Awoken

by Timothy Miller

  Belua.

  Lina lowered her arms and curtsied.

  Someone clapped, a startling gunshot of sound in the silence, and the spell was broken. Riotous applause spread through the room like wildfire. People rose to their feet, and they shook the walls with their cheers and clapping.

  Lina looked stunned.

  “Saints preserve us,” Ms. Darwin breathed.

  “I wouldn’t count on it.” Michael ran past her and out onto the stage.

  26

  Belua Fire Drill

  The wail of a fire alarm began before Michael was halfway to Lina. Flashing white lights appeared in small red boxes fastened high on the walls and above the exits.

  The applause faded and died. The audience looked about uncertainly, and those near the rear began filing out the exits. The belua opened the doors for them like helpful ushers.

  He skidded to a halt next to Lina. “We’ve got to go!”

  “Did you hear them, Mike?” Lina’s cheeks were flushed with excitement. “I told you I could dance!”

  The auditorium was emptying quickly. Nearly half the people had already gone out the doors.

  “You’re a frigging rock star, Lina. Now, we have to go!”

  Ignoring the music that roared through his brain, he grabbed her arm and began dragging her toward the curtains. They had to hurry. Ms. Darwin had already gotten the other dancers offstage to join the exodus.

  “Get a grip,” Lina complained. “If there was a real fire, don’t you think we would smell smoke?”

  A fold in the curtain parted in front of them, revealing a large man in a black suit and sunglasses. “She has a point, amigo,” Smiley drawled. “Where there’s smoke and all that.”

  The remaining glass fell from the dress in a hissing rush. Michael pushed Lina behind him, placing himself between her and the belua. “Lina, go.”

  Smiley chuckled. “Now, that’s not very friendly, amigo. I thought we were pals.”

  Lina touched Michael’s shoulder. “There’s one on this side, too. Are they…?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s right, Little Miss Riding Hood.” Smiley flashed his teeth. “We’re the Big Bad Wolves. And, my goodness, Grandma, what big eyes we have!”

  “Get bent, freak.” Lina’s voice was like iron, but her fingers trembled on Michael’s shoulder. She leaned closer. “What do we do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Smiley stomped hard on the floor and raised a palm to his ear. “Nope, no rock in here, just good old-fashioned wood. No windows to jump out of, either. Oh, you could try to tear down the walls, but I don’t think you want the roof falling down on our heads. So I guess you two are out of luck.”

  The belua were ushering the last few stragglers out.

  Smiley produced a metal syringe from his pocket. “Naptime, kids.”

  Michael shot a glance over his shoulder. A heavyset belua with a blockish face was moving toward them from the opposite end of the stage.

  Lina’s eyes were large and frightened. “Mike?”

  Smiley shook his head. “He can’t help you, princess.” Glass crunched beneath the soles of his shoes as he moved toward them. “He’s got nothing to work with.”

  The glass!

  “I’ll have to use the stonesong, Lina, all I can handle,” Michael whispered. “I won’t be able to control it all.”

  Smiley shook his finger at them. “Now, now, kids. No secrets, or Uncle Nabal will have to punish you.”

  Lina’s fingers tightened on his shoulder. “Ready.”

  “Stay close,” Michael said. His eyes flooded with silver, and flickering light spread out from him across the stage. Drawn by the stonesong, the crushed glass skittered in from all directions. He focused, and the crushed glass floated up from the floor, thickening into glowing bands that orbited them like Saturn’s rings.

  Lina cried out. Her palm was glowing again. Smoke rose from the glove. “Hurry, Mike.”

  The belua behind them had stopped several yards away. Syringe in hand, he eyed the floating glass uncertainly.

  Less cautious than his companion, Smiley laughed. “You know, you’re just so cute together. I could eat you both right up.”

  Michael’s eyes blazed. “Oh yeah? Well, eat this!” He struck the glass with every iota of the stonesong he could muster.

  The glass detonated with a thunderclap, scouring the stage around Lina and Michael with a cloud of tiny cutting blades. The blast shredded the suits of Smiley and the thick-set belua, sending them sailing into the seats of the auditorium.

  The silver light of the stonesong died, and Michael staggered. Lina caught his arm.

  “Come on,” she said.

  His head spinning, he let her drag him into a stumbling run backstage. He felt awful, but there was no time to catch his breath. Beyond the range of the explosion, the belua at the exits rushed toward the stage. Thick fur sprouted from their faces as they ran, and their clothes swelled and split around their transforming bodies.

  Michael tripped over his own feet and fell, bruising his knees. A bestial roar sounded from the auditorium behind him. “Where’s Diggs?”

  Lina heaved him off the floor and pushed him ahead of her. “I don’t know. Just keep running.”

  As Michael ran by their dressing room, he caught a flash of motion in the doorway. He dodged, but wasn’t quick enough. A glancing blow struck his skull, and he spun into the wall. Stars burst before his eyes, but somehow he kept his feet.

  A thin-faced belua stepped from the room and pressed a small button on his collar. “Contact in the eastern corridor.” He pulled a metal syringe from his pocket. “Preparing to sedate.”

  The sound of Lina’s foot striking the belua’s midsection was not unlike a fastball striking a catcher’s mitt. The hybrid doubled over, and she put him down with a double-handed blow to the back of his neck. The belua groaned once, and then lay still.

  Kneeling down next to the unconscious VEN agent, Lina rummaged through his pockets. “You okay, Mike?”

  Michael touched his temple. The skin was tender where the belua had struck him, but seemed unbroken. “A little dizzy, but I’m okay.” Suddenly, he noticed Lina’s hair. For the first time, the silver strands outnumbered the black. “How about you?”

  Lina pulled a fat wallet from the belua’s jacket and rose. The whites of her eyes had taken on a green tinge, as if her irises were spilling over. “Gas money.” She ignored his question. “Come on. We have to keep going.” She ducked under his arm, taking his weight as she half-carried him down the hall at a jog.

  “I’m sorry, Lina.”

  Lina blinked away a tear. “You had no choice.”

  An eerie howl made them glance back. Three belua, hairy bodies bulging with muscle, were coming up the corridor behind them.

  Michael stumbled to his knees. “We’re not going to make it together, Lina. Go on without me.”

  Lina jerked him back up. “Shut up and run, you idiot.”

  A red fire door swung open a few feet in front of them, blocking the hallway. A shaggy figure stepped into the hall, beckoning frantically with his hand.

  “Move your tails,” urged Diggs. “They’re right behind you!”

  Lina and Michael dove past him and Diggs slammed the door closed. Backing up a couple of steps, the drifter kicked at the doorknob, bending the metal, then kicked it again. On the third try, the knob finally broke free, bouncing off the pavement with a metallic ping!

  Taking long slow breaths, Michael tried to settle his stomach while he got his bearings. They were in the school parking lot. Diggs’s pickup sat at the far corner of the small lot. The rest of the area was empty; everyone else had parked at the front of the school, in the larger, more convenient parking area near the main entrance. The front of the school wasn’t visible from the rear parking area, but Michael could already hear the warbling sirens of approaching police and fire services. They hadn’t much time before this area became a hotbed of activity for the lo
cal authorities.

  Jericho bounced on his heels not far away. “The Fallen have come, Awoken. The People must flee.”

  Bile rose in Michael’s throat, and he swallowed thickly. “You said it, dude. Just bring me a stretcher, and we’re outta here.”

  Something heavy banged against the fire door, bending the metal outward.

  “That’s not going to hold,” warned Michael.

  “Not for long, anyway.” Diggs put his shoulder to the rattling door. “Run. I’ll try to keep them here as long as I can.”

  Michael eyed the brick walls of the school and had an idea. “Get away from there. I’m going to try something.”

  Diggs shook his head. “I don’t—” The fire door bulged outward, knocking him several feet back.

  Michael’s silver eyes flared brightly and a hot spike of pain pierced his skull. Silver flames outlined the door, and the bricks surrounding the frame folded inward with a crunching squeal of protest.

  A massive dent appeared in the door, then another, but the frame no longer rattled. The shifting brick had sealed the portal tight.

  He released the stonesong with a ragged gasp. His head was on fire, and he tasted blood in his mouth. It took him a second to realize that Diggs had taken his other arm and was helping Lina prop him up.

  “Nice job, Mike.” Diggs led him toward the pickup. “Now, let’s get you out of here.”

  Jericho’s warning growl stopped them in their tracks. “Beware. The VEN are near.”

  The stonesong jerked, and a large black hound padded out from behind the pickup. The hound moved toward them, hackles raised, but halted just a short distance from the truck.

  “Not that I’m complaining,” Lina hissed. “But why is the mutt just standing there? Why doesn’t he attack?”

  “It doesn’t need to,” Diggs answered. “The hound just has to keep us away from the truck long enough for the belua to bust through that door.”

  The assaulted door gave a grinding creak!

  “Crud,” Michael spat. VEN had them trapped between a hound and a hard place.

  Lina tapped at the pavement with her toe and gave him a pointed look. “This is concrete, Mike. Can you do like you did in the school?”

  Michael licked his lips. They were wet and coppery with the blood leaking from his nose. “I don’t think so. The stonesong feels too weak.”

  Diggs muttered a curse. His expression hardened, as he seemed to come to a decision. “That’s it, then. Lina, get Mike into the truck.”

  “What about the dog?” she asked.

  “I’ll take care of the dog,” growled Diggs, shrugging off his coat. He shoved the garment into Michael’s hands. “Hang on to that for me, and don’t lose my pills. They’re in the pocket.”

  Michael lurched after him. “Are you crazy? That thing is going to murder you.”

  “Hold on, hero.” Lina restrained him easily. “The old guy sounds like he’s got something up his sleeve.”

  “Yes. Have a little faith, Mike,” Diggs said. “And don’t forget about my pills.”

  Jericho trotted up alongside the drifter. “This one will fight the Fallen with you, friend of the People.”

  Diggs’s shoulders quivered, and he bent at the waist. “Your duty is to protect the…” He groaned. “…the Awoken.” His voice was guttural and pained. Thin muscles swelled under his shirt, stretching the fabric. “You need to…arghh… protect…arghh!”

  “As you wish, friend of the People,” said Jericho. “Fight well. This one will protect the Awoken.” He bowed low and scampered back over to Michael.

  Diggs convulsed. His shirt split down the back, revealing a curly mass of black-spotted white hair.

  Lina hugged Michael to her. “What’s happening to him?”

  The stonesong twitched, and a chill of pure dread ran up Michael’s spine. “No,” he moaned. “No, Diggs. Not you.”

  Diggs straightened. His face was covered in short, spotted white fur, and his pupils had elongated into long, cat-like slits. “Get Mike into the pickup, Lina!” he roared, then charged the hound.

  27

  Trusting the Enemy

  Diggs hit the giant hound at a run, catapulting the beast into the side of the pickup.

  The hound banged off the fender, shook itself, and then leapt to the attack.

  Diggs met the hound in midair. Wrapping shaggy arms around the animal, he spun, using the dog’s momentum to propel it far out into the parking lot.

  “Diggs is one of them,” Lina whimpered. “What do we do?”

  Michael didn’t answer. He felt numb. This couldn’t be happening. Diggs was his friend. He’d trusted the drifter to lead them to the dollmen city. Now? How could he trust a human-animal hybrid that had hidden his true identity from them all this time?

  The hound hit the pavement hard and scrambled back up. Growling, the hound started for Diggs, and then its mismatched eyes settled on Michael. With a savage snarl, it veered away from the drifter and rushed toward Michael.

  Diggs brought the dog down with a flying tackle.

  “Go!” He struggled to hold the snapping jaws from his throat. “Go!”

  Jericho tugged on Michael’s pant leg. “Come, Awoken. The friend of the People will hold the Fallen.”

  Friend? Michael wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry or laugh. Diggs was a belua. Did half-human monsters even have friends?

  The hound did not fight like a typical canine, an animal relying solely on its sharp teeth for defense. Instead, it attacked like a cornered tiger, clawing and biting with equal fervor. Bleeding from a dozen cuts, Diggs refused to let go.

  “Please, Mike,” he rasped. “Get in the truck.”

  Michael stared hard into the pleading, inhuman, catlike eyes. His doubts evaporated like mist in the sun.

  “Let’s get in the truck.”

  “But he’s one of them,” Lina protested. “We can’t trust him, Mike.”

  The hound jerked, slipping Diggs’s hold and sinking sharp teeth into the drifter’s forearm. Diggs shrieked like a wounded jaguar and drove his fist into the hound’s skull. The VEN beast reeled, and Diggs ripped his trapped limb free.

  Michael grabbed Lina’s shoulders.

  “Whatever he is, he is fighting for us. Get in the truck, Lina.”

  Lina hesitated. “I don’t…ow!”

  Jericho drew back his palm, ready to deliver a second swat to Lina’s backside. “Enough talk, thief. The Awoken is in danger!”

  Lina rubbed her rear and glared at the little man. “You naughty little monkey.”

  “Later,” Michael said. The fire door banged, bulging outward again. Jammed or not, the metal wouldn’t hold much longer. “Lina, the belua will be here any second. I can’t make you come with me, and I won’t leave you here. So, make up your mind. Are you coming, or are we going to die together in this parking lot?”

  Lina looked back at the school, and pursed her lips uncertainly. “Fine. But if he eats us, I’ll kill you.”

  “Deal,” Michael agreed.

  Together, they ran to the pickup. Michael opened the door and jumped inside. Jericho hopped up onto the headrest behind him, and then Lina climbed in and closed the door.

  “Okay, we’re in the truck. Now what?”

  Michael threw Diggs’s jacket atop the dash. “How should I know?”

  Lina gave him an incredulous look. Then, her face darkened. “This was your idea, genius. I wanted to run.”

  Michael frowned at her tone, but realized she had a point. “Maybe we should flash the lights or something. You know, to signal—”

  The VEN hound hit the windshield with a wet smack!

  Lina screamed.

  Flattening himself against the seat, Michael started to reach for the stonesong, and then stopped as the canine body skidded bonelessly down the glass, leaving a red smear in its wake. The tongue hung limply from the hybrid’s mouth, and before it slid off the hood to fall to the pavement, Michael saw the mismatched eyes were now dull and li
feless. “The dog’s dead, Lina.”

  The driver’s door flew open, and a hairy, spotted belua crawled inside the pickup.

  Lina screamed again. So did Michael, jumping away from the monster and into Lina’s lap.

  “Knock off all that hollering,” the monster exclaimed. “Mike, where’d you put my…oh, there we are.” The hairy beast pulled Diggs’s jacket from the dash.

  Michael blinked. “Diggs?”

  The spotted belua winked at him. “More or less.” Removing the pill bottle from his coat, he clumsily worked off the cap with his claws and poured a couple of the remaining pills into his mouth. “Less now, but more in a few minutes.”

  Lina shoved Michael off her lap. “Remember what I said, Mike.”

  Diggs keyed the ignition, and the pickup rumbled to life.

  “If he eats us,” Lina warned, “I’ll kill you.”

  28

  Gifts of the VEN

  The spotted fur began to recede from Diggs’s face, withdrawing into his skin, as they swung out of the parking lot and onto the street. Gradually, his swollen muscles shrank and his slit pupils rounded. By the time they hit the edge of town, he had returned to normal.

  Lina watched suspiciously during the entire transformation, and Michael pushed tight against her side, sitting as far away from Diggs as the small cab of the pickup would allow. Jericho seemed oblivious to the tension. Sitting on the headrest, he scanned the night sky for VEN crows on their tail.

  Jericho’s indifference made Michael wonder if he had known about Diggs all along. It was difficult to read the little man. Perhaps the dollman didn’t think Diggs’s being a belua was all that significant.

  Michael scowled. He’d trusted Diggs enough to get in the truck, but it wasn’t long before some of his doubts resurfaced. Why hadn’t Diggs told them he was a belua? Why hadn’t he told them he was one of the VEN’s monsters?

  Michael scooted a little closer to Lina and kept a wary eye on the drifter. No one spoke as the pickup ate away the miles.

  When the gas gauge fell dangerously low, Lina silently tossed the belua’s wallet onto the dash. Diggs nodded, and they pulled into the next gas station they saw. After refilling the tank on VEN’s dime, they got back on the road. Diggs finally broke the silence. “We’ll forget the back roads. By now, VEN will have figured out where we are anyway, so there’s no point in hiding. Speed is our greatest ally now.”