Fireproof (19 page)

"Well, as you can see, I have returned. I now wish to announce the appointment of our new high priest. Jim McCracken."

Jim stepped forward and didn't blush. His hands relaxed and by his side and his back straight, he took a deep breath and spoke. "I would like to thank Mike for giving me the opportunity to show my worth. I will take on this role with enthusiasm and hope to work with you all to make this movement a powerful success."

"Thank you, Jim," Mike said. "Does anyone have any questions or shall we start the meditation session?"

"Where's all the drink?" a voice from the back of the crowd asked.

"I didn't want anybody to get drunk tonight. I think that this whole thing has started out on the wrong foot. I have nothing against alcohol, but I don't think that it'll help you understand Satanism."

Six young men left the crowd and went in search of some weaker kids to steal a carryout from. Mike was happy that it was such a small number.

"For those of you who have decided to stay, despite the lack of alcohol, I thank you. Now let us meditate."

Plastic bags rustled as the well prepared Satanists laid down a flimsy layer of protection between their backsides and the cold, damp earth. Those who hadn't thought ahead kneeled instead of sitting cross-legged. The crackle of the fire, the wind in the trees and the slow breathing of hundreds of teenagers were the only sounds. Mike tried to think of a burning candle to focus his mind. All he could see was the face of Dave O'Brien. He had already decided not to kill the taxi driver. It was a huge risk but he thought he could track down Dave before Cerberus came for him. If he was lucky, he'd get another chance and could get back to working on the relationship with Cathy. If not, he would be heartbroken and in Hell. He just had to take the risk. He couldn't justify murdering an innocent man to cover up his own sloppiness.

Cathy was not going to like it, but she would probably understand. He'd be upfront with her. That was the fairest thing he could do.

Somebody poked Mike in the back. He opened his eyes and looked over his left shoulder. Cadbury's face was inches from his own. He pointed to Mike's right shoulder and pulled an ugly face. The imp was back. Mike nodded to Cadbury and announced the end of the meditation. He then asked Jim to read from the pamphlet and try to get a discussion going on the principles of Satanism. He excused himself and moved away from the crowd. When he was out of earshot he whispered to the imp.

"What do you want?"

"How'd you know I was here?"

"Not important. What do you want?"

"Just another update. The Master says that unless the taxi driver problem is taken care of in a week, Cerberus will come to collect you. I suggested that you didn't get any notice but The Master thought it would be motivating to know. Good luck with that, you asshole."

"Did you have fun at the water park?"

"What do you mean? Oh, wait. The flushing thing. Har-dee-har-har. Prick."

"You should probably get going before I get creative again. I'm sure you're sick of being humiliated."

"I hope you waste this opportunity, Mike. I'm going to put in a request for a day in your room with a pitchfork and a blowtorch."

"I'm shaking, you little turd."

The imp was silent and Mike assumed it was gone. He waved his hand over his right shoulder and didn't make any contact. It was gone or hiding but either way he didn't have to listen to that high-pitched voice for a while. The little green shit just prickled every nerve in Mike's body.

Cathy called his name out. She was walking towards him. Mike smiled at her. Beautiful in the moonlight, her form framed by the bonfire burning behind her. His heart stuttered like a jungle beat. He walked to meet her and kissed her when she was close enough.

"So, what's up with you, Mr Rocks?"

"Things are not going well, I'm afraid."

Mike told her about the imp. He explained the problem of the taxi driver and how long he had left before Cerberus came. He also told her he'd decided not to kill the taxi driver. She took it well. Did nothing rock this woman?

"That is a problem. Would you like me to kill the taxi driver?"

"No, that's the same as me killing him."

"Thought so. What if he was a bad man though? Would that make it easier?"

"I'm not a vigilante or an angel of death. I've killed for revenge but not to make my life easier. Even if he robbed a granny when he was seventeen, it wouldn't make a difference. It's not right to kill him."

"So, can we kill Cerberus?"

"What?"

"Well, if Cerberus comes and we kill him, it might buy more time. Couldn't we try something like that?"

"I don't think we could kill a mythological creature from Hell. There's got to be rules about that sort of thing."

"We might get some information on the internet. It's worth a shot. Better than just giving up."

"I love you, Cathy Maguire." And he didn't feel stupid or self conscious for saying it so soon.

"Love you too, Mike. We can do this."

"If it can be done, we'll do it."

"That's close enough, I guess. You coming over here to join this raging debate? I think somebody killed Jim and put on his skin. The boy has turned into a philosopher."

"This I have got to see."

***

Back at the campfire, Jim held his own in a discussion with a Goth on the nature of evil and how it applied to Satanism. Jim believed that Lucifer was more of a figure of rebellion, where the Goth thought that Lucifer was not the ultimate rebel, but a being that epitomised evil and suffering. Jim made thought provoking and intelligent points and listened politely to the Goths opinions. Mike wondered if there was something in Cathy's theory. He nudged Cadbury.

"Mate, is there anything sitting on Jim's shoulder, whispering in his ear?"

"No, Mike, but he has a wonderfully strong aura. It suggests that he has found a new passion. I sense a recent change in perspective from him."

"Aura? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure Mike, but when I'm around you I get these thoughts and see these things. It's as if something about you awakens something in me. Maybe that's rubbed off on the young philosopher over there too."

"I don't understand."

"No, me neither, but I like it."

Cadbury looked into the bonfire. Mike scratched his head. He wasn't sure what Cadbury was getting at. Was he telling him that Mike was a catalyst for self-improvement? That hardly seemed like an attribute that would carry over from a recent visitor to Hell. It would have been more likely that he'd carry some sort of negative energy that effected people in a bad way.

The night was a success. Mike invited Jim to share the taxi back to the Lower Falls with him, Cathy and Cadbury. To Mike's relief the driver was not the chatty type. On the way back they travelled in silence. They didn't want to talk about the night in front of a stranger. Because there were no cafes open in West Belfast at midnight on any night of the week, Mike put a pot on in his apartment. Jim remained courteous and well spoken. Cadbury looked high on life. Cathy beamed beauty, as usual. Mike felt happy. He was among the closest thing he had to family. The thought of losing all of this in just a week did not hurt as much as he expected it to. He was just happy to have experienced it at all.

"How come your wheelie bin is in the kitchen?" Jim asked on his way back from pouring himself a glass of water.

"You really wouldn't want to know, Jim."

"Fair enough."

"So what were these concerns you had?"

"I'm a little scared of Hell, is the main one. Does this Satanism thing make us immune from the torment of demons in the afterlife? Will we burn or are we fireproof? It seems like madness to be part of a religion that promises damnation."

"I would imagine that we would be treated differently to lapsed Catholics and the like, but next time I'm speaking to one of the boys from down under I'll clarify that one."

"Cool. The other concern is more pressing. I've heard that Tony is trying to get a crew together to kill you. He thinks he's lost a lot of street cred since you fired him. He got used to respect and is desperate to get it back. The amount of drugs he's taking now is unreal. I think he might actually try and get you."

"I've been threatened by worse than Tony, Jim. I don't really rank him as a threat, so try not to worry. But make sure you do your best to avoid him. I don't want him to try to get to me by hurting you. Keep a low profile. Make the masses an underground affair. Change the location and night and try to tell only the people who want to attend."

"Okay, Mike. Thanks for taking me seriously. I'll do my best not to let you down. Cathy, Cadbury, I'll see you guys soon."

They bade Jim good night and Cadbury went to bed soon after the new high priest left.

"So what now, Mike?"

Mike looked into the kitchen at the black wheelie bin. "I got something to take care of. You want to take the bin for a walk with me?"

"I'd go anywhere with you." And she would.

Cathy rattled on the keyboard and Mike sat beside her, reading the screen. Mike typed with two fingers and Cathy had been unable to resist taking over to speed up their online research. He made suggestions for keywords and Cathy tweaked them to suit their needs. They were in her house, her bedroom. Mike had been impressed by the speed of Cathy's internet connection. He told her that the library computer had taken ten times longer to throw up search engine results than Cathy's.

"You know, I love the smell of a lady's room. I don't know what makes up the aroma, but it's universal and wonderful."

"Mike, would you concentrate? This is serious."

"Sorry. I get distracted. I was never really a computer geek."

"Well I think we're nearly done. The info is getting very repetitive now."

"Excellent. I could murder a cup of tea and a Jammy Dodger."

On the screen Cathy had called up a jpeg of a faded watercolour painting of Cerberus by William Blake.

"That's nothing like I remember him, Mike."

"No, that thing looks fat and inbred. The dog I met is muscular, sleek and proud. Similar to a Doberman in shape and colour, but much bigger. The necks are longer and more flexible too."

"Is he intelligent?"

"He talks and all, but I'm not sure if he would cut it on University Challenge. Why?"

"Well, the thing I'm seeing again and again is how in mythology, Cerberus is usually defeated by distraction. Folks who want to get by him as he guards the gate to Hades feed him drugged honey cakes or water from Lethe. The Lethe water might be tough to get, but I could drug up some cream buns."

"Does it say what kind of drugs these guys used?"

"No. One other story says he was lulled by music. So what do you think? Learn the guitar or buy a Valium-packed bag of doughnuts?"

"Drugs were used more often. Let's go with those."

"Cool. Now we need to figure out a dose. I'm guessing that the Hoods will be able to provide you with what you want?"

"Yeah, they can get prescription pads quite easily, though they may be planning to break into a local pharmacy soon. I'll put the word out."

"Are we going to go with Valium?"

"It would probably be the easiest thing to order. It's usually in abundance in the pharmacies around here. But maybe a shitload of sleeping tablets would be good too."

"Let's just see what we get then. We'll fire up a narcotic cocktail and have it on standby."

Cathy logged off the computer and they went downstairs to her neat little galley kitchen for tea and biscuits. She wondered if Mike would not be safer with the taxi driver dead. He seemed to have strict rules about killing innocent people, but maybe Cathy could get over it. She had been planning a career in killing before Mike had crashed into her life, after all. No doubt she would have whacked an innocent eventually.

Then again, killing a demon dog from Hell was a challenge not to be sniffed at. Their research of myths didn't turn up any methods for killing the dog, but she would experiment with a few things when the beast was out cold. Unlike the imp, she'd seen this one. Perhaps Cerberus didn't follow the same physical rules as the imp. If he didn't then it was possible that the demon dog didn't have the same regenerative powers as the imp either. Of course, killing Cerberus would only be a temporary solution. Lucifer would send something else after Mike, but at least he would go down fighting and if Cathy went down with him, then that was just fine.

"So, how was work today?" Mike asked after he'd scoffed his first biscuit. He sipped his tea as he waited for her response.

"Grand. Not much going on at the moment. The ladies are trying to come up with a plan for publicity to draw in more youths, but they've come to a standstill. They can't think of an event that would draw the kind of kids they want to help."

"Yeah, I guess the cops would frown on a drug sampling day. Maybe they could leave a window open at night and wait for kids to break in. Then they could offer late night counselling."