Soul Pills

Chapter 17

In the five minutes since the sun broke over the horizon it had been swallowed by smog, leaving just a hazy disc in the sky. The smell of salt and garbage rode the wind in from the ocean. Colm turned on the windshield wipers even though the rain was barely more than a drizzle. He looked in the rear view mirror and saw Bella shift uncomfortably.

The wind blew in through the passenger side window,directly into her face, and she was clearly disturbed by it. It didn't help that she was wedged in between Marcus and Grace on the hump in the back seat. The car had been designed for four people, with the middle of the back seat being better suited to a child seat than a fully grown adult. Still, there were five people and only one car, and Lloyd had to ride up front because of his cast.

Marcus seemed no less uncomfortable, he winced occasionally when the car hit a bump but kept a look of grim resolve on his face. The six of them, including Emma's ghost, had spent the night planning ways to stop the spread of the demon. Emma had been adamant that without giving in to the demon's wishes it would only grow more powerful, any attack they made would be fueled by anger, and it could use that anger to draw them in.

In the end they had settled on a plan that Colm thought was ridiculous. They would talk to the demon, coax it out, and then give it precisely what it wanted. But first they had to make sure they understood what it wanted, and in order to do that they would have to go back to the Kulas house and keep the demon's attackers at bay long enough for Marcus to get a word in edgewise. It was utter madness.

Colm's plan had been much simpler: fill a couple gas cans, stuff some fuel soaked rags in the top, and chuck them at the house as they drive by. Those twisted trees around the house would light up like tinder and they could pick off the demon's minions as they fled the site.

But everyone else insisted that just because the thing beyond those gates could be called a demon, it didn't make the people there demon worshippers. In fact they were just normal people who had succumbed to the power of a force of pure hatred. Up ahead Colm could see the gates to the Kulas house. They were still partially open, though now a police officer stood beside the gate. The opening was taped off with crime scene tape. The officer had his gun out of its holster, resting idly in his right hand. The officer's posture was at odds with his crisp uniform. He stared blankly ahead, arms slack and shoulders slumped.

Colm pulled the car into a driveway at the end of the block and rolled it forward until it was completely hidden from view by the garage on the property. He turned off the car and as he got out he turned and whispered, "All right wise guys, how does THAT fit into your fucking plan?"

Marcus stood up and stretched his legs. He rubbed the back of one leg to get the feeling back into it, Lloyd's seat had been so far back that his knees had been firmly pressed against the back. Bella and Grace got out of opposite doors, Grace moved beside Marcus and Bella crept to the edge of the garage and risked a quick peek around the corner. "He's still there," Bella said quietly.

"Of course he's still there. What? You think we'd just waltz in there and have a chat?" Colm huffed and walked to the trunk, "If we had thrown a couple cans of gasoline in here we could have done this whole thing without even leaving the car."

Marcus laughed, there was no edge to his laugh, it sounded warm and genuine. "Colm, as much as I like the idea of firebombing a wealthy neighborhood, these people are my clients. In my line of work funerals are for finding new business, not collecting debts from the families of deceased patients."

Colm smiled and quipped back, "Aint you were supposed to help people with vampires? Sounds to me like you're the bloodsucker."

Marcus held two fingers up to his mouth to mime a pair of fangs and made a sort of sucking noise. Colm hadn't realized how much he missed these little exchanges. It was as if he and Marcus were back in their brawler days, joking with each other to look tough. In those days, though, they had fought drunk college guys. A lot more was on the line today than a broken nose and a night with a pretty girl.