Dust + Ashes, page 41
“Edmund, my dear brother,” the viel woman said. RJ opened his eyes and saw Auntie Cathy take the glass and hold it out to her brother. With her other hand, she stroked his cheek, though it wasn’t an affectionate gesture, and one of her nails drew a violet line down his skin. The wound quickly vanished. “Officer Howard is not the only one who needs to be reaffirmed. You are Blood, so you have never needed to take the Sacrament, but you are also weak. You always have been, and this will make you stronger. It will fortify you for what needs to be done. So drink, my dear brother.”
A slight shudder coursed through Edmund’s body, and his eyes turned black. Mechanically, he reached for the cup and nodded. It trembled in his hand as he brought it to his lips and drank. When he finished, he set the cup aside.
“Thank you for that,” he said. His voice sounded hollow. “I’m feeling better already.”
Auntie Cathy smiled, clasping her hands together as she looked around the room. “All my boys, here together and the party’s about to start. I guess all that’s left is to go out and wait for our guests.”
Part Four
The End
So...
THIS IS A BIT WEIRD. I don’t know what to say. Everything is different now. You’re different. I’m different. The whole world is different.
It’s all changed, and I hope it’s for the better. I really do.
I guess that’s something, right? Something to say, something to share. I miss talking to you. Everything’s different, and I’m glad for that, because the old way was not working out, but I do miss some parts of it. I’m sure you feel like something’s missing, too. And that’s my fault. So, I guess I gotta apologize for that.
I’m sorry. I really am.
It’s a start. What else?
Chapter Twenty-Fire
Into The Dark
HOPE FALLS WAS ODDLY deserted as they drove through the town headed for Keener’s Lake. A foreboding pall had fallen over it, reminding Tia of a western at High Noon. A showdown was about to happen; everyone could feel it and was appropriately picking a side or staying the hell out of the way.
Becky’s Jeep led the convoy. Tia sat in the back with Benjamin, holding his hand and rolling the baseball bat she’d chosen as her weapon under her foot. In the passenger’s seat, Briz watched out the window, alert for any sign of danger while Becky drove. None of them spoke. Behind them, Valerie followed with Melanie, Fox, and Ray, the latter pair in the back keeping tabs on Daggett between them. The rest of the Crows followed in what must have resembled a funerary parade for a respected, if eccentric, public figure as they snaked across and out of town.
When they finally turned onto the road that circled the lake, Becky halted, glaring ahead. A lone squad car was parked across both lanes, blocking the way. Leaning against its hood was Officer Howard. His hand rested casually on his holster. Tia felt a sudden, horrible sense of déjà vu as Becky swore and got out of the car.
“Stay where you are, Beck,” the officer warned, holding up his free hand. “I’ve been ordered to keep everyone out.”
“On whose authority, Phil?” Becky asked.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Turn around and go.”
“On whose authority? We’re friends, so I need you to trust me here, Phil. I need you to really think about this. Why are you guarding—”
Tia’s heart hammered against her ribcage. She felt Benjamin’s hand slip from hers as he leaned forward, reaching past Briz to the glove compartment.
“Hey, don’t move!” Officer Howard said, drawing his gun. “I see you in there, Benjamin Nash. I said, ‘don’t move.’ What do you think you’re doing?”
“What do you think you’re doing, Phil?” Becky stepped in front of the vehicle, blocking his aim.
“This poor idiot,” Benjamin muttered. He started rummaging again. “Never seen someone thralled up.”
“I really don’t like him,” Tia said.
“I’m not too keen on him either,” Briz agreed.
“Tends to happen when someone repeatedly pulls a gun on you,” Benjamin said.
Inch-by-inch, Becky was edging toward the red-faced policeman.
“Think about this, Phil. Think hard,” she said. Her tone was level, rational. It was impressive, her composure when facing a loaded weapon. “I know you. You’re a good man. A good police officer. You joined to serve and protect and you’re good at it. You know this isn’t what we do, Phil.”
Her words struck something in the enthralled officer. His eyes widened and his hand began shaking. He did not lower the gun, though. Not good.
“Becky,” he said. “I can’t do it. I can’t lower my arm.”
“They must have his blood,” Briz said. “He’s like clay in their hands. Can you break their hold?” She looked at Benjamin.
“Phil, we’re cool. Put the gun down,” Becky cooed. “You know me. This isn’t how we do this. This isn’t what we’re taught. Think about your training.”
“I can’t put it down,” Officer Howard whimpered. Visible fear entered his wide, blue eyes as he realized this truth. “I can’t put the gun down, Beck. I’m trying. Why can’t I—”
“Don’t panic,” Becky said. “Breathe, Phil.”
Slowly, she raised her hand, pointed toward the car, and lowered a finger. At this gesture, Benjamin opened the door.
“What are you—” Tia cried as he started to get out, but her words were interrupted by a gunshot. She screamed. Benjamin toppled out of sight. So did Becky and Officer Howard.
“Everyone okay?” Becky called after an excruciating pause. At her voice, Tia climbed toward the open door, but Briz held her back.
“Wait a moment,” Briz said. “We’re both okay.”
“I’m fine,” Benjamin said, reappearing. He indicated a divot in the ground as he stood. “The shot came nowhere close. He’s fighting their control.”
He started around the front of the Jeep. Tia leaned forward and saw him join Becky. The ex-cop had tackled Officer Howard when Benjamin had drawn his aim and now had him restrained face down on the ground. Benjamin knelt and picked up the smoking gun, shaking his head.
“Good job,” Becky said. “Everything’s under control, but I might need help with him.”
Tia got out of the vehicle, throttling her baseball bat in a white-knuckle grip, and Briz followed, wielding a tire iron. Other cars were pulling up behind them, spilling out Crows armed and ready.
“I need to stop you.” Officer Howard’s growl turned to a moan. He wriggled beneath the woman holding him down. “Please, Becky. I’m going to hurt you. I don’t want to, but I have to. I can’t stop myself—”
“Can you help him?” Becky asked Benjamin.
“Yeah, yeah,” Benjamin muttered, moving forward. He pulled out his Swiss army knife and flicked it open, moving to join her. He grabbed the officer’s arm and held it against the grass. “I’ve never tried destroying a blood sample remotely before. Let’s hope it works.”
“You do the impossible, Benji,” Becky said. “I believe in you.”
“Me, too,” Tia whispered. She didn’t particularly care about the man on the ground, but she thought of RJ. He was so close, and he was also enthralled by blood. She hoped they could save him.
“Don’t want to... don’t want it... don’t make me...” Officer Howard bucked, trying to fight them off, but the two mystics redoubled their efforts and Benjamin jabbed the blade into the officer’s exposed palm. As the wound began to bleed, he sprinkled a bit of salt on it. Officer Howard hissed in pain, writhing beneath them.
“It’s okay, Phil,” Becky soothed. “They’ve been using you a long time. We’re going to help get your head right.”
“Beck,” the man moaned. “They did something to me. My head... They made me, made me do it.”
“Just hold still.”
“Commande à loin sangraban brechen! Déan gántl!” Benjamin muttered, falling into his usual chanting cadence. Beneath him, the officer made a gagging sound and shuddered, growing still. Benjamin struck his lighter and held the flame to the pooling blood on the man’s palm. Tia sucked in a breath and held it, watching. “Purga et roosapila!”
The blood darkened, congealed, and seemed to move as an autonomous entity. It slithered toward Benjamin’s hand as if to strike him, and the young man jerked back. Officer Howard screamed, his entire body bucking off the ground, throwing both mystics off. Suddenly, Benjamin grabbed Becky and pulled her away.
On the ground, Officer Phil Howard began to melt, and Tia felt cold. They’d made him take the Sacrament.
“Oh, god,” Becky cried. “What’s happening to him? You have to help him!”
“I’m sorry,” Benjamin said. He looked green. “I can’t.”
“You stopped Melanie from changing when they did this to her,” Tia said. “You have to help him. What if RJ’s like this, too?”
Benjamin shook his head, lowering his voice. “I stopped her changing, yeah, but I couldn’t save her, remember?”
“What are you talking about?” Becky hissed. “Mel’s right there. What do you mean you couldn’t save her?”
She looked at the car behind them. Valerie was helping the woman who appeared to be her sister out of the passenger seat. It was obvious Melanie was sick, her body breaking down. What wasn’t obvious was that, beneath the surface, the soul inhabiting that corrupted body belonged to Abigail Fenhauer.
“She’s not Mel—” Benjamin started, then frowned. “She’s not well. Look at her. The corruption is still there. It’s killing her slowly. Even if I could do to him what I did to her... the result might not be one you want.”
Slowly, Melanie drew away from Valerie and limped to them. She grabbed Benjamin’s arm, steadying herself, as she knelt beside the mutating officer.
Phil Howard was growing more unrecognizable by the moment. His face looked molten, his skin taking on the consistency and transparency of jelly. Rolling sideways, he gaped at the gathering Crows, mouth stretching wider and wider as he gnashed at them, viscous, green foam burbling out. He swung his arm around and tried to lift himself up, but his torso was swelling, becoming tubular, while his arms grew spindly and stretched. He collapsed, weakly trying to drag himself toward the group, growling something that sounded like, “Kill, kill, kill.”
“You can help him,” Melanie said, looking up at Benjamin. “And I’ll help you do it. I remember how it was.”
“Hoo boy,” Valerie said. “We’ve got company.”
All along the tree line, slouching shapes were emerging from the forest. Tia stepped back as she saw them, feeling panic welling up. Abominations. Hundreds of them.
“There’s so many,” Becky breathed. “How...” But she trailed off, hand over her mouth and shaking her head in horror as she understood. “Oh, God... Oh, no.”
“The missing people,” Tia said. The Greenes had been recruiting for decades, but not everyone had the devotion to become Lesser. Hope Falls had a higher rate of disappearances than other towns, at least relative to its population. Some of the missing were found dead. Others, alive and more-or-less well. And then there were the ones who simply vanished. They were the ones that had de-evolved, and they had found new lives in the lakes both above and below ground as monsters driven solely by instinct. Both lakes were gone now, drained away, but the monsters remained.
“We don’t have time for this. We need to get through to the Rend,” Valerie said, noting Becky’s hesitancy and stepping forward. She waved the armed Crows forward, and they formed ranks, readying their weapons. “Salt and fire, people! Let’s kill these things.”
BENJAMIN LIFTED A HAND, preparing to conjure fire. He glanced at the unfortunate Officer Howard and grimaced. The thing that was quickly becoming not-Officer Howard was barely moving now, only rocking slightly and still burbling its “killkillkill,” softly. But with Melanie there, it seemed calmer. Beside him, Becky rounded on Valerie.
“They’re people!” she objected. She glanced at him for support. “The missing persons. There must be a way to help them.”
“They were people,” Benjamin corrected. He shook his head and ignited a fire ball. “Déan flambée!”
Before he could throw it, the first volley from the shotguns blasted the closest monsters with rock salt, and the flames in his hand sputtered. He felt them in his head. He felt their pain as dollops of slime and mucus flew from those that caught glancing blows. Others staggered, peppered by the salt projectiles. Under the surface of their mucus membrane, the flecks of sodium chloride burned, charring and slowing them, but only for an instant or two. Their instinct to kill—to feed— was too strong, but there was something else buried beneath it all: a spark of fear, of loss, a mote of what they had been. The abominations kept coming, even through their pain, and Benjamin felt it all.
“No,” he whispered, doubling over.
“What’s wrong?” Tia said.
“There’s so many of them. I can’t focus—” he stopped, seeing her face. She looked terrified. There was another volley of shots as the first of the abominations slammed into the Crow line. Several people screamed as they were lashed, while Ray and the Blackwing mystics threw up a shield to push back the onslaught.
“Bloody hell,” Daggett said, marching over to Becky. He shook his shackled wrists at her. “Of all the times to go to pieces... Stop waffling, girl! I taught you better than this! They’re going to swarm us before we even make it to the Rend. Let me out of these bloody things. I can help—”
Becky swore. She reached for the keys, but still hesitated, looking at the monsters. Then, she looked at Benjamin, her expression asking for permission.
Benjamin couldn’t answer. The pain of these beings; how lost they felt, both completely inhuman yet there was something there, like so many terrified children alone in the dark. Melanie grabbed him, pulling him down toward her. Her hands were icy.
“Look at me, boy,” she said. The dark veins below her skin gleamed, pulsing in time with the bioluminescent lights of the creatures. “Focus. We can banish them, Benji, together. We can make them turn.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tia step away, holding her palm toward the battle. Silently, her mouth moved as if she was casting a spell of her own. No magic moved around her, natural or otherwise, but a pleasant note, her clairy hum, cut through the racket clambering around Benjamin’s mind.
“Come on,” she urged. “Reconcile.”
One of the mutations lunged toward her. Briz smacked it away, connecting with a wet thwack! And sent it splattering across the ground. Tia dropped her arm and turned, ready with her baseball bat, as a second creature attacked. All down the line of Crows, the fighting had gone mano y mano. The booming shotgun blasts had been replaced by splats and spraying goo.
Beside Benjamin, Becky managed a few meager fireballs hurled at the onslaught, but the creatures weren’t deterred. Finally, she reached for Daggett’s shackles.
“Don’t make me regret this,” she warned. “You break through and get your bomb ready. We’ll follow and keep them off you.”
“Right,” Daggett said. He shot a vicious glare at Benjamin and Melanie as he was unrestrained, before rounding on the slimy horde. He threw his arms open wide: “DÈAN SPREADHADH!”
A fiery, concussive blast roared from the bearded man, rolling over the advancing monsters before fanning out along the second wave. A shrill cry of pain rose from the horde, searing Benjamin to his core. This time, the pain seemed strong enough to drive them away, sending them fleeing back toward the safety of the woods. Melanie’s grip tightened, as if she too felt the fire scorching her heart.
On the outskirts of the blast, unaffected abominations continued attacking. There was a cry as Cyndee was pulled down. The one she’d been fighting oozed over her arms. Daggett, still unleashing gouts of fire, shifted his aim and nearly scorched several of his recruits as he took out more of the monsters. Nhilven pulled Cyndee free just before the fire rolled over them. Her arm was lobster-red and horrifically burned, though whether from the creature’s corrosive ooze or Daggett’s fire was uncertain. The deposed Crow leader gave a rally cry and barreled forward. He seemed single-minded on breaking through, regardless of what or who was in his warpath. One way or another, he would get to his bomb.
Despite the cleared path, the rest of the Crows were struggling to follow. The abominations kept coming. The one attacking Tia lunged again. However, when she swung her bat this time, it connected and stuck in the creature’s mucus mass. The thing contracted, sucking the weapon in and pulling Tia with it. She screamed and let go just in time, pinwheeling back. Briz whirled, swinging her tire iron at it, but a second creature lashing her ankle, and she was yanked off her feet. She hit the ground with an “oof.”
“No,” Benjamin growled, turning toward Tia’s attacker. “Back off!”
Something like an electric shock jolted from Melanie through him, and he flinched, projecting the sensation outward. A wave of force slammed into the wall of abominations, flattening them. Then, like a tsunami, the power snapped back. He staggered as it crashed home, primordial energy raging through him and more; it brought corruption, churning and sickly inside him. Just as quickly, it siphoned away. With a cry, Melanie released him.
Across the field, the flattened abominations lay inert. Benjamin jerked upright and looked back at Melanie. She was hunched over and clutching at the soil, her fingers dug in as if to anchor herself. She looked far worse than she had moments before. The dark veins had thickened and turned black, bulging against her yellowed, translucent skin. It was as if she was maintaining her humanity through sheer force of will, holding the corruption at bay. And Benjamin felt it in her, a shining emptiness that may as well have been a black hole. When she opened her eyes, he saw darklight gleaming behind them.
