Marcus hugged the doorway of the recreation center looking shell-shocked. I hated him in that minute. All of this came pretty squarely down on his shoulders and there he stood. Worthless.
I tore my eyes away and looked out over the playground. The T. rex was getting to his feet. Slowly, yes, but still rallying to attack. It would take him seconds to get to us from where he was. Three or four T. rex strides and we would be dinosnacks. Nothing stood between us but a few charcoal grills and a few picnic tables. To the right was the playground. Tall, elaborate monkey bars and rope courses built for kids. Arm-thick cables strung between cut-down telephone poles and swing sets made of pipe set in concrete.
An idea began to form in my head.
An insane idea.
I turned to Boothe and Father Mulcahy. “You two go get the kids out of that building and take them to safety.”
Boothe waved his hand, shooing away the idea. “They are already safe and in the Burrows.”
“What the hell are the Burrows?”
“Our neighborhood is over a network of tunnels. Every building, every home connected by underground tunnels that access from the basements. They dump out into the forest as a getaway if needed.”
“How the hell did you manage that?”
He looked at me, red eyes still managing to look condescending even though they weren’t human. “We’re rabbits. We dig. It’s what we do.”
Good to know. I looked at Kat. Her hair was a mess and her face still puffy from crying in pain. She was rubbing her wrists where the zip ties had cut ugly red marks into her skin. There was a bruise blooming along her jawline, going from her ear, under her cheekbone, and curling up just before it got to her lips. She looked okay as I got her attention. Roughed up, but okay. “Where are Tiff, Larson, and Sophia?”
“We got separated when the houses started burning and then I was snatched by Leonidas and that man.” She pointed at the T. rex, which was shakily getting to its feet. The monstrous red lizard was still wobbly but getting steadier with every second. We were running out of time.
“Okay. Boothe, Father Mulcahy, and Ragnar, take Kat to the place where she got split up from the others and find them. Get them into the Burrows and out of here. Leonidas and the rest of his crew are still out there, so be careful and shoot first. I will keep George, Lucy, and Charlotte with me and we will join you underground when we get done here.”
Boothe nodded his head at where Marcus still stood in the doorway. “What about him?”
I wasted a second to glance over at Marcus. He was now sitting and looking around the edge of the door. “Fuck the cowardly lion, he’s on his own. Now go.”
They turned and went, Kat flanked by the Were-rabbit and the priest, the ancient Werewolf trotting in the lead. I breathed a small prayer that they would find the others without a problem. I turned to the ones left with me.
“Lucy, we need you to do your thing.”
She nodded and stepped a few feet away. Her head dropped, eyes closed. She took several deep breaths, gathering her resolve, diaphragm swelling and contracting as thin hands lifted her shirt. Fingers scrabbled inside her belly button, nails digging, looking for a purchase. Her face twisted as she found one and began to pull, her hands moving slowly in opposite directions, stretching the skin apart at her navel like a special effect. A pointed black triangle slid wetly from inside her stomach, pushing its way free. The skin began to waver and roll as the horn became a massive head that belonged to Masego. His beady eyes stared at me from the middle of Lucy’s thin body; she stood above and below him, her body trembling and her face stretched in pain. With a snort and shake of his head, Masego tore Lucy to shreds and stepped into our reality. He was as big as the Comet and just as black, gleaming wetly in the electric lighting and the fire glow from the burning houses.
“You with us?” I asked him. He nodded his head and shook all over, sending strips of jelly-wet flesh plopping to the ground at his feet. I tossed the bandolier of grenades to Charlotte. She deftly snatched them out of the air. “Can you web these up by their pins so they can all be pulled at one time? I need about an eight-foot tether.”
She looked at them with her alien, unblinking stare. She turned back to me, head tilted to the side. “I can.”
“How long do you need?”
“Just a few minutes, five at the most, and some privacy would be nice.”
My mind flashed back to a conversation between me, Charlotte, and Tiff comparing Charlotte’s half form to Spider-Man. There may have been some whiskey involved. Charlotte revealed that the reason she doesn’t swing from webs is because her spinnerets are located where a spider’s are. As she described it, in the backside of her lower abdomen.
She was gonna need some privacy.
“Okay, we’ll keep devil dinosaur busy. Fix it up and then get it to me wherever I am.” I turned to George and Masego as she hurried to the other side of the building. “Let’s go keep him distracted. Be careful and watch what I am doing. I want him over by the play sets when Charlotte gets done.”
“What do you want me to do to help?” George looked at me with brown gorilla eyes.
The T. rex was on his feet and looking our way. I stepped around the car and raised my gun. “You can be King Kong or Donkey Kong, I don’t care which, just keep him busy and move him toward the play sets. If you think of a way to kill him, then even better.” I began to run toward the dinosaur as he began to run toward me. The ground shook under my feet, rattled by the weight of my enemy.
Oh, this was going to completely suck.
32
Two roars ripped across the space between us. The T. rex’s vibrated the air and stunk of carrion. Mine was torn from the pit of anger inside my chest and thrown at the devil dinosaur I charged. I ran headlong toward an enemy so superior it was insanity. A creature who could swallow me in two bites, razored daggers of teeth cutting me in half to be choked down that massive gullet. The dinosaur rushed toward me, head low to the ground, mouth open to crush down on me. I got close enough to count the scales on its snout when my finger squeezed the trigger on Bessie.
She bucked in my hand, spitting a massive, flesh-cleaving bullet in the face of my enemy. Dark blood spurted out where the bullet struck between those reptilian eyes. It cut a channel through the scaly red skin, furrowing back tissue from the bony ridge of the skull. The dinosaur’s scream of pain was shrill as the head jerked upward and away. I fell into a slide along the ground, slipping low and under the head. Four more times I shot Bessie as I slid under the massive running body above me. Three of them hit, raining black blood that looked like crude oil down on me. Instantly, I was covered in sticky, stinking blood, dirt clinging to it, coating my skin and clothes.
The T. rex reared up from the pain, stopping short.
Oh shit!
I was under that bulk, trying to wipe crud made from dirt and dinosaur blood out of my eyes. I could feel it looming above me as I scrambled to get clear. My eyes cleared, still bleary but open, just in time to see a massive red tail swinging through the air at me. I tried to jump out of the way, but it caught me across the stomach and drove me into the ground. Air was pounded out of my lungs and I lay there, trying not to suffocate.
I gasped and fought to pull air into my lungs. After what felt like an eternity I somehow dragged in one short, sweet breath. Pain, sharp and clear, stabbed through my left side. A rib moved, popped out of place. The pain was excruciating.
I rolled over, the hurt stitching from my spine out to my chest. I tried to stretch, hoping it would settle back into place. It felt like I was being stabbed by a knife as wide as my hand.
A knife dipped in sulfuric acid.
Masego charged into the leg of the dinosaur, knocking it sideways. A grill bounced off the thick skull. George pulled another one from the ground, leaning back, getting ready to throw it too. Bessie was gone, thrown wide and missing when I was knocked down, and the .45’s weren’t enough to do any damage to the monster we were facing.
I needed to get back to the fight.
I twisted away from the pain in my side, stretching, trying to fix the rib that was knocked out of whack. It pulled like a fist of pain pushing through my skin. The rib slid back in place like a punch, leaving me gasping for air. The pain dropped to a dull bruise of hurt. Sucking in air, I got to my feet. Reaching back, I drew the katana from over my shoulder.
The blade sang free, vibrating slightly in my grip. Its thirst for blood blossomed up my arm, running along nerves. A schism formed in my mind as the demon in the sword spilled into my brain. It surrounded my own fury with a membrane and began to drink, allowing me to coldly look at my enemy. My eyes traveled the form of the dinosaur, looking for weakness.
The T. rex had his back to me. I disregarded anything above its hips as being out of my reach, concentrating on everything else. I began to walk, blade swishing through the air, calculating my targets. I could carve a chunk of the tail off. Cleave it through and take a piece of my enemy. Immediately, I dismissed the idea, that wouldn’t hurt my enemy. Not enough.
Masego made another charge at the dinosaur’s legs, trying to cripple it. George was throwing things at its head to keep it distracted. A picnic table spun through the air in a lazy arc as the rhino closed in, thick, stubby legs driving and horn lowered to clip the low joint of the T. rex’s hind leg.
As I watched, closing my distance, the dinosaur ducked the table, letting it bounce off the wide muscles of its back. A massive foot kicked out, driving into Masego and punting him across the picnic area. The four-ton rhino flipped end over end and crashed into the fountain. Stone shattered and water shot into the air around its bulk. He did not get up.
George screamed, his voice rending the night with anguish. Muscles bunched under silver fur as he picked up a charcoal grill. Holding it like a club, he charged the dinosaur.
The leg swung back toward me. I could see individual crimson scales as they overlapped each other. I could see the thick cord of tendon running from heel to knee. The katana rose above my head and I swung it down, my strength boosted by the influence of the sword’s demon. The long, sweeping blade bit into the cable-thick tendon, pulling through, sinking inches deep as it slid down to the bone. Black blood gushed, soaking into the blackened blade as the dinosaur let out a roar and listed to the side. Its massive dino-drumstick folded under all that weight.
The blade in my hand rang out triumphantly as the blood and gore absorbed into its metal edge, sucked in like a vacuum. A humming frequency made the bones in my arm ache and drove me to my knees. A sick, delicious thrill ran up the nerves and into that membrane sack of fury in my mind. It swirled and swelled and burst, washing me with insanity and desire.
My mind snapped like a cheap rubber band.
I wanted to throw the sword as far from me as I could, flinging the dark thing out into the night.
I wanted to turn the blade on myself, letting it drink deep of my life’s blood as I held it, power and pain and death dancing together until I faded, absorbed into the sword.
I wanted to take the blade and kill the whole world with it, finally letting it drink its fill.
The demon in the sword pulled at me, screaming at me. The ocean of rage that lived behind my breastbone swelled into a tidal wave that threatened to sweep me under. I fought against the tide, scrabbling to hold fast to anything good in me, looking for safety to keep from drowning in homicide.
The memory of my wife and children was sucked under, drowned deep in a whirlpool of rage. Their memories followed my love for the family of people who were in my life now. My love for Tiff was too new, not built high enough to rise over the swell of madness. Desperately, I held fast to my faith, clinging to it like a shipwrecked sailor clings to the mast of a sinking ship. Waves battered me relentlessly, driving into me over and over and over again.
The tide of madness was pulling me under.
I drove the blade into the earth, grounding it. The ocean of homicide began to settle just a little. I grabbed hold of all the faith and love inside me and pushed back. The demon’s voice fought, screaming at me at first, cursing me and damning me in a language I did not speak. My mind clamped down on all that was good and holy inside me and I shoved back.
We fought in the battlefield of my soul. The sword trying to kill my soul, to forge me into a wielder that would do its bidding. I raged back. I had enough murder in my heart, I didn’t need the sword’s influence. I dug in and held my ground.
We were locked in a stalemate. Stuck. Slowly, the tide began to turn as I shoved the demon back into its blade. As I began to come back to control, it started begging, offering me anything I wanted to just do its bidding. Finally, it shut down to the whisper of temptation I was used to dealing with.
I had not used the katana since killing its previous owner. I didn’t know it would be such a struggle to keep my control.
Shakily, I got to my feet. I was covered in oily sweat, a slightly sour smell coming off my skin. Every muscle I had felt like it had been pulled too tight, strained almost to the breaking point. I pulled the sword from the ground. The voice surged up, trying to talk to me again.
I told it to shut the hell up. I had work to do.
The T. rex was back up on its feet, moving slower, but after George. The Were-gorilla had done what I asked him to and led the dinosaur to the playground. The dinosaur’s colossal bulk couldn’t maneuver among the close-packed play sets, but George could. He swung and scrambled around them like the monkey he was, taunting the devil dinosaur, always darting just out of reach. The T. rex was tangled in the rope course, trying to stomp its way free so it could crush George between its deadly jaws. That massive red skull swung to and fro in frustration, jaws clamping, dagger teeth grinding.
Charlotte dropped down beside me, so silent in her approach that she appeared like magic next to me. She held up the bandolier of grenades. Each pin had a thin strand of white silk attached to it, these fed into a thicker strand that coiled like a rope in her other hand. She looked at me with unblinking red eyes. “Are you going to do what I think you are going to do?”
Reaching back, I slid the katana into its sheath. As the blade disappeared, the voice became quieter, but more frantic. My hand came off the handle, breaking the connection. My palm itched. I wanted to scratch it. Instead, I took the bandolier and the web rope from her.
“Probably.”
Her head cocked to the side as she studied me. “You know it’s a stupid, crazy idea, right?”
“Absolutely insane.” I grinned. “Now, go help George distract this big Godzilla-looking bastard.”
She turned and darted off. Her spider legs came down and pushed her off the ground. Using them, she made the playground in three big leaps. She began to harass the dinosaur from the other side, being even faster and more nimble than the gorilla.
I watched as they drew the T. rex into a turn that put his back to me. Its thick red tail swished back and forth, wrecking playground equipment with every swing, tangling more metal around its legs and hemming it into one place.
Excellent.
The bandolier slid over my shoulder with the lasso of webbing hanging heavy against my side. It thumped into the spot where my rib had popped out of place, sending a harsh jab of pain. I ignored it. Tying the end into a slipknot, I looped it over my wrist. I was tired as I forced myself into a run, building speed as I came up on that deadly swinging tail.
I circled to the right and jumped up on a mangled slide, climbing up its jumbled pieces. My hands scrabbled to find handholds on the twisted pipes and steps. Pulling myself to its highest point got me even with the T. rex’s hip. I held tight to the structure I was on as that tail swung back and struck it. Vibrations jolted up through me, threatening to toss me off.
My feet slid to the left and out from under me, banging my hip on a piece of pipe that stuck out. Dull pain sunk into the joint and I could already feel where it would be bruised later. Pulling with my arms, I muscled my way back to the top.
Maybe the movies got it wrong and they had all been the color of raw blood. Maybe it was just this one. It doesn’t matter. I pushed the random thought from my head.
Boot leather tightened across my instep as I crouched. Thigh muscles pushed, shoving me into the air. There was a split second of weightlessness as I was unconnected to anything but the space between me and the dinosaur. I had only one thought pass through my mind.
This really is a dumbass plan.
My body slammed into the scaled back of the dinosaur. I began to slide down, fingers scratching for purchase. They dug in, bunching slick scaled skin in my grip. Pulling with my hands and pushing with my feet, I climbed up the T. rex’s back. Realizing I was there, the beast began to buck, trying to dislodge me. It was tangled in mangled play sets, its movements hindered and constrained.
Hand over hand I got above the shoulders. My fingers tightened on the bony ridge of the back of the skull. Pulling myself upward, I wrapped my legs around its thick neck, hooking my feet together. That massive skull whipped back and forth, spittle flying from dagger teeth; thick, bumpy tongue whipping out of the wide-open jaws. My left hand clamped firm to the ridge on the back of the skull, and with my legs locked I wasn’t going anywhere.
The end of the web lasso was still tight around my wrist. A shake of my arm sent the bandolier sliding down into my hand. I was only going to have one shot at this, so I held on, waiting for my moment. The dinosaur saw what I was doing and somewhere in his mind he understood. That big reptilian eye rolled back to look at me.
I could have given him one more chance. A chance to live. Turn human and surrender. But he had chosen this. He had signed up with Leonidas, and he had been party to any evil they had done. Nobody had forced him into being with them; he was too strong to be under anyone’s control. This was the most powerful creature I had ever seen a lycanthrope turn into. He had chosen to do evil.
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