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

Karen gave him the low down on their little operation as they drove. They were headed towards a small warehouse area in Croydon. It was a borough of London a few miles away from where Alex lived. That was the demon grave-diggers base of operations. It was where they stored the dead bodies they dug up. Some even lived there. It was going to be a simple operation, it seemed. Go in, capture the demons, put an end to the grave diggers.

It did seem like worthy work. That day when they captured Marvin, when Alex had taken that beating from Mark, the day hadn’t been a waste after all. He was having second thoughts about giving up on being a Demon Hunter. There was another thing on his mind too.

Chrissy.

As a demon, it was illegal for Jamie to be dating her. But the demon was doing more than just dating. He was using some sort of hypnosis on her. Alex had seen with his own eyes the effect it had on Chrissy and Madeline.

Jamie seemed to think he had a right to ignore the rules. Was it true? Were there really two sets of rules for demons? One for the rich and powerful, one for the weak and poor?

“I have a friend who’s dating a demon. She doesn’t know he’s a demon. He uses hypnosis or something like that on her. He thinks he’s got a right because apparently he’s someone important down in hell.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jamie Azarath.”

“The Azarath family are one of the most powerful demon families,” Karen said softly.

She turned suddenly, tires squealing. Alex’s head slammed into the car door frame. He glared at her, but she ignored him. Her eyes were focused on the road ahead, much like any responsible driver.

Alex glanced out of the window. They were driving through a nicer part of London. The road was lined with boutique shops. Many had immaculate suits displayed from the glass windows.

“It’s best to stay out of his way,” Karen said suddenly. “Unless you want your ass kicked.”

Alex, who had been staring at the suits on display and wondering how much they might cost, turned to look at Karen. “I thought we were stronger than demons?”

“Stronger than most, but not all. Satani is a demon. So is Scarlett. Both of them would easily tear apart any Demon Hunter.”

Alex recalled the time he’d challenged Scarlett and gotten the better of her, only briefly and with the aid of the voice in his head. That voice was gone now. Alex felt strange thinking about it. He didn’t miss the voice. Aside from no one ever wanting a voice in their head, that particular voice had been annoying and loud. A bit like the vulgar loudmouthed douchebags he tended to avoid.

“Our remit doesn’t extend to the powerful demon families. Satani needs their help to keep order down in hell,” Karen said.

There was still a lot for Alex to learn about hell. Apparently, there was a hierarchy scheme going on. Satani was at the top. But she needed the support of other powerful families to continue ruling. Being the devil didn’t give her absolute control. She was basically a glorified queen.

The car slowed and Karen pulled up on the side of the road. It was a long road with bay fronted Victorian houses. The walls were not rendered, leaving the red brickwork exposed. Each house had tidy front lawns, all cordoned off with low walls of red brick and black iron wrought fences. Nice enough area, but…

“I thought it was in a warehouse?”

“We’re not going to park right outside the warehouse,” Karen said sharply. “That would be stupid.”

Fair point, Alex thought. He grabbed his scabbard with the long sword in it and strapped it onto his back once he stepped out of the car. And then, he followed after Karen as they rushed down the darkened streets on their way to his first ever demon hunt.

* * *

Alex knew it was supposed to be dark at night. But living in a big city and rarely ever leaving said city, he was usually surrounded by bright lights to the point where he had changed his curtains twice to keep the damned light out.

But here, standing by the roadside opposite the warehouses, he realised one thing. Without the presence of lights, it was fucking dark during the night. And there weren’t many lights present here.

Aside from the two bulbs inside the glass orbs resting on top of the two white pillars either side of the entrance, there was not a single spec of light coming from elsewhere. Alex stared up at darkness. No moon in sight either.

Beyond the entrance, he could just about make out the existence of a long structure surrounded by darkness. He glanced back at the road he’d just walked to arrive at this point. There were lampposts on both sides. The lights shone brightly, as did many from windows on the ground and first floors. So bright on one side and so dark just a few meters away, it felt ominous.

Alex shivered. “It’s dark…”

“Usually is at night,” Karen replied nonchalantly. “But demons do it too.”

Alex blinked. “Demons what now?”

“The more demons there are together, the darker it is sometimes.”

Alex waited for her to explain further, because it made no sense to him. If that were the case, the entire Ignis Estate where the demons lived should have been pitch black. But Karen was done speaking. She casually walked past the two pillars and officially entered the warehouse district.

Glancing back one last time at the bright lights, Alex hurried after her. Karen had stopped a hundred feet away from one of the warehouses. It had large red shutters pulled down. Above the shutters painted in red on the white wall, Alex could