Out of the Black - Lee Doty [130]
"I" All nine of the things at both entrances to the kitchen said in unison, "Killed them." Issak still sat across the table, eyes lowered. He opened his mouth, but then shut it again.
Dek looked around at the all-chant chorus. "You guys do rounds, too?"
"Ivo discovered them... what they were doing. After Gamma went down, after Asado made their play to kill Ivo." Issak paused for another swallow from his glass. "Some of the things that attacked Ivo actually fouled his interface with the Loom. Later, he found out why."
"After digging Roy's sword out of them, right?"
Issak nodded. "That's when he found the cracks." another swallow, "Through the disfigured corpses were ragged cracks into the underworld, through the Loom itself. My cracks."
Behind Issak, the lurkers shifted their heads in unison, rolled their eyes. Dek laughed, "If you're done talking about your crack, I think your new pals would like to get to the killing me part."
After an evil stare that lasted a few seconds, Issak continued. "Their goal tonight is not murder, but larceny. Tonight they need what now hovers around you... they need what you're now ready to give... you see? You are the key."
"To the executive washroom?"
"To the world... to the Loom." Issak said with a more agitated wink- what was up with that? Dek didn't really care, "Just a little blood linkage to forge the connection and it's theirs to use."
One of the corcrowd stepped forward, humorless smile stretched taut. Nice teeth.
Issak was still talking. Blah blah ghosts from below, yadda yadda cover the world. He really could bang out the verbiage sometimes. Dek was listening now as always. He'd parse through the info later with perfect recall, assuming he lived. If he didn't live, he really didn't care what Issak's plans and motivations were.
Dek was looking down at the table. Teak wood. Unusual in this day and age, but then the table didn't come from this day and age. Roy had built it long ago. He'd given it to Ivo, but not before he'd worked perfection into every centimeter. At first glance, the table seemed simple, utilitarian. But upon closer inspection it was full of subtle beauty- the lines were carved freeform so there were no straight edges anywhere. Gentle curves drew the eye around the edges. The sparse, but intricate carvings enticed the eye to linger. The table suited Roy, suited Ivo.
Tears filled his eyes. This grief could only be distracted by massive quantities of violence. Of course, it could only be conquered through forgiveness. He felt that as certainly as he felt the power leaching out of him, as sure as he felt disgust as Issak dragged his tumbler across Roy and Ivo's table- would it kill him to use a coaster? The demon was rounding the table as Issak blabbered on like he had all the time in the brink-of-destruction world. What was it with overconfidence and the evil? He used to be so careful.
"...save them, but I can save you now..." Issak was saying.
The flash that came next surprised everyone. No one noticed the lock tone or the ringing blade- the snap of the hammer drowned by the roar of the gun- but the demons that surrounded the table staggered as the shockwave burst outward from Issak's destroyed hand. Dek was surprised that the disruption his blade had caused in Issak's Cast should affect them. They must be more sensitive than they appeared... you really can't judge even demonic books by their covers.
Of course, no one was more surprised than Issak, as he gaped down at the tip of the Forged blade that protruded from the back of his left hand as it rested on the table. Or perhaps he saw only the starburst of erupting energy as the blade that parted his flesh and severed the skeins of the Cast that