The Demon Deception

by Mark Harritt

  He spread his hands, “I don’t think about it. You have to understand, the possessed have already made their choices. They did something to make their deal with the devil. They cheated, lied, murdered, betrayed. If I hadn’t killed them, they would have continued to do so.”

  “How can you say that about another human being? They had lives, dreams, families.”

  “By the time they get to that stage, they aren’t really human anymore. Plus, the people that they’ve killed had lives, dreams, and families as well. The demons eat away at their souls, until all traces of humanity are gone. Believe me when I tell you, I’ve seen the level of depravity that some of these creatures are willing to go to worship their master. The humanity has been stripped away.”

  “I just wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

  He looked at her, “If it wasn’t like this, how do you think it would be?”

  “I just think that, sometimes, with the wars, the hunger, the disease, the violence, it would be better if we just weren’t here.”

  “Do you think it would be better?”

  “Yes, then there would only be nature.”

  “Nature is a cruel mistress, though.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have any pets?”

  She nodded, “Yeah, I have two dogs and a cat at home.”

  “Well, think about what would happen to them if we weren’t here. Do you think they would survive long if we didn’t provide for them? Just because we’re not on the planet, doesn’t mean that hunger, disease, and violence would disappear.”

  She paused, then shook her head.

  “Life is filled with predators and prey. We can choose to be prey, or we can fight the predators. I choose the latter,” Lazarus said.

  “How do we do that?”

  “Police, Military, first responders, FBI, CIA. All of them are on the front lines, heroes against chaos. But, we must also be ready to defend ourselves, and the people we love. That’s why Sam trains so much. He wants to make sure that he’s ready to fight for the people who can’t fight for themselves. Always remember, when seconds matter, the police are only minutes away. Much better to rely on your own capabilities.”

  They arrived at Wendy’s. They walked in, and the cashier asked if they wanted it for the dining room or to go. Darcy spoke and made the decision for both of them, “To go, please.”

  They ordered, waited for about five minutes, then the girl behind the counter gave them their food. They walked back with their food and soft drinks in hand.

  “You know, Darcy, you don’t have to go with us in the morning.”

  She looked over at him, “What do you mean?”

  “Look, you’re a sweet woman. I don’t think this is right for you. You can just stay here at the hotel, and we’ll pick you up when we’re done. Or, I can give you money, and you can ride a bus home. No recriminations. When we’re done here, Sam and I will stop back by your house, and we’ll talk to you about your gifts.”

  Her smile was gentle, “I’d like that. I’d like to see you both after we leave here.”

  He teased her, “I think that you’d rather have a chance to see Sam again after we leave here.”

  She blushed, “Well, there is that.”

  “Yeah, there is that. Sam’s a great guy.”

  “I don’t think he likes me though.”

  “Oh, he likes you. What man wouldn’t? You’re smart, lovely, and sweet. He’s just coming from a different background than you. He’s a lot more traditional. He’s a Catholic altar boy who joined the Marines right after 9/11. He’s not really into the feminism, socialism thing.”

  She frowned at that, “You think he doesn’t like me because of my education.”

  He shook his head, “It’s not your education. You just have to appreciate who he is. Meet him half way is all that I’m saying.”

  She took a sip from her soft drink, “I just wish it was easier.”

  “Well, Sam’s a handful. But, when you get through the crunchy nougat, you find a soft chewy inside.”

  She laughed, “I’d never imagine that. He just looks, so,” she hesitated, “tough.”

  “Oh, he is that. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met, mentally and physically. And I’ve known a lot of tough guys. But you ought to see him with his cat, Mooch.”

  “He has a cat? I figured him more as a dog kind of guy.”

  “Well, he likes both. But Mooch showed up at his house as a kitten. Mooch was pretty scrawny and sick. Now he’s a fourteen pound cat. Believe me, he loves that cat. Mooch is kind of like therapy for him. Mooch grounds him, gives him something to care about.”

  She laughed at the visual of Sam and his fourteen pound cat. They arrived at the main doors of the lobby. Lazarus opened the door for her again, and she stepped inside. They were both on the second floor, so they rode up in the elevator together. Darcy leaned over and kissed Lazarus on the cheek, “Thanks, Eli. I appreciate your help.”

  The kiss warmed his cheek. He smiled, “I’m glad our talk helped.”

  She nodded, “it did, a lot.”

  The doors opened, and they stepped out. Darcy went left, and Lazarus went right.

  “Goodnight, Eli. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “You can still sleep in, or take the bus back home.”

  She didn’t say anything, she just shook her head, and drank from her soda again. Lazarus watched her walk towards her room, then turned to his. He opened his door, and sat the sack with his food on the bed. He put the soft drink on the nightstand. He sat down on the side of the bed, and kicked off his shoes. He laid back against the pillows, grabbed the remote, turned on a movie, and began eating.

  ----------------------------------------------------

  Chapter Eleven – The Mystery Mobile meets Scooby Doo

  They gathered downstairs around ten-thirty. They walked out to the van, loaded up, and drove to Denny’s. It was closer to lunch, but Lazarus wanted a good breakfast. He was one of those guys that could eat breakfast three times a day. He had home fries, sausage, and three eggs over easy. He dipped his toast in the egg yolk before he finished the eggs. Sam had a cheeseburger with fries, and chocolate milk. Darcy had a club sandwich and a coke. Lilith decided on a salad.

  Lazarus pointed at Lilith’s salad, “Really? You’re going to fight other dimensional aliens with just a salad in your stomach?”

  Lilith smiled, “You don’t get a figure like this by eating everything in sight.”

  Sam spoke, “I thought you got that figure because of your hellish demonic powers.”

  Lilith pouted, “That’s not a nice thing to say.”

  Darcy piled on, “If I had to stick to salad for four thousand years, I think I’d go insane. I agree with Sam. I think it’s the demonic powers keeping you slim.”

  Lilith sighed, “I’m so unappreciated here.”

  Lazarus rolled his eyes at the theatrics, “Well, people might be nicer to you if you weren’t a minion of the Great Deceiver.”

  Lilith scowled, “Eli, you know I could wave my hand and every person in here would be happy to rip you apart for being mean to me.”

  Lazarus conceded, at least partially, “Thanks for making my point for me. Well, they’d all try. I don’t think they’d succeed. Not with Sam here.”

  Darcy looked at Sam and squeezed his arm. He smiled at her.

  Lilith was throwing a pity party for herself. She placed her hands flat on the table, “I just thought I might get a pass. After all, we fought Agent Johnston and his associates yesterday. I thought we were a team.”

  Sam spoke, “Lilith, there’s no sympathy here for you.”

  Lilith looked up at Sam, “Sam, why do you dislike me so much?”

  Lazarus grew anxious as he waited for Sam’s answer. Sam tensed up, his hands the size of country hams as they balled up into fists. Then he breathed in and out a few times, and his body relaxed, his hands uncurling. He placed them flat.

  “Wel
l, Lilith, there’s what Eli said. You know, minion of the devil, demonic evil, temptress, succubus. Then there’s my brother, Mikey.”

  Lilith looked confused, “Who? Your brother? I didn’t know you had a brother.”

  Sam leaned back, “Yeah, my little brother. He was five years old when he was taken. His body was never found. Some evil bastard kidnapped him. I know what your covens do to worship you and your master.”

  Lilith shook her head, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What year did that happen in?”

  “That was nineteen eighty-seven. I was eight years old.”

  “Are you sure it was a coven?”

  Sam leaned forward, “Your covens steal children, and sacrifice them. Who else would it be?”

  Lilith shook her head, “New York wasn’t really my area. At least, not then. I was doing Europe. Beelzebub was making inroads in New York though. He moved a lot of heroin and cocaine through the city in the ‘80s. It was very hard for me to operate in New York with him there.”

  Sam shook his head, “I don’t care what demon it was that controlled the city at that time. You’re still a deceiver. You ruin lives. You pedal poison and lies.” His face grew grim, scary. The death mask descended over his features, “I’ll never be on your team.”

  Lilith drew back from what she saw in his eyes, her destruction.

  Darcy drew back from Sam as well. What she saw there scared her.

  Lazarus coughed, and Sam’s face changed. The mask receded, and Sam re-emerged. His face grew contrite as he noticed the looks from the three others, “Sorry, I get carried away when I think about Mikey.”

  Darcy leaned in towards Sam, and put her hand over his, “It’s okay. I understand.”

  They ate in silence after that, the occasional, “Pass the salt,” the only words heard.

  They finished eating. Lazarus settled the bill, and then followed the others out to the van. Sam and Darcy settled into the back, and Lazarus walked towards the driver’s seat. Lilith met him before he got there, “I think I’ll drive now.”

  Lazarus eyed her, then handed over the keys, “Okay, you can drive. Just make sure you stop at the Bisbee Coffee Company.”

  ----------------------------------------------------

  They pulled off of State Route 80, onto Tombstone Canyon road, and swung around to the north, to the downtown area of Bisbee. The pulled around behind the building that had the little mall with touristy shops, the ‘Bisbee’s Table’ restaurant, and in the west part of the building, the Bisbee Coffee Company. They parked on the south side of the building. They had only been driving for about thirty minutes, but Lilith stretched as she got out of the van, mainly for the benefit of two men who were walking across the parking lot.

  Sam and Darcy climbed out of the back, and Sam asked, “Alright, where’s the coffee place?”

  Lazarus motioned for them to follow him, and he walked down Commerce Street and turned right at the end of the building. He walked into the door that opened into the coffee shop. Sam stood outside and held open the door for Lilith and Darcy. Darcy stepped inside, looked across the hall, and saw a store that sold copper jewelry, and she went over to look around.

  Lilith walked up to the counter and ordered. Lazarus looked at the baked goods to see if there was anything he wanted. When Lilith was finished, he ordered a brownie, and the Miner’s blend in a large cup. He looked around, and didn’t see what he wanted, so he asked the young woman behind the counter, “Do you have some bags of Miner’s blend?”

  The girl nodded, “Do you want whole beans or ground?”

  He thought about it, and thought about where he might be when he was drinking the coffee, “Let me have eight bags of ground coffee beans.”

  “That’s a lot of coffee, Eli,” Sam said.”

  Lazarus looked back at Sam, “Well, I never know when I’m going to be here, so I like to get coffee when I am.”

  The girl was ringing up his bill, “You know you can order online, right?”

  He shrugged, “I never know where I’m going to be, so it’s hard to get it sent to me.”

  “Well, if you’d stop moving around so much, maybe you could order some. You know you can always have it sent to my house, and if I’m not there, Morgan can send it wherever you are,” Sam pointed out.

  Lazarus thought about it, then said, “Well, I think my coffee would be playing an eternal game of catch me if you can if I did that. Plus, by the time it got to me, it would be stale.”

  “Okay, I’m just sayin’.”

  “I know, and I appreciate it.”

  Darcy came back and she had bought some copper jewelry. She placed a chain with a copper cross on it around Sam’s neck. Sam looked at it and smiled, “Thanks Darcy. I like it.”

  Darcy’s smile dimpled. She gave Lazarus a copper bracelet with a cross and flat, blank part for his name to be engraved on. She turned to Lilith, and gave her a copper bracelet with a feather pendant, “I didn’t think you’d want one with a cross on it.”

  Lilith smiled, “Thank you, Darcy.”

  Darcy ordered a coffee and had chocolate syrup poured into it, to make it a café mocha.

  The walked back out, and got into the van. Lilith was driving again. She didn’t have to drive too far from there, only about five minutes, less than a mile. She turned east onto Tombstone Canyon drive, and drove under State Route 80. She pulled into the Copper Queen Mine tours parking lot.

  As they drove towards the office, Lazarus noticed a burly, tattooed man in a leather jacket, dark t-shirt, blue jeans, and heavy boots sitting on a Harley motorcycle. He had long, blond hair, and an impressive long, red beard. There was a Nazi Swastika tattooed on the side of his bicep. Lazarus had an immediate disliking of the man. Beyond the Nazi insignia, Lazarus could feel the wrongness about him. He could feel the demon taint.

  “One of yours?” Lazarus asked.

  Lilith nodded, “Yeah, I have converts in the Disciples. Plus, they really like to party.” She pulled over to the man on the motorcycle. “Hey, Bull, where’s Skull?”

  Lazarus muttered, “Apropos name for the motorcycle gang.”

  The man forked his thumb over his shoulder at the entrance to the pit road, “He’s already down in the mine, waiting for you, darlin’.”

  She batted her eyes at him, then threw him a kiss, “We need to get together and have another party.”

  Bull smiled a big grin, “I’m up for it whenever you are.” He looked into the van, and didn’t like what he saw, “Friends of yours?”

  She nodded, “They’re here to help us with this problem.”

  “I don’t know, hon. They look like the problem to me. Especially that big one in back. You can bring his girlfriend to the next party, though.” Bull blew a kiss towards Darcy.

  Sam looked like he could throttle the guy. Darcy leaned into Sam, the idea of partying with Bull not setting well with her.

  Lilith smiled, “I’m not sure she would survive the night with you boys. I don’t think that would sit too well with Sam, either.”

  The guy cracked his knuckles, “Don’t really care what he thinks about it.”

  The growl rumbling from deep within Sam’s chest filled the van. Lazarus could feel the rumble deep in his bones. Darcy looked at Sam in alarm.

  Lilith laughed, “Oh, Bull, you’re funny. I’ll see you down in the mine when you get done up here.”

  Bull nodded, “I just have to talk to the po-po, and let them know that you don’t want anybody in or out for the next few hours, then I’ll be down there as well.”

  Lilith waved, and drove past Bull towards the access road. It went along the rim of the pit to the south side. The van rocked back and forth as Lilith navigated around the holes in the dirt road.

  “I don’t think we’re going to be able to get this van back out of here when this is all over, Eli,” Sam said.

  Lazarus waved his concern off, “If we can’t get it out, I’ll buy the church a new one.”

  The roa
d ran around the lip of the great pit that made the Copper Queen Mine. At one time, it had been the largest open pit mine in the world. Those days were long past, however. The copper had run out, and now it was a tourist destination.

  Lilith seemed to be unable to keep the van from hitting the deeper pot holes and ditches. Lazarus banged his head on the window, and Sam hit his head on the roof of the van. Darcy was starting to get queasy

  “Ah, can somebody else drive?” Darcy asked. “I’m going to throw up if this continues.”

  Lazarus looked at Lilith, “How often do you drive?”

  She smiled, “Never. I don’t have to. There are plenty of people willing to drive me wherever I want to go.”

  “Then why did you say you were going to drive down here?”

  “If I hadn’t been driving, you wouldn’t have been allowed down here. Bull and the boys would have stopped you.”

  “You mean, you driving was some kind of safe code?”

  “Exactly. A girl can’t be too careful.”

  “I think you could have accomplished the same thing with a word, or a gesture, instead of putting everybody’s life in jeopardy.”

  Lilith pulled up to the road that lead down to the bottom of the huge open mine pit. It was a switchback, and very steep.

  “No way I’m going to let you drive down that damn road. Stop, put it in park.”

  “I can get us down,” she replied.

  “Yeah, I know you can, but I prefer to get to the bottom alive. Not everybody in here is an immortal.”

  “Okay, cry baby, I’ll stop.”

  She stopped, put it in park, and climbed out of the driver’s seat, putting her rear dangerously close to Sam’s face, “Hey, watch that thing, Lilith.” He pushed her away.

  Lazarus climbed over and got into the driver’s side seat. Lilith wiggled, turned around and winked at Sam and Darcy. Sam grimaced. Lilith slid over to the passenger seat and sat down. Lazarus put on his seat belt, then looked at Lilith.

  “What?” she asked.

  He tapped his seat belt.

  She sighed, “Really? I don’t think we’re going to survive if I need a seatbelt. Not on this road.”