Lost Testament Soul Eater Nic Wallace Copyright © 2012 Nic Wallace All rights reserved. ISBN: 1481159208 ISBN-13: 978-1481159203 DEDICATION For Corporal Matthew Wallace Creed ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nic Wallace has been an author in the horror genre since 2009, when he wrote his first novel “Soul Eater,” the first segment in his 12-book “Lost Testament” saga. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to Randy Thatcher for helping me discover my passion for writing, Nikky Ball for her incredible insight, as well as all of the hours spent on editing and helping this book become what it is today, and last but not least, to all of the people in my life that believed in me, who without their support and encouragement, I wouldn’t be where I am today— you know who you are. i PROLOGUE I stood before her breathless, my clothes tattered and bloody, the barrage of black metallic blades extruding from my back being the only thing supporting my body weight. “You alright?” I panted heavily in exhaustion, my body trembling as she began towards me. “Yeah, I’m fine. You’re in worse shape than me,” she uttered worriedly. Fatigued and barely able to stand, the excruciating pain surged through me as my blades ached to be withdrawn back into my body, every nerve-ending and cell sparking with torturous agony. I could feel the blood trickling down my blades like hot butter, waywardly working its way down, creating a scarlet puddle on the asphalt. She parted her lips to speak, her brow furrowed in consternation, hesitating with whatever it was she was about to say. “I’m sorry, for everything. You weren’t meant for this. It’s my fault; I just—” she stammered. Her eyes glassy with unshed tears, her bottom lip quivered in distress, interrupting her own words; but she quickly recollected herself, not letting a single drop escape her bright-emerald eyes. I felt as if my legs were about to give out at any moment, and even my loyal and supporting blades were beginning to 1 NIC WALLACE shake under my own weight. Never in my life have I experienced such pain; well, not since I blew my brains out all over my bedroom wall before all this tumultuous hell began, making me into the abomination I am today. If I knew now what I knew then, maybe I wouldn’t have been so quick to pull the trigger. It was fine though, because she was safe; and in that, the pain was justified. After all, she was the reason I kept fighting. I may not have had the ability to feel it in my heart—seeing as how I ripped it out from my chest because I could no longer take the agonizing emotional turmoil of my past dirty deeds— but in saving her, it’s as if I had saved me from myself, giving me penance for all my wrongdoings. The spine-chilling shrieks of the damned souls coming from the Hell-gate behind me permeated the air, interrupting my disquieting reverie and reminding me of what I had to do. I was so immersed in saving her that I had forgotten about it. Best I close the gate, before— “Look out!” she warned. Before I could react, a searing pain ripped through me. Staring down at the gaping, bloody hole in my chest, I could see the sharply pointed tail of some beast. The gargantuan damson-colored tip was bigger than my head, and the gruesome tentacle was composed of rotted muscle-tissue and exposed bone, which oozed with fresh, dark blood at the punctures. As I looked over my shoulder to face the owner of the spiked appendage, I found myself face to face with a dark, crimson-colored monster at the portal’s entrance, its endless array of long serpentine tendrils weaving in various directions, while the largest of the tendrils burst through the portal, disappearing into my back. As it brutally tore into me, the sheer force of it lifted me off the ground, impaling me onto its jagged limb. I grabbed and swung at it, hoping to push it back, but my efforts were futile; 2 LOST TESTAMENT: SOUL EATER the creature was far too powerful. If I were at full strength, this fiend would be nothing for me—I’ve dealt with it before—but I was getting weaker by the second, and I was running on fumes. She frantically rushed to my aid, but I blocked her path with my blades, grinding them into the crumbling asphalt before her to keep her away. I wasn’t about to let her die—not after all that we’ve been through. The sound of tearing flesh and shattering bones reverberated throughout the city’s dead streets as the tail relentlessly dug further into me, skewering through my body. As the beast’s appendage bashed through my chest, rendering me frozen in place, I looked helplessly over my shoulder to see it charging through me and towards her. Trying to bide her time, I quickly jerked my blades deep into the creature, trying with all my might to pin it down; but its tail just kept slithering through my body and toward her determinedly, shredding me from the inside-out with every twist and turn. “Run, damn it!” I spit at her through clenched teeth, as my blades slowly started to crumble and fall apart from overexertion. It hurled towards her rapidly, stopping mere inches from her face. Petrified from terror and in the guise of death, she stood there motionless, her eyes wide and breathing ragged. Suddenly, the end of the hellacious creature’s tail peeled open three ways, revealing a small, round mouth with jagged teeth and a single, devilish eye in the center. As an ear-piercing shriek emitted from the eye, she ducked, covering her ears in pain. The orifice opened wider and wider, the lethal tail ready to deliver its final blow. I did everything in my power to try and stop it, but it ignored me and shook me off, as if I were a mere insect. She started to sprint towards me, ready to take on the demonic being to pull me to safety. Reaching out to me as she ran, her hand was soon a few inches from mine. Right as my fingers were about to touch her’s, the beast’s tail suddenly 3 NIC WALLACE jerked back into the portal, sending her body flying several feet into the air, whilst taking me with it and back to Hell. In one last futile effort, I grabbed on tight to the edge of the cosmic gateway, watching helplessly as her limp body lay on the ground nearby. I could see her body start to stir, her head lifting off the quaking terrain as her desperate eyes met mine. As she weakly crawled towards me, my fingers starting to pluck off the precipice one by one, the centrifugal force slowly suctioned me into the noir abyss, while the lost souls of the fiery inferno below grabbed at my feet. “Grab my hand!” she yelled as she reached out to me, her voice nearly inaudible over the shrieks of the damned below. I could literally feel the relief surge through me as my fingers clasped into hers, undoing my hellacious fate. It was only when I felt her bloody palm slipping out of mine that panic rushed through me again, crushing my tentative hope. Losing my grip, I started to plummet deeper and deeper into the eternal darkness. I could no longer hear anything of the human world, only the screams of the damned souls welcoming me back into Hell. The last thing I saw was her screaming and sobbing, helplessly watching me as I tore farther and farther away from her. Darkness started to engulf me, while any light left of the human world slowly slipped away; and as I drifted off into the black abyss, I closed my eyes, allowing myself to be consumed by darkness as I was swallowed by Hell itself. 4 RITUALS Alright, Tyler, this is it. Just go in there and get the stuff, and walk right out. With my forehead perched on the steering wheel, my rigid knuckles stark-white with tension from gripping it so tight, I take a fortifying breath before getting out of my car and walking into the local 24-hour grocery store. I quickly look around before grabbing a shopping basket, so that I can easily conceal the suspicious items if need be. Pulling my crumpled list out of my pocket, I go over the items I need to collect. Satanic Shopping List 1. candles 2. chalk 3. animal blood Is it too late to add courage to the list? As I peruse the aisles, I can’t help but worry about my friend, Rebecca. She went missing a couple weeks ago, without 5 NIC WALLACE so much as a phone call. I’ve tried going to her parents’ house, but they strangely won’t tell me anything. All I got from them was, “It’s none of your concern,” before the door was promptly slammed in my disconcerted face. Rebecca has always been rather impulsive—a very fragile person with a thin skin—and I’m worried that she’s gone and done something stupid. I have no leads and I’m at my wits end, so I’m about to perform a Satanic protection ritual, so that wherever she is, I’ll at least know that she’s alright.