by Heath, Joel
The hall headed away from the door and passed a stairwell to an upper level at the top another hall flanked by windows on one side. The hallway lead back toward the front entrance where an archway opened up to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard.
It was quiet, the only sound that could be heard was a moaning sound that was carried on the wind, the moaning was soon joined by the revving of a car’s engine.
The revving got louder as a classy looking luxury sports car churning gravel up as it purred toward the main entrance.
“I don’t believe it.” Vince said, “Is that?” “Who else would it be?” Jessie asked. Spencer looked closer.
“What’s he driving?” Spencer asked.
“It looks like a Shelby Cobra.” Vince replied.
As the car entered the courtyard, details came into view, including the driver, a charming man that looked to be about middle age. His car was the elusive 1969 Shelby El Diablo, top down, black leather interior, blood red finish, with an exhaust system setup to be front of center and spewing fire to match the flames on the side of the car.
The El Diablo came to a stop outside the door and Lucifer stepped out. He looked down and noticed the remnants of Rodney, then looked up at Spencer staring down.
From the his position he saw Lucifer direct him toward the castle as though extending an invitation to join hum inside.
Spencer led the way back to the stairs and down to the ground floor. Spencer looked back toward the door expecting to see Lucifer, but instead heard footsteps coming from the other direction, so he advanced after the source of the sound and soon came to a large wooden double door. The door parted in the middle as it opened at Spencer’s approach.
On the far side of the room was a wide and tall staircase that was twelve feet wide and twenty feet high. The stairs climbed upward above the castle to an upper tower where a blood red carpet led the way to another staircase that rose at a shallow angle. The stairs started wide at the bottom and became narrower with each step; at the top step, a full twenty five feet above the ground, was an archway that opened up over the courtyard below, the wall then dropped off the side of the tower.
A man knelt in the center of the room; he wore a red cape and a crown. In front of him was Lucifer. In the back right quarter of the tower was the white horse.
Satan did not pay any attention to the horseman; he instead greeted Spencer.
“Welcome to my earthly fortress, Mr. Garza.”
“So, Lucifer, this is where you’re hiding.” Spencer mocked.
Lucifer smirked.
“What makes you think I was hiding?”
At the sound of more hoof beats coming up the tunnel, Spencer and company turned to see a red horse emerge from the tunnel; riding atop it was someone that looked like a Spartan, a bloodstained sword in his hand. The second horseman rode up to Lucifer, and dismounted and sheathed his sword before kneeling across from the first horseman; his horse took a position behind him.
“Two down, two to go.” Lucifer bragged.
“What then?” Spencer asked. Lucifer smiled before he turned to the archway, “I will open a portal to hell and my generals will summon our troops and begin our attack on the gates of heaven.”
Lucifer turned back to Spencer. “Now, the only question is: will there be four generals or five.”
Spencer was almost surprised, at the same time he was confused.
“I thought you have given up on having me at your side.” Spencer reminded him.
Lucifer laughed,
“You think I would give up on one as powerful as you?” Lucifer said before turning back to the archway and climbing the stairs.
Staring out towards the open courtyard below, he spoke.
“In mere minutes the last two of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will be here and we will march against the gates of Heaven.”
At those words a black horse emerged from the darkened tunnel, on its back was a man in a luxurious black suit, in his left lapel was a pin bearing the flag of the United States of America, while his fingers grasped a pair of balances which he held aloft.
The third horseman rode up to Satan, dismounted and knelt; his horse did as the other two before him.
“One more left,” Lucifer said turning to Spencer.
“Your troops are vulnerable in sacred places, what will happen when you get to heaven?” Vince challenged.
Lucifer grinned.
“I’m prepared for that.” Lucifer said, turning around to face the archway,
Everybody’s mind started racing with thoughts of when the fourth horseman would arrive, and what will he look like? They had to act; the hosts of Heaven were depending on them.
Lucifer waved his hand over the empty archway, and as he did black and purple energy swirled into a portal identical to the portals that opened up all over the world, then he turned back toward his Generals.
“Soon, all of my generals will be here.”
“THEN I GUESS WE’LL STRIKE NOW!” Spencer shouted as he drew his sword and leapt at Lucifer. Jessie, Gretchen and Vince followed suite, but Satan raised his hand and each of his attackers froze right where they were.
“What did you do?” Jessie shouted.
“I’ve immobilized you.” Lucifer revealed as he came down the stairs, and walked toward Spencer, “I don’t want you going anywhere.”
Lucifer reached into his pocket for the bead that he used to transform Rodney into his servant. “Finally, you will serve me.” Lucifer vowed.
Gretchen had no idea what occurred next or even how it all happened, but seeing Spencer in trouble, she was able to break free of the invisible hand that had seized her and the others. Calling forth her celestial sword she went straight for Lucifer.
“Foolish woman!” Lucifer retorted by summoning a sword of darkness, the blade exuded evil and when it clashed with Gretchen’s blade there was an explosion of energy, but Lucifer’s blade was not affected by the corrosive exchange of the celestial light.
“You can’t win.” Lucifer said
despairingly.
“Neither can you,” Gretchen replied.
“We’ll see about that.” Lucifer retorted before breaking the lock caused by both swords, then struck at Gretchen who parried the attack.
“Why do you fight, knowing it will all be for naught?” Lucifer asked.
“That’s funny, I was about to ask you the same question.”
Lucifer withdrew his sword and sliced through the air, Gretchen blocked with her blade causing another explosive release of chaotic energy.
Strangely the three horsemen remained in a kneeling position, they looked fearful, and did not move to assist their leader. Then a fourth set of hoof beats came from the tunnel. An eerie quiet filled the chamber as the sound of a horse neigh echoed throughout the chamber atop the tower, the sound was joined by a rancid stench, the smell of ten million rotting corpses.
Finally, a horse entered from the dim tunnel, a horse of a sickly green with several open sores filled with decay. They covered the horse. The rider’s boney hands gripped the reins as he rode toward the other three horsemen, a black holocaust cloak covered his skeletal face, a scythe hung from a holster on the side of the horse.
With Lucifer momentarily preoccupied by the arrival of the fourth horseman, Gretchen took the opportunity to strike a blow to the head with the hilt of her sword which knocked Lucifer to one knee.
He glared up at Gretchen and then looked toward the portal, and then to Spencer, Jessie and Vince. They were already free and armed. Lucifer stood and grabbed Gretchen by the throat and the hand that wielded her sword.
“My generals,” Lucifer called drawing the attention of all four horsemen, as he stood regally upright. “Victory is near, but we will have to find a new launching point.” The four horsemen stood, mounted their horses and glided up the stairs and through the portal. Lucifer then looked at Gretchen and then to Spencer.
“Will you join me, or will you throw your lot in wi
th them?” Lucifer asked.
“I’ll never join you!” Spencer retorted.
“This is your last chance to join the winning team willingly, say no, and I will come back and take you to hell by force.” Lucifer advised.
“Go back to hell, I’m never coming with you.” Spencer spat.
A wicked smile crossed his lips as he turned his attention back to Gretchen who stood nearly defenseless against the immediate unanticipated attack. All of them thought he was just going to run this time, they stood so confidently. Yet they were standing too far away from the girl.
“I know your secret.” Lucifer whispered to Gretchen with a dark smile.
Lucifer released Gretchen and extended his hand, it passed into Gretchen’s chest. His hand only remained inside Gretchen’s body for a moment, but as he pulled it out, a ghostly version of Gretchen came with it.
“GRETCHEN!” Spencer shouted as he rushed to her side.
The ghostly image of Gretchen condensed into a gossamer sphere ten inches across.
As Spencer reached Gretchen, she collapsed into his arms, her eyes open, but a blank expression was now pasted on her face. Lucifer wasted no time moving across the floor to the bottom of the stairs before turning to gloat.
“What have you done?” Vince demanded.
Lucifer laughed evilly as he stood with the stairs to his back before turning to climb.
Vince and Jessie gave chase hoping to catch Lucifer and force him to undo what ever he had done, but Lucifer had quickly reached the top step and passed through the portal.
The gateway to hell quickly collapsed a split second before Vince arrived and he slid along the floor praying he could stop in time. Jessie grabbed the collar flashing by her, almost missed; but hooked her fingers in the materials and kept him from plummeting to his death.
“Thank you.” Vince offered Jessie with a grateful nod. Vince and Jessie glanced out the archway to see the clouds begin to open, just as they did in Salt Lake, and Bountiful.
“Um, Spencer.” Vince said, “I think we shouldn’t be here anymore.”
Chapter 8 – Bittersweet Victories… Vince and Jessie rushed back down the stairs to help Spencer carry Gretchen down the tunnel.
“What’s going on?” Spencer asked. “Do you remember what happened in Bountiful?” Vince asked.
“Yeah.” Spencer replied earning a grave
glance from Vince.
“How much time do we have?” Jessie
asked as they exited the tunnel and into the lower
chamber.
“A minute, maybe two.” Vince replied,
and then noticed that the door was closed, and
barred.
Vince reached up to the handle and tried
to pull it open. Nothing.
“No, this isn’t happening.” Vince said
when the door didn’t even much as budge. “What’s wrong?” Spencer asked. “I think Lucifer knows that the castle is
doomed and wants to take us out.”
Vince examined the room, there was a
carpet in the middle of the room, ripping it away
to reveal a wooden trap door.
After pulling the door open, Vince headed
into the room and found an old stockpile of old
Nazi weapons, most were grenades, and other
explosives.
Vince grabbed a crate and headed for the
door.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Jessie asked. “And staying here isn’t?” Vince shot back
“Get me a rope.”
Vince began placing German grenades in
the crevices in the wall and Jessie soon came
back with a piece of rope.
With precious little time remaining Vince
threaded the rope though the holes for the
grenade pins.
“Find cover, this isn’t going to be subtle.”
Vince suggested, given the options Spencer took
Gretchen to the stockpile room in the basement,
Vince pulled on the rope and all the pins came
loose.
Vince ran for cover with his comrades
with only a few seconds before the grenades
detonated leaving a gaping hole in the wall. Vince and Jessie lead Spencer through the
debris as he carried Gretchen on his back into the
hall and finally outside. That’s when Spencer
realized the gravity of their situation.
Looking up he saw that the clouds were
nearly fully open; God’s wrath was primed and
ready to be unleashed.
Passing Lucifer’s 1969 Shelby El Diablo,
Jessie leaned in to check for the keys and found
them in the ignition.
“Get in, let’s go!” Jessie said
Jessie climbed into the driver’s seat,
Spencer got into the front passengers seat and
held Gretchen on his lap, and Vince climbed onto
the back, and held on for dear life as Jessie
started the car, put it in gear and slammed her
foot down on the gas pedal.
The El Diablo sped away from the castle
at ninety-seven miles per hour, Vince held onto
Gretchen, then peered into the mirror as the
clouds continued opening, then the air turned a
pale blue color.
The El Diablo crested the hill four miles
to the north when the beam of blue light came
down and struck the castle and the entire valley
erupted in a violent explosion, but unlike the
incidents in Salt Lake and Bountiful, God did not
settle on striking once.
A second beam reached out of the clouds
to strike the castle again, and then a third and a
fourth.
There was a brief pause and Spencer
thought they were out of danger until the air
filled with electricity, everybody could feel it and
it was growing stronger then an odd sound filled
their ears like a high pitched whine that was
exponentially building in intensity and frequency,
and then the entire sky turned a pale blue. “Jessie, move it.” Spencer shouted. Jessie quickly sped across the lose dirt
and gravel around the lake before the final beam,
easily a half a mile wide struck the ground.
The El Diablo continued speeding down the road along the dam as the top sixty feet of the mountain disappeared, turned to dust by the blast from Heaven.
“What are we going to do now?” Vince shouted over the roaring wind.
“He retreated to hell, what can we do?” Jessie retorted.
“I wish I could say.” Vince replied.
Spencer was caressing Gretchen who lay void of emotion or expression. Then his indignation set in.
“Where was Michael?” Spencer quietly demanded.
“I don’t have the answer to that, Spencer.” Jessie admitted.
Munich came and went and Jessie kept driving until the sun disappeared behind a larger storm front to the east.
Soon rain started falling, not just falling; it was coming down in buckets, so she looked for a place to stop to wait out the storm. The first adequate place they could find was the barn where they found the motorcycles so Jessie pulled the El Diablo in as the torrential rain started falling.
The barn doors hung open as Spencer lay Gretchen in a pile of hay and then stalked to the door to keep an eye out for anybody or anything that came near.
“Spencer, come eat.” Jessie offered, hoping to encourage Spencer to focus on something besides Gretchen.
“I’m not hungry.” Spencer was dying inside.
“I don’t care,” Jessie snapped, “eat something.”
Spencer stared out the doors and Jessie left him.
The storm conti
nued the torrential downpour well into night, finally the sun went down. Before turning in for the night Jessie and Vince closed and locked the barn doors.
Spencer didn’t sleep at all, the rain lifted somewhat sometime in the night, nobody had seen a working watch in months. Lightning still crackled across the sky.
Spencer was jarred from his attempts to rest by a scraping sound right outside the barn door, so he nudged Vince and went to
investigate.
Vince didn’t wake up, Spencer was on his own.
Spencer drew his sword and unlocked the door.
The door creaked as it opened and the profile of a man stood in the doorway, a man wearing an off white cloak, dripping wet from the rain. Lightning lit up the sky further accenting the silhouette.
Spencer knew exactly who it was, and could not restrain his fury or his tongue
“How dare you show your face here after leaving us high and dry against Lucifer.” Spencer yelled waking up Jessie and Vince.
“Spencer, what the hell are you yelling about?” Jessie asked.
“Michael.” Jessie said as she got up and rushed to the door, Spencer stomped away, fuming.
Jessie pulled Michael in to the barn and out of the rain and sat him down on a bale of hay before turning on Spencer.
“Spencer, you need to calm down.” Jessie scolded.
“Where was he when Lucifer did this to Gretchen?” Spencer demanded pointing at Gretchen.
For the first time since meeting Michael, he sounded displeased, his voice was like thunder.
“I could not come, and I apologize, but I could not have helped either way, I alone could not have defeated Satan, we chose to send you four because you combine had the best chance for victory.” Michael chastised, “Most of the Archangels are not strong enough the challenge Satan alone, most are not much more than messengers. The only ones that could have done anything are God and his Son, and they are preparing for Satan’s invasion of Heaven.”
Spencer was taken aback; he had not considered why Michael was not there, he swallowed his pride with a gulp.
“I’m sorry.” Spencer offered, and Michael nodded.
Spencer turned his attention to Gretchen.