The force of the impact caused both wolf and hound to slide across the cavern floor coming to a stop near the edge of the yawning pit. The huge hound straddled Eva’s wolf as an evil laugh erupted from deep within its throat. “You cannot escape me, little wolf and even the power of the Wolf Mother flowing through your veins will—not—save—you,” it growled.
The beast snarled, thin lips pulled back exposing long, sharp teeth. Its yellow eyes blazed their hatred as it tried to speak again but the sound was garbled as a ferocious growl punctuated each word. “Your heroics are useless, my lovely she-wolf—your efforts wasted. By the end of this day your priest will reside in Hell and I will feast upon your heart—just like I did your mother’s.”
The pointed snout of the hound’s head bent towards Eva, sniffing the soft golden fur. “I can smell your power. Such courage—even in the face of death you show no fear. No-one’s blood could possibly taste sweeter.”
The great hound threw back its head and howled. Just as it was about to lunge for the golden wolf’s throat Eva’s own paw, claws extended, was yanked free from beneath the weight of the brown beast, swiping the monstrous head across the eye and cheek as Roman howled in pain. Furious, the hound snapped and tore at the golden wolf’s body as Eva tried to fight the monster off.
Blood poured from a dozen wounds as the hound’s sharp teeth found their mark time and time again. The hellhound was too strong and Evangeline knew she had no chance of winning this battle but she would not give up without a fight. She remembered what Rick had told her of her mother’s death. Jaclyn had fought until the very end, just as all the Wolf Mother’s had before her and Eva would not disappoint them. I’m taking a piece of you with me, you son of a bitch, she thought as her jaw clamped down upon the shoulder of the hound causing the beast to howl again as it swiped its claws across Eva chest, the sharp points cutting deep into her flesh.
Eva was losing blood—growing weaker by the second—but still she fought on. Her vision swam and she was on the verge of losing consciousness. Her mind turned one last time to Rick. She and the others had failed to save him. She would die here and he would spend an eternity in torment. Pain ripped through her body as the hound bit into her chest. She tried to focus, her vision blurred as she watched the beast raise its bloodied mouth then lower the snapping jaws one last time as it reached for her exposed throat— but the searing pain she was expecting never came.
Suddenly the cave exploded in a burst of blinding light. The harpies began to wail, slamming into each other, as well as the cavern wall, in a desperate attempt to escape the pure white brightness. A bolt of lightning, jagged and sharp, shot across the cavernous expanse, slamming into the head of the hound hovering above Evangeline. It struck Roman just behind the left ear, igniting the matted fur with a burst of hot flame, the stench of burnt fur filling the entire room. The hound rolled off Eva, writhing in agony.
Lilith, still clutching her damaged face, rushed to where Robert was struggling with Rick. “Use him, you fool!”
The hound spun around dragging Rick with him. He shoved the vampire in front of himself and Lilith, using Rick’s body as a shield against whatever it was that was ripping through the cavern. The light was blinding and it seemed to be everywhere then— everything went black—everything except a shimmering patch of light perched at the top of the staircase.
Lilith peered around Robert’s shoulder, her red eyes burning with hatred as they came to rest upon the figure standing directly under the wide arch. “Avengerrrr!” she screamed as she stared at the tall figure of Michael in full angelic battle gear. “You will fail here too, Angel. You are outnumbered. Even you cannot win against me and those who serve me.”
“Ahh, that’s where you are wrong, she-devil,” Michael said as he raised the shining object in his hands. Michael thrust the silver sword into the darkness as his booming voice echoed throughout the cavern, “Some call this weapon the Word of God—I call it justice. Nothing shall escape its wrath.” A second searing bolt erupted from Michael’s weapon striking Robert squarely in the chest.
“Noooo!” Lilith shrieked in fury when the hound roared in pain as his skin, pulsating between animal and human, was scorched and burnt. The morphing body bubbled and split until the muscle and fur of the hound gave way to the loose sallow flesh of Robert Stephenson. The broken body of the demon struggled to breathe as Michael shouted from the top of the stairs,
“Your evil has condemned you, devil dog. Behold the wrath of God as I send you back to the depths of Hell from whence you came!”
A third bolt of lightning struck Robert’s flailing body. The flesh sizzled as the hunched figure of the man curled into the fetal position, a spasm of pain sending the frail form into convulsions. From somewhere deep within Robert’s throat a horrible gurgling sound could be heard as the hound that was Robert Stephenson gave up its human form. His head thrust backwards, Robert vomited forth a shadowy creature, smoky grey with burning red eyes. It hissed at the Avenger in a final act of defiance before rising high into the air. It swirled above its discarded human carcass for a moment longer before diving into the yawning blackness of the great pit.
With the soul of the hound lost in the fires of Hell, its human remains started to wither away until all that was left was a foul smelling pile of grey ash. The demise of the hound started a chain reaction throughout the city of New York as the newborns, created by the black beast, followed their maker, disappearing one by one into the fiery inferno of the underworld.
Michael turned his head slightly to the right where his vengeful eyes latched onto Roman. The hound crouched there, frozen in terror as the Archangel raised his weapon to strike once again. “You are next, hellhound—yield to the word of God.” A bolt of lightning erupted from the sword, streaking across the room. It found its mark easily, striking Roman directly in the head, the force of the impact crashing his monstrous body into a nearby boulder.
“Owwooo!” A sizzling sound was heard as Roman howled in pain, his body engulfed in white hot flames. The muscle and sinew quickly burned to a cinder and another grey shadow emerged from the wreckage to follow its fellow demon down into the bowels of the earth. Once again the demon wolves throughout the city created by Roman’s hound collapsed where they stood and the destruction of the werewolf army was now complete.
Rick, thrown to the ground when Robert had been destroyed, rose to his feet shaken and unsteady. He shook his head to clear it, his eyes desperately searching the entire room. He was on his feet in a matter of seconds when he saw Eva’s still form lying on the cold granite floor. He fell to his knees beside her as the golden fur fell away to reveal her human form. The vampire turned her gently from one side to the other as he examined every inch of her body for the wounds left by the hellhound.
Most were superficial, mere scratches that had already begun to heal. But he sucked in his breathe when he saw the deep gash on her chest. “Oh Lord, no,” he whispered as panic flowed through him but no sooner had he uttered the words then the wound began to heal. Relief flooded through him. He quickly removed his jacket. It was torn and covered with blood but it offered Eva some protection as he gently pulled her into his arms, wrapping her naked form in the garment.
“Eva…” he whispered as she moaned softly, “…it’s me—Rick—come back to me, please,” he told her as he gently kissed the crown of her head.
Her hazel eyes fluttered open. She stared around the room in confusion until she saw the vampire hovering over her. Grabbing his battered face between both hands she said, “Rick—you’re alive.” Her hands ran down his arms and across his chest. “What did they do to you? Are you alright—are you hurt?”
“I’m fine…”he told her, trying to ease the concern plainly visible on her face. Placing a finger under her chin, he lifted her lips to his in a passionate kiss, “…we both are. Can you stand?”
“Yes—I think so—just
give me a minute.” Rick helped her to her feet, adjusting the long jacket so it covered most of her body. “Thanks—what happened—where—where’s the hound?” she asked as she spun around, searching the room for Roman.
“He’s gone, Eva. He can’t hurt you anymore. It seems the troops have arrived—help is here,” he told her, nodding towards Michael.
“Who…?” Eva started to ask but was interrupted by the angel, himself.
“We’re not in the clear yet,” the angel told them as he turned to stare at the ravaged form of the demon, Lilith. Michael raised his weapon one last time but, before he could react, a loud clapping reverberated throughout the cavern and all eyes were drawn to the pit—and the figure rising slowly from within its depths.
“Clap—clap—clap! Nice work brother but I am a little irritated, to say the least. Do you have any idea how long it took me to train those hounds?” Lucifer, dressed in a red Dolce and Gabbana silk suit with black shirt and matching tie, floated out of the pit followed closely by the one remaining hound—Rasputin.
The Avenger descended the steps as he prepared to face the Lord of Hell, his silver blade pointed at Rasputin the entire time. “I am not surprised to find you here, brother, even though I’d foolishly hoped that you might keep the promise you made to me when we last met a year ago. Be assured— I will not make the same mistake twice. And as for your hounds—your creations are not my concern except when they break the rules…” he told Lucifer. His ice blue eyes locked onto the figure at Lucifer’s side, “…and if this one moves he will join the others.”
The tall thin hound, clothed in a heavy black cassock and thick soled boots, closed his yellow eyes and bowed to the angel. “As you wish, Avenger.”
Lucifer, clawed finger flicking at the raven’s feather dangling from one ear, ignored the Archangel as he wandered over to Lilith. His movements were so fluid not a speck of dust or a breath of air was disturbed by his actions. “And I had so hoped you wouldn’t go and make a mess of things, my dear,” he told her as his black eyes raked over Lilith’s damaged façade in disgust. Spotting something lying on the floor of the cave, Lucifer bent to retrieve the item, holding it out towards Lilith, “Lilith, my love—need a hand?” he said with a smirk as he held her severed limb out before him.
“Bastard!” stormed Lilith as she snatched the hand from his grasp.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me that you were blissfully unaware of all that transpired here today?” Michael questioned Lucifer.
Lucifer turned to face the angel as he took up his position at Lilith’s side. “Not that I owe you any kind of explanation, Michael, but—we are family, after all, so I’ll tell you how this little cluster fuck came about. My better half here…” Lucifer said, nodding his head towards the woman beside him, “…asked to borrow my hounds so, of course, I agreed. I did warn her that they could be a little—unpredictable—shall we say, especially Robert. You know, unstable in life—psychotic in death. And I wasn’t wrong so— what you have here is the inability of Lilith to control the dogs—no surprise there,” he said as Lilith’s red eyes blazed in fury.
“And you had no knowledge that your consort was going after the priest which would result in his friends, the same friends that you promised not to harm, coming after him?”
“Nope—didn’t know a thing about it. I suppose I should have figured it out. My lady does like her playthings and I’ve never denied her anything. I’m afraid I’ve spoiled her that way but this…” he said waving his arm towards the destruction in the cavern, “…this is all Lilith.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” Michael told him in a slow, steady voice, the silver blade poised to strike at Lucifer.
Lucifer reacted immediately to the unspoken threat, grabbing the tip of the blade and steering it away from his chest. “Angel, I would be very careful who you threaten with your weapon. The Word of God, ha! How dare you use His own creation against me—me! I was his favorite at one time—or have you forgotten?”
“That was a long time ago, brother.”
His anger all consuming, the Dark Lord began to morph into his true form. The fine silk of his designer suit split down the middle, falling away from the human façade. In its place was skin like leather, stretched taught over a hard muscular form. The Versace shoes fell away from feet that transformed into cloven hooves. Large horns burst forth from the massive skull, a flame of fire igniting each tip. The demon appeared massive, his head nearly touching the ceiling as he towered above Michael.
“You are so like Him, my brother—accusing me of vile things with no evidence and then driving me out of my home with His almighty weapon!”
“Lucifer you have always been a defiler of the truth—the master manipulator—then as well as now. The girl, Selene, told me of your involvement in this plan. Your web of lies fools no-one—especially not me.”
“You would choose the word of a street whore over me?”
“I will always choose the truth over you—no matter its source.”
“Well Michael—it seems we’re at a stalemate. If you raise that weapon against me…” Lucifer threatened, red eyes spitting fire, “…I will strike back and the result will be the destruction of mankind and all of His precious humans.”
Michael’s ice blue eyes grew stormy with resolve as he held the silver sword with both hands. “Rick…” he shouted over his shoulder, “…get everyone out of here.”
Rick turned to Eva. He gave her one last kiss before telling her, “It’s time to go. You help Kate while I check out the Thomas and Christoff situation,” he ordered. Julian, hearing Michael’s words, left Christoff’s side for a moment to join Rick beside Thomas.
“Jules…” Thomas whispered weakly, “I—can’t feel my legs.”
“Quiet Thomas—it’ll be alright. Right now we just need to get you out of here,” but Julian’s face couldn’t hide his fear and concern. Leaning close to Rick he whispered, “I think his back may be broken.”
Rick’s nodded in agreement, his brown eyes filled with sadness. “Let’s get everyone out of this place. Then we can get him somewhere where we can access the damage. What about Christoff?”
“He’s in the sleep of the undead. He’ll need blood—lots of it—to come out of it and heal.”
“Alright…”Rick said, feeling more and more helpless, “…do you think you can handle Thomas while I carry Christoff?”
“We’ll all take him,”Eva told Rick, her arm wrapped around Kate’s shoulder. The other woman was trying hard to fight back tears as she released Thomas into Julian’s care. Eva, concerned about causing more damage to Thomas’ back suggested, “We should make some sort of sling to carry him—the less pressure on his back the better.”
“She’s right.” Rick agreed. He looked around for a moment before running towards Christoff’s still form. Julian—help me remove Christoff’s coat.” The vampire knelt beside the fallen warrior as Julian joined him. “Gently—turn him to the side—there. Lay Thomas on the coat. You three should be able to carry him out without too much jostling. Go now—I’ll get Christoff.” But, as Rick effortlessly lifted Christof f’s large frame into his arms, Lucifer’s voice rang out.
“Not that one, Priest—the warrior is mine. He is half dead already so I’ll just finish the process. His soul was promised to me a long time ago.”
“I hate to disappoint you, Lucifer, but the warrior goes with us.”
Lucifer and Lilith turned, a look of surprise crossing their faces as they stared at the figure that had suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase. Samael, his black and white attire spotless, his large black wings spread wide, slowly—step by step—descended the stairs, approaching the odd couple. He stopped before the gargantuan form of the Lord of Hell, a satisfied grin spread across his face.
Samael, you filthy traitor!” screamed Lilith as s
he lunged towards the angel.
Samael’s black wings beat the air around them sending the demon flying backwards, directly into a large boulder. “You’ve got it wrong, demon bitch. I am no traitor because any arrangement I may have had with you because of my brother…” he said casting a dark look in Lucifer’s direction, “…is now over. I’ve told you before I work for the dark and the Light. I gather up the souls of the dead when their time expires on this earth—their rightful time. It was you and your filthy dogs that took more than your share over the past few days, destroying the souls of those whose time had not yet come. It was you that broke the rules and I will no longer be a part of it.”
“Well, Samael, it doesn’t matter where your allegiance lies—you cannot change destiny. The warrior…” Lucifer told him, indicating Christoff’s still form, “…was promised to me a long time ago and it’s obvious by looking at him that his time has come and you cannot change that.”
“Oh can’t I? Anything is possible, brother; the priest here was proof of that. His soul was called from this earth at the proper time but you had no problem returning it to Michael. And, although the Avenger’s reasons for breaking protocol were honorable—yours were not. You would have allowed the human woman to give up her soul in exchange for her friend’s even though it was not the time for her life to end. Your actions were for your own selfish reasons, Lucifer, but that isn’t the reason you will not claim the warrior this night.”
“As if you can stop me, Samael!” Lucifer screamed at the Angel of Death, his patience wearing thin.
“I can and I will. You have no power over me, demon of Hell, but it is not I that will thwart your wishes. If the warrior fails to awaken tonight his soul will not go to the darkness.”
“Stop talking in riddles, you fool—he’s a vampire—one who’s killed and murdered—where else would his soul go?”
“Once again, Lucifer, you are not seeing the entire picture so—allow me to explain things to you.” Samael said with a smile of satisfaction. “In life, every soul has a destiny to fulfill. If they stray from the path of righteousness during their lifetime He gives them the chance to make amends. The atrocities the warrior committed in his early years as a vampire cannot be held against him. His will was not his own but that of the demon inside of him. Once he learned how to properly control that demon, he began to work his way back to the Light—to the ways of the righteous. The way things stand at this moment; his soul has languished in purgatory for over two thousand years. In that time the warrior has done more good than evil. If he’s called home tonight, his soul will go to Him—not to you—and I can and will prevent you from taking what is not yours to take.” Samael told Lucifer as his body grew to a size that was equal to that of the demon, the black wings spread wide.
A Soul in Torment Page 50
