The Dark Path Read online

  Like a gigantic soap bubble, it shimmered and changed color, swirling in a myriad of patterns that almost appeared beautiful to the archangel. That is, if he hadn’t known how many souls had been sent to Hell in order to create it. Such a thing of beauty should not be born of evil, thought Gabriel sadly.

  The archangel existed as a being of pure energy. Like all living creatures, Gabriel contained huge amounts of untapped power. Some humans managed to tap into small portions of this force–people like Priest displayed powers and skills far above those of mere mortals. Gabriel combined an awesome energy into purpose. Now he summoned that power and compressed it, sucking the last vestiges of his essence into a massive display of force.

  No event could ever destroy Gabriel; the only way he could cease to be was to choose to do so. Walking through the spell would probably weaken him incredibly and send his essence flying through the cosmos for eons before he could recover, but it would not destroy him completely. This would possibly destroy the spell too, but he could not be sure.

  And he had to be sure.

  To be certain, Gabriel had to expend his existence, in the process summoning more spiritual power through his destruction than had been seen since the universe flared into life so long ago.

  Feeling the power beginning to burst in spurts from within him, Gabriel delicately let it flow out and over the huge spell. The invisible bubble now shimmered as though covered with a soft coating of ice. Ice that slowly solidified until nothing could be seen through it. Gritting his teeth against the pain that flowed through him, the archangel forced the last of his spirit into the shell, and with a roar of effort shattered himself outwards. The resulting detonation shook the very foundations of existence.

  The spell disappeared with an enormous clap of thunder.

  And Gabriel, archangel and herald of God, vanished....

  * * * *

  From his hiding position down the road, Vain watched the shell Gabriel had created suddenly burst outwards, flinging him back with the force of the silent explosion. The ground heaved beneath him, and several deep cracks appeared in the road.

  Vain rose to his feet, feeling an incredible sense of loss well up inside him. Gabriel was gone.

  He should have recognized the danger sooner. Damn it!

  An unexpected tightness in his throat surprised the assassin, as he realized he was close to tears. Vain suddenly understood that in the space of only a few hours he had lost the only two people he could ever have called friends: first Squirrel and now Gabriel.

  Guilt tried to claw its way into his mind, but Vain angrily forced it aside and stalked towards the huge wall surrounding the mansion grounds. Thrusting the gates open before him, Vain made no attempt to disguise his entrance, his anger and need for vengeance flaring wildly.

  Shouts echoed from within the enormous structure, and suddenly hundreds of robed disciples began pouring from the doorways. Vain waited silently, feeling the Glimloche gradually surge within him, watching Empeth’s followers fill the courtyard and encircle him. They appeared nervous and unsure of how to attack the lone man.

  The assassin stood casually in the centre of the mass, allowing the tension to build steadily in the crowd. “Come on then bastards! Come and taste death!”

  An abrupt pounding of heavy wings drew Vain’s glance hastily towards the sky. Flying low, the thirteen Velearstk swooped into the courtyard and landed with perfect precision to surround the assassin. The horde of Sordarrah’s followers leapt backwards from the enormous beasts, but fear of their leaders made them stand their ground.

  Vain tried to control his shock. The enormous beasts rose up around him silently facing the awaiting masses, seemingly in anticipation of his command. Sordarrah’s minions also stood in awe, most frozen in terror at the sight of the dragon-like monsters.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Vain finally.

  “We help you, little monkey,” said the Velearstk in their bizarre unanimous voice.

  Vain seized the opportunity. “Can you get me to the doors?”

  “We do that. Then you answer question,” replied the Velearstk.

  Before he could ask what the beasts meant, they began to move towards the house. Vain followed one of the Velearstk, as it pushed roughly through the stunned mass. The rest moved along with the assassin–effectively shielding him from his enemies. Occasionally one of the Velearstk would casually swipe one of the followers aside, hurling them high into the air before they crashed back down into the rest of the horde.

  The followers abruptly realized their target was almost at the house. The consequences should they fail in their defense of the mansion spurred them into action. With a roar of outrage, the crowd surged towards Vain, primitive clubs and axes wielded above their heads–only to be roughly hurled back by the enormous beasts protecting him. Their weapons were useless against the powerful creatures, and many were torn to pieces by the Velearstk. Despite his evolving mindset, Vain didn’t give it a thought. They had made their choice, and now they would die because of it. Any group of people wanting to kill an innocent boy deserved to die like this.

  This thought made Vain suddenly remember his own threats to Rico San-Diablo only months ago. He too had threatened the man with the death of his son, and knew that he would have killed the boy without compunction if he had been paid to do so. The cold villain he had been now seemed unreal to Vain, and he wondered how much he had changed since then.

  Nearing the mansion’s enormous main doors, the followers of Sordarrah fought more and more desperately. Hacking and slashing uselessly against the impenetrable shield the Velearstk formed around the Dark Man, they were either crushed beneath the beasts’ enormous paws or sliced to ribbons by their claws.

  Suddenly, the Velearstk hurled enormous bursts of dark essence from their eyes into the surging crowd. Hundreds of men and women were incinerated instantly while others were engulfed in flames that torturously reduced them to ash. The path cleared before them as others fled in panic, and Vain quickly made his way to the doors.

  “Now you answer question,” said the Velearstk casually, effectively barring the assassin’s entry to the house.

  “What question?” asked Vain, nonplussed.

  “Which way egg fall? We not know.”

  Vain grinned, recalling the riddle. “The answer is: It’s a rooster, and roosters don’t lay eggs!” He laughed out loud.

  The Velearstk paused and stared silently at Vain, but finally joined in with his laughter, the walls around the courtyard echoing with their primal chortling. Eventually their amusement dwindled and the beasts again looked at the Dark Man, still blocking his entry to the house.

  “So, which way egg fall?”

  Vain shook his head in disbelief. It was like teaching algebra to a carrot. “The egg didn’t fall,” he said eventually. “The rooster just... ate it.”

  Another pause. “Ah. This make good sense. You very smart for monkey we think. We stop other monkeys from follow you. Bye.”

  “Yeah, whatever. Just make sure you guys leave once all of this is over okay?” Vain said, still taken aback by the sheer idiocy of the moment.

  “We go. You go. Everybody go. Now stop your talk and go.”

  “Okay, me go. I mean I’m going.” Vain turned and shook his head again. Hurling the huge doors open, he stalked inside.

  At once the Souls of Sordarrah froze in their tracks and cried out into the heavens, for they knew they had failed.

  * * * *

  The sounds of death echoed through the cavernous room as Vain closed the doors behind him. Surprised to find the key in the lock, he turned it, sealing the huge doors.

  Removing the key, he placed it into his jacket pocket to ensure he would be able escape back the way he had come if necessary. Nobody else would be able to get in or out. Vain realized such a precaution was largely unnecessary with the enormous Velearstk standing guard in the courtyard, but felt reassured by the action anyway.

  His eyes slowly adjus
ted to the bright light in the entrance hall, Vain examined the room he had just entered. Enormous ceilings towered high above his head, decorated by beautiful frescoes and dotted intermittently with large crystal chandeliers. Directly in front of him two huge staircases curved in a semi-ellipse from the second level balcony to just in front of him. Beautifully woven carpet runners graced the steps, giving the hall an inspired majesty.

  Unfortunately the grace and beauty of the place were lost upon the assassin; he saw the room for exactly what it really was:

  A perfect place to be ambushed.

  Perhaps reading his thoughts, a solitary figure appeared at the top of the staircase, calmly descending the steps to where Vain stood. Boney limbs protruded from the sleeves of a shirt gathered loosely around his shrunken physique. He could not have been over five feet tall, but the strength that radiated outwards identified him clearly as one of The Four.

  “Welcome, Dark Man,” stated the figure, “I am Torresh. I am here to take you to the Avun-Riah.”

  A sudden movement out of the corner of his eye distracted Vain’s attention from the demon before him. Throwing himself to the right, an enormous bolt of energy tore through the air from the balcony and exploded exactly where Vain had stood. Instantly, Torresh leapt upon the assassin and pinned him to the ground.

  “Dark Man, where is the challenge? I had hoped for more of a fight after all of our fears.”

  “Don’t worry,” promised Vain calmly from beneath the demon. “The fight will come soon enough.”

  Torresh chuckled. “Oh really! And when might that be? You’d best hurry, Antarsh is not known for his patience.”

  Vain saw the second demon–a tall and handsome figure who bore the appearance of conquest like a cloak–rise from behind the balcony railing, a long bow that sizzled with malicious power in his lithe fingers. He moved smoothly down the stairs towards the two figures locked together on the ground. “I was just waiting for your boyfriend to join us,” declared Vain coldly, “and now that he’s here, I guess we can start.”

  Torresh’s mouth opened impossibly wide revealing a vast chasm yawning down the famine demon’s throat. Vain swiftly focused the power of the Glimloche driving a huge black spike from within him and out through Torresh’s back.

  Letting out a scream, the demon released Vain, but remained pinned to the assassin by the spear. Rising to his feet, the Dark Man withdrew the spike, and Torresh slid to the floor with a groan before rising to his knees. A gaping hole shone through the demon’s torso, but as Vain watched, it began to shrink and heal.

  “You see now, human–” Antarsh calmly raised his bow “—we cannot be killed so easily. My brother Torresh and I will send your soul screaming to the void before resurrecting our Lord to destroy your world.”

  “Blah, blah, blah,” mocked Vain scornfully.

  Torresh had finished healing himself and rose unsteadily to his feet. “You will pay for that human,” he grunted through clenched teeth.

  The demon leapt once more at Vain. The assassin managed to dive out of the way, but a bolt from Antarsh’s bow hit him in the chest, knocking him across the room.

  Gasping for breath, Vain winced, probing his injured ribs. Cursing silently, he vowed to be more cautious. The power of the Glimloche had made him feel invincible–and cocky.

  Vain waited until the two leapt again and unleashed a huge surge from the Glimloche, hurling them to crash heavily against the opposite wall. Stunned momentarily, the two demons rose warily to their feet, once again edging towards him. Vain released another burst, but Torresh sucked the assassin’s power into an impossible yawn–consumed by the famine held deep inside the creature. The Dark Man cursed; his explosive force would be useless if Torresh could absorb it so easily.

  Vain continued to retreat, feeling desperation build before an idea came to him. Summoning a huge well of power, he concentrated and steadily released it into his own body, feeling the muscles stretch and grow. More and more energy flowed from the Glimloche, and Vain felt himself awash in an ecstasy of power. The demons halted their gradual advance and looked on in awe as Vain swiftly merged into the demon-form he had adopted when he’d first journeyed into the realms of Hell.

  Black as ebony, he stretched his new form, flexing his hand and forcing the dagger-like claws to emerge from his fingertips. The Glimloche rushed through him and he laughed hollowly, staring down at the now pitiful demons frozen before him. Power still flowed from the Glimloche, and he paused to stem the flood before he lost control.

  Suddenly, the Glimloche surged free of his domination, sweeping Vain away on a river of ebony force. He fought once more to regain control, but the Glimloche pushed aside his efforts and surged forward to take full control of his body. Vain felt like a giant blanket was enveloping him, suffocating and cocooning him within its strength.

  And then he was gone....

  Antarsh released bolts of energy at Vain’s newly emerged demon alter ego. Turning these aside as if merely swatting flies, he pounced forward, piercing Torresh through the chest with the claws of his right hand, batting aside Antarsh with his left. The demon flew through the air, crashing powerfully against the railing of the balcony and tumbling motionless into a heap between the staircases.

  Looking into Torresh’s terrified features, demon-Vain wondered why he had ever feared these insignificant creatures. With a flick of his wrist, Torresh exploded into fragments of flesh, splattering around the room. Some quivered and slid to merge with other pieces, but demon-Vain released an ebony blaze that rendered them all to ash.

  I am a god, thought demon-Vain, the power of the Glimloche now raging unchecked through his form. I will destroy these vermin and then this entire world. I will become the only power in the cosmos and crush all who oppose me.

  Walking slowly towards the motionless figure of Antarsh, demon-Vain spied movement coming from the staircase. “Ah, Bennael,” he whispered sibilantly. “So nice of the Demon of War to join us.”

  Bennael glanced at the scene before him and let out a bellow of fury that shook the very walls. Clapping his hands together, a massive sword appeared, hovering in the air and quivering with intense force. He chanted in a language unknown to demon-Vain; guttural and seeming to pierce deep within his demon mind. The walls of the room began to shake in time to the sword that now spun rapidly in the air.

  Flashing across the room, demon-Vain tried to slash Bennael in the same fashion he had attacked Torresh. When his claws surged down towards the Demon of War, however, Bennael merely raised his hands in a warding motion, and an enormous rush of energy from his sword flung demon-Vain helplessly across the room. Gathering himself painfully from the floor, demon-Vain crouched low to the ground and waited for an opportunity to strike.

  Bennael ignored him and continued with the spell, raising his voice in pitch and power. Antarsh regained consciousness and moved briskly to Bennael’s side. Firing bolts of intense energy from his bow into the vortex that now spun where the sword had been, Antarsh intensified the force, expanding it outwards until demon-Vain began to back away.

  Just as the spell seemed to reach its crescendo, demon-Vain launched forward. He raced towards the two demons, and they threw their hands up, mimicking the same warding motion Bennael had used moments before. Yet instead of attacking directly, Vain’s demon self swerved and leapt at the wall behind the two, caving it in and then flipping high through the air to land back where he had previously stood.

  The two demons paused, seemingly confused. Demon-Vain grinned maliciously, releasing a scorching blast from the Glimloche into the damaged wall behind them. Instead of exploding out, the wall was sucked backwards, finally collapsing in a flood of enormous grey blocks of stone–crushing the two demons beneath it. Antarsh barely managed a choking scream before they both disappeared beneath the debris.

  Demon-Vain instantly leapt atop the pile of rubble. The Glimloche responded to his thoughts, and a large ebony sphere of force swelled beneath his feet, swirling and
pulsating, gradually opening a dimensional rift beneath the stones.

  Concentrating intently, demon-Vain envisioned the realm of Lucifer and willed the sphere to travel there. Muffled wails rose from within the ball as the two demons were drawn from the corporeal realm into the depths of Hell. The roaring laughter of Satan echoed throughout the room before the portal clapped shut and an eerie silence filled the hall.

  Nothing can defeat me, thought demon-Vain, power from the Glimloche streaming freely through his limbs. I will destroy anything that tests me.

  This confidence however, was brief. Abstract thoughts began to interrupt his contemplation, and faint memories of a boy he had come to rescue began to resurface. But the thoughts were quickly overpowered. Such foolishness is not to be fretted now that I am a god. He roughly brushed aside the image of the child.

  The one called Empeth could pose a problem if left unchecked. If he managed to complete the resurrection ritual, and bring Sordarrah into the mortal realm, demon-Vain would be forced to fight a war he could avoid completely if he simply destroyed both Empeth and the boy right now.

  Having decided, the enormous black figure moved up the closest flight of stairs to find and kill the Avun-Riah.

  * * * *

  Sekiel had always served his Lord Sordarrah without question, but the incessant assault on his beliefs left him insecure. Strange random thoughts–

  Help him!

  —kept invading his consciousness.

  A host’s memories were not usually a problem when taking over a new body, but the values the man held in life–combined with the power Priest had possessed–were so intense that Sekiel had been unsuccessful in his efforts at completely blocking them out. Like a tap with a tiny leak, the memories dripped into his consciousness. He found himself dwelling upon them more and more often, and the scariest thing for the demon was: they made sense!