Heroes

by David Leadbeater

  This was as close as we were going to get.

  It was the Devil himself or nothing. Right now. Whilst he was at his most vulnerable.

  I mustered my power, enhanced it with Natalie’s, and focused on that man-size figure. Instantly, it turned toward me as if aware of my attentions. The furnace-like eyes pinned me to the spot.

  “You think you’re winning?”

  The horrible, slurred voice was right there in my mind. The incredible power was fixated on me.

  “You wonder why I haven’t joined this battle?”

  I couldn’t think, couldn’t get it out of my head. I knew full well that this bastard had been shocked and then distracted, something I put at the forefront of my mind.

  “When I join battle,” the Devil hissed, “everyone dies.”

  “Get . . . out of . . . my head!”

  There were no major threats, no bravado from Lucifer. He transformed into a twenty-foot-high monster, something with cloven hooves, claws and curling horns. It was naked, its flesh a mix of crimson and gold, its muscles ridiculously enhanced. It leapt from the high throne to the bone carpet below, crushing bodies beneath its feet. Blood soaked its hooves right up to its shins.

  In one claw it carried a flaming whip.

  It flicked out now. The whip flew up at Ceriden, but the vampire was already airborne, jumping to the right of the throne. The whip smashed bone apart as Ceriden landed badly, twisting an ankle. The Devil struck again. The whip smashed into Ceriden’s side, ripping a jagged gash and lighting the flesh around it on fire.

  Ceriden screamed.

  Leah raced forward, straight at the Devil himself. She wasn’t fully aware of that. She was concentrating on Ceriden’s agony. Belinda was with her. The Devil seemed to be aware of all our thoughts; he possessed some omnipotent ability to read many minds at once. He whirled toward her and cracked the whip. Belinda tackled Leah around the waist, bearing her to the ground as the whip sliced just a foot above their heads.

  I flung out a power blast, knowing the Devil would anticipate it. Lucy threw something of her own; a wave of power and water. Cleaver was firing shotgun shells at him. But the Devil was one step ahead of us all, moving so that we missed or taking one blast to avoid another two.

  I saw Ceriden try to rise. The great gash along his side was gushing flame. If that had happened to any human, we’d already be dead. Leah rose to her knees, closed her eyes, and focused on Ceriden. The flames inside his wound died down and the gash started to heal. Belinda rose to stand in front of Leah.

  Face to face with the Devil.

  I felt my heart lurch. More so because Lucy was approaching from the other side. My whole life was right there. I ran to close the gap, trying to find something special deep inside. Something that might defeat a demonic god.

  “It is over,” the Devil hissed.

  I didn’t know what this hellish being could do, but I never expected the devastation he wrought among us. I think, at the last instant, Leah threw a healing net over all of us which helped dull the attack but even so, it was truly devastating. The Special Forces soldiers suddenly flew about ten feet, landing hard on their stomachs. Ceriden was slammed into the face of the Octavius tower so hard he left an imprint.

  Blood and human debris flew at Belinda and Leah, knocking them to the ground. I saw Lucy, Ethan and Cleaver leaping for their lives as the Devil’s throne collapsed behind them. And then Natalie and I were hit with a tidal wave of power. It smothered me like water would, stopping me drawing breath.

  I hit the ground hard. Natalie was at my side, groaning as the Devil’s power reverberated around us, forcing her arms above her head and her legs straight. I fought it, but soon my own arms were being forced up too. I struggled for air.

  “Astaroth will sacrifice you to me.”

  The dragon-like hierarchy demon shambled over toward us, each advancing step thunder to our ears. Its snout was low, almost touching the ground, its spiny tail flicking behind its enormous body. As it advanced, I smelled thick sulfur, rotting flesh and hot blood.

  Its front claw demolished the paving next to my left ear.

  I fought deep inside for anything resembling power. Natalie had been forced onto her front and her legs were rising in the air. She fought back with everything she had. I recalled my training – everything Eleanor and Jade had taught me – but nothing worked. I was able to see the scenario playing out close to the Devil.

  The vampires were down, crawling through dirt. Leah and Belinda were two feet off the ground, being slowly spun. Asmodeus lurched toward them, long forked tongue already licking at their bodies. Tanya was being forced under a pile of dead bodies – only her head and neck was in sight. Lysette was floundering in one of the blood-filled pools.

  All of us were under the Devil’s control. All of us were—

  Wait. Where’s . . .

  Someone was missing and the Devil hadn’t noticed.

  My attention was diverted as Astaroth dipped his huge snout toward my abdomen. The flesh over its jaws drew back. I could hear its deep, booming breathing. I saw racks of teeth; pitted, decayed and stained. A stench washed over me that almost put me out of my misery right then.

  I screamed.

  Natalie screamed too. Where will you be at the end of everything? Right here, being gutted by the Devil’s fucking pet dragon.

  I struggled wildly against the force that held me. I sensed some success, my power was being drawn from a deeper place than ever before – a desperate place – but it was too little too late.

  Astaroth sank one tooth into my abdomen. It hurt like nothing I’d ever felt. A knife blade sinking through my flesh. Lucifer was laughing in my head. He forced me to look as Belinda was made to crawl on all fours to the Devil’s feet and then lower her head until she could lick at his blood-smeared hooves.

  A memory of old visions struck me. I’d seen something like this long ago.

  All of that had been real then. Premonitions.

  Belinda bent lower. Leah was being bent double, her legs facing Asmodeus, her back bent, her arms facing the Devil. I felt Astaroth’s tooth inside me like a white-hot poker, twisting. Blood was flowing. The pointed tip of another tooth broke more flesh. I screamed.

  The world was doomed.

  And then, materializing from nowhere, I saw Cleaver standing right behind the Devil, so close he could have touched him. Cleaver’s shotgun was aimed at the Devil’s skull. Without waiting, he fired.

  The world went crazy. The Devil released us all at once. We collapsed or rolled or struck the ground as one, groaning in our agony. The remaining hierarchy demons sprang away, screeching. The Devil’s head had been blown apart; flesh, bone and brain scattered everywhere. The body fell to its knees and rocked there.

  Cleaver ran for it, shouting at the top of his voice. “Get up, get up! Run!”

  I clutched to the sound of his voice like it was a lifeline. He was right. We had to run. But I was in agony. I could barely crawl. Footsteps skidded to a stop nearby. I focused on faces – Belinda with blood still around her lips. The vampires, including a fully healed Ceriden. And then Leah, with her palms held toward me.

  I felt a rush of warmth inside, a blast of heat, and then my stomach healed. It felt good. It took only seconds. Leah drooped a little when it was over. I was already on my feet, taking stock.

  Horribly, disgustingly, the Devil’s headless body still wavered on its knees. But the worst part was that a new head was growing out of the severed neck, small at first but getting larger.

  The demons were on their bellies, shaking their massive heads as if to clear a blow to the head.

  “If we don’t go now, we’re dead,” I said.

  We grabbed the Special Forces guys and ran.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  We returned to our secret HQ, tattered and worn and entirely hopeless. We were as down in the dumps as we could ever be.

  Our world was in ashes.

  We couldn’t come to terms with it, c
ouldn’t comprehend it. We had lost. We couldn’t win. The Devil was unbeatable. How could we accept defeat down in that pit so easily?

  I couldn’t see any way to circumvent Lucifer’s almighty power.

  We rested and showered. We limped from room to room. I hugged Belinda and Lucy even though they didn’t return the sentiment. I hugged the others too. The only upbeat aspect was we’d all escaped alive.

  Ceriden and Lysette sat down at the head of a long table. We gathered and picked at the table food, drinking water and wine. The looks on our faces said it all.

  “Thanks to Leah again,” Ceriden opened on a good note. “You saved my life. And Logan’s.”

  The willowy beauty inclined her head.

  It all dawned on us right then. As one, everyone seated at the table turned to look at Marian Cleaver.

  “Spill,” I said. “What happened to you?”

  The ex-boxer pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t fully know. The power was there all the time, but hadn’t revealed itself. It needed something drastic or totally desolate to draw it out. When I felt like we were all dead it triggered. The whole area wavered, and I somehow knew I’d gone invisible. I walked up to that mother and blew his head off.”

  “I’ve spoken to the library and what’s left of the witch coven,” Ceriden said. “They believe Cleaver’s a wraith. One of the Chosen. He should be able to assume invisibility at will and have enhanced strength.”

  Cleaver looked impressed. “Nice.”

  “I was waiting for the right time to strike,” Lucy said, “but the Devil attacked before I got the chance.”

  She was scared, I knew. Scared of delving into the depths of her power.

  “I have Nathan on the line,” Lysette said, holding a cellphone out. “He’s worked tirelessly for us from the Library of Aegis. That library,” she said softly, “could be mankind’s last stronghold.”

  I remembered what I knew about it. That it was based in Seattle and the home of all knowledge that had ever been. It was Aegis’ true power, their key headquarters. Loki had attacked it early in his Gorgoth campaign but had been driven back.

  It occurred to me then that we didn’t know how our friends were faring. How was Vienna doing against the hellgate? York? Miami? Where were Jade and Amber? Where was Ken? We hadn’t heard from Felicia or Eliza. Our heroes were scattered.

  Lysette told Nathan how we fared against Lucifer. Of our failure. The news had to be spread. We needed a new plan. New alternatives.

  “Spell every text you can get your hands on,” Lysette told Nathan. “Something has to hold the key to killing the Devil. There has to be a way. People have done it before and I can’t believe that they didn’t write it down.”

  “There is a good rebel network now,” Nathan told us. “Working underground. We can call on them for the final battle. They’re ready and they’re across the whole world.”

  “I wondered what the library had been doing this last week or so,” I said. “Now I know.”

  “Building a network to help us survive. There are troops and generals, planes and choppers, bombs and bullets across the world. They want to fight. We have submarines. Jet fighters. Tanks. And they’re all primed to go.”

  “Well, tell them to hold their horses until we come up with a new plan,” Belinda drawled. “There’s no beating the Devil in a head-on fight.”

  Maybe that was the key. I thought about it. Cleaver had sneaked up on him. The problem was, we couldn’t kill the evil bastard.

  “We will keep digging,” Nathan said and ended the call.

  Lysette looked at us. “Get some rest,” she said. “If you think of anything give me a shout.”

  I left the room with Belinda but then spied Lucy. “I’ll catch you up,” I told the blonde.

  “Don’t be long. I’m gonna start without you.”

  “Just don’t finish without me.”

  “Can’t promise.” She sashayed away.

  I walked over to Lucy who was grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. “When we get chance,” I said. “You could tell me your basic needs. I didn’t know you needed water, for example.”

  She looked up at me. “If we win,” she said, “how do you see this going?”

  “Us?” I asked. “You’re my daughter. I love you more than anything else in the world. I don’t want to lose you.”

  She nodded at the genuine, fair answer. “I don’t want to lose you either, Dad.”

  I smiled, feeling a connection to Lucy that gave me hope. That, more than anything, told me there was a light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel.

  “All these years I’ve longed for my sixteenth birthday,” she said. “I wanted time to move faster. Couldn’t wait. And . . . look what’s happened.”

  “Your father kept telling you not to wish your time away,” I said, smiling. “To enjoy being young. It only gets harder as you get older.”

  “Then what are we fighting for?”

  “Love,” I said. “Our children. Their children. Freedom. A new world.”

  Lucy held my hand for a minute before walking away. I turned with a spring in my step and headed to the small room where Belinda waited. As promised, she’d already started. She was moaning so hard she sounded in pain.

  I finished tugging her leather pants off and climbed on board to help.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The next morning Kinkade reported on the state of the seven hellgates. It was dreadful, somber news. We picked at a breakfast buffet and drank coffee and water whilst Kinkade painted a picture of his observations around the world.

  Translated by a program the witches had installed, it went something like this.

  “The first hellgate in Death Valley is out of my sight. I see from the Furnace Creek visitor center, but I see very little. There are wayclearers, humans and slithering beasts. They have no purpose and have either not been summoned or are ignoring the summons. Sometimes they chase passing cars like dogs. I think the fleeing humans are taking the quieter roads, but they are always, always caught. From Death Valley Junction I see old, dead things. Long ago billboards and swing sets. Demons cavort here too, but there is nothing more than dust and sand.

  “The second hellgate is in York, seventy feet above the ground. Demons fall through mid-air, crashing around the York Minster and sometimes on its roof, tumbling and falling to the ground. They paint the paving flags red, green and black, depending on their species. Their carcasses litter the whole town, from Stonegate to Coney Street. But unfortunately, many also survive the fall. I see something like a giant octopus with teeth like a sabre-tooth clinging to the roof of the Minster right now, its tentacles wrapped around spires, its mouth snapping at demons that fall from the hellgate. They start by despoiling shops and apartments, by smashing buildings to the ground. They run riot through the streets, unchecked. York has no defense.

  “The third hellgate is in Vienna, and this is the big one. There are hellish, desperate scenes. The vampire armies are losing due to the sheer mass and unstoppable force of their enemies. The enemy’s plan is to eradicate the vampires at Vienna, thus leaving all of Europe wide open. The vampires fight valiantly, but they can’t win this battle. They fight on roads, on the sides of buildings, on rooftops and in museums. Vienna has become a dark battleground and any humans that survive there are hidden low. Even now, I hear from Las Vegas, that Lucifer is sending the hierarchy demon, Asmodeus, to help end the war.

  “The fourth hellgate is Miami, and has seen little activity during the last twenty four hours. Miami does appear quiet, so maybe the human inhabitants have all left. Of course, adjacent cities like Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach are now under attack. The demonic host rides north.

  “Next, New York, and another mid-air hellgate. Demons twist and turn and fall like cannonballs. They hit skyscrapers and sometimes hang on, more often they don’t. The gate is 300-feet high, which has helped protect New York. Their worst problem is when something enormous comes through and par
tially collapses buildings, sending them crashing down or when the winged beasts fly thorough. But, the east coast military is coping.

  “The sixth hellgate is at San Francisco and this is an interesting one. I see thousands of demons crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, thousands more massing just beyond and I see a great human army gathering to confront them. I see what could be one of the greatest battles in human history. The heroes are assembling to confront the usurpers. Helicopters are being prepped and so, I think, are jet fighters. It seems most of the population of San Francisco are trapped there, either in gridlock or in their homes. If we lose that battle . . .” Kinkade hesitated. “Millions will die.”

  “Can you see the leaders?” Lysette asked, but Kinkade wasn’t programmed that way. He reported only what he saw.

  “And so to the seventh and final hellgate. It is Tokyo and is intensely different to any of the others. The gate opened over the sea and only the huge, enormous monsters have survived to wade ashore. They are like your T-Rexes only larger. Godzilla-size I would say. They stomp around Tokyo right now, destroying buildings and fighting each other. When one falls it takes a high-rise with it, when another collapses it takes a city block. The humans are largely ignored and are fleeing, but their city will soon be devastated by monsters.”

  And there it ended. My appetite was pretty much gone. I picked at slivers of bacon. I buttered a bagel. Belinda sat next to me, today’s T-shirt shouting the question: Wanna get lucky? in large green letters. The rest of us were dotted around the room with Lysette and Ceriden somewhere close to the front.

  Military men moved among us. We were comfortable with each other by now, especially after our confrontations in Vegas.

  “Should we join them in San Francisco?” a man asked. “Two armies? If we wiped them out and marched from there, we could retake the States.”

  “It’s a solid plan,” Lysette said, her black hair tied back this morning. Even this early she managed to affect an air of sophistication. “We could also swell our ranks with civilians willing to help along the way.”