The Rising Page 10

  Will’s visor enabled him to see Rudy approaching from half a mile away. The visor optics were even better than Will had hoped for. Rudy was coming up an adjacent alley, moving fast on foot. His signature “playful” dance had turned into an animal thing, and he was not so much rhythmically rejoicing in the air around him as he was slashing at it with hot malice. When he passed the snarling pit bull, the dog wisely cowered, his animal sense telling him this was a creature that shouldn’t be messed with. Then Rudy stopped abruptly, as though a bell had gone off in his head, and began to search the area with his eyes. For a moment, Will worried that Rudy could smell him (demons had wild senses that were sometimes insanely acute and other times were dulled to the point of being ineffective). Rudy’s head jerked around as his eyes searched. But Will was wearing black on black and he blended into the shadows, and Rudy didn’t find him.

  There was a long line at the order window at Dick’s. Rudy didn’t feel like waiting, so he shoved his way past a dozen shocked people. But like the pit bull, they quickly discerned that Rudy was someone you just didn’t confront, no matter what the transgression. A few of the customers were so scared that they jumped out of the line and decided to go grab a burger somewhere else. At the window, Rudy tossed a twenty on the counter and ordered his double cheeseburgers. When they came up, he pulled them out of the bag violently, and without even bothering to remove the flimsy yellow wrapping paper, he ate two of the burgers quickly, tearing at them like a wolf mauling a lamb.

  Will put the Suzuki in neutral and coasted down the hill. This had to be done just right. Smooth and quiet. Once Rudy had polished off his four burgers—wrappers and all—he turned and, spotting a couple of big guys at a picnic table digging into their own burgers, rushed over, ripped the food out of their hands, and gobbled it down.

  “Geez, man! What’s your problem?” the larger of the two growled.

  “Do I look like I have a problem?” asked Rudy, his eyes blazing. But the guy was a lineman for the UW Huskies, the kind of guy who would stand his ground no matter who he was facing off with. Coach Sark had taught him that. He stood up.

  “Yeah, you sure as crap do, dude! You owe me a burger!”

  Rudy’s stomach was rumbling, the demon acid collecting, doing its job. Demons digested food at five times the rate of humans, so the chow in Rudy’s gut was already liquefied. He opened his mouth and emitted the longest, loudest burp either of the big dudes had ever heard. The guy sitting down smiled.

  “Awesome!”

  But his smile disappeared just as quickly, as Rudy projectile vomited right at the Husky lineman. Though he was caught off guard, he still had the presence of mind to raise his arms in self-defense, a move that surely saved his eyesight. The toxic demon puke immediately seared through the arms of his hoodie and burned his flesh, and he screamed like he’d never screamed before. Will couldn’t coast any longer. He kicked the Suzuki to life and blasted the last twenty yards, streaking right at Rudy, whipping the Demon Trapper around and aiming it.

  But Rudy saw him coming. In a flash, he leapt onto the picnic table, then onto the top of a car, then onto the roof of Dick’s. Will couldn’t let the lineman suffer, so he stopped long enough to toss the guy’s buddy a packet of his healing balm.

  “Rub this on his wounds, now!”

  The guy was a pre-med student who knew trauma when he saw it, and he wasted no time pulling his friend up onto the picnic table and applying the salve. The lineman had gone into shock, but the salve started working swiftly, ensuring that he would not only keep the use of his arms, but would still be able to play football. Only trouble was, after this night, he would never feel like hitting anyone again.

  Will spotted Rudy running down the sidewalk and gave chase on the Suzuki, quickly catching up. He aimed the Demon Trapper but couldn’t draw a bead on Rudy because of the way he was weaving back and forth. But then he had a shot! He was about to take it when Rudy leapt into the street and started running down the middle of 45th Avenue, accompanied by blaring horns. He was purposefully zigzagging through traffic, causing as many fender-benders as possible in an effort to distract Will. The kamikaze tactic worked as a 2006 Blazer swerved and clipped the back of the Suzuki, sending Will into a dangerous skid. Will left the bike to pursue Rudy on foot. Rudy hauled butt, cutting up through an alley and into a backyard, and Will followed, hearing screams as Rudy kicked open the back door of a house and ripped through it.

  Will stopped and had to guess. Would Rudy go left or right? Will chose right and ran through two backyards, hopped a picket fence, ran out to the sidewalk, and dropped down behind a hedge.

  The people in the house were watching a reality TV show about who could eat the most garbage. Seeing Rudy, they all screamed, and the man of the house, Saul Risher, grabbed for a fire poker. Bad move. Rudy kicked him in the kneecap and clawed a hunk out of the side of his face, then kicked down the front door and ran out onto the sidewalk, looking left and right. The coast was clear, and he ran right. He was just starting to gloat about how he’d escaped the great Will Hunter when the shimmering lime green beam caught him. The next thing he knew, he was back in the place he hated most in the world: inside the Demon Trapper.

  Will was winded and his heart was pounding. He shook his head.

  “Come on, little buddy, let’s go home.”

  Rudy pounded on the Plexiglas and shouted silent curses as Will slung the Demon Trapper over his shoulder and walked back to the Suzuki.

  When Will got home to the lab, the first thing he did was check on April, as was his custom. No change.

  Then he once again strapped Rudy down to the table like Frankenstein’s monster. Only this time, there was no ruse, no play-acting, and Rudy let his full demon self out as he raged against his bonds, straining his wrists, trying to pump his legs.

  “Let me go! You’ll regret this, I swear it! You have no idea what I’m capable of!”

  “I know exactly what you’re capable of,” said Will calmly. “That’s why I’m going to inject you. That’s why I’m going to cure you.”

  Will held up a vial of amber liquid. The cure. There were four more identical vials in a tray nearby.

  Rudy stared at the vials, trying to concentrate his hate upon them. Then he yelled at Will. “You already tried ‘curing’ me, you scumbag loser! It didn’t work!”

  Rudy’s body was taut with anger, his muscles bulging, his blood pumping. He was snapping his teeth at Will, trying to bite into his flesh. He spit at him over and over, but Will dodged it every time. “Are you listening to me? I told you your stupid cure didn’t work!”

  Will pulled on some latex gloves and snapped them tightly into place.

  “But you see, I haven’t actually tried anything, Rudy. I injected you with a placebo because I needed you to do some recon for me, which you did. Now it’s time to put your bad self to bed, and find out what you learned.”

  “Arrrrgh! I’m going to tear your eyes out and feed them to crows!” screamed Rudy. “If you let me go right now, I promise to kill you quickly. If you don’t, then I’ll make sure you suffer!”

  “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all,” said Will, as he pulled out a thick rubber mouth guard and stuffed it into Rudy’s mouth. “You’d better bite down on this.”

  “Why?” asked Rudy, garbling around the rubber piece.

  He got his answer as Will injected him with the cure. Rudy’s arm felt like it was on fire, and the flame spread quickly. Soon his whole body was burning as the chemical concoction surged through him. Rudy spit the mouth guard out and began howling as his body shook and his eyes rolled back in his head. He growled and shrieked his throat raw. And this time it was all for real.

  Emily had heard sounds like this before, back when the demons had held her captive. The caves of Mount St. Emory had echoed with these sounds as demons fought among themselves and tortured each other, the strong preying upon the weak, in the ultimate sadistic macho society. The screaming comin
g from downstairs sent a shiver of fear up her spine and then took hold of her. It was as though the Dark Lord himself had her heart in his clutches and was squeezing it. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, but she couldn’t endure the harrowing screams of agony. She got up and ran down into the lab.

  Rudy’s body was convulsing and green foam was frothing from his mouth. Will jammed the mouth guard in again and Rudy gladly bit down on it, grateful for the momentary distraction. The pain was horrific, worse than anything he’d ever experienced. His eyes bulged out, bloodshot, then bleeding. His body continued to shake. He spit the mouth guard out and it ricocheted off the ceiling as he exploded with more shrieks and howls and snarling sounds.

  “Ahhhh! No! Just kill me!” he screamed. “I’m begging you, just kill me!”

  Rudy’s eyes were pleading, but Will simply studied him, noticing how his eyes, which had been flashing black, now had ceased doing so and were only horribly bloodshot. And Rudy’s skin, which had been thick, with a pebbly texture, was beginning to appear more normal. But he continued howling.

  Emily burst into the lab. “Make him stop! For God’s sake, Will! Do something!”

  “I am. Go back upstairs.”

  But she was brittle with fear and stood trembling. “I . . . I can’t! I can’t take this anymore!” She backed up until she hit the wall, and suddenly she was sobbing.

  Helplessly, Will watched her cry. If this were Natalie, he could at least hold her. Emily was so fragile, he was afraid to even touch her.

  “Emily, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to hear this.” She shouldn’t have had to be there at all. She’d suffered enough already. And that’s when the idea came to him. How he might be able to convince Natalie to leave without a huge fight.

  Behind them, Rudy’s howls subsided as his head went slack. He emitted a low guttural growl as he passed out. Will turned away from Emily to check on him. When he looked up again Emily seemed to have gotten herself under control, and was furiously wiping away tears.

  “Is he . . . dead?” It was hard to tell what she wanted the answer to be.

  “No, he’s going to be okay. But Emily, things are only going to get uglier and more dangerous from here.” Will took a deep breath. “I think it would be best if I sent you away.”

  From the look on Emily’s face, he could tell the idea hadn’t occurred to her, but that now that it had, it was a tempting one.

  “It’s for your own good. You can go to any one of several places in the world. You’ll be completely taken care of financially. You won’t have to deal with any of this. You’d have the chance to really heal.”

  Even as Will said the words, he fought against the wave of grief that moved through his body. Because Natalie would never let Emily leave without her. Natalie loved him, but her first loyalty was to her sister. As long as Emily still needed her, Natalie wouldn’t be able to let Emily leave alone.

  “I think Kauai is the place for you. It’s beautiful. Quiet. Peaceful. I’ll make the arrangements.”

  “We’re not going anywhere.” Natalie had come into the lab and now stood beside Emily, holding her hand. Part of Will was relieved. She won’t go! She won’t let me make her. But he couldn’t give in so easily. If he had to push her away, this was the least painful way, for both of them.

  “I don’t want to argue about this,” said Will.

  “Good. Neither do I,” Natalie said. “You can’t send her away without sending me away, and I’m telling you right now, that’s not going to happen. I’m not going anywhere. So neither is Em. We’re a package deal, Will. You know that.”

  Natalie turned and looked at her twin.

  “Right, Em?”

  “Thanks for the offer, Will,” Emily said. “But we’re staying.”

  “Well, there you have it,” said Natalie.

  Will knew she meant business. It was one of the things that he adored about Natalie: her unfaltering loyalty. But he steeled himself.

  “Natalie, it’s not safe. And it’s hurting Emily to be here.”

  “It’s helping Emily to be here, learning how to defend herself. And just exactly when and where will it be safe, Will? Can you tell me that?” demanded Natalie.

  Will hesitated, and Natalie swooped in.

  “I didn’t think so. We all know he won’t stop until he unleashes Hell. And you’re the only one who can stop him. How could you think for a moment we would even consider running? Will, we met for a reason. You rescued Emily and me for a reason. And that reason is that we’re meant to fight by your side. Don’t forget, he killed our parents, Will. We want him to pay, too. And if there’s any way at all we can help you, we’re not going anywhere.”

  Will sagged, defeated. He should have known it wouldn’t be so easy to convince Natalie to leave. Not in the middle of a fight. If she hadn’t come in when she had . . . But it was too late now.

  “If I thought I could make you, I would.”

  “You can’t.” Natalie had never sounded more stubborn. “Like it or not, we’re yours.”

  His. If only she really could be.

  Rudy started to buck on the table again, pulling Will’s attention away. When he started howling, Emily tensed.

  “Natalie, get her out of here,” Will said. He heard the door shut behind them as Rudy started going wild, every muscle in his body contracting. And then he went deathly still. One of the vitals monitors began beeping, and Will knew that Rudy was going into cardiac arrest. He wasted no time charging up the paddles as Rudy began to flatline. Will zapped him once, twice. And then he waited, holding his breath. The monitor beeped. Rudy again had a pulse. He moaned, spittle sliding from his mouth. He opened his eyes. They were crazy with fear.

  “I . . . I can’t see!”

  “Calm down . . . Look at my finger . . .”

  Will was moving a finger back and forth in front of Rudy’s eyes. But Rudy wasn’t tracking. He was overcome with panic.

  “I can’t hear!”

  He was shaking his head back and forth. Will didn’t know what to do. Rudy’s heart had stopped momentarily, and now he was deaf and blind—maybe permanently. Had Will gotten the formula wrong? Will placed a hand on his forehead. Rudy was drenched in sweat and smelled like a wet rat. Finally his eyes seemed to focus.

  “Will?”

  “Yeah. Can you see me? Can you hear me?”

  Rudy nodded. “Yeah. I can see you. I can hear you. My head . . . my body . . .”

  He was exhausted.

  Relieved, Will took Rudy’s temperature and blood pressure. He was stable. It had been a hell of a ride, but it seemed like he had pulled it off. The serum seemed to have worked. If only he knew whether it would last. Your grandfather developed an antidote, so I was safe as I raised you. But . . . when he kidnapped me I . . . succumbed, Edward had said. Did that mean he needed to have regular doses? It wasn’t as if Will had gotten the chance to question him. Will never wanted to subject anyone to such an ordeal again. But if that was what it took to keep Rudy clean, he would do it. In the meantime, he would just have to keep an eye on him.

  “You’re going to be okay now, buddy,” he said, gently placing a hand on Rudy’s shoulder. Minutes passed. Then Rudy spoke in soft voice.

  “I just had the weirdest dream.”

  “Rudy,” said Will, “if I let you up, will you behave?”

  “Every bone in my body hurts. I couldn’t misbehave if I wanted to.”

  Will stared long and hard at Rudy. Then he grabbed Rudy’s head in his hands and applied pressure to his temples with his thumbs.

  “Hey! You’re hurting me!”

  Rudy’s eyes remained normal. No flash of black liquid, just . . . bloodshot. Will released him.

  “What was that all about?” rasped Rudy, shaking.

  “Just being careful,” said Will.

  After Will helped Rudy clean up, they went upstairs into the kitchen. The house was stocked with plenty of food, some of it actually healthy. Rudy stayed away from that. He was rave
nous and chose chocolate milk poured over Fruit Loops. He ate three bowls. As he set the spoon down and burped, he smiled at Will.

  “Thanks, man.”

  “No problem. Welcome back. And this time I mean it,” said Will. He wanted to give Rudy more time to readjust, but he couldn’t wait to ask any longer. “Did you find the other demons after you left Gas Works Park?”

  Rudy looked like that was the last thing he wanted to think about, but he nodded. “Yeah.”

  “I want you to tell me everything you remember from the last twenty-four hours.”

  Chapter Eleven: Rudy’s Ordeal

  After the cops had come to Gas Works Park, the shedemons had whisked Rudy away along the shore. Come with us! Join us! Do as we say! They laughed and hissed and danced as they ran, surreal creatures who held an immediate power over him. He’d always been a sucker for a pretty girl. They led him to a van. He had no idea where he was. They opened the back doors of the van and kicked him into it, then slammed the doors shut. They drove. He was kept in the back like a dog and he liked it. He knew he would do anything for them. When he reached out to touch one, she whirled and kicked him in the face. He read her eyes. They were deadly. They said, No one touches me, ever! He wondered if that rule only applied to boys and figured it probably did.

  They ordered him to lie face down and drove for approximately ten minutes. When he had landed in the van he’d landed on his elbow, which now began to throb. He scratched at it until he felt something hard under his skin, and in the inky darkness he began to imagine that some kind of nasty insect had somehow burrowed into his flesh. He extended his claw-like fingernails and dug at his elbow until it bled, then pulled out the small chip and peered at it. It could only have come from Will Hunter. So Will was tracking him like some animal. He’d show him. He’d show him good. He crushed the chip.