“Excuse me? I have some serious faith. I don’t know how my car works, but I have faith that it will get me to where I need to go.”
I leaned against the fence. “And when it breaks down, does the mechanic fix it with faith or the understanding of how the parts work?”
She shook her head. “This is why you don’t have a girlfriend.” She turned to Augie. “If you try to understand everything, like Curmudgeon McGee here, life loses its awe and wonder. And just becomes a slog.” She pointed at me. “Really, is this what you want to become?”
“You can have your wonder,” I said. “I’ll take my knowledge. See which one helps when you’re backed into a corner with a Hellbeast trying to feed on your intestines.”
Augie stared at the wound Serena inflicted on Poe. There was no blood. Due to the Black Death in his system, his blood was still. “Was that liquid you put down him supposed to do something?”
“Shhh,” Serena said, holding up her index finger. “Wait for it… Wait for it.”
Inside Poe’s flesh, something moved. Climbing out of the wound, a butterfly emerged. Serena held up the jar. The butterfly few inside. She gently put the cork lid on. “It’s done,” she said.
Augie stood in amazement, staring at the butterfly. Its wings were a mix of several colors. Purple, blues, and yellows. It was a beautiful sight to see. It was the color of Grace’s soul. “That’s my mom? A butterfly?”
I cleared my throat. “It’s not a butterfly,” I said. “It’s the metaphysical transcendent energy of your mom’s existence on this earth as Grace McKenzie. You could say it’s her soul, for lack of a better term.”
Serena smiled. “Yes, Augie, It’s your mom. She’s a butterfly.”
Augie seemed confused. “Why is she a butterfly?”
She waved her hand in the air like a stage performer. “Magic.”
“No lights or sparks or anything?” Augie asked.
“Are you serious?” she said, scowling. “I just pulled a butterfly out of a dying man and you’re disappointed because you wanted sparks?”
“What’s the matter, kid?” I asked. “This ain’t the rainbows and unicorns you were hoping for? There’s no romance in magic. Be glad it’s a butterfly and not a grotesque giant worm creature with seven eyes and a million teeth.” I lifted the knife. “There’s no glamour in magic, kid. This ain’t Harry Potter. It’s the real deal.”
Augie turned to the butterfly. “It’s amazing. My mom is beautiful.” He touched the glass. The butterfly moved toward him in the jar, as if it recognized him.
Poe groaned. He was coming around. His voice stirred. “You think you’ve won?”
Serena scoffed. “I think that’s a safe bet,” she said.
“You have no idea what’s coming. Blackwell will kill you all.”
There was that name again. I needed to know.
“Who is Blackwell?” I asked.
“He is the one who’s going to change everything,” he said. His wound was starting to heal. Because there was so little Black Death in his system, his body was fighting it. Soon, his blood would start flowing again as well. Unless I killed him right now.
I thought he was just a trafficker. Doing unholy deals with a sociopathic broker. I was wrong. He believed in Blackwell. And worse, he believed in his cause. I pressed the demon blade against his throat.
“A dying man’s request?” he asked.
I lowered the blade. “Unless you’re going to tell me about Blackwell, you don’t have anything to say.”
In the horse corral, the horses fell to the ground.
Drained.
Poe was recovering. “But I do,” he said. “Nishay molak denahni Cerberus.”
I growled. “No.” I sliced the blade through his throat. But liquid light mixed with blood as Poe teleported away. The blade cut his necklace in two. It fell to the ground at Serena’s feet.
She picked it up, looked at it confusingly. Her eyes came back up to me. “Did he just get away?”
Augie stared at the the dead horses on the ground, their hair turned gray and white, their bodies shriveled and lifeless.
The corpses rose to their feet.
“I don’t think that’s the worst part,” I said.
The horses’ were no longer dead. No longer empty vessels.
They were cursed.
The dead flesh of the once-beautiful animals hobbled to their feet. Like an invisible puppet master was controlling their limbs, each corpse stumbled toward the other. As the horses hobbled together, pieces of their hides dripped off the bone, exposing muscle and ribs to the air.
They collapsed onto each other as their flesh melded into one body. Their twelve legs wrapped around each other to form four. The tails combined to create a snake-like appendage with snapping jaws on the end. When it finished contorting, it had no resemblance to a horse. It was a beast with three heads and glowing orange eyes.
It was Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hell.
Chapter 41
Who Let the Dogs Out?
What stood in front of us was like nothing I ever saw before. Often times, myths from the past started from simple truths. In Greek mythology, Cerberus was a three-headed hound who guarded the underworld to prevent people from escaping.
I thought it was only a myth, but perhaps there’s something more to it now that I saw it with my own eyes.
It’s possible it was a thoughtform, conforming together from the thoughts and beliefs of cultures throughout history. I’ve seen the collective consciousness form some pretty terrible things in my time. But as I raised my head to lay witness to the beast, I couldn’t help but be in awe of its glorified hideousness.
Was it a thoughtform or was I really staring at the mythical three-headed beast of Hades in Greek mythology? If it wasn’t real, it was one hell of a thoughtform.
The three-headed beast swayed its body to stand upright on its four deformed legs. Its eyes burned fire.
The beast’s tail struck at Serena. I shoved her to the ground. The tail’s snapping teeth bit nothing but air and recoiled back to its master.
Serena was on the ground, the jar still in her hands. “We can’t let it hurt the butterfly,” she said. “If it escapes or dies, Grace can’t be saved.”
“Get back to the truck,” I said. “You’ll be safe.” I fired my Beretta at one of the beast’s faces. The bullet shaved off flesh around one of the eyes, giving way to bloody bone and hellfire.
Augie took several steps back, having no guns to protect himself. “How do we stop it?”
“Grab the guns behind the seat of the truck,” I said. “The shotgun and the magnums.” He ran off before I could finish the sentence.
Landon stood beside me, marveling at the beast, seemingly unafraid. The monster’s tail whipped toward him. It passed through Landon’s chest, unaware he was a ghost. Landon chuckled. “Stop it,” he said, rubbing his chest. “That tickles.”
“Landon, can you possess it?”
“I have no idea,” he said. “I haven’t been dead that long. You act like I’m a pro at this. I’m winging it, buddy.”
“Can you try?”
He shrugged his shoulders and ran to the beast. He disappeared as he phased into it. Cerberus growled and snarled. It howled a death howl and shook its body like a wet dog drying off.
Landon was spit out. Thrown to the air like a dog’s chew toy. He rolled to my feet. Shaking his head, he looked up. “That didn’t work out so well,” he said.
Okay, strike one for us.
I could tell Landon would be no help in this fight. Cerberus charged the fence, splintering the wood in an explosion of debris.
I dove left. The beast caught my right foot in its mouth as it passed. It dragged me along the ground and threw me in the air like a dog playing with a dead squirrel. I flew straight up.
I was airborne.
Cerberus raised its middle head and opened its jaws. I was falling directly into its mouth.
I fired into
its throat, hoping to trigger a gag reflex.
It worked.
It whined and retreated in time for me to hit the ground. I looked at my foot. It was shredded. Torn to bits. Blood and bone.
Within moments, the flesh started healing. The residual effect of the Forever blood. It was wearing off, but still active.
Every once in a while I got lucky.
Cerberus galloped toward the truck.
Augie was back with the toolbox of guns. He fired the shotgun in its face. Skull, muscle, and hellfire sprayed against the side of the Chevy. The beast howled and attacked. It ripped the shotgun from Augie’s hands.
Augie fell forward and let go, so the beast wouldn’t drag him away. The left head bit the shotgun in half. It jerked its head back and swallowed the shotgun.
Augie pulled out the demon blade.
The monster dove for him. Augie dodged, falling against the truck. As head number three struck, Augie turned. The jaws pierced the Chevy.
Augie forced the blade through its skull.
The middle head sprung at him, just missing his face by inches, grabbing a mouthful of ‘69 Chevy headlight instead.
This wasn’t working.
I wasn’t sure if we could destroy it without another house fire. I ran to the back of the truck. Opened my wardrobe and grabbed my pastor’s robe. I slid the robes over my clothes and scoured through the bottom drawer, grabbing the Greek New Testament, a Greek translation of the King James Bible. I used it once to banish a demigod who thought he was a Greek god. He was a real dick who hung out in a toga and tortured people for fun.
The Greek version of the Bible should cover me with enough Grecian energy to feel familiar to the monster, whether he was really Cerberus or not.
Dressed in my robes, Bible in hand, I walked out to confront the beast.
“Cerberus,” I said. “I compel you, in the name of the Lord, to stop.” It stopped snapping its jaws at Augie and slinked toward me, all three heads hung low like a tiger, ready to lunge.
I wasn’t sure if it understood the Christian robes, but it should recognize me as a man of the cloth, a warrior for God, and a figure of authority.
“I command you to heel, in the name of Typhon and Echidna, whose flesh you were born.” When entities are called forth into an empty vessel, it’s very confusing. They don’t know where they are for a few moments. And for a dog, or animal spirit, it would be just as confused. I called the names of its parents, who it would recognize.
It moved toward me, trying to make out who I was. I decided to go the extra mile and push it as far as I could.
I held up my palm. “I command you to sit.”
It growled and bared its teeth, ready to snap me in two. And then…
The Cerberus sat.
I wasn’t going to put on a charade to pretend to be someone from Greek mythology. That would get me killed. Instead, I chose to tell the truth.
“Cerberus, fierce protector of the gates of Hades. The underworld is yours to protect. An evil warlock has called you forth into our world. You are not currently in Hades.”
It’s jaws snapped wildly. Drool fell from from jowls. It sniffed the air and ground.
“Cerberus,” I said. “The underworld is unprotected. Souls are escaping as we speak. While you are up here doing battle with us, undeserved souls are escaping from Hell.”
Its three heads looked at one another as if communicating with each other.
“More souls will escape if you do not return. Please, I beg of you, Hades needs you to be the guardian. It is your purpose. Your destiny.”
Two of the heads snapped beside my face. If it took my head off, it would definitely not grow back.
Even with the Forever blood.
One of the beast’s heads approached me. Its hot breath blew against my face. It opened its jaws. A rough, slimy tongue licked the side of my face.
When it finished, it could have been my imagination, but it looked like it was smiling.
Cerberus crouched back and all three voices howled at once. It sounded like a pack of giant wolves howling after a kill.
The bodies crashed to the ground, disassembling from the massive beast it once was. It fell into a pile of loose flesh, bones, and fire.
It was bloody disgusting.
I fell back on my ass and let out a sigh of relief. Augie made his way over and crashed beside me.
Landon stood over us. “That was amazing!” he said, watching the dead pile of fleshy goo smolder. “It looks like a pile of steaming dog shit now.” He turned to us. “Do you know what that was? Cerberus. Legend of Greek mythology. Holy shit.”
I tried to catch my breath. “At least it thought it was,” I said. “That’s good enough for me.”
Serena stepped out of the truck with the jar. “We all good?”
Augie and I both gave a thumbs up.
And we laughed.
Grace’s soul was intact. Nobody died. Including me. Which is always a good day.
Staring at the sky, it felt good to have others to share the moment with. To celebrate with. It felt different.
I had to be careful.
I could get used to this.
Chapter 42
The Gateway
On our way back to Chicago, we stopped at an oasis and got cleaned up. I had other outfits in the camper for myself. I bought a new shirt and jeans for Augie. His clothes were covered in blood.
Serena came out clean and unscathed. Funny how that always seemed to happen. I probably shouldn’t be surprised, considering how she hardly did anything. I get stabbed in the gut and my foot taken off by a mythological three-headed beast, and she doesn’t even chip a nail.
I know, I know, she did extract Grace’s soul and captured the butterfly in a jar. But as far as getting herself dirty, she was far from danger.
We could have just as easily left her at home. I’m sure I would’ve figured out the whole butterfly thing eventually.
Landon led us to the apartment complex belonging to Rory and the gateway. It was on the east side of Chicago. A decent neighborhood. We strolled up to the building.
It was a lavish, swanky place. I wouldn’t have guessed it was built on a Nexus. Either the weird events that took place were very well kept under wraps, or everybody knows about it but no one is talking.
We strolled up to the apartment and knocked. Landon stood at the door as Rory peeked out the peep hole. The door opened.
“Professor Landon?” Rory asked.
He was young, mid-to-late-twenties. Short brown hair with long bangs. Looked like a good kid, but that could be deceiving. He seemed a little too innocent for someone living in the middle of crazytown.
You never know what you’re gonna get with a Nexus. Often, the simple thinning of the veil between worlds is enough to make a person go insane. But with a Nexus, you’re in the middle of that madness. You could have portals, ghosts, poltergeists, demons, and a plethora of crazy shit constantly going on. It just depended on its specific properties. You could live on a Nexus that was a gateway to Hell and not even know it until an army of the undead started traipsing through your bedroom.
These things were unpredictable to say the least.
Landon smiled and opened his arms. “Rory, my boy. Good to see you, kid.”
The young man looked me up and down. “Who are your friends?”
“They’re good people,” Landon said. “Except him,” he said, pointing at me. “He’s kind of a dillweed. Hey, can I see the gateway to Ghostworld?”
“Uh, Okay,” he said, stepping aside. “Come on in.”
After some introductions, we explained who we were and that Landon was a ghost. Rory felt more at ease, he seemed to relax. If we told anyone else what we told Rory, they’d be freaking out. But Rory wasn’t fazed a bit.
Craziness was his new normal.
If the wrong people got their hands on this place, there’s no telling what they could do with the right resources.
“Who are you hi
ding from?” I asked. If Zac couldn’t find him in the system, he was hiding from someone.
“Hiding?” he asked liked a naive farm boy. He sure had the act down.
“Don’t play stupid, son,” I said. “I couldn’t pinpoint your location using your name.”
Landon tried to back pedal. “Whoa, hey, be nice, Sol.” He turned to Rory. “What my rude partner is trying to say is, you’re kind of a hard person to track down, buddy. What’s the dilly, yo?”
I asked, “Are you using a fake name?”
Landon tossed me a dirty look. “He’s not using a fake—”
“It’s not my name,” Rory said.
Landon did a double take. “Wait. What?”
“My name isn’t actually Rory. No one’s ever caught that before.”
Landon crossed his arms. “You vile deceiver.”
“Rory is my middle name,” he said. “My parents were nerd freaks addicted to DC comics. They named me after a superhero. It’s stupid, so I go with my middle name.”
Landon leaned forward. “What’s your first name?”
“I keep it secret for a reason, Professor.”
Landon sat back in the couch. “You’re no fun.”
Rory glanced at me. “So you’re a monster hunter.” He pointed at Serena. “You’re witch.” He turned to Augie. “And what are you?”
“Hunter in training,” he said.
I added, “He’s psychic.”
Rory’s face brightened. “No way? Cool.”
“It helps in a fight,” Augie said. Landon got up and walked back and forth.
“We need to get to Ghostworld,” I said. “To save Augie’s mom from the Recurrence. She was drained by a Forever person and her discarnate spirit is stuck in there.” I nodded to the jar. “We need to get her soul back to her.”
Rory stared intensely at the bottle in Serena’s hands. The butterfly flapped its wings. “That’s her soul? It looks like a butterfly.”
“Spiritual essence transmuted into a butterfly,” Serena said. “I thought creating this would be easier than trying to hold onto amorphous energy.”
“Wild,” Rory said. “What’s a Forever?”
Memoirs of a Monster Killer: Killing Forever Book 1 Page 23
