From Hell with Love (13 page)

“If you saw him specifically, and you saw him die, then yes.  We can throw out all number of the hazy details, but whatever specifics you have of the events are likely to take place unless they are counteracted,” he explained, but Niccolo shook his head and held his open hands by his side for emphasis.

“You were just talking about how you didn’t respect Räum’s visions,” he said, which made Buer worry his beard with his hand and shake his head.

“I misspoke.  I did not respect Räum or his interpretation of events.  His gift for viewing the future was given to him by Adonai himself, and our god did not skimp when it came to manipulating the fourth dimension.  When you reaped the crow, you gained his gift, however temporarily, directly from his soul.  You, Cadmus, saw what no other demon could, even Amon.”

“How?” the cloaked Horseman asked, drawing Buer's gaze.

“The nature of our souls are very different, Horsemen,” he said, taking turns looking at both humans.  “When Adonai created the angels, we were merely vessels for a portion of his energy or perhaps just energy from his home.  He gave us our gifts, our specific talents, which made us quite powerful in our own right, but we were limited.  We have existed for millions of years, something you humans can only imagine.  Cadmus, you are now the
one
outlier,” Buer added.

“By our very nature, we were unable to grow, to change internally.  If we did happen to kill each other, to end the lives of our brothers and sisters, nothing would happen.  Though many of my brethren have changed their outward appearance, they are almost exactly the same entities that have existed since their creation.  Human souls are different.”

“What do you mean?” Niccolo asked, crossing his arms.  Buer laughed at that before taking off his spectacles and wiping them against his tunic.

“You are, at the very least, a curiosity.  Adonai did not intend for continued existence after your deaths.  You were, for all intents and purposes, animals he could play with for eternity.  When Lucifer spurred on your evolution, very curious things started to happen.  The first human soul came into being only a few thousand years ago.  When Seere found his way to Hell, everyone was absolutely astonished.  After he died on Earth, he existed, albeit much weaker than the Fallen, and grew as the ages passed.  And he was not the only one.  More and more human souls started to appear in both Heaven and Hell and caused other issues, but that is beside the point.”

“What was so interesting,” he continued, almost giddy in his explanation, “was that when these humans killed one of the roaming beasts, like your dragon, they gained power.  The longer they existed, and particularly if they ended the lives of others, the stronger they became.  Seere, as you know, is now a rather prominent figure at the Pits.  He has had, after all, several millennia to refine his craft.  The problem was that whenever a being of pure energy like the Fallen or these human souls died, they could leave
another
soul behind without a body, just like when angels and demons were killed during the war.  These
ghosts
, as best can be explained, became a torment, as most of us could not destroy them.”

“This discovery led to the invention of reapers, Cadmus, which is what I’ve been getting at,” Buer said before taking a deep breath, looking at each member of his audience.  “Once both realms started to increase in population, controversies and conflicts rose up and the influx of wandering ghosts without bodies became too much for the demonic population.  During the war against Heaven, Azrael, the Angelic Reaper, had done what the rest of us could not; he killed the ghosts that the angels left behind.  When the new human souls turned into ghosts, we had to mimic Azrael’s mercy.”

“Buné was somehow able to destroy some of these ghosts without any harm; it was a latent gift from Adonai.  He became the first reaper, but he was unable to keep up with the creation of new ghosts throughout Hell.  That was why the Reapers were created, specifically from men and women who had a sort of…extra-sensory perception for those who were about to die.  Unlike demons, these former men and women
could
destroy the souls of their own kind, which was a welcome discovery.  The reapings certainly added to the strength of these individuals, but as long as they were dispatching ghosts, and not the demons themselves, it was not so terrible a situation."

"Unfortunately, when the feral demons started to appear in Dis, we could not allow the Reapers to kill their corrupted brethren, which was why Crocell and his ilk were appointed as Slayers.  Those demons would dissipate the brunt of their powers and energy and the Reapers were tasked with cleaning up the mess.  Since Crocell and the rest are fallen angels, they have no capability to increase in power.”

“Now,” Buer said before taking a breath, reveling in his history lesson, “the idea was that we could keep them under control, including you, Cadmus.  It is merely a matter of fortune that you have the distinction of being the Pale Rider.  I confess, we always did favor you for the position, but you know as well as I that you are not the only reaper we considered for a potential Horseman.  But now, now that you have reaped an elder demon, the game is changing.  You are likely more powerful than many of the human souls that have existed throughout time, which is exciting,” Buer said, a smile breaking across his old face.  Cadmus shook his head, considering his new position, but Niccolo was completely dumbfounded.

“That’s quite the lecture, Buer,” he said, but the centaur put out his hands, shaking them with fervor.

“I’m not done, Horseman.  Because you directly inherited Räum’s gift for revelations, you are one of only
three
souls in Hell that have ever seen the future, and I believe you would be much better at interpreting it.  Sadly,” he added, his expression darkening, “what you have seen is quite dire.  Now that you have some context, what else can you remember?  Anything that is not particularly vague will be very important.”

“Uh,” Cadmus delayed, a stress headache eating away at his mind.  He worried his hands against his scythe, trying to recall the memory, but nothing came of it except that vision of Lucifer and his assailant.  “Except for the palace burning, the only other detail I remember is the person who killed Lucifer was wearing a cloak.”

“A cloak?” Buer asked in a terse manner, clearly disappointed in the recollection.  “That’s all you have?”

“It was grey, like mine.  That’s really all I have, Buer.  That’s all we have to go on.”

“It has to be enough,” Niccolo said, finally regaining his senses.  “Can you tell us anything?  Any rumors?  Any mention of cloaks being especially important?  We need
something
if we’re going to save Scratch.”  The centaur looked to the man with the rotten arm and sighed, bringing up his hand to pinch the skin at his own forehead.  After a moment he looked back down, breathing out in dismay.

“It’s not a reaper.  Lucifer, even if stabbed by a reaper, would not die like that.  It takes a deeper power to kill the Devil,” he added, starting to paw at the floor beneath him with his front hooves.  “I have… I have something.”

“What?  Anything would help,” Niccolo urged, which brought on the stare of the elder demon.

“The Cult of Ascension.  Rumors and vapors, really, but it was one of the few groups against Lucifer’s leadership that ever gained any traction.  They, and their mysterious leader, were obsessed with claiming the Earth for their own, breaking out of Hell at all costs.”

“I remember that,” Cadmus said, causing Buer to nod.

“It did occur around the same time as your arrival, Horseman, but we never had the resources to fully flush them out.  They viewed Adonai’s coming apocalypse as a sign that the Earth should be claimed as soon as possible.  Before the end of the world, of course,” the centaur said before crossing his arms again.

“How come I have never heard of this?” Niccolo asked, which brought a shrug from the Pale Rider.

“Amon and Räum relayed the prophecies and Lucifer made the agreement more than a thousand years ago, Nico.  The Cult was only talked about for a few decades before support died out,” Cadmus added, but Buer grunted in response.

“Well, supposedly.  There have been whispers over the centuries, but recently, and I say that in the matter of years, for perspective, I have been hearing things again.  When the feral outbreak began, the Cult started to leak back into popular consciousness.”

“Alright, well, what does that have to do with Lucifer?” Niccolo asked.  Buer pursed his lips at the question.

“The rumor was that their enigmatic leader always wore a grey cloak, his face covered in unearthly shadows.  If the whispers are true, if the Cult of Ascension has returned, this figure might be a suspect,” the centaur speculated, his voice grave.

“Were there any rumors about who the leader could be?” Cadmus inquired, which drew a short laugh from the elder demon.

“Any of the Fallen.  No human would have that kind of power.”  Niccolo paced back and forth in front of the centaur, drawing the fallen angel’s gaze.  He turned and placed his thumb between his teeth, biting it softly in order to concentrate, and then brought it out of his mouth before turning to face the fallen angel.

“Could it be one of the kings?  The Council is coming up,” he mentioned.

“Possibly, not all of them are fans of Lucifer’s leadership, but my guess is that the leader is more local to Dis.  The kings rarely venture out of their own provinces, so they likely have alibis,” the centaur responded, clasping his hands in front of him and bringing them up to his lips.

“I’m just saying, Paimon got here early,” the leper speculated, but Buer laughed before shaking his head.

“That woman is danger, but not for Lucifer.  They have always had an…understanding,” he hinted, breathing in deeply before staring off into space again.  Niccolo decided not to pursue it, although he kept his wariness toward the seductive demon.

“Do you have idea who it could be?  Any suspicions?” Cadmus asked in desperation, but the old librarian dropped his hands to his sides in defeat.

“I’m a historian, Horsemen.  For this task you need someone with current information.  That is not me.  Go after the rumors, maybe the demons at court and you might find more information.  In the meantime,” he added, stroking his beard once more, “I would go talk to Crocell.  He is intimidating, certainly, but he knows much more than he lets on.  He’s in the area, close to Ronové’s hovel.  They had to cordon off a part of the Famine District once Valefor started to turn, which is another issue.  Crocell will be fighting him soon,” Buer finished by looking into Cadmus’ eyes.  The reaper shivered at the intensity.

“Now that you mention it, someone does seem close to death,” he confirmed, causing Buer to nod.

“Start there, maybe even talk to Ronové.  The Cult of Ascension was popular in this district due to, well, the sparse accommodations.”  Buer punctuated the statement by placing his hand on Cadmus’ shoulder before stepping past him.  “Don’t be too obvious in your investigation.  Valefor’s turn is worrying.  Two of the Fallen going feral in the same day is a dark omen.”

“I’m off to another level, now.  One of you humans made a mess of the constellation section,” he said as he walked away, his hooves clacking against the tiles of the library floor.

“Buer,” Niccolo called after the demon, waiting for the librarian to turn before continuing, “do you have anything else?  Any other advice?”  The fallen angel looked down at the floor for a moment, considering his words carefully.  When he looked back into Niccolo’s remaining eye, his face was absent any grudge or annoyance.

“If you see the palace on fire, you run as fast as you can.”

***

“Two fallen in one day, this is absurd,” Cadmus muttered as they made their way through the broad streets of the Famine Quarter.  While they did not see anybody as they rode, the Horsemen knew demons were watching them fly past.  It took a great deal of concentration to notice the residents of this quarter; they blended in with their surroundings and hid when they could.

“Something’s happening, that’s for sure,” Niccolo added, urging Plague to run faster by flicking the reins.

Try that again, little man, and see what happens.  I’m going as fast as I can,
the deep voice echoed through his mind, which caused Niccolo to feel a little guilty.

Sorry, I’m a little distracted
, he thought, but his horse did not reply, knowing that Niccolo had heard him.  The horses continued to gallop through the avenue, trying to reach the blocked-off area in time.  Even now they could hear the snarls and roars from the fierce battle, realizing Crocell likely had his hands full.

“Why does it have to be Valefor?” Cadmus asked in a desperate manner, which caused Niccolo to look at him in confusion.

“Does it matter who it is?” the leper asked, causing Cadmus to shake his head.

“If he’s feral, it means that he’s turned into a full lion,” he mentioned, looking at his friend out of the corner of his eye.  “Do I have to continue?”

“Oh,” Niccolo responded, realizing why the reaper would be apprehensive.  In his first life, Cadmus had never had good luck with the large cats.  “Well, Crocell shouldn’t need our help,” he added, trying to make Cadmus feel better.  Instead, the reaper stared ahead.

“Let’s hope,” he said, his voice dropping with the statement.

When they reached a crest in the hill, they finally saw the two demons engaged in combat.  Crocell had already given up the pretense of keeping his casual form; blue lightning streaked through his arms and veins, drawing darkness to all of the negative space around him and his dark blue wings.  His golden trident shined brilliantly in his hands, but the Horsemen could see blood dripping along the prongs and down the shaft of the weapon.  However, Crocell was not the object of their attention.

A humongous beast roared at the demon before continuing its shout by raising its head at the sky, shaking the buildings all around them.  The appearance of the feral demon shook Cadmus to his core, its powerful frame taking up most of the avenue.  It vaguely resembled an African lion, but seemed even more dangerous and grotesque.  The creature’s mane was a mixture of crimson and black, but what were most disturbing were the human features throughout the lion’s massive head.  It had a human’s nose and eyes and there was a mixture of human and feline teeth in the demon’s mouth, which was big enough to swallow a person whole.  The strange nature of the demon did not stop there; although its front legs were those of a lion, its back feet were the hooves of a donkey.  And just to make the demon more fearsome, massive bat wings sprawled out from the creature’s back.