“Why not just ring the bell, Bill?” Sally asked in a hushed voice.
“Sorry.”
My powers bolstered once again, I took the lead, easily climbing over the large rocks that lay in our path. Despite the danger we were no doubt heading into, a small part of me smiled inwardly. I realized this had been the longest I’d ever been juiced up on vampire blood. The power almost began to feel familiar. I’d definitely miss it once this was over and done with - assuming there was still a me left to miss anything. Never let it be said I didn’t have an upbeat attitude.
I turned back to see how the others were fairing. Brock and Vlad shuffled their own ape-like forms past the debris, but I was happy to see that Sally had hung back to give Miranda a hand. It was almost like a part of her had rediscovered some small sliver of humanity - not much, mind you, and most of it was in a Hannibal Lector sort of way, but there was some. Maybe being around me and my roommates was rubbing off on her after all.
Or maybe it was just her ensuring our major source of firepower didn’t fall and crack her skull right before we entered the mouth of madness. That kinda made sense too.
Finally, we were all past the rocks. I shared a quick glance with Sally. The look on her face matched mine and I had a feeling we were thinking the same thought: if things turned sour - which they were almost guaranteed to - that pile of debris was going to majorly slow us down.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve got this one covered.”
She gestured Vlad over, and the two of them walked back toward the debris field. I was about to question what they were up to when I heard the other members of our party gasp in surprise.
I turned back toward them, afraid that maybe our luck had finally run out, but what I saw instead took my breath away. I’d been too busy clambering over rocks to really take in our new surroundings, but now that I was really looking at it for the first time, I had to admit that if this was a prison, it was a pretty fucking wild one.
I wouldn’t have called this place well lit by any stretch of the imagination; more like standing outside on a clear night with a full moon. Even so, had a festering pit of evil monsters not lay somewhere before us, it would have made a surreally awesome make-out spot. The cave was huge, several hundred feet across at least, with the ceiling rising up a good fifty feet above us. The walls glittered in the massive cavern. I wasn’t sure of the source, but from the faint glow, I wouldn’t have ruled out bioluminescence - maybe moss or rock worms or some such.
Hopefully, Sally still had some spray paint left. Otherwise, we would have a hell of a time finding our way out. Multiple caves led away from this grand chamber. None of them seemed as perfectly symmetrical as the one we’d entered from, though. They were either naturally formed or the result of some cruder method of digging them out. Even so, assuming I could trace Ed’s scent to the correct one, there was the problem of getting out again. In a pinch, running for our lives, I could see how easy it would be to head down the wrong one and find ourselves thoroughly ass-fucked. It would be a real...
“What’s that?”
I turned to find Miranda staring up at a section of wall, her headlamp illuminating it.
Holy shit. I’d been too busy marveling at the size of the place to notice it, but now that she pointed it out, the massive pictograph seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
Even wilder, now that I could see the images and odd scratchings up on the wall, I noticed that some of that bioluminescence was woven into the pictures. Certain parts sparkled, seeming to highlight passages of whatever message or story it was trying to convey.
A low whistle of surprise sounded behind me and I turned to find Sally and Vlad had returned from their meanderings and had joined us in staring up at the wall.
“I agree,” I said. “My ass is quite spectacular. Although I’d ask you to refrain from the wolf whistles. I’m not just a piece of meat, you know.”
Sally chose to ignore me and instead dug into her pack for something. She produced a high-powered LED flashlight and used it to augment Miranda’s lamp, showing us more of the pictograph above.
“What the hell?”
The very left-most image showed a figure standing with its arms outstretched. The shimmering crystals, or whatever, had been ingrained into the being’s form - white flowing robes, it seemed - making it sparkle as if with power.
Waves of energy were drawn flowing out from it, over what were either rocks or a crudely drawn pile of shit. I assumed the former as the next series of pictures showed those rocks gradually taking on humanoid form.
“Is this what I think it is?” Miranda asked.
“What? Just a bunch of stick figures,” Vlad offered.
“Go be useful and scout out the room,” Sally ordered him and Brock. Once they had walked off, she shook her head disgustedly. “Morons. Anyway, yeah, I’d say so. If I were a betting woman...” She turned to me and held up a hand. “No comments from the peanut gallery. Anyway, if I had to bet, I’d say we’re looking at the creation of those things.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but who is that?” I pointed to the glimmering figure who seemed to be giving them life. “If I didn’t know better, with the white glow and all, I’d say that was...” I trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.
Fortunately, Sally was there to give voice to all of my unpleasant thoughts. “An Icon?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make any sense.”
“I agree, but that’s as close as I can come to making sense out of that picture. Miranda?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “Could be a metaphor.”
“Those fuckers sure as hell aren’t metaphors.”
“I know.” There was frustration evident in her voice, as if she thought she should be of more help to us.
“There’s more,” I pointed out, nudging the hand Sally used to hold the flashlight further along the path of the pictograph.
Rather than slug me, which was the norm for her, she focused the beam on what appeared to be the next part of the story - unsurprisingly, a bloody battle. “Okay, now this really makes no fucking sense.”
I couldn’t disagree. Here, the crude rock monster drawings were dog-piling on a variety of other figures. Some of them were larger than the others, much larger. They stood on two legs and were colored a dull brown. “Are those Bigfeet?”
“Could be,” Sally replied. “But if so, then why aren’t we signing these assholes up to fight on our side?”
“Because I think the others being attacked are you,” Miranda said. “See those scratches on their heads? Those could be fangs...and look.” She focused her beam a bit higher where a moon clearly shone, hanging above the combatants.
“That’s the best they could do?” Sally scoffed.
“I’m pretty sure the batwing motif is more of a modern conceit,” I commented.
“Fuck that. I’ve never been much into impressionist art.” She played the beam of the flashlight further on where the scene concluded. “Now this is where things get interesting.”
“I didn’t realize you were bored.”
Sally glanced sidelong at me. “I’m a high maintenance kind of girl.”
“So I’ve noticed.”
Our banter done for the moment, we all took in the final part of the story before us. Another figure stood before the creatures. This one was also highlighted with the luminescent thingies, but colored differently. Also, this time, the sparkles were around the figure’s outstretched hands. The Jahabich appeared as if they were being forced back toward a deep hole in the earth.
“I’m no archeologist, but I’d bet my left testicle that this shows these things being defeated with magic.”
“You can’t bet what you don’t have and the house isn’t giving credit today,” Sally countered, “but I agree. Look at the way that guy is depicted - like he’s wearing a skull mask or maybe a headdress. Some kind of shaman maybe. Miranda?”
“Some of this looks vagu
ely familiar.”
“The pictures?”
“No,” she explained, trailing her headlamp lower on the wall below the retreating figures of the rock monsters. “See that stuff?” She pointed to several lines of symbols.
“Yeah. Are those hieroglyphics?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure, but look how it’s spaced out.”
Sally and I both stared at it for a moment. I turned to her and she shrugged, having no clue either. “Um, it’s a haiku?”
“No, the cadence is...it’s hard to tell, but I think it might be a spell. Kinda resembles some scrolls my master showed me years ago.”
“Guess you should have studied harder,” Sally commented.
“It’s not even that. I was only in a coven for maybe two months.”
“Really?” I asked, curious.
“Yeah. None of the mages in Vegas are covened, although a few are in unions.”
“And nobody has a problem with this?”
“The Magi aren’t like vampires. Covens aren’t mandatory. They’re more of a way to protect ourselves, to learn, to pass down the lessons of the past.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Believe me, it’s not all wine and roses. You have some wizards who insist on making their covens more like harems than anything else. There’re all sorts of abuses of power. Some even go crazy. Hell, I heard of this one witch from a coven out on the East coast that betrayed her brothers and sisters and got them all wiped out by...”
“By what?”
“Vampires,” she spat.
Sally and I shared a sidelong glance at that, but wisely kept our mouths shut.
“And nobody has an issue with it if you leave?” I asked, steering away from the potential minefield that was Harry Decker’s bunch.
“Well, my master wasn’t happy about it, but that was it. I met my husband when I joined. Five weeks later, we made plans to elope. After that, we decided to make our own way.”
“That’s fascinating,” Sally said, “but unfortunately, it doesn’t help us much.”
“Sorry. I was a lot more interested in being in love and using my powers to make a buck than I was in ancient history.”
“Maybe we can still make some use of this.” I pulled out my cell phone and checked the battery; still over half a charge. Thankfully, there wasn’t much cause to check email while a mile underground. I turned on the camera app and hoped the flash was enough to get the job done as I started snapping pictures of the scene before us.
“Aren’t camera flashes supposed to be bad for cave paintings?” Sally idly asked.
“During times like this, I have to ask myself whether Indiana Jones would give a shit. I’m thinking the answer is no, unless there was money to be had.”
“Or Marion.”
“I always favored Willie Scott myself,” I said. “Bet she was a real screamer.”
“Pig.”
“You know it.” I pocketed the camera and turned to Sally. “Another canteen, if you don’t mind.”
“Do I look like your serving wench?”
“Are you going to threaten to shoot me if I say yes?”
“Almost definitely.”
“Then no, of course not.”
She handed one over. I unscrewed the cap and took a quick swallow, keeping my motor humming along nicely on high-octane. As I capped it back up, she said, “Well, this has been fun, but I think the sightseeing is over.” She inclined her head and I saw that Brock was approaching us from the far end of the cave. She waved him over.
“Anything?”
“All’s quiet,” he said, leaning his weapon over his shoulder.
“I’m beginning to wonder if that’s a good thing.”
“Me, too.” Sally turned and scanned the cave. “Where’s Vlad?”
Brock’s face went blank. “We split up further down. He said he wanted to scout a few of the side caves.”
Sally turned to me. “Bill?”
After a second, I picked up on her meaning. I took a deep sniff of the air. Ed’s odor still lingered and the smell of the Jahabich was stronger than ever, but as for Vlad, there was no...oh, wait. “Here he comes,” I said pointing off to a far corner.
I was half amazed. For a second there, I’d been sure he’d volunteered for duty as the obligatory red shirt of the team. Sure enough, though, his form resolved itself as he stepped out from behind some rocks.
And that’s when the wall followed him, malevolent orange eyes opening a split second before the attack.
There was no chance to shout so much as a warning before the creature hit him square in the back. The sound of breaking bone reverberated around the cavern as Vlad’s spine shattered like fine china.
A gargled scream escaped his throat as the creature bent him over backwards and bared its wicked teeth. The mouth of the Jahabich opened impossibly wide for a moment and then snapped shut, taking Vlad’s head and a sizeable chunk of his chest cavity with it.
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat,” I gasped.
“Got one,” Sally replied, chambering a round in her shotgun.
I expected it to charge us, but much to our surprise, the creature turned tail and ran - even as Vlad’s remains sparked up and littered the ground with dust where he’d stood only moments before.
“Let’s go, Bill. I don’t want that asshole getting away and ratting us out. Brock, you stay and guard...”
“Unnecessary,” a voice spoke from somewhere behind us.
I somehow managed not to entirely shit myself as we all spun to face another one of the monsters. Damn - for living rock gardens, they could sure be quiet when they wanted. Sadly, my enhanced nose was of absolutely no advantage with them, especially now that their earthy stench assaulted me from all sides.
“We are aware of you,” the creature said in its gravelly voice. Almost immediately, its features melted together and, within moments, it was gone, replaced by the form of Kristofer that it had used to trick me into opening the gate. “We...I know you, coven master.” Its voice now eerily resembled that of our former coven-mate. The only telling sign was the black teeth, sharp as knives, which showed as he opened his mouth. “You show compassion for your people. We knew you would eventually come. We just thought it would be for the Freewill once we took him.”
“I’m standing right here, you know.”
It ignored my protest and continued on. “Imagine the surprise that it was a human that brought you to us...unless you know what he is.”
“He’s a pet, nothing more,” Sally growled, stepping forward. “I lost him and want him back, that’s all. Thanks for finding him. Here’s your reward, by the way.”
The move would have made Sarah Connor weep for joy. In one fluid motion, Sally brought the shotgun up to hip level and fired. The shot rang true and the explosive round hit home, square in the Kristofer clone’s face, erasing his smile and most of everything else.
Before the sound of the blast had subsided, the Jahabich had resumed its true form, with the exception of a foot-wide crater where its face used to be. An orange glow flickered inside the wound for a moment before going out for good. It fell backward and landed with a dull thud.
“Subtle,” I said.
“I’m a get-to-the-point kind of girl.” She turned and flashed me a smile full of fang. Goddamn, she was hot when she was like this.
Unfortunately, now was not the time to wonder whether it was too late in the day to be sporting morning wood. Unsurprisingly, Kristofer’s funeral was going to be well attended as pairs of orange eyes appeared in the myriad tunnels around us - minus maybe the one we’d entered through.
I won’t lie and say I wasn’t tempted to bolt. I could have probably beaten them all to the cave and then raced up the wall. From there, it would just be a matter of heading up until I found a manhole cover and...
It was a nice fantasy, but it wasn’t going to happen - at least not until all of us, including Ed, could make the journey together. Still, a small part of
me wished I was a wee bit more of a coward. The number of Jahabich approaching our position easily equaled the force that had struck Pandora’s Box, but down here, we didn’t have the advantage of any choke points.
“Any thoughts?”
“Yeah,” Sally said, chambering another round. “We blow holes in them until we get bored and then we celebrate the Fourth of July.” Her hand reached back and unzipped her pack, no doubt for easy access to her stash of grenades. Oh boy, this was gonna get messy.
“Works for me,” Miranda said. Her body began to glow a furious red, and I was forced to step away from her lest my eyebrows get singed. Sally did likewise, probably less for her body hair and more to keep from prematurely blowing us all into bite-sized chunks.
Oh well, when in Rome. I unshouldered my weapon and prepared to use it. The nice thing about shotguns and multiple enemies was that one didn’t need to be a Navy SEAL sniper to be effective.
“Come on, assholes!” Sally leveled her gun and appeared to be deciding between targets. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Oh, Lucinda, you always were such a poor liar,” a smooth voice said from behind the creatures, further back in the cave.
The sea of rock monsters parted to let the speaker through. A guy of about medium height and build strode toward us. He maybe had a few extra pounds around the middle, but he wore it well, dressed as he was in an expensive-looking suit. To say that he looked out of place down here was definitely stating the obvious.
“No way,” Brock exclaimed as if he knew him.
“Is it me, or does that guy look a bit like you, minus the glasses?” Miranda asked me.
“I don’t see the resemblance.” I raised my gun. “But even if he does, he’s going to look like me minus a head in a second.”
To my surprise, though, Sally stepped in front of us, her own weapon lowered - her guard down.
“Mark?”
X Marks the Spot
“Who the fuck is Mark?” I asked, breaking the momentary silence.
To say Sally’s reaction was a mind-scramble was the understatement of the century. I’d never known her to react to, well, much of anything in a way that wasn’t cool, calm, and psychotically detached. Needless to say, time stopped for a moment - at least for us - in quite possibly the worst situation in the world for a smoke break. Thankfully, the creatures surrounding us seemed to be waiting for some cue to smash our heads in. Ah, standoffs - allowing people to trade awesome last words since time immortal.
The Tome of Bill (Book 6): Half A Prayer Page 13