The Trilogy of the Void: The Complete Boxed Set

by Peter Meredith

  At length, Jim stopped moaning and gave a sniff and Will turned to see that he was actually crying slightly. He turned away and Talitha rolled her eyes at him.

  "Jeez, the two of you. It's just a demon." But even though Jim seemed able to go on, Talitha still hesitated wearing a hard look on her face. She turned to her brother. "Have you felt the eye of the demon on you yet?"

  "What do you mean?" He tried to sound innocent, but her glare was so fierce he answered, "No. I think you would've noticed." He knew what she was referring too. The last time, eight years ago, Ba'al could almost drive a person insane with a just glance.

  "Neither have I, but you know it's coming. In fact..." She cocked the pistol and put it to his head. "Don't worry, this is only insurance."

  It unnerved Will terribly to have the gun pointed at his head, since the demon could look upon Talitha even through walls. "Don't do that or your plans will go out the window as soon as he looks on you," he counseled.

  "Don't be such a wimp. I'm not like you and besides, I have faced him before you know."

  "Did you win?" Will knew the answer to that; there was no way she had.

  "Hell no, but I held my own, at least for a while."

  She didn't realize it, but she had just opened his eyes to that one little bit of hope that had skated around the edges of the vision. He felt it then, it was a tiny thing within him, just the whisker on a mouse. Talitha really could stand against Ba'al and longer than the two seconds he had—perhaps long enough for him to kill the gypsy.

  Her eyes were upon him and they were lit with a strange light and Will realized the hope must have shown on his face. He stared back and her eyes narrowed and suddenly he knew what she was feeling; she was the slightest bit nervous. He almost smiled, but cast his eyes quickly down instead.

  "See the prints, follow them." Her tone was cold.

  But not nearly as cold as the carcass of the building they were walking through. The atrium and parts of the walls had fallen at some point and the five poor dead children were now buried beneath it all. With the opening above his head larger, there was enough ambient light for Will to follow the tracks without the use of the flashlight. The tracks ran on, weaving around great piles of blackened rubble, and bent piping. The basement was completely unrecognizable, but through it, unerring the tracks lay, and finally, Will saw what could only be the red orange glow of a fire. It came from a room whose walls were still mostly intact and the light flickered from its open door.

  Through the wall, Ba'al looked upon Will then.

  A great rushing sound filled his ears; black vile torturous thoughts raced around in his mind; pain drilled into his every pore. His vision went grey growing quickly darker and darker...

  "Enough!" Talitha roared. "He is mine! I have come to barter with his soul, but if you try to take him, I will kill him here and now and you will get nothing."

  Ba'al was gone then and the first thing Will saw was the dark bore of the pistol. It was a foot from his face and seemed huge as if it would shoot a cannon ball rather than a bullet. Looking past it, he saw the dark clouds of the night and this made him realize that he was actually flat on his back.

  "Get up," she demanded harshly and when he only blinked stupidly at her, she kicked him hard in the arm. Jim came over and struggled to pull Will up, slipping frequently with the icy conditions. Will felt sorry for Jim then. His face was as pale as death and his hands were so cold that Will worried Jim would lose his fingers to frostbite.

  It was then that they heard the voice of Luke. It was a truly repulsive sound, in that it had the effect of making Will want to crawl away and hide.

  "THese are THE worDS of Bay ALLLL Zoo BuLLL."

  It was similar to human speech in much the same manner as a cat walking along the keys of a piano is similar to music. The demon was speaking through Luke and was having difficulty controlling the simultaneous aspects of breathing and speech. The result was ghastly and made Will clutch at his throat.

  "Bring to Ba'al Zubel Will Jern," the voice cried in the same terrible manner. It took a moment to translate, but when he did, Will could feel his hands begin to tremble. However when he tried to force them to stop, he found his new mental toughness went only so far.

  Talitha's face was a study in concentration. "Yes, Lord Ba'al Zubel," she called out. In a lower voice she said, "Will, go the doorway, but do not enter. Jim, stand just to his left and pray your ass off that I don't need to use you as part of my negotiations."

  "What are you..." Jim began, but Talitha pistol-whipped him across the face. Blood sprayed from a long gash that opened up high across his cheekbone. The big man staggered and Will caught him, barely holding up under the man's colossal weight.

  "I hear another word out of you or if you try to interfere in anyway, I'll give you to Ba'al as well. I'll even gift-wrap you, by turning your skin inside out. See if I don't," she snarled this into Jim's face.

  Jim was dazed, but defiant and glared at her as best he could. She ignored it and only snapped her fingers, pointing toward the doorway. Will and Jim, still hanging on to each other for support, sliding as they walked, made their way to the entrance and stood blinking as if they were blinded by the demon's presence.

  They weren't of course. Ba'al wasn't bright in any way. It was dark and hideous, and in fact dampened the light from a small fire that burned in silence a few feet away. To Will, Ba'al was unchanged. It was a tremendous column of swirling black and grey smoke, with hints of something more solid, yet more sinister beneath.

  They blinked strictly because of the affect that Ba'al had on their minds. The buzzing that they had felt before was now a great rushing noise and it was a few seconds before they could think clearly.

  "You are wise to bring this offering to Ba'al Zubel." Luke said, still wheezing in and out, as he spoke. Luke stood just in front of the demon, if stand was indeed the correct word. Even though his feet were planted on the ground, he seemed to hang nonetheless like a puppet on a string. He appeared unconscious despite the fact that his glassy eyes were open and staring off. Will, revolted by the sight, flicked his gaze over him, and took in the fire.

  Even fire was unnatural so near to the demon. Its flames bent over, leaning strangely toward the creature and its smoke seemed to rush happily to join in the storm. It was a cold fire as well and did nothing to warm the room, but perhaps the oddest thing concerning the fire was that it was dead silent. There wasn't a single crackle, fizzle, or snap, nor was there the wush sound of the flames dancing about. It was as if Will was seeing a silent movie of a fire.

  It was disconcerting, but mesmerizing as well and his eyes hung on the bent flames a moment longer than he had meant them to, but finally he tore them away to see something more real. The girl, Terry Brabec, still in the clothes she had been kidnapped in, lay as if dead on the ice, Will felt a hitch in his throat at the sight. At that moment, he knew a touch of brotherly love toward her and with it came a natural need to protect.

  It was a wonderfully human feeling and lit a fire under his anger which flared within him. There was another girl in the room, a woman actually, black haired and black eyed, kneeling over Terry.

  Her demeanor was of a person listening intently, she had her head cocked to one side and in her left hand, she held a knife, the blade of which curved wickedly. Her other hand was empty and she held it just above Terry's face and from a small cut on her wrist, blood dripped into the girl's mouth.

  Will felt an instant of fury and without thinking, he started forward, but Talitha held him back. He went to glare at her, however saw the pistol just to the side of his face, it was no longer pointing at his head, but at Terry and there wasn't a single quiver along its short black length.

  Talitha held it steady as a rock.

  "Will Jern is not an offering!" she called out in a loud voice, or so he assumed it was. It came to him in the muffled way that he had expected. The void truly was just that. It was a great emptiness, similar to that of space, except t
here were no stars there, no possibilities for new worlds or new life. It was just a greedy sucking blackness that echoed with fear and it pulled everything to it, including sound.

  "Then why do you parade him about in front of Ba'al Zubel?" Up and down went the words, loud and then soft, but not muffled, Ba'al had control of the opening to the void.

  "I will trade Will Jern for my name!" she called out.

  "Ba'al Zubel cannot give you a name, fool! You have to earn it."

  "I already have! However, Ba'al Zubel can witness me earn it again when I kill your virgin." The hammer went back on the gun and Will's hopes skyrocketed, but Ba'al Zubel made a strange noise that caught his attention.

  "Bruagh, bruagh, bruagh," the puppet, Luke spat out and Will realized the noise was something like laughter. "Ba'al Zubel can kill you in a half a second and then you will be with Ba'al Zubel in wrath."

  Talitha called out, "And I can kill your virgin in a quarter of a second, and Ba'al Zubel will no longer have his path to this world! And Will Jern will kill your witch and this thing." Talitha nodded toward Luke.

  During this conversation, Will's anger slipped away from him, leaving him with only an anxious confusion. He was being bartered, but for what he didn't know. "What's going on," he asked his sister.

  "If Ba'al is smart, he will say my name, if not," she shrugged as if to say it was no big deal, but Will knew better. She was the gambler now and her soul was in the pot, along with his.

  Ba'al seemed to be taking a lot of time to come to a decision and Will asked, "What's the deal with the names?"

  "In the void, having a name symbolizes power. You see, only demons have them." She was right behind him whispering in his ear and her breath was the only warm thing about her. "In order to become a demon you have to force another demon to say your name. It's quite simple and nearly impossible, especially..."

  "Ba'al Zubel has conditions," Luke announced in his see-saw voice, interrupting her. "Ba'al Zubel will name you, but with a name of his own choosing. Second, my servant tells me that you are afflicted by the presence of a creature residing in that body. In order to ensure that Ba'al Zubel is in fact naming the right being, you will kill Will Jern now."

  Talitha didn't hesitate a second and brazenly retorted, "I have already chosen my name, Ba'al Fie-ere, denier of Ba'al." She paused as if for reaction, but none came, the hideous black smoke only circled and flared in its usual manner. She went on, "And I will kill Will Jern, but only after I am named." His sister seemed to pause oddly and Will could no longer feel her breath on his ear.

  "You must hand over your other servant as well," Ba'al Zubel spoke through Luke.

  "I will."

  "Then Ba'al Zubel names you the demon Ba'al Fie-ere, Denier of Ba'al," Ba'al said through his meat puppet. "Kill Will Jern and depart."

  When Will heard the words, his skin flashed hot for a small fraction of a second and then went numb. His body seemed to be dying even before the bullet struck. His limbs felt heavy and lifeless and instead of hyperventilating, he couldn't feel himself breathe at all. Even his vision was going grey around the edges and his hearing became more muffled. His sister said something and he looked back.

  She was celebrating with triumphant arms raised over her head. He expected her to look different, like some sort of hideous creature, but except for the eyes, she hadn't changed. Her eyes were blacker than ever and held the greatest malevolence, there was no sign of his sister in them, she was now all Ba'al Fie-ere.

  "Get on your knees, before Ba'al Fie-ere!" she commanded waving the gun toward him. Her face held black joy and he couldn't look on it for more than a second before turning away, sickened. When he did, he saw the huge frame of Jim Anderson, it tilted slightly.

  The next thing Will knew he was laying face down on the black ice. He had fainted and he looked around blearily, before strong rough hands gripped him by his heavy coat and yanked him upwards. He stood swaying, held up only by Jim.

  "On his knees, you idiot," Talitha screamed. Jim pushed downwards gently and Will collapsed.

  When Jim stepped back, Will said, "Thanks." It felt weird to say, but nothing else came to him. For his part, Jim didn't say anything, but just looked at Will with a face that was drawn long with lines of fear running up and down it. His brow had curious beads of frozen sweat dotting it and even as Will watched, one fell off. It bounced when it hit the black ice.

  "Look at me," Ba'al Fie-ere demanded in a soft voice, that was still so much like his sister's.

  Will turned and the vision he had earlier was moments from occurring. The bore of the gun ran perfectly round and the small black hole was inches from his face. He stared for a second and then hung his head. He no longer felt the slightest hope; he was going to die just as he knew he would, but without any purpose. He wished it would anger him, but he had no feelings whatsoever, not even fear. The closest thing to a feeling within him was exhaustion, and he knelt waiting for the bullet.

  "Well?" Ba'al Fie-ere asked.

  Will didn't look up. "Well what?"

  "Any last words? Aren't you going to pray?" The tone of the voice was friendly but there was cruel mocking laughter just beneath it.

  "You want me to pray? Why?" When he didn't look up she squatted down in front of him, her black dress crackling where it had frozen stiff.

  "As a favor to Ba'al Zubel, actually. It would be poor form for me to kill you without giving you the chance to pray." She looked him in the eye, but he only shook his head in confusion and she continued, "It's just so much more fun to see a new soul, especially a sweet one like yours, look around the void, shocked at the lack of angels and fairies and all that crap. It's a big turn on."

  "Well, I don't plan on making the void my home. Free will you know," Will said and now he was starting to get some feeling back in him, anger.

  She smiled wickedly. "I love being the one to say this to you, but the void is going to be your permanent residence. You would normally have a choice, but you are dying in the presence of Ba'al Zubel." She worked hard to keep his blue eyes on her black ones. It seemed important to her for Will to know of his coming confinement in the void. "He'll scoop you up so fast your head will spin clean off your shoulders...I know because the same thing happened to me. In fact I kinda wish I could be there to see it."

  "Give me the gun and I'll make sure you have a front row seat," he hissed this at her and she only smiled broader.

  "How bout I just give you the bullet instead." The gun came up and Will didn't flinch at the sight of it, but glared around it and started praying.

  "Our Father, who art in heaven...what are you going to do with Talitha?" Will felt suddenly sheepish about having forgotten the terrible plight of his sister, now that she was sharing her body with a demon.

  "Don't worry about her. I'll drive her out of me somehow, and there are ways of storing souls until they are needed. I'll force her into a gem or some such." She actually went on talking, but Will wasn't listening.

  In a blink of an eye his faint hope had been restored, kindled into life by an accidental combination of words. His mind raced down a thousand avenues searching for the simple sentence that he hoped would make a difference, but he was coming up empty.

  "Will? You ask a question and you don't even have the courtesy to listen to my brilliant answer." She seemed genuinely angry and she stood back up, bringing the gun to bear on his face.

  "Wait! Uh...one prayer!" Will cried in sudden anguish. She paused as she was pulling the hammer back and now there was evil joy emanating from her. This was what she was really after. She wanted him to beg and plead for his life. Instead, he found the words that wouldn't save his own life, but maybe they would save Talitha's.

  The words came to him just as he had read them eight years before. In the days after his confrontation with Ba'al Zubel, the concept of demons had weighed heavily on his mind and he had read everything he could concerning them and more importantly how to get rid of them.

  All that h
e had read had shown that there were two versions of exorcisms, the long and the short. The long one could last days, involved endless prayers, and lengthy rites. All the paraphernalia was needed, Holy Water, Crosses, Rosaries, even the proper vestments, right down to the correct kind of stole. He had none of these things, except a cross and he didn't even have time to fish that out from under his shirt.

  The short version involved being Jesus Christ, or maybe one of his apostles.

  Will had about ten seconds. He decided to go with the short version. After all, the power for an exorcism was not centered around the right color robe he could wear, but rather it was in the Lord. And God would either hear his plea or not, and act on it or not.

  And Will, who had felt the power of God once before when he had needed it most, leaned forward so that only the demon wearing the skin of his sister could hear: "In the name of the Father and his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit... I command you, Ba'al Fie-ere to leave this girl at once, return to the void, and never come back."

  He didn't shout the words to the exorcism melodramatically, or even wave his cross, which was still only a fantastically cold lump against his chest. He just stared her into the eyes and spoke with all the confidence in the lord he could muster.

  For a second he didn't think it worked. She leaned back as if she had been slapped and looked confused as if his words were not at all what she had expected, and Will was most certain they weren't. But with a suddenness that startled him, her face screwed up, twisting into such a gruesome mask that he was sure the skin of it would split down the seams. Her expression was of a hated being that had been cheated, but it lasted only a second and it cleared like the parting of clouds, revealing his sister, Talitha underneath.

  She blinked slowly in confusion, but her heightened senses told her all that she needed to know about what was going on without turning her head. Her eyes found Will's and it was all he could do not to smile at her.