All Who Wander Are Lost (An Icarus Fell Novel) (15 page)

Good point. Nothing
would be easy down here; frankly, it surprised me we weren’t
being melted or something.

“
You’re
right. Let’s get on with it.”

I put one tentative
foot on the first wooden plank, testing its strength. When I looked
across to the other side, I saw a man standing mid-bridge, a black
cowl hiding his face.

He wasn’t
there a minute ago.

“
Shit.”

“
What
is it?” Piper asked.

I pointed to the
figure as she stretched to peer around me.

“
Hmm,
bridge-keeper,” she said.

“
Great.
He’s not going to ask me the air-speed velocity of an un-laden
swallow, is he?”

“
What?”

“
Monty
Python and the Holy Grail.
You
angels should rent more movies, you’re really missing out.”

“
I’m
more a
Meaning
of Life
fan
.
”

I stared at her for
a second before laughing, but the merriment died quickly as I took a
step onto the bridge, the plank beneath my foot creaking, as
expected. Two more steps set the bridge rocking slightly. I stared
ahead at the figure blocking my way—he seemed unconcerned by
my presence or the motion I created.

“
Wait
here until I deal with him,” I said over my shoulder. Piper
made a noise of agreement.

I took a few more
steps, choosing my footing carefully to avoid slipping through the
gaping spaces between some boards. The rope sides of the bridge made
stretching sounds, the way they do in thrillers to indicate their
impending break.

Great.

A
few yards short of the bridge keeper, I stopped and regarded him.
His black outfit hung to the wooden planks, hiding his feet, while
the cowl left his face shadowed. I felt like I’d either run
into the grim reaper who’d left his sickle at home, or I’d
been transported into Dickens’
A
Christmas Carol
and
this fellow was to show me my Christmases yet-to-be. Didn’t
like the sound of either.

“
Hello,”
I ventured.

No reply.

I took another step
toward him, the bridge trembling along with my knees, my knuckles
white as I gripped the rope sides. One more step and the figure
extended his arm, the black robe falling away to reveal an
old-yet-unremarkable hand –no skeletal fingers, hook or stump.

I began breathing
again. Until I realized he wanted payment.

“
Payment,”
I said without intending to verbalize the thought.

A gust of wind rose
from nowhere, stirring the keeper’s hood to look as though he
nodded. I reached my hand toward his, willing it to keep from
quivering.

This time, when our
hands touched and the figure transformed, I was ready.

The cowl and cloak
melted away from a hog-like head with flat nose, bulging eyes and
short tusks. The beast lunged at me with its mouth full of yellow,
misshapen teeth agape, but I zigged. Its jaws snapped closed in
surprise and, before it recovering its balance, I jammed my shoulder
into its solar-plexus and toppled it over the side.

The bridge rocked
wildly as it somersaulted over the side, pitching into the chasm
below. It fell silently, cloak snapping in the air as it fell—no
cursing my name, no scream of fear or hate. I grabbed one side of
the bridge with both hands, holding on for my after-life until the
motion of the bridge settled. When it did, I straightened, faced
Piper with a smile and gave her a confident wave.

She didn’t
smile back, giving me a look of concern instead. My smile faded as
she pointed over my shoulder, warning me. The hairs on the back of
my neck stood on end.

I turned, but the
beast didn’t give me time for fancy moves. It lowered its head
and surged forward, the two short tusks digging into my gut. The
force lifted my feet off the planks; pain shot through my gut,
swirled into my head. My upper torso leaned precariously over the
side and I stared into the abyss. For the first time, I saw shapes
swirling in the mist, indistinguishable yet undeniably huge and
dangerous. I struggled to right myself.

The beast’s
forward motion stopped and I fell to the splintered boards as it
pulled its tusks free; it felt like my entrails followed them. Hands
clutching my mid-section, I rolled onto my side and peered into the
mist again as it swirled and roiled with the flap of great wings.
Teetering on the edge of oblivion, I closed my eyes and waited to
die.

†‡†

Piper’s
electric touch woke me from what felt like a short, fitful sleep.
She’d rolled me onto my back to keep me from going over the
side and I stared up at a solid gray sky; lightning streaked through
it like glowing veins in the mottled skin of the underworld. When
she leaned over to check on me, the world became blue eyes and black
hair.

Much better.

“
Is
it gone?”

“
It?”

“
The
hog-thing. Don’t tell me you didn’t see this one,
either.”

“
I
saw a man in a black cloak. He touched you and you fell. I was
worried you might go over the edge.”

“
Yeah,
me too.”

I attempted to sit
up but intense pain in my gut like I’d done too many
crunches—which for me was about twenty—stopped me. My
hand instinctively went to my stomach looking for blood where the
creature had gored me but it came away dry. Relief sighed through my
lips.

“
Is
he gone?”

“
He
disappeared after you fell.”

“
Good.
I don’t think he’d have been able to withstand any more
of my onslaught.”

She smiled a smile
which suggested she thought me more pathetic than amusing.

“
Are
you okay to go?”

“
Yeah.”

She stood and
offered her hand. I didn’t want to take it but my attempt at
sitting didn’t go so well, so I slipped my hand into hers. The
charge immediately jolted me: manicured nails raking a bare back,
teeth nibbling an earlobe too hard, expressions of ecstasy and pain.

And then I was
standing and my hand was my own again.

The lust and
excitement and hint of fear brought by her touch drained out my feet
like water from a tub and I stared at her open-mouthed. Her lips
formed words my ears couldn’t figure out how to decipher.

“
Icarus,”
she repeated. “Are you alright?”

“
Ric.
I’m fine. Let’s go.”

I let her lead so
I’d have time to catch my breath. I’d found it by the
time we reached the end of the bridge without further incident.

A fifteen foot
swath of dusty earth separated the gaping chasm and the city limits.
As we crossed it, the sound of rushing water made me glance back to
see the bridge swept away as the misty canyon filled with murky
water. A huge goldfish jumped, its jaws snapping empty air. What
would a kid have to feed a fish to make it grow to that size? I put
it from my mind and directed my attention back to the city ahead us.
We stepped off bare dirt onto hot sidewalk.

The city presented
itself differently this time: crowds filled the sidewalks, cars
crept along the streets, horns blaring. Other than the outlandish
gargoyles keeping vigil over the crowds from the corners of every
building, this might be any city in America. I pointed to a
particularly hideous monstrosity overhanging the street from a
fifties-styled office building of about forty floors.

“
Those
weren’t there last time, were they?”

“
No.”

As if responding to
my reference, the gargoyle’s head pivoted toward us, the
red-glowing eyes set in its cockatrice face locating us at the edge
of the crowd. It shifted position to see us better.

Shit.

“
Let’s
get out of here,” Piper said, mercifully catching me by the
sleeve instead of touching me directly.

We melded with the
flowing crowd, ducking our heads to avoid the gargoyle’s
stare. As we moved away from the building-mounted beast, I noticed
no one in the crowd made eye contact; they all stared straight
ahead, eyes glazed, more than one person bumping us
unapologetically. We weaved our way through the press of zombies
stepping on toes and bumping arms. Three blocks passed under our
feet before I looked back to see the gargoyle had settled back into
place, but one on the nearest building watched us from beneath
hooded lids.

“
They’re
still watching,” I whispered.

“
Yes.”

We fell into the
rhythm of the crowd and with each building we passed I wondered if
we should check its directory for a name I recognized. Piper faced
straight ahead, walking like she knew where to go.

“
Where
are we going?”

“
I
don’t know,” she replied.

I was looking at a
building when she answered, but I’d bet she shrugged.

The people we
passed during the next half-hour didn’t look exactly alike,
but extremely similar: ashen complexions, drab gray clothes, blank
eyes, mouths pulled taut out of fear or extreme constipation. The
latter might explain the sulfurous smell permeating the city.

While checking out
our fellow commuters, I noticed a stir in the crowd across the
street. I stopped to see what it was and the crowd flowed around me
like a stream around a rock. I stood on tippy-toe to locate the
cause of the disturbance.