Dancing In The Void

Evan slept and dreamt dreams of death.

His mind wandered his most shameful and remorseful memories, a hypnotizing display of regret and guilt. Her blank wandering eyes hidden behind the contrasting red of the line that cut across her face all the way down to her chin. He wanted to look away, to pull his body out of this nightmare, but he found himself unable to. The lifeless eyes he condemned with his own hands stared ceaselessly at him.

“What...?” He whispered.

“You did this to me. You stripped the life out of my body with a single swing of your hand. You killed me.” The ghastly vision answered. It changed and shifted and before him now stood a demon, clad in an armor of pure black and her massive halberd besides her.

“You weren’t powerful enough to defeat me. Trash like you should not dare talk...You killed me.” She swung her weapon and it passed straight through his body and the vision changed once more. A young girl with flowing white hair appeared before him sobbing.

“Why? I thought you were my friend. Why have you abandoned me? Why? You threw me in the fire, you let hell take me! You... You killed me.”The girl screamed as her body burst into flames and her monstrous arm swung towards him, engulfing his bloodied body in fire. When the red tongues died, before him stood a man. In his arms he bore a spear.

“You were more than a brother to me. We could have made a difference, together. But you left us all alone when we needed you the most.” He raised his spear and flung it into the cold ground. “You killed me.”

Evan shouted. But no one answered. He was alone. and before him stretched an endless bridge surrounded by dim stars on the backdrop of a purple sky. He crawled towards the spear and tried pulling himself up upon it, but it crumbled to dust when he touched it. He then clawed at the place where it pierced the ground with one hand. Why was there only one? He slowly looked left, a dark and terrible shiver coursing through him. Evan screamed. Around him slowly materialized a blanket and a bed. His bloody stump was enveloped by bandages and Evan found himself conscious again, yet he kept on screaming.

Baal rubbed his chin. With his other hand he gently spun a wine glass on his desk. The red wine inside splashed from side to side. A young man barged inside. His hair was a powerful brown hue and neatly arranged to one side. He wore a grayish suit that was too elegant for the rest of him.

“It’s true Baal. Everything. The nether was unsealed, not sealed as you feared. I’ve seen reports about pale shadows prowling across the country. Not to mention the thousands of wights that are growing in numbers by the day. The humans were completely blindsided and are now fleeing in panic. This is it my friend.”

Baal only nodded without looking at him. “Thank you. You may go, Andras.”

The young demon’s wonder-filled smile melted. “You seem completely uninterested. You do realize this is our time, no? Demons can now rule this place as we were originally meant to.”

“Do you seriously believe man will just roll over and let us do what we please? Have you forgotten the first thing my late friend Azazel taught you? You are nothing more than flesh and bones here. You are just as human as they are. No you fool. What we need to do now is take it slowly. We have hundreds of thousands of demons living as humans throughout the country, but that doesn't mean we wouldn’t get slaughtered the moment we poke our heads outside.” He turned away and downed the rest of the wine in his glass before standing up and arranging his suit.

“Deterna will not last long, the city is in pure chaos. In a few days this city will be a wreckage.” Andras said with a nod.

“Maybe, but we have to be patient. Hell being more accessible is obviously a great benefit to us. However, if you want to win a war, you need to use the best weapon you have at your disposal. For us, that weapon is cunning. Let the thinking to your superiors boy, and you just worry about doing what you’re told.” Baal placed his thick hand on the frame of the door. “Now get out, I have a press conference I must attend.” The demon quietly obeyed the order and ran out.

Baal then followed, making his way outside where his vehicle waited for him. Dozens of police cars and firetrucks drove in a rush on the street past him. He let out a chuckle as he opened the door of his limousine and sat down, calmly telling his driver where to take him.

Damn it all. Baphomet is most definitely going to act now, rather than later. He’d be a fool not to. No matter, a plan that won’t work can be replaced with one that does. I’ll just have to play the part longer than anticipated.

“Deep in thought, Baal?” An icy voice pulled him back to the world of the living. A tall slender man in a black suit was sitting beside him, staring straight on at the rain that started pouring on the car’s window.

“How long have you been here, Lord Baphomet?” He replied, slightly surprised, but not enough to forget his manners.

“My demons are whispering Baal. They say they are crossing. The gates are wide open.” He leaned his thin balding head forward.

“Yes, I’ve just got confirmation myself. It seems one or a couple of our friends tried to seal it shut. However, the angel isn't as much of an angel as we all thought.” Baal breathed in heavily and swallowed his spit.

“Haa…” Baphomet laughed, his breath like smog in the air. “To think that I didn’t see it at first. Who would have imagined such depravity…”

Baal silently furrowed his brow.

“Very well. How are the humans responding? The shadows and wights tore a town not far off from here to shreds a few nights ago.”

“It's already become an international mayhem. Words of apocalypse from every corner. There’s been reports of such things occurring globally. Armies have been mobilized and most countries are preparing for lockdown.”

“How long do you think the initial momentum will last?”

“A couple months at most, all depends how fast they realize how useless their weaponry is. A horde of wights numbering the thousands can last well over half a year as they are now. And the numbers are growing.”

“And when the humans do find a way to fight them back?” Baphomet asked, his voice falling like a dagger of ice.

“Hopefully it’ll be too late to matter and we’ll be strong enough to withstand them.”

The rest of the way was made in complete silence. When Baal stepped outside he turned around and saw he was alone. He nodded, gave the driver his instructions and then made his way to the conference.

Evan stared with dead eyes at his bandaged arm. His body twitched slightly every time he breathed.

“Here. I brought you some food.” Mephistopheles said walking into the room, in his hands a tray with some water and a couple sandwiches. A clean white patch stretched across his cheek when he spoke. “Sorry, I’ve never been much of a cook.”

Evan shook his head slowly once.

“I see.” He nodded and placed the tray aside, then he sat down on the armchair on the side of the bed. The two stood like that for a while, staring, under a blanket of silence.

“Evan.” Mephisto finally broke in. He turned and looked at him with his empty gaze. “Snap out it. God damn it. You’re alive, that’s what matters. Katherine could have easily aimed for your neck instead.” He snapped.

“What happened to the others?” He meekly asked back.

“Uriel is in the other room, alive, but still unconscious. Constantine is out, with Wrath. Both were pretty banged up after that night, but we’re all alright now.”

“And…” He paused for a moment, as if he had forgotten the name. “Katherine?”

Mephistopheles leaned back in his chair, took a quick glance towards the window and said, rubbing his thumb against the hand rest:

“She fled. No one could nor was willing to chase after her.”

Evan nodded and kept his eyes fixed on his hand.

“I thought I could face her.” He mentioned after a while. ”I thought I was good enough, some chosen hero. I thought four or so measly weeks of fooling around would be enough to face demons and defeat them.” Evan answered with a faded tone.

“Evan. You can’t change that now. You have to take a damned good look at your scars and carry them on, next time, you’ll be strong enough. Listen to me, a fool’s only a fool if he forgets his mistakes. Learn from them, and you’ll crush legions.”

Evan tried to smirk. He nodded and leaned back, staring at the ceiling now.

“Hey.” Mephisto called. “You need to know what happened. When Katherine crucified Uriel, the ritual backfired and she unwillingly did the opposite of what she was trying to do.”

“And that is?”

“Seal the gateways to hell.”

“Oh brother.” Evan sighed. “So not only did I lose my hand, I indirectly caused the apocalypse?”

“Don’t blame yourself for this. You blame yourself now, and you’ll never let it go. It’s no one’s fault. There was no way for Katherine to know that Uriel’s my daughter. Else she’d have never tried such a stupid thing.” Mephisto reassured him, his eyes inviting acceptance and kindness. “That’s why they’re out, they want to scout out and see what’s happening out there.”

“And do what?”

“We’ll figure it out, this isn’t the end, this is only the beginning.”

“I… I need to get some fresh air.” Evan turned towards the edge of the bed.

“I got you.” Mephisto rushed from his seat.

“No! No…stay there.” He shouted back, lifting the blanket. His feet hesitated upon touching the ground but he managed to stand after a while. When he felt ready, he walked out leaving Mephisto all alone.

The inanimaliat watched him go, quietly sliding back into his armchair. His eyes flickered back and forth from the window to the door. When he was sure Evan left, he walked over, pulled aside the drapes and opened the window. On the perch was a small raven, its feathers black as smog save for the crimson tips on its wings. Mephistopheles smiled. He rubbed the bird gently under its beak as he knew she liked it most. Whisper cawed softly. Its four pale eyes turned up to Mephy, with dire need.

“What have you got for me, sweetie?” He whispered, leaning his ear to her.

Evan found himself among the dead trees that surrounded Katherine’s mansion. Tall and gray of bark, their branches stretched like mist into the sky while their silent gaze stared and made him feel ashamed and afraid. The sun shone through the wooden mist, and the air smelled of a damp natural fragrance. He kept looking at his left arm, biting the inside of his cheek as he did. He wandered the narrow beaten path until suddenly, he reached a stubby patch of dirt in a clearing. No trees grew here except a thick wooden pole in the center. It was torn and decrepit, with cuts and marks and signs of beating all over it. Evan stepped forward closer to it. He placed his hand on it and felt the rough old bark under his tired fingers. He stared intensely at it, measuring it from top to bottom. Then he dug his fingers into it, pulled his hand back along with a couple splinters under his nails, curved it into a fist and slammed it into the pole. He arched back and swung his fist into it again. And again. He kicked and pushed against it with the sole of his foot. The entire rage that welled within was now seeping from him, and the wooden pole was the only thing blocking his fury from the rest of the world.

Eventually he pulled away, sliding back against a tree until he reached the soft dry dirt beneath. Evan's eyes looked at the pole, and the small bits of wood he had chipped off. He then turned to his hand. It was shivering and blood was pooling out of his knuckles and fingers. Laying his head back and closing his eyes, Evan started to sob softly.

“Were you perhaps trying to lose the other one too, darlin’?” A familiar voice echoed around him.

Evan quickly lifted his head and looked around. “Wrath?” He called out, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. As if from nowhere, she strutted before him, leaning and sitting in front of him, beside the wooden pole.

“You really went to town on this one.” She commented.

“How long were you here?” He asked, annoyed. Evan slowly looked at her beautiful face, strange yet stunning yellow eyes and her slender, youthful and graceful body. Wrath at day was a much different sight than Wrath at night in many aspects, but her beauty was unwavering no matter the time of day.

“Just got here. Saw you just finished punching the daylights out of Mr. Totem over here so I decided to say hi.” She smiled a big sly smile.

“Constantine send you?”

She shook her head. “Sensed you were out here, came to take you back.”

“I’m not in any mood to go back right now.”

“I can tell. No rush.”

The two stood in silence. Evan sulking at the space between his feet and Wrath looking up and around, at the shining rays of sun.

“This must be where Katherine used to come and train.” He mentioned after a while. Wrath's lips jumped upon hearing her name, and her hand instinctively reached for her neck. “I thought…” He began, but quickly stopped himself.

“Thought what?” She invited him to continue.

He sighed. “When me and Constantine were younger, after his parents, well… we both basically lived in the same house…”

Wrath leaned forward.

“...And my old man, after we had some issues with a couple kids in our neighborhood, decided it would be best if we got some sort of classes, martial arts and such. Thought it’d come in handy. So we both tried what we were interested in. Constantine took some for about two years, but I ended up liking them. He dropped it along the same time he moved out, think he was thirteen at the time? Don’t remember.“

Wrath listened carefully, tilting her head slightly to the right.

“Anyway, unlike him, I really got into it, went on to learn it for another four years after that. I got really good. Can you imagine, a handsome guy like me, smart, strong, versed in martial arts, it's amazing I wasn’t drowning in girls back then.” He said, trying to cheer himself up.

“Hah.” Wrath laughed and shot him a smug look.

“Heh, yeah.” Evan chuckled sadly. “Then, during junior year of highschool, last year, I dropped out. Wanted to focus on my life you know? College was looming, I had some of the highest grades, could have done so much more than throwing punches and idiots, or beating them up with sticks. I could have done so much with myself, probably some lawyer or computer scientist or engineer or some shit. And then… this year happened.” He said, lifting his bandaged stump. “I thought it started off so good. Katherine just transferred in, this mysterious new cutie… God how I had the hots for her… Little did I imagine back then that she’d end up relieving me of an arm.”

Wrath nodded. “I never much had the chance at such a… normal life, but I understand.”

“Can’t believe how I was such an arrogant cunt. I’d fought with sticks so long I imagined those with blades on the end would be the same thing. And then Katherine… showed me the real deal.”

Wrath lay her head low and watched the leaves dance in the wind.

“How long was I out?” Evan asked after a while.

“Couple of days.”

“Aha. You know. While I was out, the only thing I dreamed of, over and over again…”

Wrath set her gaze back upon him.

“Wasn’t Nikolai, or Katherine, or whatever happened that night, it was that one guard back at the auction…”

“I don’t… we never met at the auction.” Wrath quietly responded.

“I… I killed her. She found me out and was gonna check the van, so I slammed her head into the side of the van. Fell limp as a fish. Then I left her inside the soon-to-explode car.” Tears started streaming down his face again. “I can’t get it out of my head, that image of her wild eyes and the red cut that runs across her face.” Evan began sobbing once more.

Wrath watched him emotionlessly, unsure of what to do. When he slowed, and wiped his face, she began:

“I’ve… forgotten the first time I’ve ever killed someone. I don't even remember how long ago it was.” Her gaze lowered. Now Evan turned to listen. “The earliest thing I can remember, probably Azazel. I recall waking up, I think it was some sort of medieval hospital, and nothing, just emptiness in my mind. He was there, as if he had waited for me to come for years. He then asked me if I would help him. See he had this grand dream of his which he talked about. Freedom he called it. I never really truly understood what he meant, but he said he needed my help, so naturally I agreed. He taught me a lot of things about the world during the next hundreds of years we spent together. He really was a sight back then… Not like he isn’t anymore. Long luscious coppery hair, his charming green eyes and wicked grin, no wonder we became friends right away.”

“Wow.” Evan said softly. “Medieval? You two’ve been around a long time haven’t you?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah. The years from back then are just a smudge now, a blur that came and went.” She frowned. ”I remember he was a powerful general. His army of demons may not have been as numerous as others. But he had a few powerful allies that made him feared by all. He was much much more intelligent than the mules that ruled the lands, and twice as cunning as all. And... “ Wrath flexed her fingers menacingly. “He had me.”

Evan felt a chill run through him. Wrath smiled at him.

“Yes dear. Having someone that can easily kill a rival or another target in the dead of night and disappear without a trace does help you climb the hierarchy ladder. And that we did, together. As the world evolved and civilized so did we… in some manners. Heh. I just remembered what they used to call me. ‘The Violet Demon’. How I hated that name.”

“Oh yes, you hate uh.. Being called that.” Evan nodded. “May I… ask why?”

Wrath shook her head as she looked away. “Always. I knew. Even all those years ago when I woke up. I knew that I was different from the other demons. I knew I was something else, even if it was just some miniscule part of me. Therefore I could never accept being called that. Especially after…”

She paused and looked up at the sun.

“Around five hundred years ago. Azazel and I had a falling out. But our extensive friendship made it so instead of going after each other’s throats, we came to an agreement. I’d be free to go without any demon asking questions, and he’d get to keep his eyeballs in his skull. Ever since we haven’t really talked to one another. He did occasionally try and connect again, he helped me open my library and an occasional gift was sent. But it wasn’t until he sent someone to invite me to the auction that I talked to him again. You know the rest.”

“I see.” He coughed, remembering who he was talking to. “The rest… God… Nikolai is… that thing now…”

Wrath was silent. She looked as if she wanted to say something, anything, but she bit her lip instead. It was too early, too soon for her to try and make any amends, despite feeling it within her soul that it was her only chance for forgiveness. Evan noticed her conflictions, and quickly changed the subject. “Why a library?”

“I always enjoyed books. Especially ones that he’d bring me. Just something about the countless stories that I found within those pages. The rush of escaping reality… Which is why I my cover for years was a librarian in some fuck-off town. Funny how that fuck-off town happened to be the same town where an angel would later fall bringing me back into that hellish world…”

Evan silently thought about Wrath’s story. He stared at her, and she stared back at him. It was that soft moment of vulnerability that gave her the courage to at least offer her sympathies. “I guess…” She said after a few moments. “I should apologize, at least. Your friend... What happened to her was because of me. I’m not asking you to forgive me. I do not deserve that, not yet. I just want to let you know, I understand what I did and I’ll try to fix the mistakes that haunt me. You and your friend… you’re different from the demons I’ve known most of my life. Alright?”

Evan nodded. It hurt him to accept something like that, especially as weak and feeble as he currently was. “Let’s go home. Its getting cold.”

“..Alright.” Wrath nodded.

“And Wrath.”

“Hmm? Yes?” She said as she helped him up.

“Thank you, for this. I really needed that. You’re right. We’ll figure something out. We’ll bring back Nikolai, and Katherine too. We’ll fix this mess.”

She smiled, and he smiled back, and the two walked through the beaten forest path back through the mansion.