Sekiel heard footsteps on the stairway and turned to see his brothers descending to join him. Bennael came first; his awesome bulk filling the narrow staircase. Next followed Torresh. In complete contrast to Bennael, his skinny and sickly frame showcased his famine-drenched soul, yet was vastly contradicted by the power emanating from behind his eyes.
Finally, in stalked Antarsh. Lithe and confident, Antarsh reveled in conquest. He would relish the calling of the Velearstk, the opportunity to unleash such raw fury against the mortals.
“We have been ordered to release the Velearstk,” said Sekiel calmly, silently observing the expressions of each of his brothers. As expected, Antarsh grinned broadly in anticipation, while Bennael merely frowned. Torresh cursed loudly in the quiet basement and shook his head in disbelief.
Sekiel led them to a room at the rear of the basement and pulled a heavy key from his pocket. Sliding the key through the tumblers, he swiftly turned it and pulled it clear before the guard spells around the lock could be aroused. Opening the door, he glanced quickly toward the corner where the wall swirled with the space-displacement power that held the Avun-Riah prisoner. Such a simple spell, thought Sekiel, if the boy only knew how easily he could break free he would probably kick himself.
HELP HIM!!!
The thought struck him so viciously that he visibly reeled. Whirling around, he saw his brothers peering at him strangely and pushed the unbidden thought away roughly. It had not been an order so much as a plea, and for an instant he’d felt powerfully compelled to follow the voice’s request and free the boy.
Rapidly regaining his composure and turning away from the spell, Sekiel motioned his kindred to the blood-altar beside the cage holding the three prisoners they would need for the sacrifice. He turned and locked the door again, joining his brothers at the altar.
If there really is a God, he thought silently, the Dark Man had better start praying to Him, for nothing else on this Earth will protect him from what we are about to unleash. Not even his precious Glimloche.
* * * *
The explosion shook the walls of the motel room where Vain had fallen asleep after his training with Gabriel. His grasp on the powers of the Glimloche seemed stronger now, and he found he could use it with less trepidation – or so he hoped. The two had spent the entire day refining Vain’s control. Several times the assassin had thought he might yield to the evil scrabbling within his mind, but Gabriel had always been there to help pull him back.
The archangel had forced Vain to focus on the minutiae of using the Glimloche, rather than the explosive force he had wielded earlier in their initial battle. During the course of their training, an uneasy truce had slowly developed between the two.
“Developed by evil as a weapon of evil, the Glimloche magnifies what lies within the user’s own heart outward with malignant force. This is why it tries to take control of you, and why you can never let it win,” Gabriel explained to Vain.
“What will happen if it takes me over?”
“Then the tiny light of goodness inside of you will be snuffed out completely. You will become a creature of pure malice bearing the powers of a god without the constraints that normal immortals face when within this realm. You will destroy everything to achieve whatever twisted ambitions unravel within your newly warped being.”
“All you had to say was that it would be a very bad thing. No need to heap the extra pressure on me with your doom and gloom speech,” muttered Vain bitterly.
“Dark Man, it is of vital importance that you do not allow the Glimloche to seize control. Imagine all the evil in the universe paling in contrast. It will tear your soul to shreds and devour everything in its path to achieve its wants.”
“Once again, not helping,” stated Vain firmly. “Didn’t Empeth have this thing inside him at some stage? How did he survive it?”
“The only way he survived was by expelling it from his soul. I have no idea how he managed this, but rest assured you don’t want to travel the same road. You have seen the end result.”
“So basically I’m fucked, is that what you’re saying?” Vain assessed grimly.
“I’m sorry, but you did ask me, and I cannot lie.” Gabriel shifted uncomfortably.
Vain ignored the apology. “Who made it?” he asked.
Again Gabriel looked uneasy. “That doesn’t matter at this stage,” he said finally.
“Doesn’t matter?” stormed Vain. “This thing is inside of me trying to turn me into a finger puppet and you’re saying it doesn’t matter? Tell me now, damn it!”
Gabriel seemed to crumple slightly. “The Glimloche was created by a fallen angel. A creature so powerful it believed it could destroy God himself. The one you call the Devil.”
If Gabriel expected scorn or disbelief he was sorely disappointed. Vain simply nodded. “Well, that makes sense.”
“What makes sense?”
“I met him in Hell,” said Vain simply. “Or her – whatever.”
“You met Lucifer?” asked Gabriel incredulously.
“Yes. Rather helpful in fact, but I’m starting to think she might have been lying to me.”
“Human, you are truly remarkable. You meet the most evil creature in the universe and all you can say is: ‘Rather helpful in fact’.”
Vain grimaced. “Anyway, that’s all beside the point. What else can this thing do?”
Gabriel shook his head softly. “The Glimloche is limited only by your imagination. Unfortunately most creatures who acquire it merely lust for power, and thus it has only ever been recorded as a force for evil. Remember that Lucifer wasn’t always evil – he once held the duty of archangel like myself.”
“So it can be used toward other ends?”
“As I said, it magnifies what lies within a person’s heart. Whatever the user feels can be created using the power of the Glimloche.”
“Not much chance for somebody like me then.”
“Probably not,” agreed Gabriel impassively. Vain had forced a laugh, and the two had continued with the training.
A second explosion – closer this time – rocked the small room, and Vain leaped from the bed, instinctively reaching under the pillow to gather his handguns. He stopped short, fingering their familiar grips and realizing he no longer needed them. The Glimloche that surged within his soul was more powerful than anything made by man.
Vain made his decision and walked to the back of the room, leaving the guns on the table. He honed his concentration and stepped up to the wall – and then through it!
He emerged at the rear of the motel and instantly shrouded himself in darkness. Ebony swirled around his frame, and he slid along the wall, merging perfectly with the shadows. Reaching the edge, he cautiously peered around the corner and witnessed a scene of carnage.
The cars parked in front of the motel had been set alight; two had been reduced to fragments. Vain guessed these had been the explosions that had awoken him, amazed the other sounds of destruction had not. A sudden movement flickered near the edge of his vision, and the car park rang with the screams of a woman. Sliding quickly to the opposite wall, Vain could now see a girl being dragged from her room by a creature that almost defied description.
Eight limbs sprouted from the scaled beast’s torso. Reaching the car park, it reared up onto its four hind limbs, and used the front four to grasp the woman and, with a tremendous surge of strength, tore her into quarters. Incredibly her death was not instant, her voice still crying piteously after her dismemberment.
Swiftly realizing that its victim still lived, the creature pounced upon her again and viciously clamped its cavernous, fang-filled mouth over her head, ending her screams with a savage wrench. The beast again reared up to its full height – Vain guessed something over twelve feet – and let loose an ear-splitting roar that echoed similarly from other areas within the motel.
Swaying its elongated head to the left and right trying to gather the scent of its prey, the creature’s face, though serpentine, also
bore similarities to that of a human. The nose, while stretched and covered in scales, bore the unmistakable traits of a person, as did the ears. The lipless mouth resembled a snake’s or large lizard’s, and the gaze filled with a malicious cunning that seemed to glint with anticipation, moving toward where Vain’s room lay.
The Dark Man suddenly felt a hand upon his shoulder and instinctively roused the power of the Glimloche, readying himself for an attack. Instead, swinging around, he found Gabriel standing behind him, a look of infinite sorrow bathing his features, watching the slaughter occurring within the motel. The fires had almost burned out, but the crashing of demolished buildings echoed clearly along with several screams from within some of the rooms.
“We must leave quickly,” whispered Gabriel through clenched teeth, trying to suppress emotions that so obviously raged within him.
“What are those creatures?” hissed Vain.
“They are Velearstk, and we must flee. Now!” hissed Gabriel. He grabbed Vain quickly by the upper arm, and the world swirled into vertigo and midnight.
His vision clearing slowly, Vain wrenched his arm clear of Gabriel’s grasp and glanced around them. They were now in what appeared to be the car park of a shopping center some five miles from the motel.
“Don’t you ever do that again, you weird bastard,” grated Vain, but the words held no real malevolence, merely relief at escaping the massacre.
“We don’t have much time,” said Gabriel. “They will soon discover you have escaped them and they will follow. Unfortunately I can transport us no further; my powers were sapped trying to cloud your soul scent. We will have to make our way by more conventional transport.”
“Soul Scent?” asked Vain, “What the hell is a soul scent?”
“Every creature that has a soul leaves a trace of it behind them wherever they go. It is similar to the smell a tracking dog follows. Some creatures can pursue these soul scents to find the whereabouts of their origin. In this case, it’s you. The Velearstk will have been imprinted with your soul scent upon their release from Limbo, and they will track you until they either kill you or are destroyed.”
“Oh... good,” said Vain. “For a moment there I thought we were in trouble. Well, why didn’t we just kill them back at the motel? At least we knew where they were; now we’ll have to keep looking over our shoulders while we run away. I don’t like that prospect.”
“You don’t ‘just kill’ the Velearstk,” said Gabriel, a touch of irritation slipping into his voice. “I’m not sure you could even destroy one yet, and there are thirteen in total. You would be annihilated within moments of facing one – they are all mentally linked and would swarm in on you instantly.”
“Thirteen? What is it with the number thirteen all the time?” said Vain suddenly. “It seems to emerge whenever there is something related to Sordarrah. I thought it was just supposed to be bad luck.”
Gabriel grimaced. “It is far more than bad luck, Dark Man. Humans believe thirteen is an unlucky number for many reasons, the main being traced back to the number of people present at the last supper with Christ. There were twelve apostles plus Jesus when the great betrayal occurred, and ever since that time people have believed thirteen to be a bad omen. I do not know if it was simply bad luck or an early sign of Empeth’s corruption – needless to say, being a guardian he should have known better. However, in relation to the forces we face now, thirteen is a number of great power. As six, six, six is said to be the number of Satan, so thirteen could be called the number of Sordarrah.”
“And I suppose your God’s number is one?” Vain mused sarcastically.
“He is not my God, Dark Man. He is our God and he has no number. It does not matter that you do not believe in Him, what matters is that He believes in you. Why else do you think you were chosen for this task? For your sparkling wit perhaps?”
“Well, well,” the ghost of a smile appeared upon Vain’s lips. “I do believe you almost made a joke there, fairy boy. I think my ‘sparkling wit’ must be starting to rub off on you,” he finished with a low chuckle.
“Corrupting me more likely,” muttered Gabriel. “Anyway, nobody knows where these numbers originated from or what their purposes are. Possibly star alignments from past events or dates yet to be, their true reason will probably never be known.”
“Why doesn’t your God just tell you?” asked Vain.
“Our God is not exactly what you think, Dark Man. Neither am I. I could not possibly explain the great mysteries of the universe to you in a way that you could fathom, so let me just say this: think of me as energy with purpose. I now appear in human form to complete my final assignment, but for eons I have existed with no form, travelling inside and outside the dimensions with no limit to the powers I can obtain or achieve. You would agree that is vastly superior to being human, yes?” Vain slowly nodded his head, unable to disagree.
“Now picture this,” Gabriel whispered softly. “Our Lord is as superior to me as you are to a grain of sand.”
Vain looked deep into the eyes of his companion and suddenly realized the scope of what Gabriel explained. It seemed astronomical, and Vain found his mind reeling at the responsibility that now weighed down like lead atop his shoulders.
“I don’t want this!” he fumed suddenly. “Choose someone else before it’s too late!”
“There is no one else, Vain,” said Gabriel sadly. “You are the only hope now for all of existence. I cannot imagine what a burden this will prove for you, but know this: I will help you in any way I can throughout this journey, I promise you upon my eternal existence.”
Vain struggled momentarily to regain his composure, finally mustering a wry grin. “Okay then... angel,” he challenged, “how are you at stealing cars?”
Gabriel looked momentarily uncomfortable and, with eyes lowered, he murmured, “I cannot. Stealing is a sin.”
Vain’s laughter reverberated loudly in the quiet car park. “Fallen at the first step eh? Don’t worry; I think I’ll be able to manage enough sinning for the both of us.”
Gabriel grinned grimly, and the two moved off, the sun cresting the hills before them.
Chapter Thirteen
The Velearstk
The Velearstk knew as one that their target had escaped. Instantly, they ceased their search and moved simultaneously to the front of the motel. Releasing the wings folded beneath scaly flaps of hide on their backs, they took flight and moved at speed after their quarry.
The beasts had not known such freedom in centuries, and even then they had seldom been able to hunt in their full pack. Trapped in Limbo since before this puny planet had been created, only occasionally had one or two been released to briefly do the bidding of Sordarrah or his minions. This knowledge grated on the beasts, but they knew of no way to escape their captors and so had to obey their whims.
The Velearstk were a collective: not so much individual beasts as one mind inhabiting several bodies, thus enabling their power of telepathy. The thoughts of one became the thoughts of the whole; the will of one, the will of each. Unfortunately, this had been their undoing. Their capture by Sordarrah had been a simple case of catching one, waiting until the rest located it, and then ensnaring them all. The spells of containment used to imprison them had sealed off their greater power and left them pawns for their captor.
Everything had been taken from them.
No form. No time. No thought.... For all eternity.
They were determined to make the most of their freedom while it lasted. The attack on the motel had not required such destruction, but there had been no limit placed upon their fury either, so they had destroyed it and every living thing within. It troubled them slightly that they had not been able to locate their prey; it had seemed for a while that a great shroud had been draped over the soul scent. When it had lifted, they knew instantly that their quarry had eluded them.
For the time being.
Their flight took them several miles before sighting their target speeding
along the road ahead of them in one of this world’s primitive modes of transport. They increased their unified velocity, knowing it was only a matter of time.
Glorious time.
* * * *
“They’re coming fast!” yelled Gabriel over the rattling motor of the car Vain had liberated from the shopping mall car park. From the outside, the vehicle had seemed in excellent condition, and had driven so for the first two miles until with a loud bang something had burst within the engine, and their pace had steadily slowed.
“Damn piece of crap!” cursed Vain.
“We won’t outrun them in this,” stated Gabriel with a calmness that grated on the assassin’s nerves.
Vain slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road. “Then we stop and fight.”
Looking around, the Dark Man saw nothing likely to aid them in the upcoming battle. No large buildings for cover, no other cars he could take for their escape. It would end here, one way or another. He turned when Gabriel approached him.
“You cannot win this fight, Dark Man. You are not ready yet to face these beasts.”
“What are they? Tell me everything you know.”
Gabriel sighed. “They were captured and used during the first war by Sordarrah in the battle against our Lord. I do not know where they originated from, only that their might – in ethereal form – is terrible to behold. In this realm, their powers will be weaker. They must exert themselves to keep from dissipating back into their true form of pure energy. Much of their strength will be expended maintaining their physical structure, but they could still easily destroy this entire planet if left for long enough.”
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