“Pah!”
Lucifer spat out the blood that had gotten into his mouth and wiped the rest from his face.
After shoving the dead Crawler Leader off his chest, he climbed to his feet and looked across the clearing, only to find the survivors gathered around a young man and beating him without mercy.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes as he walked closer.
Juno drove a hard kick between the man’s legs while Cath and Greg, both furious over Dan’s death, continued striking him whenever he tried to curl up and protect himself.
“Who the hell is that?” Lucifer asked.
Juno stepped back and pointed toward Dan’s motionless body.
“No idea.
We came out of the cave and found him standing here with a shovel.
He hit Dan in the back of the head before anyone could stop him.”
Lucifer frowned.
“A shovel?”
His first thought was Ed Oswald, but that was impossible.
Lucifer had personally dragged the old caretaker underground and handcuffed him inside the abandoned mine.
He walked over to Dan and crouched long enough to check for a pulse.
There was none.
Dan was dead.
Lucifer stood and looked toward Cath and Greg.
“Enough.
Let me talk to him.”
They reluctantly backed away.
The young man remained curled on the ground, bruised and bloodied from the beating.
Even in that condition, there was something fanatical in his expression as he looked up at Lucifer.
“The gods will punish you,” he rasped.
“Every one of you is going to die.”
Lucifer studied him for a moment before noticing a strange pendant hanging from his neck.
He grabbed the necklace and ripped it free, earning another pained cry from the young man.
“Don’t touch that!” the man screamed.
“That’s sacred!”
Lucifer ignored him and examined the pendant beneath the afternoon light.
At first glance, it resembled the head of a stag with enormous antlers, but the mouth was filled with unnatural predatory teeth and twisting vines curled around the antlers.
The design reminded Lucifer of old Wendigo legends.
That didn’t mean the Crawlers themselves were Wendigos.
They were still the pale subterranean humanoids he remembered from the movies, but the System had already shown that they carried traces of a darker nature.
The pendant suggested that whatever Ed’s family worshiped might have become intertwined with the creatures over generations.
Lucifer slipped the pendant into System Space and crouched in front of the young man.
“What are you to Ed Oswald?”
The man spat near his feet.
“Go to hell.”
Lucifer sighed and pulled out the Glock 21.
After replacing the magazine, he chambered a round and calmly pressed the muzzle against the man’s forehead.
“I’ll ask again.
What’s your relationship with Ed Oswald?”
The fanaticism in the young man’s eyes weakened immediately.
He swallowed.
“He’s…
my father.”
Lucifer finally understood.
Ed wasn’t simply some random caretaker assigned to an abandoned mine.
His family had been connected to this cave system for generations, and now his son was guarding the surface just as Ed had.
Lucifer considered asking about the “gods” they worshiped, but quickly abandoned the idea.
There were still countless Crawlers trapped below them, and this wasn’t the place to interrogate someone for hours.
He smiled.
“Thanks for cooperating.”
BANG!
The .45 ACP round ended the conversation instantly.
The young man’s body collapsed onto the forest floor, his final expression filled with disbelief.
Lucifer stood and returned the Glock to System Space.
“I never said answering would save you.”
Nobody commented.
After everything they had seen Lucifer do underground, the survivors had already realized he wasn’t a conventional hero.
He would save people when he chose to, but he had no hesitation about killing someone he considered a threat.
Lucifer looked toward the group.
“We’re done here.
Let’s go home.”
Greg glanced at Dan’s body.
“What about him?”
“If you want to bring him back, carry him.”
Greg looked at the long forest route ahead, then at Dan’s body, and fell silent.
Lucifer turned toward Sarah and Juno instead.
“Can either of you get us back to the mine entrance?
Bruce should still be waiting there.”
Sarah nodded cautiously.
“I remember the area.
I can get us there.”
The group began walking through the forest.
In the end, Greg left Dan’s body where it had fallen rather than attempting to carry him through miles of rough terrain, and nobody had enough energy left to argue about the decision.
By the time they reached the abandoned mine, the light outside was already beginning to fade.
Bruce spotted them from a distance and immediately hurried over.
His normally controlled expression changed the moment he saw Juno walking among the survivors.
“Miss Juno.”
Juno smiled tiredly.
Bruce stepped forward and embraced her.
“I’m very glad to see you alive.”
“Believe me, Bruce, I’m glad to be alive.”
After everything she had endured underground, Juno had once believed she would never see the surface again.
Bruce soon released her and turned toward Lucifer.
“Thank you.
Senator Kaplan will be extremely grateful.”
Lucifer smiled.
“If you’re satisfied with the service, remember the five-star review.”
Bruce laughed softly.
“I suspect Senator Kaplan will recommend your agency to quite a few people after this.”
Lucifer liked the sound of that almost as much as the promised payment.
Bruce glanced toward the darkening sky before saying apologetically, “Unfortunately, the helicopter can’t take everyone back tonight.
Some of you will need to stay in the nearby town until morning.”
“No problem.”
Lucifer paused.
Then he lowered his voice slightly.
“About my fee…”
Bruce smiled as though he had expected the question.
He reached inside his jacket and produced a check.
“Senator Kaplan keeps his word.”
Lucifer accepted it and looked at the amount.
$1,000,000.
His exhaustion suddenly felt much more manageable.
After surviving a cave full of Crawlers, nearly drowning, fighting through an underground feeding ground, and barely escaping a collapse, Lucifer finally understood why the job had paid so much.
He carefully put the check away.
Next time, I’m collecting a deposit first.
Before Bruce could leave, Juno stepped closer.
“Lucifer, what about those pies?”
Lucifer immediately remembered their agreement.
“Of course.”
He reached into his backpack while secretly retrieving the remaining six Savory Pork Liver Pies from System Space.
“Six left.
Fifty thousand each.”
Lucifer handed them to Juno with a bright smile.
“Three hundred thousand dollars.”
Bruce stared at him.
Then he looked at the pies.
Finally, he looked toward Juno as if waiting for her to explain why six meat pies apparently cost as much as a house.
Juno didn’t hesitate.
“Pay him.”
Bruce blinked.
“Miss Juno?”
“They’re worth it.”
Having personally experienced the pie’s restorative effects, Juno knew exactly what she was buying.
Ordinary food couldn’t restore someone’s exhausted body that quickly, and if Lucifer was willing to sell something that useful for fifty thousand dollars each, she had no intention of arguing over the price.
Bruce reluctantly took out his checkbook.
A minute later, Lucifer was holding another check.
$300,000.
Between the rescue commission and the pies, he had just earned $1.3 million.
Lucifer stared at the two checks with immense satisfaction.
Maybe exorcism really is the right career.
Bruce prepared to leave with Juno and looked back toward Lucifer.
“I’ll send the helicopter for you tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds good.
See you then.”
Lucifer waved as they departed.
Once their vehicle disappeared down the road, he turned toward the people who remained.
“So…
who’s giving me a ride into town?”
Deputy Rios immediately raised a hand.
“You can ride with me.”
Before Lucifer could answer, Cath stepped between them.
“He can ride with me.”
Rios raised an eyebrow.
Cath ignored her and looked directly at Lucifer.
The gratitude in her expression was obvious after he had saved her from the Crawler and healed her mangled leg.
“I still owe you for saving my life.”
She turned toward Greg.
“You ride with Rios.
I’ll meet you in town later.”
Greg stared at her.
Then he looked at Lucifer.
A suspicious expression slowly appeared on his face.
“Later?”
Cath pretended not to hear him.
She caught Lucifer by the arm and pulled him toward a yellow Hummer H1 parked nearby.
Lucifer allowed himself to be dragged along before asking, “You actually know the way to town, right?
Because after everything I’ve been through today, I’m not sleeping in a car.”
Cath climbed behind the wheel with complete confidence.
“Relax.
I know where I’m going.”
Lucifer got into the passenger seat.
The Hummer’s engine roared to life, and Cath drove away from the abandoned mine along the narrow forest road.
Rios watched them disappear before looking toward Sarah and Greg.
“Well, looks like you’re riding with me.”
The remaining group climbed into her vehicle and started toward town.
They hadn’t gone far when headlights illuminated the same yellow Hummer parked on the shoulder ahead.
Greg immediately leaned forward.
“Stop.
Maybe Cath’s having trouble.”
Rios slowed slightly.
Then she looked at the parked Hummer.
The vehicle was rocking gently on its suspension.
Rios stared for a second before understanding.
She rolled her eyes and pressed the accelerator again.
“Trust me.
She doesn’t need our help.”
Greg turned toward her in confusion.
“What?”
“Leave them alone.”
As they drove past, Greg looked back at the Hummer through the rear window.
Slowly, realization dawned on his face.
“…Oh.”
Rios shook her head and continued toward town.