The Man Wrapped in Darkness

by Matthew Newson

  His mouth hung open in shock. He looked down and then back up at me, knowing he was beaten.

  “Come on, Dad, let’s go. Thank you, Alec.”

  David stood. “I will report to my old post. Technically, I have been functioning in that role for a while, but I will do it to my best ability. If you don’t mind me asking, are you going to have a number two?”

  “I don’t mind at all. You remember my old friend Paul Luca.”

  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Paul walked in as he asked the question.

  “Now David, I went ahead and took the liberty of having maintenance move yours and Rachel’s things, and don’t worry, I supervised the entire time, and all of your belongings are accounted for. Also, when you get back to your new office space, I will need a new list of your job duties, as well as some projects and goals you hope to accomplish this year. Okay?”

  “Very well then, sir. I will have that to you by day’s end.”

  “Do I still have an office, Alec?” Rachel asked.

  “You have a cubicle like everyone else in the department.”

  They walked out of my office with eyes on the floor and didn’t even look at Paul, as they left.

  Paul closed the door. “Don’t you think you were a little too hard on those two?”

  “Too hard? What are you talking about? If anything, I showed them mercy. I should have fired them the moment I took over.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because David has been a big part of this company for a long time, and I’m sure he knows stuff I may need down the line. Rachel has been assisting him and my father, so she may have information I need as well.”

  “So you will keep them around in case you need them.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “You sound like your dad.”

  “Don’t give me that. I’m nothing like my father. He was cold, cruel, and he didn’t care about anyone but himself. I’m simply trying to put the fear of God into them, so they don’t try anything, and besides David’s still over a large department. It’s not like I knocked him back down to square one.”

  “Okay. I just don’t want to see you lose sight of yourself in all of this. You’re a good man, and I want to see you stay that way.”

  “And you will.” I moved some paper out of the way. “Here is the key to your new office. I took the liberty of changing the locks for you.”

  “Wait, my new office is David’s old office?”

  “Yes, it’s fitting that second in command take the office of the former number two.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Good, then it’s settled, let's go check it out.”

  Chapter Nine

  David Willenski

  Majestic Grove – Private Residence

  Williams Point, New York

  I MADE MYSELF A GIN martini as soon as I got home, and cursed Alec for the injustices he’d done to me. My anger only grew as I turned over the events of the day in my mind. First the demotion, but worse, the humiliation I suffered as word got around about my so-called fall from grace. I also had to see my daughter sitting in a cubicle like a commoner. I gulped down my drink as I replayed all the comments and snide remarks I’d heard throughout the day from various employees.

  How dare those insignificant little worms think they could talk down to me with that look of joy on their stupid faces when they heard what Alec had done? The only people that didn’t say anything were my underlings who still reported to me, but I knew it was a matter of time before they felt emboldened enough to buck me.

  Rachel stormed into the living room and threw her purse onto the couch. “What the hell, Daddy? How could you let that happen to us today?”

  “Hello dear, why don’t you come inside?”

  “Knock it off. I’m not in the mood. Make me one of whatever you’re drinking.”

  I did as she commanded. She was bossy and demanding just like her mother, but it was her mother who walked out on us when she was a baby. She didn’t want the responsibility of raising a child, and neither did I, but I was the one left holding the bag, so to speak.

  “This is your fault, Daddy.”

  “My fault? I told you to sleep with Alec years ago. Then he would for sure ask you to marry him and then the company would be ours, but you couldn’t do that, could you? Now look at the mess we’re in.”

  “Daddy, I tried to do what you told me with him, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him touching me, let alone sleeping with him. Besides, I don’t even like him, he’s not my type. Alec is weak and pathetic.”

  “No one marries for love anymore, but I guess it’s up to me to fix this. Just like every other time. You take after your mother in this regard. You never see anything through. It doesn’t matter how well I plan and set it up. You always find a way to blow it, because Daddy will fix everything.”

  It delighted me the way her face twisted in anger, but she said nothing. She knew better than to talk back to me, and besides it was time for the meeting. I chuckled a little to myself because after the meeting, everything would be different for me, and surely things would be back to the way they should be.

  I set my glass on the bar and walked to what looked like a simple wall with paintings hung on it. I stood before the canvas that was painted completely black. I savored the moment before placing my right hand flat in the middle of it. I looked at the other paintings on both sides of the all-black canvas. Each was painted in only one color, but the one colored solid black was different because it concealed something special. The scanner in the middle of the painting did its job and opened the door to a secret room that no one but us knew existed.

  I stepped inside with Rachel right behind me and surveyed the space to ensure everything was in its proper place. It was. The room was a dull grey, and the only color was from the various objects that were in it. Pentagrams and upside-down crosses were meticulously carved into a wooden altar. The top was partially covered with melted wax and splatters of dried blood. A small shelf held a decorative but functional knife. The most significant piece of furniture in the room was a statue of the goat of Mendes that scaled from floor to ceiling and was connected to the altar. A bowl was positioned below the feet of the goat.

  Rachel looked away. “Ugh, do I have to watch? I hate this part.”

  “Yes, you do, after all you will be the one doing this one day, it’s better you get used to it now.”

  I carefully rolled up the sleeve on the left arm of my custom-tailored dress shirt and picked up the knife from the holder. I stared into the eyes of the statue for several minutes. Sometimes I got lost in the gaze of its lifeless stare. I took a deep breath, and then I began to run the blade up my left wrist. I winced in pain as the knife cut through skin and tissue. I wished there was another way to seek an audience with my master, but that was my only option. Once the cut had reached the required length, the blood began to flow freely. I placed my wrist over the bowl. My master required a drink offering before every meeting.

  My blood reached the top of its container. “Master, your humble servant seeks an audience with you.”

  A shudder went through me, and the smell of rotting corpses permeated the room. I knew he was close. I pulled my wrist from the bowl and held it with my right hand to stem the flow. Then I saw him, Reviler, standing to the left of the altar with the cup of my blood in his hands.

  Rachel and I immediately dropped to our knees and bowed our heads. “Thank you for meeting with me, my lord.”

  Reviler stood menacingly in dark blue armor with upside down crosses, skulls, and many other blasphemous images carved into it. A long, black cloak, connected at his shoulders, completed his attire. The pictures on his armor weren’t the most intimidating aspect of it, for even though his armor completely covered him, one could detect his muscular build, as if the armor itself was a living organism taking on the very features of his form. His eyes were a mix of red and brown and filled with coldness that chilled a perso
n to their soul. He had all the power in our partnership, and he knew it. I could tell by the way he stood perfectly straight and glared down at me. I had seen others in the kingdom of darkness carry themselves that way. There were demons that couldn’t naturally stand up straight because their bodies were twisted in some horrific way, and they used their frame to instill fear in their victims.

  He gulped down my blood so fast it ran down both sides of his mouth. He licked the bowl and the sides of his lips completely clean, not missing a drop. His eyes rolled back in his head and he quivered and was lost in a moment of ecstasy. Eventually, his eyes came back into focus, he placed the bowl at the base of the alter and cleared his throat.

  “David, my friend; how are you? I see your lovely daughter is with you today.”

  Rachel shot Reviler a sly smile and a wink.

  “Master, I have been better,” I said. “Today I suffered a major injustice at the hands of Maxwell’s son. He demoted me and humiliated me in front of the entire company. I knew he wouldn’t go along with our lord’s plan, and I feel he should be removed permanently from his position and this world. I feel if he is allowed to stay in as the head of this company, we risk him ruining everything our lord has been trying to accomplish.”

  Reviler raised me to my feet. He took my left wrist in his hand, stopped the bleeding, and closed the wound. No evidence of it lingered on my skin, and he licked the small amount of my blood from his hand and smiled.

  “I saw what happened to you today, but you know the rules. Alec is not to be touched in any way, and you must do what he says or else you will suffer severe consequences, and I will not be able to save you. You are to do as instructed, and that is to aid this family. Do you remember when I came to you? You were weak and had nothing, and I made you powerful and prosperous, so stop crying. All of this is a minor setback. A bump in the road the strong can overcome... Or is it an unascendable mountain to the weak? You’re not still weak, are you, David?”

  Reviler grabbed my shoulder with his powerful right hand and squeezed. My knees buckled under the pain, and my shoulder felt like it was about to pop like a balloon.

  “Now, can you do what you vowed to do that day? Or do I need to find someone else who can?”

  “No, my lord, please. I can do what I have been instructed to do. I am strong, and I will endure. I just worry Alec will undo everything our master has worked so hard to set up here. After all, the company does finance so many of the endeavors of his kingdom.”

  “Good.”

  Reviler turned to Rachel and took her by the hand. His movements seemed slow, almost seductive, as he helped her to her feet. He took her hand and kissed it, and Rachel smiled and played along.

  “I have missed your aroma, it’s intoxicating.”

  Reviler went in to kiss her, but then the lights began to dim and flicker, and the chill of a rushing wind filled the room and knocked over the knife and the candles. The force of it pushed me back to the wall, and Reviler shielded himself and Rachel with his cape. Shouts of pain and screams of terror shook the walls. Moans of sorrow and cries for mercy filled my ears, and Reviler cocked his head, released Rachel, and looked at me.

  “Get ready! The Son of the Morning approaches.”

  I felt an all-consuming evil presence enter the room. I looked to my right, and there stood my lord and savior, Lucifer. The Prince of Darkness himself manifest in physical form in my home.

  The three of us quickly dropped to our knees and bowed our heads. I didn’t know how long Lucifer had been standing there since he is a master at hiding his presence, and I knew all too well he could hide in plain sight to spy on his underlings. Reviler had told me stories how he punished those who had plotted to overthrow him through the years, and the punishments were cruel, even by demonic standards. I pushed my face harder into the floor till it felt like my nose was about to break.

  “You may lift your heads.”

  Lucifer stood before us smiling, like a parent who caught their child in an act of defiance. He wore a long white robe that flowed down to his feet that were adorned with golden sandals. His hair looked as if it was made of handspun gold, and he was surrounded by a glorious glow. His eyes were a stunning sea blue that one could get lost in. They were like a gruesome car accident one would stare at from an inward compulsion, even though they didn’t want to. His irises were a thing of beauty, but it was the darkness of his pupils that radiated pure evil. As if the pupils revealed to the onlooker what was truly in the heart of the being, signaling there were no limits to the depths of his depravity.

  His presence terrified me. I had only seen him in the natural one other time in a meeting that Maxwell had conducted, and now he was standing before me in my home. He held out his hand with a ring of an upside-down cross for all of us to kiss. Reviler kissed it first, then Rachel, and then me. The taste of sulfur made me choke and it burned my lips. Lucifer was silent for what seemed like an eternity, drinking in our reverence.

  He looked straight at me. “David, my favored servant, what is troubling you?”

  “My lord, thank you for meeting with me. I am honored to have you in my home.”

  “It is I who am honored to be here with you on this fine evening. I truly love what you have done with the place, and I wanted to come and visit you for I have seen your dedication to me and my kingdom. If only all of my followers were as loyal and faithful as yourself.”

  “Thank you, my lord. I have suffered greatly today, and I fear the new leader of the company will not go along with your brilliant plans and will jeopardize all that I, I mean you have worked for.”

  Lucifer pulled me up and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Thank you for your concern, but do you think I didn’t already know this? Do you think there is anything that happens on this planet or in your own life that escapes my very sight?”

  “No, my lord, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “It sounds like you don’t trust me anymore.”

  I tried to hide the panic on my face. “No, my lord, that is not true. I trust you with my very life.”

  “Then why do you doubt me? Haven’t I always been faithful to you?”

  Upon hearing him say those words, I immediately fell at his feet. “My lord, I love you, and I trust you. Please forgive me. Hurting you is the last thing I ever want to do.”

  “Up, up, get up, and stop your crying.” Lucifer smiled. “Of course I forgive you, and I can see your repentance is sincere and genuine. Remember, I am a loving and caring father.” Lucifer pointed at the ceiling. “Not like him.”

  Lucifer turned his attention to Rachel and stared at her with lust as he took her hand and helped her stand. She looked to be in a trance as he gazed into her eyes.

  “Oh my, you’re truly gorgeous. I have never seen another creature quite as beautiful as you.”

  “Thank you, my lord.”

  “Please call me Lucifer.”

  He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, and slowly brought her close to him. She didn’t try to resist as he deeply kissed her, and I saw a fiery red light come up the side of his face and into Rachel’s, causing her eyes to flash a sinister red as he released her.

  “I need you to listen to me. You are not to lay a hand on Alec or try to hinder or hurt him in any way. I made a covenant with his family, and I, unlike so-called other gods, I honor my covenants. If you in any way hurt him or if you kill him to take over his position for yourself, you will be punished in a way no person on the face of this earth could ever comprehend or imagine. Now, you can seduce him and bring him over to our side, but you cannot physically hurt him. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, my darling.” Her breathless answer was ripe with seduction.

  Lucifer took Rachel by the shoulders and placed his forehead against hers. “I have gifted you with the powers of Jezebel. Men will find you more irresistible than ever, and you can use these powers to manipulate men into doing whatever you want, but I have given them to you for a sp
ecific purpose at this moment. I want you to use this gift to seduce Alec into doing my will if he begins to deviate from the path of his family members that came before him. Do you understand my love?”

  She smiled and let out a playful sigh and nuzzled Lucifer’s nose with her own. “I understand completely, and I won’t let you down.”

  “Good girl. I know you won’t.”

  I couldn’t believe what I saw. Lucifer had given my daughter the same plan that I had for her, and he clearly desired her. Things were looking up for me. I wouldn’t care what Lucifer did to her as long as it garnered me increased favor and power from him.

  Lucifer leaned in and whispered something in Rachel’s ear, and she blushed.

  As she turned and walked toward me, I was elated. My mind ran wild with images of Lucifer honoring me with many blessings, and even a seat at his table in exchange for my daughter’s hand. I only wished Maxwell was still alive so I could rub his nose in it. I was so distracted I didn’t notice Rachel pick up the knife from the floor by my feet and thrust it into my chest.

  I screamed as the blade slid right through my breast bone. The pain was excruciating as the blade separated bone and tissue. “Why?”

  “Because the master demands a sacrifice, and your time is over, Daddy.”

  She pulled the knife out and I watched my blood spray on her chest and face as I fell to the floor.

  I choked. “Lucifer, save me, I have faithfully served you for years.” As blood filled my mouth and nostrils, I knew I didn’t have much time left.

  Lucifer stood behind Rachel and wrapped his arms around her to lick my blood off the side of her face. She moaned in ecstasy as his tongue slid up and down her cheek.

  “You have been faithful, but your daughter made a convincing argument for ensuring Alec keeps going with the plan. I am not without mercy though. Reviler is going to escort you to my throne to receive your reward for your years of faithful service.”