Rapture Falls (35 page)

             
“Well now chief”
spat
Baine, “How about you shank your ass down here and we’ll go round and round”

             
“Don’t think that I’m not tempted you stinking bag of bones, but I would not care to soil my hands upon your flesh, your demise shall be a spectator sport designed to show the
new order
of my rightful ascension to lead us into the new world born of real power and not from the pages of fairy tales”.

             
As the man spoke Baine noticed a large wooden crate being dragged towards the pits edge, four of the larger companions struggled against its weight, Baine could not see
Micha
el’s
face but he could feel the excitement radiating from his hooded form, the four men gradually pushed the container to the edge where it dangled over for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually the heavy crate eased over the edge before toppling over and crashing down hard onto the dirt floor uplifting a cloud of dust that stung Baine’s eyes
and clogged his throat, the container leaned drunkenly to one side as its sides bulged from the impact, Baine moved closer tilting his head to one side out of
curiosity
, suddenly the weakened crate exploded and a dark shape launched itself furiously toward him, before he could avoid the contact it was on him in a blaze of
razor
teeth and claws.

             
Michael
watched the squirming figures as they fought for control, he felt the power of
his
followers swell through him, and the figures stood eagerly devouring the sight of the Betrayer Baine brought to kneel before his doom at
Micha
el
’s design. He hated the theatrical nature of the robes and candlelight covenants, his
new order
would be an organisation forged in the fires of the business world cutting a bloody swathe through the international markets,
and he
had no desire to revel in pagan rituals worshippin
g supposedly icons of evil. Both of the old orders
had been founded by fallen angels, whom
,
spurned by an ungrateful God, had merely wanted a world of their own, oceans of time had passed as the earth grew older and yet the world was still but a child,
Gabriel
had revelled in the wo
rship laid upon him
by the humans, the cross breeding had brought about the bastardised distortions of their views. It was merely the
Grigori’s
un-wavering devotion and violent methods that had been taken as
some kind of immorality, once
Lucifer
had witnessed the power that thi
s held over some of the humans
s
he had set about spreading the illusion far and wide, for some reason mankind had developed a lust for the darker side of their nature.
Michael
had no stomach for these indulgences, this world had much potential, but the
new order
needed financial funds as the humans seemed to worship this God over any other, once he had disposed of this Baine character and with it shattered the myths and legends that swirled amongst many of their followers, he would have exposed
Lucifer
for the fraud that
s
he had become and he cou
ld take his rightful place at the head of the table.

He leaned over the pit, all the while watching the human faces as they peered desperately at the struggle below,
one of the powers of the fallen ones was the ability to reanimate the dead, he had taken
the largest most powerful Rottweiler that he could find scheduled for death because of its violent and dangerous nature. He had obtained the corpse from one of his many sources and brought the animal back, faster and more powerful than when it was alive, he had taken on the duty himself of systematically starving and torturing the creature until it had been driven into a raging frenzy, now the dead thing was venting itself on the unfortunate Baine.

             
Lucifer’s head was spinning out of control and threatening to explode, she could not believe the growing and deeply troubling human emotion cesspit that confusingly churned her mind and affected all reason. She had identified McCullum as a useful tool to be taken and used to the Grigori’s best interests, she had used this form to seduce countless humans of both genders several times relishing in the power that it exuded over men in particular, but now she found herself greatly troubled by her feelings that tugged her toward the comfort of another’s touch and the warmth of their embrace. She had dressed slowly attempting to use the process of dressing as way of reapplying her armoured coat again; she had caught the man McCullum gazing at her from the bed and found an alien genuine smile creep across her lips before she could stop it. She hated herself for getting distracted at such a crucial juncture after all of the centuries that passed like the creeping clouds on a still summer day, this was the time finally for clarity and precision and not ridiculous school girl crushes, she
had been notified by a loyal follower
of
Michael
’s betrayal
of the 11
^th
Order and his recruitment of both Azazel and Samyaza
.
She was sure that
Gabriel would already be taking steps to
take full advantage of the dissension in
both of the Orders
ranks. S
he knew that her desire for the Cube was matched only by his, the time now was so very close and mistakes could not be afforded, she knew that McCullum had been touched by Gabriel and played for a fool ever since. It was McCullum’s tale of woe that had surprisingly touched what passed through the cold dark space where a heart should be eliciting a momentary isolated spark. She had fallen into his leaking eyes and warm arms and found a comfort and joy never before experienced since her conception at the very dawn of time. She still did not fully understand the human condition but even she instinctively knew that McCullum would not want to know that he had beaten his own mother to death barely twenty four hours earlier, she thought that she would be able to counteract Gabriel’s control over him as long as they were close. Given the size of
Michael’s
following she now felt that she could not trust any of the members, the time was too close and the prize was too damn near to risk it all especially when her instincts were not functioning at full capacity. She would have to proceed alone,
well;
she looked across the room at McCullum who was by now fully dressed, smiling and waiting, not quite alone. She knew only too well that they would become increasingly isolated and that the Grigori had been corrupted to such an extent that she doubted that many members even remembered the cause, let alone still believed as she did. The Grigori had been forged in the hearts of the Archangels with the sole purpose of transforming the world into their own paradise, however as the centuries passed this bastardised version had long become obsessed with the materialistic vanity of humanity. Her vision had long since drifted away despite her best efforts, but once she had the Cube it could all be set right, the Cube held the power to shape the world as she saw fit and all of her children could all be saved from themselves and gathered unto her, even the 11
^th
Order could be made to see the light and feel her love. There would have to be examples made obviously, she would be just but fair and the rivers would run red with the blood of the disbelievers for a while but then the world would embrace her vision and lay before her.

             
The animal was
rip cord thick
with hard muscle, its jaws were powerful and pumping like pistons desperately snapping for purchase around Baines throat, he rolled with the animal after it had landed heavily on his chest driving them both to the floor, he frantically tried to get out from underneath the Rottwieler shoving its chest with one hand whilst warding off the drooling jaws with the other. Even in the gloom he could see the folds of decaying flesh peeling from the dogs face, its putrid breath made him gag as it showed no sign of slowing, Baine felt his strength weakening as the animal twisted and snapped in a frenzied whirlwind, he knew that he had to regain his feet before the Rottweiler sank its teeth in a fatal fashion. As his arms began to tire Baine made a decision and steeled his stomach, he switched his defensive position and placed a hand on either side of the dogs head, he used a garnered strength and yanked the animals face in millimetres away from his, as the jaws snapped feverously he tilted the snarling face to the left and thrust his own mouth forward snapping his teeth into the dogs eye. The Rottweilers dead eyeball popped in his mouth spewing foul decay into his mouth causing him to gag as the soiled juices ran from his mouth, the dog immediately leapt back and staggered drunkenly away in agony.
Baine clawed his way back to his feet vomiting
his mouths putrid contents
as he stood to the jeers of the watching audience, the bloodlust howls of derision rained down from his captors as their disappointment became palpable, even from his disadvantaged position Baine could feel the atmosphere change from one of triumph to one of uncertainty and even fear.
Baine allowed the smallest trace of a smile to wander across his lips, he soon turned his attention back to his pit companion who by now had begun his own recovery, the dog started to circle him slowly now with an added feral respect. Despite his success Baine knew that he would be unlikely to avoid a further sustained attack, blood was already running from his heavily gashed arms, lacerated with bites and claw slashes,
the dead dog suddenly sprang forward leaping powerfully through the air, Baine instinctively placed
his fate in another Hail Mary play. As the animal reached him he rolled backwards with the
dog’s
momentum, he placed his palms under its ribcage, as he hit the floor he brought his feet up under its chest, as the dog passed over him he put every ounce of strength he had left and thrust with all his might, the animal was suddenly airborne
.
Baine followed its trajectory
as it headed upward, f
or what seemed like an eternity the question of clearing the pit was quite literary up in the air, the Rottweilers legs pumped furiously as it hit the dirt lip clawing for purchase, Baine urged the animal onwards desperate for it to make the transition, eventually the screams of his robbed captors told him that the dog
had
made it.

             
McCullum watched Lucy from across the room, his memory was patchy and faded in and out, he was sure that he was here with a purpose, his mission eluded his thoughts dancing beyond his comprehension, whatever it was, it was surely the most important thing he had ever been asked to undertake. His brain refused to cough up the details and as he watched the beautiful but strangely sweating woman he became sure that she lay at the heart of his reason for existing. His ability to reason had left him almost completely now due to heavy influences of both Gabriel and now Lucifer clumping around his mind in careless heavy boots, for now he was an eager dog on a leash, to be pulled in any direction by which ever master currently held his noose.

             
Michael
stared disbelievingly at the sudden and violent turn of events, a stab of paralysing fear passed through his gut, could he have been wrong, could everything that he believed in be so wrong, had he taken a wrong turn path somewhere down the line, could the legends and myths really be
true
. He watched transfixed as the dead animal tore and slashed at the panicking humans who were all running
blind crashing
into each other, some of the weaker ones were being crushed by their more desperate cohorts as they fought for escape, several of the cloaked men and women had toppled over and fallen bleeding into the pit.
He frantically scanned the pit, desperately searching for a
healthy
human host to transfer his essence
to;
if either of the beasts destroyed this fragile form then he would be condemned to an eternity of Purgatory.
Suddenly the animal paused its bloodlust to stare directly
at him, as
their eyes met across a blood
y carnage
the dead dog
registered its
tormentor
,
Michael
looked with a commanding stare directly
into the Rottweilers eyes, he
silently exercised his absolute authority and watched as it
obediently
wander slowly closer
. H
e only realised his terrible fate when it was unavoidable, the dog sprang
forward at
its
tormenting captor
with the enhanced speed and strength that he
himself
had given it, as the animal clawed and ripped at his throat with a
fervour
that would not be denied
Michael
only had time to understand
that perhaps he had learnt another human emotion, arrogance,
as the blood
and life
flowed from
his ruined shell.