Devil's Gambit

by Nicholas Woode-Smith

“Shit what?”

  I burst out laughing. Colin smiled and took a swig of beer.

  “That guy over there?” he asked, quietly.

  I looked to where he was looking, pointing nonchalantly with his bottle, as if tipping it into his mouth. Andy.

  “Andy,” I hissed. I had my head on Colin’s shoulder. I didn’t remember putting it there.

  “You don’t like him?”

  My aggressive silence was answer enough.

  “He keeps glaring at us.”

  “He’s an asshole.”

  “He looks…jealous.”

  I lifted my head and looked at Colin’s expression. He had a satisfied grin on his face.

  “He’s dating my best friend,” I said. “He better not be fucking jealous.”

  “Hmmm,” Colin sounded, and took another swig. He did not sound convinced.

  We sat in silence, and I found my head drifting to his shoulder once again. I noted that this involuntary action was getting on my nerves, even while I didn’t mind the results.

  “Anyway,” I said, hushed. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks. I can like who I like.”

  “And who do you like?” Colin asked, a mixture of lawyering and flirtation.

  “You, I think,” I said, unthinking.

  “Hey, bro,” Guy interjected, coming up to the bench holding two pool cues. “Up for some pool?”

  Colin looked at me, as if for permission. I moved my head and smiled, giving a voiceless: Go for it!

  Trudie arrived seconds after with more shots.

  ***

  I was out of breath after dancing arm in arm with Conrad and Cindy, who were laughing together like (drunk) old friends. I said something incomprehensible to them and left the dance floor. I staggered to where I saw my friend, Pranish, leaning on him for support.

  “Having fun?” I asked, a little bit too loudly.

  “Yeah,” he smiled, but even in my drunken stupor (that I’d deny if you asked me outright), I detected an insincerity. He was staring across the room. I looked at his target.

  Trudie, and Andy, laughing together. I looked back at my friend and realised the stare was not just that, but a pointed glare, seeping sadness.

  I leaned in and whispered. “You like Trudie, don’t you?”

  “That obvious?” he said, his words dripping resentment and venom.

  I stared back at my best friend and her new boyfriend. “I don’t like this.”

  “Not up to us to like it. If Andy makes her happy, then that’s what matters.”

  “Fucking bullshit,” I swore, loudly. I noted that a few people stared at me, but they soon returned to their own conversations.

  Pranish looked at me pointedly and then sighed. Heavily. “What am I supposed to do, Kat? I’m her best friend. Friend. We’ve all been friends since primary school.”

  “I’m not seeing a valid excuse.”

  I staggered a bit and Pranish caught me. He continued. “I’m so far in the friend zone I might as well apply for squatter rights.”

  “Friend zone is your fault.”

  Pranish snorted. He disagreed.

  “You want something,” I said, slurring between words. “You need to fucking go for it.”

  I hiccupped and reached for Pranish’s drink. I can’t remember what it was. Once I was satisfied with more liquor, I continued.

  “You fucking go for it and fuck everything and everyone else. You are what matters…”

  I swayed for a bit, while Pranish considered his reply. Before he could respond, however, Trudie returned. You know where I’m going with this.

  ***

  The night was winding down. The music was quieter, and the lights dimmer. Everyone left at the Gravekeeper was drinking. The kitchen had closed hours ago. Guy and Colin were playing their 5th rematch and Cindy had gone home after drunkenly crying together with Conrad. Pranish had called it a night a while back. Oliver had also left but I didn’t care about that.

  With the shrinking crowd, Brett was left alone. As was the norm with him, he didn’t seem to mind. I did, however, and as a dutiful host, I went to talk to him.

  “What’s…up?” I slurred.

  “Not much.” He grinned. “Fun party.”

  I sat down next to him and eyed the expanse of the pub. Guy was sweating profusely near the pool table, as Colin lined up his shot.

  “Your boyfriend has put Guy in his place. Haven’t been able to beat him in pool for years.”

  “My boyfriend? Oh, Colin. He’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Oh, so I still have a chance?”

  I shoved him, and his grin grew wider.

  “How old are you anyway?” I asked.

  Brett pouted. “Your goth friend is right. You are impolite.”

  “Answer the question…Bretty.”

  Brett laughed. “27.”

  “Eight…seven years my senior! You’re practically ancient.”

  “Aw, shucks. Thanks.”

  Colin sank his shot and I remembered something.

  “How old were you in the Corps?”

  Even in my drunken haze, I noticed Brett become uncomfortable.

  “I’m sorry…” I muttered, sobering up just a bit.

  “Nah, it’s fine. To answer…14 when I joined. 19 when I left.”

  14.

  14.

  I couldn’t wrap my head around that number. I thought I had it rough, fighting monsters starting at 17. I realised what that age meant. Brett, smiling, mocking Brett, had been a child soldier.

  “I’m sorry,” I repeated, looking down. My drunkenness only enhanced my shame.

  Brett surprised me by putting his arm around me and squeezing my shoulder.

  “Sorry for what? It’s fine, Kat. It’s in the past.”

  Could something like that really stay in the past? There was a long pause before Brett spoke again.

  “What’s your friend’s boyfriend’s problem, by the way?”

  “Andy?”

  I looked up and saw Andy with Trudie across the room. My friend was nuzzling Andy, but Andy was pretending not to be looking my way.

  “Fuck if I know.”

  “He looks jealous.”

  “So, I’ve heard.”

  Brett removed his arm and I suddenly felt an intense disappointment. The ending of his warmth left a notable cold patch.

  I leaned forward towards the table and rested my head on my hands. Brett left and returned with two more beers.

  “Last round,” he said. I took one sip and then stopped.

  “I don’t understand,” I said.

  “Don’t understand what?”

  “Relationships.”

  “Pfft. That makes two of us.”

  ***

  Someone dropped me off at home. I don’t know who. Last I remembered, we were all drunk as…actually, I’m too drunk to think of a simile. Whoever it was, they escorted me to my door, waited for me to let myself in and then left.

  My apartment was dark. Should have left some lights on. I was sure I did but could have been drunk enough to have forgotten.

  “Enjoy your night?” Treth asked. His question was sincere, as far as I could tell, but there was a hint of displeasure in his voice.

  “Yeah,” I said, not moderating my volume despite the late hour. I recalled reading a 4 or even 5 on the car’s digital clock. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing, nothing. Colin is nice.”

  “Yeah,” I said, raising my eyebrow quizzically. I staggered my way to the bathroom, using the wall to hold myself up. “So is Brett.”

  I don’t know why I added that last part. Maybe because of the reaction I felt from Treth.

  I expected some sort of lecture. Instead, I got a sigh.

  “What is it with you and Brett?” I asked, trying to find the doorknob of the bathroom in the dark.

  “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Crass.”

  I sent a glare his way. He felt it.

  “Colin
is just more…gentlemanly. Competent. You should date him.”

  “You’re not my boss.”

  I didn’t mind the idea of dating Colin at all but having Treth tell me to do so riled me up in all the wrong ways.

  I somehow opened the door and went in. The light switch didn’t work. I thought nothing of it. I was too used to the dark.

  “I don’t want you to be hurt, Kat,” Treth finally said, stopping me in my tracks.

  “How would Brett hurt me?” I asked, hushed.

  “The same way I could hurt you. Because we are broken. And scars don’t need more scars. They need bandages.”

  “I’m a scar?”

  Treth ignored my question. “Brett walks a dark path. He’ll be lost, in the end, and you will suffer for it.”

  “We walk the same dark path, Treth.”

  Treth didn’t respond.

  I gave up on trying to find my toothbrush in the dark and left.

  “Anyway, Treth, Colin is more my age. It will work…”

  I stopped.

  It was dark, but in the darkness, I stared through my window, curtains drawn. Two jet-black eyes stared back.

  Chapter 14.

  Creeps

  I sobered up immediately. Adrenaline and fear can do that to you. And while I did not consciously realise either, I felt the latter very much, as the pair of unblinking eyes stared at me from the other side of the glass. The eyes were unmoving. Only a glint of moisture, that could have very well been my imagination, made me think that the two black orbs were eyes at all.

  My vision adjusted to the darkness and I noted that it was very quiet. I could not even hear the distant traffic of the freeway – normally never ending. I also noted that I was keeping my mind on anything other than the creature attached to my window, unblinking and unceasingly looking at me.

  “What…” I finally broke the silence, a quaver to my voice. “Is that?”

  “I don’t know.” Treth hid his fear a bit better, but I felt it. It was like the pang in the heart you usually feel when you’re afraid, but externalised.

  The creature was a sickly white, like plaster pulled over smooth flesh. Its gait was ape-like, with long arms and legs. Its elongated snout looked like a baboon’s, yet I saw no teeth or opening for its mouth. Wisps of dark hair fell off its head like tiny rivulets. Two shiny stone-like eyes held a sense of malicious intelligence as it stared through my window. It clung to my window like a gecko, unmoving. Like one of those sculptures that you swore was following your every move.

  I’d call it creepy, but that was an understatement. It was damn well nerve wracking, and I wrestled with vampires and walking corpses for a living.

  “Kat,” I heard a meek whisper.

  “Duer?” I whispered back, instinctively. I didn’t feel any more noise would matter. This thing was staring right at me already.

  “Don’t go outside.”

  I looked around but couldn’t see Duer’s glow. A pixie’s glow was linked to their mood. If he was not glowing at all, then he must be hurt, or so terrified that he may as well be hurt.

  “Do you know what it is?” I asked, looking for my pixie friend. I found him keening underneath a coffee mug. I’d seen almost dead nightlights glow more intensely than my normally exuberant and self-assured friend.

  “A curse, Kat. A curse from the void. Ye angered someone, Kat. Someone has sent the cursed void-creepers,” he muttered, avoiding my eyes. His accent strengthened when he was stressed.

  “What are they?” I asked again. Angered someone? Couldn’t begin to think who. Long list. And most of them were dead.

  He looked at me, and I felt the terror in his gaze. “Creatures from the In Between. They do not move through our world, Kat. But they can still hurt us.”

  I touched my friend’s shoulder lightly with my finger. He was shivering. He must have experience with these void-creepers. And by his reaction, it must not have been a good experience.

  I looked at the creature. I had not seen it move, but its head had swivelled towards me, watching. I shivered.

  “Why isn’t it coming inside?”

  “It hasn’t been invited,” Duer said.

  “Ah, like vampires in the old myths?”

  Duer did not respond. But I got the gist. While real vampires didn’t need to be invited inside someone’s home, many demons did. While I couldn’t be sure, this creature on my window looked to be nature defying enough to be a demon of some sort.

  I moved to lean back but felt a tug on my finger. Duer was grabbing me.

  “Don’t go, Kat,” he pleaded.

  I frowned. Could I not go? Did I have a choice? There was a monster, or even monsters, besieging my home. I needed to leave eventually. And it wasn’t just that. Mrs Ndlovu and the other residents were outside. The monster, or monsters, couldn’t come into my apartment, but they could just as easily kill anyone walking past. Even if I was their target, they were still beasts. Collateral damage was their MO.

  I retrieved my cell from my jeans pocket. My new salamander-hide coat was faintly warm as I touched it. Maybe I could get over the orange. It was comfortable. Snug.

  My phone was dead. Not just out of batteries. It smelled burnt. The same way it had smelled after the demon on the mountain had attacked me the first time. Was he around here somewhere? It was possible. He had not disappeared as a result of his defeat. Even if nobody else had died at the Citadel, I was sure he was still out there.

  “Power’s out. Phone’s dead,” I muttered. “Any ideas?”

  “Ask Duer if they can survive sunlight. Maybe they are more linked to the old vampire myths than just the rule of invitation?”

  “Duer,” I asked, with as quiet and as unthreatening a voice as I could muster. “Can these things survive the sun?”

  Duer looked up at me. Thought for a second. “No, but they cannot die either. They disappear back into the In Between during the day.”

  Cannot die. Great…

  “Sounds like we need to wait,” Treth said.

  I thought for a second and then nodded. “I don’t like it. Would rather fight it. But if I can’t see it move…”

  I looked at the creature again and swore that one of its three elongated fingers had changed position.

  “If I can’t see it move, then I’m just gonna need to wait and figure this out in the morning.”

  And I had an assignment due tomorrow. Ugh. Well, was either going to be hungover or dealing with cursed demons. This was a more poetic option for the likes of me.

  “Can anything hurt them?” I asked. Duer didn’t answer.

  “Duer?”

  “You talking to me or yourself?”

  “You.”

  “I…I think I saw one bleed when we were going through.”

  “Through what.”

  “I don’t know.”

  I groaned.

  “No use, Kat. He’s hard to speak to at the best of times,” Treth said, trying to be the voice of reason.

  I went to sit on my couch, but with the creature looking right in on me, I stopped and decided to sit on the stool by my kitchen counter. I knocked over some glasses. Didn’t hear them crash, though. Would need to clean up the place – when this was all sorted out.

  “If I must fight them, and I can’t see them move, then I must just anticipate where they’re heading.”

  “Hopefully, you won’t need to.”

  “Better to have a plan just in case.”

  Treth grunted his assent.

  I sat in the dark, staring at the thing staring back at me, in silence for what seemed an age.

  “Kat, go get some rest. It can’t come in.”

  But how could I sleep knowing such a thing was just a few arms’ lengths away? And how could I sleep knowing that someone, or something, wanted me dead.

  I could not. So, I sat, looking at my quarry with eyes wide open, until the nightly dark outside began to abate, just a bit, and I could see the creature more clearly.

  “
Morning is almost here,” I said.

  “And you haven’t slept a wink,” Treth commented, in a voice much like Trudie’s nagging.

  Duer was snoring. He’d finally fallen asleep, curled up in a mug.

  “It should disappear soon. Hopefully, no one will coax it into violence before then.”

  As if by some sick twist of fate, I heard a door open, and someone start whistling. It was from the floor below. Mrs Ndlovu. I was sure of it.

  The creature did not move. I watched it, as still as a statue. I watched the light approach, slowly blanketing the outside with indirect illumination. Yet, the creature did not disappear. It must still consider it night, then. I’d also still consider this night. If given the choice, I’d be sleeping at this time. This thing didn’t give me a choice.

  I heard feet scale the stairs. The volume of the whistling increased. I heard a thud, thud, thud. Silence. The silence lengthened. A woman gasped.

  I involuntarily glanced towards my doorway and, when I looked back, the creature was gone from my window.

  “Fuck!”

  “Kat, don’t do anything stupid.”

  I ignored him and dove for my new sword. Whoever had escorted me in last night during my stupor had left it next to my bag, with my dusack. I drew both and pulled the door open.

  Nothing but the tweeting of birds and the revving of morning traffic. It was light now.

  “Mrs Ndlovu?” I called out.

  No reply.

  I could have sworn I heard her.

  “Anyone?”

  No reply.

  Was it sleep deprivation? Did I imagine it?

  “You did hear something, right?”

  “I did.”

  Treth didn’t get sleep deprived. Someone had gasped outside here. Someone who couldn’t reply.

  “It must be day now, right?”

  Treth didn’t answer.

  I gulped, held my swords in a defensive posture to defend my flanks and took a step forward. And another.

  Nothing. No Mrs Ndlovu. No person at all. Not even a corpse.

  I sighed in relief. It was not impossible that both Treth and I were delusional. I turned to go back inside my room and found myself staring into two jet-black eyes.

  My swords didn’t hit anything, but something dug deeply into my thigh and I cried out, falling to my knees.

  “Behind!” Treth shouted, genuine panic in his voice.