Chapter 7 #3
“That would be unbelievably dangerous,” Ty said at once.
His frown had only deepened, and it was obvious that he thought Caleb had lost his ever-loving mind.
“If we’re wrong about the timing, or if they have more resources than we realize, we could end up walking into a situation we wouldn’t be able to escape. ”
“So…what, then?” Caleb returned. “We just stand back and let them complete a ritual that could open a permanent gateway to Hell in the middle of Las Vegas?” Before anyone could respond, he went on, “Sometimes the risky play is the only one that makes any sense.”
Pru pushed her chair away from the dining room table a few inches so she could get a better look at all of them.
“Actually, that might work. There’s a way to get into the city’s response system so I can create enough false emergency signals to confuse their monitoring systems. That would make it look like we’re hitting multiple sites simultaneously, when in reality, we’re really only concentrating our efforts on Angel’s Dream. ”
Delia put her hands on her hips, and Caleb could tell she was dubious at best. “You can really do that?”
“Well, on my own, no,” Pru responded with a grin. “Let’s just say I know a few people who owe me favors. You don’t need to be a hacker if you’ve already got people on the inside.”
And what Prudence Nelson had on those “people,” Caleb wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
A private investigator probably had all kinds of dirt that could be used for persuasion.
Or maybe they were just grateful former clients, like the assistant city manager with the cheating wife.
Either way, it sure looked as if they had an in.
Delia still looked somewhat disapproving, but it seemed she’d decided the stakes were too high to worry too much about how they were accomplishing their goals.
“Okay,” she said. “I think I could probably create some barriers around the chapel to contain whatever supernatural energy they’re trying to summon. ”
“You’re sure about that?” Ty inquired, expression openly skeptical, and she shrugged.
“I’m not ‘sure’ about anything,” she said.
“But I know my abilities were getting stronger anyway, and after being exposed to that portal in Laughlin….” The sentence died away, and her shoulders lifted again.
“It just feels like I might have gotten an additional boost. So that means I might be able to hold a containment field long enough for you two to disrupt the ritual directly.”
Ty nodded, but he still appeared less than enthusiastic. “I suppose it could work. But we’ll have to coordinate perfectly. One mistake, and we could end up making the demons’ job easier instead of harder.”
“Then we won’t make any mistakes,” Caleb said.
By mid-morning, they thought they were ready to move. The attacks had continued across the city, each one adding another point to the growing ritual circle. According to Pru’s calculations, they had maybe three hours before the demons would be ready to attempt the final summoning at Angel’s Dream.
“Remember,” Caleb said as they prepared to leave Pru’s condo, “the goal is disruption, not confrontation. We go in fast, hit the key points, and get out before they can coordinate a response.”
“And if they’ve set up more defenses than we’re expecting?” Delia asked.
“Then we improvise,” he replied. Not a very good answer, he supposed, but the only one he was able to give.
They had to be flexible, since they were walking into a situation with way too many unknown variables.
They didn’t know how many demons they were actually facing and what kind of backup plans their enemies might have.
And they had absolutely zero idea whether their own abilities would be sufficient to counter whatever supernatural forces were currently surging in the city.
But they also didn’t have the luxury of waiting for more information, not when the circuit was due to close sometime right at high noon. Sometimes the only thing you could do was act…and hope for the best.
“Do what you can to stay in contact,” Ty told everyone once they were inside the elevator and headed down to the ground floor. “If any of us runs into more than we can handle, then we’ll abort and regroup.”
They split up, with Delia and Caleb and Ty going toward the guest parking lot to retrieve their vehicles and Pru heading toward her car in the parking garage under the building. After that, they all scattered to their assigned positions around the city.
Caleb pointed his E-Class toward Angel’s Dream, taking a circuitous route that would allow him to scout the surrounding area for signs of supernatural activity.
As he got closer to the chapel, the uncomfortable buzzing sensation in his demon blood grew stronger until it felt like every nerve ending was zinging with unwanted energy.
Whatever was happening here, it was big.
He parked three blocks away and approached on foot, doing what he could to scan for any demonic presences nearby.
The chapel itself looked the same from the outside as it had when he and Delia had visited here for the first time — a white-painted clapboard structure meant to mimic a charming church that might have been plucked from somewhere in America’s heartland.
But the spiritual atmosphere around the building was thick and oppressive, like the air before a thunderstorm.
A text came through from Delia.
I’m in position. Energy readings are off the charts here.
Immediately afterward, he received similar messages from Ty and Pru. Whatever the demons were planning, they weren’t being subtle about it anymore.
Which was fine. That just made them easier to find.
Caleb found a good vantage point in the shadow of a nearby office building and settled in to wait.
The plan called for him to hang back and simply observe until the others were ready to begin their coordinated disruption, but as the minutes ticked by, he began to sense something was very wrong here.
The energy patterns around Angel’s Dream weren’t just strong…
they were oddly familiar as well. Although he probably wouldn’t have been able to articulate such a thing before now, the specific resonance of the supernatural disturbance tugged at memories from his time in Hell, reminding him of the aura that had surrounded certain high-ranking demons he’d encountered there.
Luckily, they hadn’t paid him much mind, thinking a quarter demon like himself beneath their notice, but they still had a particular smell, so to speak.
And this stink definitely reminded him of Vinea.
His phone buzzed — he’d put it on vibrate for obvious reasons — and he answered immediately. “Ty?”
“We’ve got a problem.” The half angel didn’t sound too happy about his life choices right then, and Caleb couldn’t blame him. “I’m picking up movement at multiple sites around the city. It looks like they’re accelerating their timeline.”
Well, that was just peachy. “How accelerated?” Caleb asked, doing his best to sound as if this latest development hadn’t sent adrenaline shrilling along every nerve ending.
“Like, right now,” Ty responded. “I can see figures moving around the Desert Rose Wedding Chapel, and they’re definitely not human. Whatever they were waiting for, they’ve decided not to wait anymore.”
Before Caleb could respond, a new voice cut through the phone connection — one that made the blood freeze in his veins, deep and harsh.
“Hello, nephew.”
The line went dead.
Caleb stared at his phone for a moment, trying to process what he’d just heard. Then the implications of those two simple words hit him like a pair of punches to his gut.
Nephew.
There were only a very few beings in existence who would refer to him that way. While the demons and devils who occupied the highest levels of Hell’s hierarchy weren’t technically related to one another, they still referred to the others of their kind as “brother” from time to time.
Often ironically, but still.
And his demon grandfather had been among them.
Somehow, Vinea was already here. The demon lord must have found a way to cross over without completing the city-wide summoning circle. His early arrival implied he had some kind of assistance, someone powerful who’d used their own ritual to bring him here.
And that meant everything the little group of defenders thought they knew about the situation was wrong.
Delia and Pru and Ty needed to regroup, get back to Pru’s apartment, where they would have at least a modicum of safety.
Abort, he typed, replying to Ty since he was the last person in their team he’d communicated with. Go back to home base. Now.
Ty’s response came back almost immediately.
Are you coming?
Soon. Just do it.
All right. I’ll message Delia and Pru.
The convo ended there, but it was enough. Caleb knew Ty would do as he asked, mainly because the half angel also understood that this was not the occasion to waste any precious time on arguments.
Caleb’s phone vibrated again…a text from an unknown number.
The chapel. Come alone, or watch your city burn.