Devil's Return

by Percival Constantine

  “Tess.”

  Odysseus’ voice nearly made her jump. She turned and saw all of them—Odysseus, Cain, and the two bodyguards—standing near the entrance and watching her.

  “Sorry, just a little tired, I guess.”

  She joined the rest of the group and followed them into the bar. Part of her wondered just what they’d find once they entered. Would bodies be strewn about? She stepped past the door and saw she had nothing to worry about.

  “The hell is everyone?” asked Odysseus.

  “Maybe they went home early?” suggested Tommy.

  Odysseus shook his head and glanced back at Tessa and Cain. “See what I mean? Good help’s a bitch to find in this city.”

  “Let’s not waste any more time,” said Cain. “The book.”

  Odysseus nodded and beckoned for Cain to follow. Tommy sat on one of the stools at the bar while Sammy went behind the counter and took two glasses. He filled each with beer from the tap. Tessa decided to try her luck and she climbed onto one of the stools herself.

  “Hey, you comin’?” asked Odysseus.

  “Thought I’d have a beer,” said Tessa. “Why, you want me to come with, too? Figured this was kind of a sensitive matter.”

  Odysseus gave her a smirk. “After what you did tonight, you’ve earned a peek. C’mon.”

  Great, she thought. Tessa climbed off the stool and followed them into the office. Odysseus opened a secret passage and the bookcases slid to the side to reveal the hidden staircase.

  Please be gone…please be gone…please be gone… She kept repeating it in her head over and over, like a mantra. Hoping it would prove accurate.

  They came to the foot of the staircase and Tessa’s eyes widened as she looked around the massive basement. She stared exploring, taking in the different artifacts on display and reading the spines of the books on the shelves.

  “Not bad, eh?” asked Odysseus.

  “I’ve seen more impressive,” said Cain. “Show me what I came here for.”

  Odysseus walked over to a tall, narrow podium in the corner of the room. Resting on the surface was a large, leather-bound book. An Enochian symbol adorned the cover. Cain stepped towards it, staring at the tome.

  “That’s it,” he said. “Metatron’s name emblazoned on the cover.”

  “Told you so.”

  Cain looked over his shoulder at Odysseus. “Where did you get this?”

  “For a brief time, I did some work with this bigwig.”

  Cain turned, his posture stiffening, his hand tensing as he pulled back his coat to reveal his holstered pistol. “You mean to tell me you’re working with angels?”

  Oh shit… thought Tessa. But then another thought came to her—this might be good. If Cain thought Odysseus was trying to betray him, maybe he’d eliminate the problem altogether.

  “Calm down, big guy,” said Odysseus in a soothing voice. “You’re using the present tense, but that shit is past. Yes, I did spend some time working with one of those winged dickslugs. But it was just a temporary arrangement. I helped him, and in return, that book was my payment. But I haven’t spoken to him in months.”

  “Why would an angel turn over something so valuable?” asked Cain.

  Odysseus shrugged. “Damned if I know. But fact remains, I got the book, as you can see. So now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go upstairs to my office and we can discuss the terms of our arrangement over a drink.”

  Tessa studied Cain’s face. He seemed to be buying what Odysseus was selling. She didn’t know whether or not to continue playing along until she could leave quietly, or try to convince Cain to turn on Odysseus now. Both routes were fraught with risk.

  “I actually mind,” said Tessa.

  “Why’s that?” asked Odysseus.

  “It’s getting late,” she said. “I lived up to my part of the deal and if you’re going to spend the rest of the night hashing things out with Cain, then I might as well come back tomorrow.”

  Odysseus gave a nod. “Sure, sure. We’ll go on upstairs and I’ll have Tommy give you a ride home.”

  They ascended the staircase and returned to Odysseus’ office. He summoned Tommy and ordered him to start the car. As Tessa was getting ready to leave, Odysseus came up to her and put his hand on her shoulders.

  “You made the smart play comin’ to me tonight,” he said. “Tomorrow, we’ll get your magic sorted out. I’m a man of my word.”

  Tessa offered a plastic smile in response. She turned to the door, but then Cain called her name. She froze and slowly turned around to see him walking towards her. He looked down at her, but his eyes weren’t hard like before. They’d softened.

  “I wanted to apologize for before,” he said. “Sometimes my anger can get the better of me.”

  “It’s okay, I understand.” Tessa didn’t want to meet his gaze. She felt like if Cain didn’t have a reason to hate her before, he would have one from now. Odysseus wasn’t likely to let him off the hook too easily, would probably cast a binding spell on him to prevent him from rebelling.

  There was nothing more she could do now. Just go home and regroup with Alistair, hope that she’d find a way to make things right with Cain at some point in the future.

  True to his word, Odysseus had Tommy drive Tessa back to the Sanctum. She thanked him for the ride and got out of the car, waving as he drove off. Once his car was out of sight, she entered the shop and went downstairs to the basement, where Alistair was staying.

  She half-expected him to be asleep, but he wasn’t. Alistair was burning the midnight oil. He sat on the couch, bent over the Book of Metatron, which lay open on the coffee table. His left elbow was propped up on his thigh, a cigarette clutched between his index and middle fingers. His right hand alternated between turning the pages and raising the glass of vodka resting beside the book to his mouth.

  “I assume it all went as planned,” she said.

  “More or less. Had to kill a few of his guys, but I made sure to get rid of the bodies.”

  “How did you—” Tessa stopped herself. “Y’know, I think I’m better off not knowing.”

  “Good call.”

  Tessa went to the kitchen and procured the bottle of vodka from the cabinet. She mixed it with some Sprite and then joined Alistair on the couch. As she sipped her drink, she glanced over his shoulder and looked at the pages he was reading. The only thing she could tell was that the book was written in Enochian. Other than that, she had no way of reading it.

  “How’d it go with Cain?” asked Alistair.

  “Well, he tried to kill me,” said Tessa. “So my record with guys is pretty much intact.”

  “Kill you? Why?”

  “Seems he holds—or held, at least—me partially responsible for the lies Luther fed him. Came around in the end, though, even apologized,” she said.

  “Does Black suspect anything?”

  She shook her head. “That spell you cast did the trick. How’d you do that anyway?”

  “Swapped out another book, cast the glamour on that,” said Alistair. “Basically did a mystic scan of the real book and superimposed it over the fake.”

  “So he still has access to all the spells?”

  Alistair shook his head while exhaling smoke. “Doesn’t work like that.” He tapped the page he was reading. “For the spells in here to work, the book is a necessary component. The magic is locked inside these pages. It’s a security measure, to prevent the magic in here from spreading.”

  “So if Odysseus tries to use any spells, the glamour will collapse,” said Tessa.

  “Or if enough time passes.”

  “And how much time do we have?”

  “If he doesn’t use the book, then maybe a week, tops,” said Alistair. “Which means we have to get to work on this spell.”

  “So you’ve found the spell you need?”

  “Have a look.” Alistair slid the book closer to Tessa and then leaned back into the couch.

  Tessa bent over and stared
at the page Alistair had shown her. She couldn’t make out a single syllable, but there was an engraving that accompanied the text. A skeletal figure in a black robe, riding a white horse and holding a massive scythe.

  “Shit…” she muttered. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Alistair nodded. “The Pale Rider himself.”

  “This…I thought this was supposed to be a resurrection spell.”

  “In a way, it is,” said Alistair.

  “Black told Cain about this spell. Said he could summon Death and control him. Force him to kill Cain in return for Cain’s services.”

  “I know.”

  “How did you know that?” The answer came to her almost immediately after the question passed her lips. “Of course. You knew Cain just wanted to die, and so you suspected Black would dangle this spell over his head as payment.”

  “I did. Couldn’t tell you too much, wanted your reactions to be genuine. Just in case Black was paying attention to your body language.”

  “So the plan is to summon Death and get him to resurrect Luther?” asked Tessa.

  Alistair nodded.

  “That’s…that’s biblical. Are you sure you can control that kind of power?”

  “Alone, no.” Alistair rose from the couch and went to the kitchen. He took the bottle of vodka from the cabinet and refilled his glass. “But together, that’s a different story.”

  “Together? You don’t seriously think I can help you perform this spell, do you?”

  “Who else have I got?” asked Alistair. “I’ll need someone to help me harness the power and the Sons sure as hell won’t do it. Means you’re the only witch I’ve got in my corner.”

  “But my—”

  “I swear, if you bitch about your powers one more time, I’m going to break something,” said Alistair.

  Tessa sighed. “It’s a valid concern.”

  “You broke the spell, didn’t you? The one keeping Cain locked in? I’d say you’ve got more power hidden away than you realize. You’re just blocked.”

  “But summoning Death…”

  Alistair returned to the couch and sat down. He sipped his drink and sighed. “If there were any other way, don’t you think I would have tried it? Fact is, there’s only one being in the universe who can resurrect people, and that’s Death. If we’re going to bring Luther back, we need his help.”

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “Then we put him back in his box and we destroy this book so no one else can use it,” said Alistair. “The magic in here is too powerful for anyone to have access to.”

  The more Tessa started to think about it, the more she realized this might give her a chance to help Cain. Once they summoned Death to resurrect Luther, then they could also have him give Cain what he wanted. Two birds, one stone. Might even make things easier for Death—a soul for a soul. The perfect trade.

  “Is this what you had in mind all along?” she asked. “Summon Death, have him bring back Luther and get rid of Cain at the same time?”

  “Seems like a fair trade, doesn’t it?” asked Alistair. “I can tell you’ve thought of it, too. Everyone gets what they want, so it’s a win-win.”

  “Except for Black,” said Tessa. “He said he wants to see me tomorrow to work on fixing my powers. Should I just stand him up?”

  Alistair nodded. “We have everything we need, we just need to wait for the right time. If he’s discovered the book he has is a fake, he’ll suspect both of us and try to use you as leverage. We can’t give him the chance, so we leave here and go where we can perform the spell.”

  “So when do we do this?”

  “Tomorrow,” said Alistair. “The witching hour.”

  28

  “Stop…please…”

  I blinked and looked down. Zadkiel was chained to the chair, his body naked and shivering. His flesh was bruised and bloodied, cuts across his skin forming patterns. I looked down and saw the knife in my blood-soaked hand. When I turned my head away from Zadkiel, I saw Gabriel standing in the corner of the room, his arms folded across his chest and a look of disgust on his face.

  “What...what just happened?” I asked.

  Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  “Last thing I remember, I was about to make him talk…and then…”

  Gabriel lowered his arms and came closer to me, stopping when he reached the edge of the sigil. “Luther, you’ve been at it for twelve hours.”

  I looked back at Zadkiel, his form weak and frail while trapped in the sigil. What Gabriel was saying didn’t make any sense. How could I have been torturing him for twelve hours and not remembered any of it?

  “That’s not possible,” I said.

  Gabriel sighed. “I think I know what this means. You’re starting to get pulled down the path.”

  “What path?”

  “Rage is beginning to cloud your mind,” said Gabriel. “It’s a risk when a soul decides to remain on Earth. The loneliness, being stuck between worlds, it drives you insane. Some are able to resist it, but you’ve been pushing yourself, trying to channel your energy to do things like make yourself corporeal. It’s accelerated the process.”

  “You’re saying that by not just floating around and doing nothing, I’m turning myself into a vengeful spirit?” I asked.

  “I’m afraid so,” said Gabriel.

  I looked down at the knife again. I decided if I was going to go down this road, I should at least have something to show for it. I grabbed Zadkiel by his hair and put the blade against his throat.

  “You heard that, right?” I asked. “I’m about to go full Poltergeist on your ass if you don’t start telling me what I wanna know. So I’ll ask you this once—where is Raziel?”

  “We had to…keep him away…”

  “Yeah, I got that part. So where is he?”

  “A place…” Zadkiel spat blood on the floor. “He’s here on Earth.”

  “Yes, that much we’ve managed to theorize,” said Gabriel. “Trapped in human form with his memory wiped. That’s what you did, correct?”

  Zadkiel gave a slow nod. “Only way…to keep him hidden… If we killed him…others would know…”

  “So where is he?” I asked.

  Zadkiel’s head lolled back and he looked at me with his blue eyes now pale. “Puerto Rico.”

  I stepped out of the sigil and walked over to Gabriel, keeping my voice low so Zadkiel couldn’t hear me. “So what do we do now?”

  “I’ll have to go to Puerto Rico and try to find Raziel.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I’m not so sure if that’s the best idea, Luther.”

  “We’ve come this far, I just got us the information we’ve been looking for. Now you want to cut me out of this deal?”

  Gabriel’s stare hardened. “You’re running on borrowed time. The more you exert yourself, the quicker you come to losing your mind and becoming trapped in a cycle of rage.”

  “So what exactly am I supposed to do?” I asked.

  “You told me your friends are trying to resurrect you. I suggest you find them and stay close to them. Being around a calming force might help slow this process down,” he said. “But if you come with me, I can’t promise that you’ll stay you for much longer.”

  I sighed. I didn’t like the idea of sitting this out. Bad enough I had to leave behind Dakota. Nothing more I could really do though. I closed my eyes and relaxed my muscles, tried to focus on calming myself. I heard a clatter and looked down to see the knife had fallen to the ground. I knelt down and reached for it, but my hand just passed right through it.

  “Guess that’s all I can do right now,” I said. “Okay, Gabe. You win. I’ll find Alistair and Tessa and stick close to them.”

  “Good, and I’ll locate Raziel and bring him back into the fold,” said Gabriel.

  I nodded in Zadkiel’s direction. “What do we do about him?”

  “If I kill him, Heaven will learn about it and
they’ll send someone to investigate.”

  “Who?”

  Gabriel looked at me with a darkened expression. “Who do you think?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess. Azrael, right?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Whenever Heaven has some dirty work it needs done, they send him in.”

  “We can’t just leave him here. Someone’s eventually going to come back to this place and they’ll probably let him out of that sigil without even knowing what they’re doing.”

  “I know.” Gabriel approached the sigil and held his hand out. His eyes flashed with blue energy and the sigil burned away, leaving no trace of it. He snapped his fingers and the chains binding Zadkiel vanished. Then, Gabriel lifted him out of the chair, cradling the broken angel in his arms.

  “What will you do?” I asked.

  “I’m going to do to him what Pyriel did to Raziel.”

  Blue wings of light emerged from Gabriel’s back and wrapped around both him and Zadkiel. There was a bright flash and then they were gone and I was standing alone in the garage.

  “Time to get moving.”

  I turned around and approached the wall. I stepped through it and suddenly, I found myself somewhere else. Not on the street, like I’d expected. But instead, I was in a large room, portraits hanging on the walls. There were steps in front of me, leading up to a dais. And on that dais was a large throne with a red-haired woman sitting in it. Flanking the throne were hellhounds, their red eyes burning as they stared at me, lips curled back to reveal their razor-sharp fangs.

  “Hi, Lil,” I said. “Is this real or am I trapped inside my memories again?”

  “This is very real, Luther. I thought we should have a little chat,” said Lilith.

  “Y’know, I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

  “I am your ‘wife,’ after all. Seems only fair you make a little time for me. Especially after everything I’ve done for you.”

  “What happened with Raum? Don’t tell me Lucifer backed out of his part of the agreement.”

  “No, Lucifer did as he agreed—no more, no less,” said Lilith. “But I’m still the red-headed step-child of the Infernal Court.”