Middle Demons (Angels and Demons Book 2)

MIDDLE DEMONS

BY: RANDALL J. MORRIS

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Randall J. Morris
Cover by Elizabeth Mackey Graphics
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or book reviews.

CHAPTER 1

This was easily the easiest job any demon on Earth ever had. The two demons from the department of inaction and laziness could have moved on to other targets, but that would require work on their part. It was much less stressful to watch the sins and crimes that Diego committed on a daily basis. So that’s exactly what they did. They kicked back, watched, and occasionally guided Diego to kill someone who was almost as awful as he was.

Of the two demons, one was still a demon-in-training. He was working for a minor demon with hundreds of years of experience. He still thought it was odd that this department exerted almost no effort in contributing to ease Hell’s soul shortage, yet many of the demons in the department of inaction and laziness were huge. They consumed many more souls than they brought down to Hell. The minor demon easily consumed three or four times what most demons had been rationed. The demon-in-training decided once again that he should pitch an idea other than just sitting there and watching.

“Maybe we should get Diego’s thugs to go shoot up some rival gang.”

“Nope. That could lead to retaliation and we don’t want that. Diego is good for giving us one or two souls when he’s in the mood for it and that’s all we really need him to contribute.”

“I’m really bored, sir.”

The minor demon reached into his pocket and pulled out two soda bottles. He handed one to the demon-in-training.

“Drink up then. We’re not even going to get him to do anything serious for another few days. He’s causing enough evil by just being in management for now. You should really learn to appreciate what an easy gig this is. We just have to babysit the drug lord.”

“I don’t get it. How do we have such a high soul count coming in if we rarely ever do anything?”

“It’s called working smart, not hard. We take credit for souls that other demons have been working on. If they complain or try to fight us on it, we kill them. Demons taste good too, once you get used to the texture.”

The demon-in-training looked appalled and felt a wave of nauseousness.

“You’ve eaten other demons?”

“Of course. You will too at some point.”

The minor demon showed his trainee a ring on his right hand.

“This allows me to turn into a creature that is fueled by an intense hunger. Once I change forms, it’s easy to overpower other demons and eat them. Lots of minor demons in inaction and laziness are given this ring when they become minor demons. You’ll probably get one eventually.”

As the minor demon was explaining things, the demon-in-training thought he saw something move from the shadows.

“I think I saw something over there. I’m going to go check it out.”

“Waste of time. I’ll be right here when you don’t find anything.”

The demon-in-training made his way over to a corner of the warehouse. There was nothing there. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was time to kick back and coast in his new department. Everyone else seemed to.

He continued to think that maybe he was going a little crazy from boredom and a good drink plus some sleep would help to pass the time. Then he heard a garbled scream, as if someone was choking on something. He ran back to where he had been lounging with his trainer. When he saw that three demons had killed the minor demon he served, he hid behind a stack of wooden crates.

“Look at this vile piece of shit! There are demons starving in hell right now and he’s laying here drinking a human soul like it was a soda. Well at least that’s one giant mouth less to feed.”

“The report said Diego had two demons watching him. Where’s the other?”

The demon-in-training felt a blade press against his throat. He looked up and saw its owner, smiling down at him.

“He’s over here.”

The three demons rushed over and surrounded him but the one with a sword to his throat waved them off.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“My name is Vomit. I’m a demon-in-training in the department of inaction and laziness.”

“How long have you been working for the tub of lard over there?”

“Three days.”

The demon holding a blade to his throat withdrew his sword and put it back in its sheath.

“My name is Gangrene, one of the minor demons in the department of murder. I serve Lord Shadow, middle demon of war.”

“What does Lord Shadow have against General Asmodeus?”

“Nothing, now that Asmodeus is dead.”

Shock registered on Vomit’s face.

“Someone actually killed that massive bl…”

He cut his sentence short when he remembered that it was blasphemy to speak against his department. Gangrene grinned at him.

“Yes. Lord Shadow killed that massive blob. We’re here to take the soul of Diego for the department of murder. You see those three over there?”

Vomit nodded.

“Two of them worked for Lucian in the department of lies. The chick was in the department of lust. All three of them are demons-in-training. I killed the minor demons they were working for and now all three of them work for me. So I guess you have a choice to make. You can fight for the dead blob, Asmodeus, and die like he did or you can work for me.”

“I’ll work for you then. The department of inaction and laziness is incredibly boring anyways. I signed up to tempt humans and steal souls, not kick back and take credit for things I didn’t do. Diego’s soul is yours.”

Gangrene looked back at his three demons-in-training.

“Now.”

The three of them nodded and left. Within five minutes, cops and DEA agents were breaking down doors, taking down security guards, and making their way to Diego’s office. Diego grabbed his two M4 Carbines with M203 grenade launchers attached to the base. As he stepped out of his office, both sides fired. Diego went down, but he took down most of the force that came to put a stop to his criminal activity.

Gangrene removed a small box from under his cloak and opened the latch. Several souls were already stored inside. He walked towards Diego and reached down into his chest. When his hand emerged, he held the black soul of Diego which he then added to the box.

“Check the cops and DEA agents. We’ll probably have at least a few more souls to collect here.”

Vomit went to help the others, but Gangrene put his hand up to stop him. He handed the box of souls to one of his three trainees and pulled Vomit aside.

“Do you know what the minor demon power was of that fat fucker over there?”

“Sort of. He told me that his ring of power turned him into a creature with an uncontrollable hunger. He told me that when he used it he could…”

“Eat other demons?”

“Yes. I had no idea that they did that. He told me I would have to at some point as well.”

“You still look pretty thin for a demon in inaction and laziness.”

“I didn’t just sit around and drink down souls like they did. I scouted. I tried to suggest other things we could be doing. The way they ran things felt… wrong.”

“I guess it depends. Lord Shadow doesn’t eat other demons but the rage monster that he becomes when he uses his ring does.”

“So did Lord Shadow EAT Asmodeus after he killed him?”

“Yes. He also consumed Abigor and Malphas. Retrieve the ring for me.”

Vomit approached the decaying remains of the minor demon he had served just a short time ago. The smell was terrible. A dark, oozing blood still leaked from his throat and his bowels hung loosely from an open gash in his stomach. Vomit plugged his nose and pulled the ring from his finger. He gave it to Gangrene and Gangrene put in on his hand next to several other rings while staring at the remains of the demon they had just killed.

“Join the others. I want a moment alone with the decaying, obese monster over there.”

Vomit went to join the other three demons-in-training. Gangrene continued to stare at the minor demon whose ring he had added to his collection.

“I’ll bet you didn’t expect it to end like this. You expected to grow to the size of a small planet. While I’m always up for collecting souls for Lord Shadow, there’s a reason I volunteered for this route. You see, I know you won’t remember me. Actually… you won’t remember anything anymore. I had you gutted like the pig that you are.”

“I had an older sister. She was a demon-in-training who was sent out to watch over a crack whore. The whore wasn’t going to be worth much when my sister delivered her to Hell, but it was her first mission. She told me how excited she was. I still remember hugging her before she left and telling her to be safe.”

“After a few days of working her new target, another demon showed up. A fat ass named Glutton. He looked exactly like you did several hundred pounds ago. He killed my sister, collected the soul of the crack whore when she died, and then he did something I wasn’t expecting. He ate my sister.”

“Are you wondering how I know all of this? That’s rhetorical, because you’re dead. I followed her. I wanted to make sure she was alright, but I was too afraid to stop you from killing her. I watched you eat her without summoning the courage to do anything about it. Well, better later than never. Right?”

Gangrene placed his new ring on his finger. He didn’t feel any different, but Shadow had told him that the ring worked differently for every demon that used it. As he looked himself over, the only difference he could see was in his hands. A dark greenish substance was slowly emerging from his hands like sweat. He walked up to the remains of Glutton and touched his face. Glutton immediately began to dissolve from the place where Gangrene had touched. Gangrene smiled.

“I guess the creature that your ring turns me into is a walking disease.”

To speed up the process of decay, Gangrene touched both of Glutton’s arms and legs. When the demonic bacteria had eaten its way to the remnants of Glutton’s stomach, it started to make a sizzling noise. It was like music to Gangrene’s ears. He had finally avenged his sister.

CHAPTER 2

Gangrene kneeled in front of Shadow and held the box of souls above his head. Shadow removed the souls and stored them in a large steel chest he had carried with him.

“New ring of power?”

“Yes. Rage demon ring like yours, but that’s not what it turned me in to.”

“What did it turn you into?”

“A walking disease. I touched the dead fat asshole and he slowly melted. It looked like he was being eaten by some kind of bacteria.”

“Gangrene. It’s interesting how the powers sometimes adapt themselves to the name of the demon. You know that Leech has a parasitic touch, right?”

“I did not know that, Lord Shadow.”

“So this was the one who killed your sister, right?”

Gangrene’s jaw dropped.

“How did you know that?”

“I’ve been slowly gaining the ability to read minds, Gangrene. It started happening after I consumed Malphas as a rage creature. I still don’t have full control of it, but I was able to pull from your mind the reason behind your willingness to volunteer for that specific mission. You did well at hiding it by volunteering for several others at the same time. What was his name?”

“Glutton.”

“Do you feel better now?”

The corners of Gangrene’s mouth arched upwards to form a wide grin.

“Very much so, Lord Shadow.”

“Good. The souls you brought in today still leave you in second place.”

Gangrene’s smile instantly disappeared.

“Who’s ahead of me?”

“Muan has collected three more souls than you have. His army of demons-in-training is getting fairly sizable as well.”

“Muan? The little dart throwing pygmy guy?”

“That’s him.”

Gangrene sighed dismissively and looked annoyed.

“Well, I’d better get back out there and keep going then. Anything for the new recruits?”

“Check the armory. Lilith and I put down several of Lucian’s minor demons this morning. You should find some decent stuff in there.”

Gangrene nodded and then turned to go. Shadow stopped him.

“One more thing.”

Shadow took off his gauntlet and removed all of his rings except for a large black one on his right forefinger.

“Distribute these to your followers or take them for yourself. I don’t need them anymore.”

“Won’t that take the powers away from you?”

“I have a new way of consuming powers. I’ll retain all of them without the rings, so they’ll be put to better use if I give them to my army.”

Gangrene bowed and left. When he was gone, a voice emerged from the shadows.

“I think he recruited one of my little sisters. I want her for my army.”

Shadow grinned, but didn’t turn around to face Lilith.

“You’re still a minor demon. You don’t have an army.”

“That’s not fair, Shady. You have an army and I’ve heard that Leech is getting an army. I want one too.”

“Leech killed two angels when he was on Earth. You just bitched a lot and then stole my horse when we got back down here.”

“Are you trying to piss me off? You know I helped you kill Abigor and I can’t help it if your pony likes me more than you.”

Shadow finally turned to face her.

“Lilith, I have to be somewhere soon. Did you actually want something or are you just really bored?”

“I wasn’t kidding. I want my little sister for the army I’m starting. I know my mother won’t be giving me an army, even if I become a middle demon. I figured I would just start my own.”

“Your mom didn’t kick you out for backing us?”

“Nope. It’s a pride thing at this point. If you haven’t noticed, Shady, I’m drop dead gorgeous. I’m hotter than all of my half-sisters. I belong in the department of lust.”

Lilith twirled and then winked at Shadow. He laughed.

“She seriously kept you?”

Lilith let out an exasperated sigh and pouted.

“Yes, but she made it very clear that I will never become a middle demon. So I’m going to form an army and then kill every middle demon in her department. She won’t have a choice. She’ll have to promote me.”

“You know that plan is crazy, right?”

Lilith gave Shadow a look that made him realize that while she started the conversation by joking around, she was serious about her plan.

“Tell Gangrene your little sister belongs to you now. I’m fine with it. I can’t go with you to start killing off your other sisters though.”

“Why not?”

“I told you. I have to be somewhere soon.”

“Oh. You’re going to stand by the River Styx and brood some more?”

“I don’t brood.”

Lilith raised her fist and rested her chin on it. She tried to look serious and then proceeded to mock Shadow.

“My name is Shadow and I have so many more serious things to deal with than everyone else. I also hate it when Lilith steals my undead pony.”

“Fine. Never mind. I’m sending a messenger to Gangrene. When you go to get your sister he’s going to tell you no and then flip you off.”

Lilith laughed.

“Okay, okay. You don’t want to tell me where you’re going. I won’t ask again. No need to get all cranky.”

Shadow mounted his steed and raised his hands. Two scythes flew through the air and landed in his outstretched gauntlets. He attached them both to his belt. Lilith grabbed the reins.

“Lilith, I seriously don’t have time for this. Go get your sister. I’m late. Stop getting in my way.”

Lilith looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. Tears formed at the bottom of her eyes, threatening to run down her cheeks. Shadow was used to it. She could call up fake tears on command when she didn’t get her way.

“WHAT, LILITH?”

“I wanted to take the pony with me.”

“NO! GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

Lilith hopped up and sat sidesaddle in the spot behind Shadow.

“Will you at least come help me kill my sisters when you’re done with your meeting?”

Shadow pressed two fingers to the center of his forehead and closed his eyes in annoyance. Lilith giggled at him.

“Lilith, there will come a day when you annoy me so much that I kill you.”

“Is that day today?”

Shadow couldn’t help but laugh.

“Unfortunately, no. I don’t have time right now because I’m LATE FOR MY GODDAMN MEETING!”

“So that’s a yes to helping me kill my sisters later?”

“Yes. Fine. I’ll be back here in a few hours. Now get the hell off of my horse.”

Lilith leaned in and kissed Shadow on the cheek before hopping down off of his horse.

“Thanks, Shady. Have fun at your top secret meeting.”

Shadow shook his head at her and rode off.

Shadow met Baal outside Dagon’s Bar. He dismounted and Baal frowned at him, waiting for an explanation for his tardiness.

“Sorry, Baal. Got held up briefly… something I couldn’t avoid. Have they shown up yet?”

“No. I’m not sure that they will. Leviathan is still recovering and Vixen was severely injured the last time she fought me. She still hasn’t gotten much better.”

Baal grinned but then his facial expression became one of concern as he noticed what Shadow had attached to his belt.

“Look, I know that one day you’ll become the major demon of murder but coming here with two scythes was a vain and stupid thing to do.”

“That’s funny. I never thought I would get a lecture on vanity from Baal. Are you also the major demon of hypocrisy?”

“Watch your tone, Shadow. You’re still a middle demon and a fairly new one at that. You don’t want to destroy the feeble truce between our departments.”

“I need to be ready in case we have to fight. They need to know that I have both of these and that I can wield them.”

“Well Astaroth may demand one of them when she shows up. She has been officially named the new major demon of inaction.”

“Interesting. None of the male demons in the department challenged her for it?”

“Plenty of them did. She killed them all. The Dragon made her appointment official earlier today. I hear she plans on continuing in the war started by Asmodeus and his league of lazy assholes.”

Shadow smiled.

“Baal, you don’t like any of the other major demons, do you?”

“No.”

Dagon emerged from the front door, wiping his greasy hands on a dirty rag.

“General Baal and Lord Shadow. Glad to see you both made it. There are some pretty foul rumors floating around right now that both of you are dead.”

Baal stepped forward and shook Dagon’s hand.

“It’s been a long time, old friend. Thanks for letting us use the VIP room as a neutral location to discuss terms. I don’t think Hell can survive the war that those idiots started.”

Dagon shifted nervously.

“Yeah… um… speaking of the other major demons…”

“Yes?”

“They got here before you and they’re already upstairs.”

Shadow’s eyebrows arched down and a low growl echoed in the back of his throat. He pushed past Baal and Dagon and entered the bar. He hung his cloak near the entrance and made his way upstairs. He kicked the door open and saw Lucian grinning at him.

“Shadow, this meeting is for major demons. I guess you didn’t put two and two together, but the department of murder hasn’t had a major demon since I killed Cain.”

“That’s funny, Lucian. I’m not a major demon and yet I killed Asmodeus and I wield a scythe just like the rest of you. Two of them, actually.”

Lucian looked at Shadow’s belt and the grin left his face.

“I demand you hand the scythe of Asmodeus to Astaroth. Right now, Shadow.”

“Actually, Lucian, I don’t need Shadow to give me a scythe. The Dragon already did that. He had a new one made for me.”

Shadow looked over at the new major demon over inaction, Astaroth. She wore dark green robes and had dark hair. Her eyes were the color of emeralds. She wore a dead snake that was eating its own tail around her neck as a necklace and Shadow thought he saw snakes slithering in and out of her hair. He definitely saw them slithering around her dress. Baal pointed an open hand at the table. Shadow hadn’t even realized that he entered the room.

“Why don’t we all have a seat and have a chat about this war?”

Shadow and Baal took their seats around the table.

“Astaroth, Vixen, and I are not interested in listening to you try to talk us out of this. We will continue this fight until Baal and Leviathan surrender command of their armies to us.”

Baal looked annoyed.

“Lucian, last I checked, Astaroth could speak for herself. I understand you’re only here to be an annoying asshole, but I fail to see why Astaroth would want to continue a war that got her predecessor killed.”

Astaroth took her seat at the table.

“The death of Asmodeus doesn’t worry me. It’s what earned me my promotion. I’m not afraid of his killer either.”

Astaroth flashed a smile at Shadow.

“No offense, kiddo. I just don’t see you as a threat.”

Shadow reached for one of the scythes on his belt. Baal caught his wrist and shook his head.

“If Shadow’s not a threat to you and you aren’t interested in avenging Asmodeus, then why continue this ridiculous war?”

“Because Shadow’s uncle killed my son. His name was Venom and he was a middle demon of half-truths.”