by Michael Todd
This girl would not be so lucky if they didn’t save her. There was no Pandora seething on the other side of the charms they spewed.
In the center of the circle, a leader of the cult began the ritual. His cohorts raised their arms to welcome the others into the circle. That was when the priests made their move. Max straightened and fired his gun at the ceiling. The bullet knocked a flurry of dust over them.
Damian coughed and waved his hand. “Nice one.”
The trainee chuckled. “Yeah, I tried to be dramatic.”
The cult had turned toward them as one and froze as the dust cleared to reveal the interlopers. Members immediately whipped their robes open. Some drew guns, while the others prepared for hand-to-hand combat.
Max went right and Damian went left and both dived behind cover to avoid the first barrage of bullets. Wood splintered and flew out in shards, and the girl made terrified sounds behind her gag. The leader raised his hands and yelled, “Don’t shoot the girl, you morons!”
The gunmen immediately put their guns away. None of them wanted to be the one to fuck up. Max hurtled forward, holstered his gun, and launched himself at the first cultists. He thrust an arm out and drove it into one of the men, who dropped like a stone. Two more leapt on top of him and he roared in anger.
Give me some juice, bro! he yelled to Astaroth.
One order of badass coming right up, Astaroth replied and surged energy through him.
He fisted his hands tightly and lurched his shoulders up and back. His two assailants catapulted into a pile of boxes. Max looked at the first casualty and sighed. Their flesh was torn and demon scales already pushed through.
“You are a little too far gone my friend,” he groaned regretfully.
He drew his pistol and fired a single shot into the Damned’s forehead. Before the demon exited the body, he had already made a beeline for the ones he bucked into the crates.
Across the room, Damian kicked hard behind him and his boot thumped painfully into a cultist’s stomach. Another danced and feinted ahead of him, a girl who spun two daggers with careless ease. He smiled and drew his short sword and her eyes reddened with anticipation. As he swung at her and deliberately aimed his swipe to not hit her, he bellowed the exorcism prayer.
Her face twitched wildly, and she dropped one of the daggers to claw her nails at her ear. She screamed in a low demonic voice, “You will die, you fucking priest.”
He finished the prayer at virtually the same time and the girl dropped the other dagger and shrieked as she fell back. “Not today, Lucifer. Not today,” he said calmly
The demon rose from her body and spat and hissed at him before it elevated to the center of the room and vanished. “One down, good Lord, and too many to go.”
Chapter Sixteen
The battle raged beyond anything they could have imagined. Cult members attacked the two priests in a never-ending flood while the leader attempted to complete the ritual on his own. Damian exorcised a man pressed against one of the boxes and rendered unable to move by the frantic writhing of the demon inside him. He pulled out all the stops and cast the creature back to hell. The host fell in a stupor as the demon burst into light in almost the same instant as it left his chest.
Another man screeched to his left as it half ran and half limped toward him. He turned but before he could respond, his would-be assailant toppled and fell. Ravi laughed loudly. Two for one special. You priest em’, the devil collects em’.
He chuckled but it turned into a grunt as a Damned punched him hard in the back. Slowly, he straightened and Ravi raged with anger inside him. How dare he punch us in the fucking back.
The man towered at least a foot over Damian. His skin was stretched and torn, and the demon had almost completely taken over. Ravi grimaced. What an ugly motherfucker.
Now, now, Damian replied. I bet his mommy thinks he is the most beautiful boy in the world.
The Damned lunged and he snatched the short sword from its sheath. He whirled and sliced the blade to sever his head cleanly at the shoulders. The body exploded and both ash from the demon and chunks of flesh from what remained of the human plopped into a pile.
Oh, dude. Oh, dude, that was fucking gross. It was a demon in a flesh suit. What the fuck. What. The. Fuck. She was completely grossed out.
Damian raised his eyebrows. I guess they come in all shapes and sizes…and skins. Yeah, that was fucking gross. You are so absolutely right.
He took a deep breath and readied himself for the next onslaught. As he turned, he stopped in his tracks and stood eye to eye with a Damned. The beast hissed malevolence and breathed heavily as spit dripped from its inhuman fangs. It snorted and launched a mist of spittle over Damian’s face. He closed his eyes and slowly wiped it off.
“That was fucking rude.” He fixed the demon with a glare and shook his head.
As he’d hoped, the monster was distracted, and he pulled his arm back for extra force as he thrust the short sword into its stomach. Its face contorted and drool dripped down its chin. The sword stuck, and he had to yank hard to free it. He stepped back and waited until the demon tipped slowly and fell.
Tiiimber, Ravi yelled with a snort.
The Damned twitched wildly on the floor and writhed in the demon’s rage and desperate attempt to retain control. It screeched and cursed but refused to die. Damian lost patience. “You have three seconds before I take off your head, buddy.”
The demon snarled, and he shrugged. “All right, have it your way.”
He raised the sword and swung it in a neat blow that removed the head cleanly. This one did the same as the last but with more dust and less flesh. It was the first time Damian had ever seen anything like that before but Ravi wasn’t surprised in the least. Either they’ve been taking that body over for a real long time, or they let the psychos out of the pretty little demon box.
Max rocketed across the warehouse in a direct trajectory toward three of the Damned. He had managed to exorcise four but the three waiting for him were definitely too far gone. The demons had raged so hard during the fight that huge chunks of human flesh hung from exposed scales.
All right, it’s time for some anti-gravity tricks, Max yelled.
Astaroth laughed deeply. He loved every second of this new and improved Max. This should be really good.
The young priest drew both his pistols and adjusted his path toward a fallen and angled slab of concrete. He ran lightly up it and launched off the edge but kept his feet moving. With a neat mid-air twist, he positioned his legs so that he could continue his momentum using his feet along the cinderblock wall. While in motion, he fired both his pistols in a wild volley at the three Damned.
One after another, their bodies flailed and their demons wailed as their hosts died. The last one struck the wall, groaned as it slid down, and slumped.
Max landed and balanced himself on one knee, his guns hot, as all three bodies ejected their demons. Pounding footsteps alerted him, and he whipped his head to the left. Another cultist careened toward him, this one ripe for exorcism. The young priest found his feet, holstered his guns, and grasped his cross. He brandished it and intoned the exorcism prayer as the enemy charged.
Astaroth became antsy as the beast drew closer and closer. Uh, buddy. I don’t know if there was enough space between you and him…Max? Dude, he’s almost on you.
He smirked and continued the prayer. As he finished, he swiped his cross at the Damned. It took two more steps, barely inches away from him now, and stumbled, fell forward, and rolled past him. It had hardly come to a stop before its back arched and it thrust its chest into the air. An earth-shattering scream tore from the host’s throat and then the demon burst free, floated upward and erupted into a flurry of sparks.
Max flinched and hurried over to the person who lay silent and still. He checked the man’s pulse and confirmed that he was still alive. Ha! See. I saved a life because I was patient.
Yeah, sure, Astaroth said breathlessly. But remember, pa
tience can be great until there are teeth in your jugular.
My jugular will stay nice and clear of teeth, I promise you. He laughed.
The battle finally waned and most of the cultists were either dead or exorcised. Damian cracked his neck and straightened from his examination of one of the Damned. His gaze settled quickly on the leader who stood twenty feet away from him. He remained in the center of the circle and chanted powerfully in a demonic tongue. The candles flickered crazily as the priest approached, leaning over the circle, and tapped the man on his shoulder.
The air whooshed from the leader’s lungs and he whipped around, his eyes bright red.
Whoa, wait a minute, Ravi said in shock. That is the same dude who got away during Katie’s fight.
Damian narrowed his eyes at the man and shook his head. The leader’s mouth, full of pointy teeth, curled into a vicious smile. His tongue darted in and out, thin and pointed like a snake’s. “I hoped you would come. My demon slave told me that he saw you during that battle with the mercs. I thought he was mistaken. I guess I shouldn’t have eaten his heart for lying. Whoops!”
“How strange this is,” the priest said nonchalantly and moved back a couple of steps. “We meet again all the way around the world. I think this was destiny, Chuck. Do you mind if I call you Chuck?”
The leader hissed in defiance. “You won’t call me anything when I rip your tongue from your mouth.”
He clicked his tongue in mock rebuke. “Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?”
I would be careful with this one. You can see the power radiating off his body. He is no normal demon, Ravi warned.
As if on cue, the man howled viciously and swiped his arm at Damian, who grunted and leaned forward. What the fuck was that?
Ravi took a deep breath. That is a taste of what you will get from the wizards. He is much less powerful and uses his demon strength and whatever cult magic he has picked up from his rituals along the way. Don’t underestimate him, though. He is one bad dude.
Damian rolled his shoulders. “That was cute. Is that your normal party trick? I think you would be a hit with the girls.”
His adversary screamed his rage and his face contorted through his skin to reveal a snout and jagged teeth. It retracted and the leader rolled his head. Damian raised both eyebrows. “On second thought, the ladies might peg you as a dog. Yep. I take it back, I don’t think they would like you at all.”
The leader held his arms out to the sides, tilted his head back, and laughed maniacally. “You stupid priest. Do you think your time with the demon queen will save you now? I am all-powerful. You have never faced a foe like me.”
He shook his head and stared as the man levitated and his feet dangled while the wind whipped furiously around them. “No, you are right. I’ve definitely never faced a demon as disgusting as you. Can we fight now?”
Max raised his arm to block a blow from his assailant. He kicked his leg out hard and thrust the Damned back. The second of the two lurched forward and aimed a punch at his head. Without thought, the priest bent back and dipped his head down. The fist whistled above his face and he immediately straightened and retaliated. His arm delivered a ferocious punch that struck the Damned so hard in the chin, it literally became airborne before it landed with a sickening thud.
What the fuck was that? he asked and rubbed his lower back.
Astaroth snickered. A little bendy bend. You know, for shits and giggles. Matrix style, dude. Haven’t you ever seen that movie?
Max shook his head. No, but now, I think I’ll have to.
Incoming, the demon warned.
He spun to meet the assault, jutted his arm out, and caught the charging Damned in the neck. In the same fluid motion, he hauled the man from the ground and slammed him down hard. The other attacker had recovered somewhat and now leapt onto his back. Max rolled his eyes and reached back with both hands, grasped the Damned by both shoulders, and flipped him over.
Angrily, he gripped the man’s shirt and picked him up once more to hurl him across the room. He knelt beside the other and shoved his knee into the Damned’s chest as he spoke the exorcism and tried to concentrate. Undeterred by his momentary adventure in wingless flight, the other demon charged again. Without looking and sensing his closeness, Max thrust his arm out, caught the demon, and hurled him down while he continued the exorcism.
The first Damned screamed as the demon rose so Max turned his attention to the second. It struggled and fought his restraining hand so he simply pounded its head into the cement. This one was tough and obviously didn’t want to be exorcised.
Astaroth growled his annoyance. Just fucking shoot his ass.
No! Max yelled. We save everyone we can.
He held his cross out and repeated the prayer, over and over. As he spoke, a maniacal laugh echoed through the building. He looked up and frowned as his gaze roved the room and he continued the prayer.
It’s coming from the back of the room, Astaroth pointed out. And it doesn’t sound like a call for help.
Max scowled at the Damned as he finished the prayer for the fourth time and finally, the demon gave in. The priest jumped to his feet and barely registered the flash from the demon as he raced toward the back of the warehouse. The laughter grew louder and louder as he approached.
He skidded around a line of crates and stopped when he saw the ritual circle was empty. Frantic, he scanned the room but the cavernous space seemed utterly empty. Crumbled concrete drifted from above him, and he looked up slowly.
Astaroth was floored. Holy Shit.
His mentor and the leader of the cult floated and battled in midair.
Chapter Seventeen
Damian tried to call to Ravi but she was concentrating too hard to answer him. He pushed back and then rocketed directly at the leader, pounded into his midsection, and thrust both of them back. They impacted the wall and flipped. His adversary launched a blur of punches at him and sparks of electricity blew out of his fists. Damian dodged and feinted and winced as the sparks sprayed and mixed with chunks of cinderblock wall.
He managed to raise his leg and kneed the leader in the gut. The Damned grimaced and spun away to run up the wall and onto the ceiling. The priest sighed and followed. He leapt from the side, shoved himself outward, and grasped the demon’s legs. His body swung back and forth and he pushed his weight into it. He released the legs and flipped easily to latch onto the enemy’s back.
“Get off of me, priest!” The leader hissed and wailed and released more electricity behind him in an effort to dislodge Damian.
Below, Max ducked and covered his head as he curled into a ball. Charged bursts ricocheted alarmingly and many came close to striking him. Damian held on tightly and stretched to draw his only dagger from its sheath. He hadn’t used it since he fought beside Katie, but it seemed only right to use it then. His weapon secure, he flattened his palm over his opponent’s forehead and yanked his head back.
Ravi’s additional abilities allowed him to free his mind and release his other arm. Gravity, thankfully, did not apply at that moment. With a broad smile, he slid the dagger around and put his lips next to the leader’s ear. “This is for Katie. You’re lucky I’m the one who found you.”
He stabbed the knife into the demon’s throat and dragged the blade hard to slice halfway through his adversary’s neck and out the other side. A gargled shriek issued from its throat and they both plummeted to land hard. Max ran over to assist Damian to his feet.
The priest shook his head and stared at the leader who was obviously close to death. “I couldn’t save him. There is no human left inside him. Exorcism would have only prolonged the inevitable if it even worked on him at all. This was a first.”
The young man was lost for words and simply watched as black blood pooled around the demon. Suddenly, a bright, blinding light flashed from his chest and forced both priests to shield their eyes. The demon rose and screamed so loudly that all the windows that lined the ceiling burst. A moment
later, the creature erupted and returned to hell where it belonged.
Max sighed heavily and shook his head. He turned to his mentor with a bemused expression. “That was interesting.”
Damian forced a chuckle but immediately raised his hand to his head. The room fuzzed and seemed to retreat and he could only vaguely hear Max as if he were miles away. His eyes blinked wildly and everything went dark as his body sagged into nothingness.
The world moved past him in his dreams like streams of different colored lights. There were sounds from his past—voices of family, friends he had lost, and battles he had fought. He struggled against it and tried to find a solid footing, but there was little that he could do. The voices suddenly became louder and clearer. They were familiar and safe, but still muffled enough that he couldn’t understand what they were saying. He didn’t understand what was happening.
Ravi. Ravi, how do we get out of this. Help me wake up. Ravi? Ravi!
He called for her over and over again like she was the only one who could help him escape from the confinement of his own mind. There was no answer. It was like she was no longer there. But he knew that wasn’t true and could still feel the essence of her in his body. He tried again and again, hoping that she could hear his voice like he could hear the others.
With every shout for her, the world began to clear enough for him to feel his fingers, his feet, and the air around his body. He flexed his fingers open and closed and traced the soft sheets and warm blanket that covered him. His head pounded and the beat of his own heart blasted in his ears. He forced his eyes open slightly and stared upward. Everything was so blurry, and even knowing that he looked at some sort of ceiling, he couldn’t put his mind together enough to understand where exactly he was.
The soft cotton of the blanket over him trapped the heat around his body. It was warm and inviting. No. No, he said in his own mind. Warm and inviting was not what he wanted. He needed something to jolt him from whatever state he was in. He could still hear voices—close like they were immediately outside his vision. He worked his jaw and tried desperately to call out to someone. He was so weak he couldn’t even open his mouth.
