Soul of Stone

by Leo Romero

  “You know what we are?” Draxil asked.

  “The world’s ugliest boy band?” I suggested.

  “Better. We are brothers in arms.”

  “Yes!” Jagelon cheered.

  “Brothers,” Lothar cooed as he rubbed us with his massive hand. Margaroth barked and panted hotly.

  “Brothers!” I agreed, but boy was my mind fried.

  My new brothers in arms finally released me from their grip. “We will destroy those horsemen in Vlahm’s name,” Draxil declared.

  Margaroth yelped his approval. I reached up and gave him a pat on the head, his slick skin causing me to turn my mouth down in disgust. I then noticed Nigella prancing around like a ballerina over Draxil’s shoulder. “What do we do about her?” I asked.

  “We can’t take her back to Earth in that state,” said Aurora.

  “Her mind will need time to heal,” said Lothar. He shrugged. “Apologies.”

  “You did what you had to,” Draxil told him.

  “She’ll have to stay here,” Aurora said before turning to Bracken. “Father, have the guards take her up to the Blue Spire. There she will be sedated and cared for.”

  I got the impression Aurora enjoyed talking in that old-world kind of tone.

  Nigella raced over and pinched Bracken’s cheek.

  “Are you insane?” said Bracken while having his cheek pulled. “Have this crazy wench running around my home?”

  “She’s our responsibility. She cannot run around Chicago in that state.”

  “Why not? She’d fit in perfectly.”

  “He’s got a point,” I said.

  “Shut up, Gabe!” Aurora snapped. “Father, we’ll have to keep her here until we work out a way of curing her and then she can return to Chicago.”

  “Very well,” Bracken growled. “But she is your responsibility. Not mine.”

  Nigella pinched both of his cheeks. “Coochie coochie,” she said. “My little chalky-faced pelican!”

  I suppressed a laugh.

  Bracken’s eyes bugled. “Get her away from me!”

  Fae guards rushed over and peeled Nigella off him. “Unhand me, you ruffians!” she protested and struggled. She punched a guard in the face. The other one got her in a fireman’s lift where she continued to struggle.

  “Up to the Blue Spire with her!” Bracken ordered, throwing a finger up toward the ceiling. “Lock her away and put her to sleep.”

  “Yes, your highness,” the guard said and rushed away.

  “We’ll meet again!” Nigella sang in a shrill voice as she was taken away.

  “Not if I’ve got anything to do with it,” Bracken grumbled to himself.

  “Father!” Aurora snapped, tapping her foot on the floor, giving the old man daggers.

  “You better pray she doesn’t get out of that spire,” he said back to her.

  “Ugh, show some compassion!”

  Bracken’s back straightened. “All right, I will. I won’t have any of your friends executed for trespassing. Compassionate enough for you, daughter?” He gave her a toothy grin.

  “Whatever, Dad.” Aurora turned away, rolling her eyes.

  “All’s well that ends well,” said Draxil dryly. “Now to take on the horsemen.”

  “Not so fast,” interjected Jagelon.

  Draxil arched a brow.

  “I need a hammer,” Jagelon said. “Mine was taken away when I was thrown in that prison.”

  “You’ll just have to fight without one,” Draxil told him.

  Jagelon’s jaw dropped. “How do you expect me to take on that cretin War without a hammer? Hammers are my specialty. Aren’t you going to use a spear?”

  Draxil straightened his back. “My spear is long lost. I was planning to take them on with my bare fists.”

  Jagelon gave him a solemn nod. “Then we are doomed.” He turned to face me. “Maybe you should’ve left me in my cell after all.”

  I gave him a sympathetic shrug.

  “He makes a good point, Draxil,” said Lothar. “I have my size, Jagelon has his hammer, you have your spear, Vlahm had his bow. That’s who we are.”

  “We don’t have time to hunt for spears and hammers,” argued Draxil.

  Jagelon threw his arms across his chest. “I’m not fighting the horsemen without a hammer! It’s suicide. Besides, part of the fun is hearing the satisfying crunch of skull. Without it, the battle loses its appeal.”

  “You’re a stubborn, obstinate fool, aren’t you?” said Draxil.

  Jagelon nodded. “Guilty.”

  Draxil’s shoulders slumped. “Very well. We’ll find you a hammer and Lothar can imbue it with magic.” He turned to face me. “Any ideas where to get a big hammer?”

  I shrugged. “We could try Home Depot.”

  Draxil frowned and craned his neck toward me. “Home what?”

  “Depot. It’s a DIY store.”

  “DIY?” Draxil echoed, looking up at Lothar for help.

  “Do it yourself,” I informed him.

  “Do what yourself?”

  I shrugged. “Whatever ‘it’ may be, whether it’s painting, building, home improvements. They’ll have hammers.”

  “Good. Let us go to this dee-aye-why place.”

  I nodded. “Okay, hop back in. Aurora will get us there. You two wait here,” I said to Lothar and Jagelon. I turned my head to the side. “You too, buddy,” I said to Margaroth.

  He let out a saddened whimper.

  “It’s all right, Margie,” Jagelon said as he plucked him off my shoulder. Margaroth protested, clinging on to my shoulder. Jagelon ripped him off. Margaroth lifted his snout to the ceiling and let out a howl of anguish.

  “I’ll be back, buddy,” I said. “Just stay with Uncle Jag for a while.”

  Margaroth shook his head and tore himself out of Jagelon’s grip. He scuttled over to me and bit my ankle.

  “Ow! Okay, you give me no choice.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out an empty card from my Deck of Death, the five of spades. I performed a binding spell on Margaroth, and the Void claimed him, relieving my ankle. I was met by stares of disapproval all around. Especially from Aurora. “What?” I asked with a shrug. “I’ll release him when we need him.”

  “He was only being friendly, Stone,” said Draxil.

  I showed him the palm. “Don’t make me feel bad, okay!” But a pang of guilt struck me regardless. Man, what was happening to me? I was feeling sorry for a hellhound, and I had three sixes burned into my skin. Might as well change my name to Damien Stone.

  I let out a hot sigh. “Just get back in, Draxil.” As he stomped over, I turned to Aurora. “Okay, kid, get us back to Chicago.”

  “Anywhere in particular?”

  “Yeah. Where I left my bike before this whole shitstorm began. Outside Dark Suits Tower.”

  Aurora got busy while Draxil climbed back into me. When he was in and Aurora had the portal opened, I rubbed my hands. “All right, Drax, let’s go shopping!”

  Chapter 25

  I picked up my Harley from where I’d left it what felt like an eon ago. It was early evening on Earth. I asked a passerby what the date was. He gave me a funny look and answered. It was still the same day of the horsemen’s first appearance. Time always got screwy in the other planes, and luckily, it had worked in our advantage.

  The horsemen were scheduled to arrive the next day at noon. Good timing. All we needed was to get us some weapons for the boys, and we were good to go. It even gave me time to do one or two things like eat and sleep.

  I got on my bike, Aurora riding behind me, and made my way to the nearest Home Depot branch. I pulled up in the near-empty parking lot and made my way to the entrance, Aurora waiting by my bike while she called Zane.

  It was strangely refreshing to be breathing polluted city air as opposed to the atmosphere of death in Hell or Hades or the contents of Baal’s intestines.

  We entered the store where I grabbed a cart and wheeled over to the tool section. The moment I got
there, Draxil let out a gasp. “My, this is a veritable treasure trove of weaponry!”

  “It’s only Home Depot.”

  “It’s an arsenal!”

  I gazed at the ensemble of power tools: drills, sanders, jigsaws, and the good old-fashioned tools. Draxil drooled like a kid in a chocolate factory as we walked by hammers, mallets, sledgehammers, and handsaws. I pushed the cart along the aisles, taking it all in with Draxil literally having orgasms in my mind. Man, it sounded disgusting. I hoped he hadn’t found Hustler again.

  “Ooh, what is that hi-tech contraption?” he asked.

  “That? A chainsaw.”

  “Chainsaw,” he echoed in awe. “Such advanced delights. What does it do?”

  “It chops things up.”

  “Like what?”

  “Trees if you’re normal. Legs and arms if you’re a psycho.”

  “I want one! I’ll chop Pestilence limb from limb!”

  “Okay,” I said with a chuckle. I liked the sound of that. “Which one grabs your eye?”

  “The biggest one!”

  I stepped up to the biggest, baddest chainsaw on display. And then I checked the price. “Holy moly, three hundred and fifty bucks!”

  “A small price to pay to save Earth.”

  “Yeah, if you’ve got it in the first place.”

  “Don’t play coy, Stone. I’ve gone through your finances in your mind. You were given your monthly wage as an angel Enforcer as well as a bonus for destroying the gargoyles.”

  “Asshole,” I growled to myself as I picked up the chainsaw and dumped it in the cart alongside the sledgehammers I’d already put there.

  “Now, what else do we have in here?”

  “I think that’s enough now, Drax. I don’t think my wallet could survive any more.”

  “Always ruining one’s enjoyment, aren’t you?”

  “You’re like a kid in a candy store. Act your age.”

  “How must a ten-thousand-year-old act?”

  “Not like you.” I wheeled the cart over to a checkout where a teenage goth waited for me.

  I gave her a wide grin. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she replied with a smile. “Doing a bit of work in the yard this weekend?”

  “Something like that,” I said. “Weeding out some ancient deadwood.”

  She came over and scanned all the items in the cart. I watched the total go up and up on the electronic counter, and I almost had a heart attack. The girl came back and took her seat. “That’s five hundred dollars, sir,” she said, flicking her purple hair to the side.

  “A small price to pay,” Draxil said.

  Easy for you to say.

  I pulled out my wallet and counted out the bills. Angels only dealt in cash. I handed over my hard earned, a sinking feeling in my heart. It would only be a matter of time before Lucy demanded something from me. And from the way she’d been acting lately, that could most likely be a Fabergé egg. I sighed as the girl shoved the cash into the register and slammed it shut. She ripped off my receipt and handed it to me.

  “Thanks,” I said with no enthusiasm in my voice.

  “Good luck with your project,” the girl said to me.

  I nodded. “Yeah. I think I’m gonna need it.”

  She gave me a cute grin. I grabbed the cart and trudged along, one of the wheels squeaking. We made it outside where Aurora was waiting for us at the far end of the parking lot.

  “Ah, I cannot wait to use my new weapon,” Draxil told me.

  “You better not damage it,” I said. “I’m thinking of taking it back afterward and getting a refund.”

  “You really are miserly, Stone.”

  “I’ve got a demanding daughter on top of bills to pay, you know? We can’t all live rent free in Hell.” We made it to Aurora. “Okay, kiddo, get this lot to the guys, and I’ll meet you on the roof of Dark Suits HQ at high noon.”

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “I better go and check on Lucy. I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. Besides, it might be the last time I ever see her.”

  “Don’t say that, Gabe.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s the truth.” I sighed. “Just hang out with the others at your dad’s place until showdown. I need rest and food before I can do this. It might be a good idea if you close that portal to Tartarus as well otherwise we might all fall into it while we’re fighting.”

  “Got it.” She took a look around the parking lot. There were a couple of parked cars, but apart from that, no prying eyes. And it was dark. Aurora whipped up a portal, getting it right first time, Bracken’s palace waiting beyond. “Take care, Gabe,” she said as she wheeled the cart through the portal. She closed it up behind her, and Draxil and I were alone once more.

  My stomach grumbled. “I’m not kidding about needing a rest and food.”

  “And a wash,” said Draxil.

  “Trust me, you don’t smell so hot yourself when you’re not hiding in there.”

  Draxil grumbled to himself while I grinned to myself.

  “Gabriel,” Draxil began, “is it remiss of me to say I’m sorry about your mother? That you had to find out that way.”

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, the memory of the ordeal resurfacing in my mind. “Actually, Drax, it is.”

  “Oh.”

  “But don’t sweat it. It’s not your fault my mom’s a devil-worshipping psychopath.”

  “I should never have dragged you to that infernal pit,” said Draxil.

  I shook my head. “It had to be done.”

  “I’m always there if you need a friend.”

  Emotion erupted inside my stomach and flooded up to my brain, causing tears to well in my eyes. I was suddenly overwhelmed, and I couldn’t help it. My heart burned with pain for so many reasons. I rubbed my eyes clean of tears while I took deep breaths to try and control myself. “Let’s hope for not much longer,” I quipped, trying to diffuse the situation. “But I appreciate it, Draxil. I could do with some friends right now.”

  “You have one here and three others waiting to fight by your side. We’ll never let you face your battles alone.”

  I nodded. “Thanks, Draxil.”

  “Now get going before you blubber all over your shiny bike.”

  I gave myself a wry grin as I went to get on my bike. I turned my back on the scene, my focus on my Harley. I was so exhausted and overwrought with emotion, I didn’t even see the guy in the black suit and shades sliding up to me. By the time he registered in my mind and I whipped my head around to meet him, there was a sharp pricking sensation in my neck. I winced in pain, my eyes rolling down to meet the syringe in the guy’s gloved hand, which he’d just jabbed into my throat. I watched his thumb depress the plunger, felt something squirt into me, and before I knew it, my eyes were rolling up into my head, and I was out for the count.

  Chapter 26

  “Stone! Stone! Wake up!”

  The words stirred me from darkness. My bleary vision obscured what was ahead of me. I blinked repeatedly, and things began to come back into focus. Bright lights from above caused me to squint. Through the slits, I could make out bodies. Lots of them. I tried to move, but I was tied to a chair.

  “I couldn’t come out and fight them because of the horsemen,” Draxil told me.

  Fight who?

  “Welcome back, Mr. Stone,” came a familiar voice. My heart filled with dread as I focused in on the person ahead of me.

  Ming. The head of the triads. And also a five-hundred-year-old vampire. She was in her human form. A beautiful Chinese lady with ruby-red lips, a petite nose, sparkling onyx-colored eyes, and hair like a sheet of silk. It was all an illusion, of course. Beneath the facade, she was a foul, cursed beast, forgotten by both God and Satan, doomed to walk the Earth during night hours until she finally perished. She was sat on a chair next to a desk. On it were a small lamp, a hookah, some tools, Bam Bam, and my Deck of Death.

  I glanced down to my side to see Excalibur still sitting t
here in his scabbard.

  “For some odd reason, no one can carry that sword,” Ming said as she picked up the pipe attached to the hookah. “So we decided to just leave it on you. It is of no consequence. You aren’t leaving here tonight.” She took a hit of whatever was brewing in the bowl of the hookah and blew it from her lungs. I got a faint hit of something sweet and sickly. Opium. Ming was breaking rule number two and getting high on her own supply.

  I gazed beyond her at the goons. They surrounded us in a big circle. I craned my neck around and saw that they circled us in two lines. They were decked out in their customary attire: black pants and white shirts. There must’ve been a hundred of them. Vampire triads. I glanced up. A dirty corrugated roof greeted me. Pieces of it were missing here and there, punctuated with patches of rust. Any fluorescent lights that actually worked lit up the place in harsh, white light. I squinted my eyes and tried to look beyond the lines of goons. There was nothing. A vast, empty warehouse space.

  My heart began to flutter. The vampires and the cartel werewolves had me greenlighted for execution, for varying reasons. Ming was pissed that I won her monitor lizard from her in a game of cards. They tried to kill me once before, but my Russian mafia bear shifter allies came to my rescue. Now I was alone. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. “Ming, so good to see you,” I said in a cracked voice, attempting to belie the fear rising inside me.

  “You won’t be saying that two minutes from now,” she said, her top lip curled up in revulsion.

  “Brought enough guys along?” I looked around them all. “Wise. They didn’t do too well last time.”

  “You killed some of my best!” Ming sneered.

  “Well, if they were your best, no wonder you can’t take control of the city.”

  “Enough!” Ming snapped, slamming her pipe down on the desk. She composed herself and adjusted her red cheongsam. “There won’t be any Russian furballs to help you this time, Mr. Stone. I’m going to take my time with you. I’m going to make you beg me to kill you.”