Tribulation Read online

  He stared at it and it gazed back at him. It had stopped struggling now and had become calm, as if accepting the inevitable.

  “What are you?” he demanded, tightening his grip on the greasy, foul smelling hair, ignoring the sharp stab of horns against the palm of his hand. The Lemure - or whatever it was - smiled at him, the lips peeling back to reveal the sharpened points of teeth glinting dully in the shadowy light.

  Slowly, apparently to avoid antagonizing Sam, a disproportionately long arm moved up to touch the blade at its neck, its sharp talons clicking against the iron gently and lovingly as it completely ignored the sizzle of burning flesh that the contact caused.

  Sam was aware that his mouth was hanging open in surprise like some dullard but he was unable to close it. This whole scene was so strange. This shouldn’t be happening. Why wasn’t he doing something? Saying something? The unusual and uncharacteristic behavior of this thing that clearly wasn’t just a Lemure had deeply unnerved him.

  The Lemure’s eyes had not once left his own. It opened its mouth and something that Sam thought would never usher from it, did. Words, hissed out but recognizable.

  “Your father sends his greetings.”

  Book 1

  Hell

  6 months into the Tribulation

  He will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble. He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.

  Job 15: 28-30

  Chapter One

  Utah/Colorado border

  Night fell over the grim landscape, washing out any tenacious remnants of color lucky enough to remain. There weren’t many; a few stubborn shrubs and weeds, their dull green leaves mostly blanketed in grey ash, clutching on to skeletal branches in a desperate gasp for life. The warm, sulfur- tinged breeze sent drifting flurries of ash swirling and dancing into the night sky. Occasionally the clouds would part, revealing a crimson moon for a moment, bathing the setting in its sickly red glow.

  Other than the ash and the clouds, nothing moved. No animals, no humans. No living creature. The landscape was as motionless and barren as a corpse.

  A figure stood amongst the ash and dead vegetation. He was shirtless, every muscle on his lean torso defined periodically by the light of the moon. A sword was clutched in either hand, one long, one short. A Katana and a Wakizashi. The long and the short. Daisho.

  With startling swiftness, the figure began to move, his swords flashing out in practiced movements more like dance than mindless killing strokes, each strike elegant, fluid and undeniably deadly. The power behind the blows was enough to shatter full grown trees.

  Despite the obvious energy expended, the figure seemed unaffected. His breathing was slow and even. Occasionally, he would breathe out forcefully in time with a particularly energetic strike. The only real evidence of his exertion was the sweat slicking his upper body.

  Suddenly, he stopped, the action almost shocking in its abruptness. He cocked his head as if listening to something. To a human ear, there was no sound other than that caused by the constant motion of the wind. But the listener wasn’t human – at least not entirely.

  His eyes darted towards the sky. Something was coming from that direction but the figure appeared unconcerned, lowering his swords so that the tips touched the ground. For a moment he cloaked his mind using the glamor ability he’d worked so hard to perfect, concealing his presence from any nearby demon but then he appeared to sense the futility in it, and let it drop. Whatever it was in the sky had probably already seen him. He’d learnt that his glamor ability, whilst useful for shrouding his mind and thoughts, did little to mask his actual physical body, especially at close range and especially when he’d – in all likelihood – already been seen.

  Lightning flashed, outlining a winged creature for a fraction of a second before it gracefully touched down a few feet from the other figure. The two stared at each other for a moment, unmoving. They could have almost been twins. Both were tall and well-proportioned with dark locks. The only obvious difference was the black wings that the new comer sported.

  “Greetings, Samael,” said the winged figure. “I trust you are well.”

  The other figure appeared to flinch slightly. “You can call me Sam, you know,” he said. “It is the name I go by, after all.”

  “I prefer to use the old names.” The winged inclined his head and smiled mirthlessly. “It doesn’t pay to deny your heritage, Samael.”

  Sam glared but said nothing for a moment. “What do you want, Samyaza?”

  The Watcher took two light steps closer. Sam watched him warily but didn’t raise his blades. He didn’t exactly trust the Watcher but had no reason to distrust him either. The creature had, after all, helped him out in the past.

  “I’m here to help you, Samael. Again.”

  “Why?” Sam asked suspiciously. He’d learnt that the Watcher (or Grigori in the old tongue), had his own agenda.

  The other grinned. “Do I need a reason?”

  Sam considered for a moment. If he was being truthful with himself, it didn’t really matter why the Watcher wanted to help him. If it served Sam, then where was the harm?

  The Watcher tossed something through the air. Without conscious thought, Sam transferred one of his swords to his other hand and caught it. It was a small statuette. He turned it over in his hand, examining it curiously. It was a crude, ugly thing, roughly carved out of volcanic rock to resemble a dog.

  Sam looked up, meeting the knowing stare of the Watcher. “What is it?” he asked.

  “In a moment. First, tell me, Samael, what is your heart’s desire?”

  Sam paused, momentarily caught off guard by the question. Images of people flashed through his mind. Aimi, Hikari, Grace. His mother. “You know better than I do,” he replied eventually.

  “Tell me,” the Watcher commanded.

  Sam sighed resignedly. Clearly, the Watcher wasn’t going to be satisfied until he got an answer. “I want the truth about my mother. To save her if possible – if she can be saved. I want to get Grace out of Hell. I want to be with Aimi. Why ask me this, though? You knew the answers before you asked.”

  The Watcher nodded, satisfied. “That object in your hand is filled with possibilities. It can lead to the fulfillment of all your desires. It is up to you what you do with it, though.”

  Sam examined the object again. What was so special about it? How could this stupid, ugly piece of rock possibly help him be reunited with those he cared about?

  As if reading his mind (which he potentially was), the Watcher spoke. “Tell me one further thing. What do you know of Hellhounds?”

  Sam grimaced. He knew all about Hellhounds. Had faced one himself in Hell only a few months earlier, almost losing his life in the process.

  “They’re one of the greatest demons in Hell,” he said, remembering the demon lore drummed into him by his master, Hikari. “Almost impossible to kill and feared by all.”

  The Watcher nodded again. “Quite right. But did you know that every Hellhound is bonded to a demon of the upper echelons of Hell? To a Prince or Princess. As powerful as they are, they were created to serve. They were bred for bondage. That statuette you hold in your hands has the power to summon one.”

  Sam glanced at the object again with renewed interest. How could such a simple object contain such power? “So what am I meant to do with it? What’s it got to do with me?”

  “At rare and specific times in Hell, demons of noble lineage – that is, those who are related to the Prince of Lies in some respect - gather in the hottest parts of Hell. These parts are invariably volcanoes. They gather for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain the servitude of a Hellhound.” Samyaza smiled infuriatingly and spoke in a condescending way, as if lecturing a child. Sam let the insult pass, intrigued.

  “A Hellhound is a pow
erful instrument of destruction,” he continued. “It can serve in many other ways – their senses are also extremely sensitive, especially their sense of smell.” The Watcher paused, watching Sam carefully. “I can see from the look on your face that you realize the import of this.”

  Indeed Sam could. With such a powerful ally, he could track down Grace. Even his mother. He wasn’t entirely convinced though.

  “Why would the Hellhound obey me?” he asked.

  “Because you have the blood of the ruler of Hell in your veins. Hellhounds only obey Princes, and what greater Prince could there be than yourself? Besides, the ones that come out of the mountain craters are juveniles. They will bond with the first Prince that they consider acceptable. Not every Prince is chosen. In fact, few are. Be warned though. Hellhound juveniles are rare and only emerge at certain times. You must travel to Hell only at these times. There is also much competition amongst the other demons for their services. Once you have bonded, you must leave immediately before another Prince finds you and kills you for the prize you possess.”

  Sam breathed out heavily, slightly overwhelmed. “But how can I guarantee that a Hellhound will come for me?”

  “You can’t”, said Samyaza. “It all depends on the strength of the demon Prince doing the summoning. If you are weak, none will appear. If you are strong, the statuette also has a chance of summoning a greater Hellhound juvenile, which is rarer still.”

  “Where on Earth did you get this? And why give it to me now?”

  The Watcher smiled knowingly. “Good questions, but your wording is wrong. It wasn’t on Earth that I found it. And as for your second question, that doesn’t require an answer. Just be content that you have this. Use this opportunity that I have given you. It is simple. If you want to find someone in Hell, you need to sniff them out. What better tool than a Hellhound? This object I have given you is rife with potential. With it, you can save the one who will in turn save you.”

  “Save the one who will save me?” Sam echoed. Did the Watcher mean his mother? Aimi? “Who are you talking about?” he demanded.

  The Watcher smirked. “That’s what you need to figure out. I wouldn’t spend too much time thinking about it, though. Your time is almost up.” With that, the Watcher spread his wings and launched himself into the air. Sam watched him go, not for the first time jealously resenting the freedom that wings brought his distant relative.

  Suddenly irritated, he tossed the statuette into a nearby pile of ash and thrust his swords back into their respective sheathes. He pulled out his hoodie from his backpack and tugged it on over his head. Only then, did he return to the statuette.

  Without touching it, he gazed at it for a long time, unwilling or unable to tear his eyes away. It seemed somehow alive, almost shifting of its own accord in the bed of ash in which it nested. Eventually, he could resist the urge no longer. He picked it up, wrapped it in an old t-shirt and placed it carefully in his pack.

  It wasn’t destined to stay there for very long. Willing or not, it seemed he and the statuette had a voyage to undertake.

  Hell beckoned, and its pull was not to be denied.

  Chapter Two

  Colorado

  “For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.” Isaiah 38:18

  The warm winds of Hell comforted him more than they should. The acrid odor of sulfur threatened to overwhelm his senses as he breathed in deeply, savoring the smell. It felt good to be back, even though by rights he knew he should hate this place because of what it represented; human suffering, pain, torture, torment.

  Sam couldn’t remember how he got here which in itself was suspicious. He couldn’t just appear here at will – he’d have to carry out preparations and he certainly couldn’t remember doing any of those things. His gut told him that something wasn’t right - and Hikari had always told him to trust his intuition. If you smelled a rat, then it probably was a rat. Satan, The Morning Star – was bound to be involved somehow. Whenever something odd happened, it was usually due to the machinations of his father.

  Sam smiled sourly. He’d find out soon enough. Like an overly keen schoolboy, his father was usually all too keen to reveal his hand and show off his cleverness to his son. He remained where he was, perfectly still on the black rock of Hell, ignoring the periodic blasts of fire that spurted from nearby crevices, content to wait.

  Some time elapsed. How much, he didn’t know, but enough to make him restless and irritable with enforced inaction. He was about to concede defeat, reluctantly forced to admit that his father might have won the waiting game this time, when he heard it - a high pitched scream that rapidly descended into pitiful sobs. Sam cocked his ear and reached out with his senses, concentrating hard to pinpoint the source. It came again and this time he got a bead on it.

  It was a woman’s voice. A woman in dreadful pain. It was a sound that could only be produced by torture. Something about the cry seemed familiar to him at an almost instinctive level, and a part of him knew the sound or at least the person who was making it - almost as if this whole scenario had played out before.

  Sam burst into motion, his hands already flexing with the need to grasp his sword hilts. Almost immediately, he found an opening in the bleak landscape and darted inside. He knew that this was suspiciously convenient but he didn’t care. Urgency filled him and he wasn’t sure why, his actions controlled by a primal need to aid or end the suffering of the woman.

  He found himself in a cave, almost pitch black save for a few flickering flames embedded within wall sconces. An emaciated figure in tattered rags crouched in the middle of the rocky floor, chained by ankle and wrist. Her head was down, tucked into her legs, and her body shook with sobs, now muffled.

  A need for caution and self-preservation competed with a burning desire to rush over to the woman. His compromise slowed his pace so that he only trotted towards her rather than ran. Standing over her, he could see that her back was a mass of bloody wounds. An unpleasant stench of corruption wafted from her body, and Sam’s eyes widened in horror at the live maggots feeding on the living flesh.

  He was about to reach down and gently lift the woman up when she raised her head of her own accord.

  The upturned face was streaked with lines of blackened tears, the deep slashes on her face leaking a sickly combination of pus and blood. The long dark hair was matted and woven through with dead snakes. Despite all this, and the long, long moments since they had last seen each other, Sam recognized her immediately and he staggered back in shock.

  His mother opened her mouth, her eyes beseeching. “Help me, Sam. Free me from this place. Please Sam. Help me!” She would clearly have said more but lost the power of coherent speech as another wave of pain washed over her. She started screaming again ...

  Suddenly, he was no longer in Hell.

  He was sitting cross-legged on black soot, surrounded by blackened stumps of what had once been a pine forest. The view suggested he was high up in the mountains. And then he remembered.

  He’d been dreaming, which was becoming more commonplace than he was prepared to admit. He tried not to allow himself to dream anymore. Dreams for him were dangerous and disturbing, giving his father access to his mind. That was the whole point of meditation – to stop himself falling asleep and thereby dream. He wished he could just sleep without the nightmares, but that was impossible without his protective pentacle.

  Lately, whenever he let down his guard or was just plain exhausted, the dreams would come. They were - without exception - about only one thing. Or one person. His mother. And they were getting worse.

  Doubts filled him. He knew he was being manipulated but that was beside the point. If there was any chance his mother was indeed suffering like his dreams suggested, he would really have to do something about it.

  The statuette waited patiently in his backpack. His thoughts never strayed far from it. It was time, he realized. Some instinct told hi
m that the Hellhounds would be birthing soon and with their birth, the means to his mother’s salvation.

  In the decades the church had stood there, it had never looked so decrepit and run down. Sam paused just outside the grounds and stared sadly at it for a while, letting the enormity of it fill him. The once white-washed walls were now an ashen grey color. The crosses above the door and the steeple had fallen or been torn from the building to lie scattered and broken amongst the dirty weeds.

  The landscape was even worse. Sam knew he was in Colorado and had long read about the beautiful landscape. He’d hoped it might have been spared the worst that the Tribulation could offer but he had been disappointed. It had suffered like every other place he had been to. Worse, in some cases.

  The mountain range towering behind the church would once have had snow at this time of year. Beneath the snow line, fir, spruce and pine trees used to dominate the slopes, their verdant green competing for attention with the dazzling white of the snow. Now all Sam could see was a universal grey. The skeletal remains of the trees were shrouded with ash. It was a depressing vista.

  That was why seeing the church, even in its current miserable state, gave Sam a vague sense of hope. It was his path to Hell and with it, a way to rescue those trapped there. Sam lowered his head, closed his eyes and rubbed both hands through his black hair, dislodging the hood of his sweatshirt. His fingers brushed the horns hidden within the unruly mass, but he no longer flinched. They were a part of him - a part that he resented, but was gradually beginning to accept.

  He opened his eyes and stood upright. It was time to focus. He had things to do and couldn’t spare the time to dwell on the past. Focusing on the present, he contemplated the church in front of him.