by Erik Lynd
There was a grunt of surprise from behind and Abigail fell to the ground next to him with three of the thugs from the congregation on her. She sliced one open and threw another off instantly. Then the door to the container closed with a bang and the engine started. It almost seemed like this was some sort of trap.
Frankly, Silas was disappointed.
He grabbed the last thug struggling with Abigail and threw him at the cluster of lizard creatures. The truck lurched under his feet and his aim was off, but still the flying body knocked down a couple of the creatures. Unfortunately, there were still many standing and they charged forward.
In the near pitch-black of the container the only one at a disadvantage was Abigail…which meant he was outnumbered.
“Silas this is no good,” Abigail said. She crouched, blades out, virtually blind.
“Here they come,” Silas said as the first one struck.
It sliced at his face with a clawed hand. Silas dodged back then kicked it in the gut, sending it flying back into its friends, claws flailing about. Another stepped up to take its place and kicked his side. He caught the foot and with a well-placed twist, broke its leg. The creature screamed.
Their one advantage was that only a few could attack at once in the narrow confines of the shipping container, but there were at least a dozen creatures to step up as soon as they removed one. A battle of attrition won’t work when you are this badly outnumbered, and to top it off Silas had to dodge the deadly blades of his blind partner. It was time to let some light in.
To buy some time Silas summoned flame to the palm of his hand and flared it while holding his arm up. The sudden, albeit small, burst of flame momentarily stunned the creatures and they fell back. Silas wouldn’t be able to maintain the fire for long.
Silas grabbed the creature with the broken leg at his feet. With one hand he gripped the scaly collar bone, digging into the hard flesh as best he could and with the other he grabbed its groin, not bothering to douse the flame. The creature screamed even louder. Silas felt claws slicing the skin on his arm and chest, and blows like a sledge hammer rained down on his torso and the thing struggled. He heaved it towards the ceiling as hard as he could, then slammed his fist into another of the creatures that had come close as he brought his arms down.
The creature’s lizard shaped head with bony protrusions and hard scaled skin made a good can opener. It burst through the metal ceiling of the shipping container, stopping wedged halfway through hole. Its taloned feet flailed about.
With the light extinguished the creatures were moving forward again. Being careful of the powerful legs sweeping the sharp talons back and forth, Silas jumped up and pulled the creature down upon its fellow monsters. The violent motion ripped the creature from the hole and made it larger. Lights from the city streets outside cast some illumination into the shipping container, but it wasn’t going to be enough.
The creatures kept coming and while it appeared Abigail could now see better it was still very limited. Her stilettos zipped around like deadly stingers sometimes glancing off scales, but more often slicing skin. Silas struck out with fist and foot crushing bones, but it was like punching a knight in armor. More and more a claw, talon or shark like bites got through his defenses. They were still going to lose, they had to get out of this death trap.
“Abigail! Up!” Silas cried
He positioned himself under the hole in the roof and flared his palm fire again. Knowing it would be less effective this time as their eyes adjusted to the little light from above, he kicked the nearest one into its friends at the same time and then knelt. He hoped she could figure out what he was doing.
She did. He felt her boots dig into his side and shoulders as she used him as a step ladder. He would have to tell her to wear tennis shoes from now on.
She ran up his back and he leaped to his feet, propelling her through the hole. She caught the edge and pulled herself through. Great, now he just had to get through it. He jumped as the remaining creatures surged at him. His hand caught the edge of the opening, leaving his lower body exposed to claws and teeth.
I swear if one of those sons of a bitches goes for my junk… Silas thought as claws and teeth sunk into his legs and abdomen. With a curse he heaved himself through the jagged opening, lifting three of the creatures that had a hold of him. They fell away as he cleared the opening.
On top of the moving truck the street light zipped by and the sounds and smell of traffic were all around him.
“They have Michael,” Abigail said.
Silas looked behind them, but the warehouse was nowhere in sight. The truck was speeding down the road. He and Abigail crouched low on the swaying of the vehicle.
“Now what?” Abigail asked.
Silas looked over the edge. They would have to jump, and the truck was moving at almost fifty miles an hour. There was a screeching, metal-twisting sound. Silas looked down and saw one of the creatures rip open the side of the shipping container with its clawed hand. He saw another hand punch through farther down the side of the truck.
“Here they come,” Silas said.
Like ants hunting for a meal they began cutting through the shipping container and crawling up the side. They were trying to come through the hole in the roof, but Abigail’s blades were keeping them at bay. Although the truck swayed, Silas remained upright with little effort. He had once possessed a ballet dancer with excellent balance, but he didn’t like to talk about that.
He saw a clawed hand come over the edge. As soon as the head came over he gave it a swift kick, sending the beast flailing back onto the street below. Another popped up on the other side, and Silas stepped over and kicked that one as well. Even as he did, two more sets of claws and heads started crawling over the edge. While he liked whack-a-mole just as much as the next guy, this was not going to work.
Silas kicked another lizard face as it appeared over the edge. Just as his foot connected with its head, the truck lurched to the side, throwing him over the edge. He caught the edge of the container and his body slammed against the steel side, but he held on. His feet dangled above the fast moving asphalt. Silas had to lift his legs to avoid smashing into an SUV as the truck sideswiped it.
Abigail’s face appeared over the side of the container.
“Need some help?” She asked and grabbed his arm.
She pulled with her supernatural strength, and he was soon up and over. But they had lost valuable time. Some of the creatures had been able to climb on top, and more were coming over the side and though the hole in the ceiling.
“Friend of yours?” Abigail asked.
She was looking behind him. Silas turned and saw the large lizard-man he had fought in the alley and had tried to fight in the bar. Coth, Silas thought Webb had called him. He stood at the end of the shipping container just behind the cab of the semi-truck; he must have climbed up from the passenger seat.
Eight or nine of the creatures climbed up behind them, Coth in front. Silas didn’t like the odds.
“No retreat this time,” the Coth rumbled with a smile. He put his claws out to his side, and the three inch talons at the end of this fingers gleamed in the flashing, chaotic lights of the city racing by.
“Hey Silas!” A voice cried from over the edge of the truck.
Silas glance over the edge and saw the limo driving alongside the truck. The large sunroof was open, and Michael was hanging out of it waving his arms. Steve was swerving the limo back and forth, trying to keep from being smashed by the truck’s maneuvers.
“I like to think of it as a strategic advance to the rear,” Silas said to Coth, then grabbed Abigail. “Jump!”
Abigail half jumped and was half tossed towards the weaving limo. Silas didn’t wait to see if she landed in the sunroof before he jumped, leaving Coth roaring behind him in fury. Abigail landed in the sunroof head first, but Silas missed, catching the lip with one hand, just barely saving himself from skidding off the roof and onto the cement.
With
a roar Coth jumped. Steve slammed on the breaks. The limo started skidding, but the sudden decrease in speed caused Coth to misjudge his jump, and he landed on the ground in front of the sliding vehicle. Silas flew over the sunroof as he lost his grip, sliding across the roof and windshield until he could catch himself on the lip of the hood just below the wipers.
He had just found his grip when the limo slammed into Coth. The force of the crash sent a stunned Coth flying into the parked cars along the side of the road. Silas almost lost his grip, but managed to hold on as the limo decelerated to a stop.
Coth burst from the wrecked cars with the sound of twisted metal and shattering glass. Steve put the car into reverse. The tires screeched and they were backing away from the enraged lizard-man. Coth began running and Steve sped up. Amazingly Coth kept up; the powerful beast was fast.
Dedicated son of a bitch, ain't he? Thought Silas. Now the question was how fast this limo could go in reverse.
The limo began swerving in traffic, going backwards the wrong way down a one way street. Blaring horns and squealing tires surrounded them. Silas swayed back and forth on the hood, but held on. Soon they were leaving Coth behind.
With some distance between them Steve stopped the limo and turned down a side street finally moving in the right direction. Silas looked down at his feet. The front of the limo was crushed from where it had hit Coth, but it was running fine. He climbed back on the roof and slid into the sunroof.
“Wow, Mr. Silas! That was amazing. What the hell was that thing?” Steve called from the front.
Silas ignored him and looked at Michael. “We saw you drink that liquid. How are you feeling?”
“Nah, I didn’t drink it. Just poured it out real quick when they weren’t looking. I played along because it looked like they weren’t going to take no for an answer.”
Silas nodded and Abigail pulled Michael into a hug.
“I thought they had you,” she said.
“Nope, I took off during the commotion. They were way more concerned about you two than a kid like me. I saw you guys go into the truck, so I got out the back and found Steve.”
“Luckily I was passing by at the moment and saw Michael come running out,” Steve said.
“I heard the truck and figured out what was happening. So I had Steve chase the truck.”
Silas pulled the extra bottle of whiskey out from under the seat. Damn, he needed a drink.
“What now?” Michael asked.
“We are getting a good picture of what’s going on here. Webb is building an army, luring the homeless and mentally ill into the Undercity, then using this Blood of the Wyrm stuff as a catalyst, he is transforming them into these monsters. Apparently we have until sunset tomorrow night to find where he is building this army and stop him.”
“What will happen if we don’t?” Michael asked.
“Well the world will watch as New York is overrun by lizard monsters and wake up to the fact that all their superstitions and fairy tales might have some truth to them. Then down will come the Veil of the Pale and the supernatural will have free rein in the mortal world. Your basic end of the world scenario. Drink?”
Silas offered Michael the bottle, but then pulled it back at the glare from St. Abigail.
“The only thing I am really puzzled by is this Blood of the Wyrm. To transform that many people and hold it, make it almost permanent, takes a huge amount of power.”
“He has to be working with someone or something that has that power. I’m with you--no mortal man could do this,” Abigail said.
“There have been a few mortal sorcerers with this type of power, but even they would need a catalyst. Merlin for one. Alistair Crowley, maybe. The secret rests with the potion, this Blood of the Wyrm.”
“Again I have to ask, what now?” Michael asked.
“We follow the only lead we have left. We find this grad student Lily. The Undercity is a huge place, almost as big as the upper city. Without a guide we wouldn’t have a chance of finding where he is even if he is sitting on an army. This chick can tell us where the writing Father Delentante spoke of is. That will give us a starting point. But you go back to the mission. No arguments. We can’t tell Father Deluca where were going. If we don’t return by tomorrow night, you will have to tell him to get word to the Vatican and Moreales.”
“So where do we look for her? We have her home and office on campus,” Abigail asked.
“She’s in college and it’s a Friday night. She won’t be in either of those places; she’ll be out partying. At least that’s what I would be doing,” Silas said, smiled and took a big swig from his bottle.
11
Silas was disappointed. In the end they found her at her office. He was hoping to find her at a huge party. The woman that opened the office door at their knock was not the bookworm Silas had expected.
She was short, especially standing next to St. Abigail, and she had long brown hair that hung straight, parting only slightly around her face and small glasses. She was, Silas decided, cute. Faint dark rings were starting to appear under her eyes, speaking of long nights and little sleep.
“Yes?” Lily asked, holding the door only partway open. Beyond her shoulder Silas could see a desk covered with books and papers. A chair in the corner was also covered by documents and books.
“Hello, my name is Abigail Lee and this is my partner Silas Robb,” St. Abigail said. “We were wondering if we could ask you a few questions about somebody you worked with--Doug Perkins.”
“Partner? Are you guys cops? Thank god, you guys are finally doing something about that missing person report I filed; it’s been days. Come in, come in,” she said and stepped away from the door. “Don’t mind the mess; I was just doing a little research.”
Now that they were inside the office Silas could see that it wasn’t just her desk and chair that were covered by books and documents. Every square inch of table top and furniture was covered. Whatever she was researching, it seemed to be consuming her office little by little.
“Actually we aren’t cops,” Abigail said.
Silas frowned. Leave it to Abigail to ruin a perfectly good cover. It’s not as if they lied to her; she’d come to the conclusion herself.
“Oh?” Lily said and paused in her cleaning off the documents from the couch. “Then who are you?”
“We are agents with the Vatican. Doug was with a priest when he… disappeared. We have been instructed to look into the incident.”
“Agents with the Vatican? I didn’t even know they had those. So you’re a priest and a nun?” She asked.
Silas chuckled. Abigail gave him a sharp look.
“No we are not ordained, just trained to work on certain matters for the Catholic Church,” Abigail said.
She nodded as though this was a good enough explanation, then sat behind her desk. “Should have guessed; you guys don’t look like you work for the cops. Then again you don’t really look like you should be working for a bunch of priests either. What do you want to know?”
“Well for starters can you recap everything you told the police?”
Abigail started the interrogation. This seemed more her speed anyway; if they had to rough her up he could step in. He was more interested in the books and documents scattered about. Most of them seemed related to Native American culture.
“Well,” Lily began. “We had been doing a lot of urban exploring under New York; we belong to a club where we sneak into all the sewers and tunnels under this city.”
“Sounds like loads of fun, walking through sewers and muddy utility access tunnels,” Silas said and received an elbow jab from Abigail.
“You would be surprised at the amazing things you find down there; it’s not just sewers and muddy tunnels. We’ve found abandoned subway stations, natural caverns and countless underground streams. And we haven’t even explored the half of it yet.”
“Not even close,” Silas said quietly.
“What?” Lily asked with frown.
> “You were saying?” Abigail asked.
After giving Silas a puzzled look, she turned back to Abigail.
“We’d been doing a lot of exploring, and at one point we were deeper than we had ever been. In what we took as a natural cavern Doug saw some carvings on the wall. We thought they might have been pre-colonial Native American carvings. This was, of course, an amazing discovery. Nothing like this had ever been found in the area. Doug was really excited. He said he had a friend, a priest, who was a scholar in this area and wanted to share it with him. His name was Father Delentante.
“The first day the father was free I had to teach class, so Doug went with Father Delentante. Funny, I was so pissed he wouldn’t wait for me.”
“I guess you were lucky,” Silas said.
“Yeah luck. When Doug didn’t come back that evening, I called the church and asked to speak with Father Delentante. I was told he was away on sabbatical in Rome. He had just left. I assume you talked to him? Care to let me know what happened?”
“We did speak with him, but before we go into that, did you ever try going back to that spot. Back to where you saw the carving?”
“No, I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to go back down there.”
“So it was a great discovery and perhaps the last known whereabouts of your friend, but you never went back?” Silas interjected. She was lying about something.
“Yes. I mean, I called the police and told them everything I knew, although it didn’t even seem like they cared. They told me he was a grown man and could take off anytime he chooses. I knew the priest had made it back, so I didn’t think Doug would still be there.”
“Interesting books you have here,” Silas said picking up the nearest copy.
“Yes, most of them are on the Lenape culture. As I said the carvings were Native American, so I’ve been reading up on them.” She stood as though to show them the door, “Now if you will excuse me I have…”
