Kubo peered at the body cooly. “Proof, maybe, that our buddy Ernie isn't batshit crazy.” He grit his teeth.
“Shit...” I didn't want to, but I glanced at the body again, at the woman's wide, frightened eyes. Her skin was bluish, and her corneas glistened with ice crystals. “What could possibly do this to a person? She looks like an extra in Jaws. We should probably call Ernie in and ask him more about what he saw last night, no?”
Kubo pursed his lips, hands in his pockets. “Yeah...” Sniffing the cold air, he turned back to the entrance of the alley, making eye contact with one of the grunts and getting a nervous shake of the head in response. “We've had no luck getting ahold of him. By day he's always holed up in the Speakeasy, but he isn't there today. We've sent our guys over there twice now. More concerning is the fact that our trace spell on him isn't working.”
I'd had enough of the gore and took a few steps away, joining Joe on the other side of the dumpster. “Which means...?”
“Did something happen to Ernie?” managed Joe as he grappled with nausea.
“Seems that way.” The Chief looked up into the gunmetal sky, a faint snow beginning to fall. The delicate flakes settled on the shoulders of his black woolen coat like dandruff. “It's possible that someone released his soul, destroyed his essence.”
“Wait, what?” I gulped, wondering how that was even possible. “You mean to tell me that someone killed our ghost?”
Kubo nodded. “More or less. Perhaps he saw too much, barked up the wrong tree and had his soul banished from this sphere. Difficult to say. I can't think of any other reason we'd have trouble finding him, though.”
“Shit,” I muttered. Maybe it's silly, but I felt a jolt of sadness at the thought. Did it make sense to mourn the “death” of a ghost? It was all pretty absurd. “But, who? Who could have done this, Chief?”
Kubo had apparently been thinking this over himself, because he answered without hesitation. “Someone with considerable power. Banishing a spirit from the Earthly realm isn't just a cheap parlor trick. It takes some magical muscle to get that done.”
Joe buried his hands in his pockets. “So... this flying monster might be real, then? What kind of monster is it, Chief?”
“Ernie claimed it had the head of a lion, wings, a scorpion's tail...” Kubo massaged his jaw. “I can't say for sure, but it sounds like some sort of chimeric creature.” He frowned more deeply than usual.
“So?” I asked, balling my fists. “What's the problem with that? Let's find it and tear it apart.”
The Chief shook his head. “No, see, chimeric beasts don't really exist outside of myths. At least, they aren't supposed to.”
Listen, since taking on this demon's heart, I'd seen some shit. Zombies, super-powered witches, ghosts... Admittedly, making the leap to giant, flying chimeras was a tough one, but not nearly so tough as it would have been back in my human days. It was clear we had something big and nasty on our hands, and in the wide, mysterious world of the Beyond, who could say that such things didn't exist?
“Whatever it was, it was big. Violent. A definite threat. We're going to look for it,” continued Kubo, leaving the alley. “We might have to contact experts, but we'll get to the bottom of this one way or another. Keep your phones close. No telling when we might make a breakthrough.”
Joe and I couldn't get out of that alley fast enough. Since our arrival there, I'd been gradually overwhelmed by the smell of icy death, and it wasn't until we made it out onto a main street that I could bear to draw in a deep breath.
CHAPTER NINE
9
Joe and I split up. I decided I felt like filling in Germaine and booked it home, walking through an evening snow flurry. The sun dropped out of the sky without warning. Or maybe it'd given proper notice and I'd just been too deep into my thoughts. My mind kept replaying the events of the night prior as my feet left long, straight tracks through the powdery snow.
Some hybrid creature, twenty or more feet long, swooping out of the sky and taking a big bite out of some woman? More than most of the things I'd encountered since signing on with the Veiled Order, this seemed like pure fiction. But then, why couldn't it be real? It wasn't like Ernie had any incentive to lie about it. And now the poor ghost had probably gotten himself banished from Earth. Wherever he was, I just hoped he was happy.
My heart was thumping along quickly, and it wasn't on account of my speed-walking. Something was eating at me, throwing off my mood. Paranoia, I guessed. Glancing up into the dark sky, I searched for signs of giant beasts, of airborne death, but caught nothing but a few snowflakes to the face.
No matter how many times I looked up into the empty sky, I never felt any safer. The closer I got to my apartment, the more I felt sure that someone was watching me. What is it? I asked the demon. Is there someone watching us? Is that why you're flipping out? Do you really think there's some giant, flying monster out there?
The demon didn't reply.
Stepping onto the sidewalk, I fixed the far-off form of my apartment complex in my sights and tried to calm my mind. Something was bugging the demon and I wanted to know what the hell it was. The only way to find out would be to try and communicate with him. I inhaled a lungful of the frigid air and tried to clear my head, offer Gadreel a spot on center stage.
I focused on the cold plaguing my face, on the ground beneath my feet, and then let my thoughts drift into the ether. Eyes closed, I slowed my advance so that I wouldn't run into anything and listened for the demon. And this time, I got lucky, because he actually chanced to speak.
The voice in my ear was small, but urgent. Gadreel uttered only two words before my eyes shot open and I whipped around. “Behind you.”
I turned, finding the snow-dappled car dealership at my back completely dark. The cars were arranged in neat rows, the little plastic pennants hanging above them frozen stiff so that they seldom flapped in the breeze.
My eyes tracked movement.
Something moved between two of the cars in the lot, a tall, black thing the shape of a man. As I watched, the figure, dressed in a flowing cloak and hood, gradually faded from view, melting into the background. I squinted, waiting for the being to re-materialize, but after a minute or two of standing in the cold, accumulating still more of the snow, I found myself alone.
Who was that? I asked, though Gadreel didn't furnish an answer.
I broke into a jog, keeping my eyes peeled for the shadowy watcher. I arrived at the door to my building a few minutes later, yanking it open and dusting myself off in the lobby. Climbing the stairs, I entered my unit and found Germaine on the sofa where I'd seen him last, the volume on the TV turned way up. He was singing along to the Friends theme song.
“Hey there,” said the spider, stretching. “How was your dinner date?”
I ignored him, motioning to the door. “We're going for a drive. Come on.” I took my fully-charged phone from its cradle and made sure my fur coat was buttoned.
Germaine shut off the TV and dashed across the carpet to my feet. “Sure. What's goin' on, kiddo?”
Locking the door behind us, I admitted the spider into my pocket and started back downstairs, fumbling with my car key. “It's complicated. Remember yesterday, the scream we heard? Well, Kubo found a body today. There was a big bite taken out of it. Almost as if Ernie wasn't completely full of shit and there's a real-life monster flying around out there.” I kept my voice low, crossing the lobby and exiting the building. Tapping the button on my key, I heard the chirp of my Corvette as it was unlocked. “The Chief doesn't know what it is yet, but he thinks it could be some chimera, maybe.” I gulped. “And then, on my way back here, someone was following me.”
“Following you?” asked Germaine. “Who was following you?”
I didn't have an answer for him. Possibly it'd been the person who'd dispatched Ernie, someone in league with this monster. As we made our way over to the car however, another possibility crossed my mind. “
I'm not sure who it was. They disappeared before I could get a good look. They were watching me from afar, and the minute I took notice they vanished. Do you think that the Veiled Order has someone shadowing me?” I asked. “Do you think that asshole, Arson, might have someone following me to make sure I behave?”
“It's possible,” replied the spider. “Wouldn't put it past a creep like him. Especially since he's got a vendetta against ya.”
I climbed into the driver's seat, sticking my key into the ignition and letting the car warm up. The engine didn't sound great at first, its usual purr subdued. The poor thing had sit in this lot for three months while I'd been gone, and I bet that asshole Kubo hadn't taken the time to start her up even once. We idled in the parking lot for a few minutes, the windshield wipers whacking away the falling snow and the heater spitting out a current of gradually warming air. While we waited, I decided to give Kubo a call.
He picked up on the third ring. “Yeah?”
“Chief,” I began, “I was just on my way home and I noticed someone was following me. They were dressed in all black. Didn't get a good look, because they disappeared. Vanished, like a ghost, into thin air.” Kubo was about to reply, but I kept on talking. “I'm curious... does that new boss of yours have someone shadowing me? Maybe Arson wants to make sure I'm being a good boy?” I pulled out of my space and started out of the lot.
“No, not that I'm aware of,” replied Kubo. “If he had someone tailing you, I'd know about it. Anyhow, meet me at HQ. We've got some reading to do, you and I.”
Cutting a path through the fresh snow, I accelerated past the car dealership. “Already on my way,” I replied.
I was about to hang up the phone when I suddenly lost control of the car.
Something hit the Corvette from above, cratering the roof and sending us reeling. Germaine rolled across the dash, smacking into one of the windows. From there, the car began to slide, the tires finding zero purchase on the icy streets. I tugged at the wheel but couldn't correct it in time to keep from crashing into a lamppost.
The next thing I knew, the airbag was hitting me in the face and the taste of blood filled my mouth.
CHAPTER TEN
10
“Lucy, get the fuck outta there!” cried Germaine, crawling through the busted windshield and onto the lamppost which had turned the front end of my car into a crumpled soda can.
For a minute there I wasn't even sure where I was. The crash had knocked me senseless, left my head swimming. I shoved away the airbag and tried to open the driver's side door. The rocking of the vehicle interrupted my efforts, however. Something was on top of it, making it sway from side to side on its suspension so that every component creaked and groaned. Finally coming to my senses, I kicked the passenger side door off of its hinges and crawled out commando-style onto the snowy road.
Germaine shouted something at me, but I didn't hear a word. The emergence of a long, segmented tail from above distracted me. Tipped by a boulder-sized stinger, the tail was quickly wrapped around my throat. I'd only just managed to roll onto my back when I first felt its monstrous grip around my neck. And then I saw it.
What I found perched atop my ruined car was a horror beyond description.
I was lifted off of the ground, the muscular tail crunching cervical vertebrae and soft tissue in a punishing vice grip. No matter how I gasped, I could draw no breath, and my red face was brought up close to my captor's.
The face of a gigantic lion.
The creature that now had me in its clutches was, as best I could tell, exactly as Ernie had described it. Its head was enormous, three or four times the size of any head I'd seen on the lions at the Detroit Zoo, and was joined to a thick carapace reminiscent of a Nile crocodile's. Its limbs were stunted, vaguely saurian, and tipped in black claws. From its back there sprouted two large, flapping wings, like a bat's.
So, the monster was real after all. I wasn't sure what to call this thing, but I'd have gladly called it “daddy” if only to get it to let go.
The creature took flight, charging up into the sky like a rocket before suddenly thrusting me back towards Earth. There was no telling how high we'd gone when the creature decided to throw me down into the street like a fastball, but when I met the ground below, there probably wasn't a single bone in my body that didn't break on impact.
A terrible roar sounded in the night, the thing circling me from above like a vulture.
“Lucy, speak to me!” yelled Germaine, rushing over to my side and tugging on my bloodied fur coat with his arms.
“I'll do you one better,” I mumbled, slowly sitting up. Bones settled back into their natural positions, hemorrhaging screeched to a standstill and was then promptly reversed. I groaned as my body began to mend, my eyes never once leaving the circling monstrosity above. When I'd recovered enough to stand, I reached up into the sky towards the creature and loosed a scream that made my insides hurt all the more.
Lightning rained down from the sky in multiple bursts. I watched as the monstrosity weaved between the white-hot bolts, surprisingly agile despite its bulk, before being caught in the attack and losing some altitude. The thing didn't fall to the ground, merely flinched, losing its momentum for a few moments before suddenly picking up speed and sailing into the distance. The snow all around me had melted, the air reeking of moisture and ozone. Panting, I combed back my bloodied mop of hair and spat.
Gadreel can do a lot of things, but he can't fly. I watched as the beast flew away, its leathery wings flapping, its form casting a deep shadow over everything directly below its flight path. The bell had rung and the first round had been called decisively in the monster's favor. I cursed, pacing around the street for a time and massaging my lower back. I'd given that creature a million-volt kick in the pants but it hadn't been enough to shut it down.
Demonic lightning strikes just weren't what they used to be.
“You OK?” asked Germaine, climbing onto my shoulder and appraising my face with concern. “That thing was a goddamn nightmare.”
Turning to the smoldering remains of my Corvette, I couldn't help but shake my head. “No. That is the goddamn nightmare here. What the hell am I going to tell my insurance agent?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
11
Kubo paced around what remained of the Corvette. When I'd called and told him I'd crashed my car, he'd tossed a few barbs my way, however now that he was seeing the damage first-hand in the lot outside of Veiled Order HQ, he wasn't laughing. He studied the damage gravely and then turned to me with a deep-set grimace. “How big was it?”
“Twenty, maybe thirty feet. Easy. Pretty fucking huge.” Every inch of my body was pounding. My bones and life-threatening injuries had been healed almost instantaneously, but the aches and pains that came from being tossed around like a rag doll were going to persist a while. Come to think of it, my pride was rather bruised up, too.
Germaine peeked out from the pocket of my fur coat. “It was just like Ernie said. I've never seen anything like it, and I tell you, I've seen some shit in my day.”
“Well, do you know what it was, Germaine?” asked Kubo.
The spider chuckled nervously. “Nah, look, I know weapons and I know demons. What that was, though? The one and only thing I know about it is that it ain't supposed to exist.”
Kubo eyed the wreck reservedly, sighing. “After what Ernie told us, I decided to give Malcolm Sterling, the monster hunter, a call. I had some questions for him, wanted to know if he'd ever heard of anything like what Ernie had described. I guess I'd better get ahold of him again and tell him to get his ass over here in double-quick time, because we're obviously dealing with something serious.” He turned to me. “Perhaps he'll bring Percy along with him. The more the merrier.”
“And in the meantime?” I asked. “Is there any way for us to find out what this thing actually is?”
The Chief turned towards the building. “We can head to the file room and do some readi
ng. There might be something in there that lends a clue. We have texts that pertain to mysterious creatures.” He ran a palm against his forehead. “Though, I don't know where the hell we'll start.”
“When will Percy's dad get here?” I asked, following Kubo as he started into HQ.
“Within a day, I hope. When last I spoke to him, he and Percy were down south hunting Chupacabras. If he gets on a plane tonight, he should be here by early morning.”
I stopped. “Wait, Chupacabras?”
Kubo simply nodded, giving me a look that seemed to say I was an idiot for ever doubting their existence.
“They're real?” I pressed.
“Hell yeah, they're real,” replied Germaine. “And nasty sons of bitches, too. They came outta the Amazon, got a little community going there, but in recent decades they've been moving north, coming through Mexico into the US. Haven't you ever seen The X-Files, kid? They covered all this shit years ago. You're behind the curve.”
We entered HQ, the building's warmth washing over my bruised face and gifting me a little comfort. The attendant at the front desk nodded to us, his eyes heavy and his hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. “Hey,” I asked, “where's Mr. Amundsen at? I haven't seen him since I came back. Maybe he'd know something about this, yeah?”
Kubo led us into one of the elevators, taking us down a level. “Amundsen got a new position. He's one of the higher-ups now, graduated to the council of senior leaders.”
I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to needle the Chief a bit. “Bummer, they gave him that post instead of you, huh? Why didn't you get a fancy new job, eh? Didn't kiss enough ass?”
Happy End of the World (Demon-Hearted Book 3) Page 4
