“Do you really think your manmade weapons can hurt me?” the demon hissed. “I tell you what...You can drop the weapons, and I will make her death painless. Or you can hold onto them, if it makes you feel better, and I will leave you paralyzed to watch the group of men, running into this building as we speak, gang rape her before I dig my fingers into your eye sockets and rip off the top half of your skull.”
Matt dropped the guns and braced for the impact he knew was coming. And, sure enough, someone rammed into him from behind, sending him to the floor. He fell with a grunt as the air in his lungs was pushed out, violently, by the impact. Then, he was in a choke hold. Elizabeth was screaming, and the demon grabbed her by the shirt and slammed her up against the wall.
“Wait!” The demon yelled as he seemed to be sensing something on the air. “We need to leave. Release the boy.”
The men obeyed, and Matt gasped for air that didn’t want to come.
The demon released Elizabeth, who was unconscious, and moved toward Matt. “Tell us where the closest exit is, or she dies.”
Matt looked to his guns and looked around at the four other people in the room besides Liz, the demon, and himself, and he decided to cooperate. He got up slowly and pointed to the wall behind the demon.
“What?” The demon laughed. “A secret exit?”
“Of course,” Matt responded, coughing, still trying to get air. “Did you expect us to leave you a trail to track us down with?”
The demon backhanded Matt and sent the prophet flying backwards into the other room. Two of the monster’s goons approached Matt, drew their guns, and leveled them at him.
“It looks,” the demon mused as he entered the room with Elizabeth in tow, “like I’m about to earn a promotion.”
Matt was trying to regain his footing; that blow had really disoriented him. He looked to the demon. Realizing that he and Elizabeth would probably die there, Matt decided he would kill at least one of them before that happened. He had lowered into a cat stance when the demon, who was grinning at the spectacle, looked past him and dropped Liz.
“Boss, I didn’t think you would be here.”
Matt spun around, and Patheus was standing there pushing his glasses farther up on his nose.
“Well,” Patheus replied, “I would imagine you don’t do very much thinking at all. You have created quite a mess here that I’m going to have to clean up.”
The lesser demon looked stunned. “But, Boss, I’m only doing what you ordered me to do.”
Patheus looked up at him and grinned. “The confirmation wasn’t necessary, but it does piss me off a little. Now, I’ll thank you to step away from the girl.”
The other demon did as he was bid, approached cautiously, and looked questioningly at his master. “Wait, you’re not--”
Patheus’s right hand flew up and took hold of Shule’s lower jaw. The other hand palmed his face. With a single hard tug, and a sickening pop, the mandible was removed. Shule stumbled backward, stunned, and looked like he was going to scream. Instead, both he and Patheus burst into flames.
A deep, resonating voice from within the flame boomed, “You’re right. I’m not.”
The two mercenaries were still holding guns on Matt when the combustion happened. Their eyes went to the scene long enough for Matt to spring up and grab the barrels of both guns. He snapped them—and the fingers holding them—backwards with lightning speed. There was a crack from bones and tissues giving way, and the pressure fired the guns once, harmlessly, into the air. In an instant, Matt had both guns, one in each hand, and shot each of the owners in the head. They fell with a thump as Matt dispatched the two standing behind them. He turned back to the fire, and there was only Jeremiah standing over a pile of ash.
“What took you so goddamned long?” Matt demanded.
Jeremiah suddenly looked very exhausted and frail. “It looks like I got here just in time.”
“We lost ten very good men,” Matt replied.
“We’ll lose more than that,” Jeremiah contended, “if we don’t leave this place and go home. You’re hurt.”
“So were we sent here to get ambushed?” Matt asked, ignoring the diversion.
“No,” Jeremiah returned, sighing. “You were sent here to rendezvous with us, which you’ve done. Now, we can all go, together.”
“Finally, I get to meet this Alex, who your world seems to revolve around. I hope he’s every bit as good as you say he is.”
Matt and Jeremiah exchanged patronizing smiles. Then, Matt went to Elizabeth to examine her. There didn’t look to be any lingering damage from the demon’s breath, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He told Jeremiah about it.
Jeremiah walked over and studied her neck. “I don’t see anything, but we’ll keep an eye on her. She should be gaining consciousness soon, and then we’ll just ask her how she feels.” Jeremiah threw her over his shoulder and turned to walk to the expanded door. “I expect you to be on your best behavior with Alex.”
Matt smiled and brushed the rebellious hair out of his face. “Of course. Why would you expect differently?”
Jeremiah glared at him. “I don’t. But it’s only fair for me to warn you that he may pay a little more attention to Elizabeth than you might want.”
Matt glared back. “Oh, really...”
***
An old Chinese man, garbed in loose, orange robes, sat about a dozen feet away from the entrance to the Buddhist temple. He peered into the heavens, perhaps seeking guidance from the stars. His heart burned with the knowledge of pain and loss his people would have to suffer through. They had endured so much already. He knew, from experience, that the Buddhist people were strong. And every ounce of that strength would be necessary in times to come.
He sighed, remembering how vital it was to not be controlled by possibilities. His people needed him to be there for them, now, not looking to the future. They would make it through, as they always have. With the right leadership, they would be stronger than before. Of course, he could not know if they would accept the new leadership. Everything would change for them so quickly that it might be difficult to adapt. Reminding himself that his people had been strong and wise for longer than he had been alive, he allowed himself to relax a little.
All would be well, even if, from time to time, it may not seem that way. He did not have the same kind of faith that many of the prominent religions expressed, but he did have faith. Not in a god, as such, but in enlightenment and the perseverance of his people.
“Holiness,” a monk called to him in Hindi. “Is everything all right?”
The Dalai Lama smiled and nodded. Yes, everything was going to be fine.
Chapter 3
I met Alex when he was seventeen. I didn’t know what to make of him—he was certainly too timid to be what Jeremiah wanted him to be, but I couldn’t deny that he was touched. Perhaps we all have that timidity when we first begin to realize our potential. There is some obstacle within all of us that we must face, and, if Jeremiah had anything to say about the matter, Alex would have to live up to some mind-boggling expectations. Like so many of Jeremiah’s protégés, Alex was taken away from his family and given a new one. God demands that we leave everything to follow Him. None of us can ever truly fathom what that means until we have nothing left.
--Abigail Martin, Through the Eyes of a Martyr
When Alex saw Jeremiah, the demon looked very tired. He carried someone over his shoulder. Alex could make out feminine characteristics. She was unconscious and maybe wounded, from the look of things.
“That must be Liz,” Alex reasoned.
There was a young man walking with Jeremiah—Matt, no doubt. He had a fresh cut along his cheek that he was tending to with a piece of fabric, which looked like it had been ripped off of his shirt. As they approached, Jeremiah signaled Alex to roll his window down.
“Get in the back,” he said. “We’ll put Elizabeth back there with you, and Matt will ride up front with me.”
Alex looked at the back seat, which was—at best—a joke. “She and I are going to fit back there?”
The demon opened the driver’s side door, looking rushed but exhausted. “Get in the back,” he repeated a little more sternly.
Alex shrugged and hopped over the back seat. Jeremiah laid the seat forward and handed Elizabeth back to Alex. Alex took her and was thankful she looked physically fine.
Jeremiah had carried her to the car in a way that made it look easy, but Alex was not prepared for the dead weight of a person; she was heavier than she looked. He felt clumsy and embarrassed handling her body in this fashion.
Hooking his right arm underneath her knees and bracing her back with his left, he gently lifted her body into the back seat. Once she was securely in place, he rolled up his jacket and stuck it behind her neck for support.
She was quite attractive, just as Jeremiah had implied. As she lay next to him, Alex felt a twinge of bitter jealousy. Matt was lucky to have such a beautiful woman by his side in what seemed to be a dangerous and otherwise lonely line of work.
He just stared at her, taking everything in. She had chestnut-colored hair that came down to the middle of her back. Her body was shapely, but Alex could tell that it was not something she was overly vain about; he liked that in women. It seemed too often that women would wear tight, revealing clothes and paint themselves in makeup to be beautiful, but Alex thought that was just superficial. Liz was breathtaking in a baggy t-shirt and blue jeans. He hadn’t noticed, but a smile had formed on his face as he examined her.
The driver’s seat flew back into the upright position with a snap, yanking Alex back into reality. He saw Jeremiah, who was also smiling, watching him. Then, the passenger side door opened, and Alex noticed that Matt was not smiling. He was studying Alex intently and dabbing blood around the cut on his cheek.
Jeremiah got into the car and turned to Alex. “I think there’s a seat belt back there, somewhere. You should probably buckle her up; we might have to drive pretty dangerously.”
Alex didn’t miss the menacing glare that Matt shot to Jeremiah, but he dug around and found the seat belt. He looked to Matt, but he was getting in the car and didn’t make eye contact with anyone else until they started to drive away.
He said, “So, you must be Alex.”
“Yep. And I guess you’re Matt.”
He laughed. “Oh, so I guess that Jeremiah did mention me, after all. I assumed he would, but I also often wonder if I put too much faith in him.”
At that point, he did look directly at Jeremiah. Jeremiah merely returned his stare until Matt looked away.
“You kids don’t give me enough credit,” Jeremiah stated as he pulled out of the parking lot they had been sitting in.
“Give Caesar his due,” Matt returned quietly.
“Actually,” Jeremiah corrected, “one quote is, ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’ Therefore, render to me the things that are mine.”
Matt grunted. “No victory is too small for you, is it, Jeremiah?”
“The little things in life are what really matter,” the demon concurred. He pulled out a cell phone, pressed two buttons and put it to his ear. “It’s me,” he said. “The warehouse is contaminated. Clean it out. I want it spotless in twenty minutes. Tomorrow, it’s to be leveled. Understood?...No, everyone is all right.” He looked over at Matt. “He’s got a scratch, but he’ll live.”
“Thank you, Marla,” Matt yelled loud enough for the person on the other end to hear.
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “Yes, well anyway... Uh, she’s unconscious right now, so you’ll have to get that information from her later... No, I told you everyone is fine... Of course he is. What do you think I’ve been doing all of this time? Why don’t people trust me?... Listen, you have to get this done, and by my count, you have nineteen minutes and five seconds. I don’t pay you ridiculous amounts of money to tell me what you think about what I’m doing. Get busy.” With that, he snapped the phone shut. “I don’t know why I hire people with personality. It gets in the way too much. Alex, Marla says that she is looking forward to meeting you.”
“Who’s Marla?”
Jeremiah just shook his head and answered, “You know what? Just don’t worry about it. Marla doesn’t matter; her inane babble doesn’t matter, and her obsessive interference doesn’t matter. She’s a hemorrhoid sent from God.”
Matt looked back to Alex, smiled. “She’s a lifeline. At any given time, she has all of Jeremiah’s little schemes organized in her head—at least, the ones that Jeremiah has chosen to reveal to any of us—and she keeps us all in line. You’ll grow to love the sound of her voice. It’s always like she has everything under control, and she even seems to put the smack down on Jeremiah every now and again. You’ll meet her when we get home.”
Alex tried to smile back, but it was difficult. It seemed like Matt was sizing him up. He already knew that Alex was thinking about his girl. Alex turned to look at the scenery, and, after a rather perplexed look, Matt looked forward.
It occurred to Alex that if Matt was a prophet too, then he might have the ability to read minds. If that was the case, then surely everything Alex had been thinking about Liz would be obvious. Who was he kidding? It could probably be read all over his face. He knew his face and ears got red when he was embarrassed or scared, and they were both burning right now.
Alex really didn’t want to get the shit kicked out of him, but suddenly he felt a deep sense of emptiness fill him. It was as if he had never known love before. He looked toward the front seat. Jeremiah was watching the road, and Matt was looking out the passenger-side window. Alex looked down at Elizabeth and soaked her in.
It seemed wrong to look at her this way since he hadn’t even met her yet, and he had only just seen her for the first time. Alex felt guilty and intimidated when he considered that her boyfriend was sitting in the front seat. Not to mention, he’s a master of ass-whooping.
That’s right, Alex thought. You always want what you can’t have.
He noticed that he was no longer looking at Elizabeth. His focus had centered on the back of Matt’s head. He couldn’t pry his eyes away. It felt like something was beckoning him, pulling him away from his own mind. His will broke, sending his consciousness on a path toward the force that was so alluring: Matt.
Alex became overwhelmed by sadness. He couldn’t interpret the emotion any better than that. There was pain and longing. Alex got lost in it and spiraled down, down. There was a bright point that he could see far in the distance, but he didn’t know how to get there, and it was too far to go back. He tried to pull himself toward that light, whatever it might be. The rest of this place was a wasteland of torment.
He had to know what was bright enough to put a smile on Matt’s face despite all of this pain; it had to be Elizabeth. Alex was sure that if he could get a little closer, he would feel the same feelings that he, himself, had about the girl. He was convinced that she was at the forefront of Matt’s every thought. Judging by the pain that bombarded Alex from every direction, she might be the only thing keeping him from spinning out of control. Alex felt ashamed, but he wanted her even more.
He was so close now. He could feel warmth coming off of this light. It had filled the majority of his vision. Alex could feel something else getting closer. This is it, he told himself. This will be the answer.
Then, a torrent of emotion filled him, none of it positive. It felt like he had been hit in the chest with a blast of freezing water, and he was sent far from that warm spot. Alex screamed, but he didn’t know if he made any noise because his ears were only filled with questions and doubts. His life was being ripped from him. He could see himself on the ground, in what looked to be a high school. Someone much bigger than Alex was beating him senselessly. The bigger guy was screaming something that Alex couldn’t figure out. That was probably due to the throbbing in his ears from the random smacks to the side of the head
. The emotion Alex was feeling was fear, and this fear of Matt’s was sucking him in.
It felt like there was a force pressing on Alex’s chest. He wanted to scream out to the bully to stop, but he could make no noise. He could feel each blow from this gorilla, and he could taste blood welling up in his mouth. He was choking on it.
***
“If I have to deal with one more failure,” Patheus growled, “the next time I look around at your pathetic faces, there will be fewer of you.”
He was staring out into a crowd of very frightened men. No eye dared turn away after the threat, even out of fear. These men had been handpicked for a specific task by some of the most powerful individuals in the United States. Those powerful individuals were all demons, and, at the moment, most of them were subservient to Patheus. His task was paramount, and all resources had been diverted to ensure that his mission was successful.
Metatron was not happy with the amount of time this was all taking, and he’d told Patheus to pick up the pace. Therefore, it was Patheus’s job to make sure that all of these morons knew what was at stake. One set of eyes, however, looked on, and Patheus knew it. He could see that she looked through him and onto something grander. He wondered if she was thinking of a possible promotion
“I’ve lost a lot to get one child,” Patheus continued, ignoring the blatant disregard for his authority. “So I’ve decided upon another path.” He grinned at Eva. “The boy will be taken care of by other means. It now becomes your directive to distract Jeremiah. You will begin making a mess of things all over. I want you to defile anything that Jeremiah touches. I want his assets ruined. I want his name slandered. I want every one of you working on a way to kill that pest once and for all. Remember this; always remember this: if you fail, your masters will be called in to finish the job, and, at that point, it would be better for you to be dead.”
Demonic Designs (To Absolve the Fallen) Page 9