by J. P. Rice
As she closed in, I kicked high in the air, aiming to make contact with her forehead. Instead of bone, I hit something that gave way, and she screamed like the wind had been chased out of her. By the time I turned around, Mike’s girlfriend was rolling on the ground, holding her belly and writhing in pain.
My heart fell into my boot. Did I just do what I think I did? My body went numb and tears rushed to my eyes. Why did she have to jump into the air at the last moment? That didn’t make any sense.
I didn’t have much time to feel awful because Mike sped toward me with the quickness of a vampire. His first punch landed just below my left eye and sent me backwards. Vision in my left eye faltered, but using the other, I saw another big fist coming at my face.
Chapter 23
This punch landed on my nose and I staggered back, dropping to one knee. One more sledgehammer punch to my jaw knocked me onto my back. The kid pounced on me and whaled away.
I could have attempted to defend myself. Put my hands up to cover my face. Tried to wrench him off me. But I didn’t. I sat there and took the beating. I deserved it.
Mike’s bloody knuckles hammered down on me. One or two more punches and it would be lights out as my vision swirled. A sudden force lifted Mike off me. Cheryl?
By the time I could see again, Bruceras was standing over me holding Mike off the ground. When my scattered head put the puzzle together, Bruceras had two hands wrapped around Mike’s neck. The devil extended his hands above his head. Using his size advantage, Mike couldn’t reach Bruceras’s face.
Mike’s arms flailed away to little effect and he switched his attack to a series of unsuccessful kicks. Come on, Mike. I didn’t want a man I hated to kill someone I liked. That wouldn’t be fair. The young man’s face turned the color of a beet and a waterfall of drool spilled over his bottom lip.
I had a choice to make. I could let Mike die, something I didn’t want to happen. Or I could kick Bruceras in the balls and cause him to drop the kid. It would end the mission, and the people of Pittsburgh would suffer longer, but I couldn’t let Mike die. As much as I hated to admit it, the kid was destined for something great.
He was a good guy. One of the purest souls I’d ever met. How could I allow something like that to be destroyed? He was just a stupid mortal human who thought he could run with the rest of us. He was out of his element. Dying at the hands of one of the most illustrious supernatural figures in the history of the world was nothing to be ashamed of. He put up a noble fight.
No. I couldn’t let it end like this.
I stretched my leg and lined up the good old crotch shot. Then I would have to explain it was just a reflex. And a one, and a two, and a...
A shrieking howl that sounded like it had originated in the depths of hell nearly pierced my eardrums. I turned to the noise. A small figure emerged from the burning house and onto the smoke-filled porch. As the small body descended the porch steps, I noticed something in his right hand.
“There it is,” exclaimed Bruceras, tossing Mike aside and gravitating toward the little being. The devil walked slowly. “Give it over and you won’t get hurt.”
The boy I assumed to be Dante slid the glove over his right hand. A collective gasp came from the other devils. Bruceras spoke calmly, “Don’t worry. He doesn’t know the words to activate it.”
I couldn’t hear it, but I saw the kid’s lips moving, and suddenly, our fearless leader had a hitch in his step. He wasn’t walking with confidence anymore. The boy’s lips stopped moving and he held the Devil’s Glove above his head. That’s when everything changed.
Chapter 24
A wave of heat rippled against my face as the boy’s body turned to fire. Then he grew and grew and grew and grew until a thirty-foot-tall flaming beast stood before me. His body maintained the shape of a person engulfed in flames. Fiery horns sprouted above his enormous head as he roared into the night sky.
By the time the transmogrification had reached completion, I stared in pulse-pounding fear at the thirty-foot flaming beast standing before me. The rumors were true. I wanted to run but the soles of my boots were glued to the ground.
Dante took one step forward, shaking the ground beneath me. Bruceras threw Dweezil toward the newly formed beast, turned tail and ran away. Cheryl sprinted after him.
Asmodeus and Astaroth cursed at Bruceras and Cheryl as they hightailed it toward the driveway. The two remaining devils nodded to each other and charged at Dante.
Vlad the Impaler’s words rang in my ears. “Hug the ground or Dante will kill you.”
Dante drew his mighty arm back and it swished through the air.
I dove face first into the snowy, muddy, bloody battlefield and covered the back of my head with my hands for good measure. I heard a rippling whoosh and a burning sensation traced over my back and rumbled over my locked fingers.
I didn’t know if I should look or not. Raising my head carefully, I saw pieces of the two devils strewn all over the snow, a shower of dark blood staining the pure landscape. Dante’s single slap had shredded two of the most respected demons in history. Holy fook.
Had he killed Dweezil too? I stared at Dante, who turned and took off for the back yard, his thundering steps shaking the earth and burning house. I had the chance I needed and darted for the driveway. I noticed Dweezil about twenty feet ahead, running for his life.
Trying to avoid the messy shrapnel that still twitched with signs of life, I weaved left and right. With my eyes focused on the ground, something rammed into my side. I groaned as the wind rushed out of me.
I toppled over and put my hand down to spring back up when something clubbed me in the side of the head. “Don’t move or I’ll kill you,” a familiar voice said. Little did this person know that I already felt dead from this experience.
I rolled onto my back and stared up at the Sphinx. I remembered I was still in male form with a battered face. She wouldn’t recognize me. But then she might kill me.
“Mike. I got one of them,” Kovana yelled back to the house.
“Junipher? Is that you?” she asked in shock. “I can see through your glamor magic. Your face is bruised and lumpy, but it’s you.”
“I’m working with the Red Cavern.” I tried to explain, “Things got messed up. I’m so sorry.”
Mike came storming over with hellfire in his eyes, different from the fire overtaking his house in the background. He wanted to kill me, and I couldn’t blame him. I wanted to kill me right now.
Kovana said, “It’s Junipher. I can see through the illusion.”
In my own voice, I said, “Mike, I am so sorry. You know I wouldn’t do this on purpose. The demons made me. I can still get the Harp if I go back.”
“You wrecked my fucking life.” He shook his head with tears in his eyes, blood still leaking from his shoulder. His light facial hair was matted with the dark blood of his enemies. “Did you tell them I lived here?”
“What?” I asked and almost couldn’t believe he would accuse me of that.
“Did you fucking tell them where I lived?” he growled, the rage in his voice growing thicker.
“No,” I answered. “I didn’t even know what was going on until we got here. They knew you lived here. They were after Dante and the Glove.”
Mike thought long and hard, rubbing the healthy, manly beard on his chin. Now wasn’t the time for a peach fuzz joke. If the verdict were up to me, there would be a rope around my neck.
“Let her go,” Mike said mercifully. And with those three simple words, he turned and ran back to the carnage surrounding his burning house.
I couldn’t believe it as Kovana backed away. As I got up, I said, “I promise I’ll make this up to you.”
She stared into my eyes, her normally angelic face now painted with demon and human blood. “I think we should go our separate ways. Get your sorry ass out of here.”
I sprinted down Mike’s driveway trying to catch up to Cheryl, Dweezil and Bruceras before they left. What had I just done
? I’d been thrown into the situation and the devils would have done this without me. But I could have run away. Even though I hadn’t attacked anyone on Mike’s side, I also hadn’t stopped any of the devils before Dante showed up.
Tears that felt like fire streamed down my cheeks, burning the awful memories into my hippocampus. Why had his girlfriend attacked me? I didn’t want to hurt her. I really didn’t. I couldn’t believe I’d ended up in this situation.
Regardless of whether it was my fault or not, Mike’s house was burning to the ground. His son had saved everyone’s lives, but now ran the risk of going insane. His friends were injured badly, and his girlfriend... Fook. I didn’t even want to say it. That part hurt the most and made me feel like a monster.
I just wanted to get the Dagda’s Harp from the Red Cavern. How had everything spiraled out of control so quickly?
The rumors of the Devil’s Glove were true. Two devils had attacked with all their might, and it had no effect on Dante. He had ripped them to pieces with a simple swat of his hand. If Merlin obtained the glove, my life would be over.
My face hurt from the beating Mike had administered, but it paled in comparison to the mental agony. The whole thing had happened so fast, I still hadn’t processed everything. Bruceras’s plan had been as bad as I’d originally thought. His side had lost two devils and a Chieftain, a hefty price for the Red Cavern.
Considering they had just executed Vlad, the devil count was dwindling by the day. Why had Bruceras underestimated Mike? Perhaps Dweezil was correct in his assessment of Bruceras that he had given up. The devil would have plenty of explaining to do when he returned to his home. I planned to keep my mouth shut.
I’d seen a devil run away from a battle. If I uttered a peep of that to any of the demons, Bruceras would have me killed instantly. Even though the devil had lost his way, pride still ruled the demons. Respect would cease if they found out their fearless leader had run from any fight, no matter what the circumstances.
Headlights crept over the ridge below. Fook. It had to be the authorities. Bloodied and battered and dressed in all black like a burglar, I wasn’t going to be able to talk myself out of this one. I shielded my eyes from the bright lights. Sure as shit, the vehicle slowed down as it approached.
“Let’s go. Get in,” a familiar voice called from the passenger window.
Cheryl. Holy shit. I’d almost missed my ride. When I thought about it, I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Regardless, I opened the back door and jumped into the Escalade, claiming a seat next to Dweezil. I barely got the door shut when Bruceras hit the gas, jerked the wheel and performed a shady three-point turn, running over the frosty high-grass on both sides of the road.
He straightened out the vehicle just in time. Flashing lights appeared at the bottom of the hill. The bouncing beams of light indicated that the authorities were hauling ass up the rocky incline. We drove in silence with my heart pounding in my throat.
I could usually normalize something like this because it was just part of the job. Beings got hurt. Some died. Why had a mortal human involved himself in this game?
Justifying my actions proved to be impossible. Mike and his friends were good people. I wasn’t.
Bruceras pulled onto the side of the road and let two cop cars race by. As their flashing lights disappeared in the rearview mirror, more appeared straight ahead. We turned onto the main road and I saw several firetrucks headed toward Mike’s. I hadn’t wanted to ruin the young man’s life. I really hadn’t.
And my troubles in the Red Cavern were just beginning. Perhaps this chaotic situation would present an opportunity to snag the Dagda’s Harp and get the fook out of the demon underworld.
Chapter 25
Something shook me awake. Before I opened my eyes, panic streaked through me. I had witnessed a devil running from a battle. It was only a matter of time before I was silenced so I couldn’t spread the story. Cheryl too.
I opened my crusty eyelids, and Dweezil’s face appeared a few feet away. A raging pain centered in my jaw from the beating I’d taken.
He said, “You need to get up now.”
It appeared Bruceras had sent Dweezil so we wouldn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary. My mind started to devise a way out of the Red Cavern.
He woke up Cheryl, who stretched out and yawned. She crawled over to a wall and leaned back against it.
I sat up as Dweezil said, “You two have been selected to go on another mission.”
Well, that changed everything. At least we weren’t getting the Vlad treatment just yet. It still smelled like a setup.
“Oh, another great honor,” I said sarcastically. “What did we do to deserve this?”
Dweezil opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him. I could tell Bruceras throwing him to the enemy had rocked his world. I decided to be sensitive with him.
“Are you all right?” I asked in a gentle tone. “I know that last trip didn’t go exactly how you would’ve liked.”
He turned sharply to me, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’ve served him for fourteen years. Nobly, humbly. With never a whisper of doubt. I was proud to serve him. Honored, really. I would have gladly died for him. But it would have been my choice.”
He broke down and plopped down on the floor next to me. I patted him on the shoulder, and Cheryl moved in closer to do the same.
He smashed his trembling lips together and thought for a moment. “Like I was nothing.”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“He threw me away like I was nothing more than a piece of trash stuck to his boot,” he said and sighed in disgust. “I knew the man had done some dishonorable things in his day, but I grew to ignore the faults. He was a devil, the same as a God to the humans. The top of the chain. The final link between the demons and the grand devil. The original.”
“I understand.” But I didn’t understand everything. I thought the original devil had died. It wasn’t worth bringing it up now. “It’s like finding out your favorite baseball player has been corking his bat.”
“What?” he asked, his wart-covered face riddled with confusion.
“Never mind.” How could I approach this? I thought about the plan Cheryl and I had developed and winked at her. “Listen. Since we’ve been here, we’ve realized that this might not be the best place for us.”
“You can’t leave,” he said coldly. “You’re the only ones that make me feel sane around here.” He tried to smile, but his trembling lips wouldn’t oblige, and he ended up with an awkward, confusing expression.
“It’s just that we expected the devils to be as noble as the Gods.” I hoped I was keeping a straight face because some of the Gods were anything but noble. “We aren’t against the magic or the mission, but the mission is for the benefit of the leaders. If we don’t respect the leaders, then what are we doing?”
I could see the hamster wheel starting to spin inside Dweezil’s head. His facial contours twisted as years’ worth of recognition appeared to be hitting him in waves. Tears galloped down his face, jumping from the tip of his pointed chin and drizzling onto the floor.
“It’s okay to admit you made a mistake. We have.” Either I had convinced Dweezil to come to our side, or I had just signed two death certificates. “So, what’s our big honor?”
“It’s no honor,” he blurted. “He’s taking you two on another mission.” He made quote symbols with his fingers. “Under the guise of a mission, he plans to kill both of you. The three of us will be joining him on a trip to St. Louis.”
Cheryl asked, “Why is he going to kill us?”
“Because you witnessed him running from the enemy.” He lowered his head, defeated. “Because you can tell everyone how cowardly he acted. There have been some stirrings lately concerning dissatisfaction of Bruceras. If this story gets out, he could be run out of the Red Cavern. Three devils have died in the past few days. Three.”
He took a few deep breaths and continued, “And he lost the Devil’s Glov
e. One of the most powerful relics in the world. So with him standing on shaky ground, he can’t afford to have a story highlighting his cowardly ways making its rounds.”
I could tell the fact that Bruceras had run was affecting Dweezil in more ways than one. Everything he had built this man up to be was a complete farce. I still thought he was missing a key aspect to this scenario.
“Why do you think he asked you to join us in St. Louis?” I asked.
A fiery streak of recognition bounced around his teary eyes and he lowered his head. “How stupid of me. I’m the third witness.”
Even after Bruceras had thrown him to the enemy, he had still been blinded by his obedience. The odious stench of servility didn’t wash away easily. Everything was dawning on him now.
I said, “Listen, we’ve been talking about a plan to get him before he gets us. With your help, we could make it happen.”
“We can’t compete with him.” His eyes widened in fear. “He’s a devil. A lord.”
Those words hurt my ears.
“I understand magic a lot more than I’ve been letting on.” I paused and gave Cheryl a chance to come clean. Instead, she sat against the wall, chewing her bottom lip nervously.
After a brief spell of silence, Dweezil admitted, “And I may have a bit more power than I’ve shown. I need to make a few more stops and then I’ll return, and we can talk again.”
Dweezil wiped away the tears and composed himself with a few heavy exhales. He dabbed his cheeks with his sleeves and climbed out the top. I felt numb. Dweezil hadn’t committed to anything, and for all I knew, he could be running straight to Bruceras to tell him every detail we’d just discussed.
My heart pounded, and Cheryl said, “We don’t have a choice. Even if Dweezil chickens out, we have to do it ourselves. Bres is going to kill us. There’s only one way to stop it.”
Her calling him Bres struck me as odd.