The Raven Flies At Night

by Janine R Pestel

  “Johann, what's he doing,” asked Robert.

  “Unless I'm mistaking,” answered Johann, “He's about to conjure.”

  Robert turned and peered at the hellish scene before him. The demon stood there, in all his evil glory. With the monster was a man, his eyes appeared only as orbs of white, in his pale-skinned face. The man knelt before the manifestation of evil and prayed. Robert couldn't help notice the color of the policeman's skin. It had taken on a slightly gray color.

  “I pray thee the power to conceive in my mind,” continued the police officer, “And to execute that which I desire to do, the end which I would attain by thy help, oh mighty Satan, the one true God who livest and reignest forever and ever. I entreat thee to inspire Earl Raum to manifest before me that he may give me true and faithful answer, so that I may accomplish my desired end, provided that it is proper to his office. This I respectfully and humbly ask in your name, Lord Satan, may you deem me worthy, Father.”

  The officer's eyes returned to normal as he ended his prayer, and he stood back up. The church trembled. Plaster and dust fell from the walls and ceiling. Malphas laughed and turned, to once again face Johann and Robert.

  “What's happening,” Robert asked, looking around.

  “Raum is coming,” answered Johann.

  “We're unarmed,” Robert's voice now took on an urgent sound. Johann glanced at him sideways, for a moment, and smiled slightly.

  “No, we're not,” he answered, “But at least now the damned conjuror is exposed.”

  “Yeah, no shit. Hell of a way to find out, don't ya think?”

  With a shrill cry, a Raven flew into the room. It narrowly missed the demon hunters' heads as it flew by. The enormous bird landed on the floor between Malphas and Phil and began to change form. Johann gritted his teeth. His churning stomach told him who this demon in Raven form was.

  In an instant, the Raven completed its transformation, and Raum now stood between his conjuror and Malphas. Phil gazed at him; a smile lit his face. It was almost as if he adored the Earl of Hell.

  “Glad you made it,” the officer said to the evil one he had just conjured. Raum gave him a quick glance, then turned his attention to Malphas.

  “My Prince,” Raum said. He bowed his head to the supreme evil, as someone would do to royalty, “I am here to serve you.”

  “I see,” Malphas answered, then glanced at Phil for a very brief moment, “Dispense with the pawn.”

  “He served his purpose well,” Raum said, his back still to Phil.

  “Yes, he did,” answered Hell's Prince, “You chose your conjuror wisely.” The smile slowly disappeared from Phil's face, as he realized he was about to be double-crossed.

  “Wait a minute,” Phil said, urgently, “I'm on your side. I want to destroy the people in this town as much as you do.” Raum turned to the man; his face reflected the disgust he truly felt for what he considered to be an impudent being.

  “This town,” he said, mocking Phil's words, “You believe all we want is this puny little town? You are small; you can't even see beyond your little world. You have conjured me, an Earl of Hell, and I have brought the Prince, himself. And, you think all we want is your tiny, meaningless, insignificant town?”

  Raum gazed at Malphas, then at Phil.

  “We only let you come back,” Malphas said to Phil, “Because we knew of your hatred for what the people here had done to you. We knew you would be the perfect channel for us. Your services, however, are no longer required.” Malphas raised his hand as though he were casting a spell.

  While this distraction kept the two evil creatures busy, Johann had been sneaking over to his shotgun. Having finally reached it, he picked it up and pumped it to load the chamber.

  “Hey, dick face,” he shouted. The two demons and Phil all turned to Johann. “It figures all three of you would look,” he said. The demon hunter fired his weapon, and the projectile ripped through Malphas' arm, tearing it from his human body.

  As the limb fell to the floor, the blood splattered on the wall and Phil's face. The police officer quickly ran over to join Johann and Robert.

  “Help me. Please,” Phil said, as he begged Johann for protection.

  “Changing sides, are we,” Johann asked, sarcastically.

  “Please. You have no idea what they'll do to me.”

  “I should care,” Johann asked. He stared at the poor, wretched man, and took pity on him.

  “You're an ass, but you're still human,” Johann finally said, “We'll do what we can.”

  Johann picked up the pistol and threw it to Robert. The coroner-turned-demon hunter caught it and quickly aimed it at the two evil creatures in front of him.

  “Fire at will,” Johann yelled, as he once again fired his shotgun. This time, the shot tore into Raum's torso, causing him to fall back into the wall. The area where the two demons made their stand quickly became a bloody mess, as Robert started firing his pistol.

  Not being the best of shots, Robert's bullets seemed to be going almost anywhere they pleased, with one bullet hitting its target now and then.

  Johann, tired of having to keep ducking from the sound of ricocheting bullets, took cover behind the overturned desk. Phil joined him.

  Malphas, soon tired of the antics of the two demon hunters and waved his hand at Robert. This caused him to come off his feet, and fly through the air backward. The wall shattered when the weight of Robert's flying body impacted it, and he landed a few inches inside. The impact with the wall re-opened the wound on his face, which, up until now, had stopped bleeding.

  Robert sat there, unconscious, as the battle raged on around him, a small trickle of blood oozed down the side of his face.

  “Bob,” Johann shouted, “Bob are you okay?” He waited a moment, but no response came from his friend. Scared that Robert was seriously injured, Johann bellowed again, a little louder this time. “Bob. Answer me. Are you hurt?”

  “What happened,” Robert asked weakly, as he regained consciousness, and took stock of his predicament. He reached up and wiped some blood from his cheek.

  “Help me with this,” Johann said to Phil, as he started to make his way toward Robert, using his uninjured hand to drag the desk with him to maintain cover. Phil helped push the heavy wooden desk. Seeing them coming, Robert freed himself from the wall and began to quickly crawl toward them.

  Debris began to fly about as if a tornado had entered the room Glass, and pieces of wood slammed into walls. Pictures that once adorned the walls in heavy, ornate wood frames, became lethal flying weapons. Little ceramic nick-nacks from shelves were propelled through the air with deadly speed, shattering into thousands of pieces when they collided with walls, or with each other in mid-air. Malphas and Raum stood at the front of the room, laughing, with their arms stretched upward.

  A sound from above got Johann's attention. He looked up and could see a chunk of the ceiling began to come loose. He and Phil covered their heads, as the broken piece of ceiling crashed down on them.

  The dust settled, and Johann became very angry. He reached out and grabbed Robert, who had been hit by the falling debris. He pulled his partner to safety behind the desk.

  “You okay,” Johann asked his friend.

  “Yeah. I'll live,” answered Robert, as he rubbed his head, and brushed the drywall dust from his clothing, and hair.

  Outside, the horrified crowd watched, as the roof of the church began to heave, and undulate, as though it had become a living, breathing creature. The sound of cracking and breaking mortar sent the people scurrying as far away from the church as possible.

  In Sharon's apartment, Father Nelson blessed himself, as he watched the battle rage at his beloved church. He soon realized the steeple on the church began to sway. Without warning, the structure broke free from the holy building, and hurtled to the ground, to join the cross that once stood atop it.

  People ran, as the wooden steeple exploded into thousands of pieces on the concrete sidewalk. The huge, b
rass bell that once rang to signal mass rang all the way down, like a death cadence. Tears streamed from the priest's eyes, as he witnessed his church being torn apart. His heart broke with the sickening clang of metal hitting concrete. A muffled cry gained the attention of people nearby, but only for a brief moment. They all stared in horror, knowing they were powerless to help the poor soul who was crushed by the heavy bell. Sharon quickly turned away, but not before seeing the arm which stuck out from under the wreckage.

  “Have mercy on his soul,” Father Nelson whispered, as he stared at the blood, which seeped out from under the deformed hunk of brass that was once the bell. The woman who was with the man that was crushed, turned and vomited on the sidewalk, then fell to her knees. She threw herself over the bell, and cried so loud; her painful wails made their way to both Sharon and the priest. The padre bowed his head in sorrow, as her screams rose above the noise from the street.

  A rumbling sound emanated from the within the church, which was visibly trembling. As the building shook itself apart, more bricks broke loose from the now weakened structure, and crashed to the walkway below, pummeling anyone not fast enough to escape the falling debris.

  The two oak doors bulged outward, as though fighting to contain a great pressure inside. With a deafening blast, they exploded open. The concussion tore them from the structure, and they became deadly projectiles. One door shredded into thousands of splinters and flew into the crowd. Most of the people tumbled to the ground from the force of the blast. Others were not so lucky. Those in the back of the crush of humanity, or near a wall, remained standing. This, of course, made them targets for the killer missiles, as they rushed into the screaming crowd.

  One woman, in the middle of a scream, received a very sharp, almost spear-like, splinter of the door in her mouth. The deadly wooden missile hit her with such force, that it pierced the soft tissue of her palate, and came out through the back of her head, at the base of her skull. It then struck the man behind her in his eye, lodging the tip in his brain. Both fell, lifeless, to the sidewalk. Their bodies shook uncontrollably, as their nerves died. The blood-stained wall being a grim reminder that only moments before, two living, breathing human beings occupied that area.

  The siren from a parked police car chirped, as the second, fully intact door, crashed into it. The impact crushed the roof and front windshield of the vehicle, sending glass shards, and police officers, scattering in all directions.

  One officer, who was standing next to the unfortunate vehicle, was not able to move quite fast enough, and for his efforts, he was rewarded with a hinge bolt from the door, as it penetrated his chest, and lodged in his lung. He fell to the ground, unconscious and unable to breathe, his body quickly went into death spasms, as his blood quickly poured from the gaping wound in his torso, and pooled under his lifeless body on the asphalt.

  The police that had put up a barricade at that end of the street immediately started pushing the people back from the boundary. Two officers hurried in, and pulled the deceased officer away from the scene, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. Other officers ran in to escort people away from the front of the church, to behind the barricade. The sight of this devastation and suffering sparked something in Father Nelson, and he sprang to his feet.

  “I must go help them,” he said, as he turned to go to the door. Sharon quickly blocked his way and put her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

  “No,” she shouted, almost sounding like she was growling, “No. I almost lost you once today; I'm not going to let that happen again. Johann and Robert know what they're doing. Please don't go.” The priest searched her eyes, and gently placed two fingers on her quivering lips, as she unsuccessfully fought back the tears.

  “Very well,” he said, weakly, “Then, at least, I can pray for them.” He sat back in the chair, facing the battle engulfed church, and began to pray. Sharon glanced upward, and mouthed a “Thank you.”

  Father Nelson glanced down to the street, and a smile crossed his lips. He studied Johann's car, parked in front of the building where Sharon lived.

  “He truly is blessed,” the pontiff said, quietly. Sharon gazed over his shoulder. She, too, smiled, as she realized that the car sat undamaged and seemingly untouched. Even though debris covered the road, and sidewalks, on both sides, the vehicle seemed as though an invisible bubble protected it. The debris stopped in a circle around Johann's Mustang and came no closer than two feet. Sharon and her uncle gazed at each other and smiled.

  Inside the church office, the maelstrom unexpectedly quieted. The two hunters exchanged a glance, confused. Johann nudged Phil.

  “What are you doing now,” he asked, not trusting the apparent peace.

  “I'm not doing anything,” the trembling officer answered, “I don't have any idea what they're doing.”

  “Yeah, I bet you don't,” Johann said, as he quickly peeked over the desk, then sat back down. “They're gone,” he said.

  “Gone,” asked Robert.

  “Gone. No doubt they're just resting before the next attack, which could come at any minute.” Johann turned to Phil, then grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled the policeman toward him. “You conjured this demon. We should take your damned head off for that, you slimy bastard.”

  “You don't know what I've been through,” Phil said, as he protected his face with his hands.

  “Well, why don't you enlighten us,” Johann said. He released Phil's shirt.

  “Yeah. Tell us a story,” Robert said.

  “And, what did that slime mean by 'let you come back,' ” asked Johann, “Back from where?”

  Phil glanced at Johann, without saying anything. He was trying to decide how he would tell them his story. After a moment, he started to speak.

  “A few years ago, my brother was also a police officer here, in this damned town. There was a robbery, and we both responded. During the struggle with the perp, a shot was fired. I was standing next to my brother when his head came apart like a watermelon,” the officer said, trembling with tears in his eyes. “After that, I realized there was so much hate and greed in this town. I decided it had to be punished, so I did some reading. I found out how to conjure a demon, and which demon I should conjure to get the results I wanted.” He fell forward into a quivering, sobbing mass of humanity.

  “You didn't tell us what he meant about letting you come back,” Johann said, insisting on an explanation. Phil looked up at him, and with tear-filled eyes, he simply shrugged his shoulders and placed his face in his hands again.

  Johann turned away from him and decided not to push the topic any further. Even though Phil had done something so heinous as summoning evil, Johann still felt some pity for the man. He put his hand on Phil's shoulder.

  “Sorry about your brother, man,” Johann said.

  “Me, too,” said Robert.

  “Oh, boo-hoo,” a sarcastic voice came from somewhere in the room, “Cry me a river. You got me here to do your bidding, and now, you sit there and cry. A quivering mass of mortality, sorry for what you did. Spare me the dramatics. It's a little late to repent, don't you think?”

  Johann peeked over the desk. Raum stood alone in front of them.

  “Where's your slimy friend,” asked Johann, glaring at the demon.

  “Oh, don't you worry about him. I assure you…he'll be back. We're not finished with this place by a long shot.”

  As the foul creature spoke, Johann slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew the talisman given to him by Father Nelson. He turned it with his finger-tips and glanced at Phil, who stared at the object.

  “Is that the Cimeries Talisman,” Phil asked, whispering, and not taking his eyes off the shiny disc.

  “You know what this is,” Johann asked, surprised that Phil would know the Cimeries Talisman.

  “Of course, I do,” answered the officer, “I think we can use this to free ourselves.”

  Johann studied him for a moment, then, a little reluctantly started to hand the amulet
to him, but quickly changed his mind and closed his hand.

  “No,” Johann said, “No way. I don't trust you. You can do whatever it is that you're gonna do. But, I'm gonna hold onto this.”

  Phil moved closer to Johann, to whisper to him. The last thing he wanted was for Raum to hear what he was plotting.

  “I learned an incantation that's supposed to banish this thing,” Officer Phil said, “But, I need to be holding a talisman. And, this talisman, in particular, is very powerful.” He looked into the demon fighter's eyes, a pleading expression on his face. “Please. Let me right the wrong I did by bringing that thing here,” he dropped his eyes, “Otherwise, I'll never rest. I'll be damned for eternity.”

  “Alright. But I warn you. You screw us over, and I'll kill you where you stand,” Johann said, as he allowed Phil to take the small metal disc.

  “Don't worry,” said Phil, “I won't let us down.” He took the talisman from Johann, and stood up, to attract Raum's attention. The monster glared at him as they both engaged in an old-fashioned stare-down. The officer's heart rate quickened, as he became more and more nervous about standing up to the evil that he, himself, had brought to his town.

  -15-

  Phil and the demon stood for what seemed an eternity and stared at each other. Without warning, Raum's eyes turned black and lifeless as a shark's eyes. He stretched his arms outward, as though he welcomed someone, and opened his mouth. A scream emanated from within him.

  The sound became shrill, like a Raven's, only amplified many times, to the point where it caused pain to the two demon hunters. Johann and Robert covered their ears to protect their hearing. Phil, oddly, did not. He just stood his ground and continued to stare-down the monster. Johann glanced at him and thought it odd that he did not need to cover his ears.

  The demon's cry filled the room, and more dust and material fell from the ceiling and walls. The windows in the room shattered, and shards of glass scattered everywhere. Outside, bystanders ran for cover from a sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Several people fell to the ground, trampled by the crowd, in the ensuing chaos.