Of Blood and Monsters

by D. G. Swank

  Tsagasi turned to stare at the little man next to him. “My brother and the others have yet to decide if they wish to take this risk.”

  “Take your time,” I scoffed. “No hurry, but I don’t think we can face an army on our own. Even with Collin and Ellie.” I studied him for a moment. “I know there are four in your group who have sworn fealty to Ellie, but are there more of you?”

  Tsagasi’s brother snarled, “Our numbers are no concern of yours.”

  I slowly shook my head. “Not true. I suspect you have an army and we need your help. You said you think I’m part of your salvation. I’m not much good to you if I’m dead.”

  “You only fight to save your skin from Okeus,” Tsagasi’s brother said in disgust. “You don’t give a damn about our cause. You don’t give a damn about the abuse we’ve suffered for eons.”

  His words sank into my marrow. I’d never once stopped to consider how Okeus had treated other supernatural creatures. “You’re right,” I said, softening my tone. “I haven’t, but in my defense, this is entirely new, so there are a lot of things that have never occurred to me. All I know is Okeus is evil incarnate, and he has to be stopped. Permanently.”

  Tsagasi’s brother’s skepticism was palpable. “You plan to permanently stop Okeus?” He released a snort. “How?”

  I straightened my back and hoped I exuded more confidence than I felt. “I plan to kill him.”

  Tsagasi’s brother parted his mouth in shock. “You wish to kill the god of war?”

  “I know it sounds crazy—”

  “Have the curse keepers agreed to help you?” the brother barked.

  I hesitated. “No. Not yet.”

  “Do you have a plan?”

  Oh crap. “No, I—”

  He turned to Tsagasi. “She has no plan. She has no pledged allies. Why did you ask me to come meet her? This is madness!”

  Tsagasi placed his hand on his brother’s arm and searched his eyes. “Tsawasi. She is the one. I can feel it deep in my soul. Can you not feel it too?”

  Tsawasi’s jaw clenched. Then he turned his hardened gaze on me. “She is inexperienced. She is foolhardy.”

  “She is strong and grows stronger by the day. She is the one, I’m certain of it.”

  Tsawasi sucked in a deep breath, then pushed it out. “You risk much on a hunch, my brother.”

  “Have I steered you wrong yet?” Tsagasi asked quietly.

  Tsawasi released a long string of curses, but when he finally turned to me, pointing his hairy finger at my face, he said, “If the curse keepers agree, and if you come up with a plan, we will fight with you.”

  I couldn’t hide my shock. “You will?”

  Still pointing at me, Tsawasi turned to his brother with a look of disgust. “She is no leader. She will be the death of us all.”

  “She is the slayer of demons and gods.” Tsagasi turned and gave me a long look. “She is our Kewasa.”

  Dread washed over me like a bucket of cold water. “Abel said I’m his Kewasa.”

  “The son of Okeus is not the only supernatural creature whose life hangs in the balance,” Tsagasi said. “I believe you are Kewasa to all.”

  I shook my head. “No. You’re wrong. That’s Ellie and Collin. They’re the warriors who guard the gate.”

  “The gate they opened,” Tsawasi spat. “The gate they have failed to close.”

  “But you were trapped,” I said. “They let you out.”

  “True,” Tsagasi said, “but many supernatural creatures do not trust them to guard it anymore. We’ve been waiting for a savior.”

  “History has not been kind to saviors,” I said. “Saviors are often sacrificed for the greater good.”

  “And yet, it may be the only way you can find that which you seek,” Tsagasi said quietly. “You wish to free the son of Okeus, do you not?”

  “I wish to free him from my curse,” I said, my voice shaking as I held out my left hand. “I wish to save his soul.”

  Tsawasi tilted his head. “If you defeat Okeus, you will have to rule the underworld.”

  “What?”

  Tsagasi shot his brother a dark glare but remained silent.

  “You or an appointee of your choosing,” Tsawasi amended.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.

  “It is how monarchies have been ruled for eons,” Tsawasi said with a partial smile. “The winner takes the kingdom and the crown. If you defeat Okeus, you can change the rules.” He pointed to my hand. “You can save the son of Okeus.”

  “Can it really be that easy?” I whispered.

  Tsagasi burst into mirthless laughter. “That easy?” He shot Tsawasi a glare. “What have you put into her head?”

  “The truth.”

  Tsawasi took two steps forward, craning his neck to look up at me. “If you convince the curse keepers to help you, we will bring our own army to the gate at Helen’s Bridge. We will fight Okeus’s army, but you must fight him to his death.”

  Or mine, it went without saying.

  “I will do my best,” I said solemnly.

  Tsawasi shook his head in disgust, then headed back to the trees, muttering, “Let’s hope your best is enough.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Piper

  Abel was waiting for me when I walked in the kitchen door, and he looked furious. “Why were you outside?”

  “It’s not important. We need to talk to the curse keepers.”

  He grabbed my arm as I tried to pass. “Not yet. Why did you go outside?”

  I suspected he wouldn’t appreciate the fact that Huddy had been the one to send me out there. Had Hudson known the Nunnehi Little People would be waiting out there for me? Had he known what they would offer?

  When I tried to break free from Abel’s hold, his face hardened. “You can’t trust the curse keepers, Waboose. They have their own agenda.”

  “Agreed, but if we all ultimately want the same thing, does it matter?”

  “I suspect they want similar results, but their tolerance for collateral damage is likely different from ours.”

  “This is bigger than all of us, Abel. Trust me.”

  He searched my face, then nodded toward the doorway. “You’ll find them in the living room, but they’re growing restless.”

  I started to pull free but stopped and looked up into his worried face. “I know how to fix this now.” I held out my left hand. “I know how to fix everything.” Then I placed a hard kiss on his mouth and headed into the living room, leaving him to follow.

  Collin sat on one end of the sofa and Ellie on the other. David had taken the chair next to Ellie, and Jack and Rhys sat on two dining room chairs that had been pulled up to the sofa.

  “Did you go to Costa Rica to pick the coffee beans for the coffee you’re not drinking?” Collin asked in a smug tone.

  He was right. I’d left my coffee in the kitchen. Two could play the smart-ass game. “Yeah,” I said back, “it’s a shame the beans weren’t to my satisfaction.”

  David chuckled. “So it’s not just Ellie who doesn’t take Collin’s shit. Must be a Lancaster trait.”

  His comment pleased me more than I would have expected. Maybe I was grateful to know I had a connection to Ellie that went beyond our last names and our supernatural gifts.

  “Time to talk plans,” I said, realizing there was no easing into this. “I just spoke with Tsagasi and his brother Tsawasi outside. They believe Okeus’s army is coming tonight.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment before Collin said, “Tonight?”

  I nodded.

  “And they’re coming for you and Abel?” he asked.

  “They’re coming for us too,” Ellie said in a tone that suggested Collin was an idiot. “We know that.”

  Collin got to his feet and swept his arm in my direction. “The only reason we know that is because Piper told us that’s part of Okeus’s plans, and she said he plans to kill us.” He leaned forward, his gaze piercing my cou
sin. “But think about it, Ellie. Okeus’s goal has always been to impregnate you. You only bought a reprieve. One year is nothing to him. He’ll wait. You’re worth far more alive to him than dead.”

  Ellie cast me a worried glance before looking up at Collin. “I know, but—”

  “But why would Piper lie to you?” he asked, his voice full of understanding. “I understand your confusion, but consider this: If you were in her position, would you trust that a near stranger would agree to fight an army of demons if her life weren’t on the line? Maybe she told you that as insurance.”

  “Collin!” Ellie protested.

  Abel took a step forward, about to protest, but I put a hand on his chest and shook my head. “Let them talk it out.”

  “You’re presuming everyone’s just like you, Collin,” Ellie said, getting to her feet. “Cynical, jaded, and in it for themselves.”

  If he was hurt by her statement, he didn’t show it. “And you always trust too easily, which is how the Great One deceived you for so long.”

  Now David got to his feet, anger hardening his features. “You’re out of line, Collin.”

  “Am I?” Collin asked in a harsh tone. “You’re just like her.”

  “Enough,” Abel said in a low voice, but his word exuded a supernatural power that swept through the room and silenced everyone.

  Collin turned to Abel, livid. “What the fuck did you just do?”

  “I stopped a pack of squabbling children.” His gaze surveyed each of us in turn. “Piper has no cause to lie about any of this. She saw what she saw.”

  Collin held up a hand, his skepticism returning. “Wait a minute. What do you mean she saw it. You didn’t? Where were you when she learned all of this from Okeus.”

  “No,” I said, realizing they thought Okeus had told us his plans in the warehouse. “I saw it in a vision.”

  Collin threw his hands up in the air. “Oh! A vision! That’s so much more trustworthy.”

  “Collin, stop,” Ellie snapped. Her face softened as she turned to me. “What vision, Piper?”

  “I saw creation,” I said, awe at the experience bleeding into my words. “I saw the creation of the universe and the Earth and Ahone.” I glanced back at Abel. “I saw Abel’s birth and Ahone’s plan to use him against his father.” I turned back to Ellie. “I saw my own conception, and at the end, I found myself in hell. Okeus sat on a throne of bones, surrounded by hundreds, likely thousands of souls, some chained to his throne. That’s when he announced his plans.” I paused. “But he knew I was there watching, and he told me he was coming. It was real.”

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Then I said, “Tsawasi has pledged to send an army of his own to help us fight the demons.”

  My cousin and her two men stared at me in shock. Then Collin swore under his breath about Tsagasi being the most deceitful creature on the planet, sprinkled with much more colorful words.

  “He pledged an army just like that?” Ellie asked in disbelief. “Did you make a blood oath?”

  “No,” I said, “but I promised to kill Okeus.”

  Abel looked stricken. “Waboose, how could you?”

  “It has to be done anyway.”

  “What happens when you don’t kill him?” Collin asked in a snide tone. “Did you doom us all with your promise?”

  I swallowed my fear. While standing with the two Nunnehi Little People, I’d been full of bluster and bravado, but standing here in my living room, surrounded by the people whose help I needed, I realized I was in way over my head.

  “We discussed no punishment,” I said. “I said I would kill him, and I meant it. It was already my plan, so what difference does it make?”

  “You can’t just kill a god, Piper!” Collin shouted, then turned his attention to Abel. “Do you really not give one ounce of shit about her? How can you let her run with this delusion?”

  “I do not control her,” Abel said, his voice booming off the walls. He was clearly pissed Collin was questioning my sanity.

  “So you approve of this suicide mission?”

  “No.” Abel hesitated. “But she’s right about Okeus. He will never let any of us go.”

  “I have a sword that subdues gods, Collin,” Ellie said in a cajoling tone. “Tsagasi insists I need to use it.”

  “I thought Tsagasi was on our side,” Collin countered, pissed off anew. “Now he’s sending us off to a battle we’re certain to lose?”

  I almost told him that it was Tsawasi’s plan and that Tsagasi seemed to want no part of it, but the last thing I wanted to do was give him another reason to ridicule the idea.

  “If they’re providing an army to fight against Okeus, then they have skin in the game too,” David said.

  Collin spun to face him. “Surely you don’t think we stand a chance of winning. Do you know how many demons are in an army?”

  A grin tipped up the corners of David’s mouth. “I’m guessing a lot.”

  “This is crazy!” Collin shouted, gripping both sides of his head.

  “An army of demons spilling out onto the earth,” Jack said from his chair, his gaze on me. “Sounds like the apocalypse.”

  My stomach dropped. He was right. “What do you think about all of this, Jack?”

  He took in a deep breath, and the philosophical look on his face reminded me that my young, fit friend really was a priest. “Let’s say you take Collin’s advice and you flee, you then have to ask yourself several questions. One, when will you be ready to fight them?” He gave me a sad smile. “Make no mistake, I have no desire to see this battle happen now or in the future, but it seems inevitable.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “And two, what happens if no one is there to stop this army of newly emerged demons? They’ll be hungry. There are nearly one hundred thousand men, women, and children in Asheville. This city will look like a slaughterhouse.”

  I felt the blood drain from my head. He was right.

  “Three, do you have any idea how to kill him? Because once you’re close enough to try, there will be no turning back, Piper.”

  “I know, and no. Not yet. But my power is still growing.”

  “All the more reason to wait,” Collin said, but with much less conviction.

  “The people, Collin,” Ellie whispered with tears in her eyes. “All those people.”

  Collin turned to face her, looking close to tears himself, but I knew they weren’t for himself or even the citizens of Asheville. They were for her. “I know.”

  We were all silent for a moment. Then Collin pushed out a sigh of acceptance. “I’d suggest we take a vote, but I don’t see the point.” He turned to me. “Good job. You’ve convinced us all to march off to certain death, so what’s your plan?”

  I sucked in a breath, my newly bolstered confidence fading. “That’s just it. I still don’t have one.”

  Collin burst out laughing. “You want us to help you kill the god of war and you don’t have a plan?” He shook his head, then turned to Ellie. “Your cousin is nuts.”

  “So we make a plan,” Jack said. “We’ll need weapons. We’re going to need holy water. Gallons of it.”

  I gave him a look of gratitude and mouthed thank you.

  He nodded. “I’ll figure out a delivery system.”

  “You expect Jack to fight?” Rhys demanded, speaking for the first time. “Are you insane, Piper?”

  “I’m not going to stand back and do nothing while the others fight,” Jack said in a stern tone. “This is what I was destined to do.”

  Rhys’s eyes grew wide. “How are you going to defend yourself? Holy water didn’t save you the last time you were attacked by a demon.”

  “I know where you can find weapons,” Hudson said in the dining room, appearing behind Jack and Rhys.

  Jack spun around and jumped to his feet. “Hudson?”

  “You can hear him?” I asked in shock.

  “I can see him.”

  I shook my head. “How?”

&n
bsp; “I don’t know,” Jack said.

  “You,” Abel said in a grave tone. “Your power’s stronger than before.”

  “What does that have to do with Jack being able to see Hudson?” I asked.

  “Jack has always had a predisposition to see the supernatural plane. He saw flashes of the demon that attacked him. Your own power is like an amplifier, boosting his.”

  “Will it boost our power too?” Collin asked.

  Abel stared hard at him for several long seconds. “Yes.”

  “Pippy, he’s right,” Hudson said. “Your power is still growing, but you’ll need something more to kill Okeus.”

  “You said you know where we can get weapons?” I asked.

  “The Guardians had spelled weapons.” He gave me a knowing look. “Your grandfather’s friend had some in his house.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked. “Did the voice tell you?”

  “The Guardians took me to Robert Corden’s house. The ceremony for the Great One took place there. They talked about the weapons.”

  One of the Guardians who’d been killed by the lion demons was a friend of my grandfather’s—someone who’d apparently been spying on me my entire life. And it sounded like he’d also played a significant role in Hudson’s death. I would have killed Robert myself if he weren’t already dead.

  “They took you to his house?” I asked in horror.

  “I take it she’s talking to her ghost friend,” Collin said.

  “Shut up, Collin,” Ellie grunted.

  Hudson gave me a sad smile. “If you seek revenge for my death, save it for the demons and Okeus. Robert Corden had at least twenty weapons you can use against them.” He turned to look at Collin. “Including a spear that sings.”

  I realized Collin couldn’t hear him, so I said, “Collin, does a spear that sings mean anything to you?”

  Collin and Ellie exchanged a knowing look before she asked, “I take it your ghost knows something about it?”

  “He knows where it is.”

  Her face paled.

  Hudson turned his attention back to me. “You’ll need to go soon, Pippy. His widow has just returned from out of town, and the police haven’t made the house a crime scene yet.”