Redemption (Stand-Alone, Spin-Off to Reaper Series), page 25
The blue flames swirled around the entire garage like a localized tornado, until it had done several full laps and began to swirl tighter and tighter together in the center of the garage, just in front of the exit. Eve could just see from where she was hiding as the blue flames became condensed and began to solidify together. In only a few moments, the fire began to take the shape of a human and then Belial was standing there as he had always appeared to Eve, the only blue emanating from his eyes as he grinned wickedly, surveying the garage in human form.
“Eeee-eeeeve?” Belial suddenly sang out playfully, his eyes roaming around the garage. “Where are yoooooouu?”
The sound of the car alarm suddenly seemed to catch his attention and he turned his gaze towards the Lexus. In the next instant, the entire car was crushed into a tight ball, as though an invisible giant had flattened it in his bare hands. The alarm whooped pitifully two more times, then died. The garage was silent as Belial grinned cruelly and Eve tried to keep her hands from shaking at her sides.
“You might as well come out, Eve,” Belial called out, walking a few slow steps deeper into the garage. “I will find you. Javan wants you to come back. Me? Well, I couldn’t care less. Personally, I’d rather see you dead, but to each their own.”
Eve remained silent, trying to keep her breathing as inaudible as possible, wishing that she could make her heart beat quieter. It sounded deafening in her ears. How could she defend herself from a Demon? As a human, she might as well be a pigeon trying to take down a stealth bomber. She had no chance.
Belial suddenly began to whistle a tune, as though he was merely out for a stroll in the park. It was a slow melody, somber and eery, made even more so by the fact that Eve knew Belial could kill her with only a thought. And he had all but said that’s what he wanted to do. Belial then began to sing, keeping the same slow tune that he had been whistling.
“One little Angel, all dressed in white,
Tried to get to Heaven on the end of a kite.
But the kite, it broke,
And down, down, she fell.
She couldn’t get to Heaven,
So instead she went to HELL!”
Belial shouted the word Hell and, in the same moment, he turned and faced a Volkswagen nearby, raising a hand quickly towards the ceiling. As though it was following Belial’s hand movement, the Volkswagen shot up into the air with alarming speed and crashed into the ceiling. It hit so hard, the concrete cracked and the car itself was almost completely flattened. At the sound of the car crushing against the garage ceiling, Eve couldn’t help but flinch, afraid that Belial might do the same to her when he found her.
I’m in a freaking horror movie! Eve thought in panic.
Belial frowned at the empty space where the car had been, then dropped his hand as he turned away, the flattened Volkswagen immediately dropping back to the floor, crashing loudly again. Belial ignored the sound, grinning around the garage once more as he continued his slow search for Eve, confident that she wasn’t going to get away.
“Maybe I can just tell Javan you got away,” Belial sniggered. “He doesn’t have to know. You’re a distraction. Better off dead. Don’t be scared, though. I’ll make it quick. And think of it this way. The sooner you die, the sooner you can be back in Heaven with your dear old daddy.”
Eve could feel her heart pounding in her throat as she watched Belial’s feet slowly come closer and closer to her hiding spot under the SUV. If he moved the car, if he looked under it…
“But then…” Belial added thoughtfully, stroking his chin as he continued to grin through his search of the garage, his eyes roaming from car to car, looking for where Eve was hiding. “Javan would be pretty upset if he found out. It might ruin my own plans. The Garden is a truly beautiful place, by the way.”
Eve held her breath as she saw the toes of Belial’s shoes only a few cars away. He was getting closer. He was going to find her. However, from the instant Belial mentioned the Garden, she forgot her own fear and felt cold with apprehension and worry. Why was Belial talking about the Garden?
“Oh yeah, I’ve been there,” Belial said conversationally. “The Garden. Wonderful place. So much color, something my home world never had. Even before your father destroyed it. But I plan on returning the favor.”
Belial then flicked his wrists and gently waved his hands at a parked sedan. In the same instant, the sedan seemed to rip apart like it was nothing more than paper, the windows all shattering and the metal groaning loudly in complaint as it was ripped completely in half from front to back. Belial tutted in disappointment when he saw Eve wasn’t hiding there and then let the pieces of the car crash back to the floor. Eve looked towards the open garage door that led out onto the street. She longed to run for it, but knew the second she moved, Belial would be on her and then she didn’t know what he would do.
“You see,” Belial continued casually. “The difference between me and Javan is that he craves eternal life. I, however, crave eternal death. Javan wants the world to live forever. Me? I’m helping him. But that’s not my end game. What I want is something I nearly had countless years ago. When I first met your father, and his tyrant master, Abzu. I. Want. My war.”
Belial grinned cruelly around the garage, his bright blue eyes burning with excitement at the mention of war.
“Which is why I went to the Garden, Eve,” Belial went on. “All those souls. How many would you say are there? A hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand? A million? Ten million? Who knows, it’s not like you keep a spreadsheet. It doesn’t matter. There are enough. At least… there were.”
Eve listened to Belial’s footfalls as he came closer still. Closer. Closer. She was afraid, to say the least, but what Belial was saying scared her infinitely more than her current situation. What had he done to the Garden?
“Did you know that pure energy is impossible to destroy?” Belial asked. “Impossible. Everything in existence is made up of energy, and the living creatures that energy makes do, in fact, die, I don’t need to tell you that. But the energy itself? It’s eternal. Just like the energy that made up my universe. My world. My people. They might be gone… but their energy remains. And that’s why I went to the Garden and I took all the souls that were there.”
Horrified, Eve could only listen as Belial laughed hysterically. All the souls from the Garden. Gone. Their chance at redemption taken away. To what end?
“Ah, you’re such a good listener, Eve,” Belial sneered. “I could talk to you for hours. I know you want to know why I took the souls. It took a long, long, time to figure out this little trick, so forgive me if I sound like I’m bragging. Because I am. See, I figured out that if two powerful sources of energy, one stable and the other not so much, were to come into contact for a long enough period of time, then the more powerful energy would essentially consume the weaker energy source and become stable. It would take an incredibly powerful stable source of energy to rebuild my world and my people, and a lot of it. For a long time I thought I’d never find such a source. But then… Then, Eve… Then your father made humans. The human soul. The most powerful source of energy that anyone has ever known. Except for Demons. Demons are far more powerful than the human soul, Eve. Which is why Abzu tried to consume me. Too bad for him I don’t have a soul, so he just looked stupid. It was a shame I wasn’t there to see him die, but please pass on my thanks to the one who did the deed for me. But anyway, as I was saying… I took the souls from the Garden and sent them to my own world. And with all those human souls swirling around the remnants of my world, it’s only a matter of time before my people are reborn. And strong again. And then I can have my war.”
Suddenly, the car beside the SUV Eve was hiding under rose from the ground and shot across the garage, tossed aside like it was nothing more than a baseball, then it crashed down on top of another parked car and rolled away, the sound of crunching steel and breaking glass echoing all around.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Belial continued, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He then put on a fake, mocking, girly voice, which was clearly supposed to be a parody of Eve. “But Belial, why help Javan make humanity immortal if you need human souls? Because, my dear Eve, for two reasons. It’s not just about rebuilding my world. It’s about destroying your father. And all the Angels, in fact. In order to do that, I need to take away his source of power. That being humanity. But I had to wait for the means to destroy them. I had to wait for what humans call science to show me the way. And Javan was the one to figure it out. I knew I saw potential in him, long ago when I resurrected him at the bottom of that cliff. We’re going to make sure that every single human on this planet is subjected to Javan’s immortality serum. And while Javan makes a manageable percentage of humanity immortal, I get the rest. They go directly to me. The link between human souls and Elohim will be gone. Javan’s serum, infused with my own power, will infect the entire human population, and then the real fun begins. My Demonic energy having infected their very souls will result in them being incapable of passing through to the River, Purgatory, the Garden, Heaven, any of it. They’re souls will be completely mine, one hundred percent. What might come as a surprise to the survivors, though, is that with my energy coursing through their veins, I will control them. They’ll be a part of my own mind, one giant colony, and I’ll live up to my end of the deal with Javan. I’ll command his people to create the world he envisions. Whatever that is. And then, finally, Angels and Demons will clash! The human souls I claim will make my people stronger then even your most powerful Archangels, a thousand times stronger than before! And once my legion is ready, I will strike with full force at Heaven itself, and tear it down around Elohim’s ears.”
At that moment, the SUV Eve was hiding under suddenly lifted up into the air and was hurled across the garage, slamming so hard into a concrete pillar that it split in two. Eve found herself completely exposed, staring up at the grinning face of Belial.
“Hi sweetie,” Belial leered. “Did you miss me?”
As Belial reached down to grab her, Eve kicked him hard in the ankle, hoping to knock him down long enough to escape, but he reacted no more than if a fly had run into him. Eve kicked and punched, tried to swat his hands away from her, but Belial managed to grab her wrists and yank her to her feet. He spun her around and held her in a grip as strong as steel, pinning one of her arms behind her back while he wrapped his other arm around her throat. They were now close enough for Belial to whisper directly into Eve’s ear, his lips brushing against her lobe like they were in a loving embrace, though Eve still struggled to pull away.
“I like you, Eve,” Belial said softly, as though they were lovers. “These games we play? They’re so much fun. I haven’t been so entertained in centuries.”
“Go screw yourself,” Eve hissed, struggling to articulate as Belial pressed his forearm against her throat.
“Aw, now be nice,” Belial whispered, grinning wide. Eve could feel his hot breath on her ear and struggled to break free, but he was too strong for her. “Javan wouldn’t be pleased if anything bad happened to you. He’s so… fond of you. But I don’t think I’ll be taking you back to him. I know he asked me to, but I don’t like the way he’s been distracted with you around. I think it would be much better if you were to just… go away.”
“If you’re going to kill me,” Eve began, placing as much contempt in her voice as possible, “then stop talking about it and do it.”
“Oh, no-no-no,” Belial breathed in Eve’s ear. “No, I won’t kill you. I’d like to, but I have rules to play by, too, just like your dear old daddy. No, you can live. But you should take my advice, Eve. Leave. While I still allow it. Get out of Toronto. Get out of Canada, I don’t care, go to New Zealand or something. Just make sure I don’t see you again. Because I won’t have to play by any rules but my own soon enough. And if I see you then… that’s when I will kill you.”
Eve fought again to break free, but Belial simply tightened his grip around her, tightening his arm-hold closer around her throat, making Eve choke as she struggled to breathe properly.
“You can’t stop us, Eve,” Belial whispered. “You tried. You failed. All you managed to achieve was getting your two friends killed. How many more deaths do you need on your conscience before you understand that all you can do is fail?”
Suddenly, Eve felt Belial’s grip vanish and she nearly fell over due to the abruptness of his release. She spun around to face him, but found herself staring at empty space. Belial had disappeared, but his words still echoed in Eve’s memory.
23
DESPAIR
A
short time later, Javan stormed out of the elevator into his suite to find Belial relaxing on the sofa, his feet up on the coffee table and his fingers locked behind his head as he smirked smugly at Javan’s sour expression.
“Where is she?” Javan demanded at once.
“Who?” Belial asked with mock sincerity.
“You know damn well who,” Javan growled. “Where is she?”
Belial shrugged, still seemingly at complete ease on the sofa. “Dunno. I lost her.”
“You-you lost her?” Javan spluttered, feeling an even measure of astonishment and rage. “You lost her!?”
“Yeah, lost her in a crowd,” Belial replied, sounding bored. “She’s gone.”
“YOU’RE A DEMON!” Javan roared, losing control of his temper. “HOW CAN YOU LOSE ONE MORTAL GIRL!?”
“Like I said,” Belial began, sneering at Javan as he spoke. “I lost her in a crowd. Did you want me to tear them all apart to find her? You know the rules.”
Javan spluttered as he clearly wanted to keep raging, but he apparently had no argument against Belial’s “rules.” Belial narrowed his eyes at Javan’s distress and sighed in frustration as he rose to his feet.
“Look,” Belial began. “Don’t worry about Eve. We don’t need her. We got what we wanted from her. And this obsession you have with her has gone on long enough.”
“I am not obsessed with Eve,” Javan argued.
“Oh yeah?” Belial sneered as he rose a hand and gestured towards the large canvases that portrayed Eve’s sparkling green eyes and locks of bright red hair. “How long did it take for you to get that painting just right? How long did you slave over it, picking at every minor detail? How many other canvases and portraits have you painted of her? Face it, you’re obsessed.”
“I simply admire her,” Javan snapped.
“Sure you do,” Belial scoffed sarcastically. “Tell me, Javan. Didn’t it just kill you to see me with her? To see us dance? To see us touch? To see us kiss? How much did you wish you were me in those moments? How badly did you want to kill me for being the one she cared for more?”
“She didn’t care more for you,” Javan growled, stepping closer to Belial and glaring at him from only inches away. “I permitted your little game to seduce Eve because it helped convince her to side with us. But don’t be fooled into thinking she cared more for you than me. Our bond is ancient.”
“Yes, I know,” Belial sneered. “And so is your obsession. You can’t lie to me, Javan. I know the real reason you want humanity to become immortal. You hope to ascend the entire species so that you can be closer to the Angels. And therefore closer to Eve. You know she can’t ever be with you, even if you are immortal, because regardless of your lifespan, you’re only human. But I know this is only your first step towards something greater. Something more… Angelic.”
“What about it?” Javan demanded defiantly. “So I don’t tell you everything. Are you going to stand there and expect me to believe you have been completely honest with me? I know you hide things, I know you lie, it’s in your nature, but I don’t press the issue. We help each other. We have similar goals. I’ll get you what you need to get your revenge on Elohim, and then you leave. That was our deal.”
“I know what the arrangement was,” Belial replied, grinning wickedly as he spoke.
Javan continued as though Belial had said nothing. “You avenge your world, revive your people, and go home. Earth and Heaven have no place for you once we’re done. Eve and I will join Earth and Heaven as one.”
“I know you want her to want to stay with you, and for you to build this new world of yours together, but face it. She freaking hates you. She won’t stay willingly. Give it up.”
Javan narrowed his eyes at Belial and replied deathly quiet with only, “We’ll see.”
Suddenly, Javan’s cell phone rang in his pocket and he whipped it out, barking into the phone, “What?” As he listened, his face slowly began to soften, no longer enraged, but rather appalled.
“When?” he asked, sighing heavily. “I see. How?… Very well. Thank you for letting me know.”
Javan ended the call and returned his phone to his pocket, turning to Belial as he spoke.
“That was security,” Javan began. “You remember Nicholas? The boy we turned immortal?”
“Yeah?”
“He’s dead.”
Belial furrowed his brown and almost smiled, like he thought it was a joke. “But he’s immortal.”
“Only as much as we could make him,” Javan replied. “It seems he made his way into the basement and found the incinerator. There’s only so much immortality can heal.”
Belial stared at Javan in bewilderment, then suddenly began to laugh. Javan frowned in distaste.
“It’s hardly a laughing matter,” Javan admonished. “Why did Nicholas do this? Did you command it?”
Belial snorted, still snickering. “No. Why would I? The boy decided for himself. We save his life, he ends it anyway. Gratitude, right?”
