Hell's Detective

Chapter Eighteen- Betrayal

Ingleseid pushed past the ivory doors into Ammelius' office.

He was sitting at his desk, deep in conversation with a white haired, black eyed demoness. Her head snapped up as he entered.

"Ingleseid?" Ammelius asked. He was smiling, but it was tight. "I believe it's a custom among humans to knock."

"You set me up," Ingleseid said.

Ammelius glanced at the demoness. "Would you excuse me for just a moment?"

She nodded curtly and left.

"That was a very important client," Ammelius said as the door snapped shut behind her. "I hope this is worth my time."

He gestured, offering Ingleseid a seat. He didn't take it.

"You're the man in robes; you got the demons to cast the locating spell."

"Ah," Ammelius said. "You figured that out." He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Well, I suppose there's no point in hiding it now. Cat's out of the bag."

This wasn't good. Ammelius wasn't worried at all. If Ingleseid told the higher-ups he was planning on summoning an otherworldly creature, he'd be fired for sure, possibly even executed. So why was he so calm?

"You knew they would be killed," Ingleseid said slowly.

"I had a strong suspicion, yes. When they were, I decided it was time to put the case in more experienced hands."

"Why? Why go to all that trouble just to find the owner of the pendant?"

Ammelius smiled and folded his hands in front of him. Ingleseid got the distinct impression he was missing something very important here.

"Because I was told to," Ammelius said.

"By who?"

He took a deep breath like he was about to impart Ingleseid with some grand words of wisdom. "The man himself. Corruptor of the incorruptible, vanquisher of armies, sinner above all sinners. The Devil."

Ingleseid snorted. "The Devil?"

The Devil never strayed from his office on the 666th floor. There were only a handful of demons that he even spoke to. Some thought he didn't even exist at all, it was just a story Hell made up to keep their workers in line.

"I have to admit, I was as surprised as you when he approached me. Centuries passing without hearing a peep from him was enough to make me doubt his authenticity. But my eyes were opened to the truth, and he told me what he needed. Somewhere on this Earth is something that belongs to him, something that was hidden from him long ago. He wants it back. So, he asked me to find it for him. It was of the utmost priority, apparently, and, well, with priority comes danger, and I actively try to avoid that. So I paid off the mercenaries. They would find it, then I could give it to the Devil, possibly get a promotion, and all would be well. Unfortunately, that plan went out the window."

"Why does the killer want it?" Ingleseid asked.

"You're the Detective. Figure it out."

"He's a demon," Ingleseid said. "Demons want the Devil to get what he wants, that's the whole point of them. What possible reason could he have for wanting stop the package being found?"

"Who says he's a demon?"

"He's got to be, the amount of power he wields."

"Think other end of the spectrum."

Ingleseid stared at him, trying to see behind that smile. "I don't understand."

"You know, for Hell's best Detective, you can be awfully thick sometimes. He doesn't belong to the Devil."

"Then who? He's not a witch. He's not a werewolf. He's sure as hell not one of the underfolk." Ingleseid stopped, frowned. "Oh, you are not serious," he muttered.

Ammelius clapped his hands. "Now he gets it," he said.

"Come off it. No one's even seen an angel since the war."

"Yes," Ammelius said. "They went into hiding, sneaky little buggers. But believe me, they exist. And you seem to have made one very angry indeed."

"You knew this would happen," Ingleseid snarled.

Ammelius ignored him. "The pendant gives off a dark energy angels can sense, being children of light and all. The only reason he couldn't find it before was because it was inside a demon. Demons were created by the Devil, so was the necklace. They give off the same energy. Now he knows you have it, well, there's no stopping him." He gave a sad sigh faker than anything Ingleseid had ever heard.

"Unless I find the package for you."

"Catch on quick, don't you?"

Ingleseid's fists clenched. "You used me."

He chuckled. "No, no, no. I am in the process of using you. It's quite simple, find the package, and you and your little friends get to live." He waved his hand. "Close the door on your way out, would you? Oh, and if you see Krugo, tell him I need to talk to him. He hasn't been into work lately..."

Ingleseid snapped his palms down on Ammelius' desk and glared into his empty eyes. "I'll remember this," he said quietly. "And when all this is over, you and I are going to have a little talk."

Ammelius smirked. "I look forward to it."

****

Holly and Tatters were already setting up the locator spell when Ingleseid came home. He caught Holly's eyes and gave her a grim smile. He didn't need to tell her it was bad news. She could already guess.

The angel was coming after them. The only people in the world that mattered to him, and he'd put them in danger. He had to solve this case, and he had to solve it soon. Or they were all dead.

Tatters sat on the couch, and Ingleseid held Beelzebub as Holly sat in the centre of the circle. In front of her was a blank piece of paper. She closed her eyes and placed her hands on it, muttering the spell. Ink spread from her palms in thin lines like they were being drawn by an invisible pen. They crept throughout the page, joining and intersecting as they went. After a moment, Ingleseid began to see what it was. It was a map.

The candles around Holly flickered, and she came out of her trance, looked down at the map and grinned. "Gentlemen," she said. "We have our coordinates."