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“Thou shalt not,” the demon said, growling. “Put down
these traps.”
“No, please?” Harrison began to babble. “They hate me
because I was just in cases against their families. They want to kill me.”
The shon:gili
pushed up on his forelegs. The demon said, “Thou art a reek in the nostrils of
even the lowest barnyard god. A foul stench good for only a pain-filled
sacrifice.”
Tommy yawned. “Jig, unshield.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No, please–“
The plates slid away and night poured in. A tendril of mist
drifted up the side of the car. Carl/shon:gili
snarled at it. Whimpering, Harrison slid down to huddle on the floor. The demon
withdrew the wall of sparks around Carl. Carl/shon:gili arose and stretched, his tongue curling out of his mouth
in a jaw-cracking yawn. He cocked a leg over Harrison.
Tommy edged away, pulling his sandaled feet up so the hot
urine wouldn’t splash on him.
Done, the shon:gili
shook himself and sprawled on the seat, leaving Harrison shivering on the wet
floor.
Tommy opened the liquor cabinet and frowned before selecting
a bottle. He pulled a long, slender cigarette from a holder and pushed in the
lighter. The shon:gili sniffed,
grinning at the cigarette. Carl was shoved back into the wall of sparks.
“No,” the demon said, snarling. “No to the Wolf’s
foul weed.”
Tommy frowned. The hood tipped in a small nod and he dropped
the cigarette in the pool of urine.
The limousine entered the curve. Henri slowed the car.
The shon:gili was
staring through the divider. The car was parked sideways in the road and the
motorcycles flanked it. Five more roared up behind them.
“Stop,” the demon said. The teeth bared in a cold smile.
“Stop this cart.”
Henri glanced back, frowning into the rearview mirror.
“Sir?”
Tommy hauled Harrison up from the floor cursing under his
breath at the soaked clothing.
“Stop the car,” Tommy said. He smashed Harrison’s face
against the divider. “Now, man.”
Harrison gave a slight nod and Tommy let him drop back on the
floor. Harrison groaned and bucked against the floor.
The shon:gili
fumbled with the door latch and missed. Teeth bared, he reared back and smashed
through the glass.
Harrison gaped.
“This is government property. You can’t do that.”
Tommy slapped him on the back of the head and the judge
slumped. Henri rolled his eyes. He cackled a laugh at Harrison’s moans.
“Keep doing that, and he’ll be a-riding your leg.”
Tommy spat on the divider.
Fifty feet behind them the bikers were stopped, ripping out
guns and knives.
The shon:gili
roared, leaping on the roof. Iron claws scored the steel as he leaped, clearing
the space between them to snap at the leader. His teeth sheered through the
man’s chest and the shon:gili threw
him at the next man.
He hopped up and a gun flared. The lead burned through the shon:gili
even as he clawed the coat and flesh from the man, then knocked down the other
three, snapping and ripping through them.
The people with the car were shouting and firing. Bullets
rang off the limousine hood. Running low and close to the road, the shon:gili
charged them. The car spun away but the bikers were knocked into the woods with
the shon:gili chasing them down and maiming them.
Blood running from a chunk of flesh in his jaws, the shon:gili
trotted back to the limousine with screams and weeping trailing him. Henri was
standing near the car. Frowning, he opened the rear door and the shon:gili
hopped in. Lying on the seat, the animal ripped the leg into manageable pieces,
swallowing them while Harrison stared and shivered.
Tommy reached out for a taste and the jaws snapped, just
missing the hand.
“Damn, Carl. You’ll never change . . .”
The limousine rolled out and before the moon moved another
hand-span they were edging around holes and burned-out vehicles on 1-13, then
into the downtown area and the courthouse.
Harrison was dragged up. When the door opened, he glared at
an innocent Henri.
“You idiot,” he said, swelling with fury. Cold urine
dripped from his suit. “You know I can’t go in like this. Go around to the
rear.”
Gunfire shattered the damp night air. Whining and
teeth chattering, Harrison wrenched himself from Tommy’s grasp to throw
himself back in the limousine. He landed on the shon:gili. Carl/shon:gili
slapped him aside and the judge gaped at a muzzle full of jagged teeth. He
bolted from the car and up the stairs passed the guards to slap his hand on the
door lock and fell through the first set of bulletproof doors.
©2004 StoriesByEmail.com
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