Treaters: Book One of the Divine Conflict.

by CJ Rutherford

  I pondered that. It made sense. “If that’s the case, then how did it happen?” Shit! I felt like I was having ‘the talk’ with my dad.

  Barachiel allowed herself a small smile at my thought.

  “That is what we need you to find out, Mr. Goldberg,” she said.

  “What, you want me to invade Hell to track down whatever demon killed Jennifer? And then what? Kill it again? What will that accomplish, exactly?”

  “He’s not that bright, is he?”

  I hadn’t noticed Uriel, but as soon as I did, our surroundings shifted and we were back in the forest looking over the San Francisco bay…only now, it was a bright, sunlit day.

  “No, not bright at all,” Uriel reiterated, “not even for a human.” He walked a short distance away and turned his back to me. Prick!

  “Ignore him. Uriel’s upset with you for almost killing Tray,” Barachiel said, her voice back to the businesslike tone of before.

  So that was it? He was pissed at me for trying to save Jennifer and my lives? Screw him!

  Barachiel smiled. “He was so upset, he didn’t think you deserved our parting gift.”

  I looked at her, my brows furrowed. “What…?”

  The frantic yips and barks filled the air as a small brown and cream ball of fur bounded down the hill toward me, skipping over a tree trunk to jump into my arms. Tray!

  Tears filled my eyes, but as soon as they appeared, Tray licked them away. She squirmed in my arms, reaching up to lick every millimeter of my face, neck and ears.

  I turned to see Barachiel and Uriel standing looking at us, and, angel or not, I swore I saw a hint of moisture in his eyes.

  “Take care of her this time, okay?” Uriel said, gruffly.

  I nodded in silent thanks. I clutched Tray close to my chest. “Who’s a good girl, eh?” I was about to ask the two angels how this was possible, but then I noticed the fresh mud on my hands. No way! “She did this herself? This is how she survived?”

  Barachiel nodded. I’d been right. Tray hadn’t died that night, because she’d been as invisible to the Treaters as I’d been. She’d run away to lead as many of the monsters as far from us as she could, and had kept running. “Tray, you are a clever girl!”

  Uriel snorted. It seemed to be his signature sound, but the simple grunt conveyed a multitude of meanings. This time he agreed with me. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. He turned his glare to Barachiel. “Now, are you going to explain to this slow-witted human, in small words, what he has to do?”

  Nope…still a prick.

  I had no idea how they expected me to find, never mind bring Jennifer back. I didn’t even know how to get to another plane, circle, or whatever the fuck they were. And how was I going to track down the demon that killed her?

  “You don’t need to find a demon, Jaz, because Jennifer and your daughter are still alive.”

  I gazed at Barachiel. “I saw her die. I saw what was left of her after they…”

  Uriel snorted again. “You saw what he wanted you to see.”

  The steady pressure that had been growing behind my eyes threatened to push them out of their sockets. I’d seen it…hadn’t I? She had to be dead…didn’t she? But…I hadn’t seen anything, except the creature holding up her bloodied and shredded sleeping bag.

  “That…thing. It took her?” Was it even possible? Part of me refused to let hope in, but what did these beings have to gain by lying?

  “His name is Semyaza,” said Barachiel in a whisper, as if to simply invoke his name might bring about all sorts of catastrophe even worse than what the world had endured. “He is the most dangerous being you will ever encounter, except for the Father himself. He is as interested in Jennifer as we are, but his intentions will be wholly corrupt.”

  “Yeah, and what are your intentions? How do I know you’ll do her any less harm if I manage to go on this magic fairytale quest and rescue her?”

  Their eyes widened, as if I’d insulted them. Good. I was glad they caught the sentiment. Barachiel opened her mouth and I imagined she wanted to speak some words of comfort, but Uriel interrupted. “You have no other choice, human. Without our help, you cannot enter the Hells. This is your choice. Save the girl, or not. If not, she dies. It makes little difference to us.”

  I knew that last sentence was a crock of crap. We wouldn’t be having this conversation – shit, I’d still be dead – if it didn’t matter to them.

  Barachiel looked at me, then at Uriel. Then she looked back to me. “It makes every difference,” she said, her voice soft and, for the first time, pained. “The Nephilim were a mistake, Jaz –“

  Uriel whirled on her, absolute fury showing in his eyes, but she raised a hand and he kept quiet, seething.

  “Yes. They were a mistake.” She took in a shaky breath. “And the mistake was my responsibility – mine, and Uriel's. If you choose to restore the balance – and, yes, Jaz, you do have a choice – you will be doing us a great boon. Your choice makes a great deal of difference, not just to you and your planet, but to us, too, for we seek to redeem ourselves in the father’s eyes.”

  She looked over to Uriel when she said this and, reluctantly, he nodded.

  “If you are able to defeat Semyaza, much of what has been knocked out of balance can be restored. You will suffer no penalty if you deny our … proposition. You will go through Purgatory to the light of God's mercy. But … the balance will not be restored.”

  I nodded. I had suspected part of what she said already. There had been some great, cosmic screw-up, and Earth had caught hell for it.

  And if what she said was true…if Jennifer was alive? I’d go through all of Dante’s levels of Hell to get her back.

  When it came down to the wire, it wasn’t a choice at all.

  I put Tray down, and she stood at my feet, tail wagging and tongue lolling happily. I leaned down and ruffled the fur behind her ears. “Well, Tray, what do you say? Wanna go get mommy?”

  Tray barked.

  The two angels nodded to me, then to each other. “Go to Alcatraz, Jaz.”

  No! “Wait…how do I get there…shit, not to the Rock…to Hell? Shit!”

  They faded from view, but not before Uriel put his hand up to the side of his head like a phone, while pointing at me and mouthing the words, “I’ll call you.”

  Prick!

  About the Author

  CJ Rutherford lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with his wife, two teenage daughters, and his dog.

  He started writing ack in 2014 with his award winning, Tales of the Neverwar, a multi-genre series encompassing elements of science fiction, fantasy, romance and even some particle physics and alternate realities.

  He’s gone on to write several short stories set in the same universe, but has lately diverged to Treaters, his first entry into the horror genre. Treaters is a character driven, end-of-the-world thriller. It originated as a short story in a Halloween anthology, and received so many critical reviews he decided to rewrite it as a full-length novel. It has now evolved into book one of a new series called, Treaters: The Divine Conflict.

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