Sid dove on the giant’s leg, tripping him up and knocking him to the ground. The vitamin’s energy coursing through her veins faded. She got up slowly and backed away, watching the giant rise up and come right toward her. She stared down the giant but said under her breath, “This is it.”
Once spry as a kitten, Sid found herself barely able to stand. Taking one pill was bad enough, but two within a matter of minutes was too much for the body. She was drained. Somehow, she managed to lift her arms to make her final stand.
“Get down, Sid!” The voice was Sam’s.
Sid didn’t bother to turn and look, she just flopped on the ground.
Best idea I’ve heard all day.
The heavy budda-budda of a machine gun’s roar erupted inside the cavern. Sid got her neck twisted around. Russ carried a belt of ammo. He was feeding it into Sam’s M-60 machine gun. The gorgeous woman had turned into a combat soldier. With a tie wrapped around her forehead like a bandana, she opened fire. Bullets tore through the giant’s uniform in a tight group, punching in one side and out the other. Explosive rounds popped inside his body. Sam’s chest jiggled. Empty cartridges bounced off the floor. The wild-eyed woman let out a crazed battle cry.
Sid low-crawled away.
Stonewall stumbled backward.
Sam marched on. The budda-budda kept singing. The bullets ripped and exploded inside Stonewall. She made a straight line right through him. “You need a zipper to go with those clothes, freak!”
Stonewall’s upper body started to slide from his low extremities. He looked down just as his legs gave way. His top half landed right by Sid with a thud.
Sid logrolled until she couldn’t logroll anymore. She stopped against Sam’s feet.
Holding the big machine gun in a victory pose, Sam said, “Did you see that? I zippered him. I zippered a giant! Man, I wish Guppy could’ve seen that.” Her eyes became glassy. She wobbled. “Sid, I think I’m going to faint. Catch meh—”
Russ caught her.
Sid fought her way up to her knees. “What happened to her?”
“She took the vitamin. I don’t think her body could withstand the withdrawal.” Russ’s face was dripping with perspiration. “Man, I want to get out of here. I’m not made for this kinda stuff. Say, you don’t look so swell either.”
“I’ll manage.” Sid gulped in some air. She grabbed the machine gun and looped a belt of ammo around her arm.
Russ helped her to her feet. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get my man back,” she said, head hanging and limping away.
“But you’re bleeding and can barely walk.”
She reached down and picked up the Arabian sword. “If you think this looks bad, wait until you see what I do to Kane.”
CHAPTER 38
Sid hauled her body into the cavern’s stomach. Without knowing where to start, she trudged on, driven by a yearning to find Smoke that was so strong, she couldn’t comprehend it. That desire within burned, gave new life to her body. Passing a variety of cave entrances and alcoves, she finally came across an eroding corridor made from the same stone blocks near the entrance at the stairwell. The gas lanterns—lined up in neat rows—illuminated the long hallway. There were ancient carvings in one row of the blocks. Hieroglyphics somewhat different than the ones she was accustomed to seeing in museums and magazines.
She rolled her shoulders, adjusting the M-60 strap that dangled the big gun at waist level. She brushed the hair from her eyes with the back of her hand. The images on the wall were of people with animal heads worshipping the different phases of the moon. There were images of altars, knives, and sacrifices. That was the portion of what she could make out that made any type of sense to her. The rest of the images were a collage of extraordinary objects and peoples.
King Tut, here I come.
At the end of the corridor was a pair of double doors with their own gas lanterns burning on each side. The doors were cast iron covered in jade-green corrosion. They were split open halfway. The light source was strong within. Sid passed through the doors.
Kane was on a throne built into a black pyramid. He was a bestial man with roots of muscle that ripped out of his shirt. A welcoming smile of oversized teeth crossed his face.
“Sidney, you have such perfect timing.” He beckoned her over. “Please, please, come in. We have much catching up to do.”
“Where’s John?”
“Oh, there isn’t a John anymore. Say, what is that you have there? Did you bring me gifts? A machine gun and a sword. Please, lay them down in front of the temple and I’ll bless your family and crops when I get around to it.”
Sid fired at his feet.
Kane didn’t flinch.
“I’m not asking again, Kane. Where’s John? I want to see him.” She pointed right at him. “Now!”
“Honestly, Sid, you should know by now that putting a gun on me is no bigger threat than taking a swing at me with a flyswatter.” He licked his lips. “It is rather sexy though. You know, I really miss our time together. Those long nights and early mornings. Perhaps another go for old time’s sake?”
Sid moved closer. The only thing between her and him was a sarcophagus. Black coils that were attached to it moved like slithering snakes. She dreaded taking a peek inside. Crossing over to its back, she stepped over the coils.
The sarcophagus was empty.
Tapping his fingertips together, Kane said, “What’s the matter, Sid? You look disappointed. Did you expect to see your mummy? Get it, mummy?”
“Your jokes are as bad as your lovemaking.”
Kane blanched in a funny way. “Oh, now that stung a little. Good for you, little woman. I like a mortal who fights to the bitter end. It garners respect. Perhaps I’ll let you have a funeral after all.”
“Just tell me where John is. Let me see him.”
“Oh, you will see, Sidney, but it won’t be him that you see.” Kane rose from the throne. “He’ll be a marvelous creation akin to me. The truth is, you’re going to regret that you even asked. You are much better off remembering him as he was — a strange yet extraordinary man who had a curious panache that caused him to do the stupidest things. Honestly, I’m thankful. He’s my finest creation yet.” Kane looked past her shoulder.
Slowly, she turned.
Smoke stood right behind her, now a more terrifying version of his man-bat form. He’d become a dangerous lurking predator, slavering quietly from his jaws. The soul behind his eyes had been replaced by black pits. His long, ghastly fingers clutched in and out.
Heart racing, Sid unhinged her tongue. “J-John, it’s me, Sid.” She reached toward his face.
Smoke slapped her to the ground.
Kane burst out in devilish laughter. “I’ve been wanting to do that forever. But it was so much more fun watching the entire event transpire. Kill her, Smoke. Embrace your destiny and finish this quest. Just do it slowly. I want to enjoy this. I like to hear her scream.”
CHAPTER 39
With one hand Smoke picked Sid up like a ragdoll. With the other he stripped the sword from her fingers. A swipe of his claws cut through the strap to the machine gun. He lifted her up to her tiptoes. Staring in her face, he let out an angry shriek.
Smoke was fully monster. An untamed beast. His clawed bat feet had locked around her throat. His eyes yearned to shred her. Saliva dripped from his mouth to his chest.
“Spill that blood, Smoke, slowly. Let eternity be yours,” Kane gloated.
“John, listen to me. You don’t have to do this. I love you, John.” Sid’s voice trembled as she choked out the words. “I’m your wife. We have a son. John Keith.”
“Please withhold the soap opera antics, Sidney. He can’t hear you. Those fond memories of frolicking with you are gone. I took them away. He is nothing but a blood-hungry beast now, primed to devour you and howl at the moon. Well, screech at it in his case.” Kane’s towering frame appeared behind Smoke’s shoulder. “So long, Sidney. Just know before
you go to the grave that this has been the most delicious game I’ve ever played. But in the end, as in all cases, Kane wins. Now finish her, my faithful servant.”
“Smoke, you have to listen to me,” she said, searching his eyes. “I know you’re still in there. Think of me, us. Butterflies and pancakes, John. Butterflies and pan—urk!”
“Butterflies and pancakes? What a strange combination,” Kane said as he backed away.
Sid clutched at Smoke’s arms. She tore fur from his wrists. Her feet kicked at him as her eyes bulged from her head. Fighting the pain and death pulling her toward the grave, she kept her eyes fastened on Smoke’s, thinking, “You can beat this. I believe in you, John. I love you!”
***
Smoke hungered. The beast that lived within him had emerged. He was free to kill and slaughter. The struggle began on Kane’s first order. He didn’t want to kill the blood-filled woman slowly. He wanted to kill her fast. Yet, Kane’s command was compelling. It tore at him inside and out. Smoke didn’t know the woman. She was meat on a rack. Something weak that needed to be killed. Kill her and he’d have complete control of what it was that he lost and was searching for.
Her piercing eyes bored into his brain. The words she sputtered were gibberish, but they echoed inside his brain. Images and memories, good and bad, flashed like lightning in his head. There was a diner. Laughter. The words she said started to make sense. He just couldn’t control his compulsion to kill her.
***
Sid’s kicking stopped. Her arms went limp. She held her gaze as long as she could. Tears dripped down the corners of her eyes. For some reason, Smoke’s grip softened just enough so that she could share her final words, “Butterflies and pancakes.”
Smoke’s eyes shifted from coal black to a rusty brown. In a voice that was his own he said, “And milkshakes?”
Sid croaked out a joyful sob when he released her. “All you’ll ever want.”
“Unbelievable!” Kane yelled. He gnashed his teeth. “I’ve never seen the likes of it! Oh, I hate love! Love ruins everything evil. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to kill you both myself.”
“I promise you, it won’t be that easy. After all, it hasn’t been so far.” Smoke flicked a super vitamin up into the air and opened his mouth to catch it.
Kane snatched it out of midair. Backing away, he said, “Oh ho-ho, if it isn’t one of your cherished vitamins. Your little equalizers. How pathetic.” He eyed the capsule pinched between his index finger and thumb. “No sense in letting it go to waste. Now it’s time to turn the tide and use it against you.” He devoured the pill. His expression soured. “Lord almighty! That tastes awful. How do you even stomach these things?”
“We don’t,” Smoke said, watching Kane start to choke. “That wasn’t a super vitamin. That was a heavy dose of cyanide. Your body might be able to handle a lot of things, but it’s not worth jack squat if it can’t use oxygen to run it. That’s science, not mythology.”
Kane clutched at his throat. His skin turned pasty white. Blue veins spidered out all over his face. Somehow, he managed to say in a wheeze, “Impossible, nothing can kill me.”
“Sure it can. But as a backup we brought this.” Smoke picked up the Arabian sword and handed it over to Sid. “He’s all yours.”
Receiving the sword in two hands, she walked right in front of Kane and said, “Any famous last words?” Kane was down on his knees, doubled over. “I guess not. Goodbye, Kane.” She cocked back the sword and swung.
Slice.
Kane’s head fell from his shoulders. The pyramid pulsed. The walls shook.
Smoke passed out.
Sid released the sword and dropped down by Smoke, cradling him in her arms. Gently slapping his face, she said, “John, wake up! Wake up!” Tears ran down her cheeks.
In the heat of the moment, she’d forgotten that killing Kane might kill Smoke as well. According to Mal and the musings that Frank gave, Kane was the host with the blood from which all of the shifters and deaders thrived.
She rocked Smoke back and forth. ‘I’m sorry, John, I’m sorry.”
Smoke’s body transformed from that of a man-bat to a man. His skin was cold and clammy.
Clutching his hand and rubbing it against her face, she said, “Please don’t die on me, John, not like this.”
He squeezed back. “I won’t.”
“You’re alive!”
“And hungry. Did you say something about milkshakes and pancakes?”
Sid gave him a passionate kiss then said, “All you want.”
He sat up and leered at the pyramid. “Hold on.” He choked and sputtered, regurgitating a sandwich-sized Ziplock bag.
“What in the world is that?”
“What else? Plastic explosives.” Smoke mounted one bar of the plastic on the pyramid and the other inside the sarcophagus. With a devilish smile, he said, “Let’s go. Uh, but we’d better run. I put it on a timer, and there’s only twelve seconds.”
Hand in hand, they sprinted out of the room and down the corridor past Vormus, who was coming their way.
“Why are you running?” Vormus said.
“Because the power source of Khonshu is about to go boom,” Smoke said.
Vormus put his hands on his cheeks. “Noooooo!”
Sid didn’t look back, just kept on running, and waited for the BOOOOOOOM!
CHAPTER 40 (Epilogue)
Everyone made it back to the parking lot. They were all huddled together inside a ring of SUVs. The FBI had arrived. Two choppers had landed on the scene. Ted Howard was there and taking charge. Rebecca Lang was with him.
Asia dressed Mal’s head wound. “I want a five-star buffet and hotel room. All I can eat, with all the sleep. You got that? I killed a shifter and a boat.”
From inside the building, Cort had gathered a large pile of muskets, sabers, and old uniforms. “Man, this is my retirement. This stuff’s worth a fortune.”
Russ was helping him load it into a van that Ted brought for them to use. “It ain’t all yours. I’ve got dibs on half.”
Sam and Guppy sat leaning against the front bumper of one of the cars, wrapped up in blankets. “You should have seen it, Guppy. I turned that giant into applesauce.”
“I wish I had,” he replied. “Just glad you’re alive. That we’re all still alive. Tell me it’s all over.”
“I think so,” Sid said, watching FBI agents take Allison away in handcuffs. She was relieved. All the other shifters had died. Their bodies were scattered about in human form, dead. Even Mason Crowe’s body was mutilated on the fence. But her sister hadn’t shed innocent blood. There was hope for her yet.
Sid sat holding Smoke’s hand.
His heavy stare was on Vormus and the kid version of Manson Bay, who were both very much alive.
“Why didn’t you die?” she asked them.
“I’m not a child of Kane. Neither is Manson. Our blood is different.”
“I thought you were brothers,” she said.
“As you would say in your garbage language, brothers from another mother. A long story, but the main thing is Kane is dead. Quite a feat, though I was hoping to find something that might cure me of my own condition. That pyramid held many ancient secrets, but my search will continue.”
Sid shoulder-nudged Smoke. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“All this time, Kane had me convinced I was something else. Yet here I am, normal as ever.”
“You mean abnormal as ever,” she said. “Maybe your gifts aren’t so extraordinary after all.”
“No common man could have survived what Kane put you through,” Manson Bay said with a bookish look on his young face. “You are a descendant of the Knights of Nigil. The offspring of a vanquished line of royalty.” He handed Smoke a black jump drive. “Some fragments of your family tree are in there. To put it bluntly, like Sidney says, you aren’t that special, but you are. That sixth sense that you have, well, it runs in your family. It’s a warrior’s intuition some refer to as
tekken. It’s passed down your family line, but it skips generations sometimes. It’s a physical gift, a great one. You get to enjoy it.”
“So I’m not a shifter’s kid?”
“As far as I know you’re just a plain old mortal who’s either going to die from a violent death or tragic old age.” Manson offered his hand. “Look, we aren’t exactly on the same side of things, but I want you to know: the Drake is still out there. Kane was but a portion of that operation, and just because this burned down, doesn’t mean something else won’t move in to invade this sullied city.”
Sid shook Manson’s hand. “May we never meet again.”
Vormus nodded. He picked up Manson in his arms and said to Smoke and Sid, “Even though I know you won’t, try to enjoy what you have and stay out of trouble. I wish I had.” He floated up into the sky right past another helicopter coming in for a landing. The pilot’s jaw dropped. Vormus and Manson were gone.
“We probably should have killed those two,” Smoke said.
Sid draped her arms over his shoulders and kissed his cheek. “Nah, they’re dead already. Now let’s get out of here. I’m in the mood for some buttermilk and pancakes.”
“Buttermilk?”
“Sorry, I meant butterflies.”
“You mean milkshakes and pancakes?” he said as they helped each other stand. “I don’t eat butterflies.”
“Let’s just go before the moth man shows up or something.”
Twirling the ring of keys on her finger, Asia said, “I’m driving. Get in.”
Miles away, the group filled three blue-and-white checked booths inside a diner. The dishes were piled up to their eyeballs. No one was talking, everyone was eating and drinking. Over the counter, televisions hung on the wall displaying the local news.
A breaking news segment came up. A cute lady reporter bundled up in a wool winter coat and matching ski cap stood just outside the Drake Energy plant.
She reported, “Tonight we are sad to report tragedy on the riverbank. Just minutes ago, a sinkhole swallowed up this old power plant. FBI officials say the hole opened up on the bank, swallowing the facility into the river and leading to a series of fires and explosions. Area residents have been asked to evacuate.”
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