Minor Demons

by Randall J. Morris

  Your uncle,

  General Cain

  The Demon of Murder”

  “So uncle wants me to walk in like I own the place? Shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “You have a few minutes before you need to get going. Let’s see you swing the scythe.”

  Shadow took the scythe in both hands, swung it over his head, and brought it down hard on the floor. The room shook and his bed caught on fire.

  “Holy shit, Mom. This thing rocks!”

  “I just wanted to see if you could lift it. Don’t play around with it when you’re supposed to be listening later.”

  “Mom, it feels like it’s slowly welding itself to my hands! It has so much power! I can’t wait to reap souls with this thing!”

  “Plenty of time to play with that later. It’s time to get going. Make me proud!”

  “I will.”

  Shadow was ecstatic as he walked out the door. He had never felt such power and now he thought he understood a little of what it felt to be an addict. No wonder drug addicts keep going back for the high. Shadow was so preoccupied with unwinding from the rush of power that he walked right into another demon-in-training on his way to demon placement.

  “Hey! Get the hell out of my way!”

  “Kiss my ass! You need to watch where the hell you’re...”

  The other demon paused as his eyes rested on Shadow’s scythe.

  “Shit... is that thing real?”

  Shadow brought the bottom end of the scythe down on the ground. The tremors tore through the ground and knocked the other demon’s legs out from under him. He stared up at Shadow in awe mixed with a moderate amount of fear. Shadow reached his hand out and pulled the demon to his feet.

  “Still think I need to watch where I’m going?”

  “So you must be Shadow. My dad told me you’re General Cain’s nephew and that he gave you a scythe a few days ago. Must be nice to have family in power like that.”

  “Sounds like you know of me. Who the hell are you?”

  “The name is Leech.”

  “Who’s your dad?”

  “One of the minor demons in charge of muggings. He reports to demons that report to your uncle. He didn’t even have enough money to get me a decent weapon or helmet... and this cloak is a piece of shit.”

  Shadow noticed that Leech had no skull helmet and no weapon. The cloak he wore was dark brown with a few holes and patches scattered across it. He was also on the smaller side for a demon. This was one demon in his class that he would never have to worry about. He was likely to stay a minor demon forever, just like his father had.

  “So you don’t even have a weapon?”

  “No, I have one. I said they couldn’t get me a decent weapon.”

  Leech reached into his cloak and pulled out a dagger made from a human femur bone that had been sharpened to a lethal-looking point. Some attempt had been made to smooth out a handle but the entire weapon looked fairly crude.

  “It’s nothing like a scythe and I’m already planning on getting tormented by everyone else. I just hope you’re willing to... forget this whole thing?”

  Leech forced a frightened smile. He seemed to possess a small amount of confidence and bravery but he clearly recognized Shadow as his superior. He clearly knew the order of things. Shadow saw in him the potential to have a very strong minion.

  “I’ll give you a chance to make this up to me. My uncle wants me to find a potential rival today and put him in his place.”

  “Oh I don’t think I’d make a very good rival for you.”

  “Shut up.”

  “K.”

  “What I was going to say is that you’re likely to get picked on. The first time it happens, I want you to tell the bully that Shadow is going to kick his ass and then show him who I am. Can you do that?”

  “And if I do this for you, I get a free pass? You’ll forget that I was about to stand up to you?”

  “Even better. If you do this for me, I’ll let you in my posse. NO ONE will pick on you... except maybe me when I get bored.”

  Leech smiled and extended his hand.

  “You’ve got a deal, Shady.”

  “Leech?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t call me Shady ever again.”

  Shadow took Leech’s hand and they shook on their deal.

  The rest of the way to demon training was mostly uneventful. Leech showed Shadow a side trail where they could pass by humans in the process of being tortured. They both decided to throw rocks at them for a few minutes. Demons never pitied humans, even those who were already damned. They would have continued for a bit longer but the torturing demons turned on them and started to walk in their direction. This provided a moment of respite for the damned human souls and Shadow couldn’t allow this. He brought the bottom of his scythe down on the ground and let tremors ripple through the floor of Hell.

  “We’re on our way to demon placement. You can get back to what you were doing now.”

  The torture demons saw the scythe and looked at each other. They almost decided to risk it, but they saw Shadow and Leech continue back on their path and returned to torturing their victims. The soul-shattering screams resumed as the continual background music of Hell.

  Once they were out of sight of the torture demons, Leech, who was in front of Shadow, turned and started to walk backwards.

  “Dude, I thought they were going to kick our asses.”

  “Don’t call me dude either.”

  “Sorry, Shady.”

  Shadow started to look angry and Leech decided to change the topic.

  “So if we had gotten in trouble with those guys, would your uncle have come in to save us?”

  “Probably not. I don’t think he’d approve of me messing with the torture demons. They aren’t under his command. It would be an inter-departmental nightmare if he tried to get me out of that shitstorm. It’s probably best we don’t mess with them anymore.”

  “Well who can we mess with and get away with it?”

  “Leech, you shouldn’t be messing with anyone.”

  “I’m not going to be stuck as a minor demon for eternity. I’ll mess with whoever it takes to get up to at least middle demon.”

  “What if you have to mess with me?”

  Leech grinned.

  “I won’t have to. You’re going to promote me as soon as you climb the ranks, right? That’s what friends are for.”

  “You aren’t my friend, Leech. You’re just a pain in the ass.”

  “Hey now. I’m going to help you out later, remember? The least you could do is have my back when you move up in the Hell hierarchy.”

  “Prove yourself and I’ll think about it.”

  “And we’re back to me messing with people to prove myself. I win, Shady.”

  Shadow grabbed Leech by the back of the neck, kicked his legs out from under him, and brought him down, face first, on the ground.

  “You’ll mess with whoever I tell you to when I decide I need you to. God, don’t you ever shut up?”

  Shadow saw Leech’s face form a grin and couldn’t help but smile himself. Leech might be annoying, but he had guts and he wasn’t afraid to do what needed to be done to move up. It seemed that Leech had been born with an ambition that his father probably lacked. Shadow helped Leech back to his feet and hit him across the back of the head.

  “What if the first demon that picks on me is a lot bigger than you?”

  “I have a scythe.”

  “Can you fight without it?”

  “Of course. My uncle put me in combat training when I was little and my dad...”

  “What happened to your dad was bullshit. My dad always said he was the most skilled demon he ever...”

  “Don’t talk about him like he’s not around anymore. I’ll get him out someday. I don’t even care if I have to kill Satan to make it happen.”

  Leech looked horrified.

  “I’m gonna let that go and pretend I didn’t hear it, but you rea
lly need to watch what you say. We’re not even minor demons yet.”

  “Well, it’s the...”

  He didn’t finish his sentence. They had arrived at the demon placement trials. Shadow could see all the places his father told him about when he was younger: the labyrinth, the death pit, and the human tempting chambers. Every few seconds a new horrible scream pierced the walls of Hell. Each scream was unique, even if it was only slightly different from the last. Shadow smiled as he saw the group of demons-in-training and their instructor. Most of them looked terrified. When he turned to face Leech, he wasn’t smiling but he did appear to be calm.

  “Time to make a name for ourselves.”

  “Yes it is, Leech. Yes it is.”

  CHAPTER 2

  “Late on the very first day. Apparently neither of you wants to become real demons any time soon. Your names?”

  “Leech and Shadow.”

  “Shadow? Cain’s nephew? You must be... look at you walking around with a scythe.”

  The instructor opened his hand and Shadow could feel the scythe being drawn away from him. It covered the distance between them and fell into his instructor’s open hand.

  “You didn’t really think Cain was going to give you his scythe, did you? I received a letter from him this morning letting me know that I was to confiscate it and replace it with this.”

  The instructor handed Shadow a long, dark sword. It looked ornate with blood-red veins and the handle was made from a human skull, but it was nowhere near as powerful as the scythe he had been carrying. Several of the other demons-in-training smirked at him and a few were brave enough to laugh but they stifled it when the instructor turned their way. The instructor handed the scythe to another demon, one of his assistants.

  “The scythe will be returned to Cain.”

  His assistant bowed and disappeared.

  “This is a lesson all of you should learn early on. You are not important. You are servants of the Dark One. Your own pride and vanity mean nothing because you are nothing. Whatever you think you deserve or have a right to will not be given to you until you have earned it.”

  “My name is Venom and I’m the middle demon of half-truths. I serve under General Lucian, the Demon of Lies, who was in the garden with our Master when he first tempted Adam and Eve. I have tens of thousands of minor demons that serve under me and countless more little in-training nothings like yourselves. I never recruit anyone right after the trials so the ass kissers can stop before they start. It won’t do you any good.”

  “Your immediate placement test will consist of three phases. The first is the labyrinth. Two at a time, you will enter and fight your way through the most hellish nightmare you’ve ever encountered. Creatures will attack you that you have never even conjured in your dreams. Your completion time will be recorded, as will your kill total, and both will play into how well you do overall.”

  “Phase two is the death pit. We will randomly select two of you to go in there and beat each other to death. You can also quit and we will try to get you out in time. Single elimination and only those who make it to the semi-finals will have enough points to matter when this is all over.”

  “The final test is the human tempting chambers. We put you in a room with a simulated human and simulate Earth. You talk him into doing whatever horrible thing you can think of. I’ll be impressed if half of you can tempt him to commit a simple mugging. Anything more creative than that will be rewarded.”

  “Once everything is done, you will receive a final score. A very small number of you will be recruited immediately following the announcement of your score and will become minor demons. The rest of you will be assigned to follow minor or middle demons on earth until someone requests your promotion. You will all report back to me until you become minor demons and I can request to have you pulled from wherever you are. Most of you will stay demons-in-training for a very long time.”

  Venom shifted his gaze to Shadow and then another demon with a smug grin on his face.

  “Don’t think you can get by on family connections either. I don’t care if you’re the nephew, son, daughter, or whatever of a major demon. I don’t even give a shit if you’re the bastard offspring of Satan. You will meet the same requirements that have been in place for millennia. No one will coast on a family member’s reputation while I’m the demon training instructor.”

  Venom’s speech continued but Shadow stopped paying attention. The other demon that Venom had looked at before making his comment about familial ties was still grinning. Shadow nudged Leech.

  “Who’s that over there?”

  “Which one?”

  “The big one. The one that looks like he could rip the teacher apart.”

  “He probably will at some point. That’s Nightmare, Lucian’s son. He’s the only one in the class other than you that has a direct tie to a major demon.”

  Shadow smiled.

  “That’s who Uncle Cain wants me to intimidate today. By sending me here with a scythe, he guaranteed that Venom would make some comment about special treatment. That guaranteed that I would find a rival.”

  Leech shifted his stance and looked uncomfortable.

  “Not to say that you can’t, but are you sure you can beat him? I mean... he’s huge and you don’t have your scythe anymore.”

  “I’ll be fine, Leech. Don’t stress it.”

  Venom’s speech was wrapping up.

  “So now you’ll have fifteen minutes to find a partner for the labyrinth. Those of you who don’t will be randomly paired with anyone that’s left. Choose wisely because you don’t get to do this over; this is your one and only shot.”

  Leech turned to Shadow and bowed his head.

  “Well, I’ll get out of your way so you can find someone to team up with. Good luck.”

  Leech took a few steps and a large hand grabbed him around the throat and lifted him into the air and then brought him down hard on the ground. Leech drew the sharpened bone from his cloak but his hand started to shake when he looked up and saw who had attacked him. Nightmare stood over him, still smiling, with his arms crossed.

  “I came over here to talk to Shadow but it looks like the smallest dumbass in the class decided to get in my way. You gonna apologize for being in my way?”

  Leech looked scared. He looked around to see Nightmare had brought a fairly sizable posse with him. Even if he had been a match for Nightmare, there was no way this was going to be a fair fight. While it really annoyed him, he was going to have to apologize.

  Right before he began his apology, he saw Shadow out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t look scared. He looked menacing. Leech was immediately glad that he had made a deal with him. As if to confirm that Shadow still wanted to fight Nightmare, he raised both of his eyebrows. Shadow smiled and nodded. The deal was still on. He just had to muster enough confidence to play his part.

  Leech got to his feet. He considered shoving Nightmare for added effect but decided against it because he preferred his arms to remain unbroken.

  “I won’t be apologizing to you. Here’s the deal, Nighty. Turn around, walk away, and maybe Shadow won’t kick your ass.”

  Nightmare’s right hand balled into a fist and he swung it down hard on Leech’s head. Leech collapsed, knocked out cold.

  “Not sure why the little bastard thought you were going to save him. Now we have some time to talk.”

  “What makes you think we have anything to talk about?”

  “Look, if we team up and take the labyrinth we’ll both move on and become minor demons. I know we have the best chance of being recruited so we might as well blow everyone else out of the water.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  “You already have someone to partner with?”

  “You just knocked him out.”

  Nightmare laughed.

  “That’s fine. You see, my dad is the demon of lies. I was going to knock you out the second we got in the labyrinth anyways. You’re uncle may be a major demon but
your dad is just a discarded piece of shit that’s rotting in prison.”

  That was all it took for Shadow to lose his temper. He kicked hard at Nightmare’s knee which brought him down to eye level and then delivered a hard upper cut to his chin. While this probably would have taken down just about any other demon-in-training, Nightmare only stumbled back a few steps. Once he regained his footing, he shook his head and his eyebrows arched down but he continued to smile. His underlings stepped forward to fight but Nightmare raised his arms and waved them back.

  “He’s mine.”

  Nightmare cleared the distance between them with three massive steps and then swung a powerful fist at Shadow’s head. He was able to side step the blow and deliver one of his own to Nightmare’s elbow in an attempt to get it to bend the wrong way. It had no effect. Seeing that Nightmare was unharmed, Shadow backed up to a safe distance.

  As they began to circle each other, Shadow realized that Nightmare would likely remain unharmed unless he could get some shots in at his face. His initial attack had caught him off guard but he probably wouldn’t get another free pass like that now that Nightmare was angry and ready for his assault. He decided to wait for Nightmare’s next attack and go from there.

  When Nightmare charged and swung a fist at Shadow’s chest, he was able to redirect the blow to the ground. Shadow then stepped on Nightmare’s forearm which brought his face within striking range. Once Shadow had a clear shot at his face, he sent several quick punches his way. Nightmare was clearly in pain but he shifted his arm which caused Shadow to stumble backwards. This was all the time Nightmare needed to bring his other arm to meet Shadow’s abdomen. He flew backwards through the air with pain resonating from his midsection.

  Shadow took a few seconds to recover while he scowled at Nightmare. Once he felt most of the pain had subsided, he started charging back in Nightmare’s direction. Nightmare grinned, cracked his knuckles, and aimed what would no doubt be a devastating blow. Right before they collided again, Venom appeared in the middle of them and swung his massive battleaxe at the ground. Shadow and Nightmare both flew backwards and fell on the ground.