The Wrath Walker (The Wrath Series Book 1)

by Matthew Newson

  “Your friends don’t scare me in the slightest. They could do nothing to me anyway, even if they were to find where I reside. Now, Francesco Carbone, or Frankie for short, you truly are a special kind of wicked and evil human being. What kind of person finds enjoyment in killing others by setting them on fire?”

  “A person who sends a message to let everyone know they aren’t to be messed with, and it seems you didn’t get it,” Frankie shouted as he stood and pulled at the handcuffs.

  “I got it alright, your message was received loud and clear. That is why I am here today for you, Frankie.”

  “Who are you? One of the family members of someone I’ve killed looking to get some revenge?”

  “Not exactly,” Wrath said.

  “Well let me tell you something. You do this, and my friends will find out who you are, and when they do, they’re going to kill everyone in your worthless family. All the men, women, children, and even your worthless cat will all be dead! Is that something you want for all of them?”

  “Even in your final moments you are still breathing profane threats.”

  “I’ve never begged my whole life, and I’m not about to start now!”

  “That’s right, you have lived a life filled with selfish and sinful acts, many of them were just plain evil. But when you torched a house with a family inside, you crossed the line that there was no return from. Now the time has come for you reap God’s wrath upon yourself, Frankie.”

  I was horrified at the thought of what I was about to witness. I wanted Frankie to spend the rest of his miserable life locked away in prison, and not executed—especially in front of me. I watched in horror as Wrath held his hand open in front of him. Small bands of fire flowed from Wrath’s fingertips and encircled each other until they formed a ball of fire that hovered slightly above the palm of his hand. Both Frankie and I looked on in disbelief.

  “Wrath, please stop, you can’t do this,” I shouted.

  He ignored me.

  “Wait now, be reasonable,” Frankie pleaded as his voice began to tremble in fear.

  “You have killed so many people in this way, and it is in this way that you have been destined to die. Come to think of it, there’s a lot more fire where you’re going.”

  “Just wait a minute, okay? Wait!”

  I guessed that was the first time in his life Frankie actually begged.

  “Do you feel sorry for any of the people you killed, or for the families lives you ruined?” Wrath’s voice and demeanor became increasingly harsh.

  “Would you stop this already you red-suited freak! This will only end badly for you and everyone you know and love. If you knew me so well, then you’d know what will happen as soon as you kill me, but maybe we can make a deal. I can make you a very wealthy man if you let me go.”

  “Your friend Joey made me the same offer just before I beat him to death. Again, do you feel even the slightest remorse for all the people you’ve hurt and killed?”

  Frankie’s eyes widened in shock as he stood straight and looked past Wrath at me. I knew in that moment that Frankie realized that he and the rest of the Amaras had made a mistake in going after me, and that they would surely all suffer the same fate as he was about to.

  “Answer me!” Wrath shouted so loud that it seemed like the walls shook, and dust lightly rained down on us from the rusted rafters above.

  Frankie tried to wipe the gas off his face as the fear had fully set into the once proud and hardened killer. “What do you want me to say? I was doing my job, okay. I just followed the orders I was given. I had to, and I would have been killed if I didn’t.”

  “Well, there you have it, and there’s nothing more for you and me to talk about.”

  The fireball flew from his hand toward Frankie, who burst into flames as it ignited the fumes coming off of him. I closed my eyes and turned my head, but Frankie’s screams of terror and pain filled the warehouse. I couldn’t take the gargled cries for help as the fire consumed his vocal cords, or the odor of burning human flesh that filled my nostrils. I decided to get into my car and drive straight through the roll up door and get out of there. As I grabbed the handle on the driver’s side door, Wrath grabbed me and spun me around. I had forgotten in that moment how quickly he could move which seemed to defy all the natural laws of physics.

  “I thought I told you to stay put,” Wrath said forcefully.

  “I’m not going to stand by and watch you kill a man, not like that.”

  Wrath looked over my shoulder, and then back at me and shrugged. “He’s dead now if that makes you feel any better?”

  “No! I have to get out of here, please.”

  “Fine, I’ll roll the door up, and you back your car out, but then we are going to talk. Do you understand me?”

  “Okay.”

  Wrath opened the door, and I backed my car out and stopped just outside, and I put my gun back under my seat since it wasn’t needed in that moment. I got out of my car as Wrath closed the door and walked to me.

  “So, Brandon, have you figured out how to stop me, and thereby save your own life?”

  I stood there for a moment in shock over the events of the entire day. Especially the ones I had just witnessed, and how calm Wrath was after burning a man alive. I didn’t know where to begin, but I knew I couldn’t escape that man, no matter where I tried to hide.

  “I did some digging today in the archives at the Black Castle.”

  Wrath crossed his arms. “Please tell me what you discovered.”

  “You really have been to this town before, about forty years ago, and killed the mayor, several members of the city council, and many top-ranking people in the Ricci’s crime family.”

  “How do you know that was me?”

  “Because it had all the hallmarks of your handiwork, and I also saw you in a picture at the mayor’s funeral. I was surprised you let yourself be photographed since you leave no evidence of your crimes.”

  “I don’t commit crimes, Brandon, and I always wondered why I had to do that, but it makes sense now.” Wrath looked away for a moment as if something else had momentarily grabbed his attention.

  “What makes sense now?”

  “I’ll tell you later, but you’re right, that was me. What else does that tell you about me?”

  “That you are who you say you are.”

  “Very good, and have you figured out how to stop me yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Well, you better hurry. The clock is ticking.” Wrath pointed at his watch.

  “Will you please just tell me what you’re trying to show me in that old Bible story? I mean, there is no way that I’m as bad as the people of those cities or members of the mob.”

  “I will not tell you, for you’re the detective, so you must figure it out like you have done so many times in the past. As for your current slated fate, there’s no excuse for ignorance, Brandon. You naively turning a blind eye to your partner’s misdeeds cost many people their livelihoods, and not to mention their lives. Need I remind you of all the elderly people Ron killed because you failed to see the truth that was right in front of you?”

  “I know, but I never meant for that to happen. I was just—”

  “Following Ron’s orders. Funny, that’s what the guy in there said, and look where it got him.”

  “But God is not some cold, unjust killer!”

  “Precisely! That is why all the ones that I have been dispatched to unleash God’s wrath upon all had multiple chances to make things right, but they refused and thus they died. Now, there are two more ahead of you, and I am sincere when I say I hope you figure out the way to save your life. You better get going because the warehouse is starting to burn, and you don’t want to be here when it goes up in flames.”

  Wrath vanished from before me, and left me with the images, sounds, and smells of Frankie’s last moments on the earth forever burned into my mind.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Wrath

  The
City of Black Castle

  BRANDON SPED AWAY FROM me and the burning warehouse as the blackened smoke billowed out of the windows to greet the night sky. He had no idea I still stood in front of him as he looked around for a moment in shock at where I could have gone. I’d simply stepped into the spirit realm, so he wouldn’t proceed in asking anymore questions I had no intention of giving him the answers to. He was getting desperate, and the ones I had been commanded to issue the same offer I made Brandon all became desperate toward the end. I sincerely hoped Brandon would solve the puzzle I had presented him with, where all the others before him had failed and lost their life because of it.

  As Brandon approached the end of the parking lot, he seemed unsure of where to go. He hesitated before he proceeded to the right. The air around me filled with the acidic scent of whatever used to be made or processed in that warehouse, and I was glad that I was in the spirit realm where such odors couldn’t reach me and sour my suit.

  I tilted my head to the heavens. “Lord, I trust you whole-heartedly when you say he’s the one that will help me fulfill your will for this city, but I pray you show him soon what he must do to be taken off your list. As always, my Lord, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. I am your humble servant, and I will not be deterred from your commands.”

  I stood in absolute silence as I listened to the growing sound of sirens in the distance. They roared ever louder with the fast-approaching fire trucks. Within minutes of Brandon’s flight from the scene where Frankie’s soul departed from the world, the fire department showed up on the sight en masse to battle the raging inferno that had started to consume the building. The firefighters tore into the parking lot, and as soon as their truck stopped, they all sprang into action as they grabbed the various pieces of equipment to battle the blaze. Some ran up the tall ladders mounted on the truck to fight the fire from above. I could have made a total and complete end to the flames with a snap of my fingers, but the Lord hadn’t issued me an order to do so. It was expressly forbidden for spirit beings to use their powers to interfere in the affairs of man without explicit authorization from God, even if the spirit beings had caused the event in the first place.

  I feared nothing on the earth or in Heaven except God himself. He had cast out a third of the angels for their foolish attempt to dethrone him, and I wasn’t about to put him to the test. I’d be better to thank them for their attempted coup d’état, because I was birthed from their actions on that day. Their rebellion caused my creation, and the fallen angels, demons, and Satan himself did and would continue to suffer from my actions until my brothers and I cast them into the Lake of Fire. Oh, what a great and joyous day that would be, but at that moment I watched from my concealment in the spirit realm as the men did their job to stop the fire and keep it from spreading to the other buildings nearby.

  I checked my watch and shook my head at the placement of the dials. Time was almost up, and Brandon didn’t have much longer to put the pieces of the puzzle together, even though it was all right in front of his face. I had practically spoon fed him the answer, and he still seemed to be just as lost as he was when we first met. If Brandon failed to connect the dots in time, I would have to kill him like the ones before—a task I didn’t want to do—but one in which I wouldn’t hesitate to perform if and when the moment presented itself.

  Everyone and everything would be dead in Black Castle shortly after Brandon breathed his last breath, all because God has decreed that Brandon was the one to assist me in the destruction of the evil that stayed hidden just below the surface of the city. I was amazed at how no one seemed to notice it, and if they did, then they surely didn’t care to do anything about it. The majority of the sins that occurred on a daily basis only brought God’s judgement against the individual committing them, but there were many others that happened all too frequently there that caused the entire city to reap God’s judgement if repentance didn’t occur.

  I was suddenly alerted to a presence of several powerful dark forces. A group of warlocks had appeared on the rooftop of the warehouse to my right. They functioned as protective guards to the high priest they served in their demonic church, and their high priest never traveled in the spirit realm without them. Since they hadn’t tried to attack me, I knew they wanted to meet with me for some reason, so I wouldn’t keep them waiting. I launched myself off the ground and headed for the roof. I landed behind them, and just as I suspected, their high priest was waiting.

  They all quickly turned toward me with their faces safely concealed under black hoods that matched the long black robes that covered their entire bodies. Only the high priest’s robe was trimmed in gold, which signified to all he was of higher rank and esteem than the others around him. I knew right away they were spirit phantoms of the real people they represented who were using the power Satan had gifted them with for their various dealings in the spirit realm. I could strike them all down, but it wouldn’t harm the real people who had sent them there to meet with me. Besides, that would be rude, and maybe I could learn something from those uninvited guests. I could use to my advantage against them.

  “Hello, how are you on this loveliest of evenings,” said the high priest in a smooth deep voice while his warlocks prayed silently in other tongues behind him.

  “I assume you know I am not of this realm from my works as of late,” I said and smiled.

  “Oh yes, you have been a busy one these past several days, I must say.” He turned his head in the direction of the warehouse fire. “Based on everything I have seen lately; I can tell you are a very powerful being. Much like myself.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, for you and I are nothing alike.” My power welled up within me and rivaled the one burning next to us.

  “There’s no need to become hostile. My associates and I didn’t come here to pick a fight with you. We merely came to speak with you, and if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?”

  “Are you referring to this rooftop? I saw all of you, and assumed you were here to have a party.”

  “Ha! Oh, you Heaven types are all the same, so funny. So arrogant. If you only knew the power I possessed, you would be showing me the proper respect I am due. I will ask again, and this time I expect an answer, Wrath Walker. Why are you here in my city?”

  I tilted my head from side to side and narrowed my gaze in on the leader at the mention of my name. There were not many humans on the earth aware of my existence, but that knowledge alone wouldn’t be able to save that man and his friends from me.

  “You seem to know who I am, but who are all of you? I know you are the Satanic eldership of this city by your robes and the power you displayed by just being here, but who are you really? Might I have a peek at the faces under those hoods?”

  “Careful now, Wrath Walker, there are more of us than there are of you. You should hold your tongue because we do not serve Satan. We are servants of Lucifer.”

  “I was there when your master rebelled, and he lost the right to that name when he was kicked out of Heaven. You’re deceived, and you are all nothing more than Satan’s lap dogs. You know he will kill each one of you when he’s done with you?”

  “That’s enough, and I will not listen to you speak anymore heresies against our lord. Besides, we did not come here tonight for a fight, but merely to exchange words as to the nature of your visit. We mean you no harm at this time.”

  “That’s reassuring to know, let me tell you, but I think I would do more than fine against the likes of you.”

  The high priest laughed out loud again. He either didn’t know the power that stood before him, or he was too confident in his own abilities. It didn’t matter to me either way. I’d snap his neck in an instant if he tried me.

  “You have killed three people in the past week that were friends of mine. Granted they were not a part of my inner circle that you see before you, but they were still important to me and my operation, nonetheless. You have killed everyone you have met with since you came h
ere, but not that the one you were just speaking to. Which begs the question, why? What makes that man different than the others who had the misfortune of crossing your path?”

  “That is none of your concern.”

  “Ah, how interesting. Your answer betrays your true intentions, Wrath Walker. You didn’t kill him because you think he is of use to you and your endeavors. Do you think that man will be able to help in any way, shape, or form? Because I will tell you, he will fail you miserably. You have obviously not done your research in regard to that man. He is a lame duck. A broken-down hollow shell of a man who was too blind to see how he was being played by his former friend, and how he’s being played now by you.” The high priest let out a quiet laugh to himself.

  “He may surprise you. I am awed by the propensity of good and evil people tend to display. How the best among them can fall so easily, or how the lowest and most vile can immediately turn and perform the noblest and selfless of tasks.”

  “You will find nothing but failure and loss in Brandon Farmer. You are in for a world of devastation if you believe he can be saved or assist you in anything, let alone trying to dismantle what I have made here in this city. That is why you are here, isn’t it?”

  I stomped my foot and the roof quivered under my power as my foes before me stiffed to remain in place. “I will tell you this. One way or the other, I will accomplish what I was sent here to do.”

  “What is your mission again? You haven’t told us yet. All you have done is dance around the question. Are you too scared to answer?”

  “You know, I would share that piece of information with you, but where would the fun in that be? I will find it much more enjoyable to watch you squirm while you try and figure out what I’m up to, and how many more of your friends I am going after.”

  “Again, I didn’t come here for a fight, but to deliver you this warning. I would like for you to stop what you’re doing and leave my fair city at once.”