Then Hell Followed (Journeyman Book 5)

by Golden Czermak

  They inched their way over to the eastern edge of the building, where they were now able to make out a widespread swath of devastation carved along 59th Street, stretching from Eighth Avenue to Fifth, the fires even bleeding over into Central Park itself.

  Gage was horrorstruck.

  “I’ll say this: Dajjal either has some huge balls or a small brain.”

  “I’m voting for the latter,” Marcus said, “though like you pointed out this is just a message for us. He’s trying to incite us to …”

  Marcus was smothered by guttural roars that pierced the skies, cutting out not only his words but the distant screams of terrified citizens.

  “What are those?” Gage asked, pointing toward two flying objects rocketing toward the building.

  “They are fire drakes,” came another voice, startling both Gage and Marcus out of their concentration. “Carried by wyverns and guided by demons.”

  “Drogir!” Gage shouted.

  “Yes. As you can see Dajjal has taken our own advice to Jane at heart, sending us a show of force, albeit a small one. Nonetheless, his message has been sent and received.”

  “Just like at Bennett Peak…” Marcus recalled, turning to Drogir. “But, there is no way they will reach the building. Even if they did…”

  “They would be obliterated by the protective measures in place,” Drogir stated. “However you are right, they will not make that far.”

  Drogir urged them to back away and Gage and Marcus did so by a few paces.

  “I thought you told me not to touch anything,” Gage whispered as the gargoyle approached the closest pair of statues.

  “I did…” he whispered back. “But there are perks to being on the Council.”

  “Yeah, maybe I should have taken them up on the offer…” said Gage, nervously looking to the statutes. “Marcus… are those things what I think they are?”

  Marcus glanced over himself, seeing very disturbing human-like faces locked with expressions of misery mounted on the bodies of big cats, perhaps lions. Large, folded wings had also been carved while spiny tails were wrapped around the base, ending in sharp tips like a scorpion.

  “Oh God,” he said. “Manitcores.”

  Drogir ran his hard hands across the surface of both statues and there was a low rumble.

  “Awaken,” he commanded, “and send these foul beasts and their riders back to the void!”

  The stone facades cracked then crumbled away like dust, revealing the colossal beasts in all their true glory. They gazed at Drogir with intensely yellow eyes which seemed to glow with an otherworldly spark, speaking to him in an ancient form of Persian.

  Marcus stepped back, tripping over his own feet. The surprise noise caused the creatures to twist their gaze and notice the two Journeymen standing nearby, taking their own immediate steps toward them.

  Baring rows of glistening, sharp teeth, Drogir stepped in between and blocked their advance, instead pointing toward the forthcoming enemy, nearly upon them.

  With mighty flaps of their great wings, the beasts rose off the rooftop and hurtled toward the demonic forces. As they approached, venomous spines were launched from their tails and, like missiles, impaled the beasts. As the enemy fell from the sky, the manitcores opened their mouths wide, swooping in to devour the riders whole.

  BENEATH THE SHADOWY cover of tight-knit trees in Lehigh Gorge State Park was a large encampment, set amongst the rough and tangled overgrowth. It was bustling with activity, though not the kind one would typically expect.

  The place was full of monsters of all shapes and sizes. Other vampires were present, along with loogaroo, a couple of sasquatch riding a gowrow, and a myriad of other mythical beasts. Even a ghost or two had appeared alongside the skin and fur. Regardless of where they hailed from, all had gathered as representatives of various monster factions, called in secret to discuss matters of great importance and concern.

  The root cause for all their worry was the Noctis, in particular their de facto leader Dajjal.

  Former Head Vampire Evans paced meticulously in front of his tent, relatively inconspicuous in size and appearance amongst the many others. Still tall and proud as he ever was, his walking forged a distinct track in the high weeds. A grassy smell rose with each heavy step he made, offering little to ease his distracted mind.

  A large shape proceeded through the scattered crowd, catching in the corner of Evan’s eye as the firelight starting to yield to dawn. As it loomed closer the shadows concealing it softened, revealing the features of a werewolf that had seen better days.

  “How goes it, friend?” Evans said, halting in line with the entrance to his tent. Its flaps fluttered in a light wind.

  The werewolf stopped as well, standing at least two feet taller than the vampire. He looked down at Evans with through one good eye, the rest of his face mangled and wounded.

  “Greetings, Evans. My name is Valdolf and I come bearing ill news. May we speak in private?”

  “Of course,” Evans bowed, stepping to the side and ushering the werewolf into his tent. “Mind your head as you enter please, although you’ll find it more comfortable on the inside than it appears.”

  With an approving grunt Valdolf stepped inside, ducking down until his torso was nearly with the ground, Evans not far behind.

  Upon entering Valdolf was able to stand fully erect with room to spare above his head. Taking the opportunity to stretch, he surveyed the interior. It was about three times the space the outside lent itself to be, with simple wood furniture that looked as if it grew right out of the earth.

  There was a heavy scent of dirt inside, mingled with a light aroma of sandalwood that came from four floating torches.

  “I shall not meander through my words, Evans,” Valdolf said pointedly, his voice low and direct. “Things have been going well for these alliances we've forged, there is no denying that, yet recently things have taken a turn for the worse. The Order has shown us all that we can work together, but the demons are proving more resilient than we had thought, causing our already threadbare union to show signs of completely unraveling.

  “Some of my people still aligned with the demons have done horrible things – Warminster for example was an atrocity that threatens to cause its own civil war amongst our kind. France is currently seeing an onslaught by demonic forces and in just these past few hours, Dajjal was brazen enough to attack the Order headquarters directly.”

  “What?” Evans said with a look of surprise. Dajjal had indeed become audacious and this latest news disturbed Evans greatly. He knew that things had been going well and progress was slowing, but since his focus had been on helping the elite operatives in their duties, he had lost sight of the larger worldview and also the morale of those fighting in the front line.

  “Do you feel it, Evans?” Valdolf asked worryingly. “As I do in my bones? The great battle is coming; the demons and their allies are getting stronger.”

  “Indeed,” Evans agreed. “The time that we have all been wanting yet are secretly dreading is nearly upon us. Our fears must be dispelled, for this is the time we need our strength the most.”

  “While I agree completely, it is easy to say that to those out there fighting daily to survive while we stay well within the safe confines of our positions of leadership.”

  “That will soon change,” Evans retorted. “We must all place money where our fangs are and live up to our duties. You have done this, as I can see all across your face and the time will come where we must all be tested and show our true mettle.”

  “Have you told them all this?”

  “I have in some capacity,” Evans admitted, “but hearing what you have told me I believe the time has come that they all hear it in full. As one of my very best friends once said, where things were once balanced, the scales have now tipped and it is far more dangerous for those of us who choose not to align with the demons. They are the very concept of darkness incarnate.”

  “That is no joke,” Valdolf said in
agreement.

  “This effort never had the promise of being an easy fight,” Evans continued. “After all the demons still have huge numbers on their side, but we have grown as well. Look at us now – a mighty coalition versus the tiny pockets of resistance that could have easily been swept away. No more are we cowering in the dark, we are forcing the dark to cower.”

  Valdolf nodded, his own fangs bared in a snarl.

  “We will continue to fight,” Evans said. “Far better to fight standing than do nothing lying down. We aren’t just fighting for our right to live in the now, Valdolf, but for future generations to call this place home. I would tell that to each and every one of them out there. All they need do is listen.”

  Instilled with new hope, Valdolf departed to ready the rest to hear these words, and Evans turned away, sinking his gaze to the earthy floor. There came another rustle of fabric and a crunch of twigs came from behind him.

  “I need a little privacy,” he said, “and will join you all outside momentarily.”

  “Those were some wise words,” said a voice that was strangely familiar, “and from a wise man who, at some time in the not so distant past, I think that I wanted to kill.”

  Evans smiled, not so much at the words themselves but at the realization of who had said them.

  “Ah, my dear Adrienne,” he said, spinning to greet her. “Whatever are you doing all the way out here? It’s a far cry from the big city. I see you survived the attack.”

  She looked puzzled, her eyebrows raised in alarm.

  “Attack?” she asked upsettingly.

  “You must have left beforehand,” Evans said. “Dajjal… he attacked the Order building.”

  He could see Adrienne’s heart fall into the pit of her stomach. She took a nearby seat and sighed.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Is everyone alright?”

  Evans nodded.

  “From my understanding, yes. It was a small attack, easily repelled. My guess it was meant to merely send a message.”

  Adrienne looked relieved, though still a little shaken. Evans approached her, placing an arm on her shoulder.

  “Well,” she said, continuing where she left off, “Marcus wasn’t too happy hearing that I was being sent out here on the Odyssey, but Gage insisted that I get out of headquarters and breathe a little. He says since Om is around watching over me I would be safe…”

  “He would be correct in that,” Evans said. “You dodged the attack there.”

  “True,” Adrienne continued with the slightest of giggles, “but truth be known, it’s also something I wanted to do. I’m not going to keep myself locked away and out of the fight because in that case, Dajjal has already won.”

  “Ah yes, the so called ‘Grand Demon’ Dajjal,” Evans said, unimpressed with his name or his self-imposed titles. “He may be able to rule through fear, but he is no true leader at all.

  LEADERSHIP QUALITIES.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Adrienne said.

  “Now I couldn’t help but hear your mention of Gage insisting that you get out of HQ. Have you both been keeping well?”

  “Well truth be known, not so much,” she admitted.

  “Trouble between you and him? Forgive me if it is too forward of me to ask.” He assumed the worst, sounding saddened for he remembered their last encounter where the alliance between vampires and humans was first forged, the sounds of whipping and crying echoing loudly through memory.

  “Oh no,” Adrienne said quickly to end that line of thinking. “We are fine, better than fine in fact.”

  “Ah, that’s excellent then!” he exclaimed, giving a smile that showed off the tips of his fangs.

  If he was going to be on the Council, she felt as if she could trust him, so proceeded update him about everything that had happened since that day in Pine Springs. Most of it he already knew, from the attacks around the world and Dajjal’s obtaining the Crown. Yet it was the smaller things, like the trouble they encountered with Joey, that seemed to captivate his attention more than the rest.

  “So you can see,” she said. “Things are quite a mess.”

  “Indeed it sounds that way,” he said solemnly. If only there was a way that I could contribute more to the cause and help. Don’t get me wrong, field work like this is good work, but I think I could do much more relative to the cause if I had more authority.”

  “Well… funny you mention that,” Adrienne said, noting the timing of his statement. “I’m here on request of the Order Council itself. They’ve extended an invitation for you to join, if you would like. The position would fill the one vacated by Fenran.”

  For some reason, Adrienne expected a long and drawn out internal debate, weighing the pros and cons of following through with the Order’s request, but Evans had already decided, it being a fanciful dream now given the chance to become reality.

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” he said to her surprise.

  “What? You’ve accepted?”

  “Of course I have,” Evans replied. “Isn’t that what you wanted? I am ready to serve.”

  “I… yes… I….” she muttered. “I just thought it might take you a little longer to decide.”

  “Are you calling me longwinded?” Evans asked, folding his arms in jest.

  “In a good way…” Adrienne answered with a wink. She looked around his tent. “So, you don’t need to collect anything?”

  “I have everything I need right here,” he said, extending his arms to his side before pointing one to his chest. “And also here. The only thing I’m missing is the knowledge of who nominated me for this?”

  “I’ll give you one guess,” she said smirking.

  Evans smiled again, shaking his head.

  “Gage Crosse?”

  To his answer Adrienne nodded and Evans reached out to help her out of the chair.

  They made their way out of the tent and into the camp where all the monsters had gathered around to hear the wise words of Evans.

  “WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Marcus shouted at the top of his lungs, forgetting that he was in the labs. A balled up fist slammed hard against the glossy white countertop, causing one of the Ferro fluid cubes to tremble violently, its display quivering for a few seconds before settling back on a computer graphic of the Holy Grail.

  “MARCUS, CALM DOWN!” Gage ordered, shooting up from his chair.

  Adrienne gasped at the quickness of his motion and the volume he had taken.

  Gage forced himself between the two brothers, having to focus more on Marcus who looked about ready to beat the ever living shit out of his brother.

  “Look! Ya both have already had an encounter like this back at the start of the month and we definitely don’t need a repeat this late in the game! I’ll say this one more time to ya: calm down. Now.”

  The rest of the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, some of the workers excusing themselves with Henry’s approval. As they left he glanced to Adrienne, passing her a look of astonishment while mouthing ‘wow,’ after which she nodded.

  Marcus relaxed at Gage’s command but only outwardly, still breathing erratically through his widely flared nostrils. All of these flared emotions were causing him a lot of distress and the toll it was taking began to manifest all the time.

  “Bro, settle,” Gage urged in a tone that was more calming. “Your face is redder than a huge pimple that’s about to pop.”

  “This right here, all the emotion and the anguish, Gage it’s why I avoided the field for so long,” Marcus whispered like he was about to cry, looking for help; anything to alleviate his woes.

  Gage was sympathetic, but also firm.

  “I know man, but it’s all part of the way the world works. We’re here for you, but I’ve said it to myself many times on so many lonely nights: love is pain. It ain’t ever easy; nothing that’s worth having is.”

  Ty backed away and took a seat on a stool, causing Marcus to snap his gaze that way.

  “Trust me, I wis
h that I could change things, brother,” Ty said in apology. “But outbursts like this aren’t going to suddenly change the way it works…”

  “Trust you?” Marcus mumbled with false calm. “TRUST YOU? Why would you even say that? How long have you known?”

  Ty took off his glasses and set them on the work surface. He took a breath and settled back on a resting elbow.

  “I discovered it in the lore just before we left for France,” he admitted, feeling a bit guilty now that he hadn’t said anything. “Would it have even mattered if I told you then?”

  “No, because you would all have still gone on the mission to get the Grail for Joey,” Adrienne replied, everyone whirling her way, “but I think knowing would have given us… or someone… more time to think about what to do.”

  The gathering gawked at each other, speechless.

  Henry was the first to break the wall of silence by clearing his throat.

  “Not to be an eternal optimist pushing this,” he said blushingly, “but are we absolutely sure there is no other way to cure Joey of this ailment? While we know the Grail will work, the price seems too great to pay for that success.”

  Ty bent forward, resting his arms on his thighs.

  “Trust me…” he began, starting over when he saw Marcus eyeing him. “No. I have checked every resource I know of; every book. I don’t think I have slept for more than ten hours total since getting here looking for an alternative. There just isn’t one.”

  “Aha! Maybe that’s what’s wrong,” Marcus said coldly, “you’re so tired that you’re not at your best…”

  “Don’t reach Marcus. I’ve also had help. Do you doubt all of us, including Henry and his people?”

  “Don’t be stupid, Ty, of course not!” Marcus scoffed.

  “Perhaps there is something in the Otherworld?” Adrienne suggested, trying to relieve the building pressure. “Meriden and the elves have powerful magic.”

  “Their most powerful item is already here on my finger,” Gage reminded her, rubbing the Ring of Dispel, its gold and platinum sheen reflecting the bright lights of the lab. “As badass as it is, all it’s been able to do is slow down the toxin. I’m fucking thankful for that. It wouldn’t matter if there were another item there anyway, their realm is still cut off due to the war.”