WHISKEY BENT and HELLBOUND- the Ranger and the Runaway Tales- Book Two

PROLOGUE:

HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD

Wewelsburg Castle

Wewelsburg Township,

Paderborn, Germany.

Early June 1985

Prof. Gustav Moltke stood in front of the vast rows of monitors on the wall; all televising the brutal end of the world and the righteous fall of Man. A broad, gloating grin broke across his face.

The brilliant, world-renowned biochemist and virologist basked in the bloody purge with a euphoric smile bordering on the orgasmic. His large, muscular arms, clad in the black and red robes of his master—Lord Orcus, spread wide in a victorious embrace.

The control room was empty save the Doctor and his handful of devout techs, manning the large, floor-to-ceiling bank of computers behind him.

It had only been a month since he sold his magically tainted virus to the unsuspecting militant group calling themselves the Brothers of the Cleansing or, more accurately, Al'iikhwat Alttathir. Now only a few weeks since the fanatics detonated their dirty bombs; releasing his pathogen they now are calling the 'Sanctity Virus'. Even the brilliant Dr. Gustav Moltke, the world's foremost authority on biochemistry was enthusiastically surprised how swiftly his intricately constructed plan had swept across the globe.

His master would be pleased.

Many millennia ago, this world lay cast in perpetual darkness and the land run wild with demons, daemons and a myriad of other vile creatures from the Abyss. The Dark One, Orcus, the lord of the dead, ruled this world and with it, the entire human population of man; who were nothing but mere dirt worshiping slaves under his ruthless, demonic control. That was until one brave human fought their evil masters and formed The Council of Fourteen. Once these insolent humans learned to harness the power of the Aether, these newfound mages waged war and in the end, created the Children of Light, sending the Orcus back to Hell, closed the gate that has stood locked ever since.

Until now.

"At long last, Master. Our time has come." The doctor turned High Priest's laugh bounced off the hand-carved walls of the monastery.

Two monitors kept pulling his attention away from the celebration. Their black and white screens held one sole purpose. Out of the original fourteen Children of Light, only two, perhaps three remained unaccounted for. Even with the otherworldly magic, the Dark One's power still was but a growing whisper in this realm. His Master would have little compassion for such a plight and Gustav knew he must seek and bring to the remaining Flames of the Great Creator to his Master.

Once Servants of the Dark One had found and captured the insolent humans, they were to be brought to the monastery and the dark ritual would be performed-thus beginning the Transference and moving Gustav's plan ever closer opening the trans-dimensional. The Dark One would soon return to his righteous realm and the dead would once again feed on the human cattle.

Gustav was pleasantly surprised at how swiftly the proliferation rate exceeded his highly informed expectations. With the help of the blindly unaware, terrorists, the Sanctity Virus—darkly tainted by the High Priest's abyssal magic was working splendidly. The only thing that standing between the Orcus' complete ascension to this world, were the last missing Children of Light. Gustav had a good line on one—A teenage male, a loner from upstate New York, named Warren Brennan. He had dispatched his Black Assassins to collect him. While the magic had failed to offer guidance on the other Child, Gustav prayed hourly that the Dark One would show him the way to smote the light and let the darkness come and extinguish the light of man.

Gustav hoped to have the second Child found and brought to him weeks ago, but fate didn't aid his diabolical cause and kept them in the black. Perhaps he needed to offer up another one of the Great Creator's vessels to appease the dark ones.

The Doctor turned High Priest, spun on his heel and left the control room, realizing his celebration premature, he cursed his own name for such arrogance. His loud footfalls echoed off the stonewalls as he made his was down two floors to the Holding Chambers.

A burning, blood-lust rose within him with each determined step. The road had been a long, treacherous one and he wouldn't let some insignificant insect stand in his way of reaching his master's goal. Nothing would prevent him from the ascension they promised him. Nothing.

If it took the blood of a thousand of the Great Creator's cattle to satiate the Breaching Ceremony spell and open the Hell Nexus, Gustav, would piously, do so.

The utility lights showered a ghostly yellow hue on the subjects cowering inside the holding cells. Gustav smiled as he approached. A stout guard stood, by the large cage and snapped to attention at the High Priest's entrance.

"Bring me two," Gustav commanded, as he unsheathed the curved blade from his waist.

It was a large room filled with massive cells on one side and a series of low standing stone ramps that looked like angled beds along the opposite wall. Each pillar had a stone bowl that opened to a chute that leads down to a drain in the floor that fed a large cistern that collected the sacrificial lifeblood until it came time for the ceremony.

Gustav eyed the guard as he roughly yanked two of the subjects from the cell and shoved them forward, toward the center of the room. The guard used a large club to redirect the cattle if they strayed. They left a bloody trail as they finally were forced to lie down on their backs on the stone beds.

The guard buckled two large leather belts across their upper and lower body that held each one in place making it easier to cut their throats and stepped back.

Gustav stood between them, held the large blade out in front of him and offered a prayer to Lord Orcus and closed his eyes.

He held the blade tightly in his hands and prayed that Orcus guided his hand and smiled, uttering the incantation of the offering.

A loud shout caused him to jump, nearly dropping the knife.

"Your eminence, I apologize, but I bring you good tidings." His second in command, Hayden huffed as if he'd run a mile. His face aglow with a smile.

Gustav gathered himself and shot the young man a harsh glare and said, "You had best or you will be soon joining this lot in the blood pit. Speak!"

Hayden's grin broke wider and said. "We found the other Child of Light and she's in Texas."

The High-Priest's gloating laughter filled the stone room and commingled with the crying sobs of the captives of Orcus.

"Most wonderful. Tell Meister Udo to ready his Mortem Eques. They must be ready to leave within the hour. I have another task for them."