Demon Singer (12 page)

The elevator took them to the main loading platform connected to the outside road.   The night-lights were just being turned on, and the whole town began to glow different beautiful colors.  There were no large streetlights, or floods or spots or anything resembling what you would find in a human city.  Instead, hundreds of thousands of tiny lights graced buildings, and trees and even vehicles.  They caused the town itself to be a light source.  The very air seemed to capture and hold the glow.  For all the ugliness and pain he had seen in his travels, moments like these that took Lyric's breath away.  The evening in Sta Catoe looked like something out of a fairy tale.  Lyric stood quietly admiring the beauty of the small town and considering the loveliness of creation before noticing Cadence was staring at him with a gentle smile on her face.

“Let’s find some hot food and beds for the night.” the Singer suggested, and headed for the nearby walkway that ran parallel to the large bridge that led to town.   Their path was a hanging footbridge, but remarkably sturdy with little sway to it.  The three of them were able to walk comfortably side by side.

Upon entering the town, they came upon a man sitting on a bench by the sidewalk smoking a pipe with his arms crossed...

“Hello sir.”

“What?”  The man asked shortly, not looking at Lyric.

“We need food, showers and beds.  Where can you send us?”

“That way.”  The man pointed down the main road and continued his smoking.

“Thank you.”

"Yup."

They continued down the road, passing all manner of stores, both mundane and exotic.  A pizza joint sat directly next to the Cackling Witch Apothecary.  A sign across the road boasted private meetings with the only black unicorn in existence, one of seventeen locations.  A beautiful fairy sat by a fountain, chatting with the mermaid that apparently lived there.  A small band of goblins sat in an outdoor cafe called Dragon Milk, drinking something that looked like liquid pearls.  Their eyes lit on Cadence and Acheron and ugly smiles appeared on their faces.  Acheron passed close to them and touched their tabletop.  Loud shouts filled the air and Lyric looked back over his shoulder to see the goblin's table engulfed in flames.  Acheron shrugged innocently in response to his accusatory look.  Eventually they came to a sign advertising the Dancing Demon Inn.

“Seriously?" Acheron laughed as they approached.   "They’d wet themselves if they saw me dance.  Let’s give ‘em a show, Lover!”  She said brightly, and hurried to the door.

“There’s no way this can end well.”  Lyric muttered and Cadence nodded.

* * *

"How go the battle plans, pet?"

The self-styled goddess Melody jumped in surprise, releasing the girl she had just turned into a rat.  Lisian stepped from the shadows and stood before her masterpiece.   

Melody had a strange notion that her unique lineage made her the most important woman alive.  Lisian capitalized on that delusion to create the "Goddess" she would use to break the Soul Singers Guild.  That would please Trytohn and it would further her own plans.

"They go well, Mistress. Your gifts are put to good use. I've created an army of powerful beasts to lead the main assault."  Lisian's eyes glanced at the rodents that Melody was tormenting when she arrived.  Melody hurriedly continued.   "My general has recruited a massive horde of the second sighted.  They will attack from the opposite side.  When all is said and done, you will have an endless supply of souls for your army and I will have all of the earth."

Lisian smiled and Melody feared she would rip in half at the beauty of the demoness.  The part of her that lived for her Mistress' approval warred with her need to be the most beautiful woman alive. Lisian had given her the ability to look like anyone except for her.  Melody carefully controlled the seething rage inside her.

"Lovely, have you put on weight, pet?"  the demoness grinned evilly.  "You look a little fat.  Anyway, you know that young Singer you can't seem to kill?" Lisian asked pointedly.  Melody blushed scarlet and carefully avoided her Mistress' gaze while sucking in her flat stomach. "I need eyes on him at all times, but I can't be in two places at once yet.  Currently he is in a bayou in Louisiana.  I'd like you to send someone inconspicuous to watch him while I see to a delivery I'm expecting from Brazil."

"I have someone perfect in mind, Mistress."

"Excellent.  Don't attack, just follow. Unless his demoness is absent, then feel free to kill him."  Melody began to reply but Lisian smoked out.

Melody glanced at the large rats cowering in the corner.   She released a bit of pent up rage by stomping a few to death.  To the rest she snarled, "bring me Lucille."

11 DAMMIT

They followed the demoness into the building and saw her sitting at a table already joined to a game of cards.  All the men looked like hard characters, Lyric hoped they didn’t try anything; he would hate to have to talk Acheron out of slaughtering them.  Walking up to the front desk, he rang the bell labeled: Ring bell.  Immediately a serious looking woman came walking out of the back.

“Food?”  she asked.

“Yes and some rooms.”

“How many?”

“Three.”

“Don’t have three, you can have two.”

“Okay two.”

“Fine, sit down, food will be out.”

“Thank you,” Lyric said to her back.

Lyric and Cadence sat at a table in the corner where they could survey the room and its occupants.  A motley crew met their eyes.  A small man with a perpetual frown sat holding court with a well-dressed group who wore too much jewelry and too much perfume.  Lyric was glad they were on the opposite side of the room; the smell must be over powering.  

A member of the fabled Milleytes Lux sat with a gypsy girl, a vampire and a handsome man with an easy smile and happy eyes.  A leprechaun was playing a drinking game with a fairy.  The table of men Acheron was playing cards with kept bursting out in raucous laughter and a quartet of hobbits sat in a corner looking extremely stoned and staring at something one of them held in his hand.

A waitress arrived with a platter of steaming meat and vegetables and gave them two plates for serving.  Lyric overpaid her with the last of his cash and asked her to secure the keys to their rooms.  She disappeared without a word and Lyric and Cadence set to their meal.

While he ate, Lyric watched Cadence watch the room.  He noticed a methodical movement to her eyes as they casually scanned each group, never staying for long on one.  She looked up expectantly and he followed her gaze.  One of Acheron's card-playing friends approached their table.

"How much for your whore for the night?"

"Um, she's not my whore.  You can help yourself for all I care."

"Really?  Great!" He turned and hurried back to the table.

"WHAT!?" Acheron's voice raised in outrage. Lyric watched her approach the table and kept his face carefully neutral.  "You said I'm free?"

"Um, I told him you're not my whore, what's the problem?"

Acheron leaned close and hissed at him.  

"First off, as a matter of principle alone, a night with me is priceless you ignorant ass.  Second, they would happily pay a ludicrous amount of money for me; they all just made a fat wad of cash working for a local political type.  Third, I'm not free!  There's always a price for demon pleasures, and since your damned soul song officially puts me subordinate to you, you are responsible for the price they would have paid had you not offered me to them for free.  Last, but not least, you colossal moron, demonic contracts are
always
bad for you.  You are now completely screwed until payment is rendered."   Looking over at Cadence she said, "you're going to have to stay with him tonight, I have seven free favors to perform.  I will hold you responsible for every scrape or bruise he gets while in your care."  With that, she spun on her heel and stalked back to her new friends.  The last thing Lyric heard was, "okay boys, we're going to need a safe word."

"Well that doesn't bode well for my future does it?"  Lyric sighed.

Cadence shrugged and went back to her meal.

* * *

Lyric lay awake in the bed.  Cadence had refused to take it and sat erect at its foot with her knives resting on her knees.  A sound at the window had her back to the wall in a flash, waiting expectantly.  The instant she moved from the bed a translucent wall of yellow light surrounded it and a portly man in a mustard yellow suit poofed into existence at its foot, sitting cross-legged with a bored expression on his face and a large, official looking book in his lap.  Lyric sat up in alarm and froze unable to move.

"What the hell. ..?" His voice suddenly choked off as the small man looked at him in alarm and waved a hand.

"What the hell Indeed!  You're a Singer?  She didn't tell me you were a Singer.   Fantastic, we never get our hooks into you bastards!"  The excited gleam in the man's eye was not encouraging.

Cadence was on the other side of the wall beating at it furiously.  Lyric could not hear the sound of her attack.

"Don't worry about her; she can't get through that barrier.  My name is Race Widoc.  Now, just to be official, you are Lyric of the Soul Singers Guild are you not?  Don't try to speak, just nod."  The small man conferred with the book in his lap.

Lyric found himself nodding involuntarily.

"You are responsible for Acheron, the Demoness?"

Again, Lyric nodded, though he tried not to.  This man, no, this demon was forcing his responses.

"You offered her services for one night to seven men.  Is that correct?"

Lyric nodded again helplessly.

"You have the right to waive responsibility and place it on Acheron so she must pay the price.  Would you like to do so?"

Against his will, Lyric found himself shaking his head no.

"Very well, you're responsible to Hell for the price of a major demoness seven times.  Rather than the standard pricing and requirements, considering the nature of who you are and who Acheron is, we will waive the normal fees and offer this deal instead.  We will ask you for seven favors in the future.  Small matters that will not harm you in any way.  If you refuse any of the seven, you will be responsible for the original price.  Do you accept our terms?"  Widoc gestured at Lyric and he found himself able to move and speak.

"I do not.  What are my options?"

"The original price is your only other option; I drag you bodily to Hell where you will be tortured by seven angry demons for all eternity.  I have a list here somewhere of their standard tortures, then there are daily specials," the small demon went through his pockets as he spoke.   "Sometimes they let me watch.  One of my favorites is burning off your skin.  In addition, since you'll be entering Hell alive, you'll suffer on multiple levels.  Your tortures should be excruciating!"  Lyric was disgusted at the glee in his voice.

"What if I banish you to Hell and refuse both options?"

Widoc shrugged.

"Go ahead."  Lyric opened his mouth to sing and found he could not.  The demon smiled.  "My power inside this bubble is absolute; it is fed by all the cowardice of mankind.  You can't sing your way out of this."

Cadence had stopped beating the yellow wall and now was using various weapons to try to cut through it.  The situation was so weird Lyric found his thoughts remarkably mundane, like wondering where she kept all these weapons since her clothing was snug and really would not hide such bulky items.

"Aaaah, there it is.  You are clinging to unrelated questions to stave off the inevitable.  Take your time; the reality will set in soon enough."

A flurry of movement distracted them both as Acheron entered the room and immediately set on the yellow barrier.  The little demon blanched as her first strike caused his shield to shudder.  Lyric smiled.

"That’s Acheron; she draws her power from all of Hell.  I’m pretty sure she has more juice than you do.  Want to rethink any of your offers?"

Widoc's lazy attitude evaporated and he looked back at Lyric angrily.

"Let me explain to you how this goes, Singer.  Acheron is strong enough to give me a bad day, but even she cannot trump this.  You choose before she comes through or I choose for you, and frankly, I don't have the patience to wait for seven favors, regardless of that bitch's promises. I figure you have twenty seconds before Acheron breaks through.  I'll give you ten before I decide for you and take both you and your pretty, mute bodyguard on a one-way trip.  Ten, nine, three, two. .."

"The favors!"  Lyric shouted just as the barrier shattered and Acheron came through reaching for Race Widoc who grinned and vanished in a cloud of sulfur.  

"DAMMIT!!"  Acheron shrieked and vanished in a flash of black leaving behind the familiar scent of lilacs.

"Told you this was going to end poorly."  Lyric said to Cadence.  She sighed and nodded.

* * *

"Joe?"

"I don't know his real name," this was the eighth person Lyric had asked about the Prophet Man since Cadence and he had left the Dancing Demon that morning, Acheron still hadn't reappeared.  This was also the first person who had not immediately said:  "No" and then walked away.

"Prob'ly Joe."  The man kept rocking and smoking his pipe. A lot of people seemed to smoke pipes around here Lyric thought.

"You're not from around here are you?" Lyric guessed. Compared to the rest of the town, this guy was a chatterbox.

"Nope, I'm an import, can't tell you much about the area, but I heard o' this fella Joe, lives down at the jam. Kinda crazy, but people do go see him for advice and whatnot."

"The Jam?"  Why did that ring a bell?

"Yup, narrow part of the river south of the town where junk gets all jammed up.  There's a fella lives down there, keeps it cleared, Joe lives on the other side of the river, laughin', dancin', carryin' on like a lunatic."

"So if we follow the river south of town eventually we'll find it?"

"You'll have to travel through the woods, but you should be able to make it in two days."

"Thank you, sir, you've been most helpful."

"My pleasure, son, always nice to talk in complete sentences.  You be careful in those trees.  Whisper in the wind is there's a real demon out there. Wouldn't want to get mixed up with the likes of them."

Lyric smiled.

"Indeed."

* * *

Johaus dropped the waitress' broken body into the water.  Keith sat on the edge of the bridge looking out over the bayou.  His annoyance was imperceptible to the eye.  Of course, Johaus felt it and tended to act out.  Keith had not actually told him to kill the girl, but appreciated his initiative.

Their quarry had been through the town, but had left yesterday.   The waitress had no idea where they had gone.  The demoness Johaus was able to track, but she had disappeared completely. Lisian assured him they would find the boy here, and if not, not to worry because she had an ace in the hole.  Apparently, another contract she had was to converge with the boy.  She was going to give him a bomb to deliver to this Prophet who annoyed her king. When the prophet man was blown up, it would send a flare up that would guide Normvy to Lyric.

She had a tribe of ogres who would hold the demoness so she could not interfere.

Now he had to wait for his mistress' instructions.  Not his favorite past time.  Gritting his teeth, he caught Johaus' eye and jerked his head at a portly man walking quickly toward them with a pipe clenched in his teeth.

"Go ahead, Jo, have fun."

The Verger lumbered to intercept the pedestrian.