In the relative silence that followed, I listened to the spill of the fountain for all of about three seconds before diving in.
“Bert, you’re up. What can you tell us about these bastards we’re dealing with?” I stared hard at the wimpy demon, but he didn’t flinch, seeming to gain some confidence from the fact we were actually listening to him.
Bert stood in front of us, his hands clasped together behind him. A frown settled over his face before he started to speak.
“Well. I don’t know for sure what packs have come through. There are seven kinds of demon packs.”
Erik stopped him. “There is precedence to this, though. This is not the first time a powerful demon has tried to take over the world.” He had everyone’s attention with those words.
“Wait, what?” I blurted out, my eyes widening. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t think that all of the disasters that humanity has faced were all natural, do you? The bubonic plague is a good example. It was blamed on a number of things. Rats, the Jewish people, punishment from God. It all led to a cleansing of anything unusual. Mostly supernaturals who were trying to blend in, and in that process, the humans wiped out many of their best defenders against the demon population, which then went on to spread the plague across the world. But that is just one example.”
“What was the point, though? Wouldn’t the demons have wanted people to be alive so they could possess them?” Liam asked.
Erik gave a ruthful smile. “Yes and no. The bubonic plague wasn’t so much about killing people off, as it was infecting them. Making them weak and easier to possess. The plague compromised their immune systems, allowing them to be taken over. Especially the young.”
Something about what Erik said sent a twang through my brain. I struggled to put the pieces together, but they floated just out of reach. Damn it. Liam touched my arm. “What?”
I closed my eyes and pressed my palms into them, blocking out any light. “Let me think for a minute.”
The feel of the night air and the sound of the fountain filled my ears as I looked at the pieces one by one.
Demons escaped in London who bred fast.
Minor supernaturals were being possessed by lesser demons and evil spirits.
Packs of Orion’s demons were free to cause chaos.
The only thing we were missing was a plague, and then Orion would have access to all the young people he wanted. The urge to vomit swelled up through my stomach and burned the back of my throat.
“Children are normally hard to possess, aren’t they?” That was why it had taken a full pentagram when the black coven was trying to have India possessed so many months ago. At least, that was what I understood.
Bert bobbed his head. “Yes, it can be very difficult to possess a child. There is a natural protection over the young when it comes to demons, something the elementals put into play.” He grimaced as he said ‘elemental’ and again I wondered at these particular supernaturals that I’d only just been hearing about. “But when the small humans are ill, that protection goes into keeping them alive, rather than keeping them from being possessed.”
Feeling like a bully, but not really caring, I leaned in to Bert. “How did the bubonic plague really start?”
An interesting thing happened. Bert paled and shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”
My eyebrows shot up and I glanced at Erik. “You want to make him talk, or do you want me to make him talk?”
Erik shrugged. “Either way is fine. I haven’t interrogated a demon in years. I’ve missed it.”
Bert paled even more and his lower lip trembled. “I can’t tell you. I can’t. Tracker, Slayer, both of you have to trust me. Please.”
“Begging will get you nowhere, little demon,” Erik growled. He had a short, serrated knife in his hand that he’d pulled from somewhere within his robes. It was curved, like a skinning knife, and if it hadn’t been for the rough edges, that’s what I would have called it.
“Track demons and evil spirits,” Bert blurted as he fell to his knees. “Proof I am on your side, that I truly want to help, but cannot tell you about the plagues. Track them; you’ll see it isn’t me fooling you.”
Erik paused and looked over at me. “Up to you. Personally, I’d just as soon dice him up.”
“Fuck, why not, Tracking will take me two seconds,” I grumbled.
I send out a thread to Track demons as a whole, paired with a thread for evil spirits, just to satisfy—
Holy. Fucking. Hell.
I swayed on my feet and went to one knee, the overwhelming wash of pings I got back seriously making me re-think getting out of bed the day before.