chAPTER thirty-eight
The key snapped itself back into place just as Gezon’s talons were about to clamp down upon it. An explosion of blinding white light traveled outward from the hourglass like a bubble expanding in all directions. Gezon was knocked out of the air. He lay on the cave floor twitching in pain, a direct result of being too close to God’s pure light. Time was up; the moment that had lasted over 16 years was no longer. The blue light that had previously frozen all in place was now a fading echo of white light. Not one being was left standing, everyone had collided with this encompassing light and had been thumped upon the ground from where they stood.
Infernal Maximus was first to recover, and he stood to his feet at the top of the ramp, filled with uncompromising rage over his sixteen-year imprisonment. All who were trapped in the supernatural light were indeed frozen in time, but their minds had been left to roam. He looked upon Gezon and smiled.
Gezon, still in dragon form, was the second to recover. He flew back over the hourglass and snatched it up as he headed in the direction of the drilling ship. “Come to me, Gezon, my good and faithful servant. Bring me my power source.” Infernal Maximus’ voice was as commanding as his giant presence. Gezon landed in the middle of the loading ramp within a melting dark mist. It swirled around him, and his form was reduced to his demonic human appearance. He walked up to the top of the ramp and bowed before Gezon, setting the hourglass at his feet.
“Son of the mighty Lucifer, I am honored to be the one to free you from your captivity. Allow me to present you with a gift as recompense for your unlawful incarceration. May it please you and temper your wrath upon your slow-moving servants.” Gezon motioned to the four dark shadows and to Ned. They escorted Moses and Noah up the ramp, and they did not come alone. Hundreds of mole-men poured by them in wave after wave, entering the drilling ship and filling it with the contempt of evil. “I give to you two famous saints of old kidnapped from Heaven, Moses and Noah.”
He paused to look at Ned, and he licked his lips. Ned cast his gaze downward; he feared at any moment he would become a light snack. Infernal Maximus then looked past the four shadow goons as if they weren’t even there. He bent down at the waist and came to eye level with the saints. “This is what my father sends me after 16 years? Two gangly-looking old saints? Well, perhaps it is a good day to die again.” Infernal Maximus stood tall. “What fun we will have together.”
The saints stood with their eyes and mouths closed. They would not allow him the satisfaction of open discourse.
Infernal Max swung out his left arm and pulled Gezon to his side with a manly hug. “Go, confine them below and place the hourglass in its engineering compartment and bring this bucket of bolts to life. The time of our departure is long overdue.”
Gezon looked back to the lava slide. “And what is to become of the human trash at the slide?”
“This cave will be their tomb.” Infernal Max released Gezon, and as he did, Gezon misted away in a cloud of swirling darkness, taking Ned, the four shadow goons, and the saints with him. Thousands of mole-men marched up the ramp; they were now at a run, scurrying to the inside like ants climbing up the mound and disappearing into the dark hole before the start of a thunderstorm. Infernal Max was the very last to enter, the doors sealing shut from within. Slowly the ramp retracted into the ship with the clanking of many metal gears. A few moments later the blades at the front of the ship began to rotate slowly, then finally built up to a feverish pace. The hourglass power had been turned on. The ship pitched forward, and the nose of the ship began to sink into the cave floor. As it sank, the back end of the ship lifted into the air like the tail feather of a bird in flight. The ship was now descending into the earth. The cave shook, the walls collapsing, roof crumbling down to the ground.
Jasper helped Tammy Sue Tate to stand as Mop gave aid to Lance. Aunt Debbie-Lynne was slumped against the pearl doors of the lava slide with the eighty-dollar remote tightly gripped in her hand. Thunder licked her face until her eyes popped open. She could see the cave coming down around them and knew they had a mere minute, maybe two, in which to make their escape. She pressed the “EVAC” button, and the pearl doors turned red and after a second they opened. Thunder herded her inside the lava tube.
Jasper looked over his shoulder just in time to see his aunt go safely inside the tube with Thunder. He looked to Mop and Lance. Lance was favoring his left leg and turning toward the slide slowly, limping with his right, blood pouring from an open wound and soaking his pant leg. He was hurt but still able to move on his own. “It’s a cave-in. We’ve got to move. Go help Mop, I’ll get Stacy!” Jasper yelled at the top of his voice. He raced to where Stacy had fallen. He picked her up using the fireman’s rescue technique. He raced back to the slide, dodging the falling rocks.
Clouds of dirt began to billow out the hole of the cave, making breathing laborious at best. The air was disappearing as fast as the cave was falling to ruin. Mop and Tate had managed to drag Dester and Rosezella safely back to the lava slide. Lance was last to arrive, just seconds behind Mop and Tate. Once inside, Jasper took hold of Thunder, and he closed his eyes and summoned the angelic power from within. Everyone inside the lava slide levitated up to the center.
As the doors were closing, Jasper glimpsed the tail end of the drilling ship slipping down into the earth below, and then it was gone. The doors sealed, lava swirled around the tube and it shot forward. They were once again safe for a moment and racing back to civilization. Jasper was confused. What did I just witness? Why would Gezon give the key to Infernal Maximus to power the drilling ship when he needed it to power the portal ship…but then again he never really handed it to him. Jasper felt the weight of the world upon his shoulders. He felt guilty. Yes, he had his parents back, but at a high cost. Sir Lord Bucket, Mop’s big brother, was dead, and Abbadorn had been taken. Lance looked as if he had a compound fracture of his leg, and none of them had escaped the cave without cuts from the rocks that fell upon them from the roof of the cave. Blood. Blood was everywhere, and no one spoke-not that they couldn’t, but because they were all in shock.
Jasper didn’t know what to feel. He closed his eyes, held tightly to Thunder, and silently let a tear sweep down his cheek. Poor Reggie…his brother was murdered in front of him…why did that have to happen?
chAPTEr thirty-nine
His sense of smell was the first to return. Rotting eggs? No, it was much, much worse…it was sulfur, concentrated sulfur. Something was pressed tightly against his neck, a collar maybe. Abbadorn slowly moved his hands to the object; there was some kind of linkage…Oh no, I am in chains.
“Hello, old friend. Come on…sit up, open your eyes for me; we have so much to discuss. You are such a softy, Abbadorn. I knew if I went straight for the human you would sacrifice yourself and jump right in the line of fire…so predictable.” Jayla reached to Abbadorn’s face and smacked him across his cheek. “I said, wake up, Abbadorn!”
Abbadorn’s eyes popped wide open. He recognized Jayla and instantly attempted to stand but was snapped back to the floor of his cage by the short chain attached to his neck collar. “Jayla, what have you done?”
She pushed down on the small of Abbadorn’s back with the heel of her foot, forcing him down upon his stomach. “Hold still, you foul worm. I have brought you to a place you know very well. Take a good look around. Can you see your own handiwork? Do you know where you are?”
Abbadorn lifted his head and took a second to peer out from the inside of his cage. Abruptly he glared at Jayla. “You brought me inside Hell’s gates. You filthy, unwholesome creature, what did Gezon promise you?”
Jayla shrugged her shoulders. “Was that your attempt at being vulgar? You really need to work on your profanity, Abbadorn. I could teach you a thing or two about being obscene. Who knows, you may even come to enjoy it.” Jayla pulled him up so that Abbadorn was on his hands and knees and pretended to be a jockey riding her prized steed. “We should not get ahead of ourselves. F
irst things first. I was told to ask if you would like to join the new rebel forces. This is the part where you say no, then I regard you with disdain. I scrutinize your objections and ask again; you refuse, and I leave you here to wait for your new friend to show up for a little chat. He will be so pleasantly surprised that you are in his little cage he will not even stop to ask how or who brought you here.” Jayla, with an evil laugh, slapped Abbadorn on the butt and hopped off.
“Gezon…Gezon is here…he is my new friend?”
Jayla pursed her lips together while shaking her head left to right in the body language gesture that translates as “no”. She said in a hushed tone, “Lucifer.”
Abbadorn immediately recoiled in fear.
“As soon as I depart, one of my many rebel agents will drop a hint to the throne room of Hell that a new arrival awaits greetings by the king of this realm. You remember him, the firstborn of all creation. He will show up to taunt you. You will be his new plaything for the week.” Jayla leaned over and whispered in Abbadorn’s ear, “He will peel off your limbs, restore you, and do it again. So much pain for you, so much joy for him; he loves his playtime.” Jayla walked back to stand in the opening of the cage and slowly began to shut the door. “When he gets bored, he will hook you up to a little device that he uses to suck away part of your creation life force before he kills you. He has his own plans for domination, and he needs a little boost of power, so you will be forced to give a little before he finally relieves you of your torment.” Jayla smiled and walked away. “Goodbye, Abbadorn. It really has been a little slice of heaven.”
“You cannot hold me. I am a gatekeeper. I will let myself out,” Abbadorn said with a muster of defiance.
Jayla paused but didn’t turn around. “My old friend, tell yourself whatever you need to in order to get through your ordeal, but remember: I have the honor of being the very first fallen gatekeeper…I know all your secrets, and now that I have upgraded, I have a few new ones of my own.” Jayla snarled out a wicked, lingering giggle as she vanished in a misty swirl of darkness.
chAPTER forty
The drilling ship of Infernal Maximus was dimly lit. Oil-powered torches lit the path of the common mole-man about every ten feet. Moles, by their very nature, do not like the light. As a matter of fact, their eyes are mostly covered by hair and fur. They have no external ears, yet their hearing is extremely sensitive to the vibrations made around them. They use a combination of sound and smell to navigate. They can tell if it is light or dark, but that is about it. Vision is not their thing. So it was true with the hideous, pointed-nose mole-men on board the drilling ship. However, there was one place in the ship that had an abundance of light, the audience chamber of Infernal Max-Captain Max, if you were part of his crew-located in the very center of the vessel. Captain Max sat upon his raised command chair, swiveling on its base 360 degrees. This was the only place in the whole of the ship that had electrical lighting of any kind. From his vantage point he could see the navigation deck below, the engine compartment to the rear, his quarters, and the side entrances that led to the exit and the holding cells at the bottom of the ship. Captain Max was master of all he surveyed.
If there was any flaw in the design of the ship, it would have to be the ventilation system. There was none, but every 500 yards or so the ship had to stop, back up, and open the hatches to let the fumes from the torches and the stench from the mole-men escape. Fresh air would drift in and away they would go, It was not the most efficient method, but it worked. Bright, glowing blue light from the hourglass flowed out of the engine compartment from inside transparent tubes that ran to the front of the vessel to power the drill heads, and to the rear of the vessel to power the rolling bits and gears of the tank-like tread. This tread only served one purpose: pushing forward. The ship was maneuvered up, down, left, and right by the pivot of the drill heads. At work was the physics of weight displacement because the drilling ship had no wheels or tires to take it over rough terrain; it could only tunnel from point A to point B like a giant mole.
Infernal Max turned his command chair to face the rear of his audience chamber. “It took your new student long enough to get my prisoners up here, Gezon. I trust that you will school Jayla in the art of promptly following my commands. Her next slow response will be her last and perhaps yours.”
“She is new to our ways, my lord. She meant no disrespect.” Gezon looked over his shoulder and, with a wave of his hand, directed Jayla, Ned, and the four goons to the base of the command chair. Noah and Moses stood in silence, boxed in by the demons.
Infernal Max descended from his command chair. “I love toys, and to think, I nearly forgot I had a playdate with the two saints of old. Please do not believe me to be rude. I have been busy piloting this ship to my father, and as it would hurt me to be called a micromanager, it is due time for me to focus on other matters, like you, for example.” Infernal Max walked in a circle around Noah and Moses and began his verbal taunting, allowing Gezon and Jayla a moment to whisper to each other in secret.
“I thought we were equal partners, and you have me bowing with you to this village idiot,” Jayla whispered in anger.
“It is all part of my plan, my love…he is a threat and must be executed before he loosens his father.”
“I think it is time you put all your cards on the table and tell me what it is you are planning to do so I can play my part to perfection.”
“I had you open the gates to heaven so that my friends could take Noah and Moses. This was not just to be able to finally find the location of the portal ship but also to absorb them and the power that has been igniting every cell and fiber of their spiritual beings for thousands of years.”
“To what end?”
“When this ship finally reaches Hell, I will absorb them and obtain the location of both portal ships, but along with that I will be empowered with the strength not only to kill Infernal Maximus but his father too. Think of it, Jayla. I will not only gain Lucifer’s throne but his entire army. I will be king of the underworld, and after I return from Iconium with the Trinity Throne there will be no power in the universe that will be able to stop my ascension. I will rule all, and you will be at my side.”
“By your side is all that I have ever wanted.” Jayla moved to stand behind Gezon in a subordinate fashion. She continued to watch Infernal Max circle the saints like a wild dog. His actions amused her and outwardly she showed a smile of approval, while inwardly she smiled just knowing Infernal Maximus would never see the betrayal coming from Gezon. She wanted to enjoy every second of this game to the fullest.
“Gezon, I hunger. Bring forth a snack. Questioning these saints before I had regained my mojo was a mistake. Jayla, return them to their holding cells. I will question them at a later time.”
“Yes, my lord, as you command.” Jayla and the four goons escorted Noah and Moses out of the audience chamber.
“Ned, come and stand before your lord and master, Infernal Maximus,” Gezon said forcibly.
Ned shook his head with a motion of “no.” This was too much; he couldn’t cope with death. Fear swelled up within him as he recalled what Jayla had done to Lester. The fear of death began to choke at him. He had a flash memory, a moment of laughing in the lunchroom, and then another one of enjoying an Allegan Tiger football game. Why did he ever join up with Lester? Become a schoolyard bully only later to cross that moral line and be oppressed by demonic activity, then later possessed, then released, then oppressed again, and again, back and forth like some never-ending ping-pong game. He knew he had lost his soul. He had played with fire, and now he was about to be toast. How he wished he could go back to that moment; if he could choose differently, he’d never have befriended Lester at all or participated in the blood ritual that gave his free will away. His heartbeat increased…fight or flight; he knew he had only one possible option: flight. Sometimes a tactical retreat is the best form of defense. This situation required an urgent response, and his survival depended on his ab
ility to RUN.
Ned had managed to make it all the way to the closest exit out of the audience chamber before Captain Max leaped over the head of Gezon and into the body of Ned. Max wasn’t in a mood to play with his food. He was just hungry. Ned slowly turned and walked about ten feet back toward the center of the chamber. He paused to look directly at Gezon but could not speak a word. Infernal Maximus was inside him, dissolving him from the inside out, and Ned’s body jerked. He screamed in agony until abruptly his flesh blew apart in a pink mist, his blood showering in all directions.
“Gezon, be a good servant and watch over the mole-men. My tummy is rather full, and I could use a nap. Feel free to sit in my command chair…my father always said you were good at being second in command.” Infernal Max let out a belch and cleared his throat as he crossed the audience chamber and disappeared inside his quarters.
Meanwhile, down below in the prison of Hell, Abbadorn was frantic. He, the highest of all gatekeepers, should not have been able to be trapped and held prisoner by any lock. He pulled at the collar and chain around his neck but to no avail. They were not coming off. He summoned the full force of his angelic powers and flooded his cage with a dazzling white light, but the cage door didn’t even move an inch. “Why do my powers not work? I am a gatekeeper. The locks must obey me. Creator, where are you? Take me from this place and bring me to your side, renewed. Why have you forsaken me? How can you not see my distress?” Abbadorn charged again to full power, and this time he focused beams of energy to pour out from his eyes directly into the locking mechanism of the cage, but it had no effect. Finally, exhausted, he slid onto his belly with one side of his face pressed down to the bottom of his cage. Abbadorn could hear the moaning of angelic beings as it vibrated along the very bottom of the pit. “How many more are being held here against their will?”
Jasper: Purple Flamingos Fly at Midnight (Jasper - Purple Flamingos Fly at Midnight Book 1) Page 21