by Barry Reese
The three heroes of Assistance Unlimited stood panting, wondering what would happen next. Femi was breathing just as hard and when she spoke, her words were not what any of them had been expecting.
"Lazarus Gray, you have impressed us with your display. All of you would be welcome additions to our ranks." Femi rose from her throne and crossed the room to where Gray stood. She placed a hand on his chest, a teasing smile on her full lips. "Become my mate and I will see that your friends are treated like royalty."
"No!" Achmed barked. He immediately looked chastened when Femi turned to glare at him and he softened his tone. "My princess, it would not be proper. He is not of Egyptian blood. He is a commoner."
"I think it is for me to decide such things, not for you," Femi replied coolly.
"Actually," Lazarus interrupted, "I have no interest in bedding you. In fact, my only reason for being here is to see that you and your allies are silenced forever."
Femi blinked as if slapped. It was quite clear that she had never considered that he might actually reject her proposal. "If you refuse me, then there is only one option left for you and your friends: death."
Gray leaned close enough to her that she could feel his breath on her face. "I’d advise you to reconsider. I meant my earlier offer. Surrender and I’ll do what I can to ensure your passing is painless."
The look of rage that flew over Femi’s face was incredible to behold. Her eyes shone with mystic fire. "Kill him," she hissed between clenched teeth. "Kill all of them!"
The Undying drew their weapons, a combination of guns and knives, but Gray had already delivered a backhanded blow to Femi that sent her flying. Normally, he would have felt qualms about hitting a woman but in this case, he had none. Femi was a monstrosity, doomed to un-life for heresy. Now that she had a second chance at existence, what had she done? Nearly killed Morgan and left a night watchman to bleed out. She had proven her unworthiness to live.
Femi landed on her back, scrambling into a crouch as The Undying rushed at Eun and Samantha. She saw the Korean leaping into the air, kicking one of her men so hard that his teeth were knocked from his mouth in a bloody spew. Samantha had dived behind a display of Egyptian art and pottery, exchanging gunfire with The Undying.
"You, Lazarus Gray, are going to regret this," Femi said. Her beautiful face twisted into something awful as her anger took hold. She stood up, looking resplendent in her Egyptian finery, and pointed both hands at Gray. Tendrils of foul energy shot forth from her fingers, wrapping around him. His skin began to shrivel and Lazarus felt as if the very life were being sucked from his lungs. "I’ll show you what it was like for me," she stated. "I’ll see how you like being a living mummy for the next few decades."
Gray bucked in agony, falling to his knees. His eyes seemed to shrink into their sockets and his mouth became as dry as sandpaper. As death seemed to swell up, ready to envelop him, he began to remember a similar event, another time when he had teetered on the brink of the abyss: Lazarus saw himself staggering through a burning building. The stench of burning flesh had made him retch and the wails of the dying filled had filled his ears. He’d been bleeding from a number of wounds, most notably from a massive hole in his neck. He’d held a blood-soaked rag against his neck as he stumbled from the building, out into the night air. It had been an autumn night in Mexico and as he had turned back to face the flames, he saw a young girl, no more than a child, trying in vain to escape the deathtrap. She’d howled like a banshee, her hands reached out to him beseechingly.
"I killed them," Lazarus hissed, even as Femi cast her dark spells on him. "All those people in the house – men, women and children. I killed them." He looked up at Femi and his mouth twisted into an expression of disdain. "I can’t let you kill me. Not yet. Not until I know why I did those things."
Amazingly, Gray managed to force his way back to his feet. Even as his skin turned an unhealthy shade of white, Lazarus drew out one of his daggers. He took careful aim at Femi, who stared at him in disbelief. The knife flew through the air, embedding itself between her eyes. She gasped and fell back, her body beginning to decompose immediately. Her skin fell away in patches of dried earth and her skeleton disassembled, shattering as they hit the floor.
Achmed, who had been firing upon Samantha, howled in agony. He shouted for his men to cease their attacks and slowly they did as he asked, facing their adversaries warily. Lazarus was healing quickly, now that Femi’s magic was no longer working on him, and he watched as Achmed crept over to the remains of Femi, kneeling at her side. He ran his fingers through the pile of dust and bone, tears shining on his cheeks.
"You monsters," Achmed whined. "You destroyed her. She was the last remnant of the great Egyptian dynasties and you killed her."
"She should have died long ago," Gray responded. He looked toward the hallway as a set of uniformed officers rushed into the room. Evidently, the sounds of gunfire had finally attracted the authorities.
"Chief? You okay?" Samantha asked, moving to stand at his side. He looked distracted and she was worried that his injuries were more severe than they looked.
"I killed children."
Samantha blinked. "Chief?" She looked around at the police officers, which were rounding up The Undying and taking a statement from Eun. "What are you talking about?"
"While Femi was attacking me, I had a vision of the past. I think I may have done some awful things, Samantha." He looked at her and his emerald-colored eye shimmered, even as his brown one seemed to darken. Samantha had always found it peculiar how they could do that. "It’s time to stop playing around with the mystery of who I really am. The time’s come for me to find out once and for all."
Samantha took his hand. "All that matters is who you are now, Chief. The old you… maybe he should stay dead and buried."
Gray looked down at the dusty remains of Princess Femi. "That’s the problem, I’m afraid. Sometimes the dead don’t stay in their graves."
***
Morgan Watts was sitting up in his hospital bed when Samantha slipped into his room. She had a brown paper bag with her, from which the smells of Morgan’s favorite burger – a bacon & cheese concoction from Murray’s Deli – rose up invitingly. "Mind some company?" she asked, holding up the bag.
Morgan smiled. "Not at all. Especially when you’re bearing gifts!"
Samantha sat on the edge of his bed and offered him the bag. "How do you feel?"
"Rotten. But getting better. Sorry I missed all the fireworks."
"I think you saw plenty." Samantha waited until Morgan had pulled the hamburger out and taken the first bite before she began speaking again. "I’m sorry I slapped you. It wasn’t fair. I had been leading you on a bit. It’s not that I don’t like you in that way – I think I could – but we’re friends and coworkers and it’s just not wise to get involved. So, how about we go out for coffee sometime and agree to keep it simple."
Morgan stared at her with wide eyes and a mouthful of hamburger. He swallowed hard and settled back. "I’d like that," he said slowly. "To be honest, I thought you might be harboring feelings for Lazarus and that’s why you weren’t interested in me."
With cheeks flaming red, Samantha laughed and looked away. "No! That’d be silly. The Chief doesn’t have time for romance."
"If I were him, I’d make the time where you were concerned." Samantha looked pointedly at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "I’m saying that as a friend, of course."
A smirk appeared on Samantha’s face. "Of course." She noticed a basket of flowers sitting nearby and stood up to look at them. "Who sent you flowers?"
"Dunno. They were there when I woke up. Haven’t even looked at the card yet. I figured they were from Assistance Unlimited."
Samantha picked up the card and opened it. She knew that no one at the office had sent them and was curious who had. "Mind if I take a look?"
"Go ahead."
The words printed on the card made Samantha pause and, for some reason she couldn’t fath
om, they seemed to bode ill for all involved:
Get well soon. I look forward to getting to know you and your friends.
Sincerely, Miya.
Samantha stared at the card, picturing the attractive Asian woman who had so unsettled Lazarus. She crumpled up the card in her hand and tossed it into the trash.
"Who are they from?"
"Wrong room," she said cheerily. She picked up the flowers and headed for the door. "I’ll make sure they get where they should have gone."
Morgan watched her go, taking another bite of his hamburger. Women, he mused. You just never knew about them.
THE END
THE BURNING SKULL
An Adventure of Lazarus Gray
Written by Barry Reese
Chapter I
Blood Red
"Who am I?"
Under normal circumstances, such a question would have seemed absurd. But where Lazarus Gray was concerned, it was a perfectly valid inquiry.
Just over eighteen months before, he had woken up near the Sovereign City Harbor, battered and weary. He’d had no memory of who he was or how he’d come to be there and the only clue to his identity had been a strange coin on his person. It had depicted a nude man with the head of a lion, the words ‘Lazarus Gray’ printed below the image.
Within minutes of coming to, Lazarus had found himself the target of an assassination attempt. That had set the tone for his time in Sovereign City, which had been filled with one dangerous threat after another. Along the way, he had formed Assistance, Unlimited, a group dedicated to aiding those for whom there was nowhere else to turn. He had adopted the name he’d found on the coin, hoping that it would draw out anyone who might know the truth.
It had taken far too long for Gray’s liking, but in the end, the strategy had worked. Miya Shimada had arrived outside the Assistance Unlimited headquarters and her arrival had brought with it a flood of contradictory memories: he knew that he and Miya had been lovers but he also knew that they’d had an awful fight that had ended their relationship. Furthermore, he’d seen images of himself setting fire to a small building in Mexico, deliberately killing men, women and children.
Now Lazarus and Miya were dining together at Amici’s, an upscale restaurant in the heart of the city. Normally, reservations had to be in place for weeks ahead of time but the maitre d’ had once been nearly put to death by a bizarre and insidious form of poison. Assistance Unlimited had not only managed to find an antidote, they had also proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the person responsible for the attempted murder was the man’s own brother.
Miya took a sip from her glass of wine and cast a glance outside. It was raining cats and dogs, as it always seemed to do in gloomy Sovereign. She saw men and women scampering about in vain attempts at staying dry, their feet splashing in the puddles that lined the streets. "Is this really how you want to spend the evening?" she asked. "I was hoping to renew our friendship before diving into all the mysteries surrounding you."
Gray’s impassive face showed no trace of emotion. He was a handsome man, with hair that was more gray than brown, making him appear older than he was. His eyes were mismatched, with one being a dull brown, while the other glittered like an emerald. He wore a dark suit and driving gloves. "Miya, I’ve spent the past eighteen months not knowing if I was a monster or a saint, or something in-between. Do you realize that I don’t even know my real name? I’d love to renew our friendship, as you put it, but the first step to doing that is you telling me all you know about my past."
Miya stared down at the pasta on her plate. "Can I at least eat while we talk?"
"Feel free."
Miya sighed, noticing that Lazarus didn’t bother picking up his own silverware. He was obviously planning to wait until she’d explained things. She reached up and brushed a strand of raven black hair behind her ear and she caught him watching the motion. A tiny smile touched her lips. So he did still find her attractive. That was nice to know. She knew that her mixed heritage – she was a Japanese-American—gave her an exotic appearance and she’d accentuated it by wearing a Western style evening dress and Japanese-themed earrings and necklace. "We met nearly eight years ago, in Tokyo. You were there with a German named Walther Lunt and I was working in my father’s shop. The two of you came in just before closing and Lunt told my father that he was there to purchase a small statue called The McGuinness Obeslisk."
"What sort of shop did your father run?"
"He collected and sold occult books and artwork."
Gray wasn’t surprised. From his own spotty memories, he knew that his past was filled with mysticism. A prior encounter with the disfigured Lunt had made him wonder if he and the German had once been allies or enemies. Apparently, he now knew the answer. They had worked together in some capacity.
Miya paused while she savored the exquisite cuisine. "The Obelisk was supposedly capable of controlling the minds of any female within 100 feet of it. My father kept it under lock and key so it wouldn’t affect myself or my mother." Miya smiled shyly, avoiding Gray’s gaze. "I was enamored of you from the first moment I laid eyes upon you. When Lunt and my father could not agree on a price, I stole the Obelisk and took it to your hotel room, hoping to impress you."
"And did you?"
"Yes. You took me to your bed that very night."
Lazarus shifted uncomfortably. More and more, he was becoming convinced that he wasn’t going to like the man he used to be but he couldn’t find the strength to stop the hunt. He had to know the truth. "And after that?"
"I went back to Europe with the two of you. I was indoctrinated into The Cabal. That’s just what I called it, of course. It has no real name, though people have attributed many to it over time: The Damnation Society, The Hellfire Club, The Illuminati, The Seekers. It’s a group of occultists who seek forbidden knowledge and who aren’t afraid to use it for their own ends."
"And I was a part of this?"
Miya hesitated and though Lazarus didn’t know her very well, he was sure she was keeping something from him with her answer. "Oh, yes. You were a willing participant. In everything."
"Including burning children alive in Mexico?"
Miya blinked before suddenly leaning forward and taking Gray’s hand. She squeezed it hard but he didn’t reciprocate. "Oh, you poor dear! It must be so hard to remember only bits and pieces, without context! Those weren’t innocents, my love. Those were vampires. A coven of them. They’d even turned children into the undead. It was horrible. You did them a favor by releasing their spirits."
"You still haven’t told me my name."
Miya withdrew her touch and took a deep breath. "All right. We’ll handle things your way. Your name is Rich--"
"Mr. Gray?"
Lazarus glanced up at the maitre d’, who looked slightly chagrined. "Yes?"
"Please forgive me. I know that you said you didn’t wish to be disturbed but… well, there’s been an incident up front that might require your attention."
It was then that Gray noticed a murmuring amongst the other restaurant guests and even a few stifled cries. Normally, he was so sensitive to his environment that he would never have missed something amiss but Miya’s recounting of his past had obviously obscured his awareness.
Gray stood up and spotted the source of the disturbance. A man had entered the restaurant and then collapsed, landing facedown in front of the maitre d’ station. "Have you contacted the authorities?" Gray asked, hurrying toward the fallen man, the maitre d’ in tow. Miya remained at the table, momentarily forgotten.
"Not yet. Should we?"
Lazarus understood the hesitance. The police force in Sovereign was little more than an extension of various criminal enterprises. There were good men who wore the badge but not enough of them to instill confidence in the city’s populace.
"Go ahead and place the call," Gray ordered. The maitre d’ nodded at another employee, who bolted toward the phone.
Kneeling at the man’s side, Gray quickly
rolled the fellow onto his back. Just by touch, Gray had surmised that it was too late to save the man’s life. He was quite dead already. Several people who were standing about gasped at the sight that was presented to them and one of the waitresses let out a bloodcurdling scream. She fainted into the arms of a busboy.
The skin on the dead man’s face had been burned away, as if by acid. As a result, all that was left was red muscle and white bone. The corpse now bore the horrific visage of a bloodied skull. Gray refrained from touching the ruined mess, for fear that some danger lingered on the raw flesh. There was a peculiar odor emanating from the dead man – something that smelled a bit like almonds. Gray checked to make sure his gloves were securely in place and began rifling through the man’s pockets. He found his wallet easy enough, along with a small card identifying him as Wallace J. Newton, Private Eye.
A uniformed police officer burst in at that moment and Gray recognized the type immediately: a burly, blustery fellow who enjoyed showing off his power. It only took the briefest examination to spot the signs.
"Get away from him, fella," the police officer barked, directing his comments to Lazarus, who slowly complied. To the rest of the people standing around, the officer said, "Everybody take your seats or get out! We gotta leave room for the medics when they get here!"
Gray took note of the man’s badge number. He had committed to memory every officer in the city, matching them up with their badge number. "Officer Mulvaney, there’s precious little that a medic could do here. This man is dead. His demise is peculiar enough that I would like to take his body back to Assistance Unlimited for further analysis."
