by David Paul
Strangely enough, Devin may not be popular with his evil underlings. In terms of demons and devils, Devin is very young. There are a few ancient evil entities that may have been stepped over. There could be some disarray in the ranks of Hell. That thought ran through David’s mind.
“I answer to no one,” David said, “but myself.” A satisfied smirk rests on the vampires face. “That is the difference between us.”
“You answer to your pathetic Lord.”
“I cannot remember the last time the Lord and I have spoken,” David said. “It was many years ago when I was still a man, but that time is long gone.” Last time they spoke, David didn’t have many nice words to say. “My voice will not carry to the heavens, and his ears are deaf to my words.”
The observant vampire recognizes the emotional streak inside of Devin. Like all devils, demons, and everything truly evil, a lack of self-control is present. Everything is done for selfish reasons and feelings of entitlement. This universal truth holds true right down to the demons themselves. There is no honor amongst thieves. Anyone in allegiance with an evil entity runs the almost guaranteed risk of being betrayed or slighted. No one has ever made a deal with a devil and actually gotten what they truly wanted.
People sell their souls for wealth and receive wealth at an unknown ulterior cost. For instance, all of their monetary dreams come true, but the rest of their family gets killed in a train accident or worse. Crooked dealings end with twisted outcomes. The fact that Devin is becoming increasingly belligerent is a positive for David. The vampire is able to taunt him quite easily and get a response from it. Despite all of Devin’s supposed power and might, he still has his flaws. Like father, like son. Only the Lord is infallible and omnipotent. Devin makes this painfully obvious.
“Father,” Devin said, “you are a fool.” The demon’s arrogance is abrasive. “When the dust settles, you will kneel before Lucifer and embrace your heritage or perish miserably.”
“After all is said and done, you will kneel before God, and his magnificence will cleanse your vile soul, Devin! You will not succeed in your treachery!”
“I already have succeeded, Father.” The demon laughs uncontrollably and lays his hand on David’s chest. David senses a burning sensation over his heart, but does not attempt to move. The sound of burning flesh is eclipsed by the smell of burning skin. Devin left a scar in the shape of his human handprint burned over David’s heart. Devin left his mark on his father. The significance, if any, has yet to be seen.
“I’ll be seeing you soon, David.”
The fire on the walls and ceiling extinguish. Devin, the house, the forest, and everything else quickly vanished. A brief haunting laugh fades into sheer blackness, and David opens his eyes. Awakened, he realizes that he is in a cold sweat, which is impossible and has not been possible since he was a human. The vampire is briefly confused.
“Was that a dream?” He asked himself aloud. “That was bizarre.”
David feels his chest and notices a dark hand-print burned into his undead flesh. Yes, David was dreaming, but he really had an encounter with Devin. The demon visited him in the dream. David has a strange feeling that he knows where the next ritual will be held. The vampire has the weirdest premonition that the next ritual will be held in the woods in Foster. David can actually feel this inside himself. Something about the house in the woods seems familiar or like he has been there before prior to the dream. David is completely unsure about his feeling of déjà-vu, but he is certain that the ritual is tonight. Every bone in his body is screaming this to him.
The vampire wonders how much of his dream was real. When dealing with supernatural forces, nothing is as it seems. The entities do not work logically or in scientific fashion. There are so many facets to each encounter and too many variables to analyze. The demonic mind works on an entirely different level than the human mind. Most of their plots are derived by thinking ahead many steps into the future. Not much can be taken at face value.
David is well aware that Devin and his followers will be waiting for him to arrive. This is all part of the prophecy. A major puzzle-piece is about to be fitted into the incomplete, but growing picture. The fact that a full moon will be in the sky is no accident either. Everything is falling into place with precision. The only thing that David can do to tip the scales in his favor is to bring Rawley along. He may even reach out to Detangelo. The lone wolf approach will not work here. It is going to be hard enough to deal with Devin alone. There is also the possibility of Lucifer intervening or Regina being present along with an unknown number of followers. David is not really sure what to expect given the often-unpredictable nature of demons. Needless to say, he has his work cut out for him.
The vampire gets out of bed, takes a quick shower, and checks on the women downstairs. The ladies are safe and sound watching TV. Fiona pulls aside David outside the living room.
“Emily wants to get more clothes,” she said.
“Give her something to wear then,” David said. “I cannot afford for her to go missing.”
“I understand,” Fiona said.
“Emily,” David said. Emily comes over. “Fiona is going to give you some comfortable clothes to wear, and you can shower or use the whirlpool bath. Whatever you need is yours, but please do not leave this house.”
“I don’t even want to leave.” No one was expecting that response. The vampire expected her to get restless and want to leave. “I actually like it here with you and Fiona. This is the first time that I’ve actually enjoyed myself in years.”
“I am truly happy that you are enjoying your stay here,” David said. “Thank you for making this easy on all of us.” David thanked her for being reasonable. Emily is being a good sport.
“My pleasure,” Emily said.
“I have to leave to take care of some things, ladies.”
“Nice bling around your neck,” Fiona said.
“That is pretty hot,” Emily said.
Fiona admires his necklace. Déjà vu hits the vampire. That’s what was said in his dream, and now it is being said in the kitchen.
“Thanks,” David said wearily. The vampire pets Damien and starts to walk out the door leading to the garage.
“Aren’t you going to give me a kiss goodbye?” Fiona asked.
David walks over to Fiona and gives her a slow romantic kiss goodbye and then leaves quickly. The vampire is still thinking about what just happened. David feels good about his first encounter with Devin. The vampire wonders what will happen next and how he will handle things. There are still many mysteries that will need to be explored.
He feels that it is time to bring together his allies to sort some things out. He gets Rawley and Detangelo on a three-way conference call through the Bluetooth in his Mercedes. Everyone answers on the first ring. Apparently, everyone has been waiting to hear from David.
“Look gentlemen,” David said. “I have the location for the next satanic ceremony. It is being held in the woods of Foster.”
“How do you know?” Detangelo asked.
“I just know, Jack.” David has a feeling in the pit of his stomach. “We need to convene quickly and coordinate a plan of attack,” the vampire said.
“Everyone,” Rawley said, “meet at my house.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” the vampire said.
“I’m sure you know where it is, detective,” Rawley said.
Rawley was being sarcastic toward the cop in regards to the raid on his house and the surveillance.
“I’m already in Rawley’s neck of the woods, so I’ll be there sooner,” Detangelo said.
“See you all when I get there,” David said.
The vampire ends the conversation.
“A handsome man will hail from the Mediterranean bearing the galactic sign of the Sun, and he will represent the month of the fierce Lion. His name will pay tribute to the Star of David. All of his trials and tribulations will lead him down the same path. When Heaven is indistinguis
hable from Hell, he will be there to watch the dead walk the Earth.”—Leviticus Balcarum
Chapter Fourteen: Taking Out the Trash
David speeds to Rawley’s house to find Detangelo already there, and the two seemed to be getting along well. Apparently, Rawley had some choice words for Detangelo when he was hauled in for questioning. Given the circumstances, they have made amends. The detective is actually handling his new-found knowledge better. Jack has come to terms with the truth about gods and devils. They all stand around the island in Rawley’s kitchen. “Good evening, gentlemen,” David said. “Tonight is the night.” The vampire stormed right into business, skipping the pleasantries.
“What do you know about tonight?” Rawley asked.
“First off,” David said, “the demon that is possessing Carver is my son Devin.”
“Your son?” Rawley asked as if surprised. “I didn’t even know you had a son.”
“Neither did I,” David said. “Almost eight hundred years ago, he was born to my fiancé and she died during his birth. He is the prophesied antichrist and is seated at the right hand of the Beast. I just met with him in a dream last night. He has possession of Carver’s soul, and all of these satanic murders were performed simply for me to interact with him.”
A light bulb goes off in Rawley’s head.
“Rawley,” David said. David lights up a cigarette. “I’m sure that you are familiar with most of the prophecies out there. This whole demonic cult debacle is simply a play on their part to get to me. Both Lucifer and Devin are trying to sway my soul into embracing darkness.”
“I swear that this is like a Twilight Zone episode,” Detangelo said. He is still amazed by what he is hearing. “So what are we going to do?” he asked. “I don’t know how to fight demons.” The detective added a realistic assessment of his skills.
“It is not going to be just demons,” David said. Detangelo seems a bit scared. “Carver will have an absolute minimum of eighteen followers, a sacrifice, possibly some ushers, and maybe even an assistant. I figure if we can take out all of the followers, then we could restrain Carver. Xavier can perform an exorcism on him and possibly trap Devin inside another medium.” The vampire shared his game plan.
“Do you think the followers will be armed?” The detective asked. Detangelo is dealing with all of this surprisingly well. The blindfold of ignorance was so recently lifted from him. Jack is thinking rationally, which says a lot about him.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” the vampire said. I would bank on them being armed, but with knives or swords. I doubt that they would have firearms.”
“What good is my .38 snub going to do against all of those people at once?” Detangelo asked. The detective is concerned about the number of followers he may need to confront at once. “I can grab the shotgun out of my unmarked, but once those seven shells are gone, they’ll be all over me.”
“C’mon Jack,” Rawley said. “A good shotgun is all you will ever need up close.”
“Yeah, but what if all the action isn’t up close?” The detective made a good point. “If we can take some people out from a distance, maybe we would be able to remain undetected.”
Rawley is silent, and he leaves momentarily without announcing his departure. He comes back with several heavy duffel-bags and flips them up on the kitchen table. “Detective, are you familiar with sub-machineguns?” Rawley asked. “They will give you a bit more effective range than your shotgun.”
Rawley empties the contents of both duffel bags onto his granite kitchen island. Detangelo’s jaw drops as he see the hardware that Rawley has. In the bag are over a dozen various pistols, three modified shotguns, two sub-machineguns, a variety of knives, silencers, ammunition, a hi-tech sniper rifle, and two-dozen hand grenades. The duffel-bags zip smartly, and all of the weapons are tucked away neatly inside.
“Are you kidding me?” The detective asked. Jack is stunned.
“I could put the sniper rifle to use with the silencer,” Rawley said. “That would give me an effective range of 400 yards. Here take this.” Rawley hands the still stunned detective a state of the art H&K sub-machinegun “This will help even the odds a bit for you, Detangelo.”
“Jesus Christ,” Detangelo said, “you are like the fucking Terminator.” The detective marvels over the sub machine-gun and the contents of the duffel-bags
“I see that you come prepared,” David jested. Prepared is an understatement. Rawley has some serious state-of-the-art hardware. In some instances, he has more advanced weaponry than some SWAT teams. Rawley is definitely prepared for a war.
“This is just my grab bag,” Rawley says. Xavier smiles and grabs another duffel bag, which is filled with crosses, holy water, and other pieces used to combat against the supernatural. “I have assault rifles in all forms if the SMG isn’t to your liking. I have an entire arsenal hidden in this house and elsewhere.”
Rawley gives Detangelo a quick rundown on how to operate the machine pistol. Detangelo is wondering how the police never found an entire weapon cache in his house when they searched it previously. “This will penetrate almost all body armor very easily,” Rawley said, “and the recoil is absolutely minimal.”
“This is similar to some of the hardware that our SWAT team uses,” Detangelo said. Detangelo eyeballs the intimidating weapon while holding it in his hand, and he gets acquainted with the hardware. “I think that I have seen this particular piece before.”
“Just squeeze off short bursts at your targets,” Rawley said. Xavier Rawley demonstrates the laser-designating device on the gun for everyone. “You cannot miss, Jack. Just point and squeeze the trigger.”
“What are we just going to go in there blazing?” Detangelo asked. Rawley hands Detangelo a silencer for his new toy, and Jack screws it onto the threaded barrel of his weapon easily. “We can’t just kill everyone. I need an arrest.”
“Jack,” the vampire said. “They will not surrender. There will be no prison time for them because they would commit suicide even if we managed to capture them. The followers will fight to the death.”
“I just feel awkward just going on a killing spree.” Jack expressed his concerns because he isn’t a hardened killer.
“I’ve got flash bang grenades that the Navy Seals use to stun people,” Rawley said. Rawley offered a possible solution. “That may buy us some time, and perhaps, we will not have to kill everyone.”
“Bring the flash bangs, just in case,” David said. “I have never been a proponent of random senseless killing, but the fate of the world could possibly be at stake here. When in doubt, shoot first.”
“I don’t have any problems with that,” Rawley responded, almost happily. Neither Rawley, nor David mind the killing if they can attribute it to their duty. The detective wasn’t quite as cheery about it.
Rawley is a by any means necessary type of man. He has been given authority by the Vatican centuries ago to rid the world of filth without prejudice or compassion. The man is the dictionary definition of a professional. Rawley is by no means a ruthless psychopath, but dealing with evil has no rules or regulations. There is no Geneva Convention putting sanctions on how to fight his battles.
The warrior is to produce results and nothing else. That has been his mission since he was anointed as a knight and gifted with immortality. Rawley is able to die, but not by natural causes and not very easily. He is the closest thing to an absolute killing machine that will ever wear a cross and be considered a good guy. Rawley dips out of the impromptu meeting and comes back with a dozen flash bang grenades and a few grenades marked with red pull-pins.
“Here are six flash bangs for you, Detangelo,” Rawley said, “and the rest we’ll bring with us. Make sure that you take cover when one goes off, or you’ll be the one standing there frozen and disoriented.”
“What are those red grenades?” Detangelo asked.
“Those are for eliminating other types of nuisances.” Rawley smirks. “If I have to throw one of those out, the l
east of our worries will be hurting innocents, Detangelo.”
“What do you mean other nuisances?” Detangelo asked. The cop seemed uneasy.
“Let’s just cross that bridge when we come to it,” Rawley says. He senses Detangelo’s uneasiness, and Rawley doesn’t want to spook the detective more. “I’ve got a bunch of equipment that we can also use such as radios and suppressed night vision goggles.”
“I’ll take all the help we can get,” David said, “because we still need to capture Carver alive preferably.” David has no use for the goggles, but Rawley and Detangelo will benefit from them. “If we can somehow exorcise Devin, I’d like to trap him or banish him indefinitely from this universe.”
“Well,” Rawley said, “we will do our best to free Carver from the Beast.” Rawley is stone-faced. “Everyone take what you need for weapons, and let me know if there is something else that you may want. Chances are…I have it.”
Xavier leaves and comes back with the state of the art radio set-ups for everyone to use. A simple earplug resembling a tiny hearing aide is the elaborate wireless radio set up. It has a small flesh colored, separate throat-mounted, speakerphone that wraps around the neck. The set up allows each of them to speak and hear each other simultaneously. Rawley passes them out to the group, and each of them turns on the sophisticated piece.
“Breaker, Breaker,” David said. The vampire jests as he tries out the technology.
“I wear my sunglasses at night,” the detective wailed. His off-key notes coming through the earpiece are painful. The detective’s nerves are getting the better of him, and he is masking this with humor.
“All jokes aside,” Rawley said. Rawley demonstrates how to use the equipment with complete seriousness. “Pay attention, gentlemen.”