Demon Apocalypse

“Hold it!” I gasp, ruining the mood, but struck by a sudden thought which I can’t let pass.

“What’s wrong?” Beranabus asks.

“Nothing. I mean… I don’t know if you can… it’s no big deal, but…” I nod at my naked flesh. “I don’t want to face them like this. You couldn’t conjure up some clothes, could you?”

Beranabus stares at me in disbelief—then laughs. “The things you worry about! But, in a way, you’re right. One should always go into battle suitably clad.” He waves a hand regally and the trees rustle overhead. I have the sensation of being wrapped up tight by rough blankets. Looking down, I see that I’m clad from neck to ankles in a suit of green, brown, red and yellow leaves, as are Beranabus and Kernel.

“The best I can do in a pinch,” Beranabus says. “The material won’t hold for long, but it should see us through the fight.”

“Perfect,” I smile, shaking my arms to make sure I’m not bound too tightly. Then we face the hole, take a step forward, on to the slope, and down.

The shaft feels narrower than before. The rock’s hot to the touch and it seems to throb with magical energy. I climb silently in the darkness, searching for toeholds and fingerholds, careful not to send any pebbles tumbling in case the noise alerts the demons.

I hate this. No excitement at the thought of the battle to come. Just sheer terror. If there was any way to avoid it, I’d be out of here in a flash. But there are no alternatives. It’s fight to the death or surrender this world and everyone I care about to the Demonata. I’d like to think I’m a hero, but the truth is I’m just doing what I have to. There isn’t a choice.

Can I kill Juni if the opportunity falls my way? I’m not certain. I despise her, maybe even more than Lord Loss. He’s a demon, born to be evil, but she made a conscious decision to betray her people. At the same time, she’s human. It wouldn’t be like killing a demon. I don’t know if I could do it. Hopefully I won’t have to. Beranabus is the man for that job, and I imagine he’ll relish the task of terminating the treacherous Miss Swan. But if things don’t work out that way… if I come face-to-face with her… if it falls to me to finish her off…

I drive the thoughts away. No point worrying about it. I’ll just have to play this out and hope for the best. I’ve got to go in there focused on the fight, confident of victory, not filled with doubt.

I concentrate on the climb and our crab-like descent, hand by hand, foot by foot, slowly, carefully, edging ever closer to the demons below.

We reach the bottom and group together on the solid cave floor. I can see light ahead of us. Soft, blue, u

Occasional growls and snapping noises. Whimpering and moaning.

Beranabus checks that we’re ready, then advances. I keep a few steps behind, slightly to his right so I can see ahead of him, guiding Kernel by his leaf-clad arm. I stub my toes on rocks with almost every step I take, but that’s a minor pain, easily ignored.

We enter the main cave and the scene unfolds before us. Juni and Lord Loss are in front of the crack close to the waterfall, the crack I made. Momentary guilt—have I inadvertently helped the demons? But it doesn’t last. Logic tells me not to worry. They could have created a similar opening without much effort.

A few metres behind Juni and her master, Dervish and Bill-E are kneeling, arms bound by ropes, gags in mouths. Artery, Femur and Spine are dancing around them, cackling, making sudden lunges, teeth snapping, claws extended—then pulling away before making contact. Bill-E’s the one whimpering and moaning, trying to squirm away from the demons. Dervish is kneeling upright, glaring hatefully at Lord Loss and Juni, beaten but defiant.

Instant relief—Dervish and Bill-E are i

“Good evening, all!” Beranabus booms, startling me almost as much as the others in the cave. Lord Loss, his familiars and Juni whirl round. Dervish and Bill-E’s heads twist as far as the ropes allow. “I trust we’re not late,” Beranabus says, striding forward, saluting Dervish. “Got delayed en route. You’d never believe our story if we told you.”

The rabbit-shaped Femur snarls and crouches, meaning to use its powerful hind legs to leap across the cave at Beranabus and splatter him with acid.

“Wait,” Lord Loss stops the familiar. He taps Juni’s left arm with one of his eight hands and nods at the crack. She shoots us a hateful glance, then faces the rock and resumes her chant. “This is an unexpected pleasure,” Lord Loss says icily, drifting past Dervish and Bill-E towards us.

“When we heard about the party, we had to drop in,” Beranabus quips, very different to his normal, serious self. “I hope we’re not unwelcome?”

“Certainly not,” Lord Loss smiles. “I am delighted to see you. Especially young Grubitsch. I thought, when he slipped through our clutches on the aeroplane, that it might be a long time before our paths crossed again. Yet here he is, fresh and wide-eyed, ready to die. And you know you’ll die, don’t you, Grubitsch? You realise time has run out, that you, your uncle and brother are doomed?”

“Shut up, you ba—”

I stop abruptly. He called Bill-E my brother. Of course Lord Loss knew about that—Bill-E was infected with the family curse—but Bill-E didn’t. We never told him. I try looking past the demon master, to catch my half-brother’s gaze, but Lord Loss is blocking the view.

“Yes, Grubitsch,” the monster purrs. “I told him. We spent quite an amount of time tonight discussing how you kept the truth from him and ran away when the going got tough, leaving him behind for me as an offering.”

“That’s not true!” I shout. “Don’t believe him, Bill-E. I—”

“That’s not important now,” Beranabus interrupts. “I want to know who’s the mastermind behind this? What foul hellspawn are you working for? Who organised the demons and gave them orders to come ru

Lord Loss frowns. “You know about our plan?”

“Obviously. Now tell me who’s behind it.”

The demon master chuckles. “No, Beranabus. You have been very clever. But if you do not know the full magnitude of the force you’ve chosen to pit yourself against, I will not enlighten you. It’s not my job to explain. Do your own detective work. I am sure you and your capable assistants can…”

He pauses, catching sight of the eyeless Kernel Fleck. “But what is this? What happened to poor Cornelius?”

“Never mind,” Beranabus snaps. “I want to know about—”

“I recognise those wounds,” Lord Loss continues, raising his voice. “Those are the marks of my familiar, Spine. Such trademark injuries are unmistakable. I can even see some of his maggoty offspring embedded in the bloodied pits. It must have been a recent attack. But Spine has been with me the whole time.” He looks back at his familiar. The scorpion with the semi-human face stares at him blankly.

“And your hair,” Lord Loss says, facing us again. “You’re as hairless as myself. You’ve been in a fight of great viciousness. Spine seems to have been in it too. But how…”

“Tell us about the demon who set you up to this and I’ll tell you about our fight,” Beranabus grins.

“If I thought you were genuine, I’d happily make that deal,” Lord Loss replies. “I sense great magic and mystery in this. If I did not know better, I would say…” He trails off into silence, then sneers. “But I know you, Beranabus. You are a rogue. You would renege on your promise and tell me nothing. So I’ll hold my tongue and torture the truth out of the boys once I’ve defeated you.”

“Nay,” Beranabus snorts. “Secrecy and surprise were the only advantages you had. Now that we’ve thwarted you, you must face us openly, on our world, where your powers are diminished. You can’t beat us. If you abandon the spells and leave, I’ll let you walk away and settle for sealing this place off. But if you force us to fight, we’ll kill you all. Even those of you who have died before.”