Wings of Blood and Cruelty
A Hemlock Grove fanfic by Glamoured By-Eric
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.-Friedrich Nietzsche
Chapter 22 - Sleepwalk
"Answer, damn it!" said Sworn into the cell phone he had pilfered from the doctor's pocket earlier. The night before, he had seen through his connection to the vargulf what had gone down with Peter and Roman along the side of the road and had information on the creature's location. It had taken him a couple of tries holding the cell phone in his cuffed hand while he dug around in the night stand for a phone book with his other. It wasn't like he had their number memorized.
"Godfrey residence," someone finally answered.
"Roman Godfrey, please."
"Mr. Godfrey has guests."
"I don't care if he has guests. Tell him it is Tom Sworn, and what I have to say is urgent. Can you do that?"
"Very well, Mr. Sworn. I'll see if he can take the call."
"You do that." Tom rolled his eyes to the ceiling and took a long, deep breath.
There was a click on the line and Roman said, "Roman. That you, Tom?"
"Yeah, listen. I don't have much time and somebody might catch me with this phone. You need to get to Castle Godfrey. The devil dog is there, and she's vulnerable right now. This may be your only chance to take her out safely."
"You still connected to her?" asked Roman.
"Not at the moment, but I was last night when she attacked you and Peter on the road. The weapon that Peter used on her injured her. Sliced her open and burned her. I don't think she can transform right now at least not fully. You got to get to her fast."
"Thanks for the heads up. Take care, Tom."
Tom disconnected, threw the phone book back in the drawer and closed it, and hid the phone under the covers, blowing a sigh of relief.
"I hope I just didn't send them to their deaths," he said, running a hand through his short hair.
At a staff meeting at the hospital, Norman rubbed his eyes and then his temples. The headache he had was beyond bad. Almost like a nasty hangover but he didn't remember drinking anything the night before. All he remembered was coming home and going to bed after the funeral. He thought Olivia had been with him but he was fuzzy on that memory as well, and she was gone when he woke up.
Norman did remember that Olivia had moved out of the mansion because she'd had a fight with Roman, though the exact details eluded him. All he knew was that a fog was resting over his mind, and it did not feel like even a stiff breeze could blow it away anytime soon.
Roman came back into the parlor, looking serious. "Come on, Peter. We have to go."
Peter looked alarmed. "What's going down?"
"We need to finish up what we started last night. I have a location." He turned to Amanda and said, "We'll be back later."
"Anything I can help with?" she asked, holding the baby gently.
"No, Peter and I have this."
"I'll see you later, Amanda." Peter did a lip smile at Amanda as he rose from the sofa, the bandage covering his hand pulling on the wound.
Roman led Peter to the billiard room to the gun cabinet and unlocked it with his keys. He pulled out a shotgun and handed it to Peter. Peter opened it, loaded it with the shells that Roman handed him, then snapped it shut. They each grabbed hand guns, loaded them and tucked them in the back waist band of their pants.
"Where is she, Roman?" asked Peter.
"The mill. Tom saw her go there. Said she was vulnerable right now. This may be our only shot at this."
"It is dinnertime. I could eat something before we go. You got any steaks?"
"You're right. We should eat."
After filling up quickly on raw steak much to the dismay of Maria, they headed out the back door.
"Going somewhere, Roman?" asked his African American bodyguard, Smith, standing there with his arms crossed and his legs in a wide stance.
Roman rolled his eyes and said, "Shit!"
Next to him, Peter stiffened and said, "He should come with us, Roman. We need another hand. Who better than a trained bodyguard?"
"Are you kidding me right now? He's the last person I would ask to accompany us."
Peter motioned his head to the bodyguard and said, "He needs to come, Roman."
Roman looked wide-eyed at Peter and then said, "Okay, he comes with. We takin' the SUV?"
Smith said, "Yes, it is out front."
The three of them walked to the front of the mansion. Roman retrieved his axe in it's case from his car and loaded it in the SUV.
"Where are we going?" asked Smith as Roman and Peter got in the back seat.
"To the mill," replied Roman.
"Why exactly are we going armed?" questioned the bodyguard.
"Reports of a rabid dog at the mill. We could use another sharp shooter," Peter said, looking at Roman.
"Shouldn't you just call the sheriff's office?" suggested Smith. "They handle this type of thing."
"Nah," said Roman. "Where would be the fun in that?"
Destiny laid the cards down one by one on the table again and got the same result. "Not good," she said.
"What is it?" asked Lynda.
"I've read the cards three times now, and I'm getting the same result. Something's going down with Peter, and it isn't good."
Lynda looked at the five cards spread cross-like on the table as Destiny gathered them up and said, "Let me try an ellipse spread. Ask a question before I spread them out."
"Is Peter's life in danger tonight?" asked Lynda.
Destiny laid them out and then turned them over one by one.
"This first card indicates past influences that effect the situation. The magician or magus is powerful and is that part of us which we have to harness to control our own lives. The second card, the hermit, goes through life alone or chooses solitude. He must rely on inner resources or previous experiences to lead him."
She paused, then continued, "The third card, the hanged man, deals with sacrifice, delays and waiting. It can mean being helpless and bogged down. Which means we sacrifice every time we make a choice. The fourth card... the chariot indicates a powerful and wild creature, a wayward beast to control. The fifth card..."
"Is that death?" asked Lynda in surprise.
"I know what you are thinking, Lynda, but the death card does not necessarily mean death. It can signify endings, but not necessarily disruptive or final ones. Remember that endings lead to new beginnings. Death itself symbolizes a clearing away of the past, for instance, if we sweep away past garbage, then we are free to set out on an entirely new path, are we not?"
"Yes, I suppose."
"When death appears, it almost always signifies a major change in one's life. Ah, the devil," Destiny said as she turned over the sixth card. "This can mean something to do with the animal within but not necessarily evil. The seventh card... the final outcome. We get... the moon. Interesting."
"Why interesting?" asked Lynda.
"Whatever is going down tonight will effect the full moon and Peter somehow. The moon basically effects our emotions because they come from that inner hidden part of us, often where our dreams reside. We know Peter has dreams. The moon also indicates a voyage to the center of self. It could also mean that Peter's wolf will be effected somehow or that he has to search within himself. That is all I know other than..."
"What?"
"It's just that every one of these cards is a major arcana. That doesn't happen very often."
"This isn't making me feel any better."
"I know, sweetie. We'll just have to wait and see."
The drive across town to the mill didn't take very long but dusk had fallen. After they arrived and disembarked, Roman unlocked the chain link fence to the property. Inside, the industrial stench of the place hit all of them. Roman set his case down and opened it, removing the two-headed axe.
"What the fuck is that?" asked Smith.
"An eighteenth century, battle axe." Roman smiled. "My weapon of choice."
"You are one weird fuck, Roman." Smith shook his head.
"I'm a work in progress," replied Roman with a wink at Peter.
Peter held the shotgun closer while they began to fan out a bit, walking around slowly with their flashlights that Smith had brought from the SUV. Smith, as bodyguard, was in the lead. The search took some time because the mill was quite large.
Peter walked over to Roman, leaned in and whispered in his ear. Roman's eyes narrowed, and his mouth curled on one side as he nodded.
Smith slowed ahead of them and drew his weapon from his shoulder holster, pointing it in front of him. "I found something," he said.
Christina was sitting on the cold, wet floor completely naked with her head lolled to the side. She had a nasty slash in her shoulder where Peter had struck her with the axe the night before. Smith re-holstered his gun and went to kneel beside her.
"We've got a woman here who needs our assistance," he called to Roman and Peter.
"Back away from the girl," ordered Peter with the shotgun pointed at her.
"What are you doing? She needs help."
"No, you are the one that will need help if you don't back away."
"What..." he started as he heard a cracking sound, and a voice out of The Exorcist came out of the girl as she raised her head.
"Peter," the girl said in her un-girl-like voice. "What did you do to me?"
"I defended myself, Christina."
She cracked her neck to the side, and her eyes changed color. Her face began to elongate as she fell to all fours and began to change into the wolf. Her fingers changed into paws, and Smith backed off, pulling his weapon again. "What. The. Fuck."
When Smith was finally clear, Peter shot one chamber into Christina and then the second, hitting her in the chest. Her body went back against the wall as her chest exploded. Peter went over to her and pulled her body down to the floor by the arm.
"Roman," he said through his teeth. "Do it."
"Do what?" asked Smith.
Roman walked over with the axe.
"No, that... you can't." Smith retorted.
When the she started to move again, Roman wielded the axe and chopped off her head.
"That's just nasty." Smith was revolted as he shouldered his weapon. "What was that?"
Roman replied, "That was what has been killing people in town for the last few months. All the deaths and disappearances were on that." He gestured toward Christina who was starting to turn back into her human form.
Peter lowered the shotgun to the floor and took the handgun from the backside of his pants and pointed it at Smith. He cocked it.
Smith looked floored. "Why the gun?"
Peter responded. "Oh, just wondering who you really are and why you tried to kill me."
Smith went for his gun. Peter fired, just missing him. "That was a warning shot. You are going to place your hands on your head, and Roman is going to retrieve your gun. Do it slowly."
"This is ridiculous. I just met Roman."
Roman lowered the axe to the ground, retrieved his own gun and walked toward Smith. When Smith wouldn't look him in the eye, Roman demanded, "Who the fuck told you about me?"
When Smith didn't answer, Roman took Smith's gun and tossed it away on the ground. Smith took that moment to use a well placed round kick on Roman, knocking him to the ground before turning his attention on Peter. Peter simply pointed his gun and aimed.
Smith went down holding his shoulder after Peter shot him, and Roman rolled over him, pointing his own gun at his head. Smith made the mistake of looking Roman in the eye.
"Tell me," commanded Roman. "Who are you?"
"I'm Michael Chausseur."
"Clementine your sister?" Roman asked.
"Yes."
"Shit!" exclaimed Peter.
"Why did you try to kill me?" Roman demanded.
"You killed my sister."
"What if I told you that I didn't do it? What then? Did it ever occur to you that we just killed her murderer?"
"Bishop, the head of the Order, told me you killed her."
"The Order? What is that exactly?" asked Peter.
"The Order of the Dragon. It is a secret group inside the Catholic Church. They deal with supernatural creatures. Police them. Destroy dangerous ones. Experiment on others from what my sister told me."
Peter swore to himself and moved closer, picking up the bodyguard's gun.
"So my new business partner wants me dead. Perfect," said Roman. He asked Chausseur, "Are you and me good? How's your shoulder?"
"Yes, we're good. The bullet just grazed my shoulder. I'll be fine. I sure as hell don't like being Bishop's pawn. He lied to me. He's not getting away with it. You want some help bringing his ass down? I can play both sides of the fence."
Roman smiled and helped him up. "Oh yeah."
"By the way, how did you know it was me that shot you?"
"Peter recognized your smell."
Chausseur looked at Peter and shook his head, "There is something you need to know about Bishop. He seemed very interested in Amanda. Made me send him a picture."
Roman rolled his eyes, "Perfect."
Peter saw this play out as if from a distance but was feeling tired like he did after turning. He made it to the SUV with the shotgun, loaded it in the back seat, and promptly passed out.
AN:
The music for the closing credits would be Santo & Johnny: Sleepwalk.
For fans of "Hemlock Grove" who are on Facebook, there is a Hemlock Grove group there that would love to grow it's membership. Just look for 'Hemlock Grove, PA' on Facebook and ask to join. All are welcome.