The Diablo Horror (The River Book 7) (8 page)

“How long ago were we here?” Eliza asked. “Two weeks? So much
has happened, I’ve lost track of time.”

They waited in the finely appointed drawing room of Judith
Duke’s mansion. Clara, the maid, had left them to announce their arrival.

“About that,” Roy said. “Hopefully this will be the last
time.”

“How did you meet her?” Eliza asked.

“Dixon,” Roy said. “Said she was the best at demons. That he
knew.”

“Beautiful place,” Eliza said, walking around the room and
examining the books. “She must have had a very successful career.”

“Mrs. Duke will see you now,” Clara announced at the doorway.
“Please follow me.”

They left the drawing room and followed Clara as she ascended
a large, wide staircase to the second floor. “Mrs. Duke isn’t feeling well
today, and isn’t able to come down to the ground floor. So she’s asked that I
bring you to the upstairs sitting room. If you’ll limit your visit so as to not
tire her out, I’d be grateful.”

“Of course,” Steven said.

They entered the sitting room, and Clara announced them.
Judith was reclining on a day bed placed near large windows that overlooked the
bay. She turned to watch them approach, but didn’t rise. She looked as though
she was convalescing from an illness, with a large blanket covering her legs.

“Oh, it’s you again!” she said. “Forgive me for not getting
up. I have a back ailment that is quite painful, and doctors have ordered no
movement on my part.”

They each approached her and shook hands.

“Something awful has happened,” Judith said, examining faces.
“Something sudden and tragic. What is it?”

“My son,” Steven said. “He… passed away.”

“Oh, young man,” she said, raising a hand to her chest just
below her throat. “My deepest sympathies. How dreadful. What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Steven said. He stopped, already
exhausted.

“Which is why we’ve come to see you,” Roy jumped in. “The
last time we were here, Steven told you he’d made a deal with Aka Manah. The
deal is over. We all know the details of it now. We’ve got some questions that
we thought you might be able to help us with.”

“Tell me what happened,” Judith said, “but before you do,
please bring four glasses from the tray behind you, will you? And the glass
cruet.”

They watched as Judith went through the ritual of pouring
them all a glass of protection from the cruet. Once they all had a glass, they
downed it in a single gulp, then replaced the glasses on the tray.

“There,” she said. “As you know, even talking about demons invites
them in. So I believe in taking all precautions. Now.” She turned to look at
Steven. “Tell me why these other people,” she motioned to Eliza and Roy, “know
about the deal. You didn’t tell them, did you?”

“I did,” Steven answered. “The deal is done, and he lied to
me. I consider the aspect of secrecy null and void.”

“Well, it was never null and void,” Judith replied. “You made
a huge mistake telling them. The agreement to keep the terms secret doesn’t end
when the other aspects of the deal are completed. The secrecy goes on, forever.
I believe the demon could use the fact that you’ve broken the secrecy against
you.”

“Well, maybe so,” Steven said. “But the cat is out of the bag.
They know everything.”

“Well, you might as well tell me,” Judith said. “You’ve
already broken the terms, telling me won’t change that.”

Steven related the details of the deal, leaving out specifics
about Eximere. He told her about the objects, the Agimat, and Diablo. He didn’t
tell her how Jason died.

“You say Aka Manah just disappeared after you told him where
the body could be found?” Judith asked.

“Yes,” Steven answered. “He seemed frustrated, then – poof!
Gone.”

“Interesting,” Judith said. “Seems like you’re done. I’d be grateful
it’s over and go on my way.”

“There are things that don’t make sense,” Roy said. “If he
knew the Agimat would revert to its previous owner, why send Steven after it? I
assumed he’d be more capable of retrieving it than either of us.”

“Oh, most assuredly,” Judith said. “If he had been able to get
at it, he would have. But didn’t you say it was at Diablo?”

“Yes,” Steven answered.

“And the pit? It’s near there, too?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“There’s millions and millions of gallons of water, held back
by that dam. If there’s anything a demon dislikes, it’s water. They don’t like
to be anywhere near it; it makes them nauseous. They’re especially nervous
about dams, all that water hanging over their heads. Dams break all the time.
We don’t think so, because we only live a few years, we only see a couple breaches,
and only the ones we hear about. He’s lived for thousands of years. He’s seen
many dams break. He’s smart enough to never set foot anywhere near a dam,
especially when he can usually find a way to send someone else in to do anything
he needs done. In this case, you.”

“Then, whatever he’s after, in that pit, he’s too scared to
retrieve it himself,” Roy said. “He’ll get someone else to retrieve it.”

“If that’s what he’s after,” Judith said. “You don’t know.
It’s speculation.”

“How do we kill him?” Roy asked. “I want to eliminate him
completely.”

Judith laughed. “Oh Roy, you are such a disarmingly handsome
fellow. Your naiveté is so charming. How I wish we’d met years ago.”

“Is there a way?” Roy asked. “I want to know.”

“Water,” Judith said, “but they’re way too smart for you. As
you’ve seen, he won’t even go near a dam. So it’s useless, really. In all the
years I spent dealing with them, I never saw one die. Certainly never killed at
anyone’s hand. Ever. It doesn’t happen.”

“Is there any way, other than water?” Eliza asked.

“She speaks!” Judith said. “Honestly, I thought you were just
here for show! No, there are no other ways. If you try to build some kind of
water trap, he’ll know what you’re doing. It’s pointless.”

“So in all the time you’ve worked against demons,” Roy said,
“you never once extinguished one? It’s always just deals?”

“Always,” Judith said. “There are certain things they need or
like from humans, and that’s the only leverage you’ve got. They know we can’t
kill them.”

Roy growled in frustration and turned away from Judith.
Steven watched, dazed.

“So there’s nothing we can do?” Eliza asked.

“What’s to do?” Judith said flippantly. “You completed your
work with the demon. The deal is finished. You should count your lucky stars
and go back to doing whatever it was you did before all this started. You’re
all lucky to be alive. Be grateful and move on.”

“My son isn’t alive,” Steven said.

“Yes, well, the demon didn’t kill your son, did he?” Judith
said.

“If the demon hadn’t sent me to Diablo, he’d be alive.”

“But he did send you, because you made a deal.”

“I made a deal because he threatened my friends.”

“My god,” Judith said, exasperated, “you think it’s an even
playing field when you interact with demons? You think your rules apply? It’s
their rules, from début to la fin! They’re higher up the food chain, you
idiots!”

“Come on,” Roy said, marching toward the door. “We’re
leaving.”

“Take my advice and drop it! You’ve won!” Judith barked as
Roy passed her. “Your bullheadedness will get you killed!”

Eliza turned to follow Roy. Steven, still dazed and numb,
turned to follow her, walking as if on automatic pilot.

“It won’t just be your son! Imbeciles! You’ll all die!”

They walked down the stairs, Judith howling in the background.
They passed a stern-looking Clara and walked to the front door. Roy held it
open as Steven and Eliza walked out, then he slammed it shut behind him.

“Well, that didn’t go very well,” Eliza said, walking to the
car.

“No,” Steven said.

“What was I thinking, coming to see this cunt?” Roy said.
“Pardon my French, Eliza.”

“No need to apologize to me,” Eliza said. “She’s what the
word was made for.”

◊

Roy drove Eliza back to her rental car, parked at a mall in
Tacoma. They agreed she’d return the car to the airport as they drove back to
Seattle, so she was following behind Steven and Roy up I-5.

Roy was still seething about Judith. “That bitch! Some nerve,
that rotting, dried up whore bitch!”

“Dad, stop,” Steven said. “What she said was right. It’s
over.”

“No, something’s
not
right,” Roy said. “It’s
not
over.”

“No, it’s done,” Steven said. “The whole thing is finished,
and Jason was the price. I want it to be over.”

“I
don’t
want it to be over,” Roy said. “It doesn’t
feel over to me.”

Steven dropped it, retreating into his thoughts. He went back
to what he always thought about the past few days: the moment when he killed
Jason. The way his mind felt when it was occupied by the deluded thoughts of
the ax man. The way Jason lay on the bed, awake but immobile. He replayed it
several times in his head, feeling worse each time.

“You know,” Steven finally broke the silence, “Eliza said I
should tell you something.”

“What?”

“When I was standing over Jason, the ax raised, and all the
crazy thoughts were going through my head, Jason was awake, staring at me. He
wasn’t asleep when I killed him.”

“Yes?”

“And I’ve wondered, did he see me with the ax? Was he part of
the ghost’s influence, the way I was? I could feel the ax in my hand. Could he
see it? Or did he just see me, standing over his bed, looking down at him,
unaware that I was about to kill him?”

“Eliza thought you should tell me that?”

“I thought he was trying to move, to get away,” Steven
continued. “I saw his eyes go wide when I raised the ax. He knew something bad
was coming. I thought he was trying to roll off the bed, out of the way, like
Brett’s girl did. But he couldn’t. He was frozen. Every time he started to
move, he froze again. And the ax man, next to me, was saying something to
Jason, over and over again. It was like a mantra that controlled Jason, holding
him still for me to kill.”

“The embedding,” Roy said. “Aw, fuck. Deem warned me about
it.” He hit the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve a little.
“Goddamnit.”

“Embedding?” Steven asked.

“It’s a residual from St. Thomas. Deem warned me that the
things they did to people there left subconscious handles in people’s brains.”

 “What are you talking about?” Steven asked.

“When Jason was in St. Thomas, one of the first things they
did was embed ways to control him. Words and phrases that conditioned him to do
certain things. We pulled Jason out of St. Thomas, but the embedding was still
there. The ax man must have detected it within Jason and used it against him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Steven asked.

“I honestly didn’t think it would be a problem,” Roy said. “I
figured I’d keep an eye on him, that’s all. We both just wanted Jason to be
back home and normal again. I didn’t want to ruin that with suspicions. And I
wasn’t completely sure Deem knew what she was talking about.”

“Apparently she does,” Steven said.

“I’m sorry, I really am. I should have told you. We got home
and we were so excited to have Jason back, and I didn’t want to tell you in
front of him, of course. I should have found a way to let you know about it.
I’m sorry. But would it have made any difference?”

Steven thought about this. A brief moment of anger at Roy had
mercifully replaced the cold numbness and guilt he had been feeling, but
lashing out at Roy wouldn’t make him feel better in the long run.

“Probably not,” Steven said.

“I suppose we could have dosed Jason up on protection all the
time.”

“He’d have wondered why. Nah, let’s not second guess. It’s
over, it’s finished. I just want everything to stop for a while.”

“That’s the guilt in you talking,” Roy said. “And the grief.
But I don’t think we should stop. It’s not over. I’m convinced of that.”

“You heard her. There’s nothing more you can do to a demon.
We should be grateful he’s not here, demanding more stuff.”

“I’m not grateful at all. I want to kill the bastard.”

“How? What would you have us do? There’s nothing to be done.”

Roy was flustered. “I’ll bet Eliza wants him dead, too.”

“I’m sure she does! So do I! It doesn’t matter!”

“I think we should go over Judith’s head. Find someone else
to talk to. She’s just a dead end, that’s all. Doesn’t mean we’re done.”

Steven looked at Roy. “Normally you’re the one who wants to end
things. Now look at us. I just want to stop, for it to be over, and you want to
keep going, even though there’s nowhere to go. Funny how things flip.”