“Ah yes, the whole Dragone episode…”Lilith said, her anger morphing into joy at the verbal sparring she so craved. She placed her index fingers together and raised them to her ruby lips pondering Kate’s comment, “…you’re certainly right about that particular incident, my dear. But Dragone wasn’t me. He was weak—too much time spent in this earthly realm. I’ve never had that problem because well, to put it simply, I detest this place. I only come here when Lu wants to play one of his silly games with the humans he so loves to torment—or when there’s something I want. You see my foolish little human, my lover was stupid during his last little game-fest and he lost something that belonged to me. Thus, my reason for being here but—as soon as I get it back, all of this…” she said as she spread her arms wide, “…will be over—and so will all of your worries.”
“Game— what the hell are you talking about? This is no game—Thomas almost died!” yelled Kate in frustration, tears glistening in her eyes. As she started to rise, a glint of silver caught her eye and she noticed the khukuri knife lying on the floor next to her.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk—such drama. He survived didn’t he—a situation I can still remedy if you don’t—shut—your—pretty little mouth.” Lilith threatened and went back to studying her nails.
Kate stopped her advance towards the demon, all of her attention now focused on the dagger. Kneeling back down beside Thomas, Kate leaned slightly forward, reaching for the weapon. Moving it slowly, she dragged the knife towards her until it was safely hidden under her kneeling leg.
“Oh you humans, you’re all so naïve. Don’t you know all the world is a game to those of my kind? And your Thomas decided to play with us when he made the wrong decision one fateful day and that decision landed him here—on my doorstep.” Lilith said with a satisfied grin.
“Decision—what decision? Thomas would never willingly do anything that would land him under your radar.” As she argued with her captor, Kate picked up the knife and shoved it inside her blouse.
“Willing—well maybe not, but if you two hadn’t aligned yourselves with certain people or, to be more specific, certain vampires, you wouldn’t be in the predicament you now find yourselves.”
“So—this is all about getting revenge for what happened to Dragone?” Kate asked, her anger making her a little more daring. “Funny—you don’t seem to be the kind of—woman—and I use the term loosely, that would be one of his servants.”
“I serve no-one! I answer to no-one…”Lilith shouted, slamming her fist against the arm of the chair, “…and this has nothing to do with Dragone!
“Then what does it have to do with? Why else would we be here?”
“Human, your ignorance knows no bounds so—let me enlighten you. Yes, you are here because of someone, or should I say something you know— but it isn’t Dragone. The one I want is someone near and dear to your heart—any bells going off in that puny little brain of yours?” Lilith taunted.
“Now who’s being ignorant?” Kate said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “If you think Julian or any of the others…”
“This has nothing to do with Julian Reynolds either—it’s the priest I want.”
“Priest—oh my god—you don’t—you can’t mean—Rick?”
“Finally the light comes on. Yes, it’s the priest I want and he will come to me of his own free will because, one, his friends are in danger and two, because being a priest forces him to give up everything for those who need him. Oh, it’s so poetic.”
“You seem to have forgotten one very important detail—he’s not a priest anymore, he’s a …”
“A vampire, yes I know. How delectable is that, a holy man turned into something—unholy? He’s a monster with a conscience which allows him to suffer, like most humans, from guilt and despair.” Lilith allowed herself a minute to gloat before whispering under her breath, “I can spend infinity watching him bathe in his own self loathing, hating every second of his existence, longing for that which he cannot have—peace. Ah, it’s too beautiful.”
“Well you won’t get your wish—he won’t come. Rick left us all a long time ago and he made it clear that he wanted nothing more to do with us so— it looks like you went to a whole lot of trouble for nothing.” Kate said feeling some satisfaction at the thought of the demon not getting what she’d worked so hard for.
“Oh you stupid woman—did you ever really understand the man who was your friend—when he was a man, that is. He may have acted as if he didn’t care about any of you after his change in circumstances— especially since it was Reynolds and his woman who initiated this change. But this particular priest would never turn his back on a friend in need. But, just in case you might be right about him, we’ve sweetened the pot a little.” Lilith leaned forward in her chair studying Kate, “I’m afraid we’ve told him a little white lie which may have led our vampire priest to believe we also have his lady love. So, he’ll be here. In fact he’s on his way as we speak, although it sure as hell is taking them long enough to get here.”
“Lady love—he doesn’t have a—oh my god, what have you done with Adrianna?” Kate said, fear flooding through her at the thought of her friend in danger.
“Adri…who? Oh, you mean Reynold’s wife. Boy, you are behind the times but, no matter, all will be revealed in time.”
At that moment, Thomas let out a low groan and Kate hovered over him protectively.
“Thomas—it’s me, Kate. Can you hear me?”
Thomas’ head turned towards the sound of a familiar voice. He coughed and sputtered, breathing in deeply to drag precious air into his starved lungs. He tried to swallow but his throat was raw from the injuries inflicted upon it. His eyes slowly fluttered open, darting back and forth as he tried to make sense of where he was and what was happening.
Kate, leaning close, was rewarded with a weak smile as Thomas squinted in an attempt to bring her into focus. “Kate?” he whispered, his voice raw—scratchy, “…I’ve just had the strangest…” he struggled to lift himself up with his elbows, his eyes scanning the darkened room, “…where—where the hell are we?”
As his head cleared, the memories came flooding back to him. He sat up quickly only to fall backwards again as his battered body protested. His head was spinning and his throat throbbed as he massaged his bruised neck with his hand. He took a few more deep breaths as dizziness washed over him.
“Ohhhh…I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck.”
“Just lay still for a minute.” Kate whispered close to his ear so as not to draw the attention of Lilith. She shoved her arm under his neck and helped him to a sitting position. “There, now take a few more deep breaths. That’s it…better?”
“Yeah…” he said as his head stopped spinning and he tried to focus on his surroundings. “…better. He took in the unfamiliar scenery, his brain struggling to access their situation. That’s when he spotted them—Lilith and Robert—lounging not five feet away from him acting, for all the world, like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“You—you bitch!” but a fit of coughing cut short his angry tirade. He fell back against the cold stone walls as beads of sweat erupted on his forehead.
“Thomas—please—you have to take it easy. You’ve been through a lot. Your body needs time to adjust.” Kate pleaded with him.
“Yes, Thomas, please do be careful. Don’t let your anger control that smart mouth of yours or I just might decide to ignore Samael’s warning and kill you anyway.” warned Lilith without even looking at the couple.
After some time Thomas finally regained control of his protesting body, looking up at Kate with bloodshot eyes. Kate shoved him farther back into the darkness, huddling close so they could talk. Thomas, lips nearly touching Kate’s ear, whispered, “Where are we?”
“I don’t know but every time the girl at the desk…” Kate motioned with her e
yes towards the stairs where the reception desk was just visible, “…would answer the phone she’d say, “New York Terminal.”
Thomas looked quickly in the direction Kate indicated and saw an attractive young girl answering the phones. She looked up suddenly and noticed Thomas staring at her. She flashed him a bright smile before turning her attention back to her work.
“And Thomas…” Kate continued, “…that bitch that attacked you said they wanted Rick.”
“Rick—the priest Rick?”
“The one and only.”
“Shit! Look—I don’t remember much about what happened today but those things have to be remnants of Dragone’s army. No, think about it, Kate…” he said as Kate tried to interrupt, “…he was the bastard that had Rick before so it would make sense if his fucking followers were trying to get the priest back again. But—I thought Lucifer took them all back to Hell with him —where they belong.” Thomas said, confused.
“He did.” Kate said shaking her head, “These assholes never followed Dragone although that bitch did mention someone named Lu. Do you think she was referring to Lucifer—and, if she was, who would ever give that bastard a nickname?”
“I don’t know the answers to any of your questions, Kate…” Thomas said shaking his head, “…but one thing I do know—we have to get outta here. Is that the only way out?” he said nodding towards the massive steel door.
“I’m not sure.”
“Okay, well, from where I sit I can’t see any other way.” Then he heard the growling as two werewolves fought again over a tiny scrap of food. “Great—and how many of those things…” he asked, nodding toward the steps and the cavern beyond “…are in here?”
“There’s only three that I’ve actually seen but, even in the darkness, I can tell that place is huge and I heard growling—lots of it—coming from the far right corner which tells me there’s more of them. But Thomas, there’s nothing we can do right now. I’m not even sure you can move,” she told him, concern written all over her face.
“I can move if I have to and, trust me, I—we—have to. If we don’t get outta here we’re going to die anyway and I’m not going to sit here and make it easy for them.”
Thomas turned his attention back to the girl at the reception desk. Knowing he would probably be heard but not caring, he shouted, “Hey hon, can you tell me where we are?” he asked, winking at her and flashing a dazzling smile. The blond smiled back at him but didn’t reply as she continued to answer the phones.
Thomas stared at the receptionist in frustration until Lilith, flipping through the latest issue of People Magazine, smirked and said, “Don’t waste your breath, human, she can’t help you. She’s a golem.”
“A what?” Thomas questioned.
“A golem—a creature created from inanimate matter. She’s one of the Dark Lord’s creations. Her specific purpose is to answer the phones and that’s all she does—and very well, I might add. I guess you could say she’s his version of an answering machine.” Lilith said, chuckling at her own joke.
Thomas tried to hide his disappointment as he turned towards Lilith. He chose his words carefully, hoping to extract a little more information from the demon. He decided that stroking her already inflated ego might be the only way to get him what he wanted. “Well, it seems I’ve gone to the wrong person for information. You’re obviously the only smart one here, being in charge and all and it’s obvious escape is out of the question for us so can you at least answer a few simple questions? I’m just dying of curiosity.”
“Okay lover, since I have some time on my hands and it’s obvious that you won’t keep quiet…” she said, turning her red eyes in Thomas’ direction, “…I guess a little question and answer session won’t be a problem. What would you like to know? Come on—ask me anything,” she said with a grin.
“Alright then…” Thomas said, glancing quickly at Kate before continuing, “…who are you and your smoking buddy…” he said pointing to Robert, “…and who the hell is Lu?”
“Excellent questions so let’s see if I can answer them for you. I— am Lilith and my smoking buddy, as you so humorously called him, is Robert Stevenson or, that’s what he was called while he was alive. He was a vicious demented little man so the master rewarded him in death by making him a creature to be feared by all—a hellhound—one of three actually.” Lilith explained.
“Funny—he doesn’t look like a dog—but he sure does smell like one,” responded Thomas.
Robert flung his cigar to the floor and rose from his chair. He walked over to the corner where Thomas and Kate were huddled together. His yellow eyes flashed with anger as he stared down at the couple. Then his body began to morph and change. Robert, the man, threw himself down on all fours. Soon the pudgy flesh melted away to be replaced by thick black fur. The beast transitioning before them had a large thick boned head and long sharp teeth jutting from its mouth. Its hands were transformed into paws with dagger-like claws that scraped against the granite floor as the beast paced back and forth. Then the black hound emitted a guttural roar. At the sound of their sire’s call a group of motley werewolves streamed up the stairs and under the arch entering the reception area as Robert’s human voice flowed out of the demon hound’s mouth.
“Do I look like one now? Human, before this day is over I will rip your heart out and feed it to my children.” The werewolves gathered behind the great hound, whimpering and drooling at the thought of the feast to come.
“Robert—sit!” ordered Lilith.
The hound growled once more in defiance before backing over to where his pack was waiting. It turned, charging through the werewolves, under the arch and back down the stairs until it disappeared from sight, the rest of the pack following close on its heels.
“Shit,” whispered Thomas as he unconsciously clutched his chest. “Did you see that?” he asked Kate.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Human I’d be very careful around Robert. He had no regard for your kind when he was alive and he hates you even more now. And—he takes torture to a whole new level.” Lilith said.
“Okay—you’ve made your point. But—I still have one more question…” Kate stated, “…where are we?”
“I suppose it really doesn’t matter if I tell you. There was a point when you might have been under the mistaken impression that you would be able to find a way out of your little predicament but, after what you’ve just witnessed, I’m sure you now realize that any chance of escape is futile. So, since you’re so curious, you might find it interesting to know that you and your handsome friend there are at the main entrance to Hell…” Lilith told Kate, nodding towards the pit, “…here in the Northern Hemisphere that is. Surprise, surprise—who would’ve thought—huh?” she said flashing the couple an evil smile.
Before an astonished Kate could reply a loud commotion was heard coming from the hallway outside of the room and all eyes were drawn to the door of the reception area. The knob turned and the steel door flew open, slamming against the nearest wall as the perky little receptionist sat there with a ridiculous grin on her animated face. A second later the hellhound known as Roman appeared, strolling through the open doorway followed closely by—Rick!
The vampire’s hands and feet were shackled as he shuffled across the floor. Head cast down, locks of long dark hair falling across his pale handsome face; Rick gave every impression of a lamb being led to the slaughter. He seemed defeated but, for one brief moment, he lifted his head, red eyes quickly scanning his surroundings as he assessed the situation while searching for a means of escape. Taking in every inch of the large room, Rick committed it all to memory before lowering his head once again.
Turning abruptly, Roman reached for Rick’s arm, grabbing him roughly before thrusting the vampire in Lilith’s direction. The toe of Rick’s boot caught on the rough flooring causing him to pit
ch forward, falling onto the cold hard floor. Crouching now on all fours, Rick slowly lifted his head as he heard someone squealing with delight.
Lilith jumped up from her chair, clapping her hands as she walked forward to greet her long awaited guest. Rick’s eyes blazed their hatred of the demon, her lovely human form unable to disguise the horror of what she truly was. As she inched closer, Rick released a deep guttural growl, but his veiled threat failed to deter the demon. Now directly in front of him Lilith bent down, slipping her hand under his chin. With a vice-like grip she lifted Rick’s head forcing the vampire to acknowledge her presence.
“Finally…” she said, her lust filled eyes taking in every inch of his masculine form. “…and oh honey, you were so worth the wait. I wanted you just for the fact that you were once a priest but, now that I’ve actually seen you well— you’re quite handsome, really—truly something to behold. It will certainly be a pleasure to break you,” she gloated.
“Oh my god,” At the sight of her old friend, Kate was overcome with emotion. Although his appearance had been drastically altered since she’d last laid eyes on him, it was still Rick. Her resolve not to show weakness in front of these demons was all but forgotten as a lifetime of memories flooded her mind. She could picture them all back at school like it was yesterday. She remembered Rick’s ordination into the priesthood and the countless conversations they’d shared with Addie over dinner, but most of all she remembered the pain of having to deal with his death. She hadn’t been there in Elephanta when Dragone revealed Rick’s transformation into the vampire now kneeling before her. She hadn’t seen him when he was more monster than man so all of her memories were of the sweet wonderful man she’d grown up with and now, to see him like this was just too much —even for her. The tears rolled down her cheek as she whispered, “Oh Rick.”
A Soul in Torment Page 41
