If I was a praying man, I’d have given thanks when our wreck of a car actually started. It might have required a bit of magical boosting, but it ran. A basic glamour spell, which covered up the worst of the damage so we weren’t pulled over, came in handy too. Thankfully, Cain’s apartment wasn’t too far from the hospital as, magic notwithstanding, the engine was making some pretty strange noises by the time we pulled up in front of the building. I let the others out at the front and pulled the car around the back into an alleyway. Cain’s building was on a busy main road, so there was nowhere to park other than that.
No one was speaking when I got back to the group. After a rather stilted and insincere apology to Alex when we had met up with him, Cain had stayed fairly quiet, answering any questions with grunts or monosyllabic words. I was just grateful the guy had a spare set of clothes in his bag after destroying his suit while shifting. Shame, really, it had been a nice suit.
I took up the rear of the group, keeping an eye out as we entered the foyer and headed up to the fifth floor. Cain stood at the front in the lift, his arms loose by his sides, showing no signs of worry or stress, which I thought was odd considering what we had just faced. Faith and Alex kept sharing furtive glances and smiles across the small space, and I wondered what that was about. Sam caught my gaze and raised his eyebrows, subtly inclining his head towards Cain. He’d obviously picked up on how oddly Cain was behaving. I wondered about it as the doors slid open.
I’d been prepared for him to be a little odd, considering how much time he had spent on Earth, but then again, he had been alive for so long, who could know what was going on inside his head?
Cain stood in front of the door, and I heard him murmur something under his breath before sliding the key into the lock. He had magical abilities then. That was interesting. Before he turned the handle, he mumbled again, and I felt the air move as the security spell on the door lifted. I pondered what it had been. Stepping back, he gestured for us to enter the apartment, and I was pleasantly surprised. For an immortal, it was a modest living place. Often, those that lived a long time accrued a large amount of wealth, usually through properties or stocks, and with some careful and clever accounting, it could grow substantially through the decades. That would often lead to ostentatious displays of fortune, such as car collections, yachts, private jets, and colossal homes where everything dripped with gold. I cringed, thinking of a couple of Russian oligarchs Alex and I had once investigated—vampires involved in the blood trade. We had eventually found enough evidence to bring them down, but the memories of gold jewellery, watches, even cutlery—which I’d thought was strange for creatures who didn’t eat solid food—still lived vividly in my mind.
Cain’s apartment wasn’t like that at all. It had hardwood floors, long white curtains framing large windows, and a huge white rug in front of the one white sofa. A dark wood desk and a leather chair stood in one corner, with a desk light and a laptop. I realised if he spent as much time moving about as Alex had said, then minimalism would definitely be his lifestyle. But everything in here was stylish and had an air of quality about it I liked. My respect for the man went up a little.
Cain crossed the room, pulled the curtains shut, and then turned to face us. “Have a seat.” He disappeared through a door, and we all looked at each other.
“I guess we should sit,” I said, dropping down on one end of the sofa. Sam crashed down next to me, and Alex took the remaining seat as I pulled Faith onto my lap. She leaned against me but didn’t exactly cuddle in. With her being away in Iraq with Alex and Euriel, and me having to return to Dis for a bit, it seemed like ages since I’d seen her, and I decided that as soon as we were home, I would take her out on another date. Or maybe even stay in for one.
Cain returned carrying a collection of dark glass bottles. He passed a beer to each of us then disappeared again. Within moments, he reappeared with a clear glass bottle filled with green liquid and a shot glass. He poured himself one and knocked it back, then he refilled the glass.
“So you show up at my place of work to tell me I’m in danger, and a few hours later, I get attacked by a pack of hellhounds. Not only that, but it appears you know my real name. Maybe you should start talking.”
His tone grated on me. “As we tried to explain to you in your office, we have a rather dire situation on our hands. Are you familiar with what happened with the watchers and the nephilim?”
“I am.” Cain took another drink and leaned against the doorframe. “What of it?”
“A watcher has escaped from Tartarus.” I wasn’t intentionally being dramatic. Okay, maybe I was, but the guy was riling me up, acting like he gave a shit about nothing, and we’d all just risked our lives to save his… well, to save him from a nasty future, if not his life. It did seem to get his attention though.
He looked up, fixing his eyes on mine. “How?”
“We aren’t entirely sure. We know he somehow managed to open communication between himself and a witch on Earth, plus a demon lord in Sheol. He convinced them to help him, and they managed to orchestrate a blood ritual that summoned his spirit from Tartarus.”
Cain released a low whistle. “Who did they use for the blood sacrifice? They must have had immense power, whoever they were.”
I felt Faith tense on my lap, but I kept my demeanour casual. “We’re not sure exactly.”
“So this watcher, is he corporeal? I assume if they only summoned his spirit, he must have taken a host.”
I nodded. “Yes, a fellow agent, a demon, was taken as host. We are hoping to remove the spirit and save our agent.”
Cain sneered. “Good luck with that one. Possession from a watcher? That guy would have to have something pretty important to hold onto in order to keep his sanity or his soul. He won’t last five minutes.”
“He’s lasted a good while.”
Cain shrugged and knocked back another shot. He refilled his glass and leaned against the wall. “So what does all this have to do with me? I don’t have anything against the watchers. I feel a bit sorry for the poor sods actually, imprisoned for falling in love. If they get out, good on them. I wish them well.”
I suppressed a yelp as Faith’s nails dug into the skin on the back of my hand. I could feel the anger radiating off her, and I was impressed she’d kept her mouth shut so far.
“I don’t think you realise what millennia of pain and torment have done to the watchers, Cain,” Alex said softly. “Thousands of years spent in darkness, agony, and suffering have driven them insane, and now their leader has escaped, and he wants to free them all. He wants revenge.”
Cain turned to face him, his disgust clear on his face. “So let them out. Big deal. There’s not much difference between them and vile bloodsuckers that walk this world, is there? We should be helping them, not stopping them. Hell, I’ll point the way to Heaven myself.”
“Don’t be stupid, Cain. I understand if you have a bone to pick with that realm, many of us do, but the watchers and the nephilim wouldn’t get anywhere near Heaven, and you know it. The hosts will descend before they’ve barely surfaced on Earth, and humanity will become their battleground. So yeah, it is a big deal.” Cas made no attempt to mask the frustration in his voice.
Cain shrugged. “Maybe that’s not a bad thing. Come on, angel. You’ve been around longer than me. You must see that wiping out humanity could be a good thing in the long run. I mean, He’s done it before, and humans still repopulated the planet to the point that it’s overrun. It might actually give their race longer to survive before the world goes up in flames.”
Faith was standing before I could stop her. She marched over to Cain and stood in front of him, looking up into his dark face. “How can you say that? You’re human. How can you be so callous about your own race?”
“Why do you care? You’re not even human,” Cain retorted. “I can’t even tell what you are, your aura is so fucked up.”
“It’s not important.”
He leaned forward and grabbed her shoulders, staring down into her eyes. “Wings of a fallen angel, but you wielded angel blades earlier. I would say you were nephilim, but that’s not right either, and I can scent shifter and vampire in you. Everything and nothing. What are you, woman?”
“Something new,” she replied and stepped back, pulling out of his grip.
I stood up. “It doesn’t matter what she is or what any of us are. The point is, we swore to protect humanity, and that’s what we are going to do, even if it means protecting you as well.”
Cain snorted. “I wouldn’t exactly count myself as one of the human race when I can shift at will and magically summon demons. So tell me again, why does this whole situation endanger me so much?”
“The watcher who escaped, Shemyaza, is the leader of the watchers. We surmise he is still the leader and the strongest, and that he desires to free the rest and bring war to the Heavens. Bit risky to lead a war of that magnitude when the body you reside in needs constant magic and sustenance from human bodies to even move.” Alex paused, watching understanding dawn on Cain’s face. “He needs a strong body, one that can wield power. One that can’t be killed. Your body. That is your curse, am I right? That’s why you are still alive thousands of years after you killed your brother?”
Cain’s face paled and his jaw clenched. “It is. Cursed for defending my sister and my wife against my own brother who took her from me by force. Wasn’t God’s plan, so I was punished for it. Said it was the first blood spilled onto the sacred earth by violence.” He turned to Faith. “But it wasn’t, was it? Abel spilled the first blood, hers, when he took her and defiled her, when he hurt her, when he broke her barrier and her blood fell upon the ground. But he wasn’t cursed, only I was for protecting the woman I loved with all my heart and soul. If the watchers want revenge, I’d open the fucking gates of Tartarus myself if I thought they’d finish the bastard off.”
“The odds of them ever getting to the Holy City, let alone near the throne room, are abysmally low, even if all the watchers and nephilim were released,” I argued. “You know the power He possesses.”
Cain grunted. “So this demon your watcher is possessing now? He’s someone important to you?”
I nodded, not wanting to look at Alex.
“So why, if this demon is so important, are you trying to keep this Shemyaza from me? Surely if he jumps bodies, you’d get your friend back. I would have thought you’d be helping him.”
“In our friend’s body he’s dangerous. In yours, he’d be unstoppable,” I answered.
Cain shook his head. “Noble sacrifice. Doesn’t explain why this watcher set hellhounds on me though. Figured he’d want my body in one piece if he’s looking to squat in it.”
I couldn’t answer that, but then Faith spoke up. “I think you’re too strong as you are. He tried to jump into me, but he couldn’t. He only managed to get into Amadi because he was so badly injured. He was going to set the hounds on you when he arrived to make sure he was there when you were at your weakest before you started to heal again.”
Cain nodded slowly. “Makes sense to weaken physical and mental barriers. But what about now?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The guy he’s possessing. Is he still in there? Is he riding shotgun?”
I looked over at Alex and took a breath, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “It’s unlikely. The force of Shemyaza’s spirit would have more than likely burned through his soul by now. I don’t think there will be anything left.” I saw Faith cross over to Alex and take his hand. She looked away just as I caught the glimmer of tears in her eyes, and my heart ached for them, and for me as well. Amadi had been a good friend. I didn’t know if he was still in there or not, but I needed Cain to know what would await him and what the danger was so he would take it seriously. Appealing to his heroic side didn’t appear to be working.
“Burned away? You mean, he’s not there anymore? His body is just a shell?”
Hmm, it looked like I’d hit a nerve. “Yes, I’d imagine so.” I didn’t look at Alex and Faith.
Cain stared down at the floor. “So what do you propose if he’s going to keep coming after me?”
“Take you back to England, to the Concordia, and place you under protective guard at all times,” Sam inserted.
“I can see why you’d think that was the best idea.” He straightened and tossed back the rest of his beer. “Okay, I’ll go.”
I blinked in surprise. “Okay, great, if you want to grab some stuff, we’ll get the car… maybe a taxi actually. We’ll need to be at the airport and on a plane before dawn.” I glanced at Alex who nodded. I stood up, and so did the others, placing our empty bottles on the desk.
Cain put his hand on the door handle then hesitated. “We should do something first.”
“What?” I asked, wondering if he had a girlfriend or something. He hadn’t mentioned anyone, and the apartment certainly didn’t give the impression that anybody else lived here.
“We should summon him.”
“Summon who?” I questioned in confusion.
“The watcher.” Cain moved forward and bent down, pulling back the rug a couple of feet to reveal familiar symbols and sigils burned into the floor.
“A Circle of Solomon. Are you insane?” I stared at him in shock, my mind skipping over why he would think this was a good idea.
“No, I’m not. There’s enough power in the people here to create a very strong circle. Even if he does manage to break out, it should at least keep him delayed until we can hop on the plane. I don’t really fancy another hellhound showdown like before in the departure lounge, do you?”
I opened my mouth to retort, then hesitated. Now that I thought about it, it did make some sense. I looked at Sam, who shrugged. “You’re the magic person, it’s your call.”
“What? No. Are you serious?” Faith demanded, pushing her way to my side. “Cas, this is nuts.”
I took her hand. “Actually, it isn’t. Sam and Alex can’t help, but you have magical ability, and with Cain and me… he’s right. We could trap him here and stall him. It would give us time to get to safety.”
She shook her head. “We have time, they haven’t found us yet. We should leave now. Cas, we’d be on a plane and out of here in a few hours.”
I looked across at Cain, who had rolled the rest of the rug back and placed it in the corner of the room. The burned circle and summoning triangle were clear and accurate.
“You’ve done this before?” I asked.
“Many times. Not with watchers, obviously, but I’ve summoned plenty of low and mid-level demons. I’ve even used the idea before, trapping a strong wrath demon to give me time to escape.”
I took a deep breath, staring hard at the triangle, and then I nodded.
It didn’t take long to assemble supplies. Cain already had candles to set out on the floor at the four quarters, and although I could tell he had already infused the circle with his blood, he repeated the process once the circle was active, slicing his wrist and dripping blood on the grooves. The circle drank the blood thirstily, and I noticed Cain glancing Alex’s way a couple of times as the blood welled up. Alex stood out of the way with Sam and ignored Cain completely.
Finally, the circle was cast, and it glowed with a golden light that seemed far too warm and inviting for the creature we were about to summon. Cain hit the lights, plunging us all into darkness save for whatever streetlight made it in through the gaps in the curtains. All five of us stepped into the circle, and Cain moved into the centre. He spread his arms wide and closed his eyes, tipping his face up slightly. “This is the Form of the Secret Seal of Solomon, wherewith he did bind and seal up the aforesaid Spirits with their legions in the Vessel of Brass. We come on this night clear and true to our desire.”
“Cas…” I looked over at Faith to see her pale and shaking, so I moved closer to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
“It’s okay, it’s not like before. He’s already here on this plane, so it won’t take anything too elaborate to summon him.”
“I still think this is a terrible idea,” she muttered, pulling away.
Cain opened his eyes and glared at us, but he continued to speak an invocation. “I do invocate and conjure thee, O Spirit, Shemyaza, I do strongly command thee, thou who was cursed into the depths of the Bottomless Abyss, there to remain unto the Day of Doom in chains, and in fire and brimstone unquenchable by the most Powerful Princes, Genii, Liachidæ, and Ministers of the Tartarean Abode, that thou dost forthwith appear unto me here before this circle in a fair human shape, without any deformity or tortuosity…”
Blue flames started to flicker along the edges of the circle and the summoning triangle, and I heard Faith’s breathing speed up. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight as the flames grew higher and higher, its cerulean smoke collecting within the circle and triangle.
“Shemyaza, I do summon and conjure thee! Appear to us now. As my will dictates, be it done!” At Cain’s last words, the smoke dissipated as though someone had opened a large window, and the flames began to crackle and die down. As the tall spires of fire began to drop, I could just make out a tall, dark shape in the summoning circle. Spiralled blue tattoos glowed fiercely all over his naked body, and his silver eyes gleamed in the darkness. Shemyaza had come.
