Serpent's Storm Part 29

Sumi watched our odd back-and-forth with an attentive eye, suspicion flaring in every synapse.

"Devil," Sumi said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Tell me, how is it you hold me accountable for your troubles in h.e.l.l, when you know very well the real culprit lies there at your feet."

The Devil froze, his toe pointed in my direction, but then quickly regained his composure.

"I know no such thing," he said sullenly.

"You are no Devil," Sumi said, shaking his head. "Merely the Devil's protege." are no Devil," Sumi said, shaking his head. "Merely the Devil's protege."

The glamour instantly fell away and Daniel stood above me, his face fierce with anger. I was in shock . . . If this was really Daniel, then what about Cerberus and Runt? Were they okay? Was h.e.l.l still the Devil's domain or had the revolt worked? A myriad of possibilities, all of them positive, swam before my eyes.

"Get back under the cape, Calliope," Daniel instructed-and his voice brooked no argument.

Using my good arm, I dragged myself back to the cape, but just as my fingers grazed the silken material, the thing was whisked away from my grasp. Spent, I watched as, with a flourish, Father McGee draped the silken cloth over his own bony shoulders, triumphant in his return.

Left with no further hope of salvation, I knew that now only imminent death remained.

twenty-nine.

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" I screamed, rage consuming every inch of me. I started crawling, bad arm and all, over to where Father McGee stood gloating-my cape, my salvation, wrapped around his torso.

I threw myself at his feet, biting into the top of his sockless foot, my teeth tearing into the soft flesh with a ferocity I didn't know I possessed. As my teeth sank into bone and sinew, a spurt of thick, warm blood shot into my mouth and I almost gagged. By sheer force of will, I held on to my prize, channeling all my anger into ripping his foot apart as I ignored the salty taste of blood.

"Stop it, you dog!" he screamed, attempting to shake me off, but only managing to trip himself up, so that, off balance, he stumbled backward, arms waving like windmills. I wrapped my good arm around his ankle and yank his bloodied foot out from underneath him, sending him sprawling onto his back. Dragging my broken body on top of him, so he was pinned underneath my weight, I leaned in as close as I could and whispered into his ear: "I wish you dead."

I didn't know if it would work. I thought there might be a slim chance it might, but in truth, I was really hoping for a miracle.

At first, Father McGee just stared at me, disgusted by the sight of his own blood smeared across my lips, but then, something amazing happened: His eyes flared, the whites so p.r.o.nounced I could see where they rounded into his eye sockets, and he shuddered once, then lay still beneath me, all the heat dissipating from his body in death. I wrenched the cape from his dead shoulders and bundled myself inside the safety of its silken folds. I didn't know what magic the cape possessed, but I hoped it was powerful enough to keep the promethium from dealing its final, deathly blow.

I stuck my hand into the dead priest's clothes, extracting the strange wormhole-calling device from the depths of one of his pockets. I ran my hand over its screen and the thing sprang to life, a series of numerical b.u.t.tons lighting up beneath my fingertips. I knew I needed to unblock the wormholes, but I didn't know how. But before I could attempt any trial-and-error tinkering, a heavy body smashed into mine, my head cracking against the stone tile floor as shooting stars of pain bloomed inside my brain. As I lay sprawled on the floor, I saw two tiny Asian women in Victorian garb chasing Father McGee's soul as it looped around the room. I wondered if Daniel and Frank could see the little ladies-but then a meaty fist slammed into my nose, changing the subject of my inner monologue. Dazed by the punch, I felt Hyacinth's enormous girth straddle me, compressing my lungs into pancakes so that I could barely draw a breath.

"Get off me, you b.i.t.c.h." I groaned, driving my fist into what I hoped was the hollow of her throat. To my surprise, the weight constricting my chest eased and I could breathe again. I opened my eyes, my nose smarting where Hyacinth's punch had snapped the nasal bone, and saw the Amazonian woman listing above me like a giant ship, her hands clutching her throat. I tried to drag myself out from under her, but she grimaced, and releasing her damaged neck as she grunted in pain, she made a grab for the wormhole-calling device in my hand, knocking it from my grasp so that it skittered across the floor, crashing into the leg of Tanuki's desk.

"Dammit," I growled. "Get off me!"

"You're stuck, bug," she laughed, pressing her hands into my chest in order to crack my sternum. Hyacinth wasn't wrong. I did feel like a bug, pinned and wriggling on a piece of wood.

"I wish you dead," I rasped, even though I knew it wouldn't work on an immortal like Hyacinth. Amused by my pathetic attempts to save myself, she relaxed her grip on my chest, allowing me just enough room to drag my right arm out from beneath her fleshy thigh, wriggling back with my shoulders and hips, until she was astride my waist instead of my torso. With as much forward motion as I could muster, I drove my curled fist into one of her ma.s.sive b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the impact crushing mammary and rib cage like they were made of b.u.t.ter. I saw Hyacinth's eyes cross in astonishment as she slumped onto her side, clutching her injured breast.

Across the Hall, I saw Daniel and Frank locked in intense battle, each clawing at the other as if they could shred flesh with their bare fingers. I was pleased to see Daniel had the upper hand, but I didn't dare do anything to distract him, so I swallowed the cry for help that'd been brewing in my throat and took a deep breath. Wiggling my legs, I extracted myself from underneath Hyacinth's muscled bulk. Freed from my former boss's meaty embrace, I began crawling over to the desk. I could see the silvery glint of the wormhole-calling device where it lay underneath the desk leg, but as I stretched out my fingers to grasp it, Sumi's bare foot slammed down on my hand, splintering the delicate metacarpals into transverse sections of broken bone. I screamed as he ground his heel into my wounded hand, then bent down and plucked the device out of my grasp.

He turned to go, and I did the only thing I could think of to stop him from getting away-I bit down on his foot, sinking my teeth into the hard, calloused skin, which, I had to say, tasted an awful lot like old rubbery eel. Because of the horned nature of his skin, I couldn't get as good a grip on Sumi's foot as I had on Father McGee's, but I still managed to inflict enough pain that he dropped the device. Ripping his foot away from my snapping jaws, he took a step back, then made a halfhearted attempt to kick my head in. I rolled away, scooping up the device in my good hand. I gritted my teeth as pain flooded into my bad shoulder.

"You cannot work the machine," Sumi said, blood pooling on the floor from his abraded foot. "Give it to me and I will show you the trick."

"Ha!" I replied, crawling to my feet. "Like I can trust you. You'll just double cross me like you double crossed everyone else."

"Suit yourself," Sumi said, bowing his head in what looked like prayer-but then the old man lifted his head and screamed, charging at me like a mad bull.

Instantly, his flesh fell away and his human body elongated, rippling and swelling as he shifted into the ma.s.sive, red-hued Sea Serpent I'd ridden on in the ocean. Every cell in my body screamed at me to run, that the monster was going to crush me like a bug, but I held my ground-I wasn't about to leave Daniel alone to deal with Sumi and and Frank by himself. Frank by himself.

I want to be big like Sumi, I thought, desperately, squeezing my eyes shut and praying the jewel still had some juice left in it-but when, after a few moments, nothing had happened, I knew the promethium had obliterated the jewel's powers, leaving me no way to fight back against Sumi's monstrous new body. I thought, desperately, squeezing my eyes shut and praying the jewel still had some juice left in it-but when, after a few moments, nothing had happened, I knew the promethium had obliterated the jewel's powers, leaving me no way to fight back against Sumi's monstrous new body.

With his transformation now complete, Sumi roared, the sound raising the hackles on the back of my neck as his crystalline eyes narrowed warily at me, showing his displeasure. I took an involuntary step backward, then another and another as the monster lowered its head and hissed, a fiery plume of smoke barreling toward me. I threw myself to the side, trying to escape the fire's wrath, but instead I lost my balance and fell forward onto my knees. Father McGee's strange device flew from my hand, and I watched, horrified, as it shattered into a zillion tiny pieces on the cold limestone floor.

My heart leapt into my throat as I realized that all was lost, but then, to my shock, I heard a static burst as the room suddenly became awash in the glow of a thousand wormholes flickering into being and filling the darkness-the blockade on wormhole travel in and out of Death, Inc., destroyed along with the device.

Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by Kali, Indra, and Runt.

"White girl, you look like s.h.i.t," Kali said as she and Indra encircled me protectively, both holding bloodied weapons in their hands. Not wanting to be left out, Runt nuzzled up against me, licking my broken hand with her scratchy tongue.

"You're alive," I said, bending down and kissing the top of the h.e.l.lhound pup's head. "I thought the revolt in h.e.l.l had failed, that the Devil had killed you."

Runt wagged her tail.

"The opposite, Callie," she said. "We won. Jarvis and Dad and your Death soldiers kicked some serious b.u.t.t. Dad's beside himself with happiness; he's got the Devil and the Jackal Brothers guarding the North Gate of h.e.l.l in his stead. It's great!"

"I'm so glad," I said, automatically, scratching behind the pup's ears, while I distractedly searched the room for Sumi.

He'd been in sea serpent form when the device had been destroyed, so he shouldn't have been hard to spot, but after scanning the room twice with no luck, I had to accept the fact that he was gone, probably having shifted back into his human body and escaped in the flurry of activity that'd consumed the Hall when the wormhole restriction had been lifted. Still, I had a funny feeling this wouldn't be the last time I tangled with the mischievous j.a.panese Sea G.o.d- "Callie!"

My thoughts were interrupted by Clio's singsonging voice as she burst through the melee and threw her arms around me.

"You're okay," she bellowed, squeezing me as hard as she could. My shoulder and hand protested against the attack, but I let her go on and squeeze as hard as she wanted.

"I'm all right," I said weakly, remembering Hyacinth's pythonlike embrace.

Speaking of Hyacinth, I was happy to see that both she and Frank had been trussed up like Thanksgiving turkeys by a contingent of Bugbears, who thankfully were out of the Devil's command now that we'd wrested h.e.l.l from his control. Hyacinth, livid with fury, shot daggers at me with her eyes as they dragged her away, kicking and screaming.

Frank was a different story entirely. There was no antipathy in him as our gazes locked, and I found myself feeling kind of sorry for the man again. He had been used by Sumi and Hyacinth, but that didn't free him from responsibility for his actions. He'd made his choices and now he was going to have to answer for them.

"Hey, I'm really p.i.s.sed at you," Clio said, her voice abruptly cutting into my thoughts as she punched me hard in my bad shoulder, trying to get my attention. "You threw me in that elevator with Mom and then you just left me there. I could've killed you!"

Rubbing my poor dislocated shoulder, I apologized.

"It was the only way I could keep you guys safe," I said sheepishly. "If I'd died, then you guys would've lost your immortality and you'd have been sitting ducks."

Clio nodded, but I could tell she was still furious with me for ditching her. She opened her mouth to say as much but was silenced by a kiss from her boyfriend, Indra, who had snuck up behind her while she fumed. A few months back, I'd labeled him Mr. s.e.x on a Stick-and the nickname hadn't been far from wrong. Even covered with drying blood, he was definitely a hunk. It made me a bit uncomfortable to see him macking on my baby sister, but if it gave me a "Get Out of Jail" free pa.s.s, then I guess I was all for it.

"I was lost without you," Indra breathed into Clio's ear, and as my sister melted into her lover's embrace, I chose that moment to disentangle myself from their reunion and move into the swarm of bodies surrounding us. Now that the wormholes had been reopened, more and more people who had helped to fight against the Devil's aborted coup were coming into the Hall of Death to celebrate. As I pushed through the crowd, I knew there was someone I needed to do a little explaining to myself-and I needed to do it sooner rather than later.

I found Daniel helping Tanuki replace the drawers in the apothecary cabinet. The rotund man looked worn out-the face I'd only seen filled with laughter was now a mask of grief. I reached out and patted his shoulder and he jumped, before realizing I was a friend, not foe.

"I'm sorry about Suri and the others," I said-and I meant it.

"They fought very valiantly," Tanuki said softly. "And it is better to die fighting than to become a traitor like me."

The large man's face fell and he started to cry.

"What're you talking about?" I said, rubbing his arm. "There was nothing else you could've done."

He nodded, but he didn't look convinced.

"You could've given my sister the files she wanted, but you stalled her, hoping help would come."

"That's true," Tanuki said. "And then you arrived. As if in answer to my prayers."

"See," I said, smiling at him. "You did right by me and everyone here in Purgatory."

"Thank you," he said uncertainly, "I will get the drawers returned to their proper places before the day is over. I swear it."

I almost told him not worry about it, to just relax and we'd get things settled later, but he looked like he needed to keep his hands busy, so I simply nodded.

As Tanuki returned to the epic task of collecting drawers, I took a deep breath and wheeled around to face Daniel. I had expected anger, maybe even tears, but the cold veneer of civility he wore was enough to chill my heart.

He knows, I thought, guilt sweeping through me. I thought, guilt sweeping through me. He knows what I've done. He knows what I've done.

"Thanks for the cape," I said, launching into the most benign sentence in the universe, when what I really wanted to say was: I'm an idiot. I love you. I'm an idiot. I love you.

"May I see it," he said, holding out his hand for the cape. I gave it to him, and the moment he touched it, it shifted into the Cup of Jamshid. No wonder it'd protected me from the promethium. The Cup was what gave Death his/her powers-and it was the only thing that could've saved me from my immortal weakness. Even now, without the Cup's power, the burning sensation in my gut had started to return.

"Here, drink from it," Daniel said, offering me a sip of my own salvation.

"Wait," I said, holding up my hand.

We stood there in silence, neither one saying what we should've, both of us guilty of glossing over what we were really feeling. I opened my mouth, ready to plunge into the abyss, but Kali saved me from the executioner's ax. She was covered in gore and viscera from head to foot-and frankly she looked like she was in her element. She grinned at me, showing off her pearly whites.

"So, Boss, what's the first order of business?"

I stared at her.

"What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes heavenward.

"Still a dumb old white girl, no matter what t.i.tle you give her," she said, shaking her head.

I looked to Daniel for confirmation and he nodded.

"But what about the Challenge?" I asked, my head spinning. I had no interest in fighting anyone for anything.

"I'll be overseeing h.e.l.l, re-collecting all the souls you let out . . ."

I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my palms.

"Okay, hold on, are you saying I'm Death now? And that you're the new Devil?"

"The nitwit has so much to learn," Kali snickered. "Our Jarvis will be a very busy man."

"But how . . . ? How did all of this happen?" I said, totally lost by this new turn of events.

"First, drink from the Cup," Daniel said, forcing the thing into my hands. I hesitated, then lifted it to my mouth and felt the warm nectar flow from my lips down through the rest of me, permanently squelching the promethium's fire. I would be all right again-or at least until the next time I ate a jewel filled with the stuff.

"Can you explain, Kali?" Daniel asked, "I need to return to h.e.l.l so I can relieve Jarvis and Cerberus from guard duty."

Kali winked at me.

"Oh, I'll tell white girl everything everything," she said. "You'd better believe it."

"Daniel, wait," I called out as he turned to go.

He stopped, his eyes heavy with raw emotion as he looked at me.

"I have to go, Calliope," he said, finally letting out the breath he'd been holding. "We'll talk later."

I watched him leave, my heart breaking into two jagged pieces.

"Kali?" I said, grabbing her wrist to steady myself. She seemed surprised by my touch, but she didn't shrug it off. "Can you tell me who Daniel is?"

"What are you asking me, white girl?" she said, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I just want to know who he really is," I said, my shoulders hunching with exhaustion. "Yes, he's the Devil's protege, I know, I don't care, whatever whatever. I want to know about before then-who he was and how he came to be under the Devil's control."

"We should be celebrating." Kali sighed, her sari stiff with dried blood, the pungent scent of iron floating around her like a perfume.

"Please," I begged.

"He was just a man, Callie. He sold his soul for immortality and was cursed to be the Devil's plaything . . . until you released him."

"And the Devil knew he could be Death?" I asked.

Kali sucked on her teeth like she'd eaten a raw lemon, but then she nodded.

"I would a.s.sume so," she said. "That was why he offered Daniel the bargain, right? Does that answer your question?"

"Sort of," I replied, though I'd sensed Kali was holding something back, something important she wasn't supposed to tell me. Looking at the proud warrior G.o.ddess, I decided to leave things alone for now. There'd be plenty of time in the future to pick Jarvis's brains about the subject.

"Let's get you in a bath, white girl," Kali said. "You smell like sick."

I snorted.

"Um, have you smelled yourself recently?" I asked, the beginnings of a grin stretching across my face.