From Hell with Love (44 page)

“So, it’s Nico, is it?” he asked, making Niccolo nervous enough to bite his lip. 

“Yeah, short for Niccolo,” the leper confirmed before shifting his weight to his right foot.

“I’m Lucifer, if you couldn’t tell.  Nice to meet you,” he said before offering his left hand toward the new Horseman.  Niccolo stared at it for a moment before raising his diseased arm and shrugging.

“I’m not sure you want to touch this, Scratch,” he said, trying to make light of the situation, but the joke caused Lucifer to close his eyes in annoyance.  It was a tense moment before he looked over at Barbas, who was chuckling softly.  Then, before Niccolo could apologize, the ruler of Hell turned back to him and sighed out deeply.

“So that’s
that
,” he said before shaking his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.  “And I offered my left hand for a reason, Nico.  You should not be ashamed of that arm of yours.  It just saved your life.”

“You’re sure?” Niccolo asked, drawing a disgusted breath from Azazel.

“Oh, get
on
with it!  We have to get back to the palace,” he said before turning and walking toward the center of the city.  Niccolo looked at him in confusion before lowering his arm and shaking Lucifer’s extended hand.

“Why do you have to get back to the palace?” he asked, making Lucifer laugh at his ignorance.

“
We
have to get back to the palace, kid.  In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new Horseman of the Apocalypse.”

Chapter 13: A Beast As Old As Time

“How much further is it?” Cadmus asked as Mercy galloped beneath him.  He laid his left hand across the white horse’s neck, trying to soothe the beast as it tore through the streets of the Famine Quarter.  However, Mercy’s mind seemed to be shut off from him because of all the effort he was putting forth.

“It should not be much further,” Cimeries said in a clipped manner, her left arm wrapped around Niccolo’s torso tightly, the pike in her other hand held by their right side.  At first, Niccolo had been anxious about the woman’s weapon, but she knew how to wield it with confidence.

“Well,
how
much further?” Niccolo asked in desperation, taking care not to bite his tongue. 

“I will tell you when I see it…” Cimeries said under her breath, drawing a frustrated grunt from Niccolo.

“Why did Scratch tell you and only you, Cim?” Niccolo asked, and suddenly the Hell Knight’s short nails were at his throat.

“He is one of very few people who I allow that name, Horseman.  Take mind,” she said before lightly scratching his skin and then returning her arm to hug his midsection.  Niccolo gulped, but he tried to muster his courage even with the warrior riding behind him.

“Fine.  Why did he tell you?”

“There are some people a leader can trust and there are some he or she can’t, Horseman,” she explained before pointing with her pike toward a side road that began a hundred feet in front of them.  “There.”

“And he can trust you?” Niccolo asked, guiding Plague toward the side road that looked completely unimportant.  The two horses continued at a gallop, their legs crashing through errant crates and stands.  Cimeries growled behind the leper as she held onto him.

“He can.  I, too, was a leader, and I know what it is like to be betrayed.  Especially by family,” she muttered at the end, forcing the woman into a new light.

When they reached the end of the street, the five of them were treated to the dark expanse of the empty plains surrounding Dis.  It was a dark place, devoid of the life held in the city, and the only light came from the rivers of lava scattered throughout the landscape.

“What now?” Cadmus asked as he brought Mercy up beside them.  Cimeries nodded ahead before waving her pike at the lava stream coming into view.

“Jump over this river and keep to the bank, eventually it will curve back on itself near a cave,” she said, kicking Plague’s side with her heels.  The black horse screamed in surprise and anger before breaking into a gallop, prompting Mercy to follow him.

“Next time you do that, woman,” Plague boomed before clearing the lava stream with a powerful leap, “you will pay
dearly
.”

“Forgive me, creature.  I had forgotten you were not a mindless beast,” she said, prompting a cold grunt from the black steed.

“Well, don’t forget this time.  I won’t break my promise,” he said as he galloped past the volcanic rocks scattered in the dark plains.  Each one of them held potential for the horses to break their legs, but Plague and Mercy deftly avoided them in the darkness.  “And why the hell didn’t we bring lanterns?”

“Not exactly on the list of priorities,” Niccolo said before turning to the warrior cradling his torso.  “You said a
cave
?”

“Yes, we need to follow the river until its bend and there will be a cave nestled into the hill.  That is where Moloch dwells,” she said, prompting Cadmus to speak up from beside them.

“You said he’s like God?” he asked, making the woman shift in the saddle.

“Not as powerful, reaper, but yes, he’s similar to Adonai,” she said before sighing and looking back at Dis.  “He was never an angel; he is older than all of them.”

“Then where did he come from?” Niccolo asked before turning to gaze at the ground speeding below them.  His thoughts returned to Lucifer, but as he watched the dark soil and black rocks flying past his vision, he knew they were the only people who could hope to reach this Moloch in time.

“He…  I am not sure.  I have only met the creature once.  He is…perhaps not beyond
God
,” Cimeries struggled with the words, biting her lips before continuing.  “Lucifer told me that it came from the same place.”

“What same place?” Cadmus asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“I am not sure, Horsemen,” Cimeries said, somehow softening under their questions.  “The closest comparison I can make is that the Leviathan came from a similar place.”

“The Leviathan is not one of Adonai’s creations, either?” Cadmus asked, at which the warrior shuddered.

“I should hope not.  That twisted thing should not exist in the world,” she muttered, making Niccolo look back at her in alarm.

“What is so bad about
it
?” he asked, drawing a quick glare from the warrior behind him.  Cimeries then looked down at his back and kept her silence, not willing to think on the creature any longer.  She was spared further questions as the lava stream bent away from them by a large degree, causing her to look around them for the hill.

“There!” she shouted before raising her pike to a small hill forty yards away from the bend, causing both Horsemen to hold back on their reins.

“So whatever he is, Moloch is in there?” Niccolo asked, leading Plague over to the hill that was only partially covered in the light from the lava stream.  When they were close enough, Cimeries swung her leg over to Plague’s right side and slid off, beckoning for both men to follow her with an absent wave of her hand.

“I should hope so.  I do not believe he has many errands,” Cimeries said before walking into the cave set into the hillside, holding her pike to ward off any surprises that could meet her.  The Horsemen followed, their steeds disappearing into the wind behind them, and looked at each other with an air of apprehension.

The thought of meeting a being who could rival God was more than enough cause to warrant it.

***

There was a small brazier in the middle of the cave, the flames inside burning low and casting shadows onto the surroundings walls.  After braving the steps into the darkness, the three warriors walked in trepidation into the inner circle of stones surrounding the brazier.  The eleven monoliths were not just stones, it seemed, as they seemed to be shaped vaguely like humans, arranged in equal distance to each other.  When Niccolo passed by the nearest one, he thought he recognized the face.  The only thing stopping him from continuing with that train of thought was that the stone was too weathered, eroded by time, and that they had more important things to worry about.

“You said he could be out?” Niccolo asked as he looked around the cave in wonder, seeing massive tapestries filled with amazing detail that he could just barely pick out in the poor light coming from the brazier.

“I have no idea, Horseman,” Cimeries said as she walked to the center of the room and put her back to the brazier, her pike held in front of her with both hands.  “I am not party to the thoughts and habits of otherworldly creatures.”

“Well, if he’s not here, where could he be?” Cadmus asked to the empty air, worrying his scythe with his right hand but not holding it out in front of him.  He did not want Moloch’s first impression to be a band of warriors meaning harm.  He looked past the inner circle of monoliths and found the cave was much more massive than he had thought.  Though the closer walls held tapestries and there seemed to be steps leading up to them, it seemed that the cave opened out into a cavern further from the entrance.  He was still staring at the tunnel leading away from them when he noticed movement to his left.

“There!” Niccolo said before taking the bow from his back and drawing back the string with an arrow he had grabbed from his quiver.  There was something on the wall, hidden in flickering shadows, and he could see an oval mask moving about.  It was alabaster white, seven triangles interlocked in a pattern which seemed vaguely familiar.

“You come to Moloch's home with weapons, humans?  What makes you think they will hurt Moloch?” a strangely bored voice came from behind the mask, a heavy sigh somehow permeating throughout the statement.

“Moloch!” Cimeries said, proudly standing near the brazier and setting the handle of her pike against the sand at their feet.  “We have met before!  My name is Cimeries!”

“Moloch knows not this name,” the voice came again, the mask increasing in size as it lowered toward Cimeries in the center of the room.  “Have you another?”

“I…” the Hell Knight started before letting out a heavy breath.  “I was once called Hippolyta.  I was Queen of the Amazons before I was betrayed.”

“Ah, this story sounds familiar,” the creature said before drawing back toward the darkness and cocking its mask to the side.  “But what does an Amazon want with Moloch?”

“Lucifer sent us,” Cadmus said, bowing slightly to the white mask hovering above them.  “He needs your help.”

“You have much darkness around you, little one.  Here,” the nebulous creature said before the brazier in the center of the room burst into flames, the fire rising almost to the full height of the room.  “Oh, it is the Pale Rider!  No wonder Moloch did not see you well.”

With the new flames burning up toward the ceiling, the Horsemen were finally able to see the full figure of Moloch.  The mask covered the front of the monster’s brown skull, which was fully proportional to the body flush against the curved wall and ceiling supporting his weight.  Its hands and feet were each complemented by three fingers, set apart from each other like an equilateral triangle.  Protruding from its back was a second pair of arms helping hold the creature to the wall.

“You recognize
me
?” Cadmus asked, his knuckles white from holding his scythe tightly, but he refused to display his nervousness.  The massive creature started to climb down the closest wall, its mask turned toward Cadmus throughout its movement.

“Of course.  You are one of the angel’s little humans.  The angel still thinks he can operate against his father and you are one of his pets!” it shouted before reaching the sand of the cave and then walking forward, using the knuckles of its four arms just like a primate.

“So you know me, too?” Niccolo asked, keeping his right hand on the arrow still nocked in his bow.  When Moloch turned to face him with its mask, Niccolo felt like it was confused beneath the white stone.  “Since I’m one of the Horsemen?”

“
Who
are you?” it asked, turning its body so that it could inspect Niccolo further.

“I’m…I’m the Horseman of Pestilence,” the leper offered, causing the creature to fall back onto its hind legs.

“Moloch thought that was a human named Lü Bu…” he said, bringing up one of his three-fingered hands to tap against his mask.  Niccolo shifted in place awkwardly before setting the arrow and bow back into their place.

“I’m…new.  I’ve only been a Horseman for two hundred years,” Niccolo tried to make an excuse for the creature, which it readily took.  It settled back down onto all six limbs and supported itself by folding its front arms in front of it.

“Ah, that would explain it.  Moloch has not seen the angel for a few centuries, at least.  Not since Hippolyta was here,” Moloch said as it nodded at the Amazon standing by the brazier.  “Are you one of the angel’s pawns, too?”

“I…Scratch,” Niccolo said before breathing in sharply and setting his hands on his hips, confronting the older creature directly, “Lucifer wouldn’t use me as a pawn.  Cadmus and I are friends.  He counts on us,” he pleaded, watching the older creature cock its mask to the side and then set the nail of its finger against its neck.

“Scratch…” it muttered before turning to Cadmus, who had walked up to Niccolo’s side.  “Interesting.  You speak of the angel with favor.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” Niccolo asked, shrugging at the statement.  “He looks out for everyone.  He helps when he can.”

“The angel does what he wants, even if he convinces himself otherwise.  Moloch sees the truth of things,” the masked creature said before looking toward Cimeries, the fire of the brazier reflecting off the smooth surface of its “face.”

“We need you at the palace, Moloch,” Cimeries said, nodding toward the entrance of the cave.  “Lucifer told us to get you.”

“Why should Moloch do anything for the angel king?” the creature said before drawing into itself, folding its limbs so that it could rest in comfort.  “The angel owes Moloch favors; Moloch owes him nothing.”

“We need you to help him!” Niccolo shouted, offering his hands palms outwards and shaking his head.  “The rest of the kings are rising up and the Shroud is trying to take over!”