CH 24 - What Price Victory

“Karen?” Logan gathered her gently into his arms.”Karen, can you hear me?”

Her dark eyes fluttered open. “I don’t feel right,” she whispered. “Hurts.”

“You’re going to be fine.” He pressed a wad of bandage against the bullet wound in her belly. There was, of course, no blood to soak up. Mist continued to seep out around the edges. Did first aid even work on damned souls? He had no clue.

“You can’t die, my girl. You know why?”

“Why?” she offered a faint smile.

“Because you are already dead, silly.” Logan forced a smile onto his lips. “Nowhere to go now but up. So, you just tell me what you need to start getting better, ok?”

“Cold,” Karen mumbled. Her eyes drifted shut.

“Stay awake, Karen!” Logan barked at her. “Stay with me!”

Her eyes opened, slower than the last time. Logan could see the color and vitality draining out of her complexion, like a modern television show slowly bleeding to black and white. Karen smiled up at man and Succubus.

“I love you both.”

“No.” Logan watched, helpless, as the last of the color drained away. Karen’s shape wavered. Mist poured from her mouth and, quite suddenly, she was gone. Logan was holding only empty clothes in his arms. “No!”

“Her punishment, and her damnation, are at an end. Take some comfort in that.“

Logan turned to stare at the Hell Hound that had, somehow, spoken in his head. Beauty was facing off with the beast, claws out and snarling in anticipation of a bloody fight. “What the fuck are you?”

“There is no need to speak out loud.“ The echo in his skull said as the beast sat and began to scratch behind one ear with a hindfoot. “In fact, it is best that you say nothing aloud about our ability to communicate at all. Especially in front of the Succubus. For your safety and mine.“

“Can you understand me?“ Logan thought at the Hell Hound.

“Yes, but your thought projection is weak. It will improve with practice.“

“Good, “ Logan replied with his thoughts. “Then piss off so I can mourn the loss of my friend.”

“Of course.“ The beast rose and ambled away toward the cavern entrance to the outside world. “I will be outside whenever you wish to speak further.“

Beauty watched the beast turn and leave. She looked at her lover with confusion in her golden eyes. “Logan ... weird. Fucking weird.”

He offered only a weary nod in response. It could wait. It could all wait. Nothing mattered to him now except the empty clothes laying crumpled on the cavern floor. Beauty knelt beside him and plucked at the shirt. “Karen gone?”

He nodded. “Yes. Karen is ... she is gone.” He raised the shirt to his face but the shirt was too new to even carry her scent on it. That too was forever gone. A small piece of metal fell out of the shirt to the floor.

“How?” the Succubus asked. “Beauty not ... I do not understand.”

Silently, Logan picked up the bullet that had taken Karen from them and showed it to her. This is on me. I failed her. Failed to keep her safe.

The adrenalin began to wear off, leaving him shaky and weak. Every cut and wound began to pulse and scream across his battered body. Blood still spattered on the ground from his many wounds. He did not remember falling.

Logan woke to pain from countless wounds. His eyes were slow to focus as he opened them to look down at Beauty’s wealth of white hair and feel the soft, warm touch of her tongue licking one of his wounds. He was naked except for yards of bandage wrapped around his many wounds.

His first thought was Beauty must be hungry again but it was clear that this wasn’t about feeding. There was nothing about her behavior that indicated such a need. In truth, Logan had never seen her behave this way before. He looked around to ask Karen for an explanation.

Oh my God ... Karen. Memory returned like a punch to the balls. Her loss was a fresh wound no bandage could mend. One that would be a long time healing, if ever it did. Grief lay heavy on his chest, weighing against his every breath.

“She is giving back some of the Essence she receives from feeding on you, “ the Hell Hound voice echoed in his head. “To speed your healing.“

“Get out of my head, “ Logan snarled in his mind. “Now is not the time.“

“Actually while your demon lover is distracted is the perfect time for you and me to talk.“

“Beauty is not the enemy here. If anyone is, it’s you.“

“I never claimed that she was the enemy, but allow me to offer a word of warning. Long ago, humans could not accept responsibility for the evil they did to each other. It must be, they decided, the fault of outside forces. Thus, demons came to exist to represent the many evils humans were, and continue to be, tempted and driven to commit to each other, to the planet, and even to yourselves.“

The Hound paused to let that sink in.

“Of the many temptations that plague humans, none are stronger than sex, and all that comes with it including affection, validation of self through another, procreation ... and even love. No emotion is more dangerous for your kind. Thus, no demon is more dangerous than the Succubus. Not for the harm she would do to you, but because of the harm you would do to yourself in the name of love.“

“That’s not ... I don’t... “ Beauty look up at him with concern. Logan smiled and struggled to control his breathing, and his rising anger.

“I am not saying she is out to get you.“ The Hell Hound prodded. “Only that she is a demon and this is Hell. In other words, proceed with caution, Cousin.“

“Why do you keep calling me Cousin? Who or what are you?“

“Grandfather Bear was worried about you but the big lug is anything but subtle. He could never sneak into this realm to find you without alerting every demon across all nine levels of Hell. He needed someone a little more ... sly.“

It all clicked into place for Logan. All his grandfather’s tribal stories and legends came rushing back. “You are the Coyote spirit, the trickster.“

“The one and only, “ Logan could “hear” the mischievous grin in his head. “And that little secret needs to stay just between the two of us, Cousin. I am way deep into enemy territory here, so I’m relying on you to keep my true nature a secret.“

“Alright, I will, “ Logan promised. “For now.“

“Good enough, “ the Coyote/Hell Hound replied. “For now. When you are done frolicking with your demon and have looted the bodies of our enemies, I will drag the fallen out for the wildlife to feed on.“

“You do that, “ Logan thought back.