by Alexie Aaron
“Fortunately for us, we got her out, so he’ll have to learn to live with the disappointment,” Mia said. “Although, it does give me an idea… But first, you guys need to either get on that boat or on those rocks. They haven’t changed position. I sense they are part of the island. I’m going to retrieve Murphy and drop him off there to draw power.”
“Stephen Murphy?” Whit asked, turning a little green.
“Yes. You can set apart your differences for humanity’s sake, can’t you?” Mia asked.
Whit nodded, not trusting his voice.
Simpson looked at his boss and sensed his discomfort. Was this Stephen Murphy his nemesis or his Achilles heel? He rescinded that thought. This woman was Whitney Martin’s Achilles heel. He stored the information away. One never knew when material like this could be used as leverage.
Mia took off, swooped down, picked up Seaman Douglas, and dropped him nearer to the rocks. He scrambled up and took up a position training the sight of the AK-47 on the beach.
She returned, bringing with her a thermos of coffee and some raingear supplied by the Azure. “Out, Murph,” she said. “I’ll wait.” She walked over and gave Douglas the supplies.
“Thank you,” he said, staring at her wings. “You’re like Hawk, aren’t you?”
“I think he can get rid of his wings. I’m stuck with mine,” she said. “I’m no superhero. I make too many mistakes to qualify.”
“No, that’s what it is to be a superhero. Tell me, do you fly into danger to save the innocent?”
Mia looked down at the young man and smiled. “I’d like to think I do.”
“Then it’s settled. Who were you talking to?” he asked, pulling on the raingear.
“Stephen Murphy, he’s a ghost.”
“Damn, this just gets better. What’s his superpower?”
This amused Mia. She looked over at Murphy who was sitting on the rocks, sharpening his axe against one, waiting on her.
“It’s patience, and his axe.”
“So cool.”
Mia looked out across the beach. She saw the others starting to make their way over. “I think I’d better head back to the boat. Your ship has moved away from the storm or I’d take you to it. Plus, they may misunderstand what’s flying in.”
“They are an unimaginative bunch, miss.”
“It’s Mrs.,” Mia said and walked over to Murphy. “Well, old man, do you want to stay here and abuse Whitney Pee Pants or come with me back aboard the boat?”
“As tempting as it would be to torture Whitney, I will stay with you,” Murphy said.
Mia smiled. “Did I ever tell you how much I appreciate you?”
Murphy grinned. “Every time you need something from me.”
Mia laughed and waited until Murphy was secure before she took off.
“Incoming,” the first mate said as Mia dropped back on deck. She almost toppled to the deck when the boat lurched under her.
“Any word on when the captain is going to try for the reef again?” Mia asked, regaining her balance.
“We were able to download information in our last try for the reef. The last word from the Ross Bell was they upgraded the storm to a hurricane. They are calling it Kelly. Your husband has been timing the erratic waves, trying to find a pattern. The captain is worried that we’ll get hung up on the reef and sink the boat. No one wants to get trapped on that island,” the first mate told her.
“Makes sense. I found most of the landing party. There appear to be three Feds and two Coast Guard seamen still alive. They have found two automatic rifles. Long story short, they are going to wait out the storm and, possibly, go after the monster on the island.”
“Brave or foolish, history will judge,” the first mate said, walking away.
Mia went in search of Ted. She stopped when she found herself alone in a passageway. “K. Coast is clear if you want to exit.”
Murphy walked out of Mia.
“What’s your plan?” he asked.
“I’m forming one. I’ll let you know when I think it’s feasible. I’m going to consult with Ted and Burt. Want to come along?”
He looked at her sideways. “I’m afraid of what’s going through your head right now. You’re in a very sacrificial mood.”
Mia frowned. “We’re outgunned here. Between Hurricane Kelly, the demon-with-no-name, and Lamia, I doubt this boat is going to make it out of here. I can’t fly for too much longer; the wind is too strong. Besides, Lamia has me outclassed. Plus, I have a feeling I could end up in demon court if I seek it out and kill it.”
“Why? It attacked you,” Murphy pointed out.
“Or was it just advancing on the boat, and I provoked it to attack me?”
“That’s a crazy thought.”
“But this is how demons think. You see, I had some time to think while I was floundering in the water. I’m not sure we’re in the right here when it comes to Lamia. This is her home. According to demon law, she has every right to defend it from outsiders.”
“She kills and eats people,” Murphy pointed out.
“But to her, they are simply served to her. The demon-with-no-name, on the other hand, he’s asking for it. I think he’s the corrupting influence.”
“That’s why you taught those two sailors how to speak to the monster.”
Mia nodded. “I wanted them to have a chance. The Feds have made up their minds. The two young Coast Guardsmen didn’t sign up for this.”
“Mia, you can’t save everyone. You have your boys to think of.”
“I am thinking of them. If we let this demon escape this island, then no one is safe, let alone the magical offspring. I don’t know why Angelo was determined not to act on this?”
“He must have his reasons. But why send you?”
“Doubly puzzling,” Mia admitted. “Even if I could convince him, the storm is now a hurricane. There is no way for a flock of birdmen to safely fly through the skies, no matter what dimension you are in.”
“Go and talk with the men. I’m going to seek out my father and Fergus. You never know when an Irishman is going to come up with something amazing.”
Mia smiled widely. “For the first time today, I think we stand a good chance of coming out of this alive… oops, dead.”
Murphy tipped his hat to her and left the passageway.
Mia found Ted with the Callens working on what looked like to her to be small lethal missiles. There were two for use in the water and two for use in the air. Ted had made use of the materials he found on the boat, along with the C4 the Callens had stored in the hull of the boat. Mia looked at the weapons and swallowed hard; they were lethal.
“Whatcha doing?” she asked, walking in, her boots clicking on the teak flooring.
“Inventing,” Ted said, looking up. “How was your flight?”
“It was Whitney on the shore. I encouraged the numbskulls to seek rocky ground. One of the Feds was killed. Evidently, you can be pulled under the sand and still survive to tell the tale. The one that died was pulled through the water independent of the boat. You see, the creature - her name is Lamia by the way - forms an airtight seal around the little boats before she drags them under the sandbar and into the old volcanic caves to the center of the island, where there is a large cavern. She offers the people alive to the demon and then dines on their flesh only after they have been dead for a few weeks.”
“Yummy,” Mason said.
“What’s going on, Mia?” Ted asked.
“I’m looking for a reason to kill her. The more I investigate, the more doubt I have.”
“She’s been killing innocents for hundreds of years. What if she leaves the island?” Ted asked.
“It’s impossible. She’s not a parasitical demon,” Mia answered.
“Explain that, please,” Ted requested.
“What she means is,” Burt said, joining them, “that she can’t possess a person.”
“The island is a prison,” Mia said. “There is no way for her
to leave the island. A few feet beyond the reef, she would become ash. The demon-with-no-name has her convinced that if he can leave aboard, let’s say, Sabine, she can leave too.”
“That’s not going to work,” Burt said.
“He’s right. The physics aren’t there,” Mia said.
“So where is this conversation going?” Ted asked, becoming uneasy. He knew his wife. She wasn’t telling him the full story.
“I don’t want you to use those weapons unless she comes for the boat.”
“That’s crazy,” Patrick blurted out. “I say take her before she does come for the boat. While she is weak, licking her wounds.”
“How are you going to resolve this?” Ted asked. He didn’t say we because he knew Mia. Mia would not put anyone in harm’s way if she could handle it on her own.
Mia pulled out a plastic bag. In the bag was Brian’s green chalk. “I’m going to send the demon-with-no-name to the Pit of Despair. Let Hell sort it out. It may only stay a short while, but during that time, Lamia may be sorted. I won’t be returning here, so get wide of this place a soon as you can. I’ll find you.”
“But…” Burt began.
Mia glared at Burt and sent a message into his mind that was so loud and so fierce that he wavered before fainting. Patrick was able to catch the large man before he hit the ground. Mason turned to ask Mia to get a first aid kit, but she was gone.
“Ted, Mia’s gone,” Mason said.
“She’s probably going for some smelling salts.”
Burt lurched upwards, opening his eyes. “Ted, stop her.”
“What?”
“She shut me down by screaming in my head, ‘SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!’”
“Why would she do that?” Ted asked.
“She knows that I was going to tell you that the chalk trick only works if you can give the name of the demon. The demon has no name. Mia intends on sending herself to Hell with the demon inside of her!”
Ted got up, ran down the passage, and climbed up to find the decks of the yacht deserted, and in the stormy sky over the island, he saw, for just a moment, black wings before they disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
Mia dropped down in the middle of the island. She carefully sought out ground that was formed from the old lava flow to walk on. She took a deep breath and said a prayer before she sent out a message, “If you want a way off the island, I will accommodate you, if you call off Lamia.”
“But you’re an assassin,” a voice responded.
“True, I was bred to be an assassin, but I have never assassinated any demon that didn’t do me ill.”
“Ill? Explain that?”
“I don’t know, if they tried to kill me, tried to harm my loved ones - oh wait, you’ve done just that…”
The low laughter gave bass to the whirling treble of the approaching storm.
“About that,” started an attractive man who was walking out from the dark of the jungle. “I may have been hasty. I just took in your genetic makeup and didn’t consider your mind.”
Mia couldn’t resist asking, “I thought it was in my mind that you were looking to rent space?”
“No, it was that frail creature. You call her Sabine.”
“My cousin?”
“Oh now, that’s a lie. You forget I can tell.”
“My aunt doesn’t know we’re not related, so shush, you’ll give it all away,” Mia said, her eyes dancing.
“Why would you help me?” the demon asked.
“I have people/beings I love on that boat.”
“What about the man that loves you on this island?”
Mia was confused for a moment. “Whit? Oh no, you have that wrong.”
“You forget I can probe the human mind.”
“I was just in his mind, and I found no mementos of our relationship,” Mia lied. Mia had seen his innermost thoughts. There was regret for his loss of her, but that was surrounded by his suspicion of her regarding his wife’s death. She looked over at the body in which the demon had housed himself and said, “Alright, if you want to lump him into this basket, go ahead. The result is the same. Call off your beast, and I’ll take you off this island.”
“I doubt you can do this,” the demon said.
“I’m a strong vessel like my cousin.”
“No, the weather is setting in. You can’t fly or cross that reef safely with the watercraft at your disposal.”
“You’re right. But I have other ways.”
The rain started, and Mia winced as small pebbles of hail fell along with the rain. “Is there any place dry where we could continue this conversation?”
“Come with me,” he said, reaching out and taking her gloved hand. “Why do you wear these things?” he asked.
“Vanity, I have age spots,” Mia lied.
“You humans are so caught up in looks,” he scolded.
“Seems to me, you could have chosen an ugly man to possess. But instead, an Adonis.”
“Mrs. Martin. Wait, which Martin are you married to?” Anders asked as he led the way to one of the secret entrances to the cavern. “The handsome man on the beach or the string bean on the boat?”
“He’s not a string bean. He’s a genius, and he’s handsome to me.”
“How does the genius feel about what you’re offering me?”
“He’s not happy. Would you be in his shoes?”
“I’m not sure. You could be a pain in the ass.”
Mia laughed. “I am?” she questioned. “I never asked.”
“Careful, it’s slick here,” Anders said, guiding her down a set of carved stone steps. “I used to know Aosoth. You remember Aosoth, don’t you, assassin?” he accused.
“She was going to take my child. It figures that a fellow flesh-eater would know another. But if you’re a flesh-eater too, then you must have a name,” Mia said. “What is it?”
“You tell me. They took it from me.”
“Who’s they?” she asked.
“I can’t remember that either. Which is good for them, because when I do…”
“I’d hate to be in their shoes.”
“Don’t you worry about them, assassin. They aren’t innocents.”
“For my sake, can you stop calling me assassin? People call me Mia. It’s simple. It rolls off the tongue,” Mia said.
“I’ve hit a nerve. Now you’re not going to like me anymore,” he teased.
Mia had to stop and look at the possessed man before her. She had to remember why he was so dangerous. “It was a horrible day when I found out what I was. There was a long game in play. I was genetically engineered to be able to seduce a former archangel and kill him. The beings that participated hurt me deeply until they thought they had nurtured me to be a stone-cold killer.”
The demon turned and took her hand again. “I sense your sorrow. I can’t understand why you don’t just destroy them all and… oh… Then you would be an assassin, and they would win.”
“You’re very perceptive,” Mia said dryly.
“Damn, you’re starting not to like me again. I thought I had you there for a while.”
“It would be nice to like the being I’m transporting,” Mia mused.
“Let’s stop at that.”
Mia wrinkled her nose. “What is that appalling smell?”
“Rotting flesh. I’ve gotten used to it. Lamia likes her meat aged.”
“While you?”
“Oh, I eat just the brains, and I try to eat them fresh. This last kill had me up to my armpits in brains. I do believe I gained weight.”
Mia’s stomach turned, but she held it together by tuning out the glee with which the demon spoke of his consumption. They had walked into a large cavern. She stopped and looked for a place to use her chalk successfully.
“Why have you stopped?” he inquired.
“I need to find a place that isn’t Lamia. Firm hard rock would do.”
“Why?”
“You want off this island. I have super
human genes; I shall call a portal.”
“Will that work?” he asked, excited.
“I have transported humans and ghosts through portals. Why not you? It’s worth a try. And if it doesn’t work, then we’ll wait for the weather to change. In the meanwhile…”
“I’ll ask Lamia to stand down. We shall have a cease-fire.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.”
“But if your loved ones attack during this time, I can’t be responsible for Lamia. She has to protect herself.”
“How will I tell them? How will they know?” Mia voiced her worries.
The demon looked at her. She was genuinely concerned. How could this powerful creature care about the knuckle-dragging sperm donors out there. “I’ll ask her to stay hidden until I can sort this out,” he said. “See that standing ledge next to the large volcanic vent?”
“Yes.”
“That’s from the original island.”
“Thank you. I’ll go and set up while you talk to Lamia.”
“Did you just thank me?” the demon asked.
“Yes.”
“I’ve never been thanked before.”
“I’m sorry you have lived without courtesy,” Mia said and started towards the volcanic shelf.
~
The boat rocked, straining against the long chains of the anchors. The captain had to allow for the rising water of the storm surge lest they snap, and then the yacht would be at the mercy of the waves. They didn’t have enough fuel to keep battling the waves. Hurricane Kelly’s outer bands were upon them. The cove would allow some protection for the craft. Its crescent shape and the island would hold back the mammoth waves that normally accompanied hurricanes of this magnitude.
After the boat was buttoned down, the passengers were requested to ride out the storm in the large cabin. The crew didn’t need to be running all over the boat looking for them if an emergency arose.
Burt looked over at Ted who hadn’t spoken to anyone beyond a grunt. He knew Ted was hurting. Worry and betrayal was a hard meal to dine on, and Mia had served both to her husband in seconds.
Patrick and Mason chose to formulate plans of searching Mackinac Island instead of letting the oppressive atmosphere of the cabin get to them. Burt hadn’t heard a peep from Murphy, Kevin, or Fergus. He knew that, like Ted, Murphy was pissed that Mia didn’t consult or take him with her. Kevin didn’t weather the sea well, and Fergus, he was a mystery.
