“Good morning, Samael.”
“You’re being very formal with me, aren’t you?” he asked, keeping his tone light. “Normally you call me Sam. Something to do with my popularity at the moment?”
“Popularity?” she asked, sounding puzzled.
“I had a few visitors yesterday. First Aimi, which was a welcome surprise. Then my father. Finally a group of Cambions out on a hunting expedition. It would’ve been fun except for the fact that they were hunting me. Know anything about all this?”
The only indication Gabriel gave of being surprised was raising her eyebrows slightly. “First, Aimi. Yes, of course I knew about her. We gave her permission to visit you. Secondly, no. It concerns me that the Great Betrayer would contact you now, of all times. He’s up to something as usual. And thirdly, that’s just the subject I came to warn you about.”
It was Sam’s turn to be surprised. “What? The Cambions?”
Gabriel nodded. “How did you fare against them?” she asked.
“Ok, I guess,” he replied. There were times to talk things up — not that it was in Sam’s nature to do so. This, however, wasn’t one of them. “I got one of them but not before he wounded me. He had one of those cursed blades. Like my brothers.”
“Like your brother’s, but not as powerful. Like his, they have the ability to drain energy though. They also slow your healing powers.”
“I know all this,” said Sam impatiently. “I found out the hard way. I had to smash my way out of the motel I was in. Broke my foot and dislocated my shoulder in the process. They almost had me, then dawn came and they disappeared. Just as well. There’s no way I could’ve beaten them all.”
“They are known as the Devil’s Hand, in case you didn’t know.”
This was news to him. “Devil’s what?”
“Hand. Lucifer has used them for thousands of years to conduct special missions — missions of grave importance to him. He does not employ them lightly. That’s what I came to warn you about, not just to have a casual conversation. These are not just normal Cambions you are dealing with.”
“I know,” he said. “They’re of royal blood, like mine but weaker.”
“No,” said Gabriel. She looked grim. “That’s not it at all. Yes, they are of royal blood, but the Devil’s Hand is special.”
“Special, how?” he asked. “They still died like every other demon, didn’t they?” And then the memory struck him again. The knowing smile of the demon as he killed it and the odd way it just disappeared. He clicked his fingers. “It’s not dead, is it?”
She smiled at him without humor. “Very perceptive, Samael. The Devil’s Hand is the most deadly foe you are ever likely to face because they cannot be killed here on Earth. In fact, every time you kill them here, they will return stronger.”
“Let me get this straight,” said Sam, something like panic awakening in his chest. “Each time I kill one, it comes back stronger than it was before? You mean the one I destroyed yesterday will come back and be faster and more deadly?”
“Exactly.”
Sam threw his arms up into the air in exasperation. “Great. Wonderful. How am I supposed to compete with that? I barely managed to defeat one of them yesterday. Why has my father sent them against me? And why now?”
“I don’t know,” confessed Gabriel. “This is a crucial time for him. For all of us. Your brother will be sailing for these shores at the head of an invasion fleet very shortly. Perhaps your father wants you out of the way, to ensure that your brother succeeds where he failed last time. And of course, you must know where you will end up if you do die…”
Sam froze. Despite everything, he hadn’t really thought of this. Hadn’t thought it through. Maybe he was avoiding it as something too terrible to contemplate. But as soon as Gabriel said it, he knew. When he died he would go to Hell. Not Heaven. Hell. It was where he belonged.
Gabriel saw the realization dawn in his face. She reached out and touched his arm in what he knew was intended as a sympathetic gesture. Angrily, he shook it off.
“Yes, Hell. Then you will be at his mercy and his command. That must be his intention. Where he failed to convince you with coercion and lies, he will succeed with brute force.”
Sam knew that was exactly his father’s intention. He wouldn’t waste such a valuable resource as the Devil’s Hand on him otherwise. But he wouldn’t go down without a fight. Surely, there must be a way to defeat them?
“How can I win?” he asked, pleased that his voice did not betray him.
Gabriel looked away. If Sam knew her at all, she appeared conflicted. “I shouldn’t be telling you this. There will be a price to pay for this knowledge but I think you deserve to know. To end them, to end the Devil’s Hand once and for all, you must face them and destroy each one in Hell.”
Sam was surprised. “Is that all? Doesn’t sound too difficult.”
“Your arrogance is unbecoming,” she said, scowling at him. Sam didn’t care. Gabriel’s approval was the last thing on his mind. “The Devil’s Hand is notoriously difficult to find, their location a closely guarded secret. And even if you did find them, you will be fighting them on their own turf. As a unit. In Hell, they never fight alone.”
Sam nodded but said nothing. A thought had just occurred to him but he wasn’t about to share it with Gabriel.
“And what of your father?” she asked. “What did he tell you?”
Something told Sam it was best not to mention Aimi in the conversation. He had a feeling that in the manipulation stakes, both Heaven and Hell were guilty. “Nothing really. Just his usual mocking. Told me to expect a surprise.” The Devil’s Hand and their unusual powers presumably. Well, Sam hoped so in any case. He didn’t need any more surprises at this stage.
Gabriel appeared satisfied with this response. “I see.”
“What am I supposed to do now? Any particular instructions or advice?”
“Just keep doing what you are doing. In New York, you will find many desperate souls. Help them when you can. Destroy those who deserve it. Prepare the way for Him, for your Savior.”
“And what about Aimi?”
Gabriel smiled her knowing smile. “You will see her again.”
“When?” he demanded.
Gabriel’s smile evaporated. “Do not demand things of me, demon spawn. You will see her in good time. Now, I must be off. I will see you again soon, Samael.”
Once again, Sam said nothing, just watched her as she took off, disappearing through the cloud cover that was even now brightening with the advance of daylight. He hadn’t appreciated her tone. Demon spawn indeed. Something had nettled her. And he suspected that he knew what. Gabriel was unaccustomed to demands being made from her. Especially from a half-human, half-demon hybrid. Aimi seemed to be a sore point as well. He wondered what was really going on behind the scenes. It certainly appeared that he was being toyed with a little. Heaven was using Aimi to keep him on side, while his father was trying to kill him to ensure that he was trapped in Hell at his side.
Life used to be quite simple, really, but had gotten rather complex of late. All he used to have to think about was survival but now, now things were altogether different. What’s more, he was sick of being manipulated.
He jogged on. Dawn was coming and he needed some place to rest. At least that was straightforward.
It turned out that finding a place to rest for the day wasn’t all that simple after all. At the next town — the map told him he was probably in Bedford — he picked the first reasonably intact house he came to, figuring one house was no different than any other to rest for the day. He was wrong. He should have grasped the waves from their minds, but their thoughts were so weak they hardly registered.