Armageddon Bound

by Tim Marquitz

  “While her death might provide you with enough energy to fend us off, it would also weaken you at the worst possible moment,” Rahim countered. He might not have wanted to start a fight, but he wasn’t cowed. Asmoday’s eyes narrowed, the blade staying put. He said nothing, but his eyes implored Rahim to go on.

  “Do you truly believe your lackeys can hold us off long enough to complete the transfer? Ten seconds is an eternity to place your life in the hands of renegade angels and thick-skulled Dread Fiends.” Rahim exuded confidence, taking a half step forward, seizing on Asmoday’s hesitation. “Are you willing to wager your life just to find out how resourceful we truly are?”

  Asmoday raised his upper lip into a snarl. Rahim had gotten into his head, but the demon hadn’t come this far to fail. “What do you propose?”

  “A trade.” Rahim pointed at McConnell. “The wizard for the angel and you walk away.” I wasn’t sure what angle Rahim was playing, but I figured he knew what he was doing so I kept my mouth shut. McConnell, however, didn’t seem to care what Rahim was doing, he just knew it wasn’t gonna end well for him. His eyes sprung wide as he spewed muffled complaints into the gag, thrashing against the restraints. Asmoday looked him over with cold eyes, as if weighing his value.

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  Rahim continued his pitch. “Though it’s true Scarlett’s strength is considerable and her death would provide you with the means to fight us off for a short while, that course of action comes at great risk. Fail and you and all your grand plans end here in an inauspicious grave.” He gestured to the ramshackle barn. “What I offer is a way for you to avoid that risk as well as provide you with the opportunity to address the failure of your would-be assassin.”

  While Asmoday didn’t appear to understand Rahim’s motivations any more than the rest of us did, he had to know the wizard had some kind of trick up his sleeve. He didn’t seem to care though. He must have had one hell of a hand himself.

  “I believe I’ll accept your offer, wizard. We exchange the angel for my incompetent servant, followed by my departure and nothing more.” He didn’t bother to wait for Rahim’s acknowledgment. He motioned to his minions. He passed Scarlett over to one of them and it led her past the line. The creature stopped a few feet from us, still holding the leash. Another of Asmoday’s fiends stepped forward and grabbed a hold of McConnell, watching us the whole time. The Gray’s eyes screamed to us as he was dragged back to his master. He found no sympathy. Once he’d crossed the line of Asmoday’s minions, the fiend which held Scarlett released the chain and backed away, its arms raised to show it posed no threat. I jumped and Page 232

  pulled her behind us, fumbling at her binds. It was all too easy.

  Asmoday latched onto McConnell, smiling all the while. “Thank you. I needed the wizard far more than I did your angel, at this point.” His grin grew even wider. “Now, as per our arrangement, I shall depart. But let me leave you with this…”

  I knew it. Never trust a demon.

  “The end is but a dawn away. I go now to prepare Glorius for his final moment.” He backed away slowly, pulling the reluctant McConnell along. “His sacrifice shall usher in a new age where the followers of light shall be scoured from existence, the firmament lashed to scarlet shreds. From my sanctum of peace, I will watch as humanity breathes its last and the heavens are burned to blackened ash.” He pointed at us as he reached the shadows. “Do what you must to prepare for you have precious few moments left. Farewell.”

  Darkness welled up beneath them, blurring the forms of Asmoday and McConnell. They were washed away by an obsidian wave, a column of blackness that streaked upward to disappear from sight. The angels and fiends left behind, smiled in malevolent unison and advanced. I redoubled my effort to free Scarlett as they spread out to encircle us. Katon and Rahim moved to defend while I fidgeted with the chains.

  Though I’d thought of Scarlett tied up more Page 233

  times than I should probably admit, I never pictured a scene quite like this. I cast a quick glance at the approaching minions as my adrenaline-charged hands shook and fumbled with her binds, working way too slow. I sighed and tried to focus.

  In even the most wild of my fantasies, I’d never imagined a gang-bang this perverse.

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  A Tragic Hour

  Like fireworks on the fourth of July, sparks of magical energy flashed all around me while I struggled to free Scarlett. I flinched as an explosion erupted right behind me, blocked by Rahim who’d thrown up a hastily crafted shield at the very last possible moment. The heat of the blast filtered through and raised goose bumps along my skin, singeing the hairs on my neck. Determined, now more than ever, to get Scarlett loose and join the fray, I blocked out everything else and focused on the manacles. I traced the silver symbols on the cuffs, hoping my memory worked and I could keep my hands steady enough to get the right order. I got lucky.

  As the symbols lighted up in my finger’s wake, a shimmering red glow tracing their outlines, I heard a metallic clank and the cuffs popped open. Scarlett’s power flooded back to her, the mystical restraints no longer neutralizing it. Her eyes shined with renewed energy. She howled, though it came out sounding like a strangled cat through the gag, and flexed against the rest of the chains. The links snapped as though they were made of glass. Metal shrapnel hurtled in all directions as the bulk of the chains dropped to the floor at her feet. She tore the gag away and gave me a grateful Page 235

  smile, wicked intentions swirling in her fierce eyes. Her manner feral, she spun and zeroed in on the closest of the angels, her former brethren. “Traitorous whores!”

  Before the words had even cleared her mouth, Scarlett launched herself at Rafal, the closest to her. With her sword missing, presumably still in the hands of Asmoday, she led with her fists. To the accompaniment of thunder, Scarlett crashed into her foe. A flash of blinding light exploded when they collided, the two locked in a streaking comet of whirling limbs. The impact carried them across the room and through the wall of the barn where a cloud of dust and wooden splinters obscured their passage.

  Certain Scarlett could take care of herself, I turned back to survey the battle field. Rahim, though weakened by his earlier fight with McConnell, seemed to be holding his own. Like a mythical Gandalf, he had fashioned a sword and shield out of pure energy and stood fast on the front line. Each sweep of his mystical sword carved a deep swath through the ranks of Asmoday’s minions. Though it seemed to do little damage, the angels defending against it with their own magic, it seemed to keep them at bay. It had claimed at least one victim, however. A fiend lay face down on the dusty floor, its stomach gaping wide like the mouth of a carnival fun ride. Its moist intestines bubbled out from underneath it, a Page 236

  never-ending serpent of black and deep red. Wafts of steam and putrid scents drifted from the wound, a gentle serenade of hissing accompanying it. Katon, skulking behind the wizard, darted out between Rahim’s strokes and struck at the minions with his crimson blade. I watched as his enchanted weapon split the ribs of a Dread Fiend, its point piercing the creature’s heart. Its eyes rolled back in its head as the vampire pulled his sword free. It shuddered and dropped cold the instant the blade was removed, Katon dancing back to the safety of Rahim’s defenses. Wanting a piece of the action myself, I drew my guns and aimed them at the angels. I figured a couple more souls would look good on my spiritual resume. But before I could fire, I saw a flash of movement at the edge of my vision. My head did the math. Malis and Urtel stood before Rahim and Katon, three fiends with them. A fourth fiend lay dead and Rafal was having his head pounded in by Scarlett outside. That left a fiend unaccounted for.

  That was, until right then. I really need to pay more attention.

  I growled as I spun, leveling my pistols. The fiend was faster, a trend I was getting real tired of, let me tell you. Its claws sunk into the meat of my side and a split second later, its shoulder rammed into my chest. The wind knocked from me, I sucked in a gasping breath
as I was lifted into the air and slammed onto my back. Page 237

  My left hand struck the ground hard and the pistol in it popped loose, to bounce out of reach. I clutched tighter to the other one as the fiend dropped down on my chest, its taloned hand clutching at my arm to keep me from putting my gun to use.

  It leaned in toward me with its snarling mouth just inches from my face, its yellowish quills quivering even closer. I managed to slide my free arm in between us, pressing against its neck to keep it away some. It was too little space to give me much comfort and it was too strong for me to hold it for long. It tore at my defending arm, ripping open bubbling wounds that oozed black blood. I could feel my arm weakening beneath the assault. It wouldn’t be long before it failed me altogether.

  Its rancid breath curled my nose hairs as it snorted and huffed, trying to bite my face off. Droplets of rank spittle rained down over me. I did my best to not think about what kind of cooties I could catch from it. While the least of my worries at that particular moment, I couldn’t help but think about it while gnashing rows of rotten teeth clacked together above me in a rhythmic tattoo, like lines of dark soldiers marching off to war. With every passing second, ravaging and horribly stinky death inched closer.

  I struggled beneath the fiend, casting a quick glance to see if my companions had seen my predicament. My heart dropped when I saw they also Page 238

  were close to being overrun. There’d be no help from them.

  Desperate, I thrashed from side to side, trying my hardest to delay the seemingly inevitable. The fiend held tight, its claws digging deeper into my arm, the other shredding what remained of my left. Its foul stench struck me like a fist as its gaping mouth pressed closer to my eyes, its bony quills jabbing into my cheeks and forehead. Looking up into the maw of the fiend, its rows of shark-like teeth and dripping putrescence, I knew that wasn’t how I wanted to go out. Give me a good old-fashioned heart attack any day.

  Frantic, I bucked my hips up and just managed to get my legs beneath it before it settled its weight back down. Not wasting a second, considering how few I had left, I spread my legs and set my feet on the inside of the fiend’s hips. I mustered all my strength and kicked my legs out, pushing as best I could with my wounded arm. Caught off guard, the fiend’s lower body was lifted into the air and shoved back about a foot as I yanked my right arm in the opposite direction. It caught its balance and dropped its weight back onto me but not before its restraining hand had slipped free of my arm. Its oval eyes went wide when it realized what I’d done. I could see the reflection of the gun barrel in them as I brought it to bear. I squeezed my eyes shut and hunkered down as I tapped the trigger repeatedly, the Page 239

  gun hovering just above my nose. I could feel the heat from its report, the smoking hot casings raining down over me. The .45’s vicious bark was like music to my deafened ears. The fiend’s screeches like a symphony of base satisfaction.

  The seven silver deaths struck in rapid succession, each leaving behind a little less of the fiend’s ugly face than the last, all wreaking destruction in their wake. Its warm and gooey blood rained down on me, tiny droplets of gross. I could taste the fetid sickness in my mouth and smell its putrid scent in my nose. It was real hard not to vomit.

  The screams ended and I felt a moist splash on my chest as the fiend collapsed, the remnants of its head like a shattered pumpkin oozing down my ribs. I shuddered and kicked the thing off of me, wiping at my face to clear my eyes before I opened them. I didn’t want any of that vile nastiness in them. I managed to get most of the goop off, but there was nothing I could do about the reeking funk that lingered like an unwelcome house guest.

  Knowing I had more important things to worry about, I fumbled at my ammo belt with my one good hand, my left arm hanging lifeless at my side, and looked to see where we stood in the battle. I should have kept my eyes closed.

  Separated from Katon, Rahim was caught between the two angels, both doing their damndest to Page 240

  kill him in close quarters. It was enough apparently. As Rahim spun to deflect the first angel’s blow, Urtel slipped behind him and drove his glowing fist into the wizard’s back just above the hips. Twenty yards away, I heard the crack of Rahim’s spine snapping. My stomach reeled as the wizard cried out and crumpled to the ground in a broken heap.

  Rage tunneled my vision as I wriggled the cartridge into the gun with my one good hand and slammed it home against my leg. I chambered the first round with my teeth and ran off after the angels, my .45 leading the way. Distracted by their victory, the two batting Rahim back and forth between them like kittens, adding insult to injury, they didn’t see me coming. Big mistake.

  I stepped up behind Urtel and rammed my gun hard into his back. “An eye for an eye,” I shouted as I squeezed the trigger.

  The report was even more satisfying than when I’d shot the fiend. The first bullet ripped into Urtel and shattered his spine in much the same way he had Rahim’s, a fountain of golden blood springing up in its wake. The second and third rounds finished the job. He died in silence.

  I felt cheated he’d died so quickly. I wanted the bastard to suffer.

  Malis would have to suffer for him.

  I shouldered the still-standing corpse out of my Page 241

  way and turned my gun on the remaining angel. There was fear in his eyes.

  He had good reason to be afraid.

  There are horrors so vile, so blasphemous, lurking in the depths of Hell that even Clive Barker would be hard pressed to imagine. What I intended to do to Malis made those horrors pale in comparison. But even with the best laid plans, reality has a way of intruding. Once again, in the heat of combat, I’d forgotten about the soul transfer. My hand shook as I raised my pistol, a flood of warmth dancing across my nerves. I moaned as the blood in my veins ignited, my eyes fluttering closed in response to the orgasmic rush. I heard a shuffle of feet moving toward me and sighed, knowing my involuntary hesitation had cost me my shot at retribution. Still in the throes of the transfer, I waited to get hit.

  I wasn’t disappointed.

  I felt the tell-tale wave of heat an instant before the blast struck. Like a tennis ball smacked by a racket, I was flung backward, my arms and legs trailing out in front of me. My eyes opened to see wisps of black smoke curling away from me as I flew through the air, the room whipping by. The only comfort I had was it didn’t hurt. The essence of Urtel’s soul was still in flux inside my system. That was a good thing because I didn’t feel the barn wall as I smashed through it or the hard ground that rushed up to meet me at the end of Page 242

  my flight. After the impact, I rolled end over end until I came to a stop in the knee-high grass outside, broken pieces of the red wooden wall scattered all around me. A trail of flattened greenery and scarred earth marked my passage from landing point to final destination. Once the majority of the transfer had subsided, I got to my feet, my body tingling. I was relieved to see my left arm had regained its motion, its strength returned. I was even more thrilled to find I still had my gun. I’d gotten off lucky. That wasn’t true for all of us. Reminded of Rahim and what I’d been doing before being sent on a ride, I gritted my teeth. With vengeance on my mind, I stalked back to the barn. As I neared it, I heard a scrabbling of claws on wood and looked up to see a Dread Fiend crouched in the hole where I’d smashed through the wall. He howled a gravelly challenge to me as I approached. I answered his bark with a bite, four of them, to be precise. Without hesitation I emptied what remained in the clip into the fiend’s snarling mouth.

  Its challenge died on its hairy lips as the bullets blasted huge holes in the back of its head. A death rattle gurgled deep in its throat and it tumbled from its perch, falling face first into a heap at the base of the barn wall. I smiled wide as it hit. There was something satisfying about the way it laid there, its tongue lolling out of its open mouth, its ass up in the air. It was as if the lack of decency it showed in life was reflected in its Page 243

  death. I f
elt it fitting.

  I pushed aside my armchair psychology and returned to the barn. I dug out another cartridge and cursed as I realized I only had one more left. I slammed it in, hoping I wouldn’t need more than that. With a snarl, I leapt through the same hole I’d exited just moments before, wondering what awaited me on the other side. I landed in a crouch, scanning the scene. I arrived just in time to see Scarlett and Katon dispatch the last of the fiends. Scarlett rode one into the ground, her tiny fists a blur of motion outlined by streams of yellowish blood and bile. The creature crumbled beneath her onslaught.

  Katon danced inside of the other’s reach and drove his blade deep into its lungs, his arm wrapped tight around the fiend’s neck. I could see the fury in his eyes, his face etched with deep lines of murderous rage as he twisted the blade.

  Malis lay in moist pieces across the floor like a fleshy puzzle. Not all the king’s horses or all the king’s men would be putting this Humpty Dumpty back together again. His head, separated from the rest had rolled into a corner where its eyeless sockets stared up at the ceiling. His arms and legs were scattered about, ripped viciously apart at each individual joint. His bloody, battered torso sat in the center of the room, its ribs caved in.

  I wasn’t sure which of the two had done it, but Page 244

  I was buying them both a beer once all this was over. They’d earned it.

  I took stock of all the bodies, making sure all of Asmoday’s minions were accounted for, holstered my gun, and raced to Rahim’s side. Katon and Scarlett got there less than a second later.

  To my surprise, he was still alive.

  He looked up at us as we gathered around him, his eyes reflecting the pain I knew he’d never voice. At seeing him, Katon knelt down and buried his face into the old wizard’s chest. Weakly, Rahim draped his arm over Katon’s head and pulled him in tighter. He squeezed his eyes shut as a single tear slipped from the corner and ran down his cheek. A quiet sob slipped from Scarlett as she turned away from the pair, hiding her face. For all the rage and violence that festered inside her, she would forever be an agent of the Lord. Her heart would forever be vulnerable to tragedy.