Eve of Redemption (42 page)

Eleazar sighed and stretched his legs out, flexing his ankles. His broken leg gave him no pain because, of course, it wasn’t broken. How could it be? He was nothing but spirit. Not demon like Lagos or Agibus, nor human like the poor girl who lay across his lap, but the mere leftovers of one who had once been alive. In life, he had chosen the side of darkness, wanting nothing to do with what he had thought of as the God of Goody-Goodies. Even when he had been ripped from the world by a cop’s bullets, he had not regretted a thing. After all, he had lived a long life, longer than many he had known, and the darkness he found himself in had not been so bad. He was a slave to the demons, of course, but they knew how to have fun, and so many members of Eleazar’s former world came into the darkness that he soon had slaves of his own to play with.

All had been well until the day Agibus and his human toy, Caleb Burke, had opened the rift in the veil and brought the kids through. Something about them had created a longing deep within Eleazar, a longing that could not be quenched with the darkness. He had forced himself to be as hard on them as possible, treating them as the puny humans they were, but something about them continued to call out to him. They were as a light in the darkness. Not a bright light, but still a light. Eleazar had begun to wonder how Caleb could use his own granddaughter in such an evil way. These feelings had confused him, caused him to wonder if he might have been wrong in life.

He had continued to play his role, however. To fail at that would have brought a fate much worse than the death that had brought him here. Young Sara had unwittingly played her role just as well. Almost too well. She was not supposed to be as strong as she had proven to be. At first, Eleazar felt a grudging respect for her. Then, as she continued to grow in strength and power, he felt pride. Not simply pride in what he was creating, but pride in her ability to take what he put her through. And not only Sara but some of the others as well—Ryan, Dana, and even the loudmouth, Kyle, had proven to be much more than anyone expected them to be. Sara’s strength would only prove to better serve the demon plan. Now that the time drew near, Eleazar was no longer sure he wanted her to.

“What am I to do with ya?” he muttered to the unconscious girl. No answer came. Eleazar sighed again and closed his eyes. There was no hurry. As he drifted, Eleazar found himself hoping that John Burke was much stronger than any of them gave him credit for.

J
ohn Burke’s teeth chattered so hard his jaw hurt. Cold surrounded him, more than just a spring night in the desert. The back of the cart in which he found himself felt like a freezer. The cold radiated from everywhere, but especially from the grotesque forms that sat on the bench across from him. Burke wrapped his arms tighter around himself as the strange wagon bounced across the desert floor.

He lost all track of time as the demon-driven cart crossed the Arizona desert. If Cyrus Whitkey had a destination in mind, he kept it to himself. The demon had spoken little since Burke had been dragged inside the wagon and his ankles chained to a ring welded to the floor. Just enough lantern light filtered in through the open window in the front to allow him some sight. The inside of the wagon, or truck bed as it were, was rusted blue like its exterior, and the walls of the camper shell were covered in cheap brown paneling. More than once his mind had tried to convince him that nothing supernatural was happening. A crazy desert hermit had abducted him—a perfectly logical explanation until he glanced at his guards. There was nothing logical about them.

“Are you still with me back there, Mr. Burke?” Cyrus Whitkey’s southern drawl pulled Burke’s attention from the things that sat across from him.

“Yeah,” was all Burke’s chattering teeth and clenched jaw would allow him to say.

“I apologize for the accommodations, Mr. Burke. But one must use what one has on hand, so to speak.” The demon’s face filled the window between the wagon and driver’s bench. “I trust the company is to your liking?” The demon barked a phlegm-filled sound that Burke guessed to be a laugh.

Without warning, a blinding flash filled the air, and the wagon shuddered and tipped precariously. Burke was tossed from the bench—almost on top of the demon guards across from him—before the chains around his ankles brought his momentum to a painful end. The wagon fell back on all four wheels with a crash, this time slamming Burke against the wall on his side. Through the open window, he heard Cyrus Whitkey curse as he fought to maintain control. Burke braced his feet against the floor and pressed his hands against the roof of the wagon in an attempt to remain in a stationary position. The demon guards, for all their strength, failed to respond so quickly. One ended up on the floor, pressed against the tailgate, the other splayed on top of it.

Burke turned to the window in the back of the camper. Dirt and scrub rushed by in the early morning light as the wagon sped along. Another curse from outside, then the wagon tipped again, and Burke experienced a momentary weightless feeling as, this time, the wagon went all the way over. As the side of the old truck bed slammed against the ground, the momentum of the still-moving vehicle ripped the camper shell away. Burke found himself dangling upside down, his hands on the far side of the bed, one on each side of the wheel well, as he struggled to keep himself from dragging on the ground.

Somehow, the wagon remained in motion. Burke tried to see what was happening, but the dust and debris thrown up by the skidding wagon blinded him. A bone-chilling scream filled the air, so loud it seemed to come from all directions at once. The donkey answered with its own terrified shriek. Burke squinted and saw the shadowy form of Cyrus Whitkey on the back of his beast of burden. Dust hit Burke’s face like a sandblaster, and he was forced to look away toward the back of the wagon where he saw one of the demons dragged from the tailgate along the rough ground. The other demon was nowhere to be seen.

Another blinding flash barely preceded an explosion that engulfed the wagon in blistering heat. Burke raised one arm to protect his face and was slammed against the bottom of the truck bed. The makeshift wagon spun through the air like a leaf in a heavy wind. His head connected with something solid, and his world faded.

The inhuman scream brought him back to awareness. Aside from that, everything was still. Burke tried to move, but the entire left side of his body and face felt like it had been hung over an open fire to cook. On top of that, the flesh around his ankles was rubbed almost to the bone by the chains that still held him. He lifted his head to scope out his surroundings, but the truck bed had flipped over and now covered him like a steel tent. The tailgate had been ripped off somewhere along the way, and Burke turned his attention to the rectangular opening that provided his only view of the outside world. At first he saw nothing but sand and dried brush, but then came the sound of heavy footsteps and something sliding across the rocky ground. Burke lurched back as a muscled scale-covered arm shot through the opening. Behind the arm came the squashed face of one of his guards. At first, Burke thought it was coming in after him, but one look at the thing’s face told him it was terrified.

What terrifies a demon?

The thing’s fingers dug at the hard ground as it fought to pull itself under the perceived protection of the overturned truck bed. A rush of wind spat sand around the crawling demon. It struggled harder to get under cover, but its efforts appeared counterproductive. It squealed pitifully as it started sliding back out. Then, with a sudden jerk, it was gone. Its high-pitched scream faded into the distance.

Burke knew the smart thing was to remain hidden. He had no idea what was going on outside, but he doubted it boded well for him. Still, he had to know. He slid his body beneath the bed—turning so his head pointed toward the missing tailgate—and inched his way toward the opening. A shadow passed over him, moving so fast he hardly had time to register it before it was gone. His head reached the opening, and he turned so he could peer out, keeping his exposure to a minimum. Somewhere in the direction of his feet, he heard the screech of what he thought was Cyrus Whitkey’s beast as the shadow passed overhead again. Burke craned his neck to get a look, but his brain refused to accept what he saw. The hideous scream came again, rattling the truck bed with its force. Burke wondered at what point his mind had completely snapped as he gazed at the monster overhead.

As he gazed upon the dragon.

THE SERPENT WAS having the time of his life. Never before had he felt such exhilaration. His wings beat with powerful strokes, propelling his massive body through the air almost effortlessly. Again, he screamed and reveled in the terror he caused in the puny demons below. Had he really eaten one of them? Wow…even his warped mind had never considered such a possibility.

Do not become overconfident. Cyrus is much more powerful than any you have met thus far.

Denizen’s voice spoke, strong in his mind, as much a part of the dragon as he himself was. Probably more so. The Serpent turned his attention to where Cyrus sat atop his mount. He could feel the demon’s tension, but no fear. Respect yes, but not fear. The Serpent wanted to laugh. He would fix that. He would show Mr. Cyrus Whitkey the meaning of the word
fear
. But first, a little more fun.

The radical shift in reality he’d experienced when he entered the house in town had caught the Serpent off-guard, and he’d vaguely wondered what had happened to his biker body when Denizen pulled him out to bring him here. Wherever that other body was, he knew he would have to go back to it eventually. But for now he was more than content to play the role of fire-breathing destroyer.

The Serpent arched his reptilian body in the air before letting it fall into a nose-dive straight at the remaining lesser demon. He was almost upon it when something in him pulled him off-course, sending him in the direction of the distant mountains.

The owner of this body does not want to partake in this battle.

I thought we had control of it?
The Serpent was still learning how these things worked.

Dragons are nearly mindless, having let their hunger for darkness devolve them to this pitiful level. Never forget, however, they were once one of us, and even the most mindless dark angel commands respect.

As you say, Master. Then I humbly give you command over the beast. I am happy to be along for the ride.

The huge beast banked across the sky and sped back into the battle. Denizen guided the dragon straight at the remaining lesser demon. He scooped it up in huge talons, tossed its body high in the air, and caught it in his teeth with a satisfying crunch.

Pain shot through the Serpent’s mind as a ball of freezing darkness slammed into the body of the dragon. The dragon’s scream matched his own wail of pain and rage. His master’s limitless mind roiled with fury at the sneak attack and turned the dragon toward his foe. The Serpent wondered if that blast was the best Cyrus had to offer. True, it had stunned him for a moment, but just a moment. If that had been a show of his power, this fight would not last long.

The dragon drew in a deep breath, the fire in its belly stoked hotter than anything known to the human world, and the inferno blasted up its elongated throat before exploding out at the demon below. The Serpent was amazed by the physical attributes of the beast in which he currently resided. The eyesight alone was phenomenal. He saw Cyrus’s look of confidence turn to concern, and then outright fear, as the demon rushed to create a shield to protect himself. The shield deflected the dragon fire, but while keeping Cyrus busy with that, Father guided the dragon’s talons at Cyrus’s face. Cyrus just managed to avoid being crushed in the powerful claws and was knocked from the back of his donkey, crashing to the ground.