Demon Hunters (47 page)

“How much further?”

“Not too much longer. Now, you can’t stand
out here and see all this and still tell me you don’t believe any
of this.” He says. I feel a gurgle in my stomach and suddenly I
feel something rise up to my mouth.

“Maybe I do.”

“You do?”

“I said maybe, all right. I guess there’s a
part of me that really almost wishes it could all be true. At
least, I did when I was a kid.”

“That’s right. I used to tell you about my
cases back then. I censored out the more bloody aspects. I just
figured you’d forget about them when you got older.”

“I did, for the most part. Mom kept
reminding me though.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. She always had a Jake story at the
drop of a hat. I used to be so mad at her for loving you like she
did after you left, but there was a part of me that wished that I
could find the same thing someday.”

“I guess I’ve done a good job at making your
life a lot more complicated than it has to be. So, if you did
believe, even a little, why were you so resistant? Why did you
fight me?”

“Because I don’t want to be like you!” I
blurt out. Dad just looks at me. I kind of thought he’d look away,
but he seems more curious to hear more. “Mom always told me how
much I reminded her of you. In fact, everyone has told me that all
my life. There was a time that would have made me proud, but after
you left, there couldn’t be a more vicious insult in my book. I
wanted to push every bit of you out of my life forever. I never
wanted to follow your path and when I came to see you and you asked
me to do this, I suddenly saw it all just happening right before my
eyes. A life carefully planned in order to not follow the same
patterns as you, all gone to Hell. I couldn’t let you drag me into
this. Not after I spent so much time hating you.” I look over and
dad is still watching me. I notice a silvery dot just below his
eye. I wipe it away gently and notice it’s a tear. He looks away
quickly.

“I didn’t give you much reason to be proud
of me. Even less reason to want to be anything like me. All I can
say is I completely understand.”

“You do?”

“Do you honestly think I wanted my life for
you? I wanted you to be happy. Unfettered by this ugly side of our
family. I guess that’s why I didn’t do everything I could to get
back into your life. I guess I knew you were better off without me,
even if it meant you would hate me forever.” I feel a tear form in
my eye.

“Dad.” I say. I touch his shoulder but he
stiffens. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you? I never told you. I never
told your mother either. It was just easier for you two to hate me
than to have me around, ruining your life.” I grab him again but
manage to pull him around to me.

“How could you ever think we were better off
without you? You were the love of mom’s life! You were my father!
We loved you! We still do.”

“You do?” He asks. I feel a bit surprised
myself.

“Of course.” I say with a smile. I quickly
scoop him in my arms and hug him tightly. He uses the same
aftershave he used when I was a kid. The smell sends me reeling
back to my childhood. I remember he would act out his best cases
for me as he shaved while he got ready for work each day. As a
child, I found it odd every case ended with a kiss for daddy, but I
didn’t mind.

“Savior! We are approaching the platform!”
Damon calls out from above. Dad steps away and composes himself
quickly.

“Very good.” He says. I look out at the
horizon and I can see something coming out of the thick fog. It’s
huge. It’s a very industrial looking construction just sitting in
the middle of the ocean. It looks like four towers connected by
very large walkways in a square pattern. The ship veers around the
base of one of the towers. When we pass I can see a large platform
extending out from the towers into the middle, like some kind of
stage dead center. The hydrofoil comes to a stop at a small dock
near the furthest tower.

“This is it.” Dad says as he looks
around.

“This is unbelievable.”

“We’ve been planning for this day a long
time.” He says with great pride. I can see even he is in awe of all
this. I reach into my coat pocket and locate the cards Morgan gave
me. He looks to me. “Are you ready?”

“I am.”

We all get off the ship and go up to the top
of the tower. Inside, there’s a very comfortable observation deck
that looks out at the stage below. A long couch is set in the
middle and is raised; affording a perfect view outside to the small
metal stage that hangs below. It’s warm and quiet, which is a
novelty as the storm rages outside. The water is crashing violently
and the rain is coming down even harder. I can hear the sharp moan
of the metal as the platform sways slightly to the gusting
winds.

“All right. Larissa, please come with me.
Savior? Make yourself comfortable.” Morgan says. She leads me to a
door that opens up to a large stairwell that leads down to the
suspended stage. I can hear the wires swaying in the wind. I grab
the rail tightly. “Don’t worry, Larissa! I’ll be right there with
you! You’ll be perfectly safe.” Morgan assures. I nod and
proceed.

The further we go, the louder everything
gets. The wind is screeching in my ears. I can see Morgan’s mouth
moving, but I don’t hear her words. We finally make it down to the
stage and we reach a calm spot. It’s like the eye of the storm. The
wind and rain and noise swirling around us.

“Now?” I ask.

“Yes. Now.”

I pull out the cards and begin speaking. The
words come out of my mouth as easy as anything but I don’t think
anything is happening. I notice the water below us begins to churn
oddly.

“Keep reading!” Morgan urges. I keep reading
and with every word, the sea below becomes more unsettled. It
starts swirling around into a cone. The water is black and shifts
and churns madly. I look down and I can see the ocean floor from my
vantage point.

“You’re doing it! Keep reading!” I’m down to
the last word on the last card. As soon as I utter it, a light
appears at the ocean floor. A bright, white light shines up from
the swirling waters. The whole platform shudders violently. I drop
the cards and they float down to whatever is down there. I turn to
Morgan.

“Is this right?”

“Yes!” She shouts, but I don’t feel right. I
look over the edge of the stage and through the light, I see a
shadow. It quickly grows larger and soon, a figure comes flying up.
I fall to my knees as I see what can only be described as an angel
floating over us. It has a beautiful body, sculpted and
symmetrical. He holds a large sword in his hand, and I notice he
only has one wing, and bandages cover his face, revealing only one
eye. He pounds his single wing powerfully as he hovers over us.

“You have summoned me. I have come.” It
says.

“Yes, Lethar!” Morgan calls out. “This world
is ready to be cleansed! Heal it! Heal this world!” His gaze lowers
to us. He seems to notice me. He lowers himself to our level and he
looks at me directly.

“I know you.” It says.

“Uh, no. I don’t think you do.”

“It is her father you know, Lethar.” Morgan
adds. “Jake Corba.”

“Corba!” He says with some recognition. “The
one who stripped me of my wing! The one who has condemned me to
this lowly station!” He grows more intense. I’m starting to worry.
This wasn’t what I was imagining would happen. I run to the foot of
the stairs. Lethar swings his sword around, scraping the surface of
the platform. The howl his blade creates stabs my ears like knives.
I fall to my knees. “This world will bathe in the blood of
Sanctum!” He screams and he then produces a large horn from a bag
that’s slung around his shoulder. He blows it and I shudder at the
booming noise again. I look down and I see a great shadow eclipse
the light. Then a large, disfigured claw rises up and stabs down
into the earth. It’s a gnarled limb of twisted, bleeding flesh with
a long silver claw stretching out from the tip. The stench of Hell,
or what I assume is the stench of Hell, rises up and I can barely
keep my stomach from lurching. The storm above grows more intense
and the wind howls. I run over to Morgan.

“Is this really going to save the
world?”

“No. It’s going to kill every living thing
on it and then we shall create a new level of Hell!”

“What?”

“Sanctum! The eater of worlds has come and
when he has finished his meal, Earth will be the new domain for the
king of lies! And I shall be its queen, as I was destined to
be!”

“What about the Church of Corba?”

“What about it? There is so much you don’t
know little girl, but that’s all right. Your time is over.” Morgan
then grabs my throat and begins pressing down on my larynx. I can
hear a horrible roar come from below as I fall to my knees under
Morgan’s pressure. I manage to force my finger into her eye and she
falls back, screaming. I run up the stairs but I can hear her right
behind me. She grabs my foot and I fall onto the first landing.
Before I can move, she’s on me.

“Normally, I would hang you upside down and
cut you up the middle to let the blood drain out. There’s nothing
like the warm, luscious blood of the living, but I suppose this
time the blood of a dead girl will do. Did he ever tell you about
how he destroyed me? How he prevented my resurrection? In another
time, I was Morgan Sanguine and I was to be the queen of Hell, but
because of your father I spent years as nothing but a pitiable
puddle of dark sludge. My soul alive, but my flesh rotted and
useless. I spent years barely surviving, searching for a vessel to
take and fill with my power. Then I found this one and I was able
to rebirth myself. For years I was lost, trying to find some way to
exact my revenge on him. That’s when I met Damon.” Another
unearthly howl from below. I can see three more claws pulling at
the ground. Whatever they’re connected to is big and hungry. I
slide my leg up and push Morgan back off of me. I get up quickly
and run for the next set of stairs. I trip forward and as I do,
Morgan grabs me. I hold onto the rail tightly. As she pulls on me,
it comes loose and I pivot around, running the rail through
Morgan’s chest. She looks at me with a dazed sense of shock. With
no more thought than that, I grab her and throw her over. I watch
as her lifeless body falls to an unknown fate. I hurry back up to
the observation deck. I push the door open and find Damon with his
hand holding my father’s neck.

“Thanks, Larissa. We couldn’t have done this
without you.” Damon says as he chokes my father.

“What are you talking about? Let him
go!”

“As you wish.” Damon says and throws dad
against the window, cracking it. He falls to the floor, bloody. I
run to him.

“What are you doing? What have I done?”

“The culmination of a lifetime of revenge is
happening! When your father was struck by that energy wave all
those years ago, he thought it cured him. He thought the demon
within his body was gone, but he was very wrong. I had actually
taken him over completely!” I looked over at Damon.

“You? You are the demon?”

“Yes! For years I rotted away in that prison
of flesh, but when he was struck by that energy, I was given a
chance to finally escape. I was about to, but then I saw the
future. I saw this very moment and I realized a perfect way to get
my revenge on him. To take him away from his family, making his
life miserable and then just as he is about to breathe his last, he
shall see his own daughter bring about the end of the world!”

“I don’t understand this!”

“When he returned from being hit by the
energy wave, I had actually consumed his soul. I pretended at his
life for as long as I could stomach it. I was the little voice that
directed Jake’s every choice. When they approached him about the
church, he said yes because I told him to. He left you and his
precious wife at my suggestion. He followed my every order like a
good little dog!”

A horrifying thought enters my mind. I don’t
even want to ask, but I have to know.

“Then are you my father?” I ask. Damon looks
at me with a disgusted look on his face.

“No! You are the seed of Corba, don’t worry.
I only used his body, at least at first. When I was strong enough,
I left him and forged my own identity.”

“Damon.”

“Exactly. I made sure Jake’s role in saving
Heaven was known and after that, it was easy. I just had to direct
the herd, as it were.”

“You were the snake!”

“Of course. Do you really think God would
appear to anyone as a snake? As I was helping Jake minister to his
people, I encountered Morgan. She had seen better days, but she
still held onto some bit of her former power as well as some
essential knowledge. She knew a way to call forth the demon Sanctum
and I knew that would be the perfect way to end the reign of humans
over this world. Bravo on dispatching her by the way. Truly, like
father, like daughter.”

“So I opened a gate and released a demon
that will destroy the world?”

“Not exactly. During the battle to save
Heaven, Jake inadvertently stabbed a hole in the universe with
Lethar’s own sword. It disappeared after a while, but it was never
repaired, but it wasn’t just a hole. It was a tear in the very
fabric of creation. A portal to dimensions beyond anyone’s wildest
imaginings and when its energy struck Jake, I saw all this. The
portal has reappeared at various locations all over the world
through the years, but I knew it would appear again at this exact
location, at this exact time. You just called forth Lethar from the
portal, who in turn called for Sanctum down there.”

“He’s that thing’s master?” I ask pointing
to the angel still fighting against the winds around him.

“Yes, and he’s quite mad now, you see. He
once was one of Heaven’s greatest warriors, but after Jake cut him
down, he was sentenced to this labor for the rest of his days.”