Collateral Damage (Demon Squad Book 8) (17 page)

“They are?” he asked. “Interesting. I can’t fathom why they might align themselves with a government entity, their motives their own, but I suspect it is simply a means to an end for them.”

“That end is me, apparently.”

“Is it now? Then it appears you’ve made a grievous enemy.”

“Tell me about it.” Once more memories of Karra leapt to the forefront. I squirmed on the uncomfortable pew. “They’ve taken something from me, and I need to know more about them.”

He nodded as if he already knew what they’d done. “They were once the Sword of Christ, assassins sent to cleanse the holy land of heathens and restore it to Catholic control. They were good at what they did, bodies piling up in the name of God and in defense against the Islamic aggressors, but they were no saints. Once unleashed from consequence by papal decree, they spilled blood without mercy, cutting a swath through those who did not share their beliefs. They were nigh invincible.”

“If they had been, the story of the crusades would be told differently, I imagine.”

Lance smiled. “Quite astute of you. Their cruelty and bloodlust, ignored by Heaven as had been the custom for so long by then, drew the interest of another: Longinus.”

I sighed. “Of course it did.”

“The Anti-Christ wormed his way into their confidence, posing as a papal advisor, and set them on a task that would forever condemn them for their deeds. He convinced Trinity that Pope Urban II had become a puppet of the caliphates, and that he did not send them to war to win for God, but that their actions would win territory and prestige for a rival caliphate intent upon evicting the word of the one true God from the holy lands.

“Longinus was quite the charmer, it seemed,” Lance said with a chuckle. “History tells us that Pope Urban died at home, in peace, just fourteen days after his crusaders seized Jerusalem. The truth, however, is quite at odds with this illustrious success.”

Isn’t it always?

“Trinity returned to Rome to confront the Pope, fueled by Longinus’s lies. Convinced they had been betrayed, they murdered the Pope only to be confronted by the growing ranks of the Knights Templar. A battle ensued and Trinity were cast from grace by the church, excommunicated. Only after that did they learn that Longinus had used them, turning them against their own creed.”

I leaned back, shaking my head.

“Those days were filled with supernatural politics, each power setting out to earn their place in the hallowed halls of history, but Longinus played the game like few others. Lucifer knew nothing of Longinus’s ploy, having long since retreated to Hell to avoid direct conflict with God. Trinity, however, shamed and dishonored, swore to find their way back into God’s good graces. They struck at Longinus to reclaim the glory they had lost. But in doing so, they crossed Lucifer.”

“Which ended them in Limbo?”

Lance nodded. “Lucifer left it to Longinus to decide their punishment, thinking Trinity to be nothing more than religious zealots in the employ of God-fearing fools. He never knew Longinus sparked the fuse that led to their attacks, or at least never confronted him about it.”

“Then how do
you
know about it?”

He grinned. “Because, Trigg, I was there.”

I leaned back in the pew, the wood creaking with the motion. “You don’t look a day older than thirty.”

“Nor do you, yet you’ve more than five centuries beneath your belt, am I right?”

Had me there. “So you saw this firsthand?”

He nodded. “Most of it, though not all. I had been conscripted by Trinity—I was but a mercenary then—to take the fight to Longinus, but the trio was impatient. They struck before they’d fully rallied their forces. As a result, Longinus had conquered Trinity before the first of us even set foot upon the battlefield, not that our assistance would have altered anything. Longinus had used them to further his own schemes, whatever they might have been, and Trinity were but pawns. We were even less.”

“They were powerful pawns.”

“Perhaps, but they were soon trapped in Limbo without hope of escape,” he said. “Until, it seems, they were released.”

“They couldn’t have made it out on their own?”

“Unlikely. They had not been left to wander Limbo as they pleased. Instead, Longinus had set them in separate corners of the realm, sealing them off, bereft of each other’s company, or that of any living being.”

“Which explains why they’re psychotic nutbags.” Shit was falling into place, and it stunk.

Lance laughed. “They were never truly sane to begin with, but no, I can’t imagine a thousand years of solitude has improved their senses.”

While the history lesson was nice and all, I really hadn’t learned much about Trinity’s power. “Do they have a weakness,” I asked. “Something I can exploit?”

“If they do, I’m sad to say I do not know it,” he answered. “I was not there to see Longinus defeat them. We were told what had happened by the Anti-Christ himself, a warning of what would come should we follow through with Trinity’s desire for revenge, but the actual combat had been long over by that time.”

My stomach sank. Forcalor’s informant sucked. I got up and thanked the priest for his time, useless as it was, and started for the door. I made it about ten feet before a thought struck.

“Do you know anything about this?” I dug the die from my pocket and held it out for his inspection.

Lance looked at it and chuckled. “Jesus saves?”

“Did you seriously just make a D&D joke?”

“I haven’t spent my entire life in the service of God, my young friend. I have had many other…interests, let us say.”

I groaned, picturing the priest and his altar boys gathered around a table slaying dragons. Sure beat out the other possibilities given that pairing.

“I’m sorry I cannot offer you more assistance, but I wish you luck in your quest. Perhaps our savior knows more,” he said, bidding me farewell and walking off to disappear into an office at the side of the dais.

The door clicked shut as I glanced up at the statue of Christ looming over the podium. He stared off into space, ignoring me, but there was something about the statue that nagged at me. It looked like a knockoff, some low-rent image of Jesus that failed to capture the mass-marketed likeness that humanity had grown to know. The shading of the statue was darker, closer to Jesus’s true skin, the hair wilder, a bit more untamed than the normal visage I was used to seeing.

He looked like…

Gears slipped into place as my brain engaged. The statue looked to Heaven with a desperation I’d never seen emoted by Jesus before. It lacked the certainty of all the others. There was none of the confidence of a man knowing his existence would carry on, his mission, his life eternal. No, this was a look of a fear, of need, of a desire for forgiveness.

I took the stairs of the dais in a single step and found myself at the base of the statue. My eyes took the whole of it in, dropping at least to a plaque set upon its base. There in the faded gild of ages past did it all come together, a name etched onto the cold brass. And I laughed, cold and bitter, at having never connected it.

I knew then who my true enemy was.

Twenty

“Are you sure about this, Frank?” Rachelle asked, staring at me with uncertain eyes, the black rings around them growing darker the longer she remained awake. “You don’t have to do this. We can wait them out.”

“No, I
do
need to do this,” I said, defiant. “All of us are trapped in Hell until this fight is over.” My gaze drifted to Scarlett. She looked pretty much like you’d expect an angel to feel being stuck in the realm of her greatest enemy. “We can’t just stay here and wait for things to change.”

“That may be true, but is this what needs to be done?” Rahim asked. Abby was cradled in his massive arms, a tiny doll with wide eyes. She chattered happily to herself. “Should you fail, you leave this child alone in the world.”

“She won’t be alone. She’ll have all of you.”

Rahim sighed. “You know what I mean, Frank. Both of her parents will have died for this foolishness. Do you want to leave her to grow up without you?”

I thought about that for a moment, wondering what would happen, and the answer wasn’t exactly a cheerful one. “It’s not like we don’t all know she’ll be better off if I’m not a part of her life,” I said, cutting off the automatic denials rising up. “But I have no intention of leaving her. She, and all of you, are all I have left, and I don’t plan on abandoning any one you, however unfortunate some of you might see that.”

Katon chuckled, and Scarlett swatted him on the arm.

“Regardless, we need to end this now. Trinity and Shaw no longer have anything to draw us out with. They’ve failed, and I can’t imagine either of them are all that pleased about that. If I can draw them out on and maneuver them into place on our terms, it’s worth the risk to me.”

“And if we’re wrong about Trinity? What then, Frank?” Scarlett asked.

I turned to my cousin. “Then we’re no worse off than we were before.”

“That’s not exactly comforting.”

I shrugged. “Sorry, but I’m not sure what else to tell you. Shaw and her lackeys are dingleberries compared to the diarrhea that is Trinity. We need to draw them out and deal with them sooner rather than later. If we don’t, none of us are will ever get to leave Hell without a bullseye on our backs.” I grinned, doing my best to make it apologetic. “Besides, I’ve already set everything into motion. Little late now to be turning back.”

“Of course you have,” Rahim groaned.

“Didn’t see much point in putting it off,” I said. “If this doesn’t work out, then Abby’s got a hell of an inheritance coming her way.” Quite literally, though I didn’t want to think of that. This last bit was a walk in the park compared to all the rest we’d endured.

I went over and collected the kid from Rahim, pulling her in close. “I’ve got to save the world for democracy or some stupid shit like that, baby girl—”

“Language, Frank,” Scarlett growled. “She’s just a child.”

“Yeah, like she’s not gonna learn it growing up around me.” I laughed my cousin off. “Anyway, kid, Daddy’s got to go and do something stupid, so I want you to play nice and be a good girl, you hear?”

She cooed and tugged at my beard, biting down on my cheek.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I pulled her from her meal of beard hair and face and gave her a big, wet kiss. “I love you, Abigail. See you soon. Promise.” My heart thumping in my chest, I handed her back to Rahim.

“
Metttal?
”

I glanced over at Chatterbox, who’d propped himself up near Rahim’s feet. “Absolutely. Nothing but a steady diet of thrash and doom, my brother. If any of these uncultured bastards,” I gestured to the others, “brings any hip hop or Justin Bieber near the kid, I give you permission to bite their toes off.”

CB grinned, showing everyone the mouthful of nastiness that awaited them should they try to defile my daughter’s listening habits. I patted him on the head, and leaned in close. “The porn collection is all yours if I don’t make it back.” He
squeed
and looked ready to cry, maggots swishing in his eyeballs.

“Okay,” I told Rachelle. “Let’s do this.”

She glanced to Rahim first, and he only nodded.

“It’s me they want more than anyone,” I said. “So why keep them waiting?”

“Be careful, Frank.” Scarlett clasped Katon’s hand, her green eyes nervous. The enforcer just nodded my direction.

Rachelle drew in a tired breath and gave in, opening a portal for me. I glanced back at the others for a moment, my gaze lingering on Abby longer than I meant to. She’d be in good hands if things didn’t work out. I just had to hope they would. They had to, for all of us.

I stepped through the portal.

#

El Paseo glowed in the darkness.

I stood on a roof in downtown and watched as the red-orange shimmer of flames embraced the skyline. The weres and vamps had done more damage than I’d thought they could, burning and pillaging and all around making a nuisance of themselves in defiance of the DSI and their mandates. Shaw had declared war on me in the name of supernaturals, never once thinking anyone would rise up in my defense.

Well, she’d been right about that. At least technically.

The shifters and fangs didn’t give a damn about me—other than wanting my head on a platter—but they knew well enough that I’d instigate things to the point that they’d be dragged into it regardless. I’d eventually give the DSI the fuel they needed to go after everyone so they dove into the fight early, hoping to head things off, just like I’d expected them to. They’re anything if not predictable.

That was the easy part.

The harder part was to provide them with enough information to back Shaw into a corner. Fortunately, Poe helped with that department. He’d given up all of Shaw’s holdings here in the city in exchange for Marcus and the possibility of freedom from Shaw’s control.

The last piece of the puzzle was in Shaw’s hands now. I had to hope her desire to take me out overrode everything else. As I stood there, my senses picking up the barest whisper of the essence I’d tagged Venai with, I was feeling as confident as I could. Before common sense could take hold, I dropped down from the roof and landed in the street facing the last of the DSI’s properties left untouched by the supernatural masses. The ground trembled at my arrival, the entirety of my essence on display for those who could see it.

“Let’s get this over with, Shaw!” I shouted, amplifying my voice so it rattled the glass in its frames.

It didn’t take long until I felt an answering pulse of power; one I recognized, followed by a handful more. A grin forced its way onto my lips as a battered Venai and Thud emerged from the building, flanking their mistress, Rebecca Shaw. Trinity hovered at their backs like glowing storm troopers. A number of soldiers I couldn’t determine gathered on the rooftop.

“I’ve often mistaken you for stupid, Triggaltheron, but not for suicidal,” Shaw said. “Where are the rest of your
friends
?”

“Just us this time, sweetheart, just like you wanted.” I’d activated a shield around myself to keep her snipers from putting another bullet into my skull. None of this would work if they capped me right off the bat. “Just you, me, and your mysterious ally hiding in the building behind you.”

She nodded, acknowledging my guess.

“Maybe you should tell the backstabbing asshole behind the curtain to come on out and see what he’s wrought.”

“Do not speak of the Lord that way,” the old man shrieked and started forward, but Shaw stepped in between us. “You dare, woman?” he screamed at her. Dude was old school, no doubt about it.

Shaw stood her ground. “Do you think he’d provoke you for no reason?” she asked, not bothering to give him time to answer. “Don’t be a fool.” She pushed Venai and Thud to the side. “Surround him, but stay ready. No matter what he wants us to believe, he is not here alone.”

I grinned as the group did as she said, Thud and Venai keeping themselves between me and Shaw, but Trinity rose up into the air and floated closer. The Son and Father took up positions to my sides while the revenant floated in front of me.

“You’ve got them well trained, Shaw.” My gaze drifted back and forth between the three parts of Trinity. “I wonder, though, just how obedient they would be if they knew they were being used yet again, just like Longinus used them.”

The old man laughed. “We are in the service of God now, demon spawn. The Christ himself commands us. Our mission is of the highest order. Do not dare to defame our integrity.”

“You sure about that?” I asked. “When’s the last time you spoke to God? I mean, really sat down and had a chat with him? Does he even have a Skype account these days? Email?”

The Father sneered. “Christ has given us our mission, his hand blessing my brow just moments after you arrived to surrender to us like the coward you are.”

Shaw glared at me, realizing what I was playing by goading them into talking. “It’s time to end this.”

“So true,” I said before she could give the order for them to attack. “Perhaps the tainted
savior
would like to come out and tell these fine crusaders the truth about their mission.” I raised my voice, using magic to hurl the sound into the building. I turned to Trinity. “God has fled this world long ago, leaving you and everyone else behind. That’s not him pulling your strings but an imposter.”

“Blasphemer,” the revenant shouted, ready to tear into me, but she froze as I tossed the thirty-sided die to the ground in front of them. Trinity stared at it as though it were a bomb, unsure of what it was. The silver of it gleamed against the asphalt. Shaw knew what it meant, though. She’d been found out.

“I’ve met both God
and
Jesus recently,” I continued. “Ran into both of them in a dimension a billion miles from here. Saved Christ’s life while I was there, as a matter of fact. I’m sure it still chaps his ass, too.”

“You lie!” The Father screamed, then charged. “You will not speak false of our Lord. I will cut your lying tongue from your mouth.”

I stood my ground, letting him advance, the rest of Trinity doing the same. Only Shaw had any sense.

“No!” she shouted, but it was too late.

The Father roared at me, his magic flaring up, and then he was gone, swallowed by the portal that cleaved the air in front of him. His momentum carried him through. The rift disappeared behind him, leaving no trace of the old man.

The Son, all fire and brimstone, just kept coming. He crashed into me, fists flailing, magic throwing up sparks as he worked to batter his way through my shield. I drove an answering punch into his solar plexus, and he buckled with a gasp. Then I tossed him aside as the revenant came at me. I growled and let my power pour into my hands, holding nothing back.

The Holy Spirit slowed as I reached out with my energies, sending them searing toward her. Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her defenses to meet me. Our magic collided sending both of us skittering backwards. My feet dug into the asphalt to keep me upright, and I smiled at the ghost.

In the air, she’d nothing to leverage herself against. She flew back into the waiting arms of the portal that appeared in the sky behind her. There was time for one, furious shriek before it sealed her away.

I smiled at Shaw. “Not going quite the way you expected it to, huh?” Thud and Venai returned to her side. They’d taken enough of a beating from me to not want to take another now that Trinity had mostly vanished. “And you, little man,” I said to the Son, going over and picking him up by the scruff of his neck. “You and me are gonna have a chat.”

He squeaked and thrashed, throwing everything he had at me, but his blows were like pebbles cast against a Tsunami. Still he fought. I ignored him as a murmuring rumble sounded from somewhere below the street, then grinned at Shaw as she heard the sound, too. She stared at the asphalt as though she could decipher what the noise meant.

“All this ends today, Shaw,” I told her, grinning. “There’s only one way for you and your people to make it out alive.” She and her minions backed slowly toward the building as the sound grew louder. I pointed at the die still sitting in the middle of the road. “Give him to me, and I’ll end all this. We can go back to hating each other from a distance, and I’ll stop tearing your world apart so you can get a win out of this and hold onto your position. Defy me and, well…you’ll see what happens.”

I drifted into the air, the son dangling from my hand as he hurled ineffective blow after blow at me in an effort to break free.

“The choice is yours, Shaw. Make the smart one.”

A sewer cover blew open, the steel hurtling way to crash loudly in the distance. The sound was buried by another cover erupting, then another, dozens in a row, only to be drowned out by the roar of the were-creatures that spilled from the sewers and charged toward the DSI building, threatening to tear the limbs from anyone who stood in the way. Shaw, Venai, and Thud turned on their heels and bolted for the building.

Floating high above, I watched them scramble inside, sealing the doors against the lycanthropes’ attack, for all the good it would do them. Still, Shaw wasn’t one to lie down and die. And if she did, good riddance, but I knew better.

I turned to the little bastard who’d killed Karra, and he slowly stopped fighting, sensing the weight of my stare. “You’re in for a very long night, boy. I suggest you make peace with what you’ve done because you’re not gonna find your God on the other side of all this.”