by Michael Todd
The smell of food and stale beer was familiar and comforting, and she laughed as she watched a fight land in a plate of freshly-prepared nachos to the left of her.
The fight ended as cheese sprayed wildly into the air and those involved hugged in a gooey embrace, putting their hands up for the crowd to cheer them. Katie just shook her head, realizing that the bar she used to feel lost in suddenly felt like home. She had been doing this demon thing—head down and full speed ahead—longer than she had thought she would.
When she’d first arrived, there was a big part of her that had figured she would be dead within the first six months. She couldn’t lie to herself about that.
But here she was, stronger than ever, striding through every day with a renewed sense of self. She walked back to the table and sat down with Stephanie, Damian, Calvin, Derek, Korbin, and Eric.
They looked like they were having a good time. Eric and Derek were scanning the crowd as usual, Stephanie was poking at Korbin, Damian was reading a book and sipping a whiskey, and Calvin was on the dance floor. He had a whole group around him, jamming to the early-nineties dance music pumping through the speakers. Katie laughed, watching Calvin hanging out like he was a normal dude enjoying his downtime.
“You guys are sooo boring,” Stephanie whined, dancing in her seat. “Come on, old grumpy Gus—let’s go cut a rug.”
Stephanie stood up and put her hand out to Korbin, who slowly looked up at her. Katie put her hand over her mouth and leaned forward on her elbow, trying to hide the amusement she felt watching the two of them.
Finally he sighed and took her hand, letting Stephanie drag him onto the dance floor. Eric joined Calvin, seeing his chance to get in on the horde of women dancing with him.
“Whelp!” Derek smacked him on the back. “I think I’m gonna play some pool.”
Katie chuckled. “No wild dance party for you?”
“Me?” Derek laughed, standing up from his chair and glancing at a sweet brunette in the corner who was giving him the eye. “I think I’ll find my comforts somewhere else. Besides, I dance like Korbin.”
Katie looked at Korbin, who was swaying side to side and clapping his hands. She burst into laughter, covering her mouth and shaking her head as Derek walked away nodding.
She took a sip of her beer and let the last giggle out as she looked around the room. Damian hadn’t noticed anything and kept his nose pressed into his book. Katie wondered if he actually read the thing, or if it was a distraction from the evils that threatened his priesthood. She sighed and put down her half-empty glass.
What’s wrong with you now? Pandora griped.
Nothing, Katie replied. I was just thinking about how it would be nice to maybe have a guy for something other than a brother.
Hallelujah! Praise Jesus, a miracle has come to us today, Pandora intoned in her best reverend impression.
Are you allowed to say that? Katie chuckled.
Hell, yeah, I am, Pandora snarked. If old priesty-head over there can drink whiskey and swear, I can praise that fluffy guy in the sky.
I’m not saying I’m ready to go cartwheeling into someone’s bedroom, Katie pointed out. I’m just saying a little romance never hurt anyone. Well, that’s not entirely true, I suppose. Romance is probably the biggest cause of pain for humanity, but still.
I would say it’s number three on the list, Pandora told her. One being death, because let’s face it—none of us get out of this life alive. Except me, typically.
Because you’re not alive, Katie replied.
Pandora brushed her off. Details. Two would be money, because it makes your little world go around, and third is romance.
You have a point. I’ve come to terms with death and I have plenty of money. Katie laughed. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think about that third one.
You need to do more than think, girl, Pandora commanded. You need to push up those tits, swivel those goddamn hips, and start showing these men who you are.
I am pretty sure if I push my tits up any more than you already have they’re going to stab me in the eyeballs, Katie replied.
Pandora kept babbling about picking up men, and Katie instantly regretted telling her how she felt. She tuned her out, staring across the floor at Stephanie and Korbin. They were talking and laughing, sharing the intimacy that Katie was starting to long for.
It wasn’t just about sex for her. It was about having someone there. Someone to laugh with, cry with, get angry at, and all the other things that happen when you enter into a relationship with someone.
She wanted to be wanted, and she wanted to want someone back.
Every single morning Katie woke up wondering if it would be her last rise and shine. She went through her day thinking about the next incursion, not the next date or the next girl’s night out like most of her friends.
She didn’t sit around and drink bottles of wine at night. She planned out the next demon hunt with Stephanie, eating pizza and wiping her face on her sleeve. She could call herself a tomboy, but it was her life, not her personality.
Katie sighed and picked up her drink again, figuring that whatever was going to happen, she wanted it to happen organically. She didn’t want to force it. She was not on the hunt; not for a man, at least.
She had bigger things to worry about, like the demons who were hunting her.
T’Chezz tapped his large scaly fingers on the desk, shaking the cup of pens on the edge. The underling demon kept his eyes on the floor, the wall, or anywhere else he could put them to avoid staring into T’Chezz’s deep-red gaze. The big demon had a plan; something he had to get done, and he couldn’t sit around and wait to make it happen.
“You understand what needs to be done, correct?” T’Chezz asked.
“O-oh, yes,” the underling stuttered. “Y-yes, I understand what I have to do. I just don’t understand why.”
“You don’t need to,” T’Chezz growled. “Just know that you need to follow through, and the order comes from way above even my head.”
“Yes, sir,” the underling replied meekly.
“I need you to understand something,” the demon growled. “I need Moloch’s help in this. You cannot screw up, because if you do, everything I have worked toward for the last three centuries will have been for nothing.
“Moloch was the one who took care of the demon-killing swords the last time they came around, and I need him to do it again. I know he can; it just takes a little bit of research and the perfect timing. As far as your first task… Well, that is a favor for a favor. Something I knew I would never get this deal without.”
“Yes, sir.” The underling nodded. “I won’t fail you.”
“See that you don’t,” he growled. “You may go, but stay close for when the time is right.”
“Yes, sir,” he agreed, jumping up and running out of the room.
The servant stepped to the side as the demon ran by. He shook his head, put his hands together, and looked at T’Chezz. The demon rubbed his face and groaned, hating that he had to rely on an underling like that to carry out the dirty-but-very-important work.
“Are you all right, sir?” the servant asked.
“Oh, you know… Just trying to take over an entire planet, making deals with shifty Level-One demons, and trying to keep my head on straight.” He groaned. “Why can’t you be a mercenary and not a servant?”
“I don’t know if I’d be much good at it,” he replied.
“Honesty, I like that,” T’Chezz grumbled, standing up from his chair and walking over to the window.
He crossed his arms and looked out over the hellish scenery, watching the souls floating in streams of lava. Thoughts of his sister flashed through his mind, and he clenched his fists a little tighter.
“I will make this work,” T’Chezz decreed out loud. “Even if I have to kill every last human being on Earth.”
Chapter 8
Korbin sat at his desk, staring at the stacked boxes.
He was ready to mo
ve completely over to the new base and stop having to shuffle through everything like he had been doing. Just when he thought he was clear to pack something, he had to pull it all back out for one reason or another.
It was irritating, and the entire reason he had hated moving when he was in the military. Hurry up and wait, and while you are doing that, please unpack your bag fifty million times because you forgot and packed your toothbrush in the bottom.
At least he had a filing system this time, unlike his bags. They just held all his belongings shuffled up together. He thought about the old days; his time in the military, and the friends he had all but forgotten over the years.
The phone rang loudly, jolting him from his thoughts. He sighed and rubbed his face. He almost hated it when the phone rang nowadays. He never knew who was going to be on the other end.
The last thing he wanted was to talk to the general again.
“This is Korbin,” he answered.
“Hey, it’s Charlotte,” a happy voice chirped.
“Charlotte.” Korbin smiled, relieved. “How are you doing out there in Arizona?”
“Sweating to death.” She laughed. “But good otherwise. I got an invitation to the next suspected incursion, and it is a huge one—the one I was talking about. They are focusing their efforts on women specifically. I got us four tickets.”
“That’s good work,” Korbin replied. “I’ll send Katie, Stephanie, Ella, and probably Amy from the other team down there.”
“Well, I want to go,” she said quietly. “I mean, that’s what you pay me hazard pay for, right?”
“I don’t know.” Korbin leaned forward. “This could be really dangerous for our team members, much less a civilian with no formal training.”
“I know the demons. I know who they are, what they look like, and what their plan is,” Charlotte explained. “I am vital to this.”
“All right,” Korbin agreed reluctantly. “But you have to get out of there at the first sign of a battle.”
“I will.”
“Okay, I’ll call you with the details of the others’ arrival then. Stay safe, and good work.” Korbin hung up.
He sat there for a minute before picking the receiver back up and dialing John’s number in New York.
If Charlotte was going to put her ass on the line, he was going to send a badass team of women. He couldn’t afford a fuck-up on this one, not with so many civilian women attending on top of Charlotte, his spy.
Their lives were the most important thing. Second was finding out just what was going on with these demons.
“John,” Korbin said happily when the man picked up. “How is New York?”
“Same old, same old.” He laughed. “How about you? How’s Vegas?”
“Quiet.” Korbin pounded his fist on the desk three times. “Knock on wood. But I do have an incursion that requires a very specific team. I was hoping you would let me borrow Ella for a few days. This one is important, and I have some really good sources telling me that things are about to get really nasty out in Arizona.”
“Uh oh,” John replied. “Of course. I’ll ask, then send Ella. Do you need anyone else?”
“No, I’m pretty sure these three women will be more than enough,” Korbin said with a smirk. “I’ll have teams on backup just in case, though.”
“All right, I’ll have Ella meet the other two in Arizona. Which city?”
“Phoenix and I will take care of the transportation from there,” Korbin replied.
“Great,” John finished. “Talk to you soon.”
Korbin hung up, glad he had gotten someone Katie and Stephanie could trust to fight beside.
On top of that, he was told that Ella was a pretty damn strong Damned. They thought she might just catch up with Katie one day.
Korbin doubted that, but he wouldn’t mind having two Katies—not with the way everything was going. So it would be Charlotte, Katie, Stephanie, and Ella taking on God-knew-what, with an unknown number of demons and a bunch of innocents.
The whole thing made him more than a little nervous, but he would have to trust the girls’ ability to handle any situation.
Ella was new, but not that new anymore. She would have to get to the point where she could jump on a plane at a moment’s notice and head out to wherever she was needed.
Sink or swim.
She would be with friends, though, and Katie and Stephanie could protect her if need be. Charlotte was his real worry; an innocent among the others, wanting to help and being strong-minded. Those things could get you killed when you were completely inexperienced.
“Phoenix?” Ella laughed and looked in the mirror at her hair, which no longer showed any crazy colors. It was just long and black.
She was still her though: dressed in black, ripped jeans, nose ring, and worn out, scuffed boots. Training and the life of a killer had mellowed her a bit, but she channeled all that energy into being as badass as possible.
She took the black leather cuff off her wrist and threw it on the dresser as she turned to John, who was standing in the doorway.
“With who?” Ella asked.
“Katie, Stephanie, and some reporter who is a spy for them,” John answered. “It’s a special assignment; an event that’s going to get crashed. A spa retreat for a ton of innocent women they are planning to infect. They need you, and wanted you to be the fourth.”
“I don’t know how well I’ll fit in undercover, but if there’s a chance for demon-slinging I am sure as hell ready for it.” Ella pursed her lips. “Besides, the girls haven’t seen what I can do now. I kind of want to show off my new mad skills.”
“Right.” John smirked. “Well, I’m sure they will be impressed, and you might even learn something new from them.”
“Yeah.” Ella smirked back. “Or maybe I’ll teach them a few things.”
“Umm, yeah, sure.” He chuckled. “Just pack your things. You are meeting them in Phoenix.”
“Sand and sun, oh yeah.” Ella smiled. “I hope there’s a pool at this joint so I can work on my tan.”
“Mmmhmm,” John said, walking away. “Said no goth chick ever.”
She yelled, “I’m not goth! I am just expressive of my inner soul, which is dark and gloomy.” Ella looked at herself in the mirror. “He’ll see; they will be super impressed by my skills. I’m stronger than they give me credit for. Bring on the big boy; I got this.”
Ella packed her bag, hiding in the back of her mind the fact that she would be happy to see Stephanie and Katie again.
Perhaps more Katie than Stephanie.
She had settled down there in New York, but Katie and Stephanie were the ones who had trained her and really shown her what it meant to be a demon hunter.
Every time there was a bulletin with news of tributes, she checked to make sure the girls were okay. She just hid the emotion underneath, trying to keep her wall up with the teams. She couldn’t help but feel that those girls were her sisters, and she was stoked to fight alongside them.
Are you ready for this? Melneck asked.
Fuck yeah. She scoffed.
You know you aren’t those girls. You aren’t even close yet, Melneck reminded her. So don’t go marching in there, guns blazing and doing something fucking stupid. I don’t need a one-way ticket back to hell, and I am pretty sure you aren’t ready to keel over and die.
Ella shook her head. I’m not gonna die. But I’ll tell you this right now: your cousins, the ones trying to fuck things up—they are going to meet their ends at the tip of my sword.
The sun was shining brightly over Wickenburg, Arizona, a town just sixty miles from Phoenix.
It was dry and desert-y and had about six thousand citizens, mostly ranchers and those who ran the local Western Museum and the plethora of touristy shops centered around gunslingers and cattle drives.
Up in the rocky cliffs behind town, a gate creaked open and Moloch stepped out. He looked relatively human; shrouded to keep the humans from running off.
; The sky crackled above him as his foot touched the sand, and dark ominous clouds rolled right in. He had come on a mission, but he was gonna make a statement while he was there.
Those who knew and worshipped him would see the signs, and the rest had better just keep out of his way. He walked down the dusty path toward the town, his boots crushing the sand.
He was in a human form as a disguise, but it was one huge man who covered the monstrosity that was Moloch.
As he moved the storm followed him, bright bolts of lightning crashing across the sky. He slammed his fist against a green sign on the side of the road marking sixty miles to Phoenix.
Moloch knew what was going down there in just a few days, but right then all he was worried about was creating his weapon; the weapon that would gain T’Chezz recognition and him a pat on the back. He’d be one step closer to Lucifer’s left hand.
As he passed the Western Museum he growled and sent waves of energy at the front, which slammed the doors shut. People scurried about expecting it to start pouring any minute, but this wasn’t a rainstorm.
It was a storm of enormous evil. He would deal with his project here, then move to the Northwest.
That was the more interesting project, and the one that would cause these humans fits.
Back at Demon Central, the staff were busy conducting research, directing teams to calls, and, most importantly, monitoring the energy of different areas to make sure no spikes in activity occurred.
The monitoring room was dark. The techs sat at their computers staring at their screens and listening to signals on different frequencies. The day had been quiet. In fact, the entire week leading up to that day had been slow.
A burst of energy showed up on the map and a soldier quickly lifted his hand.
“We got movement here,” he called. “Audio and visual!”
The colonel looked over and frowned, then stood and made his way to the man’s desk. They didn’t usually get readings that strong. When they did, it often turned into a historical event. The teams were spread so thin, though, that this incursion may not have ended up on their priority list.