Death Among Us (9 page)

We needed to get the humans eyes off of us.  Improvising, “Calm dawn ladies and gentlemen, this is a DDA matter.  Mr. Ezzard, if you will come with me quietly.”

His eyes went from Roxanne to me.  “It cannot be!”

“Listen, I only wish to speak with you.  If you don’t want to go downtown, then come with me.”

Ezzard shook his head yes and we escorted him out of the building.  People were still looking, but at least now they would only remember this as some shadow government agency.  The last thing we needed was for them to remember a couple of demons and Death himself.

Once outside, we went around the side of the building.  “Roxanne!  You said you would never put me in harm’s way and this is the second time you have brought Hell to me!”

“Oh Ezzard, Death is not here for you.  As for Darius, that was a bit cowardly of me.”

His eyes actually bugged out of his head.  “He tortured me for days!  I did not know anything but he did not care!”

I placed my hands on his shoulders, “Ezzard, Darius has kidnapped a friend of mine.  I’m sure Roxanne sent you up shit creek, but I am the one asking for your help.”

His panting didn’t stop, but he seemed a bit more at ease.  “Master Death, you are seriously not here to reap my soul?”

“Nope, I promise you.”

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his brow.  “In that case, I will do what I can.”

We walked over to a bench and the three of us sat down.  No one said anything for a few moments, as I figured Ezzard was gathering his thoughts.  “If Darius is in the city that means the plan to assassinate the President is in full swing.”

“Yeah, that’s the other reason we’re here.”

He continued, “If that is the case, they would need to be very close to the White House.  Honestly, demons can blend in so well with those politicians, it would be child’s play to hide in plain sight.”

That made sense.  “So a trip to the National Mall is in order?”

His eyes lit up!  “May I pull out my tablet without chance of being beheaded?”

“Yeah, no worries.”

Ezzard nodded and pulled out a fancy looking thing from his jacket.  Powering it up, he went straight to the internet.  “A few weeks ago, I was on a website that was talking about the secrets of Washington, D.C.  One person claimed that in the Lincoln Memorial there was a secret tunnel that led to an underground bomb shelter.”

Humans love their conspiracy theories.  “You think it’s true and that’s where they are hanging out, don’t you?”

Snapping up to attention, “Yes!  I am most positive that is where they would be.”

The Glutton demon said it with such conviction that I was compelled to believe him.  “Alright then.  We’ll check it out tomorrow.”

Roxanne, who’d been suspiciously quiet, finally said something.  “You are not double crossing Death are you?”

“Why would I do that?”

Her eyes flashed.  “Remember, your grudge is with me, not him.  If you are sending us to a trap, then I will be the one who reaps you.”

My eyes narrowed.  It was always hard to tell when a demon was lying, as they specialize in that.  “Ezzard, look at me.”

He was in no hurry to meet my gaze.  When he did, his beady black eyes added nothing.  “I swear to you Master Death, this is no trick.”

This was a tough one.  I figured based on my reputation alone no one would lie to me on purpose.  I wondered just how far his grudge with Roxanne went.

I got up too.  “Tomorrow we will check out this lead.  If you are setting me up, no place on Earth or elsewhere will you be able to hide.”

“It is as you say.”  With a bow in my direction, the little demon scurried off.

As he left, the sky was getting dark.  “We should head back to the hotel.  It seems we’re in for quite the day tomorrow.”

“Angels and demons, oh my!”

Roxanne had more talents than just sex.  I needed a good laugh.  “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

She winked at me as we got into the car.  With the knowledge we needed in hand, we made our way back to the motel.

I didn’t sleep very well.  No, there were no shenanigans, just my guilt for letting Maggie get captured.  I woke up with a fire in my stomach, one that I hoped I’d be putting out soon.

Waking Roxanne up was a chore, but I finally succeeded.  It was eight and we only had an hour to get ready to meet my angel contact, Veronica.  I knew a few things and keeping an angel waiting was never a good thing.

“She will not try to smite me on spot, will she?”

She may, but I wasn’t about to say anything.  “You’re under my protection.  If they have issue with that, then they need to answer to me.”

She leaned over and gave me a kiss.  “You are so much better than Beelzebub.  He would have let me fried.”

It was super weird having a sex demon here and being a confidant.  “Well, no matter what you are, you have earned my trust.”

I think that really touched her.  For a second I could swear I almost saw a tear forming in those red eyes.  But that was impossible, demons can’t cry.  She blinked a few times and whatever I’d seen was gone.

“Quit staring at me Derrick and get dressed.  We have a meeting to be at.”

“Yes ma’am.”

We made it to the diner with ten minutes to spare.  We got a seat and placed an order for drinks and food.  The sign out front said they were famous for their cheese steak omelets and I planned to find out.

“What is this angel like?”

I took a drink of my orange juice.  “I only met her once and she seemed like the rest; by the book and probably a badass.”

“Would it kill them to relax a little bit?”

The voice that answered came from the blonde lady in a business suit standing in front of us.  “You are not one to judge me demon!”

Judging by the tone in her voice, I knew my headache would be back with a vengeance.

The angel and demon stared each other down.  “Ladies, both of you need to take a step back.”

Veronica’s gaze went from Roxanne to me.  “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I take full responsibility for her and for her actions.  She has proven to be an asset, unlike you angels who’ve sent me on a wild goose chase with little to nothing.”

Veronica’s face went from angry to hurt.  This was getting weird.  “I can only do so much Horseman.  You know the agreement and the letter of the law we follow.”

“And you know that sometimes I choose to do my own thing.  If you wish to argue more about Roxanne’s presence, than you can find another to help.”

She bit her lip.  “Very well, but I will have to report this to my superiors.”

“That’s fine, but for here and now, sit and let’s talk.”

She relented and took a seat.  “I have already been informed that you have lost a trusted companion.  Unfortunately, nothing I have heard has given a location where the demons might be holding her.”

For a split second, I was considering telling her what Ezzard told us yesterday.  Right before I could, I stopped.  I wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t feel right.

“What I can tell you is that over the next few weeks there will be multiple occasions where the President will be exposed.”  She slid a piece of paper across the table.  “This is a list of events where he will be most vulnerable.”

I looked it over.  Speeches, public gatherings, lunches, etc…  “What do you want me to do?”

“Be at each event – when you have the chance, kill the Greed demon masquerading as the Vice President.”

Roxanne had her normal amused smile.  “What will the angels be doing to assist in this?”

“Though it is none of your business, we are going to be the ones who will keep the President safe.”

It actually seemed like a solid plan.  “Very well, I will do everything I can to take care of this problem.  Do not question my methods or try to command me from here or out.  Understand?”

Veronica stared at me for a minute before getting up.  “We are giving you a week.  Please Death, do not fail, the consequences would be terrible.”

She turned and left.  Good timing too as our food had just gotten there.  While I was busy digging into my omelet, Roxanne seemed preoccupied.

“What’s wrong?”

“Right after that angel left, I felt a tremor.”

I hadn’t felt anything, so I guessed it was a demon thing.  “The angel make a mess of your mojo?”

“The angel?  No, this is something else.  I almost feel as if Beelzebub is here.”

I dropped my fork.  “What?”

“Even though I no longer serve him and have been exiled, I was his mate for so long that I get feelings.  As we speak, I get the feeling his power is hovering off in the distance, just out of reach.”

It took a lot of energy to bring an Arch-Demon to Earth, either through sacrifices or ritualistic Hell magic.  That’s why getting their hands on Washington’s axe would be really bad.

“I don’t doubt you, but are you a hundred percent on this?”

She was shaking.  “Yes, I could never forget his presence.”

My omelet was only half finished, but we had huge problems.  “I think it’s time to go check out Ezzard’s theory.”  Cursing myself, “Maybe we need to get the angels involved.”

“How would we get in contact with them?”

“We can see if Khloros can reach out on our way to the national mall.”

Unfortunately when we got to the car, Khloros had bad news that seemed to add a lot of validity to what Roxanne was feeling.  “There is strong outside interference.  I cannot reach out to the folks upstairs.”

Shit, this wasn’t good.  “I guess we have no choice but to get there ourselves.”

“Death, this is not a good idea.  If an Arch-Demon is on Earth, this is not something to be taken lightly.”

“Damnit Khloros, we can’t do anything!”  I looked over at Roxanne, “Would the angels feel his presence?”

“Not at first, Beelzebub is a master at concealing himself.”

Our decision had been made.  “We’re going after him then.”

From our location, we drove over to the closest Metro station.  Khloros didn’t like being left so far, but traffic getting into D.C. is terrible.

“We’re connected now by our phones.  If I need you, I’ll call.”

“This is a bad idea.  Please take caution and retreat if you must.”

I assured my buddy that we’d be okay.  When we parted, I could feel his anxiety.  I was nervous too, but I was doing my best to keep it together.

It took about twenty minutes to get to the National Mall.  Walking through the hordes of tourists, we walked in silence to the Lincoln Memorial.  As soon as we got to the front, Roxanne confirmed what Ezzard told us.

“This is the place.  Beelzebub’s energy is getting stronger.”

“Listen, you don’t have to go with me.  I know this is a bit daunting…”

“No!”  Her red eyes hardened.  “I will not allow you to face that fucker alone.  I am with you until the end Derrick Grimm.”

I took her hand.  “Then let’s go get our friend back.”

The cool air of the Lincoln Memorial welcomed us the higher we got.  At the top, I let Roxanne follow the path of energy to the back.  There hidden in the corner was a section of wall that looked a bit off.

“Let’s see what happens.”  I reached out and gave the section a push.  A tile in the floor instantly came to life and moved.  Big enough for a person to climb down, this had to be the place.  The overwhelming smell of brimstone was the dead give-a-way.

I climbed down first, followed by Roxanne.  The ladder went down maybe fifteen to twenty-feet.  At the bottom was a landing platform with a set of stairs to the right.  I brought Leviathan out and ignited him.  The white glow would act as our guide.

The steps went on forever.  The further we went, the more the smell and the cold air took over.  I got the feeling we were walking straight to Hell.

“Derrick, we are almost there, I can feel it.”

“You doing okay back there?”

She placed her hand on my back, “As long as I am with you.”

We rounded the final corner and the stairs opened into a giant pit.  Dead bodies of hundreds of demons littered the ground around the pit, with two figures standing in the middle.  One was Darius and the other was much smaller and covered in a cloak.

Without even turning around, “Welcome Death and the whore!  You are just in time for my master’s arrival!”

“Darius you fool!  Do you think I’d let you summon an Arch-Demon in my presence?”

His laugh filled the area.  “You are much too late!  As you can see we have already made the necessary sacrifices.”

We?  “Then the two of you have to answer for your crimes!  Let it be known that Death will reap your souls!”

I jumped down into the pit, Leviathan burning a holy energy.  Darius snapped his fingers and his war axe made its entrance.  The other figure still didn’t say or do anything.

“Let’s be honest, I was going to kill you anyway.  I’m going to make you beg and plead for your life Hell spawn.  This is your reward for taking my friend!”

He planted his axe into the ground.  “Your friend?  I think you are much mistaken in her thoughts and feelings for you.”

A knot formed in my stomach.  “What did you do to her?”

“I did nothing.”

“He’s right Derrick.”  The voice came from under the hood.  The figure turned around and revealed herself.  “It turns out I have a natural talent for certain things.”

Maggie was looking at me.  Gone was the soft expression that I had gotten used to.  Her features were hardened and her eyes now had a distinct red tint to them.  Not like Roxanne’s, but the touch of brimstone had been placed.

“Maggie… no this can’t be?”

She laughed and it sounded much more demonic.  “Don’t act like you cared for me for fuck up!  It was clear from the start you cared more for the whore demon than you ever would for me!”

“Is this what this is about?”

She snuggled up close to Darius, “I have found a much stronger man.  He has shown me so much in such a little amount of time.”

I felt like I was punched in the gut.  “When I reap your soul Darius, your demonic control will be broken.”

“She came to me willingly.  Over and over again in fact Death.”

“ENOUGH!!!”  Gone was the mortal voice, replaced by my celestial power.  “Darius, servant to Beelzebub, I challenge you to mortal combat!  Prepare for your reaping!”