“What?” I got up, anxious to hear the details. “Where the hell is he?”

“In an old cannery warehouse off of 9th,” she said, pinning her hand proudly at her hip. “You’re welcome.”

Trista stepped in behind her slump shouldered and deadpanned her. “I would have figured it out.”

“Eventually.” Ruby giggled. “And who said the dead would never amount to anything?”

“No one ever said that,” Wren played.

“You mean, you got intel from that corpse you hauled back home? How?”

“I am limited in talking with the deal in the spirit world, but it is doable. With the right frame work, and a mix of magic, I used Jason’s body to talk to him in the veil.”

“Who the hell is Jason?” I asked.

“The man Ash Rider was, well, riding!”

Oh right! I’d almost forgotten that the bodies demons possess would know everything the demon knows. They are, in a sense, riding in the back seat, witnessing every little detail of their possessed lives.

“He told me that Gaither’s Cannery is where Ash likes to go and unwind. It’s his favorite hideout.”

“Is that where his nest is?” Wren asked.

“No, actually. His main hub is much further. But I doubt he’d smoke out over fifty miles outside of Ether City to recover.”

“How far is Gaither’s?” I asked.

“About eight miles from where we are,” Trista said.

“Expect a cluster fuck of women,” Wren said. “If that’s his preferred hang out spot, then his women are there as well.”

“Let’s go.”

We portaled our way there in a heartbeat. I didn’t want to waste any more time and give Ash an opportunity to escape. This time, I was serious about my girls staying back. They fought with me, but my word was final. After what had happened to Lumi, I wasn’t going to take any chances. Her death struck a chord with me, and unlike Lumi, Trista, Ruby, and Wren didn’t have multiple lives.

‘You’ll call when you need us, right?’ Ruby asked me telepathically. This was the first time she spoke to me through my mind, the feat pretty impressive, actually. ‘If it gets too much for you to handle, reach out to me like this. Okay?’

‘All right,’ I answered her. ‘Ruby, make sure Lumi doesn’t storm in there.’

She giggled. ‘The girl is pretty fast on her feet, but I’ll try.’

“Please be safe, Isaac?” Lumi whimpered, folding her hands worryingly.

“I’ll be fine. Keep this distance. I’ll reach out to Ruby if I need you.”

“That’s what you said back home,” Trista retorted. “You better keep your word this time.”

“I will.”

I went off to the abandoned warehouse. My second covert mission. I expected this one to be much harder. I had the element of surprise, but I suspected more demons inside. Stealth was a concept that I took seriously. Evasion was another. While I was more proficient with the latter, I kept my presence around these demons disclosed. So far so good. No disturbances…

Except, there wouldn’t be any. When I peeped through the partially open pedestrian door, I saw a plethora of bodies inside. The floor was painted with blood, and in the center of it all was Ash strapped to a chair, begging the girl standing in front of him for mercy.

“I told you to join me, Ash. But your lust for flesh and money blinded you,” she said, my heart skipping a beat when I realized it was Sasha talking to him!

“You crazy bitch! You hunt demons, your own demons! Why the hell would I ever join your faction? A bunch of traitors in sheep skin?!”

Persallus bitch slapped him across the face, and growled, “Don’t call me sheep.”

This new body Ash was possessing was a lot thinner than the last. Or maybe his weak appearance was Persallus’ doing? Staring more carefully, he looked incredibly meek and bony, the lack of meat on him contorting his facial features as well. I almost felt bad for the guy as he sat there swimming in his clothes, pinned down by the demon of fate. I had no idea how she found him, but I was glad she did. Here, I could kill two birds with one stone…

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“You’re the weak one! Using your girls to cash in pacts for you. Never getting your hands dirty! You are a sorry excuse for a demon, you know that?!”

“Who said I hadn’t gotten my hands dirty?”

“If you’re referring to the bitch you tricked to sleep with you, that wasn’t getting your hands dirty. That was you getting some! From a human, no less!”

Was she talking about my mom?

“Is that jealousy on your tongue, Persallus?” Ash mocked. “It isn’t like you to get so offended. After all, we broke up years ago…”

She cackled. “What were you going to do with her soul, Ash? I’m curious. Were you going to stow it in a jar and keep it company at night? You cursed her husband and her son, but you never cursed her, did you?”

Ash twisted his face.

“No. She fell ill all on her own. Or maybe, her illness was a chain reaction to someone else’s demise. Who knows? All I can see is a pathetic demon pawing over a worthless mortal. You couldn’t take care of business, so I did, leaving her to the machines, fending for her life!”

I seethed.

“I did what you couldn’t Ash.”

“You had no right,” he growled.

“Pretending to hate her, when in reality, it’s the opposite. It’s disgusting…” She giggled. “It took me a while, but I finally found her. I wasted her son, and now, I’m going to waste you.”

Ash laughed. “Wasted her son? Her son is the reincarnation of Samael, the dark prince.”

She grew silent. I couldn’t see her face from where I was standing, but I could tell she was burning up inside.

“You’re lying…”

“Why do you think I’m here? Feeding off of my ghouls? Off of my demons? He came to kill me, to spare his mother. Her contract is coming up, and I am due to collect this Saturday. The boy is strong. If I hadn’t escaped in time and found this vessel, I would have been done for.” He chuckled. “Oh, what your pettiness has led to! You’ve opened the Pandora box, and what you let out is more than you can handle. I promise you that.”

“Shut up!” she shouted, snatching his face with her hand.

“He isn’t alone!” Ash muffled as something black materialized over his face. “I can tell you where to find his girls! I have their locations!”

“All I hear is a man begging for his life,” she said bitterly. “You might have escaped my wrath before, but not this time. I’ll make you a part of me, Ash… And you’ll never leave my side ever again!”

A psychotic and clingy ex-girlfriend—my mom was part of a fucking love triangle between two demons! Ash screamed at the top of his lungs as that black mist started to turn a deep red. His body began to thrash around wildly, the legs of the chair banging vigorously against cement. Whatever she was doing to him was hard to watch, but my eyes remained fixed on them both. It wasn’t until he stopped moving did I realize what was happening.

She had a whole Cell from DBZ thing going on…

Persallus zapped his life force dry, leaving no crumbs behind. All that was left was the clothes he’d been wearing on his back.

She sighed. “What a shame. I kinda liked that vintage meat suit you were sporting for decades.” She licked her fingers, her lips smacking from her delicious meal. I stood there plotting my approach. I realized now that she was taking it easy on me the first time we’d met. Persallus was clearly stronger than Ash and his nest of demons. So I had to tackle this beast strategically.

Crap, would I need my girls?

No–I’d promised myself I wouldn’t call them, not even as a last resort! I’d lied to them earlier by telling them I would. After seeing what Ash did to Lumi, I didn’t want to risk it. With my immortality, I'd rather die than see any of my girls die permanently, even if Persallus got away to fight another day.

Buzz,

Buzz,

Buzz!

I froze, jerking my head down to my pocket.

Shit! I forgot to turn off my cell phone!

Ava was buzzing me. I terminated the phone call, but it was too late. My phone caught Persallus’ attention, her head turning to my direction.

I hid my person along the door, only to hear her say, “Come out now, or I’ll fish you out myself.”

Well, the cat was out of the bag, might as well roll with the punches.

When I turned around, the light in Persallus’ eyes flickered. She was excited to see me, the man who nearly killed her lover.

“Well, well, well? Would you look at that? Looks like Ash wasn’t blowing smoke out of his ass after all.”

“Persallus.”

“Look at you! New and improved! Gotta say, I’m a tad bit jealous. When I die, I don’t get any second chances!” She giggled. “So, how are you going to repay me for unlocking your inner demon, Isaac? Or should I say, Samael? Wanna go out on another date? This time, I promise not to cut you in a million places. I’ll let you enjoy this sexy piece of ass like you intended to.”

“Your time inside Sasha is at its end.”

“Oh really?” She smirked. “You’re bluffing. You’re not going to hurt one pretty little hair on her—” I zipped right at her, punching her square in her face. She fell into the seat she absorbed Ash in before tumble-weeding across the pool of blood she savagely created.

It was unexpected. Persallus thought she could manipulate me with Sasha. I was going to make her pay for that underestimation!

I had to keep my powers in line, pull back the rage from all of my moves. The idea was to weaken her enough so I could trap her somewhere until Ava was ready. Finding her here with Ash was a silver lining in the clouds. Not only would I be casting away two evils from this world, I’d also be saving my mother from the two demons who wanted her dead.

She rolled off her back and gave me a nasty look. The back of her hand wiped the blood trickling off the corner of her lips, before she said, “Punch and scream all you like. I know you’re not ready to watch your girlfriend die here.” She chuckled as she stood back up on her feet. “Not that I have anything to worry about, though. It started with me, and it will end with me. You’re not coming out of this fight alive, prince.”