Tim Marquitz - Echoes of the Past

“Hey, can I ask you about something else?”

He turned back to me. “Certainly.”

Pissed as he was at Lucifer, I thought I might get some answers. “While I was searching my uncle’s chambers for information about the book, I stumbled across a bunch of old letters.”

Forcalor’s face slipped once more into neutral. He might not know what I was about to ask, but he knew damn well it wouldn’t be good. He motioned for me to continue, anyway.

“The letters were to Lucifer…from my mother. They were love letters,” I spit out the last part.

The duke sighed. “Damn your uncle twice for leaving behind such trash.” I started to say something, but Forcalor waved me to silence. “The letters, Frank, I speak only of the letters. After Lucifer took your mother and you away from Arol, he found an attraction to her he had not expected. Though he was married to Lilith, for what that was worth, Lucifer pursued a relationship with Charlotte. With her, he found an escape from the rigors of Hell, as had your father. She was a lovely woman; one of God’s finest, if I might be so bold.”

It sounded weird to hear such praise, but I had to finish my questions before I lost my will. “Did they have a child together?”

Forcalor shook his head, and my stomach churned. “No. Lucifer was careful not to impregnate your mother for fear of what might come of the child. He was happy to dote upon you as though you were his own, but that was enough for him.” A smile creased his lips. “But as much as he cared for you, it was your savage willingness to kill your father that endeared you to Lucifer more than any other thing.

“Lucifer had always believed he and Arol would come to terms one day and end their conflict. The murder of your mother brought all pretense of peace to an end. It drove Lucifer into a fury, the likes of which I have seen only once before; when God barred him from Heaven. Lucifer was but moments from departing to kill Arol when you demanded the right to do so. He felt it only fair that Arol die by your hands, so he empowered Baalth to make it so, and you know the rest from there.”

I did, and just thinking about it made me ill. My head pounded, and the cold sweat returned. I wasn’t learning anything, but I knew there was more to it, could feel it inside. Once more I thanked my old mentor and said farewell, asking him if he could return me to Hell before he left. It would be a long walk to find a suitable portal if he didn’t, and I wasn’t feeling up to it.

He agreed and sent me on my way. I’d made the trip for almost nothing. I was going home empty handed with no assurances of help against Gorath, nothing new to help with the translation of the book, or any news about my family.

Today was turning out to be one big circle jerk with me in the middle.

Back in Hell, I scanned the place to see if the voyeur was back. Not finding any trace of a stranger, I set the dread fiends to work guarding Lucifer’s chambers. I was getting real tired of surprise visits.

Once the book was back in its hiding place, and the guard dogs were on duty, I set up a gate to take me back to my house. With all the excitement up on Earth, I hadn’t had time to go back and collect Chatterbox or the last few vials of Lucifer’s blood. While it infuriated me to use the shit, it was an advantage no one else had. I could be as stubborn as I wanted to be, but even my dumb ass knew the blood was too useful to abandon.

The portal ramped up and I drew in a deep breath as I was transported to Earth. I thought about readying my magic or pulling out my gun, but honestly, had the DSI broken into my house, there wouldn’t be enough of them left to fill a body bag, let alone a bucket. A mop would be more useful.

The spare room of my house started to flicker into existence, and I wondered what surprises waited for me there. I didn’t have long to wait.

The instant I solidified, a shadow crashed into me and slammed me face down onto the ground. The portal hummed and carried us away immediately. I struggled but I was locked up good, my arm twisted behind my back at an ugly angle, far from my gun. In the whirl of the gate, my senses were blind and it’d be suicide to use magic. The shadow hadn’t done anything but wrap me up, so it made me think he wasn’t looking to kill me, but I still didn’t know who it was. I’d just have to wait it out.

As the portal began to wind down, I powered up and got ready to scrap. Turned out, I didn’t have to.

“Damn it, Frank, are you really that stupid?” I recognized Katon’s voice and let my energy fade. He loosened his grip on my arm and yanked me to my feet.

Katon was DRAC’s enforcer and all around vampiric badass. He and I have butted heads over the years, but we’d gotten closer through all the recent supernatural drama. He still wasn’t sure just how far he could trust me-an ancient deal I’d made with Baalth having soiled my good guy card-but he always dealt fairly with me. We’d fought side-by-side and risked our lives for one another, so he was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt as to whose side I was on, but the ugly uncertainty reared its head from time to time.

I met his dark gaze and saw the fury in his eyes. “You trying out for the Oakland Raiders?” I asked, rubbing my shoulder.

“Don’t start with me.” He huffed and pushed through me, storming off the portal. I followed. “Are you looking to get yourself killed?”

“Uh, no more than usual. Why?”

“The DSI have issued a warrant for you, Frank. You’re wanted for the murder of a DSI officer and for the questioning in the deaths of thirty-four citizens killed by whales.” He raised his hands into the WTF position. “By whales, Frank. Whales! What the hell happened?”

“I didn’t kill the guy.”

Katon shook his head and dropped into a chair. “I didn’t think you did, but the DSI does. They’ve got your house surrounded, and they’re just waiting for you to show up so they can return the favor.”

Shit. “Did they go inside?”

“No, not yet. They’re hoping to surprise you by making it look like they aren’t casing the place.”

“Good thing they didn’t or the surprise would have been on them. I assume you stayed in the portal room?”

“Yeah. I was going to take a look around, but I have to be honest, Frank, you really need to hire a maid. You’ve got some serious funk built up in there.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Katon stared at me wondering what the joke was. “The smell is my dread fiend guard dogs.” He raised an eyebrow. “Long story, but between the DSI, the weres, and the whale-tosser, it’s been a hectic day. I needed a bit of insurance against another sneak attack at home.”

“Another?” He sighed

“Yeah. My day started off with me being shot in the head; it’s only gone downhill from there.”

Katon looked like a heavy metal Spock. “Let me call Rahim and-“

I cut him off. “Nah, man, it’s all good. He and I talked earlier and we decided it’s best if I stay out of DRAC’s way right now. There’s too much going on to drag Rachelle through it. I’m fine, Katon. I’ll get through it.”

He growled low in his throat. “Abraham wasn’t your fault. I know Rachelle’s hurt and angry, but I would have done the exact same thing had I been in your shoes. We all would have. She needed to be focused.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I let Abe die and kept it from her.”

Katon loosed a barking laugh and shook his head, “Whatever, Frank. I don’t believe you let him. No one does. Stop blaming yourself. It’s a risk we all take being a part of DRAC. Abraham knew what he was getting into when he started the organization. He probably even knew he was going to die right then, and still put himself in the position to do so because it served a bigger purpose. He was a great man, but he’s gone. We all need to move on.”