to God’s will, the knight was free to pursue his own agenda. It was possible he was still toeing the party line, but I had no idea of knowing what his motivations really were. He hadn’t hesitated to come after Reven, that’s for sure. And based on how enthusiastically he’d whipped up on me and Katon, I wasn’t expecting a thank you card for my efforts.
“It’ll be dangerous.”
A slight smile graced her lips. “It always is with you.”
Unable to argue, I just shrugged. “Then we’re off to find the three less-than-wise-men.”
Returning to the spot where Lilith and I had come across the ambushing zombies, I plucked the gem from my pocket and crushed it in my hand. It collapsed with a hollow pop, while wisps of frigid, planar cold stung my skin. Opening my hand, palm up, I blew hard on the powdered shards. They leapt like snowflakes into the air, sparkles of shimmering light erupting into life.
Just a few feet away, the whirling sparkles coalesced, growing in intensity, the glow almost blinding. A moment later, the glow dimmed, a shimmering blue portal of mystical energy hovered before us.
I beckoned toward the gateway. “Ladies first.”
Veronica rolled her eyes, drew her blades, and stomped through with a huff.
It wasn’t that I was scared, or anything, I just wanted a good look at her ass.
Though we were headed into Limbo, it sure looked like Heaven from here.
Chapter Eighteen
As I exited the other side of the portal, I bumped into Veronica. She stood there stiff, staring off wide- eyed.
“Limbo?” she asked in a hushed voice. She continued before I could answer. “That explains why I couldn’t track the guys.” She got quiet, perhaps realizing she’d given something away.
I acted like I hadn’t noticed, though I filed the info away, for later use. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.” It didn’t look like it’d changed much. Not that I would have expected it to.
Unlike the other planes, which had a defined solidness about them, a sense of realness, Limbo had none of that. Never intended as anything more than a temporary way station for the spirits of the dead awaiting their final judgment, there wasn’t much effort put into its creation. A small portion of it later became the burial ground of the Anti-Christs, but cut off from the rest of Limbo, it might as well have been its own plane of existence.
Dull and dreary, Limbo was a wasteland of shifting gray nothingness. There were no fixed landmarks or structures, no shelters or defining characteristics. It was all the same; one big hazy soup of dull mist. Visibility was limited to about twelve feet, give or take, in every direction. Not that there was anything to see.
The only way to estimate your location was to affix a starting point in the real world and keep track of the distance from there. The system left a lot to be desired. Though in retrospect, given that Limbo wasn’t designed to be visited by the living, any method of navigation was better than none. You sure as shit didn’t want to get trapped here, dead or alive.
I passed the directions Lilith gave me on to Veronica and headed off into the murk, my gun settled in a sweaty hand. She matched my pace, eyes on the fog. There was a wary tenseness in her stride. She expected the worst.
To be honest, so did I; past experiences and all.
I was a little nervous about leaving the portal behind, undefended, but it’s not like I had options. The good thing was, while the doorway would stay put, it couldn’t be used by anyone else until the person who opened it had gone through; me. That meant it’d be there when I got back, if I made it back.
Now, all I had to worry about was what might be waiting for us when we returned to it. The gateway would be a shining lighthouse on a hill to the trapped spirits looking to escape the murky confines of Limbo. That could make for a fun return trip.
No sense worrying about that now, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and continued on. Our passage stirred the mist, whiffs of fluttering gray billowing up from beneath our feet. Though we made no noise, the shifting fog would be a spotlight, alerting anyone watching of our presence. It made it hard to relax as I counted off paces, my brain imagining all sorts of unpleasantness waiting for us just out of sight.
Much to my surprise and contrary to the luck exhibited pretty much every other day of my existence, nothing leapt out of the fog as we neared the end of the paces.
That only made me more nervous.
In my life, it wasn’t often things worked out the way they were supposed to. Ever since my uncle left, the deck had been stacked against me. It was some kind of karmic retribution for all the shit I’d gotten away with when he was around, I imagine. Usually, if things went my way, it meant an even bigger pile of crap was waiting to be stepped in around the bend, little, undigested corn bits and all.
Have I mentioned I’m a bit cynical?
Prepared to be disappointed, Veronica and I hit the last twenty feet of the count. Signaling for her to stop a few paces after that, I ejected a cartridge from one my extra clips and hid it in the clouds at my feet. Forged in the blood of an angel and demon, the shell contained just enough of a magical trace for me to pick it out with my senses. Distinctive enough to for me to find it again, yet weak enough to not draw too much attention, it’d give me a starting point to backtrack to the portal.
As ready as I could be, I waved Veronica forward and ducked low to take the last few steps all at once. Just as we passed the count, dark lumps started to take shape ahead of us, seemingly huddled on the ground.
Veronica slipped right while I went left, each of us staying close enough to be seen. As we circled, the shapes became easier to see, the effect of the fog lessening with the distance.
There on the ground, in a pile of duct-taped limbs, were Baalth’s men. Apparently unconscious, all three of them sat in a triangle with their backs propped against one another while their heads drooped. The gentle movement of their chests, as they breathed, and the low rumbling of Marcus’s snores, made it clear they were still alive. On one hand, it was kind of a letdown.
While a certain part of me rejoiced at seeing them all trussed-up and vulnerable, just waiting for a bullet to put them out of their misery, a more sensible part reminded me of Baalth’s deal. I was horribly conflicted. For once, they were worth more to me alive than they were dead.
Isn’t life funny?
I growled to myself and scanned the fog. Unable to see anything resembling an obvious trap, as if I would, I reluctantly crept forward. If there was something out there waiting, I was just gonna have to oblige it. Nothing else I could do.
Veronica seemed to agree. She circled the perimeter, urging me on with a nod.
My heart beat a double-bass solo in my chest as I neared the trio. Nothing in their postures made me think they even knew I was there. The steady whistle of their breath never altered, their lowered faces remaining limp and unresponsive. It was eerie. Though bound by shit-ton of tape, I felt uncomfortable being this close to three guys who, at one time or another had all tried to kill me. Given their tied up circumstances, I couldn’t imagine they’d be happy to see me when they regained consciousness.
I veered around to Poe. Of the three, he’d be the least likely to react poorly when I woke him. At least I hoped he would be. I took a second to look him over before I did anythingHe appeared exhausted, his face lined, but none the worse for wear. I didn’t see any wounds or obvious injuries, but that didn’t really mean much. If Karra put them down with her swords, there wouldn’t be much in the way of evidence. All it took was a scratch from her weapons to lay an elephant out. A tiny shiver ran up my spine at the thought.
Chilled by the idea she might be lurking in the fog, pissed off and ready to kick my ass, I stopped hesitating and got on with it.
With the barrel of my gun, I poked Poe in the chest. He awoke with a start, his icy eyes wide. He stiffened under the grip of the tape, then suddenly relaxed as his eyes met mine.
“Mister Trigg?” His face slipped into its normal mask of controlled indifference. “Pardon my impertinence, it’s not that I’m ungrateful, I just can’t picture you in the role of savior.”
“Don’t let it get to you, Poe, I’m on the clock. Baalth wants you boys brought home.”
