Joey put down his glass, rested his right elbow on the table and looked right back at Ty.
“Much love right back at you.”
NATHANIEL CROSSED HIS arms as he looked down through the clouds, catching glimpses of passing cities, towns, and farmland.
“We should be arriving within the next twenty minutes or less,” he told Gabriel, who was standing beside him with arms braced against the railing.
“Good stuff,” he replied, looking up to the stars. Then he sighed. “I think I like this airship better than the new ones.”
Nathaniel laughed. Sean, who was standing off to the side away from them, didn't.
“I agree, has more charm than the others, even though they're a lot more advanced.”
“I'll take charm over pretty much anything else these days,” Gabriel replied.
“I'll take the nimble ones” Sean said. “This one’s not bad by any means, but does seem to have a lot of underutilized space.”
“I think so too, but not everything has to be defined by precision,” said Gabriel. “It's from a simpler time; I think she's gorgeous. You'd be thinking the same thing about a chopper, Sean, don't lie.”
“Touché,” Sean replied, able to see what they meant about the craftsmanship.
There was a restful pause, then Gabriel changed the subject.
“So, I'm planning to go visit Momma down in New Orleans once all this is finished,” Gabriel said, glancing over his shoulder to Nathaniel. “Got any plans yourself for fun during some extended post-apocalyptic R and R?”
“Can’t say I've given it much thought,” Nathaniel answered, somewhat solemnly. “I… well Ralph, Kuro, and I did have plans to visit Hawaii. Hit the beaches, do a bit of surfing…”
Gabriel looked down towards Nathaniel's leg.
“Even though you're missin’ one? How does that work Nate? I'm sure it'll throw you off balance or something.” Gabriel said jokingly, unable to stop his pretty teeth from shining.
“I wouldn't know, Gabe,” Nathaniel smirked. “It'd be my first time, but like I said we did have plans, now on the shelf for some time…”
“Well, I'd like to think me and ya have become good friends during all of these sorties. You're more than welcome to come with me man,” Gabriel invited. “She makes a mean pecan pie… and jam. Hell, any other deliciously high carb foods ya want she sure as shit could whip up. Don't think this offer doesn't apply to you too, Sean.”
Sean looked surprised, but quickly regained his stoic composure while Nathaniel was tempted, his mouth already watering at the notion. He took to casually stroking his beard as he feigned making a difficult decision.
“Count me in,” he said, blinded by Gabriel's resulting smile. “But just to put this out there up front, this is not a date. You know that I don't swing that way.”
Gabriel perked up an eyebrow at the statement, the wrinkles in his forehead deep.
“What makes ya think I do?” Gabriel asked with a tone of surprise.
“Really?” Nathaniel answered, his stare saying more than mere words could.
Gabriel smiled again, shrugging his shoulders.
“Hmmm. That may be the case, or maybe not. Either way it's fun to keep them all guessing.”
“You both are fucking weird,” Sean muttered.
A DARK SHAPE rocketed through the night air, the beautiful city lights of Paris straddling the River Seine far below, broad and twinkling like a reflection of the starry sky above.
Dajjal had come and he was atop his monstrous steed, tucked between the beast’s flapping wings and its leathery back. The churning air was deafening, the demon’s fingers wrapped tightly in the beast’s coarse mane, providing both stability and steering. He could have easily transported to the rendezvous point from Warminster as Morax had requested, but Dajjal’s pride would not let him miss the opportunity of addressing the soon to be oppressed from the back of a grand mount.
Dajjal pulled hard on its mane and the steed brayed, banking hard to the right before unfurling its great wings to slow their advance to a hover. He gazed down toward the glowing streets through his red eyes, lit by his flaming halo and gently stroked his horse’s neck.
“Look at them all, Abigor,” Dajjal said emotionlessly, the horse grunting in reply. “Like insects going about their business tonight, without the slightest idea of what is coming; their time nearly at an end… Now take me to the observation point.”
Commanded, Abigor reared back then dove quickly, spiraling toward the ground in ever tightening swirls. The lights grew brighter and more defined with each pass, casting an array of colors across buildings and trees, honking vehicles, and the unsuspecting people along Charles de Gaulle Avenue.
Dajjal cackled as he streaked over the heavy traffic, the steed smashing windshields and denting car roofs as its hooves galloped feverishly across them. Terror-stricken drivers swerved their vehicles to dodge the oncoming evil, only to crash into others that happened to be doing the same. Dajjal smiled as he heard all the screams and sounds of crushing metal, directing his mount skyward again. Fear was rank ahead of him while behind, chaos ruled.
The Arc de Triomphe rose from street level in the distance, its neoclassical white walls centered at an intersection where twelve avenues converged. Abigor swooped underneath the majestic archway, his shadow eclipsing the relief of La Résistance de 1814 before twisting up and around to land on the top of the monument. As the beast settled, Dajjal noted that this would be the perfect spot to watch the oncoming show – a revelation of his power that would herald his rise to rule over the Earth.
Below, traffic had come to a standstill and people rushed from their vehicles to gaze up at the bizarre thing that had landed above them. Some watched with skepticism, denying what they saw, while more had taken to their phones – posting and snapping and live streaming feeds for the world to see.
“Behold!” Dajjal bellowed from the back of his steed, his triumphant voice resounding in their native tongue, carried far over the indistinct sea of murmurs below. “Your new Lord has arrived. I do not promise you salvation, nor everlasting life. Those are remnants of an old era that has just come to a close. I will see to it that each and every soul on this planet is made to suffer and that your screams echo in the annals of history to define this age and beyond. The time of God – ha! the Abandoner – and his angels are at a dead end. Even Lucifer himself shall reign no more, for MY time is finally at hand.”
A blast of lightning screamed out of the night sky, striking right next to Dajjal. The crowd gasped, quaking as a second figure appeared out of the fizzing air, draped in thick, ornamental robes. Where he stood was black with soot, highly visible against the white stone.
“Ah, Morax!” Dajjal said, relishing his arrival. “You couldn't have chosen a better spot to see the dawning of my creation.”
“Indeed isn't it grand? Your Grace will be pleased to hear that all the wards are now in place despite a few… minor setbacks.” Morax’s expression was grim, but the ends of his lips abruptly turned upward. “But no worries, the ‘Initators,’ if you will, are on standby, ready to execute your command, my Lord. The view to the east should be quite awe inspiring.”
“Good, let them know to…”
The prattling of the crowd had grown much louder, making it difficult to concentrate as it overpowered their demonic conversation.
“SILENCE!” Dajjal screamed, his command rising high then crashing down like a merciless wave to smother the crowd into silence. “Now… BOW.”
Though quiet, the gathering was at a loss as to what was happening, many wondered why should they bow to this maniac on top of the monument? Obviously this was a publicity stunt for some kind of movie or –
Impatient, Dajjal snapped his fingers and the closest line of people – no less than twenty – were torn apart, the sight of their eviscerated guts flying through the air, sending the rest into a raging panic as the living ran for their lives.
“So be it. Let the sym
phony begin.”
There was a smug flicker in Dajjal’s eyes, surging out as hellfire exploded around him. It swirled in the air like a quartet of dancing snakes before slithering all the way down to the street, engulfing the entire junction in agonizing flames while devouring those that had been foolish enough to stay. The screams were horrific and even in their brevity Dajjal rejoiced both inside and out at the spectacle of it.
“You may begin,” he told Morax, whose eyes had welled with joy while his beak-like nose flared wide.
Raising his arms in reply, Morax spun to the east toward the warded administrative districts. He spoke meticulously and unsympathetically, his words magnified a hundred fold by unseen power.
“Dolor… Sanguinem…Mortem…” he shouted and the words echoed out over the city, and Morax vanished in another bolt of thundering lighting.
In the streets – from the Eiffel Tower to the Museum of Natural History, and the Catacombs to just across from the Louvre – hundreds of citizens heard the order and flicked their eyes to demonic red. Using knives, they slashed their wrists, each and every one splashing the blood that flooded their palms across the blood wards. Both symbols and bodies alike burst into flames, sizzling as the Initiators screamed in torment.
But this was not the greatest pain; that revelation was yet to come.
The earth trembled across the seven districts, moaning like it never had before. The ground buckled and heaved in waves. Shadows dashed from the shining fissures, eager to bring death to every man, woman, and child that was in the accursed area.
The skin of thousands flayed, blood spilling as bones shattered, and the souls of the departed rose in an anthem of agony a thousand feet in the air. In seconds, nearly three hundred thousand lives were ended, all for the love of Dajjal. However, the new Lord did not promise everlasting life to anyone, nor a tranquil and quiet passing.
The glowing wisps of souls hung in the air for the tiniest moment, then came crashing together into something massive. A monstrous thing was taking shape in the street and prongs of lightning erupted from it, along with bright flashes of an unearthly red light. Buildings broke, cars exploded, and the people that died felt like they were doing so many times over.
It was screaming, though not from its mouth which hung open grotesquely, as if its bottom jaw had been unhinged. The appalling noise came from inside the undulating mass, faces of the dead protruding from its rotten skin, stretching it so thin in their attempts to escape that it nearly tore.
Dajjal stood in utter silence as the nightmare rose up in the distance, summoned from the deepest pits of despair. It stood motionless, a monument in its own right. Then it walked, lumbering through the streets of Paris bent on consuming all with everlasting fear.
SETH YAWNED SO deeply that part of the sound mixed with his beast form’s roar. Kyle looked over with surprise and pride, while the other two figures there with them just stared blankly.
The Fuller brothers were joined by two dragon shifters in the forecastle of the Odyssey, their Alpha convinced by Gage to send some representation on this critical mission.
“Can you not be quiet?” said the taller of the two to Seth, his black hair high and tight while his dark eyes continued their cold glower at the bear shifter. He squared the shoulders of his long leather jacket as if wings would sprout from his back at any moment.
“What did you say?” Kyle snarled as he puffed out his chest with fists balled, standing as tall as he could muster.
“John, not now!” the other dragon shifter hissed. He was shorter in stature but more intimidating, even with his much longer hair tied off in an untidy bun.
John bowed, then diminished.
“Look, Abel, I am no more comfortable with this than you are,” said Seth. “Shit, you can cut the tension in here with a blade, but we really need to focus on helping the Journeymen with this common goal.”
Abel nodded.
“This demon you and Gage have all talked about…”
“Dajjal,” Seth confirmed.
“Yes… Dajjal. Just so we are absolutely clear: from what you told our Alpha he not only threatens the humans, but shifter kind as well – not caring if we are one crew or another, bear, dragon, lion, raven… none of that matters to him.
“The only thing that matters to him is to see us all burn, along with our homes and those we love,” Kyle said bluntly.
“Then it is clear, John,” Abel told his brother, “we cannot allow our personal feelings to affect our decisions for the time being. Our priority now is to deal with this foolish demon that dares threaten our way of life. What happens between our crews on the other side of this…”
“Is something that we deal with once that time arrives,” Seth said. “So we can trust you?”
“Yes,” Abel said, awaiting his brother’s reply.
“Yes…” John answered hesitantly, still holding on to the old ways – the only way he really knew.
Kyle had stepped away from the group, looking out the forward windows. His face was aghast after noticing something odd in the distance. It was huge, alive, and appeared to be eating.
“Guys, stow your shit,” he said, watching the creature scoop people up from the streets, throwing them high in the air only to catch them in its grotesque maw. “In our Alpha’s name, look at this.”
Seth and the dragon shifters came to Kyle’s side, watching with revulsion at the horrific sight.
“Tell the others it’s time for action,” Seth muttered. “We have some demon ass to kick.”
THE FLEET ARRIVED in Paris, the city alive with screams of the dying and the light of widespread fires. The entire team had amassed in the forecastle, watching the carnage before them in shock.
“What the fuck is that thing?” Joey asked as he eyed the colossal creature, hoping someone knew so they would at least have some idea of how to take it out.
As luck would have it, there was no answer.
“My God. This is only one city…” said Adrienne with a look of foreboding. “We need to stop Dajjal now, before this type of thing spreads all over the world.”
“Agreed,” Gage said softly while he scanned the horizon, looking for any signs of where Dajjal could be.
The city was a mess, not even taking into account the colossal creature lumbering through it, and things were difficult at best to make out. That’s when he saw what looked like swirls of living fire coiling high in the sky like snakes, off a little to the left of their approach. “Y’all… over there. Doesn't that look like hellfire to ya?”
“You’d know best with that thing around your neck,” Joey pointed out. He placed his nose right up against the glass and squinted his eyes. “Ty, any ideas where that is? I can’t really tell.”
Ty walked up, quickly noting what he could about the landmarks that were visible and distinct from that distance.
“It’s hard to say for sure, but I think it could be the Arc de Triomphe. Would be around that area at least.”
“Let’s assume it is; what’s the plan then?” Adrienne said, Paris nearly upon them. “The huge monster out there wasn't part of our initial discussion.”
“No kidding. Om,” Gage called out on the comm without hesitation, “I'm planning to go for DJ, so set course for the Arc. It's about time we actually took a fight to that demonic son of a bitch. Seth, Kyle: I need you two to stay up here and coordinate an attack against that giant; help him find that one-way beanstalk outta here.”
“Very well, though I'm not quite sure what beans have to do with anything,” Seth said, glancing over to the dragon shifters. “But trust me, we’ll all see what we can do to take that thing down.”
“That's all I ask of ya,” Gage said as he reached out to shake Seth’s hand, but the beast of a man pulled him in for a massive hug.
“You can return the favor after you kill that fucking red-eyed menace,” Seth said, departing for the navigation room where Om resided to discuss a few things. The rest of the shifters followed.
<
br /> Gage stepped onto one of the six transport squares, holding up a hand as the remaining Journeymen approached.
“I'll go down first,” he said. “The rest of you six can jump down right after.”
Joey grabbed Gage by the shirt and pulled him away, shuffling to take his place on the square.
“Don't be stupid Gage,” he said, trying to brush away the wrinkles he'd just made on the shirt. “Despite your earlier protests, you do have all the items on you. At least let some of us make sure the area is clear before you try and go all legendary on us.”
Gabriel, Nathaniel, and Sean took positions next to Joey, who was still smiling when Om came back over the comm.
“Seth's filled me in somewhat on the plan and is heading back to the forecastle. I'm approaching the drop off point, which is the end of Foch Avenue,” he told them calmly. “Be ready to transport down shortly and Gage, stay safe. The Arc and your best friend will be waiting for you directly ahead.”
Ty stepped back and Ady grabbed Gage’s hand, waiting as Om counted down from five. The others vanished in a rush of air right when he reached ‘one’…
… and the team appeared in the middle of a blackened street, the queasiness in their stomachs from the transport amplified by the view they saw. Burned bodies and vehicles were everywhere, stretching out ahead of them, as well as behind. It was a sick sight made darker when viewed against the purity and beauty still present in the towering monument’s stone façade.
The sounds of sprinting came; a few demons were rushing at them. Gabriel made quick work of them with his pistol, popping an explosive iron bullet between each of their eyes.
Then Hell Followed (Journeyman Book 5) Page 19