A genuine smile flickered across Grace’s face. It lasted for a moment and then it was gone. “How do you feel, Sam?” she asked. The dimness in the room somehow contrived to highlight the scars on her face, a constant reminder of his failure.
“Weak,” he said, the words barely audible.
“Not surprising. It was touch and go there for a moment. Thought you weren’t going to make it.”
Sam thought he could detect some feeling there but it was hard to tell with Grace these days. It was just nice to have a polite conversation with her for a change.
“Where’s Yeth? Where’s my Hellhound?” he managed to croak.
Grace shook her head. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “All I know is that it went back in the tunnel. I think I heard sounds of fighting but it was hard to tell over the gunfire.”
So Grace referred to his Hellhound as an it, refusing to acknowledge him with a personal pronoun, refusing to recognize his relationship with Sam and how much the creature meant to him. Despite having been around Yeth quite a few times, she’d never even spoken to his Hellhound. Understandably, she had a great deal of mistrust and hatred centered around demons. Just because Yeth was his indentured servant didn’t make him any more trustworthy in her eyes.
“What happened?” he asked in a whisper. Speaking any louder just seemed to aggravate the wound in his side.
“You want me to go back to the beginning?” she asked. He nodded. “Not much to tell, really,” she said, shrugging. “I volunteered to go with one of the demo squads. Got here yesterday. Not what we expected.” She saw the question in his face and obviously chose to misinterpret it.
“This looks like an old Police Museum, somewhere in the lower East side, although I’m not sure whether I’m meant to know that or not. It’s hard not to know, what with all the display cases and signage everywhere. We’re not far from the tunnel where we dragged you. It’s basically the headquarters of the resistance. Luckily, we found them — or they found us — first. It’s a decent base of operations. Solid. Made of stone. There’s access to the sewers underneath here. That’s how we got you in. They’ve managed to keep their location a secret so far.”
“So, how did you…’
“Find you?” she finished for him. “Your creature summoned me. Let me know through some creepy mind pictures where you were and that you were in trouble. It wasn’t hard — we just followed the sound of screaming. Of course, that drew attention to us. Our new allies weren’t very happy about that for several reasons. The only reason they’re still alive for the most part is because they’ve been keeping under the radar. What you did last night wasn’t very discreet. Not only that, but let’s just say there’s a bit of suspicion centered on you. They might not know what you are, but they certainly knew what your pet was. You might want to keep your hood on when they come to question you.”
“My swords. My pack?”
“Are safe,” she said. “Don’t worry. You’ve got bigger fish to fry.” She cut to the chase. “I’d ask you if you wanted the good news but there isn’t any. Only bad. Nothing unusual there. The thing is, we were too late. A few days too late. We missed our chance, Sam.”
She paused, for the first time in a long time conscious of what shock could do to Sam in his weakened condition. “The Antichrist is already here. The invasion fleet too. It’s all over, Sam. New York is already lost.”
Sam didn’t move or say anything for a moment. How was this possible? There was no way the Anti-Christ could already be here. Unless… unless their Intel had been compromised. Or someone had been compromised. That person had to be Adam but Sam didn’t believe it for a moment. There was no way Adam would betray them. Or would he? Sam doubted it but he’d been wrong before. That, however, wasn’t the issue now. The issue now was making sure land and sea based defense forces didn’t run straight into a trap. They’d have to be warned.
“We need to get word to them, to the others,” he said, trying to sit up.
Grace held up a hand to silence him. “I know. I know. Not that we could spare them, but we’ve sent two of our team to do just that. Got them out through the sewers. No easy task.”
Sam nodded, subsiding down onto the mattress. He still had a lot of questions but didn’t have the strength. It was taxing just talking.
As if realizing this, Grace stood. “I’ve got to go. I’ll be back in a few hours. Make sure you get some rest. You’ll need it for the interrogation.”
True to her word, Grace was back in a few hours. She wasn’t alone. She was accompanied by a small man who immediately reminded Sam of his master, Hikari. Not that the newcomer was Japanese, it was just that he seemed to radiate the same reassuring aura of calm. Sam tried to sit up again and even though his strength was gradually returning, he was still too weak. Since Grace had left, he’d had no other visitor and was eager for answers. Apparently, so was the Resistance.
The man carried two chairs. He set them down next to Sam’s mattress as Grace introduced her companion. His name was Tony. He was the leader of the Resistance in New York and Sam could see immediately why. It wasn’t just the calmness. He had a certain quality about him that spoke of leadership, that commanded instant obedience. Oddly, he was still dressed in a suit that looked like it was very expensive. Once. The quality material and exquisite cut was now marred by rips, tears and burn marks. Tony himself didn’t look exceptional in any way. His dark hair was trimmed short and his features were unremarkably if a trifle overweight but Sam sensed the determination and cold calculation in his mind. Tony was not to be messed with.
He bent down and pulled Sam’s hood down off his head before he had a chance to react, revealing the dark horns.
“You are a demon,” said Tony, without preamble in a strong New York accent. Clearly Tony was a local. His voice and face were expressionless.
Sam was momentarily lost for words. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting. “Only half,” he managed. “How did you know?”
“I told him,” said Grace.
Sam felt her deceit like a hammer blow to the stomach. Yet another one. Was he so damned that he deserved to be treated like this? He glared at her and she dropped her gaze, refusing to meet the accusation in his eyes, for once embarrassed by her actions.
“Don’t blame her,” said Tony, straightening up. There was steel in his voice. He wasn’t asking. “I guessed. Her reaction and those horns just confirmed my suspicions. I saw them when they first brought you in, unconscious. She didn’t really have any choice but to tell me.” He paused, considering his words carefully. “Tell me everything you know. Leave nothing out and don’t lie. That is your one and only warning.”
Sam also had no choice. Squashing the anger he felt towards Grace, he began telling Tony about his origins and a brief summary of the events that had led him to New York. Tony interrupted frequently, checking to see if he’d heard correctly, asking for more details when the story became too unbelievable or confusing.
When Sam had finished, Tony sat back in his chair and breathed out slowly. “Just so I’ve got this straight. Your mother was human but your father is Satan. You’ve been charged by Gabriel to save as many innocent humans as you can. You were meant to be the Antichrist but refused the offer. You’re here now as an advance scout for the US forces that are on their way here. Sound about right?”
Sam nodded mutely.
“And that giant Hell beast is your pet, right?”
Sam nodded again.
“Thing is, how do I trust you? Half my family went up in the Rapture. I saw the other half get dragged down into Hell by creatures like your little doggy. Creatures that you seem related to. How do you expect me to react here? My men tell me you were fighting demons but how do I know? No-one saw it for themselves. Grace here vouches for you but what does that mean to me? I’ve only just met her too.”