The Child Thief

by Brom

  Nick and Cricket sprinted across the lot, staying low behind the vehicles, trailing the Flesh-eaters.

  Nick caught the flash of emergency vehicles coming from far down the street. The Lady’s running out of time. Where’s Peter? Where the hell did he go?

  A heavily wooded park bordered the avenue; Nick and Cricket ducked into the trees. They crept along behind the bushes, keeping pace with the Flesh-eaters. Nick had no idea what they were going to do, could do, but figured they’d stay close and wait for some chance, some opportunity.

  The Flesh-eaters began to drift apart as they marched up the sidewalk. Many appeared distracted, more interested in this strange new place than the Reverend and his tirades.

  Nick and Cricket came upon a long, rectangular pond with a small fountain in the center. There was good cover among the hedges on the far end of the pond, up near the street. They dropped down behind the hedge and pressed up as close to the road as they dared.

  The Reverend headed for the church steps, pushing right out into the street. Several men and Ox pulling Danny and the Lady followed close behind. Car horns blared. There came the screech of tires as a taxi swerved, just missing the Reverend, spun sideways, and slammed into another taxi. The Flesh-eaters were showered in glass and metal fragments. There came more squealing brakes and cars began backing up in both directions. Men got out of their vehicles, shouting and cursing. Horns began going off all up and down the avenue.

  The Flesh-eaters stood staring bug-eyed at all the commotion. For the moment, the Lady and Danny were completely unattended. Now, thought Nick. We could grab her now. Just—

  Then, an odd thing happened, making no sense to Nick. The Captain moved up behind Ox and slid out the giant’s sword. Before Ox even knew his sword was gone, the Captain brought the hilt down on his head—striking three solid blows. The giant dropped the rope and tumbled over. The Captain pushed Danny and the Lady back behind him toward the park, toward Nick and Cricket.

  The Reverend saw the Captain and his good eye filled with outrage. “Stop them,” he called. The Flesh-eaters barely noticed, still entranced by the wreckage and mayhem. “STOP THEM!” the Reverend screeched. “STOP THEM! STOP THEM NOW!” This brought the Flesh-eaters around. They locked steely eyes on the Lady and the Captain. Several pulled out their swords and moved to block the Captain’s escape.

  HORNS WENT OFF all up and down the avenue, and sirens came from every direction.

  Where is she? The question repeated itself over and over in Peter’s mind until he wanted to scream. For the hundredth time he scanned the clusters of gawking Flesh-eaters wandering aimlessly up and down the sidewalk, but still, no sign of the Lady.

  They’d caught sight of the Flesh-eaters from inside the terminal and followed them out onto the street, keeping low and out of sight. But now Peter believed that the Flesh-eaters had become separated beforehand, understood that the Reverend and the Lady must’ve ended up with another group somewhere else, possibly on the other side of the terminal altogether.

  Peter, the elves, and the Devils all ducked down as four patrolmen tromped past. When the police saw the Flesh-eaters, they halted, radioing for backup. Peter could see a line of officers forming a perimeter farther down the street and several more running up the sidewalk toward the terminal. “We’re out of time,” Peter hissed between his teeth. They had to find the Lady, had to find her now.

  Peter signaled the Devils and elves and they slipped back up the street, back toward the terminal, heading for the parking lot on the far side.

  “CAPTAIN, YOU WILL bring me the demons at once,” the Reverend shouted in a voice that expected only obedience. He took a step toward the Captain.

  The Captain pointed his sword at the Reverend. “No, Your Grace. I will not.”

  The Reverend halted, his mouth tightening into a small, thin line. His good eye seethed. “Captain, you’re not thinking clearly. Hand them over. That is a command.”

  The Reverend nodded to the men. They moved in, trying to circle them. The Captain knew if he let that happen, they were done. Keeping his sword on guard, he back-stepped, pressing Danny and the Lady through the hedges and into the park. The hedges blocked the men, at least for the moment. Time to run, the Captain thought, and it was then he realized his oversight. They couldn’t run. Not with Daniel tied to the Lady. She could barely walk, much less outrun anyone. He needed to cut them apart, leave the Lady, and then maybe they could escape. But the rope was as thick as his wrist, would take some effort to saw or hack through it. Yet if he dropped his guard, even for a second, they’d have him.

  The Reverend, his face rigid, followed the Captain into the park, flanked by several men. “I am God’s right hand,” the Reverend called, his voice sounding strained. “It is unwise to challenge the Lord’s will.”

  The Captain laughed. “You’re nothing more than a sadistic ass.”

  The Reverend let out a sound somewhere between a choke and a bark, the good side of his face twisted into a snarl.

  The men pushed through the hedges. The Captain knew it was only a matter of moments before they attacked. More men were coming into the park; they drew their swords and filled in the ranks.

  The Captain cut the air with his sword. “I can’t take all of you, but I’ll certainly gut the first man that comes near. Who has come this far only to die now?”

  The men hesitated. None seemed in a big hurry to move, all only too aware of the Captain’s prowess with the blade.

  Ox came barreling forward, wiping the blood from his face. He caught sight of the Captain and spat. He snatched a sword away from the nearest man and started forward.

  The Reverend put a hand in front of Ox. The giant halted. “Captain,” the Reverend said. “You’ve lost your way, that’s all. Be sensible, hand them over, and I shall forgive your indiscretion.”

  The Captain bumped into Danny, and a quick glance around showed him they’d come to a long, rectangular pond. His heart sank as he realized they were trapped.

  The Reverend saw it as well and grinned. “Captain, I will not ask you again.”

  It has all been for naught. We’re going to die here, after all we’ve been through. This is so senseless. The Captain looked from man to man, his eyes appealed to them. “Are you all blind? It’s over. We’re off the island. Look.” The Captain pointed at a trash can spilling over with garbage. “This is not Heaven. God is not here. There is—”

  “NO!” the Reverend shouted, his face a knot of rage. “NO, IT IS YOU THAT ARE BLIND!” His voice quivered as spit flew from his lips. “We did not sit in purgatory for an eternity for nothing! Somewhere in this kingdom God awaits us even now.” He pointed at Danny and the Lady. “These dark souls are our passage. Proof of our unwavering faith and diligence. It is our duty to bring these demons before the Lord and then…and then…to claim our place by His side.” His voice cracked. “I will take my place by the Lord’s side!”

  His madness has him, the Captain thought, and sadly he could see that same madness in the eyes of the men as they nodded along. “God help us all,” he said, and, with his free hand, drew the dead constable’s gun from his belt and pointed it at the lead man. It took the men a moment to recognize the weapon, but when they did, they looked unsure. The Captain aimed the revolver at the Reverend’s face. The Reverend’s good eye went wide. The Captain took a lifetime’s pleasure in the Reverend’s look of utter outrage.

  “YOU DARE NOT,” the Reverend shrieked. “I AM GOD’S SOLDIER. I MARCH BESIDE THE LORD!”

  “You march with the damned,” the Captain said and squeezed the trigger four times. There came four deafening reports. The first shot missed completely, the second punched a clean hole in the Reverend’s cheek, the third took out his dead eye, the fourth hit above the brow, and the entire side of the Reverend’s head exploded.

  The Reverend stood a second longer, his one good eye continuing to glare, then he crumpled to the ground. The Captain could see the back side of the Reverend’s head was gon
e. There was a prolonged moment when they all just stared at the dead man’s black brains.

  ULFGER HEARD THE distant sirens and thought of demons, heard the lapping of waves beating against the hull, and finally dared raise his head. He pushed his father’s corpse aside and gazed upon the towers of lights. So many lights, he thought. What could it mean? The wind took the longboat, pushed it directly toward the rocky sea wall.

  Ulfger stared into the hollows of his father’s eyes. “Enough!” he whimpered. “Enough! I beg you. Leave me be. Enough! Enough! ENOUGH!” Ulfger seized the carcass by the neck, twisting the leathery flesh until the head tore loose from the shoulders. He lifted the head by its long, braided beard and slammed it against the hull over and over, the sound like a war drum, grunting and spitting with the effort until he held nothing but a piece of shredded flesh. “There, now what do you have to say? What?” He laughed, close to shrieking, and threw the rag of flesh into the waves. “And when I find your sister, I’ll send her to you. Send them all to you. And when I find the child thief, him I will feed to Caliburn.” He patted the black sword.

  Ulfger picked up the corpse and shoved it overboard, watched it drift slowly away into the darkness.

  The boat ran aground against a large piling of stones. Ulfger heard commotion, loud popping sounds, four of them. Shouting, cries. He hefted Caliburn, crawled out of the boat, and climbed up the rocks.

  He found well-lit pathways of poured masonry edged by trimmed hedges leading in all directions. He headed into the trees, toward the shouts, looking for her, for the runt, any of them would do, for he planned to kill them all…every one.

  NICK JUMPED AT the sound of the gun, watched the Reverend topple. Both he and Cricket hunkered down, pressed themselves deeper into the wide hedge. They had the pond at their backs and the Captain stood just a few yards in front. Danny and the Lady were now so close they could almost touch them. Flesh-eaters were everywhere, leaving them no place to run. Shit. How the fuck did this happen?

  The Captain turned the revolver on the Flesh-eaters. Not one of them moved.

  “Just let me and the boy pass. That’s all I ask,” the Captain said calmly. “You can have the woman.”

  “NO!” Ox roared. “We do not bargain with demons and murderers. God’s justice will be done.”

  Some of the Flesh-eaters looked as though they were waking up from a nightmare, like they’d had enough of the insanity, and began to fall back, but most stayed. Nick could see that these believed. It burned in their eyes, the same fervent faces that had condemned him back at the fort. And here, in this world, their mania seemed stronger than ever.

  “The pond,” Cricket whispered. “Get the Lady into the pond.”

  “What?” Nick said, then understood she meant for them to snatch the Lady and flee across the pond. “No,” he hissed, grabbing her arm. “That won’t work. We have to—” His mouth clamped shut. The Flesh-eaters were pressing in. They’d be discovered any second now. Did he really want to die in this bush, like a quivering rabbit? They had to do something, anything.

  “Fuck. Fuck,” he said, still trying to figure out how he’d gotten himself right smack in the middle of this nightmare. “Fuck,” he said again, gritted his teeth, and stood up, just stood up like a jack-in-the-box—leaves and limbs fluttering off him, having no idea what he was going to do next.

  Cricket popped up next to him.

  The Flesh-eaters halted; all eyes fell on them—hard, murderous eyes, and Nick immediately regretted his rashness. “Ah fuck.”

  The Captain glanced over at them and blinked, cocked his head sideways, as though trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

  “DEMONS!” shouted one of the Flesh-eaters, pointing at them with a wavering hand. “Demons,” several of them echoed, glaring at them, their faces twisted with hatred and alarm, clearly vexed by how they could be here in this place.

  Nick felt his heart would explode, felt if he didn’t act, and act swiftly, his legs would buckle beneath him. He yanked out his sword, bared his teeth. “THIS IS OUR CITY! DEMON CITY!” he screamed, and screamed it so loud and forceful that even he believed it. “WE’RE EVERYWHERE! A MILLION HUNGRY DEMONS AND WE’RE GOING TO EAT YOUR MOTHERFUCKING SOULS!”

  That rattled them. Fear flashed across their faces as they jerked about nervously, searching the trees, the bushes, behind them, above them. Even Ox appeared spooked, his eyes flickering back and forth in their deep sockets.

  “Hurry,” Cricket said and dashed over to the Lady. Nick jumped over, and together they hefted the Lady to her feet. The Lady looked at them with dazed, faraway eyes.

  “C’mon, Danny,” Cricket said harshly. “Help us!” But Danny just stood there, seemed incapable of doing anything but staring on in wide-eyed terror.

  Nick gave the rope a hard yank, pulling Danny toward them. “Danny, move your ass!”

  “This is her sorcery!” Ox said, then bellowed: “WE MUST KILL HER. KILL HER HERE AND NOW. KILL HER BEFORE SHE BEWITCHES US ALL!” He raised his sword and charged the Lady.

  The Captain fired, managed to hit Ox twice before his revolver clicked on a spent round. The shots barely even slowed the giant. The Captain made to intercept Ox, when two men rushed him. The night erupted with the shouts of men and the clang of steel on steel.

  Cricket tugged both the Lady and Danny toward the pond. The Lady saw the water and her eyes came alive. The three of them stumbled down the bank.

  Ox came for them, eyes blazing. He brought his sword about in a terrific arch, aimed at the Lady’s neck. There was no time for Nick to do anything but act. He lunged forward, swinging Maldiriel upward with all he had. The blades clashed. The crushing jolt almost knocked Nick’s sword from his hand, but he managed to smack the giant’s blow aside. The blade missed its mark, slicing deep into the Lady’s collar instead.

  Ox roared, yanked his sword free, and turned on Nick.

  Nick had an instant to realize this hulking monster was about to kill him, an instant to scream to himself to run. But he didn’t run. A snarl escaped his throat and he attacked, striking for the giant’s neck. Ox brought his sword to bear, and when he did, Nick feinted, sliding down low and fast, slicing the giant just beneath the kneecap. Ox let out a howl and swung for Nick’s head. Nick ducked the blow and became aware that it didn’t matter that this giant was massive and powerful, because he, Nick, was fast, impossibly fast, just like a certain golden-eyed boy he’d met in a park a lifetime ago. He hacked into the giant’s ankle, relishing in the feel of Maldiriel biting deep into the man’s tendons. “Down, you bastard!” Nick cried. “Go down!”

  Surprise and shock showed on the giant’s face. He howled and collapsed to one knee. Cricket came at him from behind and thrust her sword into the back of his neck, her blade punching out the front of his throat. Ox’s eyes went wide. He let out a loud gurgle and toppled over. Nick had seen far too many horror movies, where tenacious monsters get up time after time, to be satisfied with that. He let out a howl—a wild animal sound—and brought Maldiriel down with all his weight behind it, chopping the giant’s head from his shoulders.

  Nick looked for the Lady, saw her clutching her collar. Blood poured through her fingers. She collapsed to her knees, then slid into the pond, pulling Danny in with her. She’s done, Nick thought. There’s nothing more we can do for her. Time to get out of here.

  A sharp cry, and another man fell before the Captain. Four men lay moaning at his feet. The Flesh-eaters fell back. Nick hoped that was it, that they’d had enough, when a dozen more men came running up, climbing over the hedges, filling in the ranks. There were too many now, just too many. He considered making a mad dash into the pond to take his chances there, but there were Flesh-eaters along both banks now, a few wading into the water, intent on seeing to it that the Lady never came out. But they needn’t bother. Nick saw her eyes roll up in her head and she sank below the dark water while Danny just stood there, knee-deep in the pond, staring numbly at her.

  This is
it, he thought. I’m not going home. I’m not going anywhere. Nick ground his teeth together. Shit. This wasn’t supposed to happen. So stupid. Why had I been so stupid?

  “Shore up,” the Captain called to Nick and Cricket.

  Nick met the Captain’s eyes, saw the will and spirit of a man who intended to live.

  The Captain grinned at them. “I say if they want us, then we make them pay a heavy toll. What say you?”

  Nick found the Captain’s spirit infectious. He nodded back and closed ranks with the man. The Captain clutched Nick’s shoulder, gave him a hearty shake. “Good to have such a sure hand at my side.” Cricket followed suit, and the three of them stood back to back, swords out, daring the Flesh-eaters to come within reach. “COME,” the Captain yelled and waved the Flesh-eaters on. “WHO’S NEXT TO DIE?”

  The Flesh-eaters pulled together and began to press in.

  Nick’s pulse thundered in his ears. His breath came hard and fast.

  “Steady,” the Captain said.

  Nick clutched his sword in both hands, squeezing the hilt so hard his fingers hurt. “Mom,” he whispered. “I love you Mom.”

  There came a bellow, followed by a loud snort, like a bull’s. Everyone stopped. There, behind the Flesh-eaters, stood Tanngnost, carrying a thick branch. Gone was any trace of the fretting old meddler; what stood before them was a ferocious wild beast. Tanngnost peeled back his lips, exposing his tusks and giant canines. A long, deep growl rumbled up from his throat.

  The Flesh-eaters shifted ranks, bringing their weapons to bear on the tall beast, when a howl cut through the night—a long, wailing cry. And there, out of the shadows, came the golden-eyed boy, racing for them, teeth bared, clanking his swords together, flanked on either side by Devils and elves.

  “PETER!” Cricket cried.

  Nick’s heart swelled at the sight of the wild boy and he let loose a howl of his own.