Robert The Devil

Chapter 6: Minos

Minos.

Of all the demons in all the underworld, it would have to be Minos that walked the Earth with human feet once more. In a strange way, it made perfect sense. Minos would be one of the few who would possess the strength and the speed to knock him so completely senseless despite Robert’s special abilities.

Robert recognized the connection between them instantly, of course, the sole trait Minos and Robert shared: both had human aspects and walked among men while still being intimate with the inner workings of the realm of the damned. Both of them knew what it was like to walk in both worlds.

As history recorded, Minos was different things to different people, just like any other man. He ruled over Crete and The Aegean Sea for generations before The Trojan War. For nearly a decade he made Knossos his base, home to the maze that housed the infamous Minotaur, and was the primary author of the Cretan constitution, not to mention the primary reason for its naval supremacy.

To some he was a cruel, ruthless tyrant with ice water in his veins that sacrificed youths to appease the hellish and supposedly mythical creature known as The Minotaur. Given his experience with otherworldly creatures, the existence of a mere half-man, half-bull didn`t seem so unlikely, but he understood 20th century science’s attempt to credit the tale to that of mere fancy. It was something they just couldn’t accept. Dante, however, had seen the truth.

Given his supposedly unusually long life, something historians credited to there actually being more than one king with that name, it was also clear to Robert that Minos had long ago made some deal with dark forces that extended his life. Upon his death, King Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades together with Aeacus and Radamanthus. Radamanthus judged the souls people of certain races, Aeacus judged others and Minos had the deciding vote. How this man, a mere mortal, came to rank so highly in the pits is a story Robert hadn’t yet come to learn, though he’d heard plenty of legends.

One unique mortal man who`d been given a “guided tour” of the darkest realm immortalized Minos in his classic piece of literature - known as The Divine Comedy. In what is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest pieces of literature, Minos sits at the entrance to the second circle in the Inferno, which was, for all intents and purposes, the true entrance to Hell.

There, he judges the sins of each soul to enter hell and assigns it to its rightful punishment by indicating the circle to which it must descend. He accomplishes this by circling his demonic tail around his body the appropriate number of times. At times he also clarifies the soul's location within the circle by the wrapping of the leathery appendage.

On Cretan coins, Minos was almost always depicted as bearded with curly hair, conceited and dignified. Zeus-like in his build: muscular and robustly healthy. That was then, this was now. Minos’ earthly body was reduced to dust ages ago. The form Minos had chosen now in no way resembled the man he once was. Where did he get this new body?

Robert looked up after clearing his vision, peering into the eyes of his captor, and though the corpulent gentleman standing before him bore no resemblance to the actual historical and mythical figure, he could tell just by looking into this man`s eyes that he was Minos, the final judge of the dead. Those eyes… were like a fingerprint.

They were sunken, almost non-existent, and they were black as the night. There was no flicker of humanity within. There was no light of life. And yet, there was clearly evidence of an extreme intellect inside, the kind of intellect that could only come from an eternity of existence, from seeing… and judging, things and people across a vast ocean of time.

Most of the average humans he’d encountered in his travels had a kind of doe-eyed idiocy about them, content as long as they had their I-Pods, numb as long as they had their big screen televisions, reality TV and cheap gas for their SUVs. Take that away from them, however, and they’d revert back to a “Lord Of The Flies” mentality in literally hours, scooping the brains from each other’s skulls just for something to eat with no remorse whatsoever. Minos stood before him with a theatrical flourish and a wide but mirthless smile

“Not exactly the figure in Michelangelo’s fresco, am I?”

Robert allowed himself a wan smile. It was as if the skin Minos wore: the rotund body with the vast expanse about the belly, the yellowing teeth and the greasy mustache… it was almost as if there were another body within this creature, and that he was wearing this unappealing outer layer as if it were a poorly tailored Halloween costume.

“I’d always suspected the great artist was a bit too generous in his depiction.”

Minos was clad once more in the white suit he preferred, the one that was far too tight for his obese form. Every move he made highlighted the roles of fat on his stomach, arms and legs. His body rippled underneath the poorly tailored outfit as if it had a mind of its own, or as if there were another body trapped inside wanting to get escape.

They were inside the compound now, in the all white room that looked out upon the poolside area. Robert’s hands were bound behind the chair he sat in by three sets of handcuffs. It wasn’t a surprise considering his greater than average strength, something of which Minos would be perfectly aware.

Minos stood before him, admiring an incredibly sharp and deadly looking blade - a stiletto - as if it were a lover. As always, Garfield Seaward stood off to the side and behind Minos, like a loyal lapdog. As he was in Seaward’s office tower, the only real peer Hellenbach ever had was once again rubbing his hands together gleefully, a wide and almost painful looking grin etched on his face.

“Make no mistake, Robert. I did look like that… once upon a time.”

Robert could only shake his head and laugh hoarsely. “Old age is a bitch, isn’t it, Minos? I bet you can’t even get it up any more, huh? Is that why that pool outside looks like an aquarium that’s been poured into a blender? Do you have difficulties in that area that make you take it out on poor young women?”

Silence passed between them for a time, a pregnant, uncomfortable silence as the truth of Robert’s words sunk in.

When Minos struck with the knife, it was without mercy and stunning quickness not normally possessed of one so overweight. With stunning strength and unerring quickness, he reached out and drove the blade into Robert’s right leg, just above the knee, without ceremony or threats of any kind. It took another few seconds before Robert realized that the screaming echoing off the walls was coming from him.

Seaward, like Minos, was grinning widely at the sight of their enemy in agony while Minos twisted the knife deep in his muscle fibers before pulling it out and licking the blade clean with his short, stubby tongue.

“You’re saying he’ll heal completely from that?” Seaward asked with a twinge of disappointment in his tone.

Minos nodded. “Oh yes. He’s already healing from it. He’s only half human, after all. His father’s lineage has granted him enhanced strength and a phenomenal healing rate. He’d heal from a gunshot straight to the head, and probably has.” He looked to Robert for confirmation, who nodded.

“Of course, those special abilities have their limits,” Minos continued. “He can be killed. We can blame his inferior human lineage for that.”

“You have human lineage too, Minos,” Robert muttered. “In fact, you have more than I do. You were completely human.”

Minos’ temper flared as his cheeks grew ruddier and leaned over Robert, stabbing a finger in his face. “I ‘was’ human, you fucking insect! I haven’t been human in a long, long time! I’ve seen ages pass and I’ve judged millions of souls since I became their sole adjudicator and I won’t claim any allegiance to that vile race any longer!”

“My father has no idea you’re here does he?”

Minos chuckled dryly. “No, he has no idea I’m here. What are you going to do, Robert? Are you going to tell ‘daddy’ on me? We both know he’d snap your neck as soon as look at you. Besides, he’s very busy these days anyway, what with the sudden explosion of our kind being summoned to the earthly plane in record numbers.”

Robert nodded in understanding. “That’s why you’re doing this. That’s why there’s been an explosion in the population of demons on earth. You’re doing it to keep my father busy.”

Minos smiled and it was an ugly sight, revealing yellowed, decaying teeth and what he could only imagine was fetid breath. “Not just your father, but his opposite number, as well. There’s a balance to be maintained, don’t you know. There’s a reason they don’t interfere with human existence too much by placing their own agents, be they angels or demons, on this earth. It would corrupt free will: the wretched device given to humans for whatever reason the creator dreamt up that day. When you fuck with free will, you fuck with a major force in the universe, and that we simply cannot have.”

Robert could already feel his leg returning to normal as the muscle fiber and nerve endings stitched themselves back together. He had to buy time to plan an escape.

“How did you do it? How did you teach them to summon so many demons so efficiently?”

Minos shrugged. “It began with me. Garfield summoned me, almost by accident, really, to help me deal with you, and then I sold off the knowledge of the dark arts to the highest bidders: usually crime lords and other scum, to help Seaward raise capital that he’d lost since his disastrous encounter with you. So it served two needs, the earthly need for finances, since revenge is never cheap, and to keep your father and his hated opposite number’s eyes off the prize.”

As subtly as possible, Robert began to test the strength of his bonds. He wore three sets of handcuffs, standard police issue, and he thought that if he had sufficient time, he might be able to break the chains on all three… if he had the time. He would have to do it without his captor’s noticing, a virtual impossibility given that they were standing over him like vultures. He looked to Minos once more.

“Okay, Minos, I understand a lot of what you’re doing here. I can see why Garfield wants me to suffer. My sudden change of outlook on life and subsequent disappearance from his sphere of influence probably destroyed his life in some ways. I can see why you and he are releasing all these demons, or at least selling the knowledge on how to do so, but what’s up with you? Why are you here? What’s the purpose in coming after me and who’s judging the damned with you not there?”

Minos offered a look which Robert decided must be the demon’s attempt at feigned innocence, though it was grotesque and disturbing.

“To answer your first question last: I have no idea what’s happening at the gates of the damned now… nor do I give an unholy damn, pardon the pun. I served him as no other human that ever lived and I deserve this vacation.”

Robert leaned forward until his own face was now frighteningly close to his captor’s. This time, it was clear who was accusing whom. Despite the fact that Robert was bound, both Minos and Seaward took an involuntary step back.

“You didn’t take a vacation! You deserted your post! When my father finds out what you’ve done he’ll torture you for eons. With no one to judge them and assign them a circle in hell… what you’ve done… the backlog… would make hell even more unbearable, if such a thing was possible! Congratulations, you’ve managed to find a way to make hell even worse!”

Minos shrugged. “Not my problem… never was. If your father was that interested in that particular function of his realm he should probably visit it more. The dark realm is vast beyond imagining. Even he can’t oversee it all, not if he wants to keep an eye on this realm and the eternal tug of war between himself and his opposite number. Hell cannot be run by an absentee landlord.”

Robert shook his head in an attempt to get the sight of a countless infinity of souls awaiting judgment, all piled up at the gates of the second ring like cattle, out of his head. He shuddered at the thought and was overflowing with indignation.

“What you’ve done is more than abandon your post; you’ve upset the natural order of the universe. An incalculable number of souls are awaiting judgment and placement in the realm and there’s no one there to do it! These things are done this way for a reason! Who knows what the repercussions will be for what you’ve done! Existence as we know it could wipe itself out just to correct that error!”

Minos rolled his eyes in contempt repeatedly as Robert continued with his tirade before finally shrugging and lifting his hands in the air. “I just don’t care. I sometimes wonder if I ever did.”

That was when Robert finally understood. “You’ve gone mad. I didn’t think it was possible for a demon to lose his sanity so completely.”

As the accusation hit home, Seaward took another step backward. Accusing one of the highest ranking demons of the pits of going insane was unheard of. Minos leaned in close to Robert, his fetid breath reminding him slightly of sour milk and onions. Minos poked at Robert’s chest with his index finger, shouting loudly and spewing rank spittle as he did so.

“As you like to remind me, you bastard, I was once human! I’m not like your father or most of his other high-ranking demons! I have always possessed the basic psyche of a mortal human being! Did anyone ever think that a mortal human being like me could be appointed judge of the absolute worst that humanity has to offer and not be driven just a wee bit mad? I am still as frail and weak minded as the rest of my former species… a small fact that I detest admitting, especially to you!”

Robert took that moment to strain with all his might against the three sets of handcuffs that bound his wrists. The first set of handcuffs snapped instantly. The metal links that bound the handcuffs on the second pair began to weaken, but unfortunately held. The third pair remained undamaged. Robert himself was left drained for the moment.

Minos grinned as Robert slumped in his chair, seemingly defeated for the time being. He’d hoped to break loose and grab Minos by the throat, hopefully ripping it out before the judge of the underworld could even blink.

“I’m impressed, Robert. Those handcuffs have been specially reinforced by the L.A.P.D. to restrain perpetrators on crazed drug binges. The fact that you broke one pair and weakened another proves your mettle, but I’m well versed in your strengths and weaknesses. You may not know it, but you’re really quite the topic of gossip in the depths: the only son of our fearless leader to have ever survived infancy… the traitor to his kingdom.”

Winded, Robert couldn’t help but slump in the chair even further, unwilling to meet his captor’s gaze. Looking Minos in the eye was one thing, but Garfield Seaward and his pompous peacock nature was quite another. He detested the thought of his former junior partner torturing him for pleasure and recreation. At least Minos had some pedigree.

But was it possible? Could a demon, a high ranking one at that, be driven insane?

He had to buy more time.

Robert lifted his head after a time and, while still staring at the floor, addressed Minos.

“So how did you manage to find your way back to this realm?”

Minos grinned as he turned his gaze to Seaward with a loving gesture. “In his search for a powerful ally to gain his revenge on you, Garfield summoned me with the help of a powerful spell from a satanic bible of sorts, though at the time he had no idea just who he was summoning.”
Minos circled Seaward at first, then in ever expanding circles he continued about the white room as he told his tale.

“Do you have any idea what kind of minds I have peered into over the centuries? I’ve judged men who view their own infant children’s anus as a source of sexual pleasure! I’ve judged women who beat and starve their own daughters to try and twist them into their own vision of so-called perfection! I’ve seen men who think it’s perfectly acceptable to lock their own daughters in a cell in the basement and continually rape them for years… all the while maintaining some Ozzie and Harriet lifestyle upstairs with their wives.”

If Robert wasn’t sure before, he was positive now. Minos was incurably and irrevocably insane. He’d thought the judge of the damned was finished his tirade, but it was clear he was not.

“Oh, and the wives… the complicit, doe-eyed cows who know, deep down in their hearts what’s going on but fool themselves into thinking it’ll all be perfect if they just ignore the pleas of the raped daughters coming from the heating vents in the floor... as long as their husbands love them! That’s just the tip of the iceberg, Robert! These some of the least offenders I encounter, century after never-ending century! Who wouldn’t be driven a little mad by that?”

Finally, Robert had heard enough. He sneered in disgust at Minos.

“Are you just about done, you pathetic whiner? You weren’t exactly an angel yourself during your time on Earth. When your essence moved to the pits you were given what was, comparably, one of the best positions possible. You think your task was difficult? It was luxury compared to those you sentenced! What about those trapped in a ceaseless hail of black snow and ice for eternity? What about those trapped in flaming tombs until the end of time or those immersed in a river of boiling blood? What about those whipped by demons, steeped in human excrement, the ones with their heads twisted backward or those hacked to bits, only to heal and have the act repeated again and again without relief? You think you have it harder than they do?”

Minos said nothing. Seaward was likewise silent. This was the first time he’d ever truly heard of the horrors that befell fallen souls. As a man with a classical education in some of the finest colleges in both Europe and America, Seaward had read many of the greatest pieces of classical literature ever written and he was chilled by how Robert’s description of the rings of hell corresponded so well with that described by Dante Alighieri in his work, The Inferno.

Though it was considered the premiere piece of Italian poetry and considered the “Divine Comedy”, Seaward couldn’t help but wonder how a man from that time could have been so correct in his description of the punishments and layout of the damned realms without firsthand experience. Perhaps the ancient poet was indeed given the tour he’d written about, and not just imagined it as an allegory of Christian beliefs at the time.

Considering all he’d done in his life, there was no doubt in Seaward’s mind that he’d spend eternity in one of the worst rings of hell to atone for his lack of respect for the laws of god and man. Unconsciously, he reached into his jacket and laid his hand upon his heart, feeling assured in its strong, regular beats. He made a decision to see a doctor monthly from now on, the best of doctors in fact. Garfield Seaward would extend his life on earth by any means necessary now that he knew what hell awaited him.

“You’re weak and decadent, Minos. You don’t deserve the breaks you’ve received from my father. When the time comes either he will deal with you… or I will. The king of the damned… or his prince… we’ll take our revenge on you.”

Minos smiled then, and as always, it was not a pleasant sight. Robert expected the once human creature to perhaps go on another tirade, but that was not to be. Minos’ silence was far more eerie then his lunatic rants. Invested with more calm than Robert had seen him since he awoke, Minos opened the bottom drawer of the desk in the middle of the room and removed a pitcher of water and a long piece of linen.

He approached Robert with one item in each hand.

“I’ve lived a long time, Robert. I’ve seen a lot of things, most all of them unspeakably evil. I and I alone had what it took to cage the Minotaur, a being from the pits that I learned to summon. Since then I’ve judged the most debased and evil creatures that have walked on two legs. I know everything there is to know about pain… including how to inflict it. The inquisitors… those men knew how to inflict some serious agony.”

Immediately, Robert knew what Minos was talking about. The portly version of the demon lumbered forward and stood before him.

“Open your mouth, Robert.”

Robert said nothing at first.

“I said, open your mouth, Robert.”
“This won’t kill me, you know.”

Minos shrugged. “It’s not meant to.””

“Then why?”

Minos shrugged once more. “Because eventually I’m going to ask you to give me the sword you carry, the sword of heaven. I know you won’t just hand it over immediately, so why bother with preamble? The fact that you won’t die from this particular form of torture means that you’ll be able to endure it forever. Keep that in mind as this continues for a few hours and I start asking for you to hand over your weapon. And don’t try and teleport away to your own personal circle of hell, either. I have a spell in place to prevent that.”

Instinctively, Robert snapped his mouth shut and refused to open it. He knew what he was in for. The piece of linen and the pitcher of water were simple enough tools, found everywhere even in medieval times, but when used by sick and evil practitioners, could inflict some of the worst agony a human being could endure.

This was evident during the time of the inquisition, when a skilled torturer could literally stuff the linen into the mouth of his victim and then simultaneously pour water into the hapless person’s mouth, forcing them to swallow repeatedly and ingest the linen deeper into their intestinal tract, ostensibly choking them. Eventually, when the victim had swallowed enough of the linen, the torturer pulls the linen forcibly from the body, causing untold agony and injury.

Many of the strongest wills were broken during the inquisition thanks to this painful and frightening method of torture. Robert was positive that the act would not kill him. He’d taken gunshots to the head and survived it, after all. However, he was not invulnerable to harm. He was not immune to pain. His healing factor would only ensure that he could tolerate it... probably forever.

Would he break? After a time, he wasn’t sure that he could guarantee his strength, especially mentally. One thing was sure. He’d been thoroughly searched when Minos knocked him unconscious, and they’d failed to find the sword he carried. When one opened the long coat he traditionally wore, they’d find nothing but empty pockets. Only Robert possessed the ability to reach into a special inside jacket pocket on the left hand side of the garment and produce the weapon. Anyone else who looked there would find only lint.

It was an ability granted only to Robert by the sword’s original creator, his father’s opposite number, with whom his father was eternally at war for the souls of the earth. Where the sword resided when Robert wasn’t using it even he didn’t know. Perhaps it was in another dimension. He didn’t care to ask. The only thing he knew for sure was that only Robert was allowed to wield it.

But why did Minos want it anyway? What purpose would it serve for him? What could he possibly need it for? He had all the powers of his Robert’s father’s realm at his disposal.

“Open your mouth, Robert.” Minos repeated.

Robert remained stoic, his mouth clamped shut.

Minos reached out suddenly and violently, prying Robert’s lips open with his great, demonic strength. For his part, Robert tried to bite his adversary’s fingers off, but the demon didn’t appear to feel any pain. Eventually, Robert found that his mouth was wide open and the linen was being stuffed into his mouth. Minos turned to Seaward.

“I can’t keep his mouth open and pour water at the same time. You do it.”

Seaward’s features were ashen, a far cry from his joyous look a few moments ago. “What? Me?”

Minos uttered a swear word in a demonic language. “Of course, you. You were a powerful and feared man at one time. You were above human law and you did as you wished. What are you so afraid of now?”

Seaward appeared to shrink before Robert’s eyes as he wrapped his arms around himself and slouched. “I... I had minions to do the dirty work.”

Minos actually laughed then. It was a filthy sounding laugh… like rotting garbage. “Haven’t you heard, Garfield? There’s an economic crisis going on out there. Everyone’s cutting back. You’ll have to learn new skills if you want to survive in this world. Now…”

Minos paused as he inhaled deeply. When he spoke, his voice was amplified with the voices of a million damned souls. It even shook Robert to his spine.

“… DO IT!”

Jolted and bullied into action, Seaward clumsily reached for the water and began to pour it down Robert’s throat. Despite himself, Robert began to swallow involuntarily, lest he drown. He began to choke as the linen in his mouth was drawn into his throat and down into his gullet. He’d vomit, but there would be no place for the vomit to go. His airway was blocked.

For several more seconds, the water poured into his throat and the linen sank deeper into his intestinal tract, but to Robert it seemed like hours. Finally, when he felt he could stand it no longer and was about to literally die, Minos wrapped his fingers around the linen and pulled hard.

Despite the handcuffs that held his hands behind the chair, Robert nearly doubled over in his chair, gasping for air as he simultaneously vomited profusely.

“This is just beginning, Robert,” Minos told him in a frigid, uncaring tone. “Whatever damage I’ve just done to your insides is already repairing itself. Should I even bother to ask if you’re willing to hand the sword over to me now? Or will you be insulted at the prospect of surrendering so quickly?”

Robert could say nothing as he gasped so Minos waited. Finally, he was able to speak and Robert looked up to Minos weakly. He indicated with his eyes that Minos should lean in closer. The demon did so.

“Fuck you, you limp-dicked piece of shit.” He then proceeded to snap his teeth as he tried desperately to bite off Minos’ ear, but the demon was too quick. He pulled away, sighing heavily.

“That’s what I thought.” He gestured to Seaward. “Refill that with water. We’ll continue for a while.”

Within seconds, the water container was filled and the process repeated, only this time the linens stuck in his throat were left there for a longer period of time and stuffed deeper into his gullet, only to have it pulled slowly from his innards. The process was repeated again, only the linen was stuffed ever deeper into his throat, choking him almost to the point of unconsciousness, while Minos pulled it out violently and quickly this time. Robert’s throat was so raw at this point, he doubted he could even speak.

He looked to Seaward, who did his job dispassionately. Could it be he was having second thoughts about the entire affair? Robert met his eyes and pleaded for help with his pathetic expression, but to no avail. Seaward only spit in Robert’s face.

“We’ll stop in about an hour, Robert, so you can heal completely before we start again. Maybe by the end of the second hour you’ll be ready to do as I wish.”

† † † † †

Minos was as good as his word. At the top of the hour, he stopped his torture of Robert, who was nearly unconscious by that point. He’d vomited several times on the carpet, to the point where the room stank of it. His head hung low and the blood vessels around his eyes had broken from the strain of repeated vomiting and of having a sheet of linen stuffed down his throat by his own constant swallowing, leaving him with two blackened eyes.

Robert’s throat was swollen and raw. His stomach was churning. He was seeing stars. He was physically spent. He hadn’t felt this kind of agony in his entire life. And yet he knew that his body was already beginning to heal. Shortly, he would be whole once again… just in time for round two.

Minos crouched low and put his lips close to his captive’s ear, whispering in a terse manner. Only Robert could hear him.

“Are you ready to hand over the weapon yet?”

Unable to speak, Robert merely shook his head once. There was no way he would hand it over to this monster. He wondered silently even if he could. Would the pocket universe that held the sword be accessible to him if he reached into the jacket with the sole purpose of handing it over to someone else? He doubted it greatly.

Minos nodded and stood straight, his portly belly brushing against his captive’s hair as he turned away.

“Very well, my friend. I’m going to eat some chicken and we’ll be back for you in a bit.”

Minos left the room quickly, heading for the pool. With great effort, Robert lifted his head and met Seaward’s eyes. His former ally’s face was sickly white. He wasn’t used to this kind of dirty work. That was why Hellenbach was always his superior: he was always willing, if not aching, to get his hands dirty with a little torture.

Already, Robert’s throat was feeling a little better. He spoke in a hoarse whisper to his old compatriot.

“Feeling okay, Gar? You don’t look well.”

“This isn’t my forte. I always had people who did this for me.” His voice was shaky, perhaps even more so than Robert’s.

“Well…” Robert struggled to find his voice. “That’s the kind of being you hooked up with. Your dirty work is just beginning.”

Seaward’s ashen face morphed into a sneer. “It’ll be worth it to see you suffer.”

“Worth your soul?” Robert shot back quickly. Seaward’s reply was instantaneous.

“Absolutely.”

Seaward turned on his heel and walked away, headed in the opposite direction from Minos. He found himself in the kitchen. He opened the door of the stainless steel fridge in search of something to drink. He wasn’t mentally prepared for what he found there, even after the torture session and his time with Minos.

The fridge was lined with body parts, mostly from women, from what he could decipher – probably from the victims Minos dismembered in the pool area. What he was saving them for, Seaward had no clue. There were arms and legs piled on top of rotten, moldy food long forgotten by the demon of the house. Flies buzzed about freely, bloated on human flesh. There was even half a torso on the second shelf next to the vegetable crisper filled with fingers and toes.

Shell shocked, he jumped back and nearly vomited himself. He held his sleeve to his nose to cover the stench and dropped to one knee in despair. What kind of monster had he hooked up with? Refusing to give in to regret, he decided that it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t cut and run now. He was committed to making Hellenbach pay no matter what the cost. He’d sacrificed his own daughter for the cause.

Seaward sought out a frosty cold beer on the shelf attached to the door of the fridge and closed the appliance door, instantly doing his best to erase what he’d just encountered from his mind. Garfield Seaward was once a man of power and wealth, second only to the mighty Hellenbach, with whom he worked closely and considered a peer, if not an actual friend. Hellenbach had no friends. After Hellenbach’s disappearance, he was unable to fulfill many contracts, and the price he paid was dire.

Revenge was all he had left after his fall. It had fuelled his search for an ally, one even more powerful than Robert, and it led him to the codex, which changed his life forever.

Now that Seaward had Hellenbach, or Robert, whatever he called himself, in his power, there was no way he’d give up the opportunity now. If all went well, he’d now serve at Minos’ right hand rather than Hellenbach’s. As far as he was concerned, this was a promotion. He would once again rule the hidden world few average humans even realized existed. If he were to pay for it by spending his next life in the damned realm… well, he could find a way to make himself useful there too.

Slumping in his chair, Garfield Seaward held the cold beer to his forehead. He was getting a headache. He hoped Robert would give up this magic weapon soon. Though he was at first horrified at the thought of engaging in torture, he was now afraid that he was beginning to like it.

Back in the all white living room, Robert could feel his strength returning. His throat had more or less healed already but his stomach was still brutalized by the torture he’d received at Minos’ hands. It was clear to him that Minos was insane, something he hadn’t thought possible, but did he have some other purpose besides reeking havoc on the earthly plane?

He couldn’t help but suspect that there was some other end game in play here. Why did he require the sword of heaven? There were facts he still wasn’t aware of. That much was sure.

Still weakened, Robert strained as much as he could against his handcuffs. He could barely break them when he had first awoken, and now he was severely drained by the ceaseless hour of torture.

Despite this, his bonds began to give ever so slightly. The metal links on the second pair of handcuffs stretched just a tiny bit. Nonetheless, it gave Robert hope. He steeled himself and began to strain once more. The links began to give. He alternately gritted his teeth and bit his lip until it bled. He could feel the metal links stretching, but not enough to make them break.

He felt like screaming in misery as he brutalized himself, but he didn’t dare alert his captors to his escape attempts. Robert felt blood vessels break in his eyes as he strained, clouding his sclera with clouds of red.

At the last second, just as he was about to give up, the metal links on the second pair of handcuffs snapped. Unfortunately, he passed out from the strain at that same moment. There was still one pair of handcuffs left to go.

When he awoke, Minos and Seaward were standing over him with the linen and water. His escape attempt had failed.

“Shall we begin again, Robert?” Minos asked with a hateful smirk.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Robert hissed.

At that moment, Seaward began to sniff the air. Annoyed, Minos turned on him.

“What? What is it?”

“Do you smell that?” Seaward asked.

“Smell what?”

“Like… something burning.”

Robert could smell it, too. Suddenly, he realized that black smoke was pouring through the doorway, coming from the kitchen.

“I think you have a big problem, Minos. Look behind you.”

At Robert’s urging, Minos turned and his eyes widened at the sight of the belching black smoke.

“What have you done?” Minos shouted as he grabbed Seaward by the collar.
“I didn’t do it!”

“We have to put it out before the fire alarms go off. We can’t have the authorities here!”

Minos and Seaward ran off toward the kitchen as Robert blessed his good timing. Who had set the fire? It couldn’t have been simple good luck. His luck was never that good. Was it… could it have been his powerful benefactor, the owner of the sword of heaven? He didn’t know and at this point he didn’t care. He had one set of handcuffs left to break. He summoned all his remaining strength and strained against them with everything he could muster. Moments later, the chain snapped.

Robert fell to the floor, weakened beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. His innards had been tortured, making even the simple act of standing difficult. He’d broken free of his bonds, now all he had to do was escape before he was recaptured, even though he could barely move.

It was then that he felt a strong arm entwine with his and help him to his feet, accompanied by the soft rustle of cloth. At first, he’d imagined it was the almighty himself giving him assistance, like the old poem about Jesus walking in the sand next to you on the beach, but when he looked around at his mysterious benefactor, he was shocked at her identity.

“Lynn?”

The beautiful young girl was standing by his side, already helping him across the floor and through the sliding glass doors to the pool area. Robert could already hear the sound of fire alarms in the distance.

“Come on, Robert. Whatever kind of party you’ve got going here, it’s time to go.”

“How the hell did you know where I was?”

She snickered. “I followed you. It wasn’t really that hard once you had your revelation about high-tech explosives and whatnot. I did see on CNN where an office tower exploded the other day… and I’m not stupid.”

Lynn shuffled her feet, moving slowly with his weight on her shoulder. Slowly, they approached the outer wall of the compound. Would they make it before Minos and Seaward put out the fire, if indeed it could be put out? He could only hope. They appeared to be moving awfully slowly. Climbing the wall would prove incredibly difficult in his current condition.

“I thought you didn’t believe any of that crap about me being half human and the son of the devil.”

She twittered nervously. “All I saw back there were some sick fucks torturing the hell out of you for whatever reason. I didn’t see anything supernatural. They looked more like terrorists or mob types to me. I set a fire with some oily rags and gasoline in the garage to lure them away.”

She crouched low by the wall and cupped both hands together, holding them above her knee. Robert struggled to place one foot in her hands as she helped to boost him up and over the wall. He hung over the edge and extended his hand to her, in turn helping her over the wall. Seconds later, they were gone, seeking out his car, which he’d left parked nearby. Sirens wailed, growing ever closer.

Robert looked back in the direction they’d come. The black smoke was thicker and belching wildly now. Clearly, they couldn’t control the fire Lynn had set. The authorities were on their way to investigate.

As they climbed into the decrepit Chevette, the first of several fire engines raced past them, taking no notice of their presence. Lynn climbed into the driver’s seat after assisting Robert into the passenger side. He was still in no shape to drive. He turned to face her as she turned the key and the beaten old car sputtered to life.

“That ordeal wouldn’t have killed me, but it hurt like hell. I owe you, Lynn.”

She pulled out on to the street and melded with traffic as she smiled wickedly. “No, I think that just balances the books between us.”

Unable to control himself any longer, Robert reached out to her, cupping her chin in his hand lightly and turning her lips to his. Lynn felt lucky that there was no traffic on this staid Malibu road, as she eased off the gas and put her foot on the break while returning the kiss as passionately as she was able.

Robert felt his strength return quickly as they embraced. His breathing quickened and lips caressed each other. For a brief moment, even their tongues entwined. After several moments he broke the kiss and looked sheepishly to the floor.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” She giggled. “We kissed and despite your harbingers of doom, no one is hurt or mangled.”

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I disagree. I’m glad you did it.” The look in her eyes was sensual. The tone of her voice was husky. “And I hope you do it again.”

Robert strained to contain himself. He wanted her. He had to admit that to himself. He wanted this young woman like he wanted few before her, but he was still afraid to unleash any passion around her, for his passion had an ugly side that frightened him. He turned away from her and slumped back into his seat.

“Please… just take us home.”

Dejected, Lynn returned her attention to the road and disappeared onto a main artery of traffic, headed for the brownstone.

† † † † †

Back at Seaward’s Malibu home, the unlikely duo of man and demon were shocked to open the door leading from the main house to the spacious three car garage only to find flames licking the walls and smoke choking their lungs. It was clear immediately that someone set the fire deliberately.

“Can you put it out?” Minos shouted.

Seaward’s heart sank. He’d planned to burn the place to the ground himself someday soon, but not until after his work with Minos and his revenge on Hellenbach was complete. The estate was a useful tool - if a complete house of horrors - that he wasn’t quite ready to part with yet. In the old days he’d have tracked down the arsonist and flayed them alive… or at least had somebody do it for him.

Surprisingly, the idea of flaying someone alive didn’t repulse him as much as it would have when he woke up this morning. In fact, he found himself nearly consumed by bloodlust since putting aside the horrors he’d discovered in the fridge and concentrated instead on taking his frustrations out on his former acquaintance. Was this due to his assistance in the torture session? Had it awakened a savage side in him he didn’t even know he had? He realized Minos was awaiting an answer to his question.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s too far gone to stop with a fire extinguisher!”
Minos huffed as he placed his hands on his waist in a rather effeminate manner.

“Well then, pour some gas on it! We need to cover our tracks here before the authorities show up.”

Seaward knew what that meant. He’d already blown up his own corporate headquarters, though there were no worries as to him being tracked down by the police as the owner of the building. He’d gotten to a point in his career where everything was done under an alias, much like Robert McGowan used thepsydoneum ‘Hellenbach’ for his work. Still, there was no sense in taking any risks.

Women had been murdered here most brutally. The fridge was filled with body parts. The contents of the house would certainly be plastered all over CNN day’s end. They couldn’t be found here. Seaward did as he was instructed and, picking up a large gas canister for the ride on lawn mower, began to spray the walls.

Together, the duo retreated from the garage with Seaward spilling a gasoline trail in front of them. Before long, the flames would reach the house and engulf it entirely. Minos, stuck in a body unused to physical activity, put his hand on Seaward’s shoulder.

“That’s enough! We have to get Robert and get out of here! You have another place to secret us away?”

Seaward’s stomach turned and he sighed heavily. He did, but he’d hoped not to contaminate any more of his holdings with Minos’ stench. He should have known better, he told himself. Once you get involved with the workings of the damned, it’s almost impossible to disentangle yourself once more. He nodded in ascent that he did indeed have somewhere else for them to hide. Minos smiled that vomit inducing smile.

“Good. Let’s go.”

But fate had another surprise for them. When they returned to the living room, Robert was long gone. Seaward could feel his blood pressure rising and Minos noticed the sudden redness in his ally’s cheeks.

“Don’t worry yourself.”

Seaward blanched as they exited the front door hurriedly, headed for his car. “Don’t worry myself? He’s the most dangerous man alive and now he’s escaped! Explain why I shouldn’t worry myself?”

“You forget, Garfield,” Minos said calmly as he climbed into the passenger seat. “I have already placed a spy in his camp. I know what he’ll do before he does. He also thinks he has a handle on the whole picture, but as we both know, he doesn’t.”

The car pulled away from the house, which was now entirely engulfed in flames, blackening the sky with its smoke. The fire engines were barely a minute away now as they pulled away from the drive and onto the road, headed in the opposite direction.

“Are we sure he doesn’t know about the codex?” Seaward asked.

Minos laughed hoarsely as he lit a cigarette. “No, there’s no way even he could know about the eight missing pages and what they contain. I don’t even know if he is aware of their existence. He doesn’t know why I want his sword for myself, either.”

“Why not just kill the son of a bitch?”

Minos exhaled a billow of cigarette smoke into the car, forcing Seaward to push the button to lower his window, before answering.

“Because he’s more dangerous down there than he is up here. This is where he can do the least damage.”

Seaward shook his head in defeat. “If you say so. He’s about the only one who can stop us. I don’t see why he can’t just die.”

“Because you should know by now, Garfield, that no one ‘just dies’. I am proof of that.” He puffed on his cigarette long and hard before turning his attention to the road ahead. “Now, do you think I could kill some kittens or something to tide me over until tomorrow?”

† † † † †

He sat on the front stoop of his brownstone with Lynn by his side drinking her own, tipping his third bottle of beer as he went over his options in his head. As Robert saw it, he had no other course of action, and he told her so. Her reaction ranged from total disbelief to anger, fear and frustration.

“You’re insane! Even if everything you said was true, how do you think doing this will help you in any way?”
Robert took a long draw on the bottle of ice cold beer, reveling in its taste as it slid down his now healed throat. Even now, the memory of that linen snaking down his wind pipe and choking off his air supply made him gag. The cold drink was a god send, so to speak.

“Whether I like it or not, I’m tied to that place. It’s my birthright. I have my own personal circle of hell that I alone rule. Even my father can’t take that away from me. From there, I can journey to the rest of his realm and see what’s become of Minos’ station, where he judged the damned. It’ll give me a good idea of the kind of urgency I’m facing. I need to see it for myself.”

She threw up her hands and stood up, pacing on the sidewalk in front of him. The heat of the summer day left every surface hot to the touch and the steps made her rear end uncomfortable with the heat. The sidewalk under her feet wasn’t much better. “After what you just went through, you’re going to, what… teleport yourself to hell?”

He nodded wordlessly.

“That’s insane!”

“Yeah, it kind of is.”

She got down on her knees in front of him and held his hand to her heart. “I don’t care what you call it. You can call it being overly grateful for saving me from the life I was leading or you can call it dementia, but I really care about you… and I want you. Seeing you in that chair being tortured, I couldn’t stand it. Why don’t you and I just go upstairs and revel in each other?”

He caressed her cheek as he smiled.

“I’d like that, but as I’ve said a million times… I can’t.”

And then he disappeared in front of her eyes, leaving behind only the faint smell of sulfur and the echo of tortured screams. Lynn looked at the bottle of beer and wondered if the bottle she’d been drinking from contained LSD. Suddenly, she realized she was not alone and turned to see a familiar, yet disconcerting, face staring down at her.

He’d been mostly keeping to himself since his arrival, which coincided with Lynn’s. He was a former gang member liberated from their clutches by Robert, and yet he was a loner who rarely spoke with others, often disappearing for long periods of time. Some, including Robert’s friend Mario, were highly suspicious of him.

Tony Cusano.

“What’s that smell?” He asked innocently.

She took a final swig from her bottle. “Damned if I know and damned if you’d believe it anyway.”

† † † † †

He’d never heard anything like this before. His personal domain was far from the main circles of the damned realm. The tortured screams of those walled up in the city of Dis never fell upon his ears. He could only imagine why he could hear them now, and he suspected it had everything to do with Minos and his treachery.

Carefully, he traversed the lava flows and loose shale hilltops, past sinkholes that erupted with a nearly poisonous gas and thorny vines that seemed to reach out and grab at one’s ankles, threatening to pull the traveler down under the ground. The sky above was lined with black clouds and a high wind whipped at him as though trying to blow him off his feet. Dis was a walled ring of hell far from here. So what was causing all the commotion?

After hours of walking along the rivers of lava and the putrid swamp waters known as the Styx, he found himself at the crest of a large hill. Robert peered over toward the first ring of hell, known to most as limbo. As far as rings of hell went, it was just about the best place you could wind up, with sprawling green fields and even a castle, but not any longer.

“Oh, no.”

Robert could see the distortion in reality before he could actually see the piles upon piles of souls awaiting judgment in the second ring of hell, where Minos was supposed to be doing his duty. There were so many of them, they expanded beyond the second ring and were now intruding upon the first. Before long they’d probably be overflowing into his own personal realm. Who knew where it would stop? They reminded him of writhing fish on the back of a boat at sea, only these were the astral representations of souls writhing in torment.

They were piled as high as the eye could see and all around them there was a black, inky, writhing cloud, some kind of distortion in the reality of things in this realm. Could hell itself actually break down? If so, what would happen then?

A chill ran down his spine as he soldiered on.

As he continued deeper into the second ring of hell, things only got worse. The overflow of souls became so thick that he couldn’t move any further ahead. Aeacus and Radamanthus were nowhere to be found. With one last final push, he tried to fight his way through the crowd, but they began to claw at him and plead for his assistance, knowing instinctively that he was a powerful figure in this realm. They very nearly pulled him into the morass, something he feared he would never escape, like a Venus Fly Trap.

If something wasn’t done soon… the realm known as hell could soon collapse… or explode… or cease to exist.

And what would happen then?

† † † † †