Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

“A fool’s paradise is a wise man’s hell.” �" Thomas Fuller

Ace

I was forced to leave my phone on the bed in my apartment in order to make my trip down to Hell without it becoming a distraction or even lost.  Risking a lot, I even decided to leave the book I snatched from Ronnie, keeping it a secret from the King.  It was a dumb move on my part, because if he found out and thought it important enough that he knew, I could get in a s**t load of trouble.  However, my only concern right now, was going to discuss a certain topic with the King.  It would interest him very much.

Succorbenoth was standing at his neverending post in front of the Gates, glaring at me as I came forward.  He was hungry and being in my human form probably wasn’t helping him ignore his hunger.  Out of all the times I visited him you’d think I’d decide to appear in my demon form so I wouldn’t keep reminding him of how hungry he was.  Never have I once done that.  The hopelessly hungry look he has when he looks at my human body is so amusing; especially because he can’t do anything about it.  He can only step so far away from the Gate unless permitted otherwise by the King, which meant that I could stand outside his range and he’d never be able to get a hold of me.  Not to mention that a demon eating another demon can be lethal, and if not, it would just mutate the one that was eating.  The lethal side of the consequences was actually more common; our flesh is poison to another.  The only thing in Hell that can eat other demons is the demon dog Cerberus, who was created by the King as well, only after me.  I’m one of the few he won’t try to attack when he’s approached.  It’s kind of comforting, actually.

“Hey there good buddy,” I said cheerfully.  Although my expression was completely sarcastic, I was still in a good mood.  I made sure to stay out of his range, because considering his expression, he wanted to hit me so badly.

“Get outta here you spoiled twerp,” he growled.

Just for the record, I wasn’t spoiled.  Being the Prince of Death just gave me exceptions to some things, although the main reason he probably called me that was because I got all the fun jobs and I rarely got in trouble.  To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten in trouble with Hell before, which would explain his hostility.  In my earlier centuries of being here, I gave him the hardest time and he couldn’t do anything about it.  If I were to get in trouble with Hell, he’d more than likely be the one inflicting whatever punishment the King decides on.  Then I’d be completely fucked.  He was holding onto centuries worth of anger and payback against me.

“Someone’s a little pissy today.  I’ll tell ya what, next time I come and visit you, I’ll bring you a snack.  How does that sound?” I’ve made that offer so many times before and not once have I actually gone through with it.  After his third time of falling for it, he finally stopped believing I’d actually do that for him and always wound up just getting really pissed off.  My empty offer earned me a good swing of his weapon, but I managed to shimmer away from him just in time.  I always forgot that even if he can’t move any further, it doesn’t mean that his weapon can’t.

I was standing in the King’s court once again with an open slash on my collar bone.  Damn it.  He got me.  It didn’t really hurt because there was nothing on it that could hurt me; it just felt more like I got a paper cut.  Bright side of being a demon, if you bled, it was only for a short period of time.  The slash wasn’t what was annoying me, however.  It was the left over taste in my mouth from hanging out with Ronnie earlier.

“What brings you here this time, Eurynomous?” Accursius didn’t seem all that surprised to see me, although that was only because he can sense it when I’m in Hell, but his tone was curious.  I don’t usually come talk to him unannounced; he knows I’d rather be out partying and having fun.  When I do enter his court without being summoned or having a meeting with him, I almost always come because I have news for him.  That’s exactly why I showed up now.

I was about to get down on one knee and bow in front of him out of habit, but when he saw I was about to do that, he cleared his throat and shook his head in a warning manner.  He hated repeating himself, and if one made him, he usually became pretty pissed.  This is the only time he’s ever had to almost repeat himself to me which was something I was going to have to work on.  Nobody liked seeing him pissy.  And it’s not that I’m afraid of him; I just don’t want to have to deal with both the consequences and him starting to question if I was really listening to him or if I was starting to…drift.  That would make him keep a closer eye on me so I wouldn’t have any thoughts to overthrow him.

I stood up straight and held my head high with my arms down at my sides.  As I spoke, my voice was rough and there was a little bit of nervousness in it.

“We might have a small hitch in the plan.”

 

 

Ronnie

I had to delete my messages to Ace if I wanted to leave my room without my phone.  Otherwise Andie or someone would sneak in there and find out that I lost the book, which would somehow get back to someone of higher authority in the family and then I’d get in trouble for, not only losing the book, but snooping around again as well.  They just don’t understand that the more they try and hide something from me, the more I’m determined to find out.

The Holy water I slipped into both bottles of beer at the bar gave me all the proof I needed to assure myself that Ace couldn’t be a demon and that he was in fact human.  Even though it was a very small amount, it would’ve hurt any other demon around.  Yes, he wore a crucifix around his neck, but the inverted pentagram and the cross cancelled each other out, making the symbol neutral.  It couldn’t do any damage to anyone as long as it was neutral, so the Holy water was back up.  I always keep a small vile of it in my pocket, just in case I get jumped while I’m walking down the street or something.  It’s happened before and from what I’ve been told by a few demons, I’m not unknown.

“Veronica!  Come on!  We’ve gotta move!” Chett was barking orders at me, seeing as I was the only one in the house.  Everybody else left a few minutes earlier to go on a raid.  We had a man tracking a group of demons for the past few days and he finally found the warehouse they gather at; he just called it in no more than an hour ago, which was when everyone started to get things together.  I just so happen to have been in the shower when they heard about it, and they were so busy getting things ready they forgot to tell me. “Everyone’s goin’ to meet up with Al!  Hurry up!”

“I’m coming!” I quickly grabbed my knives, crucifix, and Holy water and ran out of my room, tying my hair up as I followed Chett out the door.  Aleron is one of our best trackers; almost impossible to catch onto.  He’s quick, smart, and very subtle, and he knows where he can ask around and exactly how to ask it.

The warehouse was in the rundown side of town, surrounded by other brick buildings with windows and doors boarded up, no light coming from anywhere but the occasional street lamp that would flicker on and off.  Dumpsters were between a few of the buildings in the allies.  Some were overflowing with garbage while some were empty enough to allow the lid to remain closed.  Water dripping from the exposed pipes was the only sound in the quiet, nighttime air, besides our quiet breathing.

“Corin and Ronnie, go around back; keep your eyes peeled and be quiet.  Try to find another way in so we’re split up.” Aleron had us meet in the alley across from the warehouse we needed to be at, in order to stay out of the demons’ range of hearing.  They could still see us if they tried, but our dark clothes helped us blend in with the shadows.  They’re ability to smell us ranged differently among each of them, so there’s nothing much we could do about that, but the moistness in the air would help cover up our scents.

I didn’t protest, and as much as I wish I could, I didn’t roll my eyes or anything about my assigned partner.  We didn’t leave the group until Aleron was done assigning everyone to a partner or group, but even then he wasn’t completely done talking.

“Be on your guard tonight, everyone.  I don’t believe any of them are strong enough to be able to smell us right now, but as soon as they hear just one little sound they’ll be ready.  You know how quickly they can change.  Be as quiet as you can and be quick.  Do not wander off on your own and do not turn your back to anything.  Understood?”

We all nodded.

“Alright.  Go.” He nodded his head to all of us before turning to the group he was with.  Everyone broke away from the group, going their own ways to maneuver across the street without getting caught.

“C’mon, let’s go this way.” Corin grabbed my arm and started walking south, in order to go around other buildings to get to the back.  That was my guess.  I planted my feet on the ground, making him stop.

“Why don’t we just cross the street?” I pulled my arm out of his grip and looked at the road.  Sure, it was at the front of the warehouse, but so what?  It’d be easier and quicker.

“Are you insane?  Do you want them to see us?” He looked at me like I was, in fact, insane, and he looked kind of upset.  I don’t understand why.  It was an honest question.  I just shrugged and started walking.

“They’re going to see us anyways.  Besides, if they see us while we’re going towards them, it’s not like they can jump us.” I shrugged and walked into the middle of the road, checking every direction frequently.  My guard was up, and because the strongest weapon I had was a gun with bullets soaked in Holy water, I had to be careful.  Sure, I had my dagger and extra Holy water and a crucifix, but that would only do so much on a surprise attack.

The alley behind the warehouse was even darker and damper than the front and it felt less comfortable.  The dumpsters in the back were closed and they actually didn’t smell bad.  Good.  Climbing on them to get a boost won’t end up making me smell like trash.  Looking up, I saw that there was a fire escape about twenty feet above the dumpsters, and just a foot or two above the second level was a boarded up window.

Bingo.

“Can you give me a boost so I can grab the ladder and pull it down?” I climbed up onto the dumpster, keeping my step light so there wouldn’t be any unnecessary noise.  Corin got up next to me and looked up thoughtfully.  Sure, he wasn’t naturally the strongest one of us slayers when it comes to strength, but when he needed to, he could really show up others.

“Uh, yeah…but I don’t think you’d be able to reach it…even with me giving you a boost.” He looked down at me casually, putting his hands in his pockets.  I guess he had a point, but I could always jump.  However, if I jumped and pulled the ladder down, that’d make a good amount of noise.

I looked around and the side of the building and saw a pipe snaking up the side of the building, close to the fire escape.  If I could get boosted high enough up the pipe, then I could maybe use it to get up high enough to reach the ladder.  Corin must’ve seen it too, because he moved over to the side of the building and got down on his knee so I could get on his shoulders.  I got behind him and just as I got one foot up on his shoulder, a sound from further down the alley caught my attention.  There was snarling.  It was faint, but loud enough for me to just catch it.

“Do you hear that?” I kept my voice quiet as I stood up straight, taking my foot off Corin’s shoulder.  He stood up and listened, looking down the alley while doing so.  The growling grew louder and the sound of feet padding on the ground started to become noticeable.

Out of the shadows emerged two Hellhounds, the size of smallish black bears.  Their entire bodies were made of exposed muscle and tendons and the corners of their mouths extended all the way until it ended above their shoulder, filled with razor sharp teeth.  Their front legs looked incredibly strong, and that was because they were.  Their eyes were just empty sockets, allowing you to see the tissues behind them.  Bones from their spines protruded from their back, forming large spikes; not only down his spine but also where the shoulder blade would be and along the back of the neck, although the ones on their neck were smaller.  From their nose to the base of their neck was made of more cartilage and tendon than muscle while the skull was more of actual bone.  The barrel of their chests were large and their hindquarters were nothing but bone and flesh, sickeningly skinny.  The main joints on their hind legs were only covered with a very thin layer of muscle, allowing one to see the bone.  Despite their thinness, they were incredibly strong; their front legs over ten times stronger than that of a bear’s.  They reeked of rotting flesh.  The smell was so strong it burned my eyes.  I hated fighting these things, solely for their smell.  The strength was easy to deal with; I just had to stay away from their range of reach.

Sometimes that’s easier said than done.

The only way to kill it is either pierce it between the ribs, where its heart should be, or decapitate it, which is more difficult because the cartilage and tendon its neck is composed mainly of is almost impossible to pierce.

“We need to get rid of them before they alert the demons upstairs.” I reached for one of the daggers that was hanging from the belt I use to hold my equipment, but I didn’t get down from the dumpsters we were on.

“More importantly, before they call more to join.” Corin knew very well that they don’t travel in groups of more than three, but he also knew that if prey was around, they’d deal with more in the group, just for the food.  I just nodded and jumped down with him, bracing for the hounds to pounce.  He had an advantage on me because he could use his spears to attempt to pierce their ribs from a distance.  I needed to get close to one in order to do some damage.

The first hound jumped up at us with its front paws extended, reaching out to get one of us.  Corin jumped out of the way while I just stood there and waited until it got closer, which gave me what I needed in order to slice its ribcage with the blade of my dagger.  I quickly ducked out of the way as soon as its flesh ripped open, and rolled off the dumpster, hitting the cold, wet ground.  I looked up, without moving, and saw that the hound I got was getting up from the ground.  It must’ve fallen when I sliced its chest open.  There was a pool of blood under its body, and had it actually been a living creature with a beating heart, it would’ve been dead.  But since it wasn’t, it could lose as much blood as its body held and it’d be fine.

I took a quick glance at Corin and saw that he was plenty busy with the other one, so he didn’t have much time to come and help me out.  Not that I needed it or anything, but he would’ve automatically if he wasn’t busy himself.

The hound jumped and towered over me.  Its teeth in the front row were undoubtedly sharp, mainly its canines.  If I were to allow the thing to bite me, even a nip, it’d give me the deepest gash I’d ever receive.  It’s happened once before and I was on crutches for almost a year last year; the scar it left around my ankle is nasty, but, despite how it looks, I don’t always try to hide it.  Especially because everyone in my family, both blood and slayer wise, have seen it several times.  Strangers, on the other hand, I try to keep it hidden from.  They ask questions about it that I can’t answer.  And every once in a while, like after a fight with multiple demons, it flares up and it gets sore.

I gripped the hilt of my dagger, hopeful that I sharpened it enough, and jammed it upward.  The sound of ripping cartilage was louder than the growling that was coming from both hounds.  Following it was a low, but loud, howl of pain coming from the hound as it reared onto is hind legs and landed on its back, automatically rolling onto its side.  Tremors were shooting through its body as it cried out.  I just got up and watched as the sharp blade and cross hilt remained in contact with it.

It was a slow and very painful ‘death’ for the hounds.

By the time it was done moving, Corin had just finished off his and was throwing a lit match down onto its body.  He walked over by me and did the same thing to mine when I took the blade out of its chest before climbing back up on the dumpster.  The air was still just as damp as it was before we ended up being caught by the hounds, which meant that the wall and pipes wouldn’t give me much help.  I grabbed Corin’s spear before he was able to put it away and reached up with it.  There was a small hook where the head of the spear met the pole, which I used to grab the first rung on the ladder to pull it down.

It was quiet as it slid down, which surprised me.  I sighed quietly as I handed Corin his weapon and started up the ladder.  The metal was cool on my skin, and a little slippery, but I managed to maintain my grip.  Corin was right behind me as I climbed up, stopping at the boarded window.  I peered in through the small gaps and grinned to myself.  Sure enough, there was a group of demons in there.  Of course, they were still in their human form, having fun to loud music.  Dancing.  Drinking.  Intimacy; although their clothes were still on.  That only meant that everyone was somehow remaining hidden and unscented as they waited for their cue to proceed.  The worst part of the job: waiting.  Everyone always gets anxious and their adrenaline is always pumping as soon as we start planning for an attack, so having to wait with the rush coursing through our veins is almost torture.

The ear piece in my ear crackled.

“Everybody in position?” Aleron’s voice was quiet as he asked everyone the question.  My hands were starting to shake from anticipation.

“Yes.” Corin and I were in unison.  My voice was hoarser than his, and he seemed to notice.  He just rested his hand on my shoulder and gave me a relaxing grin as he positioned himself next to me, holding a chisel at his side.

“Go.”

As soon as the word left his mouth, slayers from every angle inside caved in on the demons, stopping their party.  Corin jammed the chisel into one end of one of the boards, and in one swift jerk, he ripped the end off the windowsill, making it fall out of the way.  Just the removal of one board provided a space small enough for me to fit in through, and so I did.

I received quite a welcoming as soon as I set foot inside.  A demon came up and sideswiped me, sending me to the ground rather quickly.  As soon as I hit the ground, I rolled and got to my feet right away, pulling my dagger from my belt.  He laughed at me.  It was a dark, cruel laugh.  Mocking.  Taunting.  He remained in human form as he stepped towards me, his posture remaining casual.  He tried to look intimidating to me.

He jumped at me but I was ready.