The Altar (23 page)

The demon gently eased Vickie onto a patch of soft, black sand. It didn’t want to hurt her or the unborn child—not yet. It untied her bonds. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

As she sat up, the trance she had been in seemed to wear off some, though shock and horror kept her from becoming completely alert and aware.

“Where am I?” she said. “Where have you taken me?”

The demon looked at her for a moment and almost felt sorry for her. But it had lost all emotions millennia ago when it had become so consumed by rage that it had actually become the sin of wrath, in the flesh, so to speak. It no longer knew or felt anything except the pleasure it derived from inflicting pain and suffering upon others.

The demon folded its wings onto its back and sat down next to her.

“I am afraid that you and your unborn daughter are in hell,” it said with a sneer.

The woman recoiled and moved back. “And who—or what—are you?”

The monster decided it was time to relax a bit and lose the demon persona. It pulled its wings back out and folded them around itself, covering itself completely, as if in a leathery shroud. It waited for a moment and allowed the transformation to take place. Then it unveiled itself to reveal a human form, a human male, naked and perfectly formed.

The woman was already so shocked that Wrath didn’t think anything could shock her more. She looked at it for several moments before speaking.

“You’re...human...,” she said.

“I am whatever I choose to be,” the demon corrected, now in a smooth and deep male voice. “Right now I choose to be human. At least in my form.”

The woman seemed to relax a bit. Then another contraction came and she lay back on the sand and breathed in short, powerful spurts. It watched as the shade of an old man walked completely through her solid form, calling for the shade of his dearly departed wife. The cursed soul was as unaware of the pregnant woman as she was of him, both completely oblivious to each other.

“The grave’s a fine, private place, and none I think, do there embrace,” the demon said.

The woman’s contraction ended and she looked at him for a long moment. “You quoted Andrew Marvell,” she said. “How do you know about poetry? Who are you? What are you and what do you want with me?”

She seemed more surprised by the fact that it knew this mortal poet than by the fact that she was now sitting in the middle of hell holding a conversation with a demon that was sin in the flesh.

The monster smiled. Yes, that human poet had been so close to the truth, at least for those who ended up here. His soul was down here somewhere, with the billions of others, searching for his own lost love.

“I know about a lot of things,” it said. “But mostly I know about suffering. And you and your daughter will know about suffering too before your time with me is done.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

-1-

“Well, let’s head downward,” Erik said. He had to almost shout to be heard. It was like talking into a vacuum. “There’s nowhere else to go.”

The Indian nodded.

They made their way down the rocky slope as quickly as they could. It was steep enough to be treacherous if they were not careful, but not steep enough to slow them down very much.

“This is going to be difficult when we come back up,” Erik said.

Dovecrest forced a laugh. “Somehow I doubt that we’ll be coming back this way again.”

Erik wished Pastor Mark was here right now. The preacher might be able to give him some insights into what he was seeing and experiencing. To him this was nothing but a vast wasteland, completely devoid of life, love, and hope. The pastor might understand all this better. But for now he had just one goal—to find his wife and son and get them out of this place and back home where they belonged.

The heat increased as they approached the portal. It was like the opening in the bottom of a funnel, with red, glowing embers all around it that lit up the entire world, or whatever it was, Erik thought. He wondered if they’d get burned going through the opening. It was large enough to drive a tank thorough, at least.

As they approached the opening the ground beneath them curved upward to form a tunnel, or sorts, which led through the opening.

“So these are the gates of hell,” Erik said.

“Abandon hope...,” Dovecrest said.

“If I didn’t have hope, I wouldn’t be here,” Erik replied.

Dovecrest nodded. “We must remember that whatever this place is, we are just visitors. If there is hell, there is also heaven. We are not of this place. We belong with the other. He has given us strength and power to come here and do what must be done. Then we return to our own place.”

With trepidation, they went through the opening and stepped into another vast wasteland, this one even larger than the first. An endless plain of black sand and volcanic outcroppings stretched out into the distance for as far as the eye could see. It was empty, completely empty. Erik couldn’t believe the vastness and the emptiness of this place. How would he ever find them, he thought. This went on forever. How could he even be sure they came this way, though this opening. For all he knew there could be hundreds more like it.

Dovecrest knelt down and examined the sand. Erik wondered what he was up to.

“Someone passed this way,” the Indian said. “It looks like the demon stopped here. See the marks. They’re deep into the sand. It may have landed here and then flew on.”

“Was this recent? Or is it a thousand years old?”

Dovecrest took his hand and placed it on the sand. “Feel,” he said. “It’s hot.”

“Right.”

Then he placed his hand over the mark he had indicated.

“It’s cool,” Erik said.

“That’s right. This was made very recently. And look here.”

He moved ahead a little and pointed to the ground. “This looks like the footprint of your little boy.”

-2-

Todd had scampered down the side of the giant funnel, through the opening and out onto the huge plain that spread out before him. He stopped and took a deep breath. The emptiness went on forever. But his mother was out here somewhere and he was determined to find her. He knew she was still alive. If the demon had intended to kill her, he would have done so. He would have killed them both. So it must have something in mind for her.

He had looked out ahead at the hundreds of rock outcroppings. His mother could be behind any one of them. Without thinking, he had set off across the plains in a dead run.

Now he stood up against one of the rocks and listened. He could hear a voice in the distance. It was far away and he couldn’t make out what it said. It was strong and resonant, a man’s voice, and it sounded like it was talking to someone else that he couldn’t hear. Todd had the very strong feeling—a certainty, in fact—that this voice belonged to the demon and that it was talking to his mother.

He scuttled around the boulder and crept forward. The next one was about a football field away. It sounded like the voice was on the other side of it. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he found his mother, but first he had to know if it were her. He caught his breath, then hurried across the open space towards the boulder.

The place felt weird, whatever it was. Todd felt alone and abandoned, yet he also felt the presence of others around him. He couldn’t actually see or hear them, but he felt like they were there, just under the surface. It was almost as if he could touch them, yet there was nothing there to touch.

He slowed down when he approached the rock and crept closer, hiding just behind it. He listened intently, but couldn’t hear anything. Then he thought he heard the sounds of rapid breathing. It was his mother.

He peaked around the rock and, sure enough, saw his mother lying in the sand with her head thrown back. She was breathing rapidly, having another one of those labor pains. In front of her, though, Todd saw a naked man. The man’s back was towards him, but he saw the man’s dark hair and very muscular body. He looked to be about his mother’s age, maybe a little younger. He knelt down in front of his mother, as if he were concerned. Todd wondered if this man was a doctor.

He ducked back behind the boulder and wondered what to do. Should he make himself known and try to help his mother escape? Or should he just hide here and wait? Was this man a friend or an enemy?

He peeked around again in the hope that his mother would see him. Then, if things were safe, she’d call to him. And if not, she’d find a way to let him know. She didn’t look his way, though, but merely stared upwards at what looked like a pitch black, starless sky that enveloped this entire world.

Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer. The aloneness was too much. The emptiness. The vastness of this place. His heart filled with sudden emotion and he could contain himself no more; he rushed out from behind his hiding place.

“Mom!” he called.

She sat up as soon as she heard his voice, and the look of horror on her face told him he had made a mistake. Her look said it all—grateful to see him but terrified for his life.

By now, what was done was done and he rushed into his mother’s arms, where she held him tight.

“Oh, Todd, Todd. What are you doing here?”

“I came to get you, Mom. I came to bring you back.”

“Oh, my dear boy, my love. You shouldn’t have come. Oh dear God, you shouldn’t have come.”

Then she began to weep so hard that she shook all over. She squeezed him so tight he thought he would break.

“Oh, dear God, oh why did you come here?”

“I had to, Mom,” he said. “I just had to.”

She patted him on the back of the head.

“It’s ok,” she said. “We’re going to be ok.”

Then he felt the man grabbing him by the back of the neck and pulling him away.

“So what have we here?” he said. “Another moth just flying into the fire?”

The man swung Todd around to look at him. He had dark black hair, black eyes, and tanned, almost leathery skin. He looked like any ordinary man.

“Who are you?” Todd asked.

“Your worst nightmare,” the man said, and then Todd saw him for who he was as he looked deeply into his eyes.

“You’re that awful thing that took my Mom!” Todd said. “And you tried to get me back at the rock but I got away.”

“Yes,” the demon said. “I’m that awful thing that tried to get you. But guess what? Now I’ve got you.”

-3-

Todd’s trail was easy enough to follow in the loose sand. It appeared to be the only thing that had disturbed the ground in ages.

“Looks like he’s running,” Dovecrest said, looking down at the footprints.

“Hmmm. Is he running towards something..... Or away from it?”

“I guess we’ll know when we find him.”

The two men quickened their pace as they made their way across the large plains.

“So, do you think this place is really hell?” Erik asked.

Dovecrest paused. “It’s hard to say. But from what I’ve read of the Bible, hell doesn’t exist.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hell is where all of the damned souls go after Christ’s second coming, isn’t that correct?”

“Yeah. I guess so. You’d probably have to talk to Pastor Mark about that.”

“Well, that’s what the Bible says. But Jesus hasn’t returned yet, has he?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Then I suspect this is a holding place for all of those souls who are destined to go to hell.”

Dovecrest laughed. “I’ve read your Bible. A number of times. I’ve had a lot of time on my hands, remember?”

Erik smiled.

“And do you believe it?”

“That’s a tough question,” the Indian said. “I believe many different things. There is truth in many things. The old Indian ways show truth. Your religion shows truth. The ultimate truth is that there is a creator that is all powerful. That is without doubt.

“I do believe in a heaven and a hell. I believe with all my heart that my family is in heaven. Even though they were never able to know your Jesus, they believed in the Great Spirit and they worshipped him with love.”

“And you, do you believe in Jesus?”

Erik realized that he was sounding like the pastor. He found it odd that here, in the very pits of hell—or maybe the holding cell for hell—he was trying to convert this man to his faith. He had never been one to convert people, and had always felt very uncomfortable with the idea. But now, for some reason, he thought it important to know where Dovecrest stood.

The Indian stopped walking and turned to face him. Erik looked into his eyes for what seemed like a long time.

“I believe in God,” he said at last. “I was able to see His power in action through your pastor. I do believe.”

Erik felt a chill run up his spine. All of his doubts disappeared. He knew that, no matter what happened, it would be ok. He loved his wife and child more than life itself, but he felt that they were safe in God’s care. This world no longer mattered to him. It was the next world that counted now. Though they all might die here and now in the very sands of hell, God would not forsaken them. They might all die here in hell, but Dovecrest was right. They would not remain here. They were visitors to this place, not residents. They belonged with God.

Charged with new vitality, they continued forward. It looked like Todd had been dodging from one rock outcropping to another as they followed his path. Finally, after about two hundred yards, they stopped behind a large obsidian boulder.

“It looks like he stopped here for a bit,” Dovecrest said. “He knelt down. See?”

Erik could see where the sand had been disturbed.

“He’s trying to find his mother,” Erik said. “We don’t even know if she’s still alive.”

“I think she’s alive. And when we find her, we find the demon. Remember what we’ve come here for. Above all else, we must destroy that thing.”

They moved forward again. The next rock outcropping was about a hundred yards away. This one was larger than the ones they’d passed so far and Erik had the strong feeling that they would encounter the demon there.

“I’m assuming you have a plan once we find this thing,” Erik said.

“You take care of your family. I’ll take care of the demon.”

Erik nodded. “I think we’ll find what we’re looking for up ahead.”

Dovecrest nodded agreement.

They moved quickly but carefully as they approached the next rock outcropping.

-4-

The demon couldn’t believe its good fortune. The boy had come straight to him, like a lamb to the slaughter. It was so perfect it couldn’t have been planned better. Now it had a choice. It could kill the newborn and take over the mother, which had been his original plan. Or it could take over the boy, which might be even better. It’d thought about taking over the newborn itself, but that would leave it too helpless, unable to fend for itself for too long. But the boy offered different, more interesting opportunities. It’d have to destroy the mother, too, of course. But that wouldn’t bother it a bit. Now that it had them all here, it could do whatever it wanted.

“You, boy, sit down over there and mind your business,” it said.

The boy looked at it in defiance. “Why should I? You don’t look so scary now.”

The demon laughed. Then in a quick leap it was next to the boy, catching him entirely by surprise and grabbing him hard by the arm. It squeezed until the bone threatened to break, and the boy screamed.

“I can look any way I want!” the demon said. “And no matter what I look like, I can hurt you. And I will hurt you. So you do as I say or I can break both of your legs and you’ll have to stay put! Understand?”

The boy was in too much pain to say anything.

“Do as he says, Todd,” the mother said. “Please!”

The boy continued to scream until it eased up on the pressure. It didn’t want to actually damage the boy’s body, not if it planned on taking it over. But it would if it had too. It had suffered far worse pain than just a broken bone or two.

“Do you understand?” it said again.

The boy nodded.

“Good. Then you sit quietly and don’t make any trouble or I’ll have to hurt you again. Only this time it will be worse. I promise you.”

Todd sat back on his haunches and rubbed his arm. The demon watched him until it was satisfied, then it looked at the woman.

“I trust you won’t be trying anything stupid,” it said.

“Please just don’t hurt my boy. Or my baby,” she said.

The demon didn’t say anything. It backed away and sat down. Then it closed its eyes and began to chant, very softly, calling upon the name of Satan and cursing the name of God. The ritual wasn’t very complicated. But it had to be exact. There were rules that governed even the supernatural. The creator himself was the only one that didn’t operate by rules—he merely set them for others, and even the beings of the underworld had to follow them.

Someday, it hoped that Satan would overthrow this other one, and then things would be different. Then the tables would be turned and there would be no rules. But for now, things had to be done a certain way if they were to work.