Middle Demons (Angels and Demons Book 2) (18 page)

CHAPTER 35

As Shadow entered Vixen’s palace, it dawned on him that he didn’t really notice how badly it smelled the last time he was there. The place reeked of rotting flesh and secretions and left little to the imagination regarding what went on there. Shadow made a conscious effort to only breathe through his mouth.

“Eiseth! I know you’re in here! Come out or I’ll start killing your army one at a time!”

Two incubi lunged at Shadow but he swung Damnation and cut them in half with one stroke.

“I can do this all day!”

A voice answered from the shadows.

“I love it when a man says that to me.”

Eiseth stepped out of the Shadows and smiled coyly at Shadow. Vixen’s scythe was attached to her belt.

“You look a lot like your sister. I hope you’re not quite as crazy.”

“And you’re even more handsome than the rumors claim. Might I assume that you’re here to have some fun with the new major demon of lust?”

“Nope. Just need to talk.”

“Can I do things to you while you talk?”

“Sorry I guess I wasn’t clear. We need to have a conversation. That’s two way talking.”

“There’s some two way stuff I’d love to do with you, but it doesn’t involve talking. Maybe some yelling and screaming… but no talking.”

Eiseth winked. Shadow felt a familiar pull that he recognized, it was similar to what he felt when Lilith tried to seduce him in the trials. Eiseth walked slowly towards him and ran her hands along his arms.

“We can definitely work out terms for a peace between us. Guess what I want?”

Shadow grabbed Eiseth by her shoulders and froze her in ice. He only left her head unfrozen.

“Why are all of you so fucking annoying?”

“So you don’t want to make a little Shadow with me?”

Eiseth pouted.

“Did you overthrow your mother?”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t a trick?”

“No it’s not. I’ve taken her place in the alliance with Nightmare and Astaroth. They didn’t want her around anymore. Will you break me out of the ice please? It’s pretty cold.”

“Do you have proof that Nightmare and Astaroth are working with you?”

“I do, sweetie. Break me out of the ice first.”

Shadow hit the ice lightly with Damnation. It cracked and then shattered.

“Now take off my clothes.”

Her eyes flashed yellow when she said it and Shadow felt the familiar pull. He resisted it and brought one of Damnation’s blades to her throat.

“You can tell me where the proof is or I can kill you.”

“Is there a third option where you bang me?”

“No.”

Eiseth pouted again.

“You’re no fun. It’s on the table over there. They sent me a document saying that they would back me if I made a power grab, so I did.”

Shadow picked up the letter, read it briefly, and then turned back to Eiseth.

“There will be no peace for anyone who sides with Nightmare and Astaroth. Tomorrow, we will visit you with death.”

“I’m not too worried. Run back to my mother and whore sisters. Tell them I said goodbye.”

Shadow disappeared in black smoke.

Shadow reappeared right outside his tent. He started to walk in, but Leech grabbed his arm.

“Not yet bro. It’s a Vixen and Lilith only thing. They’re having a touching family moment I guess.”

Shadow grinned.

“They kicked you out?”

“I wouldn’t put it that way.”

“How would you put it?”

“Lilith no longer needed my assistance after I kicked Vixen in the face.”

Lilith emerged from the tent.

“Both of you can come in now. My mother has an… interesting story to tell. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Shadow and Leech entered the tent and listened to the story Vixen had told Lilith. Shadow was skeptical of her claims.

“Do you have anything to prove that Cain and Baal betrayed my father?”

“No.”

“What about the rest of your story? Can you prove that Lilith is actually the daughter of Samael?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“It’s rumored that the children of the Archangels inherit their powers.”

Shadow nodded.

“She’s right. As Michael’s grandson, I have power over ice.”

Leech looked amused.

“Cool! How long have you been able to freeze things for?”

“I just figured it out recently. So then… what was Samael’s power?”

They all turned to Vixen and she shrugged. Leech thought he might have an answer.

“I remember reading somewhere that he was the angel of death. Kind of like the opposite of Cain or I guess… Shadow now… as the major demon of murder.”

Shadow closed his eyes and sighed.

“Great. So what do we do about this? I can’t really act on any of this information until we confirm that it’s the truth.”

“So test what I’ve told you. Let Lilith fight Eiseth. If I’m telling the truth, she should be able to kill her sister with her… I don’t know… death powers?”

Shadow and Leech looked at Lilith and she nodded.

“I don’t think I have death powers, but I do need to kill Eiseth and end all of this nonsense.”

Leech shook his head.

“I think I should kill her. I don’t want anything to happen to…”

“Don’t finish that sentence. I can take care of myself.”

Vixen stood and broke the bands around her wrists.

“You’ll have some help. One of my sons is on his way to deliver a present. A gift that I received from the angels.”

An incubus was hauled into camp by two guards from Muan’s army. They threw him down at Shadow’s feet. He held a box in the air. Vixen took it from him and he ran back to Vixen’s palace.

“Poor idiot. Eiseth probably knows that he came. I imagine he will be killed when he gets back. Oh well.”

Lilith responded sarcastically.

“Right. Just one of your kids. No big deal. You have a ton of them and they’re all expendable.”

“The ones that try to kill me are.”

Vixen opened the box and pulled out two whips made of metal chains that glowed with white and red fire.

“These were made by Vulcan, the blacksmith of the heavens. Samael gave them to me to remember him. I want you to have them…”

Lilith almost looked like she was going to smile until Vixen finished her thought.

“…and I want you to use them to take my scythe away from your sister and cut off her head.”

CHAPTER 36

There was a lot of whining as Nightmare and his armies climbed the mountain of the berserkers. On the plus side, they hadn’t yet encountered any berserkers. Andras kept switching between his demon form and a wolf. Nightmare was starting to find it annoying.

“Stop doing that.”

“I have to switch between the two or I’ll get tired.”

“Then get tired.”

“Do you have a plan for when we make it to the top?”

“Yes. I’ll kill the berserkers. I’ll take the berserker staff. I’ll decide which of my middle demons I let live.”

“Can I be one of them?”

“I dunno. How many more times are you going to turn into a wolf?”

“Fine. Do we at least have snacks somewhere?”

“Nope. Shut up and focus on walking.”

Andras summoned a wolf, sat on it, and let the wolf continue walking up the mountain. A couple of minutes later, the ground rumbled. Nightmare grinned.

“I think they know we’re here.”

A voice further up the mountain responded.

“We do. You are not welcome here, Nightmare son of Lucian.”

“That’s General Nightmare to you. I am a major demon and I go where I want to.”

“I am the demon Bloodlust and I owe no allegiance or respect to you. My master is the Dragon. He has commanded me to repel all who attempt to enter here.”

“I get it. You’re just doing your job. Are you willing to die though? Hand over the berserker staff and I’ll let you walk away.”

Bloodlust grinned. He removed his cloak to reveal a chest marked with strange red and black markings and symbols. His entire chest, back, and arms were covered in the interwoven tattoos. He held out his open hand and one of his berserker demons handed him the berserker staff.

“I will return your offer. Take your demons and leave this mountain. Your scythe will not prevail against me. Once I enter a full berserker rage, nothing can stop me. I won’t stop if I lost a limb. I won’t feel pain. I will attack until you die. Berserker demons are, at their core, always expendable as long as they accomplish their task.”

“I guess one of us is going to die then. I need that staff more than the Dragon does.”

“Then you pursue treason and I will slay you.”

One of the berserker demons held open a small bag made of animal skins and Bloodlust snorted its contents. Nightmare assumed it was some mixture of chemicals and drugs to enhance the effects of the berserker staff. When the staff’s markings started to glow red, so did the markings on Bloodlust’s chest and then his eyes turned red as well.

Bloodlust attacked quickly. Nightmare could do nothing but parry the blows with his scythe, but this just seemed to enrage Bloodlust further and he started moving faster. Nightmare knew he needed to launch an offense. He hit the butt of his scythe against the ground which caused Bloodlust to lose his footing. Nightmare took advantage of this by moving in, grabbing him by the throat, and choke-slamming him to the ground. When Nightmare brought up his scythe to remove Bloodlust’s head, he found that Bloodlust was no longer on the ground. He felt the berserker staff connect across his back and stumbled forward a few paces. Nightmare regained his footing and spun in time to block the berserker staff with his scythe.

Nightmare grabbed Bloodlust’s throat and lifted him into the air. As he tightened his grip, Bloodlust wildly clawed at Nightmare’s arm and randomly swung the berserker staff. The staff connected with Nightmare’s jaw and he dropped Bloodlust to the ground. He could feel blood in his mouth and he spit it out. Within seconds, Bloodlust was assaulting him again. He took several shots to the ribs from the berserker staff before he was able to start blocking.

While Nightmare was definitely one of the strongest demons in Hell, he knew he couldn’t keep this kind of fighting up indefinitely. He waited until he had a clear shot. Bloodlust got into a pattern of trading attacks with Nightmare and Nightmare, instead of blocking with his scythe, stepped out of the way. Bloodlust stumbled forward and Nightmare swung with his scythe, removing Bloodlust’s head. Nightmare’s army cheered and he celebrated until he felt the familiar pain as the berserker staff connected with his back. He turned and saw a headless Bloodlust still attacking him.

The headless Bloodlust fought even harder than before. Nightmare knew he would eventually lose. He kept blocking Bloodlust’s attacks but he was running out of strength and energy. Bloodlust surprised him and swung hard at his legs. Nightmare went down. The headless Bloodlust pulled a dagger from his belt, aimed it at Nightmare’s throat, and was about to bring it crashing down when the arm holding the dagger detached from Bloodlust’s torso. His other arm, now the only one gripping the berserker staff, also detached from his body. A long sword then pierced Bloodlust’s heart from behind, lifted him away from Nightmare, and flung his armless, headless corpse into the desert.

Nightmare tightened his grip on his scythe and looked up. He saw a demon with curved horns resting his arms on the hilt of his sword, the blade being stuck a few inches into the ground.

“Hello, Nightmare. My name is Azazel and I have a business proposal for you.”

Nightmare got back on his feet and pointed his scythe at Azazel.

“The berserker staff is mine. Back the hell away.”

Azazel yawned, snapped his fingers, and Nightmare’s scythe was suddenly in Azazel’s hands instead of Nightmare’s. Nightmare picked up the berserker staff and felt an intense anger start to boil inside him. Azazel snapped his fingers again and Nightmare found that he no longer had the berserker staff.

“Are you planning on combining these?”

“No. I was going to use them separately.”

“That’s inefficient. What if I could give you the power of your scythe mixed with the berserker staff?”

Nightmare folded his arms across his chest and frowned.

“Mind telling me who the hell you are first?”

“Some say I’m an angel. Some say I’m a demon. Truthfully I’m more powerful than either and I have many of the powers of both.”

“And you can combine a scythe and the berserker staff into a single weapon?”

“Of course. I have to ask though… what will you do with it if I were to give you such a weapon?”

“I would use it to find a way to free my father. That primarily involves killing Shadow, the unworthy asshole of a major demon. He lied about my father to the Dragon.”

Nightmare saw recognition in Azazel’s eyes when he said Shadow’s name.

“Do you know Shadow?”

“Yes. I made a similar weapon for Shadow to see if I could trick the Dragon. I was successful. The Dragon believed that Damnation, the dual-bladed scythe, was a single scythe.”

“I knew it. What’s the secret? Why does it look like a single scythe?”

“I’ll tell you if you can bring Damnation back to me. Now that I have tricked the Dragon, I would like to add that weapon for my collection. I could take it myself, but it would be more interesting to see if I could create an even greater weapon. I will create the berserker scythe for you and if you can bring me Damnation, I will tell you Damnation’s secret.”

Nightmare smiled.

“We have a deal. Before I give you the staff, I need everyone in my army to touch it and become a berserker.”

Azazel tossed the berserker staff back to Nightmare and his entire army, one at a time, was turned into berserkers.