CHAPTER 3 (Hearts of Men)
The article read like a horror story, only this was not fictitious. Lydiana re-read the article, then scrutinized her “cards.”
“Why hasn’t the Angels noticed this?” she asked Noodle her cat. He lay fast asleep on her lap. Her heartbeat was rapid, fear gripped it in its ice cold hand. She took another look at her “cards,” while she scratched Noodle. “It’s not Azazel, it’s not Lucifer. That’s been tried and tested and failed, the Angels were too strong. Then whom are they after? The stolen hearts can only indicate to a blood-sacrifice, yes, they lost out on the child-keys, now it’s the next step in “their” master plan.” Noodle slept through this crisis, as he had through all the others. This is the benefits of being a cat.
Lydiana re-read the article, she had to have missed something. Four men were found, dead in their homes. Their hearts were ripped from their chests, the article did not go into the gruesome details, but Lydiana saw, they were alive. The hearts have to be pumping to complete a ritual of this enormity. “Four, two to go. Why has the Angels not taken notice, or don’t they read the news, wondered Lydiana, for the tenth time. she had to call someone, do something, or ……. Well she had no specific idea what the “or” might be. “Not good Noodle, this is really not good.” She placed him on the couch, and fetched her mobile. She found Abigail’s old number. May she rest in peace, then pushed the call-button.
“Hallo, Michaelus speaking, who is this?”
“Michaelus, are you Abigail’s Michaelus? It’s me, Mich, Lydiana.”
“Yes, it’s me. What’s wrong Lydiana?”
“Mich, please come to my home, this is of great importance, you know I will never ask this if it was not of paramount importance. Oh Mich. I thank God, I found you.”
“Give us two hours. I am bringing friends, do I need to bring friends, Lydiana?”
“Yes. Bring as many as you can round up, Mich. We are in deep shit.” Lydiana cut the call, and dashed off to the shower. Went out and bought lunch, and beverages.
The sight of Sam brought on new tears, how deeply she missed Abigail. Hunter was a dish, Ryan scary as hell. Thomas a chip off the old block, and Michaelus, as calming as sun set. “Mich, give me a second, it is unbelievably good to see you and Sam. How is Tyler?”
“I don’t know, we decided to stay away from him. Ryan has been to see him, but we don’t, talk, if you get my drift. These times are too dangerous.”
Lydiana nodded. “We are protected here, no entity, benign or malevolent can hear beyond these walls. Look at this article, I need to blow my nose, and bring the box of tissues with me. The sight of you two, there are no words in any language to describe, the joy I feel, and eat, drink, you all will need the drink.”
“She’s nice”, commented Hunter. “Yeah, bro, she thinks you are nice too”, winked Samuel. A look of confusion washed over Hunter’s face. The men laughed. Noodle was curled up on his lap. Hunter looked at the cat, then back at Samuel. “The cat or me?” That started the whole chuckle all over again. They were sipping drinks when Lydiana entered the room. She looked at Sam and Michaelus, the glory shone like stars from their bodies, that was a good sight, a really miraculous sight. She said a little prayer of thanks.
“So you read the article?” they all nodded yes. “ Angels, I know you sent Abrux back to the hot seat. But, that was not the end. The Six-keys, are no longer the pawns in this twisted game, allow me to show you, may I, or will you take offence?”
Lydiana pointed to the cards. They shook their heads no, she did her card-spread. “Come closer. Look here, the top card, was your battle with Abrux, he is what I would call a lesser-demon, yet he is directly linked to Azazel, as you can see, here and here, then the link broke. Look at the Devil-card, it is upside down. The six of swords is upside down, meaning, the six-keys are no longer in this game, however, the king of swords, fell over Judgement, this means there is a new game being played. And those four men, had the new-keys. You are dealing with a Temperance, a female-demonic form, whom is literally stealing the hearts of men, once she has six, she will do a blood-sacrifice, a conjuring. But that is as far as I can see.”
Hunter loomed over the spread. “Succubus?” he asked. “Most lightly, and look at the surnames. I feel, you know or know of these men, Hunter, you can stop the next killings.” Hunter read the surnames out loud. “Brine, Radcliff, Wellington, and Kruger.” The Fathers of four of the six. That leaves, Tanner and Woods. Tyler Lane, was no longer in the game. All these men, were just men, and not the biological Fathers of these keys. They all read Hunters thought, with the exception of Lydiana. “Do you know where Liam Woods lives?” Hunter asked Samuel, he nodded yes. “Not far from here. The Black Hills. I have no idea where Tal Tanner came from, we found him at the manor, he could be from anywhere in the world, he was merely a replacement for Tyler, my gut says, whom ever started this, will come for Thomas, and they have no qualm with his Angelic-form, they will do whatever it takes to get his heart, much as the Curen tried to kill Hunter. And boy’s we still have one Curen on the loose. Lydiana, your news articles have not reported, missing animals, such as strange phenomena?”
“Give me a sec, I shall look online, my cards do show Death and the Moon, crossing over, and the Moon-card, can represent fish or aquatic animals, per se’.” Lydiana fetched her laptop. “Here are two articles. Tuscany, two fishermen, believe there is a merman in a lake near their homes, that is depleting their fishing spot, they do not elaborate, the police think they are nuts, and are trying to cover the fact, that they fish without a permit.”
“A Curen, is not highly intelligent, and alone, it will prey on anything, stay anywhere, they are as dumb as can be, but deadly when confronted or cornered, does the article, specify, which lake the fishermen, were using?” asked Samuel. Lydiana, read the article again, and shook her head no. Thomas looked at his Dad, first things first. “Dad, we need to find, Bradley Woods. As for me, well, we will wing it, no pun intended. If we are fortunate enough, and catch this demonic bitch in the act, I will be in the clear, hell, they keep coming. I know demons have walked amongst us since Creation, but I just don’t get what they want, why is earth still the target, and the innocent beings that have such a short life span, it’s not worth, killing them for it. Look at the three of us, we didn’t stand a chance, no offence to you Ryan. And Hunter, at least you know where you are going, as for the rest.”
Thomas looked at Lydiana apologetically. She shrugged her shoulders and poured herself a drink. Hunter left his number with Lydiana, it was a fluke that she got hold of Michaelus, on Abigail’s old mobile. Or a Divine intervention. That mobile, had been lying in a box for years, it was Michaelus that took it out, to trace the Keys. Noodle stretched, as Hunter placed him back on the couch, he yawned and went back to sleep. Lydiana embraced Sam and Michaelus as if it’s the last time she would see them, and it very well might be, they were only here on borrowed time, their place was to fight for Archangel Michael. Lydiana watched them squeeze into the car, like an elephant into a mini. They were huge, too large for any vehicle. She had to smile, through her tears.
Thomas found the Woods address, they got there before dusk. “We need to be careful, hide, we don’t know whom or what we are up against, and don’t take It on alone. Call for backup. Each grab a cross, and pray, use these crosses to kill the damn thing”, smiled Hunter, handing out large wooden crosses. He felt unprepared. “I will go in through the roof, look, they have a vent. Keep your thoughts to yourselves, only shout when you find something.”
The house was large, nice. Hunter looked into the bedrooms. All clear. He listened, they were down stairs in the dining-room. He went into Liam’s bedroom. Hunter looked in his closet, then under his bed, he found the box he was looking for. He picked the lock. “As I thought, the Satanic-bible. I thought these boys were off the hook, but it seems the seed had been sown.”
He locked the box, and placed it where he found it. He listened, the Mom was in the kitchen, the Dad in front of the television. I better get out of here. Liam passed, him as he hid behind the bathroom door. Hunter walked down the stairs. The Angels, nor Ryan or Ariel were insight. Bradley was drinking a beer, and watching a game. Hunter hid in the coat closet. It had a direct view of the couch. The Mom, walked past him, and he could hear the shower running. He watched Bradley. The Mom shouted goodnight after a few hours. Wow not a very loving couple. Hunter watched Bradley, he was on his third beer. A movement near the kitchen window caught his attention. He listened as the latch was being lifted. A dark form of some kind, oozed into the kitchen. Hunter backed up, completely out of sight, the form changed into a woman, a drop-dead stunner. She walked up to Bradley. That was not the reaction, Hunter had expected. Bradley looked up at the stairs, then pulled her onto his lap. They were in a very passionate embrace. Shit, he thinks he knows her. If I move now, the entire family will be dead. Shit! They were not stopping.
Bradley was on top of her, they were making love. How the hell, dude, with your wife in the house. Bradley lay spent. She was whispering how much she loved him, and Bradley was caressing her again. It was too fast, for a human eye to register, but she reached into Bradley’s chest and ripped out his heart. “Now I will have your heart forever, my love.” Hunter moved, he raised the cross, she looked at him, her eyes blazing, her tongue flicked out of her mouth, a forked-tongue and spat in his eyes. “Now, she’s in the living room.” The others appeared. She smiled, the heart still beating in her hand. “See you later, Thomas.” She disappeared. “We need to get out of here.” They followed Hunter out the front door, and to the car. “That is not a Succubus.”
“I know, Hunter, and she is not a Jinn nor a Fae.” Hunter drove fast, they stopped in the woods. “Okay, anyone, what is that?” I am going to lose sleep over this, that is a fact. Not that I witnessed humans coupling, it is what she spat into my eyes, a vision. “Samuel, I can’t describe what she showed me, I have seen hell, through your eyes, I have seen Azazel, and Lucifer. But there is no connection to this vision. She will not stop until she has Thomas heart. Thomas, I think you need to go home, bro. it is not safe for you here.” Thomas shook his head. I should have known. Stubborn, can only be hereditary. I mentally went through all the paranormal beings I know, and she didn’t fit any of the descriptions. As for the hearts, if it’s not to conjure a demon, then who?
We spent the night in a deserted cabin. We really put our heads together on this one. I was leading this conversation. “From what we can assume, again, the number six comes into play. She needs the hosts alive when she rips their hearts out. This is a sacrifice, but from what I saw, it is not one of our old pals, she wants to conjure. So, I am taking one hell of a leap here, I think, whatever it is, it needs six hearts, to live. Now guys, who needs six hearts? And why are all the keys Fathers the targets?”
We came up blank. Demons are predictable, they lie and deceive, but this thing I have never encountered in all my years of hunting. Ryan left, oh I am beyond the stage of asking, I actually don’t want to know where he goes. Ariel never says much, she left. So Thomas and I got the hamper out the car, and we lit a few more candles. I needed both my eyes on Thomas. Michaelus had salted the old cabin. I had a few books on Lore in the trunk. I handed them out, and we read. I had a small whiskey. My nerves were deep fried. I wondered if Lydiana would know, then I looked at the time. nope, one a.m. I shall wait until morning to call, if we came up empty. “Look here.” I handed the book to Samuel. He handed it to Thomas. “The Goddess of the night?” asked Thomas. I nodded.
“Yes, that is whom I saw. According to Lore, her name is Metzli and she had a twin brother named, Metzel. Humans sacrificed to her, for protection at night, and to him to watch over their men at war, battles and in any other capacity. One night during one of these Rituals, six men broke in, overpowered Metzel and killed him. They cut out his heart while he was alive, and placed it in a jar. They reckoned they sacrificed more than the Gods did. No one knows for certain what happened to his body, but Metzli sought refuge in the night. Some believe she became Darkness, so she could search for her twins body. Now it seems she is back, and has not given up on her revenge. According to this book, if she has six beating hearts, and the right Witch, it will lead her to her brother’s body, and obviously, one of the hearts are needed to resurrect him, and I bet, she has her heart set on Thomas’s heart.”
“Then use me as bait.” Samuel shook his head, no. “No, Thomas, we don’t know this enemy, or what she is capable of, if she Darkness, she can hide you for a very long time, and in a place we would never find you. No, I am not willing to watch you be butchered again, because I don’t know who to defeat this enemy.”
“Dad, we are up against an impossible situation, she is metaphysical, and if she is Darkness, she can reach Tyler. I will not have my son butchered.” Samuel glared at Thomas. “I told you no, I will not allow this, Thomas. I will alert Tyler’s Guardian, and I don’t want harm to come to the son of my son. But I will not watch you die all over again. Please Thomas, don’t do this to me.”
I was not going to get into an argument with two actual Angels, nor a Father and son, so went outside. How did we go from six-keys, to Azazel and Abrux to five dead men? I watched the time, at seven a.m I called Lydiana. And a strange flutter filled my abdomen when I heard her voice. I explained the situation to her, she asked me to hold on. I could hear her fingers flutter over the keyboard, damn I can’t even text yet. “I got it, Hunter, I know how you can smite Metzli.” I had to smile, I think this wonderful soul has stolen my heart, and hell she can have it for free, I really felt something, something in my own heart, I have not felt since Creation. And I knew exactly what I am going to do about it. I am going to gamble with my heart. “Hunter, are you still there?”
“Yes, shoot, I am all ears. Lydiana, when this is over, will you have dinner with me?” long awkward silence, hell I thought I blew it. “Hunter, I thought you would never ask, yes, I would indeed love to have dinner with you. Okey dokey, now first back to kicking a Goddess’s butt. Hunter you can only smite her in human form, mm, Hunter according to Lore, she only becomes human, or physical, when she gets physical.” I could feel, Lydiana blush, yeah I definitely went from brown to dark chocolate in under a second. “Hunter?”
“Yes, I am still with you.”
“She is immortal, no conventional weapons can kill her. I am so sorry, it says, while she is in human form heart extraction will lead to death.”
“Whammy, that is one thing I can’t even begin to perceive.”
“I can.”
“Lydiana, I will call you later, with an update, thank you lovely lady, and we have a date, all right?”
“Of course, Hunter, I honestly can’t wait, come to the house, it is as safe as houses, for you, no harm will befall you. Or, well, I might….” We laughed, I cut the call and stared at Ryan.
“Ryan, can you really do that?” he shrugged.
“Hunter, I invented death, so yes, I can do it. She is a Pagan deity, she is only real to those whom pray to her, and if this saves Thomas’s life, I will do it. Even with her pants down.” I never thought I could get any darker, well yeah that theory has now been proven twice in a matter of minutes. We went inside, damn I need a cup of caffeine. All this BS is making me loopy. “Guys, I am going on a coffee run. You all decide who is the poor bastard that has to be bait, I don’t want a part in the actual shit-storm, I will have your backs.”
Samuel was bent over, the tears streaming down his face, with laughter. “It’s our fronts you should worry about, Hunter.” Yeah that was my que I am like the oldest virgin on planet earth. Yeah don’t judge, remember do not cast the first virgin joke. Well I got the coffee, and muffins, not that I felt hungry. How can life be so complicated. And why won’t the demons and their playmates just stay where they belong? Humans need to see to believe, they have made Images since the beginning of time. No, I am not judging, I am merely making an observation. Well the team was assembled.
“So, who is bait?” I knew Thomas would say he was, over his big Daddy’s holy body, that ain’t happening. “We read in this book, you can rent a man, so we rented one. We asked that he must resemble Thomas, and we had to pay for a motel room. The lady I spoke to said, he is very well gifted, and that I will not be disappointed.” My mouth hung open, as I stared at Ariel.
“Ariel, how long have you been on earth?” I had to ask, like dude, really.
“I have been here as long as you have, Hunter you know that, I just don’t mix well with humans, so I keep away from the surface for as long as I can. Why?”
“You called an Escort-agency, and rented a male prostitute.”
“Oh.” Samuel, well you never take him anywhere twice, the second time is to apologise, he was rolling. Michaelus, had a slight grin on that ever present poker face. Thomas could not come up for air, and personally I thought they were all bloody nuts.
“Oh, master planners, now, how do we lure Metzli to her rented piece of meat?” I don’t know why they all looked at me. Oh hell no, I want no part in this. “Thomas will, lure her there, then climb out the window. I will wait inside the room, and do what has to be done, by that I mean, the heart extraction Hunter.” I just sipped my coffee, yeah I rest my case. “Do you have a special bell?” Now I could see the light-bulbs go on. “Shit.” Said Samuel.
“Boys, I have it worked out, according to the article, the deaths occur at night. She knows her victims, so I think, Thomas has to have a drink with her, then invite her after dark to that Motel. Be in the open Thomas, she is watching you. This will have to be the performance of a life time.”
We went into town. Thomas had a haircut, we bought him a suit, damn he cleaned up nicely. Then we placed him in a busy pub, and we watched him like a hawk. So many woman swarmed around him, I wanted to get out the fly swatter, and I couldn’t tell who was Metzli. I watched Thomas’s eyes, they speak volumes. The second a brunette whispered in his ear, he winked. We followed them from a distance. The hired meat package was paid extra to wait. I waited on the other side of the road, where the real Thomas had to emerge from. Then I was out of there. Well not far, just to my car. I didn’t want to think, at all. They walked into the room. I ran to the other side of the building. Shit this is taking too long. The room only had a lamp burning. I could see their silhouette’s. Too close.214Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoj9YDaJcQR
