War of the Damned

By Todd Hanley

After defeating the Devil’s hitmen, The Sons of Darkness, Tom is resolved to hunting down their last surviving member. The vile demon known as Pestilence fled after witnessing the fall of his brothers and has run north, thinking the harsh conditions of the arctic wastelands will hide him. He is wrong. Tom is not so easily deterred and, although still recovering from the last battle, will let nothing stand in the way of his quarry. In Tom’s mind, this is his last task, and then he can return to a normal life.
While Tom is away, The Sons of Light arrive in Pine Springs. Who are they and what do they want? They claim to be allies, but Tom’s wife, Nichole, is not so sure. It is obvious that their strange and enigmatic leader wants something, but he is keeping his plans to himself.
Meanwhile, deep in the Mexican jungle, the Bore – the legendary portal between Hell and Earth - is close to being breached, and the Devil intends to have his freedom. Tom’s mistake was leaving the Bore intact, and soon he will come to bitterly regret it. The Devil’s minions rush to free their master, but as they desperately search for a way to open the gateway between worlds, a new dark power arises. One that is strong enough to challenge the Devil for dominion of the planet. Regardless of who wins, it is mankind that will suffer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Castle Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Mar 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781951642471

Todd Hanley

Todd Hanley is the author of the beautifully black novel, Sons of Darkness and an award winning poet. Having extensively traveled the globe he draws on his real life experience of the Middle East, Africa and other conflict hotspots to portray the beastly nature of the human psyche.Over the course of his life Todd has had a dazzling array of occupations most notably being a decorated war veteran. Now, having earned a BSc honours degree he works as an instructor teaching aeronautical engineering whilst also carrying out volunteer work for a local magazine.In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, extreme sports, motorcycling and a passion for horror fiction. He is married with one son and although born in the North West of England he resides in the Midlands.He is currently working on the sequel to his debut novel.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Walking the jungle path from the accommodation site to the Bore temple, Finn felt anxious; it was a strange feeling for him. As a high-ranking member of The Order, there was very little in the world he feared. He had personally been responsible for some of the most prolific atrocities in human history. If anything, it was the world that should be afraid of him.

Well, they would be afraid if they knew who he was. His success within The Order was mainly because he had managed to remain in the shadows. If he hadn’t been so good at covering his tracks, he would have been dead by now.

However, he had been summoned down to the Bore chamber, where a gateway to another reality waited for him. Hell was on the other side of that portal, and there were things that lurked in that obsidian darkness that he did fear, his master’s wrath chief amongst them.

The devil had a passion for causing torment and inflicting pain. He reveled in suffering and was unpredictable in its application. Through the Bore, Hell’s power seeped into the world, and Finn had seen things he hadn’t believed were possible.

Hell was a realm of unending chaos and suffering, the final stop for evil souls that departed this life. As Finn had found out, it was one thing to believe in the place—it was quite another to have glimpsed the reality.

Now, after all his dark deeds, Finn knew what awaited him in the afterlife, and he would do anything to avoid that fate. His only option as far as he could see was to never die. It had sounded impossible at first, but through his loyal service to The Order, he had the chance to become immortal. If he proved himself worthy, it was within the dark lord’s power to grant him unending life. For that prize, Finn would willingly follow any order, no matter how vile, as long as it saved him from the underworld.

A stray branch from the plants lining the jungle path snagged on his black clothing. Quietly and calmly, he untangled himself. Despite the flash of anger he felt at being held up, Finn managed to project an exterior mask of calm in case anyone was watching him. It just wouldn’t do if people saw him losing his shit. But on the inside, worry twisted his guts in knots.

Ahead of him lay the temple, and beneath that, the tunnel that led deep underground to the Bore chamber. Not everybody who went down that tunnel came back out. Hopefully, this summons wasn’t his turn to disappear.

He hadn’t disappointed the master lately, so it was more likely they had a task for him, but it wasn’t a certainty. With the devil, you could never tell if your time had come—failure wasn’t a necessary precursor to punishment. Sometimes the master killed just for the fun of it.

His men were also starting to worry. Finn had brought one hundred merciless killers with him, each one with a soul as dark as his own. Every one of them had pledged their soul to evil, and they were the best troops The Order had, but none of it had saved them.

Since seizing control of the Bore, they had lost over a quarter of their number. None of them had died fighting the enemy; every death had been an accident, or the men had simply disappeared.

He’d like to be able to say he was concerned about his losses, but deep down, he really didn’t care. There was only one reason he was here, and that was to please the devil. If he had to sacrifice every last one of his men to achieve the demon’s favor, then so be it. His only concern was that he might run out of men before he achieved immortality.

If he had any emotion about the losses, it was anger. He hated waste, and the deaths served no purpose. There might come a time when he would need those men to die for him on the battlefield, and the devil never considered how difficult it was to recruit replacements. A vicious cult of Satanists just couldn’t advertise openly, and he was picky about who worked for him. It took a specific skill set to be in The Order’s elite strike team.

How things had changed from when they had first landed in their helicopters. Initially, he had been elated that they had re-taken the site from the Catholics with such ease. He wanted to laugh at how he had marched in like a conquering hero. He’d expected to become the leader of The Order, correct the previous leader’s mistakes, and free the master from his prison, thereby achieving immortality. Easy.

He had been a fool.

All his hopes had been dashed when he found The Order’s leader, David McAllister, still alive, and now imbued with powers given to him directly from the dark lord. As soon as he found out The Order’s leader was still alive, Finn’s fantasies of glory evaporated, and he immediately shifted his efforts into survival and servitude. There was little chance to gain the rewards he sought as long as David lived.

In ordinary circumstances, he would be thinking about assassinating the leader and seizing power for himself. Nobody would have questioned the method—it was just the way The Order worked. This time Finn’s instincts told him that any move against David would be a fatal mistake. Instead, he would do what he had done countless times before—wait in the shadows and strike only when victory was assured.

How long that would be Finn didn’t know, but he suspected that his chance would present itself soon. Everything they had tried to free the master had failed, and the devil was not known for his patience. It wouldn’t be long before David was blamed for the lack of progress.

Something shifted in the undergrowth nearby, and he jumped. The noise brought him out of his plotting and dropped him back into the real world. Something was stalking him. It could even be the beast that had killed his men.

The Bore was located deep in the Mexican jungle, but the dark powers leaking out of the portal had warped the place. The once bright and vibrant wilderness had recently become dark and sinister. A permanent mist hung over the site during the day, and it only really relented after the sun had set. The thick jungle air was almost unbearably hot as the mist trapped the heat, and it constantly carried the scent of rot with it. The local wildlife had also been affected, the chattering birds, howling monkeys, and all the other creatures had been silenced. Now, an oppressive atmosphere surrounded the site, and it was only broken by the occasional blood-curdling scream. Some of those screams almost sounded human. Nobody knew exactly what was living in the undergrowth, but they all agreed that whatever it was, it wasn’t natural.

It wasn’t just the animals that had suffered; the common jungle plants had grown sickly and died too. The whole site now stank of their decay. In their place, several new species had started to appear. A lot of the new vegetation seemed to be fungal or parasitic in nature and clung to the trees. Some of them were even carnivorous; he had personally watched a plant slowly digest a rat that had foolishly strayed too close.

The grass was the worst, though. Only fools dared enter the long sporadic clumps that had sprouted up in the clearing that surrounded the temple. Nobody knew if there was a creature hiding in there or if the grass itself was dangerous, but everyone was staying clear of it.

There was so much that could kill you here, and the unwary died quickly.

Whatever it was in the undergrowth that had made him jump, it was moving closer. He couldn’t see the shape of anything moving through the thick shadows, but he could hear branches moving and the snap of twigs as it approached.

Finn moved to the opposite side of the path and drew his pistol, aiming towards the sounds. If something attacked, he was going to fight back. The sounds in front of him stopped, so all that he could hear now was his own rampaging heartbeat.

A strong smell of sulfur permeated the air, and he felt heat behind him. Too late Finn made to turn, but strong hands gripped his shoulders, forcing him to stay facing the same way. The creature that held him had created a diversion and then crept up behind him.

All thoughts of fighting left his head. His survival instincts were well developed, and he trusted them. Right then, they were telling him not to move, so he stood perfectly still and tried to calm down.

The hands on his shoulders were boiling hot, and as the creature’s head came close to Finn’s, it was like being near a furnace. All he could see of the creature that held him was the tips of its fingers on his shoulders. They were red, human-like, and tipped with black claws. Its breath on his neck was hot and smelled like a mixture of burning sulfur and rotting meat; it was atrocious. The heat coming off the thing was incredible, and it caused sweat to break out all over Finn’s body. Despite all this, the creature hadn’t harmed him, so he continued to remain still.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and started to slide down the side of his face as he waited. Slowly the creature stuck out its tongue and licked the side of his face, catching the drop. The black forked appendage was long and sinuous; it was coarse and made a grating noise as it slid up his face collecting the escaping moisture.

The creature snorted, and the encounter appeared to be over. The hands left his shoulders, and the creature disappeared back into the undergrowth. It took Finn a few moments to recover from the shock before he could turn around and look at what had been tasting him.

All he could see was a hunched man-shape disappearing into the darkness. Except for the deep red coloring and the huge horns sprouting from its head, it looked normal. Every now and then, it seemed to briefly glow weakly, but it was very faint, as though it didn’t have the power to light properly. Finn shuddered involuntarily at the encounter.

Then the creature was gone, and he was just glad to be alive. What the encounter was about he had no idea—abnormal things were happening every day, and he was starting to become accustomed to it.

Looking at his shoulders, he saw that the clothes were singed where the creature had put its hands. He made a mental note to tell the troops that they were to go everywhere in threes, and armed at all times. He didn’t mind sacrificing a few men, but he didn’t want them thought of as cattle. It was time that whatever was killing his men learned they could fight back.

Continuing on the path, it wasn’t long before he was out in the open and could see the Bore temple. The building’s angular, solid granite sides were in stark contrast with the rotting jungle and looked ominous. Ahead of him lay the tunnel that headed under the temple and down to the Bore. It was the worst part of the journey—he hated going underground.

***

Down in the dark Bore antechamber, Finn met the thing that had once been David McAllister.

Finn, you’re late, David spat.

I ran into some trouble on the path. I don’t suppose you know what’s lurking out there in the jungle, do you?

As a matter of fact, I do. Since we took control of the site, the master has been consolidating his power and calling all the dark creatures on this continent to him. When the time is right, we will wage the last war, and with the Sons of Darkness gone, there is no one left who can stand against us. You did well to survive the encounter, Finn—many others are not so lucky, David said, looking intently, almost curiously, at the handprints on Finn’s clothes. But we must go; it is not wise to keep the master waiting.

David never left the Bore chamber unless he was summoning someone the master wanted or relaying orders. What the man ate Finn didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know. David was as strange and unfathomable to him as the creature on the path had been.

The Order’s leader wore a filthy hooded robe that hid his features, but now and then, Finn caught glimpses at what resided beneath. His skin had changed and was a different color. Instead of his usual tone, it was a dark grey like a shark, and his face was distorted, probably to hide the extra teeth he now possessed. The man’s movements hinted at strength and speed. Finn knew David was trying to disguise his abilities, and the stoop the man maintained was an illusion. Finn was sure that David could tear him limb from limb with little trouble if he desired.

When they entered the Bore chamber, the golden eyes of the devil were floating in the dark swirling cloud that was the gateway between realities. David took a knee, and Finn followed suit.

Master, your servant Finn, as you requested, David intoned.

I have an important task for you, servant, the devil said calmly. The Bore is almost breached, but it is being held in place a by a soul that was joined to it in a ritual designed to bring the barrier down. Before I can pass over, the girl marked during that ceremony must be brought here and sacrificed to complete the ritual. Nothing must happen to her before she gets here, or this world will be denied to me forever.

Finn knew this story. David had almost completed the ritual to free the dark lord, but the Grail bearer had stepped in before it could be completed. Then the unexpected intruder had escaped with the girl.

This was an important mission. Without the girl, the devil would never cross over. If he succeeded in this task, it would elevate his status considerably.

What of the Grail bearer, Master? Finn asked.

He is of no importance. He doesn’t know how to control his gifts, and I am influencing things that will keep him busy while we search. It is the girl that is important. Look to the north, and you will find her. Go now, and let nothing stand in your way.

David gripped his arm, and both of them backed out of the chamber.

The Order and all creatures of the dark are at your disposal, Finn, David said before releasing him. You will have whatever you need, just make sure you get the girl and bring her back alive. Whatever you do, don’t fail…you would find the consequences most unpleasant.

David then gave him all the information they had on the girl’s last known whereabouts.

***

Once back on the surface, Finn was thinking furiously. He would have to put the word out on The Order’s network. They were looking for a Mexican girl and a South African man, and according to the last report the master had received, they had been seen in the desert of New Mexico. That had been a while ago, so they could be anywhere by now.

Finn dialed a number; he needed help with this task, and he knew exactly who to speak to. There was a rising star in Las Vegas whose advancement through The Order’s ranks had been meteoric. He hadn’t been an Order member long, but he was already the head man in Nevada. It was said that the man was so successful because he was ruthless and that his appetites were voracious.

Get me Steve Collimore. Yes, that’s right, the Fat Man, he said when a minion on the other end of the phone answered.

Chapter 2

Pestilence fled, his long black coat flapping madly behind him as he waded his way through the drifting snow. In his human form, the going was difficult, but he didn’t want to attract attention to himself. It was unlikely anyone would see him, but the risk of being spotted wasn’t worth it.

Howling, icy winds buffeted him relentlessly as he pressed on, but he hardly even noticed. Weather that could kill a man was little more than a mild distraction to a creature such as him.

He was immortal, a harbinger of doom, and one of the legendary riders of the Apocalypse. Nothing could kill him…well, almost nothing. The Sons of Darkness had never even regarded the Grail bearer as a credible threat. It was a mistake that had cost them dearly. Two of his brothers were dead, and to save his own skin, he was left with little option other than to flee north across this frozen wasteland.

The ice stretched away as far as the eye could see in every direction. It covered everything, and there was no discernible path to follow. He truly was lost and alone.

This is not how things are supposed to be, he thought to himself. Everything had seemed so easy when War had led them into this world. By forsaking their oaths and making a deal with the devil, it had seemed that they were changing their destinies for the better. The world should have then been theirs for the taking; nobody should have been able to stand against their combined strength. How wrong they had been.

This was all the devil’s fault. He had deceived them, but even that shouldn’t have been a surprise. They should have expected his tricks—it was the devil’s nature to lie and cheat. They should know that better than anyone.

They were there when Lucifer was cast out and sentenced to eternity in Hell. It had been an honor when they were appointed as his jailers, but they soon came to realize what that duty entailed. Although they were not damned like the other inhabitants of Hell, they still had to reside there.

In Hell, the constant warfare and petty squabbles never ended, and as the millennia had rolled by, his brothers had yearned for freedom. They welcomed the Apocalypse and the final battle that would end their obligations. They didn’t care if they won or lost as long as they were free of the duty.

Although he too strived to be free, Lucifer had a problem. Even if he found a way to breach the barrier between worlds, he could not leave, not without the riders of the Apocalypse at his back. If he did escape, the riders would have finished him.

The situation had resulted in an eternal stalemate—the riders could not escape Hell, and the devil dared not do so.

After an eternity of warfare, his brothers just couldn’t stand it anymore, and when the lord of lies came to them with an offer of a truce, they couldn’t refuse. The devil offered to transport them into the world of man, where they would be free. For their part, they had to bind themselves to the devil’s will. If the devil issued an order, it would have been impossible for them to disobey. The deal only applied while the devil was in his prison. If he ever crossed over, they would be free of his control.

They had agreed, and after changing their name to the Sons of Darkness, they planned to rule or kill as they saw fit rather than just be God’s final solution for the devil’s escape. As it went, their plan almost succeeded, but then they ran into a foe they could not beat or bargain with. Unbelievably, their nemesis was one of the mortal grubs that infested the earth. The man who had successfully prevented them from fulfilling their destiny was armed with the Grail, a weapon of unimaginable power. The man—Tom—had faced the Sons in battle and won. Their own pride and ignorance had been their undoing.

Foolishly, his brothers had believed that they were as good as gods themselves. No creature that dared to face them in combat had ever lived to tell anyone about it. Not that their reputation stopped the glory hunters from trying to challenge them.

There was a constant stream of chumps trying to fight them, thinking they could win. It was their last mistake. Facing the Sons in battle was as good as suicide. The Sons had earned their fearsome reputation, paying for it with the blood of the vanquished.

Unfortunately, their success had also been their weakness. Countless victories had made them believe that they couldn’t be beaten. They soon learned that it was the mighty who fell hardest. When the Grail bearer dispatched his brothers, everyone saw that the Sons of Darkness were not as invincible as the legends portrayed them to be.

The power of the Grail had destroyed his brothers, utterly and completely. It seemed they had paid the price for their dereliction of duty, and there would be no rebirth, no afterlife in Heaven or Hell for them. They were simply gone forever.

Now, as the only surviving member, he was being hunted. Rather than suffer the same fate, he had decided to run. After all, what chance did he have if even War couldn’t best the Grail bearer in single combat?

As he ran, leaving the scene of defeat far behind him, he managed to convince himself that he had successfully escaped. That his pursuers wouldn’t be able to find him, and he would merge in with the humans. It was another foolish mistake.

Now, both the forces of light and dark wanted his head, and they would never stop looking for him. The light sought to end the danger he still posed to the world, and the damned wanted the kudos his death would bring them. He’d tried everything to throw off his hunters, but nothing deterred them. Even at the roof of the world on the outskirts of the Arctic mountain ranges, the Grail bearer was still coming after him.

Pestilence could sense the man closing in. Two of the devil’s lesser minions had already found him and tried to take his head. But even though he was injured and alone, he was no easy meat. He’d swatted the two vampires like flies and continued on his way, but this was only the beginning. Now that the demons could sense weakness, they would never stop chasing him.

It shouldn’t be like this, he thought to himself again. But despite his regrets, it was so clear to him now how the devil had tricked them. Begrudgingly he had to admit the scheme had been brilliant. The demon had successfully made the Grail bearer, and Sons fight each other whilst he concentrated on escape. Lucifer had set them one task—hunt down and kill the Grail bearer’s wife, and then they would be free of his influence. It had sounded so easy. What chance did a mortal stand against them?

The Sons should have been free after they completed their task, but now his brothers were gone, and victory was impossible.

To make things worse, the devil’s power had grown, as if to fill the vacuum, the Sons of Darkness had left behind. Sometimes he heard the lord of the damned whispering directly into his mind, taunting and threatening him, but also urging him north. The devil was relentless, sometimes waking him up in the dead of night, and he could do nothing to block the voice of the demon.

Death, his one remaining brother—who had not converted to become a Son of Darkness and therefore had escaped their fate—had also visited him, appearing as an ethereal specter. The visits provided no comfort. The ghost would occasionally ask him if he wanted to know how he was going to die. At other times his brother would silently float beside him, not saying a word, just watching and waiting. Between the two of them, his tormentors were slowly driving him mad.

Wading through another huge drift, he made a snap decision. If all his future held was a choice between running away in disgrace or eternal nothingness, he chose the void. It was time to stop fleeing like a coward and face whatever was coming. He would face his enemies without fear, just like the rider of the Apocalypse he used to be.

Through a lull in the storm, the clouds parted, and he saw the perfect ground for his last stand. He began heading towards the mountain as the Arctic storm resumed raging around him.

Suddenly, something far to the south tickled his senses; it brought a vicious smile to his face. This development was unexpected…it appeared he wasn’t finished after all.

***

Tom pulled his hood down as far as it would go, leaving only his goggles exposed to the elements. Since discovering his beard had frozen solid one day, he was being careful to cover up. Frostbite would kill any exposed flesh, and in these conditions, he could lose a toe or a finger before he even knew there was a problem. This was easily the worst weather he had ever experienced.

How far ahead is he now? He shouted to his companion above the howling wind.

Like I told you an hour ago, and the hour before that, he is close, and we are getting closer all the time. He must have stopped. Also, do yourself a favor—you don’t have to shout. I can read your thoughts, Sariel sent.

Tom only grunted. He didn’t like her in his mind. Thankfully he had discovered he could block her mental intrusions anytime he wanted. Looking down, he felt a pang of sympathy for his four-legged companion. She had nothing but her fur to protect her from the elements, and her coat had become clogged with so much ice she was completely white. Despite the hardships, she never complained; the temperature didn’t seem to bother her at all. It bothered him.

The attack on Pine Springs had left him near death, and the extreme conditions were affecting him badly. He could feel the ice deep in his bones, and it made them ache fiercely. He still wasn’t fully recovered from the last fight, but time was not a luxury he had. As soon as he felt fit enough, the two of them had left Pine Springs and set off after Pestilence. Maybe it had been too soon—maybe he should have rested more—but it was too late for regrets. He was committed to finishing what he had started.

When they stopped each night, he was left exhausted and aching, but it would be worth it in the end. He couldn’t let that beast roam the world killing with impunity. He was the only one who could stop Pestilence, so like it or not, there was no choice but to follow wherever the creature led them.

Besides, the Sons had made this personal, and he wanted payback. Their war had nearly cost him everything, but this was his last task. Once Pestilence was dead, he was out. He’d had enough of monsters and religion. They could fight their war, but he wanted no part of it. He just wanted his life back.

They had been tracking their prey for weeks over all kinds of terrain. They had made quick gains on Pestilence in the beginning by using a snowmobile to follow his trail. But to Sariel’s glee (she hated riding), the conditions and terrain became too much, even for the hardy cross country machine.

After days of scrabbling over loose rock and skirting around seemingly bottomless ice chasms, he was starting to doubt Sariel’s ability to track. There hadn’t been any physical signs of the creature’s passing that he could see. He had been on the verge of giving up and going home, but then they found the two corpses, and his doubts evaporated.

There were two bodies, both of them men. They looked ordinary enough, except that their hands were tipped with wicked claws, and their heads had been removed. They were dressed in gear that was totally inappropriate for the conditions, but other than that, they were unremarkable.

Crouching down, he examined the bodies more closely. What are they? he asked.

Possessed mortals. You would call them vampires.

No way! These things are real? He said with wonder.

You’ve looked the devil in the eye and faced the Sons of Darkness in combat, but you’re impressed by these common demons? She tilted her head with genuine puzzlement.

It’s just that these guys are so famous, he said, standing up and flipping the corpse with his boot. I thought they were just stories.

You’re going to find that a lot of the world’s truths are buried in stories and myths. The devil discovered that mankind would oppose him whenever he openly revealed himself, so now he conducts a secret war.

That’s not why we’re here, Sariel; I’ve saved the world once already. Pestilence dies, then I’m done. Battling evil is your hobby. We both know the devil can’t escape Hell, so there is no need for me to carry the Grail anymore, he said, reaching back and touching the sword’s