The Everborn - Nicholas Grabowsky [174]
It was because of the unclothed children down there....
“Aaaah...goddammit Simon,” Uncle Maxy exclaimed, his patience exhausted from all of this, and all eyes turned towards him and his enervated prisoner. “You sonofabitch! At least Andrew mentioned one plausible thing and I say also, let’s get on with it! Here, I’ll even help you off to a fresh start....”
With that, and with no more effort than with a Diaper Dan doll, Uncle Maxy let go of his strangle-hold on Ralston, only to lift the protesting Everborn up and fling his body across the air, over the railing and into the darkness of the steep embankment. Ralston’s screams faded, then abruptly squelched.
“There,” Uncle Maxy said in accomplished relief, brushing his ghostly hands together as if after having discarded the daily garbage.
“No!” Andrew cried out after his friend. He quickly abandoned Melony and rushed past Scratch, knocking into his side, and went for the section of railing where Ralston went over. He gazed down into the direction where Ralston disappeared, speechless, eyes searching.
As Scratch turned to Mel, her body stiffened and her eyes returned a transfixed glare upon him, helpless and hopelessly afraid.
“What are you lookin’ at?” he barked.
Scratch then turned once again, over to one of the wrought iron tables, where he picked up his cherished straight razor.
***
That was when, just then, Salvatia herself materialized to join him at his side; a swift backhand to a space-constricting table served as a clamorous wake-up call to all for her presence to be known, as if simply appearing among them in itself wasn’t enough. She then spoke to Simon, coaxing him, “Now is the time, my beloved!”
Scratch looked over at her and into her diabolical scowl towering above.
“You see that over there?” the Magdalene spoke and pointed a twisted, black-nailed finger at Melony, who broke from her frozen aghast and became animated again, head darting for an alternate escape route. “That over there in her womb is your potential redemption. Your way out. To emerge into the next life you must destroy your successor into that womb. The longer you allow Andrew Erlandson to live, the more Melony’s womb serves as incubator for his next life and not yours. You will cease to exist, my troubled beloved.”
“She’s lying to you!” Andrew moved from the railing to sternly face him, challenging what emotions and sensible reasoning abilities Simon might have retained. “How do you know she’s telling the truth? She’s manipulated you throughout your life to suit her will, not yours! All she cares about is transforming into a Watchmaid again, so she could become limitlessly physical and manipulate the rest of the world as we know it!”
“My plan is a mutual plan, Evenborn,” Salvatia hissed at Andrew, “for both myself and Simon, my beloved. The end will justify the means for him and me. Besides, it will be a better world....”
“Where is Bari?” Andrew demanded hen, as if Salvatia was responsible for Bari’s absence.
“I wouldn’t worry, dear,” came Bari’s reply from seemingly everywhere, as it seemed always at first to Andrew.
But then as Andrew looked and saw back to where he’d gazed down over the railing and into the depths of the embankment, Bari’s shadow came forth into rapid view as she emerged trudging in upward climb through the tall grass, a delirious Ralston draped limp, and mumbling nonsense in her arms.
“Talk about being in the right place and at the right time,” Bari continued. “It was as if the poor guy had fallen into my lap from out of the sky.”
“That’s pretty goddamn ironic,” Ralston uttered. “Some of us might as well have fallen from the sky....”
“Bari!” Andrew responded, and by the sight of her was thoroughly relived. “As usual, you’re just in time....”
“...Time enough, I must say,” as Salvatia say, “to witness a death, and my rebirth!”
“It’s my rebirth, too.” Scratch whipped out a verbal check mark.
“Oh, yes,” Salvatia corrected herself.
“Lets kill Erlandson," Uncle Maxy regained his side spotlight. “My Queen, your power