Hell's Heroes

SHARK ATTACK

The last time I saw Shark was just after we escaped from Wolf Island. He’d been mauled by werewolves. Any normal person would have died from his wounds, but Shark is as stubborn as they come. He refused to roll over and die.

He’s still in bad shape. His left ear was bitten off and a raw-looking stump remains. He can see out of his right eye, but only just—the flesh around it is scarred and pink. All four fingers on his left hand were severed, leaving the thumb looking lonely and strange. The thumb and index finger on his right hand are gone too. And he’s wearing a brace from his waist to just beneath his chest.

“You look like hell,” I roar happily, picking him up and swinging him around.

“Mind the ribs,” he wheezes, and I immediately put him down. He scowls at me. “You don’t look any great shakes yourself. Haven’t you heard of razors?”

“No time for shaving. I’ve been too busy killing demons.”

“That’s no excuse,” he says, then winks with his good eye.

“Hi,” Kernel says, shuffling forward and extending a hand.

“How you doing, kid?” Shark asks with unusual kindness, ignoring the hand and giving Kernel a hug.

“Surviving,” Kernel sighs.

“I’m Kirilli Kovacs,” the stage magician introduces himself, straightening like a soldier presenting himself to an officer. “I’m a Disciple.”

“That so?” Shark grunts, running a bemused eye over Kirilli’s costume.

“Nobody has to bother with me,” Timas says cheerily. “I don’t matter.”

“Of course you do,” I chuckle, moving forward to shake the hand of the tall, thin, red-haired computer genius.

“I was eagerly looking forward to seeing you again,” Timas says. “Primarily, I must admit, because of the chance to renew my relationship with the delicious Meera Flame. But I understand she has been taken from us.”

“About a month ago,” I nod, my smile fading as I recall her grisly death. “She took Juni Swan with her. Blew her into a thousand lumpy pieces.”

“Some small comfort,” Timas says. “I have been seeking solace in the world of computers, but since Meera I find it hard to summon up the same enthusiasm as before. I think I might be in mourning. Or perhaps it’s just that I changed my diet recently.”

Kirilli raises an eyebrow. I smile and whirl my finger around beside my head.

“What have you two been up to?” I ask. “It feels like years since Wolf Island.”

“I’ve been recovering,” Shark says gruffly, hating to admit to his wounds.

“And I’ve been playing nursemaid,” says Timas.

“I wanted to join up with you earlier, but my doctor wouldn’t let me,” Shark complains. “She kept me sedated. I’d be there still if she hadn’t been eaten by a demon. Her replacement was less concerned about me.”

“Are you sure you’re OK?” I frown. “I don’t want you dropping dead on us.”

“Some hope! I’ve been in a couple of fights already. I wanted to limber up before I tracked you down, make sure everything was in working order. As dozens of dead demons would tell you if they could talk—it is.”

“How do you fight with so few fingers?” Kirilli asks.

Shark bends his thumb. “I gouge.” Kirilli laughs, but stops when he realizes Shark is serious. The ex-soldier glares at Kirilli, then turns his gaze to me. “What about you? Anything new I need to know?”

“Yeah. But let’s go back to the other cave. The skulls and bones are giving me the creeps.”

“You’re getting soft,” Shark snorts, but follows me up the tunnel to the cave of natural wonders.

As we settle down close to the waterfall, we fill Shark in on all that’s been going on. Kirilli tells him what happened on the ship of zombies. Kernel gives him a quick rundown of his trip across the universe with the Old Creatures. Then I describe our battle with Death and the demons. When I get to the bit about Kernel’s eyes, Shark interrupts forcefully.

“What the hell do you mean?” he shouts, staring from me to Kernel. “I assumed some demon blinded him. Are you seriously telling me you did it?”

“I had to,” I mutter. “He was going to leave.”

“So what?” Shark roars. “He’s one of us. You never turn on your own.”

“See?” Kernel smiles tightly. “That’s what I’ve been saying for a month.”

“You don’t understand.” I hate the way Shark looks at me. “We’re up against Death. We can’t beat it by normal means. Our only hope is the Kah-Gash. If Kernel leaves, we’re finished. I need him to help me find Bec and unleash the full power of the weapon.”

“I keep telling you there’s no hope,” Kernel snaps. “I won’t waste my time fighting a losing battle. Even if you could convince me to stay, we’d still need Bec, but now that she’s turned against us…”

“What are you talking about?” Shark frowns.

I tell him about my dream, how I saw Bec ally herself with Lord Loss. “She vowed to lead him to the lodestones. With the help of those, he can create tunnels between universes.”

“What makes you think it wasn’t just a nightmare?” Shark asks.

“This was no ordinary dream. It’s real, trust me.”

“Let me get this straight,” Shark says grimly. “You three are the Kah-Gash, the most powerful weapon ever. One of you has turned into a savage werewolf, the second wants to quit and head for the far side of the universe, and the third appears to be a traitor. You guys are supposed to be our best hope? Sounds to me like we’d be better off without the whole damn lot of you!”

“We’re doomed without the Kah-Gash,” I retort. “The demons will wash over us. Earth won’t see out the year.”

“At least we won’t be torn to shreds by our friends,” Shark fires back at me. “I’d rather be gutted by a demon than stabbed in the back by you.”

My temper flares and I lean forward menacingly, growling. Moe and Curly lean in beside me—any foe of mine is an enemy of theirs.

“Easy, doggies,” Shark murmurs, making soothing gestures with his mangled hands.

“Don’t bait me,” I snarl. “I’m not in the mood to be insulted.”

“I don’t care about your mood,” Shark says. “You’re putting yourself forward as our champion, but I think the wires in your head have got crossed. Hell, even Timas seems normal compared to you.”

“I object to that slur on my good character,” Timas says, but Shark ignores him.

“I’m serious, Grubbs. It takes a lot to scare me, but listening to you and seeing that crazy look in your eyes… I’m not sure you’re in control anymore.”

“I’m in full control,” I say through clenched teeth. “I didn’t enjoy blinding Kernel, but it needed to be done. You’ve done things you didn’t like in the past, so don’t get high and mighty with me. I couldn’t have faced this as a human—I was weak. Now I’m strong and heartless, like the demons. I can do whatever it takes to save the world.”

“You reckon?”

“Yes.”

“You’re afraid of nothing, ready to face anything the Demonata can throw at you?”

“Damn straight.”

Shark smiles icily. “Then why haven’t you gone after Bec?”

I blink. “I had to come here first, to destroy the lodestone.”

Shark shakes his head. “There are other stones. Bec might be revealing their location to Lord Loss even as we speak. You should have targeted her.”

“I thought she’d come here,” I mumble. “This was one of the most powerful stones. They’ve used it before, so I figured—”

“Bull!” Shark stops me. “You came here to stall for time because you’re afraid. I see it in your eyes, inhuman as they are. You can’t mask the traces of fear, not from those who know what to look for.”

“What the hell do you know about fear?” I challenge him hotly.

“More than I ever wished to,” Shark says softly. “I’ve lived with real terror, as have most of us who fight these demonic beasts. I’ve seen horror in my eyes when I’ve woken in the middle of the night and looked in a mirror. Hell, I’ve seen it in daylight too. I don’t let fear distract me, but it’s always there. It’s in you too. And I think it’s misleading you.”

I start to roar a denial… then stop.

He’s right. As soon as he says it, I know. Shark isn’t the most vocal of people, but he has the knack of hitting the nail clean on the head when he does speak up. I am afraid. Not of the Demonata or Bec, but of myself and Juni’s prophecy that I’d destroy the world.

I should have gone after Bec once I’d recovered from my wounds. I could have let Kernel leave, just asked him to locate Bec and open a window before he went. I don’t truly believe we can defeat Death, even with all three pieces of the Kah-Gash. People wiser than me have said it’s impossible, and I’m sure they’re correct.

I kept Kernel because I was afraid. I didn’t want to go after Bec. I preferred to carry on fighting, doing what I was good at—what I was safe at. If I’d let Kernel go, it would have meant returning to the demon universe and running the risk of becoming a world-destroying monster. By staying here, I childishly hoped to avoid my destiny. It was a delaying measure, nothing more.

I thought I was Grubbs Grady—superhero. But I’ve been trying to hide from the universe—from myself—ever since our escape from Lord Loss and his army. Now that Shark’s opened my eyes to the truth, I know it’s time to stop.

“Kernel, I’m sorry,” I mutter. His features crease with surprise. “I was wrong. I was cowardly. I was vicious.”

“Keep going,” he says.

“I won’t hold you any longer,” I tell him. “I’ll take us back to the Demonata universe and set you free. All I ask is that you locate Bec and open a window for us before you leave. I hope you’ll come with us, to rescue her if we can, kill her if we must, but I won’t force you. It’s your choice.”

“If I thought we could make a difference…” he says miserably.

“You don’t have to explain.” Cracking my fingers, I shoot Shark a wry glance. “You should have been a psychologist.”

“And put up with whining brats like you every day? No thanks.”

“Excuse me for pointing out the obvious,” Kirilli says, “but isn’t Kernel the only one of us who can open windows?”

“No,” I say. “I can too, just nowhere near as easily as him, and only to a single place in the demon universe. It’ll take a few hours, but we’re in an area of magic, so I’ll be able to tap into that energy.”

“There would have been much more magic to tap into if you hadn’t destroyed the lodestone,” Kirilli murmurs.

I lean in close. “See those werewolves?” I hold my thumb and index finger a quarter of an inch apart. “I’m this close to serving you to them for lunch.”

As Kirilli blanches, I close my eyes and draw all the power that I can from the air. It’s fading now that the lodestone’s been smashed, but I don’t give the stage magician the satisfaction of telling him he was right. Taking a deep breath, I recall the first line of the spells that Beranabus taught me, and begin.