Matthew turned to David after Michael Manzi left the motel room. “What now?”
“Well, what have we got, or lost? We’re about to enter the time of the Book of Revelation, but we’ve lost the Book of Seven Seals, and the Lamb has been taken, or walked away to goodness knows where.” David said with a grimace.
“Things have been better,” said Matthew looking out of the window.
“Aye, things have been better.”
Matthew switched on the kettle and grabbed two mugs. “Grondin’s behind all this!”
“We’ve got to stop thinking of him as Grondin or Thomson or whatever. He has gathered so much dark power he has become, releasing the super entity from his prison, the Devil.”
“In the Book of Revelation isn’t there an antichrist?”
“Yes, the Beast. We must beware!”
Matthew poured steaming water into the two mugs, stirred the contents and handed one to David.
“So, we going Gron…, I mean Devil, hunting?”
“Well, I think we’ll shake a few trees and see what falls out.”
“Where do we start?” Matthew asked taking a sip from his mug as he sat down in a chair facing the window.
“We’ll start with the Illuminati. Might as well start at the top!”
“The what?”
“The Illuminati are the elite of the world if you like. Many are descended from fallen angels, others are billionaires and people in high places. Captains of industry and the like.”
“Jeez! How are we goin’ to find them?”
“I’ll find out from a contact, and we’ll… ahem, introduce ourselves.”
Michael Manzi left the cab which had taken him into the centre of Washington DC and the church of St Thomas. He required time to think and pray before he reported to the Vatican. As he ran out in front of a bus a speeding car knocked him onto the side-walk outside the church.
The car, a silver BMW, screeched to a halt in front of a parked truck and the driver switched off the cell phone he had just been talking on and slipped it into his pocket. Tom Baumann then ran up to where the priest lay on the side-walk.
“Oh Father!” He shouted as he watched the life force leave Michael. He shook as the energy of a thousand evil spirits and dark souls flowed from the priest into him.
“You okay son?” An old man with a kaki army cap and grey beard asked.
Baumann looked at him, and then up and down the street. The side-walk was empty save for the man. Disinterested vehicles streamed past on either side of the road.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m okay.”
“What happened here?” asked the man looking at the dead priest.
“Hit and run, I guess. I’d better phone an ambulance,” said Baumann as he pulled out his phone.
Two priests came running out of the church followed by a group of people. Baumann decided it was time to slip away, so he walked down an alleyway. Suddenly he bent over, breathing heavily, before slamming back against the wall of a building. He then slid up, working against gravity.
When he reached the top of the four-storey building, he stepped backward onto the flat roof and laughed hysterically.
After he calmed down Baumann walked past the dark structures that were the air vents of the building.
“So, you're finally here!” announced the Dark.
“What... who's there?” shouted Baumann.
After there was no answer, he looked around the roof fortified by his new powers. “Come out! I know you're there.”
40
A swirling form grabbed him and hung him over the edge of the building
“Now, Mr Baumann.” said the form.
“What the fuck is it you want?” asked a struggling Baumann.
“I've waited through eons of time for you!”
“Well, I'm flattered!”
“Listen you bastard, you're not in a position to be flippant!”
“Yeah well, if you've been waiting for me, you're not going to do anything to me, are you?”
Then, after a moment Baumann was standing on the roof looking at a demon.
“I'm the false prophet of the Book of Revelation. I was sent to prepare the way for you.” said the demon.
“And have you... prepared the way for me?”
“When I was first given the task, I looked all over this miserable dimension, but could find nothing, then in the year 1980 the stars pointed me to New York.
“Wait a minute, time out! Why me? What's this all about?”
“Come on Tommie haven't you felt you're something special,” whispered the demon who was now standing behind Baumann.
“Well, there was the time when I was twelve and being set upon by a gang of thugs in a park in Queens. I remember passing out with fear as they caught me...”
“And when you woke up they were lying unconscious around you apart from one who I chased out of the park!” interrupted the demon.
“That was you!”
“Yes.”
“Of course... there was that time when I was drunk and stole a car. I never understood why the police that were chasing my friends and me ended up in the Hudson. It was like a giant hole opened in the bridge!”
“Yeah, that was pretty good, wasn't it? I didn't let them die of course, just get wet!”
“It's all coming back now. I always thought I had a guardian angel.”
“More of a guardian demon!”
“If you're the false prophet, aren't you supposed to be trying to convince people you're the second coming of Christ or something like that?”
Sirens filled the night as the false prophet gazed up at the stars and then lowering his head focused his red eyes on Baumann. “Hey, look at me!” he said raising his arms, “you think there's maybe something just a little wrong with that notion?”
“Yeah, okay, point taken.”
The demon walked over to the edge of the roof and stared out into the night. “Nah, what you're talkin' about is the biblical interpretation of my role... this is real life,” he laughed. “I,ve had a good time in this dimension waiting on you, I'm not going to pretend to these poor fuckers I'm something I'm not!”
After a moment he walked back to where Baumann was standing. “Anyway, it's over to you now Tommy-boy!”
41