Chapter 7 #2
That was what Caleb had been afraid of. He’d spent two years in that place, and while most of his time had been devoted to survival rather than demon politics, he’d learned enough about the power structures there to know that the really dangerous entities rarely bothered with the mortal plane unless they had something specific in mind.
Something like revenge.
“Any idea which lord they’re trying to summon?” he asked, already guessing that the answer was going to make his day significantly worse.
Pru clicked through several screens on her laptop, bringing up what looked like occult diagrams and arcane symbols.
Maybe she’d started out investigating cheating spouses and people lying about their workmen’s comp cases, but it seemed as if she’d slid into the whole supernatural milieu pretty easily.
Then again, research skills were research skills.
“Based on the geometric patterns and the timing of the incidents, there are three possibilities,” she said. “Malphas, Marchosias, or — ”
“Vinea,” Caleb broke in, his voice flat.
“Who’s that?” Delia asked.
Right. Most people didn’t know anything about the hierarchy of Hell, beyond the obvious suspects like Beelzebub or Asmodeus or even Belial, the demon lord who’d had the most effect on Caleb’s life.
But, thank God and all the choirs of angels, Belial was now dead, not just banished.
However, that didn’t mean they didn’t have plenty of remaining evil entities to deal with.
“Vinea is an earl of Hell who can build towers, demolish walls, and make waters rough,” Ty replied. “He often appears as a lion riding a black horse while holding a viper…although I assume he’ll probably try to maintain a lower profile while here on the mortal plane.”
“And he’s no one to mess with,” Caleb added. “He gets his jollies destroying the works of man, so it’s not too much of a stretch to guess he’s behind the destruction in the city this morning.”
“Do you think he’s trying to get back at you specifically?” Delia said. She inched even closer, and he got the impression she also wished he could take her in his arms and provide some much-needed reassurance, however spurious it might be.
“Maybe.” He pushed a hand through his already disheveled hair as he tried to work his way through the possibilities.
Even though he was part demon, the motivations of the higher-level demons were often pretty murky to him.
“Or maybe he’s just tired of being stuck in Hell and sees Las Vegas as a convenient entry point. ”
“Either way,” Ty said, apparently deciding they’d wasted enough time on ancient history, “we need to disrupt the ritual before they can complete it. The question is how.”
Pru pulled up another screen, this one showing a timeline of the morning’s incidents. “If the pattern holds, they’ll need to hit at least twelve more locations before the circle is complete. Based on the current rate of attacks, that gives us maybe six hours.”
Six hours to prevent a demon lord from potentially taking over Las Vegas. Well, that should be simple enough.
Not.
“We’ll have to split up,” he said, then moved closer to the table where Pru’s laptop rested so he could study the map in detail. “If we can disrupt even a few of the remaining ritual sites, it should be enough to throw off the entire summoning.”
“Agreed,” Ty replied. “But we need to be strategic about which sites we target. Some locations will be more critical to the overall pattern than others.”
Delia had been studying the map as well, her expression tight with concentration…and worry. “It looks like Angel’s Dream is right in the center of all this. If they’re building a city-wide summoning circle, that chapel is probably going to be the focal point.”
Oh, crap. In all the chaos of the morning’s revelations, he’d temporarily forgotten about Delia’s cousin and the wedding that was now only two days away. If Angel’s Dream was indeed the center of the ritual….
“We need to get your family out of the city,” he said at once. “All of them. Today.”
But Delia was already shaking her head. “You know they won’t go.
Not without a really good reason, and obviously, we can’t tell them the truth.
Olivia’s parents, Alec’s family — they’re all flying in for the pre-wedding events, and Olivia and Alec’s flight is supposed to get here a little after one o’clock. ”
“Then we have to make sure the ritual never gets completed,” Caleb said, knowing he sounded a lot more confident than he felt. “Whatever it takes.”
Pru glanced away from her laptop. “I’ve been trying to track the attack patterns, and I think I can predict which sites they’ll hit next.”
“You ‘think’?” Caleb asked dubiously.
Ty, on the other hand, didn’t seem too worried about the lack of a ringing endorsement. “Show me,” he said, shifting his position so he could more easily look over Pru’s shoulder.
As the two of them began coordinating tactical details, Caleb pulled Delia aside.
Now that they were away from the others, he could see the strain in her face more clearly.
The dark circles under her clear, blue-gray eyes suggested she’d gotten even less sleep than he had, and there was a tension in her shoulders that spoke of deeper worries than just the supernatural crisis they were facing.
“How are you holding up?” he asked quietly.
She managed a small smile. “I’ve been better.
I keep thinking about what will happen if we don’t stop this, and…
.” The words trailed off there, and then she seemed to gather herself.
“My parents are going to be at that wedding, Caleb, along with a lot of other family members. If something happens to any of them — ”
“Nothing’s going to happen to them,” he said firmly as he reached out to squeeze her hand. “We’re going to stop these bastards before it gets that far.”
“You can’t promise that,” she replied, but she didn’t pull her hand away. “We’re not even sure what we’re really up against yet. For all we know, this could be the opening move in something much bigger.”
She wasn’t wrong. The level of coordination they’d seen so far suggested resources and planning that went well beyond what a few rogue demons plotting their usual mischief could accomplish.
Someone with serious power and influence was orchestrating all this — maybe the demon lord Vinea, maybe someone even worse — and Caleb had a sinking feeling that they’d only scratched the surface of what was really going on.
“Then we’ll learn more,” he said. “But we’ll do it together, and we won’t give up. No matter what.”
Before Delia could respond, Pru called out from across the room. “Guys, get over here. I just heard something important.”
They hurried back to the computer setup, where Pru had a set of earphones half on and half off so she could listen to them and monitor the police scanner at the same time.
“Multiple units are responding to a disturbance at the Little Chapel of Hearts,” she went on. “That’s one of the venues Delia suggested as an alternative for her cousin’s wedding.”
A chill ran down Caleb’s spine. “What kind of disturbance?”
“Witnesses reported seeing figures in dark clothing entering the building around dawn. When the first responders arrived, they found the front doors standing open and signs of some kind of ritual activity inside. No perpetrators on scene, but….” Prudence paused there so she could turn back to her laptop and open up a new tab. “Then they found this.”
The screen switched to a photo that had apparently been taken by one of the responding officers.
It showed the inside of the chapel, with chairs overturned and what looked like arcane symbols burned into the carpet.
But it was the message scrawled across the wall in what appeared to be ash that made Caleb’s blood run cold.
THE HALF-brEED KNOWS OUR WORK. LET HIM COME TO US.
Ty folded his arms. “It sure looks like they’re actively trying to draw us out.”
“Or specifically trying to draw me out,” Caleb replied. The reference to a “half-breed” was clearly meant for him, even if technically he wasn’t a half-breed at all, but a quarter-breed.
Delia moved closer to the screen, her expression even more troubled. “If they’re targeting the alternative venues, too, that means even if we convince Olivia to change locations, she — and the rest of my family — still won’t be safe.”
“Unless we stop this entire operation,” Caleb told her. “So we need to take the offensive instead of just reacting to their moves.”
Pru was already typing rapidly on another, smaller laptop, a little MacBook Air instead of the Pro she seemed to favor.
“I can track their movements in real time now that I know the demons are using the city’s emergency frequencies to monitor response times.
If they stick to their pattern, the next attack should be… .”
She paused, appearing to cross-reference several screens of data. “The Venetian’s wedding pavilion. They’ll probably hit it within the next hour.”
Ty nodded. “That gives us enough time to get into position. We can set up surveillance and try to intercept them when they arrive.”
“Or we could turn the tables completely,” Caleb said as an idea began to form in his mind. “Instead of trying to stop them from completing individual attacks, what if we gave them a target they couldn’t resist?”
They all stared at him, and he could see Delia’s expression morph into one of even deeper worry as she began to guess where his thoughts were heading.
“You want to use yourself as bait,” she said flatly.
“Not just me. All of us.” Caleb moved closer to the map displayed on Pru’s MacBook Pro, then pointed to the center of the ritual circle.
“They need Angel’s Dream for the final stage of whatever they’re planning.
If we can draw their attention there, force them to make their move before they’re ready, we might be able to disrupt the entire operation. ”