by N. P. Martin
"Again?" LeBron said. "Really? If it didn’t work the first time, it’s not going to—"
I fired the bowling ball sized sphere of blast magic at his chest as hard as I could. When it hit, he was knocked right off his feet, as he then went sailing back several yards before landing with a hard thump.
As I clambered back to my feet, so did he.
"Time to end this," he said. "I think I’ll just take half the planet, and come back for the other half later, when you are good and dead, Creed."
A smug smile came over his face, and I realized what he was about to do.
"No!" I shouted.
Reality seemed to slow down at that point. Suddenly all of my rage, hatred, sorrow and grief focused into a single stream of emotion that seemed to empower me more than the magic did.
LeBron was about to detonate himself.
Without thinking, I ran at him, as hard and as fast as I could, because it seemed like the only thing to do. I thought that if I could get to him, I could stop him. That was the only thought going through my mind as I charged at him, and he continued to stand there with a maniacal grin on his face.
There was logic in my actions too, underneath all the aggression and raw emotion, a logic I didn’t comprehend, but which was there nonetheless: magic of any kind takes concentration, and if a person can’t concentrate, they can’t wield magic. It’s that simple. Blowing himself up with soul energy would be an act of magic. I just had to make sure he couldn’t focus long enough to complete that act.
So I charged into the cunt like a raging bull, knocking him hard to the ground, hearing his lungs empty of air as I fell on top of him.
I can’t let him finish…I won’t let him finish…
Before LeBron could recover, I straddled him. Then I began to beat his head and face with my fists.
He can’t focus, he can’t blow us up…
With each successive punch, the rage and hatred I was feeling intensified as the punches got harder, and more numerous.
If he can’t think…
I kept punching, screaming now like a mad man. "FUCKING…DIE…YOU…CUNT…"
With every punch thrown, I saw the faces of my family, my mother, my brother…my dear sister.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH…"
I felt my knuckles crack as I broke the bones in his face, pulverizing the soft tissue, smashing his eye sockets, destroying his nose; teeth and blood flying everywhere after every blow.
The punches only slowed down when I became physically incapable of swinging them anymore, due to exhaustion. Raising myself up, I hit him one final time, and then nearly collapsed on top of him.
"FUCK YOU!" I screamed at him, and I realized that tears were streaming from my eyes now, making it difficult for me to see the pulverized lump of meat that used to be LeBron’s head.
When I rolled off him, I lay on the cool grass crying and shaking, the pain of loss like a knife in my belly, and seeming greater than it ever did before.
35
Too Old For This Shit
"I always knew there was a killer in you, Creed," Max said as he stood over me.
I didn’t answer him at first as I looked over at LeBron, who lay motionless on the grass, his bloody face misshapen and unrecognizable after the beating I gave him. I was calm but exhausted, my grief having turned to cold disregard for the man I just beat to death. "Fuck him," I said.
Max smiled. "His soul still lingers. I can see it. Perhaps I can drag his butt back to the Underworld with me…"
A small laugh escaped me. "His ass," I said. "You’ll drag his ass to the Underworld."
"That’s what I said."
"You said butt."
"Whatever…"
I soon managed to drag myself to my feet as I stood to face Max. "I don’t understand, Max."
"Don’t understand what, Creed?"
"Why did you come back?"
Max smiled and remained silent for a moment, before finally answering, "I knew you would only get yourself killed if I didn’t."
I shook my head. "I didn’t think that would bother you. You going soft, Max? Maybe you’re spending too much time with us humans."
"A strange feeling came over me, that’s all."
"What feeling?"
"Something I’ve never felt before. Well, I have, but only in humans. I felt torn."
"Torn?"
"Yes."
I smiled. "It’s called doing the right thing."
"Do you think you did the right thing in killing him?"
I looked down at LeBron’s stiffening body. "Absofuckinglutely."
"I’m pleased to hear it. Maybe one day I could teach you some of my tricks. I know ways of killing humans you could never even imagine…"
I held a hand up. "I don’t think so. I didn’t kill the son of a bitch for pleasure, you know."
"You don’t know what you’re missing."
"I think I’ll be fine."
A brief silence ensued as I stared at my bloody knuckles. I’d killed men before, but never with my bare hands. Never in so animalistic a fashion.
"Afraid it felt good, Creed?" Max asked.
I shook my head. "Shouldn’t you be getting back now, before LeBron’s soul escapes?"
"Deny your instincts if you want. You forget I know you better than you know yourself. I know what’s inside you, Creed…"
"Jesus," I said. "You never stop, do you? You’re like a fucking recruiter for Murder Inc."
Max laughed. "We’ll part ways then…for now."
When Max’s spirit finally left me, and he had taken himself and the soul of LeBron away to the Underworld, I muttered, "Don’t hurry back…"
I let out a deep breath then, as it was just me and LeBron’s corpse left behind.
"And Ray…" I suddenly said. "Oh Jesus…Ray!"
I sprinted off across the playing fields in search of Ray, hoping that my uncle was all right. The blast magic he was hit with, and the massive fall he would’ve taken, didn’t fill me with confidence that I would find him in good shape…or alive even.
Dawn was beginning to break, giving me just enough light to see by as I searched the playing fields for signs of Ray, calling his name as I went.
Then I found him lying unconscious on the grass. "Oh fuck…" I breathed as I went to him, praying he wasn’t dead. I couldn’t lose another family member.
He was all I had left.
Relief washed over me as I noticed he was still breathing at least, and I gently shook him a few times. "Ray…it’s me, August…wake up, Ray, please…"
Ray’s eyes suddenly opened, and he started coughing and spluttering as he clutched at his chest. "Bloody hell," he said. "That hurts…"
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, despite the obvious pain he was in. "You’re okay, Ray."
Ray continued to lie on the grass for another moment while he got his bearings. "I’m sure I’ve said this before," he said wincing. "But I bloody mean it this time: I’m getting too old for this shit."
"You could be right."
He shook his head. "Smartass. What about LeBron? As we’re still here, I take it you dealt with him."
I nodded. "Yes."
Ray stared at me a moment, seeing something in my eyes that made his face soften. "Come on," he said. "Help an old man to his feet, will you?"
After helping him up, I then had to search for his staff, which he said he wouldn’t be leaving without. I handed it to him once I’d located it nearby. "There you go, old man," I said with a smile. "There’s your walking stick."
"You can mock, son. One day you’ll be as old as I am, and then…"
"I’ll still be doing the same shit."
Ray smiled and put a hand on my cheek. "I hope so, son," he said. "I hope so…"
36
When People Make Plans…
Ray decided his old bones needed some resuscitating (his words, not mine), so he said he was heading off to Sanaka’s Sanctum so he could bathe in the Resuscitation Bath. Apparently g
etting tossed across a field like a football wasn’t good for the back. When I pointed out that Sanaka wasn’t home, Ray said he wouldn’t mind him using the place, and that "they had an arrangement".
Once Ray had teleported away, I called Brentwood and told him about the corpse in the park, telling him only as much as he needed to know so he could send his people to pick up LeBron’s body and dispose of it. He still sounded a little off with me, which was unsurprising, given recent events. But he would get over it, he always did, if only because he knew he needed my skillset more than he cared to admit. And hell, if he wasn’t used to my brand of crazy yet, he never would be.
I used the little magic reserve I had left to teleport into my Sanctum. The living room to be precise. I froze slightly when I noticed Blaze lying on the floor a few feet away. He immediately jumped to his feet and eyed me with cold suspicion. "Take it easy, buddy," I said raising my hands. "It’s me this time. The demon is gone. I promise."
Blaze raised his thick snout as if to sniff the air for a few seconds, and then his yellow eyes softened somewhat. A second later, he padded over to me, and I bent down to greet him, pulling him in so I could hug the big bastard. "Sorry about before, buddy. It couldn’t be helped. You been looking after Leona for me? Is she here?"
"She’s right here."
Slightly startled by the voice, I looked to see Leona standing in the doorway, wearing just a black T-shirt. She must have came down the stairs from bed.
I smiled at her as I stood up. Blaze made a few small mewling noises before heading off to the kitchen like he wanted to give us privacy. I didn’t know what else to do except stand and stare at Leona. I didn’t know what to say to her.
A frown of concern came over her face as she noticed the state of my face, and she came toward me and gently touched my face with her hand. "Jesus, Creed, what happened?"
My smile widened for a second as tears stung my eyes. All I could do was shrug, as if I didn’t know where to start.
"Creed?" she said, her voice gentle for once.
I puffed my cheeks out as if I didn’t know what to say. "I…"
Leona waited a second before speaking. "Tell me."
"My family…" I couldn’t say anymore, as I was afraid if I did I would break down completely.
Leona gave a small sigh as she came and put her arms around me, pulling me in tight. "Oh, Creed," she said in a small voice. "I’m sorry…"
There wasn’t much else to say.
I just held her and cried.
Later, after I’d finished telling Leona about everything that happened in the Realm of the Dead, and about my confrontation with LeBron—and after a good half a bottle of Glenfiddich—Leona fell into contemplative silence for a few moments, and I was happy to let her. I was tired of talking anyway, though not as tired as I was of the pain and loss that seemed to be such a constant in my life these days. I couldn’t even save my family, and they were dead already. Who was going to be next? Ray? Leona? It was something I didn’t want to think about as I poured myself another drink. When Leona spoke again, I was glad of the distraction.
"I’ve come to the conclusion that this will always be our lives," she said as we sat together on the sofa. "There will always be this…chaos."
"Chaos? Isn’t everybody’s life just a state of chaos?"
"Maybe, but not quite like yours."
"Don’t you mean ours? Our life?"
"I guess they’re one in the same now."
"Does that scare you?"
"Does it scare you?"
I shook my head. "Not at all. Do you think you’re making a mistake?"
"I think it’s more like I’m taking a leap of faith," she said. "There’s no training for this."
I broke into a smile. "No, soldier, there definitely isn’t. You just gotta take each day as it comes."
"As you do?"
"Sure."
"You make it sound so easy. I’m used to planning, order, neither of which are a big factor in your life."
I leaned over and kissed her. "I know it’s scary, but you couldn’t be in better hands."
She shook her head. "That’s what scares me."
I was about to come back at her with a witty rebuttal when I heard the front door being knocked. Throwing my head back, I sighed. "Who the hell is that?"
"Probably a potential client," Leona said. "I’ve been discretely advertising our services."
I looked at her in surprise. "Wait, what?"
"I asked a few of the people I helped out to spread the word, that’s all. It would surprise you how many people have troubles of the supernatural kind in this city, especially now that it’s all out in the open. There’s no more bogeymen. When people see a monster, or experience something supernatural, they know exactly what it is now. They don’t run scared, they get help. From us."
I nodded, impressed. "Glad to see you’re taking this partnership so seriously."
"I am, I just need you to take it seriously as well."
The door knocked again, but I ignored it. "I couldn’t take it any more seriously than I already do."
"I know. I just mean you need to be more organized about things, instead of—that’s the door again. You better go answer it."
"They’ll leave in a minute."
Another long knock sounded, louder than the last one, and I set my glass on the table. "Fuck’s sake…don’t they know what time it is?"
"It’s nearly six in the evening."
"Exactly," I said getting up. "At least wait until after dinner."
"Where you taking me, by the way?" Leona said as I walked to the hallway. "Somewhere expensive, I hope."
"Actually." I paused in the doorway. "I was thinking the cabin for a few days. I need the peace and quiet."
She raised her eyebrows. "The cabin? Even better. Can I bring my bow?"
"What for?"
"To hunt us some rabbits, obviously. I make a mean rabbit stew. Old family recipe."
"Sounds awesome," I said with slight sarcasm, before walking to the front door.
"It is awesome, I’ll have you know…"
The door started banging again before I got to it. "Jesus," I said loudly enough for the person on the other side to hear. "I’m coming…"
When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Jennifer standing there. I didn’t even need to see the tears of blood running down her face to know that something was wrong. I felt it immediately.
Jennifer said nothing for a moment as she just stood there staring at me, as if she expected me to intuit what the problem was.
"Jennifer," I said. "What’s wrong?"
"It’s…it’s…" She started shaking her head. "I shouldn’t even be here…"
She was starting to scare me, I’ll tell you the truth. Jennifer doesn’t usually exhibit such frightened behavior. If she was scared, something was badly wrong.
"Come inside," I told her.
She seemed reluctant for a second, but stepped inside.
Then Leona appeared in the hallway. "Creed?" she said. "What’s going on?"
"This is Jennifer," I said. "Angela Crow’s daughter."
Leona just nodded warily. It was her first time seeing Jennifer in the flesh.
"Come into the living room," I said to Jennifer, and she nodded and followed me in, before I directed her to take a seat as I sat down next to her. Leona remained standing.
"I didn’t know where else to go," Jennifer said in a small voice.
"That’s okay," I said. "You’re always welcome here, you know that."
"Did something bad happen to you?" Leona asked, and I threw her a look for her bluntness.
Jennifer nodded. "You could say that…"
"What exactly?" Leona said.
Jennifer turned her head and looked at me then, her eyes filled with blood. "They killed her, Creed," she said.
"Killed who?" I asked, although I already knew who she was talking about. I just didn’t want to believe it.
"My mother," she sai
d. "My mother is…dead."
I let out a long breath as I shook my head in disbelief. The grief and sorrow that was already in me in abundance came to the fore again, and I closed my eyes for a second. Then the questions inevitably started running through my mind: who killed Angela, and why? How the fuck did they kill her, and why did Jennifer, or Angela’s legion of vamps, not stop it from happening?
Leona and I exchanged glances, and she raised her eyebrows slightly as if to reference our earlier conversation.
Well, I thought. It looks like we’d have to postpone that rabbit stew…
Thanks For Reading
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Neal
The Watchers Series
The Watchers Series is my first urban fantasy series and there are a total of six books in the series. The series tells of Leia and her struggles against demons and her troubled past. These struggles take her all the way to Hell, in which two of the books are set. If you’ve ever wondered what Hell might be like, these books will give you some idea. It’s a fun but brutal adventure series packed with action, humor and a little bit of romance. Below you can read a sample chapter from the first book, Hell Is Coming.
ABOUT HALF AN hour later, Frank was driving us through the city in his black Chevrolet, heading towards the rundown South Side that was predominantly populated by gangbangers and small time drug gangs. They were never done killing each other in that part of the city. I ventured into it a few times in the past with Kasey to buy drugs, and last time, I vowed never again after we got surrounded by a bunch of gangbangers who refused to let us leave unless we gave every one of them blowjobs. Seriously. It was only a passing cop car that allowed us to get away, distracting the gang long enough for us to run.