The Paradise Prophecy

39

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

The first of the riots was in Sin City, of all places.

No one was quite sure how it started, but the Vegas Strip and the hotels downtown were unusually crowded, and that may have had something to do with it. People from all over the world had packed the casinos, hoping to win it big and cash in on the American dream-a dream that seemed even more remote than usual. So the anxiety level was high and tempers were frayed.

Rumor had it that it began with a simple altercation. Two tourists at odds over which slot machine belonged to whom-along with the three-million-dollar jackpot it was spewing. One of them claimed she’d been straddling two machines and had just turned away for a moment when the other came up and dropped the winning coins, thus robbing the straddler of the reward she surely had coming.

Their fight was brief, but vicious, ending with one woman dead, and the other practically foaming at the mouth, victim of a rage and frustration so virulent that it spread like a contaminant. And the next thing everyone knew, there were people fighting everywhere, taking it into the streets.

But, again, that was just a rumor. The truth is, anything could have set it off.

In an interview on the evening news, one man said it was all the fault of our Godless society. That it was the goddamn atheists and the homos and them terrorist camel jockeys who had brought this down upon us, with their craven depravity and their hatred for their fellow man. As far as he was concerned, every last one of them should be publicly executed, used as examples for the rest of the heathens. Get Jesus or get bent.

Later that day he was shot dead by his wife, who claimed he’d been abusing her for twenty-five years.

It took a few hours for the mayhem to spread to other cities, but spread it did. Political protests, impromptu strikes, small skirmishes that seemed to escalate for no reason other than that people were either scared or fed up. Tired of living in a world that provided them no hope.

Or just plain tired of living.

It was as if humankind had finally given in to its baser instincts and started listening to that little cartoon devil on its shoulder, damn the consequences.

And as things got worse, the faithful sent up their prayers, asking for protection and guidance.

Unfortunately, no one seemed to be listening.

The three dark angels watched it all from the boardroom of L4, which stood high above the Strip-one of the many branches they maintained around the world. The creation of a security company had been Moloch’s idea-

– L4 or Lucifer’s Four-

– which was about the extent of his creativity.

Moloch, the Lord of War-who was currently calling himself Vogler-stared at the street below, shaking his head in contempt. “Seed the crowd with few drudges and the lemmings follow. It’s amazing how predictable these creatures are.”

“Be thankful for that,” Mammon said. “As you well know, it hasn’t always been this easy.”

In this world, Mammon-the Lord of Greed-used his human name Radek.

They all preferred to use human names when dealing with humans.

All but Belial, that is.

They’d often told her that the goal was to blend in, which could hardly be accomplished with names so familiar to so many, thanks in large part to the poet, who had stolen their story. But Belial possessed an immeasurable amount of arrogance. Had chosen to inhabit this earth as a woman, of all things, so that told you all you needed to know about her.

Jonathan Beel, or Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies, said, “Don’t start celebrating quite yet. The moon is two days away, and while your efforts have been admirable, they’re no guarantee of success.”

“Always the naysayer, eh, Beelzebub?”

“Need I remind you of our record of failures? No matter what we throw at these creatures, no matter how we might tempt them, they always manage to survive.”

“Not this time,” Mammon said. “Moloch and I have planted these seeds all over the globe. What we’re witnessing here is only the beginning.”

“We shall see.”

“The point-as I seem to have to keep reminding you-is that this world has never been so corrupt, never been so full of weak-willed mortals who blame one another for their failures. I can’t remember a time when I’ve seen so many so willing to exploit the pain of others or kill over petty differences, or claim to worship their so-called father as they wallow in their own hypocrisy. We’ve harnessed enough tainted souls to do exactly what we need to do.”

“Nice speech,” Beelzebub said. “But it doesn’t change anything. Without the power of the Telum, we could well fall short.”

Mammon laughed, his voice laced with derision. “A few moments ago you were braying about Belial’s claim she may have found the sacred traveler. What happened to all that confidence? “

“The Telum is only half the battle, and you know it.”

“You surprise me, Beelzebub. For someone who’s so anxious to see the Master released from his cage, you seem awfully dependent on this fairy tale. Here Moloch and I give you concrete results, and Belial is still wasting her time with Michael’s little fan club, looking for something that may not even exist.”

“She found the girl, didn’t she?”

“Her brother found the girl, and she’s childish enough to think that actually means something. But Michael’s irrelevancy on this planet has never been so clearly defined.”

“I happen to agree with her,” Beelzebub said.

Mammon shook his head in disgust. “Miraculous weapons, singing souls … you two are as gullible as those fools who think the one we put on the cross was some kind of-”

“Enough,” Moloch said, moving toward them. “You two fight like schoolchildren. I thought we were past all of this nonsense.”

“I simply don’t like the idea of all of our hard work being discounted in favor of something that has yet to be proven,” Mammon said.

“No one is discounting anything,” Moloch told him. “But Beelzebub is right. Let’s not be so arrogant to believe that the game has already been won. Telum or no Telum, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

“Hear, hear,” Beelzebub said.

“So why don’t we save the celebration for a night when we can all drink a toast with Lucifer?”

The other two nodded, then all three raised their hands.

“A posse ad esse.”