Azazel ran around the rear of the house with Eris right behind him, and he approached the back door. He slowly opened the screen door which creaked far too loud. Rifle gunfire blew apart the wood, leaving almost no physical barrier to the entry. Azazel was scraped across the face with a piece of flying wood. He kicked in the remaining piece of door and aimed the AA-12 towards where he thought he saw the shorter man.
Depression of the trigger explained to Azazel exactly why Eris was excited. Four quick-fire shotgun slugs launched out from the barrel, disintegrating the wall and opening the floor plan. Eris shot another grenade into the kitchen and pulled Azazel down before the detonation. The house rocked to its core.
After a moment of ears ringing, both Azazel and Eris traded their high-powered weaponry for the smaller MP7s and tactically searched the rooms. Blood was on the floor and walls, but no bodies. Azazel rounded a corner, covered by Eris, and on the next room, it was vice versa.
“You can leave now and we won’t come after you,” one of the brothers yelled. They had far too similar voices to differentiate between them.
“And leave you fuckers to continue poisoning our city? I think not.”
“Oh great, a damn vigilante. Who sent you?”
“The Devil!” Azazel enjoyed using that term loosely.
“For fucks’ sake!”
A few rounds came through the wall in between Eris and Azazel. Eris used the heat sensor that easily looked through the walls into the bedroom where the gunfire came from. She placed the gun barrel against the wall and the moment he peeked out, Eris tagged him once in the thigh.
“Mother fucker! Matt, get ‘em!”
Matt ran around from behind, and just as he swung the rifle down towards Eris, Azazel aimed the AA-12, unleashing three rounds far too quickly than should be reasonable. All three slugs hit Matt square in the chest, blowing him out the dining room window. Matt was able to unload one round and it hit Azazel in the shoulder.
“Matt?” Mike yelled. “Matt, are you alright? Matt!!!”
Mike disregarded any caution and flew around the other side of the wall, surprising Eris with a bullet to the lower leg. Azazel turned around and received two rounds to the chest. He flew back into the couch. Eris went full automatic with the MP7, unloading a full clip into Mike. He didn’t have a bulletproof vest on like Azazel and Eris, so he went down quickly.
“Are they dead?” Eris asked as she limped over to see how Azazel was doing.
“We should probably find out and get out of here quickly.”
Azazel reached into his chest and found that the bullets had penetrated the vest. He didn’t say anything to Eris as they hobbled over to each body, ensuring the job was complete. Azazel’s lungs hadn’t been hit, and that’s all he was worried about.
“My boys!” A large male voice came from the back room.
“Shit,” Azazel whispered.
“Where the fuck are you bastards? You come into my house and kill my sons. Get your asses out here right now and face me!”
Eris and Azazel looked at each other with fear. Rounds from a machine gun tatted the farmhouse walls in all general directions. Eris ran around the front, and peeked into the front door. The father saw her and blew a hole through the wall with his own high powered rifle. Eris fell back onto the ground and gasped, then rolled and returned to leaning against the wall.
Azazel snuck back in through the disintegrated back door and felt the heat rip through his body before he heard a shot. He looked down to see his body armor tagged again, nearly in the same spot as the previous round. He also didn’t realize he had been tossed back into the wall behind him, knocked off his feet.
“Y’all have finally came for my boys, huh?”
Azazel raised his gun, but the man was far too quick. One shot from the rifle not only blew the AA-12 from Azazel’s hand, but took two fingers with it. He coughed some blood and laughed.
“Yeah, I’m one of them.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Perhaps you know me as Thomas Mormo.” Azazel didn’t know why he gave his name away, just felt it was necessary to possibly get a clue of their connection.
“Mormo? Mormo…” The old man thought, “Oh yes, Mormo. Lori was your wife, correct?”
“Yeah, ex-wife. She is dead now.”
“Well, she was quite the shaky person to make deals with, as I’m sure you know by now. I know why you’re here. My boys strung that crazy bitch up this morning. I knew it was a bad idea, but they said there wouldn’t be any problems. Weren’t you a drunk piece of shit? Why would you retaliate? And where did you get this firepower? Lori said you were nothing but a machinist.”
“Turns out I have a friend in the oddest place.”
Azazel looked just behind Father Patude and saw Eris lining up the RP-6.
“I hope you’re ready.” Azazel said.
The old man turned around as Azazel slid out of the door. Eris unleashed a shell directly towards him. There wasn’t enough time for the dad to react as the round nearly vaporized his body. Blood splatter and organ nuggets painted the hallway and part of the living room. Azazel’s exposed legs caught on fire and he had to pat them out as his ears rang once again. He knew deafness was going to become an issue after today.
Eris ran back to help Azazel and saw Matt moving, the one who had been tossed all the way out into the yard past the porch railing. Azazel, in much pain, stood up, and with the MP-7 aimed and ready to shoot, he was knocked off guard when Matt gave one surprise stabbing to Azazel’s thigh, causing Eris to react with the RG-6 in hand with a grenade to Matt’s face. The following fireball tossed Eris and Azazel through the railing and against the siding.
“I’m taking these big guns away from you…” Azazel scolded to Eris, who was knocked out cold. He passed out seconds later.
11 P.M.: The Hospital
Cage the Elephant “There Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” rang on the phone. Azazel opened his eyes and pain filled every section of his body. His skin felt crispy and chest felt holey. He was in an emergency room at the hospital. Looking to the left and right, Eris was nowhere to be found. The phone was on his lap, but he couldn’t reach it as his energy was completely depleted. He let the song play as if he had any other choice and rested his head on the pillow. Closing his eyes instantly sent Azazel back to sleep.
A moment later, he heard the sound of dress-shoe heels on the tile floor. They approached and the chair next to him slid closer. “Hello, Azazel, I wasn’t expecting to see you for one more hour.” It was a male voice, strong and refrained, deliberate and piercing.
Azazel opened his eyes. “Well, I presume you’re behind today. You must be Lucifer.”
“I knew once we drew that poison out of your body that your intelligence would return.” Lucifer smiled.
Lucifer was dressed up in a pin-striped suit, one that any 1930’s mob boss would envy. All the features were that of a strong man, chiseled jaw, firm build, and tall.
“Cute suit,” Azazel teased.
“Everyone seems to love it. It was my favorite era of human history, so I relive it as often as possible. The time when the people had more power than their government had control over. The only problem for the many was monetary means.”
“I really fucked that last job up.” Azazel coughed and it hurt all over.
“Well, there’s a reason it was left for the end of the night. I had a feeling they’d be a little tougher to eliminate than your skill level allowed.”
“Where’s Eris at?”
“Hey, Azazel!” Eris strolled in without injury.
“Are you ok? What’s going on?” He was stunned by her lack of wounds.
“I’m fine!” Eris ran up and hugged Azazel, who reeled back from the pressure on all his wounds.
“How did you not get hurt? I saw you tossed back by the explosion. Speaking of that, I never want to get into a gunfight with you on my side again.”
“My fault, he scared me and my finger was on
the trigger.”
Azazel attempted to laugh, but it hurt too much. “I think you need some more training.”
“I was going to save this ultimatum until midnight, but circumstances have changed and it’d be pointless to wait another hour. You have no chance at accomplishing the final task in your current condition.”
“Ultimatum?”
“Let me introduce myself properly. My name is John Diabolos, and I have been around for a long, long time. I am a member of an ancient order, one we like to call the Oneiroi. Are you familiar with that name?”
“Should I be?”
“No, I suppose not. You are at a pivotal moment in your life, and I can either help you along, or let you go. This is your choice, and I really want you to choose. I don’t want our influence to affect your decision.”
“So what, you’ll either let me die or help me live?”
“Yes, but allow me to explain what my help will encompass. There is a specific reason why you were targeted, as well as your niece here, Eris. There is a gene in your body that allows for a metamorphosis to occur. Now, without the Oneiroi’s assistance, you’d perish just like any other human being. Considering how today has changed you, and I know it has made a great alteration, I now think that you may be ready to join us in our world.”
“So you’re not the Christian devil?”
“Not in the least bit. I’m not going into a theology discussion with you right now. That’s something for another day.”
“Where are my children?” Azazel asked.
Lucifer nodded to Eris and she walked out of the room. She returned with the three teenagers, Josh, Luke, and Alana. They all looked upon their father with admiring eyes and gave him a hug. He nearly buckled from the pain, but the pleasure of knowing they were safe made up for it. A few moments together allowed Azazel the peace of mind to calm his worries.
“Hey boys, I miss you. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you.”
“Are you done drinking?” Josh asked.
“Yeah.”
“You look like shit,” Luke teased.
“I feel like shit, but I feel good for feeling like shit.” Azazel looked over to Alana. “I’m sorry, I never knew…”
“Don’t worry, John explained it all to us.”
“I’m gonna have a hard time calling you John,” Azazel said to Lucifer.
After some more concerned embraces, Eris led Azazel’s kids out of the room.
“Now, here’s the situation. You have two bullets inside your chest and one puncture to your right thigh, as well as burns and other tissue damage to most of the exposed skin. If the wounds are not operated on soon, you will die.”
“So why not let the doctors at it?”
“That’s part of your ultimatum. Either we leave you to their surgeries, or we help you. Eris will not be part of your deal. She has already accepted hers, and that’s why she’s running around as if nothing has happened.”
“That girl and her guns. She’s kind of reckless.” Azazel laughed.
“Yes, we’ll teach her proper technique. After all, she was quite accurate with the arrow this morning at the Convenient Store, not to mention the Pawn Shop. She has shown her potential. She has the eye and natural ability. All she needs is a little training.”
“Wait, are you telling me she was the one who killed the clerk and the guy holding my coins?”
“Yes. I had a feeling that she was prepared to do what was needed, and I was correct.”
“What did that church do to her?”
“Her time in that house of worship was more of a diversion for her mental well-being than an effort to reach her God.”
“So what else was wrong with that Convenient Store clerk? There had to me more to it. He couldn’t just be guilty by association.”
“He was, well, abusive to Lori.”
“That’s it? I could’ve forgiven him for that. Especially after today.”
“No, that’s not it. There was much more, but that’s all that was directly tied to you. I was personally offended by some of his activities and that was enough for me to place him on the list.”
“So, if I accept your life-altering decision, you’ll what? Heal me? Change my life? Give me a job and act as my Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor? What?”
“All of the above. You have one hour to decide before today is over. Let me impart the information into you, and you can decide on your own if you want to live or release yourself from this existence.”
Lucifer walked over and placed his hand on Azazel’s forehead and he felt energy pulse into him. Just enough knowledge was imparted into Azazel to allow him to make a rational decision about his situation. A day ago, he was nearly suicidal. Now, his world was flipped, and he didn’t know if that made it better or worse. Lucifer walked out of the room and allowed him the time to reflect.
Midnight: The Ultimatum
“Decision time.”
Azazel was in between the Dreaming and Reality at the moment, drowsiness keeping his eyes from fully opening. He looked towards Lucifer and noticed a strange characteristic that he hadn’t seen before.
“Are you glowing red? No, my eyes must be messing up from the loss of blood.”
“No, you are seeing correctly. That is called my aura, but it is just a taste of what you may see.”
“Interesting.” Azazel was dead tired, and if he had the energy, he’d have reacted with much more enthusiasm.
“In the final moments of your life, is there anything you wish to know that might help your choice?”
“Yes, the truth about Lori. I want to know what happened.”
“Lori, well, there’s a reason why she was the first casualty of the day. You know very well that Lori’s distaste for your alcoholism had reached an all-time high in the last few months. She had divorced you, taken your money, taken your children away, and most importantly, taken your life, figuratively, of course. The man that you were tasked with going after in the Convenient Store was her new man, although he was abusive. She would rather stay with a physically abusive man than one whose apathy had reached sky high levels.
“You see, Lori had contacted the Patude brothers through Gouch, the Downtown Pawn Shop owner. She forked over your coins for the funds to contract a hit through the brothers. Lori had even gone so far as to insure your deadbeat ass for $100,000. I had to laugh at the audacity of such a low number. She really didn’t value you.”
Azazel looked at Lucifer, and hung his head low. “That’s why you hung her from the bridge?”
“I didn’t do it personally. All I had to do was put in a word to the Patude brothers that she was setting them up. Simple. Their overly paranoid persona had to make an example out of her, and that was what I waited for before contacting you.”
“And it just so happened to occur at midnight?”
“It was a few minutes after midnight, but yes, that was a coincidence, a coincidence I was happy to exploit. Is that your only problem with today, or do you have another question?”
“No, that was it. That was the only thing that was killing me inside.” Azazel was sad and sleepy.
“Do you have enough information to make a rational decision?”
“I do.”
“And…”
Azazel knew that he wanted to live, and in doing so, he’d shed away everything that made him who he was. “I’ll go with you.”
“Excellent choice. Let’s get you out of here.”
Lucifer placed his hand on Azazel’s chest and he instantly felt warmth and energy return. Lucifer reached into Azazel’s chest and painfully pulled the bullets out. The wounds slowly began closing.
“Amazing!” Azazel roared.
Lucifer placed his hand on Azazel’s leg and the knife puncture closed slowly.
“I’m glad you appreciate it.”
Azazel’s energy rose and he sat up, still in pain. His skin was still crispy, but he could feel it tightening as it quickly mended itself. “This is incredible. Is this w
itchcraft?”
“I suppose in some primitive mental capacity, it could be perceived in that fashion.”
“What do you have in mind for me?”
Lucifer smiled, “Well, there’s a little job in the Oneiroi that is perfect for you. How’s that sound?”
“I don’t know anything about it, but sounds like fun.”
This is the end of Azazel’s solo tale, although he, alongside Eris, makes an appearance in The Gods of Chaos: Purgatory. If you’re feeling up to it, please make your way to the other side and witness what the Djinn have to offer. Diabolos is in it from the beginning, infiltrating The Dreaming, playing devilishly fun games through and through. www.amazon.com/author/jackthanatos
JACK THANATOS
Perhaps you wanted to know a little bit about the author in this section. Sorry to say, I spend more time playing with my fictional world than in Reality. Greek mythology has always been fun to dabble in, and I used much of it as the platform for The Gods of Chaos. Azazel allowed me to step outside of Jackie Boy’s storyline for the first time, giving The Djinn Trials a proper launching pad, and playing around with names from Christian mythology. Hopefully it was fun enough for the stray casual reader to desire a grand tour of the Djinn life. The Dreaming and Netherworld are unlocked in preparation for Purgatory.
www.TheDjinnTrials.com
www.facebook.com/thedjinntrials
www.twitter.com/thedjinntrials
The Gods of Chaos: Dreaming and The Gods of Chaos: Netherworld are both available right at www.amazon.com/author/jackthanatos for the Kindle and Paperback. Don’t be shy, check out Jackie Boy’s adventures tonight!
The Djinn Trials: Azazel Page 13