The Dark Path (26 page)

“If the
Glimloche
takes control of you, the tiny light of goodness inside of you will be snuffed out completely. You will become a creature of pure malice bearing the powers of a god without the constraints that normal immortals face when within this realm. You will destroy everything to achieve whatever twisted ambitions unravel within your newly warped being.”

“All you had to say was that it would be a very bad thing. No need to heap the extra pressure on me with your doom and gloom speech,” said Vain bitterly.

“Dark Man, it is of vital importance that you do not allow the
Glimloche
to seize control of you. Imagine all the evil in the universe paling in contrast. It will tear your soul to shreds and devour everything in its path to achieve its wants.”

“Once again, not helping,” stated Vain firmly.  “Didn’t Empeth have this thing inside him at some stage? How did he survive it?”

“The only way he survived was by expelling it from his soul. I have no idea how he managed this, but rest assured you don’t want to travel the same road. You have seen the end result.”

“So basically I’m fucked, is that what you’re saying?” Vain assessed grimly.

“I’m sorry, but you did ask me, and I cannot lie.” Gabriel shifted uncomfortably.

Vain ignored the apology. “Who made it?” he asked.

Again Gabriel looked uneasy. “That doesn’t matter at this stage,” he said finally.

“Doesn’t matter?” stormed Vain. “This thing is inside of me trying to turn me into a finger puppet and you’re saying it doesn’t matter? Tell me now damn it!”

Gabriel seemed to crumple slightly. “The
Glimloche
was created by a fallen angel. A creature so powerful it believed it could destroy God himself. The one you call the Devil.”

If Gabriel expected scorn or disbelief he was sorely disappointed. Vain simply nodded. “Well that makes sense.”

“What makes sense?”

“I met him in Hell,” said Vain simply. “Or her—whatever.”

“You met Lucifer?” asked Gabriel incredulously.

“Yes. Rather helpful in fact, but I’m starting to think she might have been lying to me.”

“Human, you are truly remarkable. You meet the most evil creature in the universe and all you can say is: ‘Rather helpful in fact’.”

Vain grimaced. “Anyway, that’s all beside the point. What else can this thing do?”

Gabriel shook his head softly. “The
Glimloche
is limited only by your imagination. Unfortunately most creatures who acquire it merely lust for power, and thus it has only ever been recorded as a force for evil. Remember that Lucifer wasn’t always evil–he once held the duty of archangel like myself.”

“So it can be used towards other ends?”

“As I said, it magnifies what lies within a person’s heart. Whatever the user
feels
can be created using the power of the
Glimloche
.”

“Not much chance for somebody like me then.”

“Probably not,” agreed Gabriel impassively. Vain had forced a laugh, and the two had continued with the training.

A second explosion–closer this time–rocked the small room, and Vain leapt from the bed, instinctively reaching under the pillow to gather his handguns. He stopped short, fingering their familiar grips and realizing he no longer needed them. The
Glimloche
that surged within his soul was more powerful than anything made by man.

Vain made his decision and walked to the back of the room, leaving the guns on the table. He honed his concentration and stepped up to the wall–and then
through
it!

He emerged at the rear of the motel and instantly shrouded himself in darkness. Ebony swirled around his frame, and he slid along the wall, merging perfectly with the shadows. Reaching the edge, he cautiously peered around the corner and witnessed a scene of carnage. 

The cars parked in front of the motel had been set alight; two had been reduced to fragments. Vain guessed these had been the explosions that had awoken him, amazed the other sounds of destruction had not. A sudden movement flickered near the edge of his vision, and the car park rang with the screams of a woman. Sliding quickly to the opposite wall, Vain could now see a girl being dragged from her room by a creature that almost defied description.

Eight limbs sprouted from the scaled beast’s torso. Reaching the car park, it reared up onto its four hind limbs, and used the front four to grasp the woman and, with a tremendous surge of strength, tore her into quarters. Incredibly her death was not instant, her voice still crying piteously after her dismemberment.

Swiftly realizing that its victim still lived, the creature pounced upon her again and viciously clamped its cavernous, fang-filled mouth over her head, ending her screams with a savage wrench. The beast again reared up to its full height–Vain guessed something over twelve feet–and let loose an ear-splitting roar that echoed similarly from other areas within the motel.

Swaying its elongated head to the left and right trying to gather the scent of its prey, the creature’s face, though serpentine, also bore similarities to that of a human. The nose, while stretched and covered in scales, bore the unmistakable traits of a person, as did the ears. The mouth resembled a snake’s or large lizard’s, and the gaze filled with an evil cunning that seemed to glint with anticipation, moving towards where Vain’s room lay.

The Dark Man suddenly felt a hand upon his shoulder and instinctively roused the power of the
Glimloche
, readying himself for an attack. Instead, swinging around, he found Gabriel standing behind him, a look of infinite sorrow bathing his features, watching the slaughter occurring within the motel. The fires had almost burned out, but the crashing of demolished buildings echoed clearly along with several screams from within some of the rooms.

“We must leave quickly,” whispered Gabriel through clenched teeth, trying to suppress emotions that so obviously raged within him.

“What are those creatures?” hissed Vain.

“They are Velearstk, and we must flee. Now!” cried Gabriel. He grabbed Vain quickly by the upper arm, and the world swirled into vertigo and midnight.

His vision clearing slowly, Vain wrenched his arm clear of Gabriel’s grasp and glanced around them. They were now in what appeared to be the car park of a shopping centre some five miles from the motel.

“Don’t you ever do that again you weird bastard,” grated Vain, but the words held no real malevolence, merely relief at escaping the massacre.

“We don’t have much time,” said Gabriel. “They will soon discover you have escaped them and they will follow. Unfortunately I can transport us no further; my powers were sapped trying to cloud your soul scent. We will have to make our way by more conventional transport.”

“‘Soul Scent’?” asked Vain, “What the hell is a soul scent?”

“Every creature that has a soul leaves a trace of it behind them wherever they go. It is similar to the smell a tracking dog follows. Some creatures can pursue these soul scents to find the whereabouts of their origin. In this case, it’s you. The Velearstk will have been imprinted with your soul scent upon their release from Limbo and they will track you until they either kill you or are destroyed.”

“Oh...  good,” said Vain. “For a moment there I thought we were in trouble. Well why didn’t we just kill them back at the motel? At least we knew where they were, now we’ll have to keep looking over our shoulders while we run away. I don’t like that prospect.”

“You don’t ‘just kill’ the Velearstk,” said Gabriel, a touch of irritation in his voice. “I’m not sure you could even destroy
one
yet, and there are thirteen in total. You would be annihilated within moments of facing one—they are all mentally linked and would swarm in on you instantly.”

“Thirteen? What is it with the number thirteen all the time?” said Vain suddenly. “It seems to emerge whenever there is something related to Sordarrah. I thought it was just supposed to be bad luck.”

Gabriel grimaced. “It is far more than bad luck, Dark Man. Humans believe thirteen is an unlucky number for many reasons. The main being traced back to the number of people present at the last supper with Christ. There were twelve apostles plus Jesus when the great betrayal occurred, and ever since that time people have believed thirteen to be a bad omen. I do not know if it was simply bad luck or an early sign of Empeth’s corruption–needless to say, being a guardian he should have known better. However, in relation to the forces we face now, thirteen is a number of great power. As six, six, six is said to be the number of Satan, so thirteen could be called the number of Sordarrah.”

“And I suppose your God’s number is one?” Vain mused sarcastically.

“He is not
my
God, Dark Man. He is
our
God and he has no number. It does not matter that you do not believe in Him, what matters is that He believes in you. Why else do you think you were chosen for this task? For your sparkling wit perhaps?”

“Well, well,” the ghost of a smile appeared upon Vain’s lips. “I do believe you almost made a joke there fairy boy. I think my ‘sparkling wit’ must be starting to rub off on you,” he finished with a low chuckle.

“Corrupting me more likely,” muttered Gabriel. “Anyway, nobody knows where these numbers originated from or what their purposes are. Possibly star alignments from past events or dates yet to be, their true reason will probably never be known.”

“Why doesn’t your God just tell you?” asked Vain.

“
Our
God is not exactly what you think, Dark Man. Neither am I. I could not possibly explain the great mysteries of the universe to you in a way that you could understand, so let me just say this: think of me as energy with purpose. I now appear in human form to complete my final assignment, but for eons I have existed with no form, travelling inside and outside the dimensions with no limit to the powers I can obtain or achieve. You would agree that is vastly superior to being human, yes?” Vain slowly nodded his head, unable to disagree.

“Now picture this,” Gabriel whispered softly. “Our Lord is as superior to me as you are to a grain of sand.”

Vain looked deep into the eyes of his companion and suddenly realized the scope of what Gabriel explained. It seemed astronomical, and Vain found his mind reeling at the responsibility that now weighed down like lead atop his shoulders.

“I don’t want this!” he fumed suddenly. “Choose someone else before it’s too late!”

“There is no one else Vain,” said Gabriel sadly. “You are the only hope now for all of existence. I cannot imagine what a burden this will prove for you, but know this: I will help you in any way I can throughout this journey, I promise you upon my eternal existence.”

Vain struggled momentarily to regain his composure, finally mustering a wry grin. “Okay then...
angel
,” he challenged, “how are you at stealing cars?”

Gabriel looked momentarily uncomfortable and, with eyes lowered, he murmured, “I cannot. Stealing is a sin.”

Vain’s laughter reverberated loudly in the quiet car park. “Fallen at the first step eh? Don’t worry; I think I’ll be able to manage enough sinning for the both of us.”

Gabriel grinned grimly, and the two moved off, the sun cresting the hills before them.

The Velearstk knew as one their target had escaped. Instantly they ceased their search and moved simultaneously to the front of the motel. Releasing the wings folded beneath scaly flaps of hide on their backs, they took flight and moved at speed after their quarry.

The beasts had not known such freedom in centuries, and even then they had seldom been able to hunt in their full pack. Trapped in Limbo since before this puny planet had been created, only occasionally had one or two been released to briefly do the bidding of Sordarrah or his minions. This knowledge grated on the beasts, but they knew of no way to escape their captors and so had to obey their whims.