Underbelly (59 page)

“
Rules are rules. Our kind doesn’t always follow rules, but for your kind they’re rigid. This boy is in my care, Adelaide.”

“
The boy belongs to us now. Have a care that you do not,” she said, walking towards him so that there was less than an inch between him, savouring the fear that emanated from the two men.

“
Audrey wants to cancel your agreement,” he lied, looking her in the eye. He’d faced terror before and was better prepared for it – he was half-expecting an eventual confrontation with the demon Inge and his mental preparation for that battle (which he determined to win, refusing to let Inge bereave Germaine yet again) availed him here.

As Adelaide realised that Grey had more of a spine than she first assumed, she backed away and clicked her fingers and Clemence drew nearer and sniffed at him, starting with his crotch and working upwards to his neck which she slavered over. “I know you’re a liar, Grey, perhaps the most dishonest man to walk this earth, pretending to have received soldiers’ messages from their deathbeds and lying to their grieving families,” Adelaide said disapprovingly.

“
From where I’m standing you’re in no position to judge,” Grey retorted. Once such a comment could have troubled him but now he was more confident in himself and felt no need to justify himself – he knew that he had been acting in the best interests of all and that was all that mattered.

“
We’re not judges – Audrey was the judge and we’re the executioners.” As Adelaide said this Clemence made a sudden movement and howled in Grey’s ear, making him jump which made Adelaide laugh, his composure very tenuous. “The smell in here is foul and shows me how scared you are. Move or my pet bites, rules or no rules.”

Grey could smell that Allan had soiled himself, understandable in the situation, and he could hear him whimpering softly, pleading with him not to let them get him. Clemence probed with her claws for an opening to get at her prey, Grey having to try to make his body as big as possible to block her, moving with her. As Clemence went to attack through a slight gap to Grey’s side, Grey moved his body to block her and discovered the rules were not as rigid as he thought. Her claws were as sharp as they looked, slashing across his side, cutting as deep as the ribs. Grey looked down as the blood flowed and adjudged it to be a major but not fatal injury provided he received medical treatment, which was not an option while Allan remained safe behind him (though he started to wonder if he was any good as a shield to Allan if they could strike him). Grey learned almost instantly that the rules still applied as both demons collapsed on the floor clutching their left side, which was where Grey was injured. The effect that the transgression had was more noticeable on Adelaide who bled from her eyes, nose and mouth as well as from her side and she cursed Clemence in French for her clumsiness. Grey felt considerable pain, but he was still able to stand and he realised that they were in far worse agony, a fitting punishment.

“
That’s what pain feels like,” he said. “Perhaps this reminder will help you change your ways. That’s the optimistic view. The realistic view is that the only thing you regret is that you hit the wrong man and that if you could kill me to remove me, you would. I have studied demonology and I know how such as you operate.”

“
Don’t pretend to be clever. It doesn’t suit you,” Adelaide said as she crawled across the floor towards him. Grey could not move as he was still shielding Allan and as she reached up to him he pushed her hand away from his wound. “What are you doing? I’m trying to heal you, you fool!”

“
If that’s true then you’re only trying to do it to cancel out your own pain.” As he held her wrists in place, Adelaide severely weakened by the injuries Clemence had wrongly inflicted on him, his palms pulsated, a strange, good feeling. His hands felt stronger and healthier than they ever had before, just from touching the healer. While he was suffering from their injuries they were too weak to seek vengeance, presenting him with a quandary. He wanted to be healed, but would letting her do so be a bad tactical move?

“
You’re not just cut. Look at her! She’s tainted with more diseases and infection than your body can stand. If you don’t let me heal you then you die,” Adelaide warned convincingly.

“
If that’s true I’m guessing it would be bad news for you,” Grey said, seemingly unfazed.

“
Are you truly prepared to die to save him?”

“
I’m prepared to negotiate if Allan remains untouched.”

“
That’s a shame, because we aren’t prepared to make any deals. Clemence, come to me!” Adelaide commanded, her sister rolling across the floor to her, putting her hands around her waist and trying to pull her out of Grey’s grasp. Grey heard Adelaide’s ribs crack and he let go of her, Adelaide rubbing her belly to heal herself, unable to fix the cut which would fix itself once Grey was healed. Adelaide forced herself to her feet, resting her back on the wall, which she slid along as she trudged closer to Grey. The blood kept pouring from him and he was getting weaker, as were they, but while they felt indescribable agony far worse than he felt, they would not collapse unconscious like he would if the bleeding persisted, a state in which Adelaide could quickly heal him and take their true prey. “You’re looking unsteady on your feet, Grey,” Adelaide taunted.

“
Ditto. You’d fall straight down if that wall wasn’t behind you.”

“
Whitlow, I want you to know that you are going to suffer the cruellest of punishments because of Grey’s actions.”

“
Your grievance is with me,” Grey said. “Leave him out of it.”

“
Imbecile. We’re here for the boy. You’re just a nuisance who has ensured that the person you’re trying to save will undergo purgatory relentlessly. The arrogance of it, to believe that we’re here for you. You’re insignificant, Grey,” Adelaide said with a smile.

“
And yet you can’t get past me.”

Adelaide spluttered in laughter at his retort and said, “I accept that challenge.” She didn’t have the patience to wait for his collapse, determined to best him immediately, and she lunged at him, attempting to stretch her arms around him. The speed of her movement meant that she was upon him and he could only grab her just below the elbow, Adelaide able to bring her hands down to the top of his head as she pulled her lower body close to his. Clothes were no barrier to her powers and she pressed her body tightly against his, kissing his lips, granting him physical euphoria, his side quickly healing over as though it had never been wounded. He felt superhuman, strong enough to push her off, which he learned was impossible as he tried it – however strong he was, she was now stronger, though he was able to move his head and break off the kiss, turning his head away from her as she mocked him, purring in his ear. Despite how strong he felt, he was unsteady, trembling as his body buzzed, his knees eventually buckling due to his ecstatic state, the sensations overwhelming. Adelaide let him fall to the floor and took the opportunity to grab her true quarry, Clemence jumping into position also. They lifted him over Grey and dragged him, each grabbing an arm, Adelaide’s delicate frame proving as strong as her freakishly deformed sister, as Allan struggled, digging his heels along the floor and pavement as they took him outside until they lifted him higher and gained some speed. Grey pursued them, running like a sprinter, still affected by Adelaide’s touch.

“
Pray for me, please, God, pray for me,” Allan screamed as he was carried off into the distance. Grey was amazed at the indiscretion of the Alieus, abducting Allan in front of shocked bystanders, the night only young.

Grey kept running for as long as he could, long after he lost sight of them. He would have to get in touch with Laura – he knew he should have done that from the start. Allan would still be unspeakably tortured, but he could be saved – the sadism of the Alieus, who liked to make each murder last longer than the average pregnancy, almost ensured that he would still be alive. The state his mind would be in was something Grey didn’t want to imagine.

Allan had believed in him and Grey was determined to save him. After pacing around in the house for a long time Grey devised a plan, of sorts. He picked the sharpest knife he could find in the kitchen and positioned it carefully down the back of his jeans. Clemence’s body looked rock hard and impenetrable and his hope was that her existence and Adelaide’s were symbiotic and that stabbing and killing Adelaide would bring about her sister’s demise also. As it grew dark Grey kept looking out of the front window to see if the street was deserted to give him the chance to urinate on the doorstep. Grey wanted to shout at the people to get indoors, and started swearing loudly when two old men approached each other in the street and commenced what Grey could only conclude as the world’s longest conversation.

“
Do you not have homes to fucking go to?” Grey said, swearing even louder when he looked down and saw a pile of maggots in a messy corner of the room. He left them where they were – he knew that the condition of Allan’s house would be the last thing on his mind at present.

The acidic bile that had spewed from Adelaide’s lips and the carnivorous essence of the once human Clemence placed them as villains he could kill without a crisis of conscience, and their limited existence made his success possible. He had learned a lot during his time with Laura and he knew that demons of any power would have greater ambitions than torturing humans of no significance for such a long time. The Alieus were not major players, not like Laura, Inge, Jemima or Octavius.

“
Looking for something?” Adelaide said, catching him by surprise as he stood by the window.

“
Not now. Have you come to gloat?” he said bitterly, Adelaide’s self-satisfied grin aggravating him. He understood how she had become a monster in life and in death – his insight into her transformation did not make him any more sympathetic towards her.

“
It’s Audrey’s place to gloat, this is her vengeance realised.”

“
Then all you are is a tool, like in life,” Grey said, wanting to engage Adelaide in a lengthy discourse as the longer he could keep her occupied the more respite Allan was given. The comment seemed to have no effect on her and even less on Clemence, who was expressionless, tensing the muscles in her neck and jaw to keep her crooked mouth firmly shut.

“
How is he?” Grey asked as Adelaide walked around the room with a critical eye.

Adelaide gave her sister the signal and Clemence was greatly relieved to open her mouth, two bloody eyeballs rolling out across the floor. Grey repressed the urge to vomit and picked up both eyeballs and held them out, trying to pass them to Adelaide.

“
You put them back in the boy or, so help me, I’ll destroy you,” Grey said, his voice deathly quiet, faltering but still audible.

“
You can keep them. Allan doesn’t need them anymore. He’s dead.”

Grey narrowed his eyes, suspicious of this statement, and Adelaide continued. “I told you that we didn’t come to gloat and we didn’t. We’re here for you,” she said with almost orgasmic relish, clicking her fingers and pointing at him, Clemence’s cue to rush him. As she launched herself at him Grey produced the knife from the back of his jeans, which he tried to pierce Clemence’s chest with, the blade instantly breaking without even scratching her. As he tried to run she grabbed him by both wrists, twisting the left one, which snapped loudly, and she sunk her sharp fangs into his neck, a shallow wound rather than the deep, lethal wound she wanted to inflict.

“
Audrey’s seen the light and she’s decided the world would be a better place without you. Don’t worry though, Grey, I’ll make sure you see in 1950. On second thoughts see might not be the right word,” Adelaide said as she stood on one of the eyeballs that Grey had dropped, crushing it.

“
Real…classy,” Grey said through gritted teeth as he sank to the floor from the pain. He couldn’t afford to fight like a gentleman with them and he headbutted Clemence in the groin, succeeding only in giving himself a headache. His audacity at daring to fight back enraged Clemence, who let go of his wrists and pulled her claws back and motioned to slash his face. Adelaide held her wrist in place, stopping her before she let the room run awash with his blood.

“
All in due course. We start slowly to build up the trepidation. We’ll do unspeakable things to him, and many, many times, but don’t underestimate the power of apprehension,” Adelaide said, keeping her in check, envying her for her destructive powers as Grey presented himself as the perfect target on the floor. Adelaide was as physically unreachable as her noxious sister, her powers proving even more frustrating. The power to heal was wasted on her, as she was not suited to the nursing profession, though her career in life had been equally hands-on. In life she had never been showered with love, quite the reverse, and she wanted to inflict pain rather than alleviate it. She had kicked and punched them at first until she saw that every touch, even running kicks, had a beneficial effect on them, which was the only thing sparing him from a kick to the
coilles
.