Page 101 of Gluttony
“It thinks you’re Bosch’s wife.”
When Bailey gasped, Tony mumbled, “You kinda look like her.”
And then it came right at them.
Thirty-Four
It all seemedto happen in slow motion.
Tony watched the creature flash forward on twisted and tumbling feet and knew he was vastly out gunned. Not a single weapon on his body, except the blue fire coursing through his veins, now pushing against his skin, dying to get out. Tentacles grew out of the creature’s back and thrashed about like a wild octopus—knocking into chairs, kicking up dirt and grass, bashing into the spotlights. The only light left was from the projector, still showing the movie.
There were too many vines... arms... whatever you wanted to call it.
If he ordered Bailey to run, she wouldn’t. He had to give her a job. He pushed Bailey back. “Get that projector turned off. I need darkness.” And then he launched at one of the thick vines whipping toward them. He latched on with two hands. It lifted him clear off the ground.
Holy shit.
He hovered momentarily in the air, and then he let his power release. A bolt of blue light flashed, arcing into the limb he held, casting light up to the being’s agonized face. It screeched and threw its head back. Its arm split into two between Tony’s grip.
He fell and landed on his feet.
That’s when the projector died and the lights went out. Tony smiled. Bailey had done what he’d asked, and now she should be heading out of there toward safety like the rest of them. He picked up the dead tentacle and used it like a club.
“Come and get some, Plantie.”
* * *
Everything waspandemonium the moment Bailey tipped over the projector, casting the outdoor cinema into complete darkness. The city’s elite morphed from cultured and sophisticated to selfish assholes. Screams and shouts became the soundtrack. A woman grabbed Bailey’s hair and yanked her out of the way. Bailey fell onto a row of chairs, their high backs cutting into her ribs. A man pushed her, shouting for her to get out of his way. She tumbled over more chairs, her body sliding into the gap in front. Landing on her shoulder, she cried out in pain. She might have jarred something. It was all too much. Her overloaded senses couldn’t focus on one avenue of escape. Get up through the pew filled with trampling feet, or—
Something hit her on the head and she dove face first into the lawn, taking a mouthful of grass in. Goddamn... Water filled her eyes. She rolled to her side, catching her breath, and ended up look into the sky bursting with blue patterns of light. At least she thought it was the sky. Stars and blue fireworks danced and swirled until darkness edged in completely. Just before she blacked out, she heard hissing.“Gabrielle.”
* * *
Tony smashedthe creature’s face with his club but caught a vine to his midsection at the same time. He went flying backward into a fallen spotlight. The metal pole hit him across the spine. White hot needles of agony burst at the site and he cursed loudly.
And then Liza was there, dragging him up, her face fierce under the starlight, her body hard and ready. She’d ripped the bottom of her dress and had used the straps to wrap around her fists.
“Where is everyone?” he grunted and yanked his jacket off.
“They’re getting the ladies to safety,” she stated, and then softer, “And the suits are in the car.”
Meaning, they’d be back in minutes disguised as the Deadly Seven and able to use the full force of their supernatural abilities. They just had to keep the creature occupied until then.
“It’s too dark. I can’t see jack!” Liza snapped and then her feet fell from under her. She landed on her back with a thud. The tendril wrapped around her ankle pulled, dragging her away with her fingers clawing at the dirt.
Tony roared and gave chase, using his power to light his path. Leaping at the tentacle that had Liza, he took the cord between his hands and pulled, straining his muscles, releasing his fire at the same time. But while his head was down, focused on freeing her, another of the creature’s appendages knocked him on the side of the head, bowling him into his sister. They went down together in a tangle of limbs. Groaning, they twisted and pulled themselves to their feet.
But the creature was gone.
Panting, Liza said, “You’re going to have to get to its head.”
“How?” he gasped. “Every time I get near, one of its spindly fucking arms comes at me. Cut one off and another grows back. It’s like Medusa’s head.”
“Then you need to go nuclear again. Just explode in its face.”
“I can only do that if no one is around.” And he wasn’t sure he could repeat the experience.
“Gabrielle...”
