Guardians of the Gates - Part 1, The New Breed by Jeff Schanz (best novels ever .TXT) đ
- Author: Jeff Schanz
Book online «Guardians of the Gates - Part 1, The New Breed by Jeff Schanz (best novels ever .TXT) đ». Author Jeff Schanz
âI donât care about your guests,â said Sebastian. âAnd I donât want a beer, thanks.â
âWasnât going to offer you one. Stuffâs for me and me invited guests only.â
Sebastian couldnât read Nigelâs mind. Nigel long ago learned how to hide thoughts, but Sebastian could still read Nigelâs mood, feelings, and general intent. Nigel took his hand off the second beer can and closed the fridge door.
âCan we talk with a little more privacy?â asked Sebastian.
Nigel rolled his eyes. He stepped over to the archway between the kitchen and living room. There werenât technically two rooms, so for this kind of small space, some people liked the sense of separating them physically. Nigel pulled a curtain across the span that was printed with sexy angels wrestling with sexy devils, then returned to lean against the refrigerator. He waited in obvious impatience for Sebastian to speak up again.
âLondon had a visit from a hairy stranger tonight,â Sebastian began. âA kind I have never seen before.â
âWolfy?â
âYes. But this one was a little different.â Sebastian paused, not intending to make Nigel say something, but offering a moment if he felt like it. Nigel simply stared back. âI waited for him to disintegrate, but he didnât,â said Sebastian. âInstead he started to â transform.â
Nigel made an amused face. âInto what? Lon Chaney?â
âHonestly, I have no clue who the guy was. But Iâm pretty sure heâll be identified by tomorrow in the papers.â
Nigel cocked a lopsided smile. âRight. Well, that sucks for âim, then, dunnit?â He sucked at his beer and shifted his weight. âWassit got to do with me?â
Sebastian couldnât hear the thought, but he knew there was something that just tweaked Nigelâs attention. Unconsciously, Sebastianâs hand fidgeted with some dirty paper plates piled on the kitchen table.
Sebastian said, âI didnât say it had anything to do with you. But since thereâs very few people with your unique associations, I figured you may be able to shed some light on this problem.â
Nigel scrunched his eyebrows down. âSorry, mate. Iâm not in that biz. All I got is the same information you and your ruddy Saints already know. The last thing I heard about was the one three months ago when you was âere before. The stupid bastards that went litârally barking mad, ran around thinking theyâre some kind of druids, or whaâever, hanginâ around an old cave, thinkinâ it gives âem power. Aâcourse, it was a rift in the cave. They wolf up, and go around chewinâ up some other poor bastards, then spend the rest of their short lives hiding in the woods. Canât change back. Held up in the cave and some of âem die âcause their bodies ainât stable, and the others get chopped up by your Saint pals.â He paused and took another drag from his can. ââBout it, mate. Figured this bloke you found tonight was just another wolfie from that lot, maybe just something was off when he started to dust.â
Sebastian was now certain Nigel was hiding something, though he had no idea what. He sat down at the kitchen table.
âI wish that were true, Nigel. But thereâs some things that donât match up. How would a seven-foot-tall wolfer, in full glory, roam around the city and get into Regentâs Park without anyone freaking out?â
Nigel shrugged. âGot me, mate.â
âHe doesnât because he wasnât a wolfer when he got there.â
Nigel shrugged again and tipped the can of beer to his lips.
Sebastian carefully pushed the remnants of Nigelâs bowl of ramen to the center of the table. Twice he had bumped it with his hands as he talked. âNo rifts around here, Nigel. Or is there?â
Nigel looked at Sebastian with a comical hurt expression. âCome off it, mate. I got no idea where rifts are nowadays.â
âNo, you probably donât. Nevertheless, this guy was able to transform, either at will, or very delayed, away from any known rift.â Sebastian stared into Nigelâs eyes, trying to lock in on them.
âDonât try that shit with me, mate.â Nigel made no aggressive move, but the tone was serious.
Sebastian smiled and dropped his eyes.
Nigel looked right and left, then grinned. âMarcellus ainât âere is âe? He woulda jumped in âere and tried to poke around some.â He shook his finger lightly at his head. âWouldnâa mattered. Got nuâfing up there to give ya.â He leaned back against the wall and sighed. âLook, ya olâ sod, I got no idea where this wolfy came from, and I donât really care. Iâm sorry âe killed someone, but âs not me problem. As far as helping you with your âinformationâ,â he made the quotes with his fingers, âI donât got nuâfing moreân what you got.â Nigel slugged the last of his beer, then partially crushed it with his fingers. He smiled a politicianâs smile and spread his arms. âNow, why would I lie to you, eh? If I knew why some lunatic was able to transform on âis own, why would it matter to me to hold it back?â
âI donât know, Nigel. I wouldnât normally doubt your word, but â yes, I would normally doubt your word.â
âMe heartâs broken, mate.â
âIâm sure it is. But I also didnât tell you that the wolfer killed anyone, did I?â
Nigel was quick to hide it, but Sebastian felt his little twinge of fear before the âreformedâ demon answered. âBloodâs on your collar,â said Nigel.
âIâm not buyinâ that. Itâs a black collar. Could be water or sweat.â
Nigel blinked slowly. âBut itâs blood, innit?â
Nice try.
The girls behind the curtain started to moan like they might have begun enjoying their evening without Nigel. The little demon flitted his eyes in that direction.
âLook, Nigel, just give me whatever you know and Iâll leave you alone with your Siren sweethearts.â
Nigel paled. Considering he was normally very pale, this was a feat. Sebastian only meant his comment as a double entendre joke. But there was a very sudden element of panic in Nigel. What did I say?
Nigel recovered and fully crushed the beer can in his fist. He tossed it into the bin next to him that was stained with a mad scientistâs mixture of rotted foods and chemicals. âThen Iâll need another beer and some more patience because I donâ know shit, ya ruddy bastard.â He opened the refrigerator door again and looked at Sebastian. âIâll spare one for you if itâll get you outta here faster.â
âNo, thanks,â said Sebastian.
Nigel held out two beers anyway. âCome on. Tâs rude not to accept.â
Something was wrong. Nigel was nervous. Something was about to happen. Sebastian glanced again at the beer. Whatâs wrong with the beer? Nigel did not remove the offered can, rather held it further outstretched toward Sebastian.
âNigel?â
Whatever bad decision Nigel had been mulling over had finally been decided. Sebastian stared at the can in Nigelâs extended right hand.
Nigel was very fast, abnormally so, as a supernatural being might be. Only Sebastianâs years of martial arts training, and his mistrust of pretty much everyone, (especially twisted souls who intentionally purchase lava lamps) made him fast enough to escape the blast. The beer can sprayed a white gas that plumed where Sebastian had been sitting. Sebastian leaped backward and got entangled with the curtain, which ripped from its fasteners. The dazed girls were still staring blankly and swaying to unheard music. Sebastian came around to Nigelâs right, slapped the fridge door shut, and pinned Nigelâs arm to his back. The demon squawked in pain and tried to pull away, but had very little room to move in his kitchen. Sebastian held firm and slammed Nigel to the floor. Nigel hit with a bounce as the old floor probably didnât have much sturdy material keeping it stable anymore. Sebastian positioned his knee on the small of Nigelâs back and bent the arm upward.
âGawwd, stop!â Nigel cried.
âWhat the hell was that!?â
The demon was no longer struggling. His eyes began to water with the beginnings of tears. Nigel could be pathetic when things went wrong. âIâm sorry! Really. Sorry. Itâs just some happy juice, see? Something to⊠Arrrnnn! Something to kinda convince girls to come with me, see? Argggh! Really! I swear. I made it meself. Itâs just a happy gas. Iâm sorry, I didnât want toâŠâ
âSave it!â
âIt wouldnâ a hurt you. I swear. Just shut ya up a bit, so I could toss you out, ya know?â
âNigel, youâre a piece of shit!â
âYeah, aâknow. Iâm really sorry. Listen⊠ahhhkk! Listen, I mean it, I can âelp you!â
âYou just told me you couldnât.â
âWell, I was lyinâ then, wasnât I?â
Sebastian wanted to laugh at that if he wasnât so pissed off.
âListen, mate. Let me up and Iâll tell you everything I know,â pleaded Nigel.
Sebastian answered by pulling just a little on the bent arm.
âAhhh, bloody hell! Christ, mate. Iâm not gonna lie to you again. You know Iâm straight. You can feel it or some rubbish.â
Sebastian could indeed feel it, or some rubbish. He eased up on Nigelâs back and released his grip on the arm. Nigel was embarrassed, miserable, and somewhat in pain, but didnât seem like he had another sinister plan. Sebastian stood up and allowed the demon to his feet. Nigel took a pitiful glance at his eveningâs entertainment still lolling on the living room floor. Sebastian placed a hand on Nigelâs shoulder to turn him back around.
âTalk fast and youâll still have plenty of time to maul them,â said Sebastian.
Nigel chuckled. âAh, they ainât going nowhere. I accidentally gave âem too much juice anâ they threw up before you showed up. I was waitinâ for them to kinda get settled, ya know?â
Sebastian gave a short nod. âAndâŠ?â
âAnd? Well, they ainât all human, are they?â
Without giving himself away, Sebastian tried to nod again as if he knew what Nigel meant. Though he thought something was wrong with their minds, he figured it was just the anesthetic. There was something else that made Nigel nervous about them. Hoping the information would be offered without a direct question, he waited for Nigel to divulge. And Nigel did.
âTheyâre Sirens, see? Real ones. I get to play with âem as long as I keep me mouth shut. But they werenât real âappy about it, so I had to convince âem, right? But I wasnât sure how much to use on âem, see? So they got a little sick.â
âSirens? What the hell are you talking about? From where? Who?â
Nigel paused and gathered himself. It was obvious there was a big thing he was hiding and would be normally very reluctant to talk about. But the feeling Sebastian was getting from Nigel was that the little demon was on the verge of divulging whatever the big thing was.
âThereâs this guy I know, right?â said Nigel. âHe gets paid to recruit new members. Brings âem in an stuff.â
âIn where?â
âCults, groups, you know. Members. These places ainât no churches, they got an angle. Maybe the members donât know it, right?â He slid his wrist along his mouth, trying to address any slobber that had come out while he had been wrestled. âSo, they get these Sirens to help, ya know, persuade folks.â
âLiteral Sirens? Like from Greek myth?â
âYeah, kinda. Theyâre just girls, see, with a little demon inside âem.â He laughed nervously hoping that Sebastian would get the inference. âKinda like bait, or lures, or something. Made of human stuff, but enhanced by â demon stuff. They make âem look beautiful soâs to attract men, see? But theyâre not dangerous. Theyâre just slaves like I was.â
Sebastian lowered his brows. âAnd you took them in since youâre so in tune with their plight?â
âCome off it, mate. You get used in this world, and ya use others when ya got the chance. Youâre doing the same to me.â
Point taken. âSo, whoâs the recruiter?â asked Sebastian.
âAh, donât worry âbout
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