The Devil's Apprentice by Patrick Stewart (polar express read aloud TXT) 📕

dotted the walls. Light shone out of some. Further down were more service entrances. The doors were metallic and painted green or black.

A fairly ordinary alleyway in London.

Except for the building that stood right before him.

Made of a red stone seen more commonly in Asia, it rose into the sky and disappeared into the dark clouds that swirled around it. Large black stone steps stretched across the front. They led up to an iconic column made of white stone that reflected spectacularly off the black steps. On the pediment, set against the white stone was the face of a woman. Her hair was red, her eyes were yellow and two small black horns protruded from the tanned skin on her forehead. Was that the devil? She looked almost human…

Scarlett stood on the black steps and held her arms out. “Welcome to the Rubrus Domus Satanas.”

Alex stared at her, eyes wide. Of the three words, one sounded distinctly like Satan. His dad had mentioned something about the devil… Alex hadn’t really connected that to be Satan himself.

“The Red House of Satan, you uncultured swine,” Scarlett growled.

“Uncultured swine? Are you flirting with me?” Alex asked, grinning.

“When the devil rips your soul out, it’s going to hurt so much,” Scarlett responded, a satisfied smile on her lips.

“Sounds kinky,” came Alex’s response.

It was only as Scarlett grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up the steps did he wonder what that meant, about the devil ripping his soul out. It didn’t sound kinky at all. It sounded bloody painful. Scarlett still dragging him by the arm, they’d walked under the enormous columns and were at the large revolving glass doors that led into the Red House of Satan.

Satan was going to rip his soul out.

You couldn’t live without your soul, could you? Was he being dragged to his death?

Chapter 6

 

The ground floor of the Rubrum Domus Satanas looked very much like the modern lobby of a hotel or office building. With a few old-fashioned touches. The flooring was a rough Redstone granite and the walls were fieldstone red. Silver sconces were screwed onto the walls. Black torches rested on them and burnt a dark red fire. The lobby was large, spacious, but it was lit a dim red.

To the left, pressed against the fieldstone wall was a dark mahogany desk. A woman with black hair and pale skin sat staring at the computer. She wore a white blouse that seemed to glow. To the right, arranged in squares were four separate areas of dark settees and low tables. Above them was a golden chandelier with candles burning the darkened red flame.

In the centre, directly opposite the revolving doors was a wide staircase that led up. The steps made of the same Blackstone.

“Follow me,” Scarlett said.

She finally released her grip on him and took long strides towards the staircase. Alex wanted to rub his arm to spread the pain but he felt this compulsion to obey her. He felt like a passenger as his body began to move, as it obeyed her command. He came up next to Scarlett and climbed the black stone steps.

The staircase led to a lobby with six elevators on each side. At the end was another single elevator. Unlike the others with their black doors, the elevator at the end was made of pure gold. It was towards that door that Scarlett walked.

She pressed the button to call the elevator. It opened instantly and completely silently, as if operated by something other than human machinery.

The dark theme continued inside the elevator. The space was lit by dark red lighting emanating from the ceiling. Alex stood with his back to the mirror. His hands held the bar that stretched across it. Scarlett pressed the button for the hundredth floor. The doors closed silently; the elevator began to rise.

And then it happened.

“You need to get out.” 

Alex’s head whirled around. There was no one else in the elevator but himself and Scarlett. So, who had said that? The voice was rough and manly.

“I’m in your head, dipshit,” the voice said. “If you don’t escape, these whores are going to really hurt you.” 

Whores?

“Yes. They’re fucking whores. Look at the way that one is dressed. She’s wearing a mini dress, but made from chainmail. You can see everything. Not that I’m complaining… Or that there’s anything wrong with whores…” the voice lost some of its roughness as it began to wander. “Point is, we gotta get out of here!” 

“We?” Alex wondered. “Who’s we? Who are you? How’d you get in my head?” 

“I’m just going to answer one of those questions because… the rest of them are fucking stupid. Listen carefully, boy. I’m your only chance of survival. Once this elevator reaches the top, you know what happens? They rip your fucking soul out. And then you die. You want to die?” 

“...no,” Alex said hesitantly. 

“Good. Let’s get the fuck out of here. We’re going to change the world, buddy. You and I.” 

It was odd having a voice in his head. It wasn’t like talking to yourself, or thinking even. No, this voice actually had a voice. It was loud noise in his head. Alex should have freaked out. But apparently, he was out of freaking outs for the day.

His dad had predicted his own death, he’d been attacked by angels and demons and now he was on his way to meet the actual devil who was going to rip his soul out. Alex was done with freaking out. He was done with the day.

He was exhausted. He slumped against the mirrored wall of the elevator. His chest began to thump as he hyperventilated.

“Relax dude. I’m on your side,” the voice said, “I’m going to save you. You’ll be fine, Calm the fuck down, fuckwit.