Demon Hunters (36 page)

“Mr. Corba! I wasn’t expecting to see you so
soon!” Bertram said as he blustered out of his door at the other
end of the office. He sailed towards Aldo and I like a shark that
just sniffed a drop of blood miles away.

“Well, I just needed to talk with you a bit
more before we made any decisions.”

“I see. Of course. And where is your
partner? Ivar, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. He’s busy right now. I’d really like
to talk to you about Melissa and Jeff.”

“What in the world for?”

“I just need some information concerning
their background. May we sit?”

“Of course.” Bertram then led us to a vacant
desk not too far away. He sat down behind the desk and Aldo and I
took the seats in front.

“Who is this?” He asked indicating to
Aldo.

“Aldo Rex. I’m a lawyer.” He said.

“This seems so serious.”

“It is, Bertram. You may not be aware of
this, but I’m an investigator.”

“Well, of course I’m aware. I hired
you.”

“Yes, I know, but I also investigate other
things. Things like demons,” I said. As soon as I brought out the
D-word, I could see the change in Bertram’s eyes. The fear and
panic.

“I’m sorry? Did you say demons?” He asked,
easily shaking off his initial shock.

“I happen to know your Melissa and Jeff are
known in other circles as Vyra and Pyre. Two very powerful demons
who some would describe as evil, for the lack of a better term.”
Bertram’s face was calm. That worried me. It was as though
everything I had just said was coming to him as no surprise. He was
only caught off guard that I knew at all.

“I know.” He said at last.

“You knew?”

“Yes. They came to me and told me they had
some property they needed to unload. I don’t know why I didn’t run
screaming into the night by the sight of them, but I didn’t. I
guess on some level, I wanted to know more. They then explained
everything to me.”

“So you are fully aware that Heavenly
Meadows is actually Heaven? You knew that?”

“How could I say no? It was perfect!
Property that was literally priceless and with no way of ever
selling out! It’s going to bring money into my home for eons to
come!”

“Two demons come to you with Heaven in tow
and you see no problem in selling it off, piece by piece?”

“I’m a businessman, Mr. Corba. A damn fine
one too. My fortune was not earned by letting opportunities slip
through my fingers.”

“You don’t even realize what you’ve done, do
you? You’ve displaced Heaven! All the spirits that dwelled there
and the ones who would arrive in the future are now lost!”

“That’s the beauty of this whole thing. Not
only can I sell to the living here, but it’s also opened the
demographic of the dead as well! Those displaced souls are more
than welcome to come and see me about getting in. I can get a very
reasonable interest rate for first time buyers.”

“Not to mention Hell bound buyers too. You
sold to Hitler!”

“Yes. He was one of the first to buy. And
the number of pre-orders is astounding. I’ve gotten bids from Bin
Laden, Cruise, Trump, and practically everyone on Capitol Hill!
This is an exciting day. Now, no one has to go to the trouble of
earning passage into Heaven. They can just buy their own piece of
it with a low down payment and surprisingly reasonable monthly
payments.”

“You do realize there are reasons some
people don’t make it into Heaven, right? I mean, it’s not a country
club. The people who do go there earn it, and the ones who aren’t
there are supposed to be someplace else.”

“Come now, Mr. Corba. Good. Bad. These are
terms that mean nothing in this world. There is no right or wrong
any more. It’s deals. Bargains. Agreements that truly make this
world go ‘round. Supply and demand. That is the only true law.”

“Mr. Bertram. You and those demons have come
in conflict with forces that none of you truly comprehend. Your
actions have put all of existence into question,” Aldo added. “I
represent the class action lawsuit for those wrongfully damned to
Hell due to your actions. Consider yourself added to the suit.”

“This is free enterprise!”

“It’s grand theft divine!” Suddenly, a loud
chorus of Ode To Joy boomed out of nowhere. It sounded like a
chorus of a million angels from above. Aldo dug into his pocket and
pulled out a phone. As he clicked it, the music stopped.

“Now, while he’s busy, let’s talk reality.
Vyra and Pyre stole Heaven and it’s going back. Today. Everyone you
sold to is getting a big eviction notice.”

“It could take days to oversee all those
transactions.”

“Don’t worry. We’re doing it the old
fashioned way. We just need you to keep your big mouth shut and
don’t tell...” I suddenly felt a grip on my shoulder. Aldo pulled
me around to face him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you spoke with
Hither? And why did you tell her where Heaven was?”

“What?”

“I just got a call from my office. They tell
me H.A.R.M. has sent down forces to Heaven.”

“I never told Hither where anything was. I
only talked to her once and that was just so she could warn me
about sticking my nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Well, she figured something out fast. I was
told that Hither is en route to Heavenly Meadows right now with an
entire warrior host.”

“What’s the big deal? She goes down and
takes it back. Case solved.”

“The last thing I wanted was an official
action being taken. I don’t know how aware you are of how angels
fight, but there are rarely any survivors when they step in. If
they hit Heaven, they will wipe out every living thing within
twenty five miles of the area, including any towns and cities that
might exist therein.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly. We need to get there now.” Aldo
grabbed my arm. Within a blink of my eye, we were transported from
Bertram’s office to the gates of Heavenly Meadows.

“How did you do that? I never told you where
Heaven was either.”

“You didn’t have to. One touch and I was
able to read your entire mind and get the information I
needed.”

“Is that something only you can do?”

“No. All departed souls can do it. It’s
Spirit 101.”

I looked up and I could see a small cluster
of shadowy figures against the blue sky. It looked like a massive
flock of birds, but soon one bird of the flock began to grow
larger. The wings were getting longer too. Soon, I could see it was
Hither. She was as beautiful as I remembered her, but she was
wearing full body armor. Shining silver plates were strapped to her
arms and legs and she wore a shining gold breastplate over her
chest. Her face was almost completely covered by an equally shiny
gold helmet that looked snug on her head and a large; broadsword
sitting across her back completed the look.

“Corba!” She called as she landed with a
surprising grace. Her wings quickly folded behind her.

“What are you doing here?”

“I told you before not to interfere with my
assignment.”

“Seems to me you’re the one interfering
here. I found this place first.”

“Leave now before it’s too late. I have only
to signal my warriors and they will come down upon this place like
a storm of lightning.”

“Hither!”

“What is it, Aldo?”

“As you know I am representing...”

“Yes, yes! I know! I am not a lawyer and I
do not care for them! I come here only to reclaim Heaven and free
it from the control of the demon’s that have enslaved it. Your
petty lawsuit is of little consequence to me.”

“Wait, how did you even know where this
place was? I never told you!” I chimed in.

“No. I received my information from another
source.”

“Who?”

“Me.” A meek voice echoed from behind. Aldo
and I turned to see Felix walking toward us.

“Felix?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t wait for you guys to do
anything. I went to Hither and told her my situation. She said she
could help me, so she used her connections and got me a special
pass.”

“You got a special pass, because you told
her you could find Heaven. That’s when you bumped into me at the
doctor’s office and got the location.”

“That’s right. I knew you’d have figured it
out eventually.” Aldo stepped toward Felix and threw his arm over
his shoulder.

“Felix. You remember what I told you, don’t
you? This situation needs to be handled discreetly. Carefully, or
else the whole lawsuit will,” But Felix just jumped back from Aldo
and his face was pinched in rage.

“I don’t care about the damn lawsuit! I
needed help,” He said. His shoulders slumped down and tears were
escaping his eyes. “All it was with you was the damn lawsuit!
Hither here understood! She knew how desperate I was! How desperate
we all were! She promised that she’d get us justice! Real
justice!”

“Felix, we will get justice. You just need
to wait for the court date.” Aldo said.

“That wasn’t good enough! It never was! I
was stuck in Hell for years and no one cared! Do you have any idea
what it’s like in there? You think all your life that you’re too
strong to let the devil take you down, no matter what. I thought
there wasn’t anything that could break me, but what I saw there,
what I experienced, I don’t think I’ll ever recover! I don’t care
if whoever did this gets caught! I don’t care about anything
anymore!”

“Wait! There are innocent people all around
here. There’s no need to bring some Heavenly death storm upon them.
Could we at least try to take Heaven back with as few casualties as
possible?”

“No!” Felix spasmed. “Hither! Bring them
down! Bring the hammer of God down on everyone here!” I walked over
to Felix and threw my fist into his jaw, which sent him to the
ground.

“This is insane. Hither, I don’t know you
very well, but you strike me as the kind of individual who is
willing to look at a peaceful solution.” Hither looked down at me
thoughtfully, as though she were considering my request.

“Very well, Corba. I have given the order.
They will hold for an hour, but once the hour is up, they shall
come down here with all the force they have at their disposal.” I
bowed in gratitude toward Hither and started toward Heaven’s gate.
As I approached, I heard the sound of a car rolling up behind me. I
turned and saw Ivar driving up in Gwen’s car. He quickly got out
and ran over to me.

“Jake!”

“Ivar! Where the Hell have you been?”

“I borrowed Gwen’s car to come down here.
What are you doing here?”

“As you can see, the situation has
escalated,” I indicated to Hither who was hovering over us like a
stone guard. “What are you doing here?”

“Ever since we toured Heavenly Meadows, I
was troubled as to why Heaven was still here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t even think about it at the time,
but I remembered something rather crucial. Normally when a
dimension is displaced, it eventually shifts back to its original
space after time. A self-correcting feature of the universe. The
only way that Heaven could remain here is if there was an anchor
with a similar energy vibration, keeping it stable and whole in
this space.”

“So they have something in there that keeps
Heaven stuck on Earth. If we can find it...”

“We can set Heaven free, yes.”

“Well, that’s great. And I know just the two
who can help us with that little task.”

Ivar and I got back into Gwen’s car and,
after I said a little prayer begging Gwen’s forgiveness after she
discovered what I did to her car, I gunned it toward the gate,
causing it to break open. I could feel the demon in me raging in my
guts as we shot down the street. I could sense there was disquiet
in the neighborhood. It felt as though one giant sentient mind had
become aware.

The further we traveled, the more violent
the demon was becoming. I could feel the blood rising up into my
throat. My nose was closing up on me and my vision was getting
slightly blurry. Ivar quickly took the wheel as we skidded around a
rather wide turn and nearly slammed into a home that looked similar
to the White House. He then forced the car to the side and insisted
he drive the rest of the way. I relented without a fight.

I saw the sales office as we came around the
final turn. It was difficult to see clearly as my vision was
clouded by blood rising up into my eyes. Ivar stopped the car and
took my hand to perform his little trick again. The pain dulled
sharply and my vision quickly returned to me. We got out of the car
and hurried to the sales office and as my hand felt the knob, the
demon stopped. I pulled the door open and almost instantly Melissa
and Jeff appeared before us, all smiles.

“Mr. and Mr. Corba! What a pleasant
surprise. Are you ready to begin your new lives?”

“No. We came here to talk about your old
ones,” They looked at me as though I had just sang the National
Anthem in Pig Latin. I felt a force hit me and I quickly hiccupped
and shot out a clump of blood and slime. It landed on the floor
with a wet splat. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. We’ll get someone to clean that
up.” Melissa said.

“Thanks, Vyra.”

“What did you call me?”

“Vyra. I believe that is your original name.
Isn’t that right, Pyre?”

“I think you have us mixed up with some
other people.” Jeff said.

“I don’t think I do,” I pulled out the
pictures I had gotten from Belgard. I threw them down to the floor
and Melissa and Jeff looked down at them, studying them carefully.
“Those over there are your ‘before’ pictures and the ones below are
your ‘after’ shots. I have to say, they did good work. Filled in
all those nasty scars and marks on both of you.” They picked the
pictures up off the floor and I could see their lips stretch into
slight, smug smiles.

“Okay. Fine. Busted,” Melissa said at last.
“What do you want?”