by R W Thorn
The second time was when he sniffed the air and frowned in disgust. He glanced quickly at Jack and then away. Then he dismissed the odor and continued with his work, opening each of the cases before standing back.
For his part, Jack was starting to get the idea that he should probably spend some time soaking in a tub. He didn’t say anything.
Nathanial coughed to clear his throat. “What we have here,” he began, again not looking at either Jack or Lennox directly, “is a selection of tools and devices that might help you against the Hell-beast. You’ll recognize most of them. The crossbow is collapsible for easy transport. It uses bolts tipped with silver, not useful directly, but they’re hollow and mechanized. They will inject holy water into the Hell-beast if you hit a weak spot.”
Nathanial’s voice was high and almost musical. He didn’t wear glasses, but the way he fidgeted suggested he might once have done so. It was like he had a subconscious need to adjust them that he had to fight.
“The shotgun might be your best bet. It’s light and quick to aim and use, and this Hell-beast moves fast. The shells contain the usual mix of holy water, garlic salts, and sage, like those for your handgun,” he said, nodding toward Jack. “Which I’d caution against using if you have a choice. It’d be like a bee sting. It would only make the Hell-beast angry.”
He spoke quickly and clearly, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Methodically, as if ticking each item off in his mind, Nathanial moved onto the next. “This is a grenade launcher. It should finish the Hell-beast, but it’s inaccurate, and you only have three grenades. That said, one should be enough. The grenades themselves have been thrice blessed, and the shards should be toxic even without the Hellfire they release.”
Nathanial paused. This time, he did meet Jack’s eyes. “Be careful. I understand that you’re more durable than most, but these shards will be toxic to you as well.” He flicked a quick glance at Lennox. “Both of you,” he added and blushed again.
Then he continued. “The rest is more standard. Holy water, extra shells for your guns, a handful of throwing knives with demon wards engraved on them. The Hell-beast is too strong for these to be fatal, but they might slow it down a little. Oh, and this is different,” he said, pointing to an amulet. “It’s the Amulet of Ducent. If you have any ability for sorcery, you can use it to activate a shield.”
Jack looked over to Lennox, who was staring at the amulet with obvious interest. Of the two of them, she was the only one who would be able to use it.
“And then there’s this,” Nathanial said. He was holding a curved piece of gray plastic. Jack stared at it, puzzled.
“It’s a blue-tooth headset. For your phone.”
At this, Lennox burst out laughing, and Deedee cracked a brief grin. Nathanial looked at each of them with a confused expression. He blushed again, not understanding what they found funny. Worried that he’d said something wrong, he went into more detail.
“We have Brothers already on the scene. They’re safe, keeping a low profile, but they’re able to influence the police at need, to keep them out of your way. They’re in contact with me here. I can feed you information as you go.”
Jack didn’t bother to respond, and for a moment, Nathanial stood there growing more and more confused. Finally, Lennox rescued him. “Sweetie,” she said, almost purring at him. “Perhaps I’d better look after that for you. Jack here doesn’t see the value of all this modern technology stuff. Do you, Jack?” she said with a raised eyebrow and a teasing lilt to her voice.
Jack just grunted in reply even though she was wrong. He did see the value of it. But he’d lived long enough to know how much of it was transient. He couldn’t be bothered wasting his time learning how to use something that might become obsolete in just a few years.
He was more than happy to leave that sort of nonsense to others.
Nathanial bobbed his head in thanks. “Okay,” he said. Then he pointed to the last item. It was a small boom box, no bigger than an alarm clock. “Finally, there’s this. We’ve all heard the legends that say a Cerberus is susceptible to music.” He shrugged as if he doubted the truth of those legends. “It can’t hurt, I guess.” He glanced over the items one last time, as if checking that he’d covered everything. “Well, that’s about it. Any questions?”
Jack didn’t have any, but Lennox did.
“Yeah. Sweetie, all of this is great. But what we really need to know is where this Hell-beast is. Where will we find it?”
Lennox was all smiles as she asked, but Nathanial’s face fell as if he was embarrassed that he’d forgotten such a critical detail. He turned his brightest shade of pink yet and looked at the floor.
Before he could recover, Deedee stepped in. “It was last seen at the corner of Alchemy and Hex.” She looked at Jack and Lennox as if waiting for her words to sink in.
It was Lennox who said it first. “That’s the middle of downtown,” she breathed. “In the outdoor mall.” She looked at her watch. “It’s lunch time. It’ll be packed.” All of her usual playfulness was gone.
“Yes,” Deedee agreed. “So what are you waiting for? Take what you need and get going. Come on, people, move it! This thing is dangerous. Lives are at stake!”
Police Cordon
Jack and Lennox took Deedee at her word. Together, they shared out those items they could easily carry and packed the remaining bulkier weapons into a rucksack Nathanial had provided. When they were done, they returned to the platform elevator with Deedee and Nathanial both wishing them good luck as they left.
Within minutes, they were back outside next to Lennox’s Ducati, and Jack felt Amelia return. She said nothing, nor could he see her. Yet her presence was as undeniable as the perfume Lennox wore.
The light rain had stopped, but it was still a gloomy, overcast day. Lennox had already put on her helmet and was about to climb onto her bike when Jack stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Are you ready for this?” It sounded like the same question that Deedee had asked, but Jack was questioning her willingness more than her capability.
Lennox’s first response was flippant. “I was born ready for this,” she said, grinning with all of her usual confidence back in place.
Jack didn’t buy it. There was a brittleness behind her grin that suggested anxiety. He didn’t let her go, but didn’t say anything else either. He just stared at her until her grin faded away.
“You weren’t around at the time, but my demon got out once,” she said, relenting. “I was about fourteen and angry that I wasn’t allowed to do all the things that normal kids do. You know, because of what I am. I’d taken my suppressant, but it wasn’t enough.” Lennox looked away as if she were ashamed. “I hurt people I’ve known all my life.”
When she looked back at Jack, her eyes were filled with the fire of determination. “They could have put me down. Sent the demon in my blood straight to Hell. But they didn’t. I was young enough that they decided to risk trying to contain the demon again. I owe the Brotherhood everything. I’m ready for this.”
Jack accepted her words and released her. “Just remember, a Hell-beast is not a wight. It is a lion compared to a puppy. It will kill you if it can. Then it will eat you.”
Lennox’s grin returned as she climbed onto her bike. Jack couldn’t help but admire the way her riding clothes hugged her body. “That’s a big ‘if’ old man. I may not have the same durability as you, but I’m no pushover either. Now get on and let’s go.” Then her grin turned into a smirk. “And try not to be so free with your hands this time, will you?”
Jack had no clue whether she was serious or not. He just grunted a noncommittal response and climbed on, doing his best to hold onto her in as platonic a manner as possible. He was grimly aware of the approval Amelia projected.
There were benefits to riding a bike in New Sanctum. As the traffic slowed to a crawl close to the city center, Lennox wove in and out, ignoring the angry horn blasts and rude hand gestures as she went.
When traffic stopped completely near the outdoor mall and those in their cars were reduced to helpless frustration, Lennox jumped onto the sidewalk and kept going.
They passed by numerous shiny, glass-fronted shops that were at odds with the city’s original character. Jack remembered when this part of town had looked much like the Brotherhood’s temple, filled with stonework and columns and gargoyles. Some of that character remained visible on the second story where people lived above the commerce, but other than that, it was hard to find.
In recent times, Jack had wandered these streets and sat on a bench just to remember what it all had been like. He had spoken to the ghost of his wife as he toyed with the wedding band on his finger. In life, Amelia had been relaxed and whimsical, a child of the seventies in manner much as Lennox reflected the faster, wilder times they were living in now.
“There you go,” Amelia said in response to Jack’s thoughts. “You’re getting it. She’s just like me, but different as well. Practically perfect for you.”
On the back of the bike, Jack shook his head at his wife’s comment, and Amelia’s laughter once more echoed in his mind. Amelia didn’t always read his mind, but he resolved nevertheless to be a bit more circumspect with his thoughts from then on, and brought his attention back to the present.
The cause of the traffic buildup soon became clear. Jack could see a white plastic barrier across the road a short way ahead at the corner of Alchemy and Hex, in the middle of the mall. It was a police cordon. There police cars were parked beyond the barrier and a fire truck as well, but on this side of it, traffic had backed up with nowhere to go.
Jack could see policemen gesturing to each other with urgency, their focus on the department store on the corner. As Lennox stopped her bike and kicked the stand into place, Jack ground his teeth in irritation. City officials did not have the tools required to deal with a Hell-beast. He hoped that the Brotherhood would be able to keep them out of Jack and Lennox’s way, as Nathanial had promised.
At least Jack could see no reporters, as yet. Some of them tended to sniff too close for Jack’s liking.
He climbed off the back of the bike and shouldered the duffel bag, and Lennox dismounted with far more grace. She looked at him through the face shield of her helmet.
“As long as we’re here at the mall, how about we pick up a new shirt for you?” she said. “Because that thing you’re wearing now looks like it’s trying to evolve. And maybe some trousers. And shoes. And how long have you been wearing those socks?”
Jack could see her playful grin but was in no mood for her teasing, or for Amelia’s silent agreement. There were barriers across the sidewalk as well, there to prevent pedestrian access. “Those idiots will try to warn us off,” he said. “Call your boyfriend, Nathanial. See if he knows where the Hell-beast is now.”
“My boyfriend?” Lennox replied, her tone a mixture between being offended and laughter. “That’s funny! You know I prefer my men older.” She said it glibly, in a way that left Jack unsure of her meaning, although Amelia pounced.
“There! See?” she said. “That was for you.”
Lennox didn’t look at him as she took off her helmet so she could clip on her earpiece. But before she could make the call, a window on the second floor of the department store exploded, showering glass down on those on the ground. At the same time, a demonic shriek sounded from above, the sound like metal being torn to shreds. It could only be the Hell-beast venting its rage.
It was so loud that the air itself seemed to vibrate and the police on the ground all turned to cover their ears. Although Lennox and Jack were both standing some distance away, the shriek was painful to hear. Even Amelia seemed to shudder at the sound.
There were few pedestrians about. It was like Coven Street station had been when the wight had attacked. People who would normally be wandering about had become aware of the danger, perhaps warned away by the police up ahead. Most of them had fled, leaving only a few stragglers behind.
Those stragglers were now cowering in fear. The cry of the Hell-beast had driven them to hide behind street lamps and trash cans and anything else they could find. Those in their cars had ducked down in confusion and terror, and some had opened their car doors to flee.
Others were pointing their cell phones at the store, but as yet there was nothing to see.
Lennox swiftly recovered her grin despite the volume of the Hell-beast’s call. She looked at Jack with surprising self-possession. “I think we know where the Hell-beast is,” she quipped. “Do you still want me to call Nate?”
Jack’s response to the danger was to become progressively angry. He could hear the Hell-beast crashing about in the department store and knew that everyone nearby was in danger. He also knew that the police and firemen would try to stop him and Lennox from approaching. If he tried to push it, there was a chance that the police would find out what he had in his duffel bag, and that might prove awkward.
He shook his head. “No,” he grunted in frustration. He considered his options, then changed his mind. “Yes. Ask him if there’s another way to get into that department store.”
Rear Entrance
There was another way into the department store. Lennox got the information they needed from Nathanial and then took her time to lock her helmet to her bike. She didn’t share the information with Jack.
“Well?” said Jack.
“Well, what?” Lennox replied, deliberately obtuse.
Jack knew she was teasing him yet again, but had run out of patience.
“What did Nathanial say?” he clarified in exasperation.
“If you weren’t allergic to technology, you’d already know, now wouldn’t you?” she said, her habitual grin firmly in place.
Amelia laughed so loudly it was a wonder Lennox didn’t hear her. But Jack just closed his eyes and wondered how much of Lennox’s teasing was due to her natural exuberance and how much was due to the demon blood in her veins. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It did nothing to ease his frustration.
“People are in danger,” he said. “Just tell me!”
Lennox continued to grin. Amelia’s instincts were right. Jack really did like Lennox. For a long time after his wife died, he’d been numb to the world. With her constant playfulness and teasing, Lennox was the one who had broken through that numbness, and made him want to rejoin the world. She had given him hope that one day, he might enjoy living again.
But sometimes she pushed it too far. Sometimes her constant torments were exasperating. Jack found himself on the verge of exploding into anger.
Perhaps she sensed it. In any event, she finally gave him an answer. “This way,” she said and then led him directly away from the police and their barriers.
Jack had no choice but to follow. He bit back on his anger and promised himself that he would soon have a conversation with her that she wouldn’t enjoy.
But that conversation was for when they were done with the Hell-beast. Perhaps Lennox’s teasing was her way of dealing with anxiety. A Hell-beast was a fearsome opponent, and not even Jack was immune to the nerves leading up to this confrontation. He just buried those nerves in anger instead.
Jack muttered dire imprecations under his breath. He thought it was a good thing Lennox couldn’t hear Amelia. His wife’s reaction to Lennox’s teasing would only encourage her, and make it all the worse for him.
The Hell-beast screamed again, cutting Amelia’s ongoing laughter short. This time, the noise was accompanied by shouts of fear and horror from those on the ground, as well as the sound of gunfire, a single shot.
Jack didn’t bother to look, but he thought that the Hell-beast had shown itself, at least for an instant.
Lennox ignored it all. “Through here,” she said.
She was indicating a steel door set within a concrete frame between two buildings. For some reason, Lennox stood back. A quick check told Jack that the door was locked, but the frame was just a frame. It wasn’t connected to anything
on top. He looked to Lennox. “We’ll go over,” he said. “Ladies first.”
He prepared to give Lennox a boost to help her up, but she still wore her playful grin. She shook her head and indicated that he should go instead.
Jack had no tolerance left. He couldn’t be bothered figuring out her game. Nor did he wish to spend the time arguing. So he muttered angrily to himself and heaved his duffel bag over so that it landed with a clattering thud on the other side. Then he reached for the top and scrambled up. Balancing on no more than six inches of the concrete frame, he swiveled to offer Lennox a hand.
She waved him off with an airy gesture. “I can make my own way,” she said.
“Fine,” Jack grumbled. He was done offering Lennox his help, at least for the moment. He turned and dropped lightly into the alley, then shouldered his duffel bag again.
The alley was narrow and damp and had been used to store garbage. It wasn’t wide enough for a dumpster, so trash had been stacked in bags against one of the walls.
Some of those bags looked to have been there for months. There were holes where rats or raccoons had been looking for food, and they were leaking. The smell was revolting enough that it disgusted even Jack’s robust sensibilities. And yet, that wasn’t the worst of it, from Jack’s point of view. He still didn’t know how to get into the department store, and now he had been separated from Lennox. He didn’t know where to go.
His irritation reached a new peak. “Lex!” he called through the door. “I’m growing tired of this! What game are you playing?”
He feared that she had gone off without him for reasons of her own. But then he heard her laughing out loud through the door. “Lex?” he said again, layering threats into his tone.
She didn’t answer. Instead, he heard her muttering words in an ancient tongue. To his ears, the words sounded acidic. They set his teeth on edge and generated a pressure inside his mind. He thought Lennox was preparing to blast the door open, and hurled himself away from it as fast as he could.
