“Samantha Grace. I just woke up.” She touched her head and winced. “I was running from Jack-In-Irons and fell. My gun discharged.”
“You’re lucky it just grazed you.”
“Won’t do me much good if I don’t stop that monster soon.” Samantha studied Abigail and seemed to make a decision. She removed her gun from the other woman’s side and struggled to her knees, with some assistance from the young brunette. “What’s your name?”
“Abigail. You can call me Abby if you want.”
“Okay, Abby. If you’re not with the bad guys, why are you here?”
“Same reason as you, I’m guessing. I want to stop Jack-In-Irons from unleashing hell on earth.”
“You have a plan for that?”
“Well… not a very good one,” Abby admitted. She held up the glowing dagger. “I was going to stab him with this. It’s magic.”
Samantha looked over at Jack-In-Irons and frowned. “Is it just me or is he getting bigger? I swear he’s well over twenty feet tall now.”
“He’s growing because the witches are drawing in all the mystic energy in the area and feeding it to him. The ceremony to awaken all the Old Ones will begin soon and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit thirty feet by then.”
“Where are you from?” Samantha asked with a grin. “Have to be somewhere down South.”
“Tennessee by birth but New Orleans of late.” Abby grabbed hold her by the arm and quickly pulled her behind the abbey ruins. She’d spotted one of the warlocks who’d had his eye on her earlier glancing around. “You’re in no shape for another fight so I want you to stay here,” Abby said. “If it all works out, you’ll be able to get away in the commotion afterward.”
“You’re going to get killed.”
Abby broke into a wide grin that lit up her entire face. “Hell, I know that. But if a girl’s got to die, what better way to go?”
Samantha laughed despite her pain. “You’re an interesting woman.”
“I bet you are, too.” Abby glanced over Jack-In-Irons, knowing that she needed to act quickly. She could already see the old woman who held sway over the proceedings getting ready to announce the ceremony’s beginning.
The loud crack of a gunshot froze her in place, though. She saw the old woman’s head explode in a shower of blood and bone, her body twitching for several seconds before falling to the ground.
Striding towards the group with grim determination were three men. Each brandished a firearm in each hand but the man in the middle was the one who caught everyone’s attention. Broad shouldered and well built, the man with the salt-and-pepper hair carried a commanding air about him. He raised his voice and his words filled the air: “I plan to only give one warning: anyone who remains here will die. If you value your life, turn and run. Now.”
There was a moment of shocked silence and then the stillness was broken by the laughter of the witches. Many of them pointed at the three men and wondered aloud if they were insane.
Lazarus nodded at Morgan, who pulled out two round spheres. He threw these directly into the middle of the witches and they shattered upon impact with a soft pop. Almost immediately, a yellowish-green gas began to rise up. Everyone who inhaled it began to cough and fall to the ground, their minds completely shut down by the fumes. The gas dissipated quickly but it had done its work well. Fully two-thirds of the witches were removed in one fell swoop.
Eun and Morgan bolted into action, sprinting forward and firing while on the move. Both men had spent long hours at the practice range since joining Assistance Unlimited and their unerring aim soon dispatched more of the witches and sent the rest into a terrified retreat.
Jack-In-Irons raised his club and moved quickly towards the men. He raised the weapon and brought it down heavily, just missing Eun, who was knocked to the ground by the impact. Morgan fired his mystically enhanced bullets at Jack but the monster seemed unaffected. As Jack’s progeny began to swarm, Morgan tested the bullets’ effectiveness on them and found that the younger creatures were not nearly so impressive. The smaller monsters howled in pain as the bullets tore into their skin.
Jack seemed to radiate anger now and he performed a horizontal swipe through the air with his club, catching Morgan in the side. The oldest member of Assistance Unlimited fell with a thud, blood seeping from his clenched lips. He could feel that something inside of him was broken but he wasn’t sure how bad it really was. He uttered a small prayer that he could at least live to see Jack destroyed.
Eun let out a fierce war cry and ran straight towards the giant. He ran up one of the monster’s fallen progeny and sprang off, his arms and legs windmilling through the air. He landed on Jack’s hip and dug in with all his might. Jack was bigger than he remembered but the young Korean wasn’t one to be intimidated by another’s size. He pressed his gun against the monster and pulled the trigger, emptying the remainder of his ammunition directly into the creature. At point-blank range, the bullets finally managed to pierce Jack’s thick hide and the inhuman beast let out a shocked cry of anguish.
Eun grunted as Jack began smacking his own side with the club in an attempt to dislodge his attacker. Eun saw Lazarus moving in front of Jack, briefcase in hand. In Korean, Eun hissed, “You’re going to die, monster. I’m just glad I got to play a part.”
Jack snarled and slammed down the club one final time. The impact cracked Eun’s spine and caused much of his lower body to suddenly go numb. Eun lost his grip and fell nearly ten feet to the ground. He landed in a misshapen heap, still uttering a string of broken obscenities.
Lazarus tried to ignore what he was seeing but it was hard. These people were his friends and more… they were the closest things to family he possessed. Knowing that Jack was now turning his unholy gaze upon him, Lazarus clutched the briefcase tightly in his right hand and yelled, “You’re still growing, aren’t you? You’ve added a foot to your height just in the last few moments. A pity it’s not going to be enough.”
Jack stared at him in disbelief. He gestured to his remaining children. “You may have injured or killed a few of my spawn but what does that matter? Tonight I will send out the call to awaken my brothers and sisters… and they will tear your world in half!”
“I spit at you and your so-called power,” Lazarus declared. To accentuate his words, he spat at Jack’s feet. “You’ve killed more people than I can count, including Metropolis and his family… but in the end, you’re nothing but a ghost. A spirit of humanity’s past, that finally needs to be laid to rest. There is no place for you in the modern world. So begone!”
Jack roared in anger, tossing aside his club. He reached down and grabbed Lazarus by the waist, using both hands to crush the life from him. He hauled Lazarus into the air, opening the gaping maw that was his mouth. His tusks dripped with saliva and he angled the struggling Lazarus towards them.
Lazarus blinked through the pain, carefully pushing down on both of the buttons that would activate the explosive countdown. Then he timed his next deeds, hoping that he would remain conscious enough to perform his last gambit.
At that moment, Jack suddenly screamed in shock. He staggered, momentarily loosening his grip on Lazarus. Twisting his bulk around, Jack saw one of his witches — he hadn’t bothered to learn any of their names — stabbing at his legs repeatedly with a glowing dagger. The pain from her blows was indescribable. Lazarus saw this, too, and wondered who his helper might be. And then he saw the blonde staggering up behind her, gun still in hand. Despite the blood and dirt, it was obvious who she was.