Chapter 62: A Monumental Task

June 1999

I wondered how I would ever be able to integrate all these riches into my life. I was not sure which was more valuable, the treasure of gold, or the secrets written inside those journals.

“Oh, my dear Malcolm! The secrets of vampyria outweigh the gold by far! In those pages will find secrets that will help you defeat your enemies. Perhaps even the Dragon himself.” She smiled; her teeth were perfect in form, and brilliant white. It was hard to imagine those teeth biting into human flesh, but they do, and have done so, many, many times. It was comforting to know that perhaps they had tasted their last victim.

She got up and asked me to come outside with her. Eagerly, I followed her outside the mausoleum to a set upstairs that traveled up around the structure in a winding fashion. The structure was about fifteen feet high, built in an oval with fluted walls. The staircase had a banister also of marble. As we came up to the top of the mausoleum, I saw the same design extended to the railing around the top. Columns of fluted marble supported a gazebo style covering of the upper level. Its floor was polished marble as well. As she reached the summit, she stopped and turned to offer her hand to me. Without even thinking, I took it. She massaged my hand as a lover would, with her slender fingers. Her jeweled hands were so feminine and delicate, yet so powerful ... powerful enough to slay me without my protection of angels. Her human half was in control much of the time, allowed to rule by the demon. Only she paid a nightly tribute to that being that controlled her existence.

I looked at her as she gazed at me with her beautiful eyes. Still resplendent in her royal trappings, I knew I would forever remember her as this awesome creature of femininity that displayed remarkable courage, restraint and grace. She let go of my hand, using both hands to remove her crown. She placed it on a stand, made just for that purpose. The stand was at one end of an oblong shaped pit of dirt. The pit of dirt held a coffin made of gold lined with red velvet cloth. A pair of half rings held her scepter as she placed it in its rightful place for the last time. She then removed her cloak of red velvet and ermine trimming. Her veil was next. I remember thinking that I hoped she was not going to remove all her clothing. I was taken back to see her standing there in a sheer gown that left little to the imagination. Having already seen her naked, I should not have been surprised. I remembered passages regarding Solomon and the Queen of Sheba together. The same old story of the original sin always seemed to appear at the most inappropriate times.

“Don’t be afraid, Malcolm. I want to be comfortable when we do this. Is this painful? I should not be afraid, should I? After all, I have died before. I was terrified then, but any fourteen-year-old girl would be. Nevertheless, I am ready. Really, I am. Is there anything else you want to talk about before we perform this act?”

What kind of question was that? Of course, I wanted to talk about everything with her. I wanted to talk about her experiences, more about being a vampire, more about her abilities. However, time was short. We could spend the night together just talking, but there was a demon lurking inside, and it needed to be disposed of. That was going to prove to be a monumental task. There were four hours of darkness left. The journey down to the subterranean world, the confrontation at the coliseum, and the escape to the tomb had consumed a big part of the night.

If I exorcised the demon, I had not prepared for the contingency should she reject the Savior. I guess there would truly be Hell to pay ... for eternity. I would need time to get out of the tomb and make my way to the surface. We had factored in the time necessary and had decided to use an entire day. This way the vampires left alive would have to seek comfort and sleep in the tombs, allowing me to proceed without interference to the surface.

When that happened, I would place Tayla’s ring on the sundial, thereby sealing the fate of the Red Velvet Clan. I hoped that my wife would have already made it to the surface and would be waiting for me at the sundial.

“Ridding you of the demon is the most challenging of any task I have ever attempted to perform. It will be dangerous, perhaps painful to both of us. It is not a case of you against me. It is you and I against the demon. It is my God against Satan and His angels against Satan’s demons. God always wins but sometimes it costs.”

“I do not know your God. I have no knowledge of Him other than He exists. His power and existence cause my demon to flee and hide inside me. My demon has strength he has yet to exhibit. Even now, I sense that the dark lord sends reinforcements, so that your angels do not fight against one but many. I am sorry that I may not be able to protect you.” Her voice trembled with alarm. “I may not be responsible for what I may do, Malcolm. For that, I am afraid. I am afraid of what I might do to you. That I may feed on you. And again, destroy that which I love.”

Upon finishing that statement, she hung her head in sadness. She knew that this was going to be tough, as did I. “I know you want to talk and explore my feelings and experiences, but there is no time for that now. This is my tomb, and after tonight, my final resting place. It is where you can visit me and remember me. In my writings stored below, lie all that you seek from me. My gifts to you are not returnable. Your service to me has been invaluable, and so I reward you. However, I have left you with a price on you and your family’s heads. The least I can do is empower you with the weapons of knowledge of secrets. I know your faith is powerful enough alone, as I have seen its power. Nevertheless, you should know your enemy, as they are powerful too, and most cunning. You will need more than faith to mount an offensive.”

“Faith has gotten me where I am so far. Why should I change? The just shall live by faith.” I knew that being a Christian made me a saved person, but it was not a shield of invulnerability. It had saved me from the condemnation of sin, which was hell, but did not guarantee a life without turmoil, or grief, such as the loss of a family. I cringed at the thought of losing my family to murder.

My twins, my wife: they were my whole life here on earth. Would God take them away, or allow Satan to take them away? Nevertheless, I was past the point of no return. There was no way to rescind the curse that Rascha put on me now. He was not here to do it and would not do it even if he were. It was “do or die.” “Before we get started, I want you to know, that should we have met under other circumstances, and conditions being met, I think we would have made a great match. You have certainly tempted me. I have watched you with the same curiosity you have felt about me. Yes, I have felt the same longing, and desire, but you know why I could not act upon it. I am subject to the same temptations that you are perhaps more so, because I belong to Him. Satan covets that which does not belong to him. He has battled for ownership of you for centuries, to keep you from hearing what you are about to hear. Today is your day of liberation. This night the door to your prison opens so that you may have the opportunity to walk from captivity to liberation. I will bring you the Gospel of Jesus Christ!”

No sooner had I said that Tayla exploded into a fit of rage. Her voice changed its usual tone. She changed expressions of contempt, and fear. The angels that accompanied me everywhere were true to their word. They let go of the dark angel, allowing it to manifest itself to me. I rebuked this satanic creature, pulling my Bible from my cargo pocket. I held it up, reciting scripture to it. The more I recited the madder and more incensed it became. The same smell of necrotic tissue filled my nostrils tempting me to vomit from the stench. I gagged upon the smell and almost had to double over.

Tayla was beginning to take the shape of another creature. Her human form was transforming into the dark minion that was preparing for battle. This was her other half. The parasite that had inhabited her for over eight centuries undoubtedly had envisioned this day. Tayla’s beautiful tomb was now to be a battleground. The blackened wings began to take shape and stretched out from her back. The beast’s clawed fists had ripped her sheer gown from her. Her body had the look of brown, reptilian scales, which covered powerful muscles.

My angels began to materialize next to me, and in front of me, and behind as well. They were here for my protection now, as I was to do battle with their aid. Tayla, the woman, was defenseless and at the mercy of the creature, that was transforming her. It wanted me to attack it, and then destroy it, because to do so would kill Tayla. By killing the creature, my mission would become a failure. I had the weapons. My MP-5, and the 9-millimeter, with silver bullets, was more than capable of killing a reptile of such proportions but this was not an overgrown crocodile.

A cunning, powerful demon of the most dangerous kind still held Tayla in its grip. Killing the creature would only allow it to escape from its host and move on to inhabit another. That was not an option. The object was to separate the demon from its host, and thereby freeing Tayla long enough to give her the opportunity at salvation. I did not know anything about destroying a demon. I was not even sure that was possible. To say that my feelings of inadequacy were overwhelming was an understatement. Nevertheless, here I was, locked up tightly in a cavern with an eight-hundred-year-old vampire that wanted freedom and redemption.

It was here that destiny called. My purpose for being was unfolding before my eyes. My angels, Erlandis, Quintas, Ariel, and Milo were here with me. Having the archangel Michael here would have helped too, but God had seen fit to give me these four. They had not failed me yet, as neither had my God. This was the decisive moment! It was my time to show courage and defiance to a creature out to destroy me. As for Tayla, Queen of the Order of the Clan of the Red Velvet, if the demon succeeded, there would be Hell to pay.

The creature surged forward at me as I stood my ground to rebuke the demon. The claws attached to its reptilian arms opened wide to reveal its menacing intent. The smell was awful, nauseating me with its deathly aroma, which quickly turned to the smell of Sulphur. I knew I stood in the presence of evil. However, I had prepared by praying before and praying now. My angels surrounded me, rebuffing the hellish creature as it continued to lurch at me. Its ceaseless, lion-like roar was bloodcurdling, causing my skin to crawl. I continued to rebuke the demon in the Lord’s name.

As I held the Holy Bible up in front of me, a clawed appendage swung before me, to slice across my chest. I stepped back, catching my foot on the raised rim of the coffin-bowl of the tomb, causing me to fall onto the velvet shroud she had lain upon for centuries. I tried to remove myself as quickly as possible, lest I remain there permanently. As I did so, the creature leaped over to me, straddling the tomb, trapping me in the process.

The monster glared at me with red-glowing eyes. Its mouth opened with fangs dripping the foul spittle I had come to expect from it, along with the awful breath. I knew its next move would be to bite me. It wanted desperately to defeat me, to deny me the opportunity to exorcise its presence from its host. Determined, I held up the Word of God, rebuking it continuously. Each time I did, it was as if I had struck a blow with a sword. I attained some degree of success because I began to see blood coming from wounds inflicted my rebukes. The Word of God was “like a two-edged sword” to this creature. I gained some confidence, knowing that the Word of God held power over it. I continued my assault on the evil, until I had wounded it badly. Then, it knelt before me.

“I beg you to stop, stop! I suffer from the pox you put upon me. You bring such power into this place!” The creature growled, sputtered, and hacked, spitting up foul phlegm as grotesque as I had ever seen in all my life. After clearing its throat, it spoke again. “For some time, those angels have fought me, bound me, and gagged me. I cannot leave this host, for my master will destroy it if you cast me out. You would not leave her to such a fate?” The creature was weakening, and therefore had reverted to the use of cunning.

“Your master will indeed destroy her if you are allowed to stay, and the Lord God commands you to leave this host, and leave her in peace, so that she may hear the Gospel of Christ!” I retorted. “But you love this woman, this lady of desire. I know that you desire her! You lust for her! You cannot deny this, as I have felt this. I have seen this in your dreams. You know you want her, but will not admit this to anybody, not even your God! Therefore, you burn with desire, coveting her, and hiding it away in your heart. I know this. You have sinned, and therefore you cannot command me to leave. You are not worthy!” the creature hissed.

The creature had gone straight to my heart on that comment. The truth was indeed a two-edged sword. I could not deny this. I had wanted Tayla, but I had rationalized it as just a physical attraction, something I would not let go any farther than a passing fantasy. Nevertheless, it had burned in my heart, badly, like nothing I had never known. Not even Rachel had caused me to lust after her so badly. I admitted this to my God and myself. This demon knew my heart as well as the Lord did. It knew my weaknesses. It knew just where to strike at me, crippling my witness. It turned its pointing finger of guilt straight at me. Indeed, I was guilty. However, I was a forgiven sinner, not bound by the law. I had to believe this, as it was the substance of my faith, my only hope of dealing with this creature.