Run the Day (16 page)

Devlin's shoulders sunk, he let out a sigh like it was a breath he had been holding in for way too long. He gave an almost plaintive look to Hack before turning to face me.

"When that it first stole that forsaken book from me, I was furious. Years of searching for a way to destroy one of the Entropics all for nothing, until I cornered Flesh-Thing some years after the incident at Grannok's farm -"

"Figures, Senor Desmond's a freak too," Rosa muttered from the couch.

Devlin pretended not to notice the comment and continued.

"He was looking for a mage powerful enough to enact the ritual, as was I, for only you mages can wield the book. And though Grannok was regrettably flawed, he made up for it in raw power. Until two hot-headed hunters came and ruined everything."

"How were we supposed to know?" Hack threw up his arms.

Devlin scowled at Hack and crossed his arms sternly over his chest.

"I let Flesh-Thing keep the book; as I said it was safer down in his labyrinths. I was busy trying to calm the chaos that arose after Grannok, and over the years I lost contact with Flesh-Thing. I assumed since this mud ball kept spinning he still had the book and all was well, until the Sleeper stirred.

I knew I had to contact him, get the book, but I couldn't be certain the Sleeper's agents hadn't already gotten to him. And I was quite certain I was being followed, which meant whoever I contracted to find the book would be followed. I used you Thomas, I'm so sorry. When you took the case, it began to become more and more apparent who it was leading the Sleeper's minions. The only other person who ever knew I possessed that book."

I shuddered. That was the one piece of the puzzle that I kept hoping wouldn't line up, or would turn into a false lead. But since my whole life was one big nightmare study into the nature of Murphy's Law, I should have known better.

"Yeah, the only person who knew that you're a Neverborn," I said, quietly, barely able to admit it to myself. "My great-grandfather."

Chapter Fifteen

"How many times I got to tell you? It can't be Henry; I was there when he died. I saw it," Hack said.

After the revelation, Hack had shot up out of the chair, eyes spitting sparks, fists and jaw clenched. I wish I was as certain of things as he was; that kind of outrage is good for a person. Rosa and Jesus had retreated from the living room after declaring it too full of crazy for normal people.

I was inclined to agree.

"Did you see the body?" Swift asked, spooking everyone.

He went for so long in silence, just standing and watching everyone, you could forget he was there.

"Excuse me?" Hack turned on Swift.

"Henry's body. When he died, did you see it?" Swift said.

Staggering logic.

I'd seen enough bad horror movies and read enough comics to know you never count someone dead unless you see the body. Come to think of it, I'd never even seen a grave for Henry. My father wasn't even born when he died, and my grandfather always said that the battle that took Henry's life had blasted the whole countryside. Town records claimed it was a rogue asteroid strike.

"He's right, Hack," I said, and Hack leveled his unblinking blue stare at me.

Devlin had something of a satisfied smile on his face as he watched the exchange, tapping his cane absently on the ground.

"How did you walk away from that fight unscathed, Hack? I'd heard the psychophage left no survivors."

"Henry saved me. He sacrificed himself to banish that horror and buy me the time to escape," Hack said. He looked terribly tired, and collapsed back into the recliner.

"That settles it. My great-grandfather's back from the dead and working for an extra-dimensional god of chaos. This is awesome," I said. I wanted to hit something, repeatedly.

Rosa took that moment to poke her head into the living room.

"Hey brujo, there's someone here for you."

"Excuse me?"

"Someone was knocking at the door. Guy says he's looking for you," Rosa said and disappeared again.

I peeked my head out of the living room and saw she had been making her way down the halls, collecting a pile of tarps, cleaning as she went. That was kind of neat. Unexpected visitors in the middle of a crisis were not so neat. I looked back into the living room. Swift had gone up to one of the boarded up windows and was looking out between the slats.

"I don't see a car."

"Well what do you see?"

"Guy in a hat. Coat. He's alone."

Hack was shaking his head and Devlin looked like a cat with its hackles up. Whoever it was waiting outside, it couldn't possibly be good news. I could walk out there and get blown to kingdom come, or worse. It could be Jehovah's Witnesses. I got a bad case of the feeling that someone had walked over my grave, and my back teeth were humming. There was a vibration building slowly behind my eyes; something was wreaking havoc on the Other Side, something disgustingly powerful.

I might have a small advantage or two though. For one, the wards all over the house apparently still worked; otherwise the stranger would already be inside. I was also very aware of the extra weight in my shoulder bag, and figured it might be a great time to see how well my latest dabbling worked. I hefted the gun out, and did my best to square my shoulders and straighten my spine as I made my way down the hall.

Walking down the hall to the door was a bit like trying to walk down a wind tunnel, every step I had to push against the prodigious force of the stranger. I ground my teeth together and planted one foot in front of the other, and as much as it pained me I tried to keep my shoulders straight and my head up. Bravery in the face of overwhelming odds was not one of my strong suits. I was much more inclined to go running back up to my room and hide under the bed.

Hopefully I wouldn't do anything drastic or embarrassing when I got there; I could already see the door standing slightly ajar. I took in a deep breath and opened the door the rest of the way, not making an effort to conceal the pistol.

The man standing on the other side of the door looked as if he had been wrought from porcelain and shadow, his skin dead white in contrast to a long coat and hat so black they sucked in light. His eyes were a solid, empty black, and when he looked at me, I could actually feel him looking into me. He wasn't tall, close to my height, and he wasn't big or imposing in the classical sense. But menace and something distinctly unwholesome poured off him in waves.

"Thomas Grey?" The man said in a low bass rumble, tinted by a curious accent.

I tried to respond, I did.

Instead, I found myself nodding dumbly, and the gun in my hand felt massively heavy all of a sudden. I started shaking. The guy smiled at me, and it was just wrong, his thin lips peeling back from perfectly straight and white teeth. It reminded me of something I had read about monkeys before, how their smile is a threat, a warning display of teeth. That's what this guy was doing.

"You're not exactly what I was expecting. I'm Henry. Henry Grey. I believe I have something you're interested in."

For the briefest of moments, in my mind's eye, I pictured myself raising up the pistol and howling unintelligibly. My hand twitched and I shuddered. Henry continued with his unsettling smile.

"That's so weird. That was my great-grandfather's name, too. But he's dead."

His smile didn't falter; he just shook his head patiently and clasped his hands in front of him.

"I've run out of time for foolishness. I came here to make you an offer."

"It couldn't possibly be an offer I can't refuse, could it?"

In my mind another visual flashed, this time coming like a kick in the chest and staggering me. I saw myself with the pistol held up to my head, screaming, pulling the trigger.

And I saw...

And I didn't see anything. I started to get angry; really, really angry. I am not a fan of having my head messed with. I gathered my will together, pulling at the energy invested in my home and all around me, and I lifted the pistol, but not to my head. I pointed it straight at Henry's face. When I spoke, my voice came out strained from the mental assault and from tapping into so much energy.

"Enough with the mind-fuck already. Say whatever it is you came here to say and piss off. Anymore bullshit and I don't care who you are, I'm putting a bullet in your face."

Henry chuckled, a rumbling, low sound in his chest. It was worse than his smile.

"The blood of the Spear hasn't thinned as much as I thought. Good. I want you to join me, Thomas," Henry said and took a half-step back, the overwhelming pressure pouring off him faded away. "I want you with me when I become God."

That's definitely an offer you don't get every day.

"Join me and the Libro Nihil is yours, and with it power over the life and death of every being on this planet."

"At the low, low price of my soul right? I'm no saint, but what kind of fucking monster do you think I am?" This time I managed to get it out without shaking. The energy I'd been collecting was feeding off my anger; I was boiling over with it.

I pulled the trigger.

The gun made a sound like a jet obliterating the sound barrier and a gout of flame exploded out the barrel, consuming Henry. I was blown back, thrown down the hall, and slammed into a bookshelf. It hurt, pretty bad, my body screamed. Dusty, heavy old books rained down and pelted me.

I'd say the enchantment was a success.

Hack, Swift, and the others came running down the hallway. I was trying to get myself off the ground, they all looked like they were talking but I couldn't hear a damn thing over the ringing in my ears. Hack came skidding to a stop and turned to face the door, his mouth hanging open. Devlin stopped right behind him, just as a lance of solid, ink black darkness came streaming down the hall. It took him full in the chest and tore him off his feet, not stopping until it slammed into the ceiling and pinned him there. I could see him screaming even though I couldn't hear it, flailing and writhing at the thing that had pierced him. Smoking spots began to rise on his body, something burning him from the inside.

Rosa and Jesus bolted back down the hall. Swift went flying across my vision and slammed into Hack, still standing dumbstruck, and tackled him out of the way of three more of the black spears. My hearing was starting to come back, enough that I could start making out the sounds of chaos. I had just made it to my feet and turned to look down the hall to the door, where Henry was still standing.

He walked right in completely ignoring the wards on the house, which made sense, what with him being the maker of most of them. His clothes weren't even singed, not a thread out of place. He had one hand raised, and around it hung an aura of darkness.

He was no longer smiling.

"You're a fool, a weak, stupid little worm. You could have been a god."

"That's not nice," I mumbled, head swimming.

Henry was going to kill me, and everyone else if we stayed bottlenecked in the hallway. It was a shooting gallery. The pall of darkness around his hand was gathering and growing, throbbing as he prepared another strike. Hack pushed his way passed me, stepping between Henry and me.

"Go on Tommy, get out the back. Me and Henry got some talking to do," Hack growled, he patted me on the shoulder and turned to face Henry, who let out another of his nerve-wracking chuckles.

"My dear friend Hack, I see you've changed. It doesn't matter. I'll slaughter the last of the God-Spear line and then -"