“Oh, no,” Samantha whispered.
“What is it?” Morgan asked, looking back-and-forth from her to Jack. “You know what he’s up to?”
“Those things out there… his children… they’re just the ones who woke up when the balls of fire landed. There were others.”
Morgan’s eyes roamed over the five mini-Jacks. Given their father’s power, he didn’t want to imagine what devastation they could do together. And if there were even more of them…? “This is bad,” he said. “And Jack said there were witches on the way.”
“We need to just low until we can get away and call Lazarus.”
Morgan nodded. All members of Assistance Unlimited were outfitted with experimental radios that allowed them to maintain contact across great distances. But they were tricky devices and depending on the weather, were sometimes unreliable. If they tried to raise Lazarus now, there was no guarantee they’d get through: and they’d almost certainly be overheard by Murder, who was still too close for comfort.
The ground rumbled again and as the two members of Assistance Unlimited watched, patches of earth began to be pushed upward, revealing hands and arms. Within a few moments, nearly a dozen more of Jack’s progeny were pulling their emaciated bodies from the soil. Their nudity gleamed in the moonlight, as their bodies were pale and fresh looking. Each of them roared in adoration of their father, each prostrating himself briefly before rising to cavort with their siblings.
“My children!” Jack shouted. “Let us go and feed. We will stain the ground red with the blood of our enemies!”
The wild exultations were almost painful for Samantha. The creatures’ snorts were so loud and full of spite that she shivered.
“Samantha,” Morgan said, speaking a bit too loudly.
“Hush!” she warned but she turned to face him when he reached out and took her hand.
Standing beside Morgan was Professor Murder. The ape was holding a knife against Morgan’s throat. In horror, she realized that they had been too distracted by Jack and his awful family reunion, allowing Murder to sneak around.
“Master!” Murder shouted with dark glee. “Look what I have found for you!”
Jack-In-Irons moved towards his servant, his piggy eyes widening as he saw the two captured humans. “I know you… you are followers of Lazarus Gray. What madness compels you to face me for a second time? Should you not have savored your continued existence? Few are those who have gazed upon me a single time and lived.”
While Morgan remained in place, held there by the threat of Murder’s knife, Samantha rose to her feet and defiantly stared up at Jack-In-Irons. To Morgan’s eyes, she seemed to grow in stature as she began to speak. “It doesn’t matter how many monsters you have at your side, you’re going to lose. Humanity will always push back the encroaching darkness.”
A hoarse sound came from Jack, and Morgan realized that the giant was laughing at the plucky blonde standing before him. “Humanity is nothing more than a bunch of savages! See how they war over land that’s not theirs to begin with! Watch as they cower in the shadows, afraid of the darkness! All of you know in the back of your minds, in the primitive part of your brains, that you are nothing more than dust on the cosmic landscape. No matter how you try to hide the truth, it’s there.” Jack turned his head and spat a huge wad of phlegm on the ground. “Humanity,” he said in disgust.
The corner of Samantha’s mouth turned upward. “The thing you don’t understand is that when we’ve got our backs against the wall, that’s when we’re most dangerous. When we have nothing left to lose… but everything to gain.”
Samantha spun about, her lithe body a blur of motion. Her pistol was in her hand and she squeezed the trigger twice, the bullets whizzing past Morgan’s head. He squawked in surprise, his body suddenly awash in blood. He felt Murder’s carcass slide away from him and he knew without even looking that the ape-man was dead. Samantha’s knack for trick shots had come in handy, it seemed.
“Get the hell out of here, Morgan!” Samantha screamed. “Go and warn Lazarus! Now!”
Morgan started to protest when Samantha shot the ground at his feet.
“Don’t make me waste another bullet,” she pleaded. Before Morgan could say anything, the lovely girl had turned back toward Jack and his progeny. The monsters seemed to be in shock, unable to fathom that this single woman was willing to fight them all.
Morgan turned and ran, feeling awful with every step. He knew that she was only doing what any of them would have done; sacrificing herself so that the others would know of the danger. But he still felt like a heel. He was a man and he should be the one taking this risk, not her. But to stay would only make her actions lose their meaning. Then they’d both die, leaving Lazarus, Eun and Sporrenberg without the knowledge they’d need.
He sprinted through the trees, hearing gunshots and then a woman’s piercing scream. The sound cut right into his heart and he felt warm tears stinging his eyes. He ran until he was sure that the abbey was far in the distance and then he fell to his knees, panting and crying. It took him nearly five minutes to recover enough to pull out the radio device and begin punching in the code that would call Lazarus.
He held the device up to the side of his face, barely conscious of the moment when Lazarus answered. He was vaguely aware of Lazarus repeatedly asking what was going on when he finally vocalized the worst thing he’d ever had to say: “She’s dead. Samantha’s dead.”
Chapter XII
Everything Goes to Hell
The flight had been a grim and quiet one. After receiving Morgan’s frantic transatlantic call, Lazarus had made rendezvoused with Eun at headquarters. Sporrenberg was in no shape for travel so the two remaining members of Assistance Unlimited had set forth to England alone. Neither of them could quite believe what Morgan had said. Samantha had been the heart of the group, always aware of the needs and feelings of the three men she worked with. Without her, was there a future for Assistance Unlimited?
Lazarus had chosen to focus on the other details that Morgan had given him. He would have time aplenty to grieve for Samantha but Jack-In-Irons had to be stopped. With seventeen of his ‘children’ in tow, Jack was capable of leaving a swath of destruction across the globe. But it was the arrival of the witches and Jack’s talk about the phases of the moon that most concerned him.
Around the time that Lazarus would arrive in England, a full moon would be set to begin. He was fearful that the witches were preparing some sort of ceremony, potentially one that would awaken the other slumbering creatures across the globe. The Black Abbot had told Morgan that Jack was one of the Living Keys and according to the literature Lazarus had read, that meant that he was capable of unlocking the prisons that held his brethren. According to the old stories, the Great Old Ones were bound in various places across the globe: under the sea, atop the highest peak in the world and even at the heart of the earth’s core. Several of their number were banished from the world entirely, as Jack had been. But those beings could awaken the others, reviving them.
All of this meant that stopping Jack-In-Irons was of crucial importance.
As arranged, Morgan was waiting for them less than a mile from the Abbey of St. Mary. The former confidence man looked far older than normal, with his omnipresent tie loosened and his suit ruffled. Eun was surprised when Morgan gave him a tight embrace before doing the same to Lazarus.
When Morgan stepped away, his eyes were tinged with red. “Those bastards have to pay,” he said. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we’ve got to put them all in the ground.”