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

You must have noticed it too. The humans can see us, they can see the angels. At least some of them can. It’s a sign of God’s weakening power,” Jamie smiled, revealing his two rows of sharp teeth. “You don’t know our history, do you? Many millennia ago, we demons battled the angels for the souls of the humans. The war came to an end because of Satani’s betrayal. She trapped Satan and sued for peace with God.”

“You were losing. She saved you assess,” Alex said. It felt strange having to defend Satani.

“It’s true,” Jamie said, still smiling in a surprisingly calm way. “We would have lost the war eventually. But only because of God. He was more powerful than Satan. Every battle he appeared in, the angels won. But that’s changing. God is weakening.”

“You’ve said that before,” Alex muttered. “But that doesn’t make it true.”

“God wanted to give the pitiful humans some peace before their souls were claimed for all of eternity. The power to keep us hidden in plain sight, that was God’s gift to humanity. Along with us, the many beasts from the underworld, the angels, none could be seen by humans. You humans freak at the sight of a demon or angel. It’s sort of cute. Pathetic, but cute.” He took a sip of his drink. “That power to keep us hidden is weakening. Every day, more and more humans see us for what we are. God is weakening.”

“Bit of a stretch, don’t you think?” Alex asked.

Jamie’s face hardened. “Even the angels know something isn’t right.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “How would you know what angels think?”

Jamie’s face relaxed. He smiled again. “I know many things, Alex. I know the angels are you looking for you.”

Alex tried to laugh, as if the idea was ludicrous. It didn’t come out well. In the end, he turned it into a rough cough that made him look as guilty as possible. “Why would the angels be after me?”

“You attacked one of them, apparently.” Jamie placed his wine glass on the floor and gave an applause. “Not many demons can go toe-to-toe with an angel and come out unscratched. You also killed a Krumier and survived Scarlett’s wrath. That’s impressive.”

That was a lot of information Jamie knew about him. Some of it, he had only told Karen and Melissa. He trusted both those girls and neither knew of his battle with Scarlett.

Scarlett.

She must have told Jamie. Was she in league with him? Was she betraying Satani, or did the current devil know about all of this? Satani knew something was going on, possibly even that a powerful demon was being freed. But she couldn’t know it was going to be Satan, could she? If she did, surely she would not have told him to stay out of it.

“What are you going to do with Emily?” Alex asked, nodding at Chrissy’s sister. The girl’s mouth was gagged. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out, so positively terrified was she.

“The blood of a virgin is the last ingredient,” Jamie said. “This circle is drawn from the flesh and blood of every other creature we needed. When I spill her blood, a portal will open in hell right in the Great Depression where Satan has been kept trapped in the Tabareenk.”

Beside him, Chrissy whose breathing had become silent, suddenly charged towards her sister. There was nothing to see. No visible barrier. But as she came to the circle of red blood and grinded body parts, she slammed into something. Chrissy stumbled back. Confused, she tried again, but this time with less gusto. Again, she was stopped. Emily was being held in an invisible barrier.

Jamie smiled. “Nothing you nor your boyfriend can do now,” he said. “Best to sit back and enjoy this historic moment. Satan will step out from hell and into this world. He will change it forever. This is the beginning of the end.”

The demons standing outside the circle hissed and growled. They stared at him with cruel eyes, claws out and teeth bared. If he tried anything, he knew what the outcome would be. They would rip him to shreds.

There was also the matter of what he could do, if anything. Emily was trapped in a magical force field of some sort. Could he break through it before the demons tore him apart? Could he break through it at all? Chrissy hadn’t given up. She slammed her fists against the barrier. But it was to no avail. She looked back at him with tears and desperation in her eyes.

It didn’t matter if he could make a difference or not. He had to try. Alex felt a calm spread through his body as he reached back for his weapon. Time seemed to slow as he gripped the handle of his long sword and unsheathed it. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the demons begin to move towards him. So, this was how he would die. He supposed there could be worse ways to go.

“Fuck yeah, let’s take these bastards.” 

It was a rare moment. Alex actually welcomed the voice in his head. What followed was something he’d begun to get used to, even be addicted to. The sudden surge of heat started from the centre of his chest. Beginning in his beating heart, it spread with every pump and flowed through his veins.

“The sword that pierced the armour of a Krumier,” Jamie said, his eyes on the dull grey blade of the longsword. “I thought it would be more.”

Jamie’s words seemed to break the slowing of time. As Alex held the sword before him, the demons charged. Their roar, the rush of their feet, it sounded like a wave crashing into the rocks. Alex’s longsword flamed red. He grinned as Jamie’s eyes widened.

Alex swung his sword and cleanly sliced off the head