by Michael Todd
However, for those who follow us, we appreciate your shouts of encouragement as we try to accomplish something (to my knowledge) NO Indie Publishing Company is doing.
Bring it on, 2019, bring it on!
Bring it on, 2019, bring it on!
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Redemption
War of the Damned Book Eight
Chapter One
Moloch tapped his foot on the ground as he sat in the chair, realizing he was leaving ash marks from the outer rings as he did so. Lucifer’s slaves instantly appeared and began mopping up after him, then rushed out of sight as quickly as they had come. Moloch hadn’t spoken to his master in so long he’d almost forgotten what the inner halls of hell looked like. Lucifer’s palace wasn’t like the rest of hell, nor should it be. He was the king. The leader. The one who ruled it all. Hell was made for suffering, but he did what he could to make himself comfortable. He was, after all, the fallen angel, and He had placed him in a shadowy version of heaven that would torment him for the rest of his days as he sat below in the heat and steam.
“He’ll be with you in a moment,” crooned the divine voice of Lucifer’s perfectly sculpted and completely nude demon secretary as she bounced and jiggled around the waiting area.
Moloch kept his eyes off her, though. He knew better than to gawk at one of Lucifer’s women. “Thank you.”
Instead, he turned his attention to the seemingly endless row of doors peppering the long white marble halls. The hall was opulent; smooth and shimmering, unlike the rough stone from which his own castle had been created. It was hotter here, but there was only one lava stream. It ran through the center of Lucifer’s palace, inside a garden Lucifer had created especially for Lilith. She adored Earth’s flowers and charms, and he had wanted to keep her happy. Of course, after her disappearance, he let the magic wear off, and all the plants quickly turned to ash.
He did leave the lava waterfall and stream, but the last Moloch had heard, he was tossing demons into it every time he got pissed off. It wasn’t really the kind of thing Moloch wanted to think about while waiting to have an audience with an obviously-pissed-off Lucifer. Moloch’s eyes darted down the hall as screams rattled through the hallway. A door opened and a demon dressed as a human doctor stepped out, wiped globs of black blood off her claws, and tossed her face mask into a bin. She stared at Moloch for a moment, ran her gaze down his broken body, and sneered before walking in the other direction.
Moloch turned his attention to the eight-foot-tall pictures hanging on the walls in front of him. Adorned with giant golden frames and placards on the bottom, they were some of the most revered humans in history, the most hideous of souls memorialized in places of honor throughout hell. The atrocities they caused on Earth were of monumental proportions, from the genocide of their own people to mass killings all across the world. There were all types of devilish heroes up there with one thing in common: they all committed some heinous deed. Or they all composed a beautiful symphony of evil, depending on who was asked.
“Lucifer is ready to see you now,” the nude secretary called from her desk.
Moloch pushed himself up and took a deep breath, preparing himself for an explosive outburst from the king. He swallowed hard as he hopped to the large white doors with twisting black iron handles. He pulled the door open enough to slip through, and it snapped closed behind him, the sound echoing through the vast chamber around him. The room was wide and white, with enormous cast-iron braziers on either side of him. He started down the middle, glancing up only for a moment to see Lucifer lounging on his grand white throne.
On either side of him were his servants. One was a chained human woman, who was averting her eyes from Lucifer’s terrible glory. The other was one of Lucifer’s longest-running relationships. She had stood by the king of hell through thick and thin, marriage after marriage, and never flinched. Her name was Mania, and she was the Etruscan goddess of hell. She was a great warrior, a fierce lover, and loyal to Lucifer down to the last cursed cell in her body. She was the only one who was allowed to remain in the room while he was conducting business.
Moloch reached the foot of the throne and prostrated himself as best he could. Lucifer stared at him for several moments, his face impassive. He looked at his fingernails and grumbled, “I am displeased.”
Moloch laboriously got up. “Your Highness, if I may…”
Lucifer began to tap his finger nail heavily on the stone armrest. The sound echoed across the room and sent shivers down Moloch’s back. He winced and tucked his head in. Any movement the king made was a sign he needed to shut the hell up. The tapping continued as Lucifer sat there staring at him. Lucifer had always been capable of changing form, and at that moment he was a bulky, muscular human covered with patches of black scales that wriggled and moved like live serpents.
The tapping was like a dreadful heartbeat in Moloch’s head. It wasn’t frightening on its own, but it was so different from the norm that it was terrifying. There would usually be screaming, yelling, torture, and possibly death. Everyone knew visiting the king meant being tortured at least for a time, but for most that was an honor. Moloch, however, was already down to one leg, and his arm was hanging by a thread. He was not looking forward to the torture portion of the evening. He had already been through a lot, and the king was acting so very strange. Moloch was sure he had already been through enough that equated to punishment, although he would never tell Lucifer that. He’d beat Moloch and throw him into the lava river just to show him who was boss.
Lucifer got up and walked down the steps of the dais. He stopped by Mania and stroked her cheek, then whispered something into her ear. She looked at him in shock and lowered her head, curtsying. She hurried over and grabbed the human, pulling her out the back door of the throne room. As the goddess left, she threw a nasty look at Moloch. He did his best to ignore her.
When the girls were out of the room, Lucifer turned to Moloch. His face was calm, but Moloch knew better. He watched Lucifer walk down the steps and wave his hand, conjuring a beverage cart in front of him. He lifted a glass, put three ice cubes in it, and began to pour a generous ration of whiskey. “Tell me everything, and let’s start from the beginning. What have all these incursions been about?”
Moloch took a deep breath. “Well, sir, a little while ago I had a visit from T’Chezz. He wanted to find out how to get a seat with the rest of us.”
Lucifer nodded and took a sip of the whiskey. “Oh, yes, T’Chezz. Where is that demon?”
Moloch shifted nervously. “We aren’t sure. He went to one of the incursions, and during the course of things, he had his head removed by…by…”
Lucifer stepped over to him. “Yes? Go on. I haven’t cut out your tongue…yet.”
Moloch swallowed hard. “By Lilith and her human, sir. We aren’t sure if he’s in the depths of hell or dead.”
Lucifer’s eyebrow went up. “Continue.”
Moloch looked at the ground. “Anyway, his idea was to show you he was strong enough and evil enough to deserve a seat. He planned to take over Earth as his gift to you. When he died, or whatever happened to him, we, I mean, I, decided the plan had already gone too far to stop. So, through a massive number of incursions, we’ve been making headway into taking over Earth.”
Lucifer glanced at his almost-detached arm and missing leg. “And how is that going for you?”
Moloch cleared his throat. “Well, sir, we’ve had some setbacks.”
Moloch watched Lucifer’s expression. It seemed uncaring and unemotional, but there was something more in there. Oh hell, the fucker is pissed.
The fallen angel sipped from his glass nonchalantly as he read Moloch’s mind. “Perturbed, I would say,” Lucifer corrected him.
Moloch nodded. “Lilith has really been at the center of our issues.”
Lucifer eyed Moloch. “She does tend to be a thorn in your side, now doesn’t she? I remember that all too well. Her passion is
her greatest asset and her worst trait.”
“Oh, I’m well aware.”
“You’re aware of her passion?” Lucifer’s dark eyes sparkled.
“Yes. I mean, no. Not personally. I’ve heard the stories. Who hasn’t heard the stories? That is to say, I am aware of but have not experienced the passion, which is a crucial difference. Sir.” Moloch let his eyes drop, ready to be disemboweled.
“Passion.” Lucifer drank thoughtfully. “I used to love that about her, but now it makes me want to crush her like a bug.” Lucifer’s hand tightened on his glass, but his face stayed emotionless.
“We’ve been trying to kill her, of course, but she always seems to have the upper hand. Her human is not like the other humans, although their union was completely random. We still aren’t sure how they’ve become so close.”
Lucifer paced, a thoughtful expression taking over his face. “Who is this human?”
Moloch had known he was going to have to tell Lucifer. “Her name is Katie, but she’s no normal human. She’s part-angel. Her eyes flash red to blue, she has wings, and she can summon the armor of the angels. Pandora, or Lilith, goes right along with it and has even been seen jumping in and out of Katie’s body. It’s like they’re friends.”
Lucifer’s lip quivered, but he quickly got it under control. “Friends… What a nasty idea, although I think down here, it might help keep some of you somewhat in line. Have you seen this angel?”
Moloch blinked a couple of times and then just spat it out. “Several times, sire. The humans have devised a way to come to hell. They came here and fought our demons, and ultimately blew me up. That’s how I came to be in this position.”
Lucifer took a big gulp of his drink. “They came to hell? How is that possible?”
Moloch shrugged. “Pandora—I mean Lilith—brought them here. They showed up with special weapons and suits they designed for the trip. Apparently, they were able to fly drones in to measure the land and the temperatures without us knowing, but I can assure you, we’ve taken care of all the drones.”
Lucifer’s eyes went from a dull red to a bright flashing ruby. Immediately, Moloch was terrified. Fuck, fuckity, fuck. He is bat-shit furious. Oh, fuck, he’s going to kill me. I’m done for. He’s going to castrate me, lock me away, and then one day chop off my head.
The dark lord refilled his glass. “This is most unfortunate, isn’t it? Lilith is such a whorebag. Has she said anything to you to explain her actions?”
Moloch shook his head nervously. “No, sire. I’ve suffered her usual stream of slurs that, quite frankly, insult all demonkind. Other than that, nothing. She usually controls the human, but I’ve seen her exit her human and the two of them fight side by side—although when they separate they don’t seem to be quite as powerful. They grow weak much faster.”
“Not fast enough, in my book. The world can have Lilith, but it seems you and your band of morons have opened the door to a war unlike any other with humans. One on our soil; one with consequences. When I get my hands on Lilith, I’m going to show her exactly what it means to be married to me and disobey me. That slut has had enough time to play and be free. Now it’s time for her to pay for what she’s done.”
Moloch didn’t know what to say. Lucifer looked sharply at him. “And look at you. She’s blown your leg off, and your arm is barely attached. She has taken your dignity from you in one fell swoop.”
Moloch hung his head. “Yes, Your Majesty, she has. I didn’t even see it coming. I just wanted to crush them for stepping on your turf.”
Lucifer stuck out his lip. “There, there. Let me see what I can do to fix this.”
Moloch felt a bit more hopeful when Lucifer waved his hand. There was a gout of fire and a reek of sulfur, and Moloch’s arm snapped back into place. His stump of a leg grew and twisted and became a brand new leg.
Lucifer stepped back and admired his work. “How’s that?”
Moloch rolled his shoulders and tilted his neck back and forth. “That feels so much better. Thank you. I am not worthy of all this. Thank you.”
Moloch was actually encouraged that Lucifer wasn’t, in fact, going to tear him limb from limb.
Lucifer waved the gratitude away as he stepped closer, tilting his head to the side as if in thought. With a flash of red in his eyes, the dark lord threw his drink in Moloch’s face and crushed the glass against his chest. Before Moloch could move, Lucifer had grown fifty feet tall, looming over him.
“Oh, shit,” Moloch muttered.
As Lucifer’s huge hand came toward him, Moloch put up his arms and screamed at the top of his lungs. Lucifer ripped his new arm back off and snapped the other free for good measure. He knocked Moloch’s legs out from under him and slapped him in the face with his own hand. Over and over again he picked Moloch up, reassembled him, and ripped him apart again—much like a Mister Demonic Potato Head.
Moloch began to cry and Lucifer paused, holding Moloch’s hand in his. He flipped the arm over and backhanded Moloch across the face before reattaching the limb. “Get yourself together, you fool. T’Chezz might have started this entire mess, but I fully blame you for bringing the humans here to hell. We’ve attacked Earth for centuries, but we’ve never killed enough humans or destroyed enough property to make them brave enough to come fight us on our own soil.”
Moloch kept his eyes tightly shut and his body tense, waiting for the next blow. He sniffled, trying to stifle his tears. “I know, sire. I never thought they would manage to come here. I thought they would keep meeting our advances until they broke. I did not foresee Lilith and her angel meatsack becoming friends and trying to kill me…or invade hell, for that matter.”
Lucifer rolled his eyes but spoke in a very even tone. “You didn’t think that bitch would be stupid enough to try to take out hell? Yeah, right. I’m shocked she hasn’t tried before. Her being gone has merely been a blink of an eye here, but it’s been years on Earth. She has learned all those annoying human quirks and foibles, bonded with her meatsack, and even conspired with an angel to do harm. That last bit makes me want to puke, by the way. When she gets back here, I can promise she will not be happy with what I have planned for her. I’ve had plenty of time to be creative.”
Moloch whimpered. “I’m sorry, sire.”
Lucifer growled and shrank to Moloch’s size. “It’s not fair to kick the shit out of you if I’m five times your size, is it?”
Moloch sighed and closed his eyes. “No, sire.”
Lucifer roared so loudly it rang through the entirety of hell. Rocks cracked and fell into the lava pits, souls went silent out of fear, and demons paused in their daily routines to look around in wonder. The wrath of Lucifer wasn’t often heard, but this time was different.
Lucifer pulled his leg back and kicked Moloch directly in the dick, forcing him to his knees. He punched him hard to the right, then to the left, and then back again. Moloch fell to the ground, groaning and holding his crotch. Lucifer continued to kick the living shit out of him for several minutes.
When he was done, Moloch lay shivering, bruised, and battered, with his eyes shut tightly. Lucifer snapped his fingers, and Mania came running in with a clean towel and some water for him. He kissed her on the cheek before wiping the blood off his hands and the sweat from his forehead. The lord of hell gulped down the water and tossed the glass to Mania, then walked back to his throne.
Moloch carefully stumbled to his feet, groaning as he did. He steadied himself on his good leg. He was definitely worse for wear, but fortunately, his arm and leg were still attached. He waited to be dismissed, his eye swollen and puffy. Lucifer leaned his head back, smiled, and shook his head. “Nothing like a good beating to kick-start your day, right, Moloch?”
Moloch wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. “Yes, sire.”
Lucifer tapped his claws on his armrest and smirked. “I’m not going to continue because I know everything. I’ve known from the beginning. To think I wouldn’t know what was g
oing on in my own realm is insane. You didn’t start this war, and that is the only reason I’m letting you out of here today. Otherwise, you’d have been chained in the torture chamber until I grew tired of you.
“Nonetheless, you continued this ridiculous charade, and you’re now responsible for cleaning up the mess. I want Lilith. You’re going to bring her to me. As far as the angel goes, kill her and be done with it. One less angel in the world is a good thing.”
Moloch nodded but didn’t speak. Lucifer took a deep breath through his nose. “Good. You’re excused. And Moloch? I’m not giving you forever to complete this task. You need to do it before things get worse. Pain and suffering in hell are caused by me and no one else. I don’t want to have to leave my happy throne to take care of this myself. I assure you, if that were to happen, you would learn new definitions of pain. Little demons would tell each other the horrible true story of the Tragedy of Moloch. In the end, your soul would be lost for eternity.”
Chapter Two
So let me get this straight. We had a citywide funeral for a video game character representing Juntto, and now we have Juntto’s body in some sort of suspended animation. Is that about right? Katie was tired of all the twists and turns.
Pandora nodded. Right. By human standards, Juntto is dead, but he isn’t really. Leviathans can die like humans, but that wasn’t what happened here.
Katie looked out over the city and zipped up her leather overcoat against a sudden chill. So it’s like a coma?
Yeah. Or it might be like locked-in syndrome or something. Either way, the big blue bastard is currently checked the fuck out.
And we have to figure out how to bring him back.