Insert ‘how high I can count’ jokes here. “I’ve spent the last thirty years putting my head in the cross hairs, shedding blood for you guys. I’ve even killed for you, so don’t you dare question my dedication.”
Abraham stared granite-faced at me for a moment, then sighed. The tension in his expression eased a little. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He put his hand on my shoulder. I felt it shaking. “I just don’t understand what you’re doing. Forcalor has no loyalty to us. By involving him, you’ve opened the door to God only knows what.”
“That’s just it, Abe. He’s the wild card we need. Asmoday won’t be expecting us to go to Hell for help and we need someone who can take on Gabriel.
The duke is our guy.”
It was clear he wasn’t convinced. “Can we trust him?”
I laughed. “As much as we can any other demon. For that matter, as much as we can Baalth.”
I hated throwing that in his face, but I wasn’t gonna take shit for something he’d set the precedent on. “At least Forcalor and I have a contract, so he’ll live up to his end of our deal. After that, things are up in the air, but that’s not any different from how things are now.”
I shrugged. “Besides, isn’t my connection to Hell one of the reasons you brought me into DRAC in the first place?” I figured I’d try some of stuff they call reason. I heard it works sometimes.
“Yes, that is true.” He did his best Spock impersonation. “However, some advanced warning would have been nice. We might have found another way to go about dealing with Gabriel without engaging another of the old guard demons.”
“Maybe, but you and I both know we probably wouldn’t have before it was too late. For all DRAC’s talents, Gabriel is beyond us. That’s a fact.” I met Abraham’s steely gaze. He knew I was right. “Forcalor is our best bet at neutralizing Gabriel while minimizing the cost to us, after the fact. Like it or not, we’re out of our depth here. We need the duke.”
Abraham shuffled in place. I could tell he was thinking about what few options were left to us.
He didn’t look happy with any of them. “We will play the cards we have been dealt.” He gently pushed me forward. Abe was a man who knew how to bow out gracefully. “Since I interrupted yours, let me buy you another cup of coffee. I could use a bit of the mud myself. It’s likely to be a long day.”
He was still mad at me, but I could tell he at least understood why I did what I did. Abraham was a good man, but he felt things too deeply, took things too personally. He carried the weight of the world on his aching back and every day it wore him down further. He’d envisioned the end of the world and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see the way to save it. It had to drive him crazy. Every time he closed his eyes he saw existence crumble, like a sand castle being swept away by the rising tide. But Abraham was a warrior. He would stand his ground until his vision either showed him the way to salvation or his heart stilled within his chest. Sadly, I believed it would be the latter that came to pass first. I hoped he’d find his peace before that day came.
“Sure.” I strode a short step behind him as we headed out of the alley. I could see how tired he was. When we reached the street, I heard a screech of tires as a black van shuddered to a stop in front of us. I went to pull Abraham out of the way as the side door slid open and we were staring down the barrel of several guns.
One of them just happened to be mine.
“Get inside, gentlemen,” Marcus told me through a toothy grin. “The boss wants to see you.”
Ambushed
Crouched on the floor of the van, I stared up at D’anatello wishing upon him the worst plagues and venereal diseases known to demon-kind. Abraham sat beside me, staring off into space. Though as brave as anyone I’d ever known, he didn’t look up to being kidnapped. I couldn’t blame him.
“Let Abraham go. He’s got nothing to do with our arrangement.” I spoke to Poe, bypassing the hulking moron who pointed my stolen gun at my head. Poe shook his head, his face a mask of cultured neutrality. “I’m sorry, Mr. Trigg, we cannot do that. Baalth has requested we bring both of you to him. That is what I must do.”
Stripped of my guns yet again, I thumped the back of my head against the van wall in frustration. I wasn’t willing to risk Abraham’s well-being just to buck Baalth, so I stayed put and tried not to let my emotions get the best of me. We rode the rest of the way in silence. A short time later, the van came to a stop and we were herded out. I stepped outside, staying close to Abraham and looked about. Rows upon rows of marble headstones spread out before my eyes, poking up out of the verdant green field that stretched out for acres. A large mausoleum painted in delicate shades of pink and gold stood in the center, casting its shadow over us. The bastards had brought us to Restland Cemetery. I knew the place well as it was where my buddies worked and I had been here more times than I should admit. After hours though, there was no one here to see us, working or otherwise. To the left of us were two freshly dug holes. Baalth stood beside them like a preacher offering up Last Rites. He waved us over. I could tell by the way his eyebrows met in the middle he was angry. I can’t say I cared all that much.
“What the hell is your problem, Baalth? We were in the middle of saving your ass, but I guess that doesn’t mean anything to you. I don’t appreciate you dragging us out here.”
“And I don’t appreciate you involving Forcalor in our business.” He postured up and stepped into my face. “What possible reason could you have for bringing him into it?”
It seemed like everyone was on the ball today but me. “How’d you find out about that?”
“Let’s just say a little bird told me. Now answer my question.”
What’s the world coming to when you can’t even trust the ugly servants to be loyal? Tired of being on the receiving end, I dug my heels in. “Fine, I’ll tell you why. Your best buddy Asmoday has gone on and found himself a new friend, one with wings, a great big halo, and one hell of an inferiority complex.” The confused look on Baalth’s face was very satisfying. “I’m talking about Gabriel. The two of them are working together to put their collective boots in your ass. You might want to start making room.”
Baalth looked to Abraham. “Is this true?”
Abraham nodded. I snapped my fingers in Baalth’s face. “Over here, big fella. You haven’t earned the right to speak to him.”
Baalth growled low in his throat. “Be careful, Triggaltheron.”
“Or what? You’ll kill me? Oh wait, Asmoday is already working on that and he’s bringing his holy enforcer to preside over the funeral. I do feel better though, knowing I’m not gonna be the only guy getting stuffed into the ground. Maybe we can be roomies.” I gestured to the open graves. “That’s the reason I made a deal with the duke. We need an equalizer.”
Baalth paced, his fists clenched tight. “What’s his angle?”
I laughed. “Don’t worry, big guy, he doesn’t want a piece of your not-so-humble little pie. His mission is to take on Gabriel, leaving the rest up to us. And by us, I mean DRAC, since you’re too busy running to contribute to your own deliverance.”
“On the backs of slaves, kingdoms are made.”
A smug smile graced his lips as he stopped his pacing.
“Don’t worry, mutt. I’ll do my fair share when the time is right.”
Page 147
A chill ran down my spine. I didn’t like the way that sounded. “What’s that supposed to mean? What do you have up your sleeve?”
He shook his head. “You just live up to your part of the deal, and I’ll worry about my end.”
I let it go, knowing I wasn’t gonna get anywhere. Baalth was nothing, if not stubborn. My pushing him would only cause me further grief. “Now that we’re finished with the pissing contest, I need addresses for some of Asmoday’s real estate. A few of the juicier ones would be best.”