Middle Demons (Angels and Demons Book 2) (3 page)

CHAPTER 5

“So you’re probably wondering why I called you here today.”

“I’m not. I already know the answer to that.”

Baal raised an eyebrow at Leech.

“Really? Why are you here then?”

“You’ve chosen me to be your successor. You know what? It makes sense. You’re thousands of years old and it’s about time you retire. I’m more than capable of being General Baal version 2.0 and running your department.”

Baal laughed.

“Not even close, Leech.”

“Oh. Well if that’s not it then I have no idea. Why did you summon me here?”

“Before we get to that, I want to know who started calling you Leech the angel slayer.”

“I did. It’s a fitting title, don’t you think? I’ve killed dozens of angels.”

“You’ve killed two angels.”

“The way I tell the story… it’s dozens. Calling myself Leech the angel slayer would be kind of ridiculous if I hadn’t killed dozens of angels. Don’t you think?”

“And they believe you?”

“Some do. Some realize that I only killed Ambriel and a minor angel’s body guard. It doesn’t really matter. You have to admit that Leech the angel slayer has a nice ring to it, whether I’ve killed two or two hundred.”

“So you gave yourself a bullshit title and made up a story to back it up. Well I guess you’re learning. It’s not like everyone else in idolatry doesn’t do the exact same thing.”

“What about you, General Baal?”

“Never. All the stories about me are true. In fact, if anything, they’ve
understated
how many things I’ve killed. I earned the title Baal the badass.”

Leech grinned but quickly remembered who he was talking to and wiped the smirk off of his face.

“So why
did
you call me here, General?”

“Well you know that a lot of my middle demons fell with their armies during the last battle. I have one army that was more than cut in half and their leader fell. I want you to take that army and become a middle demon. You’re going to have to rebuild, there aren’t many of them left and those that survived are in pretty poor spirits. They were hit pretty hard by one of Vixen’s armies.”

“And my official title?”

“Middle demon of false gods. You up for it?”

“Hell yes… sir.”

Baal smiled and slapped him hard on the back. Leech almost fell over.

“Good because I’m not really giving you a choice. With my armies in their current condition, I’m basically promoting every minor demon that can hold a weapon and walk at the same time.”

“You sure know how to make me feel special, General.”

Baal laughed.

“You know I’m only giving you this challenge because I think you can handle it. I saw this army leaderless and in shambles and I thought, ‘Leech the angel slayer can fix this.’”

“See? It’s catchy, isn’t it?”

“So once you build up your following a little, you need to start an all-out assault against Vixen. Keep hitting. I’m giving you half an army but I expect you to take as many of her demons as you can.”

“I can do that. Some new powers would help... if you’re in a giving mood, General.”

Baal held out his hand with a larger version of Leech’s dark green ring and a new dark red one.

“Your parasitic touch with increased power. You don’t necessarily have to touch them anymore to pull in a part of their life force. The red one… well… you can figure that one out on your own later on. I’m not sure if you have the power to use it yet.”

“It’s the Baal version 2.0 ring, isn’t it? Give me some time… I’ll grow into it.”

“Leech… I wasn’t done.”

“Sorry, General. I’ll shut up.”

Baal pulled a shiny, dark box out from under his cloak.

“Open it.”

Leech took the box and opened it. It contained two black and silver guns and a holster.

“Bad… ass… General… sir… wow. Thank you.”

Baal grinned.

“They should be. The soul shooters. They were mine when I was a middle demon.”

Leech looked up from the guns with a shocked expression on his face.

“General, I’m honored. I can’t accept something like this though. I’m not in your direct lineage and these should go to a demon that is. I know that may anger you but I can’t disrespect your line like that. I’m not the offspring of a major demon.”

Leech bowed and gave the box back to Baal. Baal thought about hitting him, but decided his gift was unusual enough that it merited an explanation.

“Leech, try the guns on and I’ll explain to you why you’re getting them.”

Leech hesitated briefly but he holstered the guns on his belt.

“In all honesty, I don’t even remember who the hell is in my lineage anymore. I’m old. I haven’t even claimed a son or daughter in hundreds of years. I had a son that I offered these to a while ago and he turned them down. I’ll actually give you the choice to accept them or turn them down as if you were a demon in my lineage. What will it be?”

“So you’re going to bend the rules for me? Fuck tradition then. I’ll take them.”

Baal grinned.

“Good. The soul shooters use a piece of your life force as ammunition though. They combo really well with your parasitic touch because you can steal the life force of other demons and then shoot it back at them in the form of bullets. If you’re fighting anyone that is immune to your parasitic touch, remember to be conservative with those guns. They won a lot of fights for me but they brought me close to the brink of death a few times as well.”

When Baal finished his explanation, he realized that Leech was pointing the guns at various rocks and pretending to shoot.

“Leech, were you listening to me?”

“Yes. Something about being careful with firearms.”

“Forget it then, you dumbass. I just told you how the guns work and how they combo with your parasitic touch but I guess you were too busy shooting hell fireflies and rocks.”

Leech laughed.

“Relax, General. I heard what you said. The soul shooters draw their ammunition from me. That’s why they work well with my parasitic touch because I can use a demon’s life force against them. I basically steal their strength and send it back as bullets. It’s very clever.”

“Damn right it is. That’s why I was such an effective middle demon thousands of years ago. Of course even without a parasitic touch, I had an almost unlimited supply of bullets for them because I’m that powerful. I designed that little combo for you because well…”

“Hey! I carry a minotaur battleaxe that most demons can’t even lift!”

“Leech… stop fucking interrupting me when I’m talking.”

“Apologies, General. It’s a bad habit. I’m working on controlling it.”

“There’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about. I understand you’re dating that Lilith demoness from the department of lust. The one that placed higher than you in the trials.”

Leech sighed then made sure Baal was waiting for a response. He didn’t want to cut him off again.

“I wouldn’t call it dating. I like her. I think she kind of has a thing for me… but look at her! She probably has a thing for like twenty different demons. I just don’t know…”

Leech let his thought trail off. He realized he was about to ramble to a major demon who probably didn’t care.

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to waste your time. Were you implying that you want me to end it? Does it look bad for the department?”

“I wasn’t implying anything. I heard some rumors and I wanted to hear your take on what’s going on with you two. Want my advice?”

“Yes.”

“Stop hiding behind your family’s status. You can muster all sorts of false confidence to pretend that you fit in with Shadow and Lilith but deep down you don’t think that you do. What’s in your hands right now?”

“Guns, General.”

“Yes. Guns. My guns. The guns once wielded by a major demon. I want you to replace your false confidence with real confidence. You got a minor demon offer after the trials and now you lead an army wielding the soul shooters of Baal. Why the hell don’t you just take what you want?”

“I still worry that I’m not good enough. I’m not strong enough. I challenged Shadow once and it was stupid. He defeated Nightmare when I couldn’t. Lilith is the daughter of Vixen. She’s even prettier than Vixen. I’m just… Leech.”

“And I’m just Baal. Leech, you need to grow a pair and start taking what you want. I’m going to let you in on a secret. With a resume like yours, what you want and what you deserve are the same thing. Be Leech the angel slayer… not just Leech.”

“Thank you, General. Great advice.”

“Yes, it was. Don’t go telling anyone we had this talk though. I’m busy enough without everyone in my department coming to me with their problems.”

CHAPTER 6

“Lord Shadow is late. You said he was going with us.”

“Well I don’t control whether he shows up on time. Maybe his ‘important business meeting’ had more important business than he expected.”

A few seconds later, Lilith and Raven saw a demon approaching on horseback with a small army of demon horsemen. At first Lilith thought it was Shadow, but then she realized that it was Leech. She hopped up on his horse and hugged him from behind.

“We were waiting for Shady, but this is actually better. When did you join a group of horsemen?”

“They’re mine. It’s a pretty small group but their leader was killed off in the last battle with Vixen. I’m replacing the demon Scox as the middle demon of false gods. These horsemen are the surviving members of his army.”

“Where are you guys headed? Shady was going to help us attack my sisters in Vixen’s army.”

“You didn’t hear then? Shadow is fleeing from Lucian’s forces. They surrounded him when the major demons met to play cards. General Leviathan and General Baal are cutting off his forces but Astaroth is reinforcing Lucian’s army with her armies. It’s going to be a bloodbath.”

“Then where are you going?”

“To cut off Vixen’s forces. Hopefully we run into Shadow’s army and they join in with us because I can’t take on Vixen with a couple hundred demons on horseback.”

“We’ll we’re going with you. Leech, meet my army. This is my half-sister Raven.”

Raven winked.

“He’s handsome, sis. Just like the rumors. Are you sure you don’t want to share?”

Leech laughed. Lilith hopped off Leech’s horse, took his horse by the reins, and walked him away from the army and her sister. Leech dismounted.

“Leech, we need to talk before we go after my sisters and my mother.”

“What about?”

“About us.”

“What about us?”

“I… don’t know exactly how to say what I want to say.”

“Alright then, Lily. I’ll start. I think you’re the most beautiful demoness I’ve ever seen. That doesn’t mean as much considering it’s probably true of
anyone
who has seen you, but I needed to say it. I’m not alright with you toying with several demons at once though. Er… well at least not if you’re interested in me. If you’re not, that’s fine but we need to end whatever was between us right now.  If you are interested in me… then you need to end it with whatever other demons you’ve been flirting with.”

There was silence for several seconds and then Lilith laughed.

“What other guys do you think I’m interested in? I can’t help the flirting… it’s in my nature. Have you seen me go beyond that with any demon other than you?”

Leech thought for a moment.

“Shadow. In the trials. You almost…”

“Almost? Nothing was going to happen. I was distracting him so I could kill him. That was before I decided he was a friend and you were…”

“That I was what?”

Leech grinned and Lilith punched him in the arm.

“You are a dork! You know what I’m trying to say.”

“Then why don’t you say it? I just stumbled through the most awkward speech of my life… and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Well… I…”

Several more seconds passed in silence.

“Lily… just say whatever’s on your mind.”

Lilith punched him in the face and he fell over backwards. He stumbled as he tried to get back on his feet.

“Ow!”

“Oh that made it easier. I think I can say it if I’m angry.”

“Well my nose is bleeding so… go for it…”

“I don’t like it that other demonesses are interested in you. I want to be the only one.”

“Why the hell does that mean you needed to punch me in the face?”

“Because you started that damn Leech the angel slayer thing
yourself
! You drew attention to yourself and started rumors and my sister was saying how handsome you were…”

“I have a shot with Raven? Damn… apart from getting punched in the face I guess I’m having a pretty good day then.”

Lilith snapped her whip right next to Leech’s face. He flinched but she couldn’t help but grin at him.

“Look… I know that I’m a daughter of Vixen but I don’t really feel like that. I was just raised by my dad. Nothing special. Everything I’ve taken for myself is just a result of…”

“False confidence?”

“Exactly. I don’t like feeling like I’m not good enough so I pretend that I am. I pretend that I’m better than everyone else.”

“You don’t need to pretend. You’re perfect.”

Leech leaned in and kissed her. It caught Lilith off guard but she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave in. Almost a minute in, they were interrupted by the sound of slow clapping.

“Bravo guys. Perfect couple. None of us can stand either of you individually so it makes sense that you two should be together.”

Lilith giggled.

“Hello again, Gangrene.”

Gangrene grinned at the two of them.

“Apologies, Lord Leech. I generally try to not say things like that to demons who outrank me… but you
just
got promoted so I figured this one time would be alright.”

Leech frowned.

“What’s going on, Gangrene? Why are you here?”

“Well… with Shadow on the run we weren’t sure what to do. The other middle demons from the department of murder have marched with their armies to join in with General Baal and General Leviathan. I met with Muan and we decided to divide Shadow’s army. I brought half of his army here to help you attack Vixen and Muan is trying to get past the battle to join Lord Shadow with the other half of his army to aid him in whatever way they can.”

“I’m a middle demon, Gangrene. Are you willing to follow my orders?”

“Yes. Shadow told me a while ago that I’m to follow the two of you if he’s ever on the run or killed. He told Muan the same thing. Muan wouldn’t listen. That’s why he decided to find Lord Shadow. Honestly though, if Muan had decided to help the two of you… I would have gone to find Lord Shadow. We can’t leave him to die by the hands of Lucian’s assassins.”

“How many demons are under your command right now?”

“Several thousand. Lord Shadow’s army is quite large when compared with any middle demon’s army and…”

Gangrene looked briefly at Leech’s army. Leech knew what he was getting at. Gangrene commanded more demons than he did at the moment.

“Fine. Prepare your troops for battle. I need to finish the conversation I was having with Lilith.”

Gangrene smirked.

“Of course, Lord Leech. By all means finish your… conversation.”

Gangrene winked and then turned and walked away.

“Leech… we need to get going if we’re going to cut off my mother before she joins in with Lucian and Astaroth. There will be plenty of time for making out later.”

Leech laughed.

“That’s not at all what I had in mind. I just wanted to make this official. I got you a gift.”

Leech put two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. A black horse with a mane of red and orange flames came running. Lilith looked at him like she couldn’t believe it and she burst into tears.

“I had an extra one.”

“Leech… you are the best boyfriend ever.”

Shadow could tell that his horse was getting tired. He had been fleeing from the legions sent by Lucian through several circles of Hell. When Shadow reached the outer ring of the seventh circle of Hell, he stopped his horse and hopped off. He needed to find a way across the river Phlegethon anyways; his horse was of limited use until he made it further in.

As Shadow led his horse and looked for a shallow part of the river, he heard a bowstring pull back. He immediately removed his scythes and looked around for the creature that was hunting him. His horse turned and ran, making his way back to the higher circles of Hell.

“Nessus, I know you’re here. I mean no harm to you or to the other centaurs. I mean no disrespect by entering your dominion. I simply need to cross the river Phlegethon to move beyond the reach of the demons pursuing me.”

An arrow whizzed at his head. Shadow spun and cut it in half with one of his scythes.

“This isn’t going to end well for you if you attack me. I’ll kill you and then I’ll kill the other centaurs. We can still end this peacefully if you come out from wherever you’re hiding. I just want to talk.”

Nessus stepped out of the shadows. He was followed by two centaurs with arrows trained on Shadow’s head.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t put you down for good, Shadow, son of Abaddon.”