by Brenda, Lady
“Father?” Kuong invited him in and stepped aside.
Grandfather came into the small front room. Kuong’s wife rushed forward to pour him some tea then disappeared behind a curtain. Grandfather took a deep breath then sighed.
“The Red Dragon, as foul a serpent that has ever crawled from the abyss, may soon be freed. It descends upon this town like a cloud of locusts. The house of Woo has never before been this close to such a disaster. The ignorance of these white men defies the gods. You must call your brothers and together we must try to stop this.”
“But what of the Jaing Shi?”
“They must join with us or be destroyed as well,”
Kuong nodded grimly. He would not go back to the Emerald Salon instead he would gather his brothers together so that they could arm themselves for the battle to come.
When Devlin, Walking Ghost and Jamie arrived at the Lily Ann Grandfather Woo and his sons were waiting for them.
“This is not your fight Woo,” Devlin said.
Grandfather made a sound. “The Woo family is the guardian of the Dragon Demons. We must make sure that it is not let loose above ground.”
Devlin looked hard at Grandfather Woo. “What else do you know?”
“That it will take more than you and Walking Ghost to insure that it will perish in its lair,” he answered.
“There are complications, things I alone must take care of, if you come with us you must stay out of my way. Esmeralda’s life may depend on it.”
Woo nodded. “You need us, only a fool would take on such a force with so little men. My sons and I will follow you down.”
Devlin agreed but he was not happy about it. The more people that became involved the more chance there was for a mistake. He needed to stay focused. He left Jamie to stand watch and hold the horses outside the mine with Dahlia instructing them to hide out of sight. He, Walking Ghost and the Woos, went forward into the entrance of the mine. He saw the scattered heads, which littered the entrance, and paused. Walking Ghost knelt down and examined one of them. He then held his torch high and examined the footprints.
“A sharp blade, not a bowie knife.” he said.
“Ligea and the Hive, they have been here before us, they may still be inside.”
Walking Ghost nodded he pulled out his war axe, his tomahawk, and gripped it tightly.
“The Windigo, Peabody, he is still alive. His tracks take him into the mine.”
Devlin pulled out his pistols and spun the chambers loaded them with pure silver bullets, then replaced them in their holsters.
It was unspoken between them that Walking Ghost would have the pleasure of killing Lance Peabody. Big Jim was another story and Devlin told Walking Ghost he relished the thought of blasting his skull open. To put him down like the fatted hog he was.
He motioned for them to follow him and they crept forward into the dark tunnel of the Lily Ann.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sacrifice
When Peabody and Big Jim reached the end of the shaft, where the miners had been recently digging, the narrow tunnel opened up into an area of about twenty feet square. It was pitch black and smelled of death. They lifted their lanterns high then cursed foully. In the dim light they could see scattered lumps of carnage. It littered every square foot of the ground.
Big Jim however paid it no mind but instead stepped over it to the spot where the drill had been steadily chiseling through the hard granite. He saw the drill broken in pieces and let out a loud scream.
“Nooooo…”
Peabody pushed him aside, but kept his brutal grip on Esmeralda’s arm. He shined his lantern in the hole. A large crack had formed around the last drill hole. It appeared to be widening.
“Stop yer hollerin’ and take a hold of the bitch,” he said.
Esmeralda was flung backwards into Big Jim’s arms as Lance dug into his coat and pulled out a short stick of dynamite. He jammed it into the hole.
“Let’s hightail it to the far side of this room, I’m gonna light this sucker.”
Big Jim pushed Esmeralda ahead of him back through the tunnel. When they’d traveled about ten feet he pulled her down to the ground with him. She rolled into a fetal position with her hands covering her ears.
Peabody, a look of glee upon his ugly face, lit the stick and lumbered back down the tunnel.
A deafening BANG rocked the mine.
Dirt and rocks rained down on their heads and the air filled with a sulfurous gas. Esmeralda choked and gagged as she fought to breathe. At the end of the tunnel the smoke cleared to reveal the entrance to a golden cavern.
They had finally breached the Gilded Bird.
An unearthly stillness settled on them and the rain of rubble came to a halt. Through the silence a stirring could be heard coming their way, the sound of something slithering and dragging itself along with an unnatural gait.
Big Jim stood up and pulled Esmeralda to her feet. His eyes shone, madly, hungrily, in the gloom.
“At last! The Gilded Bird is mine!” He pushed and scrambled forward to the edge of the jagged hole. Twenty feet below him on a floor of solid gold ore crouched a hideous beast, huge, reptilian, with the head of a serpent and the body of a bull with red leathery wings.
Peabody took one look then started to back away.
“Sheeet! I ain’t getting near that thing. Yer on yer own Diamond. Me and my crew only signed up fer the gold and to kill that bloodsucker! If you had a lick of sense you’d get the Hell out of here.”
Big Jim waved him away. “Go. Your job is done Peabody. I have waited for this since the first time I went down into this mine, and I have brought it the perfect sacrifice, Devlin’s whore! Soon I will have it all! The gold, the power and immortality!”
Lance called out to his remaining crew to follow him and they fled back the way they had come. Big Jim did not follow instead he pushed Esmeralda ahead of him and forced her to the lip of the cavern.
One look at the creature, she gasped and her heart faltered. She squeezed her eyes shut before its basilisk’s gaze.
Oh my God! Oh my God! This was Devlin’s monster!
The dirty rag that filled her mouth muffled her screams. Big Jim pushed her from behind and she tumbled over the lip of the hole where she fell and landed, hard, on the floor of the golden cavern.
“Hold on my love I am coming, hold on.”
Devlin chanted those words like a mantra as the lift jarred to a stop. Once they all had entered the dark tunnel they moved cautiously forward with their weapons ready. The sound of footsteps and the faint glow of lanterns could be seen up ahead. They covered their own lanterns and shrunk back into the shadows.
The first of Peabody’s crew came past them. Steel rang and the swords of the Woo Brothers parted heads from shoulders. When more of them came through the tunnel, Devlin, the Woos and Walking Ghost hacked and shot their way through. Peabody, bringing up the rear, skidded to a halt. Even in the semi-darkness he could see his crew being slaughtered.
“You bastard, Devlin! I aim ta tear yer yellow bloodsuckin’ heart out!” He roared. “I’m comin’ fer ya!”
He whipped out his bowie knife and charged down the tunnel.
Devlin sensed him and took aim. He looked over at Walking Ghost and a silent communication passed between them. He lowered his pistol. Walking Ghost stepped forward and threw his tomahawk. It tumbled head over heels until it hit solid flesh, burying itself in the greasy forehead of Lance Peabody. Felled like an ox he laid there gasping in the dirt. His one good eye stared wildly.
Walking Ghost lifted his lantern.
“You die Windigo, in the name of my people.”
He pulled out the tomahawk from Peabody’s head. Raised it again and severed the head from its body. Before Walking Ghost tossed it away he took out a knife and lifted the nasty, dirty, scalp and tucked it into his belt. Then he followed after Devlin and the Woos.
After Big Jim pushed Esmeralda into the cavern he sank to his knees. He had d
elivered Esmeralda and therefore freed the beast from its earthly prison. He’d expected more – thunder, lightning and perhaps a surge of superhuman power. Instead he felt slightly sick even a little terrified, but more than that, he was angry.
“I have brought you a blood sacrifice, the whore of Devlin Winter, I demand my reward,” he shouted.
There was silence then a deep terrifying voice rang out.
“Human Worm, you presume to demand something of me, Gallu, Demon of Babylon, Eater of Souls?”
Big Jim flung out his arms in supplication.
“You promised me power, gold and eternal life!”
The terrifying form of the demon trembled and transformed before Big Jim’s eyes. The reptilian scales split and shed. A human form stepped out of the steaming pile; a man with red skin and leathery wings. It sprang upwards to land beside Big Jim on the edge of the hole. Big Jim gasped in anticipation. When the demon spoke again it was with a benevolent tone as if speaking to a child.
“And so meat puppet you have brought me the bait to capture Devlin, that cursed, puny disciple of Enshunnu that has thwarted me over the ages. His whore will soon bear my seed so that at last I can walk freely upon the earth. For that you shall be rewarded to live forever in the entrails of my bowels!”
Big Jim’s eyes went wide and he tried to leap away. Before he could move an inch the demon’s sharp claws shot out, plunged into Big Jim’s chest, plucked out his beating heart, and devoured it.
Devlin, Walking Ghost and the Woos hurried blindly through the tunnel. Their lanterns, and those of Peabody’s crew, had either been smashed or gone out. In the complete darkness seconds dragged into what seemed like minutes. Now a freezing mist enveloped them. Through it a glowing white figure materialized blocking the end of the tunnel. A reedy female voice spoke out.
“Go back, leave this place.”
Devlin skidded to a halt. The white figure removed its hood and the beautiful face of a woman with green eyes and angelic blond hair stood before them.
“Arabella?” Devlin backed slightly away in shock. “You are dead, you are a specter, let me pass.”
“You must go no further. Go back my love. Go back.”
“Stand aside, ghost or specter, you are not Arabella. She is dead”
The green eyes of the woman filled with tears. “Yes and I forgive you my love.”
Walking Ghost placed his hand on Devlin’s shoulder. “She is a ghost Devlin, a trickster. Do not listen to her.”
Devlin heard his words but was paralyzed with guilt. The ghost of Arabella reached up and dropped her shimmering cape. He noticed the long gaping slash across her neck where it had been severed from her body, where he himself had severed it.
“Arabella, I must choose the living over the dead. I banish you from my sight.”
At his words the ghost of Arabella transformed and contorted before his eyes. In its place stood the haggard features and skeletal form of a banshee with sunken eyes and rotted teeth. It screamed and rushed towards them, long nails bared and stinking of putrefaction.
“Then you must die
Before it could pounce, Walking Ghost buried his tomahawk in the top of its skull. The tomahawk slashed downwards and he sliced it neatly in two. It disintegrated to dust at their feet.
They scrambled on through the tunnel and followed a red glow that led them to the entrance to the cavern. When they finally burst through, it was to see a monstrous, red winged creature drop down over the ledge of a gaping hole in the stone floor. They looked down to see a hissing reptilian beast crouching over Esmeralda.
Her wrists and ankles had been staked to the floor her silk tunic and pants shredded. She was naked. The giant erect phallus of the beast was poised, red and oozing at the entrance to her womb. She struggled desperately against her bonds.
When the demonic beast spoke it sounded like nails scraping on a blackboard. “You shall bear the seed of Gallu and demons will once again walk in the daylight and feast on the souls of men.”
It inched closer.
A spray of blood exploded, drenching Esmeralda as Devlin’s bullet drilled through the side of the beast’s head. It sprang up with a screech, wings flapping bloodied yet still alive. Devlin jumped down to land between the beast and Esmeralda. He drew his sword and slashed upwards slicing through one of its wings.
“Devlin, of the House of Dracul, you have defied me for the last time. Your insignificant, immortal life ends now!”
Then it sprang at him, claws first.
Kuong Woo reached into a bag at his waist and drew out a fine silver mesh and together with his other two brothers they cast it over the demon. The silver net settled over the demon, entangling it. It screamed and thrashed trapped, moving backwards trying to reach its pile of shed skin.
“No!” Devlin shouted. “Don’t let it reach its skin. It will be able to transform and we will not be able to kill it!”
They thrust their swords through the mesh into the body of Gallu. It screamed and hissed dragging them across the golden floor of the cavern.
Esmeralda watched helplessly, pinned and trapped, she was like a butterfly under glass. She strained against her bonds and felt them give way as tiny green men dropped down into the cavern and swarmed around her. They took out knives and sawed through her ropes.
Once she was freed she rolled to her feet and pressed her back against the wall of the cavern. She grabbed at the shredded clothes in an attempt to cover her body. She dared not distract Devlin and the Woos. She watched in anguish as they struggled to subdue the demon. They had managed to sever both of the beast’s arms and wings but still it would not die. In a great surge of power it jumped and broke through the net, teeth bared, towards young Hong. Devlin pushed him aside and drove his pistol into its mouth and pulled the trigger. Gallu’s head blew into pieces and he crumpled to the ground just feet from its discarded skin.
Grandfather spoke to his sons in rapid Chinese and they immediately began hacking the demon and its discarded skin into pieces. Afterwards, all that was left was the beast’s dragon shaped head and the long snakelike tail.
“Devlin!” Esmeralda cried.
He looked up and she ran to his arms. He hugged her to him and laid his bloody cheek against hers.
“It is over, my Angel, you are safe, safe!”
“Come, there will be time for a reunion later. We must leave this place, burn the remains, then seal it forever,” Grandfather Woo said.
The exhausted group lowered their weapons and took a deep breath. They were relieved the fight was over.
They didn’t see the blood seeping swiftly towards the demon’s ruined skin. As soon as it touched the tip of the long tail it began to twitch. Seconds later it swished through the air like a whip and buried its spade like tip into Devlin’s back and through his heart. He gasped and fell forward taking Esmeralda with him.
The tail whipped around the cavern but Woo and his sons sprang into action and again sliced it to pieces with their swords. Walking Ghost came up to the demon near to its reptilian head, where it lay with its mouth gasping like a landed fish, and drove his war lance deep into the soft spot behind its eyes.
He heard a satisfying crunch and the creature ceased all movement.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Black Queen
Ligea instructed her Hive to be ready to pull up stakes. Virginia City, her fatted calf, had suddenly turned treacherous. Rage burned in her breast. She knew they were now in danger of being exposed and that she might very well become the cause of it.
It felt like Déjà vu, Paris all over again, but without the gentle support of Virgil, the Vicomte Lacroix, who had started out as her donor and eventually became her beloved consort. It was he that had taught her to live quietly in the shadows and to curb her appetites so as not to draw attention to herself and the Hive. After her previous escapade with Devlin, Virgil had been her lover and revived the remnants of her shattered heart. She poured herself a brandy and drank it swi
ftly. In her hands she held Virgil’s bloodied gray beaver hat. She ran her fingers around the brim while vivid memories seared through her brain.
In his memory, and so his death would not be in vain, she choked back the fire of vengeance in her heart. She would leave this town within the week, pull up stakes and start over.
Her wish was that she would never lay eyes on Devlin again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Ace of Spades
Devlin lay motionless on floor of the cavern while a steady pool of blood seeped out from beneath him.
Esmeralda held his head on her lap.
“Devlin, Devlin open your eyes! You cannot die!”
Grandfather Woo rushed over. He bent down and lifted one of Devlin’s eyelids.
“What has happened? He cannot die, he is immortal, a vampire,” she cried.
Grandfather Woo snapped his fingers. Chow came over immediately.
“Bind him my son, stop the bleeding,” he said.
Chow unwound his sash and attempted to staunch the flow of blood. Grandfather then turned to Esmeralda.
“Your Lord has been pierced through the heart. The dragon’s tail contains powerful venom. His flesh cannot regenerate and he is being poisoned. We must get him to Grandmother without delay.”
They lifted Devlin out of the cavern.
Walking Ghost stayed behind and gathered kerosene from the dead miner’s lanterns and flung it down atop the remains of the demon, then threw a torch down after it. It sprang in to an inferno roasting what was left of Gallu. Once everyone had left the mine, Kuong tossed a bundle of dynamite far into the shaft. The ground shook as it imploded, sealing the mine closed forever.
The moon rode high in the sky and Devlin was dying. He could faintly hear voices around him; Esmeralda’s plea, Dahlia’s sobbing, and whispered Chinese. He felt like he was floating over the ground when in fact he was being bounced lightly along the trail on a travois that had been tied behind Walking Ghost’s mule.