Good Intentions 3: Personal Demons (37 page)

“And you?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Huh? I’m fine,” said Jason. “Feels like I oughta be downstairs to meet her or something. Or at the airport. Shouldn’t just sit here.”

“She texted you as soon as her flight landed, didn’t she?”

“I’m worried about her safety, is all,” said Jason. “Freakin’ crazy apocalyptic wizard assholes out there gunning for us, y’know? Everyone else is out doing stuff. I’m sitting here on the Internet.”

Her arched eyebrow challenged the honesty of his statement. “You’re keeping an eye on the world outside our crisis. That is no trivial thing. The others are not alone, as you would be if you left to greet her. Our enemies have no reason to hunt Amber. They don’t even know she exists.” She watched him with mild amusement. “I suspect it isn’t her safety that has you literally wringing your hands.”

Jason set his hands to his sides. He managed to keep from fidgeting for all of five seconds. “I don’t know how happy she’s gonna be about all this.”

“Not very, I would suspect. Why would she take it out on you? Is that what worries you?”

“Shouldn’t it? I called her. She’s got whatever FBI cases and stuff going on in LA. Now here I am pulling her away from all that.”

“No, Jason. This is her job, which she chose for herself. You did nothing to create this situation. If anything, you showed your respect for her by calling her in rather than making some vain attempt to handle it all yourself.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I guess. Mostly I don’t want to be a needy boyfriend.”

“I think a lethal shootout and a supernatural conspiracy merit a phone call. Jason, ask yourself this: if her love for you runs cold over stresses beyond your control, would you truly wish to be with her?”

His tapping foot grew still. Several different expressions passed over Jason’s face until he rubbed it with both hands. “I guess you’ve got a point.”

Her phone hummed with a call. She smiled as she saw the source on the screen. “And now we put my words to the test.” Lorelei tapped a button to allow Amber into the building.

“Guess I should go meet her.”

“Jason,” said Lorelei, stopping him as he rose. Her easy smile remained. “You would only tie up an elevator. Or miss her in passing. She knows the way.” She tilted her head curiously. “What else troubles you?”

He didn’t answer right away, hesitating to say it out loud. “I don’t know if she’ll be pissed I put myself in danger again.”

“Why would that upset her? You told her of the meeting. You took no unnecessary risks. She has faced danger with you before. What’s the problem?”

“I dunno. Doesn’t everyone’s girlfriend get mad at them when they wind up in danger?”

“Only in badly written television,” Lorelei scoffed.

They walked across the living room and kitchen area to the front door. “I’ll check on the others,” said Lorelei. She leaned in and added in a conspiratorial tone, “If I should see one of the bedroom doors shut when I return, I’ll make sure no one interrupts.”

“What do you—? Oh.” Jason blushed fiercely. “Yeah, right. C’mon, Amber just got off a plane after waking up at the crack of dawn.”

“Of course.” The knock on the door interrupted further conversation, though Lorelei paused for one last comment before opening up: “I’ll always be your wingman.”

Jason blinked, not sure what to say to that, and then Amber was there. “Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” she huffed. Amber let the duffel bag and backpack slide from her shoulders, dropping both on the floor to throw her arms around him and kiss him deeply.

Lorelei pulled Amber’s bags inside. Jason ran his fingers through Amber’s hair, drawing a tiny sigh from her as well as Lorelei’s silent approval.

“You’re okay?” Amber asked as she slipped out of the kiss and his embrace, though she still held both of his hands.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“Okay. Hi, Lorelei,” she said bashfully. “Any word from Alex?”

“Yes, only moments ago. He and Rachel are a long way from home, but they’re fine. I’ll let Jason fill you in while I head up to the patio to talk to Molly and Taylor. My home is yours. Thank you for coming, Amber.”

Lorelei moved out into the hallway. She heard Amber hug Jason again before the door closed, saying, “Tell me everything.”

The elevator wasn’t far from Lorelei’s door. She waited only a few seconds after pressing the call button before the doors opened with Molly about to step through.

“Oh. Hey,” said Molly. “I forgot my water bottle in the kitchen earlier.”

“Amber arrived only a moment ago. I thought I would join you on the roof so she and Jason might have some privacy.”

“Oh,” Molly replied with amused understanding. She stepped right back into the elevator. “Gotcha. Water bottle can wait.”

“I’m suggesting nothing about what they may or may not do,” Lorelei murmured. She stepped inside and pressed the button for the patio.

“Sure. Right.” Molly grinned. “All that friskiness people experience around you is totally coincidental.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lorelei replied with patently false innocence. “In fact, with this particular case, I could even swear to no involvement at all. Some things happen on their own. How goes the search?”

“The birds are mostly over the Cascades now. The baddies have to be somewhere near the roads, at least. Assuming they really have some sort of compound there and it’s not all bullshit, we should have a decent shot at finding it. Might take a while yet, though. It’s snowy up there, too. I don’t know if that’ll make it easier or harder.”

“How has Taylor taken to the task?”

“Oh, I think she digs it. Even if she’s a little weirded out.”

“Has she the talent for your Practice?” Lorelei asked. The pair stepped out of the elevator again and walked out onto the windy patio.

“She’s probably not a natural like Onyx or even me, but anyone can learn a little. She’s got an open mind and discipline. Those are the two big qualifications. Aside from that, it’s a question of having the right mindset. Other Practices might be better for her than ours. And that’s if she’s even interested at all.”

As they turned the corner, the pair found Taylor in a patio chair facing east. She sat up straight, her hair tied back to keep it from whipping around in the wind. She didn’t move at all.

“Hey Taylor, we’re back,” Molly announced steadily so as not to startle her. “How’s it—oh wow, are you okay?” she asked as she came around to see Taylor’s disturbed expression.

“Oh god, I’m glad you’re here.” Taylor’s voice shook. Her hand trembled as she held out the wand. “I think we found the Light. Molly, this is…this is real fucked up.”

Lorelei waited for Molly to take the wand before circling around to face Taylor. She took up the other seat, taking the young woman’s hand in hers. “Taylor, I’m here.”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah.” Taylor blinked away the partial trance of Molly’s spell.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I think. It’s like watching a horror movie at long distance.”

“What did you see?”

“Holy
shit
,” gasped Molly. She stood facing the east, now focused on the same visions that had Taylor so appalled.

“Demons,” Taylor told Lorelei, swallowing hard. “One of the hawks found someplace out in the mountains. It’s like what they described from the fight,” she explained, nodding toward Molly. “Only it’s worse.”

“Lorelei, I think…I think you’d better see this for yourself.” Molly reached out with her left hand until she touched Lorelei’s shoulder. With her eyes focused on some point off in the distance, Molly shifted around to stand behind Lorelei and crouched down to bring her to the same level. “Hold the wand with me,” she said in English. Her next words came in an old form of Greek the succubus hadn’t heard in centuries: “
See what I see
.”

The visions didn’t come at first. Lorelei waited patiently, watching the wand in Molly’s hand until she saw the windows of the neighboring office tower blur.

She saw trees below her. Many trees, and snow. Her perspective turned, though she sat still. Lorelei quickly understood she now saw through a hawk’s eyes and accepted the strange nature of such vision for what it was. Though the hawk flew far above the ground, it saw with a clarity and closeness Lorelei could have only imagined.

The hawk flew in a wide arc in the sky, but its eyes focused on strange events below. Within the woods, off a dirt road behind a junkyard and a corrugated fence, Lorelei saw a collection of cottages, cars, and trucks. Much of the compound was kept clear of the snow. Tracks from tires and boots suggested constant activity.

At the center of the compound, Lorelei saw a broad firepit large enough to accommodate two of those cars laid out end to end. Flames burned across the pit, giving off far too little smoke. Men and women stood around the pit.

Men, women, and monsters.

Lorelei’s breath deepened as she looked on with dread. Every monster was different from the rest, though she saw enough horns, wings, and tails to mark them as demons from the Pit. The collected beasts ran the gamut from creepers to hunters, large to small. Some stood out in the open while most held to whatever shadows they could find among the buildings and the trees.

Three people walked out from one of the buildings. The one in the middle seemed agitated, dragged along by the other two. He probably shouted for mercy or perhaps cursed their names, though the hawk stayed too far away to hear. His captors pummeled him until he was too weak to fight and then heaved him bodily into the firepit. The man disappeared instantly.

Flames rippled out like water from his point of impact, shifting in color and intensity. More such ripples appeared in different spots within the firepit, seeming almost like bubbles in a pond, until more demons burst from those spots and either flew or leapt out into the mortal realm to join their brethren.

“What the fuck?” Molly breathed in awe. “Lorelei, are they…?”

“Yes,” said Lorelei. “Every mortal soul they cast into the fire empowers several demons to come through to this world.”

“Can’t Rachel and the other angels stop this?” asked Taylor.

“No angel sees this,” said Lorelei. Her words came out slowly as she watched for more clues through the hawk’s eyes. “Surely no one in that compound walks under the light of Heaven, not even the victims—though that does not mean they deserve this. Rachel would not tolerate such an atrocity, but she is gone. We cannot contact any others. Nor is there any guarantee they would intervene, even in something so extreme.

“I never expected such ambition from Azazel,” she breathed. “This is far worse than anything I feared.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Molly huffed uncomfortably.

“Do you need to continue the spell?”

“No. No, I saw enough signs on the highway. We can figure out the way there.”

“Then we should end this.”

Molly closed her eyes and lowered the wand. Lorelei’s vision quickly returned to normal. She turned to face her companions. Though disturbed and frightened, the first thing Lorelei heard from either of them overcame all of that: “We’re gonna stop this, right?” Taylor asked.

Brave girls
, Lorelei thought—and not for the first time. “Yes,” said Lorelei. “One way or another.”

* * *

“Leon. It’s Bill.”

“Yeah, I got that from the caller ID, Bill,” came the response. “How’s it going?”

“I followed ‘em downtown,” said Bill. He leaned forward on his steering wheel, staring up at the tall building across the street. “They went into one of the skyscrapers. I guess they’ve got underground parking an’ everything.”

“What kind of skyscraper?”

Bill craned his head again, squinting hard. “Looks like condos. Pretty nice, too. I walked past the lobby once I saw they weren’t coming out. Haven’t tried going inside for a look around yet. I didn’t want to get spotted before talking to you.”

“Good. Hold on a second.” Muffled voices followed, along with the sound of a door and then the crunch of footsteps in snow. Bill heard chanting in the background. Then he recognized Evelyn’s voice, and Aaron’s.

“Okay, sit tight, Bill,” instructed Leon. “I’m sending Aaron and a couple of the others out to you. Watch that entrance in case they come out. Give a call if they do.”

“And if they don’t?”

“We’re gonna finish ‘em off right away.”

Bill looked around the street with a skeptical frown. “It might be a bit complicated tryin’ to operate around here, Leon,” he warned. “You heard me say this is downtown Seattle, right? Even if the office buildings are empty on a Sunday, this place ain’t exactly isolated. And them two witches put up a hell of a fight at the casino. They’ve got even more friends now.”

“So do we, Bill,” assured his leader. “So do we.”

“This is what Sammael suggested when he noted the vacuum left here in Seattle,” Lorelei said. She stood near the sliding door to the balcony with her arms crossed, speaking as much to herself as to her guests. “It isn’t only the vampires and other worldly monsters. He was talking about demons.”

The living room presented much the same scene as it hosted the night before. Her young friends sat on her couches or stood nearby, all with pensive, troubled faces. Aside from Amber’s presence, the only significant change was the shift to daylight and the better options for delivery at just after noon.

Naturally, the ominous news killed everyone’s appetite.

“Was there a lack of demons in town before now?” asked Drew. “We only took out a couple of ‘em in that whole mess when we all first met. Was that all of ‘em?”

Beside him sat Taylor, who was still a little shaken after the visions on the rooftop. “Isn’t this what Rachel is supposed to deal with?”

“She would if she were here,” said Lorelei. “I doubt she would have gone off after Alex had she known of this mess.”

“Why don’t the others get on this?” Drew pressed. “She’s not the only angel in town, is she?”

Lorelei’s jaw set. Her eyes flared, though not at Drew or the others. No one in this room deserved this ancient anger. “In every tragedy or atrocity you can name, the angels either could not interfere or
chose
not to interfere,” she said. “No matter how innocent the victims may have been. No matter how large the loss. Remember that.
Never
count on the angels to intervene.

“Rachel is…exceptionally pro-active compared to most of her peers. Those few demons you faced in the autumn were not the only ones here. Rachel spends much of her time hunting down the rest. Many have fled or gone deep into hiding. Your actions mattered in all this, but she is the cause of the vacuum.”

“So this Evelyn chick is using Leon and his shitheads to bring in more of her buddies?” Molly surmised. Too tense to sit, she leaned over the back of the other couch where Onyx sat. “Is that the plan?”

“It would appear so,” said Lorelei. “The portal is almost certainly a combination of mortal sorcery and infernal power. Azazel and Evelyn could make it happen on their own, and had to have had some involvement, but such feats are far easier when they have mortals to do all the work and pay the price in blood. This is why they cast people into the fire. Their deaths make the crossing much easier. It is why several can come through at once. If those souls are wicked, Azazel comes out even further ahead.”

“Who are those people, though?” Onyx wondered. “You said they wouldn’t have guardians to protect them, right? What does that mean?”

“Evelyn would not want the angels to find this portal,” Lorelei explained. “She would have wanted corrupt souls that no guardian would protect. Perhaps they are members of the Light who have fallen from favor. Perhaps they are other sorcerers, or particularly depraved criminals. I do not know. Yet every sacrifice enables the crossing of several demons.”

“Okay, so what are they doing here?” asked Jason, seated beside Amber. “Are we talking ‘blow up the city’ stuff? Or some kind of takeover?”

“Nothing so overt. These demons lack mortal skins. They cannot move openly. Yet while they keep to the shadows and choose their moments carefully, they are terribly powerful. They could hunt down the Light’s remaining opposition and even challenge the angels that watch over this city. And then, yes, Azazel’s subtler agents and his influence would quickly spread and solidify. You would not see a conqueror’s flag, but you would soon feel the change.

“Seattle would turn to danger, despair, and ruin. Mortal souls are more easily tempted toward damnation in such conditions. Normally there is too much competition among demonic lords and interference from the angels for any one faction to control a whole city. Even some of the worst cities are free of such control—and a few shining beacons are just the opposite.

“Yet here we have created a vacuum, while Azazel has a band of dangerous sorcerers ready to do his bidding. He can use them to terrible ends. This city would be a fine playground for him. I fear in cleansing this city, we’ve only made it ripe for the taking.”

No one spoke. Lorelei looked over to her friends to see stunned, worried faces.

And then: “Hey, fuck
that
,” said Drew. “We live here. My momma lives here. Nuh-uh. That shit ain’t happenin’.”

“Yeah, but what do we do?” asked Taylor. “This sounds even worse than the casino fight.”

“It’s definitely worse than the casino fight,” said Onyx. “Way worse.”

Lorelei turned her eyes to Amber, who sat hunched over her laptop beside Jason on the other couch. “I hoped you might have some options or resources for us. That was before we realized the true scope of this problem, of course.”

“We can give these guys the full Waco treatment,” Amber suggested warily. “Based on what you’ve told me, it sounds like the scary monster demons won’t engage a whole mob of cops, right? I’ve got enough for a search warrant for the firearms violations at least—”

“Wait, firearms violations?” Taylor interrupted. “Are you serious? They’re killing people.”

“Unless you can show me a body, this is what I’ve got,” Amber replied. “I need probable cause on
something
to get the ball rolling. This kind of crisis is exactly why my task force was established. We’ll go to the mat over it. We can round up an emergency interagency task force and knock on their door, and if they don’t answer, we can kick it down.” She looked around at the pensive faces gathered in Lorelei’s living room. “But that’s the real nuclear option here, guys. In more ways than one.”

“You mean that could get bloody as hell,” said Molly. “Especially if we miscalculate on how many mortal bodies it takes to scare away the monsters and dampen the magic. Then it’s cops against wizards and demons.”

“Or they could have plans and spells in place to cover everything up,” suggested Onyx. “What if they go into emergency stealth mode and hide all the monsters and incriminating evidence? Then we’re up shit creek.”

“Those are only the most obvious outcomes, aren’t they, Amber?” asked Lorelei. “You are worried about more than violence or coming up empty.”

“I’m definitely worried about either of those, but yeah,” the young agent admitted. “We’ve talked about this kind of thing before. There are plenty of horrible ways a response like that could go wrong. The real scary question is, ‘What happens if everything comes out into the open?’ The magic, the monsters, all of it. Nobody knows what happens then. It’s Pandora’s Box, y’know?

“And it’s not going to be quick, either,” she added with an apologetic frown. “Not unless we can show evidence of actual murders.”

“Kate’s never gonna cough up anything from the casino,” said Molly. “Even telling her about the task force is another Pandora’s Box.”

“And we’ve got no chain of evidence for anything worse than these guys having guns they shouldn’t,” said Amber. “Look, whatever we’re doing about this, I’m in. I’ve got your backs. But I can’t bring in more aid without a whole lot of complications and it might come too late anyway.”

“Ain’t like those jackasses are the only ones with a sketchy gun collection,” Drew muttered with a glance toward Wade.

“Oh, ah’m feelin’ better’n ever about them guns after hearin’ all this shit,” said Wade. “Hell, now ah wish we had more.”

“Yeah, I know. Me, too,” said Drew.

“Not even a blip on my radar right now, guys,” said Amber. “Don’t sweat the small arms.”

Wade blinked. “Gun jokes?”

“Okay, so the FBI is out and we can’t expect any help from the other sorcerers or the angels,” said Jason. “Then it’s just us, right? What the hell are we gonna do?”

No one answered.

Onyx leaned back against the couch, touching Molly’s hand as she looked up to her girlfriend still looming behind her. The redhead acknowledged her touch with a brief twitch of her lips, but her eyes turned away in thought. Beside Onyx, Wade stared at the glass coffee table.

Amber’s eyes fell to the laptop, which didn’t seem to offer much advice. Jason’s attention drifted to her screen, and to her. Taylor looked up at the ceiling, trying not to fidget though she sometimes bounced one knee pensively. Drew stared off into space, fuming with frustration.

No
, Lorelei realized.
Not frustration. Concern for the people he loves
.

She saw it in all of them. Apart from Alex and Rachel, the room contained everyone she truly cared about in the world. She had not known genuine friendship, let alone such a thing as family, for almost three thousand years. She held passing, pleasant acquaintances. Useful and cordial allies. Nothing more. In only a few months, all that changed.

So many mortals drew distinctions between friends, family, and lovers. Lorelei had little use for such lines. Whether she’d shared a bed with anyone here or kept things entirely platonic, they all held the same place in her heart—even Amber, who’d first come into their lives as a danger rather than a friend.

Under Azazel’s influence and with his demons and the Light to carry out his will, Seattle would crumble into crime and despair. Drew’s mother and sister would still live here. Jason had family here, no matter how estranged. So did Taylor and Wade. Lorelei still knew little of Onyx and Molly’s family connections, but even without any, they had lives here. Everyone did. They could not simply leave this city behind for someplace safer.

Rachel and Alex would fight, too. Rachel would have to fight. Alex could never abandon her. Nor, for that matter, could Lorelei…but she’d already made her decision before she thought of them. She loved more than the two people closest to her.

“I see one path to the strength we need,” said Lorelei, drawing them from their thoughts. “Though none of us will like it. Myself least of all.”

Drew caught on first. “No. No way. Hell, no.”

“I fear that is the
only
way forward now.”

* * *

“And we’re happy to open the door for you,” he said with that unwavering, confident grin. “I promise, once you all start down this path, you’ll never turn back.”

The man across from him at the table leaned back. He stuck a finger under his collar, looking nervously around the high-priced bar. Even on a Sunday afternoon, the place kept busy. It was a good place for unofficial meetings. Whatever privacy the booth offered didn’t make him feel any better about this conversation. “Yeah, Nick, the thing is…the congressman isn’t all that comfortable with the amendment you’re asking for.”

“He’ll be comfortable with the campaign donations and access to our donor list,” replied his handsome host. His teeth kept flashing at the center of his meticulously groomed dark goatee. “And he’ll know who made it happen. I’m sure that will make you both comfortable enough.”

“You’re—Nick, this amendment would allow any health insurer with half a brain to weasel out of covering practically any condition that lasts more than two weeks.”

“Exactly,” agreed Nick. “All insurance is a bet against
future
troubles, isn’t it? How is it fair to ‘insure’ for a
present
problem that won’t go away?” He spoke in cool, soothing tones. “Think of all the people you’ll be protecting from unfair burdens.”

“That’s crazy! No one would vote for that! It won’t even get out of committee!”

“And yet I’ll still be here for you, and for the congressman,” Nick assured him.

“Then what’s the point of all this?”

“Think of it as a first step down a long path. An easier path. It might seem daunting now, but soon enough it’ll feel like it’s all downhill from here.” Nick paused. “I’m sorry, that’s my phone. I suppose I should take this,” he added once he looked at the screen. “Remember, I’m only making an offer. The choice is yours, and your employer’s.”

He hit the answer button to make sure this wouldn’t go to voicemail as he walked across the room to the patio. Washington, DC was a little cold for outdoor seating in the early days of January. That would offer him enough privacy to talk to whoever had this number. Ordinarily, the only people who called were already in the phone’s address book.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Nicolai,” replied the woman on the other end.

Though he gave no outward sign of alarm, he immediately gave his surroundings a second look. He checked the street, the rooftops, even the sky for threats. Whatever angels flitted in and out of view took no notice of him. None of the mortals on the street looked his way.

“How did you get this number?” he asked.

“Really, Nicolai, it’s only been two years since I was last in DC,” said Lorelei. “I got your number out of your assistant at the time, but it turned out I didn’t need it then. Still, I hang onto things like that. I never know when a contact might come in handy.”

“I’m not sure I’m happy to hear from you again,” Nicolai grumbled. “Word gets around.”

“Relax. We’re thousands of miles apart. Besides, when have we not gotten along?” Lorelei had, in fact, always been very pleasant company. The same couldn’t be said for every demon, especially those who served rival masters.