Page 4 of Abraxas

"Yes, they killed many when they were born if they didn't conform to expectations. They also bred gods and then aborted the fetus to use in experiments. That doesn't include those tortured or starved to death," he quietly explained.

“That’s barbaric. How did they get away with it?”

“They had money and the power it buys.”

"I hope you get every one of them, and they get what they deserve. I'm glad we'll be gone soon so that man can't come near me," Gloria swore.

Abe was glad, too. Now that he was progressing with his mate, he wanted nothing to interfere with it. Reluctantly, he had to admit that Lu had been right. Once the song ended, he looked out of the peephole and saw Cirrus was gone.

"Looks like he left. Don't answer the door without checking first. He kept after Risa until she and Win were living together." He leaned in and kissed her softly.

There was nothing to do now but go and hope she'd forgive the little kiss.

Morning would come quickly, and they had to eat breakfast before leaving. At least everyone had their bags loaded. Carry-ons would be their only concern. Most just had one bag, but some also took laptops or other items. The plane already had pillows, blankets, and other comfort items that were regularly laundered onboard. a

Those who went often, like the band and support people, had their seats assigned. It made things easier. None of them had been as bored lately. With all the recent activity, Lu finally delegated things, and they were all busy. Abe was sure no one had started these things until Lu had assigned someone.

The assignments hadn’t been what they’d expected either. Zepar was assigned to the construction but also had to work with Tarot, the communication specialist they had here on loan.Some of the guys speculated that it was a reward since the lady was a hottie.

Abe had been put in charge of the equipment they used as a band. He'd also oversee the inside of the theater when it was built so guest performers could play. It would have an eye toward other demons playing, but who knew who might come on and play?

Xap was in charge of security for now and would take on more responsibility later. Right now, that was plenty. After the band, Bellet was the next highest-level demon, and he was in charge of food. That included the restaurant that they would be setting up. Several other demons were trained as chefs and would work in the kitchen, but help was needed. Lu had told him to choose anyone of a lower level to assist him if he needed to. The poor guy would need it.

In his room, he entered and stripped, trying to think about what he should do. A shower first would be best. The hot water relaxed him, and he cleaned up. After he dried off, he settled into bed since he had to be up early to eat. Then, he would check on the equipment again to ensure everything was loaded and nothing had been removed.

While it was true that he had a team that helped him, it was still a big responsibility. All the higher-level demons now had plenty of responsibilities. Even some lower-tier two demons were put in charge of things. Some didn't mind, while others weren't too happy about it. They accepted their jobs anyway. Following Lu was just what a demon did.

Even though some might be frustrated with their tasks, demons, in general, were happier than they'd ever been. All of them had hope for a good future. If a little work was required to bring that about, demons weren't lazy. They were all ready to pitch in. Abe's thoughts of tomorrow were hopeful. He wantedthis trip to be successful. He hoped they would have some of their brothers with them when they returned.

Once he was ready, he went to eat a quick breakfast and then rechecked all the equipment to ensure that everything was done. Everyone was lining up to board the plane. When he got on, he located Gloria and sat next to her. She was playing a game on a notebook. He had a similar device and found a game to play as well. Someone pulled a cart around and handed out drinks and snacks.

After they ate, many attempted to get some sleep. Some had computers to figure out their new duties or even write new songs. Lucifer would add to their list to encourage the demons to try their hand at songwriting. Lu wanted to give them all the opportunities they had never had. That would be just about anything since they had never had any kind of opportunity before. He wanted all his demons to enjoy life and live it to the fullest.

Abe wanted to help and give them all those opportunities. Eventually, he hoped to see all those who wanted a mate have that opportunity, too. Starting the band was an amazing opportunity for Lu. There was the possibility that it would fail, but they put everything they could into it and found all the right people to help them. That was thanks to Lu’s mate, Stef.

The band had been a success for all demons and lifted everyone's spirits. Given time, those in jobs they didn't like would switch to something they liked better. Eventually, they would have to hire people to come in and work in areas like the hotel, which was opening soon, and the restaurant. As the construction workers moved out of the houses built for them, the workers at their resort would move in.

There were still many demons to put into jobs, but the jobs would be there if they wanted them. As soon as everything was done, anyone who wanted to work could find a job that theycould do. They had a hotline that they used to find the missing gods. Eventually, that would be a call center for people to make reservations for the hotel or restaurant or to buy some of the band’s albums.

Even the secondary bands that the demons had would be putting out albums and performing at the resort. Demons just had a musical talent. Sure, all gods had a musical talent, but the one the demons had was off the charts. He'd never known of a demon that couldn't sing or play an instrument. Most could do both. Gloria switched her chair to where she could sleep, and he realized that he had been thinking and not playing a game or paying attention to her. She didn't seem to mind, but that made him feel bad.

Gloria was asleep, and with such a long flight, that was probably the best thing for her. If only he could sleep so easily. The difference might be that he knew the challenge ahead of them. They were going to Anchorage, and it was in a cold barren area where Origin was hiding the latest place where they were keeping demons and gods. The gods were used as male prostitutes, an idea that Origin had used before to make money for its businesses.

It was also the reason that they had found out about the place. They had used an actual god in the advertising. Zeus had a program scouring the Internet for information on their kind. It was loaded with pictures of gods and demons. When it found one or a near match, it would alert them. Once the match was found, people went in to see if it really was a god.

A female was always chosen for the job. She asked for the guy in the picture, and that was when they knew the place.

Abe was amazed they still found places hidden all over the world. The demons had spread into several groups. Each had a couple of teams that went out on these kinds of missions. The band was the perfect cover to get close to Origin facilities. It wasamazing how everything worked out to give them a way to make money and recover some of their lost people. It was something for all of their people to do that made them feel like they were contributing. Yet many found what they truly loved to do.

They weren’t even halfway into their flight. It was a good time for Abe to take a nap. He could always get up and do whatever work he wanted to on his computer later. He would be awakened in a couple of hours when they served the first meal.

Just as he thought, that was exactly what happened. A demon who had trained as a flight attendant handed out meals and drinks. He had been one of the damaged ones. Unfortunately, Risa had been unable to get any more of the parts she'd used to heal the other demons.

Johnny was missing his right leg from the knee down. He had a prosthetic and could get around very well, but they were still looking for one of the better ones some of the other demons had been given.

Risa said the program had just been closed and didn't understand why. She'd been using the second-best prosthetics since that had happened. It gave many of the demons the help they needed to come back to life, but it wasn’t as good as the others she’d been able to get.

Johnny enjoyed being their flight attendant. He felt like he was giving back and enjoyed getting to go to all kinds of different places.

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