The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (24 page)
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Authors: Len du Randt
Blood!
‘Rebecca...?’ he
rasped, and as he tried to stand up, his leg buckled underneath him and he
crashed face-first into the muddy earth.
You should
have been dead by now.
Justin tried to
structure his thoughts.
Smashed into
a truck.
‘Rebecca...?’
I don’t know
how you managed to survive that, but I can promise you that you will not
survive this.
Justin used a
tree to pull himself up. He scanned the terrain. There was no sign of Rebecca
anywhere. He looked at the wreck not too far from him. Blood and rain trailed
down his face and dripped off the tip of his nose and chin. He wiped his face
with a muddy hand.
‘Rebecca?’
He limped
towards the wreck, flinching each time he moved a limb. Halfway there he made
out a shape that churned his stomach. He saw Rebecca’s blood-cloaked arm from
behind the metal frame of the car.
‘
Rebecca!
’
Pain shot
through every nerve as Justin quickened his pace. His leg buckled once, but he
got up again and finally reached his wife. Justin’s initial reaction to the
sight that awaited him was a combination of shock and sorrow. He cried out and
fell down next to Rebecca. She was pinned under the wreck, crushed from the
waist down.
‘Baby...’ Justin
said, but the wind drowned out his words. ‘No...’
Rebecca’s eyes
slowly opened. She looked up at Justin and he could see from her facial
expression that she was in great pain. He could also tell that she knew she was
dying. ‘You...came back...’
Justin nodded.
Tears welled in his eyes. ‘I don’t want to lose you. . .’ The last words were
chocked off as tears mixed with rain.
Rebecca forced a
faint smile. ‘I...love...’
‘No! Hang in
there!’
Rebecca tried to
move her arm. She desperately wanted to touch her husband one last time, but
she had no strength left in her. She tried to force a painful smile to
re-assure her husband, but she couldn’t even manage that. She wanted to close
her eyes—only for a moment—and rest for a while. She strained to keep her eyes
open. Her mind flashed random images of her life. Rebecca tried to construct a
complete thought, but couldn’t. Finally she closed her eyes as she exhaled her
last breath.
Justin cradled
her head in his chest as he protected her face from the downpour. ‘Stay with
me, Becky,’ he tried to motivate her. ‘Hang in there.’
No response.
‘Becky,’ Justin
said and shook her lightly.
No response.
He felt her
pulse.
Nothing.
No! This
can’t be happening!
Justin tried to breathe into
her mouth, but even as he did so, he realized that the attempt was futile. ‘No,
Becky! No, no, no...’ He lay her on the ground and hunched over her as he
cried. ‘
NO!
’
I’m sorry
that I’m such a terrible wife.
Justin broke
down and sobbed as the reality of losing his wife and unborn child struck him.
He touched her face and wished that they were home; cuddled under a blanket in
front of the television. He lost the only thing that ever mattered to him in
the blink of an eye.
Lightning
flashed.
Thunder rumbled.
Something behind
Justin stirred.
Justin looked up
in time to see a claw grip his neck.
* - -
- *
A short rib
snapped as Justin struck the tree not too far from where the demon had flung
him. He fell to the ground and coughed and wheezed as he tried to realign his
thoughts. In less than a second the demon was upon him again, slowly crushing
Justin’s throat in its grip.
‘
Hnggg—!
’
The demon
smashed him into the ground with a force that completely knocked the wind out
of him. Justin was on the verge of losing consciousness. He didn’t have the
strength or will power to fight back. Even if he did, he would be no match
against the monster that flung him around as if he weighed nothing at all.
All you need
to do is ask.
The demon lifted
Justin off the ground with one arm and again tossed him against a tree. Another
blow like that would kill him for sure. Justin realized that the monster would
not let up until he had breathed his last breath.
The claw gripped
around his throat again and squeezed. His breath was running out. His
peripheral vision blurred and then faded to black. He could eventually only see
the face of the demon and he knew that it would only be a matter of seconds
before that too, would be replaced by darkness.
All you need
to do is ask.
‘Forgive me...’
Justin rasped with what strength and breath he had left. ‘Please forgive me,
Jesus.’
The demon
screamed and dropped Justin to the ground. Justin’s lungs burned and his throat
felt raw. The demon recovered and reached out to Justin, but a blinding light
made it pause and look back. It only saw a glimpse of the glorious angel before
a sword slashed down and dismembered its head clean from its charred body.
The light grew
in brilliance until Justin could see nothing but white. The demon’s remains
fizzled and dissolved in the intense glow and once every trace of the demon was
gone, the light faded, and with the light, the rain subsided.
Justin sat
against the tree, breathing heavily as he wiped water, blood, and mud from his
face. A man hunched down in front of him.
‘Are you all
right?’ the man asked.
Justin swallowed
hard and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the blurred image came
into focus. ‘Simon...’
‘No sudden
moves,’ Simon said. ‘You’re banged up pretty bad.’
Justin’s head
swirled. He coughed up a thin trail of blood. ‘Rebecca,’ he said.
‘She...she’s...’
Simon lowered
his head. Sadness filled his eyes. ‘She’s gone,’ he confirmed.
Justin’s throat
was on fire. He couldn’t scream. He couldn’t shout. He merely shook as he
cried. Simon gently placed his hand on Justin’s shoulder. There were no words
that could heal the hurt in Justin’s heart. No thoughts of comfort that would
replace the aching void.
‘Wait here,’
Simon said and stood up. He walked to the wreck where Rebecca lay and knelt
down on his knees. Simon looked up at the skies and prayed. ‘Lord God. Please
help me this one last time before I come home.’
Justin strained
to keep his eyes open. It felt like he was trapped in a nightmare that he
couldn’t wake from. His thoughts jumped around as he tried to remain conscious.
For a moment
nothing happened. Simon stood up and walked to the car. He took a deep breath
and then picked up the wreck as if it was made of mere cardboard and tossed it
to one side. He then focussed his attention on Rebecca.
Justin figured
that he was definitely dreaming. He shook his head and tried to stand up, but a
sharp stabbing pain in his chest made him reconsider the thought.
‘Rebecca,’ Simon
said as he knelt down next to her. She was pale and limp, her lips purple.
Simon held his hand over her eyes. ‘Lord Jesus,’ he prayed. ‘Please restore
your child. Please give them back what Satan stole from them.’
Rebecca’s finger
twitched slightly. But nothing more happened.
Simon’s
appearance transformed back from human to angel. As before, pure light emanated
from his skin and as his wings unfolded, the light intensified until it
completely engulfed Rebecca. For a moment it felt like everything in the
universe stood still and focussed on the event until—a moment later—the light
faded away.
‘Rebecca,’ Simon
said and took his hand from her eyes. ‘Wake up.’
Justin crawled
toward the spot where Simon hunched over Rebecca.
Rebecca gasped
and then slowly opened her eyes.
‘Thank you, Holy
Spirit,’ Simon breathed softly.
‘Simon,’ she
said and swallowed. Simon nodded. She tilted her head and saw Justin. ‘My
love...’
Justin reached
out to her. She reached back and their hands touched. Both cried.
Simon stood up.
He took a step back and allowed Justin to embrace his wife. ‘The ambulance
should be here soon,’ he said.
Justin looked up
at Simon. ‘You’re...you’ve...’
Simon smiled.
‘Take good care of your wife and son,’ he said. ‘It’s been an honour to know
you.’
Justin didn’t
know what to say. So many thoughts. So many feelings. So many questions. He
merely nodded. ‘You too, Simon.’
Lightning
flashed.
Simon was gone.
Justin sat
upright with Rebecca and embraced her. ‘I don’t ever want to lose you again,’
he said as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Rebecca smiled
faintly. ‘Neither do I,’ she said.
In the distance,
the sound of sirens grew gradually louder.
‘Are you sure you guys don’t want
to stay?’ Tanya asked. ‘Kelwick really isn’t such a bad place.’
‘Nothing in hell
could keep us here,’ Justin said as he loaded another box into the truck.
Rebecca giggled at his pun.
Tanya sighed.
‘Promise you’ll e-mail me every day,’ she said as she hugged Rebecca.
‘I promise.’
‘We’ll invite
you for a week once we’re settled that side,’ Justin said.
‘I’ll take you
up on that,’ Tanya said and for a brief moment there was a comfortable silence
where no one said anything.
Justin figured
that the time for small talk was over. ‘Come, Becky,’ he said. ‘Let’s hit the
road.’
Rebecca nodded
and gave Tanya one last hug before getting in the car. Justin closed her door
and walked around to the driver’s side.
‘Oh yes,’ Tanya
said before he got in. ‘If anything should ever happen to you two, I’d be more
than happy to take care of your son.’
‘You’re the
best, Tanya,’ Rebecca said through the open window. Justin started the car and
both waved at Tanya as they drove off into their new lives.
“The
creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.”
- Romans 8:19,
NIV
1
‘We’re losing the Schuster contract,
Jared,’ Shaun said as he marched into the richly furnished office. He flailed
his arms as he spoke in short, to-the-point sentences. ‘The suppliers are late
again. Armand said that if we don’t deliver by Wednesday, he’ll take his
business elsewhere.’
Jared didn’t respond. The
29-year-old merely interlocked his fingers and looked at his colleague for a
proposed solution. He liked to believe that he encouraged a
bring-a-solution-with-the-problem
attitude among the staff members, but Shaun didn’t bite.
‘There’s no way we’ll make it,’
Shaun said and paced up and down the expensive Persian. ‘Not a chance. We’re
dead.’
Jared sat back in his leather seat
and gave it a slight swivel. He tapped his fingers together and nodded slightly
before asking, ‘Who’s the supplier?’
‘TCP Freights.’
Jared picked up his silver fountain
pen and tapped it on the edge of his large walnut desk. Both the pen and the
desk cost more than most of his staff earned in a month. ‘Have you spoken to
TCP?’
‘I have, yes.’
‘And...?’
‘They can have it here by Saturday,
maybe Friday.’
Jared took a moment to digest the
information. ‘And Armand wants it on Wednesday?’
Shaun lowered his eyes and answered
with a weak nod.
Two days until we breach contract
, Jared thought. He stood
up and without saying a word, walked over to the curved northern wall of the
office that consisted entirely of glass. From his elevated office, Jared could
look out over all of Kelwick. In the distance, the suburb looked like an
expensive toy, a mere play-town complete with moving accessories and props.
For the five years that Shaun had
been working for Jared, he had never once seen the man impatient or worried
about anything. At first Shaun thought it was the money.
All the cash on the
planet and thus not a single care in the world.
That was his initial
impression, but as time went by, Shaun realised that Jared just had a natural
knack for business, an inborn ability to buy and sell, import and export
without breaking a sweat.
‘Tell Armand,’ Jared finally said
without taking his eyes from the spectacular view in front of him, ‘that he
will have his shipment by Wednesday.’
Shaun fell back into one of the
expensive chairs in front of Jared’s desk and sighed out loud as he rubbed his
hands over his face. ‘No offence, Jared, but how do you plan on making good on
that promise?’ He asked. ‘How are we going to get it there on time? Will
magical angels fly the shipment overnight?’
‘Oh, ye of little faith,’ Jared said
and turned slightly toward Shaun to expose the grin. He walked back to his
desk, picked up the phone and speed-dialled Dean Larson.
‘Dean here,’ the Financial Director
squawked over the speaker phone.
‘Dean, it’s Jared.’
‘Hey Jared, what can I do for you?’
‘I want you to pull up the Schuster
file,’ Jared said, ‘and look up their latest order for me.’
‘Okay, hang on a minute,’ Dean said.
The sound of Dean hacking away at the keyboard clicked over the speaker phone
and a moment later, he was back on the line. ‘Got it,’ he said. ‘What would you
like me to do with it?’
‘Our suppliers messed up,’ Jared
said and swivelled his chair. ‘We need that exact same stock ordered and
delivered by Wednesday.’
The sound of clicking. ‘Who should
we get it from?’
Jared pressed his palms together and
rested his chin on his fingertips. ‘See if our friends in Mexico, Costa Rica,
or Panama have the stock we need. Negotiate with them if you have to, but make
sure that you get it.’
‘Give me five minutes,’ Dean said.
‘I’ll call you back.’
When the line cut, Jared stood up
from his seat and made his way over to the liquor cabinet. ‘Scotch?’ he asked
and held up a glass.
Shaun raised his hand and shook his
head. ‘What’s the plan?’ he asked as he followed Jared back to the window.
‘Even if we do get the stock, there’s no way that we can have it delivered on
time.’
Jared swirled the ice around in the
glass, ignoring the question. ‘How are things between you and Samantha?’ he
asked.
Shaun opened his mouth to say
something but decided against it. He exhaled slowly in an effort to calm his
nerves and merely shook his head as he answered Jared’s question. ‘Things are
fine,’ he said. ‘Couldn’t be better.’
‘Are you two still planning on
having a baby?’
‘We’d like to,’ Shaun said. He
wanted to end the topic and swing it back to the work-related issue at hand,
but he also needed someone to talk to that he could trust. Since the results
came back from the doctors that Samantha might not ever be able to have
children of her own, Shaun kept his feelings bottled up inside. ‘I guess all we
have to go on now is faith.’
Jared wanted to ask Shaun about the
blood test results when the phone chirped. ‘We’ll talk about this later,’ he
said and picked up the handset. ‘All good?’ he asked.
‘Mexico is good to go,’ Dean said.
‘Ordered and waiting.’
‘You’re the man, Dean,’ Jared said.
‘Would you also cancel the current order with TCP?’
‘As good as done.’
Jared thanked Dean and hung up. He
then picked up his diary and flipped it open to the contacts section where he
looked up the number of an old friend and dialled it.
‘Lightspeed Carriers, good day,’ a
female voice greeted from the other end of the line.
‘Good morning,’ Jared said. ‘I was
wondering if you could patch me through to Darryl Blaine, please.’
‘Sure,’ the receptionist said. ‘Who
may I ask is calling?’
‘Jared Greene from Whyte &
Greene International.’
‘One moment,’ she said and the line
clicked over to Tchaikovsky’s
Waltz of the Flowers
.
‘It’s not who you are,’ Jared said
and winked. ‘It’s who you know.’
‘Who are you calling—?’
‘Darryl you old coot,’ Jared said
and held up his index finger. ‘How are you?’
‘Jared my old friend,’ Darryl said.
He coughed and wheezed before he spoke again. ‘I’m fine, fine. How are you?’
‘More or less the same,’ Jared said
and then dispensed with the small talk. ‘But I must admit that my call is not
for social reasons. I have an old favour that I need to cash in.’
‘Anything you need,’ Darryl said.
‘You name it, and I’ll make it so.’
Jared smiled. The old man had been
like a father to him ever since he moved to Kelwick nine years ago. Darryl took
the then twenty-year-old under his wing and taught him all about building and
managing a business empire. ‘We’re having some hold ups with one of our
suppliers,’ Jared said. ‘Problem is that we need the supplies delivered
yesterday already.’
‘Where are the supplies?’ Darryl
asked.
‘Tampico, Mexico.’
‘And where do you want it dropped
off?’
‘New York,’ Jared said and relayed
the address.
There was a moment of silence where
Jared feared the old man might have fallen asleep on him. ‘Darryl...?’
‘Still here,’ Darryl said. ‘Just
trying to see who I can bump from the roster to squeeze you in.’
Jared chuckled. ‘Are you sure you’d
be able to manage it?’ Jared said with just a hint of challenge in his voice.
‘I heard the younger guys are the faster ones these days.’
‘They’re wet behind the ears,’
Darryl said. ‘The whole lot of them ain’t got nuthin’ on this ol’ geezer!’
Jared laughed. ‘Show me what you’re
made of, old man.’
For a moment there was only silence
again. Then a cough and a wheeze. ‘Jared my old boy,’ Darryl said. ‘You have no
idea how well connected I am.’ The man flipped through some pages, tore one up,
and coughed again. ‘I can have it at your doorstep by tomorrow noon. How’s that
for you?’
‘You’re the best, Darryl,’ Jared
said and smiled. ‘I’ll choose you above those youngsters any day.’
‘You better believe it.’
‘We should get together some time,’
Jared said. ‘You know, catch up n’ stuff.’
‘I hear ya. Sort of like a
have-my-people-call-your-people-so-we-can-do-lunch kind of thing, right?’
‘Spot on, old chap,’ Jared chuckled.
‘Thanks for helping me out again.’
‘Anything for you, my boy.’
The two greeted each other politely
and after they hung up, Jared sat back in his seat and locked his hands behind
his head. He said nothing, but instead, smiled broadly at Shaun.
‘Okay,’ Shaun said and frowned.
‘Would you care to tell me what just happened?’
‘Your crisis,’ Jared said and picked
up his glass, ‘is sorted.’
‘Armand will get his stock?’
Jared nodded. ‘He will have it by
noon tomorrow.’
Shaun fell back into the chair and
exhaled deeply and slowly. He rubbed the base of his neck hard in an effort to
ease some tense muscles. ‘That’s why they pay you the big bucks.’
‘There’s that,’ Jared said. ‘And the
fact that I own the company.’
Shaun managed a stiff smile. He was
still way too nervous to be as calm and relaxed about the whole incident as
Jared was. ‘Want to go out and celebrate?’
‘No can do,’ Jared said. ‘Amy’s
waiting at home. We’re having a guest over for dinner tonight. Maybe tomorrow.’
‘Deal,’ Shaun said and stood up. He
thanked Jared, and with hands still shaking and his knees still weak, left the
office.
*
- - - *
The drive home was as uneventful as
the rest of the afternoon at the office. Jared made a quick stop at Kelwick
Florist to pick up a mixed bouquet of Amy’s favourite flowers.
When are you two tying the knot?
Shaun’s words replayed
in Jared’s mind.
She’s a keeper, you know?
Jared grinned. If Shaun only knew
that he had everything planned to the finest detail. The only part he still
struggled with was when he was going to ask her, and how he would do it. He
would worry about that later. Something else was occupying his thoughts at the
moment: The Patterson and Lewis contract. It was their biggest yet and could
make or break Whyte & Greene International. If everything went smoothly and
according to schedule, the company could triple last year’s first quarter
earnings. If they fumbled and breeched the service level agreement, they could
take a much larger knock than the company could handle. If Whyte & Greene
messed up, Patterson could—and most probably would—impose a huge financial
penalty on the company. Depending on the situation, a single penalty could mean
that everyone would probably have to abandon ship.
Nothing will go wrong,
Jared thought and rubbed
his temples.
Keep your head clear and your vision focused, and everything
will be just fine.
He hummed to the song on the radio
as the double garage door opened at its own leisure. He pulled the 2004 Bentley
Continental GT into its respective spot and, remembering the flowers, entered
the house. Still humming the tune from the song, he slapped his briefcase on
the living room table along with his car keys and the newspaper he bought on
the way to work.
Something smelled delicious. It was
the aroma of onions frying in garlic butter. The garlic butter was a home-made
concoction that consisted of margarine, a handful of chopped green peppers, and
about a quarter of a teaspoon’s worth of garlic. These would be mixed together
in a bowl, given a few turns in the microwave and the result gently stirred
into a frying pan. Amy would then add the onions, followed by some chopped
bacon, and top it off with a fair share of peppers and spices. The tomatoes
would come last, and after everything was stirred together, it was added to a
big pot of cooked macaroni. The concoction would be mixed into the macaroni,
where it would simmer for a few minutes and the grated cheese was added last.
Jared made his way through the long
hallway, passing four bedrooms and two bathrooms before skipping up a few
wooden steps into the slightly elevated open-plan kitchen.
Amy stood with her back facing
Jared. She hummed her own tune as she stirred the bacon and onion mixture in
the frying pan. Jared gently placed the flowers on one of the kitchen counters
and quietly snuck up behind Amy. She shrieked as he wrapped his arms around her
from behind and pulled her away from the stove. She turned and instantly found
herself wrapped in Jared’s arms, his lips pressing against hers. After the kiss
he hugged her tightly and then took a step back, picked up the flowers from the
counter and held them out in front of him.
‘Oh, Jared,’ Amy said and took the
flowers. She held the bouquet to her nose and inhaled deeply. ‘They’re
beautiful. Thank you.’