“So you expect us to believe they just walked away from an asset as valuable as this sanctuary, leaving it to rot unused?” Scarlett put her hands on her hips and shook her head. Her earlier excitement had been replaced by doubt.
“That’s the point you’re not getting, its usefulness is limited now. With God gone, it’s mostly just another room. While it still defends against magical eavesdropping, that isn’t a big deal at the level we’re dealing with. All of the lieutenants can shield themselves from even the most talented of psychics with little more than a wave of a hand. To go to the room for such a simple task would be a waste. It’s out of the way and inconvenient.”
“Why would Asmoday go there?”
“Two reasons. The first is because he believes we don’t know it exists. Given that premise, it seriously Page 256 lowers our odds of finding him. Thus, it makes perfect sense for him to go there.” I looked at Scarlett to see if she was following me still. She was, so I continued.
“The second reason is the place is a veritable fortress against magic, even more so now it’s been sealed off. So when all Hell breaks loose, he’s in the safest place to watch it all come down.”
“If this sanctum is so well defended, why didn’t he just perform the rituals there?” Katon, while wanting nothing more than another opportunity to go after Asmoday, was ever the pragmatist. “And saying they’re there now, how do we get inside?”I smiled, having anticipated his questions. “Defensive-minded, Lucifer crafted a magical security system in case his lieutenants ever banded together to overthrow him. This system limits the amount of energy directed into the room from the outside. Though he never could shut the room down entirely, he managed to cap the inflow drastically. As such, Asmoday wouldn’t have been able to draw the power needed to charge Glorius. That forced him to do it elsewhere.
“As for how we get there, I have the key.” I tapped my temple.
Scarlett sighed deeply. “If we have to rely on what’s inside your head that doesn’t relate to porn, we’re screwed.”
I sneered at her. “Fortunately, as far as my mind goes, we only need the coordinates buried inside it.
Beyond that, all that’s left is to gate to Hell and mete out some much deserved retribution. That would seem right down your alley, oh destroyer of railyards.”
Scarlett grinned, slamming her fist into her palm. She was ready to go. She wanted her sword back and she no doubt wanted to take a couple of heads home with her as well. A nice angel and demon trophy set for the mantle. I was right there with her. Katon, however, his dark eyes glistening with restrained excitement, only shook his head. “While I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment, I find us a bit lacking in the follow-through department.” He pointed to me, then Scarlett, then to himself. “We three lack the raw power necessary to take on Asmoday and his pet archangel, not even taking into account what minions he might have with him. So even if you’re right about all this and they are there, we’re woefully outmatched.”
Ever the realist, Katon reminded us of what we were looking at.
In my excitement, I had forgotten that disappointing fact. With Rahim down and the rest of DRAC scattered or killed by Asmodays’ fiends, we were on our own. “I’ve an equalizer against Gabriel, but the circumstances have to be right. He has to come after me or I lose the ace up my sleeve.” I shrugged, picturing how things might work out inside my head. All of the endings were grim. “I don’t see we have much of a choice but to do it anyway. What do we have to lose?”
“The whole of creation,” Scarlett answered in a quiet voice.
“Seems to me that’s already lost,” Katon countered. “If we sit here and do nothing, the world ends. If we try to do something about it and fail, at least we die with our boots on.” An Iron Maiden song sprang to mind. “I’m not done fighting. Are you with me?”
Scarlett took a deep breath and let it out slow.
“I’m in.” Both she and Katon turned to look at me.
“I had plans to watch the CSI marathon on Spike but I guess I can put that off. It’s not like they don’t show the damn program often enough. I’m in too.” A cold chill settled over me as I resigned myself to what would probably be the last fight I’d ever get into. I was gonna miss life. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Given we don’t have a wide range of options, I say we keep it simple. We go after Glorius,” Katon answered without hesitation.
I thought about it for a second. While no doubt simple on the surface, the plan held a few twists I don’t think he realized-or if he did, he was keeping it to himself. You see, were Katon the one to kill Glorius, everything would be good. However, were Scarlett or I the one to reach the angel, there would be another issue to consider. The soul transfer. Due to our nature, the killing blow would transfer all of Glorius’s power to whichever of us did the deed. While I certainly wouldn’t argue the sudden Page 259 status increase if it were to work out that way, I wasn’t sure either of us could handle so much raw power all at once. We could be committing suicide and wouldn’t even know it until it was too late. I sighed, unable to think of a way around it, nodding at Katon to let him know I agreed.
Nothing like a good game of Russian Roulette to take your mind off your troubles.
“In theory, it resolves your issue with Gabriel and gives us the best shot at having some small measure of success. If Glorius is gone, Armageddon is off the table, for a little while at least.” He turned to face Scarlett.
“Are you going to have a problem with this?”
She met his gaze, but I could see her eyes were moist. “I’ll do what needs to be done.” She was a trooper.
“I guess that’s it.” He looked to me. “Gather what you need and meet me at the receiving room in twenty minutes.” Without another word, he left to prepare. My eyes met Scarlett’s. “You ready for this?”
She shrugged. “As ready as I can be.” I shared her sentiment.
I waved her to the door and let her go first. I figured if we were on our way to die, I was gonna get one last good look at her leather-clad ass before I went. It’d be the closest thing to Heaven I would see before Hell came to call.
Into the Mouth of Hell
We arrived in Hell, just inside the cavern of Lucifer’s private chambers. Alone in the room, we let loose a collective sigh of relief as our entrance went unnoticed.
Little room for error, I surveyed the scene. With a mixture of trepidation and relief, I noticed the carved archway behind us, which led out into the common area of the Ninth Plane, was open. The massive slabs of stone, which had been used to seal the chambers, were missing, flickering light filtering in from the outside, illuminating the chamber in soft yellows. I gave the thumbs up sign, letting Katon and Scarlett know we were in the right place. Asmoday had to be here. My guns drawn, I led the way.
I felt the tug of emotion as I crept through my uncle’s quarters. Every piece of furniture, every book, even every painting reminded me of the times I’d spent here, listening to Lucifer tell me the way of the world. In my head, I could still hear his deep voice echoing through the rooms as he explained the intricacies of Hell. In his best Pinhead impersonation-he loved the Hellraiser movies-he would tell me of his days in Heaven and of the Fall. He was my own private rock star. I loved spending time with him here.
Now with him gone, the place felt hollow, like a grave that’d been dug up and left open, the corpse long gone. I felt like a thief, sneaking through my uncle’s chambers. For the first time in my life, I felt unwanted there. That was hard to cope with.
But with no time to think about the past, its maddening touch both depressive and bleak, I sped my pace and hurried toward the sanctum. As we traveled the long, circuitous route, I glanced back now and again to ensure Scarlett and Katon were still behind me, that they hadn’t lost their nerve and dropped off. Resolute, they were always there. Strengthened by their commitment, my own wavering with every step, I continued on.