Love and Loss

Reggie took the lead at the top of the steps, ducking low just in case Neferisfet was waiting to strike at the top. Beth held her breath, half convinced that the rat king would get punted back down the stairs. The mummy had seemed to be in rough shape, but the fact that she had sprinted up the stairs meant that appearances were deceiving.

“Clear!” Reggie reappeared in the doorway. “The kitchen is empty, but I think she is armed.”

“What makes you think ... oh.” Beth stepped into the kitchen and saw that several drawers had been opened, their contents on the floor. The knife block next to the sink had been tipped over, and several blades were missing from it.

Stabby stabby, Jenny commented.

Hide and go seek was far more appealing without the possibility of being stabbed. Nervous, she looked around the kitchen for something to protect herself and settled on a cast iron skillet.

“You could use the book,” Reggie offered. “Both to find her and to defend yourself.”

Smacking herself on the forehead, she pulled the Grimoire out of Tick Tock, then set the mimic on the counter.

“If you see that bitch, feel free to eat her.” She set the book on the counter and took a deep breath. “I need a spell to track someone,” she stated clearly. “One that doesn’t alert them that I’m watching.”

She opened the book and watched the page fill with information. As she read it, she frowned.

“Okay, same spell, but one that doesn’t require a piece of their hair,” she repeated, then turned to the next page. “Or body heat. I suspect she’s room temperature.”

It took a few tries, but she narrowed down her options to a spoken spell. Picturing the priestess in her mind, she carefully recited the words while summoning her magic.

Glowing footprints appeared on the floor.

“That’s step one,” she declared, then paused. Was there a spell in the book that she could cast to just kill the priestess? Maybe something that would force her to cross over, or...

Jenny kicked the book shut, then put her hands on her hips.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” She picked up the book and held it tight against her chest. If Jenny of all people thought she was about to cross a line, then she knew to listen. Still, the book itself was practically indestructible, and far easier to wield than a skillet.

They followed the footprints through the house. Unfortunately, the prints only manifested a few steps out, meaning that Beth followed them into the office, the lounge, then back out to the living room. The prints took her up the stairs, and she slowed down as she neared the top.

The attic was open, the steps pulled down. Footprints glowed on each of the rungs.

Reggie and Jenny led the way, the rat king stopping on the last step to toss Jenny into the darkness above before following her. Beth was two rungs up when she heard the door to Mike’s bedroom open.

Whirling around, she was surprised when Neferisfet came at her, not with a knife, but with a floor lamp. The priestess whipped it around like a staff, catching Beth in the shoulder and knocking her free of the ladder. With a wave of her hand, the priestess sent a ball of blue energy at the ladder, causing it to retract and close.

Bladed hands popped free of Tick Tock, but Neferisfet used the lamp to swat them away. Beth struggled to get to her feet, but Tick Tock’s shifting weight kept throwing off her balance. Through the ceiling, Beth heard Reggie shouting.

Neferisfet whispered something under her breath as she attacked, coating her hands in an eerie green glow. She dropped the lamp and put her back against the wall.

Beth stood just as the glow coalesced around Neferisfet’s palms and flared outward.

“Shit!” She raised the Grimoire in time to block the magical bolt, but the force of it knocked her backward and through the railing. Screaming, she fell a couple of feet before Tick Tock’s blades slammed into the wooden floor, halting her descent. The magical tome tumbled to the floor below.

Up above, Neferisfet was summoning green light into her hands again. Her decaying face twisted into a grin as she pointed her fingers at Beth.

Kisa appeared in the corner of the hall and leaped onto Neferisfet, causing the spell to fire into the wall and send green flames along the wallpaper. Neferisfet cried out in alarm as Kisa scratched her face, causing the flesh to hiss as if being burned.

The priestess pulled a knife out of her belt and tried to stab the cat girl, but Kisa dropped to the floor, scrambled forward and picked up the lamp. Beth grunted as she and Tick Tock pulled her back onto the third floor.

“Give up,” Beth declared. “There’s nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.”

Neferisfet drew a second knife and sneered at both of them as she backed down the hall. “I haven’t survived this long to just—”

The attic door opened hard, the ladder swinging down and catching Neferisfet in the back of the head. The priestess stumbled forward, and Kisa rammed her in the gut with the floor lamp, sending her over what was left of the railing. Beth swung to one side to get out of the way and then watched Neferisfet as she fell to the floor below with a scream.

“C’mon, get up here.” Kisa grabbed onto Beth’s wrist and pulled. Jenny and Reggie came down the ladder. “I’ve been hiding from her ever since she attacked everyone. Was just waiting for the perfect moment.”

“Where’s Opal?” Beth asked once she was safely on the floor.

Kisa pulled the cracked vial out of her pocket and handed it to Beth. “Still in here. When that bitch attacked us, she sucked what was left of herself back inside and I brought her with me.”

“Thanks.” Beth pocketed Opal’s vial and looked over the railing. Down below, Neferisfet was getting to her feet. The priestess looked over at the Grimoire, then stumbled toward it.

Beth pulled off Tick Tock and threw the mimic down. Tick Tock sprouted mechanical legs and landed in a crouch on top of the Grimoire, pausing long enough to gobble it up.

Neferisfet let out a shriek and blasted the mimic with more of her green fire, which sent him out of view. Beth and Kisa were already running down the stairs, but came to a stop when Neferisfet looked up at them.

Her leathery features were oozing pus from the wounds that Kisa had inflicted. Neferisfet hissed at them like a cornered animal and ran toward the front door.

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

Kisa vaulted the railing and ran after her. Neferisfet opened the front door and the house was filled with the sound of Murray’s eerie cry. Kisa tipped over and crashed into the closet as Neferisfet limped out the front door.

“Kisa!” Beth stumbled toward the door and kicked it shut, closing out the angel’s call.

“Damn, I didn’t expect that.” Kisa winced and put her hands on her ears. “Feel sick already.”

“We cannot let her escape,” Reggie called from above. “She will make it back to Earth and possess someone there.”

Beth groaned and looked down at Kisa. “Close the door behind me.”

Kisa nodded, then put her hands over her ears. Beth yanked open the door, jammed her fingers into her ears and ran outside.

The swirling mists were bubbling along the edges of the property. Murray was hovering in place, shrieking in that dissonant tone. Above him, the angel’s wings were spinning, as if it were a giant engine powering the process.

What concerned Beth was the fact that Neferisfet was moving toward Murray, holding that weird bag aloft. She was shouting something in an ancient language, causing the bag and her entire arm to pulsate with magical energy.

“She tried to kill me,” Beth shouted at the angel. “Do something!”

Mehkhkahrel’s many eyes focused on Neferisfet, and Beth saw that the whites of those eyes were starting to flash. The lights were sporadic at first, but were starting to synchronize.

“Hey!” She stumbled forward, trying her best to keep her balance. “This is the bad guy, aren’t you gonna do something?”

“YE HAVE BEEN JUDGED.” The voice came from Mehkhkahrel itself, a sound so powerful that Beth’s hair blew backwards and she fell to her knees. Every eye on the angel flashed simultaneously, and then a massive eye opened in the middle of its body. The spinning wings looked very much like a turbine, glittering with silver light.

Neferisfet straightened her back just moment before a blinding light fired out of the center of Mehkhkahrel and into the priestess. Beth blinked away the spots in her vision as dry ash blew across her face. Neferisfet was gone, and in her spot there was a small pile of dusty remains.

“Thank God,” she muttered, then leaned forward and put her hands on the ground. It was over.

Murray closed his mouth and descended until his feet were on the ground. He walked over toward the pile of ash and squatted down to examine it. Above him, Mehkhkahrel’s powerful wings had stopped spinning in place.

“There you are.” Murray pulled the pouch out of the ashes and grinned. “Wasn’t sure it would survive.”

“Do you know what that thing is?” Beth asked. She was surprised it hadn’t been destroyed by the angel. What the hell kind of magic had that been?

“Of course I do.” Murray winked at her. It was such a simple expression, but one that had been beyond him since being possessed. She couldn’t help but notice that Murray had left glowing footprints behind him.

In horror, Beth watched Murray hold up the bag. Streamers of light bled off of the angel and into the fleshy sack, causing it to expand. It elongated first, revealing fleshy veins and a thick head that bloomed from beneath the foreskin. It radiated with power, filling the air with a low hum. “I haven’t held onto the phallus of Osiris for thousands of years without knowing what it is.”

Golden light sparkled along its length as he pointed the stiff member at the angel, and a blue aura surrounded Murray’s entire body. Up above, Mehkhkahrel’s wings started spinning in reverse as the angel’s eyes blinked out of existence, then returned. The mostly human pupils were gone, now transformed into the narrow slits of a snake.

“But how? How?” Beth backed away from the angel, her eyes wide.

“The soul in this body agreed to merge with me, and I am not so weak as to be dominated by the angel’s will.” Murray spun around with a grin, clutching the dick of a dead god in his hands. “As the mouthpiece of Mehkhkahrel, the angel is sworn to protect me from harm. And I’ve decided that means you!”

The man burst into maniacal laughter as Beth ran back toward the house. She didn’t understand how or why, but Neferisfet was now some sort of super priest. She was nearly at the door when Death burst out, his cloak flapping dramatically behind him.

“Marchioness Bethany!” The Grim Reaper threw himself through the air and passed through her, freezing the blood in her veins. There was a blast of golden light, followed by the smell of dust.

“Oh, God, Death!” She spun around and saw that Death stood naked behind her, his robes obliterated by the angel’s beam. His stark white bones were marred with scorch marks.

“I see you’re still going to be a problem.” Murray sneered as his body levitated into the air. “I honestly thought that the angel would be strong enough.”

“Unlike my siblings, I am not just an idea.” Death twirled his scythe dramatically, and the floating ashes in the air formed around him and transformed into his cloak. “I am the fate that awaits all beings. Mice, men, gods, the stars, the universe. I shall bear witness to their final moments, shall watch this realm collapse into darkness long before my own time is up. For I am Death! And I am inevitable!”

A second golden beam hit the Grim Reaper and slammed him into the ground. His cloak exploded, and he dropped his scythe on the ground.

“Stop smiting me!” He looked up at Beth. “Get in the house! It can protect—”

The beam returned, pinning him in place. The ashes of his cloak swirled like a small tornado as it tried to reform around him. Mehkhkahrel moved to hover directly over Death, trapping him beneath the golden light.

“I believe that will hold you. Once I return to Earth, there will be no stopping me.” Murray grabbed at his shirt and ripped it away, revealing a fancy body stocking underneath. “I shall usher in a new age of darkness with the return of my god!”

“I ... can ... stop her ... if I can just ... get free!” Death shouted between blast, his eyes on Beth.

“Not so fast.” Murray pointed the dick at Beth. “I haven’t forgotten about you. And neither have they.”

“They who ... oh. Shit.” Beth watched as three shadowy figures appeared in the mists, each one on horseback.

“That’s right. Behold the three horsemen of Apophis!” Murray waved a hand and dispersed the mist. The horsemen were back, and both War and Famine grinned at Beth. Their features were now serpentine, and War flicked his long tongue between sharp teeth.

“Looks like we’re going to have our fun after all,” he told her. “So you just sit there and look pretty for us.”

The horsemen surrounded Murray as he opened his mouth wide and unleashed an eerie howl. It was similar to the one from before, but there was an extra tone behind it, one that promised blood and violence. The world tilted sideways, and Beth dry heaved from the sudden shift.

Realizing there was nothing she could do for Death, she stumbled toward the house and pushed her way inside. Kisa sat near the bottom of the stairs, her arms wrapped around Tick Tock. Lily was in the living room, her face pressed against the glass.

Beth’s heart pounded in her chest as she gasped for air. Sobbing, she slid down the door and hugged her legs to her chest.

“Bad?” asked Kisa.

“The worst.” Lily looked at Kisa, then at Beth. “I don’t think we’re gonna win this one with a board game. I’m not even entirely sure what’s going on out there, but it looks like the boy band has a new manager. Stupid bitch, if the angel had gotten her just a second sooner...”

Rattled, Beth hugged her knees even tighter. They had failed. Everything that they had accomplished up until this point had been for nothing.

Mike. Tears burned in her eyes. She was hungry, had barely slept in days, and had finally met a crisis that she couldn’t figure out. I’m sorry.

“So I know things are kind of hopeless right now, but I have some news.” Kisa slid Tick Tock next to Beth. “Right before everything happened with dead girl out there, I had a really interesting dream. In fact, I think it’s because I was asleep that she didn’t know I was there.”

Beth looked up at Kisa. “I hope you have something better than being naked in school,” she stated.

“I talked to Mike. We actually saw each other, I told him everything about what’s going on here, and—”

Beth spun in place and put her hands on Kisa’s. She looked the cat girl in the eyes and took a deep breath. If they could speak with Mike, then they were no longer alone. Even if minor, any amount of hope would have to be enough to sustain her. Otherwise, she was lost.

“Tell me everything,” she demanded. “But first things first. Do you think you could do it again?”

Eulalie stepped through the portal, feeling the floor of the stone tower cool against her feet. A small retinue of rats waited for her, their weapons held ready. Most of them carried spears, but she was fairly certain one of them was carrying a crossbow.

“Looks like you have your own royal guard,” Zel told her. The centaur had agreed to bring them to the tower, arriving earlier to warn the guards that Eulalie was coming. Ever since being abandoned by Yuki, the tower had been occupied by a small force of centaurs from Zel’s tribe. Their main job was to act as liaisons for the herd in the valley, but they were also in charge of keeping everyone else out. The tower was also being used to grow plants that thrived at cooler temperatures than what could be found in the greenhouse.

“I may have told someone I was the Rat Queen, and they’ve accepted it.” As she walked past the rats, she used some of her feet to pat them on either the head or shoulder. They seemed to enjoy the acknowledgement, then fell in line behind her. “So this is Yuki’s tower.”

“Indeed.” Sofia’s voice was distorted as she knelt down to walk through the portal. “We’ll find what we’re looking for upstairs.”

Eulalie looked over toward the spiral staircase along the wall. “That thing doesn’t have a railing,” she noted. “Clear OSHA violation.”

“The last occupant used to turn things to stone because they pissed her off,” Zel replied. “And I would also point out that this was a home, not a place of employment.”

“Fair.” Eulalie grinned. “So a whole stash of magic weapons upstairs?”

Zel nodded. “I would show you myself, but I’m in no condition to climb the stairs.”

“Because you’re pregnant?” Eulalie’s eyes flicked to Zel’s stomach. She didn’t know enough about horse anatomy to tell if Zel was showing yet. “I’m fairly certain pregnant women are capable of climbing stairs.”

Zel started to say something, but Sofia interrupted.

“She’s just pulling your tail,” she said. “I think it’s because she’s settling in, now we get to see the spider behind the mask.”

“I would like to point out that I’m a centaur, not a woman.” Zel scrunched up her face. “If you have any questions about the difference, I’d be happy to enlighten you.”

“Actually, I find centaur reproduction extremely fascinating, because the dichotomy between human babies and foals—” Eulalie was interrupted by Sofia’s hand over her mouth.

“Magic weapons,” Sofia reiterated. “Stay on task.”

Eulalie nodded and moved toward the stairs. She spread her legs wide and ascended with half her legs on the steps and the other half on the wall. The feel of stone and grout beneath her feet tickled.

“So, is there a good reason why you’re trying to antagonize Zel?” Sofia asked once they were up a floor.

Eulalie frowned. “Habit, I suppose. Like me, she’s essentially human from the waist up. I guess maybe I felt a connection like I do with my sister, an extra level of familiarity.”

“You have to earn that familiarity,” Sofia scolded. “You barely know her. And don’t talk about her pregnancy. From what I’ve heard, she’s really shy about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“She doesn’t like talking about it. Any time someone brings up her pregnancy, she changes the subject right away.”

“Why wouldn’t she want to talk about it?” Eulalie asked. “I was under the impression that some women love the attention.”

“Based on what, may I ask?”

Eulalie shrugged. “The internet, which I admit isn’t always accurate. Certainly it doesn’t help that my only exposure to it is how it’s portrayed in movies and magazines. Pregnancy has always fascinated me. Can you imagine having a living thing inside your body? Moving around, displacing your guts. My mother said that she felt something similar, but those were eggs developing, not a baby, so I imagine it’s different.”

Sofia paused for a moment, her hand on the wall as if leaning on it for support.

“I’m not certain how, but did I say something wrong?” Reading body language had always been difficult for Eulalie. Her father had been largely unreadable, a man who preferred to stew quietly on things. Her mother and sister were easier, but only because they shared morphology. Sofia’s larger-than-normal size was easy to relate to Bigfoot, and right now she stood like her uncle would when coming across a dead animal with a hunter’s arrow in it. Uncle Foot wasn’t opposed to hunting by any means, but the idea that someone had shot the animal and allowed it to wander off and suffer was something that hurt him deeply.

“It’s tough to talk about, but if I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that you won’t just let it go.” Sofia turned around, her cheeks red and her jaw set. “When I first came to the Library, I wasn’t a librarian. Not a full-fledged one, anyway. More of a volunteer.”

Eulalie nodded, urging the cyclops to continue.

“My job was to read books to the children. There were so many of them, from all kinds of races.” Sofia turned to the nearest window and looked outside with her hands on the sill. “I loved children, wanted to have some of my own one day.”

Eulalie almost interrupted, wanting to point out that Sofia didn’t seem like the maternal type. In the silence between words, it dawned on her that this would be the worst thing she could say. Data was easy, but people were hard. She liked Sofia because the cyclops reminded her a bit of her mother, and was generally easy to read. Only having one eye seemed to limit her facial expressions, which was also something she preferred.

“When the Order came to the island of my people, nobody was spared. Founded by the more peaceful members of my species, it had become a cultural center for man and monster alike. This was a line they could not tolerate us to cross.” She wiped a tear from her eye, then gritted her teeth together as if in pain. “They killed everyone they could find, regardless of age. The Order can hide under the pretense of keeping the peace, but I’ve suspected for many centuries that their real target was the Library. They didn’t expect it to be so well defended, nor the nearby community to be ready to fight back.”

“That’s horrible.” The thought of any thinking creature deliberately targeting children made Eulalie’s blood boil. She had been online long enough to encounter all kinds of child predation, and had even strongly debated traveling a hundred miles to rip the head off of one in Bend, Oregon. After an argument with her father, she had settled on outing him to the authorities, which was far less satisfying than pulling his spine through his asshole would have been.

Sofia shook her head. “I was in the village during the initial attack, but ran to the Library to defend it. The Order was attacking my village, and I knew that many of my people would be there to protect it. When I arrived, the first place I ran to was the reading room. There was a man there, a knight of the Order, standing over the bodies of children. I was so surprised to see him there, to see their bodies, that I barely reacted to the vision warning me of injury. He tried to run me through the belly, but I was able to jump out of the way. What was supposed to be a fatal stomach wound became...” She sighed. “I took his sword, and then his life. When I left that room, I thought that I was dying. I was a woman possessed, and killed over thirty of the bastards before they fled. When all was said and done, me and a few others locked the building down, breaking its link with the island so they could no longer attack it. My wound was treatable, but the scar tissue, it...”

Eulalie put her hand on Sofia’s. “I’m sorry,” she told her.

The cyclops nodded, then wiped another tear from her eye. “I gave up on having a family long ago, much less children. The house, though, it has given me purpose outside of being the Librarian. I enjoy every minute of it, even though my job suffers.”

“You can’t just hire more people to help you? I mean, you are in charge.”

Sofia chuckled dryly. “I haven’t really had the opportunity to do so. When only a handful of people even know you exist, it’s kind of hard to get the word out. People don’t age in the Library, and humans are prone to seeking immortality that way. Once they learn that they will age if they leave, they slowly go mad, counting each precious second outside of the Library’s walls. Apparently books aren’t enough to keep most people happy, so they inevitably stay away too long, or go insane and must be removed.”

“My mom loved books. I bet she would have been very happy there. She even used to be a librarian, but never talked about it much.” She smiled, thinking about her mother. If you could only see me now, mom. I’m making so many friends!

“Do you love books?” Sofia asked. “Maybe you want a job?”

Eulalie shrugged. “I don’t know. The whole reason I became an internet nerd was books couldn’t be published fast enough. I wanted to experience the world through others, for all the typical reasons.” She scurried up the wall as if to illustrate her point. “I’m afraid I’ve always been more into audio and visual media. Movies, music, that kind of thing.”

“Maybe the Library needs a modern touch.” Sofia smirked, then looked at the stairs to the next level. “But perhaps we should get back to why we are here.”

“Magic weapons!” Eulalie rubbed her hands together in anticipation as they continued up the stairs.

When Amymone had informed them that there were magic weapons stored in an otherworldly tower, Eulalie had actually gotten down on all of her knees and begged to be told more. Decades of fantasy books, games, and Dungeons & Dragons campaigns had instilled in her an absolute love for magic. She had seen her uncle do small things with it, like commune with trees or portal hop. In reality, he was more of a druid than a sorcerer or wizard.

Her mother had often told them about the magic she had seen members of the Order use. It was both terrifying and exciting to know that magic not only existed, but was apparently some huge secret. It was the main reason she had gone to work for the government. There was always the hope of discovering that the US government was stashing magical books in the Library of Congress, or maybe even a wizarding school at Area 51.

“I’m hoping for a flaming sword,” Eulalie declared when they found themselves outside of the armory. “One that ignites when you say its name, or something fancy in elvish. It’s way cooler than a sword that can fold itself up, no offense. Grew up with one, but we used it mostly for chopping wood.”

“Elves are dicks.” Sofia gazed cautiously at the entrance. “Ratu warned us that this stuff is bad news, so please don’t just grab the first thing you see. We have a purpose here.”

“I know, I know.” Eulalie rubbed her hands together. “Find weapons that we can potentially use once Mike returns. Categorize them based on strengths and weaknesses so that we can form a ... wait, elves are real? Are they like the ones from Lord of the Rings?”

“It’s a rather generic term which can refer to lots of different creatures. But yes, they’re all dicks.” Sofia frowned. “Wait, I take that back. There is one curious exception to the rule.”

“Who are they?”

“Let’s just say that they’re the epitome of nice.” Sofia inspected the door. “Yuki and Ratu had a magical lock installed here, give me a second.” She pulled out a crystal ball from one of her pockets and held it up. “Ratu?”

The naga’s face appeared. She was soaking in a hot bath.

“Move me a little higher,” Ratu said. Sofia lifted the ball, and a thin beam of blue light came from the crystal ball and struck a hidden rune just to the left of the doorway. The rune sent out a ripple of energy that caused another set of hidden runes to appear and then vanish.

Eulalie skittered about with anticipation as Sofia opened the door.

“Velvet’s never gonna believe this,” she said as she shot through the door and looked around.

It was an armory, lit from above by skylights. The dark corners of the room were illuminated with torches that burned brightly without generating any smoke. Much of the room looked damaged, but a few items were locked up in display cases that were up against the wall.

There was a loud thud as a mace lifted off the ground and slammed into the glass of its display case. Eulalie ran up to the case and danced around it with her hands over her mouth.

Several thick chains held the mace down, but it was able to thud against the edges of the case. She put her hands against the thick glass out of curiosity and was surprised when the mace moved away from her.

“Check this one out.” Sofia gestured at a glass case full of water. When she walked close to it, it transformed into a replica of her sword, then shifted into a staff eerily reminiscent of the one she carried in the Library.

“Made of water, changes shapes...” Eulalie bit her lip. The data was there, she just couldn’t put it together fast enough. It didn’t help that her knowledge base was polluted with video game references.

“The legendary weapon, Varunastra. It can be anything you want it to be.”

“Should we take it?”

Sofia grimaced. “Well, about that. It certainly seems accommodating, but if you aren’t deemed worthy enough to wield it, it’s supposed to kill the wielder. Maybe.”

“How does it ‘maybe’ kill you?”

“Legends say it destroys you. Not technically the same as killing, so there’s room for interpretation.”

“Maybe it’ll log into my social media and spout a bunch of racist shit.” Eulalie wandered over toward the case and pressed her hands against it. The water bubbled and then turned into a net. “You’ll never guess my password,” she whispered dramatically.

The mace continued its incessant banging as they examined the rest of the room. There were other weapons of unknown origin, but the one that caught her eye was a sword with a hooked blade built into it.

“Any ideas on this one?” she asked.

“Hmm.” Sofia frowned at it. “Shape rings a bell.”