Betrayal - A Demon Squad Story Read Online Free

into the front wall of the club.
    The wood creaked and I heard a few timbers crack, but the wall held. I saw the curtains go up inside the shattered windows, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough as close as the police were. The wail of their sirens tickling my ears, they’d be able to put the fires out before it spread to the liquor. So, with desperation puckering me in unpleasant ways, I back up a few steps and charged at the T. I put my shoulder into it and felt my back twinge as I hit. My skull rang like a church bell, but I heard the wall give way.
    The sharp snap of wood echoed through the night, burying the sirens for just a second as the steel frame of the T groaned and gave itself over to gravity. In an instant, the car disappeared, tumbling to the sound of thunder down the stairwell just beyond the front door of the club. It was so loud I almost didn’t hear the screech of tires behind me.
    My heart in my throat, I spun around to see another black Model-T, identical to Paulie’s, jerk to a halt not twenty feet from where I stood. There weren’t any markings, and no sirens blared from it, so it had to be Bugs’ guys. The driver was your standard goon; wide of forehead and thick across the jaw. I wouldn’t have to worry about him until he hauled his bulk out of the seat and got his machine gun ready. His passenger though, was a different story.
    Little more than a twig, the guy was out of the car before it even stopped rocking. He was almost completely bald, with little tufts of white hair floating above his ears like tiny clouds. His suit was two sizes too big for him, bunched at the elbows and ankles. It looked like a stiff wind could knock the guy over, but there was something threatening about him. His hands were empty, and though he didn’t even seem to be carrying a gun, there was a threat in the dark green of his eyes.
    Without even thinking about it, I let my senses loose. Invisible tendrils reached out, grasping for anything out of the ordinary. Even as dull as my senses were, they found different in spades. Of course, the shimmer of blue-green energy at his fingertips would have been obvious to a blind man.
    I ducked and ran, slipping down a nearby alley as a burst of magical force ripped apart the street where I’d just been standing. My balls cradled in the well of my ass, I ran until I crossed the north-south line and then kept on, not stopping until I was sure I’d put some healthy distance between me and Bugs’ boys. They didn’t bother to follow.
    Deep in the heart of Capone’s territory, I finally slowed, taking a second to catch my breath before I headed home. While I’d done the job I’d been sent to do, I just knew Uncle Lou wasn’t gonna be happy.
    ~
    “ Are you certain?” Lucifer asked, his voice a quiet rumble like a distant storm.
    “ The guy was a demon, I’m tellin’ ya.”
    My uncle leaned back in his seat, his hand at his chin. While nothing of his thoughts showed on the surface, I knew he was furious. There was a slight tremor in the earth that vibrated my chair. I fought the urge to go fetal and waited for him to decide what he wanted to do, knowing better than to rush him.
    Though he didn’t look like much, Lucifer didn’t earn his reputation by appearing mean…he simply was. A few inches shorter than six feet and slim, but with a bit of a paunch, my uncle looked more grandfatherly than dastardly. He had gray hair that was cut fairly short, wisps of it sticking out like wings. There weren’t any horns or hooves, or even red skin. He was kinda pasty actually, and could probably use a little sun. Wrinkled and covered in age spots, there wasn’t anything about Lou that set him apart from the rest of humanity, until you looked him in his eyes.
    It was like peering into an abyss of wickedness. The whole of the world’s cruelty, its anger, its depravity, stared back at you when you locked gazes with my uncle. Every dark and sinister secret hidden from the light, every