Magic - Chapter 53

This is the second book in The Godsverse Chronicles, a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.

Ollie wasn't looking for trouble, but after she saved the Antichrist from being slaughtered, it came for her.

Ollie lived by one rule. Never get involved with anyone for any reason; humans, demons, fae folk, it didn't matter. They were all trouble. Keeping her distance was how she survived in the criminal underworld for so long.

Keep your head down and don't piss anyone off. That was her motto, especially since her clients all had access to powerful dark magic.

She thought she had a flawless system for keeping her nose clean, so how did she wind up in a stolen car, with a demon spawn in her back seat, driving away from her ex-lover and a gang of demons ready to skin her alive?

That's a good question.

And why did she agree to help save the demon's life so she didn't get sacrificed to open the gates of Hell?

An even better question.

She had one rule. One stupid rule. And tonight...it goes right down the toilet.

Now, the only way for Ollie to get her life back is to save the girl, prevent the Apocalypse, and track down the people who betrayed her.

They will pay. Oh yes, they will all pay.

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My mother would say I was a damned fool for working with the government, but I had been a fool for less than ten million dollars before—a lot less.

I could have entered Hell by myself, of course; gotten out of the underground prison, found the gateway, and entered the Hellmouth. But the government drones that captured us seemed to have all sorts of information we didn’t have about the layout of Hell, a team of soldiers to accompany us, and plenty of tech that would make entering Hell much easier than if we were going to do it ourselves.

Of course, going with them meant we wouldn’t be able to sneak around like we could if it were just the two of us. In exchange for treating this like a paramilitary operation, we got access—and of course, ten million dollars, half of which had already been wired into my offshore accounts, as confirmed by Phil in a quick but terse phone call.

“It’s a bad idea,” he told me. “But perhaps it is the best idea.”

“What do you give my odds?” I asked.

“With the troops, you have a seventeen percent chance of success. Without them, that chance drops to three percent.”

The military gave me almost a six times better chance of success, even if my odds weren’t good either way. A scruffy-looking nerf herder might have said to never tell him the odds, but they comforted me. I was probably going to die in Hell, or be captured, and I wanted to go in with a clear head about it. Was killing Et’atal enough to risk my life? What good was ten million dollars if you weren’t around to spend it?

“It’s no good,” Aimee replied when I asked her the same question. “But that’s not the real question. The real question is whether you can live with yourself if you don’t take the chance. That’s all life is—a series of chances, high probability ones that don’t have much of a payoff and low probability ones with high rewards if you succeed. The key is finding the ones with the best odds and best payoffs.”

“I’m not very good at that one,” I said with a sigh. “At least not these days. I used to be a lot better, but recently—recently I’m taking a lot of stupid chances. I can’t stop myself.”

She laid on Lily’s hood next to me. “Because the reward is so high?”

I nodded. “I knew getting into business with the government was a bad idea, but the money—god, it was so much money, and it kept getting better and better, so I kept making dumber and dumber choices, which led me here.”

“I’ve been around a lot of rich people in my life. The best ones are real risk-takers. They talk about hedging their bets and trying to make high percentage plays, but they’re only guessing. They say things like ‘this is a good bet’ and ‘that’s a bad bet,’ but they don’t know. They’re gambling, just like we are with our lives. But ten million dollars? That’s enough money that I don’t have to work for them anymore. I can be one of them.”  

“Yeah, and what if we die getting it?”

She laughed. “Dude, we’re both going to Hell either way eventually. We might as well die trying to get back out—to do something good for once. I’ve worked for a lot of horrible people and a lot of shady organizations. None of them have ever wanted to do anything good with my skills. This is at least a good thing.”

“Is it?” I asked. “What if they’re wrong? What if the dagger doesn’t matter at all?”

She shrugged. “It’s the intention, you know?”

“And if their intentions are bad?”

“Mine are good, and I have to think that’s a far cry better than usual.” She turned to me. “I’m sorry for trying to blow you up. Twice.”

I sighed. “Since we’re probably going to die, I am going to forgive you. I’m not forgetting, but I don’t want to go into Hell with any of that baggage.” I pushed myself up and off of Lily’s roof. “In fact, there are some things I need to do before we leave.”

The head of the agency, Director Chapman, had introduced herself to us several days ago after the money transfer was complete and our irritation had subsided. She was a tough woman with a stern scowl permanently plastered on her face, and as of yet, she had refused to allow me to leave the bunker.

That needed to change.

Forgiving Aimee convinced me I needed to make amends with the other people in my life. I wanted to say goodbye in case I never saw them again. If I had less than a one in six chance of returning to Earth, I needed to make my peace.

Director Chapman looked up from her computer when I knocked and beckoned me over. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun, and she pushed her thick glasses up on her head as I sat down.

“I need to see my family,” I said.

There was a long moment of silence as she sized me up. “No,” she replied, finally. She was not a loquacious speaker, but when she spoke, her words had weight.

“I’m not asking.” I squeezed the edges of my armrests. “If you want me on this mission, you will let me go to see my family before we leave.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“We’re going into Hell,” I said. “There’s not a place more dangerous, and since I’m probably not coming home—”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s Hell.”

“If you don’t have faith in this operation, why would you agree to it?”

“You gave me ten million dollars.” My lip twitched. “Which you wouldn’t do if you didn’t know the danger of this mission, so don’t play coy with me.”

She sat back and gave me another one of those long, appraising looks. “Request denied.”

I rose from my chair, fury coursing through my veins. “You might have warded this place to prevent me from using magic, but I can rip your pitiful human body apart with my bare hands.”

She wasn’t scared in the least, or if she was, her face didn’t show it. “This is not civilized, and I don’t appreciate it.”

My ire subsided in the face of her calm. “Please.”

“You don’t even like your parents,” she said, turning back to her computer. “You have been estranged from your father until recently, and your mother—well, your relationship with your mother is cantankerous at best, if not openly hostile. Why would you even want to say goodbye to them? They have done nothing for you.”

“Because I love them, okay? You can’t stop who you love, no matter how screwed up it is. I’ve agreed to help you. I’m willing to die for this mission if that’s what is required of me, and we both know there’s a good chance of that. All I want is some time to say goodbye to the people I love.”

“And ten million dollars,” Director Chapman added curtly.

“I won’t vanish. If you have a file on me, you have to know that I will honor my debt, no matter the cost.”

She nodded. “Very well. The mission will commence tomorrow at five a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. You have until then to make your final goodbyes.”

“And Aimee?” I asked. “Will you give her the same courtesy?”

“I doubt there’s anyone she loves, but if she comes to make the same request, I will honor it.”

I turned to walk out of the door. “Thank you.”

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This is the second book in The Godsverse Chronicles, a portal fantasy series with mythological roots and action-adventure tendencies. You can search through all my work on my website.

Paid subscribers can access the entire archive of this series from the beginning, along with other series and every article I’ve ever written.

If you are not a paid member, you can read everything with a 7-day free trial, or give us a one-time tip.