Hell Is Coming (The Watcher's Series Book 1) (27 page)

“Where?” Eva said as we looked at the laptop Frank was sitting by at the breakfast bar.

“In the city believe it or not,” Frank said. “I thought it was the obvious place to look first. Seems I was right.”

“Go on.”

“There has been a lot of activity around the city for the last ten years or so, which is no surprise to us, but on the west side there seems to have been more than usual.” He paused to drink from the beer he held . “Strange happenings, unusual deaths and lately some freak weather activity that no one seems able to explain. Just last year it rained blood for two days straight. I remember that happening, actually, over the old cemetery. People were freaked out.”

“And you didn’t think that unusual at the time, either of you?” I said.

Frank shrugged. “I’ve seen stranger things than that. I thought it was some demon trick. They like doing that sometimes to freak people out. They feed off the fear and panic.”

“There’s a Hell Gate in that old necropolis,” Eva said.

“You know this for a fact?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “It’s marked in one of my books at home, with the rest of the Hell Gates around the world.”

“So how many seals are left to break before Abigor can open the gates?”

“Well, given that Abigor said three days to open the gates, there can’t be many more seals left. Maybe one or two if we’re lucky.”

“That’s not good,” Frank said. “How the hell are we supposed to stop this from happening if we don’t even know what the seals are?”

None of this was making me feel very optimistic and I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. “There must be a way to find out what the last seals are,” I said.

“There is,” Eva said and turned to look at Frank. “You’ll have to contact Rothstein.”

“Who the hell is Rothstein?” I asked.

“Rothstein used to be head of the High Council,” Eva explained. “The High Council used to run the Watchers around the world.”

“Tell us what to do, in other words,” Frank interjected.

“Until, that is, the whole organization fell apart due to in-fighting and politics.”

“Good riddance,” Frank said. “Bunch of angel huggers.”

“Angel huggers?” I said

“The High Council members would communicate with the archangels,” Eva said. “They would take orders from them. Jack Rothstein did most of the talking, but the angels, they played this little game, where they pitted all the council members against each other, just for fun. Anyway, it all fell apart, but Rothstein apparently still talks to a few of the less nefarious angels on occasion. He may be able to get us the information we need.”

“Alright,” I said, feeling optimistic. “Call him up then.”

A while later, Frank got a call while we were still in the cabin, scouring the internet and looking through more books that he had pulled up from the cellar. So far we hadn’t found anything helpful. Eva was gone; she wanted to check her own library at home. I stared at Frank until he put the phone down. “Well?” I said leaning forward in my seat by the fireplace.

“Fucking angels,” he said scowling. He looked dejected as he slumped down in the seat opposite me.

“What?”

“Rothstein found the list of seals for the cemetery Hell Gate. But the last seal isn’t written. Apparently the angels didn’t want anyone to know what it is.” Frank shook his head, his jaw clenched. “I told you, angels are assholes.”

I threw my head back and sighed. “Why didn’t this Rothstein just ask the angels?”

“He did, but they told him nothing. You have to understand, angels don’t like Nephilim. They don’t like us having any power and they consider humans to be talking monkeys, including us. I don’t think they’d be bothered if the Hell Gate was opened. It would give them an excuse to come down here and fight a war, which is what they like doing most.”

I listened with wide eyes. “So what the hell was the point in creating the seals in the first place if they couldn’t care less?”

“Orders, I guess. Who knows?” Frank shrugged and went and poured himself another drink.

I fell back into my chair. “This just gets better and better, doesn’t it?”

“We still have time. We’ll think of something.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Time to do what, Frank? Read every book in this damned cabin? We’re never going to find out how to kill Abigor in these books. We need to do something else.”

“And what do you suggest, Leia?” He scowled at me, whiskey in hand. “I’m all ears. If you have some brilliant idea that’s drawn from your vast experience in these matters then please, do tell.”

I  looked away from him and said nothing. I wanted to scream at him, tell him what he could do with his sarcasm, but he was right. I had been thrust into the Watcher life not even a week ago, so I wasn’t exactly experienced, as he pointed out.

Yet our fates felt like they rested squarely on my shoulders for some reason. I didn’t know whether that was because of Josh or because Abigor had chosen to reveal his plan to me, but I somehow felt responsible for resolving the crisis we were in, if crisis could even begin to describe the clusterfuck we found ourselves in.

“We have to stay calm here,” he said coming to sit back down with a refilled whiskey glass in hand. “Let’s just keep hitting the books. Something will turn up. It always does.”

I stood up. “I need to rest for a while.” That was a lie, but I needed time alone. I lifted a book from the pile on the floor and tucked it under my arm. “I’ll keep reading in my room.”

Frank didn’t protest when I left and headed for my room, probably glad to be rid of me for a while. The real reason I left him was because I had decided to take more extreme measures.

I was going to sell my soul in return for access to the weapon that could kill Abigor.

The book I took to my room contained the instructions for summoning the crossroad demon to make the deal with. I didn’t say anything  to Frank because I didn’t want to argue with him over it.

When I got to my room I locked the door, sat on my bed, and started leafing through the pages, trying to find what I had come across earlier. After much fretting and thinking I had lifted the wrong book, I finally found what I was looking for.

According to the book you could use the ritual to summon a demon at a crossroads and that demon would grant you whatever you wanted.

I had been thinking about going down that route ever since Abigor mentioned it. It wasn’t something I wanted to do but at that point I didn’t see any other choices. Frank and Eva had come up empty so far and there was little time left. Drastic measures were called for.

It was my soul—one soul—in return for possibly saving the world from literally going to Hell. 

There was no debate as far as I was concerned. Frank would have protested if I’d told him and then we would have debated it for God knows how long, before deciding who was going to be the martyr and sacrifice their soul.

There was no time for all that.

I checked the book to see what I’d need to summon the crossroads demon. The items involved in the ritual were fairly straightforward. I could sneak into the cellar where Frank kept all his potions and spell ingredients and get what I needed. I could then sneak out and go find a crossroads somewhere.

Ripping out the page with the ritual on it, I left my room and went down into the cellar where the spell ingredients were. It took me only a few minutes to get what I needed and I kept listening for Frank in case he came down and caught me.

When I had what I needed, I climbed out the small window in the cellar, barely squeezing through the narrow gap and out on to the gravel, and from there I walked quickly to the Mustang which was parked just a dozen yards away.

When I got in the car, I soon discovered the keys were not in the ignition.

What the hell?

I had left them there so where were they?

I jumped when I heard a knock at the window. Frank stood outside, dangling the car keys. I wound the window down.

“Looking for these?” he said. “What’s going on? You thought I wouldn’t see you run out here.”

“Just give me the keys, Frank. Please.”

“Why? Where are you going?”

“I can’t tell you. You have to trust me. Please give me the keys.”

Frank thought for a moment then shook his head. “No. I’m not letting you go off so you can do something stupid.”

“Goddammit, Frank. You owe me.”

He stared at me for a moment and then threw the keys in my lap. “Try not to get yourself killed,” he said and then walked away, back into the cabin.

Putting the keys in the ignition, I started the car and drove off, Frank’s final words still echoing in my mind.

I’ll be fine, Frank.

I wasn’t so sure if my soul would be though.

Chapter 23

I drove out in Josh’s car to some farmland not far from the cabin where I knew I could find a crossroads. It was almost dawn when I got out of the car and walked to the middle of the crossroads. On every side of me there were flat fields, with grass to the left and tilled soil to the right. There were no buildings of any kind for miles.

I was completely alone out there in the cold silence of dawn.

Assembling what I needed for the spell, I brought the items to the middle of the crossroads and placed them on the dirt road. The last thing the spell required was for me to write down on a piece of paper my request and then burn the paper on top of the rest of the items, which I did.

Shivering in the cold, I waited.

The silence was oppressive as I stood in the middle of the road. Light broke through the inky sky and a slight wind picked up, causing me to pull my jacket closed and fold my arms across myself. As I waited I had no idea if the summoning would even work and after a few more minutes, I feared the worst. Wringing my hands, I worried that I’d done the spell wrong and that I was back to being screwed again.

Then I heard a voice.

“Hello, Miss Leia Swanson.”

I spun around with a start when I heard  the voice behind me. Standing a few feet away was a man in a dark suit. He was tall and in the gloomy light I could just make out his shadowed face. He had gaunt features and what looked like brown or grey eyes, I couldn’t really tell. His hair was fair and swept back from his creaseless forehead. He had the air of a salesman about him. I stood looking at him for a moment, unsure of what to do or say next.

“Well, speak, little lady,” the man said in a deep southern accent. “I’m here to serve. What can I do for you?”

“I need help,” I said, unable to think of anything else.

The man walked closer to me. Everything about him was immaculate, from his hair to his skin to his clothes. He looked like he belonged in downtown Mercy City with the rest of the suits. I had no doubt he spent a lot of time there, granting wishes in return for souls. “I gathered that,” he said in that silky southern accent, which was almost soothing to my ears. “I’m assuming this is your first time at the crossroads.”

“How does this work?”

“Straight to business, okay. Well, I help you with whatever you need and you give me what I need. It’s a simple exchange.”

“Okay.” I blinked rapidly at him, constantly moving wayward strands of hair out of my face.

“Now what would a pretty thing like you need from me? You look like you have everything you need.” He stopped to smell the air. “And a Nephilim as well. You’re not going to try and kill me, are you?” His eyes glowed a deep scarlet. “That wouldn’t go well for you. I would advise against that.”

“I’m not here for that.” I cleared my throat. “There’s something I need.”

“Shoot, tell me. I can’t wait to hear just
what
it is you need.” His smile unsettled me for some reason; I averted my gaze to the ground.

“I need a weapon that can kill the demon Abigor.”

The crossroads demon laughed. “Well goddamn,” he said. “Ain’t that just the best one I think I’ve ever heard? And I’ve heard some good ones in my time.”

“I’m glad you find it amusing. Can you help me or not? If you can’t help me I’m just going to go,” I said, making to walk away.

“Now hold on there, little lady,” the demon said. “Forgive me for laughing. It’s just what you ask is, to put it mildly, some heavy shit, if you get my meaning. Why in the hell would you want to try and kill yourself by trying to
kill
a demon like Abigor? How do you even know who Abigor is?”

“You obviously haven’t heard.” He looked at me as if to say go on. “Abigor has his sights set on destroying this world.”

“Abigor is a crazy, that’s for sure. I hear stuff about him all the time, mostly rumors down there.” He pointed to the ground. “Last I heard he was trying to open the gates of Hell, although that was unsubstantiated. Are you telling me it’s true? He wants to unleash our little Hell on to this here earth?”

“It’s true. He told me himself.”

The crossroads demon looked surprised. “You’ve spoken with Abigor?”

“Yes.” I felt light-headed and overheated all of a sudden. I rubbed the back of my neck. “I spoke with him and he told me all about his grand plan. He’s an arrogant bastard.”

“Well, well.” The demon smiled to himself. “This is certainly an interesting development indeed.” He stood for a moment  in deep thought, then  laughed and said, to himself, “I can’t believe the old demon is going through with it.”

“Well, he is and I’m going to stop him.” I was pacing around the road, trying to contain my growing impatience. “I need a weapon that can kill him. Do you know of one?”

The crossroads demon stepped closer to me. “There may be a weapon. I may be able to help you get that weapon. But what makes you think you’ll be able to kill Abigor with it? No offense, but you don’t look capable of such a…massive feat.”

 I hadn’t even considered the fact that Abigor might be difficult to kill, even with the right weapon. I was so focused on finding a suitable weapon that I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Why don’t you let me worry about that? If you get me the weapon, I can kill him.”

He looked long and hard at me, as if trying to decide if I was worth helping or not. “Okay,” he said finally. “A soul is a soul after all. There’s a weapon that might be of use to you. Hardly anyone knows about it but I’m not sure if it’ll do the job you’re talking about doing. I don’t see any other choice though.”