by Phil Morgan
white hot. All around the Shadow, those sensitive to such things felt the very fabric of the world shudder, as if in abject fear or sinful pleasure, felt the world change, felt it bend to my will.
The floor heaved and a massive hand made of dirt and gravel, concrete and steel shot up out of it and grabbed the Insomniac. If everybody’s life had not been on the line, if the world itself hadn’t been threatened, the look of surprise on his face would have been comical. In his long life, this was new. This was the first time that the very ground, the earth itself had risen up against him and I was happy to say, it startled him. He didn’t remain perplexed for long, with a shrug he shattered the grasp of the earthen fist but it was too late. My power had done its job, just like it always did.
The room we were in shook and streamers of dust fell from the ceiling. Walls partially collapsed and from the mound of rubble, a form began to grow. It reached its full size and stood up straight, a thirty foot high Golem. Called forth by my power, made living by my will, it was the building itself, rising up to contain its charge, rising up to stop the Insomniac.
He looked up at it and it turned its ponderous and monstrous head to regard him back. For a tense moment, silence reined, for a split second, I thought we had a chance. Then the Golem turned to me, shrugged once apologetically, and fled this mortal plane. It wasn’t stupid enough to tangle with the Insomniac, which made it far smarter than any of us.
The Insomniac looked across the room at me, his eyes burning with hatred and madness. He would rip and tear, violate and destroy, he would take out his pain on all of us, starting with me. Except he wouldn’t. I wouldn’t let him. He was the Insomniac, yes but I was the Believer and I backed down from nobody. It was bad for my reputation.
My friends had barely slowed him down, my Golem had deserted me, but I wasn’t powerless. I had one more trick up my sleeve. I locked eyes with him. Let his madness meet my resolve, let his insanity face my belief, and he froze where he stood. I could feel him raging against me, pressing inexorably against my will. I wouldn’t be able to hold him long.
He took a slow and halting step, then another. Then he smiled and started walking through the force of my gaze as if I were tissue paper, as if it wasn’t even there at all. He reached his hand out for me and Sarah dropped between us. He froze mid-step, puzzled and Sarah glanced over her shoulder at me.
“Let me take it from here, Crowley.” she said and her power of temptation flared bright and powerful. She wasn’t aiming it at me, she threw all she had at the Insomniac. All I got was whatever tiny amount rebounded off of him and it was enough to make me want Sarah more than anything I had ever wanted. She was my world and I would have died for her, would have killed for her, and most terrifying, I would have lived for her.
I gathered control of myself; that may have been my greatest power of all, knowing myself, understanding who I was. Finally in control of my thoughts, my mind turned back to Sarah’s display of power. If it had hit me that hard and all I had gotten was a little spillover, what had it done to the Insomniac? I looked at him and he was on his knees before Sarah, reaching up to obediently touch the hem of her short black dress. His eyes showed nothing but adoration and I couldn’t blame him one bit. I knew exactly how he felt. She smiled gently down at him and then glanced over her shoulder at me.
“He’s mine, for as long as I want him. I will take care of him for now. I have a few ideas on how to put him back to sleep.” she said with a twinkling in her eye.
“You don’t mean to…” I began.
“Oh, I most definitely do intend to, several times in fact until he passes out.” she grinned. “I know who he is now. Cain. The first murderer. Cursed to forever walk the worlds, marked for his crime. And when he saw me, he knew me for what I was. One of the Infernal, One of the Holy. He knew me of Olde. So, I’m taking charge of him. If he stays hydrated, he may be able to keep up with my infernal libido. At least for a few weeks.”
With that said, she grabbed his hand and angel wings sprouted on her back. With a mighty beat, the two lifted off and she flew him through a nearby hole in the wall created by my Golem. Dr. Powell sat in the ruins of his multi-billion dollar laboratory and wept. I just knew he was going to blame this all on me. I knew one other thing, I wasn’t paying for the damages. Blame me all you liked, it didn’t matter. Collateral damage was all part of the service.
“I don’t get it, Allen.” Harry said as he came up to me, finally awake and looking very worse for wear. “How is she going to put him to sleep?”
“When do you sleep the soundest, Harry?” I asked.
“After… Oh! I understand now. Lucky bastard.” he lamented, looking forlornly at the hole she had flown through.
“You couldn’t handle her.” I said.
“I know, but it would be so much fun to try.”
“You have a weird sense of fun, Harry. Weird but true.” I said. “Just goes to show…”
“Show what?” asked Harry.
“Fighting isn’t the only way to beat monsters, in the Shadow.”
