Tosco nodded respectfully. “You have our gratitude more than you know. With that decided, we have another pressing issue to discuss.”
Ted nodded. “Nancy’s daughter?”
“I need to go get her,” said Nancy, almost hopping on the spot. “I want to leave right now.”
There was no stopping a desperate mother, and Ted didn’t care to try. “You can take a vehicle and get going right away. I assume you’ll take your own people with you as protection? I’m sorry to hear you lost some of them on the road yesterday.”
There were tears in Nancy’s eyes, and she was a bundle of emotions. “They were good men, but they died well. I’ll return here as soon as I can to help keep this place safe, but I can’t bear the thought of Alice being so close. I have to bring her here.”
Ted smiled. “I look forward to meeting her.”
Nancy beamed, then quickly exited. Kamiyo left, too, citing several patients in the infirmary that he needed to check on. That left Ted alone in the presence of strangers. “So, you all came here by boat? How many men do you still have on board?”
“Not enough to threaten you,” said Captain Tosco, “if that’s what you’re asking. The Hatchet is fully armed but low on fuel. We took all we could from Portsmouth, but it might be the last we ever get. It’ll stay where it is for now, and with your permission, I’ll rotate teams back and forth between here and there. I’ll keep a skeleton crew on board to man the guns. They might come in handy should we ever need them.”
Ted raised an eyebrow. “Your guns can reach here?”
“No doubt. We outfitted our boat with several long-range mortars, but the aim won’t be precise enough to avoid casualties. If we find any demons in the surrounding areas, however…”
“You’re right, that might be useful. You’ll have to tell me more about it later. For now, make yourselves at home. Rest, if you want, or make yourself useful with one of the work crews. They’re easy enough to spot.”
“I’ll be heading back with Nancy,” said Tosco. “I’ll leave my team here though, if that’s okay? They deserve a rest.”
Ted nodded and exited the tent. Having a bunch of armed sailors, along with whatever ship was berthed nearby, might end up being a well-needed advantage, but he couldn’t help worry about the ire of whoever this General Thomas was. He had images in his mind of rolling tanks and whizzing helicopters storming Kielder Forest. How much of what Captain Tosco and Maddy had said was true? All of it? None of it?
I suppose we’ll find out.
Right now, he needed to go see an ex-priest about some whiskey.
“I come bearing gifts,” said Ted as he entered the last bedroom on the activity centre’s upper floor. When the woman saw the whiskey bottle she lifted herself up in bed until she was sitting upright. She licked her lips and said, “Bless you, sir. Miracles still exist. What do I have to do?”
Ted frowned. “Nothing. Dr Kamiyo told me there was a risk of you killing someone if you didn’t get a drink. Usually, I wouldn’t indulge someone with a booze habit, but you’re a guest, and I imagine you’ve been through a lot recently. Is the whiskey medicinal or habitual?”
“Both. Now give it!”
Angela was clothed and lying on top of her covers, so Ted didn’t need to avert his gaze as he approached her. He offered the whiskey and she snatched it from his grasp, wasting no time in taking a hearty swig. With a gasp, she thanked him in a gravelly voice. “Ah, that burns. Cheers.”
Ted plonked himself down in the chair to one side of the room. “To your health. So, Angela, tell me, what led to us finding you, alone and unconscious, on the road? You said you’d been through Hell.”
“No, I said I’d been in Hell. I was speaking literally. I suppose I ended up there on account of being a muff diver. The church always warned me. I can’t say it didn’t.”
“You’re saying you went to Hell because you’re gay?”
She shrugged. “Them’s the rules apparently. Tell you the truth, I didn’t think God would be that petty. Then again, there were plenty of other reasons I might have ended up in Hell. Anyway, the place went kind of empty recently, and I found myself wandering around with nothing to do. Then a big window opened up in front of me and I could see the Earth. I threw myself through it, and the next thing I know I’m waking up here. Thanks, by the way.”
“Say that I believe you – and to be honest I might as well – what did you mean when you said you came here to help us fight?”
“Exactly that. I picked up a few things in Hell. Me and a few other misplaced vicars had a club there. We called it the Reservoir Dog Collars. There was Gay Allan and James the tithe thief, along with a few others. In Hell, you stick with your own. It’s a protection thing.”
“You mean like prison?”
“Yeah. You wanna see the North Korean gangs – a right strange bunch. They think Hell is paradise. Oh, and the guys that did nine-eleven keep asking where their virgins are. They don’t seem to get it. It’s a colourful place, overall.”
“So you picked up some tricks from a social club in Hell?”
“Yep. You gotta learn how to handle yourself down there or you’re gonna have a bad time.” She took another long swig of whiskey.
Ted leant forward, finding this mad woman both intriguing and insane. “So tell me, what tricks did you learn?”
Angela removed the whiskey bottle from her lips and grinned. “Just point me at the nearest demon and I’ll show you.”
“I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” Ted chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you,
