Enter the Janitor (The Cleaners) (Volume 1)

by Josh Vogt

  Her tears dried the instant they leaked free.

  If not, she would be burned alive.

  O O O

  Ben crouched behind a pillar at the end of the hall, trying to ignore his achy knees. As feared, he knew these Cleansers, especially Marcus. All of them were infamous for acts of arson the world over, often blamed on terrorist groups or ecological activists. They’d created plenty of messes the Cleaners had been brought in to mop up.

  Wincing, he pressed a hand to his stomach, swollen near to bursting.

  The muscled leader of the cult smoothed Dani’s hair and bent to whisper something in her ear, like a father comforting a frightened child. Ben bristled, seeing her weak movements which subsided a second later. Drugged, most likely. He couldn’t believe she’d go along willingly with this madness. Of course, his hiding the Ravishing from her hadn’t helped. If he’d told her from the start, maybe none of this would’ve happened. She might not have felt betrayed and gone with Sydney. He hoped she could forgive him, but for that to happen, she needed to be rescued first.

  Ben swallowed against the increasing urge to vomit. Not yet. Hold it together, bucko. Almost time. He took a steadying breath, fully believing he might be racing to his death. But he’d made a promise.

  “Ready?” he asked, tapping the spray bottle at his hip.

  Carl’s responding splish-splash didn’t instill him with the bravado he craved. His mop lay by his feet, discarded for this fight in exchange for another weapon.

  Squeaking jerked his attention back to the ceremony. A Cleanser turned one of the wheels along the furnace wall. One of the pipes shuddered as fuel swept through it, feeding the flames so they roared higher. Renewed heat washed out the open door, strong enough for Ben to feel it where he squatted.

  There were no prayers. No chanting or calling upon the Pantheon. The Cleansers were, if anything, efficient. Realizing the moment had come, Ben rose and charged toward the gathering just as they pushed Dani into the furnace.

  “No!”

  His shout was drowned out as the door slammed shut behind her.

  While the rest of the Cleansers stared at the furnace, Marcus looked Ben’s way. With an impassive expression, he gestured to the others. The Cleansers turned as one. Their fiery auras erupted into being and burning lances soared from upraised hands straight for him.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Dani tried to scream, but the heat sucked the air from her lungs. Amazingly, she felt no pain. She realized a small part of her had clung to the hope of being rescued up to this moment—the fantasy that Ben might come charging in and vanquish her captors. That she’d wake up from this nightmare, clutching her pillow in her dorm room.

  The furnace door clamped shut behind her. The tray reverberated.

  It took her several moments to register the lack of searing pain. The heat remained, but as a distant presence, licking around the edges rather than consuming her.

  The numbness suppressing her sizzled into nothing. Dani stood and hugged herself in confusion. The tray should be blistering her feet. The crackling air should’ve melted her skin. Thorns of fire curled and thrust, but didn’t pierce her.

  The furnace walls remained unseen through the firestorm raging all around. Dani turned in a circle, afraid to move lest she nullify whatever spell kept her safe.

  All right. So, think like a janitor. A bucket of water might be a good start in dousing this inferno, but that’d kind of be trying to put out a volcano by spitting on it.

  Her train of thought puffed away like smoke as a figure stepped forward. At first, the newcomer appeared like a mannequin set on fire. Its featureless face reminded Dani of the dust devil from the mall bathrooms. As it approached, however, it reshaped until, when it stopped half an arm’s reach away, she faced herself mirrored in blistering red, orange, and white.

  The fire-Dani smiled, its teeth and eyes blue flames. Then it recoiled, and its light dimmed slightly. Words were branded into Dani’s thoughts.

  Oh, god. You’re the one they want me to manifest through? You’ve got to be fucking kidding.

  Dani’s eyes narrowed. How come this copycat got to swear when she didn’t? Not fair in the slightest.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  Who are you?

  “Dani.”

  Then I’m Dani.

  Dani backed up. “No! I’m me! You’re some kind of elemental … thing. A monster.”

  It stalked forward, footprints glowing. Is that so? Let’s compare notes. Here I am, born of Pure fire, free from all the trappings of decay. And there you are, sweaty, stinking, full of mucus and blood and shit. A disgusting pile of flesh infested with who knows what sort of rot.

  “Hey! There’s nothing wrong with my flesh.”

  The creature swept its hair over one shoulder in an uncomfortably familiar gesture. Please. You humans are little more than sentient mold. I mean, look at you. You’re bags of mud on two legs. You even have pores. Ugh. It crossed its arms and sulked. This is not what I had in mind.

  “What are you?” she asked, fascinated despite herself.

  A higher order of life, it said. I’ve tried for so long to keep away from your mucky little realm. To keep your grubby fingers off my essence. And the one time I poke my head up to take a look, see where I end up? Getting bonded to one of you. It shuddered. Fuck. Just the thought makes me want to take a long lava bath.

  Dani shifted toward the grate. “So you don’t want me? That’s cool. I’ll just be going.”

  A wall of flame whisked up and blocked off that path.

  Now, I didn’t say that, did I?

  The power emanating from the creature swept over Dani, and cold sweat prickled despite the furnace’s blaze. She tried to reach for her power, to summon a monsoon or earthquake and banish the manifestation. But the firestorm engulfed her senses, blocking out any other elements.

  The alter-Dani’s smile turned pitying. The sad fact is we’re both stuck with this arrangement. Might as well make it easy on each other. You be a good little fleshbag, let me take control, and I’ll keep things neat and tidy. I’ll cleanse us, inside and out. What do you say?

  Dani looked around, wondering how a brightness that rivaled the core of Sun didn’t blind her. It would be dishonest to say some teensy part of her didn’t want to jump at the offer. To fuse with a being of pure fire? To be rid of all filth and freed from the constant struggle for sanitation? Why not?

  But as she considered it, the offer became far less appealing. This wasn’t life. This was sterility. This was destruction. She’d be giving up too much of herself in exchange for indulging in a single facet of her personality. It wouldn’t be freedom, but just another sort of prison—one she’d have even less control over.

  Fists clenched, Dani matched glares with herself. “No. I don’t want this.”

  Are you shitting me? I can give you the life you’ve always wanted. You’ll never have to worry about being contaminated by your lesser nature.

  “Lesser?” A snap of flame matched her laugh. “If I’m such a lesser creature, how come you’re trapped in here with me? You’re just as much a slave as they want me to be.”

  Her fiery self waved a hand, molten globs dribbling from the fingertips. The Cleansers are a passing fancy. Perhaps they hold the upper hand for now, but even they won’t be able to control us for long.

  “And in the meantime, they’ll use us to get rid of anything and anyone who stands in their way.”

  Don’t cling to such a transient reality. The other’s face melted into a sneer. Fire is the fate of all life. The sun burns to sustain this world, but eventually all will be consumed, melted away like so much dross so the true beauty can emerge. The longer you fight it, the more painful the purification is. I’m giving you the chance to go along willingly. It crossed its arms again. Trust me, I won’t enjoy the process any more than you.

  Dani dropped her eyes as the hem of her white robe began to char. The heat had risen subt
ly, parching her throat, tightening the skin on her arms and face. Panic fluttered in her chest, but she stamped it down. She would fight this until the last ember of her sanity snuffed out.

  Her answer croaked out.

  “No.”

  Then, as your mentor might say, this ain’t gonna be pleasant, princess.

  Her mirrored self lunged. Dani stumbled back, but slammed against the metal furnace wall. She smelled burning hair, and her vision filled with the blue flickers of her twin’s eyes.

  White-hot lips pressed against hers. In shock, her mouth opened and the flames poured in. The creature shot a final thought her way as it burrowed deep.

  Oh, ick.

  O O O

  Ben surrendered to the pressure building inside him. With a choking noise, water spewed from his mouth. It spurted out a few inches, then wrapped backward and around his head. His vision blurred for a second as water gushed up his throat, into the air, and then down his body.

  In moments, Carl’s kin, drunk straight from the spout, coated him from head to toe. The liquid barrier flowed with his motions, covering every inch, yet allowing breaths. Better than Kevlar when it came to janitorial body armor.

  Ben braced himself as his vision cleared enough to see the incoming flames. But the water armor turned aside the burning spears like toothpicks chucked at a brick wall.

  He barreled into the nearest Cleanser, cracked a knee into the man’s crotch, then trampled over him and rammed a shoulder into the next’s sternum. He hoped the loud crackle came from his opponent’s chest and not his own joints.

  Burning hands grabbed his arms. He planted a foot and threw himself to one knee, yanking his attackers down and off balance. As they stumbled, he rose. Water balled around his fists, forming liquid maces which he slammed under their chins. They flew backward, senseless.

  A woman stepped into his way, holding a metal staff in both hands. She grinned as the metal became a bar of fire.

  Ben snapped a hand out. A portion of living water flung across and slapped onto her face. The Cleanser dropped to their knees, scrabbling at the smothering liquid mask. The staff rolled away, extinguished once it left her grasp.

  He spun and eyed his remaining opponents. Two Cleansers remained standing, the youngest-looking of the group. They stepped back. Their auras extinguished.

  A scream shook the air.

  Dani.

  Ben dove for the lever to reopen the furnace. His hands steamed as he gripped it, and the encasing water elementals squirmed in pain. Ben grunted in sympathy. The sprites couldn’t be destroyed so easily, but they could evaporate and be sent floating into the atmosphere until they regained enough strength to re-condense. Too long within the furnace or subjected to the Cleansers’ attacks, and he’d be exposed.

  “Just a little longer,” he promised. “Drinks for all after this, I swear.”

  He yanked on the lever, but it had been locked into position. As he searched frantically for a way to release it, a flicker of white warned him too late.

  The punch sent him staggering. Ben groaned and worked his throbbing jaw. The bitter flavor of blood infused his mouth. When he spat, a yellowed tooth hit the floor. One step closer to dentures.

  Marcus advanced on the janitor, fists wreathed in flame. “This is a holy place. Your sin has no place here.”

  Ben threw a wad of water at the man. Marcus slapped it out of the air, turning it to vapor. The Cleanser surged forward, grabbed his throat to shove him against a pillar. The water armor hardened under his touch to keep Ben from being choked, but it couldn’t repel the attack.

  Ben’s brief hope dimmed as he looked over the man’s broad shoulders and saw a dozen more Cleansers race into the hall. The alarm had been raised. His window of opportunity had closed. He’d be kickin’ the metaphorical bucket, soon enough.

  Sorry, princess. I tried.

  In the other direction, holes burned through the furnace wall, red-hot on the edges, flame clawing the openings. The roar of the furnace thundered to new heights. Metal slag poured down in gray rivers that scorched the white marble.

  Marcus gazed, looking peaceful despite the chaos raging to break free. “She comes,” he whispered.

  Ben’s infected arm raised of its own accord. The watery gauntlet receded, baring his hand. Jagged needles broke through his fingers and pierced Marcus’s throat and face. The Cleanser gagged as Ben’s arm pulsed, feeding into the other man’s flesh.

  Dismayed by the Corruption pouring from him, Ben tried to pull away but the limb no longer responded to his control. It continued pumping toxins into Marcus as the man’s grip weakened until he fell to the floor, spasming.

  Ben stood stunned. The Cleanser smiled in bliss, despite the black veins etching his body.

  “You are too late,” he said. “Our goddess is born.”

  He shuddered once more before his eyes glazed. Even in death, his skin writhed as the Corruption ate through him.

  Cleansers ringed Ben, looking furious and horrified, while the furnace continued to melt from the inside out. He shifted from side to side, trying to spot a chink in their barricade. As his arms and legs trembled, he reconsidered the wisdom of leaving his mop behind. Of course, if they saw him using it as a crutch, they might attack faster.

  Another group surged into the hall. Ben feared even more Cleansers—but the commotion resolved into Francis and two dozen Ascendants. Their Pure auras repelled the smoke billowing through the chapel.

  The fire-worshippers turned to face the new threat. Voices rose as the Cleaners spread out in teams of threes and twos, weaving through the pillars to attack on all sides.

  The Cleansers scattered to meet this new threat, leaving a lone girl to face Ben. He glowered at her, noting her pale face and trembling lips. When he feinted a grab, she shrieked and bolted.

  Ben hurried back to the lever and started punching and flipping every dial and switch around it. When he hit the tenth button along a row, a clunk indicated an inner clamp had been released. He grabbed the lever and shoved it down. The door ground open.

  Hissing drew his eyes up as an enormous slab of metal fall away from the wall and tumbled toward him. It plummeted, while his own sense of time slowed to let him contemplate his demise. Even if he dove, his legs would be crushed beneath the debris.

  Someone grabbed him from behind and a white aura surrounded them both. Molten fragments spattered against the aura and dropped away into steaming clumps.

  Ben turned to see Francis step back, wiping his hands as if sullied by touching the janitor. He glanced at Ben’s exposed arm, finger-needles dripping venom. Francis scowled, but pointed at the furnace door.

  “Go! Get her out!”

  Ben raced for the opening. The watery armor quivered as the heat soared with each step, but he pressed on. His knees popped as he leapt onto the marble slab. Icy pain knifed up his thighs, but he kept his balance and ducked his head to enter.

  A dragon’s blast of fire shot out of the opening and flung him back to the floor. His liquid armor absorbed much of the blow, but he still lay stunned.

  He raised his head as Dani emerged, striding forward like the Queen of Hell.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Dani’s red hair had burned away, replaced by tongues of fire that settled on her brow like a crown. Curtains of flame curled around her body, replacing the white robe she’d worn.

  Much of the fighting stopped at her appearance. The Cleansers abased themselves. Francis’ team froze in their positions, while the lead Ascendant glared at Dani as if she were a mustard stain on a favorite tie.

  She stepped off the marble slab, leaving footprints charred into the stone. She moved with a royal grace, hips swaying, head erect.

  Ben’s attack on the Cleansers had wearied him to the core, and the liquid armor had gone bubble-thin. His joints clamored for relief as he stood and stared at his apprentice.

  “Dani?”

  “Hello, Ben.” An echo overlaid her voice and
each word flashed light in her mouth, as if she held a glowing coal on her tongue. “What do you think of your princess now?” She spun around, like a girl showing off her ballet tutu.

  Ben eased closer. “I’m thinkin’ you oughta take a few deep breaths, kiddo. The Cleansers don’t gotcha anymore. You ain’t in danger.” Trying to make it a comforting gesture, he reached out with his water-covered hand. Her eyes lit like miniature torches, and he jerked back as the hair singed off the back of his hands.

  His Corrupted arm rose in disembodied self-defense. Ben roared as her hand clamped around that arm. The flesh sizzled, and he dropped to his knees, gasping.

  “Dani,” he spat about between waves of pain, “this ain’t you.”

  Her fingers tightened. The stink of scorched skin filled his nostrils.

  “Oh, it is, Ben. My true self.”

  She put a foot to his chest and kicked, which skidded him back several yards. He curled up around his throbbing arm, where a black handprint scarred him.

  As he recovered, Francis ran up behind Dani, face set, aura bright. Ben thrust his good arm out.

  “Hold on a sec—!”

  Dani glanced over her shoulder and made a bored gesture. The Ascendant cried out as flames engulfed him. He spun through the air and slapped to the floor, white suit marred by ashen streaks. He tried to rise, but collapsed, wheezing.

  Ben got to his feet again, hands on his knees. “You don’t wanna hurt these folks.”

  Her eyes blazed at him. “Why not? They’ve stripped me of everything I had. Denied me any choice except to be a good girl and do as I’m told.” Her chin tilted up. “Why do you heel to their whistle, Ben? Is it because you’ve lost all other purpose in life? Because you’re too afraid to stop begging for whatever handouts they toss your way?”

  Motion from the corner of Ben’s eyes told him the scrub-team was positioning itself to advance from all sides. He had to keep her distracted.