Hellborne E-Book

Matthew W. Harrill

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Follow your instinct.

Eva is pregnant, her friends are safe and she is at peace with the world. But outside her bubble, things have not stood still.

There are those who witnessed the terrifying events. Those who saw the woman standing atop the mountain. Those who didn't stop asking questions.

They are out there, and they are after her. Once again, Eva is forced to deal with ARC: unyielding, unwavering, and dead set on a goal only they truly perceive.

In a battle against time to find answers and safe haven, how far is she willing to go?

Leseprobe

HELLBORNE

THE ARC CHRONICLES BOOK 2

MATTHEW W. HARRILL

CONTENTS

The Arc Chronicles

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Epilogue

Next in the Series

About the Author

Copyright (C) 2015 Matthew W. Harrill

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2022 by Next Chapter

Published 2022 by Next Chapter

Cover art by Yocla Designs

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

First Printing & Edition, 2015

For my mum and dad, for all they have done, and for April Vine, because everybody needs an erotic author for a friend!

THE ARC CHRONICLES

Hellbounce, Book 1

Hellborne, Book 2

Hellbeast, Book 3

PROLOGUE

The mechanical whine of planes, in the distant darkness as they taxied about Birmingham airport, mixed with the smell of jet fuel leant an eerie and somehow metallic aspect to the skeleton of what had once been a stronghold for humanity: The ARC hangar and base of operations in the Southern United States. They did not know it, but mankind relied on this shadowy organization. Not only to protect them from his kind, but also to keep the secrets buried, the masses ignorant of what existed beneath their feet, beyond the limits of their tiny minds. If they could comprehend the horrors spawning from their mere existence, they would wish they had never been born.

Asmodeus considered this as he stewed in frustration over the events of recent months. The plan had been ambitious, and never subtle, not by his standards. He had hoped it would end with the portal, meaning he could get back home and save what remained of his caste. No doubt, the others would have decimated his numbers in his absence. Abaddon, Mammon, Lucifer, Leviathan. All had the advantage while he worked to save them, but he had no illusions that the first thing they would do when they arrived would be to end him.

He took a moment to observe the figure at his side. One of his most bitter rivals, Belphegor had become his only ally in a world cut off from all they knew. When Satan had descended from Heaven, their alliance had endured beyond ages. Now it threatened to leave him alone, isolated.

In response to his gaze, Belphegor shivered, clutching with her one good arm at the other, almost completely frozen. She received the wound ignorantly making contact with one of the Nameless, the force Satan had kept in check over the millennia. Now, the wound threatened to destroy her if they could not return to their own realm in time. Even in the dark, her long blonde hair shimmered. To the mortals of this realm she was a beauty, a facet perpetuated by Asmodeus to instil lust in the easily influenced. To demonkind, she was a force to be feared: remorseless, calculating, and utterly without mercy. Asmodeus hoped she would become so again.

“Can we get on with this?” Belphegor’s hiss came through teeth clenched in a grimace to prevent chattering.

“Hold out your arm,” Asmodeus instructed.

Unclasping her frozen limb, Belphegor reached out with her good right arm. Carefully, Asmodeus folded the sleeve of her blouse back. Smiling, he avoided the steely-eyed gaze that reminded him above all, Belphegor admired fashion. Even in her dilapidated state, woe unto the being, mortal or otherwise, who ruined her favorite garment.

Since the collapse of the portals, inclement weather had ravaged the entire state of Alabama. From within the trench coat he had favored since then he produced a knife. About a foot in length, from tip to hilt, the blade glittered as it caught the light in the near-darkness. The knife was legendary.

Belphegor stepped away. “The Well of Souls,” she said in part reverence, part horror.

Asmodeus laughed. “You need not fear for your existence my dear. The blade is corrupt. Iuvart saw to that in his lust for advancement, for which, I suspect, we have you to thank. There is nothing left on this mortal plane for us to fear. Not now the blade is stained with her blood.”

Asmodeus turned the dagger, regarding it. There were dark stains amidst the conchoidal perfection of the blade. Dried blood. Her blood. “The only act the blade is good for on this side of the void is the very act they sought to prevent.”

Trembling, Belphegor stretched her arm out. “You have a faith I am rapidly losing.”

Saying no more, Asmodeus ran the razor-sharp edge of the blade along the inside of her forearm. Raising the knife, he regarded it for a moment before running it across his right palm.

“The blood of the most unholy, mixed with that of the sacrifice on the blade of the Well calls forth at will, not by chance,” he intoned. “Return to us, born anew.”

Asmodeus touched the dagger to the tarmac of the runway, a place still bearing the scars of a violent explosion. There was a brief flash, and a body materialized in mid-air, dropping to the ground with a thud. Asmodeus felt a rush of power through his body, filling him with ecstasy. By the look on her face, the same had happened to Belphegor.

“Like it?”

The answering look of lust on her face had nothing to do with his demonic force. “I feel stronger.”

“And so you shall. For each of Hell’s minions returning, with your life used on the blade, you shall grow stronger. As I said before, there is nothing here for our kind to fear.”

Belphegor gazed down to the body lying inert at their feet. “I want another.”

“All in good time. There are many places we can raise you an army. We have a long road before us, though the destination is known. This is the first of a new breed. He has been called at will, by our blood and by that of the sacrifice. They may come as before now the way is open, but those we choose are ours without question.”

Asmodeus drew his right foot back and kicked the body square in the ribs, causing the man to emit a groan. “You. Up.”

Drawing deep breaths, the man stood. He was taller than both of them by a good six inches, with a barrel chest wrapped in a plaid shirt. Denim clung to legs under the swelling of his growing gut. He clenched his fists and glared at Asmodeus, his shoulders heaving. Teeth gnashed and his face began to distend, the proportions inhuman in nature.

“Enough,” Asmodeus decided, and waved his hand. “You will only revert to your true form if and when I decide it, and not a moment sooner.”

At the command, the man subsided, his face returning to normal. “Where am I?”

“You are at the place of your death, the site of your ascension, and rebirth. You have been brought back to serve us, and you shall do so with every fiber of your being.”

The man clenched his fists. “I feel strong. I feel really strong. It worked as Lord Iuvart predicted.” He raised his hands, punching the air, and roaring into the darkness. Then he paused and looked around. “The explosion. The plane. How long?”

“Five, maybe six months. What else do you feel?”

He closed his eyes, and pointed east. “There. I feel something tugging at me. What is it?”

“It works,” Belphegor breathed in wonder.

Asmodeus could not suppress a satisfied smile. “It's a homing beacon of sorts. You are feeling the blood kindred to those the dagger’s blade resurrected.”

He stared at first Belphegor and then at Asmodeus. “I can feel you as well.”

“There is more: you will feel when we call you, guide you. The first of a new breed you are; an army of demons meant to open the true gates of Hell.”

“What do I do now?”

“You follow your instinct,” Belphegor purred. “That other pulling, the insistent calling, it will lead you to your former wife and her lover. You should know she is with child. His child. We want you to hunt them down. Them, and all those with them.”

Brian Ross rubbed his hands together, his eyes betraying the element of insanity dwelling deep within any demon constrained in mortal form.

“Perfect.”

CHAPTERONE

Eva Scott winced as Madden led her around the dance floor of the small inn doubling as the town hall for the residents of Unnaryd, in southern Sweden. A crowd of relative strangers cheered on in approval while a local elder played his nyckelharpa with gusto. Eva had asked for a traditional Swedish wedding and she had gotten it.

Madden leaned in, concerned. She smiled to indicate she was fine. Having him this close, Eva marvelled at the fact he was her husband. He was nothing less than dashing, dressed in a white tuxedo, with his long brown hair tied back. He was so tall she had to crane her neck to see his face. He was her personal hero. That he had been reborn not once but twice was an afterthought. Forgetting herself, she winced once more.

“The baby?”

Eva let her hand drop to her middle. The borrowed dress had been adjusted to cope with her swollen middle. It was unheard of in the village for anyone to be pregnant before the wedding, but these were special circumstances for a unique couple. The baby kicked her hand away in response to the motherly inquiry.

“No, she is fine. It’s these damned coins they made me wear in my shoes. It's the smell of the food. It's all making me nauseous, but I'll survive.”

Madden chuckled. “Well, you did ask for tradition. The gold and silver coins in shoes are a traditional wealth blessing.”

“Invented no doubt by a torture merchant.”

Madden twirled her slowly with hands still bandaged and slightly clawed from his ordeal on the mountain in Afghanistan now widely known as ‘Mount Gehenna’, after the biblical destination for those who were wicked. It had certainly earned its reputation with what had been dubbed 'The demon incursion' by all at Anges de la Résurrection des Chevaliers, or ARC.

Eva still woke up sweating many nights, the flames and boundless hordes of Hell's legions almost within touching distance, the demon Behemoth rising above her. She had crossed countries, endured numerous attempts on her life to find Madden, and ultimately they had witnessed the failure of their enemy by a miscalculation that cost them their victory. The demon in Madden had been ripped from within, he had been slow to recover, but recover he had, and now they belonged to each other.

Eva caught the eye of Swanson Guyomard as she completed a slow twirl, and invited him onto the floor. The descendant of the ARC founder, Jerome, and current council member grinned and stepped closer to them.

“If I may interrupt, I believe your wife wants to cut the rug with a fellow who can actually dance.”

Madden laughed and handed her over. The tune changed and others joined them.

“You be careful, twinkle toes. She's delicate property. Besides, I will be in perfectly good hands.”

“Without doubt,” said his new dance partner as Swanson led Eva off in the opposite direction.

Dr Gila Ciranoush, ARC researcher and artifact expert of the Coptic Museum in Cairo, was an adept dancer. She would keep Madden safe. Eva trusted her with her life and certainly with her husband. Caught off guard by Swanson’s skill, she groaned once more.

“Are you unwell?”

Eva threw out a look of mock ferocity. “I am heavily pregnant with the child of a man who used to be part demon, I am wearing coins in my shoes, and I have sore feet. Go figure.”

Swanson laughed aloud. “Reap what you sew, tough lady. Suck it up!”

Eva couldn't help but smile. Since she could not contact her parents, he and Gila had acted as surrogate 'parents' for the coin-giving tradition.

All too quickly, the song ended to much cheering, bawdy comments in Swedish, and the raising of glasses containing what Eva had been told was a brand of local vodka. Eva threw her arms around Swanson's neck and hugged him as much as she was able. Leaving him to the tender mercies of one of the many beautiful young women who had seemingly materialized from the village for the party, Eva made her way to the table set for the wedding party.

Only one person sat there. Elaine Millet was Eva’s friend, confidante, and bodyguard. In this world so readily ruled by men, it was a rare woman who could become all three. With her long red hair and matching temper, she appeared severe, but had a wicked sense of humour and a face that lilluminated when she smiled; she was a joy to be around.

“Not dancing?” Eva asked, letting out a long sigh of satisfaction as she leaned back into the heavily cushioned chair which had been provided for her.

“Not my thing. Besides, I can’t take my focus away from you.”

Unassuming and practical described Elaine perfectly. A former member of the assault squad housed at Mount Gehenna known as Legion, Eva had found her and struck up a conversation as they were returning from the near-cataclysm above. With Madden unconscious, both Gila and Swanson otherwise occupied, she had been very much left alone. Legion had sworn, to a man, to defend her, but Eva had chosen to keep Elaine close. Madden had a burly redhead named Rick Larrion, who lounged across the room from them earning a stare of disapproval from Elaine, he had chosen as his bodyguard.

Madden approached, and instantly Elaine sat straighter, a smile touching the corners of her mouth. He spared a grin for Elaine, oblivious to the fact she had taken a shine to him.

“My parents are leaving. Want to come see them off?”

“I would love to,” she replied, holding her hand out and allowing him to help her stand.

“Coming, coppertop?” Madden added to Elaine, offering her his other hand.

“I don’t need your help standing up, thank you very much,” she replied, bristling at the comment.

Outside, it was a pleasant May afternoon. The sun was dipping behind a horizon of spruce and pine, the dark green of both creating the illusion of an impenetrable wall of green. There was a hint of a chill in the air, but Eva had Madden to keep her warm. Next to a range rover, an older but clearly active couple waited patiently. Christopher and Jana Scott were guests because they were ARC affiliates. They could be trusted to keep a secret, having been part of the organization for decades. They also worked for an American Senator.

Upon seeing her son, Jana let out a noise of pure delight and hugged them both. “Don’t you two look like a picture. The perfect couple, and what a place for it.”

“One could almost forget it’s a glorified safe house,” Christopher Scott said as he leaned on the car. “You kids stay safe.” He got into the back of the car and waited.

The hurt on Madden’s face was plain. “I understand,” he said to his mother.

“You are a good man, Madden.” Jana reached up to touch his face. “We are so very proud of you. Of you both. He just has difficulty sometimes accepting the truth.”

To Eva, she said, “I was the ARC agent. He came from the Government. Chris will listen, but he sees Madden as the embodiment of everything that should be unreal. You have a demon in you.”

“Had, Mother. Had.”

“Be that as it may, everything that has happened in the last year has overwhelmed him. Cathy's death was almost too much for him. It was a major step for him to come here and he only did so because you are his son, or rather, you were his son. It is too much for him to imagine his own flesh would die and come back in such a way. Eva, you look out for Madden. I have been in the organization far too long to give any credence to the idea this is over.”

With a kiss for her son, Jana Scott joined her husband and the Range Rover departed.

Madden stared after them, his face pale, his eyes wide.

Eva nudged him. “You coming back in, husband?”

Madden sighed. “No, I think I am going to walk for a while. Don't worry, I'll be back. Go on in. I don't want you catching a chill, not after all we have been through.

Madden wandered off, the stocky form of Rick Larrion detaching from the shadows of the hall to trail him.

“He should not have done that,” Elaine cautioned.

“I understand.”

“No, you don't,” Elaine replied with a mysterious smile. Let's get you back in and you will find out.”

In the hall, it very quickly became apparent to Eva that without Madden at her side, she was a target for all the local men. A line began to grow as more and more of them sought to give her a kiss. Rather than protect her, Elaine encouraged this with a smug smile. Eva began to panic as one elderly gentleman planted a kiss squarely on her lips and then began a lecture in Swedish, punctuated with many gesticulations. Not understanding a word of Swedish, Eva smiled graciously and nodded when she thought it was the right time.

As he shuffled off beyond the red and white banners draped about the tables, Eva looked at Elaine for an explanation.

“Don't ask me,” she shrugged. “My Swedish isn't much better than yours.”

“He said he admired your gusto in shouting louder than your husband during the ceremony, and he wishes he had a wife like you.” A small rotund woman with elaborately braided brown hair and a mischievous twinkle in her eye sat down beside them.

Eva beamed a smile, recalling the declaration of their vows, and how the partner with the loudest voice was considered dominant. “Rikke, there you are. Was there more to what he said?”

“That is all I want to translate for you, Mrs. Scott.” Rikke was nothing if not proper. “Still, your husband should re-join you before the next tradition of young men claiming an abandoned bride happens.”

Eva began to panic glancing around the room for signs of movement. Nothing. She looked back at her two companions, and Elaine began to tremble with suppressed mirth.

“You monsters,” she exclaimed, and both women burst out in peals of laughter.

“Were that true, my Eyvind would not have stood a chance.” Rikke added, after they’d had a chance to catch their breath.

The door opened and Madden strolled in, to cheers and the raising of tankards. He spoke something in Swedish, and received more of the same. Grinning, he sat down and joined them. Eva took his hand and held it in her own. She couldn’t remember ever being more at peace.

“So what did you say?”

Madden looked across at Rikke, who nodded in approval. “I asked the gents here if they had all managed to get enough of you. It seems you are very popular.”

“You could say so. Still, now you are here, I only have my eyes on one man. Would you ladies excuse us, please?”

A brief look passed Elaine’s face indicating she was less than pleased with this idea, but she rose from her chair. “Rikke, let us leave the lovebirds alone and see what trouble we can find for ourselves.”

When their companions had moved away and been pulled onto the dance floor, Eva pulled Madden closer for a kiss, causing yet more riotous cheering. Yet, what she had sought she had found. A hesitancy. The passion was there, but it was forced, as if for her benefit.

“What is it?”

Madden blinked, caught off guard. “I don't understand. What is what?”

Eva pointed at herself. “Psychologist. I can tell these things. Besides, I have this magical little bundle of joy telling me there's a problem.”

Madden balled his fist, thumping the table with repressed frustration. “Since Gehenna, since you saved me, I haven't felt right; it’s as if I am connected to something just out of sight. There is an absence, Eva, if I am brutally honest. I think despite all the trouble it brought, despite all done to save me, I miss the demon.”

“Do you regret how it has all turned out?”

“No, of course not. We are going to have a child. A beautiful child who, by all accounts, has something special going on already. Marrying you is the best thing I have ever done. It's just hard to adjust at times.”

“And yet it’s the reason we are here. We have the time to adapt to the world as it now is. You are unique. Not even Jesus was resurrected twice, and you are still here.”

Madden raised his glass. “A toast, to Janus, wherever he may be. May Hell spare him eternal torment.”

That was the crux of the matter. Madden was crippled and helpless while Janus had saved them, stabbing the demon Iuvart with the obsidian dagger before jumping through the portal to hell. It was a large cross for any man to bear, but they had all played their part.

“Eva?”

Her thoughts interrupted by the sound of his voice, she came back to the present. Madden was in front of her, glass still raised.

“To Janus. May he rest in peace.”

Eva raised her own glass in silent tribute and nodded. Janus Lohnes had saved her skin many times during the past year. She never truly understood him, but he was the one person missingshe would have had here. He was a guest of honour, absent or not.

Done with dancing, Swanson and Gila joined them. For two people so utterly different, they made a great team. Swanson, with his mousy blonde hair lounged, indolently in a seat, while Gila, wearing her usual black bob clipped up, missed nothing. Eva suspected this was by design.

“Is it really over?” Eva asked the select group around her.

“We have no reason to suspect otherwise,” answered Gila, trying to be sincere. “Events are moving on. They don't appear to be hunting you any more, though you pop up in the occasional interest article. Everybody is aware that monumental events threatened to overtake us, but we are still here, and people are quick to forget. ARC has a good handle on the funnelling of information to the public.”

“And what of you two?” Madden asked. “Do you go back to the same jobs?”

“There have been opportunities,” Swanson admitted. “As you know, the Coptic community was heavily involved in the recent insurgency. A new Pope has been elected. They wanted me to stand.”

Madden grinned. “Pope Swanson. Well, wouldn't the appointment have been nice.”

“There’s more. There is a great amount of interest in promoting Gila to the Council of Twelve. We shall see how that pans out.”

The conversation continued, and Eva let her mind wander, comforted by the presence of those closest to her. She looked out of a nearby window, enjoying the sight of a healthy forest. But something was wrong. The sky darkened. A flock of starlings burst from the trees. Everybody around her was oblivious to this fact. Eva pointed, but they ignored her and carried on talking, the sound of their voices blurred and indistinct.

Outside, the darkened sky had become a deep, angry shade of red. Eva stood and walked to the window. The sky had begun to swirl, collapsing in on itself not fifty yards down the road from the hall. Cars left furrows in the dirt, as a force stronger than gravity sucked at them, pulling them in. The swirling became a vortex, a yawning maw screaming her name as it devoured everything it touched. The reek of carrion assaulted her nostrils, and the vortex flexed.

A titanic presence loomed on the other side of the hole in space. It exuded menace, directed solely at her. Even though the vortex was too small, it tried to shove its way through, roaring with unbridled rage. Eyes blacker than night beheld her. Fangs longer than she was tall gnashed from beneath snarling lips.

It roared, and she flinched. Hulking shoulders forced their way through into her reality, and it bellowed one word.

“EVA!”

CHAPTERTWO

Eva screamed and everybody in the room went silent.

In an instant, Madden was peering into her eyes. “Eva, what is it? What did you see?”

Beyond words, unsure of whether the vision had been real, but still smelling the stench of decayed flesh, Eva pointed at the window.

“There’s something out there,” warned Swanson, following her gaze.

Before anybody could stop him, Madden leapt to his feet, the force of his movement whipping the air past Eva’s face. Gila tried to shout a warning, but Madden was out the door and outside the window in moments. He appeared in the distance, as if chasing something or someone, but then stopped and turned back. Approaching the window, he shrugged and mouthed the word ‘Nothing’.

“So two of you saw something out there?” Madden asked when he re-entered the hall. He knelt next to Eva, holding her hand.

“There was somebody out there, peering in from the side, when I heard Eva scream,” Swanson stated. “I stake my reputation on it. Eva, what did you see?”

Sure now she was safe, Eva said, “Death. Fire. The end of this place. I saw the Behemoth. It hungers for me.”

By the sudden increase in pulse, and the sweat on his hand, Eva knew he was incensed. Madden turned his rage on Swanson.

“You said we would be safe here! You said this was over!”

“Who knows what drove Eva to see what she did,” Swanson countered. “I saw something, too. What it was, I cannot say. I thought it was a man.”

Eva felt suddenly drained, and halted the argument before it became any more heated. “Madden, today has been the best day of my life, but I’m exhausted. Can we go home?”

He squeezed her hand in response. “Of course, we can.”

That night Eva's dreams were haunted by the recent past. Iuvart, Behemoth, Brian. Other nameless faces and shapeless forms. All sought her. Portals sprang open and nightmares erupted from them, beings of twisted flesh screamed obscenities at her. Gibbous, drooling creatures with leather wings stretched impossibly thin over deformed skeletal protrusions hungered for her. Only one thing kept them from her. Her unborn child was a beacon of hope and, in times gone by, her most ardent protector. Somehow, the child within held them at bay.

In time, she woke, gasping for air and sweating profusely. Laying her arms around her middle she hugged her bump, aware that as was his preference lately, Madden would be up already.

“Thank you,” she said to it, sure in the belief her gratitude was received.

Resting for a moment, Eva wondered what Madden was doing, until she heard two axes chopping wood outside.

She groaned as she stood, throwing her hands out to the wall to steady herself before making her way to the window. Throwing it open, she breathed in the chill of the early morning air, scented heavily with pine. Having adapted to many Nordic customs, she accepted the cold air was good for mother and baby alike. The two-toned call of a cuckoo echoed through the forest. Mornings were always her favorite time. The day was still so innocent.

Outside Madden and Eyvind were trading blows as they assaulted a pile of wood. Eyvind Moltke was an accountant by trade, but owned and ran the house with Rikke, hiding, by his own admission, persons of significant ARC interest. He was a heavy set man with dark, curly hair threatening to reach down his back. He wore a jacket unlike Madden who had stripped bare to the waist, covered in sweat, and glistening in the early morning.

Intense physical exercise had been a large part of his recuperation, and the way the muscles of his shoulders bunched under his skin, Eva could see the benefits of the therapy. He glanced up and waved, resuming his attack on the woodpile shortly thereafter.

Not wanting to distract him anymore, Eva washed and dressed, making her way down to the kitchen. Scents of breakfast assailed her as she opened the door. Toast, bacon, and the sweet scent of honey made her realize how truly famished she was.

Sitting at the table near the bay window offered a fantastic view of the road and forest beyond. She smiled at Gila who had a mouth full of honeyed oatmeal. The house was large enough that Eva and Madden shared it with both Eyvind and Rikke, as well as Swanson and Gila. In an instant, Rikke had poured her a large steaming mug of decaffeinated coffee and placed a large plate piled with toast and bacon under her nose. The combined smell of the two was enough to make her ignore her first sip of coffee.

Nodding thanks, Eva eyed the food, slathering butter all over the toast and placing a healthy amount of bacon between two slices.

“Bacon isn't the best food to be eating in such a quantity this late in your pregnancy,” Gila warned.

Eva tilted her head to one side, seeking inward for any sign of warning. There was none.

“Baby says it is fine,” she countered.

Gila shrugged. The answer was good enough for her.

In the preceding months, what could only be described as a force had protected Eva any number of times. It came from within, and grew stronger as the pregnancy advanced. Eva had been forced to reassess the limits of reality since meeting her current companions. Demons should not exist, yet they did. Her reasoning stretched now to include the idea that if evil existed then so did good. In short, Eva concluded she had found faith. What good that did her she had yet to determine.

Eva made short work of the food, and relaxed with the coffee.

“Feel better?” Gila moved to an adjacent seat so they could chat without shouting. The large whitewashed kitchen had a wood burning stove that crackled and spat as pine logs too full of resin burned down, enhancing the scent of the trees outside.

“I do, now,” Eva admitted. “Not a good night's sleep. Being awake and exhausted is the easy option lately.”

“You went through a hell of an ordeal, Eva.”

“Yeah, literally,” Eva agreed and the two women laughed. “Madden is right, though. There is something missing since the portal closed. He is the same man on the surface, yet there is an indefinable absence to him.”

“You are aware of what defined Madden, and you saw part of that ripped away. He might still be that same man, but you have to seek those parts of him and bring them to the surface. He has a wife and soon, a child to protect. He just needs to remember that.”

“He remembers that all too well,” Madden said from the doorway. “But there is more to it than that. Eva is the qualified professional. With what do I protect my wife and unborn child beyond my irascible nature and a skill set unique to a demon that no longer exists? Where do we go now if not at the whim and difference of ARC? We may as well be prisoners for all that our cell is rustic and surrounded by forest. I'm gonna take a shower.”

Not giving Eva a chance to placate him, Madden crossed the kitchen, slamming the door behind him. Eva winced at the noise.

“You need to make him see, Eva. Go after him. Do not let this fester.” Gila's stare was deadly serious.

“What if he just doesn't want to?”

“Then all you fought for on that mountain is lost.”

Perplexed at what she was supposed to do to convince Madden that there was more to life than being a reborn demon, Eva crept hesitantly up the stairs. The ancient carpet, worn and, in places, entirely bare, mixed with the scents of the aged pine beams to create an aroma straight from antiquity. The wooden steps creaked under foot, reminding Eva, if she needed such reminders, of her delicate condition. As she topped the stairs, the sound of water rushing from the showerhead indicated Madden was already in. She decided to wait for him to come to the bedroom.

Reaching for the handle, a noise gave Eva cause to wait. As quietly as she could, she put her ear to the door. Two people were talking. The words were indistinct, but Eva managed to pick out the words ‘born’ and ‘master’.

She threw the door open to find Elaine rising up from the bed Eva shared with Madden.

“Elaine, what are you doing?”

Stone-faced, Elaine answered, “Tidying up after you; someone has to clear up this mess.”

Eva peered into the room. It was spotless, exactly as it had been when she had left it not a half hour before.

“Who were you talking to? I heard voices.”

“Don’t you ever talk to yourself?” Came Elaine’s more than defensive reply. “People seldom make sense. Sometimes it’s the only way to get a decent answer, especially when nobody listens to you.”

Elaine shouldered past, stomping down the stairs and muttering to herself.

Eva watched for a moment, bemused, and then turned back to the bedroom. Examining the bed, she found there was a clear impression of a body stretched out on the side Madden usually slept. Furthermore, there were impressions of a second person on her side.

The door creaked, and Eva jumped, her hands going to her belly in reflex.

Madden peered in. “Sorry, love, didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s not you. Elaine was in here, apparently talking to herself.”

Eva described the brief encounter while Madden stood in the doorway, a towel wrapped round his waist.

“Interesting,” he concluded. “Has she ever done this before?”

“Not in all the time I have known her.” Eva realized that purely by chance, she had stumbled on exactly the sort of cause that would make her husband forget his woes: a mystery.

“I will keep an eye on her and ask Rick to do the same. Maybe we can have Swanson dig a bit deeper.”

“Be careful. It is probably nothing. God knows we have all had cause to become a bit unhinged in the past year. She’s probably innocent. Everyone goes a bit mad at times.”

Madden chuckled, and gently hugged her. The warmth in his bare muscles comforted her as never before. “I’ll be down in a minute. Go have some more breakfast. You aren’t eating enough.” He swatted her rear and closed the door behind her.

Back in the kitchen, breakfast had become a crowded affair. Eyvind had joined his wife, and Swanson had appeared. They were crowded around the table. There was no sign of either Rick or Elaine.

“They are taking point outside,” Swanson said when he caught Eva’s eye. The look on his face said as plain as day he was aware something was up.

Eva smiled at Gila as she entered, and nodded. Resuming her place, she helped herself to another dose of bacon and thick, toasted bread.

Soon, Madden joined them and did the same.

“Better?” Swanson asked.

Madden shrugged. “It comes and goes. I have good moments and bad moments. I don’t foresee any change.”

“Well, let me put your mind hopefully at ease,” Swanson offered. “Given your importance in the events recently played out, you can consider yourselves operatives of ARC, with all the benefits therein granted. You are unlikely to want for anything ever again since you basically saved this planet and every living soul on it. Once the media frenzy quietens down, we can discuss where we go from there.”

“How much are you talking? Salary-wise?” Madden asked, earning a smack on the arm from Eva.

Swanson laughed. “Madden, the ARC budget is almost without limit. As such, we don’t tend to think in terms of financial gain. Ask and it is yours, within reason, of course before you decide on a rocket car and solid gold house.”

“What about jobs?” Eva asked. “Could I, for example, resume practicing psychology?”

“There is no reason to presume otherwise. ARC has facilities all over the planet. Our organization is split between the theological and the scientific. We have portal research, green energy, research, logistics, media, security, and global defense. You name it; we have it under our umbrella. Believe me; you two will be in great demand. I might recommend you not going back to Worcester though. There are more issues there than the consequences of a few escaped demons.”

Eva shuddered at the thought of the detective who would not believe her, and of Brian, under the influence of gluttony, tearing a small child apart.

“What do you do? We never really covered that in all our time together. I thought you were just some on-call hero type.”

Swanson took a sip of his coffee. “For my sins, I am the ARC council member in charge of defense and tactics. My responsibilities include frontline threat response, portal monitoring, and of course now Legion, your own private army.”

“And do all of your family sit on this council?” Madden asked, a touch of cynicism in his voice.”

“Only my uncle, Daniel. He heads up Security and Global Response. On occasion, other members of my family have been involved, but only on merit. Obviously, Jerome founded ARC, and many of the council of twelve are descended from the original members.”

“So why are you out here and not wherever your council is?” Madden continued.

“We have seven sitting members of the council so as to always ensure a vote. The remaining five are non-sitting and while they have to travel to the headquarters every so often, they can effect better change elsewhere.”

“Such as your work in Cairo,” Eva provided.

“Exactly,” Swanson replied, his face animated.”

Eva glanced around the table. Everybody had stopped eating to listen.

“Thanks to your recent involvement, we now have a much more complete record of portals to Hell and where they open. It seems across the world, portals began to spring into life at the anticipation of the scroll being completely accessed. Of course it was not, yet we have records of all, and footage of many. Some in the strangest of places. One opened up right over the Grand Canyon, if you can believe it. Lightning was hitting the ground all over the place. We have energy signatures the likes of which we have never before seen.”

“Do you think this is what happened last time?” Eva asked.

“Maybe,” replied Gila, “although mankind was not as prolific back in those days, and, as such, the detail was sketchy. Some wall art, ancient hieroglyphic passages that have been deciphered hint at a cataclysmic event in the ancient past. There are a few drawings too faint to make any meaning of. Mostly word of mouth carried the tale through the ages. But there is one source we now know to be irrefutable.”

“The book of Revelations.” Madden confirmed.

“Exactly,” Gila said in triumph. “The scroll of judgment is real. The tale is real. These beings exist and now the whole world has seen it. You have seen it up close.”

“Whether they choose to believe it is another matter entirely.” Swanson added as he spread butter on yet more toast. He waved his knife in Eva's direction. “You, my dear, might well end up the focal point for a new religion.”

“Great,” Madden said in a sullen tone. “I get to become Joseph to your Mary.”

“What you get to do, Mr. Madden Scott, is spend every waking moment on this earth at my side,” Eva replied, and pointed at her belly. “With us, your family. What more could you want from your second stint, third even, on this earth?”

Gila put her hand on Madden's arm. “All of our research indicates only one other had the chance you do, to live a second life on earth, and he only did it for a day.”

Madden stared in astonishment at Gila. “Are you saying Jesus was a hellbounce? That He rid himself of the demon?”

“Maybe He was the first hellbounce. Maybe he was the original.”

There was a twinkle in Gila's eye and Eva could see she was playing with him. Madden caught on eventually, and the table erupted in laughter. Madden took her hand to reassure her, but Eva could not help but think there was a deeper meaning to Gila's tale, as if her story was not yet complete.

CHAPTERTHREE

They remained in the cottage for a few weeks more, until in early May there arose the opportunity for a bit of exploration. Eva had grown increasingly restless as the latter stages of pregnancy began taking their toll. She was sitting on a bench in the sunshine one morning with Madden when Swanson drove up. He was in the battered old green Volvo truck he had been using during their exile.

“Morning kids, time for a field trip.”

“Oh?” As tired as Eva was, she was nonetheless intrigued.

“There's a market festival, the 'Vårtorg', today in the nearby village. It has to do with flowers and fishing, so a bit for everybody. I thought you might fancy a change of scene.”

“You bet,” Eva replied at once, excited. “Who is going?”

“Elaine and Rick have gone on ahead to check on security. You know by now this village is mostly ARC. Well, the same cannot be said of Unnaryd. Still, it’s remote out here. There shouldn’t be any problems.”

“And that’s usually when the trouble starts,” Madden added wryly. “When’s the proper transport coming along?”

In a matter of moments, they were aboard the truck, Madden opting for the open air and a bale of hay as comfort so Eva and Gila could sit inside. As spartan inside as it was out, the 1965 truck jogged along at a merry pace.

“I don’t understand,” Gila commented. “We have access to all manner of vehicles, most of which are far more comfortable than this, yet you insist on driving this pile of crap.”

“We are away from the technology,” Swanson replied, patting the steering wheel. “Sometimes, I crave simplicity, and this truck defines it. A rare chance indeed it is to embrace the past. You will both see there is much to be said for a traditional, rural life. These people don’t know the half of what is going on outside their village. This is the sort of existence we strive to protect.”

They were no more than ten minutes through the winding road of the forest, with fleeting glimpses of the cerulean water of the majestic Lake Unnen on their left.

“That looks enormous,” Eva breathed, when the trees disappeared momentarily.

“It is, indeed,” Swanson agreed. “The locals fish it with care, and they barely make a dent in the marine population.”

“What do they catch?” Madden asked through the open window behind them.

“Catfish, trout, eels mostly. You name it, they have probably worked out a way to farm it over the years. You will see a lot of their produce on show. It should be quite interesting.”

Eva felt her already-squashed stomach lurch as they hit a pothole. “You can keep your fish. I'll stay near something more fragrant.”

When they finally entered Unnaryd, Eva found herself surprised by what she saw.

“It's so pretty,” she said admiring the houses painted a cheerful combination of reds and yellows.”

“What did you expect?” Asked Madden.

“Some smelly little fishing village crowded up against the lake.”

“Really? I find it hard to imagine anything would be ugly in this beautiful country.”

Swanson parked the truck along what appeared to Eva to be the main street of Unnaryd, long and straight with a beautiful white church and more of the gorgeous houses in their riot of bright colors. It was made even more so by the clear blue skies above, the sunlight reflecting off the roofs, causing the buildings to glow. He led them toward the lake and into a field heaving with market stalls. Rick and Elaine waited to meet them, trying to look as inconspicuous as a mismatched couple in black combat gear could possibly look. The locals paid them no heed whatsoever.

“It is fine,” Elaine announced. “The only thing here to fear is the over smoked fish.”

“Well, there we have it,” Swanson decided. “Go, you two. Have a look around. Enjoy the scenery. We have lunch reserved in an hour or so at a local restaurant.”

Eva looked at Madden, who shrugged back, and they moved off.

The market was unlike anything Eva had ever seen. There were many traditional stalls, selling wooden trinkets and jewelery, but they paled into insignificance compared to the enormous displays put on by the flower sellers.

“Oh, look at this,” Eva gasped in admiration as they came upon a display full of tiny white flowers. “They are gorgeous.”

“Mayflowers,” provided Elaine, pointing at the small star-shaped flower poking out hesitantly from between two huge leaves.

“And these?” Eva trailed her hand down a stem where two flowers hung opposite each other. She leaned over to smell the delicate pink blossoms, and was rewarded with a sweet scent so intoxicating as to be addictive. Eva did not want to step away.

“The Swedish Twinflower, their national bloom.”

Eva turned to the woman behind the stall, a kindly old lady who had so many wrinkles in her sun-tanned skin, Eva suspected she had never spent a minute indoors.

“They are lovely, just the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.”