The Chaos Order (Fanghunters Book Three) (51 page)

He turned and bent down low. He now needed a source of light to guide him through the dark chamber. He pulled the device from the belt around his robes; the one Clement called a ‘flashlight’, a portable device operated by things called batteries. It created light like a small, handheld sun. Some of the exotic and rare equipment Clement had at his disposal was a wonder to behold.

He gripped the handle tight with both hands and with a sure and deliberate swipe of both his thumbs, he flicked the switch. A beam of light shot out of the end of the device, slicing through the thick darkness like a sword. Even though Faisal had seen the device in action on numerous occasions, he still marveled at it. He stared at the beam of light he’d created in awe, his eyes following it to the large circle it painted on the far wall. He moved it across the air and shadows bobbed and danced all around him as if they were alive. He lit up more ornate pots and statues. The windows had been blocked with wood, the sunlight not welcome in this crypt.

Faisal arced the flashlight further across the room. He illuminated a bed to the far left of the chamber. An exotic four poster, designed for a king, its curtains drawn down. Faisal’s heart skipped a beat. He licked his dry lips as he stared at that bed, knowing that was where the beast lay. And knowing that was where he had to go. He set off, the flashlight guiding him. He moved silently across the room in a squatted down scamper, the flashlight trained near the ground.

On reaching the bed, he made his way along the side before standing upright. The curtain now faced him; from behind it came a reek of evil. Waiting beyond was a well of darkness that exuded sin and cruel malevolence. Faisal’s spine now tingled as if electrified, his head buzzing and pounding like a hive of locusts. He was in an unholy place, an ungodly place, where the word of Allah would never be uttered, not a trace of his compassion to be found. Instead, the chamber stank of cruelty and torture.

With a trembling, sweaty hand, Faisal reached out, and grabbed the curtain. He drew in a deep breath, and then slid it across with one swipe, exposing what lay beyond. He rolled his wide eyes down.

Lying asleep on the bed was the beast. Rah. Although it was king-sized, Rah’s bulky frame took up most of the bed, the folds of fat on his belly rippling across the mattress. Strewn on the bed alongside the creature were the remains of a human arm, bone protruding at the elbow, some of the fingers chewed off. Blood was smeared across Rah’s chewed lips. The gluttonous vampire was sleeping off a huge feast.

Faisal gazed down at the monster in revulsion. He made hot, guttural sounds in his sleep; the kind of noise Faisal imagined a pig would make when feeding in its sty. His jaw was slack, exposing twisted fangs like a dog’s incisors, perfect for chewing and tearing flesh from bone. And from the size of the beast, he’d enjoyed more than his share of meat. His long, yellow talons were slightly curled by his side as if ready for battle.

Rah was as ugly as Faisal had always envisaged. Clement had laid eyes on Rah before and told tales of his grotesqueness, but nothing could compare to witnessing the real thing. This was a deformation; an abomination of nature. A thing to be despised and detested. A thing to be vanquished.

Rah lay there motionless as if dead. If only. This thing was very much alive, very much a part of Middle Eastern life. And if it had its way, an oppressive brutal caliphate would rule the world beneath a banner of darkness with its twisted interpretation of the Holy scriptures as its law. An insult to the word of Allah.

Faisal knew he couldn’t procrastinate any longer. This was the only chance he’d have to destroy Rah and he needed to take it. From his robes, he retrieved a metal chisel and small hammer; implements they were supposed to be using on Clement’s supposed expedition. He moved in to assassinate the beast, the handle of the chisel greasy in his grip. He went to place the chisel where Rah’s heart would be, but there was so much fat, he couldn’t be sure. He stared down at the beast in confusion. He knew he only had one chance. If he missed the heart, Rah wouldn’t die.

Faisal huffed. He hovered the chisel over a roll of fat, then moved it away. He scratched his head.
Come on, come on, do it!
he urged himself. Sweat and panic began to take hold of him. He didn’t have much time. He focused in on the thing’s chest, using the light from the flashlight for guidance. He found a nipple. He nodded; that would be his guide. He aimed for the spot a little above and over toward Rah’s right hand side. The tip of the chisel touched skin; it was tough like the hide of an elephant.

Rah twitched, but didn’t awaken.

Faisal caught his breath. He opened up his mouth and clutched the handle of the flashlight between his lips like a hookah pipe, his head turned down to the chisel in his trembling hand, the light focused on it. He grabbed his hammer and raised it into the air. His eyes focused in on the handle of the chisel, the exact spot he need to strike with the hammer. Rah lay fast asleep, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

Faisal sucked in a deep breath and then—

An abrupt wail cut through the air like the cry of a wild animal. Faisal froze, his blood running cold. His head whipped around to where the noise emanated, his eyes bulging from his skull. The flashlight clenched between his lips illuminated small cribs dotted around the other side of the chamber. Inside, were squirming babies. Faisal watched on helplessly as a small mouth opened up to release a cry. The sound was like knives in Faisal’s ears.

He stared at the babies in disbelief.
Rah has children,
he realized with unabridged horror. And they were stirring. In the next instant, another began wailing, soon joined by its brothers and sisters. Before Faisal could do anything, the room erupted in a hellish chorus of screams and wails that echoed around the room.

Faisal’s heart began hammering. The noise would give him away.

Quick kill Rah before he wakes!

He threw his attention back to Rah, raised his hammer and—

Rah’s eyes snapped open. They focused in on Faisal, a flicker of panic shooting through them. They bored into Faisal’s soul like hot skewers, rooting him. Faisal gasped, his hammer still held in the air. He was trying to bring it down, to drive the chisel through the heart of the beast, but his hand wouldn’t respond to his desire. It shook on the air, but held firm. Faisal applied more pressure to his hand, but it wouldn’t move; it was stuck in the air as if he’d been turned to stone. He was captured by those mystic eyes, those evil, dark, bloodshot eyes.

All the while the babies continued to scream and cry.

“Who are you?” Rah growled.

Faisal couldn’t answer. Instead, he was trying with all his might to bring his hammer down. But, his limbs were like ice; they wouldn’t move. And then, from nowhere, they did. He inexplicably removed the chisel from Rah’s chest. Faisal watched in bemusement as his hand acted of its own accord. Against his will, he turned the chisel on himself. He stared in horror at the point of the chisel now aimed at his own eye. His whole body trembled in terror, the cries and wails of Rah’s children reverberating in his frightened mind. He pushed against Rah’s will with everything he had, but it was useless. Rah had control of him with his hypnosis. Rah was a snake charmer, and Faisal was nothing more than a witless cobra forced to play to his song.

Rah watched on in glee as he held up a hand and threw it in toward Faisal. Like it was attached to strings, Faisal’s arm followed the command. He thrust the chisel into his own eye. There was a hot squelch, followed by white hot pain that juddered through his whole body. A scream bolted from his chest, which drowned out the wails of babies. At that moment, Rah released him from his grip. Faisal staggered back, waving his hands on the air like a demented belly dancer, excruciating pain juddering through his mind.

Rah sat up in bed and began clapping his meaty hands in joy, his flabby body rippling. His cackles rocketing around the room alongside babies wailing and Faisal screaming as he comically ran around the chamber in a blind panic, the chisel sticking out of his face. Somewhere in the background, Rah’s sick joyous laughter rang through Faisal’s tender mind; he was laughing at the fool who’d dared enter his domain and attempt to assassinate him.

Faisal almost fell in his haste to escape the chamber. A sticky substance was oozing out of his damaged eye and down his cheek as he spun in perfect circles across the floor, seeking out the double doors from which he entered.

Rah pointed a thick finger at him and released a wild cackle. “Why are you leaving so soon?” he asked. “Come back. I’m hungry, I want to eat you!”

Rah’s jibes were something at the back of Faisal’s hazy world of dark and pain. He managed to stagger over to the doors, his breathing hot and ragged.
Get out of here, get out of here, get out of here,
his mind shrieked.
Get out of here before you die!

He threw out a hand to grab the door handle, that chisel still stuck in his skull. He just needed to get out to safety, back to the others where they could nurse his wounds.

Behind him, Rah continued to cackle, while his babies screamed and howled.

Faisal went to grab the door handle, but caught air.

The doors were already on the move. Someone was coming in.

The doors flew open. And in stepped the day guards.

The Claw Order: Fanghunters Book Four will be out soon!

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