“You are going to look after your baby sister,” Erik said, and handed the infant back to his son. “Do you know how to hold her?”
“Hey, I’ve done ok so far, haven’t I?”
“Yes. Yes, you have. Just make sure you support her head.”
“She’ll be ok, Dad. Trust me.”
Erik nodded. Then he stood up beside Dovecrest and looked in the direction Todd had come. Sure enough, something was coming towards them, but it didn’t look like anything he had ever seen before.
“It may have taken on a new shape,” Dovecrest said. “Or maybe this is something different.”
“No, it’s Wrath. I can tell. Let’s go meet it.”
“I’m ready,” Dovecrest said, and they both took a step forward. Todd followed with the baby.
“Todd, you wait here,” Erik said.
“No way, Dad. I’m coming. Besides, if you don’t kill it, it’s gonna find me anyway. You don’t really think I can get away on my own, do you?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. I really don’t.”
The boy shrugged. “Good. Then I’m coming. Don’t worry. I’ll stay out of the way, just so I can keep the baby away from that thing.”
Once the monster spotted them and saw they were coming towards it, it stopped and waited. Apparently, it wasn’t in any hurry now that the baby had been born.
“I think I screwed up its plans,” Todd said. “It’s gonna be mad.”
Erik quickly saw that it wasn’t shaped anything like a man any more. This thing really was a monster, a scorpion the size of a horse but with a completely human face and head where the scorpion eyes and mouth should have been. The thing had a thick, hard shell of deepest black that shined with an eerie red glow from the light. Its pincers were the size of his writing desk. They clacked open and closed menacingly and could easily cleave a man in two. Its legs twitched in anticipation and its stinger, the size of a knitting needle, was poised and ready.
But as terrifying and repugnant as the arachnid body was, the human face was even worse. Vaguely reminiscent of the cult leader that the demon had taken over, this creature had long, tangled brown hair, brown eyes with thick brows, a long, sharp nose, and a grin that was so horrible it defied description. The thing stopped and stared at them, mostly allowing them to stare at it, Erik suspected, so that they might have the opportunity to completely experience the full effect of its horrible new shape.
Whatever terror it was supposed to inspire certainly worked. Erik felt his insides turn to jelly. It was as if the thing knew that his worst fear was spiders and scorpions. Especially large ones with stingers. He swallowed hard and tried to look relaxed. But he realized he was failing miserably. His body trembled despite his best efforts to control it, and he knew if he spoke his voice would be cracked and weak. His mouth was so dry that he couldn’t even swallow.
He looked over at Dovecrest and realized the Indian was probably just as afraid as he was. He wasn’t sure if that were a comforting thought or not. While it made him feel better about himself, he wished that one of them would be able to look this thing in the eyes with defiance.
Then, horribly, the thing spoke. Its voice was so incongruous with its shape that Erik didn’t even hear what it said at first. He’d expected the thing to sound like a monster. But instead the voice was smooth and female, like the voice of a Hollywood starlet trying out for a sexy role.
“Ah, what a quaint reunion,” it said. “It’s so nice to see you all here together at last.”
Erik just gaped at the monster, speechless.
“Oh, I see my voice doesn’t match my form,” it said. “How silly of me. Hold on while I change into something more comfortable. Maybe you’ll like this better….”
The demon’s face dissolved into a smoky mist and Erik wondered if it was going to shed the scorpion shape. No such luck, though. The massive terrifying body remained firm, but the face slowly metamorphosised into the face of a female. He could just see the edges at first, as the long, silken blond hair appeared and framed a delicate face. The mist dissipated and the transformation was complete: gorgeous blue eyes like swimming pools to drown in, sensuous lips, a small, perfect nose, and silky, delicate skin designed to make a man melt. All this on the body of a stinging, pinching arachnid.
“Is that more to your liking?” it said. Then it stretched out one of its jointed, exoskeleton limbs. “All the guys say I have great legs. Don’t you agree?”
Erik threw up suddenly and fiercely, which only made the monster laugh. “Come here and give me a kiss,” it said. “I’ll make you forget all of your troubles.”
Erik knelt down and wiped his face with a handkerchief. “Why don’t you just let us go,” he said. “Haven’t you caused us enough grief?”
The monster laughed. “I just want to be a part of your happy family,” it said. “Come, let’s go join your wife. Then we can have a real reunion. Or would you rather I just kill you now and get it over with?”
The thing turned and scuttled off a few feet in the direction from where it had come, then turned and looked back at Erik again. The contrast revolted him: it was the face of the most beautiful, most exquisite woman he had even seen pasted onto the body of a hideous invertebrate monster. He almost threw up again. When the thing had been a grotesque-looking male, it had been bad enough. But this beautiful female transposed onto this body-it was just more than he could stand.
Still, he had no choice than to follow along. His wife was waiting for him. And to Erik, she was the most beautiful, perfect creature in existence. He’d do anything to save her-even be devoured by this awful thing, if that’s what it took.
Everyone was looking at him: the demon, Todd, Dovecrest…even the baby seemed to be watching to see what he’d do. He wanted to run and hide. He’d rather die than get any closer to this thing. But he couldn’t just think about himself. Whatever happened, he suspected it would all be determined very soon, and would end either one way or the other. There wasn’t any use putting off the inevitable. Todd was right. There was no place left to run.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get this thing over with.”
They all turned and followed the demon back to where it had left Vickie.
— 3-
Todd didn’t think he could be any more shocked until he saw the demon appear as a scorpion, and then change his face into that of a woman. As much as he was repelled by the thing, he was also fascinated, and he couldn’t really explain why. The woman was so beautiful that he made his head spin. But then when he looked at the hard, scaly body with pincers and a sting, it made him cringe just at the thought of being anywhere near it.
He knew this was the worst shape it had taken on yet. When it was a mass of burning lava it had been frightening-but instinctively people stayed away from fire and knew what it was. When it had taken on the rock shape it had been little more than a beast, almost like something out of a comic book or a bad horror movie. And as a man it hadn’t been anything, really, except a very bad person. Todd knew there were enough of them running around in the real world, so this was nothing new. He’d been taught to watch out for and avoid bad people all of his life.
But this was different. The body was so hideous. But the face was so beautiful-and so human. It almost looked friendly, affectionate, welcoming. He knew it was still the demon, of course, but this was…different. He was afraid that if the thing had completely transformed into a woman he would have just followed after it like a lovesick puppy and done whatever it wanted just to be near it.
But he couldn’t let himself think that way, and he was grateful that the monster still looked like a monster to remind him of what it really was.
He cradled his baby sister close to his chest and followed his Dad and the Indian, staying just behind them in case the demon should turn and launch an attack. He didn’t even fear for himself much anymore-he’d almost become immune to shock and pain and the fear of death-but he didn’t want anything to happen to this tiny, innocent baby that he had helped to bring into the world.
He followed along, knowing that whatever was about to happen would occur very soon, and one way or another, this thing would be over. He just hoped that whatever happened to him was final, one way or the other. He was willing to face death, if that were his fate. Or go back to the world and try to pick up his life.
He did not want to be the host body for this terrible demon, even if it did have a gorgeous face and beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes. He would rather die than face that. Because as beautiful as that face was on the outside,
