by N. P. Martin
Shivering in the cold, I waited.
The silence was oppressive as I stood in the middle of the road. Light broke through the inky sky and a slight wind picked up, causing me to pull my jacket closed and fold my arms across myself. As I waited I had no idea if the summoning would even work and after a few more minutes, I feared the worst. Wringing my hands, I worried that I’d done the spell wrong and that I was back to being screwed again.
Then I heard a voice.
“Hello, Miss Leia Swanson.”
I spun around with a start when I heard the voice behind me. Standing a few feet away was a man in a dark suit. He was tall and in the gloomy light I could just make out his shadowed face. He had gaunt features and what looked like brown or grey eyes, I couldn’t really tell. His hair was fair and swept back from his creaseless forehead. He had the air of a salesman about him. I stood looking at him for a moment, unsure of what to do or say next.
“Well, speak, little lady,” the man said in a deep southern accent. “I’m here to serve. What can I do for you?”
“I need help,” I said, unable to think of anything else.
The man walked closer to me. Everything about him was immaculate, from his hair to his skin to his clothes. He looked like he belonged in downtown Mercy City with the rest of the suits. I had no doubt he spent a lot of time there, granting wishes in return for souls. “I gathered that,” he said in that silky southern accent, which was almost soothing to my ears. “I’m assuming this is your first time at the crossroads.”
“How does this work?”
“Straight to business, okay. Well, I help you with whatever you need and you give me what I need. It’s a simple exchange.”
“Okay.” I blinked rapidly at him, constantly moving wayward strands of hair out of my face.
“Now what would a pretty thing like you need from me? You look like you have everything you need.” He stopped to smell the air. “And a Nephilim as well. You’re not going to try and kill me, are you?” His eyes glowed a deep scarlet. “That wouldn’t go well for you. I would advise against that.”
“I’m not here for that.” I cleared my throat. “There’s something I need.”
“Shoot, tell me. I can’t wait to hear just what it is you need.” His smile unsettled me for some reason; I averted my gaze to the ground.
“I need a weapon that can kill the demon Abigor.”
The crossroads demon laughed. “Well goddamn,” he said. “Ain’t that just the best one I think I’ve ever heard? And I’ve heard some good ones in my time.”
“I’m glad you find it amusing. Can you help me or not? If you can’t help me I’m just going to go,” I said, making to walk away.
“Now hold on there, little lady,” the demon said. “Forgive me for laughing. It’s just what you ask is, to put it mildly, some heavy shit, if you get my meaning. Why in the hell would you want to try and kill yourself by trying to kill a demon like Abigor? How do you even know who Abigor is?”
“You obviously haven’t heard.” He looked at me as if to say go on. “Abigor has his sights set on destroying this world.”
“Abigor is a crazy, that’s for sure. I hear stuff about him all the time, mostly rumors down there.” He pointed to the ground. “Last I heard he was trying to open the gates of Hell, although that was unsubstantiated. Are you telling me it’s true? He wants to unleash our little Hell on to this here earth?”
“It’s true. He told me himself.”
The crossroads demon looked surprised. “You’ve spoken with Abigor?”
“Yes.” I felt light-headed and overheated all of a sudden. I rubbed the back of my neck. “I spoke with him and he told me all about his grand plan. He’s an arrogant bastard.”
“Well, well.” The demon smiled to himself. “This is certainly an interesting development indeed.” He stood for a moment in deep thought, then laughed and said, to himself, “I can’t believe the old demon is going through with it.”
“Well, he is and I’m going to stop him.” I was pacing around the road, trying to contain my growing impatience. “I need a weapon that can kill him. Do you know of one?”
The crossroads demon stepped closer to me. “There may be a weapon. I may be able to help you get that weapon. But what makes you think you’ll be able to kill Abigor with it? No offense, but you don’t look capable of such a…massive feat.”
I hadn’t even considered the fact that Abigor might be difficult to kill, even with the right weapon. I was so focused on finding a suitable weapon that I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Why don’t you let me worry about that? If you get me the weapon, I can kill him.”
He looked long and hard at me, as if trying to decide if I was worth helping or not. “Okay,” he said finally. “A soul is a soul after all. There’s a weapon that might be of use to you. Hardly anyone knows about it but I’m not sure if it’ll do the job you’re talking about doing. I don’t see any other choice though.”
My heart was racing. If he was lying, I would kill him then and there with the knife strapped to my ankle. “What’s the weapon and where is it?”
“It’s the Demon Blade. It was made a long time ago by your very ancestors, the Nephilim. The sword was stashed away just before God decided to flood the earth. No one has seen it since.”
“So how do you know where it is? Do you even know?”
“Please. It’s my job to get people what they want, however hard that task may be. I know where the sword is. It’s actually a lot closer than you might think.”
“Are you saying it’s near here?
“It’s in the mountains not far from here, hidden inside a cave at the highest peak.”
“That’s convenient. Are you bullshitting me? Why would the sword be in such an obvious place?”
The demon looked offended. “I don’t bullshit. And count yourself lucky the sword is even here at all.”
“How the hell am I supposed to get there?”
“You could climb, I suppose, though that might take a while. Or…”
“Or what?”
“Or I could take you there myself. You’ll have to get the sword yourself though. The Demon Blade can only be handled by a Nephilim of pure blood and only if the person is worthy to take it.” He smiled, amused. “That’s why it’s lodged in a boulder.”
I cocked my head and raised one eyebrow at him. “Really? Like Excalibur? Come on…”
He looked at me straight-faced. “Maybe you haven’t been listening. I said I don’t kid. I’m telling you the truth. What do you want me to say? Your ancestors had a flair for the dramatic.”
Something didn’t feel right to me. I mean what where the chances of the sword being so near?
Fuck it.
I didn’t have time to debate the serendipity of the situation. I would just have to take the crossroads demon at his word. “Let’s go then.”
“Not so fast. There’s still the matter of payment.”
Shit. I’d forgotten about that.
“You want my soul.”
“For this, I want your soul and more besides.”
“What? What more could I possibly give you?”
“You’d be surprised. I’ll need to call in a favor at some point.”
“You mean after you take my soul?”
“I’ll not take your soul just yet. Not for a while. I give most people ten years before I do that. You’ll still need to sign a contract though.” Seemingly out of nowhere he produced a scroll of paper and let it unravel to the ground. It must have been three feet long, filled with tiny print.
“Are you kidding?”
“I like to make sure every eventuality is covered.”
“No shit. Where do I sign?”
“Right here.” He produced a feathered quill from thin air and pointed to a spot at the end of the scrolled contract. “In blood, of course.”
“Of course.” I produced my knife and made a small cut on my left palm before dipping the quill into the pooling bloo
d in my hand.
Before I signed I asked him about this favor he mentioned. When would it be called in and what would it be?
“All in good time,” he said smiling.
I shook my head, unable to shake the feeling that I was being screwed over. But again, what choice did I have? I signed the contract and he rolled it up, placing it inside his suit jacket. “Well alright,” he said looking pleased that he had made a sale. “Let’s hit those mountains, shall we?” He took hold of my arm. “Oh and I hope you have a flashlight.”
An instant later I stood about two-thousand feet above sea level on a narrow ledge at the highest peak of the Black Mountain range that surrounded one half of Mercy City. Behind me was the mouth of a cave and beside me was the crossroads demon who teleported us on to the mountain.
My head spun as I looked out at the vast vista before us, the morning sun shining its muted light over the city that sprawled out beyond the forest below. It was a beautiful and breath-taking scene and if circumstances were different, I would have taken the time to sit there on that ledge and take it all in, maybe do some sketches.
But the world as I knew it was about to end soon so sketching landscapes would have to wait for another time.
“All right,” the crossroads demon said. “In you go, I haven’t got all day.”
“So, it’s like that, is it?” I said. “You’ve made your sale and now you just want rid of me? Typical salesman.”
The demon gave me a strained smile. “Try not to get lost in there.”
“I’m sure you’ll come find me if I do,” I said turning to face the cave entrance.
“Don’t bet on it. Here.” He handed me a small flashlight. “Good luck.”
I looked into the darkness of the cave entrance and a sheen of sweat instantly broke out on my face. Just the thought of going into that dark hole made me feel like I was being bear- hugged by the Hulk.
Why do I have to be claustrophobic? Why couldn’t I just be afraid of spiders like other people?
I switched on the flashlight the crossroads demon gave me a moment ago. I didn’t even ask why he would have a flashlight on him. I assumed he just conjured it out of thin air the way he did with the contract I signed.
The tightness in my chest persisted as I took my first few tentative steps into the cave. The tunnel was barely as high as my head; I could just about stand up straight without bashing my head on the rock above me. The deeper I walked into the darkness, the more oppressive the air was, which only exacerbated my claustrophobia.
The rough walls narrowed the further in I walked. As I squeezed my way past a large boulder that partly blocked the way, I wondered how a person could have gotten up here in the first place to even hide the sword, unless they had teleported, which was likely the case.
Can Nephilim teleport, I wonder?
Only one way to find out. I shut my eyes and concentrated, willing myself to teleport wherever the Demon Blade was. A moment later I opened my eyes to find I was still in the same spot. “Shit,” I said. Obviously this Nephilim can’t teleport. Looks like I’d have to continue the old fashioned way.
My anxiety levels rose as I moved deeper and deeper into the cave. My breathing was so shallow that I thought I was going to pass out. I had to hold on to the wall of the cave and take deep breaths as I thought, I can do this, I can do this…
I looked behind me and I could no longer see the light from the entrance. Panic gripped me tightly and I clung to the cave wall like I was about to fall through the floor to my death. I squeezed my eyes shut as it felt like the entire mountain was pressing down on top of me.
I can’t do this, I can’t do this…
In a fit of panic I stumbled back towards the entrance of the cave because I really believed the rock would collapse and I would end up buried in the mountain forever, no one knowing I was even there. My mind was telling me I had to get out before that happened. “I have to get out, I have to get out, I have to get out…” I kept repeating to myself and then for some reason I thought of Josh and I glimpsed his face in the darkness of the cave or my mind; I wasn’t sure which. It reminded me of why I was there in the first place, of what I had to do if I wanted to save him.
Forcing myself to stop, I gulped air until I began to settle down. If I was going to get the sword I would have to get a grip on myself.
Just don’t think about it…don’t think about it and keep moving…
So I moved back into the cave once more, taking one step at a time, ignoring the strange creatures that I occasionally glimpsed crawling along the walls, creatures that had likely never seen daylight or a human being before, least of all one who was panic stricken and who had never felt so small or insignificant or out of her comfort zone.
It was like the mountain itself was laughing at me as it beckoned me in further because it knew I would never make it out again. I would be trapped, I would die in there…
Control your thoughts…counter the negative…
I will not die inside this mountain…I will get the sword and make it back out again because I can do this, I can fucking do this…
“Alright…keep moving…just keep moving…don’t think about it…doing this for Josh…for Josh…”
I stopped for a second to shine the light ahead of me. Was it just me or was the cave getting narrower? Great. As if it wasn’t bad enough.
I forged on, sweat running down my face, wondering if the cave was really an entrance to Hell and I had been tricked by the crossroads demon…
Stopstopstop…
The cave was narrowing, but I kept moving, even though every step was agonizing and it felt like I was running out of air with every passing minute. I kept going, moving inch by inch for what seemed like an eternity until finally the narrow cave widened out and I stepped out into a large opening.
I took in gulps of air as I stood for a moment, glad to be out of the narrow entrance where I didn’t have to crouch anymore.
And then I noticed the smell, like strong ammonia. It was overpowering and I covered my nose and mouth with my free hand.
What the hell is that God awful smell?
In the darkness I heard movement of some sort, like something was in the big open space along with me.
My breathing was shallow and my chest tightened to the point where I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Clutching at my chest, I tried to control my breathing and after a minute or two, I just about breathed normally again, although I couldn’t help shivering in the cold atmosphere of the cave.
I shone the flashlight around the open space. It was big— there was maybe twenty feet of space to the left of me, which I was glad to see as I didn’t feel as confined anymore. The space also had a large pool of still water in the center, with huge lumps of rock surrounding it. I hoped nothing big lived in the pool, nothing that could crawl out and try to eat me.
Shining the light above me, I checked to see how high the ceiling of the cave was and when I did I couldn’t help but gasp.
There were fluttering black shapes all over the roof of the cave.
Bats.
“Just fucking great,” I whispered as I shone the light over the roof of the cave. “I’m in Bat City.” There must have been thousands of them hanging upside down from the rock.
I realized I was terrified.
What if they attacked me?
I would never get out of there alive. If the bats didn’t kill me somehow, fear and panic surely would.
I stood still for a long time as I shone the flashlight up at the hanging bats, barely allowing myself to move for fear that I would disturb the colony. Occasionally one of the bats would fly to a different part of the roof and I would hold my breath just in case I drew attention to myself and the bat flew down to investigate.
What was I going to do?
As I shined the light around the rest of the cave I couldn’t see any sign of a sword, nothing except rocks and a weird rat-like creature that was white and hairless scurrying across
the cave floor to avoid the flashlight beam.
I wanted to curl up in a ball. I was frozen, unable to go back or forwards.
I was trapped.
Then I spotted a hole in the far wall, at the other side of the cave pool. Looking over at the hole it seemed scary and uninviting, like no one was supposed to enter it, but I knew I had to. Something told me the sword was located wherever that tunnel in the rock led.
I knew what I had to do; now I just had to do it.
I shone the light up to the bats again, just to make sure they were still undisturbed, then I directed the beam in front of me and moved forward through the open space, the ammonia in the room making my eyes water.
The rock beneath my feet felt squishy. With disgust, I realized I was walking through bat shit. Once I noticed this delightful detail, it was all I could do to keep trudging through the thick mess beneath my feet and I groaned aloud as I felt the stuff splash around my ankles and make its way into my boots. I could hear occasional splashing sounds as the bats continued to squirt their guano on to the cave floor and into the pool of still water.
I should have brought Frank with me, I thought. Then he could have done this and I could have waited safely and unclaustrophically at the crossroads where there were no bats and I didn’t have to suffer walking through shit.
Too late. You’re here now. Just keep moving. The sooner you find the sword the sooner you can get out of this hell hole.
Plowing through the bat shit, carefully climbing over boulders that were in my way, I finally made it to the smaller cave entrance, and when I got there, I wished I hadn’t.
I shone the light into the hole in the wall and saw that it was even narrower than the other cave I had come through to get inside the mountain in the first place. The horrible feeling of being bear-hugged enveloped me again and tears of despair welled up in me, for all the good they would do. To get through the cave, I would have to go down on hands and knees; the hole in the rock was too narrow to stand up in.