by Michael Todd
The team responded, ready and willing to help. It was a relief to find someone who recognized him and didn’t seem to have any problems with their role but also saw their firearms. Damian had always done things his way, which was why he had survived as long as he had.
Charlie pulled him aside and lowered his voice. “I’m all about saving the innocent if we can. I want you to know that. But understand that even though we’ll do what we can to help you, this is a battle. Most likely we will have to kill a lot of the demons, even the infected ones, because you know how it is. When you’re out there being attacked from all angles, you don’t stop to think who could be exorcised. You fight for your life. Have some patience with the team, okay?”
The priest patted him on the shoulder. “I completely understand where you’re coming from. We came with weapons, even though the church doesn’t technically allow them. I know what these things are like, and sometimes it’s your life or theirs. We’ll eliminate as many of the pure demons as we can to help you guys out. We won’t get in the way, and we won’t put your team in any danger.”
Charlie seemed relieved by that response. “You’re welcome to any of our ammo or weapons. They’re from your girl anyway. I’m gonna get out there and get my kills. I’m already past my personal quota, and I’m gonna see if I can double it.”
Damian laughed and watched as the merc ran into the field, his guns already blasting. Max chuckled. “That guy is freaking wild. I love it.”
The older man held both his cross and his weapon ready and smirked. “Mercs are a different breed. I know, because I’ll always be one at heart.”
Chapter Twelve
“Where to first?” Max asked, his expression taut.
Damian glanced around, quickly assessing the scene. He nodded toward the farmhouse. “They have things under control out here. Let’s go inside and see what damage we can do there.”
Max pulled his knife, then shook his head and exchanged it for his gun. “I think I might need bigger this time around.”
“Probably a good idea.”
They moved across the field, alert for approaching demons. The older man glanced at his companion and sighed, then tossed his bible to him. Max juggled it for a moment before he gripped it firmly and stared at the name printed on the front cover. “What’s this for? I have mine.”
Damian kept his face expressionless, not liking the choice he had to make. “You’ll have to help. There are too many for me to handle on my own. You’ve exorcised demons before, and this situation is no different.”
Max wrinkled his nose uncertainly. “Except for the gazillion demons trying to take me down to hell with them.”
He put his hand out to stop Max and faced him. “I’ve marked the prayers I like to use.” He flipped through the bible, showing him the dog-eared pages. “The longer ones work better on larger infestations. Read them the way you would any other prayer.”
Max holstered his gun and grabbed the satchel around his neck. He could feel the energy of the cross inside it. “What about you?”
Damian chuckled. “I know these prayers by heart. The bible is a prop for me. I’ll be fine. The most important thing is to focus when you’re saying them. Bring God into it like you do when you pray normally.”
“Well, this should definitely be a learning experience for me, if nothing else.”
“Remember one thing, though. If an infected can’t be exorcised, you must take that person’s life. They may look completely normal, and they may even prey on your sympathies, but hold strong. If the demon has completely taken over, there is nothing we can do for them. We have to neutralize the threat.”
Max took a deep breath and straightened, mustering his inner strength. “I can do it.”
Damian nodded. “Good. Now come on. Let’s kick some ass.”
They climbed the porch steps, and the older priest kicked the front door. It slammed open, grating on its hinges. Dust billowed, and light flooded the old stained floors. Damian slapped Max on the shoulder and smiled. “Good luck.”
With that, he strode down the hall and kicked a demon square in the chest before blowing a hole in its forehead. He turned his head quickly when the walls creaked and rattled. A demon dropped from the ceiling and knocked him onto the floor, where they wrestled and the beast pinned Damian down. Its mouth opened wide, and its teeth dripped with saliva as it hissed in his face.
The priest struggled to bring his gun up between them. “Say hello to Moloch for me, asshole.”
He pulled the trigger, and his adversary hurtled into the wall and slid to the floor. Damian stood, straightened his jacket, and fired another round into the demon’s head. The beast squealed loudly and turned to dust. Damian moved into the kitchen and stopped when he saw a blonde woman at the stove, her back to him. He swallowed hard as she snarled and breathed heavily.
Damian held his cross up and cleared his throat, beginning the exorcism. As the woman turned, her eyes glowed bright red, and her teeth showed jagged and crimson. She held a frying pan containing a severed hand. As the words of the prayer increased in intensity, the Damned shook, dropped the pan, and slammed her hands over her ears. She growled loudly, stiffened, and fell.
The fiend rose from her body and screeched before bursting. Damian knelt beside the woman and found her pulse. It was weak, but he could tell she would pull through. As he stood, he glanced at the blood leaking onto the tiles from the frying pan. “Bon appetit?”
The priest raised his pistol instinctively as a loud crash sounded right in front of him. A demon stood on the counter and knocked the dishes onto the floor. It swiped at Damian, but he evaded the deadly claws. “I don’t think I invited you to dinner.”
He squeezed the trigger twice, aiming for the skull. The beast fell backward and turned to ash before it hit the floor. Three more demons and one infected bolted through the doors, and Damian sighed, bracing himself on the edge of the counter. He aimed carefully and dispatched each of the demons with a single shot, but left the Damned untouched. Slowly, he walked forward, speaking the prayer.
The man cringed, and his hands turned to claws as his face twisted unnaturally. The priest spoke the prayer louder, but it had little effect. He shook his head, knowing the man was too far gone. “I’m sorry for this.” He released the empty magazine from his gun and reloaded. “May God have mercy on your soul.”
With that, he pulled the trigger, and the body hit the floor.
Max breathed heavily and held his pistol at the ready, taking one slow step at a time toward the upper floor. The claws of a demon scraped the walls above with a harsh sound that sent shivers down his spine, and he gripped his weapon tightly. Near the top, he paused to see if anything would jump out.
Astaroth sighed. Go on, already. Sheesh.
The young priest shook his head. One thing I have learned is that anything is possible with these bastards. I know they get their rocks off by jumping out at me. Max listened for a moment, but he heard nothing. They must have gone into one of the rooms.
As he took another tentative step, a demon landed in front of him, hissing loudly. Max yelped and slammed his fist into its throat. The beast’s eyes grew wide with surprise, and it grabbed its neck and stumbled back. Max squeezed his trigger three times, shattering the ugly face.
Astaroth chuckled. Whoa, whoa, I think you got him. He won’t smell anything for a long time.
The creature turned to dust, and Max stomped up the rest of the steps. I told you. They like to jump out unexpectedly.
His demon scoffed. You’ll be fine, especially if you keep throat-punching the bitches like that.
The trainee shook his head as he turned the corner and came face to face with a tall, redheaded woman with bright red eyes. He swallowed, lowered his gun, and held the bible open. The woman snarled, and her head jerked spasmodically as she walked toward him. He found one of the prayers and chanted as calmly as he could while she screamed loudly, the sound echoing down the hall.
Her claw
s morphed into human hands, and she grabbed her throat and thrashed violently. Her eyes went soft, and she looked at Max, one hand outstretched in a helpless gesture. “Please, stop. The demon is gone. Please, it hurts so much.”
Max paused, but Astaroth gave him a jolt. She’s playing you. Keep going.
He nodded and continued. The woman’s face twisted with rage, and she shrieked and lunged at him. He sidestepped instinctively, and her body convulsed before it dropped to the floor. A demon floated free and hovered for a few moments as it writhed and screeched until finally, it erupted.
Max’s shoulders relaxed, and he knelt beside the woman and made the sign of the cross. Her red eyes were blue pools of silent gratitude before she passed out. She’ll be all right.
Astaroth sniffed the air. She’s the only one up here. Head back down to where the bulk of them are. You got this.
Damian eliminated the demons in the kitchen and retreated down the hall, going past the staircase and into the living room. At least a dozen demons crawled in and out of windows and perched on furniture while some fought each other in the center of the room. The priest immediately opened fire, careful to avoid the infected among them. He stepped back and almost fell over another body. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that Max had joined the fray.
The older man reloaded and selected his next targets. “How you holding up?” he asked casually
Max fired a well-placed headshot. “Okay, I suppose. I exorcised one upstairs. You?”
Damian nodded. “Exorcised one, killed a bunch of demons.”
For a long time, they simply focused on the seemingly endless stream of beasts with no time for exorcism. Max fired his last bullet and dropped the empty magazine on the floor. “I’m out.”
His mentor tossed a new one to him. “My coat comes in handy sometimes.”
Max grinned and shoved it home. “There are so many of them.”
Droves of demons streamed toward them from the hallway. There were a few Damned mixed in, but there was no time to even think about exorcising them. A large demon burst through the front door, noticed Max and Damian, and growled loudly. The men looked at each other before they fired in unison at the beast’s head.
The demon screamed and flailed its arms wildly, knocking Max back onto the steps. Before Damian could intervene, something slammed into his stomach. The force of the punch rolled him back into the wall, and he grunted at the impact and slid to the floor. Max narrowed his eyes as his mentor coughed, trying to catch his breath. He pushed up from the steps and shoved the creature aside to give the older man time. Under Astaroth’s guidance, he kicked the demon hard in the side and followed up with a blow to its nose.
It shook its head and stumbled back, giving Damian time to find his feet. He leaped forward, wrapped his legs around the demon’s neck, and flipped backward. The beast somersaulted onto the floor, and Damian shoved his gun into its head and fired. A soft whine cut off abruptly as it disintegrated.
The older man nodded his thanks as several Damned ran toward them, their skin hanging in peeling strips. Max sliced one through the neck with his dagger. He threw the second blade, and it thunked between the Damned’s eyes. Both were so far gone that they turned to ash almost immediately.
They had given themselves a small breathing space, so Damian stepped beside Max and they looked out the door. He replaced his magazine and shook his head. “It looks like between us and the mercs, we’ve cleared out or exorcised at least half these bitches. This is the point where they usually try to make a break for it.”
The trainee glanced to the right as demons crawled through the doorway and spread over the ceiling and walls like spiders. They perched there, hissing and staring at the two men.
“Uh, I think this might play out a little differently,” Max remarked. “What do you think?”
Damian noted the shift in hostility. Normally, smaller ones would attack randomly but were mostly intent on finding food. These, however, were focused entirely on the two priests.
A demon dropped from the ceiling and stood, flexing its black-scaled shoulder muscles. The eyes were set wide apart, and its mouth drooped to reveal rows of hideous sharpened teeth. It scraped its claws on the floor and barked menacingly. Max’s mouth dropped open. “Holy hell, what the fuck is it doing?”
Damian stared, having never seen that mentality in demons before. Without looking at his companion, he tapped Max’s chest. “Language.”
In the same breath, he lifted his gun and fired, striking the fiend in the chest. It looked at the hole and snarled as it lurched toward him. Damian held the weapon steady as he backed away, pulling the trigger again and again. Suddenly, Max launched himself onto the monster’s shoulders, raised his dagger, and plunged it into the skull. The demon thrashed, and Max alighted to land beside his mentor.
Damian glanced at him with raised eyebrows. “Nice.”
The younger man focused on the demon. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure I would actually land on his shoulders. Just kind of winged it.”
The beast howled loudly and fragmented, and the knife dropped. Max retrieved it and gestured out the door at a wall of demons creeping toward the mercs. “I didn’t know they did this.”
His mentor shook his head. “I’ve never seen it before, but it looks like an uprising. Things are completely out of hand. I don’t know where they learned this, but it’s not good news for us.”
Chapter Thirteen
Damian grabbed Max’s arm and pulled him toward the stairwell. Two shots each found a target among the demons creeping down the steps. The trainee glanced at the demons that were inching closer. “Where are we going?”
“I need a minute to think before they all start attacking.”
Once upstairs, they moved cautiously down the hall, alert for other adversaries hiding there. It seemed they were all downstairs or outside, waiting to attack. Damian had never seen demons act like that in any previous incursion. It was obvious that to keep Max safe, he would have to go against the Wise Men’s orders. There was no way he would send his trainee out there on his own and hope he stayed alive. The sheer distraction alone would probably get them both killed.
He stopped at the end of the hall in front of an open closet, glanced at the empty space, and thought for a moment. He wanted to clear his head but knew he didn’t have much time.
Max looked bewildered. “Did I do something wrong?”
Damian’s eyes softened, and he patted him on the chest. “No, you did a really good job. There was no way that either of us could exorcise. We were too inundated by demons to even think about it, and I’m now trying to think about our next plan of attack. Things are intense, and these demons are acting completely out of character.”
Max straightened and puffed his chest out. “I’m ready. This is part of the job, and I want you to know that I can handle whatever comes my way. I got my hands of steel, my wits, and my weapons. If I have time to exorcise I will, but I won’t hesitate to kill these guys. They obviously want to kill us, and they seem to have some sort of training.”
Damian chuckled and nodded. “That they do, which is why it’ll be incredibly difficult, especially for a newbie. These demons would give Katie a run for her money.”
The trainee stomped his foot. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s take them down.”
His mentor glanced at the closet and smirked. He shifted momentarily and thrust out his palm to strike Max in the chest. The young priest stumbled back, and Damian pushed him to the floor of the closet. Max shook his head, confused, and tried to stand.
Damian shoved the door almost shut and shook his head. “Sorry, kid. I promised I’d keep you alive. Try not to scream, or you’ll call the demons right to this closet. When it’s clear, I’ll come get you out.”
Max’s eyes burned red as he tried again to stand, but the older man slammed the door and locked it from the outside. He stepped back as the trainee pounded the door and yelled, “Don’t do this to me, Damian. This is my job! Damm
it, let me out of this closet. So help me God, I’ll knock the damn thing from its hinges.”
A short silence was followed by a loud thud. Max groaned, and Damian chuckled and patted the door. “Just hold tight, buddy. This is not a fight for a newbie.”
He rolled up his shirt sleeves. “All right, demons. You want to fuck around? I can play along with that.”
Ravi hissed with laughter. Oh. My. God. Seriously, how did you ever become a priest, much less stay a priest all these years? I don’t know if they can fire priests, but if they can, how did you dodge that bullet? You are disobeying direct orders.
Damian sneered. Direct orders from a bunch of baboons who don’t know their asses from their elbows. I’ll be nice to their faces and I’ll take the missions, but I’m tired of being pushed around. There is no way I’ll get Max’s ass torn up to prove something to them.
She snickered. The rebel priest, killing demons and throwing up gang signs. I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen a priest do something like that. Normally, they’re very obedient and never question things.
He headed purposefully down the hallway. That’s how people fucking get killed. They mess around, trying to play favorites and good boys, and someone does the wrong thing. I’ll be damned if they test me on this. I’ve been a priest too long, and when God tells me something ain’t right, I listen.
Ravi exhaled a deep breath of relief. I have to say, Damian, I’m proud of you. I know that might not mean much coming from a princess of darkness, but I am. Max is a kid, and while no one should have to deal with this, it’s not worth risking his life. He definitely isn’t ready to face the angry demon mob waiting for you downstairs.