"Great." She took a deep breath, blew it out, and looked up at the sky, where the rain continued to fall. I was getting wetter, and my patience shorter. She looked back down and tightened her grip on the pistol.
"Cora."
"Peck. This would be so much easier if you would just let it go."
"I thought you weren't a great believer. No acolyte here, you said."
She shook her head, and the aim of the pistol wavered. "It's not that simple."
The Beast raged in my head, urged me to change, to take her. I ignored it - something told me the bullets in that particular gun were probably silver. The smart part of me said talk it out before becoming target practice. Sure, she might miss. Then again, she might not.
"Explain it to me."
"That red shit. They threatened to use it on me if I didn't keep you busy - Hyde said stall you or kill you."
I breathed out. There was still a good chance she wasn't going to shoot me. Always a positive thing. "What's Hyde got to do with this? I had Timothy pegged as the guy."
She shrugged. "I dunno." Her face crumpled a bit, and tears began to pour down again. "You're going to have to hurt me. If I let you past, and Hyde sees me sitting here-even if I run - you know he'd find me, and if not him, Timothy."
I nodded. "Yeah. It'll have to look good."
"Make it fast then."
She pointed the pistol to the side and fired off a shot. "STOP." She shouted. She fired another shot to the side. I lunged, and covered the distance fast, drawing strength from the Beast. For a moment, I thought it might take me all the way, and then my fist was connecting with her chin, and she crumpled into a heap on the steps and I was pulled out of the moment.
I stood, looking down at her, and a pang of regret struck a chord in my chest. I'd hated doing that, no matter how necessary it might have been. I plucked the pistol from her hand and tossed it as far as I could, into some deep scrub on the other side of the road. I waited 'til I heard it clank against the ground, and then I stepped over her prone body. I made a note to make sure she was safe when I came back this way. I climbed the stairs and entered the museum, the sound of the rain on the roof keeping time to my heartbeat.
*
The interior of the museum was dark as ever, and musty, the moisture in the air tamping down the dust and causing it to emit a smell like wet ferns. I stepped into the dark and made my way to Henry's room. My stomach clenched a little when I realized I couldn't hear his Patsy Cline playing in the distance.
I passed through the corridor that led to the antiquities wing, and heard a voice, deep and menacing, speak up. Nice vaudeville, jackass, I thought.
"I know you're there, Peck. Leave now and I won't light old Hank here like a Roman Candle."
"You okay, Henry?"
A pause. My heart threatened to hammer its way out of my ribcage.
"Yeah."
"Touching." Hyde again. Sarcastic, big, and kind of stupid, in a mean way.
"How are your kids, Henry?" I shouted.
"My kid-oh. Good."
I crouched down behind the sarcophagus I was next to and tried to peek around the corner. I could just make out Hyde's massive back turned to me.
"What kids? Your children must be dust by now, old man." Hyde said.
"Not all of them." Henry said. I caught a furtive movement.
"What the HELL?" Hyde roared. "Spiders? You bastard!"
There was a shuffling sound, and then Henry came running as fast as he could, the edge of his rags already alight. Too late though, Hyde realized what he'd been covered with, and started screaming and batting at himself. I grabbed Henry as he went by, and patted the fires out, and we watched as the spiders sent Hyde into a spasm of panic. He swatted and itched, and then in a maddened state, ran past us and through the museum, crashing into displays as he went, making as much noise as three rhinos in a china shop. The front doors slammed open and closed again, and we were left in silence.
I looked at Henry. "Widows?"
He grinned, his teeth yellow. "And recluse."
"Will they kill him?"
Henry shook his head. "Too young. But there were a lot of them. He'll think twice before pulling something that stupid again."
"Or he'll just burn this place down around you."
"That's what I have you for, Peck my boy." He said, and began to shuffle back to his room to put things in order. I sighed and thought about it. He was probably right. I followed him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I was tired. I was sore. I was pissed. So, you'll forgive me if it took me a couple of minutes to remember the girl I had knocked out and left in the rain. When I did, I cursed, loud and expressively. Henry shot me a sharp glance. I shrugged at him and made a beeline for the front door, worried Hyde had got to the girl before I had. Luck was with me, so to speak, and she was still laying there.
I knelt beside her and lifted her, then carried her back into the museum. Once in, I headed back to Henry's room and laid her down on an old velvet divan that was supposedly just like Cleopatra's. Henry watched me in silence until I was done.
"You hit a lady?" He said, half incredulous.
"She had a gun." I said lamely. "She already shot me once."
"Still, what if you gave her a concussion?"
"She doesn't have a concussion." I hoped. I eyed the knot on her jaw and the mark on her cheek and felt bad again. I turned back to Henry. "What did Hyde want?"
He shrugged and righted his chair. "Undying loyalty, I expect. Either that, or just for me to burn like a firework."
"Did he give you any clue as to what he was up to, what his next step might be?"
Henry shook his head. "Nope. You got here just after he did. Just a little bit of the old Hyde - we can all be gods, we can live forever."
"Don't we kind of do that already?"
"Forever's a long time, Peck."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
There was a moan from behind me. I turned to look. Cora was struggling to get up. I walked over and helped her into a sitting position. She gave me a look of mixed gratitude and rubbed her jaw.
"I think you gave me a concussion."
"Told you." Henry said from behind me.
"You don't have a -" I sighed. "Okay, maybe."
Cora leaned back on the seat and blinked at the ceiling. I moved to where I could see them both.
"Did you find anything else out about that red goo?" I asked Henry.
"It's mind-control stuff. They've got a ton of it." Cora piped in.
"Interesting." Henry said.
"Anything else?" They both shook their heads. "Okay, Adam and Vlad are cleaning up the mess back at my place -" I shot a look at Cora, and she flushed. "Lay low until we get things figured out. I have the feeling we'll have more trouble by morning."
"You want me to watch her?" Henry asked.
I shrugged. "Just keep an eye out for each other. I'll be back as soon as I can."
I didn't want to leave them, but psychopaths wait for no man.
*
I left the museum and walked over to the bushes where I had tossed the gun. It wasn't easy to find in the dark and the mud and the shadows, and after about fifteen minutes, I gave up. Leaving the thing there made me uneasy, but I was wasting valuable time. I looked up at the moon, which was already just over half across the sky, and headed for home.
There are points in a storm, like notes on a scale, or the ebb and flow of the tides. Before, there is a silence, nature tuning up to blow some serious wind. Not even the birds sing. Then it hits, sound and fury, and shakes the branches and makes glass quiver in its frame. Then the eye passes over, quiet, serene. There is a smell like fresh-turned earth and ozone, and sometimes, the sun peeks out a little and you can hear water drip from the eaves. It slips by, and the rain returns with a new fury, and spends itself in a sudden assault until it fizzles to a soft drizzle and then silence. When it's over, the world takes a breath and the sun slips the clouds, the grass sparkles g
reen, and birdsong breaks the air.
I had a feeling we were sitting in the eye.
*
My house was busy. Turns out, a giant with the proportional strength of a small tractor and a superfast vampire with impeccable decorating taste were really good at cleaning up messes. I entered the kitchen, and found Vlad on his knees, scrubbing the blood from the floor. I glanced at the kitchen table and saw my pistol was on it. I grabbed it, and the holster from my chair. I slipped the shoulder rig on, and checked the pistol. Miraculously, it was clean. I snapped the cylinder open, dumped the empty casings out, and reloaded it from the box in the kitchen. I keep the bullets next to the toaster. It's weird.
Vlad looked up at the sound of the pistol, and sat back on his heels.
"How's Henry?"
"Better. Hyde was trying to roast him alive. Henry covered him in spiders."
Vlad shuddered. "Ugh."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really? You drink blood."
He shook his head. "Yeah, but you know-" He clasped his hands together and wiggled his fingers. "too many legs."
I grabbed a Coke from the fridge, and popped the top. "Where's Adam? And the dead guys?"
"Behind the castle. The woods are deep and dark. Also, he borrowed your car."
I thought about that for a moment, and was glad there was no traffic. I had tried to teach him how to drive once. It had gone better than expected for a guy who really should have been sitting in the back seat just to be comfortable. Still, I was glad there were no neighbors. I wouldn't have to replace all those mailboxes.
"Thanks for doing this." I said. "You guys keep getting sucked in."
Vlad shrugged. "Seems like Hyde is the one who lit this particular fire. Tell you what - you can make us dinner when this is over."
"Deal."
"So," Vlad said, and tossed his sponge into the bucket beside him. "What's the plan?"
I felt the wheels spin in my head. The Beast was right next to them, making an argument for wolfing out and shredding anyone in my way. The fact that it almost seemed reasonable told me how tired I was. I buckled down and tried to think around the urge.
"I think I need you and Adam to go to the museum. Grab Henry and Cora-"
"What?"
"Cora. Sorry, she was a member of the Church, my roommate for five seconds, shot me, betrayed me, tried to stop me from saving Henry, and I punched her in the face but she's not really a bad person." That last sentence came out in a rush, and Vlad's jaw dropped.
"You met a girl? And you punched her? Does she have a concussion?"
I sighed. "Yes, and yes, and maybe. Anyway. Grab them and take them back to the castle until I can sort things."
"Adam's not going to let you go alone."
I shrugged. "Maybe. I might need him anyway. I think I need to grab Hyde - or Jekyll - and get him locked down. Then I need to deal with the church, and somewhere in there, I might need to deal with outsiders. I don't know how much havoc Hyde's caused. Plus, tonight's a full moon, and I haven't slept in what feels like a week."
"I see." He stood and walked over, then clapped me on the shoulder. "Good luck."
I patted his hand. "You too, Vlad." He dropped his grip, and left the house. I cleaned up a bit after him and after a moment, threw on my jacket and a few more bullets into my pocket. I hoped I wouldn't need them. Better safe than sorry, and all that shit, though. I stood in the kitchen, sipping my Coke and looking around. I needed sleep. I needed a maid. I needed a house that wasn't a psycho magnet. What I had were sharp teeth and a gun. I left the house and closed the door behind me.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I stood outside my home and looked up and down the street. The Lot was quiet in the early hours. There was a slight chill in the air, the aftermath of the night's rain, and I could see snatches of my breath in the dim morning light. I tried to form a plan. I know I'd told Vlad I had one, but the key to looking like you know what you're doing is sometimes looking someone in the eye and bullshitting through your teeth. Truth was, I wasn't sure how I was going to handle a gorilla like Hyde, or a group of psychopaths like the Church.
I turned to walk up the street, and was halfway along when I heard the wheeze of my car's brakes. I looked over to see the Cavalier coast to a stop beside me, Adam behind the wheel. For a moment, I wondered what the chances were, and counted them pretty high. The Lot's a small place. He smiled out.
"Hey, pretty boy. You wanna go for a ride?"
I snorted despite myself. He knew talking to me like a dog drove me nuts. He also knew I could handle it. I flipped him the bird and popped the passenger door and climbed in.
"Where to?" He asked.
I thought about it. Hyde would be easier with two of us. The Church, not so much. I had another idea, though I didn't know if it would pan out yet. I decided on the lesser, but more unstable of two evils.
"Jekyll's place, Jeeves."
He put the car into gear and made a u-turn, and we were off. On the way, I filled him in. He nodded and grunted in all the right places, and let out a low whistle when I told him about hitting the girl.
"Did you give her a - what's the word?"
"Concussion?"
He nodded. "Ja."
"No."
He nodded again. "That's good." I watched his big hands on the wheel, caked with dirt. I wondered how he had buried so many bodies so fast, decided I didn't want to know.
We turned a corner, and Jekyll's house loomed ahead. The street was eerily quiet in the morning hours. The windows of the houses seemed darker than usual, the small garden in front of Jekyll's house was still, the flowers refusing to nod in the light breeze. Even the weathervane atop the Victorian's old tower was still. We pulled up to the curb with the soft sound of gravel crunching under the tires, and cut the engine. We sat in silence for a moment, listening to the engine tick while it cooled.
After a minute or two, Adam turned to me. "If we find him, do we kill him?"
I shrugged. "He would've done the same to Henry. The same to us. Maybe. Still, I think he knows stuff."
"What if he is Jekyll?"
"We hide his drugs and wrap him up tight. I doubt he's involved in this. Jekyll's cold and condescending, but not evil."
We got out of the car and walked the narrow walk to the broad stairs. We stopped in front of the door. Adam raised his fist, as if to knock.
"Really?" I said.
He turned a blotchy pink and lowered his arm. "Eh."
I tried to peek in through the window beside the door, but the curtains were drawn, and I could only see the barest suggestion of shapes and shadows behind the fabric. Nothing moved inside.
"Turn around. This is illegal." I said to him.
Adam just looked at me. No fun. I drew the pistol and kicked the door open, making sure to hit it at the weak point, where latch met wood. Splinters flew back from the jamb, and a thick cloud of wood dust that filled the air for a moment. The door slammed against the adjacent wall and dented the drywall. I waited a moment, for the echoes to die down, pistol at the ready. I could feel Adam looming over me. When there was no answering shout, or blast of rage, I lowered the pistol and stepped to the side, letting Adam past me.
The entrance was cool and dark, and I fumbled for a light switch. There was a hum as the ancient wiring kicked to life, and above and down the hall, lights clicked and flickered to life, throwing the house into stark relief. We began to move through the hall.
I paused at each doorway, spinning into the room with gun extended. Each time I was greeted with stark silence and clutter. I looked at Adam. He shrugged.
"Maybe no one's home, Wulfy."
I led the way to the stairs that went down, and found the lights on. We took the steps slow and careful, listening for any movement, any hint that there was a trap ahead. At the bottom, the hall was well-lit, the door to the lab wide open. I could see a bare foot poking out. Instinct told me to holster the weapon, and I slipped it into its leather home while we walked the la
st few feet. The lab was quiet but for the occasional whimper and snore of an old man in a too-big suit, laying face-down on the floor. His hand was inches away from a tube of purple liquid that I scooted away from him.
"Find something to tie him with."
Adam searched the lab, and I rolled Jekyll over. He was his old self again, though looking haggard. Hyde must've worn him to the bone. Welts covered his skin where the spiders had done their work. He must've changed back to heal. I arranged his arms and legs close together, and Adam handed me a few extension cords. I tied the old man up, and Adam hoisted him over his shoulder. That done, we made our way out and back to the car.
"In the trunk?" Adam asked.
I thought about it. Jekyll probably didn't deserve that. I shook my head. "Back seat."
I popped the door, and Adam laid him inside, then we got in and began to drive back to the castle. I needed to plan our next move, and I needed friends. More than that, I needed answers, and I thought the little man in the back could give them.
We turned the corner and drove on.
*
Life has a way of punching you in the gut, yanking the rug out from under you, and spitting on your neck when you're down. It never seems to be content leaving you with the small victories, so as we pulled into the drive leading to the castle, I wasn't entirely surprised to see it on fire.
Adam urged the car to a speed I deemed just short of 'Evel Knievel', and we sped up the curves toward the castle while I white-knuckled the dash. It was one long minute to the top of the hill, and I breathed a silent prayer of thanks as we skidded to a halt. We flung our doors open, and Adam, wasting no time, charged up the walk and kicked the door open. Shouts could be heard from the back room, the parlor where we'd shared drinks in a time that felt like years ago.
Adam disappeared into the smoke, and I circled around back, toward the flames. I picked my way through carefully manicured bushes and small plots of garden until I reached the back of the building, smoke pouring from a gap in the boards they'd used to close up the window where the bum had broken through. I laid a hand on the wood, and found it was only slightly warm. Inside, I could hear cries of dismay and fear, and knew I needed to do something.
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