Virgo's Vigilantes (The Zodiac Book 6), page 12
"I'm as pissed as anyone about what they're doing, but you know our stance on this," Virgo said, raising his arms in a wide V to include everyone in the room. "We are a mix. We don't prefer one side to another, because both sides have failed us. Even the mortals among us" —the reaction from Bilba, Ralrek, and Melchiot was hilarious, as unsuspecting as they were that such matters would be talked about openly— "are failed by the Upper and Underworlds. Our entire purpose for existing is to ensure the influence of immortals doesn't touch us. That's not entirely possible; we understand that. But we are going to do everything we can do to minimize it. We're tired of the immortal games."
"But that's what's happening, and by not getting involved, you're enabling that influence to grow," Cassie said, scooting forward in her chair. "I'm not asking you to take a side. I've said so before. That's why I asked Z—Zeke to help. I want you to see it, I want you to hear it from my own lips in front of him, that I don't want any preferential treatment. I've never asked for it, and I won't start now. But I can't do it alone."
"How is that?" Virgo said, leaning to the side.
"Someone with much more say than me or anyone in this room, is going to decide. They'll involve even more powerful players. Before you know it, this spins out of control," Cassie said. "It's happening. You know the reports we've received. Are you happy with what's been happening around the city?"
"Of course not," Virgo answered.
"That won't stop," Cassie said as if she anticipated the response. "In fact, it's only getting worse. You've seen how these groups are growing. The more they unsettle the people they oppose, the more vitriolic their message becomes. The more brazen their actions. Give it another few weeks and imagine what it's going to be like, V—Virgo. And if my side has to counter, we will. We all know where that leads."
The air was thick with tension as everyone waited on Virgo. I leaned forward. "I haven't been around, I know," I said, "but I can assure you, if Cassie says it, it's true. Shit has been rolling downhill, in bigger balls, all the time." I briefed Virgo on what happened to me since being plucked from the Overworld. To his credit, he listened, his fierce gaze locked on me the entire time. No one in the room even as much as coughed, not even when I mentioned Leo's fate. "Now, I don't know who's behind riling up all these idiots and causing problems for mortals and you, but I don't trust anyone in Hell as far as I could throw their gooseneck sow's tongue asses. They will stop at nothing to gain influence, and none of them are willing to intercede on behalf of what is right. Well, with one exception I'm still feeling out. If you don't get involved, the choice will be made for you." I let the sentence hang as I looked around the room, taking in each of the Abandoned standing counsel to the fighter. "For all of you."
That got a reaction. Fear will do that to a demon, angel, or mortal. None of us are immune.
Noise filled the room as everyone began talking over each other. The hostility was aimed at the immortal forces screwing with the Overworld. I felt guilty, but only partially. If Virgo insisted on maintaining neutrality, he was going to answer for it to the very people who would suffer because of the decision. That was the thing with tough guys, they only saw the world from their tough guy perspective, thinking they could conquer anything they set their minds to. Virgo wasn't a bad guy. He put himself in harm's way to help me. Bad guys didn't do things like that. But his autonomy blinded him, and that might hurt others. He needed to know that cost.
"I've lost track of how many times they've attempted to kill me. All my missions, everything that's happened, the war, my Abandonment, a trial to the death that took Leo's life," I said, letting that last one land hard. "That's just the beginning of this mess for the rest of you. It doesn't stop here. And let me tell you. If they suspect Upperworld involvement, they're just going to crank up the intensity. None of you want that. What's stopping you?"
Arms crossed, standing to the side of the room, Steve answered. "Leadership. We have none. Not formally, I mean."
I nodded, appreciating his honesty. A new member of the Abandoned, he may be, but at least he had the courage to say what was needed. "Then nominate a blessed leader and do what's right. No one needs to suffer over something that could be solved." Then I focus on the sole individual who needed it, now more than ever. "What's stopping you from stepping up?"
"I'm not a leader," Virgo said, his arms placed on the table, his hands contracted into fists.
"That's why we need you to lead us," Steve said from the wall. "You won't be reckless. You'll make sure we're safe. That's why you must lead."
"Yeah," another man said, this one well into the second half-century of his life.
A woman stocky enough to remind me of the bulbous nosed Chain Queen I had taken out inside the Lion's Den, slapped the wall. "Right on!"
Cassie leaned forward, reaching out and touching Virgo's fisted hands. "They need you. Olympia needs you. And, it's quite possible the whole Overworld needs you."
Virgo didn't pull his hands away. He didn't scowl. His fierce eyes bored holes into the table. Everyone let him consider what was said.
After a time, he spoke. "If I do this," he said, raising a hand at the excitement that followed, stressing, "if I do this, it has to be done our way. You two." He wagged that same dangerous finger at me and Cassie. "Bring whatever you want to me, share all the information you have, provide guidance and advice, but you do not form decisions for us. Understood?"
Neither Cassie nor I could agree swiftly enough.
"Absolutely," I said.
"Deal." Cassie's crystal eyes sparkled.
Now, the wall was free of the bodies propped against it throughout this meeting. Like those attendees, I found myself leaning closer. Melchiot's monochrome eyes never blinked.
"Fine," Virgo said.
Hand clapping and backslapping accompanied his response. The celebrations stopped when he held up his hands. "But if I am going to lead this rabble, I'm going to want to know what it will be called."
Confusion passed over most faces. No one stepped up to ask, so I did. "Called?"
"Any serious organization needs a name, doesn't it?" he said, spreading his hands once more. "So, if you all want this so badly, let's have it. What should we be known as?"
Steve stepped forward, a big chimera–dung eating grin on his face. "Let's call ourselves," he paused, a wicked smile on his face, "Virgo's Vigilantes."
The new moniker hung in the balance for approximately two-one-hundredths of a fraction of a second. I'm sure Abandoned across the hangar heard the cheering agreement.
And so, Virgo's Vigilantes was born.
8
Olympia
"Virgo's Vigilantes," I teased as I rolled the name over in my head.
"Not convinced myself," Virgo said, walking us to the front of the hangar, past a jubilant throng of movie watchers and socializers.
As soon as the meeting broke, word spread. The newly named Vigilantes were ecstatic. Many watched as we crossed the vast cement floor. Beaming smiles and broad grins told me how much this formalized step meant to them. With the name given, they believed. In themselves. In a greater role, a grander purpose.
As someone who knows something about belief, this could go a long way. Hell's rulers made a huge mistake by putting me in a trial to the death. Now free, motivated by the weight of responsibility and empowered by a stunning angel and an Overworld gang looking for justice, I was ready to become the nightmare they feared.
If this is what the wheels of momentum felt like, I would ride this as long as I could hold on. Something was building here. It electrified the air.
"I don't know, it's sort of catchy," Bilba said.
"We should leave," Melchiot said, tilting toward Bilba and casting a nervous glance around the hangar. "Very soon. "
Melchiot was going from party pooper to annoying. Leaving now would deprive me of the chance to talk with Cassie and Virgo. Mostly Cassie. Sure, we'd gotten our business done, but hadn't really talked as friends, except for the walk to the hangar. Too many ears had been hanging around then. Plus, after such a big decision, racing off wasn't the wisest decision we could make. I'd been on enough teams to know that. We needed to bond before we split into the winds.
"Give us a little time, will you?" I asked my friend.
Bilba's head swayed between me and his mentor. "I can open a rift back to the Fifth for you, Melchiot. We'll follow later. How does that sound?"
"We shouldn't," she said, moving closer still. "This could jeopardize several things."
Bilba pulled back. "Like what?"
Melchiot watched us as we watched her. "Well… your Passage, for one."
"And? You've already told me the way this is set up is abnormal. And this," Bilba paused, gesturing at our small group, "is important. Maybe the most important thing any of us will ever do. I will not pass it up. I'll open a rift, and you can head back. But I'm not. I'm staying here."
To drive home the point, Bilba mumbled, his hands moving. The rift sizzled before the air split open. It was narrow, smaller than the one he'd opened to get us to Olympia. Around the hangar, decaying immortals and mortals alike watched.
Melchiot hung by the rift. "Please do not put your hard work at risk."
"I'll let you know when I'm home," Bilba said.
Dismissed, his mentor turned and scurried through the rift. A white dot outlined her body as she was absorbed, then sucked in on itself. Bilba let the rift go and the rip in the air faded.
"Still so cool you can do that," Ralrek said.
"I could teach you," Bilba said, his ears pink, from humility or dismissing his mentor, I couldn't tell.
"Fat chance I could ever pull that off, but thanks," Ralrek said.
Bilba nodded and then smacked his hands together. "So, now what?"
"I have tasks to get to," Virgo said, nodding to the door. "I'm sure you guys know your way out. Remember what I said about this agreement. It's only as good as both of you and your kind honoring it."
"I get that," I said.
Cassie reached over and grabbed Virgo's hand. If decaying demons could be lucky, Virgo was that. "Thank you for taking this chance to trust me."
Virgo nodded, gave a squeeze of Cassie's hand, and let go. "I'll see you later," he said, returning to his business to leave us to ours.
"Now what do we do?" Bilba prodded. "Well, unless you two need alone time? Me and Ralrek could go grab a coffee or play some of that roundball." He pointed at the basketball on the concrete. "When you're ready for me to bring you home, give me a shout, or wait for us to come back if we go for coffees? I don't know." He gave Ralrek a shrug, not committing to either action.
My neck heated even as I stumbled to think of a response. Cassie's eyes were wide, with humor… I think.
"Let's get something to drink. If I remember correctly, there's a pub down the street," I said before turning away and walking out of the hangar, knowing the other three were close behind. I needed to stay in front of them long enough for the color in my cheeks to fade.
The chilled air and gray sky didn't sour my mood. I was with my two best friends and my favorite angel in the entire universe. I was free. The Council wasn't after me, at least not yet. Covertly, I was part of a small gang who enjoyed true freedom of movement. Things couldn't get better. Well, unless the pub was open, serving beer, and dishing out free all-you-can-eat chicken wings. Too bad there was no such thing as miracles.
"I know it's only been a few weeks, but it feels so good to see you again. I'm so glad you could make it. Bi—Bilba, thank you so much for doing this," Cassie said, locking her arm around his elbow.
This time it wasn't only the tips of his ears that flashed pink. "You're—you're welcome. It—it really wasn't a big deal."
"No one likes a braggart," Ralrek said, a sly smirk.
"It's the least we can do. Especially after what you did for me," I said, swallowing something stupidly thick in my throat.
"I only did what was right. What any angel would have done," she said.
Ralrek snorted. "Any? Doubt it."
"Be nice," I warned. "Cassie, be honest. Are you putting yourself at risk with your Council? I imagine you are, if yours is anything like ours."
"Worse entities exist than our Council, that's for sure," Cassie said. "But don't worry about it. I did what was needed. What the situation called for. And I'd do it again, a thousand times over."
"Why? Because you like Zeke?" Bilba giggled.
Ralrek stopped, turning on our shorter friend. "What are you, nine hundred years old? Grow up. Plus," he added, waving at me and the angel, "look at them. It's obvious they're infatuated with each other."
Leaving us embarrassed, Ralrek walked away. The way his shoulders bobbed, he was laughing.
"Ignore him," I said to Cassie.
"Uh, sure. I just hope he doesn't hate me."
I shook my head. "He doesn't. He's been Hell's asshole for six thousand years and pretty much embraces the title."
Cassie snort–laughed, the cutest combination of joy and bodily functions I'd ever heard in my life. The laugh I couldn't hear enough of, ever. "Seriously though. Please don't worry about me. I didn't get in any kind of trouble."
"Well, that's good to hear. That was a powerful spell you used to save my ass. If a demon tried that, it would get registered around all Nine Circles of Hell."
"Chax got what he deserved," the angel responded. "I feel terrible that what I did caused you so many headaches. I hope that's the end of it. Otherwise… well, you don't deserve any further struggles."
A mortal couple rounded the corner, their arms interlocked, looking every bit of mutual happiness and satisfaction. How long would mortals be happy if they knew what was happening in the underworld of Olympia. Virgo's stubborn resistance, having to be cornered into agreeing to get involved, lingered. Did he consider couples like them when he questioned his involvement in this eternal struggle?
After they were out of earshot, I said, "I doubt it'll be long before one of the Founders bothers me again. That seems to be their style."
Cassie shook her head. Her cocoa hair with its blond highlights falling over her smooth neck.
"What is that all about? Did I say something wrong?" I asked.
"No. No." She drew a breath. Her shoulders stretched back as her chest expanded. I kept my eyes focused on her beautiful eyes. "I worry about what I did and how that might antagonize Seraph. I don't imagine this is sitting well with her."
"Oh, I expect Seraph to be a problem for," I paused, swinging my head like a pendulum in mock thought, "about the rest of my existence. At least as long as she allows me to live."
"That's not funny," Cassie mumbled.
"I didn't mean it to be."
We walked for another block, sharing only our parallel steps.
"Excuse me, but I need to talk to Ralrek about… something," Bilba said, scurrying ahead to catch up with the taller demon who didn't even know where the pub was but was leading the way.
What a good friend, that Bilba Ravenous.
"Can I ask you something?" I broke the silence.
"Of course, you can ask me anything," Cassie said almost as soon as I finished.
"You once told me part of the problem with Seraph was she owed someone a favor. The way I remember it, you were trying to tell me she's dangerous in a different way. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but I know she's dangerous. What favor does she owe, though? To who?"
Cassie flinched like I'd hit a tender spot. "I… I don't know if I should talk about that."
I was confused. "Come on, you know what's at stake. What I could walk into when we get home. What I might deal with for the rest of my life. Throw me a bone here, please."
Cassie stopped. Right there, in the middle of the sidewalk, she stood, an immortal creature with immense power, drawing the attention of my universe. A blue sedan passed. The mortal driving craned his neck, checking her out. Only Cassie's expression stopped me from laughing. Thankfully, she didn't notice.
She came toward me, each step measured. "My father, Z—Zeke. That's who S—Seraph owes a favor. It's difficult because it's a sensitive situation, not in terms of my feelings, but politically."
I pulled back. "What? Is your father important or something?"
She nodded more than she needed to. "Yes. And he did a political favor for Seraph eons ago that she never repaid. Not that he expects her to repay it, considering her position in the Underworld."
"Yeah, I don't think Seraph is under any impression she needs to pay on things owed," I laughed though it was definitely not funny.
We had caught Bilba and Ralrek, who were walking slower, obviously noting our deep discussion.
"I promise, she will never repay a thing owed. She's dangerous," Cassie continued. "I don't know if you guys understand just how dangerous. Se—Seraph's political connections go back a long way. Almost back to the beginning, just like any Founder, yours or ours. She's connected and has been only gaining power ever since. According to my father's stories, she set herself apart early on. She was smart. Her moves and ploys were subtle. He always warned me she never stood out to most angels, so they did nothing until it was too late and that forced our Council's hand. By the time everyone recognized her ambitions, she was practically untouchable."
"She was untouchable? Even in Heaven?" Bilba asked with obvious fascination.
Cassie nodded. "She was. That was, in large part, what led to her Fall."
"We find that term offensive," Ralrek sniffed.
"I thought it was a trade. A swap," I said, covering for Ralrek's brusqueness.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I can see how that is an insensitive term," Cassie said to my dark-haired friend. "But yes, Asmodeus and Legion were… swapped for her and M-Michael. The way I understand it, the negotiations took months, but it was because of her. Poor Mi-Michael wasn't a threat, but there had to be a balance to the exchange before Yahweh and L—Lucifer agreed. M—Michael was the innocent bystander in the mess. I am worried for you guys, because there's nothing I can do to help you stand up against her. I wouldn't put it past her to be exploring ways she can make you pay for what you've done, Z—Zeke. She's not a good immortal."
