Goetia (Hellgate London, Book 2) (Bk. 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Mel Odom (Author)
Key Phrases: cluster rifle, palladium spikes, demon patrols, Simon Cross, Spike Bolter, Templar Underground (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The trilogy that began
in Exodus continues:

2024: Four years after the Demons opened the planar rift known as the Hellgate, mankind's desperate struggle to survive continues. Simon Cross, expatriate of the secret Templar order, works to find and transport survivors out of the ruined city. Hiding within London's Underground system, Simon is raising an army to fight against the encroaching Darkness. Now, he battles the monsters that roam the city and fends off a jealous Knight who plans to take Simon down...all while striving to reunite the divided Templar forces.

Warren Schimmer, a Cabalist who is magically linked to a powerful demon, searches for Goetia. Also known as the Lesser Key of Solomon, this ancient artifact could provide the forces of good or evil with an edge in the ongoing war. Standing in his path is Simon Cross. Warren has made a bargain with his Demon lord for survival and the promise of vengeance against the persuasive Templar...but a Demon's promise is made to be broken.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

ONE

You have found them, vassal. Now I want them dead.

From the third-story fire escape, Warren Schimmer gazed down at his prey and tried not to think of them as human. Not that it would have mattered too terribly much. With his life in the balance against theirs, he would save his own life every time. That was how he'd done things for the last four years.

Do not hesitate or your own life will be forfeit.

The deep, rasping voice in Warren's head belonged to Merihim, a demon who had chosen Warren as one of his pawns in the demonic wars playing out over England. To disobey orders would be to die in a most horrible fashion.

Warren was afraid of dying. He'd nearly been killed by his stepfather when he was a boy. His stepfather had just succeeded in killing Warren's mother. The sound of the gunshots still haunted him at night.

But those dreams were less scary than the ones of the demon.

The five people below moved cautiously. Four of them, three men and one woman, were security guards. Warren knew that from the way they moved and the weapons they carried. They also wore hard-shell Kevlar vests and Kevlar helmets.

The fifth person was a man in his middle years. The others had bundled him up in body armor, too, but he moved uncomfortably in it. He clutched a package tightly to his chest.

Merihim wanted the package.

Warren didn't know what it was. He rarely knew what Merihim sent him after. During the last four years, the demon's primary command had been to watch and grow stronger in his powers. Warren knew that Merihim often watched through his eyes. The demon's flesh bound them.

Occasionally, when Merihim's guards were down, or because Warren was growing stronger in his powers, Warren sometimes got glimpses of the things the demon saw. When Merihim caught him spying, as he did most of the time, Warren ended up getting migraines that left him sick and hurting for days.

Worst of all, those episodes left Warren defenseless. He'd had to rely on others to keep him safe. Dependence had never come easily to him. These days he hated it worse than ever.

Control had always been a big part of Warren's life. Now, what little control he did have was just an illusion. Merihim controlled him. But he also protected him.

It was a suitable trade-off. Most of the people Warren had met over the last four years had died hard deaths. Living, even as a demon's vassal, was better than dying.

Even when it meant killing others.

The five men entered the alley and walked beneath Warren's position. A small object, no larger than a racquetball, trailed them from a discreet distance.

Warren gestured. The object changed course immediately and came to him. He caught it in his right hand, the demon's hand that Merihim had given him after he'd lost his own in battle against a Templar named Simon Cross. It was the hand that bound Warren to Merihim so tightly.

Covered with silvery-green scales, the hand was proportioned to his own. In the first few months he'd had it, it had changed. Except for the coloration, the scales, and the black nails, most wouldn't give it a second glance. Unless they'd heard the stories about him.

The object squirmed inside Warren's hand.

"Stop," he said softly, too quietly for the men below to hear.

The thing stopped trying to escape.

Warren opened his hand and examined it. The object was an eyeball he'd plucked from a dying Blood Angel. As the demon had expired, Warren had worked the binding spell that Merihim had coached him in.

When he'd finished, the eye had been his and he could see through it as Merihim could see through his eyes. Over the years, he'd made more of them. He'd created other things as well. They sometimes moved and jerked in the demonhide bag he carried slung over one shoulder.

None of the other Cabalists he knew had been able to make such things. Of course, none of the others were bound to a demon.

He pushed the Blood Angel's eye into the bag and shook off the attempts of the other things in there to get free. None of them could escape the bag. His power bound them there.

Do not fail me.

Warren summoned the power within him. He felt strong. On those occasions when he directly obeyed the demon's orders, he had discovered that his reservoirs of power were a lot bigger. Tonight he felt especially strong.

He threw the demon's hand before him, fingers outspread. Force shimmered against his palm. He felt it, and he saw it as a rippling wave of smoke. With a flick, the force shot from his hand and struck one of the two rear guards.

The man went down without a sound. He sprawled in a loose tangle of limbs.

The other rear guard shouted a warning, then hunkered down into a half-crouch with his weapon raised in his hands. It was some kind of machine pistol. Warren knew that from countless online First-Person Shooters and RPGs he'd played.

One of the other two guards clapped a hand on the man's shoulder and jerked him into rapid motion. The man, overburdened by the body armor, almost tripped and fell. The guard managed to keep him upright and moving.

The other guard half-crouched as well and looked around the alley. His eyes drifted up and locked onto Warren. Too late, Warren saw that the man had flipped down lenses from the Kevlar helmet. Obviously they offered some kind of infrared or night-vision capabilities because the man had no problem spotting Warren.

Even as he felt the man's gaze on him, Warren leaped from the third-story fire escape landing. No human could have survived the drop without serious injury. Warren landed and barely flexed his legs to absorb the shock.

A line of bullets, interspersed with red tracer rounds, slammed into the fire escape where he'd been. Metal clanged and shrieked under the barrage.

That's going to draw demons, Warren thought sourly. Maybe the police.

Incredibly, ragged remnants of the London Metropolitan Police Department continued to live inside the city. In the beginning, they'd tried to keep order in the streets, thinking that the military would put things to rights in short order. When that hadn't happened, most of them turned as mercenary as everyone else trying to survive in the city.

But they still investigated disturbances. It was in their nature. Also, they'd claimed weapons taken from military stockpiles. Normally they weren't armed. Times changed. Equipped with the new weapons, the police officers had become more dangerous.

Warren held his fist out and popped it open suddenly. Flames jetted from his hand and enveloped the security guard with the quick trigger finger. The man surged up, dropped his weapon, and batted at the flames as he ran as though he could leave the fire behind.

"James!" the guard holding the civilian yelled. "Don't run, mate! It only feeds the fire!"

If the burning man heard his friend, he gave no sign. He careened into the wall and fell into a pile of debris that also caught on fire.

At that moment, Warren lost sight of the man as he concentrated on the other one who was even then turning on him with the machine pistol. Warren brought his hand up in front of him and pushed more energy into the spell he had ready.

The guard fired his weapon. Dozens of bullets spat from the machine pistol like a swarm of metallic bees. Muzzle flashes lit the alley like miniature lightning strikes.

Despite his confidence in his abilities, fear trickled through Warren. His senses sped up so much that he could see the bullets clearly as they streaked for him. Most of them wouldn't miss.

Afraid? Merihim taunted.

Warren ignored the mocking voice. He flicked his hand open over his heart. A shimmer passed over his body several inches from his skin.

The bullets struck the barrier he'd called up and froze in mid-air only inches from him. The lead projectiles were partially melted from the heat created in the barrel, and from the impact against the shield. They hung suspended as he gazed at them.

Then he realized his left shoulder felt as if it was on fire. When he looked, he saw that one of the bullets had evidently struck him and penetrated the flesh. The sensation of blood spreading down his back let him know the bullet had gone all the way through.

How?

It is a reminder, Merihim said. I do not want you to get too complacent. You will not take for granted what I've given you.

Silently, Warren wondered if Merihim had intentionally let him be wounded, or if the demon's powers weren't as strong as he'd claimed. The fact that he could question such a thing without Merihim knowing also proved the demon didn't have quite the hold he professed.

Of course, the possibility existed that the demon did know and only allowed Warren his misplaced confidence. Warren forced the thought away almost as soon as it dawned. He concentrated on survival.

He ignored the pain in his shoulder and focused on the guard that had shot at him. Shot me, Warren corrected.

The man brought his weapon up again. The bullets held in stasis before Warren created silvery-green waves of energy that bumped against each other like rocks in an incoming tide.

Warren swept his hand toward the man. The bullets immediately spun back toward the guard. Mushroomed and deformed from being fired, they wreaked havoc on the man's body. Impelled by greater forces than mere cordite, the projectiles ripped through the man's body armor and hurled him backward a dozen feet. He smashed against the wall behind him and slumped to the ground. Only blood, bone, ripped flesh, and shattered Kevlar remained of his face.

Warren strode to the two survivors. "Shoot me and you die," he told the guard.

The man hesitated, then dropped his weapon to his side.

Kill them all, Merihim ordered.

I don't have to, Warren thought back at him.

I have told you to. They die...or you die.

"All right," the man said. "What do you want?"

Warren stopped in front of the man and held his hand out. It hurt to move his arm, but he kept his right hand clenched and ready to unleash another spell.

"The book," Warren said.

"No," the man pleaded in a thin voice. "You work with t...

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416525807
• ISBN-13: 978-1416525806
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,135 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best new Sci-Fi series in ages, March 3, 2008

By	Taimur K. Burki "Trolslayer" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read both the Hellgate: London Exodus and this book and am amazed at this series. It is refreshingly new with many surprises and opens up a whole new concept in this genre. I am not sure if this dark fantasy, sci-fi or what but this is far better than anything that many a significant author has produced in the last 5 years. It has all the things we really want in Sci-fi, mayhem, an actual plot and some actually intelligent conservation with out to much tedium. I would rank this series up there easily with the Warlord of Barsoom series or to if there is anything slightly similiar I guess the Trollslayer series for an enjoyable book to read. I really suggest this book for all.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hellgate: Goetia Rocks and Socks!, March 6, 2008

By	Michael & Angela (Florida) - See all my reviews

Mel Odom's 2nd volume in the Hellgate London trilogy is yet another hardcore sci-fi/fantasy action/adventure that breathes a breath of fresh air in both genres.

Although my wife and I aren't gamers, we know all about them. And we knew certain games such as this and Turok could make for exciting book series. (Turok has yet been made in novel form. Let us hope.) But this latest Odom story does not have that '2nd book syndrome' that seems to plague many such trilogies.

Like Mel did years ago for the franchises of Deathlands and Outlanders, he creates vivid scenery and mulit-faceted characters of both Good and Evil. Where both series of the above mentioned have quagmired in either rich storylines and/or deep characterizations, in Hellgate London Odom utilizes the strengths of those post-holocaust series and enriches this series with those undertones. No formulaic writing here!

The magic of Mel Odom's writing is his ability to grab hold of the reader from the get-go, and never let them go. Something the new novel - Aliens: Criminal Enterprise - did not do for us. We set it aside for this one.

Suffice it to say, for those who loved the 1st book of Hellgate, they will also be more than satisfied with this 2nd volume. Mel Odom does it again. Grabs you by the throat early on, and leaves you wanting more by the ending. We are really looking forward to the last novel - Covenant.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better then expected, August 10, 2008

By	U. Ilan - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In general, I don't like books written on the base of a game (board or computer). They usually fall very short of the mark.
However in this case the opposite is true. While the computer game of the same name is forgettable the book set up an intriguing base - somewhat similar to the old TORG game.
Hellgate starts off with an "alien" invasion of London. The aliens are that only because they are not human. Instead of space the invasion comes from a different dimension, and the aliens are demons.
This certainly resembles the old TORG game.
The demons are not only killing off the human population, but they are demon-forming the city to their own tastes. This recalls the Gerrold Chthorr series (which seems to have stopped midway).
The Templar, Cabal and special forces - all fighting against the demons - are also fighting amongst themselves, adding to the confusion. I greatly prefer this much more realistic scenario then the usual ones where the Earth "pulls together" to fight the common menace. If history has anything to say it's that humanity will always find someway to fight itself.
All in all it provides for a very rich setting, and I wish Odom was not alone in adding colour and story lines. He does pretty well, and the story is worth a read for it's own sake, but it would have greatly benefitted from support by other writers and other styles.
Given that the computer game is not doing so well, one can only hope the Hellgate world would receive a boost either from a solid line of novels by various writers or by some Hollywood studio picking up the concept for a movie. Either would guarantee the continuation of a very good story base.