The Dark Storm (21 page)

“I give you shit because I can.” Vince poked him in the chest.

Gabriel didn’t even flinch. “I think you give me shit because you envy me.”

Vince scoffed. “Gabriel, you’re a noodle-dick faggot who would rather touch a book than a woman; what the fuck could I envy about you?”

“The fact that I’m gonna be something in life and you’re just gonna fall in line with the rest of them. Vince, you and I both know that if basketball doesn’t work out, you’re gonna be out robbing liquor stores for weed money.” Gabriel’s words were hurtful, so much so that they shocked him, but his shock was nothing compared to the hurt on Vince’s face.

“Muthafucka, you must have a death wish.” Vince grabbed Gabriel by the front of his shirt and drew his fist back, but Gabriel didn’t even flinch.

“What, you gonna hit me?” Gabriel asked defiantly. He heard the storm rolling in his ears but was able to force it back with some effort. “Vince, you can bust me in my mouth in front of all these people and it still won’t change anything. So if you wanna throw down, let’s be done with it, because I’m tired of you fucking with me.”

Vince stared at Gabriel as if he were crazy. Normally Gabriel would’ve shied away under the threat of violence, but something was different about him that night, something that made Vince nervous. “Man, get away from me before I come to my senses and fuck you up.” Vince shoved him.

“You ain’t gonna do anything to me, Vince. As a matter of fact, you’re gonna stay the fuck outta my way from here on out,” Gabriel assured him before spinning on his heels. Everyone who had seen the exchange stared at Gabriel in amazement as he shoved his way back through the crowd.

When he was away from Vince the reality of what Gabriel had just risked finally set in, and it made his legs weak. He knew that if Vince had gotten a mind to, he could’ve probably mopped the floor with him, but he knew that it wouldn’t happen that night. The Nimrod had told him as much, but he wasn’t willing to press his luck a second time. His best bet was to find Carter and get out of the crowded club.

As Gabriel passed the hallway he noticed the familiar smell he had picked up on when he came out of the train station. It was stronger inside the club, overpowering the smell of smoke and funk. He followed the sweet scent to the unisex bathroom, where it seemed to be originating. The bathroom was nearly as crowded as the main floor, but Gabriel didn’t give the partygoers a second look as he honed in on the sweetness. It invaded his nose and mouth, like water to a drowning man. The more he inhaled, the more familiar the smell was to him. He knew it from somewhere but couldn’t think where. With his nose pointed skyward he traced the scent to a half-open stall, where he heard faint moans coming from behind the door. Normally Gabriel would’ve left whoever was in the stall to their privacy, but something drove him to peek inside. There was Carter, bracing himself against the tops of the stall and moving his waist slowly. He must’ve felt the presence behind him, because he turned around, and it was then that Gabriel saw the object of his heart’s desire sitting on the toilet seat, with her lipstick badly smeared.

Amidst the flashing lights and loud music no one even noticed when the shadows in the corner near the coat check started moving on their own. The darkness snaked and swirled, gradually taking the shape of a man. When the slithering had finally stopped, Rogue stood in place of the darkness.

It took him several moments to compose himself. Being in possession of the demon’s eyes allowed Rogue to draw on shadow magic to add to his own, but physical transformation, such as Shadow Walking, caused a great deal of strain on his body. The strain was one of the reasons that Rogue hated to tap into the shadows, but his biggest concerns were the lingering effects the magic caused. With each time he opened himself up to receive the demon’s power, he also opened himself up to the demon’s whims. It was such carelessness that almost cost his brother his life and had in the end cost Rogue his eyes.

He scanned the club until he found the two girls he’d seen coming in, but their escort was nowhere in sight. Rogue picked his way through, looking for the boy, careful to avoid the werewolf he’d caused to have a heart attack or anyone who would report his presence back to Dutch. Near the bar Rogue spotted a young man nursing a drink and wearing a worried expression. Something was off about him. Rogue peered over his sunglasses and peeled away the layers of the young man. He was mortal but had recently been in contact with the power surrounding the boy Rogue was following. Homing in on the unique aura pattern Rogue searched around until he picked up the trail. It seemed to be getting stronger in the direction of the bathrooms. Rogue was about to investigate further when he was barreled over by two security guards who were heading towards the bathrooms. From the panicked look on their faces it was something ugly, so Rogue decided to wait outside to see what the outcome was.

“Gabriel, what are you doing here?” Carter fumbled with his pants. Katie just looked at the floor and tried to clean herself up as best she could with rough toilet tissue.

“I would ask you the same thing, but it’s pretty self-explanatory.”
Gabriel walked off. He wanted to run as far as he could from the sight, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. Seeing the girl he was so madly in love with going down on his best friend had shattered Gabriel’s heart.

“Hold on a minute, man. Let me explain before you run off.” Carter caught up to Gabriel and spun him around. He was taken aback at the look in his friend’s eyes, as Carter had never known Gabriel to be capable of hate, but there was no mistaking his glare. Katie wasn’t his girlfriend, but they all knew he had a crush on her. Carter hadn’t even meant to do anything with her, but Katie got wild when she drank.

“There’s nothing to explain. You guys are adults, so it’s none of my business.” Gabriel’s voice cracked.

“Gabe, it kinda just happened,” Katie offered.

“Oh, his dick just happened to slip into your mouth,” Gabriel said scornfully. “I don’t even know why I thought I could come to you for help, Carter, when all you think about is your dick.” Gabriel tried to leave the bathroom, but Carter cut him off. “Get out of my way,” Gabriel said in a low growl. The overhead lights began to flicker. When he heard the thunder rolling, he braced himself in welcoming anticipation.

“Not until we talk.” Carter folded his arms as if it wasn’t up for discussion.

“Carter, if you don’t move I’m not gonna be responsible for what happens.” Even though Gabriel didn’t want to hurt his friend, he could feel the pull of the Nimrod become stronger. The water in all the toilets began to over-flow, soaking the bathroom floor. The mirrors along the wall shattered, spraying everyone in the bathroom with glass.

“What the hell is going on?” Katie asked in a panic-filled voice.

“Just get back,” Gabriel warned. He walked backward
towards the front door. Beneath his jacket the Nimrod began to peel away from his skin.

“What the fuck!” one of the bouncers shouted as he charged into the bathroom and slipped in the water. Gabriel moved to leave and the second bouncer grabbed him by the arm.

“Somebody is gonna tell me what’s going on,” the second bouncer ordered, shaking Gabriel like a rag doll.

When Gabriel looked up at the bouncer the lightning had returned to his eyes. “Let me go,” Gabriel ordered him. Seeing the rolling clouds in Gabriel’s eyes, the bouncer quickly complied and stepped aside for him to pass. The bouncer wasted no time in doing as he was told and getting out of Gabriel’s way.

Gabriel half-stumbled out of the bathroom, giving everyone he touched a good shock. Trying to keep the Nimrod from manifesting was like trying to keep from throwing up when you’ve had too much to drink, a losing battle. He moved more off instinct than sight and was finally able to find one of the fire exits. He tried to take deep breaths when he got outside, but every time he did Katie’s sweetness filled his nostrils. It had been her scent that he was following.

“Gabriel, wait up!” Carter came through the fire door after him. On Carter’s heels were Katie and the reluctant Vince.

“
The Judas, the whore, and the persecutor. You could be done with all of them in one swoop
,” the Bishop whispered.

“Shut up!” Gabriel said through clenched teeth, trying to strangle his arm through the jacket. “Carter, just leave me alone.” Gabriel stumbled down the alley.

“Carter, if the punk wants to leave, then let him.” Vince sucked his teeth in frustration. Carter ignored him and followed Gabriel down the alley.

Gabriel rested on a trash can and took slow, measured breaths. Gradually the pull of the Nimrod subsided, but the tattoo did not go completely still.

“Gabriel, please, man. I just wanna talk,” Carter pleaded. His eyes were moist with the realization of how deeply he had wounded his friend.

“I thought that if nothing else, she would be for me,” Gabriel confessed.

“I know you were sweet on her, but you never said anything. I didn’t mean to hurt you, man; I swear.” Gabriel had been there for Carter through some rough times, and a piece of tail wasn’t worth their history.

“Oh, this is just so MTV.” Katie sighed. “Neither one of you guys has any papers on me, so I really don’t appreciate you talking about me like I’m not standing here. Gabriel.” She turned his face so that she could see his eyes. Until that moment she had never noticed how beautiful they were. Gabriel’s eyes were like looking into the ocean at high tide. “You’re a great guy and I’m sure you’re gonna make some girl really happy, but don’t look for that in me. I’m on the fast track and you’re just too much of a sweetheart for that, but we’ll always be friends.”

“Do you see this?” Vince rubbed his thumb and index finger together. “That’s me playing the world’s smallest violin. Get on with this stupid shit so I can go back in the club.”

Carter had finally had enough and turned on Vince. “Why do you have to be such a fucking dick?” Carter slammed Vince against the wall. He drew his fist back threateningly, but Vince just smiled. “I swear to God I wanna bust you in that shit-eating grin,” Carter huffed. Before he could make good on his threat they saw the familiar flash of blue and red lights.

“Oh God, it’s the cops,” Katie said nervously.

“Cool out, Katie; we’re just hanging in back of the
club,” Carter told her. He let Vince go and turned towards the headlights that were coming down the alley.

“I’ve got pot on me; they’re gonna take me to prison.” She began to pace the alley.

“Katie, don’t go fucking Lindsay Lohan on us now. Just be cool and they’ll be on their way,” Carter said through clenched teeth. He tried to be the cool head amongst them, but he knew what it meant to be a black man trapped in an alley with the police.

The first cop who stepped out of the police van was tall and wiry, with a cropped blond cut that hardly looked up to regulation. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, but his eyes were deep black. Four more cops spilled from the van and advanced on the group with their weapons at the ready. The blond approached them with an easy smile on his face as he twirled his baton from hand to hand. There was something about his smile that made Gabriel uneasy.

“What’ve we got here?” the blond asked, eyeing each of them. When he spotted Gabriel he took his time observing him. The blond’s eyes lingered on Gabriel’s arm as if he could see the Nimrod beneath the jacket.

“Nothing much, Officer, we just came out back to smoke.” Vince pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and placed one in his mouth.

“Is that right?” The blond continued to watch him.

“Yes, sir.” Vince raised his lighter to the cigarette. His hands were shaking so badly that it took him three tries to get it lit.

“Okay, everybody hug the wall.” This was a beefy officer sporting a buzz cut. His hand flexed on the holstered Glock as if he couldn’t wait to free it. One by one the youngsters faced the wall, but Gabriel hesitated.

“You hear me talking to you?” Buzz Cut said.

“Get on the fucking wall!” a redheaded officer ordered,
grabbing Gabriel roughly by the collar. He slammed Gabriel face-first into the wall and began to frisk him roughly. “You got any weapons or drugs on you?”

“No,” Gabriel said.

The blond walked up behind Gabriel and paused. Gabriel could feel something passing between the officer and his tattoo but didn’t know what it was. The blond grabbed him by his neck and applied pressure. “Where is it?” the blond whispered into his ear. The streetlight flickered above them and the alley seemed to get a little darker.

“
Their garments mask their true natures. Comply with the imposters and it will be farewell between us, child of the Hunters
,” the Bishop warned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gabriel said, trying to ignore the Bishop’s rambling.

“Sergeant,” the blond said in a commanding voice. The redheaded officer cocked the slide on his weapon and placed it to the back of Carter’s head.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Carter asked nervously.

“What’s going on is that your friend has until the count of three to give me what I want or I’m going to send you on a grand voyage,” the blond replied.

“I told you that I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gabriel said. In the back of his mind he knew that they had come for the relic, but he hadn’t the slightest idea how to give it to them, since it was now embedded in his skin. Gabriel looked around nervously for help, and it was at that moment he realized that he couldn’t see anything beyond where the blond cop was standing. Both the club and the mouth of the alley were obscured by darkness. Gabriel thought about running but realized that he couldn’t move his legs. When he looked down he noticed the shadows oozing over his sneakers and up his calves.