by John Conroe
Her eyes turned thoughtful as she turned back to me. I didn't much care for her expression. It would seem that the cat and its bag were miles apart.
Abruptly, she turned and strode toward the were, with a “Show me!”
A couple of EMT types went to the teenagers to check them out, quickly concentrating on the wounded boy. Gina stepped up as I ate the final hotdog.
“You – outta that vest! Let's see the damage.” she commanded.
I wiped my greasy fingers on my pants and stood up, unbuckling the vest with my other hand. I shrugged out of it and then at her gesture, stripped off my shredded tee shirt. This is pretty standard for cases where physical contact has occurred, but she has yet to find an unhealed injury on me. I was aware of a whole lot of faces turned our way. I'm pretty freaky looking in clothes, with my shirt off I'm worse. At first glance an observer would notice that I'm ripped, like a bodybuilder just before competition. But closer inspection will show something is off, at least if you know your anatomy. My muscles are arranged just ever so slightly differently, the attachments and insertions just a bit off, one of the V-squared’s little gifts.
I don't like it, so I keep my shirt on whenever possible. Sometimes I can’t help it.
Stacia was obviously getting an eyeful, but she had barely taken her eyes off me since the fight. I couldn't blame her; some guy beats a mythical monster to death almost in front of you and laughs while doing so. Then he tells you that you're gonna become one too. You might wanna keep an eye on that dude.
Aside from her, the entire strike team and most of the techs were staring as well. I ignored them all. I had something important to address.
“Gina, you have a plan, don't you? You and Lydia?” I asked, softly.
She stopped her damage assessment and looked at me carefully.
“What are you talking about, Chris? What kind of plan?”
“You know, like this,” I waved my hand at Lassiter's body. “For when I...you know?”
“No Chris, I don't know. For when you what?”
“For when I go rogue! For when I go bad...worse. Gina, tell me you have a plan to put me down!”
She took a deep breath. “What happened, Chris? Why do you think you'll go bad?”
My freakin' voice shook like a ten-year-old's.
“This...all this..it shouldn't have happened the way it did. And I shouldn't have handled it the way I did. It's wrong Gina ... I'm wrong.”
“Well, Chris, you didn't have a firearm. So you had to go close quarters.”
I shook my head vehemently, “Not like this! I could have thrown a spike through his head at fifty feet! Did I? No, I beat that poor, miserable, half-mad bastard to death with my hands and I enjoyed it!”
She stood back and crossed her arms. Then she nodded, as if to herself. Finally she spoke and I was dreading her words. But they weren't what I expected.
“Chris, do you remember last Halloween?” she asked.
I frowned. “Of course!”
“Do you remember getting a hypodermic full of demon blood?” she asked.
Now I rocked back, surprised.
“I didn't know that Lydia shared that with you.”
“Chris, Lydia and I get along so well because we share a vision. That vision centers on you and Tatiana, and it transcends our jobs!” she said.
“What? Okay, you've already lost me.”
“Lydia has always known that Tatiana was destined for something big. When you came into the picture, she knew pretty quickly what it was. I have known that you were destined for something special since I saw you go into a demon-ridden house and eradicate one of the worst I'd even seen,” she said, her voice a whisper, “So, the answer is yes, we discuss the two of you all the time, and, yeah, I know about the demon blood,” she said.
“And?”
“And we've been sorta waiting for something like this. Hell, we thought it might come sooner,” she said. “Chris, the demon blood has bound to you, added itself to your DNA, at least that's what your doctor thinks.”
“You know Dr. Singh too?” I asked.
“Yup, and so this new addition feeds your darker side, the side every human has. It actually makes you stronger in some regards, but you have to fight it, control it.”
“And if I can't, you have a plan?” I asked.
“Well ...our plan has always been Tatiana,” she admitted.
I thought about it, then nodded. “Yes, she would be best. I probably wouldn't even fight her. Just let her bleed me out. She'll be happy to do it, what with what I did to her boyfriend.”
The slap was right-handed and fast. It made a resounding smack that echoed into the night. Everyone in the area turned to look, but I kept my eyes on Gina. It hadn't really hurt, hell, she'd need a baseball bat for that, and I could have avoided it, but I was shocked enough to let it fall. The black beast inside me surged at this aggression, but I crushed it ruthlessly. Retaliation against the few friends I had would never be allowed.
Her eyes were hard and her lips had become a thin, angry line. “That's enough! It's time you learned to listen and think rather than react. What you saw the other night was rape! Mind rape! And Tatiana was the victim, not you!”
I stared at her stupidly. “Mind rape?”
“Yes, Christian, mind rape! The very concept we were talking about at the shoot house,” she said.
“How is that possible?”
“It's a talent, like any other. Reyes was abnormally compelling or persuasive as a human. As a vampire he was a nightmare of a magnitude higher. Only, he couldn't influence Tatiana while your necklace was on her. So, his associate managed to 'accidentally' snag himself on it and break the leather.”
My mind was having trouble dealing with her words. My understanding of recent events was turned on its head, and if I followed the new information to its conclusion, I came to two opposing thoughts. The good one was that Tanya hadn't chosen another, she had never betrayed me! The bad one, the one my mind tried to sidle away from, was that it was I who failed her. By jumping to a poor conclusion, I had not only broken faith, worse I had left her behind to handle it on her own!
Gina's fierce expression softened as she read my thoughts on my face.
“Chris, in your defense, Lydia told me they kept the knowledge from you, that some vampires could do this, because they didn't want you doubting your own feelings for Tatiana. And when you blasted Reyes, you completely smashed his power over her,” she said, quickly.
It didn't help. I've always thought of myself as one of the good guys. You know, helping people against evil, that sort of thing. But between my betrayal of Tanya, the only woman I have ever been able to form a relationship with, and my brutal treatment of Lassiter, my self-image was pretty much shot to shit. Ripped right down to dregs. I sat down (it's called sitting even if you fall on your ass right?). My vision was a little blurry, as it will get when you look through water.
“Is she okay?” I finally asked.
Gina knelt and sighed. “Physically, she's fine. Reyes was probably dead before you left the house, although Lydia isn't certain if you killed him or Tanya, the pieces weren’t big enough to tell. But emotionally, she's a mess. Thinks it was her fault, that sort of thing,” she said softly.
“How long had he ...you know?” I asked.
“Very short. A few minutes. Lydia was going to catch you on the way in and then sic you on him, but you got there early.”
“Instead, I made it a thousand times worse, when I stormed out,” I said, remembering the look I had given Tanya. “Oh my God! Can I be any stupider?”
“Chris, if someone was loaded with PCP and they misinterpreted something, would you hold it against them?” she asked.
“No,” I answered, getting her point. “But I've been living with this for months. And I should have known better. Lydia is always telling me that Tanya won't change her mind.”
“And you've never fully believed that have you? It isn't a human thing after all,”
she answered.
“Oh, by the way, how did your 'dark side' like it when I slapped you? Did you want to hit me back?” she asked.
I frowned. “Well it didn't like it much.”
“And how did you handle that?”
“I choked it down” I said.
“So maybe the answer is that you just have to teach that dog to heel?” she suggested. “Now tell me about the girl who can't take her eyes off you.”
I explained about Stacia, giving Gina all the details. She watched Stacia watch us while I talked.
“Alright, I'm gonna go chat with her myself. Maybe I can nip this in the bud,” she said.
I had no idea what that meant, but I had enough to think about. I grabbed a new tee shirt from my patrol bag, which Gina had brought with her. Stirring up the fire, I added some more wood from the boyfriend's pile.
Campfires always have a calming effect on me and this time was no different, especially with the full moon rising over the treeline. But before I could get far with my thoughts, I noticed movement near Gina and Stacia. One of the Vermont troopers was edging closer to the two of them. It was the shorter of the two I had encountered at the coffee station, the one who had commented on my lack of firearms. He was watching Stacia in particular, and he was frowning. The black beast raised its head, wondering at violence. I promised it free rein if anyone or anything threatened the two women.
The cop's name tag gleamed in the firelight, and I could now read it – P. Reynolds. Looking from one to the other I could see some resemblance, making him possibly an uncle?
He finally moved over and spoke, “Stacia?”
“Hi Uncle Paul,” she replied without over much surprise.
“What are you doing here? Oh, I see – Dan is it?” this was directed at the boyfriend.
“Er, yes sir,” Dan said, a bit nervous.
“Trooper Reynolds, is it?” Gina said. “Your niece and her boyfriend have been attacked by a bear.”
The trooper snorted, “That’s no bear! I was born and raised here, Ma’am, I’ve seen a hundred bears. That’s a monster!” he said.
“Hmm, do yourself and your niece a favor and think of it as a bear from now on.”
“Uncle Paul, it is a bear! Please!” Stacia pleaded.
“You all right, Stace?” he asked.
“Yes….but…” she trailed off, uncertainly.
“Trooper Reynolds, your niece experienced a traumatic experience, one that will most likely require therapy. We – “Gina gestured back at me where I was staring at the fire while shamelessly eavesdropping – “my partner over there and I, know a group of people who specialize in helping victims of this kind of attack. The victims often need help of a…particular kind.”
He frowned, looking from one lady to the other.
“Therapy, huh? I’m tempted to call you crazy and ignore this…circus, except for two things; that monster over there and your freak of a partner. How much will this help cost? Stacia’s mother does the best she can and I try to help out, but ever since my brother, Stacia’s father, died in Iraq, there hasn’t been much money.”
“It won’t cost a thing. In fact Stacia will most likely end up with a college education and a career out of it. There may be a chance for her mother to relocate to the city as well, with employment of course.”
Trooper Reynolds was looking at Gina like he was waiting for her to pull the other leg.
“Why? Why would you and this group do this for my niece?” he asked.
“I understand your skepticism, and you’ll have an opportunity to meet these folks, most likely in the next week or so, but they are sincere in their efforts to help victims like your niece.”
Movement out of my left eye caught my attention. One of the senior CSI type agents was showing Duclair the damage to the werewolf and I caught her looking my way. I had screwed up all day long. Allowing my temper to get the best of me and pulling one stunt after another was more than stupid, it was potentially life-altering (or ending). Duclair had lost the wolf but now had a good idea that I might be a better lab specimen altogether. I was getting a real bad feeling that got worse when Simmons started walking over to the teenagers’ group, frowning, a nasty glint in his eye. I glanced at Duclair and found her watching me. My stomach clenched with tension and the black thing inside stirred restlessly.
A mental image came, unbidden, from the darkness beyond the portable lights that were set up around the were. Okwari. His mental picture was a scene of Federal bodies strewn in broken, torn piles about this very site. Blood, bone and guts, shattered skulls, shredded flesh. The blackness inside me was unimpressed. It could promise the very same image, if Simmons continued on his current path. My options were many and violent, and I had at least one major bear-shaped surprise lurking in the dark. He wouldn’t even leave the choice of action to me, not if he thought I was threatened. I looked back into Duclair’s eyes and let my resolve harden. If she chose this, so be it. A flicker of something that looked suspiciously like fear flashed through her eyes, and after a moment she slid her gaze from mine to where Simmons was advancing on Gina’s group.
“Simmons, leave off there and get over here,” the Special Agent in charge ordered, one last glance skimming past me.
Chapter 14
The McDonalds cashier checked the bulging bag of burgers one last time, then handed it to me, her expression half disbelief and half disgust. It was a lot of food, but I have a minor revelation for you. If you need to lose weight, try hunting a werewolf on foot, then go hand-to-paw for several minutes. The calorie burn is crazy. I had been shaking in hunger the whole ride down into town.
The convoy was back in Bennington, stopped while Briana arranged the final logistics of poor George’s body. As the helicopter had needed refueling anyway, the pause gave us (me) a chance to grab some food.
I walked across the dark street and sat on the front steps of the Presbyterian Church, absently checking my re-holstered Glocks by habit. Briana had handed them to me in a large sealed manila envelope when we had climbed into her SUV. Stacia had left with her uncle in his cruiser, and Dan (“He’s not my boyfriend, just a mistake!”) had driven himself home in his own Blazer.
I took a big slurp of my chocolate shake and started to unwrap a Big Mac.
“Well! Glad to see that you're about on the other side of that whole Darkness thing!” said a voice next to me.
It was all I could do to keep from spraying my mouthful of shake across the church's steps. A blond man was sitting next to me, and he hadn't been there a moment before. I've gotten used to sensing other beings before they can get remotely near to me, so my feeling of shock was most unwelcome. At least I recognized him. He called himself Barbiel and I had a sneaking suspicion that he was an angel.
“You alright? You don't look so good,” he said. It might have been my bulging eyes that did it.
“Jes....eez!” I amended quickly, “you just took ten years off my lifespan!”
“But your lifespan is pretty much infinite, so how is that pertinent?” he asked.
Our last conversation had been like this as well.
“I meant that you startled me. You came outta nowhere!” I explained.
“Weren't you expecting me to appear? This is a church.”
“Well I didn't really think about it, I just wanted to eat outdoors and these steps looked ... right, somehow,” I said.
“Of course they did! All Holy ground should look inviting to you!” he said.
I couldn't get my thoughts ordered, and it took a lot of energy to have a conversation with him, so I took a big bite of burger and chewed slowly, while I thought.
“Is that actually pleasant to do? Eating, that is. 'Cause you look like you enjoy it.”
I swallowed and answered, “Yeah, it is. Especially when you get as hungry as I do.”
“Well, I can see how that might be, what with all your upgrades and all. Amazing really and still abides by the Accord.”
I could just a
bout hear the capital 'A' in Accord.
“Listen, Barbiel – right?” He nodded, so I forged ahead. “I don't have any idea what you are talking about most of the time. Could you maybe help me out with this stuff? Accord? What Accord?” I asked.
“You really don't remember, do you?” he asked, amazed.
“See there you go again. Remember what?” I asked.
“I had heard that you would be blocked from the knowledge, but it didn't sink in.”
I was beginning to think that my angel wasn't the brightest. He continued before I could prompt him.
“The Accord is ancient, between Yahweh and Lucifer. The ones you call Hellbourne are allowed to walk this world, if they can get here. And Yahweh is allowed one such as you in every generation. Well, one such as you were before. You're the first of the new you's.”
See what I mean, although I was actually starting to follow his explanations. That, itself, was cause for worry.
“So, Lucifer can send Hellbourne here to wreak havoc, and God gets just one like me to stop it?” I clarified
He nodded, so I continued: “That's crazy! There is no way I can police up all the Hellbourne in the world by myself!”
“Of course not! You aren't supposed to!” he said.
“Then what am I here for?”
He opened his mouth to speak, then paused and thought about his answer first.
“As difficult as it may be to believe, it is okay for demons to be here. They are part of the test of life. But Lucifer will always go too far. God's Warrior” – he pointed at me – “ is here to control the numbers of Lucifer's minions, to reduce their lot. You are a ... demon predator! Yes, that's the way of it!” he said, excited with his own answer. “Only, Yahweh was tired of losing Warrior after Warrior and Lucifer has been bending the rules here and there. So, Yahweh has upgraded you! Now you are a predator of all the predators!”
“You're saying that God intended that I meet Tatiana and that this” – I waved at myself – “would happen?”
“Of course! All happens as Yahweh intends,” he said, his brow furrowed. “Why else would your other half be here with you?”
