Two men sat opposite one another across a small metal table, one handcuffed to a railing on the side. The only source of light was the flickering bulb that hung above them and the lit cigarette in the handcuffed man’s mouth. The harsh smoke and tobacco did nothing to the man’s wide grin. His expensive purple suit only adding to smug aura that surrounded the man. With his other hand he was nonchalantly tapping his fingers in a pattern.

The man sitting across from him looked like shit in comparison. His blonde hair was dirty, his face unshaven and blue eyes had deep bags under them. He wore a suit, bloodstained and torn along the right sleeve along with a long cut across the middle of his chest. By now he had deciphered the tapping as Morse code, and the message sent a chill down his spine.
The two stared at one another, one grinning and one scowling, neither saying a word. Smoke hung in the air between them, almost seeming to form various shapes. At one point it seemed to form a skull, at another a figure beckoning at the blonde man. This went on for almost half an hour before the blonde man spoke.

“We both know that I possess the capability to destroy you.”

The smoking man’s grin only grew wider. “Yet you have not done so. Why is that I wonder?”

The blonde man noticed for the first time that the man’s teeth seemed to be sharpened. “You know the reason Orphiul.” He pulled a pen and a notepad out of a pocket. “Give me the names.”

Orphiul stared pen for a moment, then laughed deeply. “You and I both know the names are not known to me.” He put down the cigarette he was smoking, careful not to let flame go out. “Perhaps there is something else you could ask.”

A flash of anger appeared on the blonde man’s face but was quickly hidden. “Okay, locations then. That at least I think you would know.”

“Now you are thinking Sean.” Orphiul picked up the pen and pressed it to the notepad. “Shall I start with those that you know already? Or perhaps the others?”

Sean pondered this for a moment. “Start with those. Let’s set a baseline.” Sean picked up the cigarette that Orphiul had set down, put it to his lips and took a drag.

The pen began moving, slowly at first but the pace picked up. “Well first there was that sweet young woman, fresh out of the shower. Hair wet and nude save for a thin night gown.” Orphiul paused with the pen and looked up at Sean. “I think you would appreciate just how little that gown covered her body.” He grinned devilishly.

The flash of anger was back, but this time it did not disappear. Sean rose in a heartbeat and in the next his hands were gripping the suit jacket Orphiul wore, lifting him as high as the cuffs would allow. His right fist struck Orphiul’s jaw and the crack of the bone was audible. Again and again Sean’s fist impacted the same spot on his jaw, blood splattering both men’s clothing and face.

Orphiul only laughed as his face was being pounded, making no effort to defend himself. After several minutes Sean’s fist stopped striking him and he dropped him back into the chair. Sean’s was breathing hard before he sat back down himself.
“When we are done, I will show you pain that you never thought possible. You shall wish a thousand times for death and thousand times that wish will go unanswered. You will plead for me to send you to Hell and I will not oblige.” Sean waved his hand and there was a loud crack as Orphiul’s jaw set itself back into place.

Orphiul moved his hand along his jacket, fixing the wrinkles that had appeared and picked up the pen. “Back to it then. I came through the window, her lovely humming gave me pause for the merest of seconds before I sprung. She was so weak, the resistance she put off was nothing to me.” He paused from his scribbling and looked at Sean. “Though she was sworn to another, she knew another lover that night. However, in hindsight I suppose there was no love shared between us.”

Sean’s knuckles were white, where they weren’t covered in blood, from being pressed so tight. “Continue or I’ll show you just how serious I am.”

Orphiul’s smiled disappeared and he went back to the notepad. “You’re less fun than I heard, but as you wish. “After I had my fun, I threw her from the window. Her legs broke from the impact, but she still tried to crawl away as she called for help. I took my time chasing her down before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her to the pool.” He looked up at Sean, directly into his eyes. “There is nothing like watching a person drown. Their futile struggles, screaming for help and only dooming themselves further. It’s not something you forget.”

“The next one.” Sean’s voice concealed barely controlled anger, his eyes showed the fury he felt.

Orphiul paused from his scribbling and pulled another cigarette out. He placed it to his lips and upon coming into contact with them, the cigarette lit. “Next was the old man. Ugly thing he was, shriveled and decrepit, I did that one a favor.” He swallowed the cigarette before continuing. “That wasn’t as fun I suppose, but what’s done is done. Took the old man to the roof of the hospital. The thing about hospitals that most people don’t get, is that they are a place to die. Sure some lives are saved, but many die or are dying, so it seemed a perfect place for a man who was to do both.”

“I don’t care about your opinions Orphiul. Just tell me the facts.”

Orphiul sighed. “Well I took the man up there on a gurney, brought a couple of trinkets with me. Gave him something for the pain, but seeing as I’m no doctor, I don’t know if it had any effect. That’s when I indulged my passion for art.”

“What did the symbol you carved into his chest mean?” Sean interrupted.

Orphiul smiled again, almost seemed to gnash his teeth together. “We’ll get to that. Anyway, after I carved the old fool, I realized I was fairly hungry, so I nibbled at his flesh for a bit.” He sighed in what seemed to be content. “The soft flesh is the best part. Has a certain flavor that is so impossible to recreate. But that was the end of that.”

There was a silence then, save for the scribbling of Orphiul. The two men sat there a while, each lost in their own thoughts.

Sean cleared his throat. “That covers the ones I know of. About the others.”

Orphiul set the pen down and resumed his tapping. “Only got to do two more before I ended up in this lovely destination. Twins they were, one boy and one girl. Young things. I enjoyed that one.”

Sean sighed. “Where are the bodies?”

“I’m getting to that. Poor things were orphans so they had no one to call their own, so naturally once I bestowed my gifts to them, they were all too keen to accompany me. In fact, you could almost say that they had no choice.” Orphiul grinned widely. “Might have been my masterpiece that one.”

Sean’s mind raced. “What did you do? It’s bad enough you killed the rest of them, what did you do to them?”

Orphiul laughed, louder than he had ever done before. “Oh you fool, your time among the mortals has made you soft. It wasn’t me that killed those in the orphanage. Oh no, I did something far more clever.”

Horror filled Sean as he realized the gist of what Orphiul was saying. “No.” He could barely get the word out.

Orphiul leaned forward. “Yes. I thought them a thing or two, showed them their way around a blade. They were only too happy to turn those blades on their tormentors.” He set the pen down and pushed the pad over to Sean. “Did even better than I expected to be honest. And since I’m rarely honest you can understand the depth of that statement.”

Sean looked down at the pad, at the symbol that was drawn there. The same as was carved into the old man’s flesh. Rather than draw the symbol, Orphiul had covered the entire page in black ink save for where the symbol was. It was a half circle set within another larger half circle protruding from a curved line. He looked up at Orphiul.

“What does this mean? I know the script of your kind and this is not it.”

A large grin covered Orphiul’s face. “That my dear friend is the name of my master.”

Thoughts moved through Sean’s brain rapidly, trying to figure out who exactly would unleash the demon in front of him into the mortal world. “Tell me the name.”

“I decline,” Orphiul said. “Politely I might add.”

The room was illuminated then, a brilliant white light seeming to burst from Sean. It filled the room and encircled Orphiul. “Tell me the name!” Sean’s voice was different then, seemingly unworldly compared to the voice he had before.
The metal chains on the handcuffs snapped as Orphiul leapt back towards a corner of the room, trying to escape the light that now burned his skin. Holes appeared all over his body as his skin melted and fell to the floor. “Stop! Please!” For the first time, there was a trace of fear in his voice.

Sean did not stop. Instead he rose, slowly crossed the room and place a finger on Orphiul’s forehead. At Sean’s touch, he rose a few inches off the ground and his body began writhing in pain. “I will have your master’s name.”

Orphiul was sobbing now, almost all his skin was gone and the muscle and sinew was burning now. His blood boiled before it could hit the floor. “Azakeil!” He screamed, pain filling his voice. “My master is Azakeil!”

Orphiul was hurled across the room, striking the far wall with a wet thud. In a flash Sean was atop him, the light intensifying. “And your purpose?”

“To draw you out! We knew you were in this city but who you were!” Orphiul’s eyes were now burning in their sockets, the liquid in them popping as if they were popcorn. “Please that’s all there is! Make it stop!”

Sean placed his whole hand upon Orphiul’s head. “After I slay your master, I will travel to Hell and find you. You cannot run from me. I will turn every stone, burn anything that stands in my way. I will fight Lucifer himself if I must. Your life is mine,” and began muttering in Latin. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica... Ergo, draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica, adjuramus te ... cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare... Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis... Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine... quem inferi tremunt... Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.'" At the end, his voice had become so loud that it shook the table and two chairs in the room.

Orphiul’s entire form changed then, where there was once a burning man now lay a horribly disfigured monster. Dull gray skin was covered in wickedly curved spines, a long tail with narrow spines, horns that were at least two feet in length protruded from the demon’s head. And just as quickly as his demonic form had appeared, he burst into a cloud of smoke and dissolved entirely until nothing was left except for the melted remains of skin and blood that smeared the floor and wall.

Sean stood up as the white light receded. He loosened the tie around his neck and shuffled back to the chair before taking a seat. He stared at the pad, making a mental image of the symbol that meant Azakeil. The dark rings under his eyes were now more pronounced, each line on his face longer and his posture was more slouched. He looked at his hands and began to cry.

“How could I let that monster touch you?” He rose and went to wall where he began slamming his fist into the bricks. Each fist left a spider web of cracks and smear of blood. He was shouting, not so much words but his pain. Sean stopped after a minute and sank to the ground. He reached under his shirt, hands trembling and pulled a locket out. Opening the locket, he was greeted by a beautiful woman with dark hair and green eyes. Her smile brought even more tears to his eyes for he knew she would never smile again.

Sean looked to the ceiling and spoke aloud, even though no one was left in the room with him. “Father I know you can hear me. I cannot do this alone. Heaven must return to Earth if we are to survive this war and we need you Michael to lead us.” He paused, ears straining for the slightest noise. When none came he let his head fall to his chest. He lay there in silence, before his mind came back to the tapping that Orphiul did. The message would be burned in his mind forever, of that he was sure. However long forever would be for him, however was another matter.

He closed his eyes, and recited Orphiul’s message “I am but the first of many, the envoy of the end. On my back I carry destruction and with my words I sow death. Famine and war shall be my gifts and upon the mortal world I bestow more. Beseech your Heavenly Father and despair at the silence you shall receive, for we will have laid waste to Heaven’s gates. Next we march to begin the extermination of mankind.”