“I’d call you more than that, Genova, but I don’t want to waste my time.”
“Enough,” Amethyst said. His voice sounded tired.
“I’ll not be silent,” Diamond continued, and then turned back to Tony. “The order has been made. The Outer Circle, presumably delivering the edict of the Inner Circle, has made it clear that you are one of The Seven, and are therefore privy to all that comes with that title and rank, including my respect. I will accept their decision. With that in mind, you will continue on with your mission and you will do as we say. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand all right,” Tony said. “But did I stutter, or did a plane go overhead?”
Diamond paused before answering. His expression was confused. “What?”
“Did I stutter, or did a plane go overhead? It had to be one or the other, because you obviously didn’t hear my fucking question. You threw your little hissy fit and ranted about circles and all sorts of bullshit, but you still failed to tell me enough about this Dagon thing to help you.”
Diamond’s lips formed a thin, pale line. His hands curled into fists around the stock of his rifle, and the tips of his ears turned red in the dim beam of the flashlight.
Tony grinned. “Allow me to fucking clarify, as you are obviously hard of fucking hearing. Fucking Dagon. If I fucking shoot it, will it fucking die? Does it have fucking super powers? What’s it fucking look like? Is it bigger than a fucking breadbox?”
Diamond lunged forward and Tony snapped his rifle up, aiming at the man’s chest. Before they could clash, however, Amethyst stepped between them and held up a hand. Then he turned and faced the larger man. Diamond glowered down at him.
“I need not remind you of your station…or mine.” Amethyst’s tone was calm, almost soft-spoken. “I am a Magus-level operative of the Ninth Order. You are not. You will be silent, Marion.”
Diamond’s upper lip quivered. For a moment, Tony thought the big man might wrap his hands around Amethyst’s throat and strangle him. But instead, the tension seemed to drain from his posture. He backed away and leaned against the wall, keeping his gaze affixed on the floor. Ruby found something interesting to look at in the ceiling.
Amethyst turned to Tony and Clark. “Your questions are difficult to answer because of the very nature of the things we face—and because of time constraints. I’ll try to address some of them, however, and then I trust we’ll be on our way before our pursuers figure out where we’ve gone.”
Tony and Clark leaned forward, listening, and after a slight pause, Amethyst continued.
“Dagon is massive in size, although his exact measurements and characteristics remain unknown. They vary, depending upon which source you use. What we know for sure is this—picture the Empire State Building with arms, legs, wings, and a squid for a face. To glimpse him can drive a weak-willed person insane.”
“So he’s like that bitch with snakes for hair. Medusa.”
“In a way. But on a much grander scale. Dagon is credited as the source of the Great Flood legend that is found in humanity’s various religions and cultures. We know that when summoned to a plane of existence, he destroys the planet by flooding it. This is achieved by the use of global super storms that relentlessly sweep the planet until everything—everything—is submerged. There is some speculation that rather than just flooding the planet, Dagon is actually transforming solid matter into liquid—in effect, turning the planet into nothing but water.”
“Jesus,” Tony whispered.
“Not at all.” Amethyst smiled at his own joke. “As we explained before, the entity has gone by many names, but Jesus is not one of them. Leviathan. Kraken. Tlaloc. Cthulhu. Some misguided souls have confused it with the Christian deity, Satan. The same mistake has been made in regards to Dagon’s kin—a race of beings known as The Thirteen. Regardless of which name he goes by, different cultures and beings, including the Dark Ones, worship Dagon. Those rites and ceremonies often involve blood sacrifice. A blood sacrifice is required to summon him. The same is required to halt the summoning and bind him.”
“And that’s what you need me to do? Be a fucking sacrifice?”
“No, not at all. I told you, Tony—your safety is absolutely paramount. But we will need you to offer up the sacrifice, and shed the actual blood. Speaking frankly, that shouldn’t disturb you. You’re no stranger to bloodshed, after all.”
“True, but I don’t know shit about sacrifices and spells.”
“You don’t have to. We’ll walk you through it when we arrive at our final destination. Now, we really must continue onward. I trust I’ve answered your questions satisfactorily?”