by Al K. Line
"Fair enough," said Robin. I could tell she had no idea what he was talking about, the same as me. I'd never heard of the Pool working like that. But then, can't say I'd ever looked.
No wonder magic was draining from our world if we had demons hogging it to learn more of our ways.
"Right, can we get back to business, please?" I would go crazy if I had any more surreal conversations with Mack. I needed to act, to uncover what Levick was doing and to find a way of dealing with him.
"We should confront him, make him tell us what he knows," said Robin.
"He's not going to just give us the information, is he? He'll fight back. He may be a pain in the ass and a traitor but he's adept. No way will he roll over. He's a bloody elf and you know how dangerous they are. Speaking of elves, where's Zeno?"
Robin shrugged.
"Said he was going to uncover what he could about the elves and this Levick of yours," said Mack, yawning and stinking the church with his demon breath.
"What? But I haven't told him anything about it yet. How does he know if I'm just now telling you guys."
"He watched your dreams, me too. You like to play with the male genitals a lot, don't you?"
"Eh? Huh? I don't know what you're talking about." I busied myself tidying away breakfast, avoiding Robin's smile.
"Oh, allow me to explain. You kept taking off that man, that Pumi's clothes, and you were playing with his—"
"Okay, I get the idea. He was watching my dreams, you too? That's private. You aren't to watch." I was amazed they could, and it gave me a very uneasy feeling. How long had they been doing that, and what had I revealed about myself because of their prying?
"Why? And besides, what else am I supposed to do when you're sleeping?"
"Go for a bloody walk, lie down, watch the TV or something. Um, do we have a TV now?"
"Nope, got broken when your house fell down."
"You mean when you knocked it down? Ugh, I'm off for a shower."
"What if Levick's behind the whole thing?"
"The Rift you mean? I've thought about that and it's impossible. But we definitely need to find out what he's up to now, that's for sure."
I headed to the tiny bathroom and prayed there was hot water for a shower. If I had my way I'd stay there for a lifetime, but knew I'd be lucky to have five minutes peace before something crappy happened.
I got four.
Naked and Dangerous
"Get the hell out of here!" I shouted at Pumi as he stood panting in my bathroom, me naked, wet, and covered in suds in the cramped shower stall. I was right then lathering up and he stared at me, shocked, then turned away, but not without getting an eyeful first.
"Damn, sorry. Didn't know you were in here."
"Yeah, right," I croaked, wishing I could go back to bed and just be left the hell alone.
I was past caring, and a part of me wanted him to see, so I carried right on lathering up and even though his back was turned to me I knew he was trying to see what he could in the partially steamed mirror. What was with me? There was a strange man in my bathroom and I was acting like a horny kid.
Over the noise of the shower I shouted, "And just why were you climbing through my bathroom window rather than using the front door? And what about our arrangement to meet later?"
"What? What did you say?" He turned, then caught himself.
I'd had enough. I rinsed down, wrapped myself in a towel and stepped out. There wasn't much room and we were close. He stank.
"Right, before you bother answering, as I'm sure it will be a long story, you need to get in the shower."
Pumi looked at me, half amused, half excited judging by the size of his pupils, and said, "What, now?"
"Yes, now. Go on, get clean. You stink of sweat and car oil, it's gross."
"Fine. We should be safe now. I came through the window so nobody would see me. I didn't want to get caught."
"Who was chasing you?" I asked as I grabbed another towel and wrapped it around my head then applied lotion to my arms.
"Just about everybody. I've had a bad morning. I was hardly awake five minutes when there were a couple of Justices snooping around the scrap yard and I had to escape. Swift, we have to deal with Levick, and now, before he sends every damn Justice after me."
I looked at the tattoo of the Justice symbol on my shoulder, knowing I could use the connection it made to other Justices to call off the hunt, but that would alert Levick, so we would have to work without them. "Fine," I said, turning. "Whoa, what the hell?" He was stark naked, body scary as hell so close and intimate. If I'd thought the scars and strange lumps and bumps were intimidating from a distance then it was a different matter entirely so close. I looked away and said, "We'll talk later," as I left the bathroom.
This man was trouble, but I was dying to jump in with him. With pictures of a soapy shower scene forcing its way into my mind, I went into my bedroom and got dressed in clean black jeans, a favorite blouse—green, with black buttons—then put on my cargo vest. Justice Swift was ready to face another day, even if all she wanted to do was go back to bed, maybe not alone.
Back out in the nave, already getting uncomfortably hot because of Mack, or maybe it was just my thoughts, I sat next to Robin who was curled up on the floor reading an old magazine.
"Do you think Levick could have fooled us for so long?"
Robin put down her magazine, serious. "Honestly? I don't see how. The Queen would see right through him, surely? Hmm, but I guess none of us did so why would she? He's very powerful, Swift, we both know that. You've seen some of the things he's done in the past, and I know he's more of a boss now than a Justice but he served his time, did more than his fair share. I really don't know."
"That's what I thought. Okay, look, I know you want to help, and I appreciate it, honest I do, but I need to get out there on my own for a while. You understand?"
"Why do you always do this? I want to be a part of this. This isn't about you, it's about all of us. You always think you're better than me."
"Not that again. I don't think I'm better than you, but you're not a Justice in the way I am. I know people, the right people, and I can find out things."
"Okay," pouted Robin, "but don't leave me out of the loop. Something this serious needs more than just you to deal with it, and don't go thinking otherwise."
She was right, she often is, I just don't like to tell her as she's got a big enough head as it is. "Promise. And thanks, I needed the chat, and the breakfast."
I grabbed my boots where Zeno had tidied them again by the door and laced them up quickly, hoping I could get away on my own. "See you soon. You gonna wait here?"
"Sure am, or I may go make a few discreet inquiries."
"If you do then see if you can find Zeno. He hardly ever leaves the house and now isn't the time for him to be out alone. He's not used to this world and he's pretty naive about it."
"Sure.
I opened the door to be greeted by a warm morning and a bright sky. Turning, I said, "Oh, and there's a naked man in the bathroom. Bye."
Robin's eyes widened and I would bet anything she would be in there five seconds after I closed the door.
Down the steps, I felt alive. Fresh, clean, stomach full, head clear. Then my mood got spoiled as a freakish hand, all claws and veins, landed on my shoulder like my house had fallen down again. "Hey, homey, let's pound the sidewalk together."
Great, just what I needed. A less than inconspicuous demon for company, with a penchant for talking that I found utterly irritating at times. I knew better than to argue with him, though. The more I did, the more he would insist I was hiding something and so he had to tag along. "Yeah, great, Mack, thanks for the offer."
"You got it, sister."
"Okay, let's go."
A Walk, a Fight, an Argument
I've done a lot of oddball stuff in my time, some of it I'm not even proud of, but wandering down suburban streets—granted, many now housed human and supernatural Str
ange—past twitching net curtains, and wide-eyed adults and children alike, with a demon babbling away was about the weirdest thing I've done.
It felt so peculiar because I mostly forgot the strangeness of the situation. It's odd how quickly we as human beings can adjust, and he may have got stares and there was certainly fear in some people's eyes, but because of the Rift it was, when you got right down to it, no longer anything out of the ordinary. Mack was also becoming increasingly human by the day.
We walked through the streets, past stores, factories, and office blocks as slowly we homed in on ground zero. It was different in the daylight, and I wasn't sure I preferred it. It was depressing as hell. Desolate, and a reminder of the sorry state our city was in.
We were forsaken, abandoned, left to run things as best we could, so we weren't doing that badly really, but it was still a slap in the head with a dirty shoe. Screw them, they needed us, the Strange, and they needed our help to deal with our guests, but they left, leaving us with a functioning city but little else.
I felt proud of us, all of us that remained. We were muddling through, and this whole deal with Levick was undermining it all. He was corrupt and I'd sworn my life away long ago to deal with such corruption. I was the upholder of decency, although it involved a lot of head bashing.
"Mack?" I turned to the big guy and craned my neck, which was killing me from having to look at such an odd angle.
"Yeah, babe?"
"Do you want to go home?"
Mack stopped and scratched at his belly, leaving pale claw marks across his six pack. "No, not really. I like it here, it's relaxing. No pain, no endless work. It's peaceful."
"But you aren't supposed to even have those kind of feelings, of wanting peace or even thoughts about right and wrong, good and bad, any of those things." I knew he was changing, but what I wasn't sure about was if he knew he was.
"I'm becoming like you. It's this world." He shrugged, unconcerned. "Now I'm here, so you are rubbing off on me. The Pool is different here, full of emotion. For us, back home, it's different. Colder, just about the magic, although we don't see it as magic, it's just normal. Things are interesting here and I like it."
"Okay, Mack, thanks." This was another thing to think about, although I didn't believe for one second there was any choice in the matter anyway. There had been zero sign of the Rift returning and if it did my guess was it would be to deliver more Strange, not take any away. But it was speculation, the Pool gave no hint as to its origin or purpose.
One thing I knew for sure, Levick and the elves were tied up in it, and sooner or later I would have to confront them.
"Argh," Mack went from shambling beastie to full on, scary as hell, demon of your worst nightmare in a flash. He roared again and ran faster than I thought possible, a blur of red as he charged over a pile of rubble and was lost to sight.
"What the hell?" I moaned as I chased after him, knowing better than to shout out as he wouldn't pay me any attention.
Bricks and trash shifted as I tried to scramble fast up the pile, and then massive lumps of concrete rained down all around me as I reached the summit.
At the top, I saw Mack dodging to avoid half a car-sized lump of death as another demon, twice his size and even uglier, threw anything it could get its hands on at him. Mack didn't slow, and as I half slid, half fell to the ground they collided and locked horns, circling with their bodies bent and the ground sizzling then melting beneath them.
Then the oddest thing happened. They parted, stood and hugged each other tight, snorting and sniffing, laughing and howling like things possessed.
Was this a fight or a weird mating ritual? I was at a loss. Soon they released each other and stood there, smiling and talking in a language I couldn't understand.
My head began to feel funny and then my stomach heaved and I felt my breakfast trying to force its way back up. My mind felt shrunken, as if my skull was too small for my brain, and a terrible pain overwhelmed me, all nerves firing at once, body unbearable, mind screaming for release from the world. Was this the skewed reality at ground zero? It never had this effect on me before. No, something else.
"Stop talking," I managed to moan, and they must have heard me. As I crumpled to the ground and terrible nightmares engulfed my conscious mind I curled up tight, hugging my knees and crying.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot." Mack bent, picked me up and cradled me in his arms like a baby. He rocked me, made a soothing shush sound, and I don't know how but I fell asleep right there and then.
When I woke, I was alone on the ground, clothes dusty, head hurting like a bad hangover but without having had the fun bit first. Groaning, feeling stupid and like a total noob, I checked myself over just to make sure there was no accidental damage from Mack, and got to my feet.
I drew on magic still brimming as I'd been well rested and had breakfast, but the Pool was distorted like it always is so close to ground zero. It wasn't that magic was corrupted, just different, like there was an edge to it or something, but it was inexplicable, and my power was strong.
How could I have been so stupid as to listen to Mack, and whoever the other demon was, talking in their own tongue? You can't do that, and I'd got off lightly. Many a person was a gibbering wreck hearing or speaking no more than a word or two of the forbidden language—if it wasn't for my age and strength I would have been a goner.
Mack appeared from behind. I could tell it was him before I stood and turned, mainly because he was already talking, thankfully in English this time.
"You be crazy. Why you listen to us talking?"
"I wasn't expecting it. And why weren't you using English? You know you aren't supposed to talk like that here." My head was clearing but I still felt the lingering after-effects like my brain was dessicated.
"Just got excited. I haven't seen, er, let's call him Dan for oh, must be since the thing with the boat. And our language, it all came back to me. Such a wondrous way to speak."
"Is Dan really a guy or..." Then it hit me. "The thing with the boat. You mean the ark, don't you?"
"That's the one," said Mack cheerily. "Boy were we busy then. Good old days. Apart from the rain, but we don't get that at home so it wasn't really a bother."
"Spare me. Come on, let's get closer." We'd come for one reason and one reason only, to get a sense for the place, to feel what Levick was searching for. He was looking for something, or waiting for something, so what was it?
Just a Hole
"It's just a hole," said Mack, leaning forward and peering into what he'd summed up perfectly.
It was a real letdown. He was right, it was just a bloody large hole about twenty feet deep the size of a football stadium. The city's innards could be seen jutting out from the edges. Cables, pipes, everything that made its heart beat. The rest was dust, gray and lifeless.
"There has to be something," I said, trying to get my thoughts together and banish the nightmare visions the talk in the demon mother tongue had conjured up. We took a few steps back and studied the area, but it was the same as it had always been since it got cleared up. Dirt, rubble, a hole. Even the birds stayed away, there was nothing for them here. The only creatures that came were the Strange, hoping to return home.
As the churning in my gut and mind receded, I looked up into a clear sky, thinking of Levick the night before and his search for something. What was it? What was he looking for, hoping for? A change in the air, or maybe a ripple in the Pool? That had to be it. He had to be expecting a sign of some sort from the Pool, a sense of the Rift returning, or was it something else entirely?
I didn't even want to think about something else happening. My imagination wasn't up to conjuring an event more terrible than what had already come. How much worse could it get? A lot, I guessed. We could have a million angry elves, or maybe hell itself, dumped right on top of our heads. I felt the weird distortions in the air, but they were the same as always. Not overpowering, but certainly not making me keen to stay.
"You
want me to search the Pool for anything, go all undercover and shit?" Mack squatted to look into my eyes, but he was still too damn tall so I had to look up.
"Will you stop with the stupid catchphrases and weird talking. It's annoying."
"You love it really." He winked at me.
I couldn't help it, I smiled. "Idiot. But yes, see if it feels different to you here."
"Yeah, babe, I can do that." Mack settled down right at the edge of the hole, sat with his feet dangling into space, and leaned back to lie down.
With nothing to lose I joined him, staring up then closing my eyes, trying to get a sense of the magical field. Maybe him being here would help to get deeper and closer to the truth of how it happened. Maybe.
I don't know how long we lay there for, as when you go deep into the Pool rather than just draw on it time ceases to have any meaning. It's not a place so much as a feeling, a potential where pretty much anything is possible and what we think of as the laws of our Universe go out the window and are replaced with a new set of realities, if that makes any sense at all. See, this stuff is confusing.
All I do know is that when we both sat up and looked expectantly at each other, we had nothing. We didn't need to speak, and for once Mack was silent, just shook his head.
"Okay, guess this is a bust."
"You want a piggyback?" offered Mack.
"Why the hell not?" And for the next five minutes Mack ran around the hole with me on his shoulders, both of us making silly noises and him getting faster and faster until we were a blur and I was dizzy and laughing and screaming for him to stop. For a few glorious minutes we had genuine, innocent, wonderful fun.
As with all such things it came to an end all too soon, and we were left right back where we started. No better off, no miraculous insights, but at least we were happy. Friends, I guess you'd call it. A puny human and an immortal demon stood in the dirt next to a big hole in the ground.
"Thanks, Mack."
"No problemo. What now?"