Oh, he looked a fright. His carefully applied greasepaint was getting fuzzy along the edges. His big, red happy mouth, outlined in blue was smeared on his left cheek where something had had hit him. Detective Marco probably had a telltale sign on his black overcoat.
Other places the makeup had ran. Like at the corners of his eyes. The blue diamonds around his eyes were showing streaks of pink skin. He wasn’t so much the happy clown right now. Along his neck were patches of bare skin along the folds of his neck fat, where rivers of sweat had carved canyons along the white walls of his armor.
Oh, what a mess. Literally and figuratively.
As tempted as he was to put the rat demon under his foot and do a quick fix to make himself less shabby, he just didn’t have the time.
It wouldn’t be long before Rachel and Marco exhausted whatever information Rodney had–or killed him. Hopefully they didn’t kill him. This wasn’t a place to get one’s spirit stuck.
He ran his fingers along the side of the cabinet. Found the hidden catch Ted had so cleverly placed there.
He averted his eyes. The vanity front swung open.
“Holy crap!” the rat demon said, “Close it! Close it! I’ll talk!”
Hilario held the edge of the cabinet door. Kept his eyes down.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I swear by the Demon Mother’s tits, I’ll talk! I’ll talk! For the love of Prince Yendir’s balls, close it!”
Gently, Hilario pushed the door closed. It closed with a soft, satisfying click. He brought the rat demon up to eye level. The creature’s body trembled. Its beady black eyes were wide with terror.
“Where is the Sapphire Witch?” Hilario asked, “And why are we really here?”
The rat demon licked its snout with a raspy, forked tongue. It’s eyes darted left and right.
“Okay, you’re not going to like this fat boy,” the creature said, “But–”
“Uh, Hilario,” Larry said, “You should come-a look at this.”
Hilario fixed the creature with a glare. “Hold that thought,” he said.
He turned his bulk toward the front of the van. Squinted at the scene framed by the van’s windshield and illuminated by its weak headlamps. Detective Marco and Rachel stood near the barbed iron gate. Green fire still flickered over Rachel. Rodney cowered behind them.
A Sea Terror raised its kinked body over them. Slime dripped from its hundreds of grasping hands. Razor sharp teeth gnashed against each other along the mouth that ran the length of its body.
Oh boogity poop.
24
Hilario yanked open a drawer at the bottom of the makeup vanity. A lid covered it, made of a fine grained, deep red wood. His fingers scrabbled at the edge. Pulled it up. A scent not unlike cedar soaked in eggnog puffed out.
Heart pounding like a drummer in a heavy metal solo, he tossed the scaly rat demon in the drawer.
“Hey!” the rat demon cried.
No time. Hilario slammed the lid shut and banged the drawer closed.
From outside the van a blood curdling roar cut the air.
Oh dear.
He unlocked a sliver of his light energy. No point in trying to hide it now. Sent it coursing through his body, telling gravity to ignore his five hundred pounds.
He bounced to the driver’s seat. Twisted the ignition key.
The engine rattled to life.
The Sea Terror roared again. Its hundreds of grasping hands shot out at Detective Marco and Rachel.
Detective Marco’s gun barked. The muzzle flash illuminated the beast’s thousands of razor sharp teeth. And its dripping red maw that ran the length of its kinked, serpentine body.
The slime dripping hands grabbed him. Tentacle arms pulled him toward the gnashing teeth.
Rachel cried out and swung her freshly made sword. Green fire ran along the blade and over her body. The sword hacked at the grasping hands.
White light and smoke exploded where it touched the Sea Terror’s dripping flesh.
The monster screamed. A piercing howl that threatened to split Hilario’s head.
It released Detective Marco. Who fell to the ground in a cursing heap of slime.
Hilario mashed the gas pedal to the floor. The van rumbled forward.
At a stately pace.
Hilario groaned. Unlocked some more of his reserve. Used more than he could really afford to lighten the van and push it forward.
The van shot ahead.
Rachel hacked at the Sea Terror with her sword. White light flashed out. The beast fell back. Then its tentacles reached around behind her.
Grasping hands grabbed her arms and legs.
White light banged where the thing touched her. White smoke swirled.
The Sea Terror howled. Its tentacles writhed. The grasping hands slapped the ground in fury.
Hilario slewed the van around. Skidded to a stop beside Rachel and Marco. He sent a mental push at the side door and it flapped open.
“Get in!” he shouted.
Rachel bent down to Marco. Picked him up and threw him inside. He hit the opposite wall with a grunt and a splop of slime.
Oh, that was going to stink. Oh wait, it already did. Like raw sewage that had been run through a land fill and soaked up by dead skunks.
Rachel…where was she?
“Rachel!” he shouted.
“She’s-a getting Rodney!” Larry said.
Hilario leaned forward over the steering wheel. Sure enough, a woman enveloped in green flames ran past the ticked off Sea Terror and kneeled on the ground. Where a skinny man lay.
Either Rodney the delivery driver had a weak constitution or Marco and Rachel had knocked him out again. He was starting to feel sorry for the guy.
Rachel flung the man over her shoulder. She was a lot stronger than she looked.
Then again, maybe the green fire had something to do with it.
She turned. He felt her eyes meet
