“Oh, shit. Here it comes!” shouted Germaine, getting a bit woozy on my shoulder.
I wanted to throw in the towel right then and there. “Could we not do all of that over again?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
27
Chaos erupted once more. The commandos fanned out, stepping away from the bloodied beast that now clawed its way out of the earth. There was a subtle change in its appearance, and I'm not talking about the dirt and detritus that clung to it, nor the battered appearance of its wings, of its blood-soaked mane.
It looked angry.
Enraged.
The beast looked incensed, as though it couldn't believe such lowly creatures would have the nerve to meddle with its apocalyptic mission. As it rooted around, grunting like a pig and allowing its wounds to heal over, I watched it searching the mass of commandos for something.
It was looking for me.
When the Manticore finally got moving again, it was not without a bit of trouble. Percy and Malcolm laid into the thing along with a throng of trembling Veiled Order foot soldiers. The elephant gun tore a nice hole in the Manticore's hide, however by this point the creature was well-accustomed to pain and didn't seem too bothered. Percy jabbed at the tail, his blessed blade hacking at the pale segments. He didn't manage to cleave it off, though, lacking the muscle to go toe-to-toe.
The Manticore began to rage. It didn't even eat the men it killed, simply took a bestial joy in flattening them. Where I had managed to survive a direct hit from the thing, these guys had no chance whatsoever, and their body armor was promptly filled with human jelly. As though in revenge, the Manticore stalked across the battlefield, focusing on one man at a time. No matter how many small arms went off in its face, it didn't flinch, didn't pause. Crushing commandos underfoot, it worked its way towards the platform. Towards Kubo and I.
“Lucy, let's get the fuck outta here!” demanded Germaine, cowering upon my shoulder. “It's comin' this way!”
One of the rocket launchers went all-in, firing its payload directly at the beast. There was an impressive boom, and in all of the resultant smoke and fire, I think I spied a bit of its hide peeled back, the oozing tissue beneath bared to the open air.
But the creature didn't stop.
Kubo wasn't sure where to go from here, what course of action to take. He glanced at Craven's corpse and probably wondered whether he should attempt the Binding of Hekatonkheir himself. We both knew, though, that it was a suicide mission. Under such pressure, and with the previous caster's blood all over the Seal of Tartarus, Kubo wouldn't be able to pull it off. The Manticore would be at his throat before he could even start the incantations. Teasing out a paper seal from his stack, he shot me a glance and shouted over the din of battle. “Let's go, Lucy. They're getting routed out there.”
And so I followed him. I left Germaine, despite his protestations, near the platform in the folds of my coat. Kubo charged ahead, activating his seal and generating an explosion where the Manticore stood. The creature was taken by surprise as the ground underneath its feet gave way, but it was only a few moments in righting itself and continuing along the warpath. Kubo yanked out another seal, tossing it into the air and uttering a few words. From the icy air all around the beast, glowing blue threads were clustered about its limbs, forming dense knots. It was a binding spell of some kind. The threads grew thick, began to harden, until the Manticore was bound up in chains of brilliant metal.
To our collective horror however, the chains were quickly overcome, the links splintering like balsa wood.
It was my turn to do something, to stop the bastard from crushing yet more of our guys. Raising my hands up towards the sky, I spread my fingers and let Gadreel draw a column of lightning down upon the beast.
A burst of lightning is a dangerous thing. It can heat the surrounding air to temperatures up to five times that of the sun's surface. It can cause fires, dismember trees, kill humans easily.
But in this case, the lightning wasn't worth a damn. The Manticore stiffened as its body was hit by a billion volts, but it rode it out with grace, pausing only for a few seconds. My parlor trick had fazed it about as much as a static discharge, a quick zap in the hand from the metal handle of a shopping cart.
It was clear we couldn't hope to contain this thing. It was even clearer that everything and everyone in this area was doomed if we didn't find some out. The HQ building sat at our backs, a house of cards just waiting to get demolished by our rampaging friend. When it was done throwing around all of the small fry, it would move onto the compound, laying waste to our organization's largest meeting place. From a symbolic standpoint, such a loss would be catastrophic.
But more importantly, the Manticore wasn't going to stop there. If it laid waste to HQ, it would promptly wander further into town, eating and killing and destroying with abandon.
Kubo's radio whined as someone tried to reach him. Bringing it to his ear, he did his best to listen through the sounds of battle. “Yes?”
It was Arson. His voice, slight and calm, disgusted me in light of the turmoil we were steeped in. “The operation has not been a success, has it?” He paused. “If Atticus Craven has not been successful, then we must send in the choppers to lure the beast away from headquarters. Is that understood? Disengage and let the helicopters lead it away.”
Kubo's tone danced dangerously close to insubordination. “Lead it where? Where can we lead the thing where it won't devastate the city? It's enraged, sir... It's out of its damn mind and killing everyone in range.” Taking a few steps back, the Chief shook his head. “We have to find a way to stop it here. If we don't, the loss will be catastrophic. And it may even gain enough power for a checkmate.”
“I don't care,” was Arson's cold reply. “Get it out of here. We won't be able to mount a new attack against it if HQ falls. Pull your men back and let the helicopters bait it somewhere else. Perhaps they can keep it busy till it retires at sunrise.”
Kubo wasn't so sure. Gripping the radio tightly, he sighed and gave an unenthusiastic “yessir.”
“We're going to try and lead it away?” I asked, taking a few steps back.
Kubo made the call, reaching out to the pilots.
The sound of swooping helicopters drowned out my question. The Black Hawks were swarming it again, laying down heavy fire and dipping dangerously close to the ground in the hopes of drawing the creature's attention.
After a few dicey passes, it seemed to work.
The creature took flight on its battered wings and started to follow the helicopters. The Black Hawks picked up speed and headed back the way they'd initially come, taking the monstrosity towards God knew what. I should have breathed a sigh of relief since I wasn't staring the thing in the face any longer, but instead I felt panic. What if the creature downed those helicopters and then set its sights on the citizens? We'd given the monster plenty of trouble, but the night was young. It wasn't going to chase those helicopters forever. Eventually, it would find some neighborhood to take a break in and would feast on the tenants of homes who were staying in due to the phony curfew Arson had put in place.
The radio went off again. “Kubo,” began Arson, “We're instituting a total blackout. The city's communications are going down. Citizens won't have any electricity. The cell towers, too. Even if someone does see the creature they won't be able to spread the word about it. We need to use this time to come up with a new plan. Something better than that old hunter came up with.”
The old hunter came up to us, panting, with Percy on his heels. “The fuck happened?” Looking over at the platform and spotting Craven's corpse, he shook his head. “Damn it, see? I knew he was full of shit. A head full of hot air and book learning, but no grit.”
Kubo passed on Arson's orders to the rest of us. “We're to return to HQ. We need to draft a new plan. Mr. Arson is instituting a city-wide blackout, so we'll be taking shelter in the building and taking stock of our remaining assets.”
He waved us towards the building. “Come on.”
Malcolm spit upon the ground and held his gun across his shoulders like a heavy barbell, following Kubo. Shooting me a weary glance, Percy followed suit.
I, however, remained at the platform. Germaine peered out at me from the coat pocket, breathing a sigh of relief. “For a minute there, I thought that thing was going to end up right on top of us. Had it come even a step closer I might've shit in this coat of yours, no kidding.”
I picked up the coat and draped it over my bruised body. My bones ached, my skin was sore, my head was throbbing. There really wasn't anything in my body that didn't hurt like a bitch just then. This all-around pain was getting to be a regular thing for me. “Where was the dark lord during that little fight?” I wondered aloud. “Funny that Whiro didn't turn up to watch his pet duke it out with us, no?”
The spider shifted in my pocket. “Yeah, I dunno about that guy. Maybe he was on the sidelines watching us. Or maybe he just doesn't give a fuck. Either way, we should be real glad he didn't show up. We had enough to deal with. Think we're gonna be able to come up with a good plan in there?” asked Germaine.
“I don't know,” I replied. “Because I don't plan to sit in on this little meeting.”
“W-what?” said Germaine. “Then where the hell you plan on going? The city's on lockdown, ain't it? There ain't any internet, so I know you're not planning on ordering some plane tickets to Tahiti or something.”
I started walking away from the platform, away from Kubo and the others, away from HQ. I was past the building, out of the parking lot and over the gate within a few minutes.
“No, really kid. Where the hell are we going?” asked Germaine.
I pulled the collar of my coat up to my cheeks, blocking out the cold. “We don't have much time,” I said. “I'm going to have a little chat with Gadreel and see if we can't find some other way to beat that thing.”
The spider didn't say anything for a long time. When he finally did speak, it was with a sigh. “Whatever it is you've got planned, I don't like the sound of it, kiddo.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
28
“Can I trust you?” I asked Germaine.
“Of course you can trust me,” he replied. “If you can't trust Germaine Fox then who the hell can you trust in this world? We've been through a lot of shit, kid.”
We were sitting on the sofa in my darkened living room. Aside from the glow of Joe's Zippo in my hand, there wasn't a bit of light in the place. The usual din of electricity in the walls was absent, making the place feel almost like the temple back in Tibet. The quietude was eerily similar.
“But can I trust you?” I asked. “Through thick and thin, no matter what?”
Germaine grumbled, stopping on the armrest of the sofa and jabbing at me with a bristly limb. “What do you want from me? A promise ring? A blood sacrifice? Yeah, you can trust me. But what's this all about? Bear in mind that, even though you can trust me to follow you on whatever dumb-assed plan you've concocted, it doesn't mean I won't bitch about it. I'm your better half, your conscience, and something tells me you've gone and cooked up something dumb without my input. Out with it.”
I crossed my legs and let my body sink into the plush cushions. I also closed the lighter, plunging the room into perfect darkness.
“And why'd you throw your work phone into a sewer on the way back? Kubo ain't gonna like that. He'll have your balls for it,” added the spider.
“It's because I don't want to be tracked, followed, anything like that. If I wanted the Veiled Order to know what I was going to do, I'd have told them all about it. The two of us, though... we're going off of the reservation on this one. Taking a calculated risk. It's the only way to save the world, I feel pretty sure.”
Closing my eyes, I let go of a deep breath and tried to clear my head. Flashbacks to the battle I'd just fought, to the crisis at hand, to the creature that was still roaming at large, were phased out till there was only emptiness.
“I know the odds aren't good and that we've gotta think outside the box, but--” Germaine began.
“Shut up! You're breaking my concentration!” I brushed Germaine off of the sofa and he landed on the floor with a soft thud.
Grumbling, the spider took shelter beneath the coffee table, pouting on the rug.
It was time to reach out to the demon. Gadreel and I needed to talk. I wanted to know what his offer was, how he envisioned us getting out of this mess with the Manticore. He'd seemed pretty confident that his ace would help us defeat the creature, as well as anything else that came our way, but I wasn't so sure. Pushing the thoughts out of my head and opening up the channel, I left the floor open for the demon's emergence and got him on the third ring or so.
So, you want to get serious, came the demon's voice. I shuddered a little, my ears perking up like a cat's at the sound of a tuna can opening.
My heartbeat quickened, and I thought I felt someone sitting down on the sofa next to me. I was somehow sure that, if I opened my eyes and lit up the lighter, I'd find Gadreel sitting on the opposite cushion, his legs propped up on my coffee table.
The spider knows the way. Anyone with a background in demonology can lead you to where you need to go, continued Gadreel. Ask him to take you to see Lubec the Exarch. Lubec will help you save your friend. And the planet.
I opened my eyes, and just like that the connection was severed. I was sitting in my darkened living room, felt Germaine skittering over the tops of my feet, and the demon's presence had totally receded. “Hey, Germaine,” I said.
“Oh, suddenly you wanna talk now? Back from your vision-quest and feeling chatty, eh?” he replied.
“I need you to take me to see someone. Someone called Lubec the Exarch.”
If it was possible, the room grew quieter as Germaine held his breath. “L-lubec? Why... why would you ever want to meet him?”
I smiled. Gadreel had hit the nail on the head. I didn't know who this Lubec character was or how he might be of assistance, but Germaine apparently did know of him. “I need to speak to him. Gadreel says that Lubec can help us.”
To my surprise, the spider's response was a flat-out refusal. “No, absolutely not.” He crawled up the side of the coffee table, gulping. “I wasn't lying when I said you could trust me, kid. But, uh... there are limits, you know. Limits to what I'd be willing to do for you. And because I care about you... I ain't willing to take you to see... someone like that. No, Lubec is... he ain't right, kid. I don't actually know him, but everything I've heard about him makes me glad we've never met.”
“Who is he?” I asked.
“Lubec is, uh...” Germaine seemed reticent to answer; a real surprise, since I usually couldn't get him to pipe down. “He's a demon, Lucy. A demon who's lived on the Earthly plane since prehistory. He's, uh... he's dwelt in countless human vessels throughout history, never staying in the same one for too long, lest he get found out. He's a servant to the upper caste of demon-kind, what's called a Servant of Darkness. I don't fuck around with guys like him, though. He's a dangerous cutthroat with some terrible hobbies. The things he does to people just to get his rocks off... I've heard stories that'd make your head spin. He's the worst of the worst, scum.”
“I see. So, why might Gadreel want us to meet up with this fella?” I asked. “What could he possibly do for us?”
“I ain't too keen on finding out, between you and me.” Germaine hopped onto my knee. “You're playing with fire here, kid. Whatever Lubec could offer you... it ain't gonna come without strings. I mean, his skill set is way, way out there. It'll be some real forbidden shit, I guarantee it.”
I stood up, letting Germaine onto my shoulder, and walked into my bedroom. Parting the blinds, I looked out into the dark city, scanning the sky a few moments. “The way I see it, we haven't got a choice, Germaine. Take me to see him. You obviously know where we can find him.”
“I-I know where you're supposed to be
able to find him, yeah. Everyone in my line of work does. He's got something of a reputation. But... I really don't think we should, Lucy. I think we should just back away from this, go back to HQ, see what the Chief has to say, and--”
“No.” I was done with all of that. Kubo, Malcolm and the others could hatch whatever plots they wanted to. None of them were going to take down this creature. Gadreel was our only hope. I felt sure of it. “Let's go see Lubec. We don't have much time, Germaine. The world hasn't got much time. The longer you stall, the worse our chances become.” I glanced at him in my periphery. “If Gadreel is right, we might be able to take down the Manticore with Lubec's help.”
“But at what cost?” asked Germaine.
“We'll worry about it later.”
The spider climbed up near my neck, got real close so that he could tap me in the cheek with his arms. “Fine. I'll do it, kid. I'll take you to Lubec. But when all this is said and done, I want you to remember this moment. I want you to remember that I advised against it.”
I started through the darkness towards the front door. “If we manage to save the world with Lubec's help,” I replied, “then you'll have the luxury of telling me 'I told you so'. If we don't, then it's no big deal either way, right?”
Germaine sighed. “Right...”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
29
I'd asked Germaine to take me to see Lubec the Exarch, an apparently dangerous demonic entity who did business on Earth. So, when he led me all the way to the Adult Video and Novelty Shop on Central and Third, I about punched him.
“What the hell are we doing here?” I asked, looking up at the dark building with a grimace. “It's not a great time to pick up skin mags.”
“We gotta go inside,” the spider insisted. “I'm sure it's probably locked up for the night, but there's a room in there that's actually a secret entrance into the Beyond. It's through there we're gonna find Lubec.” When I proved incredulous, he insisted. “I swear to God. One of the video booths, third one down.”
Happy End of the World (Demon-Hearted Book 3) Page 13