Hell's Hero Read online

  “Are you okay?” Dante asked. “How do you feel?”

  A question flickered in Fate’s blue eyes. “What happened?”

  “You got yourself in a little trouble,” Dante said, his gaze lowering to something attached to his ear, and touched it lightly. “Is this something new?”

  “What?” Fate asked, feeling his earring in his ear. “This?”

  “Yeah. I don’t remember seeing it before. Does it have a meaning for you?”

  Fate smiled. “Not really. I thought maybe it would make me more attractive to you.”

  Dante smiled and shook his head. “That’s really sweet of you, but you’re not the type. Take it off.”

  “Okay, sure. If you don’t…”

  And then suddenly his breath stopped when he felt Dante’s hand drop to his jogging pants. With every tug he made, he licked his way across hot, hard flesh. Drawing a line with his tongue along Fate’s abdomen, he encountered a patch of silky hair, and his cock that had already begun to grow and harden.

  “You like it slow?” Dante whispered. “Nice and slow?”

  “Oh, yes,” Fate answered.

  As Dante moved, it was as if he was savoring each and every inch along Fate’s body. One thing Fate liked about Dante was, there was nothing flashy about him. He didn’t play silly games, that’s probably why he didn’t like the earring. He was the type to get right to the heart of his desire. As if he couldn’t wait. Fate liked that very much. He’d been with other men who were into all the dramatic foreplay associated with making love, and it didn’t impress Fate, it told him that they felt they had to impress their partner by maintaining center stage.

  Dante was basic, pure and sexy.

  God, he was getting so hot, he didn’t think he could stand it much longer, so he reached down and released Dante’s cock from the confining material. It sprang free of the cloth, not a speck of underwear in sight. A stalk of flesh, hot to the touch, dripping with pre-cum, upright and thick, and ready to be consumed. But before he could do anything, Dante hunkered down, anchored himself, and sucked Fate’s thick rod, taking it deep into this mouth, and savoring the flared knob.

  Suddenly Fate heard a deep groan, and realized it was him. While he writhed, he grabbed Dante’s shoulders and his fingers bit into Dante’s flesh.

  Dante felt the strength in that grip as he licked his tongue up one side of Fate’s engorged cock and down the other. He dipped lower and sucked his testicles into his mouth, bathing them with his saliva. Finally releasing Fate’s balls with a pop, he cupped Fate’s ass, pressing his fingers into the firm flesh, separating his cheeks. Dante lifted one hand and sucked two of his fingers into his mouth, coating them well with his saliva before again claiming the bobbing slick prick for his tasty treat. His wet fingers found Fate’s small, tight anus, swirled over the opening before delving carefully inside.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes, God, yes!”

  Moving like a steam engine, his fingers moved in and out until he finally pushed his hot and heavy cock inside and continued what his fingers had started.

  “Oh, God, Dante! It’s so…God, it’s so…good!”

  Dante fucked him hard, but when he had gone as far as he dared, he pulled back. He wanted to taste Fate. He wanted to swallow his cum. Complete surrender. He knew it was dangerous, knew he shouldn’t but right now nothing mattered but tasting this man’s pleasure, so after he found his own pleasure, he continued eating Fate, pulling an orgasm out of him that would have blasted the ceiling.

  And then on the last, “Oh, God, Dante!” it came splashing out.

  * * * *

  The next day, while Fate was still sleeping off his ordeal, Dante came out of his bedroom on his way to the shower when he saw the book lying on the floor where he had dropped it. He remembered how it had seemed, for no reason, to fly out of his hands, and even resisted his touch. He knew something had changed, and he was almost afraid to find out what.

  Dante looked down at the book, realizing it was more than just a book, and knowing that caused a certain chill inside him. His first inclination was to pick it up and put it away, but for some reason he hesitated. As he gazed down at it, the fists of both hands splayed, and then fisted when he thought of touching it because he knew that one day—at least according to Fate—it would no longer feel like imitation leather in his hand, but it would feel like fire.

  Had that day arrived?

  After standing there like a frightened idiot, he asked himself, What the hell am I? A wimp, or one of those things Fate and the whole city was comparing me to—a superhero? What would they say if they knew I was afraid of a silly little leather-bound book that meant nothing to me? A book that probably had no more power than—but somehow he knew better than that.

  So, laying his towel down, and putting one determined foot in front of the other, he approached the innocent-looking book that lay undisturbed on the floor, and then leaned over to pick it up—but very slowly. As the seconds passed, his hand navigated toward it until it hovered above it. With an expression of concern and fear on his face, he lowered his hand the last few inches until he gently tou—

  “Ooooowwwwww!” he yelled, and jerked his hand back, holding it to his chest as he looked down at it.

  The damned book had burn—

  When he looked down at the book it had fallen open. What did it mean, he asked himself until he looked closer, and saw a passage—something about a burning bush, and a man named Moses.

  And then something happened. Was it the snap of a finger, a sudden command, or the wave of a master magician’s magic wand that made him realize he wasn’t in his living room anymore? Looking around he saw he was in some kind of lush forest where beautiful birds flew, skittering animals happily jumped and played, and glittering gold fish were swimming in the undulating waters. As he looked around, he saw a waterfall in the midst of absolute beauty. There were flowering plants wild with color, and all looked exotic. He was surrounded by fruit he’d never even heard of, but somehow he knew their names when he saw them. There was Langsat, Cherimoya, Aguajefruit, along with the more familiar oranges, apples, melon of all kinds, and even bananas. All looked succulent and ready to eat. He reached up to pick one, but before he could touch it, suddenly he was instructed by some distant voice to walk through the curtain of water.

  He turned, looked, and then when he did as he was told, he realized he was becoming soaked up in some kind of absorbing darkness. He continued to walk through the darkness until he came out the other side. He immediately felt a pressing heat surrounded by some dark woods filled with strange-looking beasts. As he walked, his feet clattered through human bones, and he saw creatures of every kind stalking the forest until he reached a large, foreboding structure with the words, The Gates of Hell etched on it.

  “This leads to the center of the earth where Hell is located,” came the distant voice. “It is made up of nine circles, and in each circle wickedness culminates until it reaches the center of Hell where Satan and his angels will one day be held in bondage. That is where the seat of power lies.”

  “Tell me about these circles,” Dante said.

  “There is Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery.”

  From where he was standing he could see a ferry docked on a lake called Purgatory, where flames licked up from it, and from where he heard the wailing of damned souls.

  “There are people aboard. Who are they? Where is the ferry taking them?”

  “These are people that have been damned, and they are being taken to the fourth circle called Greed.”

  When Dante looked into the faces of those who were lost, he heard their howls. Others who were going to board the vessel were wheeling weights so heavy they used their chests to push. They struck against each other trying to get where they were going. At one point, many turned around and cried out, “Why do you want to live like this? There is still time for you. Go back to the
One who offers love, sunshine, fresh water, and good things to eat. We have no choice. We eat worms, intestines, anything infested with lice, poison, and feces from an animal’s body.”

  Dante watched, mesmerized until he suddenly felt himself being pulled out until he was in the forest beside the waterfall.

  “Follow the path in front of you, and you will find me.”

  Dante looked down and saw the path the voice was referring to and followed it, one step at a time, a little hesitant, but curious. He had only been walking a few minutes when suddenly the most beautiful view he had ever seen opened up in front of him. It was a panoramic view of—it had to be Heaven. It just had to be.

  “I’m over here.”

  Dante turned, and what he saw made him gasp.

  Sitting on a rock was a man who looked as if he had just crawled up out of the bowels of Hell. He was dressed in some kind of costume that looked as if it had been scorched and burned. He had one leg bent upward as he sat there leisurely eating some of the fruit Dante had just seen. The man was dark, had dirty wings sprouting out in back of him, and he couldn’t tell what color his hair was since he was filthy with coal dust, but it was shoulder-length, and he smelled of sulfur.

  “Are you God?” Dante asked.

  The man smiled as if amused. “Of course not. I’m only an angel. My name is Satanail, and I come from the old neighborhood.”

  “The old neighborhood? I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Hell, stupid.”

  “You can’t be in Heaven if…”

  “This isn’t Heaven. It’s sort of an annex between Heaven and Hell. I’m a fallen angel.”

  “A fallen angel here in Heaven?”

  “Didn’t you hear me? This is Celio, a midway point between Heaven and Hell.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t know why. It’s clear to me. You’re a hellish creature that was sent to Earth to destroy it. Do you think God is going to let you into Heaven? Unless you change your ways, I’m afraid this is as close as you’re going to get.”

  He looked around. “But it’s so beautiful here. Is Heaven as beautiful as this?”

  “Anything God creates is beautiful. Satan on the other hand…”

  “He created me. Am I so ugly?”

  “We all know your story, and a lot of us are pissed off because he made you special.”

  Dante was getting impatient. “Look, why the hell am I here?”

  “Because God wants you here, stupid.”

  “All right, here I am.” Dante looked around. “So, where is He?”

  “He’s not here for a very good reason. He wants to know your intentions first.”

  “Oh, my God, I can’t believe it.”

  “You’re taking His name in vain. You do that a lot, don’t you?”

  “Everyone does.”

  “Does that make it right?”

  “No, I suppose not.” Dante looked up and down, and all around. “All right, so where is He? Is it usual for Him to hide behind a fallen angel until He knows it’s safe to come out? Am I a threat to Him?”

  “God? Afraid of you? Please!” Satanail said. “He could destroy you with the finger of one hand. With a thought. Since you’re a creature of Hell, he sent one of Hell’s angels to meet you. Simple. Makes sense to me.”

  “Well, it doesn’t to me. He brings me here, and then doesn’t even make an appearance. That adds up to coward to me.”

  Suddenly the sound of thunder ripped through the sky, and a lightning bolt struck close enough to Dante to singe the hair on his head.

  Satanail snickered. “You made Him mad.”

  “Yeah? Well, He’s making me mad, and when I get mad I…”

  Usually about this time Dante began shapeshifting into some horrible creature, but when nothing happened, he tried again, concentrating harder this time, but still nothing happened.

  “Give it up, stupid. You’re in God’s territory now. If you think you can take God on, think again.”

  “Yeah,” Dante said, giving up. “I guess I am stupid.”

  “That’s better. Now…I believe there’s a question you need to answer.”

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “You don’t?” Satanail said, surprised. “You seem a little stupid to me. The fact is, you’ve been given a choice, Dante. Heaven or Hell.” Satanail watched him closely for an answer. After a few moments, he said, “So, what’ll it be? Hell, where your daily meal will be a plate full of coals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Or do you prefer Heaven where fruit trees…” he lifted up the fruit he’d been eating and showed it to Dante, “…will grow in profusion in an orchard just outside your window.” He smiled. “I know what my choice would be.”

  “Then why don’t you tell God?”

  A look of unhappiness crossed Satanail’s face. “Because I made my choice a long time ago when I followed Satan in a revolt against God.” He looked at Dante closely. “Listen to me, Dante. Once you make your choice, there’s no going back. So make sure that whatever you choose is what you really want.”

  Dante looked around at the fruit trees, the waterfalls, the beautiful gold fish swimming in the lake until he heard Satanail continue speaking.

  “Dante, why are you hesitating? We both know that anybody with a half a brain would choose Heaven. So what if He requires loyalty, faithfulness, devotion and allegiance?”

  “He wants all that?”

  “Sure. But most of all He wants love. Not the kind of love you give to a spouse, a child, or a friend, but the kind of love you give to a…God. He wants worship, praise, adulation, glorification…”

  “But how can I give Him all that? I’m a creature from Hell. What He asks is impossible.”

  “Then your answer is no? You’ll continue to serve Satan, and live in that…place you just saw?”

  Dante lowered his head, and tears fell from his eyes as he said, “No. I don’t want…that place was awful. I want God, but…I don’t think He wants…” Before he got the words out of his mouth he looked up, and saw himself standing in the living room of Fate’s apartment, not knowing how he got there. Oh, my God, I’ve been thrown out of Heaven…or what was the name of the place…Celio? He remembered his last words before he seemed to get thrown out.

  I want God…I want God…I want God!

  Those were the words he had said just before God threw him out. Why did He throw him out? Did He think Dante was lying? Dante had to know, so he quickly turned, and there it lay—the book. With determination on his face, he walked toward it, and looked down at it. He trembled inside, his hands trembled, but he reached for it, and with his head bowed, and his face screwed up to bear the pain—he picked it up.

  The moment he touched it, his eyes flew open, and he looked down.

  He was holding it, but miracle of miracles—there was no burn. When he realized what this meant, thankful tears fell from his eyes onto the book that he held close to his heart, and for the first time he knew that what God had asked of him—love, adoration, and loyalty—trembled in his heart. And it was all because of what he had learned from this one book that everyone in this world called—the Bible.

  Chapter 6

  THE next day…

  Fate and Dante had been talking, and Dante, excited and smiling, was telling Fate everything that happened to him. “So what do you think? Is that wild, or what?”

  Fate sat and looked at Dante for a moment, and then he said, “Angels, demons, Satanail? What kind of name is that?”

  “It’s the name he gave me.”

  “Are you making this stuff up?”

  “Of course not. It all happened after I read the passage about the burning bush, and Moses.”

  “Burning bushes yet, and Moses,” Fate muttered. He finally looked at Dante for a moment, and then said, “I’m going out.”

  “Okay, wait until I get dressed, and…”

 
“Alone,” Fate said, the word short and to the point.

  “Why? I mean, I can…”

  “I don’t want you along, Dante.”

  “But we can make a day of it. We could…”

  “Forget it. I don’t think the things I would do would fit in with your holy lifestyle. By the way, you’re doing really good now. Why don’t you plan on leaving and getting your own place?”

  “Fate, are you upset with me for something?”

  “I hear the local church is looking for a preacher. Why don’t you apply? I think when you tell them the fairytale you just told me, about how you talked to God…”

  Dante’s anger spiraled. “Hell, Fate, I can’t help what happened to me. Besides, I didn’t see, or talk to God. It was an angel, a friggin’ fallen angel named…”

  “You told me!”

  “Why are you acting like this, Fate? There’s no reason to ridicule me for what happened. I don’t understand it either, but it did happen. After all, you were the one who introduced me to all this…”

  “All right, but I didn’t think it would turn you into some kind of holier than thou…saint.”

  “A saint? Fate, I had an experience. I changed loyalties, that’s all there was to it. I don’t know what comes next, but I did think that whatever it was you’d be right there with me. It’s what you wanted…calling me a superhero, and all that…talk about a fairytale.”

  “I don’t like this, Dante,” Fate said angrily. “You’re too damned holy to be human.”