Black Rain, page 18
A single tear slipped from Luna’s eye, trailing down her alabaster cheek. “He really killed them, didn’t he?” Her voice was barely a whisper, barely audible over the hum of the trailer’s generator.
The gentle compassion in Kendra’s expression was unmistakable as she reached out, cradling Luna’s cheek with a tender touch. “Yes, he did. Giordano killed our parents, Luna. And he would kill both of us in a heartbeat if he thought we were in his way. And we are in his way. At least, I am. Are you, Luna?” Kendra’s words were pointed, demanding a response that Luna seemed hesitant to provide. Kendra took a moment, her gaze softening as she continued. “Look at me, Luna. Look into my eyes. Look at what you see there and then ask yourself what you see in Giordano’s eyes. When’s the last time someone looked at you with actual love in their eyes?”
The ensuing silence was broken only by Luna’s choked whisper. “The day Mum and Dad were killed,” she confessed. “Mum smiled at me when I showed her a drawing I’d done. She was so pleased by it… just a stupid drawing… but she loved me for doing it.”
The resonance of Luna’s words echoed in the small trailer, filling the silence with her bitter-sweet memory. Kendra pulled her sister into a hug, wrapping her arms around Luna tightly, as if afraid to let go. “Exactly,” she said, her voice just a whisper against Luna's ear. “I love you, Luna, and I’m not letting that monster corrupt you any longer.”
I watched Luna’s face from my spot, my heart constricting at the myriad of emotions that flickered across her features. She looked lost and yet, there was a glimmer of something else—hope, perhaps. Even after everything Kendra had said, the girl still seemed torn. Her blue eyes were pools of inner turmoil and I recognized myself in them. They mirrored the emotions I used to have in relation to Wendell Knightsbridge, a man I once respected, a man who wore a smile while taking everything I held dear from me, right down to my very soul.
“Okay,” I finally broke the silence, my gaze settling firmly on Luna, a renewed determination settling in. “I think it’s settled. Giordano has to go. And we have less than forty-eight hours to figure out how to do that.”
Chapter
Sixteen
Later, as I only half slept in my trailer, a naked Hannah slipped into bed alongside me, her arms snaking around my torso as she placed her head on my chest. She didn’t speak, and neither did I. There was no need for words. It was enough that she was there, her presence comforting as always. After a while, we made love and then fell asleep in each others arms.
When I next woke up to muted morning light streaming through the curtains, I found Hannah sitting naked on the bed, Yakuza ink still adorning her body. Her sinewy arms were covered, from the wrists up with a tattoo that wound its way to her chest and across her back, culminating, on her left shoulder, with the face of a Muromachi-era courtesan with one breast exposed and a knife clenched between her teeth.
As Hannah sat, I watched her gaze at the recently created tattoos on my body. “You got new ink,” she said softly.
“Yeah,” I said, yawning and stretching. “I missed having them, and I also figured I need more protection. These new ones take things to a whole new level.”
“I can see that.” Her gaze fell on the infernal tattoo seared into my left forearm. “And this one?”
“Don’t talk to me about that one.”
She held my arm as she inspected the sinister patterns of the ink. “Where did you get this, Ethan?”
Sighing, I told her all about my recent excursions into Infernum and the forced pact I had with Nephraxia. I didn’t tell her about the innocent souls I had sacrificed to save Knight. “I’m fucked,” I said after lighting a cigarette.
Hannah sat in silence for a few moments, her face wearing a mask of deep concern. Her ethereal eyes, usually so serene, reflected a turbulence as they traced the wickedly intricate design of the tattoo. As if sensing an energy that was alien, perhaps even antithetical to her angelic nature, her fingers recoiled slightly. Yet, despite her visible discomfort, her hand soon found its way back, resting lightly but firmly on my arm, a silent promise of unwavering support. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “What the hell can I do? Is there any way you can remove it?”
“I could try,” she said, a hint of apprehension dancing in her gaze. She placed her free hand above the tattoo. A soft, golden glow radiated from her palm, casting ethereal shadows around the room. The serenity of the moment was soon ruptured as the tattoo reacted, sparking like angry embers against her celestial light. The force was so potent it sent a jolt through me, causing me to wince. Hannah withdrew her hand immediately, her own wince mirroring mine. The glow from her palm faded, and she flexed her fingers, the same turbulence as before reflected in her eyes.
Her efforts had proven fruitless—the demonic tattoo remained, seemingly untouched. Hannah's angelic powers, as muted as they were, met an immovable force in the malevolent ink that marked my skin. It was a harsh reminder of the pact I had been forced into and the cost that came with it.
“I’m sorry, Ethan. I can’t.”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised.”
“I could ask some of the other Elohim if they can do anything,” she offered.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out somehow.”
"That bitch branded you." A fury ignited in Hannah's eyes, a stark contrast to her usually serene demeanor. Her dark orbs flared with a righteous anger. It was a raw, uncharacteristic display of wrath, as if the fact that I had been marked was a personal affront to her.
As quickly as it had ignited, the blaze in her eyes simmered down to a smoldering intensity as she took in my visage, an undercurrent of concern threading through her fiery gaze. Her hand reached out, fingers brushing gently against the edge of the baleful mark, as if reaffirming its sinister existence.
"We're building an army, Ethan," she confessed, her voice dipping into a solemn cadence. "At some point, there's going to be a war, and I'm not sure if any of us will survive." Her gaze was far-off now, as if she was peering into a bleak, uncertain future. Her fear for what lay ahead, for us and for the cause we were fighting for, was palpable in her eyes, adding another layer of complexity to the already troubling circumstances.
"I'm not worried," I said, interlacing my fingers with hers. "I have faith in you. I always have."
Her faint smile suggested my confidence in her wasn't mirrored in her own spirit. It was a brave, yet somewhat hollow curve of her lips that lacked its usual spark, as if she was valiantly trying to convince herself of her own power to influence an increasingly bleak future. “I know you do, and it means more to me than you know. But…” She trailed off for a second as she shook her head. “I also know what we’re up against. I’ve seen the Dark God’s armies in Infernum. I know how many Elohim He’s managed to turn to his cause, a cause that no one even knows the full extent of yet. The Dark God is playing things close to His chest. We still have no idea what He’s planing or what He really wants. But under His influence, this world is suffering as it gets dragged further into darkness.”
“Yeah,” I said, having to agree with her. “I see it every damn day, the decline. And we have that fucking bloodsucker Theron running around out there as well, trying to bring some fucking blood god into this world, as if there aren’t enough asshole gods to contend with.”
“What’s he up to?”
“Last I heard, he’s going to move against Vito Giordano, who’s like a fucking god himself now. Have you seen that pyramid he built across the river? I mean, if that’s not a declaration of his power over this city, I don’t know what is. And if Theron doesn’t move against him in the next forty-eight hours, then I’m going to have to.”
“What?” Hannah frowned. “You’re going after Giordano?”
Another sigh left me as I lit a cigarette. Then I caught her up on what was going on with Kendra, her sister, and Giordano. “It’s a fucking mess. I don’t know how we’re supposed to stop Giordano. I don’t even know what he’s fully capable of.”
“Can’t you just… shoot him?”
“I doubt it will be that easy,” I said, sitting up slightly, tapping ash from my cigarette into a stained glass ashtray. “Especially if we allow Luna to bring us in. Then we won’t be able to have any weapons on us.” I paused, tapping the cigarette even though there was no ash to tap off. “There’s one idea I have, though. I’ve thought about opening the rift to Infernum and just letting Nephraxia and her acolytes take care of Giordano. I can’t see him standing up to that bitch. What do you think?”
“I don’t like you being involved with that priestess, Ethan,” Hannah said. “You’re playing with fire there.”
“It’s not like I have a choice, is it?”
“What if I help you instead?”
“What do you mean?”
“I could gather some of the other Elohim and we could back you up. Between us all, we should be able to take Giordano down.”
I thought about her proposal for a minute. “And the other Elohim would help?”
“If asked them to, yes.”
“But then I’d be taking them away from more important tasks.”
“Giordano is as much a part of the problem as anything else.”
“All right,” I said. “Let me think about it.”
“Don’t take too long. I’ll need time to make the necessary arrangements.”
“Okay.” I stared at her, noticing the soft biting of her lower lip. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath. “I need to ask you something.”
“Ask away.”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Okay. Ask anyway.”
“You know how I told you Hadriel wasn’t happy the Dark God kicked her off the throne of Hell before he transformed Hell into Infernum?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Hadriel recently suffered a great defeat, which put a massive dent in her army. She’s gone into hiding now.”
“What’s that have to do with me?”
“Since her retreat, things have gotten worse here in this world.”
“Worse how?”
"Worse in ways unimaginable.” She paused, her voice dropping a notch lower as she prepared to explain. "The Dark God's armies have grown bolder, more ruthless. They're not just remaining in the shadows anymore, they're stepping into the light, making their presence known to all. We've been receiving reports of mass abductions, random acts of terror, people disappearing without a trace. Entire communities are being ravaged, their citizens enslaved or worse."
She shuddered, visibly disturbed by the information she was sharing. "And there are whispers, whispers of horrific rituals taking place, of innocent souls being harvested en masse. The Dark God's soldiers are instilling fear, torment, and despair into the hearts of mankind, reveling in the chaos and suffering they're spreading. It's not just about conquest for them, it's about breaking the spirit of humanity, making them lose all hope."
Hannah's eyes bored into mine, holding a dark solemnity that disturbed me somewhat. "And there's something else, something even more sinister. It seems they're looking for specific individuals, people with certain traits, abilities maybe. We don't yet fully understand their selection criteria, but the few who've been returned... they're different, changed in unsettling ways. We fear that these people might be being used as vessels, perhaps to bring more of the Dark God's minions into our world."
The room fell silent as the gravity of her words sunk in. The situation was far worse than I had imagined. The Dark God's reign was truly beginning, and it was unleashing a reign of terror that this earth had never seen before.
“So what do you need me to do?” I asked her.
“You know Hadriel,” Hannah said. “She even respects you on some level—”
My laugh cut her off. “That’s overstating things a bit. She fucking terrorized me, tried to claim my soul.”
Hannah shrugged. “That’s just what she does. She’s a Demon Lord. But since she’s stopped fighting, the Dark God’s reign of terror has accelerated. Before that, Hadriel slowed that reign down, and we need her to take up the fight again.”
“Okay,” I said, understanding now. “And you want me to try and persuade her to take up arms against the Dark God again.”
“Yes.”
“Jesus.”
“I know it’s asking a lot, but we need her, Ethan. She has the biggest army of anyone, even with her loses, and the longer we leave it, the more of that army will join the ranks of the opposition.”
I shook my head, thinking things couldn’t get any worse for me. “Do you even know where she’s hiding out?”
“We have a fair idea. I could go with you.”
“To Infernum?”
“Yes.”
The thoughts of going willingly to that place filled me with a dread so deep it felt like a physical weight pressing down on my chest. The memories of my last visit, the echoes of torment and despair, the suffocating darkness... the very idea of stepping into that hellish realm again sent shivers of repulsion coursing through my veins. My hand involuntarily clenched at the prospect, the palpable fear momentarily turning my blood to ice. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration the idea of having to talk to Hadriel again, a demoness who was just as scary and intimidating as Nephraxia, if not more so. She had been the Queen of Hell for Christ’s sake!
“You’re sure this is the only way?” I asked her.
“You’re the only one I think she would listen to,” she said. “Maybe Lucifer, but he’s disappeared.”
“No one knows where that asshole is yet? He’s more fucking powerful than anyone and he’s fucking hiding away like a cowardly rat abandoning a sinking ship, leaving the rest of us to navigate through this chaos while he enjoys his damned anonymity.”
“Are you surprised? That’s what he does.”
“No, not really. Though he’s gonna have to come out of hiding at some point. We need him, clearly.”
“I agree. Maybe Hadriel could persuade him.”
“Maybe I’ll ask her when I’m down there.”
Hannah smiled at my sarcasm, her hand rubbing lightly across my stomach, causing the tattoo ink there to react favorably, pulsating gently under her touch as if resonating with her pure, angelic energy, a stark contrast to the violent response Nephraxia’s infernal tattoo had earlier to her attempt at removing it. “I know I’m asking a lot, but these are trying times, Ethan. We all need to step up.”
“I’m exhausted from stepping up,” I said. “One of these days I’m gonna step up and find myself on a stairway to Heaven with no return ticket."
“There is no Heaven any more,” she said almost coyly. “Least not like the one that used to exist.”
“Well, there you go then.”
“So you’ll do it?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No,” she said, her mouth curving into a playful grin as she went about kissing my stomach, edging lower with every touch of her soft lips. “But I can already see you’re rising to the challenge…”
I allowed a laugh to escape me, as I leaned back on the pillow in mild resignation.
God help me…
Chapter
Seventeen
After Hannah left, with me promising to think about her offer of help to take down Giordano, I checked in on Kendra. She was alone in her trailer, her mood solemn after Luna’s visit the night before. Once I told her about Hannah’s offer of help, however, Kendra perked up a bit.
“I hope you said yes,” she said. “With a bunch of angels on our side, Giordano wouldn’t stand a chance. Right?”
I responded with a noncommittal shrug, my mind swirling with doubts. "The Elohim’s powers have been reduced since all the recent upset. They aren’t as powerful as they were."
“They should still be powerful enough to help us kill Giordano.”
“You hope. Giordano has his own powers, don’t forget.”
“Well, it sounds a hell of a lot better than just us two walking into that pyramid alone.”
I nodded as our conversation turned to Luna, the woman whose loyalties were as shifting as the desert sands. “We can’t count on Luna either. She still seems conflicted. It’s not her fault. Giordano has had her under his thumb for so long now. Don’t be surprised if she turns against us when it comes down to it.”
Kendra stared at me. “She would never—”
“No offense, Kendra, but you hardly know her now. You can’t say for certain what she’ll do or won’t do.”
“So what are you saying?”
“That we don’t rely on her for anything, that’s all.”
“Not even to bring us inside the pyramid?”
“I’m sure she’ll do that,” I said. “But once we’re inside, we do our own thing. If we get the Elohim involved, they’ll probably assault the pyramid from outside. I’ll get Charlotte and Delphina to help as well, if it comes to that.”
“I don’t think we have any other choice, Drake. Unless you have another plan in mind. Do you?”
“Not at this point. I’ll keep thinking on it.”
“Well, don’t take too long. We don’t have much time to prepare.”
“I know,” I said, turning to leave. “Believe me, I know.”
Heading to work in the Dodge, I gave Maria Gomez a call and arranged an appointment for Knight. Maria still had enough ink left from my session, so at least I wouldn’t have to get any more of the stuff. “Give her as much protection as you can,” I said to Maria. “I’ll pay you whatever you need.”
“The exact nature of the tattoos is not entirely up to me, as you know, Ethan,” Maria said, her voice, with its undercurrent of sensuality, drifting into my ears, causing a familiar sensation to ripple through me. It wasn't just her voice, it was also the memory of our intimate encounter, the raw passion that had flared between us. I felt a heat creep up my neck, my heart pounding as the images from that night raced across my mind. “Mysterious forces are at play when it comes to the ink.”
