Give the Devil His Due

by Blackwell, Rob

  “Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like a great fit for Elyssa,” he said. “Why on earth would I think it’s a bad idea?”

  “I’m serious,” Kate said. “I can’t watch them like hawks. They need someone who will.”

  “We could let Janus take charge...”

  “He’d be eaten alive and you know it,” Kate said.

  “Do you mean that literally?” Quinn asked in a concerned tone. “Do they eat people?”

  Kate gave him an uncertain look.

  “I actually have no idea,” she said.

  “Okay,” Quinn said. “You win. Let’s do it. But when it ends up backfiring and getting us all killed, I'm going to say 'I told you so.' I just want that on the record now.”

  “Duly noted,” Kate said. “Next, I think we need to...”

  A harried Clinton Hatcher came running up.

  “Ma’am,” he told Kate. “The scouts have reported back. They’ve spotted a large group of people moving to the northeast of our position. It looks like they’re heading toward the same destination we are.”

  “How large?” Quinn asked.

  “About 3,000,” Clinton said. “And pretty close too. If we don’t deviate from our position, we should encounter them in an hour or less.”

  “Were your scouts spotted?”

  Clinton looked uneasy.

  “They assure me no, but...” he drifted off.

  “What?” Kate asked.

  “They're from a Georgia regiment, Ma’am,” Clinton said. “And they aren’t known for their discretion. They can get a bit reckless from time to time.”

  “Okay,” Kate said. “Anything else they can tell us? Are they sure it was they were people and not creatures?”

  “The scouts said people,” Clinton said. “Though they did say some monster appeared to be leading them.”

  Quinn perked up.

  “Did they say what the monster looked like?” he asked.

  “A spider, sir,” Clinton replied. “It looked like a giant spider.”

  Quinn breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Looks like Spider-Man is here to save the day after all,” he said. “Go ahead and send the scouts ahead to make contact with the spider. Let him know we’re here, if he doesn’t already.”

  Clinton nodded and departed. Quinn looked back at their own army and saw Buzz and Janus running to meet them. As he watched them, an idea occurred to him. It was unpleasant, but it felt like the truth.

  That can’t be right, Kate thought.

  Quinn didn’t respond, but smiled as his two friends walked up.

  “What’s the plan, Stan?” Janus asked cheerfully.

  “It’ll wait,” Quinn said. “I was going to hatch out a strategy, but we’ve got something more important to deal with.”

  “What?” Buzz asked.

  “Reinforcements,” Quinn said.

  *****

  Kate called a halt to their column when they saw the cloud of dust approaching. She and Quinn waited as the new troops got closer. Quinn was practically giddy at the prospect of more help arriving. He was willing to bet that the one thing Sanheim wasn’t counting on was any additional assistance.

  But as the new arrivals came into sight, Quinn’s optimism faded. The approaching men and women were hardly warriors. They looked bedraggled and beaten down, as if they had been walking for days and nights without rest. Far worse, their eyes were unfocused and aimless. They weren’t zombies, but they might as well have been. There were certainly a lot of them. But Quinn’s hope that they would prove critical in the battle ahead was fading fast.

  The one person he was glad to see, however, was Parker, who came crawling toward them at the front of the line. Quinn still found him incredibly creepy to watch, his arachnid legs moving in a sickly fascinating way. He remembered the black ichor that dripped from Parker's face and shuddered.

  You’re so squeamish, Kate teased him.

  Okay, I'm afraid of spiders. Are you happy?

  Still, Quinn walked out in front of the group and extended an enthusiastic greeting as Parker drew closer. Kate joined him and stood at his side. Parker held up a single black, hairy leg and his ragged troop shuffled to a stop. Parker moved toward Quinn and Kate, looked at them with eight eyes, and bowed low. Or at least that’s what Quinn thought he was doing.

  “Behold, the Prince of Sanheim,” Parker said. “It is agreeable to see you again, Dullahan.”

  “And you, Parker. And you can just call me Quinn.”

  Parker’s eyes turned to Kate.

  “You are even lovelier than I imagined, my lady,” he said.

  Kate bowed in response.

  “Thank you for giving Quinn assistance,” she said. “I am in your debt.”

  “Bloody hell, what’s with all the formalities?” Janus grumbled behind them.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, he is a formal creature,” Buzz told him.

  “My master predicted this day would come,” Parker said. “I admit when I found Quinn O’Brion and he could not become the Dullahan, doubt entered my heart. But he looks different now than before. From death, life. I should never have doubted my master’s vision.”

  “He didn’t happen to tell you how we could kick Sanheim’s ass, did he?” Janus asked. “Like maybe the location of a hidden stash of rocket launchers or something?”

  “He did not,” Parker responded. “But he did tell me what to do when this day arrived.”

  “Which is?” Quinn prompted.

  “I have come to ask a boon,” the spider said. “You see before me the cast-out, the exiles of this world. I have been helping them, saving many, losing a few.”

  Quinn thought of the body they had found in the field on their way to Dun Cumhacht. It felt like years ago now.

  “They do look a little shell-shocked,” Buzz said.

  “Indeed,” Parker replied. “They have endured much, chased by those who have forgotten that they were once in their place. Word of your uprising has spread, however. Many who have waited for this day have joined. They are tired, they are weak, but they are ready.”

  “For what, a nap?” Janus asked. “That’s what they look ready for.”

  “They are ready to ascend,” Parker replied. “They are ready to be transformed.”

  Janus and Buzz looked at each other in confusion. Kate and Quinn, on the other hand, looked nonplussed.

  “Are you sure this is what they want?” Quinn asked. He looked over their tired and weathered faces and wondered how long many of them had been there. He saw desperation in their eyes, yet he also saw hope.

  Kate closed her eyes and listened to the silent voices from the crowd before her. She sensed what she already knew she would find.

  “They’re ready,” she said. “They doubt, but they are ready.”

  Parker nodded his head to her.

  “I know how they must appear to you. But if you grant them their wish, they will be a force to be reckoned with. They will be your most loyal soldiers.”

  Quinn heard a sniff from Clinton at that.

  Are you sure we can do this? Quinn asked.

  You already did with Carol, remember?

  We don’t know if that worked yet.

  It worked.

  “Please approach,” Kate said, “And be granted your boon.”

  Parker walked forward and Kate put out her hand to touch his face. It was all Quinn could do not to step back. This close, he couldn’t help but feel repulsed. But Kate had no such qualms, holding her hand to his cheek, which was coated in black ooze. A single light seemed to pass through her hand and into Parker, whose eight eyes looked at her with a rapt adoration that Quinn often saw on the soldiers nearby. In that moment, he knew he would never need to worry about Parker’s loyalties or question his motives. He was as taken with Kate as the rest of them.

  Almost as soon as she touched him, Quinn felt an energy surge. In a way, he felt he was losing something, like some small piece of him had been cast asunder.<
br />
  In front of him, however, that pebble of energy might as well have been a boulder. It poured over the bedraggled crowd in front of them like a wave. The energy spread from person to person. The weariness, exhaustion and desperation faded from their eyes, replaced with a strength and ferocity that was inspiring. In an instant, the energy from Kate and Quinn had transformed these people into adamant devotees of their cause, swelling their ranks.

  It transformed them physically as well. As the energy spread, a light shone through them and exploded soundlessly. Quinn saw a last look of surprise on several faces. He knew it was what they wanted, but it must have felt strange.

  The men and women standing on the field in front of them disappeared. In their place stood creatures that were an echo of the one who had led them here.

  “Holy shit,” Janus said behind him, and Quinn knew exactly how he felt.

  A moment ago, thousands of tired human beings stood before them. Now in their place was a battalion of giant spider-people.

  “We have a spider army,” Janus said. “We have a goddamned spider army.”

  Chapter 39

  After a few days of marching, Quinn and Kate felt a change in the air, a subtle shift in the world around them. It was like feeling dawn break before actually seeing it, an alteration invisible to most, but unmistakable to the two of them. Quinn looked over at Elyssa, who was also glancing around sharply as if something important had just happened. She stared at Quinn, who nodded.

  “It’s Halloween,” Quinn said to Kate. “In the mortal world — back home — it’s Halloween.”

  “Yes,” Kate said.

  “Does it make a difference, do you think?” Quinn asked.

  “If it didn’t, why would we feel the change?” Kate asked.

  “Then the next question is, who does it help more?”

  Kate shrugged.

  “It probably cuts both ways,” she said. “But it does suggest something else.”

  “Which is?” Quinn asked.

  “That this is somehow fated,” Kate said. “That whatever is about to happen is for some reason meant to happen.”

  “Let’s hope we aren’t meant to die horribly,” Quinn said.

  They were much closer to Dunluce Castle, the seat of Sanheim’s power. The army was moving quickly and in even higher spirits since the spider army had joined them. Quinn found them incredibly creepy to watch — a black line two spiders across that walked in formation next to the soldiers. But he was also very pleased they were on his side. He knew what creatures lay in wait for them, so it was nice to have some monsters of their own.

  We need more than just them, Kate thought.

  I’m ready when you are, Quinn said.

  The two of them broke away and walked back to Elyssa, who seemed surprised to see them suddenly approaching. She looked at them quizzically.

  “We need to talk to you,” Kate said. “Privately.”

  A wicked smile crossed Elyssa’s face.

  “You’re finally going to take me up on my offer of a threesome?” she asked.

  Kate rolled her eyes.

  “Better,” Kate said.

  “Now I’m intrigued,” Elyssa replied.

  The three of them walked off into a small pocket of trees. Over the past day, the landscape had largely flattened out, making the trek easier. There were fewer trees and mostly just wide open valleys. It would have looked exactly like photos he’d seen of Ireland, Quinn thought, except for the red grass, purple sky and the weird shape of the trees. He was getting used to the odd surroundings, but seeing it all the time made him miss Virginia all the more. He wondered if he would ever see home again.

  “What do you want?” Elyssa asked, turning to watch the soldiers walk by. The spiders numbered far fewer than their human counterparts, but they were so big, it almost didn’t seem that way. Each pair easily took the same space as five rows of men.

  “We have an assignment for you,” Quinn said.

  “So you are giving me orders then?” Elyssa asked, her tone icy.

  “It’s more like an opportunity,” Kate said. “You can say no if you want. But I don’t think that’ll be an issue.”

  “I’m listening,” Elyssa said.

  “You met the wraiths,” Kate said.

  Elyssa shuddered.

  “Yes, you saw our meeting,” she said. “It wasn’t going to end well.”

  “I need someone to lead them,” Kate said. “They’re volatile and unruly. They can be critical in this fight, but I need to control them.”

  “Well, good luck finding someone who can do that,” Elyssa said casually. She paused a beat. “Wait a second. You want me to do that?”

  “Yes,” Quinn answered.

  “Why the hell would I agree to that?” Elyssa said. “They’ll tear me apart.”

  “We wouldn’t send you in… unassisted,” Kate said.

  “Just spit out your plan,” she said.

  “You felt the change in the air too, didn’t you?” Kate asked.

  “That it’s Halloween? Yes,” Elyssa said. “How could I not? It was the height of my powers when I was with Sawyer. It was the day I lived for.”

  “We need someone who can tame the wraiths,” Kate said. “Someone who knows what it’s like to command others.”

  “They won’t listen to me,” Elyssa said dismissively.

  “They’ll listen to a Phooka,” Kate responded.

  Elyssa looked at them in naked shock. Quinn had been prepared for some kind of reaction, from skepticism to anger. Instead, the look on Elyssa’s face was one of devastation. Tears filled her eyes.

  “Do not play with me,” Elyssa said. “Being her was the best part of my life. I lost that forever when I died. I’ve come to terms with that. So don’t offer me something I know you won’t give.”

  “Why not?” Kate asked.

  “You don’t trust me,” she said. “You said it yourself. Why make me more powerful? How do you know I won’t stab you in the back, as Kieran did?”

  “We’re willing to trust you, Elyssa,” Quinn said. “That’s the point. We’re willing to take the risk that you won’t betray us.”

  Elyssa’s eyes widened.

  “You would really do this?” Elyssa asked. “You would really give me my powers back?”

  “Yes,” Kate said. “Just like we did for Parker, we can give you your abilities back. My only request is that you use them to make the wraiths into an efficient fighting force. They need discipline, and possibly a form better suited to fighting.”

  Elyssa smiled with a mischievous spark in her eyes.

  “Trust me, I know just the thing,” she said.

  “So are you ready?” Kate asked.

  Elyssa nodded eagerly and closed her eyes. Kate and Quinn each raised a hand to her cheeks.

  A small white light flowed from Kate and Quinn’s hands lighting up Elyssa’s face. For a moment, she seemed to glow as the light went through her. When she opened her eyes, her electric blue eyes shined brighter than ever. Her form seemed to blur and shift for a moment. Quinn saw many different animal faces, some of them real, many of them mythical. And then the face was Elyssa’s again.

  She stepped away from them for a moment and Quinn could once again see tears in her eyes. Slowly, she knelt on the ground before them.

  “That’s not necessary,” Quinn said quickly.

  But Elyssa just looked up at them.

  “I knew it when I saw you in action last year,” Elyssa said to Quinn. “You are a better man than Sawyer. He would never… He didn’t believe in second chances.”

  She turned to Kate.

  “And you are a better woman than I was,” Elyssa said. “If our positions were reversed, I would never have taken this risk. I would have killed you or locked you away, never trusting you. I promise you won’t regret what you’ve done today. I choose to serve you now not because of the man you fight, but because you are worthy to be followed. You truly deserve to be the Prince of Sanheim.”


  Elyssa bowed her head once more, then stood up.

  “Now tell me where I can find the wraiths,” she said. “I have moidin to train.”

  *****

  Minutes later, Clinton Hatcher came racing toward Kate and Quinn.

  “The scouts are under attack,” he said, out of breath.

  “Send up the first regiment to support them,” she said.

  It’s starting, Kate thought.

  Let’s go, Quinn replied.

  By the time they ran back to the line of troops, the soldiers in front were already getting into battle formation. Quinn could hear the sounds of shots being fired up ahead. He looked over at Buzz.

  “Know anything?” he said.

  “Scouts encountered an aerial attack,” Buzz said. “My best guess is they’re the enemy’s scouts. They came in from the west looking like a big flock of birds. But apparently with a lot more teeth and claws.”

  “Sluagh,” Quinn said, remembering his first encounter with them. He looked at Kate.

  “I need to ride ahead,” he said.

  She looked reluctant, but nodded. Quinn gave her a quick kiss, then closed his eyes and concentrated. He had been looking forward to the opportunity to transform, savoring the feeling that he could finally do so again.

  As he felt himself change, he saw his whole past — first as the prey of the monster he was about to become, and then its master. He felt himself grow larger, his torso getting taller even as his head faded away. His hands automatically went to his sides, feeling his scabbard and sword.

  Quinn didn’t open his eyes; there were none to open. Instead, he merely sensed the world around him, felt the soft nuzzle of a horse press into his arm.

  “My God,” he heard Janus whisper.

  He remembered that Janus had never seen this transformation before. Kyle killed him before Quinn had battled his cennad in the real world. Just for effect, he let out a booming laugh, the kind he knew used to terrify anyone who heard it.

  This time, however, the soldiers around him cheered when they saw what he had become. He might be the figure of nightmares, but he was on their side. Only Janus looked a little unnerved.