The Pact Book Four: Sailor Ray and the Beginning of the End
By
Alex Villavasso
Copyright 2019, Alex Villavasso
All rights reserved
This novel is a work of fiction and is a product of the author’s imagination.
All events, places, and characters are either fictitious or portrayed in a fictitious manner. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form except by an authorized retailer or once written permission from the author is received.
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Cover Illustration by Jesse Gerbrandt
Chapter 1: Vartal, the Indomitable
“So all I have to do is allow you inside?”
Yes. And after that, we wait…we rest…we heal. I can fully restore you in a matter of days. You can return to the nothingness of your damaged mind, or I can show you the potential that our future holds while we wait—your own personal paradise. Better that than remain a prisoner in your own body. I require a vessel to recover from my journey and you are in desperate need of a second chance at life. Both of our bodies currently betray us, but together, we can cover each other’s weaknesses.
“And if I refuse?”
If you refuse, I’ll simply leave. There are others like you who are in need of assistance, I’m sure. In fact, you were only made aware of your own existence due to my presence. If I were to leave, I could revert you back to your previous state, or I could leave you like this, alone and without purpose. Perhaps the portion of my lifeforce used for this meeting can be my parting gift. Who knows? Maybe in a dozen or so years your body will be able to open its eyes.
“A-a dozen?”
Yes, and I imagine retraining your motor skills with a decreased cognitive capacity will be a daunting task. You have brain damage, hence your current condition. Don’t you have loved ones waiting for you on the other side? A father or mother? A lover? Siblings? I’m sure the world has changed in your absence. Aren’t you the least bit curious as to how? Once I bond with your soul, you will be healed and able to walk the earth once more.
“W-what are you exactly?”
In the simplest of terms, a wandering entity who clings to life as valiantly as you do…my offer still stands, but not for long. Time is precious in my current state. My very survival depends on it.
“I…”
Chapter 2: Back on the Job
“Sailor, you ready to go? Thirty-minute warning.”
“Yeah, I’m getting ready right now. I’ll be at the rendezvous in time. No worries.” I study the finish on my Beretta before tucking it into my coat. “If I get caught up in traffic, go on without me. I know where to go.”
As soon as I finish my sentence I hear Blaze groan into the other side of the phone. I want to pull away, but my cell is pinned between my ear and my shoulder.
“We’re playing this safe, remember?”
“I remember.” I tuck another gun into the opposite side of my coat. “You don’t have to remind me. If anything, I’ll be there early,” I respond flatly.
“Okay, we’ll talk later at the spot. Be safe.”
“Yeah, you too.” The phone clicks and the call drops. Him being nervous is making me more nervous than I already am. I know I’m not invincible…and I’m well aware that this is my first outing since me and Vartal parted ways. There’s a lot less room for error now, among other things.
The plan is to bust into a warehouse and ruin their operation. It’s a smaller target. The main one is farther north in a different city. Our job is to divert their resources while another group hits them hard. I’m all for it. Anything to clean up the streets while I’m here. Chicago has enough problems without a demon-inspired drug flooding the streets.
Hopefully things go smooth.
****
I pull up near the designated alley and walk the rest of the way. The spot isn’t too far from the warehouse, a couple blocks, but it’s far enough away to deter any suspicion.
“You’re early.” Blaze steps to me, his hands resting in the pockets of his jacket.
“Is it really early, if I’m the last one here?” I shift my gaze to the woman posted up against the wall, opposite of Blaze. “What’s up, Abs? Perimeter clear?”
“Yeah, last I checked, we were good, and that was less than five minutes ago. I just got back.”
“Perfect,” I respond. “So we should be heading out now, right?”
“Give it a minute, Ray,” Blaze says concisely. “No need to rush things, we’re going for precision. It’s just the three of us for now—we’re a team. We play it smart until we can rendezvous with the others.”
And then we mosh on them.
“Got it.”
“Everyone good on weapons? Water, knives, bullets? Double check your weapons if you haven’t already.”
“Roger that.” I reach into my jacket and grab one of my Berettas—my gun of choice. I check my magazine. Full, of course. I already checked it before I left the house.
“Stealth is going to be a huge factor in our success, guys. Quick, clean kills. We’re not looking for a straight up firefight until we get the advantage,” Blaze says.
“You’re asking for a lot, you know that? They’re stronger than us, faster. Better everything,” I respond, my attention now focused on my second gun. “And they’re not oblivious.”
“I know, but that’s always been the case.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Abby chimes in. “As long as the three of us stay together, we should be fine. We held our own against Desmond. We’re good at covering each other’s backs.”
I cringe but do my best to hide my emotions from the others. We cover each other’s backs, sure, but Vartal has played a considerable part in my survival. Every major encounter I had during his stay, he was there to bail me out. Hex, the coffee shop, Desmond, fucking Frank and Helen…am I out of my league with this one?
“Knowing the infrastructure will come in handy, too,” Abby says dryly. “I’m assuming you two have it committed to memory.”
“More or less…I know where to go and where not to go,” I respond to her, my mind drifting back into the conversation. “I don’t exactly have a photographic memory.”
“Same.” Blaze nods. “Just show us where we need to go if you come up with a better course of action once we’re inside.”
“Got it. The main thing is stealth, like Blaze said. Once we’re inside, we take care of them and crash the operation and pave the way.”
“Right, then we cover the others while they scoop the drugs out of the warehouse.” I shift my weight onto my right leg. “Easy…although I still don’t like how we’re rotating groups.”
“Less chance of a flank,” Blaze reminds me for the umpteenth time. “We move in waves for more coverage and surveillance.”
When the plans were first being discussed, some guy suggested planting explosives. It would have been simpler, sure, but it would have been too messy. It would definitely gather media attention when the public finds the homemade explosives. They’d think its terrorist activity or something, not to mention we’d have to factor in the possibilities of casualties from a Sphinx cloud lingering in the air for a couple hours. It doesn’t take an ‘Abby’ to know that’s bad news.
“Well, let’s get to it,” Abby says as she puts her hands into her denim jacket and begins to walk towards the alley exit. “It’ll do a lot of good once we take it off the map.”
“Yeah…” I respond as she wa
lks past me and fold my arms.
“See you guys at the meet up.” I turn and watch Abby turn the corner and, fully confident in her abilities…something that I’m lacking right now.
“You good, Ray?” Blaze sneaks past my blind spot, easing into my peripheral vision.
“Yeah, it’s been like, a week. I’m still a bit sore, but I’ll manage. Nothing serious. I’ve already had enough near-death experiences to last a lifetime. I know how to handle myself,” I answer without looking his way.
“Yeah,” Blaze answers concisely.
“What?” I ask him flatly, slightly peeved.
“Nothing. You wanted in, so you’re in. I don’t doubt you one bit.”
I wish I felt the same.
“Glad to hear it.” I huff. “Good luck out there…see you in a bit.”
“Same to you.” Blaze backpedals and exits the alley from the opposite side that Abby did.
For something like this, separate routes means it’s harder to lump us together in case we’re being stalked. It also gives plausible deniability to onlookers who might actually in fact be demons as well as a way to survey the state of things in the area without drawing too much attention. Standard practice. It looks more natural. You blend in more with the environment which allows you to fly under the radar.
That being said, I’m still a bit nervous about how it will go. The last time I stepped into demon territory with Abby and Blaze, I got whammied while we were searching for Gareth. Some demon launched me into a brick wall pretty hard. It was concussion-worthy by anyone’s standards…but I was up in under thirty seconds and managed to kill him. Of course, Vartal was still inside me then. Even having him on reserve allowed me to tank some nasty hits and walk away. Unfortunately, that’s not an option anymore. Not that I’d ever want him back, anyway.
I just hope that I’m wrong and I don’t need him anymore. I’d be even happier if I could confirm that he’s dead.
Chapter 3: Like Riding a Bike
I follow my route, taking slow, calculated strides. On my walk, no one stands out from the stragglers I see few and far between.
I check my phone to see if there’s any updates from Blaze or Abby—nothing—which means they managed to get where they’re going without running into trouble. I look up from my phone and pass a stationary lady who’s on her phone, her torso leaning into a light pole while she texts. She looks up from her phone and our eyes meet briefly as I pass. She doesn’t look to be doing anything in particular…just hanging out on her cellphone in the middle of the night out in public…kinda like me…which is actually…strange.
“Hey.”
Shit. I freeze and instantly become aware of the gun hidden on my person. “Yeah?” I look over my shoulder. The rest of my body slowly turns to meet her. “What’s up?”
“Got a light?”
We’re too close… If she’s a demon I won’t make it to my gun in time. I might have a chance if I put some distance between us with my knife.
“No, I don’t. Sorry.” She has light brown hair and matching eyes from what I can tell from the grey hood resting over her head. Even with the frayed lighting, they’re piercing. She seems to be in good health but a little on the pale side. That and she’s out in the middle of the night doing nothing. “I’m sure there’s a gas station or something not too far from here… Up the road, maybe?”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” she says after raising one of her hands up in front of me. “I should be quitting anyway. They’re cancer.”
“Yeah, a death sentence. Good on you for trying to stop.” I shift my weight to spin but she stops me once she opens her mouth.
“Hey—do I know you from somewhere? It’s just that you look oddly familiar.”
“No. I don’t think so.
“You go to school around here?”
“Nope.”
“…Guess it was just my mind playing tricks on me.”
“It happens to the best of us. Have a nice night,” I say, backpedaling from the conversation.
“You, too.” I spin on my heel but she catches me before I can fully pull away.
“Oh, and be careful. It can be dangerous out here.”
“…Same.” I shove both of my hands into my jacket and continue on my trek, all the while feeling the peering eyes of that girl on the back of my neck. She’s a demon. No doubt about it. She was trying to get a read on me; collect a profile.
I had to play along. Better to play dumb than to have a dead body in the street. She’ll have more than enough time to kick herself in the face after she finds out what happens.
****
I turn the corner and find myself positioned in an alley not even a block away from the target. I lost some time improvising a route to shake off any followers. It slowed me down, but not by much.
“Hey.” Somebody is already there to greet me. Abby. I’m glad to see she made it here in one piece. She’s not being actively targeted or anything by demons at least, but that’s only one variety of the dangers that roam at this time of night. It’s wild out here.
“Hey,” I respond back. I lean my back against the brick wall behind me, my hands still firmly planted in the pockets of my jacket. “Any trouble?”
“No. A car or two passed me and I second guessed it, but everything seems to be fine. No repeats or anything from them. I made sure to check the license plates, just in case,” Abby says as she pulls out her phone and begins to work away at it, presumably sending updates and checking logs for the operation under way. She scrunches her brow and looks up from her phone. “Anything happen with you?”
“Yeah.” I fold my arms against my stomach and pivot my body towards her. “A demon. Female host.” Abby’s eyes widen with concern but I keep my expression flat to save face.
“Did you kill her or…”
“Exorcise her? No. I didn’t want any trouble. She pressed me, but didn’t start anything. I think she was waiting for someone.”
Abby’s gaze softens. “Glad you made it here without a fight. They know they’re compromised and that we’re on the offensive. I’m sure you could have handled whatever they threw at you, but fighting out in the open by yourself can have implied risks. If it was more than one and you didn’t have the element of surprise, you’d probably have to use a gun.”
“Yeah, for sure,” I respond, effectively putting a stint on the conversation. “Any news from anyone else?”
“Everything seems to be fine. Scouts say we should expect what we expected.”
“Really?” I say with a scoff. “Well, that’s…elegant.”
“Right?” She smiles. “It means we have a party up ahead…at least from what they can tell. The demons roll in shifts. It’s hard to get an accurate headcount.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Tons.” Blaze appears from the end of the alley and walks our way. “Ready to roll out?” he asks as he moves in closer.
“Yeah, Sailor and I were just waiting on you.”
“Sorry for the wait. You guys bump into any trouble?” Blaze asks. Of course, his gaze floats directly on me—the implied weak link. It rubs me the wrong way despite it being one hundred percent true. I know he means no harm, he trusts me, sure, or at least he says so, but the reality is I just got off of bedrest after expelling a demon from my soul. A demon, might I add, that’s been my crutch for about half of a year.
“Not really, no,” I respond, dismissing the details of my earlier encounter. I catch Abby looking at me from the corner of my eye, but hold my gaze with Blaze.
“Good,” he says with a nod. The tension leaves my body, but I don’t insist on showing it. “Nothing with me, either,” Blaze stresses. “Doesn’t matter, though. It’s gonna be a different story once we’re inside. We’re going to be outnumbered. Easily. Quick kills, guys, quick kills. We thin them out and get the upper hand.”
“Right.” I push back the sinking feeling in my gut and watch Blaze as he walks to the edge of the alley to check what lies ahea
d. Abby scoots behind him and I drag my feet to fall in line. “There. We cross over from that point,” he says, jutting his neck forward to highlight the backstreet I can barely make out from my position. “We go there and then we should have a clear path if intel holds. Be prepared if it doesn’t.”
“Quick, easy kills… I got it.” I flash my knife to Blaze and the reflection from the hanging streetlight bounces off onto Abby’s face, revealing the pattern of etched runes that line my blade.
“Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Blaze shoots off from the alley into the street and rushes into cover behind an adjacent dumpster. From there, he pivots from hiding and takes a turn, which thrusts him deeper into a neighboring segment hidden from sight. Abby sprints next and I follow behind after giving her a brief head start.
Once we make it to the other side, I hear the ends of a scream and then a thump. I look to Abby. She hears it too. My stomach sinks as we quickly break off from behind the garbage dumpster and turn the corner. Of course, only a matter of seconds too late.
“He’s dead.”
Blaze looms over the body with a quiet strength, his knife in his hand.
“Demon?” Abby asks while my eyes drift down to the bleeding body and pool of blood stemming from its neck. Hollow, beady eyes look back at me with a transfixing stare. It’s almost hard to believe there’s nothing left behind them.
“Yeah. I checked first, but that doesn’t matter. It’s not like normal people aren’t out here. They mix and mingle.” Blaze stoops down and wipes the blood of his knife against the shirt of the man he just killed and places his dagger back into hiding. He then begins to move the body against the side of the alley to hide it from plain sight.
“There wasn’t supposed to be anyone here,” Abby says as she watches her boyfriend work.
“Yeah,” Blaze says with a grunt. “I know. I thought so, too. Doesn’t mean there won’t be, though.” He sighs as he stands upright. “You always have to be prepared. Nobody’s perfect.”
“Yeah…let’s get a move on. There should be two up ahead. Once we take them out, we should be clear for entry.”
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