Chapter Twelve

Reckoning Forces

Fed up with chasing moans and groans around the world, Germanicus took to the streets of one of the more famous Supernatural Cities.

Los Vegas.

Vegas, to humans, was a pretty place with a lot of colourful lights and dedicated to American patriotism with the sound of the national anthem playing on every second corner.

But to Supernatural world, it was a pool of money and riches, an easy way into the Human world. From where he stood on the strip, just outside the Pyramids, he could see hundreds of Shifters, posing as Vegas tour guides or tourists, bundling up with other tourists. Vampire roamed the streets, looking for those drunk enough to take blood from while greedy Werewolf packs owned and established a lot of the businesses.

Germanicus was looking, however, for a Fae, preferably one from the Unseelie Court who was released from his prison for, good behaviour. It wasn’t uncommon for that to happen, but it was uncommon to find an Unseelie Faeries willing enough to help a demon.

Hael Prison wasn’t just named that for the pun-of-it.

He stole into one of largest and most renown of all the hotels on the strip.

The Bellagio.

The Bellagio was one of the most Supernaturally recognised hotels in the world. Like the rest of Vegas, it was a truce zone, so any and all warring had to be done outside the cities outer limits. As he entered the gambling area, more than one of the dealers nodded to him politely. Some disguised Fae women rubbed up against him but he pushed them aside and kept walking through.

He needed to find a member of the Unseelie Court who could and would track Wiccans. For a long time he’d heard rumours about a Fae member, leaving within the walls of the Bellagio so those of the Seelie Court and Nephilim who wanted to harm him for his past crimes, could never get him.

He walked up to the bar and leant against it, ordering a stiff drink to calm the puppet he was living in down. The man was anxious for another drink, his mouth salivating as he smelt the alcohol in the room. “Calm, calm.” Germanicus murmured. “Stick with me and I shall buy you as many drinks as you wish.”

The cursed man quelled within him as the drink his lips and gratitude swelled up deep within Germanicus. “A thankful b*****d, I see.” He ignored the man for now, deciding to use his hamartia against him later. Germanicus looked up over the edge of his drink, scanning the bar, then did a double take.

An old man with wrinkled skin and a lame face sat at the bar, depressed as he fondled his drink, a bowler hat on his head. Many people who Germanicus recognised as Fae’s who snarl at him as they walked passed, their eyes narrowed and for a second, their sharp fanged teeth showing.

Humans didn’t notice these things, but this one noticed every snarl, every hiss and every time one would rake their sharpened nails across his back. Germanicus smirked and put his drink down, walking over to the human man. He sat down next to him and looked to the bartender who was a Nephilim. “Two drinks, sir. One for me and one for this gentleman.” The Nephilim, a child of an Angel, did not look pleased to be serving yet another Demon, but did so anyway.

Germanicus tipped nicely, just to prove a point and then turned to the old man who was staring into the depths of his new whiskey. “Well, hello there, good sir.” Germanicus grabbed the man’s chin and pulled his eyes up to face him. “How are you today?”

The old man’s eyes flashed a dark inky black and he gnashed his sharp teeth together. “Hands off, Germ.”

“Kollar, is that you?” Germanicus was actually surprised. For the first time, he did not recognise the Fae underneath the disguise.

“No, it’s Jebus, who you think it is? I’m the only bloody Unseelie you know.” He drowned the whiskey and tapped the bar. “Thank you.” Kollar stood up and walked towards the elevator. He half turned and glared at Germanicus. “You come or what?”

More than surprised, Germanicus followed Kollar to wherever he was going. The Unseelie Fae had a British-slang accent that didn’t suit the old man’s face. But Kollar always chose mismatched disguises, even when he was hiding in the confides of Hael. “You really got yourself into it, didn’t you?” Kollar grunted. He grabbed his leg and pulled it up as if his pants were falling, but Germanicus was more than sure it was the disguise, slipping away from underneath him.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Not you, this bloody body. I got a size to big. Falling off of me, you see.” Kollar kept walking. A Fae snapped at him, scratching his face. The bodies face slid down and the eyeball could no longer be seen through the hollow where the eye was supposed to be. Kollar didn’t looked bothered by what had happened and just slid the face back up into the right place. “Come on, before there’s meat and flesh in between the blackjack and the roulette.”

“Kollar, I need a favour.”

“No. I’m done in the black market.”

“But I can promise you your freedom.”

He snorted. “I killed over one thousand Fae, most of which were my brothers, sisters, parents, aunts and uncles, and you think you can promise me freedom? You can’t promise me s**t, Germy and don’t even believe to think otherwise.”

“I can. My master will be able to do great things.”

“I heard what you want to do.” Kollar hit the elevator button door and waited. “Want to free Adra, well it ain’t gonna happen.”

“It could.”

“It won’t.” Kollar took two measure steps towards Germanicus and poked him in the stomach. “When the doors to the prison open, they open through the ground. You’ll only have access to the top level, that’s where all the guards stay. There are forty-two levels underneath, all of them like a maze, and guess what? Adra is on the forty-third level under lock-key and high Fae security.”

“I have a way in.”

“How?”

“I need you.”

The elevator door opened and Kollar and Germanicus both stepped inside. “Cover the camera, would you?” Kollar said and as the doors closed to the elevator, Germanicus clicked his fingers and the camera exploded. “I said cover not… Never mind. Never ask a demon for a simple non-violent task.”

Before Germanicus could continue talking, Kollar grabbed the edge of his own neck and started tugging it. The skin ripped, leaving a meat underneath and it ripped again as it fell apart. The skin started sliding away, slumping to the floor like discarded clothing. The thing left in the middle of it all was a very short man who barely came up to Germanicus’ waist, with thick blue curly hair, a long snarled nose, pasty white skin and large black orb like eyes.

“Okay, where were we? Oh yeah. Whatever you want me to do, it’s a no. You were willing to find any Unseelie Court member until you realise it was me.” Kollar started to collect all the discarded skin and clothing then pulled the remainder of the skin away from his face, leaving nothing but the bowler hat on. “Now you want my help because we used to do Cocaine for the humans back in the thirties? No way, Germy, no way.”

“I can offer you safety and protection.”

“I’ve got that here, in Bellagio. Plus I have a county funded hotel room with all the strippers I want.” Kollar waddled out of the elevator, his thick dragon hide pants scraping the ground slightly as he went. “Why would I leave?”

“Because I can pick you up off your little stubby feet right now and take you to one of the Fae clubs in �" oh, I don’t know, let’s try New York, if you don’t help me track down the Wiccans I need.” Germanicus just smiled and Kollar stood still where he was.

“You know, my feet ain’t stubby, it’s just my legs.” he said eventually. He sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair. “Fine. I’ll do it. But only if you promise to leave me alone for twenty-centuries after.”

“I only deal in fives.” Germanicus warned, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“Perfect. Fifty it is.” Before Germanicus could argue, Kollar grabbed his hand and shook on it. “Let me just grab my bags.”

“No time. We need to do this now.”

With a moan and a pop, the two disappeared from Los Vegas and all of the Americas, making their way back to Sydney.

******

Jen stayed shivering underneath the velvet covers. She was sharing with Chase and Jeremiah. Jen shifted between the two of them, unable to sleep as the winds howled louder outside.

She knew the lightening was coming and whimpered as it crashed into thunder. She covered her own mouth and tried to stop shaking but for some reason whenever lightening struck, Jen could not control her fears.

There was a loud deafening crash, just outside the Synagogue and Jen saw the flash of lightening at the same time through the windows. She looked around and no one else seemed to notice the craziness of the weather. She looked down at Chase who, apart from being disturbed by the sound in his sleep, did not move.

“Jen?”

Jen looked up to see Edmund sitting up against the wall. He had music playing in his ears and was wide awake. There was another crash of thunder and Jen squealed, closing her eyes and pulling herself into a small ball.

Edmund took his head phones out and looked around before getting up and crossing the room. “Come here.” he murmured, pulling her out from under the velvet covers between Jeremiah and Chase. Jen gripped onto Edmund as more lightening crashed. She could barely count three seconds of it and she wrapped her arms around Edmund and buried her face into his shoulder.

“You fight demons everyday, but you’re afraid of lightening.” he whispered, stroking her hair gently.

“I can fight Demons.” Jen muttered. “I can protect myself against them.”

Edmund kept stroking her hair and guided her to the wall where he was sitting previously. Every time lightening struck, they would stand and wait until it passed and until Jen stopped shuddering. Then they would continue walking.

Against the wall of the Synagogue, Edmund pulled Jen into a sitting position. He removed his own jacket and wrapped it around her, pulling her back into his lap and then placed the headphones over her ears, turning them up as loud as they would go to block out the thunder. Jen still shuddered at the flashing light but it wasn’t as horrible with no sound. “Thank you.” she murmured quietly. She couldn’t even hear herself because of the music.

Edmund pressed his lips against her shoulder and whispered something. She lightly tugged away from him because she could very clearly remember where she was and who surrounded her.

“Edmund, don’t.” she whispered. Lightening flashed before her eyes but she was no longer effected by it. He had removed all her fears by simple actions. She looked back at him through her tear filled eyes and tried to feel some guilt about what she’d done to Chase the day before. But she could feel none whatsoever.

Maybe Adramalech took that from me. Maybe he took my guilt too.

Gently, Edmund removed one of the headphones from Jen’s ear and rubbed his hand through her hair. “I said thank you. If it wasn’t for you, Saint would be dead, I would be in jail or worse and the others… Indirectly, you’ve probably saved them too. I can only hope that when the time comes, I can be as brave as you.”

“Here you are, comforting me as lightening and thunder rage on in places I cannot see, nor am I near, and you call me brave?” Jen turned away from him and shivered. “I’m not brave.”

Edmund didn’t say anything but replaced the headphone in her ear. An instant later, more thunder hit, but this time Jen could hear it as it sounded as if something exploded. The windows started shaking and Jeremiah and Zeke both woke up. Jen cowered against Edmund who just held her still in his arms and they waited.

A few of the others were waking up as well, including Saint who huddled himself in between Greg and Alicia, the two of them holding onto the boy between them. Chase woke up and clambered around, looking for Jen. He looked up and saw her shaking fearfully in Edmund’s arms and pushed himself out of bed and ran to them.

“Jen, chill. It’s just lightening.” He grabbed her shoulders and she jumped up in surprise.

“She can’t hear you.” Edmund murmured and shook the mp3 he’d acquired off of Angel.

“That sounded as if it came from�"” before Tobias could finish his sentence, there was another horribly loud crash from outside the Synagogue and this time, the front door caved in, letting in howling winds.

“What the...?” Wind swept through the Synagogue, getting everybody up onto their feet. Chase and Edmund supported Jen between them as they all watched in amazement.

The doors slammed against the walls again and again, the wind forcing the back and forward and the chains that had once bound the door rattled around, broken and damaged.

But what caught all of their attention was the iron gates which blocked the Synagogue from Demons had broken, split in half and fallen to the ground. The trees of Hyde Park blew in the distance, looking like angry ghosts, chained to the ground. “Chase, Jen.” Jeremiah snapped.

Chase let go of Jen, jogging straight towards the bag of weapons. Jen stood up by herself shakily, removing the mp3 player from her ears. Edmund wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to hold her back. She started to push him off of her but lightening struck just outside the front of the Synagogue, sending flames bouncing off the doorway and Jen fell to the ground, sobbing.

Chase took two guns while Jeremiah and Tobias grabbed a shotgun and a rifle respectively. Zeke took a gun as well, moving the others back and away with a movement of his hand.

Together, the four men walked towards the door guns raised and waiting for the attack.

Before any of them could blink an eye, a man appeared before them in drab clothes with thick brown hair, smiling. “Hello.”

The four of them started shooting but the man disappeared before their very eyes and returned behind them. He moved so fast that none of them could see him. He first went after Zeke, grabbing his arm from behind and wrapping it around his body, removing the gun from his hand and smashing the but down on his head.

Once he had fallen, he went to Chase who was slightly more prepared and swiped out in front of him twice, keeping the Demon away. Jeremiah was trying to get a shot but every time he swung the gun, Chase was in the way. The Demon grabbed Chase by the throat, lifting him high up into the air then tossing him aside like a rag doll, then took Tobias and snapped his arm before doing the same.

Edmund watched as the Demon teased Jeremiah, but pulled Jen to her feet. “Come on, we need you.”

Jen tugged the mp3 from her ear and suddenly switched into fighting mode. Her and Edmund jogged to the gun bag, withdrawing two hand guns each. No more lightening struck and Jen realised it was all the Demons doing. She aimed her gun, trying not to shoot Jeremiah and was about to pull the trigger when something short, blue and fuzzy lunged out at her.

She screamed, stumbling backwards and shot the thing twice. It didn’t die but rather, absorbed the bullets. “Stupid little Witch.”

It reached out with its teeth to bite Jen, but Greg pulled it off of her and tossed it aside. Jen finally regained enough of herself to realise what the creature was. “Oh my God, a real-life troll doll.” she stared at the short ugly creature with fuzzy blue hair in disgust.

“Really, try something original kid.” He got up onto his feet and lunged at her and Greg but Jen aimed her gun at his head and pulled it twice. It fell midair, blood and troll brain splattering everywhere.

“How’d you know that would work if the bullets didn’t work the first time?” Greg asked, helping her up.

“I didn’t. He’ll be back alive soon. The head heals the slowest.” Jen wiped whatever tears she still had on her face off and watched as Edmund continued to try and aim the gun at the fast moving Demon.

“Sophie.” Jen called out. “Take the kids and go upstairs. Keep them safe.”

Sophie started collecting the stunned Joe and Luke off of the floor with the help of Alicia. “I want to stay!” Saint cried out.

“Saint, go.” Edmund said clearly.

Saint did as he was told, with no option to do otherwise. Greg, Angel and Tony gunned up and all of them removed the safety from their guns. “Hey, Demon.” Jen snapped.

The Demon stopped playing with Jeremiah who was becoming dizzier and dizzier as the seconds ticked by. “I think you’re a bit outnumbered.”

“Oh am I?” He walked towards them and Edmund flinched. It was his fathers body the Demon was using still. He drew back the safety and was about to shoot when Jen stopped him.

“It’s a trap.” she said. “We shoot him, all of his friends swarm in.”

“Oh shucks.” he smirked and his eyes turned as black as a starless sky. “You ruined the surprise.”

A swarm of black smoke and Shifter demons in every type of form, poured into the Synagogue, howling and moaning into sight. They all started shooting at whatever they could and Jen watched in panic as Jeremiah and the bodies of Chase, Zeke and Tobias were overwhelmed by the smoke.

They kept shooting until there were no bullets left and then they grabbed other weapons from the bag, but it was useless. For every one Shifter Demon they killed there were at least five to take its place and the black smoke was relentless.

It took Angel first.

“Help me!” Angel screamed as smoke poured into him.

Jen grabbed his hand and pressed her pentagram necklace against his chest. At first he just screamed and the Demon looked trapped halfway inside of his mouth. She knew that Angel would choke if she held the pentagram there so she had no choice. “I’m sorry.” she cried and let go of his hand.

She pulled the pentagram off of him and the Demon kept making its way inside of Angel. She turned around and grabbed the stunned Greg and started running. Edmund and Tony started clearing a path with the holy water they found in the bag and led them to the stairs. Jen turned to see Greg staring at Angel who was now marching towards them with black eyes. Greg’s gun was pointed at Angel and he was unsure of what to do.

“Later.” Jen pushed his hand down, saving him from killing his best friend. “We’ll fix it later, okay Greg?”

They ran through the door that led upstairs and Jen slammed it shut. It was pitch black and there was banging against the wood. Tony, Edmund and Jen leant against it but they were straining. “I need a pen, or a texta or something!” she screamed.

“I have a knife.” Tony said and blindly handed it to Jen.

The door slammed like a battering ram and splintered as Jen tugged the knife from his hand and cut her two fingers on her right hand. “Light.”

Edmund withdrew his mobile and used the backlight and Jen drew a pentagram on the back of the door in her own blood. The slamming stopped instantly and the four of them ran up the staircase.

When they reached the top they found Joe and Luke crying for their mother in Sophie’s arms. When Luke saw Tony, he bolted to his brother and Tony picked him up and just held him. Saint sat in a corner, hugging himself and leaning back on the wall. “Where’s Angel?” Sophie asked.

Greg shook his head and just walked over to Alicia. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him and Greg did the same. “I’m really sorry, but we can’t break down right now.” Jen closed the door to the room and again, drew a pentagram on the back of the door.

“We just lost our friends!” Greg lashed out over Alicia’s shoulder.

“And I just lost the last two people in the world who I can call my family!” Jen shouted back. “But my priority is and always has been to keep as many people as I can safe. I’m sorry about Angel and Zeke, but there’s nothing to be done about that now.”

She looked around the room. It was completely closed off. Edmund took her hand gently but she pulled away. “We’re surrounded by Demons, Edmund.”

He put his hands up in front of her, showing he meant no harm. “This is the highest point in the Synagogue. There is no way out.”

Jen laughed sourly, “Oh trust me. There is always a way.” Jen started kicking the ground, listening out for any hollow points. Once she found one she smiled. “You just need to be imaginative.” With Tony’s knife, pulled up the wood from the floor and looked down. There was a crawl space, big enough to fit Tony and Edmund who were slim, but not Greg who was bulky muscle. She swore but then remembered who she had to keep safe.

“Tony first.” Jen said. “Then the Twins, Alicia, Saint and Sophie. Edmund and Greg up back.” She didn’t mention the fact that she was pretty sure Greg wouldn’t make it out. “Now.”

“Jen...” Tony started to argue but she glared at him.

“Trust me. And find me pen.”

It was Edmund who found her the pen, tucked inside a drawer in the room. It was a permanent marker and for that, Jen was thankful. “Come here, each of you, and give me your foreheads.” One by one, Jen drew a pentagram on each of them, a quick makeshift charm. Her own was stronger but while the marking was joined together and not faded, they would be okay.

“Are we going to survive?” Sophie asked her quietly as Jen drew the mark on her forehead.

“With these things on your head, the Demons can’t touch you directly.” Jen murmured. “You’re chances just went up by ten percent.”

There was a crash downstairs and Jen closed her eyes tightly. She knew they could break through the wood if her blood dripped too far. She walked over to the door and drew another pentagram under her bloody one in permanent marker. The slamming started at the door and she sighed. “We don’t have long before they break around the door. Tony, go in first and lead them out. Wherever you can,” she passed him the permanent marker. “Draw the star. Five spots then a circle around.”

Tony sighed, lowering himself in and started moving down. Next in was Joe, quickly followed by Luke who took hold of his brothers ankles and crawled after him. “Alicia, then Saint.” Jen said. “Go.”

Alicia kissed Greg lightly on the lips for luck then she went in along with Saint and Sophie. Left in the room was Edmund, Jen and Greg, the three of them looking at the crawl space with apprehension. Sophie’s legs disappeared from view and both Edmund and Jen looked at Greg. He sighed and looked at the space again. “I’m not going to fit, am I?”

“No.” Jen said quietly. “But you’re protected.” She handed him a gun and removed her necklace, handing it to him. “They’ll hurt you but they can’t possess you.”

“What if they shoot me?” he asked.

Jen averted her eyes. “They might. But you’ll just have to be quicker.”

Edmund glared at Jen, “You knew since you opened it up, didn’t you?”

“Someone has to close it after you.” Greg said. “I figured I was going to do it before I saw the size. I’m the least important out of all of you.”

The edges of the door splintered and Jen swallowed. “Edmund, get in.”

Edmund looked at the hole angrily. “No, I’m staying.”

“Don’t be a hero. They get you and it’s the end of the world as we know it.” Jen pushed him towards the hole. “Greg’s a big boy.”

“Too big.” he joked. He reached out and grabbed Edmund’s hand. “Nice knowing you.”

Edmund stared at their hands and shook his head. “If you don’t make it, I’ll make your afterlife hell.”

“I’ll try, Mysterious.” Greg grinned.

“You’ll need this.” Edmund passed him two bottles of holy water and an iron chain he picked up from the sports bag. “Wrap it around yourself.”

“Okay.” Greg did as he was told as Edmund slid head first into the crawl space, just managing to fit.

Jen smiled tightly. “You’ll be okay. And if you see Angel, press this against his chest and start shouting out as many holy names as you know. God, Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh... whatever you can think of. Then, slid it around his neck and he won’t be able to be possessed again.”

Greg nodded, listening to everything she said. “Thank Jen.”

“I’m sorry, Greg. I really am.” Jen backed away from him and then looked into the crawl space. “Draw the pentagram over us and then put the carpet over.”

“What should I draw it in?” he asked, confused.

“Blood.” Jen replied and dove head first into the crawl space, following the shuffling of Edmund’s legs. Behind her, the floorboards shut them in and ahead, she could see a trail of pentagrams.

******

They got out of the Synagogue, find a way through the crawl space, sliding down walls and smashing open more floorboards. They crawled out from three buildings away from the Synagogue and made their way out into the pouring rain.

“Where’s Greg?” Alicia shouted over the storm and Jen looked away, ashamed.

“He chose to stay back and find Angel.” Edmund shouted over the wind. “He’ll be alright.”

His voice removed their fears and Edmund picked up Joe while Tony held Luke. “We need to get out of here.” Edmund shouted at Jen. “Where can we go?”

“I don’t know.” She yelled back. “They got to us in an Iron stronghold. They can get anywhere.” Slowly, she was losing hope.

Cloud storms above them started moving in a circular motion and the eight of them looked up into the sky. “That can’t be good.” Sophie screamed. “Can it?”

Jen shook her head and then started running across to Hyde Park. “Follow me!” she screamed. They did and Jen saw the bus stop ahead of them and had the crazy idea public transport would help everything.

Edmund held Alicia’s hand and was dragging her and she was holding onto Saint. Sophie looked shocked. “A bus? We’re catching a bus.”

“I’m running out of ideas now.”

“What happened to imagination?!”

The clouds circled like a hurricane and it was only then Jen realised they weren’t clouds.

They were Demons.

The Synagogue doors burst open and from out of it emerged Tobias and Zeke, their eyes as black as night. Tied by their arms, bound in ropes were Jeremiah and Chase. Being held by either of the brothers They were untouchable by the Demons as they both had pentagrams tattooed to their skin.  Jeremiah fell to his knees in the street, rain pelting down on him. “Stop trying, Emerald.”

The first Demon, the one who possessed Edmund’s father, walked across the empty city street, his voice booming over the storm. “Give up and turn yourself and your friends over. We only want the Wizards and you.”

Jen stood in front of Edmund and Saint protectively. “No.”

A single Demon flew across and went to attack Tony, but couldn’t touch him. “I see, you’ve kept your friends guarded.” The Possessor said. “Quite intelligent of you. But there are other ways we can hurt your friends.” Before they could blink, the Possessor raised his arm and there was a gun shot. Jen saw the end of a smoking gun and at first it didn’t register what he’d done.

“No!” Chase shouted, tugging against his ropes.

Jen looked and saw blood, pouring down Jeremiah’s head. She gasped and for a second, she couldn’t even recognise him, his bloodied head pouring onto the street. Tony and Edmund both covered the twins eyes as the Possessor pointed the gun at Chase. “So how about it, Jennifer? How about we stop all of this nonsense and you just come with me. Willingly.”

Without a second thought, Jen dropped her iron bracelet and put her hands up in the air. She didn’t have to think about any of it. There was no way she could let them die. She walked towards the Possessor Demon, giving up totally. Chase shouted out again and again for her to turn around but Jen just couldn’t. She headed straight at the Possessor, sealing all of their fate forever.

Just as she was in arms reach of the Possessor, Chase shouted out, “I’m sorry, Jen! I could have done something differently. I’m sorry!”

Guilt.

She half turned and faced Chase, a frown on her face. “Jehovah.” she said and his eyes flashed. The meat puddle that was Jeremiah quivered and Jen saw the one single eye that was left flash black. With the tattoos on their legs, there was no way in which any demon could possess them which meant...

The Possessor smirked. “Oops. Didn’t I mention that they were Shifters and this was all just a demonstration? Oh well.” He smashed the butt of the gun over her head and Jen collapsed to the ground without another thought.

Author's Note

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