The Trilogy of the Void: The Complete Boxed Set

by Peter Meredith

  Fixing his enemy's face firmly in his mind he began whispering, "Henny Harris, Henny Harris." Much faster than he expected, the shadows turned into wicked black trees and thorned bushes, a path twisted among them. He followed as quick as he dared and soon he came to a castle of immense proportions.

  Against a midnight sky, tall straight spires stretched away beyond heavy stone battlements and closer, just at his feet a terribly dark moat opened up. Its depth was immeasurable. Off to his right, a bridge extended across the moat and as Will came to it, he saw that it stood quietly unguarded. In fact the entire structure seemed empty without a trace of motion or noise, but all the same Will knew that eyes were everywhere upon him.

  His relaxed mood began to crumble at the sight of the dark castle and he hesitated, afraid to set foot upon the bridge. But across it was his destiny for good or for evil and resolutely, with his face set in hard lines, he practically sauntered over it, daring the demon. Once across he wondered how easy it would be to go back, but as he watched, the bridge faded to nothing leaving only a very long fall behind him. Onwards then. Upon gaining the castle proper, he took the first door that lead to stairs. Stairs that led downwards, that is. Henny would be nowhere else beside the dungeons.

  Down the fearfully steep staircase and then along a low ceilinged black tunnel, Will walked, knowing his goal would be soon upon him. He didn't hurry, though he very much wanted to, instead he reminded himself of the courage his father had always shown and pressed on, until actual light could be seen up ahead. This was no illusion. After the varying shades of black, it was a marvel to look upon and by the warmth of the light, he knew he had found a living person.

  He also knew that he had found his father. Now Will moved with more haste and slipped quietly up to the chamber where his father lay. The man no longer looked so dreadfully skinny, nor as old, quite the opposite. His shoulders were thick and wide, his arms bulged with muscles, and his eyes were a startling blue.

  They were a skeptical blue however.

  "What now?" William Jern wasn't quiet in the least.

  "Shush," Will whispered, darting to the edge of the room, which was circular and decorated in mottled shadows all along its walls. Other than his father, the place seemed deserted, but Will was loath to step in to the room fearing a trap. "It's Will. Are you ok? Can you get up?"

  "I'm fine, Will. Thanks for asking, now why don't you tell me what you want?" His manner was strange enough to keep Will from entering the room.

  "Dad, please. We have to get out of here."

  "Sure, just unchain me and off we go," William held up his leg and showed off a large chain that ran to an eyebolt on the floor. Without hesitation, Will charged into the room and threw his strength against the chain. It seemed about to stretch when a loud clang rent the air behind him, he didn't bother looking back. As he had suspected, his father was part of a trap. Instead of panicking Will got his legs under him and pulled at the chain with all the strength he could muster.

  Tunk, the bolt snapped off and he was thrown back to the ground. In a second, he was up again, facing whatever menace had trapped them.

  The shadows, filling out into the three dimensional likeness of men, came off the walls and formed ranks around the father and son. In their hands, the shadow-men carried thick spears, which they leveled inwards. Will was surprisingly unfazed and his father was so relaxed, he hadn't bothered even to get up.

  From the floor, William drawled out, "This is the worst play ever. I can't tell if this is supposed to be Cats or The Sound of Music. Just please tell me you'll be serving drinks at intermission." This was so odd that Will had to look back at his father a second time just to make sure that it was indeed him.

  "Always the brave Commander. You know I enjoy that so much." This was spoken by a slow heavy voice; it stirred the air so that the shadow men seemed to flicker as they stood and as the wind of the words struck Will, he went cold and couldn't suppress a shiver.

  "Who are you?" he called out. The originator of the voice lurked back behind the phalanx of spearmen and had yet to be seen.

  "Oh, shut up!" William cried and Will was shocked to the core when he realized that the words were directed at him. William went on indignantly, "This is your worst attempt yet, Ba'al. Why don't you just torture me and get it over with?"

  Ba'al? Worst attempt? What was happening here? Will's mind ran around in circles trying to play catch up, he wasn't nearly successful. "What's going on?" he demanded after a moment.

  His father ignored him, but the creature he referred to as Ba'al explained, "William doesn't believe you are his son. He thinks you're nothing but an apparition, which is understandable since I've been playing so many fun games with him. He's quite a distraction."

  Father and son looked at each other; William shook his head still disbelieving. "Have him put on his little show. Are you supposed to be here saving me from the evil demon? If you are, get to battling."

  Confusion had Will stammering, "I am...I think, or at least I thought I was." His mind was suddenly all turned around. The demon strode closer, it was Ba'al Fie-ere and her skin was still as black as jet. She was a bit of a shock to Will. He had been expecting Ba'al Zubel, the tyrant. Yet it hardly mattered, he could no more defeat this demon than any other. At least not without the power that he had once felt burning inside him. The power that he had used to defeat the great Ba'al.

  The power of the Word of the Lord.

  It was something that he was acutely aware of not feeling and it left a hole in his heart. Did this lack of power mean he was abandoned by the Lord? Was it a one-time shot and he would now have to win out on his own?

  Ba'al Fie-ere intruded upon his thoughts before he could come to any sort of conclusion, "My dear brother, of course you're here to do battle. Where would the fun be if you weren't?" Her voice was now that of her twin back on earth, Talitha. This more than anything else fired his blood.

  "Then step out from behind your little phantom men and face me!" It was an empty threat, but for some reason Ba'al hesitated and without saying a word of direction, the shadow men advanced.

  "No. Sorry, Will. We've tried that before. You'll flash your little light and run away. But don't worry, these creatures won't hurt you, they'll just drain you so you can't pull any little tricks."

  Now William looked concerned. "You have light? Let me see it." His ability to command with his voice was still impressive enough for Will not to hesitate. A weak stream of light gently blew back the shadow men, he could've done more, but he held back. William's blue eyes were ablaze. "Will, are you dead?"

  Before he could answer, Ba'al spoke in a voice that shook the gloom with her sordid happiness, "He's not! Isn't that great? His body is somewhere else and his soul is mine! Ha ha! This is far greater than even I imagined. Your souls are wonderful. Look how bright you are! And soon I'll have Katie as well. Who would have thought Amy Harris could have been so handy."

  "And the tyrant? Henny was Ba'al's witch. Is he going to sit back and let you take her?" Will asked, hoping to find a flaw in her thinking.

  "Who do you think I had to trade with to get Henny?" The fifteen-foot tall demon looked to be getting worked up, not in exasperation, but in exaltation. Ba'al Fie-ere wanted them to know how clever she was. "And do you know what I gave up for Amy and her mom?" Both Will and William looked at each other, and shrugged. All Will knew was that it had to be something big. She gave a little laugh. "I gave up the gate that opens onto the sword. You know the one that sucked you into the Void, Father."

  This produced a low growl in William's throat. Will on the other hand was almost, but not quite, speechless, "That was the dumbest trade in the world. That sword is a source of eternal power."

  "Despite what you think, I have to assure you the trade was brilliant. Think about it, now that you...or rather Talitha has the sword, how many more souls are going to come through? I'm thinking none. I'm also thinking that very soon the sword will go into a lead lined box and be placed
into cold storage as close to absolute zero as humanly possible. Ba'al is going to be dreadfully angry just how little he got for this trade."

  William spoke up, "You don't look too worried."

  More laughter from the demon. It made Will remember and miss Adrina whose laughter had been soft and musical.

  "Why should I be worried? Look at your little girl now, Father." The demon suddenly grew sixty feet and became a vile monstrosity to look upon and her voice was a cacophony of harsh discordant notes. "Not only did I force the great Ba'al to name me, but in a short time I've become very near its equal." This brought on another booming laugh and the two men cowered, clutching their ears. The demon quieted and diminished back to her giraffe size. "Not yet," she admonished herself. "I can't reveal myself just yet. Not until I have Katie and the gate."

  "How did you do this? How did you get so big?" Will asked.

  "Oh, I bet you of all people are shocked, after how terribly you screwed me over." Her gaze was hard, full of malevolence, and Will took an involuntary step backwards. "You have no idea what you did to me when you cast me out of Talitha. You left me the weakest of demons. I had nothing. Nothing except my wits, and I needed all of those just to survive, especially when I humiliated the tyrant for a second time by stealing the souls of Jim Anderson and that pathetic Brabec girl right from under his nose." She laughed in joy at her triumph and grew giant-like a second time, however it was only for a moment and then she returned to her normal large size. "Ba'al was in the greatest fury and hunted me to all ends of the Void, yet always I managed to slip away and this was mainly due to the fact that I didn't really want to stay in one place either way. I was hunting too, you see.

  "I was after the sword's gate. From the moment you sentenced me to hell, I knew that I had to control it. I thought it was an everlasting supply of power and with it, I could become the greatest of demons. My problem was that I couldn't find it; I search everywhere and in truth for a while I was truly stumped. It should have been more obvious, it should have stood out against the black as the tiniest star. But, there was nothing. So I changed tactics. Perhaps I had misunderstood the mechanics of the gate. I now searched out the blackest sections of the Void and was quickly rewarded for my efforts. The gate had been completely covered over by muck!"

  Her knowing look was lost on the two men. "Muck? What do you mean?" William ventured.

  "Uhg, this!" Reaching down she brought up a handful of the ever-present shadows that swirled about their feet. "This is muck... it's like hell mulch. This is what happens to your soul when demons no longer can have any fun with you. You just sort of wear out as an individual and become, muck."

  "And that doesn't bother you?" William's face was set and a heavy pulse beat in his temple.

  "Of course it does," the demon rejoined. "It happens to some of the best souls. You get a good screamer one who really feels the pain and then poof...it's like they suddenly don't care." William went red over this and the demon only laughed. "Stop being such an idiot, Papa. This is the way it is and you aren't going to do squat to change it." She drew herself up menacingly and Will stepped in front his father.

  "Ba'al Fie-ere, you were telling us how you found the gate?" Will was still in desperate need of information. Nothing she had said so far had been of any help.

  The demon smirked showing teeth the size of sabers. "Always the peace maker, Will. Always the hero. Do you think you will actually be able to escape this time?"

  It didn't look like it, just then, but he had his light still and it gave him hope. "I'll try. You know I will, but right now, I'm interested in your story. How come the...muck had covered the gate over? Was another demon trying to hide it?"

  At his admission, she smiled. "Try is the crucial word, because there will be no escape." She paused but Will held his tongue and forced an expectant look on his face as if her story couldn't be any more exciting. With a shrug, she continued, "I actually worried about another demon as well. It's without shame when I tell you that as the newest demon in the Void, I was one of the weakest. I would be a plaything for any other demon who happened upon me, so I nosed about the web of muck with trepidation, but it turned out that like bugs to a light, the muck just sort of gravitated to the gate. It was a perfect situation. I was hidden by endless layers of darkness and I controlled the gate. I grew very strong, very fast and soon I didn't fear any of the lesser demons. Yet, my growth hit a point of diminishing returns.

  "I continued to grow, but at such a slow speed that it was almost a waste of time to sit huddled around the gate...but then Dad came popping out!" The demon offered William a large benevolent smile, which he refused to respond to. "At that point, the gate bloomed with energy and I took it all in! It was amazing, and I wanted more. It was like a drug. And then Talitha came, and with her another blast of energy, but it was smaller than before and my growth was far less. And what's worse, she stood poised at the gate and was somehow able to go back into the world.

  "All of this made me realize that though the gate was a great thing, it was a dead end. I had to assume that Talitha now possessed the sword and that no more souls would be coming. And when, Daddy dearest told me about how Amy was after our sweet innocent little Katie, bam! My little plan was hatched. The tyrant, having been burned twice now in its dealing with the Harris' was eager to make the trade. What a moron."

  "You're not so smart as you think," William jumped in. "You don't know Katie; she's tougher than you were at her age. Not only that, you have misjudged your brother before and I think you're misjudging him now. He will escape, and he will find Amy and stop her."

  Remarkably, the demon didn't fly into a rage. "Wrong on all accounts. Even as we speak, Amy is in the middle of the incantations to open the gate. So even if Will does escape back to his body, he'll have what? Twenty minutes to find Amy. I doubt that's enough time."

  Will doubted it as well. It meant that they had to be traveling, right that second to the exact right location and that any deviation or delay would mean failure. "Tell me! Where is she?"

  The demand brought a cruel smile to the demon's lips. "First tell me, where are you? Where's your body?"

  "We should be in Phoenix by now," his reply was far more quiet, little more than a whisper.

  "Oh, that's too bad. You're going the wrong way, she's in Tucson."

  Ba'al Fie-ere's fake pity lit a fire beneath Will. "You're a liar! Where is she?"

  "Me? A liar? I guess I am, but unfortunately for our little Katie, I'm not lying about this. But if you don't believe me, you can ask another source...Henny?" To their left, the phantom soldiers drew back and Henny Harris appeared, rising out of the shadows; she was younger and more beautiful than Will remembered, yet her eyes were haunted and afraid. The demon gave her large fake smile. "Henny, where's your daughter?"

  "Where would the great Ba'al like her to be?" Henny's voice quivered and she kept her large brown doe eyes stuck to the shadows that made up the floor beneath their feet.

  "I want the truth, Henny. What city?"

  "Tuscan."

  If Henny was lying, she was an actress without equal. Will felt so weak, he almost sat down, instead he looked to his father.

  "We'll figure something out," William whispered, his own face looking grey beneath his hardy tan. It didn't seem likely that they would. There had been fifteen or sixteen addresses scattered around Tucson that had fit the criteria, and Father Vogel was currently driving directly away from all of them. By the time Will was awakened, if that was even now possible, they would be an hour away. He had failed. Remorse struck him just it had at the river and the feeling made it hard to care too much about his own coming tortures. They would be horrible, he was sure, but just at the moment he couldn't bring himself to care.

  Will turned back to Henny and found that she stared at him with an intense hatred, something he really couldn't blame her for, especially after having seen what he had done to her on the staircase. "This may sound stupid, but I'm sorry about knocking y
our head into the wall as hard as I did. I was scared to death and I wasn't thinking about the pain I was causing you."

  The apology baffled her and her mouth came open a few times before she got her emotions squared away. "Fuck you! Your apology doesn't mean crap to me. You're going to pay for what you did and I'm going to laugh along with your every scream." Henny grew larger and more fierce looking as she spoke, but then she twirled and threw herself on her knees in front of the demon. "Please, I beg you. Let me torture him first. I've earned it, helping to get Katie for you."

  "Earned?" The demon laughed and grew again. "Tell me, what is the going wage for a slave?" Ba'al paused as if Henny could give a satisfactory answer to this and when none came, the demon reached out with one of her oak tree sized arms and snatched Henny from the floor and held her high over their heads, her arms pinned, and her legs kicking. "The answer is no, Henny. But here is the payment you deserve for your insolence."

  The monstrous demon turned the struggling woman on her side and with a hungry greedy look in her eyes bit off Henny's legs and chewed on them in ghastly pleasure. Screams and blood rained down on the two men, who stood stoically with matching looks of horror, until with easy indifference the demon tossed aside the body. Henny lay crumpled and disfigured, whimpering in the shadows and Will, despite knowing what an evil person she was, wanted to go to her, but his father put out a hand and stayed him.

  Ba'al smirked at this and then spat out a long thighbone. "Watch over your daughter, Henny. Make sure Amy doesn't screw this up, or else."

  "Y-y-yes g-great Ba'al," the woman stammered. She then very slowly dragged herself away, leaving a long nasty trail behind.

  With satisfaction, Ba'al watched until she disappeared in the dark and then she shrunk back down, this time becoming her normal height so that the shadow men hid her completely. She couldn't be seen, but her presence could be felt and her voice heard easily, "I think it's time we had some fun with you, Will. Get you primed for your sister."