“Oh, let’s not be shy, my star-crossed lovers. Please, allow me to introduce myself,” called out the stranger from inside the darkness. It was clearly a man, but certainly not Jack.
We took another step back as the figure emerged from the shadows. The shimmer of a gold badge stamped on his chest glistered in the light before any of his features came into focus.
“I don’t believe it,” I muttered, looking at what was now clearly a policeman’s uniform.
“You know him?” whispered Ian as the man strode out into the open.
“Rookie Officer Steven Talbot.”
“Oh, forget formality. The name’s Garrick,” the officer confirmed. With a blink of the eyes, black orbs filled his sockets.
“How are you here? This is sacred ground!” declared Ian dreadfully.
“What, these old ruins? Hardly. It’s a mere echo of its once Holy existence,” said Garrick, running his hand along the stone siding of the steeple’s front archway. “But enough about trivial details. There’s far many more important things to get to, like why both of you aren’t overly surprised by my peculiar state of being. How much has he told you?”
“Enough,” I sneered, knowing all too well that he was implying about Jack.
“So, you’ve chosen this one’s side then?” remarked Garrick, pointing at Ian. “Shame, now we’ve got to take care of this the hard way. I already told them this wouldn’t work, but nooooo. They insisted on the dramatics. Corrupting the innocent, damning one of His own, yada yada yada. See how well that’s worked out, right?”
Out of the darkness behind the officer lunged a stealth force. It was Jack. He was mere inches away from silently driving his hunting knife into Talbot’s back when Garrick swooped effortlessly out of the way, grabbing Jack from behind as he rushed past. Hurtling him backward, Garrick slammed Jack into the cobblestone, pinning a steel toed boot against his throat.
“Look who decided to grace us with his presence,” chuckled Garrick. “About time you showed up.”
Jack quickly countered the move by slicing a hand into Garrick’s kneecap. The hit was adequate enough to get him to let his foot up off of Jack.
“What are you doing here? This is my territory,” declared Jack under a cough as he regained his breath, stumbling over to Ian and me sorely.
“No, it’s not,” Garrick corrected.
“I haven’t received word yet that says otherwise, so my position stands,” said Jack.
“For now, until word gets out. Everyone knows you exposed your true nature to her. That arrogant little display at the high school last night had your name plastered all over it. You can lie to them all you want. Won’t change the fact that they’ll see everything for themselves.”
Jack instantly snatched another knife out from behind his back and hurled it at him with frightening precision, but Garrick caught it between his hands just inches from his face and threw it back. Jack was prepared this time and deflected it, charging at him full force. Garrick took the impact around the torso but managed to get his arms above Jack’s hold. Driving his elbows down onto Jack’s upper back, Garrick’s impact proved to crumple Jack into the ground.
“Best remember where you stand, boy. The only reason you have this ranking is because of your particular set of skills. Seduction. That’s it. I can still whip your ass till Sunday, and you’d be smart to not forget that,” sneered Garrick, brushing himself off as Jack limply climbed up from the ground. “That’s the thing with you incubuses. You only fine-tune your sharpest tools, while you let the rest of your qualities slacken. You can’t fight worth shit, not against a true warrior.”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Jack spat out. “Why are you here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Word has to pass through the system when you’re relocated to a new position. Why didn’t anyone hear of you coming?”
“Oh, I didn’t come on orders,” snickered Garrick.
“Then how did you know where to find her? Only those signed to each specific case know where the target’s located.”
“I came through a portal, generously provided by a bunch of moronic adolescents,” he chuckled. “Word from the wise, girlie, don’t miss with Ouija boards. They draw us out like magnets.”
“I didn’t use it,” I declared.
“But you were there when it was in use, and, honey, your presence was truly divine. You’re like catnip to our kind.”
“Your little message was cute,” I sneered. “‘Death comes to you.’ Though the Latin threw me off at first.”
“Don’t look at me, sweetie. I had nothing to do with the reading. I just hitched a ride to this plane from the hellfire down below, though I’m not surprised that Death is coming for you given the state of your recently deceased relatives.”
“Hellfire, eh? So you were sentenced to the pit?” asked Jack.
“For a short while. What can I say? I’m a bit too exuberant for my own good sometimes.”
“Was that you, with the Ouija piece?” I queried.
He chuckled as he nodded. “Now that was fun.”
“What about the vanishing driver, on Beaumont Street?”
“Nope, afraid not.”
“The person outside my window, before Benson and you came?”
“Again, no.”
“But you covered it up nevertheless,” I remarked. “You were the one who surveyed the yard. You saw the footprints out there.”
Garrick simply smiled.
“The scratches on my back, was that you?”
Everyone looked at me bewilderedly, including Garrick.
“What’s this now?”
“I had a dream I was attacked. Then I woke up in the woods with the same severe injury I sustained in the dream, but the marks vanished completely only after an hour or so of being awake.”
“Well, well, well. Seems she lives up to her name after all. Cassandra, the disregarded prophet. Good to see her powers coming into effect,” remarked Garrick.
“Jack?” I asked, seeing his jaw tense.
“That was an omen, and the remnants were still playing tricks to your conscious mind,” he said at last, stiffly. “What happened in the dream?”
“...You attacked me, and again, you said ‘death comes to you,’ in Latin.”
“The night before last,” said Jack, switching his attention to Garrick's beaten face. “Was that you?”
“At her house?” he chuckled. "You know, two and against one really isn't fair."
“Yeah, but the trench coat, and everything...?” I mumbled. "I told you about what the guy was wearing outside my house that night..."
"Ding, ding, ding!" Garrick chimed playfully, imitating a game show host . "What do we have for our winner?"
"But who was it outside before?" I asked. "Another demon?"
Garrick started snickering all over again, exchanging glances between Jack and me. “I’m sorry, but what on earth has he told you?”
“Nothing, apparently,” I confirmed, looking over at Jack.
He continued to laugh, directing his attention fully to Jack. “Oooohh, you’ve yet to tell her of her impending doom, eh? Understandable in your position, but I’ve got to ask, what have you been doing here? The job was simple. Protect and seduce. That was it. Yet, here I am, ready to implement harm. Yet, here she is, with him no less.” Garrick studied Ian with amusement. “I mean, really? How badly did you mess things up with her? No offense, but just look at this kid.”
“Wow,” muttered Ian. “I can’t catch a break anywhere.”
“Soon as they see these two together, the jig will be up. They’ll know you failed. And just imagine what’s gonna happen to her then. Boy, can I not wait,” said Garrick chillingly.
Jack stepped directly in front of Ian and me, blocking Garrick’s way to us.
“Oh, how cute.” Garrick stared intensely into Jack’s eyes, and suddenly, Jack dropped wearily to his knees and clutched the sides of his head. “When will
you ever learn? I’m still ten times stronger than you on your best day, and quite frankly, you’ve lost all your edge. I’d doubt your ability to win a match against a puppy right about now. You’ve gone soft. Wouldn’t have anything to do with her, hmm?”
Ian grabbed me and pulled me back to the trail where we came from, but we only got halfway down the path when an invisible grip yanked the two of us backward through the willow branches. We fell onto the cobblestone just beside Jack.
“Let’s make things easy for all of us here,” said Garrick, kicking Ian as he eyed me. “How about I take this poor kid for a test run? A good strangling will suffice. While he slowly recovers, you and I could have quite the time together.”
“Good luck with that,” spat Jack amusingly.
Garrick booted Ian over and studied him closely, letting out a subtle chuckle. “Aha, I get it now. Purebred selection. What an unknowing force it is. Drags them together every time, and they’re still so stupid to call it ‘love.’ I may not be able to climb up in that head of his, but there’s nothing stopping me from enjoying myself as is.”
Garrick pulled out Talbot’s service pistol, yanking Ian back to his feet. Jack and I both scrambled up as well, but Garrick didn’t seem too particular about who else may catch a bullet in the midst of his amusement.
“Killing one of your kind is gonna be quite the pleasure,” he said, aiming the barrel right between Ian’s eyes. “But don’t worry. You’re better off going like this. There’s plenty of worse ways out there. Trust me.”
Just as he cocked the trigger, Talbot let out a weak gasp. His jaw clenched, and his eyes trailed down at what looked like the tip to a small metal drill point protruded from the middle of his chest. Garrick crumpled over and coughed painfully, blood expelling from his mouth. As he doubled over, we saw a long, dark wooden shaft and black fletching to an arrow pierced through his back!
“What the hell...” I muttered, half of the lights overhead bursting in an instant.
The three of us fell back as we looked out into the darkness, trying to see where and who that surprise came from.
“We need to go, now!” demanded Jack, but in that instant a bitter draft washed over me as we started to run back to the opening.
“What is that?” I asked, watching my words form fog in the cold.
Ian and Jack turned to me as I crashed to a halt. “What?”
I stood silent, taking in everything surrounding me. The fountain trickled over the dead of night. Then it hit me. My vision in the hallway. I looked across the courtyard to see another mass of willow branches lurking over an entrance.
“They’re right there,” I whispered, my gazing fixed on the spot.
“You see them?” asked Ian, ever so quietly.
“No, I just know.”
Sure enough, the branches parted and a black gloved hand poked through. Then the all too familiar hooded figure from twice before emerged with a massive, filigree blade wielded in their hand and a quiver and bow slung over their shoulder. Garrick moaned desperately, rolling to his side to see the figure heading determinedly towards him.
“Please.... no!!” he screamed, trying to gain traction as he struggled to pedal away over the cobblestone.
Without hesitation, the figure approached and plunged his sword into Garrick and his black orbed eyes returned to normal, but were now void of all life.
Jack grabbed both Ian and me, and we charged blindly down the path. Throwing ourselves over the Private Property barrier, the three of us raced into the shopping square. The fabric of my gown made it next to impossible to climb up the stone stairways quickly, but I didn’t lack the adrenaline to overcome the hindrance.
“Who is that?!” I demanded.
“You want to know who was responsible for what happened to your mom and sister, and all those girls?” said Jack, panting heavily.
“Yeah!”
“Well, you were just looking at him.”
“What?!”
“Who is he?!” asked Ian.
“An angel of death!”
“Come again?!” I bellowed.
“We really don’t have time for this!” declared Jack. “You see that blade he’s carrying there? It’s called a Daman Saxon. If you’re killed by one of those, you’re not gonna find yourself in Heaven, but neither in Hell. You die by the hand of that, your soul dies as well. You fail to exist all together.”
“Which explains why the resurrection ceremonies performed on Annalisa and Veronica didn’t work,” I said, speculatively.
“Exactly. They didn’t have souls to even bring back.”
“So even the real Officer Talbot is dead, permanently?!”
“Yep.”
“Garrick was simply possessing the body. Why didn’t he just leave it before being executed?!”
“Because, that arrow in him is made from the same material as the blade. When you’re hit with that, the steel seals your soul inside. The demon can’t flee.”
As we began climbing the last flight of stairs to the main floor, all the wall lamps beside us in the stairway burst. Soon, the whole place went pitch-black with the exception of the streetlights from the parking lot shining through the glass doors at the entrance, illuminating the top of the stairwell. With nothing but the breath of the cold, bitter abyss behind us, we accelerated forward and catapulted our bodies into the doors upon racing across the foyer with not another soul in sight.
Scrambling out to the parking lot with the Cutlass and Impala just ahead of us, we were all instantly swept off our feet by a bursting squall of air. I peeled myself off the pavement, seeing a tall shadow looming just behind my frame across the asphalt with a certain sword in hand. Rolling quickly to my left as I saw the shadow of the blade pierce down on me, I narrowly missed the blow, seeing sparks erupt from the cutlery’s tip as it struck firmly in the ground a mere inch from my body.
“Cassie!” Without waver, Ian and Jack both pounced up and attacked the hooded assailant before he had the chance to lift the blade for another strike.
I got back up to my feet as the angel recovered from the rush, throwing them both off with what appeared to be a considerable amount of effort. But as Ian was knocked down and Jack flung back towards the entrance, I found myself completely exposed again. All of the markings and symbols on the blade gleamed in my eyes as the steel glinted in the streetlights overhead, the figure hastening towards me intrepidly.
I raced from him as quickly as I could, but my bare feet took to the dampened grounds like a dog’s paws on fresh ice. Crashing into the side of the Cutlass, I immediately ducked down and rolled underneath the car. The trunk buckled down as the angel leapt on top of the vehicle, surveying the ground in its entirety below. I was trapped.
“Get away from her, you son of a bitch!” demanded Jack, sprinting over to us with his own (very unimpressive in comparison) knife in hand.
The back end of the car bucked up as the assailant dove back down to the pavement. The two rushed at one another, and by a hair’s breadth, Jack was managing to avoid each of the angel’s strikes time and time again. But then it happened. Just as Jack ducked the next sling of the blade, he pushed right up to the assailant and barely managed to drive his dagger into the angel’s side before the sword came barreling back at him once more. Jack pried the knife from the angel’s flesh and tried to parry the attack, but it only managed to slow its impact. The blade swept right into Jack’s position. He threw his arm up to deflect the full brunt of the blow, and the steel carved across his flesh from elbow to wrist. As the blade sliced into it, I could hear the skin sear like smoldering coal.
“Jack!” I cried out, trying to pry myself out from under the car.
Jack screamed agonizingly, dropping to the ground as smoke actually exuded from the wound.
The angel swiftly brought his blade up again and wielded it for execution.
“Stop!” I demanded, rising up beside the Cutlass.
The angel cocked his head over his shoulder after a
moment, pleased to see Jack immobile from the excruciating injury. He turned and took his time in walking towards me, knowing I had nowhere to run.
At a good ten feet or so away, he lifted the blade and his stride quickened. I closed my eyes, waiting to feel the slice of the blazing steel...
Then I felt a warm figure step right before me. My eyes shot open. It was Ian!
“You’re gonna have to go through me!” he declared, shielding me.
"Ian, no!" I screamed.
The angel crashed to a halt, the tip of his blade so close that it pressed into the front of Ian’s coat. We both held our breaths, anticipating the impact... but it never came. Instead, the angel slowly lowered the sword and backed away. The streetlights crackled, and in the split second that they flickered off, he was gone.
Chapter 37
Bad Moon Rising
“Where’d he go?” asked Ian, the two of us looking in every direction of the desolate lot.
“No idea.”
“Aahh...” Jack remained on the ground, clutching his fingernails into the skin around the scorched flesh.
Ian and I raced over to him, and I fell to my knees to inspect the wound.
“You’re okay,” I said, prying his hand away. “It didn’t cut into any arteries.”
He still didn’t seem comforted by the observation. In fact, he had lost all color.
“This isn’t going to kill you, is it?” I asked.
“Nah, it just feels like it will,” he groaned.
“We have to get you to a hospital,” said Ian, the two of us pulling him to his feet.
“No!”
“What’d you mean, no? This needs stitches.”
“Cassie can do it,” said Jack.
“The hell I can,” I declared.
“You know how to sew."
"Yeah, but my experience in materials is limited to jeans and cotton. Not human flesh!"
"Well, that's too bad, because there’s no way that we’ll be able to explain this to the cops if you take me to the ER.”
“What about the cameras? The mall has a bunch of them at the front entrance. They’ll have the whole incident recorded," I said.
Divine Vices Page 33
