by T. R. Lester
Heading to my bedroom, with my loaded duffle bag, I enter and walk over to my closet. I think I need to renegotiate the portal location with Luke. I put my foot on the edge of the portal opening and take a forward step. Travelling by portal gives you a sensation of being drawn. It feels the way it does when someone pulls on your hand, except it’s your whole body being pulled. Upon entering the portal, you feel like you’re falling into a void, unable to stop. Then, almost as soon as it started, the falling ceases, the pulling stops, and you find yourself standing at your destination on solid ground.
When the portal light behind me disappears with a snap, I can see Charon floating my way. I walk over to the edge of Acheron to await him and find myself hoping that I can get to the gates without incident.
Charon reaches the edge and I board his ferry.
“You need to do a little cleaning man. What the hell is this?”
I point to something that seems to be fused to the rear of the boat.
He just shrugs.
Charon. Laid back and relaxed. Being a spirit guide must not be too hard of a job, unless you are the one chasing the spirit, I guess.
“Fine. Let’s go. I brought you some shades and ten pounds of coffee this time. I believe you may be addicted to caffeine now, even if you don’t want to admit it dude.”
Charon gives me a shrug and holds his hand, err, claw out for the shades and coffee.
“No passengers today?” I ask.
He shakes his head no.
The whole ride across Acheron is dead quiet. I do mean dead. No sound. Only the sloshing of water, err, muck, hitting the sides of the boat.
As we glide across the murkiness, Charon takes his oar and slaps at tiny tendrils swirling up out of the muck. I don’t even want to know what that could be.
When we reach the other side and I start to step off the boat, Charon gives me a slight bow of his head.
“Thanks man. I’ll bring more coffee next time. Maybe I’ll even bring you Starbucks next time.”
Charon nods.
“Maybe I can get Luke to send me home when I leave.”
Charon looks at me, and for a moment, I swear I see the hint of a sneering smile on his face.
“Yeah. My thoughts too.”
When I leave the ferry, it’s not too far to the gate. Walking across the jagged stones and other items strewn about is not easy but I manage. I can already feel the heat. The heat at the gate entrance is about the same as a hot, humid day in the south. Gnats, or what seem to be gnats, fly in swarms, surrounding you as you walk. They don’t bite, but it’s aggravating trying to keep them out of your nose and mouth while you walk. The path is lined on each side with animal carcasses, bones and other oddities.
As I approach the gates, I hear a growl.
I stop and look around. The hairs along my neck start to tingle and I hear another growl.
You have got to be shitting me. Just one time I wish I could come here without having to fight and outwit an opponent.
Reaching into my backpack, I draw out the steak and hold it upwards.
“Look what I have. Don’t you want this nice big slab of beef? I bet you do boy.”
“Come and get it.”
Looking back at the gate, I finally see six fire red eyes staring at me hard enough to melt the heart from my chest.
Luke did this as payback for my insolence. Damn.
So much for this being an easy trip.
I walk as close to the entrance of the gate as possible and watch the red eyes follow me. I reach in my belt and pull out the dagger I brought with me. With my dagger in my right hand down by my side and a steak in my left hand being waved around like a flag, I walk forward.
The eyes stare at me, then I can see them moving closer. The growls are closer and more frequent and are getting louder.
I place the steak on a boulder that sits by the left side of the gate, then reach into my bag and get the ribs out to place them by the steak. I walk back over to the right side and look for the rune that activates the gate to open. As the eyes get closer to the gates, I can see my opponent.
A creature over seven feet tall from shoulder to ground, short, black fur that looks as if it’s been dipped in oil. Fire red eyes that look as if they will burn you with one glance. A long black tail with serpents sprouting from the end, the claws of a lion and three huge heads with mouths large enough to swallow a small car and a smell that will make your nose hair curl.
“Come on boy. Come on Cerberus. Come get your steak, you big ugly beast.”
Cerberus doesn’t like me. Well, to be fair, he likes no one who trespasses at the gates of hell. He hasn’t attacked me, but I wouldn’t swear he never will. I think he’s like a cat playing with its mouse before the kill.
He’s a guardian and that’s what he’s doing. Luke let him come up here to teach me a lesson, so Cerberus knows if he hurts me, he will have Luke to deal with.
But that doesn’t make me feel any better. I’m not sure I want the experience of being mauled by a hell hound.
Cerberus walks away and heads over to the steak.
I walk over to the gate as he walks over to the meat I brought him. Finding the rune to open the gate, I place my hand on it and the gate opens. Maybe I should start bringing a whole side of beef.
As soon as he leans down to grab the steak, I make a quick dash into the open gate. He sees me and immediately chases. Running as fast as I can, and that’s pretty damn fast, I still can’t outrun a hell hound. After getting through the gate, I make a jump for the stone overhang just inside and catch it, swing through the gate, and try to get my legs pulled up. I can feel his hot breath snapping at my ass as I climb up on the ledge. The ledge is made so I can walk around the edge of the path leading into limbo. There’s a lot of shit crawling around down there that I don’t want to run into.
There are torches lit along each side of the footpath. The entrance looks like a cave upon entry, then starts to expand after walking about fifty yards in. The pathway is stone made of bones and other waste that litter the edges of each side of the path.
Cerberus growls and leaps at me attempting to latch on to any part of me that would allow him to draw me downward.
I make a kick out to allow me to give a leg up on the ledge and can bring my whole body upward. When Cerberus sees I’m out of reach, he returns to his meat feast.
Fucking hell. I sit for a few minutes to catch my breath and slow my heart rate before it leaps out of my chest.
I sit and look around for any creatures that may be lurking, waiting for a snack. There is a hint of sulfur, but not strong in limbo. The brimstone smell is more dominant than the sulfuric smell.
Hell is full of oddities and creatures.
Abaddon’s locusts fly freely in hell. They really seem to resemble war horses, have stinging tails like scorpions, faces of men and long hair. They roam around all circles of hell, are aggressive and have no qualms about who they attack.
Imps, who like to play practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. Reapers, who work for the horseman, Death. Reapers assist spirits in moving on from the mortal realm when they die, maintaining the natural order of life and death. Shadow demons, who are invisible to the human eye. They are used by other demons as invisible killers. Hell hounds are numerous here. They help guard the gates and also hunt lost souls. And of course, all the minions the seven have created to spy on the halls of hell.
I watch as I move along the edge of the crag to make sure I’m not spotted, or being watched. They won’t attack me for they know who they would answer to, but I don’t want to find myself in a scuffle in hell.
After walking the ledge for fifteen minutes, I reach the door to the meeting room Luke has set up for their discussions. Dropping from the ledge, I stand and take a deep breath before entering the room.
When all the seven have gathered in one room, the air almost feels like it’s being sucked out. Like a huge black aura surrounding and enveloping you trying to squeeze you
r soul out.
Pushing on either side of the door makes it swivel in a circle. The first demon I see is Mammon. I take a deep breath. He doesn’t like me. That’s not to say he likes anyone else either, but he’s an ass and wants to control hell as his own.
Then there’s Belphegor. He likes to sell people on his new ingenious inventions that aren’t worth the brimstone they were created on.
I feel a presence behind me and turn to look and see Beelzebub entering behind me. Lord of the flies, need I say more? Then I see Amon, the angry little demon who loves to create hate and anger in people’s hearts.
And then we have Asmodeus, the demon of lust. He’s characterized by carnal desire, but he’s also described as being the worst of all the demons.
Luke strolls in with a grim look and motions for us all to take our seats.
“Leviathan is…. doing whatever he does when he goes to sea.” Luke says.
“Is this meeting necessary Lucifer?” Asmodeus asks.
“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have called you all here.” Luke tells him with a glare.
“Yes. I have things to do as well. This meeting is wasting my time.” Amon says.
“If anyone has any more comments to make about having other things to do, I can relieve you all of your duties. I’m sure I have others capable of taking over your circles.” Luke says.
At this point, you could have heard crickets chirping, had there been crickets in hell.
“Good. Let’s get started.” Luke tells them.
“We have someone in our ranks who appears to be trying to start the war again. There have been two murders in Kastor’s world. He will talk to the detective over the case when he leaves us. The one thing that concerns me is the exsanguination of the bodies and that they removed the hearts. There are numerous bite marks. Vampires only leave one bite mark and we don’t even have vampires in Kastor’s area. So, that leaves me to believe the culprit is one of ours.” Luke says.
“Who do you think it is?” I ask him.
“I don’t know yet. It’s someone who’s close and is at the same level as we are, meaning they are one of the fallen brothers. They would need a human summoner and that summoner would need a lot of blood to summon a high-level demon.” Luke says.
“Well, that doesn’t narrow the list down any.” Beelzebub says smarmily.
Luke shoots him a glare.
“No, it doesn’t. But it gives us a place to start. The wounds that Kas has described are specific to those of a soucouyant.” Luke says.
“Isn’t that like a loogaroo? But, I thought they stayed mainly in the Caribbean?” I say.
“They are spirits boy. They can travel where they wish.” Luke says.
“Loup Garou is the correct spelling, right? It’s French for werewolf, however, they are far from resembling a werewolf. They take the form of an innocent old lady during the day and the skin removing spirit during the night. I thought they had to store their skin in silk cotton trees when they removed it to protect it until they returned?” I ask.
“You are correct boy. That’s the most common place, but they can also use a mortar to store it in while they hunt. Really, they can leave it anywhere they feel is safe to do so.” Asmodeus says.
“The thing is, she is paying someone, or something, with blood as trade for black magic. But they don’t stop there. They take the heart as if for a sacrifice. Contrary to popular belief, most demons rarely require a heart or blood sacrifice. Demons are summoned to do someone’s bidding. A deal would be worked out between the demon and summoner that both parties would be in agreement with. The heart would only be used by a weak or inexperienced summoner to bring their demon master to this realm. They wouldn’t have the power to do it otherwise. We have to find the culprit and stop them before they start the war again.” Luke says.
“What war?” I ask with dread.
“The war between the realms. A war that will unleash hell on earth.” Luke says.
Thinking to myself, and coming up with only one war I’ve heard mention of, is the second coming of our Father. The war of Revelations. The horsemen. That’s not a war, that’s a total obliteration.
“How am I supposed to stop this war?” I ask them all.
“That’s something you will know later. First, you need to find the demon responsible for these mundane murders.” Luke says.
“And where should I start the search for the loogaroo?” I ask.
“Child, you have access to the largest library of demon names and writings and you want to know how to catch a loogaroo?” Amon says.
I shoot him a glare.
He gives me a toothy glare that says he would love to have a few minutes alone with me to strip my bones and soul.
“You will use one of my hounds to track her in spirit form, wait for her to reacquire her skin, then bring her here.” Luke says.
“Fine. I want to hear more about this war. And, can you open a portal from here back to my apartment when I leave? I’m not in the mood to run into Cerberus again. And thanks for letting him harass me at the gate.”
“I will connect your gate to the meeting room, but I told you to mind your tongue boy. Next time, you should heed my warning.”
I stand there with a blank look.
“Go, go. Find the information you seek boy.”
So, I went. I’d had enough of the meeting for the day.
As I step through the door to the library, I stop and look around. First glance will tell you there are no books in the library. But, you have to know how to find them. Luke hasn’t closed the door yet, so I stand there for a second before moving to the table in the middle of the room.
“Have you told him yet?” I hear Belphegor ask.
“No. That’s not for you to decide Belphegor.”
Luke tells him.
“It’s in the accord that you have to tell him on his 30th year of birth. He’s now in his 29th year. You must follow the accord.” Belphegor says.
“I don’t report to you. I will tell him in time.” Luke says.
“He has a right to know, even if we don’t agree with telling him. He needs to know about the war coming.” Asmodeus says.
“He will come into all his powers when he reaches his 30th year. He needs time to prepare for the changes he will start to face.” Belphegor says.
“Leave me. I won’t hear any more of this talk. I will tell him when I’m ready.” Luke says.
When I hear no more talk, I assume they all have gone.
What are they hiding and do I even want to know? And what powers am I going to come into? Why am I even surprised? They are demons for shit’s sake. They are deceivers by nature.
Being raised in limbo was…. interesting. Did I feel loved? No.
Did I feel protected? Yes. To an extent.
It took a few years for me to speak to them. I was four. I was a scared child who had parents who were willing to throw me away just so they could gain riches, then I was taken and reared by demons. And not just any demons, the princes of hell demons. So, yes, I was afraid to speak.
I didn’t have the swing set in the back yard, the toy box in the corner full of toys, a bicycle, or skateboard. I had daggers, knives, and books that list all demons and their powers, lessons to create pentagrams, sigils and wards, instructions on sending demons back to hell and maintaining a mind link with Lucifer.
Then why should I be surprised by the fact that they are keeping things from me?
I’m not. I would be shocked if they told the truth.
Chapter 2
I go over to the table in the library, pull out a chair and sit.
All the books Luke has in the library were created by him and the others over the millennia. They keep track of all demons and preternaturals, and even the angelic ones, that have either existed or presently exist. It updates by itself each time there is information that needs to added in.
It’s similar to the Ars Goetia only the seven created it. The best part, though? To find what
you’re looking for, just speak the title or keyword and it will appear on the reading table.
I decide to look more into vampires. I say “vampire”, and the book appears open to the section on vampires. Sitting there reading what I already knew, that most vampires will only bite once or twice, rarely numerous times. So, I decide to check out the soucouyant books. What I find here is interesting.
The soucouyant is a blood sucking hag originating from Caribbean folklore. She is also referred to as ole higue. She is characterized as an old woman by day, and by night, she turns into a fireball that flies during the night in search of victims. They can enter through cracks, crevices, keyholes; any opening that will allow them passage. They take blood from the arms, legs and soft parts, leaving bruises at each place. She is a practitioner of dark magic and trades the stock of her victims to Bazil for evil forces.
Comparing the two creatures, there are two similarities. Blood drinking and being nocturnal. Where the vampire inflicts one bite, the soucouyant, or loogaroo, makes numerous ones. Vampires try not to drain their victims as they would face the wrath of Lucifer. Most tend to have blood donors to care for the blood cravings.
The victim found at the Lyric theater last night was naked and all her blood drained, but no blood around her body, which means it was taken as the trade. Detective Jackson also said the heart had been removed. The victim had been placed in a pentagram and sacrificed. Looking through the books, I find the demon named Bazil that was mentioned as the demon the loogaroo gives the blood to. He was cast out of hell by the seven and ended up in Trinidad trapped in a silk cotton tree. Someone set him free, and he was contained in Gadreel’s realm. He has minions working for him and he gives them special powers in exchange. One of them have probably released him.
Picking up the book, I walk back to the door leading into the meeting room to find everyone gone.
“Luke”. I say quietly to the air.
“Yes?”
“I have questions.”
A moment later, Luke appears in front of me and sits down at the table, staring at me quizzically.
