It was starting to become overwhelming. I had to focus. I controlled my breathing, concentrating on one thing and one thing only—Asmodeus. Everything else melted away and I’d found my center. Now, I could be ready for him. Once he tried to teleport within this area, I’d feel the disturbance in the ley line.
I opened my eyes and rose to my feet, staring out over the ocean with only the moon to provide any sort of light. This was where he’d appear. Already I could feel the ripples flowing through the area. I reached inside my jacket and drew my weapons—my revolver in one hand, my dagger in the other. The Cocytus blade was still hidden for now. That would come last, after I had him on the ropes. I took a deep breath, feeling the power flow through me. I felt whole in a way I hadn’t for a very long time.
“Come and get me, you son of a bitch.”
And then, the ripples grew larger. He was here.
34
Asmodeus appeared over the water and by his side was Iblis. Their bat-like wings held them aloft. In his arms, Iblis carried a bruised and bloodied Morrison, who’d definitely seen better days. They came to the shore and their wings lowered them to the ground. Once their feet touched the sand, their wings began glowing and retracted, vanishing into their backs.
“I’m impressed you were able to find your way here,” said Asmodeus. “But I hope you don’t think your presence will change anything. Once this is all over, that child is coming with me. The only question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you’ll still be breathing.”
I kept my eyes on Asmodeus as I addressed Morrison. “Chuck, are you okay?”
I was answered first by a cough and then by a voice almost too weak to hear. “I’m sorry, Luther…I couldn’t resist…”
“Don’t beat yourself up, he got to me too,” I said.
“What happened to Cain?” asked Asmodeus.
“He’s a little busy right now. Will probably have to deal with him again at some point in the future,” I said. “Y’know, right after I kick your ass.”
Asmodeus chuckled. “Very droll, Luther. There are two of us and one of you. How are you going to stop us both?”
“Why don’t we try pretending we’re civilized,” I said. “Let him go. You got what you wanted out of him. And it’s not like he can put up much of a fight to begin with.”
“As you wish.”
Asmodeus nodded at Iblis, who then released Morrison. He stumbled and fell on the sand. I moved to help him up, but he was able to do it on his own. I stepped closer to him and whispered.
“Go to the house. Stay there. Tell Shelly it’s time.”
Morrison looked a little confused, but he nodded. I let him go off towards the house. I waited a few moments to give him a head-start and then engaged Asmodeus once again.
“I’m going to give you one chance,” I said. “Give this up. You know you can’t trust Thanatos. But if we go back to the way things were, maybe we can still find out who’s behind all this.”
Asmodeus chuckled. “Oh, you mean you still haven’t figured that out?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not as if it’s some great big mystery, Luther,” said Asmodeus. “Maybe if you hadn’t been so wrapped up in your own selfish pursuits, you could have cracked the case by now.”
My hands tightened around my weapons. The anger I felt mostly stemmed from the knowledge that he was right. I’d gotten distracted these past few months and that’s how I ended up in this situation. I had a lot to make up for, but first I had to get rid of him.
“Maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll whisper the name to you as I slice open your throat.”
Asmodeus held out his arm. Hellfire crackled down the length of the arm and began to gather in the palm of his outstretched hand. It forged into a hilt and then the flames settled atop that, held in the position of a blade.
“Get the brat,” he said.
Iblis nodded and his wings emerged from his back once more, taking him into the sky. I raised my gun to shoot at him, but before I could squeeze the trigger, I saw Asmodeus lunge for me out of the corner of my eye. I had to let Iblis go as I dodged a swing of Asmodeus’ flaming sword.
I bobbed and weaved to avoid the swings, the fire trailing after the blade. When I had an opening, I squeezed the trigger a few times and three rounds slammed into Asmodeus’ chest, leaving holes in his crimson suit. He sighed as he looked down at his clothes.
“Do you have any idea how much these suits cost?”
“Wouldn’t know, I don’t shop the bargain racks,” I said.
Asmodeus’ eyes flashed with anger. Just as he was about to come at me again, we heard an explosion. We both looked in time to see Iblis falling from the sky. One of Shelly’s frag grenades. Hopefully she’d be able to deal with him on her own.
Shelly had just let Morrison into the house and closed the door behind him. She heard it lock and with the protection sigils carved into the wood, hopefully it would keep them safe in the time needed to finish off these two.
Once she saw Iblis take to the air, she knew he was coming right for her. She rested the shotgun on her shoulder and took one of the fragmentation grenades hanging from her belt, removing the pin and holding the safety lever in place. Her eyes never wavered from Iblis and once he got within range, she hurled the grenade into the air.
He was close enough so she could see his face and he smiled. That made Shelly smile as well. Dumbass thinks it’s a regular grenade, she thought to herself.
The grenade went off when it reached Iblis, blowing iron fragments into his body. He crashed into the sand and Shelly readied the pump-action shotgun, moving towards him. Before he even had a chance to get up, she raised the weapon. The sigils on the barrel began to glow and she fired. Iblis screamed in response. Shelly didn’t waste another moment. She slid the forend back and forth, loading a fresh shell and then firing that one into him.
Iblis growled and when he looked at her, Shelly saw his eyes burning bright yellow. He held out his hand and an invisible force threw her from where she stood. She couldn’t see where she was going, but it wasn’t long before she was slammed into the side of the house. Shelly tried to move, but Iblis’ power kept her pinned right there.
Iblis rose to his feet and limped towards her. He had a scowl on his face and hellfire gathered in the palm of his free hand, forming into a dagger. Once he got close enough, he held the blade to her throat.
“I think I’m going to enjoy slicing you up.”
“Do whatever you want to me,” she said. “You’ll be dead before you get into that house.”
Iblis smiled. “I like you, you’ve got spunk. Maybe I’ll stop just short of killing you.”
Shelly’s grenade provided me with a distraction I took quick advantage of. Asmodeus was still looking where Iblis had fallen, and I fired a bullet into his head. He rocked back and when he stood upright again, the area around his right eye was marred from the shot.
I moved against him, ducking a swing from his sword and drove my dagger into his side. Asmodeus responded by elbowing me in the face and then kicking me in my chest.
I stumbled and fell back on the sand. Asmodeus took hold of the knife in his side and drew it from his body. He used both hands to crumple the knife, rendering it useless, and tossed it over his shoulder.
This wasn’t going exactly as I’d planned. I’d hoped I could get him on the ropes a lot easier. Wear him down, then buy myself enough time to finish him off. I focused my power, trying to summon the hellfire. That aspect of my powers had been unreliable for some time now, but this was different. This time, I couldn’t even feel the hellfire inside me.
A possible explanation came to mind, one that I didn’t like in the least. When I was in the dreamscape, when I united my demonic and human aspects, did I strip myself of the ability to summon hellfire? If that were the case, would’ve been nice to know that in advance.
Asmodeus came towards me, raising his flaming hellfire sword to deliver
the killing blow, a smile on his face. There was only one thing I could think to do, though I know it wouldn’t really help much.
“Praemium!”
An explosion went off right in the space where Asmodeus was standing. Wouldn’t be enough to kill him, but it did throw him across the beach and he landed in the shallow end of the water. If I could just bind him temporarily, at least for a few moments, that would give me the time I needed to finish this once and for all.
Binding spells were used to restrict people from using magic. I’d only ever used it on witches and warlocks—or in other words, humans. It prevented them from tapping into magical energy. But demons were different—especially archdemons. Magic wasn’t something they learned, something they accessed from afar. It was inherent to them. I had no way of knowing if a binding spell was even capable of restricting Asmodeus’ power—or if it did, how long it would last.
I didn’t have many options, though. I had to try something. I held out my free hand, concentrating on my goal. I visualized it in my mind, pictured ethereal chains wrapping around Asmodeus, restricting his movements. All other thoughts melted away, leaving only that image. And then I spoke the word.
“Restringo!”
Nothing. Asmodeus stood knee-deep in the ocean. He kept his eyes on me for a few moments, his expression unreadable. And then he laughed. No doubt he had heard me and understood what I’d just tried. Now he was mocking my effort.
“I sensed the change in you before, but I didn’t realize quite what it meant,” he said. “You can’t do it, can you? You embraced your humanity once more and now, the hellfire’s gone. All you have left are those pathetic parlor tricks.”
At first I was terrified, but then I noticed something. It gave me hope and a smile started to tug at the corner of my lips.
“What are you smiling at?” he asked.
“Looks like your sword’s running low on gas.”
“Eh?” Asmodeus looked down at his flaming sword and saw the blade’s length had shortened. It started to flicker with difficulty at staying lit. “This isn’t possible…”
I moved on him, firing the last of my bullets as I approached. They struck with more force now that his magic was restricted. The gun was only useful now as a blunt instrument. I held it by the barrel and swung it when I came within range, slamming the butt against the side of his face.
Asmodeus fell to the ground. I kicked him a few times for good measure and then drew the Cocytus blade. This was it, this was the end for him. I wrapped my free hand around the blade and drew the knife back, slicing open my palm. The blade was coated in my blood, and it flashed with an yellowish-orange glow. It was ready to be used on him.
I turned him onto his back with my foot and knelt down, holding the dagger over his chest. “Hope you don’t mind the cold, because you’re gonna be spending a long time in it.”
Asmodeus’ eyes held fear when he saw the dagger. He knew what it was, knew where it would send him. Good. I wanted him to know, wanted him to have that fear right before it happened. I raised the dagger and then—
My body stiffened. There was pressure in my side and I tasted copper in my mouth. I looked down at Asmodeus and saw he was smiling. Then my eyes drifted to the side and I saw a knife sticking out of my body. Asmodeus grabbed the hilt and twisted the dagger. Blood pooled in my mouth and I had to spit it out, staining the white sand crimson.
“The binding spell was impressive, I had no idea you were that strong.” Asmodeus took the Cocytus dagger from my hand and examined this. “Only one place you could have gotten this from. I’m surprised that petulant brat chose to get involved. Usually he’s too busy sulking in his tower. But now that you’ve prepared it for me, seems a waste not to use it.”
Dammit, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go down. I had to stop him, couldn’t let him send me to Cocytus, couldn’t let him get his hands on Dakota or the kid. But my vision was blurred and the only thing I felt like doing was lying down and taking a nap. He put the tip of the blade against my chest and slowly applied pressure.
“Seems fitting you’ll end up in Cocytus,” said Asmodeus. “Maybe once I’ve given the child to Thanatos, I’ll go back to Hell and find Lilith. Send her right after you so you’ve got some company.”
I thought the end was here. But before Asmodeus could plunge the blade into my heart, something happened. A baby cried. But not a normal cry, this was the sound of a massive thunderclap. Asmodeus and I both looked to see what had happened and we saw a flash of violet light in the windows of the house.
It was just a momentary display of power, but that’s all I needed. I summoned up the last of the strength I had and grabbed the dagger from Asmodeus’ hand. He reacted as quickly as he could, but it was just a hair too late. I drove it right into his chest and pierced his black heart.
Asmodeus’ entire body went stiff. His eyes were filled with fear. I twisted the knife and it glowed in my hands. Asmodeus stood and backed away, his eyes fixed on the dagger in his chest. The weapon started to glow bright orange and soon, that effect spread to Asmodeus’ body as well.
“No…it can’t end like this…!”
“Go to Hell, you sonnuva bitch.”
Asmodeus screamed as he was sucked into the ground, vanishing into nothing. Transported into the frozen waters of Cocytus where he’d stay bound forever.
And me? I still had a knife jammed in my side. Asmodeus must have struck an organ or an artery or something, because I knew I didn’t have much time left. The world was going blurry, but as I strained to look at the house, I didn’t see any other light shows.
“Luther!”
Shelly’s voice sounded distant. I turned my head, trying to focus, but I felt dizzy. I saw her face—or several faces, that is. Her lips were moving, but there was a delay when I heard her voice. I shook my head and concentrated so I could get this last bit out.
“Dakota…the kid…” I whispered.
“They’re fine,” she said. “After Malcolm’s cry and Asmodeus vanishing, Iblis flew off.”
“Take…” I tried to reach for my jacket pocket, but could barely lift my arm. “My pocket…”
Shelly didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, but she reached into my pocket anyway. She pulled out the folded parchment and looked at it.
“I don’t understand.”
“Protection…keep…safe…”
“You do it yourself, we’ll get you to a hospital, we’ll…”
That was the last thing I heard. From there, Shelly’s voice faded into the distance and everything became silent. My eyelids became too heavy to keep up. Slowly, the world went black.
And then, I felt like I was flying...
Epilogue
Tessa Kang was awakened by the sound of someone banging on the gate at the front of her shop. She tried to ignore it, pulling the pillow over her head and hoping whoever it was would just go away. But the rattle of the gate continued unabated.
Her hand reached out for the bedside table, fumbling around until she finally got hold of her phone. Tessa brought it under the pillow with her and turned on the screen, flinching at the light.
“What asshole is banging on my door at six in the morning?”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Whoever it was didn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. Tessa sighed and stood from her bed, stretching out. Her black cat rubbed his body against her legs and she bent over to give him a quick pet behind his ears.
Tessa took her robe and pulled it over her shorts and t-shirt, tying the belt as she walked down the staircase from her loft on the second floor and into her shop on the ground level. She could see the shape of someone through the fogged glass, still banging on the gate.
Tessa opened the door, but left the gate in place, looking at her unexpected visitor through the bars. “What the hell do you want?”
The man who stood on the other side wore a light brown trench coat and had a lit cigarette between his fingers. His hair was blond, though turnin
g white in places and his eyes were pure blue. His face was unshaven and by his side, he held a leather satchel.
“You’re Tessa Kang, aren’t you?”
Tessa sighed. “Depends on who’s asking.”
“My name’s Alistair Carraway. I think you may’ve heard of me.”
She rolled her eyes and groaned. “What does Cross want now?”
“You know about my connection to him?”
“Yeah, you’re like Giles to his Buffy or something, aren’t you?”
Alistair blinked. “I have no idea what any of those words mean. Suffice to say, he and I have a connection. And I was just woken by a vision where I witnessed his death.”
Tessa shrugged. “So? It’s a dream.”
“I’ve been doing this since before you were born, lass. I know the difference between a dream and a vision,” said Alistair. “Luther Cross, for all intents and purposes, is dead.”
Tessa sighed and looked down. Despite the problems she’d had with Luther, that wasn’t something she’d ever wanted. Especially when it seemed he was on the road to redemption the last time she saw him.
“Well, thanks for telling me. I’ll be sure to light a candle so his spirit can find its way to wherever it needs to go.”
Tessa started to close the door, but Alistair banged on the gate to stop her.
“Wait,” he said. “I could use your help.”
“My help with what?”
“Luther said you’re one of the best witches in the area, and I have need of your skills.”
Tessa shrugged. “What the hell do you want me to do?”
“I need you to come with me. Because together, you and I are going to resurrect Luther Cross.”
Devil's Conflict Page 22