The Demon Deception (25 page)

They approached the door, and Lilith let go
of his arm. Sam opened the door and let Darcy in. He held the door
and Lazarus leaned forward and took the door from him, allowing Sam
to slip in. He continued to hold it for Lilith as she walked
past.

“Of course, as much as I enjoy your company,
it doesn’t mean that I won’t kill you if you betray us.”

Lilith smiled, and touched him with a light,
very intimate motion, “Of course. I expect nothing less.” She
leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, “And when this is over, I’m
going to hunt you down and kill you.”

He chuckled, “No, you’re going to try. You
won’t succeed.”

He motioned for her to continue through the
door. They stepped inside, and Sam was talking to the hostess to
arrange for a table for four.

Lazarus continued to talk, “You know, I’m
going to figure it out.”

“Figure out what, darling.”

He nodded towards Sam and Darcy, “Darcy, of
course.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know she’s not one of you. She’s a merlin.
Her powers aren’t demonic. She’s an innocent.”

“Oh, honey, there are no innocents in the
world. You should know that by now.”

“I don’t know what your game is, but I still
have some time. I’ll figure it out eventually.”

Lilith turned and pinched his cheek like he
was a little boy, “You’re so cute. You have two days. Are you sure
you’re going to figure it out by then.”

Lazarus smiled, “I’m pretty good at this kind
of thing. I’ll bet you I know it by the time we face the
incursion.”

Lilith thought about it, “maybe. So, what’s
the wager?”

“I’m thinking a steak dinner at
Delmonico’s.”

Lilith shook her head, “If it was the
nineteen-fifties, I’d agree with you. It’s not the same since the
Delmonico family gave it up.”

“Okay, then where do you want to eat?”

“Smith and Wollensky, in DC.”

Lazarus smiled. He needed to pay some
K-street lobbyists a visit anyway. It seemed that fate was going to
take him in that direction after Bisbee, “That sounds perfect.
We’ll call it neutral ground until we finish our dinner. Until,” he
thought about it, “how about six in the morning after our dinner.
Then it’s open season on each other again.”

“You might want to consider a twenty four
hour moratorium on operations after our dinner. I think that I
might have the upper hand in DC.”

He hesitated, then agreed, “True. If there is
a den of iniquity, immorality, and evil, it’s definitely DC. I’ve
never known a place with more thieves than that town.”

“Hollywood?” Lilith asked.

He shook his head, “Close, very corrupt, but
they don’t wrap themselves in the flag when they steal your
money.”

Their table was ready, so they followed the
hostess. They stepped to the table, sat down across from Darcy and
Sam. They gave their orders for drinks. When the drinks made it to
the table, they gave their orders for the entrée.

Darcy looked at Lazarus and Lilith, “You two
look like you’re fast friends now.”

Lazarus stopped eating the corn chip, and
used one of the points to make his point, “That, young lady, would
be a misunderstanding on your part.”

Lilith nodded, “Yes, we’re just making an
agreement on how long before we start hunting each other
again.”

“Hunt each other? Why?”

Lazarus looked at Lilith, who shrugged,
indicating she didn’t mind if he spilled the beans. “I thought
you’d try to tell her sometime anyway. Might as well be now.”

He pointed at himself, “Saint.” He pointed at
Lilith, “Demon Succubus.” He continued his explanation, “You
understand that Lilith and I are sworn enemies. We’ve been trying
to kill each other for, oh,” he paused, and counted on the fingers
on one hand, his eyes looking towards the ceiling as he thought,
“what, about eighteen hundred years now?”

Lilith thought about it, and nodded as she
bit into a corn chip and salsa. She chewed, swallowed, and then
spoke, “Yes, I think that’s about the time you decided to go into
your current line of work.”

Darcy looked at them like they had grown
horns on their heads, “eighteen hundred years?”

Lazarus looked at Lilith, “Have you talked to
her about
anything
?”

“Not really, no.”

He looked back at Darcy, “Darcy, what do you
know about the Bible, the Torah, or maybe Kabballah?”

“Not much. My aunt and uncle never attended
church, and I’ve never felt a desire to go.”

“Do you know anything about Lazarus, risen
from the dead?”

She shook her head, “Not much. Isn’t he the
guy that lived to be a thousand years old?”

Lazarus corrected her, “No. That was
Methuselah. A different guy completely. Lazarus was raised from the
dead.”

Darcy shrugged her shoulders.

“What about Lilith? Have you ever heard about
her?”

Darcy pointed across the table at Lilith,
“You mean, her? I met her at the college. She was thinking about
getting a degree in nursing. That’s how we met. Or are you talking
about Lilith Fair?”

Lazarus smiled, “Well, the original Lilith is
who the fair is named after. Also, Lilith was, according to Jewish
tradition, Adam’s first wife, created from the same earth as he
was, before Eve was created from Adam’s rib.”

“No, I didn’t know that. I thought Eve was
the first woman.”

“Well, there is an ancient history of the
name Lilitu, which is the Akkadian name for demon. This reference
is also made in Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies as
well.

Darcy was bemused by this, “You mean demon,
as in evil, the devil, Satan.”

Hands flew up when she mentioned his name.
They all tried to shush her. Lazarus spoke, “You might want to
forgo mentioning that name again.”

Darcy was incredulous, “What, you’re telling
me that you’re afraid of a mythical creature like Satan?”

Once again, the hands flew up to shush her.
Sam put his hand on her forearm. When she looked at him, he shook
his head, emphasizing that she shouldn’t use the name.

Lazarus nodded, “Yes, I’m very afraid of him.
He’s not a mythical creature. He is in fact, very real.”

Darcy rolled her eyes, “Oh, come on. You’re
pulling my leg.” She looked over at Sam, “Are you in on this too?
What are you guys trying to do? Trying to scare me off before we
get to Bisbee?”

Lazarus continued, “Why do you think we’re
going to Bisbee, Darcy?”

“Well, Lilith here has taught me about how to
harness magic. She told me that there are dangerous, magical
creatures that might harm people,” she motioned to Sam, Lazarus,
and Lilith, “you three would need my help to contain them.”

Lazarus looked at Lilith, “Wow, you really
did sugar coat it, didn’t you?”

Lilith shrugged.

Lazarus continued, “The creatures that we’re
going to try and stop are more than magical creatures. From what
I’ve been told, they’ve slaughtered millions, if not billions of
sentient beings to breach our universe. If they get here, they’ll
slaughter every living thing on the face of the earth, then
continue their march of destruction through other realms of
reality.”

Darcy watched Lazarus, not sure if he was
serious or not. She still had reservations that he was playing some
game, trying to scare her. She looked at Lilith. Lilith was dead
serious. She looked at Sam. His expression mirrored the other
two.

Lazarus explained, “What you have, Darcy, is
not magic. Or, more precisely, it’s a natural way in which you
control your surroundings. It is more of a psychic ability than it
is magic.”

Darcy didn’t believe him, “No, you’re wrong.”
She pointed at Lilith, “Lilith showed me how to control the magic,
by using symbols, and key phrases.”

Lazarus shook his head, “No, what she’s shown
you, is a way to focus your attention, so that you can use your
natural abilities. Your God given abilities. No ‘magic’
involved.”

Darcy looked at Eli like he was mentally
deficient, “Eli, there is no devil, and no god. And, if she
existed, she wouldn’t subscribe to your outdated world view.”

Lazarus sighed, “Look, I’m not here to
discuss semantics. I’m trying to impress upon you that there’s more
going on here than you may know. This isn’t a walk in the park.
There are dangerous, evil adversaries that we’re going to face in
the next few days.”

Darcy rolled her eyes, “Eli, there’s no such
thing as evil. That’s just society trying to label a person who
doesn’t fit into societal norms.”

Lilith tried to subdue the laugh that came
out, and just managed to turn it into a cough. Lazarus reached over
and touched Darcy’s forearm, gently, with his hand, the intimacy
getting her attention, “Darcy, whatever else you need to take away
from this conversation, the one thing you need to remember is this.
Evil is very real, and there are evil people that want to hurt
you.”

“Why are we talking about this? What is this
about? Are you afraid I can’t handle myself in Bisbee?”

Lazarus sighed, “No, Darcy, that’s not it. I
just want you to be prepared for any eventuality.”

Lilith put her hand on Lazarus’ forearm,
forestalling anything else he was about to add, “Eli, she’s a
humanist. She doesn’t understand anything you’re talking about,”
she turned to Darcy, “do you, honey.”

Darcy was miffed by Lilith’s patronizing
tone, “Of course I understand. I just don’t believe that’s how the
world works. I believe everything comes from nature, not some
mythological ‘God.’”

Lazarus continued, and tried to explain
further, “Darcy, I don’t think you get it. My real name is Eleazar.
I was the Bishop of Bethany, on the island of Cyprus for many
years.”

Darcy laughed, “Are you trying to tell me
you’re a religious man? Forgive me if I don’t believe you. Not with
all the weapons you carry.”

Darcy grew quiet. What he was trying to tell
her, suddenly sank in. Darcy shook her head, rejecting it, “That’s
impossible. That means that you’re about, what, two thousand years
old.” She looked at Lilith, “Next, you’re going to try and tell me
that she’s the original Lilith.”

Lazarus, Sam, and Lilith didn’t say a word,
their silence deafening. They sat there, watching Darcy. Darcy
laughed again, the look on her face incredulous, “Are you trying to
tell me that she’s a demon that’s been around since Adam was
alive?”

Lazarus shrugged. Lilith picked up another
biscuit and began buttering it. Darcy looked at Sam. Sam
nodded.

Darcy looked at all three of them as if they
had lost their minds, “You can’t all be crazy.”

Lazarus spoke, “Darcy, you can manipulate the
physical reality that surrounds you. Are you going to tell me that
we’re mad because we’re telling you about demons and demonic
magic?”

The table grew quiet as Darcy tried to digest
what she had just been told. She turned to Lilith, “So what, are
you going to go Oogy Boogy, on me now and turn into a demon and try
to eat me?”

“Honey, that’s so not what I do. I’m not an
Oogy Boogy kind of girl. My line of work is more like sales.”

Lazarus continued, “Darcy, you have a major
misunderstanding of what demons are, and what they do.” He turned
to Lilith, “This lovely lady you see before you is perfect for what
she does. She’s lovely, erudite, sexy, and appealing to ninety-nine
percent of the human race.”

Lilith spoke, apparently touched by what
Lazarus had just said, “Awww, that’s the sweetest thing I think
you’ve ever said to me, Eli.”

Sam rolled his eyes. Lazarus continued, “Hers
is not a job of killing and destroying. Instead, she tempts, she
cajoles, and she flatters. The people that she tempts decide who
they’re going to be, what they’re going to do. If they make the
wrong choice, they end up walking a path that they can never turn
from.”

Darcy remained unconvinced, “Hell is a
mythological place. It doesn’t exist.”

Lazarus looked deep into Darcy’s eyes, “Oh,
believe me, I know all about hell. I know all about temptation.
I’ve burned in the pit, with demons tormenting me.”

Darcy didn’t believe him, “And who tempted
you? How did you end up in hell?”

Lazarus hooked a thumb at Lilith, “She did.
That’s why I’m so familiar with how she operates. I know from
bitter experience where the path she guides you can lead.”

Darcy shook her head, “I can’t believe either
of you. There’s no way you’re two thousand years old, and no way
she’s a demon from the dawn of time.”

Lazarus spread his hands in appeal, “Look,
Darcy, let me explain demons and temptation a different way. Did
you ever know any bad boys when you were younger? Any guys like
that you were maybe attracted to?”

Darcy thought for a minute. She looked
bashful when she said, “There was a mechanic in the garage where my
dad took the car to get it fixed. He had that sexy, tough guy
machismo.”

Lazarus nodded, “Okay, now imagine that bad
boy kept flirting with you, telling you how pretty you are. He
tells you things like, ‘Your parents don’t understand you. Your
friends don’t understand you. I’m the only one that understands
you, and cares about what you think and feel.’ What would you think
about a guy like that? Especially if he brought you flowers, and
paid lots of attention to you, when you were about fifteen or
sixteen?”

Darcy thought, “Well, I did have a major
crush on the guy. I’d probably be very flattered.”

“And you would appreciate the attention, and
probably seek more attention from him as well, wouldn’t you?”

Darcy nodded, “Yeah, probably.”

“How old was this guy?”

“He was probably mid-twenties to early
thirties.”

“What would you have done if he had come to
your window one night, and managed to get you to talk to him
without your parents knowing?”

“I’d probably talk to him.”