Hellbeast

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Eva stepped with care over a pile of bricks as the five of them made their way through the crypt underneath the castle. High brick-vaulted arches rose above them, festooned with thick black electricity cables that fed the lighting this far underground. Dampness permeated the air and left a musty taste clinging to the back of Eva’s throat.

“We always end up in cellars or crypts, it seems,” she observed, placing her hand on the wall only for the stone beneath to crumble. It was clear why there was wreckage everywhere. These foundations were not solid.

“We deal in death,” Swanson said from in front of her, tripping as he turned to look back. “ARC might not be on the surface an organization of such limited vision, but look at our ultimate objective. Demons are the reason Jerome Guyomard founded this organization. We plan against the day we have to fight creatures most people don’t believe in. Those who do believe in them fear them. We guard across the globe against the threat of incursions from a place that should not exist. Our singular goal, as things stand, is to rescue a newborn from the very place we never want to see on our doorstep.”

“ARC: We will keep the demon from your door,” Madden quoted in the sort of voiceover one heard in commercials. “Catchy, no?”

“I’ll alert the media wing of the organization,” Swanson answered wryly. “You can be the poster boy when demons start invading.”

“It doesn’t seem very stable down here,” Eva announced, wiping dust-covered hands on her jeans. She started to tie her hair back, and then thought better of it.

“Looks can be deceiving, young miss,” Steadman said as he hopped over the rubble she had just passed.

Eva grinned at the old man. “Yes, so it would seem. You are very light on your feet all of a sudden.”

“Steadman was a procurer of antiquities in his younger days,” Gila interjected. “It is a skill set that one cannot easily put aside.”

“Rick was much the same,” Eva said in somber tones, remembering the great brute of a man who had remained at their side and protected the two of them after Elaine revealed her true nature. “He paid the ultimate price despite those skills.”

“He did,” Swanson agreed, “and we shall miss him. He was one hell of a man, Eva. But don’t get too down about it. Rick Larrion understood the risks and, despite his quiet demeanor, he was vociferous in retaining his place with you. He almost came to blows with other agents to assist in his capacity. On the front line, there was no better man to serve. Honor his memory by never forgetting the man.”

“Amen,” Madden said; the irony of his demonic half not lost on anybody.

Gila turned a corner in the crypt, where the end of the brickwork met a roughly chiselled rock face. Winking at Eva, she pushed an inconspicuous section of the stone, watching it slide back into place. There was a heavy ‘clunk’ from behind the rock, and the section dropped back, sliding out of sight.

The gap revealed a metal frame on which the stone face had pivoted. Beyond, the walls were dark, the stone of the underworks covered with what appeared to be carbon panelling.

“It’s not sanctified, is it?” Madden asked.

“Not at the moment,” answered Gila. “If demons find their way into this area of the castle, they would never get this far. Trust me, when I say the defenses have been disabled for you, and you do not want to ever see them in action.”

Madden looked about them, his face tentative.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Steadman announced, “if you would be so kind as to proceed in, I will seal the entrance behind you.”

“One way in, one way out,” Swanson said to Eva with a wink.

Eva led the way, tugging on Madden's arm to encourage him along. The black hallway had the distinct ARC reek of sterile cleanliness, with the promise of something ancient at the end.

The rock slid into place behind them and from this side, Eva could see the complexity of the mechanism holding it in place.

“That must weigh…”

“Upwards of twenty-five tonnes,” Swanson provided. “Welcome to the ARC retreat, where the secrets with secrets of their own are kept secure.”

The hallway opened out into a room about thirty feet square, with several smaller rooms accessed through archways. Judging by its shape, the ceiling was evidently buttressed in the same fashion as the rest of the crypt but more of the dusky material hid any brickwork. Lighting came from many small bulbs hanging on nearly invisible wires about two feet from the ceiling.

“This is hidden?” Eva looked about the room. Servers and computers crowded one side. The rest of the retreat was dedicated to shelves of documentation.

“Hidden, bombproof, infra-red proof,” said a familiar voice. Jeanette Gibson, member of the Council and head of ARC’s media wing entered the room. “Satellites can see nothing but the castle. If nuclear war erupted, we would be protected from both radiation and the electromagnetic spike. There is one way in and one way out; we could control most of the world's media from this one room. If the castle crumbled, this would remain the only standing structure within the walls.”

Eva crossed the room and clasped her blonde-haired ally in a brief hug. “It's good to see you, Jeanette.”

The woman Eva had once only believed to be the ABC World News anchor held her at arms’ length, examining her with a look of approval. “You have done well. You have come such a long way in such a short time. You're definitely not the innocent I met in Alabama. I'm so incredibly sorry about your daughter.”

“She's not lost yet,” Madden protested.

“Indeed, Madden Scott. It seems you are proof anything is possible. Human, demon, human, demon. Hellbounce doesn't apply to you.”

Madden laughed. “When you put it in such a way, it's more like 'Hell-yo-yo'. The beast within is always ready to explode. I have more control this time.”

“It’s for the best,” Jeanette concurred, “for control is needed now more than ever. With events transpiring as they have at CERN, it has begun; as much is clear to anybody able to interpret the signs.”

Eva glanced at Gila, who nodded.

“Eva was party to the information as I received it.”

“What neither of you know is the extent of how personal this has become.”

There was an edge to Jeanette’s comment, and it hooked Eva. “What exactly do you mean? What’s happened?”

Jeanette opened a black leather folder on the table nearby, placing several photographs where Eva could see them.

“Look familiar?”

The images awoke several latent memories in Eva's mind. “The mountain… my street… Swanson… your house in Sweden… I don't recognize this last one. But they all look damaged.”

“It has begun in earnest: the demon attack on Earth. The very event we were charged to guard against.”

Eva turned to Gila. “This is what they were telling you? No wonder you didn't want to pass the information on.”

“Some of it,” Gila admitted. “I did not know all of the locations and the extent of the damage until now.”

Eva studied the photographs again. “A fiery pit where my house used to stand. It’s a fitting end for a truly despicable hellhole.”

“Unfortunately, the demons that emerged from the portal did a lot of damage before they were stopped. Two children and their mother were killed in a nearby house.”

Eva put her hand to her mouth. “What were their names?” she asked, afraid for the answer she knew was coming.

Jeanette flicked through the dispatches. “Ellis and Jessica. Their mother was…”

“Roxanna,” Eva finished. “They lived next door. Oh, dear God, we have to do something about this.”

“All in good time. In Sweden, Eyvind and Rikke Moeltje perished when the house collapsed. On Gehenna, a number of ARC operatives were killed.”

“And this last photo? It looks deserted.”

“You couldn't be more right. That's the Gobi Desert, in Mongolia. A lightning storm of immense proportions erupted in a clear sky and disappeared just as quickly.”

“The Gobi Desert,” Madden pondered. “The same place where the Convocation of the Sacred Fire intended to send you to protect Nina.”

“Indeed,” Jeanette said in agreement. “All incursions were ended after a brief interval. Portals from this frozen dimension opened and the demons were taken. They are being picked off before they can do too much damage. In this, the enemy of our enemy…”

“Is a worse enemy,” Eva finished. “They are taking demons for the exact same reason Hell’s minions are coming here. They’re strengthening their forces. The stronger they become, the easier it is to cross. Asmodeus said as much.”

“Undeniably. These places all have one thing in common. You two.”

“You think they are tracking us?” Madden spun to Eva. “Could such a feat even be possible? Did Asmodeus have that kind of power?”

“I don't think it was necessarily him.”

“What do you mean?” Swanson asked.

“Ivor Sarch. He is a demon.”

“Impossible,” Swanson declared. From the tone of his voice, it sounded as though Swanson wasn't certain.

“There was writing on the wall in the sepulchre Iuvart safeguarded. You were there. It read Rosier and Garias. Iuvart was clearly a different entity entirely. Who else was closer to Benedict Garias than Ivor Sarch?”

“We have safeguards,” said Jeanette.

“Designed by whom?”

“The technology wing of ARC.”

Eva threw up her hands in exasperation. They could not see it or were still bound by some kind of influence.

“And who runs the department and what are their key interests?”

“Benedict Garias. He is at fault, but he would never willingly become a traitor to humanity. They research demon science, armor and weapons, emergence tracking… and energy… Oh dear God, what have we let ourselves become?”

To Eva, it was as if a bubble of steadily building pressure had popped and everybody could see with clarity for the first time.

“Gila, you read a quote about Rosier when we found the name. Do you remember?”

Gila looked baffled. “No, I’m sorry I have no recollection.”

“Open up one of these computers and search on the name.”

Gila flicked on a nearby monitor and sat down at the desk. A few taps on the keyboard and she started to read aloud.

“Rosier is listed as second in the order of Dominions, and with his sweet and honeyed words, he tempts mortal man. He is considered the patron demon of tainted love…” Gila looked up at them from the desk, “… and seduction.”

“You were hoodwinked. All of you. When we stood in the Council chamber, Ivor Sarch said barely a word. He didn’t need to. The vote had already been decided because demonic influence was enough for him to sway the people he needed to convince to vote him onto the Council. It may be Nina was protecting me from the influence, just as she has done on so many other occasions. I was as susceptible as any before I was pregnant.” Eva looked pointedly at Madden, who had the grace clear his throat in embarrassment.

“Yes… um… we were definitely caught under the spell for a while. As fun as the night was, we had no idea other than in Moynagh’s for a brief moment we were being played.”

“I could see it in the chamber and none of the rest of you were aware. I went into labor at precisely the wrong moment. He has been playing ARC for fools the entire time. Ask yourself this: his shielding technology— could it also have been used for tracking?”

Swanson slammed his hand down on the table in frustration. “Of course. It must be the reason they wanted the amniotic fluid they collected from outside the ambulance. They weren’t just using it to open a portal. They have some way of finding you from Hell. Something tells me it’s not all fire and brimstone down there, you know. Look at these photos. Every picture is a place we have been. Is this targeted guessing or practice?”

“We need to know more about what they were doing. Will Benedict Garias still be at ARC Headquarters?”

Jeanette referred to her tablet computer. “There is no record of any arrival or departure after I left which was before the lockdown; whatever else is wrong with the organization, they take threats like this very seriously. The last we heard was he had disappeared with Sarch. I have no more news yet.”

“We need to get there then,” Eva decided.

“There’s more to it than just prying information from Garias though, Eva,” Swanson countered. “What do we do with any information we get? Yes, we know your theory is very sound about Rosier, but he is gone. Zoe Larter, despite her unsavory affiliations, is dead. Killed by the very creature she served, willingly or otherwise. I must say I have mixed feelings about her involvement. It disturbs me somewhat that I do not regret what happened as much as I should.”

Madden reached out and took her hand. “She had her eyes on your prize, for one reason or another.”

“True, but if there is one thing we have been taught by this, it is that all life is precious. Benedict may be our only hope of understanding this situation of course, but…”

“But he is only a means to an end. You know what I want, Swanson. If they are finding a way through to us, then I want to find a way through to them. There has to be another way to make a portal.”

Swanson considered this for a moment. “We have always found there is a certain residual energy reading when gateways have been open. The longer they remain open, the stronger the signature. It might help us detect a more likely location to benefit us. Orpheus was open for a while and it was a portal of massive power. If we can get down there, maybe we can get the readings we need to calculate accurate locations. We could turn their technology against them.”

“Good. I don’t want to waste any more time. I suspect there isn’t anything positive we can learn from here. Ancient documents put us on the path, but technology is going to open the door. I have a ticket for a one-way express train to Hell. My daughter is there waiting. One other thing.” Eva held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. “I gave you my wedding band when I thought I was going after Nina. I would like it back, if there is any way we can find it.”

“There was a lot of wreckage down there,” Gila said. “We left quite a mess.”

Jeanette smiled. “Oh, you would be quite surprised how much rubble angry scientists and their friends can move when they realize their precious science project has been heartlessly misused. Plus, it was in part ARC funded. We want to get to the bottom of this as much as those working there. I’m sure there is a way down, so let’s…”

The end of Jeanette’s sentence was drowned by the wail of a siren. A repeated ‘whoop’ of a noise threatened to deafen Eva, and yellow warning lights blinked on as the main power in the room was extinguished.

Eva looked at Madden in confusion as a loud rumble from somewhere nearby made the walls shake, sending clouds of dust from atop ancient manuscripts into the air.

“What is it?” Madden shouted at Swanson, his voice just audible above the noise.

Swanson shook his head and tried to flick on another of the screens. Nothing happened. Another shudder shook the room and then the rock door opened.

Steadman stumbled in; his forehead marred by a huge gash with blood pouring down. He waved at them, urging them to come to him.

Eva didn’t need any further invitation. Madden grabbed her hand and the two of them dodged around falling shelves, heading for the door.

“What is it?” Eva heard Swanson yell from behind them.

“Lightning!” shouted the elderly curator. “Lightning from a clear sky. It’s right above us!”

“Oh crap,” Eva heard Madden say as they passed through the doorway. “They’ve found us. They know we’re here.”