CHAPTER 18
The doors opened and the lobby was revealed; deserted. There had obviously been a call to evacuate the building.
“Move! Quick!”
We ran, sprinting through the lobby, out through the main doors and into the parking lot. To my left, I caught a glimpse of a huddle of hotel staff and guests moving quickly away around the side of the building.
Benny’s car came into sight and we headed towards it. And, as my hand closed around the car’s door handle, I dared to tell myself we would get away. We would get away and all would be well…
Benny fumbled for the car keys in his pocket.
“We’ll go straight to the Valhalla Hotel,” he said breathlessly, “Make the payment and be done with this whole shitty affair.” A quick glance at his watch, “We still have time.”
And that’s when I heard the voice.
“Mister Kingston. Mister Clarence.”
I should have recognised the accent immediately, but did not.
I turned, my eyes searching for the source of the voice in the sea of parked vehicles, and finally they rested on a shape standing about thirty meters away. It was Selena, dressed in casual clothing, arms folded across her body. My blood congested.
Beside me, Benny froze and I heard a sound escape him somewhere between a yelp and a groan.
For a moment time seemed to have been gummed up with liquid tension, as if the very magnitude of the event were enough to halt the flow of the universe.
Selena stared, her face void of expression.
Then, slowly, she took a single step to the side, getting a better angle on us, and let her arms drop to her sides. She was preparing to fight.
“I can’t let you stop us!” Benny shouted, “You have to let us go, Selena! They have my brother, and they’ll kill him if I don’t deliver this money!”
But I knew her response long before she said it. Not one step beyond the law for Selena, it simply wasn’t in the predetermined lines of perfection.
“You are not going,” she responded.
There was another moment in which time seemed to freeze. Then all hell broke loose.
Benny acted first, drawing in a quick breath, gathering an enormous amount of Spirit, and releasing it with a roar of rage.
I stood rooted to the spot, my mind trying frantically to keep up with developments, and watched the bolt as it travelled streaking towards Selena.
She stood unmoving, not a flicker of emotion registering on her face. My expectation was that the massive bolt would floor her. But despite my understanding of what was possible, she batted the energy aside with a flick of her wrist, as a person might react to an annoying insect. There was a SNAP and the bolt was deflected, twisting off, colliding with a car. Metal crunched and buckled, the hood popped open and glass shattered into pebbles; the vehicle looked as though it had been in an invisible, head on collision.
I turned to look at Benny, my mouth gaping. But he was no longer beside me. He was already in mid charge, moving towards Selena with fists pumping at his sides. A return bolt from Selena, the size of a football, went flying over his shoulder and he flinched in reaction. But it missed, sailed past me and slammed into a hatchback, releasing enough force to smash the car rolling over onto its roof.
Benny threw the first punch; a round house hook that buzzed with energy. But Selena, it turned out, was more nimble than I would have guessed. She crouched, the blow went over her head, and she countered with an open palm thrust into Benny’s chest.
In other circumstances this wallop would probably not have staggered him. But when accompanied by a considerable amount of Selena’s immense Spirit, the result was explosive.
Benny let out a grunt at the impact and went half skidding, half staggering backwards. He would eventually have landed up on his back, were it not for the flashy, new-model car in his path. He crashed into it with enough force to explode the side windows, causing the vehicle to lift up onto two wheels for a moment. My impression was that he should have suffered broken bones. But the impact seemed to be absorbed and distributed into the car; by some method of Spirit manipulation with which I was not familiar.
Selena flicked her eyes towards me, seemed satisfied I was not moving, and returned her focus to Benny.
“You are under arrest, Mister Kingston,” she called out, walking towards him, “On suspicion of illegal use of magic. And misuse of your government given powers and privileges as a Junior Enforcer.”
Benny, teeth clenched, did not look intimidated. “You’re not an Enforcer anymore, Selena! Get the hell out of my way!” He swung his head over his shoulder to look at me. “Help me, Jet!”
I did not move. My feet were rooted to the spot as if bound by the strongest glue on Earth. Attacking Selena was a thought I could not comprehend.
Selena continued her approach, face still not showing sign that a battle was in progress. As she stepped into range Benny hopped forward and took another swing at her head. She ducked again, but the punch had been a ploy. With his other hand Benny released a burst of energy straight into her unprotected body at point blank range, a massive blast that was not so much a bolt as a raw, crackling wave of physical force.
Selena was caught by surprise. She raised her hands in defence, deflecting a portion of the intensity, but the brutal blast still flung her backwards. She was airborne for at least three seconds before succumbing to gravity, coming down seven meters from the initial impact. Her feet stumbled and she went to the ground, slamming onto her back and skidding to a stop. Again by a magical means I was not familiar with, the Spirit inflicted on her was distributed as her back struck the asphalt, causing a ring of cracks to shoot out in all directions.
Both Benny and Selena were trained in the redirection of Spirit in ways I had not thought possible. Apparently Spirit used in an aggressive manner was pliable even after its release, allowing for absorption and instant redistribution. This revelation would have interested and astounded me in other circumstances, but at that moment I could only stare in horror.
Selena shook her head, clearing cobwebs, then began to push herself back to her feet.
But Benny allowed no such gentlemanly courtesy. He took the opportunity, dashed forward and swept up one leg in a kick, aiming for her stomach. She saw it coming, gasped, and managed to raise a defensive hand. The blow was blocked and energy released in a BOOM that rolled off across the landscape like thunder. But the force of the strike still catapulted her body upwards off the ground. She rolled with the trajectory, pulled her legs up, and managed to land on her feet, displaying amazing grace that practically equalled that of her demon.
The first glimmer of anger and frustration now reflected on her face. She did not, it seemed, care much for breaking the basic unspoken rules of fighting. One of which must have been to not kick an opponent when they were down.
Benny hesitated, planning his next attack.
But Selena was now drawing up what I assumed must be her full Spirit. Her brow furrowed, lips parted to show snarling teeth, and the energy around her body spiked to incredible heights. Blue sparks popped in the air, accompanied by a dull buzzing like a swarm of angry insects. Then raising both hands, she aimed at Benny and prepared to release.
Seeing the attack before it happened Benny reacted, taking two clumsy steps backwards, then scrambling for cover behind a car.
But it was too late.
With a scream of rage the energy was released in a formless mass that travelled as if burdened under its own weight, tearing up the ground and creating vibrations that I could feel clear across the parking lot.
Benny, and the car which he had intended to hide behind, were both caught up in the torrent and sent spinning off into the air.
The vehicle completed at least a half dozen barrel rolls before smashing back to the ground in a shower of splintering glass, reaching a height of at least twelve feet at the peak of its flight.
Benny, managing to keep close to the ground, was dragged tumbling and rolling like a
leaf in a stiff breeze, ten or fifteen meters before being deposited savagely into the side of a car. I heard his groan of pain and got a clear view of his head bouncing off the vehicle’s exterior.
When he finally came to a rest face down on the asphalt, I was certain he would not rise again. My mind was playing vivid images of my arrest and inevitable time spent in a Magical Detention Centre when, against my wildest expectations, he pushed himself back up onto his knees.
And on his knees he stayed; head bowed, a thin trickle of blood running from one temple.
Even Selena seemed surprised at his recovery, but took the bowed head and submissive posture as a sign of defeat.
“You will surrender to me,” she called out, then began approaching him at a slow walk, fragments of shattered asphalt being scattered by her feet with each step.
Benny did not respond.
“Surrender to me. The Enforcers have been notified and are on their way. They will escort you to the nearest Department of Magic,” she continued, “In accordance with official laws you will be given a fair trial that complies with regulations stated in government issued documents B17, paragraphs nine, ten and eleven. If you wish to review these documents then please notify your Enforcer and he will supply you with a copy.”
She was reading him his rights. Something probably repeated many times in her career as an Enforcer. But the words now held no real value. In fact, I was not even sure a person could legally surrender to her. Old habits died hard. Or perhaps old ethics remain engrained.
She neared Benny who remained motionless and with head still bowed, and stood beside him.
“Do you understand your rights, Mister Kingston?”
No response.
It occurred to me that an enormous cloud seemed to have drifted in front of the sun, casting an immense, gloomy shadow over the scene. A few metres away, the sports car Selena had flipped let out a metallic groan as it shifted position. It was getting colder.
Then I heard a voice nearby, distinctly that of a young girl.
Tee hee hee….
I thought nothing of it for a few seconds, but it was not long before I realised what had occurred. Benny had not bowed his head in defeat; he had been summoning his demon.
Selena made the same connection. Her head snapped up and eyes darted around.
“The summoning of a demon in a public place is forbidden, Mister Kingston! Laws clearly prohibit…”
But she was cut short.
A crouched figure shot out from behind a car, sped past Selena, and back out of sight again, a movement so fast that my eyes barely registered anything at all had occurred. A moment later Selena was holding the back of her thigh and grimacing in pain. As far as sneaky guerrilla attacks went, this one deserved some kind of medal.
Selena turned on the spot trying to locate the demon, just in time to have the figure dart out again, from a completely new direction, shoot past, and disappear.
She let out a yelp of pain and grasped her knee. “Mister Kingston…!”
The words were lost. The demon came rocketing out at head height and flew past Selena’s shoulder, landing what must have been a fierce thump to the face. Selena staggered and blood ran from both nostrils.
The movement had been so blindingly fast that I had still not gotten a clear look at the creature. And furthermore, it was if somehow the demon always emerged from where my eyes were not looking, as if it knew where attention was focused.
Tee hee hee…
Selena was now starting to look flustered; turning on the spot, eyes scanning the surroundings. Beside her Benny remained motionless.
The demon swooped out once more.
There was a blur of movement practically invisible, and when I looked again Selena was standing with arm outstretched; holding the demon off the ground.
A little girl, perhaps eight or nine, seeming to be a normal child in almost every regard, despite the fact she was dressed in retro clothing that had gone out of fashion thirty years ago; frilly blue dress, buckled black shoes, and even a red hair ribbon. The only thing that might throw you off was the fact that this little girl had the most manic, abnormally large smile you would ever see, large enough to be in the realm of the impossible. Her face was by all means a caricature of the little girl that had insulted Benny in his youth. This was what he remembered most.
The demon snarled and thrashed in Selena’s grasp, grinning happily as it did so. In response Selena stooped and slammed the creature into the ground. Once, twice, three times, each effort widening a spider web pattern on the asphalt. She raised her arm for a fourth, but the demon was not about to be beaten without a fight. It swung up its body, locked its legs around Selena’s shoulder and spun sideways, achieving a result that was impossible in any logical realm of physics.
Selena was swept up into an involuntary cartwheel and brought thudding down into the ground, her ribs and hip taking the impact. She yelped as the air was driven from her body, and from the way she released her grip on the demon and grasped her side I guessed something had been broken. The demon skittered back off into the parking lot.
Benny was now back on his feet, swaying but managing to stay erect. He looked down at Selena with a sneer of grim determination. She was gasping for air, helpless.
“Miss Stephania,” he declared loudly, wiping the blood off his face with the back of a hand, “I am placing you under arrest. It seems you’ve broken…. a number of laws; robbery, murder, attacking an Enforcer. You are to surrender yourself to me and be escorted to the nearest Department of Magic offices. Is this understood?”
This was ludicrous. Framing Selena was basically impossible. The doorman and reception desk had seen Benny and I arrive. Not to mention that Dennis and Chapman would be called as witnesses. But something gave me the feeling that it was not impossible for Benny to make it all go away. How; I had no idea. But I trusted it could be done.
“Just stay down,” he continued, “stay down and let me go, Selena. My brother’s life is at stake here! Can’t you see I have no choice?!”
“No,” she responded with an angry snort, eyes flicking in my direction. I imagined it was a call for help, and part of me desperately wanted to.
But really, it was me who was the murderer. Assisting Selena was working against Benny. And working against Benny was working towards capture and arrest. And as a by-product, it meant the death of Brent. This reality struck home with full force and I realised something that made me hate myself; I was glowing with relief at Selena’s defeat.
Benny was silent for a moment, thinking. Then having reached a conclusion, he knelt and spoke into her face.
“Selena,” he said, exasperation making itself evident, “You’re not an Enforcer anymore. This has nothing to do with you; just let it go. We don’t need to do this.”
She glared back at him, teeth bared. “The world is not your playground,” she spat, “You may not do as you please at the expense of those around you. You will surrender to me and report to the…”
“Shit, Selena.” He cut her off, then turned and shouted into the parking lot; “Here!” and the little girl came trotting out, still smiling like it was Christmas day.
“I’m telling you one more time,” he said to Selena, “Let it go and forget the whole thing. Just forget the rules for once in your life!”
“No.”
He stared at her, then raised a hand to the demon and it prepared to attack.
I was suddenly stepping forward as if waking from a dream. “Benny!”
He whipped his head round to look at me. “Wait!”
And before I knew what was happening Selena seized the distraction. She focused her attention on the demon, eyes squinting in concentration, and had control in less than two seconds.
My guess was that if Benny had maintained more stable control this would not have been possible.
Selena, the crafty little devil, had been aware of the deteriorating situation and leapt at the opportunity. And it had not requ
ired her witnessing him at 3am with a bad case of the shakes, struggling to roll a cigarette. Logical Prediction? Perhaps. Or maybe she just understood Benny’s character. But then I kind of got the idea that was the point of the spell.
Benny’s head swung back and he recognised the now smug look of satisfaction on Selena’s face. All too late.
“Restrain him,” Selena snarled.
The demon moved to obey; its maddening smile now more pleased than ever.
There was a burst of motion, a swishing sound, and Benny was lurching forward and executing a clumsy front somersault, something that might have been impressive if it had not ended with him landing flat on his back.
The demon was gone again.
Tee hee hee…
In an instant Benny sprang back to his feet, head whipping around as he attempted to locate the source of the giggling. But it became apparent that when faced with his demon he was not in his best mind. The shaking started, as it had that night in the apartment, soon followed by wide eyes and sweating.
Tee hee hee…
The sound came from somewhere off to the right. Benny spun and fired off a frantic bolt. Of course, there was nothing there and he succeeded only in blowing the roof of a car off.
Tee hee hee…
This time from behind him; again he twirled and fired, again shooting blind and hitting nothing.
Tee hee hee…
Again.
Tee hee hee…
And again.
“There’s nothing there!” I yelled.
But he was not listening.
Tee hee hee…
The final bolt hit a tour bus, buckling it like tinfoil and exploding the windows.
And all at once Benny had spent his Spirit. He teetered for a moment then dropped to his hands and knees, exhausted.
A second later the demon came trotting out and gave him a gleeful shove, sending him flopping onto his back. It leered at him, apparently a declaration of victory, and sat heavily on his chest.
“Good girl,” Selena said.
The demon beamed in pride.
From nearby came the unmistakable wail of sirens.
The Enforcers were coming; like an approaching conclusion to some fantastical story, one that should never have happened to me.
But even as the sirens drew nearer, my Spirit grew stronger, urging me to act.
Selena was now slowly pushing herself to her feet with grimaces of pain.
“They will be here shortly,” she said to Benny, “Remain still.”
But he was too weak to even consider putting up resistance. Instead he turned his head to look at me. Then, drawing in a deep breath, he screamed the words that ignited my resolve.
“It’s too late to turn back!”
I drew Spirit up into my hands and focused on Selena, her back towards me. She had forgotten I was present, not considering me a threat or perhaps not thinking me capable of a fight.
She had been wrong.
I started forward at a run, ever more Spirit making itself available in a flowing, swirling electrical fog. An instant before the punch made contact Selena turned, her expression one of disbelief. Then she was arching backwards through the air, the release of energy sounding a savage BOOM that imploded nearby windows and managed to set off one car’s alarm. The blaring, repetitive tune mingled with the sirens in a shrill symphony.
I didn’t waste a second. The sirens were nearer still, and as it stood I was already doubtful I’d get Benny to the car in time.
I turned towards the demon where it still sat perched on Benny’s chest, and found it looking up at me in what passed for surprise in a life where only smiles existed. It opened its mouth, most likely to protest my actions by means of a giggle, but was interrupted by a world class kick; one that had the creature rocketing off like the world's biggest football.
“On your feet!” I roared at Benny, grabbing him under an arm and hoisting him into an upright position. He teetered unsteadily and supported himself on my shoulder, head hanging limp.
We started a fast walk in the direction of the car. Beside me Benny shuffled and stumbled along, threatening to collapse with every step.
The sirens grew louder, now identifiable from the direction of the parking lot’s entrance. The Enforcers had arrived.
“Move,” I urged, “Move! Move!”
Benny’s car was now visible ahead twenty metres away. I picked up the pace, pulling him along by the scruff of his jacket. He stumbled, fell to one knee and collapsed, body thudding into the asphalt like a sack of potatoes.
“Get up! Get up!”
The sirens were crossing the parking lot towards us. Red and blue lights declared that the Enforcers were on the scene.
I grabbed Benny by the jacket and lifted with all my might, his groans of effort those of a man in his eighties. He struggled back to a semi-standing position and, with heart hammering I proceeded to drag his dead weight to the car.
To my right a black van raced past our row of cars thirty metres up, the wailing siren following in its wake imitating a screeching demon. They were looking for us.
I left Benny leaning against the car, fumbled in his jacket pocket for the keys, found them, and flung open the passenger door.
“We can make it,” I told myself for the second time that day, “We can make it, just have to get the car moving, drive out slow, don’t draw suspicion, just a couple of guys checking out of a hotel.”
I shoved Benny into the seat, slammed the door and scrambled round to the drivers side.
“We can make it!”
With a quick glance I located Selena; still flat on her back where I had left her. It seemed unlikely that the punch had killed her, but either way, I was more than happy to see her not moving.
The driver’s side door popped open and I readied myself to slip into the seat.
That’s when the black van swung into our parking row, made a sharp turn and stopped, blocking the only exit.
The siren warbled once and ceased, leaving only the car alarm to accompany my apparent defeat.
I did not hesitate. My right hand pointed at the vehicle with index finger extended and I generated an orb, roughly the size of a small car. Into the orb I poured no more than one one-hundredth of my new resources. The orb was released.
As with Selena’s attack the vast amount of energy moved slowly, seemingly restricted by its own mass. This did not reduce the impact, and just moments before the bolt struck one of the van’s doors was flung open; the escape attempt of an Enforcer. But he was too late.
There was a BOOM so loud my ears were deafened for minutes after and, behaving as if caught in the path of an invisible locomotive, the van’s front end imploded, crunching and compressing inwards in a grind of metal on metal.
There was a second were I thought the purpose of the bolt had failed, but a moment later the entire vehicle was shunted backwards, its tyres letting out shrieks of protest.
Finally the van slammed into the row of cars behind it and came to a halt, leaving our path open.
Success.
I slipped into Benny’s car, started the engine and performed the worst three point turn in history, managing to clip a total of four other vehicles in my efforts. But my nose was pointed in the right direction and I let loose the clutch, flying up the row, sliding into a right turn and heading for the exit.
Moments before making the final turn out of the parking lot, a glance in the rear view mirror revealed that one of the Enforcers had managed to climb from the van. He seemed in poor health, holding his side and limping, but at least he was alive.