Deicide (Hellbound Trilogy)

by Tim Hawken

  “These are my generals. They will command the seven Legions of Sin. Those among us who have given themselves to Lust, Avarice, Sloth, Pride, Gluttony, Envy or Wrath, you are now part of the Armies of Hell. We are at war!”

  At my words, the Angels of Sin above me took flight and swept low over the crowd. The frenzy of zeal below reached close to breaking point and the jaws of every demon in the crowd gnashed and howled in delight. I raised my voice again, to ensure the emotion didn’t spill over further.

  “Marax. Step forward!” I said, looking to my left, as the people settled slightly.

  The muscled demon of my companions did as I asked, his chest puffed out with pride.

  “To those of you who house a hotbed of conflicted desire inside; you who enjoy multiple sins: this is your new captain. You who are deformed physically from your relentless needs; you who have taken the hybrid shape of human and beast: you are my black legion.”

  Again, a surge of belonging lifted up in shouts of approval. The darkest demons in the crush below beat their chests, signifying they knew who they were.

  “Those who are still more human than demon,” I continued. “You are the Legion of White and will have me at your front line when the time comes. Together our nine circles of Hell will defeat the liar who constructed our prison: Asmodeus!”

  The sound of the enemy’s name drew screams of hatred. I had this gathering in the palm of my hand. I reached out and squeezed Charlotte’s shoulder.

  “Now!” I boomed, quieting the congregation of millions. “I know there are soldiers among you; great leaders in your own right. There are warriors, thinkers and strategists. I ask you to reveal yourselves to your generals over the coming days. We have declared war today, but the battle is yet to come. This is a time for preparation. We must unite and train if we stand a hope of overcoming the most powerful being alive.”

  At my words, the crowd hushed completely.

  “Yes. I admit we face a strong foe. We cannot pretend he is weak. We cannot fall prey to prideful hubris. We are the underdogs. We are the underworld. But we have purpose. We struggle here while the others rest above. We are hungry.”

  “Yes! Hungry,” individual shouts rose up from below.

  “More than that, we know he has a weakness!” I answered, “He is afraid. He knows we are coming, and if he doesn’t he soon will. He has spies here. I know you are out there listening. So hear me now.”

  Dead silence fell below.

  “We are snapping at your heels, Asmodeus. Eternity will not hide you from us. These powerful bodies to my right are our secret weapons to bring down your gates. Your days are numbered!”

  I let the glow around the bodies shine brighter and brighter until it would have been like looking into the sun to behold them. In a searing blast I let an atomic wind radiate out from them. The shockwave struck awe in everyone present. I didn’t need to explain what the bodies were for. The mystery would amplify the confidence in our soldiers that they were indeed instruments to be fearful of.

  I let the crowd settle of its own accord, and was about to deliver the final lines of my speech when a commotion below drew my attention. A group of demons were pushing their way to the front of the grounds. One figure among them stood out to me above the rest: Balthazar.

  I should have known that this public address could not go without incident. I watched as the form of my old opponent, the man who I had killed in my earthly life and fought again in The Pit, strode forward. At his back was a group of almost a hundred other souls. Their number amid the millions looked small, but I knew if there was enough unrest to gather this many people, there were more out there who could be swayed. All eyes were trained back up to me, seeing how I would react to this disturbance. On the fringes of where I could still make out individual faces in the crowd, confused whispers were rippling backward. I held up my arms once more.

  “Someone has come forward to speak,” I announced. “Before, their voice would have been squashed by Asmodeus. That deceiver would have not let everyone be heard. But we need the truth of every side if we are to move ahead. Please, listen to this man.”

  Spreading down tendrils of elements, I helped Balthazar’s voice rise up so everyone present could hear. I even projected an image in the sky, so they could see his face. Charlotte gripped my arm.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  “What’s right,” I reassured her. “We can’t oppress any of these people any longer.”

  I looked down to the black creature who I had beaten twice before. My heart pounded in my chest. I would need to have good answers for anything he had to say.

  “You are all fools if you believe this weakling!” Balthazar’s growl echoed around.

  Shouts of anger sprung up in my defence, but not all the calls were in my favor. I waited for him to continue.

  “Michael says he will free us of Hell, but what has he done so far? Nothing but talk! He has selfishly rescued his wife from Purgatory and squandered a chance to fight Asmodeus head on. He is the one afraid. He is pitiful.”

  Charlotte bristled next to me and shouted that he was wrong, but the rest of the crowd, which was already in upheaval, drowned out her cries.

  “We are only beginning our journey,” I retorted with a magnified voice, glad that my tone remained calm. “What do you expect in mere months? This course is not easy, but we are on the right path. You speak of the events in Purgatory with all the authority of someone who wasn’t even there. These people are not stupid. We will not hear your poison rumors.”

  Balthazar raised a clawed hand up to me, shaking his head.

  “They are not rumors. They are the truth: your precious truth.” He spat on the ground like the word left a bad taste in his mouth. “Asmodeus made the entire universe in six days and then rested. You have done nothing but rest since the beginning. When will you start working for your people? If you are so powerful, then why do we still all suffer The Guilt six times each day? If you think you can bring down the walls of Heaven, why not stop our suffering first?”

  I was about to open my mouth to reply when a movement flashed in the corner of my eye. I turned to see a red jewel appear in Germaine’s hand as he stepped forward. The blood crystal dissolved in his skin as he leapt over the railing with a curdling cry of anger.

  “No!” I yelled.

  Marlowe reached out to grab him, but it was too late. The figure of Germaine clad in his white new uniform dropped like a burning meteor. He struck Balthazar with such force that it buried a crater into the ground and sent everyone close by careening back like dominoes. I started to jump over the railing, but Marlowe and Smithy heaved me back.

  “You can’t dirty your hands with this!” Smithy hissed heatedly in my ear.

  His words made me pause. Below, the dust was settling and a purple glow was emerging from the crater. It was the figure of Germaine, and above him was suspended the limp body of Balthazar. With a sudden spray of elemental power, Germaine splintered apart the body he held. Blood splattered his face as the fragments of gore rose further into the air. The only part still whole was Balthazar’s head, which was frozen in a death scream. Germaine’s voice shuddered outwards. Its cadence sent a shiver through my body. It was like twenty voices, all rasping over each other, but speaking the same words.

  “Our Lord Michael saved me from madness,” he said. “He saved me from myself. Now I repay that kindness. This is a rat I hold in my grasp: a squirming voice of dissent that we must shut out. I know what it means to listen to voices of evil and be led astray. We cannot let that darkness taint us. The liars belong in oblivion. This is what will happen to anyone who chooses to take the wrong path and stand against my master!”

  A throb of energy welled inside Germaine and I could see he was about to obliterate Balthazar’s soul, as I had done once to Gideon’s. I could not let that happen.

  “Germaine, stop!” I screamed with every ounce of authority I had.

  The wild figure below did pa
use. He looked up to me.

  “No, Michael,” he rasped in his multiple voices. “This must happen.”

  Flexing his power again he let a shower of white spiral upward. It pushed inside the soul of Balthazar, but instead of separating, the swirl of his being glowed in a divine color I had only seen once before. It rejected Germaine’s advance and shot the elements back down, burying his body with a reverberating thump into the crater behind him. The pieces of Balthazar’s bloody body still hung in the air and all around a deep malevolent laughter rose in cackles. It was not the laugh of Balthazar. It was the laugh of my father.

  Asmodeus was here.

  TWENTY-TWO

  I WATCHED ON WITH THE SAME HORROR as everyone else, as Balthazar’s body started to meld together to reveal its true form. Asmodeus’ terrible laughter continued to ring through the air. My father’s hated face formed into a broad and spiteful grin. The laugh from the sky took its place deep in his throat, ringing out to us.

  “Smithy, Charlotte, Marax.” I said, just loud enough for them to hear. “Take the bodies inside with you and lock the doors tight. Marlowe, no matter what happens, don’t let anyone get into the castle. Stay at my back.”

  I didn’t turn to make sure they did as I asked, but the shuffling of feet let me know they were at least moving. I only had eyes for my nemesis.

  “Oh, Michael, my son,” Asmodeus said, still hovering high in the air with a white glow around him. He held out his arms in mock disappointment. “You’ve been a very naughty boy. What happened to ‘Obey thy father’? I have given you so many chances.”

  “You have given me nothing,” I said through gritted teeth.

  The masses on the ground where all screaming and pointing, some trying to run away from what they assumed was going to be a bloodbath. Hysteria gripped them.

  “My children!” Asmodeus spoke down to them in a commanding tone that made them pause in their tracks. “I am not here to hurt you. I am here to make you an offer.”

  The people’s demeanor below turned to one of hesitation. Was this right? He wasn’t there to cause them pain?

  “We don’t accept offers from the one who invented deception,” I boomed in response, trying to win back their confidence. “Be calm. This charlatan does not have the power to harm you all, not while he has me to deal with. If we all rise up together we can end him here and now.”

  My words seemed to galvanize the people. They started to muster together, looking up in anger, even shouting abuse skyward. I felt Mary and Clytemnestra come to my side in a show of strength. The Pure Seven had formed a rank around Asmodeus in the air, ready to strike at my word. What was I waiting for? I should end it now.

  Seemingly reading my thoughts, Asmodeus held up his hand and smiled.

  “You do not want blood on your home soil,” he said, almost like a friend trying to persuade me. He pointed to the horizon. “In but a few minutes The Guilt will sweep in from the heavens and all of these souls will be helpless. I could slaughter them all before you could even reach me, and you know it.”

  I continued to hesitate. Was he right? His words were like a spear of indecision wrenching in my gut. I felt an odd wave of emotion that made me look around with elemental vision. I saw that Asmodeus was pouring waves of doubt into the crowd, making them second guess everything I had told them. It was even affecting me. Using my own power, I pushed confidence back out, to try and combat his subtle attack. The twist on his lips showed me he felt what I was trying to do.

  “As I said, I come in peace,” he pushed on, looking around to the people beneath him. “I want to offer your disciples a deal. A treaty.” He watched to make sure everybody was listening.

  Those gathered had all paused, but were still on guard for trickery. I could see a shudder of movement stirring inside the smoking crater that Germaine had disappeared into. With distrust inside me, I still waited to hear what Asmodeus had to say. What kind of treaty?

  “I offer you peace,” he said, turning his palms up to show he was telling the truth. “I shall promise to stop The Guilt, if…” he paused for effect. “If, you all turn on Michael right now and overthrow him. I bequeath Hell to its souls without the device that haunts your minds. You will be able to live without your suffering and not even have to fight for it. Now, swarm the castle!”

  There wasn’t a breath of wind or noise on the mountain. Not one demon moved. They were frozen in their tracks, standing firm. Asmodeus looked around in surprise at the lack of action. Sneering, he turned his attention back up to the balcony. He spotted the two women at my side.

  “Clytemnestra,” he smiled his fake grin, “Mary. If you agree to betray this leader of yours, I will give you anything your heart desires. Bow down to me now and I will grant any wish you like. Would you like to rule Hell as I once did? Do you want me to awake Judas?”

  I could see that once again he pushed a wave of deception towards us, trying to magnify the emotional power of his words.

  “Never!” Clytemnestra spat back at him, before I could even react.

  Her defiant words were like a catalyst for all the other souls. They started to shout and scream up to him. The elements oozing out of his body cut short.

  “We will destroy you! We’ll kill you! You’re a liar!” the crowed taunted.

  Asmodeus’ grin turned into a scowl. He pointed down to the demons and people below.

  “Just remember. My offer will always stand. If the battle becomes too hard to fight, I can end it with the wave of a hand.”

  The groaning rasp of Germaine’s many voices rose up from the crater below.

  “You do not rule us anymore, you powerless god.”

  “Then you truly are damned,” Asmodeus spat.

  The flares of Guilt flashing on the horizon caused a shout of terror in the crowd. Some of the darker demons started to hold their ears, screaming.

  “No,” I said, gathering a force of deathly elements at my back. “They are free!”

  Bounding forward, I kicked off from the railing and shot towards Asmodeus with the all the speed I could muster, spilling elemental powers from my very pores. He met my attack head on and we collided in an explosion of light. Both of us bounced away from each other from the impact. The Pure Seven, who were still on hand, were scattered aside as well. Their screeches barely registered in my already ringing ears as I tumbled backward, pain burning in my chest. I managed to grasp a hold of the air around me with my mind, and stop my fall. Asmodeus was like a mirror image across from me. He regained control of his own descent and we locked eyes, both clenching our fists in hatred. I could see the flames of guilt crashing in behind him. In barely a moment, it all happened: The souls at our feet were all collapsing and squirming on the ground in agony. The Pure Seven were regrouping. The figure of Germaine clawed his way from out of the crater, with purple sparks of electricity surrounding his being. And Asmodeus smiled again. Another movement on the horizon caught my eye. The flames of guilt weren’t the only things coming. Eight specks flew ahead of the storm. Seven glowing white angels and a red dragon: Moloch.

  The maelstrom hit like a solid wall. A blinding darkness of flames scorched chaos around me. A scaled claw scratched my face and I lashed out with a cutting blow toward my attacker. Moloch roared in agony and whirled away, retreating quickly before I could connect a blow. I could hear the clash of worlds, as The Pure Seven’s primal war cries pierced the furnace. Beating wings and sprays of unnatural blood unfurled above me. The angels of Heaven had met the angels of Hell. I turned to see the red dragon, Moloch, spearing toward me again, but a cracking cord of elemental power swung upward and caught Moloch’s wing. Germaine swept the beast down to the ground.

  To every side there was violence, but my focus narrowed to see only one thing: my enemy. Asmodeus was like a void of calm amidst the tempest. He hovered across from me in the air, grinning, pulling elements from every side of him so he swelled in size.

  “The seeds of doubt have been sown, Michael,” he rumbled
as he grew. “And a harvest of sorrow will be reaped for you. We will meet again on the field of battle. But it won’t be today.”

  With a clap of boundless thunder, his body turned into smoke and became one with the storm around us. I looked around in confusion to see the same had happened to his allies. My companions who had been locked in combat were now fighting air. The flames of guilt swept past, and Hell started to simmer back to normal. I frantically searched to see what kind of trick this was, but our attackers were nowhere to be seen. Inexplicably they had retreated before any real battle had taken place. It was over as quickly as it had begun.

  part two

  Sacrifice

  ONE

  THE MILLIONS OF HELL’S INMATES STARTED TO STIR from their forced grief on the Great Lawn. I watched the guilt storm recede in its roiling horror, back below the horizon. The sudden appearance then disappearance of Asmodeus had left me shocked. Not only that, he had brought seven angels and his dragon Moloch with him. How?

  I had braced myself for an almighty battle, but my father had fled before we barely locked horns. I knew there was more to it than showed on the surface. His words replayed again in my head.

  The seeds of doubt have been sown, Michael. And a harvest of sorrow will be reaped for you.

  Confusion still wracked my brain, but I forced myself to breathe and settle. I had to prepare myself for the fallout that might arrive in the coming hours. We would deal with it as it unfolded. I rose back up to the balcony where I had started my sermon. Some shouts of disorientation below had begun already and I realized I didn’t have much time to control the crowd. Turning quickly, I saw with some relief that Marlowe stood firm, his sword out, blocking the way into the castle. He sheathed his blade at my approach and stepped aside, opening the doors. Smithy, Clytemnestra and Charlotte all looked up in fright, standing guard over our earthly bodies. All seemed in tact, save for their rattled appearance.