by Leo Romero
“Quite,” Smith said, as cold as ice. He turned his attention to me. “What are your thoughts, Mr. Stone?”
“My thoughts are that this is very bad.”
“That is stating the obvious, Mr. Stone. Beelzebub now has most of the armor he so desires.”
“No no, it’s beyond that,” I said, shaking my head. “He’s also got his wings. That means he’s at full power. A fire demon with wings is crazy powerful.”
“So, what are we gonna do?” Aurora asked, her voice laced with genuine concern.
I shook my head. Then, it hit me. There was only one thing I could do. I needed to get to the Angel Guild ASAP.
*****
I raced away from Dark Suits Tower, scuttling through the back alleys to where I’d left the Harley, my mind and heart racing at a million miles an hour. I hadn’t expected Beezle-brain to get his wings so quickly, then I remembered he was a Prince of Hell and so the rules would be different for him. Other demons could take an age to power up after being summoned, but his power would be jacked from the start. I still had no idea what bastard summoned the SOB, but that wasn’t important right now. What was important was to keep B away from Hando and Aurora and send his ass back to Hell once and for all. But in order to do that, I needed to power up too.
I entered a dark, dingy alleyway, running through it like my ass was on fire. Behind me, Aurora struggled to keep up.
“Gabe, where are we going?” she asked.
“The Guild,” I snapped over my shoulder, not breaking stride. “I hope we’re not too late.”
Something burst out of the darkness at the end of the alley, causing me to pull up. Aurora smashed into my back. “Hey, what’s—”
“We meet again, StoneAngel,” the thing said in a gleeful voice, snapping Aurora’s sentence in two.
I stared at the yellow eyes ahead of me embedded in a red, shell-like head, antennae sprouting out the top like aerials. Its arms were held out to the sides, armor-plated, ending in giant pincers.
I groaned to myself. “Oh crap, it’s Crustus.” Crustus the lobster demon who killed my last siren. Man, I didn’t need this right now!
“Our paths cross once again, Stone,” Crustus said. His voice was all gargly and bubbly, the kinda sound kids made with the straws in their sodas when they wanted to be icky. Even though his upper body had grown into a human-like torso since I last saw him, he still hadn’t grown humanoid legs, meaning he had a lobster abdomen and lots of little lobster legs carrying him along. He was an ugly bastard that was for sure. The rancid stench of rotten fish filled the air. I was suddenly reminded of Fishstink the goblin.
“I got this, Gabe,” Aurora said, rolling up her sleeves and stepping up to Crustus. She took a deep breath and opened up her mouth.
I threw out a hand. “No!”
Too late. Aurora gave him a siren blast that forced me to slam my hands over my ears. I ducked, closing my eyes, that feral noise echoing and reverberating through the alleyway, sending cats darting left and right. She went on for what seemed an age, my ears screaming in pain. Eventually, she let up and I almost collapsed to the ground, half dead. I looked up, my chest heaving. Aurora was standing there, staring at Crustus in disbelief, while the lobster demon himself remained as he was, totally unhindered.
“Did you just say something?” Crustus asked, cupping a pincer behind his ear.
I marched up next to her. “Nice work. Crustaceans are immune to sound. It’s the hardened shell around their ears. Protects em.”
Aurora’s eyes widened. “Oh!”
“Now, feel the wrath of my pincers!” Crustus boomed, clacking his pincers on the air like castanets. He advanced on us, his lobster legs clicking along the ground. He got closer and lifted up his abdomen, showing us the entrance hole at the end of it.
“Ew!” I said, cringing. His abdomen began to pulsate. With each throb, a tiny version of Crustus was released from the hole. The mini lobsters hit the cement and came scuttling straight for us, their tiny yellow eyes tinkling with demonic intent, their pincers snapping on the air, their tiny feet clicking on the cement. Within seconds there was an army of them heading our way.
I reacted on instinct. I rifled through my Deck of Death and ripped out the queen of hearts. Without hesitation, I threw it down on the concrete and shouted, “Medusa!”
A blinding flash emanated from the center of the card followed by a puff of violet and cyan hued smoke. A square segment of the world opened up like a sliding door, a nasty black, darker than the most pungent ink. A hot hiss tore out of the Void and the infamous gorgon climbed into our world. Her head popped through, her hair of dark-green snakes dancing and writhing on the air like belly dancers, their eyes milk-white. Her claws gripped the sides of the opening separating our world from the Void as she pulled herself through, her head bowed. Her humanesque body first appeared, her ancient skin cracked: shriveled and gray. Swiftly following up was her thick serpentine tail, scaly and slick. Her crystalline rattle was the final thing to emerge from the Void, releasing a harsh rasp.
Her palms hit the wet concrete and she remained slumped over as if exhausted. But, we didn’t have time for her to get her bearings. Crustus’ offspring were scuttling toward us like an army of killer ants, itching to destroy whatever was in their path.
“Medusa!” I snapped.
Her head twitched my way with a hiss, while remaining bowed, the snakes writhing on her head obscuring her face. I pointed at the throng of deformed lobsters scuttling our way. “Attack!”
Medusa’s head jerked toward the lobsters, and she raised her face, the snakes parting from her brow. The result was instant. Her killer gaze showered over the small beasts. Twin beams, brilliant white, shooting from her eyes right into the path of the oncoming creatures. The click-clack of their limbs ground to a halt as if they’d hit an invisible wall. In a flash, their outer casings hardened to white stone. They toppled over, hitting the cement with dull thuds.
Crustus’ eyes burned with anger. “No!” he screeched. “You’ll pay, angel!” he stated, pointing at me with his pincer. “I’m going to—”
Medusa frowned and jabbed her face toward Crustus. White-hot light bore out of her eyes, showering the asshole. Before Crusts could finish his sentence, his body hardened with a nasty crackling sound. It spread up to his head. His jaw juddered for a second before hardening. It moved out to his arms, his pincers still clacking. They slowed. One last clack and they too hardened to white stone.
Medusa switched off her eyes and gave herself a firm nod as if to say, ‘good riddance!’. Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, she whipped her head around toward me and Aurora. The moment she laid eyes on Aurora, I knew it was trouble. Medusa’s forked tongue darted out of her mouth.
“Uh-oh!” I uttered, almost crapping my pants. I knew that look and it wasn’t good. Her eyes flared into life, flushing with white fire. My reaction was instinctive. I snatched the lid of a nearby trashcan as that white-hot beam shot from her eyes.
“No!” I yelled as I darted back to Aurora, who was frozen, not by Medusa’s gaze, but from sheer terror. I jumped in front of her. “Duck!” I ordered as I held out the trashcan lid in front of me like a shield, ducking down behind it as best as I could. Medusa’s beam hit it and my heart juddered. I prayed my makeshift shield would hold out. The beam pummeled the lid, a crackle sounding out all around me as both of us cowered behind it. In seconds, it grew heavier and heavier as stone built up on its outer side. I gritted my teeth and held on tight, my muscles flexing, the thin, flimsy bit of metal the only thing stopping me and Aurora becoming statues.
I let out a scream of anguish, terror thundering through my veins, Aurora clutching onto my shoulders for dear life. The lid got heavier and heavier and my arms finally gave way. The lid crashed to the ground with a dull thud, now a lump of stone. To my horror, we were exposed. I darted my eyes up to Medusa, expecting to be bathed in white light, Aurora ducking down behind me. Instead, I found myself frowning in s
tunned confusion. Medusa was a statue of white stone. Then I realized what must have happened. The beam bounced off the trashcan lid and rebounded into her. The ultimate irony.
I stared down at the lid in bemused silence, then up at Medusa and that nasty scowl caught on her face as she died. I nodded. Yeah, she’d turned herself to stone and I was the one who did it. “Oh, crap!” I sneered, putting a hand up to my mouth and rubbing, my mind firing off in different directions. “I just killed Medusa.” The realization was like losing a hand at cards. “She was the strongest gorgon ever known and I had her in my deck, now she’s freaking dead!”
“I don’t believe it,” said Aurora.
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I need a new gorgon now. Know how difficult these things are to find? Had to go on a safari hunt on Monster Island to find her. You know Perseus didn’t actually kill Medusa, it was her ugly twin sister Seduma he killed. There was only one Medusa and I just killed her!” My angry eyes fell on the crystal residues of Crustus, the only thing now remaining of him. “At least I can finally collect that bounty,” I said to myself, suddenly thinking Medusa’s demise hadn’t been a complete waste.
Aurora stepped up to me. “You knew, didn’t you?”
I faced her. “Knew what?”
“That Crustus was immune to a siren blast.”
I went to speak, but no words came out. So, I kind of shrugged instead.
Aurora’s expression turned dark. “You knew summoning Quvoxyzharé to fight Crustus would likely end up killing her and that’s why she died.”
I shook my head. “Totally and utterly...” I sighed. “Okay, you got me.”
“I can’t believe you, Gabe.”
“Look, this isn’t the time for this. Can we get to the Guild first, then you can berate me about Qu-Qu-Qu, whatever the hell her name was.”
“She was alive, Gabe! She had a name.”
“Yeah, and it almost got me killed!” I raged.
Aurora recoiled. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. Her face was riddled with it and it kinda made me feel bad, even though I was angry and agitated.
She shook her head. “How did you ever get to become an angel when you’re such an asshole? No wonder you were thrown outta Heaven.” She whirled on her heels.
“Hey, Aurora!”
“Don’t bother, Gabe, just don’t,” she said over her shoulder. “I don’t wanna see you again.”
She marched off in a huff.
A burst of anger set me in motion. “Hey, you can’t just walk away! Beelzebub’s still out there looking for you!” I set off after her.
She whirled back, drew in a breath and released an extra hellish siren blast my way. My eyes had time to widen before the wave of infernal sound hit me in the chest like a stampeding rhino. “Whoa,” I managed as I was flung off my feet, the sound wave shoving me through the air. My back slammed into the alley wall, stealing my breath. I collapsed into a painful heap on the concrete, stars whirling around my eyes like a carousel. By the time my blurry vision refocused and the pain all over my body had diluted to a bearable hum, Aurora was nowhere to be seen. She was gone, and pissed at me, just like every other woman in my life.
Chapter 18
I didn’t know what I was gonna do. Aurora was AWOL, wandering around the streets of Chicago all alone while Beelzebub was on the hunt for her. At least I still had Hando.
I made it to my bike, the whole while keeping an eye out for Aurora. No luck. I was caught between going around the streets looking for her or heading for the Guild. The truth was, I could waste precious time looking for Aurora to no avail when I could be at the Guild instead. I cursed my luck and got moving, streaming through the streets on my Harley like a man possessed, jumping reds, not slowing at intersections. All I could think of was a fully charged Prince of Hell stalking Chicago, a walking fire man complete with wings carrying the near whole set of the Armor of Agony, itching to get the last piece and the Dark Bearer to perform his ritual of bringing Hell to Earth.
I prayed to Heaven I had enough time and juice in my tank to stop him.
I made it to the Guild and dumped my bike on the sidewalk. I raced up to the entrance, right as Brutus spotted me. He came stomping over like Herman Munster, pointing his chubby finger. “Stone! You asshole! Think I forgot—”
I grabbed hold of that finger and bent it backward. Brutus doubled over, his face contorted in pain. “Ain’t got time for your asshattery, Brutus,” I told him, bending his finger harder.
“Argh! Let go! It hurts!” he squealed.
“I got important business,” I said, bending his finger harder, making his eyes pop. “The world depends on it, so stay outta my way. Capiche?”
Brutus nodded fervently.
“Good.” I released him, pushing him back at the same time. He collapsed to his knees and began nursing his finger.
“I’ve had a shitty few days, Brutus. And it could well get worse, so if I were you, I’d think about emigrating,” I told him as I headed for the Guild entrance.
I doubted Brutus heard a word. He was too busy blowing air on his hurt finger. I threw open the entrance to the Guild and stormed down the steps. I burst inside to make the few heads already in there turn my way. Jerome was behind the bar, cleaning glasses. A couple of Enforcers were at their ‘desks’ going through paperwork. I noticed Ramirez loitering by the bounty board, stroking his handlebar mustache while he perused the wanted posters. His eyes flicked my way. I pretended I didn’t see him; I didn’t want him muscling in on my contract, even though in truth I could probably use the help. But hey, I needed the cash. No time for joint ventures.
I scanned the Guild until I laid eyes on the very Enforcer I was looking for.
I dashed right over to Samuel’s table. He was busy signing papers one at a time from a bunch neatly arranged atop his desk. “What is it, Stone?” he asked in a bored voice, not looking up from his work.
“I need that L45 early. Like now!”
Samuel slowly laid down his pen and leaned back in his seat, his brow pinching. He gazed up at me like I was insane. “And why would I do that?”
“Cause I need my wings. Just for tonight.”
A smile spread across Samuel’s cheeks that made me wanna smash his face in. “Can’t do that, Gabriel. Against regulations. I’d be reprimanded if I were to—”
“Listen you son of a bitch!” I snapped, thumping the surface of his desk. “I know you don’t like me, but I don’t give a rat’s ass. The fact is, I need my wings back cause that fire demon is Beelzebub.” I nodded slow, a nasty grin on my face. “Yeah. He’s here and getting stronger by the minute and I need my wings back and as much light magic you can inject into me otherwise the Big Kahuna can wave bye bye to this planet.”
Samuel crossed his arms over his chest. “Beelzebub, huh?”
I gave him a slow, wide-eyed nod. “Ah-ha. Someone raised him in order to fulfill Satan’s day of reckoning. There’s this armor. I haven’t got time to go into details, but he’s got his hands on most of it, except for this.” I grabbed Hando from my waist and raised him on the air. Hando wiggled his fingers at Samuel, who stared back at him, nonplussed. “He needs the armor to open up a perma-portal to Hell,” I told Samuel. “He’s also got his wings, and so I need mine to fight him.” I gave him a sincere stare, hoping to break him out of his bureaucratic stupor.
After a few seconds, he began nodding. “Okay, Stone. If what you say is true, I can slip you an emergency L45 form.”
My chest relaxed. “Thanks, Samuel.”
He pointed at me. “But it’s just between us. Okay?”
I waved my hands on the air. “No problem. Bless you, Samuel. This means a lot. I’m forfeiting that original L45 for this. No day out in Heaven for me.” Just saying the words tore my heart asunder. No day out with Mia. Who knew when I’d ever get to see her again. If I ever did. My stomach knotted, and I took a long shuddering breath to overcome it. I had to put my personal angst aside. The fate of Aurora and the
world were far greater. Still, torment grated on my nerves regardless. It would probably never leave.
Samuel gave me a sympathetic nod. “I understand, Stone. Your service to the cause won’t go unnoticed.” He looked down at the papers on his desk. “I don’t have any L45s here, so come with me out the back and I’ll fix you one up.”
“Lead the way.”
Samuel rose from his seat and led me to the back of the Gentleman’s club. Both of us glanced around like we were up to something bad. Samuel giving me an early L45 was against protocol, so he was taking a risk himself doing it for me. He suddenly went up in my estimations. Maybe he wasn’t such an asshole after all.
As we left, Jerome watched us while cleaning glasses with a dishrag. I felt Ramirez’s cold stare on me as well. I tried my best not to lock eyes with him. I didn’t want any of them knowing what I was up to. This was between me and Samuel.
We made it backstage away from prying eyes to the various old dressing rooms, one of which was used as the filing center. Samuel threw open the door and marched in. I followed up and looked around.
One wall was lined with a giant mirror the girls used to sit in front of while they did their makeup. Pushed up against the opposite wall, a line of filing cabinets stood to attention. “Come in and shut the door, quick,” Samuel ordered.
I did as I was told, having a quick final check of the corridor. We were alone. No prying eyes to interfere with what we were doing. Samuel went over to a filing cabinet and opened up a drawer. I waited in the center of the room, rocking on my heels. I couldn’t wait to get my wings and get to work on Beezle-brain. I was gonna make him pay. I was gonna...
My trail of thought petered off as Samuel turned around to face me. I was expecting him to be holding a blank L45 form in his hand. Instead, his chain mace was in his hand, imbued with intense light magic. He swung the illuminated spiked ball on the end of the chain to and fro like a pendulum, his face as hard as ice.
I looked from the swinging spiked ball to his face and back again, my mouth agape. “What’s going—”
