The Devil's Beat (The Devil's Mark) (31 page)

Vlad didn't bother trying to guide the body into the house. He just picked it up and carried it, arms and legs kicking at the air, into the house. Josh, who had opened the door for Vlad, patted the body as it was carried past. He said, “Don't worry man, we'll get your head back in no time!”

That was when one of the hands managed to clamp onto Josh's hair. Apparently, it had quite a grip because suddenly, Josh was being dragged along with Big Al. Max picked up the Mayor's power tie that, with no head to keep it in place, had fallen in the dirt. He hurriedly followed the others into the house and closed the door. He told Vlad to take the struggling body back to the kitchen and to help out Josh, who was still caught and wailing in pain.

Max ran to one of the hall windows and peered out at the slowly approaching car. For once, he was glad that the drive was such a death trap for cars. There was a short scream from Josh behind him and Max tensed up thinking about other short screams that had come from Josh. He relaxed when he heard Josh saying, “Dude! That hurt!”

ELO’s Evil Woman started playing from the music room.

Max tried to see who was driving the car. His heart sank when he saw that it was Alice's old beater. He wailed “Aw, crap! Why now?” He really didn't want to drag Alice into any more of the bizarreness of his life.

“What is it?” asked Mike coming to the window. When Max told him he said, “What is she doing here?”

Max shook his head. “I wish I knew.”

As Max watched Alice's car approaching, he briefly wondered how she had found the place. No one found this place without following a ridiculous, convoluted path. Hell, the turnoff onto the road leading this place wasn't even there the first time you drove by. That thought was overridden by concern about what she was here for. He remembered her warm kiss and the feel of her body pressed against his, and then he saw the fright and sorrow in her eyes when she pulled away. He knew that look must be something his subconscious dreamed up because it had been too dark to see her that clearly.

He was brought back to the present when Alice's car bounced to a stop about fifteen feet away from the drive circle. Alice got out of the car and then got down and peered under the car. When she got back up, she seemed bigger to Mike. She kicked the front tire of the car and the whole left front of the car dropped as the wheel popped out from under the wheel well.

Alice seemed to shudder as she dropped her head into her hands. Standing next to him Mike said, “Whoa, dude. That is one strong lady friend you've got there. I'd suggest you don't piss her off.”

Max muttered, “You have no idea.” He looked at Mike. “I think you've been hanging out with Josh too long.”

Mike didn't deny it. Instead, he said, “Looks like she broke an axle.”

Suddenly Vlad was beside Max looking out the window as well. He said, “Max, there is darkness moving within her.”

Max held his tongue. He said, “Vlad, why are you out here? I thought you were going to take care of the Mayor?”

“Something unnatural drew me away. It is this creature.”

With her head in her hands, Alice took a couple of deep breaths and seemed to fall in upon herself. Once she was normal sized again, she dropped her hands, lifted her face to the sky, and took a couple more deep breaths. She then turned towards the house and started walking.

The three men simultaneously dropped down so they couldn't be seen in the window. Mike looked at the other two and said what Max was thinking. “What? Are we seven again? Two grown men and a vampire afraid to be seen by a girl?”

Vlad scowled. “She is no girl, though the darkness has receded.”

Feeling foolish, Max peered up over the dilapidated window sill. It was just Alice. She had her arms wrapped around herself as she walked towards the porch with her head hunched down between her shoulders. It was almost as if she was cold, even in the stifling Mississippi heat.

It hurt Max to see her like this. Max wanted to run out to her and comfort her, but fear of what he had seen earlier stopped him. Shit, this is absurd, I'm crouching next to fucking Dracula! He stood up and walked the short distance to the front door. His resolve wavered, and he found he couldn't open the door. A moment later, there was a hesitant knock. Max jumped like he'd just stepped on a tack. He looked over at his two companions who were still crouched in front of the window looking at him.

The ridiculous sight finally broke him free from his goofy paralysis. He motioned them away. They both scrambled into the music room. Max turned, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Instantly, all his doubts and fears dropped away. Alice stood there looking miserably at Max. Her eyes were full of tears and her lower lip was slightly trembling. She said in a small voice, “I broke my car.” Then she was crying in earnest. Max went to her and clasped her in a tight hug. She shuddered in his hold as she fought to pull herself together. She lost the fight and suddenly, she pressed against him, crying freely. She put her head and hands against his chest and allowed herself to be held. She was small and fragile in Max's arms, and he instinctively rocked her back and forth and stroked her hair. “Shhhh. Alice, it's okay. Everything's okay.”

She quieted in the comfort of his arms, and she didn't raise her head from his chest as she said quietly with her beautiful southern lilt, “I'm so sorry, Max. I'm not like this. Really, I'm not. It's just, just been so long.”

Without thinking, Max said, “Come on in and sit down.”

***

She pulled away, looked at Max with puffy eyes and red nose. She nodded and then sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. Max stepped back, and she followed him sniffing and looking around at the great, dilapidated hall. Max was somehow embarrassed by its shoddiness. From where he stood at Alice's side, he was facing the music room and saw two heads peering out curiously from the side of the entrance. Max glared at them and motioned for them to get lost. The heads drew back out of sight, and he returned his attention to Alice.

She said in wonder, “It's beautiful!”

Really? “Uh... yeah, she needs some loving though.”

She sniffed away the last of her tears as she looked to Max with inquiring eyes. She said, “She?”

“Yes, her name is Belle.”

“It suits her. I'm glad you're fixing her up.”

Max looked around and agreed with her. He was about to ask Alice what was up, when Mike came walking out of the music room. He said, “I thought I heard somebody.”

Alice was momentarily startled by his appearance but relaxed when Max, hiding his irritation, introduced the two. “This is my friend Mike. He's helping me fix up Belle.”

Mike put on his best good ol' boy suit. “Pleased to meet you ma'am!” He gallantly ignored her discomfort at meeting a stranger while sporting a runny nose and puffy eyes.

Mike said, “Yes ma'am, we are going to fix up this heap of kindling and turn her into a beauty.” He stepped to the side as another piece of plaster smacked the floor, just missing him. He looked up at the ceiling and stuck out his tongue, just in time to get a face full of plaster dust. Mike coughed and clapped his hands to his eyes.

Alice put her hands to her mouth, but her laughter escaped around the edges.

Max looked at Alice. “Remember how I told you she was haunted?”

Alice nodded, and he added, “Well, not only is she haunted, but she is quite the, uh, feisty southern belle as well. She and Mike don't get along so well.”

Nothing more was said along those lines because there was a yell from the kitchen that got everyone's attention. There was a series of banging noises and more yelling, and then Josh was carried through the kitchen door. Big Al's body had him by one arm and one leg and was parading him around over its... ah... neck, like it was in a pro-wrestling match.

“Aw crap!” yelled Max. He ran towards the flailing Josh. This was just what he needed. It would probably scare poor Alice to death, and then, she would turn into swamp thing and eat them all. Of all the stupid timing! He caught up with Al's body and tried to peel his fingers away from Josh. Al's body pulled Josh back away from Max and kicked out at Max's knees. Fortunately, for said knees, the kicks didn't have any real direction to them, and Al's legs were too short to actually connect in any meaningful way. Max struggled to release Al's grip without success. It didn't help that he found himself looking down into Al's trachea. It was gray and white and looked like a bloodless picture from a biology textbook. Max swallowed back bile and called out over Josh's yelling, “Vlad! Help! He's too strong for me.”

In an instant, Vlad was at his side. He reached up and, accompanied by the cracking of bones, pried Josh's arms and legs free. Josh fell to the ground and scrambled away, favoring his severely bruised arm and leg. He was yelling at Al's body, “Dude! That is soooo uncool man! Uncool!”

Meanwhile Vlad lifted Al's energetically kicking and flailing body and schlepped it back into the kitchen.

Immediate crisis passed, Max turned anxiously to Alice, afraid of what he might see. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was standing there, still normal size, not showing any sprouting fur. Her eyes were wide with astonishment, but she didn't look like she was going to lose it any time soon. Max rushed to her side. “Alice, are you alright?

She looked at him, her astonished face still showing some red puffiness of her crying. “Was that the Mayor?”

Max said, “Uh, yeah, sort of. At least we think so.”

“What happened to his head?”

Max shook his head. “We don't really know, we found him that way in the driveway, just before you got here.”

Meanwhile, Josh had pulled himself to his feet. “Dude! I think he broke my arm, man!” Max looked at Josh, fleetingly grateful that he wasn't the decrepit, nude, stoner that he had been last week. Alice stepped over to Josh. “Here hon, let me take a look.”

Josh obliged by showing her his injury. Max explained to him, “She's an emergency room nurse.”

“Whoa, that is like totally convenient, ya know?” Alice smiled at him and took his arm. “Ouch, dude! That's painful. Hey wait, before you like do that I've got some pain meds in the music room.” He headed for said room, and Alice trailed behind, asking if he had any first aid supplies.

Vlad appeared in the kitchen doorway at the far end of the hall. “Someone else is here.”

Josh detoured to the front window on the way to the music room. He took one look out the window, spun. “Dudes! It's the Feds!”

Alice walked up next to him to see what was going on. Josh turned back to look some more. The heavy pulse of “The Mob Rules” by Black Sabbath blasted from the music room.

Max was processing what the song might mean when the window and Josh's head exploded simultaneously. Vlad was the only one of the group who didn't scream. Moving like lightning, he tackled Alice to the floor, then stood up and jumped through the window. At least that was the plan. Mid jump, it looked like a giant fist caught him in the midriff and he was propelled back into the room in another spray of bright crimson blood and body bits.

While Max and Mike were standing stock still in the middle of the hall in shock, Alice was in motion, checking on Josh and then Vlad. They were pretty easy diagnosis since most of Josh's face and the entire back of his head was totally gone, and Vlad had a grapefruit sized hole in the back of his chest. Alice was covered in blood and gore as she announced their demise. She simply said, “They're both dead.

There was another gunshot, and this time, both Max and Mike fell to the floor.

Mike yelled at Max, “Holy shit, Max, who are these guys?”

Max shook his head and belatedly yelled to Alice, “Alice, come away from the window!” She had already been in motion and was soon beside him. When Max looked at her, there was something feral growing in her eyes.

Max said, “Keep it together, Alice.”

She shuddered and took a deep breath. She said between gritted teeth, “It's hard...”

Through the open window, they heard a car pulling up to the front. After a few long moments, there was the sound of doors opening and thunking solidly closed, followed by feet on the gravel.

There was a knocking at the door, followed by a man's voice. He said, “Hey, sorry about that Max! No one was supposed to start shooting till we had talked!”

Max recognized the man's Jersey twang. Unsurprisingly, it was Tony, his ex-accountant. Max gritted his teeth in impotent fury. Tony yelled again, his voice coming clearly through the blown out window to the right of the door. “Come on out Max! I'm sure we can come to an equitable arrangement! I promise, I won't shoot you if yer good.”

Max looked at Mike and Alice. “Get back in the kitchen, this is my problem.” He didn't wait to watch Mike take his advice nor see Alice ignore it with an angry snarl.

Fury and loathing filled Max as he went to the front door. He threw it open to reveal Tony's familiar short form standing on the threshold. Several goons with large caliber weapons loomed behind him. Max quailed when he saw one of them was his old body guard Paul Haze. Max had no doubt about who had taken out Vlad. Max wrenched his attention back to Tony. He was partially balding and had a big Italian nose. He sported a neatly trimmed beard to compensate for the hair loss and he was built like a short linebacker. He smiled hugely at Max, threw his arms wide. “Maxy! Good to see you! Aren't you going to invite us in?”

Max's face was a study in hate, as he backed away from the door. Tony walked in and looked around the place in frank appraisal, leaving the team of thugs accompanying him outside. He said, “Maxy, this place is a dump! Not at all appropriate for a man of your financial stature!”

He glanced left and saw the two bodies lying in a mass of blood and gore. He said, “Sorry about the mess, Maxy boy. One of my men was a little too eager.” He smiled at Max. “You know how boys can be... Anyway, I'll make sure he's properly chastised.”

I doubt it. “What do you want?” Max’s heart leaped into his throat when the theme from Jaws started playing from the music room.

Tony stepped up to Max, reached up, and patted him on the cheek fondly. “Maxy! I want what's best for both of us. I just want to resume my...”