Infernal

by J. Ashburn

  “I hope we’re not too much of an inconvenience.”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Great. Well, have a good day at the hospital.”

  “Thank you. Let me know how Nicki is, okay?”

  “I will. Thanks.” Micah stood for a moment as the awkward silence fell over them. He could tell Jake wanted to say more but Micah didn’t let the opportunity present itself. He smiled then turned around and headed toward his car. He could still feel Jake’s eyes on him as he left the neighborhood.

  Nicki’s condo complex seemed ominous as Micah rolled slowly over to her building. A strange feeling stirred in the pit of his stomach. He turned off his station wagon and stepped out with some hesitation. He dialed Nicki on his cell one more time but it only went to voicemail as it had the last dozen times he had called.

  A shiver danced down Micah’s spine as he made his way to Nicki’s door. He reached up to press the doorbell but the door opened slightly with a creak before he reached it. He poked his head inside.

  “Nicki?”

  Only the silence greeted him.

  He slipped inside the condo and saw the living room in shambles. The couch was upside down. Trash littered the floor. The TV was shattered. Nicki’s favorite paintings looked as if they’d been ripped from the walls and torn to pieces.

  “Nicki?”

  This time he heard heavy breathing. He looked down the hallway. A thud resounded. Micah looked over his shoulder and noticed that the front door had shut itself behind him. A moment later he heard his heartbeat thumping in his ears.

  The breathing grew louder and he followed it down the hall to Nicki’s bedroom. He reached the room’s threshold where a foul smell hit him. A mix of urine and rancid food stopped him cold.

  “Christ… Nicki? Are you all right?”

  The heavy breathing stopped and footsteps tapped across the floor.

  “Nicki!”

  The footsteps rattled on then seemed to move up the walls.

  Micah stepped into the bedroom and froze.

  Nicki smiled at him from the wall above her bed. She hung impossibly as if she’d been crucified right to the wall. Her eyes were glossy and flared, her hair a nest of knots and her face was laced with scratches.

  “Welcome Micah!” she shrieked. “It’s so good to see you again.” Her tongue curled across her lips. “I’ve been hoping I’d get a little taste of you. Come onto the bed and let me play with you.”

  “Nicki,” Micah said calmly thought he was terrified on the inside. “Why don’t you come down and talk to me. You don’t seem to be yourself these days.”

  “Oh, I’m better than myself…I’m someone else completely.” Her voice devolved into a deep, guttural male voice now. “I’ve been dying to see you.”

  Micah felt panic surge through him, his knees went weak, and his hands trembled. He felt all the blood drain from his head.

  “Nicki…. On my God…”

  She grinned, saliva gathering at the corners of her mouth. “Sorry, HE’s not listening. HE hasn’t been listening for a long time.” A wicked cackle escaped her and her body stretched to the ceiling. She crawled like a crab to the ceiling, lying across it.

  Micah reached for his cell phone and ran for the doorway. The phone tore from his hand and flung into the hall. A gust of powerful wind lashed from behind as mad cackling roared all the while.

  The wind hurled Micah through the bedroom doorway and into the hall. He slammed into a wall and tumbled to the floor. The bedroom door slammed shut behind him. Wincing in pain, Micah crawled on his hands and knees to his cell phone. He retrieved it and bolted for the front door.

  “Come back and see me soon!” Nicki yelled beyond the bedroom door. “And bring your demon lover with you!”

  Outside Micah paced and panted like a dog. He dialed Nick’s cell. “Hey… it’s me…get Caleb and come to Nicki’s. Yeah… now… I think she’s possessed by a demon. Tell Caleb… hurry!”

  He ended the call and stared at the condo’s front door. I know that voice…

  ###

  Nehemiah knelt by the river where he first emerged. A shimmering band of light glowed across the water. The angel bowed his head.

  “You had the Infernal in your grasp.”

  “Forgive me, Michael. The Infernal has a human protecting him.”

  “Smite anyone who stands in your way. The Infernal cannot be allowed to exist. Others in the pit are asking for forgiveness. Others want to escape the pit. Angels are questioning these events.”

  “The Infernal is temporarily hidden. I will find and smite him. I vow to you.”

  “You are one of Heaven’s greatest warriors, Nehemiah. Do not fail. Find the Infernal before the balance is destroyed.”

  “I will not fail, Michael. This is but a delay in the inevitable.”

  “See that it is.”

  Nehemiah stood up and stretched his wings. He waded into the river and basked in its refreshing waters. He curled his white-feathered wings and let the water roll over them before shaking them out. He dunked his naked body and washed the river’s water over himself, rejuvenating his mind and soul.

  “Whoa…” he heard a voice from surrounding woods. “Are you a…?”

  He looked up to see a red-haired young man standing wide-eyed at the edge of the tree line. He was a hiker evident by his boots, backpack, t-shirt and jeans.

  Nehemiah rolled his eyes and sighed. His wings vanished and a tunic materialized around his sleek body. He teleported to the hiker’s side, appearing as just another young human man.

  “Hello friend.” Nehemiah smiled and put his arm around him.

  “Weren’t you just in the river? I don’t…”

  Nehemiah placed his fingers on the man’s forehead. “You didn’t see anything but a young man bathing in the river. No angel, no wings. Carry on your way and finish your hike.”

  “Nice to meet you,” the hiker beamed. “Enjoy the river.”

  “You as well.” Nehemiah watched the hiker circle the river to a small bridge and cross out of sight.

  He thought of Caleb and Micah. He wondered why a human would knowingly help a demon. It was strange. Was this human after power? Riches? Destruction of his enemies? Nehemiah admitted he hadn’t been on Earth in some time but had humans turned that much from Heaven? Were they aligning themselves with the unholy and those that meant them great evil? What about this Infernal had many of its brethren wanting to repent? Had this one really repented? Did he truly regret what he’d done?

  He had so many questions. He had sensed fear in Michael’s voice. That had never happened before. Why was this Infernal different than the others? Why was he more dangerous? The others had been a simple search and destroy. There was never the sense of urgency before as most Infernals just wanted to escape the pit and live forever on Earth, where they didn’t belong.

  Nehemiah sensed that this one was somehow different. He didn’t just want to escape Hell… he wanted more. Much more.

  ###

  Icy cold slithered all over Micah, biting at his flesh as he waited for Nick and Caleb to arrive. What was taking so long? It felt like an eternity and yet still no Caleb.

  He continued to pace and pace around the grounds of Nicki’s condo. Finally he spotted Nick’s car enter the complex and pull up into the visitor parking space next to his. Nick and Caleb stepped out and noticed Micah waiting for them.

  Caleb made is way over much faster than Nick, his face a mask of concern. “What’s happened to Nicki?” he asked.

  “I think she’s possessed. I think a demon has gotten inside of her. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Are you sure?” Caleb pressed. “I mean… it’s extremely rare these days. It serves no real purpose anymore…”

  “She’s crawling around her bedroom ceiling! What would you call it?”

  “I am sorry, Micah. I did not mean to…”

  “No I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m just freaked out and don’t kno
w what to do. You have to see for yourself. That’s not her in there…” He pointed back at her front door with a jittery hand.

  “Can I help?” Nick came running up.

  Caleb turned to him. “You can help us be sure.”

  “Right!” Micah said, a smile finally brightening his face.

  “Sure about what?”

  “I think Nicki is possessed,” Micah said to him.

  Nick cocked his head. “You mean like by a spirit or demon?”

  Micah nodded.

  “Okay… wow…why would it want…?”

  “Don’t know,” Micah cut him off. “But you might be able to help us find out.”

  “You will need to concentrate,” Caleb said. “Use your new skill to see its face behind Nicki’s. It will try to hide from you, from us. It will want to stay in her and make us think she is just sick while it destroys her mind and body.”

  “Oh boy.” Nick started to get really nervous. His kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other again and again.

  “It’ll be okay.” Micah touched him on the arm. “Nicki needs our help.”

  “Of course. Let’s do this.”

  Micah stepped past them and back to Nicki’s door. He pushed it open gently and stepped inside. He turned around and gestured for the others to follow him.

  All three could see their breath in the air the moment they entered the condo. Nick put his hand over his mouth and nose. “Oh God…that’s awful.”

  “This way.” That was all Micah could manage.

  The others followed as he reached Nicki’s bedroom and took hold of the doorknob. He twisted it and the door gave way. Rasped breathing filled the room and a nest of twisted shadows danced around the walls. Clawed shadows stretched and slithered before suddenly vanishing from sight as if Micah and his friends’ arrival had frightened them away.

  “Come one come all…” Nicki said, her own voice had returned.

  They stepped in to find her squatting on the top of her dresser. “Come to liberate me with your reinforcements, Micah?”

  “Nicki…we’re here to help you.”

  “I don’t need your Goddamned help!” She grabbed various perfume bottles and hurled them at the three men. Glass shattered, sweet perfume soaked the floor and Nicki laughed at them. Makeup, jewelry, picture frames, clothing all pitched through the air at them.

  “Nicki!” Micah called.

  “Do not let it anger you,” Caleb said, grabbing Micah’s wrist. “It is trying to unsettle you. Nick…can you see anything?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Focus harder.”

  “Is this the best you can do?” Nicki laughed. “Pathetic! Guess I should know better. It would take some real men to match me.”

  “Do not listen to it,” Caleb said. “It wants to anger you. Do not let it.”

  Mad laughter shrieked, rising to such a high pitch that Micah and Nick had to cover their ears. The dresser rumbled, vibrated then slid toward them, toppling over. Nicki flung into the air and fell toward them.

  “NO!” Caleb screamed and caught her by the throat. He thrust her down onto her bed. “Nick now! Look into her eyes.”

  Nick ran up to the side of the bed and looked down at her. Her eyes flashed with dark light and went black. Nick flinched then furrowed his brow.

  “It’s the demon that tried to kill us,” Nick said. “The one that attacked us in the diner.”

  “Sebastian!” Caleb cried. His eyes went wide with terror.

  “Hello traitor,” Nicki said but it was Sebastian’s voice that came out of her. “Do you really think you have the power to defeat me?”

  Nicki thrust both legs and kicked Caleb across the room, into the wall.

  “Fight him, Nicki!” Micah yelled. “Don’t let him take you.”

  She glanced over at him and her face softened. “Oh Micah…. Help me…” her voice was her own again. “Please… I can feel him inside of me…”

  Micah went to her side, his eyes welling, heart pounding in his chest. “I’m here.” Nicki grinned at him, drew her back her arm and backhanded him. Micah shot to the floor, landing with a thud.

  A wicked cackle escaped Nicki. “Fool! She is nearly mine. I will never leave her. Not until I have used her to the end of her days and her body has withered by my spirit’s kiss. Then I will possess another then another—“

  “No you won’t!” Caleb shifted into his true demonic form, scales, teeth and claws. He soared across the room on black wings and slammed into Nicki. He drove her down on the bed and restrained her.

  “I will never return to Hell, traitor!” Sebastian screamed. “I will stay here forever and plunder this world.

  “Micah, Nick… use the bed sheets to restrain her. Bind her down to the bed.”

  “She’ll just tear them off,” Nick said.

  “Sebastian is not at full power inside of a human. He won’t be able to remove the bindings if we bless them. Micah call on the father as you tie her down.”

  Micah nodded, tearing sheets into strands and pieces. He tossed some to Nick and they secured her wrists.

  “Repeat these words,” Caleb said. “Heavenly Father, we bind your servant to protect her. Watch over this lost soul and keep her safe from all evil.”

  Micah repeated the words as he and Nick tied the sheets and bound Nicki’s legs to the bed.

  “NO!” Sebastian screamed. “You can’t save her. She is mine. I’m not going anywhere. I am here forever!”

  Caleb let go of Nicki and returned to his human form. She writhed and struggled, raging against her bindings. “We need to purge him from her body.”

  “You never will, traitor,” Sebastian spat.

  “How?” Micah asked. “A priest? Do we need to find a priest?”

  Caleb shook his head. “Sebastian is an Arch Demon. He will break any priest. We need something stronger.”

  “What?”

  “There is nothing! Nothing stronger than I! Soon I will have all of her… body and soul. There is nothing you can do! Nothing!”

  “Shut up!” Nick yelled. “Shut the Hell up you son of a bitch!”

  “I have no mother!” Sebastian laughed, licking Nicki’s lips as she glowered at Nick.

  “Nick, just ignore him,” Micah said. He took his arm and walked him toward the bedroom door. “He’ll only mess with you. Maybe you should wait out in the living room.” He turned back to Caleb as Nick stepped out. “What do we need?”

  “An angel.”

  ###

  A phone rang in a musty office room filled with maps, old books and photographs. The photos were framed and hung up on the walls. They showed various degrees of paranormal events. In all of them a middle-aged man with a beard went head on into the inexplicable—haunted houses, séances, ghost animals, the exorcism of a possessed child, orbs of light, phantom fire, a cemetery by night.

  “Hello?” a bearded man picked up the phone and put down his cigarette. “Yes. Is that right?” He began writing things quickly into a notebook on his desk. “Uh-huh. How long? How many friends? How many witnesses. I see. Okay. Yes.”

  He glanced around the room at his many photos and books. He was glad for them all and frightened at the same time. They would aid and hinder him now. He brought his attention back to the call and nodded as he listened.

  “Thank you.” He hung up the phone and continued to write into his notebook. After finishing he set down his pencil and ran his fingers through his auburn hair with flecks of gray. A sigh escaped him.

  He lit another cigarette and stood up, circling the room. He let his short, stubby fingers brush the many books on his shelves, feeling the bindings, and the dust that covered them. Some of the tomes were extremely old. He pulled one out and flipped to a few pages and examined the ancient illustrations of winged beings either fighting one another or hurling to an underworld filled with flames and dark caves with glowering eyes. Other illustrations showed warriors with wings, dressed in armor and brandishing glorious shields an
d swords.

  A soft knock came to the office door. The bearded man put his book away and turned as the door opened. A woman poked her head in.

  “Is everything all right?”

  Tom Arson nodded and addressed his wife Susan. “Looks like I’m going to be making a trip to Blackstone.”

  6.

  “There’s got to be some other way,” Micah said as he sat on the edge of the bed back in Jake’s guest room.

  “I am afraid not. Sebastian is an Arch Demon, only one thing can send him back now.”

  Micah’s eyes lit up. “His sigil! I’ll just write it down again and place it on Nicki.”

  “It has no power now. It only had power on his true body. He’s not using his own body he’s using someone else’s. It’s his spirit now. Sorry my love, we need to do this my way.”

  “That warrior angel will never listen to us, Caleb. This is such a bad idea.”

  “Nehemiah is one of Michael’s greatest and most beloved warriors but he is also noble and pure. He is still one of my brothers.”

  “And he thinks you are Infernal. You said so yourself… he won’t stop until he ends you.”

  “I do not understand. I am trying to help Nicki, your best friend in this world. Why are you angry with me?”

  “I’m not angry with you,” Micah said as he kissed the side of Caleb’s head. “I don’t want you risking your eternal soul this way. We can find another way to get Sebastian out of Nicki and send him back to Hell. “

  “Why do you not listen to me?” Caleb looked confused and slightly hurt. “Do you think that I am lying to you? There is no other way.”

  “No… I don’t think you’re lying. How do I make you understand?”

  “I know I am a fallen angel and lying comes easy to us but I would never lie to you, Micah.”

  “Caleb no, that’s not it at all. Listen, would ya? I think it’s wonderful how much you care about Nicki and want to help her. It shows your true self, the one I’ve known is inside you from the first day we met. I just don’t want to trade one person I love for the other. If Nehe—whoever—doesn’t want to listen to you then he’ll kill you. Then what?”

  “I have to try. If I just show him how much I have repented, how much I have changed he may truly see me. Nicki’s soul is in grave danger. We may not get another chance to save her.”