The Book of Enoch

Chapter 20 – Revelations

She was having sex again. This time, it was a thinner man with a goatee and black hair. He smelled of motor oil, and something akin to rotting citrus. She was on top of him, her hips rolling slowly against his as she stared down into the other’s eyes. The pace was far too slow for the man, who was breathing deeply, lustfully, almost as though it were some game she was playing to see how long she could torment her lover without letting him peak. She held him down, pinning his arms to the floor. He could probably break free. He was bigger, stronger, at least as a human… But such definitions had a different meaning now that her humanity had been mingled with the supernatural.

As a frail human she was subservient, but as a Watcher, she was so much more. Beth had come to realize that which possessed her body was somehow more than the others… different. The words, “chiefs of tens” came to her mind. It was from the book of Enoch that Alvin had read to her what seemed so long ago. Was what inhabited her body a “chief” then? A captain?

She remembered when they had first arrived at the schoolhouse, how the others had greeted her with exaltation, almost worship, bowing before her and reaching out to stroke her arms, her hair. She recalled how they had gathered around her, eager to bring her pleasure, how she let them carry her to a prepared room and set her on a freshly made bed and proceeded to strip off her clothes. Naked, they settled around her, male and female, in a slow orgy of lust. A woman’s mouth settled over her sex as she was nearly obscured in the caresses of the others. She was licked and fondled until she was nearly laughing in orgasm. And no sooner had she started to come down from the pleasure, than there was someone entering her. With long strokes she was sent toward yet another climax. And she accepted them, took their admiration willingly, and returned their love, such as it was.

Yes, she was something different, something orders of magnitude greater than those under her. Her eyes fixed on the male she was riding and she forced her pelvis down hard, driving his member deep within her. An evil grin covered her face, and her nostrils flared, her pleasure rising.

Beth felt the thoughts as though they were her own, though they came from someplace entirely outside of herself. She felt the same adoration from the being that held her soul, directed toward yet another that was also of an order even higher than she. As her mind filled with overpowering ecstasy, she knew that they would be so proud of her, of what she had accomplished, when she finally released them from prison… When she released Sêmîazâz*.*

—

The drive out to the old school was quiet. It was a small town, and Alvin knew that no one would be out on the roads at that hour of the morning. The gentle purr of his car over the still wet asphalt was little distraction from the apprehension he felt, but, he was determined. That was something.

Patrick wanted to come with him. The man felt he owed it to Beth. But it wasn’t even an option. They would sense it in him, knowing Alvin wasn’t alone, and it would be Beth who suffered for it, not the creature inhabiting her body. The detective couldn’t help, and his presence would only provide them with another tool they could use against Alvin and spoil the plan.

His plan. Such as it was. There was so much that could go wrong, and he was counting on their predictability. But they were smart. They had already outsmarted him once recently, and it had cost him Beth.

Beth… He gripped the wheel as he considered what she was going through. They wouldn’t be idle, and every minute they held her, lessened the chances of being able to save her, if she wasn’t lost already.

No. He had to hold onto hope. He quashed his doubt and focussed. If nothing else, he would end her torment. He could do that much.

His thoughts turned to Patrick and Usha, and a wave of jealousy flashed over him. He pushed that away too. What they had would also be destroyed if he failed tonight. He needed to hold onto the larger, more altruistic reasons for why he was risking so much, or he would fall into despair. If he couldn’t save Beth, then he would at least save his new allies. And if not for them, then he would do it just to buy the world a little more time.

—

He knew that he had arrived at the school before he even saw it. He could feel them. Like silent specters, they converged on his car out of the darkness and led him into the parking lot. He could sense their oily presence as a foul aftertaste in his mouth and an acidic vapor in his nostrils, as though he had passed his nose too close to a bottle of ammonia. He shut off the engine and tried to relax. It was going to be a lot worse the moment he left the car.

From the glove compartment he withdrew a small metal medallion and slipped its chain over his head. He took a moment to appreciate his handiwork, and smiled. But this tiny ray of joy didn’t last. It was work that he had done to protect someone else… Someone he had let down. It was Beth’s medallion.

The wet heat was oppressive as he opened the car door, like being thrown into a sauna. He knew the phenomenon would be local, something that the Watchers were doing just to make him uncomfortable, and despite the fact that he was instantly sweating under his heavy raincoat, he kept the garment on. Aside from the additional wards it provided, it was necessary to his plan. He did leave it open, however, as he stood and surveyed the abandoned school.

The demons dropped down around him like crows to a bit of roadkill, snapping at him briefly, before being pushed up and away again. He ignored them. In their current state they couldn’t touch him, but they did try. To his eyes, they were like misplaced shadows that had broken from their source and were free to swarm and shift. As liquid darkness they moved in a tight spiral around his body, and although they had no corporal form, they could still bring with them the wind. Tiny bits of dust and random debris were thrown at his body, abrading the exposed portions of his skin. He raised his hand to shield his face and tried to move forward as he started to hear words and barking noises in the screech of the air about his ears. Laughter. They were mocking him.

Suddenly, there was another voice, but this one clear and human. It was a voice he knew he would eventually hear again, but dreaded none the less. It was the voice of Beth LaHeron.

“Let him come.” She said, her deep alto speech seeming to be all around him at once.

The hovering Watchers lifted and hindered him no more. Squinting, he looked toward the school but saw no one. Slightly confused, but accepting the dark magic, he moved forward to the door, which was open.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Alvin.” Said her voice again, as he started down the long hallway. Empty lockers lined the walls, like the hollow carcass of some long-dead animal. It was quite dark inside, most of the dim, cheerless illumination coming in as moonlight through the glass doors at either end of the hall, that and a single large hole in the roof about two-thirds of the way to the other side. Most of the acoustic ceiling tiles had rotted away, falling in pieces to the floor like lumps of clotted oatmeal, and the rest hung, bloated and dripping with rain from the last storm. It was an apocalyptical vision, and the Professor had a hard time imagining hordes of excited youth moving through the building on their way to history or social studies.

Finally, he reached a crossway, and looking to his left, he could see a pair of double doors, propped open with chunks of concrete. Beyond was what used to be the school gymnasium. The wooden floorboards had long since buckled and bent, creating the appearance of frozen waves of wood. A soft, flickering yellow light painted the large room.

“Don’t be shy.” Said Beth’s voice, this time from just out of view. The flickering light looked like that cast by flame, and he suddenly found he couldn’t move his feet as visions of Ellen rushed back into his mind. He balled his fists and focused on the present, letting the details of the moment crowd out the memories of the past. He needed to keep control of his thoughts. If he let them in, the Watchers would rip open his mind like gutting a fish, splitting him wide and exposing his every fear for them to feast on. But then, they already knew what he feared…

“Alvin…” she called, melodically.

He stepped forward, his jaw set. No matter what she had waiting for him, he wouldn’t allow it to unsettle him. He would carry this through. He must. He turned, and gasped.

“Nooo…” He moaned, stunned. Falling to his knees, he started sobbing.

There was a dais of sorts, a draped reading chair of some kind which had been placed on a platform. To each side of the makeshift throne stood a figure, one male, one female. There were several others behind them in the background, but the hierarchy was plain. All of them were naked, and in the center, seated in the chair, was Beth, though he barely recognized her as she was completely drenched in blood. Her whole body was wet and dripping with red, and he couldn’t imagine how there could be so much of it everywhere. It covered the fabric of the dais as though it had been nearly dipped in it, and even now he could see thick drops fall from her fingertips, illuminated like fiery pearls by several flickering torches.

Her laugh was hideous, cruel, and it cut him right to the heart. How could she just sit there while her life drained right out of her to the floor?

Shaking, he slowly pulled himself from the ground, his anger replacing his fear.

“You have something for me.” She said simply, a small, ornate dagger in her hand. She was idly running the tip of the blade along her forearm, as though she enjoyed the sensation.

“I want her alive…” He responded through gritted teeth.

“Who ever said I was going to let you have her?” She asked, mockingly. “You seem to be under the impression that we’re making some kind of trade. We’re not. Your only purpose here is as a delivery boy. Unless…”

“What?”

“Perhaps I could let you… have her.” She ran her hands slowly over her body, spreading the red over the flesh of her breasts. Her fingers were sensuous, teasing her own nipples until they were firm and pronounced. “Would you like that, Alvin? Would you like to fuck her? I know you’ve thought about it. I can see it in your eyes. I can smell your lust from here.”

Even through his wards, he was assailed by a barrage of images. He saw himself with her. He saw them making love, slowly, passionately. He saw Beth happy and in bliss. He could almost feel their bodies together.

“You want her, and she certainly wants you. I could give you that.” Her hands dropped down into her lap as her thighs parted. “Imagine what we could do together, you and I…”

He clamped down hard on his thoughts, but something got through, and her eyes went wide.

“You haven’t told her?!”

“Don’t…” He pleaded, shaking his head. The demon just laughed.

“You haven’t told her what you are…” She whispered, grinning. “After all you have asked of her, and you couldn’t even bring yourself to tell her this one truth about yourself. This just gets better and better.”

“She wasn’t ready…”

“Ready?!” She jumped on his words. “How do you think she she’ll feel about you, Alvin, when she finds out that you and I aren’t that different?”

“I’m nothing like you.” He spat.

“No? But you are Nephili. You are of the blood, Alvin Manatee. My blood. You barely qualify as human. Does she even know how old you are?”

“Stop it!”

“How long has it been, Professor? A hundred years? Two hundred?” She was laughing.

There was nothing to say. What words could possibly help now. They both knew that Beth was still in there, hearing everything, and the Watcher was right, he had kept it from her. He’d let her see into his world, but had never told her the whole truth. He never told her how it was that he could do what appeared to her as magic. He’d only hinted… teased her, without revealing the truth. He had betrayed her yet again.

He covered his face with his hands, unable to look at her. Beaten yet again by the demon. Outsmarted.

“And the final irony, to make your loss complete, is that she turns out to be the Lock!” She was laughing. “The odds of finding someone compatible with you, at random, are astronomical! Only to have her taken by that which you despise so much.”

He lowered his hands, staring at the floor, the twisted wooden boards, warped by water and time. What had she said?

“But it’s not too late, Alvin.” Continued the demon. “I’m still willing…” She rolled her hips at him lewdly, touching herself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blond-haired female next to Beth waver slightly, as though dizzy. It was then that he noticed the drips of red down her thighs, and the long cuts along her arms. The blood… it wasn’t Beth’s blood that covered them and the chair, it was hers, maybe even several others. Everything, from the dais to the flickering lighting and the blood, all of it, was for show. It was a show specifically designed just for him, to push all his buttons and drive him over the edge, and it had nearly worked.

A clarity settled over him, and with it, his resolve. He remembered what he was there for, and what was at stake.

“Think of it, Alvin,” She said, apparently mistaking his clarity for a breakdown. “There has never been a union between a possessed Lock and the Nephili. We could create an entirely new species!”

He looked up at her, listening, staring into those eyes. He knew that inside, Beth was staring back at him, blocked and bound by the demon that controlled her. Maybe she hated him, his betrayal, it didn’t matter. His plan was the right one, and he was going to carry it through.

“But first,” added the watcher, “you need to give me the stone.” She held out her hand.

He sighed, and reached into his shirt pocket, withdrawing the small, wrapped object. Such a simple thing, he thought, to influence the lives of so many. He looked back to her.

“Unwrap it.” She commanded.

Wiping his brow, he gently unfolded the warding papers that surrounded the object, dropping them to the ground until he held just the Gatekeeper relic itself.

“Give it to me, Alvin.”

He paused, one last long moment, staring at her. It was time.

With a quick flip of his wrist, he tossed the stone in a gentle arc through the air. For a brief second or so, his entire plan was at risk. He was counting on the demon’s greed, its lust for that which could finally free it. She need only back away, let the elongated object fall to the ground instead of catching it, and all would be lost.

But, it landed squarely in her outstretched hand, and she managed one short toothy grin before she realized something was wrong. It had taken him most of the night to Tinker the relic. Even still, he wasn’t able to actually alter its primary function in any way, just add a little to it. The work was insanely intricate and complex, by far the greatest accomplishment of his trade he had ever attempted, and he had no way to test it… until now.

Unlike the bullets, which had the benefit of penetration, his tinkering with the relic needed to work on contact, and even drawing on all his tricks, he knew he would never be able to send the Watcher back to its own domain while it inhabited a human host. So he didn’t try. Instead, he focused on simply shifting it into a lower plane of control, pushing it out from full possession and into a puppet master state, and holding it there, immobile.

Beth screamed, and through her, the demon. Her wail of anger was both physical, and someplace else that came through in his head. The force of the demon’s howling was like that of a jet engine, and it shook the whole building until debris was falling dangerously from the ceiling as it tried in vain to hold its place within her. But it was no use, and as though it were caught in a great wind, it was blown back out of her to float, exposed and in the open.

Sensing danger, the other possessed humans were temporarily confused as they sought the source of their master’s anguish. He knew that confusion wouldn’t last long, and was already reaching into his coat, to his back, where Beth’s gun was holstered and ready. In a moment, they would realize how he had tricked them, but he only needed one shot. The gun came up in front of him as though in slow motion, and clasping it in both of his hands, he pointed it directly at Beth LaHeron’s head.

The sound of the shot could barely be heard over Beth’s banshee-like wail, but the flash from the muzzle nearly blinded him. There was almost no recoil. He had gotten that much right, but his other modifications to the bullets were nearly as untested as his work on the relic.

One of two things was about to happen. If the bullet worked as it was supposed to, it would sense that it was headed toward a human and alter course, passing around the side of her head. Once past, it would sense the presence of the demon, and alter its course yet again, but this time, hopefully, to hit, sending the foul wraith back to its own realm. If his bullet failed to work, then it would strike Beth and kill her. Either way, she would end up free of the creature tormenting her.

Suddenly, the world went shockingly quiet, as though all sound, even the air itself, was abruptly sucked away somewhere else. For a half second, everyone, including the other possessed humans, stood wide-eyed and stunned. Then, from somewhere behind Beth came a bright explosion of sound and light and rushing air, completely knocking back everyone present, and blowing out every last unbroken window in the school.

Alvin was thrown hard backwards. He tried to take the fall on his rear, but his right arm got in the way and was crushed under him as he hit the floor and slid into the wall. Dazed, he went to sit up and yelped. By the look of things, the arm was almost certainly broken, and so he rolled to his other side to pull himself upright and survey the situation, and then wished he hadn’t. The other humans were still pulling themselves up, and so not yet a threat. But there was a non-corporal Watcher barreling down on him, obviously unaffected by the blast. It might not be able to touch him physically, but there was enough debris and glass around that it could rip him to pieces with wind alone. Without even really thinking about it, he raised his left hand, and the gun, and fired.

He was already pressed against the wall, so the second explosion that hit him just disoriented him for a few moments. When his eyes refocused, he first scanned for Beth. Surprisingly, she was still laying near the dais, unmoving, but her head was turned away and he couldn’t tell whether he had hit her or not. Of more concern, however, was the male that had been standing next to her. Apparently, he had shaken off the explosions more quickly and was now on a beeline in his direction.

“Sorry, mate…” He exclaimed, raising the gun. The man-demon hesitated for a moment, seeing the pistol, and the barrel centered on his chest. There was a third shot, and he flinched, but was unharmed. The bullet had gone right around him. An evil grin formed across his face.

“Aw, shit.” Stated Alvin to himself as he remembered how useless his weapon was against human targets, even possessed ones. Gathering himself, he tried to stand so that he could at least put up a fight, but it was difficult with one arm broken and the other holding the gun. By the time he was upright again, he turned to find his attacker was only a couple of meters away and coming fast. The Professor braced himself, ready to use the butt of the weapon once the man was close enough, but he never made contact. There was a gunshot, and the man-demon spun as his left leg collapsed, then a second blast sent him crashing to the ground. Turning, Alvin had to do a double take to confirm what he was seeing. Patrick Fennel was running up to him, gun drawn and still smoking.

“Professor! Are you alright?!”

“Damnit, I thought I told you to stay out of this, Fennel!” He replied, frustrated.

The other man looked bemused. “You did. I ignored you… Well not completely, we did wait until we started to hear gunfire. Figured it wouldn’t make much difference if you were already using bullets. Excuse me…” He added, pushing him to the side so he could clip the twice shot man on the back of the head. Even bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds in his legs, the possessed man had managed to stand again. Once clubbed, however, he dropped like the meat puppet he was, and stayed down.

“We?” Asked Manatee.

“Usha and I. We couldn’t just sit around and wait for the end of the world. Speaking of which, I better find her…”

Alvin pointed.

The woman was in close combat with the two females that had been standing behind Beth at the dais. From the look of things, it wasn’t much of a fight. Usha was systematically smashing them into oblivion. The problem was that, like the clubbed man on the ground near him, the females attacking her viewed pain as just another sensation. The holds and blows that would have stunned or dissuaded a normal attacker had almost no affect on the possessed humans. Realizing this, Usha had changed tactics, and was now doing as much physically debilitating damage as possible. She was a spinning whirlwind of destruction, and the two women were laid out on the ground in seconds, broken and unconscious.

“Wow…” said Patrick, smiling slightly at his lover. Then he saw the look of horror on her face. She wasn’t staring at him, but something just behind them. The detective had just started to turn when the wooden floorboard hit him in the head and sent him sprawling face-first to the ground. Alvin had only a fraction of a second to assess the situation and duck under the board as the second male brought it back, in order to take him out as well. With limited options, he rushed forward, hoping to get within the arc and make the long board mostly useless as a weapon, but he stumbled and ended up crashing into the man’s chest. A horrid, wet pain rippled up from his broken arm as it was pressed between them and he nearly blacked out. Dropping the wood, his assailant reached for his neck. His hands never made it, however, as the gun in Alvin’s other hand went off.

Tinkered to miss humans or not, there were limitations. At point-blank range, the bullet tried to change course literally before it had even exited the barrel. The result blew the weapon to pieces. The special bullet fell to the ground, spinning, not so the fragments of Beth’s gun. The Professor blinked and shook his head to clear the flash that had blinded him. Apparently, he must also have been knocked backwards, because he was on his back again, staring up at the ceiling.

Sitting up, he saw the man who had attacked them with the board a few feet away. His eyes were open, but he was unmoving. There was a sizable gash in his chest. To his right, he saw Usha kneeling over the prone body of Patrick Fennel. When she met his eyes, he immediately knew.

“He’ll be aright.” She said. “Get to Beth.”

He nodded, and after counting the fingers on his good arm, he slowly crawled over to where the woman was laying on the floor. Up close, and covered with dirt and gore, the body of the Detective looked grim indeed, but he only needed to roll her over to face him to know that she was alive. When she slowly opened her eyes and groaned, he knew his plan had worked. The bullet had gone around her, and had hit the Watcher, “homing” it, as it were.

“You… came back.” She croaked, her throat barely able to form the words. “I feel terrible…”

He smiled and laughed, intensely relieved. He was about to ask her if she were injured, when there was a gurgling howl behind him and he spun just in time to catch the wrist of the blond-haired female, the long, blood-soaked blade held tightly in her fingers. He fell back, and with deadly intent, the possessed girl used all her energy to try and force the knife into his chest. Alvin was quite strong, but he had only one hand, while she had two. She was also capable of pushing her host’s body far beyond what would be possible normally, literally ripping herself apart as she over-stretched muscles and tendons. Had she not bled away much of her strength, the struggle would have been over in seconds, but Alvin barely held her off, the tip of the blade just above his sternum.

A violent wind whipped at his face, tossing glass and debris at them both, and he realized that there were still non-corporeal Watchers out there, who were no doubt seriously pissed.

“You pitiful human, did you really think you would leave this place alive?!” She spat at him, her eyes wide as she slowly put all her weight above the knife. “You’re an insect, barely smart enough to understand the world around you!”

“Smarter than you…” said Beth, next to them. The demon-woman just had time to turn her head in surprise before there was a crack, and the instant airless silence returned. This time, Alvin saw it happen. He was staring up from the floor as the rift in space formed near the ceiling. He felt the pull from the dark tear in the fabric of the world, but nothing like the effect it was having on the Watchers. The blond-haired woman was thrashing and obviously screaming, though her voice had no sound, as the demon was literally ripped from the body it inhabited and sucked into the void beyond. He saw the shadowy forms of the remaining two non-corporeal demons follow her in, and then there was a thunderous crash as the rift abruptly closed and the limp body of the blonde fell on top of him. Pushing her off, Alvin looked over to where Beth was leaning against the dais, the Gatekeeper stone still in her hands. She was smiling.

“I’m the Lock, remember?”

“You activated the relic…” he said, stunned. “How did you even know what to do?”

“Something you probably didn’t know about being possessed,” she explained, catching her breath, “is that the connection is two way. I couldn’t exactly read its thoughts, but some things sort of… leaked through.”

Alvin dragged himself over to her and slowly reached out his hand to her cheek. She intercepted his fingers and pressed them against her face.

“I… I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you.” He blurted out. “You have no idea how much I wanted to, but after what happened to you at your apartment, I just couldn’t bring myself…”

“You big dummy,” she exclaimed, smiling. “Didn’t you hear what the watcher said? We’re compatible!”

“I don’t see…”

She rolled her eyes in frustration. “Specific blood lines, Alvin. It’s something else I gleaned from being a host… The Lock is Nephili. I’m just like you!”

He blinked at her, stunned. “You’re…?”

“Yes.” She said, laughing.

“And we can…?”

“Oh yes.”

Professor Manatee sat back and finally let reality settle over him. He winced at the deep, throbbing pain in his arm, and the countless cuts and bruises to his face and hands. He’d need medical care soon or he would pass out, but he didn’t care. Beth was safe now. The world would go on, and he could finally relax.

## Chapter 20 – Revelations

::Beth::

She was having sex again. This time, it was a thinner man with a goatee and black hair. He smelled of motor oil, and something akin to rotting citrus. She was on top of him, her hips rolling slowly against his as she stared down into the other’s eyes. The pace was far too slow for the man, who was breathing deeply, lustfully, almost as though it were some game she was playing to see how long she could torment her lover without letting him peak. She held him down, pinning his arms to the floor. He could probably break free. He was bigger, stronger, at least as a human… But such definitions had a different meaning now that her humanity had been mingled with the supernatural.

As a frail human she was subservient, but as a Watcher, she was so much more. Beth had come to realize, that which possessed her body was somehow more than the others… different. The words, “chiefs of tens” came to her mind. It was from the book of Enoch that Alvin had read to her what seemed so long ago. Was what inhabited her body a “chief” then? A captain?

She remembered when they had first arrived at the schoolhouse, how the others had greeted her with exaltation, almost worship, bowing before her and reaching out to stroke her arms, her hair. She recalled how they had gathered around her, eager to bring her pleasure, how she let them carry her to a prepared room and set her on a freshly made bed and proceeded to strip off her clothes. Naked, they settled around her, male and female, in a slow orgy of lust. A woman’s mouth settled over her sex as she was nearly obscured in the caresses of the others. She was licked and stroked and fondled until she was nearly laughing in orgasm. And no sooner had she started to come down, than there was someone entering her. With long strokes she was sent toward yet another climax. And she accepted them, took their admiration willingly, and returned their love, such as it was.

Yes, she was something different, something orders of magnitude greater than those under her. Her eyes fixed on the male she was riding and she forced her pelvis down hard, driving his member deep within her. An evil grin covered her face, and her nostrils flared, her pleasure rising.

Beth felt the thoughts as though they were her own, though they came from someplace entirely outside of herself. She felt the same adoration from the being that held her soul, directed toward yet another that was also of an order even higher than she. As her mind filled with overpowering ecstasy, she knew that they would be so proud of her, of what she had accomplished, when she finally released them from prison… When she released Sêmîazâz*.*

::Alvin::

The drive out to the old school was quiet. It was a small town, and Alvin knew that no one would be out on the roads at that hour of the morning. The gentle purr of his car over the still wet asphalt was little distraction from the apprehension he felt, but, he was determined. That was something.

Patrick wanted to come with him. The man felt he owed it to Beth. But it wasn’t even an option. They would sense it in him, knowing Alvin wasn’t alone, and it would be Beth who suffered for it, not the creature inhabiting her body. The detective couldn’t help, and his presence would only provide them with another tool they could use against Alvin and spoil the plan.

His plan. Such as it was. There was so much that could go wrong, and he was counting on their predictability. But they were smart. They had already outsmarted him once recently, and it had cost him Beth.

Beth… He gripped the wheel as he considered what she was going through. They wouldn’t be idle, and every minute they held her, lessened the chances of being able to save her, if she wasn’t lost already.

No. He had to hold onto hope. He quashed his doubt and focussed. If nothing else, he would end her torment. He could do that much.

His thoughts turned to Patrick and Usha, and a wave of jealousy flashed over him. He pushed that away too. What they had would also be destroyed if he failed tonight. He needed to hold onto the larger, more altruistic reasons for why he was risking so much, or he would fall into despair. If he couldn’t save Beth, then he would at least save his new allies. And if not for them, then he would do it just to buy the world a little more time.

—

He knew that he had arrived at the school before he even saw it. He could feel them. Like silent specters, they converged on his car out of the darkness and led him into the parking lot. He could sense their oily presence as a foul aftertaste in his mouth and an acidic vapor in his nostrils, as though he had passed his nose too close to a bottle of ammonia. He shut off the engine and tried to relax. It was going to be a lot worse the moment he left the car.

From the glove compartment he withdrew a small metal medallion and slipped its chain over his head. He took a moment to appreciate his handiwork, and smiled. But this tiny ray of joy didn’t last. It was work that he had done to protect someone else… Someone he had let down. It was Beth’s medallion.

The wet heat was oppressive as he opened the car door, like being thrown into a sauna. He knew the phenomenon would be local, something that the Watchers were doing just to make him uncomfortable, and despite the fact that he was instantly sweating under his heavy raincoat, he kept the garment on. Aside from the additional wards it provided, it was necessary to his plan. He did leave it open however, as he stood and surveyed the abandoned school.

The demons dropped down around him like crows to a bit of roadkill, snapping at him briefly, before being pushed up and away again. He ignored them. In their current state they couldn’t touch him, but they did try. To his eyes, they were like misplaced shadows that had broken from their source and were free to swarm and shift. As liquid darkness they moved in a tight spiral around his body, and although they had no corporal form, they could still bring with them the wind. Tiny bits of dust and random debris were thrown at his body, abrading the exposed portions of his skin. He raised his hand to shield his face and tried to move forward as he started to hear words and barking noises in the screech of the air about his ears. Laughter. They were mocking him.

Suddenly, there was another voice, but this one clear and human. It was a voice he knew he would eventually hear again, but dreaded none the less. It was the voice of Beth LaHeron.

“Let him come.” She said, her deep alto speech seeming to be all around him at once.

The hovering Watchers lifted and hindered him no more. Squinting, he looked toward the school but saw no one. Slightly confused, but accepting the dark magic, he moved forward to the door, which was open.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Alvin.” Said her voice again, as he started down the long hallway. Empty lockers lined the walls, like the hollow carcass of some long-dead animal. It was quite dark inside, most of the dim, cheerless illumination coming in as moonlight through the glass doors at either end of the hall, that and a single large hole in the roof about two-thirds of the way to the other side. Most of the acoustic ceiling tiles had rotted away, falling in pieces to the floor like lumps of clotted oatmeal, and the rest hung, bloated and dripping with rain from the last storm. It was an apocalyptical vision, and the Professor had a hard time imagining hordes of excited youth moving through the building on their way to history or social studies.

Finally, he reached a crossway, and looking to his left, he could see a pair of double doors, propped open with chunks of concrete. Beyond was what used to be the school gymnasium. The wooden floorboards had long since buckled and bent, creating the appearance of frozen waves of wood. A soft, flickering yellow light painted the large room.

“Don’t be shy.” Said Beth’s voice, this time from just out of view. The flickering light looked like that cast by flame, and he suddenly found he couldn’t move his feet as visions of Ellen rushed back into his mind. He balled his fists and focused on the present, letting the details of the moment crowd out the memories of the past. He needed to keep control of his thoughts. If he let them in, the Watchers would rip his mind open like gutting a fish, splitting him wide and exposing his every fear for them to feast on. But then, they already knew what he feared…

“Alvin…” she called, melodically.

He stepped forward, his jaw set. No matter what she had waiting for him, he wouldn’t allow it to unsettle him. He would carry this through. He must. He turned, and gasped.

“Nooo…” He moaned, stunned. Falling to his knees, he started sobbing.

There was a dais of sorts, a draped reading chair of some kind which had been placed on a platform. To each side of the makeshift throne stood a figure, one male, one female. There were several others behind them in the background, but the hierarchy was plain. All of them were naked, and in the center, seated in the chair was Beth, though he barely recognized her as she was completely drenched in blood. Her whole body was wet and dripping with red, and he couldn’t imagine how there could be so much of it everywhere. It covered the fabric of the dais as though it had been nearly dipped in it, and even now he could see thick drops fall from her fingertips, illuminated like fiery pearls by several flickering torches.

Her laugh was hideous, cruel, and it cut him right to the heart. How could she just sit there while her life drained right out of her to the floor?

Shaking, he slowly pulled himself from the ground, his anger replacing his fear.

“You have something for me.” She said, simply, a small, ornate dagger in her hand. She was idly running the tip of the blade along her forearm, as though she enjoyed the sensation.

“I want her alive…” He responded through gritted teeth.

“Who ever said I was going to let you have her?” She asked, mockingly. “You seem to be under the impression that we’re making some kind of trade. We’re not. Your only purpose here is as a delivery boy. Unless…”

“What?”

“Perhaps I could let you… have her.” She ran her hands slowly over her body, spreading the red over the flesh of her breasts. Her fingers were sensuous, teasing her own nipples until they were firm and pronounced. “Would you like that, Alvin? Would you like to fuck her? I know you’ve thought about it. I can see it in your eyes. I can smell your lust from here.”

Even through his wards, he was assailed by a barrage of images. He saw himself with her. He saw them making love, slowly, passionately. He saw Beth happy and in bliss. He could almost feel their bodies together.

“You want her, and she certainly wants you. I could give you that.” Her hands dropped down into her lap as her thighs parted. “Imagine what we could do together, you and I…”

He clamped down hard on his thoughts, but something got through, and her eyes went wide.

“You haven’t told her?!”

“Don’t…” He pleaded, shaking his head. The demon just laughed.

“You haven’t told her what you are…” She whispered, grinning. “After all you have asked of her, and you couldn’t even bring yourself to tell her this one truth about yourself. This just gets better and better.”

“She wasn’t ready…”

“Ready?!” She jumped on his words. “How do you think she she’ll feel about you, Alvin, when she finds out that you and I aren’t that different?”

“I’m nothing like you.” He spat.

“No? But you are Nephili. You are of the blood, Alvin Manatee. My blood. You barely qualify as human. Does she even know how old you are?”

“Stop it!”

“How long has it been, Professor? A hundred years? Two hundred?” She was laughing.

There was nothing to say. What words could possibly help now. They both knew that Beth was still in there, hearing everything, and the Watcher was right, he had kept it from her. He’d let her see into his world, but had never told her the whole truth. He never told her how it was that he could do what appeared to her as magic. He’d only hinted… teased her, without revealing the truth. He had betrayed her yet again.

He covered his face with his hands, unable to look at her. Beaten yet again by the demon. Outsmarted.

“And the final irony, to make your loss complete, is that she turns out to be the Lock!” She was laughing. “The odds of finding someone compatible with you, at random, are astronomical! Only to have her taken by that which you despise so much.”

He lowered his hands, staring at the floor, the twisted wooden boards, warped by water and time. What had she said?

“But it’s not too late, Alvin.” Continued the demon. “I’m still willing…” She rolled her hips at him lewdly, touching herself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blond-haired female next to Beth waver slightly, as though dizzy. It was then that he noticed the drips of red down her thighs, and the long cuts along her arms. The blood… it wasn’t Beth’s blood that covered them and the chair, it was hers, maybe even several others. Everything, from the dais to the flickering lighting and the blood, all of it, was for show. It was a show specifically designed just for him, to push all his buttons and drive him over the edge, and it had nearly worked.

A clarity settled over him, and with it, his resolve. He remembered what he was there for, and what was at stake.

“Think of it, Alvin,” She said, apparently mistaking his clarity for a breakdown. “There has never been a union between a possessed Lock and the Nephili. We could create an entirely new species!”

He looked up at her, listening, staring into those eyes. He knew that inside, Beth was staring back at him, blocked and bound by the demon that controlled her. Maybe she hated him, his betrayal, it didn’t matter. His plan was the right one, and he was going to carry it through.

“But first,” added the watcher, “you need to give me the stone.” She held out her hand.

He sighed, and reached into his shirt pocket, withdrawing the small, wrapped object. Such a simple thing, he thought, to influence the lives of so many. He looked back to her.

“Unwrap it.” She commanded.

Wiping his brow, he gently unfolded the warding papers that surrounded the object, dropping them to the ground until he held just the Gatekeeper relic itself.

“Give it to me, Alvin.”

He paused, one last long moment, staring at her. It was time.

With a quick flip of his wrist, he tossed the stone in a gentle arc through the air. For a brief second or so, his entire plan was at risk. He was counting on the demon’s greed, its lust for that which could finally free it. She need only back away, let the elongated object fall to the ground instead of catching it, and all would be lost.

But, it landed squarely in her outstretched hand, and she managed one short toothy grin before she realized something was wrong. It had taken him most of the night to Tinker the relic. Even still, he wasn’t able to actually alter its primary function in any way, just add a little to it. The work was insanely intricate and complex, by far the greatest accomplishment of his trade he had ever attempted, and he had no way to test it… until now.

Unlike the bullets, which had the benefit of penetration, his tinkering with the relic needed to work on contact, and even drawing on all his tricks, he knew he would never be able to send the Watcher back to it’s own domain while it inhabited a human host. So he didn’t try. Instead, he focused on simply shifting it into a lower plane of control, pushing it out from full possession and into a puppet master state, and holding it there, immobile.

Beth screamed, and through her, the demon. Her wail of anger was both physical, and someplace else that came through in his head. The force of the demon’s howling was like that of a jet engine, and it shook the whole building until debris was falling dangerously from the ceiling as it tried in vain to hold its place within her. But it was no use, and as though it were caught in a great wind, it was blown back out of her to float, exposed and in the open.

Sensing danger, the other possessed humans were temporarily confused as they sought the source of their master’s anguish. He knew that confusion wouldn’t last long, and was already reaching into his coat, to his back, where Beth’s gun was holstered and ready. In a moment, they would realize how he had tricked them, but he only needed one shot. The gun came up in front of him as though in slow motion, and clasping it in both of his hands, he pointed it directly at Beth LaHeron’s head.

The sound of the shot could barely be heard over Beth’s banshee-like wail, but the flash from the muzzle nearly blinded him. There was almost no recoil. He had gotten that much right, but his other modifications to the bullets were nearly as untested as his work on the relic.

One of two things was about to happen. If the bullet worked as it was supposed to, it would sense that it was headed toward a human and alter course, passing around the side of her head. Once past, it would sense the presence of the demon, and alter its course yet again, but this time, hopefully, to hit, sending the foul wraith back to its own realm. If his bullet failed to work, then it would strike Beth and kill her. Either way, she would end up free of the creature tormenting her.

Suddenly, the world went shockingly quiet, as though all sound, even the air itself, was abruptly sucked away somewhere else. For a half second, everyone, including the other possessed humans, stood wide-eyed and stunned. Then, from somewhere behind Beth came a bright explosion of sound and light and rushing air, completely knocking back everyone present, and blowing out every last unbroken window in the school.

Alvin was thrown hard backwards. He tried to take the fall on his rear, but his right arm got in the way and was crushed under him as he hit the floor and slid into the wall. Dazed, he went to sit up and yelped. By the look of things, the arm was almost certainly broken, and so he rolled to his other side to pull himself upright and survey the situation, and then wished he hadn’t. The other humans were still pulling themselves up, and so not yet a threat. But there was a non-corporal Watcher barreling down on him, obviously unaffected by the blast. It might not be able to touch him physically, but there was enough debris and glass around that it could rip him to pieces with wind alone. Without even really thinking about it, he raised his left hand, and the gun, and fired.

He was already pressed against the wall, so the second explosion that hit him just disoriented him for a few moments. When his eyes refocused, he first scanned for Beth. Surprisingly, she was still laying near the dais, unmoving, but her head was turned away and he couldn’t tell whether he had hit her or not. Of more concern, however, was the male that had been standing next to her. Apparently, he had shaken off the explosions more quickly and was now on a beeline in his direction.

“Sorry, mate…” He exclaimed, raising the gun. The man-demon hesitated for a moment, seeing the pistol, and the barrel centered on his chest. There was a third shot, and he flinched, but was unharmed. The bullet had gone right around him. An evil grin formed across his face.

“Aw, shit.” Stated Alvin to himself as he remembered how useless his weapon was against human targets, even possessed ones. Gathering himself, he tried to stand so that he could at least put up a fight, but it was difficult with one arm broken and the other holding the gun. By the time he was upright again, he turned to find his attacker was only a couple of meters away and coming fast. The Professor braced himself, ready to use the butt of the weapon once the man was close enough, but he never made contact. There was a gunshot, and the man-demon spun as his left leg collapsed, then a second blast sent him crashing to the ground. Turning, Alvin had to do a double take to confirm what he was seeing. Patrick Fennel was running up to him, gun drawn and still smoking.

“Professor! Are you alright?!”

“Damnit, I thought I told you to stay out of this, Fennel!” He replied, frustrated.

The other man looked bemused. “You did. I ignored you… Well not completely, we did wait until we started to hear gunfire. Figured it wouldn’t make much difference if you were already using bullets. Excuse me…” He added, pushing him to the side so he could clip the twice shot man on the back of the head. Even bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds in his legs, the possessed man had managed to stand again. Once clubbed, however, he dropped like the meat puppet he was, and stayed down.

“We?” Asked Manatee.

“Usha and I. We couldn’t just sit around and wait for the end of the world. Speaking of which, I better find her…”

Alvin pointed.

The woman was in close combat with the two females that had been standing behind Beth at the dais. From the look of things, it wasn’t much of a fight. Usha was systematically smashing them into oblivion. The problem was that, like the clubbed man on the ground near him, the females attacking her viewed pain as just another sensation. The holds and blows that would have stunned or dissuaded a normal attacker had almost no affect on the possessed humans. Realizing this, Usha had changed tactics, and was now doing as much physically debilitating damage as possible. She was a spinning whirlwind of destruction, and the two women were laid out on the ground in seconds, broken and unconscious.

“Wow…” said Patrick, smiling slightly at his lover. Then he saw the look of horror on her face. She wasn’t staring at him, but something just behind them. The detective had just started to turn when the wooden floorboard hit him in the head and sent him sprawling face-first to the ground. Alvin had only a fraction of a second to asses the situation and duck under the board as the second male brought it back, in order to take him out as well. With limited options, he rushed forward, hoping to get within the arc and make the long board mostly useless as a weapon, but he stumbled and ended up crashing into the man’s chest. A horrid, wet pain rippled up from his broken arm as it was pressed between them and he nearly blacked out. Dropping the wood, his assailant reached for his neck. His hands never made it, however, as the gun in Alvin’s other hand went off.

Tinkered to miss humans or not, there were limitations. At point-blank range, the bullet tried to change course literally before it had even exited the barrel. The result blew the weapon to pieces. The special bullet fell to the ground, spinning, not so the fragments of Beth’s gun. The Professor blinked and shook his head to clear the flash that had blinded him. Apparently, he must also have been knocked backwards, because he was on his back again, staring up at the ceiling.

Sitting up, he saw the man who had attacked them with the board a few feet away. His eyes were open, but he was unmoving. There was a sizable gash in his chest. To his right, he saw Usha kneeling over the prone body of Patrick Fennel. When she met his eyes, he immediately knew.

“He’ll be aright.” She said. “Get to Beth.”

He nodded, and after counting the fingers on his good arm, he slowly crawled over to where the woman was laying on the floor. Up close, and covered with dirt and gore, the body of the Detective looked grim indeed, but he only needed to roll her over to face him to know that she was alive. When she slowly opened her eyes and groaned, he knew his plan had worked. The bullet had gone around her, and had hit the Watcher, “homing” it, as it were.

“You… came back.” She croaked, her throat barely able to form the words. “I feel terrible…”

He smiled and laughed, intensely relieved. He was about to ask her if she were injured, when there was a gurgling howl behind him and he spun just in time to catch the wrist of the blond-haired female, the long, blood-soaked blade held tightly in her fingers. He fell back, and with deadly intent, the possessed girl used all her energy to try and force the knife into his chest. Alvin was quite strong, but he had only one hand, while she had two. She was also capable of pushing her host’s body far beyond what would be possible normally, literally ripping herself apart as she over-stretched muscles and tendons. Had she not bled away much of her strength, the struggle would have been over in seconds, but Alvin barely held her off, the tip of the blade just above his sternum.

A violent wind whipped at his face, tossing glass and debris at them both, and he realized that there were still non-corporeal Watchers out there, who were no doubt seriously pissed.

“You pitiful human, did you really think you would leave this place alive?!” She spat at him, her eyes wide as she slowly put all her weight above the knife. “You’re an insect, barely smart enough to understand the world around you!”

“Smarter than you…” said Beth, next to them. The demon-woman just had time to turn her head in surprise before there was a crack, and the instant airless silence returned. This time, Alvin saw it happen. He was staring up from the floor as the rift in space formed near the ceiling. He felt the pull from the dark tear in the fabric of the world, but nothing like that of the Watchers. Suddenly, the blond-haired woman was thrashing and obviously screaming, though her voice had no sound, as the demon was literally ripped from the body it inhabited and sucked into the void beyond. He saw the shadowy forms of the remaining two non-corporeal demons follow her in, and then there was a thunderous crash as the rift abruptly closed and the limp body of the blond fell on top of him. Pushing her off, Alvin looked over to where Beth was leaning against the dais, the Gatekeeper stone still in her hands. She was smiling.

“I’m the Lock, remember?”

“You activated the relic…” he said, stunned. “How did you even know what to do?”

“Something you probably didn’t know about being possessed,” she explained, catching her breath, “is that the connection is two way. I couldn’t exactly read its thoughts, but some things sort of… leaked through.”

Alvin dragged himself over to her and slowly reached out his hand to her cheek. She intercepted his fingers and pressed them against her face.

“I… I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you.” He blurted out. “You have no idea how much I wanted to, but after what happened to you at your apartment, I just couldn’t bring myself…”

“You big dummy,” she exclaimed, smiling. “Didn’t you hear what the watcher said? We’re compatible!”

“I don’t see…”

She rolled her eyes in frustration. “Specific blood lines, Alvin. It’s something else I gleaned from being a host… The Lock is Nephili. I’m just like you!”

He blinked at her, stunned. “You’re…?”

“Yes.” She said, laughing.

“And we can…?”

“Oh yes.”

Professor Manatee sat back and finally let reality settle over him. He winced at the deep, throbbing pain in his arm, and the countless cuts and bruises to his face and hands. He’d need medical care soon or he would pass out, but he didn’t care. Beth was safe now. The world would go on, and he could finally relax.