SIX

Belthazor stood in the swirling mists that made up the outer fringes of the underworld. This was Malevant's domain. He alone controlled here. Even the mighty Source was uncomfortable in these surroundings. Most of the upper level demons were more than happy to leave this domain to him.

Cole had been sure to change to his demonic form before entering this domain. Malevant apparently did not allow demons to appear to him in human form if they had a demonic form. There had been several occasions where he had vanquished his own underlings when that had happened.

Malevant was not an ordinary demon. His father had been an upper level demon. He had captured and bound the powers of a White Lighter, and then had raped her in an attempt to produce the ultimate demon. It hadn't worked exactly as he had planned.

Instead of the ultimate demon, the White Lighter had given birth to twins. One was Malevant, the embodiment of all that was evil and demonic. The other was his twin brother, Michael. Michael had been more like their mother. A White Lighter that served the forces of good.

After they were born, Malevant's father had murdered their mother. Then he had given the boys to a female warlock to be raised in service to the Source. When they were twelve, the twins had run away. No one had heard from them again for many years. Then, when they were about twenty-five, they had reappeared. Malevant had joined the underworld and had steadily proven himself a very valuable asset to the Source. He was now one of the personal advisors to the Source and a very formidable demon in his own right.

"You are Belthazor," said Malevant, walking up to him through the mists.

The senior demon stood some seven feet tall and his skin was a dark green - nearly black - with bright yellow markings. The markings were not natural to him. They were identifying marks that announced his allegiance, position, and many other factors to other demons. If Belthazor were lucky; if he were able to join the Brotherhood; he would gain markings like that. Malevant's eyes glowed bright red like two piercing spotlights in the dark.

"You asked to speak with me," said Malevant, eyeing Belthazor suspiciously.

"Yes," said Belthazor. "It's come to my attention that you have a particular mission you're having trouble with. My information is that three demons have all ready failed in the attempt."

"Yes," Malevant hissed. "There is a human that has a book I want. A very special book. This human does not know what the book truly is. I wish to get it before he learns of its true nature."

"And three demons have failed to wrest this book from a human?" Belthazor questioned. "How is that possible? Simply vanquish the human and take the book. It should be easy enough."

"You would think so," said Malevant. "But it's not quite that easy. You see this book has an enchantment on it. It can only belong to the rightful owner. If it is stolen it will simply return to him. In order for me to truly possess it, it must be freely given."

"Ah, I see," said Belthazor. "That does change the complexion of the situation. If you were to kill the human, rightful ownership would simply revert to his nearest living relative."

"Exactly," said Malevant. "I have sent three of my underlings to try to persuade the human to give it to them. They, in turn, can give it to me. Then it will be rightfully mine. So far they have all failed."

"This book may have some special meaning to the human," said Belthazor thoughtfully. "Humans can become quite attached to objects. If that were the case then it will be necessary to get close to him. That may be why your underlings failed. They don't understand human interactions."

"You're half human, aren't you?" Malevant questioned.

"My father was human, yes," said Belthazor. "But I am demon. I'm sure you've heard of my reputation. I normally specialize in killing witches."

"So why ask about this assignment?" Malevant asked. "There are no witches involved here."

"After three failed attempts," said Belthazor, "you're bound to raise the bounty on the return of this book. Besides, it can't hurt to garner favor with one of the Source's personal advisors. Being half human many demons look down on me. If I had your favor that would change to a large degree. And I imagine you would be very grateful once I return this book to you."

"Very clever," said Malevant, smiling. "And it doesn't hurt matters knowing that I can put in a good word for you with the Source himself."

"Always an added benefit," said Belthazor.

"So," said Malevant, "you think you can get this book for me?"

"Probably," said Belthazor. "I'll have to study the owner first. Find out why he's so unwilling to part with it. Then it may be necessary to arrange something that might change his mind. Humans can be manipulated if you know the right motivations. Those motivations may not always be so apparent to a demon. As half human I might be able to discern something that your previous subordinates weren't."

"I see," said Malevant. "You haven't asked why I want the book."

"Don't ask too many questions," Belthazor said. "It's the first rule of being a mercenary. I don't need to know why you want it. I just need to know what the object of the assignment is and how much it's worth to you. Why isn't a consideration."

"Good," said Malevant. "And you're right about payment. Because of the dismal failures I'm willing to pay for the book. Three times the normal bounty for an assignment of this type."

"I'm willing to take the assignment," said Belthazor. "Assuming you are willing to hire me. I know of your distaste for humanity. I wasn't sure you'd want a half human working for you."

"Normally I wouldn't," said Malevant. "But if you can get me what I want I'm willing to overlook your shortcomings. I assume you spend a lot of time on the mortal plane."

"Yes," said Belthazor. "Many of the hierarchy recognize my unique benefit to them. I can move among humans without suspicions. They consider me one of them."

"What is your human occupation?" asked Malevant.

"I don't have one," said Belthazor. "So far I haven't needed one. They've just ended their second world war. I can usually get by pretending to be a former soldier who hasn't decided what to do yet. It does give me certain advantages."

"Excellent," said Malevant. "The owner of the book is a college professor. He teaches human law. My understanding is that he collects rare and valuable books. That's why he has it. He doesn't know exactly what it is. He's under the impression that it's simply an old book on the occult. It's part of his collection."

"I see," said Belthazor. "That would explain why he's unwilling to part with it. Many humans collect things. Coins, stamps, all sorts of memorabilia. And they can become very attached to their collections. In order to get the book from him I'll have to provide him with something he feels is more valuable than it is."

"Another book?" Malevant questioned.

"Probably," said Belthazor. "I could pretend to be another collector. I can find out what he's looking for and what he's willing to trade the book for. It should be simple enough. It will just be a matter of finding the other item to trade for the book."

"Ingenious," said Malevant. "I would never have thought it could be so simple."

"As I said," said Belthazor, "it's simply a matter of finding out what he holds more valuable. Then providing him with whatever that is so that he's willing to voluntarily hand over what you want. It won't be simple. I can't just walk in and ask him about it. He might get suspicious. I'll need to curry a friendship with him first. So that I can ask questions without raising his curiosity. That may take some time. This isn't going to happen overnight."

"I understand," said Malevant. "It's more important that you get the book from him before he finds out what it truly is."

Malevant called into the mists of his domain. A small misshapen demon loped up to them carrying a small chest. It handed the chest to Malevant and bowed to the senior demon.

"This is Grimlor," said Malevant. "Despite his appearance he is my most faithful servant." He handed the chest to Cole. "This is half the bounty for the assignment. You'll get the other half when you deliver the book to me. And don't be fooled. Fail me in this and I will not be pleased. I do not tolerate failure."

"I won't fail," said Belthazor. "In many ways this will be an easier assignment than I'm normally used to. When I have the book I'll bring it to you immediately. Then we can toast our new alliance. I'm sure you'll have future missions that I could be useful for."

"Accomplish this one," said Malevant, "and I'm sure I'll have use for you in the future."

"Good," said Belthazor. "I'll let you know when I have the book."

Belthazor turned and walked out of the swirling mists of the domain. As he left the domain he changed back to Cole Turner. Shalson had been right. It had been easy to get Malevant to give him the assignment. And that would make it easy for Belthazor to get close to him. If he were to vanquish Malevant he would need to have the senior demon lower his guard. What better way than to prove he was a valuable asset?

But the actual vanquishment was the problem. Malevant was more powerful than he was. A frontal attack was out of the question. Plus it would not look good in the hierarchy if it became known that Belthazor had vanquished the Source's personal advisor. As he had told Shalson, he had to make it look like one of Malevant's adversaries had vanquished him.

But he had time to formulate his plans. As he had told Malevant, it would take time to get close to the owner of the book. That would give him the time he needed to formulate his plan for Malevant. Vanquishing the senior demon wasn't going to be easy. But everyone had a weakness. Cole just had to discover what Malevant's weakness was.