Esther Benson
“SOMETHING’S wrong with him,” I cried to Nye who threw the truck into park outside the ER door. “His eyes…Nye…”
“The normals can help him, we’ve done all we can.” He took off to get help inside, but I feared any help he could bring back wouldn’t be enough.
Vincent wouldn’t answer me or respond when I shook him. The woman who wouldn’t unlatch from him earlier looked just as worried. We both shook him as Nye helped an orderly unload the woman from the backseat.
“She looks like the other one,” he said, and I turned my head sharply.
“What other one?”
“We just had another patient come in like this. Where did you find her?”
“Help her…then him.”
“Detective? What’s wrong with him?”
“The Cubs won a game, he’s in shock.”
“It’s December, that would be shocking. What is going on here?”
“Sick and dying patients,” I spat. “How about you deal with that?”
Nye helped everyone into the ER. When he returned to the car his face was grim.
“We can’t leave them unguarded,” he said. “I can smell a demon.”
Sprinting through the door I was prepared to lay down my life to save Vince’s again. Nye was at my hip and placed his hand over the hand I had wrapped around my claustranima.
“Not in front of the humans,” he whispered, then led me to where Vince was.
Meegan stood next to his gurney even though a nurse fought with her.
“Miss, you need to go back to your bed,” the nurse scolded. “I need to examine you.”
“I can’t leave him,” she cried. “He saved my life. He’s…he…”
Meegan broke down and the nurse helped her to her own bed right next to Vince’s. What caught my eye was how she held his hand and her fingers trailed off his when they separated. They meant something to each other. The nurse pulled a curtain between the two and I took in Vince’s pallor. Again he was pale.
“He injured his shoulder,” Nye said as they cut off Vince’s shirt. “We’re not sure how bad.”
“Are you police too?” a doctor asked.
“I am,” I replied firmly. “Special Agent Benson, I’m with the FBI.”
“FBI?” a nurse balked. “Why is the FBI in Mount Pleasant, Iowa?”
“That’s classified,” Nye said.
“What drugs are they on?”
“Drugs?” I asked.
“The woman barely conscious in the first bed…Vince here. Dr. Pound is in the other room and appears beat. Is the guy with her one of yours?”
“Yes,” I said as I swallowed. “Can I see him?”
I didn’t need to ask because the moment I turned around the male demon from the compound slammed me into the wall.
“Get me the cure,” he snarled as Nye tried to pull him off. “Not now, Dark One.”
“Not here.” Nye’s voice had a growl to it as if he were a dog warning of an attack.
“We can’t have this,” an older nurse said. “Take it outside.”
In the hallway we stood toe to toe with eyes glaring unable to attack. The tug of duty strained against the need to kill. Why couldn’t I just rip out his heart? Vince was lying in the other room clinging…he wasn’t bit. He didn’t have a reason to be so ill unless…
“We need Ashworth here now,” I snapped at Nye. “Vince wouldn’t have been poisoned.”
“He’s going to be tied up with casualties. I’m sure the reality of everything finally hit Vince.”
“What if it’s more?” I shoved the male demon. “What do bantling bites do to humans?”
“I haven’t been a bantling for hundreds of years.”
“You raise them.”
“No…I don’t, Deumos do. I need your angel.”
“Gabriel?” I scoffed. “Why would he help you?”
“Because she’s dying and I did it. There has to be a cure. The angels cursed us…they can cure us. Would he really let her die?”
“Why do you care?” Nye asked.
“She’s a casualty we can’t afford.”
“Ask your princess.” I turned around, only to have my hips pulled back and quickly released.
Fear struck me as the weight I’d become accustomed to from my claustranima was gone. I spun to see a beast of the devil holding my soul in his hands.
“Get me a cure or your soul goes to Hell with me.”
Nye rushed him, but he held his hand up halting his momentum. Never had I encountered a demon with this much power. Vermillion and crimson swirls of rage filled his eyes.
Even though my soul was safe in the handle of my blade, the light was dim. I could feel the separation as if it were a thousand miles away and I was but an empty shell moving around the world. My soul had been stolen. I could never give it to another or be reborn. Nye was behind me and pulling me away.
“He’s got my soul…he’s got my soul…” The words seemed foreign to me. The idea. “Nye, he has my soul…a demon has my soul…why is he not dead? He should be back in Hell…he shouldn’t have my soul…He’ll kill Vince…”
Words tumbled from my mouth like droplets of water culminating into a waterfall. Time and place was gone. All I saw was his dark eyes and long hair. The way his hand held onto the handle. Curling fingers clutching the last bit that was still me. What made me human and not a soulless monster? What if he found a way to shatter the handle? Could he absorb my soul?
“Hey there…” Kiriana’s voice shook me. “Esther.”
Kiriana’s velvet brown eyes startled me. I shook and saw I was in the healing room. Nye was there with Kiriana and I sat on the cold slab of granite.
“What…”
“Just focus on my voice,” Kiriana said in a soft comforting way. “There you go, you’re coming out of it.”
“Out of what?” I asked and felt for my blade.
“Shock. I need you back so we can figure this all out.”
“Figure out what? That monster has my soul and Nye couldn’t touch him.”
“What did he want in exchange? They always want to deal.”
“The cure for something. He wanted Gabriel.”
Kiriana gave Nye a worried look.
“What’s wrong?”
“Gabriel is…he’s…”
“He’s what? One of the devil’s disciples has my soul. I don’t care if his wings were cut off. He will help me.”
“She might be able to handle him,” Kiriana said in a relaxed tone. “She came out of that better than I thought.”
“Handle him?” A shiver tore through me and I suddenly wasn’t so calm. Rage and fear filled me, but the calm needed to handle an archangel…didn’t seem to be present.
* * * *
Pivane
Eliza stopped breathing at eight fifty-three. I breathed life into her while yelling at the people charged with saving her to do their damn job. Now a machine with an accordion pump squeezed breath into her lungs. Her heart still beat on its own. At least that was what they told me. Her eyes reacted to light. A tube hung from the side of her mouth. Friends and colleagues stopped in the room to give their expert opinions. They spoke of life-flighting her to another hospital, but I wouldn’t hear of it. The Frozen knew where I was and would bring Gabriel soon enough. Luckily when human minds were coursing with grief and guilt, manipulating thoughts from them was easy. Then again my powers were greater than I’d known before.
“Where’s my sister?” Lucifer asked as he entered the room and peered at Eliza who seemed small and vulnerable next to Lucifer’s large frame.
The youngest Lucifer had the black eyes with silver irises of the royalty. At six-seven and quite muscular, his body strained against his clothing which was perfectly tailored. The suit stood out in this town where rarely did a suit not come off the rack. His shaved head with flame tattoos glowing red were also a dead giveaway he wasn’t local.
“Have you lost your tongue along with your balls?” he asked, shifting his stance and placing his hands in his pockets.
“Last I saw she was flying above the Hell’s Mouth sending feather knives out among the masses. Think she took out some demons in the process, needs to work on her aim.”
“Why are you here grieving for a woman? A human woman at that.”
“I’m using her. The Frozen will be bringing the Archangel Gabriel to me.”
Lucifer’s head tilted to the side as he walked around the bed and examined Eliza. Part of me reached for the blade at my hip. Killing the crown prince had its negatives, but Eliza’s life was more to me than all the tortures of Hell.
“And my sister, she’s close?”
“I don’t know. Is the mouth closed?”
“The first one has been for some time now. All my coven members were killed and they had such a great place to rule in the south of France. Was that your goal? Not return to your station with my sister to sit at my side during family gatherings.”
“She won’t accept me. I’ve tried. She has her heart and other parts set on Damarion.”
“That creature has become a pain in my ass.” Lucifer drummed his fingers on top of the ventilator as his back was turned to me. “Was he not killed by the Frozen?”
“And resurrected.”
“No, I mean a second time.” His index finger spun like he was remembering an old movie. “He should have been disposed of once my sister left his side.”
“I fear her cousin has a soft spot for him too.”
“My father and his whores,” he let out a long sigh. “I need you to focus on LaDressa. Leave this woman. Gabriel would not waste his time on her.”
“The members of the Frozen here tend to have a soft spot for humans.”
“Do they?” Lucifer stroked his chin as he contemplated my current situation. “What else do they have?”
“I don’t understand, my Lord.” I fought the urge to take Eliza’s hand in mine.
“They have a soft spot for Damarion and this woman, what else can we use against them. What of my sister? Have they not had time enough to kill her?”
“I suppose.”
“Yet they have not.”
“Right.”
“And you have not, why was that?”
“I needed the coven to stay on my side. LaDressa could fall at anyone’s hand but my own.”
“Pity. Then you are of no use to me either.”
I stood with the knife at my side. He laughed and flicked his wrist, only this time I didn’t go flying. Fear crossed his face as my body surged with energy. Was it from Eliza? Being on Earth weakening him? Somehow the blast from him turned into a breeze that bounced back to him.
Forming a fireball in his hand he tossed it at Eliza. Leaping in front of the flame I took its full force, only to have it sizzle and pop on my chest. Tables were turning. Not that I wanted to help LaDressa ascend to the throne, but I might have better luck with her. Priorities shifted, as did I. Lunging with a blade out I caught the edge of his nicely tailored suit, but did not hit skin. As they circled each other the room became tighter with each step.
“I’ve let you play for too many years here,” Lucifer cackled. “You’ve lost your way.”
“Not really, I think I’ve finally stepped on the path set forth by you. You just didn’t realize where it ended.”
“Now you’re on her side?”
“I’m on mine. It’s the only side I can truly trust and even that is suspect most days.”
Flipping the knife in my hand I was poised to strike. Lucifer held his hand out and a staff emerged. Five feet long, he spun it in a circle and brought it to rest on his shoulder. His eyes locked on mine. The way he wielded the staff told me it was solid metal. Balanced perfectly. If it made contact the bone would shatter under it. He and I last sparred when we were but children a millennium ago. Having fought with humans I wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be. Then again I shouldn’t have been able to stop Lucifer in any capacity so maybe…just maybe…
The staff swung and I ducked. Like a helicopter he twirled the staff over his head until I stood upright again and another pass was made, this time smashing into my arm. He’d aimed down. Whether it was my leg or my arm I was getting hit.
Lucifer then spun the staff in front of him. The only way to stab him would be to take my chance with the fan blade of his staff. Not happening. My left arm throbbed, but I couldn’t show the injury to Lucifer. Not if I wanted to live. With a clenched jaw, I stared him down.
“Beat me all you want, it won’t do you a bit of good,” I said. “Your sister’s seen the gates of Heaven. She rained down angels. Their corpses littered the streets. And she’s mad, but not at me. When was the last time you sent her a kind word? Did she return when the Hell’s Mouth closed? No…you said that. You’re still looking for her.”
I stepped to make sure Eliza’s bed would not be in the path of his staff if he swung.
“But you know where she is. You’d have to. Are you scared?”
“You know not of what you speak.”
“I know fear. You taught me the emotion quite well. You can feel your blood as it courses through your body because it’s sluggish and cold. Sweat that never escapes your body is suddenly dampening your forehead…arms…back.”
Lucifer kept his staff at a forty-five degree angle in front of his body. He had the reflexes of a snake. Staying still until the prey comes within striking distance.
“Pivane, I took you into my home. Promised you my sister—”
“Next time, ask me if I want to be a eunuch. That might be more fun.”
“What changed? A few days ago you were ready to take her by force if necessary.”
“Force has never been my first choice. Especially in a long-term mate.”
“Yes, you made that mistake once before, didn’t you?” He cackled at me. “Her family is still high among those in Hell. Shall I tell them of her true fate? The slip aided by a hand.”
“And unaided by yours. Every demon worth their weight knows you could have caught her if you wished. Your powers are great, Lucifer, but I fear for you now. LaDressa has grown angry and lustful of power. The combination shall make your ascension perilous. No longer is she the docile creature tucked away in a tower. No one can control her…save Damarion. And even he I fear will end up one of her victims.”
“If there be a fall to the royal family in Hell I shall not be its first victim.”
Lucifer swung the staff once more. A sharp pain exploded across my back and I feared I may never walk again. My hand reached out to Eliza’s as I crumpled to the floor.
* * * *
Detective Vincent DeTello
“What the hell, Vince?” Chief barked as he shoved past a nurse administering much needed drugs. “I’ve got calls from all over the city and you’re in here.”
“It was time for my yearly physical. You know, bend over, cough? Guy can’t miss that by even a day.”
“Stick a sucker in your mouth and get out there. I don’t know what’s going on, but you being here isn’t helping.”
“Chief Carlson, what’s going on?” Meegan called from behind the curtain.
It’s a strange thing to actually see a headache form. Chief’s eyes pinched tight as he dragged his hand down his face and let out an exasperated groan.
“Please say…” he began, and I laughed partly from the drugs.
“Oh…yeah. I saved Yappy’s life tonight.”
“Did you have to?”
A rattle and swoosh sound combined as Meegan pulled the curtain aside.
“Did you catch him?” she asked. “Is he the one running wild?” What’s happening? Is there a cover up?”
Chief, distracted by ninety-questions-a-minute Yappy, walked her back to her bed, pulling the curtain as he did. I took the time to pull out my IV, snag my shoes from beside my bed, and go in search of anything but a hospital gown to wear. Why did they have to cut off my clothes? I needed to check on Maddie. I was sure that’s where Esther would be. I was surprised when I woke that she wasn’t with me…then again demons were running around the city.
“Where ya going, Detective?” my nurse Cathy asked.
“Bathroom.”
“That why you pulled out your IV and are in our supply closet?”
“I don’t like hospitals.”
“Neither do I. It means I have to work and you’re messing with my performance review.”
“I needed pants and a shirt.”
“You’re hurt and I’m not even sure what you did to your shoulder.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Cathy pulled a pair of scrubs from a cart and tossed them at me. I quickly pulled the pants on, then removed my gown and added the top.
“What do you know about the poisoning?” she asked as I tied my shoes.
“Very little. I think an autopsy from one of the earlier victims might shed some light on the situation. Sadly the time it would take could cost the girl I brought in her life.”
“What about Dr. Pound?”
“I haven’t found her yet.”
“She’s upstairs. She was the first brought in.”
“What?”
“Yeah, a guy found her wandering. He hasn’t left her side.”
“What room?”
“ICU. They life-flighted Maddie out right away, but not Dr. Pound. It just didn’t make sense.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Every time we brought it up…the idea went away.”
I took off for the stairs. No reason to delay on an elevator in a two-story building. I burst through the door, scaring a nurse’s aide so badly a food tray flew up in the air with a shriek.
“I’m sorry, ICU?”
She pointed with a hand shaking so bad I feared she wouldn’t regain her ability to hold a knife for the next decade.
As I entered the room two men froze…well, one man froze and the other well-dressed man in a suit swung a long stick. The sound of shattering bones echoed in the small room. The second swing was aimed to hit his head when I got the brilliant idea I needed to stop it with my body. My hip to be exact. The pain shot through my entire body in less than a millisecond. I suddenly wished a bantling had bitten my ass instead.
“Lucifer,” an ethereal voice called from behind me.
“You couldn’t have gotten here a few seconds sooner, Gabe,” I gasped as I lay helpless on the floor. All I needed was a life alert button to complete the picture of a collapsed man.
“Gabriel, of the house of Ryeal,” Lucifer sneered. “The house of my family’s damnation.”
“We try to spread the love around.”
“You are to save this human?” He arched his eyebrow at Dr. Pound.
“I know not of her.”
“Then him,” he pointed to me.
“Not really, although since you’ve injured him I’ll need to at least look at him.”
Gabriel literally just looked at me, then continued on like I wasn’t in agony and drooling on the floor.
“One of yours?” Gabriel eyed the man next to me with a swollen knee and shattered back.
“Some days. Today he must have taken leave of his senses.”
“Not on your side?”
“He serves at the pleasure of me trying to become worthy to marry your niece.”
“Yet he sits vigil by a woman grasping at life and holds one of my most loyal souls hostage.”
“Is that what he was trying to attack me with? A Frozen’s soul? A stab with that knife would send the soulless creature straight to your gate. I am worth double points in your system, aren’t I?”
“You tip the scale.” Gabriel kneeled by my side and placed his hand on my hip.
Discovering new levels of pain seemed to be my latest pastime. I wondered, who was the real demon? Bones shattered in my hip began to shift and heal. The shifting of sharp bone pieces was not something I’d recommend to anyone with an intact nervous system and the ability to feel pain.
The dizzying sensation brought on by the pain helped me in the best way it knew how. My second favorite pastime, passing out. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was a purple light glowing on the floor next to the demon with the broken knee.