by N. P. Martin
Leland laughed derisively. “Don’t make me laugh, Frank. You’re in it for yourself as much as anyone else. You love the hunt. You love the killing. You’re fooling no one with your self-righteous act. Being a Watcher is about you, not the people you think you’re helping by putting down a few demons.”
Well, he’s got you there, Frank. Come to think of it, he’s got us both.
“I don’t hurt innocent people.”
“What about those two kids Rachel left behind? What about your brother, Frank?”
Frank stepped forward and put the gun to Leland’s head. “Fuck you!” he snarled. “I didn’t ask to be brought back!”
A slight smile creased Leland’s lips. Despite the gun to his head, the bastard was enjoying himself still. “Maybe not, but don’t tell me Dean wouldn’t be alive today, being a father to his kids, a husband to his wife, if you had of stayed away from Rachel. She was married, Frank. She told me herself, after you wouldn’t leave her alone, that you would drag her down eventually. And you did, Frank, you dragged her down to Hell—”
“Fuck you!” Frank spat and pressed the gun so hard into Leland’s head that the older man stumbled back into the shelves behind him, banging the back of his head on one of the wooden crates.
“The truth hurts, Frank,” Leland said, his face creased up in discomfort from the gun pressing into his head. “You couldn’t help yourself any more than I could. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. We do what we do and that’s that.”
Frank stared at Leland for a long time, sorely tempted to blow the man’s brains out there and then. It was only through remembering why he was down there with Leland in the first place that he relaxed somewhat, let his temper subside for the sake of the mission he was now on. He moved the gun from Leland’s head and took a step back. “Move.”
Looking almost disappointed, Leland gave a slight nod and started walking down the aisle again.
After a few more minutes of silent walking, they came to a large square room that looked to be made entirely out of steel, like a giant safe with an electronic door in the center. Leland walked up to the door and leaned his head in towards the retinal scanner by the side of it. “Leland Cunningham,” he said.
“Voice recognition too,” Frank said. “You were taking no chances.”
“Not with the items inside here, no.”
The door slid open a moment later. “Inside, and don’t go getting any ideas when you’re in there, you hear me?”
“I know,” Leland said. “You’ll shoot me.”
“No,” Frank said. “I’ll kill you.”
When the door slid shut behind him, Frank noticed the temperature inside the vault was different to that of the main vault. Slightly warmer. Obviously the climate inside was carefully controlled to preserve the many fragile and not to say priceless artifacts on display throughout the room. As he followed Leland through the vault, he couldn’t help but look in awe at the items displayed on different sized podiums and inside glass cases. The room was filled with swords, daggers, amulets and even items of armor like helmets and breastplates. Many of the items looked rare and precious, but some others didn’t, seeming almost too innocuous to be of any value, like a piece of broken stick with a few carvings made into it. Frank couldn’t help himself. “What’s the stick for?”
“The stick as you call it, was originally part of Moses’ staff,” Leland said, walking past it like he had seen it a hundred times before.
“And the big rock over there?”
“Honestly, Frank, you’re like a kid in a museum. That’s the rock that David used to kill Goliath.”
Frank shook his head. “I dread to think how much blood you spilled to get this stuff.”
“More than you’ll ever know.”
I’ll bet, Frank thought. His grace was vibrating in him from all the power in the room. It was palpable as he walked through it. No doubt Leland had spent many hours in this place, drinking in all that power, becoming intoxicated by it while he dreamed up his plans for world domination. Frank could almost see how anyone could be driven to think such things in the presence of so much raw magical energy. Almost.
“This is it.” Leland had stopped near the back of the vault, beside a long podium on which lay a nondescript looking spear. The tip of the spear was about a foot long, made of iron that had been dulled to an almost black color over the centuries. The shaft, however, looked relatively new in comparison, just a six foot long length of wood. “Only the head of the spear remained when I found it. I attached the shaft myself. It’s only the head of the spear that matters anyway.”
“Step away,” Frank said, waiting until Leland had stepped a few feet back from the podium. Still holding the gun on Leland, Frank reached down and took hold of the Spear of Destiny, unable to keep from feeling awed that he was actually holding it in his hands. He wasn’t about to get all misty eyed about the spear’s origins or what it was used for, but its power was undeniable. It positively flowed into his hand, up his arm and through his body, almost like a mild electric current that made him feel strong and full of intent to use the spear on the demon.
He was so taken with the powerful energy of the spear in fact, that he completely forgot about Leland. When he turned around to see where the other man was, it was too late. Leland had swiped what looked like a large blue crystal from a nearby podium and was swinging the grapefruit sized crystal towards Frank’s head. Before Frank could even think about getting a hand up in defense, the hard crystal bashed into his temple, causing him to stagger back into the podium on which the spear had been resting. The podium crashed to the floor along with Frank, who fell into unconsciousness a second later, but not before he heard Leland say, “Some of these days you will learn not to fuck with me, Frank...”
Frank came to on the floor of the vault with a groan, his vision blurred and his head feeling like it had been caved in on one side. He managed to get to his knees and when he did he put a hand to his head where Leland had brained him with the crystal. His hand came away wet with blood. “Fuck,” he groaned.
With all the head trauma he’d received recently, it was a wonder he hadn’t sustained permanent brain damage yet. As bad as his head hurt though, and as pissed as he was about allowing Leland to get the jump on him the way he did, that paled in comparison to the dreaded realization that Leland had made off with the Spear of Destiny, the only thing capable of stopping the demon monster tearing through the city at present.
“Motherfucker!” he shouted, then got to his feet unsteadily, staggered through the fault towards the door which he knew before he even got there would be sealed. Which it was. “Fuck you, Leland!” He slammed his fist against the steel door, its solidness helping to add to the growing hopelessness of his situation. He was at least a few hundred feet below ground, stuck in a vault within a vault that no one could access, but Leland Cunningham, and Frank doubted Leland would be coming any time soon to let him out.
A horrible thought made him reach inside his jacket: What if Leland took the feather as well?
Frank breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the feather inside his jacket still. This was quickly followed by a pang of guilt and shame for being more concerned about the feather than about the fact that he had lost the one thing that could have saved the city from going to hell.
Christ Frank, you don’t half get yourself into some bad situations do you? What the hell are you going to do now, huh? Call for help?
“Surely not,” he said as he took his cell phone from out of his pocket. The smashed screen lit up but he couldn’t even see if the phone was receiving a signal. Only one way to find out. He rang Eva’s number. An automated voice told him there was currently no reception. “Fuck!” he threw the phone at one of the metal walls and what was left of it smashed into bits. Probably not the best idea to smash up the only possible chance he had of contacting anyone to come save him, but his anger and frustration got the best of him. Story of my life, he thought.
Now,
now, Frank. Something will come to you.
“Fuck you, Rachel. You’re not even here.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head after he said that.
Just keep it together, will you? Start thinking.
“Alright.”
Opening the door somehow was a no go. He knew next to nothing about electronics and a high tech door like the one Leland had installed wasn’t meant to be hacked in any way, so that idea was out.
He turned around and looked across the vault at the items on display there. Maybe there was something that he could use to somehow get out of this room.
He slowly made his way through the vault, looking at each artifact in turn, evaluating its properties, wondering if it had the power to help him somehow. He came across two old guns that he thought maybe would be powerful enough to blow the door open, but upon closer inspection he discovered they were not even loaded. The disappointment continued as he looked at more artifacts, none of them seeming to offer much help, or if they did, he didn’t know how to figure out how they could.
He was fucked. Might as well admit it. He wasn’t getting out of that vault. Maybe never.
His total dejection made him all the more surprised when he turned around to look over each of the artifacts for a second time and to suddenly see a dark figure standing down by the door. He raised his gun. “Don’t move!”
“It’s Sandra,” the person said. “We met earlier, remember?”
Sandra? He thought. How did she get in here?
He walked towards her, his gun still half raised. “How did you get in here?”
“I teleported, of course,” Sandra said. She was still dressed in her black guard’s uniform, still looking a teenager roleplaying at some comic convention, or at least that’s what she reminded him off. Compared to Michelle, Sandra didn’t look as convincing, but that may just have been her lack of experience showing through. Either way, Frank was glad to see her.
“How did you know I was in here?” he asked, not putting his gun away just yet, despite the fact that Sandra’s gun was holstered.
Sandra shrugged. “Something told me to come down here. Instinct, I guess. I stole a keycard from the Commander’s suite. Then I came across the Commander himself outside here.”
“Wait. You saw Leland? Where is he?”
“Outside,” Sandra said, nodding towards the door. “Handcuffed to the shelves.”
Frank could have kissed her. “How did you know to stop him?”
“I saw him rushing away with that spear in his hand. Figured he was up to no good, especially since you weren’t with him.”
“You did the right thing,” Frank said. “That spear is the only thing that’s going to stop that demon up there.”
“Thank Michelle,” she said. “I knew she wouldn’t lie to me. She looked after me and a lot of the other trainees in here.” She looked past Frank and frowned. “Where is she? I thought she was in here with you.”
Frank sighed, suddenly conscious of the fact that he still had Michelle’s blood all over him. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Michelle is dead.”
The girl stared back at him and shook her head. She looked like she was going to cry for a second, but she held it together. “I don’t understand. How?”
“One of Leland’s angel buddies.” Frank put his gun away and walked close to her, put a hand on her shoulder. “I know this is all hard for you to take in, but you can honor Michelle’s memory by helping me stop that demon up there and saving this city from going to hell. Do you think you can do that?”
Sandra nodded, tight lipped. “I still have to do my duty.”
“Good girl. Now teleport us out of this vault.”
A second later they were in the bigger vault or warehouse or whatever it was, and they were standing over Leland Cunningham, who was sitting on the floor, his hands behind his back, handcuffed to one of the metal bars of the shelving units. Frank was glad to see the spear lying on the floor a few feet from him and he went and picked it up. “Well, Leland,” Frank said, not even trying to disguise the smugness he felt at seeing the former Commander cuffed on the floor. “Looks like things didn’t work out for you after all.”
Leland scowled up at him. “Screw you, Frank. Nothing’s changed. I’m not the only one behind all this, you know. Tolloch will make sure things proceed as planned.”
“Not if I can help it. Once I kill that monster up there, I’m going after Tolloch.”
“Then you will die.”
“We’ll see. I’ll be back for you, Leland, once this is all over and I figure out what to do with your scheming ass. I’m sure you’ll be fine down here until I get back. I doubt you’ll be disturbed.”
Leland tugged at his handcuffs. “You can’t just leave me here.”
“I already have.”
CHAPTER 31
When they left the Facility and were out the front of the Masonic Temple, Frank and Sandra stood for a moment while they listened to the monstrous growling and screeching noises echoing across the city—the sound of the black demon causing mayhem, underscored by the screams of the city dwellers, the humans and supernaturals alike. It was doubtful the demon was too picky about who it killed. Likely anyone or anything that got in its way.
The blood had drained from Sandra’s face. “Oh my God...” she said, horrified by the sounds the demon was making. They couldn’t see the creature, but it didn’t sound too far away.
Frank took his phone out and called Eva, surprised when she answered so quickly. “Eva, where are you?” he said.
“Where the hell have you been more like?” she asked back, the sounds of screaming and the roars of the demon coming down the phone. She sounded closer to the creature than they were.
“I’ve been busy. Tell me where you are. I’ll come to you.”
“At the moment, on top of a parking garage trying to figure out how to stop the demon monstrosity tearing up the city.”
“I can help you there,” he said. “Which parking garage are you on?”
She told him where she was and he said he would be there in a moment, hanging up before she could ask how. “I hope you have power left,” he said to Sandra. “Enough for one more teleport?”
“I’m good,” Sandra said. “Where to?”
Frank told her the parking garage where Eva was and she grabbed his arm. A second later they were on the roof, the sounds of the demon and the screaming below them much louder now.
Frank spotted Eva standing by the edge of the rooftop, and beyond her, hovering in the dark night sky a few hundred feet away between two buildings, was the demon. The center of its chest was glowing a bright orange color, like there was a huge hole filled with energy there. As Frank watched, a large ball of that energy exploded from the demon’s chest and headed straight down to the city streets below, causing cars and buildings to blow up when it impacted. Frank shook his head and ran towards Eva, Sandra right beside him. “Eva!” he shouted.
Eva turned around in surprise. “How did you get here so quick?” she asked.
“Sandra here is a teleporter,” Frank said, his eyes back to the demon again. It looked mind crushingly monstrous, every part of it designed to instill fear and cause destruction. Frank couldn’t help but question his chances of stopping the thing.
“You teleported?” Eva said, looking at Sandra. “That’s part of the training now?”
Sandra only nodded. She was too busy fixating on the demon ahead of them.
“Things have really turned to shit, haven’t they?” Frank said.
“No kidding,” Eva said. “I just watched that thing take out two Black Hawk helicopters, and that was after taking everything they could throw at it without a scratch.” She frowned at the spear in Frank’s hand. “What’s with the spear? Don’t tell me that’s how you intend to stop that thing out there.”
“It’s the only thing that will stop it,” Frank said. “According to Leland, anyway.”
“You went back to the Facility? Why d
idn’t you call me?”
“I thought it was safer not to. I’ll explain everything, alright? We need to figure out a way to get close to that demon first.”
Eva nodded to Sandra. “Your girl here can teleport, right? She can get us close.”
Sandra stared back at the two of them. “I’ll do my best.”
An explosion near the parking garage rocked the foundations of the building and for a second Frank thought the whole garage would collapse under them. “Your best will have to do.”
The demon had its back turned to them now as it started to fly towards the east side of the city, emitting balls of destructive energy as it went, roaring at the people still left on the streets, black smoke rising up around it, its thick steel cable of a tail swishing behind it. The way it moved through the night, it was like the ultimate nightmare swimming through a dark subconscious, its very presence enough to petrify. Frank stared after it, wondered how he was ever going to get the Spear of Destiny into that thing. The demon’s hide looked so thick, Frank also wondered if the spear would even penetrate it. He turned to Eva. “We need a plan.”
“You mean beyond that spear just finding its mark?” she said. “What is its mark, by the way? Where do you have to pierce the demon?”
Frank shook his head. “Head or chest, I’d imagine. Leland didn’t say.”
“Of course not.”
“I have an idea,” Sandra said.
They both looked at her. “Go on,” Frank said.
“I can try to teleport straight on to the demon’s back. It’s the only way to insure the spear goes in. You’ll only have one shot.”
Frank and Eva stayed silent for a moment. In the background, more explosions, more inhuman screeches and hellish growls. More human screaming. “Well,” Frank said. “You’re right about only having one shot at this. Assuming I get a proper vantage point to throw the spear from, I can’t be certain it will hit its mark.”
