by D V Wolfe
“Well, yeah,” Tags said. “But I mean, that’s usually harder to come by…” He trailed off as I snatched the towel from Stacks and handed it to him.
“The black streaks. Those are Nigel’s.” Tags took the towel and practically ran down the hallway, the rest of us pushing in behind him and the trailer rocking around us as we all fought for the space in front of the bedroom door so that we could watch. Tags had hollowed the wooden pendulum out and inserted a laser pointer. He took the biggest black streak on the towel and laid the pendulum across it, squeezing the towel around it.
I could feel Noah’s boney chin on my shoulder as he leaned in to watch. I grinned to myself. Whatever weirdness Noah was feeling between us seemed to be gone or at least back-burnered for now.
Tags let the pendulum go and we watched the laser point on the map. The giant map on the floor was hand-drawn in a surprising amount of detail and looked like it was mostly constructed out of wrapping paper and pieces of lined paper, taped together to cover the floor. Instead of lighting it on fire, Tags had five candles at the pentagram points around it. Once he had them lit, he began the spell. The pendulum was swinging so fast, it was a blur.
“Extinctus!” Tags bellowed. The pendulum snapped tight and the laser point held steady on the map. We all leaned forward to look at it.
“Well, that’s convenient,” I finally said. According to the pendulum, Nigel was at New Covenant.
“He’s probably waiting on you to show up,” Stacks muttered. Probably a good assumption.
“Probably,” I said.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” Noah asked.
“Probably.”
“Do you think he warned the other demons?” Tags asked.
“Probably.”
A loud click sounded behind us and we all turned to see Rosetta stuffing two new shells into Big Joe. “It’s a little after eight,” Rosetta said. She snapped Big Joe shut and held him with both hands. “Let’s go to church.”
21
We decided to take three vehicles so that if we got separated, there would be more options for a quick escape. Rosetta took Noah and Vix with her, Tags took Stacks and Gabe climbed into Lucy with me. Gabe and I were the first ones out of the trailer park lot.
“Hey,” Gabe said. “I was thinking about it.” He hesitated. “If Ber...if the guy from St. Louis that didn’t rise is the one that holds your contract, and if he’s the one they’re trying to raise now…”
“I know,” I said. The thought had occurred to me already. If Berith rose at New Covenant, I’d have another bite at the apple as far as killing him and destroying my contract. My soul would be free as well as the souls of everyone from Ashley. “But, it would be me sacrificing all the souls taken by blood oaths to let him rise. It’s just exchanging souls in the pit.”
“But fewer souls,” Gabe said quietly.
I cut my eyes to him. “You’re not seriously considering this, are you?”
Gabe shook his head. “No. I just wish…”
“I know.” I took my hand off the steering wheel and I hesitated, patting the seat between us before returning it to the wheel to turn a corner. We all parked on Cypress, across the street from the lot. There were a few cars in the lot. Just the early birds and hopefully every demon that was a part of this soul pyramid scheme.
We got out and I snapped on my duct tape and carabiner holster for the sawed-off. I reached back and touched the hilt of the sword and I checked my pockets for the sticky note and the hex bag Stacks had given me. I still had Gabe’s hex bag tucked into my other pocket. Stacks got to the door first and tugged. It was locked.
“I forgot my lock picking kit,” Stacks said.
“I’ve got mine,” I said and I used the butt of the sawed-off to break the window and knock the broken glass out of the pane. I reached in through the window and twisted the lock in the knob.
Stacks shrugged. “It’s not like we’re going for subtle.”
We got inside and listened. The hallway was empty and there were no sounds of people heading towards the hall to investigate. I wasn’t sure why, but that made me feel even more uneasy.
“Ok,” Rosetta said. “We split up and cover ground quickly so we can find this summoning circle. We probably only have about a half-hour before enough folks show up to get curious about what we’re doing. And we already know we’re not alone. So don’t be stupid. Noah, you come with me, we’ll take the hallway on the other side of the sanctuary with the classrooms. Taggert, you and Stacks head upstairs and Gabe and Bane, you take the offices across from the sanctuary. Got it?”
“What about Vix?” Noah asked.
“She’s coming with us,” Rosetta said.
“Why are those the pairings?” I asked.
“No offense Bane, but your physical abilities right now are probably on par with Taggert’s and mine, so we’re each with someone who is currently more nimble than we are. As for the Puca, I want her with the kid and I in case we get attacked. So suck it up!” Rosetta barked.
We split up and started kicking in doors. Nigel had been right about one thing. The doors were puny compared to the locks set in them. The offices were small and narrow, not much room for a summoning circle or any kind of altar. Gabe was moving with efficiency, but not talking which was fine by me. To tell the truth, I was a little embarrassed for jumping on him when Vix and I had first gotten back to Stacks’. I could try to explain it away as just relief for being out of that hellish living room, or as just joy for still being alive. But deep down, I knew what it was. It wasn’t my dad’s or ma’s faces, or even Noah’s face, that had swam through my mind when I lay there, bleeding on that stone floor. It was Gabe’s. Of course, I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“And nothing,” Gabe said as we searched the last office.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think Rosetta gave her team the best route. They’ve probably already found it at this point.”
“Oh I doubt it,” a deep voice said from the doorway. I swung around in time to be knocked down. I heard something heavy make contact with bone next to me and Gabe’s body slumped onto the desk.
“Take her to the sanctuary,” It was Simpson. He smiled down at me and I saw his eyes flash red and then back to their watery blue.
“So, Simpson, what’s the name of the demon that’s making you its bitch,” I asked. “Or more importantly, hey demon, who’s bitch are you?”
He gave me a twisted smile. “Careful child, you are in the lord’s house.”
“Yeah,” I said as the other lackeys tried to drag me out into the hallway. “Which ‘lord’ would that be?” One of the other suits kicked me in the chest and I sucked in a sharp breath as I felt my shirt grow damp again as the cauterized wound opened up. I saw his foot swing out again and I rolled onto my stomach to protect the wound. The foot connected with my side and I felt my stitches tear. Then, the foot settled on my back, forcing the air out of my lungs. My vision was getting foggy. Was Gabe even alive? Had this stupid mission killed the last member of the family that protected...Please, not that. I was already going to Hell for so many other reasons. I really needed him to be ok. I turned my head to look up at the desk. I could have been fooling myself, but I thought I saw Gabe’s face twitch.
“You two,” Simpson was saying to two of the suits. “Clean up this mess and fix these doors. Church starts in an hour. Replace the hinges, whatever you have to do. I want everything to be in order.” Simpson glanced over at Gabe slumped over the desk. “If he’s not dead, kill him. Then take the body out back and throw it in the dumpster.”
“No!” I screamed. “Your beef is with me, you spineless dicks. Why don’t you let me up and we’ll settle this once and for all.” The screaming had my vision turning blotchy.
“Do you think you could even stand if you had to right now?” Simpson asked. He got down to one knee and looked at me. “You’re kind of a gift, you know? We would need at least another couple of months of really heavily attended Sundays to get what
we need, but you have so many souls on your head right now, that if we just take your life and your contract along with it, they all get to come along for the ride. You sister, are the golden goose.”
“Hey,” one of the suit men said suddenly, sniffing the air. “You smell that?” Then the fire alarm went off.
“The nursery classroom,” the preacher barked and they all took off. I sucked air back into my lungs as the pressure of the man’s foot left my back. Either they were really dumb or they assumed that I didn’t pose much of a threat, being almost unconscious from blood loss. I slowly got to my hands and knees. The sanctuary was further down and across the hall. If Rosetta, Noah, and Vix were burning up the altar right now, it was time to light this candle. I used the desk to get to my feet.
“Gabe,” I whispered. He didn’t move. He was unconscious. I didn’t know what to do. I could drag him out of here, but then what? This was our chance to end it. If I moved fast, maybe I could fire off the spell, then get Gabe out of here, and come back for sword-slaughtering time. I should have had the damn sword in my hand while we were searching. Then I could have killed the demons right then. Damn it. I tugged on Gabe and got him into a chair that was partially facing the door. I put his sawed-off in his hands, aiming the barrel at the office door. I closed the door behind me, as best I could. Gabe had kicked it in and it had buckled on one side. I started towards the sanctuary. I was weak on my feet and I was light-headed. I fell forward as I made it across the hall. I couldn’t stop now. I just needed to make it to the black stone. Read the spell, burn the bag, then draw my sword and wait for them. I was moving slowly on my hands and knees. I was too dizzy to stand. I could feel the warm blood dripping from my chest wound under my knees as I crawled through the drops on the floor. Luckily, the doors to the sanctuary were propped open. I needed to move faster. The fire alarm was still going off, but they could be back any minute. The cold, white stone floor cut into the palms of my hands and the pain in my chest was making it harder to breathe. I tried to focus on the name that had been written in the book and dotted with the little hearts. Tara. And Tara’s family. All the families and kiddos who’d signed that fucking book, thinking they were signing up to be a part of a church but were actually falling to some half-assed demon prophecy. I heard footsteps running behind me and I crawled faster. I was halfway down the aisle. I just needed to…My heart fell as I felt hands grab me around the waist. They dug into the open wound on my chest and my side and I couldn’t hold back the strangled scream.
“Bane, it’s ok.” It was Gabe’s voice. “I’ve got you.” I felt tears at the corner of my eyes. Really? Tears? “Let’s finish this,” he said, and he carried me. He set me down on the platform and I dug in my pocket for the sticky note and the cloth bag. I set the cloth bag on the platform. More running feet and I glanced up to see five of the suits and Simpson rushing Gabe. He had his sawed-off in both hands. But they were armed too. I heard shots start to zing past us. Gabe fired, pumped, and fired again. I needed to bang out this spell so I could play too. I quickly searched my pockets.
Shit.
“Gabe,” I called. “Do you have a lighter?”
“What?” Gabe called. “No? You don’t have one?” The room was starting to fill up. More suits and some women who looked like early parishioners had joined the fight along with Vix and Rosetta. I saw Vix stick her thumb in one of the guy’s eye sockets and he stumbled back, just in time to run into the almost seven-foot-tall brick wall that was Sprig.
“There you are!” Sprig said to Vix as he palmed the guy’s head like a basketball and bashed him into a wall.
“Sorry Sprig,” I heard Vix say. “I got bored, went out to find some fun.” I’m sure she’d explain it all to him later. Good call on her part to not launch into a detailed explanation when Sprig was also trying to fight...and breathe. He had a hard enough time doing two things at the same time, without throwing, listening, comprehending, and understanding into the mix.
I heard more gunfire on the other side of the sanctuary and I saw Rosetta take down two of the men in suits with both barrels of Big Joe. Two more turned on her and I knew she was out of ammo. I was about to scream at Gabe to cover her or at least throw me my sawed-off when I saw Tags, with his own sawed-off join the party.
“Did you say you needed a light?”
Noah was beside me. A rush of relief washed over me and I pointed at the bag, “Light ‘em up.” Noah took the bag with both hands and closed his eyes. Nothing happened.
“What are you all out of hand-made butane?” I asked. Three of the suits and a woman who’d just pulled a knife out of her handbag were advancing on us.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” Noah said. He closed his eyes again and squeezed the bag between his hands.
I reached back and drew the sword just as Gabe swung around and saw the crowd coming towards Noah and I. He took a shot and the back two fell, hissing as the rock salt burned into their skin. I heard a clatter and then the pump of my sawed-off and the front three stumbled sideways. The woman in front dropped the knife she’d been wielding as she went down.
“Anytime now, Noah,” I said. The bag started to smoke. Noah looked relieved and he used his body to block the flame to keep it from going out.
“How long do we wait?” He asked.
I shook my head. “I’m going for it now. It might take me a couple of tries to get the Latin right. I’m kind of shit at it.”
“I’m so glad you’re the one we put in charge of this,” Noah muttered.
I started reading Stacks’ scrawl. I only recognized the words for “cleansing” and “everything”. The bag began to blaze and burn blue as I got to the end of the spell and Noah pushed back away from it a few inches. I flipped the sticky note over and spoke the last line as confidently as I could. Stacks’ handwriting really was shit.
I’d just finished when something threw Noah and Gabe off the platform on either side of me. I turned and I saw Nigel coming down the aisle. His face was covered in angry red welts and scabs from Vix’s attack and there wasn’t a trace of his limp. I hadn’t noticed that the night before. Just another level of his showmanship to draw me in. I wasn’t dizzy anymore. I was pissed. I two-handed the sword as he approached. Stacks and Tags were hurrying down the aisle behind him. Tags was emptying his sawed-off into him, but Nigel wasn’t even slowing down as the shots hit him in the back. His gaze was glued to me. He was smiling, a twisted, fuck-you, kind of smile. I started towards him just as Stacks took a running leap at him from behind and rammed a cypress stake into his back. Nigel paused and spun on the spot, grabbing Stacks by the throat. With his free hand, Nigel reached back, grabbed the stake, and raised it above his head. No. Not again. I swung the sword through the air. I felt the blade give only the slightest resistance as it made contact with Nigel’s neck. The weight of it carried it all the way across and Nigel’s head with it. I was thrown backward by a burst of energy. The sanctuary was filled with a blinding white light and the ground beneath us began to shake. The beams overhead groaned as the building’s structure shifted. When my eyes readjusted after the sudden burst of light, I could see there were cracks in the ceiling and plaster dust was sifting down on us. There was heat near my face and I turned my head to realize I’d been thrown back onto the platform. What was left of the hex bag was burning hot and bright blue. The black stones beneath me began to shake and I reached out for Noah who was still lying on the edge of the platform. I dragged him onto the white stone floor with me just as the demons around us started screaming. The air was filled with black gnats, mixing with gray ash and white plaster dust. The stone floor around us started shaking again. The black stone platform began to crack and collapse in on itself. I couldn’t see Gabe anywhere, but he wasn’t on the platform. The swarming black cloud was overpowered by another blinding white light that gave me an instant headache and forced my right eye closed. I heard Noah screaming beside me.
“Close your eyes!” I yelled. I could feel his
shirt in my fist. At least I knew where Noah was. He was breathing hard and fast and I could feel his chest moving. He was alive. At least I knew he was alive. But the rest? The room fell quiet. I waited. There was the sound of bodies stirring somewhere nearby. I gripped the sword tighter in my hand. I just needed to keep Noah behind me so we could fight our way out. I opened my eye and stared at Noah. He cracked an eye and looked at me.
