The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (23 page)

Invisible demons
danced around the circle and chanted along with the woman.

‘Oh, lord of
darkness,’ Tanya said. ‘Hear my prayers and give strength to our champion.’

*    -    -   
-    *

Simon watched
the skies as dark clouds formed rapidly over the town of Kelwick. Something
unnatural was brewing. He could smell it in the coming rain. Something of
un-imaginable evil was on the verge of happening.

‘Dear Lord,’
Simon prayed. ‘Please protect Justin from any harm on the road.’ Images of a
horrific head-on-head collision involving Justin and a pick-up truck flashed
through Simon’s mind. ‘Please protect my friend.’

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin wanted to
send a text message to Rebecca, but just as he was typing it, his battery died.

‘Nuts,’ he said
and flung the useless phone to one side. Much needed rain was coming. Clouds
billowed thick and dark at a rapid pace. Wind kicked dust into the air, lending
a certain purple colour to the late afternoon skyline. Justin switched on the
headlights of his car.

Although he was
confident that he would sort out everything with Rebecca when he returned,
something gnawed at his stomach. Something made him feel uncomfortable.

Well you have
to decide now, Justin Greene, which is more important. Your job or your wife.
Because it appears that either way, you’re going to lose one of them.

Justin shook his
head. It wasn’t fair.

It’s in your
hands now. You alone control the fate of this company.

Justin knew that
he had an obligation towards his employer. He bit his lower lip. He also had
one towards his wife. Justin hesitated a moment longer and then pulled off the
side of the road.

Just imagine
to what advantage it could be, career wise, if news would reach the board
members that you single-handedly saved the company.

‘I don’t care,’
Justin said out loud. ‘My wife needs me.’

It’s in your
hands now. You alone control the fate of this company.

‘
I-don’t-care!
’
Justin shouted and slammed the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. He
took a few deep breaths, weighed his options, made up his mind, and then made
the U-turn back home.

*    -    -   
-    *

Rebecca opened
the door. Dominic’s pleasant smile was a warm contrast to the cold and lonely
feeling in her heart.

‘I need you,’
Dominic said.

Rebecca
hesitated, and just stood there, holding on to the door without saying a word.
The wind ripped it from her hand, but Dominic grabbed it in mid-swing. He
stepped inside and closed the door.

‘I can’t…do
this...’ Rebecca said.

Dominic placed
his finger over her lips and brought his mouth close to her ear. ‘You deserve
more, Rebecca,’ he whispered. ‘You deserve better.’

‘Better...’
Rebecca repeated. She felt her legs buckle from beneath her, but Dominic’s
powerful arms kept her from falling to the ground. He picked her up and carried
her to the bedroom where he gently lay her down onto the bed.

‘Am I dreaming?’
Rebecca asked in a daze. Her head was spinning and her breathing felt deep and
forced. ‘Is this a dream?’

Dominic leaned
forward and kissed her passionately. ‘This is no dream, my love,’ he said. ‘Let
go of your fears. Free yourself.’

‘Free...’
Rebecca whispered. Dominic’s voice echoed in her mind. Darkness slowly engulfed
her vision as she slipped deeper and deeper into Dominic’s trance.

‘Free yourself
from the bondages of marriage. Save yourself from the clutches of Justin.’

‘Justin...’

‘Let him go.’
Dominic brushed her hair gently. ‘Let go of Justin and come with me.’

‘Let go...’

Rebecca’s eyes
rolled back into her head. When she spoke, the sound of each word came out
hollow and empty.

Dominic kissed
her again. ‘Come with me and leave all this behind you.’

‘Leave...’

‘Come with me.’

‘Come...’

Rebecca closed
her eyes and a moment later opened them again. They were devoid of any sign of
emotion or self-control.

‘Come,’ Dominic
said and took her hand. He gently guided her from the bed. ‘Follow me.’

Sheepishly,
Rebecca obeyed.

Lightning
flashed outside as the two of them walked hand-in-hand from the room.

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin couldn’t
shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. He almost
crashed the car into a wall as he pulled in to park it. The wind ripped at the
door as he opened it, but he tightened his grip. Sand peppered his face from
all directions. Now and again he felt a raindrop hit random parts of his body.

Justin had a
hard time hearing anything above the wailing of the wind. He ran to the
apartment, his jacket snapping in the wind. He reached the door and was
surprised to find it unlocked.

Rebecca will
be equally surprised when she sees I’m back
, he
thought, feeling relieved that he ultimately decided to go home instead.
Lightning flashed as he opened the door.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘What are
you
doing here?’ Justin asked as he entered the living room. ‘And what the hell are
you doing with my wife?’

Dominic’s facial
expression made it obvious that he was caught off-guard. ‘You’re not supposed
to be here,’ he hissed and shook his head. ‘It doesn’t matter. She is no longer
your wife,’ he said. ‘She’s coming with me.’

Justin couldn’t
believe that this puny excuse for a man would even dare challenge him. ‘Like
hell she will,’ He said and charged at Dominic. He slammed his fist into
Dominic’s face, sending the young man tumbling backward into the couch.

‘Rebecca,’
Justin said and shook his wife gently on the shoulders. ‘What’s going on here?’

‘Leave...’

The wind howled.
Dominic looked up and snarled.

Justin looked at
Dominic and his blood froze when he saw the glowing eyes and the razor sharp
jagged teeth.
Teeth like a shark!
Justin thought. Before he could blink,
Dominic was upon him and had his throat clamped in a vice-like grip that was
meant to crush.

‘Urk—!’

‘You should have
been dead by now,’ Dominic hissed. ‘Smashed into a truck. I don’t know how you
managed to survive that, but I can promise you that you will not survive
this
.’

Dominic flung
Justin across the room, and his huge frame smashed into the wall unit with enough
force to shatter every bone in his body. Only the angle that he struck the wall
unit with was what spared him of that fate. In a fraction of a second Dominic
was upon Justin again. He lifted his claw-like hand into the air.

‘In the name of
Jesus Christ,’ a voice at the door shouted above the wind. ‘
Leave that man
alone!
’

An invisible
force flung Dominic from Justin and sent him sprawling into the couch again.

‘This has gone
far enough, demon,’ Simon said.

‘
You?
’
Dominic sneered with a snarl. ‘A mere human? You think you can threaten me?’

‘I’m warning
you,’ Simon said. ‘Stay away from these people.’

Dominic jumped
up and sprinted towards Simon, his teeth bared and his claw-like fingers ready
to rip apart whatever it grabbed hold of. At the last possible second, Simon
side-stepped him and shot out the ridge of his hand into Dominic’s throat,
sending the man toppling head over heels before slamming him into the ground.

‘You will not
harm this family,’ Simon said. ‘You will not lay your dirty hands on their son.’

Dominic stood up
and growled like a lion. His eyes glowed like burning embers from his darkened
sockets. ‘This is where you die,’ he said and charged at Simon again. Once
again Simon side-stepped but this time a brilliant sword appeared in his hands
with which he slashed out at Dominic, cleaving the man’s stomach from side to
side.

Dominic held his
hand over his stomach and looked down. The wound was fatal. He realized it.
Slowly the flesh on his hand and around the wound dissolved. He took a step
closer to Simon.

‘Get her out of
here!’ Simon shouted at his friend. Justin wrapped his arms around Rebecca and
picked her up. He ran for the door and Rebecca moaned softly as she slowly
started to break free from her trance. At the door Justin looked at Simon,
still wondering what on earth was going on. ‘
Go!
’ Simon insisted. That
was all Justin needed to nudge him out the door.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘We need to get
away from here,’ Justin said as he strapped Rebecca into the passenger seat of
the car. He ran around to the driver’s side and got in. The raindrops were
coming down harder now, slapping the windshield with a rhythmic patter.

Rebecca moaned.
‘Away...’

Justin tried the
ignition. It failed. ‘Come on, you stupid thing!’ He tried it again. Still nothing.
On the third try the engine growled to life. Justin sighed, reversed from the
parking space, and then sped down the main road without looking back.

*    -    -   
-    *

Muscles peeled
off as more flesh over the body dissolved. Dominic took another step toward
Simon. A bony claw shot through the flesh that only a moment ago represented a
human hand. Large sinewy fingers with long, sharp nails replaced the fingers
that once were. Another step closer. The face split with a
snap
and the
demon tore the remaining human tissue from itself. Its eyes blood. Its fangs
steel. It took another step, and then another one. Before Simon could react,
the demon slapped away his sword and grabbed him by the neck.

Simon managed an
‘
Ung
—
!
’ as the demon twisted its hand and snapped his neck. It
threw Simon’s lifeless body to one side and let out a powerful roar.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘Stay with me,
baby,’ Justin said. He placed his hand on her leg and shook it a little.
Rebecca moaned again and opened her eyes. Her vision, although still blurred,
was slowly returning to normal. Justin’s voice was still a distant,
unintelligible echo in her ears. ‘Focus on my voice.’

She closed her
eyes, swallowed hard, and then opened them again. ‘Where...where are we...?’

Justin flipped
on the windshield wipers. The rain pelted down hard now and the wind jolted the
car across the lane every now and again. Justin clutched the steering wheel
tightly, trying to keep control of the vehicle while he tried to make up as
much distance between them and the apartment as quickly as possible. ‘We’re in
the car, honey,’ he said.

Rebecca sat up
and rubbed her face. ‘Where are we—?’

Thud!

The car shook as
something heavy struck the roof. Rebecca screamed. Justin jerked at the wheel
to swerve the car out of the way of an oncoming truck.

‘Hang on, baby,’
Justin said and stepped down on the gas pedal.

‘
What’s going
on?
’

‘
I don’t
know!
’

Justin jerked at
the sound of metal tearing right next to his head. A rotten claw ripped through
the roof and grabbed hold of Rebecca’s hair. She screamed out in panic and
Justin swerved the car hard to the right to try and shake off whatever was on
the roof. It didn’t work. Justin over steered and for a split second time stood
perfectly still.

Everything paused.

Rebecca’s
panic-stricken face was the last thing Justin saw before he closed his eyes.

Sound, motion,
wind, and rain all returned at once as the car veered off the shoulder of the
road, crashed into a log, flipped over, twirled through the air, and smashed
into the ground with a sickening
crunch
.

Then everything
was silent again aside from the soft hissing coming from the torn-apart wreck.

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin groaned
as he tried to move. The rain relentlessly slapped his face. Slowly he moved
his head, then his arms, his legs, and finally his torso. Everything felt in
place, yet his body was wracked with pain. Slowly, he managed to sit upright.
He had been flung from the car when it struck the log. His vision was blurred
and his forehead throbbed. He rubbed his hand though his hair and looked at the
crimson stain on his palm in disbelief as the rain washed it clean.