The Deal (22 page)

‘
Samuel, there is one other
thing,’ he said.

‘
What’s that? What else do I need
to know that isn’t going to go right for me?’ I complained, feeling
sorry for myself more than anything.

‘
Well, if you take the throne from
Satan then you will have the power to put Lisa back on this plane,
in her original body. Essentially you will be able to give her life
back,’ he said.

Suddenly hope sprang up like a
fountain inside. In my
head,
I had already figured that it
wouldn’t take long for word to reach Satan that I had destroyed his
deal with my
wife
if I was able to get inside the
great library.

By that
point,
it would be an
outright fight between the two of us. A battle of the strongest in
many respects, with me having the significant disadvantage of less
power than him.

But the simple truth was, we were
on a collision course no matter what, and at some point the fight
for the seat of hell was going to take place whether I wanted it to
or not. The only question that remained
was done
I stand and
wait for that day or did I grab the bull by the horns and go for it
with everything I had.

After a moment’s
thought,
I decided on the latter.

‘
I need you to do me a favour,’ I
said to Pertilius, who, if he had a face that I could see, I
imagined was looking down at me with sympathy.

Sympathy on the face of a monk from hell,
which would be a first for the history books.

‘
I can only but try, Samuel. What
is your request?’ He asked, sounding a little unsure of what I
would want from him and how much shit it could possibly put him
in.

‘
I need you to take me to hell,’ I
said, my determination rising with every second.

‘
Are you sure?’ he
asked.

‘
Yes. It’s time to bring the fight
to Satan. I’m done running from him,’ I said, and braced myself to
be let down by the one person who had been by my side from day
one.

‘
Very well, I wish you the very
best of luck and please don’t forget the brotherhood should you
manage to regain your throne,’ said Pertilius as he stretched out
his arms towards me.

Thick tendrils of black smoke began to pour
from the sleeves of his robe. I watched as they engulfed me and
noticed that dust seemed to sparkle within it. I recognized this as
the magic of the brotherhood Pertilius belonged to.

As the smoke fully engulfed me and I could
hear the roaring fires of hell grow louder and I braced myself for
what I was going to do next.

Once I had freed Lisa from her cage in
purgatory it would be time to take on the Devil once and for
all.

PART 5:

DEAL BREAKER

I
could hear the crackling of the flames as the black smoke which
engulfed me began to evaporate into nothing. I had visions of being
surrounded by a lake of fire, full
of
screaming, tortured souls.

As
the smoke dissipated and I could begin to take in my new
surroundings I realized that the flames had been neatly contained
within ornate torches, which created a lit pathway towards an
ancient,
cathedral-like
, building.

Underfoot
I could hear something cracking under my weight and when I
looked down I noticed that I was literally standing on a sea of
skulls. I was grateful they didn’t move or otherwise come alive
with the hideous souls the bones had once belonged to.

I stopped in my
tracks and glanced around in all directions. There was nothing but
an infinite sea of skulls laid out as far as the eyes could see.
All under a fearsome looking black sky which looked like it could
dissolve a human soul just by being in its presence.

I noted that
Pertilius, the monk, was long gone. Probably preparing himself to
deliver the good news to his master that I had destroyed probably
one of the most important deals he had made since he started
keeping records.

Well, I hadn’t actually destroyed it yet. I turned my
attention back to the building ahead and started walking. The sound
of the crunching skulls under my feet was almost unbearable at
times. It was a lot like someone dragging their
fingernails
down a
chalkboard
, and I couldn’t help but wonder if
that was the whole point.

A kind of
ancient warning system.

As the building
drew closer I half expected to see the Grimoyle’s. Those huge
winged beasts that Satan loved to use as guards and pretty much
anything else he could think of. I expected to see at least two of
them floating around in the sky like birds of prey, patiently on
the hunt for a new soul to destroy.

I
looked down at the gold band on my finger. It looked strangely dull
under the light of the torches flames. If there was anything for me
to worry about
nearby
the ring would alert me to its presence. As it was the dull
reflection of the ring helped to settle my nerves a
little.

After all
,
I
had every right to feel nervous. I was about to break a deal that
could not only erupt a war between heaven and hell, but it would
most certainly bring the wrath of Satan down on me.

I
still wasn’t sure if I would be strong enough for when that time
came to face him. Pertilius and the angel Gabriel seemed to believe
that I was the
reincarnation
of the ancient wicked one. The original
sinner
and creator of the
place that I surveyed as I continued my slow walk towards, what I
was assuming, would be the ancient library. The place where all of
the devils deals
were
kept for the sake of keeping God happy.

Inside I didn’t feel like the
evilest
creature ever to grace mankind, but
then again I had no idea if the Devil ever felt evil inside. Maybe
he was simply defined by his acts of great horror.

I had no idea.
All I knew was that I needed to get inside the library and destroy
the scroll that would at least free Lisa from Satan’s clutches. The
second part, where I would have to go toe-to-toe with Satan was
going to take much more work but was necessary to give Lisa her
life back.

When
I reached the massive concrete steps leading up to the library I
took a moment to gather my thoughts. Pertilius was unable to help
locate the scroll once I was inside,
indeed,
he had told me that he and his kind
were
not allowed inside
the great library in case their magic damaged any of the scrolls in
some way.

I was basically
going in blind. I had no idea what to expect, although a part of me
understood that there would be some sort of security measures in
place. Even Satan wouldn’t leave the scrolls unprotected,
regardless of how fearsome he may be.

Taking a deep breath I started up the steps. Each one felt
like it was larger than the
last
as if the building was growing in size the closer
I got to it as opposed to shrinking.

Silver torches, their flames licking at the sky, stood
sentinel on either side of the large, arched doors. I reached out
to touch one of the doors and stopped myself before the palm of my
hand could come into contact with the ancient wood. In the back of
my
mind,
I couldn’t help but think I should be looking for another
way inside.

I was making
myself far too obvious by simply entering the library as if it was
perfectly normal for a human soul to wander in. Then again, looking
at the sheer scale of the building, I knew that finding another
entrance could take way more time than I had at my
disposal.

In
my
head,
the clock was ticking and I didn’t want to waste a second.
So inhaling yet another deep breath, I pushed the door open just
enough so that I could slide my body inside.

For
the first time in recent memory, I could feel fear slowly rise up
from my belly and into my chest. The sheer scale of the library on
the outside did not do the interior justice. It was huge beyond
comprehension. Under the massive domed ceiling, rows upon rows
of
bookcases
were
lined out. Every one of them was packed with scrolls, all
bound with red ribbon.

What made my
heart beat that little bit faster was the huge creatures stomping
back and forth down the aisles of the library. Their bodies looked
like they had been made from pure stone and their faces looked
hideously contorted. It was as if their creator had become sick of
looking at them and decided to chisel their features in odd places.
One of them had half a mouth on its forehead while the other had
its nose in a similar position.

I stood there in
the shadows of the arched doorway, my mind trying desperately to
figure out what to do next. I had no way to know which scroll would
be Lisa’s. It could have taken me years of searching before I even
got close to finding it in the vast maze of the library, and with
those stone guards wandering around it could take three times
longer trying to evade them as well.

A depressing
black cloud was starting to form in my head as I stood there,
unable to think and decide what to do next. One way or another I
had to find that scroll so I wasn’t leaving until I had done
so.

It was then that
a bright light exploded in my head and I remembered the piece of
paper I had taken from the doctors’ office in the asylum. I quickly
retrieved it and studied the numbers again.

Five. Eight.
Two. Zero.

I
had originally thought the numbers where a combination
to
a safe or possibly
the pin code for a security door, but I had found no use for them
while I was in Muirmill asylum, and I found it hard to believe that
I would have any use for them in the great library.

But as I studied
the bookcase’s laid out before me like silent soldiers, I noticed
that each one had a number carved in gold on its side. What I also
noticed was that none of the numbers continued in
sequence.

I looked down at
the small piece of paper in my open palm once again. The
realization that what I was staring at, slowly sinking in. The
numbers weren’t a code; they were a pattern which finished at the
bookcase numbered zero.

Determination
began to overtake the rising fear inside me. I now had something
that could help me locate Lisa’s scroll and stepping out from the
shadows I decided it was time to start looking.

Every step I took beyond the shadows was slow and almost
painful. I had no idea how sensitive the huge stone
creatures
were
to sound and I didn’t want to get involved in a fight with
them unless I absolutely had to.

No, this was a
time for stealth. The action would come later once I had what I was
looking for. Keeping my eyes on the guards I made my way between
the first two bookcases. I studied each number I encountered,
unsure what to expect when I found the first one.

The floor
beneath me trembled with every step those granite giants took and I
could feel the adrenaline in my body begin to ramp up the
production as my heart rate picked up.

I passed six
bookcases before finally coming to the one marked with a golden
five. One of the stone statues was patrolling the aisle nearby and
I could feel my palms grow sweaty as I studied the neatly piled
scrolls on each shelf. I couldn’t see anything different, no magic
glowing arrow pointing me in the direction of the next
lot.

Feeling a little
deflated I turned my attention to the rest of the bookcases. Number
eight was next. Moving to the edge of the bookcase I peered out
into the aisle, watching as the stone statue turned its back on me
before studying the numbers branded on the side of each
case.

None
of them
was
the one I was looking for, so while the giant creature was
still unaware of my presence I darted in between the next set of
cases and again studied the numbers laid out before me.

A brief pang of
relief washed over me as I spotted number eight two rows up from
where I was standing. The main aisle was empty since the second
guardian was further down the library, its massive head scanning
every row it came into contact with.

I moved as
quickly as I could to bookcase number eight. Again there was no
sign that I was following the route correctly. All I could hope for
was that when I reached number zero that there would be some sort
of indication as to where Lisa’s scroll was.

Once
I was safely in the row between the bookcases, I moved back to the
edge to glance out at the next lot. I could see number two the next
row up. The guardians
were
now changing their position and it felt like they
were heading back in my direction.