Chapter Twenty Three

The blood loss had been stopped temporarily, but Ivy was still in shock. The caduceus was in-between Pam, who was attending to Ivy in the door, and the demonic Claude, who was wincing as the angelic tool bathed him in light that was keeping him from lunging at the tow and tearing into their flesh. The caduceus was fast running out of protection for them, and in the time it took to assist Ivy, Pam saw the brightness and field of the blue aura it emitted dim and flicker. Claude drew closer as the safe distance shrank inch by inch.

“You shouldn’t have hurt Steven,” Claude hissed. “Because now I want to hurt you. And I will.”

It was a snarling grin, and Claude’s deadly maw was clicking as he ground his sharp teeth in anticipation.

“You’re running out of time, and me, I’m going to take my time.”

Pam crept up to the caduceus, worried that it would fail suddenly. She grabbed it pensively, holding it like a torch fending off a horde of snakes, and waved it defensively. They were maybe a yard apart when the wand went dark. Both Pam and Claude were surprised, but before he could strike, Pam smacked the caduceus with the butt of her palm and it sprang back to life with more intensity. Rather than drive him back deeper into the room, Pam took the wand and stabbed at Claude. He would have retreated or dodged the strike, but decided to allow her to come closer in order to allow for a counter blow. What Claude had not expected was the caduceus to be so shockingly painful that the demon entity would temporarily be split between the dimensions.

It was a howl of pain that was as unearthly as the creature making it.

Claude fell down as a bolt of bluish energy ran through him where he was hit in the chest, up through his skull and face, causing his skin to glow and show off the internal organs like an x-ray. As the sound of his cry of pain lost it’s volume it was replaced with a plume of smoke that wafted from his nostrils and mouth. The wand made another sharp burst and then when dark for good. Pam shook it hoping it would revive, but Hrel had her discard it, knowing it was tapped out and could be of no further use.

Pam ran back to Ivy who was in shock. She dragged her delicate, limp form outside Room 16 and pushed with all her strength to move the steel door closed. Sisyphus would have had an easier time. Manually closing the great door would have been nearly impossible for a person, save the few building-sized and neckless men of Scandinavia with names like Magnus or Tor who routinely lifted stone columns or dragged cartoonishly large iron weights in competition. But the near six feet of Seattle Amazon managed to inch the reinforced metal barrier along its track, due in part to Hrel who, long used to being a puppeteer of the human form, knew to stimulate her adrenaline and make her almost flawless with muscle efficiency.

The door was perhaps a half foot from being closed when there was an alert over the intercom, directing a crew to “Purple 16”. The arrival of Steven was unexpected, but likely due to the monitoring of the room, so with the knowledge that there were more less-than-friendly people coming their way Pam had to be quick about their escaping. But she was almost totally spent from working on the door, and Ivy was going to be carried long before she could get up and walk on her own. Back towards the elevators there had been a room that was stocked with medical supplies, near the operating theater, and Pam headed there to distance them from the arriving group. She was able to pull a flap down over the narrow window in the door so that the light wouldn’t be seen, and she hoped the standard door lock would be enough to keep visitors out, or at least make them move along to the next room if they were conducting a search.

---

Surrounded by abysmal darkness, Harry went for another dunk in the tank. He could tell he was no longer in the confided space of the cocoon, but floating in the void where he’d combated the darker urges that attempted to wrap their cold fingers around his soul, and felt the affirming light and life of his Nana’s spirit. It was like a place that was neither life nor death, and he couldn’t tell for certain if he was either.

“You are different here.”

Again, Harry recognized his own voice, the one that had argued with him, that tried to subvert him and possess him the last time he had entered. It spoke again.

“You’re no longer pure to enter. You are tainted. Even with your body back in safety, your essence should be exposed, but it’s not. They have marked you like one of their own, and we can not, we dare not enter. We can not touch you here, but we can see you out there, in your world. And we will sense your aura just like theirs. When we come, you can not hide among them, your people. You are marked, and we will come looking for you."

---

Pam found a compress and gauze, and wrapped it around Ivy’s shoulder after cleaning it with an antiseptic. She had bled profusely, and her shirt was soaked on the arm and sleeve, so Pam cut away the fabric, leaving Ivy with an off the shoulder top that looked very much like it belonged in the 80s, far earlier than Ivy would have around to have worn it. There was nothing else in there to put on, but the odd, new fashion would be far less obvious than a bloody shirt. That last bit of attending to Ivy had sapped the remaining energy she had, and Pam spilled into the chair next to the examination table where Ivy lay, exhausted. It wasn’t sleep, but it was still sorely needed rest. Ivy stirred, but was mostly inanimate, recovering from her wound.

“I heard what you said in there. You were almost right. It wasn’t Xerbil…I believe that was Criel. They are nearly brothers.”

It made no sense to Pam, but Hrel understood. “I wasn’t sure,” he said through Pam’s voice. She was unable to keep herself from saying the words as Hrel was finally able to overtake her control. He may not have been able to drive the car, but at the moment he could still play the radio. “I thought Criel had been destroyed a millennia ago, but there was word in the last century he might have come to Earth. I had heard rumors, but no one could confirm it.”

“He was looking for me,” responded Ru, using Ivy in much the same way. He had not had any trouble asserting control over Ivy, but the years of being bonded to hosts had made Ru more reluctant or willing to usurp his earthly symbiotes. Ru gained much respect and admiration for the human species – at least as far as his hosts. There was still much evil and darkness in their world, which was what excited him in the first place, to understand the way of mankind and learn what it was that separated their two species. Being of the three, it was one of Ru’s primary responsibilities to be as impartial and observe the very nature of man. The seven for and seven against would naturally be able to characterize humanity as their charges provided, but Ru, Kainentrien, and B’lall-Mil’osh had the largest part to play in swaying them either for or against assisting mankind. The encroachment of demons had nearly forced their hand to accept man as a ward to defend and protect, although they had much preferred to combat demons in their realm than take the battle to those they wanted to shield.

“You’ve been hard to find Ruahadavalat.” Hrel had clear irritation underlying his words. “Some of us have been sent here to remove the observers and judges ahead of the Kra’agnuk hordes, and playing hide and seek amongst these toys has only made it more difficult for us to focus on our main task.”

“Don’t act as though you didn’t enjoy your time here, weaponsmith. I know of you and your associates. I know you have been here far before this planet and people were thought to be a target of those monsters. I know where we’ve stepped in and given their kind a nudge here and there, guiding them forward. Or shall I say prepping them for the time when you’d have to be able to control or destroy them if they were swayed by the wrong side.”

“I do admit having corporeal form here is…advantageous. But my experiments and meddling with their ways has been no distraction and nothing more than a fanciful hobby as we prepared ourselves for the coming conflict.”

Ru interrupted, “You mean the conflict we brought.”

“I don’t think you want to make those kind of accusations. There are plenty who think your time here has made you compromised, and just as soon consider you an enemy.”

“We brought them to the humans far sooner than they could have reached this part of the universe. And we owe it to them to live with their own troubles before we add others.”

Pam narrowed her eyes and looked at Ivy with burning intensity.

“You know there is a reason why we sent you, right?”

“I was selected by the greater elders and the…”

Hrel cut Ru off, “You were selected because you are young and naïve and inexperienced. You’re no better than their foolish teenagers. Do you think they would have sent Angam or Rewopd’ik. Or me? Killers? Scientists? Our elite? Hundreds of thousands of years ago we would have never even entertained the thought of evaluating a species like the humans or thought to question or need to be involved. But it was your kin who wondered if the cost of fighting was necessary against the Kra’agnuk. Sibr knows better and sent you because eventually it would come to intervening, and that your experience here could convince your kin to cease questioning the greater plan. And I know that it has.”

Ru was silent. In many of the hosts he had bonded with, like he, they were inquisitive and not dogmatic, which was satisfying for him to learn as well as observe the process of learning through their eyes. But what Hrel said, as far as Ru could see the reasoning in it, was true. And the conclusion that he had come to was the same, to battle their enemy no matter where they were and at any cost. True, he was certainly fond of humankind, which momentarily gave him pause to think that was a bias, but the scheme had played out the way that it was planned, and instead of feeling like a pawn, he knew that it was orchestrated to as an example to come to a conclusion that he could now see.

“So what are we supposed to do?”

Hrel thought for a moment. “We still need to find David Bullock. That’s why they came here, as did we. I was hoping he could help lead me to you, but now that you have been recovered, we see if he knows anything about this place or the Kra’agnuk. Agreed?”

“Yes,” Ivy said, “agreed. But he already knows much of them. I have shown him much, and he has equally assisted me in our task of trying to secure this planet for when the battle shifts from limbo to the tangible. He will not be pleased to see what has become of his father”

“How much does he know?”

“Enough. A lot. More than I suspect you have told your host, though I have observed her plenty while she and Bullock worked over the years. He shared information with her, but she was skeptical like so many others. This one, she understands just a tiny portion, and wants to understand more.”

“The show,” said Hrel. “You made as many allies as you did enemies. It gave me reason to suspect Bullock was aware of us, but none of our brethren here were to know where you and the others would be. For safety and to make sure you have a chance to succeed. I’m surprised the minions of the Kra’agnuk hadn’t found you sooner. That was a huge gamble.”

“You hunters are not the only cunning ones of the bunch.” Ivy smiled for Ru. “It was dangerous, but among the humans it was not going to be cause for attention. And it drew the others out so they could be identified. Now it will be far less difficult to know where to strike, or who, if we intend to block off portals and access. I knew that would be the next step after joining the humans. And I would have done that regardless of the others.”

“So you know that there are very few of us here, and now there’s at least one of their kind as well to deal with?”

“Yes.”

“My host, she is unaware of you, and of this conversation. Closing that door was too much of a strain for her to handle and stay conscious for long. She has been…cooperative, and seems to want to find Bullock, but there is something about her that troubles me.”

“Her resistance is that you’re an unwanted guest. I had not intended to leave Bullock, but was forced to, and fortunately this host was nearby and accepting. She too is unaware of you, even though they both seemed to recognize each other. I expect she will gain cognitive consciousness in a few hours or so.”

“Then let us let them rest, and I will suggest to her that we go to the guts of this place and turn it into a fireball. I’m sure I can rig something here to cause some damage. Enough to make everybody get out and flee. Our best chance to find Bullock is when they evacuate. We can use that chaos to get to him and get away.”

---

”You look like shit, Harry.”

Harry opened his eyes, and was only able to do so the slightest bit before it hurt. He was out of that awful cocoon, and he recognized the voice.

“If I could see, I’m sure I’d think you weren’t and better for the wear.”

Lester smiled, even though he had little reason to. Harry couldn’t see the two of them in restraints, let alone feel them. It seemed superfluous given the paralytic that had been administered, numbing their arms and legs, but Lester saw Dolph as a man who liked to go overboard, and the redundant bonds were exactly his kind of touch.

“Do you know where Angie is? Is she here,” Harry asked.

“Sorry, friend. You’re the first friendly face I’ve seen in here.”

“That didn’t sound so positive.”

“It’s not,” Lester added. “You can’t tell, but were about to get fucked.”

“They’re not hot, are they?” Harry clung to a shred of humor even though he knew it was neither funny nor appropriate. But it was all he had.

“There’s an ugly ass motherfucker strapped down across from us, and I hope they keep it fed well, because if it wakes up and is hungry, it ain’t looking for the refrigerator.”

“Okay, so then what’s the downside?”

“We’re in their portal room. And I don’t want to see what else comes through.”

---

Dolph sat patiently until David woke up. It was a mild sedative he was given, not so much to knock him out, but more for the crews of handlers to control Claude and get him up to the portal deck. The clean up for the demonoid was growing as costly as the amounts spent of staff to handle and care for it. Although it seemed that constantly retraining new staff was taking the largest chunk of the expenses, though conversely it had greatly lowered food costs.

“Mr. Bullock, you are awake.”

He was disoriented and petulant. “Where’s Lester and his friend,” he demanded.

“Now, now, young man, that’s not a cooperative guest.”

“You’re Dolph, right? You’re the one behind all this insanity.”

“Insane? Really David, somebody who’s been talking to voices they’ve been hearing in their head for years and you’re calling me insane? That’s just unkind”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, your father told me.” It set Dave off, and he sat up, trying to shake off the hand restraints that kept him in the chair.

“Temper now, you don’t want to get all worked up. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Vros felt uneasy, and Dave could sense it. It was something odd that Dave felt, something that he had never known with Ru.

“The truth is, I’ve found myself a little opening to someplace dark and scary. So I built a portal there. Several, in fact. Your friend’s partner, he was not very happy to know that, even though I had hoped to explain things so that he could see the error of his ways. I wish he’d have listened too. I went through a lot of trouble to turn one of his cohorts to my way of thinking just in case he or his buddies ever found out what I was up to.”

“That totally blew up in your face.” Dave knew the end of that story, and was pleased.

“Oh yes, it did,” lamented Dolph. “But it was just the kind of motivation that I needed to make sure it didn’t happen again. Plus I had some other ideas in mind. Like having another portal here.”

“What makes you think we’re not going to do the same thing?”

“The portal’s already functional and engaged. The door’s wide open.”

“Then we’ll close it.”

"I have someone who wants to say otherwise. In fact, they wouldn’t be the person they are today without that wonderful open portal. I’d like to stick around to get your feedback, but I think it would be better if you had some, well, alone time to see how you feel about it.”

Dolph left, and though the opposite side of the room, six heavily armed men in full tactical gear wheeled in a gurney with a form underneath a sheet. Dave could see the adjoining room they were entering from, though it was nearly behind him. He craned his neck and saw a portion of the portal. Was that what caused the twinge in Vros? There was something about the gurney too. They had removed several straps that bound the sheet and the figure, and left quickly. A few minutes later, there was some movement. Watching through his closed circuit feed, Dolph, anxiously waited for what came next.

Claude brushed the sheet away and stood up.

Dave would have never been able to get through the restraints, but Vros saw the demon enemy and easily broke the straps, ready to attack it. Dave couldn’t believe what he was seeing, a gross distortion of what he remembered his father to be. “Father?”

“Hello, son,” Claude responded.

“Magnificent,” said Dolph.