Things might be looking up. If he could work with these guys, they might be able to crank out some amazing music. The final key would be a singer who could fit the sound. Michael had thought about this off and on. Wex had had a distinctly gruff voice that could be smooth at times, but the songs had always tempered his vocals, molding with them to create something special.
Wex, knife through his back, into his heart, and out his chest. Blood everywhere. Seth with his head split open. Sunny on the ground, her body a mass of wounds, face caved in and broken.
Michael shuddered and shook his head. He should have just brought the damn bottle with him.
“It is. Tragedy seems to follow us,” Zeeke said.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Vince said. “We’re a pretty fucking sad lot.”
“But we have music, right?” Michael said trying to sound cheerful.
The door opened again and in walked a tall figure wearing a black hoodie with a Venom album cover on the front.
Michael fought a smirk and then looked up to meet the Norwegian’s eyes. He had been in the process of unpacking his guitar and running a cable into a pair of foot pedals.
“Hello, Michael,” Nils, aka Lord Bolvrkr, said.
“Hello Nils,” Michael said. “I had a feeling we’d meet again.”
“I’m relieved to hear that. When we do the work of the master, we have little say in our choice. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Fuckin’ eh,” Zeeke nodded.
“Couldn’t agree more, Nils,” Michael said. “Gotta question for you though.”
“Sure,” Nils said. He lowered his hoodie to reveal his pale face. Nils had painted his eye sockets black.
“Tell me what happened to Bruno.”
“I’m sorry to report that I was forced to follow a letter. You know how that goes. I did the deed per the master’s request.”
“Bullshit,” Michael muttered.
“I promise you, Michael. I was following his command.”
“Okay. So you agree that we must follow commands. Follow his will. No matter what that command is?” Michael asked, looking around the small space, meeting the eyes of Zeeke and Vince. Then he settled his gaze on Nils.
“Of course we must follow his will and his orders,” Nils said.
Michael extracted the manila envelope from his gig bag. He took out a piece of parchment that was identical to the ones that Damaged had received over the years. He read it again, nodded, and handed it to Vince.
“Give that to Zeeke when you’re done,” Michael instructed.
Vince nodded and looked at the parchment. His eyebrows rose as he poured over the words.
Michael took out the bottle of Jack and spun the cap off. He took a long pull and savored the fluid as it raced down his throat.
“Here, Nils. To the future of the new band,” he offered.
Nils smiled and took a few steps forward until he was right in front of Michael. Michael rose and took one more drink.
Vince passed the parchment to Zeeke. “Will of the master and all. This works.”
Michael put the cap back on the bottle, ignoring Nils outstretched hand.
“Damn,” Zeeke muttered.
“Damnation, more like.” Michael said.
He raised the bottle and brought it down on Nils’s head. The whiskey splashed against the glass and then a solid thunk reverberated as it made contact.
Nils collapsed and clutched his head. A line of blood broke out across his scalp and soaked his long black hair.
“What the fuck!” Nils cried out.
“There’s some plastic in my bag. Let’s get it spread out,” Michael said.
He stood over Nils, looking down at the man.
“Asshole,” Nils muttered and tried to get to his hands and knees.
Michael pressed him down with his foot. Zeeke dug out the Wal-Mart bag, took out the painter’s plastic sheeting, and unpacked the large roll.
Michael took the letter from Vince and dropped it in front of Nils face.
“Go ahead and read it,” Michael said,
Nils turned his eyes on the parchment and sucked in a breath.
Vince rolled the plastic out until they had an eight-foot square section to cover the floor. Zeeke moved equipment
“Wait! Just wait!” Nils pleaded.
“Gotta follow the will of the master, Nils. Can’t say I’m sorry about it,” Michael said. “See Nils. I was having a truly shitty day. Mad that I had to come down here and meet with what could possibly be a new band. I miss my friends. They might have been assholes, but they were manipulated assholes.”
“It wasn’t me,” Nils begged.
“Anyway. So I’m going through my mail when I see this huge envelope and it’s just like the old days. I open it, fearing whatever skull-fuckery it might contain, only to see that it wants you to answer for your transgressions.”
“I did not transgress! I swear!”
“So that’s when my day started looking up. Hell, my life. I get some righteous retribution and the price is your ass.”
Nils had nearly gotten to his hands and feet again. Michael kicked him in the side so hard something snapped.
Nils collapsed again and groaned in pain.
“Sounded like a rib. Only twenty-three more to go,” Michael smiled and kicked Nils again.
Michael dug into his bag and brought out some thin black leather gloves. He slid them onto his hands as he watched Nils struggle.
“This can’t be right,” Nils sobbed. “I did his will. Always. His will!”
“You know what else you did?” Michael said as he grabbed Nil’s legs and dragged him onto the plastic. “You ruined not one, but two bands that were spreading his word. Mine and yours.”
“What an asshole,” Vince said.
Vince leaned over and stomped down on Nils’s upper body. Nils tried to fight back but Zeeke stepped in and took his hands. The three of them maneuvered him onto the plastic until they had room to work.
“Let’s get him covered up,” Michael said, and picked up one corner of the plastic. He pulled it over Nils.
“What did he do to your friend?” Zeeke asked.
“Murdered him in his shop. Then he tried to make it look like a satanic ritual. Carved shit in his skin. For all I know, Bruno was alive when it happened. He had a knife wound in his heart. This son of a bitch went rogue,” Michael said.
“Not for long. I don’t like this shit,” Vince said. “In fact, I hate it. But I’d hate to meet the same end.”
“Let’s get to it,” Michael said as he dragged the other end of the plastic until Nils was covered, but he left the man’s head exposed.
Nils tried to struggle free so Vince kicked him in the side again. Zeeke took up station on the other side of Nils followed suit, nailing the Norwegian’s body with a flurry of blows.
Michael grabbed Nils by the hair and pulled until he could look the Norwegian in the eye.
“Please, I’m begging you,” Nils said
“Keep begging,” Michael said. “I bet Bruno begged.”
Michael lifted his hand above his head, tightened it into a fist, and then smashed it into Nils’ nose. Then he hit him again. Blood splattered across the plastic wrap.
Vince and Zeeke, following the words to the letter, kicking and punching Nils. The Norwegian recoiled under the blows but he had no chance to get away. He flopped onto his stomach and tried to protect his body so Vince nailed him right in the balls so hard the man shit himself.
Michael didn’t let the Norwegian look away for long. He dragged Nils’s head around by his hair and continued to punch him until his face was a bloody mass. Lacerations broke out all over his face. His left eye closed up, but Michael left his right eye unharmed so he could see the blows coming.
Nils didn’t die quickly.
When he stopped moving, the men backed away and passed the bottle of Jack around. Michael took a long pull and thought about pissing on Nils.
Nils’s hand tw
itched.
“Shit. Little bit of life left in him,” Zeeke observed.
“Not for long,” Michael said.
“What should we do with his body?” Vince said.
“Got a special place for him out in the woods, up near the place where we used to record. Gonna leave him to the animals,” Michael said.
“Kinda poetic,” Zeeke said with a grin.
Then the beating resumed.
THE END
Afterword
We hope you enjoyed the book. Listed below are the songs and bands we used for chapter titles.
Blackened Dawn - Evergrey
Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath
In League with Satan – Venom
God of Emptiness – Morbid Angel
Demon of the Fall - Opeth
Ten Seconds to Love - Motley Crue
Wake Up Dead – Megadeth
The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden
Scream Bloody Gore – Death
The Mirror and the Ripper - Volbeat
Shroud of False - Anathema
Cum on Feel the Noise - Quiet Riot
Fabulous Disaster – Exodus
Serpent Tongue – Cradle of Filth
Given to the Rising - Neurosis
Bloodied Yet Unbowed - Primordial
Finger Paintings of the Insane – Acid Bath
South of Heaven – Slayer
Walk with me in Hell - Lamb of God
Possessed – Venom
Master of Puppets - Metallica
I Hate Therefore I Am – Cyclone Temple
Still Remains - Fates Warning
Angry Neurotic Catholics – Carnivore
Songs from the North - Swallow the Sun
Scavenger of Human Sorrow – Death
Victim of the Night - Circle II Circle
Terrible Certainty – Kreator
For Your Life - Led Zeppelin
Iscariot – Cradle of Filth
Chemical Noose – Flotsam and Jetsam
Born to Booze - Black Label Society
Caress into Oblivion – Celtic Frost
Sanity’s End - Threshold
About the Authors
Timothy W. Long has been writing tales and stories since he could hold a crayon and has read enough books to choke a landfill. Tim has a predilection for weird literature, and a deep-seated need to jot words on paper and thrust them at people.
Tim spent time in the US Navy, worked for a major game corporation, an aeronautics company, and he was in the IT field for the last 15 years as an engineer before becoming a full time author. He is an active member of Horror Writers Association, SFWA, and International Thriller Writers.
Tim is the author of 14 novels and resides outside of Seattle where he spends time with his partner in crime, author and publisher Katie Cord, as well as 2 children, 2 dogs of various sizes and dispositions, and a near constant supply of overpriced and overcooked coffee beans.
Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squad series, the Blood War Trilogy, co-author of the Dead West series, as well as several standalone books, and numerous anthology appearances alongside some of the biggest names in fantasy and horror, to include Jim Butcher, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mark Lawrence, Lian Hearn, Terry Brooks, Joe Abercrombie, Jonathan Maberry, and more. Tim also collaborated on Memoirs of a MACHINE, the story of MMA pioneer John Machine Lober. Tim is co-owner and Editor in Chief of Ragnarok Publications.
Tim lives in far west Texas, stone’s throw from Mexico and New Mexico, alongside his wife and daughter and a horde of furry, neurotic animals. A former grave digger and bouncer, he has since settled down (or so he says) to write and publish full time. A huge fan of Mixed Martial Arts, Tim spends his weekends watching people get punched in the face and working on edits or writing in all his multitasking glory.
You can learn more about Tim at his web site tmarquitz.com or you can follow him on Facebook and Twitter, where he overshares and offers up sarcastic commentary on a regular basis.
Also Available from Tim Marquitz
The Demon Squad Series
From Hell (Novella)
DS1 - Armageddon Bound
DS2 - Resurrection
Betrayal (Intro short to At the Gates)
DS3 - At the Gates
DS4 - Echoes of the Past
DS5 - Beyond the Veil
DS6 - The Best of Enemies
DS7 - Exit Wounds
DS8 - Collateral Damage
DS9 - Aftermath
To Hell and Back - A Demon Squad Collection (books 1-3)
The Blood War Trilogy
Dawn of War
Embers of an Age
Requiem
Clandestine Daze Series
Eyes Deep (novella)
Influx
Standalone Fantasy
Dirge
Witch Bane
War God Rising
Dead West
Those Poor, Poor Bastards
The Ten Thousand Things
Omnibus 1
Horror
Prey
Serial
Skulls
Heir to the Blood Throne: Inheritance
Collections
Tales of Magic and Misery
Non-Fiction
Memoirs of a Machine – w/John MACHINE Lober
Grunt Style: The Blue Collar Guide to Writing Genre Fiction
Anthologies
Blackguards (Ragnarok Publications)
Unbound (Grim Oak Press)
SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest (Cohesion Press)
SNAFU: Hunters (Cohesion Press)
SNAFU: Future Warfare (Cohesion Press)
SNAFU: Black Ops (Cohesion Press)
In the Shadow of the Towers (Night Shade)
Neverland’s Library (Ragnarok Publications)
At Hell’s Gates 1&3 (Charity)
American Nightmare (Kraken Press)
Corrupts Absolutely? (Ragnarok Publications)
Widowmakers (Charity)
That Hoodoo Voodoo, That You Do (Ragnarok Publications)
For more information on the authors
@TimWLong @Marquitz
TimWLong
www.timothywlong.com
[email protected]
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