by Declan Finn
Minniva stared at Sinead for a moment before realizing she needed to clarify. “A black mass.”
Alex slapped the table as he leaned forward and spat out, “A what?”
“Satanic ritual,” Pearson stated flatly. “It’s an inversion of the actual mass. Unsurprisingly, popularized by the French. It’s the sort of thing you get in early and high-level Freemasonry. Satan as the god of reason and the opponent of Christianity. Or just straight-up witchcraft. It really depends on the location and the purpose of the one holding the ritual.”
It didn’t take much for me to put two and two together. “That’s how you were possessed.”
Minniva nodded. “Yes. None of us were allowed to leave. It was mandatory. And I didn’t think it could do that much harm if I slept through it.”
Sinead asked, “What changed?”
“After a few days, I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I had mood swings. I had memory problems. I thought it was stress and depression.”
Pearson’s eyes narrowed. “Then it got worse.”
Minniva nodded. “Yes. It was almost like my house was haunted. Footsteps in the empty house. Screams in the night like they were next to my ears. My cell phone became useless. Then …” She drifted off, then reached down to her sleeve cuff and rolled it back. While her skin was pale white, her forearms were solid bruises.
Alex frowned. “We didn’t do that. Right?”
Minniva shook her head. “This was a week ago.”
Sinead leaned forward to get a better look. “Looks fresh to me.”
Minniva rolled the sleeve back down, gingerly. “I know. It never healed. And I started thinking … things.”
We waited for a long moment, hoping that Minniva would fill in the silence of her own accord. But she bowed her head, and harshly whispered, “Please don’t make me tell you.”
Pearson answered. “You thought about hurting people. Killing people. Maybe even yourself. Unnatural thoughts about children, or other women. When you were allowed to sleep, you had nightmares about any or all of the above.”
Minniva looked up at him like he was the magician. “How did you know?”
Pearson shrugged. “This is my day job. Symptoms of possession are like a disease.”
Minniva took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly. “I went to doctors. I went to shrinks. Everyone was ready to put me on pills. But I can’t do my job when I’m drugged up to my eyeballs. But then, I found I couldn’t pray. That’s when I knew I needed to talk to someone. I eventually ended up at the monastery. I told them everything I knew. I even gave them names of people at the state of the company meeting.”
Alex held up his hand. “Excuse me. One second. Hold on.” He pointed at Minniva. “A state of the company meeting?” He looked around at Sinead, Pearson, and me. “We pieced together maybe, what? Ten people at the crime scene?” He looked back to Minniva. “A state of the company meeting with only ten people?”
Minniva blinked and shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. Those are just the names from the meeting I remember. It may have been the entire company.”
The entire table went silent. If the entire company had gone bad—dragged into a black mass—that was hundreds if not thousands of people. Each and every one of them could have had the power of Gerald Downey—assuming that Downey wasn’t the weakest among them.
After the long, long pause, Alex said, “I’m going back to New York now.”
I didn’t contradict him. I looked at Pearson and said, “May we chat in the other room a moment?”
We walked into the kitchen. I raised a hand. “Item one, I think we’re going to need an overnight delivery.”
Pearson arched a brow. He paused for a long moment, pondering what I could need to send away for. “What did you have in mind?”
I told him. He thought it over a minute, then nodded. He pulled out his phone and sent a text message. “It’s done. What next?”
“Start with VP HR Herbert West. That name sounds familiar.”
Pearson nodded. “Lovecraft character. Created his own science-based zombies.”
I scoffed. “Right … Can we presume it’s an alias?”
Pearson smiled. “I believe we can make that perfectly reasonable assumption.”
Minniva leaned over from her chair in the dining room. She made certain to look at me when she noted, “By the way, Detective? The demon doesn’t like you.”
I looked away from Pearson and back to the dining room. I smiled at her, trying to be reassuring. “I get that reaction a lot.”
She actually smiled. “I figured that much.” She paused, then furrowed her brow. “But can you explain why a demon would be interested in Rikers Island?”
My smile fell, and my heart sped up. My breathing became shallow. The scars on my chest tightened, almost like I was being speared once more with the ripped off prison bars.
Aw Hell—
Before I could say anything, I took a deep breath… only I was hit with the scent of evil. Then a thump hit the ground so hard that there were ripples on the water in a glass on the counter.
Speak of the Devil. “Kill all of the lights and get the guns. Something is coming.”
11 The Essex Horror
They came at eight in the evening.
Down the clearing, the property ended in a tree line, broken by a road up to the house. Half a mile down the road was a large 16-wheeler and several cars. They pulled to a park. But four black SUVs kept driving up the road.
I stood at the front door and looked out into the darkness. I drew my gun and placed it on the windowsill. Then I thought at the armor, calling it up to slide over me. The display focused on the men in the cars. It penetrated the glamour quickly this time.
The “private security types” were more serpent men. They pulled up to the house, swinging the cars around at right angles to provide makeshift cover.
I flipped two switches. I turned off the light on the porch and turned on all of the landscaping lights. Sinead had a lot of landscape lights, so the incoming goons were lit up like Christmas morning. The serpent men were in their black suit and tie, carrying automatic weapons.
But there was nothing out there that could have shaken the house. Not even the truck was close enough to vibrate the house.
The minute that I lit up the thugs on the front lawn, everyone else lit them up as well. Sinead, Alex, Mariel, Jeremy, and Pearson had taken up positions upstairs with rifles and opened fire. The first two to fall were felled with headshots—Jeremy and Alex, who both preferred right between the eyes. One was double-tapped in the head with the rifle, courtesy of Alex. Sinead and Mariel both put three rounds in their targets. Father Pearson fired six rounds so fast it sounded like automatic fire and put two rounds into the heads of his targets.
And this is why Mariel brings the guns everywhere now.
Each of the Serpent men gushed green ooze and faltered. The ones who had been shot in the head fell back and stayed down. Their bodies melted before they hit the ground.
The ones who had been shot in the chest, however, tottered and managed to raise their guns.
I picked up my own firearm and swung it out to fire into the surviving thugs.
The display on the helmet generated crosshairs that lined up with my gun sights. I snapped off several shots in short order, delivering the coup de grace to the wounded.
Oppose, O LORD, those who oppose me; war upon those who make war upon me—oh Heck!
More of the Serpent men circled around the black SUV. Most of them dropped as soon as they emerged, taking fire from above. But one of them drew down on me and fired.
The ethereal blue fireball that came out punched through the front door, slammed into my armor, and hurled me into the wall.
The armor display flashed red. A harsh warning beep pinged at me.
I touched the part of my armor where I had been shot… and touched my own chest. Part of the armor had been blown away. The armor grew back to compensa
te, but I had to keep my head down until it finished.
Take up the shield and buckler; rise up in my defense … though I guess you did that just this minute.
Suddenly, the gun slammed back, hitting the serpent man in the face. The muzzle jammed under its chin and fired, cleanly removing the head.
Brandish lance and battle-ax against my pursuers… though I guess you just did that too. I need to pray faster.
I pulled myself out of the wall and looked over my shoulder. There was Lena. Her brows furrowed, concentrating on the enemy.
Lena had taken the Serpent’s gun and used it against him.
She mentally grabbed his weapon and pulled it towards us. I caught it out of the air and glanced at it. It looked like a standard Thompson submachine-gun, only without the classic barrel-drum magazine.
I swung the weapon around and fired for one of the SUVs. It punched a hole right through one side and out the other. Serpent men scattered out from under the SUV, right into the welcoming arms of gunfire from the second floor.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
“Are we shooting the turkeys, Hussar?” Lena asked me with girlish enthusiasm.
I smiled as I fired again, this time disintegrating a Serpent. “I think so.”
Then, from a half-mile down the road, one of the cars around the truck was knocked away, sending the car into the air like a child’s toy. That’s not good.
Let those who seek my life be put to shame and disgrace.
With everyone keeping the Serpents down, I focused on what was coming. The armor’s display zoomed in on the area. Nothing was there… except for the vaguest shimmer of “something.” I could make out the faint outline of something big. Even the armor took a moment to piece together what was there. It was like the distortion of a cloaking field, bending the light around a thing. The thing was about fifty feet tall and thirty feet wide. It only vaguely resembled a thick human shape—like a Middle Earth Dwarf who grew or a Gumby who abused steroids.
With each step a new divot appeared in the ground like an oak tree stomping around.
We can target you, sucker, I thought before I went back to the Psalms. Let those who plot evil against me be turned back and confounded.
I raised the gun to my shoulder, took aim, and pulled the trigger.
The trigger simply clicked. The gun was empty. I frowned and put it aside, then swept up my sidearm. I aimed for the shape and fired six times, hoping to at least make a dent in it.
All six bullet strikes sparked against the air in front of it.
Then a roar shook the air. I think I just pissed it off.
I backed away from the front door and called up the stairs. “Alex, go mix us some Molotov cocktails!”
Lena knocked on my armored leg like it was a door. “Can I help, Hussar?”
I glanced her way. “You have any ideas?”
Lena looked out the door. With a glance, the SUVs all rolled at once, crushing the gunmen outside. Those that dove out of the way were exposed and shot. The slaughter was over in a matter of seconds. The SUVs continued to roll, until they blocked the exit at the tree line.
Make them like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them on, I prayed with a smile.
There was a growl, and the SUVs were kicked out of the way.
Lena’s eyes narrowed. She was not amused. The footsteps continued to shake the house. Upstairs redirected their fire and started unloading into the space where the creature was.
Then Lena got annoyed. The SUVs lifted up from the ground and slammed into the creature. Small rocks flew up from the ground at it. Then small boulders. The trees uprooted and fired at it like a missile.
The thing kept coming.
Make their way slippery and dark, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
Alex tapped me on the shoulder with his elbow. He had two bottles in his hand with rags in the mouths. “Where do you want them?”
Lena looked at the edges of the rags, squinted, and the rags ignited. Alex jumped back and dropped both bottles reflexively. But they only dropped a few inches before they stopped in mid-air, then flew out through the front door screen and into the creature. It immediately caught on fire, covered in a blanket of flames.
But it didn’t stop, and it didn’t slow down.
Alex, still gasping for breath from the shock of Lena’s little show, said, “At least, we can see it better.”
I nodded. “Just great. Everyone, get ready to run.”
Lena and Alex looked at me. “Run where?” Alex asked. “That thing is between us and the road out of here.”
I lifted my fist with the Soul Ring on it. The armor had, as usual, made a gap just for the ring. “I’m going to keep it busy.”
Lena clung to me like I wasn’t going to come back. “Don’t go.”
I ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry. I’ve literally got the armor of God.”
I gently nudged her away and stepped outside. I circled right so the thing on fire could follow me—and so everyone could circle left if they needed the escape route. It wheeled around to follow me along my trajectory,
“Hey, dumbass!” I called out. “Have you come for me?”
The growl turned into a roar, and it charged.
I charged it, too.
Without cause they set their snare for me; without cause they dug a pit for me.
It leaped for me, bounding up at least thirty feet in the air, arm cocked backwards to pound me into Jello.
Let ruin overtake them unawares.
I shot forward and dove underneath it, then rolled.
The fist came down, missing me by yards. But the ground rippled in a shock wave that knocked me off of my feet. It turned around.
Let the snare they have set catch them.
Then it laughed.
My eyes narrowed, and I raised my fist. Let them fall into the pit they have dug.
“No more Mister Nice Guy.”
I raised the fist, pointing the ring at the invisible beast. Then I will rejoice in the LORD, exult in God’s salvation!
The jewel in the ring glowed white and fired a beam of light into the creature, punching a hole straight through the shoulder.
My very bones shall say, O LORD, who is like you? Who rescues the afflicted from the powerful, the afflicted and needy from the despoiler?
The ring fired again, punching a second hole through the monster. It staggered back. It let out a groan that sounded like the metal body of the Titanic hitting the iceberg.
Malicious witnesses rise up, accuse me of things I do not know. The ring fired again, ripping out a chunk of the creature’s hip. It tottered, dropping to one knee and both arms. They repay me evil for good; my soul is desolate.
Yet I, when they were ill, put on sackcloth, afflicted myself with fasting, sobbed my prayers upon my bosom. The ring put another blast in the creature’s head, knocking it to one side. It growled and tried to pull itself forward, limping forward to come for me.
I stood my ground, ring before me. I went about in grief as for my brother. It took a blast to the chest, and it reared back. Bent in mourning as for my mother. Another blast to the chest knocked it back on its haunches. “Yet when I stumbled they gathered with glee, gathered against me and I did not know it. They slandered me without ceasing; without respect they mocked me, gnashed their teeth against me.”
The Soul Ring glowed bright enough to turn night into day and launched a full blast into the beast. It struck center mass and punched into the main body, and exploded, blasting the upper half of the creature in two. It landed on the ground with a splatter, like fish guts spilling out.
I blinked. I didn’t even get to the end of the Psalm. Thank you.
The creature melted away before my eyes, seeping into the dirt below. I didn’t want to see what the grass around it would look like in a year.
I scanned the area with my armor and my own eyes. There were no other threats. I armored down, and said a quick Than
k you, God.
I walked back into the house. My wife was on the porch, rifle in hand. She smiled sweetly at me as I came up the stairs. “Hey, you.”
I smiled back and kissed her on the lips. “Hey.”
I looked through the door into the house at Lena. She hugged Jeremy, happy the threat was over.
Mariel gave a happy sigh. “Lena’s going to be a handful, isn’t she?”
I gave a chuckle. “Let’s hope there aren’t too many bullies when she goes to school.”
Mariel rolled her eyes. “Heck with that. I’ve been home-schooling Jeremy since we went into WitSec. I think we’ll stay with it a while.”
12 Infernal Affairs
Minniva Atwood still sat at the dining room table. Her eyes were wide and startled. She hadn’t moved since the attack started.
I winced. I had figured that she would at least know enough to keep her head down during the fracas. Apparently, so did everyone else. We had been so focused on our well-oiled machinery of shooting back, we had forgotten that she was essentially a civilian.
My partners were a cop and a former spy. Sinead and my wife and son were easy backup. My adopted daughter was a one-girl wrecking crew. That I couldn’t even see any of us as civilians was problematic.
Pearson was right by her side, trying to soothe her frayed nerves. She had only been exorcised a few minutes ago. Since then, her world had been expanded from “black mass” and “demons” to a ring that looked like magic, powered armor that might well be magic, a twelve-year-old boy who provided fire support, and a thirteen-year-old girl who could kill people with her mind. All of which were used to fight “private security” mooks who survived three rounds to the chest, as well as an invisible mini-Kaiju that survived being hit with rocks and SUVs and being set on fire.
She’d had a tough day.
“Who the hell are you people?” Minniva asked.
I sighed, and I gestured to everyone to gather at the table. It was time to have a discussion that was probably long overdue. “You guys hold on a second. I want to check on Grace.”
I charged up the stairs and went into our bedroom, where our daughter had a crib waiting for her.
