The Devil's Pets
Author: Alex Siegel
Date: 2017-05-31 04:00:00+00:00

Table of Contents

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

The Devil's Pets

Alex Siegel

Copyright 2017 by Alex Siegel

Kindle Edition

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For more information about this book and others by the same author, please visit http://www.grayspearsociety.com/

The Devil's Pets is the first book in the Paranormal Enforcement Administration series.

First Circle Club is an earlier five book series by the same author. Those books are:

1. First Circle Club

2. Paradise Hacked

3. Gambling Demons

4. Trolling Heaven

5. Hell's Wrath

Seams in Reality is an earlier four book series by the same author. Those books are:

1. Seams in Reality

2. Cracks in Reality

3. Breaks in Reality

4. Shards of Reality

The Gray Spear Society is yet another earlier series by the same author. Those books are:

1. Apocalypse Cult

2. Carnival of Mayhem

3. Psychological Damage

4. Involuntary Control

5. Deadly Weakness

6. The Price of Disrespect

7. Tricks and Traps

8. Politics of Blood

9. Grim Reflections

10. Eyes of the World

11. Antisocial Media

12. Sharp Teeth and Bloody Claws

13. Teller of Lies

14. Faith Defiled

Revision 5/31/2017

Acknowledgments

No author works entirely alone. I have a small team of friends and fans who help me produce the high-quality novels my readers expect. They are Samantha DeCarlo (art), Haley Leboulanger (editing), Aleks Haecky (editing), Bruce Turrie (proofreading), and Tanya Johnson (proofreading). Thank you for helping me be great!

Chapter One

Stony looked at the image projected on the wall of the conference room. Hairy fucker, he thought. The photograph showed a big man with a huge mane of wavy, blond hair shot with patches of brown. The hair continued along the bottom of his round face to form a thick beard and mustache. His face was very pale, but that was typical among Satanists. They didn't like the sun much. The man was wearing loose, black robes with golden designs on the cuffs. Even with the robes covering his body, Stony could tell he was a massive dude.

The picture looked flat and slightly blurry. It had obviously been taken from a long distance away.

"He calls himself Orcus," Director Robertson said. "We don't know his real name or much else about him, but he likes to kidnap children." The last few words seemed to hang in the air.

Pete "The Duke" Robertson was the director of the top secret Paranormal Enforcement Administration. Two thousand federal agents reported to him, but not a single one would admit it in public. He was a short, African-American man. Stony had seen pictures of Robertson back when he had served as an Air Force pilot. He had been slim and fit then, but since taking over the PEA as chief administrator, his belly and cheeks had plumped out. He still had the same shaved head though. He also had the steely gaze of a man who had killed enemies in the air and on the ground. He was wearing a plain blue suit, a white shirt, and a blue tie, the standard uniform of the PEA.

He faced the six elite federal agents sitting around a conference room table. Stony had worked with them for years, and they were closer than family. They were the third division of the Paranormal Enforcement Administration, the special agents with the inhuman abilities. They fought monsters that would send most people running and screaming in terror.

"What happens to the kids?" Stony said.

"Unknown. They're never seen again. No ransom demands or anything. For all we know, Orcus is eating them."

Stony grimaced. His director wasn't kidding. Cannibalism was a recurring issue in their line of work.

"This should be a standard sweep and scrub mission," Robertson said. "Neutralize all hostiles and capture the ones who look interesting. Leave no evidence behind. Lethal force is authorized, but pick your targets. You don't want to shoot any kids. Hopefully, some are still alive." He didn't sound hopeful.

"How many kids are we talking about?"

Robertson shrugged. "At least a dozen. Maybe a bunch more. As far as we can tell, he's been operating covertly for years. Orcus lives in this house on the south side of Houston."

He pressed a key on a laptop, and the projected image switched to a home in a suburban neighborhood. It was two stories tall and had a mix of brick and wooden siding. The green paint reminded Stony of apples. A wide lawn in front had so many weeds, it was hard to see the grass. Shades were pulled down behind all of the windows. A detached garage caught his attention. It would make a good rally point before the main assault on the house.

"What else do we know?"

"He has three women in the house with him," Robertson said. "It seems they do all the shopping and outdoor chores. Orcus very rarely leaves his home."

The projector showed pictures of three very attractive women, all in their early to mid-twenties. Their jeans, dresses, and shirts looked normal, but they wore black iron collars around their necks.

"What's the deal with the collars?" Stony said.

"Probably a symbol of slavery," Robertson said. "Note that the collars are welded and can't be removed."

Stony heard an angry grunt on his left. He turned to his lover and teammate, Miasma. She was a tall woman in fantastic physical condition. She prided herself on having a body made of lean muscle. Long, dirty-blonde hair curled around her shoulders. Plump lips, smoldering green eyes, and a pretty face held his attention every time he saw her, but he maintained his professional demeanor. They were on duty.

A wisp of green smoke was drifting from Mia's mouth. She was seriously pissed off.

Stony faced Robertson again. "What else?"

"The field teams couldn't get too close to the house," the director said. "They were afraid of alerting the subject. We sent two priests disguised as door-to-door salesmen to perform a spiritual assessment. Only one came back, and he isn't talking."

"What does that mean?" Stony said. "Why won't he talk?"

"He was traumatized, rendered mute. Our psychiatrists are working with him. We don't know if Orcus has unusual powers, but we have to presume he does. There might be a good reason he doesn't like to leave his house. Watch your asses out there. You'll perform a nighttime air insertion. Heavy assault, close-quarters kit. Wheels up in forty-five minutes."

"Who is going?"

"Stony, Miasma, Kane, and Ace," Robertson said. "Stony is the squad leader. Brian and Veronica will be the emergency reserve this time."

Stony glanced at Mia again. Her anger had turned into a small, cruel grin. She wanted this assignment badly.

As always, he had mixed feelings about bringing her along, but not because he doubted her fighting prowess. She was as tough and nasty as anybody in the room. He had seen her slaughter bad guys using incredible moves. She also possessed the loyalty and courage of a noble warrior. She would never abandon a friend in a tight spot.

His love for her was the source of his misgivings. Seeing her in danger made him anxious, no matter the cause. Every mission they performed could be the last for either of them. He hoped he would die first so he wouldn't have to grieve when she died.

He smiled to cover his anxiety.

He looked over his shoulder at Kane and Ace. The two men nodded grimly, acknowledging Stony's leadership. He had earned their respect by surviving years of brutal missions.

"Stony," Mia said, "could you grab my bag from the armory for me. I want to do some stretching before we board the plane."

"Sure," Stony said.

He stood up and left the conference room. Kane and Ace joined Stony on the way out. The three of them walked briskly down a corridor in PEA headquarters.

Builders had originally constructed the building for the United States Air Force, and the place still had the appearance of a military installation. Pale blue paint covered the walls, and the floor had speckled, green linoleum tiles. Cheap, fluorescent light fixtures cast bright, sterile light. Wooden doors led to offices on both sides.

Men and women in business suits were also walking in the corridor. They were dressed as civilians even though most had served in the military at some point. Plain blue suits, white shirts, and blue ties were the most common outfit. A few rebels had gone with black, brown, or even green suits. One woman had ruffles on her shirt, a shocking fashion statement in the somber hallways of the PEA.

When staff members saw Stony, Kane, and Ace coming, they always moved aside. Some cowards even ducked into offices. Few had the courage to meet Stony's gaze or nod to him in greeting, but he didn't mind being feared. He was used to it.

"I need more coffee," Ace muttered.

Stony glanced at his colleague. Ace was the skinniest member of the third division even though he ate like a horse every chance he got. Oil and sweat in his straight, black hair made it clump together. A greasy sheen on his face indicated it also needed a good scrubbing. He was wearing black sweatpants, a white undershirt, and ninja boots with soft soles. Random twitches ran up and down his body, and it looked like he was having a mild seizure, but the twitches were normal for him.

Ace had earned his spot in the third division because of an inhumanly fast reaction time, and his talents went beyond raw speed. He was also amazingly precise. He could enter a room, draw a gun, and squeeze off three clean headshots before most people could even identify a threat.

"You've been drinking coffee all day as far as I can tell," Stony said.

"Only twenty cups," Ace said. "I'm trying to cut back."

"Well, I want you fully charged for tonight. If your caffeine level is a quart low, go ahead and drink."

Stony, Kane, and Ace made several turns and rode an elevator to reach their destination. They finally came to a large, bulletproof window at the end of a corridor. A PEA agent sat behind the glass. A ring of gray hair crowned his pale, freckled scalp. His rumpled suit was a size too large, or maybe he had lost weight recently. His name was Purvis. He straightened up when he saw Stony approaching.

"What is it this time?" the agent said. "Lycanthrope? Undead? Possessed?" His voice came through an overhead intercom.

"Not sure," Stony said. "All we know is he's a Satanist who makes kids disappear."

"Could be a demonic contract," Purvis suggested as if he were an expert on the subject.

"Can we just get our guns please?" Stony stared at the agent. "Heavy assault, close quarters. And I need a second bag for Mia."

Purvis stood up and turned around. The armory was a large room full of shelves and lockers. Guns of all types and sizes lay in plain view, but the agent didn't grab any of them. He went to the side of the room instead where dozens of black duffle bags lay on sturdy shelving. Carrying the heavy bags one at a time, he came back to the window and passed four bags through a secure opening.

As soon as Stony received his duffle bag, he placed it on the floor and unzipped it. Purvis's face showed disapproval, but Stony didn't care. Agents had made mistakes in the past. His life depended on bringing the right gear into battle.

A Beretta 1301 Tactical would be his primary weapon. The 12-gauge shotgun had a short barrel and a lightweight design which made it perfect for tight spaces. His choice of ammunition included explosive, armor-piercing, incendiary, and silver pellet shells. The last was for werewolves.

The PEA had supplied him with a matched pair of FN SCAR assault rifles. He smiled at the thought of carrying them on his hips like an Old West gunfighter. The bag also held a standard assortment of handguns, spare magazines, breaching charges, and flashbang grenades.

Some items in the duffle bag were much less useful. He found a copy of the Bible in a Kevlar jacket, which he ignored. The bag also contained rosary beads, a flask of holy water, a silver crucifix, and the Book of Common Prayer. Stony left those items alone. Nobody would ever mistake him for a priest.

He went through Mia's bag to confirm it was identical. In the meantime, Kane and Ace checked their own kits.

"These rosary beads will really help in a firefight," Kane commented.

The three men headed for the nearest elevator.

After entering the elevator, Stony pressed the button for the thirteenth floor, the highest in the building. He swiped his badge across a scanner before the elevator would move. A moment later, the doors opened, and they walked out.

The six members of the third division had the entire floor all to themselves. Twenty thousand square feet of space meant they could live, train, and play without feeling cramped or crowded. The place was their home, but it also isolated them. Other agents rarely came to the "penthouse," and even Robertson only visited when absolutely necessary.

Stony hurried down a carpeted hallway. He passed a room containing a boxing ring, wrestling mats, and martial arts equipment. He turned a corner and walked by a well-stocked pantry on his left. The communal kitchen was next door, and it held gleaming appliances.

Individual apartments were on the right. The floor had nine apartments, each big enough for two people if they liked sharing a bed. Stony and Mia had the apartment in the northwest corner.

He opened his door without knocking and found his girlfriend stretching on the floor in her underwear. She was performing a full split with her head down. Taut muscles moved beneath her smooth, creamy skin. He smiled at the sight.

"You got my stuff?" Mia said.

Stony placed both duffle bags on the floor with a metallic clank. "Yep. We're going with shotguns tonight."

"Sounds like fun."

The apartment contained just a single bedroom, a closet, and a bathroom. Stony didn't mind the modest accommodations. The apartment was just for sleep and sex, and he only needed a bed for those activities. Eating, work, and exercise happened elsewhere on the floor.

He looked at the king-size bed. The mattress was nicely firm, and the black sheets were silky smooth.

"You know," he said, "if we hurry, we might have time for a quick...."

"No," Mia replied sharply. "We don't have time. Save it for after a successful mission, lover boy. I'll be all yours then."

Stony sighed with disappointment. He tried to think chaste thoughts, but it was hard with Mia half-naked in the room.

He went to the closet and opened the door. The closet contained a mix of business suits and clothes made for combat. He took out a complete set of black body armor. The one-piece suit had been tailored to fit his body perfectly without binding.

Stony could've fought safely without the suit. He had the ability to make his skin as hard as stone. Knives and blunt weapons would bounce off harmlessly. Even small-caliber bullets couldn't hurt him when his power was active. He certainly preferred to fight without hot, heavy body armor slowing him down.

On the other hand, extra protection was never a bad thing. Mia would certainly demand he take every precaution with his life, just as he did with her. Every fight could be his last, even with stone skin.

He began the process of putting on the body armor.

* * *

Stony and Mia walked out of the headquarters building on their way to a shuttlebus.

He inhaled the cool, moist air of late autumn in Virginia. He hadn't been outside in days, and he paused to savor the experience. The sun was setting over the blue waters of Belmont Bay to the south, and reflected light sparkled on tiny waves. The sky was clear, and he hoped it would be that way when he arrived in Houston.

The Paranormal Enforcement Administration occupied a corner of the vast Schonenberg Air Force Base, twenty miles southwest of Washington, D.C. The distant roar of military jets as they landed or took off was almost constant. A cluster of blue-gray buildings formed the core of the base, but they were further inland, a half-mile away. The PEA was an isolated outpost near the shore with just two main buildings: the headquarters and the prison. To reach either, one had to traverse roads and marshy grass which offered no cover. Snipers on the roof could pick off threats long before they got close.

Ducks and geese were enjoying the pleasant weather and open space. Thousands of waterfowl were sitting in the marsh despite the jet noise. Stony even spotted a few white swans. The location was an oasis of safety from hunters, although bird strikes on airplanes were an issue.

He glanced back at the headquarters building. Every time he walked out, he wondered whether he would return alive. Blank, gray walls were made of painted concrete. For security reasons, there were no windows at all and only a few doors. The PEA staff had nicknamed the building the "Tomb" because of its grim resemblance to a giant tombstone.

"Come on," Mia said. "We're already late."

Stony nodded, and the two of them trotted over to a waiting shuttlebus. They boarded without delay.

Robertson was standing at the front of the bus. He checked his watch and said angrily, "Five minutes behind schedule."

Stony just sat on the first available seat without comment. It wasn't like the plane would leave without him.

Mia sat across the aisle from him. Their equipment prevented them from sitting side-by-side. Kane and Ace were already on the bus, and they had the dull expressions of men who had ridden this ride many times before.

All four members of the assault team were dressed for war. Combat helmets and black body armor covered everything but their faces. Lighter gear was already hooked into carrying harnesses, belts, or holsters. They held onto the duffle bags with the big guns inside.

A PEA agent was driving the bus. He started the engine and pulled away.

Robertson remained standing and held onto an overhead strap. "Six field teams will be in position by the time you get to Houston," he said. "They'll lock down the perimeter and prevent any traffic from getting in or out. If you need backup, thirty armed agents can be at the house in under three minutes."

Stony nodded. The mission sounded pretty typical so far. His assault team would enter first, make the initial threat assessment, and neutralize any hostiles. Once the house was deemed safe for ordinary humans, the field teams would take over.

"What about the cleanup crew?" Mia said.

Robertson turned to her. "The nearest crew was in New Orleans. They're still on the road, but they should be ready to go in time."

Stony hoped that was the case. Missions could get messy and loud. The PEA had special crews who made the bloody evidence go away afterwards and kept the story out of the public media. Regardless, it wasn't his problem. His assignment was simply to capture Orcus, or if that was impossible, kill him.

The shuttle bus reached the end of its short trip and stopped. Everybody climbed out. They had arrived at a different part of Schonenberg Air Force Base.

A modified Boeing 727 was parked at the end of a runway. The airplane was painted white and had no markings except for the standard identification number. Upgraded jet engines allowed for takeoffs from short runways. Boarding stairs stood beneath the open hatch, and the engines were already spinning.

"Get moving!" Robertson barked.

Stony, Mia, Ace, and Kane jogged towards the airplane with duffle bags in hand.

* * *

Stony looked out a window at the ground thousands of feet below. Night had fallen, and darkness had swallowed the world, but he saw streetlights. The aircraft was approaching Houston.

He stood up and stretched his back until he heard it pop. Showtime, he thought.

The cabin had fifty comfortable leather seats which could swivel and lay flat. Only three other seats were occupied though. Employing such a big jet for such a small team seemed wasteful, but they had needed a fast aircraft that allowed skydiving, and the list of options was very short.

Mia had her nose in a paperback novel. She liked to read cheap thrillers before a mission. Her current book was a piece of fluff called First Circle Club.

"Get up," Stony said.

"In a sec." She tapped the page of her book. "I'm almost at the end of a chapter."

The engine pitch became deeper and quieter. At the same time, the nose of the aircraft dipped down. The pilots would approach the drop point as slowly and quietly as possible, as if they were sneaking up to it.

"You hear that? You don't have time for the rest of the chapter."

Mia sighed and put her book in her duffle bag. She stood up.

Stony walked down the aisle to check on his other two teammates. Ace was playing a handheld video game. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and his thumbs were a blur of motion. Excitement had turned his face pink. A big cup of coffee was on the tray for the next seat.

As soon as he saw Stony approaching, Ace hopped to his feet. "I'm ready! Let's do this!"

A snoring sound made Stony look at Kane.

Kane was a big man with a massively muscular chest. Spanish heritage had given him skin the color of a caffè latte. His shaved scalp gleamed in the cabin lights, and his mouth hung open as he slept. Big ears stuck out the sides of his head.

Stony walked over and caught a whiff of something that stunk like rotten meat. It was Kane's natural scent. He had the ability to cause decay in organic materials such as wood and flesh. He merely had to touch something to make it rot. He could turn a fresh apple into a sticky, brown puddle in seconds when he wanted to. His control over his power was spotty. If he ate with his bare hands, he had to do so quickly. He wore gloves during sex just to be safe.

"Hey!" Stony kicked Kane's boot. "Wake up! We're here."

Kane stirred, and his eyes cracked open. "Already?"

"We've been in the air for three hours."

Kane clenched his jaw and stood up.

The team made their way to the tail of the aircraft. They entered a chamber with a pressure door and an airtight hatch in the floor. Parachutes hung on hooks. The team put down their duffle bags and began their final preparations for the mission.

Stony strapped on his big guns and made sure the bindings were tight. He didn't want anything bouncing around or flying off while in freefall. Smaller items such as spare magazines went into a belly pack. He put on his parachute next, and managing yet another set of straps took patience. A lot of stuff was hanging off his body, and all of it had to be secured. The final item was a clear facemask which clipped onto his helmet. His hot breath threatened to fog the mask.

"How do I look?" Mia said.

Stony checked his girlfriend with an expert eye. The snug body armor showed off the curves in her legs and butt. He fought the urge to give her a friendly pat on the ass and tugged on her straps instead.

"You're ready to go," he said.

Mia also checked him. Kane and Ace checked each other. Dark stains indicated Ace had managed to sweat through his body armor.

A light on the wall switched from red to yellow.

"Thirty seconds," Stony said. "See you guys at the rally point."

He couldn't kiss Mia with the facemasks on, so he blew her a kiss instead. Then he squatted down and yanked open the hatch in the floor. A sudden change in air pressure made his ears pop. A blast of air hit his chest, and a roaring sound filled his ears. He looked into the hole and saw a narrow, steel staircase leading down.

The light turned green.

He ran down the stairs and leapt into dark, empty space. He curled his body into a tight ball just as he hit the fast-moving airstream behind the plane. It felt like a giant tennis racket smacked him across the night sky.

He tumbled for a few seconds before finally settling down to a straight descent. He arched his back and stabilized his fall. His body armor was too warm, or maybe he was too excited.

The streetlights of Houston stretched from horizon to horizon. The major highways were obvious, but he didn't know the city well enough to name them.

He had a navigation system on his wrist, and he carefully brought it to his eyes without upsetting his orientation. The bright display showed his position and altitude laid on top of a map. A red dot marked his target coordinates. He was a couple of miles south of where he needed to be. He turned his body until he was drifting in the right direction.

He twisted his neck to see if he could spot his teammates, but he saw nothing in the sky. They were wearing black, so that wasn't a surprise. The airplane had turned off its lights, so it was also invisible. Orcus would have no warning that trouble was on the way.

Stony faced down again. He was getting low enough to make out individual homes, and he saw that Orcus lived in a nice area. Big homes stood on big lots with big trees. The roads curved rather than forming a boring grid. A band of dense foliage ran along the east side of the neighborhood.

Stony pulled his chute at three thousand feet, high enough to give him plenty of time to fly to the target. Once he had his canopy under control, he aimed towards the red dot on his wrist map. Houses scrolled beneath his feet at a rapid clip.

He spotted a police roadblock at an intersection. Eight uniformed officers with their hands on their guns stood in front of two squad cars. Stony didn't believe they were real cops. The PEA liked to disguise themselves as police because federal agents attracted the wrong kind of attention. All agency operations were secret.

Stony turned on a radio integrated into his helmet. "Hey, boys. I'm right above you."

The "cops" looked into the sky.

"Who is that?" a male voice answered through the radio.

"Stony."

After a pause, the voice said in a quavering tone, "Good evening, sir. The area is secure. Just call if you need us."

"Will do," Stony said. "Is the cleanup crew ready?"

"Yes, sir. Everything is set. Good luck."

Stony looked for a good spot to hit the ground. He focused on a front yard with poor lighting and no lights inside the house. He swooped down and made a perfect landing in the center of the yard.

He immediately stripped off his parachute, rolled it up, and stuffed it under a bush. Then he ducked into the shadow of a tree and checked for witnesses. He saw no movement. The only sound was buzzing insects.

He checked his navigation pad. The target was one block to the north.

Stony jogged in that direction, staying in the shadows as much as possible. He avoided backyards where dogs might be waiting. The animals couldn't puncture his skin, but they would make a lot of noise. Stealth was essential.

According to the map on his wrist, Orcus lived in a house on the extreme edge of the neighborhood. His backyard bordered on a big chunk of undeveloped land. A perfect place to bury the bodies of children, Stony thought.

He finally came within sight of the house and recognized it from the picture in the conference room. Shades, curtains, and shutters blocked all the windows, but lights were on inside. Somebody was home.

He slowed down and moved even more cautiously. The rubber soles of his boots didn't make the slightest noise. A detached, two-car garage stood beside the house. He headed towards the side of the garage, where a jumble of garbage cans provided a little visual camouflage. He crept forward and slipped into a dark space between two cans. The nauseating stench reminded him of fresh manure.

Stony didn't see or hear any of his teammates, but he wasn't worried. They would come. He waited patiently and listened to the buzz of insects.

Mia was the next to arrive, and she crept past without seeing him. He wanted to jump out and grab her from behind as a joke, but he realized that was a very stupid idea. She had a shotgun in her hands, and the safety was off.

"Hey," he hissed softly.

She spun and faced him. "Nice hiding spot," she whispered as she crouched next to him. "Stinky though. Does Orcus put shit in his garbage?"

Kane and Ace arrived a moment later.

"Any trouble?" Stony said.

The two men shook their heads.

"Then let's do this. Follow me." Stony led his small team out from behind the garage.

They circled the house first and looked for signs of security. The backyard had plenty of trees and helpful patches of darkness, so Stony started in that direction. The constant drone of chirping insects meant he didn't have to be perfectly quiet.

The home needed some minor repairs. Green paint had peeled off the wooden siding in spots, revealing sun-bleached wood. A brick chimney on the side had cracked and settled. A green shutter hung at an odd angle, and a gutter had broken off completely. Kudzu vines had swallowed an entire wall.

Stony heard the sound of an animal snorting. Curious and concerned, he spotted four horses tied to a fence in the backyard. The big animals appeared healthy and recently groomed, certainly in better condition than the house.

"Horses?" Stony whispered to his team.

Mia shrugged. "Satanists do crazy things. Maybe the horses are part of their rituals."

He frowned. That theory didn't sound likely.

The four of them continued their slow, cautious inspection of the exterior of the house. Stony didn't see any signs of security such as burglar bars, sensor tape, motion detectors, cameras, or lights. The place seemed completely vulnerable to attack.

That observation didn't make him more confident though. Orcus probably had a nasty trick or two for dealing with intruders.

The team stopped short of going all the way around. The open front yard would expose them too much. They huddled near a wall of the house.

"Kane," Stony whispered. "We'll enter here. Do your thing."

Chapter Two

Kane put his bare hands against the wooden wall. Within seconds, Stony heard the soft sounds of wood creaking and crumbling.

Stony prepared himself for battle. He hardened his skin over critical areas such as his chest, abdomen, and head. He couldn't protect himself completely everywhere because that would make him as rigid as a statue. His joints at least needed to remain somewhat flexible.

He also readied his shotgun, which was loaded with buckshot shells. He had five in the magazine and one in the chamber.

Green smoke was seeping from Mia's nostrils, and he made sure to stay upwind of her. She could exhale noxious gas which had the same effects as tear gas. She could blind an enemy and incapacitate him with a coughing fit. In strong enough doses, the gas was lethal.

Ace was shifting from foot to foot like a child who had eaten too much candy. He held a pair of Heckler & Koch HK45 pistols with suppressors, one in each hand. The weapons were semiautomatic, but in his hands, they were as fast as machine guns and as accurate as rifles. Stony had seen Ace clear entire rooms full of enemies with those guns.

Kane finished destroying the wall. Rotten chunks of wood fell away to create an opening big enough to crawl through. Stony looked through the hole first.

An awful stench hit him square in the nose. It was like having his face buried in fresh dog shit. Hundreds of animal cages were clearly the source of the odor. They were stacked on top of each other, covering the walls of a living room. Hamsters, gerbils, lizards, rats, turtles, snakes, tarantulas, and many other kinds of small animals occupied the cages. The movements of the small bodies produced a constant rustling noise.

The living room was otherwise rather ordinary. A vinyl couch and a recliner stood in front of a television.

"Orcus likes animals," Stony muttered.

"Maybe he's feeding the kidnapped kids to them," Mia said.

He grimaced. She wasn't joking.

He didn't see any obvious threats, so he crept through the hole in the wall. Despite his best efforts to move silently, his presence caused the animals to chirp, chitter, and run around in their cages. Shut up! he thought.

Mia, Ace, and Kane followed Stony into the house, and they stayed close together. They would work as a single unit for the entire operation. Splitting up unnecessarily was a good way to get somebody killed.

Stony had the best natural defenses and the most experience, so he led the way. Mia and Kane were the most vulnerable and stayed in the middle of the group. Ace brought up the rear with his guns ready. He was almost impossible to catch off-guard.

Stony snuck into the next room. Then he froze in horror.

A naked boy was hanging from the ceiling upside-down. Meat hooks driven through his small feet were holding him. He was dead, but scores of cuts, bruises, and burns indicated he had suffered terribly before dying. Both arms had compound fractures. The eventual cause of death was clearly disembowelment. A sharp implement had sliced open the boy's belly, allowing guts and blood to pour into a plastic kiddie pool on the floor.

Four pit bulls were in the pool, eating noisily. Blood covered their stubby noses and square heads.

Stony forced himself to settle down and make an unbiased assessment of the situation. The boy was nine or ten-years-old. None of the wounds had clotted, so they were all fresh. Orcus probably hadn't held the boy for long.

This type of human sacrifice suggested Orcus had made a deal with a demon. Demons often demanded blood in exchange for services. The more innocent the victim and the crueler the death, the greater the reward.

Stony slowly drew a pistol from his holster, intending to kill the dogs. The gun had a suppressor which would make the gunshots quiet enough to avoid alerting anybody else in the house.

He was too slow. The dogs spotted the intruders and attacked. They growled and barked as they dashed forward, their paws leaving bloody prints on the floor.

Ace picked off three dogs with his guns. The shots were so quick, they almost sounded like one long blast. The bullets struck the animals in the forehead.

The fourth dog reached Stony, but he just held out his arm and let the animal bite it. His body armor and stone skin prevented any injury. The dog growled fiercely as it clamped down with all its strength. Stony balled his fist and clubbed the dog on the back of its neck, breaking its spine. The dog whimpered once, and then it fell to the ground, twitching.

He looked and listened for more threats. Ace had suppressors on his guns, but the shots had still made some noise. The barking dogs had certainly been heard throughout the house. The mission was already off to a bad start.

"Move fast!" Stony hissed to his teammates.

He ran into the next room. More animal cages were stacked against the walls of a dining room. Some monkeys chittered loudly when they saw they had company. Stony thought they were marmosets, but he wasn't sure.

One of the cages held a little girl. She stared at Stony with terror in her eyes, too afraid to even ask for help. He curled his lip when he saw that she was sitting in her own feces. At least she didn't appear to have any injuries.

He decided not to let her out. She was safer in the cage until the operation was done. There could be plenty more killing, and the last thing he needed was a frightened child getting in the way.

Stony caught Mia staring at the girl with an expression of rage. Mia knew exactly what it felt like to be trapped in a waking nightmare at the mercy of an evil man.

"We'll come back for her," Stony said. "We have to move."

She nodded.

The team explored a kitchen next. Bags and cans of animal food were stacked almost to the ceiling. The larder included huge sacks of oats, rice, corn meal, potatoes, beans, and fresh carrots. Food bowls of all sizes filled the sink. Stony wondered at the cost of feeding so many animals.

He heard a sound half-way between a grunt and a laugh. He turned just in time as six spotted hyenas ran into the kitchen. The sight of animals from Africa startled him enough to make him hesitate for a critical second.

The hyenas were much bigger and tougher than the pit bulls, and the team instantly had its hands full. Stony blasted one hyena in the face with his shotgun. Keeping quiet wasn't an option anymore.

A second hyena jumped on him and knocked him down. He gave the animal a bear hug, squeezing until its ribs snapped and blood spurted out of its mouth.

No more hyenas attacked Stony, so he checked on his friends. Mia rebuffed one animal by breathing green gas into its face. She finished it off with a shotgun blast which destroyed its head.

Ace had already shot two more in the chest.

Kane was wrestling with the last hyena, and his hands were wrapped around its thick neck. The animal's flesh rotted as Stony watched, and the effect reminded him of time-lapse photography. Weeks of decay were occurring in seconds. The hyena finally twitched and died.

Stony stood up. "Is everybody OK?"

His teammates nodded. They were lucky this time.

"Whoa!" Kane pointed at one of the bodies.

Stony looked. The dead hyena was transforming into a beautiful woman with brown hair. She wore a thick iron collar, and he recognized her from the briefing in headquarters.

"One of Orcus's slaves," he said.

"A lycanthrope?" Mia said.

He pursed his lips. "I've never heard of a were-hyena, and lycans always stay in family groups. These other hyenas aren't changing. They're real animals. No. Something else is happening here." He glanced at the doorway. "We'll figure it out later. We have to move! Orcus might try to run."

Stony moved through the house. He walked quickly now and didn't bother with being quiet. The shotgun had announced their presence loudly enough for the neighbors to hear.

Every room had animals in cages, turning the house into an overcrowded zoo. The animals appeared healthy though, and most of the cages were clean. It seemed Orcus was a Satanist who loved his pets.

The team reached the front of the house where a staircase led to the second floor. The lights were off above. Stony peered into the darkness suspiciously. When he had approached the house earlier, the upstairs lights had been turned on.

He had night vision goggles, but he hated the way the light amplification technology made the world fuzzy and green. He just flipped a switch and turned on the stair lights instead. He was done being sneaky.

He padded up the stairs, looking and listening for any hint of danger. Mia, Kane, and Ace followed in line.

Something big and heavy landed on Stony's back. He reflexively hardened his skin in that area until it was as tough as iron. Big teeth clamped onto the back of his neck but failed to puncture the skin. An animal was trying to kill him. It had obviously pounced on him from a balcony over the staircase. The attack would've worked on anybody else.

Stony's three friends tried to help him, but the narrow staircase made that difficult. He twisted around and wrestled with the attacker until he managed to grab its head. It was a big cat, perhaps a panther or a female lion. He was about to crush its skull with his bare hands when he noticed the animal had human eyes. It was also wearing an iron collar.

Another slave-woman-animal-thing, he thought. We need to question it.

"Mia!" he said. "Give it a shot."

"Huh?" Mia said.

"Put this critter to sleep!"

She reached into her belly pouch and felt around.

In the meantime, the panther tried to slash Stony's gut with its powerful hind claws, but he ignored the futile attacks. His body armor could stop a bullet, and his skin could stop another bullet. The claws had no chance of penetrating.

But the constant squirming annoyed him. "Stop it!" he growled. "Settle down. I'm not sure what you are, but I do know I'm tougher and nastier than you. Want me to break your legs?"

The panther stopped. It understood.

Mia pulled out a plastic syringe with a short needle. She injected the panther in the shoulder.

"Go to sleep," Stony said. "When you wake up, you'll tell us everything."

After a moment, the panther relaxed and its eyes closed. Stony placed the animal on the stairs.

It transformed into a woman, and she was gorgeous! Long, red hair caught the soft light beautifully. Her total lack of clothes allowed him to see all her pale, flawless skin. The muscles stood out on her flat, little belly. Her hips formed perfect, feminine curves. Her iron collar was the only ugly thing about her.

Mia punched Stony in the shoulder.

"What was that for?" he said.

"Staring at a naked woman while I'm standing right here." She glared at him.

"Oh, sorry. Back to work."

Stony jogged up the stairs. He had wasted a lot of time with the panther-woman, and he felt the need to rush.

An upstairs hallway led to several rooms with closed doors. He hated closed doors. Very unpleasant surprises could be hiding behind them.

With his shotgun ready, Stony kicked open the first door. He discovered another scene of unspeakable horror.

A plastic enclosure held a huge colony of rats. Hundreds of little, furry animals were scampering across a labyrinth of wooden ramps, bridges, and tunnels. Chewed human body parts were scattered across the floor of the enclosure. Some poor victim had been butchered and fed to the rats.

Stony clenched his jaw and approached for a better look. The body parts were from an adult male.

"I think we found the missing priest," Stony said grimly.

Mia sighed angrily. "Orcus has a lot to answer for."

He heard dogs barking in the distance. They were outside the house. Gunshots followed.

Stony activated the radio in his helmet. "Field teams, report! This is Stony. What's going on out there?"

A woman responded, "Unknown, sir. The disturbance was on the east side of the operational area. We're sending agents to investigate."

"Tell me what you find."

"Yes, sir."

Stony looked at his teammates. "Let's finish this sweep fast."

They busted open the door of the next room and found it was a Satanic ceremonial chamber. Statues of Lucifer as a goat-god stood in the corners. Wax from black candles had melted onto a stone altar. A black, inverted crucifix hung from the ceiling. Stars were drawn on the walls in red paint. Glass jars contained colored liquids and powders.

Stony pressed his lips together. He was more familiar with the items than he liked to admit.

"Nobody is here!" he barked. "Keep moving!"

The next room contained four beds. A large, luxurious bed with an extra-thick mattress was clearly for Orcus. His three slaves slept on cheap cots with thin sheets. Floggers, gags, and leather hoods hung on the wall. Steel manacles were chained to a pole in the center of the room.

Stony still didn't see anybody. "Move," he ordered.

He discovered shelves full of books in the next room. He scanned the titles and found an odd mix of Satanist texts and textbooks for veterinarians. Orcus was passionate about evil and animals.

"Keep going!" he yelled. "Find Orcus!"

Stony went to the next door. With his shotgun ready, he kicked open the door.

A full-grown, male lion jumped at him. He pulled the trigger on his gun, but he didn't know if he hit anything. The lion knocked him down hard enough to stun him.

Stony heard thumps, more gunshots, and the lion roaring. His friends were fighting for their lives. He shook his head, pushed himself to his knees, and looked around. The hallway was rolling like the deck of a ship in a storm.

The lion was sitting on Ace's back with its jaws around his head. Blood trickled from several bullet wounds in the lion's brown fur coat, but the animal didn't give up its prey. Stony fired his shotgun twice more, blasting the lion in the spine.

Mia tried to shove the lion off Ace, but she wasn't quite strong enough. Stony still felt dizzy, but he managed to get on his feet and help her. Together, they finally pushed the lion over. It roared softly and struggled to get back up, but its many wounds were too severe. Blood gushed onto the carpeted floor.

Ace was in even worse condition. The flattened shape of his ribcage indicated it was crushed. Blood oozed out of his mouth. The lion had also cracked open the back of Ace's skull with its teeth, exposing the pink brain underneath. As Stony watched, Ace stopped breathing.

"No!" Stony yelled. "God damn it!"

He kicked the dying lion in the testicles. It could only moan in response.

Stony settled down. There would be time for emotional outbursts and grieving after the mission was done.

He checked the rest of his team. Kane was sitting on the floor with his leg bent in the wrong place. The injury didn't look life-threatening, but he was certainly done for the night.

Mia seemed unhurt, which came as a great relief. Stony finally checked himself. He would have a few bruises in the morning, but he could continue the mission.

He looked into the room the lion had come from. A pile of raw steaks was beside a salad bowl full of water. Mounds of hay bedding provided a comfortable place for the lion to sleep.

The window was fully open. Stony was sure all the windows had been closed when he had circled the house earlier.

"Mia," he said. "Come on."

She was staring at Ace's corpse with a mournful expression.

"Mia!" Stony said. "Save your tears for later."

Mia nodded and sighed.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room. They went straight to the open window, which provided a view onto the backyard. Two horses were tied to the fence.

The other two were gone.

"Fuck!" Stony yelled.

His radio came to life. A female voice reported, "We investigated the disturbance, sir. Two agents were attacked and killed east of the house. The perimeter was breached."

"Yeah. Looks like Orcus and one of the women got away on horseback. Mia and I will chase after them. I want the field teams to spread out and search the neighborhood. Be careful! Orcus is extremely dangerous. Keep the teams tight. Send the cleanup crew into the house, but watch for wild animals. Oh, and a girl is in a cage."

"Huh?"

Stony didn't have time to explain. He turned to Kane and said, "Don't move. Somebody will be along to patch you up."

Kane nodded with a clenched jaw.

Stony climbed out through the window and jumped down to the ground. Soft dirt absorbed the impact of his fall.

He waited for Mia to follow him. She looked particularly graceful as she landed with hardly a thump.

Stony ran over to one of the horses, thinking he might ride it even though it didn't have a saddle. When the animal bucked and whinnied fearfully, he decided to stay on his feet.

He and Mia ran east but soon encountered difficulty. Tangled weeds, vines, and bushes made every step a battle. Patches of soft, gooey mud grabbed his feet. The dark night forced him to use his night vision goggles, but the world was still a green maze. He ripped vines out of his way in frustration.

"Orcus probably knew the best way through this mess," Mia said.

"And we don't," Stony said bitterly. "We should've done more recon and figured out escape routes."

"The horses were the clue. Tough lesson learned."

He saw flashlights up ahead. The tone of the voices told him they were PEA agents, but he and Mia still approached cautiously.

Six agents dressed in police uniforms were standing around two bodies on the ground. The corpses had bite marks on their legs as if dogs had mauled them. Gunshots to the face had killed them though.

"What happened?" Stony said as he stepped out of the brush.

Six guns were suddenly pointed at him. When the agents saw his face, they lowered their weapons.

"Looks like dogs were used as a distraction, sir," one man said. "Then Orcus shot our guys. Frankly, we weren't prepared for dogs and horses."

Stony saw a dead Doberman pinscher in the mud, and hoof prints surrounded it.

He sighed. "Mia and I will keep searching for Orcus. At least we have tracks to follow now."

"You want us to come with you?" one agent asked.

"No. We'll go faster if it's just the two of us. Work with the other search teams. Try to cover the whole neighborhood."

Stony and Mia continued their journey through the brush. They followed the hoof prints in the moist dirt, but their progress was slow. Stony imagined his enemy getting further and further away, and he clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. He pressed on regardless, unwilling to just give up.

"I feel terrible about Ace," Mia said softly.

"Yeah. I liked him. Good fighter. Fun guy."

"Veronica will be devastated. Poor woman."

"I know she was sleeping with Ace," Stony said, "but I thought it was just casual sex."

She gave him an exasperated look. "Typical comment from a myopic male. She loved him! She never stopped talking about him."

"Oh." His heart sank even more. "Should I try to console her?"

"Just let her be. I'll talk to her when we get back."

They came to a slow-moving, muddy stream. The hoof prints went straight into the water. Stony splashed across and looked all over the bank, but he couldn't find where the prints came out.

"They followed the water to cover their tracks. Smart."

"Which way?" Mia said. "Upstream or downstream?"

He looked in both directions but didn't see an obvious choice. "Towards civilization or away?"

"Orcus is aggressive. Towards."

Stony pointed downstream. "That way."

The brush was even thicker at the edge of the water. Stony and Mia had to walk down the middle of the stream to make decent progress. He hated the loud splashing noises, but he detested the cold, dirty water filling his boots even more.

After slogging a few hundred feet, they finally emerged into the light of streetlamps. Stony found himself in a neighborhood of small but nice homes. The nearest one had red brick walls and a palm tree in the front yard.

Movement drew his attention to the side of the house. Two horses were standing there, eating grass. An open garage door worried Stony. The garage was empty, but oil stains on the floor showed a car normally parked there.

"Shit," he growled.

He readied his shotgun and jogged to the open garage. Mia followed close behind.

The inner door was open, and lights were on inside the house. It didn't take long to search the tiny home. They found the bodies of an old man and woman lying in bed with their throats cut. Blood had soaked a hand-quilted comforter. Stony didn't see any evidence that the victims had even put up a fight.

"At least they died together," Mia said wistfully.

Stony snarled. "They didn't need to die at all. Orcus just wanted their damn car!" He activated his radio. "This is Stony. We found two more murder victims. Orcus and the third woman are probably fleeing in a stolen car. We are unable to continue the pursuit."

"Can you describe the car?" an agent replied through the radio.

"Unfortunately, no, but the DMV can tell us what car is registered to this address."

"And what is the address?"

Stony gritted his teeth. "I'll figure that out. As soon as I do, send a forensic team over here. Orcus might've left some useful evidence behind."

"Yes, sir. The director wants you to return to the house ASAP. He said you're not dressed appropriately for public appearances."

He looked at Mia. Weapons decorated her body like Christmas tree ornaments, and few of them were legal for civilians to own. The black body armor and other military gear made her look like she had just come from a Special Operations assignment.

"Roger that," Stony said unenthusiastically.

He sighed. He and Mia would have to go back using the stream to avoid being seen. He wasn't looking forward to another hike through cold mud.

Chapter Three

By the time Stony and Mia returned to the house, the "scrub" operation was in full swing. Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances filled the street completely, but Stony knew they were really from the PEA. Flashing red, blue, and yellow lights lit up the night. Agents dressed as evidence technicians streamed in and out of the house. They were carrying plastic bags and cardboard boxes full of evidence. All the material was going into the refrigerated trailer of a semi truck.

The standard procedure was to pack up and remove any evidence that looked the least bit interesting as quickly as possible. The PEA would burn the rest including the house itself. By morning, nothing but bricks and ashes would remain.

Standard procedure didn't account for hundreds of live animals though. The solution wasn't obvious. If Orcus had evil powers, that bad magic could've contaminated his pets. Simply giving them to some kind of animal rescue wasn't safe. On the other hand, killing all those innocent creatures seemed cruel. Stony shrugged. He was glad it wasn't his problem.

He and Mia slowly made their way around to the front of the house. They kept their hands away from their weapons. It was possible a few real police officers had slipped into the crowd of agents pretending to be cops. Mistakes happened in chaotic situations. Stony and Mia needed to appear peaceful just to be safe.

At least they didn't have to worry about nosy neighbors. By now, the PEA had cleared out all the surrounding homes. The residents would be told a story about a gas leak or something.

Stony spotted the little girl. The agents had removed her from her filthy cage and had wrapped her in a blanket. She was crying loudly as tears and snot dripped down her face. A woman in a police uniform was trying to comfort the poor thing.

Stony frowned. The PEA couldn't immediately release the girl to her parents for the same reason they couldn't release the pets. The girl's condition was unknown, and she might actually be a threat to her own family. The PEA would hold her at a secure location for weeks while observing her closely. Specially trained priests would assess her spiritual status. At least she would be safe and properly cared for.

Kane was lying on a gurney in the back of an ambulance. His broken leg was in a plastic brace. Stony and Mia ran over to talk to their friend.

"How are you feeling?" Stony said.

Kane propped himself up on his elbows. "Like an idiot, but I'll heal. You got him, right? Tell me you killed Orcus."

"He escaped."

"Fuck." Kane pounded the gurney with his fist.

"He was prepared," Stony said. "Better prepared than us, but who could've anticipated a full-grown lion in the middle of Houston, Texas."

"That was a bit of a shocker." Kane looked down. "Poor Ace. He was a good teammate, a little too wired, but fun. I'll miss him. Veronica will be crushed." He sniffed.

Stony sighed, unable to add anything else.

Another gurney was in the back of the next ambulance. He walked over to see if it was another victim, and he found the panther-woman instead. A blanket covered her body. Her pale, beautiful face was very peaceful as she slept. The sedative would keep her unconscious for several hours.

A young, male agent with black hair stood beside the woman. "Sir, who is this?" he said. "What should we do with her?"

Stony took a closer look at the woman's face. Her lips curled in a distinctly feline manner, and her ears had rounded points on top. Her iron collar fit tightly around her neck, and it was appropriate for a dangerous animal.

"She's a hostile," he said. "Put her in a cage and send her back to headquarters."

"A cage, sir?" the agent said.

"She can turn into a cat, a big, strong cat with very sharp claws. Make sure everybody is aware of that fact. Ordinary handcuffs won't do. A steel box with little holes for air might work even better. Handle her like you would a werewolf, although I don't think she is actually a true lycanthrope. She is something else. Related, but not the same."

"Yes, sir." The agent looked at the woman and gulped.

A different agent walked up to Stony and handed him a cell phone. "The director wants to speak with you, sir."

Stony stared at the phone. He had hoped to delay this conversation, but there was no avoiding it now. He waved for Mia to join him as he found a quiet spot. She shared some responsibility for the disaster and would also share in the chewing out. He turned on the speaker so she could participate.

"Stony here," he said.

"Let's hear your report," Director Robertson said angrily, "and don't spare the embarrassing details."

Stony described the events of the night in crisp, professional terms. He left nothing out. He wasn't the kind of guy who ran and hid from his mistakes. Mia clarified some aspects in a flat voice. If she felt bad, she wasn't letting the director know it.

When they were done, Robertson said, "I'm obviously disappointed. Very disappointed."

"There is no way we could've anticipated a lion," Stony said.

"You're supposed to be the Man of Stone, an unstoppable human wrecking ball. Your girlfriend is just as tough. She once ripped the legs off a ghoul, and she breathes tear gas. There is no excuse for letting a dumb animal take out half your team."

"Kane was only injured, sir."

"But he's useless for a while," Robertson said. "Worst of all, you let Orcus escape! He must be some kind of master of animal transformation magic."

"The field teams are looking for him. They might still catch him tonight."

"The chances of that are slim. He had an escape plan, and he executed it perfectly. He made you look like amateurs. We just have to pray he pops up somewhere else soon so we can get another shot at him. Hopefully more children won't die in the meantime."

Stony looked down at the ground. "What do you want us to do, sir?" he mumbled.

"Stay there for another hour or so in case Orcus is miraculously located. If that doesn't happen, come home. Ace's funeral is tomorrow morning. Have a short speech prepared."

"What about the prisoner, the panther-woman?"

"My interrogators will give her the full treatment. She'll answer every question by the time they're done."

Stony almost felt sorry for the prisoner. He exchanged glances with Mia, and she frowned.

* * *

Stony stepped off a shuttlebus. He was back at PEA headquarters in Schonenberg Air Force Base. The towering, gray walls of the Tomb were little comfort after a long, difficult night, but at least he was home.

Mia joined him and held his hand. Her warm touch made the situation a tiny bit better.

They had stripped off their combat gear and were wearing white sweat suits now. Stony had left his equipment with PEA agents in Houston. He was too tired and depressed to care what had happened to his stuff. It would find its way home eventually. It always did.

Kane was riding down on a pneumatic lift at the back of the shuttle. He was sitting on a wheelchair with his right leg and hip in a big, plaster cast. The broken leg stuck straight out and looked ridiculous. He winced when the lift hit the ground. Then he pushed his wheels and rolled over to Stony and Mia.

"Are you in pain?" Stony said.

"Not really," Kane said, but Stony could tell he was lying.

"Take a pill."

"Painkillers make me nauseous. I'll be fine once I can lay down in my nice, soft bed. How long do you think I'll be out of commission? Two weeks? Three?"

Stony looked at the big cast. The members of the third division didn't just possess strange abilities. They were also inhumanly durable, and they healed exceptionally fast. On the other hand, Kane had a broken femur, an injury that took months to heal for a normal person.

"Better not try to walk for a month," Stony said, "and let our medical staff take a long look at you. Don't be a tough guy."

Kane frowned. He was used to leading a very active life. A full month of recuperation would feel like a year to him.

A moving van parked with its rear doors facing headquarters. Two PEA agents left the cab, ran around to the back, and opened the doors. Six more agents were standing in the cargo area around a steel box.

The box had many tiny air-holes too small to even stick a finger through. It was the right size for a big dog or a woman, provided she didn't mind tight spaces. The prisoner was inside. Stony didn't hear any noises, so if she was awake, she was being quiet. She was probably smart enough to realize that screaming for help was a waste of breath. For her, the nightmare was just beginning. PEA interrogations were legendary.

He looked at a building to the north. It was very wide and flat like a big warehouse. White paint covered concrete walls which entirely lacked windows or doors. Underground tunnels provided the only access. The building was the notorious PEA prison, a special place built to contain the most dangerous kind of evil. The panther-woman would likely spend the rest of her life there. What a waste, Stony thought.

"Come on." Mia tugged on his hand. "We can squeeze in a few hours of sleep if we go to bed right now."

He nodded.

They trotted over to headquarters and entered through the front door. Two agents were waiting behind the security desk. The guards recognized Stony and Mia on sight, but they still had to go through the check-in process. Stony's badge, fingerprints, and retina were examined to verify his identity. Finally, he and Mia were let through.

They took the nearest elevator to the thirteenth floor, and Stony thought about Veronica as he rode up. He hoped he didn't run into her. He was terrible at dealing with grief-stricken women, and his exhausted, irritable condition would just make it worse. Whatever he told her, it would be the wrong thing.

When the elevator doors opened, somebody other than Veronica was standing there, but Stony had hoped to avoid this person too. It was Rathanael.

Rathanael held the title "Emissary and Liaison for Heaven." Robertson was the official head of the PEA, but Rathanael had the ultimate authority. Everybody on the inside knew who was really in charge.

Rathanael was a real angel from Heaven, but he sure didn't look like one. His thick, black hair badly needed a trim. Bags under his brown eyes made him appear tired, but as far as Stony knew, Rathanael didn't sleep. A black tie had a loose, sloppy knot, but at least his white shirt and pants were neat and clean. His leather shoes had worn spots on the toes. A black trench coat hung all the way down to the floor, and he liked it because it hid his wings.

He was chewing on a big wad of pink bubblegum, as usual. Stony had never had the nerve to ask the angel about his gum-chewing habit.

Stony and Mia stepped out of the elevator and nodded politely.

"I heard you had a rough night," Rathanael said around the wad of bubblegum.

"Yes, sir," Stony replied in a humble tone. "Ace died."

"I'm aware. I saw his soul leave Earth."

"But we took a prisoner. She should know a lot about Orcus."

The angel nodded as if this fact were obvious.

The hallway became uncomfortably quiet. Conversations with Rathanael always involved long, awkward pauses. Stony believed it was because the angel was immortal and didn't perceive time the same way humans did.

"Go to sleep," Rathanael said at last. "Tomorrow promises to be a busy day."

"Is that a prediction, sir?" Stony said. "A prophesy? A threat?"

The angel didn't respond. He just walked past Stony, stepped into the elevator, and pressed a button. The doors closed.

Stony frowned.

"Sleep sounds like a really good idea," Mia said.

He nodded, and they walked off towards their apartment.

* * *

Orcus looked out the windshield of the stolen car at a dark, narrow country road. The car was traveling at a steady, cautious pace, but he wasn't driving. A heavy growth of trees on both sides blocked all the stars except for a narrow strip above. The car's headlights provided the only illumination, and they just pointed ahead. The sides and back of the car were as dark as a cave. He heard the drone of insects over the engine noise, and the tiny bodies of dead insects decorated the windshield.

Angry thoughts swirled in Orcus's mind. The night had been a disaster, and he had many questions about what had happened. He intended to get answers.

He was near Jasper, Texas, which was close to the Louisiana border. Lakes and streams peppered the soggy land, which saw plenty of rain but never snow. The nearest interstate highway was a hundred miles away. Small, struggling farms were the main industry in this impoverished area. There was nothing else to do except avoid getting attacked by mosquitoes and alligators.

Orcus saw a sign that read, "PRIVATE DRIVEWAY - NO TRESSPASSING - BEWARE OF DOGS." He smiled.

"There." He pointed. "Turn at the sign. That looks perfect."

He looked at the woman driving the car. She was his slave for life, and her cursed iron collar kept her from rebelling. She was young and beautiful, of course. He prided himself on his taste in women. Her silky, blonde hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders. High cheekbones and a straight, perfect nose gave her the look of a fashion model. She kept her blue eyes pointed forward. She knew better than to meet his gaze, even when he was staring at her. She had to remain submissive at all times.

Her name—at least the name Orcus had given her—was Pomona. She was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. He preferred his women naked, but too much bare flesh could attract the wrong kind of attention when traveling. He had to maintain a low profile while he put his life back together.

Pomona turned onto a narrow road barely wide enough for the car. Ruts and rocks made the ride uncomfortably bumpy. She slowed to a stop when the car approached a steel gate in a wooden fence. A chain and padlock held the gate closed.

"Wait here," Orcus said.

"Yes, master," she replied softly.

He got out of the car and checked the sky for light. Dawn would come soon. Fortunately, the night was still nice and dark.

He quickly climbed over the gate. Black robes tangled under his feet, but he reached the other side without falling onto the mushy ground. He looked across a lawn of weeds and dirt at a small house. The building stood on tall stone piles, a common trick in areas where flooding and vermin were a problem. A steep staircase led to the front door.

Orcus drew a knife with a long, black, serrated blade from under his robes.

Two big dogs came charging out of the darkness. They were magnificent German shepherds. Long chains attached to their collars prevented them from escaping, but they had free run of the yard. The dogs barked ferociously as they ran towards Orcus.

He whispered a few words in the harsh language of demons, and he intertwined his fingers in a specific way. The dogs immediately stopped their attack. They stood in front of him, completely motionless.

Orcus put his hands on their warm, furry heads. He extended his mind outwards until it touched the small minds of the animals. He probed their canine thoughts and memories. He molded their desires to suit his needs. An old man lived in the house, and he was alone. Kill, Orcus thought. Kill the old man.

He unclipped the chains from the dogs' collars.

The dogs immediately turned and ran back to the house. They entered through a doggy door. Ferocious barking and growling made Orcus smile.

He climbed the stairs leading to the house at a casual pace. The front door was closed and locked, so he kicked it open. He entered the house, which was really more like a shack, and he flipped on the light.

The main room had cheap lawn furniture instead of real furniture. Folding chairs were placed around a radio, probably the old man's only source of entertainment. A camp stove on a table seemed to be the make-shift kitchen.

An open door led to the only other room. Orcus glanced through the doorway and saw the two dogs tearing apart a man on a bed. Blood already covered their muzzles and paws.

Orcus spotted a keyring on a nightstand. He slipped into the bedroom, taking care not to disturb the dogs while they were enjoying themselves. He grabbed the keys, walked outside, and returned to the steel gate.

He tried a few keys until he found the right one for the lock. He opened the gate and stepped back. Pomona drove the stolen sedan into the yard and parked beside a rusty pickup truck. He relocked the gate.

She got out of the car but kept her eyes down.

"Bring the child," Orcus said.

"Yes, master."

She opened the trunk of the car. She pulled out a burlap sack with pictures of potatoes on it. The sack squirmed in her grasp, but she controlled it easily. A little boy was inside, but exhaustion and dehydration had weakened him to the point where he couldn't put up a fight.

Orcus led Pomona back into the house. After a moment of consideration, he decided the main room would do for the summoning ceremony. He pushed all the furniture to the side.

"There." He pointed to the middle of the wooden floor.

Pomona placed the squirming sack on the spot and backed away. She knelt with her head down.

The dogs had finished their task by now. Covered with fresh blood, they sat and watched the proceedings with their tails wagging.

Orcus was still holding his ceremonial knife. "In the name of Forneus," he muttered. He stabbed the sack repeatedly until he was sure the boy inside was dead.

Normally, Orcus would've drawn out the kill to appease the sadistic desires of his master, but tonight Orcus was in a hurry. He had urgent questions to ask Forneus.

Blood seeped out of the coarsely woven sack. Orcus dipped his finger in the sticky, warm fluid and drew a pattern on the floor. The design featured a star with five points decorated with arcane symbols. He worked quickly. The ceremony required fresh, wet blood.

Finally, he stood back and muttered a prayer, "Lord Satan, by your grace, grant me, I pray thee, the power to conceive in my mind and to execute that which I desire...."

A swirling black mist began to form in the center of the star. The dogs yipped and ran away.

The mist gradually solidified into the shape of a man. He was wearing a crisp, black business suit with a red handkerchief in his breast pocket. He had a devilishly handsome face, if one ignored the pointed eyebrows and solid black eyes. Giant bat wings flapped slowly behind him. Smoke drifted up from a smoldering cigar in his mouth.

Orcus bowed deeply. "Lord Forneus, I am honored that you answered my call. Thank you for coming so swiftly."

"You had trouble earlier," the demon said in a harsh, deep-throated voice.

"Yes, your highness. Who attacked my home?"

"The Paranormal Enforcement Administration, of course. I warned you repeatedly about them. I told you to be careful."

Orcus clenched his jaw in anger. The PEA was a secret government agency dedicated to stopping people like himself.

"Were all the PEA agents killed at least?"

"No," Forneus said. "Out of the four who attacked, only one died."

Orcus gaped in disbelief. "How? The house was full of dangerous animals with orders to attack any intruders. Flora and Diana had the same orders."

"Flora is dead. The PEA took Diana away in a box. Your 'dangerous animals' were killed."

Orcus paused to absorb the upsetting news. He had hoped Flora and Diana would rejoin him, but obviously, that wouldn't happen now. He didn't love his slaves, but they were highly prized possessions. He had spent years meticulously training them. He had taught them words of infernal power. He had shared the fruits of forbidden knowledge with his precious slaves. He had given them the extraordinary ability to not only control animals but become one. They had served him well. Losing two in one night was a bitter blow.

"But Diana is still alive?" Orcus said.

"For the moment," Forneus said, "but the PEA may still execute her. They certainly will never release her. The only way you'll see her again is if you bust her out of prison, but you'll likely fail."

"But I still don't understand how just four agents could've won that fight?"

"The assault team was not ordinary humans. They have walked the same dark roads as you. They have powers."

"Servants of demons work for the PEA?" Orcus said.

"The angel Rathanael is their master now. He turned them towards the light. They will do everything possible to kill you."

"Then help me," Orcus pleaded. "Use your demonic powers. Attack the PEA."

"Rathanael protects the PEA. I can't even go near the headquarters. If I attacked directly, I would be drawn into a battle with the angel."

"But you would win, right? You're a demon lord."

Forneus shook his head. "Rathanael isn't a typical angel. He is too strong for me. You must save yourself."

"How? I can't fight the entire PEA!"

"The inhuman agents, what they call the third division, are the real threat. Just five of them are left. A clever, resourceful man such as you should be able to dispatch that small number."

"Just five?" Orcus raised his eyebrows.

"Yes."

"But they have dark powers."

"They certainly do," Forneus said, "along with human faults. They can be tricked."

Orcus pursed his lips as he contemplated his predicament. Killing five people didn't seem like an insurmountable task, even if they had infernal skills. He just needed to arrange a proper trap. He would use himself as bait. His enemies' great eagerness to kill him was a weakness he could exploit.

"While you're working on that," the demon added, "I will expect the regular schedule of sacrifices to continue."

"But your highness, collecting, torturing, and killing children takes time. It also puts me at risk of getting caught. I need to devote myself entirely to fighting the PEA for the next few days at least."

"We have an agreement. There is no clause that allows you to shirk your duties to me just because you're busy."

Orcus saw no compassion in Forneus's black eyes. The tip of his cigar glowed as red as lava.

"And if I 'shirk,' what happens?" Orcus asked. "You'll take my powers away?"

"No. What was freely given cannot be taken back, but I will kill you if you disappoint me. That much I can do."

Orcus judged the seriousness of the threat. He knew he was a valuable asset to the demon, not to be tossed aside lightly. On the other hand, Forneus wouldn't tolerate any form of defiance or insubordination, regardless of the cause. The trail of dead children would continue.

Orcus decided to change the subject. "There is really no hope for Diana?"

"All I know is she was taken to the enemy's headquarters. She is too close to Rathanael's blinding white light for me to see any details. I expect they're torturing her for information."

Orcus furrowed his brow. Diana's collar would prevent her from giving any useful information, provided it wasn't removed. Fortunately, she didn't know his plans anyway. He had trained her to follow orders without asking questions.

"It's time for me to leave," Forneus said. "The sun is rising, and the black energies of the night are dissipating. You have your orders. I don't have to remind you of the price of failure." The demon dissolved into mist and then vanished.

Orcus sighed. He had a lot of work ahead of him.

He faced Pomona. "Did you hear, slave?"

"Yes, master," she replied without looking at him.

"It will be a tough fight. We could use an ally." He paused to think. "Thorn might be willing."

She gasped. "He's a cannibal, master!"

"Even worse than that, but he serves a demon, just as I do. He won't betray me to the PEA. But that phone call can wait until after we get some sleep. Clean up the mess in the bedroom. Then I'll take the bed, and you can sleep on the floor."

"Thank you, master."

* * *

"The Lord is my shepherd," the priest said in a somber, almost sleepy voice, "I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul."

Stony had a dead feeling inside as he watched the priest perform the funeral service. Stony was wearing his nicest suit, and it was too tight around the shoulders, but replacing it wasn't worth the trouble. He only wore the suit for funerals. Unfortunately, Ace's funeral was the second this year.

Director Robertson held the urn containing Ace's ashes. The director hadn't bothered to change out of his standard blue suit, and his blank expression concealed any feelings he might have. If his face showed anything, it was impatience.

The funeral was taking place on the dirt shore of Belmont Bay under a bright sun and a clear sky. Birds squawked in the distance. A light breeze carried cool, moist air. Under other circumstances, the weather would've made Stony cheerful.

He glanced at Veronica to see how she was holding up. A night of crying had left her gray eyes bloodshot, but she was subdued at the moment. Perhaps she was too exhausted to weep with grief anymore.

She was a tall woman with a sturdy, angular body. Her straight, black hair was stiff and wiry. A long nose matched her long face, which always had a serious expression. Even when she was happy, she rarely smiled. A simple, black dress was her standard attire for funerals, but she also wore Ace's gun belt to honor him. The heels of her black shoes were sinking into the soft dirt.

Mia had an arm around Veronica's shoulders in an awkward gesture of support. Stony didn't think it was helping.

"Stony," the priest said, "I believe you have a few words to add."

Stony raised his eyebrows. "My turn?"

He walked over and turned around so his back was to Belmont Bay. He faced three members of the third division: Mia, Veronica, and Brian. Kane had stayed in his room because of pain and swelling in his broken leg. Nobody else was attending the funeral.

"Ace was a good soldier," Stony said. "I never saw him run or flinch in the face of danger. He fought hard for the right reasons. He leaves us with memories of his passion for life. He will be sorely missed. For people like us, who stand at the edge of the abyss, there is no greater tribute."

A tear on Brian's cheek surprised Stony. Brian had legendary discipline and rarely expressed emotion.

He was a slender man of Korean heritage. His skin was the color of lightly tanned leather, but his eyes were so dark, it was hard to see the color at all. He was wearing white robes, a Korean tradition for funerals. He held a portable video game as a token of respect for Ace's extraordinary gaming skills.

Stony nodded to Robertson. The director poured Ace's white ashes from the urn into the waters of the Bay. They floated on the surface and slowly spread out.

"Go in peace, my man," Brian said. He tossed the video game into the water.

The short funeral was over.

Stony walked over to Mia and took her hand. A black velvet ribbon held back her hair. A stiff, shapeless black dress hid the curves of her body. Unlike Veronica, Mia was wearing practical, flat shoes. She was a veteran of PEA funerals.

The small group began the long, quiet walk back to headquarters. A trail made of thick wooden planks connected the gray building to the water's edge. Mud and marsh flanked the path on both sides. Stony detected the faint odor of bird shit.

He was surprised when he saw Rathanael walking towards him. The angel usually showed no interest in funerals. He was wearing his usual outfit including the black trench coat. The sun on his face caused his skin to glow with inner light.

Rathanael clearly wanted to speak with the group, so they stopped and waited. Everybody was calm except for the priest. He was breathing so rapidly, Stony was afraid the poor man would pass out. All the priests became very excited around the angel.

"Did you want to attend the funeral?" Stony said. "You're too late."

"No," Rathanael said. "I have other business. I was just observing the woman you captured last night. Her name is Diana. At least, that's what she is called these days. Her soul still has some strands of good buried in it. She didn't enjoy Orcus's murderous ceremonies or the cruel way he treated her. She would've rebelled if given the chance. She can be salvaged."

Stony smiled a little. That news was very good. "You want us to recruit her?"

"Yes. You and Mia should do it. Go through the usual introductions and trials. When she is ready, bring her to my office for her formal initiation."

"But, sir!" Veronica said. "She's our enemy! She was there when Ace died."

"Don't be so hasty in your judgment," Rathanael said. "Her potential is tremendous. Give her a fair chance."

"Yes, sir," Veronica responded in a sullen tone.

"That awful iron collar is the key. It is a talisman of evil and a means of control. While she wears it, she will never betray Orcus. She is forced to be his slave. If you cut off the collar, you will free her mind. She might then choose the path of light."

"Got it." Stony nodded.

"But she will fight to keep the collar," Rathanael said. "That is part of the spell."

"I understand. Mia and I know what to do."

Stony and Mia exchanged confident glances. They had experienced the recruitment process from both sides.

"Good," Rathanael said. "If she survives, she could become one of Heaven's greatest warriors."

Chapter Four

"Ready?" Stony said.

He looked over at Mia. Both of them wore white sweat suits and white tennis shoes. The outfits would allow free movement in case vigorous action was necessary. Mia also wore Kevlar protection on her forearms, shins, and chest. A baseball catcher's mask completed her strange ensemble. Stony didn't need the extra protection because his skin was tough enough to stop panther claws.

She carried a heavy-duty bolt cutter. He wasn't sure what would happen when they used it though. Diana's cursed collar might react badly to being cut.

"Let's do this," Mia said.

Stony nodded to a PEA agent standing guard in front of a thick steel door. Bars reinforced the door and locked it in place. It was strong enough to stop a charging rhino.

The agent pressed a button. Hydraulic pistons retracted the bars and slowly opened the door. Stony and Mia stepped through.

He grimaced at Diana's dire situation. The PEA interrogators had jammed her into a sealed box with thick walls made of clear glass. The small space forced her into a fetal position. Hoses supplied fresh air, but a brown mist also floated around in the box. The chemical was making Diana gag and cough uncontrollably, and she could do nothing about it. She would suffer for as long as the interrogators wanted her to. Tears and snot dripped onto the bottom of the box.

Stony stepped in for a closer look. Even in her present condition, she was beautiful. Stunning blue eyes highlighted a face suitable for the cover of a fashion magazine. She was wearing an ugly orange uniform, the kind given to all PEA prisoners.

He turned to the interrogators. Three men in white coveralls watched from the side of the room. One of them had bloody bandages wrapped around his forearms. Diana has teeth and claws, Stony thought.

He knew and hated all three of them. Stony maintained a professional demeanor with difficulty, reminding himself that the interrogators were just doing their jobs. Reviving old grudges wouldn't serve the mission.

"What have you done to her so far?" he said.

"Just the usual stuff, sir," an interrogator replied. "Electric prods, ice water, death threats, suspension. Nothing dangerous. She's a tough bitch. She hasn't told us a damn thing. Good luck getting anything out of her."

"Clean out that brown stuff. She can't talk in this condition."

The interrogators operated valves, and a blast of fresh air cleared out the glass box. Diana immediately took a deep, cleansing breath. Her muscles relaxed.

"Now get out of here," Stony told the interrogators.

"Sir?" one man said.

"Go, and close the door behind you. Make sure it's locked."

They gave each other odd looks but complied. Stony heard the heavy door slam closed and lock. He and Mia were now alone with the prisoner.

Stony looked around to make sure the room was secure. The interrogation chamber was a windowless cube with solid concrete walls painted white. Ventilation grills had holes too small for even a fly to pass through. A positive pressure system would contain even prisoners who could turn themselves into smoke. The air-tight steel door was the only way in or out, and it couldn't be opened from this side.

"Shall we?" Mia said, nodding towards Diana.

Stony examined the glass box. Heavy clamps held it together, and he began to loosen them. The prisoner inside watched him with a curious expression.

"Here we go," he said.

He pulled the top off the box. Diana transformed into a gray panther in less than a second and slipped out of her clothes. She tried to dash away, but he was ready for her. He wrapped his big arms around her midsection from behind. She howled and thrashed desperately in an effort to escape his grasp. Her sharp claws dug into his arms and legs, but he had already hardened his skin. She was amazingly strong and energetic. Just holding her was hard work.

Mia moved in with the bolt cutters. She tried to snip Diana's collar, but the panther was moving around too much. Mia couldn't get a clean cut.

"Hurry up!" Stony said.

"I'm trying!" Mia yelled back.

He turned Diana sideways and grabbed her head with one hand. It was a bad position, awkward for him and probably painful for her, but it kept her still for a few seconds. Mia finally cut the collar.

A brilliant blue spark sounded like a thunderbolt. The collar fell to the ground with the cut ends glowing red.

Stony released Diana. She dashed across the room and huddled in the corner like a real, frightened cat. She glared back at him with her human eyes. Her gray fur had subtle black stripes which looked like shadows. Her natural camouflage was perfect for operating at night.

"I'm pretty sure you can understand me," Stony said in a soothing voice, "so I'm going to talk. You're very confused right now. With the collar off, your mind is free, but you don't know what to think. You don't know who to trust. Your emotions are a tangle of fear, anger, and desperation. All you want to do is escape this terrible place. I understand perfectly. Those interrogators gave me the full treatment in this exact room. I've been where you are."

He paused to see if his message was getting through. Her fur had shrunk a little, and her face had shifted to a more human shape. He realized she didn't have to be all cat or all human. She could stay in the range in between and adopt characteristics of both. Interesting, he thought. Lycanthropes don't have that kind of fine control.

He continued, "Allow me to introduce myself. My friends call me Stony because I can make my skin as hard as stone, which I'm sure you noticed. My partner is Miasma. She can exhale a very nasty kind of tear gas, ten times worse than anything you experienced in the glass box. Those aren't our real names, of course, but our real names are secret. We're highly trained experts in all forms of combat. You don't want to mess with either of us. We can kick your ass all day long, as a woman or a cat. That's not bragging. It's just a fact. I want to be your friend though, Diana. Your best friend. I can help you. You want to get out of here? I can tell you how."

Diana continued to slowly shift back to the form of a woman, but she still had cat ears and a little fuzz on her skin. Her feet were elongated, and she was standing on her toes.

Mia tossed the orange prison uniform to Diana.

"Where am I?" Diana said in a half-meow.

"The Paranormal Enforcement Administration," Stony said. "We fight the servants of Hell. Vampires, werewolves, witches, and warlocks. Those who strike unholy deals with demons or Satan himself. At the moment, we're going after Orcus, and when I say 'we,' I'm including you."

"No." She shook her head.

"You're still confused. Old loyalties are hard to break, even when they are forced upon you."

Diana just stared at him.

"By the way," he said, "your interrogation can continue. There is no Geneva Convention here. You have no rights. You want to spend a month chained to a wall? Bathe in urine? You won't be the first."

She straightened up. "You can't scare me. Orcus punished me all the time. I can deal with any kind of pain."

"I like your attitude, but you obviously don't understand what you're up against. I'm going to give you a tour of our prison as education."

She stared at him. She was obviously thinking she might get an opportunity to escape.

"We can't use handcuffs on you," Stony said. "You could just turn into a cat and slip out. Mia and I will hold your hands instead. Think of us as human handcuffs."

Diana still had a calculating look in her eyes. He admired her bravery. After being tortured for most of the night, she still had plenty of fight left in her.

"If you did manage to escape from Mia and me," he said, "you wouldn't get far. This facility was designed to hold the worst monsters ever spawned by Hell. You'll just end up back here, and it might be months before we give you another chance. We don't reward stupid choices. Do you understand?"

She was almost fully human now. Her red hair still had some black fuzz though, and her fingernails were short claws. She put on the prison outfit to cover her nudity.

When he didn't get a response, Stony said, "This is a very rare opportunity to turn your life around. If you work with us, you'll be a warrior, not a slave. You'll have pride, dignity, and respect. You'll join a team capable of beating anything Hell can throw at us. You can walk away from the sins of the past and build a new future with a clean slate. Whatever you've done, I've done worse, and they forgave me. It all depends on the decisions you make in the next hour. Don't screw it up. Understand?"

Diana appeared thoughtful and less confident. He was finally getting through to her. She nodded.

She looked at the broken iron collar on the floor. She walked over, picked it up, and stared at it with an angry expression. She abruptly hurled the collar against the wall, making a loud clang.

The first step on the journey to the light, Stony thought.

He grabbed Diana's right wrist with a very firm grip, enough to make her wince. She wouldn't be able to shake him loose. Mia held Diana's left wrist.

They went to the door, and Stony knocked.

"It's Stony!" he yelled. "Let us out!"

The door opened. A squad of PEA agents in full body armor was waiting on the other side. They carried a mix of tranquilizer guns, glue guns, beanbag launchers, and normal guns that shot bullets. Stony wasn't taking any chances. Diana would have an armed escort during her tour of the facility.

They began walking. The interrogation section was in an underground part of headquarters. The corridors formed a maze of white walls and bright fluorescent lights. There were no signs anywhere, no indication of which way led out. An escaped prisoner would quickly get lost and become trapped in a dead end.

Stony knew the way though, and after making several turns, he guided the group through a long tunnel to the prison. It was a separate building north of headquarters, but the only way to get inside was through the tunnel.

"You mentioned you were also interrogated," Diana said softly. "What did you mean?"

"I once worked for a demon," Stony said, "and so did Mia. But let me back up and explain the structure of the PEA. There are four operational divisions. The first and largest consists of federal agents, ordinary humans with ordinary capabilities. They do all the tedious grunt work during investigations. The second division consists of priests and ministers. They received special training in the best ways to dispel supernatural evil. They specialize in exorcisms."

"What about the third division?"

"That's us, and there are only five members. We served Hell before we flipped sides. We betrayed Satan. Now we're the monsters who fight the monsters."

"Oh." Diana's eyes brightened. "That's how you got your powers."

"Exactly. They were given by a demon. Mia and I were brought here in chains and interrogated, just like you. We suffered all the horrors the PEA could throw at us. In my case, it took months of pure misery before I saw the light. I was very stubborn. I'm hoping you're smarter than that."

She looked down with a thoughtful expression.

The group arrived at a security checkpoint. Stony maintained a firm grip on Diana even while his eyes and hands were being scanned. She hadn't tried anything tricky yet, but he was ready.

After passing through the checkpoint, they began climbing a long staircase.

"You said there are four divisions," Diana said. "What is the fourth?"

"That division has only one member," Stony said. "If you behave, you'll meet him when this tour is over."

"Is he very special?"

"You could say that. The reason we're talking is because he saw something he liked in you."

The group emerged onto a balcony overlooking the floor of the PEA prison. The prison was a single, enormous room, big enough to serve as a hangar for several jumbo jets. Guards with sniper rifles walked on suspended catwalks, and they could see everything. No walls blocked their view. Cameras and automatic gun turrets hung from the ceiling at regular intervals. The lights were bright, and they never turned off. Silver crucifixes were everywhere.

Stony clenched his jaw. Seeing the prison again brought back ugly memories.

"I see guards," Diana said, "but I don't see any prisoners."

"Look in the pits." Mia pointed at the floor.

Two hundred circular pits formed a regular grid in the floor. Each pit was about eight feet wide at top and twenty deep. The sides sloped so they were a little wider at the bottom. Steel grills covered the tops of the pits in most cases, but air-tight sheets of plastic sealed a few.

"The prisoners are stuck in the ground?" Diana said in a horrified tone.

"In total isolation for the rest of their lives," Stony said. "Come. Let's meet a few of my old adversaries."

Stony, Mia, and Diana rode a lift down to ground level. The lift hung from the ceiling, so when it was in a raised position, nothing could be climbed. As soon as they stepped off, the lift went back up. The armed escort of agents remained on the balcony. Regular agents couldn't come down to the floor except in an emergency.

Stony let go of Diana's wrist. She had nowhere to run, and if she tried, the gun turrets would cut her down.

"The prisoners never leave the pits?" she said.

"Never," Mia said.

"What do they eat?"

"A faucet supplies liquid food in measured quantities." Mia curled her lip. "It tastes like chalk."

"You were really a prisoner here?" Diana said with wide eyes.

"Yes. Like Stony, I was stubborn and loud. They made me wear a steel bucket over my head until I finally shut up."

Stony led the two women to a particular pit. He looked down through the grill and saw a man lying on a thin, filthy mattress. He wore just a loincloth, so nothing hid his hundreds of colorful tattoos. Pictures of snakes, guns, cars, skulls, and knives covered every inch of his skin, including his face. The tattoos slowly moved around as if flowing in water.

Stony kicked the grill to produce a loud clang. "Hey, Max! How's it going?"

The man looked up from his bed. "Stony and Miasma." His voice dripped with hatred. "Who is the pretty girl?"

"Oh, that's Diana," Stony said.

"Send her down." Max licked his lips. "I'll show her a good time."

"I don't think so. I'm curious. What do you do all day?"

"Think about revenge."

"Sounds monotonous," Stony said. "Do you know what I do when I'm bored? Eat tasty food, catch an occasional movie, and have sex with Mia. The next time I'm screwing her, I'll think of you and give her an extra special thrust." He rotated his hips suggestively.

Diana looked at him with a speculative expression.

Max jumped out of bed. "I'll kill you, motherfucker!" he screamed. "I'll rip you apart! I'll have your liver for dinner!"

"No." Stony smiled. "You'll die of old age in that stinking hole if you don't find a way to kill yourself first. I suggest bashing your skull against the wall. Others have tried that successfully."

He walked off as Max continued to yell empty threats. Mia and Diana followed.

"That was fun," Mia said with a wicked smile.

"I thought so," Stony said.

He led the way across the prison floor to another pit. It held an old woman wearing rags. Brittle, gray hair hung down to her waist. She had lost her teeth, and her mouth had an odd shape as a result. Deep lines crisscrossed her face.

"Who is that old hag?" Diana said.

"Be more respectful," Mia said. "She was a supermodel named Ambrosia."

"Huh? But she was one of the most beautiful women in the world! Then she disappeared...."

Ambrosia looked up from the floor of her cell. "I was the most beautiful woman in the world," she croaked.

"Not anymore," Mia said. "Tell your tale to my young, impressionable friend here."

Ambrosia clamped her mouth shut.

"Don't be difficult," Mia said. "You have a problem with spiders, right? It would be a shame if a few hundred were released in your cell."

"You wouldn't!"

Mia smiled in a particularly nasty way.

"OK!" Ambrosia said. "I cut a deal with a demon. He made me exquisitely beautiful."

"And what did you have to do to retain your beauty?"

"Bathe in the blood of virgins."

"I don't see a lot of blood down there," Mia said, "virgin or otherwise. You're aging at like fifty times the normal rate. Must suck."

"You bitch!" Ambrosia screamed. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"You never had that chance. I was always one step ahead of you. Enjoy your retirement!"

Ambrosia screeched.

Stony led Mia and Diana to another pit. A very thick sheet of plastic covered the opening, but an intercom allowed communication with the prisoner below.

Stony looked down. A withered, old man with deathly white skin was standing there. He had long fangs and steeply arched eyebrows. The only furniture was a coffin filled with dirt.

"Is that a real vampire?" Diana whispered.

Stony nodded. "He was very powerful, a real pain-in-the-ass to capture."

The vampire noticed the visitors and looked up. "Stony," he said in a thin, scratchy voice.

"What's wrong with you? You're not looking so good."

"They're feeding me rat blood... and not enough of it."

"What a shame." Stony shook his head in mock sadness. "But I suppose you should feel lucky their feeding you at all. We normally just destroy vampires. A nice, thick stake through the heart does the trick." He pretended to stab himself in the heart. "Maybe the PEA is keeping you around because we like to see you suffer."

"How dare you disrespect me!" the vampire said. "I am Ferdinand the Terrible! The Terror of Dubasari! Villagers whisper my name as a curse."

"You're right. A famous monster like you shouldn't have to suck rat blood. I'll ask the PEA to upgrade your diet."

"You will?"

"Of course." Stony smiled. "You shall dine on mashed flies and cockroaches tonight!"

"No! I will rip out your heart..."

Stony walked off with Mia and Diana a step behind.

"This is too much fun," Mia said, "but maybe we should get down to business."

"Sure," Stony said.

He walked over to an open pit. A ladder was leaning against the side and sticking out the top.

"Climb down," he ordered Diana.

"Huh?" She looked at him with a confused expression. "Why?"

"Just do it... or I'll throw you down."

She backed away, and fur sprouted across her face.

"See those guys?" Stony pointed to the guards on the catwalks. "They have sniper rifles, and there is no cover in this prison. I just have to give the word, and your brains will become a splatter pattern on the floor. Now climb down!"

Diana looked at the guards for a moment. Then she meekly climbed down the ladder and hopped onto the floor at the bottom of the pit. Stony pulled out the ladder, trapping her below. She stared up at him anxiously.

"Cozy?" he said.

"Not really," she said in an uncertain voice.

"Get used to it. That's your home for the rest of your life. It has your name on it."

She swallowed. "But...."

"Don't complain," Stony said. "You're guilty of terrible crimes. You kidnapped children and participated in unholy rituals."

"Orcus made me! I never had a choice! If I didn't obey, he whipped me, and the collar wouldn't let me run away!"

"You must have quite a bit of evil in you, or a demon would never have given you the power to turn into an animal."

Diana winced. "I may have done some things."

"And you will now pay the price."

"What about you? You told me you served a demon once. You're evil, too!"

"I turned towards the light," Stony said. "I betrayed my infernal masters. I committed myself, body and soul, to the fight for good. That's why I'm up here and you're down there." He put his arm around Mia's shoulders. "She made the same choice. Now it's your turn."

He looked down at Diana and waited for her to reach the obvious conclusion. She knew what was at stake. She had seen and experienced the price of refusing to cooperate.

"Not much of a choice," she said. "A lifetime of imprisonment and torture, or working for the government against my will."

"That's what I thought at first," Stony said, "but once I started the job, I realized it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I get paid to clobber people who deserve clobbering."

She licked her lips. "Maybe I could... turn towards the light," she said softly.

He fought an urge to smile. She still had a long way to go before he could declare victory.

"You want to join the third division?" he said.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Don't be so casual about it. We expect absolute commitment and unwavering loyalty. You will risk your life to protect the innocent. You will follow our rules. You will help us hunt and kill Orcus."

"How can I trust you?" she said. "You could be feeding me a load of bullshit."

"You'll have proof soon enough. Until then, it's a leap of faith. We're the good guys. Believe it."

Diana looked down at the bare concrete floor of her pit. She was thinking about it, and he understood her indecision. She had been through a traumatic experience and didn't know who to trust. Abandoning a way of life and a belief system was hard, even for a slave. She was hoping for an easier way out.

"The demon will come after me," she said. "He'll be very angry."

"We will protect you," Stony said.

"From a demon?"

"If angry demons were a problem for us, I would be dead a hundred times over. I've pissed off more minions of Hell than I can count. Make a decision. Which side do you want to fight for? Evil or good?"

After a long hesitation, Diana said, "Good."

She didn't sound fully committed, and he couldn't trust her anyway. She could easily be lying. He knew very well that old, bad habits were hard to break. He had given her no time to adjust to life without her collar. It was likely she was just playing him and hoping for an opportunity to escape later.

Regardless of her current motives, her recruitment couldn't wait. He needed her immediate help with catching Orcus. Stony just had to hope that she had the intelligence and wisdom to reorient herself in minutes instead of weeks or months. So far, the signs were encouraging.

He lowered the ladder into the pit. She eagerly climbed out as soon as the ladder touched the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was back on the surface.

Diana looked at the other pits. "Does every prisoner get the option of joining the third division?"

"No." Stony shook his head. "Very few. Perhaps one in a hundred. In fact, we simply kill most of our enemies. We only keep the ones who might still have valuable information for us, and they spend the rest of their lives in the pits."

"But not me. What makes me special?"

"You were... judged worthy."

She cocked her head. "By who?"

"The entity you're about to meet."

Chapter Five

Stony was holding Diana's wrist again. They had left the prison section with its overwhelming security, and he was worried she might try something foolish. He knew she was still looking for a way out of this situation, any way out. Survival and freedom were her main objectives. She was fidgeting and glancing in all directions.

They were on the eleventh floor of headquarters, otherwise known as the "executive" floor. The most senior managers in the agency had their offices here, including Director Robertson. The lighting fixtures had a brass finish, or at least a fake brass finish. Pale blue carpet muffled Stony's footsteps. Some of the hallways featured decorative plastic plants. The wooden office doors had nameplates on the outside.

Mia was holding Diana's other wrist. Nobody else would notice, but Stony could tell Mia was on edge. She also knew that Diana could try to run at any moment.

An armed escort followed them as insurance.

The group finally came to a white door in the center of the floor. Stony was about to knock when he heard Rathanael's voice.

"Come in," the angel said.

Stony, Diana, and Mia entered the office. Their escort remained in the hallway and stood guard.

Other members of the third division were already waiting in Rathanael's office. Stony nodded to Brian and Veronica. Stony wanted Kane to be part of this very important meeting, but he was probably in surgery for his leg. Ace's absence also caused Stony to feel a painful stab of grief and loss.

Director Robertson wasn't present either. Ordinary humans weren't invited to initiation ceremonies. He would be told of the outcome.

Veronica glared at Diana with open hostility. Even though Diana wasn't directly responsible for Ace's death, she was guilty by association. That will take some smoothing over, Stony thought.

The office was a perfect cube with white walls, a white ceiling, and a white floor. Whenever Stony entered, he had the feeling of walking into a cloud. Rathanael had a white desk and a chair, although Stony had never seen him use it. There was no other furniture or decorations. The desk was perfectly clean without any papers or a computer. The angel had nothing to do in his office except contemplate the world.

Rathanael was leaning against his desk with his arms crossed. He had set aside his trench coat so his beautiful white wings could unfold. They looked like the wings of a dove except a hundred times bigger. He still wore his loose black tie though, forming a vertical black stripe against a white field. He chewed noisily on a big wad of bubble gum.

"You're a real angel!" Diana said, staring in wonder.

"Obviously," he replied in a curt tone.

Stony closed the office door and locked it.

"His name is Rathanael," he said. "He's the boss around here. These other two people are Veronica and Brian, also members of the third division."

Diana smiled politely, but the expression looked forced. "Glad to meet you." She offered her hand.

Brian gave Diana's hand a quick, perfunctory shake. Veronica just watched coldly.

"What are your powers?" Diana said.

"I'm an assassin," Brian said without bothering to elaborate.

Stony knew that single word hardly did justice to Brian's extraordinary skills. He was one of the top assassins in the world. He could sneak past the toughest security and kill silently.

Veronica remained silent, and Stony decided that was probably best in this case. She was a living lie detector. If Diana told a falsehood, Veronica would know it.

"Let's just get down to business," Rathanael said. "Do you understand why you're here?"

"I think so," Diana said. "Stony told me I could get out of being tortured and imprisoned by joining your team."

Stony frowned. She could've phrased that response in a more positive way.

"That's true," Rathanael said, "but you didn't really answer the question. You're here to swear loyalty to Heaven, to dedicate your body and soul to fighting for the Lord. You're going to set aside your sinful ways and adopt a life of righteousness."

"Sure, if that's what you need me to do."

The angel sighed. He walked over to Diana and put his hands on her shoulders. His eyes glowed white as he stared at her. Stony imagined the angel was examining her soul.

"Tell us about your past, child," Rathanael said. "How did you come to this place?"

"What do you mean? You drugged me and brought me here in a box."

"No. Start with your childhood."

Diana looked at the others in the room. She was obviously reluctant to tell her life story.

"Just so you know," Rathanael said, "I value truth above all other things. The truth will set you free. Do not lie to me, and most of all, don't lie to yourself. A new road lies before you, and the first step is honesty. The old road leads only to death, and I'm not speaking metaphorically. I am fully prepared to have you killed here and now if I decide you can't be salvaged. Consider your next words carefully."

She frowned but eventually seemed to reach a decision. "I guess it's not a big secret. My parents were Satanists. I grew up worshipping the Devil. Evil has always been a big part of my life."

Stony felt bad for her. Darkness had taken her before she could make a choice.

"But you embraced evil," Rathanael said.

"I wanted the approval of my parents," Diana said. "They encouraged me to commit crimes, so I stole things."

"What things?"

"Clothes, jewelry, cars. I also did nasty practical jokes."

"More than just jokes," Rathanael said. "Somebody died."

"That was an accident!"

"You created a situation where death was a realistic possibility."

Diana looked down. "I guess," she said in a sullen tone. "And I dealt drugs as a teenager. That's how I got my spending money."

Stony could imagine her as a successful drug dealer. With her blue eyes, red hair, and pretty face, she would get invitations to all the best parties. Selling narcotics to her friends would make her even more popular.

"Were you ever arrested?" Rathanael said.

"No. I was too smart. The cops stopped me a few times, but I always talked my way out of it. They just couldn't believe a cute little girl was so bad." She batted her eyelashes.

Stony sighed. Men can be so stupid, he thought.

"Then what happened," Rathanael said.

"When I was nineteen, my father sold me to Orcus."

"Sold you as a slave?"

Diana nodded. "For two ounces of gold. Orcus put the collar on me right away, and then I was stuck. I was his permanent servant." She sounded bitter.

"Did he mistreat you?"

"He punished me every time I didn't do exactly what I was told. The collar kept me from running away or fighting back. I quickly learned to obey without question. I became a perfect slave. That was four years ago."

Stony tried not to think about the waking nightmare of her life with Orcus. The idea made Stony too angry.

"Was it all bad?" Rathanael said.

Diana paused. "Not all of it. I learned arcane secrets. I gained power. I soaked up all the black magic that Orcus offered me. I became stronger, tougher, faster. I learned how to control animals, and eventually, I could turn into a panther."

"Ah. Tell us more about that. We know Orcus had three slaves. Could they all turn into animals?"

She hesitated, and Stony realized this was a big step for her. She was about to betray people she had lived with for several years. Most of all, by revealing secrets, she was turning her back on Orcus.

"Flora can turn into a hyena," Diana eventually said. "Pomona can become a wolf."

"We killed a pack of hyenas," Stony said. "One of them turned into a woman."

She spun around and faced him. "What? You killed Flora?"

"She attacked." He shrugged. "We defended ourselves. You're lucky I didn't kill you, too."

Diana had a stricken expression, and he sympathized. He expected she had formed a strong bond with her fellow slaves, like soldiers with a common enemy.

"Orcus is a master of animal magic," Rathanael said. "We must watch for strange occurrences involving animals. They may be a sign of his involvement. Can he become an animal, too?"

She nodded. "A grizzly bear."

Stony raised his eyebrows. That could be a problem.

Rathanael turned to Veronica. "Did she tell the truth?"

"Yes," Veronica replied in a grudging tone. "So far." She actually sounded disappointed that Diana had passed a test.

"How do you know?" Diana said.

Veronica kept her mouth shut.

"Just tell her," Stony said. "We have to demonstrate trust."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Body language," she told Diana. "Stress in your voice. The way your eyes move. When people lie, they show it in a hundred little ways, and I see all of them. Nobody can fool me."

"Wow," Diana said. "That's pretty cool."

"I want to proceed with the ceremony," Rathanael said. "We will continue to discuss Orcus afterwards."

"What ceremony?" she looked at the angel.

"It starts with an oath. You have to formally declare your loyalties."

"Oh. What should I say?"

"That's up to you," Rathanael said.

"Isn't there a standard little speech? Oaths are usually written down or memorized."

"Not this one. All members of the third division come here in their own way. The oath is just as personal."

Diana stared at him for a long moment. "Is this some kind of test? If I don't give a good oath, I'll go back to prison?"

The angel smiled. "Your intelligence is one of your finer assets. Yes. From now on, everything you do will be a test. Every step must be towards the light. I want to hear an inspiring oath. Veronica will tell me if it's a lie, and I'm also pretty good at reading body language. I've been observing humans for thousands of years, so be completely honest."

Diana bit her lip.

"I know this is hard for you," Rathanael said. "You've had a terrible life full of fear and brutality. You've learned to withhold your trust and hide your feelings. But you're with friends now. Open your heart. I can see the good there."

She had a pained expression.

Stony had clear memories of being in exactly the same situation. The time for messing around was over. She had to say the oath properly and mean it. The next words out of her mouth could begin her new life or end it. He waited anxiously. If she failed and died, he would bear some responsibility because it had been his job to recruit her.

She looked at the faces around her. "Do I get a hint?"

"Reach deep down," Rathanael said. "Find the truth and express it. Take your time. There is no rush. Imagine the life you want instead of the life you left behind."

Diana closed her eyes. Stony was silently pulling for her. He already liked her and wanted her on his team.

"I will fight for Heaven," she said slowly. "Not as a slave or a servant, but as a free warrior. I'm ready to make a change. I'll use my powers for good. I'll never turn my back on my friends. I'll stop committing crimes. I'll try to make up for all the bad things I've done, the people I hurt, the lives—" She sniffed. "—the lives I destroyed. I never wanted to kidnap those children. So much blood. So much pain. I can hear the screams. I can see the faces...." She fell silent.

Everybody waited for her to continue. The only sound was air blowing through the ventilation system.

After a minute, she looked at Rathanael with tears on her cheeks. "I'll do better. I'll do much better!"

He reached out and pulled her against his chest. He covered her with his wings, and Stony heard soft sobbing.

Another step, he thought. A thousand more to go.

After allowing Diana to cry for a little while, Rathanael spoke into her ear, "I'm afraid I have to hurt you now."

"Huh?" She looked at him. "My oath wasn't good enough?"

"It was satisfactory, but the ceremony isn't over."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll make it quick." The angel nodded to Stony and Brian.

The two men stepped forward and grabbed Diana by the arms. They pulled hard so she couldn't move.

"Hey!" she cried. "What's going on? That hurts!"

Rathanael lifted the back of her shirt with his left hand. He raised his right hand, and it glowed brilliant white. He muttered a word in some ancient, dead language. Then he brought his hand down and struck her bare back.

Stony heard sizzling flesh. Diana screamed in pain, and he knew what she was feeling. He had experienced the same unbearable agony years ago. The angel's mark went deep into the flesh all the way down to the soul. It could change a person's life.

Rathanael stepped away.

A pattern was burned into Diana's back as if made by a branding iron. Symmetric lines and small circles formed an angelic symbol. Tiny marks crossed the lines in places, and a sword was drawn in the center.

"What did you do to me?" she sobbed. "You hurt me!"

"I marked you as a member of this team," Rathanael said.

Stony let go of Diana's arm. She reached around, touched the mark, and shrieked.

"The pain will fade," Rathanael said. "Be brave in the meantime. The symbol serves several purposes. It is a talisman of good and will keep demons from harming you. You are now immune to infernal influence. All demons will know you're under my protection. It is a powerful blessing, not a punishment."

She obviously didn't care about that now. She hurt too much and was fighting to keep from crying. Stony remembered it felt like being stabbed with a red-hot iron spear. He had wondered if he would die.

"One more thing you need to know," the angel added. "Look at me."

Diana wiped her nose and sniffled.

"Look at me!" Rathanael said.

She finally faced him. Her eyes were bright red.

"Think of the mark as a divine tracking device. I will always know exactly where you are." He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close. "If you betray us, there is nowhere on Earth where you can escape my wrath. I will destroy you. I am a vengeful angel."

He let her go, and she staggered backwards.

"What does it look like?" she eventually said in a broken voice.

Stony pulled off his shirt and turned around. "Like this. We all have the same one. Welcome to the team."

He felt her reach up and softly touch the mark on his back.

Everybody waited for Diana to calm down. Stony left the room, found a box of facial tissue in another office, and brought it back to her. She blew her nose and gave him a look of gratitude.

"Back to the business at hand," Rathanael said. "What is the name of the demon who Orcus serves?"

Diana looked at him with a fearful expression.

"You can speak the name safely. He won't hear you."

She didn't appear very assured, but she eventually whispered, "Forneus." She quickly looked around.

Rathanael sneered. "The Master of Tongues. A familiar foe."

"Does knowing the name help?"

"Certainly. The PEA employs many priests who have received special training from me. They can perform a ceremony which will keep Forneus trapped in Hell until we catch Orcus. Your former master will have to fight on his own."

"Oh. Nice." Diana smiled a little.

"I must make the arrangements immediately. Continue without me."

"Yes, sir," Stony said.

Rathanael rushed out of the office, leaving the members of the third division alone. Stony exhaled with relief. Being near the angel made him tense. He was always worried he would say the wrong thing.

Veronica took an aggressive step forward. "How do we find Orcus?" she demanded.

Diana faced her. "I don't know."

"You must know!"

"He just ordered me to protect the house. I didn't even realize he had escaped until somebody told me. I have no idea where he went."

"I don't believe you," Veronica said, "stupid bitch."

"Hey!" Stony said. "Chill out."

"What did I do to you?" Diana complained. She sounded too worn down to engage in a fight.

Veronica set her jaw. "Ace died last night. I loved him."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't kill him. I was just following orders anyway. I had no choice."

Veronica muttered to herself.

"Have you told us everything?" Stony said.

"I think so," Diana said. "I'm very tired though. My brain is kind of fuzzy."

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "That's alright. You have every right to be exhausted after all you've been through. Let's go pick out an apartment for you. You can sleep for a few hours, shower, and change. We'll talk again when you've rested."

"My," Mia said. "Aren't we being sweet to the new girl?"

Stony looked at her. "Huh? What's wrong."

"Nothing. Let's just get her to bed."

"Uh, Stony," Brian said, "she needs a guard."

Stony looked at Diana and frowned. Even though she had sworn a sincere oath of loyalty, she still wasn't considered trustworthy. Until she proved herself, another member of the third division would keep an eye on her at all times.

"Could you take the first shift?" Stony said. "Mia and I are still strung out after last night. We could use a nap too."

"Sure," Brian said. "No problem."

Stony opened the door, expecting to find the armed escort he had left in the hallway. It turned out Director Robertson was also waiting there.

The director looked at Diana. "She's not dead or in prison. Looks like your team has a new member."

Stony nodded. "It's good news."

"We could use some."

Diana stepped into the hallway with a curious expression.

"Hi." Robertson shook her hand. "I'm Director Pete Robertson, chief of the PEA and your new boss."

"I thought Rathanael was in charge," she said.

"I suppose that's true, but officially, I run the show. Rathanael is more of a... spiritual overseer."

"I see." She furrowed her brow.

"What's the status of the investigation?" Stony said.

"I have five hundred agents scouring all of East Texas," Robertson said. "So far, no nibbles. Looks like Orcus went to ground. Do you have any helpful suggestions?" He looked at Diana.

She shook her head. "Orcus never told me his plans, and I never asked. I just followed orders like a good, little slave. Asking too many questions was a quick way to get whipped." She wiggled her shoulders and grimaced as if remembering pain. "I do know he's very intelligent. You can expect him to do something clever and nasty."

He snarled.

"We're taking her to her room," Stony said.

"Then go." Robertson waved his hand dismissively. "We'll talk again later."

The members of the third division took an elevator to the thirteenth floor. They stepped out near the small library that the team was supposed to use for personal enrichment and education. Rathanael had personally selected the books in the library, and they were all inspirational religious texts. Stony hadn't read a single one.

"Which room will we give her?" Brian said.

"The apartment next to Mia and me is open," Stony suggested.

"No," Mia said in a very firm tone. "She will not live next to us. She gets the vacancy in the southwest corner, next to Kane's room."

He gave her a curious look. He didn't understand why she was being so adamant, but he knew better than to argue with her about such a minor point.

"Sure," he said. "Diana, look around. This is your new home. The whole floor is ours."

"What?" Diana's eyes widened.

"That's right. It's our private space. Nobody bugs us up here. Follow me."

The group walked past the windows of a room with a narrow swimming pool. Three long lanes were perfect for laps.

The strength and conditioning gym came next. The room contained treadmills, ellipticals, and other fitness machines. Steel hand weights and barbells lay on racks. More complicated equipment was available, some of it electronic, but Stony preferred to throw around heavy iron.

The group passed through an intersection and came to the recreational room.

Stony pointed through the open door. "That's where we hang out and relax."

The room contained two large televisions, each attached to video game consoles. Seeing the games reminded Stony of Ace, and he felt a stab of painful sadness. Overstuffed couches and chairs provided inviting places to sit and chat. A ping-pong table and a foosball table had both served as arenas for legendary tournaments.

"I can just sit and watch TV?" Diana said in a tone of wonder. "I don't have to be a servant all the time?"

"Nope," Stony said. "To be honest, our lives are pretty soft most of the time. We get long breaks between assignments."

"Aren't the missions a full-time job?"

"The regular agents handle the grunt work. We just hang out here, waiting for the call to action. When we go, we hit hard and fast."

They walked past another room with a closed door.

"That's our costume closet."

"What do you need costumes for?" Diana said.

"We occasionally work undercover," Stony said. "We need something to wear. Here is your apartment."

The group entered an apartment where the hallway turned a corner. The place was identical to Stony's and Mia's with a large bedroom, a bathroom, and a closet.

"Wait," Diana said. "This room is just for me?"

"Yes," Stony said. "We have tons of space up here. Nobody has to share, unless they want to."

"I've never slept alone. Growing up, I always shared a room with a brother or a sister. We lived in a small house."

"And I expect Orcus didn't leave you alone either. The sick bastard probably raped you every time he felt like it."

She shook her head. "No. He did many awful things to me, but never rape. We didn't have sex at all."

"That's a little hard to believe." Stony raised his eyebrows.

"He saved all his semen for ceremonies."

"What do you mean?"

"He liked to masturbate onto sacrifices right after he killed them," Diana said calmly, as if this behavior were normal.

Stony exchanged glances with his friends. "That's disturbing. Anyway, this is your room now. You can use the shower. We get maid service, so fresh towels should be in the bathroom. Take a nice, long nap. You're perfectly safe here. Brian will be right outside the door."

"Inside the door," Brian said. "I have to watch her all the time."

Stony smiled apologetically to Diana. She probably didn't like the idea of a strange man in her bedroom while she slept.

"Could I have some food?" she pleaded. "I'm kind of starving."

"I'll get you something from the kitchen right now."

Mia let loose a loud, exasperated sigh. "I'm going to bed."

"Uh, OK," Stony said.

She stormed out of the room. He still didn't understand why she was being so emotional.

Veronica also left.

Brian sat on a chair just inside the doorway and became very calm. Stony expected him to meditate while he watched Diana.

Stony hurried down the hallway towards the kitchen. He passed a small dining room, affectionately called the "Mess Hall." The kitchen was across from his own apartment, and he went inside.

The team had a stainless steel, industrial refrigerator which the PEA kept stocked with food. A gas stove had six burners, but Stony always used the microwave instead. Most of his meals came out of a can or a frozen package. Mia didn't like to cook either. Rarely used pots, pans, and cooking utensils hung from overhead racks. The kitchen was sparkling clean, another benefit of free maid service. Stony knew the place would be a pigsty otherwise.

He wasn't any kind of cook, but he knew how to make a mean sandwich. He grabbed two slices of bread and put them on a plastic plate. He piled on salami, pastrami, Swiss cheese, lettuce, onions, and a thick smear of mustard. He realized Diana probably wanted a drink, so he filled a glass with ice water.

He walked back to her apartment. She was lying on her bed in her orange prison uniform. Her eyes were closed, and she was obviously asleep. She had passed out on top of the covers.

Stony smiled at her beautiful, peaceful face. He put the food and water on the nightstand.

"Don't forget," he whispered to Brian. "She can turn into a panther, and she's fast."

"I know," Brian said. "I got this."

Stony went back to his own apartment. He thought about asking Mia about her emotional outbursts, but then he decided he was too tired. That argument could wait.

She was already under the covers when he entered. He quickly undressed and laid down beside her.

A thought occurred to him. "Could you loan Diana some of your clothes?"

"Huh?" Mia said. "No! I'm not letting that girl wear my things. She can requisition clothes from the PEA like the rest of us."

"But that takes days. All she has to wear is that ugly orange prison outfit."

"Good. The uglier, the better."

"Are you OK?" Stony said. "You're in a terrible mood. Maybe you're still upset over Ace's death."

"That's not it. Just take a nap. We're done talking."

He frowned, confused by her hostility, but he let it go for now. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Chapter Six

Stony was shaken awake.

"Get up," Mia said. "Wake up."

He rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. We just slept too much."

He rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost dinner time. They had slept for six hours.

"Damn," he muttered. "Now my body clock will be messed up for days. Did you hear anything about the status of the investigation?"

Mia shook her head sadly.

Stony ground his teeth together. "While we're waiting for the field teams to dig up a lead, Orcus is preparing for his next big move. He could be killing more kids." He forced himself to calm down and be patient. "At least we have time to continue Diana's initiation."

"Her skills need testing."

"Right. Let's get to it."

They got out of bed, used the bathroom, and put on fresh, white sweat suits. They walked to the far end of a hallway and arrived at Diana's room. Stony knocked, and Brian opened the door.

"Any trouble?" Stony said.

"No," Brian said. "She slept, ate her food, and slept some more. She is in the shower now."

Stony heard the shower running in the bathroom.

"Great. Thanks. We can watch her now. She has to be tested."

"I want to see that. I bet Veronica does, too."

"Could you find her and bring her to the boxing ring?" Stony said. "And please tell Director Robertson. He likes to observe these tests."

"Sure." Brian left the apartment and walked down the hall.

Stony and Mia waited. After a few minutes, Diana came out of the shower wrapped in a towel. She was smiling as if she had enjoyed herself immensely.

"Hey!" she said to Stony. "Thanks for letting me sleep. That shower felt great! I hope I didn't use all the hot water. Orcus would yell at us when we took long showers. He saw them as a waste of time when chores needed to be done instead."

He tried not to stare at her bare legs, still damp and flushed from the hot shower. She had an amazing body.

"Is your mind any clearer?" Mia said.

"Yes," Diana said, "but I still can't help you find Orcus. He never told me more than I needed to know about anything. He was very secretive."

"Just keep thinking," Stony said. "I'm sure you'll remember something. The next step in your initiation is a test."

"What kind of test?" she said in an anxious tone.

"We just need to know your capabilities. It won't hurt... much. Get dressed."

Diana frowned at her orange prison uniform, which was laid out on a chair. The clothes were stained and wrinkled. She had been tortured in them and obviously didn't want to put them back on.

"Fine," Mia said in a tone of annoyance. "Let's get you something from the costume closet."

Everybody walked across the hallway and opened a door. They entered a room filled with clothing racks and shelves. Hundreds of outfits were hung or folded neatly.

"That's a lot of costumes!" Diana said.

"They're for undercover work," Stony said, "although we don't use them much. The field teams, the first division, does most of the investigating. The tedious legwork is their job. The priests are the next group in. We get involved only at the end, when the killing happens."

"Sounds like fun."

"It can be... when the right people get killed."

"Stony," Mia said, "get out of here. I'm sure she doesn't want you to watch her get dressed."

Stony nodded and stepped out of the room. He closed the door.

A few minutes later, Diana emerged. She had put on a white jogging suit and pink tennis shoes. Stony thought she looked cute.

He led both women to a big room with a boxing ring on one side. The other side had foam mats, punching bags, rubber dummies, wooden knives, and other martial arts gear.

Brian, Veronica, and Director Robertson were already waiting for the test to begin. Veronica had a white sweat suit and was ready to participate. Stony wasn't planning on calling on her though. He didn't trust her self-control so soon after Ace's death.

"Any good news?" he asked Robertson.

The director shook his head. "We've expanded the search area to all of Texas and Louisiana, and we still got nothing. And I have other bad news. Kane's leg surgery had some complications. The whole leg had to be stabilized. He's in the base hospital, and he'll be there for a while."

Stony grimaced. "We'll visit him tonight."

"He'll appreciate that. He had a bad day after a bad night."

Stony turned to Diana. "Get in the boxing ring."

"I have to fight somebody?" she said.

"Yes, but first, I want another look at how you turn into a cat."

Stony, Mia, and Diana climbed into the ring.

"But if I change completely," Diana said, "I'll come out of my clothes."

"I saw you go partway before," Stony said. "How much control do you have?"

"Complete control."

Her head smoothly changed shape like it was made of liquid. Now she had the head of a gray panther with black stripes, but the rest of her body was still human. She held up her hands. One at a time, her fingernails became long, black claws. She reminded Stony of an Egyptian goddess. She morphed back to fully human.

"Very impressive," he said. "Orcus taught you that trick?"

"Some of it, and the rest I figured out on my own. The power originally came from Forneus though. I have a question. If I'm cut off from the demon, how can I still change shape?"

"Our abilities are a gift from Hell, not a loan. They can't be taken back. But Forneus will be severely pissed when he finds out what happened. He would certainly come after you if you didn't have Rathanael's protection."

Diana bit her lip anxiously. "The angel is strong enough to keep me safe?"

"He's hardcore, just like us. Earlier you mentioned you can also control animals."

"I can implant commands in their minds and read their thoughts. It's sort of animal telepathy. I'm not as good as Orcus though. He's the master."

"Still," Stony said, "a very handy skill. Does that power extend to controlling humans?"

"No. Human minds are too complicated. It works best on domestic mammals like dogs and horses, creatures that are used to taking orders. Reptiles and birds are tougher to control. Their minds don't mesh with mine. I can't do anything with insects. Of course, in my case, I'm great at talking to big cats. I love tigers and lions."

"There were a lot of animals in your house including a lion."

"Orcus loves animals. He could never have enough of them. We also used them for honing our skills."

"Interesting," he said. "Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

"I'm very strong." She shrugged.

"We're all strong. Now let's see how you fight. Do you have any training?"

"My father taught martial arts to me and my siblings. He believed a Satanist should know how to fight properly. Orcus continued my training so I could serve as his bodyguard if necessary."

"Excellent," Stony said. "Spar with Mia."

Diana looked at Mia. "Now?"

"Give her your best shot, but as a woman, not a cat."

Diana and Mia moved to the center of the boxing ring and faced each other. Mia stepped into a classic defensive stance with her arms raised.

Diana feinted with a low kick. Then she spun around and aimed her right foot at Mia's midsection. The kick was lightning fast, but Mia twisted aside at the last instant. She slid forward and viciously back-handed Diana across the face, forcing her to stumble.

"Hey," Stony said. "Not so rough."

Mia gave him a hard look. "Are you serious? Did you forget why we're here?"

Diana rubbed her cheek. "Don't worry about it. Let's go again."

She attacked more cautiously this time, launching a rapid series of punches and kicks which showed great creativity. She flipped, twisted, and tumbled like a gymnast. Stony admired her polished technique, but the moves were too elaborate. She needed to simplify her attacks. She was good enough to challenge Mia though.

Mia patiently allowed Diana to demonstrate her skills, but after a few rounds of back-and-forth sparring, Mia suddenly became aggressive. She stepped in and used her palm to strike Diana in the chest. Then Mia swept Diana's legs and sent her crashing onto the canvas. Finally, Mia grabbed Diana from behind and twisted her arms around.

Diana squeaked in pain.

"Give up?" Mia said.

"Yes! Please get off!" Diana said.

Mia stood up. As soon as she was able, Diana also stood, but she was rubbing her shoulders.

"Not bad," Stony said, "but you have a lot of hard work ahead of you before you're qualified to go into the field."

He looked across the room. Director Robertson appeared impressed, but Veronica's face showed no reaction.

"Can I see you fight?" Diana said.

"Mia and I?" Stony said. "No. I don't like hitting her, even if it's just training. Brings back memories from before I joined the PEA. I'll take on Brian."

Brian smiled and climbed into the boxing ring. He was wearing a white T-shirt and loose, black pants made for martial arts. Stony expected that Brian's clothes hid several sharp knives. The assassin was always armed with deadly implements.

Diana and Mia moved to the side, and Stony and Brian took their place in the center of the ring. The two men bowed and assumed defensive stances.

Stony had the clear advantage in size and brute strength. If he could get a good grip, he could literally throw his opponent across the ring. Brian had better martial arts skills though, much better.

"Go," Stony said.

Brian twisted and turned like he was made of rubber bands. Hands and feet flew faster than Stony's eyes could follow. He was barely able to dodge out of the way in time.

He knew he had just a fraction of a second for his counter-attack, so he boldly reached out and grabbed Brian's arm. Blows struck Stony's ribs, face, and stomach, but he had already hardened his skin, so Brian's attacks had little effect. Stony threw Brian down and tried to pin him, but Brian somehow escaped Stony's grip. Stony managed to land just a light punch before Brian danced away.

Diana clapped loudly. "That was amazing!"

Brian smiled and walked up to her. In the blink of an eye, he slipped around behind her, drew a knife from under his shirt, and pressed the blade against her throat. He wrapped his free arm around her chest, pinning both of her arms. She held very still.

Don't hurt her, Stony thought.

"What lesson did we just learn?" Brian said into Diana's ear.

"Don't trust a guy named Brian?" she murmured.

"You dare make a joke?"

"I thought we were supposed to be friends, and then you pull a knife on me."

"If I weren't your friend," he said, "your throat would be cut."

"And you'd have no balls. The real lesson is to beware a cat with claws."

Brian stiffened. Diana had her hand on his groin, and her fingernails had become long, sharp claws.

He slowly backed away and slipped the knife under his shirt.

"Brian was trying to teach you to always be alert for trouble," Stony said. "Be on your guard at all times, even among friends."

Diana nodded. "OK. I get it. Thanks for the lesson," she said grudgingly.

"I think we've done enough martial arts for now. The next test will take place in the gun range. We'll see how good a marksman you are."

"Oh. I've never shot a gun."

"That's about to change." He raised his eyebrows. "Follow me."

The whole group left the martial arts room and walked across the thirteenth floor. They passed a door with a window made of bulletproof glass. The room on the other side was square, white, and empty.

"What's that for?" Diana said.

Stony stopped walking. "We call that the 'time out room.' It's our own private prison cell. When one of us gets too rambunctious, he or she cools off in there, whether they want to or not."

"Does that happen often?"

"Not often, but it happens. We all carry psychological baggage. Come on."

The group continued onwards until they entered the gun range in the southeast corner of the floor. The shooting lanes were relatively short, only twenty-five yards, but they were good enough for practicing with a pistol. The walls were solid concrete, and sand at the far end caught the bullets. Handguns of all sizes were placed on wooden shelves.

Stony picked out a Sig Sauer P238 and loaded a magazine. The small gun was perfect for a woman's hands, and the .380 caliber bullets had modest recoil.

Everybody put on ear protection. Stony motioned for Diana to stand at the end of a shooting lane, and he gave her the gun.

He noticed a sudden tension in the observers. Brian reached under his shirt where he kept his knives. Robertson put his hand under his jacket where a gun was probably located. Nobody trusted Diana with a loaded weapon. Even Stony felt compelled to hover over her with his hands ready to grab her.

"We're not doing a full shooting lesson today," he said. "We just want to see if you have natural ability with a gun."

"Are you going to put up a target?" she said.

"No need. Just shoot at the far end."

Diana raised the gun and aimed.

"Brace yourself for the recoil," Stony said. "Keep your arms straight, from your wrists to your shoulders. Control the gun. Don't let it control you. Now pull the trigger."

She squeezed off a shot. The recoil kicked the gun upwards and back, and she had a surprised expression.

"That was loud!" she said.

He guided her into a proper shooting stance by pushing her wrists, elbows, and shoulders into the correct positions. He wiggled the gun to check the strength of her grip. Then he looked down her arms to make sure the gunsights were at the right level. Her hair smelled like strawberry shampoo.

"Shoot again," Stony said. "Empty the magazine."

Diana fired repeatedly, slowly at first and then with more confidence. She stopped flinching by the end, a very good sign. Most first-time shooters had an uncontrollable urge to turn away from the noise and violence of gunshots. She obviously enjoyed the thrill instead.

He took the gun from her hands and began to reload it.

"Can I have a target now?" she said eagerly.

Stony nodded to Mia. She grabbed a paper target showing the silhouette of a man. She clipped the target to a wire and ran it to the far end of the range.

Stony gave the gun back to Diana. Smiling, she aimed carefully and fired. The bullet missed the target's head, but considering she was a total novice, her aim was remarkably good. On just her fourth shot, she got a kill.

She lowered the gun and fired at the target's crotch. Stony grimaced. She finished off the magazine with a gleeful grin on her face.

"That's enough," he said as he took the gun back. "You won't have much trouble learning how to handle a firearm. It's just a matter of practice. Next comes the mental acuity test. We need to know how smart you are."

"An IQ test?" she said.

"Yes. On a computer."

The group made their way across the hall to a room with computers in it. Veronica and Brian decided the fun part of the test was over, and they walked off.

Director Robertson also lost interest, but before leaving, he gave a large, stuffed envelope to Diana.

"What's this?" she said.

"Your badge and official identification along with human resources paperwork and computer logins. All the boring stuff you need to be an agent in the PEA. I'll see you later."

Robertson left.

Diana began to open the envelope.

"Save that for later," Stony said.

"But it's official? I'm a government secret agent now?"

"Yeah, sure. Welcome to the club."

Stony faced the computers. Six desktop machines sat on desks with ergonomic chairs. The setup looked very professional, but it was overkill. Neither he nor his teammates had any fondness or affinity for computers.

Stony logged into a computer and started the test program. "You have an hour," he told Diana. "The questions cover general knowledge and intelligence. Don't worry if you have trouble. You can't fail. This is just for assessment purposes."

She sat down and began to read the first question.

Stony and Mia moved to the far side of the room. She had a very irritated expression.

"What's wrong?" Stony whispered.

"When you were showing Diana how to shoot, you got very... intimate."

"I was just helping her get into the right position."

"You were practically fondling her," Mia whispered angrily.

"You're overreacting."

"Am I? You've been extremely friendly to her. I can't remember you being this nice with other recruits."

"She needs a lot of help," he mumbled. "All this is new to her. What are you saying? There is nothing going on between us. She's just...."

"What? Beautiful? Gorgeous? Smoking hot?"

"Calm down. She is a very attractive woman, and I'm a man. An instinctive reaction is natural, but I'll get over it. You're my one and only."

Mia glared.

"I love you." Stony smiled and tried to kiss her, but she turned away.

"Just so we're clear," she hissed, "if you mess around with her, I'll break that bitch's legs. Then I'll break your legs for good measure. With a sledgehammer. I'm a very vindictive woman, but you know that."

"Don't worry. Relax."

She continued to fume. He decided to drop the subject. It was impossible to talk to her when she was in such a foul mood, but he had to admit she had a point. Jealousy could ruin the dynamics of the team. He would have to be very careful around Diana in the future.

For the next hour, the only sound was Diana typing.

She finally announced, "I'm done!"

Stony walked over to read her score. The total was 136. He grunted.

"Is that good?" Diana said.

Mia smirked. "Better than what he got."

"What about you?"

Mia's smirk vanished. "Our scores are... comparable. You're beautiful, talented, and smart. You got it all going on, girl."

"Thank you." Diana smiled.

"Do you want to her to take another test, Stony?"

Stony shrugged. "Seems like enough tests for now. Let's visit Kane before dinner."

Mia looked down at her white sweat suit. "Not dressed like this. He's in the base hospital. We need to wear respectable clothes."

"Am I coming with you?" Diana said.

"You have to. We're responsible for watching you. I guess you'll have to pull another outfit out of the costume closet."

* * *

Stony, Mia, and Diana walked out of headquarters. They were wearing blue suits appropriate for ordinary PEA agents. The members of the third division didn't like to advertise that they were exceptional.

A setting sun made high clouds glow orange. A steady breeze had forced most of the birds along the shore to stay on the ground. They squawked as they walked across mud and marsh.

Diana looked around. "What is this place? Some kind of military base?"

"Schonenberg Air Force Base," Stony said. "The PEA occupies a corner, which is convenient when we need to get somewhere in a hurry. It's like living in an airport."

"And the military provides additional security," Mia said.

Diana looked back at the tall, gray headquarters building. "I guess security is important."

"Damn right," Stony said. "The forces of evil hate us, and once in a while, they attack."

"I thought Rathanael protected us."

"The angel isn't perfect. We have to protect ourselves, too." He pointed to the top of the headquarters building. "There are snipers on the roof. Automatic defenses are buried in the ground. They're always adding new wrinkles to the security."

Her gaze swept the flat, open space that surrounded headquarters. "I don't see a parking lot. Where are the cars?"

"Too easy to hide a bomb in a car. Private vehicles aren't permitted around here. We always take a shuttle, or we walk if we're not in a hurry."

They started walking towards a parked shuttlebus, but then Diana stopped and looked around with a fearful expression.

"What's wrong?" Mia said.

"I just realized that we're leaving headquarters, leaving Rathanael. Forneus might come after me!"

"You have Rathanael's mark. You're safe."

"And the second division is running spiritual interference," Stony said. "Forneus is trapped in Hell. Come on."

A blue and white shuttlebus was waiting in its usual spot. They hurried over to it.

"Base hospital, please," Stony said to the driver.

He, Mia, and Diana climbed aboard and sat down. The driver started the engine and pulled away.

After a couple of minutes of driving through marsh, the shuttlebus reached the core of Schonenberg Air Force Base. About fifty buildings were made of bricks, glass, cement, and steel. The roads formed a strict grid aligned with nearby runways. Stony recognized the commissary, the chapel, the post office, and the recreation center. Men and women wore a mix of military uniforms, some plain blue and others with a subdued camouflage pattern.

He glanced at Diana to make sure she was just enjoying the ride. He reminded himself that her new loyalties were still untested. Less than a day ago, she had tried to kill him. Taking her out of headquarters was a risk. If she intended to cause trouble, she might see this little trip as an opportunity.

She was just looking out the window though. After watching her for a moment, he noticed Mia glaring at him. He quickly turned away.

I've changed so much, Stony thought.

Before joining the PEA, he had been a truly evil man. That Stony would've dumped Mia and seduced Diana without a second thought. After all, Diana was younger and prettier, and that was reason enough. Fighting temptation and remaining faithful to Mia took effort, but he knew he was a better man for it.

The shuttlebus parked in front of a four-story, brick building. Some of the people coming and going were dressed as nurses or doctors.

Stony, Mia, and Diana left the shuttle. They asked questions until they found their way to Kane's hospital room.

Stony entered the room with a confident, professional demeanor. He hid his sadness to keep Kane from feeling even worse.

The big man was lying flat on a hospital bed with his injured leg elevated. Instead of a cast, a framework of pins held the leg in place. The stainless-steel pins went through his flesh. His skin normally had plenty of color, but now it was pale. Seeing Kane in such poor shape hit Stony like a slap on the face. The room smelled like rotten meat, but Stony knew that was Kane's natural odor.

Kane raised his head. "Hey!" he said weakly. "Good to see you guys. Looks like I'll be out of commission longer than I expected."

Stony walked over and patted Kane gently on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Just rest. We'll save a few bad guys for you to beat up when you're healthy."

"Yes," Mia said. "Don't feel guilty just because you can't help the team for a while. It's not your fault."

"Wait a sec." Kane looked past Stony. "Is that the girl we caught last night?"

Diana came forward. "Hi. I'm Diana. They told me your name is Kane." She sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose.

Kane gave her a suspicious stare.

"She was initiated this morning," Stony said. "She hasn't caused any trouble so far."

Kane didn't appear reassured.

"What happened to you?" Diana said. "How did you break your leg?"

"A lion attacked us in your house."

She gasped. "Peaches did this?"

"Who is Peaches?" Kane said.

"The name of my pet lion."

"I didn't get his name. Too busy fighting for my life."

"What happened to Peaches?" Diana bit her lip.

"We shot him, of course."

Her face lost a shade of color, and she looked like she might cry.

"That beast killed Ace!" Kane said. "And almost killed me!"

"He was just doing what Orcus ordered him to do. Peaches was a big, cuddly pussycat. He didn't deserve to die."

Kane turned to Stony. "Is she serious?"

"I expect so," Stony said. "Orcus is a master of animal magic, and she was his apprentice. A fondness for animals probably goes with the territory."

"Speaking of animals," Diana said, "what happened to the rest of the pets in the house?"

"I'm not sure, but I expect they were destroyed."

"What?! Why?"

"There was a chance they were infected with black magic," he said.

"They were," she said, "but that doesn't mean you had to kill every one!"

"What was the alternative? Build a special zoo for spiritual quarantine? Have the priests perform hundreds of cleansing rituals? That's not practical."

Diana rubbed her temples, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. Everybody else gave her a few minutes to calm down.

"When I first saw you," Kane said after she had recovered, "you were a cat."

She raised her right hand, and it transformed into a big cat's paw. "That's right."

"Cool trick."

"What can you do?"

"I make things rot," he said.

"That sounds more disgusting than useful."

"A little of both. Are we any closer to catching Orcus?"

Stony shook his head. "The director has deployed hundreds of field teams, but the search has turned up nothing so far."

"Damn," Kane said. "Do you think he might break down and ask the FBI for help this time?"

"Not unless the apocalypse is imminent. Orcus will make a mistake and get caught. It always happens. No need to panic."

Kane frowned.

"But that's not your problem anymore," Stony said. "You focus on getting healthy. Do what the doctors tell you."

"Damned doctors! They keep sticking needles and pins in me."

Stony glanced at Kane's broken leg. "I'm sure it's for the best. It's dinnertime for us. You need anything?"

"No." Kane sighed. "I'm good... sort of."

"We'll visit tomorrow if we can."

Stony, Mia, and Diana left the hospital room.

"Poor Peaches," Diana said sadly as they walked down the corridor.

Stony remembered the lion clobbering him and didn't feel any sympathy.

She looked up and down the hall nervously.

"Still worried about Forneus coming to get you?" he said.

Diana nodded while biting her lip.

"When we get back to headquarters, I want to show you something that will make you feel safer."

Chapter Seven

"It's beautiful!" Diana said. "I love all the candles."

Stony and Mia ushered Diana into the "cathedral" on the seventh floor of headquarters. The second division did its most important work here.

Marble columns and arches reached up to a fifteen-foot ceiling. Marvelously crafted statues of saints stood along the walls like ever-watchful guards. The clothes on the statues looked like real cloth even though they were made of textured stone. Symbols representing the divine from many different religions decorated the walls. Racks of white candles provided most of the light. Incense smoke lightly scented the air.

Around forty priests, nuns, and monks were praying. They sat on circular pews built around a central altar. A white flame burned continuously above the altar, supplied by a concealed source of flammable gas. The prayer was in Latin, but everybody spoke the words clearly and in perfect harmony, as if singing a song.

"As long as they keep praying," Stony whispered, "Forneus will be trapped in Hell, unable to hurt you or help Orcus."

"You're sure?" Diana said.

He nodded. "Rathanael personally selected every member of the second division. They have exceptional faith and spiritual purity. He also taught them special prayers for combating demons. They are as important to the PEA as we are."

"I was always taught that the Devil is stronger than God."

"If that were true, I'd be dead a hundred times over. I'm sure I'm on Satan's hit list."

"You've been here a long time?" she said.

"Seems like an entire lifetime," Stony said, "but I have a lot of sins to atone for. I still have a long way to go. I did some very nasty shit before I joined the PEA."

"You're seeking redemption."

"It's worth a shot," he said.

"Why is God using former evil to fight evil?"

"I don't know. Maybe to rub His superiority in the Devil's face? If we can be saved, anybody can. Or maybe it's because some jobs require people who are willing to get their hands very dirty."

One priest stood up and approached Stony, Mia, and Diana. The priest wore a black shirt, black pants, and a white collar. A gold crucifix hung from his neck. He had short gray hair and a neatly trimmed gray beard. Glasses with thin rims were perched on his nose.

"What are you doing here?" the priest said in a hostile voice.

"That's a nice way to greet another agent," Stony said. "Diana, this is Father Sullins. Father, this is the newest member of the third division."

Diana offered her hand, but Sullins just curled his lip.

"Are you an abomination like the others?" he said. "Do you have unholy powers?"

Her face transformed into the face of a cat. "You could say that," she said in a feline lisp.

He clenched his jaw. "Get out of here."

"Why? We're just looking." She became a normal woman again.

"This is our sanctuary, a place of pure light and goodness." Sullins nodded towards the people who were praying. "All of us have followed the highest calling our entire life. Our faith in the Lord is our armor. Prayer is our weapon. Your soul is a cesspool of corruption. You have no business here." He glanced at Stony and Mia. "None of you do."

"I thought we were on the same team," Diana said.

"We have shared goals. Otherwise, we have absolutely nothing in common. You are creatures of evil, only recently converted to good... barely. We've been on the right side our entire lives."

"And I thought humility was a virtue," Diana quipped. "Rathanael recruited us. Your opinion isn't as important."

Stony smirked. Nice one, he thought.

"Let's just go," Mia said. "We're clearly not appreciated here."

She, Stony, and Diana left the room.

"What's next?" Diana said.

"Dinner, relaxation," Stony said. "The official start of your training is tomorrow. We'll take tonight off. We have a home theater upstairs. Maybe we'll see a movie."

She smiled. "I get a night off? Wow. I haven't had a chance to just relax and have fun for years. When I was with Orcus, I worked constantly. Somebody always needed to be fed, and cages needed to be cleaned. And then there were all the rituals."

"Well, around here, we make time for fun." Mia gave him a warning stare. "But not too much fun," he added lamely.

* * *

A ringing phone woke Stony from a deep sleep. He groped around until he found the phone on his nightstand, and he answered the call.

"What?" he grunted.

"This is Director Robertson. I want you and Mia to fly to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana."

"Never heard of it."

"A massacre occurred there last night," Robertson said. "Actually, three separate massacres, but all very similar and close together. An unknown party raided farms and left nobody alive. A total of fourteen murder victims. Whole families were killed."

"Sounds bad, but why does the PEA care?"

"Pit bulls were being raised on the farms for dog-fighting purposes. All the dogs are missing. Somebody unchained them and took them away. What is particularly interesting is how the victims died. Dogs mauled them to death."

"As if the dogs were under control and used as weapons," Stony said.

"Exactly."

"But Mia and I aren't crime scene investigators. Why are you sending us?"

"You might notice something the real investigators miss," Robertson said. "To be frank, it was Rathanael's idea. The angel wants you and Mia out of the house more, so to speak."

"Why, sir?"

"It's a test. He wants to know if you're capable of operating in polite society without reverting to your old, bad habits. Part of your long journey from darkness to light. I'm doubtful, but he made the call."

"OK," Stony said. "I'll try not to disappoint him."

"A plane will be waiting by the time you get to the runway. Wear clothes that won't attract attention. Keep a low profile. No need to tell our agents who you are."

"What if they figure it out on their own?"

"Just don't make a scene," Robertson said. "Oh, and police are also investigating, real police, so watch what you say."

"Got it," Stony said. "Bye." He hung up.

"What was that about?" Mia said in a sleepy voice. "What time is it?"

"Time to get up. We're going to Louisiana. I'll explain as we get dressed."

* * *

Stony knocked on the door of Diana's apartment. The door opened, but he saw Veronica standing there instead of Diana. Veronica must have watched Diana through the night.

"Mia and I are flying to Louisiana," Stony said.

"Orcus was found?" Veronica said hopefully.

"Not quite, but we might have a lead. We're leaving immediately. You and Brian will be responsible for Diana."

She furrowed her brow and frowned.

"Start her training while we're gone," Stony said, "and don't beat her up just because you're still mad about Ace. Treat her with the respect you would show any teammate."

Veronica sighed. "I'll try. She's asleep. Do you want to wake her up so you can say goodbye?"

"No. Let her sleep in. I got to go." He hurried off.

* * *

A small, white jet landed at the Lafayette Regional Airport in Lafayette, Louisiana. Stony looked out the window and saw a bigger airport than he had expected. It had a real terminal with three jetways. One of the runways was long and wide enough for commercial jets.

His plane rolled past the public terminal and went straight to a hangar off to the side. By the time the plane came to a stop, he was waiting at the hatch with his suitcase in hand.

Stony and Mia disembarked. Stepping out into the warm, humid air was like walking into a steam bath. He wanted to take off the jacket of his standard, blue business suit immediately. He smelled the surrounding swampland. He didn't understand why anybody would choose to live in such a muggy environment.

A blue sedan was waiting for them, and its driver was standing beside the car.

Stony and Mia put their luggage in the trunk and sat in the car. She took the back seat, and he rode shotgun.

As the car pulled away, Stony checked out the driver. He was a young man wearing a white shirt and blue slacks. He hadn't bothered with a jacket, which meant Stony could see the sweat stains in his arm pits.

The driver glanced at Stony. "The director told us you were some kind of specialists."

Stony shrugged. "I'm just another pair of eyes. Nothing special."

The driver's face became pale, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He stared straight ahead. "I've heard your voice on the radio on a previous mission. You're Stony." He swallowed. "The woman must be Miasma."

"You got me. Don't make a big deal about it. I'm just here to look around."

The driver licked his lips. "I heard you killed over a thousand people."

"That's a wild exaggeration," Stony said.

"Then how many?"

Stony paused. "Since joining the PEA?"

"In general," the driver said, "over your whole life."

Stony leaned back in his seat. He didn't like to think about the dark years when he had served a demon. Every memory featured blood.

"I have no idea," he said, "but the number certainly isn't anywhere near a thousand. Maybe one or two hundred... or three."

"Miasma," the driver said, "I heard you once broke every bone in a man's body just because he groped you."

"It was more than a grope," Mia said angrily. "It was practically sexual assault, and I just broke the bigger bones, not every bone. The guy was a total creep anyway. No more talking. Just drive. When we get there, don't tell anybody who we are. We're trying to keep a low profile. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Stony looked out the window.

The car had already passed through the small town of Lafayette. They were driving on a two-lane country highway now. Dense forest blocked the view on both sides of the road. The trees were so close together, a man would have trouble squeezing through. A solid layer of gray clouds covered the sky.

The ride to Breaux Bridge took just twenty minutes, and there wasn't much to see when they got there. The village had just one main street a few blocks long. Stony saw a Cajun gift shop, an antiques store, a restaurant specializing in crawfish, a burger joint, and a coffee shop. Everything was weathered and rusty. A sign advertised the place as the "Crawfish Capital of the World."

The driver continued onwards to the outskirts of Breaux Bridge. The car passed fields of sugar cane and rice. The small homes had plenty of space in between.

They finally turned onto a narrow, winding driveway which cut through the forest. The car was almost too wide for the driveway. After taking a couple of turns, the driver finally parked the car in front of a white farmhouse.

"This will be a problem," Mia said.

Stony nodded in agreement.

Police cars, unmarked sedans, and evidence vans filled the entire front yard. The biggest group of cars was marked, "St. Marin Parish Sheriff," but Breaux Bridge had a police car of its own. The FBI had representatives on the scene, and Stony suspected some of the unmarked sedans were also from the Bureau. He couldn't tell how many cars were from the PEA. Those vehicles were either unmarked or disguised as police squad cars. Regardless, he knew he would be dealing with a confusing mosaic of law enforcement personnel. He hoped he didn't screw up and say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

"Don't forget," Stony told the driver. "We are not weirdos with bizarre powers. We're just regular investigators."

The driver nodded. "Yes, sir."

Everybody got out, and Stony's shoes sank into the soft, moist dirt. He went straight into the house.

The interior had plain, wooden walls painted an unappealing yellow. The unfinished ceiling had exposed roofbeams. Years of hard use had worn the varnish off the floor, creating pathways of exposed, raw wood. Simple furniture had roughly shaped parts.

Stony already had his badge out. The design was intended to look like a generic badge for a federal agent, and it included a picture of him wearing a suit. The United States flag waved in the background. The words "Paranormal Enforcement Administration" didn't appear anywhere. At first glance, somebody might think he worked for the FBI or the Secret Service, and he wouldn't tell them they were wrong.

A group of police officers in the room didn't show any interest though. They had obviously seen too many badges already today. They were chatting about cars.

Stony walked straight through the house, looking for a dead body. He soon found one in the kitchen. He stepped carefully to avoid pools of dried blood on the floor.

A blood-stained sheet covered the body. He gently lifted the sheet and saw a woman in horrifying condition. Most of her clothes were torn off, along with chunks of flesh. Bite marks covered her entire body, forming uneven, bloody crescents. Flaps of skin had folded back to reveal the meat underneath. Her face was mostly gone, leaving her eyeballs fully exposed. Stony couldn't even count the number of bites, but there had to be hundreds. The dogs had continued to maul the woman well past her death.

Bloody pawprints confirmed dogs had committed the murder, and judging by the quantity of prints, many dogs had participated. The woman was near a sink. A drying rack held some clean dishes, and other dirty dishes were still in the sink. The victim was holding a knife, but the blade was clean. The dogs hadn't given her time to protect herself.

Stony discovered Mia standing behind him.

"The attack was rapid and organized," she said. "The dogs didn't act like a pack of wild animals. They came in here with a plan."

He nodded. "Let's keep looking."

They found another victim on the back porch, a man in blue coveralls. All the flesh on his back had been chewed off, revealing the bones beneath. His fat thighs and calves had suffered the worst damage though. Most of the muscle was gone, as if the dogs had eaten their fill. Just sinew and bones remained. The dogs had also attacked the man's abdomen, and a piece of intestine was hanging out.

"Maybe he heard a noise and came out to investigate," Stony said.

"Possibly," Mia said. "He doesn't have a gun though, so the noise couldn't have been too alarming."

A farmer's field was behind the house. Small green plants were growing in neat rows, but Stony didn't recognize them. Forest bordered the farm on all sides. He noticed police officers moving through the trees on the far side of the field.

"Let's see what's happening over there," he said.

He and Mia walked across the field, trying not to let too much mud get on their shoes. The ground was squishy.

When they entered the woods, he discovered chains attached to trees. Dog food bowls were on the ground, some flipped over, and dog shit was everywhere. Plastic drums, cut in half, contained filthy water. Clouds of flies filled the air, and Stony covered his mouth to keep them from flying in. The stink was nauseating.

He spoke to a female police officer with brown hair, "How many dogs were back here?"

She shrugged. "Hard to tell," she replied in a Cajun accent. "Fifty, at least. Probably pit bulls. Those are most popular for fighting."

He walked over to Mia. She was staring at the woods with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?" Stony said.

"I'm imagining how it went down," she said. "The dog chains were unclipped, not cut. That took some time. Meanwhile, Orcus had to manage a whole bunch of half-starved dogs bred and trained to fight. He did it quietly, or the farmer would've heard a lot of barking and grabbed a gun."

"Orcus was obviously in complete control. He ordered the dogs to behave and stay calm."

"Until he commanded them to kill the family."

"Yes," he said. "Now he has a small army of killer animals at his disposal."

"And there are two other farms like this one. That's a lot of dogs."

He grunted angrily. "There will be more attacks."

Stony and Mia walked back to the house and went inside. They continued to explore the rustic home.

It had two bedrooms, and the master bedroom was small. It barely had enough room for a queen-size bed, two dressers, and a free-standing wardrobe. Stony didn't see a closet at all.

The second bedroom was even smaller. It contained two beds made for children, and toys were scattered across the floor. An evidence technician was in the room taking pictures.

"Where are the kids?" Stony said. "Were their bodies found?"

"They're missing," the technician replied. "A nine-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl."

Stony and Mia exchanged alarmed glances. Orcus needed to appease his demon master, Forneus. The children would likely suffer slow, agonizing deaths.

Stony looked for clues, but nothing jumped out as helpful. The toys on the floor were cheaply made and in poor condition. The family obviously couldn't afford better. A dresser contained girl's clothes which were faded and threadbare. Stony found the boy's clothes shoved under a bed.

"See anything?" Stony said.

Mia shook her head. "Times like this make me wish I had proper training as an investigator, that I could pick out the subtlest clues. Rathanael wanted us here, but I'm starting to wonder why. What can we contribute?"

"It's OK. We're a different kind of specialist. We'll find a way to contribute."

The agent who had driven them to the farm poked his head into the room. "Oh, there you are," he said. "The local supervisor wants to talk to you."

Stony and Mia followed the driver outside. They walked around to the side of the house, where technicians were making plaster casts of footprints in the dirt. A black woman in a blue suit was observing from a few paces away. Her short, evenly trimmed hair gave her a boyish appearance.

"This is them, ma'am," the driver said.

Stony approached the black woman. "PEA?" he said quietly.

She nodded. "I'm Agent Gritz, supervisory agent for the southeast territory. I'll be frank. I'm a little confused about who you are. The director just told me he was sending a couple of consultants."

"Well," Stony said, "it's like this...."

"Wait, I've seen your face before. It was dark." Gritz's eyes widened. "Oh, God." She looked at Mia. "What the hell are you two doing here?" Gritz took a fearful step back.

"Calm down," Mia said. "We're just helping out."

"When you 'help out,' body bags get filled and huge messes get made."

"Relax. The director just wants our opinion about what happened here."

Gritz swallowed. "And what is your opinion?"

"The evidence points to Orcus being responsible, but we don't know the whole story. What was the timeframe of the attack? What else can you tell us?"

Gritz stared at Stony and Mia as if they were ticking bombs about to explode. Stony sighed with impatience. He didn't believe he deserved a reputation as a crazed killer with a very short fuse. He was a good citizen these days, or he tried to be. Rathanael trusted him at least.

Gritz finally pulled herself together. "We believe the attack occurred around nine PM, sir," she said. "We found two sets of suspicious footprints."

"Orcus and his slave, Pomona," Stony said.

"How did he control the dogs?"

"He has power over animals. Two other farms were hit. What's the total number of dogs taken?"

"Our best guess is a hundred and sixty," she said.

Stony and Mia exchanged worried glances.

"We can expect those dogs to show up again at the worst possible time," he said. "Orcus must be planning something big to need so many."

Gritz had a thoughtful expression. "Transporting that many animals is a logistical nightmare. We should be looking for a big truck."

"That's a good idea, and suspiciously large purchases of dog food. Orcus won't let his pets starve. He loves animals. Is there anything else we should know?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. The evidence hasn't been helpful. Orcus got in and out of here like a ghost. No fingerprints. No broken windows. We were lucky to find footprints."

"OK," Stony said, "let us know if anything new comes up."

He and Mia walked off.

"What now?" she said.

"Let's call the director and make our report," he said.

They moved away from the house to a quiet spot among the trees. Stony took out his phone and discovered he had only two bars. He hoped that would be enough. He dialed the direct number for Director Robertson.

"Yes?" the director said.

Stony reported what he had seen, and Mia added details.

"At least we know we're on the right track," Robertson said. "Orcus is operating in Louisiana."

"As of last night," Stony said. "He could already be in another state by now."

"Let's hope that's not the case and all those dogs slow him down. I have another lead for you to investigate. Diana finally produced some useful information this morning: Orcus's real name. She remembered him using it during a conversation with an old friend. According to her, he is really Edmund Toppan. We've already identified his family, employment history, and other background information. We're pretty sure he's the right guy based on his psychological profile. He left home twenty years ago, and the paper trail ends shortly after that. Toppan stopped existing as far as the world is concerned."

"Has anybody approached the family?"

"Not yet," Robertson said.

"The parents might know something useful, even if it's just motivation."

"Correct. I want you and Mia to fly to Tallahassee, Florida so you can participate in the interviews. Ask the questions that need to be asked."

"But that will take us away from Orcus," Stony said.

"Tallahassee isn't that far away. We'll get you back in a hurry if necessary."

"We can't keep hiding our identity from other PEA agents. You have to let them know we're coming. Otherwise, it's a rude shock when they figure it out."

"That's fair," Robertson said. "I'll put the word out."

"We'll go back to the Lafayette airport immediately. Make sure the plane is waiting for us."

"It will be."

Chapter Eight

Stony and Mia stepped out of an airplane in Tallahassee. He was disappointed when he discovered the air was just as warm and sticky as in Louisiana. They carried their luggage down a short flight of stairs.

A man and a woman were waiting on the asphalt apron. The man was in his twenties and wearing a standard blue suit. His short, red hair was perfectly even. His pale face was so smooth and clean, Stony guessed the man had shaved just for this meeting. He stood at attention with his eyes forward and his hands at his sides.

The woman wore a casual green dress with a flower print pattern, and she probably wasn't a federal agent. Loose, stringy, brown hair hung past her shoulders. She wore a pearl necklace and matching pearl earrings.

"Hello," Stony said. "Who are you?"

"Agent Wilson!" the man said. "It is an honor to meet you, sir!"

Stony smirked. "At ease. Settle down. No need to yell."

Wilson refused to meet Stony's gaze. The young man just stared ahead with his lips quivering slightly.

He's terrified of me, Stony thought.

The woman was much more relaxed as she shook his hand. "I'm Dr. Rombone, criminal psychologist. Your agency often uses me as a consultant, but I'm a civilian. Agent Wilson seems to think you're horrible monsters. You look normal enough to me."

She shook Mia's hand.

"Horrible monsters is an exaggeration," Stony said, "but Miasma and I do have a violent reputation. My name is Stony, by the way."

"Strange names," Rombone said.

"They're more like code names. Do you have a car? We can talk on the road."

The four of them walked to the airport parking lot. They sat in an unmarked green sedan with Wilson driving and Stony riding shotgun. Wilson hadn't spoken a word since introducing himself. He started the car and drove off.

"What are we dealing with?" Rombone said. "My briefing was very brief."

"A serial killer and Satanist who calls himself Orcus," Stony said. "He kidnaps and sacrifices children."

"Ugh."

"His real name is Edmund Toppan. Who are we seeing first?"

"His parents," Wilson said in a tense voice. "I have the address."

"What else do we know about the subject?" Rombone said.

She wasn't an agent, so Stony couldn't tell her about the animal magic or Forneus. Those details were classified. He had to stick with mundane facts.

"He had three slave-women originally," he said. "One was killed and one was caught. The third is still at large with him."

Rombone made a sour face. "This guy is a real piece of work. What happened in Louisiana?"

He told her about the massacres at the farms, but he left out details that might cause her to ask awkward questions.

"Orcus loves animals," Mia added. "He kept hundreds in his home."

"That's interesting," Rombone said. "Perhaps some trauma in his childhood forced him to choose animals over people. The conversation with his parents should be informative."

Stony looked over at Wilson. The young agent had a very tight grip on the steering wheel, and he was clenching his jaw.

"I won't bite you," Stony said. "You can relax."

"Yes, sir," Wilson said, but he didn't relax at all.

Stony looked out the car window. From what he could see, Tallahassee was a boring city. Big parking lots surrounded familiar franchise stores. Truck stops and trucking companies were a primary industry. Trees and lush, green grass were plentiful though, creating the effect of being in an endless garden. He could imagine retiring here when he was done with life and wanted to spend his remaining days in a peaceful place.

Wilson eventually drove the car into a trailer park beside a lake.

"It's always a trailer park," Stony muttered.

Rombone gave him a curious look, but he declined to elaborate.

The mobile homes were all standard, single-section units. At 14 feet wide and 80 feet long, they would fit on the back of a flatbed truck. The small trailer park contained no more than fifty units according to Stony's estimation. They were arranged diagonally to the road with ample space in between.

Wilson stopped the car beside a mobile home with pale yellow siding and white trim. Overgrown, tangled bushes stood in front. The windows had green, decorative shutters. Bare dirt and weeds served as the front lawn.

Everybody got out of the car.

"What do we know about the parents?" Stony said.

"Bruce and Mary Toppan," Wilson said. "He drove a truck until he retired twelve years ago. She is a life-long alcoholic and has never held a permanent job."

"Wonderful."

Stony went to the front door and knocked.

After a moment, a man opened the door. He had scrappy white hair and blue eyes. His jaw had a grotesque shape, as if big chunks of underlying bone were missing. His mouth didn't close properly, and brown drool was on his lumpy chin. He was wearing a blue baseball cap, a denim shirt, and baggy pants.

"Hello?" Stony said. "Bruce Toppan?"

The man just stared at Stony, who wondered whether he could talk with that screwed-up jaw.

An old woman came to the door and shoved the man aside. "Can I help you?" she said.

She was wearing a brown wig which might've worked on a much younger woman, but in her case, it made Stony think an animal had died on her head. Her tight, yellow shorts, which showed off chubby thighs and varicose veins, were a visual catastrophe. At least a purple shirt covered her entire torso, although he could tell she wore a black bra underneath.

"Mary Toppan?" Stony said.

"Yes." She stared at him suspiciously. "Are you a lawyer? You look like you might be a lawyer."

"No."

"A cop? I paid those tickets. Check your records."

"I'm not a cop," Stony said. "I'm a federal agent. Your son, Edmund, is in a lot of trouble. We have to ask you a few questions."

"I have nothing to say about that piece of shit." Mary slammed the door in his face.

He raised his eyebrows.

"That's not encouraging," Dr. Rombone said. "What do we do now?"

Mia stepped up to the door. "Darling," she said to Stony, "may I try?"

"Please." He moved back.

She knocked politely. "Mr. and Mrs. Toppan. We really have to talk to you. It's very important."

Silence answered her. She looked at Stony, and he shrugged.

Mia kicked the door open. She ran into the home, and he heard old people screaming. Loud thumps followed, and then it became very quiet.

"What just happened?" Rombone said.

Stony ignored her and went inside. He found Bruce and Mary sitting on a dirty, brown couch, holding each other. Their eyes were wide with fear. The woman's lower lip was split and bloody.

Mia was standing in front of the couch with her arms crossed. "They'll talk now."

Stony inhaled, but the stink made him regret it. The home smelled like sour milk mixed with cat poop. With a grimace, he looked around. Dirty, moldy dishes formed a teetering pile in the sink. Burned out light bulbs and dusty windows made the place as dark as a cave. Debris was shoved against the walls, leaving just narrow paths.

Wilson entered but paused when he saw the conditions inside. "That was not standard procedure," he said after composing himself. "The agency could get sued."

"Do you think I care?" Mia said.

Dr. Rombone entered next. She blanched and developed a nauseous expression.

Stony looked at the old couple and considered what question to ask first. One immediately popped to mind.

"What happened to your jaw?" he said. "Did you get shot in the face?"

"Mouth cancer," Mary said. "They had to cut it out. The doctors blamed tobacco, but what do they know?"

More than you, Stony thought. "Let's get straight to it. Your son is a killer. Help us catch him before more people die."

"Stony!" Dr. Rombone said. "That's not how we do this. Your behavior is unprofessional and unethical. Let me ask the questions."

He shrugged. "Go ahead."

She approached the old couple and knelt on the floor. "I know this is overwhelming," she said softly. "We apologize for the fuss, but we really need some answers. Any assistance you can give us would be wonderful. Even basic background information might be useful. What kind of child was Edmund? What types of activities did he enjoy?"

Mary stared at her blankly. "I don't know."

"But you're his mother."

"We didn't see much of each other. I liked to drink, and he liked to do... other stuff."

"Was he close to his father?" Rombone said.

Bruce shook his head.

"He was always driving his truck," Mary explained.

Great parents, Stony thought sadly.

"You must remember something," Rombone said. "Did he have friends?"

"That was a very long time ago." Mary paused. "I don't remember friends. Strange kid. He liked animals."

"Oh?"

"He was always bringing squirrels, rats, and birds into the house. He caught them outside and hid them in his room."

"How did you feel about that?" Rombone said.

"I hated it. I killed the vermin whenever I found them."

"That must've made Edmund very sad."

"I didn't give a shit," Mary said. "I put the animals under a glass bowl until they suffocated, and I made Edmund watch. I whupped him afterwards for good measure."

"That seems... cruel."

"You can't tell me how to be a mother to my own child."

Rombone sighed. "Does he have any siblings?"

"Not legitimate ones." Mary jabbed her husband in the gut with her elbow. "No other kids lived in my house, if that's what you mean."

"So all he had were his pets, which you killed."

"You make it sound like I'm a bad person. Those critters were filthy! They carried disease!"

Stony looked at the disgusting interior of the mobile home. You don't have a problem with filth these days, he thought.

"He lived here?" Rombone said.

"No," Mary said. "This is our retirement home. We had a real house in Settlers Springs, back when Bruce brought home a steady paycheck instead of medical bills."

"I see. What is Edmund's religious background?"

"I made him go to church every Sunday."

"As a family?" Rombone said.

"God, no. I didn't need those nosy Christians telling me to stop drinking, and Bruce was on the road. Edmund went alone. I called the minister afterwards to make sure my kid heard the whole service and sang in the boys' choir. He spent most of the day there. He got a proper Christian education. If he skipped a minute of it, I whupped him."

"Could you be more specific? How exactly did you punish Edmund?"

"The normal way," Mary said, "with a switch, and I locked him in his room. Sometimes I kept him in there for a couple of days. I know that sounds bad, but back then, things were different. We knew how to discipline kids. We didn't raise pussies like today. Edmund could take a good, hard beating and not cry about it."

"How proud you must be," Rombone said bitterly.

"This minister," Stony said. "He spent a lot of time with Edmund?"

"I suppose," Mary said.

"Then we need to talk to him. What was his name?"

"Uh, Levada. He ran Horizons Church for a lot of years, but then he retired, I think. I don't know what happened to him."

Wilson pulled out his phone. "I'll call headquarters and ask them to track him down." He stepped outside.

Stony and Dr. Rombone continued to ask questions, but Mary couldn't provide any useful answers. Edmund had been gone for too many years, and she hadn't paid much attention to him when he had lived with her. She never even suggested that she had loved her son. Bruce was just a silent, stoic presence.

Stony, Mia, and Rombone finally left the mobile home. Stony was very glad to be out in the sunshine and fresh air. He almost regretted agreeing to be a field investigator. The job involved too many sad stories.

"Tragic but unfortunately typical," Rombone said. "Serial killers usually come from homes full of abuse and neglect."

Stony walked over to Wilson, who was standing by the car.

"You never came back in," Stony said.

"I didn't want to, sir. The air was making me sick."

"What about Levada?"

"Headquarters is locating him," Wilson said. "Our next appointment is a man named Rick Johnson, a former parole officer."

* * *

Wilson parked the car in front of a small home with brown metal siding.

Stony got out and admired the perfectly groomed lawn. A shiny red pickup truck stood on a wide driveway. The home had a white door and burgundy trim.

Stony went to the front door and knocked. Mia, Rombone, and Wilson stood behind him.

An elderly African-American man answered the door. He had gray hair and a bushy gray mustache. His shirt had obnoxious pink, purple, and blue stripes.

"Officer Johnson?" Stony said. "We're federal agents. You were told we were coming."

"Yes," Johnson said. "The Edmund Toppan case. I was just looking at my old files to refresh my memory. Come in. Make yourselves comfortable."

Everybody walked into a small living room. White fabric covered a big, puffy couch. A recliner had red vinyl upholstery which had cracked with age. The television was the nicest and newest thing in the room. Big windows let in plenty of sunlight. Mia, Wilson, and Dr. Rombone sat on the couch, and Johnson took the recliner.

Stony was left standing, but he didn't mind. Some papers were laid out on a coffee table. He looked closer and saw they were police reports.

"Do you remember Edmund?" he said.

"I do," Johnson said. "He must be in big trouble to have federal agents investigating him."

"Yes," Rombone said, "but we're here to talk about the past, not the present. What can you tell us about him?"

"He was a juvenile case. Busted for theft five different times, between the ages of twelve and sixteen. I don't really blame him though. His parents barely clothed and fed him. If he wanted a toy or good food, he had to steal it. Those five arrests were just the tip of the iceberg."

"Oh?"

"Edmund was extremely intelligent," Johnson said. "He evolved into an expert thief and con-man. For every time the police caught him red-handed, I'm sure there were a hundred times they didn't. It was a very sad situation. He had all the natural talent in the world, but his horrible family forced him to become a criminal."

"Why wasn't he put into foster care?" Rombone said.

"There were hearings, but the evidence of neglect and abuse was never conclusive enough. His parents were married, and his father had a steady income. No judge was willing to pull the trigger and take Edmund out of his home."

"But his mother was an alcoholic."

"She always promised to get treatment," Johnson said.

Rombone furrowed her brow. "The system failed Edmund."

"That's probably true."

"But we were just talking with Mary Toppan. She never mentioned her son got into trouble with the law."

"I'm sure she was too embarrassed to talk about it," Johnson said. "She's not an honest or forthcoming woman."

Stony took a step forward. "How good a thief was Edmund?" he said. "What kinds of things did he steal?"

Johnson turned to him. "It started with pickpocketing and shoplifting. By the time he turned eighteen, he was breaking into homes and stealing jewelry, allegedly. He mastered disabling security systems. He was particularly fond of gold."

Stony frowned. The skills of a thief translated readily into the skills needed by a serial killer on the run.

"What kind of personality did he have?" Rombone said.

"Very curious and philosophical," Johnson said. "Whenever we met, he asked a lot of questions."

"About what?"

"Life, death, religion, ethics. The big questions."

Stony nodded. He had asked those questions as a young man too, and he had settled on some very bad answers. He hadn't understood the full extent of his mistakes until he had met Rathanael.

"We need to catch him," he said. "Do you have any recommendations?"

Johnson shook his head. "Not really. Edmund knows how the police operate, and he knows how to avoid getting caught. Smartest kid I ever met. If he has a weakness, it's animals."

"Oh?"

"He always had a critter with him, a squirrel or a rat usually. He caught them in the wild and took good care of them."

"We understand," Rombone said. "His love of animals substituted for positive relationships with people."

"I can believe that." Johnson nodded. "He had trouble dealing with people, women in particular. He wanted to control them like his pets."

Stony and Mia exchanged knowing glances.

"What were his thoughts on religion?" Rombone said.

"I know he went to church every Sunday," Johnson said, "but he never had anything nice to say about it. He slipped and told me his true feelings just one time. He felt God had abandoned him. Given his home life, I can understand why he thought that. That's all I have for you. I wish I could be more helpful."

Stony thanked him and shook his hand. Then Stony, Mia, Rombone, and Wilson went outside.

Stony looked up at a blue sky and tried to shake off a feeling of depression. Hearing about Orcus's tragic childhood was a miserable experience.

Wilson made a phone call. "Headquarters located Levada," he announced. "Carlo Levada to be specific. He lives in an apartment across town."

* * *

Wilson drove the car down a private driveway into an apartment complex. Each building was two townhomes side-by-side. Wooden shingles covered the walls, but a few shingles had fallen off, exposing plywood underneath. Concrete stairs led to elevated front doors, allowing for another level beneath the first floor. Trees planted in the front yards needed to be trimmed.

Wilson parked and pointed at a building. "Apartment number nine."

Stony got out, led the group to the front door, and knocked.

An old man in a black shirt answered the door. His pudgy face sagged and had many wrinkles. Reading glasses with thick frames were balanced on the end of his nose. Tufts of gray hair formed a band around his otherwise bald skull.

"Carlo Levada?" Stony nodded.

The old man nodded. "Are you the federal agents I was told were coming?"

"That's right. Mind if we come in?"

Levada allowed the PEA contingent into his apartment. The front room had a brown leather couch with space for just two people. Inspirational art on the walls featured rainbows, glowing angels, and Jesus. A big crucifix had a gleaming silver finish. A bookshelf stood in the spot where Stony expected to see a television.

Seating was very limited, so everybody just stood in the middle of the room.

"I was told you had questions about Edmund Toppan," Levada said.

"Yes," Stony said. "He went to your church on Sunday."

"Every Sunday for several years. I knew him well. He was a troublemaker."

"Oh?"

"Always asking too many questions," Levada said angrily. "Questions about God, faith, Heaven, and Hell."

"Aren't we suppose to ask those questions?" Stony said.

"Not all the time! He was impertinent and disrespectful. He never just accepted what I told him as a matter of faith. He raised objections. He thought out loud. He proposed alternatives. He never shut his damned mouth for more than a minute at a time. Even when he read the Bible, he muttered to himself."

"We were told he was very intelligent."

"Too smart for his own good!" Levada said. "He got worse as he got older. The arguments were sharper, harder to refute. He quoted ancient philosophers. I don't know where he got his ideas from. Some days I just couldn't deal with him at all."

"Then what did you do?"

"I made him clean the graveyard."

Stony tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

"My church has a cemetery in back. About two hundred graves. The grass always needed weeding and mowing, and the markers needed scrubbing. I made him work until his attitude improved. Sometimes that took all day. He was almost the official groundskeeper back there."

"And if he refused to work?"

"I told his mamma," Levada said. "A stern woman. She kept him in line. But after a few years, I think he liked the job. He volunteered to do it."

Stony frowned.

"Is anybody famous buried there?" Mia said.

Levada shrugged. "I don't think so, but some of the graves are over a hundred years old."

Mia glanced at Stony meaningfully. He got the idea.

"I think we need to check out the graveyard," he said.

"Why?" Levada said.

"It was an important part of Edmund's childhood. Maybe very important."

* * *

Wilson parked the car in front of Horizons Church.

Stony got out of the car, straightened his jacket, and looked at the church. A tall, white steeple rose from the center, but the tower didn't have a bell. The one-story building had a circular layout. A cracked parking lot was much bigger than the church, and a line of trees marked the edge of the property.

Mia, Wilson, and Dr. Rombone joined Stony.

Levada arrived in his own car. He got out and walked over on old, unsteady legs.

"Ah, this place brings back a lot of memories," he said. "I was the minister for twenty-five years before I retired."

"We don't have time to go inside," Stony said. "We just want to see the cemetery."

"This way."

Levada led the group around the exterior of the church. Warm, humid air made Stony sweat immediately, and his shirt was already damp by the time he saw the graveyard.

Stone markers were scattered across a grassy field, and some had fallen over. The arrangement was random, and a few headstones were so close together, the graves had to overlap. A mossy elm tree cast a long shadow on the grass. A wooden picket fence surrounded the graveyard, but some of the posts had rotted and collapsed.

The group reached the fence and stopped walking.

"Did Edmund have a favorite part?" Mia said. "Did he keep one part cleaner than the rest?"

Levada nodded. "Now that you mention it, I remember he did. The back-right corner." He pointed at that part of the cemetery.

Stony had some thoughts about what he might find there, and it was no place for civilians.

"OK," he said. "Dr. Rombone and Mr. Levada, go wait inside the church, please. We'll find you when we're done examining the graves."

"What are you looking for?" Rombone said.

"Evidence."

"We can't help you?"

"You might step on something you shouldn't," Stony said. "Leave this to trained experts, please. Just wait inside where I'm sure they have air-conditioning. Hopefully this won't take long."

Rombone and Levada had confused expressions, but they left without another word.

Stony, Mia, and Agent Wilson climbed over the fence and proceeded into the graveyard. Soft, lumpy dirt forced them to step carefully to avoid twisting an ankle.

"What are we looking for?" Wilson said. "I don't know what we're doing here."

"Orcus is working with a demon named Forneus," Mia said. "It's possible that the demon recruited Orcus here."

"Why here?"

"A church graveyard is a spiritually charged location. The distance between life and death is a little shorter. If a notoriously evil person is also buried here, the place would naturally attract a demon. It's practically a road to Hell."

"Oh." Wilson looked around nervously. "A demon was here?"

"Calm down," Stony said. "It happened many years ago. We might still find a clue though."

Wilson went one way, searching for evidence, and Stony and Mia went another. The warm air was still, but loudly chirping insects disturbed the peace. Stony took off his jacket to give his sweat a chance to evaporate.

Mia held his hand. "I like getting out of headquarters," she said, "but I wish this was a vacation instead of business."

"Yeah," he said. "Hearing about Orcus's miserable childhood isn't much fun. Maybe after this mission is over, we can request some time off."

"Are we allowed to do that?"

"Rathanael wants us to learn how to function in society. A vacation might be good for us."

Stony noticed a rectangular block of stone outside the fence. It clearly wasn't natural. He climbed over the fence for a closer look. The block was a grave marker half-buried in the dirt.

Mia joined him. "Did somebody throw it out of the cemetery?" she said.

He crouched down. The name on the marker was scratched, as if somebody had tried to obliterate it, but he could still read it.

"Junior Beauvoir," he said. "A snake is carved into the stone along with some skulls."

"Interesting," Mia said. "Voodoo symbols."

"Hey, Wilson," Stony yelled to the young agent. "Go into the church and see if you can find some kind of record about Junior Beauvoir. He may have been a witch doctor. Have Mr. Levada help you."

"Yes, sir." Wilson jogged back to the church.

Stony noticed a shadow in a place where one shouldn't be. It was moving.

He pointed. "See that?"

"Yes," Mia said. "Not good. Not good at all. At least we now know this place is cursed. Orcus must've met Forneus here."

Stony watched the unnatural shadow, which was getting darker and bigger. He took a deep breath to steady himself. He had a knot in his gut, but he put on a brave face. He couldn't afford to show fear. He gave Mia's hand a comforting squeeze.

The darkness gathered into the shape of a man, sort of. A black suit fit snugly on his skinny frame. A long, black tail snaked back and forth in the grass as he walked forward. Demon horns poked out of wild hair. He had the wings of a giant crow.

Stony clenched his jaw. He knew this demon very well, and his name was Crocell. This meeting wasn't by chance. Where is Rathanael? Stony thought.

"Is he yours?" Mia said.

"Yes," Stony growled.

"Stony!" Crocell said cheerfully. "So nice to see you again. Miasma, it is delightful to finally make your acquaintance. Your beauty outshines the sun. You make a perfect couple."

"What are you doing here?" Stony said angrily.

"Just seeing my old chum again. It's been too long. We were a great team, wouldn't you say? Like Frank and Jesse James. Those were glorious days."

"I regret every minute."

"Really?" Crocell said. "You seemed to enjoy yourself at the time. Nothing excited you more than a nice, messy murder, and there were so many. The ruby red blood never stopped flowing." The demon licked its lips with a black, forked tongue.

"I'm a different man now."

"Not so much. You still enjoy a good kill. I've been keeping an eye on you from a distance."

"But I only kill the people who need to die," Stony said.

"A meaningless distinction. Who decides who needs to die? You? You hardly have the moral authority to hand out death sentences."

"I follow the rules."

"Not very well," Crocell said, "but I don't care about that. If you want to go back to the old ways, I might be able to make that happen. It's never too late for you. Miasma, you're also invited. A woman with your prodigious talents can always return to Satan's service. You'll be greeted with infernal fanfare."

"No," Mia said. "I'm good where I am. Go away."

Crocell grinned, revealing hundreds of tiny, pointed teeth. "But I'm enjoying this meeting too much to leave. I've tried to follow your spectacular adventures. Tell me a story. Spin a tale of death and destruction."

"No. Leave us alone."

"Just one, little story?"

"The lady told you to go away," a new voice said.

Stony turned around and discovered Rathanael approaching. The angel's glorious, white wings glowed in the sunlight. His black tie still needed to be straightened though, and he had a big wad of bubblegum in his mouth.

Stony breathed a sigh of relief.

Crocell took a hasty step back, but then he recovered his composure. "I'm not doing any harm. We were just talking."

"These two humans are mine," Rathanael said.

"That's obvious. I can see the marks. It doesn't mean we can't have an innocent conversation."

"Nothing you do is innocent."

Crocell straightened. "I'm not afraid of you. Just because you have a reputation...."

Rathanael reached into the air with his right hand. There was a blinding flash of light, and he was suddenly holding a golden sword. Rainbows shimmered across the blade.

"Now I'm telling you to go away," he said.

Crocell took another step back. "Why do you have to be such a bully? Angels are supposed to be creatures of love and compassion."

Rathanael's eyes began to glow a brilliant white. The sword burst into flame, creating powerful heat waves. His white suit transformed into silver armor which reflected the sunlight.

"I am not that kind of angel," he said in a thunderous, echoing voice. "Leave, or I shall slay you where you stand."

The demon immediately shrunk to nothing and vanished.

Rathanael returned to his more normal appearance without the special effects. The golden sword disappeared.

"Thank you," Stony said.

Rathanael just nodded once in acknowledgement.

He walked over to the grave marker of Junior Beauvoir. He knelt and placed his palms on the dirt. A circle of light formed around his hands, and angelic symbols moved along the edge. The light faded a moment later.

Rathanael stood up and brushed off his hands. "The curse is lifted. The gateway is closed."

"Good," Stony said. "Thanks again. By the way, how are Mia and I doing? I know you're the one who sent us out."

"You could do worse."

The angel snapped his wings, shot into the sky, and vanished.

Mia sighed. "Let's get out of here."

Stony and her found Wilson, Rombone, and Levada inside the chapel of the church. White paint covered the walls and pews. A simple wooden crucifix hung behind a podium.

Stony maintained a calm exterior, but entering a church always made him a little uncomfortable. Old habits and feelings were hard to shake off.

"Find any evidence?" Rombone said.

"Yes," Stony said, "but it won't help with the current investigation. Wilson, do you know who Junior Beauvoir is?"

"Yes, sir." Wilson held up a piece of paper. "We found the burial record from 1938. He was a witch doctor as you suspected. Sentenced to death for raising zombies."

"Sounds evil enough."

"The sheriff killed him three times: hanging, burning, and dismemberment. I'm surprised they bothered with burying what was left."

"Even burnt pieces need a burial," Stony said. "Our work here is done. Where are we going next?"

Wilson shrugged. "I don't have anybody else on my list, but we should stay in Tallahassee in case something comes up."

Stony put his arm around Mia's shoulders. "Then I'm going to take my girl out for a nice dinner. We need a break. You have my number if you need to reach me."

Chapter Nine

Stony and Mia walked into a restaurant that was supposed to be one of the best in Tallahassee. The place had only twenty tables, and none were large. Subdued lighting, white tablecloths, and tall wine glasses created a romantic atmosphere. A glass door showed off a well-stocked wine closet.

Stony and Mia had called ahead to make a reservation. A waiter showed them to a table in the corner immediately.

He opened his menu, and his choices didn't fill him with enthusiasm. The entrées included "herb parisienne gnocchi," "shitake seared cobia," and "foie gras stuffed quail." He was a simple meat-and-potatoes kind of guy.

"Fancy," he said.

Mia nodded. "I think I'll go with the grilled salmon. That seems safe."

"And I'll have the grilled short rib."

"The most expensive item. Are we paying with the corporate credit card?"

"It's a business trip, right?" Stony said. "We have to eat."

Mia just raised her eyebrows.

He looked at the other patrons in the restaurant. They were wearing light, colorful, loose-fitting outfits. It seemed nobody in Tallahassee wore formal clothes. It was a big change from headquarters, where everybody wore a suit or a uniform.

"Hearing about Orcus's past made me think about my own," Mia said.

"We agreed not to talk about our pasts," Stony said.

"I want to, at least a little. Think of it as a confession. We've known each other for years, and we've reached the point in our relationship where it should be safe to reveal a few ugly secrets."

He frowned. "I guess, but feel free to stop any time. I honestly don't care about the sins you committed before we met."

She lowered her voice and glanced at the other patrons. "You already know my stepfather molested me when I was a teenager. It happened many times."

"I don't like to think about that." He snarled.

"He was a respected football coach, beloved by the community. My mother adored him. When he attacked me, he was always careful. He made sure there were no witnesses around. He didn't leave marks. He used a condom. I knew that if I accused him of rape, nobody would believe me. I needed another way out."

"So you cut a deal with a demon."

Mia nodded. "The demon gave me the strength and skills to kill my stepfather even though he was a big, scary man, and I made it look like an accident. I got away with it."

"What was the price you had to pay?" Stony said.

"I had to keep killing married men."

"You were a homewrecker."

"I seduced them, and then I strangled them at the moment of climax. The last thing they saw was my hot, sweaty body."

Stony sipped from his water glass. "That's pretty sick."

"It was what my demon wanted." Mia shrugged. "Adultery and murder wasn't enough. I had to leave a widow and fatherless children behind."

"How many men did you strangle?"

"Thirty or forty. I moved around and never struck in the same area twice. I did it in places where the body wouldn't be found for a while, like in the woods."

He could easily imagine her as a predator stalking her male prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Her superficial beauty concealed a diabolical mind. The more times she killed, the better she got at it.

"My sex life was never that complicated," Stony said. "Back when I was evil, I fucked every woman I could get my hands on. I wasn't picky."

"Did you kill your victims?"

"Only if they fought back too hard." He paused as intense guilt washed over him.

"What did your demon make you do?" Mia said.

"I was basically a hitman. He gave me targets, and I whacked them."

"What kinds of targets?"

"Priests, nuns, charity workers," he said. "Men and women of God. I tried to treat the whole thing like a normal job. I avoided knowing too much about my victims. I got in, did the deed, and got out as quick as possible. Then...."

"What?"

"I started feeling guilty. I began to wonder about my choices. Doubts made me sloppy, and eventually, the PEA caught me."

Mia sighed and nodded. "Same thing happened to me. One day, I accidently met the children of one of my victims. I saw the grief in their eyes. My sinful life went downhill from there. I couldn't forget those eyes."

"Rathanael saw the good in us. Maybe we were never meant for that life?"

"Then why were we so amazingly successful at being evil? You were a great hitman, right?"

"The best," Stony said. "Well, second best. Brian is probably better. That guy is an absolute freak. I'm tired of this topic. Have we confessed enough for one evening?"

"Sure."

"Then let's order our food." He raised his hand to get the waiter's attention.

* * *

Stony and Mia left the restaurant. They didn't have anywhere else to go at the moment, so they just walked along the side of the road, holding hands. A barber shop was across the street, and a barbeque restaurant stood next to it. Even though they were in the center of Tallahassee, the location still had a rural feel. Stony saw mature trees and broad grass lawns in every direction. Clumps of moss hung from branches. The wide, straight road could've served as a highway, and traffic was light. The sun was setting, but the air was still uncomfortably warm and moist.

"I wonder where Orcus gets his money," Mia said.

Stony glanced at her. "Huh?"

"Maintaining a big house full of animals and women was expensive. That's a lot of mouths to feed. If he had a job, we would've heard about it by now."

"Good point. If we can figure out how he is financing his operation, the money trail might lead us to him. I'll call the director."

Stony took out his phone and put it in speaker mode. He dialed the number for Director Robertson.

The chief of the PEA answered after a couple of rings, "Yes?"

"This is Stony and Mia. Have you tried to figure out how Orcus is paying for things?"

"Of course. That's part of every investigation. As far as we can tell, all of his transactions are in cash. He was renting the house you found him in, and he paid every month in crisp hundred-dollar bills."

"Where did he get so much cash?" Stony said.

"I wish we knew, but he seems to have plenty. No credit cards. No bank accounts. No online payments. Just cash."

Stony furrowed his brow. "According to his parole officer, he was an accomplished burglar. He started his criminal career when he was a child."

"Yes," Robertson said. "I read that in Wilson's report."

"I want to talk to the Houston police. Specifically whoever is in charge of catching burglars."

"Sure. Hold on."

The director needed a few minutes to get through to the right person. Stony listened as he quickly navigated the bureaucracy of the Houston Police Department. Robertson knew all the right buzzwords.

A man finally answered in a deep voice, "Captain Hays, Property Division."

"Hello," Robertson said. "This is Special Agent Pete Robertson in Washington, D.C. We're investigating a string of murders, and we have a question for you."

"I handle theft and burglary, not homicide."

"We understand," Stony interjected, "but the subject might also be a thief. I expect he's been active for years in your city, stealing high-value property such as jewelry, which can be pawned for cash. Does that ring a bell? Has there been a string of unsolved crimes?"

"Most property crimes are never solved," Hays said.

"I know this is a longshot, but please, think about it. The subject is very skilled and intelligent. The thefts will be surgical and ambitious. Animals might be involved."

Hays was silent for a moment. "We call him Goldfinger."

"Like the James Bond movie?" Stony said.

"Yes. Every few months, he hits a gold dealer or jeweler. The crimes are always perfectly planned, and he never leaves a shred of identifying evidence behind. He has stolen millions of dollars in gold bullion and coins over the years. The strangest part is we always find paw prints at the crime scenes. We believe he is using trained dogs and cats as assistants."

"That sounds like our perp."

"Do you know who it is?" Hays said excitedly.

"I can't give you his name," Director Robertson said, "but the federal government is after him. Theft is the least of his crimes."

"Oh. Let me know if I can be of any help."

"We will. Thank you." Stony heard a click. "Hays is off the call," Robertson said. "It's just us now."

"Sounds like we need to look for a guy selling gold for cash," Stony said.

"I'll put the word out to the field teams. That was a good call. Smart."

Stony smiled. "Thanks. We're staying in Tallahassee until you need us somewhere else."

"Got it. Bye."

Stony stuffed his phone into his pocket. "See?" he said to Mia. "We're not such bad investigators after all."

She kissed him on the lips. "We should celebrate."

"Drinks?"

"Let's get our luggage and find a hotel room." She winked. "Show me how you fucked those women, and I'll show you how I seduced those men." She paused. "Without the strangulation."

* * *

A ringing phone woke Stony. He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. He was in a motel room with pale green walls. The curtains were drawn across the windows, but sunlight was streaming around the edges.

His phone rang again. It was on the nightstand, but when he reached for it, he realized his right wrist was handcuffed to a bedpost. He grabbed the phone awkwardly with his left hand.

"Yes?" he said in a gruff voice.

"We have a situation in Jackson, Mississippi," Director Robertson said. "A dozen kindergarten kids are missing, and pit bulls were used in the attack."

Stony had a sick feeling. "We'll be at the Tallahassee airport in twenty minutes."

"Make it fifteen."

"Yes, sir." Stony hung up.

He shook Mia. The covers had been thrown off the bed, so he could see all of her amazing body. Fishnet stockings decorated her muscular legs. Red lipstick was smeared across her chin. Her long, blonde hair formed a tangled mess around her head. A pink handprint marked her right butt cheek.

She cracked open her eyes. "Wha...?"

"Playtime is over. We have to be on a plane in fifteen minutes. Now where the hell are the keys to the handcuffs?"

* * *

A PEA car dropped Stony and Mia off in front of Christ the Savior Preschool in northern Jackson, Mississippi.

"Fuck," Stony muttered as he stepped out of the car.

A line of police officers were struggling to control a large crowd of reporters, anxious family members, and curiosity seekers. It was easy to pick out the parents of the missing children. They were either crying or had the facial expressions of gunshot victims.

The school was a two-story brick building with white frames around the windows. The architecture was a simple box with no ornamentation. A small church, really just a chapel, stood in front. It had a little steeple and a single stained-glass window.

Stony looked around for a familiar face. Police and FBI agents were swarming the area like bees on honey. PEA agents were certainly in the mix, but they would be disguised as other kinds of law enforcement.

Mia pointed. "I see Agent Gritz."

Stony looked and saw the supervisory agent for the southeast territory standing near a wall of the school. Her blue suit was a little rumpled. She was wearing blue latex gloves even though she didn't seem to be examining any evidence at the moment.

Stony and Mia walked over. Gritz's eyes widened when she saw the members of the third division approaching, but she stood firm.

Some police officers tried to stop Stony and Mia from entering the crime scene. They showed their generic federal badges and put on confident, serious expressions. Acting the part was even more important than having legitimate identification. The police let them through.

Stony walked over to Gritz. "What's the story?"

"Right after school started," she said, "Orcus and Pomona attacked. They were armed with automatic weapons, perhaps FN SCARs, but the dogs were the real threat. Over a hundred pit bulls worked together like a team of Special Forces operatives. Some stood guard while others separated the children from the teachers. According to witnesses, the dogs barely even barked. Orcus had complete control over them. An entire classroom full of five and six-year-old children was kidnapped. Fourteen kids. One teacher was shot, and two others were bitten."

"Did anybody see the escape vehicle?" Stony said.

"A large tour bus, big enough for all the dogs and kids. Apparently the bus was stolen late last night."

"I assume a widespread search is underway. There must be checkpoints on all the roads."

Gritz nodded. "Of course, but it took a little while for the police to get organized. Orcus had a head-start of twenty minutes, and Jackson is a big enough city to offer plenty of hiding places. No sign of the bus so far."

Stony gritted his teeth, and he and Mia exchanged grim looks. Orcus didn't need hostages. He needed human sacrifices.

"Show us the crime scene," he said.

The three of them went into the school. The hallway had black and white tiled floors and blue walls. Pictures drawn by children in crayon or pencil were taped to the walls.

Stony, Mia, and Gritz entered the first classroom closest to the front door. Evidence technicians were still working in the room, and Stony took care not to disturb any possible evidence. Small, yellow, plastic chairs, suitable for little children, had been tossed around. Very low tables were overturned. He saw clear paw prints on the floor along with a few blood smears.

Stony walked through the classroom carefully. One section had colored wooden blocks stored in bins, but a few blocks were on the floor. Another section had a puppet stage with stuffed animals as puppets. The colors of the rainbow were everywhere, creating a cheerful environment.

He noticed a row of pictures, and he went over for a closer look. Photos of the students in the class formed a neat line, each with a hand-written name beneath. The little boys and girls were all smiling, blissfully unaware that the world held so much evil.

"When we catch Orcus," Mia said with a snarl, "I'm going to do very bad things to him."

Stony turned to her. "I'll hold him down for you. I want to watch."

"It's a deal."

Gritz walked up to them. "See anything interesting?" she said.

"Not really," he said. "I'd like to talk to a witness."

"A dog bit the teacher who was in the classroom. She was taken to the hospital."

"Then let's go to the hospital."

* * *

Stony, Mia, and Agent Gritz were walking down a hospital corridor. Stark lighting reflected off of white walls and the floor. The hallway was wide enough for hospital beds and wheelchairs to pass each other easily. The doctors wore white coats, and the nurses wore shapeless blue scrubs. Stony glanced into a few rooms and saw patients connected to medical equipment. Nobody was smiling.

Despite leading a very dangerous, violent life, Stony hadn't spent much time in hospitals. His ability to harden his skin was a big reason why, but the demon Crocell had strengthened his body in other ways, too. Stony could survive injuries that would kill most people, and then recover fully. The powers of Hell had made him into an unstoppable killer in exchange for his services. For years, both sides had been satisfied with the arrangement.

Gritz led Stony and Mia to a hospital room guarded by two uniformed police officers. Gritz showed her federal badge to the cops, and the three PEA agents were allowed to enter.

A young woman was lying in a bed. Her brown hair was trimmed at the shoulder, and her brown eyes looked at the visitors curiously. Thick bandages were wrapped around her right arm and right leg. An IV dripped clear fluid into her arm. She was awake and alert.

"Ms. Adams?" Agent Gritz said. "We're federal agents. We have a few questions."

"I've already told my story to the police and the FBI," the schoolteacher said.

"I understand, and we'll read those reports, but we want to hear it straight from you. Maybe you'll remember something new."

Adams sighed. "Sure. It happened fast. A man and woman busted into my classroom. They had assault rifles and a whole lot of pit bulls."

"Describe the perpetrators, please," Stony said.

"The guy was hairy. Big beard and a mustache, and he needed a haircut. He was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and leather work boots. The woman was about my age. Her pink shorts were cut indecently high. A black leather halter top had her breasts popping out. Blonde hair. Very pretty. I mean, fashion magazine pretty."

"Did she have a collar?"

"Yes," Adams said. "An iron collar. Looked like a kinky fetish thing. How did you know?"

"We may be familiar with both of them. How did the attack happen? Give us the details."

"The dogs rounded up the kids like they were sheep. I tried to stop them, and that's how I got bit." She pointed at her bandages.

"What about the man and woman?" Stony said.

"The man just watched. The dogs seemed to know what they were doing without his help. The woman went back into the hall. A few seconds later, I heard a gunshot. I found out later she killed another teacher who was walking by." Adams wiped her eyes and sniffled.

"Then what happened?"

"Everybody left. I was too hurt to chase after them." She paused and looked down. "And I didn't want to get killed."

"Don't feel guilty," Stony said. "There was nothing you could do. At least you're still alive."

"Why did they attack my class?"

"Apparently because you were closest to the door. Just bad luck."

She grabbed a tissue from a box and blew her nose.

"Did the man say anything to you?" Stony said.

"Just that if I held still, I wouldn't get hurt."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Adams said. "His exact words were 'hold still, and you won't get hurt.' I'll never forget that rough voice."

Stony looked at Mia, but she just had a puzzled expression.

"Anything else?" Stony said.

Adams shook her head. "Not that I remember. The whole thing happened so fast. It couldn't have taken more than a couple of minutes. The kids were screaming the whole time. Poor things. Is there a ransom demand? Any leads at all?"

"Not to my knowledge. We'll let you rest now. Thank you for being so helpful."

Stony, Mia, and Gritz left the room and walked down the corridor.

As soon as they had privacy, Gritz said, "Why were you so concerned about Orcus's words?"

"They didn't make sense," Stony said. "I'm surprised he didn't just shoot the teacher when he walked into the room. One less witness. One less potential trouble-maker."

"Maybe he just wanted the kids. The teacher was unimportant."

"He cautioned her to hold still so the dogs wouldn't maul her. That's a shocking level of concern from a man who kidnaps children by the dozen for purposes of human sacrifice. It's as if he wanted her to live."

"It's arrogance," Mia said.

"What do you mean?" Stony said.

"Orcus wanted us to know it was him. He left a witness behind on purpose. He rubbed our faces in it, so we would feel impotent. It was a big 'fuck you' to the PEA."

He frowned. "I don't know. That doesn't seem right, but I suppose the truth will eventually come out."

"We need to find those kids," Gritz said urgently.

"Obviously. What do you suggest?"

She thought for a moment. "I suppose the next logical place to visit is the police command post for the kidnapping. We can get the latest news there."

* * *

The Jackson Police Department occupied a three-story building with stone walls. It was in the middle of a modest downtown area with just a few tall buildings and nothing like a skyscraper. Jackson was the largest city in Mississippi and also the state capital, but Stony wasn't impressed.

Stony, Mia, and Agent Gritz approached the police station on foot. Lack of parking had forced them to find a spot two blocks away. Cars lined the street on both sides, and many were double-parked. In addition to Jackson police cars, there were sedans with government plates, news vans, cars from various sheriff's departments, and many unmarked vehicles.

A boisterous crowd had gathered on the steps in front of the station, a mix of news reporters and civilians. Police officers were keeping them outside the doors.

"Orcus certainly isn't afraid of making a big splash," Stony said.

They walked past a woman sitting on the curb and sobbing. Tears had dampened the top of her white shirt. She was about the right age to be the mother of one of the missing schoolkids.

Mia stopped and looked at the woman. Stony waited impatiently for Mia to lose interest and move on. They had work to do, and compassion wasn't one of her strengths. She shocked him when she sat on the curb and gave the woman a hug.

"Mia," Stony said.

Mia ignored him and allowed the woman to cry on her shoulder. He couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew better than to intervene. He tapped his foot while he waited.

Mia finally whispered something into the woman's ear and stood up.

"We can go," Mia said.

She, Stony, and Agent Gritz started walking.

"What did you say to her?" Stony said softly.

"That Heaven will protect her child," Mia said.

"That's a bold statement. For all we know, the kids are already dead."

"I choose not to believe that, and neither should you." She glared at him.

He just looked away in disbelief.

Getting into the police station wasn't easy. The police officers were exceptionally picky about who they let in. In addition to showing their federal badges, the PEA agents had to provide a convincing story.

Gritz jumped in. "We are part of the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children program," she said smoothly.

That did the trick, and they went inside.

According to information Gritz had received, the police had setup a command post in a conference room to coordinate the investigation into the kidnapping. Finding the right room was simply a matter of following the foot traffic and noise. They hardly had to ask for directions.

Stony walked into the conference room first and encountered total chaos. Thirty or forty men and women were trying to get work done in a space designed for half that number. They were talking on phones, typing on laptops, or chatting in small groups. Representatives from all levels of law enforcement were present. Too many sweating bodies had made the air warm and musky.

Gritz and Mia followed him in. The three of them pushed their way through the crowd to reach a corner where there was a little room to move around.

Stony looked for familiar faces but didn't see any. He expected PEA agents were in the room but disguised as regular police or FBI. That was standard procedure under these circumstances. He rarely spent time with field agents, so he probably wouldn't recognize them anyway.

An African-American man in a brown uniform approached. "Supervisory Agent Gritz?" he said softly.

His hair had touches of gray, but he had the big shoulders and broad chest of a young man. His posture was excellent.

Gritz nodded. "I remember you. Lewis?"

"Yes, ma'am. Are these two with the agency?" Lewis glanced at Stony and Mia.

"Third division."

Lewis gaped and stared with a terrified expression.

"Relax," Stony said. "We're here to do the same job as you. We won't go on a murderous rampage."

Lewis gulped.

"What's the situation here?" Gritz said impatiently.

"No sign of Orcus or the missing kids so far," Lewis said in a shaky voice. "The entire city is being searched."

"Who is in charge here?"

"The Jackson Chief of Police is calling the shots at the moment."

Lewis pointed at another black man in a crisp, blue uniform. His short hair was dense and very curly.

"At the moment?" Stony said.

"The FBI is itching to take over," Lewis said.

He pointed to a pudgy, white man with brown hair. "FBI" was printed on the back of his blue windbreaker.

"We need to take control of this investigation," Stony said urgently. "If a lead is discovered, the PEA needs to be the first on the scene. These people aren't trained to deal with a monster like Orcus. We don't even know the full extent of his powers. Animal magic may just be part of it. He's been in league with a demon for a long time."

"I agree," Mia said, "and Orcus intends to sacrifice those kids. We can't afford to screw around with standard procedures and protocol. We have to make aggressive moves."

Gritz thought for a moment. "OK," she said, "but let me do the talking. I know how to handle this."

She walked over to the police chief and murmured in his ear. He looked at her with a surprised expression and stood up. The chief accompanied her as she did the same trick with the FBI representative. The three of them headed for the door.

Gritz waved for Stony and Mia to join her. Lewis followed along.

They left the conference room and gathered in a quiet corner well away from the crowd. Stony looked down hallways with yellow walls and fluorescent lights to make sure nobody was close enough to overhear.

"What is this about?" the police chief said. "You really know who the perpetrator is?"

He and the FBI agent stared at Gritz expectantly.

"His name is Edmund Toppan," she said softly.

The police chief turned and was about to yell down the hallway.

Gritz grabbed his arm. "No! Be quiet. That's classified information."

He narrowed his eyes. "Explain," he said angrily.

"I'm part of a secret federal agency. Mr. Toppan has been a person of interest for a while. In fact, we tried to arrest him a couple of nights ago. We've been aggressively searching for him ever since."

"What agency?" the FBI agent said.

"The name is classified," Gritz said, "but we are specially equipped and trained for cases like this. Mr. Toppan is far more dangerous than you know. Ordinary police can't take him safely. Even the FBI would have trouble. Our own agents are converging on this location as we speak. In fact, several of my people are already in that conference room. You have to let me run the show until Toppan is caught."

The FBI agent shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"Do you have a business card? Let me have it."

He gave her a curious look as he handed over one of his business cards. She walked a short distance away and made a call.

The police chief looked at Mia, and his gaze lingered on her curves for an unprofessional length of time. Stony finally cleared his throat to get the chief's attention.

"Are you part of the same secret agency?" the chief said.

"Yes," Stony said. "If we find Toppan, my partner and I need to be the first ones in." He nodded towards Mia. "We're uniquely qualified to take him out."

"What makes him so dangerous?"

"Spooky capabilities. Let's leave it at that."

Agent Gritz ended her call and returned to the group.

"What was that about?" the FBI agent said.

She straightened her jacket. "Just hang on."

A moment later, the FBI agent's phone rang.

He answered the call. "Hello? Oh. Oh!" His face paled. "Yes, sir. Yes, sir! That won't be a problem, sir! An honor to speak to you, sir. Goodbye." He put his phone away, and his hands were shaking.

"Who was that?" the police chief said.

"The Director of National Intelligence." The FBI agent swallowed. "We have to do whatever she tells us."

"I'm glad that's cleared up," Gritz said cheerfully. "You two can still appear to lead the investigation as far as the public is concerned. Just consult with me first before making a move. I'll be with you at all times. Now both of you head back to the conference room. I'd rather not be seen coming in with you."

The police chief and the FBI agent walked back to the room with perplexed expressions.

"You know the Director of National Intelligence?" Stony said.

Gritz shook her head. "No, I'm just a field agent. I called Director Robertson, and he plays golf with the D.N.I. regularly. This kind of situation comes up often enough that we have procedures in place."

"And I guess the PEA does an occasional favor for the D.N.I.?"

"Washington, D.C. is a small town in some ways. At a certain level, everybody scratches each other's backs."

Stony heard yelling and cheering in the conference room. He ran down the hall and looked through the door. The level of activity had jumped up a few notches, but he couldn't tell why.

Gritz pushed passed him. She forced her way through the crowd to reach the police chief, and they had a quick conversation. Meanwhile. Mia and Lewis joined Stony at the door.

Gritz scribbled a few notes on a scrap of paper. She returned to Stony and shoved the piece of paper into his hand.

"They found the bus used in the kidnapping," she said. "Here is the address. The police chief agreed to keep everybody else away while we performed an initial investigation. Go. Lewis, drive them." She gave her car keys to Agent Lewis.

Chapter Ten

Stony looked out the window as Lewis drove through an industrial section of Jackson.

Big, windowless buildings housed storage, shipping, and light manufacturing facilities. Rows of metal containers and trailers stood behind fences. The parking lots contained as many semi-trucks as regular cars. Grass covered big squares of undeveloped land.

The location of the stolen bus was obvious. Police cars ringed a building with dirty, brick walls. A "FOR SALE" sign stood in a parking lot where weeds grew through cracks in the asphalt.

Lewis parked beside the police cars. Stony and Mia immediately got out.

A metal sign read, "Presley Storage Company," but rust had made the sign almost illegible. Vines had swallowed one wall with the clear intention of consuming the rest of the building eventually.

Stony pulled out his badge and went to the nearest officer in the Jackson Police Department. "Your chief wants us to go straight in."

"You're with the forensic specialists?" the cop said.

Stony nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Then go."

Stony, Mia, and Agent Lewis entered through an open sliding door. The interior of the building was an echoing, dark space with a concrete floor. A little light leaked in through high, dusty, square windows.

A big, black bus was parked in the center of the warehouse. It was the kind of vehicle a rock band might use to tour the country. Huge windows were heavily tinted except in front. A large number of chromed bolts held big tires in place.

A handful of men and women in blue suits were taking pictures. They stopped working and looked at the newcomers.

"I recognize these agents," Lewis said. "They're a PEA forensic team."

"Ah, good," Stony said. "They got here quick."

A woman with short, black hair stepped forward. "Who are you?"

"I'm Stony. This is Miasma. I'm sure you heard of us. What's the situation?"

The entire forensic team stared at him with horrified expressions.

"You people need to stop acting like we're flesh-eating zombies," Stony said. "I've met some zombies, and our body odor isn't nearly as unpleasant. Just give your damn report."

The woman swallowed. "We just got here a few minutes ago, sir. We found tire tracks which aren't from the bus. At least two other vehicles were parked here recently. We're assuming Orcus transferred his hostages and left."

"Fuck," Stony said. "Orcus planned this out pretty well. Now we have no idea what he's driving. Have you looked inside the bus yet?"

"No. It could be boobytrapped. We're examining the outside and surroundings first. Then we'll decide the safest way to enter."

"Good thinking. Carry on."

While the forensic technicians did their work, Stony and Mia just looked around and stayed out of the way. They took care not to contaminate any evidence such as the tire tracks. Agent Lewis stood by the door.

The warehouse contained mostly empty space, but there was a small office in back. The office still had a desk and a file cabinet, and Stony fought the urge to look at the files. He also found a toilet. Instead of water, the bowl contained dark brown filth.

I'm wasting time, he thought.

He went back to the parked tour bus. Any useful clues would be inside, but the technicians were right to worry about traps. Orcus had probably left a nasty surprise behind.

Stony peered through the clear windows in the front of the bus, but he didn't see anything interesting. There was just a seat for the driver, a steering wheel, and a large dashboard. A curtain separated the front from the passenger area. He looked hard but didn't see a bomb.

Stony turned to the nearest technician. "Do you have a flashlight?"

"Yes, sir," the technician said.

He took a small flashlight out of an evidence collection kit and handed it over.

Stony walked around the bus and shined the light through the windows. They were very dark and high though, and he couldn't see much.

"Need help?" Mia said.

"Sure. Stand on my hands. Try to get a better angle."

He gave her the flashlight. Then he made a platform with his hands, and she stepped onto them. She was a normal-size woman, but she felt light to him. She leaned against a window and pointed the flashlight into the bus.

"It's dark in there," Mia said.

"I know," Stony said. "Just keep looking."

After a minute, she yelled, "I see something! A kid!"

"Is he alive?"

"I don't know. He's sitting up but not moving... I think he's breathing!"

"Hop down," Stony said. "I'm going in!"

"But it could be a trap!"

"Which is why I want you and everybody else to back away, far away."

Mia stepped down from his hands. "You're acting like a dumb movie hero."

"Thank you for the compliment. Now get out of here." Stony pointed towards the front door of the building.

Mia gave the flashlight to him. She reluctantly moved back but stayed just inside the door. The technicians and Agent Lewis weren't so brave and went completely outside.

Stony turned his attention back to the bus and considered the safest way to enter. He had to use a method that Orcus would never expect. Stony circled the bus twice without getting any good ideas. Then he climbed onto the roof using a bumper and a vent grill as a ladder.

The roof had an emergency escape hatch. That will do, he thought. He stomped on the hatch using all of his unnatural strength. After several heavy blows, the latch gave way, and the hatch swung down. He hardened the skin on his head and torso. He carefully dropped into the bus, landing softly and not touching anything.

The stink hit him first. The bus literally smelled like shit, and it was obvious why. Dog poop covered the floor.

Stony held his nose and turned on the flashlight. He quickly spotted the kid. A small boy was sitting on a bench in back, not moving. Considering how much noise Stony had just made, the victim had to be dead or comatose. A knot formed in Stony's gut.

He took very slow, careful steps forward. He used the flashlight to check for tripwires. He made sure his footing was secure before shifting his weight in case Orcus had installed a trapdoor in the floor. The only sound was Stony's quiet breathing.

The kid's brown eyes were open and still. A trail of dried blood went from his lower lip to his chin. He had a large knife wound in his gut, and blood had soaked his shirt. A Satanic symbol was carved into his forehead.

Stony was certain the child was dead, but then his stomach moved. The motion was just a wiggle, but it filled Stony's heart with hope.

He didn't rush forward though. He maintained his painfully slow, cautious pace until he was within reach of the kid. Stony lightly put his finger on the victim's neck and felt for a pulse.

Nothing. The corpse was already cooling off.

Stony saw the kid's belly move again. A small, pink nose poked out of the gruesome wound. Stony had a horrible realization that a rat was hiding inside the body.

The rat crawled out onto the kid's leg. Blood had soaked its fine brown fur. Stony was about to smash the animal with his fist when he noticed something strange.

The rat was wearing a backpack with a red, flashing light on it. The package was big enough to carry a detonator and an ounce or two of high explosive.

The rat jumped at Stony, leading with its claws and teeth. The attack was intentional. He slapped the animal away, and then he made his skin rock hard. He turned himself into a statue, hopefully one strong enough to withstand a bomb.

The explosion swept Stony off his feet and sent him flying through a window. He sailed out of the bus and landed on the concrete floor of the warehouse. When he finally skidded to a stop, he allowed his skin to return to normal.

"Stony!" Mia screamed as she ran over to him.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just got knocked around."

Stony stood up and checked himself. His clothes were burnt and shredded, but at least his underwear had survived intact. He didn't feel any injuries except for a few scrapes.

"What happened?"

"The kid was already dead, but he had a rat-bomb hidden in his guts. I think Orcus commanded the rat to attack the first person it saw."

Mia made a disgusted face.

Stony looked back at the bus. The blast had broken all the windows and had torn open a part of a wall. Sheet metal had folded over like paper.

The PEA forensic team along with Agent Lewis rushed into the warehouse, followed closely by a number of very concerned police officers.

"Get those cops out of here!" Stony yelled at the PEA agents. "We're not done investigating!"

They ushered the police back out of the building.

Stony returned to the bus with his jaw set in a determined expression. He climbed in through the gaping hole in the side and looked around, hoping that some useful evidence had survived. He discovered to his amazement that his flashlight still worked.

The explosion had dismembered the dead boy. Only a thin strip of muscle connected his head to his body. The left arm was completely gone.

Stony searched the bus, moving quicker than before but still cautiously. Orcus could've planted two traps, and he was clever enough to do so. Stony found a few blood smears, and they appeared unrelated to the dead boy.

Stony discovered a girl's doll stuffed behind a seat cushion.

Mia yelled up from outside the bus. "Is it safe?"

"I think so," he replied.

She climbed in the same way he had. She looked around with a dismayed expression. "What a mess."

"Yeah."

"What are you holding?"

Stony gave the doll to her. She ran her fingers through the fake, blonde hair thoughtfully.

He didn't see anything else of interest, and he was afraid of disturbing the evidence even further, so he jumped out of the bus.

The other PEA agents came over to Stony, and he explained what had happened.

"Why aren't you dead?" the female agent with black hair asked. "You don't even look hurt."

He picked up a large, sharp piece of glass. He hardened his palm and smashed the glass against it. The glass shattered without harming him.

"I'm a surprisingly tough guy," he said.

Mia jumped out of the bus and landed gracefully. "Stop showing off," she said. "I didn't see anything in the bus that looked interesting, but I'm not an expert. Take a look for yourselves."

The forensic team went to work on the bus. Stony and Mia moved away to talk privately.

She looked at his torn clothes and clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "That's not a good look for you."

"Thanks for the fashion tip."

"By the way, I also don't appreciate you getting blasted out of a bus. You scared me for a few seconds."

"I'll try to avoid it in the future." Stony noticed she was still holding the doll he had found in the bus. "Why did you keep the toy?"

Mia looked at the doll. "I'm planning to return it to the owner when we rescue her."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrows. "You've been very sentimental today."

"That bothers you?"

"I'm wondering what happened to the black-hearted bitch I've come to know and sometimes fear."

She smiled charmingly. "Don't worry. You'll see her again."

Agent Lewis ran over with his phone in hand. "Sir, ma'am, Supervisory Agent Gritz wants to talk to you."

Stony wondered why Gritz hadn't called him on his own phone. He took it out of his pocket and discovered the phone was shattered and dead. That's annoying, he thought.

Stony accepted the phone from Lewis. "Yes?"

"Any news?" Gritz said.

"We had a little trouble with a boobytrap," Stony said, "but no injuries. It looks like two other vehicles were here. Orcus transferred the hostages and left the bus behind. That's all we have so far."

"Damn it. Well, the reason I'm calling is we have a lead. My field agents have been talking to shady gold dealers in the area...."

"Why?"

"It was your suggestion, right?" Gritz said.

"Oh, yeah. Orcus deals in stolen gold. Go on."

"We found a dealer who participated in a suspicious transaction yesterday. A man who might've been Orcus in disguise sold a lot of gold for cash. My agents already talked to the dealer, but I thought you might want to do the same. The location isn't far from you. Lewis will drive."

Stony looked at the bus and decided he had nothing else to contribute. The PEA forensic team would find any evidence, if any was left.

"Sure," he said. "We'll leave immediately."

* * *

Agent Lewis parked the car in front of a store with the name, "WE BUY GOLD!" The sign was made of yellow neon tubes. It was at the end of a strip mall which also featured a sandwich shop and a video game store.

Stony, Mia, and Lewis stepped out.

Stony's stomach growled. He had missed breakfast and was now in danger of missing lunch. The sandwich shop tempted him, but he held firm. He had work to do, and his stomach could wait.

At least he had changed his clothes. His and Mia's luggage was conveniently in the trunk of the car. He was wearing his spare business suit now, and he didn't own another. It had to last. Unfortunately, the spare suit hadn't come with a spare phone.

Stony went into the gold store. The narrow interior had so many bright lights, he had to squint at first. A display case held gold and silver coins which gleamed brilliantly. The thick glass walls of the display case were certainly bulletproof. A model of the Statue of Liberty stood in the corner, and it was as big as a real woman. A yellow leather couch was next to the statue. After being outside in warm, humid air, the air-conditioned store felt wonderfully refreshing.

A man and a woman wearing blue suits walked over to Stony, and he assumed they were PEA agents. Mia and Lewis were right behind Stony.

"You're Stony?" the male agent said nervously.

"Yes. This is Miasma." Stony touched Mia's arm.

Both agents had wide eyes.

"Where is the owner?" Stony said impatiently.

"In the back," the female agent said. "This way."

The group went through a door in the back of the store, walked down a short hallway, and entered a small office. A man sitting behind a desk had a fat, pink face. His double chin was on the way to becoming a triple chin. He was wearing a purple sport jacket over a white shirt with no tie.

"This is Mr. Beck," the female agent said.

Stony stood in front of the desk and crossed his muscular arms in an intimidating manner. "What's your story?"

"It's a short story," Beck said. "Yesterday, just before dark, a guy sold me thirty-eight ounces of gold. American Gold Eagles to be specific. Perfect condition."

"You paid in cash?"

"Nothing strange about that. Most of my customers demand cash. They don't trust banks."

"How much did you pay?" Stony said.

"Forty thousand dollars."

"You have that much cash just lying around?"

"I have a lot more than that." Beck pointed to an impressive safe in the corner of his office. "I'll show you the video."

Surveillance monitors were mounted on a wall. He used a remote control to select and play a recording. The time code was 5:21 PM.

The monitors showed a big man entering the store. He was wearing a floppy hat and sunglasses, but his huge, brown beard revealed his identity. He also had the pale skin of a man who rarely went out in sunlight. He had to be Orcus. A long, black coat could've easily hid several weapons.

Orcus handed over a stack of gold coins with hardly a word. Beck was behind the store counter, and he performed a chemical test on each coin. He also weighed them on a scientific scale. He seemed satisfied with the result.

He collected the coins, left for a minute, and then returned with stacks of hundred-dollar bills. Orcus patiently counted the money. When the transaction was complete, he walked out without even a receipt.

"See?" Beck said. "Nothing shady happened. Are we done? Can I finally go back to work?"

"Not quite," Stony said. "You have any footage from outside the store? Maybe we can see the car he used."

Beck played with his surveillance system. He found an outside shot of Orcus entering the store, but it didn't show a car.

"That's all I got," Beck said.

"Did you write down the serial numbers for those bills?" Stony said.

Beck stared at him. "Are you joking? Of course not."

Stony sighed in frustration.

"Let's talk outside in private," Mia said.

All the members of the PEA left the store and congregated on the parking lot in front. Waves of warm air rose from the black asphalt.

"That was probably Orcus," Stony said.

"I agree," Mia said. "Now we have to figure out what he wanted with all that cash."

"He escaped from the house on horseback, and we didn't give him much time to pack. He was probably just carrying essentials."

"Like gold coins."

"Yes," Stony said. "He needs weapons, clothes, and supplies for his rituals. He needs lots of things."

"He can steal everything he needs. He's an expert burglar, after all, and he obviously isn't above armed robbery."

"Stealing weapons is difficult. The people who have them don't like to give them up without a fight."

"True," Mia said, "and he had assault rifles at the kidnapping this morning. It's reasonable to suppose he purchased them for cash from a black-market arms dealer last night."

"If we can find that dealer, he might be able to tell us something about Orcus's plans or at least what weapons he has." Stony looked at Agent Lewis. "Call Gritz. I need to talk to her."

Lewis took out his phone, put it in speaker mode, and made a call.

"Yes?" Agent Gritz answered.

"This is Stony. Are you still with the police chief and the FBI?"

"Of course. None of us are going anywhere until the kids are rescued."

"We have a theory," Stony said. "We believe Orcus bought weapons from an arms dealer last night. The police and the FBI must have lists of suspected black-market dealers in the area. Our agents need to interview all the people on those lists."

"That's a good idea, but I don't think it will work. Those guys won't talk to federal agents, and setting up an undercover sting will take too much time. It takes months to build a trusting relationship with a crook, even years."

Stony frowned. Mia furrowed her brow and had a frustrated expression.

"Then get me the name and address of the worst of them," he said. "I want the evil bastard that Orcus would naturally seek out. He must be notorious."

Gritz paused. "We might be able to get you a name, but what do you have in mind? The 'evil bastard' still won't talk to you."

"Let us worry about that. Just provide a name. We take full responsibility for whatever happens next."

Mia nodded and smiled in a very nasty way. There is my black-hearted bitch, Stony thought.

Chapter Eleven

Agent Lewis parked the car in front of an isolated building with a sign that read, "Tactical Precision Supply Co." The gun store was in a rural area, surrounded by green fields and trees. A lumber warehouse was the nearest neighbor a hundred yards down the road.

"Mia and I will take care of this," Stony said. "Just wait in the car."

"Yes, sir," Lewis said, "but, uh...."

"What?"

"Don't hurt the guy unless you know he did something wrong. The PEA has rules for how to treat witnesses. You can't just run in there and start smacking him around."

"According to the police," Stony said, "this dealer knowingly sells military-grade weapons to criminals. He actively supplies gangs all over the country. He gets what he deserves."

Lewis frowned but didn't respond.

Stony got out of the car. The overly warm, humid air made him take off his jacket and toss it back into the car. He looked around.

The gun store was a small building with walls made of rounded stones cemented together. Rain had carried rust down from a corrugated metal roof, staining the stones. The store had just a few small windows, and curtains prevented Stony from seeing inside.

A creek ran behind the store, and a forest stood on the far side of the creek. Grass around the store had been mowed recently enough to look more like a lawn than a natural pasture. Two pickup trucks were in the gravel parking lot.

Mia joined Stony. "Shall we?" she said.

He kissed her luscious lips. He couldn't help himself.

"Let's do this," Stony said.

As she walked ahead of him, he noticed how the humidity had caused her long hair to puff out and become frizzy at the ends. She was wearing a standard blue business suit, but her pants clung to her legs, showing off their sexy shape.

"I want to do the talking."

"Oh?" he said.

"Seems like I've been playing second fiddle to you this whole trip," Mia said.

"Didn't mean to do that. I'll just watch your back."

Stony put his hand on his gun.

They entered the store. Weapons of all kinds hung on pegboards all around the room. Knives and handguns were on the left, and bolt-action rifles were on the right. Shotguns and semi-automatic rifles hung in the back behind the counter. Shelves in the middle of the store held goggles, ear protection, ammunition, hunting jackets, belts, holsters, scopes, and other supplies.

A skinny white man with a goatee stood behind the counter. He was wearing military fatigues with a green camouflage pattern. The stripes of an Army sergeant were on his shoulder. His short, blond hair was cut straight across the top. A large pistol hung in a holster on his hip.

Mia walked straight to the counter. "Are you Elijah?"

"Yes," the man said in a suspicious tone. "You look like a cop."

"Federal agent. We have some questions."

"Do you have a search warrant or a subpoena?"

"No," Mia said.

"Then get the hell off my private property."

"No."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. He faced a door in the back of the store and yelled, "Andy! Get out here!"

A moment later, another man opened the back door and entered the shop. He was a little taller and beefier than Elijah, but they had the same blue eyes and blond hair. The similar shapes of their faces suggested they were brothers. Andy had two revolvers, one on each hip.

Stony tensed. He was armed with a .45 caliber Desert Eagle, and because he had taken off his jacket, the brothers could see the gun. He knew that Mia carried a Glock 43 under her vest.

This could turn into an old-fashioned shootout, Stony thought. He hardened his skin and quietly edged towards Andy.

Mia appeared unperturbed. "Did you hear about the kidnapped children this morning?" she said.

Elijah nodded once. "Breaks my heart. I told you to get out."

"The perpetrators were carrying assault rifles. We suspect you supplied them."

"You can't pin that shit on me. Do I have to call my lawyer?"

"A lawyer won't help you this time." Mia looked around. "You have some nice guns here."

"I suppose."

"I don't see the good stuff though. The big guns, the kind nobody is allowed to sell, not even in Mississippi. We were told you have a secret storeroom."

"Last warning." Elijah put his hand on the handle of his pistol.

She raised her eyebrows. "You would shoot a federal agent in cold blood?"

"In self-defense. You harassed me, threatened me. You busted in here without any paperwork and refused to leave when I asked politely. I have a right to be free of 'unreasonable searches and seizures.'" He glanced at Stony. "And your partner waved a gun in my face. I was too scared to think clearly. Bad things happened."

"Over a dozen kids are in mortal danger," Mia said, "and you're being an asshole."

"That is my constitutional right."

She smoothly vaulted the counter with a move that would've made any gymnast proud. Elijah froze in surprise. She grabbed his gun and tossed it across the room. Then she kneed him in the groin, and he folded over.

His brother drew his revolvers, one in each hand. Stony dashed forward instantly. He brought his hardened arm down across Andy's wrists with enough force to crack bones. The revolvers clattered on the floor. Then Stony punched Andy in the face, knocking him out. Andy crumpled and fell.

Mia smiled at Stony, and he nodded.

Elijah groaned and looked at his fallen brother. "I'll sue!" Elijah grunted.

"Sue whom?" Mia said. "You don't know who we are, and you never will. Now I suggest you start cooperating."

"Fuck you."

She grabbed his hair and jerked his head up. She exhaled green smoke directly into his face. He gasped, choked, and coughed. Tears streamed from his eyes, and he rubbed them with his palms, but it was no use. A wet stain spread across his groin.

"What was that?" Elijah finally managed to say.

"A magic trick," Mia said. "Ready to behave yet?"

He reached down and drew a combat knife that was strapped to his ankle. She instantly grabbed his hand and twisted violently, forcing him to drop the knife. She drove her elbow into his lower back, putting all her weight into the attack. He fell to the floor and writhed in pain. Finally, she picked up the knife and stabbed his thigh.

"I'm trying to be reasonable," Mia said. "I haven't permanently injured you... yet. But you have to understand that I can't leave until I'm sure you have no information for me. The lives of innocent children are at stake. Just show me your secret stash of guns as a token of compliance, and we can go on from there."

"There is no secret stash," Elijah groaned. "Ask the cops. They searched this place twice."

She stomped on his hand, and Stony heard small bones crunch. Elijah cried out.

"Do you think we're stupid?" she said in a calm voice. "Just because the police didn't find anything doesn't mean there is nothing to be found."

She ripped the knife out of his leg, and he cried out again. Bright red blood seeped from the wound.

She leaned over and said to his face, "Ready to have more fun? I can do this all day." She flicked his nose with the tip of the knife.

"No," he gasped. "Please stop. I'll show you the guns."

Stony searched Elijah to make sure he wasn't hiding any more weapons. Then Stony helped him to his feet. Mia watched with delight in her eyes, still holding the bloody knife.

Elijah limped to the back door of the store. He was cradling his injured hand, and his eyes were completely red from the gas attack, but he could walk.

Stony picked up Elijah's brother and carried him over a shoulder. Stony didn't want him waking up when nobody was watching. The weight wasn't a problem, but Stony didn't like handling the awkward bulk.

Stony and Mia followed Elijah through a storage room. They left the building at the back and walked on soft, green grass. The field was full of wildflowers colored with cheerful reds, yellows, blues, and violets.

Elijah went to a white metal barn. The design was a simple, rectangular box with a low, sloping roof. He used a key to unlock a padlock, and he slid open the door.

The barn contained military vehicles or parts of vehicles in poor condition. Stony saw a green Jeep on jacks with the tires missing. Tank treads were stacked against a wall. A complete tank turret including the main gun was lying upside-down with wires hanging out. The rusted bodies of three original Humvees stood in a row.

"What is this junk?" Mia said.

"There is a market for spare parts," Elijah said. "It's all legal."

He went to the controls for an overhead hoist which could move around on heavy-duty tracks. He moved the hoist hook over to the bed of a military cargo truck which was lying on the dirt.

"Can you hook that up, please?" he said.

Blood was dripping down his leg, and he was clearly in a lot of pain. Mia apparently took pity on him. She grabbed a chain and attached the hoist to the truck bed.

Elijah pressed a button, and the hoist went up, raising the truck bed. Blank dirt was underneath.

"Feel around for the control panel," he said. "It's covered with dirt."

Stony looked at the heavy truck bed hanging in the air. "No," he said. "You do it. Stay away from the hoist controls."

Elijah gave Stony a nasty look. Then he limped over and ran his hand through the loose dirt until he found something underneath. Mia kept a close eye on him as he lifted a protective cover and pressed a combination of buttons.

A rectangular panel lifted, accompanied by a pneumatic hiss and a shower of dirt. A hidden staircase appeared underneath.

Stony walked over, still holding Elijah's brother, and looked into the hole. The stairs went down about fifteen feet and ended at a steel door. Stony didn't see a lock on the door.

"This is quite elaborate," he said.

"I buried a shipping container to use for storage," Elijah said. "Pain in the ass, but it's strong and secure. Go on. Take a look. That's what you wanted to see, right?"

Mia took one step down the stairs.

"Wait," Stony said. "This doesn't feel right. Elijah, you go first."

"But my leg...," Elijah said.

"You can manage. We'll all go together as a nice, tight group. If something happens, you and your brother will die, too."

Elijah gave Stony a look full of pure hatred. Then Elijah limped down the stairs, leaning against a railing for support. Mia followed very close behind, almost stepping on his heels. Stony brought up the rear.

The steel door at the bottom of the stairs looked like the original door of the shipping container. Four vertical bars, each with a separate handle, held the door closed. Elijah surprised Stony when he didn't touch any of the handles. Elijah pushed on the far-right side instead, and the door folded to the left like an accordion.

"Tricky," Stony said. "What would've happened if we had tried to open the door the obvious way."

"Boom," Elijah said.

Automatic lights came on in the room beyond. Military weapons in perfect condition were on racks and shelves along the walls. Stony recognized the Bullpup Multirole Combat Rifle, the Chinese T97 assault rifle, the Colt CM901, the Heckler & Koch M27 IAR, and other state-of-the-art automatic weapons. Grenades and ammunition were in boxes on the floor. Elijah even had complete sets of body armor on display.

"This is amazing," Mia said. "I'm actually impressed. I can't imagine how you acquired all this equipment. Most of it looks factory new."

Stony put Elijah's brother on the ground. The unconscious body was getting heavy.

"I have connections," Elijah said. "Are you going to arrest me now?"

"No," Mia said. "I just wanted to see your inventory to establish that you could've sold weapons to the kidnapper."

"What kind of guns did he have?"

"Possibly FN SCARs, but the witnesses weren't experts on guns."

"I don't even carry that shit," Elijah said. "I didn't bring anybody down here at all yesterday."

Mia stared at him. "I need to be sure you're not lying."

Stony wished they had brought Veronica along. She would've known immediately whether Elijah was telling the truth.

"I'm not lying, bitch!" he said.

Mia slugged him in the gut, and he collapsed forward. She brought her knee up and crushed his nose. He flipped backwards and landed hard on the metal floor.

It took a moment before he could speak again. "You can hit me all day," he finally gasped. "The answer won't change."

She stomped his chest, driving the air from his lungs. He wheezed like a dying man.

"That's enough," Stony said. "I'm starting to think he's telling the truth."

Mia had a disappointed expression. "You may be right. Now what do we do?"

He looked at the racks full of illegal weapons. "Tie them up and tip off the police?"

"Sure. I'll watch these guys while you go find some rope."

Stony jogged up the stairs. He found coils of rope in a tool cabinet in the barn. He brought down the rope and hogtied Elijah and his brother. They weren't going anywhere.

Stony and Mia walked up the stairs. They left the barn, made their way around the store, and returned to the car. Agent Lewis was leaning against the hood.

"Any luck?" he said.

Stony shook his head. "No, but we found his illegal weapons cache. We can turn Elijah over to the police at least."

"Before you do anything, talk to Director Robertson. He just called, and he didn't sound happy."

Lewis took out his phone, dialed a number, and handed over the phone.

After a couple of rings, Stony heard Robertson's voice. "Yes?"

"This is Stony and Mia. You called?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Uh." Stony glanced at Mia. "Investigating a possible lead?"

"I sent you there as consultants, not lead investigators. You're not trained for that kind of assignment."

"We believe Orcus bought guns for cash. We talked to a local black-market arms dealer. It was the obvious thing to do."

"How exactly did you 'talk' to him?" Robertson said angrily.

Stony described the meeting with Elijah. He included all the important details but downplayed the violence.

"In other words," Robertson said, "you beat the crap out of an innocent man and left him seriously injured. This is not how good citizens behave. I was afraid something like this would happen when I sent you out, but Rathanael insisted."

"The guy isn't innocent," Stony said. "He deserved a beating at least. He's a criminal, a death merchant."

"Not our kind of criminal. He has no involvement with the supernatural. You crossed the line."

"Maybe."

"And now we have a big problem," Robertson said. "He'll tell the police about your brutal, totally illegal interrogation. The authorities will be hunting for renegade federal agents matching your description. Agent Gritz will have to come up with a crappy story for the police and the FBI. This kind of mess is very hard to sweep under the rug. The stink will float all the way back to Washington. Your clumsiness has put the reputation of our entire agency at risk."

"Yes, sir," Stony said humbly.

"The PEA has strict policies for a reason. We are surgical and covert. We don't leave evidence behind."

"Orcus isn't trying to hide his crimes."

"I can't control Orcus," Robertson said, "but I can control you. A scrub team can be there in two hours, but I would rather you clean up your own mess immediately. Those arms dealers must never talk to the police. Make this problem go away."

"What are you saying, sir? You want us to kill them?"

"I don't have the authority to give that order. Do as you see fit. After you're done, return to Agent Gritz. Follow her instructions to the letter. She is in charge of that territory, not you." The call ended.

Stony's face became warm. He returned the phone to Lewis.

"We fucked up," Stony said to Mia.

"I heard," she replied. "Let's go back."

They somberly walked back towards the metal barn behind the gun shop. Lewis stayed with the car.

"What does Robertson expect us to do?" Mia said. "Does he really want us to murder two civilians?"

"Or let them go," Stony said. "I'm pretty sure they won't go to the police and file a complaint."

"But they're scumbags. They sell weapons to terrorists and cop killers."

"You don't know that."

"If they had legitimate customers," Mia said, "they wouldn't hide the merchandise in a secret storage room with a boobytrap bomb on the door. What kind of person buys top-of-the-line machine guns on the black-market? We were told before we came here that Elijah sells to gangsters. I say we deal out some justice."

He sighed. Technically, the PEA wasn't in the business of punishing sinners. Their job was to suppress unlawful supernatural activity. Orcus was a target because he had made a deal with a demon. Officially, the PEA considered the murders and kidnappings to be incidental.

"OK," Stony said, "but I don't like it. Feels like a big step backwards for us. We're supposed to be holy warriors, not murderous vigilantes. This reminds me of the bad old days, when making problems go away was something I did regularly. We need to do better."

They entered the barn and walked down the stairs to the secret room. Elijah and his brother were still tied up on the floor. The brother had woken up though.

"I'll kill you!" he yelled. "Both of you are dead meat!"

Stony looked at Mia. "You want to take care of this?"

"Could you, darling?" she said. "You can make it quick and painless. I've caused enough pain today."

Stony walked over to Elijah's brother, grabbed his head, and twisted very hard. His neck broke with a loud pop, and his face ended up pointing backwards. The body twitched once and then became still. Stony watched for a moment to make sure the brother had stopped breathing. Spinal injuries could be tricky. Severed nerves didn't always lead to a quick death.

"Hey," Elijah said in a fearful voice, "let's talk about this. There is no reason to kill me."

"Oh?" Stony said.

"Maybe I did meet the kidnapper."

"Really? What did he look like?"

Elijah had a panicked expression. "Uh, was he black?"

"Wrong answer." Stony walked over to Elijah.

"I have money! Lots of money! How much do you want? You can walk out of here with a million dollars in cash. Just let me live."

Stony wanted to give a sermon about the price of evil and the value of money in the afterlife. He could've spent an hour explaining the mistakes Elijah had made. Stony knew those poor choices all too well. He wanted Elijah to feel remorse and guilt in the end. Perhaps he would die a slightly better man.

Instead, Stony reached down and twisted Elijah's head until the neck snapped and became loose.

"Thank you," Mia said.

"We're not done," Stony said. "We need to do something about the evidence. There can't be any sign of foul play." He looked at the room full of guns and frowned.

"Let's just leave the bodies down here and seal the room. If we hide the entrance, nobody will ever know this chamber exists."

"Dead bodies stink. Police dogs will smell the rotting meat even from outside."

"True." She pursed her lips. "And I'm sure other people know about this room. Somebody will come down here eventually. I suppose we'll have to work a little harder at cleaning up our mess. Why don't we bury the bodies in the woods?"

Stony looked at the corpses thoughtfully. The hardest part of getting away with murder was eliminating the body. Making two hundred pounds of raw meat disappear without a trace was a difficult trick, but without that evidence, the police had a much weaker case. Usually it was impossible to prove a murder had even happened. As a criminal, Stony had taken full advantage of that fact, and now he would do so again.

"That's a little too close to the scene of the crime," he said. "The police might look for an unmarked grave in those woods. I would. We have to put the bodies in the trunk of the car, drive them far away, and bury them someplace safe. But before we take them anywhere, I need to prep them. I'll use the creek."

Mia grimaced in disgust. "Yuck. While you're busy with that, I'll clean up all the blood splatters and any other evidence I can find."

"OK. Send Lewis around with the car, and I'll need four garbage bags."

She glanced at the two bodies. "Four?"

"That's what I said."

Stony loaded a corpse onto his shoulder. He carried it up the stairs, out of the barn, and to the nearby creek. He found a spot where trees provided privacy and dropped the corpse onto the soft, moist dirt.

The creek was about four feet wide. Water flowed smoothly over rocks covered with moss. Perfect, he thought.

Stony retrieved the second body and laid it near the first. Then he went back to the barn a third time to get some tools. He found a basic handsaw, wire cutters, and a small sledgehammer, which was just what he needed.

He went back to the bodies. He stripped off all his own clothes and set them on dry grass. Then he stripped Elijah and his brother. Clothes were important identifying evidence and needed separate handling. Stony dragged Elijah's corpse into the creek. The cool water felt refreshing and invigorating on a hot day.

Stony began his prep work by snipping off the body's fingerprints. Little chunks of pink flesh floated down the creek and out of sight. Then Stony smashed Elijah's face with the sledgehammer until every bone was shattered and the face was unrecognizable pulp. Stony made sure to knock out every tooth so that even dental records would be useless.

The final step was sawing the body in half by cutting across the abdomen. Doing so made the corpse easier to transport and allowed bulky, messy fluids to drain out. Stony went to work with the saw, and the creek soon ran red with blood. Some pieces of internal organs also washed out, but he wasn't worried. A bird or fish would eat them. He waited until the water was completely clear, and then he shoved the two halves onto the dirt beside the creek.

Stony was starting on the second corpse when he heard a voice.

"Stony?" Agent Lewis called. "Where are you?"

"In the trees," Stony said.

A moment later, Lewis found Stony in the creek. When Lewis saw the mess, he immediately threw up onto the grass. He gagged several times before finally settling down.

He wiped his mouth with his hand. "What in God's name are you doing?" he croaked.

"We're going to bury these bodies in a place where they won't be found," Stony said, "but just in case, I'm making them hard to identify."

He began to snip off the fingerprints from the body he was holding.

"You're naked!" Lewis said.

"I don't want to mess up my clothes. Did you bring the garbage bags?"

Lewis held up a handful of green, plastic bags.

"Good," Stony said.

He used the sledgehammer next. The sound of crunching bones was like an old, familiar song to his ears.

Lewis made a choking noise and walked away. Stony heard the agent try to throw up again, but there was nothing left. After a moment, Lewis returned, his face white.

"That's horrible," he said. "How can you be so calm?"

"I've done this kind of thing before," Stony said. "I used to be a professional killer."

"You still are as far as I can tell."

Stony considered that statement as he pounded the corpse's face until it looked like chopped hamburger. Then he started with the saw.

"Who taught you this?" Lewis said in a tone of disbelief.

"I'm self-taught."

Stony cut into the bowel, and the stink hit him square in the nose. There was nothing like the smell of warm, fresh human feces.

"What everybody says about you is true."

"What's that?" Stony said.

"That you're a cold-blooded monster who should be kept under lock and key. A piece of Hell is still inside you."

Stony watched colored fluids wash down the stream. The human body was mostly water, although that wasn't obvious until one took a body apart.

"Are you almost done?" Lewis said.

"Just about. You can start bagging the other body, but be careful. Don't get any mud on your clothes. Neatness counts."

After Stony finished prepping the second corpse, he washed himself and his tools in the stream. He made sure every speck of blood and meat was gone. Then he got out and helped Lewis with the cleanup. Four hunks of meat and bone went into four plastic bags.

Finally, Stony got dressed. He was still wet but didn't care.

Lewis had parked the car on the grass near the barn. They loaded the garbage bags and the victim's clothes into the trunk. The fit was tight, but the corpses were still fresh and flexible. In a few hours, that wouldn't be the case, but by then, they would be in the ground.

Stony heard the sound of machinery inside the barn. He looked through the door.

Mia was using the hoist to lower the truck bed. She had already closed the secret entrance to the weapons cache and had smoothed the dirt covering.

"Are you finished cleaning up?" Stony said.

She nodded. "I wiped up every drop of blood I could find." She pointed to a bucket, a sponge, and a bottle of bleach.

"Even down below?"

"Of course. I'm not an amateur. Even if the police find the guns, they won't have any evidence of murder."

"The bodies are in the car," he said. "We're ready to go as soon as you are. Did you happen to see a shovel while you were wandering around?"

"No. We'll have to buy one. Give me five more minutes, and then we can go."

* * *

By the time Stony, Mia, and Agent Lewis returned to the Jackson Police Department, it was the middle of the afternoon. Finding a spot to bury the bodies and then burying them had taken three long hours. Stony was feeling time pressure. Every minute that passed allowed Orcus to get further away or deeper into hiding. Stony wouldn't let himself think about the horrors that the kidnapped children might be experiencing.

The crowd in front of the police station was even thicker than before. Stony recognized a couple of national reporters in the mix. The media had erected tents on the lawn to serve as temporary broadcast studios, and thick cables snaked everywhere. Some people carried signs as if they were attending a political protest. The signs displayed slogans like "SAVE OUR KIDS" and "KILL THE KIDNAPPER!"

A solid line of police officers blocked the front door, and they were holding riot shields. Security was even tighter than before. Getting inside the station was going to be challenging.

"I'll call Agent Gritz," Lewis said. "She can get us in."

He used his phone, and the response made him widen his eyes in surprise. He hung up.

"What happened?" Stony said.

"She doesn't want us in there," Lewis said. "She's coming out instead."

A minute later, the African-American woman came out of the building. She pushed past the police line and forced her way through the crowd. She spotted Stony, Mia, and Lewis standing together and came over.

"I talked to Director Robertson," Gritz said. "He seemed upset. According to him, your interview with the arms dealer was unproductive and ended badly."

"That's correct," Stony said.

"He was vague about what actually transpired though. Apparently it's none of my business."

"That's also correct."

She stared at him. "The police and the FBI know I sent people out there, and they'll wonder what happened. You were gone for a suspiciously long time. I'm very... concerned about questions being asked."

"Don't worry," Stony said. "We cleaned up our mess."

Gritz turned to Lewis with a questioning expression.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "It was handled with remarkable attention to detail."

She narrowed her eyes and then nodded. "I'll take your word for it. The timing of your arrival is fortuitous. We just got another lead, a good one this time."

Stony leaned forward. "What?"

"A bank in town filed a CTR this afternoon."

"A CTR?"

"A currency transaction report," Gritz said. "Financial institutions are required to file one when there is a large cash transaction. It's part of anti-money laundering law. In this case, a man made a deposit of thirty thousand dollars in cash. According to the bank teller, it was all crisp one-hundred-dollar bills, already in bundles."

"That's suspicious."

"His name is Marvin Parker. He breeds and sells horses on a farm south of Jackson, and according to his tax returns, business is bad. He has no criminal record. No obvious reason to have that much cash on hand. Another agent is already observing the subject. I want you to join him and move in as a group. Follow standard procedures this time. Lewis, you're in charge. Don't let these other two push you around."

Lewis looked at Stony and Mia nervously. "Yes, ma'am."

Chapter Twelve

Lewis drove past a sign that read, "Rebel Yell Quarter Horses." He parked on the side of a dirt road.

Stony looked out the window at green fields bordered by wooden fences. A few horses stood at troughs containing feed or water. Other horses were wandering around in the sunlight, accompanied by flies. A big, red barn needed repairs and fresh paint. Tall trees crowded together on the outskirts of the farm.

Stony, Mia, and Lewis got out of the car. A man with red hair was crouched behind a bush, and he was clearly the PEA agent they were supposed to meet. He was looking through binoculars at the horse farm.

Stony walked over to him. "What's the situation?"

The agent with red hair turned and said in a quavering voice, "You're Stony and Miasma?"

"Get over it. Report."

"Yes, sir. Mr. Parker is out performing chores. He is working in the barn at the moment. I didn't see any weapons or any other signs of a threat."

"OK," Lewis said. "I'll do the talking. Everybody else watch my back and cover the exits."

The four of them walked down a private driveway made of dirt. Stony kept an eye on a yellow farmhouse, but he didn't see any movement. Hopefully Parker lived alone. The group of agents entered the barn.

An old man was scraping a horse's hoof. He was wearing a blue shirt and a leather apron over blue jeans. His face was tanned, but a pale bald scalp indicated he usually wore a hat. Brown muck encrusted his boots.

He looked up. "Can I help you?"

"Mr. Marvin Parker?" Lewis said.

"That's right. Who is asking?" Parker spat a little tobacco juice onto the ground.

Lewis walked up to Parker. Stony, Mia, and the other agent spread out and surrounded the subject to prevent him from escaping.

"We're federal agents." Lewis flashed his badge. "You're under arrest."

Parker's eyes widened. "What?" he said in a fearful voice. "Why?"

"Violations of the 2003 Excessive Cash Transaction Act and the 1994 Commerce Transparency Law. These are serious felonies."

Stony fought an urge to smirk. He didn't think either law was real.

"Never heard of those laws," Parker said. "What did I do?"

"You deposited a suspiciously large amount of cash earlier today," Lewis said. "Now, you seem like a good, honest, hard-working man. I'd hate to see you waste away in federal prison because of one terrible error in judgment. If you cooperate, we might consider leniency. Where did you get those stacks of crisp, hundred-dollar bills?"

"I did nothing wrong! A man bought an old horse trailer from me last night. He paid in cash, which I thought was suspicious, but I had to sell. I needed the money! Not a lot of customers for my horses these days."

Lewis furrowed his brow. "Describe this man."

"Big guy with a big beard. Mix of blond and brown hair. He had a hat and sunglasses even though it was after sundown. A woman was in the truck, but I didn't get a good look at her."

Stony perked up. That's Orcus!

"Truck?" Lewis said.

"A white Ford pickup truck," Parker said. "I hitched the trailer to it."

"What kind of trailer exactly?"

"A 1990 Phoenix Coach Works big enough for nine horses. Stainless-steel on the outside, roomy on the inside. I hated to see it go."

Lewis raised his eyebrows. "Big trailer."

Stony was thinking the same thing. That trailer was perfect for carrying a large number of children and dogs across the country.

"What's really going on?" Parker said. "Hard to believe it takes four federal agents to arrest one old man."

"It's possible the man you met last night was the one who kidnapped those kindergarteners this morning," Lewis said.

Parker gasped.

"The kids are probably being held in your trailer right now."

"My God." Parker's face became ashen. He put his hand to his forehead.

"Tell me everything again in as much detail as you can remember."

"Of course."

Lewis used his phone to record the interview, which went on for some time. He was relentless in his questioning. Parker even provided the license plate number of the horse trailer. Lewis sent the audio file to Agent Gritz and Director Robertson.

Afterwards, the four members of the PEA left the barn and walked back to the road. When they had some privacy, Lewis put his phone in speaker mode and called Gritz.

"Did you get the audio, ma'am?" Lewis said.

"Yes," Gritz said. "Good job. I'll ask the police and the FBI to look for that trailer."

"Can the PEA fly a spy plane over the area? That would cover a lot of ground in a hurry."

"Maybe. I'll check with the director. He might be able to lean on the Air Force for some assistance, but aerial search won't do much good after nightfall."

"Where should we go next?" Lewis said.

"I don't know. Just wait for further orders."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Mind if we eat?" Stony said. "I haven't had a bite all day. I'm starving."

"Go ahead," Gritz said. "Just be ready to move if I call."

* * *

Stony walked into Pluto's Chicken and Biscuits. The place just served fast food, but he was far too hungry to care.

The aroma of fried chicken made his mouth water instantly. He walked up to the counter, where an overweight, African-American man stood. The cashier's cheerful red and yellow uniform matched the furniture.

Stony checked the menu. "I'll have the 12-piece family meal. Extra crispy. A quart of beans and a large side of fries."

Mia and Agent Lewis walked up behind Stony.

"Are you ordering for all of us?" Lewis said.

Stony gave him a funny look. "No. That's for me. Order your own food."

Mia snorted.

After the three of them received their meals, they went to a table in the corner to eat. Stony sat with his back to the wall where he had a good view of all the entrances. Mia positioned herself to watch the windows without needing to be told. Lewis blithely sat in a spot where he didn't have much of a view of anything.

Stony grabbed his chicken with both hands and began to devour the meat. It was nearly dinnertime, and this meal was his first of the day. He intended to stuff himself.

Mia had ordered fish and popcorn shrimp. She wasn't inhaling her food like Stony, but she was setting a vigorous pace. She never let good manners get in the way of what she wanted.

Lewis had a fish po'boy, but he just nibbled at the end. Stony knew the man was hungry. They had spent most of the day together, and Lewis had certainly missed lunch. Stony shrugged and focused on his own meal.

Lewis's dainty appetite bothered Stony though. The agent wasn't eating like a man should.

After Stony finished his eighth piece of chicken, he said, "What's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

Lewis put down his sandwich. "I'm thinking about what you did to those men," he whispered, "how you mashed their faces and cut them in half. I don't have much of an appetite."

Stony rolled his eyes. Soft. He picked up his next piece of chicken.

"Do you ever feel bad about all the things you've done?" Lewis said.

Stony took a bite. "Sure," he said around a mouthful of meat. "That's why I'm trying to polish up my soul these days."

"You were a serial killer for a long time."

"That's not accurate. Those guys are totally crazy. I was more like a professional hitman. A demon ordered me to do most of my kills."

"But not all," Lewis said.

Stony drank a gulp of soda. "Sometimes people just pissed me off. I had an ugly temper in those days."

"You still do, darling," Mia said.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle...."

"What did it feel like to work for a demon?" Lewis said.

"Well," Stony said, "to be honest, it was stressful. Demons are unforgiving. If you don't abide by the agreement, they kill you. I loved the power though, the strength. When you have a demon in your corner, you don't take shit from nobody. You're always the toughest guy in the room. That feeling is addictive."

"What changed you? How did you become a good guy... well, sort of good?"

"The PEA prison," Stony said. "When you're stuck in a hole twenty-four hours a day with nobody to talk to, you think about your life. After a few months of soul-crushing solitary, punctuated by the occasional brutal interrogation, I realized I wasn't that committed to evil. I had better options."

"Did Rathanael guide you to the light?"

"Not in any way I could tell. The angel lets people choose God in their own time. For stubborn fools like me, it took a while. Diana made the choice almost immediately."

"Diana is one of Orcus's women," Lewis said.

Stony smiled. "Now she is one of ours. She can turn into a panther with very sharp claws." He winked.

Lewis's eyes widened in alarm.

"This is a touching conversation," Mia said, "but I want to talk about work. The horse farmer's story bothered me."

"How so?" Stony said.

"Orcus paid for the trailer. Why didn't he just kill Parker? Orcus could've saved a lot of money and eliminated a witness at the same time. That's what I would've done."

Lewis gave Mia a worried look.

"Good point," Stony said. "Leaving Parker alive was stupid. As a result, now we have a good description of the vehicle Orcus is driving. The police know what to look for."

"Maybe Orcus respected Parker because he loves horses," Mia said.

"Animal lovers take care of each other? It's a reasonable theory." Stony paused. "First the kindergarten teacher and now the horse farmer. Maybe Orcus is just a little soft."

Lewis shook his head. "Anybody who plants a rat-bomb in the corpse of a little boy isn't soft."

His phone beeped. He took it out and checked his messages.

"Oh, God...," he murmured.

"What?" Stony said.

"They found a little girl in a dumpster. One of Orcus's kidnapping victims. He did... things to her. The field agents sent crime scene photos." Lewis closed his eyes and shuddered.

Stony took the phone from his hand and examined the photos. Mia slid around so she could also see.

The victim was a five or six-year-old black girl. Orcus had burned satanic symbols into her chest and belly, perhaps with a red-hot knife or a soldering iron. Her fingers were cut off, and her legs were broken. A slashed throat had finally killed the poor girl, and blood spatters were everywhere.

Stony gritted his teeth. He knew the theory behind torturing a sacrifice before killing her. The more malevolent the act, the more likely it was to please the denizens of Hell. Pure sadism appealed to demons. That had never been Stony's style though. He had always preferred the quick kill. Ideally, the victim had died before knowing he was in the room.

"Definitely a ritual sacrifice," Mia said. "Orcus was probably trying to make contact with Forneus."

Stony nodded. "I would've loved to see the look on his face when it didn't work."

"We hope it didn't work. The second division doesn't always do a perfect job."

"True, but they have a good record of success."

He read the text associated with the pictures. The temperature of the body indicated the victim had died hours before discovery. The location was the town of Oxford, Mississippi, 160 miles north of Jackson.

"Finish your meal," Stony said. "Orcus went north, so we're going to drive the same direction. Hopefully we can close the gap."

* * *

Sergeant Cassie Ladner waved another car through the police checkpoint on Highway 5 just south of Selmer, Tennessee. She looked at the long line of headlights from cars waiting to get through. Night had fallen, so all she could see were lights. The line seemed to be endless.

The next car drove up. It was a black Chevy Camaro with classic white stripes. The engine rumbled like an angry lion. Cassie pointed her flashlight at the face of the driver, a man with a scrappy black beard. He didn't match the description of the kidnapper.

"I've been waiting for half an hour to get through!" he said angrily.

"Sorry, sir," Cassie said. "We're doing our best."

She didn't see anything suspicious inside the car. She looked at her partner on the other side. He wore the tan and green uniform of the Tennessee State Police. He shook his head.

Cassie waved the Camaro through the checkpoint. Tires squealed as the car sped away.

She looked down the road again and saw something odd. A vehicle had parked on the shoulder away from the other cars. The headlights were still on and aimed straight at her. She couldn't see much else in the darkness, but she knew trees and grass were over there.

She pointed. "Look at that!"

Her partner looked down the road and narrowed his eyes. "Hmm."

A blue Honda pulled up to the checkpoint next. A family of four was inside, and the father was driving. They had irritated expressions, but that was expected. She didn't see any evidence of foul play. She waved the car through.

The sound of crunching grass made her look to her right. All she saw was darkness and trees, but something was out there. An animal? she wondered. Plenty of deer lived in the forest.

A large pack of dogs suddenly burst out of the shadows and ran straight towards her. They didn't bark like regular dogs. They were silent, focused, and organized.

Cassie reached for her gun, but the dogs were on her before she could draw her weapon. Powerful jaws clamped onto her arms and legs. She looked at her partner, hoping for rescue, but more dogs had attacked him from the other side of the road. He was in as much trouble as her.

She tried to shake herself free, but it took all her strength just to remain standing. The dogs were trying to drag her down. Their teeth had punctured her flesh in dozens of places.

A low, deep growl made her look into the woods again. A grizzly bear was bounding straight towards her, and she could hardly believe her eyes. Grizzly bears didn't inhabit Tennessee.

Panic made Cassie thrash desperately, but the dogs had a vice-like grip on her body. The weight of them finally knocked her down.

The grizzly bear bit her throat and tore out her windpipe. She saw her bloody flesh in the animal's huge jaws. She was probably hallucinating, but it looked like the bear had human eyes.

Instead of attacking a second time, the bear ran across the road. It was going after her partner. She realized the bear wasn't acting like a normal animal. It had a plan, and the dogs were its assistants.

The knowledge didn't help Cassie though. With her throat gone, she couldn't even scream for help. The dogs held her down as darkness closed in. The last thing she heard was frantic car horns.

* * *

Lewis's phone chirped. He was busy driving the car down a dark highway, so he handed the phone to Stony.

"Check it, please," Lewis said.

Stony looked at the message. "Bad news. A police checkpoint in southern Tennessee was attacked. Two officers killed. The assailants were dogs and a bear."

"Orcus," Mia said grimly.

He nodded. "Witnesses reported seeing a white pickup truck pulling a silver horse trailer headed north. At least we know he hasn't changed vehicles."

"Yet."

"I'm calling the director. We need to step up our game. This is embarrassing."

Stony used Lewis's phone to call Director Robertson.

"Yes?" Robertson answered.

"This is Stony. Did you hear the latest news?"

"I just got the message. I'm very pissed off."

"Orcus is in Tennessee," Stony said, "and Mia and I are still in Mississippi. I'm getting tired of following the trail of bodies. I want to be ahead of that asshole, not behind him."

"Well, according to our best projections, Orcus will most likely pass through a small town called Henderson next."

"Get us there fast. I don't care how." Stony looked out the window at a highway sign. "We're approaching someplace called Holly Springs.

He heard typing.

"A small airport is there," Robertson said. "I'll have some kind of aircraft pick you up. I'll see what's available in the area. I may have to scrounge."

"And send Brian and Veronica. If we catch up to Orcus, I want the whole squad at the scene."

"They're watching Diana."

"Assign some regular agents," Stony said, "or ask Rathanael to babysit her. Watching Diana is not our top priority at the moment. Mia and I also need to upgrade our weapons. We're too lightly armed for a stand-up fight with Orcus. We need guns for blasting dogs and bears."

Robertson paused. "OK. You're right."

"And how is that aerial surveillance coming? Maybe an airplane can spot the horse trailer."

"Not very effective at night. I have to start making calls. Bye."

Stony returned the phone to Lewis.

"I'm going to meet Brian and Veronica?" Lewis said nervously.

"Maybe."

"I heard Brian was some kind of super-assassin."

"He once strangled a passenger in the middle of a crowded airplane," Stony said. "Nobody saw him do it."

"Impressive."

"The impressive part is he wasn't onboard when the plane took off or landed."

Lewis stared. "That's hard to believe."

Stony shrugged.

"What about Veronica? I never heard what she can do."

"She reads body language," Mia said. "She can always tell a person's true intentions and whether they are lying."

"Subtle but useful," Lewis said.

"Drive faster," Stony said. "We have a plane to catch."

Chapter Thirteen

Lewis turned at a sign that read, "Holly Springs-Marshall County Airport." Stony looked into the dark night but didn't see any evidence of an airport. The car was passing a dense forest on the left and an open field on the right.

"I hear an engine," Mia said.

Stony listened carefully and nodded. "That could be our ride."

They finally arrived at the airport, but it was just a few buildings beside a narrow runway which cut through the forest. Only a few lights were on. Stony saw no security, and the airport didn't even have a fence.

An airplane was parked on the runway with its propellers spinning and landing lights on. An engine was mounted on each wide, sturdy wing. The fuselage had a square profile clearly intended to maximize cargo capacity at the expense of beauty. The word "SKYTRUCK" was stenciled on the side in red letters.

"Ugly thing," Mia said, "but it will do."

Lewis parked the car in the dirt beside the runway.

As he stepped out, he muttered, "Another agent will have to get the car."

Stony and Mia went out into the warm, humid night. They retrieved their luggage from the trunk. Lewis didn't have a bag, but he seemed content to travel anyway.

The three of them ran over to the airplane and climbed in through an open hatch.

A pilot looked back from the cockpit. "You're the federal agents flying to Tennessee?"

"That's right," Stony said. "Get us out of here as quick as possible!"

"Close the hatch and buckle up. We're taking off!"

The flight lasted just half an hour, but it cut across rural terrain which would've taken much longer by car. The airplane landed at another tiny airport as unimpressive as the one in Holly Springs.

Stony, Mia, and Lewis transferred to a waiting helicopter for the last stage of their journey. The pilot was a PEA agent wearing a blue flight suit with a leather bomber jacket. Fifteen minutes later, the helicopter landed in a grassy field near a highway.

"You people travel in style," Lewis said.

"I just hope we were fast enough to leapfrog Orcus," Stony said.

The helicopter pilot turned off the engine, and the rotor spun down. He was under orders to wait in case the agents needed another ride. The large helicopter had six passenger seats, enough for Brian and Veronica, too.

Stony and Mia left their luggage in the helicopter and hopped out. Lewis followed them across a field towards a highway. Their destination was a police roadblock which spanned the highway.

Four white police cruisers had the words "TENNESSEE STATE TROOPER" on the sides. Four officers wore uniforms with green pants and tan shirts. They carried shotguns. The troopers were letting cars through the roadblock one at a time after careful inspection.

"This probably won't work," Mia said.

"Oh?" Stony said.

"We're counting on Orcus to choose this particular road and try to punch through this particular roadblock. He has many other choices, including backroads with no police at all. And after killing two cops earlier, all the authorities are on high alert. He would be a fool to come here."

"This is our best chance even if it's a longshot. Unless you have a better idea."

She didn't respond.

The PEA agents walked up to the nearest state trooper. He was a sturdy young man with very short hair. A mustache seemed painted on his upper lip. The amount of gear hanging on his utility belt seemed excessive even to Stony.

"Hi," the trooper said. "You must be the feds we were told to expect."

"That's right." Stony nodded. "And more are coming." He looked up into the sky but saw only darkness.

"How do you want to handle this?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing. Pretend we're not here. We'll hang back and wait for trouble."

"Sounds good," the trooper said.

Stony looked around for a good hiding place. The highway was split with northward and southward lanes on each side of a grass median. A grove of fruit trees ran along the east side of the highway. To the west, he saw grass fields and native forest. The line of waiting cars stretched into the distance, and the drivers had angry expressions.

"Over there," Mia pointed at a cluster of bushes just north of the troopers.

"Sure," Stony said.

He, Mia, and Lewis jogged over to the bushes and crouched under the branches. It was a good spot with views in all directions. They could crawl through the tall grass if they wanted to be sneaky.

Stony drew his weapon, a .45 caliber Desert Eagle. It was a big gun by normal standards but too small for the task at hand. He needed a weapon that could cause mass carnage. He hoped Brian and Veronica were bringing bigger toys.

Stony heard a jet flying high in the sky. I hope that's them, he thought.

He looked up and didn't see anything, but he didn't expect to. PEA operatives wore black at night.

A minute later, he saw a dark figure landing in a nearby field under a black canopy. Stony couldn't tell whether it was Brian or Veronica, but he had a large bag hooked to his belly. My toys, Stony thought.

He looked around but didn't see a second skydiver. He wondered whether something had gone wrong, and Robertson had sent just one person.

"I'll go see who it is," Mia said.

She ran off, moving fast with her head down.

"I thought we were expecting two," Lewis said.

Stony frowned. "We are."

Lewis made a small choking noise.

Stony looked over and discovered Brian behind Lewis holding a knife to his throat. Brian's black armor covered his slim body from the neck down. His hair was also as black as the night, leaving just his light brown face clearly visible. Brown eyes held a hint of amusement, while Lewis was clearly terrified.

"Who is this gentleman?" Brian said.

"Agent Lewis," Stony said. "He's been hanging out with us all day. Seems like a stand-up guy."

Brian slipped his knife into a sheath on his chest. "Glad to meet you."

Lewis was shivering as he shook Brian's hand.

"I need hardware," Stony said.

"I brought plenty," Brian said. "I'll go back and get it. I left the bag where I landed."

He turned and ran off. His footsteps were silent in the tall grass.

"Is that his idea of a joke?" Lewis said in a shaky voice.

"I thought it was funny," Stony said. "The look on your face was priceless."

Mia returned with Veronica, who was also wearing a complete set of armor. From a distance, her tall, angular body made her look more like a skinny man than a woman. Up close, the soft features of her face and her small breasts eliminated any confusion. A black scrunchie held back her long, black hair. She was carrying a duffle bag with two hands. Stony knew she was a strong woman, but she was struggling with the awkward load.

She dropped the bag on the grass, producing a metallic clank.

"Hello," Lewis said. "You must be Veronica. I'm Agent Lewis." He shook her hand.

"No need to be scared," she said. "We're on the same team."

"Brian was just messing with him," Stony said.

Veronica smiled. "That explains why he looks like he is about to wet his pants."

Brian returned with another duffle bag. Stony opened the bags and was delighted to find a complete set of combat gear for himself and Mia.

He grinned as he pulled out an AA-12. In his opinion, it was the best fully automatic shotgun on the market even though the design dated back two decades. Two drum magazines were in the bag, each with 32 shotgun shells. The gun could burn through an entire drum in seven seconds.

"We thought that would work well against dogs and bears," Brian said.

"It's perfect," Stony said.

"So what's been happening? The reports coming back to headquarters have been a little sketchy."

Stony and Mia changed into their combat gear as they made their report. Brian and Veronica didn't say anything when they heard about the tortured and sacrificed children, but their faces were tight.

Finally, everybody settled in to wait for Orcus.

A few minutes later, Stony saw activity at the police roadblock. The troopers talked on their radios briefly. Then they all jumped into their cruisers and drove off, abandoning the line of waiting cars.

"What's going on?" Stony said.

Mia's phone rang at the same moment as Agent Lewis's phone. Stony realized he really needed to get a new phone for himself.

"Orcus hit a different roadblock," Mia reported. "Tennessee River Bridge near Parsons. Thirty miles east of here."

"Did Orcus get through?" Stony said.

"Yes, and he left a mess behind."

"We'll take the helicopter."

The five of them sprinted back to the helicopter, which was still parked in a nearby field. Stony and Brian carried the duffle bags. The engine turned on as they approached.

"Tennessee River!" Stony yelled as he climbed onboard.

"I heard!" the pilot replied. "I have the coordinates! Buckle up! We're flying low and fast!"

Everybody found a seat and buckled their belts. The helicopter leapt off the ground seconds later and shot forward as soon as it cleared the trees. Stony looked out the window, and his heart pounded. They were so close to the ground, the rotor wash was making branches sway.

The helicopter reached the bridge ten minutes later. It circled the area, giving Stony an overview of the crime scene.

Three troopers were lying on the bridge, dead. There was so much blood, it was hard to tell what injury had actually killed them. The bodies of a few dogs were also visible, and Stony guessed they had been the attackers. He wondered if he might find any useful clues on the dogs.

Civilians were wandering around, and some were even taking pictures with their phones. Nobody was controlling the crime scene or protecting the evidence. Cars containing other troopers were arriving though, so Stony didn't expect the chaos to persist.

"Put us down," Stony told the helicopter pilot.

The river had a small inlet with a marina. The pilot landed the helicopter on the parking lot for the marina.

"Better leave the big guns behind," Agent Lewis said. "Don't want to scare the cops."

Stony, Mia, Brian, and Veronica grudgingly removed their automatic weapons and set them down in the helicopter. The members of the third division kept only their armor and a single pistol in a holster. They were still federal agents after all and had a right to be armed.

Everybody but the pilot climbed out of the helicopter.

"Fly east along the highway," Stony told the pilot. "Look for Orcus's horse trailer. If you see it or anything suspicious, call it in."

"Yes, sir," the pilot said.

The helicopter lifted off and quickly vanished from sight.

The five PEA agents ran to the nearby highway and proceeded onto the bridge. The Tennessee River was a few hundred feet wide, so the bridge was high and long. An endless line of cars was waiting to get across, and Stony expected they would be turned away now. The triple-murder investigation would probably last until morning.

Stony led his group at a run. Talking to witnesses was his top priority. They might know something that would help the PEA catch Orcus.

He reached the crime scene where a dozen state troopers were already working. They had established a perimeter around the evidence and were starting to conduct interviews.

"Whoa!" an officer said. "Who the hell are you guys?"

Agent Lewis took out his identification. "Federal agents. We're here to help."

The trooper stared suspiciously at Stony and his friends in their black, futuristic body armor.

"We're hardcore," Stony said. "Get over it."

He walked to the nearest witness, a woman in a blue dress with purple flowers printed on it. She was overweight, and the headlights illuminated her pink face.

"What happened?" he said. "Start at the beginning."

"A lot of dogs attacked," she said. "They came running down the bridge in a big pack. While the police were fighting the dogs, a bear ran in and finished the fight! You believe me, right?"

"Yes. What happened next?"

"All the animals ran back the way they came." She pointed west. "They were organized, like a little army."

"Did you see a horse trailer?" Stony said.

The witness narrowed her eyes. "Horse trailer?"

"You know! A big truck trailer for carrying horses. This one had stainless steel on the outside."

She shook her head. "No. I didn't see anything like that."

He clenched his jaw.

"A motorhome came through afterwards though," the witness added. "It almost drove over one of the dead cops."

Stony and Mia exchanged glances.

"Orcus could've switched vehicles," she murmured.

"Describe the motorhome," Stony told the witness. "Be specific."

Agent Lewis took out his phone, opened an app, and held the phone close to her mouth.

"White with brown stripes," she said. "Big. Twin axels in back. Definitely a luxury model."

"Any words or other markings?" Stony said. "Did you get the license plate?"

She shook her head. "No. Sorry. I was freaked out and not paying a lot of attention."

He sighed and turned to Lewis. "Call it in. Make sure the helicopter pilot knows to look for a motorhome."

"Yes, sir," Lewis said.

He began to make calls.

The police radios carried by the troopers came to life. Stony overheard something about an injured child in the woods near the west end of the bridge. Then he heard the name "Orcus," which the police shouldn't have known. The most obvious explanation was that a kidnapped child had escaped.

Stony looked at his teammates. "We need to talk to that kid now."

He sprinted off without waiting for an acknowledgement.

He ran back the way he had come and reached the end of the bridge after a short time. He spotted a State Police car with flashing lights and headed towards it. A group of adults with two police officers had gathered together.

Stony pushed his way into the crowd and found a boy sitting on the pavement. His face was badly bruised. Red marks on his wrists indicated he had been tied up recently, and a cut piece of rope was lying nearby. He had no shoes or shirt, and brown stains marked his short pants, as if he had sat on something nasty. Stony guessed the boy was eight or nine-years-old, certainly not a kindergartener. Perhaps he was one of the missing children from the dog fighting farms.

"I'm a federal agent!" Stony yelled. "Everybody back off! Give this kid some space!"

Mia, Brian, and Veronica arrived. Stony didn't see Agent Lewis yet.

Veronica knelt down in front of the boy. With her extraordinary sensitivity, she was the best person to interview him. Stony, Mia, and Brian pushed the crowd back a few paces, although the two police officers were reluctant to move at first.

"What's your name?" Veronica said softly. "I'm Veronica."

"Mason," the boy replied in a southern accent.

"What happened to you?"

"A bad man killed my ma and pa. Took me and my sister away. She is still with him."

"We're doing everything possible to rescue all the children." She gave Mason's hand a squeeze. "Does the bad man have a name?"

"Orcus." His face twisted in anger.

"We know about him. How did you escape?"

"All the kids had chains around their necks, but mine was loose. When Orcus took the dogs out, I got the chain over my head. I couldn't help the other kids. Their chains were too tight. I ran off by myself."

"Don't feel guilty," Veronica said. "You made the only possible choice. What kind of vehicle were you in? A bus?"

"In a bus at the beginning. Then we switched to a stinky horse trailer. Then a big motorhome. It was crowded with all the dogs."

"Did he have somebody with him? A woman?"

"She started with us," Mason said, "but when we switched to the horse trailer, she split off."

"What do you mean?"

"Half the kids and dogs went with her. I don't know where. I haven't seen them all day."

Stony and Mia exchanged alarmed looks. He remembered that the forensic technicians had found two sets of tire tracks inside the old warehouse in Jackson. Apparently, Orcus and Pomona had divided the hostages and had gone in separate directions. Pomona could be halfway to California by now, Stony realized.

"Do you remember anything else?" Veronica said. "A name? A place? Did you overhear an interesting conversation?"

"Orcus didn't talk much, and if we opened our mouths or moved, a dog bit us." Mason held up his arm and showed a bloody bite mark. "I couldn't sneak out until the dogs were gone."

Orcus took the dogs for the attack on the checkpoint, Stony thought.

"Think hard," Veronica said. "Anything you can tell us might help us save the other kids. You were with Orcus all day. He might've let something slip out."

"He said a name. It sounded important."

She leaned forward. "What?"

"Call... cool-gula or something," the kid said.

"Caligula?"

"Yeah."

Stony recognized the name as belonging to an ancient Roman emperor, one infamous for extreme cruelty and depravity. Stony didn't know why the name was relevant in modern Tennessee though. He looked at Mia, and she shrugged.

Agent Lewis had arrived by this time, but he was trying to catch his breath.

"Is that all you remember?" Veronica said.

Mason nodded.

She patted him on the shoulder. "You did a good job. You're a very brave young man. Wait here."

All the PEA agents made their way out of the crowd and found a quiet spot across the highway.

"We can't let the police take that kid away," Lewis said. "The PEA needs to check him out and make sure he isn't cursed."

"Call headquarters," Stony said. "Tell them to send somebody to get him. Also, have them run the name 'Caligula' through the computer."

Lewis took out his phone and made a call.

Stony looked around and tried to understand the exact details of Orcus's attack. He had parked the motorhome in the woods just off the highway. He had sent the dogs first, and then he had followed close behind in the form of a bear. Darkness had allowed the attackers to approach the police without being seen. Straightforward and effective, Stony thought.

Lewis put away his phone. "Caligula was a Roman emperor," he reported.

"I knew that," Stony said.

"Yes, but it turns out he's also a Satanist who lives north of Memphis. Alleged child molester, but no convictions. He lives with a clan of devil worshippers. The PEA has a whole file on him."

Stony narrowed his eyes. "Orcus has an ally."

"I have his address."

"We'll take the helicopter."

"We need some kind of approval before attacking," Lewis said.

"We'll call Director Robertson while we're in the air."

Chapter Fourteen

"We're approaching the target," the helicopter pilot yelled.

"Set us down about a half-mile away," Stony said. "I don't want the subjects to hear the helicopter."

"Yes, sir."

Stony, Mia, Brian, Veronica, and Agent Lewis were riding in the back of the helicopter. The first four had rearmed, although they were under orders to "avoid making a mess" unless Orcus was actually seen at the location. Caligula and his clan weren't wanted by the PEA. Stony and his team were merely authorized to question them.

"Seems strange," Mia said.

"What does?" Stony said.

"Orcus didn't need to kill those officers on the bridge. I'm sure he could've come here without calling attention to himself. There are plenty of backroads around here."

"Maybe he likes killing cops, or he's trying to throw us off. He goes east then west, north then south. We don't know where he'll strike next."

She frowned. "He's too smart to just mess around like that. It's like he's trying to attract attention."

"Or draw attention away from Pomona," he said. "We haven't even started looking for her."

The helicopter came down in a golf course but didn't actually land. The aircraft hovered a couple of feet above the grass.

"Looks too soft for the landing gear," the pilot explained.

The four members of the third division hopped out, and Stony discovered the ground was indeed soft, almost mushy. Lewis remained in the helicopter. He had no business going to a place where they might run into Orcus.

Mia used the navigation system on her phone. "That way." She pointed towards a line of trees.

Stony took the lead with Mia close behind. Veronica was third, the traditional position of the weakest fighter. Brian was last.

The team jogged across the golf course, passed through some trees, and reached a road.

Mia pointed right. "Go."

There were no streetlights, and Stony was afraid of tripping in the darkness, so he took a flashlight from his utility belt. He turned it on and pointed it forward.

"Damn!" Brian said. "Did you have to do that? You practically blinded me."

"Sorry," Stony said, "but I couldn't see."

"I was doing just fine. You need to develop your other senses. Practice working in the dark."

"Not tonight, and I don't want to hear about how you can catch an arrow blindfolded. It's some kind of cheap trick."

Whenever a car drove past, the team had to hide in the grass, but they still made quick progress. Traffic was very light so late at night.

After jogging half a mile, Mia raised her hand. "This is it," she whispered.

Stony turned off his flashlight.

A one-story house stood in the middle of several trees. He couldn't tell the color of the walls in the darkness. Some lights were on inside the house, but closed curtains prevented him from looking through the windows. He couldn't see any neighbors through the forest.

"Very secluded," Stony whispered. "Brian, we need some recon."

Brian had already vanished. Stony sighed with annoyance.

Veronica threw up quietly onto the grass, and the sour odor made Stony take a step away. He knew she wasn't scared. She just had a "pre-game ritual" which involved emptying her stomach. She didn't want anything slowing her down in a fight. Some professional athletes did the same.

Stony was cradling his AA-12 in his arms, and that was the only ritual he needed.

A few minutes later, he heard the tiniest rustle in the grass. Anybody else would've dismissed it as the breeze, but he knew what it meant. He spun around and aimed his shotgun.

Brian stood up. "So you are developing your other senses."

"With you around, what choice do I have?" Stony lowered his weapon.

Brian joined the group. "I didn't see any sign of trouble," he whispered, "but I didn't get a good look into the house. The curtains are taped in place. No gaps at all."

"Entrances?"

"Front door, back door, and a good number of windows. I like one of the windows on the right side. Veronica, you really need to puke further away from the battlefield. Enemies might smell it."

"Show us the window," Stony said.

Brian led the group around the house to the right. He pointed to a small, dark window high on a wall. Stony expected it was a bathroom window. Squeezing through wouldn't be a problem for Brian or the two women, but Stony had big shoulders. He doubted he could make it.

"Tell you what," he said. "You three sneak in that way. Once you're inside, I'll bust down the front door and create a distraction. That should allow you to sweep the house safely."

"I actually had that in mind, big guy." Brian winked.

He went to the window and tried to slide it open, but it was locked. He detached a black kit from his utility belt. He took out a sheet of plastic and peeled off an adhesive backing. He firmly pressed the plastic against the window, covering the glass completely. He took a separate handle from his kit and stuck it to the center of the window. The contact cement created a strong bond instantly.

Brian yanked on the handle. The glass broke, but the shards stuck to the plastic, and Stony only heard a slight crunching noise. There was no tinkle from falling glass. He pulled out all the glass at once and placed the sticky mess on the ground. He performed a leaping dive through the opening and landed silently inside the house. The whole operation took twenty seconds.

Stony helped Mia and Veronica sneak through the window.

"Go make some noise," Mia whispered.

"With pleasure," Stony replied.

He jogged around to the front door of the house. He hardened his skin in all the places he could without restricting movement.

He readied his shotgun, kicked the door open, ran inside, and bellowed, "Federal agents! Freeze! Hands in the air!"

A man and a woman were sitting on a couch and watching television. The man wore loose black robes with pentagrams embroidered on the sleeves. The woman wore just black leather panties and purple lipstick. They were watching some kind of kinky porn with terrible production values. The video looked like it had been shot on a phone camera.

Stony didn't see any threats, so he quickly checked the rest of the room. Inverted crucifixes were hung on the wall along with the obligatory picture of Anton LaVey. A wooden altar was next to a bookshelf containing powders, colored liquids, flasks, and ritual knives. A half-eaten pizza was on a table, and he could smell the pepperoni.

"What do you want?" the woman said in a shaky voice. "We didn't do anything wrong. We're minding our own business."

Stony heard thumping noises in the rest of the house but no gunshots. That was probably a good sign.

A moment later, Brian, Mia, and Veronica entered the living room through another door. They had two prisoners at gunpoint, another man and woman. The man was wearing women's purple lingerie, and his coarse hair poked through the fishnet fabric. The woman was carrying a wooden paddle.

"That's all of them," Brian said. "No sign of Orcus. Nothing illegal at all."

Stony nodded. "Garden variety Satanists. OK. We're looking for Caligula. According to our information, this is his address."

"Your information is wrong," the woman in the leather panties said. "He hasn't lived here for a year."

"But he was here?"

"Yes. He was our leader until the police arrested him."

Stony looked at Veronica.

She nodded. "It's the truth."

Stony turned his attention back to the woman on the couch. "What did the police arrest him for?"

"Child molestation," she said, "but he didn't do it. The charges were false."

"That's a lie," Veronica said.

"Regardless," Stony said, "we need to find him fast. Where is he?"

The woman shrugged. "I don't know. We never heard from him after the arrest. The police refused to release any information. We don't even know if the case went to trial."

"Who arrested him? On what date?"

"The Memphis Police. November twenty-fifth. We went to the station several times, but the cops wouldn't talk to us. We never saw Caligula again."

"That's the truth," Veronica said.

The woman on the couch gave her a questioning look.

"I'll call headquarters and get to the bottom of this," Mia said.

She spent a while talking on her phone, longer than Stony expected. Apparently, the guys in Washington were having trouble getting information.

"They searched the Memphis Police Department computer system," Mia finally reported. "They found an arrest report for the right date at this address. There is no booking number though. No court appearance. No indictment. Our agents couldn't figure out what happened to Caligula after his arrest. The paper trail ends abruptly."

Stony furrowed his brow. "Strange."

"The best they could do was produce a name of one of the arresting officers. Tim Green. I have his phone number and address. He lives in an apartment in downtown Memphis."

"I know that guy," the woman on the couch said. "A real asshole."

"Call him," Stony said.

Mia made another phone call and had a brief conversation.

"He claims he doesn't remember anything," she said. "He doesn't recognize the name Caligula, but he sounded nervous. Then he hung up on me."

"Let's talk to him in person," Stony said grimly. "Maybe we can jog his memory."

* * *

The helicopter landed on the top floor of a six-story parking garage in downtown Memphis. It was the middle of the night, so no cars interfered with the landing.

Stony, Mia, Brian, Veronica, and Agent Lewis hopped out. They had left the big guns in the helicopter and were armed with just pistols. They couldn't run around Memphis with automatic weapons. The body armor was suspicious enough.

The team jogged down a stairwell and reached street level. Tim Green's apartment was a couple of blocks to the northwest, and the team headed in that direction.

The empty streets were dead quiet, and all the stoplights were flashing yellow. The only other person in sight was a vagrant sleeping in a doorway.

Stony liked the buildings. Most cities were full of boring glass and steel boxes, but Memphis had a rich architectural style. Some buildings looked a hundred-years-old and had lavish ornamentation. One tall building even had gothic windows and a peaked roof.

Mia had her phone in hand, and it navigated the team to the right address. The eight-story apartment building had red walls. Balconies jutted out from the third floor up to the top. White granite panels covered the exterior of the first floor and gave the place a touch of elegance.

Stony tried the front door, but it was locked.

Brian immediately produced a set of lock picks. Stony, Mia, and Veronica shielded him with their bodies. Brian inserted his picks, jiggled, twisted, and opened the door.

"By the way," Agent Lewis said, "that was illegal."

Everybody else ignored him.

They entered a drab lobby. An elevator took the team to the seventh floor, and they walked to apartment 708. Stony knocked on the door.

A black man with a bald head opened the door. He was just wearing his underwear. Stony could see the man's plump belly and man-boobs in all their distasteful glory. He was holding something behind his back, and Stony expected it was a gun.

"Are you Officer Tim Green?" Stony said.

Green nodded. "What do you want?" he said in a suspicious voice.

"We're federal agents. We called a little while ago. You arrested a man who went by the name Caligula. We urgently need to find out what happened to him."

"I don't know! I don't remember anything!"

"He's flat-out lying and scared," Veronica said. "He knows the truth."

Stony punched Green in the jaw, knocking him down. As Stony had anticipated, Green was holding a gun in his right hand. Stony took it away.

"Stop!" Agent Lewis said. "You can't go around hitting cops! Let me handle this. Officer, I apologize on behalf of my colleague. Let's talk inside your apartment."

Green scrambled to his feet and backed up. The PEA team entered the apartment and closed the door.

Stony looked around at the cheap furnishings. A white cotton futon served as the couch. Foam stuffing poked out of cracks in a brown vinyl recliner. The yellow carpet had a few, small burns, and he smelled cigarette smoke.

"Who are you guys?" Green said, rubbing his jaw.

"We actually are federal agents," Lewis said, "despite my colleague's inexcusable behavior. We're investigating the kidnapping of those school children. There is a chance the suspect intends to meet Caligula, which is why we have to find him immediately."

Green looked at all the PEA agents in the room, one at a time. "That's impossible," he finally said. "Caligula is dead."

Stony and Mia glanced at each other in surprise.

"Oh?" Lewis raised his eyebrows. "Explain."

"He hanged himself in his jail cell right after we arrested him," Green said. "He tied a bedsheet to a sprinkler head. We didn't even get a chance to book him."

"That's odd, and why is your memory suddenly improving?"

"Uh, maybe getting hit woke up my brain."

"Do you know why he hung himself?" Lewis said.

"I guess he felt guilty about all the little girls he raped. He knew he was going away for a long time. He decided to take the quick and easy way out."

"That's not the whole story," Veronica said. "You're hiding something."

Green glared at her. "How do you know that?"

"I just do, and we're not leaving until we get the entire truth."

"I think I need to call a lawyer."

"Officer," Lewis said, "we don't have time for lawyers. The lives of a dozen innocent children are in imminent danger. Two have already died. Please, tell us everything."

Green just set his jaw.

A sliding glass door led to a balcony. Stony opened the door and stepped outside. Warm, humid air caressed his face as he gazed at downtown Memphis. Nearly all the windows in the buildings were dark. There were no witnesses. He looked down seven stories at the hard pavement below. He shook the railing, and it felt solid.

Stony went back into the apartment, grabbed Green by the neck, dragged him to the balcony, and shoved him against the railing. Stony made sure Green had a good look at the ground.

Green tried to fight off Stony, but it was no contest. A few hard blows subdued the cop.

"Feel that fear?" Stony growled. "That tightness in your stomach? That loosening in the bowels? That's nothing. Imagine you're five-years-old. You were just kidnapped from your classroom. A madman has you chained by the neck like a dog. If you move a muscle, real dogs will bite you. Two of your friends were tortured to death, and you could be next. You don't know whether you'll survive the night. That's real fear, and it's what those children are experiencing right now. If you don't cooperate, I will start breaking off parts of your body."

"You wouldn't...," Green gibbered.

Stony reached back and made a fist.

"OK!" Green said. "You win! Caligula didn't hang himself. We... helped him do it."

"What do you mean?"

"Everybody knew he was a sexual predator. He put a dozen girls in the hospital, but nobody could prove it in a court of law. We didn't have any hard evidence. He was too careful. I and a few other officers decided to get justice the old-fashioned way. We hung him in a jail cell and made it look like suicide. But you didn't hear that from me! I'm not confessing to anything!"

Stony released Green and stepped back. "I don't have a problem with that. Caligula got what he deserved."

Stony turned to his teammates. Lewis was obviously furious, but the rest had passive expressions.

"He's telling the truth," Veronica said, "but now I'm confused. If Caligula has been dead for a year, what does Orcus want with him?"

"That's obvious," Mia said. "Caligula was a pedophile and a serial rapist, and he was also a murder victim. That's a lot of evil in one place. His grave could be used to perform a powerful ritual."

"And Orcus has plenty of human sacrifices to work with," Stony said. He might kill all of them to summon Forneus.

"We need to find that grave tonight."

Stony turned to Green. "Where was Caligula buried?"

"I don't know." Green shrugged. "We never found out his real name. No family ever came forth. He was just a John Doe to us. We put his body in a meat wagon and sent it to the coroner. I never heard what happened to it after that."

"Which coroner?"

"West Tennessee Forensic Center. It's only a mile from here."

"We'll need a case number," Stony said. "Some kind of identifying information."

Green winced. "Sorry. I don't remember."

"Do you at least have the time of death?"

Green thought for a moment. "We arrested him at sundown and hung him a couple of hours later. Eight PM?"

"A John Doe suicide at eight PM on November twenty-fifth. That should be specific enough to pull a case file."

Lewis took out his phone. "I'll get headquarters on it." He made a call and stepped away.

Green rubbed his face where a bruise was forming. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not with me," Stony said. "We'll forget we had this conversation if you do the same. As far as the world is concerned, Caligula killed himself."

He turned to his teammates. Mia, Brian, and Veronica nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Green said. "Good. I never got your names... or saw your badges."

"That's right." Stony patted Green on the shoulder. "Good night."

The PEA agents left the apartment. Lewis went with them while still talking on the phone. By the time they reached the street, he had some information.

"Bad news," he said. "The PEA contacted the Forensic Center. An investigator there found a match in the computer database, but when she tried to open the file, it didn't work. Somebody had deleted it."

"Strange," Mia said. "Orcus isn't known to have skills as a hacker."

"What about backups?" Stony said.

"Those are kept offsite," Lewis said. "They won't be available until morning."

"That's too late! There must be paper records in some file cabinet somewhere."

"The staff is searching. I'm supposed to go over there and offer my assistance."

"What about us?" Stony said.

"I was told to order you to go back to the helicopter. You're not dressed for, uh, an office setting."

Stony looked down at his black body armor. "But I left the big guns behind."

Lewis shook his head sadly. "I'm really starting to understand why the third division rarely goes out into the field. Your behavior with Officer Green was disgraceful, not to mention unethical and illegal."

"But I got results."

"By threatening to throw him off a balcony and smacking him around. Do you even understand what you did wrong? And let's not forget the murders you committed. Horrifying isn't a strong enough word. I have to go."

Lewis ran off. Stony presumed he would reach the Forensic Center on foot. It was only a mile away after all.

The members of the third division headed back to the helicopter at a less hurried pace.

"Was my behavior really that disgraceful?" Stony said.

"Seemed perfectly fine to me, darling," Mia said. "You just bruised him."

"I thought you went easy on him," Brian said.

"Lying bastard got what he deserved," Veronica said.

Stony smiled. "I knew I could count on my friends for support."

They reached the parking garage and made the long climb up a stairwell to the roof. The helicopter was still parked where they had left it. The team climbed into the passenger compartment and settled in.

The air was warm, and the city was quiet. Stony's eyes began to droop. The last few days had been busy and tiring. He was used to short, intense operations, not sustained investigations.

He shook himself awake. He had to stay alert and ready for action. The kidnapped children were counting on him.

About twenty minutes later, Mia's phone rang. She answered and pressed the speaker button.

"Yes?" she said.

"We made some progress," Lewis said. "It turns out there is a physical folder containing the information we need, but it's missing from the file cabinet."

"Naturally," Stony said.

"We checked the surveillance video. An evidence technician stole the file a few hours ago and left the building with it. We presume he went home for the night."

"What is his address?"

"There are other PEA agents in the area," Lewis said. "They can interview him."

"We have a helicopter. We can get there fast! Besides, Orcus could be at the technician's house."

Lewis paused. "You have to promise to show restraint. Don't break the guy's legs the first chance you get. At least pretend like you care about obeying the law and following proper procedure."

Stony snarled. "Sure. I promise."

"OK." Lewis sighed. "Here is the address...."

* * *

The helicopter was hovering over a residential neighborhood on the east side of Memphis. Small homes formed neat, straight lines below. The grass and trees were a lush green.

"You're sure you want to do it this way, sir?" the helicopter pilot yelled over the rotor noise.

"Yes!" Stony said. "No time to screw around. Go down now!"

The helicopter descended at a reckless speed towards a house with a red roof. Stony clenched his jaw as his stomach tried to climb up his throat.

He checked on his teammates. Mia and Veronica were holding their automatic shotguns. They had the serious expressions of warriors going into battle. Brian's shotgun was strapped to his back, and he held long daggers instead. He preferred weapons that killed silently.

The descent came to a sudden stop a few feet above the roof of the house. The helicopter hovered, and the wash from the rotors made the surrounding trees whip around.

Stony threw open the helicopter door and jumped onto the roof. He ran towards the front of the house, leapt over the gutter, and landed on the front lawn. His teammates joined him seconds later.

As soon as everybody was assembled, Stony charged towards the front door of the house. He lowered his shoulder, hardened his skin, and crashed through.

"Spread out!" he said. "Find him!"

Stony turned on the light and looked around. He was in a living room. A gigantic, brown suede beanbag took the place of a couch. A black vinyl recliner stood directly in front of the television, and several video game controllers were on an adjacent end table. Bachelor pad, he thought.

The team swept through the house at a run. They found the subject cowering in the back corner of a laundry room. The young man was just wearing a bathrobe, and he hadn't even tied it closed.

"Kevin Price?" Stony said.

The man's face was white from fear. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"We're federal agents. You stole a file from the Forensic Center earlier today. Tell us about it."

Kevin grimaced.

Stony shoved him against a wall using the shotgun. "I promised I wouldn't break your legs. Don't make me go back on that promise."

Stony heard water splashing and smelled fresh urine.

"I give up!" Kevin squeaked. "A man came to the office this afternoon."

"Describe him."

"Big guy. Hairy. Huge beard. Sunglasses and a hat. He was wandering through the hallways when he found me. He wanted information about a John Doe who died last November, but those files are confidential."

"Yet you cooperated," Stony said.

"He gave me gold coins. Solid gold coins! Besides, nobody cares about protecting the privacy of a bum who died last year. It's not like I was interfering with an active police investigation. I looked up the information in the computer and gave him a printout. Then he gave me more coins to delete the records and destroy any paperwork."

"The surveillance camera caught you walking out with a file."

"I threw it in a dumpster," Kevin said. "It was just a few pages anyway. The medical examiner declared the death a suicide without performing a full autopsy. The body was never identified."

"So you read the report."

"I was curious why it was a big deal, but there was nothing strange in the report. The Forensic Center processes anonymous corpses all the time."

"I only need one piece of information," Stony said. "Where is the grave?"

"The new county cemetery up by Millington. It's where all the indigent burials happen these days."

"What's the exact address?"

"Intersection of Raleigh-Millington and Duncan."

Stony turned to Mia. "Call headquarters. Tell them we're on our way. We'll probably need a scrub team up there. It could get messy."

Chapter Fifteen

Isn't that adorable, Orcus thought.

Six little children were lying on the ground in the Shelby County Cemetery south of Millington. Taut ropes went from their wrists and ankles to stakes set deep in the ground, permitting them to wiggle just a little, like a worm on a hook. Burlap sacks were wrapped around the kids' heads, blinding them and muffling their fearful cries. He had cut off their clothes just to add to their sense of helplessness.

Orcus smiled. It's a great night.

Raleigh-Millington Road ran along the west side of the cemetery. Farmland was to the south, and a residential neighborhood bordered on the east.

He jogged north towards a patch of forest. The dark night made the trees look like a solid, black mass. He didn't dare use his flashlight though. A bright light might attract a curious neighbor.

When Orcus reached the tree line, he whistled softly. Sixty pit bulls came out of the shadows and stood in a neat line like perfect soldiers. Their tails wagged with excitement.

One dog at a time, he placed his hand on their warm foreheads. Hide in the darkness, he commanded. Attack when you see the strangers. Kill.

When Orcus was done, the dogs went back into the trees.

He ran back across the quiet graveyard. The stolen motorhome was parked on the grass very near the children. The massive green and white vehicle was almost the size of a semi-truck. Its weight was pressing the tires into the soft ground.

He pulled open the door and climbed inside. He had to risk using his flashlight, but he kept the beam pointed down. He walked to the back of the motorhome.

Blocks of C-4 and boxes of dynamite filled the bathroom. There was enough explosive to kill anybody within a hundred yards, even if they were exceptionally tough. He flipped a switch, and a timer started counting down from three minutes. When it reached zero, a network of motion sensors would activate. Anybody who tried to approach the children or the motorhome would set off the bomb.

Orcus carefully closed the bathroom door. He ran out of the bus and headed southwest on foot. He glanced over his shoulder at the children one last time.

Then he fled. He still had a long journey ahead of him.

* * *

"How close are we?" Stony yelled.

"About a mile from the target, sir!" the helicopter pilot replied over the engine noise.

"Close enough. Put us down!"

The helicopter descended swiftly and landed on the field of a farm. The harvest had already happened, and the field was just bare dirt.

Stony, Mia, Veronica, and Brian jumped out.

"Stay here," Stony ordered the pilot, "but be ready to move if we call."

"Yes, sir," the pilot said.

The members of the third division ran at full speed, guided by the navigation system in Mia's phone. If the helicopter had landed any closer, the noise might've alerted Orcus. Even a mile was risky.

The team came to a road and ran along the shoulder. Stony's feet pounded on the dirt, creating a quick drumbeat. Running hard after a long, stressful day felt great. He couldn't wait to kill Orcus.

Stony eventually saw the sign for the cemetery up ahead. He raised his hand, and everybody slowed to a silent, cautious walk.

They approached from the south. Stony could already see a big motorhome parked in the center of the cemetery, probably right on some graves. Freshly mowed grass covered the ground. A cluster of headstones showed where bodies were buried, but most of the cemetery was unoccupied. There was almost no cover. Orcus would see any attack coming.

The team knelt behind a bush at the periphery of the cemetery.

"I see kids," Veronica whispered. "By the motorhome."

Stony strained to see in the darkness, but he picked out six little bodies on the ground tied to stakes. He couldn't tell whether they were alive from so far away.

He had brought a pair of night vision binoculars. He turned them on and peered through the optics. The world appeared bright green, and he could see the children much better now.

"They're wiggling," Stony said. "I hope that means they're alive, but we can't take anything for granted. I don't see any sign of Orcus though. Maybe he is in the motorhome, preparing for the ceremony."

"This isn't right," Mia said.

"Of course it isn't."

"No, I mean getting here was too easy."

"We had to drive and fly all over the damn place," Stony said.

"The school teacher, the gold dealer, the horse farmer, the escaped boy, and the evidence technician. They all gave us valuable bits of information, breadcrumbs that led us here. Orcus could've killed all of them before they talked to us. And why did he attack not just one but two police checkpoints in different parts of the state? He could've snuck around the police. I can't believe he's so stupid or reckless." Mia looked out at the graveyard. "He wanted us to come here. It's a trap. The kids are bait. That's why he put them out in the open."

"If that's true, why did he make it so complicated? There were a lot of twists and turns."

"Elaboration is part of deception," Brian said. "If Orcus had simply given us this address, we would know it's a trap. The long trail of clues makes the chase credible."

"Yes." Veronica said. "Mia is right. If we try to rescue those kids, something bad will happen."

Stony looked at the children lying in the middle of the cemetery. Orcus had left them alive to create urgency. Walking away wasn't an option.

"Assuming you're right," Stony said, "let's analyze the trap. If I were in his shoes, I would want to make sure all of us died at once. An area-effect weapon. Explosives or poison gas."

"Explosives are easier to control," Mia said. "Notice how the motorhome is very close to the kids. He could've hidden a very large bomb inside. What sort of trigger?"

"Tripwires?" Brian said. "Laser beams?"

"No." Stony said. "Too unreliable. Orcus was an expert burglar as a young man. He understands how alarm systems work. I bet he used motion sensors. You can buy them at hardware stores, no questions asked. They are battery-powered and can send signals wirelessly. He would just need to place them around the kids. The whole installation would just take a few minutes."

"You sound like you're talking from experience," Mia said.

"I may have used motion sensors on jobs once or twice. Very handy little gadgets."

"Indeed," Brian said. "Is that the entire trap?"

"No," Mia said. "Orcus snatched a shit-load of dogs. Some of them must be here."

"Inside the motorhome?" Stony said.

"How would they get out?" Brian looked around. "I think the forest is more likely." He pointed north. "A canine ambush from the shadows. Orcus used that tactic on the troopers."

Stony looked at the dark mass of trees. "Yes. As soon as we step into the open, the dogs will come running to kill us. They will probably set off the bomb along the way. Orcus wanted to make sure the trap was tripped."

"We have to deal with the dogs first. We can't let them run around in the graveyard."

Stony hefted his AA-12. "I'm ready."

"No guns." Brian shook his head. "The noise will bring the neighbors out. The last thing we need is curious bystanders."

"There may be a lot of dogs."

Brian brandished his long knives. "I'm ready."

"Fine." Stony pulled a combat knife from a sheath on his ankle. "Veronica, stay here and call the PEA. Wait for them to show up. Make sure nobody goes into the cemetery. Mia, do you want to come with us?"

Mia smiled, showing off her white teeth in the darkness. "I wouldn't miss it."

Stony, Mia, and Brian made their way slowly around the perimeter of the graveyard. They were careful to stay out of sight and move silently. Stony used his binoculars periodically but saw only trees.

They finally entered the forest. As the person with the most natural protection, Stony took the lead position. He wanted the dogs to focus all their energies on him.

"You know," he said, "we're going to look a little foolish when we don't find any dogs."

"No need to worry," Brian murmured.

An animal growled in the shadows. Stony hardened his skin reflexively.

Suddenly, dogs swarmed over him, and he couldn't even guess at how many were attacking. The mass of animals knocked him to the ground. Powerful jaws clamped onto his arms and legs, but the teeth couldn't penetrate his advanced armor, much less his impervious skin. He allowed them to pile onto his body.

He didn't bother with his knife because it took too much finesse. He crushed small skulls with his bare hands instead. He bashed in ribs and broke necks. He reached into dogs' mouths and ripped apart their jaws. He hurled their squirming bodies against the trees with enough force to kill.

Just when he was really enjoying the fight, it ended. He ran out of dogs.

Stony stood up. "Mia? Brian?"

"I'm OK," Brian said. "That was fun."

"A dog bit my ear," Mia said sourly. "I just hope I don't get rabies or something."

Stony looked at her with concern, but she was just a black silhouette between the trees. He hoped her hearing wasn't damaged.

"We'll have a doctor check you out," Stony said. "Right now, we have kids to rescue."

The three of them left the forest and stepped into the graveyard. Slightly better light allowed him to see Mia's ear, and it was a bloody mess. Her expression was calm though. She was very good at hiding pain.

Stony turned his attention to the kids. He saw a couple of them squirm, but the ropes allowed very little movement. He imagined motion sensors were all around, hidden in the grass, and perhaps other surprises as well.

"I'm open to suggestions," Stony said.

"We have to deactivate the bomb," Brian said.

"Is that all? Just getting to the motorhome without setting off the bomb will take a miracle. We don't even know where the sensors are."

"I have a plan, but I need a few things."

Stony saw two sedans pull up on the far side of the graveyard. Men and women in blue suits stepped out, and Veronica ran over to meet them.

"PEA agents are here," Stony said.

"I can give them my shopping list," Brian said. "Come on."

Stony, Mia, and Brian ran back around the cemetery. They didn't bother with stealth this time, but they stayed far away from the children. By the time they reached the south side, another car full of agents had showed up.

"Mia," Stony said, "you should get that ear taken care of. The rest of us can handle the rescue."

Mia nodded with an expression of great disappointment. "OK. Be careful." She kissed him on the lips.

Stony gathered the PEA agents together and summarized the situation. They looked towards the motorhome anxiously.

"I want at least half of you out searching for Orcus," Stony said. "He was here this evening, and he might still be in the area. Form teams. You know the drill. The rest of you will keep bystanders out of the cemetery and help us rescue the kids. Brian has a plan."

"Here is what I need," Brian said. "A very long rope, duct tape, pillow cases, a battery-powered circular saw with a diamond blade, and the best bomb expert you can find on short notice."

Stony gave Brian a funny look.

* * *

Stony was hanging onto the end of a two-hundred-foot rope suspended from the helicopter. The aircraft was descending very slowly and carefully as it lowered Stony towards the roof of the motorhome. Brian had bet that no sensors were pointed up, so insertion from above was likely to be safe. Stony was taking no chances though. The sensors detected motion, so as long as he held still, he wouldn't set them off.

He landed on the roof of the motorhome with hardly a bump. Dew covered the slick metal surface. He slowly sat down while keeping a firm grip on the rope.

Once the rope was stabilized, Brian came down from the helicopter. He was belaying to control his speed, and he took his time. Rushing could get everybody killed. The helicopter pilot did a good job of keeping the aircraft perfectly still in the air.

Stony glanced at the children on the ground. They were all moving, at least a little. Sacks covered their heads, but he could see the fabric blowing in and out as they breathed. For some reason, all the kids were naked.

"Stay calm!" Stony called out. "Don't try to move! We're here to rescue you!"

He heard squeals but couldn't make out any words over the helicopter noise.

Brian landed on the motorhome and shrugged off a black backpack.

A third person began her descent from the helicopter. She worked for the Memphis Police as a bomb disposal technician, and supposedly, she was the best available. Her name was Sergeant Pekerman.

Her descent was much clumsier than Brian's, but she slowed down towards the end and reached the roof of the motorhome safely. She had a blue police backpack full of bomb defusing gear.

"Lay down," Brian said. "Don't move."

Pekerman laid down. She was a short, skinny woman, although a full set of blue body armor made her appear bulky. She was wearing a blue helmet and goggles.

Brian took an electric saw out of his backpack. The circular blade was razor thin. He expertly made three straight cuts in the roof, and the sheet metal offered little resistance. He used a screwdriver to very slowly pry up a metal flap.

"This is the dangerous part," he said. "I have to move extremely slowly while I'm in there until I find and disable all the motion sensors."

At an almost laughably slow pace, he put his legs into the hole and lowered himself down. He was holding himself with arm-strength alone for a few minutes. It was an impressive feat. Nobody had more mental and physical discipline than Brian.

"Backpack," he murmured.

Stony handed down the backpack, taking as much time as he liked and a little extra.

"Wait for me to give the all clear," Brian said, "or get blown up. One of the two."

Stony relaxed. The next part would take a while.

"Are you sure there's a bomb in there?" Pekerman said.

"No," Stony said, "but it's a reasonable theory."

"I'm still a little confused. Why did the kidnapper take the kids?"

"To use as bait. To lure us here." I bet Forneus told Orcus about us, he thought.

"He killed five troopers," she said.

"Just to make us mad."

"I see. Do you people do this kind of thing all the time, whoever you are?"

"It's a different kind of shit every time, but it's always shitty," Stony said. "Now please be quiet. You're not authorized for this conversation."

Despite the exciting situation, he had almost fallen asleep when Brian finally called out.

"Come on down," he said. "It's safe."

Stony went down first. Brian had turned on the lights, and the interior of the motorhome was disgusting. Dog poop was all over the floor. The dogs had also chewed the vinyl upholstery off the furniture.

Pillow cases were taped over various spots, and Stony presumed motion sensors were underneath. He nodded in appreciation. Sensors that detected changes in infrared emissions wouldn't be able to see through fabric, and neither would visible light cameras. Some sensors used ultrasonic pulses, like sonar on a submarine. The pillow cases would also muffle the pulses. Of course, taping the pillow cases in place had taken an enormous amount of patience and courage.

Stony helped Sergeant Pekerman come down.

"The bomb is in back," Brian said.

She went to the back of the motorhome. "Holy fuck!" she said. "The kidnapper didn't screw around."

Stony went back to see for himself. Orcus had created an impressive pile of C-4 and dynamite, enough to demolish a bridge. A detonator module had a flashing red light.

"Can you disarm it?" Stony said.

Pekerman stared at the bomb for a long moment. "I see redundant power sources and a lot of circuitry that worries me. This bomb was built by an expert. If I cut any wire, it will blow."

"You can't give up."

"I'm not." She worked her jaw. "I need aluminum foil."

Stony and Brian searched the motorhome, taking care around the motion detectors even though they were covered. Stony discovered a roll of aluminum foil in a drawer in the tiny kitchen. He expected the real owner of the motorhome had purchased the roll and that owner was now dead.

He gave the foil to Pekerman. "You're going to create a short circuit?"

"No," she said. "Something much dumber."

The detonator had three thick antennas sticking out. She wrapped the antennas in aluminum foil, covering them completely.

"Oh," Stony said, "I get it. The aluminum blocks the radio signal from the motion sensors."

"Exactly, and no wires have to get cut."

Pekerman used several layers of aluminum. She even draped foil over the detonator and stuffed some underneath.

"There," she said. "We should be able to get the kids away from here."

"What if the trick doesn't work?" Stony said.

"We get blown up."

He went to the front door of the motorhome. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and boldly stepped outside. Nothing exploded.

Stony ran to the children. He yanked the stakes out of the ground using brute strength. He untied the sacks from the kids' heads.

"Go!" He pointed to a crowd at the south end of the graveyard. "Run that way!"

The children stumbled as they ran. They were obviously weak and disoriented, but fear lent them energy.

Firemen and paramedics had arrived in trucks and ambulances. Stony didn't know whether they were real or PEA agents in costume. He had requested a scrub team, and they usually came disguised as first responders.

The Memphis police and the FBI had also showed up in marked vehicles. Stony believed that most of them were real, and that could be a problem, but they were staying out of the way at the moment.

The biggest issue was a crowd of civilians, drawn out of their homes by the noisy helicopter. If the bomb exploded, it would throw shrapnel across the entire graveyard and kill everybody.

Men scooped up the kids as soon as they arrived. The kids were put into ambulances and taken away immediately. Stony hoped they were in the custody of the PEA now. They needed the right kind of treatment after prolonged contact with infernal evil.

Stony, Brian, and Sergeant Pekerman joined the crowd shortly thereafter and received enthusiastic applause. The heroes bowed and smiled.

Veronica came over accompanied by a gray-haired man in a blue suit. He had a thin, bony face.

The two of them joined Stony and Brian, and they moved away from the crowd.

"Nice work," the man said.

"You are?" Stony said.

"Agent Thatcher, PEA." He shook Stony's and Brian's hands. "I'm in charge out here for the moment."

"Any sign of Orcus?"

"Field teams are scouring the area, but no luck so far. At least you rescued the kids."

"Some of them," Stony said. "Pomona still has the other half. I would say tonight was a tepid success at best. At least everybody didn't get blown up."

"How big is the bomb?" Thatcher said.

"Huge, and according to our expert, it will be very hard to defuse. Everybody here is in danger, even this far away. The scrub team has a tough job ahead of it."

Thatcher looked at the motorhome with a fearful expression.

Stony clenched his fists hard enough to crack his knuckles. "Of course, the worst part is Orcus got away. From now on, he'll be even more cautious and tricky. We blew our shot at him." He clamped down on his temper. "How is Mia doing?"

"Last I heard, she's still at a hospital getting her ear stitched together."

Stony felt a fresh flash of anger. He didn't doubt that Mia would heal. Like him, she possessed supernatural resilience, but she might have scars.

Brian took out his phone. "I'll call the director." He dialed a number.

"Yes?" Director Robertson replied over the speaker.

Brian described the events of the night.

Robertson sighed. "It's over for now. I want all the members of the third division to come home."

"What if Orcus is found tonight?" Stony said.

"He won't be. He's too smart. The only reason you got so close this time was because he wanted you to. Now that his trap failed, he'll go to ground. We need a new, better plan, and we won't figure it out now. Everybody is too exhausted."

"Yes, sir." Stony sighed and looked at Brian and Veronica. "I guess we're going home."

* * *

Stony, Mia, Brian, and Veronica stepped off the shuttlebus at Schonenberg Air Force Base. Stony looked at the blank gray walls of the monolith he called home. It wasn't an inviting sight, but he was safe here. The Tomb was the one place where he could completely relax surrounded by friends and protected by an angel.

The sun had just risen above the eastern horizon. Ducks and geese were foraging on the shore of Belmont Bay. The beautiful, clear morning should've brought cheer to Stony, but he was too upset about failing to capture Orcus.

Diana came out the front door of the building, surprising him. A team of heavily armed PEA agents flanked her, but they weren't getting in her way. A blue dress matched her blue eyes and contrasted against her red hair.

"Hey, guys!" she called out. "I heard you had a rough time out there."

Stony walked up to her. "It wasn't good. Orcus is still on the loose. We rescued some of the kids at least. Did you wake up at dawn just to greet us?"

She snorted as if his comment were funny. "This is about the time I usually go to sleep. I'm not a fan of daylight. Oh, Mia! What happened to your ear?"

Mia touched a thick bandage which covered her ear. "A dog tried to chew it off. I should heal pretty quickly though. Within a couple of weeks, you'll hardly be able to tell."

"Good, and I hope the dog is all right, too."

"Are you kidding? I gutted the damn thing!"

Diana had a horrified expression.

"Come on, ladies," Stony said. "Bedtime for all of us."

* * *

Stony rolled over in bed. He wanted to sleep, but he was too hungry.

The glowing display on the clock read 5 PM. He had missed breakfast and lunch.

He gently shook Mia's shoulder. "We slept enough," he murmured.

"Fuck off," she growled.

He quickly withdrew his hand.

Stony got out of bed in the dark. He found a bathrobe and shrugged it on. He left the bedroom, opening the door just enough to slip out into the hallway. He walked straight over to the kitchen.

Diana was already in there. She had put on jeans and a blousy white shirt, but her feet were bare. She was preparing an omelet in a frying pan.

He sniffed. "Smells delicious."

She turned to him with a smile. "I'll make one for you if you want."

"Sure."

Six guards were also in the kitchen watching Diana. They carried assault rifles and wore black body armor.

"You can go, guys," Stony told them. "I'll take responsibility for her now."

The guards left with expressions of relief.

Diana watched them go. "Oh," she said, "I was just getting used to having a full-time fan club."

Stony went to the automatic coffee machine. He searched the cabinets until he found his favorite cup, a black behemoth which could hold a full quart of coffee. Words on the cup read, "Enough coffee to rule the world." He put the cup into the machine and pressed the button. Internal machinery clicked and whirred.

"How have you been keeping busy?" he said.

"Exercising," Diana said. "Practicing martial arts. I spent plenty of time in the gun range. Turns out I like guns. I like them a lot."

"Good. As soon as this mission is over, we'll get serious about your training. A member of the third division should be able to defeat a zombie horde single-handedly."

She smirked.

"You think I'm kidding?" Stony said. "I'm dead serious."

She served the omelet from the frying pan onto a plate.

"Here," Diana said. "Take this one. I'll make another for myself. This is a nice kitchen, by the way."

Stony put his omelet and coffee on a white kitchen table. He pulled a fork out of a drawer and sat down to eat. He eagerly took his first bite.

"Mmm," he said. "This is great."

"Thank you," Diana said. "I did all the cooking for Orcus and the other girls."

Mia shuffled into the kitchen. Apparently, she had decided it was time to wake up after all. She was wearing a silk bathrobe with a Japanese flower pattern printed on it.

She looked at Stony's plate with a suspicious expression. "You made an omelet?"

"No," he said. "Diana made it."

Mia gave Diana a hard look. "You cooked for my boyfriend?"

"Do you want one?" Diana said cheerfully. "We have plenty of eggs."

"Uh, sure." Mia sat heavily on a chair by the table.

She didn't appear eager for conversation, so Stony kept his mouth shut. Diana made an omelet for Mia and served it with a flourish.

Mia took a bite. "Not bad," she admitted.

Diana finally prepared her own meal, but by that time, Stony had finished his. He got up and made three glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice using an automatic juicer. He gave a glass to each of the women.

"As soon as everybody is awake," he said, "we need to have a meeting and make a plan. We can't just sit on our asses and wait for Orcus to pop up whenever he feels like it."

"He'll be hard to catch," Diana said. "He knows a million tricks."

"I'm aware. Nonetheless, we must succeed and quickly. He still has captive children."

Chapter Sixteen

The meeting was taking place in the conference room across the hall from the gun range. The PEA had spared no expense when furnishing it. An entire wall was a touch-sensitive computer display, and a screen saver pattern made of silver crosses was playing in a loop. The swivel chairs had thick, cushy pads. The ventilation system provided soothing background noise.

Stony, Mia, Brian, Veronica, Diana, and Director Robertson were present. Kane was still recovering from his broken leg.

"Any luck finding Pomona or the other kids?" Stony said.

"No." Robertson shook his head. "She seems to have vanished completely. Of course, it doesn't help that she split off from Orcus, and we didn't know it for a long time."

"I bet she headed west," Mia said. "Orcus went east to set his trap, and he would naturally want to draw attention away from her. She could be in New Mexico, Arizona, or Utah by now. Maybe even California."

"Big states. That's a lot of land to search."

"She has some of the dogs," Stony said. "Diana, is Pomona good at controlling animals?"

"Pretty good," Diana said. "She can certainly handle dogs. They're easy. Dogs naturally like to take orders from humans. She had trouble with cats though. Cats are my particular specialty."

"What does Orcus want?" Brian said. "What will draw him out?"

"He needs kids to sacrifice," Veronica said.

"He'll have some," Stony said, "once he meets up with Pomona, and he's not shy about kidnapping more. Unfortunately, kids are easy to snatch."

"Gold?" Mia said.

"Also easy for him to steal. He was self-sufficient for years. He knows how to get by without much help. Diana, you must have some idea. You lived with the bastard."

Diana furrowed her brow. "He doesn't need much. Just animals to care for and kids to sacrifice. None of us had real jobs. Orcus just stole more gold whenever our money supply ran low. Our biggest expense was animal food."

Mia held up the doll that Stony had found on the bus. She ran her fingers through the blonde hair thoughtfully.

"You still have that?" Stony said.

"I had the agents ask the kids we rescued last night. None of them claimed the doll. We still have to find its owner."

"She could be dead."

"Or she could be screaming for help. We can't give up." She glared at him.

Stony clenched his jaw. Then an idea occurred to him, and he turned to Diana. "There is one thing Orcus wants, one thing we took from him, and I bet he would kill to have it back."

"What?" she said.

"You, his beautiful cook and loyal slave."

Her eyes widened.

"No." Mia shook her head. "You can't put her out as bait. She hasn't had any real training."

"And her loyalties are untested," Robertson added. "Her emotional stability is suspect at best. She swore an oath, but that's all. She hasn't accomplished a single mission. If we let her out, we're not sure what she'll do."

"Does anybody have a better idea?" Stony said. "Diana can pretend to escape. The PEA will chase her across the country, and we'll make sure Orcus hears about it. He'll come to get her, and we'll grab him instead."

"What about the kids?" Brian said. "How do we rescue them? I'm sure Orcus won't reveal their location even under torture."

Stony thought for a moment. "How about this. We let Orcus take Diana back to Pomona and the kids. Rathanael's mark will let the angel track her. We can't lose her. Then we'll sweep in and get everybody in one shot."

"That's asking an awful lot of Diana. She'll have to pretend to be loyal to a man who abused her for years. Her performance will have to be flawless, or he'll kill her. Won't he be very suspicious?"

A knock on the door made Stony look towards it. Rathanael entered the conference room with his wings exposed but folded neatly behind his back. The angel was wearing his usual white shirt and white pants. A black tie hung loosely around his neck. He was holding something behind his back.

"I heard my name," he said.

"Yes," Stony said. "I was recommending that Diana fake an escape from our prison in order to draw out Orcus."

"He won't trust her unless she is wearing this."

Rathanael took Diana's old iron collar out from behind his back. Stony grimaced at the ugly hunk of iron.

Diana jumped out of her seat and backed into a corner. "No! I will not put that cursed thing around my neck again! That nightmare is over!"

Rathanael held the collar with both hands and closed his eyes. His hands began to glow white, and the iron became hot enough to turn red. Stony could feel heat radiating from it. A brilliant flash of light dazzled his eyes.

When his vision cleared, he saw that the collar had returned to its usual black color.

"The collar is no longer cursed," Rathanael said, "but Orcus won't be able to tell. You can wear it safely."

Diana stayed in the corner with an anxious look on her face. The angel walked over to her.

"Trust me," he whispered. "This is your chance to prove yourself to the team. You can be a hero... if you're brave enough."

After a long moment, she nodded. He put the collar around her neck and squeezed the spot where it had been cut. When he removed his hand, the metal had fused together seamlessly. The collar looked exactly the same as when she had arrived at PEA headquarters.

"How do you feel?" Stony said.

Diana considered for a moment. "Fine. Pretty good, actually." She stroked the iron. "It makes me feel... safe for some reason."

Rathanael smiled. "Yes, my child. It has my blessing. You are ready to meet your former master."

"Hold on," Robertson said. "The collar is a nice prop, but it's not enough to convince Orcus. He has to believe she escaped from our prison."

"That's why the escape has to look right," Stony said. "There must be a lot of bad publicity. She has to leave a trail of evidence proving she really is running for her life. Elaboration is the key, just like what Orcus did to us."

"We seem to be forgetting something," Mia said. "This woman was our enemy just a few days ago! Now you want her to risk her life as a fake fugitive? Real cops and FBI agents will be chasing her. How do we know she'll stick to the plan?"

"Indeed," Rathanael said. "By herself, she will fail. She needs a guardian angel shepherding her."

"You?" Stony said in confusion.

"No. I had you in mind. You will secretly accompany Diana and make sure she behaves properly. I'm confident you'll be a very attentive guardian."

"No way!" Mia said. "My boyfriend is not going to spend that much quality time alone with Diana."

Stony gave her a dirty look. Did she have so little faith in him?

"Then go with them," Rathanael said. "The three of you will make a formidable team. Brian and Veronica will join you when you're close to your objective."

"Have you lost your mind?" Robertson said. "Stony and Mia leave a trail of bodies wherever they go. Their last outing featured illegal interrogations, threats, and even murder. They're not trained to be field operatives. I would barely trust them to take out the garbage. Now you're asking them to babysit Diana on a long, dangerous assignment with no external supervision?"

"We learn from our mistakes," Rathanael said. "Stony and Mia will perform better next time. I have faith in them. This is the best way, the only way, and we must be quick. Every hour that passes puts the lives of innocent children at greater risk."

Stony felt crushing pressure to not disappoint the angel.

He looked at Diana. "We haven't heard from you. What's your position?"

"I know it will be hard," she said, "but if it's what the team needs, I'll do it."

"You think you can convince Orcus that you are still loyal?"

"I was his slave for years. I can assume that role again for another day or two if necessary." She brightened. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes I fooled him."

He smiled at her enthusiasm. She would make a great addition to the team if she survived this assignment.

"This is still a terrible idea," Robertson said.

"I agree," Mia said.

"I don't have faith in Diana," Veronica said. "She hasn't proven herself to me."

"She hasn't proven herself to anybody," Brian said.

"Your objections are noted," Rathanael said, "but it's my decision, and I have decided to proceed."

"Let's get to the next level of detail," Stony said. "This plan has several parts. The daring prison escape comes first, of course, but that should be easy to arrange. It's our own prison, after all. Then comes the journey across the country, leaving a trail of witnesses and incidents to get Orcus's attention. The trickiest part will be arranging for him to take Diana without making him suspicious. Where will that happen?"

"Houston," Mia said. "That's where Orcus left her. She would go back there to look for him."

"But she can't go back to her old house. Too risky, and we burned it to the ground."

"He'll want big animals involved," Diana said. "They make him feel safe and powerful."

"It should happen near a circus?" Brian said.

Stony shook his head. "Circuses don't feature a lot of animals these days. A zoo is better."

"The Houston Zoo!" Diana said excitedly. "Orcus took us there several times. Some of our favorite animals are there, including some wonderful big cats. That's the perfect place for a reunion. I just need him to know I'm headed in that direction, and he'll figure out the rest."

"A city zoo?" Robertson said. "We're trying to avoid civilian casualties."

"We'll make it happen at night," Stony said, "when the zoo is closed."

"What about the security guards? We'll tell them to stay home."

"No. Orcus might get suspicious. Everything has to be completely normal."

The director had a disgusted expression. "This is going to be a huge mess."

"It will certainly be challenging," Rathanael said, "but I have confidence we can succeed. The operation starts tonight. I hope you enjoyed your sleep."

* * *

"I still think this is a terrible idea," Mia said.

"I have a good feeling about it," Stony said.

The two of them were crouched on the southwest shore of Belmont Bay. The waters were black at night, and tiny waves lapped against the grassy shore. Schonenberg Air Force Base was on the other side of the Bay. The wail of emergency sirens came across the water, but Stony could barely hear them in the distance.

He was in a city named Woodbridge, Virginia, but it was just a small part of the vast suburban landscape around Washington, D.C. A dense cluster of four-story apartment buildings was nearby. Each chunk of apartments had a different architectural style, but he could tell they were a single, massive development. The brick and stucco housing was probably as expensive as everything else in the Washington area.

"I know about your good feelings," Mia said. "I remember your good feeling before that school in Albuquerque exploded."

"Hey," Stony said, "no kids died."

"Just a janitor and a night watchman. What about your good feeling in New York right before a pack of werewolves ambushed us?"

He looked away. "That was a bad day."

"An understatement to put it mildly," she said.

Stony stared out at the Bay, searching for any sign of Diana. He checked his watch. She was supposed to rendezvous with him at 10 PM, and it was already 10:10.

He turned to Mia. "She's late."

"It would be ironic if she drowned before the mission even got started," she replied.

She was wearing brown slacks, a yellow shirt, and a blue jean vest. He was also wearing bland, generic clothes that wouldn't get a second look. Their job was to keep Diana out of trouble without calling attention to themselves. Their weapons were small and well hidden.

"You don't sound entirely unhappy about the prospect," Stony said.

"She's younger and hotter than me, and my boyfriend likes her."

"I'll always be faithful to you."

"That had better be true." Mia cracked her knuckles.

A splashing sound made him look back at the water. Diana was swimming towards him, but exhaustion made her strokes lethargic. She had just swum half a mile and had good reason to be tired.

She crawled out of the water on her hands and knees. She remained in that position, dripping wet, while she caught her breath. She was wearing the ugly orange uniform of a PEA prisoner.

"You made it," Stony said.

"That was harder than I expected," Diana said. "The water is cold and has a nasty taste."

"Your escape wasn't supposed to be easy. Get up. You have to move."

He helped her to her feet. She tried to squeeze some of the water out of her clothes, but it was hopeless.

"You need fresh clothes and transportation," Mia said, "and don't kill anybody. We'll meet you at the next rendezvous location."

"What are you going to do?" Diana said.

"Watch you. For the sake of realism, you should do as much as possible on your own, like a real fugitive would."

Diana frowned.

"Here is your tracking device," Stony said. "Make sure you ditch it before you run into Orcus."

He gave her what looked like a thick, felt-tip marker. It actually worked as a marker, but a sophisticated electronics package was hidden inside.

She examined the device. "What's the range?"

"No limit," Stony said. "It uses the cell networks. And here are some maps so you don't get lost." He gave her a stack of paper maps. "Now, go! The military police will be here any minute."

She jogged around the apartment buildings and came to a street where cars were parked. Stony and Mia followed at a safe distance and merely observed. They made meaningless conversation to look more natural, but there were no witnesses anyway.

Diana went to a nearby window of a first-floor apartment. The lights were off inside. She transformed the fingernail of her right index finger into a long, sharp claw. She tapped the glass hard enough to crack it. She quietly pried out shards until she had a hole a few inches across. She reached inside, turned the latch, pushed open the window, and slipped into the apartment.

"I like her direct approach," Mia said, "even if it's a bit noisy."

"Brave," Stony said. "She doesn't know who or what she'll find in there."

"All she needs are clothes and car keys. Those are in every apartment."

The lights came on in the apartment. An instant later, he heard a thump. Curiosity overcame him, and he jogged over for a peek through the window. A man in boxer shorts was lying on the floor of the apartment. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing. He had a kitchen knife in his right hand, but there was no blood on the blade. Good girl, Stony thought.

He didn't see Diana at first, but then she reappeared with a roll of duct tape. She quickly bound the man so he wouldn't be able to move even if he woke up.

She noticed Stony staring through the window. She waved, and he waved back.

He went back to Mia and told her what he had seen.

"She's competent at least," Mia said. "Did you touch the window?"

"No," Stony said.

"Good. We can't leave our fingerprints behind as evidence. If Orcus has any reason to think we're involved, it's game over."

A few minutes later, Diana ran out of the apartment building. She was wearing men's clothes which fit very loosely on her, but at least they were less suspicious than the orange prison uniform. A scarf covered her iron collar.

She was holding a set of car keys. She ran up and down the street, pressing the button until a car beeped. She got in the car and drove off.

"First task done," Stony said. "Let's go."

He and Mia walked down the block until they came to an unremarkable gray Honda. Stony took the driver's seat, and his girlfriend sat beside him.

He had just started to drive away when cars with flashing blue lights intercepted him. The cars had white and blue markings. The words "Schonenberg AFB" were printed on the side.

Stony hit the brake.

A soldier in gray camouflage fatigues stepped out of the lead car. He ran over and pointed a bright flashlight at Stony's face.

"Hey!" the soldier said. "We're looking for a woman!"

"Any woman in particular?" Stony said.

"Red hair, blue eyes, medium height."

"I haven't seen anybody like that around here. What did she do?"

"Escaped prisoner," the soldier said. "Extremely dangerous."

He pointed his flashlight at Mia and then the back seat.

"Gosh," Stony said. "I hope you find her. Can we go now?"

The soldier reluctantly backed away. The military police cars shifted around until Stony could proceed.

He drove off. Here we go.

* * *

Stony pulled into a large truck stop in Tom's Brook, Virginia. The time was well past midnight, but all the lights were still on. Truckers were filling their gas tanks at pumps specifically made for semis. The facility had a convenience store, a restaurant, and private showers, according to a sign.

Stony drove behind the truck stop. Lines of trucks were diagonally parked, and he assumed truckers were sleeping inside. All the trucks had large cabs with room for a bed in back. It was cheaper and easier than finding a motel every night.

Stony spotted the car that Diana had stolen earlier. She had tucked it behind a dumpster where it would go unnoticed for a while. He didn't see Diana though.

He parked his own car. He and Mia stepped out into cool, humid air.

She looked up. "Nice night."

Stony turned his attention to the thousands of twinkling stars above. They had driven far enough from Washington to escape the city lights.

"Yeah," he said. "Beautiful. Let's find our fugitive."

They entered the truck stop and wandered through the impressive facility. A convenience store was as large as some grocery stores and offered everything from hot pizza to repair tools to air fresheners. Stony spotted Diana eating in the adjacent restaurant. She had ordered a double hamburger, French fries, a large drink, and a milkshake.

"Stocking up on calories," Stony murmured to Mia. "Veteran move. You never know when you'll eat again."

She nodded.

The two of them went to the counter and ordered for themselves. A young man with bad acne and a dazed look in his eyes took their order. Working the graveyard shift was tough.

After receiving their trays, Stony and Mia sat at the table next to Diana. They didn't look at her or acknowledge her presence in any way. They were close enough to talk though.

"Where did you get the money for the food?" Mia whispered.

"The guy I mugged at the apartment had a wallet full of cash," Diana said. "I also pick-pocketed a guy in the store."

"Careful," Stony said. "You have to get to your destination without being arrested."

"Don't worry. My hands are quicker than the eye."

"How are you planning to continue your journey?"

"Hitchhiking," she said. "A pretty thing like me shouldn't have any trouble getting a ride."

"True. We'll follow in our car using the tracking device, but just in case we lose you for some reason, the next rendezvous is the McDonald's in Beckly, West Virginia."

"Got it."

"One more thing," Mia said, "you can hitchhike tonight, but this is the last time. By morning your face will be all over the news. If you appear in public, it has to be in disguise."

"I understand."

Diana went to the restaurant counter and spoke to the cashier for a moment. He went to the back of the kitchen and returned after a short time with a piece of paper. She came back to the table. She placed the paper in plain view of anybody entering the restaurant, and words on it read, "NEED RIDE. GOING WEST." She unbuttoned the top of her shirt to reveal a teasing view of her breasts. Then she continued to eat her hamburger.

Stony was keeping an eye on the door. He was a little worried about police coming in and recognizing Diana from her description. That scenario could get ugly.

The sight of a familiar face surprised Stony instead. Rathanael walked into the restaurant as if he were a regular customer. A black trench coat covered his wings. He came straight over and sat at Diana's table.

"Hello," the angel said softly.

"You're far from home," Stony said, "and I know you don't like to leave your roost. To what do we owe this honor?"

"Just wanted to clarify a few things. I was confident during the meeting, but that was a bit of a deception. The truth is I'm worried about you three."

"Oh?"

"You have violent habits and volatile tempers," Rathanael said. "You must control your worst instincts. Think twice before lashing out. Don't make me a fool for putting my faith in you."

"We'll do our best, sir," Stony said.

Diana and Mia nodded in agreement.

Rathanael took his usual wad of chewing gum out of his mouth. He picked up a French fry and nibbled a bit off the end. He made a face. "Holy mother of Jesus. How can you eat this swill? It's been fried to a crisp in putrid grease."

"Tastes fine to me," Diana said.

The angel placed a napkin on the table and waved his hand over it. Three white cookies appeared on the napkin. Tiny, sugar-like crystals gleamed on the surface.

"Enjoy some proper food."

He stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

Stony, Mia, and Diana each took a cookie.

Stony bit into his, and the most wonderful sensation flooded his mouth. It was like a thousand desserts rolled into one, but sweetness didn't overwhelm all the other subtle flavors. He quickly gobbled down the rest of the cookie. He couldn't stop himself, even though he wanted to savor the experience. When he was done, his appetite was completely satisfied.

"I think that was manna from Heaven," Mia said in a tone of wonder.

"Regular food will never taste the same again," Diana said sadly.

An obese man wearing a plaid shirt walked up to her. His baseball cap desperately needed a good wash.

"Hi," he said, revealing yellow teeth. "Is that sign right? You need a ride west? I'm headed to Oklahoma."

Diana smiled. "That's perfect. Can we leave now?"

"Sure. What's your story, honey?"

"I'm running from an abusive boyfriend. I had to leave all my things behind. I don't even have a wallet. I'm trying to get to my mother's house with just the clothes on my back and a little cash in my pocket. It's been a rough night."

"Your knight in shining armor has arrived, babe," the man said. "I'll make sure you get home safe and sound. You know these people?" He pointed to Stony and Mia.

"No." Diana shook her head. "They just sat down."

"Good. My truck is parked in front. Let's get out of here."

She followed the trucker out of the restaurant. Stony and Mia didn't move until Diana was out of sight.

"Bring the car around," Mia said. "I'll follow her."

She hurried out of the restaurant the same way as Diana.

Stony jogged out the back door. He went to the car and started the engine, but he left the headlights off. He drove around to the front and found Mia standing in the open. He gave the horn a quick honk.

She ran over and sat in the passenger seat.

"What happened?" Stony said. "Where is Diana?"

"She already took off with that trucker. He was eager to go. Maybe it's just my paranoia, but he seemed creepy."

"I got the same vibe, but she didn't seem worried."

"She wouldn't be," Mia said. "She can turn into a killer cat."

"Use the tracker app in your phone."

She took out her phone and opened an app that the PEA had installed.

"Got her," she said. "Go south on 81."

Stony turned on the headlights and drove off. A minute later, he was cruising down the interstate in very sparse traffic. The highway had two lanes in each direction divided by a wide, grass median. He maintained a speed that kept him exactly a mile behind Diana according to the tracking app.

He settled in for a long, boring drive. He turned on the radio and found a news channel. Within minutes, he heard the story he was expecting.

"Local, state, and federal authorities are still searching Virginia for that escaped convict," the radio announcer said. "She is five feet, six inches tall. One hundred forty pounds. Red hair, blue eyes, Caucasian. She is considered to be extremely dangerous. Civilians are advised to notify the authorities immediately if she is seen. Do not approach her. Do not attempt to subdue her."

Stony had a thought. "She better make sure the trucker doesn't turn on the radio," he said.

"She's smart enough to realize that," Mia said, "and if she tells him she doesn't want to hear the radio, I'm sure he'll comply."

"You're right. After this is over, it will be years before she can show her face in public."

"She'll have to wear a disguise when she goes out, but that's good policy anyway. We should take the same precaution. How many enemies do we have? How many people would love to see us dead?"

Stony twisted his neck until the vertebrae popped. "I wouldn't mind running into an old enemy or two. Sounds like a good time."

"You're incorrigible." Mia shook her head.

They drove south on the interstate for two hours. Stony turned up the air conditioning so the blast of cold air would help keep him alert. He wasn't particularly tired, but he was very bored from staring at the same dark stretch of highway for too long.

Mia checked her phone. "Diana is turning. Southeast on highway 60."

"Not west?"

"Nope."

Stony frowned. "That's not the right way. We'd better check it out."

He saw the sign for the exit, and a minute later, he made the same turn. He quickly reached a small town nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

"Turn right," Mia said.

"You're sure?"

"That's what the app says."

He shrugged and turned.

He made several more unexpected turns until he finally found the truck. It was parked in a gravel lot behind a gas station, but the station was closed and all the lights were off. The location seemed chosen to avoid witnesses.

Stony parked his car within sight of the truck. He didn't see any movement.

"I told you that guy was a creep," Mia said.

Stony sighed.

They got out of the car and moved stealthily towards the truck.

The overweight truck driver burst out of the cab. He staggered forward, clutching his throat. Blood gushed between his fingers. He fell face-down onto the gravel and became still.

Stony and Mia ran towards him.

Diana hopped out of the cab with a bloody right hand. Her fingernails were long, sharp claws.

She looked at her friends and said, "He pulled a knife on me! He tried to rape me!"

Stony reached the truck driver and checked for a pulse. He couldn't find one.

"OK," he said. "I believe you, but did you have to kill him?"

"What did you expect me to do?" Diana put her fists on her hips. "Let him stick his dick in me?"

"And fucking her could've been just the start," Mia said. "Diana made the right call. She had to protect herself."

Stony stared at the body. "Well, I did want a trail of realistic evidence. The ripped-out throat is a nice touch."

"I would've made him suffer more though," Mia said. "He died too easily."

"Oh?" Diana said in an interested tone.

"Next time, take the guy's knife and slice the tendons in his arms. If he can't use his arms, he's helpless. Hamstrings are next."

"Can you teach me?"

"Ladies!" Stony said. "Save your anger at the male gender for later. Diana, you need to get out of here." He noticed the truck parked in the darkness. "Can you drive the truck?"

"No way." Diana shook her head. "That thing has a million gears, and I can't even handle a normal stick shift."

She crouched down and looted the body. She found a thick wad of cash, a key ring, a cheap revolver in poor condition, and packets of pills.

"What kinds of pills are those?" Mia said.

Diana studied the packets in the poor light. "Let's see. Speed. Oxycontin. Roofies." She stuffed the packets into her own pocket.

"You're keeping them?"

"They might be useful. You never know what you'll need on the road."

"Speaking of roads," Stony said, "you need a car to drive. No more hitchhiking. And leave a witness so the police figure out you were here. You're supposed to leave a trail of evidence."

Diana stared at him. "Are you kidding? I have to show my face and still get away clean?"

"Just get to work. Members of the third division don't whine about tough assignments."

She rolled her eyes.

After looking around for a moment, she ran to the back of the truck. Two padlocks held the doors of the trailer closed. She tried keys on the keyring until she unlocked the padlocks. She finally swung open the doors.

"What is she up to?" Mia whispered.

Stony shrugged. "No idea, but now I'm curious."

Diana jogged across the gravel lot and around the gas station. Stony and Mia followed, staying out of sight.

Diana hurried to the nearest road. She laid down on the pavement, blocking oncoming traffic. She closed her eyes and became still.

Stony and Mia moved in as close as possible.

At this time of night, traffic was very light, and it took a minute for a car to come. A burgundy hatchback stopped a few feet away from Diana. A tall, skinny man with a stringy beard stepped out.

"Hey!" he called. "Are you OK? Are you hurt?"

He walked over to her.

Diana's eyes popped open. She raised the revolver she had taken from the truck driver and aimed it at the man's head.

She stood up. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking. I'm carjacking you, by the way. Don't take it personally. Cooperate, and you won't get hurt."

She forced the driver to get back into his own car while she sat behind him. She held the gun to his head as he drove around to the semi-truck. Both of them got out.

He pointed at the corpse of the trucker. "What happened to that guy? Is he dead?!"

"He asked too many questions," Diana said. "Get in the trailer."

The driver reluctantly climbed into the back of the truck. She slammed the doors closed and locked them. He wouldn't be able to escape without help.

Diana sat in the hatchback and drove off, waving to Stony and Mia as she departed.

"I have to admit this girl is competent," Mia said grudgingly.

Stony smirked. "Are you starting to like her?"

"Let's not get carried away."

"Of course not. Come on. The next stop is Beckly, West Virginia. I want to get there by dawn."

Chapter Seventeen

The eastern horizon was turning pink when Stony parked in front of the McDonalds in Beckly. Several cheap motels and other fast food restaurants were nearby. Apparently, plenty of travelers stopped for the night in the small town.

Stony looked around. "Do you see Diana?"

"No." Mia checked the app on her phone. "According to this, she's nearby though."

"Let's go find her."

They stepped out of the car. The humid air had a slight chill, but Stony liked how it refreshed him.

They walked along the side of the road, guided by Mia's phone. They passed a gas station, a huge cemetery, two motels, and a pizza restaurant. They eventually came to a dilapidated apartment building. Some of the tarpaper tiles had fallen off the roof, and the brown stucco walls were cracked.

"She's in here," Mia said.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Stony said. "We were supposed to meet at the McDonalds!"

"We could try to find her inside, but I'm afraid we might attract attention. We can't be associated with her."

He listened carefully but didn't hear any sounds of trouble. The early morning was dead quiet. He didn't see any police around.

"Damn!" He clenched his jaw. "She should've stuck with the plan."

"Don't worry," Mia said. "She's more than capable of taking care of herself. Let's just be patient. Maybe she came here for a good reason."

Stony stood on the sidewalk, feeling annoyed. He maintained a neutral expression and a relaxed posture so people passing in cars wouldn't wonder about him.

After a little while, a woman came out of an apartment. It took a moment for him to realize she was Diana.

She was wearing a black wig made of stiff, straight hair. Bright pink shorts went halfway up her butt crack. A leather belt hung at a sassy angle on her hips. Her plaid halter-top squeezed her breasts and exposed her midriff. She was carrying a little purse covered in glittering sequins. A pink scarf hid her collar. White tennis shoes were the only practical part of her outfit.

Diana noticed Stony and Mia waiting on the sidewalk. After checking for witnesses, Diana came over.

"What's going on?" Stony said. "What's the deal with these clothes?"

"I bumped into a prostitute," Diana said. "I decided to buy a new outfit from her. Like it?"

"You look like a cheap whore."

"Exactly. A harmless cheap whore, the kind of woman decent people try to ignore."

"She has a point," Mia said. "She certainly doesn't appear to be a dangerous escaped prisoner trying to stay out of sight."

Stony examined Diana's wig. "How did you hide all your hair under that mop?"

"I didn't." She lifted her wig to reveal a shaved scalp.

He grimaced. "Ooh! You didn't have to go that far."

"The law is after me, right? My red hair was very distinctive. It had to go."

Stony sighed unhappily. "I admire your dedication. Let's eat breakfast. Stay in front of us. We don't know you."

The three of them headed back to the McDonalds. Diana maintained about twenty paces of distance and walked with a whorish strut.

"Are you staring at her ass?" Mia said.

"Err, maybe," Stony admitted. "Those shorts are something else."

"At least pretend to not notice."

"Yes, dear."

He watched the occasional car drive by.

They finally reached the McDonalds. Diana entered first and ordered her food. After a little time passed, Stony and Mia did the same. They didn't make eye contact with Diana. The male patrons and cashiers, on the other hand, stared openly at her.

After receiving her tray, Diana picked a table in the corner. Stony and Mia sat at an adjacent table.

Stony bit into an Egg McMuffin. "By the way," he said with his mouth full, "what did you do with your car?"

"I ditched it in the woods," Diana said. "Time to change vehicles anyway. What's the plan now? Do we keep going after breakfast?"

"No. We'll sleep for a few hours and meet back here. Let's say at 10 AM. We can't afford to become exhausted. Mia and I will get a room in one of these lovely motels."

"What about me?"

Mia shrugged. "That's your problem."

Diana frowned.

They ate their meals. As Stony chewed and swallowed his bland sandwich, he thought about the manna cookie he had eaten at the truck stop. Ordinary food would never taste the same again.

After she finished, Diana stood up. "Time to make a friend."

"What do you mean?" Stony said.

"I'd like a man to arrange for my motel room. I don't want to spend any cash or answer awkward questions. I don't have any identification after all. Ideally, I'll sneak in the back door. Dressed like this, it shouldn't be hard to make that friend."

He raised his eyebrows. "You're going to have sex with a stranger just so you can sleep in a bed?"

"No! I'll use the roofies, of course. Two pills should knock him out."

Stony wasn't sure whether that solution was ethically superior.

Diana left the restaurant first. Stony and Mia followed at a comfortable distance.

Diana wandered through the parking lots, chatting with all the single men in sight. She was as hot as a blowtorch, and it didn't take long for her to find a new friend even though it was still early in the morning. She and a middle-aged man headed for the nearest motel. He had his hand on her butt.

"That was easy," Mia said. "Poor guy probably won't remember a thing when he wakes up. He won't even have a good story to tell."

* * *

Orcus walked into a phone store called "Phone Home." He had shaved his beard, had trimmed his hair, and had put on a nice suit so he wouldn't be recognized. He looked like a regular, if extra-large, businessman.

The store sold accessories such as chargers, cables, batteries, mounts, screen protectors, and cases. Orcus just wanted a phone though, the cheaper the better.

He went to the cashier. She was a young woman with a pink hair and a ring in her right nostril.

"Hi!" he said. "I need one of those temporary prepaid phones. I lost my regular phone, and I'm not getting a replacement for a few days."

She gave him a bored look. She obviously didn't care to hear his explanation.

"Do you care how nice it is?" she said.

"I just need to make calls."

She grabbed a phone from under the counter and handed it over. The cheap thing had a small screen and actually felt flimsy in his hands.

"That comes with a month of service," the cashier said. "Domestic calls only. Come back if you want more months."

"Perfect," Orcus said.

She charged him 79 dollars, and he paid in cash. Then she activated the phone.

He left the store, and the air outside was cool and bone dry. Cars purred along a wide avenue in front of the store. Scattered clouds dotted a blue sky.

Orcus walked over to where a tree provided some cover. He made a call.

A gruff male voice answered, "Hello?"

"Who do you serve?" Orcus said.

"What? Who is this?"

"An old, grizzled friend."

The voice paused. "Oh."

"Who do you serve?"

"The true lord and master of all creation, Satan. Orcus?"

Orcus smiled. "Thorn! It's good to hear your voice. How are things in New Mexico?"

"Fine. Pomona arrived safe and sound yesterday, along with six kids and a whole lot of dogs. We're keeping the kids in the shed so we don't have to listen to them whimper. The dogs have the run of the ranch. They love all the open space."

"I bet they do, but check their paws for cactus spines. I need to talk to Pomona."

"Of course," Thorn said. "I'll get her."

A moment later, Pomona spoke in a soft, submissive voice, "Master, I wasn't expecting you to call."

"Things are not going exactly according to plan," Orcus said.

"I heard about it on the news. The bomb in Memphis was defused. The children were rescued."

"And our enemies didn't die. After all that planning and effort, we failed."

"I am deeply sorry, master," Pomona said, "but there is good news. Diana is alive."

"Oh?"

"She escaped from a military prison on an Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. She was last seen in West Virginia. The authorities are searching for her."

Orcus raised his eyebrows. "You're sure it's Diana?"

"Her description is a perfect match, and she's even wearing an iron collar. She killed a truck driver by ripping out his throat. Then she stole a car by carjacking it."

"That's Diana. She is even more resourceful than I realized. I wonder how she got out of prison."

"I don't know, master," Pomona said, "but I am very glad she did."

"Well, it sounds like she's headed west. Maybe she's going to Houston so she can try to find me. But that's not why I called. I'm having a lot of trouble making contact with Forneus. I attempted to summon him twice, and it didn't work either time. I have questions for him, such as why the bomb failed. Has the demon spoken with you recently?"

"No. I hope he isn't angry at us."

"I have no idea." Orcus frowned. "This is deeply troubling. I'll try the ceremony one more time."

"Where are you now, master?"

"Oklahoma City."

"Are you coming to New Mexico?" she said.

He considered the question for a moment. "I'd like to. All this travel and stress is wearing me down. I could use a break. But I should visit Houston first. I want to find Diana."

"The police are chasing her. You are taking a great risk, master."

"She's worth it. Finding another slave as talented as her will be extremely difficult. It took years to train her. I can't just let all that effort go to waste. Besides, she already did the hard part by breaking out of prison."

"Yes, master," she said. "I will wait for you here."

"Bye."

Orcus ended the call. He jogged over to a dumpster and threw the phone in.

He walked along the sidewalk, trying to enjoy the pleasant weather, but it didn't improve his foul mood. He was angry about the failed bombing but even more upset about Forneus's refusal to respond to Orcus's summons. He was fulfilling his part of the arrangement. The demon was obligated to do the same.

A woman was walking along the sidewalk in the other direction.

Orcus stepped in front of her. "Excuse me," he said. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm a bit lost. I'm supposed to meet my wife and son at a park around here, but I can't find it. Do you know where the nearest playground is?"

"Uh, sure," the woman said. "Go that way. Take a right at the light. It's three blocks down." She pointed.

"Thank you!" He smiled.

Orcus followed the instructions and quickly found the park. Mothers were watching their young children enjoy a playground with a soft, rubber surface. Perfect, he thought.

He sat on a bench and pretended to take a nap, but his eyes were cracked open. After a little while, a Hispanic woman and her daughter left the park. He guessed the little girl was three-years-old.

He stood up and covertly followed the mother through the neighborhood. Small, single-story homes stood close together. He could tell by the cheap cars that the residents had modest incomes, but the houses were in good condition. The Hispanic woman entered a house with red walls and yellow trim.

Orcus waited a few seconds and checked for witnesses. The quiet street was empty.

He went to the front door and knocked.

The woman answered the door. "Yes?" she said.

He pushed her down, ran into the house, and closed the door. He kicked her head, knocking her out. Finally, he stood on her throat and crushed her windpipe. Pressure on her carotid artery killed her before strangulation had a chance.

"Mama?" a child said.

The little daughter wandered into the room. Orcus ran over, scooped her up, and held her like a football. She screamed and squirmed in his crushing grip. He listened carefully in case somebody else was in the house, but no rescue appeared.

He locked the front door. Then he dragged the dead mother into a closet with his free hand, so the body wouldn't be visible from a window.

Orcus searched until he found a bathroom. He dropped the girl in a bathtub to contain the blood from the ceremony. She tried to climb out. He used his brute strength to break her knees. She wailed in pain but continued to grasp the edge of the tub. Her perseverance impressed him, but it didn't save her. He broke her wrists.

He began to strip off his clothes and fold them neatly on the sink. He didn't want any blood on his nice suit.

* * *

"Forneus!" Orcus yelled in frustration. "Where are you? Why have you abandoned me?"

He looked at the gruesome remains of the little girl. A mixture of bodily fluids covered the bottom of the bathtub. He had tortured her for a solid hour before finally slitting her throat with a ceremonial knife. He had chanted Satanic prayers the entire time, accompanied by her fading screams. He had drawn symbols on the walls with fresh blood. He was certain he had performed the ritual properly. He had even gone to the trouble of ejaculating onto the corpse. The unholy horrors he had committed would satisfy the sadistic nature of any demon. Orcus couldn't think of any reason for Forneus to not appear. Orcus felt terribly betrayed.

He clamped down on his temper. There was nothing he could do but press onwards. At least he still had his powers and strength.

He turned on the shower and washed the blood off his arms. After he cleaned himself, he would begin his journey to Houston. He couldn't wait to have Diana back in his life.

* * *

Pounding on the door of his motel room woke Stony.

"We don't need room service," he grumbled.

"Police!" a man yelled from outside the door. "Open up!"

Stony sat up. He looked over at Mia, who was lying in the bed beside him. She shrugged. He decided to play it cool with the cops. He had done nothing wrong. If they gave him any trouble, he would deal with it then.

"Hang on!" he yelled. "I need to put some clothes on."

He had been sleeping in his underwear. He groggily pulled on his pants.

Somebody unlocked the door from the outside. Two police officers in blue uniforms burst in with their weapons drawn. Mia squeaked and pulled the bedsheet up to her neck. Stony knew she had a gun hidden under the sheet.

"What's going on?" he said. "Are we under arrest?"

"No," one officer said. "Just don't move."

The cops checked every corner of the room. The small room offered few hiding places, so the search only took a moment.

When they were done, the first officer showed Stony a photograph. "Have you seen this woman?"

He leaned in. The picture showed Diana's face and upper body in crisp detail. She was wearing orange prison garb. He recognized the photo very well because he had taken it.

"No." Stony shook his head. "Who is she?"

"The escaped prisoner."

"Oh! Do you think she is here?"

"We found her stolen car stashed in the woods," the cop said. "If you see her, notify the authorities immediately!"

"Yes, sir. I will certainly do that."

The police left the room and closed the door.

"Diana should've hidden that car better," Mia whispered.

"I bet she won't make that mistake a second time," Stony said.

His phone rang. The caller ID showed that Director Robertson was calling.

Stony answered, "Hello, sir." He pressed the speaker button so Mia could hear.

"Orcus struck in Oklahoma City," Robertson said. "A mother and a little girl are dead."

"How do you know it was Orcus?"

"The condition of the child's body suggests he tried to summon Forneus."

Stony grimaced. "We're still in West Virginia."

"I know. I'm getting all the police and FBI reports. Tell Diana to get her ass to Houston by tonight. I want to finish this."

"We'll go find her right now, sir."

"One more thing," Robertson said. "I'm not happy about the dead truck driver."

"He tried to rape Diana."

"Murdering a civilian still seems like an extreme response."

"We have to go, sir," Stony said.

"Bye."

He and Mia dressed quickly and left the motel. Several police cars with flashing lights were parked outside.

"Do you think they're checking every room in every motel?" Mia said.

"Probably," Stony said. "Where is she?"

She used the tracking app in her phone. "That way." She pointed north.

They walked casually, trying not to attract the attention of the police officers in the area. Stony even saw a few FBI agents helping with the search.

"This is quite a turnout," he said.

"We wanted to make a big splash," Mia said. "Mission accomplished."

They continued past all the motels and restaurants. They eventually reached a patch of undeveloped land by the highway where tall trees grew.

"She's around here somewhere," she said.

Stony looked in all directions but didn't see any sign of Diana. Green leaves hid the branches overhead.

A rustling noise got his attention, and he finally spotted her. Her feet were bare, and they had transformed into giant paws. Her hands were also paws, but her head and body were human. She was climbing down a tree trunk with her claws the way a cat would.

She landed softly on the dirt. "How did they know I was here?"

"They found the car," Stony said.

"Damn it."

"Looks like you got away though."

"I had to jump out of a third-story window," Diana said. "Good thing my legs are very strong. I slowed the cops down by propping a chair against the door. That gave me just enough time to escape."

"The director called. He wants you to hurry up. Orcus killed again."

She sighed. "Getting out of here will be a problem. I'm sure the police are checking every vehicle that tries to leave."

She was still wearing her tight halter top and pink shorts. Stony made an effort to look at her face only.

"The shaved head and disguise might be enough to keep you safe," he said.

"Or it might not. I can't afford to be busted. I have to sneak out of here."

"That's your problem," Mia said. "Figure it out."

"I don't get any help at all?" Diana said.

"Consider this a training exercise."

"Don't worry," Stony said. "If you get into real trouble, we're here for you."

Diana flashed a smile. "Thanks. I'll go now."

She crept back towards the motels. Her hands and feet were still paws, and she walked with the fluid grace of a cat. Stony couldn't help but stare even though Mia was beside him.

Diana stopped at the edge of the woods and peered into a parking lot. Stony moved closer so he could see what she was seeing. A few cars provided some cover, but crossing the lot was still risky. The nearest building was a restaurant.

A delivery truck was parked behind the restaurant. Stony watched as a guy took out a box and delivered it using a back door.

Diana broke cover. She sprinted on all fours like a cat with incredible speed. Stony expected her to sneak into the back of the truck, but she bounded onto the roof instead. She laid down flat, becoming impossible to see up there.

"Impressive," Mia said.

"She's going to slide off if the truck makes a sudden turn or stop," Stony said. "That's a dangerous place to hide. I have to tell her."

"Carefully."

The two of them left the trees and strolled across the parking lot. A police car came around the corner, but they pretended not to notice. The car kept going.

The delivery guy returned for another box. He carried it into the restaurant.

When it was safe to proceed, Stony walked over to the truck and casually leaned against it. Mia pressed her body against his and kissed him on the neck.

"You're going to fall off," he said.

"No," Diana replied from above. "My claws are stuck in the roof. Don't worry. I'll be fine up here."

"They can punch through metal?"

"Flimsy sheet metal. Just follow me in your car. I'll hop off when it seems like a good time."

"You obviously know best," Stony said.

He and Mia walked to their own car. Then they drove back and parked in a spot where they could see the delivery truck from a safe distance.

The delivery man eventually finished his job. He climbed into the cab and drove off, not noticing Diana on the roof of the trailer. Stony followed.

A police checkpoint at the highway onramp had created a long line of cars. After waiting a good twenty minutes, the delivery truck reached the checkpoint. Police inspected the interior of the cab, the underside of the trailer, and the cargo area. Nobody thought to climb up to the roof though. The truck was waved through, and it proceeded onto the highway.

"I'll have to remember that trick," Mia said.

"You don't have claws that can stick into metal," Stony said.

"I can jam a couple of knives in. I'd figure something out."

Their turn at the checkpoint came soon after. Police officers on both sides looked into the car, and they gave Mia extra attention. Stony also had to open the trunk for inspection. It just contained their luggage. He cooperated but intentionally appeared slightly annoyed, the expected reaction under the circumstances. He was finally allowed to drive off.

Mia checked her phone. "She's headed south."

"That's lucky," Stony said. "We want to go south. How far away is Houston?"

She tapped on her phone. "Twelve hundred miles."

"And we have to get there tonight. No more long rest stops for us." He sighed.

* * *

The delivery truck stopped for gas in the tiny town of Ghent. Two gas stations and a convenience store were all the businesses that Stony could see. The delivery truck stopped at one gas station, and Stony drove to the other.

He expected Diana would get off. She couldn't rely on the truck to continue going in the right direction, and riding on the roof had to be physically uncomfortable. As he pumped gas into his own car, he watched the delivery truck down the road but saw no movement. She was sneaky though.

The truck eventually drove away.

"Is she still on it?" Stony said.

Mia stared at her phone. "She stayed behind."

"Let's find her."

He finished filling the tank of his car. Then he drove to the gas station where Diana was located and parked in the corner.

Stony and Mia got out and walked around. The tracking system didn't have pinpoint accuracy, so they only knew Diana was in the vicinity. The gas station included a shop where travelers could buy snacks and sandwiches. It also sold a nice selection of fishing equipment. Stony couldn't remember the last time he had gone fishing.

"Hey," Diana whispered. "Over here."

Stony and Mia found her crouched behind a large propane supply tank. A tool shed provided some additional cover.

Stony grabbed Mia, held her tight, and kissed her on the lips. Any witnesses would think they had just found a private place to cuddle.

"What's your plan for your next step?" Stony said out of the side of his mouth.

"I'm not sure," Diana said. "I need a change of clothes and transportation. Can you help me out this time?"

"We're just here to handle emergencies."

"Getting to Houston quickly is an emergency. We don't have time to go slow and careful."

Stony grabbed Mia's butt and gave it a squeeze. He loved the feel of her muscular flesh in his hands. She licked his face erotically.

"We can't be associated with you," he said.

"Just buy me new clothes," Diana said. "That's innocent enough. While you're doing that, I'll decide how I want to steal a car."

"I suppose that's a fair compromise."

Mia nodded in agreement.

Stony remembered the fishing shop, and it seemed like a good place to start shopping. "Follow me," he murmured.

He held Mia's hand as they walked into the shop. Rods, reels, bait, and tackle filled long shelves. Clothing was towards the back, and Mia went straight to that section.

She started by picking out a T-shirt with the words "Heaven is fishing" printed on it.

"That's for a guy," Stony said.

"I want her to look like a boy. Better disguise that way."

He nodded.

She grabbed a cheap windbreaker, a fishing hat, plastic pants, and wading boots. Diana would certainly look like she was on a fishing trip. As an afterthought, Mia picked out a rod and reel.

Stony paid for everything with cash. He had a credit card but was wary of leaving an electronic trail.

He and Mia went back to the propane tank.

"Now I need a ride in your car," Diana whispered.

"We're not driving you to Houston," Mia said. "What if we're caught with you? The entire plan will be screwed."

"Just take me someplace where this outfit won't look weird." Diana pointed to her whore costume. "A casino or a strip club. Any den of sin."

"Wait. Why did we just buy you new clothes?"

"So I can change after I steal a car."

Mia frowned.

"Riding in our car is still dangerous," Stony said, "even for a short distance. What if somebody looks through a window?"

"Then I'll hide in the trunk," Diana said. "Please, just give me a little help here."

He sighed. "OK. We'll drive you to the nearest den of sin."

Mia appeared unhappy but didn't complain.

Stony brought the car around and popped open the trunk. He pushed his and Mia's luggage aside.

When no witnesses were around, he said, "Now."

Diana slipped into the trunk, and her flexible body folded neatly into the small space. He quickly closed the trunk.

Mia looked around. "Let's get out of here."

"We don't know where we're going," Stony said.

"We'll figure it out on the road. We need to move."

Chapter Eighteen

Stony drove all the way to Tennessee before he found the right kind of place for Diana. He knew she wasn't having a good time in the trunk, and he felt bad for her, but he couldn't afford to make a hasty choice. Too much depended on her reaching Houston.

The sign read, "Midnight Opening Gentleman's Club." A blue, windowless building had all the architectural style of a warehouse. Flat boards and corrugated sheet metal formed the walls and roof.

The strip club stood on an isolated plot of land just off the interstate. Surrounding forest provided plenty of privacy. A mobile home in back was perhaps the residence of the owner. A dozen cars were parked in the lot even though the time was near noon, too early in the day for drinking and staring at naked women in Stony's opinion.

He parked the car in a back corner, quickly got out, and opened the trunk. Diana was still lying there, folded up in a neat bundle.

"Are you OK?" he said.

She sat up slowly. "Yeah. A little stiff. I had a good nap though."

Stony helped her out of the trunk. She stretched her arms and flexed her back like a cat.

She looked around. "Oh! This is perfect. Thank you. You have my new clothes?"

"In the car. What's your plan?"

"Watch." Diana winked.

She walked across the parking lot and leaned against a car. She kept her arms back, forcing her breasts to stick out. She put her head back and allowed her eyes to droop as if she were bored. Sunlight illuminated her pale face. She projected the confidence of a woman who belonged there.

Stony wasn't worried about her being identified as the fugitive. Her disguise worked perfectly in the context of a strip club, and she still had her black wig. They were hundreds of miles from Beckly, her last known location.

Stony and Mia sat in their own car. They waited, and he was painfully aware of the passage of time. They couldn't afford to waste a minute.

Eventually, a white, rusty pickup truck pulled into the parking lot. A lone man stepped out. He was wearing blue jeans and a stained red T-shirt. A tangled beard reminded Stony of a bird's nest.

Diana immediately went to him. He stood with a startled expression as she pressed her body against his. Her left hand went around his neck, and her right hand wandered down to his crotch.

She murmured something to him. They had a short conversation, and he became progressively less happy. He finally pushed her away. He went into the club, but he glanced back at her one last time before closing the door.

Diana came over to Stony, and he rolled down his window.

"What was that about?" he said.

"I propositioned him," she said. "Five hundred dollars for an hour of my time. He couldn't afford me, as I expected."

"And the point was?"

Diana held up a set of car keys. "I get his truck. Can I have my new clothes?"

Stony took her new clothes from the back seat and gave them to her. She quickly changed on the spot. With her hat and jacket, she could be mistaken for a young man on a fishing trip. She wasn't wearing the wig, and her shaved head enhanced her disguise. She tossed her old clothes behind a bush.

"Next stop is Birmingham, Alabama," Mia said. "We'll have an early dinner there."

Diana nodded and jogged to the pickup truck. She got in, wrinkled her nose at some unpleasant odor, and drove off.

* * *

Mia stared at her phone as she walked.

"She must be at this restaurant," she said.

Stony looked at a huge restaurant painted pale green. A fence surrounded a spacious outdoor eating area, and more tables were inside. The restaurant even had a small second floor. He smelled barbeque smoke, and his mouth watered.

"Good choice," he said.

He and Mia climbed a short staircase and entered the restaurant. His impression of the place went up another notch when he saw the interior. A menu on the wall listed pulled pork, ribs, wings, turkey, and smoked chicken. The selection of beers was just as impressive. Country music twanged in the background, but it wasn't loud enough to annoy him. Patrons ordered food at the register and took their trays back to mismatched, wooden tables.

Stony immediately ordered a full slab of ribs, half a chicken, beans, cornbread, and banana pudding for dessert. To wash it down, he asked for a beer and a large diet coke.

"Diet?" Mia said with a smirk.

Her meal featured fried catfish. They paid, and a few minutes later, they received plastic trays full of food. They walked around, looking for Diana.

Stony spotted her sitting in a side yard under an awning, and nobody else was around her. He decided to sit at her table. They were two states away from her last known location after all, and she was wearing a good disguise.

He sat down facing Diana, and she looked at him with an expression of surprise. Mia hesitated, and then she also sat at the table.

Stony admired Diana's choice of food. Generous portions of hot wings and fried shrimp were in front of her. The girl knew how to eat.

He tore a rib from his slab and stuck it in his mouth. The meat was so tender, he could practically slurp it off the bone.

"After dinner," he said, "you need to make more trouble. Let the police find out you're here so Orcus hears about it. He needs to be reassured that you're on your way to Houston."

Diana sighed. "What a pain. I have to steal another car and switch disguises again."

"Speaking of cars, where did you park that pickup truck? If the police run the plates, they'll find out it was stolen."

"It's in a parking garage, but that gives me an idea. I'll get the attention of the police by giving them a reason to look at the pickup truck."

"Risky," Mia said, "but a good thought."

"And this time, I'm going to plan ahead," Diana said. "I'll have my new disguise and escape vehicle ready before the trouble starts. No more clinging to the roofs of trucks or hiding in trunks."

"Good," Stony said. "What's your plan?"

"I have some ideas, but they require a quick shopping trip. I just need to make a few stops. Can you give me a ride? As you pointed out, the pickup truck is too hot for cruising around town."

Stony and Mia exchanged uneasy looks.

"Please," Diana said. "Sneaking around Birmingham on my own will take hours, and we can't afford extra hours. You don't have to come into the stores with me. I'm loaded with cash. I've been picking every pocket within sight. Just drop me off and circle the block until I'm done shopping."

Mia furrowed her brow. "You realize if we're caught together, it might ruin everything."

"I'll be very careful." Diana blinked her eyes like a sad, little girl.

"OK," Stony said. "You win. Now eat, and I want to see you polish off that plate. It could be your last meal for a while."

Everybody stopped talking so they could focus on eating. Even though Stony had the most food by far, he finished first. He settled back to enjoy his bottle of beer.

Diana was nibbling at the remains of her meal with a distant look in her eyes.

"What's wrong now?" he said.

"Thinking about Orcus," she said. "I'm not happy about the idea of spending time with him again. The nightmare is getting frighteningly real."

"What was your relationship like?"

"He was a harsh master, but he did take care of me. He made sure my basic needs were always met. When he whipped me, he didn't leave marks, and he never hit me in the face. He kept me beautiful."

"Like a show dog," Mia said.

"I suppose," Diana said. "The punishments always had a purpose though. They were instructive. I got whipped because I was too slow or not paying attention. I failed to meet a goal. He set very high standards for all his slaves. We had to be strong, disciplined, obedient, and smart. We had to learn the rituals and chants perfectly. I once spent a whole week with a forty-pound weight chained to my ankles just because I couldn't pronounce a passage properly. I still had to do all my chores."

Stony grimaced.

"What if I can't handle being with him again? What if I crack? Can I just kill him?"

"That will make finding Pomona and the kidnapped kids a lot harder," he said, "but if that's your best option, I suppose you have to take it. Do you think you can kill him?"

"Not with my bare hands," she said. "He's incredibly strong and tough. When he turns into a bear, he's very hard to stop. He could break my neck with one swipe of his claws. I would need a huge gun, but I probably won't have one when the time comes." She sighed.

Everybody finished their meal. They snuck out a side gate and walked to the car. Stony and Mia sat up front, and Diana sat in back but kept her head down.

"What's the shopping list?" Mia said.

"Cheap clothes and a backpack first," Diana said. "A Goodwill store will do nicely. They like cash. Then I need to buy small tools for hotwiring vehicles."

"A hardware store," Stony said.

"Yes. Finally, I need a motorcycle helmet, one that covers my face completely."

"You're going to ride a motorcycle out of here?"

"That's the plan," she said. "It will be like the old days. I was a badass biker chick as a teenager."

Stony smiled.

* * *

"Here," Diana said. "This will do."

Stony pulled over and let her out. She stepped onto the sidewalk carrying a backpack in one hand and a motorcycle helmet in the other. Recent purchases filled the green cloth backpack to capacity. She had bought several sets of clothes in various styles so she could change costumes at will. A toolbox full of small tools was jammed into the backpack. She also had a flashlight and a camouflage tarp in case she needed to hide in the woods.

Diana just needed a motorcycle now. Stony watched her walk into a five-story parking garage in downtown Birmingham. She was about to do a different kind of shopping.

"OK," Mia said in an exasperated tone. "I admit it."

Stony looked at her. "What?"

"I kind of like her."

He smiled.

She wagged a finger at him. "But don't get any ideas, buster. I don't want to see the two of you getting chummy. Maintain a respectful, professional distance."

"You're beautiful when you're jealous." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

After just a few minutes, Stony heard the roar of a motorcycle starting. Diana rode out of the garage on a classic Harley-Davidson a moment later. The sweet ride was all chrome and black paint. A little rust and a few scratches showed that the bike had seen plenty of miles. Diana was wearing her helmet with the tinted visor down, and her backpack was on her back.

"That was quick," Mia said.

"Those old Harleys are easy to hotwire," Stony said.

He followed Diana through Birmingham. She handled the heavy bike beautifully with smooth gear shifts and crisp turns. After riding several blocks, she turned into an alley. He stopped at the entrance to the alley and looked in. He saw her stash the Harley by a dumpster, and she placed her backpack and helmet inside the dumpster.

She ran to Stony and sat in the backseat of the car. "I'm ready to start the party. Take me back to the stolen pickup truck."

He drove her across town to a parking garage near the restaurant. She jumped out and ran into the garage.

"Stay way back," Mia said. "We absolutely don't want to be associated with this."

"Of course," Stony said.

The rusty, white pickup truck left the garage at high speed. The old engine roared and the tires squealed when Diana made a hard turn.

Stony drove at a normal speed and quickly lost sight of Diana. Mia was using the tracking app in her phone, and she guided him through a series of turns. He eventually saw the pickup truck again. A police car had pulled over Diana, likely for reckless driving. He parked across the street and down the block where he could clearly see the action.

Half a minute passed. Stony could see Diana sitting in the pickup truck. She was wearing a gray hoodie with the hood covering her shaved head.

An African-American officer stepped out of the police car. He aimed a pistol at Diana and screamed something. Stony could tell he was scared by the way his gun shook.

Diana calmly stepped out of the pickup truck. She knelt on the street and put her hands behind her head. She looked like she was surrendering peacefully.

"What is that girl up to?" Mia said.

"I don't know," Stony said. "This part of the plan was sketchy."

"She's not good at sharing her thoughts."

"Considering the life she has led, that's not a surprise."

The cop pulled out a set of handcuffs with his free hand. He walked around behind Diana, holstered his gun, and grabbed her wrist.

She responded with an athletic maneuver which made Stony gasp in admiration. She hopped to her feet and performed a standing backflip. She landed behind the cop, and now she was holding his wrists. She kicked the back of his legs. He sprawled forward, hitting the street face-first. She wrenched his arms around and used his own cuffs on him. Finally, she snatched his gun and radio from his belt.

"Beautiful," Mia said.

"The cop was stupid," Stony said. "He should've waited for backup."

"He didn't think a lone woman could kick his ass so easily."

Diana ran to the police car. The engine was already running. She climbed in and sped off, leaving a cloud of tire smoke in her wake.

"I hope she realizes cop cars always have trackers in them," Mia said.

"She only needs to reach the motorcycle," Stony said.

Instead of driving towards the alley where Diana had stashed the Harley, he went to her planned escape route. She intended to use Interstate 20, the most direct way to Houston. He took the nearest onramp onto the highway, drove a couple of miles, and then parked on the shoulder. He turned on his emergency flashers.

"Where is she?" Stony said.

Mia looked at her phone. "Right where she should be. Give her a few minutes."

He sighed anxiously. He hated waiting for other people to do their job. He much preferred to be the guy doing the job.

A few minutes later, Diana roared by on the motorcycle. She gave the horn a cheerful toot as she passed. She had changed her clothes, and with the helmet covering her face, she wouldn't be recognized. Stony watched for signs of pursuit, but the highway traffic appeared normal.

He merged into traffic. "On the road again...," he sang.

* * *

Stony turned into an establishment named simply, "Bikes and Beer." The biker bar was an outpost in the middle of Louisiana swampland. It stood within sight of the highway, and he expected all its customers were thirsty travelers. Half the vehicles in the parking lot were motorcycles. Small groups of admirers stood around the nicest bikes.

Stony pointed at the bike Diana had stolen. "She's definitely here."

"Let's get out," Mia said. "I need to stretch my legs anyway."

The lot was nearly full, and he had to park in an inconvenient corner. When he got out, warm, humid air made him feel like he had walked into a shower room. Night had fallen, and the bar was the only source of light. He smelled a mix of cigarette and marijuana smoke.

"It's a party," Mia said.

Stony nodded. A rowdy crowd was drinking and dancing while country music played through loudspeakers. The men were wearing leather and denim, and the clothing hung loosely on their fat bodies. The women favored shorts and tank-tops, but many were as overweight as the men. The bar had a roof but no exterior walls. The patrons were essentially outdoors but didn't seem to mind. The floor was just a concrete pad.

Diana stepped out of the crowd. "Hey, guys."

She was holding a big bottle of water with one hand while her other arm cradled her helmet.

"Why did you stop here?" Stony said.

"I was thirsty and had to pee. I've been riding that damned motorcycle for six hours. It really needs a tune-up. I think the shaking loosened my teeth."

He nodded. "A drink and a piss sounds good to me, too. We'll take a fifteen-minute break and then hit the road again. We need to reach Houston while it's still dark."

"And just to be safe," Mia said, "pretend like you don't know us. We've come this far. Let's not screw it up now."

Diana nodded and walked off.

Stony and Mia sought out the toilets. They were in a separate shed in back, and he could smell them as he approached. He went through a door marked "DOODS," and she used a door marked "BEETCHES."

The horror show inside the restroom froze Stony for an instant. The toilet had no seat. It was just a rusty steel bowl with a hole at the bottom. The toilet paper roll was empty, but somebody had helpfully written "need more toilet paper" on the wall. There wasn't a sink, but a garden hose hanging on the wall probably served the same purpose. The hose also seemed to be the only way to flush the toilet. I've been in prisons with nicer facilities than this, he thought.

Fortunately, he only needed to urinate. He did so, washed his hands with the hose over the toilet, and left.

Mia came out a moment later. "Wow," she said, "that was impressively unpleasant."

They went to the bar and asked for non-alcoholic drinks. The bartender gave them a funny look. His eyes focused on the bandage over Mia's ear. After some discussion, Stony and Mia settled for bottled water.

The rough crowd made him feel self-conscious. He was wearing a yellow pull-over shirt, brown slacks, and tennis shoes. The outfit was intended to be completely uninteresting, but among bikers, he looked like a geeky tourist. Mia was dressed like a soccer mom.

She abruptly turned around and slugged a guy in the jaw. Stony heard the thump over the loud music, like a baseball bat striking meat. The guy collapsed to the floor.

"What was that?" Stony said.

"He pinched my butt!" Mia said.

The victim of her rage was rubbing his jaw. His eyes weren't pointed in exactly the same direction. He tried to get up but fell back down.

He had friends though. Three big men in leather jackets glared at Stony and Mia with open hostility.

"Hey," Stony said, "none of us came here for a fight. Your buddy got a lesson in manners, and let's leave it at that."

"What are you drinking?" one of the bikers said.

He had a long, black beard. A black skull cap covered just the top of his head, and long hair hung out the sides.

"Water," Stony said. "We have a lot of driving to do."

The biker scowled. He didn't like that answer.

Stony noticed Diana looking at him from across the bar. He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. She nodded and left.

The man on the ground finally stood up, but he was still wobbly. He tried to slap Mia. She grabbed his arm and performed a perfect hip throw. He flipped over and landed hard on the unforgiving concrete.

"Can you please stop beating him up?" Stony said.

Mia smiled apologetically. "Sorry. It's a reflex. He's lucky I didn't break his arm."

The other three bikers moved forward with obviously hostile intentions.

Stony raised his hands. "Guys! We don't want to start a brawl in the middle of a crowded bar. Let's do this somewhere else."

He and Mia left the crowd and walked to an open, grassy area a short distance away. He was glad to get away from the loud, obnoxious music. The darkness soothed him. He preferred fighting at night.

Diana rode off on her motorcycle.

The three angry bikers followed Stony and Mia, but so did a big group of other people. They were obviously looking forward to some violent entertainment.

Stony took a big drink from his water bottle while he sized up the opposition. They looked like ordinary tough guys. They weren't carrying any weapons openly, but a few were probably hidden under their clothes.

Stony and Mia faced the bikers at a distance of several paces. An excited audience formed a circle around them.

"Go ahead and fight them," Stony said to Mia. "I'll just watch."

"You're not going to help?"

"You started this, so you should finish it."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're such a gentleman, but that's OK. It's more fun for me this way."

Mia launched herself at the bikers. She took down one with a flying kick while he still had a startled expression on his face. The next man tried to punch her. She dove under his clumsy swing and rammed her fist into his groin. His eyes crossed, and he folded over.

Stony grimaced sympathetically.

Mia squared up against her third and final opponent.

"You have the option of running away now," she said.

The biker drew a knife instead and waved it menacingly.

Bad mistake, Stony thought.

Mia feinted, causing her opponent to swing his knife through the air. She stepped inside his attack and planted her elbow in his chest. She grabbed the arm holding the knife and wrenched it around, dislocating the shoulder. She took the knife from his limp fingers. Finally and with an artistic flourish, she stabbed the man in the hamstring.

"That will teach you to pull a knife on an innocent, harmless woman," she said.

Stony heard a suspicious movement behind him. He turned around in time to see a man preparing to swing a baseball bat. Stony raised his arm and hardened his skin, creating a shield. The bat bounced off his forearm harmlessly. Stony dropped his fist onto the man's clavicle, crushing the bone.

Stony grabbed the baseball bat. "You're lucky all these other people are here, or I'd ram this up your ass, starting with the thick end." He tossed the bat into the trees.

"Darling," Mia said, "we should go. Lots of driving to do."

He nodded.

They walked off, and nobody tried to stop them.

* * *

Stony parked at the Cambridge Street entrance to the Houston Zoo. There wasn't a real parking lot at that entrance, but a paved area in front of the gate worked as well. The zoo was closed, so nobody cared if he parked illegally.

According to his watch, the time was 4:30 AM. Perfect, he thought.

He stepped out of the car and stretched his stiff arms and back. The endless drive from Washington, D.C. was finally at an end. Mia came around the car. She swung her head from side to side until her neck popped.

Diana's stolen motorcycle was parked in the same area, but Stony didn't see her at first. A hiss drew his attention to some trees on the left. He walked over and found her sitting high in the branches.

"What are you doing up there?" he said.

"Just mentally preparing," she said. "High places help me relax."

"Well, come down. As soon as the others get here, you'll have to go."

"We're already here," a new voice said.

Stony turned and saw two black silhouettes emerge from the shadows. Black and gray camouflage covered Brian and Veronica from head to toe. Porous cloth even concealed their faces, making them almost invisible at night.

"Nice work," Veronica said. "You got Diana here in one piece and created just the right amount of trouble along the way."

"Diana deserves most of the credit," Stony said. "She's a real trooper."

Diana climbed down the tree using her claws for extra grip. She landed silently on the ground.

"Go out there and make some noise," he told her.

She pressed her lips together. "Could I have a friendly hug first?" she said after a long hesitation.

"Why?"

"I could be dead before the sun comes up... or worse. I don't know what Orcus will do to me when he sees me again. I'm scared."

Stony looked at Mia. She thought for a moment and then nodded.

He wrapped his arms around Diana and pulled her close. He was careful not to touch her in inappropriate places.

She put her head against his shoulder. "That's nice. Nobody has hugged me in years."

He gave her half a minute of comfort and then released her. "Now go. Make us proud. We'll look for you near the big cats' exhibit."

She climbed back onto her motorcycle, started the engine, and drove off.

Stony looked at Brian. "Where are our toys?"

Brian went back into the shadows and emerged holding a black duffle bag. He placed it on the pavement with a clank.

Stony and Mia quickly changed into black camouflage outfits just like Brian and Veronica. The duffle bag also held weapons, radios, night vision goggles, and other gear, but everything was painted matte black. It was like working with solid chunks of darkness.

When Stony and Mia were ready for battle, they put their old clothes in the car. He drove the car around the corner and parked it in the lot for a hospital. He ran back to the zoo entrance.

"Ready to go," he said. "Two teams of two. Stay in radio contact. Our job is to observe. If we're lucky, we'll see Orcus, but don't engage unless absolutely necessary. The most important thing is to not let him know we're here. Keep in mind that there are lions, tigers, and bears in the zoo, and he can control them. We're in hostile territory."

Mia, Brian, and Veronica nodded.

Stony ran to the gate. It was locked, but he climbed over the fence easily. He waited for his teammates to join him while he looked for trouble. The zoo was very quiet. He was in a section with gardens and palm trees.

He grinned. The fun begins.

Chapter Nineteen

Orcus pressed the refresh button for the thousandth time.

He was sitting in a coffee shop which was open all night. He had a tablet in his lap and a cup of lukewarm coffee in his hand. He was checking news websites, searching for updates on Diana. He had followed her progress across the country. According to his estimates, she should've been in Houston by now.

His eyes widened when he saw a new story on his screen. Houston police had found the "woman who had escaped from a military prison in Washington." She was in the city, just miles from his location. A picture of Diana in an ugly orange outfit accompanied the story. She was still wearing the collar.

Orcus clicked on a link that took him to a live news feed. The coffee shop offered free, high-speed wireless service, so the video appeared almost immediately. It showed a news reporter standing on a dark street. He was a handsome young man, perhaps of Hispanic heritage, wearing a green sports jacket.

"Houston police attempted to arrest the fugitive known as 'Diana,'" the reporter said, "but once again, she slipped away. All available units are now searching the university area, going from house to house. She was last seen near the University of Houston, headed west. She is regarded as extremely dangerous. Civilians are cautioned not to approach her under any circumstances."

Orcus brought up a map of the city. He zoomed into the area around the University of Houston, Rice University, and the Texas Medical Center. His gaze immediately settled on one spot in particular.

"Houston Zoo," he murmured.

He and Diana had visited the zoo several times and knew it well. It offered many good places to hide, particularly at night. Her ability to control animals would allow her to get into cages safely. She could eat the animals' food. She could even command them to protect her. She would feel safe and secure, especially among the cats. It was such an obvious choice, Orcus felt dumb for not realizing it earlier.

He stood up and left the coffee shop. He was in downtown Houston near the famous Galleria Mall, but at this time of night, the city was dead quiet. Dawn was still hours away. He had plenty of time to find Diana and now knew exactly where to look.

He ran off towards where he had parked his car.

* * *

Diana's heart pounded as she raced her motorcycle through city streets. Police sirens wailed in the distance. She caught an occasional glimpse of flashing red and blue lights in her mirrors. The cops weren't on her tail, but they had a general idea of her location, and they were closing in.

No traffic got in her way. She shot down the center of the road at highway speeds. When she finally saw a sign for the zoo, she exhaled with relief. The police would never find her in there. Only Orcus could.

When Diana got close to the zoo, she dropped her motorcycle in the front yard of an apartment complex. Hopefully, the police would think she was in the complex and not even come to the zoo.

She tossed her helmet aside and proceeded on foot. She kept her backpack though because it might still be useful. She wanted to run even faster, so she kicked off her shoes and transformed her arms and legs. She sprinted on all fours like a cat, achieving speeds impossible for a human.

Cats weren't long-distance runners though, and she was soon gasping for air. She pushed herself to keep going despite a burning sensation in her lungs. She reached a fence screened by bushes and trees. She bunched her hind legs and made a mighty leap over the fence.

She landed in a large, dirt enclosure. She had definitely arrived in the zoo. She stood up straight, became fully human, and looked around.

A herd of elephants was standing in the enclosure. A few of them noticed her presence and watched her warily.

Diana calmly walked over to the largest elephant. The beast could've crushed her with a single stomp, but she showed no fear. She made a magical sign with her hands to calm the elephant. She reached up and gently placed her hand against its enormous head.

I'm a calf in your herd, she sent.

The elephant snorted and caressed her with its trunk. She smiled.

Diana walked deeper into the zoo. She wanted to hang out with her favorite tiger.

* * *

Stony was lying on the roof of a building watching the big cats' exhibits from above. The zoo had a jaguar, an African lion, a Malayan tiger, and a cougar. Night vision goggles allowed him to see the animals in their enclosures despite the darkness. They glowed with body heat in the infrared spectrum, but they weren't moving. He didn't know if they were sleeping or just lazy.

"Diana should be here by now," Stony whispered.

"Give the girl a break," Mia whispered. "She needed to get the attention of the police, evade arrest, flee across the city, sneak into the zoo, and come here. That takes a little time."

He clenched his jaw.

His goggles showed a second source of heat in the tiger exhibit. The white silhouette had the shape of a woman creeping forward.

"Hey!" he whispered. "That must be her!"

The tiger was a giant animal, capable of killing a human with one swipe of its paw. He was afraid for Diana even though she knew what she was doing.

She moved towards the tiger at a steady pace. The animal was watching her with its tail twitching. She reached out, and for some reason, it didn't bite her hand off. She touched the tiger's forehead.

The tail stopped twitching immediately. The tiger licked her face like it was cleaning a cub. She kissed its nose playfully.

"Amazing," Mia whispered.

The sound of footsteps made Stony look to his right. Somebody was walking up the lighted path in front of the exhibits. Stony flipped up his goggles and saw it was a security guard in a green uniform. The guard was swinging a flashlight back and forth.

"Shit," Stony whispered. He pressed himself flat against the roof he was lying on.

The guard pointed his flashlight into the tiger enclosure. Stony braced himself for trouble. If the guard spotted Diana, Stony would have to deal with the problem quickly.

The guard just moved on though, and Stony exhaled. Apparently, Diana had managed to hide.

Brian's voice came through a tiny speaker in Stony's ear. "That was close."

"Too close," Stony replied through a microphone.

He didn't know where Brian and Veronica were hiding, but they were somewhere in the area. Everybody had their eyes on Diana.

* * *

Orcus was strolling through the Houston Zoo. The many green trees and bushes reminded him of a forest. Wide, curving paths were familiar enough that he hardly needed to look at a map. He liked the zoo much better at night than during the day. He didn't have to deal with mobs of ugly, smelly humans. He could share the peace and quiet with the animals instead.

He had several guns under his clothes even though he preferred to use his claws. If his enemies attacked, he was ready. He also held a bag of things Diana would need when he found her.

Orcus expected she was with the cats, but he didn't go straight there. Her miraculous escape from prison could've been a ruse designed to trap him. He needed to prepare a safe place for their reunion and then draw her to it. If it turned out somebody was following her, he would kill her and run.

A moving light ahead caught Orcus's attention. He stepped off the path and hid behind a tree.

A security guard in a green uniform was approaching. Orcus decided he couldn't afford to have a guard causing trouble when the situation was already so delicate. Orcus stepped out silently, wrapped his arm around the man's neck, and squeezed the life out of him. Orcus dragged the body into the trees.

He ran off. His first stop would be the bear exhibit followed by the chimps and then the wolves.

* * *

Diana gave "Berani" the tiger a playful push. The huge cat smacked her shoulder with its paw in response, knocking her over. She knew it meant no harm.

She was having fun with her new friend. After a long, stressful journey, she deserved a little play time. She might never get another chance to wrestle with a real tiger.

A wolf howl made her look up. The sound had come from the path that ran along the big cats' exhibits, not a place where wild animals were usually found. There was only one possible reason for a wolf to be there.

"Goodbye, Berani," Diana whispered.

She kissed the tiger on the forehead, and it purred.

She had already discarded her backpack and had emptied her pockets. She had left the tracking device in a garbage can. Rathanael's mark was the only way her friends could locate her. She was carrying nothing that Orcus might find suspicious.

She sprinted across the enclosure, leapt over a moat, and grabbed the edge of a wall. She pulled herself up and over, landing on the lighted, concrete path above the tiger pit.

One of the maned wolves was walking past. The animal had red-brown hair, long legs, and oversized ears. It stood a yard tall at the shoulder.

The wolf heard Diana, ran over, and growled at her. She whispered a word in an ancient language spoken by demons and made a gesture with her hands. The wolf calmed down.

She put her hand on its warm, furry head. Recent memories surfaced, and she discovered that Orcus had sent the animal as a guide. She commanded it to take her to him. The wolf trotted off, and she followed tentatively.

* * *

"She's moving!" Stony whispered into his radio. "Follow her, but don't rush. We can afford to lose her for a while. Rathanael can always find her again. Remember, Orcus is out there, and he's smart enough to suspect a trap."

Stony and Mia slid off the roof of the building where they had been hiding. They landed silently on the concrete path below. He scanned the area with his night vision goggles.

Two figures climbed down from a tree.

"Brian," Stony said, "is that you?"

"Yes," Brian replied through the radio.

"What is our marching order?" Veronica said.

Stony considered for a moment. "Brian first. He has the sharpest eyes. I'll go second. Then Veronica. Mia at the rear. Keep it tight."

The four of them proceeded through the zoo in formation. They stayed off the path as much as possible and made good use of the trees and bushes. Stony caught glimpses of Diana and her wolf guide ahead.

The team walked past the exhibits for the lions and bears. The "African painted dog" came next. Eerie silence made Stony nervous.

His night vision goggles detected a heat source high in a tree ahead. It was too big to be a bird but too small for a person. The heat source was moving around with great agility.

He pointed and whispered, "What's that?"

Brian stopped and looked. "I think it's a monkey."

"Out of its cage?"

"No. It's a sentry. Back up. Everybody, back the hell up before it sees us!"

Stony looked closely and saw other monkeys hiding in the branches. An animal on the ground was possibly another wolf. Orcus had friends watching out for him. Sneaking past the animals would be difficult at best and not worth the risk.

The team crept back until they reached the cover provided by some garbage cans.

"We're done for now," Stony said. "We'll give Orcus and Diana enough time to escape before moving to the next phase. We can't attack until we've located the children."

He sighed anxiously. He wished he could help Diana, but the next part was entirely up to her. Be brave, my friend.

* * *

Diana followed her wolf guide to a refreshment area known as the "Trading Post." The store was closed, but she remembered that it served ice cream, cookies, brownies, and floats. Rustic decorations made the building look like an African trading post.

Instead of people, animals waited among the tables and chairs. The largest was a brown bear, not Orcus but still intimidating. Three wolves and five chimps completed the strange menagerie.

The animals just watched Diana silently. She assumed that if she made a hostile move, they would attack. Even with her powers, she couldn't handle all of them at once, and she would certainly be killed.

There was no sign of Orcus. She guessed he was making sure she hadn't been followed. She waited quietly and listened to the night. A slight breeze made the leaves flutter. She settled into a docile mental state appropriate for a slave.

After about fifteen minutes, a deep, familiar voice said, "You shaved off your beautiful hair."

Diana didn't look at Orcus. She just knelt on the concrete and lowered her head submissively. "It was necessary for my disguise, master. It is wonderful to be with you again."

"I'm glad to see you're still wearing my collar."

"They tried to take it off, but I fought them."

"Good," Orcus said. "Take off all your clothes. I must check you for bugs."

She immediately stood and stripped off everything, including her underwear. Fortunately, it was a warm night.

She snuck a quick peek at Orcus. He had shaved off his magnificent beard and had trimmed his hair. He looked very civilized in a dark blue suit and black tie.

Seeing him again brought back an avalanche of bad memories. She fought to maintain her composure. She was naked and relatively helpless. If he had any reason to doubt her loyalty, he would kill her immediately.

He meticulously inspected her from head to toe. He probed her mouth and throat with his fingers until she gagged. He felt her breasts.

When he looked at her back, he said, "What's this strange wound?"

"They branded me, master," Diana said. "It happened during my interrogation."

"It's some kind of symbol."

"I don't know about that, master."

"The shape is interesting...," Orcus said.

"I wish it were gone. They tortured me for many hours."

"You didn't tell them anything, right?"

"Of course not, master," Diana said. "I didn't speak a word even when they beat me."

"Well done. Bend over. Grab your ankles and hold still."

She bent over all the way, keeping her legs straight. He checked her vagina and anus, and he wasn't gentle. She forced herself to not clench even when his thick fingers were deep inside. Her collar helped her endure the humiliation. A peaceful, transcendent feeling flowed from the iron, allowing her to relax.

"You seem to be clean," he said. "Put these on."

Orcus handed her a bag. Then he picked up her old clothes and stuffed them into a garbage can.

Diana found a stretchy black dress, thong underwear, high heels, and a blonde wig in the bag. There was no bra. She forced herself to smile as she put on the clothes, as if she enjoyed dressing like a slut for his pleasure.

"Let's go," Orcus said. "I'll hear your story once we're safely on the road."

He led her towards the Cambridge Street entrance. The bear, chimps, and wolves accompanied them like military guards, making no noise. The strange group passed the cheetah exhibit, the giraffe barn, and a carousel. As they approached the gate, Diana saw flashlights moving around. Orcus raised his hand, and everybody stopped.

"Check it out," he told Diana.

"Yes, master," she said.

She took off her high heels and held them as she crept forward silently. She reached the gate and peered around the edge of a wall. Two police cars were parked outside the zoo, and two officers were standing there. She hurried back to Orcus.

"Two cops," she said.

He frowned. "They're in our way. Kill them."

Diana winced. She had to think fast. "Master, may I make a small suggestion."

"What?" Orcus narrowed his eyes.

"Two dead cops will attract a lot of additional attention. The police already know I'm in the area. Let's not encourage them to focus their search and bring in more resources. I wish to suggest that we sneak around this obstacle."

"Are you contradicting me?"

"No, master!" She lowered her head and stared at the ground. "I am merely trying to help us get away in an expedient manner."

He was silent for a moment. "Perhaps you have a good point, but I don't appreciate your attitude."

"I look forward to being punished, master."

"Later. We'll go another way."

Orcus took Diana and the animals to the petting zoo. There was no entrance there, but the fence was climbable.

One by one, he touched the foreheads of the animals. They turned and walked away, leaving the humans alone.

"Go first," Orcus said.

Diana held her shoes in her mouth. She transformed her arms and legs, bunched her muscles, and bounded over the high fence. She landed in the grass on the other side. When she saw that she was alone, she turned back into a human and put her shoes back on.

"It's safe, master," she called softly.

Orcus simply climbed over the fence in human form.

He took her to a parking garage across the street. It was attached to the medical center and was open all night. A surprisingly large number of cars were parked there.

Orcus and Diana climbed the stairs to the second floor. They went to a large, black Mercedes with golden hubcaps.

"Beautiful car, master," she said.

He nodded. "I killed a drug dealer for it. You drive." He tossed her a set of keys.

She sat in the driver's seat, and he sat in the back. She ran her hand across supple, leather upholstery.

"Where am I driving, master?"

"Thorn's house," Orcus said. "Pomona is there along with some kidnapped children."

Diana grimaced. "I remember Thorn. He's a cannibal."

"He's something even worse now, and I don't want him eating any of my kids. I need them as sacrifices. Drive west on Interstate 20. Go!"

She started the car and drove off.

She remembered Houston well enough to find the highway. They were soon cruising through the night on a wide-open road.

"How did you escape?" Orcus said.

Diana had rehearsed the answer to this question, and she spoke immediately, "The PEA agents interrogated me from the moment I arrived. I was tortured, but I kept my mouth shut. The only thing they got out of me was my name. Eventually, they tried tear gas on me. They sprayed it right in my face."

She glanced at the rearview mirror to check his reaction. His face showed no emotion.

"Go on," Orcus said.

"I pretended to pass out. When the guards tried to move me, I attacked and killed two of them. Then I used my claws to tear open the cover of a ventilation duct. I squeezed through and eventually reached the roof. The prison is built next to a bay. I jumped off, landed in the water, and swam away before anybody saw me."

The story sounded somewhat ridiculous to Diana's own ears. The PEA would never be so sloppy. The prison wasn't that close to the water. Ventilation ducts could be used for escape only in Hollywood movies.

She checked the mirror. Orcus was nodding and yawning.

"Nicely done," he said. "It's good to have you serving me again. Now turn on the radio. I want to hear the news."

* * *

Stony crouched in the shadows, uncertain about whether he should move. If he made a mistake, Diana might pay for it with her life. He had no idea whether she and Orcus were still in the zoo.

Footsteps made him spin around. A man in a white suit and black tie was approaching, and he had wings.

Stony, Mia, Brian, and Veronica stood up.

"They have left the zoo," Rathanael said. "They're headed northwest."

"Diana is OK?" Stony said.

"She is unharmed for the moment. A brave woman. Your bus is waiting at the main entrance. I will be in touch." The angel faded away.

The team ran north, unconcerned about how much noise they made. They reached the main gate after a couple of minutes, climbed over, and proceeded to a parking lot. A white bus was parked on the far side with the lights off. Everybody ran to it.

The door opened as they approached, and they climbed inside. The driver was a woman in the standard blue suit of a PEA agent. She started the engine.

"Go northwest," Stony said.

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

In addition to regular seating, the interior of the bus had four Murphy beds. Stony smiled. Very considerate, he thought. As the bus drove away, he prepared for sleep. He expected it would be a long ride to wherever they were going.

* * *

A rising sun reflected off the rearview mirror straight into Diana's eyes. She tilted the mirror to stop the glare.

Even though she loved the night, she was glad to see the sun. It gave her hope that she might live another day.

Orcus was sleeping in the back seat and snoring like a bear. She considered killing him. Reaching back with her claws and slashing his throat would be easy. Two things kept her hands on the wheel though. First, only Orcus knew the location of the kidnapped children. Diana had no idea where Thorn lived, and finding the cannibal would be difficult at best. He might eat the kids in the meantime. Second, Orcus might not really be asleep. He could just be testing her loyalty, and as soon as she reached for him, he would break her arm.

Diana was driving on Interstate 20, an extremely boring highway. Two lanes in each direction went straight to the horizon. The landscape was just grass and low hills all around. Despite her best efforts, her eyes drooped. After fleeing across the country with only a few hours of sleep, she was completely exhausted. She accidently swerved onto the shoulder and had to jerk the steering wheel back.

Orcus snorted. "What happened?"

"My apologies, master," she said. "I almost fell asleep."

"You're weak."

"Yes, master. I failed."

"That's two demerits so far," he said. "Disappointing. Remind me to whip you later, but we can't afford to stop now. Just pull over. You can sleep while I drive. I can understand why you're tired."

"Thank you, master."

Diana stopped the car on the side of the highway and traded places with Orcus. The seat was warm where he had lain on it. She settled down for a much-needed nap, even though it meant trusting her life to Orcus completely. He could take her anywhere. As soon as she relaxed, her eyelids closed.

After what seemed like just a few seconds, she opened her eyes again. She was still in the Mercedes, but it was different. The world was a little hazy. She looked out the windows and saw only white fog. Then she noticed Rathanael was driving instead of Orcus.

"Huh?" she said. "How did you get here? What happened to Orcus?"

"Nothing happened to that beast," the angel said. "You're asleep. I'm visiting you in a dream."

"Oh. That's why everything is weird."

"Exactly. Just relax. You're safe for now."

Diana leaned back in her seat. The car purred like a cat, and the sound soothed her. She was enjoying the surreal feeling of being asleep and awake at the same time.

"I came to congratulate you," Rathanael said. "Your performance so far has been excellent. Your road to redemption might be short. I was right to put my faith in you."

"It was hard."

"I know. I saw how you suffered, but you met the challenge bravely."

Diana smiled. She wasn't used to receiving compliments. Orcus certainly never said anything nice to her.

"Oh," she said. "Orcus told me we're going to meet a guy named Thorn. Pomona and the kidnapped kids are with him."

"Do you know where Thorn lives?" Rathanael said.

"Out west somewhere is all I know. I met him once. A violent psycho who likes the taste of human flesh. The kids are in grave danger."

"I see the memory in your mind. This information might be useful. Thank you."

Diana relaxed for a moment. Then she said, "I have a question."

"What, my child?

"You have powers. Why don't you do more of the fighting? You should be out in the field with Stony and Mia. You should help search for Thorn."

"I have to keep headquarters safe," Rathanael said. "My presence prevents demons from sneaking in. I can't risk being away for long. Besides, hunting and killing humans is not my purpose. I'm a defender, not a slayer. A shepherd, not a soldier."

"But I'm sure you know how to kill," Diana said. "You don't strike me as an angel of sweetness and light. You're more of an Old Testament, 'vengeance is mine' kind of angel."

"I have killed in the past."

"Ooh! I want to hear that story."

The angel didn't answer at first. He had his hands on the steering wheel, but he didn't seem to be driving anywhere. Opaque fog completely surrounded the car. Diana waited patiently.

"No angel would choose to live permanently on Earth," Rathanael finally said. "Our home is the Kingdom of Heaven and the City of God. I was... sent down."

"You're a fallen angel?"

"No. I'm in temporary exile until my superiors decide I'm fit to return home."

"You got into trouble?" Diana said.

"I committed the sin of wrath. Like you, I have a temper."

"So you're not perfect."

"Only the Lord is perfect," Rathanael said. "I have made mistakes in the past, and I will make them in the future. Even after thousands of years, I have more to learn. In fact, the older I get, the less I seem to know."

"You're humble. I like that in a boss. I wish I could see you fight."

"I hope that wish is never granted. Rest now. Goodbye."

Her eyes closed again, and this time, she stayed asleep.

Chapter Twenty

Stony woke up. Bright sunlight forced him to squint as his memories slowly came into focus.

He was riding a bus with a white interior. Judging by the angle of the sun, it was mid-day. He and his teammates were chasing after Diana.

He rolled out of his narrow Murphy bed. Wearing just underwear, he staggered to the front of the bus.

"Where are we?" he grunted at the female driver.

She glanced at him with a hint of fear in her eyes. "We just passed through Abilene, Texas, sir."

He looked out the front window at a grassy plain. Everything was shades of yellow and brown. Only a few scattered trees broke up the straight horizon.

"Where is Diana?" Stony said.

"About ten miles ahead. She's in a black Mercedes."

"How do we know that?"

"Rathanael told us," the driver said. "A high-altitude surveillance plane is tailing the car now. We have its exact location in real-time."

"That's convenient, but I hope Orcus doesn't see it."

"He won't. The Air Force jet is flying at fifty thousand feet. It would be hard to see with a telescope."

Stony smiled. The PEA's partnership with the Air Force was useful at times.

"Director Robertson wants you to call him," the driver added.

Stony shuffled back to where he had slept. His black clothing, weapons, and equipment were in a sloppy pile on the floor. He hadn't wasted any time getting into bed. He dug through the pile until he found his phone.

Mia, Brian, and Veronica were still asleep. Stony took a moment to admire Mia's beautiful face and blonde hair. The bandage covering her ear caused him to feel sympathetic pain.

He touched her shoulder. "Hey."

Her hand snaked out and grabbed his wrist with the speed of a viper. She opened her eyes, and when she saw his face, she let go of him.

"What's going on?" she mumbled.

Stony woke up the rest of the team. While he explained the situation, they sat on the edges of their beds and listened.

Stony finally called Director Robertson with his phone in speaker-mode.

"Yes?" Robertson said.

"This is Stony. You wanted me to call?"

"Rathanael secretly spoke with Diana and got some interesting information. She and Orcus are going to meet a cannibal named Thorn. Pomona and the kids are with him."

Stony leaned forward. "Do we have a file on Thorn?"

"The PEA has heard rumors about him for years, but we never launched a full investigation. Obviously, that was a mistake. All we know is that he is a recluse with mysterious capabilities. He is most likely in New Mexico or Arizona."

"That's a big area."

"Yes," Robertson said, "but Diana will lead us to him. I'm sending all available units to the Southwest. Get ready for a fight. That bus should have some extra weapons in back if you need them. That's all."

Stony hung up his phone. He went to the back of the bus and opened what looked like a closet door. The small room beyond was packed with weapons, ranging from pistols to assault rifles to rocket-propelled grenades. Time to go bear hunting, he thought.

* * *

"Wake up, you lazy slug!" Orcus yelled. "Time to eat."

Diana opened her eyes. She was still in the back of the Mercedes, and she didn't know how long she had slept, but she felt much better. She got out of the car and looked around.

Orcus had parked at a truck stop in the middle of the desert. A flat, brown wasteland stretched to the horizon in all directions. Just the occasional dry bush broke up the otherwise perfect desolation.

The truck stop was like most others though. One row of gas pumps served cars and another served trucks. A large lot in back provided space for truckers to park at night. The facilities included a sit-down restaurant, a sandwich shop, a gift shop, a convenience store, a tire shop, and even a chapel.

"Move. I'm hungry." Orcus rudely shoved Diana towards the restaurant.

She ran ahead to hold the door for him. After he went inside, she pulled out a chair so he could sit at a table.

After he had settled in, she said, "May I sit, master?"

"Yes."

Diana sat across from him. She kept her eyes down as she checked out the restaurant. The interior was meant to look like a classic diner. Red vinyl chairs went along a long counter. Tables stood in the center, and booths were on the other side. A colorful jukebox was playing rock and roll from decades before she had been born.

A waitress handed out menus. Orcus read his, but Diana kept her hands on her lap. He always ordered for her.

The waitress returned a few minutes later.

"I'll have the all-you-can-eat catfish platter," Orcus said. "The lady will have a chicken salad. And extra water for both of us." He gave back the menus.

Diana had an odd feeling. Until recently, she had lived in terror of Orcus. He had abused her whenever he had felt like it. The slightest act of defiance had resulted in sadistic punishments. She had been powerless to protect herself from his cruel whims.

Now an angel was watching over her, and friends were close behind. She was leading Orcus to his demise, and he didn't even know it. She had never felt so empowered, so in control. Her feet were finally on the path to salvation.

The waitress brought two water glasses for each of them. Diana drank one entire glass immediately and half of the other. Orcus drank both glasses and demanded another.

"You're different," he said.

"In what way, master?" Diana said.

"It's hard to put my finger on it. You're bolder, stronger."

"Perhaps my traumatic experiences during the last few days have made me tougher."

"Maybe." Orcus paused and then picked up a full bottle of hot sauce. "Drink this. Every drop."

Diana took the bottle. According to the label, the sauce was made from habanero peppers.

"You're hesitating," he said, "almost defying me. That's what I'm talking about. You've changed. The Diana I knew would drink the sauce without even looking at it."

She unscrewed the cap and poured the sauce down her throat. It burned like lava, and she needed every bit of her self-control to finish the bottle. Tears were pouring from her eyes. Her tongue and throat felt like they were on fire. Her stomach churned, and she fought an urge to vomit.

She put the empty bottle down. "I apologize for my hesitation, master. It won't happen again."

Orcus took away her remaining glass of water and finished it himself. She licked her burning lips. Terrible pain was making her sweat.

"As punishment," he said, "you will have no food or water until we arrive at Thorn's house. That hot sauce will be your only meal."

A few minutes later, Diana received her salad, but she could only stare at it. Orcus, on the other hand, ate a big lunch.

* * *

The bus drove through La Loma, New Mexico. It happened so quickly that Stony almost missed it. The village was just a few buildings clustered around an intersection without even a stop sign. The bus continued onwards through the wilderness.

As Stony and his teammates had traveled north, the landscape had become more rugged. Mountains stood in the distance, but dust in the air made them hazy. Thin, high clouds formed stripes across the blue sky.

Stony liked New Mexico. The vast, arid spaces forced one to confront nature's laws of survival. There was no slack here, no laziness. Plants, insects, and birds struggled to live in a land where every drop of water was precious. Rain might not come for months at a time. Only the most cunning creatures made it.

The bus slowed down and pulled over to the side of the highway.

Stony stood up. "What's wrong?"

"Hitchhiker, sir," the driver said from the front.

"We don't pick up hitchhikers."

"We pick up this one."

The door opened, and Rathanael walked onto the bus. The angel's wings were out in the open.

"Drive," he told the driver.

"Yes, sir!"

The bus started moving again.

Rathanael walked back to where Stony, Mia, Veronica, and Brian were sitting on padded benches. The team was already wearing their body armor, pistols, and essential gear. They would grab the big weapons when it was time to fight.

"How is Diana doing?" Stony said.

"She is suffering but unharmed," Rathanael said. "She has a wonderful strength of will. I see greatness in her future."

Everybody smiled.

"Did you come here for a specific reason?" Mia said.

"Not really," the angel said. "I just came to share a bit of esprit de corps before you go into battle. I envy you."

"You do?" Stony said.

Rathanael reached down and took a pistol from a holster on Stony's belt. The gun was a meaty .45 caliber Desert Eagle loaded with magnum rounds. It made nice, big holes in people. The angel sighted down the gun barrel and played with the trigger action. Then he covered the muzzle with his hand.

"Hey," Stony said, "what are you...?"

Rathanael fired the gun into his own hand. The gunshot sounded like a cannon blast in the enclosed space, and Stony's ears were ringing afterwards. The angel held up a squashed bullet between his fingers and examined it.

"Is everybody OK?" the driver yelled.

"We're fine," Stony said. "Keep driving."

"I used to fight all the time," Rathanael said. "I was a master of all weapons. I enjoyed seeing the blood of God's enemies spilled upon the sand. Those were good days." He sighed.

"Then what happened?"

"Times changed, but I unfortunately did not. I was stubborn. Have fun today. I wish I could join you." The angel put down the gun and faded away.

Mia sighed. She took a doll with blonde hair out of a pouch on her belt. Stony recognized it as the doll he had recovered from the bus with the bomb.

"You're still carrying that around?" he said.

She nodded. "I'm going to return it to its owner."

"Assuming the owner is still alive."

She gave him a dirty look.

"But I'm sure she is," he added lamely.

Stony turned his attention back to the majestic landscape surrounding the bus. They had left the interstate an hour ago and had driven on narrow state roads ever since. Their destination had to be close.

* * *

"Turn here," Orcus ordered.

Diana turned the steering wheel of the black Mercedes. The car slid on loose dirt but managed to stay out of the weeds. She drove down a private, unmarked driveway which cut straight through the wasteland.

She saw two buildings in the distance. One was a large, single-story home with adobe walls and a red tile roof. Brown paint covered the walls which had small, square windows. The surrounding yard was just native desert with no obvious landscaping. A windmill with a generator appeared to be the source of electricity. A remarkably tall antenna stood on the roof of the house.

The second building was a crude shed. Its walls were made of rough stones stacked and cemented together. A sheet of rusty, corrugated steel formed the roof.

Diana didn't see any fences or other signs of security, but none were really needed. As far as she could tell, nobody else lived within ten miles of Thorn's house. Rugged hills covered with tough, little pine trees were his only neighbors. Getting here had involved navigating narrow, dirt roads with precious few signs. Physical isolation was enough security by itself.

She glanced at the rearview mirror but didn't see any sign of pursuit. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. She assumed her friends were following her but were doing a good job of staying out of sight. If not, she was in trouble.

Diana parked the car, and she and Orcus got out. The air was cool and bone dry. A slight breathlessness told her she was at a high altitude.

"Stay behind me."

"Yes, master." Diana quickly stepped behind Orcus.

He went to the front door, but it opened even before he knocked.

She recognized the man who answered the door as Thorn, but he was fatter than she remembered. He weighed at least three hundred pounds. The skin on his bald head was deeply tanned and leathery. His huge hands had callouses on the palms. Long, black robes covered his body from his neck to his ankles, and something was squirming under the robes. She wondered if he had pet snakes under there.

Orcus slapped Thorn on the shoulder. "Hey! It's great to see you again. I can't thank you enough for helping me in a tight spot."

"My pleasure," Thorn said. "I actually enjoyed having company for once. It gets a little lonely out here."

Several pit bulls came around the side of the house, barking aggressively. When they saw Orcus, the dogs' barks became happy, and their tails wagged. He knelt on the dirt and petted them affectionately.

"Where is Pomona?" he said.

"Inside," Thorn said. "Cleaning the house."

Everybody went in the front door, including the dogs. Furniture made of carved wood and leather was inside the home. A single lightbulb glowed dimly. Diana didn't see a television or any other form of entertainment. A complicated radio set was on a table in a corner, and it produced a low hiss.

Pomona was scrubbing the wooden floor on her hands and knees. A short, red dress barely covered her butt. Seeing the iron collar around her neck made Diana angry.

Pomona switched to a kneeling position with her head bowed. "Master," she said, "I'm overjoyed to see you again."

"What happened to your face?" Orcus walked over and lifted her head by the chin.

She had a black eye and a split lip.

"Thorn struck me, master," she murmured.

"He did?" Orcus turned to Thorn with an angry expression.

"I didn't like her attitude." Thorn shrugged.

"She is my slave, my property. You damaged her without my permission."

"I make the rules in my house. I damage who I please."

Orcus snarled. "Apologize."

"No."

Orcus's fingernails transformed into long, sharp bear claws.

Thorn raised his eyebrows. "Are you threatening me? You want to go right now? Try it. See what happens."

Black vines grew out from his sleeves. Thorns covered the thick vines, and they had red flowers on the ends. Diana looked more closely and realized the flowers were mouths full of pointed, white teeth. The vines waved back and forth like cobras.

Oh, shit, she thought. He couldn't do that last time we met.

The two men stared at each other. Diana edged towards the door, hoping a fight would break out. If one of them died, Stony would have one less enemy to kill.

Orcus withdrew his claws. "Sorry," he said. "I'm tired and testy after a long road trip. My bad. I'm sure Pomona deserved to get smacked nice and hard. Let's forget the whole business."

Thorn nodded once. "Wise man."

"I'm afraid I have to ask another favor. I've been unable to make contact with Forneus lately."

"Huh?" Thorn snorted. "The mighty Orcus is getting the cold shoulder from his demon?"

"There must be an excellent reason. We've had a great working relationship for years, and he has responded every time I summoned him in the past. I can't imagine how I offended Forneus. I was hoping you could summon your demon and ask him what's wrong."

"I'll have to sacrifice one of your kids."

"That's what they're here for," Orcus said.

"Follow me."

Pomona continued scrubbing the floor. Thorn, Orcus, and Diana went outside through a back door.

More dogs were behind the house. Some had acquired minor cuts from playing in the wilderness, but they seemed happy nonetheless. At least they weren't tied to a tree in a swamp. Big bowls of water were set out, and other bowls contained dog food. Diana walked carefully to avoid poop which was everywhere.

Thorn took Orcus and Diana to the crude shed. Her jaw tightened when she looked inside.

Six small children were in sturdy dog cages. The kids didn't have enough room to stand or lay down, so they were forced to sit with their knees drawn up. Their wrists were tied to the bars above their heads. Dry lips indicated dehydration, but they weren't in imminent danger of dying. They silently stared at the visitors.

"Ah," Orcus said, "which should I choose?" He pointed at a boy with brown hair. "That one."

* * *

Stony looked through a pair of binoculars at two buildings in the distance. The large one was made of adobe, and the smaller was a shed made of stones. The blades of a windmill spun slowly in a gentle breeze. A very tall antenna looked like the type used for ham radios.

"It doesn't seem too dangerous," he said.

He turned to Mia, Veronica, and Brian. The bus had stopped in the middle of a dirt road, and everybody was standing outside.

Brian peered through his own binoculars. "I wish we knew more about this Thorn guy."

"Not much cover out there," Mia said. "We'll be seen as we approach, and we can't wait for nightfall."

"Then we have to go in hot and heavy," Veronica said. "No sneaking around this time."

Stony thought about Diana in that house. He had to rescue her before Orcus realized the truth about her.

"Wait here," Stony said.

He wanted to call Director Robertson for a status update, but his phone had no service. Stony went into the bus and found a satellite phone among the equipment in back. He took it outside so he could get a better link to the satellite. He called the director.

"Yes?" Robertson said.

"We're here," Stony said.

"I know. I have you on aerial recon."

Stony looked up at a blue sky but couldn't see the airplane. It was too high. "Do you see anything else?"

"The home doesn't appear to have any security, but we both know appearances can be deceiving. Our analysts have discovered a suspicious pattern of missing persons in that part of New Mexico. The victims tend to be elderly, living in isolation, and it's been happening for years. Our theory is that Thorn is feeding on them. Killing him is now a priority in addition to Orcus."

"Two for the price of one. We're thinking we should just blast our way in."

"Pick your shots," Robertson said. "Diana and as many as six children are in there."

Stony grimaced. "I hate hostage situations. Where are the PEA field teams?"

"Coming. That location is difficult to reach. If you wait fifteen minutes, you'll have backup."

"I don't want to wait."

"You never want to wait," Robertson said. "Good luck."

Stony ended the call and faced his teammates. "Can we go? Any objections? This is our chance to avenge Ace."

Nobody spoke, although Veronica had a thoughtful expression.

"Good," Stony said. "Let's take the bus. We'll drive right to the front door."

"We may get shot at," Brian said. "I don't think the bus is bulletproof."

"I'll drive fast."

He boarded the bus and ordered the driver to get out. She eagerly complied. She could guess what was happening and wanted no part of it. He sat in the driver's seat.

"All aboard for the Kick-Ass Express!" he called.

* * *

The little boy was tied to a stone altar in the grass behind Thorn's house. The child was crying and whimpering but was too weak to struggle.

Diana had a horrible feeling in her gut. She had witnessed the deaths of many sacrificial victims, but this time it was different. Her mind was free. She knew that justice was possible. The world didn't have to be full of misery and bloodshed. Children could be happy.

She couldn't save the boy though. She had no weapons, and engaging Orcus in hand-to-hand combat was suicide. Thorn was possibly even tougher. He had made Orcus back down after all. She silently swore that this injustice would be the last that she didn't fight.

"And let them all sing that we were here," Thorn chanted, "as masters among the failing species called Man. Our being took form in defiance to stand before your killing gaze. And now we travel from flame to flame and from the will to the glory! I summon Marchosias!"

Vines snaked out from his sleeves and attacked the boy. Hungry, little mouths at the ends of the vines bit into the young flesh. Diana was reminded of piranhas swarming a helpless victim. In mere seconds, the body was stripped to the bones.

"Tasty," Thorn said with a smile.

He looked up, and Diana did the same. A black mist was gathering in the air. It formed into the shape of a giant, black wolf with wings, and fire sputtered from its mouth.

Diana took a nervous step back.

"Master!" Thorn said. "Thank you for coming so quickly! My friend Orcus has a question for you."

Orcus bowed. "It is an honor to meet you, mighty demon. I wish to know why Forneus won't respond to my call."

"The Paranormal Enforcement Administration is blocking him with a special prayer," Marchosias said. "He is temporarily unable to come to Earth, and he is very angry about it."

"Oh. It's not my fault. That's good news in a way. How long will the prayer last?"

"Until you are killed, I expect," the demon said.

Orcus frowned.

The demon was flying in circles overhead. He suddenly looked south and snorted fire.

"What's wrong, master?" Thorn said.

"Enemies are approaching. The PEA has found you, which isn't a surprise."

Orcus's eyes widened. "Thorn, go into the house and prepare! Tell Pomona to help you! We'll be along in a moment."

Thorn ran towards his house.

Orcus looked up at Marchosias. "How did they find us?"

"They followed her." The demon spat a puff of flame at Diana.

"My slave?" Orcus said.

"She is no slave. She betrayed Forneus. Rathanael blessed her collar and laid his mark on her. Her soul belongs to an angel now."

Orcus turned to Diana, his face pink with rage. His hands became bear claws.

She glanced to either side. Orcus blocked her path back to the house, leaving her only one escape route.

Diana immediately transformed into a panther, slipped out of her clothes, and sprinted north. She headed towards distant hills which promised cover and safety. Her best hope was outrunning him. She was faster in short bursts at least. She weaved left and right in case he tried to shoot her from behind.

He roared. She glanced back and saw him chasing her in the form of a grizzly bear. If he caught her, he would rip her apart.

Chapter Twenty-one

The bus bounced violently over rocks as it sped towards Thorn's house. Stony fought with the steering wheel to keep the bus aimed in the right direction. The engine roared. His heart was pounding.

When he was about fifty yards from the house, he saw a gun barrel poke out of a window. He swerved as machinegun fire erupted and bus windows shattered.

Stony knew what to do. The floor of the bus offered the best protection. He turned hard enough to flip the bus onto its side while spinning it around. When the bus finally slid to a stop, the bottom was facing the house and Stony was hanging from his seatbelt.

"Status?" he yelled.

"Good!" Mia, Brian, and Veronica said.

"Move!"

Stony unbuckled himself. The door of the bus was facing the ground, so he couldn't get out that way. He hardened his fists and smashed a window until he had a nice, big opening.

All his weapons were already strapped to his body. He ran outside, keeping the bus between himself and the house. He crouched down and waited for his teammates to join him. He saw that Veronica had a cut on her cheek, but she wasn't complaining.

When everybody was out of the bus, Stony said, "Mia and I will go right. Brian and Veronica will go left. Ready?"

Dogs came streaming around both ends of the bus. They attacked silently and caught Stony by surprise. He barely had time to grab his AA-12. He pulled the trigger, and the automatic shotgun spewed fire. Everything in front of him died.

The dogs kept coming, climbing over the bodies of the fallen. Stony had plenty of shells though. He created a wall of canine corpses by the time the battle was over.

He was unharmed, so he checked on his friends. Mia had an MP9 in each hand, and both the barrels were smoking. A little smile on her face and a glint in her eye told him she was ready for more killing. He didn't see any new injuries on her.

Brian had defended himself with a katana, and blood was dripping from the long, curved blade. Dismembered dogs were lying all around him.

Veronica held a Colt CM901 with both hands. The assault rifle was an improved version of the venerable M16, but lighter and more compact. She had picked off the dogs that had slipped past everybody else.

The team had fought well but had made a horrific mess. Stony estimated seventy pit bulls had been shot or slashed. Blood was soaking into the sand.

A dead gray wolf was lying with the other bodies. When he saw that it was wearing an iron collar, his heart sank. The wolf transformed into a beautiful woman with blonde hair. Multiple bullet wounds had killed her.

"That must be Pomona," Stony said sadly. "We just have Orcus and Thorn left to kill. Reload."

Everybody reloaded their weapons. Brian switched from his sword to a Steyr AUG. The assault rifle had a sleek, bullpup design suited for close-quarters fighting.

Brian and Veronica went to one end of the bus, and Stony and Mia went to the other end. They crouched into sprinting positions.

"Go!" Stony yelled.

Everybody burst from cover at once and fired at the window with the machinegun. A hailstorm of bullets ripped apart the adobe wall. Whoever was holding the machinegun immediately withdrew. The members of the third division reached the house safely and huddled against the wall.

Stony looked back and forth, trying to decide how he wanted to enter the house. Going through the front door seemed dangerous, and the windows were too small to squeeze through. He decided to make a new door. He grabbed a demolition charge from his belt, stuck it to the wall, and set a timer for fifteen seconds.

Everybody moved away and covered their ears.

The blast rattled Stony down to his bones, but he started moving before the dust settled. The explosive had punched a hole two feet across. He kicked the wall to widen the hole and then forced his body through.

He was in a bedroom. He swung his AA-12 back and forth, seeking a target. The plain furniture was made of carved wood covered in light varnish.

"Out of the way!" Mia said.

Stony stepped aside. His three teammates came through the opening.

"Ready?" Stony said.

They nodded.

The bedroom door was closed. Stony grabbed a flashbang grenade off his belt, pulled the pin, kicked open the door, and tossed the grenade through. He covered his ears and closed his eyes.

He could see the flash even with his eyes closed, and the bang was as loud as a cannon. He knew he only had a few seconds to act though. He dived through the open doorway and aimed to the right. Brian landed beside him and aimed left. Mia pointed her gun forward, while Veronica guarded their rear.

Stony didn't see anybody. "Clear!" he said.

"Clear," his teammates echoed.

Where is everybody? Stony thought.

He hopped to his feet. He used hand gestures to move his teammates into a linear formation with him in front. Then he proceeded through the house, moving at a quick trot.

Stony went into a living room next. As in the bedroom, all the furniture appeared hand-carved. The only form of entertainment was a ham radio set in the corner. A few pieces of dog shit were on the floor.

Stony heard a thump in a coat closet. The team immediately converged on that area. He gestured for Veronica to open the door, while the rest of them had their weapons ready to shoot whoever was inside the closet.

She yanked open the door. A big, fat, bald man was cowering in the closet with his arms over his head. Black robes covered his massive body.

"Are you Thorn?" Stony said. "Get out of there! Nice and slow!"

Thorn kept his head down as he shuffled out of the closet. "Don't hurt me, sir! Please! I give up!"

He moved into the room. The members of the third division covered him with their guns. They made sure to stay out of each other's firing lanes. Stony debated whether to shoot Thorn on the spot or take him in for interrogation.

"Hold on," Veronica said. "He's not scared. He's lying. This is a trick."

Something was wiggling under Thorn's robes. Snakes? Stony wondered. Tentacles? He raised his AA-12.

Thorn lifted his robes. Thick, black vines shot outwards at startling speed. The vines grabbed every weapon simultaneously. Stony struggled to aim his gun, but the vines were incredibly strong. The rest of his team lost their guns, knives, and swords immediately.

The vines had little mouths on the ends, and they attacked everybody's unprotected faces. Other vines squeezed like boa constrictors. Stony hardened his skin, but his friends were in big trouble.

Thorn was standing in the middle of the action with a smile. He had lured his enemies into a trap.

Stony decided to wipe that smile off Thorn's face. Stony let go of his AA-12 and grabbed a flashbang grenade. He stepped forward, but the vines pushed back. Hardened skin protected his hands from thorns as he tore the vines violently out of his way. Black sap spurted everywhere. Every inch forward was a battle.

Stony pulled the pin on the grenade and forced it into Thorn's mouth, breaking a few teeth in the process. Thorn's eyes widened with alarm and pain. He tried to shove Stony away but didn't have the strength. Stony had turned himself into a statue with his arms wrapped tightly around Thorn's head. Thorn became frantic as he tried to spit out the grenade, but Stony kept it in. Vines coiled around him until they looked like mummy wrappings, and they squeezed with crushing force. Thorn's muffled yells filled the air, and he kicked Stony's rock-hard shins.

The grenade detonated.

The M84 stun grenade had just a modest amount of explosive. It was designed to make a lot of noise rather than kill, but that assumed the detonation occurred in the open. Exploding within the confines of a man's mouth changed the outcome. Thorn's brains sprayed the ceiling, and the top half of his head blew off. All the black vines instantly went limp.

Stony stepped back, wiping his hands on his vest. "Yuck."

He checked his teammates. They had bite marks on their faces, but the wounds didn't look serious. He had acted in time.

"That guy was tough," Brian said.

"We should've shot him right away," Mia said.

"I told you something was off with him," Veronica said.

"Next time, just shoot him yourself," Stony said. "Orcus, Diana, and the kidnapped kids are still unaccounted for. Let's find them."

The team stormed through the rest of the house without finding anybody.

They checked the shed next. When Stony saw the five children inside, he felt bittersweet relief. The kids were alive, but their traumatic experience would leave emotional scars that would last a lifetime. He also expected six, which meant that one was probably dead. Mia and Veronica began to untie the children and release them from their cages.

Stony looked around. "Where the hell are Orcus and Diana?"

The satellite phone was on his utility belt. He grabbed it and dialed Director Robertson.

As soon as the call went through, Stony spoke, "We killed Thorn and Pomona, sir, and found the kids, but Orcus and Diana are missing!"

"I think I might know where they are," the director said. "Recon spotted a bear chasing a gray panther."

"Where?"

"A mile north of your position."

Stony started running towards rocky hills in the distance. "Brian!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Mia! You're with me! Orcus is trying to kill Diana!"

* * *

Diana was hiding behind a boulder as she desperately tried to catch her breath. Her limbs trembled from exhaustion. She was afraid she would have to run again at any moment. Orcus was a relentless hunter, guided by his eyes, ears, and very sensitive nose. She couldn't shake him. She could outrun him in bursts, but over long distances, he had the advantage. Eventually, he would wear her down and kill her.

Diana's panther nose picked up a familiar scent, one she had never expected to smell again. Flora? But she's dead.

Diana peeked around the boulder. Orcus was sniffing the ground about a hundred yards away at a lower elevation. She waited until he was facing the other way, and then she crept upwind towards the source of the scent. She stayed so low, she was dragging her furry belly across rocks.

She dashed over a slight ridge and came face-to-face with an African hyena. The animal had golden fir with brown spots. It was Flora, except she had no collar.

Diana tried to put a paw on Flora's forehead, but it passed right through. Flora was a ghost. She shimmered in the sunlight like a soap bubble. Her soft fur was perfectly clean.

Hello, Diana, Flora sent. It's nice to see you again.

How is this possible? Diana sent.

A large, gray wolf approached with an elegant strut. It was Pomona, and she had also lost her collar. A surreal glow made Diana's heart sink.

You're dead, Diana thought sadly.

It's for the best, Pomona sent. My life was a nightmare, thanks to Orcus.

Flora's and Pomona's eyes were full of anger. Diana understood why they had come back from the dead. The slave-sisters would fight together to defeat the beast who had tormented them.

The wolf and the hyena ran fearlessly towards Orcus. Diana followed a few paces behind. She still had her own life to protect and was happy to let the already dead lead the way.

She wondered if Rathanael had arranged this miracle. It was also possible that Flora and Pomona had used their own dark powers to get revenge from beyond the grave. Regardless of the cause, Diana was grateful.

Orcus looked up at the approaching trio without giving any ground. He was ready to fight all three of them.

Flora and Pomona went straight in and snapped at Orcus with their teeth. He swiped with his claws, but the wolf and the hyena danced aside before the blows connected. Diana wondered why they were just teasing the bear, and then she remembered they were ghosts. They couldn't actually hurt Orcus.

Diana realized what she had to do. While Orcus was distracted, she ran around behind him. She jumped onto his back and sank her hind claws into his tough hide. She used her fore claws to latch onto his neck as hard as she could. Extra strength flowed from her collar.

He roared in pain and thrashed violently. He tried to shake her off like a dog shaking off water. When he scratched her front leg with his claws, she was forced to let go, but she took a good chunk of his throat with her. A flap of torn brown fur was stuck in her right claw.

Diana backed away. Her wounded arm made her hobble, but the limb would still bear her weight for now. Orcus came after her as blood gushed from his throat. The dark color indicated she had punctured a jugular vein. He would bleed to death eventually, but he still had some time left for revenge.

Flora and Pomona ran around to protect her. They barked and snapped at Orcus, forcing him to worry about them instead of Diana. He swiped at Flora, and this time she wasn't quick enough to avoid the attack. His claw passed straight through her ghostly form. He stared at her for a moment, and then understanding dawned in his eyes.

Orcus lumbered after Diana, ignoring the hyena and the wolf. Diana ran as best she could, but the wounded forearm slowed her down. She decided that running on two good legs was better than three good and one bad. She transformed back into a woman, one without clothes. The cool mountain air against her bare skin made her shiver. Sharp rocks hurt her bare feet.

She was faster now, and she realized being human gave her another advantage. She could climb. She headed for a spot where the slope was steep and slippery. Orcus's heavy footsteps thumped behind her, getting closer.

Diana scrambled up the slope, scraping her hands and shins. Orcus swiped at her, and she twisted to avoid his attack. He slid backwards on the loose sand and roared in frustration. Blood had soaked the fur on his chest.

She abruptly grabbed a heavy rock, turned, and hurled it directly into his face. Fear enhanced her already exceptional strength, and the rock hit him hard enough to rip open his snout. She threw another rock, striking his right eye. He bellowed loudly enough to hurt her ears.

Diana dug her hands into the sand and waited for Orcus to come at her again. He shook his head. Then he focused his one good eye on her and charged. She threw sand directly into his face, temporarily blinding him.

She transformed back into the panther, jumped onto his back, and used her claws to gouge his eyes. She also ripped open his nose to eliminate his sense of smell.

He rolled onto his back in an attempt to crush her, but she hopped off just in time. She attacked his soft belly, tearing his flesh with her claws and teeth. She used all her strength to shred him.

He smacked her with a huge paw. She tumbled down the slope helplessly. She came to rest against some rocks with her head spinning.

She looked up at Orcus. He was staggering around blindly as his strength faded away. He finally collapsed to the ground. He turned back into a man, and he looked like he had been attacked with an icepick. Blood covered his face.

"Diana!" he moaned.

Diana became human so she could answer him. "You bastard! We finally beat you!"

"How could you betray me? I took care of you. I taught you so much. I gave you powers drawn from the darkest depths of Hell."

"You tortured me and stole my freedom."

"I don't know you anymore," Orcus said weakly.

"You never knew me. I was just a pretty toy for you to play with. I'm a woman, not a toy! My life is finally beginning, and yours is over! Die!"

He became silent and still.

Diana heard approaching footsteps on the loose rocks. She turned her head. Stony, Mia, and Brian were running towards her.

Stony reached Diana first. He helped her sit up.

"You're late," she said. "I had to kill him myself. Well, I had a little help."

She looked around but didn't see any sign of Flora and Pomona. Diana hoped their souls had found some peace.

"I see that," Stony said. "Next time, I won't be so worried about you. You are officially a third division bad-ass, although you still have a lot to learn. We took care of Thorn."

Brian walked up the hill and checked Orcus's body. "Definitely dead," Brian said. "The mission is over."

Stony helped Diana to her feet. "Let's get that arm stitched up and go home."

* * *

Diana leaned on Stony for support as she picked her way through the wilderness. Her lack of clothing made the situation awkward. He kept his eyes up and pointed forward at all times. He made sure not to touch certain parts of her body. He maintained a grim expression in case Mia was watching, as if assisting a beautiful, naked woman was a terrible chore.

Stony finally reached Thorn's house. Dozens of PEA agents were on the scene, and they had brought a variety of emergency vehicles. Stony helped Diana climb into the back of an ambulance. A medic immediately gave her a blanket so she could cover herself.

Stony turned to Mia. "Now we just need to find a ride home."

"Not quite yet." She held up the doll that he had found on the bus. "Let's see who this belongs to."

The agents had put up a canopy to use as a command post and medical center. The five surviving children were sitting on blankets under the canopy. More blankets were wrapped around their small bodies, and they were slurping from big bottles of water. Doctors were gently examining the kids and asking them questions.

Mia stood in front of the kids and held up the doll. "Who does this belong to?"

A little girl with brown hair squealed, "Molly!"

Mia gave the doll to her, and the girl began to cry tears of joy. She cuddled the toy like it was alive. Mia wrapped her arms around both of them and pulled them against her chest.

Stony felt an unfamiliar lump in his throat. In his line of work, caring too much was dangerous, and he tried to maintain a safe emotional distance at all times. Looking at the little girl shattered his resolve, and a tear ran down his own cheek. He almost joined the hugging. He couldn't remember the last time he had hugged a child.

He walked swiftly over to Thorn's house. His excuse was that he wanted to look for more evidence while it was still fresh.

Stony went into the house through the back door. He found a group of PEA agents examining Thorn's grotesque remains. The monster was more vines than human, and black blood had spattered everywhere. There was probably a long story behind Thorn's transformation into a man-eating vegetable, but Stony didn't care to hear it.

"You killed this thing, sir?" an agent said.

Stony nodded. "I made him eat a grenade. He blew his top."

All the agents looked at him with fearful expressions. He would be the first to admit he was also a monster.

"Hey!" Mia said. "There you are."

Stony faced her as she walked into the room. "Just looking for evidence," he said.

"Your eyes are red."

"The air is dusty and dry."

She smirked. "Sure. That must be what it is. We can go home now."

"That sounds like a great idea. This place stinks of dog shit and death."

* * *

"This food is amazing!" Stony said. "You're an incredible cook!"

Diana smiled. "Thank you. I had fun cooking. This might be the first full meal I've ever made where I wasn't worried about being whipped if I burnt it."

Stony, Mia, Brian, Veronica, and Diana were sitting around the dining table in the Mess Hall. The table was just a rectangle of plain wood, but the team considered it fine dining. Diana had prepared a whole turkey, butternut squash, string beans, French onion soup, and wild rice. Every dish was tender and spiced to perfection. Stony planned on taking a second helping of everything as soon as he had room on his plate.

Unfortunately, Kane couldn't share the meal. He was still recovering in the hospital. The team would put together a care package for him.

"You're not a servant," Mia said. "Don't feel obligated to cook for us. We can feed ourselves... more or less."

Stony thought about his diet of frozen, canned, and processed food. He wasn't going to complain if Diana volunteered to cook more of his meals.

"It's my way of thanking you for taking me in," Diana said. "I know it wasn't easy for all of you." She glanced at Veronica. "Besides, it's a great kitchen. I enjoy working in it."

"I'd rather you work on your training."

"I thought I did pretty well on this last mission."

"There is always room for improvement," Mia said.

Rathanael walked into the room. "Indeed," he said. "That's true for all of us."

"Sir?" Stony looked up at the angel. "You came to eat with us?"

"No. I came for the collar."

Rathanael looked at Diana's iron collar which was still around her neck. Stony had almost grown accustomed to seeing the ugly thing.

Diana touched the collar. "But I want to keep it. I can feel your blessing. It's like a warm, invisible blanket around me."

"I will not have one of my chosen warriors wearing a symbol of slavery."

"Please?" she pleaded. "The collar helped me when I needed a little extra strength. Can I just cover it with a scarf or something?"

The angel sighed. "We'll compromise. Come here, my child."

Diana walked around the table and stood before him. His hands caressed the collar, and the dull iron transformed into gleaming silver. The collar stretched and expanded, becoming a necklace with a pattern of woven filaments.

She held the necklace up to her eyes. "It's beautiful! Thank you!"

Rathanael smiled. "And quite valuable, I think. My best work. Take good care of it."

He headed for the door. Then he stopped, turned, and grabbed a string bean with his fingers. He took out his gum and ate the bean.

"Do you like it?" Diana said hopefully.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." The angel left the room.

She took another look at her necklace with an expression of delight.

"It's lovely," Mia said, "but I suggest you sit down and finish your meal. Stony is eyeing your plate like a hungry dog."

Stony straightened. "I would never steal food from a teammate. That's unprofessional. The woman I love, on the other hand, is a different matter."

He snatched a drumstick from Mia's plate and took a big bite. She snorted green gas. He held his breath, leaned over, and gave her a greasy kiss on the lips.

THE END

To be continued in... HUNGRY WOLVES

A Request from the Author

You've just finished reading my book, but there is one last task. Please return to the site where you purchased this book and leave a review. Kind reviews are the best way to convince other readers to try a book. Positive feedback also encourages me to write more books, and I'm sure you want to see what adventures await Stony, Mia, and the rest of the team. It should only take five minutes, and it really makes a difference. Thank you!

For a complete list of books written by Alex Siegel, please check http://www.grayspearsociety.com/.