A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters - Martin Harry Greenberg [38]
Helen could see Leis tiring from the struggling creature’s ferocious movements. With the weight of the damned mobile still crushing her, there was little Leis could do other than maintain her current position. Helen had to help her and quick.
“Leis!” Helen called, finally able to move now that the mobile was resting on Leis’ back. She rolled out from under the mobile toward one of the large glass vessels of frozen hot chocolate that had fallen on the floor nearby. Remarkably, its contents were still intact right down to the mountain of whipped cream topping it. Helen wrapped her left hand around it. She pulled her arm back then slid the whole thing forward, launching it across the floor toward Leis. The contents threatened to spill out, but the chalice’s weight and speed helped it bowl any obstacles out of its way. It slid to a stop at Leis’ feet.
Leis dropped back to her knees. The mobile crushed down on her, pushing her down to the restaurant floor, but thankfully not before she got her free hand under her.
The creature was able to get its feet under it as well, giving it a bit of leverage. The creature twisted its gnarled upper torso, pulling its wings free from Leis’ hand. Turning, it pulled back its lips, revealing dangerous rows of tiny teeth. The monster lunged for the hand that had been holding it, but Leis was faster. Her hand flashed behind its grotesque head, grabbing the stringy patch of greasy hair and forcing its face into the frozen drink.
Unable to breathe, the creature went wild trying to free itself, but Leis didn’t let up. The drowning monster thrashed around, flapping its wings like a bug caught in a zapper. Leis held it there until the strength ebbed from the creature as the fight went out of it, and after one last, convulsive effort, it went limp. Leis let go of it and it remained face down in the dessert, unmoving.
Helen worked her way over, lifting the fallen mobile up to help her friend out from underneath. Leis stood after first recovering her crossbow. Helen looked around as she waited for Leis. The shambles of a restaurant was empty, with the sound of sirens rising in the distance, growing ever closer.
“We should go,” Leis said.
Helen dropped the mobile. It fell to the floor of the restaurant and the last of the Tiffany glass fell from it, sounding like an angry set of wind chimes. Helen dusted whipped cream and glass off her clothes. She looked over at Leis. “Go where? He wasn’t here, remember?”
Leis was already walking off toward the door, grabbing the wintery cape she’d left by it. “But he had been here,” she said. “Or didn’t you notice the little winged beasties?”
Helen held her arms out as if showcasing the debris around them like some kind of crisis-oriented Vanna White. “We came. I saw. You conquered.”
Leis laughed, despite what had just happened.
Helen smiled back. “So if your ex isn’t here, where is he then?”
Leis held the door open, waiting for Helen to cross the room and join her. “He’s moving downtown,” Leis said. “And I think I know where.”
Helen gestured out the door. “Lead on, McRough.”
On the street, Helen had to practically run to keep up with her much taller roommate. For mid-February, it was uncommonly warm. Helen wondered how Leis could stand it under that black fashionista cloak of hers, but she guessed if you wanted to hide a crossbow and who knew what else, it was a small price to pay. Even with all that extra bulk, following Leis was still no easy task.
“Slow down,” Helen called after her. Leis paused, but only long enough for Helen to catch up before she took off again. Helen followed, this time keeping pace. “Leis, this is starting to get a little ridiculous. We’ve been all over Manhattan. We checked the carriage rides in Central Park. You spooked the horses. Then it was The Cloisters. You spooked the tourists. Then the skating rink at Rockerfeller Center. I’m pretty sure you spooked someone there, but it was hard to tell, given the spastic