The Devil's Apprentice, page 3
The hooker pinched Alex in the back. He turned to look back at her, annoyed. “What?” his voice came out course. He cleared his throat, then repeated, “What?”
“Your dad’s dead.”
Alex had realised as much. “I know,” he muttered.
“He said he was going to die… and then he died.”
Again, it was something Alex was aware of. “What’s your point?” he hissed.
“Coincidence? Or is all of that devil stuff true too?”
Alex stared at the dead body of his father, feeling strangely calm. Andrew hadn’t exactly lived a healthy life. This was sort of how Alex had imagined his dad would die. Quite suddenly from drug overdose, or drinking himself to death. The fact that he’d predicted the day of his death and the manner of said death, both were pushed to the corners of his mind, as were Andrew’s ramblings about the devil coming for them both.
“Did you call an ambulance?” Alex asked.
The hooker stepped away from him, her phone in hand, she raised it to her ear. As she spoke to the emergency services operator on the other end, Alex glanced around the room, looking for his dad’s shirt. It was on carpet by the corner of the sofa. A green shirt that had seen much better days. He was about to move towards it when the bell sounded.
Someone was at the front door.
“Is that the ambulance?” Alex asked.
“If it is, they got here in record time…”
Alex let out a nervous laugh. “Who else could it be?”
They both turned to look at Andrew’s dead body, his skin blue, his face traumatic. Doubts began to creep inside Alex’s mind. Determined to keep them away, he walked out of the living room. Alex didn’t recall closing the red door, nor did he remember switching off the corridor light. He walked down the dark passage and came to the front door. His hand on the brass doorknob, he was about to turn it when his doubts got the better of him.
It was ridiculously quick for the ambulance to arrive. Andrew hadn’t been lying about his impending death. What if he was telling the truth about the devil? After what Alex had seen in the past week, he couldn’t deny the existence of supernatural beings.
The front door had a peephole. Alex pressed his eye against it. There was a woman outside. A tall woman wearing a smart white lace shirt with golden buttons tucked into a black skirt that rested above her knees. Black sunglasses covered her eyes. Her skin was red. The same devilish red skin Jamie Azarath had.
Chapter 4
With some effort, Alex unclenched his hand and released his grip on the brass doorknob. His heart thumping, he turned and walked back down the corridor. Coming to the living room, he stood by the door.
“Was that the ambulance?”
Feeling a little dazed, Alex leaned against the door frame. He blinked twice. “What’s your name?”
“Lucy Lust… was that the ambulance?”
“That’s your real name?”
The blonde hooker, apparently named Lucy Lust, frowned. “You got a problem with it?”
Alex shook his head. He did not have a problem with it. He did have many other problems though. His gaze flickered to the body of his dad. Still blue and still dead. “There’s a woman at the door. She’s red…”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “She’s what?”
“Red. Her skin, it's all red. Sort of like the devil really… I’m beginning to fear my dad might have been telling the truth.”
“You’re weird,” Lucy told him.
Still naked, her bare breasts brushed against his shoulder as she walked past him and marched down the corridor. A small voice inside Alex told him to grab hold of her, to stop her going to the front door. There was a red woman there. A demon? The woman was a demon, wasn’t she? Jamie was one too. They existed, as did angels. He couldn’t deny what he’d seen with his own eyes.
If demons and angels existed, did that mean his dad had told the truth? Had Andrew really made a deal with the devil? What deal had he made? She said she’d take good care for you… she’s coming for you too… Alex shuddered. That didn’t sound good.
“...holy fuck… she does have red skin!”
Alex turned his head to look down the corridor. “You can… you can see her red skin?”
Lucy glanced back at him. The colour had left her face. She nodded before swallowing uncomfortably. “She looks like the fucking devil.”
“Oh, thank god,” Alex muttered. “I thought I was going crazy.”
Lucy stared at him with wide eyes. She shook her head. “We’ll have that conversation another time,” she muttered as she hurried towards him. “What is she doing here?” Lucy hissed. “Is she the devil? Is she here to collect your soul?”
“My- what? Why would you say that?”
“What else could it be? Your shitty dad said he sold your soul to the devil!”
She had a point. One Alex hadn’t considered. But now that he thought about it, what else could it be? His dad had sold his soul to the devil. And now the devil was here to collect it. It all made sense.
Did it?
There was still a part of Alex that didn’t believe any of this to be true. This had to be a dream, right? He was tempted to slap himself, but… Did that ever work? Had anyone ever actually woken up from a dream by slapping themselves? And if they didn’t wake up, then the dream continued, so how did that work? Could you still be in a dream if you knew it was a dream?
“Hello?” Lucy waved a hand before his eyes. “You look like you’re having a stroke.”
“I’m not having a stroke,” Alex muttered. “I was just wondering if I should slap myself.”
“You think it’s a dream? Shall I hit you?”
Lucy said the words far too eagerly. Which Alex felt was a little uncalled for. She barely knew him. Why did she want to hit him? Not the time to be offended, a voice in his head screamed at him. If the devil really had come to collect his soul, this was most definitely not good for him.
“We need to get out of here,” Alex said.
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” Lucy muttered. “Let me get dressed.”
She walked back into the living room and towards the corner in the boxed space between the two sofas. She reached down and grabbed her clothes and a Gucci bag. Alex turned away as she began to get dressed. A strange thing really. He was looking away now that she was putting clothes on.
Once dressed, Lucy came to stand before him. She was wearing a short black leather skirt, a white crop top with her midriff exposed, and a leather jacket. The skirt was so short, Alex was sure the slightest movement and her panties would be visible for all to see… if she was wearing any, of course.
“High heels?” Alex asked.
“Yes, high heels,” Lucy snapped. “I’m sorry I didn’t come prepared to run away from the fucking devil, but that’s all I have.”
“You could wear my dad’s shoes?” Alex suggested helpfully.
“I am not wearing your disgusting dad’s-”
The doorbell rang once more. It sounded different this time, as if it were impatient, as if it were tired of waiting. Alex stepped out into the corridor and ran the other way. Once in the kitchen, he paused, glancing around.
“Your dad is a slob,” Lucy observed.
She was not wrong. The bin in the corner wasn’t just overflowing, it was surrounded by enough garbage to fill another three bins. Dishes piled in the sink and takeaway bags crowded the kitchen table. Ignoring the mess, Alex pulled open the draws one after the other, searching frantically.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for a weapon,” Alex said just as he spotted the wooden knife block beside the sink. It was partially covered by a Nando’s bag. He knew it wasn’t going to be great when he had to hold the knife block down while he pulled out the first knife. It was rusty and completely blunt.
“I’ve got a knife,” Lucy said. “Let’s go.”
He turned to see her holding a dagger that looked like it came out from a Rambo movie. “You just carry that with you then?”
“Course I do. I’m a prostitute, Alex. Do you know how many weird fuckers I meet on a regular basis?”
It was a fair point, Alex supposed. He imagined he would do the same were he in a similar line of work. Lucy held the blade out for him to take, but as Alex reached for it, her hand dropped, and she stared at him with suspicious eyes.
“What?”
“Do you know how to use it?”
“The knife?” Alex asked. “It’s not fucking rocket science,” he muttered.
Lucy opened her mouth, possible to argue otherwise. But she was interrupted by the loud thud. It sounded like the front door had just been blown off its hinges. Which was exactly what had happened. They both dashed towards the kitchen door. Alex got there first. He pulled at the handle. It was locked. Deciding there wasn’t enough time to look for the key, he took a step back and slammed his shoulder into the top glass.
“Fuck,” Alex cursed. “That really fucking hurt.”
Worst of all, there was just a single crack on the glass to show for his efforts. Bracing himself, Alex was about to charge into it once more when Lucy tapped him on the shoulder. She was pointing at the door that led into the kitchen from the corridor.
The demon with the red skin stood buy the door.
Her skin was red but a shade lighter than Jamie’s. She was six and a half foot tall and dressed like a hot secretary - black skirt, silky white shirt, black sunglasses, long brown hair. He almost wasn’t afraid.
She removed her sunglasses. As they came off her eyes, they vanished into thin air. She had black eyes that seemed to stare past his flesh and into his soul.
“Alex, I’m here to collect your soul.”
There was a squeak to his left. It came from Lucy. Alex wanted to laugh, not because it was funny, but because she was right. Apparently, his dad really had sold his soul to the devil. And then he realised he couldn’t laugh. He couldn’t move either. His entire body was rooted to the spot, frozen stiff.
“Come,” the red-skinned devil woman said.
She turned and walked out of the kitchen. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Lucy waving at him. Clearly, she wasn’t petrified.
His legs suddenly began to move. Alex wanted to scream in fear. He didn’t want his legs to move. But he couldn’t scream. Was he under a spell? Had the devil woman taken control of his body?
He made it to the living room door when he felt it. A sudden surge of heat appeared within his chest before rapidly spreading outwards.
“Run, Alex.”
Alex turned his head to look back at Lucy. “Did you tell me to run?”
She shook her head. “But I think you should,” she hissed. “That woman said she’s here to collect your soul… why are you following her?”
“I had to follow-”
Alex stopped as he realised that not only could he talk, he could move too. He didn’t know where the voice that told him to run had come from, but he was going to listen to it. The devil woman had reached the front door. She had her back towards him.
Alex darted the opposite way.
He made it to the locked kitchen door when he felt it surround him. It was like being in the centre of an invisible mini-tornado. Alex knew it was there. This powerful air rotating around him, waiting for him to reach for the door, waiting to snap off his arm if it dared.
“That’s never happened before,” the devil woman said. “Turn,” she commanded.
Alex tried to resist. The invisible tornado that previously surrounded him, it now pressed against his body like a densely packed pocket of air. That air was forcing him to turn. The little particles of air pushed and pulled simultaneously at his body.
Alex came face to face with the devil woman once more. Once more he was taken aback by her presence. Tall and powerfully built like an imagined Amazonian, she was beautiful and frightening in equal measure.
She reached a hand out with a finger extended. The nail was painted black. She brushed the tip down the side of his face and moved closer to him. Her large breasts were level with his face. “You’re surprisingly strong for such a scrawny body.”
“Thanks,” Alex mumbled. He stared up at her eyes, so black and so deep. “You’re uh… you’re not bad yourself. Love what you’re doing with the… what are you doing? Why can’t I move?”
“When I tell a human to follow me, they follow.” Her hand moved to his chest. Her nails tore through his t-shirt and dug into his flesh. “You did not.” She leaned in, her lips at his ears. “Tell me, is he inside you? Is he back once more?”
“I-I don’t k-know what you’re talking a-about,” Alex stammered.
The devil woman inhaled deeply, as if taking in his scent, as if trying to sniff out this someone that might be inside him. Apparently unsatisfied, she stepped back. Her hand was no longer on his chest. The pocket of air that surrounded him also vanished. It caused Alex to hit the ground hard.
He remained there on the ground and leaned against the kitchen door. He’d banged his head during his fall. His head throbbed. Lucy stood silently with her back pressed against the kitchen sink. He could feel her eyes going from him to the devil woman.
Alex only had eyes for the devil woman. For some unknown reason, she was taking her clothes off.
“What… what are you doing?” Alex asked, half troubled and half turned on as the devil woman’s skirt dangled by her ankles. She kicked it off, along with her red high heels. It was the shirt that followed next.
Her underwear was like nothing Alex had ever seen before. Her bra and panties were both made of a silver mesh. He could see her nipples and the dark line that resembled the slit of her vagina.
“Get up. We’re going to battle,” the devil woman announced.
It was then did Alex understand that her underwear was in fact made of chainmail. He couldn’t see how it was effective as it left large parts of her body, in fact most of it, uncovered. It was probably uncomfortable as hell too. Though, as she stood towering over him, she didn’t seem that uncomfortable. She held her arms out, and like something out of an X-Men movie, her nails began to extend. The tips were now razor-sharp.
“Uh, how about we don’t battle?” Alex asked. He scrambled to his feet. His back was pressed against the kitchen door. He felt for the handle and tried it once more. Yup. It was still locked. “I don’t really want to hit a lady. I’m kinda chivalrous like that…” he flashed her a smile.
The devil woman looked back at him much like a hungry animal did at potential food. She was going to devour him and not in a good way.
She charged at him; her shoulder slammed into his stomach. There was one positive to this. The kitchen door was no longer blocking his exit. It had broken off. Alex groaned as he rolled off the door and right into the overgrown weed in the back garden.
Alex tried to climb to his feet but stumbled and landed flat on his face. His insides felt like they’d been trampled on by an elephant. He didn’t get a moment's respite. The devil woman grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up. She dangled him a foot off the ground and sniffed him once more.
“Is he in there?”
Alex didn’t know what she was talking about, but he didn’t care either. Being dangled by his hair, his head felt like it was going to explode. He slashed wildly with his hands and feet, kicking, punching and even scratching at her. It was all to no effect. She was like a brick wall.
“Let go, you crazy bitch!” Alex yelled. “There’s nothing inside me!”
The devil woman stared at him for a long moment. Finally, she let go off his hair. Although it was only a foot drop, Alex hit the ground like he’d fallen off the roof. The devil woman turned and walked back into the kitchen. She was in the corridor when, without turning back, she spoke.
“Follow me, Alex.”
This time, Alex didn’t feel his body compiling without his will. No, despite how much he wanted to run away, he knew it would be unwise. His best chance of getting hurt the least was to follow this violent devil woman.
Chapter 5
There was a white limousine with black tinted windows parked outside his dad’s house. A tall man wearing a smart black suit, black gloves and a black cap stepped out to open the side door. The devil woman slid in, and as Alex followed, he caught a glance of the man’s face. It was red and his eyes were balls of black.
Inside the limousine the seats were of red leather and took up most of the space in an L shape. There was a drinks cabinet, the wood a rich mahogany. The tinted window at the other end slid down.
“Where too, mistress?” the driver asked, his voice husky.
“Rubrus Domus Satanas. It’s time for Alex to meet the devil.”
The limousine set off. Alex stared at the woman, the one he’d previously thought to be the devil. “You’re not the devil?”
“No,” came the one-word answer.
“So… who or what are you?”
“I’m Scarlett. I’m a demon in servitude of the devil. You’ll meet her soon enough.”
“The devil’s a woman?”
It was the first time he’d seen Scarlett smile. She had beautiful white teeth. Nothing at all like the monstrous set Jamie had. In fact, Scarlett looked very human. Just an exceptionally tall one with light red skin and black eyes. She was still wearing her chainmail bra and panties when she raised her legs and rested her feet on his lap.
“Massage them,” Scarlett said.
She leant back and closed her eyes.
Alex got the impression that even if she weren’t the devil herself, Scarlett was not a demon to be disobeyed. He started to massage her feet. After awkwardly poking and prodding them at first, his hands settled into a steady rhythm as his mind began to wonder.
This was real, wasn’t it?
He was trapped inside a limousine massaging the feet of a demon who was taking him to meet the devil. The devil who apparently was a woman.
His dad was dead…
