Catching Hell

by D. B. Sieders

  I wanted to know everything. Where he’d been, what he’d been through, why and how he’d come back.

  Because Lacey was right. He’d shown up when the whole mess started. I didn’t believe in coincidences. He might not have something to do with the demon lord and the demon boss both ironically out for me and my soul, but he knew more than he was telling me. I’d have to put a stop to that.

  Especially if he was the warrior who could save all three realms.

  “My father taught me,” D said, his voice a harsh whisper. “He taught me a lot of other things, too. Terrible things. Things that would make your skin crawl and your blood boil. You think you’re bad? Baby, you’ve got nothing on me.”

  That wasn’t good. It took a lot to make my skin crawl and blood boil. I’d seen things. Bad things. But apparently D had seen and done worse.

  “Who exactly is your father? And what about your mother?” I asked. Technically, I’d burned through my allotted three questions, but he couldn’t just leave it there. I wanted to go to him even more now, to hold him and tell him he wasn’t bad. Whatever he’d done, he’d surely been forced to do by his father. The hell realm was different, and the demons who lived there operated under their own set of rules that would make ordinary humans balk. Was that it? He’d grown up in the earth realm. His moral compass had been forged here.

  A fine tremor ran down his back. I rushed over and put my arms around his waist, molding my body to his back.

  “My father is…it’s complicated. And I never knew my mother. I figure she dumped me on earth after she left my demon sire. I get a memory every now and then, from that time. A flash of a beautiful face, a smile, and her voice—I remember her voice. I waited for her before I found you, but she never came back. Probably didn’t want a demon kid.”

  He tried to pull away, but I held him tighter. I remembered a bit about my dad, too, and like D, I’d waited for him to come back to me, to my family. He left just before I saw my now-missing demon. I wondered if he knew, if he’d seen her before I did. He must have. Why else would he have left? There was only one explanation, or so I’d thought. It was because of me.

  Maybe D thought the same thing, but I couldn’t see it. The frightened boy who’d come to me all those years ago hadn’t exactly been a saint, but he had was a good man. He’d protected my family and provided for us, scrounging for what we needed when we couldn’t afford it. True, it could have been a debt of honor. He had lived with us rent-free for over a decade. But he’d given us more than food and working appliances. Every year at Christmas, we’d find a few extra gifts under our scrawny little tree. Megan got new dolls and, when she grew older, dress clothes we couldn’t afford on our own. Mom got jewelry and perfume, luxuries she always denied herself in order to make ends meet. I got boots. Beautiful, bedazzled leather cowgirl boots I wore with pride until the soles were falling apart, as least until my little closet elf managed a repair.

  He might have given us food, heat, and a working car out of gratitude or self-preservation, but the gifts? Those were pure kindness.

  “You aren’t bad, either,” I said. “You took care of me and my family for years, and you came back here to me. You helped me save Mara, and you feel bad about that summoner’s death. I can tell. Whatever you did in the hell realm doesn’t matter. You’re here, now, doing the right thing.”

  He didn’t pull away, but his back stiffened. Why was he fighting me? Ugh, men and their lack of emotional intelligence—it was a wonder they didn’t explode from bottling it all up. I stood with my hand on his back, resisting the urge to squirm. The sunrise was upon us, bathing my room and my demon in the pink, glowing rays of a new day. It would be a day without Hannah, a day no closer to solving my case, but a new day with Dominic. The thought didn’t wash away the fear and dread and heartache, but it made the whole thing more bearable. I wouldn’t have to go this alone.

  “You wouldn’t say that if you knew who I really am, but you’re right about one thing. I’m here with you now, and I’m going to do the right thing by getting you out of this mess. I won’t let anyone take you away from me.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I said, grinning as he turned in my arms to face me. “What’s on your agenda for the day, then? Finding Hannah?”

  He nodded. “I’m going to check out the warehouse where you and Lacey found Keith to see if I can find more traces of the magic that killed him and identify it.”

  Wait, what did that have to do with Hannah, unless… “You think Hannah killed Keith?”

  “No other entity could have killed a human in that manner—except, perhaps, an angel.”

  That was something I hadn’t considered, mostly because I didn’t think angels did that sort of thing. Honestly, I knew very little about the celestial realm aside from mythology and religious texts. Those had proved less than accurate when it came to demons. But why would an angel kill a human demon summoner?

  “Wait, Trinity said that Belial led the Sons of Darkness in a war against the Sons of Light—angels. Celestials. And that text mentioned three realms in relation to the war, so presumably the celestials will be a part of it. Do you think celestials are trying to stop Belial from starting another war?”

  “Maybe.” D looked thoughtful. “That’s not necessarily a favor, though. The enemy of your enemy isn’t always your friend when it comes to creatures from the hell or celestial realms. They may have their own agenda.”

  “Seems you know more about celestials than I do. Have you ever met one?” Demons were my thing, but I’d often wondered about the “other side.” Most reported angel sightings in human media were false, like demon sightings. But some demon encounters in the news were legit. No angels had crossed my path, and I’d seen all kinds of non-human entities. I thought they were rare or just didn’t bother much with humanity, at least not the segment of humanity I dealt with as a demon hunter. But what if angels were hidden among us, too?

  D shrugged. “Not really. I know only what our lore and legends say.”

  “Which is?” I was growing impatient. I needed answers, damn it, and all I got was the run around—from my boss, from Hannah, and now from D?

  He must’ve read my expression, since he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture that made me terribly jealous of that hand. “They’re haughty, meddlesome, patronizing, and think they should be the supreme rulers of all dimensions. Some of your earth legends about them are true. They spent a good deal of time trying to cast my kind from the earth realm, blackening our names as villains so they could be the saviors of humanity.”

  He practically spat the word “saviors.” Guess all those religious texts got something right. Seemed there was no love lost between demons and angels.

  “Okay. There was an ongoing war between the hell realm and celestial realm and earth was caught in the middle, and the angels did a smear campaign on the demons throughout and kept the propaganda machine running. Got it. Why did it end? What happened to celestials? Demons are still roaming the earth, so what about angels?”

  He furrowed his brows. “According to legend, celestials and demons reached a truce and agreed earth was neutral ground. Neither side could win, and humans had become collateral damage.”

  “Really?” I was skeptical, but maybe that came from years of living with Roice and Boice. Those guys thought every myth, legend, and bit of religious lore in the earth realm was a crock of shit, probably because of the whole smear campaign against their species.

  D arched a brow. “Ever heard of The Dark Ages? The Black Plague? The crusades?”

  “Um, yeah. Collapse of the Roman Empire, flea-ridden epidemics, and religious wars as a pretext for conquest. I did go to school, you know.” I ticked each explanation off on my fingers. Take that, Mr. Demon know-it-all.

  He grinned. “When you weren’t skipping to hang out with me. Anyway, yes, those factors played a role, but who do you think was behind all of that?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but he cut me off. “Befo
re you say demons, remember what I told you about angels and their savior complex? Let me tell you, no one loves war more than angels. People turn to them in times of great distress. Demons may feed on sin, but angels feed on misery.”

  Damn, my head was spinning. Then again, this was more information than I’d gotten from the boss or Barbatos. I should probably pay attention. I bet Trinity didn’t even have this kind of insider information. I’d have to brag later—and have her fact-check.

  Surprisingly, D kept talking. After all the secrecy, I dug it. He was like a sexy professor, stimulating my mind as well as my girly parts. “Angels and demons still visited, of course, but they had to abide by the treaty and avoid direct conflict, and both sides agreed to lower their profiles. Aside from demon hunters, most of humanity has no clue that my kind walk among them.”

  Fascinated, I prodded him for more information. “Angels are still here, too? More than a few? I’ve never seen one. Could they have something to do with this new rebellion?”

  He gave me a lopsided grin. “They’re here. You’ve been so focused on hunting demons that you never noticed them. They aren’t your targets. As for the rebellion, I don’t know if they have anything to do with it.”

  “But is there a way to find out? If they’re targeting anyone on earth who’s helping Belial, maybe they can help us cut off his access to portals and keep him out. Do they use portals, too?”

  “Probably. I don’t know as much about their mode of travel. You aren’t the only victim of cryptic mentors.”

  His expression changed as soon as the words left his mouth. Maybe he’d had an epiphany. Instead of sharing, he turned away from me and started digging around my room for his clothes. I gasped when he pulled off his pajama bottoms and gave me a killer view of his gorgeous bare ass. The man was amazing, perfect, as if he’d been sculpted by one of those ancient Greek sculptors from long ago, the ones who captured the ferocity and otherworldly beauty of a god. Of course, D was much more impressive in a few areas than your average Greek statue in terms of length and girth. I’d only had a small taste of him, but I wanted more. I wondered if we had time for a quickie.

  Oh, and he could share whatever insight had just flashed through his mind while we were at it. Brainstorming and booty—that was my kind of multitasking.

  He turned, grinning at me as he zipped his jeans and deprived me of my view. Still, he was shirtless. Those abs had my mouth watering.

  “Jane,” he said, his gaze raking over me. “I swear to you by all the stars in the sky that I’ll have you tonight, and you’ll have me. But right now, I have to find the demon, angel, or who knows what other creature it was who killed that summoner.”

  All work and no play. Le sigh.

  He was right, of course, but it didn’t stop me from pouting. I consoled myself by digging out a fresh pair of camo pants and tank top from my closet. Time was wasting. I needed to get cracking on the case, too. Couldn’t leave all the heavy lifting to D and my teammates. As temporary leader of our little operation, I had to take on the greatest responsibility.

  “What are you doing?” D asked.

  “What does it look like? I’m getting dressed.” Seriously, ask a stupid question… “I mean, as much as I love my pajamas and fuzzy slippers, they aren’t really designed for fieldwork.”

  He reached me in two long strides and pinned me against my bedroom wall.

  “D, what the hell?”

  My playful lover was gone. In his place stood a demon, a warrior, the creature of nightmare and legend. The hard lines of his sculpted face shocked me. He was angry. Why was he angry?

  “You aren’t working today.”

  Oh, hell no. He did not just give me an order in my own home, in the sanctity of my own bedroom and in the presence of my favorite sofa. I was going to have to cancel the order I’d put in for his matching kilt if he didn’t shape up.

  He had me pinned by the shoulders, but I quickly twisted to the side, bringing my right arm up and around in an arcing motion to capture both his arms underneath mine. It wouldn't hold him for any length of time, but it was all I needed to distract him long enough to reverse the motion of my arm and stick my elbow in his face. I didn’t want to hit him—yet—so I opted for escape.

  I stepped back with my left foot, turning my body ninety degrees to the left while swinging my right arm straight up between our bodies and then down until my right hand met my left hip. The move twisted his arms up and pinned them under my right arm while also putting him slightly off-balance. I’d managed to move my left arm away from him, but I wasn’t in an ideal position to use it. My right arm, however, was perfectly set to bend and shoot my right elbow directly into his face. I put it there to let him know I meant business, though I was sorely tempted to bloody his nose or give him a black eye.

  Fortunately, he took the hint and let the tension flow out of his body. I let go and spun around to face him. I had no doubt he could regain his hold and give me serious competition in hand-to-hand combat, not to mention whatever magic he could pull out of his ass, but he must have noticed my oh-no-the-hell-you-didn’t expression. He held his palms up and said, “Jane, be reasonable.”

  I got up in his face—had to stand on my toes to do it, but I managed—and said, “Don’t you dare tell me to be reasonable after manhandling me and handing me a line of macho bullshit. I’m not sitting at home. It’s my neck on the line in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “Which is precisely why you need to stay put,” he said. We were nose to nose, practically snarling at one another. “You’re vulnerable without Hannah.”

  He had a point, but still. “I was apparently without her yesterday and managed to investigate at a murder scene. I’ve been out tracking and investigating without having to call on my demon before. I’m more than just a host, you know.”

  “Of course you’re more than a host.” He spoke through gritted teeth, muscles tense and straining in spite of his obvious effort at self-control. Didn’t matter. If he was trying to play nice and conciliatory, he was doing a piss-poor job. “You’ve got a lot of brain cells lurking in that thick skull. I would suggest you put them to use looking for paper trails and reviewing video surveillance to find out who else is helping Belial in this realm.”

  “Desk work? Surveillance?” I asked, incredulous. “You know I have demons for that. Boice and Roice are on it, and they’re much better at it than I am. I do fieldwork. That’s my job. My training and instincts are for hunting. I’ll make much more progress sniffing out demons and summoners.”

  “Don’t make me put a binding spell on you,” he said, his voice icy.

  “Do that and you won’t have me tonight or any other night,” I said, calling his bluff. He had to be bluffing. Or if he wasn’t, he’d think twice about hexing me. D wanted me as much as I wanted him. The evidence was written all over his handsome face, not to mention trying to claw its way out of his jeans.

  He threw his hands in the air and turned away from me. Then he slammed his fists against my wall hard enough to leave a crack.

  “Hey, when you’re done throwing a tantrum and breaking my stuff, how about you make yourself useful and go look for my demon? You know, since you’re worried about me being vulnerable and all.” I tossed his shirt at him. It didn’t have quite the same impact as fists on a wall, but I managed to give him a face full of thick cotton. Nothing wrong with my aim.

  I was as angry as he was. Did he honestly think I was going to sit back and act like some damsel in distress? I hadn’t been kidding about the desk work thing. My roomies had it covered. I needed to be out in the field, following up on leads, and I knew just where to start.

  Losing my demon might have left me vulnerable, but it had provided me with a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with portals and those who guarded them. And I needed a nice walk in the woods to clear my head. But first, I thought I’d pay a visit to the late Mr. Pendergrass’s next of kin. D could go off and sulk on his own. I had work to do.
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  He yanked on his shirt and glared at me, his handsome face twisted with unchecked rage that made him look the part of a full-blooded demon. No matter their forms, demons were formidable creatures. They could be seductive and cruel by turns, using persuasion, trickery, and brute force to get what they wanted.

  “If and when you catch up with Hannah,” I said to D, “ask her where she was when Keith was murdered.”

  With that, I grabbed my enchanted knife—which glowed a brilliant red in the presence of my would-be demon lover—spun on the heel of my boots and left him to ponder that while he adjusted his attitude.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  In spite of D’s low opinion of my intelligence and ability to be “reasonable,” I wasn’t stupid. I had no plans to go looking for any murdering demons or demon lords with kidnapping on the brain. I had a degree in criminal justice and a boatload of experience with investigations—in the field, not behind a computer screen. Boice and Roice could handle that much better than I could. That wasn’t a cop-out on my part. It was a fact.

  Since the twins hadn’t managed to hack into Keith’s computer yet, I decided to pay a visit to the Pendergrass family and see what I could dig up on the summoner’s known associates. He’d been splitting his time between his mother’s house and his sister’s place. They lived within a few blocks of each other in Antioch. I started at his mom’s place, a modest yet tidy ranch home with a decent lawn and nice landscaping out front. Mrs. Pendergrass answered the door in her robe, red eyes rimmed with tears. She was a middle-aged woman with a pretty, round face and gorgeous blond hair. If not for the lines of sorrow etched on her face, she’d have been a knockout.

  My heart went out to her. No matter what else he’d been, Keith had clearly been a beloved son.

  “Hello, my name is Jane McGee. Are you Mrs. Amanda Pendergrass?” I asked, pulling out the PI license I carried for just such occasions.