Mercy for the Damned (7 page)

Which is why we needed a bargaining chip in the first place, instead of sneaking Adam and Ben out directly.  “It’s a good idea, we just need a little more thought put into it.  We keep coming back to this idea that we need another way in and out.  You didn’t find anything in your books, Sam?  It seems like angels would have some knowledge of people slipping in and out of a demon realm.” 

“No, we avoid that place at all costs.”

“Someone must know…”

“What if you kidnapped a demon?” Matty suggested.  “The ones that go in and out all the time might know more about it than one who was on a short leash.  No offense,” he added as an aside to Nelo, who didn’t appear upset in the slightest.

“Look at you coming up with the good ideas tonight,” I shot Matty a grin.  “I think that’s a great idea!”  Even if it didn’t get us any new intel, at least it gave us something to do.  

“How do you catch a demon?” Daphne asked, directing her question more to Sam than to me, but I had the answer.

“You go to where they hang out.”

* * *

I’d never been on a stake-out before.  You’d think it might have come up when I dated a cop, but instead I had an angel sitting beside me in my trusty little Ford Escort, watching the entrance to the strip club, ‘The Honey Pot’ emblazoned across the front in flickering neon.   

“I don’t understand the name,” Sam frowned, pouring his third cup of hot coffee from my thermos.  He didn’t have a problem with cars as long as they weren’t moving, and he looked downright comfy in the passenger’s seat. 

Not sure I wanted to get into that kind of a conversation with him, I ignored the question.  “You’re gonna have to go make a coffee run if you drink all of my coffee,” I grumbled, shifting in my seat to try and get comfortable. 

“They don’t sell food there, just drinks am I not correct?”

“If I’d known you were going to be in a coffee mood, I would have packed you your own thermos.”

“Do they specialize in sweetened drinks?”

We were having two different conversations.  “Sam, do you know what a strip club is?” I asked finally, turning to look at him. 

“A club that’s on the strip?”

“No, it’s a place where men go to watch women strip their clothes off.”

“Oh.”  He was silent for a few seconds.  “Why would they do that when they can watch women strip their clothes off for free on cable television at night?”

I did not want to know how he knew that, the idea that he may have been sitting on my couch watching Skinemax was a little icky.  “Some people would prefer to see it up close and personal.”

“Sometimes I don’t understand humans.”

“Me neither,” I muttered.

“Why would you want to watch a woman disrobe if you don’t even know her?”

I shrugged at that. “Some men aren’t all that picky.”

“Do women want to watch men disrobe as well?”

It was turning into a different conversation, and I wondered if anyone had ever had the birds and the bees talk with Sam.  I didn’t want to think what kind of a spin Adam might put on it.  “Ah, some do.  I think it depends on the guy.”

“What does it depend on?”

“I can’t speak for all women, but we can appreciate a good looking guy with his shirt off, like men appreciate a girl in a short skirt or a push up bra.  The better looking the guy is, the more we want to see.”  Not that I’d ever been to a male strip club, but I wasn’t above the appreciation of a well made male figure.

“Am I a good looking guy?”

Any other guy I might have thought was fishing for compliments, but there was no mistaking the earnest look on his face.  He really had no clue.  “Yes, you are a very good looking guy,” I smiled back at him.  “God made you guys at the peak of physical perfection, you must have noticed.”

“Beauty is often in the eye of the beholder.  I hadn’t ever thought of it before…”

“Before Daphne?”

“Do you think she finds me dreamy?”

“Dreamy?” I laughed, wondering where he’d picked up that word.  “Yes, I do believe I’ve seen her give a dreamy sigh when thinking about you, Sam.  I’m pretty sure that qualifies.”

“Then you believe she wants… more, with regards to the physical aspects of our relationship?”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go there with him, but I could see he had no one else to talk to about it.  “It’s hard for me to comment on that, when I have no idea how close the two of you have gotten already.”

“Very close,” he murmured, “I held her very close.  And once, our lips touched, though I don’t know if it was by accident or design.”

So basically he hadn’t even gotten to first base with her, but for him, I could see how that was very close indeed.  “I think any normal person wants things to progress, the closer you get,” I said carefully.  “But you’ve told me she wasn’t in any kind of danger from you acting on your feelings.”

“I still hold true to that pledge.  I wouldn’t dream of exposing her to my sinful desires.”

“Sam, those feelings aren’t sinful, they’re normal when two people care about each other the way you do.  It just happens to be against the rules for you two to…”

“Hook up?”

“Yeah, hook up,” I suppressed a smile at his mixture of the vernacular.

“I have recently begun to feel it might not be fair to her, if she is expecting things I can not give her,” Sam added thoughtfully.   

“Have you talked to her about it?”

“Daphne says we don’t need to sully what we have with the physical side of things.  She is content to take what I have to offer.”

“Good luck with that,” I murmured, my eyes going back to the street where I caught sight of someone who looked familiar.  “Sit tight, Sammy, I see someone who might be able to help us.  I should be able to handle him, but be ready to come if I call for you, okay?”  Without waiting for an answer, I slipped out of the car, hurrying across the street to follow after the dark figure whose absence of a soul marked him a demon.    

He turned off the sidewalk into an alley, and as soon as my eyes adjusted to the change in light, I realized I couldn’t see him anymore.  Figuring my cover was blown and he could see me better than I could see him in the shadows, I changed tactics, slowing my step to draw him out.  “Come out, come out, wherever you are…” I called out in a sing song voice. 

“All alone are we?” came from up high, maybe on top of the dumpster, it was hard to tell.  “A bit dangerous for the likes o’ you, ain’t it?”

I knew my Grace would be too much temptation for him to pass by, and I suppressed a smile as I recognized his gravely voice.  “I can handle myself.”

The demon himself stepped out of the shadows, all casual, as if he held all the cards.  Still dressed shabbily like one of the unwashed homeless, he’d added a ratty bowler to the ensemble.  “If you need a bit o’ protection, just ask old Cephas.  I’ll keep you safe from the other rabble for a taste now and then.”  He smiled, showing the sharp teeth I sometimes still dreamt about, but I gathered my courage around me.  I wasn’t the same girl he’d met on the church steps months ago. 

“Who says I need protection?  Do you see me quaking in my boots?” My chin came up in challenge. 

“I ‘ear your boy is in chains under Raum’s boot.  I ‘ear your boy bleeds real pretty-like,” he chortled, and I got a flash of an image I’d been trying to ignore ever since Adam left.   

“Okay, you know what?  I’m done playing.”  I wasn’t there to verbally spar with the scumbag, I was after some answers. 

“I’m not, pretty, I’ve only just begun,” he advanced, his grin stretching obscenely wide.

Somehow I knew he wasn’t in for a Carpenters sing-a-long, but I was ready for him.  With a flick of the wrist, I called forth my sword, gratified to see his eyes bulge in acknowledgement.  “On second thought, I could go for a game or two.  How about we play… pin the tail on the demon?  No?  Where’s your laughter now, you bastard?”  Rage swept through me, all the anger and frustration finally having a target right in front of me to take it out on.  What was to stop me from killing him?  Absolutely nothing.  I would be doing the world a favor.   

Cephas must have seen the deadly intent on my face as he started to back up, his hands stretched out in front of him.  “Now ‘old on there, pretty.  Don’t go doin’ anythin’ you’d regret later.  I ain’t done nothin’ to you since Adamiel told me not to.”

“But you
did
go back to Raum and tell him all about me, didn’t you?” my eyes glittered dangerously.  It was because of him I’d drawn Raum’s attention in the first place.

“I might ‘ave said some such…”

“You little rat, this is all your fault!”  I laid the flat of the blade against his throat and he let out a shriek as it burned his skin with a hiss. 

“I beg mercy, Mistress,” Cephas whined, going down on his knees.

“The hell I will.  None of your kind have ever shown me the smallest amount, why should I?”  Pressing a little harder, I felt the sword bite into his neck, just enough for the stain of black blood to taint the blade. 

“Merceline,” I felt Sam’s hand on my shoulder, but I tried to shrug off the soothing waves of Grace I felt emanating from him. I wanted to hold on to my anger, it gave me strength. 

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t skewer his black heart right where he stands.”

“Perhaps he has some information to tell us?” Sam’s face took on a speculative look. 

“Old Cephas knows lots of things, ‘e does,” the demon nodded quickly, spittle flying from the corners of his mouth in eagerness to offer his services. 

“He doesn’t know dick,” I maintained, holding the sword in place. 

“No, I do!  Just ask and you’ll see,” Cephas begged, and I gave Sam a faint nod to go ahead.

“What do you know of another way in to Midian, beyond the main gate?”

“You’re askin’ about fairy stories?” His face scrunched up in confusion, and Sam nodded. 

“Tell us and we’ll set you free.”

Cephas sat back on his heels as he thought it over.  “There is a way, but you gots to know where the portal is.  I’ve never ‘ad cause to find it m’self, Naberios lets me go through whenever I want to.”

“So, where is the portal?” I pressed again with the blade.

“Don’t know ‘ow much stock to place in it, but I’ve ‘eard stories.  Was a legend once of a fallen angel who falls in love with a demon, see?  And they worked a spell to create a doorway.  Don’t know if it’s true or a load of bollocks,” he shrugged. 

“Can you ask this demon where it is?”

“No good, she died real tragic-like.  Shame too, she was a pretty piece of crumpet, as I recalls it.” 

“What’s the name of the fallen angel?”  If he said Adamiel I was going to seriously lose it, but instead he named another angel I’d heard of before. 

“Name’s Remiel.  Fell ‘ead over ‘eels.”

“Oh, Remiel and Lysha… I have heard this story before,” Sam’s eyes widened in recognition and I shot him a withering glance. 

“And you didn’t think to mention it before now?”

“Lysha, that’s the one,” Cephas nodded energetically, reaching up to straighten his hat.  “Right, I gave you what you wanted, you said you’d let me go now.”

I moved the sword away from his throat, but Sam replaced it with his hand, slamming Cephas back against the dirty alley floor.  “I said we’d set you free.”  Sam’s eyes narrowed, that deathly calm settling over him as his hand began to glow.  “I judge thee, unclean thing.  I abjure thee, and cast thee into the cleansing fires of hell.”  Cephas’ mouth fell open with a horrible gurgle, and I turned around, not having the stomach to watch.  When I felt Sam rise to stand beside me, I darted a quick look, but there wasn’t a sign of the demon anywhere.  Nothing left but a scorched mark on the pavement. 

“If you were going to kill him anyway, why didn’t you let me run him through?” I asked as we walked back to the car.  While it felt good to know Cephas had gotten his just deserts, I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated out of getting to skewer him myself after all the trouble he’d caused.  

“I didn’t want you to give in to the dark side of the force.”

So, he’d finally gotten around to watching the Star Wars movies…  “Looking out for my immortal soul are you?  Thanks Obi-Wan,” I grinned.  “But what about your soul, aren’t you worried about what it does to you to kill demons?”

“I did it without hatred in my heart.  I didn’t simply murder him, I cleansed the world of his presence.  There is a difference.” 

I mulled that over as we got to the car, Sam leaning against the front in lieu of climbing back inside again.  “If we’re going to find the portal he mentioned, we need to find out everything there is to know about this Remiel and Lysha.”

“As I said, I have heard their story before, but the details escape me.  I’ll consult my books, see what I can dig up.”

“Thanks again, Sam.  We made a good team tonight.” 

“We did, didn’t we,” he brightened at the thought.  “I quite liked playing bad cop.”

“Bad cop?” I laughed.  “If anything you were the good cop, I was the bad cop.”

“I’m the one who dispatched him.”

“Only because I threatened him enough to get him to spill his guts,” I pointed out and that just confused the heck out of him.

“But… I stopped you before you gutted him.”

“I meant… tell us what he knew, not literally spill his guts.”

“Oh, I see.  Yes, you were very good at getting him to empty quite a few guts.  I believe he would have told us anything we wanted to know.”

“Too bad he didn’t tell us how to find this Remiel.”

“Perhaps we should have asked him,” Sam considered aloud, his head canting to one side. 

Oops.
  “Huh.  Yep, we probably should have asked him that,” I agreed.  So much for patting ourselves on the back for a job well done.  “Ah well, we can always catch another demon if your books don’t turn anything up.”  Or maybe Luz might have a clue where the fallen angel lived?   

“I should like that very much.  Thank you for showing me where they congregate.”

Uh oh.
  Had I opened up a new hobby for him?  “You didn’t know where the gate to Midian was before today?”

“No, I have never trailed them to where they emerged from Midian, and I have never sought to go there.  I told you, most angels avoid it at all costs.”