Hearthville Serial: Book 7
Episode 19
Any Truth, Proper Grammar, or Correct Spelling is totally coincidental if not accidental.
All characters are fiction. This story is fiction. This story makes no claims about any real person.
By Charles Peters
Copyright 2021
All Rights Reserved
Caelous appeared next to the cage where they held Iapetus. The cage looked like it had been taken from an old circus; a lion cage; an animal cracker cage.
“You should not be here father.” Iapetus stared at Caelous.
“You now know me.”
“I suspected you and Victor might be one and the same once I started getting indications that you might be around and about.”
“But Victor and I are not exactly one and the same. And neither is he my spawn. Still, he can exist without me and I can exist without him. We are one spawn from Amelia but Amelia described us as alters. We are not like you and Billy where Billy is your spawn. Know that Victor and I love Billy just as we love you.”
Iapetus nodded. “I worry about Billy. Different members of the Witches Council keep messing with us.”
Caelous smiled. “Right now, it is more than messing. They’ve got you in a cage.”
“I do not know how I got into this damnable mess.”
“By what magic do they hold you.”
“I don’t know but I can not bend the bars. I can not shrink to go through the bars. I can not use any of the transport magic spells.”
Caelous moved his hand about the cage and he shrunk the cage to hand size. He snapped his fingers and vanished with the cage in his hand. He reappeared on Madison’s spaceship and returned the cage to its normal size.
Caelous asked, “Can any of you figure this cage out?”
Madison asked, “They just let you take the cage holding Iapetus.”
“I zapped all the guards out of the room into a temporary cage before I appeared in the room. But back to the question, does anyone here know how the cage works.”
Rasputin appeared on Madison’s spaceship. He looked at the cage. “It is old school but the old magic can be broken. To break the spell though, we need the key to this lock. The spell that binds the cage is rooted in this padlock and its key.”
Rasputin clanked the padlock. “We need the key.”
Caelous asked Iapetus. “Do you know where the key is?”
“No. I went to sleep and when I woke I was in this cage.”
Donny Maxtone said, “In a past life Victor was a locksmith. He might know how to reproduce the key.”
Victor looked around. “What is happening? What kind of dream is this?”
Iapetus said, “Victor, can you use magic to create a key for this cage?”
Victor winked at Iapetus and examined the padlock. “It was made on Pluto Viso.” Victor looked at the monitors and saw the ongoing attack against the Second Iapetus. “The Witches Council are invading us with souls from Pluto Viso. They are forces loyal to Belial.”
Victor pulled up a monitor to make a video call to Alice Malokey. “I want you to hear the announcement I am about to make.”
“Okay.”
Victor blasted a message to all the spaceships. His face appeared in the heavens. “If this attack against the Great Iapetus and his Second Realm does not end, you all will find yourselves in hell with your master.”
A face appeared next to Victor’s face. His name was Lucas SiJohn. “Sir. You either free Belial from hell or we will put you in the cage with your son.”
“My son? Now that is a strange notion even for a dream.” Victor laughed. Lucas SiJohn screamed in horror as Victor cast him into hell. “I think I might enjoy playing this video game as I dream. Who wants to challenge me next.”
The spaceships began to scramble. A key appeared in the lock to the cage where Iapetus was being held. Victor turned the key and the door opened. Iapetus was freed from the cage and stood next to Victor. “Alice, you make clear to the Witches Council that if they ever send any army into the Outlands again, I will send every one of them to hell. I don’t care what planet they recruit the army from. The Outlands is a safe zone that the Witches Council has agreed to leave free.”
Alice said, “I was not party to this. Honest. I was not.”
Victor said, “I want Sabian Blackrock moved to a prison controlled by Iapetus.”
“I can not do that.”
Iapetus asked, “Then you gain control of him where he is.”
“We will do our best.”
Victor said, “We will see if your best is good enough. For your sake, you had better hope that it is.”
Alice considered what Victor said. “I might can arrange for Iapetus to capture him.”
Iapetus nodded. “I will start considering a plan.”
Caelous stepped back into Victor’s body. He hugged his son Iapetus. “Be careful.”
Donny Maxtone asked, “Are you going to allow Victor to return?”
“I think the real question is if he is going to allow me to leave. There is a lot of pain in Victor.”
Donny nodded. “You know, we still don’t know where Jossette is? Is she safe or has she been captured?”
Caelous said, “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Artoreous said, “Please help us to make sure she is safe.”
Caelous said, “I will do my best but to be honest, so far, my best has not been good enough.”
Madison said, “I will do what I can.”
Alice said, “I will give orders to my private intelligent network to begin working on finding her to make sure she is safe.”
********
A cool wind blew through the catacomb and Stewart felt a chill. Lights were flickering on and off. Stewart looked behind him and the path from where he came. He considered going back but he knew he had to be a man, not a coward, for Preacher Pat’s only hope might be him.
Stewart heard a phone ringing. He was glad it was not his. At the thought, he reached down and turned his phone off. He walked forward.
He heard a woman’s voice. He knew it was the woman who had Preacher Pat. “Well, I could care less how many people Victor sends to hell. We need to stick to the plan.”
There was silence. Then Stewart heard something of a whimper coming from Preacher Pat. “Please do not play with my cock.”
“What the hell do you mean that Winston and Rabbit are in Witch City and with Sam’s parents? Victor did something with them. They can’t be found. If that son of a bitch has sent my son to hell, I will, I will, I will make all of his friends and family wish they were in hell.”
Stewart eased closer. Then he saw Preacher Pat. Naked. Running in his direction. Preacher Pat screamed, “We’ve got to get out of here. That woman is insane. She thinks she is a vampire.”
Preacher Pat and Stewart ran. They ran for all they were worth.