The Dark Path (25 page)

Sekiel made no attempt to disguise his hatred, looking across the large mahogany desk to where Empeth sat. That this puny human should be placed in charge of their mission was grating enough, but with his new found powers in the body of Priest, Sekiel could feel the thoughts of the human, and soon realized that Empeth held him and his brothers in contempt. Confident his powers were greater than all of theirs combined, Empeth was angered that their Lord had considered it necessary for them to be brought in at all.

Empeth felt Sekiel’s hatred and smiled icily at the demon. At that moment, the demon almost forgot his Lord’s orders, and nearly leapt the table to tear out Empeth’s throat.

Almost, but not quite.

One did not forget Sordarrah’s orders easily when the result would be the flaying of his immortal soul over several centuries, followed by the end of existence. That was,
if
he actually succeeded in destroying Empeth–which remained doubtful. The man could tap into a source of power that Sekiel did not understand, and as such he feared it.

Sekiel did not fear pain, his entire existence had been filled with more suffering than any mortal being could understand. In human form, everything hurt for a demon. Breathing air was like fanning flames inside his chest, looking at sunlight brought the sensation his eyes would burst, and the sounds of everyday life were razors inside his head.

What Sekiel feared was an end to his existence.

Humans could not understand the terror a demon felt regarding death. Not corporeal death of the body, rather the end of immortality. Humans learned from their first breath that one day they would eventually die, which is why they had invented their stupid religions and the fables of a paradise awaiting them after death.  

Monkeys! All of them believing their foolish myths. Even Empeth had followed their God for a time, and look where he ended up. If a higher God existed, Sekiel had never found any real evidence to support it, and he had lived for eternity and seen to the edges of the all of the combined universes.

There could be no God but Sordarrah. He knew this, but at the same time a voice now seemed to be calling out softly to him from his subconscious.

What if you’re wrong?

Ever since he had taken over the body of the man named Priest he had been having such strange thoughts. He had access to the man’s memories and knew that he had–by mortal standards–possessed an incredibly high psychic ability. The strangest thing of all was that Priest had only used these powers to help other people. Such a concept appeared totally alien to a creature like Sekiel whose concerns centered around one person–himself. Even his so called love for his Lord Sordarrah was based upon self preservation.

They will kill the boy. Help him!

The voice seemed to come from behind him. Sekiel leapt around, but nobody was there. Shaking his head softly he returned his attention to Empeth who now regarded him strangely.

Simple confusion. Once they accomplished their objective and destroyed the boy–

Help him!

–he would feel like himself again. Until then, he had to simply ignore the strange voices that were now invading his mind.

“You will release the Velearstk immediately,” stated Empeth suddenly, grinning widely when he saw the shock register upon the demon’s face.

“You mean
a
Velearstk surely,” said Sekiel, trying to push the fear from his voice.

Empeth’s smile vanished and he hissed malignantly, “No, I want them all hunting the assassin. I want no more mistakes. There have been far too many made already by you incompetent fools. I should have gone to Rome myself, but I thought a single mere mortal would not prove such a problem for The Four. Obviously I have been proven wrong. I had not realized you have all become so weak.”

“I should tear your heart out right now you miserable worm!” growled Sekiel, rising testily to his feet.

“You don’t have the power demon! If you did, I would have sent you back to Hell the moment you were reborn. You could explain to our Lord how you failed yet again in his quest to conquer this realm. I somehow don’t think He’ll be in any mood to buy your excuses this time–what do you think?”

Sekiel swallowed his rage and sat back down, clenching his hands into fists to quell the trembling from his surging emotions. Empeth was right, he lacked the power in human form to defeat their arrogant leader on his own, but once their mission completed, he and his three brothers would make sure this cocky creature vanished from existence once and for all. This knowledge helped him control his emotions, and gradually the trembling subsided.

“I am sorry, Lord Empeth, for my impertinence,” whispered Sekiel through gritted teeth whilst bowing his head in obeisance. “It will not happen again. But might I implore you to rethink your decision. There are thirteen Velearstk in Limbo, and just one could easily destroy an entire city if left unchecked.”

“It does not matter what happens to these pathetic mortals now,” said Empeth dismissively as he rose from his chair, and walked calmly over to Sekiel. “All that matters is that the boy is not rescued by this Dark Man. It has come to my attention that he has acquired the power of the
Glimloche
. I do not want a repeat of what happened in Germany, so we shall release them all and fill them with the soul-scent of this assassin. He should be destroyed by tomorrow, and we can complete the ceremony to return our Lord untroubled. Why do you care what happens to this world anyway?”

Sekiel shook his head dumbly, unable to answer even to himself. He rose, turned on his heel and left the room.
Stupid human. Playing with powers you cannot possibly understand. I yearn for the day when I will hold your bloodied heart in my hand, but until then I will play your silly game. Enjoy your time as master of the demons, Empeth, for it will be short.

He made his way to the lower levels of the ancient mansion. The old building seemed appropriate, considering those who chose to dwell there. Alas, it was awkward in situations such as this, where Sekiel had to get from the corner room of the top floor to the basement where he needed to enact the incantations necessary to release the Velearstk from their immortal imprisonment in Limbo. He sent a mental summons to his three brothers to meet him there. It would take all of their powers combined to contain the furious energy released with the breaking of the seals that held the Hell-beasts.

Upon arriving in the basement, Sekiel found his thoughts wandering while he waited for his brothers. One of the few true immortals who still existed across all of the universes, he had seen worlds both born and destroyed, stars burst into life and flutter into a darkness so deep it sucked all other light into its desolate blackness. And yet, with all his millions of years behind him, he could not recall the moment of creation, when everything had come to be. This puzzled him, because he could remember perfectly any other moment in his entire existence with crystal clarity, like it had happened only yesterday.

He could recall a single moment when he was nothing, and the next he became something. He remembered his Lord Sordarrah’s first words to him, “You shall be my blade of impurity with which I shall smite
Him
.” Sekiel had never asked his master whom he had spoken of in that first meeting, but now he found himself pondering the words.

Originally, he had thought the words referred to Satan, but the centuries had passed, and he had not been used directly against the ruler of Hell, he began to think his master might have been referring to someone or
something
else. Could he have been referring to the one these humans called God?

God will forgive you if you ask Him
, promised the voice in his mind quietly.

There is no such creature, if one existed, I would have found evidence of Him an eternity ago
. Sekiel shook his head roughly, angry with himself for acknowledging the voice. Sordarrah was the only Lord, there could be no God.

He loves you
.

Pushing the strange thoughts away roughly, Sekiel occupied his mind with his current situation. If only he could use his ethereal powers, he would destroy Empeth, and become the true leader of his destiny.

Unfortunately, undertaking such a plan would collapse the entire universe, and thus end existence completely for all time. Demons were only able to use their powers in the mortal realm when they were in fact mortal. The single greatest drawback of being an immortal. Sekiel had learnt of the wars between the dimensions, but only through hearsay and innuendo, because the only beings who still existed from that time did not speak of such things. His own Lord Sordarrah had cruelly destroyed the last of his subjects to even mention the wars, and so none spoke of it anymore, even amongst themselves.

Sekiel heard footsteps on the stairway and turned to see his brothers descending to join him. Bennael came first; his awesome bulk filling the narrow staircase. Next followed Torresh. In complete contrast to Bennael, his skinny and sickly frame showcased his famine-drenched soul, yet was vastly contradicted by the power emanating from behind his eyes.

Finally, in stalked Antarsh. Lithe and confident, Antarsh reveled in conquest. He relished the calling of the Velearstk, the opportunity to unleash such raw fury against the mortals.

“We have been ordered to release the Velearstk,” said Sekiel calmly, silently observing the expressions of each of his brothers. As expected, Antarsh grinned broadly in anticipation, while Bennael merely frowned. Torresh cursed loudly in the quiet basement and shook his head in disbelief.

Sekiel led them to a room at the rear of the basement and pulled a heavy key from his pocket. Sliding the key through the tumblers, he swiftly turned it and pulled it clear before the guard spells around the lock could be aroused. Opening the door, he glanced quickly towards the corner where the wall swirled with the space-displacement power that held the Avun-Riah prisoner.
Such a simple spell
, thought Sekiel,
if the boy only knew how easily he could break free he would probably kick himself
.

HELP HIM!!!

The thought struck him so viciously that he visibly reeled. Whirling around, he saw his brothers peering at him strangely and pushed the unbidden thought away roughly. It had not been an order so much as a plea, and for an instant he’d felt powerfully compelled to follow the voice’s request and free the boy.

Rapidly regaining his composure and turning away from the spell, Sekiel motioned his kindred to the blood-altar beside the cage holding the three prisoners they would need for the sacrifice. He turned and locked the door again, joining his brothers at the altar.

If there really is a God
, he thought silently,
the Dark Man had better start praying to Him, for nothing else on this Earth will protect him from what we are about to unleash. Not even his precious Glimloche
.

* * * *

The explosion shook the walls of the motel room where Vain had fallen asleep after his training with Gabriel. His grasp on the powers of the
Glimloche
seemed stronger now, and he found he could use it with less trepidation–or so he hoped. The two had spent the entire day refining Vain’s control. Several times the assassin had thought he might yield to the evil scrabbling within his mind, but Gabriel had always been there to help pull him back.

Gabriel had forced Vain to focus on the minutiae of using the
Glimloche
, rather than the explosive force he had wielded earlier in their initial battle. During the course of their training, an uneasy truce had slowly developed between the two.

Gabriel explained the true nature of the
Glimloche
to Vain. “Developed
by
evil as a weapon
of
evil, it magnifies what lies within the user’s own heart outward with malignant force. This is why it tries to take control of you, and why you can never let it win.”

“What will happen if it takes me over?”