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    Night Dreams #7: Underworld
    Night Dreams #7: Underworld
    Night Dreams #7: Underworld
    Ebook73 pages58 minutes

    Night Dreams #7: Underworld

    By A. Lopez, Jr

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    About this ebook

    How far will one go to set things right?

    In the final episode, Joseph and Father Lombardi battle their own inner demons while trying to prepare for a showdown with the real evil behind the chaos in their lives.

    Guilt and the need for revenge drive the two men blindly to a fate worse than they could have imagined.

    The gates of hell are closer than they think.

    The sounds pounded in Joseph’s ears like a massive sledgehammer beating down on the roof of his house. This attack on his mental and physical being was the worst by far. Joseph knew, as he crawled towards the front door, there would be no easy way to get closure with Andrea, much less, kill the demon.
    The pain in his head rattled his teeth and blurred his vision. He reached up with a shaking hand for the doorknob. The door shook and bowed in and out, the gold knob elusive to his hand in its movement. With resolve, he pulled himself together from his fetal position and slammed his hand on the door at first, then the knob. He twisted. The latch gave way. The door burst open.
    Fire and flames rushed inside.
    He lowered his hand quickly and lie flat on the wooden floor, catching a glimpse of the fire racing into the house above. The intense heat burned his face. He felt his flesh begin to melt.
    Silence came next.
    The fire vanished. The smoke was gone.
    One thunderous step after another came from deep inside the house. The steps shook the floor and grew louder, moving closer. The demon making his way to his prey.
    Joseph looked towards the darkened house, then looked through the open door to the peaceful night outside. Life and death separated by the smallest of invisible margins.
    But this time, he would not run. This time, he could not run. This time, he would take the battle to the demon and any others along the way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA. Lopez, Jr
    Release dateJun 14, 2016
    ISBN9781310578694
    Night Dreams #7: Underworld
    Author

    A. Lopez, Jr

    Born and raised in Texas and now residing in Arizona. I am an avid reader and big Houston Sports Fan. I play chess everyday when I'm not squeezing in a little time for writing. I published my first work Purgatory - 13 Tales of the Macabre and Floor Four - A Novella of Horror, an Amazon Bestseller in Occult Horror. Also completed is Night Dreams, an episodic series in seven parts that can be read separately or in one complete novel. My column, 'Ask AJ', appeared in All Authors Magazine online and I have had short stories published on Dark River Press, The Sirens Call eZine Issue #14 and the anthologies, State of Horror Illinois published by Charon Coin Press and Concordant Vibrancy published by All Authors Publishing. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and my website, alopezjr.com.

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      Book preview

      Night Dreams #7 - A. Lopez, Jr

      image-placeholder

      Contents

      1.The Kurds

      2.Full Circle

      3.Old Truths

      4.Nowhere Is Safe

      5.The Bishop

      6.The Closet

      7.Restless Night

      8.Office Call

      9.Close To Hell

      10.Terminus

      11.Epilogue

      12.Author’s Note

      Also By A. Lopez Jr.

      About A. Lopez jr.

      Copyright

      1

      The Kurds

      Centuries ago, it was believed the Kurdish passed down a sacred knife made of special steel. A knife said to have the power to kill demons. Legend was, The Kurds, based in their Muslim beliefs, lost the knife in one of their many wars. It is thought to be in the possession of the Catholic Church and moved to different locations to keep it hidden. These rumors have traveled throughout the religious communities and dark underground cults for centuries, no one knowing if they are true, or if the knife actually exists.

      Bishop Pappano stood in front of a gold box deep below St. Anthony’s church. He had just checked on an ancient artifact. The knife, with a four-inch wooden handle and six-inch serrated blade made of a special steel and unknown, but powerful properties, was kept in the box and is believed to be the infamous demon-killing knife of the Kurds. The Bishop, sworn to silence as a faithful member of the church, did his duty every week, checking on the ancient blade. He didn’t know if the legends were true or if this was just some mythical piece of wood and steel. But his job was not to question, only to maintain its secrecy and safety. Aside from higher members of the Catholic Church, only he and Father Lombardi knew their church had possession of it and neither knew when it would be moved to another location.

      Curiosity to hold the knife crept in from time to time, but the Bishop remained faithful and never touched the pristine dagger. He walked to the bottom of the stairs and switched off the lone light shining down on the gold box. He closed the huge wooden door and fastened the lock. He made his way up the stairs, satisfying his obligation for another week.

      2

      Full Circle

      The ride from Patterson Lake to Pittsburgh took longer than the drive up. Both men carried a heavy weight of guilt and shame. All self-imposed and made worse by the length of time each one wrestled with their inner demons in not being truthful with each other. The deafening silence made the ride home awkward.

      Thoughts swirled in their heads with only a word or two passing between them until they neared the northern outskirts of Pittsburgh.

      Father Lombardi spoke first. I know it has been a long day, but I must begin to tell you about something from my past. The priest didn’t look at Joseph, only staring through the windshield as if he was addressing it. Many years ago, as I began my seminary with the church, I took a trip to Italy, as many of us did back then. I met Pope Paul VI and many other high-ranking Cardinals and Bishops. Father Augustine took me and another young seminary under his mentoring. During that time, the three of us took place in my first Rite of Exorcism.

      Hearing the word, exorcism, struck an emotional nerve with Joseph as the next highway exit neared. The priest told him about the family and the girl, Silvana, and gave a chilling account of the frightening ritual.

      Joseph listened to every detail as he recalled the events of the dreadful night of Andrea’s own exorcism.

      Father Lombardi told of his first encounter with a demon as a young man in that small bedroom in a faraway place on the other side of the world. He told of how it ended and how the young girl got her spirit, soul, and life back. A gift, given to her by the hand of God. The only thing he didn’t speak of was the verbal exchange with the demon.

      As they pulled off the expressway and entered the city near the church, the priest said he would finish his story inside the comforts of his office.

      Joseph pulled the black sedan into the church parking lot, and both men noticed a strange man standing under a street lamp across the street. An uneasiness came over them.

      They parked, exited the car, and looked over to the sidewalk where the stranger stood. The mysterious man wore a black hoodie. His hands tucked into the pockets and head lowered just enough to shadow his face from the street lamp’s faint light.

      Turning away, Father Lombardi made his way up the cement steps to the door. After wrangling with the oversized set of keys, the door’s lock gave way with a click. The priest took one more glance at the man before entering the church.

      Joseph didn’t know why, but he couldn’t look away from the man who stood completely still.

      The door creaked on its hinges, breaking him from his mini-trance and he turned to trot

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