Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2015 17:19:05 -0400
From: Tyerone Johnson <silentbutcudly@hotmail.com>
Subject: Phoenix Diaries chapter 23

                    Chapter Twenty Three

"Come on change this crap. It's so boring.? Bobby said drawing out ?so?as he
whined. Travis ignored him and turned up the volume as he watched C-SPAN.
The Legislative Initiative for Better Economic Rights and Treatment of
Youths Act was being voted on. The goal of the LIBERTY Act was to grant
minors the same rights as adults, at birth.

As the nays pilled on Travis gritted his teeth and glared at
Representative Jaylend Suessfeld of Pennsylvania. Travis gave the
grey-haired man millions in contributions and Suessfeld swore he'd
delivery the required votes in the House.

"Ha, what's got your panties in a bunch?"

Travis walked past Bobby and when their shoulders brushed Bobby jumped
back from the static shock. Travis left the house and when he was a safe
distance away he pulled Marshall's ring from the pocket dimension and
teleported away.

***

"Rep. Suessfeld, care to comment on the failure of The LIBERTY Act to
pass?"

He turned to the hardnosed report and told her no comment and ducked into
his Mercedes-Benz. On the drive to his two story colonial home Suessfeld
sipped gin from his flask and then shoved his stubby hand into the fly of
his suit pants. He was almost to the point of no return when he pulled
into his driveway and cursed his timing. Oh well he'd get plenty of
release later. He smiled to himself with that thought and greeted his
wife Susan in the foyer.

"Mr. Prince is waiting for you in the study, dear."

Jaylend nodded to his wife and went upstairs, though he downed half of
the flask by the time he got there. Travis rose from the desk and flashed
him a cordial smile. They shook hands and shared a double scotch on the
rocks. Travis knocked his back and they got on with small talk. The smile
never left his face.

"I saw the LIBERTY Act failed to pass."

"Yes, well I did my best. These things happen."

"Funny. The way Rep. Thomas tells it, you did nothing to ensure its
passage. In fact you added so much pork it was DOA."

Suessfeld inhaled on his cigar and blew the smoke right in his face.

"Mr. Prince I appreciate your contributions, but there are no grantees in
politics."

"I expected more considering all I've done for you. No matter let's speak
of other things. How is young William?"

Suessfeld sputtered and with a shaky hand he poured another shot of
scotch, downed it and had another.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do. Billy Maxwell, mop of strawberry blond hair, all of
four- foot- ten, ninety pounds and turned 11 last week."

Travis reached into coat pocket and pulled out a series of black and
white photos. The first showed the senator hugging Billy after he scored
a goal at a soccer match. In the next he had his arm around Billy while
they ate ice cream cones. But the third photo was where things got
interesting.

The license plate of Suessfeld's Mercedes was visible along the motel
sign. The next picture showed Billy spread out on the bed. He was nude,
save for strategically placed whipped cream. Jaylend was at the foot of
bed licking his way up Billy's foot.

"Where did you get these?"

"The better question is what I plan to do with them."

"Clever, but how will the media react when they find out you're a
blackmailer?"

"Consider this me exercising my civic duty to protect William. You will
never abuse another child."

"Yes and the LIBERTY Act has nothing to do with this then?"

"I knew about your predilections from the start, and planned to expose
you after it passed. Had you played your part I'd see to it you got the
help you so need. Now prepare for a world of pain."

"Please, I don't scare likely. I run this town."

"When I'm done you'll beg for death."

Rule five: never let them see it coming.

***

Travis called Adam and told him to drop the hammer on Suessfeld and check
the status of his emaciation. Denied again, but the judge said he'd be
open to reevaluating the case in six months.

Be thankful for small miracles, Travis thought to himself and ended the
call. After checking his HUD he saw there was still twenty minutes before
his meeting with Michael. In the meantime he called Mark and checked in
on their big project.

"Dude like we're still a year out before it's complete."

"What's the hold up? You have my notes and I told you to call if there
were any issues."

"Thought I could handle it but it'd be a fuck ton easier if you were here
to walk me through the coding."

Travis pinched the bridge of nose. The alien programming languages he
mastered were so efficient one line of their code took the place of
hundreds of Earth's. What good was his technology if it couldn't be
massed produced. Enter his plan to create a program to translate the
alien code into something humans could understand and use.

The snag was human computers weren't powerful enough to run them. He
couldn't introduce computers that advanced at once or it'd raise
suspicions. Which meant he had to revise his timetable by five years. A
minor fly in the ointment in the grand scheme of things, but this
scenario would take up a considerable chunk of his time.

There never seemed to be enough time, which is why after months of
failure he succeeded in creating his alters. Each of them had a portion
of consciousness and was autonomous to a degree.

They were superior to homunculi since they didn't require demonic magic
and could be maintained indefinitely. The draw backs were any damage
infected on them rebounded to him three folds, and his power was divided
among them. Using them in tandem with him his training sessions he
reached new heights.

Number One was on community service duty today. Two was researching
metaphysics and new techniques, while Three was off recruiting new allies
against the Nekoshins. Four was busy day trading and monitoring the
progress of T Cubed Industries.

They were making a mint from the data culled from Mark's cyber exploits.
They had to pay off key officials every now and then, but that was the
price of doing business. Speaking of which he needed to leave or he'd be
late.

Travis got to Hart Plaza with a minute to spare and scanned the area. He
sensed Michael and three other Wildlings in the area. How cute, an
ambush. Travis merged with One just in case he needed the extra power and
waited by the fountain.

Michael showed up ten minutes later and acted as if he were out of breath
and apologized.

"Cut the crap. You've been here awhile and didn't come alone."

"Guilty," Michael said and summoned Patty. Thirty seconds later a van
pulled up and out jumped three guys. Two were teens around his age and
the third was in his mid-twenties. Travis released his Aura and the form
of a giant hydra surrounded him. Michael and the others fell to their
knees and vomited.

"First lesson boys. Every time you're exposed to a demon's Aura you'll
get sick or worse if you don't learn to control your demonic essence."

He caged his aura and once recovered they rushed at him. Travis summoned
his S-blade and swept them away with one flick of it.

"I swear to God I'll kill you."

"Fool, I don't even need my Aspect to defeat you." Travis reached in his
pocket pulled out a dandelion.

"What are you gonna do make me sneeze to death?"

Travis blew on the petals and they detached and floated towards them.
When a white seed made contact with Michael it exploded.

"You'll pay for that.?

He cupped his arm to stem the bleeding. The others who had been holding
back dashed forward.

"Dylan, Chow, hang back."

The Brown haired man summoned a mirror and when the seeds neared him they
were bounced back to Travis. He dodged and melted into shadows and the
darkness encased them.

Monsters from their greatest nightmares couldn't compare to the creatures
that pursued them. When Travis felt they had enough he broke the spell.
Michael and Conner stared at each other puzzled. The monsters they fought
had been each other. They turned to Travis and saw him clapping.

"Shall we begin or do you enjoy being made fools of?"

Travis smirked but then his face fell.

"If you want to live do exactly as I say."

"In your dreams demon."

Michael raised his lance and the others fell in line behind him.

"Idiots! Don't you feel that?"

"Quit stalling and let's fight."

Travis powered up to battle mode and removed his bracelet.

"Listen to me closely. A portal to hell is about to open and thousands of
demons will pour through once it's complete. Get as many people out of
here as you can."

The Wildlings scoffed at him until the air grew cold and their hair stood
on ends. Clouds rolled over head and then the sun was blotted out. The
horde of demons burst forth and circled them, the flapping of their wings
were like chirping of a thousand birds.

"You weren't kidding."

 Michael told the others to do as Travis said.

"It gets worse. Only a Demon Lord could open a portal this big. And it's
coming through. Kill as many as you can and leave the rest to me."

Travis removed his death mask and sucked in as many of their souls he
could handle and took to the air.

Chow summoned his Aspect and fired, each bullet contained a different
spell. Some froze, others paralyzed, but his trump card was a spell that
took out every demon in a ten foot radius. The down side? He was limited
to three shoots. The first cleared the path for Travis and the others.
The next whipped out a pack of skeletal dragons that descended on a
family of five. He sent the final round into The Voice of Darkness.
Balder laughed and tossed him aside like a rag doll.

Dylan rushed to Chow's side and placed the end of his caduceus to him.
The teen opened his green eyes and they smiled at each other. Dylan waved
his hand over the caduceus and it separated. He hurled the left rod at
Balder.

He startled for a second when the death stick touched him then waved his
hand and tossed Dylan into the fountain. The Latino boy's body made a
sickening crunch upon impact. Chow's eyes became crimson pools and he
fired a volley of spells at him. To Balder's surprise Chow managed to
hurt him. And he removed his Death Masked.

***

Michael ran Patty through another goblin and Travis finished it off. They
were inside Travis's barrier but it deteriorated with each hit from the
demons. They were surrounded and there was no end in sight.

"Any ideas fearless leader?"

Conner reflected back a lightning bolt and the elemental demon it
belonged to was dust.

"I'm going to lower the barrier. Shut your eyes the second it's down."

They complied and Travis struck the ground with his S-blade. A million
points of lights shot forth and wiped out the horde.

"If you could that why did you hold back?"

"Yeah," Conner said and rested against Michael.

"Because that attack takes a week to recharge."

There was no time to rest with Balder still loose. Chow's screams ripped
through the air and they ran to him. They found him crumpled on the
ground, bones broken from Balder's sonic blasts. The Demon Lord was
poised above him ready to deliver the final blow. Travis brought down
Phoenix's axe and his container shattered.

"I won't stop until you join us," Balder said as he retreated to
Pandemonium.

Balder returned to his body and the triumvirate greeted one another. A
portal opened on the wall and tendrils pierced Balder.

"Look upon me and know the face of your destroyer!"

Balder's body fell dead and Travis absorbed his soul. Job done he closed
the portal and slipped his bracelet back on. The crack spread further.

Instead of being distraught Loki and Thor rejoiced at Balder's death and
hacked themselves. Another tumble in the lock fell and Oblivion was one
step closer to freedom.

***

Chow grabbed Dylan's Aspect and to Travis's surprise Dylan was healed and
the pair shared a kiss. For a second his mind flashed back to him and
Josh. Then Travis scolded himself and talked with Michael and Conner.
Though initially against it Conner came around and agreed they should
apprentice under Travis.

He knew Gideon and the other Elders would disapprove. But given there
were more powerful demons out there they needed to be prepared. Travis
agreed to train them in secret and set up a suitable schedule. He bid
them farewell and gave them a disposable phone each.

After a long day there was still more to do. After merging with his
alters Travis placed one more call.

"Damien, I?m in."

"Good. I'll convene the inner council and relay your message to them."

"Not so fast. I want to meet them before committing to anything."

"I'm afraid that's against the rules."

Travis popped next Damien and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I think you can make an exception."

As Travis rode along with Damien, he wondered who was among this inner
council. Marshall's diary stopped once he graduated and much can change
over sixty years.

They pulled up to a nondescript building in the middle of a strip mall,
between a nail salon and a coffee shop. Travis laughed until a chill ran
up his spine. They'd passed the threshold of the wards and  Travis felt
the demonic energy crashed over him. He hadn't felt anything as powerful
since leaving Pandemonium.

Damien waved his hand over a metal face plate by the door and  it opened
into a grand lobby decorated in classical art with bronze and marble
statues from the Hellenic period. The floor was furnished with Asian and
Persian rugs, but marble tiles were visible in the space between them. On
the ceiling was a replica of the Sistine Chapel, except the imagery was
inverted. Demons took the place of angels and in the center was a mural
of Oblivion creating the first demons and corrupting mankind.

It turned his stomach but Travis kept his mask in place as they walked to
the check in desk. One glance at the guard and he knew it was a Fallen
One. Once human these possessed corpses were animated by the demon inside
and were used as enforcers for Demon Lords and their familiars on Earth.
The only thing greater than their stench was the viciousness they carried
out their tasks with.

It caught a whiff of Travis and bared its rotten, pointy teeth. Damien
told Walter the boy was with him and that satisfied the guard, who gave
them name badges. When Travis put it on his name appeared. Below it read,
?Guest of Master Damien," and "dinner if he doesn't watch it."

Damien ushered them forward, but Travis looked over his shoulder to the
guard and sent him a mental picture of what he could do.

The guard flinched back and he smiled.

When they arrived at the meeting room Damien told him to wait outside
while he briefed the other members. After an hour he was ready to leave
when the door swung open and he was admitted in. His eyes swept the room
and noticed four empty seats at the circular table. Damien told him to
stand in the center of the room and make his case before the council.

Travis crossed his armed and scrutinized the members before. To the left
of Damien was a fierce looking woman in in a Sunday dress and bonnet. Her
fingers were like Vienna sausages, stacked to the brim with rings
encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones. A cursory glance at
her thoughts told him she was in a foul mood and not to be toyed with. He
read the others and found they were equally displeased with his presence,
but no matter.

Travis steepled his finger and began his spiel. The rules dictated the
inner council was to have seven members at all times and as the vacancy
had gone on some time now it would be prudent to fill it. Moreover he was
a legacy, and the grand son to their previous leader, and knew how to
keep secrets.

The fierce woman stood up and introduced herself as Juno Jenkins.

"That's all good on paper but why should we allow a boy into our ranks?"

"My Lady you may have seniority on me, but do not suppose I am a child."

Travis released his Aura and only Damien and Juno didn't show outward
signs of being affected.

"So you know a few parlor tricks. Still why should we risk everything
we've built for the whims of a capricious brat?"

Travis looked eyes with Ms. Jenkins.

"You would do well to hold your tongue least you lose it."

"Anytime you feel froggy, jump."

A jovial bald man stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone's
attention.

"Lady Jenkins perhaps you're being a bit severe? You know how you get
when your blood sugar drops."

"Yes Martin, mayhaps you're right. Shall we table this conversation and
bring it up another time?" Juno sat down and nibbled on a candy from her
purse.

"No you will not!"

They all turned to Travis, slack jawed.

"Allow me to educate you on few things. I am the first born son of
Marshall's first born and only child. By blood and birthright I lay claim
to all his powers and assets in this plane of existence and all others.
Let anyone who dispute this fact challenge me now or forfeit all claim."

Juno stood up and flared her Aura, a grand peacock.

"Where did you learn that invocation boy?"

"A better question is why it concerns you so, my Lady."

Juno manifesto her Aspect, a wicked fan in the shape of a peacock's tail.

"Tell me who you are now."

Damien came to her side but she shoved him aside and took a fighting
stance. Travis summoned his S-blade and strolled towards Juno without
regard for his safety. He stood inches from her face and looked at her
with dead eye.

"I am vassal to the Cadaver King, Knight of Rose and I will tear your
soul apart if you disrespect me again."

Gasps issued forth when he mentioned Abe's alias. Damien pulled Travis
aside and they talked in hushed whispers. Juno overheard enough to work
out Travis had met their master and was livid. She'd spent the better
part of a century serving Lord Abaraxas and he'd never deemed her worthy
of a meeting so why would this half-breed be granted access?

"You liar! He wouldn't debase himself by spending time with such gutter
trash."

Tendrils shot out from Travis and raced towards Juno. They stopped
millimeters from her and Travis addressed them. For those who still
doubted his claims he suggested they ask Lord Abaraxas for themselves and
activated Marshall's ring. The Cadaver King appeared with bages around
his eyes and shocked written on his face when he saw Travis among the
inner council.

"How many times must I tell you my friend. Every spell you use brings the
Old One closer to freedom."

"Nice of you to mention that prize piece of information to everyone,
dumbass."

Abe told Travis he had nothing to fear from his servants. The boy rolled
his eyes and sighed inside as he planned to drop that detail on them when
he made his move to assume leadership of the group. Oh well he'd think of
something when the time came. The inner circle fell into chaos over the
revelation he was the Vessel.

"My Lord is this correct? You told us it wouldn?t emerge for another
thousand years or so."

Damien continued where Juno left off, "Yes we were under the impression
our efforts would bring about its arrival."

"Unfortunately fate has a nasty habit of ruining the best laid plans."

The vote was swift and they agreed to admit Travis as a junior member
until he came of age at 21. He accepted this but wasn't pleased in the
least. As the inner circle disbursed he turned back to the basin and
confronted Abe.

"You trained me so you could jump start Armageddon on your terms."

"At first yes but then I realized you could serve a higher purpose."

"Like what?"

"Balance. The forces of good and evil have been at war since the
beginning of time."

"But?"

"But you could change that by defeating the Old One and opening the
barriers between our worlds so that once more human and demons live side
by side."

"Easier to catch dinner that way, eh?"

"I don't deny what we are, what you are. But there's no reason we can't
coexist and feed on the unwanted drudges of society."

"You're insane. Pray we never meet again because trust me you don't want
to know what I have in store for you."

"Have I not given you food and shelter when you needed it? Taught you the
Law and how to master our ways? Have I done anything untoward up to this
point?"

Travis told him none of that mattered and the only reason he didn't
return to Pandemonium right that instant was the thought of either Necron
or Eris taking the upper hand in the war would be disastrous for humans.
Abe nodded and tried to apologize once more, but Travis deactivated the
ring and went home.

Damien greeted the two figures who emerged from the shadows.

?Sorry we were late my Lord. We had other business to attend to,? Lilith
Giovanni said as she fixed her long blonde hair.

?Yes our progeny refuses to take his duty as a Watcher serious. I regret he
has fallen for Marshall?s heir.?

?No worries my friend. This could be used to our advantage if Master Travis
becomes a throne in our side. We?ve granted him junior membership into the
council, but only time will tell if he pans out.?

Josh?s parents were stunned to learn Travis was powerful enough to warrant
such a thing. They knew he would have some power as Marshall?s heir but
never imagine he would be in their league. Then again they never got over
the fact Josh was born without any demonic abilities and had a skewed
view of things.

***

Before Travis could retreat to the safety of his room he was wrangled
into a family dinner. Sarah had made pork chops and scalloped potatoes to
Celebrate Eli's promotion to Chief of Police. It took an ass load of
politicking and calling in favors after the stunt Travis pulled but it
was worth it. Amber was home for a change and no cell in sight.
Pandemonium must have frozen over.

"I don't have to tell you now that I've been promoted I can't have you
causing trouble. Is that clear?"

"What I choose to do in my spare time is no concern of yours. Is that
clear, Father."

"Don't think I forget about last time you got too big for your britches.
One call to your PO and your ass will be back in juvy faster than you can
say white on rice."

Travis dropped his fork on the plate and met his father's eyes.

"You can do that but then I'd burn your world to ashes."

"We'll see about that when he comes tomorrow."

"Test me and you'll end up just like Rep. Suessfeld."

"Who?" they all said at once.

"Troglodytes. He killed himself after it was leaked he was a pedophile."

Eli eyed him cautiously.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Travis smiled, but his eyes were filled with malice.

"One guess who tipped them off."

Travis dug into his food while it was still warm and ignored his father's
cutting glances. Sarah asked them about their day. Bobby responded he
spent the day with friends at the basketball quart, while Amber met with
her clique at Great Lakes Crossing Mall and in between checking out cute
boys they saw the latest paranormal romance movie. Travis rolled his eyes
at the mention of how sexy Amber though the vampires were. Real vampires
were creatures of death and mayhem. They fed on the essence of life
itself and left their victims mummified husks.

"And what did you do all day, mister?" Sarah said and broke Travis out of
his thoughts.

"Same thing I do every day. Try to take over the world."

"Cut the crap and answer your mother or you're grounded."

"Fine, I served about a billion bowls of soup to the homeless, made a
cool million on the stock market, joined an international cabal that
secretly controls all world governments and finances, saved downtown
Detroit from being overrun by demons, executed a king of hell, And now if
you excuse me I have to wipe his memories along with the others from my
mind, or my head?s gonna to explode."

As Travis walked to his room Eli shouted he was grounded for that little
performance.

"And what the hell was that about?"

"Who knows? Half the time he's in his own world. And the other half I
can't understand a word outta his mouth," Amber said to Bobby.

"Yeah, he's totally schizo if you ask me."

***

Once in his room Travis raised the protective wards and entered his mind.
His inner world hadn't changed much on the surface, but that belied the
mastery which he wielded. He sat in his control helm and brought up the
memories of the various demons he'd absorbed. A screen popped up and
showed files labeled with their names and he ran two searches, First on
magic and then strategy, once done he collected the pertinent files,
eliminated those that overlapped and deleted the rest.

He scoured over Balder's memories for any information on him, Oblivion,
and the other rulers of Pandemonium.

Jack pot. Loki was weak to glamours and other mental magics, while Thor
was weaken by natural magic, especially water based spells. Serendipity
smiled on him that day.

He discovered each member of the inner council was assigned a demon whose
job was to protect them. If he could take out their Followers it'd make
them that more easy to control. However Balder's memory only extended to
the point the council had seven members. And Travis also learned some
things he wished he hadn't.

 According to Balder's files his grandfather made a second Faustian
bargain for political power and the price was the soul of his first born
male heir. This couldn't be true. Souls could be bought and trade like
stocks, but only if they were freely given or taken by force. And his was
still intact.

Unless it was taken from him before birth and replaced with a demon's
soul. The ritual was complicated but possible. If this were true then
Marshall was the one responsible for making him a vessel for Oblivion.

Travis searched the files for any mention to whom Marshall made his deal
with. The name was highlighted and read, ?Lord Abaraxas." He took in this
new information but didn't believe it for a second.

Rule six: deception is about misdirection. Mix your truths, with equal
parts lies and half-truths so you always keep them guessing. A pounding
on his door brought him out of his musing. It was Amber with the home
phone and on the other end was Josh.

"To what do I owe the displeasure of your correspondence?"

"I miss you OK. Can't we like hang out?"

"Last we spoke you were adamant our acquaintanceship end and I should
endeavor to procure a lady of ill repute, with which to satiate my
hedonistic proclivities."

"Come on dude not this shit again. Are you busy tomorrow or what?"

"My schedule," he said affecting a faux posh British accent, ?has no
vacancies for the foreseeable future. However if I weren't previously
engaged I'd still be disinclined to socializing with you."

"Why the fuck not?"

"You know why."

Travis hung up on Josh and went to bed.

Author?s note: I hope you?ve enjoyed this chapter and consider sending a
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