by R. R. Virdi
I brushed my finger against my lips. “And, uh, you should really get lip balm for that. No offense, but they aren’t as kissable as they were a few minutes ago.”
“Careful”—her new smile revealed a row of sharpened teeth framed by a set of four larger fangs—“you’ll hurt a girl’s feelings saying things like that.”
I had the notion she aimed to hurt a lot more than my feelings. Seemed like the least she could do was tolerate a light jibe.
Some monsters are oversensitive about their looks.
“If you feel so strongly about the way I look now, what will you think when you see the rest of me?” Anna’s skin wrinkled far more than normal. Her face had lost its healthy color, resembling her darkened mouth more and more by the second. The fire-like glow in her eyes continued to grow and stand out against her blackening skin.
“I’d rather not find out.” Keep her talking, Graves. Keep her focused on you. I just needed to get her to come closer to me. It wasn’t the brightest of ideas.
She dug her nails into her clothing, tearing them apart with ease.
Most men would have been pleased to get a look at what was underneath.
I’m not one of them.
Anna stripped herself bare in time for me to see her skin sagging like it was a semi-fluid layer. It was like watching flesh-colored wax dribble off of her.
I gave small thanks that my stomach was close to empty.
Projectile vomiting in the face of monsters isn’t something the intrepid paranormal investigator does.
Anna’s skin split in odd places along her joints and sides, falling to the floor like it was poorly glued-on latex. Bits of sinew and grayish oils fell alongside the skin. The mass impacted the floor with a wet squish.
My stomach roiled.
That was all kinds of nasty.
“Uh, I think you lost your Skin Sheath.”
A Skin Sheath was a second skin some members of the supernatural community could generate to conceal their forms. It was literally a layer of skin and other tissue bound over their true form, aided by a bit of magic. In some senses, it was a better camouflage than glamour, which could be dispelled. In other cases, it was downright disgusting.
Anna didn’t seem to share that opinion. “I thought it was time I shed some loose weight.”
Heh, it was a good joke. Too bad it came from a butt-ugly monster. I had to say, Daniel was pretty accurate on pegging how hideous Fausts were.
Anna stood—hunched—at well over six feet. She was a nightmarish cross between a woman and a bat, standing on two, scrawny legs that shouldn’t have been able to support her. Her toes were elongated far more than any bat’s should have been, resembling a reptile from the Paleolithic era. Claws tipped each digit and looked like they’d have no problem shredding the steel tool boxes lining the walls.
Great. It’s always wonderful when a monster can not only steal souls and pass through mirrors, but comes equipped with their own industrial can openers for tearing up bodies.
Anna’s body reminded me of early renditions of werewolves. Disproportionate mass that tried to incorporate the dimensions of a person’s torso but with the figure of a bat. It didn’t work well. Her stomach was concave, showcasing ribs pushing against loose skin. Dark fur lined her sides and face, which was an odd cross between a gibbon and bat. Her snout was thumbed up and framed by ridges in the flesh.
“Hate to say this, but I think I preferred the old Anna.”
The Faust pressed its bat-like claws to its flabby breasts. “Aw, I’m hurt.” Her voice warbled like she had a second set of vocal chords resonating at a higher pitch and her throat was full of water.
“Ah, well, you know the old saying. Sticks and stones—blah, blah, holy hell, are you ugly!”
Her lengthened and tapered ears twitched in a sign of silent umbrage. She tilted her head towards me, giving me a better view of the pair of horns protruding from her skull. They were twice the thickness and length of my thumbs. The protrusions were ribbed and curved towards the back of her skull.
She was really working the Devil motif. The thin skin stretched between her arms finished off the bat-devil hybrid look.
I could see where the stories and images came from.
Somewhere in a cave far away, a fictional playboy billionaire was taking offense at the bat motif gone wrong.
The garage smelled of burning citrus and brimstone. It was the smell I’d caught at the hospital, lingering around some mirrors, and in Daniel’s home. It was the kind of distinct scent one might try to cover up with perfume.
Anna took advantage of me being rooted in place and gawking. She cradled the unconscious Eddie’s jaw, giving it a little shake. The Faust pulled his face close to hers.
I’d seen this before and wasn’t a fan of the monster make-out session. “Oh God, please don’t. And no tongue either. This is disgusting.”
Anna’s face twisted into something that could’ve passed for a grin. “Sorry, you’re not getting that kind of show, perv.” Her voice warbled more than before.
I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, well, you sound funny, and you smell.” I could’ve sworn there was an agonized groan from where Ortiz lurked.
Anna didn’t care much for my snark. “Part of being a Faust. Orange eyes and we smell a little. Comes with the job. You shouldn’t tease someone over things they can’t control. It’s rude.” She pulled Eddie’s face closer, a hungry smile on her face. “Kiss Eddie goodbye.”
I hate it when monsters make better puns than me.
Chapter Thirty-Four
A lot can happen in just one bad moment. People sign deals of desperation and make bad choices. Greed or fear cause you to step into something you’re not quite ready for. There isn’t enough time to be rational. No amount of thinking and decision-making will help. Sometimes it’s fight or flight.
It was time to fight.
A frozen cocktail of adrenaline and fear surged out from my heart, knocking my brain and body into action. My chest shook, and a long-buried scream filled the garage. I rushed the Faust, figuring the rear-view mirror was better served as a blunt instrument now.
Anna broke contact with Eddie, her face a quickly morphing mask of shock, confusion, and finally calculation.
Some monsters think fast.
I twisted and swung my right arm in an upward arc. The back of the mirror sailed towards the underside of the Faust’s chin.
Monsters move fast too.
Somehow, the gangly and awkwardly shaped freak pivoted her hips and leaned at an angle like she was quadruple jointed. The crude, plastic club zipped by her face. Anna caught a glance at the mirror and stumbled back.
Interesting. I burned that detail into my mind. I didn’t know what it meant, but her reaction was enough to let me know it was important.
I shifted my weight, swinging in reverse. The mirror shuddered at the end of its plastic arm, threatening to shake free.
Anna pulled away from the blow and snapped a scrawny arm towards me.
The front of my ribs flared in dull agony. I winced, stepping back a few feet from her. My free hand went to my side, clutching the area. The short exchange hadn’t gone in my favor, and I hadn’t expected the Faust to pack quite a punch in her spindly arms.
But I didn’t need to win the fight. I just needed to move it away from Eddie. Easy enough. I took another look at the Faust’s burning eyes and reconsidered the easy part.
“Go again?” I twirled the mirror with a flourish.
Anna’s mouth spread wide, and a tongue twice as long as my middle finger lolled out. As far as goofy smiles went, that one took the cake.
“I said no tongue!” My face twisted in revulsion.
Anna wiggled the organ before pulling it back into her mouth. “What do you think is going to happen if we drag this out?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Anna cut me off.
“Here’s what. I beat you bloody and broken, far past what your little tricks can do to put you back to
gether again. Then, you beg me to stop.” Rows of sharp teeth somehow picked up the faint garage light and gleamed.
“Let me guess, you won’t, and you’ll kill me. Heard it before. So unoriginal. You monsters use the same book or something?” I flashed her a toothy grin.
Her smile grew monstrously wide. “No. I’ll stop. Then I’ll offer to put you back together again. All of you. The real you.”
Say what?
A block of cement wedged itself in the middle of my gullet. My lips felt like I’d rubbed them with coarse sand. I licked them and waited for Anna to explain.
“So, that’s what it takes to shut you up.” Her eyes glowed, literally. “I can feel it, you know, the little tug inside you. It’s not something you can brush off. You want this. At least, a part of you does. You know what it will cost you, but then, so did he.” She waved a clawed hand at Eddie. “But you know I can deliver.”
My mouth went on autopilot. “Yeah, to be fair, I think it’s a shitty delivery service.” I nodded towards Eddie. “The part where you come through clearly got lost.”
Anna chortled. It sounded like she was choking on water. “Eddie didn’t read the contract. He just signed on the dotted line like a good boy. His fault. I get the sense you’re a bit smarter than that.”
I shot a quick look to Ortiz without turning my head. “A bit.”
“Think about it. You can walk away from all of this. The being torn from whatever sleepless, sightless place you go to in between running around in someone else’s body. No more pain and terror. No more going up against nightmares like me. And, believe me, if things don’t work out between us, I can be your nightmare. You don’t enjoy this. Who would? It’s not an easy life. In fact, what kind of life is it at all?”
She had a damn good argument. Heh. Every dirty salesman did. They knew how to hook you. The only problem was, that hook led to a table where they skinned and filleted you before dumping what was left into a hellishly hot place.
It would have been wrong of me to say the thought didn’t cross my mind. I could step away. Have an identity—a damn name, a real name—my name. My old life. Answers. My problems wouldn’t be monsters and horror. They’d be a flat tire, spilling coffee, or a sports team losing a match.
Normal.
A single word that could change my world.
And all I’d have to do is sign away my soul and leave people like Eddie to hang.
The right things are never the easy ones to do. But easy was never part of my life.
My knuckles popped as I balled my fist. Something dark and fiery, like hot coals, filled my voice. “It’s my life, that’s what, you two-timing, greasy loan shark.”
The bat freak’s posture slumped. A soft sigh left her lips like she was actually sad over my refusal. “Shame.”
Come on.
“Funny, that’s what I was going to say about you.” I forced a crooked smile over my face. The sharp ache in my ribs made even that small action a chore.
The Faust bristled. “What’s that?”
“It’s a shame that something with your kind of power—warping reality—has to scrape, beg, and entice people for scraps. I mean, that’s what you’re picking up, right? High mileage, desperate and broken souls. Heckuva prize, right? It’s a shame you’re nothing more than a used car salesman. A pretty bad one, too, if you have to pluck up spares like struggling artists. What’s a desperate soul cash in for?”
“Let me show you.” Her eyes narrowed.
What?
Anna swung the back of her hand. The ridged knuckles struck a blow across Eddie’s face that sent thick, red-tinged spittle into the air. “Wake up, Eddie.”
He didn’t. Guess he was a heavy sleeper. It comes with being tortured.
My knuckles felt too large for their skin, threatening to grind and burst free as I made a fist. The muscles in my neck contorted as grit and rough stone entered my voice. “Leave him alone.”
“Can’t do that. I’m going to show you just what a soul is worth and a little more. Wake up.” She traced the back of a finger against Eddie’s cheek as she exhaled. Orange mist puffed out from her mouth, clinging to the surface of Eddie’s skin like sweat. The wet sheen disappeared in seconds, absorbed by his pores.
Eddie jerked like something had prodded his back. A groan followed before he roused, his good eye struggling to flutter open.
Anna leaned closer to him and turned her head towards where Ortiz lay in wait. She winked in that direction.
Anna knew what I was trying to do. She wasn’t moving an inch from Eddie if she could help it. I’d have to make her move.
Fine by me.
Eddie groaned again, his mouth moving wordlessly like he was struggling to breathe and speak at the same time. A hacking cough shook his chest before he was able to mutter anything. “Dan—”
Anna pinched her fingers around his cheeks, cutting off anything further. “You’re not here to talk, Eddie.” She chided him with a tsk. “You already did enough of that, well, the important parts. Now, it’s time to pay the bill.” Anna’s tongue made an encore appearance, tracing a viscous path around her lips in a sign of hunger.
The Faust brought her face to eye level with Eddie’s, giving me a quick sidelong glance before turning back to him. “It’s the eyes, you know? The windows to the soul. That’s how we do it. Interesting, right? Some say if you look deep enough, the more magically inclined humans can see straight into someone’s soul. I’ve never found out if that’s true, but you can certainly pull one out through them. Watch.”
I didn’t want to, but my body felt chained in place. Fatigue, curiosity, and a bit of anger made a hell of a mix. There was no denying a part of me wanted to sit there and watch—glean any extra bit of information about Fausts. Something that might help me gank her.
It’d only cost Eddie his soul.
And he wasn’t the only one that had traded his away. I could save more people if it meant he finished the mess he’d started.
I mentally clawed at the thought until nothing remained.
Anna and Eddie locked eyes. His body shuddered and straightened. He fidgeted like he was trying to break eye contact but couldn’t force his body to comply. His color paled and his posture slumped a tad.
There wasn’t much to see. No stream of ethereal, silver-white light leaving through any orifice. No angels singing or anything of the like. Just a look in both of their eyes.
Eddie’s good eye grew glassy and hollow. The fire in the Faust’s eyes deepened and burned brighter.
So did the fire inside me.
I opened my mouth and let it out. The roar shook my core but went unheard by Anna. The mirror fell from my hands. I bolted forwards, arms wide, reaching for the paranormal parasite. I wrapped them around her in a hydraulic grip, digging my fingers into her arms as I wrenched. A quick twist of my torso and hips was enough to upset both our momentum.
I hauled her away from Eddie, toppling us to our sides. My body slapped into hers as the concrete impact rattled our bones. A pained yelp from Anna drowned her fleshy crash. I rolled to my side, using the motion to launch the back of my elbow into her blunted snout. My joint throbbed as it met her tissue and bone.
She yowled, thrashing like a thing possessed.
I flailed, lashing out with my legs. My ankles hooked around her oddly angled ones. I pressed myself flat against her, pinning her in place. “Ortiz!” I pushed myself clear as fast I could.
Twin cracks of thunder roared from a corner of the garage accompanied by brief flares of light. Anna jerked as one of her arms and her other shoulder burst into plumes of blinding light.
I smiled.
Who’da thunk the old trick would have worked again?
My smile slipped as the lights waned out of existence. Blood, the color of sangria, seeped from the wounds. Most of the tissue and surrounding mass remained irritatingly whole.
Anna wheezed.
I took a step forwards, snapping my foot out. The tip of my shoe
met the side of her skull, forcing her neck into a bend that’d leave her with one hell of a headache.
Ortiz’s weapon barked in triplicate. Each round elicited another spasmodic jerk from the prone Faust. Blossoms of light followed.
If only they’d lasted.
They fizzled out nearly as fast as they formed.
Ortiz stepped out of the dark corner of the garage, leveling her weapon at the monster’s center. She quirked a brow and gave me a quick look.
I couldn’t answer the silent question, but Anna lay like sack. An ugly, monstrous sack that sucked souls and salty wang...but an immobile one. I could live with that.
“Doesn’t hurt to be thorough.” Ortiz sounded like she meant that more for herself than me.
As if I needed any other reason for her to pop off a few more shots.
She did exactly that, pumping another pair of rounds into Anna’s sternum. No flashes of light accompanied the new wounds.
Uh oh.
Ortiz and I exchanged another glance. “Do you want to explain that?”
I shook my head. “Can’t. And if I could, I’m not sure the answer would be great.” My words had a sobering effect.
Ortiz took a step back, eyeing me, then the Faust’s body. Her gun remained trained on the monster. “She could be dead.” Ortiz didn’t sound certain.
Truth be told, neither was I.
Another train of thought crossed my mind. One I didn’t want to entertain. The rounds had done something at the start but failed to perform like they had on our first case together. Maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with them. Maybe something had changed in Ortiz. And not in a good way.
My stomach threatened to flip at the notion.
I didn’t like nursing any reservations about Ortiz, so I did something to cheer myself up. I booted Anna’s injured shoulder.
Pettiness is beneath the seasoned paranormal investigator. I was checking if she was dead or not.
I booted her again.
Thoroughness is important.
Anna’s wings tremored.
Oh crap.
“Ortiz, move!”