The Adventures of Gravedigger (4 page)

“If you can understand me,” Gravedigger said, her
voice as steely as the blades she wielded, “I don’t want to kill you. Surrender
and I’ll do whatever I can to reverse what’s been done to you.”

The woman paused, as if digesting Gravedigger’s
words. Whether or not she truly understood was a moot point as she lunged
forward, teeth snapping at the air.

Gravedigger struck expertly – her knife swept up,
catching her foe between the breasts, where Gravedigger dug the blade deep. Her
sword then came down, decapitating the horrible monster in one fell swoop.

Splattered with blood, Gravedigger stepped back,
letting the corpse hit the soft earthen floor. After putting her weapons away,
she immediately began looking around the room once more, convinced that this
locked room had to be more than a mere prison: the naked woman-thing was a
guard of some sort. But what was she protecting?

Kneeling, Charity began poking at the earth. Since
there was nothing to be seen above ground, could there be something beneath?

After scooping out several small holes,
Gravedigger suddenly yanked her fingers back. Something was
moving
in
the dirt! After forcing her hand back into the ground, she felt her fingers
close around something slimy and undulating. She yanked it up into the light,
revealing a horrible white worm, one end open with a sucking mouth. The
creature was as blind as the woman who had guarded it.

Gravedigger shoved it into a pouch on her belt,
shivering at the thought of carrying the disgusting creature on her person. It
wasn’t that she was squeamish about bugs or snakes but something about this
thing was unnatural. Further digging showed that there were more of the things,
many in various stages of development.

“It’s a nursery,” she realized with a start. Meeks
was cultivating these…
things
.

Realizing that she’d spent too much time on this
affair, Gravedigger sprinted up the stairs, not bothering to turn off the
lights. Meeks would know she’d been there when he discovered the corpse,
regardless. Despite that, she did shove the clock back into place, covering up
the doorway.

Then she was out into the night, scurrying off to
meet Mitchell. Perhaps Goldstein would recognize this worm that she was
carrying and would have advice on how to proceed from here.

Though she was loath to admit it, she was going to
need his help on this one.

Gravedigger and Mitchell knew that something was
wrong as soon as they reached the front door. It was partially open, something
that Goldstein never would have allowed.

“Miss Grace, let me enter first.” Mitchell drew a
pearl-handled pistol, his dark face lined with concern.

Charity had changed out of her uniform in the
backseat of the car, shoving the weapons and garish clothing into a large bag
that was now slung over her shoulder. “I’m not some helpless little girl,” she
pointed out, setting her bag down and fishing out a curved blade. “You move
around back and make sure that no one gets out that way. I’ll go through the
front.”

Mitchell nodded and vanished into the gloom.

Gravedigger swung open the door, slowly creeping
inside. It was quiet inside, save for the ticking of the large grandfather
clock in the hall. She resisted the urge to call out Goldstein’s name, fearful
that the old man might not be alone.

She found herself in the study soon enough, having
noted that everything appeared to still be in place. If there was theft
involved in this, whatever had been taken was
n’t
immediately
evident.

Catching sight of Goldstein’s feet, she dropped
her weapon and sprinted to his side. He was sitting on the floor, his head
tilted downward and his back against the bottom of the window. His face was a
dripping mess and Charity fought against the revulsion that suddenly washed
over her.

Checking for a pulse, Charity noticed something
peculiar. His ruby ring, which had always shined so brightly, was missing.

“How is he?” Mitchell asked. The big man had entered
the building and made his own way to the study. When Charity shook her head, he
turned away and sighed. “Bloody old fool,” he said at last. “I told him that he
should always carry a gun but he’d say to me, ‘I’m a former Gravedigger, my boy
– the day I can’t take care of myself is the day I need to die.’ I guess he had
to be right, didn’t he?”

Charity stood up. “His ring is gone.”

Mitchell grunted. “Mr. Goldstein told me that it
was very old, dating back at least to the Middle Ages. He took it from a black
magician in Germany during The Great War.”

“Looks like it was the only thing taken so I think
whoever did this came here just for that.”

“Do you think it was Meeks?” Mitchell asked. He’d
listened to Charity’s description of the villain’s home and remembered how
dangerous Goldstein had considered him.

“If it is, then I feel even more terrible. I
should have listened to Josef and gone off to kill this guy!”

“You never know how things will go,” Mitchell
counseled. “I’ll be right back.” The big man left the room and returned with a
sheet. He spread it out on the floor and then lifted Goldstein’s corpse,
setting it in the center of the sheet.

“We shouldn’t move him,” Charity pointed out.

“Why not?”

“The police….”

Mitchell looked up at her and smiled, despite the
grimness of the situation. “You really think we should call the cops in on
this? I imagine they’d ask a few questions about Mr. Goldstein’s past… and
mine. Not to mention yours. Then you have all the weapons and weird books that
are lying around here. Trust me,” he added, beginning to wrap his employer’s
body. “This is what Mr. Goldstein would have wanted.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“I’m going to put him in the car and then I’m
going to drive out to the cemetery. I’ll bury him in your grave.”

Charity nodded. It made sense, though it still
seemed wrong not to have a ceremony of some kind for Goldstein. Yes, he’d been
annoying, and she couldn’t forget that he had shot her and buried her in a
coffin – but at his core, he’d been a good man. “I’ll come with you.”

“You sure?”

“I’m a Gravedigger, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you are.” Mitchell stood up,
lifting the corpse over his shoulder. Charity noticed that the sheet was
already beginning to stain with blood. “Listen, luv, I’ll make the same offer
to you that I did old Goldstein: I’ll work for you and with you, doing the best
that I can to assist. But I can’t be the man that he was. I don’t have his
knowledge or his skills.”

“That makes two of us.” Charity put a hand on
Mitchell’s arm. “I appreciate that. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“The house is bought and paid for. Goldstein also
told me all the pertinent information about his bank accounts and I know that
he put your name on them, as well.”

Charity couldn’t quite hide her surprise. She
hadn’t even been sure how much Goldstein liked her, but apparently he’d been
making preparations to leave his fortune in her name.

“You’re going to do fine, luv,” Mitchell said, as
if sensing her thoughts. “You and me, we’re going to make the next three years
count.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you work for him? Why are you offering to
work for me? Were you ever a Gravedigger?”

Mitchell shook his head. Up close, he was a
handsome man, Charity realized. “No, can’t say that honor ever belonged to me.
I met Mr. Goldstein in England. Like you, I didn’t have much growing up and I
fell in with a bad crowd. One day, we were roughing up a shopkeeper, taking
protection money… and then there he was: dressed up like a Halloween spook and
swinging a blade like nobody’s business. That was one terrifying bloke! He
killed my friends and then chased me down an alley. I turned to face him, half
hoping that he did kill me. I was sick of living like that. To this day, I’m
not sure what he saw in me but whatever it was, he held his killing stroke and
told me that I could live, as long as I swore myself to his service.”

Charity could tell from the emotion in his voice
that Mitchell held a tremendous respect for Josef. It made her feel somewhat
guilty for her treatment of the old man, though the memory of him shooting her
brought up feelings of confusion.

“Let’s go, Mitchell. We have a long night ahead of
us – and in the morning, I think we should get started finding out if Meeks is
our murderer.”

***

The Sovereign Museum of Natural History was a
sprawling structure. It stood in the heart of the downtown area, and was
comprised of twelve interconnected buildings. The Museum housed well over a
million specimens, only a relative few of which were on active display. With a
scientific staff of over a hundred, the Museum funded nearly four-dozen
scientific expeditions each year, sending explorers out all over the globe. The
Museum was divided up into numerous displays but the most popular was the
ever-present Start of Sovereign Hall, where the origins of the city were
examined. To access this, visitors had to stride through the huge entranceway,
where they could stare up at a full-size model of a Blue Whale, which hung from
the ceiling.

Meeks stood directly under it, staring up at the
model, which was built from papier-mâché, iron and basswood. It had been
damaged about a year previous but the repairs were such that no one could spot
the difference
¹
.

“I could get into a lot of trouble for this, Mr.
Meeks.” The security guard said. He was a portly retired police officer named
Dinkins. He stood off to the side, shifting his bulk uneasily.

Meeks flashed a smug smile. “I paid you well,
didn’t I? And if anybody causes any trouble, I’ll do the same to them. Money
talks in Sovereign – am I right?”

Dinkins laughed, his mood brightening. “Want me to
show you where the exhibit hall is?”

“I can find my way. I’ll see you on my way out.”
Meeks waited until Dinkins returned to his desk in the security office. Then he
set off down the hall, moving quickly towards his destination. He would,
indeed, see Dinkins before he left. He planned to kill the man and pocket the
money he’d given him – there couldn’t be any loose ends that would tie him to
this crime. The worst possible scenario would be for the authorities to arrest
him before he had a chance to summon the Old Ones.

Meeks found the urn in a display on ancient Roman
artifacts. It definitely didn’t look like an object of tremendous occult power.
It was cracked in places but remained solid despite its age.

Meeks started to reach out for it when a voice
brought him up short.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Shocked, Meeks turned quickly and found himself
staring into the lovely face of Kelly Emerson. Though many in the city thought
of Kelly Emerson as merely “the curator’s daughter,” she was in fact much more.
A graduate of Sovereign University, Kelly held doctorates in archaeology and
anthropology. Standing nearly six feet tall and possessed of flowing red hair, she
looked like a modern Amazon, with enough curves to unsettle even the most
ardent of playboys. Her glittering green eyes and full lips had made her one of
Sovereign City’s most sought-after figures.

To the amusement of gossip columnists everywhere,
however, Emerson’s heart belonged to local hero Lazarus Gray. Their love affair
had titillated the city before Gray’s career had torn them apart. Rumor had it
that neither had ever truly moved on.

“Arthur Meeks,” Kelly said before he could
respond. “I know you. You were here for the unveiling of the Scarab collection
last month.” She strode towards him, her heels clicking on the floor. “Start
talking before I call the police!”

“Dinkins let me in….”

“And he’s going to get fired,” Emerson replied.
“Make it quick.”

Meeks seethed internally. He’d planned to get away
with only killing one unimportant security guard. Emerson, on the other hand,
was a prominent figure in the city. Her father would rest at nothing until her
murder was solved and the killer behind bars. Beyond that, Emerson’s death
would bring Lazarus Gray and his Assistance Unlimited team onto the case.

“I can explain,” he said, realizing that he had no
choice. Within his mind, a wall was sliding into place, signaling a shift from
the man he had been born to be – Arthur Meeks – and the man that he now
believed himself to be – Thanatos. “I’m fascinated by Roman pottery and I
wanted to get a better look at this urn. I was only planning to handle it for a
few moments and then put it back.”

“You’re lying,” she replied. “You could have made
a sizeable donation to the Museum and my father would have let you look at it.
You know that. You were here to steal it, weren’t you?”

Thanatos sneered in response and lunged for her,
his hands wrapping around Kelly’s throat. She staggered under the unexpected
assault, her back slamming against the wall. As she fought for breath, the
madness in her enemy’s eyes struck home.

Thankfully for her, Lazarus Gray had insisted that
she learn the art of self-defense. Refusing to give in to the terror that was
beginning to mount, she struck back, boxing Thanatos’ ears. He cried out but
refused to loosen his grip, forcing her to take more drastic measures – she
drove her leg up into his crotch, causing his eyes to bulge.

Blessed oxygen flooded her lungs as he backed
away, hands over his privates. Knowing that her life was on the line, she took
off for the exit, hoping to make it back to her office, where she could call
for help.

Thanatos saw her flight and knew that his plan was
now at risk. He quickly grabbed a small goblet that was resting next to the urn
and threw it. The metal object bounced off Kelly’s skull and she slumped to the
ground with a pained sigh.

Grabbing the urn, Thanatos was now torn. Should he
flee with the object – or kill both her and Dinkins?

His decision was made easier by the lights that
suddenly began to come on throughout the museum. Thanatos heard Dinkins’ voice,
high-pitched and nervous. “I haven’t seen her, Mr. Emerson… Are you sure she’s
still in her office? I thought everyone had gone home.”

The curator’s response echoed to Meeks’ ears.
“Yes, I’m sure she’s here. There’s no need for you to turn on every light in
the place! I know this building like the back of my hand!”

Recognizing that Dinkins was trying to alert him
to the curator’s presence, Thanatos ran from the room, following one of the
public halls until he came to an emergency exit. He shoved the door open and
hurried to his car. Tossing the urn into the backseat, he started the engine
and took off, knowing that his plans were now potentially in ruins.

“I only have one chance,” he said to himself. “I
have to go into hiding! And Mr. Black’s going to have to speed up the
timetable!”