The Grotesques (38 page)

“She’s sleeping. She’ll be all right,” Ella said, praying it were true. The veterinarian was not in sight to check if an antidote were available.

“Help me,” Rob said, tucking an arm beneath Cecily’s neck.

Romain looked up at that. He had Cecily cradled in his arms before Ella and Rob could heave. Her wings draped around her, she looked incredibly vulnerable for a creature supposed to offer protection. They hurried toward the road, Rob bringing up the rear. He held his gun at the ready. Too bad they all knew how ineffectual it was.

Just past the church, a utility truck was backing up, a large steel cage on its tray. Osborne, the military man who had conferred with Rob earlier, stepped around the back and accosted them, a no-nonsense set to his jaw.

“At least we’ve captured one of those beasts,” he said. “Put it in the cage. We’ll deal with it from here.”

ELLA LATCHED ONTO
Rob. Matt Hayes’s video must have planted farfetched ideas in her head because whatever assurances the military might give, she was sure they intended to subject Cecily to a barrage of invasive tests. “We can’t let them take her.”

Shaking free of her, Rob pointed his gun. “This is Cecily Williams, the first girl who disappeared in the area. She’s in a position to tell us where the other missing girls are.”

“And the dragon is one of the girls from Hanging Rock,” the humourless official said as two armed soldiers flanked him.

“With an imagination like that, you should consider a job at the
Informer
,” Ella said, positioning herself directly in front of Romain and Cecily.

“I shall leave the tall tales to reporters of your outstanding calibre.”

“Is it more implausible than a dragon in twenty-first century Adelaide?”

“I’ve seen nothing beyond pyrotechnics and expert special effects. Perhaps you should do your research. It took nothing more than a split tyre to fool the world into believing in the Bowness Monster.”

“How many more deaths do you need to convince you this is real?” Rob asked.

“If this
thing
is a girl, we’ll find out. Now, gentlemen, load it into the truck.” The soldiers marched forward. Eyeing the mean-looking rifles, Ella questioned the wisdom of her position.

“You don’t have the full details,” Rob said, glancing at Romain and the grotesque.

“I’m happy to fill you in. You’ll have the facts before the paper is even off the press,” Ella added.

“I’m afraid this situation is non-negotiable. After hearing of tonight’s events, the Premier has authorised the military to take whatever action necessary to solve this problem. That does not include wasting time on a chat.”

Okay, she was cowed. A military man with access to the Premier had to be a formidable behind-the-scenes authority. Possibly even The Authority. No way was he going to listen to a discredited reporter. She tensed as the soldiers brushed past.

“Bats up,” Romain said, knocking his broad shoulder into the leanest of them. Osborne’s lip hitched in disgust. The soldier twitched. Ella peeked skyward. A horned grotesque was leaping off the roof. She took the hint, fished out her mobile, and tossed it up with a quick trigger-pressing motion. There was every chance the elected Premier would turn avid ears to a reporter’s opinion. Even a discredited one. Adam swooped and caught the phone as Osborne drew a pistol from his holster.

“Soldier!”

“Sir?” A fresh-faced youth tried to divide his attention between Osborne and the dart he was pulling from the lean soldier’s behind. A moment later he jerked and twisted, feeling for the projectile in his own rear end. Osborne spun, redirecting his aim from the grotesque to the veterinarian. Lyn Faringer dropped the dart gun, raised her hands, and walked slowly their way. Ella relaxed as Adam flapped to the safety of the roof and started clicking photos.

“I meant to hit the creature. The soldiers moved after I pressed the trigger.”

“I consider this an act of terrorism.”

“Sir.” Both soldiers were looking decidedly uncomfortable.

“The antidote.”

Lyn had her arms tightly crossed beneath her bust. She glanced at the roof, clearly uncomfortable with what she had just done. “I swapped to ketamine. They’ll be out for a couple of hours in about three minutes. No lasting damage.”

“We’re moving,” Rob said. “Ms Faringer?”

“Stay right where you are.”

“How do you think the Premier would react to photographic evidence of you shooting civilians on prime time news?” Ella asked, stepping back. She waggled a finger at the roof. The horned grotesque gave a horrendous smile, waved, and held up the camera for more shots.

Freshface hitched up his rifle and fired. The bullet clinked low on the wall. Still, Ella was relieved Adam had the good sense to duck.

“His popularity is likely to soar when we report terrorists were assassinated.”

“That label would never stand up to public enquiry.” She hoped. Discredited journalist. Terrorist. What was next, bloodsucking shapeshifter? “The press would have a field day once they caught wind.” Oh, yes. Her former colleagues would hang her out to dry if they thought she was a terrorist.

“She’s right.” Rob still had his gun trained on Osborne. The agent was pointing his own piece right back. Romain kept up as they backed toward the fences but Lyn Faringer had opted to stay put. Whatever it cost her, Ella was going to make super sure Adam’s photos went viral if the veterinarian disappeared off the radar. If they made it out of Osborne’s grasp themselves. The shadowy man was cocking his trigger. The beaked grotesque cawed as it wheeled. Caroline was one smart lady. A rock fell from her talons onto Osborne’s hand, knocking the gun to the ground.

“Agents!” Osborne yelled.

They bolted. Ella called out to Romain to hurry, then realised they had already traversed the alley to Formby Crescent. Around the corner, Rob unlocked a car and urged them both inside. Romain squashed into the back, refusing to let go of Cecily. Rob pulled out fast and sped toward the station. Every ten seconds or so, Ella cast nervous glances back, checking for pursuit and on Cecily.

As they turned onto Port Road, a dull thud broke the silence. Ella squealed. A bat was plastered across the rear window. Another hit the roof. They hadn’t travelled a kilometre before a steady stream of the creatures was flying into the car. Some fell to the road, others stuck to the chassis. The stream grew into a swarm, two arriving to take the place of every one that died. Rob turned on the windscreen wipers, sending one bat flying. The sudden appearance of three more, their mouths open like miniature monsters about to bite, made him swerve. Ella gripped the edge of her seat. Rob fought to bring the car under control. The wipers ground against the bodies and snapped. More bats piled on top until their vision of the road was obscured.

Ella began searching the glove compartment for anything that might prove useful. The bats might be small but as a swarm they were as terrifying as any dragon. She would never understand what Adam saw in the gruesome mammals.

Rob swore.

Ella glanced his way.

“The brakes don’t work. Hang on.”

Ella felt her fear begin to spiral out of control. She checked on Cecily. “Romain.” Bent over Cecily, stroking her ruffled fur, the mason seemed oblivious to what they were facing. “Romain!”

The mason grudgingly looked up. Cecily’s breathing, although regular, was slow and her nose appeared paler than Ella remembered.

“Can you stop Genord?”

Romain looked around, a perplexed curve to his lips. The bats had completely blocked the windows. The car sped on.

“Any ideas?” she asked Rob.

“Hang on.”

The car hit the pavement. Rob jerked the steering wheel to the right. The car regained the road but skidded sideways across the three lanes. A sustained hoot warned of an approaching vehicle. Romain mumbled something foreign. Ella twisted against her seatbelt. The mason’s eyes appeared vacant.

“Romain, put on your seatbelt,” she said as the car continued to veer. It hit the median strip and toppled onto its side. On the high side, the driver’s airbag inflated. The car scraped along the road, finally coming to rest facing the direction they had come. A car roared past, its horn blaring. Inside, breathing was the only audible sound.

“Ella, are you all right?” Rob had begun to repeat the question before her bewildered senses could decipher it.

“Fine, I think. Romain?” she said, trying to focus on the dashboard. She craned her neck. The motion sent a spike of pain down through her shoulder and along her arm. Rob caught the bite of her lip. Overprotective as always, he pressed her against the seat and twisted toward the back. Not about to be left out, she undid the seatbelt and worked her way around, ignoring the sharp stabs of pain. Romain was holding the cross. It was haloed in a yellow light.

“You really are a saint,” she said. It was a miracle they were all unscathed.

Romain grunted. Across his lap, Cecily stirred. Her breathing had become irregular, but there was no sign of injury.

“You’re bleeding,” Rob said.

Ella put a hand to her temple. It came away sticky with blood. “I’m fine,” she repeated, wondering when the car would stop spinning around her. Dizzy, she gripped the back of the seat. The least the inconvenience of an accident could have done was clear the car of bats. Several were still crawling over the vehicle and more were thumping the chassis every second. “But I don’t want to get out.”

“You said these things attacked you?”

“With a vengeance. Genord said he wants me dead.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

A car screeched to a halt. Its engine whined as it reversed. They heard a door slam, then a scream. Footsteps ran from the scene, and the car’s engine roared back into life. She and Rob exchanged looks, hers helpless, his worried.

In the back, Cecily was shivering. Her eyes cracked open but her drowsy head kept nodding forward. Romain started muttering again. Cecily stirred and batted a gentle paw at his face. Romain helped her to right herself. Between the two of them it was a tight squeeze in the back.

“Cecily, help,” Romain said, wriggling a hand past the grotesque’s bulk and onto the door handle.

“She can’t go out in that condition. She’s barely woken up,” Ella said.

“Cecily help!” Romain butted a shoulder against the door.

More bats knocked against the car. Cecily emitted a pitiful mewl. Rob leaned across but was unable to restrain the bulky mason.

Ella placed a hand on Rob’s shoulder. “He’d never let any harm come to her.”

“From what you’ve told me, he’s risking her life.”

“It’s all our lives. And she might be the only one able to get us out of here.”

Romain tipped himself upside down and kicked at the door. It snapped open. Cecily shook her head.

“Be careful,” Ella said, and received a nuzzle. Ella gave her soft fur a stroke. Cecily’s deep purr was cut short as she swiped at a bat that had entered the car. Bones crunched as she crushed bats under her paw and in her jaws while Romain kicked the door wide. She wriggled out, enduring bites with swallowed growls. The growls turned into yelps as a swarm flapped around her head.

Rob pulled out his gun and gripped the door handle.

“Rob STAY,” Romain said. It was the angriest Ella had heard the mason.

“She has enough to deal with without worrying about you,” Ella said.

“If it is Cecily, it’s my job to protect her.”

“If Romain thinks she can deal with it, she can. He’s more clued in than you think.”

Rob relented. The windows were slowly clearing as Cecily swiped bat after bat, her paw smearing blood across the glass.

“She’s hurt.” Ella looked round at Romain. The mason seemed far away. Another volley of bats slammed into the windscreen. The glass cracked. Cecily’s scratching turned frantic.

“Romain?”

“Igulum.”

“I can’t leave her to fight alone,” Rob said, forcing the door ajar.

Something larger thumped onto the car and slid down the windscreen. Bats disappeared from view. A horned grotesque appeared and grimaced. It snatched at a stray bat and hurled it away, flicked its head, and batted another with its horns.

“Adam!” Ella said, placing a hand against the windscreen.

Grotesque Adam’s eyes met hers but he was too busy with the swarm to respond.

Rob was looking through the widening cracks.

“You love him, don’t you?”

The question left Ella feeling exposed. Too much had happened for her to have time to analyse the whirl of emotions that consumed her whenever Adam was around.

“I think so,” she said.

Rob inhaled.

Metal wrenched. The front door opened and Cecily poked her nose into the car. They clambered out. Ella swaggered, dizzy. Whether she was suffering from the bump to her head or the carnage around her, she could not say. Adam rumbled as she steadied herself against the car.