The Devil's Demeanor Read Online Free Page A

weaknesses, it
would be in there.
    He took a moment to think about what he was
about to do. What if the creature had nothing to do with Lucy’s death? What if
it had been an accident?
    He realized he didn’t care if the monster was
responsible or not. He hated it for the nightmares it had given him. He hated
it for turning his own father against him. Stephen wanted to hurt it for
hurting him.
    When he opened his eyes he was there, in the
grand hall. He saw the throne up ahead, with the statues lining the path to it.
    The book was there.
    He ran up to it and held it to his chest. He
tried to will himself awake, hoping the book would come with him. Nothing
happened. His heart raced. Could he wake up at all if he needed to? He tried
again and woke up in his bed. The book was not there. He closed his eyes again,
and when he opened them he was back in the hall. The book was on the floor.
    “Shit!”
    He picked it up and hid behind the throne. He
went through the book, still unable to read the language in which it was
written. He understood the illustrations enough, though. He got past the last
page the creature had shown him, with the beings made of light.
    On the following page was a drawing of a
figure that was not made of light. It looked like it was falling from the sky,
though. Stephen didn’t understand. He flipped back to the previous page, and
then back to the dim figure. On the page adjacent was what looked like the
previous two illustrations combined. Whoever drew it must have been angry
because the drawing was very dark and jagged. Stephen flipped the page and saw
the dim figure was now as bright as the gods.
    Something clicked in Stephen. The drawings
made a strange kind of sense.
    Suddenly, he heard grunts coming from the
entrance to the hall behind him, followed by the sound of movement. A couple of
somethings had come in and were walking toward him.
    “Where is the history?” he heard one of them
say.
    “I left it on the throne, Great One,” said
another, and Stephen recognized that seductive voice. It was his creature.
    “No matter. There is something we need to
discuss.” The other voice was deeper, sickly, but sounded a lot like the
other’s.
    “Of course, Master.”
    Something sat down on the throne, nudging it
against Stephen’s back. He almost yelped in surprise but managed to keep
himself under control. Though he could leave whenever he wanted, he chose to
stay and listen.
    “You are not like your siblings,” Master said.
“You are much more ambitious than any of them, which is why, when I leave this
realm, I want you to take my place.”
    “I am greatly honored, Master, but are you
sure you want me? I don’t doubt your great wisdom, but sure Carutha would be a
better fit.”
    “Carutha is a fool I wouldn’t trust to wipe my
ass. You are the only one who is aware of our potential. The others are too
comfortable living in the bowels of the earth. I confess that I too have grown
accustomed to our living arrangement over the millenia.
    “But you, Machiska, were brave enough to
venture out and make contact with the Above Dwellers. What have you learned?”
    “Sometimes, I can see through the boy’s eyes,”
Machiska said. “Lately I have seen nothing. Some great force is blocking my
perception. I believe it’s his father. He communes with a god. At first I
thought it was the ones that keep us below ground, but I have found it to be
another altogether.”
    “Try to regain your connection with the boy.
If he is who I believe he is, then he will be very useful to us. After what you
told me about him appearing here, there is little doubt.”
    “A link to the gods?” Machiska asked.
    “Indeed.” Master coughed violently, rocking
the throne. Stephen didn’t move. “If he is the link, we can use him to destroy
the gods. Then we can walk the heavens and the earth without
fear of death.”
    “But, Master, if he is a link to them, could
he possibly be a link to us?”
    “I feared as much,