Snowflake's Passage

First Story (Scary Things)

Part 3: Don't go around tonight, Well it's bound to take your life, There's a bad moon on the rise.

So not good. Trapped in my circle while a demon lurked just outside of it. Terrified for myself. Terrified for Micah. Terrified for others whom I just knew were going to show up.

The demon was still just sitting on the tombstone. The demon who had just offered to hire me. You ever have one of those days, or in this case nights, where you end up in some kind of Alice in wonderland existence? No? Well this was one for me. I paused momentary on reciting the Lord's Prayer.

"I'm warning you, if a white rabbet shows up he's so dead".

The demon just looked at me with a puzzled expression. Ok, so she's not a big Lewis Carroll fan. The demon made another little snow ball but just tossed from hand to hand.

"Now what Mrs. Blake? You can't stay in there forever. I suppose I could try to pop your little bubble of protection".

I suddenly felt like I was in a vice, power pressing in on all sides of my circle, then it let up.

"But that would be both rude and..." She tossed the snowball lightly into the air and caught it "possibly dangerous for you. After all I wish you unharmed and functional".

I just stared at her, gun aimed, and continued to recite the Lord's Prayer.

Another one of those melodramatic sighs. Damn, I hate it when a woman does that. So manipulative, if you're the right kind of woman.

"This isn't going to end well Mrs. Blake if we continue this way. I literally can sit here forever and wait you out. Dawn doesn't mean anything to me. You're going to get rather... hungry and thirsty in there, not to mention icky and yucky as well when some bodily functions need to... well function".

She put the snow ball down on top of the tombstone and produced a nail file from her left pocket. Bitch actually started doing her nails right in front of me while discussing my fate.

"I suppose you're waiting for more of your... associates to show up. Well... that won't be good for everybody involved. Me. Them. You. You'll still be here when it's all done, and so will I. Remember, I do want to hire you; but them? Well I suppose if enough power shows up I'll be unable to keep a lid on the situation and things will get messy".

Shit. I know a threat when one is given. I franticly thought while she continued.

"Then there will be the police if this goes on long enough. Hostage situation. SWAT Team. Likely a long range sniper bullet. So messy and so... ineffective. Again leaving the two of us here, but now you're all upset, lots and lots of media coverage, and I've lost so many little... motivational opportunities".

Shit. She's summing it up well. Disturbingly well.

"I suppose in the end they'll airlift in a bunch of priests and pry my ass off of this rock". She knocks the tombstone "And send me packing, but where does that leave you? Well a lot more lonely I guess. And guilty. Lots and lots of nasty guilt. All because you put everybody at risk and caused everything to happen".

She extended her right hand down while still looking at me. "I suppose I could play with your beau over there".

She raised her hand up and I could see Micah push himself to his hands and knees. She then pushed her hand down and he squashed back down.

"To motivate you to drop your little circle, self sacrifice and all".

Shit, she had my number, area code and all. I got ready to drop the circle.

"But I really just want to hire you, raise the zombie, ask my questions, and go on my way. So how to get out of this little... misunderstanding without killing or harming you or yours".

She got up and walked slowly back to my circle, as if she was fighting a head wind (I was still saying the Lord's Prayer).

"So you're upset, scared, and threatened. Only one thing to do. Shoot me".

Now she was talking my kind of sense, but really? Bullets on a demon?

"It won't do anything, apart from making you feel a bit better, and demonstrate that really I'm trying to be reasonable here".

I removed the clip from my gun and loaded the clip containing just some of Edward's special rounds. 9mm silver plate hollow points instead of copper plated rounds. Every second round a silver frangible; silver plate with silver compressed dust. The copper frangibles were brand named varmint grenades due to the sudden dumping of kinetic energy. Just an entry wound and then puff, bits everywhere. Plus, each bullet was individually blessed (I didn't even want to know how much that cost). Mmmm some guys just know what to get a girl for her birthday.

I dropped the circle and felt her power was so heavy upon the area. Like she was too heavy for reality. I went to that special place I go to kill. All white and filled with static, but lately getting quieter. As I squeezed the trigger I noticed that for the first time I wasn't alone in the place I go to kill. She was there as well and she was smiling.

Three taps to the chest, the first round was a frangible; her heart now just a ruined mass of hamburger and her chest an open hole.

One round in the throat, spine shattered.

Double tap to the forehead, brains and bits of bone everywhere.

Another double tap to the chest just to be extra nasty.

Her body stumbles back, her upper torso just a bloody mass of meat. Her head hits the back of tombstone with a wet cracking sound and she crumples to the ground like a discarded sack of rice. Bits and pieces of her litter the ground. Yet her power is still here, I'm amazed I'm able to stand.

Then she stirs and sits up. Unharmed, although she's going to need a new shirt. I holster the gun, she's made her point, going to take way more then a 9mm to deal with her. She gets back up and sits once again on the tombstone. She waves her right hand and now the pressure subsides, her power now feels like a blast furnace with the door closed. Hot but hell contained for the moment. Micah is able to push himself up and get to his feet. He looks to me and I make little stay there hand signs. Smart man my Micah, he stays put; although I can feel him thinking about transforming into his animal.

"There, happy"?

"No".

"I hope you're not going to pretend I can't hire you"?

"No, not for now. Not until I can come up with something to get rid of your demonic ass. What's the job and why me"?

Funny, Jean-Claude still hasn't tried to speak to me mind to mind. She must somehow be blocking that.

Now a look of uncertainty on her face, how odd. "I need somebody raised so I can ask them a few questions. Their a bit old, that's why I need you".

"How old"? A sinking feeling in my stomach. I knew this was going to be bad but her answer astonished me.

"Thirty five hundred years old".

Oh God no. Not possible. Nothing that old can be raised, and even if it could the power required would be enormous. Only human deaths have that kind of power and to raise that kind of power would take a village.

"Just kill me now. I won't do that. I don't care who you threaten to harm or kill. I'll just kill myself first".

A sly grin on her face. "I kind of thought you'd react that way. Good for you. It won't require any sacrifice but a pint of your blood. I'll... be the power source as it were for you to do the raising".

Shit, hope can be a total bitch sometimes. "And the location of the deceased".

"Egypt. He's currently stored in a back room in the museum of antiquities".

She raised a hand as I started to protest. "I know where his grave is so the plan is to get the mummy, stick it back in the sarcophagus he was buried in, and let you do your thing".

Alice was definitely down the rabbit hole and falling fast. It was going to get worse.

"And the location"?

She answered, and yes it got worse. "The great Pyramid of Khufu, the museum has miss identified the mummy they stuck on a storage shelf".

She giggled. You have not seen disturbing until you've felt a demon giggle. "Khufu would be so pissed about that. The indignity of it all".