I’d been here less than ten minutes, and I was already ready to beat the fuck out of anyone who came near me—something I wasn’t proud of. The more things seemed to change, the more they stayed the same, I guessed.
Forcing my way through crowds of Demons, I made my way to the dungeon’s door by physical force or by using my powers. They could either be mad or horny, I didn’t care. I’d prefer the latter, since it fed me better.
I found Samael much like I’d found Az on a regular basis. It’d been millennia since I saw Samael, and yet he had his dick in someone while getting railed from behind. His pale skin contrasted with the green scales of the demon behind him, and the purplish tone of the demoness underneath him. The demon behind him was pushing his hips into Sam hard enough that the person underneath him was screaming in rapture as Samael’s hips snapped in time with the demon behind him.
I didn’t have time for this shit, so I let loose on my powers and fed on all the sexual energy radiating off them in waves. It was the first time in days that I was sated. I blew out a quiet breath of relief. Their demeanors changed, confused at their deflating boners, and I started slow clapping while walking their way, full and high off their lust.
“My, Samael, I think the last time I saw you, you were doing much of the same thing, just in a vastly different setting. But not at—” I glanced at my phone“—2:40 in the afternoon.”
He startled. Samael took a minute to get his bearings, then sauntered toward me, naked, with a shit-eating grin. The other two continued where he left off, seemingly oblivious to their surroundings. I guessed they both had a quick re-up time.
“Ah, Vada, I was wondering when you were going to show your face,” Samael greeted me with no concern about hisnudity. I was used to nudity by now, but I expected better out of the demons here. I’d have to manage my expectations.
“Well, since you seem completely fucking oblivious to everything going on around you as usual, it seems like nothing has changed,” I replied with a bite.
His face went red and he sniffed, rubbing his forearm across his nose.Cool, so he was high as a fucking kite, too. “What the fuck do you mean ‘oblivious to everything’? Everything is good.”
I dragged him by his ear like the little man-child he was to the doorway to see the fighting happening in the main space of the faction. “Does this look like everything’s good?”
He cursed, then paled, quickly dressing while I stood by the doorway. Once done, he sent out a wave of power that almost had me submitting too. Samael was a fallen angel who retained some of his powers of peace when he fell. For a strong demon, power of peace rather than destruction was rare, but it was often necessary. ThePaxwas the perfect place for someone like him, instead of Hell.
The room quieted down and everyone turned toward the doorway we were standing in. I casually leaned against the jamb, making my first impression on these fools. In the Demon Realm, respect was earned by power. I didn’t know if that was the case here, but I tried to give the impression that I didn’t give a fuck about any of them while also having the ear of the de facto leader.
“Someone better tell me what the fuck is going on right now!” Samael shouted, his power pulsing like a living thing.
“Pan’s dead.”
“Murdered.”
“We have a traitor in our midst.”
Everyone started shouting at once, and all I could focus on was that my friend was dead. What the fuck happened? The tension in the room ramped back up, and Samael pushed morepower into the room. Some of the weaker demons in the vicinity bowed in supplication, while others showed quiet hostility, not quite daring to voice their opinions. I made note of those individuals. It was clear I would need to keep an eye on them going forward. Samael’s leadership obviously was hanging on by a thread.
I didn’t have time to grieve my friend yet.
“Pan’s dead? Where the fuck is security?” Samael shouted over the cacophony again.
Four demons headed our way, and Samael made a gesture to follow him out of the dungeon and into an office on the other side of the floor. I tried to push Pan’s death out of my head, but I was shattering. I quickly wiped under my eye to confirm I wasn’t crying, then impassively walked toward the office, trying to maintain my composure. It was quieter in here, and I was thankful for that.
“This is Vada Livinicus. She has come to us from the Demon Realm. I believe she’s been in St. Louis for less than a week,” Samael said to the guards who entered with us.
I nodded to everyone. “I don’t mean to be rude, but introductions can wait. What’s going on? I was with Adaela when the alarms started going off, and we rushed here to figure it out.”
The guard to my left, a woman who appeared to be a slayer, one of the Demon races from the Seventh Circle of Hell, spoke, “One of our lower-level Demons was found near the kitchens with missing limbs and a bullet hole through the forehead. No one heard or saw anything. There doesn’t appear to be any trail leading anywhere either.” She winced. “Pan was found in his office. We haven’t yet figured out his cause of death. He was technically a God, so it would take a lot to kill him.”
Samael’s eyes were wide, and it was clear that he was panicking. He was probably too high to realize the severity ofthe issue right now, but Pan’s leadership as his second was hitting home. He was realizing that he was now responsible for the Demon Faction. Samael had always been about the party, even millennia ago when we first met. I sighed, then took over, wanting to get this rolling so we could figure out our next steps.
“Has the perimeter been secured? Were we able to find any leads on who might’ve murdered someone in the most secure building in the world?” I asked.
The guards studied me with equal parts suspicion and respect. They realized the same thing I had about Samael, and they were likely wondering about my timing in coming here, too. The fact was, I was close friends with Pan and Selene, his wife, and we’d been making plans for my arrival here on Earth for over a century—ever since I’d learned of Adaela’s existence. I would likely have to have this conversation with the Demon Faction soon enough, but today was not that day. We had shit to take care of.
“We could not find anything that pointed toward a breach anywhere,” one of the guards said. “We are in the process of interrogating the members who have been here, but we don’t have any updates. The Demon’s closest friends and family have been notified of his death, but that’s all the information we have right now.”
“Okay, good work on getting things started. What do you need from me?” I asked.
The guard considered me for a minute, then said, “I think you might be the best person we have right now to notify the rest of thePaxfactions about what’s going on. In the meantime, we will continue our search for the murderers. Can you contact Adaela and see where they’re at?”
I glanced at Samael since he hadn’t said anything, only to see him passed out in a chair. I groaned. Samael was genuinely a good pick as a leader when he had his shit together, but it wasclear to me that Pan’s death was hitting him hard.Same, friend.I sighed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll take care of that. I’m going to give you my number. Can you text me any relevant information about the Demon Faction like names, locations where people were injured or killed, and anything else you find might be important to this investigation?”
