by Sawyer Black
Kasey twisted the spear, widening the hole, and Sloppy squealed. “I don’t know I don’t know! He kept trying to get away. They had to move him, but I don’t know where to. I swear to God.”
Henry grabbed the shaft of Kasey’s spear. “Well, the joke’s on you, Sloppy. God ain’t listening.”
He pushed the spear into Sloppy’s throat and felt Kasey lean in.
The blade pushed out the back of Sloppy’s neck. The Ravager’s spirit was strong. It didn’t want to let go, even as he drowned in his own blood. Henry snatched the life force out of the quivering frame of dying meat, and he breathed it in.
Sloppy slumped with a final gurgle, and Kasey jerked the spear free, splattering black blood down the front of Sloppy’s shirt.
A shout of alarm rose up from the fort. Henry looked into Kasey’s shocked eyes. “Did he hit the button?”
“No!”
“Then what the fuck?”
A whistling behind him, and Henry spun to catch the fastball of Aela’s rock on the point of his collar bone. It bounced off with a crack, and a buzzing tingle shot down his arm. He slapped his hand over the point of impact and squinted into the gloom.
Aela jumped up and down, pointing frantically at the road in front of the fort.
Henry stuck his head around and saw the silhouette of a lone figure sprinting down the center of the road. A crowd of Ravager’s filled the opening, pressing against the train gate. It snapped under their pressure, and they poured out into the road to give chase.
The spotlight in the tower snapped on, tracking across the grass at the edge of the road before finding the runner. It lit a wiry man in an orange shirt covered in daffodils, his blue work pants wrinkling and fluttering with his pumping legs. Light broke through his wild hair and scruffy beard, and he waved both hands at Henry as he passed.
“Get the fuck outta here!”
No more questions. Henry lowered his head and took off, digging his claws through the soles of his boots as he pushed off.
A few steps from the tree line, and the fort blew up.
Pressure and sound slammed him in the back. He stumbled as yellow light painted the woods with his shadow. The roar rumbled through the ground, and Henry crawled into the cover of trees with flaming debris raining around him.
The forest and grass caught fire, burning with a greasy flame that dumped black smoke into the air.
Henry felt hands under his arms, and he let them help him up. The guy in the loud shirt slapped him on the back and watched the inferno with open-mouthed glee. “I set their gas on fire! They had barrels of it just stacked up, leaking all over the ground. You shoulda seen it.”
Henry pointed to the burning fort. “I did fucking see it!”
The man draped his arm over Henry's shoulders. “I’ve been working these guys ever since they took me, and this guy Thompson, he loved me. Thought I was hilarious. Gave me a cigarette, and I don’t even smoke.”
Burning forms ran from the fire. Aimless and waving. Screams rising into the sky with the smoke. Flames spreading deeper into the trees.
The guy pulled his arm back and waved smoke from his face. “Don’t worry. The mist’ll put the fire out eventually.” He stuck his hand out, and Henry took it.
That gets me every time.
“Baelzor,” the guy said. “Frank Baelzor.”
“Henry Black.”
His face brightened. “Like the comedian?”
“Yeah, that was me before,” he pointed at his horns.
“Hey, I saw you in Tucson.”
“Daddy!”
Henry turned and almost raised his arms to catch the angel in a hug. Disappointment twisted in his gut when Adam leapt into his father’s arms instead.
Frank held the boy close for a squeeze. He pulled him back and looked into Adam’s face. “Hey, champ.”
“We were coming to save you.”
“You were?”
“Yeah, but we got attacked in the woods.”
“Yeah, you’ll have that.”
Frank slung Adam over his shoulder. The boy squealed laughter as they headed down the path, and Henry lowered his head. Kasey finally caught up.
“What the hell was that?”
Henry was going to explain, but then shook his head, “Ask them.”
Chapter Eleven
Kasey had eyesight of legend, so he stayed behind, hiding in the trees next to the path. He was watching for a group to come out of the burning fort. A fresh squad of Ravagers who might give chase. He’d run ahead of them until he caught up to Henry, and then they’d all haul ass to the Way Home.
Frank Baelzor led the way, carrying Adam on his hip and listening to the boy’s tales of adventure with Henry. Holding a flickering torch in the air, he walked while nodding and making all the right noises at all the right places, yet seeming to listen with only half an ear.
Henry was impressed with Adam’s storytelling. He recounted many details that Henry thought were too subtle for such a young mind, but he had to remind himself that Adam was special. He wanted to pick the boy up and tell him how proud he was, but the boy was in his father’s arms now. Just like Henry promised.
“It sounds like you got the same bad luck as your old man,” Frank said.
“Yeah.”
“Every time I tried to save your mother, something always got in my way. Like somebody was keeping me from her on purpose. But just her.”
“Where is she?”
“Well, she’s in Hell right now.”
“Why?”
“She rejected the will of God so she could give birth to you. A beautiful boy that’s gonna change the world.”
“She’s in Hell because of me?”
“No, she’s in hell for you. There’s a difference.”
Henry tightened his hand into a fist, his claws digging into his palm. “My daughter is in Hell because of me.”
Aela laid her hand on his arm, warm and smooth. He didn’t push it away. “She was put there for somebody I killed, but she’s still there for somebody I refused to kill. There’s a difference to that, too.”
Adam squirmed out of Frank’s arm and dropped to walk on the path. “He’s talking about me, Dad.”
Frank glanced over his shoulder. “He is, huh?”
Henry nodded. “God wanted me to kill him.”
“He doesn’t want him falling into Satan’s hands, right?”
“No, he doesn’t want him falling into his own hands.”
Frank stopped and turned around. He switched the torch to his other hand. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Henry opened his fist. Blood glittered in the light like gemstones. “Heaven wants him removed as a chess piece altogether. No one gets him, but more importantly, he doesn’t get to grow up to become something that either side can use.”
“So nobody gets him. Big deal, right?”
Henry growled. “Order From Chaos.”
Adam jammed the point of his sword into the mud. The boy’s hair was clean, laying to either side of his head in silver waves. His outfit was white. No splattered mud on his boots. His father’s white Chuck Taylors looked new.
Henry thought of Boothe’s blood resistant suits. Charlie Mara jumping into the hallway in front of Adam’s cell. All shiny and new.
How do they fucking do that?
Frank nodded. “That’s who tried to hold me in that fort. Bunch of assholes.”
“Not on Earth,” Henry said. “They’re fucking brutal. Loyal. They have the support of the whole fucking city. And Pastor Owen has the perfect cover.”
“I never really liked that guy, but I’m not big on church people.”
“You know him?”
“Oh, yeah. He presided over me and Marisol’s wedding.”
Henry’s knees buckled, but he locked his legs and stayed on his feet.
“Daddy. That’s the man who killed Henry’s daughter.”
Frank stepped back and wiped his brow. “Oh, shit.”
H
enry jammed his nubbin into his right hand, like a baseball player conditioning his glove. “And the man chasing Adam.”
“He wants to kill my son, too?”
“No, he wants to use him to become the independent third party in this fucked up election. Pastor Owen wants to be God and Satan at the same time.”
“Huh, that’s probably why he kidnapped me.”
Henry spread his arms. “You think?”
Frank grinned, then he reached behind his waist, like an undercover cop pulling his badge. He looked at Aela, holding a knife wrapped in cloth. “Here you go.”
He tossed the knife and she caught it, just like Heaven’s Blade back in the Way Home. Its handle was black, and when she unwrapped the blade, Henry saw the power flowing along its dark edge. Felt it buzzing against his senses.
She wrapped it back up and stuffed it into her bag.
“What is that?”
Frank smiled. “It’s what your girlfriend there stabbed me with while trying to drag me back to Solitude. I was just looking for a way to find my boy. Had a friend send me a message. Told me he was on the way down.”
“What’s it do?” Henry turned to Aela. “Does it kill demons? Were you just gonna kill him right there on the fucking spot?”
“Nah,” Frank said. “It just shows you the demon’s true form.”
“Oh, yeah?” Henry waited for her to look at him. “And what did he look like?”
She pointed at Frank. “Like that. Just like that.”
Henry took in the demon’s islander shirt and blue pants. The Converse sneakers and fashionably messy hair. “That’s your true form?”
“I don’t have a true form. My real secret is that I’m a shape-shifter. That’s why I’m so good at my job.”
“Henry,” Aela said. “I was going to bring him back to Solitude, but we were attacked by Ravagers. And I think he showed his true form when he sacrificed himself for me.”
“What do you mean?”
“They had a knife to my throat, and they were going to rape me, but Baelzor … a demon … he fought them. It allowed me to escape, but it meant he wouldn’t find Adam.”
“So you treated me, the next demon you met, like shit?”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
He wasn’t going to get tears and apologies from her and didn’t want either. “Yeah, well. I probably deserved it.”
Frank twirled the torch in a circle over his head. “Shouldn’t we get going?”
Henry raised his hand. “Hang on a second. You just said being a shape-shifter made you good at your job. What is your job?”
Frank gave a modest shrug. “Oh, you know… I sneak into places. Sneak through them. Procure certain items for certain people.”
Aela rolled her eyes. “You’re a thief.”
“Yeah, but I’m really good at it.”
Henry crossed his arms. “Can you get into any place?”
Frank narrowed his eyes. “Most any place, yeah?”
“What about Hell?”
Frank shook his head. “No way.”
“What if somebody else got you in? Could you sneak through? Procure certain items, maybe?”
“Like what kind of items?”
Henry uncrossed his arms and looked down at his claws. “Like a couple of angels.”
“Your daughter?”
Henry nodded. “And your wife.”
Frank looked up like he was thinking about it, but he was already nodding. “Yeah, I think I could find them. If we can get into Hell.”
“I think I know a guy. Kind of the religious type back on earth. We’ll probably have to persuade him.”
“Between the two of us, we should be good.”
“We just gotta get there.”
“There’s a guy down here I used to know. Plays chess. Smart guy.”
Henry growled and looked down at Adam. “I don’t think he’ll be very happy to see us.”
Frank looked at his son and realization dawned on his face. “That son of a bitch. Boothe’s the one who wanted you to kill my boy?”
Henry nodded. “He doesn’t know you know, though. Maybe that’s how we get him to go along with our plan. I hide out with Adam until you convince him to send you back to Earth. We all hitch a ride, and then next stop?”
Frank grinned. “I guess I’ll see you in Hell.”
“How many deals are you going to make, Henry?” Aela asked.
Henry glanced over without meeting her eyes. “As many as I have to.”
“Then what about me?”
Henry opened his mouth to answer, but footsteps slapping in the mud had him spinning around with his claws out.
Kasey came running out of the dark. “We gotta move!”
They broke into a run. Frank bent down to scoop Adam into his arms, but the little angel scurried to Henry, climbing up his body to drop on Henry’s shoulders. Frank grinned with a shake of his head.
“How many?” Henry asked.
Kasey shook his head, Frank’s torch behind him hiding his face in deep shadow. “Too many to count.”
“Should we stay on the path or break into the trees?”
Frank pulled even with Henry. “Can’t you just take him away? Teleport or something?”
“Nope. Something about the weight of destiny?”
Frank looked up at Adam. “You got a champion? Henry's your champion?”
His voice floated down from Henry’s shoulders. “No, he was promised to another.”
“Then who is it?”
Henry felt Adam’s shrug.
“Well, shit. You think we’ll make it?”
“If you shut up and run,” Kasey shouted.
Frank shut his mouth with a snap of teeth, and they ran.
Chapter Twelve
Henry glanced over at Aela. The bouncing torchlight made her face swim in and out of focus.
They’d been running for almost an hour, but she and Kasey were keeping up step for step with two demons whose feet were fueled by a different kind of calorie.
Henry hated running. Humans were made to walk, and recline in La-Z-Boys.
Samantha never judged him. Never seemed to notice his weight at all. He found it damned hard look at himself in the mirror, though, and it pissed him off that she hadn’t hated it, too. He grew jealous once they started living together. She stayed fit and trim with seemingly little effort. He complained that it was easy for her. “I just look at a picture of an Oreo and gain a pound.”
So he decided to try and lose weight. Joining her for a single yoga class changed his mind quickly. Those women were hardcore. Sweating, panting, and trembling with effort. Five minutes in, he tapped out. He never complained about her looking better than him again, and like always, Samantha never judged him.
Henry faced front, and the gray light of the Forgotten filled the space between thinning trees. The ground dropped away in a gentle angle. Roofs of the tombs scattered at the edge of a misfit cemetery poking out of the swirling mist.
He threw a glance over his shoulder. Orange lights flickered in the dark distance inside the forest. He turned and saw the Way Home mausoleum nestled in a group of similar stone structures. Energy flooded his lungs. They were going to make it.
He looked behind them again, and the lights bobbing through the trees had tripled.
Goddamn it!
He ducked into line behind Aela as they wove their way through the headstones.
Their pursuers pounded into the mud like thunder.
At the corner of the Way Home, Aela jumped in front of Kasey with the ring of keys. They crowded around as she unlocked the front door, and Henry bent his shoulder to the wood. Adam jumped to the ground and leaned against the door beside him.
Henry again marveled at Big Ben’s strength and wondered how the man had managed to open the Way Home hampered by his wounds. The door slid back with a groan, and they piled inside. Henry spun to close them in, leaning into the opening to check on the progress of their pursuers.
Dirty shapes in the mist poured out of the trees and crested the hill, burning torches and the flash of weapons held high. Breaking into the open must have spurred their excitement. The thunder of their steps drowned in the wave of their shouts, and Henry shut the noise out with a final push.
They sat in the dark with their panting breath filling the emptiness. Heavy treads up the stone stairs, and they turned to wait for Big Ben’s candle to illuminate the room.
He ducked his bald head through the doorway and straightened with confusion on his face. “What are you doing here?”
Aela grabbed a candle from a shelf and held it out for a light. “We’re hiding from the Ravagers.”
Big Ben held his own candle overhead, making no move to bring it to Aela’s reach. He indicated Frank with a tip of his chin. “Who’s that?”
Frank jumped forward with his hand extended. “Frank Baelzor.”
Big Ben looked at the demon’s hand, disgust twisting his mouth. “I’m not gonna shake your hand. Get away from me.”
Frank shrugged and put his hands behind his back. Henry took a step with his hands up. “Chill the fuck out, Mongo.”
Big Ben’s eyes widened, and he reached over his shoulder in a blur. Demon Piercer rang against the scabbard as it cleared his back. “You chill the fuck out, Punchline.”
Henry froze. Aela threw her hands up and shouted at Big Ben, but Henry barely heard her voice. Didn’t understand her words. He looked into the hate in Big Ben’s eyes, and another betrayal clamped over his heart. “What did you call me?”
Big Ben narrowed his eyes. “What?”
Henry cleared his throat. “What did you call me?”
Aela held her hand up. “Let’s calm down.”
“No!” Henry dropped the pack from his shoulders and kicked it into the corner. “You called me Punchline. Why?”
Big Ben shrugged. “Because you think you’re funny. I don’t.”
Henry shook his head. “No, fuck that. The men who killed my daughter called me that. Because I’m a comedian. A lot of people called me that before I died. Like a nickname.”
“Yeah, so?” Big Ben lowered his stance. A tension in his knees and shoulders.
“I only said I was famous. I never said I was a comedian.” Henry took another step forward, and Big Ben pressed himself into the doorway. “Back in Solitude, you said I had jokes.”