The Demon Deception

by Mark Harritt

  Sam walked over, and clapped his hand down on Lazarus’ shoulders, then pointed a thumb back at his own chest, “Don’t worry Eli. Stick with me. I’ll make sure the gaps in your education are filled with erudite observations of the state of worldly affairs from my youthful edification growing up in Brooklyn.”

  Lazarus laughed, and began steering Sam towards the door of the room, “My, what big words you know. Have you been reading the dictionary again? You might want to curtail that activity. You could accidently sprain something, then you’ll be sitting in a chair, staring blankly out a window, and drooling on yourself.”

  Sam presented what he thought was a scholarly demeanor, “Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve been taking college classes. I got an A in English Lit. Besides, how do you know that I don’t drool on myself now?”

  Lazarus smiled at Sam as he opened the door, “Well, I don’t. But, I guess everybody needs a hobby.”

  Sam laughed at that, and stepped out into the lobby, “I’m going to go ahead and give the girls the timeline for tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay.”

  “And, I’ll try not to be lured down a path of sinful iniquity by Lilith and Darcy when I talk to them tonight.”

  “Good luck with that. I’ll give you odds of five to one that Lilith with be dressed in something skimpy.”

  “I’m not going to take those odds, because I know you’re probably right.”

  “I’m telling you. You’re going to end up taking a cold shower just like I had to.”

  Sam had a smirk on his face as he turned and walked towards Lilith’s room. Lazarus shut the door, and walked over to pick up the remote and turn on the TV. An hour later, he got a phone call. It was Sam, “You were wrong.”

  “About what?” Lazarus asked.

  “About what Lilith was wearing,” Sam answered.

  “She wasn’t wearing something skimpy? Lingerie?”

  “No, she wasn’t wearing something skimpy. She wasn’t wearing lingerie. In fact, she wasn’t wearing anything at all.”

  “What about Darcy?” Lazarus asked.

  “Not naked, fully dressed. But let’s just say the invitation was there. I thought Darcy was sexier than Lilith, even with her clothes on, though. I find Darcy very appealing. Tough to leave the room after I showed her the pistol basics.”

  “Cold shower?” Lazarus asked.

  “Firing up the water as we speak.”

  Lazarus laughed, and he heard the click as Sam hung up the phone. The image of Lilith with no clothes on wandered into his head. He stood up, stripped out of his clothes, and walked to the bathroom. The sound of water running could be heard, and then a great gasp as Lazarus stepped into the cold stream. Being a saint was not for the faint hearted.

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  Lilith and Darcy were already in the lobby when the elevator door opened. Lazarus stepped out. He walked over to them, “How was everybody’s night? Did you ladies get a good night sleep?”

  Lilith smiled and stretched. Darcy’s cheeks turned pink at the display.

  Lilith replied, “Well, it would have been much better if I had somebody to share it with.” Her eyes were very aggressive when she looked at Lazarus, “I’m not too sure about your boy Sam. I mean, he pretty much had an open invitation last night, and he didn’t take me up on it.”

  A light flared in Darcy’s eyes. Lazarus could see a hint of jealousy there.

  “Well, answering your door completely naked may have scared him off,” he replied. The light appeared again, more intense this time. “Yep, she’s jealous,” he thought. That could be a very good thing for him.

  “Well, if he’s scared of me, what good is he going to be on our mission?” Lilith asked.

  “Don’t worry, I think I may be able to rely on him. He and I have a history together. We’ve fought back to back more than once. Demons don’t faze him. I think it’s more of a, ‘I don’t want to put my immortal soul in jeopardy thing,’ not a, “OMG, it’s a naked woman, I haven’t seen one of those before,’ things.”

  Lilith smirked, “OMG, really?”

  Lazarus grinned back, “Got to keep up with the times.”

  Darcy looked confused, “What are you two talking about? Demons?”

  Lazarus looked at Darcy, then looked at Lilith, “So, when are you going to clue her into your modus operandi?”

  Lilith smiled, “When it’s appropriate.”

  Darcy looked even more confused. “Modus operandi?”

  Sam chose that moment to walk through the front doors of the lobby, “Hey, van’s outside. You ready to go?”

  The ladies turned towards Sam, and followed him out. Lazarus made sure the hotel bill was paid, then followed them. He walked over to the van, put his bag into the back, and walked around to the side door. Darcy was up front in the passenger seat. She smiled at him, “I called shotgun.”

  Lazarus climbed into the back seat next to Lilith. She leaned over, wrapped both her arms around his, and laid her head against his shoulder, “I’m still tired. I’m going to use you as a pillow today.”

  Lazarus’ heartbeat increased dramatically. “I really need a girlfriend,” he thought.

  Lazarus caught Sam’s eyes in the rear view mirror, the mirth in Sam’s gaze evident. Lazarus endured it stoically. He fastened his seat belt, and Sam pulled away from the hotel. Two miles down the road, they pulled into a Denny’s. Sam parked, and then followed Lazarus, Lilith, and Darcy into the restaurant.

  Lazarus walked behind Lilith and Darcy. The waitress showed them to a booth. Lilith and Darcy sat down on two different sides of the table, and Lazarus slid into the booth next to Lilith, making sure that Sam would be sitting next to Darcy. Sam walked up, and Darcy smiled brightly at him, and patted the seat next to her. She turned her head towards Lilith as Sam sat next to her, and smiled as if she had won some type of competition. They ordered breakfast. Everybody had coffee, except for Darcy, who had chocolate milk.

  “So, Darcy, Sam was telling me about a few things that you showed him last night at dinner. He tells me you have a natural talent.”

  Darcy glanced shyly at Sam, then nodded, “Yeah, I’m a good study.” She inclined her head towards Lilith, “Lilith says I’m really good at magic, and if I study, I’ll become a master.”

  Lilith leaned forward and put both her hands over Darcy’s across the table, “She’s fantastic. She’s learned so much in such a short time.”

  Sam leaned into Darcy, with his shoulder, “Why don’t you show Eli what you showed me last night.”

  She shyly looked down at the table and shrugged, “I really didn’t do much.”

  Lazarus smiled at her, “Please, no false modesty here. You’re among friends. You can show me.”

  Darcy looked at Lilith, and Lilith nodded. “Okay, I’ll show you a little bit,” she said.

  Darcy took the salt shaker, and shook salt out onto the table. When she had a small pile, she put the salt shaker back down. She held her hand over the salt pile and concentrated. When she was done, there was a figurine of fused salt. It was a very small statute of a running horse. Darcy picked it up, and handed it to Lazarus. He looked at it very closely. It was magnificently detailed, even though it was about the size of a dime.

  Darcy poured some pepper out onto the table, concentrated, and blew softly onto the pepper. The pepper rose into the air, twirling until it was a miniature tornado, spinning across the table. It spun to the edge of the table, where it went off the edge, and turned into a spreading cloud of pepper that fell to the floor.

  Darcy smiled, triumphant, “I’m really good with elemental magic.”

  Lazarus nodded, and smiled. He thought about what he had just witnessed. He turned to Lilith, “Can you do the same thing?”

  “No, not exactly that,” Lilith yawned, picked up the pepper shaker, and poured pepper out onto the table. The individual pepper flakes flared into tiny sparks as they were consumed by the fire. The difference between t
he two was evident to Lazarus. Darcy could create. Lilith could only destroy. Lazarus knew what demonic magic felt like. He felt that perversion deep in his bones when it occurred. It was a perversion that warped the reality of the natural world. He felt it when Lilith did her magic. He didn’t feel that perversion of reality when Darcy did it.

  Breakfast arrived, and they ate. Sam and Darcy talked about her studies in college. Darcy asked Sam about his past, and he talked about his time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lilith looked bored as she ate her scrambled eggs. Lazarus had to ignore the pressure of her foot against his leg as he ate. He hated to admit the thrill that it gave him. He couldn’t wait until this assignment was complete. Things were getting complicated. His mind said no, but his libido said yes.

  Soon, breakfast was finished. Lilith pointed out to the aisle. Lazarus got the message, and he and Sam stood up so the ladies could go to the restroom. With the ladies off to the restroom, the men walked to the front to pay the bill.

  “What did you think about that, Eli?” Sam asked.

  “I’m not sure what to think about it,” Lazarus replied. “Something’s not right with the girl.”

  “What do you mean?” Sam had a worried look on his face.

  Lazarus paid for the meal. “I don’t mean there’s something wrong with Darcy,” he explained. “I mean there’s something wrong with her power.”

  “Yeah, she shouldn’t have it. People don’t just have magic powers. It has to be demonic, right?”

  Lazarus shook his head, “That’s not what I mean.” They walked to the door, and waited for the women to come out.

  Lazarus tried to explain, “All my life, or, I should say, my new life after I was rescued and resurrected, I’ve been able to feel when things are not what they should be. If it’s not a part of the natural order, it feels wrong to me. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, the hair on my arms stands up. I get a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. That’s what I feel when Lilith does her magic. It’s what I feel when some possessed human shifts into their demonic form. It’s like a sixth sense to me.”

  Sam’s look was apprehensive, “So, what? You don’t think that Darcy’s magic is demonic? If it’s not demonic, what is it?”

  “Well, there is a precedent. If it’s not demonic, then it has to be a part of nature. It has to be part of creation. I think that Darcy is a merlin.”

  Sam’s look of apprehension turned to one of incredulity, “That’s impossible. She’s a woman, not a guy. And, there’s no way she’s that old.”

  Lazarus shook his head, amused by Sam’s reaction. He waved away Sam’s statement, “No, not the Merlin, a merlin. Someone who can naturally manipulate the world around them.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. There are people like that in the world?”

  Lazarus nodded, “Yeah, but incredibly rare. I’ve met two of them in my life. One was the Merlin, who I almost killed before I found out that his magic wasn’t demonic. The other was Rasputin, who was an evil bastard. His powers were not as developed or as powerful as Merlin’s. I’m glad I was able to kill him, finally. That SOB just wouldn’t go down.”

  Lazarus continued, “I’ve heard about others. Most of that is just BS, though. I’ve never found another one. Until now.”

  Sam tried to assimilate the knowledge that Lazarus had just dropped on him, “What a minute. Are you telling me there was actually a real Merlin? Like, King Arthur’s Merlin?”

  “Yeah, there was.”

  “What happened to him? What happened to Arthur? Was there really an English King Arthur?”

  “Well, there was some poetic license in the story. Arthur was actually Alfred, the Southern King who was able to keep the Vikings at bay. Yes, there was an Excalibur, but it was Merlin’s sword, not Alfred’s. It was one of the Ulfberht swords. That series of twelve swords were created for Alfred and his ten knights plus Merlin. After the round table fell, the swords were taken by Viking raiders. Merlin, well, I’m not sure what happened to him. Last I heard he was chasing some woman named Nimue.”

  Sam stood there thinking about what he had just learned. Lazarus smiled at him, “Things aren’t quite what they seem, are they? I guess I’ve just blown your world view away.”

  Sam shook his head, “No, I’m thinking of something completely different. I’m thinking of Darcy. If her power isn’t demonic, what do we do about her?”

  Lazarus glanced up at his friend with a very serious expression on his face, “What we do is protect her. If her power isn’t demonic, Lilith doesn’t have her hooks into Darcy yet. So we have to protect her from Lilith, Lilith’s minions, and whatever monstrous powers we’re going to run into whenever we get to the Copper Queen Mine.”

  Sam nodded, “Okay, I guess that’s a high priority from now on.”

  Lazarus nodded, “Plus, one other thing as well. I think that Darcy’s the innocent that Uriel was warning me about.”

  “Warned you about?”

  “Yeah, in an indirect way. He told me to always protect the innocent. I’m getting the feeling that Darcy is going to be the only innocent in that pit when we’re there.”

  “Why do you think Lilith’s taking her?”

  Lazarus’ face grew dark, “I think she’s taking Darcy to be a sacrifice.”

  Sam’s face grew very grim. The face of death was back. One of the waitresses noticed, and quickly moved away from the pair.

  “If that’s true, we need to stop it.”

  “We will. There’s something else though. Uriel warned me about someone working with the powers that are trying to breach our universe. Lilith may be that influence. She has something up her sleeve. She’s way too casual about everything. Plus, she keeps trying to distract me, to keep me from noticing something. I’m not sure what it is, but she may be the traitor.”

  Lazarus noticed the death mask, the seriousness on Sam’s face. Lazarus reached over and grabbed Sam’s arm, “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure that nothing happens to Darcy.”

  Sam relaxed, the fierce face disappearing, “Damn right we will.”

  Lazarus smiled, “I think there may be a little more interest here than just Darcy’s health.”

  Sam was still for a moment, then nodded, “Yeah, I like her. I was really worried. She seems like such a nice lady. I couldn’t believe that she was with Lilith. I was a little worried.”

  “Don’t worry anymore.”

  The ladies showed up and they walked out to the van. Sam hit the unlock button on the fob, and Lazarus took the keys from him. Sam steered Darcy into the back seat by her elbow, and he hopped in beside her. She smiled at his attention to her. Lazarus opened the passenger door for Lilith. Lilith raised an eyebrow, looked at the back seat where Darcy was chatting away with Sam. Sam was listening to Darcy, but he was staring at Lilith. The stare wasn’t overtly hostile, but it wasn’t friendly, either.

  She turned back to Lazarus, and held out her hand. Lazarus held her hand and helped her into her seat. He waited until she buckled in, then he closed the door for her. He walked around to the driver’s seat. He hopped in, fired up the engine, and pulled out of the parking spot. He turned and drove towards the Interstate, heading west.

  Lilith turned to look at him, “Why are we getting on the Interstate. Aren’t we picking up more munitions?”

  Lazarus pointed to the back seat with a thumb, “No, not anymore. Sam took care of it for us. We got it via courier last night.”

  “Efficient,” Lilith said.

  Sam spoke up, “I thought so.”

  Lazarus looked into the rearview mirror, “So, Darcy. Did you get what Sam was telling you about gun safety last night? You want to stop somewhere and learn how to shoot?”

  Darcy thought about it, “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to be a gun person. But I don’t want you to think I’m helpless. I have an idea. Can you pull your pistol out, Lilith?”

  Lilith pulled out her pistol out of her purse, finger off the trigger.

  Lazarus
heard the magazine release button click. The magazine dropped out of Lilith’s pistol and fell to the floor with a thud. He was impressed. Lilith was also. She turned around and smiled at Darcy.

  “Excellent idea. At least you can disarm someone if needed.”

  Lazarus nodded, “I agree, that’s actually something useful.”

  Darcy smiled at the praise. Everybody’s attention shifted as Sam’s phone buzzed. Sam pulled it out and took a look. He smiled, “My contact just sent the last location.”

  “Where are we going?” Lilith asked.

  “We’re going to Tucson before we go to Bisbee.”

  Lazarus thought about it, “Well, It’s just a little bit out of the way. Not too far though, only about an hour out. Then we can spend the night in Tucson, and be down to Bisbee before the incursion starts.”

  They took the Interstate, not the most direct route, and would take longer, about twelve hours. They stopped at Socorro, New Mexico, at a family owned Mexican restaurant. Sam and Darcy led the way. Lazarus walked slower, and Lilith looked back at him as he fell back. She stopped and waited for him to catch up. Once he was even with her, she linked her arm through his.

  “A penny for your thoughts, sexy boy.”

  He shook his head, “I doubt seriously you want to know what I’m thinking, Lilith.”

  She exaggerated the swing in her hips so that she kept bumping him as she walked, “I bet I can change the direction of your reflection.”

  He agreed, “I bet you could, Lilith. Unfortunately, I know where that path leads to. Or, I guess I should say fortunately, so that I don’t walk down it again.”

  She beamed her thousand watt smile at him, “You didn’t say that when we first met.”

  “I didn’t know that you were a succubus then. Evil wasn’t even a definitive concept in my mind at that time. Had I known what you were capable of, I never would have walked down the path that you offered me.”

  Her smile grew very smug, “You say that, but you know that you would’ve still desired me, and the power I offered.”