Petrified

by Ben Meeks

  “Don’t be crass, Obie, it’s beneath you. Officer Farwell, I wish you hadn’t done that,” she said stepping backward into the woods the way she came and disappeared into the shadows, her eyes locked on me as she went.

  C H A P T E R • 9

  “Detective, you should call off that backup, leave, and forget you ever saw me,” I said without turning around.

  “We aren’t done with our conversation,” he said.

  He’s going to get himself killed. “Like I said, I will happily come speak to you tomorrow. There’s business here that doesn’t concern you. For your own safety you need to leave.”

  “That doesn’t work for me.” He put his hands on his hips.

  “Suit yourself.”

  I circled around the cars trying to locate where the imposter had gone. Neither the crunching of leaves nor the flapping of wings gave away her location in the woods. Either she was staying perfectly still or she had vanished. If she wasn’t here she couldn’t stop me. Farwell would, he would try at least, but I wasn’t going to be arrested today. I could kill him but that just didn’t seem very gentlemanly. Instead, I turned to face him and realized he was speaking, I hadn’t been paying attention. Looking him directly in the eyes, I made the change into krasis. That shut him up. The blood drained from his face and he pulled his pistol from its holster but didn’t start shooting, yet.

  “I am going to get in my truck and I’m going to leave,” I said. “We can meet so you can make sense of all this later but now isn’t the time. If you try to stop me, I will have to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will, and that pea shooter isn’t going to protect you.”

  With that, I moved to the driver side of my truck, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t get any funny ideas. I didn’t get the impression he was going to try to take me down to the station. Placing a hand on the door handle, I was just starting to think this was going to turn out all right when something hit me like a sledgehammer. I didn’t hear a gunshot so it wasn’t Farwell, but before I knew what happened I was airborne. The only distraction from sharp pain in my shoulder was the beating of large wings right above me. I couldn’t orient myself fast enough to make sense of what was happening. I found myself tumbling through the air into the yard. I landed hard on my back and was left gasping for breath. I raised up on my elbows to get my bearings. I had been thrown about thirty feet into the yard away from the truck. The beast touched down in front of Farwell’s Explorer. The headlights concealed any distinct features and cast a long shadow across the ground in my direction. I raised a hand for a better look. The webbing between my fingers kept the light from my eyes, but the figure advancing was still a mystery.

  It was unmistakably female, with large bat-like wings. Her skin looked a little shiny around the edges as if it was reflecting the light or wet, not unlike the silver lining of a cloud, but nothing good was going to come from this. There was something moving around her head and shoulders that I couldn’t make out. It might be some kind of magic at work. I was recovering quickly, the injury to my shoulder almost closed. In a couple minutes it should be back to normal. Already the bleeding had stopped and nothing seemed broken. I reached back with my good arm to get my knife but it wasn’t there. It must have fallen out while I was airborne. I spotted where it had dropped about fifteen feet in front of me. I couldn’t get to it at the moment, it was too close to this demon. Luckily, I have claws and teeth, and they have never let me down in the past. It’s a lot more work that way, but as they say, if you like what you do you never work a day in your immortal life.

  “You don’t know who you’re fucking with, lady,” I said, getting to my feet.

  She laughed. “Oh, Obie, I know all about you, how your parents died, your experiences at the orphanage, when you became a Keeper, the problems with Cearbhall, when you fell in love— I know exactly who I’m fucking with, and I have to admit I have been looking forward to it for quite a while.”

  There’s no way she could know all that. No one knows that much about me, except maybe Cearbhall and Naylet, so how did this thing? She took a couple steps forward, only a few feet from my knife now. It didn’t look like she realized it was there. I started circling slowly to the left. With any luck she would play along.

  “So what, you did a little research? You get all that from Naylet before you . . .” I trailed off not knowing exactly what she had done or wanting to vocalize it.

  She circled to my right into the light and letting me get a good look at her for the first time. That’s when I realized what the mass on her head was. Snakes, big black ones. Why did it have to be snakes? There was a noise behind her, it must have been Farwell but I couldn’t see what he was doing with the lights in my eyes. She heard it as well and turned her back to me to face him, bad move. I didn’t waste the opportunity to run for my knife. She didn’t seem interested in stopping me. I grabbed it off the ground and dashed a few paces away in anticipation of an attack that never came.

  Moving around the back of Farwell’s Explorer, I found her standing in front of him. He was standing perfectly still by the open car door. The snakes had spread out on her head and I could see all their eyes, as well as hers, glowing yellow. She was working some kind of magic. He had her distracted and I had no intention of missing an opportunity to finish her off. That’s when I saw his hands, they were turning grey, grey like Naylet. He was being turned to stone. She was not going to have another victim tonight, not on my watch. Coming up behind Farwell, I stepped between them, blocking her sight. The hair all over my body immediately stood on end and my skin tingled like I had electricity running all over me. I wasn’t worried about it affecting me. Thera shields her Keepers from magical attacks, the tingling told me it was working. At least something was going my way. I lunged forward, delivering three quick jabs with my knife. One hit her jaw and the other two landed solidly on her neck, too solidly in fact. It hadn’t penetrated, there was no blood or visible sign of damage. The snakes, along with her gaze, redirected their focus to me. The tingling increased to an almost painful level.

  I needed to put an end to this before it got any more out of hand, and before she realized her spell wasn’t working. I reared back and landed a solid punch right in her nose. Her head whipped back with a satisfying crack. The snakes flailed uncontrollably and for a second their glowing yellow eyes went out like I had flipped a light switch. She stumbled back a step, clearly stunned. I wasn’t sure how much of it was from the blow and how much was from the shock that her magic wasn’t working. Farwell moaned behind me and fell to the ground; better than being stone, buddy. I glanced back to see the grayness in his hands slowly receding. Picking him up, I tried to put him in his car, but the demon had recovered enough to come after me, black blood running out of her nose and hatred pouring out of her eyes.

  Throwing Farwell over my shoulder I retreated around the back of the Explorer and dumped him in the back of my truck with Naylet as I passed it. She closed on me fast, screeching as she came. As soon as my arms were free from tossing Farwell in the truck I spun with the dagger, delivering a slash across the chest that would have killed her if she were any kind of decent creature. She stumbled back, grabbing her chest, and hunched forward. The snakes moved around to protect her and blocked my view of the gore that was undoubtedly starting to spill out. It would kill the grass but it’s a small price to pay, if you’ve seen one pile of demon guts you’ve seen them all. The snakes moved back revealing a fanged grin. There was no visible sign of the cut except that the shirt had a large slash mark through it showing scaled breasts underneath. It hung loosely from her shoulders now, being mostly open in the front and not so form fitting. She ripped it away and tossed it to the ground.

  “You ruined my shirt,” she said.

  “Just getting warmed up.”

  If my blade wouldn’t penetrate her scales then I would have to hit her somewhere it would penetrate, her eyes looked like prime candidates. We circled, sizing each other up for a seco
nd before moving in simultaneously. She slashed with clawed fingers, while snakes struck from all directions. I countered with quick footwork and aggressive parries, hitting away the snakes that couldn’t be avoided. It was not a winning strategy, and she knew it. Between the snakes and her claws, I couldn’t get through to land an attack. It became clear to me that I didn’t have any real options; it was only a matter of time before I was overcome. If I wanted to take her out I was going to have to take the hits and count on my ability to heal to get me through. I waited for as clear an opening as I was going to get, and thrust in hard at her face. The knife made contact but my attacking arm was struck repeatedly as snakes buried their teeth in my flesh. I dropped the knife and grabbed a snake. I gave it a sharp pull and simultaneously sent a foot into her belly with everything I had. The snake tore free in my hand as she sprawled out on the ground from the impact. Point Obie. The snake writhed for a few seconds and then was still.

  She didn’t appear to be in any hurry to get up so I took advantage and walked backward toward my truck, as not to turn my back on her. My happiness at the success was short lived. I could feel numbness starting to creep into my arm. She rose, leisurely and grinning like she knew something I didn’t, not the best feeling. Blood ran down from her head over her shoulder from where the snake had been. She looked too happy for someone who had just had a piece of themselves ripped off.

  “I have to say I’m surprised, Obie. You have always been so gentle in the past. It will all be over soon now though,” she said. “The venom will make quick work of you.”

  “You might be getting a little ahead of yourself. I’m not dead yet.”

  “Yes, not dead yet. I’ll give you that. You are quite resilient. I’m surprised that you’ve lasted this long if I’m being honest. You know you have a reputation for being a little soft? Naylet thinks you’re soft but she actually likes it. Look at you now, you even managed to kill one of my serpents, the part of me that is her is impressed I think. No one has given me this much trouble in a very long time.”

  I was getting really tired of the talking in riddles and speaking to me like she actually knew something about my relationship. “I’ll celebrate later.”

  The numbness continued to spread. Slow enough, at first, for me to question if it was spreading at all. The fact that I had to question it told me it was spreading faster than my body could recover from it. I had a resistance to her magic; the venom on the other hand, wasn’t magic. It was just everyday venom, but being from a demon and from another place meant my normal protections against everything from Thera didn’t apply. Without a natural resistance, only relying on my healing ability, there was no telling how bad it would be. I needed to get Naylet and Farwell out of here now. The best place I could take them was Livy’s house. It was well hidden and I had a feeling I was going to need her help soon. The longer this fight took the less likely it would turn out in my favor.

  My dagger was on the ground a couple feet away from her although my fists seemed to do a better job on her than the blade. Naylet had a sledgehammer in the shed. I pondered for a moment. If I could get to it that might do the trick. Still the blade might be able to help me if I could get her to pick it up.

  “You got a name?” I asked.

  “I already told you, Naylet,” she said.

  “I’m not going to call you that. Quit fucking around, tell me your name.”

  She smiled again, revealing fangs. “I have many names. Petra, Laelius, Vibiana, Colleen, Afia . . . I have more if one of those doesn’t suit you.”

  “Why so many? You have a collection or something?” I said.

  “I collect lives, not names.”

  “What does that mean, collect lives?” I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer as soon as I asked the question.

  “It means that sometimes I require an infusion to sustain myself. I assure you, it’s a painless process. The subject is absorbed, becoming part of me, leaving behind an empty shell. I gain their experiences and potential in the process. Many people are hesitant at first, but they come around. Take Naylet,” she raised a hand to the statue in my truck. “She fought hard at first before I wore her down, but look at her now! She’s stunning, a work of art, she will be beautiful forever and no doubt she is thrilled with the arrangement. I can almost hear her, ‘thank you Petra’ and ‘you’ve saved me’ she says, and I will tell you, Obie, I am honored to be able to help her. We do have one little problem though.”

  “What’s that,” I asked.

  “I’m afraid I just can’t let you take her from me. She’s part of my family now,” she said, her tone changing from joy to menace.

  “That is a problem, because I’m not going to leave without her.” I shifted my eyes to the blade on the ground and made sure to move my head a little to accentuate my intention.

  “Sweetie, you’re not leaving either way,” she said following my eyes to the knife. “It is a remarkable blade, useless against me of course but the craftsmanship is very nice. Did you want it? Here, take it.” She bent over and picked it up.

  She held it out to me, opening her mouth to speak again, when the enchantment triggered. The air charged, building quickly, and then burst, sending electricity coursing through Petra’s body. She convulsed under its effect before collapsing to the ground, steam rising from her body. The smell of charred flesh filled the air. I moved forward and nudged her with my foot to see if that had finished her off. She let out a moan, but neither she nor the snakes moved. She was tough, I’ll give her that. The dagger had been destroyed in the explosion. The pieces that remained were on fire, scattered across the ground.

  Having a second to breathe, the first thing I noticed was the numbness moving into my right leg. I needed to get help soon. If anyone was going to be able to counteract the venom it would be Livy. Farwell had come to and climbed out of the back of the truck. He leaned against the truck bed with his gun out but not pointed at anything, a confused look on his face.

  “Get in,” I said, limping toward the truck. He obliged without an argument.

  It was hard to ignore how weak my grip had become when I shifted the truck into first. My hand was swollen and its sensations felt foreign. Driving straight out into the yard, the truck lurched to the right as the front tire rolled over Petra. Putting it in reverse and cranking the wheel, I backed out, running over her a second time. The dirt road leading to my rescue stretched out in front of me but I stopped. Putting it into reverse again, I backed up over Petra a third time and rolled forward until the tires came to rest against her body. Pressing the gas, the engine rattled and then burst to life in a roar. I popped the clutch, sending the tires spinning with centrifugal fury.

  There was a loud thud as the tires grabbed her limp body, slamming it against the underside of the truck before she ricocheted off into the yard. I hit the brakes and looked in the rearview, the engine retuning to a steady rumble. Naylet’s once impeccable yard, now gouged by my tires, with Petra’s twisted and broken body littering the grounds, and small flaming pieces of my knife looked right out of a nightmare when bathed in the red glow of the tail lights.

  Focusing my attention ahead instead of behind, I roared down the driveway, sending gravel flying into the woods in waves as I spun around the curves. It occurred to me it might have been better to take Farwell’s car, the lights might have come in handy, but it was too late now. Livy lived deep in the mountains. The good news is that she and Naylet were practically neighbors, by country standards. Livy only lived twenty minutes away, give or take. The bad news is that the venom was working its way through my system and I wasn’t sure if I had that long.

  “You need to call off the backup,” I said once we made it back on the pavement.

  Farwell seemed not entirely aware of what was going on.

  “Hey . . . Snap out of it,” I said, waving my hand in front of his face. I tried snapping a few times to get his attention but my thumb wouldn’t cooperate. “If she’s still alive she’s going to ki
ll your backup, call them off.”

  “Ok, I’ll call,” he said.

  He took out the phone and stared at it but didn’t hit any buttons. That’s when the dizziness set in. I concentrated on the road, putting my entire force of will into staying awake and delivering us in one piece. I heard a voice that sounded distant and fuzzy, it was Farwell. I didn’t know what he was saying but I hoped no cops showed up. They would find a demon body and a missing detective. As the minutes passed, my right arm became completely useless, preventing me from shifting gears. I would have to finish the drive in whatever gear I was in. My vision started to blur and it was getting harder to keep the truck in one lane. There wasn’t any traffic on these roads at this hour but there were steep drop-offs on the right side of the road. Since I couldn’t change gears, the only logical thing to do was to keep my speed up as much as I could.

  There weren’t any traffic lights and only a couple stop signs that I ignored. I turned onto the forest service road Livy’s house was off of and followed the well-manicured gravel road before whipping the truck off the road onto what most people wouldn’t even consider a deer trail. The truck skidded down the path, gaining speed from the hill. Farwell’s hand reached over and grabbed the wheel. I passed through the camouflage barrier concealing the house from outsiders. We were closing on the house much too quickly. I let go of the wheel, reached down, pulled the parking brake, and passed out.

  C H A P T E R • 10

  I felt the warm sun and a gentle steady breeze on my fur that I have only felt at high altitude. Opening my eyes, I found a clear blue sky with a single turkey vulture gliding in lazy circles overhead. The ground was hard, it felt like a solid stone; not entirely uncomfortable to lay on, at least there weren’t rocks to make things lumpy. I heard some children playing and a train whistle in the distance. Putting all of this together I knew where I was before I sat up. I had never been anywhere else like this.