The Deal (9 page)

The
doorway
opened out into a
vast and surprisingly green
courtyard
dotted with
withering trees. A short distance away I could see the great hall.
It was more like a large block of granite with a set of grandiose
doors rather than anything splendid like you would
expect.

Slowly I made my way between the trees, I was
chronically aware that I no longer had the protection of the monk
so every step I made towards the huge building was carefully
placed. An eerie silence filled the air and all it could take to
bring down a horde of Hellish minions was a simple twig
breaking.

Travelling the short distance was
painstaking but as I moved closer to the main entrance I spotted
two of
those
gargoyle-like creatures
standing guard on
either side of the doors, torches burning furiously above their
contorted heads like the rage that must dwell inside
them.

Using a nearby tree to hide I
studied their movements, hoping that at some point they would break
from their stances and go elsewhere. I could feel frustration begin
to well up inside me as they showed no signs of moving.
Eventually,
I guessed that I would have to find another way
in, and that was when the idea suddenly occurred to me.

I had gained entry to the courtyard via a
small service door and I was certain there must be another such
entrance into the building itself. I was already on the east side
of the building so I started off in that direction, again trying to
be as much of a ninja as possible.

Fortunately,
for
me,
the
parameter of the decaying building was lined only with grass which
seemed to emit a pungent odour every time I stood on it.

My intuition had been spot on for once in my
life. After a few minutes of walking I finally found the smaller
door I was looking for. I approached it with caution, aware that it
could take only the smallest of sounds to alert the Grimoyle’s to
my presence in their realm.

I reached out and grabbed the wrought iron
handle, surprised to find that it was warm instead of cold. That
meant someone or something had not long used the door and could
still be close by. I was going to have to do my best ninja
impersonation from that point onwards.

Turning the handle I slowly edged
the door open, trying to create just enough of a gap so that I
could peek inside. I really shouldn't have been surprised by what I
saw given that I was in Hell, but I could still feel my stomach
lurch as I peered into what must have been the kitchen. A
Grimoyle
was standing near a work table, a meat clever in its
hand.

On the table lay a naked man who I did not
recognise was spread out on the table, large nails had been
hammered through the palms of his hands and the shins of his
legs.

I watched as the
Grimoyle
grabbed hold of the man’s penis and yanked it hard enough to
tear it free from his body and discard it to the side like a used
tissue.

The man let out an agonised scream which
briefly filled the air. My natural instinct to help him was
tempered by what the monk said earlier about the woman who had
endured a similar torture only a short time ago.

No soul in Hell wasn't there for
no reason. They had all done something to deserve their punishment.
But still, as I watched the winged demon begin to hack at the man’s
thigh with the
meat
cleaver
I couldn't help but wonder just
how long that punishment should be for.

I continued to watch the demon heft the
severed leg in its bony claws. It seemed impressed with the weight
and trotted off towards a set of stairs which seemed to lead
upwards. If I was going to infiltrate the building now was my
chance.

As quietly as I could I snuck into the kitchen
and closed the door behind me. I noted that the demon had left
behind the bloodstained meat clever. I quickly made my way over and
grabbed it. Holding it in my right hand I could feel the power of
the gold ring work its way down my hand and connect with the
clever. Suddenly I felt like I had a fighting chance, albeit not a
big one.

‘
Please help me.’ The choked cry
came from the man on the table. I turned to face him and recognised
that he couldn't have been any older than twenty. Still a kid in my
eyes.

‘
There's no point. There is
nowhere for you to run to.’ I said, sounding more callous than I
had intended.

‘
I know, but you could at least
give me a fighting chance?’ He asked, pleading in his
voice.

I looked down at the ragged wound where his
manhood had been and then at the blood soaked stump where he was
now missing a leg. I couldn't see how he was going to do any kind
of fighting at all.

‘
They grow back after a time and
then it starts all over again.
Please,
I'm not asking to go
back home I just want a chance to defend myself from those things.’
He said, his voice soaked with tears as he noticed me checking out
his wounds.

I glanced towards the stairwell listening for
any footsteps or other noises that might signal someone was coming.
I already had the feeling that if Satan found out I was helping the
monk then I could very well end up worse off than the wretched soul
on the table. But the human side of me, the side that still
actually gave a shit about anything wanted to let the man
go.

‘
Please!’ He cried and it was then
I decided that it might be a good idea to let him go. Although one
part of me wanted him to at least survive the night, if there was
such a thing in Hell, but also he could very well be a handy
distraction.

He screamed through gritted teeth
as I pulled each nail out until all his limbs
were
free. I
could feel a thick layer of sweat form on my forehead as I took a
step back and glanced over at the stairwell again. There was no way
all that noise had gone unnoticed, not in a place like this where
they actively sought out anything breathing to kill just for the
sport of it.

I kept my eyes on the stairs as the wounded
man swung his good leg off the table and let the weight of his body
pull him to the floor. I turned just in time to see him crawling
towards the door and I couldn’t help but hope that his missing body
grew back quicker than he said they did or he wasn’t even going to
be much of a sport for the smaller winged demons.

‘
Thank you. I won’t forget this.’
He said, gasping as he clawed his way towards the door.

‘
Good luck.’ I thought, before
deciding it was time to head upwards.

The stairwell was narrow, even for me, there
was only single lit torch every few feet making it hard to tell if
the shadows dancing on the moss covered walls belonged to me or
something more powerful.

The air became more stagnant as I made my way
upwards and I figured by the overpowering aroma that I must have
been getting closer to an entrance. Sure enough, a few steps later
and the last of the torches illuminated yet another closed
door.

Feeling claustrophobic by that point I
gratefully reached out to grab the handle and almost fell backwards
as the door was whipped open. For a few moments of silence I
couldn’t quite comprehend what I was looking at, and then it
suddenly dawned on me.

I was staring straight into the
huge black eyes of the Grimoyle that trotted off with the freshly
cut leg of a
human
. I gripped the machete tight in
my hand as it too seemed to come to the same
realisation.

Better make a move now Sammy
boy
. I thought to myself as I saw its
mouth open, ready to scream.

Without any further
hesitation,
I brought the blade of the machete down as hard
as I could on its head. There was no noise except a soft wet
explosion of blood as the razor sharp blade sliced down the centre
of its head like it was made of butter, leaving behind it a bloody
stump.

I raised the blade again, wiping globules of
blood from my eyes, ready to finish the job. But just as I was able
to clear my vision I could see its now lifeless body fall to the
floor in a heap.

Just because my little encounter was quite
possibly the quietest killing I had ever performed it did not mean
that others would not come looking for it once they had waited too
long for fresh body parts. I was going to have to get moving
quickly now.

So I stepped over the fallen demon and into a
long hallway which after a few feet opened out into the great hall.
I continued to edge my way forward, listening and watching for
anything that might pose a threat.

As I moved and was able to take in
more of the hall, I noticed that it was actually pretty barren. In
the centre was a huge pit that roared with crimson flames. I
assumed this was Argol’s fire, the very thing that could destroy
the scroll
Hermetia
had stolen.

Other than the fire I couldn’t see any other
forms of light, although there definitely seemed to be more light
shining outwards in the direction I was moving. As I got closer to
the end of the hallway, I came across an opening and that probably
once had a door on it but had long since been removed.

This
time,
I could hear something. A voice that
sounded like
fingernails
being drawn down a
chalkboard
with each word that was spoken.

‘
Sire, we cannot find the means
needed to destroy the scroll. We have been unable to get any more
information from the monastery and the sacred texts have offered no
guidance.’ Flattening myself against the wall I peered round and
through the opening.

I found myself looking into a
large, brightly lit stage area which looked out towards the rest of
the hall. Sitting on a throne made entirely of human
skeletons
was this huge, obese creature with massive razor sharp horns
protruding from the top of his head. Its skin was a mottled green
colour with a constant greasy shine.

Standing before, who I was certain
was
Hermetia
, was a much smaller minion of
darkness. This one wore a robe just like the monk but it had none
of the fancy embroidery around the hood or the cuffs and the
quality of the material did not look as luxurious as my good
friends.

‘
It has been two days and not you
or your brothers have been able to find a solution to my
problem,
Azry
. I am beginning to lose patience
with you, and I can’t help but wonder if I should just through you
into the mighty fire.’
Hermetia
was a stark contrast to the
other demonic creatures in terms of the way he spoke. His
words
were
softly spoken.

I watched as the massive creature chewed on
the freshly chopped leg I had seen the Grimoyle preparing for
him.

‘
I beg your forgiveness sire. We
are still searching the texts but the dark lord keeps a lot of
information hidden from us.’ Said
Azry
, keeping his head
bowed
in front
of his master.

‘
Yes, the dark one did not create
all of us with the knowledge he has, but that does not mean we are
too stupid to learn Azry.’ Said
Hermetia
, gulping down the
remainder of the leg.

I quickly ducked back into the hallway when
the huge demon turned to face my direction as if he had sensed my
presence.

‘
Where is my food? Why is it
taking so long!?’ He demanded, and when no answer came I could hear
him direct his anger at the small minion. ‘Azry, go and see what is
keeping my food from being brought to me or I will eat you
instead.’

I peeked back through the opening to see Azry
the minion bow and mutter something in his own language before
heading in my direction. It was as I glanced back that I noticed
the ornate gold case of the scroll, tiny compared to the throne it
had been placed under, but at least I now knew where it
was.

Pushing myself as far into the darkness as I
could, I waited for Azry to come through the opening, machete
ready. I had no place to run or hide, and since the clock was
ticking my only option left was to stand and fight.

Sure enough, the
brown-robed
minion stepped through the doorway and once he
was just about to step past me I lashed out with the machete. The
blade connected with the spot where its neck should have been and
sliced all the way through.

There was a brief gush of blood
from the headless body before it fell to the floor and without
wasting any more time, I turned my attention back to
Hermetia
. There was no sneaky way of getting my hands on the scroll.
Frustrated I realized that the only way to get to it was to show
myself.

I looked down at the blood soaked blade in my
hand and the gold ring that was providing that extra supernatural
power. I quietly prayed it would be enough to keep me from the same
fate as the last two demons I just dealt with.