It didn't take long for the first couple of crewmen to arrive. I wasn't sure whether they came up from belowdecks or somehow swarmed over from the barge, but two men in dark clothing, carrying pistols at the ready, came hurrying along and started up the stairs.
I'm not a great shot. But when you're resting a rifle on a solid surface, one that is perfectly still (at least relative to all the solid surfaces around it), and when the range is about forty feet, you don't have to be an expert. You just have to take a breath, let it out, and squeeze.
The Winchester cracked with thunder, and the first man arched into a bow of agony just as he reached the top of the stairs. That ended up working in my favor. He fell back into the second man, just as the second guy spun and raised his pistol. The first man fell into the second, sending his first shot wild, and knocked him about halfway over. The second man couldn't hold the gun with both hands, but he kept pulling the trigger as fast as he could.
At forty feet, terrified, in the dark, unsure of his target's exact location, and sprawled out with the deadweight of another man flopping against him, the poor bastard didn't have a chance. He got off seven or eight rounds, none of them coming anywhere close. I worked the action on the Winchester, took a breath, let half out, and squeezed the trigger.
It wasn't until the flash of light from the shot illuminated him that I recognized Ace, his expression panicked, his gun aimed at a point ten feet to my left. The light flashed and burned his face into my retina for a moment as the dark returned.
And the tugboat was silent again.
* * *
It didn't take long for the Erlking to finish his work. Maybe three minutes later, a chorus of hideous screams went up from the lake's surface, and the Hunt howled its triumph and circled into the sky, horns blaring, hounds baying. I saw green fire burning fiercely from the spot the Hunt had started carving, and then the barge started to list toward that side as the water poured into her. Barges aren't warships, or even maritime vessels. If they have belowdecks spaces at all, they generally aren't fitted with flood compartments and sealable doors. They sure as hell don't have automatic systems. They're just soup bowls. Poke a hole in the bottom, and a bowl isn't gonna hold much soup.
I didn't feel like getting Titanicked, so I hustled over to the spot where I'd boarded the tug. There was a roar from the shadow-tiger mask around the Harley, and Murphy swept up alongside the boat. I leapt down onto the back of the bike in a single smooth motion, which I felt was cool, and landed with way too much of my weight on my genitals, which I felt was not.
"Go, go, go," I gasped in a pained falsetto, and Murphy peeled away from the doomed ships.
Within moments, the Hunt had fallen into formation around me again, and the Erlking was laughing maniacally, whirling his sword over his head. The shadow mask over one leg and a section of his ribs had been torn away, and I could see wounds beneath-but already theshadows were stretching over them again. "I love nights like this!" he bellowed. "I love Halloween!"
"Yeah, it's pretty badass," I said in my wobbling, creaky voice.
"Sir Knight," he said, "that was passably done, but from here I believe it shall take more experience and expertise than you possess to continue the Hunt. Do I have your leave to resume command and pursue these Outsider vermin in a more appropriate fashion?" he asked me.
"Uh," I squeaked. "You aren't going to come after me with it, are you?"
He broke into laughter that could have been heard for miles. He was smiling so hard, it went right through the shadow mask, turning his face into a crazed jack-o'-lantern of soot and fire. "Not this night. I give you my word. Have I your leave?"
Rather than answer the Erlking in my Mickey Mouse voice, I gave him the thumbs-up.
The Lord of the Goblins threw back his head and let out another screech, and his steed began to gain altitude. The rest of the Hunt followed him.
"Uh, Harry?" Karrin said.
"Yeah?"
"This is a motorcycle."
It didn't register for a second, and then I blinked.
We were cruising down the surface of Lake Michigan, and it was chock-full of monstery goodness-and we had just left the Wild Hunt.
"Oh, crap," I said. "Head for the island! Go, go, go!"
Murphy leaned hard into a turn and opened up the throttle. I looked over my shoulder at the Erlking, wheeling in the skies above the lake, spiraling higher and higher, the Hunt following after. We went by a couple of Zodiacs so fast that their occupants didn't have time to shoot at us before we were gone.
Then the motorcycle slowed.
"What are you doing?" I screamed.
"We can't hit the beach at this speed," Karrin shouted back. "We'll pancake ourselves into those trees!"
"I don't really feel like taking a swim tonight!"
"Don't be such a pu**y," Karrin snapped. She leaned the bike into another turn, one that angled our direction to run parallel to the shore, and cut out the accelerator.
I felt the Harley slowing, and for a second I thought I felt it beginning to sink.
Then the Erlking cried out again and dived, his horse sprinting straight down, trailing the fire of the Hunt from its hooves. The rest of the hounds and riders followed in formation, and their horns and cries rebounded around the night.
Then, maybe a second before they hit the water, the Hunt changed.
Suddenly the Erlking wasn't mounted on a horse, but on a freaking killer whale, its deadly-looking black-and-white coloration stark in the night. Behind him, the other steeds shifted, too, their riders screeching with excitement. The hounds changed as well. Their canine bodies compressed into the long, lean, powerful shape of large sharks.
I'm not a great shot. But when you're resting a rifle on a solid surface, one that is perfectly still (at least relative to all the solid surfaces around it), and when the range is about forty feet, you don't have to be an expert. You just have to take a breath, let it out, and squeeze.
The Winchester cracked with thunder, and the first man arched into a bow of agony just as he reached the top of the stairs. That ended up working in my favor. He fell back into the second man, just as the second guy spun and raised his pistol. The first man fell into the second, sending his first shot wild, and knocked him about halfway over. The second man couldn't hold the gun with both hands, but he kept pulling the trigger as fast as he could.
At forty feet, terrified, in the dark, unsure of his target's exact location, and sprawled out with the deadweight of another man flopping against him, the poor bastard didn't have a chance. He got off seven or eight rounds, none of them coming anywhere close. I worked the action on the Winchester, took a breath, let half out, and squeezed the trigger.
It wasn't until the flash of light from the shot illuminated him that I recognized Ace, his expression panicked, his gun aimed at a point ten feet to my left. The light flashed and burned his face into my retina for a moment as the dark returned.
And the tugboat was silent again.
* * *
It didn't take long for the Erlking to finish his work. Maybe three minutes later, a chorus of hideous screams went up from the lake's surface, and the Hunt howled its triumph and circled into the sky, horns blaring, hounds baying. I saw green fire burning fiercely from the spot the Hunt had started carving, and then the barge started to list toward that side as the water poured into her. Barges aren't warships, or even maritime vessels. If they have belowdecks spaces at all, they generally aren't fitted with flood compartments and sealable doors. They sure as hell don't have automatic systems. They're just soup bowls. Poke a hole in the bottom, and a bowl isn't gonna hold much soup.
I didn't feel like getting Titanicked, so I hustled over to the spot where I'd boarded the tug. There was a roar from the shadow-tiger mask around the Harley, and Murphy swept up alongside the boat. I leapt down onto the back of the bike in a single smooth motion, which I felt was cool, and landed with way too much of my weight on my genitals, which I felt was not.
"Go, go, go," I gasped in a pained falsetto, and Murphy peeled away from the doomed ships.
Within moments, the Hunt had fallen into formation around me again, and the Erlking was laughing maniacally, whirling his sword over his head. The shadow mask over one leg and a section of his ribs had been torn away, and I could see wounds beneath-but already theshadows were stretching over them again. "I love nights like this!" he bellowed. "I love Halloween!"
"Yeah, it's pretty badass," I said in my wobbling, creaky voice.
"Sir Knight," he said, "that was passably done, but from here I believe it shall take more experience and expertise than you possess to continue the Hunt. Do I have your leave to resume command and pursue these Outsider vermin in a more appropriate fashion?" he asked me.
"Uh," I squeaked. "You aren't going to come after me with it, are you?"
He broke into laughter that could have been heard for miles. He was smiling so hard, it went right through the shadow mask, turning his face into a crazed jack-o'-lantern of soot and fire. "Not this night. I give you my word. Have I your leave?"
Rather than answer the Erlking in my Mickey Mouse voice, I gave him the thumbs-up.
The Lord of the Goblins threw back his head and let out another screech, and his steed began to gain altitude. The rest of the Hunt followed him.
"Uh, Harry?" Karrin said.
"Yeah?"
"This is a motorcycle."
It didn't register for a second, and then I blinked.
We were cruising down the surface of Lake Michigan, and it was chock-full of monstery goodness-and we had just left the Wild Hunt.
"Oh, crap," I said. "Head for the island! Go, go, go!"
Murphy leaned hard into a turn and opened up the throttle. I looked over my shoulder at the Erlking, wheeling in the skies above the lake, spiraling higher and higher, the Hunt following after. We went by a couple of Zodiacs so fast that their occupants didn't have time to shoot at us before we were gone.
Then the motorcycle slowed.
"What are you doing?" I screamed.
"We can't hit the beach at this speed," Karrin shouted back. "We'll pancake ourselves into those trees!"
"I don't really feel like taking a swim tonight!"
"Don't be such a pu**y," Karrin snapped. She leaned the bike into another turn, one that angled our direction to run parallel to the shore, and cut out the accelerator.
I felt the Harley slowing, and for a second I thought I felt it beginning to sink.
Then the Erlking cried out again and dived, his horse sprinting straight down, trailing the fire of the Hunt from its hooves. The rest of the hounds and riders followed in formation, and their horns and cries rebounded around the night.
Then, maybe a second before they hit the water, the Hunt changed.
Suddenly the Erlking wasn't mounted on a horse, but on a freaking killer whale, its deadly-looking black-and-white coloration stark in the night. Behind him, the other steeds shifted, too, their riders screeching with excitement. The hounds changed as well. Their canine bodies compressed into the long, lean, powerful shape of large sharks.
