The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (52 page)

‘I’d like for us to try again,’ she
said. ‘You know, pick up from where we were before the accident.’

Jared had to fight the urge to give
in and lose himself to her completely all over again. ‘We’ll talk about it
later,’ he said, trying to stall for time. ‘I’ll be there in about five
minutes.’

‘Drive safely,’ she said.

It was exactly seven minutes later
when Jared parked his car in Tanya’s driveway. He painfully made his way to her
door and pressed the buzzer a few times.

No one opened the door.

Jared took a few steps back and
tried to see through the windows. ‘Hello?’ he called before buzzing again. ‘Is
anyone here?’

No one answered.

He tried the handle and the door
clipped open. Something felt wrong. Jared couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, but
he could sense that something was out of place. ‘Hello?’ he called again as he
entered the house.

The eerie quietness was
overwhelming.

‘Tanya?’

He walked to the living room. It was
dark and musty, almost as if no one had been in it for a few years.

‘Mother?’

A fluttering drew his attention to
the staircase. Jared made his way to it.

‘Natasha?’

He climbed the stairs one at a time
and, after what felt like forever, reached the landing at the top.

‘Is anyone here?’

A fluttering from Tanya’s bedroom.
Jared cautiously made his way to it and peered inside. Natasha was standing at
the open window, looking right at him. ‘If you want to see your mother alive
again,’ she said. ‘Follow the trail.’ With that, she jumped from the window.

Jared rushed to the window as
quickly as he could, but when he got there he didn’t see the sprawled body of a
woman one storey below. What he did see sent a shiver down his spine. In the
sky were hundreds of demons flying toward a mutual destination.

Follow the trail.

Fear gripped Jared and twisted a
knot in his stomach. He shuddered and as quickly as his aching lower back and
numb legs would allow, rushed back to the car.

* 
  -    -    -    *

Justin gasped when he first saw
Kelwick through the window of the Cessna 172. The farming suburbs spread out
like a blanket beneath them and they made a pass over the entire town before
turning to align the plane with the landing strip.

‘Hold on,’ Greg said as the plane
started its descent. ‘This might be a bumpy landing.’

Justin tightened his grip on the
seatbelt that was strapped around his waist. It felt to him that the closer the
plane came to the ground, the faster it moved. His stomach tightened, and a few
seconds later, he was jerked slightly forward as the landing gear kissed the
ground.

‘Touch down!’ Greg said and made a
gesture that consisted of him kissing his index finger and pressing it against
the roof. ‘The eagle has landed.’

Justin gave a thumbs up as the pilot
taxied the Cessna to what appeared to be one of only two hangars at Kelwick’s
small airstrip, bringing their five-hour trip together to an end. He soaked in
as much of the surroundings as he could, flooding his mind with memories long
forgotten. It only took a moment to feel as if he had never left the town in
the first place. When the plane came to a standstill, Greg completed the
post-landing check and then motioned to Justin that he could get out. When he
did, Justin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘Nothing beats Kelwick air,’
he said and stretched his arms. ‘Don’t you just love that smell of recent
rain?’

‘Uh huh,’ Greg nodded. ‘Sure do.’

Justin looked up and down the air
strip and wondered how long he would have to wait for Tanya to pick him up.
Greg unlocked the hangar and with Justin’s help, the two men heaved it open.

‘Would you mind helping me with
something inside?’ Greg asked. ‘It won’t take a minute.’

Justin looked down the strip again.
Still no sign of Tanya. ‘Sure,’ he said and followed Greg into the hangar. ‘I’d
be glad to help out...’

His words trailed off as the sheer
size of the hangar overwhelmed him. From outside the building appeared quite
small. High above them the roof spanned from one end to the other. Justin
couldn’t help but feel small and insignificant; a single planet with life in
the never-ending expanse of space.

‘This way,’ Greg said and motioned
for Justin to follow him.

Justin followed closely behind Greg
as he soaked in the rest of the building. The huge windows on the sides
appeared dwarfed from Justin’s point of view. He estimated that one would be
able to fit five to ten of Greg’s Cessna planes comfortably inside the building
and still have space to spare. Finally, after what felt like hours of walking,
they reached the other end of the hangar where Greg stopped at what appeared to
be some sort of workbench and a few lockers.

‘I just need you to do something for
me,’ Greg said as he rummaged through one of the lockers.

‘Sure,’ Justin said. He looked at
the end of the hangar where they came in and frowned when he thought about the
walk back. ‘Oh yes,’ he said and took his wallet from his pocket. ‘How much do
I owe you...?’

‘Keep your money, Mister Greene,’
Greg said and only when he turned around did Justin see the gun. Greg motioned
to a chair with the pistol. ‘Have a seat.’

‘What’s this?’ Justin asked. ‘What
are you doing, Greg?’

‘Sit down,’ Greg instructed and
raised the gun to Jared’s head. ‘Or you might have me do something irrational.’

‘I don’t understand...’

Greg slammed the gun against
Justin’s head, sending the older man sprawling back and into the chair. ‘I
said, sit down.’

Justin shook his head and tried to
re-focus his vision and rid his head of the sharp, throbbing pain. He touched
the place where the gun made contact. It was bleeding, but not gushing.

‘That’s better,’ Greg said. ‘Now sit
tight. Our guests should be arriving any moment now.’

*   
-    -    -    *

Jared stopped the car and looked out
of the window to try and figure out where the demons were going. He scanned the
landscape to see if there were any familiar landmarks, but could find none. It
was only ten minutes later that he realised where the horde was headed.
Oh
no,
he thought and stepped on the gas.
This can’t be good.

*   
-    -    -    *

Justin was still applying pressure
to his wound when a car pulled into the hangar. It drove almost all the way in
to them before coming to a halt.
Thank goodness!
Justin thought when the
driver’s door opened and Tanya climbed out. The passenger door opened and
another woman much younger than Tanya also emerged from the car.

‘Tanya,’ Justin shouted a warning.
‘Watch out! He’s got a gun!’

Tanya merely grinned and opened the
back door. The younger woman leaned into the car and pulled Rebecca out.

Justin’s heart pounded wildly in his
chest. ‘Tanya?’ he asked. ‘What’s all this about?’

Rebecca was gagged and her hands were
tied behind her back. Natasha shoved her violently towards Justin and he
grabbed Rebecca to break her fall. He gently removed the gag and kissed her
before turning his attention to Tanya again.

‘Are you still as ignorant as ever,
Greene?’ Tanya asked. ‘Are you still blind to the very things happening right
under your nose?’

Justin frowned. ‘What are you
talking about?’ he asked. ‘What’s the idea behind this charade, and why do you
want to harm us?’

‘We don’t want to harm you,’ Tanya
said. ‘Not yet, at least.’ She lit a cigarette, took a deep drag and then
exhaled the smoke into Justin’s face. ‘You’re merely bait.’

‘Bait?’ Justin asked. ‘What for?’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Natasha
answered on Tanya’s behalf. ‘Our primary target is on his way and should join
us shortly.’

‘Speak of the devil,’ Tanya said as
another car pulled into the hangar. ‘Here he is.’

*
   -    -    -    *

Jared got out of the car and
carefully surveyed the hangar before he closed the door. At the far end of the
building was Tanya, Natasha, a man he didn’t know, and both his parents.

Dad?

Moving only his eyes, he carefully
studied the rest of the building. The hangar was infested with the demonic
beings that he had seen in Tanya’s house. Some of the creatures walked around
the hangar, patrolling the area; others hung from the roof high above; while
some were lodged against the walls, sitting there like gargoyles while they
watched his every move. Most of them, however, crowded around the five people
at the end of the hangar. Jared could feel all eyes locked upon him as he
neared them. The only sound was the clicking of his cane as he made his way to
the group of people. The demonic horde opened a path for him as he walked,
hissing and scratching at him.

‘Hey,’ he greeted as he approached
Tanya. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Jared!’ Rebecca shouted. ‘
Don’t—!
’

‘You’re just in time,’ said Tanya.

It was then that Jared saw the gun
in the stranger’s hand. The fear in his parents’ eyes spoke volumes and only
then did he see his mother’s tied hands. ‘In time?’ he asked, trying to stall
as long as possible as his mind worked furiously on a plan. ‘For what?’

Tanya ignored Jared’s question; her
only reply was a condescending smirk.

‘What’s going on?’ Jared insisted.
‘And what’s dad doing here?’

‘You’re of no more use to us,’
Natasha said and took a few steps towards Jared. Her face was still swirling
like the previous evening, only stopping now and again to reveal the hideously
deformed creature. She pointed a bony finger at Justin and Rebecca. ‘You’ve
crossed the line to their side. We have no more use for you, and we’re
not
going to allow you to oppose us.’

Jared shook his head. ‘Wait a
minute,’ he said. ‘I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. And
besides that, what do my parents have to do with anything?’

‘Your mother is the reason for your
turning,’ Natasha hissed.

‘Your father,’ Tanya added, ‘is an
unexpected bonus.’

We have no more use for you.
Natasha’s words swirled
in Jared’s mind. Another voice drowned out hers.
You will have a major influence
in the lives of millions of people.

Simon’s voice.

You will either lead them to Christ,
or their slaughter. That much is certain.

Jared closed his eyes and images
flashed through his mind. Thoughts and memories passed by at an incredible
speed. Voices buzzed. And then he opened his eyes. And then he knew. ‘You
wanted me to join your side,’ he said. ‘But you can’t use me anymore now that
I’ve converted.’

‘So he
does
know,’ Tanya
said. ‘Bravo.’

‘It doesn’t change a thing,’ Natasha
said. ‘We simply cannot allow him to fight on the side of our enemy.’

‘Tanya,’ Jared said and his stomach
churned. ‘Why? How long have you been a part of this conspiracy against me?’

‘Oh, even before you were born,
Jared,’ Tanya said. ‘You had so much potential, and you just
had
to go
and ruin it.’

Jared looked at his parents. ‘Did
you know about this?’

They shook their heads.

‘Well, it’s been fun,’ Tanya said,
‘but every minute that you’re alive, you’re a bigger threat to us and our
cause.’ She took a step back and allowed the stranger to move in between her
and Jared. He raised his gun and aimed it at Jared’s head. ‘Say
hi
to
the big guy upstairs when you get there, will you?’ Tanya mocked.

You will have a major influence in
the lives of millions of people. You will either lead them to Christ, or their
slaughter. That much is certain.

‘I can’t die today,’ Jared said.
‘That much is certain.’

‘Watch me,’ the stranger said and
squeezed the trigger.

*   
-    -    -    *

Justin’s body slammed into Greg a
fraction of a moment before the gunshot went off, rendering the shot useless
and flinging the gun from Greg’s hand. It slid over the floor, not too far from
where Tanya was standing. Greg rolled with the fall and stood up before Justin
could regain his footing. He slammed his fist into Justin’s solar plexus,
dropping the older man to his knees. Justin coughed and wheezed as he forced
air back into his burning lungs. Greg straightened himself up and took a few
steps back, aligning himself for a kick to the Justin’s head.