I just crossed the 60,000 word mark on Minor Demons last night during a slow hour (9:00 pm) at work. I also realized that I haven't posted anything on my blog so far this month. I decided that I'd post the introduction and the first two chapters of Minor Demons, since Amazon will give at least that much as a sample when I publish it. I've been trying to edit as I go, but this is not a final version. You'll probably even see some changes from the introduction I posted on my blog a while back.
A HISTORY OF DEMONS
At
the end of the Great War, the Dragon was cast into Hell. He yelled and thrashed
around in his new home. Hell wasn’t Hell until the Dragon was sent there. Rocks
jutted out of the ground and ended in impaling spikes. A thick mist of darkness
enveloped the entire realm. Fire came into existence all around; not a fire
that brought light but a fire that brought heat and pain. The Dragon raged
there until he saw something else descending from the Heavens.
The
gates of Hell were broken as the Dragon’s army was thrust through them. For the
first time since the last battle, the Dragon smiled. At least God had allowed
him creatures that he could make more miserable than himself. Maybe there would
be a chance to regroup and assault the Heavens once again…
His
thoughts were cut short as something else walked through the gates of Hell. The
demons all cowered in fear and crept deeper into the shroud of darkness and
fires of Hell. The Dragon stood his ground. The shimmering being walking
towards him glowed with radiant light. His white eyes were no less bright, even
in the blackness of Hell. His right hand gripped his sword, also a pure white
but the Dragon knew it was stained with the blood of innumerable demons. Even
if his followers fell back, he was not afraid of the angels, having once been
one himself. He knew this angel particularly well since he was the commander of
the armies of the Heavens.
“Come
to finish me off, Michael?”
Demons
had been slowly growing more used to the light surrounding Michael the
Archangel and were slowly moving towards him, readying their weapons. Without
turning his head, Michael could sense their gradual approach. He took his sword
in both hands, raised it high above his head, and drove it into ground. The
entire realm radiated with white light and the demons fled in a final retreat.
“Enough
with the tricks. Let’s finish this.”
The
dragon unsheathed his dark blade that still glowed with the blood of the
angels. He was ready for the final fight, Lucifer and Michael – one on one.
“I
didn’t come here for that. I come with a message from God.”
“Do
you now? What does the Great Tyrant have to say about my rebellion?”
“I
wouldn’t talk ill of the Great God who spared your life. It would have been
easy enough to stamp out your rebellion and put an end to you.”
“So
why didn’t you?”
“God
told me to stop.”
“I’m
not an angel anymore, Michael. I tried to overthrow God. You mean to tell me
that even after I betrayed him, he didn’t have it in him to end me? What a weak
and sentimental…”
“I
didn’t come here to argue with you. I’m here to offer you the terms of your
exile. If you refuse,” Michael added with a smile, tightening the grip on his
sword, “I will cut you off from existence. God has allowed me that privilege
should you continue on in your desire to fight.”
“Let’s
hear it then, errand boy.”
“God
will allow you to bring evil into the world to test the humans. You will retain
command over all the souls you took with you from Heaven. You and your army
will sustain yourselves by the souls you corrupt and successfully win over on
earth. You will not appear to the humans, you will not make yourself known
unless they seek you, and you will never again attempt to enter the gates of Heaven
unless God demands your presence. It’s either that or I can end your miserable
reality right now.”
“I
accept. We surrender.”
Michael
looked disappointed.
“The
first humans will be placed on earth shortly. Be warned that I will not allow
your demons to rage out of control on earth. Angels will be sent to earth
should the humans ask for it.”
“Oh
they won’t. Most of them will be under my control almost instantly. They’re
weak creatures and God was a fool for creating them. If any of them do ask for
angels, I’ll have other humans mock them and put them to death. I hope you
don’t get too bored waiting for prayers that will never come.”
“You
underestimate God’s plan but pride has always been your downfall. You were my
brother but you rose up to seek the glory that will never be yours. I had
always hoped that you weren’t as stupid and impulsive as you looked but I guess
you proved me wrong, Lucifer. I’ll see you again at the end of time when God
gifts me the right to slay you.”
As
Michael turned to leave, Satan threw his sword at Michael’s back. Feeling
darkness approaching, Michael turned and deflected the weapon with his sword.
He spun and readied a counter strike, ready to split the Dragon’s head down the
middle. He stopped his blade within inches. The Dragon smiled and shook all of Hell
with his laugh. Michael turned and walked swiftly away, light and glory exiting
Hell with him.
It
was shortly after his exile that the Dragon organized his forces. As the master
of all evil, he decided to gift his knowledge to six demons – the six lords of Hell.
Each would become the master of one temptation. While they took over
responsibility for their specific sin immediately, they were all made masters
of sin when the Dragon personally brought them to earth and taught them how to
destroy humanity.
The
first major demon was Lucian, the lord of lies. Lucian accompanied the Dragon
to earth when he tempted the human race’s first parents, Adam and Eve. The
Dragon took possession of a snake and lied to Eve. Eve then tempted Adam. Lucian
watched and learned how one lie could spread from person to person and corrupt
them all. Lucian later discovered that a lie could easily lead to more lies and
even a white lie could be like piercing water to bring forth innumerable
ripples. It was Lucian who convinced Cain to lie to God after he killed his
brother.
The
second major demon was Cain, the lord of murder. His spot was contested as the
Dragon couldn’t decide who was more deserving between Cain and his brother, Abaddon.
Before his journey to earth to tempt a son of Adam to murder his brother, a
plot to overthrow the Dragon was uncovered by Lucian. Abaddon had planned to
betray the Dragon and sit on the throne of Hell. Cain pleaded with the Dragon
to spare his brother (while demons generally care for no one but themselves,
they can’t deny a sense of responsibility when it comes to family) but Abaddon
was cast into the depths of Hell to be eternally tormented with all that were
under his command. Cain adopted his nephew, Shadow, and convinced the Dragon to
spare him from the torture endured by Abaddon.
Cain,
the lord of murder, went with the Dragon to earth to tempt a son of Adam to
slay his brother. The demon Cain learned that murder can have any motivation:
greed, jealousy, anger, even righteous vengeance. After the son of Adam was
killed, it was Cain, the lord of murder who tempted Lamech to become a murderer
and forge a secret society bent on murdering all that opposed them.
The
third major demon, and the only female of the six, was the demoness Vixen. Vixen
became the major demon of lust. The Dragon took Vixen with him when he
corrupted Sodom and Gomorrah and held absolute power over them through their
complete abandon to sexual desires. Vixen learned that getting any human to
focus on immediate desires, while blocking out any other thoughts, could be
incredibly effective in bringing men and women to surrender to lust. After the
fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Vixen was able to tempt the Egyptian pharaoh to
bring Sarah, Abraham’s wife, to his house out of pure lust. God put a stop to
this attempt at ruining Abraham’s lineage, but Vixen was later able to tempt
David to commit adultery with Bathsheba and Cain stepped in to tempt David to
murder Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. Vixen caused Solomon to give into lust and
he took every attractive woman as his wife or concubine. Once he was bound
through lust to hundreds of idolatrous women, Vixen led him into other sins and
almost brought down the entire House of Israel on her own.
The
fourth major demon was Baal, the lord of idolatry. Baal was present with the
Dragon when the Israelites asked Aaron to make them a golden calf to worship.
Baal learned that an unhealthy obsession with any object could turn into
blatant idolatry. After Moses gave the Ten Commandments, Baal was still able to
influence the Israelites by making idol representations of Jehovah. At times,
Baal worked with Vixen to bring Israel’s pagan neighbors into the royal family
as concubines or wives. Their greatest success was the marriage of Jezebel to
King Ahab. Jezebel fought tirelessly to spread the worship of Baal to the
entire kingdom of Israel. During some centuries, Baal was worshiped as a god by
the idolatrous humans.
The
fifth major demon was Leviathan, the lord of jealousy. Leviathan went with the
Dragon to earth when the Dragon convinced the sons of Israel to throw their
brother, Joseph, in a pit and sell him into slavery. Leviathan learned that
jealousy was capable of being the author of many other sins, including murder,
theft, and lies. It was Leviathan who later planted the seed of envy in King
Saul which grew into a desire for murder. Leviathan worked with Cain in an
attempt to slay David through the king’s overwhelming jealousy. Since then,
Leviathan has used envy as an effective tool to not only lead mankind to other
sins, but to also keep them in an enraged and hateful state toward their
fellowmen.
The
sixth major demon that the Dragon trusted to lead his armies was Asmodeus, the
lord of inaction and laziness. Asmodeus was with the Dragon when he convinced
the leaders of the Israelites to disobey the commandment of God and not destroy
everything of the Canaanites. Asmodeus later convinced King Saul to spare Agag
when Samuel had given the clear commandment to destroy everything. Asmodeus
then took possession of Sarah and deprived her of her husbands until the
arrival of Tobias, who was accompanied by the Archangel Raphael. Asmodeus fled,
was captured by the archangel Raphael, but then later escaped and has been
leading men to failure through inaction ever since.
The
Dragon retained control over the sin of pride, as it was the sin that he was
cast out of Heaven for. Once he put the six major demons in place, he allowed
them to choose their followers. Lucian and Cain recruited the largest followings.
The major demons divided their followers into ranks based on their skills as
tempters. Thus, middle demons and minor demons were born. A final class of
non-recruited demons remained “in-training” until recruited into the army of a
major demon.
While
they couldn’t appear to humans or harm them physically, except under special
allowed circumstances, demons were made of the same type of matter and could
harm one another. Humans could neither see them nor harm them, even though they
were fairly similar in overall appearance. Demons often got into fights with
one another and crafted armor and weapons out of the humans they stole away to
Hell. The need to craft armor and weapons from bones coupled with the demons
need to consume souls for sustenance eventually led to a shortage of humans in
Hell, despite the billions the demons had corrupted and dragged down. The major
demons of Hell pressured their armies to corrupt human souls further before
escorting them to Hell but the shortage continued on.
The
Dragon, shortly after his exile, devised three horrible trials that
demons-in-training would have to pass through to aid in the recruitment
process. Major demons and middle demons tuned in to watch each new class of
demons compete in the trials.
The
first trial was a labyrinth filled with creatures and monsters from the
nightmares humans dreamed. The labyrinth changed with each demon that entered,
so no run through the labyrinth was ever exactly the same. Some creatures
remained in the labyrinth each time to keep a small degree of consistency.
The
second trial was called the death pit. Two demons went in and one came out.
Demons were allowed to kill their opponent, but the match was officially won
when a demon incapacitated his opponent. Single elimination – no second
chances.
The
final trial was tempting a simulated human in a simulated earth-like
environment. Points were scored based on what the demon could get the human to
do and how much chaos he could cause as a result.
Time
passed on and while the earth became more and more corrupted, Hell brought
forth a new generation of demons that would have to bring humanity to an even
lower level to keep Hell supplied with sufficiently corrupted souls. All hope
rested with the next group of demons-in-training.
CHAPTER 1
The
day had finally come.
Shadow
hopped out of bed and made his way slowly to the fridge. He grabbed the last
remains of the soul of a drug dealer and downed it in one gulp. While his
hunger didn’t fully dissipate, he was lucky he had food at all with the current
soul shortage in Hell, and too much was on his mind today to worry about taste.
He had been waiting a long time to finally get this chance.
Demon
placement.
Shadow
returned to his room and opened his closet. He had to look his best and find
the most intimidating outfit possible for his first day. He put on his father’s
old, red cloak. He found his skull helmet with the least amount of damage and
placed it on his head. Those choices were easy but the final item he carried
with him would make a statement more than anything else. His hand paused as he
reached in to grab a weapon. It was obvious which one would make an impression.
His uncle had given him a scythe on his last birthday. While it would surely be
the envy of his entire class, Shadow knew he shouldn’t have it.
Demons-in-training shouldn’t have a weapon that was generally only gifted to
major demons. He was about to choose something else when his mother came in the
room.
“Look
at you. You look exactly like a smaller version of your father.”
“I
can’t decide on a weapon.”
“Go
with your uncle’s scythe. No one else will have one.”
“I’M
not supposed to have one.”
“Your
uncle is the demon of murder and he doesn’t have a son to give things to. You
should show him your respect and carry it with you.”
“He’s
not my dad. My dad is in the lowest circle of Hell.”
“And
your uncle has tried to get him out for years. You have your father’s cloak and
you should carry your uncle’s scythe.”
“I
don’t want to coast on his reputation. I want to be my own version of badass.”
“And
wielding a scythe is going to prevent you from doing that?”
Shadow
sighed and then reached back in his closet to pull out the scythe. He could
feel the power resonating from it. His mother was right; no one in his class
would have a weapon like this – not even his instructor.
“You
look… so much like your father…”
Shadow
could tell the tears were about to come. He decided to distract her.
“So,
can I get some advice? I would normally ask dad or uncle but they’re both kind
of busy at the moment.”
Shadow
gave his mother a half-crooked smile and his mother smiled.
“If
you don’t get recruited right away and become a minor demon, that’s ok. Just
study and work hard and you’ll get there eventually. Most demons don’t become
minor demons after the three trials. Just do your best.”
“Is
it a real human that they let you tempt in the third trial?”
“No.
Not anymore.”
“Was
it a real human you tempted when you entered the third trial?”
“The
only one I tempted on my first few days was your father.”
She
winked.
“Mom,
that’s disgusting.”
She
laughed and Shadow regretted asking her for advice.
“Take
in all you can from the trials. If you make friends with the other demons, make
sure they see you as the leader. I want you to become a minor demon as fast as
you can so you have a chance to move up when other spots become… vacant.”
“There’s
no need to worry, Mom. I’ll be a minor demon in no time. You know how hard I’ve
trained.”
“Yes,
Shadow, I know but don’t get overconfident. Oh, I almost forgot.”
She
left the room and came back with a piece of paper.
“Your
uncle left you a note for you to read before the trials. Read it out loud; I
want to hear.”
“Shadow,
So it’s finally your time. You better make me proud. I’m going to
check in and see how it went so I expect you to start plenty of fights with the
other demons. No flying under the radar today, kiddo. I want you to find the
demon that you think has the most potential (other than you) and I want you to
put him in his place. If you’re going to make friends, make sure they’re demons
that you can control. I want you to take the scythe I gave you to the trials
and if I find out you didn’t… I will drop in and murder you myself. Remember
our deal, Shadow.
Your uncle,
General Cain
The Demon of Murder”
“So
uncle wants me to walk in like I own the place? Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You
have a few minutes before you need to get going. Let’s see you swing the
scythe.”
Shadow
took the scythe in both hands, swung it over his head, and brought it down hard
on the floor. The room shook and his bed caught on fire.
“Holy
shit, Mom. This thing rocks!”
“I
just wanted to see if you could lift it. Don’t play around with it when you’re
supposed to be listening later.”
“Mom,
it feels like it’s slowly welding itself to my hands! It has so much power! I
can’t wait to reap souls with this thing!”
“Plenty
of time to play with that later. It’s time to get going. Make me proud!”
“I’m
sure that I will.”
Shadow
was ecstatic as he walked out the door. He had never felt such power and now he
thought he understood a little of what it felt to be an addict. No wonder drug
addicts keep going back for the high. Shadow was so preoccupied with unwinding
from the rush of power that he walked right into another demon-in-training on
his way to demon placement.
“Hey!
Get the hell out of my way!”
“Kiss
my ass! You need to watch where the hell you’re…”
The
other demon paused as his eyes rested on Shadow’s scythe.
“Shit…
is that thing real?”
Shadow
brought the bottom end of the scythe down on the ground. The tremors tore
through the ground and knocked the other demon’s legs out from under him. He
stared up at Shadow in awe mixed with a moderate amount of fear. Shadow reached
his hand out and pulled the demon to his feet.
“Still
think I need to watch where I’m going?”
“So
you must be Shadow. My dad told me you’re General Cain’s nephew and that he
gave you a scythe a few days ago. Must be nice to have family in power like
that.”
“Sounds
like you know of me. Who the hell are you?”
“The
name is Leech.”
“Who’s
your dad?”
“One
of the minor demons in charge of muggings. He reports to demons that report to
your uncle. He didn’t even have enough money to get me a decent weapon or
helmet… and this cloak is a piece of shit.”
Shadow
noticed that Leech had no skull helmet and no weapon. The cloak he wore was
dark brown with a few holes and patches scattered across it. He was also on the
smaller side for a demon. This was one demon in his class that he would never
have to worry about. He was likely to stay a minor demon forever, just like his
father had.
“So
you don’t even have a weapon?”
“No,
I have one. I said they couldn’t get me a decent
weapon.”
Leech
reached into his cloak and pulled out a dagger made from a human femur bone
that had been sharpened to a lethal-looking point. Some attempt had been made
to smooth out a handle but the entire weapon looked fairly crude.
“It’s
nothing like a scythe and I’m already planning on getting tormented by everyone
else. I just hope you’re willing to… forget this whole thing?”
Leech
forced a frightened smile. He seemed to possess a small amount of confidence
and bravery but he clearly recognized Shadow as his superior. He knew the order
of things and how things worked. Shadow saw in him the potential to have a very
strong minion.
“I’ll
give you a chance to make this up to me. My uncle wants me to find a potential
rival today and put him in his place.”
“Oh
I don’t think I’d make a very good rival for you.”
“Shut
up.”
“K.”
“What
I was going to say is that you’re likely to get picked on. The first time it
happens, I want you to tell the bully that Shadow is going to kick his ass and
then show him who I am. Can you do that?”
“And
if I do this for you, I get a free pass? You’ll forget that I was about to
stand up to you?”
“Even
better. If you do this for me, I’ll let you in my posse. NO ONE will pick on
you… except maybe me when I get bored.”
Leech
smiled and extended his hand.
“You’ve
got a deal, Shady.”
“Leech?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t
call me Shady ever again.”
Shadow
took Leech’s hand and they shook on their deal.
The
rest of the way to demon training was mostly uneventful. Leech showed Shadow a
side trail where they could pass by humans in the process of being tortured.
They both decided to throw rocks at them for a few minutes. Demons never pitied
humans, even those who were already damned. They would have continued for a bit
longer but the torturing demons turned on them and started to walk in their
direction. This provided a moment of respite for the damned human souls and Shadow
couldn’t allow this. He brought the bottom of his scythe down on the ground and
let tremors ripple through the floor of Hell.
“We’re
on our way to demon placement. You can get back to what you were doing now.”
The
torture demons saw the scythe and looked at each other. They almost decided to
risk it, but they saw Shadow and Leech continue back on their path and returned
to torturing their victims. The soul-shattering screams resumed as the
continual background music of Hell.
Once
they were out of sight of the torture demons, Leech, who was in front of Shadow,
turned and started to walk backwards.
“Dude,
I thought they were going to kick our asses.”
“Don’t
call me dude either.”
“Sorry,
Shady.”
Shadow
started to look angry and Leech decided to change the topic.
“So
if we had gotten in trouble with those guys, would your uncle have come in to
save us?”
“Probably
not. I don’t think he’d approve of me messing with the torture demons. They
aren’t under his command. It would be an inter-departmental nightmare if he tried
to get me out of that shitstorm. It’s probably best we don’t mess with them
anymore.”
“Well
who can we mess with and get away with it?”
“Leech,
you shouldn’t be messing with anyone.”
“I’m
not going to be stuck as a minor demon for eternity. I’ll mess with whoever it
takes to get up to at least middle demon.”
“What
if you have to mess with me?”
Leech
grinned.
“I
won’t have to. You’re going to promote me as soon as you climb the ranks,
right? That’s what friends are for.”
“You
aren’t my friend, Leech. You’re a pain in the ass.”
“Hey
now. I’m going to help you out later, remember? The least you could do is have
my back when you move up in the Hell hierarchy.”
“Prove
yourself and I’ll think about it.”
“And
we’re back to me messing with people to prove myself. I win, Shady.”
Shadow
grabbed Leech by the back of the neck, kicked his legs out from under him, and
brought him down, face first, on the ground.
“You’ll
mess with whoever I tell you to when I decide I need you to. God, don’t you
ever shut up?”
Shadow
saw Leech’s face form into a grin and couldn’t help but smile himself. Leech
might be annoying, but he had guts and he wasn’t afraid to do what needed to be
done to move up. It seemed that Leech had been born with an ambition that his
father probably lacked. Shadow helped Leech back to his feet and hit him across
the back of the head.
“What
if the first demon that picks on me is a lot bigger than you?”
“I
have a scythe.”
“Can
you fight without it?”
“Of
course. My uncle put me in combat training when I was little and my dad…”
“What
happened to your dad was bullshit. My dad always said he was the most skilled
demon he ever…”
“Don’t
talk about him like he’s not around anymore. I’ll get him out someday. I don’t
care if I have to kill Satan to make it happen.”
Leech
looked horrified.
“I’m
gonna let that go and pretend I didn’t hear it, but you really need to watch
what you say. We’re not even minor demons yet.”
“Well,
it’s the…”
He
didn’t finish his sentence. They had arrived at the demon placement trials. Shadow
could see all the places his father told him about when he was younger: the
labyrinth, the death pit, and the human tempting chambers. Every few seconds a new
horrible scream pierced the walls of Hell. Each scream was unique, even if it
was only slightly different from the last. Shadow smiled as he saw the group of
demons-in-training and their instructor. Most of them looked terrified. When he
turned to face Leech, he wasn’t smiling but he did appear to be calm.
“Time
to make a name for ourselves.”
“Yes
it is, Leech. Yes it is.”
CHAPTER 2
“Late
on the very first day. Apparently neither of you wants to become real demons
any time soon. Your names?”
“Leech
and Shadow.”
“Shadow?
Cain’s nephew? You must be... look at you walking around with a scythe.”
The
instructor opened his hand and Shadow could feel the scythe being drawn away
from him. It covered the distance between them and fell into his instructor’s
open hand.
“You
didn’t really think Cain was going to give you his scythe, did you? I received
a letter from him this morning letting me know that I was to confiscate it and
replace it with this.”
The
instructor handed Shadow a long, dark sword. It looked ornate with blood-red
veins and the handle was made from a human skull, but it was nowhere near as
powerful as the scythe he had been carrying. Several of the other
demons-in-training smirked at him and a few were brave enough to laugh but they
stifled it when the instructor turned their way. The instructor handed the
scythe to another demon, one of his assistants.
“The
scythe will be returned to Cain.”
His
assistant bowed and disappeared.
“This
is a lesson all of you should learn early on. You are not important. You are
servants of the Dark One. Your own pride and vanity mean nothing because you are nothing. Whatever you think you deserve
or have a right to will not be given to you until you have earned it.”
“My
name is Venom and I’m the middle demon of half-truths. I serve under General
Lucian, the Demon of Lies, who was in the garden with our Master when he first
tempted Adam and Eve. I have tens of thousands of minor demons that serve under
me and countless more little in-training nothings like yourselves. I never
recruit anyone right after the trials so the ass kissers can stop before they
start. It won’t do you any good.”
“Your
immediate placement test will consist of three phases. The first is the
labyrinth. Two at a time, you will enter and fight your way through the most hellish
nightmare you’ve ever encountered. Creatures will attack you that you have
never even conjured in your dreams. Your completion time will be recorded, as
will your kill total, and both will play into how well you do overall.”
“Phase
two is the death pit. We will randomly select two of you to go in there and
beat each other to death. You can also quit and we will try to get you out in time. Single elimination and only those who
make it to the semi-finals will have enough points to matter when this is all
over.”
“The
final test is the human tempting chambers. We put you in a room with a simulated
human and simulate Earth. You talk him into or beat him into doing whatever
horrible thing you can think of. I’ll be impressed if half of you can talk him
into a simple mugging. Anything more creative than that will be rewarded.”
“Once
everything is done, you will receive a final score. A very small number of you
will be recruited immediately following the announcement of your score and will
become minor demons. The rest of you will be assigned to follow minor or middle
demons on earth until someone requests your promotion. You will all report back
to me until you become minor demons and I can request to have you pulled from
wherever you are. Most of you will stay demons-in-training for a very long
time.”
Venom
shifted his gaze to Shadow and then another demon with a smug grin on his face.
“Don’t
think you can get by on family connections either. I don’t care if you’re the
nephew, son, daughter, or whatever of a major demon. I don’t even give a shit
if you’re the bastard offspring of Satan. You will meet the same requirements
that have been in place for millennia. No one will coast on a family member’s
reputation while I’m the demon
training instructor.”
Venom’s
speech continued but Shadow stopped paying attention. The other demon that
Venom had looked at before making his comment about familial ties was still
grinning. Shadow nudged Leech.
“Who’s
that over there?”
“Which
one?”
“The
big one. The one that looks like he could rip the teacher apart.”
“He
probably will at some point. That’s Nightmare, Lucian’s son. He’s the only one
in the class other than you that has a direct tie to a major demon.”
Shadow
smiled.
“That’s
who Uncle Cain wants me to intimidate today. By sending me here with a scythe,
he guaranteed that Venom would make some comment about special treatment. That
guaranteed that I would find a rival.”
Leech
shifted his stance and looked uncomfortable.
“Not
to say that you can’t, but are you sure
you can beat him? I mean… he’s huge and you don’t have your scythe anymore.”
“I’ll
be fine, Leech. Don’t stress it.”
Venom’s
speech was wrapping up.
“So
now you’ll have fifteen minutes to find a partner for the labyrinth. Those of
you who don’t will be randomly paired with anyone that’s left. Choose wisely
because you don’t get to do this over; this is your one and only shot.”
Leech
turned to Shadow and bowed his head.
“Well,
I’ll get out of your way so you can find someone to team up with. Good luck.”
Leech
took a few steps and a large hand grabbed him around the throat and lifted him
into the air and then brought him down hard on the ground. Leech drew the
sharpened bone from his cloak but his hand started to shake when he looked up
and saw who had attacked him. Nightmare stood over him, still smiling, with his
arms crossed.
“I
came over here to talk to Shadow but it looks like the smallest dumbass in the
class decided to get in my way. You gonna apologize for being in my way?”
Leech
looked scared. He looked around to see Nightmare had brought a fairly sizable
posse with him. Even if he had been a match for Nightmare, there was no way
this was going to be a fair fight. While it really annoyed him, he was going to
have to apologize.
Right
before he began his apology, he saw Shadow out of the corner of his eye. He
didn’t look scared. He looked menacing. Leech was immediately glad that he had
made a deal with him. As if to confirm that Shadow still wanted to fight
Nightmare, he raised both of his eyebrows. Shadow smiled and nodded. The deal
was still on. He just had to muster enough confidence to play his part.
Leech
got to his feet. He considered shoving Nightmare for added effect but decided
against it because he preferred his arms to remain unbroken.
“I
won’t be apologizing to you. Here’s the deal, Nighty. Turn around, walk away,
and maybe Shadow won’t kick your ass.”
Nightmare’s
right hand balled into a fist and he swung it down hard on Leech’s head. Leech
collapsed, knocked out cold.
“Not
sure why the little bastard thought you were going to save him. Now we have
some time to talk.”
“What
makes you think we have anything to talk about?”
“Look,
if we team up and take the labyrinth we’ll both move on and become minor
demons. I know we have the best chance of being recruited so we might as well
blow everyone else out of the water.”
“I’ll
pass.”
“You
already have someone to partner with?”
“You
just knocked him out.”
Nightmare
laughed.
“That’s
fine. You see, my dad is the demon of lies. I was going to knock you out the
second we got in the labyrinth anyways. You’re uncle may be a major demon but
your dad is just a discarded piece of shit that’s rotting in prison.”
That
was all it took for Shadow to lose his temper. He kicked hard at Nightmare’s
knee which brought him down to eye level and then delivered a hard upper cut to
his chin. While this probably would have taken down just about any other
demon-in-training, Nightmare only stumbled back a few steps. Once he regained
his footing, he shook his head and his eyebrows arched down but he continued to
smile. His underlings stepped forward to fight but Nightmare raised his arms
and waved them back.
“He’s
mine.”
Nightmare
cleared the distance between them with three massive steps and then swung a
powerful fist at Shadow’s head. He was able to side step the blow and deliver
one of his own to Nightmare’s elbow in an attempt to get it to bend the wrong
way. It had no effect. Seeing that Nightmare was unharmed, Shadow backed up to
a safe distance.
As
they began to circle each other, Shadow realized that Nightmare would likely
remain unharmed unless he could get some shots in at his face. His initial
attack had caught him off guard but he probably wouldn’t get another free pass
like that now that Nightmare was angry and ready for his assault. He decided to
wait for Nightmare’s next attack and go from there.
When
Nightmare charged and swung a fist at Shadow’s chest, he was able to redirect
the blow to the ground. Shadow then stepped on Nightmare’s forearm which
brought his face within striking range. Once Shadow had a clear shot at his
face, he sent several quick punches his way. Nightmare was clearly in pain but
he shifted his arm which caused Shadow to stumble backwards. This was all the
time Nightmare needed to bring his other arm to meet Shadow’s abdomen. He flew
backwards through the air with pain resonating from his midsection.
Shadow
took a few seconds to recover while he scowled at Nightmare. Once he felt most
of the pain had subsided, he started charging back in Nightmare’s direction.
Nightmare grinned, cracked his knuckles, and aimed what would no doubt be a devastating
blow. Right before they collided again, Venom appeared in the middle of them
and swung his massive battleaxe at the ground. Shadow and Nightmare both flew
backwards and fell on the ground.
“Save
it for the arena you stupid little assholes.”
Right
as Venom said the word “assholes,” the buzzer rang. Venom smiled.
“Guess
neither of you found a second for your tag team. Looks like I’ll be randomly
pairing you up.”
“No
I’ll take him.”
Shadow
pointed at the still unconscious Leech.
“And
you, Nightmare? Would you care to pick some unconscious moron as well?”
Nightmare
smiled and grabbed the closest demon at his side. He delivered a hard punch to
his face, knocking him out cold.
“Sure.
I’ll take this unconscious moron. I’ll tie him to my back and I’ll still beat
murder trash wannabe over here.”
Shadow
smiled.
“I
know you’re the daughter of a decent liar, but that wasn’t very convincing.”
The
smile finally left Nightmare’s face. Apparently he didn’t like being called a
girl or the way Shadow just referenced his father. He took a step forward but
then turned his head to see Venom still standing there. Venom shook his head
and Nightmare took a step back.
“Enough
bullshit. Let’s see if either one of you can back up what you’ve said. Everyone
make your way to the labyrinth entrance.”
Shadow
went to Leech, who was finally regaining consciousness. Leech looked up and
smiled.
“You
kicked his ass, didn’t you? You barely look hurt.”
“I
got more punches in but he landed a good one in my stomach. Still hurts a
little.”
“Is
he laying face down somewhere?”
“No.
Venom stepped in and broke it up.”
“Well
that sucks, Shady. You find a good partner for the labyrinth?”
“No.
I’m pretty sure the demon I picked is going to be more trouble than he’s
worth.”
“Who?”
Shadow
smiled.
“It’s
you, dumbass. Now help me get my armor on and we’ll see what we can do about
getting you some better equipment.”
Leech
looked shocked and bowed on one knee.
“I
really appreciate it, Shady. I won’t let you down.”
“You
can’t. I couldn’t think any less of you than I already do. One punch from
Nightmare and you’re out cold?”
“That
asshole sucker punched me.”
“Well
redeem yourself then. Armor. Now.”
“Sure.
Right away.”
Leech
opened the bag with Shadow’s armor and polished it with his cloak. He then
helped Shadow secure his armor and handed him his sword. Leech saw that there
was still some extra gear in the sack.
“Can
I just go ahead and um… take what I want?”
“Have
at it.”
While
Shadow watched Leech put on a belt and attach a pair of daggers to it, he
couldn’t stop thinking. Why the hell had Cain given him a scythe when he knew
it would be taken away? It couldn’t be just for style points and making
enemies.
Shadow
decided to look at the sword so he would at least better understand his new
replacement weapon. As he looked along the blade, crimson writing started to
appear and extend along the surface of the sword.
“Recite the story of the first murder and
this weapon will become your salvation.”
The
writing disappeared shortly after Shadow read it and he had no idea what it
meant.
