by Kris Greene
Rogue studied Gilgamesh as he weighed his words. He could see genuine concern on Mesh’s face, which was rare for the assassin. In his heart he knew that Gilgamesh was speaking the truth, but he couldn’t sit idle while Titus made slaves of humanity. “Doing what’s right isn’t always the easiest thing, but it’s the only way I know how to do things, Mesh. You know that.”
Gilgamesh smiled, as he had known that was how Rogue would respond. “Indeed I do. So tell me, other than you having a death wish, what brings you to see me tonight?”
“I need to get into Midland,” Rogue told him.
Gilgamesh looked at him as if he were insane. “Rogue, I’ve never known you to do drugs, but you’ve gotta be high for what you’re asking. What’s so important in Midland that you’d risk getting skewered to go after it?”
“The goblins snatched the kid’s grandfather and took him to the Iron Mountains. Me and the Redfeathers go back too far for me to let him go out like that, Mesh,” Rogue told him.
The name struck a chord with Gilgamesh. He hadn’t spent as much time with the old scholar and his family as Rogue, and he had always considered them good people. “Damn.” Gilgamesh let out a sigh. “Cracking the Iron Mountains isn’t gonna be easy, Johnny. Even with my diplomatic status I can’t march into the Iron Mountains without an invitation and that would have to be requested by my father.”
“I’m not talking about being invited; I’m talking about busting in. Your people know the rifts that lead to Midland as well as anyone else, so all I’m asking is that you get me through one near the Iron Mountains and my people and I will do the rest.”
“You’re crazy, Johnny!”
“Maybe so, but that doesn’t change the fact that I need to crack that mountain to try to save Mr. Redfeather. Mesh, I know the chances of me saving the old man and getting out are slim, but I gotta try. I owe it to him.”
“Always the bleeding heart, Johnny. Okay, I’ll get you the location of a rift in a few hours, but you’re on your own as far as getting across. I love you, Johnny, but not enough to die for you,” Gilgamesh said seriously.
“Thanks, Mesh.” Rogue shook his hand. “So, what are you gonna do about this gathering that Titus has called?”
“I’m not gonna do a damn thing. The invitation was to my uncle, not me.” Gilgamesh looked at his watch. “He should be on his way there as we speak.”
Rogue looked surprised. “You mean he’s actually considering whatever Titus is offering?”
Gilgamesh shrugged. “You know my uncle; he’s a businessman before anything.”
“But if your uncle and the rest of those guys side with Titus it’ll bring this world one flush away from being down the toilet.”
“And why should we care? Rogue, what you keep forgetting is that we supernaturals are only squatters here, because the humans forced us out of the equation long ago. This world is already on the high road to ruin so why not turn a profit from it? This isn’t personal, Rogue, it’s strictly business.”
“Gilgamesh, this is a new low even for your uncle. I’d always thought of you guys as more than just leeches feeding on the weak and helpless, but I guess I was wrong. That’s cold, man, real cold.”
“No, cold would’ve been me letting Teko take your head and collecting that bounty. Friend or not, you are still guests of the Black Hand, so I’d advise you not to push your luck with me, Johnny.” Gilgamesh removed a cell phone from his drawer and tossed it to Rogue. “I’ll call you on that line in a while with the information you need. Until then, try to keep yourself from getting killed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Procuring fresh clothes so that they could move freely through Midland proved to be more difficult than Gabriel and De Mona had expected. When they reached the marketplace, it dawned on them that US dollars would do them no good in Midland. With no way to pay for their items, they had to be liberated from one of the local shops. Luckily, Gilchrest was a far better thief than he was a warrior.
“I feel ridiculous,” Gabriel said, stepping out from behind the bushes where he had gone to change his clothes. He had traded his jeans and sweatshirt for a pair of rawhide pants and a ratty burlap shirt. The shirt’s sleeves were long enough to cover the tattoo on his arm, but it itched terribly.
“You look fine,” De Mona told him, buckling the clamp at the shoulder of her green tunic. She had taken her braids out and let her hair spill freely over her tanned shoulders.
“Stupid cloak,” Gilchrest grumbled, tripping over the fabric every time he took a step. “I the only one of Midland so not see why it necessary to hide.”
De Mona took a fistful of fabric from the bottom of his robe and cut it with her claws so it wouldn’t be so long and Gilchrest could move better. “Because you would stick out like a sore thumb if you didn’t.”
“Could’ve taken a little off the sleeve,” Gilchrest mumbled and stalked off into the brush.
De Mona shook her head. “Ungrateful son of a bitch.” As she turned around to mention it to Gabriel, she noticed that he was giving her a very puzzled look. “What?”
“Nothing,” he lied.
“Don’t give me that. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, it’s just that . . . I dunno, you look like a girl,” he said awkwardly. Now that she had shed her oversized jeans and T-shirt, Gabriel could really appreciate her beauty.
“You sure know how to make a lady feel special,” she said sarcastically.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that I’ve never seen you in anything other than boy’s clothes, and I . . . never mind. I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable by staring.” He fixed his eyes on the ground.
De Mona lifted his head gently. “Its okay, Gabe, guys are supposed to stare at girls all goofy when they think they’re pretty. Haven’t you ever had a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Okay, maybe someone you were sweet on?”
Gabriel thought back to Katy. “Yeah, but she was killed back in New York when the Nimrod came to me.”
De Mona covered her mouth in embarrassment. “I’m sorry for your loss, Gabriel.”
“It wasn’t really my loss. I liked her and she liked my best friend.” He sounded defeated. “Listen, can we change the subject?”
“Sure. We should be trying to figure out our next move anyhow.” De Mona was about to start hashing out her plan when her sensitive ears picked up on something coming their way through the brush. She stood with claws at the ready in case it was trouble, but it was just a little white rabbit that came scampering from the bushes with Gilchrest on its heels. He’d almost caught it, but it made a hard cut, causing him to stumble and fall flat on his face in the dirt. De Mona and Gabriel doubled over laughing at the spectacle.
“Not funny.” Gilchrest spat out a mouthful of dirt. “Starving I am, haven’t eaten in nights.” he rubbed his stomach for emphasis.
“He’s got a point; I can’t even remember the last time I ate,” Gabriel admitted. He had been so caught up in evading the demons and the police that food hadn’t even been an afterthought.
“I could stand a meal myself,” De Mona agreed. “But we had to steal these clothes, so where the hell are we gonna find a place to get some food for free?”
“I know a place,” Gilchrest said slyly.
Gabriel stared around the marketplace like a tourist seeing Times Square for the first time. Even though it was dark, a few of the shops, catering to the more nocturnal creatures of the land, were still open. Goblins, dwarfs, and species that Gabriel couldn’t identify roamed the streets bartering for goods and services, some with coin and others with steel. As Gilchrest had warned, Midland was a dangerous place.
“Stop your gawking before we are discovered, human,” Gilchrest spat.
“I didn’t mean to stare—it’s just that I’ve never seen anything like this. There are so many different species and cultures represented here that it would take me a lifetime to study them a
ll,” Gabriel said.
“Lifetime to study them, but seconds to kill you if what you carry is discovered. Make no mistake, human; stink of black magic you do. If not careful you have trouble from more than goblins. Goblins eat flesh; some things in Midland devour soul,” Gilchrest warned. “Now come, enough studying. Food not far.”
As they neared the end of the market square De Mona could pick out the scents of animals and food cooking, which caused her stomach to curl up in knots. Gilchrest led them down an alley between a pottery shop and a tavern. He motioned for them to take cover behind a stack of barrels while he peered into the back of the tavern. In a small pen were several animals that looked like a cross between a goat and a pig, grazing on the weeds coming up out of the ground. A brutish-looking man wearing a bloodstained apron carried the smoked carcass of some sort of livestock, which he placed on a hook among several others of varying sizes. Neither Gabriel nor De Mona had any idea what kind of meat it was, but the smell made their mouths water.
“There.” Gilchrest pointed at the meat, which sported stumps where limbs used to be.
Gabriel frowned. “I don’t even know what that is, so you couldn’t possibly expect me to eat it!”
“Unless you want to starve, suggest you stop complaining I do.” Gilchrest hissed.
De Mona glanced at the meat and smacked her lips. “Dude, I’m so hungry that thing could have six legs and two heads and I wouldn’t care.”
“Not as stupid as you look, demon.” Gilchrest snickered. “Wait until he goes back inside we must, then the human will fetch meat.”
“Me?” Gabriel raised his eyebrow. “Why do I have to do it, when you’re the thief?”
Gilchrest gave Gabriel an annoyed look. “Goblin and demon stink of predator, frighten animals and make shopkeeper come. Human just stink, nothing fear you.”
Gabriel looked at De Mona, who just shrugged. Reluctantly, he accepted the mission. “You know, I’m supposed to be the hero, but I feel more like the sidekick on this little adventure,” he managed to muster a joke to hide his fear before making his way toward the meat.
Gabriel stayed as low as he could so as not to be spotted by one of the patrons of the tavern. He took a moment to peer into one of the open windows. Inside, dangerous-looking creatures ate, drank, gambled, and entertained themselves with what he assumed to be females. Abandoning his curiosity, Gabriel crossed the yard and made his way to the meat. Up close, he had to admit that the meat did look tasty. Even if he didn’t know what it was, it couldn’t be any worse than what he ate at the Chinese restaurants in New York. He selected a carcass that was slightly larger than a chicken from the hook, but when he tried to pull it down it got stuck. He looked over his shoulder at De Mona and Gilchrest, who were motioning for him to hurry up. Gabriel gave a final tug, but he put more force behind it than he meant to and ended up pulling down the entire rack, making enough noise to be heard all the way to the Iron Mountains and scaring the animals into fits.
“Quit with all the noise, you’ll all get your chance to grace my chopping block soon enough,” the brute in the apron said, appearing from the tavern. When his eyes landed on Gabriel lying in a heap amidst his meats, the man’s misshapen lips drew back into a sneer. “What’s this? Another one of you stinking river bandits come to steal from me again, have you?”
Gabriel looked around at the ruined meat and threw his hands up submissively. “Listen, mister, this isn’t what it looks like.”
“I thought when I sent the last one of your lot back downriver missing a hand it would send a message to all of your kind, but apparently it hasn’t.” He drew a meat cleaver from his apron. “Let’s see if they get the message when I have your head delivered in a box!”
Gabriel managed to roll out of the way just before the cleaver made contact with the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and began backing toward the tavern door. “Buddy, why don’t you take it easy with that thing before you hurt somebody?”
“I’ll do more than hurt you.” He rushed Gabriel. The cleaver whistled through the air, aimed at Gabriel’s head, but ended up eating away a chunk of the tavern door as the fleet young man danced out of the way. The noise drew a crowd of spectators as the brute chased Gabriel across the yard.
“Listen, I’m sorry about your meat and if you just let me . . .” Gabriel’s apology was cut off by the swipe of the cleaver. He managed to avoid it by doing a cartwheel that carried him back to the fallen rack of meat. The brute swung twice more, but Gabriel dodged both strikes while the crowd cheered him on. As he danced around the cleaver-wielding madman for the adoring spectators, he was taken back to his days as a part of his parents’ carnival act. The memory excited him.
“Stay still so I can gut you, you wormy little bastard!” the brute huffed.
“You’re more likely to die from a heart attack than to even come close to touching me with that thing,” Gabriel taunted him. With a snarl the brute charged again, swinging the cleaver back and forth. Gabriel leaped into the air and landed on the brute’s shoulders, where he proceeded to muss his already frazzled hair. “I’m sure a big strong guy like you can do better than that.” Gabriel locked his legs under the brute’s arms and threw himself backward into a summersault, sending his opponent sailing through the air and into the pen with the animals.
When the brute resurfaced, his face was covered in feces. “I hate you cursed river people,” he gasped, before collapsing back into the waste in exhaustion.
The crowd erupted with laughter and cheers as they tossed coins at Gabriel’s feet. Gabriel smiled and bowed gracefully to the crowd, scooping up a handful of the coins and the meat he had been trying to steal. Gabriel tossed one of the coins into the pen. “This is for the meat.” He tossed another coin. “And this is for being such a good sport.” Gabriel strode confidently from the back of the tavern with the meat tucked under his arm and the cheers of the crowd ringing in his ears. Gabriel wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, but his pulsing arm told him it had to do with the Nimrod.
When Gabriel had gone, three short men wearing capes and hoods gave each other knowing glances and disappeared back inside the tavern.
“Seems you not so useless after all, human.” Gilchrest tore into the portion of meat De Mona had carved off for him.
“Thanks, I think,” Gabriel said. “I was scared shitless when he came at me with that meat cleaver.”
“But you handled yourself like a seasoned veteran,” De Mona told him while chewing a chunk of the rubbery meat. It was almost completely without flavor but it beat starving. “I didn’t know you were an acrobat.”
“I’m not . . . well, at least not anymore,” Gabriel said sadly.
“Well, you could’ve fooled me. Good job, Gabe.” De Mona kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush. Gabriel, De Mona, and Gilchrest walked down a little farther, De Mona giving casual glances over her shoulder. From the look on her face, Gabriel could tell something was wrong.
“You okay?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah, its probably nothing,” she said in a less than sure voice. When they got to the mouth of the next alley, De Mona directed them to duck inside. Gilchrest complained, but she snatched him by the collar and dragged him along.
“Crazy demon, what problem now?” he asked in an agitated tone.
“Shut up and get out of sight.” She shoved the goblin into a pile of boxes and directed Gabriel to lean against one wall while she took the other. Gabriel wasn’t sure what the problem was, but he had learned throughout the course of their journey to trust De Mona’s instincts. A few minutes passed with nothing happening, but just when Gabriel was about to question her, the three hooded figures that had been at the tavern appeared in the alley with their weapons drawn.
“Are you sure they came down this way?” one of the hooded figures asked the leader of the trio. In answer to his question, De Mona pounced on him from the shadows, knocking him to the ground. De Mona extended her claws with the intention of taking his
head off when a golden ax came between them, deflecting the blow. The hooded figure with the ax drew back to strike De Mona from her blind side, but a crackle of lightning knocked him farther into the alley. When he looked up, Gabriel was standing over him with storm clouds rolling in his eyes.
“That young lady you tried to behead is a friend of mine, so unless you can give me a good reason I’m going to barbecue you.” Gabriel drew his hand back with a ball of lightning resting in his palm.
Cristobel covered his face with the back of his hand. “I wasn’t trying to hurt her; I only wanted to get her off my friend.”
“Lies like the rest of his kind this dwarf does. Kill him and be done with it you should.” Gilchrest spat.
“Hold on a second.” De Mona placed a calming hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. She looked down at Cristobel and could see the fear in his eyes. “Start talking or I’m going to let my friend make good on his threat. You’ve been following us since the tavern and I want to know why.”
“Because of him,” he pointed at Gabriel.
Gabriel gave him a confused look. “Okay, okay, I know I’ve made quite a few enemies over the last forty-eight hours but I’ve never met you before in my life so what could I possibly have done to piss you off?”
“Gabriel, I’m not your enemy. We are friends, friends of your grandfather. The moment I saw your face I knew you were the one he spoke of,” Cristobel said in an attempt to calm Gabriel, but the statement only enraged him more.
Gabriel snatched the dwarf from the ground and hoisted him high above his head. Lightning crackled around him, illuminating the alley. “What have you done with my grandfather?”