The Devil's Apprentice, page 12
She slapped him on the back. “You’ll be fine, I’m sure. I have faith in you.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “Yeah of course, you’re my knight in shining armour.”
“You guys done talking?” the angel growled. He stood a few feet away, his rod now in his right arm, the end rested on the ground. “You’re only delaying the ass whooping.”
“Ass whooping?” the girl struggled to contain her smirk.
“Yeah, ass whooping.” The angel frowned. “Why are you laughing?”
“No reason,” the girl said, a broad smile on her face.
“Once I’m done with that fucker,” he pointed the rod at Alex. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, my big cock is going to tear you apart.”
The girl stopped smiling. She grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt. “Please tell me you can beat him.”
Alex sighed. “I’ll try.
He’d never been a fighter and the last time he tried something heroic, Mark had sliced him up and left him to bleed unconscious. Maybe the angel would go one step further and kill him…
Alex didn’t want to die. But he had no choice here. He had to fight the angel and hope for the best. For his sake and for the red-head’s sake. With steely determination, Alex charged.
The angel’s wings spread out magnificently. With a flap of each, his feet rose off the ground. Alex stopped in his tracks in admiration. As much as he hated to admit it, the angel looked amazing. The wings were a thing of beauty.
And then, with another thrust of the wings, the angel came at Alex with his glowing rod of fire. Alex ducked as the angel swiped at him, barely avoiding having his head sliced in half. That had been too close. Alex had felt the heat radiating from the rod.
The angel turned in mid-air, then came at him again. All thoughts of taking the angel head-on vanished. For the moment, it was all about surviving. Alex jumped off the pavement and slid behind the red car parked on the road opposite the shop doors just as the angel took another swipe at him. Again, the angel missed by inches. Its rod of fire sliced the side mirror of the car.
Alex scrambled to his feet and ran around the car. The angel flew over the car to meet him. This wasn’t a fair fight at all. Alex was weapon less as he was wingless.
“Coward,” he called out to the angel.
That stopped the angel in its tracks. Hovering fifteen feet off the ground, its wings flapping gently, it glared down at him.
“What did you call me?”
“You’re a coward,” Alex repeated. He tried to keep an eye on the angel and at the same time scan his surroundings for a weapon to use. “You’re just a glorified pigeon!”
From behind him came a snigger. He turned to look back in surprise. It was the red-head. She stood by the bins. They were the older type. Round and dirty silver in colour, they had round lids with handles attached at the top.
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” the angel asked, still floating about, the anger obvious.
Alex shrugged his shoulders as he stepped backwards and moved closer to the red-head and the bin. “I have my moments.”
“You’re going to die, you know that, right? Even if it doesn’t happen now, I’m going to make sure Gabriel takes your head.”
That made him stop in my tracks. “Gabriel?” he repeated. “The archangel?”
The angel nodded. “I know him personally,” he said, the bragging clear in his voice.
The red-head came up to stand beside me. “He knows Gabrielle the archangel?” she asked. “That’s a thing then?” she looked a little faint. “I’ve always sort of been an atheist…”
Alex was new to the whole God and the devil being real. He’d not had much time to think about the rest of it. He didn’t even have a proper understanding of hell and heaven. Information was coming to him in bits and pieces.
So Gabriel was real. Did it make a difference if the angel knew Gabriel? If the archangel was going to take the douchebags side, then maybe he was a bit of a prick too.
“You’re afraid now, aren’t you?” the angel grinned like a maniac. “The stories about Gabriel are true. All of them.”
Alex focused on his plan and continued to slowly step backwards. “I haven’t heard of any of his stories,” he said. “Except for the ones in the bible…”
The angel stopped grinning. “He’s killed thousands of demons in the space of a single day. He tore their hearts out with his bare hands.”
“That’s a load of shit,” he said automatically.
“It’s true,” the angel said seriously. “During the Great War, Gabriel brought death to Satan’s armies.”
Satan. He said Satan and not Satani. It must have been ancient history. Before Satani disposed of her brother and made peace with the demons. How long did angels live? Was it forever? Was the flapping bird in front of him even killable?
Alex’s heel touched the first bin. He’d reached his destination. Now it was time to act. The angel hovered twenty feet away from him and fifteen feet in the air. A fair distance to throw. The odds of hurting him were slim. Were he an ordinary human.
But he was a Demon Hunter now and through his veins coursed the energy that all Demon Hunters possessed.
He grabbed the lid of the bin and with all his might he threw it like a frisbee. It was a good throw. A strong throw. His aim was good. It would have hit the angel right in his gobby mouth. Except, the angel sliced the lid in half with his lightning rod.
Alex expected him to do that. Which was why he threw the bin immediately after. Had the angel not been so arrogant and pleased with himself for slicing the lid in half, he would have seen the base of the bin fly towards him.
Again, it was a good throw on Alex’s part. A strong throw. The metal bin filled with rubbish sailed towards the angel. As human pigeon sliced the lid in half and looked down at Alex grinning like a cunt, the trash can struck him on the nose.
The angel’s wings flapped as he fell back. He landed on the red car with a thud and crushed the top. His wings spread out onto the road and pavement. Alex ran towards him. He leapt into the air as the angel raised his head off the car.
Alex jumped over the car and over the angel’s body. His arm was stretched out and his hand curled into a fist. He put a lot of power behind it as it connected with the jaw of the angel.
Alex dropped to the ground a foot away from the car and landed on his feet. He turned around to observe the damage, if any. He knew the angel would be a tough fucker. Alex had grown much stronger. The power he’d put behind the punch would have knocked unconscious, even possibly killed any human.
The angel’s head had smashed back onto the roof of the car where it left a head-shaped dent on it. But the bastard was still alive and conscious. He raised his head and stared at Alex before rolling off the car. Alex was getting ready to attack him when he noticed how unsteady the angel was on his feet.
Their eyes met again. The angel stared blankly. His legs wobbled. He turned on the spot, then fell back and crashed into the glass panel of the corner shop. His body weight smashed through it and he hit the ground. His body remained their lying amongst the shattered glass, half on the pavement, the other half inside the shop.
The redhead joined him as they stood over the body. The angel was still mostly okay. There was no blood on his body. None of his face either from being punched and having a metal bin thrown at it. There was none visible beneath him as he lay on the shattered glass.
“He looks so human,” the redhead said. “I can’t believe he’s an angel…” she turned and looked up at Alex. “Thanks for the help, knight in shining armour,” she playfully punched him on the arm.
The angel opened his eyes. “You’re going to die,” he muttered. “Gabriel is so going to kill you… he’s going to kill your entire family. He’s going to rape the whore. He’s going to destroy that cunt-”
The angel’s eyes widened as the redhead’s foot connected with his groin.
“Ouch,” Alex mumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable
The redhead glanced up at me. “Was that too much?” she asked. What?” she asked.
Alex shook his head. “Nah, he totally deserved it.”
The kick seemed to have finally shut up the angel for good. He lay still on the ground and stared up with cold eyes. Alex wondered if the angel’s threats were real. Would Gabriel really come after him?
Chapter 18
The red-head’s name was Katie. Alex walked her home. She lived only a few blocks away from his own apartment. Once at her door, Katie invited him in for a drink. Alex declined. His head wasn’t in the right place.
He knew the rules.
And he’d just broken them.
It was against the rules to interfere in angel business. Even if that angel business was being a sexual predator. It didn’t even matter whether or not he wanted to be a Demon Hunter. He doubted Gabriel cared about what Alex wanted.
Gabriel, the fucking Archangel. Was he an asshole too?
Once inside his own apartment, Alex’s bag slid off his back as he headed for the kitchen. He poured himself a cold glass of water and gulped it down. Leaning against the kitchen counter, he wiped away the sweat from his forehead and stared at the sunlight shining in through the glass doors that led to the wrought iron balcony. Seven straight days of pure sunshine. This was unchartered territory for London.
Alex was about to open the fridge and rummage for food when he spotted her. She sat on the leather sofa. Hugging her knees and completely still, she stared into space.
It was Jessica.
Alex knew something was wrong. Even before he spotted the nasty purple bruise on her cheekbone.
“Jessica?” he called her name as he came to stand beside her. “What happened?”
She shuddered, surprised by his appearance. Their eyes met. “Alex,” she whispered. Her lips trembled. “He… he raped me.”
Alex dropped beside her, his eyes wide in alarm. “Who raped you?”
“...Kevin… I tried to stop him,” she mumbled.
Kevin. Jessica’s boyfriend. Alex had seen the guy a few times when he’d hung out in the apartment with Jessica. Tall and muscular, he had straight black hair that he wore back in a ponytail.
“I tried to stop him,” Jessica repeated. “But… he forced me down… tore my clothes off,” Jessica took a deep breath. Her body shuddered. “He raped me in front of his… h-his… Josh and Trevor, they just… they just watched and… and G-Ga-Gary…” Jessica stopped. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her breathing haggard.
The trauma of relieving the moment was too much for her. She’d been hurt. There was a large bruise on her face. Her normally immaculately straight hair was tangled. Her short-sleeved blouse was torn around the neck and exposed her bra. Her denim hot pants had dark grease marks.
Kevin had raped her in the garage floor right in front of his co-workers. Josh and Trevor had watched while Gary… he’d done something worse. Had he joined in? Alex felt the anger swell inside him. He pulled Jessica in for a hug. His arms wrapped around her. She buried her head in his chest as the tears she’d been holding back broke free.
Alex cooed comforting words in her ear all the while thinking of ways to make the asshole pay.
* * *
Two hours later, Alex stood by the door of Jessica’s bedroom, watching her sleep. He’d wanted to call the police, but she refused. She didn’t want to deal with the police and the stress that came with it. Kevin had raped her in front of his crew just because she wanted to break-up with him. She was afraid of what he’d do if the police turned up at his garage.
Alex didn’t try too hard to persuade her otherwise. She was hurt both physically and mentally. He’d carried to her bed and after tucking her in, he’d sat beside her, stroking her hair, watching as her eyes finally shut, as her breathing eased.
Now he stood by the door and wondered what to do. Kevin would pay for what he did. Alex would make him pay. The dirtbag would suffer. He knew where the asshole worked. He could drive over there now and-
Alex turned his head and stared down the hallway as the front door opened. It was Karen. Somehow, she had a key. Or… magic? Did she use magic to open locked doors?
She looked as gorgeous as always. A short black skirt revealed legs that stretched for ever. A fitting white sleeveless blouse hugged her ample bosom. So tall too… he wondered if he would ever get used to her height, and the height of other female Demon Hunters.
“Are you done sulking?” Karen asked. “Because it’s time for you to choose a weapon and begin your training.”
Alex frowned. Sulking? What the hell was she talking about? It came back to him soon enough. She’d let him get his ass kicked, then brought him back to his apartment, stripped him naked and sucked on his cock. She’d made Jessica do the same. In hindsight, the last part didn’t seem so bad…
“What’s the matter?” Karen asked. She peered into the room and spotted the sleeping Jessica. “Watching her sleep? I can’t tell if that’s romantic or creepy.”
“She was raped by her boyfriend,” Alex said coldly.
“I suppose it’s a good place to start.”
Alex’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“The human that hurt her will make for perfect target practice. Come on, let’s get you a weapon.”
Karen walked down the corridor and out the front door, not glancing back once to see if he followed. It annoyed Alex that she expected him to obey. After his last meeting with her, he’d decided to not listen to the Demon Hunter.
But the circumstances were different this time, he told himself. He was doing this to avenge Jessica, not to serve the devil. Alex closed the door to Jessica’s bedroom and followed after Karen.
Chapter 19
Karen didn’t bother holding the elevator for him. The doors closed in his face as she leaned against the mirrored wall, smiling sweetly. Annoyed, Alex rushed down the stairs. He took four or five at a time. He felt really good physically. Like he could run forever and not break a sweat.
Karen was down before him. She waited by the side of the pavement with her curvy as resting on a silver Lamborghini Aventador. Alex had only ever seen one of those in pictures.
“Nice car. Did you steal it?”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Another perk of being a Demon Hunter, we have a never depleting bank balance.”
“...never depleting?”
Karen smiled. The door of the Aventador opened upwards. She slipped in. The door closed. The window slid down. “Are you coming?”
Alex walked around the Lamborghini. Coming to the passenger side, he stared at the car, admiring it. Despite the things he had seen the past week or so, angels, demons, the bloody devil herself, this car still took his damned breath.
A little giddy, Alex opened the door and climbed in.
* * *
It was past seven when they arrived at the Red House of Satan. The sun had lost its heat, but it was still bright outside when Alex stepped out of the Lamborghini. He stared down at the car fondly. The highlight of his day. He had a feeling it was going to go downhill from this point.
Behind him was the monolithic monstrous structure of red stone that rose up a hundred floors. Alex climbed up the black steps and walked under the white pediment bearing the face of Satani. He wondered if the devil was in or if she was back in hell. Was this her main home on earth or was it just one of many? It struck him how little he knew of the devil’s arrangement.
They walked through the lobby and up the stairs that led to the elevators. Karen pressed the button for the seventh floor. The doors opened to a foyer. Ahead was a corridor with doors on both sides. Burning torches lit the place in a dim red light. Karen opened the first door on the left.
The walls were covered in burgundy panels. Above was the appearance of a skylight, but the colour shining down was red. The walls were covered with weapons - swords, daggers, axe-like blades, spears, bows with quivers full of arrows.
It was an armoury.
Away from the walls on hardwood boxes with intricate carvings resting on hooks were an array of swords looking very much like a museum display. There were mannequins too, each covered in every type of body armour imaginable.
“Anything take your fancy?” Karen asked.
There was a lot to take in, a lot to choose from. It might have been easier to have just given him a sword, or maybe a gun. They didn’t have those here. In fact, there were no modern weapons at all.
“The best way to kill a demon is to decapitate it,” Karen said. “Hard to do that with a gun.”
Alex glanced back at her. “Can you read minds?”
“No, and I’m glad for it too. After a while, all you Demon Hunters want to do is fuck or fight.”
Alex turned his attention back to the weapons on display. He didn’t want to be a Demon Hunter. Yet here he was, back in the Red House of Satan, collecting a weapon made for Demon Hunters. He was doing it for Jessica, he told himself. After that… He didn’t know what he would after that, but it was a worry for another time.
He walked along the wall, glancing at the weapons attached with tenterhooks. A longsword caught his eye and Alex stopped in front of it. It was simple in design. The blade shiny, the grip leather, the pommel large, the guard thick.
Alex picked it up. It was heavy, but it felt good. “What do you think?” he asked, turning with the sword in hand.
“Big sword. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to compensate for something,” Karen muttered.
Alex glared at her. “What’s wrong with the sword?”
“The choice of weapon usually complements the Demon Hunter. Big sword means big hulking brute. Disappointing.”
“Not here to please you,” Alex shot back.
“You’re right. Let’s go, Conan.”
Alex stared at her, not sure if that was an insult or a compliment. Deciding it was the former because Karen appeared to be in a bitchy mood, he slashed at thin air, trying to get a feel for the weapon.
