by Kailin Gow
“Any chance we’ll find a few nuggets of gold?” Asher said.
“There might still be a bit of gold dust here and there, but I doubt you’d find any nuggets.”
Asher picked up an old pick ax and tapped lightly on the boulder beside it. “You never know.” Beside the boulder was an old trommel, a sluice and an improvised rock crusher. “Looks like someone’s come around recently to try their luck.”
“The cemetery is behind the chapel over there,” John said. Unimpressed with the possibility of finding gold, he marched toward the chapel.
The small wooden structure must have been charming in its day, but with its windows broken, its front door lying useless over the small porch and its bell almost completely buried behind an overgrown bush, it looked like something out of a horror story.
“This town was destroyed by this portal,” Hector said.
“People thought the miners had gone mad with gold fever, but it wasn’t that at all.”
“The demons played with people’s minds?” I said.
“You better believe it,” Hector said. “People out here were isolated from the rest of the world. They worked long, hard hours, sometimes not seeing the light of day for weeks.”
John opened the gates that led to the cemetery. “A small group of men were to extend one of the tunnels down to the next level where they’d found a vein of gold.”
“And that’s how they inadvertently opened the portal.” Hector huffed with irritation and looked up at us. “For us demon hunters, slayers and gatekeepers… we can prepare for battle when in proximity of these portals, but those poor, helpless souls… mere mortals with no knowledge of what they were about to encounter. They didn’t have a chance.”
“The portal, fragile at that time, eventually exploded and opened up just behind the sleepy little town’s cemetery.”
“How fitting,” I muttered as I looked over the decrepit cemetery. The dirt was dry and cracked with only a few odd plants growing here and there.
John tossed the car keys to Hector. “We’ll get started right here. How about you back the car up through the gate and stop just short of that first tombstone.”
“Sounds good.” Hector left them and headed to the car.
“What are you going to do with all that holy water?” I asked John.
He looked surprised for a moment.
“I saw you and Hector in the men’s room back at the casino. I can’t remember the last time I saw so much holy water in one place.”
John nodded, his dark and intent gaze on Hector as he backed the car into the graveyard. “We have to seal the portal. Whether we go though it or not, we have to make sure it’s properly sealed before we do anything else.”
Hector stopped the car and got out. He opened the trunk and Asher and I gasped. We knew there would be a lot of holy water, but there was even more than we expected. In addition to the dozens of bottles Asher had seen them fill, and the coolers, there was also a large barrel.
“Is that all..?” I started to say.
“Yes,” Hector said with a determined grin. “Holy water.” He rummaged through the trunk and pulled out a rifle.
I glanced at John and back at Hector. “You know guns don’t work against demons, don’t you?”
Laughing, he attached a small black hose to a nozzle at the bottom of the barrel and the other to the butt end to the rifle. “This isn’t a gun that shoots bullets.”
“A water gun?” Asher nodded, impressed by the weapon.
“And not just your everyday kids’ toy water gun. This thing can shoot a wide spray of water dozens of yards away, or it can shoot a laser fine stream hundreds of yards.”
John reached in to pull another gun out, but instead of attaching it to a hose connected to the barrel, he screwed a water bottle atop it. Hector handed him yet another gun then pulled out what looked like an oxygen tank and strapped it to John’s back. A hose connected the tank to the second gun.
“You guys really came armed.”
“You can never play too safe when dealing with these portals.”
Hector then strapped on a tank of his own and connected it to a smaller handgun. Pulling a length of hose from the trunk, he circled the portal area, dousing it with a thick spray of water from the barrel which remained in the trunk of the car.
“Our Father who art in Heaven, que ton nom soit sanctifié. Venga a nosotros tu reino, hagasse tu voluntad en la tierra como en el cielo… Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris, et ne nos induca in tentationem. Seb libera nos a malo. Amen.”
Asher and I stood still as they sprayed the area over and over again, murmuring the prayer in English, French, Spanish and Latin .
As Hector continued with a fifth round of spraying, John came to us. “The portal should be sealed tight now, but you guys should still arm yourselves.” He looked pointedly at me. “Even you.” He handed us a few vials of holy water. “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t try to be brave. Just keep yours eyes and your ears open and be ready for anything.”
He’d barely finished his sentence when the familiar stench reached my nostrils.
Chapter 8
“The time has come,” John said with stunning reverence.
A chill ran up my spine as I realized the danger we were all in; the danger I’d put them all in. This was my fight, my battle. I hated the thought of others getting caught up in it. I was the one who loved Braxton. I was the one who was so fiercely attracted to Moore.
Looking up to Asher, I wanted to beg him to get back in the car and let me fight my battle on my own, but the look of dogged determination in his eyes told me there was no point. He was in it as much as I was.
“I want you to understand, Lux,” John said, his voice more solemn than I’d ever heard it. “We’re about to do something no gatekeeper has ever done. Through decades of fighting, centuries of warfare, no one has ever crossed that line. No one has ever gone through the portal. Beyond that portal is the great unknown to even the most enlightened of gatekeepers. You understand that?”
“Yes.”
“And yet,” he went on. “While we don’t know exactly what to expect, we do know that we are all blessed with the ability to fight, and we will fight with everything we’ve got.”
“Of course,” Asher said. He stood so brave and tall, ready to give his life for the task I’d chosen for myself.
“But there is one thing we must consider before we cross that threshold.”
“What’s that?” I said, suddenly worried he’d talk us out of going through it.
“Since we don’t know what is beyond that portal, we cannot guarantee we’ll be able to come back. There may be no way out.”
My breath caught in my throat. I’d never given thought to that possibility. If that were the case, the entire battle would be for nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“But the whole purpose of the trip is to get Braxton and Moore out of there.”
“I know.”
Biting my lip, I gave his words serious consideration. I was willing to take the risk. I was willing to put my life on the line; I owed that much to Braxton and Moore. But the three men who now stood in front of me… John and Hector didn’t even know them.
“It’s up to you, Lux,” John said. “Is this what you really want?”
“Yes and no.” I looked from him to Hector to Asher. “Braxton and Moore are very important to me. They mean a lot to me, and they’re in the position they’re in, in part, because of me. I’m wholeheartedly ready to do whatever it takes to bring them back, but there’s no reason for any of you to sign up for this. The risks are far too great. Greater than I imagined. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to any of you.”
“You know there’s no way I’m going to let you go through that portal without me,” Asher quickly said, just as I’d expected him to. “Don’t bother trying to talk me out of this. If you go through that thing, I’m right ther
e beside you.”
Despite my concern for him, I was relieved. I knew I would need him at my side. “Fine.” Smiling, I held his gaze for a long time. He was such an exceptional man and I was once again so impressed by him.
My hands set atop the vials of holy water, I turned to the portal, but before I could take a step forward, before Asher could come to my side, the ground shook. It was a gentle tremor at first, barely perceptible, but it quickly grew to an unmistakable rumble. Dark clouds swept it, darkening the morning sky and throwing ominous shadows on every gravestone. The wind, suddenly biting and cold, snapped my dress around legs and whipped my hair into my face.
I looked over my shoulder at John. “What’s going on?”
His eyes were filled with fear and concern. “It can’t be,” he said. “We sealed it. We sealed it!”
A blinding blast of sand twirled around us, rising up to choke us and make breathing almost impossible.
“Run,” John managed to shout. “To the car.”
But that option was already blocked. Five demons stood ready for battle, two of them directly in front of the car. We barely had time to blink and the five demons were on us. Two of them charged John, throwing one of his guns to the ground. Hector managed to keep a hold of his weapon, and sprayed the oncoming demon before he could even get one strike in. With a cry of pain and suffering, he melted to the ground, but before Hector could do away with the remaining demons, one left John and struck Hector at the back of his head, sending him falling forward.
I pulled a vial of holy water out and flipped the lid just as a demon charged me and sent me flying into a gravestone. The blow to my head left me lying there for a horrified moment. I’d come so far to find Braxton and Moore. We’d all made so many preparations for the journey to the other side. It couldn’t end like this… so quickly.
Struggling to get on all fours, I tightened my gut and prepared for the kick I saw coming. The demon, smaller than most, but with a menacing sneer that chilled me, pulled his clawed foot back with the casual leisure of a being who knows he has the upper hand.
Bile rose to my throat, and in those eternally long, yet blink of an eye moments, I tried to find the strength to stand, but when his foot made contact with my clenched abdominal muscles, the breath was ripped right out of my lungs and I fell onto my back, gasping.
Despite the struggle to breathe, I jumped to my feet, unwilling to let him have another cheap shot at me. I kicked him back when he lunged at me and it was his turn to fight to get back on his feet, leaving me a moment to catch my breath.
But I knew I had only a few seconds in which to indulge my aching lungs. I had to tackle him before he completely got his bearings. Grunting through the pain in my chest, I ran to him and pushed my shoulder into his soft belly. His sharp claws dug into my back, but I ignored the pain and continued pushing until I backed him up against a tall monument. Once pinned to the crumbling granite monument, I smashed his head against the base of the crucifix set atop it.
Blood squirted from the wound, but still he clawed at my back.
“Die, you hellish demon!” I shouted.
“Only if you join me,” he growled with a sly grin.
I let out a pain filled and soulful cry as I lifted him off his feet and drove his neck through the pointed edge of the crucifix. Gurgling and gagging, he pulled his claws from my back and tried to free himself of the crucifix, but every fitful attempt only drove the curved and pointed tips of the crucifix deeper and deeper into his leathery skin.
Turning my back on the dying demon I turned to assess the situation. John was busy with two massive demons while Hector and Asher each did their best to fend off demons that seemed completely immune to the gallons of holy water sprayed their way.
I shook my head in disbelief. How could they survive such a barrage of what was so typically known as their death sentence. No demon could withstand the effects of holy water. These demons weren’t like any demons we’d ever encountered before.
So how were we going to destroy them?
“Lux, look out!” Asher called out.
I turned to see one of John’s demons heading for me, his claws poised to strangle me. Before he could reach me, I clamped down on his wrists, breaking them then tossing him over my head. He landed in a clump of moist, scaly skin against a small and fragile grave marker.
A baby’s rattle carved into the old stone told me it was the grave site of a young child, fueling the anger and rage I already felt. Grabbing one of the wrought iron crucifixes that lined the path, I stomped toward the semi-conscious demon and raised the crucifix high above his head.
Opening his eyes, he put his hand out to try to stop me. “Mercy,” he said in a strangely innocent and childlike voice.
My heart stopped and my gaze darted to the engraving on the stone.
Bethany Calwell - May 6th 1887 –May 4th 1889
“Have mercy on a poor child’s soul,” the child’s voice said.
“Don’t fall for it!” Asher called from a distance.
But I was mesmerized by the youthful voice. A child who’d died two days before her second birthday. It was so unfair. I wanted to sooth the child, to hold it and reassure it.
“Lux!” John shouted.
They didn’t know. They didn’t understand. How could they?
I reached out to take the child’s hand, but the second the cold, damp hand touched mine, I knew I’d made a mistake. The claws clamped painfully onto my hand, bringing me to my knees as the pain seared through my body.
“Like child’s play,” the demon groveled as he rose to stand above me, a pale and faint pink ray of light glowing behind him.
My smile threw him off and he momentarily let his guard fall. “You think this is funny.”
I let myself fall to the side while my leg swung out from under me to kick his legs out from under him. He toppled over and I could have sworn the faint pink glow followed his fall.
A crucifix, gleaming like white gold and as sharp as a saber lay in the grass before the child’s grave marker, just within easy grasp. I grabbed it and stood as the demon scrambled on all fours to tackle me back to the ground, but the small, sharp crucifix easily found its way to the demon’s heart, quickly rendering it dry and lifeless.
“Only three left,” I muttered, but I was mistaken. I hadn’t even noticed earlier as I’d tallied up the remaining demons, but for every one we destroyed another two emerged.
Chapter 9
Hector and John hosed down a demon, holding him off so long as the water sprouted from his gun, but without the necessary power to kill him. Asher was putting up a valiant fight with an endless series of impressive martial art moves. He kicked the demon high in the face, quickly spun around to land his heel at the back of the demon’s head and finally kneed him in the jaw, nearly tearing his face in two.
But our battle was far from over. For every demon we’d just destroyed, more and more demons appeared. They seemed to come out of nowhere. It almost seemed like they were riding in on the wind.
The flying sand and dirt made fighting increasingly difficult. I could barely see the demons, but they seemed to have no trouble seeing us.
“Don’t let any of them out of your sight,” John called out as he hosed three of them down. Not as resistant as the first demons who’d greeted us, they now fell in a series of wet piles. “We’re too close to a populated area. If any of them make it clear into the human world, it’ll be nearly impossible to contain them.”
As I sent one flying into the air to land lengthwise on the wrought iron spiked fence that enclosed the small cemetery, I saw a dozen more demons enter the melee.
“This could go on forever,” I called to John.
“Just do your best to hold them off as we close the portal.”
I corralled a many as I could, but when I spotted one with a particularly cunning gleam in his milky green eyes, I grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to side of a tall mausoleum.
“You know me,
don’t you?” I spat.
Drooling, he grinned, never averting his gaze.
“You know what I’m here for.” I shook him, bashing his head against the mausoleum. “What else do you know?”
The silly grin remained on his lips, but his eyes narrowed, and I knew he wasn’t just another airhead demon.
“Where are they?” I said.
The grin broadened and took on a moronic tilt.
“Braxton and Moore,” I insisted. “You’ve seen them, haven’t you? Where are they?” I squeezed his neck until his eyes bulged out. “You know where they are, and you’re going to tell me.”
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded.
“You’ve seen them?” I said, almost incredulous. I hadn’t expected such rapid capitulation.
“Close to the surface,” he growled. “But still far away. Too far away for you to ever find them. You’ll never reach them. No one will.”
“Close to the surface?” I repeated as I suddenly envisioned Braxton’s dreamy eyes and Moore’s rugged but loving smile. I had to see them. I had no idea what I would do once I found them, but I had to do everything I could to bring them back to the human world.
I scanned my surroundings. Hector and John seemed to have the flow of newcomers under control, and Asher was finishing off the last few perseverant demons. Maybe if I could just get a glimpse in the portal. Could Braxton and Moore be so close I’d see them? Call out to them and simply pull them out?
Inching closer, I was assailed by the putrid gases that fumed out of the darkened portal. If, indeed, Braxton and Moore were down there, in the bowels of hell, how on earth could they survive?
“Follow me and I’ll show you the way,” the demon said as he quickly came up to my side and wrapped a long, lanky arm around my waist.
“Not yet,” I said, unsure what I should do. But this demon… if he really knew where Braxton and Moore were.
“Lux,” John cried out. “Don’t! Stay away from there.”
I glanced back to see him rushing toward me, Hector at his heels.