Route 666, page 10
part #5 of Imp World: California Demon Series
“Deal.” I handed over a twenty. “Here’s my down payment.”
Alfie went back to the register to enter the deal in a ledger book that he brought up from under the counter. The book was too big for a bag, so he wrapped it in paper, tied it in twine, then handed it over.
Outside, I strapped the thing to the back of my bike, hoping it wouldn’t fall off on the freeway. Then I kicked my bike to life, and headed home.
Chapter 13
Parking my bike in the drive, I glanced around the street, taking the mood of the neighborhood. My brief elevation to “Protector” seemed to have ended. I got the impression I’d been demoted and no one had the guts to tell me. No more presents appeared at my door and I found myself once more struggling to come up with the money for food and basic necessities. The shifters had always lingered around outside, watching me while pretending to do yardwork or buff their vehicles, but now they stayed inside, eyeing me through gaps in their curtained windows. There were no more visitors. Fi, who’d been the neighborhood representative assisting during the press conference that had ended in mass slaughter was no longer a part of my household. And that sucked, because she had some serious leadership and strategic skills where I seemed to have none.
I was a little down as I walked up to my front door, feeling as if I’d lost both friends and my welcome here. I had no concrete plan for dealing with what was happening in New Hell. I was worried about Desiree and the inevitable confrontation with her. I still wasn’t happy about my creating another minion, no matter what Kellan said regarding his willing acceptance of the costs of not-dying. I was worried about HB’s injuries, worried about the attack on Bea’s neighborhood, worried about everything.
Then I opened the front door to my house and everything changed.
The smell of steak, butter, and onions hit my nose. I saw the table set with two place settings, candles alight and an open bottle of wine next to two crystal glasses. Mittens greeted me by jumping up into my arms, her breath smelling of tuna.
And there was Bishop, in the kitchen.
He said he’d be back, but I hadn’t known when, and his presence opened the floodgates of my heart. All the fears, doubts, and emotions poured out as I set Mittens and the giant book of dragons on the counter and rushed into his arms.
“Hey.” He gathered me close, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing tight. I felt the brush of his spirit-being along mine, the touch of his lips to my hair. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”
I stayed right where I was, telling him my worries with my face against his chest. His worn cotton T-shirt was soft, the muscles under it firm, and all I wanted to do was get naked and stay in bed with this angel forever.
He rubbed my back, burying his face in my hair and inhaling. “You’re doing what you can here, Eden. You’re making a difference. And every person in this city should realize that.”
“But I’ll spend my whole life in constant battle if I can’t somehow manage to make this city a safe place,” I told him. “It’s all more than I can manage, and I don’t know where to go from here. Plus I’m scared about my family, and I worry that my presence is endangering those I care about. That demon at Suerte was there for me. Am I really doing good, or am I just making things worse?”
“It sounds like you did a good job helping protect Suerte today.” He kissed the side of my head. “And that attack is not your fault. Demons have been targeting my home and business since I broke my contract.”
Which was my fault, too.
“HB was seriously hurt.” I was whining, but I knew that Bishop wouldn’t hold that temporary lapse in character against me.
“HB will be fine. She is far stronger than you realize. It’ll take more than one smoke demon to kill her. And don’t worry about the neighbors here. Shifters can be fickle in their loyalties. It comes from millennia of fear and distrust. When the crap hits the fan, they’ll be here for you. Because if they aren’t, they’ll lose both your support and mine, and they don’t want that.”
“But Kellan…”
“You need to stop with this anxiety over the minion thing. There’s nothing wrong about what you did. Everything in life comes with a price, and that includes what amounts to resurrection. I get that Addy didn’t have a choice, but that wasn’t your fault. Kellan willingly accepted the price. I know him. You don’t need to feel the slightest bit of guilt about tying him to you. Not the slightest.”
Bishop always made me feel so much better. When an angel that was millions of years old told you everything was going to be okay, you believed him.
But…
“My neighborhood was attacked.” I choked back a sob at that. “I mean Bea’s neighborhood. I wasn’t there. I left them, moved out, and I wasn’t there to protect them. They’re family. I swore I’d never let anything bad happen to them, but I can’t protect them while I’m living here. I should have never left.”
“It sounds like they did a pretty good job of fighting the demons off on their own,” Bishop said. “You are a grown woman and as Bea has told you herself, you have the right to start a life on your own. But if you would feel better moving back into your old neighborhood, then do it. I’ll make sure this house remains yours when you feel your family is safe enough to move back.”
I hugged him tighter, pushing my spirit-being slightly into his. Bishop was my rock. He might claim I was more powerful than he was, but I’d yet been able to do anything to confirm that theory. And beyond the alleged circumstances of my parentage, he had the knowledge, the wisdom, the strength that I didn’t. He anchored me. He gave me confidence. Without him, I would be floundering in doubt and anxiety.
“If I move home, Nevarra will feel obligated to give me back my old room, and I don’t want that,” I told him. “She’ll feel bad if I’m sleeping on the couch, even though I’m honestly okay staying there. Plus I don’t want Bea to feel like I don’t trust her to protect the girls without me. She’s my mother in every way, even if she was never legally able to adopt me. I think she’d be insulted if I acted like my own mother couldn’t protect my sisters without my help.”
“Is there another house you can live in temporarily?” Bishop rocked me slightly, still rubbing my back.
“I…I don’t know.” Mentally I ran through the houses on the street. Maybe the Hannick’s, although living in that peach-and-lavender hued nightmare would be worse than sleeping on Bea’s couch. There were a couple of abandoned ones further down the block, but I wasn’t sure if they were in any condition for occupancy.
“You’re never going to be able to effectively plan and fight for New Hell while you’re worried about your family. Do what you need to do to make them safe, so you can actually focus on the other matters.”
I opened my mouth to counter that I couldn’t fight anything else if I was there twenty-four-seven to defend my family, then an idea hit. Why did it have to be me? If I could get my family and neighbors the tools and resources they needed, they could defend themselves. The last few days had proven that I wasn’t the end-all, be-all of New Hell. Gutsy humans, shifters, and mages were holding their own. Genevieve’s wards. Javier’s werewolf family. Juke with her gun and whip. They just needed to band together with the right tools, and then all of us could make New Hell safe.
Bishop kissed the side of my head again, then pulled back to look down at me. “Your priority always needs to be those you love. Human life is short. These demons will be here to fight for centuries.”
“I know. And you’re right. But I made a vow. I claimed the city and I feel a responsibility to the people who live here.” I told him.
Bishop hugged me close. “I’ve lived for millions of years. Taking decades or centuries to assert your claim is perfectly acceptable in the lifespan of an angel. The humans you care about can’t wait that long.”
“I know, but neither can the other humans in the city,” I said.
He sighed. “Humans have died—some horrifically—long before you were here to save them. There are eight billion humans on this planet. You cannot assume responsibility for all of them—even if you limit yourself to the ones in New Hell. Your priority right now is to protect those closest to you, then work to make the long-term future of New Hell a better place.”
He was right. And I had some ideas on how to make that all happen. I’d left Suerte frustrated and without a plan, but fifteen minutes with Bishop had brought clarity to it all.
“Let’s eat,” he said, pulling away from me and turning toward the stove. “I’ve been keeping these steaks medium-rare the whole time we’ve been talking. Go sit at the table. Pour the wine. I’ll bring out dinner in just a minute.”
I did as he said, thinking how impressive it was that he’d known exactly how close I was to home and how to time dinner exactly right. And keeping the steaks from overcooking while I’d unloaded on him? That was a trick I really wanted to learn.
I poured the wine, sipping it as I sat at the table. Bishop brought out steak smothered in butter-sautéed onions and mushrooms, baked potatoes with crispy, salt-crusted skin, and salads full of crunchy vegetables. We ate, and I snuck Mittens little bites of steak under the table. When we were finished, I insisted on doing the dishes. Once everything was clean and put away, I joined Bishop in the living room to snuggle up on the sofa with more wine. We looked out the bank of windows down on the city, Mittens snoozing on the coffee table in front of us.
“How did your trip go?” I asked the angel, realizing that so far the evening’s conversation had been all about me.
He sighed. “Worrisome. Unsuccessful. I spent most of the day gathering information and none of it is good. Just between you and me, the world outside of New Hell is facing some pretty dark shit. The angelic host is causing issues among the humans. Interdimensional rifts have opened up across the globe. There are threats that mean those that I’d hoped would help us are only able to provide short-term assistance. And the Iblis, the new Satan…she’s gone.”
“What!” I turned to him in surprise. Doriel, the demon supposedly in charge of New Hell, the one who had been assassinated, had serve under the new Satan. She, the Satan, was ultimately in charge of New Hell, and both Bishop and I had hoped she’d intervene on behalf of the humans and other residents here.
I’d been bitter that she’d seemingly abandoned us, but hadn’t expected much from a demon, especially one who’d taken the title of Satan. Still, a small part of me had been hopeful, despite all signs to the contrary, that she or one of the archangels would help us.
“No one will tell me exactly what has happened, but they’re all worried,” Bishop said. “I’m assuming she’s still alive since her mate, the archangel Michael, isn’t burning the world down in a display of grief. Besides, no one else has assumed the title of Ha-Satan. Although, the title has gone unclaimed and dormant for millions of years in the past, so that’s no real clue as to what’s going on. There’s no saying it wouldn’t go unclaimed for millions of years again.”
I sucked in a breath. “Then I guess we’re on our own.”
He put an arm around my shoulders. “We’ve got each other. We’ve got friends and family. We’re never on our own.”
Still, it meant I needed to formulate some sort of plan—whether it be short or long-term—for helping the residents of New Hell. There would be no Satan to ride in on a black horse to save us all. It would be up to Bishop and me, and our merry band of followers.
“I spoke to my friend, and she said that we might be able to leverage magic against the demons,” Bishop told me. “I haven’t heard of a sorcerer in the area, but if the mages were to work together, they might be able to create enough of a magical defense to secure a section of the Valley for humans to live in peace. Plus they could provide weapons that might be able to level the playing field between humans and demons.”
He had a point. Again. Magic…it might be the very thing that turned our small army into a force to be reckoned with. Thinking over the meeting and the fight at Suerte, I began to set priorities. There were still plenty of humans left in the LA area, along with the police force that had stuck it out through budget cuts, dwindling resources, all while fighting an enemy that far overpowered them. I’d been guilty of thinking they were nothing more than cannon fodder, doomed to fall at the hands of the demons they fought. Then I’d seen Juke today.
The woman had been a total badass. With an anti-magic gun and a whip that clearly had been magically enhanced, she’d more than held her own against those demons. We needed more Jukes in this world.
We needed to arm more humans like Juke was armed.
“I’ll talk to Mathias,” I said, hoping the mage would be willing to put me in touch with other magic users in the area, and help organize a joint effort to protect the city. But we needed more. Even if there were a hundred mages, I didn’t know if they all had the skills to produce weaponry on the scale that we needed.
“Do you think we can manage to get more anti-magic bullets and weapons?” I asked Bishop. “They’re in very limited supply. I’m not sure whether it’s a cost issue or if the demons are blocking their import, but either way I’m sure it’s going to be more difficult to get them going forward. If we can manage to bring as much as we can into New Hell and arm the police force as well as some trusted individuals, it be a game changer.”
Bishop frowned. “I might be able to leverage a few contacts to get us some supplies. It will take me a while, though. Can you hold down the fort for a few days?”
I swallowed my fear and nodded. A few days without Bishop would be hard. But I needed to be able to stand on my own two feet and not constantly be relying on Bishop for support.
“Can I suggest something?” Bishop asked.
“Please do. I’m floundering here and have no action plan whatsoever beyond gathering information and getting the humans anti-magic weapons and ammo.”
He rubbed my shoulder. “Make alliances where you can. Then pick one target and focus on that one.”
I snorted. “Alliances. Let’s see… Desiree has bought out my jobs from the tax demons. She wants to punish you, wants me working for her, and I have no leverage whatsoever to use in a negotiation.”
“Offer to help her get rid of one or both of the other demons and clear your debt with her,” Bishop said. “There’s always a negotiation point. You just have to get creative and think what each of these demons really wants.”
He was right. I snuggled against him and thought out loud. “I think Desiree would go for that, but she’s tricky and would figure out a way to twist the deal so I did the work and still ended up owing her. She’d know full well that I couldn’t take out those other two demons on my own. She’d agree just to enjoy watching them kick the shit out of me.”
“You do know that eventually you’re going to have to deal with her,” Bishop commented.
“Yeah. But I’m trying to put that off for as long as possible.” I thought for a second. “From what I’ve heard, the warmonger dude is motivated less by territory and more by actively fighting battles and one-on-one duels. He’s got a bit of an honor code, I’ve been told. So that’s a plus.”
“Sounds like you two would have a lot in common,” Bishop teased.
“Hey!” I swatted him.
“Do you know who this warmonger is?” Bishop asked.
“His name is Barstonel. He’s one of the Fallen, what Blister calls an Ancient. He’s taken the south section of New Hell—basically from the airport south and west of downtown. I’m going to assume he’ll be picking fights with the shifter packs and other groups in the area. The Disciples will most likely be high on his to-do list.”
“He might be open to attacking one of the other two demons with your household’s assistance, and he might not demand much in exchange,” Bishop said. “Like you said, for this warmonger, the reward is in the fight.”
“Okay. Moving that possibility up on my list. The other dude is Itinder, a plague demon. He’s got the Valley north, and I’m particularly concerned since that’s where my family lives. All I know about him is that he was a member of a bunch of notable households, then struck out on his own. He killed some other demon, got a bunch of followers, and leveled up.”
Bishop was silent for a few seconds. “If it were me, I’d try to make a deal with the warmonger to get rid of the plague demon. Then you can decide whether you’re going to switch sides and fight him with Desiree, or stay allied with him and go after her.”
I winced, not liking all this duplicity and changing sides thing. I didn’t include many people in my friend—or even in my household—circle, but once in, I was loyal. The idea of a double cross made me ill. If I allied myself with this warmonger, I couldn’t betray him—unless he did something horrible or broke my trust first.
But how would I find the warmonger, get an audience with him, and convince him I was worthy of an alliance. Yeah, there was the whole “her energy signature is like Samael’s, the OG Satan,” but that might not count for much when I couldn’t do much more than a Low.
“What about that dragon?” I mused. “I mean, it isn’t like I can negotiate with him. He pretty much would attack me on sight. Maybe we can use him as a weapon, though. Although, according to Blister, the demons are staying clear of that downtown area. She said they bribed the other dragons to leave, but this guy seems to have made a nest and established a hoard, so I guess he’s here to stay.”
“I don’t know much about dragons,” Bishop admitted. “If we could manage to drive opposing forces into his territory, then I assume he’d take care of them for us.”
Getting the plague demon’s army from the Valley into Downtown didn’t seem all that probable, but I decided to keep that option in my back pocket.
I sighed. “I think the most concerning thing for me right now is my lack of power. I mean, if I really am OG Satan’s daughter, then I can’t imagine he would have produced a dud. Why am I not kicking ass and taking names? Why am I such an underpowered loser compared to the other demons?”
