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

to see. She slashed two parallel lines across, then another two down, cutting out a perfect square.

The wooden planks hit the ground and revealed the contents inside. Alex realised why the wood at the bottom of the crate was of a dark red.

It was blood that had seeped down to the bottom.

The crate was full of dead bodies.

Chapter 26

Alex sat quietly beside Karen as she sped through the streets of central London in her Porsche. Past midnight, the roads weren’t congested. This was what the car was made for, the streets of London during the night when there was little in the way of traffic.

The pavements were clear too, with single pedestrians wandering about. The masses were tucked in their beds. The beauty of London was on display, unhindered. Some buildings had roman pillars, others had arches under which were large glass doors and windows. Some had Portland-stone facades, others were newer still, big tall buildings of metal and glass.

As they drove through Savile Row, Alex gazed at the suits perfectly tailored to the mannequins. A stupid thing to think about considering what he had just seen, but Alex wondered if he was able to afford one now that he was a Demon Hunter. He recalled Karen mentioning something about significant monetary benefits of the job.

Alex pushed those thoughts aside as Karen turned into the darkened alleyway. She parked the car beside a large green wheelie bin. Further down the alleyway, on both sides were a slew of expensive cars of all sizes, from large SUVs, to low sports cars.

Alex stared up at the Red House of Satan. An imposing structure anywhere in the world, but more so being here in this alleyway. He wondered if he would ever get used to seeing the tall building with the dark clouds swirling above. Dark clouds that were oddly clearly visible even in the dark of the night.

They climbed up the black steps and walked under the white column that held the pediment with the face of Satani carved in it. Once inside, they headed for the elevators. It was the hundredth floor they wanted, Satani’s residence in this place.

Alex didn’t have fond memories of the hundredth floor. He was taken there by force, kidnapped by Scarlett. He’d tried to escape with help from the voice in his head. The voice that said he would die if they were to rip his soul out. They did rip his soul out. The thin wisp of darkened smoke-like texture that resembled the shape of a human figure, it had stared down at him before fading away.

Alex hadn’t died. Nor had the voice in his head.

They walked past the elevators and headed towards the gold one at the end, the one that led to the hundredth floor. Alex pressed the button and waited patiently. Nothing seemed to happen. He was about to press the button once more when Karen nudged him.

“We can’t operate it,” she said. “Only authorised personnel can.”

“So… why are we here then?”

“I was thinking we wait for someone to come down the elevator and jump in before the doors close.”

Alex glanced around the lobby. There wasn’t a single person in sight. “It could be a long wait.”

Karen nodded. “Could be hours, days even. Very few people have access to the hundredth floor.”

“Great plan,” Alex muttered.

He leant back against the wall beside the elevator door and folded his arms across his chest. Alex sighed. He felt tired. It was a strange sensation, one he hadn’t felt since his transformation from normal human to Demon Hunter. It was a moment before he realised the tiredness was more emotional than physical. The image of the crate filled with human bodies, he struggled to keep it out.

Alex’s eyes flickered down the lobby. It could have been wider. They could have had seating space. A television or two wouldn’t have hurt either. “It’s designed poorly,” he muttered.

“What is?” Karen asked, raising an eyebrow.

The golden elevator doors suddenly parted. Silent as ever, they saving Alex from having to explain his sudden interest in interior design. Three angels stepped out. All were as tall as him. They had blond hair slicked back and wore black shades with white V-neck vests and black skinny jeans. Their aura brightened the dimly lit red corridor.

Karen stepped aside to let them pass, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. The angels stared straight ahead, ignoring both Demon Hunters. Arrogant fuckers, Alex thought, as he watched them go.

“That they are…” the voice said. 

Karen grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the elevator. The angels turned to walk down the stairs when one glanced back. It seemed like it was staring at him. And then the elevator doors closed.

“What was that all about?”

Alex turned to her. “Thinking out loud or asking me?”

“Thinking out loud. You don’t know anything,” she said dismissively, before continuing, “I don't think I’ve ever seen angels in the Red House of Satan.”

Alex had no response to that. He wasn’t even offended when she said he knew nothing. It was true. He did know nothing. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. He knew the angels were complete assholes.

The elevator reached the hundredth floor. The doors parted silently. They stepped out into the lobby. The walls of red sandstone were dotted with silver scones holding black torches flaming dark red fire. At the far end of the lobby was the desk of dark wood. Behind it sat the blue-skinned demon receptionist, her eyes focused on the computer screen.

Karen smiled at her. “We’d like to see Satani.”

“She’s not expecting you,” the receptionist said without looking up.

“She isn’t,” Karen said with a measured tone. “But we have something really important to tell her.”

The demon looked up. Her eyes gazed over them both before settling on Alex. As