by Tim Marquitz
After what felt like forever in dog years, we emerged into the shadow of the rocky shelf looming above. The group collapsed in its shade, taking advantage of the cool air. I glanced over at Karra after I saw Veronica help Rala to a seat.
“You okay?”
She nodded and rubbed at her stomach. “Just takes more effort with a passenger,” she answered, giving me a chiding smile.
“I know how you feel.” I reached down and cupped my leather thong. “I’m always carrying around millions of those little folks.”
Karra chuckled and dropped onto her ass. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.” Her eyes glanced over me slowly, taking me in from toes to head. “Well, at least you were.”
I plopped down alongside her. “And will be again.” Though, after saying it, I certainly didn’t feel all that confident about returning to my old body. While it didn’t take a genius to realize all I needed to do to separate my soul from Hobbs’ host body was to be eaten by a devourer, I didn’t have a damn clue as to what to do after that.
She slipped her hand in mine before I could become too morose, though. “Don’t worry, Frankie. It’s your personality I love.”
That earned a few chuckles from the audience.
Even though Katon had a smile going on, he was all business. “Rest here while I scout ahead.”
He scampered off and climbed up the rocky wall with ease, vanishing from sight once he scaled the protruding lip. I could see that maneuver being way more difficult for the rest of the group. I only hoped it didn’t get harder from there or we were never gonna make it. Judging by the looks on folks’ faces, I wasn’t the only one thinking that.
“At least we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of the guardians,” I said in an effort to raise spirits.
Ilfaar clearly didn’t get the concept of good vibes. “They’ve no mandate to guard the base of the mountain, only its peak and the portals it creates.”
“Way to kill the mood, buddy.” I shook my head. “If you feel the need to spout knowledge, maybe you can tell us something that will help us get out of here rather than doom ‘n’ gloom trivia.”
“I could most certainly do that,” he answered, “but I would prefer to wait until there’s a greater certainty I won’t be left behind in your rush to return to your world.” A twisted little smile distorted his lips. He knew as well as anyone he needed to be valuable to us or we’d leave his crippled ass behind without a thought. What he didn’t know was that his ace had been discovered if not fully revealed.
“Fair enough,” I told him, which was really code for, “Fuck you, but I’m not gonna waste the effort to argue,” and left it at that.
“You’ll tell us eventually,” Veronica said, a hint of a menace in her voice.
I didn’t get a chance to laugh at the odds stacking up against Ilfaar because I was too busy hearing my own plans swirling down the bowl.
“Oh, he will most certainly tell everyone what he knows soon enough.” All of our heads snapped around to see a man standing on the lip of rock above our heads, the sunlight at his back making him a glowing shadow. He held up Katon’s sword so it gleamed. “But please, stay where you are. We’ll be right down to collect you. Your friend is already here with us.”
“Oh, poooooooopp.”
Twenty-Two
True to the stranger’s word, what looked close to fifty greenie accomplices slithered down a dozen vine ladders and encircled us, weapons out and at the ready to escort us. Quite a few more remained on top, pointing sharpened spears our direction, gleaming steel and vague shapes in the brightness.
“You’ll have to forgive my insistence,” the man called down. “It’s been a while since we’ve had guests, and I do believe I have lost the knack of it.”
Ya think?
I bit my tongue to keep from getting us in deeper shit, but it was close. They had Katon and we were way outnumbered. With no recourse other than sarcasm, I raised my hands in surrender, tossing my weapons aside. We were pretty much screwed no matter what we did. I moved closer to Karra as they pressed us toward the ladders, stripping away our possessions as they did. They took her father’s sword, and I was surprised to see she let them, though the look she gave the greenie might well have been cancerous. He’d pay for that later.
They also collected the book from Rala as well as Chatterbox. A greenie woman held it up to our host. “What about this…thing.” CB squirmed in her hands, gnashing his teeth.
“Bring it up as well, but be most careful with that tome.” I could hear the smile in his voice even if I couldn’t see it until we were herded up the ladders and into his shadowy presence.
I was surprised to notice he wasn’t green.
He was also quite human.
Bronzed to the point of being brown, he stared at us through dark, soulful eyes. He wore his curly black hair long, but like the greenies, it was tied with strands of material to keep it from his face. That particular face was of a man barely into his thirties, but there was no mistaking the press of authority he exuded well beyond that meager count of moments. Garbed much like the greenies he commanded, he had a lithe strength about him, long lean muscles standing out to show for his mastery of the prison realm. A ring of deep purple, scars of old, ran about his neck, high along the jaw line, the only hint of mileage he had on his healthy frame.
“And you are?” I asked.
“Judas,” I heard Rahim whisper as he was hauled up onto the rocky outcrop.
A quick glance at the wizard’s face told me he was serious, his eyes locked on the scarring at the newcomer’s throat. How he knew this was the Judas was a mystery, but there was no doubting the certainty of his appraisal.
“Really? Iscariot?”
The man smiled, the very essence of suave charm—if we hadn’t been facing down an array of spears, that is. “That name means nothing to me, though I am told it is some long forgotten condemnation of my sin in a world since left behind. Here, I am only Judas for there will be none to come after me.”
“That’s poetic,” I told him. “I saw your boy Jesus not too long back. He’s looking mighty spry for a fella who was stabbed in the back and nailed to a piece of driftwood.”
A flicker of something malevolent washed across Judas’ face but it was gone as quickly as it appeared, his fingers tracing the dark line at his throat. “Perhaps when all this is done and over with, you might direct me to him so I might whisper my honeyed apologies in his ear. Until such time, though, we’ve other matters to discuss.”
Ilfaar was dumped onto the plateau behind us with a pained grunt, the last of the greenies piling around us pretty much guaranteeing we had nowhere to go.
“Now that we are all together, perhaps a few re-introductions should be made.” He raised a hand and waggled a finger.
From behind the press of greenies came one I recognized, the smirk on her face almost so bright as to eclipse the sun: Mia. She held a blade to Katon’s throat as she walked the bound enforcer through the crowd, nipples perky with excitement.
“You have met Mia so I have been told,” Judas went on. “And of course you know the warrior with her.” He stressed the word, making it clear he wanted us compliant. If he could take down Katon, he could take us all down was the warning.
“Bitch!” Karra growled. “I should have gutted you the first time we crossed swords.”
Mia grinned like a Cheshire cat and tightened her grip on the knife, her knuckles whitening with the effort, but she said nothing. Katon bared his teeth as the blade nicked skin and a dribble of crimson stained the ivory.
“You would be foolish to hurt him.” Rahim stepped forward as far as the greenies would allow.
Judas only smiled. “Despite appearances, I have no intention of harming anyone. Cooperate with me and no blood need be shed.”
Except, you know, the stuff leaking from Katon’s neck. “And we’re supposed to trust you?”
That only made Judas chuckle. “Have you a choice? You are a guest in my w
orld. If you would rather I kill you and have it done with…”
He let the sentence hang.
“What is it you want?” Karra asked. Clearly she could see the testosterone building and was looking to head it off. Either that or she wanted a piece of the action. It was always hard to tell with her.
“The same as you, I would imagine.”
“World peace? A vagina for every hand?”
“Your tongue is like a serpent.” The greenies pressed forward with their weapons without so much as a gesture by Judas. “If you wish to keep its head, I suggest you bring it under rein.”
“How right you are.” Shaw let out a snort. “He’s sure got your number, Trigg.”
I cast a cold glance her direction. While it was no secret Judas was persona non grata given his history, I really couldn’t see him playing nice with Team Lucifer. He already had us by the short hairs, so I didn’t see much point in making things worse by dishing on my lineage.
Fortunately, Shaw didn’t seem to think outing me served a purpose either. She just grinned wider when Judas looked to her, but that was all she did. After a short moment, the betrayer of Christ turned away to meet the eyes of the rest of us, one by one until they settled on Rala.
“You are a strange one, child. What do they call you?”
She cast a furtive glance my direction, so I nodded. Knowing our names wasn’t gonna make a difference.
“Rala,” she answered meekly after a pregnant pause.
“The keeper of the tome.” Judas smiled at her as one of the greenies passed the book to him. He flipped it open carefully, almost reverently, and stared at the words inside. “You can read this then?”
“She can,” Mia added from where she restrained Katon. That scored her a frothy little snarl from Karra. “The girl used it to bring a guardian down upon us, like I told you.”
“A dragon who can summon other dragons. Most interesting.” Judas closed the book and handed it back to the greenie as though it were made of glass. “But I imagine it serves another purpose.” He turned to face Veronica. “How did you come to be here?”
She inched closer to Rala and glared. “We climbed the ladders you so kindly dropped for us. Was rather simple, actually.”
Judas laughed. “I can see I’ve yet to win your faith, and while I’m not surprised, rest assured I will, though.”
“You said you wanted the same as us,” Rahim cut in. “And that is?”
“To be free of this world, of course.” He raised his arms and gestured to the crowd around him. “I am the only true prisoner left in the realm, and even God knows I’ve served my penance and much, much more. It is time to put it behind us.”
Even I had to admit that two thousand years, give or take, was a hell of a long sentence given that Christ supposedly knew what the little backbiter had planned and let it happen, but that begged the question as to how Judas had even lived this long. Last I knew, though I had to admit my biblical knowledge was a little rusty, he was just a plain Jane human. “And God put you here?”
“Aye. So long ago that I’d thought there was naught but ash left of the world outside until my people stumbled across the others who use this realm as a way station.”
“I call bullshit.” Karra apparently did the math, too. “Given that your followers have evolved generations beyond their forbearers, how is it that you’re not dust alongside those long since gone?”
“The Almighty has a vengeful sense of humor, it would appear.” Judas rubbed at his scar again. “As the weight of what I’d done fell over me, I chose to end my part in it rather than watch its consequences.” He smiled. “God, however, had other plans. Like His son, I returned to life three days hence, swaying in the embrace of the rope I’d used to hang myself.”
“He brought you back just to keep hanging?”
Judas grinned. “Unable to die again, I remained there for a sevenday until I’d worn enough of the rope away on a branch that it would no longer support me. The ground welcomed me harshly, as did the angel who stood above me when I managed to raise my eyes from the earth. My suffering had only begun, he told me, and I was delivered here for all eternity.”
“So, you’re like herpes?”
His eyes narrowed at the reference he wouldn’t possibly get, but Rahim apparently didn’t want to risk my having to explain it.
“That seems an unfortunate condemnation, but I’m not sure I feel comfortable helping you return to Earth,” Rahim told him.
“Really?” If I could have, I would have kicked the wizard in his shin. I was fine antagonizing Judas, but if Rahim was gonna place the Old Man’s hurt feelings above our survival, I wasn’t down for that. “I don’t think God gives a damn anymore.”
“Perhaps not, but what—”
Spears shifted, silencing Rahim.
“I have been here for millennia longer than warranted, and I’ve committed far more grievous sins since my incarceration than I had to be sentenced here, so forgive me if I do not entertain this as a discussion,” Judas said, the first hint of anger coloring his cheeks. “We are not foes, you and I, unless you choose to stand against me, but one way or another, with your willing help or otherwise, I will leave this realm.” He motioned to Rala. “Separate her from the others.”
Before the greenies could even move, Shaw had her hand tightened around the little alien’s neck, claws ready to rip her throat out. Rala’s gasp came out as a choked whisper.
“Dare to touch her and she dies,” Shaw warned. Her expression and steady hand left no room for anyone to call her move a bluff.
“You would kill your own?” Judas asked.
“She’s not mine,” Shaw said with a grin. “And yes, if it means we don’t become so much collateral after you secure the only means of our escaping this world.”
My jaw throbbed from being clenched so hard, but I knew better than to intervene. Shaw would do just as she said she would, and Rala would die. I couldn’t have that, but deep down inside, a thorny seed of logic pricked at the balloon of my fury. Shaw knew there was another route out of Tenebrae. She was there when Ilfaar offered it to us so why would she—
My gaze shifted to the angel with a muted sigh, certain no one else would notice my inattention, only to see the barest gleam of a smile at his lips as he watched the proceedings. He was enjoying himself, and that’s when it really hit me. What had he and Shaw concocted? There was no telling how long she’d been in the alcove with him or what they’d arranged, but it was starting to look as if they had come to some sort of an agreement. Did they need the book or Rala to see us on our way or was all this just a ruse to distract Judas from their real plan? I had no way of knowing, so I swallowed my anger and glanced back to Shaw to see how things played out. I was along for the ride whether I liked it or not.
Judas loosed a quiet growl. “And if I simply order you killed?”
Shaw shrugged. “Then the girl dies and my journey is done, though you’ll still be trapped here. It might not be more than a moral victory to take to my grave, but it’ll have to suffice.”
A few quiet moments passed, with only the impatient shuffle of greenie feet sounding across the stony floor, the people awaiting their lord’s decision. Finally, a grin broke upon Judas’ lips, and he offered Shaw a shallow bow of concession.
“We are at an impasse, it would appear.” He waved his people back. “Stay your hand and let us join our causes. We will flee this realm together if that serves. You have my word on this.”
“So be it.” Shaw loosened her grip, though didn’t let it go. Rala sucked in a harsh breath. I did the same, adding yet another entry on the Reasons I’m Going to Kill Her List. “You’ll forgive me for remaining cautious, however, will you not?”
“I would expect no less.”
“And you’ll free him or you get nothing from us,” I said, pointing at Katon. “All for one and all that crap.”
“Certainly,” Judas turned to the enforcer, “as long as he abides our truce.” It was
as much a question as it was a threat.
Katon nodded and almost looked as if he meant it. Mia pulled her blade from his neck and cut him free, shoving him our direction as soon as she was done. The enforcer was clearly ticked off, but he didn’t act on it. He simply joined the group, placing himself near Shaw’s side, opposite the big Nephilim ape, appraising both with feral eyes, making clear his thoughts on her maneuver. The standoff only lasted a moment before it was broken by an unexpected source.
The razored screech of a guardian split the air above and shattered any pretense of peace that had settled over us. Portal lights appeared in the sky, casting a hazy shimmer over our congregation.
“Inside with them, quickly,” Judas told his people, ”but be polite. I’ll brook no defiance of my wishes.”
The greenies did as he bid without complaint and nudged us toward a mass of brittle, brown foliage that covered the wall of the mountain. The first of the locals slipped through the bushes to disappear, and then it was our turn.
Twenty-Three
(Scarlett)
The battle was hardly what one might call competitive. Uriel and I met the first wave of lycanthropes head on, the rest stumbling into their backs. Steel and claws flashed between, blood following in great, gory clouds. The beasts fought harder than the dread fiends had, their attacks more creative but, ultimately, just as futile. The stragglers at the back toppled as easily as the first to charge.
As the last werehound was scythed aside by Uriel’s fury, I turned to watch Raguel draw his blade across the throat of a wolf, dumping its body to the asphalt with the others of its creed. All around him lay the carnage of the lycanthrope defeat. Dark pools colored the street and sidewalks, tufts of bloodied fur and severed limbs littered about. Once more I caught the prickly edges of his magic, his power unrestrained. And then there was a second flutter of mystical energy, and I spied the emerald portal split the seam of the dimensional wall.
