Dagon Rising(83)

“Get the fuck out of there,” Tony shouted at Clark. “Move, goddamn it!”

If Clark responded to him, Tony couldn’t tell, because at that moment, a crippling pain rammed through his head. Shrieking, Clark grabbed the sides of his own head and rolled around on the floor. Jennifer remained kneeling, cradling her own head, as well.

Tony screamed. The pain became blinding. It was so great that it eclipsed everything in his mind. His eyes watered, and for a brief moment he wondered if his head had exploded and blood was pouring out of his eyeballs. Then he wondered if that was what happened when you had a brain aneurism. Old Man Marano’s father had died of a brain aneurism. He’d shit himself in the aftermath. Of all the ways he could choose to die, Tony decided this wasn’t one of them.

Suddenly, Tony was gripped by an unnerving—and nauseating—sensation. It felt as if he’d left his body, and was sailing straight through the doorway and into the vast ocean on the other side. He glimpsed something impossibly huge—a creature so large that it hurt his eyes to look at it. Its bulbous head reminded him of a hot air balloon, and the beard of tentacles that hung below its enormous yellow eyes writhed like giant snakes. From the neck down, the shape was human—except for its size, green skin, and scales. Its hands were webbed and clawed. Tony stared into its eyes and felt the eyes stare back.

It was aware of him.

The yellow eyes grew brighter and the portal seemed to bulge in mid-air. The pain in Tony’s head ratcheted up again. The fillings in his teeth throbbed. The portal shimmered, growing larger, and several more tentacles thrust through the opening. Stunned, Tony could only watch. He probed an aching tooth with his tongue and felt it wiggle. His mouth tasted like blood.

“Tony,” Clark wailed, “say the fucking words!”

Shaking his head, Tony licked his lips and yelled, “Ia verm… Goddamn it!”

“Verminus,” Clark and Jennifer shouted in unison.

“Ia verminus Leviathan. Ia destrato Leviathan. LEVIATHAN.”

The pain vanished as abruptly as it had begun. Tony’s ears rang in the aftermath, and his sinuses drained down the back of his throat. He smacked his lips again and tasted more blood. On the other side of the portal, the tentacles hung limply. Something that sounded like a thousand crossbreeds between a blue whale and a lion roared. The light began to dim.

“I bind and banish you,” Tony continued, “according to the Law. You may not pass through the door. Go now and bother this Earth no more.”

And just like that, the floating doorway disappeared. Tony had expected more. He wasn’t sure what, exactly. A flash or a bang, maybe. Something a bit more definitive, at least. Noisier. Instead, the opening simply vanished, plunging them into darkness again. Tony picked up Ruby’s flashlight and turned it on. It had been undamaged in the fight.

The beam seemed to keep the blackness at bay.

“Is that it?” Clark asked, his voice unsteady. He stood up slowly and brushed dirt and debris from his pants. “Did we win? Is it over?”

Tony shrugged. “I guess.”

“It’s sort of anti-climatic.”

“What, not getting eaten by a big, giant squid-monster ain’t good enough for you?”

“No, it’s not that. I guess I’m just used to a more… normal fight.”

“Me, too. Fuck this magic shit. I’ll stick with shooting motherfuckers.”

Behind them, Jennifer screamed. Both men whirled around and Tony trained the flashlight beam at where she was pointing. A baby Clicker charged across the chamber, claws raised, pincers clacking together greedily. Bits of Susan’s flesh dangled from them. Before either man could react, Jennifer grabbed a large rock and threw it at the creature, smashing the infant into jelly. Then she turned and faced them. Tony was surprised to see her grinning.

“Now it’s over.” She walked over to Tony and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

Tony reached for her, but froze when Jennifer flinched.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I… just…”

“It’s who I was,” Tony said. “It’s not who I am now, but it’s still a part of me. You know? Maybe that’s why the spooks believed I was special. Maybe that thing inside of me—the part of me you’re scared of right now—is needed sometimes.”

“Tony…”

He held his arms out wide. “Friends?”

Wiping her eyes, Jennifer nodded. Tony hugged her and then shook hands with Clark. Then the three of them laughed.

“The Dark Ones,” Clark said after their initial happiness had subsided. “Are they gone?”