The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) (45 page)

He held the dented door back and said gallantly,

“After you, pet” I bit my lip and walked into Jared Cerberus’ first home in this human plane. Although, judging by the massive hole in the wall that a raging bull could fit through, I would say it wasn’t his home for long!

“Ah yes, it didn’t take me long to realise I prefe
rred something a little more upmarket…more space, maybe somewhere with a view, oh and let’s not forget more than a dirt hole to shit in.” He said laughing at the disgusted face I pulled. I knew why he joked about this and it was for my benefit only. He was putting a cloak of humour over a disturbing part of history so that I wouldn’t see the true horror of what lay beneath.

I looked from the
crumbling mess that looked as if an engine powered piece of construction machinery had just ploughed through…or maybe a small tank would be a better description for the destruction left. Whichever fit better was irrelevant as I started to really take in the rest of the space. It was dark, damp and cold stone that looked like any other cave you could imagine…that was apart from one major difference.

“What is this?” I asked referring to all the symbols that decorated every available space on both the stone and the tiny marks that looked scorched into the thick bars of the door.

“Ah, well after Dashwood had these cells built and started to move onto the more serious side of Devil worship, he began by looking to history for some answers. Most of which were utter horse shit, just like these useless symbols that he thought could keep a demon contained.” I silently took in each different symbol before asking,

“How?”

“He heard of a story back in the 1760’s that in the French village of Gevaudan the people there were trying to deal with villagers being savagely attacked by some kind of animal. It was actually where fucking Werewolves came about, all thanks to some big ass rabid dog that went on a rampage attacking folk.” He said sounding half pissed and half amused.

“So it wasn’t anything like that?”

“Oh honey, there was no-one like me before this shit happened.” He yet again gave me another wink as he boasted and I couldn’t help but smile even through my rolling eyes.

“But the poor
mutt was said to be hurt by silver and so that stupid ass myth was born, hence those symbols that are Alchemical symbols for the metal” He nodded to where my hand was touching one that looked like two triangles attached. There were about 12 in total and ranged from moon shapes to tridents, duel cups and smaller circles attached to a larger one. I even snorted a laugh at the one that looked like a horned stick figure stood on top of a hill.

“So
, they didn’t work?” I looked back to the wall and saw the painted symbols on some of the fallen lumps of stone, so knew my answer before he said it.

“You wouldn’t be asking me that if you saw what it means to be a Cerberus
.”

“I can imagine you’re right about that
.”

“Of course
, they weren’t expecting me to show up.” He said cracking his knuckles in a manly show of dominance he had every right to.

“So what were they expecting?”

“Truthfully?” I nodded at him and he shrugged his shoulders before saying,

“Fuck knows…a hand shake with the Devil, a
pat on the back by one of his Presidents…who really knows but the dead, but one thing I will say, given the cells, the useless symbols and abducting poor bastards like me, my guess is he simply wanted to sacrifice a human in order to give a demon a host he could use…maybe even control…whatever it was though died with my rebirth, as did the club.”

“Well
, I can’t say I am sorry about that.” I said leaving the destruction alone and walking over to where he stood. I hoped this was enough of a hint for us to get going. He raised an eyebrow before whispering a cocky,

“What’s wrong pet
, had enough of me already...? Are we that eager to jump to a hotter playing field?” My answer was to shrug my own shoulders at him, knowing that I had no great urge to see Hell up close and personal but was still buzzing at the prospect of seeing Draven again.

“Then give me your heart
, pet.” At this request the organ in question started to beat a lot quicker. He must have noted my reaction because he started laughing at me.

“Don’t panic sugar, I don’t mean it in
the literal sense or that I want any declarations of love, just the heart you have in your bag.” I bit my lip as a blush rose with his gentle teasing.

“But I…I thought you couldn’t touch it?” This time he grabbed my shoulder
s and guided me over to a darker corner where something lumpy sat under a dirty cover. He turned me and walked me closer to it and I screamed bloody murder when he suddenly grabbed the cover and yanked it hard enough to come off in one whoosh.

“You
jerk!” I shouted moving back with nowhere to go but closer into his hold.

“Calm down pet, I think you can see he won’t hurt anyone
.” I was seething mad with the man at my back for forcing me to see the only other one in the room with us.

“He’s…he’s…”

“I can assure you Keira, he’s quite dead.” He referred, of course, to the heavily decomposed corpse that sat in the corner on a low wooden stool as if he just needed a rest. Well, he was most certainly getting a good rest alright, nothing more relaxing than death!

The skeleton figure sat there patiently
, still dressed in his 18th century finery, with a long jacket embellished with buttons down the length and large cuffs. Even his embroidered thigh length waistcoat and knee high boots could be seen under years of filth. But more than any of this, I had to say the main feature had to be the ripped open chest cavity, where even the rib bones had been broken back like the lid to an old tool box.

“I just thought that it would be better done swiftly…what is it they say, rip the band aid quickly for less pain
.”

“Plaster…so why is Captain
McRib down here anyway?” Jared burst out laughing at my nick name for him and then sobered enough to ask,

“Plaster?”

“Band aid…It’s called a plaster where I’m from, so answer the question, who is he?”

“That handsome fellow is none othe
r than Paul Whitehead of course. Now all you need to do to make him dance is give him back his heart and it will open the gateway.” This time I dropped the smart ass comments and snapped round to say,

“Oh
, sod that for a bag of chips! There is not a cat in Hell’s chance I am going anywhere near Mr chatty pants over there!” Ok, so I didn’t exactly drop all of the smart ass comments but I couldn’t have been more serious with them!

“Assuming I understood you in all that northern charm, if you don’t, then I am afraid the tour is over and there will be no more passing Go and collecting 200 for you, so…” He leant down, as most supernatural men had to do around me and whispered,

“…Game over.”

“Ok, Fine! I get it…jeez you want me to do gross stuff but I swear I am drawing the line if you ask me to give him a makeover!” I said stomping my foot in frustration. He again just laughed at me. I decided not to bite and fuel his humour anymore but just get on with it. I did the easy bit first
, considering I had begun to get to know Mr Whitehead’s heart on a sharing shower basis. I reached in my bag and grabbed my new friend.

Then came the hard part.

I walked closer to what used to be the living, breathing and breaking the law, Paul Whitehead and couldn’t help but take pause before getting too close.  

“I must say
, as amusing as this is, I would ask for you to get on with it before time catches up with you and you end up looking like his sister.” I shot Jared daggers making his grin grow a notch. I refrained from the comeback I really wanted to say and opted for a grumbled swear word. Then I got back to the gruesome task at hand…or should I say at heart?

I held the wrapped package in one shaky hand and closed my eyes as I s
tepped closer to my target. I couldn’t tell you how happy I was at least, that he was that far decomposed so as not to have any rotting fleshy bits or the smell that goes with death. Thinking along these lines gave me another new mantra and I started to whisper,

“Just a large stick man…it’s just sticks, not bone, just sticks…”

“Keira!” Jared said my name like he was losing patience and I snapped out a,

“I’m doing it
, alright!” Then I used my anger and frustration to open my eyes and ram it home with one strong thrust. Then I jumped back like a little girl, jumping up and down like trying to get rid of a spider.

“
Eww! Eww, eeewwww!” I shook my head, pulled a face like I just licked in between cheesy toes and continued to jump up and down in a circle like this would somehow drive out the last two minutes of my memory!

“Good girl, now if you could just control the girly shit
, then that would be nice.” I decided to take a page out of his brother’s book and flip him my middle finger as my reply. This was quickly ignored by both of us when stick man Paul Whitehead started to move! I screeched out an unattractive sound and hid behind Jared’s back to watch.

The once very still corpse now raised his head as a series of shudders start
ed to vibrate his old bones, starting from his chest. It was like his heart had actually started to beat again after all this time. Then in a blink, his arm shot out, causing me to yelp at Jared’s back when Whitehead’s bony hand slapped the rock behind him. I raised the lantern Jared had given me back to hold and watched in morbid fascination as I made out the blood that oozed from the organ and started to wrap around his bones like a red ribbon. It only went one way and travelled along his arm, leaving the rest of his body untouched.

Then Paul Whitehead’s fingers
, complete with long fingernails, tightened on the stone, causing his nails to clash with the it. The lantern in my hold started to shake as I saw what he was doing and noticed, just as the blood reached the tips of his fingers, he drew his nails down the grooves left there by Jared’s claws. Blood reached the thin crevices and filled the gaps in the rock like little dried river beds flooding for the first time in years.

“Shit!” I shouted as the whole cave started to shake. I dropped the lantern and held on to Jared’s back with both hands, grabbing fistfuls of leather. I was about to shout over the noise
, but then all senses became transfixed as moisture started to bead on the walls like condensation from an intense change of temperature. Heavy droplets fell just from one space above, like heavy rain that was concentrated just by the wall. Soon it formed a puddle and then started to boil.

“
Wh…what’s hap…?” I never got to finish the question as the rumbling increased and Jared started to take steps back, pushing me along with him. I didn’t know how the cave was still standing and thought for sure any minute we would be buried under an entire hill full of rock!

I managed to keep
my gaze riveted to the spot where everything seemed to be happening, when a piece of the wall came away. It was about the size of a few bricks and an intense orange glow could be seen shining behind it. It looked like sunrise and, as if attracted like a bug to light, I started to step round Jared to get closer. He turned quickly and held me still and to his chest.

“You don’t want to do that just yet
.” And just as he promised, the orange glow showed its true form, as burning hot lava started to flow over the small gap.

“Oh
God!” It started to spew out in a more powerful gush and in doing so, broke away more of the rock, until it resembled a glowing molten waterfall. It hit the puddle with a hiss as steam automatically rose before it evaporated the water. Once it hit the cave’s floor, it started to turn into a wave of smooth black rock that built up in layers as more lava fell. I didn’t know what we were still doing here as surely it would soon consume the cell’s space and us along with it.

“Do you trust me
, Keira?” Jared asked in the calmest voice and my panicked gaze told him I didn’t know if I could. He turned his head to look briefly at its progress before turning back to me and on a shocked breath he lifted me into his arms. Then he turned and for a relieved second I thought he was getting us out of there, but this turned out to be the opposite. He started to stride straight for the pouring lava and for once, I was too stunned to scream.

Then something amazing started to happen. The closer he got to the floor
’s flowing lava the quicker it turned into ageing grey dust and started to float away as though it never should have been there. By this time the scorching waterfall was now the size of a door, having melted the remaining rock away.

I gripped onto his shoulders and started making little panicked noises by the side of his face. His hold told me he wouldn’t be lettin
g me go any time soon and coupled with what we faced, I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or bad! One step, two steps and I hoped not our last step breathing as we approached the opening. Then, as if by a sensor, the lava started to part at the top and began to only to flow at the sides, still making the space large enough to fit through.