the Chairman appeared. Both were wearing the typical Consortium suit and tie, but both of them looked to be even more fastidiously clean than usual. “The Host’s representative will be here shortly, Pastor Pruitt,” the Chairman rasped. “Are all of the preparations complete?”

  “Yes, Chairman,” Jase said. “We’ve rearranged the sanctuary for the conference.”

  The Chairman tilted his head. “Ah, Opheran of Asmodeus approaches.”

  The Prince arrived in a rather unexpected manner. We could hear the sputter of a motorcycle in the distance, but none of us expected it to pull into the church’s parking lot. Opheran parked his bike, pulled his helmet off and rolled his shoulders. Like the imps, he was wearing a suit and tie.

  “Does he think he’s James Bond?” Tink muttered.

  “I think Bond would be jealous,” Hikari said.

  He held his helmet under one arm and walked up to Jase, extending his hand. “Pastor Pruitt. Good to see you again, under less trying circumstances. Thank you for your efforts in setting this conference up.”

  “You’re quite welcome, Prince Opheran. Please, be welcome inside, and peace be upon you.” Jase gestured to the front doors and we all walked into the foyer. The heavy pews had been pushed back toward the walls of the inner sanctuary, far enough to fit a sizable table in the center of the room. One side of the table was for the Choir, one side for the Host, and the head of the table for Jase as host and moderator. The foot of the table, naturally, belonged to me as the Gatekeeper.

  No one sat, even as the clock ticked past noon. The imps floated near the ceiling, speaking in tones too low for even me to hear. Opheran chatted with Jase near the head of the table, Hikari and Tink disappeared, leaving just Caleb and myself in the foyer, waiting for the arrival of the other side. “Think this is a matter of being fashionably late?” I asked him.

  He shook his head. “Absolutely not. It’s just a petty way of expressing dominance and contempt. This is typical for one of the Cherubim, even within the Choir. They’re in charge and they don’t let you forget it. Unless you’re a Seraph, in which case they are disgustingly subservient.”

  “Aren’t cherubs usually portrayed at fat little winged angels, with a bow and arrow, like Cupid?”

  Caleb snickered. “Humans. Don’t ever remind one of them about that. They’re typically a bit sensitive about it.”

  “I’ll keep that in reserve,” I said. A thump from outside told me t
hat someone had arrived. Caleb pushed the doors open and immediately stiffened to attention. I peeked out to see Victor acting as chauffeur, holding a car door open for another angel, who I assumed to be the Cherub orchestrating the attempts on my life. Victor wore a uniform like Caleb’s, with a unit insignia riding on each sleeve.

  The Cherub wore a uniform like theirs, but with a gold-trimmed white cape and several rows of ribbons across the left side of his chest. He towered over Victor, who was not terribly short by any means. Blond hair hung loosely down to his shoulders, almost glowing in the noon sun. Like Caleb, an ornate sword hung at his belt. All in all, he looked the perfect image of the arrogant commander. I found it hard to stop from giggling.

  “Zay. Stay in the church. Don’t step through the doorway.” Caleb managed to talk without moving his lips much.

  “You think he’d just cut my throat on the way in?”

  “It would be a simple solution.”

  The two angels walked up the steps and the Cherub paused to look down on Caleb. “Power,” he said, his voice deep and resonant.

  “Sir!” Caleb snapped. “Enter, and be at peace!”

  The Cherub took a step through the doorway, then stopped dead. He turned his head slightly and looked down at me. His eyes narrowed and a very slight smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “Gatekeeper,” he said, putting no emphasis on the title at all.

  “Cherub,” I said.

  “You’ve caused me some difficulty.”

  I watched his fingers twitch and curl. Caleb was furiously shaking his head on the other side of the Cherub, imploring me to keep my big mouth shut. I smiled and shook my head. “It appears we have troubled each other. I hope this conference will resolve both of our troubles in a mutually beneficial way.”

  Caleb blinked.

  “Well said,” the Cherub murmured. “Power, Archangel, escort me to the table. Let us proceed with this conference.”

  I watched them walk toward the inner sanctuary, flinching as Victor brushed past me. He paused, just for a moment, and gave me a toothy smile. Once he was in the sanctuary, I flinched again as a hand landed on my shoulder. “He wasn’t what you thought, Zay?”