Chapter 17
Lucifer
The half-crazed demon scrambled up the prison wall before leaping on me. His move caught me off-guard and knocked me to the ground. I’d been certain this little demon was going to run for it rather than attack. As I hit the ground, I rolled and pinned the demon beneath me. He snarled and spit. His mind was gone. The merciful thing to do was to quickly put him out of his misery. I wasn’t feeling particularly merciful, but I also knew we wouldn’t get any information out of him. Killing him would end this sooner. I pulled on my power and created a black dagger.
The wiry demon scrambled out from under me and hissed. “Your time in power is coming to an end.”
My laughter startled the demon. “Now, that’s original,” was my sarcastic response. “Do you think this is the first time someone has said those words to me? I hear this all the time. Assholes are constantly threatening to take over Hell. They all fail, just like you.” On those last words, I lunged forward, giving the demon no time to move before I plunged the dagger into the eye in the middle of his forehead. The demon howled as his skin sizzled and burned. I kicked him back onto the ground. He’d be dead soon enough. Looking around, all I saw were dead demons and my friends who’d helped me kill them.
“That wasn’t much of a workout,” Xavier complained.
“It was hardly worth coming here to deal with,” Rainer added.
Hades still looked half-crazed from the fight. His eyes had bled to red, and he was panting. Killing brought out the beast in Hades. It was true of most angels who’d once been considered gods of the ancient pantheons. They were all cursed in some way. I was just glad I didn’t have to deal with Ares on a regular basis. He often forgot which side he was fighting on mid-battle.
“This riot seems unrelated to the others,” I remarked as I opened the portal to exit the prison. I’d send someone to clean up the mess. I was covered in blood, none of it mine. With only an hour until my date with Beatrice, this was a problem. I needed to shower and change, but we needed to discuss what had happened first. “Everything about this one was different, but I still think all the recent problems are connected somehow.”
“It’s a strange coincidence that this happened so close to the other uprisings,” Hades stated.
“There’s something we’re missing,” Rainer muttered.
“I agree,” I said thoughtfully. “There’s a player we’re not seeing. Michael knew about the problems we’ve been having, so I think our extra player is somehow related to the archangels.”
“You think an archangel is fucking with us?” Xavier asked with raised eyebrows.
“I do,” I admitted. “Michael has never concerned himself with what’s going on in the demon realm. He either heard about the issues we’re having from another angel or he’s involved.”
“Michael’s a pious prick,” Hades spat out.
“Always one to go by the rules,” Rainer agreed.
I nodded. “Michael’s an asshole who’d love to see me dead, but I agree he’s too much of a stickler for the rules to get involved with something like this.”
“Whoever is involved would need to make an appearance in the demon realm,” Rainer pointed out. “That narrows our list of suspects.”
He was right. Only a handful of angels were allowed to enter the demon realm.
“One of the fallen angels from the old pantheons could be causing problems, too. Some of them still associate with angels from time to time,” Hades pointed out. “We haven’t had any problems with Ares in a long time, but he may have gotten bored with retirement. Loki’s behaved himself for longer than I expected him to.”
Hades was right. In general, those fallen angels didn’t get involved in politics anymore. They mostly wanted to be left alone. There were a few exceptions we needed to look at. “We should make a list of those who might be causing problems. In the meantime, all we can do is keep questioning the demons involved in the riots. Do we have any information about Desmond LaCroix’s whereabouts?” This shouldn’t be a high priority when I had rebellions going on, but the bastard had threatened Beatrice. I wasn’t going to put up with that shit.
“No sign of him,” Xavier replied.
“How can he simply disappear?” Hades asked. “He’s a warlock. Maybe a demon ate him.”
“He called Beatrice yesterday,” I reminded him. “That means he’s getting help from someone with influence in his sector. Now, they’re hiding him. The little bastard has a protector.”
“He’s also a shapeshifter,” Rainer pointed out. “From what I’ve heard, he can only take the form of a person he’s looking at, but he’s surrounded by demons. He could have killed one and stashed the body somewhere so he could take their place.”
“It also wouldn’t take much to hide in the detention area,” I admitted. “He’s not a top priority, but I want all guards to keep an eye out for him. Offer an incentive to our snitches for information on his whereabouts. When he’s found, put him in the nightmare room until I have time to deal with him personally. After I spend some quality time with him, he won’t even think about calling Beatrice again.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Xavier assured me.
“Good,” I said with a nod. “Now, I need to get ready for my date.”
“Before you leave,” Rainer began, “we should discuss bodyguards for you and Beatrice.”
“I like the idea of having someone watch Beatrice, but I don’t need a babysitter,” I assured him.
“Normally, I’d agree, but you’re distracted when you’re with Beatrice,” Rainer stated.
“You’re also more vulnerable in the human realm,” Hades added. “If archangels are involved in some plot against you, we need to take extra precautions.”
“Fine,” I relented. I hated having people watch me, but they were right. “I’ll take guards with me when I meet Beatrice. I need the guards to be very discreet around her. Remember, she still thinks I’m just a fallen angel named Dev.”
“When do you plan to tell her the truth?” Xavier asked.
“Soon,” I assured him. “We’re getting along great. I want to make sure her opinion of me isn’t tainted by who I am.”
They all nodded without saying more, so I headed home to get ready. With any luck, I wouldn’t be too late.