"SO YOU MADE THE ALTAR THAT LIZ IS ABOUT TO BE SACRAFICED ON!?" Hellboy yells after I inform everyone where the altar is. I can understand why he's upset, though I'm not thrilled with being yelled at. Air Mages tend to have sensitive hearing. Abe moves in between Hellboy and me and the other agents are starting to move out of their way.
"That's not fair, Red," says Abe in a calm voice. "She didn't know that it would be used as an altar."
"AND WHAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO LIZ IS FAIR!?" he yells back, balling both of his hands into fists.
"She didn't know," Abe states again, his voice a bit louder.
"THAT'S NO EXCUSE!"
"What was she supposed to do, Hellboy?" Abe's voice is getting even louder and I can see his hands shaking. I stand up. "Let those things rip her apart?"
"IF IT MENT THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE WORLD COMING TO AN END, AND LIZ WOULD BE SAFE, THEN YES!"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" I yell giving my voice a "boost." Even Hellboy jumps at the volume I've obtained. I walk around Abe and stare Hellboy in those baleful yellow eyes. "I am sorry that I created the altar, but I had no way of knowing what I was doing at the time. If I had known, then I would have found some other way to get away or died trying. All we can do now is try and stop this thing. We have more important things to be worried about then who's to blame for what." Hellboy lowers his eyes and stares at his boots. I turn to Manning who's pressed against the glass to Abe's tank. "Dr. Manning, the moon was just past the horizon when I got here, we have very little time to get to the site. I suggest that you get your men organized as quickly as possible. You'll need to find a more expedient way to get everyone there, since we won't be able to walk to it this time and time is of the essence. Also, I will be coming with you. If we don't manage to get there before the ritual starts, I'm the only one who will be able to stop it."
Manning nods and starts issuing orders to the other agents. The agents are gone in a few moments and all that are left are Hellboy, Abe, Guillermo and I. I can feel myself shaking, but I don't have time for a nervous break down.
"I'm coming with you," Guillermo says quietly.
"No your not," I reply without turning around.
"And why not?" he asks.
"Because I've already lost my parents and I don't want to lose you too," I answer. I turn and look at him and smile. "Besides, who else will give me away at my wedding?"
I can see Abe twitch at the mentioning of the wedding and Hellboy's head snaps up.
"Wedding?" Hellboy asks. He looks at Abe. "Is there something you want to tell me, old buddy?"
"Not particularly, no," Abe grumbles.
Guillermo gets up, comes over to me and gives me one of his wonderful bear hugs. I just hold on to him for several minutes, letting the tension that's built up in me run out. He finally lets go of me, steps back and looks down at me smiling.
"I will gladly give you away at your wedding," he says. "But I'm still going. And there's no way you can stop me."
I open my mouth to protest, but just he kisses me on the forehead and then walks out of the room. I just stare after him, not sure if I should go after him and lock him in a closet or not. But then I realize that there probably isn't a closet big enough for him that has a lock. Not that it would matter since there's never been a lock made that an Earth Mage couldn't unlock in a matter of seconds. Manning sticks his head into the room and looks at us.
"You three coming or not?" he demands.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep your shirt on, Manning," Hellboy says as he crosses the room and heads out the door.
A short time later, we're climbing into SUVs and 4X4 trucks. Hellboy and Abe are ushered into the back of the garbage truck and I turn to Manning who happens to be standing behind me.
"Don't worry," he answers my unasked question. "They'll be put into an SUV once we get there."
"Why not just let them ride in the SUV now and leave the truck here?" I ask.
"Because no matter how big they make SUVs, Hellboy is still too big for them to sit in comfortably," he tells me. "Besides, there's medical equipment in the back of the garbage truck. I have a feeling we're going to need it."
I have a bad feeling that he's right. I just sigh and get into the truck that I've been assigned to. Soon, we're on our way. It seems to take forever to get to the gate of the park, this time the ranger has already opened it for us. We get to the edge of the path and stop. Abe and Hellboy emerge from the back of the garbage truck and get into the largest of the SUVs. John is right behind them and gets behind the wheel of the SUV as Manning gets out.
We drive for about 20 minutes in single file, and just before we get to the deer track, we see our first demon. It looks like one of the ones that chased Magick and me. It spots us and attacks the lead truck, ripping the hood off of it. I can hear gunfire as the agents in the truck open fire. Agents start pouring out of the other trucks and are opening fire on other demons that are coming out of the woods attracted to the sounds. I get out and hang back. I "feel" around, and I find an opening around the demons. I look around and notice that everyone is busy shooting at demons. Then I see Guillermo, he's staring at the carnage with a look of shock on his face. I quickly go to him and grab his arm.
"Come on!" I yell at him over the gunfire and yelling. He blinks, shakes his head and then looks at me. He just nods and I lead him toward the opening I found.
Guillermo quickly figures out what I'm doing and helps me avoid the demons. We encounter one demon, but before it can attack a spear of rock comes out of the ground and skewers it through the chest. Just as quickly as the spear appeared, it disappears. I turn to Guillermo.
"You're going to have to teach me that trick," I say quietly. He smiles at me and we continue on.
As we get closer to the site, I can hear chanting. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach that we're to late to stop the ritual. Sure enough, when we get to the edge of the clearing, the ritual is in full swing.
Liz is lying unconscious on the altar with someone in a black robe standing over her. Her fire is already starting to burn and it's growing larger as we watch. I can't see the guys face because the hood of his robe is covering it. He's holding a sword in his black gloved hands over Liz's chest, point side down, and he's saying something in some language I've never heard before. There's a shimmer in the air above him. At first I think it's just heat waves from Liz, but then I realize that it's starting to take shape.
I look up and see that the moon is almost to its zenith. I reach out with my power and try to destroy the altar, but nothing happens. I "push" harder, but still, nothing happens. It's like my power is blocked. And then I notice that the altar is engulfed in flames. My way is blocked. The chanting continues.
In a circle surrounding the altar are thirteen people in brown robes. They are the ones chanting. I look at their faces and get a serious case of the willies. Their heads have all been shaved. Also, it looks like their eyelids have been glued shut and an upside down star has been branded on each eyelid.
Outside the circle are more demons milling about. I "feel" Guillermo starting to pull his power to him, and I'm not sure what he's about to do. Since I have no clue about what to do next, I add my power to his own. A moment later, a couple dozen stone spears come shooting out of the ground killing all of the brown robed people and many of the demons.
Instant pandemonium happens as the bodies fall to the ground. The black robed guy lets out an ear piercing shriek that makes me cover my ears. The remaining demons go crazy and start running in every direction including straight for us. Guillermo and I take off in opposite directions. I start trying to get closer to the altar. A demon heads for me. A hole opens up below it and immediately closes up as soon as it disappears. I can hear things crashing through the brush and a lot of shouting and gunfire.
I pull my power to me and gather up the wind. I keep gathering it until I can no longer contain it. Then I let it go in the direction of the altar. It blows the guy off of his feet and across the clearing. It pushes Liz mostly off of the altar and her fire starts to die down. I can see heat waves rising up from the stone as I run for the altar. Just before I can reach it, something lands on my back, knocking me to the ground.
Before I can react, I feel the sharp fangs sink into my shoulder and the claws tear into the flesh of my back cutting all the way down from my shoulder blades to my hips. I scream as the pain consumes every inch of my being. I hear gunfire, the thing loosens its grip and then falls lifeless on top of me. I scream again as it lands on top of my wounds. Then the thing is gone and I can hear someone yelling. I can't hear what they're saying and I don't try to figure it out. I can see that I'm almost to the altar. I reach out my hand and stretch despite the searing pain across my back. I finally am able to touch the stone with my finger tips and I send my power into it. The last thought I have is that's hot.
Author's note: The next chapter is going to be very long, so it's going to take a while to write. Please be patient.