by Jake Bible
Before Elisa could respond and coax more out of him, one of the possessed peeled off from the group and approached the fence.
“Xue?” he asked. “It is Xue, yes?”
Xue hesitated then nodded his giant head.
“Good, good,” the man said. “I’m Prince Gaap.” He chuckled and patted his scrawny chest. “The inside me is Prince Gaap. This outside visage is named Harold or Donald or some such. Not that it matters. Do you have a moment, Xue?”
“This isn’t going to be good,” Coins said. “Gaap’s a bigwig.”
“He’s a prince, apparently,” Elisa said.
“Yes, I am,” Gaap said. “But, I believe your acknowledgement of my status is one of sarcasm, yes?”
“Yes,” Elisa said.
“Go inside,” Xue ordered. “This is not where you should be. Coins? Take the ward inside the cathedral.”
“Hey!” Elisa exclaimed, her hands firmly on her hips. “You do not order me around, Xue.”
“How you grotesques put up with the wills of humans, I do not know,” Gaap said. “It is so much easier to simply possess them and crush their souls than to deal with their insistence at being free to make their own choices.”
“Wards are to be protected, not dominated,” Xue said. “Which is why Elisa will be going inside. Coins?”
“Come on,” Coins said out of the corner of his mouth. “Xue is right. This isn’t the place for you to be.”
“You’re the one who originally said we should take a walk outside,” Elisa protested as Coins took her gently by the elbow and attempted to turn her back to the cathedral.
“Yeah, I was wrong,” Coins said. “I wanted to show you all the possessed. But this is different. Way different.”
“More so than you can fathom, little statue,” Gaap said and smiled wide. The body he possessed only had three teeth left and those didn’t look like they would be hanging out much longer. “It was nice to meet you . . . Elisa, was it?”
“Don’t answer that,” Coins said. “He’s fishing for weakness.”
“I’m safe on the grounds,” Elisa said.
“Yes, so very safe,” Gaap said, and the smile grew even wider. The skin at the corners of his mouth began to tear slightly, and a small bit of blood slowly trickled into his scrubby beard. “Goodbye, Elisa.”
The sight of the smile stopped any fight Elisa had against Coins’s hand on her elbow. She let herself be led back up the hill to the cathedral. But, instead of going inside once they reached the front doors, Coins took a seat on the top step and patted a spot next to him.
“We’ll be fine here,” Coins said.
“You’re scared of him,” Elisa stated as she sat down.
“What? Scared of who? That guy down there?” Coins responded, the words tumbling from his mouth way too fast. “Nope. Not me, doll. No toothless skeleton is gonna scare me.”
“You said we’ll,” Elisa said. “You said we’ll be safe here. You’re a G, so why would you be worried about being safe? Even without the sanctuary’s protection, a demon wouldn’t be able to harm you, right?”
“Most of them, no,” Coins replied then was quiet for a moment.
The rumble of Xue’s voice could be felt in their feet as he conversed at the fence with Gaap, but the exact words were lost on the wind.
“Gaap isn’t like most of them,” Coins said after a second of silence. “That guy down there leads like almost a hundred legions of Hell’s army. He controls water elementals and can transport possessed from one part of the world to another in the blink of an eye. He’s serious trouble.”
“Water elementals?” Elisa asked.
“Water demons,” Coins replied. “Those things that used to live in bogs and swamps and drown lost travelers. Lots of old ghost stories about them. Nasty bastards. Like Gaap.”
The possessed man looked away from Xue and waved up at them the same instant his name was mentioned. Coins flipped him off, which sent the demon into a chuckling fit before he looked apologetically back at Xue.
“Charming fella, though,” Coins said.
“He can transport possessed? How?” Elisa asked.
“By snapping his fingers, I guess,” Coins said and snapped his own stone fingers. “Just. Like. That.”
“Then he brought all those possessed here,” Elisa said. “And he’s going to bring more.”
“Lots more,” Coins said.
“Why?” Elisa asked. “Everyone keeps throwing around the word siege, but what does that mean? Aren’t we already under siege? We’re surrounded by a world of possessed and can’t leave. That sounds like a siege to me.”
“Nah, that’s a stalemate, doll,” Coins said. Elisa gave him a hard shove and almost managed to knock him over. “Sorry. It’s not an insult, ya know. Doll, dame, blouse. It’s what I call the ladies.”
“So, if this isn’t a siege then what is?” Elisa asked.
Coins looked up into the sky and took his time before answering. “I’ve personally never been under siege, but from what I hear, there’s a lot of fighting followed by a lot of waiting followed by a lot more fighting,” Coins said. “All we’ve been doing is waiting. Once the fighting starts, then we’ll be under siege. Make sense?”
“No,” Elisa said. “We’re on sanctuary grounds. They fire a missile at us and it’ll be destroyed by Artus’s magic, won’t it? It’ll never get past the fence line, right?”
“Unless they breach the protection somehow,” Coins said and patted his gut. “That’s what my belly says is coming. Somewhere out there is the key to them breaching the magic. Once that happens, then we’re resigned to relying on simple fisticuffs.”
He held up both hands, made two fists, and jabbed playfully at Elisa.
She swatted his fists away then stared down at the continuing conversation between Gaap and Xue.
“What does he want?” Elisa asked. “Why talk with Xue?”
“He’s a tempter,” Coins said and shrugged, fishing out his coin from a stone pocket in his stone suit. He flicked it into the air and caught it easily. “Tempters like to tempt, doll.”
6
“IT’S THAT SIMPLE,” Gaap said and folded his arms across his emaciated chest. “Walk away and management won’t hold any grudges. You and your stoner friends can live life out in the world as you like. Travel the globe, see the sights. No need to stay here cooped up behind this old, rusting, iron joke of a fence.”
“I’ve seen the sights,” Xue said. “They are not impressive.”
“Seen the sights, have you?” Gaap asked, surprised. “When would a grotesque like you see the sights? Made in China, stolen from a palace, crated up and shipped across the ocean to sit in some warehouse for years before being purchased by a small-time crook who fancied himself a man of taste and style? Is that what you call seeing the sights? Even if you were self-aware during your years as an oversized doorstop, I would never in a million years call that seeing the sights.”
Gaap clapped his hands and a young woman barely dressed in rags hurried over.
“Xue, meet my good friend Tezrian,” Gaap said, pointing from the grotesque to the woman and back again. “Tezzy, love, meet Xue. Now, Tezzy here is the goddess of war.”
“A goddess of war,” Tezzy corrected. “I’m Armenian.”
“That does not matter,” Gaap said. “What does matter is that being a goddess of war, you have seen quite a bit of this world. You, my love, have seen the sights, if I may be so bold.”
“Bold away, baby,” Tezzy said. “Humanity was all about the war, so I was pretty busy before the Gates opened. I’ve seen my share of this stupid rock.”
“What would you say is your favorite place on this earth?” Gaap asked. “I only ask because Xue here believes he’s seen the sights, but I have told him
he’s kidding himself. He’s seen nothing.”
“Favorite place? Gosh and golly, Gaap baby, I don’t know,” Tezzy said as she put an innocent finger to her dirt-encrusted cheek. “The Cambodian Killing Fields were quite impressive, but they’re gone now. Quite a shame. Bodies for miles. Simply marvelous.”
“Yes, yes they were,” Gaap said. “But I was thinking something much more permanent. Something that would interest this fine . . . uh, what are you exactly? A dog?”
“I’m a grotesque,” Xue replied.
“Listen to this one.” Gaap laughed. “Nothing but duty with him!”
Tezzy clapped her hands. “Marvelous. Simply marvelous.” She lunged at the fence and gripped the bars tight. The skin on her hands began to smolder and sizzle. “Simply marvelous!”
“Tezzy, love, do control yourself,” Gaap said, eyes locked on Xue. “She gets excited.”
Tezzy let go of the fence and licked her smoking hands. She then licked her lips as she stepped back and gave Gaap a pat on the ass.
“Thirsty work,” she said and turned on her heel to return to the group drinking around the bar.
The pants she wore lacked a backside and her blistered and pocked ass cheeks hung out for all to see. She gave a little hip shake then wriggled her way through the possessed so she could lean directly on the bar.
“I love that goddess,” Gaap said. “She’s like a little sister to me.”
“Was there a point to any of that?” Xue asked.
“I suppose not,” Gaap said. “If I’m being honest. I merely wanted to rattle your cage, but as your reputation states, you cannot be rattled.”
Gaap stepped as close to the fence as he could without touching it.
“However, I may have some news that will rattle you a bit,” Gaap said. “What if I were to tell you that a Stonecutter still lives? Hmmm? Would that shake the rocks in that huge doggy head of yours? Imagine, if you will, what it would mean to have a living, breathing Stonecutter at your disposal. Why she, or he, could make an entire race of grotesques and gargoyles. You could live here on Earth with us demons. Gs and Ds, hand in hand, ruling the world.”
“The last Stonecutter died many, many decades ago,” Xue said. “And if one did exist, then he would create more of us simply to defeat you.”
“That’s what you think,” Gaap said. He tapped his head then pointed at Xue. His finger touched a bar and he winced as it burst into flame. “Ow! That smarts!”
He shook out the flame and put the finger in his mouth.
“A little food for thought, Xue,” Gaap said around the finger. “A couple of morsels for your mind teeth to chew on.” He bobbed his eyebrows up and down. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, the entertainment is about to begin.”
Xue watched as the possessed man backed away from the fence then turned and joined the crowd. After a few seconds, one of the possessed had climbed onto the bar and was standing there for all to see. It was Todd’s body and he shook all over for a second before his eyes went clear and wide and he looked down at the crowd of possessed that surrounded him. Then his eyes found Xue.
“Xue, help me,” Todd pleaded. “Please!”
Even if Xue wanted to respond, which he didn’t since it was futile with Todd on the outside and he on the inside of the fence, there was no time. The first shot cracked and Todd gripped his right thigh before falling over onto the bar.
“Oh, God! I’m shot,” Todd yelled.
There was thunderous laughter at Todd’s exclamation. Then the thunder morphed into a barrage of gunfire as the possessed took up their guns and fired indiscriminately into Todd’s body. He screamed for a few seconds before falling silent. They fired and fired, forcing the corpse to dance and shudder on the mildewed laminate top of the rotten bar. It was a long time before the possessed allowed his body to go still.
Xue turned and walked away, putting a considerable amount of distance between himself and the desecration of Todd’s body. He stopped halfway across the grounds where he was joined by Antoine the goblin and Scythia the gryphon.
“We heard the gunfire and came to look,” Antoine said.
“I will miss Todd,” Scythia said. “He was a kind soul.”
“That he was,” Antoine agreed. “Don’t you think, Xue?”
“I think Mordecai needs to return so we can formulate a plan,” Xue said. “The possessed will not wait much longer.”
“That so?” Antoine said.
“That is so,” Xue said.
“Who was that demon you were talking to?” Scythia asked.
“Gaap,” Xue said.
“What? Gaap?” Scythia exclaimed. “What is Gaap doing here?”
“Preparing for war,” Xue said. There was an uneasy grumble from deep inside Xue that bubbled up.
“They’ve been doing that for years. What else is troubling you?” Antoine asked. “What did he say?”
“He said there’s still a Stonecutter alive out there,” Xue said.
“He’s lying,” Antoine replied, waving a clawed hand and shaking his goblin head. “Demons lie. It’s what they do.”
“No way, not Gaap,” Scythia said. “That demon gives nothing but true answers to past, present, and future. If he lies, he conceals it within truth.”
“That is exactly what he does,” Xue said.
“Oh,” Antoine said. “So you believe him? That there’s a Stonecutter still alive?”
“I believe he believes it,” Xue said.
The gunfire started up again, but this time toward the sanctuary. None of the bullets made it onto the grounds. They were stopped with quick flashes of light, like bugs hitting one of those electric zappers that used to hang from porches across the country, killing summer pests and sending their smoking bodies falling to the deck boards, warped and badly in need of a new coat of paint.
Xue glanced up at the sky and saw the light shifting from midday to late afternoon.
“Morty needs to return soon,” Xue said. “When it is dark, they will strike.”
“Damn,” Antoine says. “I better go wake up Olivia.”
“Yes,” Xue said. “That would be for the best.”
7
GOING FROM SOLID stone to animate grotesque was never easy, especially when it was forced and premature. The energy it took to make frozen joints pliable, to push life into lifeless limbs, to get a body made of granite moving when that very granite fights every stretch, reach, twist, was almost more than the energy stored during solidity.
Olivia did not wake up in a good mood.
“What?” Olivia almost snarled.
Almost. It wasn’t quite a full snarl since Olivia’s very nature was one of grace and kindness. Her body was grotesque, but not her personality. Which was why she quickly snapped out of her premature wake-up call funk and realized that if she was being pulled from solidity, then there must be a reason.
And that reason could not be good.
“What’s happened?” she asked as she stepped off her pedestal to face Antoine. “Has the sanctuary been breached?”
“Huh? No,” Antoine exclaimed. “Damn, why you gotta go dark so fast?”
“So it hasn’t been breached?” she asked. Antoine shook his goblin head. “Is it close to being breached?”
Some Gs could lie easily, Antoine was not one of them. Despite his monstrous appearance, he was easily the softy of the bunch. And Olivia knew it.
“Antoine?” she said in a soothing voice as she worked out the last few solid kinks from her body. “How bad is it?”
“Gaap is at the gates,” Antoine said. “He says there’s a Stonecutter still alive.”
“He what?” Olivia exclaimed, fully awake. “A Stonecutter lives? How?”
“Don’t know,” Antoine replied. “But that isn�
��t the problem. The problem is, it’s getting dark and Xue believes the demons will strike when the sun has set.”
“Strike? How?” Olivia asked.
“Don’t know that either,” Antoine said and shrugged. “The protection should still hold. No possessed vessel can cross the boundary and get into the sanctuary grounds. Not while Artus’s magic flows through the cathedral and into the land around us.”
“Then they are coming for Artus,” Olivia said. “I want you standing guard by him at all times.”
“Me? I look ugly, Olivia, but I’m not as skilled a fighter like Morty or Xue,” Antoine replied. “I probably couldn’t handle Scythia.”
“Most can’t,” Olivia said and grinned. She patted Antoine on the shoulder. “You have a kind heart, Antoine, but you were built for violence. I know you don’t like to hear that, but it is the truth. The Stonecutter that made you gave you a ferocious soul. You will need that soul soon.”
“Ferocious soul?” Antoine mused. “I like how that sounds. Ferocious soul . . .”
“Where are the wards?” Olivia asked.
“In the nave, I believe,” Antoine answered.
“You believe?” Olivia responded, alarmed. “We must know for sure where they are at all times. They are the reason the demons are here. No other. Our sanctuary could be the last hope for all humanity, Antoine. That is not something we can take lightly.”
“Sorry,” Antoine said and lowered his head. “The magic in us says to protect the sanctuary. I forget that the wards are part of that sometimes.”
“We all forget,” Olivia replied. “It is the flaw in the miracle that gives us life.”
She patted him again then took off down the corridor, her stone gown flowing out behind her. Antoine hurried to keep up, his short goblin stride loping next to her elegant steps.
They reached the nave and found most of the wards seated on their cots, scared, fearful eyes watching them walk down the center and out into the courtyard.