The Demon Deception (24 page)

“So, Darcy, Sam was telling me about a few
things that you showed him last night at dinner. He tells me you
have a natural talent.”

Darcy glanced shyly at Sam, then nodded,
“Yeah, I’m a good study.” She inclined her head towards Lilith,
“Lilith says I’m really good at magic, and if I study, I’ll become
a master.”

Lilith leaned forward and put both her hands
over Darcy’s across the table, “She’s fantastic. She’s learned so
much in such a short time.”

Sam leaned into Darcy, with his shoulder,
“Why don’t you show Eli what you showed me last night.”

She shyly looked down at the table and
shrugged, “I really didn’t do much.”

Lazarus smiled at her, “Please, no false
modesty here. You’re among friends. You can show me.”

Darcy looked at Lilith, and Lilith nodded.
“Okay, I’ll show you a little bit,” she said.

Darcy took the salt shaker, and shook salt
out onto the table. When she had a small pile, she put the salt
shaker back down. She held her hand over the salt pile and
concentrated. When she was done, there was a figurine of fused
salt. It was a very small statute of a running horse. Darcy picked
it up, and handed it to Lazarus. He looked at it very closely. It
was magnificently detailed, even though it was about the size of a
dime.

Darcy poured some pepper out onto the table,
concentrated, and blew softly onto the pepper. The pepper rose into
the air, twirling until it was a miniature tornado, spinning across
the table. It spun to the edge of the table, where it went off the
edge, and turned into a spreading cloud of pepper that fell to the
floor.

Darcy smiled, triumphant, “I’m really good
with elemental magic.”

Lazarus nodded, and smiled. He thought about
what he had just witnessed. He turned to Lilith, “Can you do the
same thing?”

“No, not exactly that,” Lilith yawned, picked
up the pepper shaker, and poured pepper out onto the table. The
individual pepper flakes flared into tiny sparks as they were
consumed by the fire. The difference between the two was evident to
Lazarus. Darcy could create. Lilith could only destroy. Lazarus
knew what demonic magic felt like. He felt that perversion deep in
his bones when it occurred. It was a perversion that warped the
reality of the natural world. He felt it when Lilith did her magic.
He didn’t feel that perversion of reality when Darcy did it.

Breakfast arrived, and they ate. Sam and
Darcy talked about her studies in college. Darcy asked Sam about
his past, and he talked about his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lilith looked bored as she ate her scrambled eggs. Lazarus had to
ignore the pressure of her foot against his leg as he ate. He hated
to admit the thrill that it gave him. He couldn’t wait until this
assignment was complete. Things were getting complicated. His mind
said no, but his libido said yes.

Soon, breakfast was finished. Lilith pointed
out to the aisle. Lazarus got the message, and he and Sam stood up
so the ladies could go to the restroom. With the ladies off to the
restroom, the men walked to the front to pay the bill.

“What did you think about that, Eli?” Sam
asked.

“I’m not sure what to think about it,”
Lazarus replied. “Something’s not right with the girl.”

“What do you mean?” Sam had a worried look on
his face.

Lazarus paid for the meal. “I don’t mean
there’s something wrong with Darcy,” he explained. “I mean there’s
something wrong with her power.”

“Yeah, she shouldn’t have it. People don’t
just have magic powers. It has to be demonic, right?”

Lazarus shook his head, “That’s not what I
mean.” They walked to the door, and waited for the women to come
out.

Lazarus tried to explain, “All my life, or, I
should say, my new life after I was rescued and resurrected, I’ve
been able to feel when things are not what they should be. If it’s
not a part of the natural order, it feels wrong to me. The hair on
the back of my neck stands up, the hair on my arms stands up. I get
a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. That’s what I feel when
Lilith does her magic. It’s what I feel when some possessed human
shifts into their demonic form. It’s like a sixth sense to me.”

Sam’s look was apprehensive, “So, what? You
don’t think that Darcy’s magic is demonic? If it’s not demonic,
what is it?”

“Well, there is a precedent. If it’s not
demonic, then it has to be a part of nature. It has to be part of
creation. I think that Darcy is a merlin.”

Sam’s look of apprehension turned to one of
incredulity, “That’s impossible. She’s a woman, not a guy. And,
there’s no way she’s that old.”

Lazarus shook his head, amused by Sam’s
reaction. He waved away Sam’s statement, “No, not
the
Merlin,
a merlin. Someone who can naturally manipulate the
world around them.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. There are
people like that in the world?”

Lazarus nodded, “Yeah, but incredibly rare.
I’ve met two of them in my life. One was
the Merlin,
who I
almost killed before I found out that his magic wasn’t demonic. The
other was Rasputin, who was an evil bastard. His powers were not as
developed or as powerful as Merlin’s. I’m glad I was able to kill
him, finally. That SOB just wouldn’t go down.”

Lazarus continued, “I’ve heard about others.
Most of that is just BS, though. I’ve never found another one.
Until now.”

Sam tried to assimilate the knowledge that
Lazarus had just dropped on him, “What a minute. Are you telling me
there was actually a real Merlin? Like, King Arthur’s Merlin?”

“Yeah, there was.”

“What happened to him? What happened to
Arthur? Was there really an English King Arthur?”

“Well, there was some poetic license in the
story. Arthur was actually Alfred, the Southern King who was able
to keep the Vikings at bay. Yes, there was an Excalibur, but it was
Merlin’s sword, not Alfred’s. It was one of the Ulfberht swords.
That series of twelve swords were created for Alfred and his ten
knights plus Merlin. After the round table fell, the swords were
taken by Viking raiders. Merlin, well, I’m not sure what happened
to him. Last I heard he was chasing some woman named Nimue.”

Sam stood there thinking about what he had
just learned. Lazarus smiled at him, “Things aren’t quite what they
seem, are they? I guess I’ve just blown your world view away.”

Sam shook his head, “No, I’m thinking of
something completely different. I’m thinking of Darcy. If her power
isn’t demonic, what do we do about her?”

Lazarus glanced up at his friend with a very
serious expression on his face, “What we do is protect her. If her
power isn’t demonic, Lilith doesn’t have her hooks into Darcy yet.
So we have to protect her from Lilith, Lilith’s minions, and
whatever monstrous powers we’re going to run into whenever we get
to the Copper Queen Mine.”

Sam nodded, “Okay, I guess that’s a high
priority from now on.”

Lazarus nodded, “Plus, one other thing as
well. I think that Darcy’s the innocent that Uriel was warning me
about.”

“Warned you about?”

“Yeah, in an indirect way. He told me to
always protect the innocent. I’m getting the feeling that Darcy is
going to be the only innocent in that pit when we’re there.”

“Why do you think Lilith’s taking her?”

Lazarus’ face grew dark, “I think she’s
taking Darcy to be a sacrifice.”

Sam’s face grew very grim. The face of death
was back. One of the waitresses noticed, and quickly moved away
from the pair.

“If that’s true, we need to stop it.”

“We will. There’s something else though.
Uriel warned me about someone working with the powers that are
trying to breach our universe. Lilith may be that influence. She
has something up her sleeve. She’s way too casual about everything.
Plus, she keeps trying to distract me, to keep me from noticing
something. I’m not sure what it is, but she may be the
traitor.”

Lazarus noticed the death mask, the
seriousness on Sam’s face. Lazarus reached over and grabbed Sam’s
arm, “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure that nothing happens to
Darcy.”

Sam relaxed, the fierce face disappearing,
“Damn right we will.”

Lazarus smiled, “I think there may be a
little more interest here than just Darcy’s health.”

Sam was still for a moment, then nodded,
“Yeah, I like her. I was really worried. She seems like such a nice
lady. I couldn’t believe that she was with Lilith. I was a little
worried.”

“Don’t worry anymore.”

The ladies showed up and they walked out to
the van. Sam hit the unlock button on the fob, and Lazarus took the
keys from him. Sam steered Darcy into the back seat by her elbow,
and he hopped in beside her. She smiled at his attention to her.
Lazarus opened the passenger door for Lilith. Lilith raised an
eyebrow, looked at the back seat where Darcy was chatting away with
Sam. Sam was listening to Darcy, but he was staring at Lilith. The
stare wasn’t overtly hostile, but it wasn’t friendly, either.

She turned back to Lazarus, and held out her
hand. Lazarus held her hand and helped her into her seat. He waited
until she buckled in, then he closed the door for her. He walked
around to the driver’s seat. He hopped in, fired up the engine, and
pulled out of the parking spot. He turned and drove towards the
Interstate, heading west.

Lilith turned to look at him, “Why are we
getting on the Interstate. Aren’t we picking up more
munitions?”

Lazarus pointed to the back seat with a
thumb, “No, not anymore. Sam took care of it for us. We got it via
courier last night.”

“Efficient,” Lilith said.

Sam spoke up, “I thought so.”

Lazarus looked into the rearview mirror, “So,
Darcy. Did you get what Sam was telling you about gun safety last
night? You want to stop somewhere and learn how to shoot?”

Darcy thought about it, “I don’t know. I
don’t think I’m going to be a gun person. But I don’t want you to
think I’m helpless. I have an idea. Can you pull your pistol out,
Lilith?”

Lilith pulled out her pistol out of her
purse, finger off the trigger.

Lazarus heard the magazine release button
click. The magazine dropped out of Lilith’s pistol and fell to the
floor with a thud. He was impressed. Lilith was also. She turned
around and smiled at Darcy.

“Excellent idea. At least you can disarm
someone if needed.”

Lazarus nodded, “I agree, that’s actually
something useful.”

Darcy smiled at the praise. Everybody’s
attention shifted as Sam’s phone buzzed. Sam pulled it out and took
a look. He smiled, “My contact just sent the last location.”

“Where are we going?” Lilith asked.

“We’re going to Tucson before we go to
Bisbee.”

Lazarus thought about it, “Well, It’s just a
little bit out of the way. Not too far though, only about an hour
out. Then we can spend the night in Tucson, and be down to Bisbee
before the incursion starts.”

They took the Interstate, not the most direct
route, and would take longer, about twelve hours. They stopped at
Socorro, New Mexico, at a family owned Mexican restaurant. Sam and
Darcy led the way. Lazarus walked slower, and Lilith looked back at
him as he fell back. She stopped and waited for him to catch up.
Once he was even with her, she linked her arm through his.

“A penny for your thoughts, sexy boy.”

He shook his head, “I doubt seriously you
want to know what I’m thinking, Lilith.”

She exaggerated the swing in her hips so that
she kept bumping him as she walked, “I bet I can change the
direction of your reflection.”

He agreed, “I bet you could, Lilith.
Unfortunately, I know where that path leads to. Or, I guess I
should say fortunately, so that I don’t walk down it again.”

She beamed her thousand watt smile at him,
“You didn’t say that when we first met.”

“I didn’t know that you were a succubus then.
Evil wasn’t even a definitive concept in my mind at that time. Had
I known what you were capable of, I never would have walked down
the path that you offered me.”

Her smile grew very smug, “You say that, but
you know that you would’ve still desired me, and the power I
offered.”

They walked, and he conceded the point,
“You’re probably correct. I was a young, stupid man at that time.
Plus, what you offered me was something that I never could have
attained on my own.”

Her hip kept bumping against his leg,
something he was keenly aware of, “I know now, though, that you are
the queen of deception. What you offer is a lie. It is a hollow
existence that robs people of love and life, and leads to the
deepest pits of hell.”

Lilith’s smile turned into a moue of
disappointment. She sighed, “Eli, you’re such a killjoy. You turn a
bit of harmless flirting into trench warfare.”

He patted her hand, “Lilith, believe me, I
appreciate your flirting. I’m a man, after all. You are a stunning
woman. You always have been, and you always will be, succubus
beside the point.”

Lilith brightened at his complement.

“But there is no way that your flirting’s
harmless. Your beauty, your flirting, your sexuality, your harmless
fun, is the first indication that the road is tipping down a very
slippery slope. You are a very dangerous woman. You are one of the
most dangerous enemies I have ever faced, and, I think, will ever
face.”

Lilith’s expression grew to one of deep
satisfaction. Learning that her sworn enemy held her in high esteem
made her glow. She conceded his point, “Well, yes, I guess I
understand your reluctance in enjoying my company.”

Lazarus glanced at her, “Yes, I’m very
reticent in trusting you at all. But don’t think that means that
I’m not enjoying your company.”

She was amused by this revelation, and
wrapped her other arm around his and gave him a hug. His heart beat
faster as he felt her breasts crush into his arm. She leaned her
head against his shoulder as they walked, and sighed, “Eli, you say
the most romantic things.”