Emerald Hell

through the swamp in your, ah, condition.'

'We had us a time, with Becky Sue all but ready to have her baby girl in the bottom of the skiff, but thank the Lord, she managed to hold off.' She turned to Lament. 'The dreams, John.'

'I know, I've had ray share as well.'

'But mine… the baby. I woke two nights ago and found a pair of bullfrogs on my belly croakin' together. I fear. I fear a'mighty.'

'Don't… it's gonna be all right. Whatever happens, it's the Lords will and we'll trust in that.'

Hellboy wondered if he should talk about his own dream last night, except he couldn't remember what it was about. But it had been there and it had meant something.

The pumpkin-headed kid loped up onto the porch out of the drizzle and the others followed. He bent and made faces at Becky Sue Cabbot's newborn. Hellboy was introduced to her and Hortense Millford, two stern-faced, sunburned, tired-looking young women, one of whom had just delivered a child and the other close to bearing her own.

The music from the other end of the village drifted in and brought with it a sense of solace. Now Hellboy knew what Lament had meant when he said the music had charms. The songs were spells of protection. Just because Ma'am McCulver was easy on the eyes didn't mean she didn't know a little something about spell casting.

They moved into the house and he was a bit surprised to see it was sparsely decorated, without all the batwings, frogs' tongues, bubbling cauldrons, and magical potions of Granny Lewt's home.

More thunder groaned. He thought that whatever was going to happen would have to happen soon. That was just the way of these things. Ma'am McCulver gave him the look again and this time he stared back. There was a humanity and sadness in her eyes that worked its way into his chest.

Suddenly Sarah's face twisted as if in pain, and her back straightened. She hissed through her teeth and reached out to grip Lament's arm. He held onto her tightly.

'It's startin',' she said.

'Now?' Lament asked, then frowned that he'd say such an asinine thing. But it was a father's prerogative to be a little dopey when his kid was being born.

'Contractions. Damn, that felt odd. Not sure what I was ex-pectin' but I wasn't expectin' that.'

Sometimes you were glad when you were proven right and sometimes you weren't. Hellboy thought, Yeah, the kid's got to come along just before the big beat down.

He said, 'Take her to the bedroom. Stay with her.' He told the pumpkin-headed kid, 'You, think you could go get Doc Way-burn?'

The boy nodded eagerly and took off through the village.

Hellboy asked,'Which way do you think Jester will be coming from?'

'Most probably the creek,' Ma'am McCulver said,pointing.'Tt connects to the river. It isn't an easy pass, but if he remembers his way, that's how he'll come.'

'It's getting dark and the storm's about the break over us. It's been my experience that that's when the trouble usually hits, I'm going to go see what I can see.'

Torn by responsibility, Lament's eyes filled with concern. 'You're gonna need my help.'

He was ready to leave his girl. For the good of the rest of them. Jesus, the guy had heart. Hellboy said, 'You stay here. Don't do anything crazy.'

'You ain't seen crazy yet, son.'

'Let me handle it.'

'You? That's my true foe. Why'm I gonna let you handle it?'

'I've been doing this a long time. I can handle my self. You just watch over your girlfriend and your baby. That's what this is about, remember?'

With a bleak expression, Lament narrowed his eyes. Hellboy laid a hand on his shoulder and said, 'Trust me.'

'I do.'

'Well, all right then.'

All the tension seemed to snap from Lament then. 'Don't forget, he's got the Ferris boys with him. Don't be fooled by their graceful features, they're killers.'

'If it's one thing I'm not fooled by, it's graceful features.'

'So you say.'

Sarah, struggling to mask her pain, said, 'The Ferris boys comin' here too?'

'Yeah, he roped them in.'

They exchanged a glance heavy with meaning.

Fishboy Lenny went, 'Fweep mwash. Wooph.'

Ma'am McCulver said, 'I wish to help but I'll be unable to do so.' She stared out the window at the brush, the land, the homes. 'He performed miracles here. He saved lives. He healed the ill, the crippled, the blind. He brought God down to us when the Lord did not listen to us. And since then the divine has not left us. The very land itself owes him. Do you understand?'

Hellboy shook his head. 'No.'

'My sisters and I have always been a part of the swamp. We can effect little change on its nature, on the things that it wants.'

'Things that the swamp wants?'

'Yes. We help where we can but we are, like all, merely slaves to the greater forces about us.'

He didn't quite understand, but enchantresses and goblin kings and trolls often talked like this. Even Lament did it, saying how the magic knew him. Sometimes you just had to nod and go forward on your own. Most of the time, in fact.

Hellboy started for the door but the granny witch stepped in front of him, blocking his way. She leaned forward and he expected maybe a kiss for his troubles, which would've been just fine under the circumstances.

'Hold still,' she said.

'What is it?'

When her hands touched him he watched as a black spark skittered across his stone fist. There was nothing to it, he felt no different at all, but in the light of the setting sun he could see a shadow slowly making its way over the ridge of his knuckles. He didn't know what that meant but it couldn't be good. He plucked at it and couldn't touch it. Ma'am McCulver, though, snatched at it and somehow got a grip. She tugged at the small piece of darkness and tore it from Hellboy. She held it in her pale hand where it coursed across her fingers, tame and almost loving.

'I dreamt of shadows,' Hellboy said, remembering.

'And they dream of you,' she told him. 'The night's nearly upon us. Jester will arrive soon.'

'He's already here,' Fishboy Lenny said. Then,'Fwashh fweep!'

Chapter 20

Deeter checked the load in Plume Wallace's shotgun and said, 'I hear music. Goddamn, that boy sure can play a jug. You listenin' to that?'

'I am,' Duffy said, dragging the skiff up onto the creek bank. 'It's some fine banjo-playin' and squeezeboxin' too.'

'As good as Pa used to play.'

'Better'n him, I reckon. Better'n him before his third or fourth tap of moon anyways. Pa always improved as the night went on.'

Brother Jester, pressing through the palmettos, allowed the magics of the music to rake against him like barbed wire. He grunted, enjoying the raw ache, and said, 'It's a powerful charm, a circle of peace and protection. Harmonies of the heavens, it lures even the angels astray.'