Jack’s heart was beating fast. “So what is the job which is assigned to me, Sir?” Jack managed to stammer. He offered his hands for a handshake.
Devil eyed his hand with deep contempt and ignored it. “Ah! Address me as ‘Boss’,” Devil said in a serious tone “or address me as ‘Lord D’ if you like and…” Devil said with a grim face “Never even dare to think of shaking hand with me. We aren’t equals, is that clear?”
Devil paused for some time and scratched his own neck with the handle of the whip he was holding. “Regarding your task, well…you shall soon find it out”. Devil gave Jack a hardened look and continued “But let me make it very clear. We have rules here. Obey them, and your life will be tolerable. Break them, and you will wish you were never born!”
Jack nodded his head and looked down at the ground.
“Strict obedience is absolutely minimum requirement, Jack” Devil continued “I will not…I repeat…I will not tolerate disobedience” Devil shook his index finger at Jack as he spoke. “Is that clear?”
Jack nodded in meek submission and replied, “I shall obey all your orders. Any order!”
“Is it so?” a naughty smile broke out on Devil’s face and he looked around at his attendants, as if he was sharing some joke. “Good! Well then! Let’s see-” Devil pointed his finger at a spade lying on the ground. “Now Jack, pick up the spade and start cleaning up the mound of horse-dung over there”.
Jack hesitated, and looked around him to find Devil’s attendants smiling and grinning. Jack was unable to digest this deep insult and stood there, hesitating and adamant.
“It seems, he require some training” Devil spoke softly as he patted his horse. He offered a carrot to his horse. The horse munched the carrot and neighed loudly. “This is my favorite horse” Devil announced with a proud look and rubbed the horse’s neck with great affection. “When I met this horse for the first time, it was so wild that it won’t even allow a saddle or a bridle-it was so wild! Now look…how tame and obedient it has become”.
Devil continued caressing his horse “I love this horse. But first one has to break the horse” Devil turned his head slowly, looking at everyone’s faces in turns, and then turning back at the horse he screamed “I know how to break a horse!” Devil lifted his whip and struck the horse with such ferocity that flesh tore out of its body and blood squirted out. The horse neighed violently and sprang forward, leaping in the air. As it was tethered to the ground, it lost its balance and fell down. Devil kicked it mercilessly with his iron-spiked boot. Twice! Thrice!
He turned to his attendants and shouted, “Jack needs some training. Drag him to the underground dungeon, and bound him in chains. Not a morsel of food, or a drop of water for two days!”
Instantly the attendants sprang upon Jack and started dragging him away. Devil threw his whip at one of his drunken attendant and shouted “take this with you. And use it well!”
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Chapter 9
The unbreakable vow
Two days later, Jack’s head hung down from his shoulder in deep exhaustion. He moaned feebly in extreme pain; his voice was dried with thirst. His hands were chained from the top of two pillars, about six feet apart. His toes barely touched the ground.
Jack's back was scarred with whip marks, with black clots of bloods. Occasionally, a few drops of blood oozed out from his wounds. Jack was so weak that he could barely stand. He fainted repeatedly, murmuring “water…water” almost inaudibly.
Two dungeon guards entered the torture chamber and started removing the chains from Jack’s hands. “Looks too bad, buddy” one of them addressed to the other guard “seems like he can't even drag himself, leave alone walking. Let’s carry him outside to his waiting friend”.
“You are right, chum. If we had arrived here another hour late, we might have wrapped him in shroud, and delivered him to his friend as a nicely packed gift” the other guard replied with a brutal laughter.
* * *
Barbarossa rubbed the medicine soaked cotton on Jack’s wounds.
Jack yelled in agony.
“I can’t bear it! Ooooo…pleaseee stops it!” Jack screamed.
“A few more moments, Jack” Barbarossa said with deep sympathy “I am trying to be as gentle as possible. Please bear with me”.
“Oh, I can’t! I can’t!…Ooouuch! Oh, my god-”
Tears appeared at the corners of Jack’s eyes. He moved his face away.
“Don’t hide your tears, Jack! Let them flow-it will relieve some of your sorrows”.
“I am nothing but a slave!” Jack moaned.
“Don’t lose your heart Jack. Have some patience. Keep your hope alive!” Barbarossa said, as he applied the soothing ointment on Jack’s wound, and tried to soothe Jack’s heart as well “You will definitely have your rightful place. I have full confidence in you”. Barbarossa’s eyes glistened with tears as he spoke.
When Barbarossa had finally bandaged Jack’s wounds, Jack rose up from his bed and started strolling to and fro, slowly.
“I am afraid; I have some ugly message to deliver, Jack” Barbarossa said “Devil has wished to meet you as soon as possible. He has summoned you next week, for further instructions regarding your job”.
“Ooooh that son-of-a-bitch!” Jack fumed, grinding his teeth.
A few moments later he recovered from his burst of anger and stood still, clenching his fist every now and then.
“Jack, my friend” Barbarossa said “Only thing I can say to console you is: Once in service, you may soon get an opportunity to lay your hand on your parchment from Devil’s safekeeping and throw it in some wooden fire…………just as you had planned”.
“No, Barbarossa. I have changed my mind. Stealing would have been the easiest way to achieve my goal. But I won't try that anymore!”
“What are you saying?"
“I’ll obtain that parchment alright, but not as a thief. I’ll acquire it openly in a grand manner; just like the way a throne is claimed after defeating the enemy king".
"Are you out of your mind, Jack?”
"I'll take revenge for this inhuman torture. I must make Devil realize the enormity of his fault by turning me into an injured snake" Jack hissed with anger. "And I’ll foil Devil’s intention behind forcing me to join his service”.
“What’s his purpose, Jack?”
“I have no idea yet. But we shall find out; soon enough. And, I’ll thwart his desires, whatever it is” Jack burst out in anger “I will repay him with his own coins and do him maximum possible emotional damage”. Jack grinded his teeth and tried his best to hold back his tears. His voice choked with emotion.
“Now calm down, my dearest friend” Barbarosa said.
“How can I calm down? What have I ever done to deserve all this?” Jack removed one cotton strip to expose one of his jagged whip-mark. A few drops of blood reappeared. “My only crime was yielding to an intense craving for a one time drink and signing Devil’s agreement. And, if Devil’s skin burned from contact with my crucifix, am I to be blamed? I was trying to prevent him from sending my soul to burning inferno of hell. I didn't mean to have fun by hurting him intentionally”.
“But Jack, the earlier you can free your soul, the better! Delay will prolong the overhanging risk. So better to stick to your previous plan”
“Why should I be a petty thief?" Jack paused and frowned "Let Devil realize, against whom he is messing with!”
"But you are powerless as a fledgling" Jack protested, "How can you fight against mighty Devil?"
“What a great fool I had been! I could have built an army of Halloween creatures, long ago" Jack was breathing heavily. "They had all bowed down in submission at my feet. I could have been the powerful master of Halloween world……….not a titular ‘pumpkin king’, but the true ‘Lord of Halloween’………that’s my rightful place, something I truly deserve!”
“Of course you truly deserve” Barbarossa consented. He seemed worried by this ene
rgetic outburst from Jack, who was feeble and yet to recover from the inflicted wounds.
“Throughout my life, I had ducked away from fame and power,” Jack lamented, “I had been unsatisfied, but felt comfortable to fade into obscurity. Devil could inflict such harsh treatment on me only because I am an underdog”
“I understand your feelings Jack. But don’t underestimate the terrible risks,” Barbarossa said, “Let me drill this point in your skull: Devil still has the parchment. All he has to do is throw it in the burning embers" Barbarossa was frustrated for having to emphasize this point so often. "Doing anything rash is playing with horrible death”.
“Throughout my life I have done nothing extraordinary for which people will remember me” Jack said, “Fate has endowed me with unnaturally long lifespan, almost immortality. But I must do something to become truly immortal; to become greatest legendary person”.
Barbarossa gazed at Jack's face, possibly wondering whether his friend has turned insane from some inflicted injury to his brain during the torture.
“Those who are forever remembered never die" Jack said. Being forgotten is true death” Jack took a deep breath “The risks of physical death which I face will be a small price to pay for immortality”.
The expression on Barbarossa's face changed from frustration to an admiring one. He tapped Jack’s shoulder with an approving smile “I feel proud of you Jack. You have forced me to look at things in a new light”.
“Do you believe in me?” Jack asked. He had momentarily forgotten his pains and was brimming with hope.
“Of course I do! From the core of my heart” Barbarossa said “Let me remind you what you told me earlier. The oracle had foreseen your bright future. It’s only a matter of time before you achieve unprecedented fame and glory. You are not some ordinary fellow Jack. Always keep that in mind!”
Jack stared at Barbarossa’s face and spoke with a tone of utmost determination “I shall not submit to my fate. I shall seize every opportunity to rise in power from an underdog. I swear! I take an oath!”
Jack took out the silver crucifix from his pocket, and kissed it. “I make an unbreakable vow” Jack whispered.
“But right now, you must pretend submission” Barbarossa warned “and remember that, when you meet Devil next week”.
“You are right Barbarossa. For the time being, I have to pretend submission” Jack nodded and then whispered absent-mindedly “But what if I can’t control my emotions when I meet him?”
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Chapter 10
The second vow
It started as a minor argument of the ‘Santa Claus couple’, but ran out of control. The arguments turned to quarrel, gathered more steam and reached a bursting point. Hell broke loose that night at ‘Santa Claus Villa’.
“Why the hell do you have to go out at night?” Mrs. Santa demanded angrily from her husband “why can’t you go about distributing presents during daytime?”
“That’s how…. it is… Supposed to be; isn’t it?” Mr. Santa stammered. He looked at his wife’s glowing charcoal like eyes. “I suppose” he said nervously, “I mean” he stammered again “well honey; I have been doing this for as long as I can remember”.
Mr. Santa’s reply seemed to flare up his wife’s suppressed anger. “Whom are you trying to fool?” she thumped the floor with her high-heeled shoe. “You love your nocturnal adventures, don’t you? You meet the ladies of your dreams, while I suffer alone at home!”
“Ladies of my dreams?!” Mr. Santa was stunned, as if falling down from the sky with a mighty thud. “Do you at all have any idea?” Mr. Santa Claus desperately tried to defend “what it takes to go out for my nightly duties?” Santa Claus could not suppress his hurt feeling “A few days ago, I was chased by a hound. And I shudder to remember my agony when I got stuck in a chimney!”
“I see” Mrs. Santa said with bitter contempt “is that why you apply so seductive perfumes before leaving, so that the hounds may be tempted to take a bite of your flesh? Or is it to tempt your ladies to leave more candies and cookies and lots of juicy flesh on the platter?” she looked at her husband with disgust and hatred.
“What are you talking about?” Mr. Santa said, inflamed with irritation. “For decades after decades, you are making my life so miserable” Mr. Santa said in a fit of rising temper “if I can find some moments of peace outside, what’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong?” she hissed. She twisted her husband’s nipples so hard that Mr. Santa screamed in agony and his face went red. Then she broke into a sob “Oh what an idiot, un-appreciating fellow was written in my fate! Oh my cursed fate!” she shed big tears, and screamed with enough loudness to awaken the neighbors. “When will he realize that he is undeservingly lucky to have such a beautiful wife?! Oh what a shame! My husband should go out to seek pleasure?”
“Seek pleasure?” Mr. Santa burst out “I talked about going outside to seek peace!”
“Shut up! It’s all the same to me” she shouted and kicked with her high heels on Mr. Santa’s knees. Mr. Santa leapt up with a knee jerk reaction and then tumbled down.
“Speak only when you are asked to” she waved her index finger threateningly at her husband “and don’t interrupt”.
Mr. Santa was rubbing his knee and moaning with pain. Knowing fully well that he has lost the battle, he tried to clam down his wife. “Oh honey, when I return back I am so exhausted and often covered with chimney soot. Doesn’t that convince you of my dedication towards my duty and my innocence?”
“Your exhaustion makes me more doubtful” she snapped “and your blackened face is a nice way to hide the lipstick marks from your cheeks!”
Mr. Santa felt like screaming back, but he feared that it will only escalate matters, and cause the neighbors to arrive in swarms to offer their free counseling. They would advise him ‘wife is always right, even when she isn’t”. And their precious counseling will be offered exclusively to him and not his wife!
Mr. Santa kept his mouth tightly shut; grinded his jaws together in rage and helplessly cursed his own fate. He tried to end the matter there and lick his wounds in privacy. “I am going to bed now” Mr. Santa said with deep remorse “and don’t send any dinner for me. I am not feeling hungry”.
But Mrs. Santa was equally determined to play her trump card. She started weeping and soaking her handkerchief. “How would you feel if I went missing one night?” she asked with a tone of cold vengeance “Do you think I can’t go missing?”
Finding that her husband has not gone down on his half-broken knees, to beg apologies from her, she announced furiously “I had taken a marriage vow of faithfulness and friendship. Now I take a second vow to teach you a suitable lesson”.
***
When Jack arrived, Devil was holding his court.
Jack bowed low as he approached Devil.
“That’s good!” Devil announced, looking pleased.
“What is my job assignment, my Lord?” Jack asked.
“First things, first,” Devil’s tone rose from a whisper to a loud shout in an instant “Guards!”
Seven guards rushed in and encircled Jack and pointed their spears and bayonets at Jack’s chest.
“You had used your crucifix smartly with the transformed coin, and during the apple tree incident" Devil said. "But I can't let you repeat. Therefore, take an oath that you shall never use your crucifix again as weapon against me” Devil commanded.
Jack stood motionless.
“Guards!” Devil shouted.
The guards pressed the pointed spears against Jack’s ribs. Jack’s face twitched in intense pain. Jack grinded his jaws together, but didn’t let out a single scream.
“Swear instantly, or they’ll plunge them right into your lungs” Devil roared.
Jack stood adamantly.
“Now at the count of three” Devil ordered his guards “puncture his heart”.
Devil shook his head like a charging bull. His hairs were lookin
g like the mane of an angry lion.
“One….” Devil said.
Jack’s face had turned red with intense pricking pain, and the muscles of his jaws were twitching uncontrollably.
There was stunning silence in the hall. The courtiers bit their fingers in tension, and sweated with apprehension. They watched Jack’s disobedience with utter disbelief.
“Two…” Devil shouted.
The suspense grew unbearable with each passing moment. The stunning silence seemed like the calmness before the approaching tornado.
Devil’s eyes had turned red with anger. Grinding his teeth, he shouted “and then finally-“
“I swear” Jack said.
“Not like that, my friend…not that way”, Devil bellowed “I am sure that you have your crucifix somewhere in your pocket. Hold it in your hand and swear”.
Jack writhed in pain, but didn’t obey.
“Guards!”
They pressed harder.
Jack put his hand inside his pocket, pulled out his crucifix and held it in his hand. “I swear I’ll never attack you with my crucifix”. Jack took his second vow within a week after his vow of not submitting to his fate.
“That’s better!” Devil said. “Now coming to your question about your assignment……….before joining service, you must undergo some training. I have arranged for your training. Visit ‘Black forest’ in Germany, and report to you trainer, Krampus. Go with this gentleman". Devil pointed at an ugly looking, greenish goblin. "He’ll take care of the rest”.
Jack bowed again in silence and departed, walking towards an uncertain destiny.
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Chapter 11
Special Training
“Welcome to this training course. I am ‘Maya Sukarno’ from Thailand. Ours is an ancient civilization; you must have heard about our land. I am sure; in near future it will become a hot tourist destination. I mean really steaming hot”. She gave a proud look.
“Anyway, I am glad to introduce this training course…” the young lady continued her announcement “…I will introduce you briefly about the history of spying, before handing over to my colleagues for covering the rest” she addressed the class in a loud hissing voice, attracting a lot of attention to herself.
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