The Godsverse Chronicles

Magic: Chapter 44

The address inside Marcus's folder led me to a big house on the hill overlooking Cape Town. A squad of demons patrolled the perimeter and roof of the walled building. It wasn't abnormal for complexes in South Africa to have their own security, but it was unusual for that security to be demons.

Demons were the most expensive monsters to hire, and they were rare, so it was uncommon to find more than one on a payroll, let alone the ten I counted patrolling the complex, and likely more inside. I had only ever seen that many demons once before—at the demon complex in the Hollywood Hills during my botched attack, which made it a good bet that Et'atal was hidden inside this place right now. Poor Marcus might have stumbled on something real this time and died for it.

I cased the place for three weeks, looking for weaknesses, and was quite upset that I didn't find a single one. It would take an army to storm the building, and the last time I did something like that, I ended up nearly burnt by Hellfire. No, I would have to take a more subtle tact than when I attacked Et'atal's Los Angeles house.

Luckily, he left every day at 11 am, like clockwork, in a black stretch limo flanked by motorcycles, to meet up one of his many mistresses around the city. He would finish with them by 12:15 pm, then go to lunch at the same spot every day. The apartments of his lovers were guarded by their own squads of demons, and there was no hope of getting into the restaurant, which exclusively employed high-level monsters and demons.

It was a flawless routine, save for one tiny kink in his route. About five minutes into his drive, the limo turned down a tight street. Three motorcycles went ahead of the limo, and three stayed behind, each guarding one side of the road, preventing anyone from getting through the tight alley until the limo was through the bottleneck. It was the perfect place to abduct him. There was only one demon guard inside the car with him and an imp driver. If I worked quickly, I could send both of them back to Hell before they could retaliate.

It was another week before I finished constructing a prison for him, complete with foot-thick titanium he couldn't burn through and warded to prevent him from snapping to safety. The morning I finished its construction, I followed the motorcade from the roofs high above the street. Three of the motorcycles broke off and zoomed ahead through the alley as I crouched over the lip, watching the limo ease its way through.

"Porth i garchar cythaul," I whispered under my breath.

I pointed my wand in front of the limo and a green portal opened before the driver could react. I leaped down onto its roof as it disappeared and closed the portal behind us. The room on the other end was tight, and the limo crashed into the titanium wall at the far end, smashing the imp and demon through the front window. Demons never used seat belts.

"Pigyn obsidian." My wand shot spikes through the demon's forehead, killing it instantly. I sent another one into the imp's brain, dispatching it back to Hell.

"Agored!" I shouted, and the back door of the limo swung open. A red-faced demon fell out onto the ground, bleeding green ooze from its head. I grabbed him by the collar and threw him onto a metal chair I had stashed in the corner of the room.

"Ei glymu I funy!" I twirled the wand in my hand, and the enchanted iron chains spun around Et'atal's arms and chest. "Yn dunn!"

The chains clasped tightly around him, and he let out a yelp of pain as they constricted him like a boa. I rushed forward and grabbed his head, pushing it back as I ripped off my sunglasses, so he had no choice but to look into my eyes.

"You're a tough one to find, Et'atal. I swore I would track you down after what you did to me, and I am a woman of my word."

Et'atal laughed weakly. "If you believe I am Et'atal, then you are a fool." He coughed green blood on my trench coat, and I punched him across the mouth for it.

"Don't lie to me," I hissed. "I know—"

"You know nothing!" the demon barked. "Et'atal has been trapped in Hell for eons. His father refuses to let him leave, and no matter how many we enlist to worship him, none can conjure him."

"You're lying. I spoke to him!" I screamed.

"And did his voice sound like mine?"

I had to admit that it didn't. Et'atal's voice was smooth and confident, while the imposter's voice was harsh and gritty. "That doesn't mean anything."

The red-faced demon looked at me, deeply, in the eyes, so much so that it was uncomfortable. "Then look me in the eyes and ask your truth. I will not fight you."

It was an elegant solution if you could trust a demon, which I didn't. I did trust my own power, though, so I grabbed him by the neck and looked deeply into his eyes. "Are you Et'atal?"

His eyes swirled with my influence. "No."

"Is Et'atal on Earth?" I asked.

"No."

"Is he in Hell?"

"The last I saw him, yes, unable to leave on order from his father."

I could feel the demon trying to worm its way into my brain. "Who is his father?"

"The dark lord, Lucifer."

My head began to throb, and I let go of the demon. I didn't know what kind of power he had but he was doing something to burrow into my brain, using my own power against me. Beyond the edges of the room, something banged loudly on the walls. Many somethings, actually. They smashed against it from every angle in a deafening chorus.

The demon grinned. "Oh good, they're here."

"Who's here?" I asked.

He chuckled. "You must know that my car was tagged so my people could find me, given that this eventuality was bound to happen."

I shook my head. "No, I runed it from sight."

The titanium glowed red, and the heat in the room was rising. "Not well enough. In mere moments, my men will melt this place to the ground, with you in it. I suggest you run."

I stomped forward. "How do I get to Et'atal?"

"You would have to enter Hell itself, and even you don't seem stupid enough to do that."

The heat was becoming unbearable, even for me. "Pigyn obsidian."

I fired an obsidian spike into the imposter's head. He was of no more use to me. I opened a portal and left the prison before it became a tomb. One more dead end, but at least I didn't leave empty-handed. I had my first real lead. Now, I just had to decide if my vengeance was worth a trip to Hell.