Demon Hunters (11 page)

What little noise there had been outside was
blocked out. I felt trapped in a void of space. I stepped forward
and the floorboards below moaned softly.

“Hello?” No answer other than my echo
bouncing against the walls. I felt my way around through the
darkness and I found a pew. The wood was surprisingly smooth and
cool to the touch. “Is there anyone here?” Still no answer, but I
began to get the feeling I wasn’t alone. It was as though the
darkness had come alive and I felt its icy grip over my heart. My
breath became short and I felt like I was drowning. I turned and
hurried back the way I came, but I stopped as I heard a violent
noise shoot up from the floor. I turned and I heard the sound of
splintered wood falling against the floor. Soon, there was a choir
of broken wood ringing out above and below me. I took a step back
and felt a clawed hand wrap around my leg. I panicked and leapt
forward. I heard a hissing coming from all around. The sound of
heavy claws digging into wood and stone grew louder. Suddenly, a
giant hole was ripped out of the roof and moonlight was pouring in
and I was able to see. I saw a church full of creatures slinking
along the floor and down the walls. They had smooth, oily skin and
hissed like snakes as they crawled along. Their claws and teeth
were huge and sharp. Their black, marble eyes were crazed and wild.
I pulled out the guns and started firing. They weren’t strong, as
they pretty much exploded with just one shot, but there were a lot
of them. It seemed for each one I shot; three more would take its
place.

They were closing in on me from all sides.
As one monster got too close, I pointed both guns at its head,
pulled the triggers, but discovered I was out of bullets. I also
had no time to reload. I put the guns back in the belt and jumped
forward as far as I could. A thousand hisses echoed around me as I
flew over the beasts. I felt their claws snatch at me. I dropped
down to the floor and tumbled forward. I sprinted for the door and
as I reached it, it flew open, knocking me back. Light poured in
from outside. I shielded my eyes from the brilliance. The monsters
cried out in pain and they all quickly crawled back to the dark
corners they had come from. I got up slowly and backed away. I
heard footsteps and soon the door closed. The light had gone out
and as I lowered my hand, I saw a man standing before me.

“Hello.” It was Jonathan.

“Hi. Again.”

“Sorry about that. We try to keep that kind
of element out.”

“Sure.” He just smiled at me. Just being in
his presence was beginning to make me feel secure and safe.

“You must be wondering why I did this.”

“Just one more slice of crazy in an insane
sandwich.”

“Come with me.” He brushed past me toward
the altar at the front of the church. I followed a couple steps
behind. He walked up to the altar and turned right and headed
through a door I had not noticed before. I walked up to it and
unlike the door at the front of the church; it was a standard
looking pine door. I opened it up and walked through.

After I shut the door, I turned and was
taken by the scenery change. I found myself standing in a large
dining hall. The floor was shiny and black and there were large
Ivory columns on either side of the room that reached far beyond my
sight into a dark void above. The columns led up to a large table
that sat in the middle of the room. The whole room was very dark
until a bright flash from above and everything was bathed in a warm
amber glow. I could see the food that sat upon the table better and
it looked to be quite a feast. It was set up very elegantly with
silver candlesticks between each place setting and evenly spaced
serving dishes with all kinds of food. There were bowls of exotic
fruits and plates filled with well-cooked meat dishes and several
bottles of wine. I took a step toward the table and suddenly I
heard voices. Out of the shadows, figures appeared and took their
places at the table. They were chatting to each other, but their
voices were too soft to hear exactly what they were saying.

“You came just in time,” Jonathan’s voice
came at me from behind. I spun around and he walked up to me and
patted me on the back. “Come. Meet the others.”

As we approached the table, the guests took
quick notice of my presence. I noticed that they were all very well
dressed. The men were clad in very expensive looking suits and the
women were styling some incredibly fancy dresses. They were pouring
wine into their glasses as Jonathan took his seat.

“Everyone? This is Jake Corba. He stopped by
for a visit.” I looked out at the others at the table and their
eyes met mine with unimpressed looks. Whatever comfort I had been
feeling was long gone. I took particular notice of a woman two
seats away. Her hair was red like fire. She was very beautiful but
there was some kind of coldness behind her eyes that I could
feel.

“Really, Jonathan. It’s a little late to
bring in new members.”

“He’s here on a matter of his own, Lilith. I
would thank you to make him feel welcome.”

“He’s not bad looking. It’s nice to have a
little eye candy around. No offense to you, of course,
Jonathan.”

“Of course not,” He looked back up to me and
I was pretty sure my confusion wasn’t difficult to see. “Have a
seat,” I turned and saw a vacant chair nearby. I sat down and
continued trying to make sense of the situation. “We meet here for
dinner every now and then to discuss things. I find it’s easier and
far more productive to have certain conversations over a nice,
relaxing meal.” Jonathan said as if to answer a question I had
forgotten to ask. The others at the table had already begun eating.
I could hear the clink of silverware against fine China. I began to
realize there was light violin music playing from somewhere.

“That’s great, but I need to talk to you
about,” I began but he quickly threw his hand up to stop me.

“I know. The demon.”

“Can you help me?”

“I don’t know. We need to figure that out
now.”

“How?”

“Let me, Jonathan,” Lilith said. “I haven’t
had a chance to do this for years.” I looked over and her lips were
stretched into a wide grin. She held her hand out to me from across
the table. I looked to Jonathan and he nodded to me. I got up and
went over to Lilith. Her fingers wrapped around my hand like snakes
and her grip was stronger than I anticipated. “Very interesting,”
She closed her eyes and they fluttered gently and her grip
tightened. When I felt a bone breaking, I pulled free and fell to
the floor. I looked up at her and she was smiling down at me like
the cat that ate the canary. “Sorry. I should have warned you it
could get intense.”

“What did you see?” Jonathan asked.

“I’m not totally sure. It’s like nothing
I’ve seen before. His path diverges into two roads. Along one, I
see death and destruction. Horrible black skies and oceans of blood
and acid. Along another, I see salvation. Life. Love. I see great
promise in this one. Or the end of everything.”

“What would you advise?”

“I’m not sure. He could be worse than a
thousand plagues, or he could save countless lives. I think it
would be foolish to allow him to go and make those choices for
himself.”

“Everyone has the born right to choose their
own path, Lilith. You know that as well as anyone.” It sounded
almost as if he were scolding her.

“I realize that, but I think…” She started,
but Jonathan raised his hand up to silence Lilith’s protest. He
then turned his attention back to me.

“And what do you want?”

“I don’t know what’s going on here. Ivar
said you would be able to cure me. He said you could release me
from the demon.”

“Is that why you are here?”

“Yes!”

“You, until now, have been blissfully
ignorant of your family’s history. You have come here to be freed
of a curse that was leveled upon your bloodline centuries ago. My
question to you would be are you sure you want this?”

“Of course! My life has been Hell because of
that demon! If I don’t cut that cord now, it’s going to kill me! I
need to be freed! Now!” The sound of eating had stopped and I
noticed everyone at the table was staring right at me.

“Life is complicated, Mr. Corba. We are
brought into it under different circumstances and we spend a good
amount of our lives dealing with those circumstances. For some,
it’s easy. For others, exceedingly difficult. Those who are tried
the hardest often find strength and purpose through their trials. I
admit that yours is a unique case. I can release you from the
demon, as you wish, but you must first decide if it’s really what
you want. It is only until we accept who we are, that life truly
begins.”

“I didn’t come here to hear riddles.”

“You may show yourself out now, Mr.
Corba.”

“What?”

“Our business is done. You are free of the
demon. As you wanted.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. I wish you luck.”

“Thanks.” I then turned and left through the
door I had come in from.

I emerged back in the church and I felt a
little different. The growing discomfort I had been suffering for
so long was gone. I knew in my heart of hearts that I was finally
free of the demon.

“Brings back memories, huh?” A voice said in
the darkness. Sam’s voice. My eyes began to focus to the dim light
and I saw him standing in the back of the church. “You were in a
church a lot like this one, weren’t you?”

“How do you know about that?”

“I guess I should introduce myself to you.
For real this time. My real name’s James Corba, but you can call me
Uncle Jimmy. I’ve been going by Sam Abaddon since the fire at the
church. Made things easier all the way around.”

I stopped in my tracks. There had been
something about Sam that seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn’t
figure out what it was. As I got closer, I looked more carefully at
his face and I began to see the small details he shared with my
father. His brother.

“I don’t understand.”

“Of course not! Let me break it down for
you. That night in the church happened because of me.”

“You?”

“Yes. I’m the one who called for the demon
in the first place.”

“You did this to me?”

“Yes and no. I didn’t really intend for the
demon to take you as a vessel. I conjured it forth in order for it
to take me. You were supposed to be the sacrifice. I needed an
innocent soul to offer. When Jerry told me he had a kid on the way,
I started planning. He and I never were quite on the same page with
this whole demon thing. He wanted to keep up the family tradition
while I realized a long time ago we were on the losing end of this
battle. I decided to switch sides. That night was supposed to be my
baptism, but instead the demon chose to take you and wasted
everyone else in the process.”

“I don’t believe this! You caused the deaths
of all those people! My parents!”

“Yes, but let’s not forget what you got in
the bargain. The demon. You really just snuck that right out from
under me didn’t you, kiddo? Don’t get me wrong. I was mad for a
long time about it, but I’ve mellowed. I’m over it. Especially now.
Now that you’re giving it up, I’ll be able to take it off your
hands. Better late than never.” I just stood there watching him. I
saw the smile on his face. Not a bit of regret. He murdered my
mother and father. He cursed me with the demon. He single handedly
destroyed my life before I even had a chance to start living it and
there he was. Listing his crimes to me as though he were bragging.
As though the power he sought justified any death he may have
inflicted. Like his victims were obstacles to his grand
ambition.

I walked up to him and without even
thinking; I grabbed his throat and closed my fists around it. I
felt his neck crumple under the pressure. I looked up to him and
saw that he was still smiling. I suddenly realized what I was doing
wasn’t going to change anything. It was clear he didn’t care about
the lives he took or the pain he had inflicted. I just let go of
him and pushed him back.

“The demon’s gone. At least, for me it is.
I’m free. You can do whatever you want now. Just leave me the Hell
alone.” I pushed past him and out the door.

I stepped out of the church and took a
breath and the air filled my lungs. It was cool and calming. I
stepped onto the dirt. I could see Ivar in the jeep far above me. I
headed back, but as I did, I felt a force pull me back.

I flew up and landed flat on my back. I
looked up and saw James standing over me. I scrambled up to my
feet.

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy.”

“Don’t push me. I don’t want to kill you,
but I will. Wait. That’s a lie. I do want to kill you.”

“If it were up to me, I’d let you go about
your merry way, but we kind of made a deal.”

“We?”

Suddenly, a large hand came down and wrapped
around my head and lifted me up. I soon felt the sensation of
weightlessness as whatever it was that had me, threw me. I hit the
large black tree hard and felt all the air in my lungs escape. As I
fell to the ground, I looked up and saw the demon towering over me.
It was huge and its body was bestial and human at the same time.
Its large arms were as big as tree trunks and its hands had long,
razor sharp claws at the end of each finger. Its face was contorted
in rage and fire spewed from its eyes.

“Corba.” It growled as it stomped forward. I
crawled back to avoid its large feet. I suddenly felt my strength
draining from me. It swung its arm around, striking me, and I went
flying across the small patch of grass.

“I think it might be best if you just stay
down, buddy.”

“I already severed our connection. I’m free
of you!”

“That’s kind of it. You did sever your bond,
and when you did, my buddy got all his powers back. He’s at full
strength. The thing is he really hates you and wants to kill you
anyway. He might go easy on you if you just let it happen.”