The Deal

by David Gallie

  ‘Listen I’m having what could only be described as the worst time of my life right now. This is as close to hell as I want to get, so by all means be as cryptic as you want to, but don’t expect me to fucking listen.’ I could feel my anger and frustration bubble up much quicker than I had expected.

  ‘Now there’s the anger I remember.’ Said the Angel gleefully. ‘Now we just need the rest of you to come out.’

  My anger gave way to all-out rage. I could feel my heart, head and stomach turn into a raging inferno.

  ‘What the fuck are you talking about you winged asshole!?’ I screamed, clamping my hand on the desk hard enough to make it crack down the middle.

  It was the sound of the wood cracking under my grip that brought me back to a slightly calmer state. Gabriel looked as if he was so happy he could burst into a dance.

  ‘You know when I got word that the great one was returning, I thought to myself, Nah that can’t be right. He long handed over the reins to his son. But when I heard the dark lord made a deal to get himself a new right-hand man I just had to kill my curiosity, and by god I’m glad I did. I can see why Pertilius is so protective of you.’

  Of course, it all made sense once I heard the monks name. I should have known that he would have had a hand in this little intervention somehow. Although I will admit I did feel a little better knowing that someone had my back, even if it was a monk from hell. It was comforting in a way.

  ‘I wouldn’t go rooting for me just yet. I’m only a lowly hit man with a couple of artefacts under my belt.’ I said, turning my attention back to the remaining cupboards in the nurses’ station. I needed something to help keep me focused and on track while the conversation with the angel continued.

  ‘I see Pertilius hasn’t completely filled you in on why those are important.’ If he was trying to be all mystical and god like it just wasn’t working. He was actually beginning to annoy the shit out of me and if I thought I could, I would have punched him.

  ‘Can we please cut out all this mystical bullshit? Just get to the damn point. I know you’re not here to witness me in action.’ I opened the last of the cupboards and was surprised to find a small tin inside.

  Holding it in both hands I sat it down on the drainer next to the sink for closer inspection. It looked like the kind of tin you would get a variety of candy in. Usually, it was given as a gift. Other than the images of candy pieces there was nothing out of the ordinary about the tin.

  ‘Well, the last one was the sinner’s heart which was supposed to represent the broken heart of the original sinner, or Beelzebub as you other-worldly folk like to call him. So I’m guessing that each artefact has something to with various parts of his body.’ I was speaking absently as I hesitantly began to open the tin.

  ‘His soul.’ Gabrielle corrected me.

  ‘Yeah well, all I give a shit about is getting enough power to knock Satan’s head off his shoulders and break this damn deal.’

  Gabriel suddenly put his hand down on top of the tip, stopping me from opening it. I was about to give him my best pissed off expression but when I looked at him the smile had gone and instead I could see darkness spread across his face like thunder clouds.

  ‘Those artefacts are only keys to the locks within you, Samuel. You always had the power within you.’

  Frustrated and tired I took a step away from the tin and rubbed at my throbbing temples. I was unsure if it was the stress of the situation or glow from the Angels aura that causing the most pain.

  ‘So what are you saying? I'm the reincarnation of the creator of all things bad?’ I had expected the smile to return to his face, but when I looked at his piercing blue eyes the thunder clouds were still hanging over him.

  ‘Yes. Think about it Samuel. Why on earth would Satan need your help? He has countless millions of minions who can easily do what you do for him?’

  He had me stumped there as I looked at the candy tin under his protective hand. I had wondered why the all-powerful prince of darkness would need the help of a mere human.

  ‘Well, he must have a reason. I'm sure he wouldn't be making deals with us humans if we didn't have a use for us.’ I said, staring blankly at that tin the Angel was now protecting from my prying eyes.

  The smile returned to his face and for the first time, I noticed that he had a small spattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. They weren't prominent but definitely there now that I was paying attention.

  ‘Your right! In your case, he just wants to keep you close. Deal or not there is actually very little he can do to you.’

  ‘I find that hard to believe. He’s the devil and I’m just an above average hitman. He’s the one with all the supernatural power, not me,’ I said.

  I watched as the Angel lifted his hand off the sweet tin just long enough to feign despair and I was so tempted to snatch it away from him during that split second. I seriously doubted I would have been quick enough, though.

  ‘You’ve been living in that human shell for way too long. Yes, he does have power. At this stage, he could imprison you, but there is nothing else beyond that Samuel. That’s about all he can do to you now. I suspect after today even that will be impossible for him,’ said Gabriel. At long last he stepped away from the tin and this time he motioned for me to open it.

  There was no way I was going to wait for another chance. My hands trembled a little, due to the fear of the still unknown, as I prised the lid off.

  Disappointment welled inside me as I looked inside and saw the tiny key; most likely for a padlock of some ancient description. I reached out and grabbed it anyway. It wasn’t in that tin for any old reason, so I assumed that if nothing else it might lead me to another part of the building.

  ‘What do you mean after today?’ I asked, examining the key and noticing nothing of great importance about it.

  ‘I can’t say too much. I’m not allowed to divulge the fate of a human, but what I can tell you is that as long as that Grimoyle upstairs doesn’t get its hands on you, you will find what you’re looking for. When that happens your power will have returned and there will be nothing Satan can do to you.’

  I slipped the key into the nearest pocket I could find.

  ‘Okay, I’m willing to play along with this. So, say I do survive the day and find what I’m not even sure what I’m looking for, what happens next Gabriel. What would be the next steps for me?’ I wasn’t angry anymore, just frustrated. I wanted all this nonsense to stop.

  I watched the Angel as he took another few steps away from me, looking thoughtful instead of playful this time. There was a hint of seriousness burning across his face.

  ‘Well, Pertilius will be obligated under the rules of the sacred scripture to inform Satan that there is someone capable of unseating him from the throne,’ said the Angel, hesitant to go any further.

  ‘And then what?’ I prodded.

  ‘Well, in your language, I think the best way to describe it would be that you will have to go toe to toe with Satan. It will be a one on one fight between you and him. If you want to win then you have to take his soul and make it part of yours once again.’

  Now I understood why he was so hesitant to carry on. The devil in a human body didn’t look too impressive, not to me anyway, but I was well aware of the power and the centuries he’s had wielding it. There was no way I could win that fight even with all the sacred artefacts in the world.

  ‘There is absolutely no way I could win that fight, no matter what you have to say,’ I said, feeling my anger rise once again.

  Gabriel offered me that same smarmy smile he always seemed to wear when he knew better than us mere humans. I hated him for acting so pompous but next to Satan and God he was one of the most powerful beings I knew and I really couldn’t afford to make any more enemies.

  ‘Well,’ he said, ‘one way or another Samuel that fight is coming. And I for one will be watching you very closely to see how you do. It would be great to have the old Beelzebub back, and show his
seeds just how a good ruler should be.’

  ‘I guess you will have to wait for that day then,’ I said, feeling bitter at being in such a position.

  ‘Yeah, and it will be a short one,’ said the angel as he vanished into thin air and left me standing there alone.

  I suddenly felt very hollow inside. As if I was just an empty shell walking around on a planet that seems to be losing its sanity by the day. I guessed it was logical enough given my current mission to find out the real story of my wife Lisa, that at some point I was going to have to face Satan.

  I doubted that I would be strong enough to beat him but with the new power being bestowed upon me by the artefacts I felt like I did at least have a fighting chance. It was the thought of Lisa, her beautiful smile hanging at the front of my mind as a constant reminder as to why I was there, that brought me back to reality.

  I glanced around the vast, empty room, half expecting to find another unwanted surprise. After a second of watching and waiting, I decided that the rest of the folks from the other realms had decided I wasn’t worth any more attention.

  I turned my attention to the door beyond the nurses’ station. It led to a set of stairs which in turn would lead me further up on to the upper levels of the building. My stomach knotted a little as I thought of the Grimoyle, which had come so close to catching me, wondering around up there, no doubt it would be pissed off.

  I gave the hall one last glance before pulling open the door and heading up the narrow and winding stairwell. It was time to find out what the small key in my pocket would unlock.

  I took every step with caution and could mentally hear myself breathe a sigh of relief as I reached the final one and stepped out onto the first-floor landing.

  Breathing as shallow as possible, I glanced up and down the landing looking for any signs of the big winged demon. I knew he had been there on the floor at some point because I could see gouge marks on the walls where the bones from his wings had been scraping against the walls.

  Tracing the figure eight on my wrist once again, I could feel a strange tingling sensation course through my body as the magic that was keeping me invisible to the demon retreated and I was vulnerable once again.

  I had figured that if Gabriel was right, and I was going to have to face Satan in a death match that would probably be the quickest in history, then I might as well give him a good enough reason.

  The problem now, though, was sneaking around the Grimoyle which I could sense was nearby. I was certain that it would be able to smell my presence soon enough as I turned left and headed towards the first set of wards.

  All of the upper floors, as I would soon find out, had been pretty much destroyed by the winged demon. The metal beds in the wards had been crushed with extreme force. Cabinets had been smashed against the floors and walls. Anything else that wasn’t nailed down took the brunt of the large demons’ temper.

  It was looking for something, and until recently, it had been unable to find it. I could understand its frustration in my own way since I too was looking for something that I couldn’t seem to find.

  Turning away from the first ward, I ignored the second and carried on along the landing until I reached another set of stairs leading up to the next floor. I listened to the air around me, trying to pick out any sounds or noises that would give away the demons position.

  I could hear nothing, but I could still feel its presence. It was lurking somewhere, waiting, hoping to surprise me most likely. I could only hope that I could find the room I was looking for and the information I needed before it had a chance to get me.

  There was one more ward on that floor before I got to the next set of stairs. I glanced through the ragged hole which had been punched through one of the doors.

  I grimaced in disgust as I saw a set of legs, still wearing grey trousers, laying in the middle of the floor amongst the wrecked furniture. Blood was splattered everywhere and it looked as if the victim had not suffered a short death at the hands of the Grimoyle. Who he had been was anyone’s guess now, but I figured it could have been one of the doctors who thought they could merge satanic power with insanity.

  Neither one of them, it would seem, was mutually exclusive.

  Still keeping my senses open to the Grimoyle, I turned my attention back to the stairwell and carried on up towards the next and last of the three floors. When I rounded the last step I stopped dead in my tracks and held my breath.

  I could see the ribbed spikes of the Grimoyle’s back as it grunted its way towards the far end of the hallway. Its wings gouged long track marks into the wall, concrete dust pouring to the floor.

  Beyond the huge demon, I could see another ward, which probably didn’t look that much different to the others I had visited. There was a hidden room somewhere in the building, on the upper floors and I needed to find it. I somehow doubted that access to it would be via the wards. That would be too obvious.

  But then again, sometimes hiding something in plain site was the easiest way to go. The problem for me was getting past the Grimoyle. I knew if it came to it, I could beat the creature, but finding one of his winged servants dead in the asylum would probably raise a lot of alarm bells for the dark lord and no doubt I would be the first one on his list of suspects.

  Sneaking past it did not look like much of an option, though. So there was a good chance I was going to have to fight it and get it over with.

  I snuck down the hallway behind the winged creature, keeping my breathing as shallow as I possibly could, which made my head pulse hard with my own heartbeat.

  There was a crash as the demon slammed its way through the doors leading to the large ward where the variously mentally ill would be housed for safe keeping, away from the good citizens of the city.

  The beds and other furniture in this ward seemed to be in pretty good condition, unlike the wards below, and I noticed there was a privacy curtain surrounding separating two of the beds just a few feet away from me. It was flimsy but could provide the cover I needed.

  As the Grimoyle moved to the centre of the room, I quickly tip-toed over to the curtain and stood behind it, unsure if my shadow would still be visible through the thin material.

  Beads of sweat formed a thick layer on my forehead as I listened to the Grimoyle grunt with anger. Without warning, a steel bed flew through the air, as the creature back swiped it with its large hand.

  There was a thunderous crash as the bed crumpled against the wall behind me and I cringed as it pierced my already throbbing head. Through a small gap in the curtain, I could see the creature turn to face my direction.

  The sweat on my forehead ran down my cheeks and dripped from the tip of my nose like I had just run a marathon. If it could see my shadow it wasn’t showing any signs that it could.

  The massive creature stood there for what felt like an eternity, probably paying attention to every nuance that the room had to offer its senses. Then it started walking towards me and I could instinctively feel my hands clench into fists as it got closer and closer.

  I was ready to take a swing at it when it suddenly swivelled on its heels and headed back towards the hallway, crashing through the ward doors once more. I stepped away from the curtain and watched its back as it disappeared into the darkness of the far end of the landing.

  Allowing myself to breathe once again, I stepped away from the curtain and took a look at the rest of the ward. A lot of the beds I saw were in really good order, with pristine white sheets still covering their mattresses.

  There were no victims of the angry demon to be found in the ward. No blood or gore. Just a simple, totalitarian cleanliness that even today's modern hospitals couldn’t compete with. Still lingering near the privacy curtain like it could protect me from the winged beast, I glanced around looking for anything that may seem out of place.

  I wasn’t entirely sure what I should be looking for since the room had remained hidden for so many years. I happened to glance up at the whitewashed wall in front of me, unsure
what to expect. It was as if some sort of invisible hands had grabbed my chin and forced me to look in that direction.

  The problem was I couldn’t see anything. There was no signs or magic symbols that would point the way in a strange mystical way. There was only a few hairline cracks up near the ceiling, which I guessed was normal for a building of its age.

  Feeling disappointed, I was about to turn my attention elsewhere when my eyes adjusted to the whiteness of the wall and I could start to see something shining through the paint. At first, I thought it was just my tired mind trying to find something that wasn’t there, but as I kept on studying the shape it quickly became apparent what it was I looking at.

  A huge arrow. It was hard to believe what I was seeing but it was definitely there. A huge arrow buried under layers and layers of white emulsion. The disappointment quickly came back though as I realized it was pointing towards the ward exit.

  Since I couldn’t see anything else in the room that was noteworthy, I decided it was best to follow the arrow and see where I ended up. As long as it wasn’t between the jaws of the Grimoyle, anyway.

  I headed back out into the hallway, noticing that the winged demon had vanished. Probably sulking in a corner somewhere because it couldn’t find what its master had sent it to find, and so it would remain in the asylum for eternity if needs be until the object of its desire was found.

  I studied the damaged walls of the hallway as I took one step at a time. My thinking was that if there was a huge arrow in the ward then there had to be some other signs that would point the way.

  Every so many steps I would angle myself both left and right, studying the walls, and I was about to give up on finding anything when I suddenly spotted yet another huge arrow. Again it had been buried under layers and layers of paint but it was there.

  I followed the direction it pointed in with my gaze, and could see that I was supposed to take the next set of stairs upwards into the attic area. As I got closer to the stairs I noticed that a steel door had been fixed in place near the small landing, barring any entrance.