by Sean Erik
Tattoo girl snarled and whipped around, trying to break free. In a more open area she would be faster and probably knock a few teeth out. I had fifty pounds easy on her. I put that extra weight to use, pinning one leg and moving up.
“Look, we can beat each other senseless or we can talk. I’m game either way,” I growled. For the effort of diplomacy she punched me and tried to wriggle away.
She glared at me and her purple eyes started to glow. Her other hand followed suit. That was new and if pop culture told me anything it was bad news. Bad news for me. Her fist hit me, hard. The force of the blow sent me flying back through the open door and sliding along the floor.
I lifted my head, wishing the world would stop spinning as fast as it was. Tattoo Girl picked up her bat and stomped forward, the bat now glowing electric purple.
I let her get close before whipping around, the heel of my boot cracking her exposed knee. She and the bat came tumbling down, the neon purple vanishing.
I kicked the bat away and pulled her arm behind her putting her in a chokehold. “We can talk like big boys and girls or you can pass out and we’ll have a more intimate chat later. I’m done fooling around,” I growled into her ear.
“All right,” she gasped. I could see her face turning red. I let go of her but grabbed the bat.
“What are you going to do about the police?” I demanded, half expecting to see flashing lights any second.
“I haven’t called them, not yet,” she wheezed, rubbing her throat.
“Well, I’m pretty sure the gunshots are a tell-tale sign of a disturbance,” I snapped, looking around for my gun.
“As insulated as I made this place I doubt it,” she said and leaned back against a case. “Damn, I’m going to have to get that fixed, asshole.” She nodded to the door and glared at me.
“You declined diplomacy, honey. I did try,” I smiled and walked over and scooped up my gun. I holstered it but kept the bat ready. I walked back and extended my hand. “We got off on the wrong foot. Vince West.”
She glared at me, then at my hand, and shook it. “Janis Locke.”
“A pleasure. What’s your beef with Nadia?”
Locke spat and shook her head. “Bitch stiffed me on ten grand for merch. I got it for her, she took it, but her payment was nothing more than cut up phone books with twenties taped over the top. That shit wasn’t cheap and the people who I got it from wanted full payment.”
“What was it?” I pushed, looking around for anyone outside. Luckily we were alone.
“The merch? Typical ritual stuff. Expensive. Not your average materials, hard to get, rare. Special salt, pigments, incense, and a dagger,” she said.
“Any clue what it’s for?” I asked.
Locke shook her head. “No. I don’t ask, I don’t want to know.”
I nodded. I had heard about magic and rituals but it was always something in movies or video games. I was having a rude awakening to the Unseen side of the world where that shit isn’t make believe.
“You just want the phone?” Locke asked me.
“Yeah. My boss wants it back,” I said.
“Lilith,” Locke said and bared her teeth.
“Yeah, Lilith,” I said. “What do you know about the phone?”
Locke shrugged. “She brought it to me wanting to know about it. It was magical, that’s all I could tell her. She was trying to get rid of it but she couldn’t. Later, she said she’d use it to her advantage, whatever that meant.”
“Where is the guy you sent to rough up Donovan?”
Locke sighed and stared ahead. “I don’t know. Donovan told Skinner about some cave Nadia had taken him to a month or so back. Cavenagh Cave. Skinner said he was going to pay her a visit but he’s ghosted on me.”
Ghosted or became a ghost. “I’m not familiar with Cavenagh Cave.”
“Local landmark a few miles north along the coast. Kids go there to get their freak on, bonfires, orgies, that kind of shit. The city put a giant grate over the cave when some kids drowned back in the eighties,” Locke said.
I nodded. “I guess that’s my next stop.”
“That’s it?” she asked.
“I told you I wanted to talk. If I find Nadia I’ll give her your regards,” I said. “I’ll look for your pal, Skinner, too.”
“What about my bat?” Locke asked.
It was a good weight. “Call it a souvenir.” Locke glared at me but didn’t argue the point. I pulled out a few extra rounds to top off what I had used.
Locke grunted and got up. She walked to a panel, tapped a few buttons and the doors unlocked. She looked at me and smiled. “If you make it back look me up. I like a man with fire in him.”
I smiled and walked outside. At least if I survive I had something good to look forward to.
SIX
All of that led to me facing down a giant spider monster. Panic and eons of evolution dueled for my body. I’ve dealt with big ass spiders. I live in Texas. Nothing like this thing, though. Nadia glowered over me, her fangs dripping something that made the water sizzle. I tried to crawl back, away from her but those long legs just allowed her to hover over me.
Nadia drew back a leg and the claw vibrated. I rolled out of the way as she sent it to end me. I was sprayed with water and there was a crunch as the rock shattered from the impact. I drew my legs back and kicked, my size twelves slamming into their target. There was another crack, this one more fleshy, followed by a pulpy crunch, and then Nadia wailed in pain.
She pulled her leg up and the claw had been broken off, the leg itself bent at all the wrong angles. She hissed at me as I kicked her again, this time my boots crashing into one of her fangs. It didn’t break but it bent under the pressure and she wailed again. In a blur of frantic motion, she jumped away, flipping around midair, and clattering away along the cave ceiling, vanishing among the stalactites. The roof didn’t feel that tall but she disappeared in a flash.
I came to my feet, shaking the water from me and pulled out my .357. It was fully loaded and ready to go. I didn’t know what bullets would do against whatever Nadia was but I was going to find out.
Common sense was never one of my strong suits. I should have left the cave, crawled through the grate, gotten the hell out of there, and never looked back. A smart person would question just what the hell was going on, how a woman had transformed into a spider. A sane person might just eat one of the six bullets for knowing that something that messed up was out there. Then there was me.
I now had enough adrenaline coursing through my system to arm wrestle the Hulk. I could feel the fear floating just out of sight, whispering to me what I was about to do was monumentally stupid. I didn’t disagree or argue with it. Instead, I crossed my wrists, flashlight in one hand, .357 in the other, both pointing ahead. I walked deeper into the cave unsure of what was coming but as prepared as I could be.
I could see light from ahead, faint but there. The water seemed like it was glowing, a sickly green color. Something was refracting through the water. It also hit me the water was now up to my calves. Walking was becoming more problematic and my toes were taking a siesta. The tide was coming in and soon I’d have another issue to deal with. One thing at a time.
The cave opened up even more. I must have been deep under the rocky hillside. The remains of boxes and barrels were littered everywhere. I walked over and pushed one barrel with my foot. It didn’t move. If the label was correct it was filled with whiskey.
The crates and the casks were not what was glowing, though. The eerie light came from a dozen or so large sacks hanging from the roof of the cave. They reminded me of leathery punching bags, except they were glowing and I could see things slowly moving inside. Everywhere else was covered in cobwebs, and I felt like I was walking through an arachnophobe’s nightmare.
In the middle of all of this was the phone. It looked bigger than I imagined, about ten inches tall and stark white. A black cord led from the stick to an earpiece that was held by a brass fork.
The microphone was brass as well, all of it polished to a shine.
The phone was surrounded by a large pentagram, maybe 3 feet across, and in the middle, squiggly symbols filled each star point. The pentagram glowed under water and helped add to the uneasy feeling I was getting. I reached for the phone but as my hand got close to the circle I could feel something stopping me, an invisible force.
“Keep away from that! It’s mine!” Nadia’s voice bellowed. I jerked around, looking for her but saw nothing but dancing shadows.
“I just want the phone,” I called back. “I’ll take it and leave you and your freaky cave alone.”
“Oh no, you can’t have it,” Nadia said. “You shall feed my children.” I could hear something scraping the stone but as I panned around there was nothing to lock onto. Somewhere there was a steady dripping and the water continued to rise.
I flicked the Maglite off and holstered it before reaching for the phone again. Nadia exploded from the darkness, clattering towards me, her fangs ready for a taste of Vince. I didn’t have time to aim, just lifted my arm and squeezed the trigger.
The gunshot rang out and I went deaf. TV shows and movies lied again. Gunshots are loud and with no protection you can’t have a polite chit chat or give witty banter. Despite this the shrill screaming Nadia gave broke through, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end. Her left eye exploded in a black ooze. She couldn’t stop, momentum was already built. She slammed into me and the only thing that saved me was the water, helping to cushion my fall.
I snapped off two more shots but the bitch was gone as quickly as she appeared. I had three rounds left, two full speed loaders, and a few loose rounds. That suddenly didn’t feel like the overkill it had when I grabbed everything earlier.
I shook off the dizziness and nausea threatening to bring me to my knees. I stumbled to the pentagram. The phone was half immersed in the sea water and the circle continued to glow brightly. I approached it and reached for the phone. Sparks began to fall from my hand as I pushed against the barrier.
The floating sacks began to wriggle. The sound of denim tearing filled the cave as a black claw ripped through the skin of one of them. A thick ooze fell into the water and a black chitinous body began to crawl out, similar to Nadia only less human.
I had time to take aim this time and put two rounds through whatever the hell was coming into the world. The thing screamed in pain and Nadia roared in fury. I think I pissed her off.
I cracked the gun and spun the empty cartridges out and shoved my first reload in place. I closed it and cocked the hammer back looking for anything that needed an extra hole or two.
Time was running out as the water got higher and more of the sacks began to dance, their occupants seeking escape. I pushed as hard as I could against the circle but I couldn’t break whatever the barrier was.
Another creature ripped itself free and I dumped two rounds into it. More screaming, more roaring.
The higher the water became the more panic began to set in. It’s one thing to fight against inhuman monsters but that primal fear of drowning was real.
I dropped into the water trying to examine the circle. Saltwater and my eyes didn’t mix. I couldn’t see anything special. I yanked out the KaBar combat knife I had picked up from Academy and ran the tip over the circle trying. The tip of the blade glowed red and as I scratched the circle and there was a flash of light. No matter how much I blinked all I could see were spots.
I clamored forward and the barrier was gone. I grabbed the phone and turned around, slogging through the water as it continued to rise. It was heavier than I expected and warm to the touch. Oh yeah, the water started to warm up. I have no idea how that worked but from where the circle was a gentle warmth began to spread to a downright burning.
I slipped the phone under my arm and pulled out the plastic bag I had stuck in my pants. I ripped it open and pulled out the road flare I had brought for extra light if I needed it. I lit it and tossed it at the next sack with an emerging creature. Whatever the material was it was volatile and the whole thing lit up in dark green flames. The flames spread upwards and then the whole roof was ablaze, spreading quickly and everywhere. I didn’t wait around to see what all was going to happen. I’m sure the fire would burn itself out when it had consumed all the oxygen. That would make it a might difficult to breathe on my part. I continued to wade quickly back to the front of the cave.
I couldn’t see the front of the cave, the water had risen too much and steam was filling the air. At least it wasn’t freezing cold. I suddenly wondered if this is what a lobster felt like right before the big meal.
I reached the grate, banging my nose on it. With a deep inhale I dropped into the water, clawing around to find the hole. I found the gap and started to pull my way through.
It was difficult to pull myself through while trying to hold the phone. I made it halfway when something latched onto my ankle and yanked me back.
The fire in my lungs built as I held my breath, unable to breathe in the blackness I was surrounded by. I kicked and struggled at whatever had grabbed me. In desperation I let my knife go and reached down to unzip my boot, jerking my foot from it. I swam as fast as I could, the phone still heavy in my hand, but I was free.
I hit the grate again and scurried through. Something screamed; I could hear it through the water. The steel grate rocked as something massive slammed into it. I kicked up and as I breached the surface I took in one of the greatest lung fulls of air I had ever had.
The ocean had risen and it looked like a rippling sheet with reflected moonlight. Hot water continued to flow out from the cave. The grate was totally hidden by the tide and to the untrained eye the hillside looked majestic. I paddled towards the shore and quieted the nagging voice that something was in the water with me, waiting to drag me to my grave.
The rock behind me cracked and then there was an explosion of steam and earth was sent skyward. I dropped down covering as much of my exposed body as I could. Debris began to rain down, pelting everything.
When it was over I looked to where the cave had been. The whole hillside had collapsed on itself. I wasn’t about to stick around to see if Nadia was going to crawl out and exact a painful revenge upon me.
I crawled out of the water soaked to the bone, beyond chilled, bruised, and exhausted. I had a hike to get back to my bike to look forward to. After a few hundred feet I peeled off my other boot and remaining sock. I walked barefooted through the sand until I reached my bike.
I stared at the phone. It looked like it had escaped the set from a Humphrey Bogart flick. Despite being dragged through the ocean water it looked pristine, almost glowing in the moonlight. I had no idea what sentimental value the phone had for Lilith but I would be glad to be rid of it.
When the phone rang in my hand I lost it. I let go and the phone hit the ground, landing firmly on the base, staying upright. My heart was trying to beat its way from my chest. The phone continued to ring well past the minute mark.
I reached for the phone. It was louder than even the pounding in my ears. I lifted the earpiece from the cradle and held it to my ear. “Hello?” I managed to wheeze into the microphone.
“Vincent, you got my phone. Excellent!” Lilith purred into my ear. Despite the ordeal, the terror I had just been subjected to, my body started to have that all too familiar Pavlovian response.
“Yeah, I got your fucking phone. Where should I take it?” I growled, trying to not sound as weary as I felt.
“Oh, it is now your phone, Vincent,” Lilith said. “I’m going to send you an address. Go there.”
“Hang on,” I said as I opened up one of my saddlebags and pulled out my cell phone. I had a feeling it wouldn’t do much other than become a paperweight so I left it with my bike. The screen flashed and an address downtown appeared. “What’s this?”
“Oh, we’ll call it a reward for getting my phone back,” Lilith said. There was a pause. “What about Nadia?”
My body began
to shiver and not from being cold. I closed my eyes and saw her body, her legs coming at me. “I’d prefer to talk about her someplace other than here.”
“Very well, Vincent. A first job well done. The first of many. You will find when I give you work it can be difficult but oh so rewarding,” Lilith said.
“We’ll see,” I said and slammed the earpiece into the cradle. I tossed the phone into my saddle bags along with my surviving boot. I knew my life would never be the same after I sold my soul. I had no idea what other crazy shit Lilith was going to subject me to. And this was only my first week. As gigs go at least it wasn’t boring.
I kick started my girl and headed back to Colt, ready to see my reward.
Vince West will return in No Soul, No Service.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I want to thank my wonderful wife, Sun, for supporting me through all of this. I couldn’t have done it without her. I also want to thank Lori and Sonny for reading and providing some critical feedback. I want to thank everyone else who has encouraged me through the process. This is just the beginning of the ride, hold on to your butts!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sean was born to a military family and has lived in Washington, Germany, Florida, England, a brief stint in Idaho, California, and now resides in Texas. He lives with his wife Sun along with their pack of dogs.
You can get updates by going to www.seanerik.com, follow him on Twitter @SeanErikAuthor, as well as Facebook at facebook.com/seanerikauthor/