“I feel like a fool,” Emerson said, allowing Lazarus to lead him out of the building. He watched in silence as Sovereign City’s favorite hero opened a small metallic cylinder and rolled it back into the house. He shut the door so that the gas would do its work all the faster. “Kelly warned me not to come and I didn’t listen.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Professor. The important thing is that she knew you were making a mistake and she asked me to take care of you. You’re lucky to have her in your life.”
The Professor nodded sagely, wondering if the man before him was beginning to realize just how true those words really were. Given how dangerous Gray’s life was, he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad as far as his daughter was concerned.
The Abbey of St. Mary was like many places in Europe: the weight of history on its grounds was so intense that both Morgan and Samantha could almost feel its touch. In contrast, America was so much younger that there was nothing within its confines that could compare to sites like this.
It was dusk when they arrived at the ruins, with the sun setting behind steadily approaching storm clouds. Both of them brought handguns and umbrellas, though Morgan had left his parasol in their rented car.
Morgan took out a stick of gum and popped it into his mouth, watching as Samantha wandered through the decaying ruins. He made sure to keep her in sight at all times but she was a big girl and could take care of herself. Hell, half the time she handled her problems with more efficiency than Morgan did.
Morgan adjusted his tie and followed at a distance, his eyes occasionally roving over Samantha’s shapely derriere. He had finally moved on from his crush on the younger woman but he was a man, after all, and she was extremely lovely.
He was busy pretending not to notice when she bent over to examine a rock when a flash of movement caught his attention. He turned and saw a man dressed in monk’s robes moving away from him. The man held a tin cup in one hand and his hand shook with each step, causing the coins within to rattle.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Morgan said, reaching up to smooth his moustache. He knew that ghosts were real but most of the time, the stories were made up bits of hooey and he’d assumed the tales of the Black Abbot fell into that category. He started to yell for Samantha to come and see when the Abbot suddenly stopped in place and turned around. Morgan’s jaw fell open as he saw the ghostly figure’s face: it was skeletal, with glowing orbs buried deep in the eye sockets.
“Morgan Watts,” the Black Abbot said, its voice reverberating with the power of the grave. “They are coming, the walkers in chains. Their father is on his way, along with the bloodied ape.”
Morgan stared at the figure in disbelief. “We’re here to stop them. They’re very dangerous.”
“More dangerous than you know. Jack-In-Irons is one of the Living Keys. His return will awaken more of the slumbering beasts. He is a sign that the end times are upon us. Humanity will be put on notice.”
“What are the slumbering beasts?”
“Older than man, descended from the stars, they roamed the Earth for thousands of years. But with the rise of man and the loss of magical power to The World of Shadows, they fell into a deep state of Un-Death. That is not dead which can eternal lie.”
Morgan looked over at Samantha but she was gone. All around them was now darkness and a thick knee-high fog. Swallowing down the fear that threatened to rise up, Morgan asked the Black Abbot, “Okay. So you’re able to tell me how deadly they are. Can you give me any clues about how to defeat them?”
“You must strike with one mind, one heart.”
Morgan couldn’t help but frown. What the hell did that mean? He was about to press the Abbot further when he felt Samantha’s hand on his shoulder and heard her fearfully ask, “Are you okay?”
In that moment, the connection was broken. The Abbot was gone and Morgan was once more looking standing in the Abbey ruins. “I saw him, Samantha.”
“Who?” Samantha asked, looking around with wide eyes. “The Black Abbot?”
“He was standing right there in front of me. Told me that Jack-In-Irons and his kids were on their way. He said that they’re incredibly dangerous and that Jack’s presence on Earth was going to wake up a bunch of monsters who are asleep.”
Samantha bit her lip. “Well… that last part is new but we already knew the rest. Did he say anything else?”
Morgan looked at her. “He said the only way we could destroy them was to strike with one mind and one heart.”
“I don’t suppose he explained what that meant?” Seeing the look on Morgan’s face, Samantha glanced away. “Oh dear. Just once I’d like to get a ghostly warning that made absolute perfect sense.”
The ground shook beneath their feet and in the distance they heard the rattling of chains. Morgan grabbed Samantha by the arm and led her further into the ruins, crouching down behind one of the still-standing walls. There were enough holes in its stone surface for them to see out clearly.
Within minutes, they were coming into view. Jack-In-Irons towered above the five similar creatures that followed in his wake. Like their father, these monsters wore a belt of human skulls and brandished a deadly looking club in one hand. Their bodies were bloated mockeries of a man’s, complete with dangling genitalia, but their heads were like those of boars. All of them made little grunting sounds as they approached, their snouts sniffing the air. As the deadly procession drew close, Samantha spotted Professor Murder. The ape was ambling along at Jack’s side, still wearing his suit.
“The Chief told us to just watch,” Morgan whispered.
“I don’t need you to remind me,” Samantha hissed back. “Besides, it’d be suicide to go out there right now.”
“I wonder what they want with this place,” Morgan said.
“It’s the site where his kids fell to Earth,” she answered.
“Yes… but why come back now? What are they going to gain by being here?”
“I don’t know… but you need to hush before they hear us.”
Jack-In-Irons approached the abbey with his progeny following close behind. He stopped just short of the ruins and looked around, as if taking the lay of the land. Professor Murder continued on, moving perilously close to the spot where Morgan and Samantha had taken refuge. He placed one ape paw on the wall and turned his head toward Jack. “Is this the place?” he asked, his words slurring slightly, as if he were drunk. Samantha had seen enough mind-controlled men to know that this was a common malady.
“It is,” Jack answered and his voice rumbled across the abbey, sending rats fleeing in terror. “This is where I sent the fruits of my loins. It was my only hope to escape my prison. By spewing forth smaller versions of myself, I hoped to eventually find someone on this backward planet to free me and my siblings.”
Murder grinned, showing his yellowed teeth. “But it didn’t work out that way, did it? It wasn’t your children who saved you… It took me to do that.”
Jack-In-Irons turned his monstrous head towards Murder. “Yes. And your reward is your continued existence.”
Murder bowed his head low, indicating that he was picking up on the implied threat. “When will the witches be here?” he asked, a more subservient tone to his words.
“Soon. They will want to wait until the time is right. For them, the phases of the moon have great importance.”
Jack-In-Irons brushed away his progeny, many of which kept moving close enough to rub fawningly against him. When he was standing alone, he raised his arms into the air, the club seeming to block out the stars. “Awaken, my comatose children. Stand up and remember whom you are. Your master, your father, your creator: I call upon you!”