“It has long been a delicate balance between them and us, hasn’t it?” he said, casting his gaze at Sparks. “What you humans call good and evil — always striving to corrupt you and break your faith. And the struggle isn’t really a struggle at all for my kind. Humanity always finds a way to come to us. But, isn’t it interesting, death-dealer, that you chose to live among them?”
“I didn’t choose,” I said, angry. “You’re misinformed.”
Abraxas chuckled. “Yes, of course. You were removed from your place among the elementals.”
“Elementals?” said Sparks. “Lovely. More cosmic revelations. Just freaking lovely.”
The demon reached into his bloodstained jacket and pulled out a cigarette. He slipped it between his lips and then touched the end with his index finger. The cigarette lit up with a soft orange glow.
“The death-dealer is an elemental, human,” he said. “Without his kind there can be no life or death among all that dwell here in the mortal world. It amuses me he has developed a fondness for your kind given he is with no soul to speak of. Yet among the countless beings of his kind, he stands out. Some even suggest he is a greater threat than my master from down below.”
“Yeah, that’s me … the big-ass threat,” I said. “You going to tell us why you shot that priest or not?”
Abraxas inhaled a mouthful of smoke. I watched Sparks cringe as some of the smoke wafted out through his gaping wound.
“Because of the priest’s vocation,” the demon replied coolly. “He brought great misery to so many of my kind. I destroyed him more as a courtesy to my brethren than anything. Now he dances with the angels, or perhaps he is in purgatory. Who really knows what happens to Catholics when they die.”
I grunted. “You’re telling me this had nothing to do with the dead angels and your so-called brethren?”
He stubbed his cigarette on the gravel and said, “Shooting the priest? Of course not. You led him to me because I was following you. An opportunity presented itself to raise my profile, so I took it. I should like to think I’d be rewarded for my deed. On the subject of rewards, I notice you wield Ezekiel’s sword.”
“And your point is?”
Abraxas rose to his feet, leaned against the car and folded his arms. “My point is you have been given something that can destroy whoever is killing us. It would seem you have been specifically chosen for this task. I do so hate it when He does that.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah, the great plan. Look, what the hell do you know about the killings?”
“Less than some, but more than most,” he said with a shrug. “Why do those who kill one human after another do so with such relish?”
“Because they have screwed up minds,” I said. “Maybe they got diddled too much by their mommies … how the hell should I know?”
Sparks took a tentative step forward, still pointing her Glock at the demon. “Are you saying that whoever is doing this is just another sick puppy? But, how could he destroy something as powerful as an angel? How could he even find one for that matter?”
“Detective,” said Abraxas. “A sick mind is a sick mind.”
She shook her head. “Maybe, but there are victims in Mexico City and in three U.S. cities. Serial killers don’t stray too far from home, as a rule.”
Abraxis cocked a blood-smeared eyebrow. “Who said this is the work of one individual? No … I think there’s something far more sinister at play, and coming from me that’s saying a lot.”
“You’re saying there’s more than one killer?” I asked, surprised at the demon’s suggestion.
“I came to determine why it is that you are chosen for this task when so many others that are clearly brighter than you would have realized by now that when you’re dealing with forces that have lasted through the ages, then it wouldn’t simply be a case of catching a normal killer.”
“Fucking riddles!” I said, losing my patience. “Why is it that the divine can’t string together a simple sentence without turning it into a shit show of unanswered questions?”
Abraxis glanced at his watch and said, “My time among you appears to be nearing an end. The human seems to have done far more damage to my form than I thought.”
And then he began to smoulder. The air filled with the stench of sulphur. I covered my face with one arm and grabbed the demon by the collar. “Why here … in Halifax?” I snarled. “Why now?”
Abaraxas started to sizzle, so I pulled my hand away. Within seconds he was engulfed in flames, but he said one final thing before his form disappeared from the human world.
“This is all about choices, death-dealer. Remember to choose wisely when the time comes … remember Ezekiel.”
And then he was gone. I turned on my heels to face Sparks who once again had that wild-eyed look. At least she’d lowered her handgun.
“A time of choices?” she said with a puzzled look on her face. “What’s all that about?”
“Beats me,” I said. “Twice now someone has told me that. A guy from up above and another from down below. There’s also the matter of why Ezekiel wanted to stop me from killing Abaraxis in the first place.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Sparks.
I holstered by Beretta and gestured Carol to follow me. “I’m thinking that I smell a set-up.”
19
I nudged Sparks in the ribs as we padded through the tunnel leading to the big metal door inside Das Bunker and she gave me a hard shove in return. If we weren’t in a concrete structure filled with poisonous snakes, I’d have said we were bonding.
Of course, I didn’t tell her about the snakes.
“You know what’s missing from this investigation?” I said, watching a trio of rattlers slither away into the darkness.
“What’s that?” said Sparks.
“A single unifying clue about the killer.”
“Or killers,” she said as we rounded a corner en route to the entrance. “All we’ve got is that crucifix and some leads about the churches where they found the bodies.”
“And a dead priest, and a holy sword, and a cryptic message about choices I have to make … just one second, I need to announce that we’re here lest we get shot.”
“The hooker?” asked Sparks.
“Her name is Amy,” I said, stopping dead in my tracks. The metal blast door was wide open and the interior of my bunker blanketed in darkness.
The kerosene lamp was out, so I shone my flashlight inside. “Amy? We’re back … nothing to worry about.”
The room was still and silent. I climbed up the ladder and shone my light into the upper level, my heart sinking the entire time. It was empty, too.
“Reaper,” Sparks called out. “You need to see this.”
I slid down the ladder as Sparks lit the kerosene lantern. In seconds, the room was bathed in an orange glow. She shone the lantern against the far wall to show me a small amount of blood spatter. Not enough to prove that she’d been killed, but more than enough to send clear a message Amy was in big trouble.
“It’s Amy’s blood,” I said as a surge of anger bubbled up from the pit of my stomach. “She’s been taken … but how? Nobody could have freaking known about this place. Damn it all to hell and back!”
“You never know, Reaper,” said Sparks. “Maybe that Abraxas guy set you up.”
My eyes narrowed as I gazed back at the blast door. “But whoever took her would have had to contend with the snakes. We would have seen a vehicle come up the road, dammit.”
Sparks gave me an astonished look. “Snakes? What are you talking about?”
“Long story,” I said, hunching over the small smattering of Amy’s blood. “I shipped in a bunch of rattlesnakes. They live in the entrance to the bunker. A nice little security feature.”
She looked about ready to pistol whip me. “Thanks for giving me the head’s up, you colossal asshole! Look, I just shot a demon and it’s probably going to require years of therapy to get that gruesome image out of my hea
d. In spite of this, you can’t rule out the possibility whoever took Amy is a supernatural being as well. Maybe another demon might have done it.”
I knelt down and ran my finger along the small blood stain. It was tacky to the touch, which meant it was a few hours old. “Maybe … she was taken early this morning,” I said as a wave of guilt hit me with the force of a wrecking ball. Amy was an innocent bystander in a series of killings on a biblical scale. I’d told her that she’d be safe inside the bunker and the truth was I had no business doing so. She was out there somewhere. Amy could be dead for all I knew. And it was my fault.
“Reaper … you okay?” asked Sparks.
“The blood isn’t quite dry yet,” I answered, pushing away my guilt because self-pity was a quality I loathed, especially when it came from me. “I have a feeling she had a blow to her head.”
Sparks climbed up the ladder, shone a light and then slid back down. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, Reaper, but this proves there’s just no possible way the killer can be a human. I know you well enough to know it’s pretty damned hard for even a seasoned professional to get the drop on you … I mean, look at this place. You’ve got an off-the-grid safe house on a piece of crown land time forgot.”
I nodded. “I’m starting to think the same way. Maybe it’s some kind of dark entity. I mean, it could be a demon, but it would have to be a hell of a powerful one.”
“Could they be using her as some kind of bargaining chip to leverage you into working for the guys downstairs,” said Sparks.
I shook my head, climbing into the folding chair beside the table. “It’s possible. They know if I take down whoever is killing both angels and demons, they stand to gain. The problem I’m having is that I don’t get any sense of the why in all of this.”
“What do you mean?” asked Sparks as she sat down beside me.
I looked at her. “I mean … why freaking Halifax? Why here of all places? Bodies found in Mexico City, New Orleans, Boston and New York. Shit … outside of the Halifax Explosion in 1917, and a bunch of bodies from the Titanic buried over at Fairview Cemetery, this city doesn’t exactly have a claim to fame. Halifax is just a small place most people on Planet Earth have never heard of.”
“You’re going about this the wrong way,” said Sparks. “You’re thinking Halifax is the culmination point for all the killings. But, you’re forgetting one simple truth about all serial killers.”
“What’s that?”
She leaned in toward me. “They will keep on killing until they’re either caught or dead.”
Sparks had a point. Maybe the choice of Halifax didn’t mean a damned thing in the killer’s mind. It was just another place to put down a victim and then move onto the next city to murder again. There was also the issue of the symbolism in which the four angels had been laid out. One had his eyes covered, another his mouth, but the last two had their arms outstretched. Sparks said the killer was speaking to us, but for the life of me, I didn’t have a clue what the message was, other than the killer made no distinction between Holy and Unholy victims.
“We gotta find Amy … and fast. This isn’t just about saving her life. It’s about saving her soul, because something tells me she’s most likely possessed. If she winds up dead, her immortal soul will burn for an eternity in you-know-where, and I can’t go down there to save her,” I said as the gravity of my words slammed into me like a freight train.
Sparks blinked. “Well … you can locate her, right? You can find anyone. You told me that.”
I gave her an uneasy look. “It’s not a precise science and it might not work if she’s under a divine protective ward to keep me from seeing her. There is one thing that could work, though.”
“What’s that?” asked Sparks.
“Amy’s blood,” I said, pointing to the spatter on the wall. “I’m pretty sure I can find her through her blood.”
Sparks shivered in her seat, which was odd given that she’d been to some pretty horrific crime scenes. “Blood, huh? Is there … I don’t know, enough of it to find her?”
I padded over to the stain on the wall and knelt down. “I think I can find her … though your guess is as good as mine as to what’s waiting for us when we do.”
“Or even if whoever took her is the guy we’re after,” said Sparks.
I couldn’t claim souls like I used to, but human souls and human blood are linked in ways that no scientist or theologian could ever conceive. I knew there was a strong chance I could locate Amy, but it would come at a cost. There was always a price to pay when it came to blood – a big one that didn’t involve cash.
I stood and looked around the room. When I searched for a soul, I had to draw on whatever remaining life energy existed in a body and there was always the very real possibility that the extent of my power would consume my host body. Unlike serial killers who had no soul and therefore could be spotted by someone like me, finding and locating a human carried a huge element of risk. If my host’s body were destroyed, I’d need another body to jump into, then and there. It was lethal to anyone in the immediate vicinity should they have the misfortune of catching a glimpse of the very essence of a death-dealer. It wasn’t pretty, but I didn’t have a lot of options.
“Carol,” I said with more than a hint of dread in my voice. “Remember when I asked you to be open-minded?”
“Oh fuck … what now?” she said, half-groaning. “Is something about to happen that requires electro-shock treatments on top of the pharmaceuticals I’ll need when all this is done?”
I flashed her an uneasy look. “Um … yeah. You’re probably not going to like it.”
“Go on,” she said, her voice icy.
I sat down again on the folding chair and for the first time since I crossed over, I decided to open up about the truth.
“This body, Sparks, the one you’re looking at,” I began. “It’s not my true form. I don’t have a form in the way that your mind can actually comprehend, because to see what I am would be to know the truth of what comes next. After you die. I am death itself. One hundred years ago I came to a man whose time was at an end. He was infected with a deadly virus — the Spanish Flu.”
“The one that killed millions and millions of people all across the globe? The pandemic?”
“That’s the one,” I replied. “I let him linger on far past the appointed time of his end. I didn’t think anyone should have the power to dictate the terms of dying. I broke the rules governing life and death. It had world-changing consequences. Because of my actions, he infected a visitor, and that visitor infected another person. You see where I’m going with this, yeah?”
Sparks pushed her chair backward — probably an unconscious decision on her part to distance herself from me. “You … you caused the Spanish Flu?”
I nodded. “Well I didn’t create the flu … I just gave it an unforeseen nudge.”
“And then what happened?” she asked.
“I was held accountable for what I caused,” I continued, avoiding her gaze. “I was forced out of my order by Ezekiel, the Angel of Death and Transformation. All death-dealers answer to him. I was condemned to linger on in the world of the living. My ability to claim human souls was stripped away. I am what you might consider a living spirit who happens to be in exile. This body is a host that contains my essence and over the past century, I have used many hosts. All were at death’s door, so I simply jumped into their bodies at the very moment their soul departed this plane of existence. The person before you had his time and when death came for him, I took advantage of his remains. Of all the bodies I’ve used, this one has lasted the longest — more than ten years now.”
Spark’s expression didn’t change. She stared at me, blank-faced, and said nothing for more than a minute. The longest minute I’d ever experienced. And when she finally did say something, it was the last thing I would have expected from her.
“And this body,” she said as her eyes narrowed. “The one I’m looking at. It’s abo
ut to expire, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “There’s a chance it might, Carol. I have to impart my essence into Amy’s blood if I’m to find her. It takes a hell of a lot of power, and that means I run a real risk of burning up. It also means that if you see what I am then you will have witnessed something no human has ever seen before. It would probably kill you or drive you mad or both. Yeah … I’m thinking the smart money is on both.”
“And then you have to search for another body, I take it?” she said.
“That’s right … you know what I’m about to ask, don’t you?”
She exhaled, her voice shaking. “You … you want to use my body as a temporary host? Won’t that kill me?”
I shook my head. “No. But it does mean that I’ll be working through you until I can find another host. And I’m going to need your help for that. Listen, I’m betting whoever took Amy needs her for whatever the hell is about to happen next. Otherwise they would have killed her. I think I know who our killer might be. It sure explains why nobody has been able to track him down.”
“Who?” asked Sparks.
I rose from my chair and padded over to the air mattresses in the corner. I squatted down, picked up Amy’s handbag, and dangled it by my index finger for Sparks to see. “I think the killer is Amy .”
20
“The hooker?” Sparks nearly spat out the words. “You think she’s the one behind the killings?”
“Kind of,” I said, eyeballing the blood spatter on the wall. “I mean; I don’t think that she’s the killer – just a vessel for the real killer. I don’t know if it’s a hellion or some darker entity that has taken over her body, but whatever it is, it ain’t human.”
Sparks gave me a wary look. “And you know this how?”
I stood up. “You and I both know that serial killers have a very methodical approach in targeting their victims. But a human can’t kill the divine unless they have some kind of augmented power – it could be something pulling the strings from afar or it could be that she’s been taken over. Mexico City, New Orleans, Boston and New York – my bet is there was a human host in each city. Amy is just the latest and she sure as hell won’t be the last unless we find her and either capture or destroy the entity working through her.”
Immortal Remains: A Tim Reaper Novel Page 16
