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

to sheath it as they stealthily tiptoed up the stairs. He was too close to Chrissy. He didn’t want to accidentally impale her. He noted how she was still naked. He was about to offer his top to cover her chest when they reached the landing to the second floor. There was a long corridor with doors on both sides. But the stairs continued upwards for many more floors.

“How big is this building?” Alex asked.

From the outside, it looked to be three floors, maybe a fourth if the loft was converted. Looking up at the stairs, there were at least six, possibly seven floors to the building. The corridor was long too, much longer than it should have been possible.

“It’s like the Tardis,” Chrissy muttered.

“Some of it must be in hell,” Karen said.

Chrissy laughed nervously. “Hell?”

“Hell isn’t exactly like how you think,” Karen said nonchalantly, before seeming to mull it over, she added, “Well, I guess it is fiery and there is all the torture…”

 “I can’t be in hell,” Chrissy said, her voice shrill. “I’m a good Christian girl!”

“You are?” Alex asked, surprised.

Chrissy turned on him. “What’s that supposed to mean.”

“Nothing,” Alex said quickly.

“You take this floor,” Karen said to Alex. “I’ll check the floor above. We’ll meet here in twenty minutes.”

Karen turned and dashed silently up the stairs, quickly disappearing from sight. Twenty seemed like a fair amount of time to open every door on this floor, Alex thought. They set off quietly, not speaking a word. Alex paused with his hand on the first door. The round knob felt cold. He stared underneath at the small gap between the wood and the hard floor. There was no light. He turned the knob and poked his head inside.

It was dark. As Alex eyes adjusted, he spotted the chairs stacked one on top of another to the end of the room. At the other end was a raised stage. No sign of any humans of demons, or of any sacrifices having been made. The rooms that followed were the same. They were dark and devoid of life. As they came to the end of the corridor, and checked the last door on the left, Alex turned to walk back when Chrissy grabbed him by the hand.

“Look,” she pointed at the wall.

Alex did look. At first, he saw nothing. But then he noticed the thin rectangular outline and the slightly darker shade. There was nothing to indicate a door. No handle, no rectangular outline, no gap at the bottom, no signs of hinges. But there was definitely something there. Alex pressed his palm against it. It was wooden. He applied slight pressure. The wall moved inwards. Then it slid aside, leaving his palms pressed against thin air.

It was a large room. In the centre spread fifteen feet apart were four floor candelabras. The steel stems rose eight feet, the four arms held a candle, each flaming a red fire similar to those at the Red House of Satan. In the space in between, a circle was drawn with blood. In that circle was a naked girl standing with her arms and legs spread apart, fastened from the floor and ceiling with steel manacles. Her eyes were wide in horror and her hair was frizzy and standing up as if it had been struck by lightning.

There was a man to her left. He sat on a golden armchair wearing a golden satin robe with the hood drawn over his head. In his right hand, he held a wine glass filled with red. Wine or blood, Alex wasn’t sure. In his left was a black dagger. He drew the hood back and smiled.

Jamie Azarath.

Chrissy gripped Alex’s arm tightly. Her nails dug into his flesh. “That’s Emily,” she gasped. “That’s my sister. What have you done to her you sick bastard!” she swore at Jamie.

Jamie ignored her. He’s black eyes were focused solely on Alex. “Good timing,” he said. “We’re about to complete the ceremony.”

“And free Satan.”

There was a tinge of surprise in Jamie’s eyes. “Yes. Free Satan and change the world.”

“Can’t let you do that,” Alex said as he stepped into the room.

Jamie raised a hand. It was then did Alex notice the demons standing around the dark corners of the room. There were dozens. Claws out and sharp teeth exposed, they hissed and growled in anger. The only thing stopping them from tearing him apart was Jamie’s raised hand.

“Why try to stop us, Alex?” Jamie asked. “You should be on our side.”

Alex forced himself to look away from the growling demons baying for his blood. “How do you figure that?”

Jamie laughed. “You’re not a Demon Hunter yet, not properly. It isn’t too late for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know what you did,” Jamie said. “You killed Mark to save a demon girl. Sure, you were probably fucking her, but that’s still cool.”

Alex swallowed uncomfortably. It occurred to him that even if he did survive this thing, word had gotten out about what had happened that night. His killing of Mark was now common knowledge, it seemed. If Jamie knew, many others must too. Death was the penalty for killing another Demon Hunter.

“What does that have to do with freeing Satan?”

“Satani imprisoned him. Once he’s out, she’s going to take his place in the pit. What do you think will happen to her Demon Hunters? It won’t end well for them. It’s not too late for you though. When Satan’s out, we’re going to challenge the angels and bring down their tyranny. Those motherfuckers do whatever the fuck they like. They treat us demons like dirt. Their time is coming to a natural end but with Satan out, we’re going to speed up the process.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Alex muttered.

“God,” Jamie said. “God is weakening.