by Nathan Howe
Jack paused, shocked. He shook his head. “Fuck, Steve. That's. . .”
“Cold.”
“That's one way of putting it.” Jack pulled the needle away. “Uh, you killed her.”
“I know, man. Had to be done. She lost her right to life as soon as she opened up that magic. Made it worse by keeping it open.”
Jack shook his head. “But you said she might not have been crazy yet. And you didn't check.”
Steve shrugged. “I didn't need to. Was a clear case of her or me.”
“You're a mean son of a bitch. What you did. That's cold for even you.”
Steve grunted and shrugged his shoulders. “She deserved it. She was harming our city and worse our neighborhood. Our homes. I couldn't allow it.”
“I guess,” Jack said and continued to work. The second sword was halfway done. The skin on Steve’s back screamed at him. “You found the others?”
“You could say that.”
Stepping over her crumpled corpse, I did a quick search of the house. I soon found evidence to confirm she was part of a group of users who worked for someone, and he had tasked them to find it, whatever it was. Guess it was back to the drawing board to figure out what they were after, who else was part of this clan, and importantly, who the leader was. Cut the head off the beast, and the rest will swiftly follow.
I rubbed the back of my neck as I left the house. My focus on figuring this out hardened. It was late, and the best course of action was to rest for the night. I didn't see the point in wandering around all night hoping to find them.
The next morning, I woke refreshed, hoping to find a new lead. I planned on going back to the house and seeing who showed up. I hadn't want to get caught at the house last night, but stalking the house myself might lead to finding the other Netherworld users.
Unfortunately, the Hero Coalition now surrounded the house. In the center of the restricted area stood both Heldonhaft and Inflamed, the leader of the heroes who worked in Cynosure. I'd dealt with Inflamed a few times. A powerful hero who'd earned her stripes over the years battling many of the toughest villains this side of the river. I stood behind the yellow police tape with the cluster fuck of people staring at the excitement before them.
Inflamed spotted me and instantly frowned. Her stern face soured even more than usual. She never appeared to be happy. Today she waved me forward. I ducked under the tape and walked over to her. When I reached her and her flame-red hair, she placed both her hands on her hips. “Was this your doing?”
“It depends on what you mean. I solved a problem here last night. Someone here tapped into the Netherworld, and I forced them to stop.”
“You killed her, Steve.” Inflamed crossed her arms and leaned closer to me. “You can't do that.”
“It had to be done,” I said and pulled my cigar off my arm again. “It was her or me. I choose me. Sorry if I caused you more work.”
She rolled her eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop? And if it was really a good call, why didn't you notify us?”
“It was late. I forgot. Won't happen again. I swear.” I rolled the cigar between my fingers.
“If you do this again. You'll leave me with no choice but to send you to Remnant Heights.”
“Hey. At least, this time, a member of the Hero Coalition hired me.”
“Who hired you?”
“The kid did,” I said, gesturing in the direction of Heldonhaft. I replaced the cigar without lighting it. “I know you wouldn't have handled it like this. But I did what had to be done. I rid the world of a dangerous person. And there are more. I just need to find them.”
“I'm not arguing that point. Just don't rush into these things. We have a system in place. It's swift and just. You can't be the judge and jury, Steve.”
“I'll keep that in mind.” I waved at her. “Can I leave? I have more leads to follow up,” I lied. I just didn't want to deal with the headache this caused.
“Fine. But please contact us if you find more.”
“Roger, ma'am.” Inflamed rolled her eyes. I turned and left. Nothing useful here for me anymore.
As I walked to the tape, a tap on my shoulder stopped me. I turned, and Heldonhaft reached me. “Thanks.” He smiled. “Are you sure there are more?”
“Yeah, kid. I'll find them.”
“I hope so. And I say good riddance to this lady.”
“Me too, kid. Me too.”
Heldonhaft went back to his hero work. I had to come up with another idea. The cops and heroes had blown any chance I had of using the house to catch any lackeys or co-conspirators checking in on her. Sure, they might be in the crowd, but I doubted that. Stuff like that never happened to me—not that lucky.
Back at my office, I did an Internet check on the house. I came up completely empty, only got the location of it—and that I already knew. Couldn't find owner history. Couldn't discern a damn thing about the place. Someone went out of their way to make this place the most boring one around.
After the Internet search had failed me, I hit the pavement. I knew a lot of people in Djinn Park. There might be a chance one of them had heard a rumor about what was going down.
Several contacts and hours later I had wasted most of the day with no luck whatsoever. Sure people had noticed some strange shit going on. But they didn't have any idea who or what was behind it. Most didn't even have a clue what the Netherworld was. I'm not even sure why I'd even wasted my time asking them.
My last stop, and the most likely to know something was Ambrosine. She had a connection to the magical world that was stronger than most. My healing potion happened to be low as well, and hers was the best and the only one I trusted. Her tiny shop stood on the edge of Djinn Park and wasn't in the neighborhood proper anymore, but she kept up on the entire city and anything magical.
A musty smell lingered in the air. Plants lined the right, and the left held bottles filled with various potions. Dim lights hung in the center, forcing me to squint to see. Ambrosine didn't like the light. Bright light harmed many of the herbs she used in her potions.
As the door closed behind me, she walked out from the back. A tall, robust woman with long black hair, and a smile, always plastered on her face, greeted me. “It's about time you came to see me. People said you've been asking around all day.”
I shrugged. “Well, you are across the park from me, and I stopped at a few people along the way. You were always the person I wanted to ask. And I need more potion.”
“You always do,” she said. Her voice magically, and peaceful. “If it weren't for you, I'd go out of business.”
I laughed. “That's not true.”
She tilted her head with a sly smile. “No, but I do enjoy your regular visits.” She reached under the counter and handed me a medium-sized vial of the potion.
“Thanks,” I said and handed her the money. “Asking about the Netherworld business in Djinn Park. Any idea what's going on?”
“That's what you've been asking people about?” I nodded. “No wonder none of them could help you. Most of the fools in the city don't understand magic, Ardents, or the Netherworld.”
I nodded. “It's been a chore. There is more than one person involved. And I need to find the others.”
“A cult?” she asked concerned.
It hadn't occurred to me. An actual cult. Those can cause so many problems when you add Ardents or Netherworld magic to them. “Yeah, from the sound of it. No clue how many.”
“Well if my understanding is right. They usually come in either pairs or fives. With one leader and four followers.”
“Great. It's definitely more than two.” Now I was frightened. Five people doing stuff they had no business doing. It was enough to terrify the strongest of men.
“So four more to find.” She leaned on to the counter. “Shouldn't be too far from each other. They certainly live in Djinn Park.” She handed me a piece of paper with an address on it. “Try a guy named Leroy.”
“Thanks.�
� I waved and departed in search of this leader and his minions.
Jack finished the first of the Sigs. Each tattoo took hours to complete because they had to be perfect. One imperfection and Steve wouldn't get exactly what he wanted. It's why he always came back. When Steve visited other tattoo artists, they would invariably mess up, leaving him with mixed results. Sure, Jack was slower than most, but he didn't mess up. Well worth it.
“You need to introduce me to Ambrosine,” Jack said while he wiped blood away.
“Why?”
Jack blushed. “She sounds like an interesting lady is all.”
“Right... Interesting.” Steve smiled. “That's one way of putting it.”
“Come on, man. Cut me some slack.”
“Fine. Next time I go and get some potion, I'll let you tag along.”
“Thanks. So did anything she said actually help? Sounded pretty vague to me.”
He was right that it wasn’t specific, but it did help me some. She gave me a name. “It helped.”
With Ambrosine's information, I went to Leroy's house. He lived on the same side of Djinn Park as Ambrosine. His house was no different from last night's. If I entered, I feared I'd get some life-threatening disease. I scouted out the place. I was afforded some cover since the day had by now turned to twilight. Slowly sneaking around, I pulled one of the Sigs for protection. The house on the right’s windows was boarded up, and waist-high weeds grew. Happy next door was empty, I went along the right side of Leroy's house.
“We're not sure who killed her,” Leroy said. I only heard his voice. Must be on the phone. A window provided the best listening place. Under the window, I crouched as low as possible so I wouldn’t be seen. “I know. I know. Whoever it is might know what we're up to.”
I heard him stomping around. After several minutes of silence, I decided to venture further back. The sun had completely set at this point allowing me to move more freely. I stepped into a jungle. The grass grew to my waist, and the wild trees stabbed at me.
I did my best to avoid the grass, instead, staying as close to the house as possible. Anything could be lurking out in this jungle of a yard. The back door stood in the center of the house. I stopped before reaching it and kneeled down.
Leroy's voice carried to me, quietly enough that I could barely make it out. He paced in the house, and the echo of each step told me he was close. He paused for a second. His voice picked up. He was walking to the rear near to where I now knelt.
The back door burst open. I pressed my body against the house while I kneeled, motionless, hoping he wouldn't see me in the darkness of the backyard. I tensed my grip on the Sig in case I needed to act quickly. He stopped a few steps away from me with his back to me and lit up a cigarette.
The spark of the lighter somehow alerted him to my presence, causing him to spin around. I was ready for it with the Sig up and pointed directly at his head by the time he was completely turned around.
“Fuck,” Leroy said, and took a step back, staring at the gun, scared. “You killed Melinda?”
“I did.” I kept my eyes focused on him. He continued to inch his way back, his eyes never changing focus.
“You bastard.” He was angry now—it showed on his face. His lips sneered. “You won't get away with it.”
“Me? A bastard?” I couldn't believe this guy now I was furious. “You're messing around with stuff you have no business messing around with. Djinn Park is bad enough with The Faith of The Withering.”
“The Withering are fools.”
I nodded. “No argument there. But so are you.”
He shrugged. “We know what we're doing. And when we find it, our master will be able to control the city, the world. Cynosure will be the next Diablo Island.”
This guy was nuts, and it worried me. It was not possible to take over Cynosure or any other city, let alone the world. The Hero Coalition wouldn't stand for it. Diablo Island was a fluke and only lasted because of Ashes, a powerful Ardent. And the fact he ruled the city with an iron fist.
“Find what?” They used dark magic, leaving that connection to the Netherworld to find something. Anything connected to the Netherworld isn't good. “Tell me.”
He laughed. “Why would I do that? So you can shoot me afterward?”
“I promise. I won't kill you.” It was the truth too. After this morning and the way Inflamed acted, I didn't want to push her if it wasn't necessary.
“You sliced her head off. So fuck you. My friends will succeed and make you pay.”
“Fine,” I said. Then I shot him, in both his legs. He dropped to the ground with a thud, screaming in pain. “Thanks for nothing, Leroy.”
I pulled my cell out and texted the Heroes’ hotline, informing them of the location of Leroy, and the fact he was indeed alive but needed medical attention. Frustration set in. They wanted something and were trying to find the location of it. What could they possibly be after? More research was required, maybe a trip to the library to look in the old uncatalogued books. They might have some useful information on the Netherworld that the Internet lacked.
First, a stop at home. I'd pick up the investigation the next day. I walked at a leisurely pace. An ambulance sounded in the distance and the Coalition sirens as well.
It was dark when I reached the center of the park. Too dark. A fog slowly surrounded me. A thick mist was making it difficult to see and breathe. I had been walking on the largest path through the park, with the biggest opening in the trees. The trees grew closer and closer together, tightening around me. I pulled both of the Sigs out and cocked them. The mist began to thin, and I found I was surrounded by countless zombies and ghouls. I shook my head. This couldn't be real.
Each varied in size. The smell of death consumed me rotten eggs, rotten flesh. Flies buzzed around. I dropped to a knee. Memories of the last time I dealt with a zombie flashed before my eyes. My arm, damaged, nearly severed. The days I spent at the hospital. The worst time of my life.
A voice spoke from behind me. “You have failed to stop us.”
I turned around. A short round man with a squirrelly mustache and large grin walked between the zombies. They parted to let him come forward. I scanned the crowd to see if he was the only person. I saw another man in the back, which meant I'd likely have all but one if I made it out. I'm sure it would be the leader that would slip my grasp. Oh well, if I took out his minions it would hold up his plan. “I haven't failed,” I said.
“Sure you have,” the man stepped into the center of the circle. I could feel the Netherworld seeping from him. He'd be completely insane soon. It was in his eyes, the way they had glazed over and become all misty. “You're surrounded.”
“Doesn't matter,” I said with confidence, hoping it showed. But I wasn't entirely sure I'd survive this one. I pulled a grenade from my back just below the neck. I threw it as far as possible into the approaching zombie hoard.
“What was that?” The explosion answered for me. Zombies screamed. They don't really die, but they go back to the Netherworld, and can't come back for a while. I don't know how long, but long enough so that I could take care of these guys. Assuming I could kill off enough of the zombies and ghouls.
My grenade didn't even make a dent. “Get him!” squirrelly-man screamed as he summoned magic.
I opened fire. I avoided him, even though I wanted to kill him. I would do my best to make those rule-abiding heroes happy, at least for now. That being said, if it were him or me, I'd kill the son of a bitch. The bullets ripped through the zombies and ghouls. Killing weak Netherworld creatures like zombies or ghouls was easy. Luckily they hadn't been able to summon any of the tough ones to kill. When they died, they turned to a mist, lingered for a moment, and then seeped into the ground, taking the darkness with them.
I emptied the clip in a few seconds, killing dozens of those closest to me, and wounding squirrelly-man. He was on the ground shouting back to his partner. The more I shot, the more that stepped forward to take their place. They
had summoned a legion of the damn things.
On my side next to where the Sig tattoos used to be, I had a few more clips for the guns. I pulled them away and reloaded. Those clips didn't last long. I was soon out of clips and dropping the Sigs. In a while, they would fade away if I didn't get them back on my body. But I didn't have time to worry about that now.
I needed some more damage against this many assailants. The zombies lunged at me, ripping my trench coat. I stripped it off. I pulled off a set of throwing stars that were tattooed on my shoulder and then spun in a circle letting them fly. Each of them tearing into a creature close to me. Now empty of throwing stars, I moved on to my swords. I still had a few more tattoos to choose from, but these were my best. I'd be able to kill tons of zombies and ghouls. The only problem was I'd have to be close, which meant they'd be able to get me too.
Being surrounded was both good and bad. It at least allowed for certain types of fighting with my swords. I went to work on the zombies. It wasn’t fun work, but I did enjoy it. Killing Netherworld zombies brought me joy. I lost track of time as I worked with my swords. Slicing and dicing. Taking more and more of the zombies and ghouls out.
Soon only a handful of zombies remained. It was a good thing too. The rest of my tattoos were now gone. The grenades. The knives and stars were thrown. Only my cigar and matches were left, and I'd need those for after.
“Take his swords,” squirrelly-man said from the ground. The last few zombies rushed me. I made a move to attack, then suddenly changed course and grabbed both blades, killing them, but they also sucked away my blades leaving me defenseless. Lucky for me, that that was the last of them.
Finally, it was just squirrelly-man and me. Blood dripped from his legs as he tried to summon more Netherworld creatures. Having drained his magic to bring that many into the world in the first place, he could bring forth no more. I searched for the other lackey, but he was now nowhere in sight.