Heckel Casey (36 page)

Jerky passed the bottle back to me. I squinted and tried to read the label. "I picked it up somewhere in Stockton. I think it's from the Ravenswood winery. It was way under a shelf in some dingy old liquor store."

"Depends on what?" I finally asked, interrupting Jerky's explanation of her quest for undiscovered bottles of wine.

"You see all those men and women out there prepared for fighting?"

"Yeah, there are an awful lot of them," I said with a hint of frustration.

Jerky took my hand and said, "Well, they are in for a bit of a surprise."

I explained to her that I was confident my people would do well and I was appreciative of her encouraging comment, but the reality of the matter was that they had us clearly outnumbered three to one.

"No, I mean something different. Those poor unknowing, misdirected individuals will all be changed."

"Can you be a bit less cryptic?" I said. "Get to the point."

"Madeline will turn them all into demons. Demons with more strength and single-mindedness."

I took a huge swallow of wine and then another mouthful to ponder Jerky's last comment. I passed the bottle over to Jerky. As I swallowed slowly, major doubts and fears flooded my whole body and overtook any warm buzz I had gotten from the wine.

Jerky sensed I was upset. "Heckel, our force is strong…maybe we don't have the magnitude of warriors, but we are smarter, more agile, and—"

"And what…we'll have our butts handed to us on a platter?"

Jerky punched me in the arm.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?"

"To get you thinking straight. You haven't had that much wine to make you goofy and stupid. Look, you are Heckel. You—"

Stopping her from going on a lengthy monologue, I initiated a barrage of questions. "Why has God let things get so messed up? Why is this happening? Why me? What happens if we lose? What—?

"Whew, stop," Jerky said, holding up her hand. "I don't have another bottle of wine to answer all these questions. However, I can't really explain everything, but I do know that you all screwed up down here."

"Excuse me," I said glowering at her.

"Well, not all of you. I mean in general mankind, or I should be more politically correct and say humans…though I will add, women probably did less to mess things up so much. You probably should have let them run things. They can do a better job."

I told her she was digressing.

"Sorry, anyway what I mean is God, the Supreme Being, the head honcho, the main dude…well, He let you all go to see how far you would let evil take over. Not intentionally, mind you. Remember, from day one He gave everyone free will. Humans have made some really crappy choices that have really mucked things up."

I was about to object and try to list all the wonderful things that have transpired, but she put up her hand and said, "You and everyone who has followed you are good people. Oh, and there are others overseas who will follow you once this battle is over."

"Can I get a word in edgewise?" I asked, peeling the label slowly off the bottle. "You mean all those people who died over the last couple of years were bad? I mean, come on…Madeline messed with them. She planted some crap in them and at a certain time, she pulled the switch to trigger a wave of destruction. I remember. I saw it."

"She just planted the suggestion. It was their choice to choose the dark path or not. Unfortunately, most did make a horrible decision. She had no effect on you and many others because you had strength inside you, or a barrier against the evil. You made the choice for good."

As we continued to discuss the whole situation, I got a lot of back-story so to speak. She answered many of my questions. Then she asked the big one. "Will we win?"

Jerky stretched and put her arm around my back, "Heckel, that—"

Before she could finish, a soft voice from behind us said, "Excuse me."

Jerky jumped up and spun around. As she turned, she had morphed into a seven-foot silverback grizzly. Her roar was deafening. Several critters in the bushes nearby scattered.

"I'm so sorry. I do apologize for startling you," the voice from the shadows said.

"Who are you?" I asked standing to one side of Jerky. I looked over at her and was impressed by her defensive seven-foot posturing.

"My name is Mr. Barker. I'm here with a proposition."

I knew it…another deception from Madeline. "Okay, Madeline, so now you're trying the old English gentleman approach. I'll give you credit for creativity. I whupped your ass once and the next time I'll finish it. Come on let's do it," I said with my fists clenched in my best fighter stance.

"Please, Mr. Casey, I assure you, I am not Madeline. I am her…hmm…counsel, I guess you could say."

Jerky jumped down on all fours and waited.

"Well, you should counsel her into surrendering and ending this nonsense. Tell her to go back to hell," I stated with determination.

He started pacing in front of us. Every few steps he would look up and smile at us.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen. I can tell you that you will lose. You are clearly outnumbered and after tomorrow, her force will be bigger, stronger and will not show any mercy."

As if her buttons had been pushed, Jerky swiftly transformed back to human form. She stood in front of me, protective and defiant.

"Please stop doing that, young lady. It is alarming," Barker said with a repugnant smile.

"You should leave now," Jerky said. "You are not to be trusted."

Barker resumed his pacing and I could tell Jerky made him nervous. Tempest came up behind me. I turned and saw that the horse was also ready to protect me.

"So, Mr. Barker, you said you had a proposition. What is it?"

Jerky turned to me and whispered, "Don't listen to him. Anything he says will be a lie."

I assured her I just wanted to hear what he had to say.

"This battle will result in many lives lost. That is a given."

"And what do you care about that?" Jerky said.

"If she continues to interrupt me, I will have to just forget…"

"Just finish what you have to say and do it quickly," I demanded. I took Jerky's arm and tried to calm her down.

"Fine. If you all turn around and give this up, we will spare your lives. All of you. Men, women and children," he said with a sleazy, creepy grin.

Jerky fidgeted. I held onto her arm. She was so ready to tear this asshole apart.

"You know, Mr. Barker. I've seen a lot of movies and that routine never worked out. I don't think I'd trust Madeline or you for that matter. No, we will end this in battle."

"Too bad. That child of yours will never get to meet his daddy," Barker said with a sneer.

Now that one pushed me over the edge, and I started for him. Jerky was at my side, ready to strike.

Before we could engage him, he lifted off the ground and held up his hand. "You are a dead man, Heckel Casey. Give it up."

Suddenly, he was gone.

"Damn," Jerky said. "I knew I should have—"

"I don't think angels should be saying damn," I reprimanded her.

"Sorry. Sometimes the heat of the moment gets me all riled up."

"I know the feeling."

I picked up the bottle, took one last sip, passed it to Jerky and decided it was time to return.

"How do you feel?" Jerky asked, taking one last look out across Madeline's camp.

"Sober enough to drive."

"No, silly. I mean about—"

"More determined and confident that ever."

"Good. I have another bottle of Zinfandel stashed away in one of your bags back at the camp. We'll pop that open when this is all finished."

I smiled and nodded. Jerky hugged me.

As we rode back to camp, we shared stories and memories of Jerky's work as a guardian. She had a very good sense of humor and reminded me of some of the dumb things I almost did.

"Will you change back to a cat before we get to camp? Sela might be a little jealous."

"Absolutely. No problem. I doubt she'd be jealous. She doesn't strike me as the type. But yeah, I was planning on it. It's just been fun getting to talk and laugh with you."

"Yes, it has. So, before you change, I just want to thank you again for everything that you have done for me and Sela."

I felt soft fur on my neck and loud purring.

Chapter 34

Madeline woke up and each time she closed her eyes, she could still see poor Quincy's head rolling on the ground. She buried her face into her pillow, trying to block out the memory.
Put it behind you. Forget it. You have bigger things to contend with. It's all that damn Heckel Casey's fault. Everything is his fault.

"Good morning, Madeline," a familiar voice said. Barker, shit. What in the hell did he want? Not the best voice to wake up to.

She pulled her head out from the pillow and sat up.

"Don't you ever knock?" she queried, pulling the sheet up to cover her chest.

"There's no time for formalities. I'm here to give you instructions."

Great, now what?
Madeline just stared at him, showing him no emotion. He began his usual pacing.
Oh for crying out loud. Here we go again.

"Madeline, you have garnered some impressive numbers to serve you."

She continued to just glare at him, waiting for him to finish and hopefully leave quickly.
He really gives me the creeps, and besides, I really need to pee.

"Though you most likely have the sheer numbers to crush Heckel's ragtag army, we feel you need a bit more help."

"What?"

For the next fifteen minutes, he instructed her on how to boost her chances for success. She listened intently, asking questions when something wasn't clear.

When he was done, he flashed that quirky grin and said, "Have a good day, Madeline."

She was relieved to see him leave the bedroom.

After taking care of the morning necessities, she poured herself a glass of orange juice and spiked it with Pendleton. "Hmm, not bad, but vodka would have been better. I need to stock up on more vodka." She opened the side window, leaned her head out and barked a command for someone to get her breakfast. Her personal chef came running up and said he'd bring scrambled eggs and sausage immediately. "Wonderful. I'm starving."

As she waited for the meal, she reviewed the business that Barker just laid out. She had no more doubts. No weakness. With this transmogrification, victory was hers with no chance of defeat.

She practically inhaled the breakfast. With each mouthful she became more energized and excited about the ensuing battle and the edge that Barker promised.

After eating, she showered, powdered her body and went to the closet. All her clothes looked boring until she spotted a pair of bright-red knee-high leather boots with a menacing spiked heel made of silver. "Lovely. I'll build my ensemble around those. Black goes so well with red. Hmm…let's see."

She kept riffling through the closet. On the floor, she spotted a black shirttail leather skirt. "I have just the belt for it," she said, sliding a wide leopard belt with a shiny buckle off a hook inside the closet. "I haven't worn this in years. Perfect. Now for a top." After finding a black satin blouse, she got dressed.

Jewelry was easy. A stunning diamond necklace with matching earrings called out to her.

Now hair is a problem—up or down? Which one said I'm a badass the loudest?
"Absolutely no ponytail or braids. That would look too high school," she muttered. She decided to wear it down, slightly curled, pulled back from her face and laced with dark-red hair extensions.

After taking care of her hair, she used bold smoky eye makeup and applied dark-red lip-gloss. Madeline stood in front of a full-length mirror. "Stunning. Go make an army from hell."

Stepping out of the motor home, she was immediately greeted by five men. They all fussed over her, throwing compliment after compliment, which she noted as absolutely invigorating. She flashed her best teasing smiles and told them to gather all the men together in one hour.
They grovel so well and are so easy to control. That little dick between their legs is so susceptible to getting a woman what she wants. And who said women were the weaker sex? Ha!

"Excuse me, Ms. Madeline," a voice from behind her said. Madeline turned around to see one of her generals standing at attention.

"Yes."

"Can I ask what this is all about?" he quizzed calmly like a kid who knows all the answers.

"You'll see. In fact, for that matter, when I meet with the men, I want you by my side to watch. Make sure all is ready."

He stood there with a querying face. She put up her hand and a small tinge of blue light emerged. Immediately he bowed and backed away.

For the next hour, the instructions that Barker had left with her raced across her mind. A soft knock at the door signaled that her audience waited.