Between Gods and Monsters Archive Chapter #2

[Tinker]

Halo sighed heavily and shook her head, "Jesus, Orion."

She grabbed the large man by the elbow, the strength housed in her body betraying her feminine appearance, "Now do me a favour, say 'See you later, Hal. I'll call you to arrange that hunt if you ever deem to give yourself a day off' You have my number, now use it okay?" She stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss squarely on his whisker covered cheek, "Now you can storm off."

The disgruntled head shaking continued as she took her perch back at the bar , "Sorry, now where was I?" Her cerulean eyes scanned Sebastian's face for a moment, "Ah, yeah. Virgin's blood. No not good, I take it your not brushed up on your ancient Sumerian, then?"

Halo grabbed the napkin back and wrote out what had come from her mouth in perfect Sumerian hieroglyphics, "This make any sense to you now? You must come across a few Sumerians in you line of work, theres a enough of the buggers and damn, do the ever put up a fight."

She took a long draw on the oversized nonalcoholic beverage, "Basically, if I break it down for you, Uggae is the Sumerian God of Death and Urbat is known as the Dog of Death. . . .the rest, well, lets just say that dark days followed by one hell of a shit storm is a'coming."

Her long fingered hand wrapped across her forehead, thumb and forefinger simultaneously massaging both temples as it became evident that the headache from the post vision hangover was still very much present, "I'm never gonna get a fucking day off."

[Maxx]

Sebastian watched Halo grab Orion.  It was probably lucky for him that she did.  The big man had placed himself in a textbook perfect position for a leg take-down.  It likely wouldn't have ended well for Sebastian because although he was fairly certain he could take Orion down, he would have a definite problem keeping him down.

You can only read my mind because I allow it.  And considering you had the chance to study under every major medical and physiological scholar since the dawn of civilization, I'm amazed you never bothered to avail yourself of the opportunity.

Steel hard mental shields slammed down, hard enough to ring the bells of anyone wandering through his thoughts.  He could keep the shields up virtually indefinitely, assuming he didn't need to sleep.

"I speak fourteen languages and I read six more.  Sumerian just happens to fall into the later category.  I'd have to say that line about the dead outnumbering the living is no big threat.  They've outnumbered us for centuries.  Other than that, I'd say we're pretty much buggered, unless Inanna owes you a favour."

[Tinker]

With a mouth full of sugary goodness, Halo shook her head, "Nope, 'fraid not. I've yet to meet a single soul that The Queen Light and Life is actually indebted to. In my line of work I usually find myself more among the grunts."

The proverbial light bulb seemed to suddenly shine from behind Halo's bright cyan eyes, "Though, I am more than passing acquaintances with Hanbi, cos, lets be honest here, its kinda difficult to actually be friends with a God of Evil and Lord of Evil Spirits. You have no idea how much of a grudge the 'bad guys' can hold, I tell you he's still pissed that they used his son, Pazuzu's image in The Exorcist instead of his, psht. . .'evil', hey? There's just no pleasing it sometimes."

Another gulp of liquid sunshine slipped down Halo's throat, "Don't suppose you have any Sumerian connections?"

[Lvciferi]

Do not ever think you can shield your thoughts worm. I am a god after all.

[Goosekat]

Carmin watched the mountain of a man approach and sit down.  As he started to speak she poured herself another drink, sat back and let him say his two cents worth.  She was just about to reply when he left to give aid to his female companion who was the floor in the throws of some sort of seizure.  She looked at Daniel and shook her head.  "Self righteous know-it-all's are almost as bad as Imps," Carmin let out a soft sigh.  "But he was right.  Every religion and belief system has their own versions of heaven and hell, not to mention limbo and purgatory.  What I told you was just the very basics, it barely scratched the surface.  I was intending to take this slow, to give you time to digest what I tell you and for you to ask questions.  But know that mister know-it-all has butted in I may not have that luxury.  He did have one thing wrong though, I'm not christian by any means, I mainly follow Bes, the Egyptian god of protection, but there are several others that I pay allegiance to.  After all, in my line of work one can never serve, and be protected by, too many masters."  She stopped talking to let all this information sink into the Detective brain and to allow him to ask any question that he may have.  While she waited, she signalled for a new bottle of vodka, the present one being only about a fifth full by now.

[Maxx]

Sebastian felt a buzzing outside his shields, which meant something powerful was trying to get in.  He ignored it.  Eventually they would go away.  "Sorry, Halo,"  he said.  "If I was on any kind of terms with the Sumerians, I'd likely be able to speak it.  Besides, Enki would be more than willing to squish me like a bug if we ever met.  He's not a big fan of people who deal with demons on anything other than a violent level.  Anubis seems to look favourable on me at the moment, if that is of any help."

[Tinker]

"Well, judging by the violence of that vision, you can bet the wife, kids and dog on the fact that whatever is going to happen, I'm gonna need all the favours I can pull in. I get the distinct feeling this ain't gonna confine itself to those in the know with the Sumerians. Uggae is a mean fucker and he doesn't generally care who gets caught in the crossfire. An old God of that power could wipe out a good seventy-five percent of the earth's population and I'm talking the ENTIRE population of this planet. Cats, dogs, human, deity, spectre or oni. . . Uggae can take them all and he will, given half the chance."

Halo gave the half full jug a good slurp, her cyan eyes flashed dangerously at Sebastian, "Say, what are your plans for say, oooh, I dunno, the next milena?"
A seductively coy smile graced her generous mouth as she continued sucking on the neon pink straws.

[Maltesedragn]

Arctos could see that  This Mysterious mortal was getting agitated with the current strain of corversation.  She shifted the weight on her feet  and tossed some bills on the counter .

'Thanks Al, You pour the Best Gin this side of the Atlantic'.

'Hi, I'm Arctos, Do you have a name Mortal?'

She looked into his deep green eyes that were searching the room for escape.

'Do you understand it?- The Sumerian I mean. ''

[Lvciferi]

"I'm not sure, I don't remember much Sumerian, I can make out tid bits. But not enough to equal anything worth a dark crow on an October night or other treasures" I said with a sigh, I have to admit I wish I could understand what the spasming woman said.

"I am spoken to as Cay from time to ebb. A meeting has happened between us frozen one" I said with a wide smile. "How about you, do you understand the words the one spoke of? Though I'm sure we all got the gist".

[Maltesedragn]

'Well nice to meet you Cay.

I don't really recall any Sumerian,  but  it sounds  as though this is quite the serious matter'.

Arctos nodded in his direction, wondering if they all weren't just sitting ducks.

[Lvciferi]

"Good to make your meeting as well. I have the sensation that it must be bad news, good news hardly ever comes on the coattails of violent frothy fits of spasms". It was common sense, but aside from that I felt something was wrong, not only that but the look on the woman's face put any suspicions to rest.

[Maltesedragn]

Arctos bent her wolfish head slightly, and gazed around the bar, noticing all the inhabitants. 

' You know, you never did tell me what gods you served.  do you have ties with the Darkness, or the Light?   or are you free to roam between all worlds' ?

The shewolf then wondered about what could be so horribly wrong within the universe.
 Gave it another moments thought and ordered some Wings from the Demonic Bartender.

[Lvciferi]

"I just persist to exist, the one I want doesn't want me, the ones that want me I deny. It's very much like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think, I've never been between a place like that before. But I'm sure eventually I'd have to gnaw off my arm" I said with a sigh. The chicken wings smelt good, I cursed lightly to myself that after all the time I'd went without food that I could still get so hungry from just the smell of cheep bar food.

[Maxx]

"You have plans for me that will take that long to unfurl?"  Sebastian asked with a sly grin.  "I think perhaps I may need to reach deep into the bag of 'A' game tricks.  Of course if there is a thousand year game plan, I may need to start somewhere around the 'D' game just to make sure I keep you interested.  Yes, my 'D' game is enough to keep you interested in the beginning."

[Tinker]

A smutty smile graced Halo's lips around the long straws, "Honey, if you want to keep me amused you'll have to work through the whole damned alphabet."

She rested a small, strong hand on Sebastian's knee, "But in all seriousness, I'm gonna be looking for a 'few good men' to help me battle through whatever the hell, old U-man has planed with his pooch of destruction."

Halo suggestively twiddled the pink straw between strong fingers, "But if we're all still alive afterwards with most limbs intact, maybe then and only then you can show me what you keep in your bag of tricks."

[Maxx]

Sebastian hung his head briefly and sighed.  "Why does it always come to this?  The line 'for battle, chose me' was tailor made for guys like Orion, not guys like me.  I'm the kind of guy who sits on the sidelines and takes bets on the game, knowing full well that the quarterback of the home team has just broken up with his girlfriend and isn't going to be playing up to par.  I always know who to bet on.  I got out of the demon war for a reason.  I'm not a front line fighter.  Don't get me wrong, I'm far too attached to this world to let it get trashed because some deity with a chip on his shoulder needs a time out.  I'd just rather not be the one who has to stand toe to toe with him.  I will if I have to but it takes so long to rebuild a body.  I'd miss out on so much fun.  I'm in, but I should warn you that I am not the man you want the fate of the world to be resting on.  I'm far too selfish."

[Tinker]

Halo held a hand to her mouth, keeping the giggle from escaping the confines of her lips, "Oh Sebastian. . . .Good lord, do you know how often I have to deal with these idiotic things on an hourly basis? I tell you I have probably stopped an Apocalypse, on average at least once a week", her aquamarine eyes glittered in the dim bar glow, "Okay, maybe more like once a month, but seriously, this ain't no war. This is a one deity and his dog rampage. I have no problem with getting my nose bloodied and my knuckles scuffed up, actually haven't had a good brawl in a while. What I need from you is more your smarts and your insider knowledge. There are a whole glut load of other realm demons that would be more than thrilled to hand Uggae's ass to him in a sling and I know you have your contacts."

She forwent the straws and slugged the last of the hyperglycemic coma inducing liquid in one swift chug, "Besides, after I have been duking it out with big bads, I get rowdy and need a little release. . .if you get what I mean?"

[Maxx]

"I do indeed,"  Sebastian said.  "What exactly is it that you need?  And, for the record, no matter how minor the event, it can cause ripples that may end up causing far more of a reaction than expected.  Consider a simple breath.  Normally it has no special power.  but if applied to the neck of a woman who is at the perfect peak of arousal, it can trigger an orgasm.  Imagine that magnified by a thousand times and you can see how dangerous underestimating any divine being can be."

[Tinker]

Halo nodded, "This is true, but you gotta look at it from a couple of different perspectives. What we do on a daily basis and I mean we as people, not in our line of unusual work, but just as living, breathing organisms, causes enough repercussions in the universe. A single mislaid timepeace is enough to evoke a global war or the end of all violence, but where's the point in being so socially aware as to fear every action or word that issues forth from your person? There will be a consequence for whatever action anyone or anything takes, what I'm here for is damage limitation and keeping the balance. Now what bothers me is that Uggae has enough power to actually do this and if he is being fed the juice to formulate plans of death and mass distruction, then I want to know where his watering hole is. I know of only three groups of devout worshipers of Uggae and believe me, the numbers of each group is nowhere near big enough to give him the oomph he needs for this kind of operation, that's where you come in. Get your feelers out, I'm sure some of your clients are well enough connected that they would have caught scent of this way before I started doing the crazy dance down on the floor here. Once we find that nest we can torch it and that's the problem nipped in the proverbal bud. I don't know about you, but I would far rather come toe to toe with a bunch of fanatical humans over an old world God any day of the week. . . .humans are so much softer and bleed a whole lot easier."

She looked forlornly at the empty picher  and motioned to Al with a quick flick of the wrist for a second, "Now, its up to you how you want to deal with this. I can offer you cash, I can offer you a variety of services of a mystical nature and those other services rendered come absolutely free if you can forgo Tales from the Crypt for American Gothic."

[Maxx]

"I think you misunderstand my position,"  Sebastian said.  "I don't have clients, per se.  I'm a freelancer.  I was briefly on probation with Moses and the divine law firm upstairs but they had a problem with my sideline.  I still have contacts on both sides of the fence, so I'll put out some feelers and see which ones get bitten off.  Have you considered the possibility of a proxy?  Uggae is just fronting for some other being?  Perhaps as a patsy, so the real source of the problem will be safe to try again later."

[Tinker]

"That was something that had crossed my mind", Halo lowered her face into her waiting hands, her fingertips finding the pressure points of her temples and third eye. She spoke through her hands with suprising clarity, "But that's really not something I want to think about. If someone or something is setting Uggae up as a front guy or even worse, the fall guy, that means that whoever is giving the command and pulling the strings is either very powerful or very smart, or far worse, both."

Al came skittering back to replace the empty pitcher with a fresh one brimming with eye searing sunset liquid. Halo smiled and nodded at him, her clear eyes saying what her lips didn't need to. A satisfied smile spread across her lips as she took a long draw on the neon green straws.

"Its at times like these that I am sorely tempted to bed me a hot rock star and give the big old middle finger to the world of the unknown. Screw using my spooky-woo powers for the greater good, I mean seriously, what the hell is the greater good anyway? Surely its all a matter of perspective? Who's to say that me gratifying myself on an hourly basis with the latest rock god b6y means of enchantment, isn't an act for the greater good?"

Halo shook her head with a sardonic smile gracing her pouted lips, "Ah, if only. Maybe next lifetime, eh? This one I need your help to track down whatever or whoever has gotten this whole shitball rolling. I could probably do it all by myself in a longer time frame, but damn, why not share the love? besides, you've got a damned pretty face and ain't nothing better than a quick rough in tumble after saving the world. . . .for the fifth time."

[Jiraiya the sage]

Hello? hello? anybody there? i appear to have lost my way, help me, somebody! oh wait i can see and move, phew! i look up and my angelic wings are not white but not black, they are a beautiful grey, i come from a land in constant war between pure dark and light forces and i seek help to stop them both.

[Maltesedragn]

The Shewolf  swished her tail slowly from side to side, and stabbed a chicken wing with a deadly claw.  Devouring it in a single bite- bones and all.


Arctos felt the atmosphere change with the arrival of the new resident in O'Leary's.  Lifting her head to take a better look.   

' What do you make to that ? ' Now turning back to Cay.    and filling the claws on her right paw with more wings.   Only to let them dissapear greedily into her  jowls.  She paused breifly as if to  savour the taste of the miniscule portion of meat.

'You know it's too bad that you can't eat.  even just to taste the flavour. You are missing out on so much Cay'.

[Lvciferi]

It wasn't particularly nice of the wolf woman to rub in the fact I was missing out on a delicious little snack, but since she seemed be dreaming of eating people earlier I couldn't hold it against her that her manners may not have been quite charm school graduate material. So I ignored that part of her question and instead answered the bit I was more interested in anyway.

"I'm not quite sure what to make of its make, it's make is exquisite but who makes its make I'm afraid I am not aware. Speech pours forth from her mind not unlike water through a sieve. I wonder does it know not what it does and is new, or if it has been for ages but has not yet figured out the mechanics yet. Surely you don't come with blue prints when you look like that" I said as I ran a hand through my thick red hair, my dark pine green eyes watching the same mysterious figure that my she-wolf companion watched.

[Lvciferi]

Almost immediately after the arrival of the winged creation the ambiance of the bar shifted again, this time to an oppressive tenebrous atmosphere. The air became thicker as the acrid smoke seemed to come together to form a heavy miasma that lingered on the lips and nostrils of all who tried to breath it. The lighting of the drinkery seemed to respond as well, dimming to a degree that if it got any darker one could describe it as aphotic. Whether by coincidence or not it was at this time that a new figure entered amidst the gathered patrons. A figure whose demeanor and attire seemed to perfectly fit the now sepulchral bar. Each step that he took seemed to cause the burden of the atmosphere to lift a little, except by the figure where it seemed to be congregating in a vortex.

Lengthy atramentous colored hair fell around his lean chest that bore a tight onyx colored t-shirt in delicate tendrils. His complexion was wan to say the least, and the dark circles around his eyes made his strikingly dark eyes stand out all the more. His face bore the distinct characteristics of being descended from Scandinavians, though his hair was dark and his eyes were too, and he wore a black goatee that hung down a couple of inches off of his chin in a point paired with a thin black mustache that outlined his top lip. On his toned yet pallid arms he wore black vambraces that had just the hint of the tips of spikes protruding from the leather, and on his lower body he wore close-fitting coal-hued jeans and raven colored harness boots. The only jewelery the corpse like figure wore was a simple inverted silver pentagram on a black thong around his neck. He moved across the bar quickly with barley audible steps until he took a seat next to Halo and Sebastian. He didn't look at the two, instead his eyes remained focused on the demon in front of him.

"Blood?" was the only word that escaped from between his cadaverously pale and slightly blue tinged lips. The words rang out more like a question than anything else, and once he spoke them he looked away from the bartender and proceeded to stare at the bartop with a fixed unblinking gaze.