The Lurker at the Threshold : A Horror Mystery by Brandon Berntson (books under 200 pages .txt) 📗

what’s obvious.  That’s just the way it is.  And there’s plenty you don’t know about me.  Now, let’s find this blasted hound and put an end to this nightmare.”

Duke started walking.  Newt hung back.  He put his hands in his pockets.

“Duke?”

The man turned.  “Yeah?”

“Thanks for giving me something to strive for, to look forward to . . . with Amelia.”

Duke looked at him.  “I don’t mean to run off a bunch of stuff you already know, or sound like the latest relationship advice.  It’s all clichés and melodrama.  It’s hard, but I’ll tell you, it’s worth it.  I can’t imagine life without Vera, and I don’t want to.  Just remember what I said.  You put yourself last.  You come last.  It goes against the grain, against what culture tells you, but I’m telling you the truth.  And you believe it.  She’s the first one you should be thinking about.  And, if you’re the first one she’s thinking about, then get ready.  Cause that is a recipe for joy.  Real joy.  Then you’ll run into some funny moments.  Moments you’ll never forget.”

“Funny moments?”

“You’ll try to outdo the other.  It becomes a game.  You trip over your own feet trying to make it special.  You’ll see.  You probably already have.”

“I’ve never heard you talk this way before, Duke.”

“It’s no big deal.  Kids are in college already.  I don’t try to just put away the bad guys, you know?”

“I can see that,” Newt said, grinning.

Duke had the flashlight out.  They were walking down the alley again.

“Does Vera worry about you, Duke, doing this kind of work?”

“All the time.”

“Amelia’s brought up the same thing.  It’s not as safe as owning the bookstore.  How does Vera deal with it?”

“She prays,” he said.

“Does that help?”

“It does for now,” Duke said.

They kept walking.  Duke stopped.

“What is it?” Newt asked.

“Listen,” he said.

There it was—the flutter of wings.  Big wings.  The sound was loud.

“That doesn’t sound like a bunch of small bats, Duke.”

“No.  It sounds like one big bat.”

In answer, something large settled on the fire escape.  Duke shined the light.  It was huge, the size of a gargoyle, perched on the rail.

It was looking right at them.

—

“Why do I get the feeling we’re looking for more than just a hound?” Newt whispered.  “Or more than one hound?  Or something that isn’t a hound at all?  Are you getting that impression, Duke, with what we’re looking at?  I can’t tell what it is.”

Duke looked at his partner and frowned.  He couldn’t tell what it was either.  His brows came together under the fedora.  It was shading his eyes.  Quite frankly, Newt didn’t want to see his eyes.  The whole thing had been bothering him for two days.  It felt like it had been going on forever.  Muncie, for one.  Exhaustion was catching up with them.  Adrenaline kept them going.  Especially now.  They would be up all night.  Or until the entire city was amok with monsters.  Or portals.  Or gateways.  It was getting ridiculous.  Stupid Macky with that stupid book.  How could anyone be so dense?

They stood staring at the thing without moving.  Duke pulled out his gun slowly.  He couldn’t tell what the thing was, but it wasn’t a hound.  He took aim, found a spot directly in the middle of the thing’s chest, and fired.  The shot was loud.

“Shut up down there!” someone shouted.  “You want me to call the cops?”

“What’s going on down there?” another voice squealed.  “People are trying to sleep!”

The thing cocked its head.  It looked at them still.

Duke had to have hit it.  He was sure of it, but the thing just stood there.  Was it a gargoyle of some kind, some giant, flying monster?  He couldn’t tell.  If he didn’t know any better, he’d say it smiled.  The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

He fired again.  More commotion and protests from people in the buildings nearby. The fog was thickening, the thing on the balcony more obscure.  A pall descended on the city, muting everything.  Duke was aware of a shift in the atmosphere, a warping in the air.

“Duke?”

“Yeah?”

“I think you missed it.”

The thing was still perched on the fire escape, looking at them.  It hadn’t even flinched.

“I don’t think you can kill it with a gun,” Duke said.

“That’s gonna make this more difficult, ain’t it?”

Newt pulled out his gun as well.  He fired.

“I told you to knock it off!”

“I’m calling the police!”

“We are the police!” Newt shouted back.

It looked like a gargoyle with huge wings.  The shape was visible, a large shadowy bulk, but that was all.  The eyes were glowing with a pale luminescence that reminded Duke of moonlight.  There was a green glow coming from the collar around its neck.

“I think we should get out of here,” Newt said.

Duke nodded.  “One more time.  Together.”

Newt nodded.  Gunfire erupted in the quiet night.  The smell of gunpowder was thick.

“The police are on their way!” someone shouted.

The thing didn’t move.  It sat there, staring at them. Did it smile?

“Duke?”

“Uh-huh.”

The thing on the fire escape rose to its full height.  Wings spread.  It took to the air.

Duke and Newt turned and ran down the alley.

—

“It’s the place I couldn’t get to.  He forbid me.  He wouldn’t let me down there.”

Macky had seen versions of evil over the years.  He’d seen it from mortality to things inhuman.  It wasn’t the kind of thing you got used to.  If you did, you were in trouble.  Maybe that was the advantage you needed against it.  He didn’t know.  You didn’t want to befriend it.  That was certain. And you didn’t want to get used to evil.  When you did, it became a part of you.

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