Chained in the Demon's Lair (Hellfire Circus)

by Crystal De la Cruz

  “Where are they?” Samuel asked, ignoring the embedded taunt.

  Mephistopheles lowered his brow with a menacing glee. “You,” he said, “she gave up you. Your own little darling. You got too greedy, Samuel. Tut tut tut. Typical greedy little human.”

  Samuel bit the inside of his lip and strove to keep his expression blank. He wouldn’t allow the fiend the pleasure of getting to him. Besides, Cassandra’s betrayal was hardly a surprise. The eventuality had crossed his mind the moment he’d received the demon’s message. But he did not hate her. Only felt sorry for the great pain she must have been in to cause her to take such drastic measures.

  “Where are they?” he repeated through clenched teeth. His entire plan hinged on getting the exact location and then distracting the demon long enough to instigate the rescue.

  “A military silo,” Mephistopheles shrugged, “a quarter mile from here. Really quite an impressive feat of architecture. Hate can build such wondrous things. That’s an ancient truth my friend, but it’s as true today as it ever was.” He peered at his opponent with strange wonder. “Oh Samuel,” he said, “Why didn’t you ever listen to me? Why didn’t you use the wisdom I gave you? You could still be at my side today if only you’d learned. You would be a hundred times more powerful than you are now.” He shook his head in mock sadness (everything Mephistopheles did was a mockery of normal human emotion. The only things that truly moved him were mischief and hatred, evil and destruction) “Now I have to extinguish my past mistakes. This is a mess I’ve been waiting a long time to clean up.”

  With a flash, he hit Samuel in the chest with another bolt of electricity. As the magician hit the ground, he prayed that the force had not been so great as to destroy the radio transmitter in his pocket.

  ***

  “Julie.”

  Julie froze in her cell. Cassandra had never once addressed her by her actual name. But now here she was hissing at her from the other side of the thick iron door.

  After a moment’s silence Julie spoke. “What do you want?”

  “I have water for you. And some bread. You must be hungry.”

  Julie bristled beneath the warm metal of her neck brace. It was true, she was hungry, but still she didn’t want to accept anything from Cassandra. That woman had always despised her and for all Julie knew the bread and water could easily be laced with poison.

  “Leave me alone!” she called.

  There was no reply.

  Finally Julie heard the grinding sound of the door unlocking as the huge metal portal began to open. A sliver of light shot through the dimness and she looked up at Cassandra’s beautiful face, now somewhat gaunt, peering within.

  “You must eat something Julie,” she said, “at least have some water. You must need it by now.”

  “Yeah?” Julie snorted from her position in the corner where she sat in her underwear, clammy from sweat and the hours she’d spent in confinement. “And what do you care?”

  Cassandra sighed and suddenly she looked more vulnerable than Julie had ever seen her. But still, she wasn’t ready to give up on the idea that this too might just be another ploy.

  “I care,” Cassandra said. “If you could see how much I care it would block out the sun itself.”

  “Well that’s hard to believe,” Julie replied, studying the other woman closely. “I saw you down there you know, sucking that monster’s cock. I heard what you said about me.”

  Cassandra raised her forlorn eyes and looked at the other woman. There were tears brimming at the corners. “I was trying to protect you,” she said, “don’t you see? He wanted to rape you. I saved you from him by drawing his attention back to me.”

  Julie folded her arms. Despite herself, she couldn’t help but concede that Cassandra’s emotion did seem genuine here. “And what do you care about that?” she asked, “Aren’t you the one who brought me here for him? Aren’t you the one who betrayed Samuel?”

  At the mention of his name what remained of Cassandra’s resolve crumpled and the tears began to roll silently down her cheeks.

  “How could you do it?” Julie asked, stepping forward from the darkness. “How could you do it to him when he only ever showed you kindness? How could you do that to everybody else at the circus?”

  “You don’t understand,” Cassandra spoke, universes of pain in her choked voice, “I had no choice.”

  “There’s always a choice Cassandra,” Julie said, “even if it means giving up your own life, there’s always a choice.”

  “No,” Cassandra moaned, shaking her head as her sorrow became more vehement.

  Julie didn’t know whether to comfort the woman or attack her, to plead to her better nature or to force her into submission so she could escape. As she watched the woman collapse into emotional chaos before her, a lithe figure silently stepped out of the darkness and raised a pistol to the back of Cassandra’s neck.

  ***

  “It’s over Cassandra.”

  It took Julie a moment to place the voice and then a wave of delight washed over her. It was Baptiste St. Jean, one of the Ringmaster’s oldest friends and a voodoo priest of some renown.

  Another voice spoke, as the dwarf Francois stepped out of the shadows.

  “Dear Cassandra, oh my dear. What have you done?”

  The woman closed her eyes in an instant and fell to her knees. With the gun still leveled at her head (though his expression now quite a bit more sympathetic) Baptiste looked over her shoulder at Julie.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. “Did they hurt you?”

  “I’m fine,” Julie said, “where’s Samuel? Is he ok?”

  Baptiste and Francois exchanged an uneasy glance but did not say anything.

  “Cassandra,” Baptiste spoke, his voice firm but not punishing, “where are the keys for Julie’s chains? Hurry up, we don’t have much time.”

  “Here,” Cassandra said, “in my pocket. But it won’t matter anyway.”

  “Why not?” Baptiste asked, snatching the keys and tossing them to Francois as the dwarf ran to Julie’s side.

  “Because the bastard has set this whole place up to blow in fifteen minutes. Three nuclear warheads.”

  A silence settled over the group.

  ***

  “But why?” Baptiste asked, “Why the hell would he do that? Doesn’t he think he’s strong enough to take Samuel alone? I don’t understand why he’d have to blow up this whole silo and half the desert along with it.”

  Cassandra snorted with humorless laughter and looked up at him. Her face was streaked with mascara from her tears. She looked like she’d been through hell and back.

  “Why?” she said, “why not? Because he can, that’s why, because he was here at all. That’s who you’re dealing with, a being for whom nothing is too much and no feat of destruction is ever enough. Why? Why no more than to amuse himself, that’s why.”

  Over in the corner, Francois got done with unlocking Julie’s chains.

  “Thanks,” she whispered to him and he squeezed her arm briefly before walking back to the others.

  “Can you stop it?” he asked.

  “What?” Cassandra said.

  “You’ve been here with that demon from the beginning, did you see how he activated the missiles? Do you think you could override the system?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “Well you better try,” Baptiste said, “because time’s running out and I’ve got a feeling Samuel could really use my help up there.”

  “Samuel!” Cassandra exclaimed, “Is he alright?”

  “What do you care?”

  Cassandra lowered her head again. “I care,” she said. “Just tell him that I’m sorry.”

  “If I get a chance I will,” Baptiste said, “now stop feeling sorry for yourself and stand up. Go down to that mainframe room and try to undo what Mephistopheles started before this whole place blows sky-high.” He beckoned to the others. “Come on, we’ve got to get up there before that creep turns Samue
l into dog-food.”

  Julie stood up and ran to his side and, as she passed her, Cassandra reached up and snatched her wrist. “Here she said, “take my jacket and boots. I won’t need them anymore.”

  “Thank you,” Julie replied, taking the garments and putting them on.

  “Come on!” Baptiste commanded, “we don’t have much time.”

  As he and Julie ran to the steel staircase that led back to the mainframe room and on to the elevators out of the silo, Francois paused. He placed his hand on Cassandra’s shoulder.

  “I’m staying here,” he said, “maybe I can help. Maybe we’ll see you on the other side.”

  Julie glanced back with vital emotion but Baptiste snatched her wrist and led her away. They were nearly out of time.

  ***

  “Why did you do it?” Francois asked as he fondled Cassandra’s cheek, “my sweet Cassandra, why?”

  He waited for his friend to collect herself as he stood by her side. He had known Cassandra for many, many years and though she had always been volatile, even given to spite when she felt she’d been bested, she had never been an evil woman. Whatever it was that had made her betray the circus that she loved and the people who occupied it, it must have been something big.

  “Francois,” she whispered finally, “I did something terrible. In Chicago, the night of the storm, when the circus was down…”

  “I remember.”

  “There was a boy. An accident. Things got out of control and a young man died. I killed him Francois and by the time I realized what I’d done it was too late to take back.”

  Francois held his tongue. Grim-faced, he continued to caress the cheek of his old friend. She was beyond his judgment now, she knew that herself. All he could do was comfort her.

  “He told me he could undo it,” Cassandra said, “Mephistopheles, he told me he could bring the boy back to life. I felt so guilty Francois, I would have done anything to reverse what I’d done.”

  As he stroked her temple, Cassandra collapsed into tears again. She had done wrong but now maybe she had a chance in some small way to redeem herself.

  “Come,” Francois said, “take me to the mainframe room. Let’s try to stop this mess from getting any worse.”

  ***

  Bright white light and the absence of all thought. Then the pain returned with electric ferocity. Samuel hit the ground and rolled. He wasn’t sure how many more times he’d be able to endure this. He only hoped Baptiste and Francois had found the others.

  “I’m getting bored with this Samuel!” Mephistopheles called from across the dust, “can’t you mount any more of a challenge? If you don’t do something to pique my interest I’ll just have to crush you like a bug and be done with it. I’m bored Samuel!”

  Samuel winced and pushed his torso up from the cold sand once more. He’d only managed to get one shot at the demon so far and Mephistopheles had dodged it effortlessly. If he was ever going to stand a chance he needed Baptiste by his side. The voodoo priest was equal in skill if not better than he himself and together they could give Mephistopheles a run for his money. Without him, he’d be lucky to last another ten minutes.

  “A disappointment Samuel! Really. After all these years of searching is this what it finally amounts to? Shooting a fish in a barrel? What happened to everything I taught you?”

  “You were a poor teacher,” Samuel said, rising to his feet, “that’s true. But I learnt a few things myself since.”

  He slammed his fists together and then turned them on the demon as a blast of glowing green energy shot from his arms and hurtled like a laser towards Mephistopheles. This time he didn’t miss. The blast hit the demon square in the hip and the force was almost, but not quite, enough to knock him to the ground.

  Mephistopheles jerked back as the shot hit him and then straightened up again. For just a second Samuel descried a look of surprise on his face before the demon subdued it beneath his usual contemptuous sneer.

  “That’s more like it,” he said, “pathetic, still, but a little more interesting at least.”

  And the demon was right, Samuel realized, alone he’d never be enough to beat him. Samuel wasn’t the only one who’d gotten stronger over the past couple of centuries.

  “Hey Samuel, is this creep bothering you?”

  It was Baptiste! They’d gotten back to the surface then.

  As Samuel turned to quickly greet his friends his relief turned instantly to icy confusion. Only Julie and Baptiste had returned. Of the others there was no sign.

  “Cassandra and Francois? Where are they?”

  Baptiste quickly jogged to his side and hissed in his ear. “The bastard has the whole place rigged to blow. Cassandra and Francois stayed behind to disarm the bombs.”

  “And what if they can’t?” Samuel asked.

  Silence was the only answer Baptiste could offer and it told Samuel everything he needed to know.

  “Is that the infamous Baptiste Saint Jean, I see?” Mephistopheles called. If he was surprised he wasn’t showing it. “And what the fuck is he doing here, Samuel? How delightful indeed, you brought a friend. Do you boys need a moment to confer before I destroy you both?”

  The two men ignored him, just smiled in a way that assured him they were ready for the worst of whatever he had to offer. Mephistopheles’ own smile faltered for a second.

  “And is that your little bitch, I see?” he called, “My, oh my, I’d been planning to save that little snack for later. Oh well, you can have her. I already had a taste anyway.”

  Samuel’s brow furrowed but Julie quickly put his mind at ease.

  “It’s not true Samuel,” she called, “he wanted to but Cassandra tricked him into leaving me be! Don’t listen to his lies!”

  A flash of anger as black as the pits of hell darkened Mephistopheles face. He was a being that despised being fooled above all else. As far as he was concerned the only trickster in town should be he himself.

  Samuel relished the anger and uncertainty now showing on his enemy’s face. Now that Baptiste and Julie were here he felt stronger than he had been even to start with. “Well how about that Mephistopheles,” he called, “outsmarted by a couple of mortal ladies. You might have gotten stronger but you’re still just as dumb as you ever were.”

  “CUNT!” Mephistopheles snarled with a voice that no longer contained one single iota of human affect.

  He fired a blast of lightning at the trio. Between them, Baptiste and Samuel were able to mount an instant defense and deflect it into the sky. Now at last, they had him on the run.

  ***

  “I’m going to do what I should have done two hundred years ago,” Samuel said, “I’m going to wipe you off the face of this earth and make sure you never come back.”

  The two men sent a double blast of energy at the demon and this time it did knock him off his feet. Now the expression twisting his face wasn’t contempt or anger. It was fear.

  “Bastards!” he hissed, fighting his way back to his feet.

  The magicians knocked him down again with a quick blast of power. Behind them Julie whooped with delight.

  Samuel and Baptiste approached the demon, bearing down like muscular jungle lions closing in on what had once been a particularly challenging foe but was now little more than a nutritious meal to be devoured.

  “Do you really think we can destroy him for good?” Baptiste whispered to his friend as they approached.

  “I don’t know,” Samuel replied, “but I certainly intend to try.”

  They came to where the demon lay on the sand, trying to back away from them in jerky, panicked motions.

  “Please,” he begged, “fellas, let’s not be so hasty. Think about what we could achieve together. Me with the whole forces of Hell behind me and you with all that sexy style and panache. We could rule the world.”

  “Ha,” Samuel snorted, “but you don’t really have the forces of Hell behind you, do you Mephistopheles? Come on, tell the truth for once in your dis
eased existence. You fell out of the unholy graces of Hell a long time ago, didn’t you? Isn’t that why you spend so much time walking the earth? You’re just as much a fugitive as I ever was, the only difference is that I’m finally facing up to my pursuer. I wonder what will happen if we make you face up to yours?”

  By the look on the demon’s face Samuel knew he’d struck a chord.

  “Samuel, please,” Mephistopheles begged, “think about all I’ve done for you. Without me you’d have died more than two hundred years ago, a poor street-rat never rising above the scum-line of poverty. Everything you’ve done since, everything you’ve gained, you owe it all to me.”

  “I owe you something,” Samuel said, “you’re right about that. And now I’m going to give it to you.”

  In his pocket the radio transmitter switched on and Francois’s crackly voice emerged.

  “Master,” he called, “can you hear me? We can’t disable the bombs, the system is too complicated. They’re set to go off in thirty seconds, can you mount some kind of force-field up there?”

  For just a second Samuel closed his eyes in what was only mourning, a very weary sadness, before he opened them again and his expression returned to one of rigid determination.

  “Yes Francois,” he said, “we will do our best. You have been a true and honored friend for all these years. I know we will meet again in some distant realm.”

  The radio returned only the crackle of white noise, whether Francois had heard him or not was impossible to tell.

  Samuel glanced at Baptiste and smiled. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he said.

  Baptiste narrowed his eyes in a way that told his friend he was thinking exactly what he was thinking.