Aosoth's Lair

"This is the place. I can feel it, can't you?" Cassiopeia asked her brothers without taking her eyes off the cathedral.

"If you mean the venue for a potential mugging, then yes" Jason said, bored and examining his fingernails.

"Cassie can we go now?" The other brother Ethan asked in an exasperated voice "There's nothing here but ruins. Let's go home"

"Shut up, Ethan. You can go home if you want to. I'll stay here and stare at this place overnight if that's what it takes"

The three of them continued to stare at the cathedral, their eyes willing it to open up and reveal its secrets. They were dressed in black wool turtlenecks with matching black leather pants and superhero-style weapons belts filled with everything from Celestial Bronze swords to throwing blades; standard fighting gear for Hunters.

They'd been interested in the series of demon activities going on around the city ever since a deliveryboy had been declared missing on the news, and his body had been found days later in the alley of a Chinese restaurant two blocks from the cathedral by a very startled and traumatized cook. The Hunters in New York had managed to examine the body before the regular police took over, and a very strong demonic presence had been detected around the body. Cassie had heard their parents talk about it and then coerced her brothers into looking for the demon.

She fingered the yellow police tape around the cathedral thoughtfully and tried to go under. However, Jason was not having any of it.

"No you don't" He grabbed her wrists. "Let's go. People are starting to stare"

Indeed passersby were beginning to give confused looks at the three teenagers in black clothes and weapons.

"Fine" Cassie shrugged her brother's hands off her "Ethan let's go"

The three of them held hands in the dimness of the cathedral's spires, each having the same image of the same building in their minds. Within the blink of an eye and another, they'd disappeared.

****

It was evening and Maddie was standing in the doorstep of Olive's house. She rang the doorbell for the third time. This time Olive opened the door.

"Hey, you look drained" Olive said, holding the door open for Maddie.

"I feel drained" Said Maddie "Why did you leave?"

"Didn't want to get in the middle of all that ruckus"

Maddie rolled her eyes. Only Olive could use the word "ruckus" in a sentence and not crack a smile.

"Can I crash here tonight? I can't stand my dad right now"

"Oh, I can relate to that" Olive said "Sure, you can crash"

Moving Olive's paperbacks from the couch, Maddie settled down, removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes tiredly "Can you believe he wants us to move again?"

There was a moment's hesitation before Olive said "For real?"

"Yeah. Well I made it clear that I'm not moving with him. I'll get a job in New York if I have to, move in with you if i have to" Even as she said it Maddie's chest was filled with stones of apprehension. She was fifteen, a minor by all standards. Her dad would never leave her alone in New York.

As if reading her thoughts, Olive snorted and said "Yeah but you're too young to stay alone in New York"

Close to tears, Maddie put her head in her hands "Jesus, Liv. I know. But I really don't want to go, start all over again in a new place, try to make friends again"

Olive stared at her, and seemed about to say something when her cell phone, buried in her hoodie pocket, began a loud buzzing. Maddie fished it out, gazed at the name blinking on the screen, and scowled.

"It's my dad."

"I could tell from the look on your face. You going to pick the call?"

"Not right now," Maddie said, feeling the gnaw of guilt in her stomach as the phone stopped ringing and voice mail picked up. "I don't want to fight with him again" She punched the voice mail button on the phone and listened with a growing feeling of guilt at her dad's voice "Hey Maddie. I'm sorry I yelled at you that way. Please come on home, let's talk"

"I don't want to go home. He's just going to force me to move, the way he's done all these years" Maddie groaned.

"You can always stay at my house," Olive said, rubbing Maddie's back sympathetically "For as long as you want. My dad won't mind"

Later in the night, after rejecting Olive's dad's offer of dinner, and laying beside Olive on her bed, Maddie slinked into a chain of disturbing nightmares.

****

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵-𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘢, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰, 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯. 𝘈 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘸𝘯" 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬-𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘢.

𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥: "𝘐 𝘈𝘮 𝘈𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘵𝘩, 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘖𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘈𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳" 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨...

****

Maddie felt it. There it was again. The unfamiliar, uncomfortable feeling that something was following her. She'd been convinced by Olive's dad the next day to go home and hear what her own dad had to say. On her way she'd decided to pick up a bagel at a bakery downtown because she'd skipped breakfast. As she stepped out of the bakery with her bagel in hand, she stopped as something caught her eye. It was a flicker of movement, across the street, down by the rubbish-strewn alley of a barbershop. There was something unnerving about the movement; an impossible angle as a gesture caught the light, too impossible and fast to be human. Keeping an eye on the trashcans by the barbershop, Maddie fished her cellphone from the front pocket of her Jeans and proceeded to dial her dad's number. On the second ring he picked.

"Hey dad," she said tentatively.

"Maddie?"

"Dad, it's me. I'm–"

"Maddie listen to me," Paul's voice sounded strained, like he was trying to hold in a great amount of pain. "Maddie, you can't come home. Stay at Olive's for the time being"

"Dad! What's wrong? Are we being robbed? Should I call the police?"

"We're not being robbed," Paul said "But Home's not safe for–"

There were dull thuds from her dad's end of the call, like furniture being kicked around, and a slithering, snake-like sound. She heard her father gasp, then he said "Be safe, Maddie. I love you" before the call disconnected with a harsh, jarring sound like the phone was flinged against the wall.

"Dad!" She cried. She made several frantic phone calls but her dad never picked. In her apprehension and fright, she'd forgotten to keep an eye on the trashcans. Too late, she swerved to see a great mass of black fur before a heavy paw hit her across the face and she felt herself being dragged before blacking out.