Sailor Ray and the Dark Descent (The Pact Book 2)

by Alex Villavasso

  The demon howled again. Its screech, livelier than it had been moments before. I could tell it was regaining its strength, and it wouldn’t be much longer until its confidence to fight again was restored. If it came after me, all I had was a dagger—one measly dagger that I could only use with my weak hand, if I could manage to keep from passing out.

  “You want me, come get me, you bastard!”

  My skin turned cold at the sound of my father’s voice. I turned back to see Dad on his feet staring down the wounded beast. The sweeper squealed and coiled itself back, exposing its fangs as it lifted its scythes into the air.

  “Sailor, keep going, honey!” he called out. He was hunched over in pain and bleeding from his side. “Don’t look back. I’ll be okay. Just get to the altar, baby.” I crawled forward, more determined than ever, ignoring the tears that fell from my eyes as I watched my dad. There was no way he could win in his current condition, so he made the first move, buying me some much needed time. Before he could make his final stand, the sweeper impaled him with both his scythes and lifted his body into the air before drawing it closer to his mouth. “Sailor, go!”

  For just a chance at me making it, my father gladly threw his life away. The sweeper hissed and expanded its jaw, revealing a set of razor sharp teeth soaked with blood. My dad was strung along like a puppet, ushered closer to its mouth of serrated edges, guided by the demon’s scythe-like hands. The sweeper inched its head towards my father’s neck with a creeping caution as it anticipated its next meal, but before it could bite into him, my dad used his final moments to plunge his dagger into the demon’s neck with a feverish scream. The sweeper violently thrashed, but my dad continued to stab away, until finally it dislodged him from its scythes and slung him against a wall yards away.

  “Dad…no.” The demon’s body collapsed to the ground and writhed sluggishly. It wasn’t dead, but it seemed to be at death’s door. The basement fell silent and I continued my crawl, turning away from my downed father, though the image remained burned in my mind.

  My father died right before my very eyes, and the pain was almost too much to bear. Even though I, too, was on the verge of death, it didn’t bother me. Living meant nothing if it was without him, but at the same time, dying would mean that his sacrifice was in vain.

  The sweeper released a low, gurgled screech, but I paid it no mind. Damn it. Come on, Sailor. You can do this. Shake it off. My eyes grew heavy and time began to move an erratic pace. I’d lost far too much blood. I was at the end of my rope.

  With the altar less than ten feet away from me, I tried my best to stay conscious, but my body went limp and darkness shadowed my eyes.

  ****

  “You know, you’ll die sooner than later if you keep this up,” an unfamiliar voice echoed in the darkness and my body jutted back to life.

  What? Who is that? I lifted my head from my forearm. “And what does it matter to you?” I sneered. There’s no way whatever that thing is, is human.

  “Don’t you want to live, darling? As a guardian of this facility, that hell beast won’t stop until whatever binds it to this place is destroyed,” he said matter-of-factly. “If your father died by the hands of such an infernal creature for naught, it would be a shame, would it not?”

  “I don’t need your help,” I grumbled out into the open. Even though I couldn’t see him, I had the mental impression of a sickly, thin man whose body was shrouded in a malevolent fog.

  “Ah, but you do.” A dark fog, separate from the darkness of the room, floated from behind the altar and materialized in front of me. Just like the impression, he seemed to be unwell and slightly deformed, though it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. “You’re dying and you don’t have much time left.”

  “What…are you?”

  “A demon, of course…a demon summoned—albeit improperly, but a demon nonetheless. Just like the ones that your friends killed. It seems they bested the coven and halted whatever atrocity they were trying to bring forth.” The last sweeper shrieked behind us and the malevolent figure casually glanced at the origin of the sound. “Well, for the most part.” He chuckled. “I suppose I let you rest a little too long.”

  “What do you want,” I forced out. At this point, speaking taxed me more than I liked to admit.

  “I, like you, am in need of assistance. I’m in need of a host.”

  “Host?”

  “Host, vessel, whatever term you prefer, my dear, though it doesn’t really matter.”

  “There’s a ton of bodies lying around.” I grunted. “Why don’t you just grab one of those?”

  “As tantalizing as it may sound, I’m in need of a host that is alive. Just like you, at the moment, I’m not at my best. I need a willing, living partner to bond to, for I am too weakened to obtain a host of my own. Most of my strength is gone.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  “Because you, just like every other piece of creation, wants to live. I can see it your eyes. You cling so desperately to what little life you have left, even if it means being ripped to pieces by that monstrosity behind you. I’ve been watching you for a while now, Sailor. And I must say, you’re fascinating. Your choices truly show the tenacity of the human spirit. You would make a most suitable vessel.”

  “Bite me.”

  “Is this really how you want your story to end, precious? I only need your body as a dwelling place. I can give you the life you so desperately crave if you were to accept me. The soul is a source of unlimited energy when harnessed properly and yours is something that I am in great need of.”

  “So you want my soul?”

  “Don’t worry. It’ll be yours for the time being. While limitless, humans can only generate so much in an allotted time, and as I’m sure you can tell, I’ve been quite starved from spiritual energy of any sort. With you as my vessel, the nourishment I siphon from you will allow me to tend to your wounds with ease. A measure of my power will also be bestowed unto you as a benefit to our pact.”

  “For the time being?” I coughed. “How long would I have?”

  “Days, months, years…in my current form, I am far from whole, so it all depends on the strength of your soul and how long you can resist me.” He smiled. “At the very least, I’ll allow you to have your revenge against the ones who orchestrated this massacre, I promise you that. That is, until I get bored—kidding. I doubt I’ll be restored in matter of months.”

  Like hell, I’ll let him control me. I scrunched my face and my brows curved in disgust.

  “Why the long face, Sailor? At least I warned you,” he said before laughing.

  “Damn it. I can’t die here, but I can’t trust you either.”

  “Atta girl,” he snickered. The hell beast howled in the background, drawing his attention. “Oh...should I goad our new friend or would you rather go out the old fashioned way? Either way, time is running out.”

  “No…no, you don’t,” I uttered, gripping as tightly as I could to my fleeting life. “What…what do I have to do?” At this point, I could virtually feel death’s hand resting on my shoulder.

  “As you know, calling out a demon’s name can open a window where it is possible to give it strength.” He paused and his voice lifted with a hint of hubris. “Call my name, Vartal, and invite me in. Open yourself to me and do not resist my advances. Allow my spirit to infiltrate your body and flow through you. Then you will get the life-force your body so desperately desires.”

  “Okay,” I weakly responded. “I’ll do it.”

  Not to my surprise, Vartal’s smile widened. I could see it clearly through the ominous aura that hid his sickly body. I called out his name, just as instructed, and invited him inside of me. Then, without warning, Vartal’s spirit wrapped around my body and entered through my open wounds.

  Instantly, I was aware of his presence as his energy began to travel through every inch of my body. My lungs constricted and my muscles felt as if they’d locked in place. Unable to move, my body be
gan to convulse on its own accord. Then, almost as suddenly as it started, it stopped and I slowly regained my ability to move. I steadily raised myself on all fours and placed one hand over my wounded stomach. Nothing; it was bleeding freely only moments ago, but now I could feel the gash slowly beginning to stitch itself together from the inside. On my balancing arm, I felt a searing pain across my forearm that caused me to wince, almost like a hot brand being pressed against my skin. The heaviness that weighed on my body seemed to disappear and I could finally breathe. A rush of air quickly filled my lungs and the pain from my side was now bearable.

  Think of this as a second chance—a blessing in disguise, Vartal whispered inside of my mind. Now go on, kill that infernal creature like I know you want to. That monster was the thing that ultimately killed your father, wasn’t it? Take your revenge.

  The sweeper howled in the distance as I stood to my feet, dagger in hand. Feeling Vartal inside me was like the ultimate violation. I felt dirty, disgusted, diseased, cursed; but most importantly, I felt alive. “Shut up,” I grumbled, answering the both of them as I limped towards the wounded beast.

  I plunged the blade into the back of the injured creature’s head, piercing through its skull. The beast squealed and black goo spurted from its incision, drizzling my face—I don’t even flinch. I gritted my teeth and carved the dagger down from his skull, cutting to the base of its neck. Its scythe-like hands flailed in the air while it yelled, but I continued my assault. It tried to claw at me, but the dying demon lacked the finesse to swing its arms effectively at me from behind. Eventually the beast went limp.

  Well done, Vartal commented from inside my head. However, do keep in mind that you’re not invincible. The majority of my energy was spent tending to your wounds and sustaining your vitals. Don’t expect a miracle every time you fight. Our resources are limited. I didn’t respond.

  A dull pain radiated from my shoulder and I placed my hand on top of it. Blood. During the sweeper’s death throes, it must have managed to slice into my arm. The pain was there, but manageable. It was almost like a distant thought. I glanced at my wound, silently perplexed before I made my next move.

  It felt good didn’t it? Killing that creature. The human soul is quite remarkable. Even in the darkest of times, it still manages to shine bright. How long will your light shine, Sailor? I wonder. How long can you resist the darkness that you will inevitably embody?

  I ignored him, limped over to the altar, and destroyed it. The ominous atmosphere of the basement cleared but the natural darkness still remained. I surveyed the industrial basement and saw about a dozen bodies, if not more. Amongst the dead was my dad, mangled, on his side, and against a wall. Mitch, torn in two. Sam, ravaged. Everyone looked more or less the same, hunted and feasted upon. Some of them with parts that didn’t even look human anymore, and yet, I survived.

  During my reverence of the dead, my forearm ached and I balled my fingers into fist. “That’s the second time I felt that,” I said, still overlooking the bodies. “What’s going on?”

  Lift up the sleeve of your shirt.

  I did what the demon told me and folded my sleeve up to my elbow, exposing my right forearm. Not far from the wedge of my elbow, there was an archaic seal; a mark, one with characteristics I’d never seen before in any of the demonic texts I’d researched in the past.

  That is a physical reminder of our pact.

  I briefly studied the unfamiliar seal before unrolling my sleeve.

  “Will it always bother me?” I asked flatly.

  No, it won’t. Your body is still adjusting.

  “Good,” I responded while I moved my hand back onto my bleeding shoulder.

  You seem hesitant. Where to now? Vartal asked. He sounded slightly concerned, but I was pretty sure he didn’t care. He was only excited that he was no longer bound to the summoning grounds and had a free ride to freedom.

  “No, it’s not that. Just thinking.” It was clear to me that this entire thing had been bigger than what my father and the other hunters expected. The one who tipped my dad and the others off must have had no idea on what was really going on. This wasn’t a normal case. They had multiple sweepers—something that Mitch said required a tremendous amount of energy, all of which that were bounded to the surrounding area. They were protecting something, but that something was never summoned. “What were they trying to summon here?” I asked coldly.

  There are many things that Hell holds, my child. All of which that are deadly to humans. I, too, was summoned here to defend whatever infernal being the members of this coven sought to transfer to this plane, however my summoning was ruined when your allies showed, preventing me from acquiring a vessel.

  “Well, what could they have summoned that’s stronger than a sweeper?”

  That line of questioning will only lead to more questions than answers, darling. Perhaps they sought to summon The Devil, himself. Vartal chuckled. Or maybe, the next best thing. Who knows. Everyone that should know, I presume is now dead. It’s rather unfortunate, don’t you think? Although I do love a good mystery. Hmm, so where to now, human?

  What Vartal said wasn’t a lie. I was the only one left standing; the sole survivor, not just in this room, but also within my family. I shook my head, distancing me from my train of thought. Feeling sorry for myself would do little for my survival, so I buried my feelings along with everything I’d been suppressing for years. I wasn’t in the clear yet. I couldn’t afford to break down.

  “We need to go,” I blurted concisely, my eyes still capturing the lot of corpses scattered around the dimly lit basement in a soft gaze. Under different conditions, I’d bury my dad and the other hunters, but to my dismay, it was something I couldn’t do. The coven was too well armed—too well prepared. Whatever they were trying to do, they were highly invested in the end result…which meant that as soon as things went south for them, they probably called reinforcements.

  I wanted to fight, but I knew it was a battle I was sure to lose. I was exhausted. One weakened demon in a barely functioning human girl wouldn’t be enough to take on whatever they had in store—especially if they were the same ones capable of summoning sweepers. I couldn’t risk being caught, either. That would make everything I’d just been through meaningless. If I wanted to get revenge, I needed to run.

  With one final look at my father’s body, I turned and limped towards the staircase of the basement. The cops wouldn’t have a chance at identifying any of them. Nobody would. As far as the world would be concerned, they’re all ghosts. The abandoned cars parked out front wouldn’t give them anything either, though I doubted the cops (if they were somehow alerted) would beat the demons already racing to the scene. Fake IDs, fake credit cards, and fake lives. It was the only way to be safe as a hunter once you were sucked in. It was a step my dad was willing to take to find my mom’s killer and keep me safe. He wanted to put an end to all of this so I could live a normal life without being targeted like Mom. He wanted better for me, but I guess his wish will never come true. Because after living through this ordeal, all I can think about is settling the score for everything we’ve lost.

  I held back my tears as I hobbled to my car hidden beneath the trees that covered a beaten trail with a view of the facility. After I opened the door to my car, I lethargically fell into the driver’s seat of my mustang, disgusted at the recent turn of events. I resisted the urge to yell into my seat as I endured my darkest night. It was just me now. Alone. I sat there for a moment, taking the time to wallow in my own self-pity before I hoisted myself into my seat.

  I took a deep breath and plunged my key into the ignition, but before I put my foot on the gas, a slew of cars parked in front of the abandoned warehouse. I watched as they exited the set of vehicles in squads of three; all of them carrying some form of a firearm ranging from pistols to assault rifles.

  They surveyed the facility and the bodies on the ground before signaling to the others who seemed to be in charge of cleaning up the aftermath.
They were all dressed differently…casual, with no uniform. The only thing they all had in common were the black ski masks that hid their faces. I couldn’t tell who or what they were. Their vehicles had no insignia and I couldn’t make out what they were saying from where I was. All I knew was that I needed answers and they had them.

  “I’m going to kill them all,” I whispered while I gripped the padding of my steering wheel. “Every last one of them,” I snarled.

  Oh? How tantalizing. You are indeed a most peculiar individual. I can’t wait for the day I claim your soul as my own.

  I ignored the demon in my head and pulled out from the hidden trail, determined to see my oath fulfilled. Soul be damned. As soon as I made it into the clearing, I sunk my foot on the gas pedal, eager for my revenge. First it was my mother, and now, my father. The brutal mix of anger, defeat, and disgust gave wake to the fiery furnace already brewing within my soul. Someone had to pay.

  I had no leads, but I was determined to avenge them no matter how long it took—no matter the case—no matter the cost. I had to, because revenge was all I had left.

  Now, Vartal stated as I blazed down the beaten path, let the hunt begin.

  Chapter 4: Marked

  Present Day

  The boom of a fist against my door wakes me from my slumber and I’m instantly pissed off. Even with the meds Blaze gave me, just being conscious hurts if I’m not occupied with something. Every breath I take reminds me of how much pain I’m in and how miserable I should be. Al managed to keep me alive, but I almost wish he hadn’t. Cuts and bruises, I can handle. Gunshot wounds and demon-level torture, not so much. I could have stayed in a coma, but I decided through some weird spiritual conversation in my subconscious with him that it wasn’t the best route. It would have been far too long of a time to be out of the game. Blaze did a good job of stitching me up and keeping me safe, but it’s nothing compared to Al’s healing prowess. Human hands can only go so far and I need to get back into action as soon as possible.