The Diablo Horror (The River Book 7) (10 page)

“I’ve got nothing on him in the database,” Elliott said, his
eyes flashing back and forth, focused on the screen. “Let me check something
else…” He rolled back to his other laptop, and began typing.

“Oh,” he said, pushing back from the laptop. “He’s… ancient-ancient.
And scary as fuck.” Elliott grabbed the piece of paper and walked it to a small
garbage can. He removed a lighter from his pocket.

“I’m thinking what I can share about him would be worth at
least twenty,” Steven said as he watched Elliott burn the page and drop it,
still flaming, into the garbage can. “If you can handle having that kind of
intense information in your system.”

This caused Elliott to stop and look up at Steven. “Of course
I can handle it,” he said. “I can’t pay you, though. Just a credit.”

“Alright,” Steven said. “Help us out with this search, and
I’ll come back and tell you the story for your database. And we’ll take a
seventeen thousand dollar credit for future searches.”

“OK, I’ll take you at your word that you’ll come back,”
Elliott said. “And I get to put each of you into the database as contacts, too,
as part of this. Don’t ditch out on me, though, or I won’t ever help you again
and I’ll list you in the database as deadbeats.” He stopped and pushed his
glasses back up his nose. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Steven said.

Elliott rolled back to the other laptop and typed away. After
a few seconds he raised his head. “Well, there’s a couple of hits.”

He hit a KVM switch and one of the large screens lit up,
showing his laptop.

“Here’s Judith Duke,” Elliott said, rolling his mouse over
the display. “She lives in Gig Harbor.”

“She doesn’t count!” Roy said emphatically. “I told you
that.”

“Chill!” Elliott said. “I didn’t remember her name.”

Roy turned to look at Steven. He was clearly nonplussed.
Steven knew Roy was thrown by all the technology, and the only way he knew to
mask his discomfort was with displays of irritation.

“There’s two others,” Elliott said, scrolling. “A guy in
Montana, and a guy in Port Townsend.”

“Who knows more?” Roy asked gruffly.

“Hard to say,” Elliott replied. “Demon experts are notorious
recluses, so most of the information I have about them is from other people, kind
of like Yelp reviews. The guy in Montana seems pretty active, lots of cases.
Looks like the guy in Port Townsend is quiet. Might be retired.”

“Can you give us the info on both of them?” Steven asked.
“We’ll take it from there.”

Elliott pressed a few more keys, then jumped up from his
chair and walked to a refrigerator sitting along one wall. Steven thought he
was going to get a drink, but he pulled a couple of papers from a printer that
was sitting next to the fridge and returned.

“Sorry, I only print them,” Elliott said, handing the sheets
to Steven. “I know it’s so 2000, but any cloud email account can be accessed by
admins at the big companies as well as the government, and I don’t trust any of
them.”

Steven looked at the pages. They were inelegant record dumps,
but they contained the information he was looking for – names, addresses, phone
numbers, and a little history on each person.

“Thanks,” Steven said. He handed the pages to Eliza, and she
began scanning them.

“Anything else?” Elliott asked, checking his phone. “I gotta
make a Battlefield 4 session in like five minutes.”

“No, that’s it,” Steven said.

“Thank god,” Roy said under his breath.

They walked back to the hallway and out Elliott’s front door.
He followed them.

“Thanks again,” Steven said. “I’ll be in touch about the info
we agreed to.”

“Good,” Elliott said, shutting the door. Then he opened it
again, quickly. “Don’t ditch me on that, dude. Seriously.”

“I won’t,” Steven said. They turned and walked back to the
elevator.

“Well, that was productive,” Eliza said.

“Sometimes you have to do distasteful things to get what you
need,” Roy said.

“That was distasteful?” Eliza asked as they entered the
elevator.

“Oh, all that computer mumbo jumbo,” Roy said. “These kids
live in their own fantasy world. I’ll bet he’s never even seen a ghost, in real
life. Or a girl.”

“He did seem like your typical obnoxious Seattle hipster,”
Steven said.

“I thought he was cute!” Eliza said. “You’re both a couple of
old fuddy-duddies.”

“As uncool as you can get,” Roy said, watching the floor
numbers change.

“Well, I don’t know about you,” Eliza said from the back seat
of the car, “but I’d rather try Port Townsend before Montana since it’s a lot
closer. If we don’t get what we want from him, we can road trip it and talk to
the other guy.”

“Makes sense to me,” Roy said. “Wanna go now?”

“Sure,” Eliza said. “Steven?”

“Yeah, might as well,” Steven replied, and he turned off 15
^th
onto Western, headed for the ferry terminal.

As they crossed Elliott Bay on the ferry, they left their car
and walked up to the higher decks, stepping outside for a moment but finding
the wind too cold. Roy queued up for some coffee, and the others joined him.
Soon they were sitting in one of the many booths that lined the side of the
ferry, watching the water speed past under them.

“What’s that over there?” Eliza asked, pointing at an
outcropping of condos and businesses behind a small sandy beach.

“Alki,” Roy said. “West Seattle. Used to be houses, not long
ago. Now it’s all big condo buildings.”

“Not long ago?” Steven said. “You mean forty years ago.”

“That long?” Roy asked. “Well, it’s too built up for me now.”

“Looks delightful,” Eliza said. “Do they have restaurants
along there? With a view?”

“Sure,” Steven said.

“Let’s eat over there, before I leave this time,” Eliza said
enthusiastically. “What do you say, Roy?”

“What’s wrong with Geraldine’s?” Roy asked. “That’s where I
normally eat.”

“It won’t kill you to eat somewhere else once in a while,”
Steven said.

“I’m used to the food at Geraldine’s,” Roy said. “I know the
menu.”

“Won’t it be exciting to try a new menu!” Eliza said, trying
to raise Roy’s enthusiasm.

“Humpf,” Roy said, and rose from the table. “I’ll be back.”
He walked off in the direction of the bathrooms.

“He’s grumpy,” Eliza said.

“So far this morning, he’s met Judith, who he roundly hates,
and Elliott, the computer guy who intimidated him with youth and tech. He’s oh
for two, and we’re about to go meet someone else he doesn’t know. He doesn’t
like meeting new people in general.”

“That’s silly,” Eliza said. “People like Roy almost as soon
as they meet him. He should like people back.”

“Maybe they’re all self-loathing, and they sense his dislike
of them.”

“That’s silly too. Really, Steven – if you’re not careful,
you’ll grow up to be just like him.”

“I’ve spent my whole life trying to not be like him,” Steven
said. “Then, this last year, I’ve tried to emulate him as much as possible, to
learn from him. It’s a strange father-son relationship. Jason isn’t that way.
We always get along, he doesn’t…” Steven stopped.

Eliza smiled, and reached out to hold Steven’s hand, wrapped
around his paper coffee cup.

“It’s OK,” Eliza said. “I still think of him as here, too.”

“It’s that look on his face,” Steven said. “That’s what I
see. Him looking at me, knowing something is wrong. He trusts me, I’m his
father. But he knows I’m wrong in the head, there’s a force I can’t control. He
heard Brett’s story. He knew what happened to children who slept in those beds,
in that house. When he went to lie down, he didn’t think he’d wake up to his
own father, hovering over him, about to kill him.”

“You could talk to him, you know,” Eliza said. “Next time
you’re at Eximere. The way your father talks to Thomas.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say,” Steven said. “And I’m sure he
hates me.”

“Alright. Not now, then. Later. When you’re ready. I think
he’ll want to hear from you.”

“Right now I’m just so angry,” Steven said. “Angry at myself,
angry at Aka Manah. I hate that fucking demon.”

Roy returned and sat with them. The table stayed quiet, with
Steven looking out the window as the water raced by, seeing the Southworth
ferry in the distance.
They say vengeful thinking clouds one’s judgment,
Steven thought.
But I don’t care. Aka Manah has his precious objects to play
with while my son lies cold in the ground. Something has to right this wrong.
Something has to even the score.

A seagull landed on the railing of the ferry, just outside
the window where Steven was staring. It looked at him while others flew
overhead, circling around the ferry, looking for food. As he watched, it cocked
its head, eyeballing Steven, waiting.

I’ve got about as much control over this situation as that
bird,
Steven
thought.
Exactly none.

◊

After the ferry landed, they drove up the peninsula to Port
Townsend without stopping. With Eliza’s help, Steven navigated to the old
downtown stretch of the city, parking the car on a side street. The address
Elliott gave them took them to a doorway tucked between two shops on Water
Street. They ducked into its entryway, out of the path of tourists. Once again
there was an intercom to deal with.

Eliza pressed the button and talked to a voice on the other
end. When the door buzzed, Steven grabbed it and held it open for the others.

The inner door opened to a long stairway leading up to the
second floor. They walked up and turned a corner, to be met with a single door
under a hanging light.

Eliza knocked.

The door opened, revealing the exact opposite of Elliott. Victor
was small, just over five feet tall, and he was old – white hair, white
moustache, and beard trimmed short. He greeted them and asked them inside. Steven
noticed that he was a little hunched over when he walked.

“Something to drink?” Victor asked them.

Yup, the exact opposite of Elliott,
Steven thought.

They all passed on a drink, and Victor asked them to sit in
his library, a room filled with books and large chairs. Steven noticed the
house was full of antiques, placed with great care.

“Oh, another view!” Eliza said as she looked out the windows
of the library. The water’s edge was just a few feet from the back of the
building, and she could see the public pier to the left.

“I’ve noticed that people who deal with demons live next to
water,” Steven said, wondering if his subject was a little impolite to begin
with.

“It’s true, they do,” Victor said, joining them. “Do you live
next to water, young man? You’ll have to remind me of your name until I get it
right.”

“It’s Steven, and as a matter of fact, I do. My house is
about a block from Lake Washington.”

 “And has that proximity been of any benefit in your dealings
with demons?” Victor asked.

“No, not really,” Steven answered, “not that I’ve noticed.”

“That’s exactly why I’ve had this whole house under special protection
for years,” Victor said. “Some are scared by water, others aren’t. Some are
frightened by waterfalls, or dams. Some aren’t so scared and take chances. I
don’t like to take chances. Costs me an arm and leg, but I pay for the
protection, every month. It’s what gives me peace of mind. There’s plenty of
them out there that’d like a piece of me, if they could get it.”

“We’re sorry for just dropping in like this,” Eliza said.
“We’re in need of an expert such as yourself.”

“If you’d called me first, I probably wouldn’t have seen
you,” Victor said. “I’m retired and I don’t want to get wrapped up in anything.
But since you drove all the way up here, and I’m feeling like some guests would
be a nice change today, I’m willing to hear what you’ve got.”

“Well, thanks for that,” Steven said. He recounted their
experience with Aka Manah and Diablo. He left out details about Eximere and
Jason’s death, ending with their encounter with Judith earlier that day.

“First off,” Victor said, “there are some things about Judith
you should know.”

“I knew it!” Roy said. “She’s a hack, isn’t she?”

“No, not a hack,” Victor said. “She’s well known in
demon-fighting circles, and she’s had a lot of experience with them, so she’s
knowledgeable. But, let’s just say, her interests are not aligned with yours.”

“What does that mean?” Eliza asked.

“She’s made certain deals herself,” Victor said. “She fought
demons her whole life, for forty years. She retired without a penny to her
name. Yet she lives in a big mansion in Gig Harbor, no?”

“It’s a beautiful house,” Eliza said.

“After forty years, she knew if she wanted to live
comfortably, she could do it by cutting a deal or two. Many demons have access
to vast amounts of money, though they couldn’t care less about it. They only use
it to influence humans to do what they want.”

“So the house is a result of a deal?” Roy asked.

“One deal of a rumored several,” Victor said. “The reason she
told you you can’t kill a demon is because that’s also a deal she’s cut. She
knows how, but she’s not allowed to tell people anymore.”

“All that bullcrap about the mirrors!” Roy said angrily.

“You didn’t happen to see her legs, did you?” Victor asked.

“No,” Roy said. “She always had them covered up.”

“If they are even there,” Victor said. “There were rumors a
demon had transformed them when she got a little mouthy with him.”

“Not hard to imagine,” Roy said.

“And I’ll bet she told you she didn’t know what your markings
would do,” Victor said to Steven. “She probably impressed you with a
planchette?”

Steven was surprised that Victor knew about his markings
without him telling him. He remembered when Judith showed him the markings on
his palms, two red diamonds side by side, glowing under the glass she provided.
He subconsciously grabbed his right hand with his left, and rubbed the spot
where the markings were with his left thumb.

“She just said they were a warning to them,” Steven replied
to Victor, “like an orange frog’s skin color warns snakes that it’s poisonous.”

“Ooo, she skated close on that one!” Victor said. “My boy,
she’s got an object that would have told you immediately what your markings do.
She’s one of the few people on the west coast who has one! And I suspect she
didn’t use it on you because if it had revealed that you can kill demons, she would
have violated one of her deals with them.”

“I knew she was hiding something!” Roy said.

“Aka Manah said I was lethal,” Steven said, “in the suicide
forest. But he didn’t say how. And he suggested that it didn’t impact him. He
said he was ancient, as though that made him impervious.”

“Demons lie,” Victor said. “And they mix truth with lies, all
the while they’re scaring you and intimidating you. It usually works. It did on
me, during my younger years.”

“Do you have one of Judith’s objects?” Steven asked. “Can you
tell me what the markings mean?”

“Sadly, no,” Victor said. “My father had one, and it was
supposed to come to me through him, but he loaned it to his brother, and it
went missing when his brother disappeared.”

Eximere
, Steven thought. He looked at Roy, who nodded, obviously having the same
thought.

“Can you describe what this device looks like?” Steven asked.

“Let’s see,” Victor said, looking up at the ceiling. “It had
a wooden handle, like a kitchen spoon. On the end was a round bone from an animal,
attached with a large amount of white twine. The whole thing was maybe eight
inches long.”

Steven tried his best to mask his reaction to Victor’s
description. “If I ever encounter it, I’ll return it to you,” he said.

Victor laughed. “Odds of that are small,” he said. “They’re
very rare, so whoever has it now is unlikely to give it up.”

“Have you ever met anyone who could kill a demon?” Steven
asked.

“Human?” Victor asked. “Only stories. Supposedly there was a
man who lived in Hungary who could do it. I heard he charged a lot of money. I
never saw him in action, but people I respect told me he was the real deal.”

“So it is possible,” Steven asked.

“Oh, yes, possible,” Victor said. “Just very rare. Which is
why, more often than not, people strike deals with them. That’s usually the
best you can get. There’s a chance your markings make you someone who can kill
demons, but the odds are much greater that you have an ability to repel them,
or limit one of the things they do.”

“But he said I was lethal,” Steven said.

“As I told you, demons lie,” Victor replied.

“What about the bodies in the pit?” Roy asked. “Any idea why
he was so interested in that, even after Steven gave him the Agimat?”

“Maybe,” Victor said. “Depends. There are many Agimats out
there, with all kinds of different powers. Can you tell me what this one looked
like?”

“I can show you a picture of it,” Steven said, removing his
phone and swiping through photos until he found the one of the Agimat he’d
given to Aka Manah. He showed the phone to Victor.