TAINTED SPIRITS

by Richard Alanson

  Guns were handed out to the riot police as they swarmed over the city. The uprising had to be quelled before it got too out of hand. It was entire madness and Carter wondered if it was the beginning of the end. He remembered what Constantine had said about there being a battle between good and evil in every man's heart, and if that was the case then evil was most definitely winning. It was a mystery how he was going to protect the city from itself and from demons at the same time, but at the moment people were a greater danger to themselves than anything else was.

  The rioting was worst in downtown LA, so most of the officers were diverted there. The station was alive with calls. It was utter chaos. Every able body needed to be on the street but they couldn't leave the precinct empty so Carter, along with a few others, volunteered to stay behind. Ordinarily Carter would have been out there on the front lines but with Aguilero in custody he wasn't going anywhere. Carter sat himself down in front of the cameras that were focused on the holding cells. Most of the prisoners were in good spirits, enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that the police were being troubled. Aguilero wasn't joining in though. He merely sat there quietly, staring at the bars as though he were in a trance.

  Carter stepped up from his desk to talk down an officer who was panicking. Nerves were frayed. People were worried about their loved ones. Carter was no different but not everyone could handle it as well as he could. Some of the officers around him were fresh out of the academy and while they had been trained for this, experiencing it was another matter entirely. Carter had to give them a pep talk and when he returned to his seat he glanced at the monitor, and then stared in disbelief. Aguilero was having a fit. Carter rose and yelled for someone to get down to his cell. Carter couldn't take his eyes off the monitor for Aguilero's fit had stopped abruptly. He then began chanting and chewing on his arms. It was like nothing Carter had ever seen before and he stared at the monitor with morbid fascination as Aguilero mutilated his own body, then used the blood that seeped out from his mangled flesh to draw strange symbols on the wall. Carter instantly moved and ran towards the holding cell but behind him he heard the screams of officers as the doors were blown in. At first he thought they were under attack by rioters, but then he heard a familiar screech and the swooping of wings. He watched as officers were flung back, their heads snapping as they hit the walls and slumped to the floor, bodies twisted unnaturally. Carter cursed and ran into a nearby office.

  He was alone against the succubus again.

  Carter crouched down, hiding from plain sight. As the succubus floated through the corridor she didn't seem to pay any attention to anything other than Seth. Her wings receded into her back and she was Anja again. As she transformed Anja staggered a little bit. Carter was about to call out to her, thinking that when she was in human form she would be easier to reason with, but then he heard Aguilero call out for help.

  “I don't know where the keys are,” Anja replied in fractured English. While she was searching Carter pulled out his cell and called Constantine.

  “I need your help. I have Aguilero in custody and Anja is here. She's killed everyone. I can't fight her alone. Come quickly. I don't know how much time I'll have,” he said, glad when Constantine said he was on his way. Carter slipped the cell phone back in his pocket and tried to think how he was going to get out of this. He already knew that a gun didn't work, and he didn't really want to get close enough to use Holy Water again. The arsenal he had been given somehow didn't seem powerful enough but he knew that he couldn't let Aguilero escape.

  Carter hated being so helpless but he knew he wouldn't be any good dead. His only chance was to wait for Constantine to arrive yet time was running out, and when Anja declared she had found the keys Carter knew he had to do something. His only hope was that Anja remained Anja. While she was still human he had a chance to reason with her, but if she turned into a succubus again then all was lost. Carter leaped out and pointed a gun at her.

  “Put those keys down Anja. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I just want Seth to answer for his crimes. Don't help that man. You know that you're a victim too. I can get you help. I know there's good in you. Please don't do this.”

  Anja turned slowly to face him. She held the keys in one hand. Her head was bowed and when she raised it Carter could see the sorrow that lay in her eyes. A single tear rolled down her eyes before the darkness overwhelmed her and the demon took hold again. A human scream became an inhuman shriek as black wings stretched out and claws slid from nails. With a wicked grin the succubus advanced on Carter licking its lips as it anticipated finishing what it had started. This time Carter was sure that it wasn't going to end until his soul had been sucked away.

  Creeping back with every step, Carter fired his gun again and again. Every time the succubus deflected it with its thick wings. Then his gun clicked. Empty. There was no hope anymore. The wings stretched out and all Carter could see was the pale naked flesh and the jaws that sought to devour him. But then, from the other side of the room a metal object gleamed as it slashed through the air and hit the succubus in the middle of its back. The succubus arched back in pain and convulsed wildly, its eyes opening wide in shock. Carter scrambled away. The succubus twisted and turned as it tried to reach the wound. As it did Carter saw that it had been impaled with a throwing knife in the shape of a crucifix. The wound began to steam and burn. The succubus wailed and howled in pain again and retreated, soaring away. Carter had lived to fight another day. He looked up as he caught his breath and saw Constantine standing there flanked by four heavily-armed monks, who he assumed were from the Brothers of Amity.

  “You sure have a good sense of timing,” Carter said as he pushed himself onto his feet. The smile fell from his face as he looked at all the devastation around him, including the young officers who had lost their lives. They had trained for riots and been scared but nothing could have prepared them for this. Carter was once again filled with a determination that the forces of evil had to be destroyed once and for all.

  Chapter 13

  A s soon as Seth regained his bearings and thanked Constantine he marched down to the holding cell, picking up the keys that the succubus had dropped when it had been trying to retrieve the knife from its wound. Carter wanted to finally ask Aguilero about the entire thing but when he reached the cell he saw that Aguilero's body was slumped on the floor.

  “Get the hell up!” Carter yelled as he opened the door and ran in. Leaning down, he pulled Aguilero's body away and saw that the man had been shot in the head. “Dammit Carter yelled.” One of his bullets must have deflected off the succubus and hit Aguilero. Hanging his head, Carter felt utterly defeated. Aguilero had been his one link to the Lords of Baal, his one avenue for information and now that had been cut off.

  “All of this is for nothing. Aguilero was the key. Now we don't have anything and the city is going to hell around us.” He stood up and groaned. “I'll meet you later tonight. I'm going to have to explain this and I don't know how in the hell I'm going to do that,” Carter said. Constantine walked up to him.

  “Stay strong my friend. Remember that you are God's instrument and He has faith in you.”

  Somehow that didn't serve to comfort him. Constantine and the monks left him alone surrounded by death and destruction. He was sitting in the middle of it all when Chief LeBlanc came in, flanked by five armored cops.

  “What the hell is going on here McBride? We got a call that shots were fired,” The chief said, and stopped as he looked around at the state of the station. “My God...Carter, you'd better start telling me what happened right now.”

  “You wouldn't believe me if I told you,” Carter said. LeBlanc gestured for his men to take a look around. It wasn't long before they discovered Aguilero's body and when they told LeBlanc he looked disapprovingly at Carter.

  “You know McBride, I always knew you straddled the line but I can't believe you would do something like this. You've had a hard on for Aguilero for a long time bu
t you shouldn't have used these riots as an excuse to kill him. I know that the streets are safer without a man like him and God knows I've been tempted to do the same too many men over the years but we have procedures in place. We have to work inside the law because the law is all we have. It's all falling apart outside. I didn't expect to come in here and find this.”

  “It's not what you think,” Carter said, although he didn't know what he could say that could make sense. If he started talking about demons and secret cults they'd have him carted away to an asylum.

  “Then tell me what happened. Christ, you're the only one left standing and I know for sure that you didn't kill those cops, at least I hope to God you didn't.”

  Carter shot him a look. He and the chief were perhaps too similar to get on well. They were both hard men and didn't tolerate any foolishness, which is why Carter knew there was nothing he could say to save himself. The truth wasn't enough this time. “Look at the security footage. That will explain everything.”

  With a huff LeBlanc ordered one of his men to look through the tapes. Carter stood behind them, eager to see their reactions when they witnessed the unbelievable events. To his dismay however, the tapes were totally corrupted with only static and blurred images from the moment just before Anja arrived. Carter suddenly felt his stomach lurch. He reached out a hand to steady himself against a desk. Black and silver spots danced around his eyes as a wave of nausea swept through him.

  “Carter, tell me something,” LeBlanc said, almost begging, but Carter was at a loss for words. LeBlanc pursed his lips and sighed with a heavy heart. “I always thought you were a good cop Carter, even had you pegged as someone who could rise through the ranks but I guess it only takes one bad day for people to snap. I'll spare you the indignity of arresting you now but I will take your badge and gun. Don't go too far. Criminal charges will probably be brought against you for the murder of Seth Aguilero.”

  Stunned, Carter reached around and surrendered his badge and gun. It was so surreal. For so long he had been a cop. It had been his entire identity, his purpose in life, and so easily it had been stripped away from him. With a lump in his throat he left the station and returned home, dazed.

  ****

  There was a note waiting for him on the table. Nicky had taken Robbie out of the city after they received his warning. He was glad they were safe although he could have used their support. He sank down on the couch and turned on the news. The riots had spread all over the city and the police were stretched thin. People were hurling abuse at them and had taken up arms. Buildings were burning, the streets were littered with glass, and yet all of it seemed so inconsequential when a demon was stalking the streets.

  Carter sat with his head in his hands as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, not knowing how he was going to be able to go on if he wasn't a cop. He raised the glass to his lips but before he took a sip he caught a glimpse of his own reflection. He looked haggard and exhausted, but he was still alive, and although he wasn't a cop anymore and likely never would be again it didn't mean he couldn't influence matters. He was still a soldier and he had a war to fight. He set the glass down and returned to the television, watching out for any sign of the demon.

  There was still a way to serve justice in this world, for there was the law of man and the law of God.

  Chapter 14

  C arter returned to the couch and kept his eyes glued to the news in case there was any mention of anything strange. Even though the riots were overwhelming the city he was sure that the sight of a winged demon would be pointed out. Nothing like that appeared though, but on an hourly roundup there was a report of a body stolen from the morgue. Carter recognized it as the same one that had been murdered in the hotel. It seemed to be too much of a coincidence that the body would have been stolen at random. Anja must have had something to do with it.

  Not wanting to wait until the evening, Carter made his way to Constantine's church where the Brotherhood of Amity was in deep discussion. At the station Carter had been too shell-shocked to take notice of the people with Constantine, but now he got to see them in all their glory. Constantine introduced them all. First there were Diego Patino, Javier Otero, and Lucas Beltran, who all nodded towards him.

  Constantine saved Monsignor Torrez for last. He was an old man with withered skin yet his eyes twinkled. His gnarled hands wrapped around a cane. The head of this cane had two serpents facing each other.

  “It is good that we finally meet. I hope that you did not get into too much trouble with your superiors,” he said.

  “I'd rather not talk about it,” Carter replied, and told them what he had seen on the news. The monks glanced at each other. “What does it mean?” Carter asked.

  “The demon is raising an army of the undead,” Torrez sighed. “We shall have to get to work.” The other monks nodded. They began to arm themselves for the fight. Carter pulled Constantine to one side.

  “What's the plan here? Are these guys just taking over?” he asked.

  “They have always been in charge. This is what they have trained their whole lives to do,” Constantine replied.

  “Well, when I go into a fight with someone I like to know more about them.”

  “Unfortunately we do not have the luxury of time. Diego is an expert on old artifacts and texts. He uses throwing knives. It was he who wounded the demon. Lucas is an exorcist who replaced me when I left.” Carter looked at the man as he held a censer in front of him.

  “What does he do, whack people over the head with it?” Carter scoffed. As though Lucas overheard him, Lucas tugged at the chain and sharp blades slid out of the incense holder. Constantine continued, “And Javier is an expert on paranormal phenomena.” Carter looked over and saw Javier practicing with his epee. The air cracked as the thin blade whipped around. “And then there is Monsignor Torrez,” Constantine said, a hint of awe creeping into his voice.

  “You're not telling me that he fights too?”

  “He holds a blessed staff in his hand. He knows more than all of us combined. They are worthy allies Carter and they have been fighting this war for far longer than we have. You must trust them.”

  “I've given up my life for this Vincent, you can be damned sure I'm going to be certain that the sacrifice is worth it,” Carter said as he walked over to the Monsignor. The other monks stiffened as Carter approached their leader. Torrez wore a wry smile.

  “How can I help you child?”

  Carter bristled at being referred to in such a manner but he didn't react. “Look, I've faced this demon before and bullets don't work against it, not that I have my gun anyway since it was taken away and I don't think holy water is going to cut it. Do you have anything for me? If I'm going to be a soldier then I feel like I should have a weapon.”

  “And you would be correct,” Torrez said. He gestured around with his arm and Diego opened a small case. Resting within was a handgun with a crucifix on the handle which he handed to Carter. “It's loaded with silver bullets. Highly effective against the creatures we shall be facing,” Torrez said. “Let us be underway. There is no time to waste.”

  Carter fell into step behind them all. They were about the strangest group of men that Carter had ever met but they were the only ones who knew the truth about what was going in. As they stepped outside Carter saw that the sky burned orange. Plumes of smoke rose through the city and the sounds of the riots filled the air. Scared faces peered out of windows but the riots should have been the least of their concerns. Carter tried to not think about the charges that were going to be brought against him. This matter needed his entire focus. Despite his age, Torrez didn't seem to be slow in speed or in wit. He also didn't seem to be concerned about the riots either. They drove into the middle of the city where the morgue was located and walked into the building without concern. Carter's heart was filled with sorrow when he saw the broken city. All he could think about was how he had failed to do his duty as a cop.

  “It will all work out for the best. W
ounds can be healed, even ones that run as deep as these,” Constantine said. Carter thanked him for his words of comfort but it would take a long time before Carter could comprehend the magnitude of what was happening here.

  The morgue was deserted, although the hope that Anja would still be here was a faint one.

  “What do we do now?” Carter asked. Torrez nodded towards Diego, who pulled out a bible from a satchel he had been carrying around his back. Carter watched with interest and sidled up to Constantine.

  “What's he doing?” Carter asked.

  “It's called bibliomancy. It's an ancient art. There are many clues hidden in the bible,” Constantine said. Diego placed the bible on a table and stood in front of it, rubbing his hands together. He closed his eyes in what Carter assumed to be a silent prayer. Still with his eyes closed, Diego ran his fingers along the spine of the bible and the cover, and then he opened the book and took the pages in his hand. Flicking through, he tilted his head until he stopped abruptly. He then cleared his throat as he ran his finger along the page. Carter felt his spine tingle. It was almost as though he didn't belong here, witnessing this, and although he was seeing it he still had trouble believing it.