The Second Seal Read online

  Only it hadn’t been a man, not really.

  She had made a vow she would never break. Lilith would grind her teeth, would writhe and buck from the pending agony, but not a sound louder than a muted grunt would be released. That was her promise to herself.

  “I have to admit, I prefer interrogating men. They are generally easier to manipulate. They all think they are so macho, but I use that against them. It’s also so easy to threaten them considering their innate vulnerabilities.” The Librarian had once told her the most distinguished Inquisitors had mainly been women. They might not have been as strong as their male counterparts, but they seemed strangely suited to the hardship the life of an Inquisitor demanded.

  “This is no way to spend your life,” Lilith advised. “If you knew what I knew about the world, you would be on your knees before your maker begging for forgiveness.” Lilith wasn’t giving much away by saying this, the words chosen carefully. If she could sow the tiniest seed of doubt in her abuser’s mind, it might be enough to work in her favour.

  “Are you seriously preaching to me?” The blow that struck Lilith took her by surprise, but still she didn’t allow any sign of distress to leak from her lips. So far, the blows had always been with an open hand but she knew this would change. “You’re coming across as a bit overly religious. As you can imagine, it isn’t something that holds much appeal to me.”

  “I’m saying there are things you don’t understand.” Lilith spat blood onto the once pristine floor. The whiteness there was now speckled with spots of red.

  “The only thing I don’t understand is why you haven’t told me your name. I’ll give you another chance.” Veronica grabbed her short hair and pulled Lilith’s neck taut. “But it’s important you understand I don’t want you to answer my questions. I want you to keep those precious lips sealed because there are so many things I want to do to you.”

  “I’m not going to answer your questions.” Would she be able to hold out? Lilith was sure she could.

  “That’s what I’m counting on.” Veronica brought her mouth close to Lilith’s ear so she could whisper. “Can I tell you a little secret?”

  “I don’t see I’m in any position to stop you.”

  “Making you suffer like this does give me a little tingle.” Lilith was surprised when teeth nibbled at her earlobe. All very predictable. When the teeth relented, Lilith shook her head in dismay. This was one of the things Veronica meant by men being easier. Veronica was an attractive woman. She could use that against men, tantalising them with temptation, only to remove their ability to act on that temptation. Permanently.

  “There is a dark place awaiting you.”

  “I was born into darkness. Maybe I’ll enjoy it.” No, Lilith thought. No you won’t. The things you inflict upon the world will be returned to you a thousand-fold. There is no redeeming yourself from this.

  Before Lilith could say anything more, the door opened. The man the world knew as the United Kingdom’s Home Secretary walked in boldly. The shroud around him was all-engulfing, revealing to Lilith the demon that lived inside. The cloud of blackness was thick, pulsing, caressing the world around it. Rarely had Lilith seen such a display of demon nobility.

  “Leave us,” Baal commanded. Veronica didn’t argue. She stood and walked out of the room without another word, although her manner showed how much she resented the interruption. Veronica cast a glance back at her prisoner, a strange longing moulding her face. She really does get off on this, Lilith thought.

  Baal watched her underling leave, a smirk on the demon’s face. When the door closed, Baal grabbed the free chair and pulled it over to sit before her captive. Lilith saw everything, including the rash that had now spread to the Home Secretary’s neck.

  “Your host doesn’t seem to agree with you,” Lilith stated. “That’s a nasty rash you have there.”

  “So, you are one that can see the truth of us. I have to say, you don’t look like the threat I was led to expect.” Lilith looked at the mirror. “Don’t worry, we can talk freely. Nobody is watching.”

  “Makes sense, I suppose. Wouldn’t be good for the world to know what you really are.” There was little point feigning ignorance on Lilith’s part. This demon knew what she was.

  “The same could be said for you.”

  “You are displaying an awful amount of trust, aren’t you?” The blackness was thick and undulating. It moved in a wave around the host body, occasionally sending out fingers that touched Lilith’s skin only to recoil as if Lilith’s flesh was toxic. “Why risk revealing yourself?”

  “Because I always wanted to meet one of your kind. The great Inquisitors, the scourge of my kin for countless generations.”

  “Demons are a cancer, a sickness that needs to be cut out. I merely do God’s bidding.”

  Baal laughed. “You think God cares about what happens to your race? How foolishly naïve.”

  “God loves all his children, even you.” That didn’t mean the children shouldn’t be punished, of course.

  “Child, God moved on long ago. He grew tired of your pettiness and left you to fend for yourselves. Why else did he cast Satan out rather than destroying him? I rather like to think God gets off on the whole good versus evil struggle. But now we are coming, and you will all learn the true meaning of suffering.” Lilith detected this demon was looking forward to such promise immensely. Hell was soon to be ripe with several billion more immortal souls. Oh, the torment that could be inflicted on them. If Lilith was one to lose her faith easily, she might have pondered on the futility of her life so far.

  “The words of a creature with no soul.” One thing Lilith had noticed was that this hijacker was constantly scratching himself. Clearly this was a powerful demon to cause its host to fall apart so quickly.

  “I don’t need a soul. There are plenty for me to play with in the Pit.”

  “Why don’t we stop playing games?” Lilith demanded. “What is it you want?”

  “Well, here is a bit of poetic justice. I want your confession.”

  “Inquisitors have nothing to confess.” The Order of Tyron may have been Catholic, but ever since the day she graduated, she had never once been to confession to repent. There were no sins mere words could vanquish. Her actions were pure, her place in the afterlife guaranteed.

  “I want you to confess who you are to the world, to expose your kind to the light of day. I want to know what you know about your blessed religious order.”

  “You will have a long wait for that.” Lilith would never betray her Order. As meaningless as her words alone would be, with the voice of a country’s Home Secretary behind them, there was a risk the world would listen. The Inquisition only survived because of the way they had stayed hidden in the shadows.

  “Tell me the identities of the other Inquisitors. Tell me how to break into your secure network. Do that and this can all end.” The IT experts at GCHQ were still trying to remove the computer virus that stopped Inquisitors being recorded by the country’s CCTV network. They’d had no luck so far, and were limited in what they could do because it was apparent the hacker who had installed it was a master.

  “We both know that will never happen.”

  “Such brave words, but you have yet to experience the pleasures Veronica can bring you.”

  “The woman is an abomination,” Lilith said. “Fitting that she should work for scum like you.”

  “Careful now,” Baal warned. She raised a hand and Lilith felt a tightness forming around her neck. So, this demon had power, not like most of the others she had cast back into the Pit. That told Lilith a lot. From the teachings delivered to her by the Librarian, only a handful of demons could manifest such psychic ability.

  Nothing a bullet couldn’t stop.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Lilith insisted.

  “When I kill you, and it will be me, I’ll make it slow, as if you were having a heart attack.” Baal’s threat held no power over Lilith.

  “I welcome de
ath,” Lilith stated. To be martyred for God was all she could hope for in this life. Death was hardly a threat which was part of what made Inquisitors such a powerful fighting force.

  “Perhaps then a stroke, to leave you crippled. I’m sure the state could keep you alive for years.” Lilith felt a pressure forming in her left temple, the noise of her blood thick in her ear. The pressure coalesced into pain.

  “Time is meaningless when one is blessed with an eternity of bliss.”

  The pressure relented. “I think I will leave you in the hands of Veronica then. You know she has never once failed in an interrogation?”

  “You should stick around then. I’m sure I’m going to disappoint her.” Although she could not hope for rescue, Lilith would hold out as long as possible.

  “If only I could. I would love to stay and watch our friend at work, but I have to keep up the appearances expected of this pathetic vessel. It has things it needs to be seen doing. How tedious you humans have become,” Baal admitted. “You are right though. Veronica does have a dark heart, one of the blackest I’ve encountered in your kind. I will make a point of looking out for Veronica when her time comes.” Baal stood, apparently satisfied with herself. “I reckon I might even find a use for her down there. We are always looking for fresh talent.”

  18.

  Slough, UK

  The data from the demon teacher’s phone told Lucien she had visited the same residence every night for the last week. Logic, therefore, told him she would venture there this night as well, which was why he set up a vigil outside the property in question.

  The house she had visited was a secluded private residence south of Colne Valley Regional Park. It was in an area of farm and parkland, a far cry from the bustling compressed development that marked London. Out here, privacy could be had at a hefty price which those with the means were willing to pay for. Accessed by a single lane road, Lucien knew driving directly up to the address would be a mistake. Instead he abandoned his vehicle and made his way across fields until he was in a position to survey the entry to the property. With light still on his side, he set himself up in concealment and waited for the various actors in the evening’s events to arrive.

  There were guards at the property, two that he had counted so far. They didn't openly display weapons, but Lucien had no doubt the men were armed with concealed hand guns. The guards were human, perhaps hired for their services and likely oblivious to the true identity of their paymasters. So not only were demons now gathering, they were also protecting themselves. There were no dogs in evidence which made sense. Humanity’s canine servants had little or no toleration for those who were possessed.

  Did these creatures fear the Inquisition that much or were there other enemies the Hell spawn felt they had to contend with?

  He had a computer tablet with him that held mapped tracking software. This allowed Lucien to track any mobile phone for which he had the number. This was how, before he had started his vigil, he was fairly confident Mrs Robinson and the demon riding her were on their way, the small green dot moving ever closer across the map.

  She wasn’t the first to arrive. Two cars were already parked at the property, two more arriving within the first hour of his surveillance. They each unloaded a single individual before the cars left. Through his binoculars, he could see the corruption of the two new arrivals. The guards knew them by sight which helped confirm the frequency of what was happening here. Although he couldn't know for sure, Lucien had a suspicion why the creatures were meeting like this.

  Every individual was captured by the telephoto lens of his phone’s impressive camera. Before he entered the house, he would send the GPS coordinates as well as the pictures of faces and car number plates off to his superiors via the secure satellite network. If he didn't make it through this, if he made a mistake or was just damned unlucky then at least there would be others who might take up the battle against those threatening the stability of the planet.

  “Damned demons,” he whispered under his breath. How many were in there he didn't know, but he knew he couldn't let this nest go unpunished. Any action he now took would have to be made alone, with no hope of backup. He had his training, his God, and the truth that despite the guards, those inside wouldn't be expecting anyone to come for them.

  It was another thirty minutes before the possessed teacher arrived. She came alone, parking her modest car next to the two vehicles a teacher could never hope to buy. Lucien watched her from his place of concealment, the wooded area shielding him from curious eyes. She too was all but ignored by the guards as she exited her vehicle and walked past them.

  She was most likely the last one to arrive.

  Time to release the drone. It was smaller than his thumb, a more advanced version of the recently developed Black Hornet Nano drone designed for individual soldiers to use. It was virtually silent as well as being made to look like a bee. It wouldn’t fool anyone up close, but then most people wouldn’t notice it. Linked to his computer tablet, it would show Lucien much of what he needed to see.

  Over the tablet’s video capture software, he guided it in, circling the house once, revealing only two guards. Although he couldn’t get it in the house, he could use it to look into the windows. In a downstairs kitchen he spotted another three guards, two men and a woman. Although several windows were blocked by drawn curtains, Lucien was fairly confident he now knew what he was up against. Switching his view to infrared, he did a final sweep. As far as he could tell, there was nobody upstairs.

  A property as old as this would undoubtedly have a basement.

  All his life Lucien had been bringing God's wrath to those that crept their way out of the Pit. Mostly it was solitary demons who had no chance against someone of his training. Recently, he had been having to dispatch them in pairs, but never more than that. He knew Lilith had killed three in one moment of holy slaughter recently. Had she been lucky, or was this truly a reflection of the thing she feared?

  Was Lilith right? Were the demons becoming bolder, and was that boldness due to what they all knew would come eventually?

  Here, he was dealing with an unknown number. Strategically it was foolish to attempt it, but as an Inquisitor he was duty bound to act. His life meant nothing, not in the face of such obvious corruption.

  The light began to fail twenty minutes after, allowing Lucien to finally make his move.

  19.

  Vatican City, Italy

  “Director, it is so good of you to see me at such short notice.” The Pope sat in the same room in which he had taken audience with Cardinal Esposito two days before. For those he needed to speak to, the ones on Cardinal Esposito’s list, he had chosen to use the telephone or to see them in person at his private chambers. So far, he was of the opinion he had convinced less than half of those to whom he had spoken. It was understandable really. Hearing there were demons running free in the world was a hard fact to swallow, even when it came from someone as respected as the Pope.

  The message was a difficult one to deliver over the phone. But if the world was heading to the brink, if dark forces were at work, then travelling to multiple countries was not the safest road. The Pope’s personal bodyguard was in agreement with this, and as a member of the Order of Tyron, the bodyguard was the only one of the Pope’s protection detail who was aware of the true threat facing the world. The irritating cough the Pope had developed was, however, early evidence that it was already too late to save his Holiness. The anthrax had permeated his lungs and the Cobalt 60 was already burning away inside him.

  There would be a time for the greater population to be told about the dangers the demonic hordes presented to mankind, but that time was not now. Only a select few were to be made aware, and from now on his personal bodyguard, who was also the Inspector General of the Vatican’s Gendarme Corps, would not leave the Pope alone with any visitors. This was firstly to ensure the Pope remained safe, but also to visually attest that none of those entering the Pope’s presence were t
ainted by demonic possession.

  Inquisitors could be used to protect as well as hunt, and an Inquisitor had stood as defender of the Pope for hundreds of years.

  “When your Holiness calls, I answer,” replied the Director of the Italian External Information and Security Agency. The Director had been somewhat taken aback by an insistent message that the Pope had wanted to see him. “I will admit I am confused as to the purpose of this visit.”

  “I thought it was time I shared a few secrets with you, Director,” the Pope said. Although they occupied the same chairs as when the Pope met Esposito, the fireplace didn’t rage. The weather outside was surprisingly warm, the fireplace presently obsolete.

  “I am in the business of secrets. I am happy to be told anything your Holiness deems me worthy of.”

  “You will not like what I have to tell you.” This was why the Pope felt he had to deliver this information in person when he could. To look someone in the eye, to tell them things they never thought they would hear. Even then there was a risk his warning wouldn’t be believed.

  “This sounds serious.”

  “It is,” the Pope admitted. “I am about to share with you a secret kept hidden for centuries.”

  “You can count on my discretion.”

  “That’s why I called you here. Would you call yourself a good Catholic?”

  “I am somewhat lapsed,” the Director admitted. “In my line of work, I have little time to think about anything other than the protection of our country.”

  “And I thank you for that. I must warn you this secret will be hard for you to believe.”