BOOM: A Lovecraftian Urban Fantasy Thriller

by Ben Farthing

  "What do you mean?"

  Brian lowered his voice and checked to make sure Loretta was still asleep. "She gets close to him. He has to trust her. She makes him think she's into him. That she wants him."

  "And he believed her?"

  "Bowman wasn't the guy you know. Not yet. One of the biggest threats to Inc starts coming onto him, he thinks it's his opportunity to jump in line for the CEO, and that's all he can think about. I don't know if he thought he'd negotiated a new ally, or he planned on turning on her and impressing the Bloat. But he let her close."

  "He fell in love with me," said Loretta, eyes still closed.

  Everard and Brian jumped.

  "You've been awake the whole time?" asked Everard.

  "Sorry," said Brian. "I didn't mean to share your secrets like that."

  "And yet that's exactly what you're doing."

  "I want to know more about who I'm working with," said Everard. "Besides, I thought most people already knew this. It's not like it's a secret."

  "Harmless curiosity, that's all?" Loretta fumed. "You want to know my secrets?"

  "Just trying to understand why you threw me to the wolves back there."

  "You don't understand what you're talking about."

  "I think I'm starting to get a pretty good idea."

  "Oh, you have me figured out, do you? You know what it's like for monsters and demons to threaten your newborn? Or what it takes to keep them afraid of you? And I can't just turn it off when I go home." Loretta's voice dropped. "When there's thunder and they're scared, sure, they run to Mommy. But when they make a macaroni collage, or they want to share a knock-knock joke their teacher told them, it's not me they want. It's Daddy who gives them that warm, fuzzy feeling. I can make them feel safe, but I'll never make them feel special. Not while I spend my days being terrifying."

  "Geez, Loretta, I didn't know," said Brian. "I'm sorry. At least you know you're doing the right thing."

  Everard rolled his eyes.

  "The right thing?" spat Loretta. "You still think I'm some sort of knight errant. Do you know how I got close to Bowman? A man whose biggest goal in life is to join the CEO and live a life of power and hedonism? It wasn't by fluttering my eyelashes. Try explaining to my husband that to save his life I had to cheat on him."

  Brian's displayed his discomfort by slowing down and actually driving like a sane human being. "You don't gotta tell us all that."

  "I thought you wanted to know all about me. Maybe I should tell you about how my husband wouldn't look me in the eye for months afterwards. Or would you like me to describe his expression when he asked if I'd developed feelings for Bowman and I hesitated half a second before answering?"

  "Hey, lay off him," said Everard. "Go back to being brooding and mysterious. It's better than this woe-is-me bullshit."

  Loretta turned around in her seat, but decided it was less awkward to just yell facing forward. "Where do you get off telling me how much I should regret something? What do you know about my life?"

  "I saw you with your husband." Everard steadily raised his voice. "The man obviously loves you. He's obviously forgiven you. And your kids—they're your kids! They run to you when they're scared, but they show daddy their finger paintings first? Oh big fucking deal. Your life at home is only almost perfect. That must be so rough."

  "Guys, I think," said Brian, but Everard kept yelling.

  "You're making your relationships way more complicated than they need to be," shouted Everard. "Why don't you just enjoy it and let it happen?"

  Brian pulled into a shopping center and parked the car. "We're stopping here. I need some Sensodyne, a new speaker, and I'm starving." He got out and headed into an drug store.

  A few minutes later, they sat around a table in Wendy's, quietly eating hamburgers and chili.

  Everard got tired of all the glowering. "So is this visit to the Ailuromancer another 'let's toss Everard into danger and see if his superpowers manifest' bullshit plan? Or was that just the plan against the reskinned?"

  "The plan is to interrogate the CTO. The only reason you're coming is because the invite is in your name. Don't try to use your bent. There will be four reality benters from D.C. Factions there."

  "You're really not going to explain what happened back there? Why you told me to trust you, and then almost got me killed?"

  "Nope. If you'd like to leave, I'm not keeping you. Bowman will be livid when he sees you helped discredit Inc, but I'll be happy enough doing it without you."

  Everard took a bite of his burger. He couldn't go home until he convinced Inc to leave him alone. Hanging out with Loretta was still the best way to do that.

  "I think what she means is-" started Brian, but Loretta cut him off with a glare.

  "I'm not an idiot. I know exactly what she's trying to do. It's not just about Bowman. Bill Bill pays her more if I figure out my bent. She thinks throwing me to the wolves will force me to figure it out." And she had a point. He'd made his first step up—at least denying little things—when he'd thought the Lynch Mobbers were going to kill him. But he'd since faced more dire situations, and his bent had been sporadic. Further life or death situations hadn't helped.

  He needed to figure out how to cast off authority. Ending things with Abby apparently hadn't been enough.

  "My babysitting rate doesn't change if you figure out your bent," said Loretta.

  Everard looked for any indication that she was lying. "Then why do you care? I don't want to be your sidekick."

  Loretta snorted. "Trust me, I don't want a sidekick. And if I did, Brian would make a much better candidate."

  "Don't you do a lot of sneaking around?" asked Brian. "Going invisible and everything? That's not really my scene. I use loud music to make bright lights."

  "I don't actually want a sidekick," said Loretta.

  "I know a Hexer who does gymnastics." Brian snapped his fingers. "Even better, I met a dude into parkour. And building hacking. He's not a benter, but you could drop a few grand on some bent-touched gear, show him a few breaks."

  Everard couldn't tell if Brian was kidding, but he was definitely trying to lighten the mood. Everything the kid said had layers of sincerity on top of irony on top of sincerity. Talking to him was like a game. Everard liked him.

  A troubling thought hit Everard. His bent hadn't worked because he'd been relying too much on both Brian and Loretta. If any authority made him weak, then he had to stop listening to Loretta's orders, and he had to pull back on his friendship with Brian. Brian himself had said it—any kind of relationship where he'd do what they asked, just because they asked it.

  He'd stick with Loretta to strike back at Inc, but he was done following her orders.

  Everard balled up his trash. "Everyone full? Let's go meet one more person who wants to kill me."

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Brian pulled off the beltway and headed to the Forest Hills neighborhood.

  Everard nodded off in the back. The sun had gone down, and almost getting murdered was exhausting.

  Loretta turned on the dome light, and made them all turn on the flashlights on their phones. "The Howser's Hunters should have the Boogeyman contained to a single building by now, but better not to risk it."

  The weekend nightlife traffic was nothing compared to rush hour, but it was still D.C. Getting anywhere took half an hour.

  Loretta called her family and told her kids a bedtime story about a dog who couldn't find his leash. She worked more cheer and enthusiasm into that story than in everything she else she'd said the past twenty-four hours.

  The Forest Hills neighborhood held true to its name. Trees hid most of the houses from view. The smaller houses were still bigger than anything Everard would ever need, only they sat on smaller lots.

  "How'd you like to live around here?" asked Brian, after Loretta ended her call.

  They turned down another street, where the houses were big enough to be called manors. At least, based on what you could see of them
through the trees. Lots this size must be valued in the millions.

  "I wouldn't complain," said Everard.

  "Easier to defend," said Loretta.

  "You should see some of their security systems," said Everard. "I did some work on a house a few blocks away wired up so fancy, if a cat walked by outside they could get an alert."

  Loretta laughed. "Cats walking by is half my security system."

  Everard almost asked her to explain the exact connection between the Ailuromancer and cats, but he needed to stop seeing Loretta and Brian as authority. That probably included asking them to teach him about the Periphery.

  He went over what he already knew.

  The Ailuromancer was one of the "major players" Brian had described—reality benters. He thought Everard had been impersonating him, so killing Everard was high on his todo list. He had some connection with indoor cats—Everard was pretty sure he'd been inside George's head when the Boogeyman had attacked—and his brother Shadow had some connection with outdoor cats. Shadow had mentioned cousins, as well.

  They pulled up to a wrought iron gate blocking off a brick driveway that led up a hill into the woods. Loretta handed Brian a white card the size of credit card, which he waved over a sensor. The gate opened, and they drove inside.

  Everard didn't ask whether she had a keycard for this neighborhood, or if she'd programmed a universal remote for electronic locks.

  At the top of the hill waited the Ailuromancer's sprawling modern mansion. The drive looped around the front door, and then to a guest house, where eight luxury cars were parked. The drivers milled about, passing the time while their stupidly wealthy employers partied inside.

  "Park with them," said Loretta. "Swing around to face the exit, in case we have to leave quickly."

  Brian parked and they all got out.

  The drivers didn't give them a second glance. They were standing around an electric lantern. Loretta wasn't the only one worried about staying out of the dark.

  Loretta led the way to the front door. Everard expected a doorman to be waiting on the porch, so all the important guests must have already arrived.

  "The goal here," said Loretta, "is to make contact with the CTO. Then I'll get him alone and get some answers about what's powering the machines."

  Everard grunted agreement. That was her goal. He patted his phone through his pocket. His goal was to broadcast to Inc's buddies that Inc was secretly funding Undone Duncan's gangs.

  "Don't do anything stupid," said Loretta.

  "Of course not." He knocked on the front door.

  "Whoa," said Brian.

  A homeless woman stood frozen in the bushes, having just come around from the side of the house. She wore jeans coated in dirt, and a baggy gray t-shirt. Her hair was so matted she had dreads. Her eyes looked like Shadow's, definitely human, but if you looked closely enough the pupils had feline points. She stood on the balls of her feet, leaning back toward where she'd come, ready to flee.

  "Hey there," said Everard.

  She sniffed the air between them.

  A boom echoed through the city, louder than before.

  The woman leapt out of sight.

  Brain rubbed at his ears. "That's definitely happening more often."

  Everard kept an eye out to make sure the woman wasn't sneaking back towards them. "I wonder how many people turned tail and ran this time."

  "Hopefully everyone affected," said Loretta. "We're running out of time."

  Everard banged his fist on the door. "Are there a lot of feral people from the Periphery?"

  "That's Bethlehem," said Brian. "The Ailuromancer's sister. They say she only talks to Tom, but one time she let me give her a sandwich."

  Loretta rang the doorbell.

  "Tom changed his name to Shadow," said Everard.

  "Look at this guy," laughed Brian, "becoming a regular expert. You'll be telling me how to use my bent next."

  The door opened, revealing a man nearly as tall as Undone Duncan. Except where the Cursed Strongman Undone was barrel chested and nearly as wide as he was tall, this man had a sleekness to his mass. Everard got the idea he could not only knock out Rocky Balboa in three hits, he could do it while pirouetting. This was the guy the Jets and Sharks wanted as their personal trainer.

  "Roland," said Loretta.

  Roland looked at Loretta head-to-toe, like he'd never seen her before. He avoided meeting her eye. He stared down Brian, who decided his Converse needed inspecting, and then tried to stare down Everard.

  Reddish brown hair formed a small halo over Roland's light-skinned face. Usually, other mixed people saw Everard and were immediately friendly, since it was obvious no two branches of his family tree had the same skin color. But Roland's posture and impersonal glare was all challenge.

  Everard held his gaze.

  The man had to be six-and-a-half feet tall, and Everard didn't have any illusions about being able to take him if he attacked, but Everard could bluff with the best of them. Although it wasn't really bluffing, since he was frustrated and angry and would gladly scuffle with Roland, even though it might put him in the hospital. And maybe refusing to let Roland's size intimidate him would strengthen his bent.

  "Loretta," said Roland, his voice every bit as deep and booming as expected. "I don't believe you have an invite."

  "I do," said Everard. "And these are my guests."

  Roland tried to stare down Everard a second time. Recognition played on his face. "You're the new rebellist. My apologies. Please, come in. Dinner has already been served, but I could bring you a charcuterie board." He stepped aside to let them enter.

  "That's alright." Brian walked in first. "We stopped at Wendy's on the way over."

  Everard past Roland and into a savannah. Instead of the ornate foyer he expected, he felt hard dirt beneath his feet, high grass and leafy bushes brushing against his legs. Scraggly trees along the walls blurred the fact that the surround hilly landscape was painted.

  "What the hell is this place?" Everard bit his tongue. He couldn't stop asking questions.

  "The Ailuromancer throwing a bone to Roland," whispered Brian. "It lets his bodyguard feel more at home."

  Pushing aside blades of grass, they followed Roland out of the savannah foyer, past a sitting room, and into an open courtyard.

  Balconies and patios overlooked the enclosed space, like a miniature version of a Spanish villa. Everard admired the design. A lot of potential space sacrificed for some private sunlight, but it was about time architects stopped groveling at the feet of the god of square footage. Square footage was just a socially acceptable way to brag about how much you spent on your home.

  On the other hand, no one would be bragging about this courtyard. There were two industrial sized dumpsters - way more than a household this size could need. A sticky-looking puddle leaked out from under one of the dumpsters, and an old mattress leaned against the other. A flickering streetlight gave the finishing touch to turn the courtyard into an alley.

  "This is some kind of madman's funhouse," muttered Everard.

  "My cousin is concerned with our comfort," said Roland. "He's generous, and you shouldn't insult him."

  "Sorry," said Everard, sincerely. He looked for something nice to say. "I like the layout. You guys definitely went your own way with it."

  "I broke the arm of the last man who mocked me."

  Why did he even try?

  A dumpster lid swung open with a crash. Everard grabbed the flintlock which he'd now grown accustomed to having in the back of his waistband. Brian hit a button on his phone, which played a bassless, tinny melody.

  Loretta and Roland remained calm.

  Shadow stood up inside the dumpster and stretched, his back arching and arms reaching for the night sky. "Loretta! You came to see me."

  Everard let go of the pistol and let his shirt drop back down over it. Brian cut off the music.

  "Bethlehem told me we had visitors, but she didn't say the most beautiful woman in the
city was among them." He hopped onto the lip of the dumpster and then onto the ground.

  Bethlehem stuck her head above the edge to look at them.

  "They're here as your brother's guests," growled Roland.

  "I know. I delivered the invitation," purred Shadow. He sauntered to Loretta, lifting a hand to touch her face before thinking better of it. "But I was hoping maybe Loretta's visit also had a personal element to it."

  "I'm afraid I'd prefer to stick to our boring professional arrangements," said Loretta.

  Bethlehem giggled, then covered her mouth and ducked down until only her eyes were showing over the edge of the dumpster.

  Shadow clicked his tongue. He moved on to Brian, whose face he wasn't afraid to touch. "Maybe this stunning young man, then? Tell me, you ever with been with someone as strong as they are flexible?"

  "A couple times," said Brian, way more comfortably than Everard could have.

  "They weren't like me," said Shadow, running a finger along Brian's shoulders.

  "Only one way I could know for sure," said Brian.

  Shadow roared with laughter. "Where'd you find this one?"

  "Capitol Bohemia," said Loretta. "Your friends over at Inc paid the Lynch Mobbers to kill his sister this morning, so I wouldn't turn your back on him."

  With a start, Shadow jumped back out of reach. Brian gave him a devilish grin and kissed the air between them.

  "The risk would be exhilarating." Shadow breathed the last word, although he didn't get any closer.

  Loretta yawned. "I believe you've stalled us long enough for the Ailuromancer to warn his guests that I'm accompanying Everard. Can we move on now?"

  Roland glowered but led the way through the courtyard and back inside. As they left, Everard heard Shadow answer Bethlehem, "a sandwich? I don't think so."

  This hallway was more what Everard was expecting based on the neighborhood. Polished rosewood floor, complete with its soft scent of roses, and wainscoting with elaborate patterns. Crystal chandeliers and framed paintings, probably original.