by N. P. Martin
Before the werewolf could even retract his paw, Zee had swung her sickle, the razor-sharp blade swinging down on the werewolf’s arm, severing it just above the elbow. The werewolf howled in pain and shock as it staggered back, blood spurting from the bloody stump of its arm. “Take that, you stinking mutt!” Zee said.
She was still swinging the sickle on its chain, expertly maneuvering it around her head to gain momentum before swinging it sideways at the werewolf. The sickle impacted the stunned werewolf’s neck, and then Zee pulled hard to hook the point of the blade into the beast’s flesh. Then she pulled again, forcing the beast to pitch forward onto the sidewalk. With the werewolf now down, Zee darted forward and stomped its head, her boot moving up and down like a jackhammer until the lycan’s head turned to mush. “I hate werewolves,” she said, barely out of breath. “They smell.”
“Well, it sure fucking smells now,” I said. “Come on. Let’s get the hell away from here before anything else comes.”
Before we headed to Zee’s car, I glanced at the werewolf to see that it had reverted back to its human form. Lying on the sidewalk now was a naked man with no head, half his arm lying beside him. As the sirens closed in, I couldn’t help but wonder if Dent would still let me live in the apartment after everything was over, assuming I was still alive to live anywhere.
Probably not, I thought as we got into Zee’s car and drove off.
23
Despite her protests, I insisted on driving Zee’s car. “I didn’t survive those bounty hunters just so you could wrap us around a lamppost,” I told her.
“You are very critical of my driving skills,” she said as she checked her face in the side mirror, wiping away some of the blood spatter, smearing her heavy black makeup at the same time. “I should really take offense.”
“Well, don’t. It’s best you have your hands free in case we get attacked on the road.”
“This is kind of exciting,” she said as I drove at speed toward the city limits, constantly checking the rearview to make sure we weren’t being followed. “Like a high-risk date.”
“A high-risk date?”
“Yeah. There’s nothing like the risk of getting killed to get the juices flowing, don’t you think?”
“This wouldn’t be my idea of a good date.”
“Not even if I lean over right now and suck your cock?”
Smiling despite myself, I said, “You’re crazy.”
“But the thought turns you on. Admit it.”
“Maybe a little.”
“See? Now you’re starting to enjoy yourself.”
“I wouldn’t—”
My sentence got cut short when headlights suddenly reared up behind us, and then the car they belonged to rammed into the back of the Nissan.
“We have company,” Zee said.
“No shit!” I said, glad there wasn’t much traffic on the streets tonight so I could put my foot down and speed up in an effort to outrun our pursuer. “Jesus, Phillips wasn’t kidding when he said he had sent every hunter in the city after me.”
“It’s a million dollar gold rush, baby,” Zee said, reaching over and grabbing the automatic rifle from the back seat. “I’ll try to get rid of this guy.”
Zee wound the window down as I drove onto the highway and put the pedal to the metal, glad we took the Nissan instead of the Corvette, for it was much faster. But the car pursing us was fast as well, and from what I could make out, it was a black Dodge Charger with just the driver inside. I guess their plan was to run us off the road, or cause us to crash into another vehicle. It didn’t matter what damage they did to me. As long as they could collect my head for Phillips.
Jesus Christ, man…
“Get that motherfucker of our asses,” I said to Zee as I overtook the car in front.
“I’m trying to get a shot,” she said. “There are other cars—gotcha!” Zee squeezed the trigger on the automatic and fired a burst at the Dodge, causing it to break and drop back a ways. “There. They won’t get so close now.”
“We’ll see.”
For the next five minutes, the Dodge pursuing us hung back by a few car lengths, and then, as traffic thinned slightly, it suddenly sped up and drove level with the Nissan on my side. As I looked across, I saw a man in a black hat, his face barely visible, though I saw him smile at me as he suddenly sped on ahead, overtaking the few cars in front.
“What’s he doing?” Zee said as we both stared at the Dodge.
“I don’t—oh shit, is that—”
“Looks like—”
“Dynamite!”
Too late to do anything about it, I could only watch as the driver of the Dodge tossed a lit stick of dynamite out the window. The dynamite landed on the road and then exploded a second later underneath a car in front, blowing the car up onto its side as the car behind it rammed straight into it. With barely a second to react, I yanked the wheel to the left and maneuvered around the two crashed cars that were still skidding along the road, almost losing control as I struggled to maintain control of the Nissan again. “Jesus Christ!”
“This is why you should’ve let me drive,” Zee said.
“Fucking shoot that guy before he throws any more dynamite!” I shouted.
Leaning out the window with the automatic, Zee fired a burst that impacted the rear window of the Dodge, blowing it out. “Take that, motherfucker!” she said until her gun made an empty clicking sound. “I’m out of bullets.”
“My pocket,” I said as Zee reached across and took a fresh magazine from out of my pocket, removing the empty one from the gun before slotting in the new one. “Shoot his tires!”
Zee leaned out again as she tried to get another shot, but the Dodge had driven on ahead, nestling itself between two cars for cover. “He’s hiding.”
“Watch out for dynamite,” I said as I reached into my pocket and took out my phone. “I need to make a call.”
“Your father?”
“Mac,” I said as I quickly found Mac’s number and dialed it.
“Damion,” Mac said when he answered. “Are you all right? I heard about the bounty on your head.”
“Yeah, I guess everyone knows now.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m driving to the house right now. I should be there soon.”
“Okay, good call,” Mac said. “We can protect you here.”
“I sure hope so. And Mac?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll probably be coming in hot. Make sure your team is ready.”
“You have a pursuer?”
“Yeah. A black Dodge Charger.”
“All right,” Mac said. “We’ll be waiting.”
“Thanks Mac.”
Putting the phone in my pocket again, I put both hands on the wheel and focused on driving once more, noticing that the Charger was still nestled between two cars.
“You should ram the motherfucker off the road,” Zee said.
“I’m not ramming him,” I said. “It’s too dangerous.”
Zee shook her head. “This is why—”
“Don’t say it.”
“Okay, then pull up alongside him so I can at least get a decent shot.”
“All right.” I increased my speed for a moment until the Nissan was almost level with the Dodge, but as I did, the Dodge suddenly pulled out from between the two cars and sped on ahead. “What the fuck has he got in that thing, rocket fuel?”
“I know what he’s doing,” Zee said, just as the driver of the Dodge tossed out another lit stick of dynamite that landed on the road right in front of us.
“Shit!” I broke right just as the dynamite exploded, blowing out the window beside me, the force of the explosion lifting the Nissan onto two wheels, making it almost impossible for me to control it. When the two wheels hit the road again, the car continued to veer to the right, and the Nissan slammed into the side of another car, sending the other car flying off the road. With my heart in my mouth, thinking I was going to lose cont
rol, I somehow straightened the car up again and kept driving. “Holy fuck!”
“Nice driving,” Zee said, her hand gripping my leg.
“I swear I’m gonna kill that motherfucker myself!”
“You totally should if you get the chance, baby. It’ll be cathartic for you.”
Angry now at almost dying, I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal and sped up until we were level with the Dodge again, and this time Zee was able to lean out and spray the side of the Dodge with bullets, forcing the driver to brake and drop right back.
“Fuck you, asshole!” I shouted as we left the Dodge behind us.
“I’m not sure if I got him,” Zee said.
“Well, you sure slowed him down some. That’ll do for now.”
We were coming up on the exit, and I turned off the highway onto a long, winding road that would lead us to the small town of Woodsville, which my father basically owned. He owned most of the property and businesses, as well as all the land surrounding it, including the vast estate that the Deadson family had called home for the last century and a half. As I drove down the road, forest on either side of us, I kept checking the rearview, expecting the Dodge’s headlamps to come into view at any second.
“Relax, baby,” Zee said. “I don’t think he’s coming.”
I waited a second and then opened my mouth to agree with her, but just as I did, I spotted lights in the distance behind us. “Shit.”
Zee turned and looked behind. “You don’t know it’s him.”
“It’s him,” I said, certain it was as I immediately increased my speed. “Let him come. Mac and his crew will be waiting. They’ll take him out.”
“You’re lucky you had your father’s house to come to. I’m not sure you would’ve survived in the city.”
“Probably not.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone,” Zee said casually, as if we were just out on a pleasant drive and weren’t being pursued by a maniac with dynamite.
“It’s just my father. And Mac.”
“The weredingo? I’ve never met one of those.”
“Mac’s cool. He’s Australian.”
“He has that funny accent then?”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling at the memory of me and Ava constantly mocking Mac’s accent when we were kids. He never took offense, though, and usually just laughed at us.
“Dodge Guy is catching up with us,” Zee said as she looked behind. “Should I shoot at him again?”
“No,” I said. “We’re coming up on the town now. No shooting. Just let him follow us.”
Woodsville had a population of about three and a half thousand, and like most small towns these days, it struggled to stay afloat. Luckily for Woodsville, though, it had my father to subsidize it, which he did purely out of loyalty to my mother, who cherished the town when she was alive. Growing up, I spent a fair bit of time in the place, and even had a few friends left in it, though I hadn’t spoken to them in years.
“This is quaint,” Zee said as I drove down Main Street, speeding past storefronts and the old library that I used to spend a lot of time in as a kid. “Did you grow up here?”
“More or less,” I said, my gaze still going to the rearview, noticing the Dodge was keeping a steady distance behind us, making me wonder if he was following us to see where we were going, or if he already knew we were heading to my father’s house. Either way, he would soon be in for a big surprise.
“It seems nice. Nicer than Bricktown, anyway.”
“The town dump is nicer than Bricktown.”
Zee smiled. “Bricktown has its charms.”
“Do you mean the rats the size of dogs, or the drug gangs that spend most nights shooting at each other? Or the addicts on every corner?”
“All right,” Zee said. “I take your point. But believe me, baby, if you’ve been to Hell, Bricktown seems like paradise.”
We were out of the town now, driving along a narrow country road, coming up on my father’s estate, which was surrounded by thousands of acres of forest, and the rugged mountains beyond.
“He seems to be closing in again,” Zee said.
“Yeah,” I said, watching the headlamps approach in the rearview. “He probably thinks he can take us along this road. Just keep on coming, asshole…”
Quickly, I called Mac again on the phone, telling him we were still coming in hot. After Mac said he was ready, I hung up the phone and sped down the road before turning off to my father’s estate, noticing the Dodge was still following as I took the straight road that would lead to the wrought iron security gates at the front entrance of the estate.
About a quarter mile from the gates, I put my foot down and sped on ahead, flying through the already open gates before slamming on the brakes and skidding along the road to a stop. Both Zee and I looked out the rear window at the Dodge that was just about to go through the gates. But as the car neared the gates, at least half a dozen men with automatic weapons suddenly emerged from the trees either side of the road and opened fire on the Dodge, spraying both sides of the car with bullets until the vehicle rolled to a stop just past the gates.
“Wow,” Zee said. “I guess they got him.”
Starting the car up, I reversed back down the road, stopping close to the bullet riddled Dodge, which was now surrounded by armed men. As I exited the Nissan, I saw one of Mac’s security team open the driver’s side door of the Dodge. Then I saw a body fall out onto the road.
“Are you okay, mate?” Mac asked me as he came up to meet me carrying a military grade submachine gun.
“I am now,” I said to him. “Fucking guy almost killed us on the way here. He was throwing dynamite on the road. You believe that?”
Mac shook his head just as his eyes went to the Nissan, and then to Zee who had just got out and was now walking toward us. “I take it this is your girlfriend?”
I turned and looked at Zee, dressed as she was, still covered in blood from the men she had killed. “Mac, meet Zee. She doesn’t always look like this.”
“Hey,” Zee said, smiling at Mac. “You must be Mac. You’re a big guy, aren’t you? And a weredingo as well, I hear. I can’t wait to play fetch with you.”
Mac frowned as he looked at me, and I shook my head and smiled. “She’s just kidding, Mac.”
“Right,” Mac said, seeming slightly embarrassed.
“Yeah, I’m just kidding, Mac,” Zee said. “Playing fetch isn’t really my thing. I prefer other pursuits.”
“I’m sure you do,” Mac said. “Whose blood is that?”
“Just some guys that tried to kill us at our apartment,” she said. “I decapitated one of them. With this.” She swung the sickle around a few times. “You ever decapitate anyone, Mac? You ever knock someone’s head off with those big paws of yours?”
Mac smiled and shook his head at Zee. “A Tasmanian Devil we’d call you back home,” he said.
“I don’t know about Tasmanian,” Zee said, smiling wickedly. “But a devil for sure.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Mac said, before turning to me. “Your father is up in the house waiting for you. We’ve brought in extra security. How many hunters are after you, do you think?”
“All of them,” I said as I walked back to the Nissan. “All the hunters, Mac. I hope you have plenty of bullets, for it’s gonna be a long night.”
24
After Zee and I entered the house, we located my father in his huge study. Zee wasn’t at all intimidated by the size of the house or its sheer opulence, which wasn’t surprising, considering the kind of people she usually chose as victims. She was still impressed by the place, though, calling it cozy, despite its immense size.
My father was sitting in a wing-backed chair with a drink in his hand when we walked into the study, the fire crackling away beside him as he sat wearing a dark suit. As we walked into the room, he stood up and stared at us both. Well, more at Zee than me. God knows what he was thinking as he stared at Zee in her leather outfit, all covere
d in blood and dark makeup, holding a bloody sickle in one hand.
Zee didn’t acknowledge my father straight away, as she was too busy gazing around the room, taking in the animal trophies on the walls, and the massive display of books that took up an entire wall from floor to ceiling. When she finally looked at my father, she simply stared at him for a long moment, during which my father glanced at me as if to ask what Zee was playing at, but I knew Zee was just trying to get the measure of him. Knowing Zee, she was trying to ascertain my father’s weak points, trying to work out the best way into his good graces.
“I can see where Damion gets his handsomeness from now,” she said as she walked toward my father, who had barely moved a muscle since standing up, refusing to be put out or intimidated by someone he no doubt considered a demon harlot. “You have the same features, though your eyes tell a different story than his does.”
“I should think so,” my father said, surprising me when he came forward and offered his hand to Zee. “Patrick Deadson. Pleased to finally meet you.”
Zee clasped my father’s hand, maintaining eye contact at all times. “Zelda Scarrow, though you can just call me Zee if you like.”
“Zelda it is then,” my father said. “Can I get you both a drink?”
“I’ll get them,” I said, moving over to the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room. “Scotch, is it?”
“Please,” my father said.
“Zee? Vodka?”
“That’ll do,” Zee said, making herself at home as she sat in the chair opposite my father’s. “This is quite the place you have here. Damion tells me you’re a very powerful man, the kind of man I would normally go for, actually.”
“Am I to be drained dry by the end of the night, then?” my father said dryly, making me smile.
“Of course not,” Zee said, taking him seriously. “You’re Damion’s father. I would never do that. Unless you wanted me to, of course.”
“I don’t,” my father said.
“Have you ever been with a succubus, Patrick?” Zee asked him.
